Weight Loss Confessions from Behind the Cafe' Car Curtain

Yesterday, I boarded the aptly named Amtrak “Vermonter”. I was home for the week to see clients, do some much-needed, post ski grooming but looked forward to getting back to Vt. Weirdly, I love traveling by train. I book the business class car, connect to Wifi, get a ton of work done, and as you travel further North, the scenery is beautiful. The only issue yesterday was that the only open seats in the car were the closest to the café’ car. I was hesitant as I’m completely smell-averse, what I didn’t realize was the insider peak into other customers’ food orders, requests and confessions I was about to be privy to.

I took my comfy, maroon seat and decided to have lunch before I edited our resolution-themed January newsletter. I was convinced that the passenger across the aisle, we’ll call him “Cruise” was giving me weird looks as I made my way through the kale salad and multigreen kombhucha I brought with me. I also had a chuckle as I heard the first café’ order which happened to be a woman ordering a Bud Light at 11:40am. Maybe her resolution was “drink earlier”.

 As the trip continued I was disheartened listening to “Cup of Noodles please”, “DiGiorno Pizza” and “pack of peanut M&Ms”. I will give a shout out to the man who clutched his aluminum mug (the curtain was temporarily open) and asked if there was a tap for water. There was and I was thrilled he wasn’t directed to the bathroom faucet, ick. I was having fantasies of pulling open the curtain handing out business cards and the snacks in my purse (health warrior bar, oloves and chia butter).

Throughout the ride passengers, in the car, made phone calls. It amazes me what people will say knowing full well that not only can others hear but also that, chances are, they are listening. For a long hour early on Meyer Weiss announced himself on his phone. He had one of those rockin’ earpieces and talked about a new CEO, Japanese markets, and a trip to Mexico… if SNL is casting a dorky, corporate guy, I’d look this guy up. 

Then, the somewhat rough and tumble person across the aisle, Cruise, took to his phone.  First call, I heard a prescription order and was immediately more interested than I had been in any of Meyer’s calls. The next call, to whom I now gather was the girlfriend, first reminded her “you better not be late to the train I’ve been on this thing since 10 in the damn morning”. Part of me hoped she would never pick him up, at all, after talking to her like that but I listened on. There was a mention of less booze and more church. I could’ve sworn I heard something about a cruise and a speedo but assumed I eavesdropped incorrectly. I heard bits as I was ironically emailing with Carolyn about a Today segment she was prepping for on…resolutions of course.

Cruise got up and went into the café, closing the curtain behind him. He ordered water and then added, to the person taking the order,

 “Yeah I’m going on this cruise with my girlfriend, no booze till the cruise man and that’s not till March.”

“See, I’m wearin’ this speedo, ok so it’s not a speedo but it’s tight.”

I promise, I tried not to pay attention…impossible. 

“My girl" she got me this bathing suit and it was super tight you see I was a 34 and now I’m like a 38.”

 “ I sent her to return it but she didn’t right away and then it was too late.” “So now I’m losin’ and eatin’ right and all that shit.”

All I wanted was a photo of Cruise to post here but I wimped out. I even tried to get a photo via reflection in my window as I feigned snapping a sunset pic. I turned the flash off and still no good. I’ve written about “pre beach” and swimsuit slim downs and never, ever would someone like Cruise be in my mind as my potential audience. And yet, chauvinism and misogyny aside, he has his specific goals, a timeline, means to his "end".  With clients I've learned,  you can never know in advance who is going to be determined and succeed and who will not. Or who will order the mid day drink or who wants to slim down. We don’t know what will cause us to turn things around and whose resolutions will stick…so we have to try and see.

If you were designing a café car menu for Amtrak, what would you offer? Do you think men are as focused on weight as women and just talk about it less? Would you have had the guts to snap a photo of Cruise? Finally, we have a hashtag email us #ResPledge @Foodtrainers your resolutions and we'll help keep you honest.

