food – Page 3 – sassyfitnesschick

Freedom With Food

Food…. I think I may have mentioned before… I kinda like the stuff.

And I don’t mean stuff I shouldn’t eat (much) but the fact I appreciate and enjoy all the healthy good foods.

OK… disclaimer… this week I kinda got on a little baking/sweet treat binge. Chocolate chip cookies… peanut brittle … ( which I typically make at Christmas) but hey… I like shaking things up…

Can I just say… peanut brittle… is crack. That is all.

And this… when you don’t eat much sugar… and have “samples” of what you’ve made… it makes your tummy feel….bleh….

Is that a good or bad thing ?? 😉 I definitely am not tempted to eat much of it.

Food, I think we can all agree, is something we have total control over in our lives. Do we not ?

We have the freedom to eat when, how much or how little and what kinds we want to have. No one controls that.

To one extent, some use it as a source of power. It is the one thing they have absolute control over in their lives and sometimes it goes to the extreme, an eating disorder. It can also go in the other direction, eating what you want and how much with no accountability can lead to obesity and another type of eating disorder.

Food can definitely be a control/power issue.

Yet somewhere in those two extremes most of us are seeking to find a balance and order… a freedom with food that allows us treats on occasion but overall healthy eating the majority of the time to sustain life, give us optimal energy and health as well as maintain a ideal weight.

A couple years I started hearing about this rule… and well… if you know me by now… I’m a tiny bit rebellious against some rules.. especially when they involve food. Yet, somehow, this one didn’t repel me. In fact, it seemed to fit into my current philosophy on eating and getting all healthy and fit and stuff.

I started hearing about this thing called the 80/20 rule… meaning you eat good, healthy and balanced meals 80% of the time allowing in your week that 20% would be allowable for those things we really enjoy in life but have in moderation.

Birthday cake. A special dinner out. A couple of our most favorite, ever made cookies.

Just name your poison.

It seemed reasonable and sound, right ?

The other alternative thrown around I never got into the idea of, mainly ’cause it seemed so counter productive….

Cheat days.

A day set aside to eat whatever and how much of whatever… with no guilt. What if I didn’t feel like cheating that day ? What if my craving for a cookie hit…. on a different day ? Not only that, but why shoot an entire day down the toilet…not to mention how it will make my body feel.

No….. that seemed like not the best fit for me.

So over time… I’ve eased into a unstructured plan of eating although honestly at this point I probably eat more of a 90/10 rule. Not to be restrictive or crazy… I just feel better when I eat well all the time.

In an athletic way… food fuels my activities and sustains me for what I do.. as an athlete I understand I have to eat well to perform well.

You know why this idea works ? there’s such a freedom to allow you to enjoy eating what you like and to find your own healthy balance. And if you’re like me and don’t care so much for rules… this allows you to develop your own.

And no, you won’t go all crazy and eat stuff you don’t need…. after all you’re a smart grown up aren’t you ? But you can build your own plan and you will learn to be selective about the food choices you make and really determine what treats are worth having. Hint: a treat is something to have occasionally.

And as you do that you’ll find a new freedom with food you’ve never had. You’ll have power, but in a good way.

What works for you ? Have you ever tried one of the “food rules” ?

Running On Food

Hello World!

So after nearly being washed away for what seems like eternity in the great and awesome state of Texas, it’s a wonderful treat to have some sunny days showing up in our lives.

I want to be out in it…. like a large lizard…. laying on a rock…. basking in it…

Nothing wrong with that, is there ? 😉

Actually, my version of digging the sunshine and drinking it all in looks more like this….

20150529_143750 — A little Mustang mischief going down… what a fun way to enjoy a long over due sunny day =)

Suffice it to say, after more rain falling on us than we have seen in years, and weeks of grey skies, there’s a new appreciation going around for some sunshine…..Happy dance that this weeks forecast offers up lots of the beautiful stuff……

Now on with the show…..

I was having a convo with a friend the other day in regards to how many calories swimming burned in comparison to running.

