Make your Healthy Fast Food choice!

          As soon as I came to America I understood that it will be impossible for me to avoid dining out. That’s why I made my own research and found out how to make a healthy choice in such restaurant. Here is my top 10 of meals!

1.BEST SUB

Find it in Subway! Turkey Breast Sub with healthy fresh vegetables on bread to your choice

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
6” Turkey Breast	254	3,5	16	39

     2.BEST SOUP

Find it in Panera Bread! My choice is vegetarian Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto	110	3	4	15

3.BEST WRAP

Find it in McDonald’s! My choice is Grilled Chipotle BBQ snack wrap

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
Grilled Chipotle BBQ snack wrap	260	9	18	28

4.BEST SALAD

Find it in Chick-fil-A! My choice is Chargrilled Chicken & Fruit Salad (with Reduced-Fat Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette).

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
Chargrilled Chicken & Fruit Salad	290	8	22	20

5.BEST BREAKFAST

Find it in Starbucks! My choice is Starbucks’ Perfect Oatmeal. You can add some dried fruits or nuts for 100 calories more.

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
Starbucks’ Perfect Oatmeal	140	2,5	5	25

 

6. BEST DESSERT
Find it in KFC! My choice is a slice of KFC Lemon Meringue Pie.

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
KFC Lemon Merengue Pie	250	7	4	42

     7.BEST PIZZA
My choice is Domino's "Thin Crust Veggie Pizza" (2 squares of 12" medium pizza, 1/8 pizza)

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
Domino's "Thin Crust Veggie Pizza"	143	7	5	15

      8.BEST TACO

My choice is Taco Bell's "Fresco Crunchy" Taco.

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
Taco Bell's "Fresco Crunchy" Taco	150	7	7	13

      9.BEST CHICKEN NUGGETS

My choice is McDonald's Chicken McNuggets with Sweet 'N Sour Sauce (4 pieces)

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
McDonald's Chicken McNuggets with Sweet 'N Sour Sauce	220	12	10	11

      10.BEST MILKSHAKE

My choice is Wendy’s Jr. Frosty

Name	Calories	Fat	Protein	Carbs
Wendy’s Jr. Frosty	160	4	4	26

          I understand that it is impossible to skip fast food at all because it makes our life easier. But it is in your power to make a healthier choice. 

observation of the foreigner OR american food traditions

First of all I created a Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/healthylifeeasily?ref=hl   dedicated to my blog and to healthy living in general. Actually in Russian “Facebook” – www.vkontakte.ru there is a bunch of really helpful pages about this issue. The administrators of these pages update data at least once per hour. The information they provide includes eating tips, advises about sport, diets, motivation. There are so many photo albums with the achievements of the group members. They motivate me greatly! So I decided to develop my page drawing on experience of these pages.

Actually, when I just came to America I was really frightened that I will gain weight because it happened to me 3 times before when I was an exchange student in 2007, 2008 and 2009. But this time I decided to follow a healthy eating diet and go in for sports. Thus I understood that the problem was not in the fact that in this very country (I am talking about USA) I always gain weight. The problem was my unhealthy eating. My obsession was cookies, mmmm… 

380 Calories per serving (85g), Total Fat 17g (26%), Total Carbohydrate 51g (18%), Sugars 35g. Just terrible!

Okay. As a foreigner I can observe some problems with food intake traditions that are common to all Americans.

First of all, the size of meals that are served in restaurants is just incredibly huge. When I just came it was impossible for me to eat a whole meal! (But I am starting getting used to it… ooops!) So you overeat all the time thus stretching the stomach. The normal portion of food that is good for our stomach is 200g.

Secondly, you are eating on the run. You are not dedicating special time for eating. Having healthy snacks between meals is good for metabolic. But eating fast, unhealthy and not tasty meals on the dashboard is not beneficial at all! Try to pay attention to what you are eating and enjoy every piece of your meal!

Thirdly, you are eating to much unhealthy snacks, semis and sweets. However, there are so many opportunities in your country to choose healthy food. In Russia we don’t have regulations that are devoted to organic / non-organic food. Nowadays Russian manufacturers are trying to reduce production costs by using the cheapest alternatives. Thus, the quality of products is decreasing.  Per contra, in USA people are really concerned about organic food and the regulations of making such type of products are really strict. It means that you have a great chance to choose healthy and truly tasty products. So why don’t you do that? Why do you drink coke instead of organic juice? Why do you eat frozen food instead of choosing fresh products from local farms?

I feel that America is the country of opportunities. You have a real right to select. Why then don’t you choose a healthy lifestyle to make your life better?     

Go Lean in the Pumpkin Season 2012!

 

The aroma of Pumpkin Spice is in the air. I was waiting for the Pumpkin Season to start from July already! I have never been to USA during fall. So I was expecting a lot! There are “Pumpkin” and “Apple” specials everywhere. My favorite delight is Pumpkin Spice Latte. I can drink it every day! Once I wondered of how healthy Pumpkin Lattes are. I compared the nutrition information of Pumpkin Spice Latte in Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and 7 eleven. The comparison table is below.  

Nutrition in Pumpkin Spice Latte (16 oz.)

