PreDisposed, or PreDestined?



Courtesy: National Human
Genome Research Institute



Many people feel that they're just "going to be fat - it's in my genes."  Or, "My parents were that way, I'm destined to be that way."

Well, to try to be gentle but honest: you're WRONG!

Genes do play a role, but they are not the end-all be-all.  They may make things a little bit of an uphill battle for you at first, but you can over come that!

Genes may predispose you to be heavier or have a different metabolism, but that does NOT mean you are predestined with no choice but to be FAT!

Rise above it!  Rise above your genes!

Even the brain behind the Human Genome Project, Eric Lander, expressed his concerns that people would use genes as an excuse to not even try to be healthy.  He states:

"People will think that because genes play a role in something, they determine everything.  We see, again and again, people syaing, 'It's all genetic.  I can't do anything about it.'  That's nonesense.  To say that something has a genetic component does not make it unchangeable."

So say NO to Predisposition!  Start now to buck tradition, and be a rebel!  You CAN overcome your genes!  You can start right now claiming a new future and a new you.  See it, own it, be it!

~Katie

HAPPY NATURAL NEW YEAR!!

It's time for a fresh new start! (pic)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


Welcome to 2011, my friends!! And what a wild ride 2010 has been! (And my New Years Eve was spent, among other things, making sock puppets... but that's it's own story! Haha!)

ADDN is now 1 year old (awww, happy birthday, little blog!) It was a great chance for me to work on some of my new years goals last year - to be healthier, to get back into writing, and to get more research done on food and nutrition. (Though, admittedly, I did slack more as the year progressed and work got busier.)

But what did 2010 have for you? What good things did you do that you want to build on? (Isn't that a more positive spin on the whole "I've been bad, and NOW I'll be good for the new year"?) Hopefully we've all made strides towards growth of one kind or another. Taken time to learn ourselves, to focus our lives, and hopefully love ourselves and those around us.

I know I have many non-food related goals for this upcoming year, but in the spirit of this blog, we'll still be sticking with natural health related topics, and aiming for a more natural, plant-based diet.

Rev those engines, it's time to GO! (pic)

So what's your reason for wanting to continue a wild ride on the health roller-coaster?

To age gracefully: be healthy enough to stick around for grandchildren, decrease risk of any numerous diseases or painful conditions, maybe even turn gray hairs back to their natural color?? (More about that in a future post!)

To be healthier now: to not be huffing and puffing after a simple flight of stairs? (Hey! I used to have that problem!), run a 5K, fit into a new pair of pants, have more mental and physical energy?

To help take care of the earth: promote agricultural animal care, support local farmers, cut out processed poisons, cut down on your pesticide intake, fight for a cause you believe in?)

To have more self confidence: improve the health of your hair and skin, drop some burdensome fat, smooth cellulite, be able to say "I DID IT!"?


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And what are the things that make that difficult to stick to your goal? Time? Convenience? Taste? Not knowing how to make new recipes? Lack of family support? Share your struggles - here or wherever you can! You have my constant support! (And understanding - In this fast-paced, Food Toxic society, it can be difficult to make the effort to change your eating and exercise habits. BUT IT'S WORTH IT!!)


What direction are your first steps taking you?

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Make a plan:
What do you want and by when?
What are the first three steps you can take on your journey?
What are the three biggest barriers to you meeting your goal?
What can you do to overcome those hurdles?
And if you trip, what are three ways to pull yourself back up quickly without getting completely trounced before so?

Think about it, write it down - maybe it's a s simple "First Step" goal such as walking daily, adding a green smoothie to your morning ritual; or more general (to be tweaked later) such as losing weight, running a 5K, deepening your self understanding - and share it! With us or whomever you are comfortable. Sharing your goals makes them more real to you (instead of a passing thought to be tossed aside at the first cookie!) PLUS, hopefully you'll start to gain support from your friends, and maybe someone who can help pull you up when you fall!

What future do you hold?

Make it happen! (pic)

And well, hey, if you're indecisive about a resolution, jump over to
http://moninavelarde.com/newyears/ and have fun playing with their pre-made resolutions ;-)

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Blessed renewals, and joyous journeys!

Sending love and prayers to everyone reading this :)

~Katie


P.S: all pics have a "pic" link to the original site where I found them

Dining on Iodine

While we spent time on the beaches, we would often see a lot of different sea plants washed up. And it made me think of all the seaweeds that, sadly, I do not care for eating, but wish I liked! I am working to incorporate more, and have found a few options thus far.

Iodine is critical for a healthy thyroid (which helps regulate our metabolism) and for normal development of the body and brain. Deficiency in the US is pretty rare now, since table salt has iodine added to it.

But what if you don't want to use fortified supplemental salt, and are trying to get away from processed sodium?

You can find it in natural salty sea plants!

No, I don't recommend combing the beach for whatever wash-ups you find to toss in your salads! ;-)

But there are a number of sea plants you can buy and add to your eating habits. While there are thousands of different sea vegetables, some options are nori, hijiki, wakame, arame, kombu, dulse, and kelp. And, in addition to being amazing sources of iodine, sea vegetables hold a host of health benefits! They may help reduce estrogen-related cancers; they are good sources of different antioxidants; they contain a unique compound called fucoidans that provide anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anticoagulant, antithrombotic, and antiviral properties; and they contain a vast array of other health and beauty minerals! They contain calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, vanadium, and zinc.

