13 Healthy Eating Tips

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Developing healthy eating habits isn't as confusing or as restrictive as many people imagine. The first principle of a healthy eating plan is simply to eat a wide variety of foods. This is important because different foods make different nutritional contributions.

You should also try to maintain a balance between calorie intake and calorie expenditure—that is, don't eat more food than your body can utilize. Otherwise, you will gain weight. The more active you are, therefore, the more you can eat and still maintain this balance.

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The following basic guidelines are what you need to know to construct a healthy eating plan.

1. Eat plenty of high-fiber foods—that is, fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. These are the "good" carbohydrates—nutritious, filling, and relatively low in calories.

2. Make sure to include green, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables—such as broccoli, carrots, cantaloupe, and citrus fruits. The antioxidants and other nutrients in these foods may help protect against developing certain types of cancer and other diseases. Eat five or more servings a day.

3. Limit your intake of sugary foods, refined-grain products such as white bread, and salty snack foods. Sugar, our No.1 additive, is added to a vast array of foods. Just one daily 12-ounce can of soda (160 calories) can add up to 16 pounds over the course of a year.

4. Cut down on animal fat. It’s rich in saturated fat, which boosts blood cholesterol levels and has other adverse health effects. Choose lean meats, skinless poultry, and nonfat or low-fat or nonfat dairy products.

5. Cut way down on trans fats, supplied by hydrogenated vegetable oils used in most processed foods in the supermarket and in many fast foods.

6. Eat more fish and nuts, which contain healthy unsaturated fats. Substitute olive or canola oil for butter or stick margarine.

7. Keep portions moderate, especially of high-calorie foods. In recent years serving sizes have ballooned, particularly in restaurants. Choose a starter instead of an entrée, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything.

8. Keep your cholesterol intake below 300 milligrams per day. Cholesterol is found only in animal products, such as meats, poultry, dairy products, and egg yolks.

9. Eat a variety of foods. Don't try to fill your nutrient requirements by eating the same foods day in, day out. It is possible that not every essential nutrient has been identified, and so eating a wide assortment of foods helps to ensure that you will get all the necessary nutrients.

10. Maintain an adequate calcium intake. Calcium is essential for strong bones and teeth. Get your calcium from low-fat sources, such as skim milk and low-fat yogurt.

11. Try to get your vitamins and minerals from foods, not from supplements. Supplements cannot substitute for a healthy diet, which supplies nutrients and other compounds besides vitamins and minerals. Foods also provide the "synergy" that many nutrients require to be efficiently used in the body.

12. Maintain a desirable weight. Balance energy (calorie) intake with energy output. Exercise and other physical activity are essential.

13. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. That is one drink a day for women, two a day for men. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits. Alcoholic beverages can add many calories to your diet without supplying nutrients.

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Following these basic steps doesn't mean that you have to give up your favorite foods. As long as your overall diet is balanced and rich in nutrients and fiber, there is nothing wrong with an occasional cheeseburger. Just be sure to limit how frequently you eat such foods, and try to eat small portions of them. A healthy diet doesn't have to mean eating foods that are bland or unappealing.

* From MediZine Wellnessletter: 2009

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Quick and Healthy Meals

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It’s possible to find foods that are both healthy and convenient.

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One of the reasons people choose unhealthy food even when they would prefer to eat well is convenience. If you are really busy and have to choose between microwaving a personal pizza and cooking up some lean fish, you are probably going to choose the pizza to save time. But there are plenty of foods that are both good for you and easy to make.

Canned Soups - Canned soups are great because they taste good, are generally low in calories, and typically have a lot of lean meats and vegetables. As a bonus, they can be heated on your stove or in the microwave in a matter of minutes. Be sure to avoid the “creamy” soups though, as they typically have a lot more calories. You should also check sodium levels because they can be pretty high in some soups.

