Nutritious Foundations

Losing Weight, Keeping Strength: What to Know About GLP-1s

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 15:59:22 GMT

Preserving Muscle While Losing Weight

The Promise of GLP-1 Medications

With the rise of GLP-1 medications, a new age of weight loss has arrived, but what happens beneath the surface of the scale? These medications, like Semaglutide and Tirzepatide, have been so effective that some providers have called them a game-changer in the fight against obesity. Not only have these medications been effective for weight loss, but they have also shown improvements in other diseases associated with obesity, such as heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and fatty liver disease.1,2 Cardiovascular-specific improvements with Semaglutide and Tirzepatide use include decreasing blood pressure and fasting lipid levels. A reduction in cardiovascular events, heart failure, and mortality has been reported, and decreased HbA1c and blood markers for inflammation have also been seen.1

The Hidden Cost: Muscle Loss

While there are several benefits of GLP-1 medications, there are concerns regarding the composition of weight loss. Weight loss includes a decrease in both fat mass and muscle mass. Muscle loss is alarming because muscle supports both structural and metabolic functions in the body. Your muscles allow you to move about with ease and balance as well as perform activities of daily living. Metabolically, muscle helps with glycemic control, immune function, the breakdown of fat, and amino acid metabolism.1 Thus, it is no wonder that when muscle health is depleted, there are various health impacts. A recent body composition study examined the amount of fat-free mass lost with the use of Retatrutide, Semaglutide, and Tirzepatide. The study reported a muscle mass loss of approximately 20% in individuals using Retatrutide and a 23% and 15% muscle mass loss with Semaglutide and Tirzepatide use, respectively.1 To put these numbers in context, for someone who lost 40 lbs, this could be a loss of 6-9 pounds of muscle. Interestingly, there is nothing specific about the method of action of GLP-1 medications that affects the muscle. Muscle loss isn’t due to the medication itself, but rather the rapid and significant weight reduction it facilitates. Semaglutide and Tirzepatide have been shown to have an average weight loss of 15% when used at their maximum dosages.3 Some Tirzepatide users have even seen up to 22% weight loss.1 With these large amounts of weight loss, the secondary effect on muscle mass is inevitable. However, the point of this discussion is not to scare or alarm individuals against the use of GLP-1 medications. The positive outcomes on obesity and comorbidities make GLP-1 medications a viable option for many.

Preserving Muscle While Losing Weight

GLP-1 medications can be transformative, and with the right nutrition and movement strategies, you can preserve your strength while embracing better health. It’s useful to think of a four-prong approach for weight loss and muscle mass maintenance while using a GLP-1 medication. This includes cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, high protein intake, and a nutrient-dense diet.1,4 Cardiovascular and resistance training will help to strengthen your muscles. A high-protein and nutrient-dense diet helps to maintain lean muscle mass. Specific protein recommendations should be individualized to meet your specific needs. However, many adults who are in a weight loss regimen may benefit from a daily intake of 1.0-1.5g protein/kg of body weight.4 If you need help assessing your diet, working with a registered dietitian is a great way to start.

Easy Protein Boosts

Start with some great protein sources, including lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes, tofu, and low-fat dairy products.4 High-protein snacks in between meals can be an easy way to increase your daily protein intake. Here are some meal and snack suggestions:

Homemade protein shakes are an easy, filling, and delicious way to increase protein intake. You can even portion these out as meals or snacks. Add your favorite milk, Greek yogurt, and frozen fruit to a blender. You can increase the nutrient density and flavor profile by adding things like peanut butter, chia or flax seeds, and cocoa powder.
Charcuterie, anyone? Lean beef jerky and cheese slices are the perfect snack break. Add your favorite fruit to increase the nutrient density.
Oatmeal a little bland? Add protein powder, low-fat milk, and/or peanut butter for a satisfying protein boost.
Boring soups and salads no more! Add beans or higher protein grains like quinoa.

References:

Puckey M. Tirzepatide. Drugs. https://www.drugs.com/tirzepatide.html#:~:text=Tirzepatide%20weight%20loss%20Patients%20on%20tirzepatide%20(Zepbound),16.1%20kg%20(35.5%20lb)%20after%2072%20weeks. Accessed October 19, 2025.

Prado C, Phillips S, Mundi M. ASPEN/CNS Joint Webinar: Beyond the Scale: Muscle Health and Malnutrition in the Era of Anti-Obesity Drugs. American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. 2025. Accessed October 19, 2025. https://aspen.digitellinc.com/p/s/aspencns-joint-webinar-beyond-the-scale-muscle-health-and-malnutrition-in-the-era-of-anti-obesity-drugs-31247.

Chen TK, Sperati CJ, Thavarajah S, Grams ME. Reducing Kidney Function Decline in Patients With CKD: Core Curriculum 2021. Am J Kidney Dis. 2021;77(6):969-983. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8227808/. Accessed October 27, 2025.

National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Nutrition Care Manual: Obesity Medications Nutrition Intervention. Nutrition Care Manual. https://www.nutritioncaremanual.org/topic.cfm?ncm_category_id=1&lv1=272986&lv2=275577&lv3=275579&ncm_toc_id=275579&ncm_heading=Nutrition%20Care. Accessed October 27, 2025.

--Article written by Jeni Crabb

Focus On Nutrition (Instead of Calories)

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 03:44:55 GMT

How to Focus on Nutrient-Dense Foods Instead of Tracking Calories

When it comes to eating healthy, many of us get caught up in the numbers game—especially calories. It's easy to become fixated on how many calories you're consuming, but here's the truth: eating healthy is about much more than just counting calories. Instead, focus on the quality of the food you're eating, prioritizing nutrient-dense options that fuel your body, boost your energy, and improve overall well-being.

Nutrient-dense foods are those that provide a high amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other essential nutrients compared to their calorie content. Think leafy greens, colorful vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. These foods pack a punch when it comes to nutrition, making them the real heroes of a healthy diet.

Here’s the thing: when you focus on eating whole, nutrient-packed foods, you naturally end up eating fewer empty calories from processed junk. It's not about restriction; it's about making smarter choices. Plus, nutrient-dense foods tend to be more filling, so you'll feel satisfied and energized without the need for constant calorie-counting.

If you’re ready to stop obsessing over numbers and start fueling your body with nourishing foods, here are a few simple tips to get you started:

1. Fill Your Plate with Color

Aim to include a variety of fruits and vegetables in every meal. The more colorful your plate, the more likely it is to be rich in a variety of essential nutrients. Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and arugula are packed with vitamins A, C, and K, while berries, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes are full of antioxidants and fiber.

2. Choose Whole Grains Over Refined Grains

Instead of counting calories, think about choosing whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, oats, and whole wheat bread. These foods are rich in fiber, which helps with digestion and keeps you feeling full longer. Refined grains, on the other hand, lack the fiber and nutrients your body needs, leaving you hungry soon after eating.

3. Include Lean Proteins and Healthy Fats

Incorporate sources of lean protein such as chicken, turkey, tofu, or legumes, and healthy fats like avocado, nuts, and olive oil. These nutrients support muscle growth, brain function, and overall health. When you focus on these foods, you’ll naturally create balanced meals that nourish your body and keep you satisfied.

In the end, it's not about obsessing over every calorie. By making nutrient-dense foods the foundation of your diet, you’ll naturally support your health in a more sustainable, enjoyable way. Focus on quality, not quantity—and your body will thank you!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Holiday Binge? How To Get Back On Track

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 17:44:56 GMT

The holidays are wonderful, fun and joyful. They can also be messy, busy and sometimes just downright chaotic, which is why staying at a healthy weight is never about perfection, it's about practice, practice, practice.

We all have been known to overly indulge over the holidays and the occasional, or even frequent, lapse in good judgement and healthy choices is inevitable. When it happens, you have two choices.

Give in and give up.
Fix it.

In order to "fix it" you have to first acknowledge where and why that less than healthy choice crept in? What situation or state of mind did you allow yourself in that contributed to making an unhealthy choice? Were you too tired? Too busy? Did you fail to plan? Was there just too much food around so it was an issue of environmental control? Were you trying to fill an emotional void? Were you trying to please someone else? Once you have isolated the situation or state of mind that led you to eat the plate of Christmas cookies in one sitting, it's time to problem solve.

Generally, an individual will tend towards the same failings. While my problem with binging on Christmas cookies may be the emotional void I am constantly trying to fill, your nightly glass of wine may simply be a coping mechanism because you don't make time in your busy schedule to menu plan, grocery shop or cook. Both you and I will continue to make the same mistake over and over again until we isolate the problem and determine a plan of change.

Even after we have a plan in place and are diligently working on creating healthy habits and routines, relapses of unhealthy behavior will still occur as we succumb to the siren call of a ribeye or salty chips. When you give in, rather than giving up, try the following "in-the-moment" solutions to get you back on track and feeling great right away.

Give yourself some grace. No matter what you just ate, it's not the end of the world. Forgive yourself and move on.
Go on a walk immediately. I know exercise is the last thing you feel like doing after a high calorie food fest, but do it anyway. It will reset your resolve and give you a chance to honestly confront your behavior. You may even burn a few calories in the process!
Drink a big glass of water. Again, counterintuitive, I know. Why would you want to put anything else in your already full stomach after ingesting so many calories already? The answer is to reset your psyche. Water helps put you back into a "healthy food" frame of mind.
Resolve to have a "bad moment" rather than a "bad day" or "bad week". Don't let your bad behavior perpetuate. Stop it in the moment and get back on track, don't use it as an excuse to pig out for an entire day or, heaven forbid, an entire week.
Weigh yourself...later. Now is not the time to hop on the scale. Save it until you've had a chance to recover from your high calorie binge.
Sleep. One of the best ways to feel better about ourselves is to be well-rested. Besides, going to sleep means you are not eating.
E.C. (Environmental Cleanout). If there is still fudge in the house, you need to get rid of it, otherwise the rest of it will find it's way into your mouth. Clean the kitchen, pantry and fridge so you have only healthy foods around that will help you feel great and reach your goals.

Exercise is the best medicine

--Hippocrates

Holiday Feasting Strategies

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 01:23:57 GMT

The holiday season is in full swing! While the festivities are fun, maintaining healthy habits can be a challenge. Thanksgiving, in particular is known for calorie-dense meals, and with so many yummy foods, all of which fall into the "favorite" category, it can be difficult to moderate. However, with a little planning, it is possible to enjoy the holidays without overdoing it. Try these four effective strategies to navigate the holiday season healthily and maintain your health amidst the feasting!

1. Plan and Prepare Your Plate

Mindful portioning is a key strategy when it comes to navigating holiday meals. A typical Thanksgiving spread may include a variety of foods, from turkey and stuffing to mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, making it easy to overindulge. Instead of approaching the buffet-style service without a plan, consider the following steps:

Visualize Your Plate : Before you fill your plate, take a moment to survey all the food options. Visualizing helps you make more conscious choices rather than diving right into your plate. Aim for a balanced plate that starts with plenty of vegetables and then incorporates protein and healthy fats.
Focus on Lean Proteins : Turkey is protein-rich but can become calorie-laden depending on preparation methods. Opt for skinless turkey to cut down on unhealthy fats. You can also set a limit on how much stuffing you take—enjoy its flavor but balance your intake with more vegetables or other lighter sides.
Load Up on Vegetables : Make veggies the star of your plate. They are low in calories but high in nutrients and fiber, which can help you feel fuller without derailing your health goals. Roasted Brussels sprouts, green beans, and salads can enhance your meal and provide a burst of color and flavor.

2. Stay Active and Engage in Pre-Meal Exercise

Incorporate movement into your holiday traditions.

Amid all the preparations and cooking, it's crucial to make time for physical activity. Staying active enhances your metabolic rate, which helps balance your calorie intake. Consider these ideas:

Go for a Nature Walk : Before you gather around the dinner table, organize a family stroll or a brisk walk in nature. Not only does this provide an opportunity for quality time, but walking can also stimulate digestion and improve your mood.
Engage in a Fun Family Activity : Whether it's a game of touch football in the backyard or a family hike, incorporating play into your Thanksgiving celebration can burn calories while creating cherished memories. Aim to keep everyone engaged and moving, especially the children, as they will bring enthusiasm and energy to the activities.
Join a Local Turkey Trot or Host Your Own : Many communities host "Turkey Trot" runs on Thanksgiving morning. If you prefer something less formal, host your own by meeting up with friends and family the morning of. Not only is this easy and convenient, it's free! Consider making this an annual family tradition.

3. Embrace Mindful Eating Techniques

Practice being present during meals to enhance enjoyment and satisfaction.

The concept of mindful eating encourages you to slow down, savor the flavors, and appreciate the food you are consuming. This practice can lead to greater satisfaction and help curb overeating. Here are some techniques to incorporate mindfulness into your Thanksgiving meal:

Set the Scene : Create a calm environment at the dinner table by minimizing distractions. Turn off the television, put away phones, and invite meaningful conversations among family members. Focusing on the people around you can enhance your overall experience.
Take Smaller Bites : When serving yourself, start with smaller portions. This allows you to taste everything without overloading your plate. Take the time to chew slowly and appreciate each bite, noting the flavors and textures. This practice not only makes the experience more enjoyable but also helps with digestion.
Pause Between Dishes : After finishing a course or even each bite, take a moment to assess your hunger level. It’s common to feel compelled to go back for seconds, but by pausing, you can determine whether you are genuinely still hungry or if you just want to indulge for the sake of it.

4. Prepare Healthier Versions of Traditional Dishes

Transform traditional recipes into healthier alternatives without sacrificing flavor.

Thanksgiving is steeped in tradition, and many families have beloved recipes passed down through generations. However, you can adapt these recipes to make them healthier while still preserving their original spirit. Here are some ideas:

Swap Ingredients : For instance, if your family enjoys creamy mashed potatoes, consider using Greek yogurt or cauliflower puree instead of heavy cream and butter for a lighter option that still delivers on creaminess.
Try Whole Grains : Make the stuffing or casseroles using whole-grain bread or quinoa instead of white bread. Whole grains provide more fiber and nutrients, helping you maintain steady energy levels throughout the day.
Cut Down on Sugar : In desserts, explore reducing the sugar content or using natural sweeteners like maple syrup or honey. You can also incorporate more spices (like cinnamon and nutmeg) to enhance the flavor without relying heavily on sugar.
Offer a Healthier Dessert Alternative : While pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving staple, consider a fruit salad or a lighter pumpkin custard made with low-fat ingredients as a healthier dessert choice. It allows everyone to enjoy a sweet treat while minimizing excess calories.

By planning your plate, staying active, practicing mindful eating, and preparing healthier versions of your favorite dishes, you can enjoy the festivities without compromising your health. Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Barriers To Healthy Eating (And How To Overcome Them!)

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 01:02:35 GMT

Eating healthy sounds good in theory, but for many people, it’s easier said than done. There are countless barriers that make it tough to stick to a nutritious diet. Whether it's time, money, or a too-busy lifestyle, making healthy food choices day after day can be a struggle. Nutritious food is also complicated by the ease and convenience of eating out. Let's explore some common challenges and how we can work around them.

1. Lack of Time

In today’s crazy world, many of us are juggling work, family, and other responsibilities. When you're constantly on the go, it's hard to think about meal prep and easy to grab something quick that’s not exactly healthy. Fast food, frozen dinners, and takeout can be tempting because they save time, but they’re loaded with unhealthy fat, sugar, and sodium, not to mention calories. These foods may fill you up and may even taste good, but they definitely don't nourish you.

Solution : Plan ahead! Set aside time each week to prep your meals. Commit to spending 5-10 minutes writing out a plan and a shopping list for the week. Then follow-through with actually shopping for the things on your list! You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen—simple meals like salads, grain bowls, or roasted vegetables can be prepared in bulk and stored for the week. On busy days, having ready-to-go food options means you don’t have to resort to unhealthy and expensive takeout. My favorite quick and easy dinner at home? Avocado toast with an egg and cherry tomatoes. It takes about 5 minutes to make, it's healthy and delicious!

2. Cost of Healthy Food

We’ve all heard the saying, “Healthy food is expensive.” Organic produce, grass-fed meats, and specialty health foods can come with a higher price tag, eating healthy doesn’t have to break the bank. The idea that you need to spend a fortune on superfoods or fancy ingredients is incorrect and shouldn't discourage you from making healthier choices because the payoff is huge. Now that eating out has gotten so expensive, home-cooking is absolutely the way to go!

Solution : Buy in-season produce, shop sales, and consider frozen fruits and vegetables, which can be just as nutritious as fresh ones. Another tip is to choose plant-based proteins like beans, lentils, and nuts. These options are often more affordable than meat and can be just as satisfying. Also, don’t forget to check out your local farmers' markets—they are a goldmine for fresh food. Again, planning your menu ahead of time is key here so you can have more home-cooked meals. The average cost of a meal cooked at home is now 1/4-1/3 the price of the same meal eaten in a restaurant. That's a huge difference! And don't even get me started on the price of Door Dash. Seriously people, it's time to dust off the pots and pans and eat yourself some good home-cookin'!!

3. Lack of Knowledge

Not knowing what foods are truly healthy or how to prepare them can be a huge barrier to making better choices. With so much conflicting information about what’s "good" or "bad" to eat, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start. Add to that the confusion about food labels, and it’s no wonder many people get stuck. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked, "Are carbs bad for me?" or told, "I don't eat bananas or potatoes or ______(fill in the blank) because they are too starchy" while they gobble down Halloween candy.

Solution : While it's true there are many there are plenty of online resources, apps, and books that can guide you on good nutrition and how to build balanced meals, not all sources are reliable. There are also plenty of myths being perpetuated online. This is where we dietitians come in. I can help steer you in the right direction to find reputable resources and of course, I'm always happy to meet with you one-on-one. While nutrition trends change over time, the basics of good nutrition remain the same. For most of us, sticking to a healthy diet that highlights plenty of fruits, veggies, lean proteins and healthy fats is the way to go. If you’re not sure about something, ask an expert. Don't give up, good habits take time to build.

4. Emotional Eating

Stress, boredom, or even happiness can lead to emotional eating. We all have an emotional void inside of us that needs to be filled. While there are many healthy ways of coping like sleep, exercise, uplifting hobbies and a good support system, many people turn to comfort food as a way to cope with feelings, and this often means indulging in high-calorie, low-nutrient options. Emotional eating can create a cycle that’s hard to break, especially when the brain associates food with reward or relief. Sugar and fat are associated with dopamine hits in the brain and this can reinforce the habit of unhealthy eating.

Solution : Instead of reaching for junk food, try finding alternative ways to deal with emotions. Exercise, meditation, or even journaling can be great stress relievers. If you’re feeling hungry, focus on mindful eating—take your time, savor your food, and listen to your body’s hunger cues. You can also keep healthier snacks on hand, like fruit, nuts, or yogurt, to help manage cravings.

While there are definitely challenges to eating healthy, they’re not insurmountable. By planning ahead, finding affordable options, educating yourself, and addressing emotional triggers, you can make healthy eating a regular part of your life. It’s all about finding what works for you, and being patient with the process!

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Tired? Fight Fatigue With Autumn Foods

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 02:10:11 GMT

For many of us, Daylight Savings throws off our groove and as autumn settles in with its shorter days and cooler weather, many people find themselves experiencing low energy levels, often referred to as seasonal fatigue. The transition from summer to fall can be a challenging time for our bodies as the sunlight fades and temperatures drop. Fortunately, certain autumn foods can help support your energy levels and combat fatigue naturally. By incorporating nutrient-dense, seasonally available foods into your diet, you can nourish your body, maintain your energy, and thrive throughout the season.

1. Root Vegetables for Sustained Energy

Autumn is the perfect time to embrace root vegetables like sweet potatoes , carrots , parsnips , and beets . These vegetables are packed with complex carbohydrates, which provide a steady release of energy throughout the day. Unlike simple sugars, which can cause quick spikes and crashes in blood sugar, complex carbs are digested more slowly, offering lasting fuel for your body. Root vegetables are also rich in vitamins and minerals like potassium, magnesium, and vitamin A, which help regulate energy production and support overall vitality. Roasting a medley of root vegetables or adding them to soups and stews is an easy way to get these nourishing foods into your meals.

2. Fiber-Rich Apples for Digestive Health and Energy

Autumn is apple season, and these crisp, juicy fruits are a great way to fuel your body while keeping fatigue at bay. Apples are high in fiber, particularly soluble fiber called pectin, which helps stabilize blood sugar levels and improve digestion. When blood sugar levels remain stable, you're less likely to experience the afternoon slumps that often accompany high-sugar snacks. The fiber in apples also promotes healthy gut bacteria, contributing to better nutrient absorption and overall wellness. For a satisfying snack, enjoy an apple with a handful of almonds or walnuts for added protein and healthy fats, which will further enhance sustained energy levels.

3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Fatty Fish and Nuts

As the days grow shorter, it’s essential to prioritize brain health and mood support to avoid the "fall blues" and fight fatigue. Fatty fish , such as salmon , mackerel , and sardines , are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which play a crucial role in brain function and mood regulation. Omega-3s help reduce inflammation in the brain and can support healthy neurotransmitter function, which is vital for maintaining mental clarity and energy. For those who don’t eat fish, walnuts , chia seeds , and flaxseeds are excellent plant-based sources of omega-3s. Incorporating these healthy fats into your meals can improve cognitive function and help combat the mental sluggishness often associated with seasonal transitions.

4. Spices to Boost Circulation and Fight Inflammation

Autumn is synonymous with cozy spices like cinnamon , ginger , cloves , and nutmeg , which not only enhance the flavor of seasonal dishes but also provide significant health benefits. Ginger , for example, is known for its anti-inflammatory properties and can help stimulate circulation, which in turn boosts energy levels and reduces feelings of fatigue. Cinnamon is another spice that can help regulate blood sugar, preventing energy crashes. Additionally, both ginger and cinnamon have thermogenic effects, meaning they can help increase body temperature and promote warmth during cooler months, helping you feel more energized overall. Add these spices to your smoothies, oatmeal, or even warm teas to reap their benefits.

Seasonal fatigue doesn't have to leave you feeling sluggish and drained. By focusing on the right autumn foods—fiber-rich root vegetables, immune-boosting apples, brain-boosting omega-3s, and energizing spices—you can support your body’s natural rhythms and maintain steady energy levels throughout the season. Embrace the nourishing, seasonal produce available in autumn, and take advantage of these natural energy boosters to stay vibrant and energized all fall long.

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Sugar vs Artificial Sweeteners

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 02:17:00 GMT

Neither? Can that be the answer? Both sugar and artificial sweeteners show addictive properties so it is hard to say if one is better or worse. However, the more research that comes out about artificial sweeteners, the more I want to shy away.

Let's talk about sugar first. Research suggests:

Sugar consumption activates the brain-reward system (mesolimbic-dopamine system). When this system fires, it reinforces behaviors.
Repeated activation of the reward pathway by drugs or by eating lots of sugary foods causes the brain to adapt to frequent stimulation, leading to a sort of tolerance (neuroplasticity). In the case of sweet foods, this means we need to eat more to get the same rewarding feeling — a classic feature of addiction.
People who consume high amounts of sugar, report craving more sugar.
High sugar diets actually change the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for encoding memories) which compromises memory formation.
A highly publicized (and controversial) 2017 study suggested that rats prefer sugar to cocaine.
The average American consumes 17 tsp (68 g) of added sugar daily, 2-3x the recommended amount. (WHO recommends <5% (6 tsp), DGA recommends <10% (12 tsp) of calories come from added sugars. One can of soda has 10 tsp of sugar. A Starbucks Java Chip Frappacino has 16 tsp or sugar in it.
Excessive sugar can alter (numb) taste perception.

*1 tsp sugar = 4 grams (4 kcal/1gram of CHO)

What about artificial sweeteners? Research suggests:

The FDA has approved five artificial sweeteners: saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose. It has also approved one natural low-calorie sweetener, stevia.
WHO (World Health Organization) does NOT recommend AS for weight control (statement released in 2023, caused a HUGE stir in the food industry).
AS exposure is linked to type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease (also linked to obesity).
Brain imaging shows that AS affect brain regions in areas responsible for sweetness and rewards resulting in increased desire for calorie dense foods.
Brain changes w/ AS consumption decrease sweetness satisfaction
Prolonged AS consumption increases number of GLUT4 transporters meaning that when real sugar is consumed, more is taken into the cells.
AS affect the gut microbiome in negative ways. Even though they are not metabolized per say, they create metabolites that can negatively affect brain function with regard to cognitive decline and dementia.
Preliminary animal studies indicate that AS are addictive.
Although sucralose is rated as heat stable, more recent studies call this into question, which is problematic considering that many commercially baked products contain sucralose.

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Food Addiction-Is It Real?

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 21:55:30 GMT

Halloween is right around the corner and candy is everywhere. It's in the stores, it's in bowls at the office, it might even be hiding under your bed! If you find it difficult to say "no" when it comes to certain foods, you might have wondered if food can be addictive?

Although the DSM-V does not (YET) technically classify food as an addiction, it is a hotly debated topic. One of those controversies centers around this question. "Can food be classified as an addiction since it is necessary for survivial?" There are well documented similarities (biological, behavioral, and psychological) between the compulsive consumption of highly palatable foods and the use of addictive drugs. Substance use addictions are often measured by changes in three markers of brain chemistry: FosB, dopamine, and opioid receptors. All three of these markers are also implicated in adults who display symptoms of food addiction.

The foods that demonstrate the most addictive nature are those high in fat, sugar, artificial sweetener, or salt. Hello ultra-processed foods!

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs)—industrially produced foods containing ingredients not available in home kitchens—are the main source of refined carbohydrate and added fats in the modern food supply, up to 70%! Yet, not all foods have addictive potential (think carrots vs. cake). Creamy mouthfeel (ie. fat) and sweetness perception increase craving potential. Interestingly, both refined CHO’s (white flour/white sugar) and fat generate a similar dopamine response.

