Non-Food Related Reasons Why You May Be Feeling Stuck

You've ditched the processed junk foods and started bringing healthy lunches to work. These are powerful first steps that sound simple but make a profound impact. You even saw some significant improvements in the beginning, but you've seemed to hit a plateau.

So, what's going on?

While eating clean is of utmost importance when paving a healthier path, there could be some non-food related reasons why you’re not seeing or feeling any improvements lately.

Here are a few non-food related reasons you may be feeling stuck...

Being too focused on the scale

When you feel like you’re doing all the right things, it can be frustrating not to see or feel any improvements --try not to get discouraged, though.

We tend to measure our success by the number staring back at us on our scale, which isn't an effective way to gauge our progress. With things like fluid fluctuations and building muscle, the scale can be deceptive. It is most practical and accurate to assess our growth by how we feel and how our clothes are fitting. Don't let the scale tell you how you're feeling; you are far more than that number.

Not exercising

If you're eating healthy and not prioritizing exercise of some sort, you will likely hit that plateau. 

While eating clean is a crucial piece of staying healthy, exercise is the other puzzle piece necessary to achieve the goals you've set for yourself. You don’t need to workout in the gym for an hour every day if you don’t want to but at the very least, walk briskly for 20 to 30 minutes each day. Find the exercise that fits into your schedule and that you enjoy the most.

Exercising too much

And yes, there’s a fine line to walk with exercise. If you don’t exercise enough, it's not ideal --but if you exercise too much it causes stress and impairs your adrenal hormone production. So if you’re working out too much in hopes to reach your goals faster, take a couple of days off and reevaluate your workout strategy for better results, like with yoga and weights instead.

Contrary to what you might think, weights are an important part of an exercise that will help you build a stronger body, even when your body is at rest.

You’re still drinking sugar

Sure, you eat salads and healthy meals all day long but your morning coffee is filled with cream and sugar, or you’re drinking fruit juices or diet soda. If this is a struggle, make it a goal this week to begin making some changes in this area. If your drink of choice is something other than water, begin trading water in for your beverage of choice until you crave water more than that sugary drink. It will happen, I assure you!

Try flavored sparkling water like LaCroix to satisfy the bubbly craving, and infuse your water with fruit to add some flavor.

One thing I’ve caught myself doing in my personal experience is pushing off my exercise. “I will get to it later!” However, later never comes…but the chocolate does. Hmmmm….

So when you feel like you're stuck in a rut, reevaluate the non-food related daily habits that may be hindering your progress.

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Simple ways to stay healthy this winter

Winter can cause a yearning in your soul to warm up by a cozy fire and finally slow down.  I love that nature works like this, innately causing us to change with the seasons, have you ever noticed?  The winter brings the desire for warmer foods, connection with loved ones, and more rest and relaxation.  The critical part of this fascinating natural phenomenon is that we listen and oblige.  

Another tendency is to feel our desire to workout slow down this season, which is also common.  There are a few ways I go into the Winter season mindful of this, and I'm going to share with you my top ways to help you keep a Winter wellness routine, as well. These work for me each year, and I hope you'll gain some ideas you can use, too!

My favorite Winter Wellness tips...

1. Don’t burn the candle at both ends

If your social calendar looks anything like mine, it's jam-packed this season. We just made it through all the Holiday parties, and now it's time to catch up with those we didn't have time to see last month, and of course, celebrate the New Year. However, don’t feel obligated to attend every gathering you get invited to, particularly if you’re feeling burnt out from work and your other obligations. It’s great to meet new people and socialize, but if it causes you to get less sleep or it stresses you out, decline some of the less essential offers.

2. Be mindful of social settings

For the events you do attend, remember that cold and flu germs often lurk without symptoms at first. There’s no need to be paranoid about shaking hands or meeting people, but be mindful of your hands before you eat and don’t touch your nose, mouth or eyes after shaking hands with someone. Keeping your hands clean is the best way to avoid a winter illness.

3. Keep working out

Your best battle against the winter blues is to keep to your workout routine. Finding it hard to stay motivated during the colder months? Switch things up. Try a new class at your gym or take on a new challenge that will help keep you motivated. 