Iodine doesn't stay in your system very long, so it is important to get it regularly. I bought a little shaker of raw kelp granules, and I'll just sprinkle a tiny dash of that on salads or vegetable plates. It has a light salt flavor, no fishy flavor, and has more than enough natural iodine in it - so you don't need much at all, meaning this baby will last me for a while.

I've also had raw kelp noodles from Loving Hut before, and it was delicious! I have been told that Sea Tangle sells a good product, and hope to try it sometime!

I have also purchased some nori sheets, and hope to try making a sushi-style veggie roll sometime, but I am still a bit intimidated by the sea salt flavor. But I figure the kelp is a good starting point for me!

So however you choose your iodine, consider something new with sea vegetables and try to ditch the table salt. You can buy flakes to sprinkle on foods, toss strips with salads or veggie mixes, add bits to soups, make your own wraps, or whatever other ideas you come up with!

Happy little sea plant sitting in the sun :)

~Katie

Tabata, Anyone?

Happy Friday, my friends! I hope you have a good weekend planned - whether it's to be filled with chores, relaxation, adventure, or sleep - may you enjoy it and feel fulfilled in the end!

I went to the gym this morning, and tried out a new exercise style called Tabata! And what weird activity might that be??

Allow me to first make a disclaimer regarding exercise - I know most of us feel good enough to just jump into things, but just because I have to say this: See your physician before starting any kind of exercise routine. Also, I am not a personal trainer nor exercise physiologist, or anything like that! All I know about exercise is from personal study and experience. Use the info at your own risk ;-)

So Tabata: it's just a modification of the popular High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), a training type that bodybuilder.com calls "the best, quickest way to get in shape, lose fat, and annihilate your competition." Whoa! Well, I'm not trying to annihilate any competition that I know of!

Many personal trainers and coaches will encourage HIIT training to help maximize cardio time. Basically, you do small bursts of exercise, followed by a short rest period ("intervals".) For example, sprint ("High Intensity") for 10 seconds, walk 10 seconds, repeat these intervals multiple times. Or, use a bike, and do the same idea - power pedal 15 seconds, cruise for 10. Or use the stair stepper, or rowing machine, etc. (You may want to skip the treadmill, though, as usually changes in speed are lengthier to respond while the belt has to gradually slow!)

There are many different ratios for the bursts to the rest, but all HIIT plans share the same philosophy:

Seriously vigorous activity utilizes extra oxygen as you pant harder and get your heart rate up even higher, and creates an "oxygen debt" - which triggers different mechanisms in your body than when you have amble oxygen to use. This helps burn off the stored sugars you have in your blood and muscle, and will then utilize fat for energy. Since people are not likely able to sustain this very intense level of activity of prolonged heart rate and full-lung breathing - doing it in spurts is the next best thing. In theory, you don't need to do a long, steady workout to burn the same calories - plus, you get an "after burn" even once the exercise is finished, continuing to utilize fat stores for energy for some time after you have stopped!

In 1994, a group of scientists published a study in the journal Metabolism. They compared a group of people doing typical endurance training (ET) to those doing some HIIT. They found "the HIIT program induced a more pronounced reduction in subcutaneous adiposity (body fat) compared with the ET program" even though less energy was needed! When they corrected for energy costs (ie: if each group were to use the exact same amount of energy for their exercise), they saw that the loss of body fat was nine times greater in the HIIT program than the ET program!

Sounds good, right?

You can see Subcutaneous is the outer layer of fat. But visceral fat is some of the more dangerous fat!
Too much gunk around your important organs! Keep eating clean, and keep moving, and you can lose that "hard stomach" danger!

So what specifically is the Tabata Protocol? I am not sure how this is different than any other ratio of HIIT exercise, other than it incorporates a whole plan of building up time and keeping track of heart rates. But I figured it only takes 8 minutes, so I'd give it a try! (Though I forgot my heart rate monitor, so I just did the exercise to see how it felt and if I'd want to try more in the future!)

The plan:

5 minutes of warm-up

8 intervals of 20 seconds all-out intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest
2 minutes cool-down

So I hopped on an elliptical machine at the gym, turned on the ipod to psych me up, and gave it a go! The first 4 sets - not too bad! Panting hard, quads burning, and lungs really working! But I was enjoying the speed. When you're watching the timer tick for a mere 20 seconds, that's mentally easier to deal with that seeing it slowly plod along to the 30 minute goal... all 1800 seconds of THAT exercise!

The recommendation is to just start with 2-4 intervals, and gradually work up - but I did the first 4 and just felt like going through all 8!

So I kept pumping - push 20 while I bump the resistance to level 13-15, then cruise for 10 seconds at resistance level 2-4...

By set 6, it was getting tough! But I'd come this far, by golly, I was going to make the last 2 minutes!!

*Pant pant, puff puff, BURN!*

And then... ahhhhh, cruising for 2 minutes at level 3... peace. When I finished, my thighs felt like I'd done a pretty decent workout focused on the quadriceps! Wow! And I was shocked how long it took for my heart rate and breathing to return to normal. (Guess I gotta work on that recovery health!) But it felt good! I love running, so I plan to continue working up to my goal of 5-6 miles; but when time is short, I think this will be a nice alternative practice to add to my life!

