Food for Fuel- On- The- Go

Nowadays, our lives seem like the stuff that happens between points A and B. Our jobs and families keep us on the go with rarely any time for ourselves, much less for good food choices. I've discovered that it is during these on-the go- times that we can enjoy an opportunity to eat healthily.

Breakfast, snacks or mini meals used to satiate you until dinner; all are great times to really use food for fuel. Be honest, when you grab that croissant or bagel in the morning on the way to work and eat in the elevator, you don’t really get to savor it, as a matter a fact sometimes you eat so quickly it doesn’t even become a memory.

Instead grab foods that are quick and easy. Foods that keep your body going and do not add on extra pounds. There are many ways that you can begin to incorporate this way of thinking in your diet. Luckily they are convenient, quick and budget friendly.

If you have time to pre- pack your meals at home (which is my favorite choice), prepare these goodies:

Egg-white salad with hummus

Cottage cheese with bran flakes

Oatmeal with almonds and cinnamon


If you stop at a local deli, try:

Turkey lettuce and cheese sandwich without the bread (use lettuce leaves instead)

Egg-white omelet with veggies

Plain yogurt with banana slices

Egg salad or low fat tuna salad without bread


If the vending machine is your only choice (worst case scenario)

Bag of almonds or cashews with skim milk

Whole wheat crackers and cheese

Beef jerky and multi grain pretzels

If you begin to look at these quick eats as fuel you will begin to notice a change in your caloric intake and lower intake of sugar. Your body will feel energized and hunger will be satiated. Don’t waste your calories on food you don’t have time to enjoy.

Fiorella

Top Five Mistakes Dieters Make

Before I conduct any fitness workshop, I give every participant a nutritional assessment in which a daily food journal is kept for one week. It is important for me to understand my client and their particular needs and what they expect from the workshop. My latest workshop is for a corporation that has numerous restaurants all over the United States. Most of the employees are ground level servers and hostesses that are also actors and models. Most of them would describe themselves as healthy and image conscious but would love to be more fit.

Interestingly enough, when they were asked to fill out the food journal for a week, they were very nervous and later admitted that they were a bit embarrassed to actually write down what they eat. In my experience this reaction is not abnormal; most people have a truly emotional relationship with their food and generally have counterproductive feelings of guilt about what they eat. The emotional aspect of eating is really my toughest problem to conquer with my clients but it can be overcome.

The assessment also pointed out several obvious “diet dangers” that can ruin an otherwise moderate diet. Here are the top five mistakes:

1. Do not drink your calories- Orange juice, fruit juices and smoothies sound healthy, but most have a high added sugar content which can pile on unnecessary calories. Be very careful with places like Jamba Juice because their smoothies can also be filled with tons of calories. Smoothies should contain milk or soy milk or yogurt with no added sugar, a banana for thickness and your favorite fruit and maybe some protein powder.

2. Protein and energy bars— most protein bars or cereal is filled with sugar and you really might as well be eating a candy bar. The best combo for a protein bar is high protein, very low carb and no added sugar-everything else is really a waste of time. Just eat real food and you can avoid all the chemicals and preservatives that are added to these bars.

3. Do not make coffee dessert- besides being overpriced; Starbucks will always get you in trouble. Super high sugar, whipped profusions of caffeinated joy, will set you back with tons of calories, a quick fix and a hard crash. If you must, try their non fat latte with extra foam and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

4. Happy hour pitfalls- there is way too much alcohol consumption going around nowadays, or at least that’s how it feels to me. Studies show that a glass of wine can be beneficial while two can promote stress on the body. Alcohol is metabolized in body as sugar and is treated such- that means fat. I don’t want to be a party pooper but ease up guys, partying is overrated.

5. Midnight snack attacks- Fight late night urges with healthy snacks. Keep them on hand, so there are no “snack traps” in your house. T.V and boredom can lead to uninhibited eating. Keep yourself occupied and try to incorporate your evening snacks into your entire caloric intake of the day.

6. When encouraging clients to be fit, I urge them to take a good look at their food intake and it really does make a difference in their eating habits. Try it yourselves, if you don’t want to carry an extra journal around just write you intake in.

Fiorella

Is Late Night Snacking Keeping Your Weight Up?

If you are like me, the best part of your day is finally being able to sit and relax while watching TV and snacking on some munchies. Even when most of us eat really well during the day, it is at this time of night that we get into real trouble. Studies show that eating at night does not make you fat unless you exceed your caloric intake for the day. In other words if your maximum intake of calories should be 1800 per day, your nighttime snacks should not bring you over that amount, plan for the snacks to be part of that 1800 calories.

