Another Healthyish Episode, “There are so many different kinds of beautiful”
Episode 17: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….Today we are answering all of your health, fitness and food questions with Kristen Scontras!
We have one of my favorite people in the world, Kristen Scontras, on the podcast today!! She’s a certified nutritionist and fitness trainer. If you are in the Portsmouth, Kittery area and are looking for an incredible trainer or want to workout with some incredible women online…hit her up!
We talked about a lot of things in this episode and again we are not doctors and we both encourage you to speak to your health care providers to figure out what works best for you, these are only our opinions.
Sometimes it’s not always easy to be the only one eating healthy in a household. Maybe it’s your partner, spouse or roommates are on a different health page than you are. Small changes can make big differences without sacrificing flavors. For example with taco night in a household…switch it up to turkey instead of ground beef or try to throw in a salad instead of tortillas for you and everyone else can make the tacos. Honestly though the best thing you can do is have an open conversation with your partner, spouse or roommates and tell them what’s important to you and your health. Most likely they want to help your achieve your goals. They want to be on your side.
FOMO is real and studies show that we are very influenced by our friends, family and social media. It can be hard to “stay in your lane” but it’s not impossible. First try to unplug a little bit more.
Maybe set some boundaries with social media, before you go out to eat with friends look at the restaurant menu and maybe get a few ideas of things you want ahead of time.
Be the first to order at the table and don’t ask what other people are getting before you order
Meal prepping and planning can go a long way. Have some great ideas written down ahead of time of what you can make with what you bought at the grocery store that week and keep them out so when you are fatigued from a long day you don’t have to “think” too hard about what you are going to make for dinner.
And remember…even with all the planning, all the best intentions, things can go off the rails and THAT’S OK! It’s ok to eat a basket of fries with friends, it’s ok to get the burger when you want it, it’s ok to get take out and not cook even though you just spent $200 at the grocery store that morning. IT’S OK! There is always tomorrow which is a beautiful fresh start with new opportunities and tons of promise so don’t give up hope. I believe in you and your goals. You got this!
Diets…Kristen says," “Super restrictive diets….leave it! Leave all of it.” A healthy diet is all about balance and moderation for you. That might look different for everyone. Nothing should be off limits with food but consider moderation. If you want a piece of chocolate cake, have it, enjoy it and savor it. Then maybe you balance that with a salad for dinner or a healthier breakfast options for the rest of the week. Whatever it is and however it works for you go for it. Make smaller changes over time that you can sustain for the long haul. Workout a little more, eat a few extra veggies when you can and make time to sleep. Honestly again consult your health care providers for what would work for you.
Kristen loves to have healthy snacks in her bag because she’s always on the go. She loves dried figs, dark chocolate salted almonds or hot honey walnuts. She sometimes has a protein bar when she’s in a pinch like the Go Macro Bars.
She also is into sheet pan dinners. I love this cookbook from Skinnytaste. The cookbook is based on how you’re cooking it. Like one chapter is all sheet pan meals, another is the Slow Cooker or Skillet meals…I think you get the point. It’s a great cookbook!
Meal planning…I LOVE meal planning. I have been doing it for over 20 years now. Beyond having a list of go to recipes to make for the week it also helps me see in writing what I am eating. What I mean by that is that I can see that one day I am having a big salad and other day is pasta…moderation… I love sitting down with all my cookbooks and picking out recipes for the week, writing everything down and then making my grocery list. I always include a day of take out options or going out to eat. And I am gentle on myself if I decide to not stick to the list the whole time but it’s there for me when I can so wiped I can’t figure out what to make.
When it comes to sweets after dinner or in general. If you know you are going to dive into something sweet later in the day then budget your calories for it. Maybe eat one less snack during the day so you can enjoy something later in the evening when you know you are really going to want it. I also love to make cookie dough, scoop it out and put it on a sheet pan with some parchment paper, put it in the freezer and once the balls are frozen solid I put them in a ziplock bag and then bake them on demand later. For example after dinner sometimes my husband and I are craving something sweet and a warm cookie would hit the spot so I throw like two or three on a small baking sheet and then there’s no pressure to eat them all.
We talked about calories a lot throughout this episode, again please talk to your healthcare professional before making large changes to your lifestyle but here’s a calorie calculator from the Mayo Clinic if you want to take a look at it. But again please please please talk to your healthcare professional first.
Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!
Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!
If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!
xoxo
Beth
