Nutritional Fitness Blog

April 13, 2024

Your nutritional fitness relies on making sound nutritious decisions. I am trying to give you the tools necessary to help you attain and maintain a healthy nutritional lifestyle. Stick to the basics! There is no replacement for healthy eating.

Let’s talk about this wave of injectables for weight loss.

The target population was originally Type 2 diabetics. The main goal of controlling Type 2 diabetes is weight loss, as many Type 2’s, but not all, fall into the category of overweight or obese.

These drugs are not a new concept but have certainly been improved and have received tons of supportive press recently. The definition of the target population for these drugs has broadened significantly, with clinically overweight or obese being the main focus.

Weight is not the only measure of health. But it is certainly significant and striving for a healthy weight will benefit you tremendously.

These injectables suppress your appetite. So weight loss is inevitable.

It may benefit your cardiac health which is another major win.

As a clinical nutritionist however, my concern is that quick success in weight loss may hinder positive changes to improve your eating habits. Relying on these medications without continuing the pursuit of nutritional health can be counterproductive.

There have not been noteworthy studies done about the long-term effects of these drugs. But so far everything looks good. Some people complain of nausea, while others prefer that nauseous feeling which keeps them from eating.

The goal to a healthy life is not starving yourself. Starvation is neither pretty nor desirable. When you start using up those nutritional stores in your body, your body may react to protect itself from starvation. Teaching yourself to eat well and maintain good metabolic fitness will definitely have positive long-term results.

Once you stop taking these injectable weight loss meds, your appetite will return and you will most definitely put weight back on. If you met your goal weight, how do you maintain without this medicinal help?

These drugs do not replace the need for healthy eating You still need to be mindful of what you eat even while taking these meds.

Depending on the length of time you were on these meds, damage may have been caused. One of the first rules of clinical nutrition is, if the gut works, use it.

Obviously, inadequate food intake is not the best use of your gut. Your body requires many nutrients to function properly and you can only get what you need through good food choices. Think about the ramifications of denying your body the fuel it requires to function.

Deep thinking about your nutritional health is what makes reflective nutrition work. It is a mental workout for sure.

Consider all the angles before diving into any drastic medical alternative for weight loss.
If you stop these meds and then resume, they will suppress your appetite again and the weight will come off again. This yo-yo effect will not result in a favorable outcome if it continues.

Should you choose this method of weight loss, please do so with your eyes open, ask questions and please continue journaling.

Believe me, I understand and empathize with anyone who has suffered a lifelong battle with being overweight. The harsh socialization can be brutal, leaving indelible scars.

Reflective nutrition can work nicely with these meds but there is no escaping the hard work you need to put into your overall health, mental as well as physical.

Don’t lose sight of this. These meds might help with initial weight loss, but other factors also come into play. They do not teach you how to eat well.

Committing to your nutritional fitness and honoring that commitment is a lifelong endeavor.

Creating a positive relationship with food can only be done through your hard work. Finding your way to good health is an emotional journey that will take you through so many levels of awareness of who you are. Stay mindful of each sensation as you accomplish each goal.

This is a journey worth taking because in the end you will be left nutritionally fit with a new sense of emotional strength as you reflect back on your massive accomplishments.

December 20, 2023

I started freaking myself out during a reflective moment. I was thinking back to when I used to give these little talks in front of seven and eight-year-olds during pediatric week. I was working in a hospital at the time and we used to have children visit during pediatric week so they can see how things run in hospitals. Of course the nutrition department used to prepare goody bags with healthy treats. After my talk, I would ask the children stand up, raise their right hand and take an oath promising to eat fruits and vegetables, to drink their milk, etc. It was very cute. I asked them some of their favorite foods to eat and together we were able to come up with some healthier choices. It was interactive and I’d like to think a good learning experience for them. It certainly turned out to be one for me.
One child very politely raised his hand and asked me “what if my mom doesn’t buy things like that because she doesn’t like them?”

Hmmmm
Good question.
As the designer of this child’s nutritional roadmap, I could only hope that his mom listened to the things he learned that day and might try to give him some new things to try. Open communication between adults and children, when it comes to nutritional intake, is so important. This is where children start forming their relationship with food whether we realize it or not. This is where they can start building a positive attitude toward healthy eating. We can learn from our children as well as teach them. Encourage them to ask questions and try new things. Inspire them by improving your nutritional health. Journal together. Kids pick up on things, little nuances that may not even register in an adult. They have a lot to offer.