All day long, we run around busy with work or family so we don’t have time to wallow in our worries until we get home and have some quiet time. The problem is we nurse our woes with food. Since we just finished dinner, we know we are not really hungry, so our late night snacking comes from pure boredom or stress relief. Here are some ways to lessen your urge to raid the cupboards:

Make sure you eat enough throughout the day. If you come home late, and have skipped meals all day, you are most likely ravenous. You begin to grab everything in sight and eat way more than you need to. If you are “mini-mealing” it all day, this should be a problem. Keep snacks handy when you are on the go, so you are never feeling hunger pains for long periods of time

You can’t eat what you don’t have. Take the junk food out of your house and trade it in for the good stuff. Always have your fridge stocked with low fat, high fiber, high protein foods that can be prepped in a jiffy.

Learn to indulge in other ways than food. Think of all the things you enjoy, a facial, a manicure, listening to music or a hobby. Pamper yourself with candles or aromatherapy to truly relax. If you are to wired tackle that odd job you have been putting off-keep yourself busy.

IDLE HANDS….

If you must snack however, try to keep it under 250 calories. Try foods that are high in fiber and with lean proteins and low fat. Heavy foods or sugar will only keep you up at night, so keep it to a minimum. Some foods I call snack traps are anything involving chips, crackers, cheese or those 100 calories individual snack cakes because in moderation they are okay but who can stop eating them after one serving, not me.

Try these instead:

Something hot

Herbal teas

Chicken or beef broth

Something sweet

Fresh fruit

Cottage cheese with sugar free jam

High fiber cereal with a sprinkling of cinnamon

Something creamy

Plain Yogurt with some bran flakes

Nonfat fruit smoothie (try freezing it for a creamy treat!)

Something crunchy

Low fat hummus with carrots

Crispy salad with anise and cucumbers with balsamic vinegar

Something savory

Low fat egg white salad

Turkey or chicken luncheon meats

Again, all in moderation and don’t eat too close to bedtime, it will interrupt your sleep patterns. Good night snacking!

Fiorella

Quit Smoking? Here's What To Do

Finally, you have quit smoking. Since I am not Dr. Phil I am not going to reward with a new car for quitting something you were an idiot to do in the first place. Nonetheless I will give you some helpful hints that will keep you on the wagon.

From my experience with smokers, it all begins with familiar stories of peer pressure, recreational smoking or as a weight loss remedy. Then once addicted, the poor smoker becomes victim to his crime, poor thing. The idea of smoking has always been so absurd to me; I have no patience or tolerance for it because it is so harmful.

Nicotine is highly addictive and wreaks havoc on your body with cancer, organ damage and emphysema. Recent studies have shown that smoking activates a gene that is known to cause premature aging. If you are a woman on birth control, it severely raises your risk of heart attacks. You may even pass to menopause earlier than normal.

So let’s get a plan to get back to health, but first this is what you are going to feel (I didn’t say it was going to be easy):

1. Headaches

2. Nausea

3. Diarrhea or constipation

4. Fatigue and insomnia

5. Irritability anxiety and depression

Smokers also have lower levels of certain vitamins in their bodies, because nicotine has inhibited their absorption. Vitamin C, Vitamin A, calcium and folic acid, all have been depleted. During my research, I have also come across a study that says Vitamin C actually pushes nicotine out of the body initially through urine, which prompts the smoker to reach for a cigarette much sooner to replace the lost nicotine. It is important then to begin Vitamin C supplements when you have truly quit smoking.

Now the bad news, when you quit smoking your metabolic rate lowers from the lack of nicotine, almost two hundred calories worth. Once you quit smoking you also get your taste and smell back, so food will taste even better. On top of that, smoking has given you an oral fixation that most people substitute with food – and, did I mention water retention? Do not panic, there are ways to prevent weight gain and get your body back in order.

Here’s the plan:

1) Find an alternate stress reliever, yoga, hobbies or therapy

2) Begin an exercise regime to coincide with your quitting

3) To substitute for oral fix, try gum or healthy snacks

4) Begin to cut down on alcohol

To counteract your metabolic rate decrease:

1. Try a green tea supplement to boost your metabolism

2. Take in more protein in form of lean meat

3. Flush your system with fiber

To replenish your vitamin stores:

1. Vitamin C 1000mg and fresh fruit

2. Folic acid and leafy greens

3. Calcium and plain low fat yogurt

4. B-complex, to reduce stress and irritability

Remember, it is a tough road but you owe it to yourself. You will feel better and look great. Don’t let yourself down this time, learn from your mistake and take your body back under your own control.

Fiorella