Overnight Oats for a Healthy Breakfast On the Go

I used to think that people who meal-prepped were those kind of people who really had their $hit together. The kind of people who threw those Pinterest-worthy parties with home-baked goods and hand-made decorations. The sort of people who made their beds every. single. day. You know, really together.

I'm kind of a mess. I couldn't bake or craft if my life depended on it and I run out the door every morning in a frenzy. I wouldn't say that I make my bed, more like I try to straighten-up the covers a bit so they are not in a big lump in the middle. That counts, right? Who has time? (and I'll mention that I don't even have kids, so honestly, I have no idea how you do it.)

I figured out that meal-prep is actually perfect for people like me. I don't feel like I have it all together all the time, so if I take a little time up front, I end up spending less time and energy (not to mention money, oops I mentioned it) in the long run. If I spend 30 minutes prepping on a Sunday I know that I'll always have a healthy meal ready to go for breakfast no matter how frenzied my morning turns out. 

Overnight oats saves breakfast. It is easy to make a healthy choice in the morning when it's already prepared and waiting in the fridge. Just grab a spoon and dig in. As a nutrition coach I love it because overnight oats have a mix of healthy carbohydrates, protein and fats. If you are an athlete especially, you want to make sure you are covering all your nutritional bases. 

I experimented with a few different flavor combinations and I came with up with these varieties.

Overnight Oats - Save on Pinterest for later!

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I used one pint mason jars, all of the flavor combinations have the same base

1/3 cup of old fashioned 100% whole grain rolled oats (uncooked)
1/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt (this is where you get your protein)

The topping varieties are endless. Here are a few that I loved:

PEANUT BUTTER /BANANA

1/3 cup of old fashioned 100% whole grain rolled oats (uncooked)
1/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of peanut butter powder (or you could use natural peanut butter)
1/2 banana
coconut flakes

BERRIES/CINNAMON

1/3 cup of old fashioned 100% whole grain rolled oats (uncooked)
1/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
blueberries/raspberries/strawberries
sliced almonds
coconut flakes

PEACHES/COTTAGE CHEESE

1/3 cup of old fashioned 100% whole grain rolled oats (uncooked)
1/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup of cottage cheese (changed it up from Yogurt for this one)
1/2 large peach chopped
sliced almonds
coconut flakes

PINEAPPLE/COCONUT

1/3 cup of old fashioned 100% whole grain rolled oats (uncooked)
1/3 cup of milk
1/3 cup of plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup of crushed pineapple
sliced almonds
coconut flakes

If you are worried about soggy oats, then some people recommended making only two jars in advance. I however, thought that by the end of the week they were even more delicious as the flavors were soaked up from sitting in the fridge all week. It's really a personal preference. I liked making five mason jars ahead of time and eating them all week. I ate the one with the banana on the first day just to be sure. 

What do your mornings looks like? Are they hectic like mine? I have another idea for a breakfast on the go that I will share next week.

Will you give these a try and let me know what you think? What's your go-to breakfast? What strategies do you use to eat healthy on the go? 

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Coach Lea

Outsmart the Food Companies to Make Healthier Choices

Most food marketers want to trick and deceive you. They don't care about your health, they just want you to buy their food. It's their job, of course, to sell and market food. I would say you can't blame the food companies for wanting to make money if it wasn't so blatantly deceiving and actively hurting people. It is just wrong.

Well-meaning people make nutrition decisions based on food marketing packaging and are deceived into buying less-than healthy food that they believe to be healthy. Most of the time these people are just trying to make the best decisions for their families, they don't have a lot of time or resources to dig deeper into nutrition, so they take it at face value. Food marketers are two-faced. Their marketing says one thing, but the nutrition label and ingredients list usually reveals the truth.

If we wonder why so many people are having trouble meeting their health and fitness goals one factor could be misleading food labels. People think they are making healthier choices, when they are not.

Here are a few marketing labels to look out for in the grocery store to make sure you are making smart healthy choices. I'm not suggesting that you should never eat a morsel of unhealthy food again (balance is important), I just want you to be aware that food labels can be misleading. The good news is that the truth of these deceiving labels can be uncovered by reading the nutrition label and ingredient list.
 

