eating – Page 3 – Jenna Jamieson, Author

Go meatless (sometimes)…and love it!

By Jenna Jamieson | February 26, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

As I was working out tonight I was thinking about the blog and what might be a good entry this week. I recently started eating more meatless meals, not to lose weight, not because I think it is healthier, but because sometimes I just don’t crave meat or the thought of meat kind of grosses me out (at times) when I go to fix dinner. No, I am not a vegetarian and while I know that some people would say it is better for you, I truly believe in “everything in moderation.” I do what I feel is right for MY body and I suggest you do what you feel is right for yours, too! In all of my posts, I want to continually emphasize that you should always do what YOU think is best for you and take my advice or leave it, use some of it, and realize that I do not have the answers to each individual’s unique lifestyle and routine.

Since I have been going meatless more frequently than I usually do, I decided I actually kind of enjoy my meatless meals, maybe some more than the ones where I do eat meat. I typically enjoy “Meatless Mondays” each week, but I have now taken it even farther and decided to also eat at least one meatless meal per day. So, whether you already occasionally eat meatless or whether you never eat meatless I challenge you to “Meatless Mondays.” This is a great way to start and ease into what meatless meals can offer! I promise meatless meals can be just as delicious, fun to cook, and can make your creative juices flow! 🙂 This means you will eliminate meat on Mondays, so no meat at breakfast, lunch, or dinner! No cheating either! Sounds challenging maybe, but it really isn’t. Consider peanut butter toast and sliced apples for breakfast, grilled cheese and veggie soup for lunch, and pizza or pasta minus any meat for dinner.

Once you have “Meatless Mondays” down I encourage you to take it one step farther as I have by eating one meatless meal per day. That should not be hard and should be a routine that you already have in place. One meatless meal per day is actually very healthy as the consumption of meat at every meal is not necessary (or healthy)! It does not have to be the same meal each day. It can be breakfast one day, then dinner the next, followed by breakfast again, and then lunch the following day. For example, you might have a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit for breakfast, a spinach and feta quesadilla for lunch, and then chicken parmesan with broccoli for dinner. You went meatless at lunch so you met your goal for one meatless meal that day.

You say that you can’t get full on meatless meals? I DON’T buy it! That’s crazy! Eat more veggies, which are one of the best things you can fill your body with! Consider some of the following if you don’t believe me: 1) veggie stir fry with brown rice 2) pasta with a meatless marinara sauce and garlic bread 3) sliced potatoes layered with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and ranch dressing (potato nachos) 4) breakfast foods including eggs, hashbrowns, waffles, pancakes, french toast, biscuits 5) veggie pizza. You can’t tell me that none of these foods speak to you because it includes nearly every food group (and all are meatless)!

So, next time you sit down for a meal think MEATLESS! I know I do and my body still loves me and I feel great!

~jj

Small pieces to the health puzzle…

By Jenna Jamieson | February 22, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

Need a few quick tips to keep you going through your workouts? Here are a few things I continuously keep on my radar to ensure I can get through my workouts without feeling tired or bored.

1. Get yours zzz’s. Sleeping is vital to ensure you feel refreshed. It helps get you through the whole day, and that includes your workout! Try to get 7-8 full hours of sleep each night.

2. Stretch. Just do it. Even if you are short on time, stretch before and after your workout. If you don’t think it will help, read last week’s post and it’ll help convince you! 🙂

3. Eat more fiber. Your body will thank you now and later. I promise!

4. Drink water, and plenty of it. What is plenty? At least 64 ounces each day! That’s eight 8 oz. glasses. It’s easy. Spread it out throughout the day…before meals, with meals, and between meals. Trust me, it’s worth it. Drinking plenty of water also helps give you a full feeling in your stomach, typically causing you to eat less.

5. Make your meals rather than eating out or on the run. You eat less healthy food when you eat on the fly. You tell me you don’t have time to make food? Pre-plan and pre-make food ahead of time. Fruits and veggies can easily be sliced and put in a container with water and lemon juice to keep them fresh, sandwiches can be pre-made, whole wheat crackers are an easy throw in. No excuses!!

6. Find a way to control your stress. I cannot emphasize this one enough. Stress is not good for your mind or body. What’s my way to destress? Working out and exercising, of course! 🙂

7. Drink…water, not lots of sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages. Bummer, right? Not necessarily. I am not saying give them up, just don’t over do it. Everything in moderation!

8. Try to limit how often you let your sweet tooth win AND find sweets that are “healthy” sweets. I sound crazy, right?! Not exactly. For example, eat a slice of whole wheat bread with Nutella or cinnamon sugar, chocolate mousse pudding, strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, etc. rather than a huge bowl of cookie dough ice cream or chocolate cake.

