Being Present
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian, Personal Trainer and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
I recently returned from a two week vacation, which seemed like an eternity. My fiance and I spent the time road tripping down to Yosemite National Park and back. It was an amazing experience meeting wonderful people, enjoying beautiful scenery and taking a break from all routines that I have become so accustomed to, which was actually quite a challenge for me.
I have written many blog posts about the importance of routine, ironically one was written a exactly a year ago. I have always been a firm believer that in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle you have to do some planning. You need to plan your meals, time to grocery shop and cook. You need to plan time to exercise. But what happens when all of this goes out the window? When all you have is a tent, a small camp stove and the freedom to spend your days how you chose? For me, what happened was a minor freak out. It was very stressful for me at first to not know what my next meal was, if I would get any exercise in and sometimes where I was going to be sleeping that night. I was so used to computing my daily macronutrient balance and how my weekly workout routine would piece together to make sure I hit all the major muscle groups. I realized some of my routines had turned into borderline obsessions and this wasn’t healthy.
This stressed me out so much throughout the first few days that I wasn’t fully able to enjoy my present surroundings. Throughout the course of the trip I was able to let a lot of these things go and learn to trust that what was going on in the present was exactly was should be going on. In terms of nutrition, I was able to become more aware of my own internal signals of hunger and satiety, as well as types of foods my body was craving. Since I wasn’t faced with an abundance of choices of what to eat, I was able to really think about what I needed and how to fulfill that need. For example, since we were doing a lot of hiking, I noticed that I really craved meat. I typically eat meat maybe 1-2x/month but I found myself needing it everyday. I also noticed that I wasn’t eating any sweets and I wasn’t craving them. I typically go for something sweet almost daily, because of easy accessibility. I also learned that I don’t have to eat at the earliest signs of hunger, that I will survive if I don’t get food right away.
It was a bit of a struggle throughout the trip to continually remind myself to let go of so many thoughts that were in my head about what I should be doing and what needed to happen next. I thought a lot about what this meant about me and my personality and realized that I need to do a better job of living in the present moment. This was a vacation that I had really needed, at a beautiful place I had never been. I shouldn’t be wasting time worrying about things rather than taking in all of my surroundings. One thing that I did on the trip that helped to center me is roll out my yoga mat almost every single morning, no matter where I was. This was my quiet time to be in nature, take in my surroundings and calm my mind.
I can’t write a piece about being present without bringing up the phone. It took not having any service or battery for me to get off of mine but how incredibly freeing that was. We, as a society are on our phones way too much. This is a topic that is talked about a lot so I won’t go much further into it, but just try to enjoy the moment without thinking about constantly checking who has “liked” your post on Facebook. It seriously takes away from the experience to be staring at your screen and worrying about how your experience will be perceived by others. Enough said about that.
The day I returned home from the trip I attended a yoga class. The teacher had also just returned from a long trip and was discussing the theme of being present. She had just gotten married and found that the excitement and stress of that event was still with her, while she was trying to relax and enjoy her honeymoon on the beach. Her technique for returning to the present moment was to engage at least one of her five senses. Feeling the ground beneath you is a great way to remember exactly where you are at that moment. Smelling the air around you is also helpful and can sometimes really bring a feeling of relaxation and peace, as well as create memories for the future. Visualizing exactly where you are, what and who you are with will remind you of what is important at that moment. Hearing is a good sense to tap into, especially if you are in nature. Lastly, taste is one I often talk about when it comes to mindful eating. It won’t apply at every moment, but when you are eating, doing so with awareness is important.
Now that I am back in “real life” I am starting to get back into my health and fitness routines, because they are important. However, I really want to take some of the lessons I learned and figure out how to reach a middle ground; how to keep the routines that are important, relax on some that aren’t necessary and let go if they don’t happen quite as planned. I don’t want to miss what is happening today because I am worried about when I will exercise tomorrow.
