Gluten-Free Pancakes

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats.  Some people are allergic to gluten, including those with celiac disease.  People allergic to gluten should choose a gluten-free diet. A gluten-free diet is the only medically accepted treatment for celiac disease.  Not everyone who adopts a gluten-free diet has celiac disease.  Some people choose gluten-free diets out of personal preference or because of painful digestive issues. Regardless the reason for adopting a gluten-free diet, I wanted to provide a delicious pancake recipe. This recipe tastes great, involves little preparation, and will satisfy the whole family.

This recipe for gluten-free buttermilk buckwheat pancakes makes enough for a crowd. Extra batter can be refrigerated for up to a week. Be sure to use buckwheat flour (not groats) and a gluten-free flour mix. I would recommend using Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour and Arrowhead Mills Buckwheat Flour.

Ingredients

·   1-1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour (or another gluten free flour mix)

·   1 cup buckwheat flour

·   3 tbsp sugar

·   2 tsp vanilla extract

·   2-1/2 tsp baking powder

·   1/2 tsp baking soda

·   1/4 tsp guar gum

·   1/4 tsp salt

·   2-1/2 cups fat-free buttermilk

·   1/1-2 cups skim milk

·   1 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

·   2 tsp vanilla extract

·   1 egg white

       

Preparation:

·      Combine the dry ingredients (flours through salt) in a large mixing bowl.

·      Combine the wet ingredients (buttermilk through the egg white) in a separate bowl

·      Combine wet and dry ingredients. Stir until smooth. (Depending on the flour mix you've used, you may need to add a little more milk or buttermilk to get the batter to the right consistency -- it's a matter of preference.)

·      Make your pancakes by spooning the batter onto a hot nonstick skillet. Flip the pancakes when the edges appear brown and bubbles start to appear on the surface. Cook for another minute and remove to a warmed plate. Enjoy!!!

FACT: You are what you Eat!

The old saying you are what you eat could not be truer. If you eat donuts, candy, ice cream, chocolate, fries, and potato chips – Guess what? Your body is going to look like these foods. The body tells no lies! Eat garbage food and you will be soft and squishy. Not only will you resemble these foods but you will also feel like these foods. If you eat poor food you will feel awful. Your energy levels will be low, productivity minimal, and mood behavior - Cranky. So why feed your body garbage, it makes no sense. Who wants to look like a bag of chips, feel like a donut, smell like a burger, and feel like garbage?

The opposite of the above is also true. Remember, you are what you eat! This means that if you eat chicken, fish, eggs, pork, beans, lentils, fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products – your body will be tight, lean, and toned. Not only will you resemble these foods, you will feel like these foods. Your energy levels will be high and sustained throughout the day, immune system strong, and you will feel great.

Breaking out of your comfort zone is the key to change. If you currently eat poorly the only way to change is to CHANGE.  I will reiterate from previous blogs, change does not happen overnight. That being said, change DOES happen over days and weeks. Often we recognize that change does not happen overnight and we over compensate by putting it off. However, if we always promise ourselves that we are going to “one day change” we will put it off and change will never happen. I believe change starts today. It starts this very second, minute, day, month, and year. Change must start now. If you currently neglect breakfast and you want to change this habit, why put it off? Why not start tomorrow? If we continue to put things off they will never get accomplished. The difference between knowing, wanting, and doing is fundamental to change. We all want to change, but until we change, we will remain the same person. If you truly want to change, change right now! If not you may find yourself in days, weeks, months, or years still wanting to change.   

What food group does that belong to?

Next time you eat something I would like you to consider the following question:  What food group does that belong to? If you have a hard time answering this question you are not alone. In fact, Canadians of all ages get more than one-fifth of their calories from “other foods,” which are food and beverages that are not part of the four food groups.

Canada’s Food guide consists of 4 Categories.