OUTSMART THE FOOD COMPANIES TO MAKE HEALTHIER CHOICES

Fat-Free

When a package has a fat free label, it may be true that the product is free of fat, but it doesn't mean it is any healthier than a product containing fat. Most of the time, when fat is removed they add sugar so it still tastes good. Replacing fat with sugar is not a healthy choice. It's often a better choice to eat the full fat version of the product. Read the nutrition label and consider the calorie, sugar and fat intake the make the best decision.

Organic

It can be a healthy choice to buy organic vegetables, but just because a product boasts an organic label does not automatically make it healthy. Organic processed foods can be packed with fat, sugar and a ton of unhealthy calories. Processed organic foods are still unhealthy processed foods. For best results choose whole foods whenever possible.

Gluten-Free

Unless you are allergic to gluten, there is no benefit to eating gluten-free foods. They will not magically help you lose weight and they are not healthier than their gluten counterparts. In fact they often have less fiber, making them a bit unhealthier. Gluten-free has turned into a buzz word that marketers slap on their products to make them seem healthier. When I see a gluten-free label on a bag of marshmallows, I shake my head. Marshmallows are pure sugar and sugar never had gluten. My Celiac friend told me she appreciates gluten-free labels on foods, even ones that may seem obvious, because it gives her a level of comfort, but if you don't have a gluten allergy these labels don't mean much to you.

Low-Carb

Low-carb is not a definition of health. If you are trying to reduce carbohydrates, replacing them with processed low-carb options won't benefit you. Check the calorie content. Check the ingredients. In fact, a low-carb label on packaged foods may just be a red flag that the food is not healthy at all. If you want to reduce carbs, a better strategy would be to reduce processed foods all together, it will take you much further than replacing all carbohydrates with processed low-carb foods.

Multi-grain

If your bread is brown make sure it says 100% whole wheat as the first ingredient, otherwise you may be falling for marketing hype. A multi-grain label on breads, cereals and other packaged foods, like taco shells and granola bars, doesn’t equal healthy. It just means it is made with several types grains, which may include refined grains, which are not the healthiest choice. 

Enriched means that the nutrients that were removed during processing were added back in. These marketing buzzwords tell us very little about the health-status of the product. If anything the word enriched reveals that it is a processed food and maybe should be reduced or avoided. 

NON-GMO

I am not interested into getting into a GMO debate because people get fired up about this topic and I am middle child and my personality leans more towards making peace than inciting conflict. If you don't want to eat GMOs, then of course, you are free to make the food choices you think are best for you and your family.

However, food marketers manipulate the public by putting non-GMO labels on all kinds of products, all willy-nilly, even products that don't have a GMO alternative. They are hoping you don't know any better and will choose the the (usually) more expensive product labeled as non-GMO even though the product without the non-GMO label doesn't have GMOs either, because a GMO version doesn't even exist for that product type. They are preying on people's ignorance on the topic. 

Now excuse me while I enjoy my fat-free, organic, Gluten-free, low-carb, grain-free, non-GMO meal. Hah.

Outsmart by the food companies by ignoring all marketing on the package and reading the nutrition label and the ingredient list for the truth about what is in a product. The ingredients are listed from highest content to lowest, so if the first ingredient is sugar, you know the product has more sugar than any of the other ingredient. This information can help you make a more informed decision regardless of marketing. Strive to eat whole foods from nature most of the time and make food decisions based on facts rather than marketing or fear tactics. 

Make sense? Need help with your nutrition strategy and developing healthier habits? Join my online nutrition program to lose weight and feel great for once and for all. It's not a quick fix, it's a lifestyle strategy for sustainable weight loss.

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A Practical Guide to Eating More Fruits & Vegetables + Sample Healthy Day Menu

As a healthy habits nutrition coach it is my job to help regular people find ways to fit healthy eating habits into their everyday lives. I don't work with fitness models or stage competitors. 

I work with people who are looking for long-term sustainable weight loss and optimal health. That means no strict diets, no calorie counting and no meal plans from me. (There is nothing inherently wrong with these and there is a place for them for some people. I have just found that most people do best by starting with building healthy habits.)

