Give them a HEALTHY return to ScHoOL!

Starting school is a very good opportunity to create new eating habits in your family.  
Let's take advantage of it!

First of all, remember that creating a new habit requires slow and gradual change.  Talk to your family and make them part of the change. Explain your plan and involve them. If everyone participates it will be easier and there will be less resistance to eat healthier and improve their quality of life.

• Healthy Cupboard

In order to eat healthier and not fall into temptation, a simple principle is: DON’T BUY IT.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I bought a liter of Coca Cola to unclog a drain. At home we never drink soda, but knowing that we had it, we were tempted and took several glasses.

• Educate your family

It is very important that you include your children in the process of choosing food, invite them to the supermarket and teach them to choose the healthier version of the foods they like. Let them choose the fruits / vegetables and experiment with these new options. 

Children who are involved in the grocery shopping, are more eager to eat what they bought.

• Buy more fruits and vegetables

Make sure that more than a third of your purchase consists of fruits and vegetables.  Your purchase will be cheaper and have more ingredients to prepare meals and snacks with

• Plan your menus

Once a week plan what you will cook and anticipate your kids’ lunch the night before.  Involve them in the preparation and use that time to teach them how to eat healthier and lighter. 

There are many websites where you can find thousands of simple and innovative recipes for your family.

• School store

If your children takes money to school, spend time with them to explain what is better to buy in the store in order to feel lighter and more energetic.

• Home visits

When you have visitors at home or friends of your children, seek to provide snacks made from fruits and vegetables instead of buying bags of chips and dressings.

Remember: We seek long-term habits gradually developed. You do not need to radically change your food.  Try to make it as slow as possible so that the change does not become uncomfortable for anyone and that everyone finds new food options.

I hope these tips will be useful and that this return to the routine will be a new beginning for healthy habits.

Why TRY to eat better and exercise if you don’t see the results YOU WANT?

 For those who didn’t read last week, Atena Lara, nutrition and training expert, describes some "little things" that can make the difference between success and failure of our efforts to eat better...

DRESSING:

This subject is classic! You can be eating very healthy and low in calories but if you add guacamole to your chicken, “light cream” or olive oil to the salad you are adding many extra calories.

I'm not saying eat tasteless, just be careful about how you add flavor to the food: homemade sauces without oil, lemon, vinegar, soy, and chili powder in reasonable quantities, do not change the quality of your diet.

BEVERAGES:

We are so careful about our food that we forget to check what we drink!  Juices are NOT the best breakfast (whole fruit is the best choice), the cappuccino is not free of calories and you don’t necessarily need Gatorade to train.  It's best to drink clear water: put slices of lemon, strawberry or a tea bag in your water bottle, it gives some flavor and doesn’t affect your diet! 

ON AND OFF

Follow your objectives 5 days and stop for 2.  Ten intensive days and 3 lazydays are the WORST thing you can do.

First, your metabolism will never accelerate, as it does not receive a constant stimulus. Second, you lose time and money without getting anywhere!  Chances are in a few months, you will be in the exact same point where you started.  Third, the worst part is that you get tired and your mind is generating a sense of failure over and over again. 

As a tip, if you are not ready to start it’s OK. Take the time you need to convince yourself that you will do this and you're willing to pay the price, and once you decide CONTINUE until you are happy with the results. 

The name of the game is TENACITY.

For further information about this subject write to:

InspiringFitnessNow@gmail.com

3 reasons why you don't see improvements

This time we have invited an expert in nutrition and fitness, Atenea Lara, with 6 years of experience.  She will share some secrets to success. 
Hope you like it:

Why don’t we see results when we really try to eat better and exercise more? Actually there are many factors that may be affecting the speed of your progress ... however there are some “small details” that when we put them together make a BIG difference.

It’s not fair that your efforts to eat better and exercise don’t give any results due to “small“ or “harmless mistakes”. I share them here for you to pay attention and observe yourself!

HAVING HEALTHY FOOD AS SNACKS:

Eating a stick of celery, cucumber, one little plum, an apple, etc. The fact that something is healthy does not mean it contains no calories! You need to pay close attention to distinguish whether you are eating out of hunger or anxiety.

If it’s hunger, it's best to have an earlier mealtime and if it’s anxiety, try to do small activities to keep you distracted and away from food.

SKIPPING MEALS:

When you skip meals you will NOT lose weight faster, but your metabolism will slow down. Removing food groups from your diet (such as "carbohydrates" or "proteins") will change the way you process food and can cause vitamin or mineral deficiency affecting your health.

FILLERS:

Chewing gum all day, using artificial sweeteners in excess and drinking light soda at each meal affects your results! While these tools are useful in times of anxiety, they can become enemies when trying to create order in our eating habits.

These “harmless” products are made from chemicals, many of which are SO processed that our body discards them as they enter, but that does NOT mean they do not cause damage ranging from cancer to water retention.

I recommend you use less than 2 packets of artificial sweeteners, less than 3 sugarless gums a day and a diet soda only every 3rd day.

Next week will talk about 3 more "small" mistakes that hinder our efforts.

See you!

Do not forget to LOG OUT these VACATION

A small reminder:

Healthy tip: Try to choose BIG fruits like watermelon, melon, orange or papaya. These contain more water, fiber and less calories.

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.