4. Hydrate more

Getting enough fluids is essential on any day, but in winter the weather is drier and so is the heat indoors. Not only that, but your skin can become parched too. Drinking more water and applying more moisturizer is a must. 

So, what's the norm for you? Do you try to stay on track during the winter months, or do you put things off until it starts to warm up outside?  Personally, I have a tendency to want to hibernate during the cold months. To combat this inclination and stay active, I find different and challenging classes at the gym (like hot yoga, barre, or cycle) and make the commitment to go. It’s hard, but I feel so much better after!

Be kind to yourself during the winter months and the rest of the year, too!  If you are on Facebook or Instagram, I invite you to follow me (@alignmentstudio) for additional tips, recipes, and workout ideas.

You Don't Have to Dread Eating Better

The holidays are over and the new year is among us -- a special and exciting time where we make ambitious plans for our next twelve months and dream of the possibilities.  The most popular resolution is improving health, and we usually are quite ready after the holidays.  As tasty as the holiday tidings are, they leave us feeling a little less on track with our goals than we'd like.

Those new healthy resolutions don't have to be complicated, and they don't have to end before February even arrives.  The key to looking and feeling your best is to keep it uncomplicated and simply focus on clean eating.  In case you've heard the term "clean eating" but haven't quite understood what it means -- clean eating is all about consuming healthy, whole foods and cutting out the processed junk. Whether you’re ready to jumpstart your clean eating now or you’re wondering what it takes to get started, we’ve got super-simple steps for a no-fail progression into clean eating.

1. Focus on your inner motivation

Whether you’re determined to race in the Boston Marathon next year, or you have seen first-hand the damages done by not eating well through relatives or friends that have suffered as a result of their eating habits.  Whatever it is that is motivating you to eat clean, bring it into your direct focus so you will be more successful in sticking to your clean eating plan.

2. Reevaluate what you’re currently eating

Before you begin your clean eating journey, it helps to journal about what you’re eating before beginning. This way, you can truly see what it is you’re eating and look for patterns. After the stressful end of week push at the office, you might notice you’re more prone to ordering pizza, and you can take steps to head that off at the pass rather than fall into the same pitfall time and time again.

3. Set realistic, measurable and specific goals

When people make changes to things in their lives such as a change to their eating habits, they can set themselves up for significant failures if they don’t take it step by step. That means that if you want to be successful in the long-term, you should tackle one or two new things every 1-2 weeks, so you have a better chance of sticking to it. Don’t just say you’ll stop eating desserts forever. Instead, set a goal of only eating one small dessert per week, and go from there to decrease it further. It’s realistic, measurable and very specific.

4. Clean out your pantry

Sadly, most American pantries are filled with processed foods.  A good rule of thumb is to cut out anything that contains more than five ingredients on the label, and anything unnatural should go. If you have a lot of unopened items, donate them to a shelter. 

5. Refocus your grocery shopping strategy

We’re creatures of habit, every one of us. When we go to the supermarket, we usually follow the same path every time. Shake things up and head straight for the produce section. You really should be avoiding almost all of the middle aisles of your supermarket anyway because that’s where those processed food pitfalls lurk!

6. Master meal prep

One of the easiest ways to dive right into clean eating is to prep your meals. You’ll find tons of healthy meal prep plans online that even give you shopping lists to use. If time is a factor, look for crockpot recipes that require you to dump in the whole foods in the morning and come home to a hot, delicious, clean and healthy meal every night!  

As you can tell, it only takes small changes over time to create a sustainable, healthy lifestyle.  I’m here to cheer you on every step of the way, hit reply and let me know how you are feeling, and what you’d like to accomplish as your first step.  I’d love to hear your plans. Pop over to the Facebook page (click here) and share how you plan to eat healthier. 

Want to learn how to meal prep? I am hosting a Meal Prep 101 at Arlington Pain and Rehab (3004 Lee Hwy D-111) on Saturday, January 6 at 3pm. Space is limited, so RSVP either on the Facebook page or by calling the office!

