30 Days to healthy living: Day 17

Let’s talk meal replacements !

I am a BIG fan of meal replacement shakes and have personally used them for years. With my latest effort to lose weight and get in shape I have been diligent about daily shakes and have seen great success. I have several thoughts on why you should consider using them too.

1. Convenience. They are EASY. Fill water to line of shaker cup, add 2 scoops protein powder, shake. Done! Nothing is easier than that! You can get fancy and add cinnamon, peanut powder, fiber powder, greens powder, cocoa powder or any other powder or spice you want. I always add cinnamon, fiber and sometimes peanut powder (really good with chocolate protein powder). I also usually add a probiotic/prebiotic/digestive enzyme supplement powder. Get super fancy by using a high power blender and adding whole fruit or greens. I am typically too lazy for that and just have a green apple on the side 😉 🍏

2. Portion control. If keeping your portions controlled is a challenge and you don’t want to think about it, a measured protein powder meal replacement is the way to go. 2 scoops, done. It leaves little room for misjudging portion sizes and inadvertently consuming twice as many calories as you thought.

3. Adding protein will help keep you feeling full longer and helps keep blood sugar stable longer too. Many of us don’t get enough protein. It also helps with building muscle. Your body needs good bricks to build a strong body!

4. A true meal replacement shake contains vitamins and minerals you may not be getting otherwise. The shake I use eliminates the need for taking a multivitamin. Adding in a little fat and some greens or fruit makes it even better. (I add canned pumpkin!)

5. Travels well. Ever get so hungry on the road you settle for whatever? I sure have. Protein powders are super portable and you can even get them in individual packets for even more convenience. I take small containers of measured out portions of my shake ingredients along with a shaker (duh) and water. If you travel with a cooler you could pack some almond or cashew milk and add that instead of water. Never again will you need to worry about getting stuck on the road with no healthy options and you won’t have to stress about a trip detailing your health goals. This is extra important for me because if I eat the wrong thing I could spend the rest of my trip sick and that is seriously not fun ☹️.

What is your favorite addition to protein or meal replacement shakes? Have a yummy recipe? Post it below!

