healthy

The Diet Challenge: East vs West

Are you a true westerner looking for a way to change your diet? Leave the western diet behind and head over to the Mediterranean.

Some of our favorite western diet food items have doubled and sometimes tripled in calories over the past 20 years. Cheeseburgers, once 330 calories, are now 590 calories. In the 90s, you could get French fries that were 210 calories; today those French fries cost a whopping 610 calories. Aside from the calorie count, the western diet mostly consists of red meat, dairy products, processed and artificially sweetened foods, and salt. The Mediterranean diet is quite the opposite. The diet consists of a high amount of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nut and seeds, and olive oil. They even throw wine! Thinking about changing yet ? This diet is considered one of the healthy eating plans supported by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the World Health Organization. People who subscribe to the Mediterranean Diet are one step closer to reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The Mediterranean diet provides some food for thought if you are considering a new way to address nutrition.

The S.W.A.G. Challenge

I’m calling all women that are looking to get stronger to join the Strong Women Accountability Group Challenge (S.W.A.G.). You can have the desire to be physically stronger or stronger in adhering to the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. This is a virtual challenge but you will be provided with the tools to succeed. These tools include

-an initial assessment
-weekly encouragement
-weekly workouts
-nutritional guidance
-private webinar
-private virtual team connection
-a prize for the challenge winners

Check it out!

The New Way to Have Oatmeal

If you are like me, you enjoy sweet oatmeal and good oatmeal cookies. But there’s something else you can do with that oatmeal, try savory oatmeal. It’s still cold outside; there is nothing like warming your belly before going out or after coming in. Try the savory oatmeal recipe below and tell me what you think!

Ingredients

1/4 cup of steel cut oats

3/4 cups of water

1-2 tablespoons of grated cheese

1 cooked egg

sautéed onions

salt and pepper to taste

Place ¾ cup water and pinch of salt in saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in steel cut oats and allow to boil for about 1 minute then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed and the oats are soft but chewy. Remove from heat.
While your oats are cooking, cook your egg however you like, poached or fried.
Once both the egg and oats are finished cooking, grab a bowl add oats and top with cooked egg, cheese, cooked onions, avocado, fresh herbs, hot sauce, or whatever your heart’s desire.
Enjoy your savory warm oatmeal.

The Heart Health Secret

The number one cause of death for Americans is heart disease, but it’s preventable. You may already know this, but come closer… the heart health secret is…diet and exercise! Yes, lifestyle changes such as a good diet and some good old exercise could save your heart and your life!

So, what do I mean by good exercise? If you like vigorous activity that’s 90 minutes a week (e.g. 15 minutes for 6 days) of activities such as running at least 5 miles per hour or jumping rope. For those who like more moderate level exercise such as brisk walking or dancing, you need to complete 120 minutes of exercise a week (e.g. 20 minutes for 6 days). Don’t forget to include strength training at least two days a week!

For a lot of people, the real challenge may be a good diet or eating patterns. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines provide some good suggestions for healthy eating patterns such as:

– Choose foods to make up most of your nutrition instead of supplements/substitutes

– Choose the appropriate calorie intake for your body

– Keep variety in your meals

– Limit calories from added sugars and fats

– Limit sodium intake

– Choose healthier options for food items and beverages

– Make healthy eating a lifestyle

As Heart Health month continues, I encourage you to grab a friend and challenge each other to make some changes for your heart. If you struggle with making these changes, there is no shame in seeking help through a health coach. I think I know where you can find a good one!

Matters of the Heart

It’s month two into your new year, new you plan. Some may have jump started their efforts, but it’s quite possible that others have not for various reasons. Whatever position you’re in you are not alone! If you’re well on your way that is great! If you’re not remember changing behavior is hard to do. This is particularly true when you’re trying to make lifestyle changes. When trying to make those types of changes you should have a will and a way. An article in Psychology Today indicated that the will is your why and the way is defined as the how. Sometimes people lose focus on why they are trying to change. It’s also possible that the “why” isn’t strong enough for one to commit to the change. You may have had a plan that didn’t quite work out once you got started. If you have fallen off the new year, new you wagon, you can get back on. Assess your will and your way and ensure your goals are SMART goals.

Become a New You in 2020

At the beginning of a new year most people look towards a fresh start. Some commemorate this fresh start by making new year resolutions or setting new goals. These goals are often related to health, finances, time management – just to name a few. The running joke is that by the end of March, most people don’t remember what those goals were or the last time they looked at them. But there are a few steps you can take to develop a healthy lifestyle for many years to come; to become a new you in 2020 and beyond.

