The Truth About Fruit

My whole life fruits and vegetables have been grouped in the same category nutritionally, as if they contain the same flavor and nutrient profiles.  As if they were equally nutritious for you.  Both contain excellent nutritional factors, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidents that are beneficial in helping to fight diseases in our bodies.  The biggest difference, however, is the sugar content.  Fruit contains a relatively high content of sugar that can prohibit weight loss, or health goals if you aren't careful.  Without being any sort of a dietitian or scientist, anyone can tell that fruit is sweet, and most vegetables are not.  So that leads us to another question... Is fruit as good for us as we think it is?

Candy bars and ice cream contain sugar and essentially no nutritional benefits so we call this junk food.  We would never put fruit in that category, because it contains a lot of nutritional benefits.  However, sugar is sugar and too much of it is, well...still too much-even if it is fruit.  So do you want to cut down on added sugar?  Besides the obvious junk and processed foods, you can kick it up a notch by limiting the amount of fruit you eat.  Perhaps you could even treat fruit as a dessert.  We need to stop putting fruits and vegetables in the same category, because calorically and nutritionally they are very different.  I am by no means saying that you should cut out fruit completely, but rather suggesting that the importance of fruit in a healthy diet has been skewed in the past.  Now if you are craving something sweet, then a piece of fruit definitely beats out a cookie every time.  That just doesn't give license to ignore that fruit is high in sugar just because its natural and has nutritional value.

As for dried fruit, the natural sugars are concentrated into a much smaller package so more sugar and calories are consumed in a small handful.  This is also something to keep an eye on.


Guidelines for Eating Fruit

1.  Aim for no more than 2 cups of fruit a day.  This is the portion recommended for an average sized person, consuming about 2,000 calories a day.  Since I am smaller, I would only consume about 1 cup a day.  A cup is about a fistful, or one apple, orange, etc.  So I usually eat 1 piece of fruit a day and less on some days.

2.  Skip the fruit juice and aim for whole fruits, or unsweetened frozen fruit.  Juice contains less vitamins and minerals, and usually contains way too much sugar.

3.  Find local fruit that is in season.

4.  Watch dried fruit portions.  1/4 cup-1/3 cup (depending on sugar content of particular fruit) of dried fruit equals about 1 cup of whole fruit.

5.  Substitute fruits for sweets and add sugar content of your fruit into your added sugars count for the day.

Again, I'm not suggesting that fruit is bad for you; Just that it should be eaten with more caution than we've been taught to eat it with-especially in the case of shedding those few extra pounds.

Suggestions not intended as medical advice, but rather for informative and entertainment purposes.

Have a wonderful day and post any questions!

Artificial Sweeteners preventing or causing weight gain?

Releasing in March, Diet Pepsi is embracing the new "skinny can".  In a recent Pepsi press release they state that this "taller, sassier, new skinny can" is coming out nationwide to celebrate "beautiful, confident women... In addition, to celebrate beautiful, confident women and offer refreshment across the country, Diet Pepsi Skinny Can is collaborating with 10 fashion boutiques in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami, providing them with a custom 'Skinny Can Fridge.'  Thirsty fashionistas will get a complimentary Diet Pepsi Skinny Can while they shop in stores including Jeffrey, Intermix, Fred Segal, and Dash."

Oh yes, nothing screams sexy fashion quite like artificial sweetener with a sketchy past, linked to disease and decreased thyroid function.  Whew! I can't wait!

Truly, though....I was never a huge soda drinker, but for several months of my life I went around promoting a product called Sodastream (a homemade soda maker) that uses Splenda instead of regular sugar or aspartame in many of their soda products.  I was selling soda, yes, while also writing this blog at one point.  Does this seem hypocritical?  Why yes it does and I felt like a goon.  Eventually I quit doing that and even though it was a gig only for the good money, I have found much peace about giving out health advice ever since.  All that to say... after I started selling that silly machine, I started drinking more diet coke.  Just a few times a week, but for a bit it turned into a daily habit.  Pretty soon I found that I started craving more sweets so I cut back, and I found that the cravings eventually evaporated.  Similarly, I grew up in the south drinking sweet tea (still my favorite!) so I began to use Stevia to sweeten my tea instead of sugar so that I would feel less guilty, but keep my childhood alive all at the same time.  Again, I began to crave sweet tea ALL the time.  Pretty soon my belly would swell up with water weight because I was drinking massive amounts of "sweet" tea and eating less real food, or perhaps eating more because I felt like I could?  Either way, neither alternative is good.  The solution?  During this 21 day vegetarianism, I also cut out artificial sweeteners.  Curbing those sugar cravings was always contingent on have some artificial sweetener in my diet, but for the past week I have had to rely on sheer willpower.  Is it worth it?  I did some looking around and my verdict is this:  It is worth it to cut out artificial sweeteners. 

