Stretch It Out

I know you must be so happy to have that crazy pure food challenge over with. I learned a lot reading food labels and hope to continue to eat more wholesome foods but wow that was tough!

Our challenge for this week is to stretch for at least 10 minutes per day. You can include this as part of your daily exercise minutes or do it in addition to your minutes but begin to include daily stretching in your physical routine. For every day that you stretch at least 10 minutes you can claim 5 bonus points. And yes you can stretch on Sunday too- for a total of 35 possible bonus points.

If you have been inactive for any length of time, chances are you have lost a percentage of the range of motion associated with your joints. This range of motion is commonly referred to as flexibility.

How We Lose Flexibility

As we age, flexibility diminishes within the joints through lack of stretching and physical activity. .

Benefits

Stretching is a physical activity that elongates connective tissues, muscles and other tissues. The benefits associated with stretching include:

Reducing muscle tension and relaxing the body

Improved coordination and freer movement of body and limbs

Increased range of motion in the associated joints

Prepare the body for physical activity

Preventing injuries from tight muscles during physical activity

Creating a mind body connection

Promoting circulation

Reduce the risk of back problems

Reduce muscle soreness after exercise

Ten tips on how to stretch

1. Do everything slowly.

2. Hold the stretch for at least 10 seconds prior to exercise (warm-up) and for at least 30 seconds post exercise (cool-down).

3. Breathe normally and relax while holding the stretch to the point of pain.

4. NEVER, EVER do any bouncy stretching, always hold and relax.

5. Focus on the muscle you are trying to stretch and then try to lengthen it.

6. If a particular muscle group is tight, then stretch it in stages. Stretch as far as you can, then relax it and stretch again. This is most important during cool-down.

7. Move slowly out of the stretch.

8. Remember to stretch both sides of the body.

9. Increasing the range of movement around a joint will help the blood flow to the muscles surrounding the joint and increase circulation that will carry away any lactic acids that may build up in the muscle.

10. Do more stretching in addition to just warming-up and cooling-down. As we get older our muscles shorten naturally, and it is vital for everyone that stretching becomes part of your normal everyday life. Gyms that offer stretch-classes or Yoga, where the aim is to permanently and progressively increase your flexibility are well worth considering if time and money allows.

No More Than 5 Ingredient Foods

Michael Pollan the food writer for the New York Times and the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food (2 books I love!) believes that most dietary related health problems come from over-consumption of processed foods. One of the guidelines he recommends is to avoid processed foods with more than 5 ingredients. He says “Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients. The specific number you adopt is arbitrary, but the more ingredients in a packaged food, the more highly processed it probably is. Note 1: A long list of ingredients in a recipe you are preparing is not the same thing; that’s fine. Note 2: Some products now boast, about their short ingredient lists. Häagen-Dazs has a new line of ice creamed called ‘five.’ It’s still ice cream. Same goes for the three-ingredient Tostitos corn chips advertised by Frito-Lay–okay, but they’re still corn chips.”

Pollan goes on to explain that this 5-ingredient limit tends to guide us to rule out foods that are highly processed. He also says we should avoid foods that your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food– Go-Gurt, breakfast cereal bars, non-dairy creamer — stay away!!

I realize this weekly goal may cause you to cut out food products that have six or seven or even eight ingredients that bill themselves as “whole” or what we would consider to be “real food.” What about a bag of trail mix that contains seven different kinds of nuts and seeds? We are going to avoid products like that this week mainly because we don’t want to jeopardize our weekly goal, although, truthfully, that bag of trail mix would probably be perfectly fine. The thing is, when you are creating “rules” to develop healthy habits you just have to draw the line somewhere. If this weekly challenge gets you to start reading and scrutinizing the ingredient labels on your food then the mission is accomplished.

For our challenge this week (starting Wednesday) We are going to try eating Micheal Pollan style by not consuming anything with more than 5 ingredients. For every day that you abstain from all products containing more than 5 ingredients you will earn the daily 5 bonus points.

What You can’t eat:

▪ Boxed cereal- It is nearly impossible to find dry cereals at the grocery store that had less than five ingredients. Even Kashi cereals have more than 5

▪ Protein shakes, bars etc- Way more than 5 ingredients. However, Larabars and Trio bars are OK! Check the labels.

▪ Store bought bread- Most don’t pass the 5 ingredient test. You will probably be able to find bread that meets this guideline at Great Harvest Breads or perhaps your healthfood store. Of course you can bake your own bread!

▪ Yogurt- Homemade yogurt and perhaps one of the plain commercial yogurts might pass the test but most commercial yogurts contain too many ingredients due to the sweeteners.

