Go on VACATION and STAY fit!

Does the thought of taking a vacation remind you of snacks, soft drinks, alcohol, food and losing control of your weight? Do you predispose yourself to gain the weight you lost this last period?

Don’t freak out! This time I'll give some tips for you to go on vacation without guilt when eating and enjoying the most without gaining weight:

• Try to prepare healthy snacks with fruits, vegetables and healthy dressings.
• If you want to avoid small eating all day, choose the snacks that you like, put them on a plate and eat only that amount.
• Always choose snacks that contain vegetables and have a fat-free dressing.
• Choose fat-free dressings such as vinegar, chili powder, lemon, soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce.
• If you know you're going out for dinner at a restaurant, try to have a very light lunch.
• Do not skip meals, try to eat at least 3 times a day, even a little.
• If you like alcohol, choose low calorie beverages such as wine and beer. Drinks with more degrees of alcohol like vodka, tequila and rum have much more calories.
• If you drink beverages containing soda, use those that don’t contain sugar.
• Whenever you can, drink natural water and add sliced fruit like watermelon, strawberry, kiwi, lemon, tangerine or orange to give it a little taste. You can add some Stevia to achieve the sweetness you want.
• Try taking a walk a day, at least 30 minutes and preferably after eating.
• Choose to be active this holiday, climb stairs, play with your children, do group sports, and go for a walk with your family.
• Relax and sleep.

Remember that holidays are to recover and take new energy.  If you go up a few extra pounds, that is no reason not to enjoy your family.  You will eventually come back home and start your healthy routines.

"There is only one life, sizes are many" M. Godoy

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Choosing the best options in a restaurant

You are facing the menu. Over 20 delicious dishes call your attention. You have every intention to eat healthy and not gain weight but ...WHAT TO CHOOSE ?!

 What would be the best dish? Vegetarian? Beef? chicken? Will I end up choosing the same boring salad AGAIN?!

Choosing at a restaurant can be torture and enjoying food without guilt, a challenge ... this time I share with you the tips that I use to choose healthy food in order to eat delicious and guilt-free:

• Avoid eating from the bread basket or snacks at the center of the table.
• If portions are very large, check the children's menu, sometimes the same dishes are offered in smaller portions.
• Entrées are not the best choice, I recommend you choose the ones that include vegetables and have no cheese or added fats.
• Soups can be good allies, helping you to feel satiated faster.  Choose those that include broth with vegetables, avoid cream soups or soups with cheese.
• Salads are not always the best option as we risk not feeling full and end up eating more.  If you're going to choose a salad as your main course, choose those that have some protein (cheese, meat or egg). Ask to have the dressing on the side and choose a low-fat dressing.
• Try to choose a main dish that has a lot of vegetables, avoid deep fried, breaded and gratin.  If you include some bread or tortillas, they will make you feel full faster.
• Always choose natural water. You can add a few slices of lemon, orange, watermelon or cucumber to add flavor.  If you like sodas, choose those that are low in sugar.  In the case of alcohol, remember that the less alcohol %, the less calories.
  
• If you intend to order dessert ALWAYS share and choose those that include fruit.
• Try to eat at least in 30-45 minutes. The more time you take, the easier you will feel full.

¡See you next week!

To all this... what is STEVIA?

.... Sweeter than sugar ... Can lower blood pressure ... Lowers blood sugar ... Is it natural? ... The sugar of the future? .... 

What is Stevia and why is it so famous?

Stevia is a plant native to South America and like sugar cane, it has the wonderful quality of sweetening what it touches.  Used in Paraguay for centuries as a sweetener by the Guarani natives, in 1900 it was discovered that this little plant was able to sweeten 200 times more than sugar.  

The plant was named Stevia Rebaudiana, able to sweeten more than sugar but without calories or increasing blood sugar and without sugar’s side effects.  Within the Stevia leaf we can find several substances: stevioside and rebaudioside, that are responsible for its sweetness.  

Some studies have shown that steviosides have the ability to lower blood pressure, blood sugar levels and even help reduce tooth decay.  The rebaudioside moreover, proved not to have any effect beyond the sweetness, and thus was considered safe for consumption by any person.  

Thanks to these qualities, Stevia has become a good natural alternative to sugar and synthetic sweeteners on the market.  Whether you suffer from diabetes, are on a low -carb diet or just like to take care of your health, Stevia is the first natural and healthy alternative to eating sweet.

Stevia is heat resistant, so it can be used for cooking, baking and can be mixed with any food without altering its taste.  Since it is much sweeter than sugar, it takes very small amounts to achieve the sweetness you like.

APPROVED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

After reviewing more than 300 studies evaluating the safety of Stevia, in 2006 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that there is no evidence that Stevia poses a health risk.  Later, in December 2008, it was authorized in America, and finally in November 2011 in the European community.

If you're interested in trying this new alternative, you can start by buying the sweetener which is a white powder that looks like sugar.  Use it to prepare fruit smoothies, fruit salads and experiment until you find the flavor you like. You can also include it in your baking recipes by replacing half the sugar with Stevia ... there are jams, juices , teas and jellies on the market that can help you gradually decrease sugar and include Stevia without sacrificing the taste of your food.

And... is alcohol FATTENING?!

 Yes, indeed! Each gram of alcohol contains 7 calories, so that if we take 100 mL of a beverage containing 50 % alcohol, we will be taking 50g of alcohol and 350 calories. This is equivalent to a full meal! And worst of all is that alcohol doesn’t nourish one bit.

Alcohol also gives calories (and makes us fat).  The only difference is that it doesn’t contain any nutrients.  It’s an “empty” food.

