Week Nine - Vacation

Spring break is here and whether you are on a destination vacation, a long weekend away or a staycation, you are most likely not thinking about your health and fitness routine.  Who can blame you.  Vacations are a time to relax and enjoy, and let routines go by the wayside...sort of.  I know many people will say that 5 pounds is well worth the enjoyment of the eating, drinking and relaxing they did on vacation and I say - good for you! For the rest of us the question becomes, is it possible to avoid gaining the 5 pounds of vacation weight that seems as inevitable as the freshman 15 while relaxing and having fun at the same time? Of course!  Here are some simple things you can do to keep up with your health routine while on vacation so you return feeling great instead of guilty.

-Do your homework and plan your exercise the night before.  Have a thought of what you want to do and what time.   Does your hotel have a gym or offer fitness classes?  Is there a gym or studio near by?  Most gyms and studios offer out of town guest passes for a small fee.  Is there a nice place to walk or run outside?  Are there fitness classes on the beach that you can take advantage of?  (I happen to know of an excellent beach bootcamp in Naples, Florida!)
-Exercise in the morning.  Once you get started with your day you are much more likely to skip exercising.
-Take a jump rope with you and make up your own routine.  Jump for a few minutes, do some  push-ups, find a bench for tricep dips, lunges, add in some planks and crunches for your core - do this for 30-60 minutes.
-Enlist your friends, kids, family to join you - peer pressure is a good thing in this case!
-Reward yourself with a healthy, light breakfast after you exercise (walk to breakfast).  Find a place to get a healthy smoothie (many are loaded with sugar and fruit juices, look for fresh fruit options), a RAW juice bar (try a green smoothie or wheatgrass shots), opt for oatmeal over bacon and eggs...
-Decide which meal is going to be your main meal of the day and go light the rest of the day.  It is not necessary to eat three heavy meals a day and you will feel more energized by going lighter, even if you are just relaxing in the sun all day!
-If you happen to be on a "foodie" vacation or just some place that is known for their great restaurants and local food, it is still  possible to experience and taste all of the local fare without going overboard.  Ordering small plates is a great way to do this, sharing a meal is another (never feel bad doing this, portion sizes are generally too large anyway).
-Go light on desserts and sweets.  Don't deprive yourself, just don't over indulge.  Take a couple of bites, savor the flavor and be done.
-Watch your alcohol intake (calories, dehydration, hangover, no energy).
-Stay hydrated (often our bodies are thirsty when we feel hungry, try a glass of water over a snack).
-Mix it up and try new things!  This includes food and exercise.  Be adventurous and break out of your mold.  Try a beach volleyball game, rent bikes and sightsee this way instead of in your car or on a bus, try raw or vegetarian food, take an afternoon walk instead of an afternoon nap, go hiking, swimming, snowshoeing - make it fun and exciting!

Where ever you are headed this year for vacation know that it is possible to come home feeling great about jumping back into your normal routine refreshed and energized and without an extra 5 pounds.  Take the time to take care of your body, have fun and be sure to relax and enjoy yourself!
~One Body, One Life~
Jennifer

