Time for YOU:7 Vital Signs of Health and Wellness

(Recipe Below)

 

This is a great list of things to review in a week.  

If you've had changes in weight, no changes, or just want to evaluate where you are in your journey of health, refer to these 7 things and see what can be altered to fit in your healthy lifestyle.  Try one at a time, or evaluate a few and see what difference it makes.  Give yourself at least a week to see the changes. (EX: It may take 7 days to see difference in sugar depending on how much needs to leave your system. )

1.) Sleep (7-8 hours a night.  Sleep deprivation leads to higher stress levels which lead to higher cortisol levels that land the fat right in your mid section).
2.) Drinking water (8- 8oz glasses, extra 8 oz.-16oz. per hour of exercise)
3.) Eating every 2-3 hours (Are you getting your daily calorie needs?) - see below for formula to figure this out
4.) Sugar and Unhealthy Fats- (Are you eating added sugar or sugary things? How about foods high in saturated fats and transfats?)
5.) Portions -( Remember, the palm of the hand for proteins, 1 cupped hand for carbohydrates, and 2  cupped hands for fruits and veggies)
6.) Exercise Intensity - (Are you reaching your level 10 and pushing yourself to raise your heart rate to get you sweating!)
7.) Exercise Variety - (Are you doing the same exercises all week, or do you do a variety of things including using weights to build muscles that burn fat?)

TIP: These are also great questions to ask yourself if you are coming down with a cold or illness. Many cold bugs can be conquered when we ask ourselves why our immune system is not working at it's optimum. Implementing positive healthy habits can enable us to stave off infections naturally. This does not mean to not see your doctor if it is needed, or rest when our bodies are crying out for rest.  Use wisdom in all things.

Formula for finding Daily Caloric Needs: (it's calories in and out)
A.) Current Body Weight in pounds - and add a 0 (ex: 150 pounds is 1500)
B.) Add 20% for daily activity (exercise) -
C.) This gives you your daily rate (This is what you eat if you don't want to change your weight)
D.) Subtract 500 calories for a safe weight release of 1-2 pounds a week
E.) This is your total Daily Intake

Here's a quick sample based on a 165 pound person:
A) Current Body Weight    165 +0 = 1650
B.)Activity Rate 20%-                     +  330
C.) Daily Caloric Rate-                     1980
D.)-500 a day                           

       -  500
E.)Total Daily Caloric Intake            1480


**Readjust (A) and (B) in the formula as you loose weight.  The lighter you get, the fewer calories your body needs.
You will not have to count calories the rest of your life.  Knowing where you are at and what is good for your body, enables you to recognize what is good portions and foods for your daily caloric needs.   You will become aware and knowledgeable enough to go without counting calorie.   If your calorie intake is too low, you can reset your metabolism and that just works against your body optimally burning fat, and leads to storing it instead because your body way think it's starving!

 

 

Whole Wheat  Turkey Wrap:

Couple slices of fat free turkey breast, 1 Laughing Cow light swiss cheese (love this), spinach or lettuce leaves, and one whole wheat pita or tortilla. Spread and wrap how you like and serve with a side of bell peppers.(mini ones pictured)

Food Fact: red peppers are great for reducing stress and are high in vitamin c.

My journey of discovering food as fuel: Why do I Eat What I Eat?

 (pictured above: Bean Burger on a bed of fresh spinach and tomatoes and topped with fat free salad dressing and mustard) 

Why do I eat what I eat? 

It's a question I asked myself a lot.  Emotions are so much a part of what and why we eat that we can not discount their place in our journey to health.  I shared these ideas with a friend this week about food and wanted to share them with all of you.

I started to think of HOW and WHAT  and WHY I was serving my family food or feeding myself.   Do I cook dinner so they'll oh and ah to make my effort worth while (or whatever it is we get from making dinner), or do I feed my family to nourish their bodies?
Once I figured out why, I made an active effort to form habits that would replace the unhealthy ones.

I learned these three things about food:

*Serving size DOES matter - a portion for my body is not the same as my three year old or my husband, so the nibbling on kids leftovers did count and why did I do it?  Mindless eating!  I started to teach my family how to take the amount of food and kinds of food that were best for them.  Serving each person's plate, like a restaurant and putting just the plate on the table is great. Also, leaving the food in the kitchen and letting the family dish up and then sit at the table, the food is not right in front of your face to just have more of.  You have to make a conscious effort to get up and get more. Put your leftovers in serving size containers.  They have great divided containers and you can just pull one out when you need to eat and heat it up, no waste, proportions under control and great for on the go.  Do if after you've eaten, because when we are hungry we tend to grab more than we need. 

