February 11, 2023
"I just don't eat."
A phrase I've heard often working with clients the past 15 years as a registered dietitian. Someone who wants to lose weight and recalls that they don't eat much, or don't eat all day. But, they don't lose weight. In some cases, it's under-eating that's the problem and in others, it's that eating is an afterthought in their busy lifestyle.
Our bodies are amazing. They will work with what we give them. Good or bad, they find a way. In my experience, when eating and meal planning are an afterthought, weight loss and nutrition goals are impossible to meet. Nutrition and health has to be in our foresight, not hindsight, to be optimal. It takes planning, prioritizing and effort, like anything else worth doing. Here are 3 low cost ways to bring meal planning and healthy eating into your foresight.
Make the commitment and start with a few small, specific daily tasks to improve your health.
September 13, 2022
Fast food is so tempting on busy nights. The kids like it, it requires no cleaning up and there's likely at least one option no more than 5 minutes away. If it's time to shake the fast food habit on busy weeknights, try these 3 healthy, quick to cook meals for family dinner.
Choose-your-toppings grilled chicken patty sandwiches with veggies and dip: Costco carries these quick cooking chicken patties that can be microwaved, baked or grilled. Let your kids choose their toppings, like honey mustard and pickles or barbecue sauce and pineapple. Serve alongside veggies and hummus or ranch dip. Make a quick homemade ranch by mixing plain Greek yogurt with one packet of ranch dip mix.
Family Charcuterie Board: using a large cutting board, platter or sheet pan, create a picnic-like meal board for the family.
Black Bean Tacos: it's usually the meat that takes the longest to cook, especially when you don't have anything thawed out! Try tacos with black beans instead. Add 2 cans of drained black beans to a large frying pan over medium heat. Add taco spice, 1 tbsp oil and stir to coat. Add 2 tablespoons of salsa for more flavor. Then make tacos as usual, using corn shells or whole wheat tortillas.
Save any leftovers for lunches the next day. The black bean taco filling is good on salads too.
August 16, 2022
The lines at Chick Fil A don't lie. Everyone is going there at some point! If you find yourself there often, here are 3 healthier choices at Chick Fil A for someone with diabetes or for people who have a weight loss goal.
Top low carb, filling Chick Fil A meal: 12 count grilled nuggets with zesty buffalo sauce and a kale crunch salad, Diet Sunjoy (half unsweet tea, half diet lemonade).
At about 370 calories and 17 grams carbohydrate, this meal feels light but with 41 grams of protein, it a filling meal.
Best Chick Fil A balanced breakfast: Egg White Grill sandwich and a fruit cup, coffee, 1% milk (optional).
With the milk, this meal is about 440 calories, 10 grams fat, 55 grams carb and 34 grams protein. The milk will make you feel a little more full with 7 grams of protein, but if you want to keep this meal around 45 grams of carb, just get coffee and water. Watch out for the Chick Fil A iced coffee. It has 30 grams of carb and 24 grams of sugar, which can throw your blood sugars and hunger levels off all day.
Get help with meal planning that fits your busy lifestyle. Schedule a virtual visit with a Well My Way registered dietitian.
Best Chick Fil A salad: Grilled Market Salad with Grilled Filet or Grilled Nuggets, light balsamic dressing, light Italian, or 1 dipping sauce size honey mustard. You can use the dipping sauce ranch or honey mustard as a more portion controlled salad dressing compared to the dressing packets. With the grilled chicken and balsamic dressing, this salad has 620 calories, 35 grams fat, 51 grams carbohydrate and 28 grams protein. Save some sodium by using half a dressing packet.
If you haven't tried the fruit cup as a side dish at Chick Fil A, try it! It actually has fresh fruit in it - sliced strawberries, blueberries and chopped apple. Though fast food is not a good option to have regularly, there are ways to make it a healthier option for people with diabetes.
