I am sure you are all feeling calm and serene after reading
last week’s article and now you are ready to take on another small challenge to
make this your best Christmas.
Right?
I received some wonderful feedback from
several of you about the great things you are doing to take control of your
calendar and mend some sticky relationships all to beat the “crazies” out of
ruining your holiday.
Great work! You will be better for it!
One of the most difficult plates we spin during the holidays
is our complicated relationship with food and drink. I find my appetite in a
constant tug-o-war not unlike the imaginary angel on one shoulder and devil on
the other each trying to convince me to do their bidding.
When it comes to
appetites I have found in my studies that many foods can act like drugs on our
system causing strong addictive desires. This is obvious when it comes to sugar
and without great resolve sugar usually wins the day. The more sugar we eat the more sugar we want.
It takes about 4-7 days (a mere week) to break that chain and begin to gain the
upper hand against the cravings. Here are a couple tricks that will help.
We have all heard it before. Drink eight, 8 ounce glasses of
water daily. This advice is up for debate among health professionals, exercise
scientists and even YouTube phenomena.
According to Adam Conover of “Adam Ruins
Everything” we only need to drink when we are thirsty. This may be an
oversimplification. Thirst is only one of the many ways our bodies tell us we need water. Everyone is a bio-individual and
our fluid needs differ from each other and from day to day.
Most of us have
trouble trying to gulp down the daily recommendation, but we have no trouble
drinking 2-3 cups of coffee, an afternoon tea, a beer after work or a glass a
wine or bottle of soda with dinner. All of those beverages are diuretics that remove
water from the body.
Remember what you learned in biology class?
Depending on your
age the body is made of 60-80% water. The cells cannot function without
adequate water. Water improves oxygen
delivery, transports nutrients, cushions joints and organs, removes toxins,
regulates body temperature, and empowers the body’s natural healing process.
Ok. Overall it looks like water is pretty essential to a
vibrant life. We are all about peace and serenity this month so here is a
simple math formula and challenge to help figure out this water thing.
Take
your body weight in pounds. Divide by two. The number you get is the number in ounces
(generally) that you should strive to drink each day. So for example a 150
pound person would divide by two and find they should try to drink 75 ounces of
water each day.
This is very general. If you are drinking many diuretics, are currently
pregnant, work out a lot or live in a very hot climate you may need to drink
more water to compensate for your situation. I fill up 2 large water bottles
every morning that measure what I generally need for the day. This helps me
keep track. It took my body a week or so to adjust to the proper amount. Some
days I drink it all and want more and other days I just can’t get it all in.
That’s fine.
Each day’s requirements are not exact. Learn to listen to your
body.
The holiday trick behind this is that being properly hydrated will stave
off many cravings and keep you in optimal health throughout the season!!
So
simple AND cheap!
So if WATER is the first trick FAT is the second. What!?
Yup.
Did you know that Dr. Ancel Keys' “eat low-fat for heart
health” theory has been debunked and we all really need to be eating MORE FAT?
Wait! Don’t switch tabs yet! The caveat
is in eating the healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds, butter, other
animal fats and even coconut oil. Coconut oil was recently in the limelight as part
of another media fiasco with the AHA but that was also debunked. Coconut oil
has many health benefits.
Healthy fats are the building blocks for cell
membranes and hormone production. They protect the organs, help make and
regulate energy, help properly use proteins, cause food to taste good and most
importantly to this article increase satiety. That means when we eat enough of
the right kinds of fats we feel full and satisfied and don’t want to go back
for seconds or thirds or extra dessert! BONUS! We get to eat butter AND feel
great!
Don’t be afraid to fry up some bacon and eggs. Slather it on your toast
or sauté your favorite veggies to perfection. Fat is a macro-nutrient that we
must consume for our bodies to work properly. Now, don’t go overboard! Strive
for fat to be about 30% of your daily calories. That’s about 2-3 tablespoons of
butter at a meal depending on your calorie count.
In the end fat does not make
us fat. Sugar makes us fat. It’s in the science.
Ahhhhh… the season is getting better and better isn’t it?
We
are already calm and not overbooked. Now we can be hydrated and eating healthy
fats feeling full and satisfied.
Oh! And you will sleep so well because your
body is happy to have some of what it needs to rest and repair at night. It
will be busy while you are peacefully snoozing in your warm cozy bed.
See you
next week with the third and final part of the triad; the soul.
Sweet dreams my
friend.
Sue Huber has been busy making
cookies and creating secret gift codes for her family of six. Beside the
kitchen you can mostly likely find her shoveling snow, hauling wood or sitting
in front of the wood stove writing, shopping or studying online to become a
Nutritional Therapy Consultant where mind, body and soul give the most complete
picture of health.
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