Frozen Vegetables – Vegetables are great, but in order to eat them regularly, you have to go to the store fairly often if you eat them fresh. If you buy frozen vegetables, you can buy in bulk and just pull them out of the freezer when you need them. Steaming is the best way to prepare them, because it doesn’t add any calories and preserves a lot of the flavor.

Some Rice Bowls - Microwavable rice bowls with vegetables and chicken are another good way to get your veggies and lean proteins. However, you should be careful here. Some rice bowls load up on sugar in order to improve their flavor, so always check the ingredients list before you put them in your cart.

Sandwiches - If you build a sandwich with wheat bread, turkey slices and some veggies (hold the cheese and mayo) you have a well rounded meal that you can whip up in less than five minutes.

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More people would be willing to eat right and exercise if they didn’t have so many other life obligations. That’s why it’s much easier to adapt healthy eating to your lifestyle rather than having to change how your work and live in order to accommodate healthy activities. It just takes a little initiative and creativity.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

How To Fight Cravings

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It’s easy to fight the desire to binge on sweets.

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We all know “that” feeling…where all of a sudden you are overcome with the powerful desire to rip open a bag of potato chips and eat until there is nothing left but crumbs. Cravings can make you feel stressed if you constantly battle with them, and they can ruin your diet if you cave in too often. So what do you do?

Work Up a Sweat - Exercise is a very potent appetite suppressant, so if you feel like you can’t think of anything but devouring ice cream by the spoonful, try going outside for a quick ten minute jog around the block. But the time you return, you will probably find that your cravings are gone.

Get Carb Smart – If you get a sudden craving for cookies, it might actually be a signal from your body that you need more carbs. Instead of immediately heading for the fattening sugary carbs, try eating carbs from a healthier source such as fruit, vegetables, or whole grains. You will probably discover that the cookie craving becomes less prominent after a small snack of good carbs.

Sleep More – A report published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that when you don’t get enough Zs, it reduces the amount of the hormone leptin that your body produces. Leptin is responsible for helping you feel full, so your cravings might be caused by a lack of sleep, not the deliciousness of pancakes and syrup. (Well, maybe it’s a combination of the two)

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Of course, it doesn’t hurt to cave into your cravings a little every once in a while. It might even help to assign a special “cheat meal” where once a week, for one meal, you have what you want. This can actually help fight cravings in more than one way. I know that when some of my clients overindulge on something they’ve been craving for a while on their cheat day, they wind of not wanting to even think of eating that food for weeks.

Smart Swaps

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Small substitutions can make a big difference.

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Sometimes a good diet isn’t all about completely revamping every little thing you eat. Often subtle substitutions to the foods you usually eat can make a huge difference in the number of calories you consume, the kind of nutrients you eat and your general health. Here are a few ways you can “health-ify” common meals. Use them as inspiration for altering your favorite dishes to better suit your healthy lifestyle.

Instead of: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Have: Whole Wheat Spaghetti and meatless meatballs

Switching to whole-wheat spaghetti eliminates much of the food starch that causes your insulin levels to rise and encourages your body to store fat. Plus it includes a lot of extra protein and fiber. Having vegetarian “meatless” meatballs instead of regular meatballs trims some saturated fat from the meal.

Instead of: Buttered toast, two eggs, and bacon
Have: Whole wheat toast with jelly, three egg whites, and a slice of lean ham

Even a traditional American breakfast can be made healthy. Jelly has about 1/3 of the calories of butter, plus none of the saturated fat. Scooping out the egg yolk takes out a lot of the cholesterol and saturated fat that have given eggs a bad rap. And ham has more protein than bacon but less grease.

Instead of: Two scoops of ice cream topped with chocolate syrup and sprinkles
Have: Two scoops of sorbet topped with low fat whipped cream and raspberries

No one said dieting means you have to give up your sweet tooth. Just keep an eye on the sugar and calorie content and you can have the occasional indulgence without feeling it in your waistline.

