5 Sane Ways to Feel Better Today

 I had one of those “what day is today?” moments when I woke up. It soon sunk in that it’s Monday and the weekend is over which makes me a little sad.  As long as I’m complaining, I’m also tired. We were in Montreal for the 4^th (so patriotic I know) but it’s not always about going away, relaxing can leave you just wanting to relax more. And then there’s that feeling, you know it I'm sure, “uh oh I need to undo some of what was done this weekend.”

I only speak menu or "food" French 

Before you get all “I didn’t eat ________” on me this weekend. I ate well too. There was lots of seafood and green juice and salad. My Fitbit was happy with 15-20,000 steps a day (love this about vacation) but there were also lots of meals out and cocktails so here we are. Forget the cleanse or emergency boot camp- instead try these five ways to feel better today:

Stay home tonight (and tomorrow too). Before we get all technical with this debloating you simply need to spend less time with salt. Takeout and restaurant meals make this impossible. Cooking is key but "cook" can mean scrambling eggs or making a smoothie. If you're saying "I should be able to go out and feel good" you can just not today.

Pursue Probitoics Is your tummy telling you something? Something not so good?

Pop your probiotic supplement and also consider my favorite Sunbiotic nuts (who says atonement needs to be miserable?) or cayenne kombucha or good old ACV (apple cider vinegar), do you own it? OK go take a tsp. If you're in NYC we can send over probiotic goodness and Fairway has these healthade drinks. 

Speaking of Drinks, Drink – your magic number is 10 cups of water a day. I like a visual and finds it helps to fill a pitcher and put it on your desk (tweet me @Foodtrainers a water photo for extra credit) or be that person who carries a water bottle with you for today. If you’re thinking you need something more than just water try this.

Makes You-Pee Tea (from the Little Book of Thin)

Ingredients are for 1-cup increase if you’re making a pitcher

1 Tbs Minced parsley and stems

½ tsp fennel seeds

2-3 slivers fresh ginger or fresh turmeric

Cover these ingredients with hot water, steep 10 minutes. Chill to make an iced version.

Consider quinoa (or consider grainlessness).  Quinoa has potassium that helps you lose some of that sodium. So ½ cup of quinoa is “kosher for debloating” but bread (sprouted or not), rice, cereal (a whole other conversation), corn etc. are not for today.

Have a Green day – all meals and snacks need to have something green in them today. Green juices, dark green salads, crudité- you remember green, right?

How was your weekend? How are you feeling today? Which of these steps will you take? Check in with me tonight, it'll be better I promise it's amazing what 24 hours "back" can do.

No reason hormones need to drive the bus.

There are certain annoyances we need to accept: a rainy day, unanticipated traffic, and a blister from a new pair of shoes.  However, when it comes to our bodies many of our issues can be solved or certainly ameliorated with food. For many of my clients, there is no greater source of dietary derailment than PMS and cycle-related issues can last over a week. That’s 25% of each month feeling and often eating off.  And it’s not just a female issue if you live with a crazy, bloated person, right?

You may know I’m not a fan of adding one food in for a desired effect. If you’re concerned about getting sick I’ll suggest you add multiple immune boosters and the same goes for PMS. Carolyn, Joanna and I created what we feel is the ultimate anti-PMS arsenal. In our Monthly Morsels newsletter today we mapped out a sample “Peace Out PMS” day of food, selected the best PMS supplements and I’m proud to introduce our super, duper PMS Kit.

The kit includes the following:

Cacao Magic-  from Philosophie our favorite, new line of smoothie powders. This cacao is really magic and a tonic for cramps, crankiness and appetite surges.

Natural Calm- powdered magnesium supplement is a “mood must”. Magnesium is helpful for PMS but most of us are deficient so many find it helpful as a daily ritual.

Probiotics- did you know most of our serotonin is produced in our guts? If you have “gut clutter” mood can take a hit. And when it comes to PMS that gut clutter will also lead to ultra bloat. A probiotic supplement is an insurance policy but probiotic foods are also necessary. Sunbiotics chocolate probiotic almonds contains both cacao and probiotics, how’s that for double duty (or doody).

