On the road again

Business travel. I'm at it again. And with two trips under my belt in the past three weeks, I've been reminded of the toll it can take: a thrown-off routine messes with your digestive system; weird schedules and foreign beds, however comfortable, mess with sleep; and flying causes dehydration.

Oh, and it's easy to eat like shit, booze it up and forgo exercise when on the road, which makes the bad situation worse. I know this because, despite my health coach status, I've been there.

But if you don't want to use travel as an excuse to be bad, airports, hotels and a bunch of health-inspired app developers are making it easier to overcome or at least keep in check many of the negative side effects of a road warrior life. Planning on your part is of course also required. Ok, so how to? Three tips:

Tip One: EXERCISE

Exercise kills multiple travel-related birds with one stone: it stimulates the digestive system, helps you sleep better (if done early enough in the day), naturally encourages you to drink water and generally begets good.

I actually love to exercise on the road: a new environment makes the minutes fly by, and if you're a parent... bonus! You don't have to worry about who's watching your kids or one of them waking to interrupt your yoga routine seven minutes in. Here are some tips and strategies to get you inspired:

• When setting hotel preferences or just researching on your own, put a good gym at the top of your list. Boutique hotels are typically best if you can afford them because the gyms are new and often oddly empty.
• If you're a runner, download the mapmyrun app, select nearby routes and you can peruse multiple routes other runners have logged. Most concierges also have maps outlining good, safe routes. I frequented Minneapolis a few years ago and always opted to rent a car so I could drive to any of the city's lakes for an early morning run as a gym alternative on a nice day. And staying at the Westin in San Francisco a couple weeks ago, I was invited via voicemail to a 3-mile guest run for 6am the following morning. I didn't participate as it's a city I already know well, but would have otherwise. Wouldn't be surprised if other hotels are running similar programs. 
• In a crappy area and a crappy hotel? Don't make it worse by skipping your workout. Or maybe you only have 20 minutes to spare. Or you don't feel like leaving your room. Whatever the reason, download the 7-minute workout and Sworkit (invest the $.99 for Pro) apps. Both offer routines you can do anywhere using only your body weight, but the latter offers tons of different workout options including strength training, cardio and yoga. Both will have you sweating and out of breath within 20 minutes, though you can choose to go longer. Perfect for the hotel room; shoes aren't even necessary if they're too bulky for the carry-on.
• Another option is Yogaglo, which has become a weekly staple for me at home and is equally as wonderful on the road. Tons of classes to choose from online for only $18/month. And I'd say the "glo" part is as much about spiritual stimulation as it is about my kind of "glo": sweat.
• Lastly, check out what Philadelphia and some other airports are doing. I would personally feel like an ass in my work clothes on an elliptical machine at the gate area but hey, maybe it will become a thing.

Yes, I know. Workout clothes take up space in the bag. Lame excuse, but if it's yours, then book yourself at a Westin, which provides workout gear for a nominal fee in case you "forget" yours.

Tip Two: SNACK STRATEGICALLY

If one or more of your normal meal times is being interrupted, you can still avoid "just grabbing anything" or finding yourself being pulled by your nose to Auntie Annie's by planning ahead. When traveling, making a bad food decision in a pinch tends to have longer-term effects than when at home because you're putting an already-compromised digestive system at even more of a disadvantage.

Many airports have stepped up their food-offerings game in recent years: I could actually eat happily for a week at JetBlue's JFK terminal and certainly for a day at Delta's LGA terminal. I was just at American's LGA terminal, however, and I was crying for a decent breakfast. I had not planned, and breakfast ended up consisting of coffee and a banana: enough to get me to a very early lunch once we'd landed, but I could have been better prepared.

While I think our snacking behaviors have gotten out of hand, snacking strategically while traveling really helps. You could obviously pack some Tupperware with whole grains and salad-like things in your carry-on, but that may sound like a lot of work (it does even to me.) Throw some snacks like unsalted nuts (sodium contributes to dehydration), smush-resistant and temperature-agnostic fruits like apples and oranges, a LaraBar, brown rice cakes, etc. into your bag, and eat them along with lots of water (see below) and you can carry yourself to your next meal with minor suffering.

Tip Three: DRINK LOTS OF WATER

Planes and their stale, re-circulated air dehydrate us, yet how many of us end up drinking LESS water than normal when we fly? Indeed, the forces are against us: can't bring water through security, a bottle costs $500 in the terminal and having to constantly pee on a plane sucks. But we know all of this, so we can work around it. Here's how:

• If money is a concern, or if you want to be green, bring a re-usable water bottle in your carry-on and drink as much as possible before arriving at the airport.
• Have the flight attendant fill the bottle (as often as possible) rather than the dinky plastic cup that always threatens to ruin your computer anyway.
• Request an aisle seat to avoid making enemies out of your seatmate, and think about using the bathroom as a way to break up the trip rather than an inconvenience.
• Again, if money is a concern or being green a priority, let that re-usable bottle remain your number one companion for the duration of your trip (like it already is in the office... right?) or simply have a store-bought bottle with you at all times.

All that said, if keeping your body healthy on the road isn't a big enough motivator, then consider these tips to keep your brain healthy. Especially if you're on a business trip, you need that brain in tip-top shape. It's nearly 75% water, so hydration is key. Eating like shit makes you sleepy, and a sleepy brain isn't terribly sharp. And exercise stimulates endorphins to help you maintain a positive outlook, invaluable in a business context. If this seems like biting off more than you can chew, start small with water, and go from there.

If you have other health-related travel strategies to share, would love to hear them!

Eating For Energy

With the world becoming more interested in nutrition, the number of new "healthy" products on the market is ballooning. Food marketers see one peer company's success in a new area and then rush to it like five-year-olds to a soccer ball, hoping to get their own piece of the pie. So we end up with 15 versions of pretty much the same thing, not having the time or enough interest to investigate what the best version is. Or if there is a best version at all. But we buy and eat, thinking we're doing the right thing for ourselves and our families.

While preparing for my recent "Eating for Optimum Energy" workshop and training for the Brooklyn Half Marathon, I became even more aware of the exorbitant number of energy drinks and bars on the market. Yes, the number of people running races has grown over the past several years and exercise is touted more and more by experts as a disease-figher, but the companies selling these "energy-producing" food products aren't making their millions from exercise enthusiasts.

Look around. Women and men rush to work with Chocolate Chip Cliff Bars in hand. Teenagers walk down the street with brightly-colored Gatorades. Kids sit in strollers eating chocolate-dipped granola bars and sipping Vitamin Waters. There's something very wrong with this picture.

To say these bars and drinks give you energy is not false: ANY food gives you energy. But the kind of energy varies tremendously. The food referenced above is laden with sugar, and sugar gives you instant energy. This is appropriate for someone about to do a hard workout, run a race or play in a game. Need a pick-me-up at half-time? Sure, drink some Powerade and eat a Luna bar (though does anyone else wonder where the orange slices and water from the good old '80s went?) and then go play hard again for an hour. But how about the office worker who makes this her daily breakfast regimen and then goes in sits in meetings for 10 hours? She's likely intermittently tired and hungry throughout the day, unknowingly strapping herself into an energy roller-coaster ride each morning.

