Healthier Eating & Nutrition

W.,
I have studied nutrition since 1982, first for my own health and then for my family and friends. I loved helping others to eat, think, and live healthier lives. I am a Practical Nutrition Advisor and my advise is to start slowly. I have found that if you change a few things at a time, you don't get so overwhelmed and you tend to stick to the changes. First, since digestion starts in the mouth, get in the habit of chewing your food at least thirty times. After a while, you will not be able to eat fast any longer and this will also make you feel full sooner. (If you get everyone in the family to do this then you will not be sitting alone at the table when everyone has finished five hours earlier--Ha Ha) Then increase your water consumption. A good rule of thumb is to take your weight and divide it by 2 and that is how many ounces of water your body needs per day. Many people drink a whole glass of water at a time. Get in the habit of drinking water throughout the day (pure clean filtered water). Slowly stop drinking anything else on a regular basis. Our bodies are not made up of 70% coffee, coke, juices or anything else--just water. Caffeine actually dehydrates us. Fiber is essential for detoxifying our bodies. It has no nutritional value but cleans out intestines and the toxins stick to it thereby helping to eliminate them from our bodies. Adding Salads before meals is a great way to add fresh veggies to your diet. Eat them first which does two things, first it helps to make you feel full and second, since vegetables are digested quicker than meat, you will not get as much gas from the veggies fermenting behind the meat.
Eating together without any TV on really helps build relationships also as well as getting more conscious of why and what we eat. We are not eating for our taste buds, but to support our body's function of keeping us healthy. I have many other suggestions and you are free to contact me if you would like more information after making the few changes I have presented. I only work with people that are serious about their health because I am very busy, as we all are. I would be happy to e-mail a few suggestions each week to keep you moving towards your goal. Hope this helps and I agree with the other responses also.

hi W.- welcome to the nw. i'm from new mexico, and no one in my family here even owns an umbrella. when my mom comes to visit she tends to forget we live here and rain is just part of the routine. she wants to keep our daughter in, lest she get a cold. ;-) we gently remind her that our dear daughter runs around the play ground daily in raingear, if this wasn't so, she would live most of her life an indoor hermit. for you, i recommend a new way of thinking, forget the old rule, of staying inside when it's raining and get out, out, out. if you have a dog, visit an off-leash area, magnuson on sandpoint, here in seattle, is fun because the dogs can swim in the lake. investigate all our wonderful trails and parks. greenlake in seattle is a good place to start-a nice walk around the lake and many restaraunts, and coffee shops nearby.

we are big meat and potatoes also. there is an easy recipe cook book called, feeding the whole family by cynthia lair. it has some fine recipes, fish, grains, exotics. it offers a variety of choices that are fairly simple and very tasty. oops, kids are up, gotta go. good luck! C.

You have received some really good responses! I love to exercise outside,but with the weather and two small kids, it just doesn't always work. So, about 1 1/2 years ago I bought an eliptical trainer off of craigslist. I am so glad I did! It's quiet and doesn't wake up the kids and it doesn't matter what the weather is like outside!
The other recommendation I have is to read The 7 Pillars of Health by Dr. Colbert. It gives manageable steps to get your health on the right track.
Best wishes!

Hey W. - Welcome to Seattle!! My family moved here 3 1/2 years ago from the Midwest. Enchiladas was about as exotic as we got! But we, too, were eager to become more healthy with our food, cleaning products, and health and beauty items. It's so easy out here because everything is so available at reasonable prices (compared to ND and WI anyway).

My advice would be to take small steps. The first and cheapest way is to just keep a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables around. The grocery stores are really stocked, and Farmer's Markets are just around the corner.

I still feel the urge to build my meals around my meat, but I'm learning to shrink the portion sizes of the meat and to have two items from the Fruits/Veggies category next to my starch and protein items.

Also, we've found a supplier for fresh salmon, and we learned that fish shouldn't taste "fishy"! Having never tasted actual fresh fist before moving out here I thought I didn't like it. But now we just broil or grill our salmon until it flakes with a fork (don't overcook!) and it is divine!!!

Just keep an eye out for recipes that utilize fresh ingredients and you'll be feeling better in no time!! And get out in the rain and play outside anyway - everyone else does!!

Hi W.,..
I've read thru some great replies already. Welcome to Kirkland!!
I moved here from Utah about 15 yrs ago (already!) and I would have to agree - at first it was so instinctual to cancel your plans on a rainy day. ~ but I've learned,. just layer up and go, you'll be glad you did and there are so may beautiful sights on rainy days. In fact,.I acutally find some rainy days comforting now and then and when there is no snow (most years) a good rainy day in january substitutes for winter :) although being from texas,. you may not want that just yet!!

Try the Ymca or similar,. It's great to have somewhere to 'go' when you don't feel like being NW Brave.
Have the kids get back involved with the same activities they had in Texas sooner than later. You probably already have.

Good luck,. I hope your teenagers thought the move was exciting instead/of 'i'm going to miss everything'.

regards,
margaret.

Welcome to the Pacific NW! I've lived in the Seattle area all of my life so I've never known any other type of weather on a regular basis. I think most of us "natives" have grown up ignoring the rain. We put on the Gortex jacket and shoes, dress in layers and just go outside anyway even if it's raining. You get used to getting wet and just drying off and changing into dry clothes when you come back inside.

From my travels to other parts of the country, the one good thing I've noticed about the climate in the NW is that it's seldom too hot to be doing something active outside. I found it hard to get out and get excercise when I've visited other places and it's 80 degrees and humid by 9am!

As far as diet, we are fortunate to have grocery stores in the NW that usually carry good quality fresh fruits and veggies. You might want to gradually try incorporating more of those into your families diet while gradually reducing the size of the portions of red meat and potatoes.

If you are not particularly fond of fish, or don't know what to do with it, I suggest barbecuing. The smoke flavor makes it less "fishy". Just make sure not to overcook it - fish cooks much quicker than meat and overcooking makes it dry and fishy tasting.

We also enjoy grilled shrimp seasoned with garlic and lemon juice barbecued on a skewer with a salad for dinner. While your using the barbecue try grilling vegetables like zuchini, mushrooms, peppers and onions with a little olive oil and seasonings to make them more flavorful, too.

Good luck - I hope you get used to the dreary weather!

Basically to work out - either you have to take walks in the rain a lot, which I did this morning, or you can join a gym. Mieko's Fitness is only about $25 per month.

I also have videos where I work out in front of the TV. I have exercise balls, and an exercise step, and I have several different exercises to choose from.