De-Stress (not Distress) for your health!
Hello All!
Take a deep breath and relax while you read for your health.
As we are coming up on this Memorial Day weekend and as many of you will be vacationing or just taking a breather and relaxing a bit more than usual, this is a perfect opportunity to share with you how important it is to relax and stay on track. Keeping up with your nutrition and exercise when vacationing or getting away for a bit is key and you will realize why. So read and relax! 
Sleep effecting your stress levels...
As many as 47 million adults may be putting themselves at risk for injury, and health and behavior problems because they aren't meeting their minimum sleep need in order to be fully alert the next day. People in this army of the walking tired are more likely to sit and seethe in traffic jams, quarrel with other people, or overeat, according to the findings.
The Link Between Nutrition and Stress:
Ask yourself this: when feeling overwhelmed, have you found yourself doing any of the following?
- Drinking Too Much Coffee: When burning the candle at both ends, people often find themselves using coffee drinks to jump-start themselves in the morning, and a pattern of all-day coffee drinking often ensues.
- Eating The Wrong Foods: Due partially to increased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, stressed people tend to crave foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Think about it: how often have you turned to your good friends Ben & Jerry after a long, stressful day?
- Skipping Meals: Another thing overly stressed people tend to do is skip meals. Have you ever found yourself rushing out of the house without a healthy breakfast (picking up a latte doesn’t count!), or realizing you’re starving in the late afternoon because you didn’t eat enough?
- Mindless Munching: Conversely, stress also makes us prone to emotional eating, when we eat when we aren’t hungry, or eat foods that are bad for us. Have you found yourself mindless snacking on junk food, or eating when you aren’t hungry, because of stress?
- Forgetting Water: With busy lives, it’s easy to forget to drink your water, In fact, a good portion of Americans drink no water, and get water only from soda or coffee. Do you get a full eight glasses per day, or even four?
- Fast Food: People these days eat at home less than in generations past, as it’s easier to just drive through a fast food place or go to a restaurant than to go home and cook something. Unfortunately, this gets expensive, and is often unhealthy.
- Crash Diets: Because of weight gain from stress, some people intentionally eat less food than they need, or try dangerous fad diets in order to lose the excess weight. Diets that aren’t balanced with fruits and vegetables, protein and healthy carbohydrates can often be bad for your health in the long run, even if they look attractive short term.
These unhealthy habits can affect our bodies in many ways. The following are only some of them:
- Blood Sugar Imbalances: When we don’t eat enough food, or don’t eat healthy enough food (too little protein and healthy carbohydrates, too much sugar, etc.) we can experience blood sugar fluctuations. These fluctuations can lead to mood swings, fatigue, poor concentration and other negative consequences in the short term, and greater health problems like hyperglycemia in the long run.
- Caffeine Side Effects: Too much caffeine can lead to poor concentration and decrease effectiveness, sleep disturbances, and increased levels of cortisol in the blood, as well as other negative effects.
- Poor Health Outcomes: Poor nutrition can also lead to lowered immunity so you’re more susceptible to illnesses, both minor and major. As you can imagine, this can lead to other problems, including increased stress levels.
10 Ways to De-Stress Your Life:
• Think positively. • Believe you can! • Fill your mind with uplifting images. • Take care of yourself. • Get enough sleep • Eat healthy foods. • Exercise. • Do something you really enjoy. • Restore yourself. • Live simply. • Don't clutter up your life with too many things. • Be cooperative. • Stand up for your rights but resist wanting your own way all the time. • Try to see another point of view. • Get involved in a good cause. • Feel like you are making a difference in the world, even if it's in a small way. • Engage in Peer Support - share and receive. • Live one day at a time. • Make the most of the moment. • Yesterday is gone, and today will be, soon enough. • Maintain balance. • Devote time to all aspects of your life: spiritual, emotional, family, career, community, physical, mental, material. • Give yourself credit where credit is due. • Realize you can't do everything!
I hope you gained a little bit of insight on what the effects of stress are and how to help de-stress for your health!
Join us for more information on this subject in our discussion at 12:45- 1:15pm on Friday.
Live Healthy, Be Happy!
-Coach Mandy
Drinking Water and Why?
