Showing posts with label food groups. Show all posts

Monday, May 26, 2008

BBQ Season!

Appraising Your Success
The end of the week is a good time to review the past week of your SWEET Life and count up your accomplishments. Your goal is 5-6 times per week for each aspect of the SWEET Life: Sleep, Water, Eating, Exercise, and Tranquility. If you didn’t achieve some of your goals for the week, then next week, focus on those areas more and think about how to fulfill them more consistently.
How do you feel at the end of this week? Are you better rested? Do you feel relaxed? Are you more energetic? Do you feel generally healthier? Continue with the SWEET Life and you’ll experience all of these feelings!

Topic of the Week – BBQ Season!

Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial beginning of the summer and barbeque season. That conjures up images of hot days, grilling meat, hanging out with friends, and drinking beer. Ironically, I don’t think meat and beer are great on a hot day because they are filling and heavy. I’d much rather have a cool salad and lemonade (with mango rum) on a hot day, but those aren’t the images we have when thinking: bbq. Because bbq’s generally involve lots of meat and beer, how can we enjoy ourselves at a bbq and still live the SWEET Life?

First, a little aside: always wear sunscreen. Apply it 30 min. before going out in the sun and reapply every couple hours.

Now, back to bbqs:

SLEEP: Hanging out in the sun, eating heavy foods, and drinking alcohol make us tired, so sleeping after a bbq is not a problem.

WATER: It’s very easy to get dehydrated at a bbq because you are outside in the sun, drinking alcohol. Try to alternate beer with a glass of water or drink a cup of water every hour you are there.

EATING: This is what a bbq is all about! I always try to bring either fruit or vegetables to a bbq because those are usually lacking. Some easy things to bring are a green salad, a fruit salad, veggies sticks & hummus dip, veggies to grill, or corn.

In order not to go overboard on eating at a bbq, especially at a potluck bbq, it’s important to have a game plan. You don’t want to feel deprived or “dieting”, but you don’t want to regret what you eat either. If it’s a simple bbq with 4-5 dishes, I’ll take a little scoop of each and enjoy my meal. On the other hand, if it’s a potluck and there are many delectable dishes to choose from, I have to set stricter limits because eating a scoop of 10-15 dishes is a huge amount of food!

1. I don’t limit fruits and vegetables, because no one got fat eating fruits and vegetables.

2. I limit myself to one serving of meat, which means I might have to select from a variety of them. What’s a serving? A serving of meat is the size of the palm of your hand. If it’s tough to decide which meat, I’ll eat one I haven’t eaten for a while. (I do that at restaurants, too.) I might take a half-serving of a couple meats instead.

3. I limit myself to a couple servings of grains, like one hamburger bun, a few slices of French bread, or a scoop of pasta salad.

4. I don’t really think of dairy and bbq, but I do like cheese on my burgers. Cubes of cheese or a cheese plate with French bread or crackers is common at some bbqs, but I remember that a one-inch cube of cheese is a 1 oz. serving and about 100 calories! I need to pay attention to how many of those I’m popping in my mouth!

5. All the unhealthy stuff: I’ll eat a couple bites of anything that looks really appealing. However, I don’t take a little of everything “just to be polite” and I don’t eat anything that doesn’t taste good on the first bite. It’s amazing how much we eat just because “it’s there.” Remember: you are not a garbage disposer!

EXERCISE: Bbqs don’t involve any exercise besides putting fork to mouth, and since they tend to be calorie-heavy meals, it’s a good idea to burn off some calories ahead of time. If you decide, instead, to burn off the calories after the bbq, with all that protein in your body, you are ready for a good strength-training workout.

TRANQUILITY: Bbqs are all about tranquility: hanging out with friends and being outside on a beautiful day are great ways to release stress and relax.

Welcome to bbq season! Enjoy!

Look for another topic next week, and keep living the SWEET Life!