This type of automatic human response is a gold-mine for big food companies and thus they employ flavor and tasting engineers to design certain food products to be addictive. In fact, some foods are engineered for mouth feel and to actually create craving. Doritos are the perfect example. Other considerations that go into the creation of UPF's are these:

UPF’s are ideally created with equal amounts of CHO’s and fat (think chocolate bar).
Speed of delivery of UPF’s to the brain is also a factor because then the food is associated with the dopamine hit.

The famour Lay's chip tagline "Betcha can't eat just one" makes a lot of sense knowing this!

Are we doomed to be victims of food marketing, falling prey to our cravings for unhealthy, artificially manufactured foods? Absolutely not. But it is helpful to know that our brains have automatic and powerful responses to certain foods. Recognizing this is very empowering as we learn to be proactive in choosing healthy habits. Yet, many things get in the way of healthy behaviors, namely ME and MY behaviors (cravings, impulses, busyness, lack of planning). These all complicate good nutrition. A few things to remember include:

Everybody and every BODY is unique, thus nutrition is individualized based on current medical needs and behaviors.
In order to be sustainable, it must be easy because we will always fall back to the path of least resistance.
Research shows that weight loss methods/programs are equally efficacious. Therefore the best plan is the one that I will DO. There is no magic pill or diet out there.
Eat at home friends! You will save calories and money.

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Fill Up With Fiber

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 17:45:05 GMT

Fiber is a secret weapon when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight. Why? Because foods that are packed with fiber are generally low in calories and packed with nutrients. Fiber has a myriad of health benefits as well. Most people are familiar with the role that soluble fiber has in lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol, thereby lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease, but because fiber plays a key role in weight control, it also lowers risk of many types of cancer and type 2 diabetes, both of which are linked to obesity. However, some of the coolest new research to come out about fiber is it's effect on the gut microbiome. In fact, a recent study showed that increased fiber intake significantly altered the gut microbiota in a relatively short period of time!

With all of these fabulous fiber benefits, why are most of us eating so little of this key nutrient? An article by Stanford: Lifestyle Medicine estimated that 95% of Americans are deficient in fiber and the reason for this is clear. Too much processed food. Processed foods are high in calories, sugar, sodium and fat. They are low in fiber, phytochemicals, antioxidants and nutrients, yet processed foods now make up 70% of the average American diet.

The real question is, how can I increase the amount of fiber in my diet? There are several superfood categories when it comes to increasing fiber. Fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes. All of these can help you increase fiber in your diet easily. Shooting for a goal of 5+ fruits and veggies daily, plus 3 or more servings of beans and legumes weekly will help you reach your fiber goals.

For those of you who want to dive deeper, let's learn more about fiber!

Fiber defined:

Non-digestible (at least by humans) carbohydrates found in plants

Types of fiber:

Cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins, lignins, gums, beta-glucans, fructans and resistant starches plus psyllium

Parts of the cereal grain:

Husk: removed and thrown away, aka chaff or hull
Bran: contains the most fiber (95%)
Endosperm: mostly starch, some fiber (think of a white rice kernel)
Germ: rich in vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, some fiber

Recommended daily amount of fiber:

14 g/1,000 kcals OR
25 g based on a 2,000 kcal diet OR
Men (up to age 50) 38 g; Men (50+ yrs old) 31 g OR
Women (up to age 50) 25 g; Women (50+ yrs old) 21 g

Fiber can be divided into categories by property:

Insoluble (does not dissolve in water, usually non-fermentable); bulks up stool, useful for constipation
Soluble (dissolves in water; usually fermentable); forms a viscious gel that removes excess "bad" cholesterol, useful for both diarrhea and constipation
Prebiotics (these are all your fermentable fibers, whether soluble or insoluble); positively impacts the gut microbiome

Best food sources of soluble fiber include:

Legumes: Beans of all kinds, including kidney, black, pinto, white, lima, navy, chickpea; edamame; and peas
Oats
Tofu
Avocado
Brussels sprouts
Sweet potatoes
Broccoli
Pumpkin

Best food sources of insoluble fiber include:

Whole wheat products, like 100% wholewheat bread and pasta
Oat bran and oatmeal
Legumes: Beans of all kinds, including kidney, black, pinto, white, lima, navy, chickpea; edamame; and peas
Berries: including blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
Whole grains, including quinoa, rye, barley, amaranth, brown rice
Leafy greens, like kale and spinach
Vegetables, like broccoli, okra, radishes
Nuts, especially almonds and walnuts
Fruits with edible skins, like pears and apples
Avocados
Sunflower, flax, and chia seeds
Potatoes and sweet potatoes
Popcorn

Best food sources of p rebiotics from food include:

Green bananas
Oats
Apples
Avocado
Garlic
Dandelion Greens
Onions
Chicory root
Jersusalem Artichokes

A few precautionary words when it comes to fiber.

Don't forget that rapidly adding a lot of fiber into your diet can cause tummy troubles in the form of gas and bloating. Start gradually and build until you reach your goal.
Many sources of fiber, especially the prebiotics, are high in FODMAPS. If you fall into this category, seek the advice of a registered dietitian (that's me!)
If you have IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) or are having a flare-up of diverticulitis or other type of bowel inflammation, you play by a different set of rules.
Don't stress about the different types of fibers. As you can see, there is quite a bit of overlap, just eat more fruits/veggies/beans/legumes and change your health for the better!

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Why We Gain Weight As We Age & What To Do About It

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 17:21:21 GMT

You exercise a couple of times a week, cut out fast food completely, ditched the soda habit altogether and yet, with each passing year, a few extra pounds find their way onto your belly. What gives? Ten years ago you could eat whatever you wanted (within reason) and never think twice about it. It's unfair, I know, but it's time to get over the unfairness and understand what's behind this gradual weight gain so you can do something about it.

Why do so many people gain weight as they age?

In fact, one recent study showed the average 10-year weight gain was around 5 lbs. A total of 51% of the participants gained 5% or more body weight, 36% gained 10% or more, and 16% gained 20% or more across the 10-years. Yikes!

Why is this? Well, biologically, there are some interesting changes happening with each passing year. These four changes in your body can help explain where those extra pounds are coming from.

One recent study showed how lipid fat turnover decreased with aging, meaning more fat gets stored than removed.
Lean muscle mass declines at a rate of 3-8% starting in our 30's. This muscle mass is often replaced with increased fat.
Hormones like testosterone and estrogen naturally decline as we age. Both of these sex hormones influence weight regulation via muscle mass, metabolism and fat distribution.
Many factors influence metabolism such as gender, lean muscle mass, stress levels, lifestyle changes, etc. As we age, these factors generally trend in the negative direction meaning our metabolism slows. For example, working a stressful 10-hour-a-day desk job negatively impacts metabolism from multiple fronts. Increased stress means chronically elevated levels of cortisol which leads to increased fat storage compounded with a sedentary lifestyle. Voila', you have the perfect recipe for weight gain.

Is weight gain as we age inevitable?

Absolutely not, but it is a given that you will have to put in some serious effort to maintain your weight as you get older. Try the following lifestyle changes to help you get to your ideal weight and stay there through the years.

Exercise (the kind that increases your heart rate for an extended period of time). More physical activity is key to maintaining a healthy body weight and keeping those extra pounds at bay as you age. Not only do you need to exercise regularly (most days of the week), but get used to the idea that you will probably need to do more than you've been doing. Look for every opportunity to be active from wearing a step tracker to motivate your daily steps to exercise "snacks" (a term for short exercise bouts) at work. House projects and yard work are a great way to increase daily activity.
Strength Training. One of the primary reasons people gain weight as they age is adopting a sedentary lifestyle. When coupled with the natural decrease in lean muscle mass, the result is always extra pounds which then feeds the cycle of weight gain. Strength training to increase lean muscle mass is the way to combat this. Aim for 2-3 strength training sessions a week. Low on time? Do a few HIIT (high intensity interval training) sessions a week to maximize your time (or lack thereof).
Increase your consumption of high volume/low calorie foods. What types of foods are these exactly? Fruits and vegetables, of course. Aim for 5+ servings every single day. When you are eating this many fruits and veggies daily, there is less room for junk food.
Add protein to every meal and snack. Amp up your fiber. Both of these will help you stay full and are strategies to decrease your calorie consumption.
Swear off refined carbohydrates and processed foods.
Cook and eat at home.
Sleep!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Eat This, Not That! Healthy Food Substitutions

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 00:35:05 GMT

Eating healthy does not equal deprivation or being hungry. There are so many delicious foods to eat that are both wholesome and nutritious, why not focus on all the things you can eat that help you feel great?!

Craving something sweet?

instead of ice cream, make a "milkshake" using frozen fruit, kefir or greek yogurt and cocoa powder. Adding frozen banana gives it a thick creamy texture like ice cream without all the added sugar and fat calories.
gourmet dark chocolate is a winner every time. Look for 80% or greater cacao to train your taste buds to appreciate the actual flavor of the cacao rather than constantly overwhelming it with sugar. If you want an extra delicious treat, dip your square of chocolate in natural peanut butter.
mandarin oranges dipped in melted, dark chocolate (or strawberries, or bananas, or absolutely any fruit)
baked fruit crisp topped with oats and cinnamon
ditch the cookies loaded with fat and sugar and try homemade energy balls instead

Craving something savory?

avocado toast topped with an egg and a slice of ham on a slice of nutty, wholegrain toast
vegetable soup in a mug (travels well!)
homemade chicken salad (use half chopped veggies and half chicken, mix with Greek yogurt instead of mayo) alongside carrot sticks for dipping
2 hardboiled eggs topped with salt, pepper and sharp cheddar cheese
craving a burger and fries? lasagne? Make all your high-calorie favorites at home where you can control the ingredients

Craving something salty and crunchy?

instead of pretzels or chips, switch to stove top popped popcorn where you control the oil and salt. Unlike pretzels or chips, popcorn is a whole grain with 30 calories and 1 gram of fiber per cup. Just be careful not to overdo it!
roasted chickpeas sprinkled with sea salt
roasted kale chips
veggie sticks dipped in hummus

Smart Swaps:

instead of flour tortillas, switch to corn tortillas
throw out all your sweetened yogurt in favor of unsweetened. Sweeten naturally with fruit.
100% whole grain bread for white bread
popcorn for chips or pretzels
replace granola with roasted nuts
instead of creamer in your coffee, try whole milk
eat homemade trail mix instead of candy
replace pasta with spaghetti squash
try riced cauliflower instead of white rice

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Tummy Troubles? Maybe it's IBS.

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 00:48:10 GMT

Relief for IBS

Some people can eat anything and be just fine. And then there are the rest of us. If you experience bloating, indigestion, abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, constipation or even a combo of both and you suspect it is linked to the food you eat, you may have IBS.

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) is an intestinal disorder that affects the bowels. It is a chronic condition that, while not dangerous, is certainly uncomfortable and potentially disruptive to your life. In order to diagnose IBS, your doctor will first need to rule out other causes of your symptoms that can actually cause damage to your intestines such as colon cancer, celiac disease, diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

Along with uncomfortable indigestion symptoms such as gas, bloating or abdominal pain, IBS manifests through diarrhea (IBS-D), through constipation (IBS-C) or through a combination of both (IBS-M for mixed). The type of IBS you have determines the treatment.

How common is IBS?

Experts believe the prevalence to be between 10-15% of the adult population. It is difficult to quantify because many people don’t seek help and instead just live with their symptoms. Some figure out how to change their eating patterns to reduce symptoms while others just suffer. It can also feel elusive to connect the dots in IBS because many patients experience both “normal” days and “symptomatic” days with seemingly no rhyme or reason to them.

My doctor diagnosed me with IBS, now what?

First off, be grateful you don’t have one of the diseases above which damage your intestines. IBS is manageable! However, once diagnosed with IBS, many patients are left to their own devices to sort out what they can and can’t eat which can be confusing and frustrating. I often talk with clients who express frustration over not knowing what to eat or in what amounts, or a certain food that is sometimes problematic for them.

Specifically, there are certain carbohydrates referred to as FODMAP’s that can be problematic for those with IBS because these carbohydrates are harder to digest than others. FODMAP is an acronym that stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. Big words, I know, and hard to remember which is why we refer collectively to them as FODMAP’s. They are simply small-chain sugars which the small intestines tend to absorb poorly.

Common FODMAPs include:

Fructose: a simple sugar found in many fruits and vegetables and most added sugars
Lactose: a carbohydrate found in dairy products like milk. Lactose is found in the liquid part of milk, so hard cheeses and butter are very low in lactose.
Fructans: found in many foods, including grains like wheat, spelt, rye and barley
Galactans: found in large amounts in legumes
Polyols: sugar alcohols like xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, and mannitol. They are found in some fruits and vegetables and often used as sweeteners

The tricky part about IBS is there is no one-size-fits-all cure. Every individual is unique and thus requires an individualized approach. In fact, some of the strategies to help manage IBS may contradict one another, but it all depends on the person.

Strategies to manage IBS include:

· A low FODMAP diet

· A high-fiber diet (even though some of the fibers added in may be high FODMAP)

· Supplemental fiber (psyllium husk is the go-to)

· Cutting out dairy products high in lactose

· Limit foods that make you gassy. Cruciferous veggies such as broccoli or cauliflower or legumes (high in galactans) are often culprits.

· Hydrate (especially helpful for IBS-C)

· Go gluten-free for a while to see if it offers relief.

If you think you may have IBS, don’t despair, I have plenty of tools and resources available to help you find relief. Give me a call and together we will figure it out!

Build A Better Breakfast

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:08:10 GMT

Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day?

What did you eat for breakfast this morning? If your answer was “nothing” or you are in the habit of grabbing a bagel or donut as you race out the door, read on for ideas on how to fuel your day for success.

September is National Better Breakfast Month so that makes it a perfect time to take stock of how you are doing for the first meal of your day, no matter what time it happens. For years breakfast has been heralded as the “most important meal of the day”, but where did that idea come from? The phrase has actually been credited to John Harvey Kellogg, the cereal giant, along with other contemporaries of the early 20 ^th century who were making a case for their products ranging from cold cereal to bacon! The marketing slogan caught on and we have been eating our Wheaties ever since. But is a breakfast cereal, especially one loaded with sugar, or bacon and eggs really the best way to start the day? Let’s see what the research says.

Various studies have found a variety of benefits associated with nutritious foods as the first meal of the day such as a lower BMI, eating more fruits and veggies, and a lower daily calorie intake. This is because people who eat breakfast report feeling more satiated throughout the day and therefore are less likely to binge later on empty calorie foods. There is also a well-established link between skipping breakfast and obesity, however, it is not well understood whether this can be attributed to already obese people being more likely to skip breakfast, or whether skipping breakfast leads to unhealthy choices later in the day thereby contributing to obesity. Breakfast timing can also be a controversial topic. While we often associate breakfast with the 7:00-9:00 am timeframe, there is no deadline for eating your first meal of the day. In fact, research associated with intermittent fasting has found that compressing your eating hours into a shorter time period, say 10 am to 6 pm, improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control. So, eat whenever it works for you! Whether that’s a protein fruit smoothie at 6 am or a leisurely meal at your desk at 10 am, what you eat is more important than when you eat as long as you are not saving the bulk of your calories for late in day.

A great rule of thumb for breaking your overnight fast, thus the name breakfast, is to include these three elements: protein, fiber and lots of nutrients. How does that translate into actual foods? Below are some examples of great nutrition combined with quick convenience.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas:

Whole grain toast spread with ½ an avocado and topped with an egg
Fruit smoothie made with kefir and peanut butter
Oatmeal topped with fresh fruit and nuts and a glass of 2% milk
Frittata muffins (can be made the night before)
Peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole grain bread
Yogurt parfait layered with fresh fruit and a high fiber cereal
Overnight oatmeal with fruit

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

What About Artificial Sweeteners?

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 19:11:50 GMT

Artificial sweeteners. Looks like sugar, tastes like sugar (only sweeter), yet no calories. You can even bake with some artificial sweeteners! Seriously, what could be better? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Read on to find out more about benefits and consequences of the sweet stuff.

History of Artificial Sweeteners:

The first artificial sweetener was accidentally discovered in 1879 but it wasn’t until the 1980’s and 90’s that they were recognized as a possible solution to the obesity epidemic. The FDA has approved acesulfame-potassium, aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose for use in the United States. Saccharin was discovered in 1879 and has weathered a lot of controversy. It is known by the trade name, Sweet-N-Low (pink packet). Aspartame was approved in 1981 and is marketed as Equal (blue packet). Sucralose was approved in 1998 and is sold as Splenda (yellow packets). Acesulfame-potassium is often added to both Aspartame and Sucralose in order to mask the bitter taste. All sweeteners are marketed as being a healthy alternative for those looking to indulge their sweet tooth without any calorie consequences. Because of their zero-calorie status, artificial sweeteners have become a major focus in the health industry due to their ability to sweeten beverages and food products without added calories. While it is true that artificial sweeteners provide the sweet taste we crave for negligible calories, there is intense discussion in the scientific community as to the consequences of regular consumption. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deemed artificial sweeteners to be safe, yet epidemiological and observational evidence points to a link between artificial sweeteners and weight gain, citing a variety of possible pathways.

What The Research Says:

There are a lot of things we don't know about artificial sweeteners and how they affect the human body, but here are some of the consequences based on available research.

An overwhelming number of studies show that artificial sweeteners disturb and diminish healthy bacteria in the gut microbiome as well as increase intestinal permeability.
Gut dysbiosis is directly linked to inflammation which creates a chicken/egg scenario. Because obesity is a condition of chronic inflammation, it disrupts a hormone called leptin that controls satiety. Leptin resistance then contributes to obesity because individuals don't feel satiated, so they eat more. Extra food equals extra weight gain which increases obesity, and more obesity means more inflammation. Thus, our chicken and egg scenario.
Artificial sweeteners change the way our bodies transport glucose by increasing the amount of glucose a cell will let inside. This is not good news for folks wanting to lose weight because excess glucose let into adipocytes (fat cells) is stored as fat.
Artificial sweeteners alter our taste receptors both on the tongue and in the gut. Scientists hypothesize that by increasing our preference for "sweet" we increase caloric consumption from other foods even though artificial sweeteners have zero calories.

On a cellular level, artificial sweeteners alter metabolic processes in dramatic ways. However, when we zoom out and study weight gain in humans, both healthy and obese as it relates the artificial sweeteners, the results are less clear. First of all, the human body is an amazing creation, adaptable and resilient to the constant onslaught of unhealthy behaviors and foods we sling at it. Humans can abuse their bodies for many years before the consequences start to set in. Second, it is difficult to assess long term effects of sweeteners on humans because most studies are limited in duration. Third, the effects of artificial sweeteners are more pronounced in people who are already overweight or obese or with glucose impairment as opposed to healthy individuals. Intermittent use of sweeteners in a healthy weight person will have less consequences than use in an obese person because the obese person is already metabolically impaired. Finally, although we lump artificial sweeteners together as one, they are all different. Each one has a unique chemical structure and is treated differently by the body so while sucralose may show certain effects on the body, aspartame may show others.

What about Stevia? Stevia is not considered an artificial sweetener because it is sourced from a plant. And while Stevia may have some side effects such as dizziness, numbness, nausea and bloating, there are relatively few studies on how it might affect the gut microbiome, glucose homeostasis or taste receptors. So the short answer is, we just don't know yet.

Conflicting Evidence:

The safety and benefit of using artificial sweeteners is a controversial topic and plenty of people say they are just fine, including the FDA. Artificial sweeteners are also backed by some billion dollar companies, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Co. There are also plenty of studies out there that find "no significant difference" when it comes to weight gain in humans. As a consumer, it can be very difficult to make informed choices when you are given a deluge of conflicting evidence to base your decision off of. However, given all the possible effects, I think I’ll stick to water.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Healthy Fats: Why Are They Important?

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 21:27:31 GMT

Does Fat Make You Fat?

Fat has gotten an evil rap for many years, after all, eating fat makes you fat, right? But fats have recently come out of obscurity and into the limelight and we now know there are many sources of fat that are healthy and even essential! Healthy fats support growth and promote healing. Fats are the building blocks of many important molecules, including hormones. From a weight maintenance perspective, fat helps us feel satiated and satisfied. One type of fat decreases inflammation, while another type increases inflammation. How are we to know the difference? And what's more, among the different types of fats, controversy abounds. Good fat? Bad fat? What foods should I eat? What foods should I avoid? Keep reading to find the answers.

Fats can be classified into three categories, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated:

Monounsatured Fats (MUFA):

considered to be heart healthy and supported in all corners of the literature as being a "healthy" fat. Avocados and olives fall into this category. These types of fats raise your levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and can help lower your LDL levels. As high LDL levels are thought to be a primary risk factor for heart disease, lowering them is clearly a good thing. No controversy here.

Polyunsatured Fats (PUFA):

generally heart healthy, especially when coming from plant-based sources such as nuts and seeds. Pay attention to walnuts, chia, flax, and hemp seeds which have an unusually high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids as opposed to most other nuts and seeds which are predominantly comprised of omega-6 fatty acids. https://www.superfoodevolution.com/nuts-and-seeds . In case you need a refresher on the benefits of omega-3's vs. omega-6's, click here, https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/nutrition/omega-6-vs-omega-3-fatty-acids/ , but in a nutshell, overconsumption of omega-6's promote inflammation while omega-3's decrease inflammation. Salmon and other cold-water fish are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Remember the acronym SMASH (salmon, mackeral, anchovies, sardines, herring) when choosing fish high in omega-3's. Of the aforementioned fish, mackeral (4,580 mg) contains the highest amount of omega-3's, followed by salmon (2,150 mg).

The controversy of polyunsaturated fats does not come from fresh food sources, rather it comes from vegetable oils. Although technically considered polyunsaturated fats, many of these "vegetable" oils are actually highly refined seed oils. Take canola oil for instance. You can still find many, many websites that promote canola oil as a "heart-healthy" cooking oil because it has a high concentration of monounsatured fat. However, you may not realize that canola oil also contains a high level of omega-6 fatty acids (which promote inflammation) and that 90% of the canola oil sold in the US goes through a refining process using high heat and chemical exposure. This same process is true of other popular "vegetable" oils including soy, corn and palm oils. Look for cold-pressed vegetable oils. Avocado oil is my pick for sauteing because of its high smoke point and high ratio of monounsaturated fat. Extra-virgin olive oil is also an excellent pick due to the high levels of mono-unsaturated fat and polyphenols (a powerful antioxidant) it contains.

Saturated Fats:

Now the real controversy begins. For the past 50 years (since the 1970's) saturated fat has been singled out as "bad". This was followed en masse by the low-fat craze of the late 80's and 90's where we ate no fat, ate lots of sugar and got fatter and fatter. Today, the controversy exists as most of the research still supports the "saturated fat causes heart disease" theory and the 2020-2025 Nutrition and Dietary Guidelines once again advocate for "less than 10% of our daily fat intake should come from saturated fat." However, there are a growing number of research studies which challenge this long-held premise on saturated fat, stating that the science just isn't there to support it and that including fats from all sources can be a healthy addition to a weight maintenance program. If you really want to dive into the controversy, check out this article which sums up the research by stating: "Other issues are much more worthy of your attention [than saturated fat intake], such as limiting your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods, following a well-balanced diet, and getting plenty of physical activity in your daily routine."

That being said, personally, I am not going to be feasting on red meat every night, rather, I plan to continue to emphasize all of the MUFA and PUFA sources of healthy fats along with a hefty dose of fruits and vegetables. As for saturated fats? I do enjoy a juicy steak, but not too often!

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Healthy Carbs You Should Eat

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 22:50:44 GMT

Carbohydrates: How To Eat The Right Kind

Carbs have gotten a really bad rap over the last decade. Between "gluten-free" EVERYTHING and a plethora of protein diets, carbs have fallen from favor in a big way. But carbs are not all created equal, there are vast differences in those delicious macronutrients we refer to as carbohydrates.

The most important thing you need to know is that carbs are good for you! ! You just need to eat the right kinds. So what are those "right kinds?" Carbs comes in all sorts of food forms so it can be confusing. Let's start with the basics. First off, carbohydrates are the body's primary source of energy. Let's begin with an explanation of simple vs. complex carbohydrates followed by a discussion on refined carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are made from just one or two sugar units, mono and disacharrides, while complex carbs are made up of many sugar units, called polysacharrides. The longer carbon chains of the complex carbs mean they take longer to break down, or digest, and therefore give off more sustained energy. Starch and fiber are two different kinds of polysacharrides.

Sugar is an example of a simple carb. It digests quickly, giving our body a spike in blood glucose and a quick burst of energy.

Examples of simple carbohydrates:

Table sugar (sucrose).
Honey (fructose and glucose).
Agave nectar (fructose and glucose).
Molasses (maltose).
High fructose corn syrup (fructose and glucose).
Fruit (fructose). Also considered a complex carb due to the fiber.
Milk (lactose).

Whole grains are an example of complex carbs. More complex chains give sustained energy with the added benefit of fiber and B vitamins to boot.

Whole grains include:

Whole-wheat flour and bread.
Whole-grain cereals and crackers.
Brown rice and wild rice.
Bulgur or cracked wheat.
Farro.
Millet.
Quinoa.
Oats

Refined grains include:

White flour and white bread.
Pasta.
White rice .
Corn grits.
Cream of rice
Pearled barley.

Here's where it can get a little confusing. Refined grained are also complex carbohydrates, but they have been stripped of the bran and germ which then gives them a white color and a fluffy texture. Nutritionally, they are generally inferior to whole grains, even when they have been enriched to add back in the B vitamins. So even though white flour and white rice are complex carbs, because they have been refined, they are generally lower in nutrients and fiber than their whole grain counterparts.