9. Exercise regularly. Not when you want to lose weight or because swimsuit season is coming. Those are great motivators, but exercising and maintaining your health is a continuous process. You can’t “diet” for a month, decide to go off the diet, and then back to your previous eating habits and expect to keep your results. You have to watch what you eat all the time. You don’t have to restrict your diet of all sugars or all carbs, but eat in moderation instead. You also can’t decide that you want to lose 20 pounds and then decide it’s time to start walking everyday or going to the gym. Exercise is a life long commitment. Why? Because exercise and eating properly keep your body happy and healthy. I promise.

These are little things I try to remember. Not things I just occasionally think about, but truly have engraved into my brain. Things that are in my phone and on my bulletin board, so they can’t escape my mind. When I am struggling during a workout, I think about what it’s doing for me. When I am not drinking plenty of water, I remember, it is what helps get me through my workouts and keeps me focused. When I want something sweet, I may go ahead and let myself eat something sweet, other times I don’t eat anything sweet at all. Try limiting yourself to having sweets a certain number of times each week. You don’t want your body and mind to become accustomed to getting something sweet after every meal or whenever you feel like it.

~jj

Do it for your heart health!

By Jenna Jamieson | February 9, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

Happy HEART HEALTH month! Let’s talk about some important statistics and discuss what you can do to make sure your heart is strong and healthy. This is a particularly important topic that I hold close to my heart (no pun intended)! 😉 I worked collaboratively with the American Heart Association (AHA) for 2 years and it opened my eyes to the wonderful initiatives and projects of the AHA as well as the severe concerns regarding heart health that face the United States today.

According to the AHA, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined (heart.org). While this stat is geared toward women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but heart disease is preventable and controllable (cdc.org). These stats alone should be enough to make you strive to exercise at least 30 minutes each day so that you can spend many moons making fun memories with friends and family! Remember, heart disease impacts all shapes and sizes, big or small, as well as every age, young or old.

What can YOU do to help prevent heart disease?

-Eat and maintain a healthy diet.

-Exercise regularly.

-Keep a steady, healthy weight.

-Don’t smoke.

-Regularly check your blood pressure and cholesterol.

For additional or more specific information, visit heart.org (AHA), millionhearts.hhs.gov (CDC), and cdc.gov/features/heartmonth (CDC).

I hope you recognize that the tips, advice, and stories I post each week are to help encourage people to “exercise2behealthy” for this very reason. Not because I am concerned with the outside of each person, but because I care about the inside and the health concerns such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc. that can be side effects of poor health choices. Hence, there is no time like the present to get moving and start making healthy dietary choices for you and your family!

~jj

Whole grains = full & focused!

By Jenna Jamieson | February 3, 2014 | Comments 2 comments

Whole grains are complex carbohydrates that take the body longer to digest, so their nutrition is released slowly and continuously, leaving you feeling energized and full for much longer, partly because they won’t spike your blood sugar. They are an excellent source of dietary fiber, protein, iron, potassium, and manganese.

Consider these foods:

Breakfast – oatmeal, steel cut oats, whole grain toast

Lunch – whole grain bread (sandwich), whole grain pasta, brown rice with vegetables

Dinner – whole grain pasta, brown rice, quinoa stir fry

So, next time you fix dinner, sit down to eat, or have a snack, consider whole grain options!

~jj

Ditch “empty” calories!

By Jenna Jamieson | January 19, 2014 | Comments 2 comments

Do you ever look for shortcuts and quick ways to help maintain your weight? Looking to cut calories? A great way to help maintain your weight, increase your energy, and feel better about what you are putting in your mouth is by ditching the things that are not helping you improve your health, are adding lots of extra calories to your diet, and make you feel less energized. For example, consider eliminating or decreasing candy, soda, coffee, and alcohol consumption. While this may seem drastic, unrealistic, or even impossible you will thank me for it later (I promise you!). If you cannot completely decrease it because you don’t have the willpower and motivation to do so, the next best thing I tell people is to at least limit their consumption. For example, rather than allowing yourself to consume coffee all day, limit yourself to consuming it in the morning only from 7AM to 10AM for two weeks. Next, limit the number of cups you can drink between 7AM and 10AM, such as 3 cups (same size, same amount each time). Additionally, consider coffee 5 days of the week in the limited amount (3 cups between 7AM and 10AM) and then consider tea the other 2 days during the week. This helps you gradually decrease the amount you consume and can help you feel less irritable and or grouchy about the change.