Consider the nutritional roadmap you are creating for your children while revamping your own, which was probably created for you when you were a child. Even if you don’t enjoy fresh fruits, vegetables, high value proteins, baking or broiling over frying, think about the impact you are having over an impressionable child.

Remember when I said that the nutrition workout is a real mental test? Breaking down and rebuilding a lifelong diet is hard work. But it is our responsibility to start the next generation on the right track. I would like to think that little boy went home to show off all he learned that day about good nutrition and his mom was receptive to try and make beneficial changes for both of them.

Keep scrolling to read more about Nutritional Roadmaps

December 20, 2023

The concept of reflective nutrition is to dig deep into your history, not only to try and improve behaviors, but to find the reasons behind them.
(Keep in mind, that I am not discussing food allergies or foods we need to consume or avoid for medical conditions.)

From infancy, children rely on their caregiver for everything. When it comes to instilling good nutritional habits, it is the caregiver’s job to make food selection, food preparation/cooking and perform the actual feeding process. Those brand new taste buds are bursting with energy looking for new and exciting taste sensations. Savory. Sour. Sweet. Bitter. Salty. They may not all appeal to you, but you owe it to yourself and your children to experience all the flavors life has to offer.

The reason behind my freak out was thinking how that boy is now an adult possibly with children of his own. YIKES!! I started to wonder if I made a positive impression on him that day, possibly affecting the manner in which he nourishes his children. That would be awesome!

It’s never too early to start teaching the importance of healthy eating and being physically active.
It’s also never too late to learn the same lessons.
The dinner table is a great place to discuss how to tweak old culinary traditions and
make them more nutritionally sound. You can start by
doing the grocery shopping, food prep and cooking together.
Learn, grow and feel the physical sensation of your health improving day by day. Watch it happen simultaneously to your children.

If you are someone who prefers eating alone, you can still eat healthy and surround yourself with things that calm you, like music, a good audiobook or maybe total silence helps you clear your head. But concentrate on healthy food intake.

Utilize the farmers markets and try stretching the boundaries of your palate by introducing new culinary delights into your life. Experiment and enjoy! Let good nutrition have a positive impact on your life and the lives of future generations. We can reverse the unhealthy trend of obesity and medical complications associated with it. Take a serious a look at your nutritional roadmap. You don’t always have to follow the well established, paved roads of your past. Sometimes taking a left turn is the right move. It’s OK to make a mistake. We all do. It’s just another learning experience. Be mindful of the positive results that could end up taking you on an unexpected road while continuing your incredible journey to nutritional fitness.

Think again

October 2, 2023

Maybe when you start reflecting back on your diet history, you picked up on an attraction to foods that are loaded with sugar, low in fiber maybe high in fat. This is not uncommon.

Sweet and refined are wonderful qualities in a human being. Not the case with carbs. And while we should all be striving to be better people, for obvious reasons, carbs aren’t capable of such change on their own.

Change requires a human touch. So use your ability to make better choices in your consumption of carbohydrates.

Are you sensing a teaching moment coming on? Here we go.

The human body needs carbohydrates. There is no way around that. The TYPE you consume is up to you.

As you know there are healthy carbs that we should be enjoying vs. those our taste buds tend to crave in abundance. These two types of carbs have been categorized as good and bad.

But why do we need carbohydrates?

-The body uses glucose for energy

-Of the macronutrients, (carbohydrates, proteins, fats ), carbohydrates breakdown into glucose the fastest

-this is the primary job of carbohydrates

-it is the most efficient pathway for immediate energy necessary for the body to function properly

-simply put,

glucose = energy

Still with me?

I know you’ve heard that you should be consuming foods that are higher in fiber. The bad carbs are the ones that are “refined” as most of the fiber, if not all, has been removed and extra sugar has probably been added. Cakes, cookies, donuts, white bread may be hard to resist, but if you’re looking to improve nutritional fitness, consider adding these bad carbs to your do not disturb list, as they can detour your journey to wellness. They tend to be lower in fiber, higher in refined sugar and frequently higher in fat. The energy boost is short lived often followed by extreme fatigue as your blood sugar plummets. They also have very poor nutritional value.