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I think this really illustrates that a good diet doesn’t start at home; it starts in the grocery store. Once you decide to only bring mostly healthy food into your home, slowly but surely, your white bread will be replaced by wheat bread; your whole milk will be replaced by skim milk; and your potato chips will be replaced by unbuttered popcorn. After that, eating healthy will simply be a matter of reaching for whatever happens to be in your fridge or cupboard.

Fitness Advice You Should Avoid

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Be wary of the advice you hear on the internet.

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Bad fitness advice abounds, especially on the internet. While this is not the only advice you should ignore, these things are particularly frustrating for me to hear coming from fitness “experts.”

Cardio Before Breakfast – The idea behind “fasted cardio,” or doing your cardio first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat, is that the exercise will work directly towards burning fat, rather than burning the calories in the meal you just ate. There are a couple problems with this. Firstly, most people don’t have much energy to exercise before eating anything, so it might make the exercise difficult or even painful. Second, doing this might cause you to metabolize muscle, which will slow down your metabolism.

Take This Supplement – Not all supplements are bad. But for every nutritional supplement that might actually be useful, there are a thousand that are total garbage. Besides, who has the money to spend on all those pills and powders? Despite what ads on the internet or television might have you believe, they have yet to invent anything that will help you lose weight and get lean as quickly, safely, and effectively as a smart diet and exercise plan.

Drink A Gallon of Water a Day - Most people need to drink more water, but the actual amount you should be drinking for optimal hydration depends upon your body weight, the amount of physical activity you get, your altitude, and a few other factors. While it’s very difficult to drink too much water, you shouldn’t really be drinking so much that you feel the need to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes. A good hydration measurement is the color of your urine: if it’s clear, you are drinking enough.

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If you ever hear fitness advice that sounds a bit off or just too good to be true, try to seek out a second opinion. There is nothing worse than spending months or years trying something to lose weight, only to discover it is totally ineffective. I certainly don’t like to waste my time like that, and I know my clients don’t either, so I always double check the sources and data on every piece of fitness or diet advice I hear.

Metabolism Boosters

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Burn more calories around the clock.

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Wouldn’t it be nice to burn a ton of calories without lifting a finger? Well, in a way, you actually already do. It’s called your “base metabolic rate,” which is the measure of how efficiently you burn calories while doing nothing but sitting on your rear. Here are a few tips to increase your metabolism and burn fat faster.

Drink Green Tea
Various studies have shown that green tea can help burn calories and increase fat oxidation. It is also associated with a lot of other benefits, such as disease prevention, thanks to the large amount of antioxidants and carotenoids in green tea. To get the really good (and most effective) stuff, go down to your local health food store and buy it loose leaf. The prepackaged tea bags work too, but they usually provide fewer benefits.

Eat Frequently
Like I said in my previous post, snacking lightly throughout the day keeps your metabolism up. So make sure you eat something every two or three hours or so to keep your metabolic fire burning.

Make Sure You Get Enough B Vitamins
B6 and B12 in particular are important for keeping up a strong metabolism. Make sure you eat foods that are rich in B vitamins such as leafy green vegetables, eggs, fish, whole grains, beans and peas.

Spice it up
“Hot” herbs like ginger, cloves, cayenne, coriander, bay leaves and dry mustard have been shown to burn fat. Plus the hot stuff also helps encourage you drink more water, which is a must for any exercise and diet plan.

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Of course, even if you are blessed with the natural metabolism of a Brazilian supermodel and use all of these tips, it won’t take the place of a solid nutritional plan and exercise regimen. In fact, regular exercise works better than all of these tips for getting your metabolism up. Just like everything else in life, there are no shortcuts to fitness. But there are a lot of little things you can do to make your journey to getting fit a lot easier.

Snack the Smart Way

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If you snack smart, you can snack often.

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Lots of people tend to snack between meals - not necessarily because they are particularly hungry, but because they just like to keep their mouths busy. This can be a problem if you snack on a lot of buttery popcorn and fatty pre-packaged pastries, but it’s fine if you do it the smart way and keep your snacks under 150 calories or so. Here are some foods you can snack on without doing too much damage to your waistline:

Some cereals - Plenty of breakfast cereals should be avoided by dieters, but there are a few popular brands that are not too bad. 3/4 cup of Honey Bunches of Oats, for example, has only 120 calories, no saturated fat, and six grams of sugar. The same amount of Honey Nut Cheerios has just 110 calories and nine grams of sugar.

