New Year New YOU! - Tips to help you EAT RIGHT 2014!

Last weeks post was all about getting fit.  This week – eating right!
Like most people, you are probably making a goal to get more fit, eat better and improve your overall health.  To make this happen, you need to get specific.  How are you going to eat better?  
First of all you need a plan to eat right.  On your list of things to do – should be:

1.    Plan your meals
2.    Develop a grocery list for those meals
3.    Go to the store and buy those groceries
4.    Start packing and prepping all you can in advance.

Eating right requires planning and a little of bit of effort.  You need to be eating about 5 times a day to keep your blood sugar and energy levels stable and to avoid cravings and hunger.  I generally recommend Breakfast / snack / lunch / snack and then dinner.  Each meal should be around 500 calories and each snack between 100 and 200 calories.  Men may need more calories.

Focus on the quality of your calories!  You want to get the most NUTRITION BANG for your CALORIE BUCK! 
Focus on “clean” eating.  Clean eating is eating food as close to it’s natural state as possible.  For example you have an apple.  The apple is very clean.  Then you have apple sauce, not bad.  Then you have fried apple pie, not clean and too far from the tree!

Lean and Green!  Most meals should consist of a lean protein (like fish, chicken or eggs) and have green vegetables with it.  Think of mixed salad greens with grilled protein on top or grilled protein with steamed asparagus or broccoli on the side.  
Get your fruits and veggies in! Snacks should consist of fruit with some protein like yogurt or nuts.  Other options are veggies with some hummus.  These are great snacks.  Cottage cheese is good with fruit as well.

Starchy carbs – are good for you but limit to one serving per meal and focus on whole grains like brown or black rice, wild rice, quinoa, beans, and sweet potatoes or winter squashes.

Having trouble preparing all your meals?  It is ok to eat out be smart about it and do your research ahead of time.  Many of the options at restaurants that appear healthy can be some of the most calorie dense.  Make sure you know the information and use apps.  My favorite is Restaurant Nutrition – and can be used on iphone or droid.  It lists all the restaurants out there and contains all the nutritional information.  I always check it before I go to the restaurant so I have a plan before I get there.  For example, did you know that the Applebee’s Fried Chicken Salad has 1120 calories?  That is almost a days worth.  IN A SALAD!  The Grilled Chicken Caesar is over 800 calories.

You have to be educated and become a student of nutrition.  You can still enjoy your favorite foods, but in moderation.  I recommend being compliant and eating clean 90% of the time.  That will get you results you want and still have wiggle room.
Interested in learning more?  Contact Ally for more information on her meal planning classes and grocery store tours.

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Summer, Holiday Picnics and FUN! - Ally's Tips on how to enjoy without getting a spare tire!

Summer is a time filled with family, fun and vacations.  We should all be able to enjoy holidays and vacations without coming home with a spare tire around the mid section to worry about!

Here are some tips from Ally on how to minimize the battle of the bulge during summer cook outs, events and vacations!

Make a daily plan.

When on vacation, if it is the routine to eat dinner out, plan for this by having sensible breakfasts,  lunches and being active during the day.  Know the restaurants your frequent and order wisely by having meats grilled or baked and getting fresh steamed veggies on the side. Don’t forget to log your meals into Vitabot or even just on paper to avoid  calorie amnesia.  Logging and accountability is likely to make you think twice before indulging in huge portions or higher calorie options.

Plan and Pack for the Road Trip!

When we travel - I try to stick to on the go breakfast items.  You can get egg and english muffins at many fast food chains and that is much better than burgers and fries.  

Try to pack a healthy lunch of whole grain sandwiches and fruit for snacking.  Veggies sticks with snack pack hummus is also good road food.

Dried Fruit – Move past raising.  Try unsweetened apricots, pears, apples, papaya, and mango. Dried banana is also delicious, but avoid banana chips as these are cooked in oil and are high in saturated fat. 

