Monday, December 26, 2011

Time Flies When You're in Retail!

Oh the holidays!  My apologies, to you dear readers, for the impromptu hiatus.  Changing retail jobs right before the holiday season is, well, nuts.  But as they say change is inevitable, except from vending machines, and in the spirit of taking over a new store on Thanksgiving day, things got a little hectic (to say the very least!).  Now that the holidays are almost over, things are slowing down and it will give me a chance to catch my breath and get into a routine other than "fly by the seat of my pants"!! 

I last left you with exercising and reasons to exercise.  How are you doing?  Are you doing? I've actually been rather faithful in my increasing the pupcicle walk time.  And right now I'm doing double dog walking duty for the next week while my housemate is in California.  Exercise is a great way to deal with stress and stressful times, so hopefully this hectic holiday you logged quite a bit of exercise to help counter the stress!

~a grain of salt for the rim of your margarita (it's the holidays--splurge a little after your workout!)

Friday, December 9, 2011

I Like to Move It! Move It!

According to the great folks at the CDC [9], one should be aiming for 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of intense exercise and 2 days of full body muscle strengthening exercises weekly.

Say what?  Okay, first off, what is exercise?  Anything that (according to CDC) gets your body moving.  Moderate exercises include things like walking, water aerobics, riding a bike leisurely/flat terrain, or pushing a lawn mower.  Intense exercise includes running, biking through hills, basketball, tennis--things that are going to make you (at least they make me) sweat and quickly! Aside from weight-lifting, other muscle strengthening exercises include yoga, resistance bands, sit-ups/push-ups, and even hard core gardening that requires a lot of movement, like digging, planting, etc.

The grrrreat news is that you can break exercise up into much smaller sessions (and for the sake of your body, you probably should!).  Even small 10 minute brisk walks several times a day adds up!  So for example, every day I walk the pupcicle twice day for at least 10 minutes each walk, except on Sundays when I take her for a longer walk--usually in the 45-60 minute realm.  Even if I'm walking the absolute minimum and not a second more, I'm accruing 165 minutes a week.  Throw in a couple of strengthening days and viola!

Of course, YES! I completely realize that's a lot easier said than done, but the point is--you need to start somewhere...ANYWHERE and then build up to where you need to be. TRUST ME when I tell you that if you're a certified couch potato, going out and trying to run 3 miles is not the wisest course of action!  Your body will not thank you--at all!--and will be further resistant to exercise in general.  Start slowly and remember that something is better than nothing. 

A couple of quick pointers (and any you'd like to add would be greatly appreciated!):
  1. Schedule it in to your daily planner & treat it like you would a meeting at work.  
  2. Try something new & exciting--be it a class or joining a sports league.
  3. Make it fun--you're more likely to say yes! rather than no.
  4. Reach out to your inner child and games--like jumping rope and hula hooping--that you used to play. There are lots of exercise gaming programs (like for the Wii), which allows you to play in the comfort of your own home.
  5. Really tight schedule?  Give up a bit of your lunch hour to take a walk around the building or block.  Also if you travel via public transportation, get on and off a stop or two away from yours.  It might add 10-15 minutes on to your commute, but you'll quickly notice the benefits!
  6. Don't let bad weather stop your progress.  Can't afford to invest in bad weather gear built for exercising? Invest in some DVDs you can pop in (or as previously mentioned, utilize that Wii gathering dust under the tv)--you can even get them from Netflix!
  7. Invest in a pedometer and work your way up to 10,000 steps a day.
I feel like there are a few more I'm forgetting, but in the meantime, get out there and move it! move it!

~a bit of salt for your tequila and lime (to prevent scurvy and of course only after your workout!)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Motivations to Move!

Sorry, I'm not talking about relocating--except to move your bum off the couch!  This post is all thanks to the Mayo Clinic [5], who has very kindly put together 7 great reasons to exercise on a regular basis. 