*WHY am I Eating? Same as above, am I eating to nourish my body and give myself energy, or am I just eating to feel better emotionally. HALT - post it on your fridge! When you go to put something in your mouth are you HUNGRY, ANGRY, LONELY, or TIRED?  If you are hungry, feed that body good fuel that won't weigh it down.  You know that feeling when you've eaten too much, and feel heavy?  Eating to feed emotions is never ending eating. You never feel quite satisfied and keep eating to feel better and it never comes. Try to drink an 8 oz glass of water first and HALT to see where you are at.  Replacement Habit: Drink  8 oz. water and do some activity...my sister has her children run to the end of the block when they have challenging emotional responses.  This does two things: 1) Distracts you from your thoughts and changes your mood from the adrenaline 2)Gets you away from whatever is emotional for you for a moment - physical distance.

Since we can't just run out of the house, try walking in place when tired, jumping jacks when excited, punching the air when frustrated (give yourself room), or laying on the floor with your feet on the wall when you want to change your attitude. (Great one with kids too!- you can join them and have a few minutes of laughing while you try to get your feet up on the wall ;)



















*Social Events (Church Meetings, family functions, and eating out) aren't about the food- Once we see the food as a nutrient and the people we are with as company, we enjoy the event, and it's not about the food.  This is a hard one in our society, because we even make the movies about sitting in a dark theater and consuming large amounts of buttery popcorn and mindlessly eating.  I bring food I know is good for me to functions and have something in my purse or bag to eat at all times. I know it's not going to ruin any progress I made that day, but also that it's fuel for my body when I need it. You will seriously think about whether you are really hungry when all you have are carrots and broccoli or nuts in your bag when you crave a chocolate bar when your stressed with kids from running errands or grocery shopping. You'll love it more when the sugar is out of your system.  They learn to know when they are hungry or just bored when they are with you as well.

Give yourself time to build these habits. You didn't get here over night. You've worked on it all your life.  Be kind to yourself when you revert back to an old habit, but be aware of it. Resolve that it doesn't ruin your whole day or week, but that your will try harder the next meal, or nourishing time for your body.  This is all about one meal and one snack at a time, making better choices, and creating new habits for a lifetime. 

 Keep flowing like a river and molding your body, one rock (habit) at a time!

Feeding Your Kids with a New Attitude!

Ever try feeding your children when you are seeking after a healthier lifestyle for yourself and your family?  There are many who find this a challenge, and as a mother of three girls, I have experienced this myself.  I have found a great deal of introducing food and change to our children is in our attitudes.  It lies within us to have a good attitude with our children concerning food and experiencing new flavors, textures and combinations of food.  I had a neighbor who sent her daughter over because we had "Trees with snow," (i.e. Broccoli with healthy ranch dressing).   My daughters are still convinced that eating beets make their hair soft like a princess and that it's red/pink because it's royal food.


I have tried adding, substituting, and replacing many things in my families food choices, but the key is doing it slowly and with excitement.  If you are trying to feed your kids fruits and veggies and won't touch the stuff yourself, don't expect them to chow down and enjoy it either.  Get yourself feeling good about your food choices and then start with your family.

Remember that children like to choose, just like we do, what they want to eat.  Fill your fridge with the fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats and dairy that your family enjoys.  Give them options and let them help you prepare the food. 

For example: You are packing your child a lunch and there are choices between a lean turkey and cheese on whole grain bread (or a wrap)  or whole grain chips with salsa and a cheese stick. Carrots or broccoli?  Apple or banana?  You get the idea. I have seen so many lunches with sandwiches, chips, cookies or treats, fruit snacks (full of sugar, might as well be a peice of candy), and sodas or juice boxes that are not 100% juice. If you ate that everyday,  how would you look, feel, or behave?  I would be droopy by 1 or 2 after eating like that, let alone the sugar drop and irritability I would experience.  Every wonder why your kids are more ornery, or tired, after school?  Check out what they are eating for lunch! 


Hope this sheds some light.  Keep moving forward.  When one experience with a new food choice is a challenge, keep trying.  When introducing babies to new food, they may spit the carrots back at you, but we don't give up.  We keep giving it to them to try and eventually their taste buds become accustom to it.  Be good to yourself and eat for health, and create positive attitudes about food and eating with your children. Someday, they might be feeding you!