Is It Smart?

Remember back in April when we started talking about the 3 second guide to eating? Then in May, continued that discussion with the first of 3 questions to ask yourself before putting anything in your mouth? Today, we are going to continue onto question 2 of 3 of the 3 second guide to eating – “Is It Smart?”

Smart foods are the ones that help us feel full and satisfied and not deprived – they provide satiety. Did you know that eating protein can make you feel fuller for longer periods of time? Did you know that foods that are high in fiber can help curb appetites and support weight loss? Did you know that eating high volume foods (those with lots of nutrients, but not a lot of calories) can help you to lose weight?

Today I want to talk about the 4 types of foods that will help you feel full, eat less, and lose size and weight. As well as the foods that do the opposite. After we talk about this, you will be able to answer the question of “is it smart?”.

Food 1: High Volume Foods

Research shows that people who eat large volumes of food that have a lot of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and fiber), but fewer calories, lose more weight. Consider this; there are two options in front of you. Option one is a small burger and fries. Option two is a plate of roasted chicken, string beans, sliced fruit, and a side salad. Which is the smarter choice? Well, you’ll actually lose more weight by eating the second option. This is because studies show that our stomach knows how much volume we eat, and we feel fuller when we eat higher volume foods.

Here are a few low volume foods compared to some high volume alternatives.

Low Volume	High Volume (Better Choice)	Low Volume	High Volume  (Better Choice)
Cheese omelet, 3 bacon strips, and hash browns 762 CALORIES	6 Scrambled egg whites with low fat cheese and mushrooms, 1 slice whole wheat toast, and 1 sliced apple 321 CALORIES	4 pancakes and 3 sausage links 737 CALORIES	2 whole wheat pancakes, 1 cup strawberries, 1 apple, and 3 scrambled egg whites 474 CALORIES
Grilled ham and cheese sandwich, French fries, and a soda 980 CALORIES	Open faced cheese melt on whole grain bread and a slice of melted low fat cheese, 1 orange, 10 baby carrots and a glass of nonfat milk 303 CALORIES	1 ½ cups macaroni and cheese and 5 potato croquettes 869 CALORIES	1 cup whole wheat pasta with mixed vegetables, lean ground beef, and tomato sauce. 1 cup blueberries, tossed salad with Italian dressing. 593 CALORIES

When it comes to trying to put together your own high volume meals, try to incorporate some of the high volume foods listed below.

High Volume Vegetables:

Artichoke

Asparagus

Bean Sprouts

Beans

Beets

Broccoli

Brussel Sprouts

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower

Eggplant

Greens

Kohlrabi

Leeks

Mushrooms

Okra

Onions

Pea Pods

Peppers

Rutabaga

Sauerkraut

Spinach

Summer Squash

Tomato

Turnips

Water Chestnuts

Zucchini

High Volume Fruits:

Apples

Apricots

Banana

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

Cherries

Figs

Grapefruit

Grapes

Honeydew Melon

Kiwi

Mandarin Oranges

Mango

Nectarine

Orange

Papaya

Peach

Pear

Persimmon

Pineapple

Plum

Pomegranate

Raspberries

Strawberries

Tangerine

Watermelon

Food 2: Lean Proteins

Protein actually produces a greater feeling of fullness than any other nutrient. Research shows that people who have higher protein breakfasts are less hungry and eat less during the day. To fully benefit from this, your protein sources need to be ones that will help you feel full, and also will be healthy for your body. You should choose from healthy lean proteins, and incorporate them into your snacks and meals. Below is a list that might help you get some ideas for your meals and snacks.

Healthy Snack Proteins:

1-oz low fat cheese

Hard boiled egg

10 almonds

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 slice turkey

½ can of tuna

½ cup cottage cheese

3 scrambled egg whites

20 soy nuts

½ of a protein bar

Healthy Meal Proteins:

3-oz grilled chicken

4-oz grilled fish

4-oz tofu

1 large veggie burger

3-oz lean steak or pork

3-oz ground turkey burger

1 can tuna or salmon

Food 3: Fiber

Fiber is good for your health, but it can also help you lose weight. High fiber foods make us fuller longer in several ways. The National Academy of Sciences would like us to eat 21-25 grams of fiber per day. Finding foods high in fiber is not hard, you just need to know where to look and how much to get. A food that provides 3 grams or more per serving is a high fiber food. A general rule is that the less refined or processed a food is, and the more fiber it contains, the more it will help you with hunger control and weight loss in moderate portions. Below are some fiber-fabulous choices.

