I hate being a nag….well that isn’t totally true…but I do feel like a nag about this one but I am not going to quit.

Eating mid afternoon – between 3-5pm(ish) – is a crucial moment for your metabolism and will help you reach your health and nutrition goals.

The majority of us overeat at dinnertime. We go way too long between lunch and dinner and walk into the house starving. This leads to mindless eating and drinking. In my opinion, eating mid afternoon is the most successful approach to manage cravings and hunger and give your metabolism a boost. So many of us go for sweets or caffeine at this time for a little pick me up, but I highly encourage you to eat some real food.

Here are some ideas for you. Many of you are going to think these are slightly insane but go for it! Especially if things are really not working for you and dinnertime has become out of control, lets change things up and see if it can help. This will require a bit of planning in advance but it is well worth it. You are worth it! Set yourself up for success and make it work for you!

• I am obsessed with these kale egg cups again – so good!
• A solid, basic sandwich – 1-2 slices of bread, 2-4 ounces of protein and some mustard and veggies
• Half of your lunch
• Greek yogurt, ¼ cup of nuts, ¼ cup of fruit
• An early dinner – 3-4 ounces of protein, ½ cup of starch (or none) and as many veggies as you can get on your plate
• A yogurt and 2 TB of nut butter – still obsessed with this one too!
• Bean or quinoa salad – there are so many of these premade in stores now or make your own with beans/quinoa, cut up veggies, vinegar and some herbs of choice
• Fruit, 2 TB nut butter and maybe a cracker or two
• 1-2 cups of veggies with a heart healthy dip such as hummus, guacamole or yogurt
• Mini taco – beans, protein, salsa, guacamole
• Cottage cheese, 1 slice of bread with nut butter
• Hard Boiled egg with some toast
• Soup (not cream based) with a small slice of whole grain bread – soup with protein or beans/lentils is preferred for added protein

The key is to walk into dinnertime not starving. Have an attitude of “I can eat” rather than “I am going to eat my arm off” 

Imagine that? Go get em!!!!

Three clients walked into my office last week (this is sounding like a corny joke!) and they all asked the same question – Is it bad to eat dinner late? Say 8 or 9pm?

Remember, there is always more to the story so before jumping to conclusions – for example, the popular the urban myth that anything you eat after 8pm turns into fat – let’s take a moment and get the scoop.

Client 1 – Eats balanced throughout the day, eats every 3-4 hours, gets enough protein and calories, eats a balanced dinner but then seems to always need more. Munches on crackers and cheese, hummus and carrots, almonds or sometimes goes for sweets after dinner. Reports feeling stressed, anxious and emotional.

Client 2 – Barely eats throughout the day, skips breakfast, usually eats a good size lunch with protein around 2pm, misses an afternoon snack and comes home ravenous. Eats dinner late because that is when he gets home from work and eats two portions out of pure hunger.Days are crazy busy with meetings and work stresses.

Client 3 – Eats on a set schedule throughout the day. Every 3-4 hours like clockwork, gets enough protein and calories and feels good about her diet. Doesn’t finish work until 7pm, usually gets a workout in after work so does not get home and sit down for dinner until 9pm. Dinner is a balanced calorically with reasonable portion of protein, vegetable and starch.

Thoughts? Do you see yourself in any of these clients? Remember, we eat for physiological reasons (metabolic requirements to survive) and we also eat for emotional reasons. It is really important to recognize why you are doing what you are doing.

My first thoughts…

Client 1 is emotionally eating. She is eating after dinner not due to physiological needs – she ate enough during the day and at dinner – but due to something emotional. She feels bored, happy, sad, stressed, scared – you name it – and she is mindlessly eating to satisfy that emotional experience.

Client 2 is eating for physiological and emotional reasons. The body thinks he is starving in the desert! He comes home starving and then inhales as much food as he can because his elevated stress hormones are signaling a problem. The emotional part is due to his chaotic days – starving in the desert is stressful and traumatizing!