I was pretty confident that running was the top calorie torcher over other cardio activities .

On average and keeping it simple running gets you about 100 calories per mile.

Swimming is based on an hour time period and varies. A 130 lb person swimming free style in that hour can burn 590 calories swimming fast, 413 swimming slower.

Obviously in running some will be able to run more miles in that time, thus burning more calories. It’s a good ballpark estimate. I just love everything running does for me besides burning a few calories.

Ok, I don’t know about you, but I know I can definitely run for an hour, not sure on the swimming for an hour 😉 it might be on my future list to be able to do that……

As my running “career” progressed and my miles increased one of the recurring comments I get is…. “oh, you can probably eat anything you want!”

Perhaps that’s true. The implication is in some ways, I can eat whatever random foods I want, I guess maybe I could, but I don’t .

I’ve never been one of those runners who “run to eat” or “run for desserts” or “run for beer/wine” … maybe I’m a weirdo…

I guess ’cause my running was born out of my quest for getting fit and losing weight that I never understood WHY I’d put myself through that intense workout to only come home and fuel my body with crappy foods.. It seemed so ….counterproductive.

Maybe it’s good that I trained myself in that way ’cause even after marathons and crazy stupid long runs, when hunger hits, I try and take in good foods in modest servings.

Not to mention my food intake on any given day is determined by what my training is for that day. Obviously, a 4 mile run will require less fuel and calories than when I run 20 miles.

So I guess as respect to my body I try and offer it healthy goodies pretty much all the time. Getting into that habit makes it a part of your permanent lifestyle change.

However, this is one complaint I hear from new runners who might be looking to drop a few pounds. “I’m running… but I’m just not losing weight”

Let’s consider if you run 3 miles ( and that’s running 3 miles) that you’ve burned the average 100 calories per mile. This is simple math so I can help you out here 😉 you’ve burned around 300 calories.

But, what if you stop at your fav coffee shop on the way home and grab a grande Carmel Macchiato treat… or whatever similar floats your boat ? The grande size is 304 calories…. you’ve just negated your calorie burn from your run.

I’m not saying you haven’t done something positive for your body, I’m saying if you want to lose weight it’s important to understand that running is a great fat burner, but you need to be aware of the foods you consume and how they fit into your day in your quest to drop weight.

Adopting a healthy attitude about fueling your body no matter what sport or activity you pursue will help keep you strong and fit and help you reach your health goals.

What tips have worked for you losing weight and exercising ? Do you have a favorite after workout treat you enjoy ?

Fuel Your Body Right

Food.

It’s no grand secret it’s the key to life 😉 I really kinda like the stuff too.

I mean seriously, when you are honest to goodness hungry and you want to eat the first thing that moves, doesn’t food taste… amazing ?? I don’t feel like that if I’m not hungry.

Give me an hour after an intense workout and I can do food like a piranha.

piranaha — Attractive, I know. Me….a couple hours after a serious long run….

And there’s sooo much deliciousness in this world we can choose from… vast amounts of food to handle our daily needs… aren’t we blessed?

Now here comes the trickier part… if we keep in mind that food is fuel for our body… to give us energy, balance, and stability for our day…we need to consider how we are fueling.

That can require some thought and preparation so when we are in full blown hunger mode, we can still make smart choices.

One thing I’m starting and it’s not a novel idea is chopping up all kinds of raw veggies and tossing them in a Ziploc bag. Now I know people do food prep and have cute little containers for the week or day, but I think it takes up to much space and my veggies don’t mind gettin’ all close and comfy in the same bag together 😉

20150505_223119 — Look at all those tasty critters living in harmony 😉

This is handy in several ways for me. If I need a fast snack and those veggies are ready to go, I am way more likely to graze on them ( instant gratification) and if I’m super on top of things, I’ve also whipped up some ranch dip made with plain Greek yogurt to have with them, if I’m so inclined. On the lunch menu, I really love salads so having veggies I can just toss in with my spinach and not have to cut and chop is a huge bonus.

