weight loss Archives - Nutrition Pair

Get on Track for Successful Health Change in the New Year!

January 8, 2016 By John Lamberson Leave a Comment

Hopefully, Achieve Your Goals- St Francis you’ve been able to keep those resolutions! Many times we start to falter as we move deeper into January and February. We often have a tough time making and maintaining change. Why? It doesn’t have to be that way! Things change every day. We are just not always aware of the changes going on around us. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West day after day. What’s different about the rising and setting of the sun? The time is different. It never rises and sets at exactly the same each day! We just don’t perceive the difference until it hits us how dark it is at 4:30 pm on the Winter Solstice. The gradual change makes it more difficult to distinguish the changes. (Take heart, the sun shines a little longer each day now!)

Think about the changes you’ve been wanting to make in your life. Do you expect the change to happen immediately or are you prepared to slowly evolve into a newer version of yourself? We tend to start our change process with a New Years Resolution. But why do we wait until the New Year to make changes? It was Buddha that said, “Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” Every day we are given a opportunity to make a change in our lives. The change can be big or small but every change we make will impact us some how. To get the most out of the changes you want to make, be sure to have a plan to help you make and maintain those changes fro the long term. Resolutions don’t have to be all or nothing. It’s not a pass-fail game. If you start with the end in mind, this can help figure out what actions steps you’ll need to complete to reach your goal. It’s important to have a goal BUT, it’s more important to to break that goal down into manageable steps. We like to use the SMART Step System to help clients find change success. You may have heard about the SMART System:

S: Specific ~ Be specific about what you are going to do. It’s not enough to say you are going to eat healthier or ex If you always do what you always did 1.2016 ercise more. Specify what that means to you. How do you define eating healthier or exercising more?

M: Measurable ~ You want to see how often you are doing or not doing something. If part of your healthier eating plan was to include more fruit, how many pieces a day did you want to eat?

A: Achievable or Action-Oriented ~ This is getting you to take the steps necessary to meet your overall goal. Break the bigger goal down into smaller components that you can work on each day. You can also use the “A” to represent Accountability. Being accountable to someone can help drive you when you feel like giving up. Find a person that will have a positive impact on your drive towards your goal and, if you’re comfortable, share your goal and your action step you plan to use to reach them.

R: Realistic ~ Important area here! We are not saying choose an easy task that won’t cause you much stress. What we are saying is that we need to be able to meet and exceed our action step and keep moving forward. You want to stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone. We often work with clients that want to lose weight. They would like to lose 20 pounds in a month. While that is possible, it is typically not probable, nor is it healthy! You can lose that 20 pounds but it may take a little longer than 30 days!

T: Time Driven or Target Date: Set a date to accomplish your action step. If your
goal is to workout more often, say 4 times a week, choose an exercise, choose the time of day and the days of the week. Doing so will help you better visualize how and when you will accomplish your step. This can also help you overcome potential barriers that may keep you from finishing that action step.

So take control of each and every day! Use it to help you move forward with your plan. It may be of help to write down what it is you want to change and why that change will be helpful to you. Think about what it is that motivates you to make that change. Make that motivation a personal priority for you. And if you have a hard time staying on track, remember, there is no failure but opportunities to find out what doesn’t work for us. So try something new or different! Each new day gives us a new beginning! Here’s to a Happy & Healthy New Year!

“It’s Your Health. It’s Your Life. Make That Change!”

~John

And the Winner is…..

