Top 5 Holiday Diet Tips

Holidays bring us together to celebrate traditions and spread good cheer. They also bring a lot of opportunities for socializing, eating, and drinking. Even the most disciplined people struggle with temptation during the holiday season, yes… including myself!

To navigate through the Holiday parties and get-togethers with your healthy diet intact, you need a strategy!  Having a plan in place will help you handle night after night of eating and drinking.

Here are my Top 5 Holiday Diet Tips that will help you enjoy your favorite foods, but keep you in control.

1. Wear snug clothes and keep one hand busy. When you wear snug-fitting clothes, chances are you’ll be too busy holding in your stomach to overeat. While you stand around looking stylish in your new holiday outfit, hold a cup of water in your dominant hand so it won’t be so easy to grab food.

2. Chew gum. Pop a piece of sugarless gum into your mouth when you do not want to eat. This works well when you’re cooking or when you’re trying not to dive into the buffet.

3. Be a food snob. If you don’t love it, don’t eat it! Scan the buffet for foods you truly treasure and skip the everyday dishes that are available all year long. And don’t think it’s your responsibility to sample everything on the buffet. Go ahead and indulge in your personal holiday favorites, then find a seat and, slowly and mindfully, savor every mouthful.

4. No skipping meals. Always eat normally on the day of a party. People who skip meals to save up calories tend to over eat everything in sight once they get to the gathering. Eating sensibly throughout the day will take the edge off the appetite and empower a bit of restraint. Start with a nourishing breakfast, have a light lunch, then a small snack or salad shortly before the event.

5. Skip the appetizers. Avoid the appetizers!  If you need a little nibble before the meal, go for the veggies, fruit, salsa, or a small handful of nuts.

Holiday parties are much more than food and drinks. They are a time to delight in the traditions of the season, and enjoy the company of family and friends. If you keep the focus on the spirit of the season, you will most likely get through the holidays without gaining a pound.

Eat Right

Eat Right Food, Nutrition and Health Tips from the American Dietetic Association

Building a healthy plate is easy when you make half your plate fruits and vegetables. It’s also a great way to add color, flavor and texture plus vitamins, minerals and fiber. All this is packed in fruits and vegetables that are low in calories and fat. Make 2 cups of fruit and 2 ½ cups of vegetables your daily goal.

Try the following tips to enjoy more fruits and vegetables every day.

1. Variety abounds when using vegetables as pizza topping. Try broccoli, spinach, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini.

2. Mix up a breakfast smoothie made with low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana.

3. Make a veggie wrap with roasted vegetables and low-fat cheese rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla.

4. Try crunchy vegetables instead of chips with your favorite low-fat salad dressing for dipping.

5. Grill colorful vegetable kabobs packed with tomatoes, green and red peppers, mushrooms and onions.

6. Add color to salads with baby carrots, grape tomatoes, spinach leaves or mandarin oranges.*

7. Keep cut vegetables handy for mid-afternoon snacks, side dishes, lunch box additions or a quick nibble while waiting for dinner. Ready-to-eat favorites: red, green or yellow peppers, broccoli or cauliflower florets, carrots, celery sticks, cucumbers, snap peas or whole radishes.

8. Place colorful fruit where everyone can easily grab something for a snack-on-the-run. Keep a bowl of fresh, just ripe whole fruit in the center of your kitchen or dining table.

9. Get saucy with fruit. Puree apples, berries, peaches or pears in a blender for a thick, sweet sauce on grilled or broiled seafood or poultry, or on pancakes, French toast or waffles.

10. Stuff an omelet with vegetables. Turn any omelet into a hearty meal with broccoli, squash, carrots, peppers, tomatoes or onions with low-fat sharp cheddar cheese.

11. “Sandwich” in fruits and vegetables. Add pizzazz to sandwiches with sliced pineapple, apple, peppers, cucumber and tomato as fillings.

12. Wake up to fruit. Make a habit of adding fruit to your morning oatmeal, ready-to-eatcereal, yogurt or toaster waffle.

13. Top a baked potato with beans and salsa or broccoli and low-fat cheese.

14. Microwave a cup of vegetable soup as a snack or with a sandwich for lunch.

15. Add grated, shredded or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach and carrots to lasagna, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce and rice dishes.

16. Make fruit your dessert: Slice a banana lengthwise and top with a scoop of low-fat frozen yogurt. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of chopped nuts.

17. Stock your freezer with frozen vegetables to steam or stir-fry for a quick side dish.

18. Make your main dish a salad of dark, leafy greens and other colorful vegetables. Add chickpeas or edamame (fresh soybeans). Top with low-fat dressing.*

19. Fruit on the grill: Make kabobs with pineapple, peaches and banana. Grill on low heat until fruit is hot and slightly golden.

