Body Balance Coaching - Articles

Which is Best? Canned, Fresh, or Frozen Veggies

5/30/2019

The Real Difference Between Canned, Fresh and Frozen Veggies

You already know that eating vegetables is essential for your health, but which section of the store do you get them from? Vegetables come fresh, frozen, and canned, and many people wonder what the difference is between them. After all, aren’t they all vegetables?

Here’s what you should know about each.

Canned Vegetables
Canned vegetables tend to be more processed. While these are handy to keep around, especially during the seasons of the year where storms can keep you in the dark, they can lack in nutrition over the other fresh or frozen choices. They also tend to have gobs more sodium than fresh and frozen varieties. With canned vegetables, try to find options without added sodium to make a healthier choice, if you choose canned vegetables.

Fresh Vegetables
Fresh veggies are indeed a prime choice, but not always -- they can lose a lot of their nutrients before they’re consumed. Sometimes it takes up to two weeks for them to get to your table from the time they’re picked. In this time frame, they can lose up to 50% of their nutrients.

To keep their nutrient powers intact, cook them for shorter times and at lower temperatures. Make sure you use very little water to keep vitamin C and B vitamins from disappearing too. Steaming is a much better option than boiling, though if you must boil your veggies, add them after the water begins to boil.

One of the best ways to get the most nutrients from your fresh vegetables though is buying them locally and while they’re in season. Make use of the freshest vegetables available to you for the best taste and most nutrition.

Frozen Vegetables
Interestingly, frozen veggies tend to retain the highest proportion of nutrients. They’re usually frozen right after harvesting to keep them fresh. But beware, they may be processed with additives like extra salt or sauces. Always read the labels to see what you’re getting, and look for brands that keep things as natural as possible.

You can freeze your fresh vegetables from the farmers market, too. This will ensure nothing goes to waste and that you can enjoy them without losing vital nutrients.

When it comes to vegetables, the bottom line is that getting them onto your plate is most important. If canned is the only option you have in your house while making dinner, it’s better to eat it than to skip a serving of vegetables.

In my household, we tend to use frozen fruit for our smoothies. I also tend to buy extra fruit at the local farmers market in the height of the season and freeze it so I can have it on hand all summer long.

So, do you reach for the canned, fresh, or frozen veggies?
Hit reply and let me know what it's like in your house.

5 Simple Ways to Liven Up Your Leftovers

5/30/2019

When you think of leftovers you might think "eat and bare it". Now, here are simple ways to liven up your leftovers so you can actually get excited to eat them.

If you are like my family, Meal Prep Sunday seemed like a dream idea. You'd prep food for the week, have it all stored and ready, and you'd have a home cooked meal every day without much effort. But by day #3 of it, your family is giving you the side-eye, and you can no longer bear to eat the same dish again.

It happens to us all. We all want to make use of our leftovers, but we get bored, and food goes to waste. Instead of forcing yourself and your family to eat the same things day in and day out, try these leftover tips that will help you liven things up and reignite the spark that makes you excited to dig in.

Here are simple ways to liven up your leftovers:

1. Add avocado
Leftover brown rice and sautéed veggies? Eh. Leftover brown rice and sautéed veggies with fresh avocado? Now you’re talking! Drizzle on some sriracha too for a spicy hit and facelift on your leftovers.

2. Add some crunch
Sometimes, we just need more texture to make things interesting. Adding a crunch to your meal can spice it up quite a bit. Try adding it to your leftovers any way that makes sense. Look in your pantry for walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almond slivers or anything else that might add a crunch along with a nice dose of healthy fats that are good for you, too. I even love having crispy onions or crunchy veggies atop a salad when I want something different.

3. Top on some greens
Or even layer them below. Sometimes that leftover shrimp tastes excellent warmed up over a bed of fresh kale, spinach or lettuce. Or you can make some quick brown rice or zucchini noodles and mix it all together to create a new dish that tastes like takeout without the cost (or the heaps of calories).

4. Reheat it on the stove
A fresh re-preparation tends to bridge the gap of meh to marvelous, doesn’t it? The microwave can zap the freshness right out of your food, so skip the microwave when warming up leftovers. Toss your items in a pan and sauté it fresh with a teaspoon of olive oil. Add some new, fresh herbs and spices, and you'll have to remind yourself you're eating leftovers.

5. Try a new condiment
Salsa and sriracha can each help dress up leftovers. If your refrigerator looks anything like mine, your shelves are lined with different condiments and sauces to choose from. Experiment with them to create new dishes by adding a few drops of different flavor. It can make all the difference and completely change the taste of your meal.