Another great way to help make the transition of cutting out soda, coffee, candy, alcohol, fried foods, etc (whatever you want to cut out) is by replacing the bad habit (empty calories that you want to remove) with something more positive so that your habit has something to replace it with. For example, if you cut out soda, consider replacing it with flavored water. Take your plastic water bottle and fill it with water and buy flavor packets that you can throw in it to make it more appealing. If you drink coffee, replace it with hot tea such as hot green tea, hot black tea, hot camomile tea (all of which have GREAT health benefits)! If you eat an overabundance of candy, consider making a healthy snack that you can eat such as dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate M&Ms, almonds, and craisins (divide into portions and take a small portion such as a cup to work/school). For alcohol, consider consuming it once or twice a week in a limited amount (one cup of wine, one beer, one mixed drink) and consider virgin drinks the other times during the week (if you must).

I know cutting calories and cutting out soda, coffee, and alcohol can be a major struggle, but I speak from experience. A great choice that I made is to give up soda during Lent in 7th grade and I never drank it again. It was a great way to ease into the change and make the transition less painful. Not to mention, I am so THANKFUL that I did it for myself and for my body because soda is not something that helps improve your health or has health benefits for your body. If you have a way to decrease it for a short period such as choosing a season (spring, summer, fall, or winter months), it will help you feel more at ease about your decision. Remember, baby steps forward are still steps and mean you are making progress in the right direction! If I can do it, you can too!

Happy cleaning (your body and diet that is)!

~jj

Snacking can be an enemy…choose snacks wisely!

By Jenna Jamieson | January 6, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

Snacking is something that I have never really understood because I am not a big snacker. I don’t love chips or candy bars or have cravings that I feel like I need to fill, but I do know that a lot of people do have snack urges and feel the need to satisfy their snack tooth with something. Snacking, as long as controlled, can be a great way to provide energy to your mind and body. It may be just what you need to give your mind and body a mid-morning or mid-afternoon boost, so do what works best for you based on your lifestyle. While I don’t encourage myself to snack because I feel that snacking is often carried on throughout the day or ends up adding up to an additional meal, I do have a few pointers that I utilize in my daily meal preparations that can also be used when preparing and eating snacks.

The best way to include snacks in your day, and I cannot stress the following enough: measure them out AND place the measured amount in baggies or containers so you will NOT be able to continue snacking until you decide to stop. It is best to give yourself a specific amount of food, which is why measuring out portions is important. So rather than taking a bag of chips to work to snack on throughout the day (or all week), measure out single serve portions so you don’t overeat and add additional unnecessary calories throughout the course of your day.

Another quick tip is if you know you are going to be out during a meal such as running errands around lunch or dinner time and may find that you want to grab a bite to eat by going through a drive-thru window, take some veggies or a snack that will hold you over until you get home to fix your lunch or dinner. Not only does this save you money, it saves you calories, and can help you from feeling starving by the time you eat next!

Here are a few options for snacks that I often eat with my wrap or sandwich at lunch:

-hummus with veggies

-trail mix of craisins, dark chocolate chips, and almonds

-popcorn single serve bags

-swiss cheese and whole grain crackers

-apple slices and peanut butter

Try to keep snacks to 100-125 calories so you aren’t consuming the amount of calories in a meal as a snack. While I won’t say happy snacking because I am not going to encourage it, I will say happy healthy eating and making choices that will allow you to feel more energized!

~jj

Cheers to the holidays…and good health!

By Jenna Jamieson | November 14, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

The holidays are just around the corner, which means potlucks, family gatherings, and work parties. It’s a time of year which often means putting on a few extra unwanted pounds and losing the body definition you have worked hard on all year long. While it’s one of the most fun, joyous, and cheerful times of year, it can also quickly become the most dreaded when you add ten pounds to your waistline. To lessen your caloric intake and still enjoy the holiday season alongside your family and friends, consider some of these tips.

One tip that can be helpful is to drink plenty of water prior to going to holiday parties and potlucks. This helps give you a full feeling so that you will eat less. Further, you can eat something small and filling like an apple. An apple helps give you a full feeling for a long period.

Parties, gatherings, and potlucks often mean buffets, which can be very tough for many people. With buffets, avoid standing at the buffet tables and bars that have finger foods, appetizers, and hor’derves sitting out. Instead, grab a plate and fill it with 1/3 cheeses, meats, dips, chips, and snack foods while filling the other 2/3 of the plate with fruits and veggies. Additionally, allow yourself to only visit the table once and then throw your plate away. Upon finishing, socialize in other areas away from the buffet table so you cannot reach the food. Same goes for drinks because drinks add hundreds and hundreds of extra calories and often give people the munchies!