Fruit salad - It doesn’t get much better than a refreshing fruit salad mixed with some vanilla yogurt and granola.

Low-fat nachos – Regular nachos are pretty high and calories and fat, but if you substitute typical fried chips with baked chips and use low fat pepper jack cheese, it can be a reasonable snack. This is definitely a great alternative the next time you're craving Mexican food.

Whole grain pretzels - Pretzels can contain a lot of carbs. However, there are whole grain alternatives that taste just as good but are a bit healthier for you

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Don’t feel guilty for snacking or feel like you are doing major damage to your diet. In fact, grazing throughout the day keeps your metabolism up, not to mention helps you feel satisfied between meals. As long as you read labels and do everything in moderation, snacking can be a regular part of your diet plan.

Dealing with Fitness Sabotage

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Don’t let your family and friends lead your fitness plans astray.

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If you are like most people, you've probably cheated on your diet because of your family and friends. Maybe someone from the office brought a batch of homemade cookies and insisted that you try a few because they were so good, or your friends made you miss a workout to go see a new movie. While an occasional treat or missed workout isn’t a big deal, it can become a problem if it happens too often. Here are a few ways to deal with fitness saboteurs:

Assume the best - Your family and friends aren’t doing these things because they are malicious; they probably just don’t understand. Don’t let your fitness plan become a source of stress in your social life, and assume that your loved ones actually have your best intentions at heart.

Just tell them - While not everyone appreciates the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, some might stop pressuring you to ruin your fitness plan if you just tell them how important it is to you.

Meet them halfway - If you're being pulled to a movie, ask if you can see a later showing so you can still spend time on the elliptical. If your co-worker is always bringing in pastries full of saturated fat, just have a little nibble and throw the rest away. And don’t feel bad about wasting food. It’s better in the trash than on your thighs, right?

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Fitness, like any long-term goal, is really just about overcoming a series of obstacles. Sometimes those obstacles come in the form of those closest to you. But at the same time, family and friends can sometimes be a fantastic source of support. If you find that certain people are sabotaging your diet plans, try to surround yourself with a more supportive crew so you can have the confidence you need to achieve your fitness goals.

Getting Protein on a Vegan or Vegetarian Diet

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Build muscle without touching an animal product.

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If you are doing any amount of resistance training, you should definitely keep an eye on your protein intake. Without sufficient protein, it will take a lot longer to build muscle and get that “tone” look you are going for. But if you are a vegan or vegetarian, it can be extra challenging to get enough of this essential macronutrient. Here are few suggestions I usually offer to my vegetarian and vegan clients.

Tofu is a staple of most vegan diets, and it fortunately contains a lot of protein. Tofu comes in a bunch of different textures, including silken, firm, and extra firm. For an extra shot of protein, stick with eating extra firm. It has the highest amount of protein per gram.

Nuts also give you a good protein kick and can be mixed with dried fruit for a healthy and filling snack. Ideally, you shouldn’t eat the heavily salted & roasted nuts you usually find in small packages. This process takes away a lot of the nutritional value and adds a bunch of unnecessary additives. In my opinion, the “king” of the healthy nuts is unprocessed almonds. They have twenty-one grams of protein per serving and tons of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Seeds are another great vegetarian protein source. Most varieties give you the protein you need plus a lot of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which can be particularly hard to get with a vegan diet. One of the healthier varieties is the sunflower seed, which has twenty-three grams of protein per serving.

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I have lots of clients who want to get fit but have to work around certain obstacles related to how they can eat or move. Sometimes they are lactose intolerant, have a bum knee, or have chosen to cut meat out of their diet. What I’ve discovered is that every obstacle is minor if the client really wants to lose that weight. Really, healthy eating is a challenge for everyone - vegans and vegetarians just have to be a bit more creative.

