The way to banish stress may be a sip away. Green tea is rich in catechins, an antioxidant compound, and contains high levels of EGCG, a polyphenol that has been previously found to reduce levels of oxidizing compounds that contribute to physical and mental fatigue. Tohoku University (Japan) researchers analyzed data relating to tea consumption, psychological distress, and lifestyle factors collected on 42,093 Japanese men and women, ages 40 years and older. The team determined that those subjects who drank five cups of green tea daily reduced their levels of psychological distress by 20%.

A popular beverage worldwide, green tea may help to alleviate mental stress and may promote psychological well-being. To ensure maximum antioxidant potency, be sure your green tea leaves are fresh, and preferably — organically grown.

Today my fitness/beach/stylist partner-in-crime Jen and I stumbled upon My Fit Foods in the Boystown neck of Lakeview. I had seen it open up shop in Chicago on North Ave., just east of Wells and this was my first opp to check out a fast food concept that “strives to make fresh, healthy meals to go that are designed to increase energy levels and help you lose weight safe and naturally.”

“Ok, let’s give it a shot,” we say as we shift gears away from our go-to snack spot (Starbucks).

When you’re literally running your business from your cell phone and trying to fit in that all too important beach date with the dogs in, eating on the go is a must. That’s why a company that boasts 90% of their meals gluten free, calorie and fat reduced and has several portion size options is a road we’re willing to traverse.

Walk in and go immediately to the fridge where the meals are broken down into easy to decide categories; snacks, breakfast, lunch, dinner. Okay, easy enough.

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We head over to snacks. Not only do they have a ton of options (in this category alone, I saw 8), they also have portions–small, medium and large–with the calories and fat literally printed on the side. So even these lazy beach combers can’t plead the fifth when it comes to not being aware of what we’ve just stuck in our mouths.

I had the tuna salad snack which consists of a yummy scoop of spicy and crunchy tuna salad, some zucchini wedges, grape tomatoes and a few rice crisps for good measure. Turns out, this was the perfect serving size and I felt full and satisfied after.

I love that it’s fast, love that it’s portion controlled and that it displays the nutritional information as clear as day. You really can’t screw it up when you eat here.

Be sure to pick up the snack cookie and gluten-free energy bar too for later. They were both low cal, high protein and extremely tasty. Especially the cookie

Day 1: 6-80zSalmon with 12oz veggies

Day 2: All vegetarian meal

Day 3: 6-8oz Chicken breast with 12oz veggies

Reach for a fork over a knife and increase your health benefits by going veg for a week. I like this recipe from Wendy Solganik over at Forks Over Knives. It’s a website dedicated to healthy vegetarian eating.

Italian White Bean, Kale and Potato Stew
Serves 6

Ingredients

The immune system is supposed to be our greatest defense in defending against pathogens and rebuilding damaged tissue.

Inflammation-signaling cells or C-reactive proteins (CRP), is a molecule released by the liver as part of the immune response. These levels should go back to normal levels after defending the body, but instead hang out in the blood. What keeps the battle going? Recurring irritants, such as cigarette smoke, for one. Or, as we now know, carrying too much extra weight, or simply getting older.

The efficiency with which your liver detoxes your blood and circulation are two huge contributing factors to your CRP levels.

My new fav protein bar tastes like a rice crispy treat and is low cal at 140 cals for a whopping 13g protein. Huzzah!

We can’t always perfectly plan our day. Yes, there will be times that you are running around the city, literally, jam packed with errands. Yesterday was clearly that day for me. So instead of not eating and running on fumes, I stopped at Dunkin Donuts to grab a bite.

Normally, I hate using fast food as a meal choice, but in this case I didn’t have time to stop and eat and I forgot my protein bar at home. “Don’t use this as an excuse to skip a meal,” I repeated to myself. It is my mantra these days….

Luckily, D&D had my back. A fact friendly tear-off perfect for my pocket. And you can download the pic I posted or check out the details below.

Best Food Choices At Dunkin Donuts:

1. egg white veggie wrap (150cals)
2. egg white turkey sausage wrap (150cals)
3. egg and cheese wrap (180cals)
4. ham, egg, cheese wrap (200cals)
5. egg white flat bread (280cals)

Best Drink Choices At Dunkin Donuts:

1. Hot Tea (0 cals)
2. Hot Coffee/Ice Coffee (5-25 cals, depending on additives like sugar, cream, etc.)
3. Latte Lite/Iced Latte Lite (80 cals)

But the truth is, you should examine your body based on your own individualistic set of factors. You are not your neighbor, and your neighbor is not you. We all have different shapes, sizes, body types, metabolisms, diets, etc., that all influence how we look.

Body image is an important topic to discuss in personal coaching because the psychological aspect of how we see ourselves can often influence our health. If you see yourself as imperfect and struggle to achieve a facade of reality, you may never attain that goal and that can decrease your confidence in achieving other life goals. It also can inhibit your enjoyment of food and healthy relationships with others. Food, exercise and how you look should never be a stressful endeavor. It should feel right. You should feel right.

I’ve created some guidelines to review in your own personal quest for the individualistic diet. These are encompassing rules that shed light on how you should really feel that create a healthy self image. Choose reality based solutions based on how you want to feel. Unhealthy runway models, steroid induced professional athletes, airbrushed magazine covers and celebrities (who, quite frankly, have an advanced team of practitioners taking care of them) shouldn’t dictate your personal health.