Because these foods and drinks are associated with healthy activities, they enjoy the guise of being healthy. They are not. Because these foods and drinks give athletes energy before and during intense activity, they are assumed to produce the kind of energy needed on a regular basis. They do not.

So then how to eat for energy? The sustained and balanced kind of energy that most of us need to make it happily through our typical, harried days? I've boiled it down to five things:

1. Drink water. One of the leading causes of a lack of energy is dehydration. Our bodies are up to 60% water. Our brains and hearts are 75% and our lungs are 83% water! Think about those figures and then ask yourself if you're drinking enough - enough to keep that water fresh and ensure your organs are working at optimal levels. Rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces a day. Your pee should be a very pale yellow.

2. Eat breakfast and make it good. Many say breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day. Maybe, maybe not; some people can't stomach a lot in the morning. But it's definitely the most important. As the first thing you put in your body every morning, it sets the tone, both physically and mentally. My two favorite breakfasts are Quinoa Granola with almond milk and Almond Butter & "Jelly" Green Smoothies. Never am I hungry before lunchtime. And when you eat a good breakfast, you're much more inclined to continue on a healthy track for the rest of the day: good begets good.

3. Replace processed foods with whole foods. Whole foods provide complete nutrition, no additives necessary. And nature has beautifully designed them to provide us with balanced energy. Many processed foods tout whole ingredients, but be a food detective and check out their sister ingredients. Added sugar is almost a given (often in disguise), along with lots of other unpronounceable things our ancestors never consumed. They typically give us a jolt that leads to a crash, which we respond to by eating more sugar-laden foods to pick us back up quickly. This cycle is a great money-maker for Big Food and Pharma, not so great for obesity and diabetes rates.

4. Avoid dieting. 98% of diets fail. Why? Because they're unsustainable, most requiring deprivation and a significant reduction in calories. At some point, willpower stops working. Stop thinking about how much you're eating and focus on what you're eating. Real, whole food is delicious and makes you feel so good - slowly introduce more of it and you'll naturally begin to crowd out the not-so-good food-like stuff that's leading to your "need" to diet in the first place. 

5. Keep a journal. I'm not talking about a food journal where you write down everything you eat in a day. That's torture. I'm talking about spending a few minutes each night writing down how you felt during the day, what your mood was and how your energy levels were. Were they different at different times of the day? What do you want to do differently tomorrow and what do you want to repeat? You'll start to see how eating patterns correspond to energy levels and mood and you can make changes based on what you learn. If this is all written, you'll have a harder time ignoring it!

Overwhelmed? Just start with water and go from there. There's no better energy drink around. And for a healthy energy bar, go for Lara. A number of them have no added sugar whatsoever and very few ingredients. Frank's favorite is banana bread: almonds, dates, bananas. That's it. And that's how it should be.

How Supermarkets Get Us To Buy More

I've written in previous posts about the concept of "crowding out." If you eat or do more of a good thing, you will naturally eat or do less of a bad thing. There is only so much room in your stomach, time in your day, etc. Think:

- drink more water and you'll drink less soda
- eat more veggies and fruits and you'll have less room for dessert
- read more and you'll have less time for TV

The concept works pretty well across all aspects of life. But there is at least one place it does not.

Think about where you enter your supermarket. Most likely, you head right into the produce section. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as Charles Duhigg points out in his book (my new favorite!) The Power Of Habit, since "fruits and vegetables bruise easily at the bottom of a shopping cart; logically they should be situated by the registers, so they come at the end of a trip."

But he goes on to explain the logic: these companies have figured out that we actually end up buying more junk in the middle aisles if we've loaded up on produce at the beginning. It's like we're subconsciously rewarding ourselves for a job well done.

You've undoubtedly heard you shouldn't go to the market hungry, and you should always go with a list rather than winging it. Those two things are supposed to keep you on task. But now there's a third to remember. No matter where that entrance dumps you, make it a habit to head to the middle aisles first. Load up on the produce last. You'll end up with a healthier cart, fewer mushed bananas, and some extra bucks to go spend elsewhere!

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"

This quote has been attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, yet similar statements were logged as much as 100+ years before. Regardless of where or from whom it came, I love it.

I'm not usually a quote sort of person. I've mostly thought of them as a lazy way to express the way you feel. I used to roll my eyes at colleagues who had dozens of quotes pasted all over their door, desk and walls. But then I recently came across this quote in a magazine and I can't get it out of my head. And I hope that 1. those colleagues never caught my eye-rolling and 2. if they did, I was unable to make them feel inferior in any sort of way, because they refused to let me.

We've all been made to feel inferior. And it starts at way too early an age. Reading this quote reminded me of the same advice my mother always gave to me when I went crying to her as a little girl after being hurt by another:

"Don't let them make you feel that way."

I didn't understood what she meant back then - how could I change the way someone made me feel? It was her kiss and hug that always got me through the pain. At almost 40, I get it now, at least intellectually. Admittedly, it can still be hard to practice, especially in this competitive world. Sad as it may be, in some environments, it seems as though making others look or feel inferior is key to climbing the ladder, or at the very least hanging on to your rung. And so we may from time to time find our mental selves right back on that elementary school playground.

What we often don't realize is how much these scenarios affect us, and not just psychologically. They affect us physically. A co-worker or boss makes you feel inferior, insecure, stupid - what happens? Do you lose your appetite? Drown yourself in ice cream? Toss and turn at night? Sleep the whole morning away? Maybe your reactions aren't as severe, but that might be even more dangerous if the debilitating effects build up, unacknowledged, over time. I have many clients who, once we work together through issues in a relationship or at work, immediately lose the weight they've been struggling with, free themselves of the chronic digestive issues, eliminate the reflux, etc. Mind and body are intertwined.

Does this sound familiar to you at all? Do you feel as though someone other than you might be in control of your mind or body? Remind yourself they're only able to do so with your consent, and then rescind it.

Could it be that simple? Think about it. Pretty empowering right?

Do As I Say [ ? ] As I Do

We've all heard the saying from our own parents, and if you're a parent yourself, you've undoubtedly said it as well: Do as I say, NOT as I do!

But while I've said it before (in fact, just last night when Frank said "Jesus Christ!" in frustration over a broken toy), it's not fair. If we want our children to behave in a certain way, we need to behave that way as well. Though it often doesn't feel like they're listening, deep down we know our kids watch how we act, speak and treat the world around us incredibly closely. And they naturally emulate us.

If we expect something out of them, we better be showing them the way:

Do as I say, AND as I do!

And vs not: a small but incredibly significant and meaningful difference. And as it relates to health, we would do our children a real service to formally and permanently revise this well-known phrase.

Why?

Well, according to the AHA, roughly one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963. Among children today, obesity is causing a broad range of health problems that previously weren’t seen until adulthood. These include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol levels. The saddest part of these statistics, and why we need to be more serious about how we behave in front of our kids, is the role that we as parents are playing in them. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services, if you're overweight or obese, your child's chances of following the same fate are between 25 to 50 percent. And if the child's other parent is also overweight, the chances shoot up to 75 percent. We work so hard to give our kids the best possible chance for success, and yet many of us seem to be giving them the best possible chance for chronic illness.

