When You're Super Over Hungry!

Have you ever overbooked yourself, not packed any or enough food, lacking time to stop in a grocery store and pick up a healthy snack or lunch?  You find yourself running all over town from appointment to appointment, using your mental & physical energy, and while you feel exhilirated with your work, you just aren't fueling yourself enough.  I know this isn't just me! 

How to not do this!

So I could tell you, pack more snacks, cook in advance, buy foods that travel easily, etc etc. And that would be good, useful information. But what happens on days, where that just doesn't happen? I've gotten pretty good about packing food for my full day, but there are some days that I either would rather sleep an extra 20-min or just downright don't feel like packing food.

Here is a solution for those days! And a solution for when you get yourself into over hungry mode.

Here is a game plan for you to follow for when you are super over hungry and how to not overeat and/or regret your decisions! This is specifically directed toward the end of day timeframe!

1. Go straight home. Don't go to the grocery store. Don't go get take out. Don't order pizza from your phone. Go home ;-)

2. Drink a big glass of water or unsweetened green tea. For a brief moment, you will trick your body to think it's gotten something into it. This will help you execute step #4!

3. Preheat the oven to 400. This is a Monica optional step, but involves preparedness. That way, while you are doing step #3, your oven is prepped in case you need it!  My favorite quick meal is to bake up some salmon and eat over a big bed of spinach & garlic.

3. Stop---think---Plan. When you are super hungry, every kind of food looks good, and if you don't take time to evaluate, you can end up eating way more than you want too and make really bad choices. Your goals that you have been working so hard for all week can suddenly be thrown out the window as you give in to whatever the largest portion of food you can find.

Instead, go for a 2 part meal: 

1. Plant Strong "Appetizer": grab carrots, peppers, cherry tomatoes, celery, an apple, grapefruit, or peach. Any fruit and veggie will do. Eat it, this will hold you over. Then proceed to step #2.

2. Entree: think lean & green. Pick a protein and a veggie that is either already prepared, or that you know you can prep pretty quickly. Stick to the protein and veggie.

While this is cooking, drink another glass of water and find a task to do around the house (do dishes, put in laundry, vacuum the floors...something that keeps your hands occupied.

4. Eat and feel awesome! Following these steps should help you get full, and avoid overeating/ruining your day/goals.

How do I know this? 

I experience this at least weekly. An active day without enough food packed or just a long stretch or meeting where I forgot about packing a snack. These steps will help you conquer the urge to hit up your favorite takeout place and order too much food (with the rationale that you'll save some for lunch for the next 2 days--don't listen to yourself!)

If you think I'm nuts after reading this--I'm envious of you, because you haven't experienced the above... bravo! (and tell me your secret!)

For the rest of us, print this out and keep it with you for when you have that overwhelming, "oh my goodness--it's been 10 hours since I ate feeling!"

How to Use a Positive Mental Attitude to Overcome Medical Challenges (Guest Blogger!)

Anyone who saw the Robin Williams movie, "Patch Adams" knows that laughter really is a form of holistic medicine. In fact, this concept has been taken so far that in Israel there are now formal college programs for those who would work as "Medical Clowns". This tells us that a positive mental attitude is a strong tool towards healing. If you are facing any sort of medical (or emotional) challenges, it is a good idea to identify any tools or resources available to help you. For example, if you are going to find yourself confined to a hospital bed for any length of time, you may want to turn to technology to brighten a gloomy mood. There are now all kinds of apps that can be put to use and they can even allow you to interact with others who may be facing similar health issues or times of emotional turmoil.

The Power of Positivity

Before you let anyone "poo-poo" the idea that being positive is useful during medical problems, consider a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health beginning in 2001. In the study it was discovered that the patients with the most optimistic views about life were also those who decreased their risks of heart disease. Other studies also concluded that a positive attitude reduced the chances for heart disease in postmenopausal women as well. The evidence around the positive mental attitude just keeps piling up, and proves that the "Pollyannas" among us really do live longer lives and tend to develop much healthier relationships. In fact, it is viewed as enabling the individual to "be there" for people in their lives in a way that the true pessimists cannot.

Positive Mental Attitude Defined

Because so many people argue that a positive person has to be a bit delusional, let's see just what the experts consider a positive mental attitude.

• Glass half full - Yes, these are the folks who would answer that timeless question of "is the glass half empty or half full" with the positive perspective.  They do not note the absence but instead put an emphasis on the presence. In other words, someone with a positive mental attitude is one who can appreciate what they have and set aside worries and thoughts about what they do not have or cannot have.

