Thanksgiving is one of the greatest holidays ever. Period. Don't argue with me. It's so great to just sit with a group of people and eat great food. That is the entirety of Thanksgiving. I love it.
A lot of people freak out because Thanksgiving implies eating just crazy amounts of food. It does, because the food is so good, but it doesn't mean that it will destroy your entire diet.
The simple thing to remember here is that Thanksgiving is a holiday and should be treated as such. You should not stop yourself from enjoying food. Food needs to be celebrated. I believe it is smartest to make this day a treat to yourself and really just enjoy the meal(s).
All this being said, there are smart ways to hande the overindulgence issues on Thanksgiving.
First things first. Prepare yourself well. Do not eat nothing until dinner. This way you could hurt your stomach going from so super empty to so super full. This is an easy way to get nausea and a headache and eventually ruining your good Thanksgiving. Eat breakfast, then snack through out the day. This will keep your stomach "satisfied" but continuing to keep the metabolism running. This way you will be able to eat more comfortably and avoid symptoms caused by "bull rush" eating.
Drink tons of fluids all day long. Staying well hydrated is a natural stimulant to the digestive system. It's like the water flushes food through. Taking drinks in between bites is also encouraged as to help guide the food you are eating along its way.
Do you really need seconds? Make sure you don't forget that after eating there is almost always alcoholic drinks and dessert, both of which pack tons of caloric punch. Don't wait around for your stomach to settle just to force some pumpkin pie down. Think about the things you definitely want to eat, and stick to those by making room for it all. Remember there is always leftovers after Thanksgiving where you can relive your precious tastes from the great Thanksgiving meal. Choose to have your seconds the next day and spread the flavor out.
In the end, I want all of you to have a joyous holiday dinner with your loved ones without any discomforts in your belly. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Keepin Full of Energy: The Athlete's Diet
Hey athletes!
So when you are training and getting prepared for games, practices, and work outs, how do you "fil-up" the belly?
It's a tricky answer, because it is different for everyone, but it can be key to having a high level of performance.
What sport are you playing? How tall are you? When was the last time you ate? What did you eat? Are you hydrated? How long is this practice going to last? Will you have food available after finishing practice? These are all questions to ask yourself when getting prepared food-wise.
You need to have energy to be able to compete. You would be surprised how much energy you burn in one hour of activity. Obviously the best way to prepare for this is to eat a nice meal before hand, loaded with carbs and a bit of protein and fat to stay your energy level over the alotted time period. But what if practice starts super early and you don't have time to cook, eat, digest, and be ready? This takes some thinking ahead. The best way to combat this kind of problem is to adopt an "athlete's diet."
You've probably heard me or anyone else say to eat smaller meals more frequently through out the day. Eating 6 meals a day, but keeping Calorie levels relatively constant, has shown to keep energy levels high and performance even higher. This is because your body never gets too depleted to the point of fatigue, exhaustion, and other unwanted things. Your body also does not get crammed to the max leading to sleepiness (the food coma) and stomach troubles.
The best way to make this diet work is to have travel-able foods at all time with you. This can be tuna salad in the can to put on crackers, fresh fruits, trail mixes, sandwiches, granola bars, almonds, and sometimes your leftovers. The constant muncher will sustain energy much better than the "wait for an empty stomach" eater.
The other key point to make here is that sometimes people play well on a full stomach. Sometimes people need to have an empty stomach or close to empty stomach to play well. Both is fine! What isn't fine is to not have energy at all when getting to performance time. If you are starved but then eat a huge meal right before practice, you are going to be hurting. And the other athletes who eat much further before hand but eat nothing for 4-5 hours then practice for 2-3 hours will also hurt! For this reason, carry around small (but smart) snacks that can be consumed on a minute's time.
Take a few tips with you to make this type of eating style work.
So when you are training and getting prepared for games, practices, and work outs, how do you "fil-up" the belly?
It's a tricky answer, because it is different for everyone, but it can be key to having a high level of performance.
What sport are you playing? How tall are you? When was the last time you ate? What did you eat? Are you hydrated? How long is this practice going to last? Will you have food available after finishing practice? These are all questions to ask yourself when getting prepared food-wise.