How to Prevent Stress Eating During the Holidays

The holidays can be a great time of joy for many. But for others, they are filled with anxiety and stress. Sometimes, even for those that love the family get-togethers, the stress of holiday shopping, finances, and hosting relatives can tear them apart. When stress hits at this time of year, it’s easy to turn to that tray of cookies for moral support. After all, cookies won’t criticize you about your life choices the way your family will.

But that’s not healthy and you know it. Plus, you’ll feel even less joy when you realize you’ve undone the whole year’s worth of fitness you’ve worked so hard for. If you find the holidays cause you to gobble down more than you should as a way to cope with the stress, we present to you these 5 ways to stop the stress eating before the first tray of cookies is trotted out to the company break room.

Be active

When your boss announces there are no bonus checks this Christmas or your mom says you’re still single because one of your nails on your manicure is chipped, instead of reaching for the holiday goodies, get outside in the fresh air for a walk, hit the gym, chase your kids in the yard, or just do something physical that appeals to you.

You’ll release the stress and the exercise will help release the proper chemicals in your brain to make you feel better.

Workout your mind

The brain needs exercise too. Instead of letting it harp on the negative things that cause you to stress-eat, give it something constructive to do. Take 10 to 20 minutes to yourself to read something you want to read, work on a crossword puzzle or do something else that stimulates your mind in an enjoyable way. It will help you feel refreshed.

Focus on healthy eating

While it’s true that the holidays are certainly a time for more indulgent meals, when you focus on your healthy eating prior to the big family dinners, it won’t be such a shock to your waistline. Make sure you’re eating meals as you would normally without skipping them. If you starve yourself all day because your job or your family (or both!) is making you nuts, you’re more prone to stuffing yourself at dinner with things that aren’t very healthful.

Practice moderation

Yes, there are certainly foods we only get to enjoy during this time of year like holiday cookies and cakes. But again, eating all of them isn’t going to do any good. So indulge mindfully and moderately. If you always look forward to your sister’s famous pecan pie, then focus on eating that when the time comes and say no to treats that aren’t as delicious like boxed cookies.

Forgive yourself

No one is perfect so if you find you caved in to peer pressure at work and ate treats you promised yourself you wouldn’t, forgive yourself and move on. Make the next thing you eat healthy and get moving on your exercise. But above all, keep your head up because that is the key to getting through the stress of the holiday season.

Join our Facebook community if you haven’t already. We love to hear about your tips for staying stress-free and staying healthy during the holidays—and beyond. You can join by clicking HERE.

On Instagram? Find us @alignmentstudio

How to Effortlessly Add Healthy Benefits to Your Holiday Dishes

The holidays are here, and it is time to savor all the joy they bring --friends, family, meals together, giving & gratitude. Of course, along with them are hearty dishes and sweets that can certainly wreak havoc on our bodies. Casseroles laden with cream, sugary cakes and cookies, and other tempting empty calorie bombs will adorn the dining tables we surround. Unless we do something about it, that is! 

But how can you make healthy decisions during the season of eating; especially, without anyone noticing? Well, I have a few of my favorite tricks to share with you that I use each season, and the best part is, nobody ever notices. 

My favorite ways to sneak healthy goodies into my meals are...

Go for bone broth or herbal teas

When you roast or poach food, make soups or stews, or even for your gravy, use something that gives you a boost of health instead of canned sodium-riddled broth or plain water. Using bone broth will add more depth of flavor, and it will provide you with healthy immune boosting properties. You could also try herbal teas like ginger tea or green tea that will add a light flavor and add more antioxidants for better health.

Sprinkle in some turmeric

Turmeric is a naturally powerful anti-inflammatory that is filled with antioxidants. It is related to ginger and looks quite similar to a ginger root, and is most easily consumed in dried form. You can sneak it into dishes by sprinkling it in and enjoy the benefits it brings. Add just a little bit to your sweet potatoes, salad dressings, and dips. Go easy on it since the flavor can be strong to those that aren’t used to it.