Did you know that most fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates? So, when people say they are going to cut back on carbs, what they really mean is they need to cut back on refined carbs like cake, cookies, candy, processed junk/snack foods, etc. Whole grains are wonderful, but consider the relative calories in grains vs fruits and vegetables. 1 oz. white flour has 100 calories vs. 1 oz broccoli has 10 calories vs. 1 oz. of strawberries has 9 calories. It's all relative my friends. So, to answer the question, "Which is better? Simple or complex carbs?" The answer is...it depends on the source!

In the meantime, eat more fruits and veggies!

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Protein: How Much Is Enough?

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 14:33:41 GMT

Protein is an important macromolecule that helps your body build and repair tissue, carry oxygen in your blood, makes antibodies, and a hundred other essential processes. That's why protein is referred to as the building block of the body.

How Much Protein Is Too Much?

In popular media, protein is all the rage these days. From protein shakes to protein bars to plant sources of protein, protein products are everywhere! The media is telling us to eat more protein to build muscle, eat more protein if you want to lose weight, eat more protein just because. But how much protein do we really need? And where should I get it from? Meat? Beans? Protein Bars? Protein shakes? It's time to clear up the confusion.

A quick perusal of the internet shows protein recommendations all over the map, anywhere from .8 g protein/kg all the way up to 2 g protein/lb. That's a huge range there and the math gets tricky because recommendations can be found in both kilograms and pounds. Since official maco recommendations are always given in grams, let's simplify things and deal only in the metric system.

The RDA for protein is 0.8 g protein/kg body weight. While this is the official recommendation, there is quite a bit of debate surrounding this number. Some people say it is too little while others say it's too much. And still others point out that individual needs and goals should dictate the amount of protein a body needs. Still 0.8 g can at least provide a starting place.

Following are some very general guidelines:
RDA: 0.8 g protein/kg body weight
Weight Loss: 1.0 -1.2 g protein/kg body weight
Older Adults (to prevent loss of LBM) 1.0-1.2 g protein/kg body weight
Athletes (or those looking to build LBM): 1.2-1.6 g protein/kg body weight
Hypermetabolic (as in some extreme disease states): 1.5-2.0 g protein/kg body weight
Compromised kidney function or chronic kidney disease (stage 3+): .6-.8 g protein/kg body weight

2 g protein/kg body weight is considered an upper limit intake of protein and interestingly, there are risks to consuming a high protein diet. Studies show that people who consume a lot of protein are at a higher risk for kidney stones. A study completed this year found that consuming too much protein has adverse health effects even though consumers are led to believe they cannot get too much protein in their diets. Specifically, the researchers found that consuming protein in excess of 22% of total calorie intake carries more risk than dietary benefit due to a signaling mechanism for a specific amino acid that can trigger cardiovascular disease. Of course, this was just one study, but it does show another side of the protein picture. Maybe more isn't always better?

Another important consideration is: Where is the protein coming from? Red meat and bacon? Or beans and yogurt? The former increases your risk of heart disease and colon cancer (among others) while the latter may not. In fact, high consumption of beans and yogurt could actually lower risk cardiovascular disease and colon cancer due to high amounts of fiber in the beans and probiotics in the yogurt.

Although protein is such an important part of the diet, if you are eating excessive amounts of protein, especially sourced from manufactured products such as bars and powders, you have less room for whole foods such as fruits, veggies, and whole grains. So remember to balance your intake of protein with healthy carbs and fats.

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Counting Macros

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 18:13:59 GMT

Should I Track Macros?

Macros, short for macronutrients are the building blocks of nutrition and all foods contain one of more of them. They are:

Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats

These are the nutrients found in our foods, that provide most of our energy. Micronutrients, like vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants, are nutrients your body uses in smaller amounts. Some, like vitamins and minerals are essential to health, while others, like phytochemicals and antioxidants, are beneficial, but not essential.

Somewhere in the back of our mind, we know we are supposed to eat a certain percentage of each macro, but the exact amount is fuzzy and who has time for something so complex, right? I completely agree!

Food should be tasty, healthy and not too much work, otherwise keeping up our hard-won healthy habits is unsustainable. Although counting macros is trendy and a lot of work, there is actually a benefit from being aware of your macros.

So, here are the answers to some of the questions you may have about macros:

Question: Is there an ideal macro ratio?
Answer: No. The ideal amount varies from person to person based on your age, gender, height, weight and activity level. However, typical macro ratios for adults 19+ are given below.

Carbs (45-60%)
Protein (10-35%)
Fats (20-35%)

Question: That's a pretty wide range. I still don't know where to start.
Answer: Start by figuring out your daily calorie goal either for weight loss/gain or weight maintenance. Try this calorie calculator.

Question: Is there a recommended ratio of macros for weight loss?
Answer: Again, the answer will vary, but try the ratio below as a starting point.

Carbs (45-50%)
Protein (25-30%)
Fats (20-25%)

Question: I am really hungry and I want to eat everything in sight. What should I do?
Answer: Increase your protein levels to a higher range and cut out added sugar. Added sugar creates havic with your blood sugar levels and increases cravings. The consistent absence of added sugars plus extra protein will help you feel full and satisfied.

On the positive side, tracking macros can increase the nutritional value of your foods dramatically (no more empty calories!) and you can find an app like MyFitnessPal to do the math for you. On the negative side, tracking macros can be tedious and obsessive. Since the best healthy eating plan is the one you can sustain long term you'll have to decide whether tracking macros is for you.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Daily Habits = Weekly Goals

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 21:19:15 GMT

How To Create Healthy Habits

Daily habits help you achieve weekly goals. Combined with accountability and a very long timeline, they are key in achieving a sustainable and healthy lifestyle. In fact, the easiest and most sustainable way to live a healthy life is to put your good behaviors on auto-pilot. The less effort you perceive, the easier they are to sustain long-term.

Examples of daily habits might include:

Sleep 7-8 hours nightly
5+ fruits/veggies daily
30 min to 1 hours of physical activity (either cardio, strength training and/or flexibility), most days of the week
64 oz water daily
10 minute meditation/devotional (mmm...close your eyes and relax!)

These daily habits are skills we are working towards incorporating into our routines. They move us forward in a positive and healthy direction on a daily basis, and contribute significantly to our short-term well-being. Take a minute to list each one of the positive daily habits you already have!

Your list of positive daily habits right now may be long or it may be short. It is a skill that may or may not be a consistent part of your daily routine, but you are trying to incorporate into your lifestyle. Accept where you are at right now and seek to increase your list of positive daily habits.

Reaching a weekly goal is simply the cumulation of your daily habits. It might include such things as:

stretch for 10 minutes 5 days this week, OR
have a healthy snack each weekday afternoon at 3:30 pm, OR
go to sleep 30 minutes earlier than normal, OR
no processed foods this week

The idea behind a weekly goal is to help us practice skills and behaviors that can then be incorporated into our lifestyle and thus become a daily habit. Reaching weekly goals feels awesome because it means we put in sustained effort throughout the week and that can yield great results.

For example:

stretching consistently promotes emotional well-being and helps guard against injury
eating a healthy snack in the afternoon ultimately saves calories because you are not ravenous and eating everything in sight by the time dinner finally comes around
getting adequate sleep each night translates into more energy throughout the day
not eating processed foods and focusing on fruits and veggies instead means less calories, more fiber and even less inflammation, a win-win-win!

In order to get started:

1--Make a list of your daily habits.
2--Decide on a weekly goal (or two) to work on to help you practice sustained effort
3--Find an easy way to track your efforts
4--You did it! Now do it again next week :)

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

The Benefits of Food Tracking

Sat, 13 Jul 2024 00:02:23 GMT

Accountability comes in all shapes and sizes, but when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, tracking your food intake can be very telling, and thus very helpful. What is it about keeping food records that is so magic? It's the accountability, among other things.

There's something about writing it all down, and then showing it to someone else that really makes you think twice about whether you actually need that bag of chips to munch on while you watch TV or whether a donut actually makes a good breakfast or a protein bar a good lunch. Tracking your food intake also reveals other helpful information such as how much protein you are getting, whether your sodium intake is too high, and how many fruits and veggies you are actually eating (regardless of how many you think you are eating).

In fact, one study showed that keeping a food diary can actually double your weight loss. "And the more food records people kept, the more weight they lost." stated the researcher.

Tips for effective tracking include:

track your food and beverage intake (don't forget to include alcohol)
include amounts and serving sizes
jot down the time you ate the food or meal
food is tied into emotions, keeping a food/mood journal can be helpful

What is the best way to track food intake? There are so many methods available to track your foods, ranging from simple to complex. You can start as easily as scribbling down what you eat in a notebook or voice-texting it into the Notes section of your phone, or check out these popular digital options:

My Fitness Pal --With over 19 million foods in the database and counting, tracking your calories is as easy as it will ever be
See How You Eat --Make a picture food journal! Instead of logging calories, take a picture instead
Cronometer--offers more data than My Fitness Pal, this one is for all you people who love to track food
My Plate -- A simple way to track fruits and veggies!
Lose It --An alternative option to My Fitness Pal

Just because you decide to track food one day doesn't mean you have to do it every single day of your life. Some people love to keep a daily log of their food, others not so much. Regardless of which camp you fall into, tracking your food for a few days to get a good sense of where you are at can be really helpful. If you are trying to lose or gain weight, keeping a daily food log can be immensely helpful. It has the extra added benefit of teaching you to be more mindful about what you put in your mouth and that is a skill that will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Exercise is the best medicine

--Hippocrates

5 Weekend Habits That Sabotage Weight Loss

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 01:01:39 GMT

If you are feeling frustrated because you were SO good all week, but the scale doesn't seem to budge on Monday morning, your weekend might be to blame. Most people keep a pretty consistent schedule during the workweek and Monday-Friday has a routine of work, school and commitments. Then the weekend comes, and with it a desire to relax, sleep in, socialize, party, and generally do things that are much more fun than the Monday-Friday grind and our consistency flies out the window!

First of all, (deep breath...) accept the fact that if you want to lose weight or maintain a weight loss, you are going to have to embrace the consistency on the weekend that you excel at during the week. Once this is out of the way, read on to find five reasons the scale may be up come Monday morning, regardless of your healthy efforts during the week.

1) Eating out on Saturday or Sunday. Restaurant entrees are laden with sodium including seemingly "healthy" options like salads and soups. Skip the Chinese food as well, despite the promise of veggies, because of the high sodium content. This high sodium content encourages our bodies to retain water which shows up as extra pounds come Monday morning. In addition to the sodium content, restaurant entrees are famous for their high calorie content, averaging in at 1,200 calories per entree'. Do yourself a favor and cook at home this weekend. You'll avoid the crowds and save a lot of money and calories. If you do decide to go out, check the menu before hand so you can pre-decide what to order before you are smelling the delightful aromas of food and your self-discipline flies out the window.

2) Indulging in alcohol. In addition to drinking extra calories, alcohol is famous for encouraging people to overeat. Not only does alcohol lower inhibitions which can encourage overeating, one study suggested the brain cells that stimulate the urge to eat may actually be activated by alcohol as well as hunger giving you a double whammy when it comes to binge eating.

3) Forgetting to eat your fruits and veggies. Let's face it, if eating fruits and veggies daily and in large quantity were easy, we would all be doing it and the US could not claim an overweight/obese population of 70%. But, it takes effort to eat fruits and veggies and often the weekends don't lend themselves to disciplined eating. Instead of getting lax with your fruit and veggie consumption, go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and stock up on fresh-grown produce so you'll be motivated to eat it over the weekend. Keep a regular routine on both Saturday and Sunday morning as best you can which will help you get in those fruits and veggies. Think 2+2+2. Two f/v for breakfast, two for lunch and two for dinner. The easiest way to eat fruits and veggies is to create a routine and stick to it, no matter what day of the week it is.

4) Neglecting exercise in favor of "relaxing" ie. sleeping in, binge watching your favorite shows while snacking. Instead switch around your thinking so that the weekend becomes a time for more exercise. Use the opportunity to get together with friends and walk, hike, run or bike.

5) Soda instead of water. Don't forget to drink water. Drinking water fills up your stomach and gives a feeling of fullness that can help you stay hydrated and feeling good over the weekend. Aim for 1/2 oz per pound of body weight or 1 mL for every calorie consumed.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Exercise is NEAT: How Non-Exercise Can Help You Lose Weight

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 17:14:41 GMT

Our total daily calorie burn comes from three different areas:

RMR, also known as resting metabolic rate, is the amount of calories our body burns at rest. This number varies wildly between different people and varies according to body size, gender, age and even climate! RMR accounts for 60-70% of the calories you burn every day and the biggest determiner of your RMR is the amount of lean body mass, or muscle, you have. So, go lift some weights!
Thermic effect of food accounts for around 10% of your daily calorie burn. Did you know it burns calories to digest calories? Of the three macronutrients, carbs, fat and protein, protein, digesting protein burns the most calories. As you might expect, digesting fat is very efficient and burns very few calories! Fat is easy to eat and easy to store.
Exercise is the third way to burn calories and it is also the most variable. A manual laborer or elite athlete burn a tremendous amount of calories in a day, upwards of 50% of their total intake! For those of us who are moderately active, it's more like 25-30% and for a more sedentary individual it can be just 5-10%. Exercise is divided into two categories. Focused exercise and NEAT or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Focused exercise is the intentional exercise you do, it's designed to get your heart rate up and make you sweat. NEAT is just a big, long word to describe all the moving and grooving you do throughout the day. It's the standing, sitting, fidgeting, dishwashing, bringing in the groceries, walking around, and project-doing of every day.

NEAT has untapped potential for burning calories and is especially useful for helping us be active throughout the day, rather than just sitting on the couch watching TV or sitting in front of our computer. There are lots of ways to increase our movement throughout the day that don't involve going to the gym or getting sweaty. An easy way to establish your baseline level of activity is to wear a device that counts your steps like a fitbit or apple watch. Once you know how many steps you normally get, make a goal to increase it.

For example, if you normally get 3,000 steps a day, make a goal to increase it to 5,000 and keep increasing in increments until you reach the recommended 10,000 steps/day. Even better is to divide out the number of steps you get between your focused exercise and NEAT because this will encourage both types of activity and both are good!

Ideas to increase NEAT include:

housework (my personal favorite!)
home projects
yardwork
raking leaves
take a walk around your neighborhood
walk your dog

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Cheat Days: Good or Bad?

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 20:26:12 GMT

How Often Can I Cheat? (and not gain weight)

Come on, you know this is the question you are asking, right? How much can I get away with?

Our brains are programmed to light up with pleasure when we eat sweet, salty-savory or fatty foods and our food environment is absolutely laden with the very foods our brain and taste buds crave, so to NOT eat them constantly takes concentrated effort.

Still, even for those of us who put a lot of effort into menu planning, prepping and cooking veggie laden meals, tempting treats are everywhere. Sometimes there's nothing that satisfies quite like a homemade chocolate chip cookie. But the question is, how often can I eat those treats I crave and not gain weight? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?

The answer is...it depends on the person. There are so many factors that impact an individual's ability to lose, gain, or maintain weight. For example:

Do you exercise regularly? Moderately? Vigorously? And for how many years consistently?
Have you lost and then gained back weight multiple times?
Are you insulin resistant or do you have excellent blood sugar regulation?
Do you have any medical conditions that make it difficult to lose weight?
Where do you store fat?
Are you an emotional eater?
What is your food environment/culture like? Do you have access to fresh food?

When it comes to weight loss and weight maintenance, consistency is key because even cheating three days a week is enough to negatively impact your gut microbiome as much as if you were eating a diet consisting entirely of junk food ( Journal of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research ). That being said, food is meant to be enjoyed and that includes some well-timed, pre-planned indulgences. The trick is to cap your indulgence to a single treat or meal. Enjoy it guilt-free and then go right back to your veggie and fruit loving ways.

Here are some additional thoughts from the experts...

1. Stop thinking of it as "cheating."

First of all, you might want to reconsider calling it a cheat day or cheat meal. "The notion of a 'cheat day' actually does more harm than good. If you dedicate a frame of time (a day, a week) as the time to 'cheat,' then you're more likely to eat just to eat because you feel like this is your one time to do so," says Caspero. (Just take it from Zoe Saldana , who doesn't believe in 'cheat days' or diets, for that matter.)

Instead, think of it as consciously indulging, offers Tori Holthaus, R.D.N., founder of Yes! Nutrition in Ohio. Find what matters to you — if brunch is your go-to meal, then enjoy that. If you love pizza, have a slice and really relish it. "There's so much power in enjoying your meal without guilt . Ironically, the more guilt we feel about eating decadent food, the more likely we are to overeat," adds Caspero. Read the entire article HERE

2. 90% Healthy.

Aim to stick to your healthy diet 90 percent of the time. If you eat three meals and a snack each day (plus a workout shake four days a week when you exercise, which may not be true for everyone), that means you eat 32 times per week. Twenty-nine of those 32 meals and snacks should stick to your healthy diet plan, leaving three to do whatever you want. It sounds simple, but once you start tracking your adherence to your diet plan, you'll be surprised how easy it is to skip a meal or grab a quick, refined sugar-rich snack when you're short on time and, next thing you know, you're calling it a cheat day. Read more of the article HERE

3. Don't treat food as ALL or NOTHING.

Many of us can fall into the trap of treating food like a tool to punish or comfort ourselves. While eating a big slice of cake may help you immediately feel better after a bad day, most times, you’ll eventually feel a bit worse from all that sugar and regret that choice.

Cheat meals can, over time, also create a feeling like a diet or meal plan is all or nothing, that if you don’t strictly follow that plan, you’re a failure. “It’s about maintaining a healthy balance overall,” says Patton. “It’s possible to have a healthy diet or meal plan that doesn’t cut anything out, it just shifts the focus to portion control.” Read the entire article HERE

4. Every body is different.

Just because a particular method worked for your best friend doesn't mean it will work for you. There is no "one-size-fits-all" method when it comes to losing or maintaining weight. Some people can have just a bite of a dessert and walk away feeling satisfied while others have more of an addition personality. To borrow an AA saying and extrapolate it to food, "One bite too many, 500 too few."

5. Can a cheat meal/day increase my metabolism?

Proponents of the cheat meal strategy for weight loss further theorize that intermittent periods of higher-calorie foods will trick your hormone cycle into producing more leptin temporarily and prevent the desire for rebound overeating. Unfortunately, there is little rigorous scientific research to support this theory. It’s still unclear how fluctuations in leptin levels associated with weight changes affect someone’s ability to control their eating behaviors and maintain weight loss . As a result, more research is needed. At this stage, it’s more likely that weight loss occurs for some people with the cheat method because of a reduction in overall calorie intake that is achieved by sticking to a well-planned diet most of the time and limiting high-calorie junk foods. Read the entire article HERE

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Lifestyle Diets: What Are They?

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 03:30:29 GMT

A Lifestyle diet is a healthy pattern of eating designed to promote optimal health.

What are Lifestyle Diets?

Lifestyle diets are patterns of eating that focus on specific foods and food combinations that are designed to prevent and control disease. They stem from the "food is medicine" perspective and can be incredibly effective for several reasons. First, each lifestyle diet is not a "diet" in the traditional sense of calorie restriction, but rather promotes a lifestyle of living that promotes physical activity and embraces fresh, nutritious, and seasonal foods. Second, lifestyle diets have a specific health goal in mind which provides motivation to be consistent, and third, lifestyle patterns of eating that are maintained consistently usually result in weight loss and promote weight maintenance.

Examples of lifestyle patterns of eating include:

The Medditerranean Diet: promotes heart health by focusing on fruits/veggies, legumes, fatty fish for omega-3's
The Dash Diet: a low-sodium pattern of eating to help control high blood pressure and promote heart health
Plant-Forward Eating: plant based eating which focuses on heart health by promoting plants in all their forms.
MIND Diet: targets food sources of omega-3 fatty acids such as walnuts and fatty fishes as well as fruits and veggies to promote a healthy brain.
The Diabetes Diet: a lower carbohydrate eating pattern to help control blood sugar levels. The focus is on lean proteins and fruits and veggies as well as whole grains.
TLC Diet (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes): A cholesterol-lowering diet that promotes fruits/veggies, legumes, whole grains and lean proteins.

Notice any similarities? Even though these patterns of eating have different health outcome focuses, they ALL promote the same foods. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins and lots of physical activity. What does that tell us about what type of lifestyle we should be trying to create? A lot. Optimal health is based on the same eating pattern, but it can be packaged up and marketed in a variety of ways. We humans are always looking for the next magic plan or pill when in reality we just need to stick to the basics. It may not be exciting, but over the long term it works. Remember, you are what you eat. :)

Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates

Reasons To Eat Dairy

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 16:38:10 GMT

I get a lot of questions about dairy.

Is it good? Is it bad? Does it cause inflammation? My mom always told me not to drink milk if I have a cold, does it actually increase mucus production? What about the hormones fed to cows that get into the milk? Is milk treated with antibiotics? I hate milk, can I just take a supplement? I'm lactose intolerant, are there ANY dairy products I can have? What kind of milk should I drink, skim 2% or whole?

Yikes! So many questions about milk, so let's start at the beginning. I'll leave the question of whether you should be drinking milk up to you, but let's me clear before I get started. I love milk and I drink it every single day. That being said, dairy products are not for everyone and here's why.

Lactose Intolerance--Most of the world's population is lactose intolerant, meaning they lack the enzyme lactase which is needed to break down lactose or milk sugar. Those of us with European descent however lucked out in the milk department because most of us can digest lactose, though figures range from 12-36% for adults in the US who are lactose intolerant. If you are lactose intolerant you'll definitely know it by the bloating, cramping and diarrhea you experience about 30 minutes after you consume too much lactose.

Does Dairy Cause Inflammation?--This assumption has been a major strike against dairy, but whether it is true or not is another story. Because dairy products contain saturated fat and saturated fat is known to increase inflammation, it has been assumed that dairy products cause inflammation. Compounding this assumption are the unpleasant symptoms people experience with a milk allergy or lactose intolerance. In a certain subset of people (those with allergies, intolerances, sibo, leaky gut, etc) dairy products can cause an increase in inflammatory markers.

In recent years, a plethora of research has focused on the inflammatory effects of dairy on the general population and, good news, the preponderance of evidence points towards a neutral or mildly anti-inflammatory effect from dairy products. In fact, a 2017 study which looked at the results of 52 studies concluded that dairy, particularly fermented products, have anti-inflammatory properties on those who don't have milk allergies.

Does the saturated fat in dairy products increase risk for heart disease?--There is so much interesting research coming out on this topic right now. First, it's important to understand that the term "saturated fat" encompasses a list of close to forty different fatty acids. So even though our food labels lump them all together and list grams of "saturated fat" there is actually quite a bit of variation within the fatty acids themselves. For example, dark chocolate contains a specific saturated fatty acid named stearic acid that does not raise blood cholesterol. However, it also contains palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid which does raise cholesterol levels. Dairy is known to contain several saturated fatty acids which do not seem to impact cholesterol levels and some studies actually indicate that dairy decreases risk of heart disease. For example this study sumarized below:

Details: This review looked at evidence from 18 observational studies on the link between saturated fat intake from dairy products and risk of heart disease and death. The studies included more than 40,000 participants and measured blood levels of pentadecanoic acid and heptadecanoic acid, both of which are saturated fats found in dairy. Studies also measured levels of trans-palmitoleic acid, a type of trans fat found naturally in foods such as milk, cheese, and yogurt.

Results: Higher blood levels of pentadecanoic acid and heptadecanoic acid were linked to a lower risk of heart disease but not death. Blood levels of trans-palmitoleic acid were not associated with the risk of heart disease or death.

Conclusion: Consuming higher amounts of saturated fat from dairy may be associated with a reduced risk of heart disease.

Skim Milk vs Whole Milk?

So, while t here is mounting evidence to indicate that the fat in dairy actually has protective effects, increased intake of red meat, refined carbohydrates, and sugar are associated with greater incidence of heart disease.

Bottom Line:--Dairy products are a great source of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A and protein for relatively few calories, plus, they taste great. So, if you like them, eat them!

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Probiotics vs. Prebiotics: What's the Difference?

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 01:04:20 GMT

Probiotics and prebiotics are buzzwords we hear a lot, but might not know a lot about. Common questions I hear are:

1-What are probiotics? Why do I need them in my diet?
2-What are prebiotics? Wait, do I need to eat these too?
3-What's the difference between the two?
4-Which foods contain probiotics/prebiotics?
And the most common question...
5-Can I just take a probiotic pill?

Let's dive right in and start answering those questions! Probiotics are different classes of live microbes (usually bacteria, but sometimes a yeast) that are found in many types of foods. They serve important functions in maintaining and even restoring the health of our gut microbiome (which is filled with all kinds of microorganisms, both helpful and harmful) depending on the foods we eat.

Of the trilloions of microbes that reside in our gut, many are harmless, some are helpful, and others cause disease. Obviously, we want as many helpful microbes living in our gut as possible and this is where probiotics come in.

Probiotics can be ingested via supplements as well as in food form because certain foods are fermented or cultured with these specific strains of bacteria. There is some disagreement about which bacteria are the most helpful to supplement, but in general, the lactobacillus and bifidobacteria strains are considered to be both helpful in promoting a healthy gut and readily available in food products as well as supplement forms.

Common and tasty foods that contain probiotics include yogurt, kefir (my favorite!), kombucha, saurkraut, miso, and kimchi. Foods that may contain probiotics could include cottage cheese and some aged cheeses. How do you know if your favorite brand contains any probiotics? It's a huge selling point, so just check the label. Fun Fact: Buttlermilk is also a cultured product, but the type of bacteria used to culture it is destroyed during the process so it cannot claim to have "live and active cultures." Too bad.

If you can picture probiotics as happy, hungry little bacteria in your gut, then imagine prebiotics as their food. Prebiotics are a type of undigestible fiber found in certain foods that feed the healthy bacteria in your gut. Common foods that are high in prebiotics include apples, bananas, asparagus, onions, and garlic. Less common foods include jerusalem artichokes, chicory root, dandelion greens and leeks.

