Need more water!?

Have you been trying to add more water intake to your daily routine? Have you been trying to cut out or limit some other kind of liquid??? Maybe soda or coffee? And we all know how important water is to our body as we are made up of about 60-70% of water.  The recommended daily intake of water is about 8 cups or 64 oz. When we sweat more, we probably need to replenish the body with more as well. A great rule of thumb is to drink when you're thirsty...however, some of us (trust me, I'm included) grab for the Diet Coke when we're thirsty instead of water. Add that caffeine (which acts as a diuretic, not allowing your body to absorb the water) and then you're sending your hydration level in the opposite direction. (UGH!!)

So, here are some ways that I have used to:
 1. cut down on soda and 2. increase my water intake:

1. Flavored water. The most frequent reason I hear that we don't drink enough water is that the taste (or lack of) is boring or unappealing. There are lots of ways to flavor your water, such as no-sugar drink mixes like Crystal Light or Nuun no calorie electrolyte drink tabs. Crystal Light is easy and everywhere, but just remember that it's usually sweetened with Aspartame, so if you don't like that, then nix it. However, I discovered Nuun when prepping for my first Ironman in 2009 and I have been a loyal fan ever since. They come in all sorts of flavors and not only provide taste, but also add electrolytes, so they are especially awesome when you're in the midst of a heavy sweat session like BodyCombat or Spinning! Nuun is readily available these days. I've seen it in Sports Authority and even some grocery stores! Awesome.

1a. Homemade Flavored Water. This was a staple in my fridge this summer and my husband was always begging for it. Cucumber, mint and lemon water. It's so easy and it adds great flavor, plus the added benefits of cucumber (more water plus Vit B), Mint (facilitates digestion), Lemon (antibacterial and immune boosting). I also slowly let some of the cuke slices fall into my glass and I eat them up to get the added fiber benefit. :) Recipe at the end of post.

2. Green Tea /Low cal energy mix. I also will make green tea in a large pitcher and add lemon as well (and possibly a little stevia if I expect Matt to drink some as well). The benefits of green tea are tremendous (fighting cancer and heart disease, weight loss, etc.). An alternative to this is a great energy drink called FRS. This provides antioxidants (just like green tea does) and also claims to "promote thermogenesis to increase metabolic rate and help the body burn excess carb[s] and fat"* Before I was pregnant, I used to trade this out for my coffee before my early morning gym class.  MiOEnergy is another one that I've tried a few times to add no-cal flavor and energy to my water. It was good, but again something I've just stopped taking since becoming pregnant.

3. Whole fruit juices. There are a plethora of whole fruit juices on the market these days for those of us too lazy to juice at home (even though we have an awesome LaLanne Juicer...yes, I'm talking to myself!). My current favorites are Naked Juice (more on that in another post) and V8 V-Fusion. Both of which also help you get some of your freggie nutrient intake in as well! Score! V8 V-Fusion is a mix of sparkling water and fruit juices. This is what I grab when I feel like I want a soda and it does the trick. I also make my own version using the amazing Sodastream. I whip up a bottle of carbonated water in the Sodastream and leave it unflavored. I keep that in the fridge and when ready, I pour half a LARGE glass of POM juice over ice and fill it to the top with the carbonated water. Love it! Again, makes me think I'm getting a soda, while bumping up my water AND freggies intake! Yay!

4. FREGGIES! What? Yes, whole fruits and vegetables. A lot of fruits and veggies are packed with water. By eating them daily, again you're upping both your hydration level AND your freggies intake, but this time, by also getting the added benefit of the FIBER and NUTRIENTS. Yippee! Here are just some of the great freggies that can work in this category:
- Cucumbers
- Watermelon
- Lettuce
- Blueberries and Raspberries
- Oranges and Pineapple
- Peaches and Plums
- Celery
- Tomato
- Zucchini

So, there are a lot of ways to stay properly hydrated every day! I love BALANCE, so a happy mix of water, flavored water, juices, and freggies would be a great way to keep your body properly hydrated and to keep that heart pumping nicely! (and in the essence of balance, then your occassional Diet Coke wouldn't have such a negative impact!)

What means do you use to increase or track your water intake? Have you cut out soda from your diet? If so, how have you been successful?