You want to "feel the burn"? Try some ratio of interval training! Push yourself, dig in, and see what ya got!

But don't forget that any activity is healthy, and all forms of exercise are beneficial - strength training is good for the muscles and bone density. Cardio in steady rates is good for endurance of the heart and lungs - plus helps you sweat out those toxins! ;-) And don't forget stretching! Flexibility is important for keeping a healthy range of motion, preventing injuries, and keeping circulation moving.

So whatever method you choose - get moving! Even if it's as simple as a walk at lunch. Or hey - next time you come to read a post here, stand up and do some stretching while you read!! Just get that blood moving, and take care of your body! And be excited - you can get a decent workout in 8 to 10 minutes if you really need to! (No, that won't totally make up for an otherwise chip-eating couch-potato existence... but baby steps to health can be addicting!)

Lots of love and lettuce chips!
~Katie

Fad Diet History

There was an interesting article in Time Magazine earlier this year that I stumbled on.  It was a brief page that shared some of the odd diets that have come and gone over the last thousand years!  (Yes!  One thousand years ago, people were still worrying about their weight!  Sort of a shame, if you ask me.)

But here are some of the crazy schemes they uncovered:

1087: William the Conqueror became too fat to ride his horse, so developed the alcohol-only diet.  Doesn't that sound like party time??  I think it'd be more fun to watch others on that diet than it would be to actually BE on that diet!

1829: Sylvester Graham starts the "Vegetarian Graham Diet" that includes his now renowned treat - the Graham Cracker!

1863: William Banting markets the first known "Low Carb" diet.  (Which has been reintroduced over history, most recently from Dr. Atkins)

1900s: Tapeworm pills are marketed.  (The worms crawl in the, the worms crawl out...)

1903: Horace "the Great Masticator" Fletcher instructed people to chew 32 times then spit the food out.  (Can you imagine those dinner parties?!)

1928: The Inuit Diet - another low carb diet that pushed meat and fats

1934: Dr. George Harrop started the "skim milk and bananas" diet (which I read made a comeback across seas last year or so...) 

1960s: The "Calories Don't Count" if you chug some vegetable oils after eating, thanks to the mind of Dr. Herman Taller.  Yuck!

1966: The "Sleeping Beauty" diet - just get sedated and you'll sleep through meal times!

1990s: various restrictive diets like Cabbage Soup Diet, Master Cleanse, etc. 

And I'm sure there have been many other diet schemes through time.  But those were the ones in the article!  I just thought it was an interesting read.  Perhaps I will be thought of as a crazy old loon some day for pushing so much fresh produce, but so be it!  I still believe it's the best way!

Happy eating, everyone!

~Katie

End of the Veggie Run!

Welcome to the end of the work week! (For most, that is.)

I am here to give you the update on how our final Fruit and Veggie Run went!

Wednesday I was feeling great - still loving the abundance of fruits, though admittedly a little tired of salad with no dressing ;-) But I just kept at it - last day, right?? And we had dinner plans with the dad, meeting at Applebee's.

Uh-oh. That sounds tantalizingly dangerous!

So, what's a good little nutritionist do? She plans ahead! I scour their website and hunt down the menu to see what would be acceptable for me. Lo and behold, a beautiful salad is part of their menu! The Asian Crunch Salad - romaine lettuce, cucumber, red onions, roasted red peppers, and sweet peas! I decide to just order it without the chicken and almonds, and dressing on the side.

I don't need no steenking dressing! I has my lemon!

(Mine came without the chicken though!!)

So, with that plan in mind - off we go! The only splurge I make is to keep the almonds - I am hungry and the salad just doesn't sound filling enough without some extra protein. So there it is! A lovely salad - and I devoured that sucker!

....and then we sat there for another hour conversing and laughing and having good times, and Dave had half of his burger sitting there, taunting me.

Evil burger.

A chink in the armor - I ate that half of that acid-forming burger.

Then a damaging blow to the armor!

The men wanted dessert - and oh what a dessert it was! A Maple Butter Blondie and a Chocolate Chip Cookies Sundae staring me in the face.

My rational mind began telling me all the reasons that I didn't want those resplendent foods: they're not really food, they're just "edible foodlike substances," I have worked too hard to bomb that heavily; processed food junks up the system, dairy can cause mucus formation for me... ok, well maybe one little bite....

And those men and their small stomachs! They couldn't finish their desserts! So I did. Ah well, it was enjoyable and tasty - though quickly past the pleasure of the taste buds and then just sat like a brick in the stomach. And that dairy and/or burger sure did affect my mucus production. I felt more congested and drainy that night than I have in a long time!

My body began working to digest all of that, and I don't know if it was just coincidence, but I was so tired! I couldn't even stay awake on the drive home! Thankfully Dave drove!

And the next morning, I woke with a lethargy like none other, and still some mucus buildup in my throat. And no appetite. By the time lunch rolled around, I felt somewhat hungry again, so I enjoyed a fresh veggie salad - but something was still undigested. That salad felt like it just sat there, blocked, and I felt all bloated and cramped. Yuck!

So it's back to my lighter fair again! Yesterday I went back to fruits and veggies and a few nuts. And this morning - so much better! I went to the gym, did my 3.1 miles on the treadmill - and didn't want to get off! So I just kept a'truckin'! Then for the last few minutes, I even cranked up the pace a bit! My 3.1 miles turned into 4.85!! Ahhhh, the body just seems to function better on lighter, colorful foods!

