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I CAN’T EAT THAT! – BALANCING HEALTHY EATING AND NORMAL LIFE

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Original post can be found at: https://www.p28foods.com/i-cant-eat-balancing-healthy-eating-and-normal-life

There are countless challenges and roadblocks which can derail us from our efforts to follow a healthy meal plan, especially when we are faced with the indulgent foods that emerge during the holidays. Whether you are a seasoned competitor who is accustomed to following a strict meal plan, someone who wants to adopt healthier eating habits, or battling excess body weight, it can be very difficult to pass up regular restaurant meals, fast foods, and holiday treats. However, it IS possible to stay on track even in the face of such temptations.

The first and most important thing is to remember your GOAL, whether it is improved health, weight loss, or getting into contest shape for an upcoming event. Your goal should serve as a tangible mark which you are aiming for. I always tell my patients and weight management clients to post images of people who possess the type of physique they covet in a prominent place (such as a refrigerator) so that they can be reminded of their specific goal.

Here are other effective strategies to help you follow a healthy meal plan:

Keep forbidden foods out of the kitchen so that the temptation to eat something unhealthy is removed. This means that you need to avoid purchasing chips, crackers, cookies, ice cream, packaged pasta dinners and whatever other unhealthy foods you tend to gravitate towards. If unhealthy foods are not in your kitchen cupboards, you won’t be tempted to grab them and indulge.

Prep your meals at home beforehand. Meal prep can be tedious but it is well worth it when you consider the control you will have over what goes into your body. You can control ingredients, cooking method and portion sizes and maximize your chances of maintaining healthy eating habits. Once you have prepared your food, you can store single serving sizes in individual storage containers which are easy to pack when you need them.

Invest in a great food cooler bag. Trust me, you NEED one of these!

Make sure your meal plan is balanced. The best meal plans have lean protein, healthy fats and slow digesting carbohydrates. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that all fat is bad! You need certain healthy fats to maintain normal cellular function.

Avoid fast food restaurants. Fast food restaurants (and most restaurants for that matter) feature extremely unhealthy options which can completely destroy your efforts at reaching your health and fitness goals. You will also save a ton of money by avoiding the calorie and saturated fat laden options found at such establishments.

Don’t cave in to peer pressure. I don’t know what it is about friends and family, but it seems like they get some twisted thrill out of convincing others to eat forbidden foods. If you find yourself in such a situation, you need to ask yourself if it is worth unraveling your healthy eating habits in order to appease a relative or buddy. I have heard, “Awww, come on, a couple of bites won’t hurt ya!” from people who usually mean well but who are unaware of the psychological torture they might be putting me through. I honestly don’t want to be pressured into consuming something that will make me feel guilty or will not digest well . It isn’t worth it!

Craving Protein

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eating meatEver since I can remember, I have been a protein craver. As a child, I looked forward to consuming beef, lamb, chicken, tuna, eggs and turkey. While other children were begging for sweets, I would happily gnaw on a lamb shoulder bone at dinner, never thinking that dessert was something I was supposed to want after I had filled my belly with meat. I regarded chocolate as something other kids liked, but never went nuts trying to get to it. The sweet treats I preferred were always fruity and sugary, like fruit gems and Sweet Tarts, yet I never really craved those items either.

It’s funny to me how people just assume that women are carb cravers. Not this woman! As an adult, my protein cravings are stronger than ever. When I say that protein food sources are the foundation of my daily diet, I mean it. Given the choice between pasta, sweets or meat, I will pretty much always go for the meat. A common scenario is for me to suddenly crave chicken breast or egg whites while I am doing work on my computer at night. This can hit me like a ton of bricks in as little as 30 minutes after I have eaten my last meal. My body also responds very well to a high protein intake so I make sure to eat a considerable amount for my size (currently between 150 to 200 grams per day).

Even before I began competing, I was never the type of person who would go on a donut run or make huge bowls of pasta. However, the one carbohydrate source which was a staple in my diet was glutinous white rice, but it was always accompanied by a solid protein source. The primary reasons why I kept this in my diet were 1. my Japanese heritage almost required an adherence to daily consumption of white rice, and 2. it stretched my food budget. Once I began competing, sticky white rice was banished from my kitchen. I literally did a sweep through every cupboard in my kitchen and threw out every single white and processed food I owned, then never looked back.

