Did you eat a HEALTHY SNACK between lunch and dinner today?

Snacking between meals is a great way to boost your energy, and to furnish important nutrients that might be missing from your other daily meals.

Eating throughout the day has also been known to decrease late-day binge eating.

When planning/choosing your snacks for the day, always remember to:

● Plan Ahead - Pack fruit, trail mix (seeds, dried fruits, nuts), and yogurt. This will help you avoid relying on vending machines and convenience stores when you are feeling hungry.

● Snack Consciously - Mindless nibbling can lead to overeating. Try to eat a snack without watching TV, working or reading. Also, make sure that you plate out one portion at a time.

● Choose Nutrient-Rich Foods - Whole grain food items, vegetables, popcorn, fresh fruit, yogurt, low-fat cheese, peanut butter, nuts and seeds.

● Pay Attention - There is a major difference between hunger and eating out of boredom. 

Make sure that you have non-food ways to manage stress, relax and/or entertain yourself.

Always try to combine a carb, preferably a complex carb with a protein or healthy fat to feel satiated and help regulate blood sugar.

Consider coconut yogurt with fruit and walnuts. Apple slices and almond butter, salsa, carrots/celery and hummus or baba ganush.

Keep a variety of nutrient rich ready-to-eat snacks at your fingertips. Plan out your snacks to help fill in any food-group gaps. Here are some healthful snacking ideas:

● prepare a daily “Veggie Bag”

● whole-grain cereal and milk

● apple slices with peanut butter

● trail mix

● raw veggies with a yogurt or cottage cheese dip

● yogurt and fresh fruit

● whole wheat pita bread with hummus

● peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers

● baked bagel chips with salsa.

Did you eat all meals and snacks within 30 minutes of scheduled times?

The first step to controlling portion sizes and calories at meal time is to ensure that you are not ravenously hungry when you sit down to eat.

By setting and sticking to a simple eating schedule, you can avoid overeating at meal times due to a sense of starvation. 

Not only do you control your appetite by sticking to this plan of healthy grazing, but you also help control your insulin levels and balance blood sugar, which contributes to improved mood, energy and focus. 

Be sure to use any and all cues necessary to get yourself on schedule. Set your watch or phone alarm, use sticky notes or ask a friend to remind you for the first few days as you develop this very important habit. 

Keep a variety of nutrient rich ready-to-eat snacks at your fingertips.

Plan out your snacks to help fill in any food-group gaps.

Here are some healthful snacking ideas:

• prepare a daily “Veggie Bag” 
• whole-grain cereal and milk
• apple slices with peanut butter
• trail mix
• raw veggies with a yogurt or cottage cheese dip
• yogurt and fresh fruit
• whole wheat pita bread with hummus
• peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers
• baked bagel chips with salsa.

Did you PACK yourself a nutritious lunch today?

Lunch boxes with sparkles and superheros may be reserved for elementary children, however packing a lunch is an important task for adults too.

Packing your lunch everyday for work is a great way to stay on track with your eating habits.

It ensures that you will get a delicious, balanced meal in the middle of the day, which is essential for your energy level and metabolism. At lunch time, it is important to keep your metabolism going with quality fuel from vitamin rich foods. Eating a lunch midday also helps us avoid that mid-afternoon drop in blood sugar and eventual crash. These small, frequent, planned meals help to prevent overeating at dinner time, whether at home or in a restaurant. 

Here are a few lunch ideas to get you started:

● Turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with a side salad or bean salad.

● Instead of using mayo on your sandwich, try pesto or hummus. You could even make your own pesto mayo! Recreating your favorite gourmet deli sandwich will save some calories and money!

● Top that sandwich with your favorite combination of tomato slices, arugula, spinach, or part skim mozzarella cheese.

● Want to ‘bag’ the sandwich idea? Well as long as you have access to a refrigerator or insulated lunch bag, there are still plenty of options. Add a frozen bottle of water to help keep your lunch cool, and it will also provide some extra hydration midday.

