In anticipation of the next Cre8 a New You class, strategically scheduled to start on October 6^th and end right before Thanksgiving, we’re doing a series of posts to introduce you to the program. If you’re ready to make some changes to your eating and exercise habits, or you need to get a head start on preparing for the indulgent and stressful holiday season, and you live in the Clayton/Watertown, NY area, why not consider signing up for the Cre8 a New You program? If you’re not in Northern NY, don’t fret. You can still learn more about Cre8 a New You and Nicole’s other personalized nutrition and health counseling services by contacting her. Nicole’s personalized, non-diet approach may be just what you need to get on track for a healthy, fit, and fantastic life.

Finding More Fiber

Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet. Eating a diet that includes a variety of fiber-rich foods has been found to provide a number of health benefits, including lower cholesterol levels, weight loss, improved blood sugar levels, and potentially decreased risks of certain types of cancer.

A healthy diet includes at least 25 grams of fiber per day; however, most Americans only get around 10 grams per day. A simple way to improve health and wellbeing, and promote weight loss, is to gradually increase fiber intake. Eating more whole grains and fruits and vegetables can help you reach your fiber goal quickly and easily.

Whole grains are a fundamental building block of a healthy diet and include foods like whole wheat breads, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, popcorn, oats and barley, which contain the entire grain kernel. This means that these foods contain more fiber and other important nutrients. Replacing refined grains like white rice, white bread, processed cereals and white-flour pasta with their whole grain equivalents allows you to increase your fiber intake without giving up some of your favorite foods.

Fruits and vegetables are another important source of dietary fiber, as well as essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients. Increasing the number of fruit and vegetable servings you eat per day can also help you increase your fiber intake. The best way to ensure you’re getting enough fiber is to keep fiber- and nutrient-rich grains, fruits and vegetables in plain sight. Put out a basket of fresh fruit and keep cut veggies in clear containers at the front of your refrigerator. This will encourage healthy food choices and remind you to get your fiber every day.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

The Feed the Soul blog has been featured as one of the Top 100 Women’s Health Blogs by NursingSchoolSearch.com. Feel free to stop by and see what other sites are out there providing you with top-notch health and wellness information. We’ve added a link to the list in our sidebar, as well, so that you can check it out at any time.

Let us know if you find something you think is particularly interesting. We’d love to hear your feedback.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

At this month’s Diabetes Support Group meeting, Nicole will present “Update 2008: Standards in Diabetes Care,” a discussion of the current American Diabetes Association recommendations for diabetes screening, monitoring and achieving glycemic goals, clinical preventative services, and counseling patients. Whether you are a health care professional, a care giver, or an individual with diabetes, there will be valuable information for everyone. Space is limited so please RSVP by August 28th.

View the Press Release for this presentation or get more details on the support group.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

In anticipation of the next Cre8 a New You class, strategically scheduled to start on October 6^th and end right before Thanksgiving, we’re doing a series of posts to introduce you to the program. If you’re ready to make some changes to your eating and exercise habits, or you need to get a head start on preparing for the indulgent and stressful holiday season, and you live in the Clayton/Watertown, NY area, why not consider signing up for the Cre8 a New You program? If you’re not in Northern NY, don’t fret. You can still learn more about Cre8 a New You and Nicole’s other personalized nutrition and health counseling services by contacting her. Nicole’s personalized, non-diet approach may be just what you need to get on track for a healthy, fit, and fantastic life.

Normal Eating and a Healthy Diet

In a society inundated with advertisements for McDonald’s Value Meals in one moment and Alli, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig in another, it’s hard to know what normal eating is anymore. Is normal eating depriving yourself of snacks and desserts? Or is normal eating allowing yourself to have whatever food makes you happy in the moment? The answer is neither, and both.