I help regular people with families, kids, careers, responsibilities, friends, pets and hobbies (you know, a life) fit healthier eating into their already busy lives. We don't try to change our whole lives around to live healthier, we find ways to make healthier choices that work inside our already hectic lives.

Our goal is to always look, feel and perform our best through nutrition and movement. If you look great but feel like crap, there's something not right. If you look great but perform poorly, there's still work to do. If you don't look like you want and you also feel bad, the good news is that you can start today to implement some healthy habits that will help you start to improve in all areas right away.

There is no best one diet or workout plan that works for everyone. It often takes some experimenting and evaluating to find out what works best for you. However, there are some basics that are often overlooked when people are too busy looking for the next quick fix. One thing you can start to implement right away is to eat the recommended five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. If you are eating considerably less than this, then start with one serving at each meal and build slowly over time. Baby steps, baby!

Eat fruits and vegetables to get the fiber that you need to feel full at meals and keep your digestive tract running...err...smoothly. Fruits and vegetables are high in nutrients and low in calories so you get more bang for your nutritional buck. A diet full of fruits and vegetables may help reduce risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals so that you shine from the inside out. Not to mention fruit and vegetables are delicious. What's not to love about all of that? 

This post is sponsored by Shine Organics. All opinions are my own. If I hated it, I'd tell you. This post contains affiliate links, that means if you click on a link, I get paid with no cost to you. No one is getting rich here, it just helps with the running (pun intended) of this blog so that I can continue to provide valuable free content. Thanks, as always, for your support.

HOW TO EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

PREP VEGGIES IN ADVANCE AND TOSS THEM INTO MEALS/SNACKS ALL DAY

How long does it take to cut seven slices of a cucumber to put in your salad for one day? How much longer does it take to just chop up the whole cucumber and put the unused slices in food storage containers and save for later? Minutes? Seconds? Not long. Same goes for peppers, onions, carrots and fresh spinach. Go ahead and wash and chop it all up in one day and put it away for later. You can toss veggies in your scrambled eggs in the morning, into your lunch salad and your stir fry or crock pot dinner. You can bag it up and take it with you for a healthy snack on the go. Taking a little time on the front end can save a lot of time during the week. If fruits and veggies are easy to grab, already washed and prepared, you're more likely to eat them. 

Jar Salad with chopped vegetables

HAVE FRESH FRUIT ON HAND AT HOME AND ON THE ROAD

Don't play hide the fruit. Buy a fancy fruit bowl for the dining room table and fill that baby up with all your favorite delicious fruits. If healthy fresh food is within arm's reach you're more likely to grab it when you're hungry for a snack. Make fruit and veggies convenient and unhealthy snacks very inconvenient (meaning leave them at the store. haha). You're more likely to eat what is easily accessible. Use laziness to your advantage. Do you really want to get in your car and drive to the store at 9PM to buy some chips or will you just eat that delicious orange in your pretty new fruit bowl? 

JOIN A LOCAL VEGETABLE CO-OP OR CSA

Join a local vegetable co-op or CSA to try a variety of locally grown fruits and vegetables. You support local farmers while getting an opportunity to try different types of vegetables maybe you normally wouldn't buy. Variety is a huge factor in ensuring we are getting all of our vitamin and mineral needs. In Texas (and other states) we have Bountiful Baskets. Do some reasearch to see what is available in your area.

BUY TRAVEL-FRIENDLY FRUITS

Have you ever brought a banana on an airplane? I have. You deplane with a totally black mushy banana smothered all over the inside of your bag...well, that's a story for another time. Not all fruit is travel-friendly. Sometimes we need options that will stay fresh while we are on the go whether it's on an airplane, at a workout class or a meeting across town.

I understand that sometimes we don't have the time to chop and bag fruits and veggies. Or we forgot because we got lost in the latest episode of the Game of Thrones. Oops. I get it. One way I encourage my clients to find ways to fit healthy habits into their lifestyle is to look for convenient, yet healthy alternatives. I like the convenience of Shine Organics Fruit pouches for on the go. Each pouch is a blend of organic fruits, veggies and chia seeds that doesn't need refrigeration, so you can throw one in your car, in your gym bag, in your kid's lunch bag or leave one at your desk at work.