I have a luscious alkalizing green smoothie with me today (my happy desk companion as I type!) and some soaked wild rice to wrap with spinach and sprouts for lunch.

To quote my dad's old-time computer game hero, Duke Nukem: "Ahhhh, much better!"

Happy Friday! Lots of love :)

~Katie

The Day After

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I was blessed with a 3-day weekend thanks to Independence Day! We drove up to visit my relatives in Cleveland - and what a beautiful place we got to see! My uncle took us out on his boat to Lake Erie - so so so peaceful as we got farther from shore and people! He sped us down the water ways, the wind whipping by, but it was so invigorating! Followed by stopping the boat, and just lulling to the waves (and a little bit of the Moody Blues concert could be over heard from a distance!) We also got to check out a national park (I love nature!), saw a small museum display of Lincoln memorabilia, climbed a waterfall, nibbled on wood sorrel ("God's candy!" One of those weeds that you can enjoy!), and relaxed with the relatives. And ate. And ate. Oh, and did I mention - lots of food?

Boy, did we over-indulge! Dave and I enjoyed the all-you-can-eat cornucopia that is always present at the grandparents' :) Three days, three huge meals, and dessert after breakfast?! Yep! Well, that's the love of a grandmother! Such love-filled food, how can you say no?

But, it was a splurge, and I am feeling the bloat today! Ah well, on ward and upward! "Never give up, never surrender"* the fight for good health! So it's back to a week of energy and fresh foods for me! And lots of water to try to help flush out the salty snacks of the weekend.

Just remember - no matter how rough the tumble from the bandwagon, it's always rougher to just lay there and let it run you over than to pick yourself up, smile for the fun foods and times you splurged on, and grab an apple to get you back on track :)

Lots of love - and no judgement of self :)
~Katie

*Yes, I'm a dork. That's a quote from Galaxy Quest.

Life is Nothing But A Fat Rat Race!

That was my theme song this morning as I joined my sister on my first official 5K run! That song is favorite of mine to loosen up and goof off. When it's cranked, we love to "dance like a goober!" Meaning, let loose, lose yourself in the silliness, and dance without caring how odd you look - and maybe even challenge yourself to intentionally look goofy! (No, sorry, I have no videos of this that I know of.)

But my dear sister invited me to pace with her as she ran the 3.1 miles of downtown Columbus. To try to keep her smiling, I began the singing! And - rock on sister - she hunkered down, took the deep breaths, and sang along with me! We got a few odd looks, but who cares?! We had fun!
No matter where you are in your health plan, exercise is a must. And no matter how fit you are, just getting up and moving will give you benefits! My other sister is lucky to make it 3 blocks before making me stop! But that's where she's at, and maybe someday she'll work from there.

Being outside is invigorating - and I challenge you to find something you like! Stay motivated with roller blading, hiking in local parks, playing with your local softball team. Whatever you like! If you're not having fun, you won't stick to it. I am blessed that running gives me a "runners' high" and excites me. I smile and enjoy my run - sometimes laughing and making crazy dance moves to my music. But that keeps me going!

Where are you on your path to health, and what are you enjoying? Smile! Your heart is happy when it gets to work and stretch!
xoxox
~Katie

(I also spent a 3-day-weekend hiking - and that was AMAZING! Ate like a pig all weekend - shhh! - and still ended up a little lighter at the end! Maybe I should look into that more! I'll try to post some picture of that later!)

I got busy!

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I have only posted ONCE this month! I appologize for not being more on top of things, but life has been busy!

I have been studying to become a Certified LEAP Therapist (a diet therapist for food sensitivities that may cause suffering for migraines, IBS-D, fibromyalgia, and a host of other problems), applying for a new job, planning a baby shower for my current job, and planning a lecture on organics and healthy - yet still tasty - foods for busy people. Yikes!

But I will try to get back on top of things here. After all, it IS spring time and the warm weather definitely turns me towards healthy, fresh foods - and many people become more concerned with swim suit season! I have noticed my gym getting frustratingly crowded at new hours...

So Hooray for home workouts! Videos are nice; I still have my eliptical machine; jogging outdoors gives me some peace; or I'm learning about "Primal Workouts" using stuff you have around. Much fun to watch - I'll post more on that as I get further in to it!

But let's look at the spring cleaning... how about cleaning up your house in a more healthy, earth-friendly manner?

That wonderful Enviromental Working Group that I enjoy so much has come out with a Healthy Home Checklist you can use! There is a lot of great information about getting chemicals out of your clothes, your cleaning, and your body! See where you feel comfortable making some tweaks! And keep up with trying to spring clean your diet and your body, too!

Happy cleaning!!

~Katie

Get outside and get some clean air! ...if you can find it ;-)

Wednesday Words and The "Unsexy" Detox

Today’s words are two I’ve been using lately, and I realized that I don’t use them in the same sense that the media often does. DETOX and CLEANSE. Wooo-ey! These are terms that get thrown around a lot in the news! I mean, who hasn’t heard the latest celebrity Miss Skinny doing a master cleanse, or Mr. Fancy Pants doing such-and-such a detox regimen. And wow, don’t they just look great and slim?!