- Muscle consists of 75% water
- Brain consists of 90% of water
- Bone consists of 22% of water
- Blood consists of 83% water
The functions of water in human body are vital. The water:
- Transports nutrients and oxygen into cells
- Moisturizes the air in lungs
- Helps our metabolism
- Protects our vital organs
- Helps our organs to absorb nutrients better
- Regulates body temperature
- Detoxifies
- Protects and moisturizes our joints
- Tiredness
- Migraines
- Constipation
- Muscle cramps
- Irregular blood pressure
- Kidney problems
- Dry skin
- 20% dehydrated – Risk of death
About Your Nutrition Food Bank...
Why Drinking Alcohol Makes you Fat!
A few pointers:
Carbs, Carbs, Carbs...Continued-Week 2
I hope you all are having a wonderful week
If you find yourself tied up at work a lot and your extra busy, still remember- you must put your health first don't let yourself fall behind on nutrition or getting in your cardio. You must remember how far you've come and if you're just getting started, you must remember that you have to start strong and make it a habit to never let there be obstacles between you and your fitness goals!!!
This week's Nutri-Blast "Topic of the Week" is going to be a continuation of last week's Carbohydrate presentation. This week we will be talking about the following topics + more with also a Q & A at the end:
1. Fiber
2. Carbohydrate digestion/diabetes
3. Artificial sweeteners
4. Alcohol consumption
So be sure to join us from your computer or your smart phone on Go To Meeting @ 12:45-1:15pm on every Friday. I'll be so glad to hear from everyone!
Live Healthy, Be Happy
-Coach Mandy
CARBS, CARBS, CARBS: the Good and the Bad!
Protein Explained
Any of a group of
complex organic macromolecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
and usually sulfur and are composed of one or more chains of amino acids.
Proteins are
fundamental components of all living cells and include many substances, such as
enzymes, hormones, and antibodies, that are necessary for the proper
functioning of an organism.
They are essential
in the diet of animals for the growth and repair of tissue and can be obtained
from foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, and legumes.
Protein "On-the-Go"
Hey guys,
How is everyone doing? Spring is approaching and you know what that means... Summer is to follow!!! yay! Sunshine, the beach, and bathing suits, plus your leaner body to fit into that bathing suit...right? We all need to get serious about our nutrition, if you haven't already, and stay on track! We need to start on our "beach-bods" now!
As we all have experienced being "too busy" to make food or if you have an emergency and you cannot prepare food in advance, everyone asks for some type of protein source that you can eat in a pinch. Well, I have done some research on what types of bars you could buy/prepare in bulk, and here they are on the Nutri-Blast blog for your convenience!
Here are a couple of commercially-made protein bars that are the better ones I have found that are out there. Of course, homemade, in bulk, is much better for you!
2. Detour Bars - www.detourbar.com/findtherightbar.php
Peanut Butter Fudge Protein Bar (clean eating)
- Calories: 280.7
- Fat: 14.1g
- Carbohydrates: 13.5g
- Protein: 28.0g
Ingredients
-4 scoops chocolate protein powder-2/3 cup flax seed meal
-4 tbsp natural peanut butter
-1/4 cup water
-stevia or natural sweetener (optional)
-2 tbspn cocoa powder (optional)
Directions
-makes 4 servings-mix all ingredients in a large bowl and stir. At first it may not seem like it is enough water, but keep stirring and it will eventually become a sticky blob of dough. Add 1 tbsp of water at a time if needed.
-divide mixture into 4 equal portions and place in separate pieces of plastic wrap placing them into bars. It's easier to shape them by lying plastic wrap on one side of a small casserole dish, pressing the dough into the natural shape of the dish.
-store the bars in fridge or freezer. Once solid, enjoy.
Number of Servings: 4
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user DIANEMARY126.
Jamie Eason's Lemon Protein Bars
- Calories: 50.4
- Fat: 0.8g
- Carbohydrates: 7.9g
- Protein: 4.7g
Ingredients
*Oat flour, Arrowhead Mills, 0.5 cup*Pure Protein Powder - Vanilla Creme - 1 Scoop, 1 serving
Salt, .13 tsp
Baking Powder, .25 tsp
*Crystal Light Natural Lemonade, .5 serving
*Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, 1/4 cup
egg white, fresh, 2 large
Applesauce, unsweetened, .5 cup
*Lemon Juice, 1 lemon yields
Zest 1 lemon
1/4 cup water
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Mix oat flour, vanilla whey protein, salt, baking soda and crystal light, in large bowl.
Mix egg whites, Splenda, applesauce and water in a bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.
