Life got you down? Push off!

Remember as a kid, swimming down to the bottom of the pool in the deep end to retrieve a penny, reaching for it with your finger tips, feet trailing behind and then turning around to swim back up? Why did it take so long to get to the top? (Gasp for air) But on your second trip you swam to the bottom, hovered right over that penny, grasped it firmly, tucked your knees, planted your feet on the bottom and pushed off, rocketing yourself back to the top? 

Sometimes you have to stay at the bottom, take the time to plant your feet and the Push Off to propel yourself back up. Use the low points in life, that rock bottom you feel you have reached to Push Off and propel yourself to the next stage in your life.  Don't hang out at the bottom too long, it sucks the air and the life out of you. Push off!

Clean Eating - the original plan

Clean eating is the newest fad, but is it really the newest eating plan around?  I think not!  When God designed your body, it was right after He designed all of the plants and animals on earth.  I think there is no coincidence in how he designed us and how he designed the foods we are to eat.

Have you ever owned or driven or known someone who owned a Diesel fueled vehicle.  When I was 10 years old my parents bought a Chevy Suburban, Diesel fueled.  I remember specific instructions between them that ONLY Diesel fuel could go in this car, otherwise the engine would seize.  Back then (ages ago), there was only one gas station in town that sold Diesel fuel, so it wasn't convenient.  It also cost more than regular fuel.  However, we got very good gas mileage!  Rudolf Diesel designed the diesel engine, but it ONLY ran on Diesel fuel.

I think there is a strong parallel to the way that God designed our bodies.  Our body by His design operates and is fueled best when we consume foods in the form that he designed them.  For instance, we are to eat potatoes the way they look when they come out of the ground, NOT the way that man processes them into French Fries.  Eating clean is really eating foods the way that God created them - non processed.

I realize it is fairly unrealistic to eat whole foods at all times.  But, consider a Clean Foods Continuum where God designed foods are on one end and Man Processed foods are on the other.  We want to eat on the God designed half of that continuum.  So when you are shopping at the store or ordering from a menu, stop and consider, how close to God designed is that food in the form that I will be consuming it.  Does it still look like it did when he designed it, when it was harvested or when the meat was originally cleaned from the carcass (yes, God meant for us to eat meat too, but not processed meats).

So, while main stream society has brought Clean Eating to the forefront as the newest fad, I believe it is the longest running fad around - since the dawn of time.

Healthy Snack Ideas

Healthy Snack Ideas:

AM and PM snack ideas

Consume 8-16oz of water at snack times.

q  1 string cheese and a small piece of fruit

q  1 slice deli meat and 4-6 crackers

q  ¼ c. cottage cheese and ½ c. chunk pineapple

q  ½ bagel with 1 tbsp peanut butter

q  8oz yogurt w/ ¼ c. granola

q  4 celery sticks (3” long) w/ 1tbsp peanut butter or ¼ c. cottage cheese

q  1 c. raw veggies

q  1 c. popcorn w/ paprika (no butter, no salt)

q  ½ c. baby carrots w/ tbsp peanut butter

q  ¼ c. nuts w/ ¾ c. strawberries

q  1 apple wedged w/ 1tbsp peanut butter

q  1 c. pretzels w/ ½ c. yogurt

q  ½ banana and ½ c. dry non-sugared cereal

q  1 rice cake w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter

q  ½ c. dry non-sugared cereal w/ ½ c. dried fruit

q  4 cucumber slices w/ ¼ c. cottage cheese

q  1 slice cheese w/ 2 cucumber slices between – Cucumber Sandwich

q  6-8 baked tortilla chips w/ 2 tbsp salsa or hummus

q  ¼ c. almonds

q  ¼ small pita w/ 1 tbsp shredded cheese melted inside

q  ¾ c. grapes w/ 4oz yogurt

q  ½ c. chunk pineapple wrapped in 2 slices turkey bacon and baked

Healthy Eating Tips

Healthy Eating Tips:

Grazing. Eating small meals throughout the day is not a new concept, but have you mastered it or mutilated it?  The challenge with the grazing eating plan is that we didn’t mean continue to eat three large meals and add two snacks.  We meant, eat small meals and small snacks throughout the day.  Make certain that all choices are healthy.  A grazing plan to try would be:

                7am light breakfast

                10am morning snack (see snack ideas section)

                1pm lean lunch

                4pm afternoon snack (see snack ideas section)

                7pm easy dinner

Salad is for Dipping. Again not a new concept and easy to do when you are at a restaurant, but are you prepared to do this at home?  Purchase small portion controlled dishes that your family will use for salad dressing dipping – and yes, everyone gets their own; no, you cannot share the same large dipping dish with your 2 year old.