For example, if we go to a party and begin with a Rum & Cola( 50ml rum (111kcal ) and 100ml of Coca Cola (42Kcal ), during dinner we have 2 beers (200kcal) and finally a vodka on the rocks (126Kcal), we would be adding 479 extra calories to our day.  This is equal to eating 2 fried eggs, 2 slices of bread, a glass of orange juice, one piece of sweet bread and a cup of coffee.

It sounds terrible! All our effort to lose weight lost by a few drinks in an evening.

But not everything has to be banned, there are some tricks in order to be able to enjoy alcohol without sacrificing too much.  

Here are some tips:

• Choose low percentage alcoholic drinks like wine or beer.
• Choose low-calorie soft drinks or sugar free, such as mineral water, to mix them.
• If you mix your drinks with juices, look for those that don’t contain sugar.
• Avoid quenching your thirst with alcoholic beverages, try drinking a few glasses of water BEFORE drinking alcohol.

Here is a table with the most common alcoholic drinks and how many calories they provide:

DRINK	PORTION	KCAL
Anise	A cup ( 50mL )	131
Cava brut	A cup (100mL )	65
Cava semi-dry	A cup (100mL)	69
Beer	One can (250mL )	100
Light beer	One can (250mL )	55
Cuba libre cocktail	One glass (250ml )	347
Cocktail Daiquiri	A glass (100ml )	222
Gin Tonic Cocktail	A glass (250ml )	350
Cognac	One cup (50mL )	112
Geneva	A cup (50mL )	110
Sweet liqueurs	A glass (50mL )	116
Rum	A measure (50ml )	111
Sangria	A glass (200ml )	172
Cider	A small glass (100ml )	38
Dry Vermouth	A measure (100ml )	118
Sweet vermouth	A measure (100mL )	151
Table wine	A glass (100ml )	71
Sweet wine	A glass (100ml )	157
Fine Wine	A glass (100ml )	116
Moscatel Wine	A glass (100ml )	165
Vodka	A measure (50ml )	126
Whisky	A measure (50ml )	111

The lesson here is: Don’t ruin all your week’s effort to loose weight with some "drinks".  Just learn to choose the best option .

See you next week.

Eating sweet has never been so HEALTHY!!

This time I want to give you some ideas to remove sugar from your daily diet, without sacrificing the taste of your food.  Remember that if your family eats less sugar, they will reduce their risk for obesity, diabetes and heart diseases. So let’s begin:

• For this warm summer, you can make fun popsicles with stevia: Mix 1lt of water with the juice of 3-4 limes, add stevia until is sweet enough.  Put several pieces of fruit in the popsicle form and fill them with the lemon-stevia mix. Choose fruits of different colors and forms for a funny looking dessert.

• If you like fresh fruit desserts but think they are sometimes too sour, sprinkle stevia and it will improve the flavor.

• If you like clear water with a little flavor, add stevia to a liter of water and add slices of fruit such as lemon, orange, tangerine or watermelon.  Then add a lot of ice and enjoy!

• Make fresh fruit water blending your favorite fruit (lemon, orange, watermelon, cantaloupe, guava) and adding some stevia to sweeten.

• If your kids like chocolate milk, mix a glass of skim milk with a little stevia and a teaspoon or two of cocoa, so you will eliminate sugar completely and your children will still enjoy the drink.

• Make delicious smoothies by blending yogurt or skim milk, seasonal fruit and stevia.

• If you like baking and desserts, visit our page: postresano.com.mx and you will find low calorie recipes, prepared with stevia.

See you next week!

Something this simple can change the rest of your life...

This week I chose a video that made me change a few habits...

Let me know if you would like to read about something in particular.

See you next week!

Organic & Eco, are they REALLY the good ones?

Organic food came some years ago as an expensive and almost exclusive fashion. 

This “new wave” includes foods (fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat), cosmetics and cleaning products. Sold in most supermarkets, these are usually more expensive.

But I wonder: Is it worth paying more for these products? Do they offer benefits that no other food offers? 
Will my food be healthier if I choose them?

Before deciding if they are worth buying, let’s get to know them:Organic farming:

• Cultivates soil taking care of natural resources without using chemicals or genetically modified organisms (such as fertilizer or to control pests).

• Considers the quality of life of the farmer.

• Obtains chemical-free products.

• Maintains soil fertility.

• Respects the environment.

The objectives are to produce healthy food with a higher nutritional quality without chemicals or pesticides, grown with processes that help the earth and its farmers.

One of the most important aspects to consider is that by buying organic products, not only are you giving your family healthier and chemical free food, you are helping to improve the living conditions of farmers and thus benefit everyone involved.

The main differences between conventional and organic farming are:

  

CONVENTIONAL	ORGANIC
Use of chemical fertilizer to boost growth.	Use of natural fertilizers such as compost, to feed soil and crops.
Use of synthetic insecticides to reduce pests and diseases.	Use of natural insecticides, beneficial insects and birds to interrupt pest reproduction to reduce diseases.
Using synthetic herbicides to eliminate unwanted weeds.	Using natural herbicides and crop rotation.
Use of growth hormone in animals to increase growth and medications to prevent disease.	Feeding the animals with organic products and access to open spaces. Balanced diet and clean rooms to prevent diseases.

How to identify them?

Most of these products have green labels that include the words "organic" or "ecological".

It can be very expensive to switch completely towards organic food, if you want to include them I recommend you start with fruits, vegetables and meats, with which you will get the most benefit. 

Also I think in some circumstances you should consider them:

• Feeding children under one year.

• Persons with chronic diseases.

• Pregnant women

Have a great and healthy week!!!