Food	Serving	Fiber (in grams)
Pear	1 medium	5.1
Dried Figs	2 medium	3.7
Fresh Blueberries	1 cup	3.5
Apple with Peel	1 medium	3.3
Dried Peaches	3 halves	3.3
Dried Apricots	10 halves	2.6
Orange	1 medium	3.1
Raisins	1.5 ounce box	1.6
Fresh Strawberries	1 cup	3.0
Whole Wheat Pasta	1 cup cooked	6.3
Oatmeal	1 cup cooked	4.1
Whole Wheat Bread	1 slice	1.5-3.0
Lentils	1 cup cooked	15.6
Black Beans	1 cup cooked	15.0
Lima Beans	1 cup cooked	13.0
Chick Peas	½ cup	6.2
Peas	1 cup cooked	8.8
Brussel Sprouts	1 cup cooked	6.4
Baked Potato with Skin	1 medium	4.4
Turnip Greens	1 cup boiled/steamed	5.0
Spinach	1 cup boiled/steamed	4.3
Broccoli	1 cup boiled/steamed	4.7
String Beans	1 cup boiled/steamed	4.0

Food 4: Quality Carbs

Quality carbs are also important to your health. Just like there are foods that fill us up without filling us out, there are also foods that can trigger our hunger, potentially causing us to eat more. There are a lot of theories out there about carbs, but let’s explain where the research is clear. Come carbohydrates in the diet are fine, but it’s a question of which ones. Certain carbohydrates promote excessive food intake, making us eat more and maybe too much. An article in the Journal of American Medical Association, it explains that when people eat highly refined carbs, like white bread, their blood sugar may go up and then drop down suddenly. This can make us feel hungrier and eat more. What we want to choose is carbs are unrefined, minimally processed, and choose them in moderate potions.

Substitute a Poor Choice with a Great Choice

Poor Choice	Great Choice
White Bread	Whole Wheat Bread
Dehydrated Potato Flakes	½ Baked Regular or Sweet Potato with Skin
Croutons	Garbanzo Beans
White Rice	Brown Rice
Sugared Cereals	Unsweetened Bran Cereal
Pastry	Whole Wheat Pancake
Apple Juice	Apple with Skin
White Pasta	Whole Wheat Pasta
Soda	Water

Putting It All Together

Here’s how to put all this together when you ask “Is It Smart”?

First, if it is one of the foods mentioned above (a high volume food, lean protein, high fiber choice, or quality carb) then the answer is yes. If you are faced with a food that is not smart, start asking “how can I make this food smarter?”. Instead of hamburger, is there a lean chicken? Instead of sourdough or white bread, is there whole grain? Instead of white rice, how about looking at some healthy veggies? 

Remember that the small substitutions do add up to make a big difference in achieving your weight loss goals.   

Check back soon for the discussion about question 3 of the 3 second guide to eating.

Until next time,

Miranda Harris

BS Exercise Science

NSCA CSCS

ACSM CEP

Be Healthy and Be Strong

Be Healthy and Be Strong….


Physical activity is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. In combination with healthy eating, it can help prevent a range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and stroke, the three leading causes of death. Risk factors for these diseases can begin early in life and be mitigated early in life by adopting regular physical activity habits. Physical activity helps control weight, builds lean muscle, reduces fat, and contributes to a healthy functioning cardiovascular system, hormonal regulatory system, and immune system; promotes strong bone, muscle and joint development; and decreases the risk of obesity. Research has also found that physical activity is related to improvements in mental health, helping to relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety and increase self-esteem. In addition, some studies show that physical activity is correlated with improved academic achievement. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, children and adolescents should participate in physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day.

The Health and Fitness Academy at Mountain View Hospital gives you the opportunity to get moving and work to achieve your goals.

Less is not a dirty word.

 Less is More…..  

    

So many times in our lives we are told that we need to do more, be more, have more. Society tells us that if we find ourselves unhappy it is because we need something that we do not have. I often ask myself, will I spend my life chasing after what I think will make me happy? Or will I be happy no matter what I have or how many talents I develop? And what are the steps I should take to help me figure out my path to happiness in this moment? I do not think that I am alone in this pursuit so let’s evaluate the facts of life we are facing.

You first challenge is going to be cutting out the information and task overloads we are faced with every day. There are so many small meaningless tasks that fill both our professional and personal lives. Emails, Phones calls, tasks, and busy work that our time is eaten up with them and our true goals are never met. The first thing you have to do is separate the essential, and get rid of all the rest. By reducing the number of tasks in your life and focusing on the essential you will be more productive and your stress levels will be dramatically lower. In Leo Babauta’s book ‘The Power of Less’ he tells readers that three things happen when you cut out the clutter. First you help your life and career become less stress ful. Secondly it stops you from getting spread too thin to make a difference. And finally you teach others that your time is valuable. Here are your first two steps;

Set Practical Limits

You should set limits in every area of your life or career in every area in  which you would like to improve. Start by Analyzing your current usage and pick a limit that you feel would be ideal, test your new limit for a reasonable period of time and evaluate if it works for you or not. If it is not working adjust to a new level that you think will work better and try that. Continue to adjust your limits until you find the perfect level to form a new habit.