You need to have energy to be able to compete. You would be surprised how much energy you burn in one hour of activity. Obviously the best way to prepare for this is to eat a nice meal before hand, loaded with carbs and a bit of protein and fat to stay your energy level over the alotted time period. But what if practice starts super early and you don't have time to cook, eat, digest, and be ready? This takes some thinking ahead. The best way to combat this kind of problem is to adopt an "athlete's diet."
You've probably heard me or anyone else say to eat smaller meals more frequently through out the day. Eating 6 meals a day, but keeping Calorie levels relatively constant, has shown to keep energy levels high and performance even higher. This is because your body never gets too depleted to the point of fatigue, exhaustion, and other unwanted things. Your body also does not get crammed to the max leading to sleepiness (the food coma) and stomach troubles.
The best way to make this diet work is to have travel-able foods at all time with you. This can be tuna salad in the can to put on crackers, fresh fruits, trail mixes, sandwiches, granola bars, almonds, and sometimes your leftovers. The constant muncher will sustain energy much better than the "wait for an empty stomach" eater.
The other key point to make here is that sometimes people play well on a full stomach. Sometimes people need to have an empty stomach or close to empty stomach to play well. Both is fine! What isn't fine is to not have energy at all when getting to performance time. If you are starved but then eat a huge meal right before practice, you are going to be hurting. And the other athletes who eat much further before hand but eat nothing for 4-5 hours then practice for 2-3 hours will also hurt! For this reason, carry around small (but smart) snacks that can be consumed on a minute's time.
Take a few tips with you to make this type of eating style work.
- Drink water. All the time. Staying hydrated keeps energy and performance high.
- Eat a bedtime snack. Making it higher in unsaturated fats can help get stores of energy in the night.
- Spend money at the grocery store. Don't be tempted by low cost, unhealthy fast food.
- Invest in a nice lunch bag/box that won't crush your foods but keep them ready to eat.
- Don't forget what foods make your stomach hurt...or feel good! There is a time for all foods.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Eating Seasonal: The Fall
Hey everyone. I did a post a while back about the foods that are in season. Knowing this list is great because these foods should be cheaper at the market and taste better than any other time of the year.
The list of foods in the fall season are as follows:
Carrot
Chestnut
Pumpkin
Sweet Potato
Lettuce
Venison
Lamb
It's a short list, but there are some great things in there
First on the list, carrots, are great for all ages. They do three things really well: they are semi sweet, but pack some fiber; they are loaded with vitamins, specifically A (good for your eyesight!); and they require little prep and can last a while in your fridge. If you see a bag of carrots at the grocery store, pick them up. They are great eating them a la Bugs Bunny (by itself) or you can shred them and put them on just about anything: salads, sandwiches, wraps, soups, casseroles, stir-fries, etc.
Pumpkin is a great vegetable that not enough people use. Pumpkin is packed with vitamin A, and their seeds are packed with protein, magnesium, copper and zinc. The next time you carve out your pumpkin, don't just throw away the seeds. Keep them, clean them of all the pumpkin guts under water, then toss them with a little bit of oil, add some seasonings like paprika or cayenne with salt and pepper to get a real tasty fiery taste, and bake them in the oven until golden brown. This is not only a treat, but an amazing, nutritional, seasonal snack.
Sweet potatoes are great. Literally. I feel like that's all I really need to say. They are loaded with nutrients so much more (specifically vitamin A and potassium) than their partner the normal potato. They are prepared the exact same way, plus can be treated as a dessert when dressed properly to give you a healthy dessert alternative.
Lettuce is good. You know that.
Venison is a great lean soucre of protein for the most part. Just make sure the venison you are eating is clean and disease free. Always be safe, never be sorry.
That's all I have to say about this short list. Keep these foods in your head the next time you go grocery shopping and make sure to pick them up! Enjoy the season change!
The list of foods in the fall season are as follows:
Carrot
Chestnut
Pumpkin
Sweet Potato
Lettuce
Venison
Lamb
It's a short list, but there are some great things in there
First on the list, carrots, are great for all ages. They do three things really well: they are semi sweet, but pack some fiber; they are loaded with vitamins, specifically A (good for your eyesight!); and they require little prep and can last a while in your fridge. If you see a bag of carrots at the grocery store, pick them up. They are great eating them a la Bugs Bunny (by itself) or you can shred them and put them on just about anything: salads, sandwiches, wraps, soups, casseroles, stir-fries, etc.
