Transformation:: Raleigh, NC - Fitness, Nutrition & Wellness » Healthy Eating

Keeping the Holiday Bulge Away

Erin Balsis — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:40:51 +0000

The Holiday Season is upon us and that means that the holiday parties and get-togethers are also here. While this can be a joyous time of year, the average American gains 7-10 lbs during the Holiday Season. Here are a few tips to help you avoid weight gain at your parties this season:

1. Eat before you go out: By filling up on something healthy, like a salad before you head off to a party, you’re less likely to overindulge on things you would normally pass up.

2. Get a plate: If you’re eating fingerfood all night, the tendency is to overeat if you never get a plate and see how much you’re eating. If you’re talking all night, you might not even remember half of the things you ate. But if you put your food on a plate, you can be more conscious of what you’re eating. And hopefully there will be a little bit of green on your plate.

3. Throw that plate away when you’re done and stick to it! After you’ve eaten a plate of food, throw it away and enjoy the rest of the party. If you ate something before and a plate of food at the party, you’re most likely satisfied. Anything else that you eat will just be mindless, social eating and is going to make you have to make that dreaded New Years resolution of losing weight again next year.

Zucchini Honey Bread

Barry Bragg — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:37:39 +0000

With Thanksgiving upon us many will be hitting the grocery store to pick up items for very traditional, but very unhealthy recipes. In this edition of the Transformation blog, we wanted to give you a healthy recipe that is sure to be an instant hit at your Thanksgiving Day Celebration.

ZUCCHINI HONEY BREAD

1 cup of olive oil

3 eggs

1 cup of honey

2 cups of zucchini pulp

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 1/2 cup oat flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mixture 1: Beat eggs, add oil and honey, beat until thick, and mix in zucchini pulp. Mixture 2: add flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder and walnuts. Add mixtures 1 & 2 together. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake for approximately 1 hour.

What is Wellness?

Barry Bragg — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:27:29 +0000

Wellness is first and foremost a choice to assume responsibility for the quality of your life. It begins with a conscious decision to shape a healthy lifestyle. Wellness is a mindset, a predisposition to adopt a series of key principles in varied life areas that lead to high levels of well-being and life satisfaction.

A consequence of this focus is that a wellness mindset will protect you against temptations to blame someone else, make excuses, shirk accountability, or whine.

Wellness is an alternative to dependency on doctors and drugs, to complacency, to mediocrity and to self-pity, boredom and slothfulness.

Many wellness promoters, myself included, see wellness as a philosophy that embraces many principles for good health.

Eating To Live

Barry Bragg — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:45:28 +0000

In his book What the Bible Says About Healthy Living, Rex Russell, M.D. states the following:

Scripture and medical research agree that modern lifestyles lived without reference to God’s laws and design shorten life and hasten death. It has been reported that in the early twentieth century, a people in the Himalayas called the Hunzas had an average life span of 90 years, and often over 120 years. When a medical team led by Dr. Robert Garrison studied the Hunzas in the 1940s, the physicians did not find a single case of cancer, ulcers, appendicitis or colitis. Heart disease and hypertension were unknown among them. The medical experts also found that the Hunza people ate nuts, grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes. The team could only conclude that the Hunza’s life expectancy was based on clean water and exercise—and to their adherence to a diet very much like the one described in Genesis 1:29.” In 1949, the Hunzas were incorporated into Pakistan, and their life span has since been shortened because of changes in diet.

The bottom line is this: What you eat makes a difference in your health.

Best ‘Fast Food’

Barry Bragg — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:51:32 +0000

We are all so busy these days. There is so little margin in our days for anything to be added. Perhaps this trend towards busy-ness has led most of us into a downward spiral with our health, because we are very often eating ‘on the go.’

It’s no big secret that many fast food restaurants have the lowest quality food imaginable…containing hydrogenated oils (trans fats), hormones, antibiotics, MSG, sodium, and many other chemicals and preservatives. These foods are highly processed and virtually give you no nutritients, but a lot of calories. This has made many of us gain unwanted fat and weight. However, there are some great Fast Food Chains that are hearing your cry for ‘Help!’

Here’s our Top 3 Fast Food Chains:

Chipotle- The hallmarks of Chipotle include things like unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal. ’Fine Fast Food. Chipotle took a fork in the road that changed everthing.

Jason’s Deli- Jason\’s Deli - They boast about eliminating high-fructose corn syrup from their menu. Also, they have a top notch salad bar that features organic selections of lettuce, spinach, carrots, and other nutritient dense foods.

Panera Bread- Panera Bread uses whole grain breads and also uses antibiotic-free chicken among its menu items.

While other Fast Food chains seemingly carry some of the same items, we have found that these 3 chains stand head above the rest when it comes to quality.

Remember, you are what you eat.

More Food Additives to Avoid

Erin Balsis — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:08:41 +0000

In my last post I warned you of the dangers of consuming large amounts of Acesulfame K, artificial colorings, Aspertame, Equal and NutraSweet. In this post I will give you three additional ingredients to look for and avoid when reading food labels.

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil/Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil: Although this oil decreases production cost by increasing shelf life and flavor stability, it also creates trans fats. Trans fats have been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease by increasing LDL (bad) cholesterol and lowering HDL (good) cholesterol. Manufacturers are allowed to advertise as trans fat free as long as there is less than a half a gram of trans fat per serving, but by reading the label and seeing this oil in the ingredient list, you can catch any trace of trans fat.