Solutions to Holiday Problems Including Puffy Eyes

We’re closed next week and you know what happens right before you go away? Well if you’re like us, you start to lose it. As we outlined our December newsletter, holiday music coming our of our ears (nothing against holiday music), we joked about the 12 days of Christmas which morphed into the 12 days of Craziness and here you have it. For time’s sake I’ll work backwards. I suggest singing out loud it’s sort of stress relieving you know the tune…

On the twelfth day of Craziness, Foodtrainers gave to me

A gift certificate for January Foodtraining

“Peace of Mind” for patience waning

Oloves for the plane delay

Safslim so weight wont stay

Gluten free cookies for Santa ho, ho, ho

Pure Aloe Force to help me “go”

Hangover Tonic for after “highs”

Green tea ice cubes for puffy eyes.

Raw Reserve for portable green juice

Newtree for my sweet tooth

Astragalus for Immunity

AND A NUTCASE FOR MY NUTTY FAMILY.

The green tea ice cube tip came from our friend Valerie, founder of Odacite’ skincare. Odacite uses only the best ingredients (all organic no paraben nastiness lurking) I’ve mentioned them before in a skincare post. Recently, they sent out a fantastic email that Valerie gave me permission to repost (condensed a bit).  I love the combination of topical and nutritional solutions for our eyes which Valerie explains is the first place to show signs of aging (no kidding) so it’s important to start caring for eyes early. Find your eye issue and corresponding solution. Personally, I’m a puffiness/sagging hybrid.

Fine Lines, Crows Feet, Sagging

The Cause: UV rays, wind, cold, heat cause inflammation and diminish skin's elasticity. Repeated expressions (smiling, squinting) form creases.

Odacité Solution: Evening primrose, jojoba, and olive oils to hydrate and maintain flexibility. Pomegranate to support the skin’s underlying structure. Blue Green Algae contains powerful antioxidants hat will stimulate the renewal of the firming tissues.

Nutrition Help: Include a variety of brightly colored fresh fruits and veggies in your diet for a blast of antioxidants

Dryness

The Cause: The skin around your eyes is very thin and does not produce any oil making it extra prone to dryness and flakiness.

Odacité Solutions:  Hyaluronic acid attracts and binds water within the cells of the skin to bring instant hydration. Because hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance found in skin, collagen and other areas of the body it is deeply absorbed with no risk of irritation or allergy.

Nutrition Help: Include nuts and seeds in your diet. One of my favorites is chia, with the highest nu source of omega 3s fatty acids of any seed. Chia seeds are also hydrophilic meaning they attract water.

Dark Circles

The Cause: Genetics, lifestyle, lack of sleep. Also the under-eye and eyelid skin gets thinner and more transparent with age, allowing bluish-red blood vessels to show through.

Odacité Solution:  Tea extracts and Tocopherols (natural Vit E) improve circulation, lessening bluish tones from blood - Aloe to speed healing - Blue green algae for its high Vitamin K content.

Nutrition Help: Eat foods rich in vitamin K, it helps fortify blood-vessel walls. The major source of Vitamin K is green, leafy, vegetables - kale, collards, spinach, and turnip greens are the highest.
Puffiness

The Cause: Fluid pools around the eyes while you sleep but should drain quickly after you get up. Persistent swelling may result from stress, lack of sleep, allergies that cause irritation, or a diet that promotes water retention.

Odacité Solution: Aloe vera to soothe irritated skin.  Calendula to reduce inflammation and redness.  Tea to diminish excess fluid.

Nutrition Help: Drink plenty of water and limit salty restaurant foods, caffeine and alcohol to reduce water retention.

Odacite has a fantastic eye cream for all of your (and my) eye complaints. The Ultra Effective Eye cream is super concentrated, yet very well tolerated by even the most sensitive skin. I contemplated never smiling again, based on what Valerie mentioned, but that will not work so until then Odacite says Happy, puff-free Holidays and is offering a Free eye cream + free shipping with orders above $120 if you use the Code FOODT. Offer valid for 3 days or until 12/23.

Do you use eye cream? What’s your main eye issue? What do you do to ameliorate it? Are you conscious of looking at ingredients in your cosmetics and skincare?

Happy Holidays, thank you for reading. If there’s any topic you’d like to see covered in the New Year, let me know. I’m off to mainline chia and aloe.