Client 3 is eating a balanced meal with balanced calories for physiological reasons. It has been 3-4 hours since her last meal and it just happens to be at 9pm. She does not overeat or walk into dinner starving.

So…what to do? Is it bad to eat late at night? The answer is….it depends on you, your lifestyle and schedule and your needs. If you are eating a balanced portion for physiological reasons I think it is perfectly reasonable to eat late. If you are going for seconds or thirds for emotional reasons or due to poor planning in your day then I think we should come up with a better strategy.

Do not fall for urban myths – figure out what works for you

Did you read Mark Bittman’s article today? By the time I am sending this I have already had a dozen clients forward it to me for discussion. Thought is was a good conversation starter – yet again, so many perspectives on what the words healthy, nutrition and diet mean these days.

Mark Bittman is starting a new column focusing on being a Flexitarian, which he describes as – “The moderate, conscious eater — the flexitarian — knows where the goal lies: a diet that’s higher in plants and lower in both animal products and hyperprocessed foods, the stuff that makes up something like three-quarters of what’s sold in supermarkets.”

The part of the article that I find so interesting is the comments. People have so many opinions about food! People feel deeply  about their perspective, their relationship, their issues and their sensitivities – I love it!

Please remember – please!!! Pretty pretty please! – there is no one perfect plan for everyone. There is no one quick fix. There is no one diet that works.

For example, Bittman suggests a smoothie recipe in his article and right away people commented that the smoothie has way too much sugar for a diabetic. This is true – smoothies loaded with fruit and fruit juice are very high in sugar (yes, from a natural source, but still sugar) – if it doesn’t work for you and your goals, do not make that recipe. However, if you love to start your day with a smoothie and it works for your lifestyle, enjoy each sip!

Someone else was alarmed at the salt in one recipe. If you think it is too much salt, add less! Or don’t add any. Maybe add spices and herbs instead. Make it work for you.

And check out the pasta debate from the readers…people feel very strongly about their pasta! Some people want whole grain pasta in their lives even if it is just a ½ cup serving, others are avoiding gluten so cannot eat pasta and others look at pasta as a true love and want to eat mountains of it. And then there is the topic of how cook pasta…that is an entirely different debate.

Everyone has as opinion, many people with no expertise in the nutrition field are answering questions (not always with a correct answer) and people are fighting Bittman’s underlying message – eat less processed, eat more whole foods and take care of yourself.

It takes time to understand it all and will require many tweaks but when you are clear on why you want to make a change and how you are going to put it in place, it all becomes fairly simple.

Bittman says it best “I’m just another guy trying to figure out what to eat.” We all are. Listen to yourself rather than someone else. Take it day by day, become mindful and get clear on what you want.

And never forget I am here to support you along the way…

I have a client who is going through a very stressful time in her life – so many things are going wrong and most of it is completely out of her control. I saw her for the first time in weeks and to my absolute joy she has been keeping up with her aerobic exercise and working out several times a week. Normally, exercise would have been the first thing to go when things get stressful. So many of us do this – “I just need to get through this and then I will get back on track” – is a common thought when life gets nuts. 

She was telling me how at first she resisted going to the gym, but then realized how much better she felt every time she worked out - a 30 minute workout session can make a big difference. 

So many of us look at exercise as this tool to get healthier, lose weight or feel better, but what we should all figure out is how much exercise do we need just to maintain our mental and physical health?

I asked my client, “How many days a week does you need to exercise just to keep sane right now?” and she responded with, “More than four days – but less than seven.” A simple statement, but a huge breakthrough. She realized that if she takes two days off from exercise she feels off- more stressed and just not on track. You have to find out what works for you to keep you well.

Many of you might be stressing just reading this thinking that now you have to go workout everyday and it has to be a gut wrenching, sweat dripping, heart pounding session – that is not at all what I am referring to. Maybe you need to walk for 20 minutes in the middle of the day? Maybe a yoga and stretch session? Maybe you do need the heart pounding – feeling like you are going to throw up session once a week? Or never at all? I don’t know – only you do. What do you need to keep you feeling good? What makes you feel good? How can you fit that in to your day?

