How to get your partner on board with a healthy lifestyle change

Torture is not a word that I often use loosely. But when it comes to decadent desserts, it is the only word that seems appropriate.

As women it is so important to make sure that we are well nourished. However, in nourishing ourselves, it would be unloving to forget those connected to us, right?

This is how I felt when I changed my lifestyle, my husband didn’t have a choice. He had to take that journey with me! It wasn’t an option.

If I didn’t want to be tempted by my love affair of salty chips, ice cream, American chocolate bar, Godiva, Nutella or the sweetened cookies weekly.

I needed to take charge of my environment. This would be pure torture keeping this in my house. Once I started this pattern my husband followed my lead.

It wasn't enough to hid it in my cabinets

“Out of sight, out of mind” didn’t seem logical when I brought it in the house in the first place. I would be the one putting it away, in places that I knew.

Why put myself through that type of torture and have to reason with myself when I snuck something in my mouth. There were days I did torture myself and felt the guilty feelings after.

So I did what I felt was the best thing to do…I stopped buying anything that would hinder my healthy lifestyle goals.

Whatever it took to get me to a size that would be comfortable for me.

A size that I no longer had to squeeze in, suck my stomach in or worse ask for help in closing my zipper.

Every couple's journey is different.

I know the size that I feel good in but I can easily gain 20-30 pounds over that in 6 months time. 

Seriously, I remember the day I asked my husband to zip me up as I sucked it in…this was my worse feeling.

It didn’t matter what someone else thought of how I looked. I needed to feel good about myself on an internal level. 

I also wanted my man to look good, so I had to make sure that I cooked foods that would facilitate a healthy lifestyle for the both of us.

I refuse to look like his mother!

My new found way of life meant my husband had to join the new way that I was eating. Guess what happened?

The compliments started coming his way:

“You haven’t aged In years”!

“You still look the same”!

and the priceless one “What is your secret”?

These are the comments that he gets with and without me by his side.

Having a glass of wine is chic.

After reading a book by Mireille Guiliano entitled: “French Women Don’t Get Fat”, I was inspired and that was what convinced me to package my expertise. Hence my journey into the world of living a healthy lifestyle was born.

But with this lifestyle came making sure that my attempts to eat and drink wine like the French were not over done.

Just like French Women, I love a bold wine however on my journey I discovered that white wine generally averages approximately 25 calories per ounce. So, I had to pay attention to the type of wine that I chose.

I discovered that a standard pour of white wine is generally 4 ounces, but I have seen time and time again how many wine enthusiasts regularly exceed this amount by an ounce or two.

This explains why the average number of calories per glass is around 120 calories. This knowledge was powerful in my journey to age well. 

Then I learned that sweeter white wines, such as Moscato or Riesling, contain more calories while dryer white wines, such as Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio, contain fewer calories per ounce.

The natural sugars in grapes are what turn into alcohol through the fermentation process of wine.

Once fermented, the amount of residual sugar left in the wine determines the “dryness” of the wine.

Dry wines contain the least amount of sugar while sweet, fruity wines contain much more sugar. Wine whose grapes are grown in warm regions tend to have more sugar than those whose grapes are grown in cooler regions.

Ok, you see what I love...Red Bold Wine. I am guilty! After my time spent in culinary school, I had the joy of being mentored by 3 amazing Chicago sommeliers and took a course in wine certification.

If you want to want to make sure you are pairing your wines properly get my ebook, "The Bold Woman's Guide To Food & Wine Pairings" CLICK HERE

Luxury will always have its place.

I am by definition what I like to call a late eater. Meaning breakfast is late around 10ish, lunch is usually 3:15 p.m. I always make sure I eat something small before in the afternoon before I start my cooking class or a client session.

This means that when I am busy I typically don't get around to eating dinner until after 8 p.m. since my body is getting use to this cycle. So, I made a goal to start preparing dinner around 6pm no later if I want to make sure I have a good digestion. 

If you are trying to lose weight, you cut off for eating dinner but be no later than 7pm. 

However, I love sleep, and if I’m home, I’m usually in bed with lights out before 11 p.m. I know I should eat earlier in the day, but sometimes it doesn’t quite happen quite like I plan except for when I’m working with my private clients.

Because of such a crazy busy lifestyle the one thing that I live by is moderation. When I am consulting with my clients I coach them how not to eat before bedtime.

I will explain why in this video.

Business Insider has the details, pointing out that “late-night dining—especially when what you eat consists of a heavy meal followed by little or no activity—can screw up the systems our bodies rely on to process food.

"Proper digestion is critical for absorbing the nutrients in what we eat and discarding the stuff we don’t.”

Studies have shown that people who eat late trying to lose weight lose significantly less than early eaters, and that if you eat dinner within three hours of bedtime is linked digestive imbalances, to acid reflux, which can cause heartburn, indigestion, coughing, hoarseness, and asthma.

Sitting upright helps the body digest food properly, so if you do eat late in the evening, don’t lie down right after dinner. Wash the dishes, do some cleaning, or take a walk around the block.

To avoid the issue altogether, try eating larger lunches.

As Business Insider points out, “the stomach takes about three hours to empty itself, so waiting at least this amount of time before laying down or sleeping is a good idea.”)**

I live close to the lake but one of the things that I love to do is walk 6 miles aiming at my 10,000 steps while enjoying the blue waters of Lake Michigan.

Depending on how I feel, I may polish up my vintage green Schwinn and bike the drive. Either way beauty and age-defying exercises always await me.

These are simple lifestyle changes to lose weight before mid summer.

I want you to look great, feel amazing and have fun doing so!

How can you reach for your goals in a short amount of time?

Eat for health in mind.

• PLAN to have healthy snacks at home
• Understand how to READ labels
• Listen to your body, stop if you are satiated
• If you need help, I am your SUPPORT!

To lose weight, stop eating like a man.

Our bodies can’t process and burn off the amount of food that a man’s body can. When you incorporate lifestyle changes to lose weight, know your limits and respect that your body can only consume so much.

When I was a newly-wed, I will admit that our quality time revolved around food, but it doesn’t have to.

Last year surprisingly, I allowed hubby to cut my hair, with my guidance of course. When you choose to go Au naturale and no more chemical, you refuse to let anyone touch your strands. I even let him give me a henna once.

No, he is not a hair stylist but just allowing him to do something that was dear to me was kind of nurturing.

That being said, plan a night to cook something healthy together. If trying new recipes is dear to you make healthy traditions. There is something nurturing is about taking care of each other.

One of my single friends asked me, Milan, how have you maintained your weight over 20 plus years of being married?

My response to her was, "if I can’t be the best looking women in the room I will always aim at being number 2! Vanity.. maybe not, you see I have come to terms that how I feel about myself is more important than how my husband sees me". 

…Stay BEAUTIFUL AND HEALTHY,