Why should we even care about the microorganisms in our gut? Your microbiome actually performs several crucial health functions including manufacturing some vitamins, like K and some of the B vitamins, performs metabolic functions and is crucial in boosting immunity. In short, an unhealthy gut microbiome opens you up to disease.

I'll bet you can guess what compromises your gut microbiome by decreasing healthy bacteria and increasing the amounts of harmful bacteria...Yup, you guess it, ultra-processed foods. Foods like doritos, candy, fishie crackers, pop tarts, sodas, ect. all destroy the helpful bacteria in your gut leaving you wide open for chronic diseases and inflammation.

And the final question, what about supplements as a source of probiotics? The answer is, it depends. If you are trying to increase your intake of probiotics for general health, then food sources are great and have the added benefit of extra nutrition. If you want to increase probiotics in your diet to deal with a specific medical condition or disease state, then supplements may be the choice for you since you can get higher amounts more quickly. However, different types of probiotic bacteria are good for different conditions, so that is a decision that needs to be made on a case by case basis with your healthcare provider.

In the meantime though, eat some yogurt.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

The Problem With Ultra Processed Foods

Sat, 11 May 2024 00:41:58 GMT

Ultra-processed foods (UPF's), a term coined by Carlos Montieros, a famous Brazilian nutritional epidemiologist, are being blamed for all kinds of woes these days including the rise in obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and many other types of chronic diseases. Ranging from twinkies to hotdogs, cold cereals to doritos, UPF's make up over 50% of the average American diet. That's a lot of twinkies! But what are they and are they really as bad for your health as all that?

Well, according to a study published in 2024 in the British Medical Journal that included data from over 9 million people, UPF's can make you sick to the tune of increased risk of anxiety, depression, obesity, metabolic syndrome, certain cancers including colorectal cancer and premature death.

From a culture that routinely feeds its children goldfish crackers as the snack of choice, maybe it's time to make some changes? But first it's helpful to understand how processed foods are classified because some of them are really good for you! Dr. Montieros created a classification system called Nova (the Latin word for "new") that is now being used all over the world.

Nova classifies foods into four categories:
Unprocessed or minimally processed foods, like fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, beans, lentils, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, plain yogurt, rice, pasta, corn meal, flour, coffee, tea and herbs and spices.

Processed culinary ingredients, such as cooking oils, butter, sugar, honey, vinegar and salt.
Processed foods made by combining foods from Category 1 with the ingredients of Category 2 and preserving or modifying them with relatively simple methods like canning, bottling, fermentation and baking. This group includes freshly baked bread, most cheeses and canned vegetables, beans and fish. These foods may contain preservatives that extend shelf life.
Ultraprocessed foods made using industrial methods and ingredients you wouldn’t typically find in grocery stores — like high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and concentrated proteins like soy isolate. They often contain additives like flavorings, colorings or emulsifiers to make them appear more attractive and palatable. Think sodas and energy drinks, chips, candies, flavored yogurts, margarine, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, sausages, lunch meats, boxed macaroni and cheese, infant formulas and most packaged breads, plant milks, meat substitutes and breakfast cereals.

Similarly, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics ranks processed foods from minimally to mostly processed:

Minimally processed foods, such as fresh blueberries, cut vegetables and roasted nuts, are simply prepped for convenience.
Foods processed at their peak to lock in nutritional quality and freshness include canned tomatoes or tuna, and frozen fruit or vegetables.
Foods with ingredients added for flavor and texture, such as sweeteners, spices, oils, colors and preservatives, include jarred pasta sauce, salad dressing, yogurt and cake mixes.
Ready-to-eat foods, such as crackers, chips and deli meat, are more heavily processed.
The most heavily processed foods often are frozen or premade meals, including frozen pizza and microwaveable dinners.

Minimally processed foods have a place in healthy diets. For example, low-fat milk, whole-grain or wheat breads, precut vegetables and fresh-cut greens are considered processed foods. Also, milks and juices may be fortified with vitamin D and calcium, while breakfast cereals may have added fiber. And canned fruits packed in water or natural fruit juice can be part of a healthy diet when fresh fruit isn't easily available.

Read the entire article HERE

Health Risks of Heavily Processed Foods

There are many potential health effects of ultra processed foods, including:

Increased cancer risk. A five-year study of over 100,000 people found that every 10 percent increase in consumption of ultra processed food was associated with a 12 percent higher risk for cancer.
Too much sugar, sodium and fat. Heavily processed foods often include unhealthy levels of added sugar , sodium and fat . These ingredients make the food we eat taste better, but too much of them leads to serious health issues like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes .
Lacking in nutritional value. Heavy processing strips many foods of their basic nutrients, which is why many foods today are fortified with fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Calorie dense and addicting. It’s very easy to overindulge in unhealthy food and consume more calories than we realize. For example, an Oreo cookie contains about 50 calories , while an entire cup of green beans is only 44 calories. Processed foods like these are also designed to stimulate our brain’s “feel-good” dopamine center, making us crave more of them in the future.
Quicker to digest. Processed foods are easier to digest than unprocessed, whole foods. That means our bodies burn less energy (hint: calories) digesting them. It’s estimated we burn half as many calories digesting processed foods compared to unprocessed foods. This fact combined with the calorie density of processed foods in general can make it easy to pack on the pounds.
Full of artificial ingredients. There are about 5,000 substances that get added to our food. Most of them have never been tested by anyone other than the company using them. That includes additives to change color, texture, flavor and odor as well as ingredients like preservatives and sweeteners.

Read the entire article HERE

So, as a h e alth-conscious consumer, what can you do? The answer is simple: Limit or eliminate UPF's from your diet. There are so many delicious choices out there, fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, legumes...the list is extensive. The change from UPF's to whole foods will certainly change your life and health for the better.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Should I Quit Caffeine?

Sun, 05 May 2024 00:08:41 GMT

The Pros & Cons of Caffeine

Are there health benefits to caffeine?

Definitely, yes. It can:

Boost Energy Levels : By far, the most famous effect of caffeine is its ability to help energize people. This occurs because caffeine is a substance known as a stimulant , which helps create an improved mood, higher levels of alertness, and lower levels of self-reported fatigue among users.
Increase Metabolic Rate : The same stimulant effect that can help make you more alert may also give your metabolism a boost. Consuming the amount of caffeine found in a single cup of coffee has been linked to a 3-4% increase in metabolic rate. This means that consuming caffeine may slightly increase the number of calories you burn in a day.Researchers are still studying to confirm whether this effect happens on its own. Another possibility is that caffeine reduces fatigue and encourages more movement or exercise in people.
Improve Exercise Performance: The same reduction in fatigue may help you exercise more efficiently. Studies suggest that consuming a moderate amount of caffeine before exercise can help improve your athletic performance and reduce your fatigue during the exercise.Caffeine may even make exercise feel less difficult, which can help you enjoy the process more and exercise more frequently.

How much caffeine is too much?

The Food and Drug Administration says that most adults can safely consume up to 400 milligrams a day. There is definitely a dark side to caffeine as well. From his article, "Caffeine, The Invisible Addiction," Michael Pollan, the renowned author of "In Defense of Food" writes...

"For most of us, to be caffeinated to one degree or another has simply become baseline human consciousness. Something like 90% of humans ingest caffeine regularly, making it the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world, and the only one we routinely give to children (commonly in the form of fizzy drinks). Few of us even think of it as a drug, much less our daily use of it as an addiction. It’s so pervasive that it’s easy to overlook the fact that to be caffeinated is not baseline consciousness but, in fact, an altered state. It just happens to be a state that virtually all of us share, rendering it invisible.The scientists have spelled out, and I had duly noted, the predictable symptoms of caffeine withdrawal: headache, fatigue, lethargy, difficulty concentrating, decreased motivation, irritability, intense distress, loss of confidence and dysphoria. But beneath that deceptively mild rubric of “difficulty concentrating” hides nothing short of an existential threat to the work of the writer. How can you possibly expect to write anything when you can’t concentrate? I postponed it as long as I could, but finally the dark day arrived. According to the researchers I’d interviewed, the process of withdrawal had actually begun overnight, while I was sleeping, during the “trough” in the graph of caffeine’s diurnal effects. The day’s first cup of tea or coffee acquires most of its power – its joy! – not so much from its euphoric and stimulating properties than from the fact that it is suppressing the emerging symptoms of withdrawal. This is part of the insidiousness of caffeine. Its mode of action, or “pharmacodynamics”, mesh so perfectly with the rhythms of the human body that the morning cup of coffee arrives just in time to head off the looming mental distress set in motion by yesterday’s cup of coffee. Daily, caffeine proposes itself as the optimal solution to the problem caffeine creates."
Excerpt from: "The Invisible Addiction: Is It Time To Give Up Caffeine?

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 18:39:38 GMT

A Plant-Based Diet May Lower Your Blood Pressure.

High blood pressure can increase the risk for health issues, including heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. ( 2 ) Fortunately, the foods you eat can make a difference. Several studies have shown that sticking with a plant-based diet can reduce blood pressure , thereby reducing your risk for those conditions. A meta-analysis explored data from 39 studies and concluded that people who followed a vegetarian diet had lower blood pressure on average than those who followed omnivorous diets, meaning those including plants and meat. ( 3 ) And another study found that vegetarians had a 34 percent lower risk of developing hypertension than nonvegetarians. ( 4 )

2. A Plant-Based Diet May Keep Your Heart Healthy
Meat contains saturated fat , which can contribute to heart issues when eaten in excess. So by cutting back on meat and loading up on plant-based foods, you’re doing your ticker a favor. ( 5 ) A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that eating a plant-based diet may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 16 percent and of dying of this health condition by about 31 percent. ( 6 ) But it’s not just about limiting meat: To help prevent cardiovascular disease, you want to consume foods that are anti-inflammatory, which happen to be mainly plant-based foods . These include green leafy vegetables, yellow vegetables, whole grains, walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, fatty fish, tomatoes, and fruits. Likewise, you’ll want to avoid pro-inflammatory foods, such as processed meats, processed foods , fried foods, and refined sugar.

3. A Plant-Based Diet May Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
It’s well known that there’s a link between diet and type 2 diabetes. Weight is a major risk factor since more fatty tissue makes the cells more resistant to insulin , according to the Mayo Clinic. ( 8 ) But which type of diet is best to avoid type 2 diabetes? Studies suggest that a plant-based one has benefits . A study found that eating a plant-based diet filled with high-quality plant foods reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 34 percent. ( 9 ) It’s likely because plants are lower in saturated fats than animal foods, which raises cholesterol levels and your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, notes the American Diabetes Association. ( 10 ) Another study, published in Diabetes Care, found the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 7.6 percent among nonvegetarians and only 2.9 percent for vegans. ( 11 )

4. Eating a Plant-Based Diet Could Help You Lose Weight
Your risk of obesity decreases when you swap a meat-heavy diet for a plant-based one. In short: Plant eaters tend to weigh less, even if that’s not always the No. 1 goal. “The idea is to nourish the body and cells to improve health outcomes, but weight loss may be a by-product of replacing and reducing certain foods,” Feller says. The aforementioned Diabetes Care study found substantial body mass index (BMI) differences between non-meat eaters and meat eaters. (11) The mean BMI for vegans was 23.6, while for nonvegetarians it was 28.8, which qualifies as overweight, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (11, 12 ). Eating more plants can help you drop pounds, too. A small study found that 65 overweight adults who followed a whole-food, plant-based diet for one year lost 9.25 pounds on average. Plus, this diet was not calorie-restricted; the participants were allowed to eat what they wanted and still lost weight. ( 13 )
One reason for the weight loss is that whole grains and vegetables are relatively low on the glycemic index — which means they’re digested more slowly — and fruit contains antioxidants and fiber , which helps prolong fullness, according to research. ( 14 ) It’s incredibly important to prioritize healthy, quality plant-based foods if weight loss is your goal. “Someone can eat a very healthy plant-based diet, but they can also eat a very unhealthy plant-based diet,” Linares says.

5. Following a Plant-Based Diet Long Term May Help You Live Longer
All of the other potential benefits listed here roll into one major one: living longer. The Journal of the American Heart Association study found that a plant-based diet lowers the risk of all causes of mortality by 25 percent. (6) And beyond that, the protective levels increase if you stick with healthy plant-based foods. Another study found that eating healthy plant foods versus unhealthy ones extends that protection layer by another 5 percent. To determine healthy plant foods, researchers assigned various nonanimal products a score between 1 and 17. Less-healthy foods — like soda, cake, and white bread — though meat-free, received a low score; meanwhile, healthier plant foods— like whole grains, veggies, and fruit — received a higher score. ( 15 )

6. A Plant-Based Diet May Decrease Your Risk of Cancer
As we’ve seen, following a plant-based diet has many health benefits — but can it help prevent cancer ? Research suggests that the answer could be yes. The American Institute for Cancer Research says the best way to source cancer-protective nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, is to eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and some animal foods. ( 16 ) And the same goes for cancer survivors. A review published in Cancer Management and Research notes the protective benefits are there, though they’re moderate (lowering the risk for certain cancers by about 10 percent) and are likely due to the nutrients present in plant foods and because eating this way promotes a healthy weight. ( 17 )

7. A Plant-Based Diet May Improve Your Cholesterol
High cholesterol can lead to fatty deposits in the blood, which can restrict blood flow and potentially lead to heart attack, stroke, or heart disease. ( 18 ) But a healthy diet can help keep cholesterol levels in check. Specifically, moving away from a diet filled with animal products toward one that’s primarily plant based can lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol by between 10 and 15 percent, while those following a strict vegan diet can lower their LDL cholesterol by as much as 25 percent, according to a review of 27 studies published in TheAmerican Journal of Cardiology. ( 19 )

8. Eating a Plant-Based Diet May Minimize Your Risk of Stroke
Your risk for stroke increases if you have high blood pressure, are overweight, have diabetes or heart disease, have high cholesterol, or smoke, drink, or use drugs. ( 20 ) As noted above, most of those risk factors can be wiped out by following a plant-based diet and making healthy lifestyle choices. After all, half of strokes are preventable. (20) One simple way to reduce your risk is by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables. The highest consumers of fruits and veggies had a 21 percent lower risk of stroke than those who consumed the least, according to a study. ( 21 )

9. Ramping Up Your Plant Intake May Keep Your Brain Strong
The physiological benefits of following a plant-based diet are many, but there are some possible mental ones, too. “There is some compelling research examining plant-based diets and their role in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s ,” Feller says. A review of nine studies found that eating an extra 100 grams of fruits and vegetables per day (about one-half cup) led to a 13 percent reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia . ( 22 )
The likely reason: Fruits and vegetables are rich in polyphenols, which an article published in Nutrients notes are in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (aka, the cornerstones of a plant-based diet). Polyphenols may help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and may help reverse cognitive decline, according to a review published in Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. ( 23 )

*Excerpt from "9 Scientific Benefits Of Following A Plant-Based Diet"

How To Organize Your Life And Lose Weight

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 19:13:59 GMT

Did you know that organized people have more success managing their weight? Consider the opposite, disorganization.

Your kitchen is a mess, the sink is full of dishes, the garbage can is overflowing and the fridge is empty. Cooking dinner at home? No way, the kitchen is too messy, so you pick up fast food. Again.

You are behind at work and stay up too late finishing a work project, then binge watch your favorite show till past midnight trying to unwind. Exercise in the morning? Forget it!

The stars have aligned and you decide to head to the gym only to find that all your workout clothes are in the laundry. Instead off throwing in a load of wash, you give up and eat some candy.

Disorganization can definitely derail your weight loss efforts, so take a deep breath and plan how to better organize your life, starting today.

Organize Your Time: Even if your house is immaculate, time disorganization can derail your efforts to lose weight or maintain your weight loss. Taking care of your health in the form of daily exercise, prepping healthy foods, and restful sleep is an investment of time and you likely don't have any to waste.
GOAL: Identify the ways you waste time and eliminate at least one time waster this week.

Organize Your Kitchen: Nobody wants to cook in a messy kitchen, or even eat in one, it's very unappetizing. In order to facilitate healthy food choices you need an organized kitchen. A place for everything, and everything in its place.
GOAL: Get rid of the clutter in your kitchen. Toss out all the expired foods and unused dishes. That old platter Aunt Mabel passed onto you that's been gathering dust for thirty years? Bye-bye!

Organize Your Grocery List & Menu Plan: Every week you need 15 minutes to plan and 1 hour to grocery shop. Every day you need at least 1 hour to prep, cook, and clean up the kitchen. Take as long as you like to eat.
GOAL: If you've gotten lazy with your menu planning, the start of the new year is a great time to reinstate the habit.

Organize Your Evening Routine: It's hard to do anything well when you are tired and it's even worse when the sleep deprivation is perpetual and constant. Don't expect to be able to lose weight if you don't have a good wind-down routine in the evenings that helps you get peaceful rest. Hopefully 8 hours of it!
GOAL: Count backwards from your wake-up time to determine what time you need to go to sleep each night. Work every night to hit this goal. Count on at least 1 hour for your night-time routine to help you relax before you turn out the lights. The only way to go to bed earlier is to stop doing whatever you're doing at night

Organize Your Environment: By uncluttering your environment, you will unclutter your brain and leave lots of empty space in your life for exercise, food prep and sleep. A place for everything and everything in its place.
GOAL: Pick one room to declutter. If an item doesn't have a current use or bring you joy, get rid of it. Once it's gone, it's unlikely you will ever miss it.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Thanksgiving Tips To Eat By

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 16:52:31 GMT

You know that stuffed, sick feeling when you've eaten too much? I'm sure we all do because our eyes are often bigger than our stomachs. Actually, your stomach is designed to hold around 1 quart of food (or about 4 cups) when it is very full, but the stomach is an amazing organ and overeating can distend it to the size of 17 cups of food! Just because a stomach has been reported to hold that much doesn't mean it's a good idea. In fact, many people report better digestion and relief from acid reflux or indigestion when they stick to small meals (no more than 2-3 cups of food at one time).

Taking in too many calories on a regular basis is a prime reason for weight gain. And we all know, anecdotally speaking of course, that losing weight takes a lot more time and effort that gaining it. So, with the holidays right around the corner, how can you ensure that your weight doesn't creep up over the next 6 weeks? Try these tips to eat moderately over the Thanksgiving holiday and keep your weight in check.

Use the hunger scale. I know this seems overly simplified, but STOP EATING WHEN YOU ARE SATISFIED. Notice, I didn't say "full" or "stuffed", just satisfied.
Really, the only way to stop eating when you are satisfied is to EAT SLOWER.
Drink a glass of WATER before each meal.
Use a SMALLER PLATE to trick your eyes and hopefully your stomach.
Practice MINDFUL EATING. Enjoy the sight, smell, texture and even sound of your food as you savor small bites.
Load your plate up with FRUITS and VEGGIES first.
Replace alcohol at those festive occasions with soda water, plain water, milk, anything really. NOT drinking alcohol will save you hundreds of calories in crackers and cheese as you keep a tighter hold on your inhibitions.
SKIP DESSERT and opt for fruit instead. Or if you must have pie, just have a few bites.
Practice NOT HAVING SECONDS everyday between now and Thanksgiving Day (this is a hard one for most of us).
FOCUS ON PEOPLE, not food
Get some physical activity today (and everyday).

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Healthy Holiday Habits

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 18:36:00 GMT

Routines are Key To Holiday Weight Maintenance

You may have heard the average weight gain over the holidays is 5-7 pounds. Fortunately for all of us, that's just not true. A 2019 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the average holiday weight gain was just under a pound, or.37 kilograms. However, the same study also highlighted that very few people lose that extra pound come January, or even spring meaning that year after year, the pounds keep adding up. Not good news when it comes to maintaining your weight over the long haul!

The good news is there are plenty of strategies you can use during the holidays to keep the extra weight off and feel your best come January. One of the most important things you can do is build healthy routines.

Exercise Routine
Studies show that people who exercise first thing in the morning are more compliant with healthy behaviors during the remainder of the day, but anytime of day you exercise is good and has specific benefits . Aim to burn 300+ calories.

Breakfast Routine
Your fi r st meal of the day needs to be protein rich. Try a piece of whole gain toast topped with egg and smashed avocado. Add in 1 c. of halved cherry tomatoes for a total of 2 servings of fruits/veggies. This combination will help stabilize blood sugar and curb cravings throughout the day.

Lunch Routine
When it comes to healthy eating, an easy rule of thumb is to shoot for 2+2+2. That means 2 fruits/veggies for breakfast, 2 for lunch, and 2 for dinner. For lunch try this easy-to-make salad topped with chickpeas and loaded with protein and fiber.

Snacks
The ideal afternoon snack is a fruit or vegetable paired with a protein. Why? Protein suppresses ghrelin , your hunger hormone, helping you feel satiated while f/v pack fiber and water volume, both of which help you feel full. Satisfy your sweet tooth with the natural sugars in this mango smoothie.

Dinner Routine
Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner. When you eat lighter fare for dinner and cut your food intake off 3-4 hours before bedtime, your body has a chance to digest your food while you are still active and contributes to more restful sleep. Try this protein/veggie bowl.

Bedtime Routine
The success of the following day depends on this crucial time! Prep your food for the following day. Get your electronics out of the bedroom. Go to bed early and aim for 7-9 hours of sleep every night.

The 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 00:08:38 GMT

What is clean eating?

Although there is no one universally accepted definition, the following guidelines will help give you the jumpstart you need to a healthier and happier you in 2022!

Avoid processed foods of all kinds, refined grains, added sugars, soda, juice, artificial sweeteners (this means diet soda, Crystal Light, etc), sodium, processed meats, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.
Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, grass-fed beef, fish poultry, eggs, fresh spices, healthy fats and water.
During your 7-day challenge, sleep 8 hours every night, drink 64 ounces of filtered water and exercise for at least 30 minutes every day, however, more is better!

At the end of your 7-day challenge, assess how you feel. Do you have more energy? Do you feel better? Less bloated? Are you sleeping better? Did you lose a pound or two? If so, then keep it up because eating clean on a consistent basis is the key to weight loss and weight maintenance. You've got nothing to lose, except weight! Below is a 1-day sample menu.

Clean Eating 1-Day Sample Menu

Breakfast

2 eggs, scrambled
1 cup of chopped fresh vegetables, seasoned with turmeric, black pepper and fresh basil
1/2 an avocado
Side of fresh fruit
1 cup 1% milk

Lunch

Grain bowl made with:

Fresh greens
Other chopped vegetables of your choice
Small scoop each of lentils and quinoa
Dressing made from extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and dried Italian herb seasoning

Snack

1 cup of fresh fruit
1/4 cup of tree nuts
1 single-serve container of Greek yogurt
Combine fruit and yogurt together, sprinkle with chopped nuts and a dash of ground cinnamon

Dinner

2 cups of vegetables of your choice, sautéed or oven roasted with extra virgin olive oil
3-4 oz. of lean protein (roasted chicken or seafood or beans)
1 handful of oven roasted baby potatoes

Dessert

Choose one of the following:

1 to 2 squares of 70% dark chocolate
Homemade chocolate avocado pudding
Plant-based chia pudding

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

The 4 Essential Habits of Weight Loss To Start Off A New Year

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 17:05:26 GMT

People often ask me how I maintain my weight through the years. Well, first of all, let me tell you it's a lot of effort and it's a lifestyle of habits. But if I had to hone it down to the four essential habits I have cultivated through the years, it would be these.

Habit #1--Exercise almost every day.

You know, the sweaty kind that makes you breathe hard. I started exercising when I was fifteen because I was a chubby, self-conscious teenager. That was my motivation to start, but through the years, my motivation to keep going has been to stay sane mentally and emotionally. Exercise is a really good coping strategy for whatever ails you! It's not easy, I know. It's hard to find the time, the motivation, blah, blah, those are all just excuses, because we make time for the things that are most important to us. There were many days, weeks, months, where I was just barely scraping by, but through surgeries and childbirth six times, I managed to keep exercising, even if it was very little sometimes. Just remember, when it comes to exercise, something is always better than nothing. If I can do it, so can you!

Habit #2--Treat food as medicine.

I stay away from white flour, sugar (including all artificial sweeteners), and salt. Making the decision to not eat the "whites" has had far reaching consequences for my weight through the years and saved me at least 10 million extra calories. Deciding to stay away from white flour, sugar and extra salt eliminates baked goods of all kinds, all ultra-processed foods, sodas, juices, candy...you get the picture. Do I feel deprived? No way! Do I have "cheat" days? Nope. There's no need to cheat when you are eating delicious and healthy foods everyday that you love. I follow a Medditerrean-style diet focused on fruits and veggies, an array of whole grains, legumes, beans, lean proteins, gourmet cheeses and nuts. I try to include probiotic foods like kefir, Greek yogurt and kimchi on an almost daily basis. And let's not forget the dark chocolate. With all that yummy food to eat, I don't have time to eat garbage masquerading as food.

Habit #3--Cook and eat at home.

I rarely eat out and that is one of the best kept secrets to weight loss and maintenance. In the beginning, I would have loved to eat out for every meal, but we were too poor! After we had a little more money, we had too many kids and it was like packing up the circus to take all the kids to a restaurant (easier to corral them at home). Then I learned how to really cook and eating shabby burgers out was no longer worth the trade-off of convenience when I could whip up feta and sundried tomato stuffed chicken over a wild-rice pilaf in the same amount of time it took to go to a restaurant, spend a ton of money, receive subpar service and go home feeling ill from too many calories.

Sidenote: I did not enjoy cooking for the first 15 years of my adult life. It was a hassle, a bother and a thorn in my side. Luckily, I was blessed with a very large family who always wanted to eat and I finally wised up and realized that food is the magic that brings us together. After a stint in culinary school, I have devoted the last 10 years to learning to cook, fresh, healthy, gourmet and in season. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Habit #4--Drink water.