• Faith - This is not the religious sort of faith (though there are many who truly believe that this too helps to overcome medical and emotional challenges), but is instead the faith in oneself to conquer challenges, no matter what might come along.

• Opportunists - That's right; the person with the truly positive mental attitude is also the person who sees each day as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

For example, someone who has suffered a stroke and is told that they must relearn balance can either view this as an excuse to stay "safely" seated in order to avoid any falls, or they can look at is as an opportunity to retake their lives.

All of the studies have proven, time and again, that a positive perspective is the one that can help a person with a medical challenge to recover faster and more completely. Interestingly enough, the studies also reveal that the optimist handles the inevitable too. In all of the studies done, the "end of life" issues were viewed with acceptance and comfort by those who had displayed positive attitudes all along. This means that no matter what life presents, the person with the positive mental attitude is going to be able to face it calmly and with a good outlook.

Valerie Johnston is a health and fitness writer located in East Texas. With ambitions of one day running a marathon, writing for Healthline.com ensures she keeps up-to-date on all of the latest health and fitness news.

13 Ways to Increase Your Protein Intake in a Jiff

Let's face it. We're all busy. And we're all bombarded with the temptation of the drive thru, of ordering take out, or picking up a frozen pizza. I'm with you. The key is preparedness. For me, I notice that my natural tendency is to not eat enough protein when I am cooking for myself. To counter this, I've started buying food and nutrition products that make sure I stay on top of my protein game.

Here are 13 ways to increase your protein in 5-minutes or less (not counting going to the grocery store!): 

The Veggie Way
1. Beans. On average 1/2 cup of beans has 6g of protein and 120 calories. Add beans to a salad with fresh veggies & other protein or to a quinoa (high protein) or rice dish to boost up the protein. If you are watching calories, trade out a higher calorie sauce or dressing for the beans. A fresh salad spritzed with lemon juice & olive oil is way more refreshing than a the same salad doused in bottled salad dressing.

2. Quinoa. Gluten free, and technically a seed instead of a grain, quinoa is a great option to use as a base for veggies, beans or meat. It has 12g of protein in 1/2 cup dried and 320 calories.

Fiber note: 1/4 cup of beans (on average) and 1/2 cup quinoa have 6g fiber each. Fiber helps you digest your food and in combination with protein keeps you full longer. 

3. Feta Cheese. Two ounces of feta cheese has 8g protein and adds a ton of flavor to any dish. In my opinion, feta cheese eliminates the need for beaucoup sauces and dressings on any dish you make.

My go-2: 1/4 cup quinoa, 1/4 cup chick peas, 2oz feta cheese, 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, and 2 cups sauteed spinach with garlic powder, pepper, 1tsp olive oil and 1T lemon juice. It has 18g protein and around 400 calories, which makes it perfect for lunch. Make a big batch at the beginning of the week and portion it out into food storage containers.

4. Eggs. A large whole egg has 6g protein and 72 calories (pretty good way to get protein in with low calories). A large egg white has around 16 calories and just over 3.5g protein.

Check out my Egg Quiche in Muffin Tins . Each egg muffin has 10g protein and 148 calories. 

5. Tofu. My favorite preparation is extra firm tofu sauteed. My mom makes the absolute best sauteed tofu, I've yet to duplicate it. You can saute it your favorite marinade, or simply with salt, pepper, olive oil and other spices. Be sure to mix it around, because tofu is like a sponge and you don't want all the olive oil going into 1 piece of tofu. One cup of tofu has 21g of protein!

6. Nuts. Here's the breakdown for various nuts in 2T servings. Nuts don't bring a huge amount of protein to the table, but adding them in with other protein tricks, adds up.

Almonds= 2.5g protein
Cashews = 2.6g protein
Pistachios = 3.3g protein
Walnuts = 3.8g protein
Peanuts = 4.7g protein

7. Greek Yogurt. Yum! Eat it by itself or use it as the base for a sauce or dressing. I'm biased, but I think Chobani makes the best product. A small Chobani non-fat Greek yogurt has around 18g of protein. Savor that.

Check out my personal favorite Greek yogurt recipes: No Cook "Creamed" Kale at 17g protein and Spaghetti Squash & Veggies w/ Homemade Greek Yogurt Ranch at 15g protein per serving.


Animal Protein

1. Trader Joe's Grilled Chicken Strips. So good. You get 4 servings of chicken breast for $5.50 and you get 26g protein per serving. The chicken tastes fresh, it's cooked perfectly and the best part is, you don't have to do anything to prep it!

2. Canned Tuna in Water. A classic go-to. You can travel with it, or keep it on hand to throw on top of a salad. A 5oz can has 10g protein and 45 calories.