Sweet Riot- these dark chocolate covered cacao nibs (look like chocolate rice krispies) are great a post-meal treat (one 1 calorie per piece!). Take that PMS weight gain.

Explore Asian Organic Black Bean Pasta- contains both magnesium and B6. We call B6 “be happy” because it  plays a key role in the production of mood neurotransmitters. Plus, how about pasta with 12g of fiber and 25g of protein per serving?  Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and add  asparagus (you can toss asparagus in pasta water for last 5 minutes) for bonus B6 and debloating action.

Heather’s Fennel Tummy Tea – these tea bags are jumbo size and potent.

Fennel is one of my favorite debloaters. A cup of tummy tea after dinner and that PMS pooch will not be there in the morning.

Of course these items are available a la carte. It just depends how horrendous your hormones are (ours can be pretty bad).

Do you suffer from PMS? What are your main symptoms? What’s in your arsenal?

The party is over but that's ok

I was recently away as my kids had spring break. Before I complain, you should know that I fully appreciated the warm weather, the leisure time (although I am guilty of scheduling vacation days) and opportunity to explore a new place. On this trip I tried sour sop, star apple, naseberry, Blue Mountain coffee and pretty much jerk everything. The trip was invigorating, special, adventurous, beautiful etc.

When our plane landed at JFK last night I received an email from a friend.

When are you working out this week? I am aiming to go everyday this starting tomorrow at 9:30. I need to get back to my routine, traveling with the family vacation left me totally out of shape

I’ll have you know via Facebook I know for a fact this friend doesn’t appear out of shape and never has but I totally understand that she felt it. She added.

I know it’s against the Slayton rule to start over on Monday but I am.

I joked that it’s so sad. I was away at a place with an organic farm. I was eating greens, active and hardly boozing it up but still felt more than a little off. I told her I was rebooting today as well.

My healthy friend added I brought my nutribullet, my miraculous powders and found kale at a market in the Bahamas it’s not like I was pounding pina coladas but still...

If you’re still with me after the post Jamaica woe is meing let me explain. It doesn’t take a lot, especially when you’re in a good routine, to feel off after a week away. The three main culprits are the salt (when you’re eating most meals out), slightly less exercise (or less intense exercise) and a GI slowdown many experience.

Post vacation plan: 

• Go Plain Jane- hard-boiled eggs, simply grilled chicken or poached salmon are perfect. Befriend the steamer or hit the farmer’s markets for some fresh, raw greens. For condiments apple cider vinegar, walnut or coconut oil and lemon are where it's at.
• P and C or probiotics and chia daily. If your GI system slows down with the rest of you while away, I hear you. I love the cocochia packets as they contain both probiotics and chia. If your probiotic supplement is hiding in the cabinet time to put it near your toothbrush so you remember to take it.
• Sweat- cardio helps with jetlag if you have it and it also helps you loose that fluid. 180-200 minutes per week post vacation.
• Tea and turmeric- Yogi detox tea and Fennel tea are great post vacation tools. And turmeric is good for mood and inflammation…sprinkle away.

The silver lining in coming home feeling a little off is that it makes getting back into your routine (work included) sort of nice. At least I think so.
Do you feel off when you get back from a trip? In what way? What do you do to remedy it? 

Sniff Your Way Thin

“Follow your nose it always knows” who remembers that commercial? Or should I say who was born before 1980? The truth is just as certain scents can trigger your appetite, other aromas can help you eat less. You may be surprised which ones those are.

Grapefruit

Researchers at Osaka University found that exposing rats to the scent of grapefruit oil for 15-minute intervals helped lower their appetite and weight. Researchers believe it may have to do with how the smell interacts with liver enzymes. We often suggest Foodtrainers clients have a grapefruit after dinner if that is their “witching hour” or trouble time. The scent and process of peeling and eating can end that potential snack caravan. We test drove scents by this company though essential oils are widely available.