If you need more to ponder, consider the psychological effects of childhood obesity: low self-esteem, negative body image and depression. To think this psychological suffering is caused mostly by preventable physical issues is all the more depressing. But here's the encouraging part! These physical issues and therefore their psychological brethren are also REVERSIBLE.

If we were forced every day to say to our kids "do as I say, and as I do," how might we change our behavior around food and exercise?

CVS Also Sells Doritos

Will they be pulling those off the shelves as well?

I've been debating about writing this post ever since the news came out that CVS will no longer sell cigarettes come October. While I find it insane that it took until 2014 for a company that claims it's in healthcare to make this decision, I must applaud the move nonetheless, and desperately hope it will inspire other companies to follow suit. It's true that this move is only going to cost them a small percentage of revenue, but it's still billions of dollars - not an insignificant decision at all. So part of me wanted to let the good roll, and not point out that if it wants to continue calling itself a healthcare company, CVS should take a look at its other aisles as well.

But then I happened upon the latest obesity reports and I couldn't help myself.

Last year, I wrote an encouraging post about America's health trajectory - we were enjoying a two-year pattern (if you can call two years a pattern) of obesity rate declines in 2011 and 2012. The Pollyanna in me fully expected to see the trend continue into 2013, but unfortunately, we went in the opposite direction and are now at an all-time high of 27.2%. 27.2%?!

Tobacco has long been recognized as a killer: this latest report from the World Health Organization cites it as responsible for 33% of cancer cases in the U.S.  But guess what? Bad diet, obesity and physical inactivity rings in as a close second at 28%, and I can only imagine these figures are going to flip-flop at some point as smoking rates have steadily declined for decades - and obesity rates have steadily inclined. Have you looked at the food CVS sells lately? Chips, soda and candy make up the vast majority. Yes, cigarettes cause alarming amounts of cancer. But too much of these foods do too, in increasing amounts. In fact, new cancer cases worldwide are expected to skyrocket over the next two decades from 14 million in 2012 to over 22 million - all while smoking, the current leading cause of cancer, will likely decline. Ponder that for a bit.

I eat Doritos from time to time. I eat candy from time to time. I'm not writing this to tell everyone to swear off this stuff forever. (For my perspective on moderation, refer back to my 90/10 post.) But if CVS is truly serious about positioning itself as a health care company, and not just looking for a jump in brand equity measures, then it should put its money where its mouth is and do a full store inventory.

"Class-Made" Guacamole: No Better Brand Around

One of the things I love about having quit my corporate job is being able to get more involved in my kids' schools. I'm not doing as much as I could, but it's a thousand percent more than I did last year.

I am co-chair of PS321's Green & Healthy Committee, and January is Green & Healthy month! So we had a big party last week for which I created and ran a Nutrition Booth that was wayyyyy more popular than expected given my competition: a dance party, yoga and dance classes, an obstacle course, etc., and... a gelato (made of, err, natural, wholesome ingredients) workshop!

The kids loved playing my "Guess How Much Sugar!" game where they matched cups of varying amounts of sugar with the right product. I also had them be food detectives by asking them to find the differences between two kinds of ketchup, applesauce, peanut butter and cereal. What fun it was to hear an 8-year-old saying, "Mom! NEVER buy this kind of applesauce again! It has high fructose corn syrup in it!" I also overheard a mom looking at my "Did You Know?" section saying to her kid, "Wow, look at that. Broccoli stalks have more calcium and vitamin D than the flowers! We'll have to start throwing them into our stir-fry's." With all that under my belt, I was pretty confident making guacamole with Frank and his 24 first-grader classmates yesterday was going to be a hit.

We all sat and chatted for a bit: What had they learned during Green & Healthy month? Had they tried any new fruits and vegetables? Did they notice how good it feels to be green and healthy? I told them we'd be making guacamole; most had tried it before. I told them I was proud of them as I'd not touched an avocado until my 20's (true story.) Most of them knew an avocado is technically a fruit. (Did you?) I talked to them about the other ingredients - we kept it simple with lime, cilantro and salt but we discussed additional options like red onions, jalepeno peppers and tomatoes, all of which they were happy to be leaving out! I showed them how to easily open an avocado and remove the pit. I showed them how to start the process of growing their very own avocado tree! See here for yourself. (Frank and I agreed to babysit for ours at home and share the progress with the class every couple of weeks.)

And then the madness began!

They broke out into tables, each with a bowl, a masher and a spoon. Each kid got a half an avocado whose flesh they were responsible for scooping out. Each got a quarter of a lime whose juice they were responsible for squeezing out. I went around and sprinkled salt and cilantro in each of the bowls. They mashed and stirred, mashed and stirred. Giggles all around. I handed out carrots and (organic whole grain :)) tortilla chips and they devoured everything.

Only two out of 25 didn't try it. One spooned left-overs into her lunch container. Another literally licked the bowl (unsanitary, but a compliment nonetheless!) Here's what they had to say:

"It's better than store-bought!"
"It's better than a restaurant's!"
"It's better because it costs less!"
"It's better because you know the ingredients!"
"It's CLASS-MADE GUACAMOLE!"


Class-Made Guacamole. There's no better brand around. Try it with your kid's class!

Class-Made Guacamole 
(serves 25 hungry first-graders)

Ingredients:
the flesh of 12 avocados
the juice of 6 limes
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt, to taste

Directions:
1. Scoop out the flesh of each of the avocados into a bowl. MASH.
2. Squirt out the juice of 6 limes into the mashed avocado.
3. Sprinkle the cilantro on top. Mix with a spoon.
4. Add in a little salt at a time, stirring and tasting until desired.

Serve with carrots and whole grain tortilla chips and proudly watch them devour it all.

Another Food Labeling Mess. Disappointing, But Don't Lose Faith.

GMO labeling has taken center stage in health headlines recently, and while actual laws are slow to get traction, heightened consumer awareness is pushing companies to make positive changes they wouldn't have had good business reason to do otherwise. See article about General Mills' decision to remove GMO's from Cheerios' yellow box variety. Progress!

And if you spend any time looking at food packaging these days, you'll see proud call-outs like "now with no high fructose corn syrup," "now with no artificial colors, flavors, dyes," "no trans fats," etc. This is good stuff. Sure, it can breed laziness: we see those call-outs and assume a product is healthy rather than spending quality time with the actual nutrition facts and ingredient lists which may expose otherwise. However, let's be optimists rather than cynics. Progress!

We're seeing more "antibiotics-free," "hormone-free," "fed no animal by-products" meats. More "pastured" and "grass-fed" options in standard grocery stores instead of just the fancier Whole Foods and natural food stores. Wild fish and organic milk is everywhere. Smuckers makes peanut butter you can feel good about buying for your kids. This all means healthier stuff is becoming more accessible to the masses, which means awareness rates have to be growing. And the more informed we are, the healthier we are. Right?

Well? Here's a head-scratcher for you: despite all of the above, and despite my optimistic blog post from last spring, recent data shows obesity rates in 2013 (27.2%) were higher than they've ever been, this after two years of declines seen in 2011 and 2012. What gives?

Could it be.... FRADULENT OLIVE OIL?