*Description from the FRS Package

Cucumber Mint Lemon Water Recipe

Cucumber Slices

Lemon Slices

Fresh Mint Sprigs

Fresh Lemon Juice (I sometimes use the large bottle I get at Costco) (optional)

Liquid Stevia or sweetener of choice (optional)

Fill a large pitcher with tap or filtered water. Add cucumber, lemon, and mint to a pitcher and set in the fridge to steep. If you need a little sweetness, you can add a few drops of stevia in as well, but I usually only do this if I'm also adding the lemon juice to make something closer to lemonade. Either way, you'll love the freshness of this water! Keep it in the fridge and pour it over ice!

Healthy Breakfast in a (semi) Hurry

Ok, so, we all know breakfast in a HURRY can involve, well, to be honest, nothing - Bad Idea. Other, slightly better-for-us options could include:

• protein shake
• protein bar
• smoothie
• perhaps some whole lean protein, a piece of fruit, and a handful of nuts (nice quick option)

As I awoke this morning with just enough time to grab a Clif bar and run out the door to teach BodyPump, I left ME and Kel in the kitchen. Kel is always on the go and often eats breakfast at work, but ME was heading off to school and could have used a nice hearty, healthy breakfast! I felt guilty leaving him in the dust to fend for himself when, if I’d just gotten out of bed 10 minutes earlier, I could have given him a nice healthy send off - and Kelly too! (rewind the clock to 6 am when I heard my alarm go off and scrambled eggs with the lean turkey I already have browned sounded just SO HARD to put together!) 

When I returned from the gym, I whipped up an even faster breakfast so that next time I find myself lying in bed with this dilemma, I will choose to be a caring wife who chooses cooking breakfast for her husband over getting 6 more minutes of sleep! (now, don’t let me guilt you here, husbands are just as capable of cooking their own breakfasts, but sometimes, I like to pamper him...but to be fair, he often cooks me breakfast in bed. i.e. YESTERDAY! - now I feel even MORE guilt! ha!)

In about 5-6 minutes, here is what I threw together:

Eggs “Almost” Florentine

2 Eggs, fried over easy

2 Handfuls of raw baby spinach

2 oz. low sodium deli ham, sliced

Braggs Liquid Amino Acids

Cooking spray

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the spinach and stir occasionally until slightly wilted (If the spinach begins to stick to the pan, add some water or broth to the pan). Place wilted spinach on a plate and season lightly with the Liquid Amino Acids.  Spray the same skillet lightly with cooking spray. Add the ham and stir lightly, then push to the side to continue to heat through as you use the remainder of the pain to fry your eggs.

To plate: Add ham atop spinach, and place the eggs on top. Enjoy!

Yes, that's half-eaten! Don't judge!

Now, if you wanted some carbs for some nice energy, you could be cooking an easy pot of oatmeal at the same time as your Eggs! Again, I was too lazy for that today! ;)


~ Samara

Am I really hungry?

We talk a lot on here about healthy eating, but to be honest we didn’t always eat like this. When I was in college, I seemed to learn that I needed to eat everything put in front of me, because, when you’re in the Army, you never know when your next meal might be. It took me 9 years to re-learn that I didn’t really need to live like that anymore. When I got out of the Army, I took a look at myself and realized I needed to do some work to lose some weight and reshape myself and my life. With Kelly’s help as my Personal Trainer,  and my refocus on how to nourish my body and how to look at food, I was able to transform both my body and my life. I learned to be selective in what I eat and that I can gain just as much pleasure from eating smaller amounts of quality food than I thought I’d used to get from eating large quantities of anything around.

This came to mind this week, while we’re on vacation and visiting family. While traveling, we stopped at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. If you’ve been there, you know they bring out a large basket of hot, fresh rolls with delicious cinnamon butter out to your table when you are seated. We allowed ourselves to share a roll with our salads. Then our steaks and mixed vegetables arrived and we thoroughly enjoyed that. As we were winding down, I looked over at the plump rolls, piled up so innocently in that basket next to my plate. I really wanted to take one more roll, slather it in butter and have it to chase my steak. But I took a moment and looked at my plate, where there were a few more bites of tenderloin and about four more florets of broccoli and cauliflower. I asked myself, “Am I really hungry? If I am really still hungry, then I can have some more vegetables instead of bread” But, I really wasn’t hungry, I just wanted the feeling of that tasty bread and butter. After realizing this, I was able to find the discipline to not take the other roll.

Have you ever found yourself in this situation? Have you been able to find the will power to overcome your desires for more food even though you have eaten enough already? Have you thought about asking the server not to bring the bread to the table? Or to leave the rice off your order? 

For me, it took some time, more than a year, to be able to find the discipline to have snacks in the house without the need to eat them immediately. But, this is something that I work through daily; somedays I win the battle, somedays I don’t, but what’s important is that the next day I keep working towards my goals.