Pumpkin is a great vegetable that not enough people use. Pumpkin is packed with vitamin A, and their seeds are packed with protein, magnesium, copper and zinc. The next time you carve out your pumpkin, don't just throw away the seeds. Keep them, clean them of all the pumpkin guts under water, then toss them with a little bit of oil, add some seasonings like paprika or cayenne with salt and pepper to get a real tasty fiery taste, and bake them in the oven until golden brown. This is not only a treat, but an amazing, nutritional, seasonal snack.
Sweet potatoes are great. Literally. I feel like that's all I really need to say. They are loaded with nutrients so much more (specifically vitamin A and potassium) than their partner the normal potato. They are prepared the exact same way, plus can be treated as a dessert when dressed properly to give you a healthy dessert alternative.
Lettuce is good. You know that.
Venison is a great lean soucre of protein for the most part. Just make sure the venison you are eating is clean and disease free. Always be safe, never be sorry.
That's all I have to say about this short list. Keep these foods in your head the next time you go grocery shopping and make sure to pick them up! Enjoy the season change!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Flu Season Diet
I just got my flu shot, which means it's flu season...
So I am a firm believer in food curing the body/"you are what you eat." For this reason, I belive you can give yourself your own kind of "flu shot" by upgrading your diet to include more of certain nutrients. I still recommend getting a flu shot, becuase viruses are no fun, and technically you could still get the bug no matter what you do.
Vitamin C. Well yeah, I think you all saw this one coming. Having a high amount of Vitamin C in your diet will never hurt you (You lose all the extra in the bathroom), and it has shown to improve the immune system. Don't settle for just Vitamin C inside fruit snacks or added to cereals or in pill form. Grab an orange, some pineapple, an apple, etc. The freshest forms will pack the highest quality of the vitamins. You could also try some fresh juice too.
Hydrate! This could be the most important component to any diet ever. Trust me, simply by drinking more water daily, you should see improvements in your diet, digestion, and overall comfort with food. Keeping hydrated can keep runny noses not so stuffy and headaches not so powerful. Try drinking some tea with some polyphenols or antioxidants in it to beef up the efficiency of your drink. Those guys can really help out attacking a cold or flu.
Zinc is one of the newer micronutrients people are consuming more of to combat sickness. It is believed that zinc helps increase white blood cell count (obviously good for fighting off infections and what not). You can get too much zinc, in which case the zinc can interfere and worsen your immune system, so don't go too crazy here. Oysters are packed with the stuff, beats many other foods by a landslide in zinc. Eating more than 5 oysters will put you at the top limits of daily intake of zinc. Other much smaller sources are crab, beef, turkey, and beans.
Omega 3 fatty acids. It's kind of one of those buzz words. Everyone knows you can find it in fish sources. Omega 3's are great for you in that they contribute to healthy cholesterol and lessen unhealthy cholesterol while providing the best kind of fats that your vitamins and minerals can store. On top of those things, omega-3's have been found to boost immune function by increasing the activity of phagocytes. What are those? These are white blood cells that literally eat up bacteria and toxins. Awesome.
These are just some of the ways you can boost your health in preparation for this season. Remember, having an overall healthy diet and consciously eating your food will always give you a healthy lifestyle. From there try to add my tips to increase your health even more!
So I am a firm believer in food curing the body/"you are what you eat." For this reason, I belive you can give yourself your own kind of "flu shot" by upgrading your diet to include more of certain nutrients. I still recommend getting a flu shot, becuase viruses are no fun, and technically you could still get the bug no matter what you do.
Vitamin C. Well yeah, I think you all saw this one coming. Having a high amount of Vitamin C in your diet will never hurt you (You lose all the extra in the bathroom), and it has shown to improve the immune system. Don't settle for just Vitamin C inside fruit snacks or added to cereals or in pill form. Grab an orange, some pineapple, an apple, etc. The freshest forms will pack the highest quality of the vitamins. You could also try some fresh juice too.