3. Grass Fed Ground Beef. Why grass fed? Many reasons, but for one, grass fed beef has about 50% more Omega-3 fatty acids than corn fed beef. The American diet is desperate for more omega-3's, as it has a benefit for heart health, brain health, even metabolism. 

4. Salmon. Easy, quick, satisfying. My favorite quick meal is 4-5oz of salmon along with a cup of sauteed broccoli. Saute or bake your salmon with lemon or vinegar, a touch of cooking spray, salt and pepper. Four ounces of salmon has 25g protein.

5. Pre-cooked Bacon. Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Bacon, Original has 7g protein for 3 slices and only 80 calories. 'Nuff said.

Recipe Idea: Try baking 4 oz of salmon with 3 pre-cooked bacon strips at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Yum. 32g protein.

6. Shrimp. Buy frozen or fresh and throw it in with any dish you've got on deck. Shrimp adds elegance and allure to any dish (even though it's super easy). It also adds 20g protein for 4 large shrimp.

Do You Focus on Fit or Fat?

What dominates your mind determines your actions and your results. If you believe you will succeed, that you have a much higher percentage likeliness to actually get there.

If I have ever trained you, you probably know that I have 2 rules (I keep trying to come up with more--but I am anti-rule myself, so it's hard!). Here's #1:

1. Never ever talk negative about yourself while you are doing something good for your body. 

If you're working out with me, I don't allow statements like, "ugh, I'm out of shape" or "I'm so weak" when you are working out.

The reason I don't allow it, it because in that moment you are choosing to take care of your health and moving forward in pursuing something that can bring those desired results, if you stay consistent. Instead, change it over to "I can be stronger," "I am strong," "I did those pushups like a champ"

Sounds cheesy, but it's real. What you say is what you get (and what you expect).

Here's our topic today..FOCUS.

I am tired of hearing other people (and myself) say or think "I need to lose 5-10 pounds." Yes, there are medical/health circumstances, where specific weight loss is really important and can literally have effects on longevity, quality of life, reduced disease risk, happieness, etc, etc. But, right now I'm talking to you who live a generally healthy lifestyle.

Do you really care about those 5-10 pounds, or would you rather be healthy and fit, and maybe just lose inches, lower your blood pressure, reduce your cholesterol, or just plain feel better. Who ever told us that this wasn't enough?

I remember, when I first started really working out, I gained about 10 pound in 6 months and dropped 2-3 pants sizes. Basically I reduced my body fat and increased my lean muscle mass which helped me get more fit, healthier, and look better--yet I was "heavier."

Today (if you fit into the category of "I want to lose 5-10 pounds") I ask you to focus on what you can do to be more fit. Not what you can do to lose weight or fit into whatever sized jeans. What can you do consistently to feel awesome, get stronger, be more lean, be happier (more joyful), and be excited for your next workout, instead of dreading it.

In health and prosperity,

Monica

Simple Task

This week, I encourage you. Go after what you know you are supposed to with all your heart. Just go for it, don't hold back. Whatever your goal is, just pursue it and get after it. Your reward will be great for doing this and you may surprise yourself with how much you can accomplish!

That's it :)

In health and prosperity,
Monica

Clean Your Apartment & Workout Too Part 1

This post was supposed to simply be a workout that you can do at home, while you clean your place. Harmless, right? As I started writing, my heart opened up to another issue and that is really sticking with something, even if day by day the results seem small. I've seen so many examples of this with people I know recently, and apparently my heart needed to release it. Part 2, is an actual workout you can put into practice to make cleaning your house/apartment/whatever, fun and workout beneficial!

Often, I hear the excuse, "I don't have time to exercise." I myself often find myself thinking, "I don't have time, energy, etc to clean my space."

The truth is, we all have time. Maybe we don't all have 90-minutes a day, but we all can find 10-20-30 minutes a day to exercise and on somedays longer, if needed to hit your goals.

We can find the time.

But, you have to want it. You see I want to keep my car, purse, apartment, kitchen, bathroom, closet (need I go on?) clean, but the truth is, if I don't set this as a priority or treat it with importance, it happens infrequently. Yesterday, I dumped out my purse on my bedroom floor (in the middle--because ideally this means I'll pick it up faster). For me, this is how I force myself to clean, create an even bigger mess that has to be taken care of. Today I pulled out all the change and put it in a cute box and stacked up the dozens of receipts that had given my purse the resemblance of a trash bag....change needed!

So the above is a funny example, but how often do we treat our bodies and health this way?