(1) Vegetables and Fruit (Adults need 7-10 servings)

(2) Grain Products (Adults need 6-7 servings)

(3) Milk and Alternatives (Adults need 2-3)

(4) Meat and Alternatives (Adults need 2-3)

The effect of choosing foods from the “other” category is having a profound impact on the health of our population.  Take a look at the following health statistics from Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

·   Almost 60% of Canadian adults ages 18 and over, or 14.1 are overweight or obese.

·   53% of Canadian women ages 18 and over are overweight or obese.

    

    These numbers scare me! Sometimes I feel like a statistical rarity? Everywhere I look, people are overweight, obese and consuming fatty, sugary, and salty foods.  When will people begin to realize they are slowly killing themselves?

Next time you choose to eat something – Ask yourself the very question: What food group does this belong to? If you have a hard time answering this question, chances are it comes from the other category.  In this case, you should not be eating that food! Remember the goal of eating is to fuel our bodies, not entertainment.  Just as a high performance car needs top quality fuel, your body needs top quality food.  You would not put sugar in your car so why put it in your mouth?

The Ultimate Condiment – Yogurt Cheese!

In todays food world we use far too many condiments, this is problematic for eating clean. Most condiments are high in salt, sugar, and fat. The Big 3 (salt, sugar, fat) are what make condiments taste so good. Take Ketchup for example. We would think ketchup (derived from tomatoes) would be a healthy condiment option, however, a closer examination will show you otherwise. In a single serving of 1 tablespoon, you will find 4 grams of sugar – more than in a Hershey’s Kiss, which contains 3 grams of sugar. If you have ketchup in your fridge throw it in the garbage. You would not pour chocolate over your chicken, potatoes, or pasta – so why ketchup? A more healthier option would be mustard, which is derived from mustard seeds and contains 0 calories.

Since its Friday I wanted to provide a recipe that can be tried over the weekend. This recipe was passed on from my roommate who highly recommended it. Over the Christmas break, I made this recipe and fell in love with it. Yogurt cheese is the perfect condiment and can be used as a substitute for vegetable dip, spread, cake frosting, and mousse. I have used Yogurt cheese as a condiment on whole wheat tasted tomato sandwiches.  Its easy to make and keeps good in the fridge for well over a week. I have taken this recipe from Tosca Reno’s, Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. 

Ingredients 

1 or 2 Quarts (depending on how much you want to make) Low-fat plain yogurt, dairy or soy based.

Method For Yogurt Cheese:

Place 4 layers of damp cheesecloth in a fine mesh sieve or colander. Place the colander over a bowl.

Add yogurt and let it drain overnight in the refrigerator.  I usually put a piece of saran wrap over the top so that the yogurt is not directly exposed.

What Next?

Draining overnight will leave you with a soft, creamy cheese-like product. Discard the remaining fat that dripped into the bowl and keep the cheese like product. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It will look like cottage cheese, but yet much lower in calories than cottage cheese. It is also lower in lactose, higher in protein, and lower in sodium that cream cheese. Its all natural!!! You can mix this stuff into just about anything. Try on whole-wheat toast, bagels, wraps, and sandwiches. Great in flavor and nutrition :-) 

Cooler Bags and Lunch Pails! – Success Is Preparation

Most people know I carry my lunch bag everywhere. I believe that if I am to fuel my body properly I need to eat frequently and have clean nutritious foods at my disposal. I eat 6 meals a day, fueling my body every 2-3 hours depending on my hunger levels. Just as a mechanic needs his/her toolbox to get the job done, I need healthy foods that I carry in my lunch bag.   

Preparing meals and snacks in advance is the key to weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight gain. I takes all the guesswork out of eating, you will never have to think about what foods you should eat. You will not be tempted to eat foods low in nutritional value. Often times we make irrational decisions about food because we are just so darn hungry. We look for the quick fix, whether its the dive-through or a vending machine. However, by preparing meals in advance you will make smarter healthier food choices. 

