Eat This or That? How about neither???

If you've surfed around the web enough, or taken a look through your bookstores "health" section, then you've undoubtedly come across the book "Eat This, Not That!", which lists several lower-calorie options for a variety of fast-food and sit-down chains.

Can I tell you what I think? What I honestly think about this?

What. A. Load. Of. Crap.

"I'm eating a glazed donut, instead of a glazed cake donut! I'm saving 100 calories!!" (note: this is an actual example)

To start off, I think the basic rules of eating should be easy. Eat lean protein, eat fruits and vegetables, eat whole grains and healthy sources of fats. Avoid processed foods. Does this book make things easier? Well, considering the subtitle is "Thousands of Simple Food Swaps that Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds--or More!", I wouldn't think so. Instead of basic rules to start living by, we're given a reference book to carry around wherever we go!!

"I'm saving 100 calories! nom nom nom..."

A book like this appeals to people that think they can still eat fast food on a regular basis, but if they just have the egg mcmuffin instead of the hotcakes, then they'll save calories and lose weight! (note: also another actual example)

Fast food is bad for us. We all know that. Eating out isn't much better and can sometimes be much worse. (look back at the October 6th post for simple tips when eating out). So should we completely forgo these things and sit in our home and eat celery all day?

NO!

Just strive to eat healthy 90% of the time during the week (many people fall well short of this. If you're unsure, write it down for a week!). If you eat healthy that often, then you don't have to worry about the fast food or dinners out. You don't have to debate over a big mac or a bag of fries. You just eat whatever you want, knowing full well that your healthy diet the rest of the time is keeping you on track for your fitness goals.

This whole "Eat This, Not That" sells itself as a big book of secrets. There are no secrets. Really. In the very least, the basics are not that hard to learn and remember. Don't deny yourself any food indulgences just to save calories. Just always remember what exactly they are - indulgences. Eat them sparingly and you can leave the books at home.

Small Steps to a Healthier You

I came across the government website "SmallStep" the other day. It's located here, if you're not familiar with it. It lists over 100 steps that you can take to start living a healthier life today.

Just a small step can help

I applaud the website for giving people easy tips to enact today. Many people feel overwhelmed when they try to be healthier. There are so many choices! How should I work out? What should I eat? What diet should I try?

All of the tips I've read on the list look good to me, and they'll get you started in the right direction, but my head is spinning if I try to remember just a third of them! Therefore, I wanted to give you a much smaller list of steps you should take. Ones that I see provide the greatest change to my clients time and time again. You can look at these as the "biggies".


1. Learn to cook.

To some this sounds easy, to others this sounds completely impossible. I'll tell you though, time and time again, that those who learn to cook can actually control what's going into their bodies. You don't have to be at the mercy of restaurants, fast food joints, and microwave meals.

With them, you're never sure what is being added to your food, whether it's too much butter, or too many preservatives. By cooking for yourself, you can know exactly what goes into the recipe and into your body. Not too mention you save a lot of money! Who doesn't like that?

Now a lot of people will them come back at me and say "I don't have the ability to cook" as well as "I don't have the time". To the first one, I say that's nonsense. That's like saying "I don't have the ability to ride a bike" when you've never even tried to learn. It doesn't have to be complex. We're not shooting for a spot on the next season of Top Chef. (great show!) I've made tons of recipes that are both easy to make and healthy AND they taste great! So don't push off cooking yet. Who knows, you might even like it!

To those who say "I don't have the time", what I really hear is "I've chosen something else more important than my health." Now I understand that we all have stressful jobs, and families to raise, and all the rest of life's responsibilities. But can you spare two hours a week? Just two? You can cook up a ton of food in two hours and tupperware it up for the week. You should always try and cook extra. This bulk cooking allows you to better plan your meals too. You know what you're going to eat, because it's already sitting in your fridge ready to go!

I could continue forever, but I just want to emphasize the importance of learning to cook. There's a reason I listed it as number one.


2. Exercise frequently.

I know. Wow. What a revelation? Now when I say "exercise frequently", I also mean "with variety". I don't want you to add three more days on the treadmill this week if you hate it already. This will bore most people and they won't stick with it. I want you to find physical things that you LIKE to do. Yoga? Spinning class? Rock climbing? Martial arts? Biking? Hiking? Nintendo Wii? Just walking? Personally, I love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and leave each class bruised, sweaty, and happy.

