5 STRATEGIES TO MAINTAIN & NOT GAIN OVER THE HOLIDAYS

Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year. It seems that the day after Halloween, Christmas explodes all over us. It's time to start thinking about holiday parties, gifts and celebrations. It's a wonderful time to spend with family and friends and to show our love & gratitude. It's also the time of the year that most people shift their focus away from health and fitness with a self-promise to start over again in January.

Just when you finish up the last piece of the leftover Halloween candy, the cookies show up daily at the office, the neighbors send edible gifts, the holiday party buffet is abundant with dedicant treats and the drinks are overflowing. It's hard to avoid this time of year. 

You don't have to accept holiday weight gain. You don't have to start over in January. You can start right now. Being mindful over the holidays can help you maintain and not gain (and even lose). 

"But Lea," you scream. "Don't you know how crazy my life is? I don't have time for health and fitness right now. I promise to focus on it more in January when things calm down."

Life rarely ever calms down. The beauty of healthy habits is that when you cultivate them throughout the year, you're already on healthy auto-pilot when life gets crazy. It is not about changing your whole life to live healthier, it's about learning to live healthier inside your crazy, busy life. If you only practice healthy habits when life is calm, you'll only learn to do healthy habits when life is calm. Get it? You can be healthy and crazy busy. 

5 STRATEGIES TO MAINTAIN & NOT GAIN OVER THE HOLIDAYS

THE 80/20 RULE

It's not the Thanksgiving dinner or the holiday parties that are the problem. It's the choices we make the other 300 days a year. Special occasions are just that, special. If you practice daily healthy habits then what you do on special occasions doesn't matter. If you've made good choices all week then you can go ahead and have the pumpkin pie, no guilt.

A good rule of thumb is to eat 80% of your calories for the week from whole foods from nature, then the other 20% can be for the special occasions, Grandma's favorite pie and any other treats that you savor and enjoy. 

Food is fuel, yes, but food is also how we bond with other humans. Bonding with people we love is part of living a healthy lifestyle. There's a balance. 

MINDFUL EATING

The biggest mistake a person can make over the holidays is to decide that they aren't going to think about health and fitness at all. While there is definitely room for dedicant meals and holiday treats it is shouldn't be an excuse to overindulge. 

One strategy you can try is to eat slowly. Take your time and enjoy that indulgence. You could scarf down a 1/2 dozen cookies because they are in front of you or you could savor a cookie or two by eating them slowly and mindfully. Chew your food. Think about the texture, the taste. Take a drink between bites. Eating slowly can help you control your calorie intake and you may even find you enjoy it more when you slow down to savor it. 

Mindless eating can lead to holiday weight gain, mindful eating can help keep it under control.

KEEP MOVING

Make it a family affair. Take a daily family walk. Challenge your friends to walk one mile a day every day from Thanksgiving until the new year. Sign up for a Turkey Trot or a Jingle Bell 5K. Do pushups against the counter when you're waiting for the microwave to ding. Do lunges as you vacuum. Park farther away in the parking lot when you go grocery shopping for your Thanksgiving dinner. Take 10 minutes to do a daily body weight routine, do it twice in the day. Structured exercise is great when you can do it, but every little action counts.

It's not an all-or-nothing choice. If you don't have time for an hour long exercise session today, then what do you have time for? Great. Then do that. Something is always better than nothing. 

The habit of daily movement goes a long way in maintaining your weight. 

HEALTHY SUBSTITUTES

Try making healthy substitutions in some of your holiday dishes, I bet your family won't even notice. If you're going to a holiday party be the person that shows up with the healthy dish, that way you'll know there will be at least one healthy option there. Volunteer to bring a chopped veggie tray, a fruit salad or a healthy casserole. A quick search on Pinterest for healthy holiday substitutions returned hundreds of delicious options.

PRIORITIZE PROTEIN & VEGETABLES

Never show up hungry to a dinner or party. When you build your plate at the buffet or the dinner table, prioritize protein and vegetables first. Turkey is a great source of protein. Fill your plate up with mostly protein and veggies, then allow smaller portions of whatever is left. Fill up on the healthiest foods first, eat slowly, then if you still have room, have a few bites to try the other dishes. 

In the end I think we should all enjoy everything that the holidays have to offer: family, friends, food and fun. We can be mindful and have the best of both worlds. Then when January rolls around and everyone is just starting to make their new year resolutions, we'll already be well on our way to reaching all of our health and fitness goals. 

Looking for a sane and sustainable approach to nutrition? I have six openings in my nutrition program going on sale for Black Friday. LImited time offer for 50% off six months of the program for qualified candidates. Reach all your 2018 goals with nutrition habits coaching. Learn more!

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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!

This post may contain affiliate links.That just means if you click on a link in this post and make a purchase then I make a small percentage of the sale. No one is getting rich here, it just helps with the running (pun intended) of this blog. Thanks, as always, for your support.

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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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