The way they media uses them, you might as well say “UNDERNOURISH” and “STARVE.” But that’s not what these terms really mean! Sure, there are many fad programs around that ask you to drink crazy concoctions, or fast, or use enemas, or who knows what else! And yes, with such a caloric restriction, you will probably lose weight - while your on it. But most of the time, people who follow these plans just end up back where they started afterwards, because they haven’t changed their lifestyle. They only brute-force made their way through on shear determination and will-power, not a gentle lifestyle change of acceptance.

(slow and steady does it! It's not a race to heal your body!)

But, you body IS made to detoxify and cleanse itself naturally. And you CAN do some things to help promote these functions!

Usually DETOXING is the process of loosening undesirable toxins from being stored in the body. Undesirables can be medicines, alcohol, pollution, chemicals, pesticides (go organic when you can!).

The liver is your primary detoxifier, with the kidneys offering some help. So if you want to better “detox,” you want to support your natural kidney and liver functioning and avoid things that drag down efficiency. Alcohol, fried foods, and processed foods can be tougher for your liver to deal with, so try to avoid those. Conversely, I mention in a previous blog about kale helping to stimulate digestive enzyme production in the liver, so kale may be thought of as a “detoxifying” food. Kale comes from the cruciferous vegetable family. Other veggies in this family can help as well: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, and Brussles sprouts. These foods contain sulfur. For me, sulfur often dredges up images of the demons from Frank Peretti’s book This Present Darkness... ;-)

(or on a less book-nerdy level, burnt matches!)

But sulfur is a molecule the liver uses to detoxify the body of a wide range of prescription medications, pesticides, and other types of environmental toxins. Other sulfur-continuing foods include onions and garlic. Studies are now also looking to turmeric, cinnamon, and licorice as helpful for the liver detoxing.

And CLEANSING is often your body purging those toxins out of your body completely.

So primarily, your intestines and skin are important routes for disposal. You want to keep these pathways healthy. When I counsel women suffering from constipation, I always recommend “The 3 F’s: Fluids, Fiber, and Fitness.” Fluids keep things soft; fiber helps push it through; and aerobics (even just walking) can also help stimulate movement. These three items work together to help your intestinal tract and eliminations moving efficiently. Go for that Smooooth move!

Regarding skin, general hygiene keeps your pores open so they can provide a way for toxins to leave. Sweating is good! (I hear my little sister groaning now, ahh, the sweet sound!) ;-) But seriously, it can help get some of the junk out, just be sure to wash it off as soon as you can rather than letting your body reabsorb it! And try to avoid caking your face in a make-up once in a while to let your skin breathe! So, due to its skin benefits, yesterday’s Skin-So-Smoothie recipe could possibly even be considered a “Cleansing” drink!

There has been suspicion that there is a link between dairy and acne. There still needs to be more research done to be sure, but one study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology looked at 47,355 women (that’s a lot o’ estrogen!) and compared their dairy intake to acne history. They looked at milk, instant breakfast drink, sherbet, cottage cheese, and cream cheese and all were positively associated with acne. They said “We hypothesize that the association with milk may be because of the presence of hormones and bioactive molecules in milk.” Hmmm… so, if you’re going for the dairy, AT LEAST please grab the organic, hormone-free variety! …But I digress…

Detoxing and Cleansing are very detailed topics in the nutrition world, so I really only touch on them here. But I hope that covers some of the basics, at least! Remember: your body loves you; love it back! :)

I’m sorry if I have disillusioned any “sexy” ideas of detoxing and cleansing. There really aren’t magic bullets, and natural health is best! Your body is made to take care of itself – just don’t overdo the harmful things! And help it along with the right healthy lifestyle.

But, if you want an “unsexy” sounding detox plan… well, try this plan for 7 days and let me know how you feel!

The Unsexy Detox:

1.Eliminate these “toxins”:
-Table sugar
-Pops/colas/sports drinks
-Fast food/highly processed foods
-Foods with added sugars – cookies, cakes, candy, etc
-Refined starches – white flour, white rice, white pasta

2. Drink plenty of fluids
–aim mostly for water (plain or with some lemon, lime, cucumber, mint, etc), and maybe a little tea -Listen to your body, but usually the average recommendation is 6 to 8 8-ounce cups daily.

3. Eat real foods with plenty of fiber
-fruits, veggies, seeds, whole grains
–try some fun grains! Quinoa, millet, amaranth, buckwheat…

4. Get AT LEAST the recommended 5 fruits or veggies daily, if not more!
-Have a green smoothie with some extra kale and collard greens!
-See if you can get 10 servings in! (C’mon, all those smoothie recipes will usually have at least 4-5 servings for just one recipe!)

5. If you need meat, eggs, or dairy, make sure it’s the lean versions, and go organic and hormone free!

Do that, and I bet you’ll feel better (after the first few days), and likely, you’ll drop some weight!

Ok, so that was a long one. But I hope you start to apply some of the ideas and remember how much food can affect your health! Enjoy some whole, healing foods and save that dessert for this Valentine’s weekend!

Honeydew Hugs!
~Katie

Breakfast?

Good morning!

Today I just wanted to touch on a quick topic: breakfast - essential or not?

Most of us have heard over and over "eat your breakfast!" "Breakfast is a key to losing weight!" and other such promotions of breakfast. And yes, nutrition in the morning is good - helps your mind, body, and energy! ...But only once you're ready for it!