	Starbucks	Dunkin Donuts	7 eleven
Calories	330	330	216
Fat	14	9	0
Carb	40	51	41
Protein	11	11	13

 

It can seem strange, but I prefer to buy Pumpkin Spice Latte in 7 eleven. The taste is smoother and spicier. The price is a way better as well - just $1.05 for 12 oz. To make the beverage healthier I mix regular coffee with Pumpkin Spice Latte. That’s how I make my Latte 2 times less “heavy” in calories.

Also I really like pumpkin cakes! As soon as I found out that Pumpkin Muffin in Dunkin Donuts is 550 cal.  I decided to make an alternative healthier variant by myself. So I bought all necessary products and easily made my own tasty delight. The nutrition of my muffins is 64 cal. in 100 gr. I enjoy that fact and can eat my pumpkin muffins without any regret!

I made a short video with a recipe of these muffins. I put some necessary advices how to stay fit in this tasty season as well!

 

 

Is BodyFlex the easiest way to keep fit?

BodyFlex is a popular system of breathing exercises that can reduce your waist by 10 cm in just one week. This system does not require you any diet or additional exercise. It was invented by American housewife Greer Childers who went from a size 16 to a size 4 by using her own method of deep-breathing technics. Over the past years BodyFlex has become more popular in Russia. I found a huge number of positive feedbacks in our social network Vkontakte.

What is the secret of Bodyflex popularity? The answer is unequivocal: this method is simple and easy. The complex consists of 12 exercises. Each of them is aimed to strengthening the muscles and to developing flexibility of body. Moreover, the technics in combination with a deep breath act on the burning of fat quickly. Posture exercises are mainly based on stretching due to which the cells of our body receive oxygen. Notoriously, oxygen is an excellent fat burner. Besides losing weight and body volume, this method contributes to posture improvement and skin elasticity increase. Since the exercises are not complicated they can be performed by people of any age and gender. The approach is a perfect way to become lean for those people who are always in hurry. You have to spend only 15 minutes each morning to feel all the benefits of BodyFlex!

Breathing is an important part of Bodyflex. So in order to get the desired results you have to learn to breathe. You can be confused with my previous phrase because you breathe every second since you were born! It is not quite so. Only deep diaphragmatic breathing is the key to health and grace. Just think of babies who use abdominal breathing. As we become elder we use only upper part of our lungs that leads to the fact that we use them at only 20%. The BodyFlex breathing will fill the lungs with the oxygen and increase their volume. Due to this body's cells will be purified from undesirable toxins. Furthermore, as a result you will have a fortified immune and circulatory systems. Oxygen will encourage the shaping of “trouble spots”. It is estimated that you can lose 3500 calories in 60 minutes of the exercises!

I found a picture with the key exercises of the BodyFlex cycle. The only problem is the workouts’ names are in Russian. But it is not a big deal because the pictures are quite easy to understand.

In my view, it will be easier to perform everything correctly using video. I found some helpful free videos in Youtube as well. In Russia there is a popular fitness instructor Marina Corpan who is specialized in BodyFlex. She has a special training program. I provide some of her videos below.

I really would like to start doing this as soon as possible and will tell you about my results in future!

P.S. To my surprise I could not find much about BodyFlex method in English – just websites that sell DVD with exercises. So I googled it in the Russian Internet and I have found a lot! I wish that information that I provided could be helpful for you!

The fundamentals of adapting healthy eating to your life

 “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to be ready.”

                                                                                                      Julia Child

However, what are the fundamentals of eating healthy? The trick is that everyone knows them but enforce rarely. I am going to remind you some of them.

Rule #1: Whole foods focusing

To be healthier you should become a fan of whole foods and natural ingredients. The choice in favor of whole unprocessed foods can remove a ton of unnecessary fat, sugar and empty calories from your diet. For example, instead of pastries and butter for a breakfast, make a choice in favor of oatmeal and fresh fruits. You can make your meal healthier without any effort. Try to replace white flour for whole grain, eat a portion of vegetables and fruits with every meal, change harmful fats to essential fatty acids.

Rule #2: Do not complicate

In addition to the "whole foods rule” it is also important simplify the way of cooking. You should make a choice in favor of natural, minimally processed ingredients that do not contain "complex" chemical additives and preservatives when cooking. Simple food is the best choice. Plenty of plain water is essential as well.

Rule#3: Eat at least 5 times a day

One of the major changes in your way of life is to start eating small amounts of food but as often as 5 times a day. It helps to keep your metabolism at a consistently high level. Moreover, you will not have this unpleasant feeling of hunger.

Rule #4: Listen to your body

This rule is critical for a healthy diet. You should try to eat only when you are hungry and stop when you are almost full. One of the methods to feel the needs of your body is eating slowly. Slow food intake will allow you to be more attentive to the processes of eating and your body reactions.

Rule #5: Do not be too hard on yourself

One of the biggest obstacles to losing weight or to other fitness success is unrealistic expectations. You have to be realistic and understand that nothing comes too fast. My advice is to stay on the chosen path. Be patient!

Try to adopt healthier lifestyle and results will show promptly!