Give these a try and see if you’re making better use of your leftovers. Remember to freeze big meals so you can pull them out another time to make on a busy night. You’ll appreciate them better when you do!

So, spill the beans. Are you a leftovers person or do you struggle with eating the same meal twice? Hit reply and let me know.

Why You Should Try an Elimination Diet

3/27/2019

You might have heard the words elimination diet before and wondered what it is. Or perhaps you have thought about trying it but didn't know where to start.

What is an Elimination Diet and what is the purpose?

Well, that tiredness, bloating, skin rash or brain fog you've been experiencing could be the result of food intolerances. These discomforts we tend to write off as normalcy can be directly related to what you're eating, and the way to know for sure if what you’re eating is causing you trouble is to try an elimination diet.

To make it simple, an elimination diet consists of you avoiding certain foods for a few weeks. After you get these foods out of your system, you'll begin reintroducing them to your diet one at a time. If you have kids, it’s much like starting them on solids and watching for any symptoms of sensitivities, but in reverse.

Food Sensitivity Symptoms
Intolerances aren’t always a major allergic reaction with a swollen tongue and puffy eyes. In fact, the majority of food intolerances present themselves as common discomforts such as dry skin, itching, bloating, digestive upsets, headaches, fatigue, migraines, and achy joints and pains. You might only have one of these or a combination of them.

Yes, it sounds like just about every other illness, but you might find that with an elimination diet, you’ll pinpoint the source of that mysterious bloating and actually be able to do something about it, finally! You’ll feel more like yourself, and you’ll be aware of what foods cause inflammation for you.

Of top importance is getting rid of any chronic inflammation you may be dealing with. Over time, it can cause significant damage and lead to illness. Don’t panic if you only feel these symptoms once in a while, but if you feel like this daily, for example, fogginess when thinking, small aches, skin issues, or bloating, you should definitely try the elimination diet to see if you can get back to feeling like yourself.

How to Do It
Want to get started? The elimination diet has 2 phases. The first one is about eliminating while the second one is about reintroduction. You should keep a rigorous journal to help you spot any changes, good or bad.

- The Elimination Phase
During this phase, you must eliminate any foods you think are triggering symptoms for about 2 or 3 weeks. Most of these are things like dairy, citrus, corn, nuts, eggs, shellfish, pork, gluten, wheat, and nightshade vegetables. Generally, you’ll notice your symptoms clear up which will mean you’re ready for the next phase. If nothing changes, that can be an indication of an imbalance and more detective work should be done, and I can help with that.

- The Reintroduction Phase
Next, you’ll slowly start bringing those eliminated foods back onto your plate. Only introduce one food group at a time over a period of 2 to 3 days. Be watching for those symptoms we mentioned. If anything you reintroduce sets off your symptoms, then you know you need to eliminate it.

One word of caution though: some of you may find several groups of reintroduced food to bring your symptoms back. Should that happen to you, schedule a checkup with your doctor or contact me so we can dig deeper and create a plan to help you get the right nutrition while avoiding the foods that trigger your symptoms.

I was surprised by the food sensitivities I discovered after doing a 14-day food cleanse. The cleanse had me eliminate food culprits without thinking about it. When I brought the foods back into my diet one-by-one, I discovered symptoms that I didn't even know were symptoms, such as dry eye, excess mucus, ear wax, dry skin and subtle joint aches. I had lived with these for so long, I didn't realize they were symptoms and that I could actually eliminate them. I thought it was just part of my genetic make-up or just part of getting old.

I invite you to try an elimination diet to discover your symptoms. All you need now is the willingness to devote the time. You will be saving yourself a lifetime of discomfort, and the time you invest is absolutely worth it.

Are you interested in doing a 14-day food cleanse to find your food sensitivities? CLICK HERE

Nourish Your Movement

3/27/2019

When we think of nourishing our bodies we think of food, but movement is as important as eating well. We need to move all parts of our bodyin various ways. Doing just one type of movement repetitivelyis like eating one type of food or one macronutrient. We have heard that cross training, improving strength, cardio workouts and stretching are beneficial. Let's look a step further… we can move our bodies in even more ways and more times a day.

The lifestyles of many hard working Americans tends to be to sit for many hours of the day working and then actively exercise for a relativelyshort period of time. Other cultures have diverse abundant movements throughout the day, not just bursts for extended periods of time.

