Embrace the New Year

We'll hear it the entire month of January... A New Year - A New You.  So I ask...What makes the idea of a new year fill us with excitement and anticipation of setting new health and fitness goals?    Maybe instead of rolling our eyes at the age old cliche, we should embrace the simple truth in this phrase and look to the new year to set goals not just for a new diet but for an overall healthier lifestyle. 

First, set realistic goals. If are currently not exercising don’t set a goal of running a marathon by the end of the year. Start by adding a short walk into your routine a few times a week and slowly work up to 30 minutes 4-5 times a week.   If your goal is to start running, once you can comfortably walk 30 minutes at a time, add 1-2 minute running breaks into your walk and slowly work up to longer periods of time as you get more comfortable. 


Second, slowly make healthy changes in your diet.  A complete pantry overhaul may be what you need but to keep your family from thinking you have lost your mind...make simple changes one at a time.  For instance, switch from white rice and pastas to brown.  Switch from white bread to wheat and multi-grain varieties.  Be more conscience about the packaged products you are purchasing; if they contain high fructose corn syrup or any kind of hydrogenated oils, put them back on the shelf.  And the most important nutrition goal you can have is to limit your animal protein and start eating a larger variety of fruits and vegetables.

Third, have fun. Try not to look at healthy eating and exercise as a daunting, punishment to endure. Instead, try to turn it into a new way of life – your new and improved lifestyle. Exercise stimulates various brain chemicals, which may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look  and feel better when you exercise and eat a healthy diet on a regular basis, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

Good Health Habits

There is so much mixed information about what foods to eat and what foods to avoid.  When I start to get overwhelmed I just try to remember…food should be food.  If there is a list of ingredients on the package that you cannot pronounce and that your grandmother would not recognize...it's probably not real food. 
Here are some rules I try to follow to maintain good health:

1. Don’t eat too much fat:  I think for the most part we know what foods are high in fat.  Anything fried…no good!  Foods loaded with heavy sauces, creams, and butter should be avoided.  A salad is great for lunch until it is loaded with bacon, cheese and high fat dressing.  A cup of coffee is fine until it is topped with chocolate, whipped cream, and sugar. 

2.  Limit your animal fats: I try to have several days a week where I do not consume any meat.  I still may enjoy low-fat dairy products but I opt for a salad for lunch and pasta with vegetables and marinara sauce for dinner.


3. Avoid foods with hydrogenated oils (margarine, and vegetable shortenings):  Hydrogenated oils hide in many unsuspecting foods such as flour tortillas, and boxed muffin mixes.  Take the time to read the ingredients to make sure you know what you are getting.

4. Limit Alcohol: Even a modest amount of alcohol is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

5.  Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables:  I keep grapes washed and ready to eat, carrots sticks readily available in the refrigerator, clementines in a bowl on the counter, etc. I do this so that when I feel like a snack I have lots of healthy choices around me so I am not tempted to make a not so healthy choice.

UnHealthy Snacks to Avoid

I do believe that healthy snacking is an important part of eating a balanced diet.  Eating a healthy snack, like fruit or low fat yogurt, between meals helps to keep you feeling satisfied throughout the day and helps you not to over eat at meal time.

However, unhealthy snacks can cause spikes in your blood sugar, leaving you with that afternoon "crash". Here is a list of some snacks to avoid:

1. Doughnuts. High in sugar, trans-fats, and calories doughnuts are not only bad for your waistline, but bad for your energy levels as well. The high sugar content is likely to end in a midday crash. If you crave a doughnut, try a piece of whole-grain bread with 1 TBSP all natural peanut butter.
2. Soft Drinks. There just isn't anything nutritious about soda, whether it's diet or regular. Don't be fooled because the drink is diet - there is nothing healthy about them and in fact diet drinks can actually help make you add on extra pounds!  Instead of a soda, try some sparkling water with lemon or lime slices- you'll get the carbonation without all the empty calories.
3.  French Fries: Actually anything fried - from chicken to potatoes to vegetables - should be avoided. Deep-fried foods contain trans fats that are bad for your body. If you want finger foods, opt for carrot sticks, low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks, or grapes.
4. Chips: Chips of any kind are usually fried so are therefore high in fat and salt.  Instead of chips opt for healthier choices like cut up fruits and veges, apple slices, or a hand full of almonds.  This way you still get the crunch without all the calories.