January 19, 2015 By John Lamberson Leave a Comment

I know it may be a little late to weigh in on the diet debate since we’ve already made it half-way through the “Diet Month” of January! However, US News and World Report once again tabbed the DASH Diet as the Best Overall Diet in their 2015 Review. Keep in mind, the DASH Plan was originally designed to help lower blood pressure. DASH actually stands for Dietary Approaches for Stopping Hypertension. The main emphasis with the DASH Plan is to increase intakes of fruits and vegetables while choosing lean protein sources, such as fish, chicken breast or the leanest cuts of beef or pork. Although it was not developed for weight loss, it has shown that weight loss is a side effect of following this plan. What is reassuring is that this Meal Plan is a healthy alternative that does not require any exotic foods or recipes. It is a safe way to eat that will help you meet your daily nutritional needs and help you achieve better health. We believe in the DASH Plan and often work with our clients to adopt this meal plan as part of their daily intake. Many of the foods included in this plan can also be beneficial in helping to reduce chronic inflammation associated with eating higher sodium and higher fat meals. Chronic inflammation has been identified as a risk factor in developing heart disease and diabetes. You can find out more about the DASH Plan and start making the changes that can help you get healthier and feel better! Remember, you hold the keys to better health in your hands!

It’s Your Health. It’s Your Life. Make That Change!

~John

Breakfast Smoothie

October 23, 2014 By Angie Lamberson Leave a Comment

No matter how crazy your mornings are, don’t skip breakfast! Eating breakfast lowers our risk of Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Try this quick & easy breakfast smoothie that can even be made before you go to sleep. Kid tested & kid approved too!

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 cup frozen fruit: blueberries, strawberries, blackberries or pineapple (or a combination)

1/3 package silken tofu

2 cups non-fat milk or vanilla soy milk

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

3 T wheat germ

1 T ground flax seeds (optional)

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve. Makes 4 servings.

Tip: Except for the banana, this recipe can be made the night prior and put in the refrigerator. In the morning, add the banana and blend. Kids love it too!

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving Size: 1 Cup

Calories: 180

Total Fat: 4 g

Saturated Fat: 1 g

Trans Fats: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 50 mg

Carbohydrates: 28 g

Dietary Fiber: 5 g

Sugars: 18 g

Protein: 9 g

It’s Your Health. It’s Your Life. Make That Change!

photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/topsynette/7788355738/

A little won’t hurt…or will it?

May 23, 2014 By John Lamberson Leave a Comment

As I was checking out of the grocery store the other day, a display near the register caught my attention. It was an end of aisle snack display. With a 75 cent price tag, I’m sure they get picked up easily and without much thought. As you know, I love to check the Nutrition Facts Labels. So I had to take a look at the Little Debbie display of donuts, Honey Buns, Ho Ho’s, and other sweet snacks. I will always check the most important number first: SERVING SIZE. Fortunately, the serving size for all of the items was one whole package. Knowing that my kids would prefer the donuts, I picked up the Chocolate Frosted Mini Donuts. With six donuts in a package, I could see each child downing one package a piece.

Let’s look at the Nutrition Facts: 1 package, of 6 mini donuts, provides 430 calories with 26 grams of Total Fat and 15 grams of Saturated Fat. This product also provides 340 mg of Sodium.

So what does that mean? It depends. Depends on your nutritional needs and your health history! To give you an idea of where your needs may fall, women generally require between 1500-1900 calories a day. Total Fat should range between about 50 to 65 grams and Saturated Fat no more than 8 to 10 grams. Men require around 1800-2400 calories a day. Total Fat should range between 60-80 grams and Saturated Fat between 10 to 14 grams. All Americans would benefit from keeping Sodium intake below 2000 mg each day.

Keep in mind, these are just general guidelines. To find out your individualized needs, see a Registered Dietitian and have them perform a Nutrition Evaluation.

If we use the guidelines above, eating just one serving of these mini donuts will exceed the daily requirements of Saturated Fat for both men and women and significantly add to the Total Fat for both as well.

The 340 mg of Sodium accounts for 17% of your daily intake total.

If you ate just one of the six donuts, you would still get 70 calories, 4 grams of Total Fat, 2.5 grams of Saturated Fat, and 55 mg of Sodium. You can see how the calories and fat add up quickly.

Remember, this is a snack food, not a meal. So if you were to eat it and later had a meal, your fat and saturated fats would increase as well. These numbers are significant. I often have clients tell me that they are not eating much, yet cannot lose the weight they thought they should be losing. Eating small amounts of foods like those shown here can make it difficult to reach your nutrition goals.