Here are my reasons:

* Artificial sweeteners make you crave more sweets - I know this from personal experience, as well as multiple studies confirming its links to increase in appetite. 
* It contains all sorts of crazy man made chemicals and additives that may/may not lead to all sorts of diseases - Most studies indicate that this stuff is just no good overall.  Why risk your health?
* Let's face it-if we indulge in a calorie free diet soda, we feel like we can indulge elsewhere.  We try to fool our tummies into feeling full without the inconvenience of fueling with real calories-until that burger and fries comes in later for dinner.  Hm... I had nothing for lunch except that calorie free Diet Pepsi so I can splurge for dinner!  Oh wait-calories aren't inconvenient or even bad--consumed on a healthful (ya know-everyday?) basis, they link to longevity of life, weight loss, and overall healthfulness! 
* The healthiest people I know don't drink soda- I like to hang out with people who have qualities that I wish to attain.  When I hang out with other healthy people, they DON'T drink soda.  They drink water, tea, coffee (without Splenda), and more water.  If nothing else, this speaks volumes!  You look around and everyone is drinking soda so you think, "It couldn't be THAT bad, right?"  But why not be one of the rare few who cares enough to make a difference and change your habits?  Just a thought...

Will it help you lose weight?  Maybe yes-maybe no.  All I know is if you ask just about anyone-they'll admit that artificial sweetener is probably crap.  Those who tend to drink soda (diet or not) tend to also indulge in other unhealthy life habits. 

Organic versus natural sweeteners? Is Organic sugar better for you?  Are agave nectar or honey better?  They are more natural, yes, but not necessarily better.  It is still sugar so I stay away from it most of the time! Is high fructose corn syrup worse than table sugar?  They are both poison in my opinion and I think you'll find most dietitians would agree.  This is what I'm getting at:  We have trained our bodies to crave sugar habitually and we need to retrain them to crave the vitamins and nutrients that promote overall health!

I conclude with a video where nutrition meets humor:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/11043494/  ---click on link to view the video :)

Vegetarian Experiment

So I am a die hard meat lover.  I love my dark meat, light meat, fish, beef-all of it.  However I am in the middle of a 21 day vegetarian experiment, while enacting my slow carb diet (no breads, grains, etc.).  I am through week 1 of 3 and the first week still allowed an occasional egg in the morning and two cans of fish throughout the week to help ween me off.  On week three I plan on inserting a few exceptions like extra grains and a few helpings of meat to introduce us again as friends without sickness ensuing.  Why am I blogging on this experiment?  Truly, for my own benefit as this second week promises to be the most difficult.

Am I going to incorporate this into my life after 21 days?  Yes and no.  Throughout the course of this experiment (now one week down) I have learned a lot more about how much energy my body needs to fuel itself and how to cook veggies so that they are filling.  I will take this new found knowledge and increase my vegetable intake from day to day with a much better understanding of how to make them filling and yummy.  However, I will not be permanently eliminating meat from my diet.  I don't consume massive amounts to begin with for financial reasons, but this process of supplementing protein in place of meat has been a little draining.  Ultimately, I drink a least two whey protein shakes a day in order to stay full.  I am also eating a tbsp of peanut butter twice a day-the second time being right before bed to curb hunger pangs.  While I eat beans more than anyone probably should already, I have had to increase the amount of beans I eat to get more protein as well-up to about half a can per meal-ish.

Seriously, I am learning so much.  I have found so many creative ways to eat veggies and other filling substitutes.  Let me first say-no tofu for me and no soy milk.  One soy latte has the same estrogen content of a birth control pill.  We don't want that and there is NO WAY that is good for you.  I actually love soymilk, but this had to go after I found that out.  So lately, I've been drinking my protein shakes with almond milk and let me just say...I LOVE it!  It adds only a subtle flavor of the almond essence (remeniscent of the extract), but adds so much more depth than water.  Of course I get the original kind, unsweetened so one serving ends up being a whopping 40 calories.  It's a win win situation!  Instead of adding honey or stevia to sweeten things, I have been using a drop of vanilla extract and cinammon.  It's delish and I will keep it from now until the end of time.