When I say "drink water" I am talking about giving it exclusive rights. That means I don't drink soda, diet soda, juice, gatorade, coffee, tea or alcohol. Did I miss anything? Milk? I do drink milk because apparently it does a body good according to the ad. Some people find they can't drink milk because they are lactose intolerant, but I drink at least 1 cup of milk daily along with 64 oz of water. Why do I stick exclusively to water? Other beverages have a red or yellow flag tied to it including the potential for addiction (caffeine, alcohol), links to cancer (alcohol, artificial sweeteners), glucose control challenges (soda, diet soda, juice). I have enough challenges already to manage my weight and create optimal health, I don't need to make it harder than it already is.

What if you just don't like water? It's plain, it's tasteless...Well, all that is true, but becoming a water drinker is a skill that can be gained with practice, just like any other skill. Try it room temperature, try it cold with ice or infused with fruit. Eventually, if you keep practicing, it's a habit that will stick.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Is Losing Weight A Losing Battle?

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 16:35:32 GMT

Metabolic Adaptations To Weight Loss

Remember how fascinated we were with The Biggest Loser tv reality show? We cheered their weight loss success and then subsequently mourned as they gained the weight back. In fact, in some instances they gained back more weight than they lost. You may remember when the shocking study was published in 2016 revealing the extreme metabolic adaptation (when your resting metabolic rate is less than predicted) that occurred in the contestants of The Biggest Loser show. After 6 years, their metabolism still hadn't recovered to predicted levels. In fact, the average RMR was almost 500 calories lower than expected!

We mourned for all the weight they gained back of course, but mostly we mourned for our own weight loss experience because if the contestants, with their army of doctors, nutritionists, and psychologists gained the weight back and then some, how are we any different? Why even bother to try to lose weight if weight regain is inevitable? Is weight maintenance after weight loss a hopeless, losing battle?

Nope!

Interestingly, since that discouraging and very publicized 2016 study, many follow-up studies have tried to replicate the same results without much success. The truest thing to say about metabolic adaptions during and after weight loss, especially persistent metabolic adaptation is that we just don't have a lot off answers. But here's what we do know:

During a state of calorie restriction (that would be dieting), metabolic adaption does indeed occur.
It is unpredictable who will experience metabolic adaption.
A whole host of recent studies have shown that after weight loss when weight stability is achieved, metabolic adaptation resolves for most people.
A recent meta-analysis showed more metabolic adaptation with rapid weight loss than with gradual weight loss.
Preserving lean body mass (via adequate protein intake and strength training) decreases metabolic adaption.
A new concept called Interval Weight Loss (cycles through a pattern of weight loss for 4 weeks then weight maintenance for 4 weeks, then back to weight loss, etc) purports to avoid metabolic adaption.

Is there any explanation for the extreme metabolic adaptation experienced by the contestants of The Biggest Loser? Nothing definitive, but certainly a lot of speculation. One hypothesis is that the weight loss methods employed on the show were so extreme it permanently wrecked the contestants' metabolisms. Another is that they had so much help and so much structure during the filming of the show that when left to their own devices they were unable to replicate the conditions to maintain weight loss. Both theories probably play into the disappointing weight maintenance results. However, that does not mean your weight loss efforts are doomed. Far from it, by employing long-term, sustainable lifestyle changes YOU can maintain your weight loss.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Exercise--How Much Is Enough?

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 20:23:26 GMT

Many of us try to get by with as little as possible, the bare minimum to get the job done. We are busy after all! When it comes to exercise, something is always better than nothing, but how much do you need to get the health benefits? To lose weight? To maintain weight?

Remember "exercise" is more than just cardio, there are lots of aspects to keeping our bodies fit and healthy, in fact, I love the word "fitness" because it incorporates all the different aspects of working our bodies towards maximum heath.

Fitness is an all-encompassing word that should include:

Cardio

Aerobic exercise is great for cardiovascular health and it burns the most calories of any of these categories. The CDC recommends a minimum of 150 minutes weekly of moderate intensity activity (that's 30 minutes, 5 days a week). For weight maintenance or prevention of weight gain 200-300 minutes per week is more effective (1 hour, 5 days a week). Indeed, when members of the NWCR (National Weight Control Registry) were polled, these are folks who are keeping off at least 10% of their initial body weight for 1 year or more, they reported 420 minutes of exercise per week. That translates into 1 hour, 7 days a week! Don't get me wrong, your 30 minute stroll around the neighborhood is amazing for the health benefits it will give you, but if you want to lose weight, think more in the 1-hour range per day of cardio. Just keeping it real, folks!

Strength

Increasing your lean body mass (LBM) is a great way to improve your resting metabolic rate (RMR), or the calories you burn at rest. This is because muscle is more metabolically active than fat, more than double in fact! So, more LBM means more calories burned. Over the course of a day, it could be anywhere from 60-100 extra calories burned per pound of LBM which is nothing to write home about. But when you multiply 60 extra calories burned daily by weeks and months and years, it really adds up! Two strength training sessions per week are recommended, but it is also perfectly acceptable to add on an extra strength exercise or two to the end of your cardio session. That way, you hardly notice the extra time or effort! As an extra bonus, strength training also increases bone mineral density, especially in women, who are often at higher risk for osteoporosis.

Flexibility

Think of your body as a rubber band. You want it to be nice and stretchy, not brittle and breakable. Flexibility is your injury prevention time. It can also double as your meditation time. Flexibility is especially important as you get older in order to help prevent injury, especially if you are actively pursuing cardio and strength training activities.

Many of us focus on only the cardio aspect of exercise because it "burns a lot of calories" when we ought to be focused on all of them. If you perpetually neglect flexibility or strength in favor of cardio, you will get injured. If you always favor strength training over cardio, you will lack the endurance that is so beneficial for heart health. I wish there was a way to calculate the benefit of time and effort spent exercising and prepping healthy foods and subtract it from the time spent waiting in doctor's offices or convalescing from illness. As in every hour spent at the gym meant one less hour dealing with chronic diseases directly caused by poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Maybe if we could see the direct benefit of our efforts to live healthy lives we would be more motivated!

Make a daily commitment to include all aspects of fitness in your life.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Photo by David Marcu

How To Make Healthy Changes That Last

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 25 Sep 2021 21:24:20 GMT

Time For A Change?

Hypothetically speaking, suppose your doctor just diagnosed you with pre-diabetes and told you if you don't make some serious lifestyle changes you will soon be a full-blown Type II diabetic. Scared into action and tired of feeling exhausted, fueled by caffeine and sugar, you're ready to change! Where do you start and how will this time be different from all the other times you have started exercising and eating better, only to quit two weeks later?

How To Change

Implementing change is NOT easy, but it is doable. There are two steps to making any change in your life: (1) Planning, and (2) Implementation. The difference between these two steps is that one involves knowing while the other involves doing and you absolutely need both steps in order to be successful.

Planning

Educate yourself
Envision what you will accomplish each morning.
Make small, defined and concrete goals
Make a list of your essential daily health behaviors. Short and sweet is better. Post it where you can easily see it and be reminded that those behaviors will actually make your life easier.
Create a template plan, but since every day is different, customize your plan to each new day of the week.
Have a Plan A (your ideal plan), but create alternate plans for when your ideal plan falls through. Realistically, you need to have a Plan A, B, C and probably D.

Implementation

Do the most important things first. This may mean you exercise first thing in the morning or it may mean getting 5 f/v servings in before noon.
Be accountable to someone. Often!
Remove distractions to stay focused.
Don't overthink implementing the plan (whatever healthy behavior you are trying to create). Who cares if you want to do it? Do it because you told yourself you would.
Hook a new behavior onto an already established behavior. For example, after dropping the kids off at school drive straight to the gym.
Practice, practice, practice! Everyday is a new opportunity to implement your new healthy behavior.
Never give up.

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Portion Control For Weight Loss

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 22:51:53 GMT

Your Guide To Portion Control For Weight Loss

Have you ever thought about the difference between a serving size and portion size?

Serving sizes are standardized measurements of food that represent amounts set by agencies, but they also represent the typical amount consumed. For example, a 1/2 cup of whole cooked grains may be the typically consumed amount and thereby the serving size.
Portion sizes are amounts of different foods you choose to eat. So, even though 1/2 cup may be the serving size you may choose to eat 3/4 cup. This is your portion size.

Now that we have cleared up the serving size vs. portion size dilemma, let's get to the real heart of weight management, portion control.

Portion control of our food is crucial because it's how we manage calories. If we can't manage food portions, then we can't manage calories or our weight. Many factors affect portion control including mindless eating, emotional eating, food tracking, record keeping, and the list goes on.

In order to more accurately estimate portion size without going to the trouble of measuring, keep the following in mind:

A baseball or an average-sized fist
Measures about 1 cup
An appropriate portion size for raw or cooked vegetables, whole fruit or 100% fruit juice
A tennis ball or small, scooped handful
Measures about ½ cup
Equal to 1-ounce equivalent for grains, such as pasta, rice and oatmeal
A deck of cards or the palm of the hand
Measures about 3 ounce-equivalents
An appropriate portion size for fish, chicken, beef and other meats
The size of the thumb
Measures about 1 tablespoon
An appropriate portion size for peanut butter or other nut spreads such as almond butter
A postage stamp or the tip of the pointer finger to the first joint
Measures about 1 teaspoon
An appropriate portion size for oils or other fats

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Salt Sensitivity-Symptoms and Solutions

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 22:14:41 GMT

Salt Sensitivity? Symptoms and Solutions

People come in all kinds. Big, small, tall short, and yes, we are even different in how we react to salt. For some, a sodium-laden meal means bloating, weight gain and high blood pressure, these are our salt sensitive types, while another person can salt their already salted fries and stay fit as a fiddle. Although it hardly seems fair, these folks are known as salt resistant. Most of us, however, fall somewhere in the middle.

Symptoms of Salt Sensitivity

Most of us can adjust to a high sodium meal, though we may feel a little thirstier. However, salt sensitive people are unusually affected by extra sodium with the main symptom being high blood pressure. Water retention, and thus weight gain, is common as well as protein in the urine. If high levels of sodium persist in the diet, either through the saltshaker, processed foods or restaurant and fast foods, the left ventricle of the heart can swell, making it more difficult to pump blood, leading to chronic high blood pressure.

Who Is Most At Risk?

Older people, African Americans, and those who already have high blood pressure are most at risk for salt sensitivity. Beginning at age 51, watch your sodium intake to look for any signs of increasing sensitivity.

Recommended Sodium Intake

The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg of sodium daily adding that adults should cut back to 1,500 mg as a more appropriate amount. However, research from the University of Virginia indicates that only about 25% of people are salt sensitive and that each individual has a “personal salt index” that can be determined with a laboratory test. Of course, more research is needed in this area.

1 tsp of salt = 5.69 grams of sodium chloride = roughly 2,000 mg of sodium

2/3 tsp of salt = 3.75 grams of sodium chloride = roughly 1,500 mg of sodium

Bonus Fact: 1 dash salt = .125 tsp, thus, there are 8 dashes of salt in a tsp (in case you were wondering)

Solutions to Lower Sodium Intake

70% of our sodium intake comes from processed (packaged and prepared) and restaurant or fast foods and only 30% of sodium comes from the saltshaker. So, naturally the easiest way to cut back on sodium is to cook and eat at home! If cooking is not your vibe, then carefully check nutrition labels and look for low-sodium options. They exist but when compared to the taste of homemade cooking, you may just find it’s easier, and tastier to cook the food yourself.

Take Home Message

Non-sensitive adults: 2,300 mg or less than 1 tsp salt per day

Salt Sensitive adults: 1,500 mg or less than 2/3 tsp salt per day

“Average intakes for those ages 1 and older is 3,393 milligrams per day, with a range of about 2,000 to 5,000 mg per day, yet for most calorie levels and at most ages, there is very little room for food choices that are high in sodium” (US Dietary Guidelines 2020-2025, p. 46).

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Functional Fitness--Exercises For Real Life

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 19:04:38 GMT

Functional Fitness

We’ve talked about Functional Nutrition, now let’s talk about Functional Fitness. What is it, exactly? Functional Fitness are exercises that help you become stronger for your activities of daily living, also known as ADL’s. Activities we do everyday include walking up stairs, getting out of a chair (hello squats!), carrying in groceries from the car, carrying a laundry basket up or down stairs, doing yard work, scrubbing out a bathtub, hauling a garbage can out to the curb and a hundred more activities we might do every day that require our muscles to work together synergistically.

Functional Exercises

Some examples of functional exercises that mimic everyday activities might be:

Squats

Strengthens your legs for standing up and sitting back down into a chair. Squats also teach you to pick up an object lifting through your legs rather than through your back which can cause injury.

Bench Step Ups

Simulates going up or down stairs. Hold a dumbbell while you step up to simulate holding a load of laundry or a bunch of books.

Shoulder Presses Combined with a Calf Raise

For those times when you need to put something heavy on a shelf above your head.

Standing Cable Row (bent or straight)

For all those times when you need to pull yourself up or pull something towards you.

Multidirectional Lunges

To help your body handle the rigors of yardwork, mopping or vacuuming the floors, keep one leg stationary and step out with the other leg to the front, side or back.

Functional fitness is different from weight training because weight training focuses on slow, repetitive movements, one muscle at a time. Functional fitness uses multiple joints, muscles and directions simultaneously. It also creates greater muscle memory, increased mobility and can improve balance and posture.

In short, functional fitness is the strength you need to really live your life.

Photo by Dyrk Greenhalgh

Ways To Boost Your Immune System Naturally

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 01:03:22 GMT

I am sorry to say that Covid is still a thing, but even without the pandemic, there are still plenty of viruses and bacteria out there to make us sick. Sometimes I even forget the common cold is still a thing! With Fall just around the corner, protect yourself now and boost your immunity by embracing the following proven immune boosters.

Exercise Can Boost Your Immunity

One review found that walking most days of the week, 30-60 minutes boosts your immunity because it increases white blood cell activity in your body, thus increasing your immune response to infection. Exercise also decreases inflammation in your body which in turn improves immunity. Can HIIT (high intensity interval training) improve immunity? Research is conflicting on whether HIIT improves immunity, but research points to the fact that it doesn’t cause any harm.

Sleep and Immunity

Sleep is crucial for staying healthy because it is during your shut-eye that your body makes and distributes immune boosting cells like cytokines (a type of protein that can fight infection and inflammation), T-cells (a type of white blood cell that regulates immune response) and others. A lack of sleep also elevates cortisol levels which makes you more susceptible to illness. Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night, but the average American is clocking in at less than 7 hours with 1 in 3 adults reporting inadequate amounts of sleep. Studies show that sleep-deprived individuals exposed to a cold virus are more likely to get sick than their better rested companions.

Getting both the quantity and quality of sleep we need is tricky these days due to work demands, cellphones, caffeine, ect. but improving our sleep hygiene can have great dividends for our emotional health as well as our physical health.

Immune Boosting Foods

Nutrients such as Vitamin A, C, E, B6 and B12, Zinc, Selenium and Iron all play critical roles in helping your immune system function optimally. Try the following foods for an immune boost that tastes great.

Blueberries contain a certain flavonoid called anthocyanin which has antioxidant and immune boosting properties. In fact, studies have found that those who eat foods rich in flavonoids are less likely to get upper respiratory infections than those who don’t.

Chocolate (specifically dark) contains theobromine, an antioxidant that protects the body from free radical damage. Mmmm…think dark chocolate dipped blueberries!

Papaya and strawberries both contain more Vitamin C per serving than even an orange. Enjoy all these Vitamin C rich fruits as well as broccoli, spinach and bell peppers for an immunity boost. Specifically, Vitamin C helps support cellular functions and repair tissues throughout the body. As an antioxidant, it also fights cellular damage and some studies have shown it to decrease the length of the common cold.

Turmeric, a yellow spice used in ethnic dishes, is reported to reduce inflammation and infection due to its active ingredient, curcumin. In addition to cooking, turmeric can also be made into a soothing tea and taken in capsule form.

Health & Hygiene

Wash your hands! Frequently, with soap, and for at least 20 seconds. This may not boost your immunity from the inside out, but it does give your body less germs to contend with in the first place and has proved remarkably effective in preventing infections.

Get Vaccinated

Enough said.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Calum Lewis

How To Create A Healthy Food Environment

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 03:18:01 GMT

How To Create A Healthy Food Environment

If it is there, you will eat it. You may not eat it the first time you see it, or the second, or even the third, but at some point, unless you dislike the food, you will eat it because we eat what is around us, even if we are not hungry and even if it doesn’t taste that great! I can’t tell you how many times I have walked past a pan of brownies or cookies, resisting, resisting…until somewhere on the tenth or eleventh time I see the brownie or cookie, my resolve crumbles and I eat it…and usually a half dozen more.

Our food environment extends beyond just our physical environment, though the food that is in our kitchen is definitely an influencer. There are actually three different aspects of our food environment to consider and understand. Most importantly, as you become aware of your food environments, you can exert positive influence which then results in long-term change.

Physical Environment

This one is easy because it’s the tangible aspect of food around us. It’s our kitchens, our work spaces, even our cars. It is where our meals are eaten (at home? at an office? in a restaurant?) and the events that occur while we eat. Are we sitting around a family dinner table or in front of the TV or computer? Which rooms in the house do we eat in? The kitchen or dining room? The tv room or bedroom? Are we driving alone in a car wolfing down gas station food or sitting in a high end restaurant? What do we see when we open our fridge or look on our countertops? A healthy bowl of fruit and prepped greens or take-out in boxes? Do we socialize with others while we eat or read a book or work on the computer? All these physical factors account for the types of foods we eat and can ultimately enhance weight loss or sabotage it.

Identify a way to enhance your physical food environment this week.

Social Environment

T his aspect of our environment takes into account our family, friends, co-workers and the other people we eat around or even in front of. Are they supportive of healthy eating or junk food eaters themselves? Are they supportive of our efforts to eat well? Our social connections influence our eating behaviors heavily because we are such social creatures and easily influenced. Does our social circle like to tailgate with wings and beer or do they like to go hiking and eat dried fruit and granola? Do we go to lunch with our friends or on walks? Does our family sit down to a home-cooked meal at night or eat takeout on the run?

What is an aspect of your social food environment you could improve upon?

Mental (Cognitive) Environment

The cognitive environment refers to how we think about food, our self-image and degree of negative vs positive self-talk regarding food. What are we saying to ourselves about food when no one else is listening? Is it, “I’m already fat, so what will one more cookie hurt” or is it “Cookies taste too sweet and I always feel sick after eating them so I think I’ll just go for a piece of fruit instead?” Do you think about food all the time, craving sugary, fatty foods or is food just another biological function to you? Do you have negative and self-defeating thoughts like, “I have no will-power and I just keep gaining weight” or do you fill your mind with positive self-talk, “Exercise may feel hard while I’m doing it, but I feel so proud of myself when I’m done that it’s worth it!”

Identify one aspect of your mental food environment to work on this week.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Weight Loss Friendly Foods

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 14 Aug 2021 20:48:10 GMT

Weight Loss Friendly Foods

There are so many weight loss foods, diets and gimmicks out there, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction, especially when our taste buds are involved.

Foods To Eat When Trying To Lose Weight

Beans —high in protein and fiber, legumes of all kinds are very filling. Evidence suggests that legumes also help regulate blood sugar .
Soups —soups are low in calories and high in nutrients, as long as you choose the right ones. Look for broth-based soups loaded with vegetables and go easy on the sodium.
Salmon — Omega 3 fatty acids , the kind found in fatty cold-water fish like salmon, are the best kind out there because they help reduce inflammation in the body. It is also a rich source of protein, which keeps you full, and B vitamins.
Leafy green vegetables — Leafy greens , like kale, spinach, swiss chard, mustard greens, watercress, and arugula, to name just a few, are a great way to increase the volume of your diet while keeping the calories very low. They are also loaded with nutrition and fiber.
Dark chocolate —Wait, chocolate can help me lose weight? Let me emphasize dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has a cacao of 50-90% content listed on the label while milk chocolate has a cacao content of 10-50% and some form of milk added. Milk chocolate consumption is actually associated with weight gain because of the high sugar, fat, and calorie count. Dark chocolate, on the other hand, is filled with antioxidants and studies have shown it reduces cravings for sugar and is rich in flavanols that may help protect the heart.

Foods Not To Eat When Trying To Lose Weight

Low-fat foods —One study showed that people eat up to 30% more when they know they are eating a low-fat food. It’s not just the extra calories either. Fat makes food taste good, so when it is taken out, an over-abundance of sugar and sodium is often added to compensate for the lack of fat. A diet filled with healthy fats will promote satiety and when you are full and satisfied, you consume less calories, especially the empty sugary kind!
Sugary beverages —Liquid sugar wrecks havoc on your body. Average consumption in the US is one sugar sweetened beverage daily or 145 calories per adult. Multiply this by 365 days in a year and you have 52,925 extra calories per year or 15 extra pounds added per year. (Plus, you just spent $172 on soda.)
Artificially sweetened foods and drinks —Apparently, we cannot have our cake and eat it too, at least the sugary kind. Even though artificial sweeteners are extremely low in calories and high in “sweetness”, they seem to trick our bodies into craving more calories. Think of it like this…because you are eating/drinking empty calories, your body still craves the real kind, causing you to overeat. One study conducted over 9 years showed diet soda drinkers had 3x the amount of belly fat than non diet soda drinkers. Wean yourself off the artificial stuff and learn to appreciate savory flavors. More veggies please!
Alcohol —Alcohol has been described as a “poison” your body works hard to get rid of. Despite emerging links to several types of cancer, alcohol consumption is the norm with 86% of adults reporting having taken a drink at one time. However, it hampers weight loss on two fronts. Behaviorally, it lowers inhibitions making it easy to consume a lot of calories and biologically, alcohol contains only empty calories and also impairs digestive function. Because your body treats alcohol as a toxin it is anxious to get rid of, upon consumption, it switches to the alcohol as the main source of fuel leaving the extra carbs and fats from the chips and dip you are consuming alongside it to be stored away as fat. Stick to seltzer for your next glass of bubbly.
Crackers and pretzels (and other refined carbs) —Although crackers and pretzels were sold to us a “low-fat/non-fat” food that promotes weight loss, they are mostly empty calories. Very little fiber, very little nutrition. Try pairing produce with a lean protein instead for your snacks.
Apple and cheese stick
Carrots and guacamole
Celery and egg salad
Broccoli and hummus
Greek yogurt (plain) and cherries

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Controversy from the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 23:06:55 GMT

Every five years the US Government issues an updated set of guidelines to help guide the dietary choices of Americans. These guidelines are set by a panel of scientists, dieticians and physicians and are based on the latest science and research from the world of health and nutrition.

Essentially, the guidelines support eating a variety of nutrient dense foods that have been minimally processed while decreasing foods that have added sugars, saturated fats and salt with the goal of maintaining a healthy weight to minimize chronic and preventable diseases. After all, you are what you eat, right?

However, there is some controversy over the latest guidelines, given the fact that over half of Americans now have some sort of chronic preventable disease including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancers, all of which are complicated by obesity. The latest statistics indicate that seven out of ten adults in America are overweight or obese exacerbated by America's two favorite vices, sugar and alcohol.

Let's talk about sugar first. The 2015-2020 guidelines state that no more than 10% of our daily calorie intake should be from sugar. For a 2,000 calorie diet, that's 200 calories a day which is also equivalent to 50 grams or 12 tsp (or less) that can come from sugar. As a reference point, a can of Mountain Dew has 46 grams of sugar.

Here’s how to translate from calories to grams to teaspoons. Use the “divide by 4” rule of simple sugar math. Take the calories and divide by 4 to get the grams of added sugar. For 200 calories, this is 50 grams. And for teaspoons? Divide by 4 again to get around 12 teaspoons of added sugars daily.

The 20 person advisory committee actually recommended that the recommended levels of added sugar intake be reduced from 10% down to 6%. In a 2,000 calorie diet this translates to 120 calories, 30 grams or about 7.5 tsp of added sugar. However, the agencies that write the guidelines, the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and the HHS (Health & Human Services) declined to include these recommendations stating a "lack of conclusive evidence."

In my opinion, the evidence is clear for reducing levels of added sugars even further, however, when looked at realistically, most of us are failing to keep our sugars at 10% of dietary intake. What can you do to further reduce sugar?

Reduce or eliminate sugary beverages like soda, juice or sports drinks.
Watch for hidden sugars in condiments such as ketchup, salad dressing, barbeque sauce, peanut butter and jams and jellys.
Become a label reader. Nutrition labels now require food manufacturers to list added sugars right there on the label!
Satisfy your sweet tooth with the natural sugars in fruit. The absorption of sugar is slowed down by the fiber content of whole fruit.

Alcohol is the other controversial subject of the new Dietary Guidelines. The committee recommended that adult men limit alcoholic drinks to just one per day rather than the current limit of two. This advice was ignored and the recommendation remained unchanged.

However, current research is pointing more and more to a detrimental link between even light to moderate alcohol consumption and certain types of cancers, including breast, colon, rectal, oral and liver cancers. "Alcohol causes cancer in numerous ways," explained Dr. Kevin Shield, Independent Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research. "The main mechanism of how alcohol causes cancer is through impairing DNA repair."

This, and other research points to reducing alcohol intake further and of course, if you don't drink, don't start!

Click below to read a summary of the guidelines.

2020-2025 US Dietary Guidelines

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

The Joy of Movement

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 18:00:36 GMT

Tips To Get Yourself Moving!

We have covered different aspects of Intuitive Eating for the last several weeks and will wrap it up with the joy of movement. I had a client once who reminded me in a powerful way that physical activity is not drudgery, or even boring, rather it is a privilege. The ability to move your body is a privilege and one that we lose if we don't exercise that privilege. In short, use it or lose it!

