PPW3 Habit 5: Eat Healthy Fats Daily

Fat.

The very word makes most of us shudder.

I mean maintaining a healthy bodyfat level is critical for optimal health.

It’s what most of us are trying to get rid of.

And that is exactly why you need fat in your diet.

Huh?

You see while most of us are concerned we get too much fat in our diet, the fact is that most of us probably aren’t getting enough, especially of the “healthy” fats.

Here’s what Ryan Andrews over at Precision Nutrition has to say about healthy fats

Why are healthy fats so important?

Fats exert powerful effects within the body and healthy fats have been shown to offer the following benefits.

Strong evidence

Cardiovascular protection (though there is less evidence for protecting against heart failure)
Improve body composition
Alleviate depression

Average evidence
Prevent cancers
Preserve memory
Preserve eye health
Reduce incidence of aggressive behaviour
Reduce ADHD and ADD symptoms

When it comes to healthy fat, intake amount is important. People are often concerned about excess dietary fat, but not getting enough fat may also cause health problems.

We need adequate fat to support metabolism, cell signaling, the health of various body tissues, immunity, hormone production, and the absorption of many nutrients (such as vitamins A and D). Having enough fat will also help keep you feeling full between meals.

(Read Ryan’s Complete Article – “All About Healthy Fats”)

If you are a meat eater it is more than likely you are getting enough saturated fat, but are probably lacking in mono and polyunsaturated fats, and most of us are just not getting enough Omega-3 fat.

On your PPW Kitchen shopping list there is a list of healthy fats and oils that you want to make sure you are adding into your plan.

Don’t be afraid of your fats -you can’t live without them!

 

PPW3 Habit 4: Other Carbs

Yesterday we talked about the importance of getting your veggies with every meal.

Today we are going to talk about Fruit and what we call “Other Carbs”.

When it comes down to it, fruit is nature’s candy, or nature’s dessert if you will. Fruit is loaded with many of the same great things as vegetables – vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.

The biggest difference?

Fruit also contains high amounts of sugar. So while it is fantastic to add fruit to your diet, the calories and carbs add up fast if you are eating 5 or 6 pieces a day, and doing so can make it hard to drop bodyfat.

A good rule of thumb is 1 serving of fruit for every 5 servings of vegetables. Fruit makes a great dessert, enjoy it!

“Other Carbs” are in general your grain products – whole grain only please. We want to reserve our other carbs for after our training.

Why?

A couple reasons:

The first reason to save our other carbs for after we train is because this is when the body processes them more readily, keeping them from being stored as fat. Winner!

The second reason relates to the first, in that after hard training the body has used much of it’s muscle glycogen, or stored sugars, and is looking to replace them. This is crucial to the recovery process, and is one of the reasons we emphasize getting that post-training recovery carb/protein in as soon after training as possible. (like right now already!)

When we eat a high carb/starch load outside of the recovery window, it’s like pumping gas into your car when the tank is already full, only worse. Instead of pumping $4 a gallon gas onto the ground, you are spilling the excess sugars into fat cells, or worst case scenario creating new fat cells to store the excess – not cool!

You don’t have to feel (or actually be) deprived of your rice, oatmeal, sweet potato or other grains and starches, just plan to have them after you train – it’s all good!

Fire those questions below.

 

 

PPW3 Habit 3: Eat Your Vegetables

Why are vegetables so important?

Here’s what Dr. John Berardi has to say:

“Eating higher levels of veggies and fruits are associated with a lower incidence of:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Colon, prostate, cervical, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, thyroid, and breast cancer
• High blood cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity
• Stroke
• Osteoporosis
• and a lot more that aren’t on this list…”

That’s a pretty good reason to include veggies in your nutrition plan.

But every meal?

The sad truth is that not too many of us eat nearly enough vegetables considering all they do for us. One often overlooked benefit of getting enough vegetables is they help us get enough fiber (Dr. Laura Jones recommends 25 grams per day). Getting in the routine of eating them with every meal goes a long way to making sure we are getting the greatest amount and greatest benefit.

Check out this link for some great ideas to incorporate more veggies in your plan.

Fire away your questions below!

 

 

PPW3 Habit 2: Eat complete, lean protein every time you eat

Protein.