20. Dip: Whole wheat pita wedges in hummus, baked tortilla chips in salsa, strawberries or apple slices in low-fat yogurt, or graham crackers in applesauce.

*See “Color Your Plate with Salad” at www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets for more tips on creating healthy salads

©2011 ADA. Reproduction of this tip sheet is permitted for educational purposes. Reproduction for sales purposes is not authorized.

This tip sheet is provided by: Total Body Fitness & Nutrition

Authored by American Dietetic Association staff registered dietitians.
The American Dietetic Association is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.  ADA is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy.

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Strawberry Shortcake Oatmeal

Do you love the taste ofStrawberry Shortcake? Now you can have it for breakfast! Yep, that’s right… Breakfast! This great recipe gives you all the delicious flavor of Strawberry Shortcake in a “healthy-for-you” breakfast.

Strawberry Shortcake Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup dry oats
• 1 cup water
• 1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I like to use a blend of whey and casein for this recipe)
• 2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed
• 1 cup Whole Strawberries, sliced
• 2 Tbsp Vanilla Greek Yogurt (optional)

Cook oats according to package.  Add ground flaxseed and protein powder.  Stir well.  Gently mix in sliced strawberries.  Top with Vanilla Greek Yogurt (optional).  Enjoy!

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15 Secrets of Very Fit People

15 Secrets of Very Fit People

Read these 15 secrets of very fit people, then print and post them so you have them as a daily reminder.

1. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it often. Water should always be your drink of choice. To kick things up every once in a while, try adding lemon, lime, cucumber, or a few berries to liven up the flavor without adding significant calories.
2. Look at exercise as a pleasure and a privilege, not a burden or chore. Think positively about the changes regular exercise will produce. Rather than obsessing about your next meal, get excited about your next workout!
3. Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excess calories, even if they’re from food that’s fat free and high in protein, will turn to excess weight. No matter what the latest fad diet says, extra calories equal extra weight!
4. Focus on short-term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing daily exercise.
5. Keep a daily log of what you’re actually eating. This includes every time you grab a handful of chips here or eat the crust of your kid’s sandwich there, and ALL of your snacking.
6. Enjoy an occasional (once a week) “unhealthy” treat, but never an unhealthy week or unhealthy vacation.
7. Enjoy contributing to the health of others by having a partner or friends to exercise with, as well as recruiting others who want to feel better and have more energy. Have a neighbor who’s sitting on the porch every morning when you walk by? Ask him or her to join you on your walk!
8. Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising, or using things that keep you motivated and inspired, like new shoes or great music.
9. Invest in the right tools—good shoes, a portable MP3 player or iPod®, fitness equipment, a new series of tapes, etc.
10. Don’t compare your body to others’. Instead, work to be your personal best.
11. Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.
12. Create an exercise schedule the day before instead of leaving it to chance or waiting to “find” the time. If our last three Presidents of the United States can make time to work out every day, you can make time too!
13. Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total fitness. Measure success by the way your clothes fit, not some number on a scale.
14. Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember that no matter how hard you’re working out, if you’re consuming too many calories, you’ll never see the muscles that lie beneath layers of fatty tissue.
15. Get adequate amounts of sleep, but remember that people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.

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Warm up with Lentil Soup

The cold weather has arrived here in NY and man... is it chilly!  So what do you do when the tempurature drops?  Make soup!  Here is a great recipe that will not only warm you up, but has also been given a healthful twist! This low fat, high in protein vegan Lentil Soup recipe will warm you up and lean you out.

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2-1/2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 small carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 lb. uncooked lentils, sorted and washed
• 5 cups fat-free vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Large soup pot
• Colander
• Large bowl
• Food processor, blender, or food mill

Heat oil in a large, heavy soup pot. Add onions, garlic, and carrots and cook over moderate heat until onions are limp. Add lentils, broth, and water, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until lentils are very soft. Stir in more warm water if soup becomes too thick. Pour soup through colander, catching liquid that drains off in a large bowl. Return liquid to soup pot. Puree 1/3 of lentil mixture in food processor or blender or through food mill; return to pot. Stir in remaining whole-lentil mixture. If desired, season with salt and pepper. Makes 12 servings.

Preparation Time: 50 minutes

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories	Protein	Fiber	Carbs	Fat Total	Saturated Fat
165	11 g	12 g	27 g	2 g	< 1 g

Tired of Starting Over?

Have you been on and off the wagon so many times you don’t know if you are coming or going? Are you tired of starting over?

THEN STOP QUITTING!

To set yourself up to be successful, you need to do something different.  Here are a few ideas to stop giving up on yourself.

