Healthy eating on the go

By: Denise Austin, author of Side Effect: Skinny

 

Heading out of town? If you travel a lot, you know how tricky it can be to stick with your eating plan. But just because you're in a hotel or a restaurant doesn't mean you can't eat well. Follow these tips and you'll be good to go!

Eat As You Would At Home. Control the size of your portions at each meal. Portion control can make – or break – your dieting efforts, especially with restaurants supersizing meals or fad diet plans that encourage unlimited amounts of protein or other foods.

 

If Your Order Arrives and It Is Enough for 3 People, Only Eat 1 Sensible Portion. If you can have a fridge in your hotel room or are staying with friends, you can ask the waiter to box up the extras before you even start to eat so you won't be tempted – and you can enjoy the leftovers as a guilt-free meal on another day. Better yet, ask about portions when you order and then see if your friends want to share.

 

Snack Before You Go. If you know you'll be tempted by rich foods, have a healthy snack before dinner. You'll feel fuller and will be less likely to indulge once you arrive at the restaurant.

 

Know the Lingo. Avoid menu items that are described using the words au gratin, crispy, fried, tempura, alfredo, cheesy, butter, butter sauce, crunchy, beer-battered, crusted, pan fried, or creamy. These are buzz words that signal major calories. Stick with choices that are baked, broiled, poached, or steamed instead.

 

Substitute. If a dish comes with fries, don't hesitate to ask for it with a salad, baked potato, or a steamed veggie instead. Likewise, if a meat or veggie is prepared with lots of heavy oils, ask about lighter preparations or choose another dish. Restaurants want to make you happy (you are the customer, after all), so chances are they'll be willing to help.

 

Share. If you are dining with a friend, split an entrée, an appetizer, or even a dessert! It is a simple way to cut calories and not feel deprived.

Don't dread the pounds you envision you'll gain on your next vacation or fall off the wagon on your next trip. By thinking ahead, you will be equipped to travel in healthy style!

Known as "America's favorite fitness expert," Denise Austin has sold over 24 million exercise videos and authored more than 12 books on health and fitness. As a worldwide fitness phenomenon, she has created a loyal audience with her two major television shows: Getting Fit, which ran for 10 years on ESPN and continued under the new name Denise Austin's Daily Workout, and Fit & Lite, both on Lifetime.

Denise served two terms on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, helped launch the new food guidance system of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and was recently honored by Woman's Day magazine and the American Heart Association with the Red Dress Award for her contributions to heart health. Married for over 25 years to Jeff Austin, they have two teenage daughters, Kelly and Katie.

Website: www.deniseaustin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeniseAustinOnline
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeniseAustin_

Side Effect: Skinny is exclusively available for purchase at www.thebooknook.com as of November 26, 2012.

 

Overcoming Anxiety: Psychologist's Compassion-Focused Therapy to Calm Worry, Panic and Fear

According to findings of the World Health Organization's global mental health survey, anxiety disorders are the world's most common psychiatric disorders. There are many factors that contribute to developing a mind that is prone to intense anxiety, but there are also many things you can do to change the way it works. Research has shown that one of those things, practicing kindness and compassion, soothes experiences of fear, while self-critical thoughts tend to intensify them. If you become frustrated with your anxious reactions or consistently try to talk yourself out of your anxiety, it may be time to try a different approach – one that can be found in the new book by Dennis Tirch, PhD, The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety: Using Compassion-Focused Therapy to Calm Worry, Panic, and Fear.                      

This user-friendly program, using an integration of Behavior Therapy, Buddhist Psychology, and Evolutionary Neuroscience, will help you learn to be kinder to yourself, soothe your anxiety, and step forward into a life of meaning, purpose and vitality. Developed through decades of research and innovation, the book provides a systematic, responsive and scientifically sound approach to the problem of human suffering.

The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety, complete with worksheets, exercises, and meditation practices, includes everything you need to learn mindfulness and compassion-focused skills for redirecting your anxious thoughts  and allowing yourself to enjoy a more peaceful life.

"I intentionally wrote this book," says Dr. Tirch, "with the voice of a compassionate friend and fellow traveler, who will explain the underlying theory of how compassion soothes our fears and brings us greater courage. The theory is presented in a gentle and step by step way, and techniques are quite easy to learn and practice , on your own, or working with a therapist, teacher or friend."

