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Principle #2 Plant Foods:
Your diet needs to be primarily plant-based. You can still eat meat, yogurt, cheese, butter, and eggs, but the majority of your plate should consist of plant foods. Plant foods are nutrient dense. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes are low-calorie foods that are high in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber.
The fiber found in plant foods (but lacking in all animal products) fills up our stomachs and gives a sense of fullness. I believe that when you meet your nutrient needs, your body does not crave empty-calorie junk foods. When you eat a Clementine instead of a cookie for dessert, your body receives vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber versus processed flour and sugar. You may crave more and more cookies as your nutrient needs are not met with a cookie. With the Clementine, you receive a satisfying high fiber snack that is also deliciously sweet.
Think of the fruits and vegetable you like best. Keep those fruits and vegetables stocked in your home. Bring fruits and vegetables with you to work, on long car trips, when you are running errands. Have a “car apple” on your way home from work to curb your appetite before dinner.
When you buy groceries, come home and cut up veggies for you and your family and have them at the front of your refrigerator so that you’ll grab them. Put fruits in a fruit bowl on your kitchen table to remind you and your family to eat fruit every day. You should strive for a minimum of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. That could be two pieces of fruit per day, 1 cup of raw veggies, and 1 cup of steamed veggies (which counts as 2 servings). Plant foods fill you up with lots of nutrients yet very few calories, and I stand by my claim that I do not know anyone overweight from eating too many fruits and vegetables.
I am going to begin a series of the 6 principles of a healthy lifestyle. I came up with these principles from over a decade of counseling individuals on weight loss or lifestyle changes after a new diagnosis of diabetes or heart disease. Can you find a similarity in all 6 principles?
Principle #1 Portion Size:
Once I received a phone call from a client asking for a list of “foods to eat and foods to avoid.” If a healthy diet was that easy then I would surely be out of a job. I believe all foods can fit into a healthy diet. That’s right…even bacon. Yep, pizza and French fries too. In fact, I think that if you swear off certain foods while you are “dieting” that in the end you will end up overindulging in those foods.
The key is watching how often you eat higher calorie, high fat foods and how big your portion size is. When you become aware of the extra calories you take in from splurge foods and reduce the portions, you may even enjoy the food more. For example, try just a small sliver of cheesecake instead of a huge piece, and you may not have heartburn that night! (But you still got to enjoy a yummy dessert.)
There are healthy foods that are also high in calories. Some of my clients report they are only eating healthy, whole foods but still not losing weight. Here are some examples of healthy foods that are calorie dense:
½ cup almonds 475 calories
1 California avocado 275 calories
20 Greek olives 300 calories
2 Tbsp. peanut butter 188 calories
½ cup hummus 215 calories
These are all healthy, calorie dense foods. Just because almonds are healthy does not mean that eating a cup (over 900 calories) is a good idea.
On the flip side, there are foods that people know are high in calories such as pizza, chocolate, cookies, cheese, or French fries. You do not need to cut these foods out of your diet entirely. Give yourself permission to eat splurge foods but watch the portion. I recommend limiting pizza to1-2 slices and adding steamed veggies or a salad to round out the meal.
If weight loss is your goal, be aware of the portions of high calorie foods and capitalize on the low calorie, nutrient dense foods such as fruits and vegetables. (But that is getting into tomorrow’s principle…)
by Stephanie Wainwright – Exercise Specialist and Fitness Instructor
Finding the joy in exercise is a lot like finding the joy in life. Sometimes we need to look past the negative discomforts and really enjoy the true benefits. We need to look past the negative experiences and really embrace our true blessings.
When was the last time you actually looked at exercise as a reward? So often people view exercise as “just another chore” to get done in our busy lives. Or worse yet, those who use exercise to beat themselves up because somehow they just aren’t “enough”. Not skinny enough, not smart enough, not strong enough….you get the point. Think about what could happen in our minds and therefore our bodies if we think of exercise as a reward. A reward that we give ourselves because we ARE worthy already, not because we aren’t enough. We deserve to be healthy and strong. It is a gift we can give ourselves and to those we love. When we love ourselves enough to take care of ourselves, everyone prospers. We have more energy and a full emotional tank to give to those around us. Those you love deserve to have a healthier spouse, mother, father, etc.
