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WELCOME TO WEEK 1!

"The greatest wealth is health."
- Virgil

Intuitive (Mindful) Eating & The Hunger Scale

This week's two nutrition skills go hand in hand. Being in tune with your hunger and satiety cues is key for building a healthier relationship with your body and with food. Eating slowly will certainly help you with portion control and allow you to know when you are getting to the point of satisfaction so you don't get to the point of being uncomfortably full. That brings us to the HUNGER SCALE. This scale utilizes a range from 1 to 10, with 1 being your absolute hungriest, feeling light-headed, 5 being completely neutral (not hungry and not at all full), and 10 being uncomfortably stuffed. You want to grab a snack or meal at about a three or four on the scale, when you're moderately hungry, and stop eating around a six, just past that completely neutral feeling. See the recipe below for a quick healthy snack.

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Also note that it takes about 15 to 20 minutes after you start eating for your brain to begin registering that you’re getting full.

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Combining the skills of eating slower and using the hunger scale consistently will ensure a deeper level of intuitive eating. For this week, I encourage you to write your hunger scale number in the app every time you add a photo. This will help you know if you are waiting too long to eat a meal or if you are eating when you are not hungry. Remember, there is no good or bad. You are learning about yourself on this adventure. 

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Interval Training - Become a Fat Burning Machine

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This week's exercise skill is all about adding interval training, a type of exercise that involves a series of low to high intensity exercise interspersed with rest or relief periods. The high intensity periods are typically challenging, while the recovery periods may involve either activities of low intensity or complete rest. In other words, interval training can be described as short periods of exercise followed by periods of rest, that are repeated multiple times. By doing intervals, you will increase the overall amount of calories burned compared to steady state exercise, both during the workout and post exercise (EPOC).

 

So how do you get started with practicing this skill? To start, exercise you already do, can be done as intervals. If you like to run, cycle, dance, walk, hike, or weight train, you can do any of those activities using intervals rather than doing them at a steady state, where your effort is the same throughout the workout. Strive to get your heart rate into the orange zone during the work part of your interval, and allow your heart rate to come down to the blue or grey zone during the rest portion of your interval. Include an interval workout 1-2 times per week. This will be a valuable skill to practice to move you toward your weight loss goals.

 

Want more info about intervals with some training ideas? Download the Interval Training Guide.

This Week's Recipe

I just made these energy balls last week. I gave some to a buddy for some nutrition during an ultramarathon, and saved some for myself for something solid during a long race I had on Saturday. They're delicious, high in fiber, protein and healthy fats, and take all of 20 minutes to make. 

Ingredients

No-Bake Energy Balls

Instructions

  1. In a mixing bowl, stir together peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract.

  2. Add remaining ingredients and stir until evenly coated.

  3. Transfer mixture to refrigerator or freezer and chill until mixture has firmed up a bit, about 30 minutes.

  4. Remove from refrigerator and shape into 1-inch balls.

  5. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

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Tips for the Best Energy Balls

  • Don’t try to form the mixture into balls until you’ve let them chill. You need the honey and peanut butter to solidify slightly before you can easily roll them.

  • Make sure to buy shredded coconut and not coconut flakes.

  • Keep these energy balls in the refrigerator, as they lose their shape if left on the counter.

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