Happy New Year! Are nutrition and fitness part of your New Years Resolutions?” I hope everyone is getting off to a fresh, healthy start in 2012! Many people make New Years Resolutions to eat healthier and exercise more. “Changing your eating habits” and “joining a gym” are oftentimes in the top 5 goals in the New Year for most people. However, just saying you want to “cut out fried foods” and “add at least 30 minutes of exercise per day,” doesn’t actually mean you’re going to do it. It is a huge leap from the “saying” to “doing,” because you have to make the commitment to yourself first. Then, you need to implement the behavior modification second and follow through with it lastly.

Note: The picture above is the Mediterranean plate with hummus, babaganoush, and quinoa taboule from the cafe, Le Pain Quotidien. I love this cafe- everything on the menu is healthy and delicious! They are all over Los Angeles. Check the location nearest you! 

I was recently with my family for the Christmas holiday in Lake Tahoe. When I got off the airplane, we stopped at a Starbucks…(of course because I had been up since 4:30am to catch my flight Christmas eve morning). However, there was a store called “Complete Nutrition” right next door to Starbucks. Anything with the name “nutrition” in it draws my attention! So, of course I stepped into this “compete nutrition” store instead to browse around and see what products they had.

It was great! There were many different supplements and sports enhancement (pre and post workout) vitamins and shakes. One of the employees walked over and gave me a taste of the “Vanilla bean SMART Smoothie” and I was hooked! It wasn’t too chalky or too sweet. Smooth and only mixed with cold filtered water.

I always make S.M.A.R.T goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and can be achieved in the appropriate time frame) with my clients when starting a nutrition or fitness plan. If the goals are not “SMART” then they are oftentimes not achieved. We all need accountability, so setting goals with this criteria makes it more likely that you will succeed and follow through with them as planned. However, the S>M>A>R>T smoothie stands for a little something different.

Whether you are an athlete, or you enjoy exercising for fun or are the “average Joe,” the majority of us would like to gain more lean muscle or decrease the fat mass in our bodies and replace it with lean body mass. Muscle is more metabolically active and therefore it burns many more calories than fat.

When you’re following a strength training program, it’s important to eat enough total calories (not just protein). Everyone seems to put a huge emphasis on only protein, instead of having a balanced approach to overall diet. Protein is an important macronutrient that is essential to meet your daily energy requirements (aside from your training requirements). However, lean muscle gain (strengthening and toning) really depends on your total calorie intake (total quantity of food and beverage) for the day, as well as quality (the type of foods you’re eating). If you do not get enough total calories, your body will break down it’s own muscle mass for energy, therefore cancelling out all of the hard work you did to put on lean muscle at the gym or at your most recent practice, game, or competition.

Many of us fear the “holiday weight gain” due to all of the holiday parties, festivities, and dining out filled with friends and family and oftentimes centered around FOOD!! The food preparation is oftentimes “out of your hands,” which makes it hard to monitor calorie and fat intake (when you don’t know what’s in it!). Now that Halloween has passed and the “one day candy high” is over, it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving—the food preparation, meal planning and strategies to fight the weight gain!

Here are a few tips and lifestyle changes to fight the holiday weight gain:

• Plan ahead and “budget your calorie intake” during the day, if you know you will be eating more at an evening event or party that night

• Get moving! Exercise is key to keeping your metabolism up and weight maintenance. Choose a physical activity that you can do with a friend or family member and hold yourself accountable (at least 30 minutes a day!).
  • Ideas for staying active: take a walk or swim (if you have access to a heated pool) or play a sport of choice (tennis, golf, basketball, throw the baseball or football around with a friend or family member).
• Bring a veggie side dish or salad (that way you can be 100% sure there will be something healthy at the party!)
  • “Courtney’s recommendation: Your best bet”: a serving of raw or blanched veggies with a low-calorie dip, hummus, or yogurt chive dip (Trader Joe’s) and a few small pieces of low-fat cheese. Don’t indulge on high-calorie or fried appetizers, on top of a heavy Thanksgiving dinner, which will make your blood sugar sky rocket!
• Pay attention to your portions! Remember that even a “healthy” food can cause weight gain if you have 2-3+ portions of it in one sitting.

Do you believe eggs will increase your cholesterol and therefore increase your risk of heart disease?? Many people (1/4 of Americans per the Egg Nutrition Center survey) with high cholesterol cut eggs out of their diet. It has only been in the last few years that research has been done on the link between eggs and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Note, CVD is still the leading cause of death in the United States.

Yes…it’s true, eggs do contain a concentrated source of cholesterol (164-215 mg per egg depending on the size). However, the relationship between dietary cholesterol (in food) and serum cholesterol (in your blood) varies significantly depending on each individual and intake of dietary fiber, saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, obesity, insulin resistance, and genetics. The overall effects of dietary cholesterol (for example the cholesterol found in an egg or shrimp) is small in comparison to the LDL(bad cholesterol)-raising effects of saturated fat in foods.

Note: Picture taken at breakfast @ Le Pain Quotidien. (Egg salad sandwich open face…Delicious!!)

I was grabbing lunch the other day at Mrs. Winston’s Green Grocery (my favorite salad bar…so many healthy options!) and came across “Spartos: The first all natural protein water.” The business development manager of Spartan beverages (Joseph) was sampling the product, so of course I wanted to try it! I know there are a lot of different protein powders and shakes out there already. However, Spartos is one of the few that is ALL NATURAL with no artificial colors or flavors added.

Note: photo credit to Steve @ Drink What.

Protein is a macronutrient that plays a central role in biological processes needed by the body (brain, heart, muscle, skin and blood health rely on protein) and form the basis of living tissues. Proteins consist of long chains of amino acids. Each person has different protein needs. Height, weight, activity level (i.e. a person who participates in regular exercise vs. plays on an athletic team vs. completes in ultra endurance / extreme sports) and immune function (i.e. healthy vs. acutely sick vs. chronically sick with a disease) are all contributing factors to your daily estimated protein needs.