Here’s to our health! 🥂🍏🥬

30 Days to healthy living: Day 5

What I eat:
When I am in weight loss mode:
am: black coffee (I flavor mine with essential oils but only use essential oils that are labeled for ingestion!!)
Arbonne protein shake with Daily fiber boost, digestion plus and either a tablespoon of peanut powder or cacao powder and cinnamon.
lunch: 2nd protein shake with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
green apple
handful almonds
water or tea
dinner:  lean protein such as salmon, tilapia, flounder, chicken breast, grassfed steak, eggs
3 cups leafy greens, often wilted with fresh pepper and Himalayan salt, drizzle of olive oil OR 1.5 cups other vegetables such as sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, mixed vegetables, etc..
(I honestly am not great at cooking rice. If someone else makes it I’ll have a 1/2 cup)
water or sparkling water
4 oz wine once a week
dessert: if I need something sweet I will have a small square of dark chocolate with 70% or more cacao or 5-10 Skinny Almonds and a cup of herbal tea without cream or sweetener.
Normal mode:  
am: same as above
lunch: lean protein with greens, maybe 5oz yogurt with protein bar crumbled in it.
water or tea
dinner: as above but will have 4-5 oz wine twice a week
dessert: same as above (I am a creature of habit)
I vary my vegetables a bit. I love bok choi, spinach, arugula, sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, mixed greens, mushrooms, all of them really but I tend to eat a lot of one thing then move onto something else. I prefer simplicity and I don’t follow recipes that have a lot of steps or ingredient usually. Frozen veggies are generally my favorite because they don’t spoil before I can use them! I only eat corn about once or twice a year in the form of fresh corn on the cob. Corn is NOT A VEGETABLE! Its a GRAIN!! It’s also highly allergenic. I occasionally eat rice. I never eat wheat, barley or rye and rarely oats because I have celiac disease. I don’t drink soda or sweetened drinks. I also rarely drink juice and if I do it’s tomato juice with fresh cracked pepper.
Also, when on maintenance I am finding it easier to eat just 2 meals and maybe a snack. I try to go 4-5 hours between the two meals and then drink tea and water in between. I will eat something that has about 100 calories if I physically feel hungry in between and then try to wait until I am physically hungry before having my second meal of the day. On days that I have Tang Soo Do, I have a hearty post recovery snack such as a protein shake with maybe a banana. I also make sure to get extra water on days I work out.
Hot tea is excellent when you have cravings. Tea comes in every flavor imaginable and I have a tea drawer that is proof! Get yourself an electric tea kettle. I LOVE mine!
I rarely eat out (maybe once a month at best) and when I do I have to be picky because of having celiac disease. Core Life is a great place to eat out but you still have to watch what you are putting on your plate! Just because it’s salad doesn’t mean its low calorie. Creamy dressings, cheese and oils add up quickly. I like their tuna poke power plate with Brussels sprouts and salad with kimchee, no dressing.
There is a place in town that makes gluten free poutine. It is amazing and I indulge in it about twice a year. Totally worth it. Make sure to include an occasional splurge and plan for it and savor it. Don’t fast all day in anticipation of feasting or you will be famished and tempted to overdo it. It won’t be nearly as enjoyable when you do. Eat just enough of what you love to satisfy you. Small plate or tapas restaurants are great for this because portion control is built in. Or just order an appetizer as your dinner. When you don’t eat the really rich, decadent foods all the time, you can both appreciate them much more and you will find that you are satisfied much more quickly. Drink extra water when dining out because you will inevitably ingest more sodium than usual.
So, if you are following the 30 days to healthy living for weight loss, I recommend this basic plan (refer to day 2 for the what to eat details) :
breakfast: protein shake with fiber, digestion plus, cinnamon (if you like cinnamon-its’ good for blood sugar control). You can add 1/4 c. spinach if you use a blender. Or try adding 1/4 c. pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Or half a green apple. If you find yourself hungry too soon, add 1 tsp coconut oil. Fat is satiating.
lunch: second protein shake
tea, water
dinner: lean protein and 3 cups greens or 1.5 cups other vegetables with 1-2 tsp olive oil, seasonings, 1/2 c brown rice or other whole grain.
64 oz water daily
snack only if physically hungry or eat next meal if convenient to do so. Keep snacks to 100 calories each.
Journal everything you eat!! (remember day 1!)
Tomorrow we will discuss some heart healthy foods that you may want to add to your diet every day for the long term. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of premature death and disease!! Take care of your heart!!!
Here’s to our health!!
Liz