While parties and potlucks are a fun holiday tradition, they also tend to have an “appetizer and munch” period followed by a large buffet meal that is often followed by a dessert buffet. Rather than eating and munching on appetizers, try to stick to core meals during the holiday season so you don’t fall victim to eating so much. These core meals during the holiday season are already much higher in calories than an average meal, so sticking to core meals and avoiding the appetizers will help cut down on extra calories. Further, if your gatherings, potlucks, and parties include a dessert buffet, stick to one regular portion size of dessert OR choose up to three small, bite-size portions of several desserts that you would like to try.

I recognize that many people have family recipes, casseroles, and dishes that make the holiday season special, but one great tip is to limit your meal to one casserole and serve basic vegetables such as green beans, corn, asparagus, etc. as other side options. For example, choose either green bean casserole, corn pudding casserole, sweet potato casserole and then have basic vegetables as sides rather than as casseroles. This helps eliminate having three to five casseroles that have cream of mushroom soups, additional heavy cream, sugar, and lots of butter. If this is something that cannot be done and you must have many different casserole dishes at your holiday table, consider using substitutes (that you will love and feel good about and I promise your family won’t even notice). For example, use part cauliflower in mashed potatoes and low-fat milk in casseroles in place of heavy cream or melted butter.

Lastly, and I say this lightly (so that you don’t think of it as an excuse to eat whatever you want during the holidays!), it is important to remember that your body does not expect you to eat perfect all the time, everyday, all year. You can always redeem yourself later with motivation, will power, and a positive attitude of improving. So, while I won’t encourage you to eat a slice of pumpkin pie and pecan pie at Thanksgiving or eat cinnamon rolls, eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon on Christmas, I will tell you that if you do slip up, you can make it up, preferably sooner rather than later!

One last quick tip is try to squeeze in some brisk walking with your family before or after holiday gatherings. It’s a great way to socialize and it makes you feel even better when you sit down for your big feast! My family actually makes it a routine to take a brisk walk before eating Thanksgiving to keep us from feeling so full later in the day!

Tis the season…for GREAT food, family, and GOOD health!

~jj

All about eating!

By Jenna Jamieson | November 6, 2013 | Comments 1 comment

There are a few eating tips I want to discuss including using small dishes and measuring portions, pacing your eating, and the idea of full versus stuffed. I often hear people say that they hate dieting, hate eliminating specific foods such as sugars or carbohydrates, and want to find a happy medium to avoid gaining weight to stay healthy. One important way to refrain from elimination diets and dieting in general is to practice self-control through measuring out portions and only allowing yourself to eat a certain amount of each dish, drink, or snack.

For example, rather than allowing yourself to go back for seconds and thirds and so on, allow yourself to eat 1 cup (choose portion amount based on your nutrition goals) of something. It is important to actually take the time to measure it, because while it may seem inconvenient, in the end, the only person you are cheating by not measuring portions is yourself. A great example of measuring out portions is placing chips in a bowl or using small bags to make individual packages and snack portions rather than eating chips and snack foods directly from the bag.

Further, I suggest not eliminating a specific food or food group (unless you have a food allergy) as eliminating specific foods and food groups will make you want that food when you see it. For example, if you eliminate sugars or sweets, it’s as though you are setting yourself up for failure. You will want them even more because of how much effort it is taking you to avoid cheating and not eating them. Not to mention, how unrealistic is it to eliminate sweets and sugars from your diet when you are constantly surrounded by them? They are in gas stations and restaurants, at parties and potlucks, on coworker’s desks and at family gatherings. Allow yourself small, bite-size treats and sweets that can cure your sweet teeth without full elimination. Minimizing sugar and carbohydrate intake such as cake, cookies, pie, potatoes, bread, and pasta versus eliminating these foods can be helpful so you are not consuming an overabundance of calories. To help, you should measure out your portion and use small plates when serving meals. With large plates, our eyes are often bigger than our stomachs, BUT once food is on our plate we tend to eat and keep eating until the plate is clean. Using small plates helps smaller portions fill the plate, lending to less overeating.

Next, it is important to pace your eating throughout the meal so that you aren’t eating too fast, which often leads to going back for seconds, thirds, and so on. Chewing your food slowly and taking the time to enjoy each bite is a great way to help slow down, prevent overeating, and will help you get full faster.

Lastly, I want to discuss the idea of full versus stuffed. This idea comes down to understanding and knowing your own body and is something that can truly help you learn to not overeat. Many people go back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and so on until they are nearly miserable because they have eaten so much. It is vital to recognize when you are full in order to stop eating. At that point you should no longer eat because you have reached contentment and therefore if you continue to eat you are eating to eat and not because you are hungry. Find that sensation so that you stop eating when you are full instead of stuffed. After all it is better to stop once you reach contentment and satisfaction rather than to eat until you are miserable and have a pain-inducing feeling from eating too much. What I like to say, is when I am full, it is time to leave the table and start a project or do something else rather than sit at the table.