Most people say they don’t have time to eat or they don’t have time to eat healthy.  However, eating clean and preparing meals in advance takes care of this issue.  Because you will be preparing meals in advance (I do it the night before) the cooking process only happens once.  This is beneficial for a number of reasons. You can make rational food choices, food is prepared for the entire next day, you wont have to rush in the morning making lunches, you only have to do dishes once, and you will never find yourself overly hungry. 

If I could make one recommendation to anyones diet it would be to prepare meals in advance.  It is the most logical strategy for eating clean.  If you do not have a cooler bag I would highly suggest investing.  I would also recommend buying some quality Tupperware and freezer packs to keep all of your foods fresh and cold. This investment will be better than any stock options or RRSP. It will be a direct tool that invests and improves your health. 

Remember, Success is Preparation!

The Mentor Leader

Recently a great friend of mine lent me a new book to read.  The book is called, The Mentor Leader, written by Tony Dungy. After reading just a few pages I knew this book would be very useful and applicable to practices in my own life. While I have only read the first few chapters, there are several messages that are quite clear. I think everyone can benefit from some of these ideas. This is one of the great ideas in chapter I. I have linked this central idea to health promotion.

“The mentor leader looks at how he or she can benefit others…Mentor leaders look beyond themselves, focusing on the people they lead and where they should be going together”

This idea is central to my core values. I believe that we all need to bring out the best in each other. Often we get caught up in bettering ourselves that we fail to better others. In the area of health promotion this idea could not be more evident. Often, we take care of our own health and fail to support and encourage others to do the same. When it comes to health we allow others to make their own decisions. We are stuck in the mindset that individuals can make their own life choices regarding physical activity and nutrition. This however is problematic. Individuals who are inactive and have poor nutritional habits are unlikely to change, they need help. Mentor leaders recognize this and support, encourage, and lead others to peruse a more active life. Mentor leaders are proactive and do not sit by the sideline waiting for that individual to change. They find strategies and work diligently to bring out the best in individuals.  Bringing out the best in people is central to health education. If we can bring out the best in all people (making them healthy) we can make better individuals and a healthier society. As an educator it is my goal to lead others in becoming active healthy individuals. Only when we begin to lead others will we see true change.  

Celebrate With Food – Valentines Day!

Another holiday and another excuse to eat.  I avoided blogging about Valentines Day yesterday, as I did not want to sound like Mr. Grinch.  However, I can’t avoid my feelings toward food and celebrations.  Why are the two so closely connected? Why is it that we celebrate major events with food? Whether its Valentines Day, Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, or Kwanzaa, we celebrate with food.  No matter what the culture it seems as though we all celebrate with food. 

So why do we celebrate with food? What is the connection between food and holidays? Take birthdays and Valentines Day for example.  Why do we celebrate these big two events with high sugar foods.  What does celebrating age have to do with food? In the case of Valentines Day, what does the celebration of caring have to do with chocolate? How are the two events connected? In the case of Valentines Day, shouldn’t it be the exact opposite.  If we truly care for someone, why would we buy them high sugar foods that will contribute negatively to their health? We might as well say, “I love you so much, I bought you 200 grams of sugar, I hope this makes you morbid so we can live a short unhealthy life together.” Really though!!! – Why would we give someone, we care so much about, high sugar candy? It makes absolutely no sense.  We do not give the ones we love cigarettes, so why would we give them candy?

Celebrating with food makes absolutely no sense. When we celebrate with food it is an excuse to overindulge.  By “treating ourselves” we are killing ourselves. If we continue to convince ourselves that eating unhealthy foods is acceptable on holidays, we will continue to produce unhealthy kids and adults.  The message we sending young people is quite clear, “we celebrate success/holidays with food.  If we think about it logically, there is always something to celebrate. Whether its Birthdays, Valentines Day, or the accomplishment of a family member, we can always find excuses to overindulge. Lets stop celebrating with food and start celebrating the meaning of the event…that’s if you can take a moment to put down that piece of chocolate cake?