  1. It helps with weight control by burning calories.  It also, depending on the exercise, can be a great outlet for stress and a great alternative to eating your troubles away! Many moons ago, I used to take a kickboxing class and let me tell you, NOTHING was better than standing in front of a punching bag working out all your frustrations.  I hear roller derby is also great for that!!
  2. Did you know that exercising regularly can help raise your HDL's?  That would be High Density Lipoprotein--aka "good" cholesterol--not Hot Dashing Lover, but while I'm thinking about it, the second definition would be a GREAT way to get some regular exercise!  hubba!hubba!  Anyway, yep--raises your HDLs AND it lowers your triglycerides!  By doing so, it helps lower your risk of developing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (that's just a fancy, schmancy way to say heart disease and strokes).  Plus regular exercise has been linked to managing Type 2 Diabetes, depression, arthritis, and even some types of cancer!
  3. Exercise--regardless of regularity--is a mood booster!  As previously mentioned, it's a great way to relieve a bit of stress and can help give you a bit of focus for your problems.  Will walking save the world or solve all your problems?  No, but if something is weighing heavily on your mind or you're not sure which road to take, exercise has been shown to release the chemicals in your brain that help you relax and feel happier.  Next time you're a bit stressed, give it a go--what do you have to lose (other than a bit of weight, some triglycerides, and a bit of tension)?
  4. It's also an energy booster.  I know it seems crazy, but exercising regularly gives you more energy.  It seems like an oxymoron and certainly the last thing you want to do when you're exhausted, but exercising (even a little) will help give your dragging booty a pick up!  Do you tend to get sleepy after lunch or mid-afternoon?  Try a quick walk--even if it's just around the block or up and down the hall a couple of times--it's amazing effective!
  5. Regular exercise is also a key component to sleeping better and more soundly.  Of course, don't run 3 miles right before bed, otherwise you'll be too energized to sleep!  I certainly notice that when I'm being good and exercising regularly, I get much more meaningful sleep--and I fall asleep much quicke---zzzz...  ;-)
  6. Getting your mojo back!  Yep, exercise (I knew I'd find a way to use a Hot Dashing Lover!!) can help improve your sex life. Aside from making you feel better about yourself, giving you more energy, and putting you in a better mood, regular exercise can lead to enhanced arousal for women and less erectile dysfunction in men.  So put down the Viagra and take up a spinning class!
  7. It's fun!  Okay, so you have to make it fun.  No one says that you have to be a slave to cheesy 80s fitness videos or being saddled with an Arnold Schwarzenegger-look alike in the weight room. Get out your hula-hoop (alright, go buy one), join a roller derby team (Go Bonita Apple Bomb!), or grab some friends and create your own Pilates session.  If you make it fun, you're a lot less likely to back out or find excuses not to go!
So, that's it!  7 great reasons to strap on a helmet, dust off your bike and go for a ride!

~a bit of salt for your lime and tequila (to prevent scurvy and post workout, of course!)

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Just A Spoonful of Sugar...

...helps the medicine go down!

I have no doubt you now have Mary Poppins running through your head (as well you should!).  I'm also realizing that this would have also been a great title during our "limit sugar" time, but c'est la vie!

The medicine to which I refer is taking my own advice.  If you've been checking in regularly or have signed up as a follower, first of all: THANKS!  and secondly: sorry the posts have been a bit bare this week.  It was a crazy week and I definitely did NOT take my own advice about finding "Me Time" and do a little blogging (because, yes, it relaxes me!).

This week's Hellthy Habit is....EXERCISE!  This by far is THE hardest thing for me to do on a consistent basis, even though I know...KNOW!...how amazing exercise can be for your overall health!  It is more amazing when you realize that just a little bit every day can add up to some big results.

I have some friends who do this amazingly well, like my friend Lil, who leads her own BodyPump class or Candice, who's a Roller Derby Queen, or even Hunter, who thinks all veggies are out to kill her, but loves exercise, I think, in any form.

But not me.  I'm very slovenly in this respect.  I do enjoy my long walks with the pupcicle, but not enough to get up an hour early to do so and it's hard when I get home to motivate myself, even though I know that I'll feel much better afterwards.

I had an ah-ha! moment on the scale this morning (not sure if you're paying attention, but I did update my Numbers Don't Lie section--yay me!)  I have been making it a point to walk the Darling Princess Adelaide at least 10 minutes a day.  [I know it should be more, but save you're breath--nothing you could write in and tell me about what an evil dog mom I am will be harder than what I tell myself!] Anyway, when I got on the scale, I had dropped 3 pounds from two weeks ago!  And let me tell you, that aside from eating veggies, drinking lots of water, and the increase in walking, I have been not to diligent with any of my Hellthy Habits!

I'm not so naive to think that it's ALL the exercise, but I think the increase in exercise--we've logged over 75 minutes thus far this week--has helped!

My other ah-ha! moment came last night when I realized that while I do enjoy long walks with Addy and should give her more walking time overall, it doesn't have to be the only exercise I do.  For the longest time, I've been feeling guilty about all exercise that didn't include Addy.  But then I realized that if pilates & yoga and swimming will help give me more energy, in the long run that will help Addy get longer walks!

So...I'm joining a gym.  Shocking, but true.  Something I haven't done in a very, verrry long time, but I'm actually kind of excited to get started.  Again, shocking, but true!

Let's The Games Begin!

~a little salt for your tequila & lime (to prevent scurvy of course!)

Saturday, November 26, 2011

The Soup Du Jour

Forget cabbage soup, the best soup on the [diet] market is veggie soup.  Well, I guess technically, cabbage soup is a veggie soup, but rather than follow diet that only allows you to eat that for days on end, try adding a small bowl of veggie soup a couple of times a day as a way to increase your veggies for the day, as well as help you fill up and keep you from overeating on everything else.
The good news is that there's no wrong way to make the soup.  The great news is that every cup you have is a serving of vegetables.  The best news is that you don't lose any of the nutrients in cooking because you're eating the broth as well!  Add what you like, leave out what you don't.  It's easy as pie.  Easier, in fact.