Intuitive eating is becoming the new focus for dietitians in helping counsel their clients. Learning to listen to the body, to wait until you're feeling true hunger to eat and then to listen to your body when it tells you to stop, even if there's still food on the plate! And breakfast is as good a meal as any to listen to your body!

Sunday night went out with a bang - weekends are hard for me to stick to healthy eating! But I ate late at night, and ate a bunch of heavy foods. When I got up this morning, well, I was not hungry! So, I didn't eat right away and instead, sipped on water, and then brought a smoothie with me to work. I did not want to be forced to wait for lunch to get the health and nutrition I need, but I also didn't want to overwhelm my bloated tummy. No, skipping meals is not a great idea. But neither is forcing yourself to eat just because "it's time to" If you are able to, take snacks for when you DO get hungry! Take an apple to work; keep a bag of baby carrots in the fridge; snack on a small bag of nuts, have food available for when you are hungry.

So what do you do about breakfast when you're not hungry? Well, make sure you will be hungry! What did you have for dinner? Lots of dense, heavy foods? What time did you eat dinner? Late? Try eating earlier so you have time to digest your food so that you CAN be hungry in the morning! I know, I know - night time is the hardest time to fight those cravings :) But you can do it! Let your body have the night to rest and recover - not get back logged with processing heavy meals and desserts!

You'll sleep better and feel better!

Sleep well!
~Katie

Wednesday Words: Label Reading

Label Reading

As you probably have noticed, I would encourage you to buy and eat mostly foods that DON'T contain food labels - fresh fruits and fresh veggies. But there will of course be items that do have labels. I just wanted to look at a few terms found on food packaging labels, but there are many, many, many terms.

And, boy howdy, can they be sneaky!

Did you know that "fat free" doesn't really mean fat free? And that "calorie free" doesn't mean there are zero calories?

Ahhh, and the fun begins!

So, here's the top two tricky lingo you may see on a package, and what it can legally mean.

Calorie Free: Less than 5 calories per serving

Fat Free: Less than 0.5g of fat per serving

Yup, on labeling, they are allowed to simply round number down.

Another trick with fat free - it SO does not mean "calorie free"! If there's less fat, chances are the flavor is being made up with extra sugar and/or salt. Just because a cookie is "fat free" or "diet" doesn't mean it's helpful towards your weight goals - and by no means will it guarantee natural and healthy! Chances are, it's a highly-processed nutrient-depleted, love-it-for-a-moment-feel-guilty-later hunk of immediate gratification that does not lend itself towards natural, healthy, beautifying goodness. Better than an even more yucky option? Maybe. Worth it for the moment if you truly enjoy it and won't feel guilty later? Possibly. But that's your call.

Fun stuff, eh? ;-)

When working at a weight-loss retreat, the best examples of this were seen with a spray butter, and artificial sweeteners, both that claimed "fat free, calorie free." One poor woman would douse her potatoes, salads, vegetables... with the "fat free, calorie free" butter spray, assuming that would be conducive to her diet plans. The catch? She was going through about 1 bottle a week, which - despite misleading labeling - contained something like a whopping 200g fat, and over 1000 calories!

Little packets of sweeteners can be the same. Nutrasweet, Splenda, Equal, etc - debates on being potential carcinogens aside - all tend to average 4 calories per packet. So, legally, they can claim to be "calorie free." One woman liked to sweeten her daily yogurt with 3 packs, her cottage cheese with 2 packs, her coffees with 4+ each, her pineapple with 3 packs... In a day, she said she was adding well over 20 packs per day. So, from "calories free" items, she was adding almost 100 calories PER DAY from "calorie free" foods. Perhaps you feel 100 calories isn't that big a deal, but when you're basing your weight goals on counting calories, that extra 100 per day can add up to an additional pound per month that you aren't losing as you expected!

So, be label savvy, and also label minimizing - go for the good stuff! The natural, healthy, healing, vibrant stuff that doesn't need all the confusing jargon anyways!

xoxox

~Katie

Wednesday Words

Today's Wednesday Word is more of a concept: BMI!

To piggy-back on the exercise video... I was thinking more about exercise and healthy weight. Someone made a comment to me that "according to my BMI, I am over weight." And I looked at them, and was shocked they thought that! They looked good and strong, but not with excess fat. So, I thought commenting on BMI and some exercising may be good to put in here...

BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a generalized formula to figure out the ratio of your weight to your height. More weight typically is interpreted as "more fat." And for some people, that's true. But what about muscle? Muscle is heavy, too! The common example people give for this is Arnold Schwarzenegger (especially when he was a professional body builder.) At one point, while standing at 6'2" and 250 pounds, the BMI chart would have labeled him a resounding "obese" at 32.1 kg/m2. But, since he was probably mostly some good rock-hard muscle, though the chart may have defined him as overweight, he surely was not "over fat." And there is a difference.


The point? Just like the numbers on a scale shouldn't define you, neither should the number on a BMI chart. This BMI concept is not 100% indicitive of your health. Use it to get an idea, and be honest with yourself regarding your health.