The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety is divided into two sections:
 

• Part I provides background information that explores exploring the evolutionary nature of anxiety and how it operates.
• Part II examines how we are able to soothe our anxiety by experiencing a sense of safety, contentment and calm. Readers will learn of the often sometimes-untapped capacities they have to alleviate their anxiety using their intuitive wisdom, courage and compassion. Part II also provides detailed, workable and user-friendly techniques based on Compassion-Focused Therapy to help overcome anxiety.

"My hope is that the practices I describe in The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety," adds Dr. Tirch, "will open the way to greater self-compassion, well-being, and a growing capacity to bring mindful awareness and kindness into your life, moment by moment."

Dennis D. Tirch, PhD, is associate director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, founder and director of The Center for Mindfulness and Compassion Focused Therapy and serves as adjunct assistant clinical professor at Weill-Cornell Medical College. He is coauthor of books and articles on mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion, and maintains an active research program in these areas with Robert L. Leahy. Dr. Tirch is a fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and founding co-president of the New York City chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.

Website: www.MindfulCompassion.com

The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Overcoming Anxiety can be purchased from www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and through all major booksellers.

Love Affair with James Bond

I watched Skyfall for the second time last night. It is the 27th James Bond movie in 50 years.

I first became acquainted with James Bond and author Ian Fleming in 1963 at a friend's home in Belgium. He had read several Ian Fleming novels and watched Dr. No which was the first James Bond movie, coming out in 1962.

Since that time I have seen each of the Bond movies, which are marked by action, romance, and thrilling twists and turns in plot. While lots of people die, the viewer sees none of the gore of so many action films. The special effects may have improved but the action has not deteriorated into the blood and gore of so many current films. Action is not limited to fights, although that is still a strong element in the Skyfall movie. One of the best scenes was a motorcycle chase across the rooftops of the bazaar in Istanbul.

Romance has not changed either. While Bond is still a lady's man, the sex is no more explicit today than it was 50 years ago. Another aspect of romance is the places the movies take us to. I'm a world traveler because of the James Bond movies. The view of Shanghai at night with its multitude of lights in Skyfall was amazing. London can be uninteresting, but not when standing on a rooftop looking at a panorama of many flags. I felt national pride, a strange feeling for someone whose ancestors left Britain 150 years ago for a better life in America.

My Literature teacher taught me that there is only one plot--hero beats villain and gets girl. The rest of the story is twists and turns. Plenty of twists and turns exist in Bond movies, but he never gets the girl. In Skyfall Bond loses two girls, both under tragic conditions. The last one was completely unexpected and heart-rendering. That was the twist that ended Skyfall. Enough said.

Skyfall was all about retirement. It was foreshadowed early in the movie when we saw JMW Turner's painting in London's National Gallery of the Fighting Temeraire being tugged to her last berth to be broken up. Ian Fleming wrote 11 Bond novels and five other authors have added to his work. Maybe it was time to retire Bond, but not so. There will be another Bond movie and probably many more after that.

Half a dresser

Mesquite is about an hour and a half east of Las Vegas on I-15 on the border of Arizona. Twenty seven miles further you are in St. George, Utah. As the gateway to Nevada, Mesquite is not only known for gambling but also as the home of Virgin River Motel and Casino. Along highway I-15 going south are a multitude of bill boards advertising $30 rooms with breakfast at the Virgin River.

On my way back to Provo, Utah I thought I would take advantage of the $30 offer, but no luck. I was supposed to phone for a reservation and all $30 rooms were gone. However, what I got was almost as good minus the breakfast. For $35 including tax I got a non-smoking room with two queens, one lower than the other, and half a dresser. The other half must be next door in room 4331. Despite the Spartan room it was clean, had a 19 inch TV, clean towels and three soaps. When I called my wife, she told me to check for signs of bedbugs. Not a one.

Before checking in I checked out the hotel prices online while eating a $12.99 t-bone and shrimp at the River Cafe in the casino. The meal was delicious although it was a little bigger than I should have eaten. The price online was the same as at the registration desk. The next closest price in town was $79.99. Virgin River was a steal at less than half the price. A great place to stay whether going south or north on I-15.