I am a firm believer that inactivity breeds more inactivity and that activity breeds more activity. This is counterintuitive to what our minds want to believe, but it is true. People often ask me what the best exercise is for them to do. My reply is “whatever you enjoy and whatever you will stick with”.
So why not lace up those workout shoes today? It sure seems like a great day for a reward. You and your loved ones deserve it!
I think the most difficult part of following a healthy lifestyle are the setbacks. There will be weeks when you cannot exercise because you are sick or your children are sick and you can’t get out of the house. There will be weeks when desserts are everywhere you go—at work, at birthday parties, at family get-togethers. How do you deal with weeks like these?
First I want you to know that everyone experiences set-backs. Even the most fit person that you can imagine has days when he or she eats too much or exercises too little. I think the assumption is that fit people are perfect. This is far from the truth.
The most important part of dealing with a setback is making a change fast. Do not start a spiral of overeating. I have clients who tell me they “blew the whole month of January” or “blew the whole week.” Do not give yourself permission to blow a whole day, week, or month. If you overeat at one meal, wipe the slate clean for the next meal. Having an all-or-nothing attitude towards food does not work. We will always be presented with “splurge” foods and we will sometimes partake. Dealing with the aftermath is key for living a healthy lifestyle.
In January many people make changes in their diet and exercise routine due to the New Year. However, following a healthy lifestyle means that every day is like New Year’s Day. Start the day off by saying to yourself, “I will eat healthy today and make time to exercise.” Think of it as your daily affirmation. If you stray from your plan, do not beat yourself up for it! Remember that everyone overeats and misses workout sessions. Have the mindset that eating healthy and exercising most of the time is success.
I believe that a positive attitude is key for a healthy lifestyle. If you look in the mirror and think negative thoughts then that leads to overeating. If you go to the gym and compare yourself to everyone else then that leads to skipped workouts. You are beautiful and worth the time spent exercising and eating healthy for you. You know that you already have family and friends who love you, so make healthy choices for just one person…yourself!
On my birthday a friend asked me what my goals were for the upcoming year. I like the idea of your birthday as a time to reflect and set goals for yourself. I received a laptop for my birthday and decided my goal would be to write more nutrition articles and start a blog for clients, family, and friends to hear my recommendations and thoughts on healthy eating.
My opening thought involves healthy lifestyles. Clients often tell me that they have tried every diet and nothing works for them. My questions are always—how long did you follow that diet? How long did you exercise? How long did you eat healthy? Usually the answer is only a few weeks or maybe as long as 6 weeks but never long enough to make the changes a lifestyle.
I feel that if you follow a healthy lifestyle with good eating habits and regular exercise most of the time that you will look like your lifestyle. For example, if you gain 40 pounds during pregnancy but after having the baby return to a healthy lifestyle…the weight will come off. On the other hand, if you develop some not-so-healthy habits like you stop exercising or you start eating dessert every night, then you will not look like a person who maintains a healthy lifestyle.
My husband enjoys discussing nutrition and exercise with me (he’s a bit of an exercise enthusiast), and I told him this view I have on healthy lifestyles. He equated this concept to cleaning the bathroom. Some people just spot clean the bathroom and use cleaning wipes on countertops and Windex on the mirror but don’t really get in there and deep clean. Spot cleaning is an example of an individual who sometimes follows healthy eating habits and exercises sporadically but never develops the habits. The bathroom isn’t really clean, and if you look closely you can tell that. The individual isn’t really healthy, and you can tell.
There are other people who really deep clean a bathroom and disinfect the toilet and scrub the tub. Deep cleaning is an example of an individual who exercises and eats healthy most of the time. The bathroom is really clean, and you can tell when you walk in. The individual is truly living a healthy lifestyle, and you can tell!!
When I encourage clients, family, and friends to develop a healthy lifestyle, I like to have them repeat the following: “I need to eat healthy and exercise for the rest of my life!” Really, we all do. People with diabetes, heart disease, 5-year-olds, 80-year-olds, 20-year-olds with no health problems…every last one of us. Besides…who doesn’t love a really clean bathroom?
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