Eat something nutritious and healthy today! I'll join you in that!

~Samara

More and more reasons to cook your own fresh food

I know I've been harping about this recently but 1. it's important 2. when I'm dieting for a competition I become quite the food elitist:)  3. an article I read this morning was so disturbing I can't wait to share it with you.   The article is called "Top 10 Scariest Food Additives" by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding from Men's Health online. They cite "Eat this, Not that" in their article.  Anyways, I'm going to paste a few of the "scariest food additives" right here and add a few personal thoughts!

Ingredient #2: Caramel Coloring
An artificial pigment created by heating sugars. Frequently, this process includes ammonia.

Why it’s scary: Caramel coloring shows up in everything from soft drinks and sauces to breads and pastries. When made from straight sugar, it's relatively benign. But when produced with ammonia it puts off 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, chemicals that have been linked to cancer in mice. The risk is strong enough that the California government, a bellwether for better food regulation, categorized 4-methylimidazole as “known to cause cancer” earlier this year. Unfortunately, companies aren't required to disclose whether their coloring is made with ammonia, so you'd be wise to avoid it as much as you can.

Where you'll find it: Colas and other soft drinks, La Choy soy sauce, Stove Top stuffing mix


What?? I always thought caramel coloring was harmless, I thought is was just sugar.  Man, I see this in everything!  Yet another reason to cut out the diet soda's! Here's another one:

Scary Ingredient #5: Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
Petroleum-derived antioxidants and preservatives.

Why they're scary: The Department of Health and Human Services says BHA is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen," yet the FDA allows it to be used anyway. BHT is considered less dangerous, but in animal research, it too has resulted in cancer. Oddly, the chemicals aren’t even always necessary; in most cases they can be replaced with vitamin E.

Where you'll find it: Goya lard, Golden Grahams, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Orbit gum

I was chewing a piece of Orbit Gum as I read this article.  Needless to say, after I finished choking on it, I spit it out...This next one is for the bagel monster, yeah, you know who you are, wink wink:

Scary Ingredient #8: Azodicarbonamide
A synthetic yellow-orange dough conditioner

Why it's scary: This chemical is used most frequently in the production of industrial foam plastic, and although the FDA has approved its use for food in the States, the United Kingdom has labeled it a potential cause of asthma. In a review of 47 studies on azodicarbonamide, the World Health Organization concluded that it probably does trigger asthmatic symptoms. The WHO concluded, “exposure levels should be reduced as much as possible.” I’ll put it more concisely: Avoid it.

Where you'll find it: Dunkin’ Donuts bagels, McDonald’s burger buns

I'll save the rest for another post....you get the point though.  When you buys stuff at the store, you are getting way more then you're barginning for! I can't stress it enough, when you go shopping, look at the ingrediants and don't purchase it if you don't know what an item is.  Also, be VERY weary of eating processed foods from fast food places, who knows what's in there and you can't easily see the ingrediant list! Have a great weekend and do something Healthy!! -Kelly

Is this food good for me?

I was reading Everday Food last night and saw this disturbing note from a Cornell University study: that people thought that food stamped “organic” was healthier than another version that was not certified organic. Specifically, they believed that organic cookies had half the calories and more fiber than identical non-organic cookies! Yikes!

Kelly and I strive to eat organic foods when we can, as we are continually learning to be more aware of the things that we put into our body. But it still takes a mindful eye while shopping (and really, while creating your shopping list beforehand) to determine what your body actually needs, what is healthy, and what is, in Kel's words, ‘poison’ to your body (no matter how good it tastes). Yes, that’s a little dramatic, but some of us need that shock to be forced to see what we are doing to this vessel we’ve been given; our body.

There are several vegans and ovo lactos in my yoga teacher training class, as one would expect. During yesterday’s lunch, we had an interesting discussion led by one student about how he used to be a ‘Dorito vegan’ when he started; In order to cut out meat from his diet, he just lived on Doritos! He has since learned, and instilled within him, that to be vegan for him is more than just the shift away from meat, but also towards healthful eating.

I think this is an important shift in one’s mind that we could all strive to reach. Have you ever found yourself reaching for something that is labeled ‘organic’ or even ‘low fat’ only to realize that it may be worse for you than the original version? What steps do you take to be more mindful while shopping?

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Things I’m Thankful for Today

Calm in the midst of pressure

Study partners

Restorative yoga poses

Dry heat