Suzanne
Weekly Encouragement history: http://sweetlifeweekly.blogspot.com/
The SWEET Life of Suzanne blog: http://thesweetlifeofsuzanne.blogspot.com/
Website: http://livingthesweetlife.net/

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Fulfilling All the Food Quantities

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Arguments For & Against Eating Dairy

Appraising Your Success

Here it is the end of the first week of the year! It is a good time to review your SWEET Life and count up your accomplishments. Your goal is 5-6 times per week for each aspect of the SWEET Life: Sleep, Water, Eating, Exercise, and Tranquility. If you didn’t achieve some of your goals, then focus on those areas more and think about how to fulfill them more consistently. You need a plan, not a hope, in order to be successful. If your plan isn’t working, it’s time to revise your plan.
How do you feel at the end of this week? Are you better rested? Do you feel relaxed? Are you more energetic? Do you feel generally healthier? If so, that’s great! Continue with the SWEET Life and you’ll continue to experience all of these feelings! If not, know that by living the SWEET Life, you will feel all these great feelings!

Topic of the week –Arguments For & Against Eating Dairy

Nowadays, there seem to be a lot of people, especially women, who are cutting dairy out of their diets. At the same time, the dairy industry’s ads say that drinking milk will help you lose weight. What’s true vs. fiction? Why should you or shouldn’t you consume dairy products? I searched the internet for arguments both for and against dairy products. As with all internet research, I tried to screen carefully for reputable sources of information because there is a lot of unsubstantiated bias out there. The best sources of information I found are listed at the bottom, so check them out.

First, why you should NOT drink milk. There are four main reasons why people don’t drink milk. Some people are concerned about the hormones given to dairy cows in order to supplement their diets and help them produce more milk. I didn’t find evidence that those hormones pass through the milk in sufficient quantities to endanger humans. Perhaps you can find the contrary.

Another reason not to drink milk is the high saturated-fat content and calories. However, low fat dairy products, such as milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. have significantly lower saturated fat content than full-fat versions, and the calorie intake is moderate. Even the dairy industry suggests low fat, rather than full-fat, dairy products.

Some people are lactose intolerant, which is an extremely good reason no to drink milk! However, this problem can often be alleviated by a small, regular introduction of dairy products, like yogurt and some types of cheese, which have lower quantities of lactose than milk does.

The most significant reason for not consuming dairy products is that milk today comes from industrialized factories, just like our cars, computers and Ipods. That means, the goal is to have the highest output in the shortest time. The farmers do everything that modern man has created to achieve their goal. Their cows are not pets; they are factory workers. They are used and abused as long as they produce; then they are “made final use of” and replaced. If all this is appalling enough to make you stop eating dairy, then I completely understand.

Fortunately, for us in California, we do have local dairy farms which are not industrialized factories and which produce organic milk from pastured cows. So then, on the flip side, why should you consume dairy products? First of all, they taste yummy! I love dairy products: milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, butter, cream, etc. Besides tasting good, they come in all shapes, sizes and flavors. They combine well with other foods, such as cheese and bread, broccoli and cheddar, yogurt and fruit, ham and cheese, just to name a few. Dairy products have been dietary staples since ancient times.

Nutritionally, dairy products are the best source of calcium, which helps build strong bones and teeth. They are also a good source of protein, second only to meat in protein content. Milk also contains significant amounts of your daily recommended intake of Vitamins A, B-12, D and Phosphorous. That’s a total of six nutritional essentials, in significant quantities, from one dietary source: dairy.

Lastly, studies show consuming dairy helps with weight loss. Consuming the same number of calories, there was increased weight loss on a diet containing diary products compared to one without dairy. It seems that calcium wraps around fat and leads it out the back door without being digested. Studies also show that consuming calcium from food sources is better than calcium supplements, which is no surprise. It is the nature of “supplements” not to be the main source of any nutrient; hence the name” supplement”!

In conclusion, I recommend eating dairy for two reasons: it has important nutritional value, and I don’t support cutting out any major food groups. Plus, it tastes great!

Sources:
http://calag.ucop.edu/0205SO/pdfs/orgmilk.pdf
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/myths.htm#foodmyths
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/slim/calcium.shtml
http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_cows_dairy.asp
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/dairy.htm
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040416/dairy-foods-fat-weight-loss

Look for another topic next week!

Have a SWEET week!

