Happy New Year!

As the days get shorter and chillier, many of us find it even more challenging to keep our bodies moving or start a new activity. The good news is that Calgary hosts an ever-increasing number of options for those who wish to get fit and active over the holidays and into the new year. Here are 5 ways to get you started (plus one ‘bonus’ option!).

Help the Food Bank with our December Nutrition Challenge

Supporting local Food Banks is near and dear to my heart. It pains me to know that people in this world go hungry when there is an abundance of food waste that occurs every single day. It is for this reason, that I encourage you to take part in my December Nutrition Challenge with a Kitchen Clean-Up activity!

Research shows that when we have less food options available to us, we are less tempted to eat when we are not hungry which results in eating fewer calories overall. Because we specialize and focus in weight management here at CWMC, this is an activity that is worthwhile and will support your healthy weight goal.

You’ve most likely heard the connection between stress the body resisting weight loss. Ever wonder why this phenomenon happens? The connection is linked with the body’s production of cortisol. Stress causes the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, to rise in your body1. Eating causes cortisol levels to drop, which is why we tend to eat when we are stressed1. Unfortunately, this can interfere with successful weight management. With the holiday’s right around the corner, it’s a good idea to start planning strategies to cope with this stressful time of year. The good news is that there are many ways to cope with stress and reduce cortisol levels. Some of these include laughter2, music3, moderate exercise4, sleep5, and meditation6. This year, make a point to increase your sleep if you are not reaching the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Compliment this with surrounding yourself with loved ones and music, get regular exercise, and maybe try some meditation. Combining these healthy stress-reducing strategies with continued regular, balanced meals and snacks will help to curb emotional eating, allow your body to maintain or reach its healthiest weight, and allow you to enjoy the holiday season even more.

Get Active!!

Join us every month for introductory classes to popular physical activity options. Classes are free* for all new and current patients of Calgary Weight Management Centre to attend with registration and open to the general public for $25/class.

join us on December 2 at 6:00 PM for CWMC's Introductory Class on Cardio Boxing! Call to register.

This month, we are featuring pumpkins. Pumpkin has an incredible nutrient profile. It is packed with heart health-promoting potassium, magnesium, and fiber, LDL-cholesterol lowering plant sterols, and night vision protecting Vitamin A and beta-carotene phytonutrients.

Try your hand with our seasonal feature recipe Pumpkin Rissoto

Interested in learning more about pumpkin and its health benefits? Read this article in the Huffington Post: 8 Impressive Health Benefits of Pumpkin

With two kids at home and one on the way, I've been finding it a bit challenging to get a healthy, balanced homemade meal on the table at a decent time (before 7 pm). Even when I map out my day and start dinner preparations early, I still find that I'm scrambling at 6 pm (with a toddler climbing up my leg) trying to get dinner on the table. Gone are the days when I had three solid hours to prepare dinner, clean, relax, etc. during nap time. Not to mention the fact that a new school routine starts next week! So, I've had to become a bit more efficient when it comes to preparing meals and has discovered a few short-cuts. Here they are:

Building a healthy relationship with food (and healthy eating habits) starts right from when a baby first starts solids. The way (not so much what) parents choose to feed their kids can shape how they view food and eating for the rest of their lives. If you are someone who feels as though you need to clean your plate at every meal, this is likely something that your well-meaning parents or caregivers taught you when you were young. If you can't stand eating certain vegetables as an adult, there is a good chance that you were either not introduced to them as a child, OR, you were forced to eat them when you were younger. As important as it is to expose your children to a variety of foods at a young age (the earlier the better--right from 6 months!), it's even more important to introduce them in a loving and pressure-free way.

Now that my little guy is all done preschool for the year, and I'm home with him as well as his two-year-old sister, I’m finding that we are filling up our mornings with playdates, playground visits, and running errands. With two little ones in tow, I’m finding that I always need to have lots of snacks and drinks packed to get us through the mornings. Instead of scrambling right before we leave, I’ve gotten into the habit of preparing and packing up snacks the night before so that we can grab them and go. Even if you’re not heading out, having snacks ready in the fridge is always nice. Here are a few of our go-to’s right now:

Most Canadians are falling short on veggies--this likely doesn't come as a surprise. Because vegetables are often bitter-tasting, they tend not to be as appealing as fruits, which are naturally sweet. It's believed that the reason babies and toddlers tend to reject vegetables over fruit is because we are biologically programmed to prefer sweet over bitter for survival purposes (bitter taste signals "poison" or "toxic" and sweet signals "energy"). But the truth is, veggies offer a whole host of benefits from helping to protect against chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer, to help with weight control and blood sugar regulation. Veggies are chock-full of essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, not to mention fibre and water--both of which can help with appetite control. And believe it or not, veggies can be wonderfully delicious as well!

Here are 5 easy ways to sneak them into your day (you should be aiming for at least 4-5 servings of veggies per day!):

Spring has sprung! Though I am really sad that snow season is over and I have to put my skis away in storage, it is also time for swimming and soaking up some sun! Foodwise, I’m stoked to toss together some fresh salads, blend some fruit smoothies, and break away from those wintery stews I’ve had for months. It’s time to do some smart spring clean-up, and by “smart” I am talking about making some refreshing changes with real, yummy food and not some trendy juice detox fad.

