005 #Cheatyourwaytohealth?

“Winners never cheat” -John M. Huntsman

Yesterday I saw an advertisement for a health food production company. Pictured on its delivery truck was what looked like a bitten Oreo with #cheatclean written underneath.

In many situations we wish we could “have our [Oreo] and eat it too.” Wouldn’t it be nice?

The Law of the Harvest—we harvest what we plant—still applies. For example, nutritious food eaten for breakfast affects energy levels and satiety until lunch and as it’s repeated regularly, increases overall health in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Try this for breakfast

Mix bran flakes and Raisin Bran (Raisin Brans has too many raisins for me so I add more bran flakes to make my bowl proportionally to my liking) or just Raisin Bran, 2% milk (so creamy), sliced apples (reminds me of apple pie when eaten with the creamy milk). Pair with a glass of water. Satisfying and delicious! I’ve eaten this breakfast (or similar breakfast cereal combinations) for years.

004 Overcoming Stress-Eating

Not long ago while on a date with my wife we pleasantly conversed. Following a satisfying and nutritious meal I thought to bring up an important yet controversial topic in our marriage—a topic we have diametrically opposing viewpoints on. Yet, being in a safe and agreeable circumstance I thought we might venture… it did not end well. There was no shouting or harsh or unkind words, rather my wife started eating processed junk snack foods and told me that our conversation triggered it.

Have you or someone you love experienced a similar stress trigger and junk food eating response?

My Nutrition university professor joked, a student aces an exam and to celebrate bakes a sheet of brownies eating the lot, or fails the exam and also eats the entire sheet of brownies. Comfort food to celebrate and to console!

To form and maintain healthy habits, James Clear suggests changing our environments rather than relying on discipline alone. Clear writes, “We mentally assign our habits to the locations in which they occur: the home, the office, the gym. Each location develops a connection to certain habits and routines.… You can train yourself to link a particular habit with a particular context… [H]abits can be easier to change in a new environment.”

On another day, during a different stressful moment Jules felt stressed and she changed her environment. Immediately she walked upstairs to the bedroom to work on a Sumoku puzzle instead of binge-eating junk food in the kitchen.

Pro Tip:

Overcome stress-eating by changing your environment. When a triggering event occurs tempting you turn to food for temporary relief physically remove yourself to a new environment.

Atomic Habits, 87-88.

003 French toast the most

Make nutritious taste good.

Start with Great Value Honey wheat bread from Walmart—it’s flavorful, not dry, and made from 100% whole wheat flour. Batter it with a mixture of whipped eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl. pan-fried in olive oil (for a savory fare) or Canola oil (for a sweeter variation). Top with spray butter, honey, and berries.

Simple Health Breakdown: One-hundred percent whole-grain (bread), very best (olive oil) or second best (Canola) fat, natural sweetener (honey), fresh fruit (speaks for itself)

002 Wake Up Clear-Minded and Energy-Filled

Enter the Zone (before bed)

In his book Enter the Zone, Dr. Barry Sears, PhD advocates specific portions of fat, protein, and carbohydrate in a meal or snack. He calls each portion a “block”. A block of protein contains 7 grams of protein; a block of carbohydrate contains 9 grams of carbohydrates; a block of fat is 1.5 grams of fat. To determine numbers of blocks a food contains you can look at its food label or here’s a link https://catalystfitness.typepad.com/files/food-block-guide.pdf for some pre-measured protein, carbohydrate, and fat blocks and sample recipes.

If you’re rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself, “I will never do this. That is way too much trouble to keep track of all those portions”, you are not alone. It might feel like that but in reality just start small. Just start with a single one block snack before brushing your teeth and going to bed. Take it from Dr. Sears, see if he’s on to something.

Try it. See how you feel in the morning.

Pro Tip:

Eat a “one block” snack before bed.

Below is one of my favorites:

1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese, 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter, 1/2 cup grapes.

Bon appetite and bon soño!

001 Find your bowl

A bowl—both in design and size—can promote health. This is mine.I love the design and when I fill this bowl with a mixture of raisin bran and bran flakes topped with chopped apples and 2% milk it makes for a very satisfying and delicious breakfast. It takes the guesswork out of breakfast at least a couple days a week. Pastor Craig Rochelle taught, “Goals don’t determine success systems do.” Finding the right size bowl and design creates that system for a nourishing and adequate quantity of food. It is one component to optimize your health. So find your favorite bowl.