Hydrate! This could be the most important component to any diet ever. Trust me, simply by drinking more water daily, you should see improvements in your diet, digestion, and overall comfort with food. Keeping hydrated can keep runny noses not so stuffy and headaches not so powerful. Try drinking some tea with some polyphenols or antioxidants in it to beef up the efficiency of your drink. Those guys can really help out attacking a cold or flu.
Zinc is one of the newer micronutrients people are consuming more of to combat sickness. It is believed that zinc helps increase white blood cell count (obviously good for fighting off infections and what not). You can get too much zinc, in which case the zinc can interfere and worsen your immune system, so don't go too crazy here. Oysters are packed with the stuff, beats many other foods by a landslide in zinc. Eating more than 5 oysters will put you at the top limits of daily intake of zinc. Other much smaller sources are crab, beef, turkey, and beans.
Omega 3 fatty acids. It's kind of one of those buzz words. Everyone knows you can find it in fish sources. Omega 3's are great for you in that they contribute to healthy cholesterol and lessen unhealthy cholesterol while providing the best kind of fats that your vitamins and minerals can store. On top of those things, omega-3's have been found to boost immune function by increasing the activity of phagocytes. What are those? These are white blood cells that literally eat up bacteria and toxins. Awesome.
These are just some of the ways you can boost your health in preparation for this season. Remember, having an overall healthy diet and consciously eating your food will always give you a healthy lifestyle. From there try to add my tips to increase your health even more!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Finding Positives on Food Labels
It's been said before, but it needs to be said again.
It has shown in research that those who read food labels (facts and ingredients) eat healthier and maintain a healthier lifestyle. It makes sense people! Paying attention to the details is super important.
When you read a food label, what are you looking at? Calories? Fat? Sugar? You should look at these three things to make sure they are not dominating the item. But what else should you look at? When it comes to positives look here:
Don't get thrown off by the front label. Look at that nice black and white nutrition facts label and ingredients before throwing it in the cart. Simply by reading, you will be on the way to healthier eating! The more you knoooooow...
It has shown in research that those who read food labels (facts and ingredients) eat healthier and maintain a healthier lifestyle. It makes sense people! Paying attention to the details is super important.
When you read a food label, what are you looking at? Calories? Fat? Sugar? You should look at these three things to make sure they are not dominating the item. But what else should you look at? When it comes to positives look here:
- Protein - eating protein along side of carbohydrates has shown to curb your hunger for a longer time, thus causing you to eat less Calories and keep the weight down. Also, for recovering purposes, protein in the ratio of 3:1 carbs:protein will help you recover faster.
- Mono and Poly unsaturated fats - a lot of labels can be misleading. It can be super high in fat so the Calories and Fat from Calories will be high, but the benefits from these fats is still great. When buying high fat items (oils, nuts, some meats) look not only at total fat, see what fats they are. These fats help with heart health, skin health, and vitamin absorption.
- Fiber - many of you probably already look here. Keep the fiber content high. And remember, fruit and veggies are still the best option on where to get your fiber.
- Serving Size or Serving Per Container - this one is REALLY important. All of the other stuff you look at will be thrown completely out of proportion if you don't look here at all. See how much one serving size is. If you can't imagine how many that is for you, try to split it by the serving per container. And then be realistic. When you will use the product, how much will you use?
- Recognizable items - Peanuts, apples, milk, eggs, salt, etc. All of these things are ingredients you've seen or know of and are things you'd eat. Making sure that there are not too many unpronouncable or unfamiliar ingredients will increase the wholeness of the product and the nutritional value of the product.
- Less items - Less is better. If you are reading a whole book of ingredients in something as simple as bread, you may want to look elsewhere. That is some super processed food. Not only is your body not always happy about the amount of processed food that goes through, but it loses a ton of its nutritional value when processed too much.
Don't get thrown off by the front label. Look at that nice black and white nutrition facts label and ingredients before throwing it in the cart. Simply by reading, you will be on the way to healthier eating! The more you knoooooow...
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The Best Things to Have in the Fridge
Woah, I need to do posts more often...
Ok! Your fridge is a useful tool. Use it! Sure it keeps stuff cold, but in all honesty, it saves you time. I was looking in my fridge recently and noticed a few things that can make life easier for many people by cutting down on prep or providing a quick, healthy snack.