If you haven't heard about all of the incredible benefits of especially extra-virgin olive oil recently, you've likely been living under a rock. Its high concentration of mono-unsaturated (good) fat helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and decreases blood pressure. It has stronger concentrations of phytonutrients which have great anti-inflammatory effects on the body. Why is that important? Chronic inflammation wreaks havoc and leads to all sorts of nasty stuff like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

But what if that EVOO we've been pouring all over our salads, drizzling onto over our vitamin A-rich, toxins-removing baked sweet potatoes and brushing onto our deliciously simple grilled halibut isn't EVOO at all, but a mix of god-knows-what kinds of oils? Ones that could very well be genetically-engineered, produce LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase blood pressure?

No, I'm not suggesting that fake olive oil is the number one culprit increasing obesity rates (though I must admit I'm baffled and saddened by the 2013 data), but it's disconcerting to hear that what 70% of us think we're putting into our bodies is actually pretty much the opposite. This is far worse than brands not disclosing whether their products are made from GMO's, or ones who market themselves as "healthy" when their ingredient lists suggest otherwise. No, this olive oil thing (if true, because there's always that question) is a full-blown lie. Makes you wonder what other "good" things we're doing for ourselves that are actually bad.

Ah, screw it, let's just throw in the towel and reach for the Twinkies, right?

Nope, wrong answer. Health is a combination of factors, and just because a couple things we're doing may not be what we've intended or have been told, the (mostly?) good combo will always, always prevail. So read up on as much of this stuff as you can so you stay informed and adjust as you will based on what you conclude. But if you're on the beautiful, albeit sometimes bumpy road to health, DON'T LOSE FAITH.

Resolution Not Working? Try This Instead.

One of the most helpful concepts I learned in health coaching school was 'bio-individuality.' Sounds deeeeeeeeep. And complicated. But it's a simple premise that makes a whole lot of sense. And that's actually the case with a lot of stuff in the health and nutrition world - it's just that too many of the food companies, too much of the medical world and too many loosely termed "experts" have realized that in order to make a business out of health and nutrition, confusing consumers is job number one.

So what is bio-individuality anyway?

There’s no one-size-fits-all diet – each person is a unique individual with highly individualized nutritional requirements. Personal differences in anatomy, metabolism, body composition and cell structure all influence your overall health and the foods that make you feel your best. That’s why no single way of eating works for everyone. The food that is perfect for your unique body, age, and lifestyle may make another person gain weight and feel lethargic. 
- Joshua Rosenthal, Founder, Institute for Integrative Nutrition -

The health and nutrition world markets under the guise of simplicity: Just eat this one food and your belly fat will disappear! Follow these three simple tricks and you'll fit back into those jeans like that! Never eat another carb again and you'll shed those plus sizes forever! Okay, maybe those approaches worked for someone. But they won't work for the general public. 98% of all diets fail sooner or later. And since it's January, I'll throw this depressing statistic out at you as well: 90% of New Year Resolutions fail. So many of them health-related.

Are you having trouble sticking to your health-related resolution?  
A different approach may be in order.

I just finished leading 21 women (and one man!) on a 7-Day "Resolution Jumpstart" Purification. The Purification is not about juicing or deprivation, neither of which is a long-term viable proposition. It's about eating whole, real (delicious, mind you) foods, and eliminating foods that either definitely are or could be inhibiting health-related progress including gluten, dairy, added sugar, caffeine, alcohol, soda, diet soda, juice, artificial anything and preservatives.

YIKES!

Let me tell you: that shit ain't easy. It took us - ALL of us (myself included) - a lot of energy and determination to do this. The intention is not for anyone to try to live like this forever. Instead, we cut out all of this stuff at once in order to create a clean slate. From there, we add stuff back in slowly and check how we're feeling. This way we'll know if there are certain types of foods that just don't sit well, and may be at the core of our issues including bloating, acne, low energy, poor sleep, eczema, intense cravings or weight gain. Many of my purifiers are discovering a few kinds of foods were really tripping them up: gluten for one (the source of chronic bloating); dairy for another (the source of chronic eczema); added sugar for still another (the source of intense cravings.) And many have enjoyed as much as five pounds in weight loss after just seven days! Likely the combination of everything.

But none of those specifics matter much if everyone goes back to their old ways once the week is over. The most valuable lesson (even the most miserable of) my purifiers take away from this seven day journey is awareness. Many of us go through our days mindlessly eating or doing this or that. There are no fingers to point here, it's just a reality of our crazed worlds. But for these seven days, each of us was ultra-aware of what we were eating, how we were sleeping, what kind of time we were making for exercise, how much TV we were watching, etc. And, importantly, how each of those things was making us feel.

We'll each decide what to DO with what we learned moving forward, but the practice of being more aware itself is really hard to shake (in a good way!), the positive momentum we've all created for ourselves forms the buildings blocks required for long-term change, and each of us will have our bio-individualistic learnings to fall back on, well, forever.

From one Resolution Jumpstart Purifier:

Last Sunday morning I was shoveling food in my mouth standing up and screaming at my daughter to get dressed for her skating lesson. This week I had oatmeal, have a smoothie and am drinking my unfinished tea out of my thermos. Totally different scene just a week later!

So if you're finding your health-related resolution isn't going so well, the reason might be that it just wasn't the right resolution fit for you. Because it was someone else's diet program, someone else's exercise regime, or it was simply unrealistic. Take just a week instead and practice the art of awareness: it's a real shortcut to some long-term answers. 

Embrace and Master the Art of Leftover-ing!

Just the thought of leftovers used to completely depress me. Maybe it's because of unappetizing definitions like this one from Wikipedia:

Leftovers: the uneaten remains of a meal.

But I blame Mom. Every afternoon when I came home from school I would ask, "What's for dinner?" And about once a week she'd respond, "Leftovers." As if these leftovers weren't worthy of being called the actual food that they were. "Leftovers" sometimes meant mac 'n cheese (a childhood favorite!), yet after being labeled "leftovers", I wasn't interested. Seems Mom would have benefitted from a Marketing 101 class.

My distaste of the "leftovers" concept trickled along into my twenties. But at this point, the depression stemmed from a heightened awareness of my economic status: leftovers made me feel poor. And I was poor, mind you, but I certainly didn't want to be reminded of that fact when I sat down for lunch or dinner! So, instead, more often than not, I made the wise choice of either ordering in or going out (declining the doggy bag), driving myself further into debt.

As I matured into my thirties, leftovers no longer felt like the plague. Yet still, there were issues, boredom being one: my taste buds weren't interested in having the same dinner two nights in a row. And often, I wasn't even home two nights in a row. But then inevitably a few nights later, I'd take a look at my leftovers and wonder if they'd gone bad. I would decide they probably had, but as I was not sure, I'd leave them there. (Am I the only one here? Highly irrational!) And they'd then get pushed farther in the back of the fridge only to be discovered weeks later in a state I will not describe here.