Call me, email me and lets figure it out. Take advantage of all the useful workouts online, on your phone, at your local club or the beautiful outdoors. Lets make it work for you. All of you can do this.

No matter how insane things are right now – lets get you on track to taking care of yourself. Trust me, it feels so good!

Many of you know I love coffee. Many of you also know I am a morning workout gal. Gotta get it done right away. Well, I love my morning cup of joe, but boiling water, brewing coffee, letting it cool down was taking way too much time in the morning. I was literally waiting around to drink a cup of coffee and missing precious workout minutes! So utterly lame.

Then one day I had the brilliant thought to buy a programmable coffee maker. Oh my goodness! Life changing. I wake up every morning with a perfect cup of coffee at the perfect temperature, ready to go. Awesome! My whole morning routine works so much more efficiently and the day starts off right. It is the little things that can make a big difference.

Why am I sharing this embarrassing story? A programmable coffee maker changed the game for me. We all struggle with trying to fit everything into a day, make everything work with our crazy schedules and find time to do, well, everything! We often set ourselves up for drama, stress and failure because we want more than is possible. I wish I could just suggest we all slow down and give up a bunch to live a simpler life but I don’t think that is going to happen for many of us any time soon. So what I do suggest is find your game changers. What can you do to make your life easier? What could allow your routine to work more efficiently and set yourself up for success?

Again, think about the little things…here are some food, nutrition and fitness game changers from clients and friends.

• Slow cooker – a friend started making slow cooker recipes a few times a week and her whole nutrition plan has changed for the better. She hates cooking but now finds it easy and fun. She loves the food and always makes enough for leftovers.
• Vitamix – this is on my list for Santa – can I do that? I hear over and over again what a game changer this is. Blends everything, makes recipes and cooking easy breezy. You can make soups, smoothies, nut butters, sauces…the list goes on.
• Extra cell phone chargers – seems obvious but could ruin your day if you are out of juice – always have one handy so you are never in a jam.
• There is an app for that – SO many cool apps that could make your life easier. There are apps to track mileage while running, create grocery lists, help you meditate, full of easy recipes, white noise to help you sleep, track your calories, music with a metronome for running (a personal favorite) and so many to simplify everyday errands….find one that will help make life easier. Sounds insane and I am the least techy person around but the right app for your specific goal could change your life.
• Get a new toy – enjoy a gadget like a heart rate monitor, fitbit, waterproof headphones for swimming – something you have always wanted and will keep you motivated.
• Get materialistic – The right equipment makes all the difference – but those pants or shoes or whatever you have had your eye on – that may be your game changer!
• Workout DVDs – have easy workouts available at home or on your computer. Or check out all sorts of fitness videos on youtube – all right at your fingertips!
• A really good cooking knife – makes cooking so much quicker. I am a little obsessed.

This list could go on and on because we all have our individual needs, quirks, habits and stuff that makes life easier or difficult. MAKE IT WORK. You will be so glad when you do.

I will think of you all as I smile with my morning cup of coffee tomorrow…

March is National Nutrition Month – did you know? Ah nutrition…what in the world does that word even mean these days? If something is organic is it nutritious? If it is low in fat or low in processed sugar does that guarantee what you are eating is a nutritious bite?

I went to graduate school in nutrition not for a career, but to learn the truth and science behind nutrition. I was so sick of reading magazines, believing in fad diets or listening to people speak crazy talk! I loved learning the biochemistry behind nutrients and psychology behind our behaviors, but the truth is…I still do not know exactly what nutrition means! How insane is that? There is so much mixed information out there and at the end of the day every person is different. Everyone has a unique mix of nutrients and calories and foods that work for them, their lifestyle and their goals.

Katie Morford is one of the first dietitians I spoke to when I started this journey. A mutual friend put us in touch and I called her and I think I actually asked, “So what does a dietitian do?” That was how clueless I was! She started me on my way, told me about graduate programs in NYC and put me in touch with the dietitian at The Bay Club and well…the rest is history.