I start out with what I like to call the Holy Trinity: olive oil, diced onions, and minced garlic...then just start adding vegetables!  Here's what I like to add to mine: celery, carrots, tomatoes, corn, and cabbage or spinach (depending on what I have on hand).  It's also a great time to clean out the veggie bin and use anything that might have seen better days.  In that spirit, I've often added green beans, potatoes and okra.  Personally, I don't like it to get too mushy, so I stay away from things like squash or zucchini, which after a bit of cooking tends to mush, but if you like them, throw them in.  Another great thing is that you can mix fresh with canned (but drain it first) with frozen.  Nothing is really off-limits in the veggie department.  Add salt, pepper, and a few fresh herbs and viola! a tasty, healthy meal, appetizer or snack.

Experiment every time you make it, that way your taste buds aren't getting bored and you'll soon find that you rather enjoy making a big pot of soup that will sustain you (rather inexpensively, at that!) throughout the week!

~a dash of salt for your celery & bloody mary to help increase your daily veggie intake!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Potato, Potahto...

Did you know the average American eats about 120lbs of potatoes a year --which averages out to about one potato a day (thanks USDA for that information!)!!  But our beloved potato gets such a bad rap because some of the most delicious ways to enjoy potatoes include topping it with cheese, sour cream, & bacon or deep fat frying it! 

Potatoes are actually quite nutritious.  They are high in carbs, so don't go binging on them!  But did you know that a large baked potato will provide you with nearly half of your daily requirement for vitamin C, over a quarter of your fiber requirements, and 7 grams of protein?  Of course this is sans anything, so if you wanna add toppings, do so in moderation or add healthier toppings, such as salsa (and up your lycopene as well!).

Do some experimenting with potatoes...there are several varieties out there to enjoy and grow to love!  For example, I used to hate...HATE...HATE!...sweet potatoes, but then I tried them without all the traditional brown sugar & marshmallow (what I like to call Thanksgiving-style) crap and I realize that I actually LOVE them (Momma was shocked, but proud!).  They're now quite popular as fries (although, they still are FRIED, so don't go overboard!).  When you compare 1 cup of sweet potatoes to 1 cup of bake potato above, they have about the same number of calories and little less protein, but provide a bit more fiber and a lot more vitamins, particularly vitamins A & C.  I like to roast them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and then mash'em with a bit of olive oil and a couple of dollops of plain Greek yogurt...mmmm!

The smaller (aka waxy) varieties (think red or fingerlings) have a slightly lower glycemic index and the colorful ones are packed with vitamins.  Regardless of the variety you pick, keep the skin on, the added fats to a minimum, enjoy them in moderation & within the recommended SERVING size and there's no reason to exclude them from your diet altogether!

~a dash of salt for your bloody mary & celery stick (to up your veggie intake!)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tomato, Tomahto...

Canned tomatoes are GREAT for keeping on hand to add to soups, stews, and chili.  But they're great to keep on hand for a couple of other very important reasons.
  1. They immediately bump up your veggie intake to whatever you add them.
  2. They are full of Lycopene, "[which] is the pigment that gives certain fruits their red coloring. This carotenoid is believed to have strong antioxidant powers, with some studies showing a reduced risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and macular degeneration. There is no established Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for lycopene, but there's evidence that phytonutrients like lycopene are an important part of disease prevention" [8].
So that brings me to one of my favorite foods: spaghetti!  I grew up, as many do, eating spaghetti sauce from a jar...until as chance would have it, I met my best friend Christi, who's mom (Cindy, aka one of THE best cooks/bakers on the planet!) made her own spaghetti sauce.  What?  WHAT?  OMG!  AHH-MAZING!! It changed my life.  Laugh, call me a drama queen, whatever. But it did.  Why?  It's amazingly simple and so much healthier & cheaper than the stuff you get in the jar.  Why?  Because you get to control what goes into it and it's fun to play around with different spices.  Over the years, I've modified her original recipe--a lot of it had to do with the lack of all the delicious herbs & spices Cindy adds...but the most important ingredient is LOVE.  Once you add that, you really can't go wrong and will never buy your sauce again!  Here is an uber-simple, but oh-so-delicious recipe for spaghetti sauce, that was thrown together last minute (and with a wonderful addition by Ann with the roasted garlic! so I'm completely stealing that idea!).  Add it to the whole wheat pasta of your choice and--if you have some--sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top--if you don't have it, I promise you won't miss it!

