Thanks to all of those who voted in the poll for my next featured diet! Your voices have been heard – my next feature will be…
This diet, touted for its benefits for longevity and cardiovascular health, is a popular diet recommended by many doctors. In the coming weeks, I will be blogging about the research behind the Mediterranean diet. I will also follow the diet myself for 3 weeks to assess how easy it is to follow, how much it costs, and other lifestyle factors.
You can have the opportunity to win my favorite personal blender to have for your very own! Visit Dietitian on a Diet on Facebook and check out the giveaway post (pinned to the top of the page) to find out how!
Giveaway ends Tuesday, September 10th at 7 pm. Hope to have you join in!
Being married to a dietitian, my husband is often asked, “What does she eat? I bet she eats perfectly all the time!” He usually chuckles and tells them about my love for ice cream and all things salty, including tortilla chips with “plastic cheese” (you know, the liquid “cheese-like food product” you get from a high school football game concession stand? Mmmm…) Eating to feed both your body and your soul is important! If you what you eat most of the time is good for your body, then you can enjoy soul food sometimes without guilt or health consequences.
I thought I would take the opportunity to show you what one Registered Dietitian eats in a day…or rather, three days. I chose to include three days to give you a better average and to avoid the bias of a “perfect day” since I knew I would be recording it. As you read through this post, try not to compare my diet with yours. Everyone’s healthy looks different, and there is no one right way to eat! What matters is that what you eat works for your body, your life, your schedule, and your happiness. These days represent what works for me.
7:00 am – The day started with a tropical smoothie that contained leftover banana and pineapple with some spinach, nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt, orange juice, and chia seeds. As always and of course, I had a cup of tea!
10:30 am – Mid-morning after a few hours of work, hunger set in and I had a piece of whole wheat toast with some spreadable butter.
12:35 pm – After my workout I was very ready for lunch! Lunch was a leftover mish-mash. A large salad with a salmon burger patty, sunflower seeds, croutons, and bleu cheese dressing. Clementine kombucha to drink!
1:30 pm – Not too long after lunch I realized that it hadn’t been quite enough and that I was needing a bit more in the way of carbohydrates for energy to get me through the afternoon. I had one of these marshmallow pies left over from our Memorial Day camping trip. It went peacefully.
6:30 pm – I gardened for a few hours and then I was ravenous! For dinner I made beef ravioli with marinara and sauteed mushrooms, onions, and spinach.
8:30 pm – While watching Captain America: Winter Soldier with my kids in the evening, I had one of these raspberry fruit juice popsicles. So delicious!
7:15 am – We still had leftover pineapple, so I made another tropical smoothie with pineapple, leftover fruit salad, and spinach. I also made toast and a poached curried egg, so I didn’t add the Greek yogurt to the smoothie this time.
9:45 am – Snack time! In between appointments I nibbled on some roasted ranch flavored chickpeas for some carbohydrate and protein.
11:30 am – After seeing another client and doing a quick pilates workout, I ate the last of the leftover salad and the leftover ravioli from last night for lunch. I chased it with a square of Dove chocolate. Yum!
1:15 pm – Throughout the afternoon, I focused on blogging and admin work. I snacked on raw veggies w/light ranch dip and clementine oranges.
4:25 pm – Hunger set in and I still had one more client until dinner. I had exhausted the food I brought for the day, so I walked around the corner to Arby’s for some of their snack-sized curly fries. I. Love. Curly Fries.
7:15 pm – This particular night at our house is a “use up” night, so I get the night off from cooking and everyone eats their own thing. Tonight, I finished off some leftover homemade baked beans and butternut squash.
7:35 am – Today I ate a bit of an unconventional breakfast. Today’s tropical smoothie included pineapple, 1/2 canned peach, spinach, orange juice, and milk. Alongside that was the rest of a half-eaten sandwich prepared by one of our boys and then abandoned. Poor sandwich. So I played garbage disposal today. 🙂 #momlife
12:30 am – I was running late to work and was busy seeing clients once I arrived, so I didn’t get a chance for my mid-morning snack. I was HUNGRY by lunch time. So hungry that I skipped my workout and went straight for food. Today, I ate some pasta salad that I doctored up with chicken, corn, and sauteed peppers and spinach. Once I started eating it, I realized that it didn’t have very much chicken in it, so I tossed in a handful of my roasted ranch chickpeas for some added protein.