In summary, my tips for being more present in the moment are:
1. Put your phone away.
2. Spend only a brief amount of time planning for the future. A loose plan is good, but allow for flexibility.
3. Engage at least one of your five senses, especially if you notice you are becoming distracted.
4. Allow some time for reflection, whether that be alone or with someone.
5. Make sure to check in with yourself to figure out what it is you need to help you be more present. It could be a physical requirement to feel more comfortable, a stress management technique that is needed or a reorganization of your surroundings.
Preventing Postural Distortions
Post by Natalie McClure, Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor at Nourish Northwest
In my last blog post, I talked about how postural distortions affect your movement and ultimately, your fitness goals. To prevent the forward head, rounding of the shoulders postural distortion that many of us experience due to sitting in front of the computer 24/7, I’m going to share with you different types of stretching and 5 exercises that you can easily do at home without weights, to ensure more perfect posture. I’m also adding in one weighted exercise that might be easier to do at the gym if you don’t have access to bands at home. And away I go!
Let’s start our short workout with some stretching. Did you know there are three different types of flexibility training? Well there are! And they can all be used together or separately during your workout.
Corrective flexibility is specifically designed to improve muscle imbalances. It includes self-myofascial release (foam rolling) as well as static stretching. Static stretching is performed by holding a stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds. This will allow your muscle to relax and elongate. You might want to do a light warm up by walking, elliptical training, biking or just moving the body through different ranges of motion for a few minutes before doing static stretching to get the blood flowing, but it’s not necessary. You can also do your foam rolling first and then move into static stretching.
Active flexibility is designed to improve the extensibility of soft tissue and increase the efficiency of your body movement. Unlike static stretching, where you hold a stretch, active stretching requires you to move through ranges of motion. For example, if you are bending down to touch your toes, bend your legs for a count of 2 and then straighten for a count of 2. Repeat that 5-10 times. The result here is that you are actively stretching and lengthening your muscles.
Functional Flexibility uses dynamic stretching to take your joints through a full range of motion. Examples include push-ups with rotation, squats, and tube walking. This type of stretching is ideal for a pre-activity warm-up (i.e. if you are going for a jog in the park, do this type of stretching first).
You can create an entire flexibility workout that incorporates all three types of stretching but for the purposes of this blog post, I would suggest focusing on corrective flexibility and foam roll to begin. The foam rolling link above provides you with an excellent array of stretches you can use, thanks to NASM, my certification program.
Now that you’ve done some foam rolling, let’s move into our workout.
1) Plank You’ve probably performed it at least once in your life. But are you performing it properly? Here are some things to make sure you’re doing to properly execute a perfect plank.
a) Don’t let your hips sag down towards the floor (look in a mirror to make sure).b) Pull your belly button in tight, away from the waistband of your pants.
c) Squeeze every muscle in your body. That’s right every muscle in your body. That means you’re pinching a penny with your glutes (butt), pulling your quads (front of your thighs) up high, calves tight, and adductors (inner thighs) together.
The plank is the ultimate total body exercise, focusing on your core, which is the powerhouse of proper posture. Hold for 30-60 seconds, or as long as you can properly execute the exercise with good form.
2) Bird-Dog or Opposite Arm-Opposite Leg
Start on all fours, bringing your wrists directly beneath your shoulders. Pull your belly button up and away from the waistband of your pants. Lift your right arm and left leg at the same time. Hold for a count of 5 and then switch sides. Perform 16-20 reps total. Make sure that you aren’t letting the hip of the leg that is working shift up towards the ceiling and keep it in line with the other hip. The only body parts that are moving during the execution of this exercise are your arm coming up to your ear and your leg extending straight back. Also, make sure that your shoulder doesn’t hike up to your ear as the arm raises. Release any unnecessary tension and focus the work on the body parts that are moving.
