BOWL UP : START CRAVING SALADS AND BOWLS TO CHANGE YO LIFE!
Food is addicting, let’s be real about that. Recently, it was my good friend Jay’s birthday and for his birthday we had this Filipino meal called Lechon, which is the reason why when Filipino people go home to see their family and they put on like 5 extra pounds in a weekend. Lechon is the Philippine National Dish and is typically prepared for special occasions. The way it is cooked is over a spit of charcoal and turned manually and consistently for several hours. This makes the skin super crispy and in my opinion incredibly addicting. I will say that as soon as I had my four servings of lechon, I started craving it for weeks! It honestly took me about two weeks to not crave it anymore. Food is addicting. There is a reason why people fall in love with their sweets, pizza, or my personal favorite French fries. One of the main reasons why these foods become our cravings are because of the neuroplasticity of our brains.
Neuroplasticity can be one of the most helpful tools for success. Many people use neuroplasticity to their advantage in the mornings with a gratefulness practice. I have a journal that is called “2-Minute Mornings” and I write 5-10 things that I am grateful for every single morning. Not only does it put me in a state of gratitude and in a beautiful state, but I am also training my mind to feel that gratitude and joy first thing in the morning. Many of my clients notice a new urge to workout more often when they begin training frequently. Their mind is beginning to recognize the positivity that comes along with more frequent movement. When you have snacks that are supposed to make you feel good for a brief moment, like those Swedish fish, sour patch kids, or potato chips your mind will get addicted to those snacks because of how the mind feels right after. I have been training my mind to not only enjoy the most nutrient dense foods, but I have been training my mind to even start craving those foods. I have been obsessed with salads and bowls the past few months and not those cute little Trader Joe’s pre-made salads, but massive meals that keep me full and energized throughout the rest of the day.
Ensalada Pacifica at the Green Enchilada
I will admit, food is fuel is one of my mantras. For this reason, my meal prep use to be pretty bland and rather basic. I used to always think that I was supposed to just have a complex carbohydrate, protein, dark green vegetables, and maybe some fats with my meals. Then my meal would just be done after that, but after reading a book by Dr. Joel Fuhrman called “Eat to Live”, I knew that I needed to make a change. Although I was eating pretty healthy before, I knew that there was still so much more that I could change. Dr. Fuhrman stressed the importance of having nutrient dense foods that would help you get more vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and phytochemical in your body. So I made it a point to focus on incorporating as much nutrient dense foods as I possibly could. In a time where our health is so very important to not only feel energized, but also to prevent serious illness, I believe this is a serious shift that many of us do need. Here is the case to bowl up and add more salads whenever you possibly can.
NUTRIENT DENSITY & SATIETY FOR THE WIN
The main dietary lifestyle that I recommend to my clients is intermittent fasting. I believe that there are so many powerful benefits of fasting such as: increased lipolysis (usage of fat storage), increased energy, and increased autophagy (process where your cells recycle and repair their broken and poorly working parts, which helps with aging). However, one of my favorite effects of fasting is just being so incredibly full that I could rollover into a ball and accept my food coma for the next 30 minutes. I love being full and satisfied. Adding more nutrient dense foods is one of the best ways to achieve that without overloading on animal fat and high carbohydrate foods.
Taken from “Eat to Live”
Here is a photo of what your stomach would look like after eating 400 calories of different foods. When I first started working out, I thought I wanted to compete in physique competitions so my training and nutrition reflected that. When you are cutting weight you typically put yourself in a caloric deficit in order to get your body to burn the fat storage that you have. People will go to ridiculous extremes in order to lose the little body fat that they have. It really saddens me to hear the stories of girls intaking less than 1200 calories, while also doing over an hour of cardio per day. I am sure that a large majority of their calories are primarily coming from just lean protein sources, so just imagine how hungry they would be every single day and almost every waking moment.
I have been a little more focused on keeping my body fat lower and my strategy includes staying away from French fries as much as I possibly can but also filling up my body with leafy greens, beans, vegetables, and fruit to keep myself full while intaking less calories. I love filling up my plate with beans because I know that I am reaping the benefits of increased fiber in my system, which is great for gut health. One of the reasons why I am constantly trying to get as much spinach as I can in my diet is because I want to ensure that I have enough potassium in my body, which is an electrolyte that helps with muscle activation but also prevents muscle cramping. Antioxidants are great for slowing down aging and protecting you from some illnesses because they protect your cells against free radicals. There is so much more research emerging on the benefits of phytonutrients in plants as well. Many phytonutrients also help you protect your body and strengthen your immune system, so step-up your COVID-19 defense with some greens and fruits.
INCREASED HYDRATION IN YOUR BODY
I rarely see my doctor, but there was a time when I had a scare with my health. Whenever I would do yoga classes, I would get a little light-headed and dizzy when shifting from a low movement to a high movement. So I went to the doctor to figure out what all that was, I thought I needed to get a bunch of tests done to see if my heart was ok or if there was another issue. I went to One Medical and got all my blood work done, but when I was chatting with the nurse all she said was that you are probably just dehydrated. Honestly, I felt like I just wasted my time but she recommended that I start taking these Nuun hydration tablets and I no longer experienced dizziness. I use to worry about passing out in a yoga class next to an auntie just crushing me with her poses, but now I can do my best to keep up with everyone else without that fear.
What I was experiencing was one of the short-term effects of dehydration in the body. In an article that I read on Healthtrax.com titled, “How Dehydration Can Affect Body Composition” I saw some of the negative affects of dehydration on the body. These include: decrease in strength and performance, decrease in muscle growth, possible muscle breakdown, increased risk of injury, and also impaired exercise performance. The article cited a study that found out that increasing water intake can lead to a greater weight and fat loss than dieting alone. The overweight participants in the study drank 500ml of water prior to every meal and they lost a significant amount more weight than the other groups, the article cited 44% more weight loss although that does seem a bit high. In the study they said this weight loss can be from increased hydration, but also a feeling of fullness that prevented them from eating more which is also a plus.
When you are stuffing your plates with leafy greens as well as other fruits and vegetables, you are also increasing your water intake because of the water that exists inside of these such foods. If you struggle with getting enough water in your system regularly then try adding foods that can help you increase your hydration levels on top of the water that you are already intaking.
Photo by Noppadon Manadee on Unsplash
GETTING CREATIVE WITH YOUR PLATE
I spend a ton of my time on social media, probably too much. I do believe that social media is an essential tool for building a business and getting brand recognition and arguably the most popular type of photos on IG are food photos. I know a few people who have been able to build businesses on food photos and reviews. It is truly amazing what they have been able to accomplish and I know to never look at their pages when I am hungry. That is one of the quickest ways to go hangry real quick, until I have a snickers. Food is not only essential, but it is also beautiful. Sure hamburgers taste pretty dang awesome, but they definitely are not the most beautiful thing you can look at.
Salads and bowls can be incredibly beautiful, but they also give you the flexibility where you can put almost anything in your meal. There is an endless possibility from the protein, vegetables, dressing, fruits, seeds, or whatever else your heart desires. Here are a few places to get ideas:
https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/
Train your mind to begin craving healthy and nutritious foods that will make your body continue to perform and look its absolute best.