BMI is simply one more screening tool to gauge your health, but it is not definitive. Yes, it can give you an idea, but if you are highly focused on strength training (and you should be incorporating at least some strength training!) as you gain muscle, you may not see that scale budge since you might be putting on muscle weight while losing fat weight. What you want to look out for is putting on excess fat weight. If you really feel the need to know numbers, the best bets are waist to hip ratio, or to find your percenft body fat (but that's not always to get the equipment for.) Or don't stress about numbers, and just take the steps towards healthier, natural living! Make sure you are trying to balance healthy nutrition, cardio, strength training, flexibility and stretching, a healthy attidude and stress management skills! These are all important components for a healthy lifestyle.

Breathe deep, you're halfway through the week!

~Katie

Greenie Meanie

Alright, my friend. It's time... Embrace the Green! :) A power house drink to help boost your energy and begin cleansing your body inside and out!

Bear with me - as it can take some getting used to. Raw foodists love this type of drink. All the fresh nutrients in it can pack quite the energy punch! I like to drink some version of this most weekdays before work - since I have started it, I haven't needed coffee. The rich greens are full of energy-boosting vitamins, rich in antioxidants, very alkaline, and full of fiber to help with satiety!

Here's my basic recipe (all organics), but feel free to alter and let me know what types of spin you put on it!

-one apple, cored but not peeled
-one pear, cored not peeled-juice of half a lemon

-1/4th a head of Romain lettuce (or start with spinach, which usually tastes less “green”)

-1 Collard green leaf, or 2 Kale leaves

-water to desired consistency

Put everything in a blender, and give it a whirl! For your first time, you may will want to push some more fruits – pears, grapes, and bananas work well – but really whatever you. You may even prefer to start with just a fruit smoothie with a handful of spinach.

The "greenness" taste was almost overwhelming for me at first, but I've since gotten used to it. Oddly enough, some days I crave this sucker! Well, my body does - my tongue does not always agree! But I know that I feel better, lighter, and healthier when I have this for breakfast. Over time, as you get used to this little guy, you may start to cut back on the fruit, and push some of the darker greens.

Other additions I have made to this (once I realized I was sticking to the healthy, natural diet that I am now on) I went a bought some watercress, spirulina, hemp protein, and goji berries to add.

Having this for breakfast can fill your body with many needed nutrients, hopefully giving you a healthy kick to the day to kill those nasty cravings for useless, processed dead foods! And, then should you eat something less desirable later, well, at least you got this awesome start to the day!

Rock on, my friends, and give that Greenie Meanie a try! Oscar the grouch would be proud do slurp one of these (and maybe he wouldn't be so crabby then! Though I guess his grouchdom is endearing) ;-)

Here's to your Sunny Days, Sweeping the Clouds Away!

~Katie (and Oscar!)

Quotes

Happy Second-Week-of-the-New-Year!!!

Hopefully you've been sticking with your resolutions for the week. And, now that the weekend is rolling around, I thought a little kick of motivation may be good! (I know I'm going to be facing much junky foods later today for a belated Christmas/early birthday party...)

Today I wanted to post some quote that I find motivating, or just interesting! Some days, my motivation to stick to a natural, healthy diet wanes (I am probably the only person I know who watched Fast Food Nation and craved a McDonald's burger. Yeah, I have my horrible cravings, too!)

So here are some little sayings that I like to keep in mind for those times.

"The first wealth is health..." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels" -Anon?*

"Poor health is not caused by something you don'thave; it's caused by disturbing something that you already have. Health is not something you need to get, it's something you have already if you don't disturb it." -Dean Ornish

"Living a healthy lifestyle will only deprive you of poor health, lethargy, and fat." -Jill Johnson

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but instead will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." -Thomas Edison

"No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you absolutely, positively do have the power to change." -Bill Phillips

But even if you "fall off the bandwagon," that's okay! You've put in a good week (hopefully) and can't get back up! Try not to let a mistake "give you permission" to crash the rest of the day, though. Take a few deep breaths to regain control, smile, and at least enjoy the food you eat - whatever it may be!

Have a wonderful health-motivated day!

~Katie

*if you know where this quote originated, please let me know! :)

Understanding Cravings

*Warning! This is a long post! But I think it covers a variety of helpful topics that can help you break away from junk and start moving towards a healthier, more natural you! :)

There are many reasons we eat choices that we know to be less than healthy (c'mon - deep down somewhere, you KNOW that cookie isn't healthy! Growing up, my mom always liked to jokingly proclaim "if you break it in half - all the calories fall out!" Pretty clever, right?)

So we try restraining ourselves from “junk” food, we do “low fat”, we do “diet”, we starve, struggle, and diligently record every crumb and morsel that we put in our mouths. (Honestly – I found keeping a log to be quite helpful at times! I’d be too lazy to want to write something in my log, so TADA! I just wouldn’t eat it!) But seriously - who wants to count calories all day? Who has time to?! I probably could, but there are other things I would rather do. So, calorie count no more! Let's look at the cravings and a small glimpse into one of the many reason WHY we eat what we eat.

There's an interesting phenomenon called pica, seen where people eat non-food items because the body is desperately seeking some lacking nutrient. Most commonly, pregnant women crave ice induced by low iron in their blood - but I've worked with many pregnant women who also chomp on tissue paper, dive spoon first into tubs of corn starch, and even go scrounging around their own yards for dirt! Often getting a prenatal vitamin with iron helped lessen these unhealthy cravings.