I have seen patients, clients and friends who had previously craved carbs who, when bumping up their protein intake and cutting out sugars and processed foods, suddenly began to appreciate and crave protein. Without getting into the physiology behind such a dramatic shift, suffice it to say that protein rich diets can indeed do a body good.

Protein Intake and The Fountain Of Youth

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protein sourcesPeople are more intent these days than ever before on maintaining youthfulness and optimal health, especially if those benefits can be obtained naturally and safely. It turns out that one of the best ways to naturally boost the body’s ability to combat aging is to consume adequate protein. When protein is consumed, a steady stream of glucose is released via glucagon without spiking insulin levels in the body. Conversely, a diet low in protein but high in carbohydrates results in high levels of insulin, which over the course of time can result in widespread inflammation, diabetes, and obesity.

Whey protein in particular is a remarkable protein source for people of all ages, but is especially beneficial in older people. It is highly absorbable, contains all 18 amino acids, immunoglobulins and lactoferrin, and all the building blocks for a powerful antioxidant called glutathione. Glutathione deficiency is linked to Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, asthma and cancer, and because of this, it is considered a key substance in combating the process of aging. Natural glutathione production in the body declines with age, but with whey protein on board, the amino acids necessary for glutathione production are supplied to the body and optimal levels can be attained as a result.

Though athletes and competitors are aware of the health and muscle building benefits of whey protein, I am astonished by how it is not utilized nearly enough by the average person. All too often I see patients who regularly skip meals and eat fast foods and other processed foods, and who assume that whey protein is only for athletes. If you are an average person who wants to change poor eating habits and optimize cellular function, then you need to boost protein intake and add whey as one of your protein sources. You are doing yourself a disservice if you insist on eating junk carbs like simple sugars and processed foods, skipping meals, and consuming insufficient protein, especially if you are over the age of 35 and trying to fend off disease and aging.

No Time To Cook? Use A Slow Cooker!

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crock-potThere is a funny story about how I acquired my first slow cooker, and one which resulted in some resistance to using it for a number of years. I was living with a boyfriend who thought it would be a brilliant idea to give me a Crock Pot for Christmas that year. I am sure many of you know what a faux pas that was! I was so pissed that I refused to even unpack the item for several months, then finally relented and used it. I actually loved the convenience it afforded me, especially since I was expected to cook dinner for my man on a nightly basis. I made stews, soups, chicken, jambalaya, and didn’t have to make much of an effort to create these wonderful home-cooked meals.

Thankfully my resistance to using a slow cooker has passed! Whenever I have no time to broil or grill chicken or beef, I use my slow cooker and am always rewarded with moist, perfectly cooked meat with minimal effort. It’s a snap to throw meat into the slow cooker, add liquid, chopped veggies and seasonings, then allow the cooker to do its thing from 4 to 10 hours while I go about my day. I still prefer the awesome char that comes from broiling or grilling, but with my crazy schedule, it is often impossible to find the time to employ those cooking methods, necessitating the use of the slow cooker.

One thing I have noticed is that whenever I cook chicken breast in the slow cooker, it tends to taste the same no matter what seasonings I use. At some point I may try a brine or marinade and put the mixture in the fridge overnight to infuse the meat with flavor, then cook it with the slow cooker the following day. Once I figure out a good prep mixture, I will share the recipe on my blogsite.

There is a favorite recipe which I have for beef (particularly beef shortribs) which is absolutely delicious and incredibly simple. Cover the entire surface of the beef shortribs or roast with medium grind black pepper and rub into meat, then place into slow cooker. Chop green onions to make 1/4 cup and one shallot then set aside. Mix 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup water and 1 clove crushed garlic in a bowl, then add the green onions and shallots. Pour mixture over beef, place lid on cooker and cook for 8 to 10 hours.