According to Katy Bowman, an internationally recognized biomechanist, there are 3 categories of activities people fall into:

Sedentary people– who are inactive, don't partake in much movement, or sit for long periods
Active-Sedentary people – who exercise weekly but sit for long periods of time (drive to work, sit at work, sit at home, sit to relax or sit while using electronics)
Active people - who are very active in moving their bodyto accomplish daily needs (hunters, gatherers, walking 3-5 miles throughout the day, hauling the weight of items they need in a day)

Sitting much of the day is a repetitive motion your body gets used to. Walking on a treadmill is a repetitive motion the body gets accustom to. Repetitive laborer is “active” but the diversity is low. Repetitive motion is like eating the same food day after day which can lead to nutrient deficiency that can lead to other symptoms.

We want to get more nutrients in our movement by varying the shape of our muscles. This doesn’t mean body building to develop larger muscle size. We need to exercise every side of our muscle such as bicep and tricep. We need to stretch and activate both the big muscles such as the hamstrings and quadriceps, as well as the smaller muscles along the bones. It also means building the mind-muscle memory that comes along with experiencing new movement. For instance, there is a difference between walking on a treadmill versus walking on an uneven dirt road. There is a difference between walking through sand barefoot versus walking along a flat paved sidewalk in shoes; We need different muscles for each.

To provide our muscles “nutrients” which enhance our body’s strength and build the memory or our muscles to prepare for what I call “preparing for the unexpected” is varying your movement throughout the day. Exercising in such ways as yoga, Pilates, running, and high intensity interval training (HIIT) is great, but you don’t need a membership to develop diverse muscles. Think of kids...they climb fences, find rocks to balance on or jump to their next step. They are filling their mind-muscle memory bank to help them prepare for future tasks and reactions.

I encourage you to develop new muscles by creating safe but diverse movements with more frequency throughout the day. Try varying the movements you already do such as:

Challenging your balance by doing movements or daily activities on your toes
Take walks on unpaved trails Walk barefoot on the beach or through the grass
Pick up things on the floor with your toes
Watch TV in a different position such as on a big ball or on the floor
Roll your feet on a tennis ball at your desk
Plan a vacation that includes movements you don't normally do

Be creative. This can lead to less inflammation, better muscle-memory and better development of many muscles, not just the ones we use to sit, stand and walk. This can build the muscles that don’t get used and can reduce injury from an unexpected fall or mishap. Be safe, have fun and create diversity. Make it a lifestyle not a routine.

Show your body some love - eat clean to cure leaky gut!

2/14/2018

Have your allergies gotten worse over the years? Do you react to foods that you have been able to eat in the past without problems? There is a chance you have Leaky Gut Syndrome also known as intestinal permeability.

Leaky Gut Syndrome can start a cascade of problems in many other body systems. It is a condition in which the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged.

Leaky gut is caused by refined and toxic foods damaging the lining of the small intestine and breaking down its ability to filter out toxins and undigested food particles. Instead of being filtered out of the body, these irritants dump directly into the blood stream and can lead to a host of weird, vague symptoms, including:

Food sensitivities and intolerances - not just symptoms, but actual reactions to foods - including diarrhea, bloating, nausea, allergic symptoms, and stomachaches
Increased inflammation and all the ills it can bring: aches, pains, swelling and fever, even autoimmune diseases like RA, lupus, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, celiac, or Crohn's
Insomnia, depression, ADD/ADHD, brain fog
Unhealthy food cravings
Skin problems, like rashes, acne, or dry, scaly patches

Some undetected symptoms drive people to seek medical care. The problem is, apart from indicators like positive allergy tests or blood work that's off, there's no particular diagnostic for leaky gut. Symptoms can wax and wane depending on the foods being consumed, and most people do not keep an ongoing food or symptom diary. Leaky gut can cause a lot of problems for sufferers and their medical providers.

The medical profession recognizes the basic mechanism of leaky gut, but because there's no specific diagnostic or treatment they can recommend, they don't have tests or treatment for the root cause of all the problems, only for the various results listed above. Some experts recommend supplements to help heal leaky gut, but one thing that's easy and safe is to eat clean. If you've given up crazy New Year resolution diets, now's the time to try a simpler plan and make "clean eating" a daily habit.

Not only can you lose weight, but eating right - eating "clean" - can actually heal your body if you suffer from leaky gut.