One of the first steps towards becoming the new you is to understand the “why” of your goals/resolutions. Failing to accomplish goals often comes from not really thinking about the “why”. For example, losing 20 pounds may be your goal however your reason may be because you want to fit into a certain size. Or maybe you want to stop taking medications. Maybe you want to feel better physically and emotionally. Knowing the “why” is one of the most important steps you can take because it will help you recalibrate if you get off track.

After understanding your “why”, the next step is to make SMART goals. What do SMART goals look like? SMART goals represent goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based. To develop SMART goals ask yourself the 5 W’s: why, who, what, where, and when. You already know your why so next, determine who will help or support you while you work towards your goals. After that, write out what you want to accomplish. If you have several goals write them all out, then decide which goal or goals to focus on first. When thinking about your what, also determine what you need to accomplish your goals. Are there are certain skills or expertise you need to attain the goals? Once you know the why, determine the who, and narrow-down the what, be sure to decide where you may need to go or not go to achieve your goals. Finally, choose when you will work on your goals based on your schedule and patterns.

Now that your goals are very specific ensure they can be accomplished in measurable increments by developing milestones for your goals. Accomplishing these milestones offers opportunities to reward yourself on your success and helps with self-encouragement. Setting milestones for your goals also helps you consider if the goals are currently attainable. If you want to eat healthier do you know what that means or what that looks like? If you don’t know, what resources do you need to make this goal attainable? If you are not eating vegetables consistently it could be very difficult to change from a regular western diet to a vegetarian diet. It may be more realistic to start by eating 1 more vegetable serving over the next 2 weeks. Once that milestone is reached, you could increase your vegetable intake biweekly. To ensure your goals are SMART you want to have them time-based meaning have a deadline for accomplishing the goal.

The last step to becoming the new you is to get started and stick to it! Research has indicated it takes 66 days to develop a habit, not a month. That sounds like a lot of opportunities to get it wrong and miss some milestones. Let’s be honest, it is! YOU WILL make mistakes. YOU WILL miss some milestones! But don’t sit in your failure. Keeping going! These 66 opportunities give you enough time to ride that wave up and down until your goal becomes a success and forms into a habit that can change your lifestyle.

Changing is hard but it can be done. Hopefully your new goals for the year are meant to change your lifestyle and not just a moment in time. Setting SMART goals gives you the structure to be successful in making lifestyle changes. If you find setting goals and sticking to them to be too difficult, seek out help. Now go make 2020 the year of a New You!

Is Intermittent Fasting a New Approach to Weight Loss?

As the new year begins you are probably considering some dietary changes. One method that’s claimed to result in weight loss is intermittent fasting (IF). But what is intermittent fasting? Is it for you? Intermittent fasting is not a diet in the sense of restricting food items but is simply limiting the time you eat. Recent research in the December 26 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine indicates it can be a promising approach for weight loss, stabilizing blood sugars, and decreasing blood pressure and cholesterol.

Currently, there are at least 6 popular methods for IF.

1. The 16/8 Method: Fast for 16 hours a day

2. The 5:2 Diet: Fast for 2 days per week

3. Eat-Stop-Eat: A 24 hour fast once or twice per week

4. Alternate-Day Fasting: Fast every other day

5. The Warrior Diet: Fast during the day and eat a huge meal in the afternoon or evening

6. Daily Time Restricted Feeding: Fast outside of the 6-8 dedicated hours for eating

Tips for intermittent fasting

– Consult your physician before trying IF

– Start out slow and overtime slowly increase the fasting time

– For best benefits select healthy food items to eat

– Keep your workout routine at a low to moderate level especially on fast days

For years people have fasted for medical and spiritual reasons. Weight loss is another one to add to the list. Fasting allows the body to slowly burn through the glucose stored in the liver, about 700 calories worth. This takes the body around 10-12 hours to complete. This explanation makes it is easy to see how intermittent fasting be a hopeful approach to weight loss, but it is not for the faint at heart. But like any habit, IF takes time. The adjustment period can occur over a few weeks to a couple of months if you dare give it a try.

Baby It’s Cold Outside!

Yes, winter has arrived! It’s cold outside but that is not a reason to be inactive. The holiday rush is over, and all those extra calories have settled in. If you don’t want those settled calories to become settled pounds, you need to move. The good news is exercise does not require a gym or even equipment. Try this simple routine to keep you moving even when you don’t feel like it. Just start and you will have at least a 20-minute workout before you know it.

Jumping jacks for 45 secs, rest 15 secs
Squats for 45 secs, rest 15 secs
Mountain climbers for 45 secs, rest 15 secs
Lunges for 45 secs, rest 15 secs
Alternating fast feet for 45 secs, rest 15 secs
Plank with alternating shoulder taps for 45 secs, rest 15 secs
Rest for 1 minute and repeat 1-2 times