Part 3 of 3

Good Habit #3 is Healthy Spokane Food

Even with the good habits I have started, I still have those moments when my schedule conflicts threaten to derail the nutrition side of my get fit plan. I scoured the city to make sure Spokane food can be my ally when I am in a hurry or when I just want to go out.

Emerald City Smoothie, Spokane Food in a Cup

On those days when I don’t have time to make a post workout shake or don’t have the ingredients at home, I stop in at Emerald City Smoothie. Every smoothie is completely customizable. They believe in helping other achieve their health goals and they do it through their great tasting smoothies. Healthy Spokane snacks are available here. They have healthy energy drinks and make for a good alternative to fast food for a person on the go. Spokane Food Recommendation: the Slim N Fit.

Huckleberry’s Natural Market, Shop for Spokane Food

Huckleberry’s is the alternative to the conventional supermarket. They have a huge selection of natural and organic Spokane food. Even the meat department carries only free range meat products. This store is on a mission to make sure your food’s manufacturers and its grocery store are committed to being earth friendly. Huckleberry’s also offers a wide selection of products available in bulk. They believe that purchasing in bulk means less packaging thus there is less impact on the earth. They also have a natural bistro, juice bar and an organic espresso shop. If you are going to eat healthy, this is the place to shop. Spokane Food Recommendation: Huckleberry’s Bento Boxes from their natural bistro.

Mizuna, Spokane’s Finest Organic Restaurant

Classy and healthy, what more could you want from your Spokane food? Their seasonal menu uses only fresh organic ingredients found in the northwest. They use local organic farmers, fresh fish and organic meats. The chef, Tom Nichols makes sure to keep many vegetarian and vegan selections on the menu, regardless of season. He even goes so far as to prepare meat selections in a completely different area than his vegan and veggie items. Mizuna believes in simple honest food. They have been called Spokane’s finest restaurant. Spokane Food Recommendation: Roasted beet and lentil salad or grilled polenta.

One World Spokane, Spokane’s Organic Community Kitchen

Healthy food and social responsibility are the two resonating factors that keep this Spokane restaurant busy. One World Spokane is a non profit Organic
Community Kitchen. There is no set menu. Patrons customize their meals by choosing their own portions of creatively crafted food. They go one step further by allowing their customers to decide what to pay for their plate based on what is fair and respectable. They also allow customers to volunteer in exchange for a meal. In addition, no tip is necessary but if you do, it support’s volunteer’s meals. They use only unprocessed, organic, locally grown Spokane food. One World aims to eliminate waste in the food industry and hunger in the community. They believe everyone should be able to eat healthy and organic. Spokane Food Recommendation: Everything!!!

This is another one of my new good habits and I hope you have enjoyed this series. I have been eating healthy Spokane food, using Udo’s Oil and drinking protein shakes since August and I feel amazing. Combine good habits like healthy Spokane food and Spokane’s Physzique Personal Training to successfully support yourself on your way to a happier, healthier body.

Go To Spokane Fitness Coach Home Page…

The Spokane Market “Food Science” Fair

Why do you think you overeat? The ‘Food Industry’, and the Spokane Market is no different, has a science about that. Did you know that our food industry uses science to figure out how to make us overeat?

They have been working on the science since before the Twinkie. In fact, back in the 1960s women between the ages of 20 and 29 averaged a weight of about 129 lbs. By the year 2000 the average grew to 157 lbs. That’s a 21% increase for the average women. How’s that for science.

The food industry that affects our Spokane market place doesn’t discriminate either. It doesn’t care if you’re young or old, male, female, tall, short or how you part your hair. The science behind overeating uses three secret ingredients to attract us all – Sugar, Fat, and Salt!

That’s right; those three little ingredients tend to ‘weigh-in’ in a big way on our health. The food industry uses this trio of ingredients in such a way that they become a big part of what you think about when food comes to mind. At least we think about them subconsciously.

The combination of these three little buggers can develop a dopamine spike you your brain that says, “Hallelujah I have arrived!” And when those dopamine spikes occur you’ve started something now. These little joyous occasions build a memory of the experience and now you’re hooked; at least that’s what the food industry bets their money on.

And they’re not just betting their money; they’re betting yours too. Every year American people spend Billions on weight loss schemes, with most of them failing. Not only does this affect our pocket book with the expense of these fads, it also does so in a more serious way. The overeating affect this science brings to our tables also brings a huge health problem due to being overweight.

