Club 24 Nutrition Blog

When the temperatures rise our bodies naturally turn to cooler foods.  This is what makes a salad such a perfect meal on a warm summer evening.  But if your idea of a salad is a side of iceberg lettuce with a few unripe tomatoes piled with ranch dressing, think again.  It may sound stereotypical but a salad can be your best friend when trying to maintain or lose weight and up your vegetable intake.

But believe it or not, salads can also be a big diet saboteur.  A seemingly innocent bowl of greens with healthy avocado, a few sprinkles of cheese, a few tablespoons of dressing, topped with walnuts and suddenly you are left with an 800-1000 calorie meal!

Follow these tips to build your healthy, satisfying, and calorie friendly salad:

• Make your salad base about volumetrics.  This means fill the bowl with as many vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, bell peppers, onion, celery etc.), lettuce, spinach or other leafy greens as you want.  The goal is to take advantage of the fact that vegetables are naturally low in calories so you can pile them on.  Bonus:  you will be getting a boost of antioxidants, photochemical, vitamins and minerals.
• Don’t forget about fruit.  Adding sliced strawberries, peaches, apples, or blueberries or other fruits give the salad an extra nutritional punch while adding flavor and color.
• Choose one extra topping.  Extras include: feta, goat cheese, walnuts, almonds, cashews, avocado.  These are all items that in smaller amounts can be really good for you but are high in calories and/or fat.  Choose one for your salad to avoid piling on the calories without even realizing it.
• If your salad is an entrée and not a compliment to a larger meal, think about adding a lean protein such as grilled chicken, grilled salmon, garbanzo beans, or baked tofu.  Protein helps keep you feeling satiated and satisfied for longer after meals.
• Another option for making your salad a healthy entrée is to add a grain as the base such as quinoa, brown rice, or wheat berries.  Put a half-cup portion in under your vegetables and you have added healthy whole grains that will keep you fuller longer.
• Keep the dressing to a minimum – and make it yourself!  Often store-bought dressings are filled with extra chemicals and additives you don’t want or need.   Mix one tablespoon of olive oil with balsamic vinegar (to your desired taste) and 1 tsp of Dijon mustard and you have yourself a healthy, homemade dressing.  Just remember that one tbsp of olive oil does provide about 120 calories so be sure to portion it out.

Here is an example entrée Salad:

• 1 cup romaine + 1 cup spinach: ~ 20 calories
• 1 medium tomato, chopped: ~25 calories
• 1 cup chopped cucumber: ~20 calories
• 1 tbsp chopped red onion: ~5 calories
• ½ cup strawberry halves: ~25 calories
• ¼ cup crumbled feta: ~ 90 calories
• ½ cup quinoa, cooked: ~130 calories
• 4 oz grilled chicken: ~135 calories
• 1 tbsp olive oil: ~120 calories
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar: ~5 calories
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard: ~ 5 calories

Total: 580 calories

Experiment with your own flavors and enjoy!

Summer is finally here bringing us long evenings, beach days, barbecues with friends, trips to the lake, and sunset hikes.  The warm summer months are also a perfect opportunity to optimize your health.   Here are 5 tips to stay healthy and fit during the summer season:

1. Build a healthy salad.  A salad is the perfect go-to meal when the weather is warm.  A salad can be light, refreshing and healthy.  But beware – a few additions can really ramp up the calories.  Add avocado, nuts, dressing, and cheese to a large salad and suddenly your healthy choice  has turned into an 800-900 calorie meal.  Keep in mind that even healthy foods like olive oil, nuts, and avocado should be used in moderation.
2. Watch your drinks.  Be conscious of your alcohol calories.  A blended margarita may sound delicious at a Friday night happy hour but it can also boast 180-300 calories (depending on the size of the glass).  Keep in mind that a shot of alcohol averages about 100 calories.  In addition to the extra calories, alcohol increases our feelings of disinhibition, or lack of restraint, meaning we are more likely to be out of touch with our hunger signals and choose foods we wouldn’t normally eat.  Try to alternate alcoholic beverages with a glass of water to reduce your intake and keep yourself hydrated.  You’ll also feel better the next day!
3. Be outdoor savvy.  The gorgeous weather allows us to get outside to run, bike, walk, and hike.  But as the temperatures rise keeping yourself healthy means being extra conscious of hydration (see article on hydration here).  Drink plenty of water and wear your sunscreen.  If you are going to be active for longer than 45 minutes, make sure you have access to the proper fuel for your workout (read more here).
4. Optimize flavor.  The summer season is the best time to eat fresh produce.  We may take it for granted that we have access to fresh fruits and vegetables all year long, but summertime is truly the season of fresh produce.  If you have ever tasted a tomato in December versus a tomato in August then you know there is no comparison.  Take advantage of the season and visit your farmers market, join a CSA, or just pick out some seasonal fruit at the grocery store.  To read more about what is in season each month check out this website.  To see other benefits of eating local read here.
5. Beware of the barbeque.   While delicious, pot lucks and barbecues are notorious for providing unhealthy food choices.  Potato salads, cole slaw, pasta salad, and chips and dips are all filled with excess calories and fat.  Try to fill your plate with healthy foods first: green and fruit salads, grilled vegetables, lean meats and if you still want a taste of that creamy potato salad just add a little on the side.

Make this summer your healthiest yet.  Don’t let your summer define you, you can define your summer!