The very word seems to conjure confusion, criticism and conjecture.

How much should I eat? (Ladies 20-30g per meal, Men, 30-40)

Peanut butter is not a protein? (It contains protein, but is primarily fat)

That much? That’s a lot of protein! (yet we don’t think that way in terms of carbohydrates)

Take a few minutes to refresh your memory on the importance of adequate protein in your diet in the following articles. Don’t worry, I’ll be here waiting when you get back.

S3 Habit 2

All About Protein

Ok, so now that we know the importance of protein and how to integrate it into our nutrition, let’s focus on getting some every time we eat.

One key point to remember is that we want to focus on lean protein that “stand alone.”  In other words, there is a big difference between something having protein in it and actually being considered a primary source of protein.

Back to the peanut butter example above, eating enough natural peanut butter to get in 20 grams of protein would mean we were also eating 48 grams of fat and 600 calories, only about 85 which are from protein – oops.

The PPW Kitchen Shopping list provides you with many choices for protein – give a new one a try this week.

As always, fire away your questions below!

 

PPW3 Habit 1: Eat Every 3-4 Hours

Eating every 3 to 4 hours is not magic, but there are very compelling reasons why this is a good idea.

• Eating regularly can help stabilize blood sugar. Ever gone 6 or 7 hours without eating and then be ravenously hungry? This is your body crying out “Feed Me!” because it needs and wants your blood sugar to be stable. We then go off on a food bender and grab everything and anything in sight, which is more likely to include cookies and a latte’ than a protein shake – savvy?

• Eating every few hours helps keep our total calories down. This is related to the above point. When you are mildly hungry as opposed to cannibalistic you tend to be in control more, and that leads to eating less.

• Eating every few hours means you need to plan and prepare to eat every few hours, which again leads to better choices.

Don’t forget your recovery nutrition on training days – this is crucial!

Questions?

Fire away below!

 

 

“Eat Your Way Right” starts October 15th. More Details Here!

Last week we discussed the PPW formula for success.

Planning + Preparation = Winning

You had an opportunity to get a head start as we revealed the PPW Shopping List, Part 1 and Part 2

Having the food you actually want to feed your body with on hand at all times is the only way to make sure it happens, regardless of your nutrition strategy.

If you are on the “Donut Diet” you need donuts on hand – makes sense, right? 🙂

(P.S. – Don’t be on the Donut Diet)

This week we are getting down to brass tacks and revealing what “Eat Your Way Right Through The Holidays” is all about.

As with our S3 Team Transformation Contest earlier in the year, “Eat Your Way Right” is Habit Based.

Why?

Because diets don’t work – at least in the long term.

The very word itself lends itself to a temporary fix rather than a permanent change.

It’s one of the reasons we don’t just hand you a menu plan and say “eat that”. What happens when you reach the end of the plan, or the one we gave you doesn’t work for you? You go back to your default eating, which is what got you where you were in the first place. And that just doesn’t make sense.

Short term thinking rarely leads to long term success. When we focus on the “outcome” rather than the behaviors we set ourselves up for failure.

Let’s say you want to lose 10 pounds in the next 2 months. Your whole focus is on that 10 pounds, and at the end of the 8 weeks you weigh yourself and you lost 8 1/2 pounds. Your mind immediately focuses on the 1 1/2 pounds you didn’t lose. I have seen it over and over again. You were wildly successful, and yet somehow you still are disappointed.

So how do we stop that?

We create and track measurable behaviors (or habits) that are supportive of our long term goals. The habit is something I can control and measure. If the habit I am developing is to eat breakfast every day, I either did it or I didn’t. When I do it consistently I know it will positively affect my desired outcome.

So while our outcome based goal for “Eat Your Way Right” is to positively affect your body composition, we are going to focus on the habits it takes for long term success.

Here They Are:

Habit 1: Eat 4-5 times per day or every 3-4 hours
Habit 2: Eat complete, lean protein with each eating opportunity.
Habit 3: Eat vegetables with each eating opportunity.
Habit 4: Eat veggies/fruits with any meal.  Eat “other carbs” only after exercise.
Habit 5: Eat healthy fats daily.
Habit 6: Don’t drink beverages (soda, beer, etc.) with more than 0 calories.
Habit 7: Eat whole foods whenever possible.