Before I begin though, a quick word about herbs. Do yourself a HUGE favor and invest in an herb garden.  It doesn't take a lot of effort or space (mine is in the windowsills of my kitchen) or even that much money, but it is a fabulous way to add a freshness to all of your dishes, like my spaghetti!  Btw, a BIG, HUGE THANK YOU TO CINDY, who spoiled me from ever eating spaghetti from a jar again!!  xoxo

Sherry's Quick Spaghetti Sauce:

1 onion
1 head of garlice plus 2 cloves (don't panic...it won't be over garlicky i promise!)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
1/2 handful of dried oregano
1/2 a cup or a large handful of fresh basil
1 large can of crushed or diced tomatoes
small package of whole wheat pasta

Preheat oven to 450F.  Slice of the very top of the head of garlic (so that the cloves are exposed).  Place on a baking sheet and drizzle a healthy amount of olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Place in oven for about 10 minutes or until garlic is lightly browned and smelling delicious! 

Start the water for your pasta (making sure it's adequately salted) and then dice your onion, mince your 2 cloves of garlic, and give your basil a rough chop.  Once the water is boiling add your pasta.  The sauce takes like 5 minutes to make, so you don't want to start it until your pasta is actually cooking.  Once you've added the pasta, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a large saute pan (I actually use a wok!) and saute' onions and minced garlic on medium high heat until translucent. Add tomatoes and a bit of water used to rinse out can.  Stir in oregano, as well as a pinch of salt and pepper. Grab a quick taste and adjust spices as needed.

Once pasta is al dente, drain and set aside.  Check the garlic, it should nearly be done.  If so, take it out of the oven and set aside. Add basil to the sauce and mix in really well.  Grab a bowl, add some pasta and a large ladle of sauce and a few of the roasted garlic cloves and then top with some parmesan if you'd like.  Ta-da!  That's it.  The great part is that for every large ladle-full of sauce you eat, you're getting nearly a full serving of vegetables!  Not bad for spaghetti night!

~a dash of salt for your bloody mary, as the tomato juice & celery up your veggie count (and is full of lycopene!)

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Veggies Are Coming!

Oh c'mon I did give you a head's up that Veggies would be our Hellthy Habit this week!

So, how did you do on lowering your portion size?  Any tips you found useful in helping curb your portion sizes?  Did smaller plates & bowls help?  Hopefully you're well on your way to smaller portion sizes!

So, now we're going to switch gears and I'm going to open it back up again with eating your vegetables.  Eat, eat, eat (and how often are you going to see that when you're trying to lose weight?)  As mentioned in the last post, they are a great way to add fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants to your diet.  They are low in calories: one cup of raw spinach is 7--THAT's RIGHT, SEVEN--calories!  But watch out how you serve them--a 1/2 cup of creamed spinach is 70 calories!!  And if you over cook them--particularly if you're boiling them--you can cook out a lot of the nutrients!

Well then, what's a girl (or guy) to do?  Grill'em, roast'em, , eat'em raw, add'em to soups & casseroles...possibilities are endless!  Over the next week or so, I'm going to be sharing not just why you should eat them, but also some of my favorite recipes to dramatically increase your vegetable servings!

Aim for at least 5 1-cup servings a day and when you've reached that goal, try to for more.  Your body will thank you for it!

~a little salt for your tequila and lime, served with a small side salad--dressing on the side!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Dish It Out!

How many times have you sat down with the intention of just eating a few chips or crackers...and the next thing you know, the bag has mysteriously emptied!  You couldn't have eaten the whole bag by yourself, right?  RIGHT?!?  And, to make matters worse, the culprit had the audacity to leave crumbs on the chair in which you were just sitting!

Do yourself a favor and dirty some dishes!

By serving yourself one, or perhaps two, or even three (hey, I'm a realist!) servings in a bowl and then putting the bag away, you won't be tempted to mindlessly eat the entire bag (or box...i use bag because as previously mentioned, chips are my Achilles heel!).  What if you want more?  Then go back and serve yourself more--but at least you're doing so mindfully--and you'll burn a few more calories walking back and forth to the kitchen as opposed to just sitting there, munching away!

Also, don't just have one thing--make a true snack out of it.  And make the plate pretty!  We use all of our senses (or should!) when we eat and that includes snacks.  So you want crackers, put 'em on a plate with hummus and some fruit.  Prefer chips?  Okay, grab 2 less handfuls, add salsa or guacamole and a few carrot or celery sticks.  Craving something sweet & chocolatey?  Make a quick fondue by melting a chocolate bar & some milk in the microwave and use it as a dip for fruit.  The possibilities are endless.

But one thing that is for sure, when you make a big deal out of it, it's going to leave you a lot more satisfied than mindlessly eating a bag of chips.

~a little salt for your shot of tequila and wedge of lime (to prevent scurvy of course, arranged nicely on a tray so it's more satisfying!)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

All You Can Eat!

Tiny serving sizes left you feeling so hungry you could eat a horse & chase the rider?