Remember that tackling your diet is up to you and big changes take time! This is one good reason to read tips (on funky blogs like mine) from time to time to refresh your thinking!
Ok! Your fridge is a useful tool. Use it! Sure it keeps stuff cold, but in all honesty, it saves you time. I was looking in my fridge recently and noticed a few things that can make life easier for many people by cutting down on prep or providing a quick, healthy snack.
- Chopped up Peppers/Onions/Mushrooms/etc. - This idea is super simple. Buy your favorite veggies and chop them up and put them in a container and put them in the fridge. Do a bunch at one time. Now you've got aweome omelets, awesome mac & cheeses, awesome rice dishes, and awesome salads. Think about it. The next time you make scrambled eggs, all you have to do is open the container and dump in a bit of your veggie cocktail with the eggs. Boom. Instant upgrade.
- Hummus - I know, I know...you all already love this stuff and have it on hand. But wait. Did you even realize how much you can do with this stuff? It can literally be eaten with all kinds of chips/pretzels/crackers. You can also use it to spread on anything as well! Think about your favorite sandwich, subtract the mayo or dressing, and add in a layer of roasted red pepper hummus. Oh yeah, deliciousness.
- Steel-Cut Oats - So these are just super tasty and good for you. As far as carbs to eat in the morning go, these are at the top. They'll give all you athletes long term, low glycemic energy to help you get through those long mornings or afternoons. But of course the oats come with a warning. It can take forever to make. Seriously, sometimes up to 20-25 min just to cook on the stovetop. Then it's incredibly too hot to eat. So you're looking at like a 40 min start to in-the-belly time. So it's simple. Cook some to the side next time you're making dinner, cap it, and heat it up the next morning microwave style. You'll thank me.
- Whole Romaine Hearts - I make sure to have these stocked in my fridge at all times. I'll tell you why. First, they stay fresh for a loooong time. You don't have to worry about eating that bag-o-salad super fast before it gets smelly and gross. Second, it's easy to wash and cut for salads. All you have to do is grab a heart, and chop it lengthwise like you would a carrot or celery and then throw some perpendicular cuts in there to keep it bite sized. Third, the leaves are already perfect size to put on sandwiches. No more lettuce falling or needing alterations just to fit. Lieterally rip off a leaf and place on sandwich. And if you complain to me about needing to rip it one more time...Fourth, this stuff is good for you! These dark green leaves will provide you with more nutritional value than your basic iceburg lettuces. You're looking at calcium, vitamin D, and other boosters for your diet.
- Cooked chicken breasts - Are you starting to see a pattern? Make bigger batches and save! Next time you're making chicken, go ahead and throw 2 or 3 extra breasts on there. Why chicken? It's not only a solid source of lean protein, but it can be added to many things: sandwiches, soups, salads, rice dishes, jambalaya, or eaten just plain! Pro tip: wrap and cover the chicken before reheating in the microwave to conserve some moisture and prevent drying out. This can be wax paper, a paper towel, or even just the container it was saved in.
Remember that tackling your diet is up to you and big changes take time! This is one good reason to read tips (on funky blogs like mine) from time to time to refresh your thinking!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Why Diets Fail
A lot of diets are tried. And a lot of diets fail. And when I say diet here, I am talking about set up, follow the rules, eat this-not that, kind of diets.
For the most part, I am not a big fan of "diets." I do like the idea of dieting, literally meaning controlling one's intake of food, but I do not like dieting with diets. Get it?
To me there are behavioral reasons why diets fail. The point of this article isn't to make you feel like a failure, or tear apart other diets. I want you to be able to take away from this some helpful hints of what to expect, what you could possibly fix, and what you think about dieting in general.
First of all, when people go on diets they usually start due to some fad diet, someone's success story, or sometimes a personal goal. This can be great! I want people to have a reason for dieting. Whether it's losing weight, cutting fat, getting more calories, eating more whole foods, or cutting down on sugar, there are plenty of good reasons. I want you to go in with an idea of what you want to accomplish. Yeah, a goal. Here's what's not a good idea. Using others' success stories as a goal for yourself. I'll say it again, but your body is different then everyone else's. It could work amazingly for someone and have the opposite effect on someone else. Keep that in mind.