Change For The Better

Making small adjustments to our diets and exercise habits can have huge results. This is the wonderful thing about making small changes. You can make small changes and notice significant results. Simply eliminating certain foods from your diet may result in weight loss. Furthermore, if you start an exercise program, you may find those jeans a little looser. Change does not happen overnight. We must make small realistic goals that are attainable.  Once these goals have been reached (become part of your life), we need to set new goals. If we fail to set new goals we will become board, forget about our accomplished goals, and not change for the better. If your goal has been to loose 25 lbs and you have accomplished this, perhaps it is now time to up the anti.  Maybe a new goal, such as a 5 km run may be in sight?  Whatever, your goals, make sure to continuously revisit and set new ones.  If small change is "small" why resist the change? 


Making small changes to your diet can be very easy. Choosing whole wheat over white, and skim over whole milk can be small changes, but have a huge impact on your health.  Comparing Skim milk, 1%, 2% and whole milk, we can see why choosing skim is the smarter choice. 

• Whole Milk - 150 Calories - 8g Fat
• 2% Milk - 120 Calories - 4.5g Fat
• 1% Milk - 100 Calories - 2.5g Fat
• Skim Milk - 80 Calories - 0g Fat

The Truth About Muffins

Who doesn’t love muffins? Hearing the word muffin makes me think of being a kid again. Muffins have a unique aroma and feeling of home associated with them. As a kid I always knew when mom had made fresh blueberry muffins, the house would smell incredible.

Muffins resemble more of a desert then a breakfast or snack option.  Most muffins are loaded with carbohydrates, oil, sugar, fats, and other chemicals. They contain very little nutrients or vitamins. Varieties such as fruit explosion, banana nut, cranberry, carrot, raspberry, and blueberry bran, all sound like reasonable healthy options. However, muffins of this type contain very little fruit and pack very little nutritional value.

Tim Hortons Muffins  

Blueberry Bran            300 Calories 10 grams Fat   25 grams Sugar

Fruit Explosion            360 Calories  11 grams Fat  32 grams Sugar

Low Fat Blueberry      290 Calories  2.5 grams Fat  32 grams Sugar        

Muffins don’t have to be unhealthy.  In fact, I eat them as a snack every so often.  Muffins made from scratch with clean eating ingredients can be a wonderful food option. Especially, if you pair one of these delicious muffins with some lean protein.  This will help regulate blood sugar levels and avoid that mid morning crash usually associated with foods high in carbs and sugar.  I got this recipe from Tosca Reno’s, The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook.  These muffins taste delicious and are easy to make.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup Dry old-fashioned oatmeal flakes


1 cup Unsweetened applesauce


1/2 cup Skim milk, soy milk, rice or almond milk (your choice)


2 Egg whites, beaten


2 tbsp Ground flaxseed


2 tbsp + 1 tsp canola oil


1 tbsp Baking powder


1/2 tsp Baking soda


1 tsp Cinnamon


1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg


3/4 cup Whole wheat flour


1/4 cup Dried cranberries


1/4 cup Dried cherries


1/4 Raisins

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare muffin tin by lining with paper or silicon liners, or cooking spray.

Combine oatmeal, applesauce, milk, eggs, flax and oil in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, combine dry ingredients, including dried fruit. Make a well in the center of the dried ingredients and pour wet ingredients into it. Stir until all ingredients are just combined.

Using small ladle, fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 15 - 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Should make 12 Muffins. 

Nutritional Information

Calories: 120 ; Total Fat: 3 ; Carbohydrates: 20 ; Protein: 3 ; Fiber: 3

Look No Further For Inspiration – McDonalds

5:45 am my alarm goes off.  Beep, beep, beep.  As I make my way down to the kitchen (to enjoy my favorite meal of the day), I begin to ponder what I will blog about today?