The Individualist Diet:

1. Eat Six Meals A Day

Researchers at Georgia State University found that if you keep your hourly surplus or deficit within 300 calories at all times, you’ll regulate your blood sugar levels and regulate insulin better. Insulin is the hormone that stores fat. When your blood sugar drops in your body for a long period of time (as in very heavy exercise or lack of food for extended periods), the next meal you take in spikes your insulin which works to enhance storage of glucose and suppress the breakdown of adipose tissue, or fat, into free fatty acids.

2. Eat Foods That Swap Fat For Muscle

Donald Layman, Ph.D.⁶, from the University of Illinois, published research on protein consumption for fat loss. Results show that a high protein, leucine rich diet, in combination with lower carbohydrates (150 grams or 600 calories per day) is effective to support weight loss, blood sugar metabolism, and a variety of factors that have an impact on cardiovascular health. Leucine has a direct signaling effect on muscle that prevents muscle loss during weight loss. This means that on a high protein diet, the weight that is lost is mostly fat, not muscle. Whereas on a high carbohydrate weight loss diet, much more muscle is lost.

Choose 2-3 of these foods in each of your 3 major meals and at least one of the foods in each of your 3 snacks

Greek yogurt (Fage 0%), berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries), leafy greens (spinach, sprouts), lean meats and fish (chicken breast, salmon), nuts (almonds, walnuts), colorful vegetables (red peppers, broccoli, sweet potatoes), oatmeal (steel cut preferred).

3. Know

]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/15/the-individualist-diet/feed/ 0 http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/12/five-50-calorie-or-less-after-dinner-snacks/ http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/12/five-50-calorie-or-less-after-dinner-snacks/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:01:42 +0000 Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD http://corefitchicago.com/blog/?p=578 Continue reading →]]> You know your appetite clock is right when you are hungry for breakfast in the morning. When you decrease your PM snacking to just 50 calories, you wake up with a healthy hungry in the morning.

1. Mint Tea w/ 2 tsp Honey (45 cals)

2. Clementine + 4 Pistachios (50 cals)

3. Air-Popped Popcorn w/ Vinegar & Sea Salt (45 cals)
1-1/2 cups popcorn + drizzle of balsamic + 1/8 tsp sea salt

4. Cocoa Covered Frozen Banana Slices (50 cals)
Peel, slice & freeze 1/2 of a banana. Sprinkle w/ cocoa powder.

5. Kefir Shot + Raspberry Chaser (44 cals)
1/4 cup plain, low-fat kefir + 1/4 cup fresh berries

]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/02/12/five-50-calorie-or-less-after-dinner-snacks/feed/ 0 http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/01/25/the-kick-ass-diet/ http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/01/25/the-kick-ass-diet/#comments Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:11:15 +0000 Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD http://corefitchicago.com/blog/?p=564 Continue reading →]]>

Your fat cells won’t ever go away (without lipo anyways), but cellulite (the matrix that holds your fat cells together) can be reduced by how much you diet and exercise. Fat cells shrink and expand depending on how much fat you are taking in, so if you reduce the fat in your diet, they will shrink and will not be held taut against the cellulite matrix.

Siggi’s is one of my favorite diet secrets. I use it in the afternoon for a boost at lunch. With only 100 cals and 14 grams of protein, this is one of the highest non-synthetic forms of pure protein out there.

• 100 cals, 0 g fat, 11 carbs, 14g protein
• all natural milk from grass fed cows
• no aspartame, sucralose, gelatin, artificial color, preservatives, or high fructose corn syrup
• Milk produced without the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone

Stay tuned for a CoreFit book of health & wellness which includes meditation, workouts, nutrition plans and mental health awareness. Basically my secrets to staying young and fresh and most important healthy–leading a Kick Ass Life.

 

]]> http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/01/25/the-kick-ass-diet/feed/ 0 http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/01/23/low-carb-clementine-almond-cake/ http://corefitchicago.com/blog/2013/01/23/low-carb-clementine-almond-cake/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:15:43 +0000 Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD http://corefitchicago.com/blog/?p=522 Continue reading →]]> This whole clementine cake is a classic Sicilian recipe, which I adapted from a book by Nigella Lawson. This cake is made using whole clementines that have been boiled until tender, then pureed into a smooth, intoxicatingly flavored paste.

Since it is flourless it’s easy to make this low carb by baking with natural sweetners. The low carb recipe is by Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert.

Flourless Clementine Almond Cake Recipe
Adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson

Ingredients
4 clementines (about 13 oz)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup erythritol + 1/2 cup granulated Splenda (OR) 1 cup granulated white sugar
2 1/4 cups of ground almond meal (or 9oz of almonds finely ground)
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

Directions
Place the clementines in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let simmer 1 1/2 hours, until very tender. Remove from water, then chop and remove seeds. Add the remaining boiled clementine (everything but the pits) to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line a springform baking pan (this is a sticky cake; you NEED a springform pan).

In a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs for 5 minutes until very light and frothy. Add the sweetener or sugar, ground almonds, almond extract, salt, and baking powder and beat again for 5 more minutes until very light. Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until set. Let cool in the pan, then unmold and serve.
Low Carb Note: Using the mix of sweeteners that I used, the cake works out to about 9g of net carbs per serving, which is fantastic. (The cake has 10 servings.)

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