Katie has a fantastic blog chock full of recipes and excellent write-ups. She also has a cookbook on its way in August! She wrote a great post yesterday called 25 Simple Ways to Eat Better – Pick One. She got me started on my journey – thought I would share her pearls of wisdom to get you started on yours.

Set yourself up for success. Choose one thing that will help you move towards your goal.

I have to have something sweet after dinner
I must drink wine when eating fish to bring out the flavor
How can you celebrate Easter without a candy filled Easter basket?
The bathroom is so far away from my desk – if I drink too much water I spend the whole day walking to the bathroom!
I cannot waste food so I have to eat what my children do not finish
I must have milk and sugar with my coffee
Everyday at 3pm I have to have a cup of coffee
Who wants to workout while on vacation?
There is no way I can workout in the mornings.
I am too tired after work to exercise
I love cheese too much
I love bourbon too much
I love chocolate too much
I love wine too much
I love bread too much

These are all actual statements I have heard from clients in the last week. Can your relate to any of them? They all may sound like excuses but lets call them habits. That is what they are right? We are so conditioned and used to doing certain things that we believe it is fact, a must, a non-negotiable. But…what if…everything was negotiable and we could change things up a bit?

I rarely do this but…I GUARANTEE you can create a healthy behavior that you thought was totally impossible. I am certain you can make it happen. I watch clients change in ways I didn’t think were possible – I am often left speechless with the dramatic changes they achieve. I myself do things everyday that shock me. Oh that last line has left the door open for so many buddies to pick on me but I am keeping it.

How to create change? Make a bad habit into a good one? Make yourself speechless?

Create change for a month. We all have heard the line that it takes 3 weeks to create a new behavior and that is probably true – ish. Just do something for a month and see how it goes. If one day you get off track get back on track for the rest of the month. You may notice after the month that you want to keep that new habit around.

Make it realistic. This is not the moment to change 10 things all at once. Choose one thing. Just one. Figure out how you are going to change it and stick with it for a month.

Be accountable. Write the new goal down, tell a friend, tell me, tell someone, put it in your calendar – do whatever you got to do to remind yourself to stick with it!

Do not over think it. While I am a big fan of over-analyzing, this is not one of those moments. Just do it!

A month will go by far quicker than you realize and you may notice that something you thought was a daily necessity is now a thing of a past. Something you craved is now a distant memory. Something that ruled your life is now gone. Imagine that?

Go break some habits! Start living the way you want.

It is time to Spring Forward – Sunday is Daylight Saving Time. This is a bit comical considering it is snowing in many parts of the country right now, but technically Spring is just around the corner. In the last year I have changed my workout routine drastically and now do more than half my workouts outside and I gotta say – it is fantastic! Man I was missing out. It is beautiful, time goes by quicker, it is so much fun and I do love all the fresh air!

How many of you workout outside? Do you make an effort to get a solid chunk of fresh air on a daily basis? Seems like an insane question to ask but take a moment and think about it…how many of you take a walk outside? Or go out of way to get some nature in your life?

With a new (sunny?) season upon us I thought I would encourage us all to get some fresh air.

- Take a 15 min walk outside a few times a week
- Make an effort to walk to a park near your house or office
- Go grab coffee or tea with a friend and then walk through a park or boardwalk instead of staying inside.
- Go explore! Do an online search for trails to run/walk in your city. For those of you in SF there are so many gems – Golden Gate Park, The Presidio, Bernal Hill, Lands End, Marina Green – it is gorgeous! Enjoy it!
- Do you workout with a trainer? Ask them to create a workout for you to do outside to change things up. Could be fun!
- Do the basics – squats, push ups, lunges, step ups, abs, dips, planks – do this outside and use a bench. Do 30-60 seconds of each and rest when you need to.
- Go for a proper hike. For those of us in SF we are lucky to have spots so close – get out there! See what you can pull off on a Saturday. And bring some snacks with you!
- If you have a hill near your house (SF folks I know you do!) simply walk to the top. If that doesn’t get you out of breath, run up next time. Then run faster. Do a few rounds and you will get a great workout!