Fennel

The Ancient Greeks used Fennel as a slimming aid (funny to think about). Fennel is also an excellent debloater. I mentioned it Monday but give fennel tea mid afternoon or after dinner.

Peppermint

In one study, 3000 overweight people were given an inhalants with various scents and  told to inhale whenever they felt hungry  Peppermint was one of most effective scents for weight loss.

Each month the peppermint participants lost an average of nearly 5 pounds. In another study, people were asked to sniff peppermint every two hours for 5 days. For another 5 days they were given a placebo (not sure how this worked since it would be fairly obvious peppermint versus no peppermint). Over the minty days, participants consumed almost 2000 calories less.

One note, when it comes to fragrance while some scents may be beneficial when it comes to weight some of the nastiest ingredients lurk under “fragrance”on label lists. Be very careful with scents if a family member suffers from asthma. And be weary of any synthetic musks as certain ingredients can increase the proliferation of estrogen sensitive breast cancer cells. If there’s a fragrance you favor be sure it’s free of phthalates, DEP and DEHP.

And if you are a child of the 80s or the 90s (grrr) it was Toucan Sam the Froot Loops mascot who uttered “follow your nose”. At least the slogan was right, don’t get me started on the “balanced breakfast” part.

Do you wear perfume or fragrance? Have you thought about the connect to appetite and weight? Have you checked the ingredients in your fragrances?

I lost weight doing this (and know this sounds like an Infomercial)

This morning we sent out our March Monthly Morsels newsletter.  The subject? All things spring break and by that I mean all food-related things of course. We asked some of our favorite experts what they bring when they travel (love to see what others do), included highlights from the LBT “pre-beach” chapter and we did what we do best- we tested anything and everything we possibly could. Last month it was chocolate but this month there were teas and sprays and roll-ons (more on that Thursday) and lots of dandelion greens and lemon slices. We sipped and sampled all in an effort to select the items we could tell subscribers and clients about to help shed that little extra before their trips. Or so I thought…

I don’t write that much about my weight because it’s a boring story. Although, as a 5 foot 3 inch person a few pounds can make a difference in how I feel my weight, grief aside, is very stable. So when I stood on the scale last week and saw a number four pounds lighter than my usual, without really trying, I smiled. If you want to know what I did it’s a little complicated because I did a lot of different things but here are the new items  I was happily consuming daily for the past couple of weeks.

Sunbiotic probiotic

I take a probiotic from Renew Life. I write about probiotic supplements and probiotic foods in LBT.  They help with GI function, immunity, mood (yup serotonin is produced in the gut) and most interestingly for some people weight. The Renew Life supplement contains a strain Lactobacillus rhamosus that has been correlated to weight loss. I added in Sunbiotics chewable (and yummy) probiotic the past couple of weeks as we were test-driving them.  The Sunbiotics chewable has prebiotics that perhaps were giving my probiotics a boost?  If you aren’t taking a probiotic these are two great options.

Green Dream

I’m a smoothie girl and an ingredient snob so it’s hard to find a protein powder that meets my standards. Welcome Philosophie. I have and love all 3 flavors but I’m partial to the Green Dream. I’ve been adding fresh mint, extra spirulina, a little avocado or coconut oil, greens and almond milk (which I make or I found this Manuka almond milk that’s pretty great).

Bitters

Carolyn, oops sorry One Smart Brownie, has been pushing bitters on me for a while. Bitters for the occasional hangover (it happens), bitters for travel and digestion but then I found these while in Vermont. They remind me of binaca but help with appetite and bloat. They’re not for everyone, our snack queen wasn’t initially a fan but as we sprayed and giggled she now can’t resist. Positive peer pressure at its best.

Tummy Tea

I have tea every night. It’s a ritual I love and typically it is something like a Pukka Nighttime tea with lavender or Traditional Medicinals makes another one I like. We had heard great things about Heather’stea. I love these jumbo tea bags and let them steep a while. The first time I had the fennel tea bag- I was a fan. I “debloated” the next morning, in LBT I have a “makes you pee tea” and this had similar effects.