July 15, 2022
Camping and glamping are popular means of vacation or just a change of scenery the last two years. The 2022 North American Camping Report showed camper households increased drastically in 2020, going from 4% increase in 2019 to a 21% increase in 2020. If you are planning a camping trip or living the camp life while working from anywhere, take these healthy, quick camping meal ideas with you.
Grilled Pita Pizzas: a family favorite since everyone can choose their own toppings. Try one of these for a healthy, high protein pizza. Start by lightly toasting whole wheat pitas on the grill. Remove from the grill and choose your toppings:
Grilled Barbecue Chicken Pita Pizza: spread 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce on one side of each pita. Top with your choice of:
Grilled Greek Pita Pizza: spread 1 to 2 tablespoons hummus on one side of each pita. Top with your choice of:
Grill 5 to 6 minutes or until the bottom of the pita lightly browns; or cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Veggie Packed Foil Packets: these are versatile and easy to clean up! Make them with lean meat like shrimp and a variety of non-starchy vegetables for a low carb option. Start with a large piece of foil (about 15-20 inches). Try any of these combos:
Greek Chicken and Potato Foil Packets
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Hawaiian Overnight Oats: camping and hiking? Definitely make overnight oats for a morning energy boost or mid-day snack. These are good for 3 days once mixed up. In a small dish with a lid or mason jar, combine:
Stir to combine and top with pineapple tidbits, shredded coconut, chopped macadamia nuts or pistachios. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy in the morning cold or warmed up.
If you are looking for a gift your camping/glamping friends will love and use, check out this cookbook from Claire Thomas and mini waffle maker that you can make MUCH more than maple laden waffles with. Claire makes everything from pizza waffles to perfect on-the-go breakfast sandwiches. Get the cookbook and waffle maker here and be sure to follow Claire on Instagram to see all the fun ways she uses her waffle maker on her van-life adventures.
May 24, 2022
For people with prediabetes, diabetes or those looking to lose weight, a balanced snack that has protein and fiber-rich carbohydrates can help decrease hunger pains between meals and help reduce blood sugar swings. Here are 5 options for healthy snacks for people with diabetes or prediabetes:
Get a list of high protein, low carbohydrate foods here to create more snack ideas of your own.
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May 16, 2022
"I'm just not motivated to do it."
If you've ever felt this way about healthy eating or exercise, you are not alone. It's something I tend to hear in the 5th or 6th visit. We get off to a great start when we feel "motivated" and then time passes or vacation happens and motivation drops. Here are a few tips to get over the motivation slump:
Stop waiting on motivation to improve your health. It's a fickle friend! Take steps towards improving your health by working with a registered dietitian, trained in nutrition counseling and behavior change. Book an appointment in minutes.
May 12, 2022
Weight loss and better health are complex issues. There are many things that can help or hinder results. If you are sick of asking Google, "Why can't I lose weight?" read how these 3 behaviors can hinder your results.
You aren’t believing in the value of the compound interest of your efforts.
Would you rather: go on a 1 month diet of no carbs, lose 20 lbs and go back to your old habits gaining back 25 lbs over the next 2 months; OR commit to 3 small and specific tasks to do each day, lose 20 lbs over 3 months and keep them off? Sadly, many will say the 1 month diet. We live in the present not wanting to wait for the sum of our efforts to pay off when we can get faster results now. If going to extremes when it comes to dieting and nutrition hasn’t worked for you in the past, it’s time to try something new.
Your main focus in any past health attempt has been the scale and not your behaviors.
Guess what? The scale is playing tricks on your mind. Have you ever felt great about your nutrition and exercise only to step on the scale, see that it’s up 2 pounds, and feel completely discouraged? We all have. Stop letting the scale dictate your mood and progress when you know you’ve been consistent in your healthy behaviors. The scale will change day to day; keep consistent. Set other benchmarks for your success. Examples:
You are comparing yourself and your results to others based on what you see.