Monosodium Glutamate/MSG: Most people think that MSG is only found in Chinese food, but this flavor enhancer is found in packaged food, canned goods, packaged meats, salad dressing and chips. Although considered “generally safe” by the FDA, recent studies have linked MSG consumption with increased rates of obesity. Unfortunately MSG is often disguised on food labels under different names. MSG can also be listed as the following: Glutamate, Monopotassium glutamate, yeast extract, glutamic acid, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, gelatin, textured protein, yeast nutrient or autolyzed yeast. Once armed with the knowledge that MSG is often disguised as other ingredients on food labels, it is truly astonishing to find out how many products contain MSG.

Sodium Nitrate/Sodium Nitrite: Found in bacon, lunchmeat, hot dogs and other packaged meats, this additive has been linked to cancer. Sodium nitrate reacts with stomach acid and other chemicals in the stomach to produce nitrosamines. When consumed in large quantities, nitrosamines have been shown to cause cancer in animals.

Deciphering Food Labels: Additives to Avoid

Erin Balsis — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:04:41 +0000

In my previous post I taught you the importance of not getting caught up with fancy packaging and food labels. The most important thing to look at before buying a product is the nutrition information and the list of ingredients. Here are 3 (of 10) ingredients that you should AVOID along with a brief explanation of why.

Diet sodas contain both artificial sweeteners and dyes

Acesulfame K: This artificial sweetener is found in gum, instant coffee, pudding and other sweet products. Initial studies have indicated an increased occurrence of cancer in animals, which means that humans are most likely at risk too. It’s always better to stick to natural sweeteners like honey or stevia.

Artificial colorings: Although that pink yogurt might look tastier than its white counterpart, the synthetic dye that produces the pigmentation has been recently proven to be a carcinogen. Artificial dyes are put into many products, such as sodas, juices, popsicles and other snack foods. It might sound like artificial colorings are impossible to avoid, but try to think of the food in its original form. If you have never seen a neon blue raspberry bush or orange milk coming out of a cow to produce orange cheese, you probably don’t want to be drinking blue raspberry drinks or eating orange cheese. Food labels are required to list any dyes used, so be sure to look at the list of ingredients to be sure.

Aspertame/ Equal/ NutraSweet: Used as an artificial sweetener in diet sodas and other low calorie sweets, these sugar substitutes can cause headaches, dizziness and an increased risk of certain cancers. They have become popular because they are lower in calories than sugar and honey, but need to be avoided. Not only do they cause health problems, but by consuming them you are actually training your taste buds to crave sweets more and more.

Your Health Transformation

Barry Bragg — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:10:05 +0000

More Energy? Thriving Health? Better Productivity? A Leaner, More Functional Body?

God’s Word shows us how to live-and how to eat!

Come and discover how you can experience restored health and healing

to the mind, body and soul when you have a complete

understanding of God’s model for nutrition & wellness!

You are invited to a FREE introductory presentation by Barry Bragg, the owner and founder of Transformation, a Raleigh-based Fitness & Wellness Company.

Be empowered and educated on the benefits of natural, Biblically-based health with the purpose of honoring God with your body.

WHEN: SATURDAY, August 8 & 15

10am-12pm

WHERE: Transformation, Inc.

10941 Raven Ridge Rd., Ste#113

Raleigh, NC 27614

Space is Limited, REGISTER TODAY!

Please call 919-845-6596 or email info@transformation-nc.com to register!

Deciphering Food Labels: No Degree Required

Erin Balsis — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:11:02 +0000

As we walk down the aisles of the grocery store today we are bombarded with brightly colored packages that advertise thirty percent less fat, no high fructose corn syrup and zero grams of trans fat. Nowadays even Girl Scout cookies advertise zero grams of trans fat. That makes them healthy, right? WRONG! There are certain buzz words that the media has conditioned the average consumer to try to avoid, such as high fructose syrup, trans fat, saturated fat and MSG. But not having these additives in your foods doesn’t necessarily make them healthy. Sometimes it feels like you need a degree in nutrition to truly eat healthy.

Here are a few quick and simple tips to help you decide what to buy:

Don’t get caught up with the bright advertisements on the front of the package. Manufacturers have a way of highlighting the positive aspects of their product and hiding the negative things when designing their packaging. Instead of focusing on the front of the package, turn it over and look at the list of ingredients and nutrition information.
When looking at the list of ingredients you don’t need to be an expert. If you see a list of ingredients that is longer than your weekly grocery list, it’s probably best to put it back on the shelf. Next, actually read the list of ingredients. If there are more than a couple of ingredients that you do not recognize and can’t pronounce, put it back and step away!
It is also important to look at the nutrition information. The top half of the chart lists calories, fat, sodium and other things you generally want to see low percentages of. The bottom half of the chart lists fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals; things you want to see a lot of.

These are just a few guidelines to help with your next trip to the grocery store. In my next post I will go over specific additives to avoid and why.

For a Successful Healthy Lifestyle, Throw out the Junk Food

Barry Bragg — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:27:02 +0000

Throw away the junk food!

This may seem obvious, but a smart way to stay on top of your healthy lifestyle is to throw away junk foods and beverages that are not on your plan. Just like watching TV instead of exercising, having unhealthy food and beverages in the house that work against your plan (especially those items that you often crave) can be tempting enough to lead you down the wrong path. The same could be said for someone battling addictions of any kind. It is wise to put yourself in less tempting and safe surroundings if you hope to beat the addiction. So, if you want to have a healthy lifestyle, and reach your weight loss or fitness goals, rid the house of tempting food and beverages.

‘No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’ – 1 Corinthians 10:13