Health tips of the week 1

So I'm going to start this new thing, where each week I try to blog about a few healthy eating and lifestyle tips.



I'm on week 4 of a nutrition seminar at my gym, and each week I learn a few things I try to change in my daily eating and living habits. I guess I'm a little behind on sharing all that I have learned, but I will try to catch up. As I continue with this healthy living (and hopefully it will last!) I'm going to shout out a few healthy snack choices and tips every week to lose weight. It's already February, you didn't give up your New Year's resolution already did you??

Lifestyle tips of the week:

- Eat every 2.5-3 hours. I'm not kidding! Keep each snack between 150-200 calories for optimal results. Make each snack consist of a protein paired with a carb. If you fast throughout the day (your body considers a fast any amount of time that is 3 hours + of not eating), your body goes into starvation mode and starts storing fat instead of burning it. Keep your metabolism running ALL day by eating all day. It's that simple. You will actually be fuller from smaller meals and won't eat as much as you normally do in one sitting (good for portion control). Just remember to NOT force yourself... save the leftovers for a "snack" tomorrow! You'll also feel energized and great with this new habit too!

- Eat breakfast. This idea goes hand in hand with the first bulletin. Breakfast (which should be eaten within 1 hour of waking up in the morning) kick starts your metabolism and keeps your body burning off the fuel you feed it, instead of storing it up. Don't skip it... because as a result your body will store some fat as a thank you.

- Drink water. You should consume 1/2 your body weight in oz of water daily! Sounds crazy right? Try drinking 2 glasses of water immediately after waking up (1 glass = approx. 8 oz) , drink 1 glass with each meal, and set goals for yourself to drink a certain amount each hour. This can be tough for certain jobs that don't allow frequent bathroom breaks, so try to get in your water intake as much as you can when you are home. If you are dehydrated, your body often mistakes thirst for hunger, causing unnecessary eating when you really just need to drink something!

Snack ideas of the week:

-Avocado and cottage cheese. Cut an avocado in half and remove the put. Fill it's "bowl" with 2 scoops of non-fat cottage cheese. Avocados are rich in omegas and antioxidants along with numerous other health benefits. Cottage cheese is high in protein and low in fat (if you get the kind made from non-fat milk).

-Banana and peanut butter. Pair a ripe banana with all natural peanut butter. How do you know if your peanut butter is all natural? Check the ingredient label. All peanut butter should have in it is peanuts, and salt if you choose the salted kind. Sugar, vegetable and seed oils, and other additives are unnecessary, unhealthy, and will make you pack on extra weight. Try freshly ground peanut butter at whole foods or your local health food store. Get it pre-packaged at Trader Joe's. Trust me, the natural kind may be a bit more expensive but it tastes TEN times better and is ten times better for you.

-Smoothie with protein powder. For the ultimate tasty, nutrient rich, and weight loss smoothie, keep it consisting of natural ingredients, mostly fruits and veggies with added protein. Spinach and kale are excellent greens that are rich in vitamins including iron (great for vegs) and do not add any taste to your smoothie. Bananas, berries, mangoes, grapes, apples, and other fruits add flavor, sweetness and additional vitamins to your beverage. Keep chopped up fruits in baggies in the freezer ready to go to add to your smoothie and make it cold. Juices (without added sugar), soymilk, almondmilk, and ice help thin out the smoothie. You'll need some kind of liquid to get the blender to blend it all. Oats, flax seeds and chia seeds are great additives for extra protein, nutrients, and thickness to the smoothie. Yogurt (without added sugar), cottage cheese, silken tofu, canned beans, protein powder (whey or soy powder can be purchased at your local supermarket or health food store- just make sure that ingredients list "isolate" protein and not just protein "concentrate" for it to be more effective) are all great protein sources, and except for flavored yogurt or protein powder, these will not leave any trace of flavor in the smoothie. Protein is the most important part of the smoothie, so don't forget to add some! Blend together, and enjoy.. and don't forget to make a habit of it!

I hope you'll try some of these tips and snacks this week... and look out for a new posting next week with some new ideas!