Accountability

There are a few things that I have been meaning to talk to you all about. Today, let's start with the basics: food and activity journaling.

I won't bore you with all the junk that you already know: having someone to be accountable to not only increases your diet and exercise adherence, but increases the likelihood of success. I have quite a few clients who are more than capable of getting the work done when it comes to run or gym time, but they need a little push in the food and beverage department. Shoot, even I need a slap on the wrist (especially when it comes to salt and pepper kettle chips) from time to time.


I have always been a fan of CalorieKing.com for looking up nutritional information. They also have a great desktop journaling program, but there is a one-time fee.



A client of mine turned me onto a great website that allows for interaction between friends (similar to Facebook) regarding their diet and exercise. myfitnesspal.com  is a free website with a built-in food and exercise database for online journaling. Here's how it works:
     Go to www.myfitnesspal.com
     Sign up for a free account
     Fill out the necessary blanks so that MFP can give you an appropriate calorie range.
     Play around with the features and become familiar with the food database.
     The EF page can be found at www.myfitnesspal.com/ElevatedFitness   go here, then add me as a friend. You can also search for friends under the community tab.
     Search foods in the database or scan a barcode with your smartphone (mobile app must be installed).
     Most importantly, go to Settings--> Diary Settings--> Diary Sharing --> Choose an option that you are most comfortable with. I have set mine to "friends only".

Aside from maintaining focus on your goals, investigating nutritional information can be pretty interesting (and disgusting at times). I recently realized that a salad I really enjoy at Applebee's has 1500 calories in a full-sized portion! Whoops! Take a peek at some of your favorite chain restaurants and see what you can do to change portion size (half for now, half in a take out box) or preparation (grilled v. "crispy") to stay within a safe nutritional range.

Before you turn into a calorie-counting nutcase, I encourage you to journal well, but be realistic. Get into a good place with your intake and and then take a break from journaling. If you feel like you might be falling of the wagon, hop back on the website and journal for a few days. Journaling is not only about accountability but educating yourself on what foods are out there that are or aren't for you.

Get cracking!
 

Two Recipes to Share

For those of you that read my last post, you know that I am in the process of de-stressing my life. One easy way to streamline your week is take a few minutes on the weekend to map out your weekly meals.

If you have had a session or class with EF, you have probably heard me sing Clean Eating magazine's praises. This magazine inspired me to begin cooking back in 2007 when I stumbled upon it at a local store. I may not do all the cooking in my house, but seeing realistic recipes and healthier meals was a breath of fresh air. The magazine also highlights cooking basics that novices such as myself had never learned...like how to roast just about anything, how to peel and cut a fresh mango, etc. Back then, the magazine came out quarterly (or was it every 2 months?). The reason I bring up this magazine now is that I still subscribe. In each issue, you can find two great sections. 1: 5 budget meals and, 2: A 2-week meal plan that encompasses breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks (plus a super handy shopping list). It really doesn't get any easier than that! Most meals on the meal plan are ready in 30 minutes or less. So, my husband and I sat down and picked out a few meals that we wanted to make this week. Last night we made Island Pork and Sweet Potato Toss w/ Caramelized Onions from the Nov/Dec 2011 issue. It was great! A nice change from the same old 5 or 6 dinners that we seem to rotate through. There was a fair amount of peeling and chopping beforehand, but if the whole family chips in, dinner will be ready in a jiffy (about 30 min). Here's the recipe:

1 tsp evoo

1 1/2 lb sweet onions, sliced into thin rounds

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 orange, juiced and zested

3/4 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2 in cubes

1 large granny smith apple

1- IN a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium for 1 min. Add onions and sauté, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.

2- Meanwhile, fill a medium pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3- To skillet with onions, stir in soy sauce, orange juice and zest. Add pork and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 min, until pork is cooked through.

4- Meanwhile, cut apple into 1/2 in cubes. Add to pork mixture and cook for 1 min. Remove from heat and stir in potatoes. Serve immediately.

On a somewhat related note, my in-laws were kind enough to send us an immersion blender for Christmas. It makes the best smoothies! So much better than the blender and not nearly as pricey as a VitaMix. Here's one of my made up smoothies. Great for breakfast on the go or a post workout/afternoon snack. It makes 2 servings.

Cherry Smoothie (2 servings)

1 cup frozen strawberries, unsweetened

6 oz non-fat, plain greek yogurt

3-4 inches of a fresh banana

2 T ground flax meal

1/4-1/2 cup V-fusion Açai Juice (can substitute OJ if you like)

1/2 cup frozen dark sweet cherries, unsweetened

1- Microwave the strawberries for about 30 seconds; just enough to soften slightly.

2- In a tall plastic cup, combine strawberries, yogurt, banana, flax and V-fusion. Use immersion blender to mix thoroughly (can also use countertop blender if you like). Add in the cherries and mix for 15-20 seconds, or until smooth.
3- NOTE: if you'd like to increase the serving size but not the calories, add in some crushed ice.

Nutrition Info (for 1 serving)

174 cal

3.1 g fat

11.4 g protein

26.7 g carbohydrate

17.4 g sugar

135.5 mg calcium

If you have a recipe that you'd like to share, post here or on the EF Facebook page.

It's a New Year - don't stress out!

After a fantastic extended vacation, I'm back to the daily grind: training all of YOU!

While I was away, soaking up family, friends, and sleeping in past 6am, I had the opportunity to re-examine my daily stressors. Living stress-free over the vacation was an eye-opener. I was sleeping more soundly, laughing more...it was awesome! Now, I'm not one for resolutions. In my experience people that make resolutions typically don't stick with them. I feel that if you need to make a change in your life, the calendar shouldn't have a say in it. BUT, I had some time on my hands.

So, I evaluated the sources of stress in my life that I have control over.

This is what I came up with:

Schedule - Luckily for me, I make my own schedule. Unfortunately, this leads to number 2...
Saying Yes - I understand that a lot of people have this problem, especially moms! Saying yes
               has led me to currently hold about 5 different jobs at 3 different locations.
Family - This presents it's own set of stressors for each individual. Maybe finances, relationship
           woes, or screaming babies.
Chores - All of our daily responsibilities add up. Folding laundry, putting away the dishes,
            walking the dog...little things seem to pile up quickly. Are you the only one performing
            these duties?
My Brain - It sounds silly, but sometimes I let my mind get the best of me, especially before
           bed. I have a habit of replaying scenarios that went wrong or dwelling on the negative.

Do any of these sound familiar? What are your stressors?

Now that I identified a few of these problems, I am going to get to work on re-organizing and prioritizing. Uh-oh, adding tasks to my list of things to do ultimately adds stress...I can't win!

I encourage you to list your stressors and rank them. Who knows, you might even identify a source that you can do something about! The next blog posting will show you how to deal with them all.