Remember what I said about making healthy choices inside your already busy life? This is one great way to do that. Do the best you can what with what you have available. This is one simple and convenient way to get in a serving of fruits and veggies with unique flavors like banana, pumpkin, coconut, blackberry, vanilla, passion flower, & chia all in one pouch!

You can find Shine Organics at Target in the snack aisle near the apple sauce. Want a coupon? Of course you do! Click below to get a coupon for a $1 off a four pack!

$1 OFF SHINE ORGANICS COUPON

Find Shine Organics in the snack aisle near the applesauce. Which flavor do I want?

I like to think about nutrition in terms of what we can add to live healthier, rather than what we have to take away. Maybe if we snack on fruits and vegetables we will fill up on healthy foods and eat less of the unhealthy alternatives. Instead of depriving yourself, learn how to add value to your nutrition. 

SAMPLE HEALTHY EATING DAY

This is a sample of what a healthy day may look like with at least five servings of fruit and veggies. This is similar to my own normal eating day. Notice I also included protein and a healthy fat at each meal. Feel free to substitute your favorite foods to make it work within your lifestyle and preferences. Add more food if you need it, take some away if it is too much. Each individual will have his/her own unique needs. Slow down and notice how food makes you feel and adjust accordingly. 

BREAKFAST

Two scrambled eggs with spinach, onions, tomatoes and peppers
1/2 cup of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt with blueberries
1 small banana

LUNCH

Big salad made with fresh spinach and a variety of colorful vegetables and a protein source, like chicken or turkey
A serving of nuts (I like pistachios)
An orange

SNACK

Shine Organics fruit pouch mixed with 1/4 cup of plain Greek Yogurt
OR plain Greek Yogurt with chopped peaches or pineapple

$1 OFF SHINE ORGANICS COUPON

No, not for you. Go eat your dog food. 

DINNER

Spinach side salad with tomatoes and cucumbers
Turkey stir fry with your favorite mixed vegetables
OR salmon, roasted cauliflower and avocado. 

Be honest. Are you getting your recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day? How can you fit in one additional serving tomorrow? 

CLICK HERE FOR $1 OFF SHINE ORGANICS COUPON

Need help with your nutrition habits? Ready to get lean and healthy? Learn more about my sustainable healthy habits program to lose weight and feel great once and for all. 

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COACH LEA

Fat Loss for Runners: Why You Gain Weight During Marathon Training

When Alanis Morissette wrote that song in the 90s about irony, I feel like there should have been a verse in there about gaining weight while training for a marathon. Sing along with me...

It's like training for your marathon day
But the more you ran the more you weighed
It wasn't supposed to be this way
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?
 

But just like the rest of the song, it's actually not ironic at all. When you are training for a marathon there is no guarantee of weight loss. Isn't that a jagged little pill to swallow? (You see what I did there?) In fact, it is quite common for runners to gain weight during marathon training. Runners of all shapes and sizes are kicking-ass across finish lines all over the world. So what gives? Running obviously burns a lot of calories, shouldn't we all be losing weight when training to run 26.2 miles?

The first thing to consider is that there is a difference between running for performance and running for weight loss. When training for a marathon you are running for performance. You are training your body to have the capacity to run 26.2 miles and that is a pretty amazing feat (but you "earn" less amazing-looking feet.) To lose weight you have to be in a calorie deficit, taking in less calories than you burn, but that is not ideal for running performance and recovery.

WHY YOU GAIN WEIGHT DURING MARATHON TRAINING (IT'S NOT ALWAYS NEGATIVE)

YOU GAIN MUSCLE

One reason the scale may seem to be moving in the wrong direction is a positive thing. You are building muscle mass that wasn't there before. Muscle is more dense than fat, so when you lose fat and gain muscle your body fat percentage goes down (yay!) while your weight goes up or stays the same. The number on the scale may have gone up but you improved your body composition. 

YOU INCREASED CARBOHYDRATES (GLYCOGEN) STORES

When you run long distances you are training your body to increase carbohydrate (glycogen) storage in your muscles and liver, which also increases water storage. This is a necessity when you are training to run a marathon. The more glycogen you store the farther you can run without hitting "the wall", but it can add numbers to the scale. It's important to note that this is not fat gain.

