As the New Year approaches...

What's on your horizon?

I can't believe that we are just 24 hours from the close of 2012. What a year this has been. I have had incredible good fortune and opportunity come my way and learned the meaning of the term 'burnt out'. My life has not felt in balance much of this year. I have often joked that the only thing keeping me going was all the kale I eat (the beans and blueberries deserve honourable mention too!). My fitness level has, ahem, dropped off and my immune system seems to have escaped to sunnier climes... Which leads me to where I am now: preparing to venture into a totally new phase in my career and personal life. And today, I realized that many of you are probably meeting the day with the same introspective and forward-looking thoughts, especially where your health is concerned.

The diet starts January 1st, doesn't it? I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that I also enjoy setting healthy eating goals in the New Year but I no longer view it in the same absolute terms that many of us do in North America. I am not "going on a cleanse" or attempting to lose weight. I won't vow to give my diet a radical makeover that is out totally of sync with how I really live. The payoff? Come February 1st, I won't be cringing about my total inability to "stick with my resolutions".

As you are writing your own New Year's resolutions, take a moment to reflect on the intention behind those goals and how you can ensure that they are a source of joy and positivity and not just another rigid plan of attack on all you feel might be "lacking" in your life. I have been following Danielle Laporte for some time now and her last post on setting goals really resonated with me and I think you might enjoy it too. A great read pre-resolution.

Don't get me wrong - I love the fresh start that a New Year brings. I am simply trying to bring a more positive spin to my resolve. Here are the resolutions I plan to keep in 2013 (nothing like an audience to keep you accountable!):

1. Drink more green juice. (Greens are the nutritional mother load and my toddler refuses to eat them in the quantities I prefer. At least he will eat them!)
2. Complete my first half marathon (BMO Vancouver, May 5th). If I enjoy it, complete my second (SeaWheeze, August 10th).
3. Work 40 hours a week. That will be taking it easy.
4. Write my first nutrition book. Hmm...that's the biggie, I think.

If you are looking to improve your nutrition, I am a huge fan of incremental change. Why not choose 3 distinct and measurable goals and tackle them one at a time, adding a new goal with each passing month?Great, powerful food changes include:

1. Have a totally meat and dairy-less Monday.
2. Eat a daily green veggie.
3. Eat breakfast daily.
4. Pack your lunch to work.
5. Try one new vegetable a week.
6. Have one meal a day that doesn't include processed flour such as bread, pasta or muffins.
7. Snack on fruits and vegetables instead of 'snack foods'.

If the time has come for you to get a bit more serious about how you care for your health and know that weight loss is an important piece in that, check out this post on the psychology of eating and why we normally fail at that weight loss resolution so you can meet the challenge with clear vision and self-care. 

I wish you much success, health and happiness for the New Year. 
My new website, www.desireerd.com, will be launching soon and I can't wait to share all of my new adventures with you!

Be Happy...Happy New Year

Happy New Year, Everyone!


In my 32 (spoiler alert!) years, I have not yet tired of the promise of January 1st. How, just mere hours from the height of the chaos and indulgence of the holiday season can such a crisp page be turned in my soul? In years past, the laundry list of my hopeful resolutions has been vast: I have resolved to eat better, swear off alcohol, get fit, spend more time with loved ones, write more, relax more, be more organized...


Some years, progress turned to regress. Other years, I enjoyed a long run of success. More often than not, I added just a few positive notches to my belt that have stayed with me ever since. And yet, here I am, ready anew to breathe fresh life into my routine and commit to the highest purpose of continual self improvement. Given my own propensity to desire renewal, as 2011 drew to a close and my inbox grew quiet, I knew that it was just a matter of time. 


Come Tuesday (today is for brunch, tomorrow is for prep), I will be rocking and rolling, helping to cheer people on to a healthier path. In the interest of solidarity, I thought I would share some of my own wishes for the New Year with you.