▪ Most of my favorite ice creams- Of course you only eat sweets once a week anyway but Breyer’s Natural Vanilla and Häagen-Dazs 5 may be your only choices. It is nearly impossible to find an ice cream that passes this 5 ingredient test. (It surprised me that Breyer’s vanilla flavors like “vanilla bean,” “extra creamy vanilla,” and “slow churned” had extra additives. I couldn’t believe how complicated vanilla ice cream could be!)

▪ Chips, pretzels, crackers- or basically anything that comes in a box.

▪ Most frozen dinners- Many people love these, but too many ingredients. This week you will be cooking!

▪ Canned whipped cream- You may think Redi Whip or cool whip are “whipped cream” but read the label! Not this week!

▪ Sabra Hummus- Too many preservatives.

What You can eat:

▪ Fruits and veggies- I just bought some bananas, pineapple, apples, dried figs, peppers, sweet potatoes, corn, and avocado.

▪ Breyer’s Natural Vanilla and Häagen-Dazs 5 Ice Cream

▪ Popcorn

▪ Many Applesauces

▪ Triscuit and Whole-Wheat Matzo crackers

▪ Brown rice crackers

▪ Rice

▪ Most whole wheat pastas

▪ Some Shredded Wheat Cereals

▪ 100% pure maple syrup and honey

▪ Any baked homemade goods- Anything I bake with natural, whole foods is okay to eat.

▪ Meat/Animal products and seafood (beware some deli meats have many additives)

▪ Oats- I will definitely be making a lot of oatmeal this week!

▪ Milk

▪ Beans- black beans, chick peas, etc.

▪ Dried fruit, Nuts and Seeds

▪ Organic Cheese- I bought some organic sliced Muenster for sandwiches. The non-organic brands had too many preservatives.

Positive Affirmations

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to my husband speak about goal setting. He mentioned the power of positive affirmations. Affirmations are positive thoughts or statements. In his talk he touched briefly on dieting and he mentioned that a poor positive affirmation would be to say “I will lose 15 pounds” because it allows for a lifetime of losing 15 pounds then regaining 20 pounds then losing 15, then regaining etc. etc. He recommended instead something like “I enjoy making healthy choices and constantly maintain my healthy weight of ______ pounds.” Wow! I love that!

There really is great power in positive self talk. About 10 years ago I trained for and completed a marathon with my oldest daughter . One of the tools I used in the weeks of demanding training runs was positive affirmations. I would notice myself start to think “Oh I’m so tired. I haven’t run yet today. I need to do ____ miles. Oh I am dreading it. Oh it is going to be so hard. Oh maybe I can skip tonight.” I would stop that thought in its tracks and replace it with some made up thoughts that honestly weren’t in my heart. “Oh I haven’t run today. I can’t wait until I get to run. It’s going to be so rejuvenating. I am going to love it!”

I know that sounds a little whacky but after continually halting the negative thought and replacing it with a pretend positive thought I actually began to bend my own thinking. I really did start to look forward to and think positively about my training runs.

You too can use positive daily affirmations to direct what your focus will be. You can conquer your past and present fears, and enjoy your present or create the future by affirmation. Affirmations redirect your values, help formulate goals, or prepare you for situations, whenever or wherever they may occur.

In general you can say your positive daily affirmations silently or aloud to yourself. For our weekly challenge however we are going to be saying them out loud with enthusiasm. I would like you to write your affirmations on a card ─ and carry it in your pocket, tape it to a mirror, or place it somewhere where it is always visible to you. Repeat your positive affirmations at intervals throughout your day, to reinforce the positive belief and to maintain a positive state of mind.

You should state your positive daily affirmations in the present tense, that is, use "I am..." rather than "I will be..." Saying things in the present tense will program your subconscious mind to believe that what you affirm is already fact. When the subconscious believes that, it will start arranging for bringing what you affirm to you. In other words, the subconscious will drive you to perform the actions needed to live out what you affirm; and, acting thus, you will create the circumstances that make them actually happen for you.

Another important guideline in formulating your affirmations is to write them in the positive state. Many people have the tendency to write affirmations in the negative state (ie: I am not going to pig out on candy anymore!) ─ which immediately defeats the purpose and the effectiveness of the affirmation. Affirmations written from the negative perspective will never work.

To earn your daily 5 bonus points this coming week you must write at least 3 positive affirmations, place them somewhere that you will see them often and repeat them out loud and with enthusiasm several times each day throughout the day (Do not forget all day and then blurt them out 10 times before jumping in bed!)