Good carbs are higher in fiber (fruits, vegetables, whole grains), causing a slower breakdown into glucose, avoiding a high spike and rapid drop in energy.

Combine this with a super protein source and you are cruising!Necessary nutrients are provided and a sense of satiety (or fullness) occurs allowing you to control your caloric intake better. This is especially important if you are trying to reduce weight. The theory being that a sense of fullness will lessen your appetite and help you manage your portion sizes more efficiently.

There are studies praising benefits of low carb diets. But how low do you have to go? You will see weight loss fairly quickly and possible cardiac benefits due to the lower fat intake. So while you are basking in the glow of what appears to be healthy and safe weight loss, consider this. The body will always fight to protect itself. When the body’s storage system of energy is used up (this will happen when the body senses it is not getting enough glucose to function), you may see a shift in the above mentioned benefits. Your body will start filling up those storage spaces again and you may see a rebound weight gain. (Refer back to my warnings about yo-yo effects in a previous blog).

I am oversimplifying a complex biochemical mechanism, but I think the point is clear. The true benefits of restructuring your nutritional regimen and giving it a real workout,

will be finding the balance necessary for your body to function utilizing carbohydrates, proteins and fats all doing their own job. If a diet seems too extreme, raise those flags! Please consider all angles of risks and benefits.

My goal is for you to develop a healthy lifestyle by understanding the role nutrition plays.

Slow, steady and smart choices will always help pave the way toward optimal nutritional health.

August 5, 2023

So I was sitting back watching one of the reality shows I can’t stop watching, and I heard someone say they consume 400 g of protein a day. My jaw dropped to the floor.

Yes. I do indulge in some Real shows that Sail along above and Below… and if you get my point, Bravo to you.

But I digress. The point is that some people believe that consuming, or should I say over consuming, protein is a good idea. It’s not. If you review your journal or just reflect back, and notice that you are consuming hundreds of grams of protein a day, please read on. Being mindful of your overall consumption is part of the reason for journaling. Hopefully I can help guide you into making thoughtful changes to boost your nutritional fitness.

The recommendation for protein in a healthy body is 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight (actually it should be per kg of desirable body weight). I know I’m talking metric, but this is really simple to figure out. Divide your body weight, or desirable body weight, by 2.2. (this converts pounds into kg). Multiply that number by 0.8 to get your daily requirement of protein. If you are 150 pounds, that converts to 68 kg. Multiply 68 by 0.8 and you should be consuming approximately 55 g of protein per day.

Athletes and people with higher activity levels are often given more protein, (ranging up to 3.5 g/kg), depending on many factors. These factors include age, gender, activity level, health (some medical conditions have protein restrictions or increased protein needs). Again I would like to re-state that this blog is not necessarily intended for any specific medical condition but more toward the general, healthy public. Always remember that good nutritional habits should be nurtured and practiced by all.

Protein’s main job in the body is to build, repair, restore and maintain muscle, cells, organs, bones. Just by living your day-to-day life, your body goes through normal breakdown. Protein helps rebuild and restore that breakdown. Contrary to popular belief, protein is not meant as an energy source, although it does help to maintain energy levels.

So why did someone consuming 400 g of protein a day make me so crazy?

Let’s start with how unutilized protein gets stored as fat. Who wants that?!?

There are many diets promoting high protein with low carbohydrate which at first may seem like a smart idea. Any weight loss with this type of diet is short-lived. Remember from my previous blog, that an unhealthy weight loss may rebound into gaining back the lost weight and more. Ugh! Why do that to yourself?!?

The burden placed on the body consuming an excessive amount of daily protein is enormous and over an extended period of time may lead to internal damage, including but not limited to, poor kidney function, possibly total kidney failure. Cardiac issues may arise due to over-consumption of high cholesterol items. (But lean cuts of red meat and eggs are still great sources of high value protein). Other high-value sources of protein include fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, nuts, legumes. It is healthier seeking products that are pasture raised (poultry) and grass fed (lean meat, dairy). Avoid highly processed foods and hormone feeds. Consuming foods of this nature in abundance, has been associated with a higher incidence of cancer due to the cellular breakdown effect these processed foods have on our bodies. Damaging effects!!!!

