just one thing Blog
Nutrition and Lifestyle Tips ... Quick reading and lots of resources
to make doing "Just One Thing" a realistic goal!
to make doing "Just One Thing" a realistic goal!
It's not my style to tell you to avoid specific foods, unless they are a danger to your health. Unfortunately, romaine lettuce is in the news for the 4th time in 2 years, identified as a source of E. coli contamination. Escherichia coli are dangerous bacteria that cause illnesses ranging from diarrhea to respiratory infections. The CDC warns us to throw out all romaine lettuce right now and avoid it until further notice!
Just One Thing to do: Skip the salad and try a vegetable platter instead. Wash vegetables, your hands, utensils, and all surface then chop up a colorful array of carrots, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, radishes, you name it!
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It’s important to consider getting fit along with eating better. Adults need 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week – I think an easy way to translate this is 30 minutes every day. Are you getting your 30 minutes/day of physical activity? Do something you enjoy! If you don’t like gyms, don’t join a gym. Plan a walk before work, meet a friend for a fitness class during lunch break, commit to an afternoon workout with an exercise app, or join a basketball league. There are so many options.
Just One Thing to do: PLAN to do something active every day and follow through! I was happy to see the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion release its new Physical Activity Guidelines, with a Top 10 list to convince you to get moving. There are many, many benefits of physical activity: improved sleep and weight maintenance along with reducing your risk of dementia, heart disease, diabetes, depression, and 8 types of cancer. It can even help you manage pain and symptoms of conditions you already have. There is also a strong relationship between being sedentary (sitting all day at a computer, TV, or other screen – sound familiar?) and increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Just One Thing to do: Add movement to your day by standing every hour, stretching every half hour, taking the stairs whenever possible, and even doing old school calisthenics while watching TV. I love coffee (and holiday cups!) as much as anyone, and there's a lot of evidence that coffee can reduce one's risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and dementia. But when I’m out and about, I choose to indulge in my favorite specialty drink (peppermint mocha) less than once a week. Other times, I choose a nonfat latte with no whip, a brewed coffee with ½ shot of flavored syrup, or a cappuccino with almond milk for a change of flavor. I also like adding a generous sprinkle of vanilla or cinnamon and a half packet of stevia.
Just One Thing to do: Enjoy flavored coffee drinks by creating your own healthier option. From pumpkin spice lattes to peppermint mochas, cooler weather and holidays mean signature coffee drinks with an average of 53 grams of sugar per 16 ounces (a grande). So what? Added sugars in your diet may be sabotaging your healthy weight efforts as well as increasing your risk for diabetes and tooth decay. Health experts recommend no more than 25 to 35 grams per day, for women and men respectively, but the average intake in the U.S is more than twice that!
Just One Thing to do: Sip on unsweetened hot tea for a burst of natural flavors! Back to the topic of ZUCCHINI! I love to make zoodles, or zucchini noodles. I use a simple hand-held spiralizer: click here (Note - I'm not being paid by them, I just really like this because it takes up so little room in my drawer.) Zucchini noodles make a great replacement for pasta, and taste amazing topped with tomato sauce or pesto. For a fancy-looking dinner, try one of my favorite recipes for pesto salmon and zoodles here (again, just sending you there because I like it!). I hope you enjoy this as much as my family and dinner guests do.
Just One Thing to do: Swap out noodles for vegetables at least once a week. If you are swimming in zucchini this time of year, try an alternative to the typical (high fat, high calorie) zucchini bread or fried zucchini: ZUCCHINI SOUP! It’s an easy way to enjoy not only zucchini but also that limp celery in your produce drawer and cancer-fighting onions, garlic, and tomatoes. HOW: Combine 4-6 diced zucchini with 2 cups chopped celery, chopped onions and garlic as desired, 4 cups fresh or canned tomatoes, an assortment of spices such as salt, pepper, basil, and oregano, and 4 cups water or broth in a slow cooker. Simmer all day and you’ve got dinner ready when you are. (P.S. Clearly this is not a recipe blog, but you can find plenty of recipes online if you don’t favor my style of winging it 😊). Also, here is a recipe I love: Italian Zucchini Soup.
Just One Thing to do: Choose healthy options for late season vegetable harvests by making soup or even adding to ready-made soups. After a month of taking on the biggest diet trends, I’m lightening up my nutrition advice to prepare for the upcoming holidays. Clients often tell me they go on an all-out eating frenzy between Halloween and New Year’s Day, with a “why try?” attitude. In reality, it’s an excuse to eat everything in sight and put on extra pounds you’ll regret on January 1.
Just One Thing to do: Set a goal to maintain your weight for the next 2 months. Action items this week should include putting Halloween treats out of sight, choosing to just have 1 or 2 pieces/day – or get rid of it altogether. Does it matter WHEN you eat? A resounding yes, despite the objection of many nutrition professionals. Research shows that eating dinner earlier is effective for both weight loss and reduction of body fat. In a recent pilot study by Antoni and colleagues published in the Journal of Nutritional Science, participants who ate dinner 1½ hours earlier than usual ate fewer total calories and lost weight. This experience of “reverse fasting” is a realistic improvement on Intermittent Fasting, discussed in my previous blog.
Just One Thing to do: If you are trying to lose weight, eat dinner before 6 pm, with no snacking afterwards. Intermittent fasting refers to periods of not eating, cycled with periods of unrestricted eating. There are several versions, but dieters will often either eat just within a 12-hour time frame (e.g. eat between 9 am and 9 pm) or eat on alternate days (e.g. eat today but not tomorrow, or at least limit what you eat to about 500 calories). It’s a challenging diet for most people and may lead to overeating on both days.
Just One Thing to do: On alternate days, instead of fasting, make all your portions smaller than usual while skipping seconds and snacks. After a week of this, make this your daily routine. Large vs. Small portion of spaghetti: Plenty has been written about the paleo diet in its many forms, so here I offer just a quick list of pros and cons. Pros: It recommends eliminating processed foods and simple sugars. Cons: The science is flawed and meat intake is not great for the environment. Nutritionally, it limits foods that promote good health, including legumes and whole grains.
Just One Thing to do: Instead of following a strict diet, include more fruits and vegetables in place of processed food. Try fruit and oatmeal for breakfast instead of poptarts, chicken caesar salad for lunch instead of a burger and fries, and fish with green beans for dinner instead of Hamburger Helper. The ketogenic diet is all the rage, and there is no shortage of books, blogs and recipes on the subject. But is it safe? Maybe in the short term, but it is not a healthy long-term approach to weight loss. Side effects include constipation, brain fog, potential nutrient deficiencies, and even smelling like old beer.
Just One Thing to do: For many of the benefits without the side effects, limit your intake of all simple carbohydrates, including soda, energy and coffee drinks, juice, and refined grains such as bagels, doughnuts, sweet cereal, crackers, pretzels, cookies and white pasta. Introducing the "Just One Thing" Blog! There is so much information out there related to food, nutrition, shopping, cooking, sustainability, and all things related to eating. It's overwhelming, but what if it could be easier? "Just One Thing" offers a weekly tip or nutrition hack to make it realistic and doable for your long-term success, based on the most frequently asked questions I receive. For your reading pleasure, my goal is to stick to 100 words or less. For longer in-depth articles, be sure to visit my Publications page. Stay tuned!
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