Set the Bar - Then Fly Over It!

One of the best ways to get started on the footpath to better health is to set a goal, then fly past it on our way to something greater!

When we have an objective like Tough Mudder, a Spartan Race or the Edmonton Marathon, having a goal is the most effective way to start putting one foot in front of the other.  It helps to get us out the door on days we don’t feel like leaving the house.

Just wanting to lose weight and be fit isn’t always enough for us to get up and get after it.  Many of us need a goal - a starting line - something to work toward so that our fitness and weight loss targets are about more than looking and feeling good.  Feeling more alive and energetic is a great side effect, but we have to be careful about training based on our feelings, because our feelings don’t always serve our best interests.

So I would encourage you to make a goal for the month of April.  Set the bar and take a step to reach it.  Then another… then another… then one more!

Looking for a Diet? Try Real Food.

A recent study looked at several modern diets, some with devoted followings in popular culture, trying to understand out which one was the best.  These days it really is difficult to figure our which method of dieting is the best when much of the information is circulating in contradiction.  Everyone knows that what we eat is important, but just what is best for us to eat?

I found this article when a story about it in The Atlantic was re-tweeted by Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food.

While there are several books by celebrity authors advocating low carb, high protein, vegan angles etc, the study concluded that in reality, the truth of what we should be eating is very simple : "(a) diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants..."  This turns out to be our best shot at disease prevention and the promotion of good health.

If we eat food the way it was meant to be eaten and prepared (as naturally as possible), the whole concept of dieting really goes out the window.  We don't need to worry about what's been added to our food if we don't process it with stuff that shouldn't even be there in the first place.  

Michael Pollan had it right: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

The Four-leaf Smoothie

In honour of St. Patrick’s Day and my Irish heritage, I’m going to talk about a green nutritional trend that has been getting a lot of attention.  Green smoothies and juices are one way that people are choosing to take in their vegetables these days. And let’s be honest, as much as we may care about what we put into our bodies, it can be tough to creatively ingest several servings of broccoli, kale and spinach in one sitting.

 So here’s what my husband and I put in the blender many times during the week and share:

1)   A mitt-full of organic baby spinach

2)   A couple stems of organic baby kale

3)   A few stems of organic broccolette

4)   A few leaves of romaine

5)   2 mini cucumbers

6)   Half of an avocado

7)   2 organic bananas

8)   A spoonful of Greek yogurt

9)   A couple of blueberries

10)  Half a cup of orange juice

11)  Half a cup of almond milk

12)  Protein powder

13)  As much filtered water as needed for consistency

Any of these items can be substituted depending on what we feel like, or what’s in the fridge, but you get the idea.  Don’t be put off by the colour – it’s ‘magically delicious.’

Health in the Age of Video Games

Yesterday, I had the cool opportunity to visit a Junior High and talk about fitness to a gym full of students.  The engagement was great and everyone had a good time, but it made me think about how much we need teach the next generation some good habits for health.

Kids today have so many digital distractions: smartphones, video games, Internet etc.  Are the days of moving around outside and using imagination gone forever?  If not, we can at least say that the outdoors has some real competitors for our attention.

We can’t get rid of YouTube, iPhones or Xbox - technology is here to stay – and I’m as big a user of it as anybody.  So with a world full of technological convenience, why do some stay fit and others let their health fall by the wayside?

I think it comes down to education.  We need to teach the next generation why it’s important to move around, take some breaths of fresh air and eat more vegetables.  Convenience has become the enemy of health.  And when it comes to taking care of ourselves, we could all use a little discipline.

Diets Work?

Can you lose weight on a diet?

Yes.

Can you keep the weight off afterwards?

Well....

I was walking around a bookstore the other day and I noticed how many different diet books there are.  How can we keep it straight in our minds which plan we are supposed to follow?  Especially when the latest diet fads seem to contradict each other?

Low carb?  Low fat?  High fat?  No meat?  All meat?

The truth is when we shop for these books, we aren't looking for what works... we are looking for what works FAST!  Because we are sick of where our bodies are at, and we make an emotional decision that we need to change RIGHT NOW.

Don't get me wrong - this is a good place to be.  There is huge power in getting to the point in life where we know that something has to change. 

Diets work, but they are hard.  And they usually don't last.

So we could go on a diet and lose weight fast... or we can make a lasting change to our eating and exercise habits and never have to go on a diet again.

Drink Like a Fish

We aren't fishes - we don't live in the ocean - so are you tired yet, of hearing you should be drinking more water?  Well if you think of your body as being made of 60-70% of the stuff, do you think you've drank enough today?

So.... what does water do for us?  

It washes the toxins out of our vital organs.
It moves nutrients to where they need to be.
It regulates body temperature.
It helps us maintain a healthy weight.
It provides consistency for fluids such as blood and saliva.

An so forth....

If you think of running an engine with no oil - well that's about what happens to our bodies when we feel dehydrated.  The problem is, most of us wait until we are thirsty (aka dehydrated) before we start to put the water back in our system.

So... how much should we drink?

Experts recommend 30ml per 1 kg of body weight.  So a 83kg (183 lbs) male should drink about 2.5 litres per day.  A 65 kg female (145 lbs) should drink about 2 litres. 

If you need to jazz up the taste, add a little natural fruit juice.  There's nothing fishy about that!

Boiling Down the Raw-Food Diet

Organic, raw-food diets have been a bit of a trend lately.  It might be tempting to dismiss this methodology of meal planning as a fad, but it warrants some consideration.

Cooking kills bacteria, however heat can also destroy nutrients and break up some of the enzymes that exist naturally in the food.  Vitamin B and C in particular, are potential victims.  From a nutritional standpoint, eating foods in their natural state can offer a better nutritional value.  A potential challenge is finding the right proteins, so you will need to balance your legumes out with the right kind of nuts, seeds and plant-based proteins if you decide to stay away from cooking meat altogether. 

Organic shopping and organic food preparation can require an extra investment in terms of time and money - but this really does have to be seen as an investment. There are potentially big rewards in terms of health and wellness if we are intentional about what we put into our bodies.

If nothing else, by choosing to eat more raw foods, you could save money on electricity :)