But I am happy to report that, pushing 40, I have finally embraced and mastered the art of leftover-ing! In fact, I now strategically cook to ensure I have plenty of leftovers to choose from at all times. A big motto in my house is "cook once, eat twice." I'll admit this is much easier to do now that I'm home rather than at a corporate job (and that health coaching is my career focus!) but it's easier than you may think. Here is a handful of ideas:

- Roast a chicken on Sunday for dinner. Kids can have chicken again one or two nights that week. You can have it in your salads. Or make chicken noodle soup!
- Cook four pieces of salmon instead of two. Refrigerate the remaining two for lunch salads or make salmon breakfast omelets.
- Make more couscous, quinoa, brown rice than you need. Save for up to four days in the fridge and use as a side for any dinner during the week and/or sprinkle over salads. Or spice it up into a salad of its own like this tabbouleh!
- Make more black beans than you need. Use in the kids' dinner quesadillas the next night.
- Bake an additional sweet potato. Divide the flesh into ice cube trays, freeze them and then use a couple of cubes in each of your morning smoothies!

But all of that might feel like too much planning. So what about the stuff you just couldn't finish but know you shouldn't throw away? Odds and ends leftovers can still be made into something fabulously delicious. Check out this list of recipe ideas from Greatist. (And let me know if you decide to make the breakfast spaghetti. Dying to know if that's any good, but haven't gotten around to trying it myself.)

And as far as more "traditional" leftovers go - meaning, just heat them up and there's your meal - I happen to believe foods like pizza, meatballs and thai anything improve with age (okay, overnight.) Or even just remember the Friday after Thanksgiving. Isn't it all somehow more delicious the day after? Here's some actual science behind that.

During the holidays, more than any other time of the year, there are bound to be leftovers. Get creative. I bet you discover some yummy combinations!

Fun Fart Facts

Want to make the unavoidable potty talk in your young household somewhat educational? Or are you just interested in the digestive system? Read on for some fun fart facts.

Anything involving flatulence is a hit in the Kain home these days. Instead of reading the other night, Maggie asked if she could practice writing before she went to sleep. She started off asking how to spell our cat's name, and it went downhill from there as you can see from the picture here.

I cut off the exercise after the third mention of a bodily function as her giggling was becoming uncontrollable and my chances of getting her to go to sleep quickly were waning. But nice penmanship for a four year old, eh?

So anyway, on Sunday I was reading the paper and came across a quiz about digestion that I thought would be perfect to take to test out my health coaching knowledge. I have to admit: I got a perfect zero. Some obscure stuff here! (Take it and see how you do.) I wouldn't say it's the really important stuff to know, but it might help me in Trivial Pursuit some day, and my family found some of the results quite entertaining.

Did you know...

While it varies by diet, humans will toot about 22 times a day. The peak time for passing gas is five hours after lunch and five hours after dinner. These time periods are, in part, a result of manners: you hold it in at work and let the gas out on your way home. 
I had guessed 8, the lowest number I could check on the multiple choice quiz, and even that I had thought was extreme. Frank claimed he hadn't farted at all the day before. We decided that it must have all happened while he slept, though I didn't believe him for a second.

Flatulence in women has higher concentrations of stinky hydrogen sulfide than men.
I'm not sure why I decided to share this little gem with Frank as I've not heard the end of it since.
 
The foods that cause the most foul-smelling gas are red meat, cruciferous vegetables, garlic, dried fruits and beer.
Well, hmmmm..., except for the dried fruit, these are all pretty much staples in our household. If you're eating healthfully, it seems you won't be able to avoid gas. Cut out the red meat, beer and dried fruits if you so choose (though grass-fed red meat once a week is fine for most and some bodies actually need more, dried fruits are yummy in moderation chopped into granola, and cutting out beer is a crime as far as I'm concerned) but cruciferous veggies and garlic should be consumed a-plenty. Cruciferous (cabbage family) vegetables are incredibly nutritious, containing all the normal vitamins, minerals and fiber of other veggies, but they also uniquely include certain phytochemical compounds which play a major role in the body's natural detoxification process. And garlic is an allium vegetable (basically an edible bulb) that can transform a blah meal into something totally delicious with no guilt whatsoever. The sulfides in garlic (and onions, leeks, scallions and shallots) have also been linked to decreased risk of many diseases. So bring on the gas, folks!

If these fun little tidbits haven't gotten a rise out of at least someone in your family, share this little gem: your stomach actually digests itself! Our stomach linings have evolved to regenerate themselves completely every few days. Find it hard to wrap your head around this? Take a moment to think about your body in general. It's a machine that works 24/7. The fuel you provide it with daily through food, drink, exercise, mental state, etc. is constantly replacing yesterday's fuel. While percentages vary, experts agree that many cases of chronic diseases like heart disease, the leading cause of death in this country, are not only preventable, but reversible... this constantly replenished fuel is the reason. Change how you treat your body and what you put into it and you could cure it without drugs. But I digress... back to gas.

We learn very early on to hold in our gas, mostly because it's embarrassing not to (rarely because we're being considerate.) Some say it's really bad for our health to do so, but I think I'm with Dr. Oz on this one: Holding in gas isn't dangerous to your health, but Dr. Oz says it can cause unnecessary stomach cramps and pain. "You shouldn't bother holding it in," he says. "Let it come out when it's supposed to come out. Be smart about it. Do it in a place that's airy enough that you're not going to hurt your family and friends." (His use of the word "hurt" here makes me laugh.)

Okay, just one last thing: a little freebie holiday tip. Whoopie Cushions make great stocking stuffers for just about any age. They'll be in my kids' stockings again this year, though I'm unsure why I'm deciding to perpetuate the flatulence fascination. Buy them at the nearest dollar store to save some money. They inevitably pop on Christmas Day from over-use and abuse anyway.

The Holidays: Good or Bad For Our Health?

 Maintaining a healthy diet is especially difficult at this time of year given the inescapable abundance of food and drinks. But here's a little secret: embracing this enviornment is healthier than trying to fight it and then beating yourelf up about it when you can't. Because food and drinks are fun. And lucky for us, fun is good for our health!

Did you know... 

• laughter can ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.
• laughter stimulates circulation and aids in muscle relaxation.
• positivity can release neuropeptides into your body that help fight stress and improve your immune system.

Conversely, negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that invite more stress and decrease immunity.

But despite the inherent goodness of the holidays, we are all guilty of allowing stress to compromise them to some degree, be it self-inflicted, or brought on by friends, family or the commercialization that companies rely on to make their numbers at the end of the year.

My best advice? Try to reduce that stress by focusing your energy on maintaining good mental health, and everything else will have a much better chance of falling into place.

Be content with how much you can do and what gets put off.

"I just have too much to do. There's no way I'm getting it all done!" Sound familiar? Call me a pessimist, but the likelihood of all of it getting done is non-existent. Rather than accept this reality, many of us choose to rob ourselves of sleep to try to make it all happen. What you might not realize is that sleep deprivation stimulates the hunger hormone, gherlin. So our brain tells us to eat even if we really don't need to. What's worse, sleep deprivation increases activity in areas of the brain that seek pleasure, so we crave unhealthier and higher-calorie foods (of which there is no shortage this time of year.) And without proper sleep to aid in better decision-making, those are likely the ones we'll reach for. It's like a quadruple whammy! So don't try to be superwoman (or man). Prioritize the stuff that absolutely has to happen, and cut yourself some slack as far as what can wait.