Other interesting substitutions of note?

* Sweet potato fries.  I only allow this a few times a week as well, but all it takes is cutting up a sweet potato, putting the wedges in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes and removing, then consuming.  They are filling and very satisfying!

*  Squash/Zucchini/Carrot noodles.  If you peel squash and zucchini and a few carrots, you can saute them with some onions, mushrooms, garlic, fennel, & pasta sauce and it tastes phenomenal!  You can also make a sauce with olive oil instead of red sauce.

* Yerba Matte instead of coffee- known as the creativity ilixir of all time;  It's legendary stuff and has 85 mg of caffeine versus 135 mg in coffee.  It, however, does not have the jittery, harsh after effects that coffee has, but produces a pleasant increase in clarity and energy that doesn't crash!

I've also gotten better at making salads.  Start with spinach.  Then add one or a few of the following:

Veggies:
cucumbers, carrots
corn, peas
brussel sprouts
green beans
peppers
broccoli

Then add some legumes- chickpeas are great on salads, but I also love kidney, white, & black beans!

Next add some nuts.  I use blanched almond slivers.

Sometimes I saute everything but the spinach (so it stays big) and at the last minute put the dressing in the pan to warm it up, then pour it over the salad.  YUM! You can even add fresh garlic.  My dressings usually consist of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice.

Another essential in the vegetarian diet is salsa.  I start my mornings off with spinach (frozen and warmed up) and beans mixed together in a bowl and add salsa (usually somethin' with a kick!).  I might supplement it with a protein shake to kick the morning off with a boost.  Sound strange?  To me it resembles Chipotle or Mexican food.  Anyhow...I'll be back soon to post with more interesting improvements, substitutions and findings!

Have a wonderful Valentines Day!

New Years Resolutions & new recipe for the adventurous

Happy New Year friends!  I have been evaluating my resolutions very carefully over the past few weeks.  I have taken some time off to think things over and have come to some very great conclusions about my upcoming year in health and fitness.

2011 Resolutions in Fitness

* 10,000 steps a day (I track this with my fitbit that my husband got me)
* Improve sleep efficiency (integrated naps to produce a smaller nightly sleep time)
* More recreational fitness (yoga 4 days a week, aerial classes)
* Integrating a 6 wk. pre-hab (see Four Hour Body) to restore imbalances in my muscle growth, balance, and flexibility
* After pre-hab, introduce strength training and running into workouts
* Record workouts and progress daily

2011 Resolutions in Healthy Eating
* Weekly meal planning (first week down and it was a HIT with my husband, and so much fun to have every week pre-planned and shopped for)
* Reduce all pasta, flour (including most grains), white refined grains and sugars to one designated day a week (Saturday) -- this is not for weight loss reasons, though I would recommend this for weight loss--it is for health purposes.  Think I'm crazy?  Maybe I am. ;)
* cut back on artificial sweeteners (just as harmful as real sweeteners)
* Increase veggies, proteins, and legume intake
* Cook as much as possible (every day--I already do)

I have my own detailed version of these goals, but I am super excited about prehab, recording progress, losing the sweets--so hard, but SO worth it.

What are your 2011 health and fitness goals?  Any suggestions for me? 

 One more thing... I have a new recipe to share...super simple, super quick, and a bit adventurous.  It starts with the amazing food processor my parents bought me for Christmas.  Life has been so much easier and cooking has never been so fun!  Removing  flour from my diet has taken out a key component to my past survival: and that is bread (including whole grain)....GASP!  This is a personal choice my husband and I have made, so do some research before you jump on the band wagon, because it may not be for everyone.  Anyway, this is a pancake recipe with no flour.  You could get creative and make crepes, wraps,  etc. so if you figure out recipe specifics on variations of this let me know!  This is really yummy, really filling, and extremely healthful.

Flour-less Pancakes (This makes about 1 serving depending on how much you eat, male/female, etc.)

Ingredients:

2 eggs or 3-4 egg whites
1 cup lentils
2 carrots peeled
*any spices you wish to add, salt, pepper, etc.