1. Figure out how to get back into daily exercise. With a full time job, a writing habit and a family, exercise seems like a luxury but I know that it is not. My goal is to carve out 20 minutes every single day. 


2. Get back to writing "the book". The one I thought I would finish on maternity leave (ha!); the one that is only 20% finished; the one I have gotta write.


3. Pick up the phone once a week and call someone I love. When I get into my work cave, I shut the outside world out. Time to reach out and touch someone (I already told you my age, so it doesn't matter if I show it with lines from ancient TV commercials!)


What will you aspire to this year?
Desiree

UnDiet...Week Eight!

Good Morning UnDieters! This one is a wee bit late, so my apologies....
I am going to continue on my one woman mission to increase your fibre intake so this week, I want to introduce you to sprouted grain breads. By now, we have all heard of whole grains and why they are so much better for us: more fibre, more essential fats and naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. However, as is true with much of our modern "food", we also need to think about how those whole grains are processed to complete the health picture.
While whole grain breads are a step up from white breads, have you ever noticed that some of them feel just as soft and squishy as their white counterparts? The healthiest end of the whole grain spectrum is the whole grain itself: a kernel of whole wheat, steel cut oats, whole quinoa or other such goodies. These are grains as nature intended. Chewy. Dense. Full of flavour. Packed with nutrition. The more human beings interfere with the whole grain goodness, the less healthy it becomes.

When whole grain flours are pulverized into flours and baked and expanded into a loaf of bread, you get a little extra fibre but much of the integrity of the original whole grain is gone. The resulting fluffy loaf is digested and broken down into sugars almost as quickly as its white cousin and isn't really that great for you, especially in comparison to the original whole grain. Sprouted grain breads are different. They are made from 100% whole grains which are then sprouted and crushed before being made into bread. They are never pulverized into flour. The result? Sprouted grain breads are denser and heavier, with more fibre and protein. A single slice of sprouted grain bread can have 5 grams of fibre and 5 grams of protein, a stark contrast from the average 2 or 3 grams of fibre of lesser whole grain breads.

So this weekend, buy a 100% sprouted grain bread and swap it in for your usual bread. This is one of those simple swaps that can make a big difference! If you eat 2 pieces of toast for breakfast, switching to sprouted grain can leave you fuller and more satisfied all morning long. In addition, that 10 grams of fibre you just ate will get you more than 1/3 of the way towards your daily fibre goal for a woman and about 1/4 of the way for a man. Add that to the bran buds and beans you are already now enjoying and many of you will be getting all the fibre you need. And feeling more energized for it.

My job is done. (For fibre anyways....44 more weeks of healthy tips coming your way. Looks like January 2012 is going to be filled with smug self satisfaction instead of more resolutions.)

Need help finding sprouted grain breads? Check out my Healthy Grocery List for a couple of good brands.

Desiree

UnDiet...Week Two

Hello UnDieters! 


It's week two...still eating your apples? Good. Now it's time to build another healthy habit into your diet. The strategy this week: switch to skim!


I am all about cutting out calories and fat where they don't really matter so you can indulge when they do ( Hello, cheese plate! ). So this week, if you aren't already drinking skim milk, it's time to make the switch! If skim seems too drastic a change, take a single step down on the milk fat going from homo to 2%, 2% to 1% and then 1% to skim. Why bother? Each glass of skim milk saves you 41 calories and 5 grams of fat. Doesn't seem impressive until you do that for a full year and save yourself 14,965 calories which equals a potential weight loss of 4.2 pounds. Without cutting back on portions! In addition, milk fat is a source of dioxins, which is a major dietary toxin. Skim the fat, remove the dioxins. And all you did was switch your milks. 


Already drink skim milk or a vegetarian alternative? Make sure you get a glass a day, you healthy vixen you. 


Keep with it, UnDieters...although it may feel like you aren't doing anything, that's the point! The weeks will build and you are making over your diet for good. And since rewards are always fun, look for giveaways for UnDieters...coming soon!!

New Year...New You!

