Balance

So I'd like to clear up a thought on people looking to lose weight/maintain weight.

Your energy level is like a balance. On one side you have Calories and on the other side you have energy expenditure. A balance with Calories weighed down to the floor will lead to weight gain. If the balance is even and floating, you are maintaining weight. If the energy expenditure is pushed down into the ground, you can look forward to shedding some weight over the long run.

It's a simple concept, but it does take some explaining. A lot of people get caught up in what they are eating: carbs vs. fat, protein vs. carbs, fruits vs. grains, etc.What I want people to understand is that when it comes to weight, the Calorie is the decider, not the type of food you are eating. You can eat 1200 Calories of fat or 1200 Calories of carbs, and they will produce similar weight gain/loss responses. The reason people talk so much about eating one over the other is because it makes the dieting process easier. Basically, it's not the answer, it's a guiding hand to the overall goal: decreasing Calories and increasing energy expenditure.

Your body automatically keeps you warm and breathing and flowing. This uses up the majority of your Calories. How sweet is that? You do nothing and can burn Calories away. Did you know it even takes Calories to be able to eat your food? That's energy expenditure (mind you this one is very small). While you sleep? Burning Calories, just at a much lower level (think hibernation). Here's the downside to it: your body can still eat or drink more than what it needs do to hunger and pleasurable foods.

So, what am I trying to tell you? Try eating everyday based off of your activity level. If you have a big tournament coming up, stock up and eat hearty to get large stores of energy ready to sue in the games. If you have an "off" day and have nothing more to do than daily work, lighten you lunch and dinner. If you are trying to lose weight, and lose a lot of it, fuel yourself for productive exercise but still keep the meals of the day modest.

Listen to your body. It's an amazing tool to you. It will tell you when you are hungry and when you are full. We have to be able to recognize when we no longer need/want to be eating food. Having this "sixth sense" will help you understand that you don't need to pack the stomach full every time. Remember, there is always another day to enjoy the extra food you really want to add on to your meals.

As a couple of helpful tips:

• Watch out with "seconds." Ask yourself if you are really still hungry or just desiring unneeded Calories
• Have you worked out today? Will you actually go work out later? If the answer is yes, think about how you want to eat in preparation
• Don't reward yourself for doing exercise with food. Reward yourself with a TV show/movie, new shoes, concert tickets, etc.
• Try to not count Calories. Instead listen to your body for its natural signal to stop. Consciously pay attention and give your body time to think about what you just ate.
• If you must, count Calories to see how many you normally get. Then decrease to a comfortable level where you aren't crying for food, but also not in a food coma after every time you eat.

Understanding your body is always the first step to a healthy diet and lifestyle!

100th Post Extravaganza!

100 Posts!

That's pretty sweet.

I've had a lot of fun writing for you guys, and even though I have slowed down quite a bit as I've gotten busier in life, I will continue to write when I have time! I love my fans, and I love helping people with nutrition even more.

Now for this post I'd like to do something fun. Over the last 99 posts, I have learned a TON of new info about foods, recipes, studies, and life. Here is my list of my favorite new "life tips" when it comes to living your life and eating well!

• Put sriracha on everything. It's obviously good on all Asian food, but it's also great on all vegetables and when combined with hummus
• Buy a crock pot. A big one. This way you can make "dump and set" recipes and have so many tasty leftovers you'll never look back
• Keep a large water bottle with you at all times and always filled. Also, keep a large pack of waters in your car as an easy go to when thirsty
• Don't pop ibuprofen all the time. It's not good for your stomach and liver! Drink water or eat a snack instead
• Eat one serving of yogurt a day. Your intestines will thank you
• Always take your multivitamin (if you have one) right after eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
• Refuel after a long practice with a beer! the carbohydrates will help in recovery and the alcohol involved will settle a "sour" post-workout stomach
• Didn't work out today? Cut back how much you eat at dinner
• Olive oil and balsamic vinegar is the best combination ever to put on a salad. Don't argue
• Spend the extra dollar when eating out to get the side salad or the healthier meal
• The majority of the beneficial nutrients in an egg is in the yolk (half the protein, and almost all the vitamins and minerals). Just watch for the high cholesterol content
• EVERYTHING in moderation (seriously, eat whatever you want, just not 18 of them)
• Always put extra fresh vegetables on your frozen pizzas