YOUR BODY ADAPTS TO THE STRESSES YOU PLACE UPON IT

This is the whole point of marathon training. You train your body to be able to run long distances. You are able to run longer and farther month after month during training. Your body becomes more efficient over time. That means it feels easier to run and you are not expending as much energy. When you first start running your body is less efficient at running, so it burns more calories. Over time your body adapts, becomes more efficient and you burn less calories during the same activity. For marathon training this is a good thing. For weight loss, a double edge sword. 

YOU EAT MORE BEFORE YOU RUN

We've all heard of carb-loading before a big race, but when it's used as an excuse to eat junk foods in large quantities, it can be a factor in weight gain. Fueling for your long runs should include a slow increase of calories from carbohydrates from a variety of mostly whole foods. It doesn't mean three servings of pasta and four servings of garlic bread the night before your long run. Dangit, I wish it meant that. 

YOU EAT MORE DURING YOUR RUN

On average we burn about 100 calories per mile, obviously this varies from runner to runner. After about 90 minutes of running we usually start needing to fuel during our runs. It's necessary, but another reason that weight loss and creating a calorie deficit while marathon training can be so challenging. 

YOU EAT MORE AFTER YOU RUN

Are you seeing a trend here? You just ran 10 miles and your are hungry (or hangry, amiright?). You gulp down a protein shake, take a shower, then meet some friends to treat yourself to an indulgence meal. You can easily put down 1000 calories of burgers, fries and beer. While there is nothing wrong with an indulgence meal, try not to get into the habit of rewarding your hard work with junk food. After all, during marathon training you will be running a lot. If you reward every run with indulgence foods, you can easily out-eat your calorie expenditure. 

YOU MOVE LESS THE REST OF THE DAY

After running 14 miles you crash on the couch with your compression socks snuggling your calves while watching a NetFlix marathon. When hubby asks if you want to go to the mall, you grunt out a no-way Jose (even though his name is Russell). The house isn't getting cleaned, the dog isn't getting walked (by you) and you're not moving until you hear the doorbell ring with your dinner delivery.

The calories you burn while walking around doing everyday activities add up. So while you increased your calorie expenditure during your run, you decreased it the rest of the day. With the added food intake, the decreased activity outside of running, you can easily put yourself into a calorie surplus, which can cause weight gain.

FAT LOSS FOR RUNNERS: WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

It can be counter-intuitive to have marathon goals and weight loss goals at the same time, but if you want to keep the weight off while marathon training I recommend always focusing on fat loss, not weight loss. Our goal should be to build or maintain muscle while losing fat.

VARY INTENSITY

Your long runs should be long and slow, but after a month or two of building your milage base you can play with the intensity of at least one other run in the week to help with fat loss. Long interval runs (1/2 mile or 1 mile intervals of hard effort repeats) can help with fat loss while improving your marathon pace. Here is a post I wrote about different types of interval runs. For injury prevention be careful never to increase intensity and mileage in the same week. That means if you are adding miles to your long run, don't also add in a new interval workout or increase the intensity/pace of an existing workout. Only introduce new intensity on weeks you aren't adding mileage. This is important. Got it? Good.

FUEL RESPONSIBLY

Yes, when you are marathon training you need to fuel, which means that you will probably need to eat more than usual. However, don't use marathon training as an excuse to binge eat. Increase calories with a variety of nutrient-dense foods from nature and save the treats for occasional indulgences in moderation. I wrote more about nutrition for athletes (yes, that's you) over in this blog post.

STRENGTH TRAIN

Runners who strength train are stronger, faster and less prone to injury. When you are marathon training, running should absolutely be your first priority, but don't neglect strength training. Short and focused runner-specific strength training sessions just twice a week can help you meet your running and fat loss goals. Muscle tissue uses more energy at rest than fat, so when you build lean muscle you burn more calories during your daily activities, like recovering on the couch. 

Running a marathon is a fantastic goal. I recommend training and fueling for your marathon with performance as your main focus, even if your personal definition of performance is crossing the finish line without dying. Once you achieve that goal, you can adjust your training and nutrition to focus on fat loss for a period of time before you inevitability start your marathon training all over again. 

Any questions about fat loss or weight gain during marathon training? I'd love to help. 

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Coach Lea