Fast Food Isn't Necessarily Evil

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Fast food doesn’t have to equal unhealthy food.

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It’s sometimes very hard to lead a busy lifestyle and eat right at the same time. If you find yourself ordering drive-through more than you’d like but still want to stay true to your fitness plan, stick to these options from some popular fast food eateries.

Hardee’s – Your best bet at Hardee’s is the charbroiled BBQ chicken sandwich. Unlike most fast food chicken sandwiches, the chicken patty isn’t deep-fried and it doesn’t come with cheese, so it only has one gram of saturated fat, plus a full 33 grams of protein.

KFC – It’s hard to find something good for you here (after all, “fried” is in the name), but the tender roast chicken sandwich without sauce is a good way to go. It only has 300 calories and 4.5 grams of total fat. Asking to hold the sauce shaves 80 calories and 8.5 grams of fat from the meal.

McDonald’s – Despite the bad press, it’s possible to eat healthy here too. Just ask for Chicken McGrill without mayonnaise. Again, making the special order is crucial here. It trims the sandwich down to a total of 300 calories and six grams of fat.

Taco Bell – The soft chicken taco has just 170 calories and four grams of total fat. If you want something a bit more substantial to eat, try the soft chicken taco supreme. It bumps the calories up to 350, but that’s still pretty reasonable compared to most fast food fare.

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I think this really illustrates the #1 tool for eating a healthy diet: education. I usually find that the more my clients learn about ways to eat healthy on the run and exercise on tight schedules, the healthier and fitter they become. I think spending time reading up and listening to experts on how to stay fit is just as important as spending time in the gym.

Things You Thought Were Good for You

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Conventional wisdom isn’t always so wise.

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Fruit Juice
Go to your refrigerator and look at the sugar content on your orange juice. I’m guessing it's going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty to thirty grams in a single glass, the equivalent to downing about four tablespoons of pure sugar. And as you already know, sugar encourages your body to store fat. There’s nothing wrong with eating whole fruit, which has a lot more nutrients and fiber and a lot less sugar, but you lose a lot of nutritional value when it’s turned into a juice.

Wheat Bread
Actually, wheat bread is better for you than white bread so long as it is actual, genuine wheat bread and not “enriched” wheat bread. “Enriched” basically means they processed and bleached the wheat until it doesn’t have any of the original nutritional benefits, and added vitamins back in. Believe it or not, some brands even add high fructose corn syrup to the bread. Always make the first ingredient on the list is “whole wheat” when purchasing wheat bread.

Foods marketed as “Low Fat”
There are tons of “low fat” foods that are also high in starchy carbs and sugar. After all, there’s more to good nutrition than lowering your fat intake, right?

Sharply Cutting Calories
If you eat too few calories, perhaps under 1200 a day or so for the average person, your metabolism may slow to a standstill, and you could wind up storing fat and losing muscle. The only healthy way to lose weight is gradually.

Find Smart Ways to Cut Calories

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If you ever discover you’ve been doing something very wrong in your diet or fitness plan (like you may have just done while reading this blog post), don’t beat yourself up about it. I sometimes encounter people who have been doing exercises in the least efficient and most joint-damaging ways possible for years before being shown there was a better way. The people with the most success are the ones who take new knowledge, apply it, and don’t worry about what they used to do.

Pimp Your Salad

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Make sure everything you put in your salad is diet-friendly.

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If you are one of those dieters who like to opt for a salad every time you eat out, you should definitely be aware that not all salads are equally healthy. But with a little education, you can make smart substitutions to ensure everything stays low calorie, low fat, and highly nutritious.

Instead of Iceberg Lettuce, Have Spinach: Iceberg lettuce isn’t bad for you, but it isn’t exactly doing anything great for you either. Spinach has a ton of vitamins and antioxidants that can protect your cardiovascular system, boost your energy, and slow signs of aging.