I don't want people to think of exercise as a chore, but as a way to move about and use their body. There's a lot of ways to use your body, so get out and get moving, if just for a little bit more each day.



3. Eat frequently.

This is probably going to sound the strangest coming from a personal trainer, but I want a lot of my clients to eat MORE. Now if you think this means camping out at a Chinese buffet for every dinner, then you're clearly proving that common sense ain't common. You also skipped step number one!

I want people to eat more often, especially breakfast, and eat a variety of foods. When we're getting in shape, a lot of people feel they have to starve themselves to get the body they want. Hardly! With all that activity we're doing (step number two!) we need to properly fuel ourselves! And this means more food!

More food eaten throughout the day actually keeps our blood sugar at a more constant state - which helps improve energy levels. It helps increase and regulate our metabolism as well.

What should I eat more frequently? If you give it a second of thought, you'll probably come up with the answer yourself. How about more fruits and vegetables? Haven't your parents been telling you to eat those since day one? They might be onto something...


4. Cut back on the alcohol.

This is definitely the hardest for a lot of people. Cook for yourself? No problem. Exercise more? easy. Eat more? I thought you'd never ask. But when I ask someone to cut back on alcohol, suddenly I'm the fun police looking to ruin their lives.

I'll interject that I love a good beer. Sitting down with some friends and having a pint or three is a fun, relaxing time for me. I'm not suggesting that you sit at home like a hermit, but I am suggesting that cutting back on the number of drinks you have a week will help tremendously to getting the body you want, and living a healthier lifestyle.

Personally, I'll have about 4-5 drinks a week, on average. This works for me. Your mileage may vary. To some it might be a lot, to others it's Tuesday night. But honestly look at the number of drinks you are having. Do you really need 2-3 a night? They add up and wreak havoc on the body.

A funny story - a friend of my sister's played in a recreational kickball league. Now if you're familiar with these at all, it becomes a reason to run around a field for a couple hours, then head to a bar and drink for a couple more. Now this friend hurt his leg one game and was unable to attend the games (and the drinking afterwards). He was concerned that this decrease in physical activity (no more kickball!) would result in an enormous increase in the scale. As you guess it though, he actually lost weight. Even though he wasn't running around, he also wasn't drinking afterwards. Let this show you that drinking really can put a lot of unwanted pounds on!



So those are my four steps. Are they simple? Yes. Are they easy? Not at first. It's not easy to change habits, but give just one of those a go and you'll start to develop habits for a healthy life.

Take that step!

Dining Out - Tips For Healthy Eating

Eating healthy at home can be relatively easy once you get into the habit. You make a shopping list of healthy foods, you buy those foods, and when you're home, those are the foods that you eat. That pack of cookies isn't going to follow you home and jump into your mouth. If you can get into the habit of just buying healthy, then your home becomes a relative safe haven for eating.

Of course, no one spends all their time inside at home. We dine out! We socialize! We eat! We drink! We eat some more! And when all is said and done, we've completely ruined our diet.


Well it doesn't always have to be like this, or in the least we can minimize the damage. Strength coach Christian Thibaudeau listed in a recent article his tips and strategies for dining out and staying healthy. They are as follows:

1. Have a meal or snack two to three hours before going to the restaurant. It's fine to go in hungry, but you want to avoid feeling ravenous before you even see the menu.

2. Avoid drinking alcohol with your meal unless you're sure you can stop at one or two glasses of wine. If you know you'll drink a lot more than that once you get started, it's best not to get started.

3. Other than a glass or two of wine, stick to water, coffee, tea or diet soft drinks — don't drink anything with calories.

4. When ordering, your best choice is probably the simplest grilled meat or fish you see on the menu. Avoid things that obviously include extra butter and oil, and absolutely avoid anything breaded, battered, or fried.

5. If the meat or fish is covered with a sauce of any kind, ask for it on the side. That way you get to decide how much of it you need — and you may decide you don't need any at all.

6. When ordering a salad, ask the waiter to bring the dressing on the side. Again, you decide how much you need.

7. If you're tempted by a pasta dish, ask the waiter if the pasta is cooked in oil. If it is, choose something else; high-glycemic carbs and tons of fat are a bad mix.

8. After you've ordered, some restaurants will automatically bring bread to your table. If you're dining alone, politely decline. If you're dining in a group, let the others have it.

