Find your own way: Rebecca’s #TransformationTuesday story

Find your own way: Rebecca’s #TransformationTuesday story

I started working with Well-balanced Nutrition because…

I needed guidance on nutrition to help me meet the physical demands of my job and personal goals. As a hybrid athlete, I am constantly training in a variety of formats; from powerlifting to triathlon/marathon training, as well as teaching group fitness classes. I was also seeking help with weight loss and because I have a history of eating disorders and crash dieting and I wanted support to achieve my goals in a healthy, sustainable way. 

I knew I was on track when…

I was seeing a difference in my body composition. My weight fluctuates so even if my weight was down, I didn’t use the scale as the only measure of success. That being said, my body was (and still is!) feeling good and I was happy and comfortable with how I felt in my skin. I liked how my clothes were fitting and how my body was performing. I didn’t feel like I was carrying extra weight anymore and I also felt in control of my eating habits.

I’m still human and learned when I get off track I …

I have resources and support to help get me back on track. I no longer beat myself up for having slip ups but instead, acknowledge them, and move on.

The best strategy/technique I have learned on my well-balanced journey is…

Tracking my intake and using the HALT method when I get “snacky”.  I use an app on my phone and it has been crucial for me. If I do not track my food intake, that is when I turn into a bottomless pit and overeat. It helps keep me accountable and it has taught me a great deal of discipline, in a good way. I feel like I have control. Along with that, the HALT method (Hungry, angry, lonely, tired) has taught me to pay attention to how my body is feeling. If there was a way to throw a “B” in there for BORED, that was certainly a big reason for why I would over eat. Learning to supplement those emotions with something other than food was a big help for me!

I really want the tribe to know…

There is no one RIGHT way to do something. Everybody is going to find something that works for them and that’s what matters. If you want to go paleo and eat clean, more power to you. If you are like me and find that tracking macros fits your lifestyle, then get down with your bad self! I want everyone to know that every BODY has different needs and different approaches to achieving success. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing and find something that works for you. 

Are you ready to make a transformation like Rebecca? Contact us today to set up your own personal wellness adventure.  

What does my sleep routine have to do with my weight?

What does my sleep routine have to do with my weight?

Monday, March 13, 2017

How much sleep you get, how you wind down at the end of the day, the quality of your sleep, and how you wake up in the morning has A LOT to do with your weight and general well-being.

Don’t take it from me! Here is more information from Health Ambition on how our sleep patterns affect our weight and wellness.

-Our sleeping patterns affect our hormones, such as ghrelin and leptin, regulating hunger cues which control our appetite.

-Studies show sleep deprivation leads people to choose higher-calorie foods and an increased caloric intake for the day.

Improving sleep hygiene:

There are plenty of external factors affecting sleep patterns, and some that you can control.

  1. Get in a routine – Yes, I know it sounds boring, but I tried to get in bed and on my way to sleepy town by 10:30 PM every night. Preferably earlier! Each time you disrupt your routine – a.k.a. weekends – it can cause a jet lag like effect on your circadian rhythm.
  2. Remove the blinking, glowing, distracting, and other light disturbances. I’m looking at you Wi-Fi router, digital alarm clocks, TVs, and glowing A/C adaptors. These subtle yet bright lights in the bedroom can affect our sleepy hormone levels and circadian rhythm. If you absolutely cannot move them I highly recommend adopting an eye pillow (or childhood “blanky,” like me!) to block out the light disturbances.
  3. You don’t really need to know the time. If you must get up at a particular hour, set an alarm on the phone, and don’t bother looking at the time if you wake up unexpectedly in the middle of the night. Each time we look at the clock it starts a story in our minds about how “I didn’t get enough sleep, I must fall back asleep to get ‘enough’ sleep!”
  4. Consider meditation. Meditation is a powerful tool for living a well-balanced life. It’s less about emptying your mind of all thoughts because that is unrealistic. Meditation is the practice of focusing your mind on one calming thought. I find it useful to focus on my breath or start counting backward from 1000. Yep, that can be considered meditation. So go ahead and count the sheep and let yourself enjoy a restful night, waking up feeling refreshed. No matter how many hours of sleep you got.

Food for thought:

Did you notice I didn’t include a specific number of hours to sleep each night? That’s because it’s different for all of us! I need at least 7 hours to feel great, but my hyperactive business lawyer can function normally with 5 hours of sleep.

Try an experiment next weekend: Go to bed when you’re tired, and wake up when your body wants to wake up.

  • How many hours did you sleep?
  • How can you improve your sleep hygiene this week?

Let us know how you’re sleeping in the comments below 🙂

Kristen’s Friday Favorites

Kristen’s Friday Favorites

Wow. It’s February! How did that happen? I don’t know about you but it really snuck up on me. Seems like it was just New Years Day. Well, here we are in February and today is #WearRedDay for heart health awareness. Yay! Which brings me to my first of today’s favorites.

Favorite Heart Health Awareness Video:  Sometimes women, myself included, care for everyone else while ignoring their own needs. If we aren’t putting our mask on first – our efforts to help others can be completely sabotaged. It’s not until we can love and care for ourselves, that we can truly do the same for others.

Favorite Heart Healthy Dessert: Sometimes fruit just doesn’t cut it and we need a little chocolate in our lives. I love that Trish at Mom on Time Out made these brownies without oil or butter so they are low in saturated fat. I would take it a step further and try this with almond flour or whole wheat pastry flour and opt for dark chocolate chips to increase the fiber, protein and antioxidant level.

http://www.momontimeout.com/2014/06/chocolate-banana-applesauce-cake/

Favorite quote this week: If you follow along you know that we don’t encourage regular calorie counting at Well Balanced Nutrition. When you embrace more natural foods and adopt a healthy mindset around eating it’s just not necessary. So when I came across this, I was nodding my head in complete agreement.

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I hope you all have a fun and healthy weekend doing what you love with people you love.

kristen

The trouble with counting calories

The trouble with counting calories

Calories, calories, calories. So important, yet so frustrating. We know eating more calories than we burn will cause weight gain, right? So, why don’t we all just track our calories daily and everyone will be at a healthy, happy weight? Simple! America’s weight problems SOLVED!

You and I know it’s not that simple. If this method worked, Lucy and I would need to start looking for another job.

Calories aren’t everything. Eating a low-calorie diet does not equate to eating healthy. If you are on the twinkie diet, a fast food diet or possibly a fad diet, you may be malnourished. Plus your body reacts differently to a 100 calorie cookie compared to 100 calories of fruits or vegetables.  Processed foods can signal your body to store fat, while whole and natural foods can help you burn fat AND feel more satisfied.

At some point in your well-balanced journey, you might wonder how many calories you need and seek guidance getting there. You may find it helpful to keep track of your calorie intake for a few days. Monitoring how many calories we eat can help us maintain or lose weight in the short term, it can waste valuable time and energy in the long term.

Recently, two of my clients came to realize this truth. For a few days, calorie counting was a great opportunity to see part of the puzzle.  It was a good experiment. But it was only a small part of their puzzle and it had its downfalls. They were finding themselves thinking about food all the time, obsessing over the calorie counts, and feeling anxiety about it all day long. That’s no way to live.

We can help you figure out how many calories you need but more importantly we help you figure out how to eat well balanced without being a slave to daily calorie counting.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Rather than focusing time and energy on counting calories, take a step back and look at the whole picture. Spend more time and energy on preparing home-made food,  slowly enjoying your food, balancing your plate and filling it with mostly natural or plant-based foods, taking care of yourself and managing your stress.