What does eating clean mean in the leaky gut world? Essentially, it's avoiding the foods that commonly cause insult to the small intestine. The easiest thing to do - and it's not really easy if you're addicted to these foods! - is to cut out certain foods for a few weeks and see how you respond. If you start feeling better, you know that some of the foods you've eliminated are causing problems. Once you have eliminated a food or several foods for a few weeks, gradually re-introduce one food at a time. Journal any reactions, such as digestive issues, joint pain, excess mucus or skin irritations. Some foods may cause reactions so gradual that you may not notice. The more faithful you can be to the elimination diet, the less inflamed your body will be, and the faster your leaky gut will heal.

Foods to consider eliminating:

Dairy
Soy
Refined sugar
Alcohol
Caffeine
Wheat/ gluten
Corn

In general, the more processed foods are, the less nutrients they can provide to your body and the more inflammation they cause.

You can try adding some foods known to be helpful to the gut as well as the rest of your body, including:

Healthy fats like those found in fish and certain plant oils (coconut, flax, avocado);
Probiotic supplements to help improve your gut flora, now known to have a huge impact on health and weight. If you don't like taking supplements- kimchi, saurkraut, coconut kefir and other fermented foods are rich in healthy bacteria, which will help your gut and your overall health;
Foods high in fiber to keep your digestive tract moving;
Nut or seed milk (almond milk, cashew mild, hemp milk, etc) in place of cow's milk;
Anti-inflammatory herbs and foods, like turmeric, ginger, nuts, beans, and colorful vegetables (orange and dark green especially).

Even if your current medical practitioner doesn't address leaky gut, you can't go wrong with eating a healthy, low inflammatory diet!

Calm Your Mind in 4 Easy Steps

12/29/2016

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I am sure your body and mind could use some down time. Sometimes it can be hard to shut down your mind for just a moment and rest.

Creating a sense of quiet space can greatly calm your nerves, reduce your stress, bring balance to your well-being and help you connect with your inner self. When we are constantly running we don’t have a chance to hear our inner self. Taking a 5-minute break and just “being” is a super way to calm your mind and body.

There are easy and enjoyable steps to calming your mind.

Perhaps you feel every minute of your day is allocated and taking five minutes to sit will prevent something important from getting done. In the bigger picture this 5-minute breather, will help you to become more focused and productive. It sounds simple but it can be challenging at first to sit without thought. Give it a try.

Here are easy steps you can do to calm your mind:

Set aside a time of the day when you won’t feel torn or rushed for taking the time out.
Find an enjoyable place to sit. This could be on your balcony watching the sunrise or sunset or your special place.
Prepare for this sacred moment with something you enjoy such as a hot tea.
Now just sit for 5 minutes and do nothing. Don’t think about anything. Just watch things in your surroundings without expectations or thoughts of your daily activities.

We are called “beings” but we have a hard time just being. By sitting for 5-minutes we are being… being in the moment… not thinking of the past or the future. This is a way to dissociate your thinking from your body.

Thinking about things is not “being” (or getting in touch with your inner self). Try to turn off your thinking… the voices, the worries, the stories, the opinions, the problem solving, and get in touch with your inner self.

Try to “be” silent for just 5-minutes a day. You will be surprised how quickly 5 minutes passes. See if you can work up to two times a week, and then three and perhaps even two times a day. It can be liberating to free yourself from your mind. Eventually it can develop into a ritual and help you to listen to and hear your inner self. Notice what changes for you. What transformations in your mind, your body, or your life do you notice, by taking 5-minutes to “be”?

3 Easy Ways to Relax Your Shoulders

10/5/2015

Do you ever find your shoulders hiked up near your ears while you work? Do you find it a bit hard to relax your shoulders and could use a message at the end of the day?

Tense shoulders can be a sign of stress and it’s one of our body’s protection modes.

Here are 3 easy ways to relax your shoulders and how doing so can help other parts of your body.

Many of my clients find their shoulders unnecessarily hiked up and I give them 3 exercises to become more aware of their body language and relax their shoulders. The key is building awareness about your body and then working to relax or correct it. Here are easy to implement steps:

Body
•   Tune into your body 3 times a day to see if your shoulders are relaxed or tense
•   When you catch them hiked up, follow these breath and body movements.

Mind
Take note when you catch your shoulders hiked.
•   Are you stressed or up tight about your situation?
•   Are you in a defensive thought?
•   What small steps can you do in this situation to feel more in control?