Put all the ingredients in a food processor, give it a whir, and use a measuring cup (I used 1/4 cup for itsy bitsy pancakes) to spoon it out and onto a buttered/oiled skillet (I used grapeseed oil) on medium-high heat.  Flip when the edges are brown and the top gets bubbly in the center.  After the other side has cooked for a few minutes remove onto a plate and enjoy! 

Mine came out savory because I used lentils with onion and bay leaf flavorings, but if you experiment with different flavorings, let me know what is good.  I was THRILLED with this recipe.  It is filling, and actually quite good.  AND-it resembles pancakes surprisingly, though it is NOT the exact same.  Try it-let me know what you think!

Happy New Year and tell me about your fitness goals this year! 

Home for the Holidays

For the first time since my wedding, Matt (the best hubs ever!) and I are going HOME for the holidays.  Not just one home, but both homes!  Christmas at my house and New Years at his!  I can't wait for the goodness that will be happening.  However, for those two weeks when we will most likely indulge more than we normally would- I will have no access to a gym.  I began to think about it and realized that there are probably a lot of people who travel for the holidays and don't have the ability to just work out at a gym.  So I took the time to compile some tips for staying active while traveling.

*purchase a yoga/pilates DVD and hit the yoga mat in front of your television wherever you are.  Yoga is relaxing, moderate intensity, and super awesome for you!  Do it early in the morning as studies have shown that exercising first thing increases the likelihood that you will make little or no gains during the holidays!

*Go shopping!  Be a giver this holiday season and walk around the shopping mall-tis' the season!

*Make sure you take the healthy option whenever you can fit it in.  You'll find you can do that almost anytime and you'll feel awesome for it!  For instance, instead of soda at a restaurant-choose water.  Or have oatmeal, or eggs and veggies for breakfast before you start your holiday activities.

*Get a jump rope!  This is my new favorite and most recommended workout activity and you can do it ANYWHERE!  It gets your heart rate goin' strong, as well.  Jump rope in intervals:  Jump rope one minute, push-ups 30 seconds, jump rope one minute, sit ups 30 seconds, etc.

*Bundle up and run, even if it is a shorter run--just do it!  Treat yourself to hot tea afterward!

*Go sledding! Whhhheeeee! That's a fun one!

*Exercises you can do anywhere--squats(with a heavy book), jumps (jump up and kick your bootay-back down into a squat-repeat), jump rope, sit ups, push ups, yoga/pilates, stretching, dips (using chairs, furniture, or the floor), jumping jacks, etc.

How do you stay fit without a gym?  Share your wisdom with our readers!

Holiday Parties

Gee whiz!  I've never seen so many delicious treats in my life... Every day at work a visitor brings a new plate or canister of delicious holiday treats and each time is troublesome for me.  I am a chocolate lover and I have to say that the generosity of these people is amazing and their baked goodies are (probably) even better.  By Christmas time I'm told we'll have stacks and stacks of sweet treats awaiting digestion.  Oh no....

But you know what?  I'm confident that I don't even want them.  Here is why:

Most of it is processed junk with cancer causing dyes, HFCS, too much sugar, etc...  That being said, this isn't even close to the type of thing I want to eat when I'm indulging.  What do I do?  I put the stuff out of my line of vision.  I focus on what is for lunch and genuinely begin to crave healthy vegetables.  After lunch, I have a piece of a dark chocolate (70 percent) bar to satisfy my craving.  It works and I feel proud.  So not only am I eating healthy, but I have mentally become a stronger person for having gone through that test.  What fun!  After lunch, I take almonds and a piece of fruit to curb me over until I'm off work.  Again, the sugar in the fruit and the healthy fat in the almonds provide more satiety than a piece of candy ever could.

Now its a little harder to resist the home-made baked goods that people bring in.  I'm a big fan of cookies and can hardly ever resist them, but again I think of it as a mental exercise.  I like to bake a lot and generally follow the rule that I can eat it if I make it.  So if I want cookies, I just bake some up (something I can't afford to do often, nor is it something I have the time to do).  I then offer the already baked ones at work to other workers and visitors!  You can be healthy, whilst spreading the holiday cheer!

Holiday parties are another beast.  They seem to happen far too often to be good for us.  And everyone is always required to bring holiday cookies.  Its never salad, or fruit, or vegetable trays.  Always cookies.  So here is the deal-you have to pick your battles:

Skip dense, cheesy foods and go for spinach pies and stuffed mushrooms instead.