Suzanne

Sunday, December 23, 2007

How to Have a SWEET Christmas

Appraising Your Success
The end of the week is a good time to review the past week of your SWEET Life and count up your accomplishments. Your goal is 5-6 times per week for each aspect of the SWEET Life: Sleep, Water, Eating, Exercise, and Tranquility. If you didn’t achieve some of your goals for the week, then next week, focus on those areas more and think about how to fulfill them more consistently.
How do you feel at the end of this week? Are you better rested? Do you feel relaxed? Are you more energetic? Do you feel generally healthier? Continue with the SWEET Life and you’ll experience all of these feelings!

Topic of the week - How to Have a SWEET Christmas

Here, I expose my religious orientation, which is Christian. If you do not celebrate Christmas, you might be able to apply these ideas to a holiday that you do celebrate. If you do celebrate Christmas, here are some suggestions for how to have a SWEET Merry Christmas.

Sleep
If you have kids, tell them to go to bed early because the earlier they to go sleep, the earlier Santa will come. Also tell them they can’t leave their bedrooms until it’s light outside (~7:00 a.m.). Once it’s light, they should wake you up and only open their stockings before you are there (or whatever other restrictions you want to set). At the same time, you should also have your visit with Santa as early as possible (remember, gifts from Santa aren’t necessarily wrapped) so that you can go to bed early too. And don’t eat Santa’s cookies & milk just before bed because the sugar could give you strange dreams and disrupt your sleep.

Water
It’s easy to forget and to be too busy to drink water on Christmas day. Here are a few suggestions that might help you remember to hydrate yourself:
· Drink water each time you eat
· Drink water between alcoholic drinks
· If you’ll be at your own home, have a cup in the bathroom and drink some water each time you go in there.

Eating
Don’t “save up” and only eat Christmas dinner because of the “interest” that accrues when you starve yourself. You always hear that you’ll eat more at that one meal if you starve yourself beforehand. Well, I always thought that made sense because the extra calories at that one meal make up for not eating breakfast or lunch. However, what actually happens is that you “accrue interest” and end up eating more total daily calories and more fat, salt and sugar calories when you starve yourself then gorge yourself on one meal. Besides that, you will feel stuffed and uncomfortable for several hours after eating a huge meal.

Now that I’ve convinced you not to starve yourself all Christmas day, be conscientious to eat nutritiously during the other meals of the day. Eat small, simple meals of fruits and veggies and whole grains. These foods have a low glycemic index and a high nutrient content, which means they will keep your blood sugar (i.e., energy) level consistent and add the vitamins and minerals that you might miss in your big, Christmas dinner.

At the same time, and most importantly, enjoy your Christmas dinner! Like I said at Thanksgiving, serve yourself just a few bites-worth of each dish. If you don’t like something, don’t waste stomach space and calories by eating it. Just leave the rest, which will only be 1-2 bites-worth anyway. Holiday feasts tend to be high in protein, fat and high-calorie, low-nutrient carbs. Therefore, load up on any fruits and veggies that you can to get some balance in your nutritional load.

Another way to help control your eating is to wear close-fitting clothes with a belt to prevent yourself from eating too much. Remember the Hawaiians: they wore loose-fitting muumuus and weighed 300 lb. Don’t eat like a Hawaiian.

You’ll feel more comfortable and consume fewer calories and more healthy nutrients if you do the above.

Exercise
My first thought is: skip it; it’s Christmas!
However, my husband’s family likes to take a walk together after a noontime Christmas dinner. It’s actually very nice to get out in the fresh air and move around a bit after sitting around and eating so much. If the weather continues as is, we should have a beautiful sunny day for taking a nice family walk.

Tranquility
Tranquility could be an easy, natural part of Christmas.
Or Christmas could be stressful due to family relations, having too much to do, having too much to cook and prepare for the family, etc. If Christmas = stress, then you definitely need to plan some Tranquility into your day. It’s a great Christmas gift to yourself. Tell your family you need ½ hr. (or 1 hr.), so they know to leave you alone. Consider your schedule for the day, and decide if, mentally, you need it before the onslaught of Christmas or after it, in order to unwind from the day. Here are some examples:
· Go to church; ‘tis the reason for the season.
· Morning: take a bath with nice bath oil or salts, a candle, and peaceful Christmas music to start your day.
· Noon: After opening gifts with your immediate family and before your afternoon or evening extended family gathering, take a walk, or have a family “Quiet time” when everyone does something quietly, like read a book, newspaper, or magazine; play with new, quiet toys; watch a football game, etc.
· Evening: If your Christmas celebration ends by the early evening, it’s a good time to take a walk and enjoy the Christmas lights in your neighborhood, watch a Christmas movie, use a Christmas gift (if you received anything relaxing), etc.

