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Friday, August 24, 2012

Healthy Grocery Shopping: Cool New App

God I love the grocery store. All those aisles of delicious possibilities. But it's somehow different with two kids in tow. I have approximately 20 minutes before there is a serious meltdown or I end up with a basket full of junk to appease my three-year old. Frustrating and a big suck on the 'ol wallet.

And not to mention that I don't have the time to investigate food labels to ensure that I'm feeding my family healthy foods. As a general rule, I don't buy anything unless it is organic or all-natural. Clean eating. I won't climb on my soap box in this post, but I blog more about clean eating and where to shop here.

Ok, back to my point. [Cue drum-roll]. There is a new site and app that takes the guesswork out of shopping. Not sure if that all-natural granola is really good for you? Well Fooducate.com allows you to scan the barcode on a food and then it generates a grade (like school). "A+" is awesome, F is run away bad. Then the app gives you healthier alternatives if the grade is no bueno.

How flipping cool is that?


The site also has a database of foods so that you can find the healthiest cereal, yogurt, snack, etc. for you.

Love. Love. LOVE.


The app is available for iPhone and Android. Plus visit the site and troll around a bit. It's fab!


Sunday, August 19, 2012

Think before you eat: 5 questions to ask yourself BEFORE eating anything

My Mom always told me to "think before I speak." And I think that simple lesson applies to what we consume, too. Here are five questions you should ask yourself BEFORE eating to avoid guilt, weight gain and diet derailment:

1) Am I really hungry? If yes, then eat. If no, then do another activity instead. Fold some laundry, take a shower, play with the kiddos. Whatever. Just avoid the kitchen if you aren't legitimately hungry.

The scale of 1-10 rule is perfect here. Ask yourself how hungry you are – 1 being not at all hungry (i.e., you just ate a full Blue Mesa Sunday brunch) and 10 being absolutely ravenous (like as in you might willingly eat brussel sprouts). If you are a 6-10 you should probably eat. If you are below that then distract yourself until you reach that point. 6-7 = a snack and 8-10 should require a meal.

Most nutritionists will tell you that you should let your hunger guide you when it comes to portion. Just because it is "snack time" doesn't mean you should eat. Eat when and if you are hungry.

2) If I eat this now, will I feel guilty in an hour? So often I convince myself I "need" a piece of chocolate, or a cookie or a handful of random snacks, when really it is a short-term buzz of delicious goodness followed by the "oh-dear-did-I-eat-that-crap" syndrome. Guilt is an icky feeling. Avoid it.

3) Is this going to fuel me until my next meal? In my opinion the best meal is a balance of fiber and protein. Fiber to keep you full and protein to fuel your body. I blog more about this here.

4) Would I be embarrassed if someone saw me eat this? Ok, this goes without saying, right? But think about it. I mean I would be embarrassed if someone saw me eating a sumo-wrestler-sized bowl of ice cream smothered in caramel, chocolate, cookies, whipped cream and a cherry on top. Imagine the horror if I had gooey treat dripping all over my face. I mean as good as that dessert sounds, I would hate for someone to see me devour that. I would be ok with someone seeing me treat myself to a small bowl of frozen yogurt with some crushed oreos. That is a respectable treat. Sumo-style no.

5) How does this rank against my overall daily food intake? I am not a proponent of cutting any food groups. I think you need all things within the food pyramid to lead a healthy lifestyle and maintain your weight. So, breads, meats, dairy, etc. are ok in my book. However, there is a delicate balance of foods each day.

For example, you shouldn't never go on a carb binge, even if they are all healthy carbs. A day of wheat toast, oatmeal, bran muffin, turkey sandwich, wheat pasta and crackers, while full of fiber, is not balanced. Too many carbs lead to bloating, ultimate weight gain (or no weight loss) and probably hunger. Think about an alternating approach to meals and snacks. If you had toast for breakfast, then have hummus and carrots for a snack. If you ate wheat pasta for lunch, balance that with a more protein-rich dinner of chicken, sauteed spinach and quinoa.I blog more about carbs here.

The big lesson: Think before you eat!

Stretch on my gorgeous friends!

Image courtesy of Getty Images.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

My hiatus from blogging is done.

What is plump, juicy, kissable and helps me lose weight? Why my beautiful baby girl, that's who! Elan Kathleen was born on June 4 at 8:17 am. She is a healthy girl weighing in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. She is delightful, smiley and sweeter than sugar (and I know sugar!)

Here she is at 2 weeks. Isn't she presh? Um, yes, I absolutely HAD to get her in a hot pink tutu and Etsy bow immediately. She is a party girl in training, afterall.

Ok, so now she is now 10 weeks old. I can't believe it!

It was rocky at first.

The dreaded word: Colic. She cried. And cried. And cried. But when she hit 7-8 weeks, she turned into this perfect, sweet amazing baby. She smiles, gurgles and coos all the time. I can tell she is going to be a chatter box like her Momma [insert smiley, winky face].

Oh and the weight loss thing. I am nursing and have lost all but 8 pounds :)

Hooray!

Well, I just had to catch you all up on my time away from you.

I missed you, you gorgeous thing. I can't wait to get back to my blogging duties.

Stay tuned for oodles of fresh content. Here is just a sampling of what you'll see:

1) Fit Clubs on MeetUp.com
2) CrossFit - holy crap will it kill you?
3) Getting your abs back after baby
4) Scheduling exercise with two kids
5) Sleep deprivation and its impact on weight gain
6) Raise a glass, not your weight - healthy alcoholic drinks
7) The scoop on boot camp
8) New classes features - I will take a bunch of different formats and blog about my thoughts
9) Delicious healthy recipes
10) My semi-vegan adventure

It's all coming your way, you fit thing!