Be content with how much you have and what you can give. 

 

"Keeping up with the Jones'" is never a more relevant phrase than during the holidays. But everyone's reality is different, so comparisons are silly. You might not be able to afford everything on everyone's list, but the family next door can. So what? Be content with what you can give and believe that it's enough. You'll find it quite freeing.

Having recently quit my job, I can't give what I normally do this year. A couple of months ago, the thought of this kept me up at night. But once I made peace with it, I realized I can give things like homemade kick-ass quinoa granola that my friends might decide is a wonderful, permanent replacement for the bagel they normally have in the morning. A far more meaningful gift than a tenth pair of Cosabellas!

Be content with who you are and what you look like.

Many of us have a distorted image of our body. We talk to ourselves in ways we would never speak to another. Imagine speaking to a child the way you speak to yourself. It would devastate and squelch them. It affects you similarly, causing stress that makes maintaining or improving your health even more difficult. So give yourself a break! Especially at this time of year! Give the holidays their opportunity to do all the wonderfully soul-enriching things for you they are intended to do. That piece of pie won't kill you, but feeling unnecessary guilt about it can do damage. (And, hey, there's always January for resolutions!)

Lastly... Eat Sweet Potatoes!

Sweet potatoes are a root vegetable, which means they grow under the ground. So eating them provides a wonderful grounding effect that helps fight stress. As their name suggests, sweet potatoes are also sweet-tasting so they can help reduce cravings for sugary treats. But unlike the jolt delivered by simple refined carbs, sweet potatoes elevate blood sugar gently so there's no energy crash after you eat them. Much higher in nutrients than white potatoes and especially rich in vitamin A, they are healing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and help to remove toxins from the body. They can even increase the quantity of milk in lactating women and lessen cramps and premenstrual symptoms!

My favorite way to eat them is plain old baked. (This recipe calls for S&P and butter but try them first without. You may just agree with me they're delicious naked!)

Or if you're feeling more adventurous, make sweet potato fries, skillet sweet potatoes (follow just the first part of the recipe, or have the steak too!), sweet potato dip, sweet potato pancakes (be patient with the flipping), or sweet potato soup!

Your body is your home. Make it the best place to be. 

Find Yourself a Workout Buddy or Buddies!

If I didn't have them, I wouldn't have gotten out of bed at 5:35am on this frigid and windy morning.

I'm talking about my My Body My Home Boot Camp buddies. Three women in my apartment building meet me for a workout every weekday morning from 5:45am-6:30am, and have been since mid-September. When we began, I didn't think it was going to continue. It's cold. It's dark. It's really easy to hit snooze. But I underestimated them. Everyone has remained committed to this now cherished 45 minutes of peace and sweat before the crazy and lazy ones (we have seven children and four husbands between us) even begin to stir.

As mentioned in previous posts, I quit my corporate job back in early October. It seems a little odd to, well, everyone, that I now get up earlier than I did when I worked full time. But I do it because my Boot Camp buddies need to be on the subway by 7:30am, so if we started Boot Camp any later, it wouldn't work for them. They rely on me, so if it doesn't work for them, it doesn't work for me. But here's what I realized a couple of weeks ago: I rely on them too.

Throughout high school and college, I played organized sports. After graduating, I had to find the self-discipline to keep in shape on my own, and I've done a pretty good job over the past 17 years. I worked out in the morning because I could never guarantee I'd get out of work in time to do so in the evening (or that I'd have the willpower to say no to after-work drinks!) And then the babies came. I couldn't have my boobs at the gym if the 6-month-old needed to eat. And what warm-hearted first-time mom can roll out of bed for spin class when her 18-month-old is cuddled up against her? And then we moved from being a couple blocks away from Central Park to across from Prospect Park. A "run around the park" went from being 6.2 miles to 3.3 miles. It's still a run around the park, right?! Needless to say, things became a little lax. If I let all that happen, it would have been easy to work out after the kids were at school once I quit my job: more sleep + warmer + lighter. Oh so appealing! But without even realizing what they were doing, Olivia, Jessica and Christina didn't let that happen. The Sunday night they first asked me if they could join me for my workout the following morning, they changed my everything for the better:

1. They force me out of bed. On time. Every weekday morning for the past 10 weeks.
2. They have me back to my apartment before anyone gets up, so I don't miss a minute with my family.
3. They've given me the gift of an extra hour to focus on growing my new business when the kids are in school.
4. They make me look forward to every workout I do, because I truly love their company. 
5. They make me look forward to every workout I do, because I make it different each time to keep it interesting. 
6. They've made me more creative. I've devised three different Boot Camp workouts we rotate through addition to running and yoga. And I'm in the middle of creating a fourth. 
7. They've forced me to cross-train rather than run every morning. This is better on my nearing-40 bones and joints, and it's made me stronger and my muscles more defined.

I could think of three more to make this a perfect ten, but seven happens to be my lucky number so I'll leave it there.

I think they think I'm doing them a favor by donating my workout time to helping them get and stay in shape. But they've done me an even bigger one. And the benefits of exercise go far beyond the obvious physical ones: better sleep, better mood, better sex to name a few. Those sound kinda nice, huh?

As winter descends upon us, I highly recommend you find yourself a buddy (or buddies) too.

Let's Get Kids To Encourage Kids To "Eat Your Veggies!"

I used to work in advertising. And some day, I'll probably go back. But I got bit by the nutrition bug about a year and a half ago and decided a few months ago I needed to pursue it whole hog for at least a little while. So that's what I'm doing. But I love it when my old world and my new world collide, as they did in this recent NYT article: Broccoli's Extreme Makeover.

I often felt bad about working in advertising because doing a good job typically meant I was helping sell products that people either didn't need (or worse, were actually bad for them) or couldn't afford. In fact, no product or service I ever marketed was one that people BOTH needed AND could afford.

But maybe if I'd been hired to market broccoli?

These are the kinds of assignments advertising agencies rarely get to work on because, as this article describes, there's little money in real food. Government subsidies go to the likes of corn and soy - not the corn on the cob you eat at a summer barbecue, or the edamame you munch on before your sushi - but the kind you find hidden in strange ingredient names in the majority of processed food and animal feed, which is the far bigger business. And while this unfortunate reality is getting more and more publicity as of late, I don't expect anything to change any time soon.

That said, three years ago a bunch of carrot growers got together and pitched in what amounted to millions to market baby carrots via Bolthouse Farms, the second largest supplier of carrots in the country. Bolthouse Farms' CEO is an ex-Coke exec so knows a thing or two about how to market snacks. They hired one of the best agencies in the business to come up with the campaign and it was a great success. So... it is possible to get people to eat better. But their approach, which was to market baby carrots as if it were junk food rather than a healthy alternative to junk food (a brilliant flip), tells us a lot about the American consumer.

Unfortunately, these success stories are few and far between. And it all goes back to my earlier point that there is little money in the real food business and therefore little incentive for anyone to put much energy (financial or otherwise) behind it. But the broccoli makeover article inspired me...