As a former gym rat (and I still am really…) just thought I would encourage us all to take in some fresh air, try something new, make exercise a little more exciting and see a beautiful view.

Don’t forget to set your clocks!

A handful of clients and peers passed this article along this weekend. Have you read it? It was in the New York Times Magazine this weekend – The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food.

The author has done extensive research on the food industry for a book that is coming out this month. In this article, he highlights the pressing concern of our nation’s obesity crisis and reviews a few case studies of products such as Dr. Pepper, Lunchables, Coke and Frito-Lay and unfolds the inside marketing strategies that led to the success of these products. What is revealed is quite disturbing. While these companies are making millions, if not billions of dollars, the population is getting severely overweight and extremely unhealthy. The author interviews many of the high level executives involved with the product design and marketing campaigns and many admit to feeling guilty for the harm they have inflicted on our health and lifestyle.

Many of you are reading this thinking, “Jae – I do not eat processed foods like that! I have not had a soda in years! This doesn’t apply to me..”

This applies to all of us because so many individuals in this country are obese and that impacts our economy, our health care system, our education and our lifestyles. Also, while you may not be eating the most extreme cases of processed foods, do you know what you are eating? If you are eating anything from a box, bottle or can it has been processed. I don’t care if it is baked, local, low-fat or uses natural sugars – it can still be considered junk food and processed. That is not to say it is bad for you, or unhealthy, or the devil, but it is important to read the ingredients and know what you are eating.

That is all I hope for all of us – that we actually know what we are eating. Then we can make whatever choice we want.

The large companies in the food industry may have marketing geniuses and food scientist wizards working for them to master how the food is presented, but remember that a health food store can be a dangerous place as well. Words like natural and healthy do not mean anything. Also do not pay attention to the claim that something is nutritious because I do not really know what that word means. And I AM A NUTRITIONIST!! The whole thing is a bit much…I mean seriously!

This is not supposed to depress you but rather empower you. Be a smart consumer. Know what is in your food. Understand why you are eating what you are eating. Make choices that feel right to you and are in line with your goals.

I am here to support you every step of the way.

I have the fortunate opportunity to be the sports dietitian for the athletes of University of San Francisco. These athletes are unbelievable. Full time students, full time athletes, many on a tight financial budget and most are living on their own for the first time. They are juggling so much, their schedules are packed – you can only imagine how annoyed they get when I tell them I want them to take more time to eat, eat more food and eat better quality foods.

A huge thing we talk about is cooking and I have to remind myself that some of these athletes have never cooked a thing in their entire life! They are used to Mom’s kitchen – not a small dorm kitchen where they have to make healthy food on their own.

After trying a few different ways to emphasize how easy cooking can be and them looking at me like I was insane, I jumped on my computer and started Googling “How to…” and they were amazed at the online resources that came up to show us easy, user friendly approaches to cooking some basic foods.

Now I know the foodies and experienced home chefs are rolling their eyes at this! However, there are many of us who want to cook – we really, really want to – but are afraid, or overwhelmed or just cannot seem to make it happen. And for you expert chefs out there, maybe you will learn something new too!

For the newbies reading this – and you know who you are – simplify things and just Google the most basic recipe or foods. Just the other day I couldn’t remember how many minutes it takes to poach an egg so I did a search to remind myself and there it was. I also couldn’t remember how many cups of water per cups of quinoa – again, that fancy internet gave me the answer!

This takes all the drama out of it. Keeps things simple and throws away all excuses. How great it that?!?

Here are some searches I did just this past week for my athletes:

How to poach an egg
How to roast a chicken
How to bake a potato
How to make a frittata
How to cook quinoa
How to cook fish
How to roast vegetables
How to seed a pomegranate with no mess (one of my favorite tricks!)

Try a new recipe this weekend and enjoy! (And no…this post was not sponsored by Google)