Pick the number of drinks you are going to have (preferably one or less) and stick to it.  After that, drink water.

Fill up on veggies.  


Be the one to bring the healthy option.  And just because its healthy doesn't mean it should be bland or boring.  Find a cool recipe.  I love 101cookbooks.com for unique and highly flavorful ideas.


Eat protein.  Go for the shrimp cocktail, which is super yummy and healthy, too!  It will fill you up faster.  


Compromise and either pick one or two dessert items that are lower in calories and sugar, OR pick your favorite dessert and indulge in one light serving, but don't OVER indulge. 

Eat slowly and only until you are 75 percent full and fill up the rest of the way with H20!  


HAVE FUN and be social.  Busy yourself with friends, laughter, and Christmas spirit.  


It is all about balance so don't stress and have good boundaries this holiday season!


Thoughts?  What do you do to stay healthy at holiday parties?

Holiday fitness help (and some Thanksgiving shout-outs)

Well, I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!  My in-laws came into town and visited (shout out to The Bray Family-woot woot!) and we had ridiculous amounts of fun.  Without going into all the details, let me just throw out some words to describe the holiday for me this year (it was my first Thanksgiving with my new husband Matthew Bray!):

My First Turkey...

Harry Potter World.  Butterbeer.  Tangled (hilarious).  Cooking my first turkey EVER.  Helping a friend in need.  Competitive Scattegories.  Giada de Laurentiis Thanksgiving menu.  Hours and hours of cooking.  Bonding.  IKEA (enough said).  Angry Birds.  Insane amounts of food.  Downtown Disney.  Toasted Coconut Ice Cream.  Whole Foods.  Wine.  Walking.  More Walking.  Gifts.  Restaurants.  Universal Studios.  Love.  Even more walking.  Blessings.  Thankfulness and missing my mom, dad, sister.  Time well spent with my husband and in-laws!

My Mother's Corn Pudding- YUM!

I would consider it a most wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.  The Lord is continuing to amaze me with the gifts he brings into my life each and every day.

Pam Bray's Coconut Banana Cream Pie

On another note, I was determined to stick to my workout plan on the week of Thanksgiving and let me just say- I DID IT and I feel fantastic.  Mrs. Bray and I cooked homemade goodies for so many hours that indulging in stuffing, my Mom's most amazing corn pudding recipe, pecan pie, and "green stuff" produced no shame in eating my fill of Thanksgiving comfort food.  That being said, most people decide that since they indulged, they might as well take off the week in their exercise routine, too, which makes no sense.  First, that  makes you feel worse.  Second, anytime you can sneak in a healthy meal or exercise routine, it is a positive thing, ESPECIALLY on holidays.  That doesn't mean you can't relax and I'm willing to bet that sticking to your guns concerning exercise will make you feel better on days when eating a little less healthy seems unavoidable.

Here are some fitness tips for your holiday season exercise:


1. I've said this before, but again, make it your goal to not only maintain, but to get in BETTER shape by the end of the holiday season.

2.  Find a program, and stick to it.  Pick the day and hour that works best for you.  Train 3-5 times a week (weight lifting and cardio elements) and get your butt into shape!

3.  Change up the exercises every week or bi-weekly.  Keep your body guessing and you will not only see results physically, but you will stretch your strength mentally as well.

4.  Focus.  Concentrate on the muscle you are working and put all your energy into it!

5.  When lifting weights use the full range of motion and lift smoothly, as opposed to jerkily.

6.  Quality, not quantity.  Focus on form over lifting obscene amounts of weight. (Ladies:  At the same time, don't be afraid to lift heavier weights-you won't get bulky)

7.  Set up a goal and a time frame and work towards it.  Train for a half marathon, a bodybuilding show, set up session with a photographer, or whatever you will...

8.  Jump rope for your cardio.  It is super hard and pumps up your heart rate in a hot second!

9.  Treat the gym like a circus and get creative!  (this week I'll be posting more about this...)

10.  EAT.  Every meal.  Especially breakfast.  Farmers starve their pigs all day and then give them a big ole' meal at the end of the day to ensure fattening of epic proportions.  Don't be like the pigs.  Eat 5-6 small meals each day. 

Discussion topic:  What do you do to stay in shape over the holidays? (post in comments :))

Hope you had a WONDERFUL AND BLESSED Thanksgiving!