Forget Juice Cleanses Eat Bagels Instead

Paleo mini bagel with wild salmon, kale and cashew cheese, seriously?

When it comes to nutrition and exercise, I am willing to try almost anything. Weird ingredients, provided they aren’t synthetic, don’t scare me. And I’m not against the somewhat-extreme experiment either. I believe in mixing things up but there are ways I prefer to “mix”.  I’ve done juice cleanses but they don’t work best for me. They’re generally more sugar than I’m used to and as Carolyn, often my partner in cleansing, says, “we like to chew”. I have enjoyed Pure Food and Wine “not justa juice cleanse” and The Squeeze’s version; I can eat like a vegan for a few days but I do feel my best with eggs and fish in my life. Enter Food Matters.

curry roasted chicken with southwestern slaw

I cook and can plan a daily menu but sometimes I need a break from thinking and cooking and eating out and cocktails and so this week it’s been all Food Matters for me.  I’ve written about Food Matters before. I call Tricia, FM founder, a nutrition magician. It’s not only that their food is gluten free and dairy free and organic but it’s creative. I find a few days of this helps me with the following:

No more nibbles

I’m pretty organized but the few nuts or olives or samples around the office find their way into my mouth. With FM I’m eating 9am, noon (when I can wait), 3pm, and then ideally dinner early thought two nights a week are later due to my office hours. I don’t look for extras.

Protein portions

I usually say most people don’t overeat on lean protein and it’s true. On client’s lists of trigger foods where nuts and chips and cheese and sweets live, wild salmon isn’t often on there. But it is for me, I cook extra protein and I’m a protein person. Resetting my brain to see a more petite portion is useful. You see, with our weight nothing is really “free”.

Drying out and Hydrating

I’ve mentioned this over the summer, I’m not someone who generally is out every night or drinking every night and I prefer it that way.  So this week has been “dry” but at the same time I am hydrating (I think in those moments I would usually open the fridge).

For more information on Food Matters, check out their website. Tell them we sent you (and they’ll be sure to keep things strict, ha).  And because everyone asked about the paleo bagels I posted, here is the recipe.

Are you a cleanse or food delivery person? What do you do when you try to tighten things up?

Don't Let Weekend Eating Weigh You Down

When you think about variables that affect our weight, what comes to mind? Portion size? Exercise? Hydration? What about day of the week? At Foodtrainers, my clients keep food journals. Items considered a treat are circled. It’s not uncommon to see weekdays that are “circle free” and weekends that look like Spirograph creations (who remembers Spirograph?) with abundant circles signifying ample indulgences.

Sure enough, research supports this day of the week concept. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing reported “participants devoured as much as 400 calories more on weekends, a 20-percent increase.” Unlike holidays, weekends happen all the time and if you’re someone living on salads Monday through Friday who subsists on  sweets or Sauvignon Blanc come Saturday, we need to talk.

There are a few reasons why weekend eating is tricky:

We are less scheduled. During the week, the alarm is set and whether you’re at work or in school there are places you need to be at certain times.  While workplaces have there own food booby traps, they’re conducive to structure.  If you’re someone who brings meals or snacks to work you have to think about this before your day starts. You’re also likely to eat lunch when others are eating.

Weekends are another story. There’s much more winging it on the weekends. Instead of defined meals, more time around the house often leads to grazing or what I like to call pupu platter eating. Pupu platter eating isn’t pretty. I suggest a “walk through” on weekend mornings. Take a minute to think about where you’re going to be and what you will eat. Think in terms of distinct meals and snacks. Even if your day starts later I’d suggest 3 meals. This is better than two meals and ten snacks.

We are more social. Maybe you’ll have a birthday or work dinner during the week but there’s less going on. Weekends bring time with friends and family, weddings and even travel. In food terms this means increased temptation to eat more and drink more. When I point this out clients often say “should I turn down some invitations while I’m trying to lose weight?” Absolutely not (unless your mother in law is a food pusher) there’s no joy in being on house arrest but slender. Try budgeting. Look at the weekend ahead and level with yourself. How many drinks will you have Saturday night? Will there be dessert in the picture? And what about those workouts, can you fit those in around your plans? Friday is a good day to make a mental outline for yourself…unless you want more to be “circling” a lot.

Once you have one treat, may as well have another. I’ve written before about the “I’ve already blown it” syndrome when it comes to food. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the weekends. Treats happen and can and should happen even while losing weight. One treat is fine, waiting until Monday to refocus is risky. Weight loss isn’t about being “good” it’s about regrouping. Have a treat? Make the next meal on track. Regroup, regroup, regroup.

Think about this as we head into the weekend and the long weekend for Memorial Day. Nobody’s saying not to relax on the weekend but you can relax without relaxing your food (too much).

Do you eat differently on the weekends? Why do you think this is the case? Does it work for you?

In Session: Stuck at Work

I was feeling immense blog guilt that I hadn’t posted since Monday. I have had a busy week with book club (which I had to cram for), a lecture on my top 10 winter training table foods and a TV segment on edible aphrodisiacs all of which you will hear more about in future posts. I was logging on to study my notes on oysters and chocolate when I received a great question from a client. In these “in session” posts I like to bring you some of the kernels of wisdom (without naming names) and interesting questions I receive from my nutrition clients.

The question was this: “I've been eating lunch around 12, having my snack at 3 and then if I'm still at work at 7 I'm hungry again. I've been having a snack around 3, and then a smaller snack around 7 (Dr Crackers) to hold me off until dinner (which this week has been at 9-9:30pm). I’m not sure if I should be doing that or holding off completely until I get home.”

 This is a great question because many good eating routines can get thrown off when meals are delayed. Maybe you’re stuck at work or perhaps you have a late dinner reservation but whatever it is there are some key things to do and others to avoid. The biggest “don’t” I would say is holding off. Waiting to eat when you get home at 9pm will only result in overeating. Having a small snack, as this client did, is strategic. You really don’t want to go more than 4 hours without eating and better to give yourself an extra 100 calories than downing 300 when you arrive home.

However, a saying I use in sessions is “at meal time eat meal foods.” If your body craves a meal and you start eating snacky foods oftentimes we eat too many crackers or nuts. I suggested this client bring organic sliced turkey, Pacific brand single serving soups or containers of brown rice into work. These foods are more satisfying. She can then eat the balance of dinner later. This works out to ½ of dinner at 7pm and ½ at 9pm. The other approach would be to eat dinner at work and avoid the 9pm feeding altogether.

The timing of our meals and snacks greatly impacts our results. If you see a week is a heavy work week or jam-packed with events try to strategize in advance. OK now back to oysters…