A few ideas for positive affirmations :

1. I love to exercise! Moving my body relieves my stress, calms my mind and is just plain fun.

2. I love fruits and vegetables. I notice when I eat them I feel full of energy and life. They are my favorite treat.

3. I am in control of my health and wellness.

4. I have abundant energy, vitality and well-being.

5. I am always able to maintain my ideal weight of _______.

6. I radiate good health.

7. I sleep soundly and peacefully.

8. I have abundant energy, vitality and well-being.

9. The more I honor my health and body the better I feel.

10. I love clear clean water. It is my favorite drink and I love sipping it all day long.

11. I am a sweet treat gourmet. I love waiting and planning all week for one special dessert.

12. I am a record keeper. I enjoy writing down my exercise and meals. It reminds me I control the destiny of my health.

Wholesome breakfast

Whatever happened to that age-old advice to “start the day with a hearty breakfast?” These days, many of us either don’t eat at all or we grab ‘n’ go: a bagel, donut or a muffin or at best a highly processed protein bar or shake. If we have the time, we may swing by the local fast food joint for a breakfast “whatever.” Is this what our bodies really need to get us going in the morning?

Breakfast is really just that: breaking – the – fast. When you wake up, you’ve been without food for 8-10 hours so you need to power up your body to meet the day. Tempted to skip breakfast? Don’t! You’ll miss out on important nutrients that your body needs to keep you healthy and maintain steady energy and blood sugar.

Additionally a heart breakfast first thing in the morning cranks up your metabolism and starts you fully burning calories earlier.Want one more good reason? Studies have shown that if you skip breakfast, you may be more likely to make up those missed calories by over-eating later in the day. Not very desirable, right?

Okay, so assuming that I’ve convinced you that breakfast is important, why not grab a pastry , pancakes or protein bar? Several reasons:

• Eating sweets and refined carbohydrates in the morning can quickly raise and subsequently drop your blood sugar, making you crave more sweets later in the day.
• When you eat sugary foods, you’re not getting the proteins, fiber and nutrients you need to fuel your body efficiently.
• Since our bodies are particularly sensitive to sugars, they should be minimized at breakfast unless buffered by sufficient amounts of protein, fiber and fat.
• Whole real food is preferable to highly refined commercial items with unpronounceable ingredients.

About now you may be wondering what you should be eating for breakfast. Healthy meals in general need to be balanced with proteins, good carbs and healthy fats – and breakfast is no exception. Here are some ideas for delicious breakfasts, from out-the-door quick to weekend fare, that deliver all the good stuff you need to get going in the morning.

• Blend up a fresh fruit smoothie with yogurt or kefir, you may want to throw in some fresh kale or spinach. Great with a side of whole grain toast and natural peanut butter.
• Cook up some whole grain oatmeal or other whole grain hot cereal and serve with nuts (I love walnuts) and fruit (try fresh berries, raisins or sliced banana).
• Spread natural nut butters on a variety of whole grain breads, crackers or bagels.
• Toast some whole grain waffles and top with nut butter and fresh fruit. Turkey or tempeh bacon is a great side.



• Try eggs and veggies in thisBetter Breakfast Pita Pocket.
• Dress up your favorite yogurt or cottage cheese with almonds and chopped apple, blueberries or dried apricots. Add a whole grain English muffin with cream cheese, if you like.
• Scramble up some tofu or eggs with breakfast-style veggies, fresh fruit and whole grain crackers.
• Prepare a homemade version of the famous egg and Canadian bacon sandwich on a whole wheat English muffin.
• Make a vegan wrap of tempeh “bacon,” tofu scrambled “eggs” and sliced avocado rolled in a whole wheat flour tortilla.
• Make “cheese toast” by melting cheddar on sprouted wheat bread and serve with an apple or a pear.

YOUR CHALLENGE FOR WEEK 2 IS TO EAT A WHOLESOME, WHOLE FOOD, HEALTHY BREAKFAST. FOR EVERY DAY YOU DO THIS YOU EARN THE 5 BONUS POINTS FOR THE WEEKLY CHALLENGE!

* By the way one of my favorite breakfasts was at the home of my diet partner Leslie's home. Warm walnuts with agave nectar! MMMMMMMM!

And We Begin!

And so we begin! Hoorah! You are going to be amazed at how much better you feel in just a short time. I know it can seem like a mountain of paperwork tracking all of these various items but I promise it will become like second nature as you learn to make your health and well being a priority!

Our challenge for this first week is this:

1. Friend each of the participants in this round of competition (you can glean their e-mail addresses from the header on my e-mails)

2. Send a message of encouragement to a different member every day!

3. If you complete both of these challenges you can claim 5 points per day for our weekly challenge

Awesome!