That’s where your shopping list comes in. Eating off that list gives you the least margin for error when it comes to being compliant with these habits.

Our goal is to be compliant 90% of the time. Anything less than that and you really aren’t making much of a habit of the habits, now are you?

Below is copy of the chart you will be provided with to track how well you are doing with the habits.

 

Filling out the chart is pretty simple.

An “x” means your meal was compliant to the 7 habits.

• You had a lean protein
• You had vegetable/fruit with the meal
• You only ate “other carbs” (rice, oatmeal, potatoes, etc.) if it was the meal directly after you trained.
• You drank only beverages with zero calories
• You ate within 3 to 4 hours of the last time you ate
• Additionally you need to make sure you get in your healthy fats at some point during the day, and you are focusing on whole food, not prepackaged junk.

An asterisk “*” means the meal was not compliant in some way. Could be you drank a beverage with more than zero calories, forgot your veggies, or decided to eat that donut after all.

A “0” means you missed a meal, plain and simple.

An “s” is a good thing. This denotes a “splurge”, which is defined as a planned non-compliant meal. Could be you are going to a party, or want to have pizza with the kids. The great thing is that you can have between 3 and 4 splurge meals a week and still be 90% compliant. Perfection is not necessary, warranted or even desirable.

At the end of every day and week you get to see how you did. Instant Feedback!

Take another look at the chart above.

It shows I was 74% compliant for the week – not terrible, but not what I need to do to make progress.

It also shows me that the 3rd meal of the day is a challenge spot for me. It shows that most of the time I am either missing that meal or non-compliant, and it gives me an opportunity to evaluate why. Is it a planning challenge? Am I just not taking the time to eat? Once I nail down the “why” I can figure out how to overcome that particular challenge.

This tool not only helps you, it helps your coaches help you. If you are consistently 90% compliant and making little progress then we need to refine your strategy.

“Eat Your Way Right”  is pretty simple.

On October 15th you will step on the scale and your coach will record your weight.

You will pick up your first “Success Checklist” and start recording your compliance.

On October 29th we will collect your completed compliance checklist for the first 2 weeks. When you hand it in you will be given another checklist card for the next 2 weeks.

At the end of 4 weeks (November 9th) we will have you step on the scale again.

Simple.Straightforward.Accountability.

Look guys, we all need to take a look in the mirror once in awhile and ask ourselves if we are really doing what it takes to reach our goals.

This is not magic. It still involves taking action which is the key to everything we do. Reading this blog post isn’t going to make you drop a pant size or fit into that little black dress.

You gotta DO IT!

Shoot me your questions below.

Make It Happen!

Dean

 

 

Eat Your Way Right Through The Holidays – Head Start!

I was reading the paper yesterday and came across Dr. Oz’s column in the paper. Now I know how much some of you love Dr. Oz (right Betty?) so I figured I’d give him a shout out.

Anyway in the article he refers to the “Five Food Felons”

• Added Sugars
• Added Syrups
• Most Saturated Fat
• All Trans-fats
• Grains that are not 100% whole grain

The list got me to thinking about a crucial part of our nutrition plan.

The actual planning!

Because there are some foods (like in the list above) you need to plan to avoid. Added sugars for example. You have to read the label and see what’s in there, which is another good reason to purchase as much “label free” whole foods as possible.

Well if we are going to “Eat Our Way RIGHT Through The Holidays” we are going to have to implement the other PPW…

Planning + Preparation = Winning.

We’ve talked about it before. You can’t go into the grocery store and wing it. From the moment you walk through the door you are being set up to buy more, and the choices ain’t all good.

To that end we have created “The PPW Kitchen Shopping List”.

We are getting some of these printed up for the contest, but here’s the first part of our challenge to you.

The next time you go shopping buy only items on this list.

Should really simplify the process, and you will be feeding your body what it needs.

Plus you’ll have a head start stocking your kitchen with “EYWRTTH” friendly fare, and you will be setting yourself for success.

Make It Happen!

The PPW Kitchen Shopping List Part 1

The PPW Kitchen Shopping List Part 2

 

Beet It – Linda D’s “Beets and Bean” Side Dish

When someone tells me a recipe is their family’s “Go To” side dish, I listen and take notes.