After enjoying my breakfast, I pack my prepared meals (cooked from the night before) into my cooler bag and make my way towards campus.  As the bitter air fills my lungs, I am still looking for a subject to blog about.  Then in the far distance I see inspiration.  It is the golden arches – McDonalds! While I have no intention of ever eating this horrific food, I ran out of coffee this morning and needed my morning java.

As I walked through the McDonalds parking lot I noticed a massive lineup of cars waiting in the drive-threw.  Making my way into McDonalds, I approached the cash register and wait behind two other customers.  As I waited, the guy in front of me ordered a breakfast combo number 7 (sausage egg and cheese Mcgriddle, hash brown, and beverage). This combo costs just $4.29. Not a bad price for an English muffin, sausage, egg, cheese, hash brown and beverage.  And to top it all off, it just so happened to be Buttermilk Biscuit Day. McDonalds for the past two days has been giving away free buttermilk biscuit sandwiches for anyone wishing to sample.  This is the conversation that took place at the register. Keep in mind the guy ordering just purchased a breakfast combo #7.

McDonald’s Employee: would you like to try our new buttermilk biscuit sandwich? Their free?”

Customer: Sure!

McDonald’s Employee: Bacon or sausage?

Customer: Sausage :-)

Wow – That’s a lot of food, I thought!  The man must have been extremely hungry.  He ordered all that food and then a sausage buttermilk biscuit sandwich?  It made me think.  How was the man completely content ordering a combo number 7, and then all of a sudden (because the food was free), he felt the urge to get an additional sausage buttermilk biscuit sandwich? After eating a breakfast combo number 7, would the man still be hungry?

Reflecting on the situation a few things came to mind. I said yesterday, we know smoking is bad for us.  Therefore, most of us choose to reject tobacco.  I also said yesterday, poor food choices causes obesity.  Obesity causes heart disease, which kills more people each year then smoking.  Therefore, eating unhealthy food will increase your chances (just like smoking increases your odds for developing cancer) of developing heart disease. Eating these types of food (fast food) will cause heart disease.  So why do we continue to make poor food choices? This again is a complex answer.

Other observations while visiting McDonalds

There was a continuous line of cars in the drive-threw for the entire hour I was in the restaurant.

There was a continuous lineup of people waiting to order food in the restaurant itself.

There were a lot of overweight people working and ordering food

People did not reject the free breakfast sandwich despite ordering what they had intended to order before entering the store.  This suggests customers were eating more because it was free, not because they were hungry.

One individual entered the store that normally would never eat McDonalds.  This person ate the breakfast sandwich because it was free- You know who you are. Hahaha

Concluding

I could not resist the calculation – Number 7 with a Free sausage buttermilk biscuit :-)

Sausage Mcgriddles sandwich = 420 Calories, 21 grams of fat

Hash Brown = 160 Calories, 10 grams of fat

Sausage Biscuit = 460 Calories, 28 grams of fat

Grand Total = 1040 Calories & 60 Grams of Fat!!!

What a great way to start your morning! I’m sure by 9:00 am, this guy must have been getting the Mc-Sweats, Mc-Migraine, and McTummy-ache.  It is no wonder we are in the mist of an obesity epidemic.  Look at how we are treating our bodies. All this damage and its not even 9:00 am…

“This generation of children will have shorter lifespans than their parents”

While some people die every minute from not getting enough food, others die from eating too much. In North America especially, food is something most people do not worry about. We have an abundance of food. Food is everywhere! Food is all around us. Food has become more than fuel for our bodies.  Food has become entertainment. We celebrate with food, socialize with food, reward with food, and have become preoccupied with food. There are entire television networks dedicated to food.  Shows such as Hells Kitchen, Cake Boss, and Man V.S Food, have become social entertainment. These shows, which I do enjoy from time to time, are ridiculous. We are not living in the prehistoric days. Why do we have such ridiculous TV shows, where Man competes against food? 