Well the good news is that if you are consistently eating less, your body will eventually recognize the smaller portions and allow you to feel fuller on less food (contrary to popular belief, you stomach does not shrink!  ALAS!).  While it is great to keep in mind and perhaps motivate you to eat smaller portions, it's not helpful for the empty feeling in your stomach right now!

So here are three things that help fill me up:

1.  Eat more veggies!  I can hear it now: groan. groan. groan.  Say what you want about veggies, but they are chock-full of fiber (for helping you feel full), vitamins (to keep you healthy), antioxidants (to keep looking fabulous), AND they are very low in calories (ha ha ha ha....guess what I'm going to make next week's Hellthy Habit?!?!?!).  So, if you've eaten and you're still feeling hungry, go ahead--fill'er up with veggies!  Of course, that would be non-laden in fatty sauces kinds of veggies.  Broccoli & cheese is great, as is a great big salad with lots of ranch dressing, but neither are great ways to whittle your waist!

2.  Soup is another great filler--but again, like your veggies, if you want soups where you can eat all you want, then stick to broth-based or veggie filled soups.  The creamy soups will also help fill you up, but if you're eating them as a filler before your meal, then stick to a--as in ONE actual 8 oz--cup.

3.  Water--yep, our beloved Hellthy Habit prior to this one.  Studies show that being well hydrated goes a long way in helping you stay full & satisfied.  In fact, our cravings for thirst & hunger are so interlinked we often mistake thirst for hunger.  Next time you're STAAAARVING, try drinking a big ol' glass of water first, wait a few minutes and then reassess your hunger.  You might find that you're not so STAAAARVING after all!

~a little salt for your shot of tequila and wedge of lime (as that's the proper serving size and will help prevent scurvy of course!)

Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Merits of Volumetrics

Loosely defined, volumetrics is a dietary plan by where you select foods that are bulky and filling, such as fruits and veggies.  While honestly, I need to do more research, I think there is some merit to the basic tenants of volumetrics, which was made obvious to me as I was eating breakfast last Sunday (and truthfully, it was the reason I selected Portion Size as the Weekly Hellthy Habit!)

Sunday mornings are my splurge on breakfast day.  As such, I was eating croissants with raspberry jam, coffee, and blackberries.  I love raspberry jam and I found THE best jam (check it out in the Snacks section of my store!) or maybe it's just because it's only for special occasions that I think it's THE BEST? Anyway, I was looking at the calorie content, which was 50 calories per tablespoon (I actually thought it would be higher, but no, only 50 calories!).  As I was putting the blackberries in a bowl (I'm soooo fancy--ha!), the nutritional label caught my eye.  Quite frankly, I don't read--and really don't often see--nutritional labels on fruits and veggies.  What did I find?  My CUP of blackberries (and yeah, I ate them all!) had 63 calories.

1 CUP vs 1 TABLESPOON

I must admit, I preferred the jam (only slightly, though, because I LOOOOOVE fruit!) but the berries--even at +13 calories--were far more filling, had more vitamins, more anti-oxidants, more fiber, and less sugar.  Blackberries were definitely the hands down winner!

Not that I'm giving up my Sunday jam...but it did give me pause and cause to keep the jam just for Sundays or really special occasions!

~a little salt for your tequila and lime (to prevent scurvy of course!)...but only a lick, a shot, and a wedge since it's the proper serving size & about 105 calories

Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Irony Is, Well, Ironical!

You know what's frustrating?  Well, a lot actually.  But in terms of portion size?

Those healthy heat & eat soup bowls.  Why?  Because the front CLEARLY reads "only 100 calories" and then in itty, bitty, teeny, tiny writing it reads "per serving." 

If you're like me, you think "HOT DAMN! 100 calories" Then you start thinking it's way too good to be true & there must be a catch. And you find it as reality smacks you right across the face when you turn the bowl around to read that your not-so-filling bowl of soup is actually 2.5 servings. BALLS! (yeah, I said it)

Okay, in the grand scheme of things, it's still only 250 calories.  BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT! They are appealling to people who are trying to be healthy and/or are trying to lose weight and deliberately advertising the calorie count of the serving size, not the portion size. C'mon! How many people out there actually eat LESS THAN ONE HALF of a SMALL bowl of soup? Probably not many...and if you do--willingly and without question or complaint--this ain't the blog for you! Honestly, how many people are actually finished with the flipping bowl of soup before they even read that there are 2.5 servings in the bowl?!?!? If your hand is raised (like mine is!), then stick around! :)

Say what you want about Frito Lay, but at least they acknowledge that you can't eat just one (serving) and are nice enough to provide you the nutritional information  for the entire snack or grab bag (even this chip-aholic can admit it's not a good thing to eat an entire large bag of chips in one serving. what? I didn't say it's never been done before....I mean, have you ever tasted Touch of Lime Tostitos...yeah, well, enough said.)

Anyway, I find it ironic that it's the junk food industry, who are leading in terms of nutritional disclosure. Even a 20 oz Coke will give you nutritional information by the serving and the bottle.  Kudos to them! 