I am co-chair of the Green & Healthy committee at Frank's elementary school. It is a year-long initiative but there is a special focus on it in January, for obvious reasons. As such, my co-chair and I are encouraging teachers to incorporate Green & Healthy activities into their January curriculum, and are providing some suggestions to get them thinking. Suggestion #1:

Have your students pick a vegetable and then create an advertising campaign (depending on the grade, that could mean just a print ad or a bigger campaign) for that vegetable that would get kids their age to want to eat it. 

A few years ago, I balked at the crowdsourcing agencies popping up everywhere taking revenue from the traditional agencies. But when I realized they weren't going away, I found ways to use them that strengthened my client offering vs threatened it. And now, I'm embracing the crowdsourcing model even further. If every teacher chooses to do this activity with their students, we will have 1500 ideas on how to get kids to "eat their veggies!"

I've been in the business for too long to believe even 1500 5-10 year olds will come up with something as good as Crispin did for baby carrots, but if this exercise can at least change the way some of the kids at PS321 feel about a few different vegetables, I'll call that success!

(If you're feeling inspired yourself, the NYT blog has a call for entries for new slogans to sell beets, cabbage cauliflower, turnips or peas.)

The Switch Witch

One night in mid-November last year, I heard the same question I'd heard EVERY night since October 31st: "Momma, can I have a piece of Halloween candy?" But instead of obliging, I lied. I told my kids I couldn't find it. Thankfully, they didn't search the garbage. Just call me the Grinch who stole Halloween.

Now, here's the thing. I LOVE Halloween: the costumes, the decorations, carving pumpkins. I love that everyone is out and about in the fresh air. And I LOVE the feeling of a progressively heavier bag. It feels so satisfying - as satisfying now as it did when I was little. I'm the one egging my kids on to run to the next house to get as much candy as they possibly can, comparing their bags to other kids' bags. Totally perverse when I'm the same one tossing that candy in the garbage two weeks later.

So this year, the Switch Witch is paying a visit to the Kain house on Friday night while we sleep. She is a good witch, and she looooooves candy. She trades you your candy for the toy of your choice. Simple, brilliant concept I cannot believe I'd not heard of (or thought of!) until now.

The question becomes whether or not your kids will fall for it. When I told Frank about her, he nearly fell off his seat. "Really, Momma?! She exists?! Are you sure?! Do you think she knows Hawk Man?!" Yes, indeed, she knows Hawk Man. And she knows Batman too, Maggie's toy of choice. Bet you she knows the toy your kid's been begging for too.

Frank's totally cool with giving up his candy as long as he can have three pieces on Thursday night and three on Friday. (I felt that was a fair negotiation for a six year old.) Maggie seems down with it too though I'm pretty certain she has absolutely no idea what she's agreed to and when she discovers only Batman in her candy bag on Saturday morning there will be hell to pay. But it's worth a try! Because I would much prefer being a good witch to a grinch.

Focus on feelings, not looks

In one of my September posts, When Observations Become Judgements, I wrote about an upcoming workshop at Frank's school about self-love and body image. I attended the workshop last night, and it was eye-opening.

Loni Markman, the woman who ran it, is a positive body coach who's been working for several years in this field, but the last workshop she ran on this particular subject was a handful of years ago. In updating her statistics, she discovered the age at which our kids are becoming aware of body image and physical appearance has dropped dramatically. It starts at age FOUR now. This is frightening. Maggie is four, and Peter and I lovingly refer to her as "chubby cheeks." Now's probably the time to stop doing so(!), though I'm not naive enough to believe that he and I alone can prevent her from image awareness. But this workshop made me realize we might be putting too much of the blame and onus on school, peers, the media, etc., and under-estimating our own complicity.

One of the things Loni said last night is whenever you find yourself in a conversation with your kids about body image or physical appearance, steer the conversation away from looks and back to feelings. Makes a whole lot of sense. But then she asked a bit of a stinging question: when we are in a similar conversation with one of our peers and even alone with ourselves, do we do this? Seriously ask yourself, do you do this? The answer was no for all of us in the room. If it were yes, our kids probably wouldn't be in the predicament they are. Because even though it doesn't seem as though they listen to us all the time (at least mine don't), they are human sponges and they see and hear everything! So become more aware of your own behavior:

A few illustrative scenarios:

• You're at a restaurant and the waiter offers dessert. Stop yourself from patting your stomach and saying, "I've already eaten way too much! I shouldn't have any." Instead, say something like, "Dinner was delicious and I feel great! I'm going to pass." Even if the former is said with a wink and a smile to your husband, the kids are watching, listening and eventually emulating.

• Your kids are in your room and you're getting dressed. Your jeans aren't buttoning too easily. Hard to ignore, but try not to verbalize your dissatisfaction. "Looks like mommy needs to go to the gym!" sends unhealthy messages to your kids. I've also been known to say things like: "Ugh, I just want to get this run over-with!" Your kids knowing and seeing you exercise is a good thing, so don't shy away from talking about it. But make it a positive rather than a burden. "I'm feeling kind of sluggish today. I can't wait to go to the gym and get back some energy!" I even invite my kids to do workouts with me sometimes - they love it. They think of it as play (we could learn a thing or two from them.)
  
  
  

• At the end of a family vacation you say to yourself (out loud), "I've eaten so much this week I have to go on a diet when we get home." Strike the word "diet" from your vocabulary. Girls are dieting as early as six years old these days. If it's hard to believe, think about the number of people you know right now who are on some sort of a diet. Statistics will tell you that 99% of those who go on diets end up "failing" (whatever that means). So there's absolutely nothing beneficial about diet talk, especially around your kids. 

• If your kid comes home from school and tells you they're fat, don't dismiss it. It's an invitation to talk. There's likely something else bothering them, and certainly something that triggered the comment. Dig to figure out what it is and navigate that problem with them... everything else should follow suit. If they come home and tell you someone else is fat, follow the same same strategy. And when it's appropriate, negate the comment: "What good things can you tell me about (the person)?"

More often than not, we don't even realize what we're saying in front of our kids. It's just the way we talk. But their interpretation of what we are saying is very different than an adult's interpretation. We're more influential than we think!

Now, put the kids aside for a minute. Think about you. Don't go on a diet or change your eating habits because you don't like the way you look. Do it because you don't like the way you feel. Don't eat something because you think it will make you look better. Eat it because it makes you feel better. Similarly, don't exercise because you want to look different. Exercise because you want to feel different. Let your feelings be your guide rather than the scale or mirror. Looks are short-term. Focus on feelings and I promise you the long-term rewards will be greater. (And the trickle-down effect to your kids hugely positive!)

Thank you for the stimulating discussion, Loni!

Lipstick On Too Many Pigs

Quoted in the New York Times this week:

"Companies like McDonald's play a powerful role in shaping the culture and environment that influences the health-related behaviors of young people," said Howell Wechsler, chief executive of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an organization set up by the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association.

While this statement is a sad commentary on the state of our collective health, it's unfortunately a true one. So I guess I should be commending this organization and others - as well as McDonald's - for taking some action... McDonald's will apparently stop marketing some (operative word here?) of its less nutritional options to kids, and will be offering fruits and vegetables in many (operative word here?) of its adult menu combinations. Not everywhere, mind you, and the roll-out will not be complete for another seven years. But a step in the right direction? Maybe.

