The Social Network: Food and Fitness

Have you ever noticed a group of yogis or people who look like they just finished spin class hanging out over green tea at Starbuck's?  Or a group of out-of-shape friends sharing fried happy hour appetizers at a local watering hole?

A 2007 Harvard study published in The New England Journal of Medicine revealed our social networks influence how committed we are to a following a healthy diet and working out.  A network of support is a powerful motivating tool, no matter where you are on the fitness spectrum.

In studying for my personal training certification, I've been reading about motivating tools to use with clients.  The support of friends or family is a powerful indicator of a client's longterm adherence to a program.  However, the desire to change behaviors must start from within.

Do we need to limit our social interactions to fellow fitness fanatics if we are working to change what we eat and how we move?

Not at all. 

But, adding like-minded people to your friend roster can provide extra motivation and perhaps less resistance to a new program or regimen.  I was just telling my daughter how I love that my yoga studio and barre studio are "where everybody knows my name," to paraphrase the Cheers theme song.  The feeling of community creates powerful attraction to maintaining fitness.

There will be times when friends who aren't especially fitness-focused try to encourage you to ditch bootcamp for cocktails and sliders. Join in occasionally, choosing to order a non-fried vegetable based appetizer and a glass of wine, followed by sparkling water.

Being the only one in the office who walks past the pink pastry box without grabbing a glazed donut or who doesn't order a burger with fries and onion rings isn't always easy.  Make your commitment to your wellness bigger than temptation.

Grow your network of supportive friends who can help you stay the course. Meet for exercise dates. Share healthy recipes.  Join Facebook groups, follow fitness communities or leaders on Instragram or Twitter.

Speaking of which, if you're on Instagram, follow me at healthcoachbeth!

Protein: Is That Extra Chicken Breast as Harmful as a Pack of Cigarettes?

Last week, your homepage likely featured reporting of a study that seemed to indicate too much animal protein at midlife may increase risk of cancer by four percent. Seniors 65 and older seem to benefit from an increase of protein.

Is a daily diet of scambled egg whites, a grilled chicken salad,  and an occasional steak dinner the health risk equivalent of smoking a pack of Marlboros, unfiltered? Where do diets such as Paleo and the Dukan Diet fit in?

The study by Italian and American researchers tracked thousands of people over a decade. The outcome seems to indicate a diet with over 10% of calories from protein at midlife from cancer as well as an increased risk of developing diabetes.  For someone at 150 lbs., this would be the equivalent of 8 oz. of chicken, meat, or fish or several cups of dried beans.

Anecdotal nutrition studies have several limitations. People aren't always truthful about what they ate.  And these studies don't consider the other variables.  Do these people exercise?  Eat processed foods?  Eat vegetables?

I've followed both ends of the dietary spectrum and spent time in the middle. I've been a Dr. Ornish vegan, eating no fat and done a high protein diet prescribed by a doctor who advised me to "eat small animals."

Following seven years as a pescatarian, I've recently expanded my diet to include some poultry and occasional beef.  I work out seven days a week so my body craved protein.  I'v'e been feeling much more energetic.

Did the report cause me to change my mind?

I believe in moderation and listening to our bodies.  After indulging in an In & Out Burger with my daughter today, I'll prepare grilled vegetables for dinner.  It's about balance, portion control, and allowing for occasional indulgences.  And movement.

Diets and workout regimens are not one-size fits all.  Listen to your body.

Unless your body tells you to do a Taco Bell drive through at 2 AM!

Tea Savant: Steeping a Brew for Vibrant Lifestyles and Healthy Living

Coconut water.

That amalgam of leafy greens, lemon juice, maybe a punch of cayenne you nurse after spin class that costs more than your lunch.

The Kochumba you've heard is an acquired taste.

Tea.

Yes, tea, the beverage that has predated all the rest by thousands of years, originating in China before the Common Era. 

The folks at Tea Savant have turned their passion for premium teas into an enterprise, offering 100% premium teas via their website, www.teasavant.com. Tea Savant sources the world's best tea leaves to create over 80 different classic teas, herbals, and tea blends, from black and green teas to a proprietary line of diet teas. The teas are sold in loose leaf form, allowing you to steep the tea for maximum taste and health benefits.

