Halfway to 2020: Finish Strong, Achieve your Goals

Does it flabbergast anyone else that it’s already early July and we are officially more than halfway through 2019? Remember back in January when we had plans for changing everything: improving our diets, exercising more, and experiencing weight loss? We were determined to arrive on December 31st of 2019 feeling better and looking great. 

Having done this work long enough, we know that it’s typical to feel disappointed or frustrated with your progress and worried about the future. The common question: “will I ever be able to achieve this goal of _______ (i.e. balance, a healthier relationship with food, better digestion/skin/energy)?” We beat ourselves up with the thought: “what’s wrong with me that I can’t seem to start and STICK WITH an exercise regimen/ put down the pint of ice cream when I’m emotionally out-of-sorts/ follow an eating plan that would benefit my health?”

You may find yourself wondering:

• do I start now or wait until summer is over?
• why haven’t I been able to make the changes I set out for myself?
• should I follow the diet my neighbor/best friend/favorite celebrity is doing?
• is this how I’m supposed to feel at my age? Is it possible to have more energy and be at a comfortable weight?
• how do I actually create better balance in my life and see results?

It can feel like there are 900 skills you need in order to reach your goals. Some include meal-planning, combating emotional eating & self-sabotage, changing your mindset, monitoring your progress, establishing effective systems and routines, and engaging your mind and body in making the transition so that your process produces the transformation you desire. So how do you know where to start or what’s next?

On the way to 2020, take a minute to reflect on a few things:

• how badly do I want to see my goal achieved?
• do I have the time and resources to make it happen?
• with all these articles/books/courses on different diets, how do I know what is best for me and my body? Is there a better way?

Be honest with yourself. If you’re going through a tumultuous divorce, maybe now is not the time to focus your attention on lowering your cholesterol. If the kids are keeping you on the go during summer vacation, fall might be a better time to check in and see what reasonable changes you can make during the last quarter of the year. Or maybe the 10 extra pounds on your body are killing your confidence and making your clothes uncomfortable to wear; you know it’s time to make a change.

You still have 175 days left of 2019. Are you ready to achieve your desired results and finish strong? It all starts with a chance to connect with your personal nutritionist and lifestyle coach during a complimentary 20-minute discovery call. Schedule it this week and uncover your skill gap so that you can make the BEST choice for beginning your sustainable lifestyle transformation!

10TV: Summer Mocktails

June is National Iced Tea Month and because it’s been so warm lately, it’s a great time to switch from hot coffee and tea to cooler beverages like iced tea – whether black, green, oolong, white, or herbal. There are many benefits to drinking tea including lower cholesterol, cancer prevention and improving dental hygiene (cavity determent).

A mocktail is an easy and delicious way to keep hydrated during these high temperature months. Behold! The Strawberry Mint + Lime Cooler as well as the Cranberry Raspberry Lime Sparkler.

Strawberry Mint & Lime Cooler
1 cup white tea
1 cup sparkling mineral water
½ cup fresh mint
½ cup fresh strawberries, sliced

Cranberry Raspberry Lime Sparkler
1 cup 100% cranberry juice
1 cup raspberry tea
1 cup sparkling mineral water
¼ of a lime, juiced
Mint for garnish

Instructions:
Make tea; once tea has cooled, add ice cubes (if desired) and stir in remainder of ingredients. Garnish with mint and lime. Of course you can easily make this mocktail into a cocktail by adding your favorite wine, mead, or liquor (i.e. vodka). These recipes will serve you well in the late spring and deep into summer’s heat. Enjoy!

Ayurvedic Basics & the Seasons

Source: flickr.com/photos/lakpura/

 

Ayurvedic medicine is over 5 thousand years old and is connected to nature and its seasons. This holistic healing system seeks to harmonize body, mind, and soul. Though it can be difficult to conceptualize from a scientific point of view, it is common sense and based on the laws of nature. You don’t need a scientific study to reflect on what may already be intuitively known; you need to eat differently based on the climate in your part of the world (tropical, desert, tundra  or grassland), the current season, your ancestry and genetics, your age, activity level, and food preferences.  All of these aspects influence how you, as an individual, should eat and live.

We at One Bite Wellness use different aspects of healing traditions and bring them in our practice. Beyond calories and carbs there lies a whole new layer of healing modalities. We endeavor, and encourage our clients, to live in harmony with the natural cycles…to take stress out of daily living, and with it the stress-fighting hormones and their toxic residues (i.e. free radicals). We want to know how well your body is getting rid of waste from your system…because what you put in your body is only part of the equation. 

What you eat is important, but so is how and when you eat. So it is important to study the characteristics of the seasons and learn how to incorporate the foods that provide balance.

The doshas – pitta, vata, and kapha- rule seasons, body types, times in our lives and more. Here’s a quick primer:

Summer is the hot and dry season, when pitta rules supreme. It is when we race around, buzzing with energy for our many activities.

Fall/Winter is the vata, or wind, season. It is characterized by cold and dryness. Nature takes time to rest instead of actively growing.

Spring is the kapha season; it is earthy, wet, and cool. It can promote a slower, heavy feeling in the body.

The foods produced during each season are typically the best to eat to help off-set effects of the season. For example, since the fall/winter season is cold and dry, our skin tends to be dry and crack and we feel cold. The foods produced and harvested during this time are warming, nourishing, and lubricating for your skin and joints. Squashes, nuts, and animal foods are typically incorporated into our meals or in soups, casseroles, and chili recipes.

During the summer season, we are hot and the foods produced by the earth are cooling; we tend to eat more raw foods – such as fruits, smoothies, salads, and gazpacho. This helps us deal with the heat of the season.

How does one find balance with each of the seasons?

The main two tools are seasonally-appropriate nutritional programs and lifestyle management. We cover how functioning of the body can go awry and how to create balance. Without a demanding a strict diet for the season, we help the client by creating a personalized nutrition protocol and teaching them how to incorporate delicious foods into their diets. In addition, we look at how to support the body, during the various seasons, with simple and fun lifestyle changes to support their bodies.

Connect with a nutrition expert and learn more about your Ayurvedic body type and how to create personalized balance – mind, body, and spirit.

Recipe: Sun Tea Drink

photo source: sarahmeyerwalsh.wordpress.com

Ingredients:

8 teabags or 6 teaspoons of loose-leaf tea (use organic tea and fair trade tea if possible)

8-12 cups of water

Directions:

1. Combine the tea and water.

2. Place in direct sunlight for 4 to 6 hours.

3. After tea has finished brewing in the rays, bring in and flavor to your liking

Take advantage of the hot summer months and enjoy this drink!

Recipe: Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro

Ingredients

2 pounds sweet potatoes
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt

Dressing:

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (including tender stems)
1 teaspoon of lime zest or lemon zest
2 tablespoons of fresh lime or lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of salt

Instructions

Turn on your grill and let it heat up
Peel the sweet potatoes (feel free to leave some skin on if desired) and cut lengthwise into ¼ inch thick pieces
Coat the sweet potato slices with olive oil and add salt to taste
Combine all the dressing ingredients into a bowl
Once the grill is hot, put the sweet potato slices on the grill
Cover, and let cook for about 3-6 minutes on each side
Mix the sweet potatoes in the bowl with the dressing
Enjoy!