Ha ha ha ha...nope, you weren't hallucinating, I just gave props to Frito Lay, Coca-Cola, and the junk food industry. At least when you have all the information in front of you WITHOUT having to read fine print and then do math, it's easier to make more informed choices. It's all there in black & white and--in my humble opinion--it's a lot easier to pick the snack size bag over the grab bag when you can hold them up next to each other and easily see your calorie savings by picking the smaller bag. And that, my friends, is what The Road to Hellthy is all about.

~a little salt for your tequila and lime (to prevent scurvy of course!)...but only a lick, a shot, and a wedge since it's the proper serving size & about 105 calories (see? FULL DISCLOSURE!)

Monday, November 7, 2011

Downgrade Your Size from Portion to Serving!

Just a friendly reminder from the NHLBI (that would be the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) [7]:
There is a difference between serving size and portion size.  A portion is what is served of something and a serving is an actual unit of measurement of what is recommended.
So you want to do is get your portion size down to what is an actual serving size. 

If you read the article referenced above, they make a great point with pasta—a serving of pasta is ½ cup.  When was the last time that you had just a half a cup of pasta AND NOT A NOODLE MORE?  yeah, me either…in fact, one can easily get the USDA recommendation of 3-5.5 cups of grains in a bowl of pasta.  So do keep that in mind the next time you’re at your favorite Italian restaurant in Little Italy and wanting to splurge on the prosciutto carbonara (what? I’m just throwing out an example here…).

The NEW food pyramid (which is now actually a plate) can be found here! While the page is full of information—almost information overload!—I find the coolest and easiest feature is to personalize your plate.  Just a hint, probably the most confusing is the Grain section, which now lists your recommendation in ounces, unless you have a food scale handy, I would just go with the ½ cup pasta & rice or 1 slice of bread = 1 ounce.

Play around with it, try new foods on the list, look at your suggested weekly & daily servings of each food group.  Just because you want your diet to be healthier, doesn’t mean that it has to be boring!!  Overwhelmed and not sure where to begin?  Grab your [SMALLER!] plate, fill it ½ full with veggies & fruits, ¼ with whole grain carbs, ¼ with protein, and viola! you’re on your way!

~a little salt for your tequila & lime (to prevent scurvy of course!), but only a shot because that’s the proper serving size!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Ice Cream Social

This week (and perhaps next week's as well because it's a biggie) is all about portion size.

Cornell University had a little ice cream social with 85 nutritionists [6], each of whom were randomly given either a large or small bowl and a large or small scoop.  And what did the good folks at Cornell find?  Those with the larger size bowls served themselves 31% more ice cream and those with larger scoops served themselves 17% more ice cream.  Yep, you read that correctly, even nutritionists had difficulty judging the correct serving of ice cream.

If the leading nutritionists have a hard time, what hope do the rest of us have?  Well, we just have to do a bit more prepping.  Smaller plates, smaller bowls, smaller serving utensils all equal less calories. Sure, big cereal bowls and big mugs of hot chocolate look really appealing, but all they equate to in the end are more calories.

Ever go to a swank restaurant and grumble about the portions of food on the plate?  How did you feel at the end of the meal?  Satisfied or still hungry? Or you were just mad because your plate wasn't full?  We eat with our eyes.  We have been trained that big, full plates are appetizing.  What's more, we've also been trained to finish our plates.  And the combination is causing us to get fatter and fatter.

My ah-ha moment (as Oprah likes to say) came with a cereal bowl.  Nothing beat a big bowl of cereal in the morning.  Then I began keeping track of food and when I actually measured out how much cereal I was eating, I realized that it was nearly 3 cups!  3 CUPS!  If you read the label of most boxes of cereal, the serving size is somewhere around 1 cup.  That's right, 1...ONE...uno, un, ein, how ever you want to say it. So basically I was eating nearly 3 times the suggested serving size simply because I was pouring me a bowl full of cereal.  That's an extra 200+ calories a day!  Since then I switched to a large coffee mug, which is just big enough to hold ONE cup of cereal and one cup of milk.  And you know what?  Most of the time, that proves to be just enough...and my cereal lasts longer!

So, how's your bowl of cereal looking?

~a little salt for your tequila & lime (but just a shot, since that is the proper serving size!)

A Watery Finish

I gave you a bit of extra time with increasing your water intake, so how did you do?  Find methods that worked better than others?

Hopefully by now--if you're playing along--you'll be a water pro.  MY biggest challenge with this habit is not getting sick of drinking water.  Funnily enough, I rarely have that problem with beer and wine.  Then I realized it's because sometimes I drink Stella and other times I drink Guinness, depending on my mood.

