Taste It Tuesday: How to (Nutritionally) stay on track when you travel

     As promised, we're bringing you the nutrition side of the advice Nancy, our Nutrition Program Manager, provided at the most recent "Night of Nutrition" workshop here at Dynamic You Fitness. Today's "Taste It Tuesday" is all about staying on track with your nutrition when you travel.

 

            When traveling, whether it’s for work or pleasure, in a car, plane or train, for a day, a week, or a month, we’ve all probably experienced situations where we’ve felt outside of our “food comfort zone.” If this happens while you’re in Rome enjoying some authentic Italian cuisine, then it could be a good thing! But in many cases, it can be stressful feeling like you’re stuck having to make food choices you might not feel so good about.

            However, with a little bit of research, planning and preparation, it is possible to overcome this challenge and stay on track with your healthy habits while traveling. 

1.   Pack food whenever possible

            Packing food is great for so many reasons- you save money, are in control of portion sizes, are eating foods that you like, and it provides a good alternative to the many unhealthy options that surround and tempt us.

            If you’re packing for a road trip, long plane flight, or even a regular day at the office, items such as granola bars, trail mix, raw fruits and veggies are all easy to pack, and they travel well. These are great to have on hand in case you start to feel hungry but know that you won’t be eating a meal any time soon.

2.   Maintain structure with meals and snacks

            Traveling can disrupt our daily routine and make it hard to find time for a proper meal. Whatever your trip has in store, starting your day with a hearty breakfast full of protein and complex carbs will give you the fuel you need to reach your destination!

            Waiting too long between meals or skipping them altogether can impact your blood sugar level and leave you feeling tired and groggy, so be sure to eat something every 3-4 hours while you’re on the go. And, if you’re traveling to another time zone, eating your meals according to the time zone you’re in will help your body stay on a schedule and adjust faster.

3.   Be mindful when eating out

            Eating out often comes with the territory of traveling, whether it’s a fancy company dinner or a fast food restaurant on the side of the highway. Don’t be afraid to enjoy whatever you are eating, but do mindful of what it is and how much you’re consuming.

            Large portion sizes, alcoholic drinks, and desserts are three common culprits that can all contribute unwanted excess calories, and they can add up quickly if you’re eating out more than usual while traveling. Starting with a salad or vegetable appetizer instead of a bread basket will begin to fill you up on a small amount of calories, so you are not as hungry for the large meal, alcoholic drinks or dessert.

4.  Make a plan before you go

            Wherever you’re going, don’t be afraid to research the food options in the area ahead of time so you can create a game plan for yourself. Make a list of restaurants and/or grocery stores that you would be comfortable going to, and keep them in your back pocket incase you need the options at any point.

            If you’re traveling to another country, research the types of cuisines they offer so you know what to expect, and so you can be prepared to search for alternative options if necessary.

               Going on vacation and looking forward to all of the food you’ll be eating? That’s ok! Deciding what your approach will be ahead of time can help alleviate feelings of guilt and allow you to savor every single bite. Maybe you know you’ll be going out to restaurants every night, or you are craving that Big Mac on your road trip. Compromise by eating a lighter lunch, skipping that second glass of wine with dinner, or anything else that works for you. Enjoy the splurges that come along with whatever you’re doing!

Best snack foods to buy in an airport, gas station, or convenience store:

Apples and bananas

Fruit cups

Pre-made salads

Hard-boiled eggs

String cheese

Unsalted Trail mix or roasted nuts

Greek Yogurt

Granola bars

Pretzels and hummus

Water, water, water

5-Move workout you can do ANYWHERE!

 Last week our Nutrition Program Manager, Nancy, and one of our Personal Trainers, Josh, led a "Night of Nutrition" workshop focused on ways to stay on track when you have to be away from home for a period of time. Tomorrow, we're going to highlight the nutrition side. But today we're focusing on five-move workouts you can literally do anywhere.

Even without access to your Dynamic You Fitness classes, equipment or even a lot of time you can stay strong, healthy and fit. This will not only make your trip - whether for fun or for business - more enjoyable, but you'll feel you can jump right back into your classes when you return home!

Make a (Sweaty) Commitment this May

Don't worry, we know it's not actually May yet. No need to rush through the remainder of what seemed  - to us at least -  to be an incredibly fast April. However, with May just days away we hope you're at least making a few plans. 

We're energized about some changes to the schedule, a couple of new classes for you to try, and to introduce three instructors joining our Dynamic You Fitness team.

Let's start though with Quartz. 

This adorable pup is Ann Taylor & Carl's dog. We  furry friends.

Please join us in welcoming Ann Taylor & Carl to the Dynamic You Fitness crew!

Their energy, knowledge and pristine form will impress you, leave you sweating (a lot) and get you much closer to your summer health goals. Weekly classes include Thursdays at 7 pm and Sundays at 11 am. Check out the class schedule for details!

If you joined us this past Saturday for the PILOXING Master Class, you're probably already making plans to be at the first official class on the schedule. 

Please help us welcome Tiffany to Dynamic You Fitness. 

She is SO excited to be bringing PILOXING to Dynamic You Fitness. Don't miss this class. 

Monday nights, 7:45 pm. 

And you'll notice a change to the schedule on Thursday nights too! Donna will be teaching a Tabata class beginning at 8:00 pm. This 30 minute class is true high intensity interval training at it's very best. And for just 30 minutes of our day? We're in.

Be sure to check out the Dynamic You Fitness class schedule for this coming week!

Grab your running shoes

We love inviting you into the studio each day. Whether you join us for a boot camp, TRX Suspension Training, Kickboxing or Sculpt & Tone, we're excited to have you join us to sweat.