Now all of you out there who’ve ever wondered how you get your veggie servings in … a super salad at lunch can just about get your there.. and you can snack like a ravenous beast on veggies…wheelbarrows full for minimal calories and huge nutritional benefits.

What? You can’t do it? Don’t like them so much over say, chips? Remember that habit thing we’ve been talking about ? Just start small, with what you like, and go from there.

Veggies are a wonderful fuel source for your body, and so good for you too. I love being satisfied, but not feeling lethargic, from a good lunch. The foods we eat can make us feel good, energetic, and stable or they can leave us feeling full, sluggish, lethargic and not energetic. Consider your meals and how you feel after… determine where you might need to make adjustments.

Remember the fuel illustration. If I had a high performance sports car, I wouldn’t put junk fuel in it. Take the same approach to your body.

Food prep comes in handy to help you make good choices when you need them and gives you the ability to make wise fuel choices when you might be weak. It all keeps coming back to the habits we build…. train yourself to reach for good foods.

Other things you can consider:

Hard boil eggs for a quick protein snack or to add to a salad.

Have cheese cubed for an afternoon snack with some fruit.

Make your own snack mix with raw nuts and craisins ( I like the 50% less sugar ones) keep in small bags for when you’re on the run.

Greek yogurts… ready to go.

I love sweet potatoes. I usually roast extra at night so I can use in salads or for breakfast.

Mix up tuna with avocado. I love it by itself with some fruit or you can have it on a sandwich.

Keep fruit washed in ‘fridge so it’s ready to grab.

I know when I’m hungry I’m less likely to take time to do certain things, so if I’ve prepared in advance, it definitely helps keep me on the right eating track. Making good choices makes me not just feel better physically, but mentally too.

Do you do food prep? If so, what tricks do you have?

Healthy Habits And Lifestyle Change

Hey boys and girls…. it’s Monday! Are you ready to take on a new week ? It’s sunny and beautiful here in south Texas this morning and a bit on the cooler side too… no worries… it won’t last long 😉

I felt it when I scampered outside in only my shorts and sports bra… brisk air slamming into me… the beauty of working out? You warm up fast and get over that ha

Today was a combo of boxing, weights, and core body moves. I like doing this because it’s just a progression of constant movement from one point to the next. Not only that, boxing always makes me feel like a beast 😉

I knew getting up this morning that this workout was on my agenda for my day. A part of my day. As non-negotiable as eating or brushing my teeth.

Why? My workouts are a habit now, and honestly, a habit I love.

On our pursuit of developing a lifestyle change ( not a diet, a permanent change you can live with) new habits and behaviors must be formed along the way to make that change.

Food habits : learning to make better choices to support our goals, and setting aside other things that don’t support our goals. How do you look at food? What is it to you? Comfort? Stress reliever? A friend ? or is it fuel to support your life and activities? What kind of fuel do you put in it ? When you’re hungry, what are you reaching for ? To move forward requires making intentional, better choices for yourself. Know also that it will take time for your tastes to change. If your daily diet consists of fast food, processed foods, sugars and refined foods know it will take time for change to occur. When it does, you will honestly taste the difference..those foods will taste “off” to you.

Exercise habits: movement isn’t just good to help with weight loss, but it’s good for us mentally, spiritually, and emotionally too. Our bodies are MADE for movement.

We have to make intentional choices to exercise like anything else in our life.

The thing is, for most people, in the beginning, it’s hard and uncomfortable! It’s also the point where you will quickly realize how out of shape you really are and get discouraged. Start small, start slow, stay consistent. Yes, you will be uncomfy but the more you continue to do it, the less you will feel that way. Trust me, you can move to a place where you embrace the challenge and look forward to the workout and will feel like something is missing if you don’t do it.

Mental habits: How often are you thinking of food ? What are your thoughts about food? Is it in a proper place in your life? How do you talk to yourself? Are you mentally preparing yourself for physical activity ?