(Read: Contemplating a Spring "Cleanse"?)

Weekday mornings often involve pressing the snooze button once or twice (or more), rushing around trying to get ready for the day, maybe eating breakfast (read: why breakfast is SO important for weight management), and rushing out the door. Too often, it's when you're on route to work that you think about lunch. "Oh no, I forgot to pack my lunch again", or "shoot, I'm going to have to buy my lunch again" may go through your mind on most days. Forgetting to pack a lunch or snacks for the day will not only affect your energy levels, your ability to focus and concentrate on your work, and your overall mood, but it will also cost you a lot more money and likely lead to overeating and making poor choices at work and when you get home from work.

Many people feel that it's impossible to pack healthy lunches...there's just not enough time, or there are too many other things to worry about besides packing a lunch. While I do admit that it takes a bit of planning and maybe a little bit of extra time (not much!), lunch-making doesn't have to be an arduous task. In fact, it can be ridiculously easy if you have an emergency lunch stash to draw from at home.

It’s easy enough to learn (and for me, teach) what to eat to stay healthy. But most people forget that how you eat is just as important, if not more.

You could eat the healthiest of healthy foods every day, but unless you know how to listen to your body, you probably won’t reap all of the benefits. And this is why I spend so much time talking to my clients about the "Hunger Scale" and Intuitive/Mindful Eating strategies. Becoming a mindful eater can literally transform your life and your relationship with food forever--you will no longer be at the mercy of a restrictive diet or strict eating plan.

According to an article in Psychology Today, research shows that fewer than half of the people who set New Year's resolutions actually stick to their goals after 6 months. And after a year, the number declines to about 10%.

Yikes, those aren't good odds.

But the article goes on to explain that reaching goals and creating positive change in our lives can happen much easier if we set specific goals, share our goals with others and focus on the benefits of achieving the goals. It seems that wanting to change a habit or something in your life is just not enough to spur long-lasting change.

Written by: Evelyn Cheng, Dietetic Intern

I can’t believe that 2014 is almost coming to an end! The start of a new year represents a fresh start for many people, which is often accompanied by the buzz about making New Year’s resolutions. There’s some excitement involved in planning to make positive changes in our lives—to make healthier food choices, increase activity, read books, and so on. But all too often, we set resolutions that just don’t stick. We have the best of intentions at the beginning but slowly fall off the wagon by the time Valentine’s day rolls around.

The holiday season is upon us! Although an exciting time, going to holiday parties unplanned can halt your weight loss efforts. Here are some practical tips to help make this holiday season fun and stress-free, while still being mindful about how and what you eat:

No empty bellies:

Some people think it’s a good idea to show up to a party on an empty stomach, to make the most of the yummy holiday foods. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Starting off too hungry leads to poor decision-making and over-eating. Overdoing it often results in feelings of guilt and regret, which is no fun.

If it were a perfect world, we would all eat fresh whole foods that do not come in a box or bag. We would enjoy seasonal and fresh vegetables and fruits, fresh fish, and local ingredients from the farmer's market year-round. But, unfortunately, we don't have access to a wide range of local fresh foods year-round in most parts of Canada, and life gets busy, so whipping up meals from scratch three times a day just isn't possible. For most of us, anyway.

Although I try to be the best to eat fresh most of the time, I inevitably find myself wandering down the grocery aisles in search of the odd packaged food. What I'm looking for, though, is packaged food that is made from real food. Things like stone-ground whole wheat flour, canned tuna, salsa, hummus, breakfast oats, milk, and Greek yogurt are some of the packaged foods that I buy on a regular basis. In years past, I've wasted time going through nutrition labels, counting calories, fat grams, and comparing packages for fiber and sodium levels. Although this practice can be helpful for those who have Diabetes (counting carbohydrate grams), or when choosing between two products, it's usually a waste of time.

I don't believe in dieting or food deprivation to improve health or lose weight, because I believe that sustainable weight loss can be achieved through making smarter choices most of the time and eating more mindfully. There are, however, a few food ingredients that I avoid most of the time and don't feel good about feeding my family. These ingredients often make their way into popular processed/convenience foods at the grocery store, or perhaps foods that you may order in when you don't feel like cooking. When people ask me what to look at when purchasing foods, I always tell them to look at the ingredients first and foremost as it will tell you everything you need to know. The nutrition facts table is a nice-to-know, especially if you are watching your grams of carbohydrate (Diabetes or PCOS), but it really doesn't give you much information about the quality of the product that you are buying. When looking at the ingredients list, be wary of lists with more than 4 or 5 ingredients, especially when you don't recognize the ingredient (in other words- it's not real food) or it sounds more like a chemical.

Spiced Pumpkin Bran Muffins

Gather two 12-cup muffin tins, lightly greased or lined with paper cups (makes 2 dozen medium-sized muffins or 3 dozen small muffins), and preheat the oven to 375 F (or 350 F if you have a super hot oven).