It’s resolution time again…whether your goal for the New Year is to lose weight, learn to sail or finally get that promotion, your body is the vehicle for all of your ambitions. So how are you fueling that body? Busy lives can leave nutrition on the back burner, as we mistakenly think that any food that fills our belly will help us get to the finish line. If you find yourself constantly relying on takeout and “instant” meals, soon you’ll be running on empty. Good food is the foundation of good health and a healthy body has the energy to help you achieve all that you want out of life.


I am all about the UnDiet...so much so that I created a special 10 week plan for Choices Markets, where I am the Nutrition Operations Manager when I am not at home with a little bambino! You can check out the Choices Markets "New Year, New You!" Program on their Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/ChoicesMarkets where each week you will view a new challenge. It is a great plan to get a jump start on the New Year (if I do say so myself)...and then continue you can continue the success each week back here on my blog with a full year of UnDiet!

To help you reach your goals, Choices Nutrition Team is offering informative seminars throughout the month of January and personalized nutrition consultations by donation in Vancouver, White Rock and Kelowna. Look for more helpful resources in store and at www.choicesmarket.com/nutrition.

The UnDiet...Week One

Apples from my grandparent's trees

Good Morning and welcome to the UnDiet. 




No pills, powders or complex philosophies. Just one year, 52 simple changes and one healthier, more vibrant (and maybe tinier) you. 




This week's goal is "An apple a day". It really can keep the doctor away. So go buy 7 of your favourite apples and eat one every single day. That's it. I told you it would be easy.




Why apples? They are inexpensive, a local food for many of us and far overlooked in the nutrition department. A good source of fibre with plenty of antioxidants, they are an easy and delicious way to boost your defenses. You may eat the apple anyway you want as long as you consume the whole thing, so no peeling or just eating half. It would probably be better if you didn't bake it into a cake...but you're the boss.


If you like apples, keep eating one apple every day this month or even this year. Display your weekly apple supply in a nice fruit bowl on your counter as a reminder of your commitment to your health. Like all of the goals, the idea is to build goal upon goal so by December 31st you will have completely remade your diet one day at a time.


Learn more about BC apples at http://www.bctree.com/health/nutrition/apple-nutrition 


Now go back to sleep....Happy New Year!
Desiree

The UnDiet...begins January 1st!

It's that time of year again....sitting on our couches feeling lethargic with the top button undone on our pants, that we swear off all excess. Starting January 1st, we say "No more!" and spend the rest of our vacations searching book stores and the internet putting together our own personal torture plan for the New Year. 


We vow that overnight we will abandon our bacon and chocolate chip ways in favour of broiled chicken and broccoli or raw food smoothies. Magically, we will overcome our sloth and get to the gym daily. And for the first couple of weeks, our previous excess motivates us through the pain and the deprivation but one day, long after the last taste of creme brulee is forgotten, we wake up and decide....just one brunch of waffles won't hurt. And it won't matter if I miss my yoga class to go....starting to sound achingly familiar? Still really want to do this again?


Why not swear off diets for good? Vow to get healthy for life...and join me for an UnDiet. Each week, starting January 1st, I will offer one simple lifestyle change. Try it faithfully for the week and if you like it, keep doing it. If not, just move on to the next change. 52 weeks...52 changes. The idea is that eventually all the new healthy  habits you acquire will crowd out the less healthy ones. And by building change gradually, it will be easy. Even if you take on half of the suggested changes permanently you will be well on your way to a healthier, slimmer you by New Year's Eve 2011. 


See you on New Year's Day 2011...enjoy the rest of your holiday season!
Desiree

Resolve to eat well in 2010

Welcome to 2010....and to the first day of the rest of your foodie life! As many of us wake up from a night of "turn of the decade" revelry and head straight for the greasy spoon cure...resolutions that seemed so on point last night are probably being postponed for Monday. So while you nurse your hangover, why not take advantage of this opportunity and mentally prepare to set some real revolution in place.