Normal eating is not about being perfect or giving up every indulgence. Normal eating looks different for every person, but in general, normal eating involves a variety of behaviors. Normal eating includes making healthy choices and indulging in treats. A normal eater may not eat enough sometimes and may overeat other times. Normal eating is not an obsession, but rather only one of many important areas of life. Normal eating is all about flexibility and trusting one’s own body to tell you what and when to eat and to make up for those times when you don’t listen.

Above all, normal eating is about creating the healthy diet that’s best for you–a diet that includes wholesome, nourishing foods, and your favorite treats, too. And a healthy diet is about the big picture. It is about averages and overall patterns, not about the cookie you ate at lunch or the ice cream you had last weekend. While these individual choices, if consistent and frequent, can lead to weight gain or health problems over time, a single unhealthy choice cannot make or break a person’s overall health and wellbeing.

This week, try focusing on the big picture. Are the majority of your food choices healthy ones? If not, chose one area to begin making a consistently healthier choice. Do you beat yourself up for occasionally overeating or indulging in foods you consider “off limits”? If so, this week recognize these behaviors as normal eating and focus on making healthy choices most of the time, allowing yourself an occasional indulgence without judgment or guilt. It’s time to start adjusting your perspective and eating for wellness.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

In anticipation of the next Cre8 a New You class, strategically scheduled to start on October 6^th and end right before Thanksgiving, we’re doing a series of posts to introduce you to the program. If you’re ready to make some changes to your eating and exercise habits, or you need to get a head start on preparing for the indulgent and stressful holiday season, and you live in the Clayton/Watertown, NY area, why not consider signing up for the Cre8 a New You program? If you’re not in Northern NY, don’t fret. You can still learn more about Cre8 a New You and Nicole’s other personalized nutrition and health counseling services by contacting her. Nicole’s personalized, non-diet approach may be just what you need to get on track for a healthy, fit, and fantastic life.

Diets Are Not the Answer

Diets are a short-term solution to a long-term problem. They rarely address the underlying reasons why a person is overweight, and are therefore rarely are rarely successful in helping people maintain any weight loss they may have achieved. Cre8 a New You is not a diet. In fact, one of the main goals of Cre8 a New You is to change your perspective regarding diets and dieting.

To do this, first, let’s define the word diet. In its many forms, “diet” can be a noun—as in, on a diet and dieter—or a verb—as in, dieting. In all of its forms, we tend to associate the word diet with restriction, deprivation and will-power. But diet in the broadest sense of the noun is simply the type and amount of food that we eat on a regular basis. This is the definition of diet that we want participants to focus on throughout the Cre8 a New You program and beyond. A diet is simply what we eat. It is not a set of rules we must live by or a list of foods we are not allowed to eat.

The program is not about losing weight quickly, following a regimented eating and exercise plan, or buying special foods and supplements. In fact, it is not intended as a weight-loss program or diet at all. Good health is not about a number on the scale. Good health is about preventing chronic disease, feeling good, and living a long, active, fulfilling life. Making small, gradual adjustments in your behavior over the next several weeks, and building on those changes throughout your lifetime, will allow you to see improvements in your health and wellbeing over time. Some of these changes might include:

• Increased energy
• Improved sleep
• Lower blood pressure
• Weight loss
• Lower cholesterol
• Improved blood sugar control
• Decreased stress

Are you ready to stop dieting and take control of your health and wellbeing? If so, Cre8 a New You is the program for you.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."

The official winner of the Feed the Soul individualized nutrition consultation giveaway is commenter #28, Sandy Y! Congratulations to Sandy; I’ll be contacting her to set up her consultation very soon.*

Thanks to everyone who visited and entered my giveaway. I hope you all found something you’ll be interested in coming back regularly for. Feed the Soul aims to provide all the resources you need to eat well, live well and be well, and we really hope you’ll not only find what you need, but join in on the conversation.

Congratulations, again, to Sandy! I hope you get what you need out of your consultation. And if you weren’t the winner, please feel free to check out our services and contact us about setting up your own consultation. It’s never too late to start living a healthier life.

*Note: If Sandy does not respond to my email within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner.

"Eat well. Live well. Be well."