People often talk that all foods are ok in moderation. That is true. However, if we are not sure what moderation is or we are not mindful of the amounts and types of foods we eat each day, we will find ourselves getting into nutritional trouble.

So as you get ready to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend, be aware of your food AND beverage choices! Those liquid calories can add up quickly also. Make sure to add some fruits and vegetables to your meals, drink plenty of water and truly follow the concept of moderation. You’ll feel better and your body will thank you!

It’s Your Health. It’s Your Life. Make That Change!

~John

Take the Complexity out of Nutrition

September 6, 2013 By John Lamberson Leave a Comment

Is nutrition a complex science? Some would answer with a resounding , “Yes!”. How would I answer that question? I’m not sure. Nutrition can be very complex. When we start talking about metabolism, nutrient breakdown, energy production, the Krebs cycle, the thermogenic effect of food, nutrient needs, and so forth, things get complex quickly. But what we’re talking about there is different from what most people think about when it comes to nutrition. Most of the time, the thought of nutrition focuses on fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. We can even throw sodium and fiber into the mix. Normally, we don’t think about what makes up our foods or how food plays a role in our health. We simply eat. We eat foods that taste good, that we are familiar with, that are accessible. When we are hungry, we eat. (We also frequently eat when we’re not hungry but that’s a different story!).

What I don’t like is how nutrition has been turned into this complex monster. Some of this was done intentionally, some not. As we continue to learn more about the relationship of food and how it interacts with our bodies, complexity will continue to be a part of the subject matter. We cannot let the complexity in the science of nutrition impact us in a negative way when it comes to our food choices.

Take the exotic fruit, the Acai Berry. You remember that one, right? It popped onto the scene and people were paying more than $1.50 an ounce for the juice from this berry. Some people are still paying close to that amount now. We can’t get enough of the supplements and so called “super” foods. From TV personalities like, Dr. Oz to Oprah to the Doctors to everyday people like beauticians, personal trainers to friends and family, it seems each one is trying to out do the other by touting the latest and greatest health-promoting item.

This is where the complexity issue really starts to hit. There is no doubt that there is a tremendous amount of misinformation, misunderstanding and confusion associated with nutrition. Marketers of supplement products prey on that confusion. Pseudo-scientific wording with claims of weight loss, improved health, increased energy and metabolism with fat loss and muscle building properties makes it hard to turn away. We will eagerly pay money to try a pill claiming to cure our ills even though it has not gone through any type of rigorous testing. But, we don’t have to jump on the latest “super” food out there. We have easy access to “super” foods everyday, easily found in our local stores or gardens, that will help with weight loss, improve health, increase energy and all those other things advertisers claim their supplements promote.

I have been an advocate for eating more fruits and vegetables for a long time. The fruits and vegetables that grow in our own yards and fields provide us with the nutrients we need to help us get and stay healthy. The difference between those foods and the highly touted “super” foods is that the produce grown in our fields is not exotic sounding or newly discovered. Plus, the food grown in our yards or community is going to be richer in nutrients because it requires less processing and reaches our plates much quicker. The cost of growing foods in your yard is much less than that of the “exotic super food”!

There is no easy button to better health. But, better health does not have to be complex. It does take some planning and commitment. With many of our clients, our first goal is to get them to start adding just one piece of fruit to each meal. If they are dining out, we encourage them to take that fruit with them and eat it as a dessert. Change does not have to be difficult but we must have a plan to make sure we do what we need to do to get healthier. Take time to think about your health. For meal planning ideas, seek help from a Registered Dietitian. Be open to change and allow yourself to try new foods or new cooking techniques. Remember……

It’s Your Health. It’s Your Life. Make That Change!

~John

Get on Track for Successful Health Change in the New Year!

And the Winner is…..

Breakfast Smoothie

A little won’t hurt…or will it?

Take the Complexity out of Nutrition

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