Healthy sources of protein is what your body needs.

Keep journaling. Reflective nutrition makes you accountable for the foods you consume. Read labels. Ask questions.

A healthy diet includes a balanced combination of the macronutrients: complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats (among other nutrients that we will touch upon in future blogs).

When it comes to optimal nutritional fitness, too much of a good thing is usually not good. We need protein, but too much can backfire badly. If you consume a plant-based diet, make sure your protein sources complement each other, giving you a more powerful and complete protein.

The journey to nutritional fitness is not easy but small, positive changes along the way can have a huge impact on your physical and mental health. Stick with it! Your hard work will pay off.

June 23, 2023

I started this blog to try and help you become nutritionally fit. I started looking around and saw that we were becoming unhealthy. We all have to find a balance between being physically fit, nutritionally fit and mentally fit. Setting goals can keep us motivated and focused with a feeling of improvement and accomplishment.

There is something called the yo-yo syndrome. It is mostly used in describing pitfalls of unhealthy weight loss when weight is lost and regained, over and over. Just consider for a moment the stress on your body when you lose 10 gain back 15. Lose 20 gain 30. Think of all the readjusting your body has to do during this turmoil. Overtime this dreaded yo-yo occurrence can do quite a bit of damage to your body. And it is not only a problem with weight going up and down, but also things like uncontrolled blood sugar and blood pressure. Over an extended period of time, our bodies tend to weaken internally which may cause damage. Of course, simply stated, we need to avoid the yo-yo syndrome.

Keeping your body nutritionally fit incorporates maintaining a healthy weight, controlled blood sugars and blood pressure, all of which are also directly related to being physically and mentally fit.

Basically what I’m saying is that you need to find a balance to keep your body healthy and stable.

We are born with a certain number of fat cells. By losing weight, these fat cells may shrink, but they never go away. If you lose weight in a safe and healthy manner, those diminished fat cells may stay stable and controlled. A safe weight loss program means losing 1 to 2 pounds per week. If done properly, you will find yourself also losing some bad eating habits while developing new and improved ones. Those changes will benefit you greatly in the long run. You may start to see improvements in other areas of your health with your new nutritional development.

If the weight loss was unhealthy and unsafe, you may not be able to maintain and sustain yourself on a poorly designed and
inadequate nutritional plan. Old habits may start to creep back in and you will find yourself refilling those old fat cells and possibly developing more, leading to an excessive weight gain, often greater than what you lost.

My goal as a clinician is to encourage you to seek good health. We need to also inspire our children to be physically active and allow their taste buds to evolve, finding healthy alternatives to poor food choices. Rally around your journal. Journal with your children, helping them see what it is you are all actually consuming. This is the a great tool to open up discussion about the importance of healthy eating. You can actually see if you’re eating too much butter with breakfast and ways to cut back on that, maybe you’re using too much salad dressing or too much cream and sugar in your coffee every day. Use the concept of reflective nutrition to help push you toward accomplishing a nutritionally sound diet.

We need to get back on the right track to good health. Don’t lose sight of our goal to be physically and nutritionally fit, in good metabolic shape and feeling those strong, healthy vibes we all need to move forward.

May 23, 2023

We all need to concentrate on staying well hydrated to maintain nutritional fitness. The human body is more than half water(60%), so it is super important to keep supplying fluids throughout the day to keep your body functioning well (how about that dewy skin?!?) and to stay sharp mentally. The term electrolytes is big news. Sodium and potassium are electrolytes responsible for fluid balance in the body. If you think back to your early high school chemistry days, in the periodic table of elements the symbol for sodium is Na and potassium is K, resulting in the conflated term NaK.

Fluid replacement is not restricted to just water, although that is an excellent source. Solid foods also contain water so it’s important to make sure that you continue consuming a well-balanced diet.

Is it possible to consume too much fluid? The answer is yes. I certainly don’t want you sloshing around feeling uncomfortable. Water intoxication or hyper-hydration are very real, but rare, occurrences.

Many who are on weight loss restrictions may consume excessive amounts of water to decrease hunger. Although fluids are necessary to keep our bodies functioning well, don’t forget to fuel up with those mandatory nutrients only available through actual food. By filling up with water you are potentially cutting down too much on caloric intake which may result in an inadequate consumption of required nutrients. Over time, this practice may prove to be more harmful than beneficial, resulting in malnutrition.