Week Eight - A word on Beverages

Spring break and summer (it is just around the corner!) have me thinking about vacations and barbecues, days at the beach and happy hours with neighbors.  This is my favorite time of the year.  It's social and fun and includes an abundance of wonderfully fresh foods and fun drinks.  Fun drinks can be alcoholic and non-alcoholic and can  be a large part of our calorie intake in these long days ahead.  This is a great time to consider the drinks we consume, how that will change in the days to come and how we can make sure our beverage choices are not sabotaging our health.    
When I named this blog  "the art of being healthy" I did so with the idea that an art  of something, of anything, is mastering a skill.   Perhaps a good way to think about  this upcoming social season is to think of mastering the skill of beverage choices and consumption.  
Here are some questions for you to consider:  Do your drink choices change as the seasons change? How many calories are you adding to your diet with beverages?   Is there a healthier alternative to your favorite drink?  How much alcohol are you consuming?  Is your alcohol consumption causing you to make unhealthy food choices (that night or the next day - the hangover effect!) ?  These are all questions that will help you when making a plan to master the skill of beverage consumption.  
Here is an example of what a person on vacation may drink - a glass of orange juice for breakfast (100 calories), a soda with lunch (140 calories), a margarita for happy hour (250 calories) and two glasses of wine with dinner (200 calories).  That is a conservative 690 calories just in beverages and most of us also drink more and larger portions than we think we do.  
Here is another example using non-alcoholic beverages -  cup of coffee with cream for breakfast (100 calories),  a soda with lunch (140 calories), lemonade for happy hour (200 calories) and a non-alcoholic pina colada in the evening (240 calories).  This person drank 680 calories.  
The following are some suggestions and reminders that you may find helpful:
-Consider the questions above.
-Write it out, how much, how often, what, where...this will help you find patterns so that you can make healthy changes!
-Cut out sodas and sweetened drinks.  Consider alternatives such as vanilla soy milk in your coffee, 1/2 iced tea 1/2 lemonade, 1/2 lemonade 1/2 sparkling water, buy cans of sparkling water instead of cans of soda, try young coconut water instead of sports drinks, drink less alcohol and stay away from the tropical drinks,  be careful with beer - it goes down quickly and the calories add up quickly. 
-Decide how much alcohol you are going to drink before having your first drink and count your drinks!  -Drink slowly and enjoy!
-Drink water, add lemon for flavor.
-Consider the big picture - how many social engagements do you have coming up, dinners out, lunch dates?  Go into each week with a conscious, mindful plan of what you want want to achieve for your health.  
-Remember that being healthy all week and binge drinking and eating on the weekends is taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.  Moderation and mindfulness are key!
Beverages  can be as challenging for us as  food, and they are equally as important to our health.  As you keep working toward your "art of being healthy" remember that we should enjoy ourselves daily and that as we learn to balance our healthy lifestyles it is possible to have our cake and eat it too!  Keep up the good work and you will find your balance - I promise!
~One Body, One Life~
Jennifer

Week Six - Fiber

This week's goal is simply to eat more fiber in your diet.  Fiber is a natural occurring substance found mainly in the outer layer of plants.  Current recommendations suggest eating 25-35 grams of fiber a day to help lower cholesterol, control blood sugar, reduce the risk of diverticulosis and aid in weight loss.  High fiber diets also protect against kidney stones, gallstones and heart disease and potentially some cancers.  
Refined or processed foods (canned fruits and vegetables, pulp-free juices, white bread, white pasta and white rice, non-whole-grain cereals, many crackers) are lowest in fiber.  The grain-refining process removes the outer coat (the bran) from the grain lowering the fiber content.  Many food companies now add fiber back into the very same food in which the fiber was initially removed - a double over-processing whammy!  For instance, white Wonder bread that has 6 grams of fiber per slice has been highly processed in order for the bread to have that high fiber count.  Be wary of high fiber cereals and bars, check the ingredients as most of these "foods" are high in sugar and artificial ingredients, offsetting the benefits of the high fiber.  Choose dark leafy green vegetables, whole fruits and whole grain foods as your best, healthiest high fiber choices.  Removing the skin from fruits and vegetables decreases their fiber content so savor the whole food - skin and all.   
One of my favorite, easy, sources of fiber is flax seed.  I buy the whole, golden seed which has a nice nutty flavor.  I grind a weeks worth at a time in a blender (about 2 cups) and refrigerate the ground seed to keep it fresh.  What I like about flax seed is that it is not only high in fiber, it has important EFAs (essential fatty acids) and many vitamins and minerals.  Many people ask about flax oil, the fiber value is only found in the flax seed, so if you are a flax oil user keep in mind that the properties of the two are different, and therefore the health benefits are not the same either.  I sprinkle ground flax over cereal, add it to smoothies, pancake recipes, granola bars - just about anywhere that a mild nutty flavor will blend well.   
Some other ways that I make sure to get my daily dose of fiber are by eating an apple a day (and you know what they say about the apple and the doctor!), adding avocado to almost everything, and eating raw or steamed broccoli.  Check out the chart below and see if you can incorporate more of these foods in your diet.   
My hope is that you are now feeling the positive effects of the changes you have been making over the past five weeks.  Maybe you are following the blog advice verbatim or more likely taking bits from each week and incorporating new healthy habits into your lifestyle.  Either way what is important is that you remain open minded and enthusiastic about change and healthy transformation.  Good luck with adding more fiber into your diet!
~One Body, One Life~
J.
High Fiber Food Chart