1. Get Support.  There is no reason for you to do this alone.  Grab a friend or family member to help you stay accountable.  Don’t have someone?  Find a social support group like the Get Healthy Facebook Fan Page to help you get through the tough times.
2. Have a Blueprint.  You know what you WANT, but do you know HOW to get there?  It is too hard to try and do it all on your own if you don’t have an idea of where to start.  So seek advice or a proper plan of action to keep yourself going.
3. Reflect.  Take some time to look back at what has both worked and not worked for you in the past.  Once you identify issues that throw you off track, you can find solutions so these situations will not continue to derail your efforts.

Just remember, results CAN happen as long as you have the tools to get you there.  So stop giving up and just GET IT DONE!

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Muscle turns to fat

MYTH: Muscle turns into fat 

REALITY: Muscle and fat are two completely different tissues that have different functions, so it’s physiologically impossible to turn one into the other. If you stop exercising, your muscles decrease in mass, so you lose the tone you worked so hard to create. And if you eat more calories than you burn, you’ll gain fat.

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Chocolate Protein Granola

Chocolate Protein Granola

Many granola recipes lack protein, but that’s not the case with this chocolaty creation. Add a couple handfuls of chocolate chips once the granola is cooled for even more chocolate goodness.

Ingredients:
Makes four 1/2-cup servings

• 1 tbsp. honey
• 3 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. coconut extract (vanilla extract will also work)
• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 2 c. old fashioned oatmeal

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine honey, water, brown sugar, oil, and extract in a small bowl until mixed. Stir in cocoa powder and protein powder until fully combined. Pour chocolate mixture on top of oats and stir until oats are coated. Spread onto a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway.

Recipe provided by Peanut Butter Fingers

Benefits of Magnesium

Having trouble sleeping at night?  Eat magnesium-rich foods!  Magnesium is a natural sedative and can be found in legumes and seeds, dark leafy green vegetables (such as spinach), bananas, wheat bran, almonds, cashews, blackstrap molasses, brewer’s yeast, and whole grains.

Deficiency of magnesium can result in not only difficulty sleeping, but constipation, muscle tremors or cramps, depression/anxiety, irritability, and pain. It has also been use for people with restless leg syndrome, heart palpitations, and even helpful with menopause and PMS symptoms.

Not getting enough magnesium from your diet?  Try supplementing with Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc 30-60 minutes before bed for a more restful sleep.

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Satisfy your Sweet Tooth

I have a big sweet tooth, especially when it comes to after dinner. I don’t know why, but I always crave sweets then. So I have been trying to find some caffine-free herbal teas that I like to be a replacement. Then I found one. It is Bigelow’s Decaf Vanilla. YUMMY! I love it. Then recently the company discontinued it. So I have been buying it online before companies run out. So while doing this, I have been hunting for a new one and I found one I really like! It is Zena’s Gypsy Tea - Chocolate Chai. Again, YUMMY! So if you are having problems with wanting dessert or something sweet after meals, try some caffine-free teas. They make you feel full and can satisfy your sweet tooth!

8 Health Benefits of Daily Exercise

Exercise doesn’t have to be difficult and you don’t have to be athletic to do it.  Just taking a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes each day can make you look and feel better.

Here are 8 Health Benefits of Daily Exercise .. and in just 30 minutes a day!

1. Manage Your Weight.

Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. You don’t need to set aside large chunks of time for exercise to reap weight-loss benefits, you can benefit from just 30 minutes of exercise per day!

2. Reduce Your Blood Pressure.

Exercise can help you lower your blood pressure by as much as 5 to 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Combine exercise with a healthy diet and you can reduce it by even more!

3. Prevent or Manage Type 2 Diabetes.

Exercise is very important in managing type 2 diabetes. Combing diet and exercise can help control your weight and blood sugar level.  Exercise helps control type 2 diabetes by improving your body’s use of insulin and burns excess body fat  - decreased body fat results in improved insulin sensitivity.

4. Improve Your Cholesterol.

Regular exercise can help you reduce your triglycerides as well as raise your good cholesterol (HDL).

5. Prevent Cancer.

Exercise can reduce body fat, improve circulation, speed up digestion, and strengthen your immune system… all of which may help to prevent different types of cancer.

6. Prevent Osteoporosis.

Especially if you do weight-bearing exercise, you may lose less bone mass and may even increase your bone density with exercise.  Weight-bearing aerobic activities involve doing aerobic exercise on your feet, with your bones supporting your weight. Examples include walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, elliptical training machines, stair climbing and gardening. These types of exercise work directly on the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine to slow mineral loss. They can also provide cardiovascular benefits, which boost heart and circulatory system health.

7. Increase Your Stamina and Energy.

Inactivity, not aging, often causes a lack of energy.  Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to go about your daily chores.

8. Maintain mental well-being.

With just 30 minutes a day of exercise, you may improve your sleep, lower your stress levels, improve mild or moderate anxiety and depression, and boost your moods.  You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

Exercise and physical activity are a great way to feel better, gain health benefits and have fun. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more. Remember to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have any health concerns.

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