Tobacco companies make millions of dollars each year and ruin our health in the process. Most people today view tobacco companies as doing very little good for our health. We think that smoking will do damage to our bodies; therefore most of us choose not to smoke. Not only do we think, we know smoking is bad and have sufficient data to justify prove this. 

The food industry is no different from the tobacco industry.  The food industry is a business whose sole purpose is to generate a profit. Food companies are not in business to make healthier people. Food companies are in the business to make money by whatever means necessary. Food companies are not concerned with your health. That is why food companies manufacture foods high in sugar, fat, and salt. These three items taste good (especially when combined) and are very cheep to produce.  Also like the tobacco industry, we think certain foods are bad for us. We know that foods high in sugar, salt, and fat cause health problems.  Yet unlike smoking, we continue to eat these poor food choices. So why do we eat these ‘cancer’ causing foods?  This answer is very complex and would be debated among all types of health professionals. 

Regardless, what the answer, we need to stop eating these ‘cancer’ causing foods.  We need to stop eating foods that make us sick.  We need to reexamine our relationship with food and eat to live.  Not live to eat.  If we do not stop living to eat, we will become the first generation of children to have a shorter life spans than our parents.

GRANOLA

We all love granola.  It sounds great, tastes great, but is not great for you.  Well not the commercial granola that you and I have come to love.  Many commercial brands include a variety of ingredients that will sabotage your diet.  Ingredients such as sugar, sugar substitute, sweeteners, Saturated fat, sodium, and preservatives are terrible things added to this traditional breakfast cereal.  According to Quaker (the food company) their 100% Natural Oats & Honey Granola tastes “so great both hot and cold…have you wishing you could eat breakfast for every meal.” However, a closer examination at the nutritional breakdown of this “Natural” food will have you wishing the total opposite.  For years, I thought I was making healthy food choices, choosing granola as the “perfect” way to start my morning.  In retrospect this was not a healthy food choice, and a poor way to start my morning.  Lets take a look at the nutritional breakdown.  Notice the total calories in just ½ cup serving (232 calories), total fat (9.6 grams), and sugar (13.34 grams). Think this is bad? Your darn right!

Granola does not have to be unhealthy. In fact, I eat it almost every day. I sprinkle a few spoonfuls on top of my oatmeal every morning. It adds a nice delicious flavor and crunchy bite to my oats. If you’re going to eat granola, why not make your own? I have tried out tons of different recipes and have found this to be the best tasting, and best in nutrition. I got this recipe from the Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno. Her recipe book is unbelievable. I would highly recommend purchasing this book for more eat clean recipes.

Dry Ingredients  (You can buy all these ingredients at the bulk barn)

1 cup organic rye flakes

1 cup organic oat flakes (rolled oats)

1 cup organic kamut flakes

1 cup organic wheat flakes

1 cup raw, sliced, unsalted almonds

½ cup unsalted sunflower seeds

¼ cup sesame seeds

Coating Mixture Ingredients:

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ cup olive oil

1 tsp best-quality vanilla

¼ cup organic honey

At the End

½ cup sultana raisins

½ cup dried cranberries

Preparation:

Preheat over to 300 F. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients until evenly distributed. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, place all coating mixture ingredients. Gently warm contents and stir until honey is dissolved.

Pour liquid coating mixture over dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Using a large wooden spoon or clean bare hands mix well until all ingredients are coated.

Spread granola onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Baking time is 40 minutes, buy you can’t walk away from the oven. You need to stir the granola every so often with wooden spoon so everything gets nicely toasted.

Transfer baked granola to a cooling rack and sprinkle with raisins and cranberries (or other dried fruit- I use chopped dates). Let cool completely. When cool, transfer to an airtight container.  Keeps in your cereal cupboard for one week. You can freeze it too! I usually 4x the recipe and freeze in airtight bags.