Category A (more than 7 grams per serving)

FOOD	AMOUNT	TOTAL FIBER (grams)
Avocado	1 medium	11.84
Black beans, cooked	1 cup	14.92
Bran cereal	1 cup	19.94
Broccoli, cooked	1 cup	4.50
Green peas, cooked	1 cup	8.84
Kale, cooked	1 cup	7.20
Kidney beans, cooked	1 cup	13.33
Lentils, cooked	1 cup	15.64
Lima beans, cooked	1 cup	13.16
Navy beans, cooked	1 cup	11.65
Oats, dry	1 cup	12.00
Pinto beans, cooked	1 cup	14.71
Split peas, cooked	1 cup	16.27
Raspberries	1 cup	8.34
Rice, brown, uncooked	1 cup	7.98
Soybeans, cooked	1 cup	7.62

Category B (more than 3 grams per serving)

FOOD	AMOUNT	TOTAL FIBER (grams)
Almonds	1 oz.	4.22
Apple, w/ skin	1 medium	5.00
Banana	1 medium	3.92
Blueberries	1 cup	4.18
Cabbage, cooked	1 cup	4.20
Cauliflower, cooked	1 cup	3.43
Corn, sweet	1 cup	4.66
Figs, dried	2 medium	3.74
Flax seeds	3 tsp.	6.97
Garbanzo beans, cooked	1 cup	5.80
Grapefruit	1/2 medium	6.12
Green beans, cooked	1 cup	3.95
Olives	1 cup	4.30
Oranges, navel	1 medium	3.40
Papaya	1 each	5.47
Pasta, whole wheat	1 cup	6.34
Peach, dried	3 pcs.	3.18
Pear	1 medium	5.08
Pistachio nuts	1 oz.	3.10
Potato, baked w/ skin	1 medium	4.80
Prunes	1/4 cup	3.02
Pumpkin seeds	1/4 cup	4.12
Sesame seeds	1/4 cup	4.32
Spinach, cooked	1 cup	3.98
Strawberries	1 cup	5.94
Sweet potato, cooked	1 cup	3.68
Swiss chard, cooked	1 cup	5.04
Winter squash	1 cup	5.74
Yam, cooked cubes	1 cup	5.30

Category C (less than 3 grams per serving)

FOOD	AMOUNT	TOTAL FIBER (grams)
Apricots	3 medium	0.98
Apricots, dried	5 pieces	2.89
Asparagus, cooked	1 cup	2.88
Beets, cooked	1 cup	2.85
Bread, whole wheat	1 slice	2.00
Brussels sprouts, cooked	1 cup	2.84
Cantaloupe, cubes	1 cup	1.28
Carrots, raw	1 medium	2.00
Cashews	1 oz.	1.00
Celery	1 stalk	1.02
Collard greens, cooked	1 cup	2.58
Cranberries	1/2 cup	1.99
Cucumber, sliced w/ peel	1 cup	0.83
Eggplant, cooked cubes	1 cup	2.48
Kiwifruit	1 each	2.58
Mushrooms, raw	1 cup	1.36
Mustard greens, cooked	1 cup	2.80
Onions, raw	1 cup	2.88
Peanuts	1 oz.	2.30
Peach	1 medium	2.00
Peppers, sweet	1 cup	2.62
Pineapple	1 cup	1.86
Plum	1 medium	1.00
Raisins	1.5 oz box	1.60
Romaine lettuce	1 cup	0.95
Summer squash, cooked	1 cup	2.52
Sunflower seeds	1/4 cup	3.00
Tomato	1 medium	1.00
Walnuts	1 oz.	2.98
Zucchini, cooked	1 cup	2.63

*Chart can be viewed at www.commonsensehealth.com