Here is a sample Costco shopping list for a nutrient-rich, filling meal plan. Use these guidelines to help you shop anywhere.
Spring Salad Mix (with Honey Mustard Salad Spritz, grape tomatoes and pine nuts)
Spinach Bag (put spinach in everything:soups, pastas, smoothies, wraps)
Broccoli Bag (steam in your rice cooker and eat a serving daily. Make salads out of it, stir fry it, chew it, add it to soups).
Baby carrots in individual bags- easy and sweet. Use it to snack and to cook.
Canned chicken- easy for chicken salads, all soups, chicken dishes, etc.
Raw almonds- yum!
Raw walnuts-yum!
Yogurt- Mix with cottage cheese, add to fruit salad and sprinkle walnuts in, freeze for fun.
Cottage cheese- eat with Triscuits, fruit, yogurt, add it to smoothies for protein, put in lasagna.
Soy Milk- the Kirkland brand Vanilla is amazing, the best on the market. It keeps on the shelf, which keeps me out of the store, which saves me a ton of money. I use it in everything, except soups and mac and cheese, in which I use powdered milk.
Fruit, fruit, fruit: do it! Their produce is wonderful.
Carrot juice
Dried Plums
Dried Cherries
All natural maple syrup and honey
Clementines...mmm...
Amy's soups: the lentil is amazing!
Costco organic instant oatmeal is low in sugar, has satisfying portions and is cheap.
Cherry tomatoes! Mmmm!
Avacados- guac with fat free mayo, avacados on turkey wraps, in salsas. Serves well as a butter substitute.
Costco's whole wheat bread two pack is cheap and VERY high in fiber- 6 grams a slice!
Organic Peanut butter- filling, has safe fats, and tastes great with apples.
Frozen salmon sections- wonderful broiled
Chicken breasts
Whole wheat pasta
Vegetarian or Turkey chili (watch the fat)
Stay away from: almost everything else at Costco! Trail mixes and granola bars are full of fat and calories. Energy drinks and juices have a ton of hidden calories, and the samples... well... they're naughty.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The Sweet Life Without Sugar
Week two of the Desert Island challenge seems like it would be easier if we really were on an island: six days with no refined sugar. Can you do it? Yes!
First... why? If you know why, you can deal with how! Refined sugar robs us of nutrients. It overloads our taste buds, masking the real taste potential of fresh fruits and vegetables. Sugar is loaded with calories minus the vitamins- hence the term "empty calories." Sugar satisfies our hunger when our blood sugar levels are out of whack, which further confuses the body. Sugar spikes glucose levels in our bloodstream, giving us a quick high, which is then followed by an insulin glut and sugar low. The insulin roller coaster ride is one with a big toll on the body: lowered metabolism, mood swings, premature aging, decreased mental ability and weight gain.
Then why the cravings? Because the stuff is tast-ee to the Nth degree. Because our culture revolves around self-satisfaction, marketing through intoxicating scents, group eating and having fun. Sugar is social, sensual(fulfills sensory needs) and satisfying...in the short run.
So how can you meet these needs and kick the sugar addiction?
First, your body will crave less and less sugar as you feed it the nutrients it needs. Eating a rainbow will not only make you look great because of weight loss, but colorful foods feeds the body's largest organ- your skin- and makes us younger. Literally. A great book on the topic of age reversal and nutrition is the Perricone Prescription. He discusses how refined sugars actually slow collagen production and cause us to age... and how greens, carrots and other colorful foods actually slow or even reverse this process.
If you are hydrated and well fed, eating at least six small meals a day, then your body's survival system won't have to kick in! Your cavewoman ancestor gene won't tell you to kill a donut to survive a glucose low. Your blood sugar will already be balanced and the cravings will be less.
Eating, eating, eating is the key. Emotionally, when you have a plan and proactively pursue your nutrition, you will not have the resentment of being denied food. Cutting out sugar will not be seen as a punishment. This isn't a diet- this is your nutrition. The days of dieting ended at about age 25. It's all about how we'll live for the rest of our lives.
Cheat day... you need one. Food is social and it is sensory- we need our outlets, we need pleasure. But we have to earn it, and see it as the treat, not the norm.
The first days sugar-free could be difficult physically, just as a warning, if you do not feed your body. There is sugar withdrawal, and headaches are normal. Let your body detox. Drink enough water to flush the old sugars and salts out, and hang in by feeding your body on purpose. Health doesn't happen on accident, just as happiness does not. We have to choose it!
Ideas for sugar craving:
1. Get your menu together asap. Plan all three meals, snacks, beverages, etc.
2. Predict pitfalls. If you have a Costco size bag of Peanut M&Ms... take it to one of your clients!
3. Ask someone to do this with you. Call her or me when you are tempted! 801.792.3792
4. Analyze your craving: are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you stressed? Are you trying to reward yourself or show yourself who's boss?(What need is your craving try to satisfy?)
5. Go shopping. Get your cupboards stocked with lots of fruit, yogurt, raw nuts, low fat cottage cheese, water, etc. Here are some of my favorite treats:
a.frozen blueberries in soy milk (it turns to ice cream in minutes)
b.raw almonds and dried cherries
c. canned sugar-free fruit, especially peaches, with cottage cheese
d. smoothies! I will post recipes for a bunch of them. These are sugar free and unbelievable
e. fruit, fruit, fruit: pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, bananas, fruit salads, etc.
f. protein drinks: these can be hit and miss, but Wild Oats and Costco have some excellent chocolate choices.
g. Oatmeal, warmed fruit and spices. You can make sugar-free cobblers.