Next time you eat, consider measuring, pacing, and eating to contentment rather than misery! Happy HEALTHY eating!

~jj

Eat leafy, green veggies!

By Jenna Jamieson | October 9, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

Eat lots of leafy, green vegetables! These are high in nutrients and great for your body! Also, leafy, green veggies like broccoli, asparagus, kale, and spinach don’t need to be eaten in moderation (just don’t fry or heavily butter them)! 😉 Not to mention, they taste great! Well, to me they do, but if that’s not enough convincing for you, keep reading!

So if you’re not a green veggie enthusiast like I am and you still need a little convincing, see the many great benefits of eating leafy, green veggies below!

While leafy, green veggies may not be appealing to all, consider adding them to your favorite dishes! You can make Mac ‘N Trees, by adding broccoli to your favorite Mac ‘N Cheese recipe, add spinach with feta cheese to scrambled eggs and omelets to make a “Greek style” breakfast or dinner, and make bacon wrapped asparagus if you dislike the taste of it and want to spice up the flavor. After all, everything tastes better with bacon, right?! Pretty sure that’s what my boyfriend would say! Happy GREEN eating! 😉

~jj

Find what works for YOU!

By Jenna Jamieson | September 4, 2013 | Comments 3 comments

One thing I find incredibly frustrating are the numerous health reports, publications, and research studies that are constantly being published and released to the public through various media outlets. They range from exercising to nutritional habits to heart attack rates. In these studies, we are being told that coffee is good for us one week and then the next week we have another study saying that drinking three cups a coffee a day over the age of 55 will lead to an earlier death. The same goes for dark chocolate, eggs, butter, etc. One week we hear they are good for us and the next week they are not. This is frustrating because it can become very confusing to the average person.

A few particular studies I have personal experiences with and take issue with are the debate on what time you should eat dinner, how many meals a day you should eat, and the size of the meal based on the time of day. Let’s first discuss the debate on the time that you should eat dinner. Many studies have published that eating dinner after 6pm is bad for you because your food is then stored in your stomach and turns to fat because it doesn’t have enough time to breakdown and digest before you go to bed. I take issue with this because it depends on your schedule and routine. This could be true if you go to bed directly or soon after eating your dinner because your food may sit and be stored rather than digested. On the other hand, if you eat dinner at 6:30, 7, 7:30, etc and then your typical bed time isn’t until 11 or later, your food should be able to be broken down and digested and therefore it should not be an issue.

Next debate, time and time again I read studies that suggest eating 6 small meals a day is better than eating 3 meals a day. I certainly am not going to try to persuade you one way or the other. I have tried both and found a variation of the two that works for me. I actually kind of merge the 3 meals a day and 6 meals a day rule together. I eat one relatively large meal (usually dinner) and I eat 4 smaller meals/snacks throughout the day for a total of 5 meals/snacks. I usually start around 8 with a small breakfast, then eat lunch around 12:30/1 with a small snack at 2:30 and dinner at 7ish followed by a small snack at 8:30. I’m not going to tell you to follow my routine, but rather to consider what your body needs and what might work best based on your lifestyle. After all, you should do what works for your body and your metabolism.

Last debate, most studies suggest that you should start off with bigger meals and get progressively smaller as you go throughout the day. I actually do the complete opposite because I am a rebel…just kidding, I am actually the good girl type ;-). I start my day with a small breakfast (usually something with protein to help keep me full), then I eat a little bigger lunch with a small snack at 2:30 and then a relatively large dinner and another small snack after dinner like pudding or a few bites of ice cream. Often times for me, I choose to split my dinner into two small dinners and eat one at 7 and the other part at 8:30, eliminating the 8:30 snack (depending on how I feel).

So what was the point of this post? The point of this post is to realize that you will hear and read a lot of health tips, publications, and research studies, but the best thing you can do is find what works for you. Don’t let the media, research studies, publications, etc make you feel like you need to change what you are doing in your workout, what time you eat dinner, or how often you should eat. You can use publications and studies as guidelines to add variety or small changes, but my best suggestion and advice is to find what works for you and “run” with it! If eating 6 small meals works for you, then great, do that. If eating at 7pm works for you, then do that! If eating one large meal and two small meals works for you, then do that! In other words, find a routine that keeps you motivated and remember that you are better off planning your calorie consumption than your eating times.

~jrpj