To expound on #9, Movement-Feel The Difference, think of the last time your movement was restricted, whether by illness, disease or injury. The pain and inconvenience of not being able to move about as we would like to reminds us that our bodies are finite. They do our bidding only as we take care of them.

Reject the diet mentality
Honor your hunger
Make peace with food
Challenge the food police
Discover food satisfaction
Feel your fulness
Cope with your emotions with kindness
Respect your body
Movement-feel the difference
Honor your health-gentle nutrition

With regard to movement and physical activity, every body needs to be exercised in three different aspects. If you neglect one aspect in favor of the others, you will still suffer. You must incorporate all three. For those of us who struggle to incorporate even one, this can seem a daunting task, but it's worth the effort because the time you invest means you have a better chance of remaining pain free and able to do all the things you want to.

Make sure to incorporate the following on a weekly basis:

Cardiovascular--Do something that raises your heart rate most days of the week.
Strength--2-3 times per week, strengthen those muscles.
Flexibility--Everyday, spend some time to stretch your muscles, especially hips and legs. While it may not burn many calories, if you don't stretch you are guaranteed an injury sooner or later.

Two things stand in the way of our getting the physical activity we ought to: time and motivation. Sometimes we don't exercise because we are simply too busy and don't make it a priority. Other times we may have plenty of time, but lack the desire.

When it comes to exercise, think short-term sacrifice for long-term gain. You may not want to do it in the moment, but when you are done, you will always be glad to did. Try the following tips to help get you moving.

Commit to just 20 minutes of movement a day. Something is always better than nothing and you can do anything for 20 minutes. In fact, three 20 minute bouts during a day equals one hour, which will result in weight loss over time.
Set your clothes out the night before. Better yet, sleep in your exercise clothes.
Go with a friend. It's easy to stand up yourself, but it's more difficult to stand up a friend.
Get a personal trainer. The price is small for the benefit you will gain from strength training. Plus, you will work harder with someone telling you what to do.
Make time. Seriously, just do it. The time you invest in exercise will pay off huge dividends in staving off the chronic diseases that can literally consume your life with pain, time and expense later on down the road.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Intuitive Eating-Part III--I Overate! Now What?

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 17:49:21 GMT

We all overeat, the question is, what are you going to do about it?

All of us overeat on occasion, and some of us overeat as a regular occurrence, it's all part of learning to honor our hunger and stop when we are satisfied (remember, we always stop BEFORE we are full). But what about when we don't? What about those times when we binge, pig-out, overeat or are just plain out-of-control with our eating?

Lots of situations lend to overeating, whether it be emotional or vacation eating. I just returned from a week in Mexico and I definitely slid down the slippery slope into vacation eating despite my best intentions not to. It started with the gourmet Mexican breakfast buffet followed by three days of sampling all that Mexico had to offer, then ended abruptly with a stomach bug and very little food for the rest of the trip. So, all in all, I probably ended the trip lighter than I started, but it was due more to ongoing stomach distress than any awesome skill or restraint on my part. The point is, when we've overdone it in the food department, there are a few simple strategies you can use to get yourself back on track quickly (without nausea or diarrhea)!

Eat proactively, not reactively. Decide ahead of time what you will and won't eat. This is part of respecting your body #8).
Press your "PAUSE" button. Take the time to consider your food choices.
Use visualization to imagine how your stomach is going to feel AFTER you've eaten the entire basket of chips and guacamole. Not great? Take one taste and then send it to the other side of the table, out of reach.
Once you've tasted a favorite food, you don't have to keep eating. Save yourself thousands of calories and stop eating. You already know what it tastes like.
Don't be mean to yourself! Talk to yourself at least as respectfully and kindly as you would talk to a stranger. Work on your positive self talk.
Get back on track in the moment. Don't wait until tomorrow or Monday. Get back on track NOW with water, exercise and fruits and veggies. Aim for at least 5 fruits/veggies, 64 oz of water and 300 PA calories.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Wendy Jones

Intuitive Eating-Part II-Eat With Your Five Senses

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 17:41:59 GMT

Learn To Experience Your Food

As a reminder, Intuitive Eating is a mindset of honoring and respecting your body and paying attention to your hunger and satiety cues. It is a method of eating that rejects the diet mentality and instead helps you foster a healthy relationship with food. There are ten principles of intuitive eating.

Reject the diet mentality
Honor your hunger
Make peace with food
Challenge the food police
Discover food satisfaction
Feel your fulness
Cope with your emotions with kindness
Respect your body
Movement-feel the difference
Honor your health-gentle nutrition

A fun aspect of mindful eating is to use your five sense to experience your food. So often, we use food to fill an emotional void, trying to satisfy a craving that never really goes away because the root of our emptiness is not food, it is something else entirely. As a consequence of using food in this way, we may initially eat to satisfy a craving or even boredom and this can evolve into binging and mindless munching, respectively. Learn to experience your food using all five senses, slow down and enjoy!

Flavor or Taste--This is the #1 criteria that people use to make food choices. Taste is such a powerful influencer that people will choose taste even when the ingredients are substandard or artificial. There are five categories of taste: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami (savory) and a sixth which is called oleogustus (fat).
Appearance--Food that is beautifully plated or has bright, vibrant colors is more enticing to us
Aroma--No secret here, sometimes just the smell of food is enough to make our taste buds water
Sound--What sounds do you hear when you bite into your food? Crispy? Squishy? Crackly? These sounds are all part of your eating experience.
Texture--How does the food feel in your mouth? Smooth? Rough? Creamy? Experiencing the mouthfeel of your food is crucial to mindful eating.

Activity Time:

Choose 3 healthy foods.
Take a bite of each food and evaluate each based on your five senses.
Describe the flavor, appearance, aroma, sound (when bitten into or chewed) and texture of each food.

How would your eating habits be different if you really tasted and enjoyed your food?

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Intuitive Eating-Part I-Improve Your Relationship With Food

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 17:33:20 GMT

Improve Your Relationship With Food

Reject the diet mentality
Honor your hunger
Make peace with food
Challenge the food police
Discover food satisfaction
Feel your fulness
Cope with your emotions with kindness
Respect your body
Movement-feel the difference
Honor your health-gentle nutrition

There are many reasons we overeat or eat the wrong types of foods and they almost always include being too busy to prioritize menu-planning, grocery shopping, food preparation and mindful food consumption. Rather than looking to food as a healthy way to boost nutrition and optimally fuel our activity, we look to food as a means of filling our emptiness, a solution to our emotional void. Food is neither of these things, rather it is a blessing provided by nature to nourish and sustain health so we can bless others.

This week, I want to focus on the first four points, specifically, how you view food. Remember, food is meant to bless you and your health, not torture you with cravings or enslave you with addictions. I encourage you to try the following suggestions as you improve your relationship with food.

Embrace whole foods. They closer they are to the form found in nature, the more they will complement your health.
Remember the hunger scale. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are satisfied (notice I didn't use the word "full").
Stop viewing food as the enemy.
Choose your foods based on their nutritional value rather than their calorie count.
Stop following after every fad diet or weight loss gimmick. In the world of nutrition, even with all the conflicting studies, fruits/veggies, water, whole grains and lean proteins remain constant. Build your nutritious foundation on these four elements and tune out the rest of the noise.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Sleep More, Weigh Less

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 22:45:01 GMT

What's Keeping You Up?

No doubt about it, sleep and weight loss are linked together, and the benefits of adequate and restful sleep clearly point to an increased ability to lose weight and maintain a healthy body weight. So, let's dive in a little deeper to find out why this link exists and more importantly what you can do to get a better night's sleep!

Multiple studies have examined the link between weight loss and sleep. One sleep study showed that women who got less than five hours of sleep a night were 32% more likely to experience major weight gain than women who were receiving seven hours of sleep a night. Another study showed that sleep deprived folks chose snacks with twice the fat content of those who were well rested. Seriously, when was the last time you ate broccoli as a midnight snack as opposed to pizza or ice cream? Doesn't happen.

Biologically, there are several reasons that inadequate sleep leads to weight gain.

Even one night of inadequate sleep impairs your body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates. This is turn leaves more glucose in your blood and forces a higher insulin response which leads to increased fat storage. In fact, glucose levels run so high in sleep deprived people they can be considered prediabetic.
Being overtired increases activity in your brain's reward center which can send you on the prowl for something tasty to satisfy a craving, even when you're not hungry. If this becomes a habit, serious weight gain can be the result. The cure? Go to bed early instead.
Lack of sleep dulls activity in your frontal lobe, the area that controls sound decision making and impulse control, which can lead to overeating as the hour grows late.
Think of sleep as the nutrition your brain needs to function well. Sleep deprivation impairs your "hunger hormones" leptin and ghrelin. One study showed those who slept less on a regular basis had higher levels of ghrelin (the hormone that stimulates appetite) and lower levels of leptin (the hormone that suppresses appetite) indicating that sleep deprivation increases your appetite.
Sleep deprivation commonly leads to metabolic dysregulation. Not what we are going for!

Behaviorally, there are several MORE reasons that inadequate sleep leads to weight gain.

When you are sleeping at night, you are not eating and that actually saves you a ton of calories. Many of us get the munchies as the evening wears on and they are not usually healthy calories we are ingesting, rather our late night snacking generally consists of booze and refined carbs.
A late bedtime leaves you feeling groggy the next day. Prone to skip your am workout, prone to skip a healthy breakfast, prone to a high calorie lunch, and prone to binging. All because you didn't get your eight hours of shut-eye.
Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy for a reason. Productivity happens during daytime hours as our brains respond to light.
Lack of sleep results in very little energy and you need exercise to burn calories and rev your metabolism.

Seven to nine hours of sleep nightly is the sweet spot you should be aiming for. Some people get along fine with seven, and others feel groggy and tired unless they get nine, so there is a great deal of individuality here. Do what makes you feel good. But it's not just the number of hours you sleep, it's also the quality of sleep. In order to increase your sleep quality, try the following:

Stop eating 3-4 hours before your desired bedtime.
Stop drinking at least 2 hours before bedtime.
No caffeine within 8 hours of bedtime.
Skip the nightly glass of wine. While alcohol may lull you to sleep initially, it can cause you to wake up in the night when the effects wear off.
Keep a cool temperature in your room.
No electronics in the bedroom.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Benjamin Voros

The Long-Term Effects of Yo-Yo Dieting

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 22:40:54 GMT

Stop the weight cycling with consistency.

Yo-yo dieting, you've done it, admit it. Your clothes are tight, you feel terrible so you get on the scale and, horrified at your weight, you find a new diet all packaged up with bells and whistles that promises to shed your excess weight in no time. Initially, it's great! But as the weight loss slows, so does your motivation and besides, the diet is just too restrictive and boring. Please pass the Oreos! Discouraged, you gain back the weight you just lost plus a few extra pounds. This is the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting and it has consequences.

Yo-yo dieting can lead to a higher body fat percentage over time. This is because when you are in the weight gain phase of yo-yo dieting, fat is more easily regained than muscle mass.
Weight cycling has different effects on different organs. For example, in the liver, weight cycling (yo-yo dieting) is associated with an increase in fat in the liver. Known as fatty liver, this can lead to liver disease.
Fluctuations in body weight increase the incidence of heart disease. The wider the weight swing, the greater the risk of having a cardiovascular event. Yo-yo dieting also increases risk of heart disease as based on the American Heart Association's "Life's Simple 7" a questionnaire designed to assess risk.
A 2016 study indicated that yo-yo dieting might cause extra weight gain as the brain interprets short-term periods of famine as a reason to hold onto extra energy.
Yo-yo dieting leads to frustration. We human creatures seek after success and shy away from failure. The experience of deprivation associated with short-term dietary changes combined with the out-of-control feeling of gaining the weight back leads to feelings of learned helplessness and poor self-efficacy.
Which is worse, consistent obesity or yo-yo dieting? Mice who cycled through a high-fat/low-fat diet over a space of two years lived 25% longer than the consistently obese mice. People are definitely not mice, but this study indicates that trying to achieve a healthy weight through diet is better than staying obese. So, if at first you don't succeed, keep trying!
What about weekday healthy eating contrasted with weekend junk food binging? This weekly practice of cyclical eating proves to be as bad as constant junk food consumption as far as the gut microbiome is concerned. Don't undo all your good work during the week by eating garbage on the weekends.
Yo-yo dieting is a cycle of short-term changes with short-term benefits. If you want long-term benefits, you have to think in terms of long-term changes. Consistency of good behaviors is key when it comes to long-term weight maintenance.

So, how does one avoid yo-yo dieting? The author of one study suggests "The best thing for weight loss is to take it steady. Our work suggests that eating only slightly less than you should, all the time, and doing physical exercise is much more likely to help you reach a healthy weight than going on low-calorie diets."

And that, my friends, is what Nutritious Foundations is all about.

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Everyday Health Habits

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 22 May 2021 17:25:29 GMT

Habits become routines and routines become your lifestyle.

The world of nutrition is infamous for diets, tricks and gimmicks. Someone is always coming up with a new plan to help you lose weight, packaged just a little differently than the last plan you tried. And to make matters more complicated, the research constantly contradicts itself. Rather than giving up, try the plan below and see how you feel at the end of the day? Awesome? I thought so.

Exercise--Studies show that people who exercise first thing in the morning are more compliant with healthy behaviors during the remainder of the day, but anytime of day you exercise is good and has specific benefits. Aim to burn 300+ calories.
Breakfast--Your first meal of the day needs to be protein rich. Try a piece of whole gain toast topped with egg and smashed avocado. Add in 1 c. of halved cherry tomatoes for a total of 2 servings of fruits/veggies. This combination will help stabilize blood sugar and curb cravings throughout the day.
Lunch--When it comes to healthy eating, an easy rule of thumb is to shoot for 2+2+2. That means 2 fruits/veggies for breakfast, 2 for lunch, and 2 for dinner. For lunch try this easy-to-make salad topped with chickpeas and loaded with protein and fiber.
Snack--The ideal afternoon snack is a fruit or vegetable paired with a protein. Why? Protein suppresses ghrelin, your hunger hormone, helping you feel satiated while f/v pack fiber and water volume, both of which help you feel full. Satisfy your sweet tooth with the natural sugars in a mango smoothie.
Dinner--Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner. When you eat lighter fare for dinner and cut your food intake off 3-4 hours before bedtime, your body has a chance to digest your food while you are still active and contributes to more restful sleep. Try this protein/veggie bowl.
Bedtime--The success of the following day depends on this crucial time! Prep your food for the following day. Get your electronics out of the bedroom. Go to bed early and aim for 7-9 hours of sleep every night.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Abigail Greenhalgh

Eating Out 101: How To Navigate Through The Calories

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 08 May 2021 20:08:17 GMT

Follow These Recommendations To Eat Out Guilt-Free

You all know how I feel about fast food, as in never! But what about a meal at a sit down restaurant? Like you, I want to be able to eat out sometimes without packing on the pounds. But, before we get started, here's a statistic you should be aware of: 92% of restaurant entrees surveyed in the nation logged in at over 1,200 calories! Yikes! Follow the recommendations below for a guilt-free meal out.

Rule #1 --Eating out should be the exception, not the rule. It is difficult, if not impossible, to manage your weight eating out regularly. How often can you get away with eating out? Shoot for once a week or less. Less is better.

Rule #2 --Choose your meal ahead of time. When that special social occasion does come up, choose the restaurant carefully, pull up their menu online and browse the possibilities on a full stomach. Choosing your meal ahead of time, rather than while sitting at the restaurant, allows you the opportunity to skip over your impulsive, irrational self because the decision has already been made. Look for grilled, lean meats (ask the chef to skip the extra butter), veggie side dishes, soups and salads.

Rule #3 --Sauce on the side. When ordering your meal, ask the waiter to put sauces/dressings on the side and skip the extra oil in preparation.

Rule #4 --Box up half, before you eat it. When your meal is served, immediately box up half of it to take home. Just ask the waiter to bring a To-Go Box when serving your meal.

Rule #5 --Request no bread or chips. Many waiters will ask you whether you want bread, a result of the gluten-free fad. This is an easy opportunity to say, "No thanks." You may have just saved yourself 500 calories. Why do restaurants want you to eat bread before your meal anyway? Read HERE to find out. Ouch, and I thought they were just being nice!

Rule #6 --Don't drink your calories. This is the perfect occasion to drink lots of water or seltzer as the extra liquid will help fill you up so you eat fewer calories.

Rule #7 --Eat mindfully and focus on the person you are with.

Rule #8 --Eat before you eat out. This sounds crazy, but the reason you are eating out in a restaurant is likely intertwined with social reasons. You are there for the company as much, or more than the food, and given the fact you are watching calories, eating before you go can save you a ton of calories. A high protein shake is the perfect low-calorie, high-nutrient food to take the edge off your appetite so you have the presence of mind to actually follow through with Rules 1-7!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Willpower for Weightloss? Why It Just Doesn't Work. (And What Does.)

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 01 May 2021 22:01:05 GMT

Willpower Is A Myth When It Comes To Food

Willpower as it relates to dieting is a myth, sorry to disappoint you! We have very little willpower when it comes to food and what little reserve we have gets depleted the more we exercise it, like a muscle. If your favorite food is around, you will eventually eat it. Seriously, how many times are you going to walk past your favorite chocolate chip cookies before secretly snatching one?

At least three factors go into your every eating decision:

WHAT you are eating.
WHY you are eating.
WHERE you are eating.

If willpower doesn't work then, are you doomed to weight loss failure? Absolutely not because there is a magical concept called Environmental Control that helps you determine the WHAT, WHY, and WHERE of eating. No willpower required!

E.C., or Environmental Control , is simply a long word to describe the fact that YOU get to be in control of your food surroundings.

If it's there you'll eat it. Imagine this. Your kitchen is clean, well-stocked, with a bowl of fresh fruit sitting on the counter. Inside your fridge is a pot of vegetable soup ready to snack on when the desire for something savory hits and you have cooked, shredded chicken, brown rice and roasted veggies ready to make grain bowls for lunches throughout the week. Besides all that, you have a menu plan tacked to your fridge, plus the groceries to support the plan inside your fridge, reminding you the food plan for the week. We are human and we will generally do the thing that requires the least effort. Make the easiest thing to do also the healthiest thing and go warm up a bowl of vegetable soup in the microwave.
If it's not there, you can't eat it . What about the 27 times during any given day you are hit with an undeniable food craving that begs to be satisfied, like a persistent itch? If it's not there, you can't eat it. It's that simple. Craving potato chips? Sorry, there are none in the house. Pretzels or crackers? None of those either. Dying for ice cream? Too bad, the freezer is filled with homemade frozen meals and fruits and veggies. Chocolate chip cookies warm from the oven? No time for baking, you're going on a walk with a friend. What about driving home from work and fast food beckons with its siren call? Too bad you keep your purse/wallet locked in the trunk while driving now to protect you from your own worst enemy (we all know who that is...). What to do when your sweet neighbor brings over a cake? Thank her profusely, say you're full and couldn't possibly eat another bite, then package it up pronto and take it to work the next day for your coworkers to enjoy while you enjoy continued weight loss and feeling great.

The fact is, in order to lose weight successfully, you MUST keep your environment clean. Forget about willpower, get rid of the debris in your life and instead flood your environment with healthy foods and healthy behaviors. Make it difficult to access your bad behaviors and effortless to be "good" by tailoring your environment for success!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

5 BIG Reasons To Never Eat Fast Food

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 14:19:46 GMT

Replace Fast Food with Homemade Food And Watch The Pounds Melt Away!

We all know fast food is bad for us, despite the fact that many of us eat it all the time, but we have a host of reasons for sticking to this bad habit:

I'm in a hurry and too busy to cook tonight!
I'm having a craving...
The kids talked me into (and I couldn't resist getting something too)
I'll just get a a salad (and a small fry?)

Despite the fact that fast food consumption is linked to increased calorie intake and therefore obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, ect., many of us continue to "indulge" in fast food on a pretty regular basis.

Listed below are five BIG reasons you should stop your fast food habit.

Many of the ingredients in fast food are fake. Did you know IHOP doesn't use real eggs? (or Subway or McDonalds or even Chick-Fil-A). Read HERE to find out what is in your breakfast sandwich "eggs". If you want a breakfast sandwich, toast a whole grain English muffin, fry up a real chicken egg and top it with sharp cheddar cheese and sliced avocado. Now that's a breakfast worth getting up for! And then there is the McRib sandwich, the "88% meat and 12% premium meat blend" from Taco Bell, the fillers in Dairy Queen soft serve ice cream (not to mention a record number of health and safety violations, many of which involved roaches) and the phosphates and chicken parts that make up most chicken nuggets .
The amount of preservatives added to many of these foods is enough to preserve them for years to come. The aforementioned "egg premium blend" from Subway has ten preservatives and additives in it, and this coming from a company whose tagline is "Eat Fresh." Have you heard about the man who found a McDonald's hamburger in his coat pocket after twenty years and it was still intact? Gross!
Fast food contains food additives galore. For example, caramel coloring is a food additive that is added to soft drinks to give it that rich caramel color, the hamburger bun to give it a lovely toasty color and make you think your white bread is actually whole grain, and even the sauces that go on your burger or that you dip your fries in. Caramel coloring contains a contaminant, 2- and 4- methylimidazole, which has been shown to cause cancer in rodents and carries a warning label in the state of California. Pepsi products, especially, are known to have high levels of caramel coloring in them.
A few fast food demographics: Workers don't make much ($9-$12/hour), the workforce is young because fast food hires at 16 years old, and most stay in their jobs less than a year. How is this relevant? It often translates into unsanitary kitchen conditions and unsafe practices. Read HERE for some scary fast food stories.
And of course, the obvious reason not to eat fast food is that it is laden with calories, fat (both saturated and trans-fat), sugar and sodium. A person eating mostly fast-food will be overwhelmed with calories, yet can be starving for nutrients. Fast food has been linked as a probable cause to all obesity related diseases and has a variety of other disturbing side effects on your health. Read THIS to find out more about the side effects.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates.

Photo by Francesco Pelegro

Weight Loss Plateau? Get Over It!

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 14:11:35 GMT

Weight Loss Plateau? Get Over It!

The weight loss plateau is a dreaded, but common occurrence among those trying to lose weight. No more fast food, you've dropped your soda habit for good, calories are down, exercise is up and then it hits...the plateau...and your weight doesn't budge, despite your ongoing efforts. When this happens, as it inevitably will, you have two choices. Give up (and watch the pounds pile back on) or keep going and change up your routine with one of the following ideas.

Adjust your caloric needs to fit your new weight. An easy rule of thumb is to multiply your current weight by 10 (women) or 11 (men) to figure out how many maintenance calories you need daily. A sedentary 200 pound woman needs about 2,000 calories to maintain her weight whereas a 150 pound woman only needs around 1,500 calories to maintain that weight. When you consider all the high calorie options out there, it's very easy to exceed this level.
Up your exercise. The more fit you are, the more efficiently you burn fat. Check out this study. Plus, adding in some calories burned will increase your calorie deficit for the day and speed along weight loss.
Get some muscle! Muscle mass is a major contributor to our rate of metabolism and if we let if decline due to a sedentary lifestyle, losing weight is going to be increasingly difficult. Also consider the fact that when you lose weight, about 75% of that weight loss is fat and the other 25% is muscle, so you need to actively work on strength training in order to retain muscle.
Cut back on salt. Sure, we all know that excess salt can lead to water retention which shows up as pounds on the scale (albeit, not permanent), but have you considered that foods high in salt are usually also high in fat, sugar or refined carbs? Think potato chips, Chinese food and most processed foods. Watching your salt intake can help you steer clear of those foods that will definitely sabotage your weight loss goals.
Speaking of water, drink more. Adequate hydration is essential to the weight loss process for a number of reasons. First, water is necessary for the metabolic process to proceed efficiently. Second, water creates a feeling of fullness in our stomachs, leaving us feeling more satiated and less hungry.
Make protein a part of each meal and snack. We all know that protein helps us feel full, but do you know why? Protein actually suppresses ghrelin, the hormone which stimulates appetite. Protein is a win-win.
Load up on fiber (aka it's OK to eat carbs, as long as they're the right kinds). Carbs have a really bad rap right now which is unfortunate, because fruits, veggies and whole grains are carbs. These are really healthy foods, filled with vitamins, minerals and fiber, the magic ingredient that helps you feel full. Losing weight is hard, but maintaining your weight loss is much harder and fiber can help you do that.

FINAL TIP: Calories are not the enemy. Calories are necessary (and ofttimes delicious) fuel for the metabolic processes of the human body. If you focus on the nutritional value of the calories you consume because you love your body and want to feed it well, you will naturally gravitate away from processed garbage foods and toward healthy foods like fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, nuts and seeds, etc. Not surprisingly, these are the foods your body needs to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. Love your body, treat it with care, and it will take care of you for years to come.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates.

Photo by Tikkho Maciel

Too Busy? How To Integrate "Healthy" Into Your Life

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 00:00:59 GMT

Too Busy To Take Care of Yourself? Not Anymore!

One of the most common reasons I hear from people struggling to lose weight is "I'm too busy." Too busy to exercise. Too busy to eat right. Too busy to sleep. Too busy to take care of ourselves?

And what are we so busy doing? Working? Taking care of children or elderly parents? These are necessary and wonderful tasks, but unless we prioritize our own health, it won't be long before someone has to take care of us.

The answer to the "too busy" question is to integrate, to literally weave, healthy behaviors into your life so seamlessly your activities revolve around healthy lifestyle activities. How is this done?

Time is an essential element of taking care of yourself and sometimes it is in very short supply. If feel like you don't have enough time to "be healthy", read on for easy ways to incorporate health into your life, no matter your circumstances.

"I have a desk job that requires sitting in front of a computer for 10 hours a day and I have to be to work by 6 am. By the time I get off work, I am too exhausted to go to the gym. I also go out to lunch just about everyday because I don't have time to pack a lunch." So how about...