Makes 7 Cups of cereal

Nutritional value per one-cup serving

Calories 340

Calories from Fat 140

Protein 12 g

Carbs 41 g

Dietary Fiber 8g

Sugars 1 g

Fat 15 g

Sodium 14 mg 

Pour 1 cup of Skim milk, over 1 cup of Granola, and serve for breakfast.  This will fuel your body properly and keep you full for hours. Enjoy :-)

“I have not been to the gym once this week”

We all get busy with life and sometimes neglect our gym routine.  We may miss one day, several days, or even a whole week.  Sometimes we don’t exercise because we are too busy (or think we are), stressed, tired, sick, traveling, or just not motivated.  These are all legit reasons for not attending, but also legit reasons for attending.  If you are stressed, or too busy, exercise can relieve a lot of these tensions.  Regardless your reason for not exercising, do not get bent out of shape. I can guarantee your fitness and weight will remain the same.  If you are committed to a healthy lifestyle (exercising and eating properly 90% of the time) your period away from the gym (even if it is a week) will not hurt you. 

When it comes to exercise and nutrition we get stuck in the mindset of “all or nothing.”  When it comes to diet, we think that we have to eliminate all bad foods and deprive ourselves of things we enjoy.  When it comes to exercise, we think that if we miss a few days, all of our hard work has been wasted.  During this time we generally feel guilty, stressed, and disappointed in ourselves.  This is the problem with the “all or nothing mindset.” In order to learn from these experiences we need to do two thing.

1^st – Move away from the “all or nothing mindset.” I am guilty of this mindset myself.  However, If we think we are going to exercise everyday for the rest of our lives, we are setting ourselves up for failure. We need to recognize that this is an impossible expectation. Life gets busy and sometimes we fall of the bandwagon.  But that’s alright, this is what makes us human.  In order to move away from this mindset, we need to recognize that life does get in the way.  Our lifestyle of health is a lifestyle.  If we do not practice this lifestyle for a week, it is not the end of the world.  In my experience, I have found it’s all about mindset.  You tend to think your hard work has been a wasted, but reality – your still in the exact same shape even after a week of eating poorly and not exercising.  If I do fall short of my fitness goals, I see this as a vacation for my body.  I approach the next week with a Spartan attitude. I put in some extra time at the gym and monitor my diet closely.  I work hard for the next week, knowing that my body is well rested, and ready to be challenged. 

2^nd – We need to learn from our experiences.  If we neglect our gym routine, we need to explore the reasons why.  This will allow us to be more successful in the future. If we miss exercise because we are too busy, perhaps we need to reexamine our priorities. Leaning from our past is the key to achieving success in the future.

Final note! Your commitment to health is a lifestyle.  If you are 25 years old and you plan on living well into your 80’s, this is a 55-year period.  I think it stands to reason that missing one week at the gym will not hurt you in the long run.  As long as you’re committed 90% of the time – You are on the right track! 

Should I eat before going to Bed?

My short response is, Yes – That’s only if you are hungry!!! If there is other motivation behind eating (being board, stressed, etc) I would recommend skipping a pre-bedtime snack.  We need to listen to our bodies and fuel it when we are hungry.  There is nothing worse then going to bed hungry.  I usually eat a small snack about an hour and half before going to sleep.  I usually eat 1/3 cup oatmeal with a ½ cup egg whites, toped with yogurt and cinnamon for flavor.  The combination of complex carbohydrates (oats), lean protein (egg whites), and yogurt is just under 250 calories.  This small snack is filling and keeps me full throughout the night. 

If you do eat before bed, try and keep this meal smaller and higher in protein.  Do not eat ice cream or other deserts.  If you are going to indulge, do this during the afternoon, so your body can try and burn this off during the day.  Eating carbohydrates (carbs are converted to energy; excess carbs are stored as fat) before bed is not very useful.  You do not need this food source (energy) when you are sleeping.  What you do need, when sleeping is more protein.  Protein helps repair damaged muscle and tissues that breakdown during exercise.  This is primary role of protein.  Eating protein before bed will ensure your body repairs itself overnight.  This is not to say eating carbs before bed will make you fat.  As I mentioned, I eat oatmeal 1.5 hours before going to sleep.  However, this is a complex carbohydrate that I pair with protein.  This helps regulate blood sugar levels.  I am also very active and have a high metabolism.  If I do not eat before bed (1.5 hours before), I usually wake-up throughout the night hungry. 

