Have fun with your food

Even as grown-ups, it's often challenging to be interested in eating healthy food all the time.... boring veggies, whole grains -- the good for us stuff.  Why not change the name, and spice up your interest level.

Check out this article and see how kids changed their minds and their food choices by merely having changed the name of a food.  Kids who passed right by unnamed carrots and green beans were interested in eating "X-ray vision carrots" and "Silly dilly green beans"  -- I'd think twice too!

Think about your approach and see what changes......

Plantar Fasciitis

For my dancers..... a little more information about Plantar Fasciitis and how to stretch/strength with corrective exercises (NYSSSA students: these look VERY similar to the ones we explored this summer!)  The National Academy of Sports medicine highlights the who, what, when, and why of this dysfunction and my blog post in August shares more information as well.

If you're someone who wears high heels on a daily basis, I might recommend doing these as preventative care exercises.  Invest in a good pair of supportive shoes for walking those long commutes in NYC and keep your feet healthy for overall kinetic chain health.  A foot injury will impact the entire body... from the bottom up!

French kids and their health!

Thanks to fellow fitness enthusiast, Will, for posting this article this morning....

French Kids Don't Get Fat: Why? 

Important things to note: 

• France has one of the lowest rates of child obesity in the world 
• Rates have remained stable during the last decade 
• US kids are three times more likely to be overweight than French kids 
• Associations with food 
• US -- with "guilt" and "calories" 
• France -- with "pleasure" and "celebration" 
• In French households, children are usually expected to eat the range of foods that adults do without complaining 
• School lunches -- 
• Water only 
• Healthy grown-up foods like radishes, endive, fish 
• Sweet treats only once per week 
• Fried foods usually once per month 
• Moderation is stressed! 

French parents spend time teaching their kids to eat, just like they teach their kids to read!  Can you imagine..... I think that most parents I know spend time eating while on the go or in transition from one thing to the next.  If we made meal time a learning time, and active time with discussion and teachable moments -- how much more could we benefit from that time spent with one another?  

Things I read that I like: 

• Saying "are you still hungry?" instead of "are you full yet?" 
• Saying "you don't have to eat it, but you do have to taste it" 
• Why isn't food education part of a school's curriculum?  I think this would make a drastic change to the way our kids eat! 

Perhaps we can't control what adults eat, drink or purchase as their consuming habits are already set after decades of decision making throughout adulthood.... so maybe Mayor Bloomberg should not look to controlling soda consumption as a method to improve the health of our City, but to the lack of food education inside of our NYC public schools.  Sounds like a great place to start! 

Drink up!

Big news for the City of New York..... a major change for many!

Breakfast

I started my day off with a bagel and some homemade vegetable cream cheese, as I'm sure many New Yorkers did... this town is crawling with bagels lovers!  (My favorites are from Bagel Express!)  People are always talking about the high carbohydrate count of bagels and how terrible they are for you.... so I wonder, are there any benefits to this densely packed food?

The carb count of a bagel can differ based on its size, flavor and what you put on top of it. Unfortunately the calorie count of a bagel is usually quite high making it not the best option for those who are watching their intake.  

How to make bagel eating healthier?

• Whole wheat bagels pack more vitamins and minerals than white bagels so choose those first  
• Top it with natural peanut butter for long lasting protein at breakfast
• Top with lean meat and vegetables for a filling lunch
• Check the nutritional facts on the website of your favorite bagel spot to see which are the healthier options 
• For example -- here's what Brueggers Bagels website  had to say: 
• The Jalapeño Cheddar bagel has a whopping 420 calories followed closely by the Chedder Pesto with 410 calories    
• Sundried Tomato was most modest with 280 calories 
• Again, the Jalapeño Cheddar ranked highest in carb count at 75g (!!!) 
• Lowest carb count is Sourdough with 56g followed again by Sundried Tomato with 57g

Harvard Medical School recommends 45-65% of your diet coming from carbs and the American Diabetes Association recommends 45-60g of carbs per meal.  If you're ingesting a daily diet of about 2,600 (men) and 1,900 (women) your calories from carbs should range from 1,170-1,690 (men) and 855-1,235 (women).  Thanks to Livestrong.com for doing these numbers for us! 

So now you know!  

I'm stressed!

AHHHH! Stress creeps in for many people this time of year as kids are headed back to school, or if -- like me -- you are starting a new job.  Sleep schedules get out of whack, eating patterns shift, and you may feel overwhelmed, discouraged or just plain stressed!

The Mayo Clinic states that "stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the ever increasing demands of life."  When your body recognizes a threat it signals a release of hormones to fight this with a "fight or flight" response.  If your body never relieves its stress, we'll never be able to restart and prepare for the next situation.

SO, how to relieve stress??

First, recognize when stress happens and take note of the cause: relationships with friends or family, work/life balance, image and identify, goals setting....

Then....

Relax by:

• deep breathing 
• yoga 
• meditation 
• take a walk 

Make relaxation a part of your daily routine to stay healthy and stress free! 

After a bit of a break.....

I've returned!  I spent the past two weeks getting ready for a new job and the first thing neglected was the blog..... and my sleep.  I have been running myself ragged and am feeling exhausted!  

Today I'm thinking about...... How to get more energy?

Health Magazine suggests:

1. Laughter -- to raise your blood pressure and heart rate 
2. Take a walk or exercise 
3. Stretch!  A simple door jam stretch to release the front of the torso, especially if you are crouched over a computer all afternoon: Stand in the door way and place both hands out to your sides while holding the door jam and pressing the chest forward 
4. See something red!  When I caught a glimpse of this flower, I actually felt more awake! My eyes opened wider and your muscles will actually move faster after seeing this color.  

Try a pick-me-up snack of:

• Banana with peanut butter for a mix of protein and healthy sugar  
• Nuts and dried fruit -- nuts are slow burning and will help to sustain you 

Have a restful weekend!