The whole thing just seems sort of ridiculous to me.

If you're the type of person who's looking for something healthy, McDonald's isn't likely where you'll find yourself. And if you're a healthy person actually at a McDonald's, it's likely because you're just craving a little once-in-a-blue-moon treat - like me at nine weeks pregnant, wolfing down a quarter pounder with cheese before the car had even cleared the drive-thru window. If someone had confronted me with a veggie and fruit "option" at that point, making me think twice about my uncontrollable need for salty fries, it would not have been pretty.

At least those who frequent McDonald's will be exposed to the better options consistently and therefore maybe the message will start to sink in (that's where McDonald's "powerful role in shaping the culture and environment that influences health-related behaviors of young people" kicks in.) But don't be fooled. Those who might be impressionable are probably the same ones opting for the Egg White Delight Muffin, thinking they're choosing a healthy alternative. After all, this is how it's marketed:

But in reality, just looking at the ingredient list for this could send you straight to the hospital. If you're not in the mood to click another link, check out how just the egg white alone is prepared.

It's too easy to be fooled, even for the smartest among us. (Have you ever bought something at the grocery store thinking it was fine, only to turn the package over at home to find it's anything but fine? If you haven't, try it.) Especially when you really want to think you're being good. McDonald's knows this. And unfortunately they are in very good company. Lotsa lipsticks. Lotsa pigs.

If we all live a little more suspiciously when it comes to food, we can start to chip away at the influence these pigs have over our health.

Generation SNACK!

Like anything in the world of nutrition, you'll find "experts" who will argue that snacking is a good thing, and you'll find "experts" who will argue that snacking is a bad thing. My perspective? It depends. (Spoiler alert: this is my perspective on just about everything health-related.)

On the good side, snacks can help prevent over-eating at meals. And taking time out for a little snack can be a nice respite from a hectic day. Snacks can also help balance a mood if blood sugar is out of whack, preventing meltdowns in kids and even in adults (manifests as unjustified impatience and frustration.)

So as I see it, there's no harm in a snack every so often.

But it seems to me that today's wee generation (and I can say this because I created two members of it) thinks of snacks as an entirely different thing. To them, snacks are a daily guarantee. It's as if snacks are their own food group. I don't remember this being the case when I was little, so I asked my mom:

I don't remember snacks being very much a part of our lives at all. Maybe because I was taught not to eat between meals? I know we had pretzels around, and bananas and other fruit, mostly apples. But I don't remember you guys ever eating in the car on the way to do errands or soccer practice or anything like that. Do you?

Nope, I don't. But I don't know too many parents nowadays who dare take their kids in the car without snacks. I certainly don't. Having an emergency stash on hand is smart, but when the stash becomes the expectation rather than the exception, it's a slippery slope: kid doesn't eat his breakfast - he knows he'll get a snack if he's hungry... kid eats that mid-morning snack and then isn't hungry for lunch... so kid doesn't eat lunch but is hungry in a few hours so he gets a mid-afternoon snack... and so on and so on.

This wouldn't be such a problem if the latest definition of "snack" wasn't so warped. (And actually, this situation would likely be much less prevalent if the latest definition of "snack" wasn't so warped!) When my four year old asks for a snack, I offer fruit, veggies and hummus, nuts, or - dread! - her leftovers from the previous meal. And I'm very emphatically told: "Those aren't snacks!" To be considered a snack by Maggie standards, it must come from a box or bag with a questionably long shelf-life.

The odd thing is, my kids actually really like fruit, veggies and hummus, nuts... so what gives?

Can I blame school? The ubiquitous 'snack time' that seems to be synonymous with piles of bright orange fish?

Can I blame the expansive center aisle of the grocery store? The shelves packs with overly sweet, overly salty, overly-processed "foods" that didn't exist 30 years ago?

Can I blame other parents? After all, an apple is booooooo-ring when it's sitting on a bench next to a bag of cinnamon teddies.

It might make me feel better to place the blame elsewhere, but the reality is whether some or all of these things are true, none is an excuse. Healthy eating habits are ours to teach our kids... or not. And frankly, I think many of us have gotten a little lazy.

I'm never going to be able to control what my kids are given at someone else's house, or at snack time at school, or if they're sitting next to a bag of Doritos at the playground. But I can control what I give to them. I can control what I have in my cupboards, my car and my purse. And I can control how much of their real meals they eat (or at least what that means for any sort of snack entitlement later.) And if I'm doing right by them when I have that control, I can give them a better shot at making their own good choices when I'm not around.

Superfood For The Mind and Soul

Every year for the past ten years, eleven crazy friends and I (and over 400 other teams) have run a relay race up in New Hampshire called Reach the Beach. It's my favorite weekend of the year.

The route is roughly 200 miles, split up into 36 legs, starting at Cannon Mountain and ending at Hampton Beach. It's marketed as 200 miles in 24 hours, but for the more normal (us), it takes roughly 30. Each runner logs a total of between 15 and 23 miles depending on which legs they've been assigned, or up to 3ish hours, depending on how fast they are.

The other roughly 27 hours are spent sitting in one of two progressively smellier vans, getting progressively more sore from sitting still after pushing our bodies up and pounding them down massive hills, becoming more and more slap-happily delirious, and eating the only kind of food that can possibly survive in a magically disgusting environment like this one: processed crap... with the occasional banana or apple. (My kids were beside themselves with confusion and excitement when I brought the leftovers home this year - Life Cereal and Oreos!? What happened to Momma!?)

And after each of our vans completes a round of legs, we always find a fabulous restaurant along the route to reward ourselves. If it's after 11am-ish, we don't shy away from the drinks menu. Nope, we dig right in to everything, letting nothing dampen our debaucherous spirits... as if our next legs are days away, rather than hours. Because this race is all about the moment.

Our stomachs always pay the price on subsequent legs - but nevertheless, each of us somehow manages to run them faster than we possibly could on any normal day. Because adrenaline is on our side. So are the 50 random angry cows we meet on the side of the dirt country road, the moon and the stars that guide us at night, the driving rain that makes us feel four years old again, the end-of-the-random-driveway-cocktail-party-goers who toast our grit, and the cool sand between our blistered toes as eleven of us gather around Big Booty Hoh (team name = don't ask) runner number 12 to hobble across the finish line - throat lumps and all.

Big Booty Hohs 2013

It may seem odd for anyone, let alone a health coach, to argue that sleep deprivation, alcohol, Twizzlers and pushing your body way beyond its limits is a healthy combination. In fact, I'm fully aware that to most people this weekend sounds like the definition of hell. But except for duds along the way, most anyone I've recruited to run for the Big Booty Hohs over the past ten years has fallen in love with the experience. And we've all kind of fallen in love with each other too: BO, farts and all.

We even have a theme song, this small excerpt of which doesn't do its brilliance justice:
"... Big. Big Hohs. Big Booty Hohs. 
Sometimes a Hoh just gotta make through the night. 
Perseverance is my pimp. The road is my crack pipe..." 

Bad for the body? Inarguably. But this race is like superfood for my mind and soul, which more than makes up for it. Five days have passed since we "reached the beach" and I'm still riding high.