Instead of Croutons, Have Nuts: Croutons are chunks of fried bread, and all of that oil will pack a bunch of unnecessary saturated fat and extra calories into your meal. Nuts on the other hand will give you a nice boost of protein, plus a few “healthy” fats that can actually help speed your weight loss.

Instead of a Creamy Dressing, have Vinaigrette: Ranch and bleu cheese dressing have gobs of saturated fat. Not only is vinaigrette dressing much lighter, but vinegar has been shown to help regulate insulin levels, which makes it easier to burn off body fat.

Instead of Fried Chicken, Have Grilled Chicken: Protein in your salad is definitely a good idea, but make sure it is of the grilled variety and not soaked in grease. If the salad’s description includes the word “crispy,” you can bet more than one ingredient has been deep-fried.

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Unfortunately, almost all fast food salads are not very diet-friendly, with most packing over twenty grams of fat. Your best bet for eating a salad at a chain restaurant would probably be Subway, where the veggie delight salad has just one gram of fat and the Subway club salad has just 3.5 grams of fat, assuming you get the fat free Italian dressing for both.

Know Your Carbs

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Eat more low glycemic carbohydrates and less high glycemic carbohydrates.

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The glycemic index ranks carbohydrates from one to hundred based on how they affect blood glucose. Carbs that break down rapidly and give a sharp spike in glucose are considered high on the glycemic index, while those that break down gradually resulting more stable blood glucose levels are low on the glycemic index. This is important for the fitness minded, because we want the stable insulin levels and sustained energy that low glycemic carbs can provide. Here’s a breakdown of some of my favorite low glycemic carbs.

Oatmeal – This means real oatmeal, not the sugary microwave-in-a-minute stuff they sell in packets. Oatmeal doesn’t just burn off slowly and give you a steady supply of energy throughout the day, it is also packed with fiber to keep your digestive system healthy.

Pasta –Pasta is great because it doesn’t only have a lot of low glycemic carbs, it also has a healthy bit of protein. Make sure not to negate the health benefits by dousing your pasta in butter or using oil in a pasta salad. Instead, stick with the classic red sauce.

Fruits and Vegetables - Most fruits and vegetables (not including potatoes) can help keep you insulin levels where you want them, plus they come packed with about every health-enhancing vitamin you could hope for.

Beans – Beans, especially kidney beans and black beans, have a lot of healthy protein, can support digestive health, and are extremely low on the glycemic index. But that’s only true if you buy whole beans you have to boil yourself. Canned beans can actually cause your glucose levels to spike pretty rapidly.

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A lot of people have a tough time making oatmeal taste good without adding sugar. I just add some berries and cinnamon. Cinnamon might sound bad for you because it's used in so many tasty treats, but according to a 2003 study, cinnamon can actually decrease your blood glucose levels and reduce your levels of “bad “cholesterol.

Battle of the Sexes

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Spend less time comparing your weight loss progress to that of the opposite sex.

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Eating right and working out with your mate can be fun and inspiring, but just make sure that you don't compare your results to his or hers.

Ladies: Let's go ahead and face the facts since we can't deny Mother Nature. Because we have the babies, our bodies are naturally softer (read: More Fat). This means that, generally speaking, we tend to lose weight at a slower rate than our male counterparts - even when we're working just as hard.

Fellas: You tend to be a bit more competitive, and may get overly excited about your weight loss progress if you're comparing yourself to a woman. With the same amount of effort, chances are that you'll almost always lose at a faster rate so make sure that you set the bar high and push yourself to get the best results that YOU can get - regardless of where your partner is weighing in.

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We (women) have more pressure from the media to be super thin yet we (women) also have the hardest time losing weight. This makes no sense, yet I find myself buying into it. When I'm talking to other women, I say all of the right things about how they shouldn't fall prey to the petty pressures, but...I'm only human.

Maybe we can help each other. Let's just agree to stop comparing ourselves to others - especially genetically gifted men!