First... why? If you know why, you can deal with how! Refined sugar robs us of nutrients. It overloads our taste buds, masking the real taste potential of fresh fruits and vegetables. Sugar is loaded with calories minus the vitamins- hence the term "empty calories." Sugar satisfies our hunger when our blood sugar levels are out of whack, which further confuses the body. Sugar spikes glucose levels in our bloodstream, giving us a quick high, which is then followed by an insulin glut and sugar low. The insulin roller coaster ride is one with a big toll on the body: lowered metabolism, mood swings, premature aging, decreased mental ability and weight gain.
Then why the cravings? Because the stuff is tast-ee to the Nth degree. Because our culture revolves around self-satisfaction, marketing through intoxicating scents, group eating and having fun. Sugar is social, sensual(fulfills sensory needs) and satisfying...in the short run.
So how can you meet these needs and kick the sugar addiction?
First, your body will crave less and less sugar as you feed it the nutrients it needs. Eating a rainbow will not only make you look great because of weight loss, but colorful foods feeds the body's largest organ- your skin- and makes us younger. Literally. A great book on the topic of age reversal and nutrition is the Perricone Prescription. He discusses how refined sugars actually slow collagen production and cause us to age... and how greens, carrots and other colorful foods actually slow or even reverse this process.
If you are hydrated and well fed, eating at least six small meals a day, then your body's survival system won't have to kick in! Your cavewoman ancestor gene won't tell you to kill a donut to survive a glucose low. Your blood sugar will already be balanced and the cravings will be less.
Eating, eating, eating is the key. Emotionally, when you have a plan and proactively pursue your nutrition, you will not have the resentment of being denied food. Cutting out sugar will not be seen as a punishment. This isn't a diet- this is your nutrition. The days of dieting ended at about age 25. It's all about how we'll live for the rest of our lives.
Cheat day... you need one. Food is social and it is sensory- we need our outlets, we need pleasure. But we have to earn it, and see it as the treat, not the norm.
The first days sugar-free could be difficult physically, just as a warning, if you do not feed your body. There is sugar withdrawal, and headaches are normal. Let your body detox. Drink enough water to flush the old sugars and salts out, and hang in by feeding your body on purpose. Health doesn't happen on accident, just as happiness does not. We have to choose it!
Ideas for sugar craving:
1. Get your menu together asap. Plan all three meals, snacks, beverages, etc.
2. Predict pitfalls. If you have a Costco size bag of Peanut M&Ms... take it to one of your clients!
3. Ask someone to do this with you. Call her or me when you are tempted! 801.792.3792
4. Analyze your craving: are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you stressed? Are you trying to reward yourself or show yourself who's boss?(What need is your craving try to satisfy?)
5. Go shopping. Get your cupboards stocked with lots of fruit, yogurt, raw nuts, low fat cottage cheese, water, etc. Here are some of my favorite treats:
a.frozen blueberries in soy milk (it turns to ice cream in minutes)
b.raw almonds and dried cherries
c. canned sugar-free fruit, especially peaches, with cottage cheese
d. smoothies! I will post recipes for a bunch of them. These are sugar free and unbelievable
e. fruit, fruit, fruit: pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, bananas, fruit salads, etc.
f. protein drinks: these can be hit and miss, but Wild Oats and Costco have some excellent chocolate choices.
g. Oatmeal, warmed fruit and spices. You can make sugar-free cobblers.
Water World
"Adequate water intake" means that you drink enough water that your urine is almost clear or the color of lemonade. Counting glasses of water is too much work; so just drink plenty of water and don't go for the gold. Watch out for juices and sports drinks! They can be very high in calories, especially when you consider servings. For example, Vitamin Water bottles actually have 2.5 servings in them! Juices can easily be diluted, but stay away from energy drinks and sodas. Carbonation is a killer when it comes to your cardio endurance- it will suck the air right out of you and make your lungs feel constricted.
Remember that your body is a chemical reaction happening every minute. You need water, blood sugar and oxygen to complete the experiment of fitness. If you're missing out on any of these elements you won't be reaching your potential or feeling as loose and light as you could.
So drink up! Carry a large water bottle, buy bottled waters if you like those, set your microwave timer for every 60 minutes and drink when it beeps, drink after each restroom stop, or write notes reminding yourself to drink. You can do it!
Remember that your body is a chemical reaction happening every minute. You need water, blood sugar and oxygen to complete the experiment of fitness. If you're missing out on any of these elements you won't be reaching your potential or feeling as loose and light as you could.
So drink up! Carry a large water bottle, buy bottled waters if you like those, set your microwave timer for every 60 minutes and drink when it beeps, drink after each restroom stop, or write notes reminding yourself to drink. You can do it!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Deseret Island Swim Challenge
Desert Island Swim Challenge
Week One: Drink adequete amounts of water, eat something green everyday, and do the Moving With Modbe DVD twice.
Week Two: Eat sugar only one day this week; plan your cheat day ahead of time! Do thIe video twice.
Week Three: Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night for 5 of the 7 days; do your age in push-ups everyday and the DVD twice this week.
Week Four: Ready for the swim launch?! You bet! Two days of cardio, two video, one weight lift day. Watch the blog for weights advice!
Those who wish to enter this challenge should email dawn_wessman@yahoo.com asap to sign up. Please include your name, region and status. Challenge begins THIS WEEK.
Week One: Drink adequete amounts of water, eat something green everyday, and do the Moving With Modbe DVD twice.
Week Two: Eat sugar only one day this week; plan your cheat day ahead of time! Do thIe video twice.
Week Three: Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night for 5 of the 7 days; do your age in push-ups everyday and the DVD twice this week.
Week Four: Ready for the swim launch?! You bet! Two days of cardio, two video, one weight lift day. Watch the blog for weights advice!
Those who wish to enter this challenge should email dawn_wessman@yahoo.com asap to sign up. Please include your name, region and status. Challenge begins THIS WEEK.
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