Quantcast
Channel: Womens Digital Online Magazine | VIVMag » Gastronomy
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5

Simplify Your Life and Quell Diet Demons With These Breakfast Tips From Nutrition Expert Heather Bauer by josie

0
0

To ensure you have a protein-rich breakfast when you're on the go, Perfectly Simple bars can be kept in purses or desk drawers without melting.

As VIVmag’s nutrition editor, I hear a lot about the necessity of a good breakfast — and yet there are still the occasional mornings when I’m on the go and miss the most important meal of the day.

At an event sponsored by Zone Perfect Perfectly Simple nutrition bars, Heather Bauer, R.D., C.D.N., shared her tips for making the best breakfast choices in five common situations.

The key, she says, is remembering simple tips that have a big impact. Bauer, who wrote Bread Is the Devil: Win the Weight Loss Battle by Taking Control of Your Diet Demons (St. Martin’s Press, 2012) with Kathy Matthews, notes that most of us know what we should do when it comes to healthy eating — but we’re often derailed by our personal diet pitfalls, or demons, that turn us into situational eaters who let our environment dictate what we eat. In spite of the book’s name, Bauer isn’t a carb-hater either — she eats sandwiches (yes, with bread).

When it comes to breakfast, however, while carbs are easy to eat and grab on the go, the subsequent rise in blood sugar is a ticket to sleepiness later on in the day, she says. Make sure to include whole grains, fiber and protein when possible in your breakfast — protein keeps you full for the longest. Following are her tips for not becoming a situational eater in five breakfast scenarios. (You may recognize some of your diet demons in here!)

Hotel breakfast Whether you’re away on business or vacation, a hotel breakfast buffet often triggers the thought, “I should eat everything!” says Bauer. But instead of loading up on whatever you see, do a walk-by to search for healthy options. (Here is where I personally paused and thought of all the people I’ve elbowed out of the way, buffet plate still warm from an industrial dishwasher in my eager grip, ready to eat my way down the line like Ms. Pac-Man.)

Often there’s an omelet station where you can request an egg-white omelet. Or skip the buffet altogether and order off the menu; an order of two poached eggs with wheat toast and tomato contains about 250 calories, Bauer says.

In the car Instead of the drive-thru, plan ahead and pack several fiber crackers with almond butter, along with an apple or banana. Eating on the commute? If you’re a passenger, choose something high in protein, such as a Greek yogurt, she says.

Running late No time to make and pack breakfast? Bauer recommends a grabbing a nutrition bar. Not surprisingly, at the event sponsored by Zone Perfect, the recommendation is one of the new Perfectly Simple bars, with 10 grams of protein and available in Peanut Crunch, Cranberry Almond and Toasted Coconut.

Since the bars don’t have a coating, they won’t melt in your purse or bag, Bauer notes. (And these aren’t the claylike creations that come to mind when I hear that a bar has a lot of protein.) Perfectly Simple bars have only six to 10 ingredients and you can see and identify the peanuts, coconut, cranberries and almonds.

Airport “People end up sabotaging their nutrition,” in this situation, Bauer says, often because of the travel stress. Airport offerings frequently include yogurt, oatmeal or even hard-boiled eggs — even a skim latte and fruit in a pinch, she says. Also check out a previous VIV Says post on healthy in-flight noshes and packable snacks.

Weekends When making weekend food choices, Bauer says, “a lot of people unravel.” Whether it’s hangover helpers or brunch with friends or meals with the kids, the weekend often means indulgences that pack a big calorie punch. Bauer suggests making her recipe for oatmeal pancakes using instant-oatmeal mix.

Of course, you don’t have to carry around prepackaged meals all the time. “It’s about taking control when you can,” Bauer says. She also reiterates the same piece of advice that I’ve heard from just about every dietitian I’ve ever spoken to: “You have to find a way to eat that you can do the rest of your life.”

Bauer also recommends drinking 2 liters of water a day for weight loss and maintenance — and to drink one of those liters before lunch. For those who don’t like to drink water from a glass (apparently it’s a quirk Bauer and I share), she recommends a refillable bottle, an adult “sippy cup,” if you will — a method I also use to get my daily water intake.

Check out our previous tips for simplifying your life and getting organized with Bonnie Joy Dewkett, the Joyful Organizer!

Do you have a diet demon?

Photo credit: Courtesy Zone Perfect


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images