"I'll start tomorrow." (no--tomorrow doesn't exist now--today is it)

"I ate a banana today (and kept all my other crappy eating habits). I was healthy today!" (be sure not to kid yourself)

Is your health/weight/food choices/workout decisions/stress management techniques/etc/etc/whatever you need to make yourself better, a priority? Or is it something you only handle when it becomes so severe, like the receipts flying out of my purse, that you only take action at crisis?

No matter what it is: moving your body more, stopping your ice cream binge, halting an addiction, speaking up for yourself more, believing in yourself, training for that half marathon you've always wanted to run, taking that dance class you've been terrified to sign up for....

Whatever it is for you, you CAN do it. You CAN step up and say, I'm all in to hit my goal.

You may need support.

I believe as humans we are designed to be in community and help each other.

Let someone step into your life and encourage you, challenge you and uplift you.

Do you need to dump so trash (old receipts) on your bedroom floor and day by day pick up the pieces? The trash represents past failures, negative people, your situation if you are unhappy with it.

Dump it all out and start fresh today, even if the changes seem insignificant right now. In my opinion, any change that you make for the better, is significant. I don't care how small it is (or how small you think it is). If you are trying to save up money and you put away $5 a day for 30 days, does it look significant? Not really. But if you weren't doing that last month and you continued to do this for 90 days, you'd have $450 (the cost of an iPad mini and some accessories!)

What if you did the same for your health? Just using exercise as an example, let's say you ran for 15-minutes a day (literally just a random example kind of/sort of equivalent to putting away $5 a day!). Let's say in 15-minutes, you expend 125 calories. In 90-days, you would have run 10,800 calories or 3 pounds. Maybe that's not a huge deal and maybe your goal is bigger. But look back 90 days, did you hit your goal of losing weight?

This example can be applied to any goal you have. Let's say you want to be able to do a pullup. If you start from zero and practice several times per week, over time you'll get to your goal--but it may take time.

Stick it out and know that the other side is positive and empowering!

By the way, this is soo not what I was about to post about, but it was on my heart. Part 2 is a workout that you can do, at home, while cleaning up your space!

In health & prosperity,

Monica

Monica's Pre-Race Food Tips

Next Saturday, I'm running the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon with 3 of my friends! I can't wait to do this race, because it will be the first race I've done since the life changing MCM in 2011! I did zero races in 2012 after running a marathon at the end of 2011, although it doesn't feel like it's been that long. Anyway, today I got this question from a friend who's running it too, and I thought it could be helpful for you, if you are looking at running a half or a full marathon in the near future. 

Question: What Should I Eat the Week Before the Race?   

Answer: Eat normally throughout the week, with foods that you know are neutral to your digestion. This week I've actually been eating a rather plant strong diet with lean proteins, like salmon or ground turkey breast. I like this type of diet because it makes me feel lighter, which helps running.  In general next week, I would say to stay away from foods that drag you down, like super cheesy/high saturated fat/fast food type stuff, but eat normally. 

The most important eating day is the day before the race. You'll want to drink extra water throughout the day and eat a dinner that is generous in healthy carbs. Whole grain pasta with veggies and a meat is a great way to go. My go-to the day before race day is actually Chipotle, because it's easy, no thought, and will give me a good sized portion of the right types of food.  I do brown rice, beans (sometimes), peppers, chicken, tomato, corn, and a little bit of sour cream and cheese. This preps me and gives me energy, but I would recommend eating it at least a couple hours before you go to bed, so that it can digest right ;-) On race day morning, I drink an XS (for the B-12 energy), a big glass of water and make myself a 2 egg, whole wheat bread, spinach and tomato breakfast sandwich with an apple. I also usually bring a ~200 cal protein bar to eat 30-min or so before the race starts. I find that because we are eating breakfast so early to get to the race, I am usually hungry by the time the race starts, which is not a great way to start. You may not need that extra bar, but it's good to have it on hand in case! 

This is how I eat, and what I've figured out for myself after a few higher distance races. You may be different. Figuring out what's best is all about trial and error.

The key with the pre-race diet, is to not eat anything new the day before or morning of, and really if you can help it, a couple days before. You don't want to find out on race day that your body doesn't digest "x" like you thought it would. Same thing goes for sports drinks, energy cubes or energy shots. I would recommend not experimenting on race day! Runner's diarrhea is a real thing :) 

You may want to run with water, but experiment with your method, before race day. I don't like to run with anything extraneous on me. I find that the water stations come up enough, but I know some like to have it when they want it. 

This is my non-scientific method for eating before a distance race. Feel free to comment with your experiences! 

In health & prosperity, 
Monica