Dedicate 10 minutes of every hour to yourself. Treat yourself to an exercise snack. Stretch, take a walk, climb stairs in your building, do wall push-ups or chair squats.
Work while standing up.
Put a mini-exercise bike under your desk at work and pedal away!
Walk on your lunch break.
Have walking meetings with colleagues instead of sitting meetings.
If you have an hour to go out for lunch, you have time to pack one the night before. Better yet, have a cooking event on the weekend and pack five identical lunches in tupperware that are ready to go every day of the week. Do the same thing for your breakfast. No more vending machines!
Put your wallet/purse in the car trunk while you drive so it's very hard to stop for fast-food on the way home from work.

"I take care of small kids/grandkids. I'm too overwhelmed and exhausted to exercise or eat right. Besides the kids/grandkids LOVE when I get them a kid's meal at the drive-through and it's just so easy." This was my life for a solid fifteen years, so believe me, staying healthy with lots of little kids running around is possible, though just like every other situation, it takes work.

Put your kid(s) in a stroller and off you go. Kids love to see things this way!
Take the kids to a park, let them run around while you do squats and lunges and pull-ups on the playground. Better yet, chase them around. Playground tag is fun!
Of course your kids love fast food kid's meals, they are filled with fat and sugar! Fast food is designed to addict taste buds, both young and old. Do yourself a favor and feed them fruits and veggies.
Kids love to cook, let them help you plan the menu and be part of the cooking process. They are really great at dumping and measuring.

"I'm retired, I don't really have a schedule and I find myself doing a whole lot of "nothing" but I'm really busy! Plus, I've got some health problems that make it hard for me to exercise and I don't feel like cooking just for myself. I'm retired after all!" Finally, you have all the time you need to live a healthy lifestyle and every health problem you have will only be helped by losing weight.

Get a gym membership.
Make a weekly exercise date with a friend.
Try swimming and/or biking if you have joint troubles.
Try batch cooking and freezing savory dinners in single size servings. That way you can pull out your favorite meal any night of the week and pop it into the microwave.
Go with meatless several dinners a week. All veggie dinners are simple to prep and great for weight loss.
Find a friend who also likes to cook. Each of you make extra, then trade.

Taking care of yourself pays back big dividends and the easiest way to do it is to integrate your work and social activities into your healthy lifestyle. Try it and see!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 00:45:46 GMT

Homemade blueberry yogurt full of probiotics and topped

with nutty granola is the perfect anti-inflammatory food

Can you blame your achy joints and intestinal distress on inflammation? Maybe...

Acute inflammation is the body's healing mechanism and manifests through pain, redness, swelling and ultimately healing. Chronic inflammation is another story however. Over time high levels of stress, too little sleep, too much sitting and a poor diet lead to chronic inflammation and while it can feel vague and difficult to quantify, chronic inflammation is actually linked to many diseases and increases your risk for diabetes, heart disease and autoimmune diseases. Scary!

How do you know if you have chronic inflammation? What does it feel like? If you have undiagnosed muscle aches or joint pain, poor digestion or persistent skin rashes that just won't go away, chronic inflammation is a likely culprit. There are also blood tests your doctor can run to pinpoint chronic inflammation as it causes certain blood markers to increase.

The good news is, in addition to better sleep hygiene and regular physical activity, improving your diet is one of the most effective tools you have to control inflammation.

Foods That Fight Inflammation (Eat!)

Vegetables, including green, leafy vegetables
Fruits, including berries of all kinds and grapes
Nuts
Fatty fish
Olive oil
Mushrooms
Spices like tumeric and ginger
Lentils and legumes
Probiotics

Foods That Cause Inflammation (Stay Away!)

Refined sugar. No surprise here. Sucrose, or table sugar, is a powerful trigger for inflammation. Considering the amount of sugar we eat on a regular basis, it's no wonder many of us have developed chronic inflammation. Cut back drastically on added sugar and switch to no-sugar added versions of favorite foods like yogurt. Drink water instead of soda.
Processed meats--chock full of preservatives and sodium (and who knows what else), these foods can increase inflammation.
Saturated Fats--in small amounts, saturated fats are necessary for our bodies, but in larger amounts they cause inflammation which is exacerbated by the fact that many processed foods contain high levels of saturated fats as well.
Alcohol--similar to saturated fats, a little alcohol may be OK, but consumed in excess, alcohol promotes inflammation.
Artificial preservatives and food additives--read the label and look for natural alternatives to artificial dyes, preservatives and additives. For example, carrageenan, a food additive found in many dairy products, has been linked to an inflammatory response and digestive issues. Read more about it HERE.
Refined vegetable oils and trans fats--high in omega 6 fatty acids, which are known to promote inflammation when consumed in excess of the proper ratio of omega 3 vs. omega 6 fats, refined vegetable oils are found in just about every processed food and packaged snack you consume. Stay away from packaged snacks.
Gluten--if you are sensitive to gluten, it can definitely increase inflammation, if you are not sensitive to gluten, studies have not conclusively shown increased inflammation. In fact, whole grains (as in the grain in seed form) are a very unlikely trigger for inflammation. Better look to all those refined grains and added sugar you've been eating instead.

Essentially, eat a plant-based diet if you are serious about decreasing your level of chronic inflammation. A 2019 study analyzed the data from 40 different studies and found that those who ate a vegetarian diet had lower levels of inflammation than those who didn't. Does this mean you have to swear off meat forever? No, but the key to lowering chronic inflammation is consistency. When you eat a plant-based diet MOST of the time and exercise MOST days of the week, you'll be amazed at how good you feel. And that's motivating!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

How To Curb Your Sugar Cravings

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 22:22:45 GMT

Your 5 Step Plan To Cut The Cravings

The sugar monster is an ever present spectra in my life. He's been with me since I was small, feasting upon my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies and the ever present container of ice cream in the freezer supplemented by soda. Only with considerable effort have I managed to squelch his influence in my life so he only pops out every once in a while when my guard is down. Here's how I do it day after day.

Cut out refined carbohydrates and processed foods. For me this means the white stuff like added sugars and refined grains (think white flour and white rice) and pre-packaged or prepared snacks. Remember, as long as you continue to feed your sugar addiction, you will continue to crave it.
Exercise Daily. Yes, that's right, most every day of the week I try to do something that makes me sweat. The benefits of physical activity are almost too many to list, but a huge one is that regular exercise helps regulate blood sugar, which cuts down on sugar cravings.
Drink Water Exclusively. "But what about diet soda?" I just heard one thousand of you chime in all together? There is mounting research to support the allegation that diet soda messes with your blood sugar and perceived cravings, enough so that if you are serious about beating your sugar cravings long-term, you need to dump soda in all its forms along with all other sweet drinks (juice anyone?), including those that are artificially sweetened.
Focus on Savory. There are so many delicious, nourishing foods out there to eat, that changing my focus to foods that support my health is life-changing. Focusing on healthy, lean proteins and veggies prepared with fresh herbs and tangy citrus keeps my palette so busy I forget about the sweet stuff (usually).
Find Naturally Sweet Substitutes.

Nothing hits the spot like a square of dark chocolate (at least 80% cacao) dipped in nut butter.
A chocolate/banana/pb smoothie (made with frozen bananas) is the perfect substitute for ice cream.
Frozen cherries and plain yogurt (or kefir) are the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.

Everyday is a new opportunity to practice self-mastery. Just because I did all these good behaviors yesterday doesn't mean I can let up on today. I strive to practice these behaviors every single day (yup, weekends too!)

As you retrain your palette away from the constant assault of sugar, you regain the ability to enjoy foods in their natural and wholesome state, and will probably lose a few pounds in the process!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates.

The Key To Sustainable Weight Loss

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 22:08:25 GMT

Consistency. Simplicity. Routine. Habit.

One word. Consistency.

Whenever I ask a client (or myself!) to eliminate a bad health habit or create a good one, I ask one question. "Can I do (or not do) this one thing for the rest of my life?" In other words, can I imagine myself sustaining this behavior?

The answer you give yourself determines your success because a healthy, vibrant lifestyle of maintaining your ideal weight is built on the long-term consistency of good habits which become routines. Keep in mind that creating a lifestyle that supports health is a long journey, it takes a lot of practice, so don't get discouraged if it takes you a few tries!

When implementing a new health habit, I find the following steps to be helpful. Hopefully you will too!

The WHAT: Pick something you want to change. It can be anything! Ask yourself the question, "Can I imagine myself still doing this behavior in 20 years? This step is important because it helps you project into the future to quantify the effort required, gives you perspective and helps you count the cost of what you're about to commit to. Don't skip this thought exercise!
The WHY: Spend some time thinking about why you want to do this new thing. How will it benefit you? How will your life be better because you started (or stopped) doing this one thing. This is important because answering the WHY of your change builds motivation and you will need it later on when the going gets rough! Remind yourself often of why you want to continue this behavior long after the fun has worn off.
The HOW: What's your plan? Think through the different steps required to make this change in your life. Write them down and post in a visible place so you can be reminded often.

For example:

The WHAT: "I want to add daily stretching to my fitness plan. Can I imagine doing this every day for the rest of my life? Ugh! That's hard to imagine because it's so boring, but I suppose if I can figure out a way to streamline it so it takes minimal time then I can imagine doing it daily. 15 minutes feels doable so I will imagine myself stretching daily for just 15 minutes, that feels sustainable. Ooh, what if I added some entertainment to the mix? Since I never watch television, I could watch something completely useless but entertaining while I stretch and I may even do it for longer than 15 minutes. OK, now I can begin to imagine doing it every day." See how this thought process works?
The WHY: "The why of stretching is easy. My muscles, especially in the legs and hips are like brittle rubber bands. I am already nursing a hip injury and I need to stretch and strengthen daily in order to rehabilitate. I am very pain averse, so every time I try to get out of stretching or make excuses as to why I don't have time, I am going to remember how badly it hurt. I couldn't even walk for days!! Remembering that feeling ought to serve as great motivation."
The HOW: "On the days when I am already at the gym, I will stretch there. Adding 15 minutes onto the hour+ I have already been there is no big deal (at least I will continue to convince myself it's no big deal). On days when I am exercising from home, I am going to entice myself to stretch with the reward of either watching a movie or listening to a book on tape. Both are fun and entertaining and enough to keep me engaged long enough to do my strength and stretching exercises."

OK, now you try. What behavior would you like to change starting today?.

Are Some Foods Addictive?

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 02:09:27 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Just ask anyone who craves chocolate (or any other sugary, salty or fatty food) and the answer is a resounding, "YES, certain foods are addictive!" Although food is not classified as an addiction, according to the DSM-V because it doesn't meet the criteria for withdrawal syndrome that substances elicit, certain foods do light up the pleasure center of our brain and trigger intense cravings that hijack our better judgement.

To add insult to injury is the fact that big food companies actually engineer ultra-processed foods to be addictive and keep us coming back for more. An easy way to differentiate between addictive foods and non-addictive foods is to make two categories, natural foods and processed foods. We are not likely to binge on carrots or broccoli or even chicken, but the list of processed foods designed to be addictive uses salt, sugar, fat and additives to reel us in and keep us coming back for more. Foods like:

pizza, pretzels, potato chips and crunchy snack items
baked goods like cookies, cakes, pies, doughnuts
soda and other caffeinated, sugary beverages

These foods are created from enticing flavor combinations of excessive sugar, fat or salt with a few additives sprinkled in to enhance the flavor even more (ex: nitrates are an additive in cured meats like bacon that intensify the flavor and give a golden caramel color. Yes, you can buy nitrate-free bacon, but it just doesn't taste the same, something is "missing" because anything less than "wow" tastes bland to our over-processed taste buds.

Professors at Yale put together a subjective Food Addiction Scale to help determine your affinity to these addictive foods. Take the test and see how you score!

https://www.centrahealth.com/sites/default/files/yale-food-addiction-scale.pdf

https://centerforhealthjournalism.org/2014/06/10/how-foods-are-engineered-addict

How can you beat food companies at their own addictive food game and free yourself from the intense cravings these foods elicit? Simple (in theory). Stop eating them completely and go all-natural. Eat whole foods that have not been created in a factory and you will be on the road to better health and subsequent weight loss immediately.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Portion Distortion

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 01:59:10 GMT

Portion distortion

Have you ever thought about the difference between serving size and portion size?

Serving sizes are standardized measurements of food that represent amounts set by agencies, but they also represent the typical amount consumed. For example, a 1/2 cup of whole cooked grains may be the typically consumed amount and thereby the serving size.

Portion sizes are amounts of different foods you choose to eat. So, even though 1/2 cup may be the serving size you may choose to eat 3/4 cup. This is your portion size.

Now that we have cleared up the serving size vs. portion size dilemma, let's get to the real heart of weight management, portion control.

Portion control of our food is crucial because it's how we manage calories. If we can't manage food portions, then we can't manage calories or our weight. Many factors affect portion control including mindless eating, emotional eating, food tracking, record keeping, and the list goes on.

In order to more accurately estimate portion size without going to the trouble of measuring, keep the following in mind:

A baseball or an average-sized fist

measures about 1 cup
An appropriate portion size for raw or cooked vegetables, whole fruit or 100% fruit juice

A tennis ball or small, scooped handful

Measures about ½ cup
Equal to 1-ounce equivalent for grains, such as pasta, rice and oatmeal

A deck of cards or the palm of the hand

Measures about 3 ounce-equivalents
An appropriate portion size for fish, chicken, beef and other meats

The size of the thumb

Measures about 1 tablespoon
An appropriate portion size for peanut butter or other nut spreads such as almond butter

A postage stamp or the tip of the pointer finger to the first joint

Measures about 1 teaspoon
An appropriate portion size for oils or other fats

Food Additives

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 01:38:41 GMT

What's really in your food?

Look on the label of your healthy greek yogurt, filled with "live and active cultures" and touted as a "healthy protein." Do you see milk as the only ingredient? Or is it followed by a list of ingredients you can hardly pronounce? What about your cottage cheese? It should have milk and enzymes as the only ingredient, but you notice "Carag-something" on the label. What is that? Now that you are becoming an expert label reader, paying attention to serving sizes and grams of added sugars, it's time to look at the non-food ingredients that make up your food.

Carageenan--you will find this in many dairy products, including "healthy" foods such as yogurt, cottage cheese and chocolate milk.
Nitrates--if you get a headache after eating sausage or bacon, nitrates may be the culprit.
Sodium Benzoate--found in soda, including diet soda
Artificial Dyes--dyes are especially prevalent in foods marketed to kids, which is unfortunate because many kids are sensitive to them

Click on the link to read more about these additives and many more

photo by Calum Lewis

Snacking on...Exercise?

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 19:42:11 GMT

Exer-Snacks!

Yes, you heard right. Exercise Snacking is a new term, recently coined, though the concept has been around forever. In the same way you snack on food intermittently throughout the day, the goal is to snack on exercise in short bursts of second up to minutes bouts. Enough to raise your heart rate but not enough to make you sweaty.

The beauty of exercise snacking is that you can do it, anytime, anywhere, no equipment or special shoes needed. The benefits of exercise snacking are numerous. Exercise snacks throughout the day can lower your insulin resistance, improve fitness and help control blood sugar levels. In fact, breaking up our long bouts of sitting helps us process our nutrients better. Click HERE for more info on the benefits of exercise snacking

What are some Exercise Snack ideas?

March in place while you talk on the phone
Set an alarm to go off every hour, then do 30 squats and 30 jumping jacks
Stand up and stretch every hour
Walk up and down your stairs 10 times
Walk to the end of your street and back
Play your favorite song and dance to it
Do 10 pushups (on the floor or on the wall)

If you already go to the gym for an hour a day, exercise snacking isn't designed to take the place of your daily focused exercise session but it can be a great add-on, increasing health benefits and boosting fitness, especially for those who sit for long periods during the day. For those who are currently sedentary, it's a great place to start to get some immediate health benefits. Got 5 minutes? Have an exercise snack!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates.

photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Simple vs. Complex Carbs

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 19:35:29 GMT

Question: Is a strawberry a simple or complex carb?

Carbs have gotten a really bad rap over the last decade. Between "gluten-free" EVERYTHING and a plethora of protein diets, carbs fell from favor in a big way. But carbs are not all created equal, there are vast differences in those delicious macronutrients we refer to as carbohydrates.

First off, carbohydrates are the body's primary source of energy. Let's begin with an explanation of simple vs. complex when it comes to carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are made from just one or two sugar units while complex carbs are made up of many sugar units. The longer carbon chains of the complex carbs mean they take longer to break down, or digest, and therefore give off more sustained energy.

Sugar is an example of a simple carb. It digests quickly, giving our body a spike in blood glucose and a quick burst of energy.

Whole grains are an example of complex carbs. More complex chains give sustained energy with the added benefit of fiber and B vitamins to boot.

The answer seems simple, right? Sugar is bad, whole grains are good, so simple carbs are bad and complex carbs are good. Not so fast! Fruit, vegetables and milk contain simple carbohydrates. Refined white flour and white rice are complex carbs which are low in nutrients and high in calories relative to veggies or fruit. (1 oz. white flour has 100 calories vs. 1 oz broccoli has 10 calories vs. 1 oz. of strawberries has 9 calories.

So, to answer the question, "Which is better? Simple or complex carbs?" The answer is...it depends on the source. And take note of the emerging term, Refined Carbohydrates, which is undoubtedly, a better description of the types of carbs we should avoid.

In the meantime, eat more fruits and veggies!

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates.

photo by Corina Rainer

Soda, Diet Soda or...Neither?

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 18:17:04 GMT

Is Diet Soda OK?

A few Soda facts:

Coca-Cola actually contained cocaine in the recipe until 1928. No Way!
Mountain Dew is rated as the #1 least healthy soda
One 12 oz can of soda contains @ 40 grams of sugar (that's almost double the recommendation!)
Phosphoric Acid, a common preservative found in sodas, erodes your teeth

For an interesting history lesson on how sodas came to be, watch this fun video:

https://nowthisnews.com/videos/food/now-and-then-the-history-of-soda

We all know regular soda is bad for our health, liquid sugar that it is. So that's why you switched over to diet soda in the first place, along with millions of other consumers, right? So, is diet soda bad for you as well?

One grave concern emerging around diet soda is the ability of artificial sweeteners (found in abundance in sodas) to throw off the ratio of healthy gut bacteria to unhealthy bacteria. Over time this affects your bodies ability to regulate weight gain. More and more research is being published suggesting that artificial sweeteners "trick" the body into thinking sugar is on the way and so insulin levels spike artificially turning your "fat-burning" mode into "fat-storing" mode.

If you must choose between regular or diet, diet soda is still considered the lesser of the two evils. But if you want to drink a beverage that is actually good for you (as opposed to a little less than evil), choose water!

Be sure to read the article below to find out the latest research findings on diet soda. It's an emerging hot topic!

https://www.eatthis.com/whats-worse-regular-or-diet-soda/

Fresh? Frozen? Or Canned? The Healthiest Way To Eat Your Fruits & Veggies

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 19:49:48 GMT

Fresh? Frozen? Or Canned?

We all know we should eat more fruits and veggies, and we are trying! But fresh produce can be problematic. For one, we buy it with the best of intentions only to discover it has turned to goo in the fridge, despite our best salad and roasted veggie intentions. Or what about all those bananas we swore would go into our smoothies that are now brown and attracting fruit flies, despite the fact that two days ago they would've made a perfect smoothie, but in our rush out the door, we opted for a gas-station doughnut instead?

Never fear, because we have OPTIONS. Although fresh produce typically gets the gold star for taste, there are pros and cons to consuming your fruits & veggies in all three forms.

Fresh : Nothing beats fresh fruit or vegetables right from the ground or tree. Freshly picked, organically grown and consumed on the spot is, hands down, the tastiest and usually healthiest way to eat your fruits and veggies. This category of produce will have the highest concentration of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants as they absorb it from nutrient rich soil and ripen in the sunshine. The taste is also superior. If you've ever eaten a freshly picked strawberry, you know what I'm talking about. In lieu of a garden, visit your local farmer's market to get the best seasonal offerings or join a food co-op where you can have a box of fresh produce delivered weekly. Nutritionally, this is the superior option, though it will also be your most pricey as well. One option in the Knoxville area is www.knoxproducebox.com.

What about fresh produce from the store? Obviously, not everyone has the time, space or know-how to grow their own food. However, studies show a significant nutrient difference between locally grown food and commercially grown/shipped food. One study showed a 100% increase in nutrition when comparing locally grown produce to that found in the supermarkets because of the common commercial practices of picking produce before it's ripe, warehouse storage time and distance shipping.

Bottom Line? Shop at your local Farmer's Market, when possible, otherwise supermarket is fine. The goal is to eat more fruits and veggies, not worry about where they are coming from. However, just for fun this summer, try growing tomatoes in a pot on your patio and taste the difference.

Frozen: Frozen fruit and veggies are often a great choice. Nutritionally, they are sound, picked at the peak of ripeness and flash-frozen. They are often less expensive than their fresh counterpart and often more nutritious! As long as you have extra freezer space, they are easy to store for long periods of time and ready to use with zero prep whenever you need them. Most fruits & veggies freeze well, but some high-water-content types are at a disadvantage when frozen. Click here for your "Do Not Freeze" list.

My list of favorite frozen fruits and veggies includes:

Peas--superior taste and color to canned when fresh is hard to find (which it always is)
Shredded Hashbrowns--no oil added, you just can't beat the convenience and versatility
Mangos--I LOVE frozen mangos. Have you ever tried to peel a fresh mango?
Cherry Blend (Sweet & Tart)--Fresh cherries are in season for about a month and I want to eat them all year long!

Canned : In general, I prefer fresh or frozen produce because canned produce is often loaded with sugar, salt, preservatives, etc. Plus, though many cans are now BPA free, I still carry that bias towards the cans themselves (just being honest). However, there is a great advantage to canned produce and that is shelf-life. Canned goods make great food storage items. They don't go bad when the power has been off for days (I'm so sorry Texas) and this feature alone makes them a great choice, even if you are just saving them for a "rainy" day. That being said, there are a few canned items that I prefer.

Cut Green Beans--I know they are soft and have lost the vibrant green color of just-picked green beans, but I love them, the kids love them and I buy them by the case-load.
Tomatoes--when making soups, stews and sauces, the convenience of canned tomatoes can't be beat. Plus, canned tomatoes have been shown to be much higher in lycopene (due to the cooking process during the canning) than fresh tomatoes.
Beans (in all their varieties)--Although I am a huge fan of my pressure cooker, canned beans are just so darn convenient

Data from The Produce For Better Health Foundation has found that people who consume fruits and veggies in all their forms, fresh, frozen and canned have the highest overall consumption of produce than those who just stick to one form or another, so eat your fruits and veggies in whatever form you like.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Is A Calorie Just a Calorie?

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 19:42:35 GMT

The Thermic Effect of Food

If I were to give you the choice between 200 calories of chocolate cake or 200 calories of grilled chicken which one would you choose? Does it really matter if I choose the cake since they both have 200 calories? The short answer is yes, it matters. Even though technically, 1 calorie of cake is the energy equivalent of 1 calorie of chicken, our body treats those calories differently during the digestion process.

A little known aspect of different types of foods is known as The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). Some foods just plain take more energy to digest and it makes sense that you might want to eat a few more of those foods and a few less of the foods that slip effortlessly into your fat cells. Of course, the million dollar question is, "Which foods have a higher thermic effect?" The quick and easy answer is proteins! 20-35% of your ingested protein calories are actually consumed in the digestive process compared to 10-15% for carbohydrates and 5-15% for fats (and its closer to the 5% range for fats since they are most efficiently stored). Also, note that processed foods are greatly decreased in their thermic effect because they are so easy to digest. Whole foods have a significantly higher TEF than their processed counterparts.

What physiological factors impact TEF in individuals?

Age. Unfortunately, TEF declines with age.

Insulin Resistance. It's a vicious cycle all around. The more your cells resist insulin, the less your TEF.

Exercise. Physical activity increases your TEF by up to 45%! Good nutrition AND exercise are key to weight management.

Now, before you get too excited about TEF as the magic weight loss key, keep in mind it accounts for only about 10% of your total daily energy expenditure. However, when you factor in all the healthy behaviors you are striving for anyway, an increase in TEF is just extra icing on the cake (pun intended).

photo by Aliona Gumeniuk

How NOT to Overeat at Mealtimes

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 19:36:41 GMT

Learn How To Stop Eating When You Are Satisfied

You know that stuffed, sick feeling when you've just eaten too much? Me too! Taking in too many calories on a regular basis is a prime reason for weight gain. And we all know, anecdotally speaking of course, that losing weight takes a lot more time and effort that gaining it. Try these tips to keep your weight in check.

Use the hunger scale. I know this seems overly simplified, but STOP EATING WHEN YOU ARE SATISFIED. Notice, I didn't say "full" or "stuffed", just satisfied.
Really, the only way to stop eating when you are satisfied is to EAT SLOWER.
Drink a glass of WATER before each meal.
Use a SMALLER PLATE to trick your eyes and hopefully your stomach.
Load your plate up with FRUITS and VEGGIES first.
Replace alcohol with soda water, plain water, milk, anything really. NOT drinking alcohol will save you hundreds of calories in crackers and cheese as you keep a tighter hold on your inhibitions.
SKIP DESSERT and opt for fruit instead.
Practice NOT HAVING SECONDS (this is a hard one for most of us).
FOCUS ON PEOPLE, not food.

High Cholesterol? Eat This, Not That

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 02:08:48 GMT

To eat, or not to eat, that is the question

Cholesterol, that waxy substance that has a bad rap for clogging up your arteries, is actually an essential component of every cell in your body. It creates fluidity in your cell membranes and is a hormone precursor. In short, without cholesterol, we'd be in trouble.