With so much concern over the fuel we put into our bodies for optimum performance or weight loss, we often overlook an extremely important aspect to an effective workout program: hydration.

Improper hydration can impair performance whether you are training for a race, or sweating it out in a spin class.  In addition to poor perforamnce, dehyration can have serious consequences if electrolytes become imbalanced.  For some who are trying to lose weight, thirst can even be misconstrued for hunger signals and cause you to overeat.

So how much fluid should you be drinking?  It depends on how much you sweat and how long you exercised.  But here are some general guidelines to keep in mind:

Before exercising:  5 to 7 mL/kg of body weight (2 to 3 mg/lb) four hours before activity.  For a 120 pound woman this is about 1 and 1/2 glasses (8 ounces) of water.  If you are headed to the gym after work, and not preparing for an endurance event, sipping water throughout the day should be sufficient.

After exercising: 24 ounces for each pound lost.   This is about 3 glasses of water.  If you weigh yourself before and after a workout and notice a loss of two pounds immediately, this is likely due to a loss of water weight.  By drinking water to rehydrate yourself you will not negate any weight loss efforts that are a result of fat loss.  Instead you will be able to recover more quickly and be more likely to work just as hard at your next workout.

Sports drinks with electrolyte replacements are necessary in cases of endurance exercise when an individual is exercising longer than an hour, or in  hot temperatures, to provide fuel for the muscles in the form of glucose (sugar) and decrease dehydration risks.  For the average person exercising at the gym under normal conditions, rehydrating with water is a better choice to avoid unnecessary caloric intake.  Sports drinks purposely have added calories from sugar, as well as added electrolytes that you may not need.  Just make sure you are properly fueling with food too (read here for more information).

If you are under the age of 30, your clock is already ticking down. I’m not talking about your biological baby clock, I’m talking about your bone clock.  The twenties are your peak bone formation years when you will literally lay out the foundation of bone that you will have for the rest of your life.

You may think of Osteoporosis as a disease of the elderly, and that may be true to some extent (though in truth anyone can get Osteoporosis). What you may not realize is that you have the power to prevent it now, so listen up and get ready to embrace Calcium. And for the male readers, while women do have a higher prevalence of Osteoporosis, the disease does not just stick with ladies, you can get it too.  20% of those affected by Osteoporosis are male.

What is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is the gradual (and inevitable) slow progression of bone loss. You have through your twenties to lay down the bone mass that will stay with you (85-90% can actually form by age 18!). Calcium is used in so many ways by your body (blood clotting, protein activation, muscular contractions to name a few), and your bones get last dibs. If you are not taking in enough calcium and your blood calcium levels drop, the body senses it and breaks down bone to get what it needs.

If your calcium intake is adequate your body happily forms bone at a higher rate than it breaks it down while you are young. It isn’t that you necessarily stop laying down bone as you age, but the cycle of bone loss and bone resorption (the break down of bone) becomes a little lopsided in favor of the cells (osteoclasts) that like to break down bone to use the minerals for other functions besides strengthening your bone mass.

Here are some important facts you should known about Osteoporosis according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF):

• “Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million
  Americans, or 55 percent of the people 50 years of age and older.
• In the U.S. today, 10 million individuals are estimated to already have the
  disease and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass,placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis.
• While osteoporosis is often thought of as an older person’s disease, it can strike at any age.
• In 2005, osteoporosis-related fractures were responsible for an estimated $19 billion in costs.
• By 2025, experts predict that these costs will rise to approximately $25.3 billion.”

Women are effected more than men as female bones are not as dense, and estrogen stimulates bone formation.   When menopause comes calling and estrogen declines women can “lose up to 20 percent of (our) bone mass in the five to seven years” following. (Source NOF).

So why should you care? Because if you end up with osteoporosis your options are limited. It’s no longer as easy as popping a calcium chew in twice a day like it is when you are younger. Medications are an option, but there are nasty side effects for some. Your posture suffers and you begin to round over and slump as a result of your bones softening. Your bones will not be strong enough to support you, and as a result you will be at an extremely high risk for fractures. This doesn’t just mean if you fall you will break a bone, but you can actually sneeze and end up with a vertebral fracture. Sounds fun doesn’t it?

What Can You Do?

Ready for what you can do to stop this from happening? First and foremost make sure your calcium intake is adequate. This goes for all ages. Both men and women from ages 19-50 should be getting 1000mg a day and over the age of 50 this changes to 1200 mg. Dairy products are your best source (sardines with bones too….yum), and a cup of yogurt can give you just under half of what you need to consume for the day. If you aren’t into eating dairy, or can’t tolerate it then supplement. And in both cases make sure your Vitamin D intake is adequate as well. Aside from the bazillion wonderful things Vitamin D can do for you, it is a necessary partner with Calcium in bone formation.

Weight bearing excercise is also key whether you are in your twenties or your sixties as it stimulates the formation of bone. This includes most any aerobic activity: running, walking, dancing, hiking, and even lifting weights (especially free weights).  More and more research tells us that weight bearing exercise is absolutely essential to healthy bones and fighting off osteoporosis.

And one more hint: Smoking and excessive alcohol can interfere with proper bone formation too.

Have I talked you into calcium yet? And just because you are past your prime bone building years doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention. Instead you should be even more in tune with your Calcium intake and your physical activity. It is never too late to start taking care of your bones.

For more information check out the NOF Website.

Hey all,

This is our first post for the Club Twenty Four Blog!

See you at the Club!