● You can make a fruit salad or veggie salad. You can top your veggie salads with fruit, hard-boiled eggs, or sliced lean meat from last night’s dinner. Just pre-portion your dressing (on the side) and voila! 

● Speaking of last night’s dinner, try making a double-batch of your favorite healthy meal, then pack up a portion (or two) for your lunch that week.

Try making your own bento box with hard boiled eggs, grapes, mixed nuts and baby carrots, or a hearty bowl of greens, quinoa/brown rice, chicken, beans veggies, avocado and a tasty dressing such as hummus, avocado/cilantro/lime or tahini. Be creative with how you mix and match whole grains, proteins and veggies. You can also consider different flavor profiles such as Mexican (beans, salsa, lime and avocado) or Mediterranean (cucumbers, tomato, kalamata olives).

The next time you prepare and fill your kid’s lunch box with healthy items, do the same for yourself. 

How many MEALS did you eat out today?

Dining out is great!

No meal planning, no dirty dishes and no hassles.

But most people don't consider what their body says about the idea. 

Restaurant meals are usually hugely disproportionate, so you're actually eating between 2 and 3 servings of each menu item. That can only mean bad things when you're counting calories, carbs and fat intake. 

To be sure that you're not adding too many extra calories, keep your dining out habit under control. This includes fast food restaurants. You will  notice that as you start to gain more control over food, and how much you eat, it will become more natural to eat the right portions. 

Trying to avoid eating out at dinner time?

Below, are some steps to help you cut back. (Your body and your wallet will thank you!)

• Choose healthy recipes from your favorite websites or cooking books.
• Plan out your meals for the week, making sure that you match up easy/quick recipes for those hectic days where you’ll need a 30 minute meal. 
• Build your shopping list. Read through all of your recipes and jot down any ingredients that you will need. 
• Go grocery shopping!
• If you have an extra busy work week, take the time Sunday night to prep some of your ingredients. For example, if three of your recipes call for 1 onion chopped, chop 3 onions and separate them into baggies. Done!
• If you do dine out plan ahead! Check the menus, look for substitutes, look for swapping out heavy cream and butter sauces or dressings to vinaigrettes. Ask for certain items to be on the side. Instead of drinking a high sugar juice, soda or alcoholic beverage try a club soda and lime for some carbonation and refreshing taste.

Did you log all of your food and drink intake for today?

A food diary or log can help you along your journey in many different ways.

1. It is a great way to increase your awareness of your current eating habits.
2. It provides accountability.
3. It is a form of support that helps to keep you focused on your plan.
4. It can be used as a tool to assess how you eat and why you eat the way that you do.
5. It will help reinforce good and healthy eating habits.

Together with your coach you will use your food log to identify lapses, target issues and find solutions. Your coach will also help you evaluate your overall nutritional intake. 

When using your log you will document the food item, the portion size, the method of preparation, and how you felt after consuming the meal. 

Here are some tips for keeping a food log:

• Always be honest and try to document all foods and liquids- this is very important as we assess your intake and make recommendations.
• Write down what you eat immediately after eating- this will help with accuracy and it will also help you stay on track.
• Try to give your best estimate for serving size. Instead of writing “bowl of cereal” give your coach your best guess for the amount. You can record ~1 cup or compare it to an everyday item like about the size of a tennis ball or a deck of cards. 
• Include as much detail as possible about the type of food and any brand names.
• Include your emotional status.  Use a number scale for mood or just a simple smiley face scale to indicate how you are feeling at that time and during that meal. 
• Another option during our smart phone era, simply snap a shot of your plate to keep record

Did you prepare your “Ideal Meal” this week?

One big key to eating healthy is planning.

You need to figure out what you are going to eat and when you are going to consume that meal. Easier said than done, right? But the hard truth about changing habits and eating healthy is that if we are failing to plan we can plan to fail. 

The good news is that your coach will help you develop this vital skill- one meal at a time. 

The idea behind the “Ideal Meal” is that it consists of healthy foods in portions that leave you satisfied, but not full. Your “Ideal Meal” will fit right into your day satisfying your taste buds and your time schedule. 

Your coach will work with you to develop the elements of your Ideal Meal.