3) Superman
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Lying on your belly, start with your feet together, and arms about shoulder width apart (or a bit wider as as pictured). Lift your legs straight up (no bend at the knee), using your glutes, and your arms at the same time. Make sure that you aren’t yanking your head up out of alignment of your spine. You can make sure you aren’t doing this by keeping your gaze towards the floor. Hold for a count of three and then release. Perform 12-20 reps.
4) Bicycle Crunches:
Random piece of trivia: I once read that the bicycle exercise is the number one choice of firemen for an ab workout. I’m on board!
In this picture you see that this woman’s right leg is at about a 45 degree angle. The closer you bring that leg to the floor, the more work you’ll be doing for your lower abs. However, if you feel an uncomfortable pull in your lower back, bring that leg back up to where you see it in this picture. Otherwise, you’re straining your lower back and not engaging your abs properly. Do about 30 seconds of this exercise, crunching from side to side.
5) Lat Pull Down
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If you have access to a gym, a great exercise to strengthen your back to combat that rounded shoulders/forward head postural distortion, is the lat pull down. You can also do this at home if you have some bands that you can attach to a door frame.
Things to make sure of before you start: Keep your feet parallel to one another, secure both feet flat on the ground (don’t let your heels come up), pull your belly button in and away from the waist band of your pants, and don’t arch your back!
To execute the exercise, pull the bar down to the top of your chest while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Your chest can puff out a bit. Perform 12-15 reps.
*Important note: NEVER pull the bar behind your head. You can get a severe neck injury performing the exercise this way.
Perform these exercises in a circuit 2-3 times, or incorporate a few (or all) of them into your workout for the day. You’re on your way to a more perfect posture!
Project Husband Continues
Post by Paula Jahn, Co-owner and Registered Dietitian at Nourish Northwest
One month ago, I wrote a post on starting a gluten- and dairy-free diet for my husband, Owen. And oh, what a project is was. Owen did an impressive job of avoiding free pizza, remembering his lunch, choking down oatmeal, taking his supplements, and asking before eating. Planning and food preparation were all me. Whew!
Here are some example meals:
Breakfast: Breakfast burrito with eggs, bacon, teff tortilla, salsa, avocado OR Steel cut oats, hemp seeds, maple syrup, raisins.
Lunch: On a good day, leftover dinner. On other days, PB&J on GF bread and a smoothie made with coconut milk, cashews and hemp seeds.
Dinner: Miso glazed salmon, quinoa pilaf, sweet potatoes OR Homemade veggie burgers with broccoli OR BBQ chicken, lemon basil potato salad and green beans or roasted cauliflower.
I diligently recorded what he ate, how he felt, what is bowel movements were like, how gassy he was, and any other daily notes. Unfortunately, there were too many confounding factors to make this research very meaningful. Owen works in education. He started his new diet at the same time he started coaching high school football, went back to work, and enrolled in another degree program. While summer has its own brand of crazy, nothing compares to the structure of early mornings, long hours away from home, and demanding teenagers. Oh yeah, and we have a toddler.
There were tears, moments of weakness, accidental gluten and dairy ingestion, and threats of giving up (mostly on my part).
Through all the challenges, I quietly observed his energy level increase. While he denied a big difference in fatigue, I knew there was no way he would have previously worked a 12 hour day, put our son to bed, then sat on the couch to do homework…all without a nap!
Other benefits: Owen experienced some significant digestive changes which, in order to preserve his dignity, I will not elaborate on. This was not mentioned in the baseline data because he didn’t know it was a problem until it wasn’t a problem. “You didn’t tell me you had issues with X!” I said. His response was, “I thought it was normal until now.” This is often how my clients respond when they start to feel the benefits of an improved diet. I had my own moment of this, too. Owen was a chronic throat-clearer. It’s always been this way; it was part of who he was when I met him and I never gave it a thought. Until there was silence. One week into the diet, and no more ahem-ing and hawking.
There were other mild improvements that became more pronounced after Owen “challenged” gluten and dairy (see The Pasta Feed).