Use sweet alternatives

Don't worry --I'm not suggesting you do away with your dessert table altogether, but those unrefined sugars are what we are trying to avoid. If you swap out the unhealthy stuff for a natural sweetener that is a better option, you’ll still get the sweet tastes everyone loves without the slew of chemicals. Try raw organic honey. Local honey is best, which can typically be found at your local health food store. You can also look for coconut sugar or coconut syrup, or even use dates.

Freshen up flavors with fresh herbs

Fresh herbs add a new dimension of taste to your dishes without adding fat and calories. Plus, they naturally have their own benefits from adding more antioxidants to reducing inflammation. Experiment with your favorite ones to add more zing to your mashed potatoes or liven up your veggies.

The holidays don’t have to be so heavy on the unhealthy items; particularly, when you use these simple tricks for making your favorite holiday dishes healthier. Happy Holidays!

Head on over to our Facebook page for more health tips and yummy recipes by clicking here!

Cortisol and its role in Adrenal Resistance

If there's one work-horse hormone in the body, it's cortisol.

Cortisol, which is secreted by the adrenal gland, has a incredibly wide range of metabolic and non-metabolic effects all over the body. Throughout the day, its release is cyclic, like the thermostat in a house, rising and falling with our natural Circadian rhythm of sleeping, wakefulness, and eating. However, with added stress, the rhythm of cortisol is disrupted and we start seeing changes in our sleep patterns, memory, immune response, and blood sugar levels.

When a stressful event, like running to catch the bus, occurs, the hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) that starts the stress response cascade causing release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the anterior pituitary gland. ACTH acts on the adrenal gland, telling it to start pumping out more cortisol. That bus needs to be caught so you can get to work on time! This hormonal response to an external stressor, the approaching bus, takes only a few minutes to complete but, once activated, cortisol levels stay elevated for up an hour, even if you're seated safely on the bus with plenty of time to spare.

The persistence of cortisol is a survival tactic, keeping the body primed and ready in case another stressor presents itself. This is the normal stress response to occasional stress, a quick rise in cortisol and then a gradual denouement.

If, however, if you get to work and day after day is a crazy, non-stop day with no break for lunch let alone coffee, the normal stress response turns into a chronic stress response with a very different cortisol pattern. The chronically stressed individual does not have a dramatic spike in cortisol levels in response to a momentary stressor. Instead, there's a low-grade climb in cortisol over a prolonged time period that never falls back down to normal levels.

What's happened? Adrenal fatigue.

In a nutshell, after maintaining elevated cortisol for so long, the adrenal glands can no longer cope with an additional stress; they resist the signals from the brain and fail to release more cortisol. Adrenal fatigue, or resistance, results in impairment of the ability to deal with any type of stress.

The common cold or a minor annoyance becomes overwhelming to a person with resistance adrenal glands. They just can't cope and need to take serious time out to recharge their burnt out body so that cortisol production can normalize.

So, what can be done to counteract the damage done to the adrenal glands? First and foremost, find a way to deal with stress. Tapping, yoga, simple stretches, specific breathing techniques—these are all ways of reducing stress on the system. Secondly, get rid of refined foods. Proper nutrition helps the body perform properly.

Need help with either of those points? Contact me for a free 30-minute consultation. We will discuss your main points of concern and, hopefully, you will go away with a tip or two that will help you recover.

References

The Complete Doctor's Stress Solution by Penny Kendall-Reed and Dr. Stephen Reed. Robert Rose, 2004. Chapter 1, pages 36 - 41

A GUIDE TO Healthy “DESK DINING”

We all recognize the challenges of being at a desk for the majority of the day. The following guidelines will help you to better manage these lifestyle challenges of office eating so you can sustain your energy levels, work smarter, and get more out of your day.

VENDING MACHINES, OFFICE TROLLEYS, AND TUCK SHOPS

Most of the foods on offer are high in saturated and total fat, sodium and/or sugar, and virtually devoid of fibre and vitamins.

Eating these foods on a regular basis may result in erratic blood sugar levels, leaving you with low energy, irritability, poor concentration, weight gain, and an increased risk of diabetes, heart attacks and stroke, gout, high blood pressure, cancer, and other diseases.