Steps to take:
1. Take a deep breath in as you hike your shoulders up to your ears and exhale as you shrug your shoulder-blades back and down into your “back pockets”.
2. Inhale as you shrug your shoulders up to the ears and exhale as you lower your shoulders forward and down.
3. Repeat 2 more times… inhale as shoulders go up to the ears, exhale as shoulders go back and down, inhale up to the ears, exhale forward and down.
4. Lift your shoulders up to your ears on the inhale and quickly release the shoulders straight down as you exhale to the final resting position.

Think of when you are cold. You hike your shoulders up to increase warmth. Your muscles get tense and it can take a while to release or relax the muscles. This is a common position when we are stressed, cold or in a defensive mode.Your body sees this as a type of danger even if we don’t think of it that way.

Many times this is an unintentional position we take which becomes a habit and leads to consistent postural problems.This leads to increased back and shoulder pain. This posture causes us to tense many other muscles in our body and postural imbalances and can even cause strain to our internal organs.

The first step in changing your posture and mind is becoming more aware of your body. I encourage you to check in with yourself to see how you are handling your environment. Are you tense while driving? Can you relax before bed? Your interpretation of your environment drives how you react physically. Your body wants to protect you. Help your body by helping your mind.

Here is another great article on how posture can help with your health and with things like gout https://thegoutkiller.com/blog/gout-hangout/better-posture-helps-gout/

Make Your Dreams Come True

9/27/2015

The stories are everywhere – always uplifting, always inspiring:

the woman who created a wellness clinic in her inner city neighborhood
the man who lost 200 pounds after being housebound for a decade
the mother who worked tirelessly bringing her sick child to radiant health
the grandfather who quit cigarettes to realize his dream of running a marathon

Every day people just like you go out into the world and make their dreams come true.

They did it. Why not you? You’re no different than any of these successful individuals.

Why Couldn’t You Make Your Dreams Come True?

True, it sounds hard. In fact, it probably is hard, with a number of obstacles to overcome. That may be reason enough to put your dream on permanent hold.

“Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them... they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.”
– Orison Swett Marden, writer

Could a Plan Help?

The easiest way to make your dream into reality is one step at a time:

Choose one thing to get done. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Identify what scares you most. Ask yourself: what’s the worst thing that could happen if I face this fear? Write down the worst-case scenario and how you would confront it.
Identify a small reward for yourself once you’ve accomplished that activity.
Then just do it. Complete and check that task off your list.
Now treat yourself to the reward, rejoice, and celebrate!
Repeat the above steps as many times as necessary and watch yourself get happier and healthier by pursuing what you love.

Tap Into the Power of Forgiveness

7/30/2015

Wouldn’t it be more effective to address your uncomfortable feelings? The best, most thorough, most divinely perfect way to do that is forgiveness.

Forgiving is not easy, even for the most enlightened among us. If you’ve been allowing your present health to be controlled by past hurts, I urge you to commit to forgiving. These steps can help:

Talk to sympathetic friends and family about your desire to forgive. Chatting with others is tremendously comforting.
Write a letter to the person you’d like to forgive. You can decide whether or not you send it.
See the situation from the other person’s perspective – your own perspective may change.
Don’t forget to forgive yourself. Sometimes we can be harshest with ourselves.
Understand that you are responsible for your own attitude. Don’t let holding a grudge keep you from feeling free, open, and powerful in your own life.

Forgive and watch how much easier your relationship with eating becomes.

Make a Positive Switch

6/30/2015

Picture a big glass goblet filled to the halfway mark with water. How do you see it – half-full or half-empty?

Consistently finding the glass half-empty – and the world as a difficult place – is a hallmark of negativity.

Research has found that a negative outlook can contribute to everything from depression to heart disease to lowered immune system function. It can affect sleep, weight maintenance, the quality of your relationships, your social life, and even your ability to hold a job.

Now imagine what it would feel like to approach life from a place of positivity, fun, connection, health, and possibility. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Here are Simple Tips to Make a Positive Switch

To help wipe out negativity, try one or more of the following action steps:

Go complaint-free. Try going an hour without complaining and see the positive things in your life. Next, try a day, a week, and so on.
Keep a gratitude journal. Each evening, list 10 or more things that you are grateful for.
Give compliments freely. Notice the good in others. Praise every person you interact with.
Find beauty everywhere in your world. Notice its gorgeousness.
Share your good news. Studies show that sharing happy events brings even more happiness.
Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
Appreciate yourself. Look in the mirror and say out loud to yourself "I am fabulous" each day.

Maintaining a positive outlook takes practice, and the more you do it, the easier it gets. The payoff – a happier, healthier life – is absolutely worth the effort.