30 days to healthy living: Day 3

What to eat when. That’s the topic for today and what a loaded topic this is!!
Quiz time: What do YOU think is the best way to fuel your body through out the day?
a. one meal per day
b. 2 meals per day
c. 3 meals per day
d. snacks
e. no snacks
f. limit the number of hours you can eat during
g. no eating after 7 pm
h. something else
Well, if you look on the internet you will find someone telling you any and all of the above is the “right” way to eat. (And I’m going to kind of do that too…) So what’s the evidence? Short answer: it’s conflicting.
The governments My Plate recommendation is vague. It gives total recommendations for the day and approximate amounts you should put on your plate via an infographic. You can find calculators on the website that will help you determine your caloric needs for weight loss and maintenance based on your activity but I feel like the numbers were on the high side. Basically it looks like 75% vegetables/fruits/carbs and 25% protein with a little dish of dairy on the side. No fat recommendation on the infographic itself and I did a lot of clicking but didn’t find much that was more specific than that. At the bottom of the infographic it tells you what a serving of each food group is and how many per day you should eat based on your calories for the day. So some good, very basic information but I think it leaves too much room for error. If you are ambitious, you can read the entire 2015-2020 dietary guidelines for Americans here. Good luck!
Paleo: meh. I think we need some good whole grains in our lives. I don’t live in a cave and don’t forage for my food. I do find a lot of good recipes here when I need a gluten free version of something. Just don’t be afraid to add a little brown rice or other whole grain. It will stretch your recipe, give you more fiber and sustain you a bit better.
Keto: So a true “keto” diet should only be undertaken under medical supervision, especially if it is for something like controlling epilepsy. There is research supporting it’s use but again, with supervision. Your blood is supposed to be a fairly neutral/slightly alkaline pH. Mess with that and you are courting a coma. In fact, that’s what happens to diabetics when their diabetes is not well controlled. I like fat and I think we should include healthy fats in our diets everyday but 70-80% fat? I am not a huge fan. Plus, if your blood is acidic it will pull calcium from your bones in order to balance it. This in turn will cause osteoporosis over time.
Alkaline: As I just noted above, your body needs just a slightly alkaline blood pH of 7.4 . Acidosis is defined as a pH of 7.35 or lower and alkalosis as 7.45 or higher. Not a lot of wiggle room there. Getting your blood MORE basic isn’t any better for you than getting it slightly acidic and it may actually be worse. Thankfully your body has natural mechanisms during digestion and absorption to balance your blood pH all on its own. When your blood pH is out of whack, you are in trouble. Blood pH isn’t something to try to change on your own. And so I will go on the record and say that although I am an Arbonne Independent Consultant and use their products for weight loss and maintenance including their healthy living materials and 30 day program, I do not support attempts at “alkalizing” your blood. Its why I also don’t agree with having to avoid coffee and vinegar. There are a lot of health benefits to be had from a couple cups of coffee per day and when you consume vinegar, which is an acid, your body turns it into an alkaline substance. Its the same with lemons. There IS an article from the Journal of Environmental and Public health discussing the alkaline diet and it”s potential benefits but mainly that’s because it is mostly plant based and eliminates processed foods. Bottom line, you can’t and shouldn’t significantly change your blood pH. You SHOULD include more vegetables and fruits and less processed foods and meat in your diet.
Detox: Do you have a liver and kidneys that work? Then you have all the “detox” you need. So while I actually love Arbonne’s Detox Tea, I really dislike the name. There are so many “detox” plans out there and really nothing can clean your blood for you any better than your liver and kidneys can (well dialysis can but we are trying to avoid that with a healthy diet, ok?). Want to “detox” for real? Drink lots of water and eat fiber. “Detox” seems to be a euphemism for pooping. Yep I said it. Pooping. You should do this at least once a day. In fact, probably after every meal since it should ideally take 24 hours for your meal to pass then entire length of your gut end to end. Our guts are generally messed up though and medications interfere with our gut function. So water + fiber= poop= “detox”  ps: the funny thing about the Detox tea? It doesn’t make you, uh, “go” but it does have some great herbs in it that support the liver’s function. So maybe the name isn’t as bad as it sounds…
Intermittant fasting (Time Restricted Feeding): Ok, if anything is going to get a gold star it’s going to be this. There is actual research showing promising results in mice(and other animals) that limiting the number of hours you consume food during the day is helpful in preventing weight gain, stabilizing blood sugar, preventing fatty liver disease, extends lifespan and supports weight loss. This is purely anecdotal but I have a friend who has been using intermittant fasting and has lost weight and has been able to get off of her diabetes medication with her medical provider’s blessing and support. (As with anything else, do not stop any medications without involving your provider!) I read the mice study this summer. Basically the best results were seen in mice who followed schedule of eating during an 8-10 hour time frame and ate a healthy diet although there was benefit even when eating a higher fat diet. Cool stuff and more research is needed.
Last, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Blue Zones diet. This is a common denominator diet found to be followed generally by the “blue zones” or places where there is the highest concentration of people living to 100 and beyond. It’s mostly plant based, 90-95%. Yes, there will always be that George Burns type who seems to live forever on cigars and whiskey but the vast majority of those who live to be centenarians follow a much healthier lifestyle. This style of eating certainly can’t hurt!
There are other diets out there as well but these are the most popular right now that I am aware of.  I personally have to follow a gluten free diet no matter what other eating pattern I choose to follow because of celiac disease. I recently read an article about the potential benefit of a low gluten diet helping with GI symptoms but it seemed to be related more to an increase in amount and type of fiber for those who had GI symptoms but not celiac disease. If you don’t have celiac, maybe try more fiber first. Gluten free dieting without medical need is not recommended.
My recommendation:
1. eliminate processed foods, soda, sweeteners and temporarily starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn as well as alcohol.
2. Make sure you are truly fasting overnight. This means at least 12 hours. Set a cut off time if you need to. I generally have black coffee until about 10 am then a protein shake to break my fast.
3. Eat 2 “lean and green” meals per day. This is 3-5 oz lean protein, 3 cups leafy greens or 1.5 cups other vegetables along with a small serving of whole grain such as 1/4-1/2 cup brown rice, 1-2tsp healthy fat such as olive oil, herbs to season and some vinegar if you are making a salad.
4. Space your meals about 4-5 hours apart if you aren’t using a really short (8 hours) time restricted eating pattern. I try to keep all eating within a 10 hour window.
5. Have a snack only if you are truly hungry and limit it to 100-150 calories. I love having a green apple and a tbsp of almond butter. 15 almonds also works. Hot tea, especially green tea, can help with cravings and is an excellent accompaniment to snacks.
6. Calculate your basic caloric needs and subtract 500 calories. This is your maximum for the day.
7. Try meal replacements. I use Arbonne protein shakes and add almond milk, fiber and sometimes peanut powder or cacao powder and a banana. There are loads of recipes on Pinterest for Shakes using Arbonne protein powder! I have one for breakfast every day and I have 2 a day when I am trying to lose weight.
8. write down what you eat. That journal you started on day 1 is for recording your daily intake. Use it! And write EVERYTHING down. what you ate, where you ate it, how you felt before and after and what was going on that day. This is helpful for identifying eating patterns and any potential food intolerances.
9. Drink 64 oz water daily at minimum. Hydration hydration hydration. Tired? drink water. Hungry? drink water. Bored? drink water. We are all walking around like shrinky dinks because we don’t drink enough. Hint: your urine should be CLEAR!
10. Be cautious with alcohol. Alcohol lowers your inhibition and this includes your ability to follow your diet. Drink too much and next thing you know you’ve eaten 2 dozen hot wings and half a pizza. When losing weight its best to avoid altogether or save it for a special occasion or the weekends and then only have 1 serving per day for women and up to 2 per day for men. (Not fair I know. Blame biology)
That’s it in a nutshell. Or a really long wandering article depending on how you look at it 😉
Questions? Leave them in the comments and I’ll be happy to help!
Happy day 3!!
Liz
PS: I am here as your coach. I am not acting as your medical provider. I cannot give you medical advice. What I am suggesting is what has worked for me and is largely based on programs I have used than I know get good results. I also check for evidence based dietary recommendations and read actual medical research studies on diet. Before you change your diet or start to exercise, discuss it with your medical provider. If you are on medications changes in your diet can affect how your medication works. Weight loss can affect birth control methods. Leafy greens can interfere with “blood thinners.” Your provider is also a good person to help you set goals. Don’t put your health in jeopardy trying to get healthy (ironic I know)  talk to your medical provider first!!