9. If you end up with butter on the table, don't add it to anything on your plate.

10. Drink a lot of water early in the meal. Then, when your food arrives, eat the veggies first. You'll fill up faster at the start of the meal, helping you avoid splurging at the end.

11. You're not at your mother's house. It's perfectly fine to leave something on your plate. The waiter won't be offended, and the chef will never know.

12. Finally, skip dessert. (Big surprise there, right?)

I'd have to agree on all points. Does this mean we have to deprive ourselves and never order the baked potato with butter and sour cream, warm bread, all washed down with a couple glasses of wine? No, of course not! I love to eat just as much as you, trust me. But if you're looking to change your body, then you'll have to eat healthier more often than not. So if you've already splurged on something unhealthy during the week and you're faced with a night dining out, then use these strategies so that you can get out and have fun, but still work towards your body composition goals.

Eat out, but eat smart!

Stop eating junk food - or Jaime Oliver is going to quit!!

A great article yesterday posted here on a UK website says that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, of "Naked Chef" and "Oliver's Twist" fame. Is disgusted with current British dietary habits and will quit if he can't change his nation onto healthy eating.


The article continues with encounters Jaime has had with regular people's homes and eating habits. And what he's seen is unbelievable.

"One young mum says she has never cooked a meal for her two children. Another does not even know what boiling water looks like."

His solution is to teach easy recipes to these people, in hopes that they'll start cooking their own nutritious food, and share the recipes with their friends.

Do you see the connection here?

Healthy eating = cooking for yourself

Sure, there's ways to find somewhat healthy alternatives while eating out or while buying prepared food, but for the most part eating healthy means you'll have to buy some fresh ingredients and whip up something yourself. This prevents the unseen sugar and extra preservatives from getting into your food.

Now some have two problems with this:
No time!? - We're busy, how can we possibly cook too?
No taste!? - I don't want to eat salad for the rest of my life!

Let me tell you that healthy eating shouldn't suffer from either problem.

For the time-restricted, I offer the following advice:
1. Always cook twice as much as you need! (at least!!) You should be tupperwaring every meal. That way you can cook once, but eat two, three, or ten times! (I've got a chili recipe that'll last a month)

2. Plan your cooking! Perhaps you have an hour or two on Sunday. Get as much cooking done as you can. Preferably for the next week. This can include cooking more than one recipe at once. Most people have four burners and an oven in their home. Who actually uses them all at once?

For those that love taste. I've cooked countless recipes that I'd prefer to the fat and butter-laden originals. Take a look at EatingWell to get you started.


I provide all of my clients with healthy recipes that I've personally tested out. I would never recommend a recipe that I haven't tasted myself. I love easy, healthy cooking. I know if I cook my meals that I'm going to feel better, look better, and I'll save a lot of money to boot!

Get yourself in the kitchen!

Fat is good? It is in these foods!

A great article on MSN today reviewed six foods that were loaded with healthy fats. Article here
http://health.msn.com/nutrition/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100216691&imageindex=1

To save you the time of going through the article, or if it gets lost in time, the six foods listed are:

1. Walnuts
2. Edamame (soybeans)
3. Fish (salmon and swordfish in particular)
4. Walnut oil
5. Wheat germ
6. Ground flax seeds

All of these are fantastic options, and might I add that other mixed nuts like almonds and pecans are also fantastic sources of healthy fats. Olive oil has also been know for some time to be healthy, and is cheaper and easier to find in my opinion than walnut oil.

So yes, fat is good for you. Too many people cut out all fat from their diet because in there mind they equate eating fat with being fat. This is just not true!!

Even saturated fat that we find in meats and eggs is needed for a healthy diet. The problem with the typical diet though, is that we have a gross imbalance. Work to get a variety of healthy fats into your diet, including one or more from the list above.

One final caveat regarding healthy fats, they are very calorie-dense. This means that just a small serving can contain a lot of calories. This doesn't mean we should avoid such foods, just that we should be diligent in measuring out appropriate portions.

For most nuts, this means the amount of nuts that can fit in the palm of your hands. Not a lot eh?

If you're still unsure about serving amounts, try picking up a food scale. I currently use this one and recommend it for it's accuracy and ease of use:
http://www.target.com/Chefmate-Nutritional-Digital-Scale-Silver/dp/B000LWPZDO/qid=1222808996/ref=br_1_1/601-2736515-2491305?ie=UTF8&node=13003941&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1

Remember - fat can be good!