A quick and very unscientific Google scan points to a harrowing survey statistic - that only 8% of people keep their New Year's resolutions....and about half fail by January. If any of you are dedicated gym goers, you probably loathe the January gym crush but keep your self serene knowing that the rif raff will disappear by February 1. Why is that? Perhaps we need to look at what is motivating our resolve for the answer. Is it 10 pounds and a serious energy deficit brought on by holiday excesses? Is it a desire to look like the airbrushed masses blankly staring back at us from our magazines in time for summmer nuptuals? Or what if resolutions come from a more serious dissatisfaction from how we are actually living our lives?

The biggest obstacle I see with clients is the "extreme makeover" phenomenon. People who vow to go from take out and Seinfeld to vegan raw and yogic literally overnight. This all or nothing approach is almost always doomed to fail because it suffers from a fundamental disconnect of what your needs really are and what benefits your current lifestyle brings. This concept might take a bit of explanation. For example, if you work a typically harried 55 hour work week, when you get home your primary objective is probably to clear your head and nurture your psyche back from the enormous stresses of the day. You turn on the TV and order a pizza so you no longer have to make any decisions and can conserve that last thread of energy left in your body. You lay down, perhaps without knowing it, because this physically cues your body to relax. And the high fat, high salt, high calorie food is also a common response to stress...and soothing hormones are released as a response to the indulgence. As a result of these choices long term, you may not be that fit or too practiced in the kitchen. Then January 1st rolls around and you commit to yoga 5 times a week...rushing from the office to make sure you get a spot in the class, and then finding yourself at home 2 hours later than normal only to try and figure out how to get some plant based protein and vegetables morphed into a nourishing meal before you have to get to bed.....just thinking about it is already stressing me out. So a few weeks later.....it is back to Seinfeld and pizza because your soul just can't take it. 

I personally am a big fan of the quiet revolution. The challenge I find is convincing people that taking small steps will actually result in the kind of monumental change they are looking for without the headaches. But it is far easier to work on goals in an achievable stepwise fashion. Want to be a vegan? Perhaps your first goal should be buying Becoming Vegan, a great book by two Canadian dietitians that will teach you everything you need to know. And since that is an easy one, you could add that you will experiment with cooking tofu or tempeh each Sunday. This way you will have time to look up a recipe and then have fun experimenting. Once you have that one down, you could make the switch from cow's milk to soy milk in your morning latte. By working each new change into your lifestyle permanently, by the end of the year you might actually get to vegan. And you won't be struggling...each new change will become habit.

I am going to leave you with 10 mini resolutions to get you inspired. Perhaps try adding one a week....and within 10 weeks you are going to have gotten a lot farther that most of the resolution crazed masses.

1. Add 1/2 cup of blueberries to your breakfast every morning for an antioxidant boost.

2. Trim up your milk: if you drink 2%, move to 1%; if you drink 1%, switch to skim

3. Replace your afternoon snack with chopped celery, baby carrots and a bit of hummus to sneak more veggies into your day.

4. Replace your second cup of coffee with green tea for less caffeine and cancer busting phytochemicals.

5. Swap veggie ground round for ground beef once a week to save saturated fat and calories...not to mention the eco effects of eating veggie.

6. Snack on yogurt with 1/3 cup of Bran Buds or Smart Bran to boost fibre intake in a big way.

7. Keep prewashed bags of spinach in the fridge and add it to everything: saute in omelets, pasta sauces and stews; stuff sandwiches and wraps or toss with dressing for a super simple side salad to an otherwise veggie-free meal.

8. Keep good quality pureed veggie soups at the office so you always have a healthy lunch or snack option.

9. Swap at least one energy drink or flavoured "water"  a day for actual water for a natural energy boost.

10. Try one new recipe per week; buy a beautiful new cookbook or troll great, free recipe websites like eating well or epicurious.

PS. My own resolutions this year pertain largely to my committment to this blog - I am going for a post a week. If you have any topics you would like to see covered...just let me know!

Here's to personal revolution,

Desiree