A “Go To” dish is a recipe everyone in the family loves, including the cook. If the cook loves to make it and the family loves to eat it, we should listen up.

Linda D. of 8:30am Concord fame sent in this recipe. She didn’t just tell me that the contrast in color is delightful and the taste is really excellent, she told me this was her family’s “Go To” dish. Guess who wrote it down to make? You should too.

 Beets and Beans

• 1 thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch of fresh ground pepper
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1 large beet

1.Scrub and quarter beet; wrap in foil and roast at 450 for about 30 mins. Cook until tender.

2. Place onion in a bowl, cover with boiling water, let stand 15 mins.

3. Blanch green beans in boiling water for about 3-4 mins.; plunge into cold water.

4. Drain onions, toss with salt, pepper and vinegar; set aside.

5. Skin and slice cooled beets.

6. Whisk together:

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

7. Now: drain onions and squeeze dry. Toss half with beets, other half with beans. Arrange the beets and beans on a serving platter–very lovely, the contrast! Pour dressing over veggies, let stand 15 mins before serving. This will serve 4.

Give this recipe a try – you’ll be glad you did!

To your best health,

Nancy

 

 

Eat Your Way Right Through The Holidays

There are two ways you can read that one.

“Eat Your Way Right Through The Holidays” – such as, eat everything in sight from Halloween to New Year’s and ensure yourself 10 new pounds of belly blubber for the new year.

OR

“Eat Your Way RIGHT Through The Holidays”, as in eat correctly and supportively over the next few months, enjoying the seasonal treats in a planned and controlled way, continuing to focus on good habits and making progress.

Big Difference! (no pun intended)

Starting Monday October 15th we will be starting Phase 1 of our “Surviving the Season” transformation contest and seminar series.

Each “Phase” will be 4 weeks in length – long enough to make progress, short enough to keep us from being overwhelmed. Yes you’ll have some “stuff” you gotta do – but not so much that you will go crazy trying to keep up with “one more thing”.

Along the way we will be hosting nutrition and planning seminars to help give you the tools you need to succeed.

More info coming in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!

 

 

Dietary Displacement – Ummm, What?

I probably first heard of the concept of “dietary displacement” about 8 years ago in an article by Dr. John Berardi. This concept has been expanded on by Ryan Andrews of the PN team in an article you can find by clicking here, where Ryan addresses the term in both the positive and negative sense. I recommend you read the article as it expands further on the concept.

What is dietary displacement?

In simple terms it is filling up with non-nutritious foods instead of healthy ones.

You know what I am talking about.

You can choose to eat the apple you packed in your lunch, or the brownie your co-worker brought in to celebrate her aunt’s brothers sister-in-laws daughter graduating from 3rd grade.

One contributes to your goals, the other makes a deposit in your fat account.

But what about the less obvious choices that can have the same effect?

• Pasta salad instead of spinach salad
• Mashed potatoes instead of mashed cauliflower
• Bagels instead of oatmeal
• Chocolate bar instead of walnuts

It makes a huge difference – no pun intended.

Now that doesn’t mean you can never have a treat.

You just need to remember the 90/10 rule.

Eat nutritious, unprocessed food 90% of the time.

If you do that one thing everything else falls into line pretty quickly.

Because if I am making 90% choices I am:

• Feeling fuller
• Getting a wide variety of vitamins and minerals
• Supporting lean muscle tissue
• Creating a better fat burning environment
• Avoiding the energy (and mood) swings that have me reaching for anything I can shove in
• Not leaving a whole lot of room for junk food

And that leads to a better body, inside and out.

Think about it. When we make “less than optimal” food choices it often creates a downward spiral. I am not talking about a well planned “splurge meal” that fits within the 10% window. I am talking about the one brownie that turns into half the pan of brownies that turns into a weekend sugar blitz that leaves us bloated, tired and probably feeling guilty.

We have all been there.

The good news is that it works both ways.

The more good food choices I make the easier it gets to continue to make good choices.

I mean I just feel better, both physically and about myself, when I eat well.

And when I feel good it leads continuing to make the choices that got me there.

So here’s your assignment:

What’s ONE positive dietary displacement, one nutritious choice you can make TODAY that starts this upward climb?

Let’s hear it!

Coach Dean