So those are my new discoveries, they’re in my Food First Aid Kit in my purse. As I said, I can’t pinpoint which change was most effective because I switched many things at one but hey maybe it’s synergy. I’ll take it.

Have you tried any of the foods/items mentioned above? What do you eat to debloat or pre vacation? What's in your Food First Aid Kit when you go away?

Doable Detox

Over the summer, Carolyn and I were comparing notes on cleanses and detox programs.  As long as it’s safe, I’m someone who loves to test out a food, regime or workout. Carolyn, and I can see why, felt there was something gimmicky about cleanses and wasn’t sold. Shortly after our initial discussion Carolyn was on a yoga retreat in Colorado that happened to have a juicing component. Let’s just say it had an impact on her. I’ll let her tell you more.  Here’s cleansed Carolyn (kidding):

So yes, detoxes and cleanses have long been on my list of nutrition pet peeves. “Detox” is thrown around without much if any evidence. Does a spinal twist in yoga “detox” you? It feels damn good but despite many a PubMed search I just don’t know if my toxins evaporate like every teacher I’ve had says. Then there are cleanses. Some have been around forever and are still unhealthy (Master Cleanse I’m looking at you) and others are recently popular. Of course barely consuming anything for days will cause immediate water weight loss and lightheadedness. Is this enlightenment? At the end of the road more often than not is binge eating and unchanged habits.

That being said, I totally understand the need to cut out the crap as a personal challenge, prior to a big event or after a little too much fun AKA summer. Lauren asked me what my vision of a Foodtrainers’ detox would be? I answered it would have to be restaurant and fork friendly (liquids have their limits). It would be strict but manageable without a personal chef or daily deliveries. And it would result in weight loss beyond water and a true “cleansing” of less than healthy habits. We had a powwow and came up with a 4-week Dine and Detox program that we just launched on Monday. Without giving it all away, here are three of our holy rules of detox:

1. Tea is the new coffee.
2. Say bye bye to sugar and fake sugar too.
3. Whenever possible (and anything is possible): organic, local, wild colorful.

Rules are great but we would never have clients do anything we wouldn’t do so yours truly gave it a try. I would love to say “it was so easy” but that would be a lie. However, the issues were different than I expected and I’ll admit it was freaking hard to turn down a glass of wine. The best parts? Sugar cravings were short lived and I have several new food obsessions.

Mung Beans- sprouted mung beans are an Ayurvedic detox food and you know our love for all things sprouted. They are high in fiber, B vitamins and very versatile. Try them in soups or stir fries. The don’t require soaking and are easier to digest (ahem) than other beans.

Fennel: never been a fan of the licorice-flavor but maybe my taste buds have grown up because I'm digging fennel, especially with salmon, thinly sliced in a salad or in my juices.

SoCal Organic Detox Protein- I was skeptical about this one but hemp protein, dandelion greens, it’s our dream detox powder. 

Artisana Raw Walnut Butter- Artisana makes the best products; their tahini is heaven. These single packs in interesting flavors such as walnut, macadamia and pecan were worth cleansing for.

We put together a few of our detox discoveries in our Fall Detox Bundle in the Foodtrainers online store (we’re very excited to have a store, sorry for the plug)

Drinks: Kombucha and Coconut water are nothing new but have you explored outside of the big name brands? There are some delicious and detox-friendly drinks. I'm into: raw coconut water by Harmless Harvest and  -- Lauren adores Turmeric Elixir of Life

So not only did I survive, I have continued most of my habits post detox. I haven’t checked on the numbers but I know my jeans are happy with me. So here’s my challenge to you. Pick a start date and try a one-week mini-detox free from wheat, meat or sweets. See how you feel. If you’re ready for our 4 weeks let us know.

 Are you pro or anti cleanse? Have you ever done a cleanse or detox program? Any lasting benefit? What would be more difficult for you giving up meat, wheat or sweets?

*One lucky commenter will receive the Artisana nut butter packs