What you can’t see are all the little details, good or bad, that got them there. We can do really unhealthy things to look good. Next time you are scrolling social or admiring a fave celebrity, stop in the moment and ask if you feel better or worse looking at this? If the answer is worse, unfollow!
Get help with your nutrition and changing behaviors. Work with a registered dietitian through online visits.
April 12, 2022
A sink full of half-rinsed dishes and those nearly-finished but completely stale 5-day old box of donuts don't exactly scream, "this is my kitchen, it is my sanctuary." A kitchen is a starting place for your health. If you are blessed to have a functioning kitchen, here are 10 tips to turn it into a healthy environment.
Your kitchen can be the perfect ally in your healthy lifestyle journey. Work with a registered dietitian at Well My Way Nutrition to learn more about setting up your kitchen and entire environment for success.
March 24, 2022
If your doctor mentioned something about fatty liver or you noticed the term NAFLD or NAFL on your medical chart, be sure to avoid these foods:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs when excess fat builds up your liver from reasons other than alcohol. Experts estimate that 24% of U.S. adults have NAFLD.
Stock your kitchen with more non-starchy vegetables, lean proteins like chicken breast and tuna and fiber-rich foods like beans, old fashioned oats and quinoa. Swap white bread for sprouted grain bread or gluten-free multigrain bread.
Work with a registered dietitian online to reverse fatty liver and improve your health. Click here to get started with a free 15-minute discovery call.
Try this simple Healthy Chili Mac with bean pasta, like Banza, for a high protein, low glycemic impact dinner.
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March 18, 2022
In a previous article, the importance of remembering your M.E.D.S. (mindset, exercise, diet and sleep), I explained how these four aspects are key to a healthy lifestyle and reduced risk of disease. While all four aspects are important, without mindset, can the others be achieved? Why is mindset everything when it comes to a healthy life?
Get help improving your health and mindset with nutrition and lifestyle coaching. Book a free discovery call to get started.
Mindset is the established set of attitudes held by someone. Start thinking of the people around you and by their actions, you might be able to guess some of their established attitudes. The best thing about mindset, you can adjust it. It's not determined by genes, environment or other unmodifiable factors. It's modifiable meaning you can work to change it. Here are five tips to achieving a mindset of health.
It takes practice to change your mindset towards health. It's also hard to go back once you reach it, making mindset 100% worth it and incredibly important to your healthy future self.
March 05, 2022
Building a healthy lifestyle to reduce your risk of disease is about much more than what you eat. A healthy lifestyle encompasses your day to day eating, consuming, sleeping, stressing, moving and thinking habits.
Here's a tool to remember the main components of building a healthy lifestyle.
Remember your MEDS
Mindset- you are going to have stress in your life; focus on mindset instead of eliminating all stress.
Exercise- move more, focus on strength and don't forget about flexibility and balance.
Diet- all things you "consume" which includes food, hydration, supplementation, medications, what you read and what you watch.
Sleep- quality and quantity
A healthy lifestyle is an ongoing journey. We all start in a different place. If you are just getting started, pick one or two of the MEDS and set goals to improve those one or two. For instance, if you know your sleep patterns are terrible and you don't exercise, set a goal for the week to turn off electronics half an hour before bed and take as long a walk as you can manage each day. The walking will help you sleep and turning off electronics will help your eyes and mind start to rest.
Work with a registered dietitian to build your healthy lifestyle and tackle all of these MEDS. Start with a free 15-minute discovery call.
February 15, 2022
The concept of avoiding all white foods is a blanket statement to try to encourage people to avoid bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. Do you have to avoid these foods? Not necessarily. People with diabetes should, if they do eat these, look for higher fiber versions of those foods, like 100% whole wheat bread, brown rice and bean pastas. Saying all white foods are bad gets confusing though, because some white foods, like white onions or the white of an apple, are touted as good for diabetes. When it comes to other white foods, here are 4 we absolutely should include in a health eating plan:
Not a veggie lover but want to be? Learn 3 ways to love vegetables.