You can even cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker with little effort. Simply season the bird, place in the slow cooker, add chopped vegetables, water, olive oil, garlic cloves, lemon juice and set the cooker on high heat for 4 to 6 hours. If you’re really pressed for time, you can set a rice cooker to cook brown rice so that both dishes are completely ready for you when you get home.

If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can purchase one for as little as $30 (get at least a 3 quart size). I have the 6 quart cooker which allows me to cook whole roasts and whole chickens without an issue. These gems also last a good, long time. The one that my old boyfriend gave me lasted twenty years before I had to replace it with a new model. Slow cookers will simplify your life in the kitchen!

Contest Friendly Bread?

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Those of you who are well acquainted with contest prep are familiar with pulling down carbs and avoiding protein powder and artificial sweeteners during the week leading up to an event. For many of you, that week is characterized by Ziploc bags full of boiled chicken and asparagus. You may be having dreams about post-contest cheat meals and a big reunion with all the fun foods which were forbidden during your prep. But what about P28 Bread? Must you wait until after the contest to dive into a delicious P28 sandwich?
New P28 Bread label 2014
The general opinion is that wheat based carbohydrate sources and whey protein should be omitted from final week prep. However, I am not joking when I say that I ate a slice of P28 Bread every day during one final week prep, right up through the day I stepped onstage, and ended up taking a First Place national finish. As long as you do not experience belly bloat after eating P28 Bread, you should not have an issue with consuming it before hitting the stage. I will put out a disclaimer and say that you should check with your coach and follow whatever plan is in place, but if you are doing your own prep, you might want to consider incorporating P28 bread into that final week meal regimen.

To order these amazing products, go to https://www.p28foods.com/

Holiday Leftovers

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I grew up in a single-parent household in which finances were very tight. Consequently, I never saw food being thrown away unless it had dropped onto the floor. Food never spoiled in our home because my mom made sure we ate it all before such a thing could occur. This has created a major dilemma for me during the holidays, when I am forced to decide whether to toss out leftovers which do not fit into my clean eating plan. I always feel a twinge of guilt when I throw out meal plan-busting foods because I can hear my mom’s voice admonishing me not do it. Shortly after Thanksgiving, I threw out fat free whipped topping and a small container of mashed potatoes, knowing full well that they would not be consumed, yet I was riddled with remorse when I did so. I was relieved that my mom couldn’t witness me throwing out food that she would deem perfectly acceptable. But I have to remind myself that I have to take the clean eating thing seriously and that my mom lives in a different environment from me.
cropped-leftovers

Even now when I visit my mom, she will try to convince me to eat foods which are full of sugar and fat, insisting that “one bite” won’t hurt me. Of course, this often occurs a couple of days before a photo shoot, so I have to say no. Sometimes she will show her frustration, but I need to tell myself that she does not understand what an impact eating forbidden foods has on my physical conditioning, digestion and mindset. It is far worse during the holidays, when evil foods abound. My mother will say, “But it’s Christmas!”, as if the holidays excuse me from eating clean. I recently attended a party at the assisted living facility where my mom resides, and could not resist my mother’s insistence on having some of the prime rib which was on my plate. It was unlike any prime rib I had ever seen, not very appetizing, but to appease my mother I had a couple of bites.

I am no different from other fitness people who are almost terrified of the holidays. We all know that culinary temptations will be in force for a full month, threatening to set us back considerably. Even our fun meals are calculated. I just spent Christmas Day in a very non-traditional and totally fun way, consuming sushi, frozen yogurt, and late-night appetizers with a bunch of fitness friends. We hemmed and hawed over menu selections at the sushi place, then opted for nonfat yogurt options at the yogurt place. We finally let down our guard when late-night appetizers came into the picture, but of course they were appetizer sized and much more acceptable. Clearly this sort of behavior separates fit people from the rest of the population.

Now that Christmas is over, I can breathe a sigh of relief over the fact that tempting foods have, for the most part, made their exit. I don’t need to worry about seeing my homemade fudge in the fridge (I can thank my ex-boyfriend for clearing that out!) or being tempted by holiday pies or cookies because they are all gone. It’s time to bring out the steamed vegetables, lean protein, oats, brown rice and yams. I am actually looking forward to it and craving it!