Water is the same way--you need to find ways to make it more exciting.   For me that's sparkling water, specifically flavored sparkling water.  But maybe you hate sparkling--or as my niece likes to call it, fuzzy--water!  That doesn't meant that you can't have exciting water.  Pretend your house is a fancy, schmancy spa and add fruit & let the flavors seep in! Personally, I like watermelon and orange.  Play around with different fruit combinations, throw a few slices /pieces in the bottom of the pitcher, fill with water, and viola! you're on your way to tasty, exciting water!  In case you're wondering, no...i don't eat the fruit, it gets waterlogged and all the delicious flavors are now in the water.

If you're drinking bottled or sparkling flavored water, just make sure it has no calories, artificial sweeteners (see The Skinny on Diet Drinks), or sodium.  It has been suggested that I need a Hellthy Drinks sections--great idea!--so be on the look out for that soon.

~a little salt for your tequila & lime (to prevent scurvy of course!), followed by a big ol' glass of water!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Skinny on Diet Drinks

Diet drinks seem to have revolutionized the diet fads ever since Tab broke out with ads promising a fabulous drink alternative for those who wanted soda without the calories.  And they can be a great dietary aid.  The problem is that they are not a miracle worker and the more studies that come out, the more they suggest that negative effects of diet drinks just might outweigh the positive effects.  Of course, this is a new topic for research and, as such, more studies are needed.

A New York City study found that people who drink diet sodas every day have a 61% higher risk of developing vascular disease, even accounting for other high risks behaviors, such as smoking, exercise, and alcohol consumption [3].  And a Boston study found that women who drank more than 2 diet drinks had a 30% decrease in kidney function, quite significant when you consider that nearly 20 million Americans  have been diagnosed with kidney disease [4].

Ironically, what all of the studies also found that the negative effects found with diet drinks are not found with regular sugary counterparts.  So what the heck is going on?  No one knows for sure.  What doctors and dieticians are surmising is that when people consume diet drinks, they are being less careful about the other things they are consuming.  Let’s face it, if you’re ordering a Big Mac supersized that Diet Coke isn’t going to be all that helpful!

So what’s a girl (or boy) to do?  Try to limit the number of diet drinks you are drinking daily, substituting it with water, preferably (what? this week’s Hellthy Habit is Drink Your Water! You knew I was going to work it in somewhere!!). I feel like Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D [5] sums it up best with this bit of advice:
Healthier choices abound. Start your day with a small glass of 100 percent fruit juice. Drink skim milk with meals. Sip water throughout the day. For variety, try sparkling water or add a squirt of lemon or cranberry juice to your water. Save diet soda for an occasional treat.
~a little salt for your tequila and lime (to prevent scurvy, of course!), followed by a BIG glass of water!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

H2OMG!

The very first habit I've listed in my HEALTHY HABITS! section above is drinking water.  I can't even stress how important it is.  Sure, we all know the body is mostly made up of water--cells have about 65-90% [1].  But do you really know the power it possesses [I hope you heard that in a Darth Vader voice!]?

IF NOTHING ELSE will motivate you to drink it (and we've all been there!), it honestly helps your skin look better in a relatively short amount of time.  Here is how I can easily tell if my water consumption is down and my non-water consumption is up: my face, as in the amount of pimples (or spots or acne or whatever you wanna call it) I have.  When I'm drinking a lot of water and not much of anything else, my face is clear.  Actually it was my dearest roommate who first made the observation that since we embarked on this journey her face was a lot clearer than it ever has been.  This made me realize it had been awhile since I'd used my concealer.  Thus I started paying closer attention and realized the more water (and thus less non-water) I drank, the clearer my skin was regardless of what I was eating, how stressed I was, or the time of the month.  Pretty darn cool if you ask me.  Especially given it's free :)   Not everyone in the world has access to free and safe drinking water, so please don't waste it [I'm trying REALLY hard not to quote Dirty Dancing right now]!

Want more scientific benefits to water?  Coringe [2] shares 10 cool things you may not know:
  1. Water prevents DNA damage and make repairs more efficiently.
  2. Water increases the efficiency of the immune system in the bone marrow, including against cancer.
  3. Water is the main solvent of all foods, vitamins, and minerals; It used to break down these materials and metabolism and its assimilation.
  4. Water gives energy to the food, so that food particles could provide energy during the digestive process.
  5. The water used as conductor of all substances in the body.
  6. Water increases the efficiency of red blood cells capture oxygen in the lungs.
  7. Water cleaning toxic waste from different parts of the body and took it to the liver and kidneys to be excreted.
  8. Water is the main lubricant in the joint cells and helps prevent arthritis and back pain.
  9. Water cooling system is important for the body (through sweat) and heating the body (electrical).
  10. Water helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.
How do you like them apples?  Mmmm...apples are another amazing food--okay superfood if you like "it" jargon.  But that is a discussion for another post!  In the meantime, DRINK MORE WATER!

~a little salt for your tequila and lime (for prevention of scurvy)...followed, of course, with a big ol' glass of water!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Pardon My Dairy-Aire!

