Meal Replacements 101

The options for meal replacement shakes are endless and staring at all the tubs and packets in the grocery store makes me nervous! To try  and ease my own stress  (and hopefully yours!) these are some key nutrition items that I check for to eliminate any lemons from the protein powder shelf.

1) Calories - I try to stay within the 90-120 calories (per serving) range for protein powders so I can keep the end product around 300 total calories (1 cup of vanilla almond mlk + 1 banana = 200 calories).

2) Sodium Content - In general, it’s good to try to eat a lower sodium diet. Too much sodium can irritate high blood pressure, but on a lighter note it can just make you hold water. When you’re holding water you’re usually contradicting the entire reason you’re wanting to have a meal replacement shake, which is weight loss or maintenance. I try to keep the sodium per serving in my protein shakes to under 150 mg.

3) Sugar Content - Bottom line, too much sugar isn’t good and will make you crash a few hours after drinking your shake. Try to keep the per serving amount under 10g.

4) and the obvious…. PROTEIN! I know this is pretty obvious, but many times the reason people are drinking meal replacements is to try to up their daily protein intake without dramatically increasing calories. I would say to keep the protein to calorie ratio to one gram per every 10 calories (ie if the protein shake is 90 calories per serving, then try to have around nine grams of protein).

OR if you don’t feel like going through all the work, here are a few of my favorites:

• Anything from Herbalife  (but the Chocolate Mint is pretty epic!)
• Perfect Fit Protein
• Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein
• Garden of Life Raw Protein - Original

Meal Planning: Just Do It!

First off, this is a classic example of "do as I say and not as I do." Not everyone has time to sit down every single Sunday and plan out their meals for the next week. But, use this as another way to apply the 80/20 rule. If you can strive to do this 80% of the time, you'll still be adding some bucks to your pocket book, while saving some serious calories. If you're having trouble getting started, these are a few steps that might help along the way.

1. Pick a date: I work Monday through Friday, so for me it's easiest to do this on a Sunday morning with some coffee. Maybe it would work better for you on a Tuesday night with a nice glass of red wine. The most important thing is to pick a day/time that you can usually commit to.

2. Plot it out: There are so many things that we all juggle throughout the week: school, kids, work... the list is endless. Do your brain a favor and write out your plan. This is an example of what I usually do. You don't have to be as obsessive as I am about serving sizes, this simply helps me know how much to buy when I write out my grocery list.

3. Prepare in advance: Don't beat yourself up if you can't do this all the time, this is another opportunity to practice the 80/20 rule! If you can, take some time to do some advanced preparation after you get back from the grocery store. Hard boil the eggs, cut up the carrots, cook the pasta. Mornings are typically pretty busy, so this will just be another small thing you can do in your free time that will save tons of time throughout the week.

Have fun meal planning! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or further suggestions.

Top 5 Songs This Week

I know a lot of people don't, but I do still use Pandora. These were the first five songs that popped up when I was reviewing my likes. Typically I'm drawn more towards electronic music. If you like that type of thing, then check these songs out! If not, then you can skip to the next post - but don't forget to follow first ;)

1.) Domdigga by Day.din
2.) So Easy by Royksopp
3.) Paradise Circus (Gui Boratto Remix) by Michael Mayer
4.) I Remember (Caspa Remix) by Kaskade & Deadmau5
5.) When I'm Small by Phantogram.

3 Questions To Ask Before Sweating With Your Spouse!

I hear a lot of people mention (especially right after New Years) that a great way to lose weight, get healthy and strengthen your relationships is to exercise with your significant other. For the longest time I felt like an epic failure because my husband and I just never really got into the grove of working out together. If you've also felt this way despair not! Here are some ways to judge if including your mate in your next trip to the gym is the right choice for you:

1. Do you have the same goals? If you and your special someone have the same fitness goals then simultaneous sweating probably works for you. However, if you're goal is to get more flexible while your better half's goal is to build strength then maybe it would be better to just go your separate ways during your daily sweat sessions.

2. Do you enjoy the same activities? My husband plays basketball. My parents put me in non-ball related sports like swimming and running for a reason. I honestly couldn't catch, bounce, hit or kick a ball if my life depended on it. While watching these kinds of sports can be fun, participating in them is a different story. And the same works in reverse. On an occasion during my lets-workout-together-days I decided to take my husband to a yoga class, but quickly regretted it when he let out a loud "no way!" during the first sun salutation. It's just not his thing and he doesn't want or really need to be a yogi.

3. When do you both plan on working out? For the longest time I was used to working out first thing in the morning, while my husband played pick up basketball in the evenings. Whenever one of us would try to change our schedule to do something with the other we would both end up annoyed and agitated. While we are both on the same schedule now, we don't force it. We are both committed to our fitness and respect the others choice to go when most convenient for them. In the end, our relationship is a little more harmonious because we got to do a little something for ourselves.

I hope this helps all those suffering women out there wondering "AGH what is wrong with US?!" If you are one of the lucky few who works out with the hubs, kudos. But for the rest of you, don't sweat it...literally!

Gracefully Accepting Change

When you hear someone say the word "change," what emotions are stirred up in your mind? I recall in one of my college psychology classes that experiencing change can cause fear because it possesses a certain aspect of that which is unknown. Think of the last time you went through a major life change. Perhaps you were moving away to college, getting married, or even having children!

As I've previously mentioned, my husband and I recently moved across the country from Dallas to Los Angeles. As someone who lived within the same 30 mile radius since high school, I found this to be a big transition. Although barely a month deep into this move, these are three strategies that I found helpful in accepting this change as gracefully as possible.

1. Appreciate the present. When experiencing big changes it's really easy to get lost in contemplating all of the uncertainties the future may or may not hold. Enjoy your final moments in your present circumstances and cultivate meaningful memories to reflect back on.

2. Keep expectations low.  Try not to force yourself or others to adapt too quickly. You really don't know how long it will take for this change to feel "normal." Accept and expect adjustment to take time and it will eliminate some of the
added stress of a new environment.

3. Find an outlet. Find an easy hobby to get lost in. Although everything around you seems somewhat hectic having one constant activity will help you cope with the surrounding turbulence.