Fresh fruit – Apples, oranges and grapes make the best traveling fruits as they don’t bruise easily, but if you plan on eating your fruit early in your journey try plums, pears or bananas as well. And of course, if you’re feeling extra hurried, you can buy pre-cut apples in bags!

Nuts & seeds –Nuts make a great snack for the road as they’re extremely filling. Raw nuts are your healthiest option, but roasted, unsalted nuts are also a good choice.

Baby carrots – Whether or not the rumor that these little guys are actually cut from full-size

carrots is true, a bag of baby carrots is a great snack-in-the-box food.

Peanut butter and pretzels– Take the jar or fill a mini plastic container. Ziploc a few mini-toasts or pretzels for dipping, and you’ve got a snack fit for any peanut-butter-nutter! Other nut butters like almond or cashew are also good.

Water – Avoid sugary sodas and bad for you diet drinks!  Freeze a few bottles of water and use that to keep your food cold.  

If you have to stop for lunch - BE SMART ABOUT IT!

Deli Wraps – Supermarket delis and salad bars provide a great way to grab a healthy and fast lunch.  Both Kroger and Publix have pre-made or made to order deli sandwiches and wraps.   

While at the HOTEL:

The free  breakfast can cause you to consume your whole day’s calories in one meal if you aren't careful.  Try the scrambled eggs and fruit with a whole grain english muffin.  Avoid the waffles, high sugar cereals and high carb bagels if you can.  

Water and coffee are your best choices.  Remember - don't drink your fruit - eat it!  Fruit juice is all sugar with none of the benefits of the whole fruit.

I really struggle with this because I love to hear what everyone else is ordering!  If you can - try o order first so you are not tempted to change your mind when others make their choices.

Share larger or more calorie-laden portions with others!  Portions are almost always big enough to share!  Save money too!

If you do want to splurge you can do so in moderation and with these tips to help you stay on track.  Most of all, don’t forget to use the vitabot to keep on track and download the app to your phone.  

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Lifestyle Changes One Step at a Time for Successful Changes!

I was presenting at an event on Saturday about healthy eating and how important it is to plan and prep for meals and snacks.  I was also thinking about how well my clients are doing on this particular issue.  

As a professional Lifestyle / Health Coach, we learn that is important to introduce change a little bit at a time.  When people try to completely overhaul their eating and exercise regime all at one time, they will eventually slip up and then feel as if they have failed and give up completely.  

What we have learned is, to introduce one small change at a time and let it develop into a habit - or a behavior - and then build on that success.  I find an effective first step for most people is packing healthy snacks and making sure those snacks are REAL FOOD (fruit or veggies with yogurt or hummus or nuts).  I believe that is a very good first step.  Snacks are important to keep hunger at bay, keep energy and blood sugar levels stable and set you on the right path for healthier meals.

I was thinking of this as I was listening to one of the speakers on the nutrition stage who stated that their clients are to cut out all processed foods, fast foods, anything not organic, wheat and dairy all at one time.  That may work for some, but research has demonstrated that is too difficult for most people and they end up feeling frustrated and giving up completely. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WANT!!!  

Research has also shown that focusing on changing one behavior at a time will is more effective.  Research also demonstrates that results will follow the behavior changes,  meaning pounds or inches lost, blood sugar reduction, lower cholesterol, etc. 

I believe the first step to a healthier lifestyle is to begin planning, prepping and packing healthy snacks.  This is a small change and easy to implement and quickly becomes habit.  I believe the second step is to begin planning, prepping and packing healthy lunches.  The less you eat out or rely on prepared foods, the more successful you will be.  The third step is to tackle dinners.  Basic cooking skills, shopping tips and knowing what staples to keep in your freezer, fridge and pantry will enable you to whip up delicious, nutritious meals in minutes.

Be sure to email AllyFitness to get on the list for the next "Simple, Healthy Meal Planning"  Workshop to be held in October.

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