Eating out.  OK, I am an American and extremely proud of it, but we are gluttons – and perhaps not of our own doing… Restaurants serve portions that would be appropriate for a New England Patriots linebacker.  What restaurant manager wants you to leave “comfortably full” or worse yet, still hungry?  He or she wants you to be absolutely stuffed.  You can still win when you eat out – order a lunch portion.  Ask for a box BEFORE you begin eating and portion onto your plate what you should eat and box up the rest.  Are you checking the portions on your kids plates too?

Portion control.  If you are not currently on a healthy eating plan this is the first step to take.  CONTROL THOSE PORTIONS!  A serving of anything on your plate should be no larger than the size of your palm. 

Buy items pre-portioned.  This is not as cost-effective as buying in bulk, but if it helps you plan – GO FOT IT!  Be certain to check labels and compare the “serving size” to the ounces you know are allowed for that food component.

Water consumption.  So you think you have heard this song and dance?  When your body breaks down fat where do you think it goes?  Well, it does not mysteriously evaporate through your skin.  It must get out of your body.  If you are dehydrated, this cannot happen.  The appropriate consumption of water in a given day is approximately 64oz.  When exercising vigorously 80oz may be required.  Take a 20oz water container and place 4 rubberbands at the top, fill the bottle and move a rubberband to the bottom rim of the bottle.  Repeat throughout the day.  At the end of the day, you should have all rubberbands at the bottom.  Add a lemon or lime to the bottle at the beginning of the day and the taste will help get all those fluids in.

Parties.  Control your selection when you go to that summer picnic or holiday party by taking a healthy snack or salad that you know you can eat regardless of what other items are served.  Make a small plate and get away from the food!  Control alcohol consumption to reduce “the munchies”.

Meal planning 101

Meal Planning Tips:

q  Plan your work and work your plan.  Create a dinner menu for the week and then make your grocery list from the menu.  Be certain that you can stick to that menu based on your schedule and the weekly family events.  Plan some quick meals for busy nights.  Post that menu on the fridge and MAKE IT WORK.  Do not deviate.  Planning ahead is critical in sticking to any nutrition plan.  The family won’t have to ask 800 times, “What’s for dinner?” 

q  Use the weekend to prepare for weekly meals and snacks.  The sandwich baggie is your new best friend.  Put appropriate serving sizes of raw veggies, baked chips, graham cracker or bagels with peanut butter, fruit, gold fish, string cheese, etc. in the baggies and store them appropriately so that each morning your family can grab-and-go.  When you are not prepared and if snacks are not quickly accessible you will chEAT too much.

q  Ask for input.  So you are probably not the only who eats meals in your home, right?  So ask the kids and your spouse what their favorite meals would be and utilize their lists as well (the fried chicken and chips shouldn’t make the list).  Perhaps Saturday dinner becomes a night for meal planning for the upcoming week.  At dinner everyone gets a “Meal Ticket” that allows them to plan (and cook if applicable) a meal next week.  Ask them to select the items that they will need to make the meal.  What better eating lesson for your children than to teach them to plan healthy meals?

q  Exchange easy recipes with friends.  Host a healthy snack party and ask each guest to bring pre-printed recipes for the group.  Perhaps each guest brings a small serving of each recipe for taste-testing as well.  This brainstorming session will not only yield new ideas for healthy meals, but the social interaction with other people interested in healthy eating helps to establish a stronger commitment and accountability to a healthy lifestyle.

q  Use a weekly meal planner and grocery list for one month.  Attached is a sample meal planner and grocery list chart, use this for one month.  When shopping, do not buy anything not on the list – so PLAN accordingly.  After one month, this will be habitual and will not require so much forethought.