Being overweight brings serious health risks such as an increased risk of:

· Diabetes

· Hear Disease

· Cancer - Breast, Colon, Esophagus, kidney, and Uterus

· Stroke

· Gallbladder Disease

· Arthritis

· …. and more

Defeating the Spokane Market Food Science

So, how do you combat the food industry’s affect on the Spokane Market place? Well, it’s a matter of science; Health Science in fact. Look at it this way; since the food industry is bombarding us with stimulus that develops memory patterns that drive us to overeating, we should fight back using our minds – that’s where the science part comes in. We need to train our minds to think differently about our foods and about how we treat our bodies.

So, how do we do this? Quite simply we need training. It was training that got you were you are today and it is training that will take you to where you want to be tomorrow. The training I am talking about has two parts – Physical and Mental. Both parts need to be addressed at the same time to be affective.

We need to develop a different way of thinking about food. It is a reprogramming of your thoughts in such a way that we can overtake the memory that’s developed for all that – fat, salt and sugar – and replace it with thoughts of healthier eating. Here is a list of things to help develop your memory for healthy eating.

Foods You Should Eat:

· Vegetables – eaten in their natural state is the best way

· Fruits – great way to substitute for those “Sweet tooth” desires

· Grains – choose whole grain foods instead of refined, oat meal is a great food

· Fish or Poultry – proteins are important but choose your source carefully

· Dairy – Always use caution and make sure it is low fat

· Nuts and Seeds – these too are a great source of protein

· Oils – fat does have a place in your diet, a small place. Use high quality fats but use these sparingly

The second part to your training is your physical conditioning. The best way to get this training started is to use a professional instructor like you’ll find at Physzique – Spokane’s personal trainer. This two part education plan can help you to defeat the affects of the Spokane market food science and bring a happier existence to your life.

I know what you’re thinking. journaling as a Spokane weight loss tool? That doesn’t even make sense! Actually though, it makes perfect sense, and here’s why.

Journal Your Food Intake

Let’s start with journaling your food intake.  Believe it or not, people are always amazed when they start this process.  Most are under the impression that they eat properly, that they balance their nutrition and that it isn’t necessary to pay attention to the calories they consume every day.  Here’s what using journaling as a weight loss tool can accomplish:

• Make you aware of what you are actually eating (those little tidbits add up fast)

• Hold you accountable to yourself

• Help you make better, conscious food choices (instead of grabbing whatever’s convenient out of the office vending machine)

• Track your water intake (as silly as this sounds, it’s extremely important)

• Help you plan meals and snacks in advance

• Keep you on track toward your personal goals (whether that’s losing weight, or just choosing to live a healthier lifestyle)

Did you know that the average woman only needs about 1200-1600 calories a day?  Men, on the other hand need about 1800-2200 per day, as do teenagers.  However, the average American consumes many more calories than their body actually needs, and they don’t pay attention to the kinds of calories they ingest.

Here are both a warning, and a challenge.  A lot of people come to the conclusion, that if eating 1200 calories a day will help them lose weight; wouldn’t eating fewer calories make you lose weight faster?  The answer to that, is no.

Eating fewer than 1000 calories a day will actually produce the opposite results.  When you eat less than 1000 calories per day, your body actually goes into “starvation mode” causing a few things to happen.

First, your body will start holding onto every bit of nutrition it receives, storing extra as fat and adding to your weight issue.  Secondly, feeling it isn’t getting enough fuel, your body will start consuming its own lean muscle tissue, a process called catabolism, in order to feed it.  This causes more problems because you not only lose your important lean muscle tissue which burns fat faster, you can also damage important organs in your body that consist of lean muscle.

Here’s The Challenge

Journal your food and beverage intake for one week, without changing any of your normal habits.  At the end the week, add up your total calorie and water consumption for each day and compare it to what the average person should be consuming.  Also take this time to pay attention to the kinds of foods you chose and when during the day you tended to have the least amount of control over what you ate.  This will be eye-opening to say the least.

A Tool, Not a Weapon

What I mean by that is, don’t beat yourself up over your intake for the last week. Instead think of it as your personal weight loss tool to give you insight into what kinds of habits you have now, and what you can do to change them for the better.  Journaling for weight loss is a very effective tool that can make a huge difference in your health. Take baby steps to make new changes, and before you know it, you will be well on the road to health.

Another Spokane weight loss tool you can put to good use, is starting a good exercise program. I don’t know anyone better suited to helping you with that, than Zach at Physzique in Spokane, Washington.  Zach can not only help jumpstart your new journey to health, but help you figure out the right eating plan for you.

Happy journaling!