What to do:

¨ Before grabbing a snack, consider whether you rather need a break from what you’re doing. Going for a short walk or getting a breath of fresh air may be all you need to feel re-energized.

¨ Drink a glass of water as you may simply be dehydrated.

¨ Do not allow yourself to skip meals. Hungry people tend to make unhealthy food choices, particularly if tempting snacks are readily available.

CAFFEINE-RICH DRINKS

Although tea, coffee, and cocoa contain beneficial flavonoids and other antioxidants, the caffeine content limits their benefit. Overconsumption of caffeine often goes hand in hand with overconsumption of sugar and refined unhealthy snacks such as biscuits. Excess caffeine intake may cause feelings of anxiety, increased blood pressure, insomnia, and headaches. It can also be a digestive system irritant, causing heartburn, cramping, or diarrhea in sensitive individuals.

What to do:

¨ Before having a cup of tea or coffee, go for a short walk or a breath of fresh air as it may be all you need.

¨ Limit yourself to three cups of java per day. Hot chocolate, cola drinks, and energy drinks should not be consumed on a regular basis, but rather as an occasional treat.

¨ Avoid coffee and tea creamers, as they are high in saturated and trans fats, which increase the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart attacks, and stroke.

¨ Skip the sugar. The total daily sugar intake for an adult should be less than 10% of total energy, which equates to eight teaspoons of sugar per day for women and 12 teaspoons for men.

¨ With every cup of coffee or tea, drink a glass of water to quench your thirst.

¨ During cold and flu season, try hot water with a slice of lemon, orange, or fresh ginger in it. Herbal teas also count as water.

MEETINGS

If I had a dark chocolate bar for every time I heard about the muffins and donuts at meetings...The challenge with meetings is that either unhealthy foods are provided or none at all. Foods on offer during meetings typically are highly refined and high in fat. This can limit productivity and creativity – how sharp do you feel after a muffin with 4 tablespoons of sugar? - and promote, of course, weight gain.

What to do:

¨ Be proactive and if possible, organise healthy food platters for meetings. Source various catering outlets that provide delicious smart snack platters.

¨ Suggested snack platter items to your usual caterer: cucumber strips, cherry tomatoes,  hummus, celery sticks, berries, boiled eggs, chicken strips, grapes, snap peas, baby corn, pineapple, sweet peppers, smoked salmon, etc. Yummy and very power suit-friendly!

¨ Keep your own healthy snacks on hand to consume during or between back-to-back meetings.

¨ Ensure that water is available in all meetings along with the tea and coffee.

¨ Rather have a smart snack before meetings and then a beverage during the meeting.

¨ If you have to eat from unhealthy food platters, fill a plate of food once, keeping in mind that half should be vegetables or fruit. In this way, you end up eating a fairly balanced meal rather than too many high fat, high carbohydrate snacks if you nibble continuously.

¨ If there are four or fewer of you who need to have a meeting, consider going for a walk while addressing the issues at hand. This helps to reduce unhealthy snacking – and, bonus, it spurs creativity and let's everyone know that workplace wellness is part of the company values.

TRAVELING

This is a tricky one. Time zone changes on top of the the usual work stresses really make this a tough challenge for my corporate clients. Whether you spend a lot of time in a car or hotels, or fly across time zones, traveling disrupts your usual eating routine and can play havoc with healthier food choices.

What to do:

¨ The biggest challenge with meals served on aeroplanes is the almost complete lack of vegetables and fresh fruit. Make sure you do eat all the salad and vegetables that are served or ask for the vegetarian option.

¨ Should you wish to have a meal before boarding a plane, choose a salad-based meal with a small protein serving.

¨ Meal timing is the other challenge when traveling. A main meal should only be consumed four to five hours after the last main meal. Should you be served a meal one to two hours after a large meal, treat this meal as a snack, rather than consuming the whole meal.

¨ Fruit juices, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages are, strictly speaking, too energy dense. Make water your beverage of choice. If you must imbibe, match every alcoholic drink with a glass of water.

¨ Drinking enough water is very important, as long flights are particularly dehydrating. Have a glass of water for every hour or so.

What do you do to stay healthy while at work or on travel? I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment below.