Christmas should be a fun, happy celebration. It’s up to you to make sure you have a SWEET, wonderful day.

Merry Christmas!

Suzanne

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

How to Add Fruits & Vegetables to your Day

Appraising Your Success

The end of the week is a good time to review the past week of your SWEET Life and count up your accomplishments. Your goal is 5-6 times per week for each aspect of the SWEET Life: Sleep, Water, Eating, Exercise, and Tranquility. If you didn’t achieve some of your goals for the week, then next week, focus on those areas more and think about how to fulfill them more consistently.

How do you feel at the end of this week? Are you better rested? Do you feel relaxed? Are you more energetic? Do you feel generally healthier? Continue with the SWEET Life and you’ll experience all of these feelings!

Topic of the week -- How to Add Fruits & Vegetables to your Day

I was surprised to find out that after so many years of having breads and grains at the base of the food pyramid (and expanding American waistlines), the Dietary Guidelines for Americans now recommends eating more fruits and vegetables than any other food group. They suggest that half your plate consist of fruits and vegetables every time you eat! For good reason: colorful fruits and vegetables contain a huge variety of important nutrients your body needs. Some of the key nutrients in fruits and vegetables include: fiber, folate, magnesium, iron, potassium, and vitamins A and C. They contain no saturated fat, cholesterol, or other unhealthful components. I always say, “No one got fat eating fruits and vegetables!”

In addition, fruits and veggies come in a huge range of colors, textures, shapes, sizes and packages. Canned and frozen products are convenient and have a long shelf life, and with today’s production methods, they hold onto their nutrition. You need to eat a rainbow of fruits and veggies everyday in order to give your body the variety of nutrients it needs. Here are some examples of each color:

· Dark green: broccoli, spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, spinach, watercress, collard greens, turnip greens
· Green: green beans, celery, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, honeydew melon, asparagus, bok choy, kiwi, zucchini, brussel sprouts, cucumbers, artichoke, bell pepper, lime
· Yellow: bell peppers, squash, corn, lemon, pineapple, banana, star fruit, plaintains, quince
· Orange: carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, winter squash, oranges, apricots, cantaloupe, peaches, tangerines, nectarines
· Red: tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries, raspberries, apples, watermelon, cherries, radishes, beets, pomegranate
· Purple: egg plant, plums, purple onions, purple cabbage, grapes, figs, blackberries, raisins, prunes
· Blue: blueberries
· White: cauliflower, potatoes, onion, mushrooms, pears, jicama
· Starchy: white potatoes, corn, green peas
· Dry beans: black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, split peas, chickpeas, lentils

Here’s a link to what’s in season: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=674

With a colorful array of fruits and vegetables in our heads, the question becomes: how can we incorporate them into our meals? Here are some suggestions:

First of all, here’s a list of simple ways to add more fruits and vegetables to your day:
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=113&iCat=22

Next, here’s a per meal breakdown of suggestions:

Breakfast: 100% juice, any fruit, add avocado, onions, bell peppers, or other veggies to eggs; smoothies; raisins in oatmeal, yogurt or bread; add chopped fruit to pancakes or waffles; eat pancakes or waffles topped with fruit or applesauce instead of syrup

Lunch: any fruit; baby carrots, broccoli florets, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, etc. dipped in hummus; lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, avocado, cucumber, or other veggies in a sandwich, veggie soup (or vegetables added into any type of soup, add any leftover cooked veggies to whatever you are eating

Snacks: (same as lunch and) raisins or other dried fruit

Dinner: in addition to having a cooked vegetable as a side dish, have a salad, soup, stir-fry, veggie pizza, grilled veggies, fruit salad for dessert, or add some fruit into a vegetable salad, add veggies to your spaghetti sauce, use spaghetti squash instead of pasta with marinara sauce

In conclusion, enjoy eating a huge variety of colorful fruits and vegetables throughout every day in every way, shape and form.

Sources:

SWEET Life Weekly Encouragement