5:30 pm – I ate a lot of pasta salad for lunch, so I never got hungry for my afternoon snack. Plus, we were eating an early dinner so we could get to my son’s band concert on time. For dinner, I made pupusas (a Salvadoran savory corn “pancake” with chicken, cheese, and refried beans). I topped mine with salsa and ate a couple of leftover spiced pears. More kombucha to drink!
9:30 pm – After the concert, they had cookie trays and I love me a good white chocolate macadamia nut cookie! So delicious.
So there you have it! Three pretty typical, if not unvarying, examples of days in my food life. In hindsight, I perhaps shouldn’t have chosen 3 days in a row simply because I eat a lot of leftovers so several things showed up repeatedly. For example, I don’t usually have a smoothie every morning, but I did for these three days since we had leftover pineapple we needed to use up.
Other than that, these days show the typical pattern that works for me: balanced healthful meals with a treat or two just about every day. I love the food that I eat. Having plenty of tasty healthful foods I love and not denying myself “unhealthful” delicious treats in moderation makes for a great and delicious balance. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or ideas for other posts you would like to see!
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Are you getting excited to hit the trail yet? I know I am! Every sunny day gets me one day closer to our first backpacking trip! We’ve covered endurance and joint stability so far, and today we’re going to talk about flexibility. While by no means is it necessary to be gumby to enjoy a day on the trail, working on your flexibility can help you hike with less soreness and risk of injury. As an added bonus, performing these stretches after a day of hiking may prevent or lessen muscle tightness the following day.
The primary muscle groups that are going to benefit from increased flexibility in this case are: hip flexors (on the front of your hips), glutes (buttox), quads (thighs), hamstrings (the backs of your upper legs) and calves. If you are carrying a pack, we’ll toss in your upper and lower back, and pectorals (chest) as well.
I’ll show you 4 stretches that will catch each of these muscle groups. You want to hold each stretch for 30-60 seconds, 1-3 times a day. Press gently into the stretch until you feel tension but not pain. As you sit in the stretch, take deep breaths. You’ll often feel your muscles release some tension after 20-30 seconds and you’ll be able to go a little deeper without pain.
Stand with your feet hip width apart and place your hands on your hips or against a tree or wall for balance. Step your right leg forward into a lunge position. Bend your right knee, press your left hip forward. Keep your left leg as straight as you can and press your left heel toward the ground. You should feel this stretch in the front of your left hip, down into your left thigh, and in your left calf. Hold for 30-60 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Stand with your feet hip width apart and place your hands on your hips or against a tree or wall for balance. Step forward with your right foot. Keeping your right heel on the ground, bend your left leg and shift your weight downward as if you were going to sit down. You should feel this stretch in the back of your right leg and in your right buttock. Hold for 30-60 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
You can do this stretch standing or on all fours. Placing your hands on the ground or on your knees, pull your stomach muscles toward your spine and round your shoulders and back. You should feel this stretch in between your shoulder blades and around your spine. Hold this stretch for 30-60 seconds.
Standing with feet hip-width apart, reach both hands behind you and interlock your fingers. Roll your shoulders back and press down into your fingers. Keep a slight bend in your arms to avoid locking your elbows. You should feel this stretch in your chest. Hold for 30-60 seconds. If you are not able to clasp your fingers together behind you, you can press your arm against a tree or wall behind you to stretch it.
And that’s it! Four simple stretches to help improve your backpacking experience. Consistency is key with flexibility – try to do these exercises daily (or several times daily, you overachiever, you). It only takes 5 minutes!
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When you’re out on the trail, there’s a good chance you’ll be dealing with some unstable or uneven ground. Between sticks, rocks, and roots, there is quite a bit of potential for strained or sore joints. Your knees and hips can run into trouble with instability, but there’s good news. The endurance training plan from my last post will strengthen and stabilize these joints. No need for anything extra – I love an efficient training program! There is another joint, however, that could benefit from a little extra attention.
