Showing posts with label Ten Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ten Tips. Show all posts
Can You Resist the Holiday Binge?
Today's Holiday Breakfast at the Office
(I resisted, stuck to my Nature's Path Optimum organic cereal)
Happy Friday Blogsters. I am enjoying my salad-of-a-lunch on this cold and blistery afternoon. You would think I would go for some soup, but after a week-long flirtation with the holiday goodies my body is craving some serious greens. I write this and wonder how are all of you faring this season? Are you being good or are you being bad?Some ravaged See's Chocolates up above (yes, I did have some).
December is the danger month and if you can make it through this time of year you can make it anytime of the year! Unfortunately, it is normal to gain some extra poundage around the holidays. If you can keep it under 5 lbs (or no lbs), it will be a lot easier to shake off come January.
Some Candied Pecans sitting around in our office
(AMAZING)
So here are five quick (no brainer) tips to help you avoid the holiday binge (because sometimes it's hard for me to end a post without a tip or two)!
1) Make sure you eat a balanced breakfast (as well as other meals) to avoid excess hunger throughout the day.
2) Give into your sweet tooth. One or two goodies will not kill you. If you do not satisfy intense cravings, they can easily escalate and cause big time repercussions later i.e. when your boss brings in her annual batch of mint chocolate brownies.
3) Hit the gym a little more frequently than you normally would. I know! You are soo busy this time of year. I am just saying...this will give you a little leeway.
4) Drink lots of water.
5) Hold your liquor. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. If you go overboard it is going to be stored as fat.
Share your binge-control secrets here! Also, what's the one holiday goodie that gets you? For me it is my mom's black and white cookies that come filled with raspberry jam!
Someone just dropped this off at my desk!!
A halved avocado!
Who do these people think I am?
The Skinny on Health & Happiness
Whoever said that you have to be skinny to be healthy was telling a big fat farce. Everyone is designed differently and we are supposed to come in various shapes and sizes. What would life be like if we only had skinny-minis walking around? Pretty damn boring if you ask me! If we could start to focus a little more on our health rather than our weight (which would ultimately lead to a gradual loss of extra lbs) we would be more than a wee bit better off.
The road to optimal health begins with accepting yourself. Once there, the next step would involve setting achievable goals as they relate to your physical and emotional well being. Physical and emotional health work hand-in-hand and if one is out of whack it can mess things up, big time, which can lead to over-eating, depression and general unhappiness.
Here are ten quick tips in no particular order that will get the ball rolling towards a more balanced, happy and healthy you!
1) Surround yourself with good people; friends and family you love and trust.
2) Drink more water. It cleanses your body, clears your mind, and helps to ward off cravings.
3) Get physical. If hitting the gym is uninspiring, find creative ways to be active i.e. trapeze school, dance lessons, kayaking, wall-climbing etc.
4) Eat less meat. May I suggest a flexitarian diet? By this I mean incorporating more plant-based foods and less animal protein. You will likely find you have more energy and feel less "weighed down."
5) Love your job! If not, take steps to find a new one. 6) Go organic with dairy products. Non-organic milk is loaded with hormones, primarily estrogen, which certainly does not do a body good.
7) Find "you" time. It is important to relax/decompress at least once a day. It may be as simple as reading, cooking or playing with your pet.
Pet Therapy (Pardon the outfit!) -->
8) Eliminate chemicals/preservatives and highly processed foods from your diet i.e. high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and artificial sweeteners. Studies show HFCS interrupts the hormone signals that tell us to stop eating even when we are full!
9) Soak up some sun and get your vitamin D. The U.S population is deficient in vitamin D and just 15 minutes in the sun can give you 15,000 IUS!
10) Allow yourself to be bad. Indulge in a decadent dessert or treat yourself to an expensive gift. It is in moments like this that we appreciate our "good" behavior.
Thanksgiving Detox
Oh sadness, the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday has come to a close and now we are left with only memories and muffin tops. The snug fitting jeans and the extra rolls make for an uncomfortable Monday as we get back to our regular weekly routine. It is time for a little detox to cleanse our systems and get ready for another holiday hit coming down the road. Together we can de-puff our bodies, clear our food-fogged minds and reclaim the fit of our denim! Here are ten easy-to-follow tips that make detoxing easy to incorporate into your diet, starting right now!
1) Focus on eating raw, fresh foods. By this I mean mostly fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies have a high water content and are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. Most importantly, fruits and veggies do not have chemicals, preservatives (go organic!!) or fat-- all substances our bodies need a break from after such heavy eating.
2) Drink water! Aim to drink room temperature water as it is easier for our bodies to assimilate. Cold ice water can shock the system. Add a slice of lemon to your glass, which has an alkalizing effect in the body. As for the amount of H2O you should be drinking, divide your body weight in half and that number in ounces is the amount you should be consuming.
3) Hit the gym. Not only will this help burn some of the extra calories consumed this holiday, but you will sweat out nasty toxins and speed up digestion for a faster removal of, um, the waste that is sitting inside our bodies. Gross, I know...sorry!