3 Easy Steps to Better Health

The focus of my blog has always been..."when did food stop being food?"  I still get amazed walking down the aisles of the grocery store at the abundance of packaged, processed, salted, boxed and canned things on the shelves that we call food.  If there is a list of ingredients a mile long...undecipherable names of preservatives and chemicals in the label - can we really call it food?  What happened to  food that we can recognize?

I honestly don't believe in any kind of "diet".  I think healthy living is a lifestyle choice.  Believe me, living in Texas in the summer is not the place I really want to go for a run but exercise is one of the most important ways to maintain good health so heat or no heat - I run.  SO what can we do to get on our way to living and most importantly eating healthy?  I say start with a few minor changes.  I'll do more descriptive blog posts on each topic but I think I can break it down into a few easy steps:

1.    Get rid of any products in your kitchen that contain high fructose corn syrup.
I am a big fan of Dr. Oz and he even goes as far as to say to get rid of any products that contain any kind of corn syrup or nay syrups at all)
2.    Get rid of all the products in your house that contain partially hydrogenated oils or any kids of hydrogenated oils.
3.    When you shop at the grocery store do almost all of your shopping around the perimeter of the store.  The perimeter of the store contains the fresh fruits and vegetables, the fresh meats, fresh dairy and more.  When you start going up and down the aisles that’s where you find all the packaged and processed foods.

I think if you start to foces on these 3 steps you will be on the right track of a newer, healthier lifestyle.

Butter Vs. Margarine – Which is worse?

Eat This Not That

I start this entry with the theme you will hear over and over again…Why can’t food just be food?

I grew up in the era of margarine. Margarine was created about a century ago but not really popular in the US until about the 1960’s when the first tub margarine and vegetable oil spreads were introduced to the American public. Like most, I used it in place of butter because butter was always considered bad for your health due to high levels of saturated fat, which is associated with increasing cholesterol levels in the blood and heart disease.

However, margarine may be even worse than butter. Most margarine is processed using a method called hydrogenation, which results in unhealthy Trans fats. In general, the more solid the margarine, the more Trans fat it contains — so stick margarine usually have more trans fats than do tub margarine. Like saturated fats, Tran’s fats increase blood cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. But Trans fats can also lower "good," cholesterol levels, increase your risk of cancer, and decrease your immune system response.

So what do we do? My opinion is to eat butter in moderation. At least it is natural. Butter is usually made from cream (dairy milk) and salt. Margarine on the other is made from such a complicated process that I can’t even explain it all except to say it starts out as an oil, is treated with caustic soda, bleached, mixed with charcoal, hydrogenated, emulsified, agitated and then somewhere in there they have to make it look yellow… like butter. Have I lost you yet? I almost did not even want to write this because it is so complicated!

So, really, none of it is very good for you. I personally would throw out the margarine and use butter in moderation. Read your labels to make sure it is just cream and salt and stick to the serving size or less. I like Land O Lakes Whipped Butter.

Stumped By Trans Fat?

What is trans fat?

Trans fatty acids are formed when manufacturers turn liquid oils into solid fats. Trans fats are found in 40% of the products on supermarket shelves.

Why is trans fat bad?

It increases the risk of heart disease and raises LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Eating just five grams per day ups your risk 25%.

Always check your food labels. Some foods may claim to be low-fat but they have trans fat in them. Here is a list of foods to be careful of - read the labels before you purchase:

1.Spreads like margarine and shortening
2.Packaged foods: Cake,muffin and cookie mixes
3.Fried Food (esp. fast food like fried chicken and french fries)
4.Doughnuts and other baked goods (cookies, crackers, muffins)
5.Some brands of microwave popcorn
6.Some frozen foods (pies, pizzas, chicken pot pies)

What to look for when reading your label:Any packaged goods that contains "partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils", "hydrogenated vegetable oils" or "shortening" most likely contain trans fat.