Choose what is most essential

The second step is to choose what is essential. Here are 9 questions to help you figure that out.

1-What are your values?

2-What are your goals?

3-What are you Passionate about?

4-What is important to you?

5-What will have the greatest impact?

6-What is the best long term value?

7- Which Items do you actually need and which do you merely want?

8-Which items can you eliminate without any problems?

9.What changes when you take another look at your choices a week or two later?

Now take some time to ponder these things and I will get back to you in a few weeks with your next assignment. It is time to take your power back and find your happiness in the now…….

What do YOU eat?

     As a trainer, I regularly get asked by clients as well as friends, family, and more…what do you eat? This usually leads to more questions about why I eat what I eat. Well, instead of typing it all out for you (I love visuals!), I found this awesome pictograph that Precision Nutrition put together (link below). Do I follow these choices 100% of the time? Nope, but this pictograph represents my thought process behind my healthy choices.

            Hayley’s mental check list when choosing what to eat:

            Where is my protein?

            Where are my veggies? (usually absent because I SUCK at vegetables!)

            Where are my smart carbs?

            Where is my healthy fat?

            How much water have I had today?

     I hope this visual helps you get started in the right path!

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/create-the-perfect-meal-infographic

Until next time,

Hayley Earley, BS, CSCS, Pn1

hearley@mvhospital.net

Health & Fitness Academy

Silly Swimmer

     The first time I did a triathlon, back in 2009, a co-worker talked me into it. Her husband hurt his shoulder and couldn’t do the swim, so she was looking for someone to take his registration. She was very confident that I would be able to do it no problem, so I committed. Then, I asked when the triathlon was, and about passed out when she said 4 days away! I figured I would go for it anyway and just see how things went and take this as a learning opportunity. Needless to say, it was a struggle! It also brought up a lot of questions, specifically about swimming, because I am not, nor have I ever been much of a swimmer.

     I thought, as we got going with this challenge, that some of you may be new to the concept of swimming for an event like a triathlon, or just swimming at all. So, in search I went, of some newbie questions that often come up regarding swimming. Here are a few great links I found that hopefully help answer some of those questions.

Enjoy!

http://www.relaxnswim.com/questions-and-answers/

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1657

http://www.austinfitmagazine.com/Five-Questions-Beginning-Triathletes-Want-to-Know-About-Swimming/

Until next time,

Hayley Earley, BS, CSCS, Pn1

hearley@mvhospital.net

Row, Row, Row....

ROW, ROW, ROW, YOUR BOAT>>>>>

Have you ever wondered how to use a rowing machine? This week we are reviewing the technique used in rowing and on the rowing machine at the gym so everyone can have an opportunity to reap the rewards of a great alternative cardiovascular exercise.

ROWING TECHNIQUE

· Begin rowing from the catch position, with shins vertical, torso angled forward from the hip to create subtle forward spinal flexion, arms fully extended with fingers curved around the handle, abdominal muscles engaged and the navel pulling back away from the thighs, and shoulders relaxed down (not hunched up), with slight scapular retraction.

· Initiate the drive with the legs, giving a quick, powerful push (kick) off the catch while maintaining the forward body angle for the first half of the drive (roughly ten to fourteen inches of the slide, but variable depending on the length of the legs). Continue pushing with the legs while opening the body angle with the strength and explosiveness of the legs and core body strength, resulting in suspension. Let your mass work to your advantage, allowing the weight of the body to combine with muscular strength and endurance to produce maximum power output.

· As your legs reach extension, finish the stroke with a powerful arm pull, accelerating the handle as you pull it away from the flywheel and back to your upper abdomen. At the end of the drive, your legs will be straight with a bit of plantar flexion at the ankle (i.e., slightly up on the balls of your feet) to prevent hyperextension of the knee joints; your body will be angled back about thirty degrees from vertical with activated trunk muscles; and your arms will be bent with the elbows behind the torso and the handle almost touching your abs).



· Return to the catch by extending the arms and allowing the handle to pull the body into forward flexion. Flex forward at the hips, aligning the chest over the thighs, and then slide the seat up toward the feet with slow control. Overall, the recovery phase should take about twice as long as the drive phase.

Hot Summer BBQ

Take advantage of the great weather and even better Seafood options for the BBQ.