Lifestyle habits: How we’re raised, how we learned to eat with our families impacts us forever. The spoken or unspoken rules that we grew up and lived by… good or bad…. we carry these habits with us into adulthood. If eating extra was encouraged, “clean your plate!” was the mantra or poor nutrition was modeled you will have to work intentionally to build new lifestyle habits. I think perhaps of all things, breaking free of family habits is the hardest thing but it can be done.

I also think it’s important to know what your triggers are, what have you “conditioned” yourself to that you need to rewire? Do you stop at a gas station and automatically think you need soda and a candy bar? Are you a little hungry and think you need to go through the drive thru before you get home for dinner? or to have a more nutritious lunch?

That was a serious revelation for me years ago…. I don’t need to run through and get something… I WILL NOT… starve to death before I get home… I won’t… neither will you. I try and keep small snacks with me if I do need something. I’m not saying you should ignore those natural body signals, just learn to plan wisely and have better snacks than the local fast foods value menu.

Like any habit we develop in life, our relationship with food (how we eat, what we eat, how much) are all driven by habits we’ve allowed to settle into our lives. With persistence and determination, you can build and develop new habits to support your lifestyle change. The most important thing is to be determined and make these changes each day to lead to permanency.

So Much Food. What To Eat ?

So today’s post is coming from questions I sometimes get… and there can be some interesting ones 😉 one that has come up several times is this :

In regards to health and wellness, it’s the “what do you eat / do for meals ?” question

Let me say first, what works for me, might not be the “thing” that works for you.

Also, on any given day what I eat depends on the training I’m doing. Obviously, my needs are greater with a 20+ mile run, versus a strength training day so my caloric intake can be quite different.

And the other thing…. it will also depend on our likes and dislikes and overall personal tastes. I don’t follow any current “trends” of don’t eat this or that. Unless you have a food allergy/health reason, eat the food. It disturbs me how many people today follow a certain trend without even knowing the why’s of doing it….

…

There are some things that I do which, I believe, are beneficial to everyone….

I rarely eat fast food. I don’t do a lot of processed, refined or fatty foods. I keep sugar to a minimum. I don’t drink alcohol or sugary drinks or fake sugars. I skip creamy stuff like mayo, spreads, and those sort of items. I prefer whole grain/brown foods over “white”.

I do drink a ton of water (’cause I really do like it and it’s the best thing for your body)

Side note…. I don’t use bottles… I really run around with a big glass full of ice water.. it travels everywhere with me.

20150317_085321 — One of my fav healthy breakfasts….

Fruits and veggies make up a large part of my daily nutrition. Not shown here are sweet potatoes. Such tasty little suckers. I often roast them with some olive oil for dinner, and use the cold ones with my breakfast or toss them in with my lunch salad. These are a great nutritional super food.

I believe dairy is important (especially for women) so I try and get in a couple glasses of milk a day and my Greek yogurt snacks 🙂

20150324_200546 — seriously, the best. I also add a few roasted coconut almonds into it for a tasty midafternoon snack

Protein is very important with my training to make sure my muscles have enough to grow on =) I know it’s not currently trendy, but I love real milk. No apologies.

Eggs are a perfect breakfast food for me. I also keep them hard boiled for afternoon snacks. I eat the whole egg… the most important nutrients are contained in the yolk. I find protein does a much better job to keep me feeling satisfied and “level”.

I have no issues with “grains” and enjoy multi whole grain breads/bagels, oatmeal and some cereals.

20150324_200856 — Keeping foods that are easy to quickly grab in your ‘fridge is a first step to making good snack choices =)

Basically, I try and eat, the majority of the time healthy foods. I don’t believe in eliminating food groups unless you have a valid health reason to do so.

Oh, and some treats are allowed and completely enjoyed at times =)

And of course, this is always a part of my day. Isn’t coffee a food group ??

I’ll tell you this, of myself and people I know who have it going on nutritionally, they have a strong foundation in their daily diet of lots of fruits and veggies. These not only fill you up with less calories, the nutrients they deliver to your body contribute to your overall health,wellness and appearance.