The Pasta Feed: The First Test
The pasta feed was on day 25 of the diet and happened to coincide with one of my “I can’t do this anymore” moments of defeat. I was away for the night and hadn’t made dinner. So, Owen ate pasta. And French bread. And cheese. Three days later, the eczema on his face returned after disappearing for three weeks. Digestively, Owen says that his “intestines appreciated a gluten free diet.” Again, details not needed.
The Wedding Weekend (and a trip to fast food): The Second Test
Then, on day 28, we went to a wedding and abandoned all dietary restrictions. A couple days later, after a solid eight hours of sleep, Owen said, “I haven’t been this tired in at least a month.” This was his first recognition that his diet had possibly affected fatigue.
What I Learned as a Dietitian
I’m having a hard time reconciling priorities. As a believer in whole foods nutrition, I found it difficult to not rely on highly processed gluten free versions of wheat-based foods such as breads and cereals. I prefer Happy Campers gluten free bread for its ingredient list, but when Owen eats two sandwiches per day, an $8 loaf of bread is just not sustainable. I ended up finding some GF bread at a discount grocer for $1.50 per loaf. Its first ingredient is tapioca starch, which makes me cringe, but if gluten free is the priority…(twitch). The alternative is to always make enough dinner for leftovers; I have learned that that’s really not sustainable.
I was introduced to some new products. Owen really likes kefir and I found a dairy free product called Koji that is great in smoothies and an excellent food-based probiotic source.
Conclusions: Gluten appears to have a bigger impact on fatigue, digestion, and brain fog for Owen. We have not tested fluid milk; we suspect he is mildly lactose intolerant but other milk proteins (i.e. whey and casein) do not seem to pose a problem. Conditions like eczema may take months of diligent dietary changes to make a difference. We noticed a mild change.
Now, my conscience is clear knowing that as a dietitian, I have worked to help improve the health of my family. Project Husband continues…
How to Can Tomato Sauce
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
Let me start by saying I am no expert when it comes to canning. Many people have been doing this for decades as a means of budgeting and preserving the season’s bounty. There are TONS of resources on the internet, as well as books you can buy. I found the Ball Jar website to be particularly helpful. This post is by no means the most comprehensive set of guidelines out there but this is what I know so far, in my second year of canning and it appears to be working! My method involves no special canning equipment, which might make it a little more challenging but is ideal for the novice who doesn’t want to invest much.
What happens when you have a kitchen garden, is that your are never sure exactly how much produce you are going to grow. Every year you learn a little more about your errors and how you can do better the next year but there are variables you can’t always control, such as weather and pests. Jut a few weeks ago I was really worried that our tomatoes were never going to ripen and now all of a sudden we have a billion delicious juicy little guys. As I wrote about in a previous post, my favorite way to enjoy them is fresh. But we have way to many and we are about to go on vacation. Time to start canning!
Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce Adapted for Canning
Awhile back I posted this recipe for my favorite tomato sauce. Unfortunately this isn’t canner friendly because it has butter in it. The solution: make it without and then add in when you are ready to eat! I used sun green tomatoes, but traditionally this sauce would be made with a larger red tomato variety.
Ingredients:
15 lbs. fresh ripe tomatoes, washed
1 Tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 onions
1 Tablespoon lemon juice per pint jar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5 pint sized jars and lids that have not been used
Step 1: Sterilize the jars
First you want to wash the jars with warm soapy water. Then fill them with water and place them in a large pot. Fill the pot with water and cover the jars by 1/2 inch. Bring to a simmer. Keep in hot water until a few minutes before ready to fill. Carefully remove jars with kitchen tongs and place face down on a clean dish towel. This year I did decide to buy special canning tongs, which made grabbing the jars a whole lot easier.
Sept 2: Peel the tomatoes
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove stem from tomatoes and make an “x” in the bottom of each tomato with a knife. Prepare an ice bath to place near to the stovetop. Carefully drop 5-6 tomatoes at a time into the boiling water, cook for one minute and then plunge into ice bath. Repeat with remaining tomatoes. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, the skins should peel off easily.