Bust Through the Sweet Spot

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Got carried away with too much sweet stuff? Ingest more fiber and protein to help even things out.

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Too much cake, candy or cookies can make you feel like crap. Depending on your blood sugar level, you may even start to feel a little shaky because refined carbs make your blood sugar spike.

When this happens, take action right away by consuming a combination of protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. Examples:

- Yogurt and berries
- Handful of almonds and a small piece of fruit
- Peanut butter on whole-grain toast

- Unsalted soy nuts

Snacks like these take longer to digest and are released more slowly into your bloodstream. This will help to cut your blood sugar when you eat them right away.

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This bit of advice was recently reported by ABC News. Although I was already aware of it, hearing about it again made me realize just how counterintuitive it is. When I eat too many sweets, my instinct is to not eat anything else because I feel like crap physically and mentally (Read: Major Guilt).

This is one of the few times that you may have to allow nature & proven science to override your natural instinct in an effort to curb the short-term effects of a sugar binge - no matter how warranted that quart of Edy's was.

All You CAN Eat...Not All You SHOULD Eat

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Put more thought into what you're ordering at the all-u-can-eat buffet. Whether you're planning a trip to Las Vegas - home to some of the most lavish buffets in the country - or whether you and your family are just headed to the Golden Corral (or Old Country Buffet, Shoney's, Super China Buffet...take your pick here), you don't have to walk away with unbuttoned pants and a guilty conscience.

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1) The best thing about a buffet is that you can walk around and look at all that it has to offer BEFORE you start piling up your plate. As you look around, pick out your "must haves" and put only those things that you cherish the most on your plate.

2) Be sure to include veggies and lean protein on your plate, and limit yourself to only one spoonful of anything creamy (mac & cheese, cream of broccoli soup) or white (garlic mashed potatoes, ranch dressing).

3) Limit yourself to one plate. Buffets are notorious for providing a never-ending supply of clean plates for your multiple trips to the line, but resist the urge to dirty up another one. By limiting yourself to a single plate, you are forced to make smart decisions the first time around.

4) Control your portions. If you do this effectively, eating at the buffet can end up working in your favor. Restaurants always give us more food than we need when we order off of the menu. At a buffet, you have ultimate control over your portions because you're serving yourself. Use this control to your advantage by sticking to appropriate portion sizes. See this past post for more info on portion sizes.

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I guess you could say that I'm a buffet snob because I don't like them at all. I don't like them for 2 reasons: (1) I don't like the idea of other people breathing all over my food and potentially touching it (I've seen folks stick their finger in the salad dressing which is so gross) and (2) I don't know when to stop. I mean, mentally I know when enough is enough, but when faced with all of those choices I end up "squaring my shoulders and preparing for battle." Given this level of drama, I try to stay away - far away.

As I write this post to you now, I feel like a bit of a hypocrite because I'm providing all of these sensible tips for handling buffet temptations yet I'm unable to follow my own advice. So, in order to rid myself of this guilt, I would like to make this little PSA:

"Follow the tips above if at all possible. If not, just step away from the buffet. I repeat, step away from the buffet."

Not all battles were designed to be fought. The smartest warrior is the one that knows when to lay down the sword. Ha, ha...that was corny, wasn't it? But seriously, you don't HAVE to learn how to conquer the buffet line. You can always be like me...Choose your battles, and avoid the darn place if need be.

Introducing Cafe Physique Personal Training & Nutrition Consulting

The time has finally come to expand this blog into a full-blown business, so please allow me to formally introduce Cafe Physique Personal Training & Nutrition...Where Food, Fitness, and Fun Are a Way of Life!!!!

Please visit www.cafephysique.com for a look at all of the exciting services that we have to offer!

The Truth About Dinner

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OK, let's be real. The truth about dinner is that nobody has time to cook a healthy meal from scratch every night. The truth about dinner is that our busy lifestyles require us to eat out for a variety of reasons - business travel, soccer games, night out with the hubby, etc.

