Healthy Eating During the Summer

Summer is just about here and let's face it, sometimes healthy eating gets pushed aside until Fall rolls around. It can be easy to get off track with vacations, graduation parties, BBQs, road trips and more. While I am a huge proponent of enjoying yourself and indulging here or there, your health STILL matters and shouldn't get the short end of the stick.


How do you find a balance between investing in your health (and keeping up your good habits with nutrition) and enjoying yourself this summer? The first step is figuring out what matters to you! Often I hear clients saying that they want to lose weight for a vacation or graduation party. What happens when that is all done? What is your new motivation? What is going to push you towards sticking to your plan? Figure out WHY healthy eating matters to you. Do you want to feel more comfortable in your own skin? Do you want to control a disease? Do you want to have more energy?

Once you figured out your WHY, devise a plan for yourself. What goals do you still need to work towards? Are you still trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies? Your day-to-day may change during the summer months, so have a plan for how you are going to reach your goals even while on vacation. Pack healthy snacks (carrot sticks, fruits, nuts, raisins, etc) for your beach trip. Buy high-fiber, low-sugar bars to keep on hand while hiking. Make a smoothie to take with you while on a long drive. Don't let the excuses and self-made barriers get in the way of you accomplishing your goals and bettering your overall health.

I like to think of the acronym, "PAL," for any scenario when trying to balance food choices. If you are wondering, I highly doubt this is an actual acronym that people use, just something I thought of :) "P" is for Plan or Prepare. Plan a healthy menu for your shore trip. Prepare a healthy dish for a BBQ. Plan to exercise when there is downtime. "A" is for Assess. Assess the situation you are in. What healthy options are available during a party? Assess after the fact too. What can you do better for next time? What went well for you? How do you feel about your food/drink choices? Lastly, "L" is for Live. Live your life and remember in the grand scheme of things, that extra cookie probably won't undo all of your hard work (maybe the extra 4 or 5 would though ha). Seriously though, enjoying the summer can definitely include some treats and don't let yourself wallow in negativity about your choices. If you are eating well 90-95% of the time, why not let loose and have that piece of cake or cookie? Healthy living is just that, actually LIVING. Not just counting calories, endless dieting, restriction, and guilt.

So this summer, I challenge you to figure out what is going to motivate you to keep up your healthy habits (or start new ones) and to use the acronym "PAL" for your next social outing.

Leave a comment below and tell me what your plan is for healthy eating this summer.

For more tips on Healthy Summer Sips, click the LINK

Breaking Through Barriers to Your Health

How many times have you made an excuse about your health? "I had a rough day, so I deserve this cookie." "It's just too cold to go to the gym, so I will just stay home." "I ate good all day, so I can splurge at dinner." "I am just too old to lose weight." I am sure you can think of a thousand more excuses you have used or overheard. One of the things I often tell my clients is that, "It doesn't matter why you didn't do it, but that it simply didn't happen." There is always going to be a reason (barrier) why something didn't happen and an excuse that follows. Why you didn't eat more vegetables, why you ate the extra piece of cake, why you didn't exercise, etc. The ultimate key to YOUR success is finding out what your barriers are and how you can overcome them.

So how exactly do you overcome your barriers? First thing is to figure out WHY it happened. Let's say you didn't eat any vegetables today. Why is that? Do you need to plan more? Do you need to actually buy them? Do you need a new recipe so they are more enticing? Do you need to put them at eye level in the fridge so you remember them? What about if you tend to be a stress or emotional eater? Stress and emotions are something that are always going to be apart of your life, so figuring out how to handle them is key. Can you try writing in a journal instead of eating? Can you go for a walk to decrease stress? Can you call a friend to work through your issues? If time is a barrier (often the biggest one), I challenge you to think of how you can make time for yourself and your health. Can you get up earlier to eat breakfast? Can you cut some TV time to meal prep? Making the time now to support your health will decrease your chances of having to make that time later when it is even harder to change. By making time later, I mean for doctor's appointments, medication pick-up, tests, blood-work, etc.

To be honest, there is nothing wrong with a small reward when you have accomplished your goals. What you don't want is for that reward to be is food (constantly). I am not against a sweet treat here or there; however, daily or weekly is hardly a "treat" and more of a habit. If you still want to have some sort of "reward" try to brainstorm things that don't involve food like buying a new book or having a spa day.

One final comment I have about breaking through your barriers is to not stand in your own way by making excuses and comparing yourself to everyone else. "I will never look as good as (insert name here), so why even try." Comparison just puts more pressure on yourself and gives a sense of complacency. Changing your unhealthy habits is definitely hard; however, when you are faced with decisions about your health, ask yourself, "Will I do something about it to help support my goals or will I do nothing at all?" YOU can choose to change your health. YOU can choose to do what is hard. YOU can choose to live healthier.