If you do feel the urge to eat before bed, try and make a smart choice.  I recommend the following bedtime snacks. Try and eat these (if you need to) an hour before bedtime.

ü     Fat-free cottage cheese with a handful of raspberries

ü    Oatmeal with protein powder

ü    Egg whites served with a few slices of tomatoes

ü    1 apple with 1Tbsp of natural peanut butter

ü    Smoothie made with rice milk, or soy milk, mixed with berries   and protein powder

ü    ½ cup yogurt & ½ cup cottage cheese

Making Blogging worthwhile

Since starting my blog in December I have received formative feedback along the way.  People have told me about their success with weight loss, triumph finding physical activities they enjoy, and I have seen first hand people making changes in their daily lives.  I have seen people carrying cooler bags and strategically planning their meals in advance.  I support all of these changes! I am proud of everyone who has vowed to make healthy lifestyle changes. Even if that change is small, we all need to start somewhere.  We can’t expect to change overnight.  Change is a process that we must practice everyday.  It is something we must work towards.

I would like to share some feedback I have received since starting my blog.  Your comments and e-mails of recent success makes blogging worthwhile.  Thanks for sharing :-)

“When I was thinking what to eat after I ate my dinner, I was thinking something else, fruitcake, but then I thought…I will try the apple, with the low fat cool whip, and I did enjoy it. The crumble urge still is there, but I do know what I have to do, and like you, when I do treat myself, I will do it in moderation – I hope LoL”

“I have spent many years and much $$$$ getting educated in the field of health and nutrition and at times I have even lived it. I have tried to keep up with current trends and have investigated almost all of the “tried and true” weight loss clinics. I have determined that bottom line for these organizations is $$$$$$$$. I have certainly contributed to their collective cause. Having said that I do give some credit to their efforts. The most important thing I’ve learned in my time is that nothing ever really changes.... you might say.... there is nothing new under the sun. Fruits and vegetables, grains and nuts and seeds have always been the best choices. All we need to do to prove that is to make these choices habit. I have always known it but was so easily distracted with “life.” That’s another thing I learned...in order to get those good habits to a point where they are second nature we need to be a little selfish. I don’t think I can come up with any more excuses. My time is pretty much my own now so out of need to get healthy and start feeling my best I have decided to go for it. I have even decided to start moving more. I am not a physical person, which I think you probably already guessed. I am determined to do what you recommended in your blog and that is to find an activity that “I enjoy” and do it regularly.”

“So you know, yesterday was 22 visits in January to Curves, and 9.26 lbs for the month!  Not bad for baby steps.  My jeans are actually too big now, and my tops are much looser and more comfortable.”

Learning from Life

We all make mistakes. This is what makes us human.  The mistakes we make should not go unrecognized.  We should look at these mistakes as a learning opportunity.  If we are honest with ourselves we can learn a great deal about ourselves.  All to often we are not honest with ourselves and make decisions that do not reflect us as individuals.  We do what other people want.  We sacrifice our core values to satisfy others.  We loose sight of the most important things in our lives.  We loose sight of our core values. I guess this is what makes us human.  However, if we can learn from these mistakes, keep our core values central, we will be less likely to repeat these actions in the near future.  In order to avoid making poor choices, sometimes we need to be selfish.  According to Dr. Seuss, you need to “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”  It is so true – those who mind don’t matter.  They should see your uniqueness and understand this is who you are.  So my advice, “be who you are and do what you do.” Only when you "do what you do, will you be who you are."