Eating at our favorite restaurants is simply a fact of life, but that doesn't mean that you have to completely blow your healthy meal plan every time you go out to eat. Make MORE responsible choices from the menu, and you'll still be on your way to a svelte waistline and happy heart.

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When faced with an array of meal choices, do you have a hard time deciding what to choose? Well, if you're like most of us, you don't want to sacrifice taste for health, so Women's Health magazine has come to the rescue.

They've sent taste testers, who happened to be registered dieticians, out to some of the most popular restaurants. After sampling and testing the foods in a lab, they developed a list of healthy eating recommendations for casual dining chains such as:

Applebee's
Bennigan's
The Cheesecake Factory
Chili's Grill & Bar
Olive Garden
Outback Steakhouse
Red Lobster
Ruby Tuesday
T.G.I. Friday's
Uno Chicago Grill

Next time you head out the door to grab a bite to eat, log on and see what tasty, guilt-free things you can enjoy.

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As someone who loves to eat and has traveled often for work, I've had the pleasure of dining at each and every one of these restaurants. I was thrilled to know that some of my favorite choices were validated as being healthy by the Women's Health team, but I was also a little surprised by some of the choices that I had totally overlooked.

Lesson learned: Don't assume that you know what's in the food you're eating. Restaurants are great at sneaking in butter and oil in places where you would least expect them.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Eat Less Food More Often

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Eat MORE often. In an effort to lose weight, or because they're distracted with work or another activity, many people wait until they're absolutely famished before they eat. This is a surefire way to unconsiously add on the pounds.

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While our cultural eating habits have traditionally been based around 3 square meals a day, most experts now agree that eating smaller meals more frequently is a better way to go. By feeding your body a small meal of proteins, carbs (and sometimes veggies) every 3 hours or so, you will keep your metabolism revving.

Spreading your calorie intake out across the whole day will not only keep you feeling energized, you will not have to worry about bingeing when you finally do get your hands on some food because your body will never be in starvation mode.

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While I usually do not promote one eating plan over another, I do recommend that you check out the Body For Life website for many great tips on frequent eating. This plan recommends that you take in 6 small meals a day, and I've found that the meal recommendations and recipes provided on the site to be very helpful for folks trying to make this change.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Overcoming Temptation

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Bring LESS tempting foods into your house. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if chocolate cake is your all-time favorite dessert and you have a decadent chocolate cake sitting on your kitchen counter, staring at you every evening after work, you most likely will gobble it up in record-breaking time.

Even the most dedicated and diligent person will succomb to temptation if they're hungry and the only thing available is Ben & Jerry's.

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The biggest culprit of sabotaging your healthy eating intentions is your regular trip to the grocery store because it's during this time that you decide what you will and will not bring into your home.

While grocery shopping, try to think long-term. Don't just buy what you're in the mood for at that particular moment, but try to anticipate your future cravings as well. For example, if you know that you are bound to have a sweet tooth attack some evening in the near future, go ahead and buy some Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches or some Splenda to add to your strawberries.

Take a little extra time to plan your shopping trip and make good choices while at the store. Your hips will thank you for it!

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Tempation = The desire to eat something that you know you should avoid. Hmmm...I sure do have a lot of experience in this department. As my regular readers know, there are days when I just crave something delicious and decadent, and during these times...diet, lo-cal, low-fat, low-carb, reduced-calorie, reduced-sugar stuff just won't get the job done.

In anticipation of these times, I used to stock up on yummy chocolate-based desserts at the grocery store so that I would have them available when trouble came knockin' at my tummy. However, this plan quickly backfired on me because I started nibbling on the good stuff even when I didn't have my intense cravings. In fact, by the time I really needed a hit of something remarkable, I had usually already emptied the package.

This taught me that I should not keep tempting stuff in my house. If I'm having one of those knock-down, drag out cravings, I will want it bad enough to put my shoes on, get in the car, and go get it. No need to have it sitting there, staring me down every time I enter my kitchen.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.