How have you decided to break through your barriers to living a healthy lifestyle? What will you start doing today that will support your long-term goals? Leave a comment and let me know!

Guide to New Year's Resolutions

Happy almost 2016! I can't believe how fast the year went for me! Being a dietitian, I have had tons of calls and appointments scheduled for January already. I had a few clients who were interested in getting started now; however, most wanted to enjoy their last hurrah.

While I hate to put it so bluntly, most of my busiest times are during January, May, and September. It tends to be this kind of cycle: start in January (gym + eating better), last until about March, give-up for a little bit, start back up for May to get ready for the summer, let loose for the summer, get back on track for September (now that everyone is in school and in a better routine), fall off near Halloween and continue that way until January...rinse...and repeat! Now, some of you may be laughing and saying, "Yes, this is totally me!" Others may say, "No! I keep it going all year!" The goal of my post today is to give you real tips on how to make your New Year's resolutions stick (and stick longer than just February).

Brainstorm both long and short-term goals
When I say long-term goals, I am saying what is your ultimate goal? Say you want to lose 30 pounds, exercise more, or just lead a healthier life. Think about what you are going to do to accomplish those goals. These short-term goals can be to exercise 30 minutes a day for 3 times per week or to eat at least 3 vegetables per day or to drink water or unsweetened beverages instead of soda, and so on and so forth. Remember, when setting goals, make sure they are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely)!

Write down your goals. 
Why is it important to write it down? For starters, it puts it plainly on paper for you to stare at! Post your goals around the house, on the fridge, or on the cabinet. I have clients that post their goals on the mirror to see in the morning, then post another note by the snacks. Then, if they go to snack on something they have to think about if what they are going to eat is going to help or hinder them reaching their goals. So, that being said make your goals a constant reminder!

Know your barriers
Whenever I talk to clients about their goals, we always talk about what will stand in their way. Maybe, you want to exercise more, but time is a barrier. Maybe, you want to eat healthier but your family is not supportive. Take a couple of minutes to write down all the barriers you have to reaching your goals. Then, write down how you can overcome those barriers. If time is an issue, write out your day and pick a time where you can exercise. This may mean swapping out 1 hour of TV for 1 hour at the gym or getting up 30 minutes earlier to do a quick workout at home. Acknowledging and facing your barriers will help to set you up for success!

Commit to yourself
Why is your goal important to you? Why do you want to run a marathon? Why do you want to eat healthier? Really think about what makes your goal important to you and you only. This is what will drive your motivation to reach your goals. After you think about why your goal is important, make a personal commitment to yourself. While there are so many excuses you can make for not doing something, YOU alone make the choice. Invest in yourself and your health. Stop thinking and worrying about what everyone else wants and says. Remember, that it is your body and you are your biggest supporter.

Track your progress
I feel like everyone is always saying this but seriously DO IT. Get a calendar or a notebook and write down every day that you reach your goal. Or, track your weight each week. Why is this helpful? If you get discouraged, you can see how much progress you have been making so far. I get a lot of clients feeling discouraged after working hard at their goal. I have been doing this exercise with them lately: Whenever you feel discouraged, write down at least 5 positive things you have accomplished so far. For example, maybe your goal was to lose 1 pound per week and you have been eating healthier every day. You step on the scale and the number didn't budge! When you write down your 5 things, you find that even though you didn't lose weight you went to the gym 3x, you ate more vegetables, you had less soda and more water, you walked farther on the treadmill, and you still got on the scale even though you didn't want to. More often than not, clients lose that commitment when they hit a rough patch. Remind yourself how awesome you are. Again, you are your biggest supporter!

Reassess
Why do most people stop their "diets" or stop exercising or stop eating healthy? A lot of times it is due to boredom. Other times, it is due to someone reaching their goal, then going back to their old habits. Thinking back to the "track your progress" part, if you feel yourself getting bored or frustrated, reassess your goals. Are they still challenging? Are they still important to you? Do you need to step it up a bit?

Get Support
My last piece of advice is to get support. It can be from family, friends, co-workers, etc. When you fall off track or get frustrated have at least 1 person you can rely on to help remind you of your goals and why they are important to you. If you don't have someone in mind, consider joining a support group. I lead a support group at work and even though some of the participants have zero support at home, they find support in their classmates. It is so heartwarming to have someone express their frustration and hearing another participant speak up and remind them how great they are and how far they have come! (Did I mention I love my job :))

Hopefully, you will find something useful in this post to help YOU stick to your goals this New Year. Hope you enjoy the rest of 2015!