If you don’t currently eat a lot of these tasty food items do this:

Start by eating more of what you like.
Try something new every day or two.
Cook veggies in different ways. I love roasting or sautéing mine
Experiment with new recipes to get more veggies in.
Do fruit salads instead of veggie salads in your meals.
Reach for these things as snack items…understand you must train yourself to do so.
Stop treating these foods like they are the enemy…they are health and wellness for you.

Oh, and if you can’t STAND a certain veggie/fruit… then.. don’t eat it! There’s a lot more out there to choose from.

Making slow shifts in your daily diet and replacing not so good foods with better choices will get you on a healthy lifestyle path =)

That Nutrition Thing

What came first? The chicken or the egg ?

I think it’s like asking in the health and fitness world, what came first?

The knowledge your body needed movement and exercise for better health? Or that you needed to eat better and make intelligent food choices for better health ?

We all arrive in different ways. If you are gonna get out there and kick your butt in some hard physical activities , do you really wanna come back in and feed it garbage ?

Oh, in the beginning it might be like that. “I worked out today! I deserve this!” as the cheeseburger and fries go down… or the fancy sugary coffee drink or whatever your poison is. There’s a sense of entitlement.

It might take awhile, or not so long, for the shift to occur. To realize if you’re doing this hard work you don’t want to undermine your efforts. You start looking at things in a different light.

If your physical activities are really hard and demanding it doesn’t take long to understand that what you put in you IS fuel and you need a) enough fuel and b) the right kind of fuel to sustain your activity level.

Last year I picked up a sports nutrition book for endurance athletes to read and teach myself more of what I needed to do. Training for that 50K I knew I needed to really eat…. intentionally.

Let’s just say, there were a lot of days I wasn’t eating enough for what I was physically doing. It takes planning and forethought to consume foods to not only support your daily living and activities but also your purposeful exercise.

I’m learning. I’ve learned a lot and don’t think I’ve arrived at getting it right. It’s a constant work in progress.

Anyway on my journey of the foods I eat, salad has always been a standard for me. Not as a “diet” food. Not because I “had to”… I’m a weirdo… I just enjoy them.

Before I became somewhat knowledgeable of foods and nutritional content one of the food groups I enjoyed in my salad was…… Ranch… yes, Ranch dressing.

It is a food group, isn’t it ? 😉

Then I started getting smarter and realized I was killing and totally negating any positive effects of salad by the dressing on it. Now I was horrible about it, not like some salads I’ve seen where the lettuce is buried under a sea of white dressing, almost no longer visible….

Over time, I slowly weaned myself away from it. Oh, I have it occasionally ( I like it with my salad and pizza 😉 but this is rare for me.

Let me say this. I often eat salads. Most days of the week they are my lunch staple, because I really, honesty, enjoy them. And, you can seriously get all your daily servings of veggies in with it….. double win.

My salads are not just the standard lettuce, tomato, cucumber kind of salads. I throw all kinds of colorful veggies in, sometimes a fruit of some type, some nuts, seeds or other crunch along with some protein. I’ve learned to use spinach as my “lettuce”. It’s a creative venture for me each time 😛

Seriously, spinach is like a powerhouse of amazing, good for your nutrient rich stuff for almost zero calories. You wanna eat that stuff. Our store has been carrying locally grown and it’s spoiling me!

So I learned, if you add enough texture and variety of tastes and flavors to your salads, dressings are only needed in very minimal amounts.

But, as mentioned, when you are on a health and fitness journey, you do begin to look critically at how and what you eat to support and sustain those goals.

20150312_115649 — A sample of a lunch salad…lots of fresh spinach!

One of the main “suggestions” I offer to people who are wanting to lose weight, is to keep a record of what you eat for about a week, and really consider all the little “extras” you might consume but don’t consider empty calories piling into your days.