4) Consider a shot of wheatgrass. Wheatgrass is a superfood that is EXTREMELY nutrient dense and cleanse-worthy. Just one shot glass is the equivalent of eating 2-3 lbs of vegetables!! How is that for healthy? Wheatgrass also oxygenates and purifies the blood and by doing so it removes any stagnant toxins sitting around. In addition to cleansing and feeding the body, wheatgrass has an energizing effect and reduces cravings! Check out your local juice bar or health food store and give it a whirl.
5) Avoid extreme foods. By this I mean, foods with a lot of sugar, salt, dairy, fat and caffiene. This is all in the name of giving your body a rest from the heavy eating that took place over the course of Thanksgiving and the leftover days that followed. Focus on incorporating low-fat and natural versions of the foods you normally eat. Aim to get the fiber you need, which is about 26 grams a day for women and 30 grams a day for men.
6) Drink green tea. Green tea is loaded with polyphenols and antioxidants, which will help boost your immunity and neutralize free radicals inside your body. Not to mention green tea is a known metabolism booster.
7) Don't eat foods late at night. Choose a cut-off time that works for you, but it should be 2-3 hours before you hit the hay. This is the amount of time it takes for food to go through the initial digestion process. Also, night time/sleepy time is when our bodies repair and recover after a long day of work, so having an empty stomach allows your body one less chore and makes over-night recovery a lot easier.
8) If you can, go vegetarian for a week. Give your body time to recover from the turkey and tryptophan coma. Meat is a heavy, protein-dense food and it requires more time and energy for your body to digest. Treat your body and digestive tract to a rest.
9) Floss. I hope you floss on a daily basis, but if you don't please, please, please make sure you floss this week. You do not want the food to settle and embed itself into your gums. It is here, through the gums that bacteria can seep into the body. Not to mention, unflossed gums contribute to gum disease and halitosis -- permanent bad breath!
10) Eat garlic! Incorporate garlic into your diet as a seasoning (or if you wish, eat it raw). Garlic helps your liver produce enzymes that detoxify the bacteria in your digestive tract.
So there you have it -- tips and foods for you to consider as you aim to cleanse your body and rid that inescapable feeling of Thanksgiving fullness. Now that one holiday has come to an end there are more just around the corner. So use this week to de-puff and de-fog in prep of the holiday eating that lies ahead. Cheers!
1) Focus on eating raw, fresh foods. By this I mean mostly fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies have a high water content and are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. Most importantly, fruits and veggies do not have chemicals, preservatives (go organic!!) or fat-- all substances our bodies need a break from after such heavy eating.
2) Drink water! Aim to drink room temperature water as it is easier for our bodies to assimilate. Cold ice water can shock the system. Add a slice of lemon to your glass, which has an alkalizing effect in the body. As for the amount of H2O you should be drinking, divide your body weight in half and that number in ounces is the amount you should be consuming.
3) Hit the gym. Not only will this help burn some of the extra calories consumed this holiday, but you will sweat out nasty toxins and speed up digestion for a faster removal of, um, the waste that is sitting inside our bodies. Gross, I know...sorry!
4) Consider a shot of wheatgrass. Wheatgrass is a superfood that is EXTREMELY nutrient dense and cleanse-worthy. Just one shot glass is the equivalent of eating 2-3 lbs of vegetables!! How is that for healthy? Wheatgrass also oxygenates and purifies the blood and by doing so it removes any stagnant toxins sitting around. In addition to cleansing and feeding the body, wheatgrass has an energizing effect and reduces cravings! Check out your local juice bar or health food store and give it a whirl.
5) Avoid extreme foods. By this I mean, foods with a lot of sugar, salt, dairy, fat and caffiene. This is all in the name of giving your body a rest from the heavy eating that took place over the course of Thanksgiving and the leftover days that followed. Focus on incorporating low-fat and natural versions of the foods you normally eat. Aim to get the fiber you need, which is about 26 grams a day for women and 30 grams a day for men.
6) Drink green tea. Green tea is loaded with polyphenols and antioxidants, which will help boost your immunity and neutralize free radicals inside your body. Not to mention green tea is a known metabolism booster.
7) Don't eat foods late at night. Choose a cut-off time that works for you, but it should be 2-3 hours before you hit the hay. This is the amount of time it takes for food to go through the initial digestion process. Also, night time/sleepy time is when our bodies repair and recover after a long day of work, so having an empty stomach allows your body one less chore and makes over-night recovery a lot easier.
8) If you can, go vegetarian for a week. Give your body time to recover from the turkey and tryptophan coma. Meat is a heavy, protein-dense food and it requires more time and energy for your body to digest. Treat your body and digestive tract to a rest.
9) Floss. I hope you floss on a daily basis, but if you don't please, please, please make sure you floss this week. You do not want the food to settle and embed itself into your gums. It is here, through the gums that bacteria can seep into the body. Not to mention, unflossed gums contribute to gum disease and halitosis -- permanent bad breath!
10) Eat garlic! Incorporate garlic into your diet as a seasoning (or if you wish, eat it raw). Garlic helps your liver produce enzymes that detoxify the bacteria in your digestive tract.
So there you have it -- tips and foods for you to consider as you aim to cleanse your body and rid that inescapable feeling of Thanksgiving fullness. Now that one holiday has come to an end there are more just around the corner. So use this week to de-puff and de-fog in prep of the holiday eating that lies ahead. Cheers!
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