With the weather starting to hint at a warm-up, we know you're ready to get outside. And some of our trainers, like Megan, Josh, and Sarah Ann want to join you. 

There's no pressure. There's no cost. You don't even have to promise you'll be there. Though we recommend you promise someone...you're much more likely to keep the promise.  Whatever your pace,  reasons, fears - consider joining the Dynamic You Fitness Run Club beginning on Saturday, May 4th at 11:45 am.  Whenever the Run Club will be in action, we'll let you know.

The 45 minute run will depart from the Dynamic You Fitness studios and we'll return back there too. If you'd rather spend part of the time with us and the rest of the time running elsewhere, no problem. Either way...running is good for the soul and the body, and we've heard this too:

That being said, not everyone at Dynamic You Fitness will be joining in. There are just some of us that don't run. 

Trust us. It's better that way. We'll see you when you get back.

Foods a Nutritionist would never eat

So you've decided it's time to clean out your cabinet and refrigerator. You're ready to replace most (if not all) of those processed, sugar-filled, sodium dense, nutrition-lacking foods (many of which have packages to trick you into thinking there's some health benefit to them)

And you're feeling inspired to replace those items with wholesome, healthy, well-balanced foods. 

Wouldn't it be helpful to tag along to the market with a Nutritionist ... being guided every step of the way as you fill your cart. Indeed. But if that luxury is not one you have, consider this article from Shape magazine. In it they highlight seven foods (we expect there are many more, unfortunately) a dedicated professional in the field of nutrition would never eat. Like these...

Quality over Quantity...your Dynamic You Fitness classes are evolving!

Did you know the average commute for Americans is 25.3 minutes? It's only a hunch but we're guessing that average must be higher in Los Angeles. 

The reality is, you have busy lives. We all do. Just the required basics can gobble up an entire day, leaving you with wishes for an extra hour. 

We want to at least give you part of an hour back. 

Almost a year ago, we began inviting you to sweat with us at Dynamic You Fitness. With fitness, you're asked to commit a chunk of time (in our case, usually an hour) to your health, your muscles, your bones and joints, your longevity. We're committed to making sure the time you put into fitness is worthwhile, effective and produces real results. 

  

You've heard the expression before...Quality vs. Quantity. It's almost always true. 

So we're making a few small changes to continue the Dynamic You Fitness way of giving you challenging, fun classes but we're going to do it in less than an hour.

Change is the key word here. Change is not always easy. But we want you to give it chance.

You're going to see some adjustments to some of your favorite classes. 

We're aiming to get you in and out in either 30 or 45 minutes, depending on the class. 

If you've ever shown up for class (or decided not to show up, as it may be) thinking 'Ugh, I'm SO sore...tired...busy...and I don't know if I can do this' we're hoping you're willing to work REALLY hard for a little bit less time.

We promise you're going to see as good of, if not better, results. So when you show up for classes, starting this coming Tuesday, give it all you got the entire class.

And then go out and enjoy a little extra time. Life is too short not to.

7 ways to decrease negativity

Have you ever counted calories all day long? Or counted your steps in an effort to achieve the recommended 10,000 a day? How about the number of times you 'vent' in a given day?

It turns out if it's a bit too often, venting can cause you additional stress (rather than actually relieving it)

Not to stress you out, but stress management is a critical component in health.

Exceptional Living writer Dennisse Lisseth discusses how to lessen the amount of negativity in your life.

She addresses the ways it can have a not so great impact on your life, including weight gain, imbalanced hormones, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and more.

And in case you were looking for some medical back up of this information, Web MD has a great deal of information about stress on their website. We don't want you stressing to find it....so here's one article about the effects of stress on your health.

And if you're wondering whether your knowledge about stress is up to par, check out this quiz.

Taste it Tuesday ...Foods to protect your bones!

From our resident Nutrition Program Manager, Nancy is here to share some important information about protecting your bones. 

Got Milk?

Plus other options too!

Did you know that the human body contains 206 bones? That's a lot! We only get one set of them, and what we do now can have a huge impact on how well they work later in life.

As we grow during our child and teen years, our body works hard to build a strong and healthy skeleton. Our bones ultimately reach their strongest point in our late 20's/early 30's.

Unfortunately, as adults, our bones naturally start to weaken and we lose about 1% of our bone mass every year. For women, the rate of bone loss is accelerated to 2-6% during menopause, and it returns to 1% again thereafter.

But don't worry. There are two ways to keep your bones strong as you age, and you are already doing the first one every time you visit Dynamic You Fitness- exercise! Any kind of weight-bearing activities or movements that have impact on your joints will strengthen not only your muscles, but your bones as well.

The second part is by eating a healthful diet. Calcium, vitamin D, and many other vitamins and minerals are needed for strong bones, and it is possible to fulfill your daily needs simply by eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and dairy products. 

If you are lactose-intolerant, there are plenty of non-dairy substitutes out there that taste great and provide the same amount of calcium and vitamin D as their dairy counterparts.

Be aware that certain foods and lifestyle habits can also weaken your bones over time and counteract all of your hard work, including eating a lot of meat and high-sodium foods, smoking, and heavy alcohol use.

It’s never too late to make changes and keep your bones strong!

Incorporate more of these high-calcium, nutrient-rich foods into your daily routine and your bones will thank you!

Non-fat or low-fat yogurt

Swiss cheese

Cheddar cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Skim or low-fat milk

Tofu

Salmon

Spinach

Kale

Collards

Almonds

Soy milk

Almond milk

White beans

Fortified orange juice