And lastly, make sure you try something new every week! Food is meant to be fun, so explore your taste buds, share your cooking expertise, and try the new restaurant. You'll come to understand (as I have) that just by simply learning about all parts of food, you will be eating better, healthier, and tastier meals and feel great about it!

Thanks for reading my blog! See you guys at 200 articles ;)

Resolution Ideas

Sorry about the long gap of no posts! I dropped the ball there...Got a little busy as I went on Christmas break and started working on Dietetic Internship applications. I hope everyone's holiday was awesome and packed with tasty foods like mine was :)

So when the New Year turns, many decide the healthier lifestyle (if even for just a little bit). To keep things simple in this post, I have some ideas for what your 2013 goal can be. Remember to be specific and realistic!

• Cook one new item per week at home or with friends
• Limit eating out to 1 or 2 times weekly (minus emergencies)
• Carry around a water bottle and continually drink and refill the bottle with good ol H2O
• Try one new food item per day/week/month (like kale or pomegranate or quinoa)
• Only one caffeinated drink per day and before noon
• Only one soda per day and/or switch from regular soda to diet soda
• Download a food tracking app like slimkicker.com and log in all meals (set an alarm to do so before going to bed)
• Only one meal with animal protein per day (great way to increase amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet)
• When eating out, only water or milk is chosen as a drink, and the side item cannot be fried
• Eat breakfast everyday, no excuses!
• Having portable food that can be eaten quickly after exercise if there isn't enough time to prepare food after. (Trail mix, Gatorade, banana, yogurt, milk, milkshake, jerky) 

These are just some ideas I riddled off. If you work hard enough right now at making these new goals part of your diet, they can be adapted into habit and you will be a huge step forward in your diet!

Also, check out my article in the current issue of Sports N Spokes! It discusses more in depth about your diet resolution. Happy Eating in 2013!

The Dangers of Ibuprofen for Athletes: A Recent Study

So I just read this article while on lunch about popping ibuprofen on a regular basis. Incredibly interesting stuff they came up with. Here's the article:

For Athletes, Risks From Ibuprofen Use

As a quick summary for you all, what the article is talking about is how some athletes like to take ibuprofen before and after work outs to deal with pain and discomfort in an attempt to boost productivity.

When we work out, especially on a very physical level, our blood travels to different sources of the body, like muscle, in order to keep it working. Now, you don't just increase blood flow overall, the blood gets redirected from other sources. One of those sources is your intestines. That's why intestinal discomfort is so common in athletes when they exercise. So when there isn't much circulation to the intestines, the intestines can't function normally and digest or absorb food. This can lead to pain, nausea, discomfort, and even seapage of nutrients and bacteria out of the intestines. This isn't good! You want to keep those nutrients and good bacteria in your intestines!

The problem here comes with the stigma of using over the counter (OTC) medications regularly. Here's a good tip to follow: don't use OTC medications on a daily basis. They can cover up actual problems that should be treated. Plus, if you build up a tolerance, pretty soon you will not be able to get any effect out of a regular dosage.

I should state here that I am not a doctor or a dietitian (yet). If you are acutally concerned about anything with your health, please see a doctor.

Read the article, it is eye-opening. It looks like there will be some more research into the effect OTC drugs can have on normal metabolism and an athlete's life. I'll do my best to keep you updated!

Thanksgiving Eating

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!!

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.

• 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.

This is my favorite diet. You may get a little teased for eating ALL THE TIME, but in the end you will be the one with a healthy energy flow. Give me your ideas on great snacks to pack or little meals to make!

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!