Things like an over abundance of salad dressing, mayo, and other creamy sauces and the like really do add up. When you can see from your food journal what your consumption of certain items are, you can then begin to examine what you don’t need or could eliminate to help you on your journey to shed weight and get healthier.

Small steps can lead to big, long term changes!

No, I’m Not Eating My Emotions

Food. I like that stuff.

Now days, my food choices are vastly different than those pictured above.

I’ll freely admit that I’ve had to get it in it’s proper perspective over the last few years. Growing up food was the “thing” that you celebrated with, gathered on Sundays for, had extra helpings of, and most importantly, you always, always cleaned your plate. It didn’t really matter you weren’t hungry anymore… just ignore your bodies natural signals of being full and clean your plate.

Happy, sad, angry, depressed, bored, restless, frustrated, holidays, bad weather, stressed, whatever……. all opportunities to eat.

My grandmother and mom were great cooks, and it needs to be mentioned, bakers too. I freely admit to being a baked good snob and can often pass on store bought goodies and cake mix cakes and bagged cookies. I mean, no offense, but when you’ve had a made from scratch 3 layer German Chocolate cake, anything else is simply an imposter.

They ruined me.

I mean, not totally, ’cause I’m a pretty good baker myself and can make cakes that grown men offer marriage 😉 and my sons friends immediately sought to raid my cookie jar because ( according to them) I was the “only” mom who baked real cookies haha

So yeah, food, it was a big deal…. used on many levels in a completely improper way. I hadn’t come to the knowledge (yet) that food was to primarily be fuel for my body. Not a sporting event.

As I got older, I realized that my family definitely was a family of “emotional eaters”. My grandmother was very over weight as was my mom. Actually, if I’m being honest with you, they were considered obese. My brother struggled with his weight most of his life. I had steadily gained weight for a few years when I finally got the kick in the butt to make some changes before I might too have to deal with health issues that plagued my mom, grandmother and brother. I had watched my family use food for comfort and a distraction from boredom for years but was fortunate to have my eyes opened to that.

I often referred to it as mindless eating.

It might look like this: constant grazing while cooking, continuing to eat and pick food from bowls after the meal was long over (and large seconds had been had) eating during the clean up process, basically just consuming food without any thought of what was being done…. or an awareness you’re eating when you aren’t even hungry.

I knew I needed to make myself intentionally mindful of this process to avoid the downfall of a lifetime of emotional eating.

It wasn’t easy. I became aware of the weak part of my days/nights where I’d look for food and not be hungry or when I thought about grabbing something ’cause I might feel stressed, angry, or bored.

Over the past few years I’ll say I think I’m pretty on top of it now…. and I’m very conscious when I let myself do it.

I remember one night after a rather stressful day my husband walked into the kitchen… I had a bag of BBQ chips out on the counter (for the record… I LOVE BBQ chips… but I’m pretty sure they have crack in them) and I was standing there just munching them down… I looked at him and said….

“I want you to know that I’m fully aware I’m totally emotionally eating right now”

I was being kinda silly about it but I was serious too. I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t need to eat them.

It’s a huge step to identify things in your life that are a stumbling block to your health and fitness goals. Once you know your triggers you can make those slow steady changes to freedom.

To break free you must first:

Be real with yourself. Stop making excuses for eating what you don’t need.

Call it what it is… emotional, mindless eating. An unnecessary and unhealthy habit.

Remove yourself from temptation. And that means…get outta the kitchen.

When it was evening and I had eaten and wasn’t hungry, I just brushed my teeth. I knew I wouldn’t get anything after going through that process.

Write down times you feel most vulnerable, or things that drive you to eat when you aren’t truly hungry. Doing this for a week or two will show you patterns that you can then use as a defense strategy.

You love your family… but look at ways you may be influenced to participate in doing this just because it’s always “what you’ve known”. You can still be a part of the fam without engaging in this 😉

Finally, be kind to yourself as you move through this. Awareness is the first huge step to success. Press on and use each day to move forward to freedom =)