Is it really so different for the rest of us? Most people don't get their needed nutrients. In a society of high-fat, high-salt, low-nutrition convenience foods, is it a wonder that we're lacking in magnesium, iron, vitamin D, and any other multitude of necessary nutrients? And in lacking nutrition, we crave anything to make that void feel better. In fact, Dr. Joel Fuhrman states “One key factor that determines whether you will be overweight is your failure to consume sufficient fiber and nutrients.”

We are an overfed, undernourished society.

And to make matters worse, the lack of crop rotation and over use of the soil in conventional farming depletes the soil of its health as we burn through it with mass-production; this will further reduce nutrient content of foods (oh dear, I may be opening a can o’ worms with that one…) There was a review of 41 studies that compared organic and conventionally grown produce. It stated that even for someone following the USDA recommendation of 5 servings of vegetables daily, if these foods were not organically grown, because of that nutrient-depleted growing conditions, the produce would be depleted and the person would not be getting their needed intake of vitamin C, while the organic counterparts would!

And today, 85% of farm soils are found to be depleted; and conventional spinach may contain less than 2% of the iron in used to have in 1948!

So how on earth are we supposed to get all the nutrients we need?! Mass fruits and veggies - preferably organic. "But Katie! I've already tried eating another serving of fruits and vegetables! I don't like them, and I still end up craving junk food!" Right? Here's the cool part - if you can commit to just a few days of a few nutrient power-house foods, like the woman who loses her craving for dirt when her nutritional needs are met, your cravings for processed foods and sugary empty calories can diminish! I'm not saying they'll be gone completely. You may have a life time of crave-inducing empty-calorie habits to purge, and the body is made to fight change and maintain homeostasis - even if the changes are for the good. But you can get a great kick-start! And then watch as those cravings continually lessen over time. It's not a quick-fix diet; it's a life-long lifestyle change. But it does get easier!

I went from daily dependence on coffee with a need for dessert nightly (and any other food I could get my hands on as soon as I got home), to coffee-free and satisfied with a 1 ounce square of organic dark chocolate on occasion. For the first time in three weeks, I had a diet coke last night. While this USED to be my favorite drink, I didn't even finish the thing because it just didn't taste right to me! It was sticky chemicalized fakeness. Bleh!

The way that worked for me? A green smoothie for breakfast, and a huge salad for lunch, some sort of “sensible” dinner that includes generous amounts of vegetables, a moderated intake of nuts and seeds, and as many fruits and vegetables as I wanted for snacking.

One thing to keep in mind: you end up craving what you eat, especially when you’re eating fats or sweets – as shown in a study published in Appetite in 2008. So, with a lifetime of processed, fatty, sugary foods under your belt, you will probably experience those cravings. But on the other hand, a vast quantity of fresh produce begets cravings for more fresh produce! One of my friends was encouraging some of her clients to do a very high intake of fruits and vegetables: 9+ per day. To understand what it would take, she decided to “put her food where her mouth is” and also bump up her intake. The result? She would crave an orange for dessert! Now, I'm not saying I never crave my old foods (fast food, cakes, nachos, etc) but the sensation definitely has decreased over time, to the point I find them manageable most of the time!

Sound too intense? Just try to incorporate 2 fruits a day. Not juice, you sneaky person, you! ;-) Whole fruit – in all it’s fiber, phytochemical, and cancer-fighting antioxidant glory! And then begin working on having one salad a day… and work from there. Any little steps are better than none.
Honestly, I find the all-at-once approach worked best for me. I can will-power my way through a few days of intense healthy food, and by then, my craving for other foods was diminished enough that it’s been easy to keep packing in the vegetables – and, shockingly, no, I’m NOT tired of salad! I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t tried it. But you start getting creative with dressings, new vegetables to try, and just feeling more energetic – it’s enough to keep me going.

Another bonus of all the fruits and vegetables – with fewer calories, they still have a lot of volume (turn down those plums, Johnny, the neighbors all complaining again! Hyuck, hyuck… Sorry.)

One of the ways your mind tells you that you’re full is when your stomach stretches! So, a large volume of foods - not a large caloric intake - will cause that ballooning, and your mind will register “oh, we’re full! That’s it! Turn off the hunger cues!” in about 20 minutes (so take your time eating!)

Ok, so, that’s a bit of an overload of information. Where to start?

Step one: go to the store, and buy some fruits and vegetables you know you like to snack on.

Step two: While there, also plan to make a Veggie Weapon salad for the week, so get a few good “salad items” that you like, such as carrot, radish, cucumber, avocado, tomato… Then grab head or two of a leafy green of your choice (Romaine lettuce is good, or Bibb lettuce. Skip Iceberg. As my sister so eloquently puts it – “it’s crunchy water.” Yup, good water content, but little else.) Later, I'll post about green smoothies (and not-so-green-but-still-helpful ones, as well!)

Step three: get it all home, wash it, snack on whatever fancies you, and put the rest away until you're ready for it!

The produce section is your friend. Get to know it! The rest of the store, with a few exceptions, is a waste of space. It’s jam packed with highly processed, low nutrient, crave-inducing marketing ploys. Perhaps I’ll blog later about the psychology of markets – the amount of money that goes into researching HOW to make consumers buy more of what they don’t really need is astounding! But for today, I think I’ve covered enough, and then some!

So get out to the store, and happy shopping!

~Katie