You do not need to choose between reaching your goal weight, staying hydrated and staying well nourished. You can absolutely have it all.

Keep sipping fluids throughout the day. As the weather is getting warmer we may need to boost the hydrating regimen (an occasional ice pop is a yummy treat in the heat and counts as fluid. Alcohol, however, may further dehydrate you. I’m just sayin’). But please don’t neglect your overall objective of becoming nutritionally fit. Your journey continues and hydration is a huge part. Keep journaling and reflecting back for ways to improve your relationship with food. Keep working out your nutritional routine by looking for patterns and habits that can be tweaked or even eliminated. Now I am adding fluids to monitor. Are you drinking throughout the day? Thirst is not a good indicator of hydration status.

If you feel thirsty, chances are you are already dehydrated. Headaches and cramping are also signs you may be dehydrated. If you think you are drinking a lot, but not urinating a lot, you may need to take in more fluids. You should urinate throughout the day. In most cases, it’s a good sign if your urine is clear and colorless. It may indicate adequate fluid intake. Watch those caffeinated beverages. I usually restrict my clients to one cup per day (8oz), (but that depends on individual assessment). It’s all about balancing food, hydration, medication (if applicable) and activity. Keep setting realistic and accessible goals. Watch your health improve while you lift your spirits at the same time. Good health is magical and attainable!

April 21, 2023

Here you are living your life as best you can. Of course some days are better than others, but we pretty much tend to fall into a routine.

Your diet is a reflection of your lifestyle. As you go about your busy life, your diet may gradually and very subtly change. You may not even feel it happening.

Did you ever wake up one day and reach for a favorite dress or that great-fitting suit you haven’t worn in a while and see that those once perfect fits are now a little off? Sometimes changes in eating habits happen without realizing it. Maybe you developed some “shortcuts” throughout the day to help fit everything in and your diet may have suffered a bit. Hopefully, the journaling is helping you realize what you thought you were doing versus what you actually are doing.

My goal is to help you ease into a nutritionally sound, healthy diet without too much drama.

The “ains” I am referring to are: attain, sustain and maintain. Take a good look at your current diet. To attain one that is nutritionally sound, make sure you’re consuming carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Eliminating any of these macronutrients will counteract your pursuit of good health. (I will be getting into this more in future blogs). Your diet needs to sustain your life. Food is energy. Energy propels us to get through our day. You need to be able to maintain a healthy diet over your life span. This brings us to the ain’ts. (please forgive my grammar but “ain’t” really works here). There are so many poor diets out there that make a lot of strong promises. Not all plans are all bad, but most are not good for long-term sustainability. These are what I refer to as the ain’ts. Anything that sounds too extreme in one direction or another (like only eat protein or lose 50 pounds in 6 days but still eat whatever you want), I warn you to proceed with caution (or better yet, don’t proceed at all). As I mentioned earlier, your diet reflects your lifestyle. Engaging in a poorly designed nutritional plan will not benefit you in the long run. A short-term fix is not the answer to long term good health, as tempting as the projected outcomes may seem, especially since those outcomes probably won’t last. It can take years sometimes to see the effects of poor nutritional intake. By the time you can physically see the effects, the internal damage may be irrevocable. Put in the time to balance your diet as well as you try to balance your life. It’s all connected. Add energy to your life by adding color to your plate. (you know I am not talking about all those deliciously colored gummy candies. LOL). Do the prep work ahead of time. Make time to do it right for you and those you care about (bad diet equals bad mood every time. Trust me on this. LOL).

ATTAIN a nutritionally sound diet that will SUSTAIN your life so you can MAINTAIN good health. Complex carbs, lean sources of protein, and unsaturated fats are all necessary. Don’t buy into the hype or false promises that state otherwise. You need to put in the work to make a healthy diet work for you. Concentrate on making one change at a time.

March 28, 2023

Are you in a nutritional rut? It happens more often than you think and it happens to almost all of us. We get into our comfortable routines where things like food prep, cooking and food shopping are almost done robotically.