Spray pyrex dish with non-stick butter spray.
Pour ingredients into dish.
Bake 23 minutes.
Serving Size: makes 8 squares-serving 2 squares
Number of Servings: 8
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user ANEWAMANDA.
WHY FAT IS GOOD FOR YOU
Key
Messages with FAT:
1. You need to eat fat
to keep your body healthy, but not all fats are the same.
· 2. Try
to choose fats that are good for your body.
· 3. Fats
from fish, nuts, and seeds are healthy for your body. Limit fats from animal
sources, like butter, whole milk, and red meat
WHY DO WE NEED FAT IF WERE ALWAYS TRYING TO LOSE IT???
We need to eat
fat for energy, to help us feel full, and because it provides nutrients like
vitamin E. Our bodies need fat for nerve function, healthy skin and to protect
our organs (fat acts like a cushion!).
Keeping Track
of Fats!
Unsaturated
fats are
healthy fats. These fats are found in plant oils (like olive oil and vegetable
oil), nuts, and fish. Unsaturated fats help lower the “bad” (LDL) cholesterol
in the blood.
Saturated
fats come
from animal sources like dairy products (for example whole milk and butter) and
red meat. Coconut and palm oils are also saturated fats. Saturated fats raise
LDL cholesterol and can lead to heart disease and diabetes. Since whole milk is
a major source of saturated fat in children’s diets, one easy way to lower
their intake of unhealthy saturated fat is to offer skim or 1% milk.
Trans fats are created from plant
oils through a chemical process called partial
hydrogenation which makes them solid at room temperature. Trans fats are
commonly found in stick margarine, processed baked goods like cookies,
crackers, and other snack products, and fast foods. Trans fats are bad for your
health and should be avoided! Buy snacks for your program that have 0 grams of
trans fat on the nutrition label. But, also check the ingredient list! By law,
products labeled as “0 grams trans fat,” are still allowed to contain up to
0.49 grams of trans fat per serving. Look for the words “partially hydrogenated
vegetable oil” in the ingredient list; this means the food has trans fat.
Here is a recipe example of a healthy inexpensive fat addition to your diet:
This recipe would be (B+C+E1)
Salsa Fresca (Fresh Salsa)
Adapted from: USDA SNAP-Ed Recipes recipefinder.nal.usda.gov
Level 1: No cooking required
Serving size: 1⁄2 cup
Servings per recipe: 24
Supplies:
Sharp knife, Spoon, Large Bowl
Ingredients:
Price per serving: 73¢ Preparation time: 20 minutes
12 chopped tomatoes
1.5 finely chopped onions
11⁄2 cups chopped cilantro or parsley
3 Tbsp lime juice
Salt to taste
1 14oz tub of guacamole
2 10oz bags of corn tortilla chips or 2 12oz packages of whole wheat pita bread for dipping
Preparation:
Chop the tomato, onion, and cilantro(parsley).
Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix tomatoes, onion, cilantro, limejuice, and salt.
2. Serve1⁄2 cup Salsa Fresca with 1 Tbsp of guacamole and handful of corn tortilla chips or whole wheat pita bread.
Unit 4 © President and Fellows of Harvard College and YMCA of the USA.
Save Time and Money at the Grocery Store
Hello everyone!
There is more variety on today’s grocery store shelves than ever before. With so many choices, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Make shopping easier by following these guidelines:
- Don't shop when you're hungry.
You’re more likely to make impulse purchases on less nutritious items that cost more. - Make and stick to a shopping list.
If you keep a running list at home of items that need to be replaced, you won't have to worry about forgetting anything. - Organize your list into sections according to the layout of the supermarket.
This cuts down on time and the number of passes you need to make through the aisles. - Check for supermarket specials.
These are printed in the newspaper or online. Plan your shopping trip around what is on sale.
If you are a single-person household, there are special ways to maximize your food dollars at the grocery store:
- Buy frozen vegetables and fruit in bags.
Take out what you need and freeze the rest. - Look for foods sold in single servings.
You'll find juice, yogurt, frozen meals, soup and pudding. - Shop from bulk bins.
So you can buy smaller amounts. - Talk to the butchers. Ask them, or the produce managers, for a smaller amount of prepackaged items.
- Buy produce that keeps longer in the refrigerator.
Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage and carrots. - Buy small loaves of bread.
Then, wrap and freeze bread you won't use right away.