You've heard the terms LDL and HDL tossed around, right? LDL is the "bad" and HDL is the "good" cholesterol. But what does this really mean? Since cholesterol must be transported in the blood, think of the LDL (low density lipoproteins) and HDL (high density lipoproteins) as boats that carry their cargo (cholesterol) around. The LDL's like to carry their cholesterol cargo to the arteries where things get clogged up. The HDL's on the other hand, carry their cholesterol cargo so the excess can be excreted. Go HDL's!

The link between cholesterol and diet is in murky waters right now. It used to be that eggs (and other high cholesterol foods) were off limits due to levels of cholesterol which were thought to cause high cholesterol, but researchers now paint a different picture. Hello scrambled eggs!

What We Know:

Dietary cholesterol (found in eggs, animal products and processed foods) only account for about 25% of the cholesterol produced in our bodies, the rest is a function of heredity.
Quitting smoking improves your HDL cholesterol level. After three months cigarette-free, your blood circulation and lung function begin to improve, after a year, your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker.
Obesity is a huge risk factor for high cholesterol levels. Even losing 10% of your initial body weight can have a dramatic effect on lowering cholesterol levels.
Processed foods with their abundance of unhealthy trans fats are thought to be a primary food culprit contributing to obesity and thus high cholesterol.
While dietary cholesterol does not seem to significantly impact the majority of people, a certain percentage seem to be hyper-responders meaning that dietary cholesterol does seem to have increased significance for these people. It is not known how many people fall into this category.

HEALTHY High Cholesterol Foods:

eggs

cheese

shellfish (as long as you are not allergic)

grass-fed beef

fermented dairy products.

UNHEALTHY High Cholesterol Foods (Avoid):

fried foods (as they are usually fried in trans-fat oils)

fast food

processed foods

processed meats

sweets (too much sugar, unhealthy fats and calories which lead to weight gain)

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Cook For Your Health

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 02:03:57 GMT

Planning and prepping now equals dinner right on time

OK, so you've gone to the work of meal planning, you've got your meals picked out, recipes printed AND you've been to the grocery store. A major Herculean effort, all that, and yet that was only Step #1 in the "What's For Dinner?" dilemma faced by each one of us every single night. Failing to execute Step #2, Meal Prep, results in picking up Chinese take-out (all 1447 calories of it) on the way home from work because you are too tired to finish what you started.

Meal Plan (weekly) + Meal Prep (daily) = Delicious, Healthy Dinner On The Table Every Night

Following are a few things to think about when it comes to meal prepping and soon you'll be a pro (just like you are with meal planning).

Have a plan. Don't have a plan? Failure to plan is planning to fail so stop being stubborn and embrace the whole meal plan idea. When a beef stew, chock-full of hearty vegetables, tender chunks of meat and a rich, hearty broth is at home simmering in the crockpot, the motivation to waste calories and money on takeout greatly diminishes. This only happens consistently with a meal plan.
Meal Prep, the second part of this equation is something that happens every single day. Adjust your thinking to accept the amount of daily effort required to meal prep and simplify the whole process, at least in your head.
Always know what you are having for dinner the night before.
Take meat out of the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator the night before. Prep as much of the meal as you can first thing in the morning, including putting crockpot dinners together. When you have a plan in mind and half the work is done already, it's not much extra work at all to complete the last bit of prep for the meal at dinnertime. When you have no plan in mind and have been running crazy all day, the prospect of fixing dinner is completely overwhelming.
Prep fruits and veggies into clear containers as soon as you get home from the grocery store. This greatly increases your chances of using them in a timely manner because they are already prepped and ready to go (reduces daily prep). No more green goo in the vegetable drawer either because you are actually eating your veggies!
Daily meal prep can be significantly decreased by a Weekly Cooking Event (more on this below).

Weekly Cooking Event

If you work during the week, having a weekly cooking event is the surest way to avoid last minute fast food runs out of hungry desperation. A Cooking Event usually lasts 2-3 hours on the weekend and involves planning and prepping for the next week's meals, from chopping your veggies and cooking your meat all the way down to packing each day's lunch/dinner in individual containers for grab and go convenience!

The more skilled you become at meal planning/meal prepping the less you will make impulsive food choices which translates into healthy food choices and weight loss! Try it for yourself and see.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

5 Ways To Curb Nighttime Snacking

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 01:57:50 GMT

Generally, daytime calories are your most nutritious calories

We all do it. The self-talk that says "After a long, hard day I deserve this bowl of ice cream (or popcorn, or chocolate bar)." And before we know it, we are in serious calorie trouble, especially if our nighttime noshing is a regular habit. But never fear, there are tried and true methods to stop those late night calorie binges and not surprisingly, they all start first thing in the morning.

Front-load Your Food. What does this even mean? It means eat the bulk of your calories (all of them healthy and nutritious, of course) earlier in the day. By 6 pm in the evening, you should feel full and satisfied. Many people skimp on breakfast and lunch because they are simply too busy to eat. This lack of time creates a temporary lack of appetite, but it comes back with a vengeance around midafternoon and stays well into the evening hours with all your cravings in tow.
Exercise First Thing Every Day. Not only does it deliver a solid wakeup call to your body, it empowers you for the day. Yup, if you can drag yourself out of bed and sweat for an hour, you can do anything, including pack a healthy lunch, say "no" to the cookies in the breakroom and muster the energy to cook dinner at home rather than stopping for fast food on the way home. In short, exercise changes the way you think about food. Warning: The marvelous empowering effects of exercise last only one day which is why you have to exercise again tomorrow morning.
Clean Out Your Environment. This should be obvious, but if it's not there (in your kitchen, office or car), you can't eat it. If you can't stop from sneaking chips every night, throw out the bag and stop buying them. Pretty simple.
Snack Smarter. Environmental control goes both ways. Out with the bad and in with the good. Place a big bowl of tasty fruit on your cabinet in plain sight. Keep homemade hummus and cut veggies ready for snacking in the fridge. Keep a pot of vegetable soup ready to go in your fridge for when you need something hot and savory. Keep your blender handy, ready to whip up a healthy, protein rich shake when the urge for something sweet arises.
Go To Bed Earlier. A lot of our poor eating choices happen after 8 pm, so reduce them by going to bed earlier. If you are sleeping, you aren't eating and you get the extra benefit of being rested for the next day so you can get up early and get your physical activity in. It's a win-win cycle.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

The Evolution of Nutrition

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 21:37:19 GMT

Ever wonder where the nutrition guidelines come from?

One thing that never changes in the field of nutrition, is that it is always changing. Take the low-fat craze of the 80's and 90's for example. We didn't eat fat because we were told it would "make us fat", but now as a nation, we are fatter than ever! So, what gives?

Do you ever wonder how health recommendations have evolved through the years? Take a look at how the food guidelines have changed from the 1930's to today.

https://healthybeat.com/nutrition/food-pyramid/

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates.

Front Load Your Day For Success!

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 21:29:58 GMT

What Is Front Loading?

The concept of front-loading is not new. It simply means you start your day with as many healthy behaviors as you can before the day takes on a mind of its own. Front-loading is akin to putting on your own oxygen mask first so you can benefit those around you rather than be a drain. Taking care of your health and well-being is a very unselfish thing to do because it helps you be your best self for the people around you, both at home and at work.

What might a front-loaded day look like? We all know we should exercise and move more, eat more fruits and veggies, drink lots of water and get 8 hours of sleep. However, it often feels impossible with all the work and family demands placed on us, so we keep the same habits day after day; to bed too late scrolling through social media to "unwind", sleeping late because you're exhausted, grabbing a granola bar as you rush out the door the next morning, stopping for fast food or skipping lunch because you don't have time to pack anything healthy in your rush, and finally, arriving home exhausted and ravenous so the cycle can begin again.

Front Loading looks like this:

9 pm: Pack your lunch for the next day, ready breakfast, set out exercise clothes, fill water bottle.
10 pm: Lights out. Read a book to get sleepy, put your phone to charge in another room.
6:30 am: Wake up and hop into those exercise clothes. Then do it. Exercise. Drink 24 oz water.
7:30 am: Shower and eat breakfast. Forget the donuts, get in two fruits or veggies plus some protein
8:00 am: Ready for the day! Don't forget to grab your lunch and water bottle if you're heading out the door. Drink another 24 oz of water throughout the morning.

How To Front Load Fruits and Veggies

8:00 am breakfast: veggie scramble & protein berry shake (1 fruit/1 veggie)
Noon lunch: chicken salad over spring mix salad & pear (2 veggies/1 fruit)
Afternoon snack: carrots & hummus (1 veggie)

It's barely afternoon and already you have exercised, eaten 6 f/v and downed 48 ounces of water. And you did it all while you still had energy! Morning is the time when we have the most control over our schedule, so it makes sense to pack in as many of these good behaviors as you can early in the day. Try it this week and see the difference, you can do it!

Exercise is man's best medicine
--Hippocrates

Photo by Trang Doan

Intuitive Eating

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 21:06:09 GMT

What Is Intuitive Eating?

Intuitive Eating is a mindset of honoring and respecting your body and paying attention to your hunger and satiety cues. It is a method of eating that rejects the diet mentality and instead helps you foster a healthy relationship with food. There are ten principles of intuitive eating.

Reject the diet mentality
Honor your hunger
Make peace with food
Challenge the food police
Discover food satisfaction
Feel your fulness
Cope with your emotions with kindness
Respect your body
Movement-feel the difference
Honor your health-gentle nutrition

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Ella Olsson

Cool Hydration Facts

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 20:49:23 GMT

Drink More Water, Friends!

You can increase hydration by eating high water content foods like watermelon or broccoli. Around 20% of our daily fluid intake comes from food.

The "Eight Glasses of Water a Day" recommendation is not based on any scientific evidence or study, rather it was extrapolated from a recommendation made back in 1945 by The Food and Nutrition Board.

Water acts as a calorie-free appetite suppressant because it takes up space in the stomach and a full stomach signals to the brain to stop eating. Now whether we listen or not, is up to us!

Water is critical for digestion. Constipated? Drink more water. Diarrhea? Drink more water.

If you drink your calories, switching to water can definitely help you lose weight! Switching your 32 oz Coke from the gas station for water just saved you 265 calories and 73 grams of sugar. Multiply that one lifestyle change by one year and you could lose over 25 pounds. 25 pounds! (Not to mention the sugar savings...over one year 73 grams of sugar daily = almost 60 pounds of sugar. Try hefting a 60 pound sugar sack around every day 24/7).

Bottom Line: Even though the eight-glasses a day recommendation is not backed by any specific scientific studies, water is essential for the proper function of your body and has many weight loss advantages, so 64-oz is a good place to start. Listen to your thirst and adjust up or down from there.

And, on the flip side...I don't know about you, but I ignore my thirst signals ALL the time. And if I only listened to my thirst signals I would likely be dehydrated perpetually, so while there is not a set recommendation of water that applies to every person, I find 64 oz. is a great goal for me to start with and serves as a starting point for how much water I should shoot for each day. Give or take.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Alex Azebache

The "Why" of the Exercise High

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 20:29:14 GMT

How To Get The Exercise High

For seasoned exercisers, physical activity is a daily necessity. Statements like, "I just don't feel good until I've exercised" or "Exercise is the only way to get out all this nervous energy" can seem downright crazy to more sedentary folks. If making yourself exercise on a regular basis ranks right up there with cleaning a toilet, find out how you too can get that exercise high!

It used to be that endorphins got all the credit for that euphoric feeling after exercise, but more recent research points to a chemical naturally produced by our bodies called endocannabinoids. Biochemically similar to cannabis, endocannabinoids are mood improving neuromodulators that promote short-term psychological effects such as reduced anxiety and feeling calm. Exercise also has the ability to blunt our brains response to physical and emotional stress and it promotes good vibes in the brain due to increased cell generation as well as encouraging new blood vessel growth, both of which slow cognitive aging.

So, how can you get the exercise high?

Exercise. Do something. Do anything.
Exercise regularly. As in most days of every week.
Exercise outside. Sunlight actually promotes serotonin production.
Exercise with a friend. The social aspect of exercise is very healthy.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Does Intermittent Fasting Work?

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 20:23:30 GMT

With obesity rates booming, it seems we're willing to try anything, even not eating! For a few hours anyway...

Notwithstanding, intermittent fasting is really popular right now! And with good reason, several studies point to the variety of health benefits intermittent fasting can bring, including blood sugar regulation, suppressed inflammation and increased brain health.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191226084351.htm

Other studies, however, show no benefit from intermittent fasting over conventional weight loss diets that include caloric restriction and advocate using whatever method you can stick to since they all work about the same.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181126115842.htm

But what is intermittent fasting? A typical intermittent fasting regime falls into one of two categories, the 16:8 fast or the 5:2 fast.

16:8 fast--Eat for 8 hours and then fast for 16 hours. Following this eating schedule daily.

5:2 fast--Eat as you normally do 5 days of the week, but on 2 days eat only 1 moderate meal. Follow this schedule weekly.

Both methods result in decreased overall calorie intake, hence weight loss. The 16:8 fast actually has many variations of fasting vs. feeding times. One study, the first of its kind, compared two different lengths of fasting/feeding (20:4 vs. 18:6) and found no difference in weight loss. This is good news for those of us who like to eat because the longer fasting time did not increase weight loss.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200715135731.htm

And finally...Time Restricted Eating. Not nearly as restrictive as intermittent fasting, but also not the calorie free-for-all many of us regularly indulge in either. Time Restricted Eating (TRE) means eating within a 10 hour window every day, giving our bodies a metabolic rest of 14 hours each night. TRE is easy to do and, in conjunction with other healthy lifestyle changes such as increased fruit and veggie consumption and daily physical activity, can have a sustained positive impact on weight maintenance.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191205141731.htm

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Christopher Jolly

Tired of Tracking Calories? Track Nutrition Instead

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 20:01:20 GMT

Focus On Nutrition

We have all been in that obsessive place of counting every last calorie. Personally, it makes me feel crazy to keep track of every calorie and feeling crazy is definitely not a behavior I want to sustain. Food and I have had a tumultuous relationship in the past, but we are on very amicable terms now and we got there (food and I) by considering nutrition over calories.

When faced with a snack of 1 oz of nuts vs. 1 oz of pretzels, which one do I choose? The nuts, every time. Why would I choose 170 calories of nuts over 110 calories of pretzels? Nutrition. Nuts contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, fiber, and a whole slew of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin E, magnesium, copper and zinc. Pretzels contain...not much besides calories.

How about salmon vs. hot wings? They both contain the the same ratio of protein to fat but the salmon wins every time. Why? Nutrition. The fat in salmon comes from Omega 3 fatty acids and the fat in hot wings comes from the deep fryer, likely a refined or chemically processed vegetable oil.

A fun and easy way to track nutrition is to count fiber grams, rather than calories. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains in great abundance. All the foods you should be eating more of! It is not found in cakes, cookies, ice cream, fried foods or processed foods. All the foods you should be eating less of.

Fiber: Daily recommendations for adults

Age 50 or younger Age 51 or older

Institute of Medicine

Men 38 grams 30 grams

Women 25 grams 21 grams

Just for fun this week, give yourself a break and focus on nutrition rather than calories.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Mariana Medvedeva

5 Reasons To Eat More Fruits & Vegetables

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 19:39:32 GMT

Low In Calories, High In Fiber, Fruits & Veggies Are Where It's At!

Instead of focusing on all the foods you ought NOT to eat, why not think about all the delicious foods you ought to eat MORE of? There are hundreds of different types of fruits and vegetables to choose from so read on to find out why you need to be eating more of these delicious, all natural foods.

Fruits, and especially veggies are low in calories! In fact, you won't find another food group out there lower in calories than this one, per weight ounce. This is good news for weight loss, because it means you can eat a larger volume of food and still keep the calories very low.
Fruits and veggies fill you up for two reasons, fiber and high water content.
Fruits and veggies are chock full of phytochemicals as well as antioxidants that help your body fight off diseases. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170223114807.htm
Fruits and veggies contain vitamins that are precursors to enzymes that facilitate metabolism.
Fruits satisfy your sweet tooth naturally. The fiber in fruit slows down the digestion of the fruit's sugar so your body's insulin response isn't overwhelmed. https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2016/08/natural-vs-refined-sugars-what-is-the-difference

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

photo by Sharon McCutcheon

Focus on Fitness in 2021

websitebuilder@1and1.de — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 19:22:43 GMT

Rather Than Obsessing About The Number On The Scale, Focus On Fitness

A new year, a new start! Weighing yourself regularly, aspiring to a goal weight and confronting the scale, are all useful things motivations. However, always remember the numbers on the scale are somewhat arbitrary. Just because you weighed 130 lbs. in college doesn't mean it's a healthy or sustainable weight for you in 2021.

The ideal weight is the weight you feel your best at AND the weight you can reasonably sustain long-term with consistent, healthy habits. Obsessing about the number on the scale is not healthy or enjoyable, so why not focus on fitness in 2021? Fitness is an all-encompassing word that should include:

--cardio

--strength

--flexibility

--body composition (which can include weight)

--endurance

--emotional wellness

Many of us focus on only one or two aspects or fitness when we ought to be focused on all of them. If you perpetually neglect flexibility or strength in favor of cardio, you will get injured. If you always favor strength training over cardio, you will lack the endurance that is so beneficial for heart health. The daily quiet meditation that boosts emotional wellness will benefit you much more this year than will time spent on social media or the news. I wish there was a way to calculate the benefit of time and effort spent exercising and prepping healthy foods and subtract it from the time spent waiting in doctor's offices or convalescing from illness. As in every hour spent at the gym meant one less hour dealing with chronic diseases directly caused by poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Maybe if we could see the direct benefit of our efforts to live healthy lives we would be more motivated!

Make a daily commitment to yourself and your health this year. You will not regret it.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Tetyana Ovyrina

The Big "Fat" Controversy

183:812606830 (Heidi Greenhalgh) — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 21:02:12 GMT

Good Fats/Bad Fats?

Fat has gotten an evil rap for many years, after all, eating fat makes you fat, right? Not so fast. Our bodies need fat to support growth and give us energy. Fats are the building blocks of many important molecules, including hormones. From a weight maintenance perspective, fat helps us feel satiated and satisfied. However, among the different types of fats, controversy abounds. Good fat? Bad fat? Read on to find out.

Fats can be classified into three categories, monounsatured, polyunsatured and saturated:

Monounsatured Fats--considered to be heart healthy and supported in all corners of the literature as being a "healthy" fat. Avocados and olives fall into this category. These types of fats raise your levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and can help lower your LDL levels. As high LDL levels are thought to be a primary risk factor for heart disease, lowering them is clearly a good thing. No controversy here.

Polyunsatured Fats--generally speaking still thought to be heart healthy, especially when coming from plant based sources such as nuts and seeds.

Pay attention to chia, flax and hemp seeds which have an unusually high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids as opposed to most other nuts and seeds which are predominantly comprised of omega-6 fatty acids. https://www.superfoodevolution.com/nuts-and-seeds. In case you need a refresher on the benefits of omega-3's vs. omega-6's, click here, https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/nutrition/omega-6-vs-omega-3-fatty-acids/, but in a nutshell, overconsumption of omega-6's promote inflammation while omega-3's decrease inflammation. Salmon and other cold-water fish are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

The controversy of polyunsaturated fats does not come from fresh food sources, rather it comes from vegetable oils. Although technically considered polyunsaturated fats, many of these "vegetable" oils are actually highly refined seed oils. Take canola oil for instance. You can still find many, many websites that promote canola oil as a "heart-healthy" cooking oil because it has a high concentration of monounsatured fat. However, you may not realize that canola oil also contains a high level of omega-6 fatty acids (which promote inflammation) and that 90% of the canola oil sold in the US goes through a refining process using high heat and chemical exposure. This same process is true of other popular "vegetable" oils including soy, corn and palm oils. Look for cold-pressed vegetable oils. Avocado oil is my pick for sauteing because of it's high smoke point and high ratio of monounsaturated fat.

Saturated Fats--Now the real controversy begins. For the past 50 years (since the 1970's) saturated fat has been singled out as "bad". This was followed in masse by the low-fat craze of the late 80's and 90's where we ate no fat, ate lots of sugar and got fatter and fatter. Today, the controversy exists as most of the research still supports the "saturated fat causes heart disease" theory and the 2020 Nutrition and Dietary Guidelines once again advocate for "less than 10% of our daily fat intake should come from saturated fat." However, there are a growing number of well-respected individuals who challenge this long-held premise on saturated fat, stating that the science just isn't there to support it and that including fats from all sources can be a healthy addition to a weight maintenance program. If you really want to dive into the controversy, google these two sources.

Are the US Dietary Guide lines Actually Supported By Science? https://www.youtube.com/watch

How We Got it Wrong--Saturated Fat and Heart Disease

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

5 Ways To Curb The Evening Munchies

websitebuilder@1and1.de — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 20:30:58 GMT

It's 9 pm and you're...hungry?

Front-load Your Food. What does this even mean? It means eat the bulk of your calories (all of them healthy and nutritious, of course) earlier in the day. By 6 pm in the evening, you should feel full and satisfied. Many people skimp on breakfast and lunch because they are simply too busy to eat. This lack of time creates a temporary lack of appetite, but it comes back with a vengeance around midafternoon and stays well into the evening hours with all your cravings in tow.
Exercise First Thing Every Day. Not only does it deliver a solid wakeup call to your body, it empowers you for the day. Yup, if you can drag yourself out of bed and sweat for an hour, you can do anything, including pack a healthy lunch, say "no" to the cookies in the breakroom and muster the energy to cook dinner at home rather than stopping for fast food on the way home. In short, exercise changes the way you think about food. Warning: The marvelous empowering effects of exercise last only one day which is why you have to exercise again tomorrow morning.
Clean Out Your Environment. This should be obvious, but if it's not there (in your kitchen, office or car), you can't eat it. If you can't stop from sneaking chips every night, throw out the bag and stop buying them. Pretty simple.
Snack Smarter. Environmental control goes both ways. Out with the bad and in with the good. Place a big bowl of tasty fruit on your cabinet in plain sight. Keep homemade hummus and cut veggies ready for snacking in the fridge. Keep a pot of vegetable soup ready to go in your fridge for when you need something hot and savory. Keep your blender handy, ready to whip up a healthy, protein rich shake when the urge for something sweet arises.
Go To Bed Earlier. A lot of our poor eating choices happen after 8 pm, so reduce them by going to bed earlier. If you are sleeping, you aren't eating and you get the extra benefit of being rested for the next day so you can get up early and get your physical activity in. It's a win-win cycle.

Exercise is man's best medicine

--Hippocrates

Photo by Heidi Greenhalgh

Nutritious Foundations

Losing Weight, Keeping Strength: What to Know About GLP-1s

Preserving Muscle While Losing Weight

Focus On Nutrition (Instead of Calories)

How to Focus on Nutrient-Dense Foods Instead of Tracking Calories

1. Fill Your Plate with Color

2. Choose Whole Grains Over Refined Grains

3. Include Lean Proteins and Healthy Fats ﻿

Holiday Binge? How To Get Back On Track

Holiday Feasting Strategies

1. Plan and Prepare Your Plate

2. Stay Active and Engage in Pre-Meal Exercise

3. Embrace Mindful Eating Techniques

4. Prepare Healthier Versions of Traditional Dishes

Barriers To Healthy Eating (And How To Overcome Them!)

1. Lack of Time

2. Cost of Healthy Food

3. Lack of Knowledge

4. Emotional Eating

Tired? Fight Fatigue With Autumn Foods

1. Root Vegetables for Sustained Energy

2. Fiber-Rich Apples for Digestive Health and Energy

3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Fatty Fish and Nuts

4. Spices to Boost Circulation and Fight Inflammation

Sugar vs Artificial Sweeteners

Food Addiction-Is It Real?

Fill Up With Fiber

Fiber defined:

Types of fiber:

Parts of the cereal grain:

Recommended daily amount of fiber:

Fiber can be divided into categories by property:

Best food sources of soluble fiber include:

Best food sources of insoluble fiber include:

Best food sources of p rebiotics from food include:

Why We Gain Weight As We Age & What To Do About It

Why do so many people gain weight as they age?

Is weight gain as we age inevitable?

Eat This, Not That! Healthy Food Substitutions

Tummy Troubles? Maybe it's IBS.

Relief for IBS

How common is IBS?

My doctor diagnosed me with IBS, now what?

Common FODMAPs include:

Strategies to manage IBS include:

Build A Better Breakfast

Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day?

Healthy Breakfast Ideas:

What About Artificial Sweeteners?

History of Artificial Sweeteners:

What The Research Says:

Conflicting Evidence:

Healthy Fats: Why Are They Important?

Does Fat Make You Fat?

Monounsatured Fats (MUFA):

Polyunsatured Fats (PUFA):

Saturated Fats:

Healthy Carbs You Should Eat

Carbohydrates: How To Eat The Right Kind

Examples of simple carbohydrates:

Whole grains include:

Refined grains include:

Protein: How Much Is Enough?

How Much Protein Is Too Much?

Counting Macros

Should I Track Macros?

Daily Habits = Weekly Goals

How To Create Healthy Habits

The Benefits of Food Tracking

5 Weekend Habits That Sabotage Weight Loss

Exercise is NEAT: How Non-Exercise Can Help You Lose Weight

Cheat Days: Good or Bad?

How Often Can I Cheat? (and not gain weight)

1. Stop thinking of it as "cheating."

2. 90% Healthy.

3. Don't treat food as ALL or NOTHING.

4. Every body is different.

5. Can a cheat meal/day increase my metabolism?

Lifestyle Diets: What Are They?

A Lifestyle diet is a healthy pattern of eating designed to promote optimal health.

3. Include Lean Proteins and Healthy Fats

Your Guide To Portion Control For Weight Loss

Have you ever thought about the difference between a serving size and portion size?