The most likely victims of instability on the trail are your ankles. Since they allow movement in multiple directions, they are usually less stable and can be susceptible to strains and sprains. On my first overnight backpacking trip, this completely snuck up on me. Fortunately I didn’t sprain my ankle, but carrying my pack and hiking on uneven ground for several miles caused my ankles to be sore for months afterward. In fact, I used some of the exercises below to help regain my ankle stability.
This routine shouldn’t take you any more than 5 minutes. You can do all of the exercises You’ll need a resistance band for this quick ankle routine.
2. Anchor your resistance band around the leg of a heavy table or bookshelf. Sit on the floor with your legs perpendicular to your anchor. Loop the resistance band around the inside edge of the ball of your foot. Keeping your leg still, rotate your ankle to point your toes away from the anchor against the resistance of the band. Slowly return to the starting point. Repeat 15 times on each foot.
3. Repeat this exercise with the band looped around the outside edge of your foot. This time you will rotate your ankle the opposite direction to move your toes away from your anchor.
4. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Hook the resistance band around the ball of your foot and hold the ends of the band in your hands. Slowly turn your ankle in a clockwise circle 15 times. Repeat in the other direction. Repeat both directions on the other foot.
You can complete this 5-minute routine anywhere from 2-3 times weekly to 2-3 times daily. The more often you do it, the more stability you can build in your ankles.
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The sun is out and it’s time to think about getting out and enjoying the beautiful outdoors! In this post, we’re focusing on hiking and backpacking! Whether you’re a brand new hiker or seasoned backpacker, a little preparation can make your time on the trail easier and more enjoyable. We’ll kick off this series with a focus on endurance. To start, begin training at whichever level is currently a challenge for you.
If you haven’t been walking in a while, that’s the place to start! Begin by walking at a moderate pace for 5-10 minutes as a warm up, then pick up the pace to a quick, comfortable clip. Go for short walks, gradually working up to at least 20-30 minutes. Begin with 2-3 days per week and increase to a goal of 4-5 days weekly as you become more fit. When that becomes easier, move on to level 2.
Side note: This is also a great time to train your feet – wear the shoes you plan to hike in! Word to the wise, don’t remove your calluses. They are your friends!
If you already walk regularly or if walking is a piece of cake, it’s time to up the ante a little. Literally – go up! Add incline into your walks to work different muscles and to add a cardiovascular challenge. You can do this by adding hills or stairs into outdoor walks, increasing the incline on your treadmill, or walking up stairs. If you have a flight of stairs in your house or in your community, walking up and down them can help build up the muscle groups you’ll need for safe hiking.
Stair mills or stair stepping machines can also work well here, but do not neglect the importance of training yourself to go downhill. Most often, the majority of soreness we experience after hiking is from walking down, not up! Incorporate more ascents and descents into your training and you’ll find your time on the trail much easier. Again, I recommend wearing your hiking shoes. Sometimes inclines help you find friction points that weren’t there on flat ground! This can help you prevent disastrous blisters on the trail.
When you become trained for inclines, move on to level 3.
If you’ve hiked or backpacked regularly in the past, or if you’ve worked up to training on hills or stairs, it’s time to add an additional challenge by carrying weight. Even if you are only planning to hike, not to backpack, training with weight can help your muscles and endurance grow stronger to make long-distance hikes easier.
If you are planning to hike with no pack (or a very light pack), you may choose to train with ankle and wrist weights, since they will prevent adding stress to your spine and make regular hiking easier; however, a backpack will also serve this purpose. For you backpackers, it’s time to get your pack out. Add some weight – dumbbells, soup cans, books, rocks – and go for your training walk. Continue to include the inclines from level 2!
Optional: If you are planning a long-distance backpacking or day-hiking trip, gradually extend the length of your training sessions. You don’t necessarily need to train for as long as you may be backpacking, but the farther you go, the fitter you’ll be!
Stay tuned for the next post in this series on training for hikers and backpackers – joint stability!
Disclaimer: While I am an exercise professional, I have not been hired as your exercise professional and I am not familiar with your individual health. As always, check with your doctor about your specific health situation before beginning any new exercise program.
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Diet culture is determined to tell you that you have to be miserable to be healthy.
That couldn’t be more wrong.
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