Sept 3: Make Your Sauce
Add 2 T. olive oil and the chopped garlic to a large pot. Heat until it sizzles, then add the chopped tomatoes. When it starts to simmer use a potato masher to break down the tomatoes to a lumpy pulp.
Hold the onions root end up and cut in half, so that each piece is anchored by the root bundle. Peel off the papery skins and place the halves into the sauce. Stir in the salt and pepper.
Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes or until it is reduced by about half.
Step 4: Can That Yummy Stuff!
Bring the pot of water that you used to sterilize the jars to a boil. Add more water if necessary; you will want to cover the jars by a 1/2 inch to an inch again. Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to 5 freshly cleaned pint jars (the lemon juice is to make the sauce acidic enough, so that bacteria won’t grow. Alternately you can test the pH of the sauce and if it is below 4.5, no lemon juice is necessary). Remove the onion halves from the sauce. Fill the jars with the hot sauce, leaving 1/2 ” headspace, seal with clean lids and bands. Place jars in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes.
When done, carefully remove jars from the pot. Let cool, undisturbed for 12-24 hours You may hear a popping sound as they rest on the counter, this is a good sign that your seal is in place. If you press on the jar lid and it bounces back your sauce did not properly seal. Place any unsealed jars in the fridge and eat soon. All sealed jars can be store in a cabinet until ready to use.
Step 5: Reheating the Sauce
When ready to eat, pour one pint of the sauce into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Add 4 Tbsp butter.
Exercise and Postural Distortions
Post by Natalie McClure, Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor at Nourish Northwest
Yesterday was a beautiful day for a run, so I laced up my sneakers and hit the pavement. Portland has been a mix of extreme heat and intense sun this summer, but yesterday’s high of 82 allowed a beautiful mid-day temperature of 75 and I could think of nothing better than getting outside and jogging along the Willamette river to get my workout of the day in.
So, I’m running. And I’m feeling good. Then, these two dudes pass me (which happens frequently…I’m not the fastest runner of the bunch!) and I notice their postures as they speed by. Their shoulders are rounded and they both look hunched over as they jog along. I think, well, there’s a common postural distortion for you. What is a postural distortion you ask? Postural distortions happen when we repeat an undesirable movement or static position again and again, that leads to muscle imbalances and postural stress. For example: Most people lead sedentary lifestyles. We start our day sitting in our cars; then move to our desk sitting all day in front of a computer; head home in our cars, sitting more during a long rush hour; and then finish the day out on the couch with our favorite television program. This constant seated routine can cause muscle imbalances, which leads to a compromised posture. When your posture is compromised, movement in both daily life and in exercise can lead to injury, because your body isn’t in optimal alignment. Common postural distortions include: “rounding” and elevation of the shoulders; tightening of the chest muscles as back muscles weaken; protrusion of the head; and the tightening of the hips, as the glutes (butt muscles) become weak.
Maintaining this forward head, rounded shoulders kind of posture, inhibits your ability to achieve maximal benefits in exercise. Why? Because the systems of our body–the nervous system, the skeletal system, and the muscular system (also known as the kinetic chain)–work together, not independently, to produce movement. If one component of the kinetic chain is not working properly (i.e. a person experiences a postural distortion) “it will affect all other systems and ultimately affect movement.”* So, if you’re running with this postural distortion, you won’t be able to run as fast, long, or as comfortably as you would if your body was in proper alignment. I wouldn’t be surprised if you experience some injuries along the way, as well.
So how do you make sure that your body is in proper alignment? You strength train, you work on your core, and you stretch! Stay tuned for my next blog post for exercises and different types of stretching you can do to maintain proper muscle balance and ensure that when you are exercising, you are getting maximum benefits!
*NASM Optimum Performance Training (for the health and fitness professional) P. 24