30 Days to healthy living, Day 1: the rest of your life

Welcome! Today is day 1 of the rest of your life. It’s the day to start over and begin to incorporate healthy living habits that will lead you down the path to more vibrant health, energy and wellbeing. Will it cure everything wrong with you? No. But I know from personal experience that every little step adds up and in time makes a significant difference. It can mean the difference between taking medications or being pill free. It can mean the difference between a lifetime of being diabetic and at risk of heart attacks and stroke (cardiovascular or heart disease is the number one killer for everyone but diabetics are at an even higher risk. More on that later on) or losing a limb, your eyesight or worse. Today is the day you decide to eat better, sleep better, feel better and do better. We will do this together. It’s day 1 for me too although it’s not the first time I’ve done a 30 day challenge.

Supplies you will need:

Journal/notebook

Scale

A positive attitude

Perseverance

And a bit of self control (we are a work in progress though so if you go off track just get back on. No failure allowed!)

Recommended supplies:

Food scale

Measuring spoons and cups

Bullet blender (but a basic blender will work too)

MyFitness Pal app (it’s FREE!)

Activity tracker (helps keep you honest with your activity levels 😉)

So, here’s what to do today:

1. Weigh yourself. Get your naked self on the scale. Take a good hard look. Like what you see? Why or why not? If not, there’s hope! Write it down.

2. What weight do you want to be? Write that down.

3. Why do you want to weigh that weight? Have you ever weighed that weight? What do you expect when you get there?

4. Find out what your cholesterol numbers are. If you don’t know these ask next time you see your medical provider. Write them down.

5. Get a blood pressure reading and record it.

6. Measure your waist circumference. Also measure the widest part of your hips, upper arms and thighs. Chest too, especially women. Record these.

7. Record your clothing sizes.

8. List your medications and health conditions. (Can you see we are creating your own little health record journal?)

9. List your goals other than your weight goal. What do you want to accomplish this month? Is there something you are trying to give up? Or do more of? Less of? Start?

10. Write down how you are feeling. Excited? Hesitant? Not sure? Motivated? Tired? Energetic? Be real. This is for you to track. No one is judging you!

Phew! That’s enough for today. Tomorrow we will talk about the basic plan and what the rest of the 30 days will encompass. For now, here’s to our health! 🍷🥗🍏

-Liz