Spring is a time for rejuvenation, so challenge yourself to get out of this stale (sorry! couldn’t resist but the word really works well here) space and search for a new food groove.

So how do you know you are in a stale space nutritionally? I think a big clue would be that everything should NOT taste like chicken!!! Except, of course, chicken.

Fight flavor fatigue and push your palate to a new level.

Go to a farmers market. Just stand there a minute and take in all the colors and fragrant smells of the fresh produce.

Now find something, one thing, that catches your eye (or your nose). Perhaps you found something you can’t pronounce. Ask about it. What is it? How do you prepare it? What kind of flavor should you expect?

The idea is to try something new, while keeping in a healthy vibe. Maybe the next time you’re grocery shopping, try a new spice that you’ve heard about. You don’t have to like it or ever buy it again. But think how much richer you might feel cultivating new taste buds and maybe exposing your family to being open to new flavors.

Spring is a perfect time to energize your spirit and your palate. You are making a valiant effort to improve the way you relate to food. And helping out our local farmers is an added bonus we can all benefit from.

February 23, 2023

Reflective nutrition is a phrase I came up with to describe the concept of looking back and discovering your lifelong relationship with food. 

I know it sounds like I’m asking a lot of you, and this is not something that happens overnight. But I don’t think you can move forward toward good nutritional health without first looking back through your history. 

What kind of eater are you? 
Grab and go eater? 
Stress eater? Depressed eater? Angry eater? 
I won’t mention every situation or mood, but you get the point. If your mood is dictating what you eat, you aren’t paying close attention to meeting your nutritional requirements. Like any other relationship, there needs to be a balance between partners. In this case, you are one partner and food is the other. 
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, non-food related factors also affect our nutritional health. 

Reflective nutrition is a process. A looong process. The goal is to recognize some bad habits developed along the way due to school, work, or other demands on your life. Maybe a previously unrealized part of your history, that never seemed to be a cause of nutritional concern, came to light. This could be something that you have done your entire life, possibly because of old familial habits. These are sometimes hard to recognize because they are so well disguised and ingrained It may be things you grew up doing without thought. This aspect became part of my realization, recognizing old familial habits that were gradually changed over time to meet current ideas of healthy nutrition. Making small changes along the way is the best way to improve your nutritional fitness. Baby steps will make those changes stick because they will become a part of your lifestyle, as long as you stay diligent. 

Keep reflecting back and discovering how pieces of your life fit in with the way you view food. And keep journaling these discoveries. 

We will keep going back to this point, but my advice for the moment is not to try to change many things at once. If you recognize things that you want to change in your nutritional regime, attack one, maybe two things. Certainly no more than that. Setting goals to eventually tweak or abolish each habit is how your quest for a healthier nutritional life can become reality. Being aware of these habits is an essential part of healthy change.

How many times have you found yourself just eating without thinking? Awareness of what you’re eating and belief in how it affects you now in in the future is my goal.

Our lives are affected by food. What we eat, what we would like to eat, what we should be eating, what we may not be eating so much, etc.

This is the foundation of The Nutrition Workout: breaking down and rebuilding your nutritional regimen. It is a mental workout that requires a lot of thinking and awareness.

We all know what we should and shouldn’t be eating. Simple, huh? But every day, there seems to be something new to improve our overall health.

I am constantly asked questions about some of the more complex, intricate details of a new trend buzzing around. I think it’s important, even necessary, to be so involved and informed. But sometimes, taking things to that level may have a negative effect.

Yes. Be informed. Absolutely. But we also need to understand the basics, which is where I think we veered off course a little.

So let’s get back to the basics! What helped me to do this happened entirely by accident.

I just started writing down everything I was eating during the day, but I was also documenting things like what time I was eating, whether or not it was a planned meal, and my mood while eating and preparing. (Just a side note, I hate cooking, so my mood is never good when preparing!).

So many non-food factors are involved in our overall nutritional health that you may not believe in having an impact.

So I will ask those of you reading this blog to begin journaling. No one else has to read your journal; it is just for you to reflect on it. This can be quite a mental workout. Or you may want to share with a friend or two for different perspectives. There is no food shaming, no body shaming ever.

Just write and keep an open mind to learn and discover. Everything matters. Anything can affect how and what we eat. Taking part in a nutritional workout can help you gain better control over your eating.