I've had a chance to sample a variety of blends, including my favorite afternoon sip, Earl Grey Roasted Almond. The Earl Grey is punched by just the right amount of Bergamot and the delightful addition of slivers of almonds that give the tea a flavor boost. 

Tea Savant offers a number of blends incorporating ingredients such as vanilla bean, dried banana, shredded coconut, and other fruits.  The teas can be enjoyed hot or iced. 

When I sat down with Tea Savant's Patti Samuels, she shared about the propietary diet teas. I've tasted those teas that numb your taste buds or promise to reduce your appetite. Still, I was intrigued enough to ask for a few blends to try at home.

Tea Savant's diet teas are a delicious way to incorporate antioxidants such as EGCG, a powerhouse phytochemical linked to health benefits including weight loss and cancer prevention. This antioxidant is present in fruits, vegetables, wine, cocoa, and green tea. According to a New York Times blog post, green tea steeped from loose leaves has demonstrated a significantly higher concentration of the antioxidant than tea steeped from tea bags or bottled ice teas.

I've enjoyed the diet teas hot and iced, a pleasant way to keep the body hydrated as well as reap the benefits from green tea's antioxidants and catechins, associated with fat-burning properties.  Tea Savant offers several diet teas infused with fruit flavors, including Skinny Passion Green Tea, Sweet Strawberry Skinny Tea, and Skinny Mega Berry Tea, satisfying between meal refreshers.

The Sweet Thinny Green Tea provides a natural detox. The tea's touch of sweetness is derived from fresh shaved coconut. Tea Savant's teas are free of artifical flavors, colors, or artificial sweeteners.  Sweet Jasmine Skinny Tea features fresh, young green tea leaves, steamed to preserve catechins, infused with delicate, aromatic Jasmine.  Tea Savant's Thinny Green Tea includes instantly steamed green tea leaves to preserve maximum EGCG and is best enjoyed after minimum steeping.

Tea Savant offers a variety of healthy, tasty loose leaf teas.  Visit the Tea Savant website to find out more about the teas, as well as directions for steeping loose leaf tea. 

"Like" Tea Savant on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TeaSavant

Follow Tea Savant on Twitter: https://twitter.com/teasavantteas

                                                           Sweet Thinny Green Tea

Clean Your Plate Blog Followers can get a 10% Discount with Promo Code:

BETHSCLEANPLATE

Size Matters

 

You just finished a smallish tub of hummus, feeling virtuous you didn't finish the last bites of your kid's grilled cheese. You check the label to find you've eaten seven servings at 70 calories a pop. Not including the pita chips.

Maybe you've downed a bottle of organic juice, the kind that costs as much as a lunchtime salad, after spin class. Two servings in that bottle, 120 calories per.

Serve yourself frozen yogurt spots are a popular after school destination for lots of suburban moms and kids. It's better than a kids' scoop at 31 Flavors, right? Just 1/2 cup of a popular spot's Cake Batter clocks in at 130 calories. Bear in mind, a typical cup holds about 7 1/2 servings. Close to 1,000 calories.  No toppings.

We're having even touched on that bottle of Coke or the microwave popcorn you munched on at your desk.

Since the seventies and eighties, portions have exploded more than the national debt. The typical 1976 bagel was along the lines of a Lender's bagel, not the size of your head.

It's not always what you eat but how much. Portion size is key, whether you need to lose a substantial amount of weight, want to drop a few pounds, or still want to be able to zip that little black dress.

Visualizing serving sizes is an eye-opening experience.  The average restaurant pour of your favorite Cabernet is around 10 ounces while the typical serving for calorie count purposes is half as much.

Sophia Loren once said, "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." The curvaceous Italian actress likely ate 1/2 cup servings and not the three heaping cups in the average restaurant serving.

Twenty years ago, the average pizza slice was 500 calories. Today, the average slice is closer to 850. Per slice.  The turkey sandwich you ate for lunch was about 320 calories. Today, a large sub is closer to 820.  And that side of fries you ate with the Big Mac of your college years? 210 calories. Today, 610 calories.

Be aware of portion sizes. And fill out that plate with lots of leafy, green vegetables. Instead of that second slice of pizza, eat a salad.

Size matters!