When most people start diets, it's fun and exciting. This is mainly because you are eating new foods and hopefully trying new things. This is the point! Don't lose that part of your diet. All good dieting behaviors require some variety. Otherwise, BORING. This can happen with a lot of those "you can't eat that" diets. Try to keep things new and refreshing, or go back and rehash some old recipes that work. You can still follow most of your diets, but try to think outside the box. Get in the kitchen or go look online. Cheating is usually discouraged, but understand that there's cheating and then there's ruining your whole diet. Cheating is like eating that food you probably shouldn't once per week. Ruining the diet is giving yourself exceptions everyday or at every meal.
People love to look for loopholes. The best example I can think of is vegetarians going vegetarian to be healthier, but they max on french fries whenever they can. Don't do that. Don't look for cheap exceptions. You're just "fooling" yourself.
My last point is an important one, especially for you athletes. Make sure your diet can suit your lifestyle. I recently read into the Paleo diet (eating like a caveman pretty much) and came to the conclusion that it seems like a pretty cool diet to try, but could be disastrous to athletes. It cuts out grains. That's a main source of energy for athletes. Athletes who burn through grains so fast it's ok to eat them. Pretty much at all times. So for you athletes out there, read into ANY diet you are considering. Talk to those who know about it or maybe just ask friends and teammates to see what worked for them. You don't want to hurt your game by trying to make it better. Make sense? If you want the biggest tip from me about dieting and playing sports? Eat more whole grains, vegetables, and drink more water. Start there. That simple.
Just be careful everyone. Make your diet into dieting, not the other way around. I hope that made sense ;)
For the most part, I am not a big fan of "diets." I do like the idea of dieting, literally meaning controlling one's intake of food, but I do not like dieting with diets. Get it?
To me there are behavioral reasons why diets fail. The point of this article isn't to make you feel like a failure, or tear apart other diets. I want you to be able to take away from this some helpful hints of what to expect, what you could possibly fix, and what you think about dieting in general.
First of all, when people go on diets they usually start due to some fad diet, someone's success story, or sometimes a personal goal. This can be great! I want people to have a reason for dieting. Whether it's losing weight, cutting fat, getting more calories, eating more whole foods, or cutting down on sugar, there are plenty of good reasons. I want you to go in with an idea of what you want to accomplish. Yeah, a goal. Here's what's not a good idea. Using others' success stories as a goal for yourself. I'll say it again, but your body is different then everyone else's. It could work amazingly for someone and have the opposite effect on someone else. Keep that in mind.
When most people start diets, it's fun and exciting. This is mainly because you are eating new foods and hopefully trying new things. This is the point! Don't lose that part of your diet. All good dieting behaviors require some variety. Otherwise, BORING. This can happen with a lot of those "you can't eat that" diets. Try to keep things new and refreshing, or go back and rehash some old recipes that work. You can still follow most of your diets, but try to think outside the box. Get in the kitchen or go look online. Cheating is usually discouraged, but understand that there's cheating and then there's ruining your whole diet. Cheating is like eating that food you probably shouldn't once per week. Ruining the diet is giving yourself exceptions everyday or at every meal.
People love to look for loopholes. The best example I can think of is vegetarians going vegetarian to be healthier, but they max on french fries whenever they can. Don't do that. Don't look for cheap exceptions. You're just "fooling" yourself.
My last point is an important one, especially for you athletes. Make sure your diet can suit your lifestyle. I recently read into the Paleo diet (eating like a caveman pretty much) and came to the conclusion that it seems like a pretty cool diet to try, but could be disastrous to athletes. It cuts out grains. That's a main source of energy for athletes. Athletes who burn through grains so fast it's ok to eat them. Pretty much at all times. So for you athletes out there, read into ANY diet you are considering. Talk to those who know about it or maybe just ask friends and teammates to see what worked for them. You don't want to hurt your game by trying to make it better. Make sense? If you want the biggest tip from me about dieting and playing sports? Eat more whole grains, vegetables, and drink more water. Start there. That simple.
Just be careful everyone. Make your diet into dieting, not the other way around. I hope that made sense ;)
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