So the first time I read about giving up dairy, it was when reading You Are What You Eat by Gillian McKeith.  My reaction was exactly this: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA [gasp] HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!

I know Ms. McKeith is a nutritionist and did a very good job explaining why one should give up dairy.  I can even see why one should reduce the amount of dairy, but forever give up milk, yogurt, sour cream, a plethora of cheeses and such delicacies as whipped cream, breve lattes, and my dearly beloved queso?  uh-huh.  no way.  I'll just be fat, thanks.

Kris Carr, however, in Crazy, Sexy Diet had a much more, um, vivid description of how dairy clogs you up.  Literally.  She eloquently sums it up: "milk creates mucus, mucus creates inflammation, stagnation, and a whole lotta disorder in your gut" [p. 92] and then proceeds with all the shitty [pun intended!] details!  It was highly effective approach--at least for me.  Even more so for my roommate, whom I drug along with me on this journey, and who stopped drinking whole milk instantaneously after reading Chapter 4, Tushie and Milk Mustaches.  And you know what?  She's right.  Go ahead, I dare you.  Give up dairy for even a week and see how you feel.  More importantly, when you add it back it you'll notice the heaviness and bloating in your gut. So while I can't give up my beloved dairy forever and ever, thanks to Ms. Carr, I can go longer before indulging.


~a little salt for your tequila and lime (for preventing scurvy, of course!)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Brusha Brusha Brusha!

Anyone reading up on natural health and well-being is bound to come across body brushing at some point (or many, depending on where your research takes you!).  My advice? Indulge!

It is a dry brushing, intended to get your blood circulating, slough off any dead skin, and allow toxins to exit through your skin. Start at your feet and work your way up.  Since it is a dry brushing, make sure that you get a soft bristled brush or you'll be sloughing off more than just dead skin!!

Play around with it.  Some people find it invigorating and a great way to jump start their mornings! I, however, find it to be very relaxing and best not to be done until I'm ready to veg-out.  I've always enjoyed a night shower to help me calm down and unwind from the day and I feel that a good dry brushing helps expedite this process.  In fact, my sleeping patterns are much better as well!

Some experts will give you thorough instructions on how to do it properly...but I say, go with your gut and do what feels natural (an upsweeping motion towards my torso is what feels the best to me). And remember to drink water, it'll help as well!

~a little salt for your your tequila and lime (to prevent scurvy, of course!)

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Chunky Monkey...and I Don't Mean The Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavor!

First, I think I should thank the doctor who called me chunky.  I know it seems strange to read.  It's probably stranger to see me type it, but it's true.  Without his comments, I wouldn't be here.

I have always been overweight, except when I was born (I look emaciated in all my baby pictures!).  I have been relatively active my entire life.  I have studied medicine, anthropology, epidemiology, and public health, so basically i know what to eat, and, actually what not to eat.  But of course, as you well know, knowing something and actively applying it to life are two completely different things, especially when you've been brought up eating deliciously comforting foods that are fried & butter and/or cheese-laden!

Over the course of my life, I have been called every euphemistic and non-euphemistic name in the book, such as:
FAT
LARD ASS
BIG BONED
TWO-TON TUNA
WIDE LOAD
CURVY
STATUESQUE (even though, I think I'm technically too short)
HEAVY
OVERWEIGHT
OBESE
LARGER THAN LIFE
FULL BODIED
A LOT MORE OF YOU TO LOVE
and a few more from comments below:
THUNDER THIGHS
FLUFFY (although no one has ever had the audacity to say that to my face)
PORKY
PUDGY

Dr. B. (for bitch), was my pediatrician who never missed an opportunity to blame whatever ailments I had (even a spot of melanoma) on the fact that I was FAT (her word, mine was DISGUSTING).  So then why after 30+ years of being called (and thinking of myself as) the above names, did being called CHUNKY by Dr. Twiddlededum stick?  I don't really know.  Perhaps because he thought he was being polite?  Perhaps it was because he was genuinely shocked that someone with an obese BMI (39.2 if you must know) could actually have normal blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol.

Regardless, it was the kick in the pants that I needed to try to get healthier.  Having written a thesis on heart disease, I knew that regardless of the good numbers Dr. Twiddlededum found, they wouldn't last forever and I needed to do something...and NOW.

Since my fated meeting, I have done a plethora of research and logged a lot of walking time with Addy, my darling pupcicle.  I have even started helping a few friends make better choices.  That's when I realized that what truly motivates me is motivating others.  So this is also a THANK YOU, dear reader for stopping in, having a few laughs, hopefully learning a bit, commenting a bit and giving me the motivation I need to stay on track.

By the way, my BMI is now 34.5, and even though still technically obese, it is headed in the right direction.  And that, my dear friends, is a very good thing and something not even Dr. Twiddlededum or Dr. B can argue!

~a little salt for your tequila & lime (for preventing scurvy, of course)