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Nutrition

  • Nutrition

    Healthy Supplements 101

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    In the world of healthy, the topic of supplements will come up. And the info on them is like a rabbit hole – never ending. Seriously, you can get lost and overwhelmed with the info out there. The why, how, when & more. I want to take this post to talk to you about healthy supplements 101 based off of what I use & why.

    Heather Palmer

    ** Just a heads up, there will be outbound links to products, some do provide a commission back to me if you choose to purchase**

    Healthy Supplements 101

    I used to think supplements were for those big, hairy muscle dudes who kissed their biceps more then anything. And there was no way I ever wanted to look like that so I stayed clear of them.  And maybe once upon a time that was the case. But today, the options are endless. But let’s break this down first.

    A supplement is something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.

    Now, I am a HUGE believer that 95% of your nutrition should come from whole, clean foods. Not a powder or gelatin capsule. A supplement should fill in the nutritional gaps of the food you are eating due to the fact that you can’t find those foods, those foods taste gross ( hello kale) or would increase your monthly budget 10fold just trying to get the real food intake from those ingredients.

    Yes, I am against meal replacement shakes, diet pills & fat burners. Those products do not help you one bit. If all you take is meal replacement shakes, what do you do when you hit your goal weight? You have not learned how to eat proper real food & most likely will gain all & more of the weight you lost back.

    And when you are looking at adding a supplement to your eating plan, ingredients should be your focus, not a carb/protein count. Let me explain. Here is my healthy supplements 101.

    When I first began to take a pre-workout supplement all I cared about what was the carb count. But then I learned to look at the ingredients and the brand I was using was filled with fillers, artificial everything & nothing natural. Why would I put garbage into my body? I began to make a shift and look at ingredients and the source of those ingredients before I would purchase any supplement.

    My daily food plan puts me about 1800 calories ( & that is in losing fat mode). The bulk of my calories come from whole foods: loads of veggies, quality meat sources & topped off with healthy fats. 

    But we live in an age of mass produced food ( veggies & fruits included) and the soil in which many of our plants grow are not as nutrient dense as they once were. If you follow me on Instagram for any amount of time you will go grocery shopping a few times with me & learn how I pick my veggies & fruit for their nutrients.  ALWAYS READ YOUR LABELS, & look up the farms online to see what is really going on. You truly are what you eat and also what you are eating ate.

    My Stack of Supplements

    On the days I work out, I book end my workouts with a pre & post workout supplement. 

    My pre workout ( I like the lemon best as the other flavors have beet flour & that irritates my IBS) is formulated with key ingredients to help:*
    • Boost energy and endurance
    • Improve exercise performance
    • Sharpen focus and reaction time
    • Increase muscle power output
    • Delay exercise-induced muscle fatigue

    It contains Beta- Alanine, low dose caffeine from green tea & Quercetin ( a phytonutrient  found in many fruits and vegetables. A strong yellow color indicates higher levels and higher purity)

    I just wish I knew about this product when I ran track. Oh that would have been a game changer for me!

    15 calories and taken within 30 minutes of me starting my workout for optimum performance.

    Then after my workout is a post protein smoothie. When you’re too sore from your workouts, it’s much harder to be consistent with your program. Recover takes advantage of the critical post-workout window to help combat exercise-induced muscle soreness, speed muscle recovery, support muscle growth, and improve strength recovery.

    The brand I take helps:

    • Speed muscle recovery
    • Combat exercise-induced muscle soreness
    • Reduce muscle breakdown
    • Promote lean-muscle growth
    • Improve adaptation to exercise
    • Improve muscle strength recovery
    • Support muscle glycogen recovery

    Key ingredients are Pomegranate extract, 20 grams of time-released protein & Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). Tastes like a chocolate milk shake. 

    I hate when I run out and it’s a weight lifting day. This stuff is gold!

    Now I am a HUGE coffee drinker. I like the taste & the warm feeling it brings. And I figured if I was going to drink coffee all day long I might as well make it healthier for me. I generally drink my coffee black. It took me years to go from a double double to black. But once a day I add some collagen, MCT oil & protein to my mug to give me a little extra help.

    Collagen – the one I take is flavorless and works with your skin, hair & nails. 

    Collagen is the main structural protein in the body. It makes up 25 to 35 percent of our total protein content in the form of connective tissue like tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bones, and about 75 percent of your skin. Collagen works side by side with another protein called elastin: Collagen fills out your skin, while elastin helps your skin “snap back” when stretched.

    It’s flavorless and mixes well in my hot coffee. #winwin

    MCT Oil. I actually get mine from Costco. Medium Chain Triglycerides. Again it’s flavorless and a squirt into my mug is all I need. It helps with fat burning, but also provides a healthy fat for my brain and I experience less brain fog during my day as a result.

    And I do add a flavorless protein to my coffee. I am in the process of building muscle which means I need a bit more protein in my diet and this powder once a day helps boost the amount of protein in keeping my calorie count in check. I like this one for a few reasons:

    • Canadian company
    • Grass fed
    • Inexpensive
    • Flavorless as I like the taste of my actual coffee
    • & available on Amazon so it’s door delivery when I need it

    What about a Multi Vitamin?

    It’s a hard balance between getting all the nutrients you need & keeping your calories in check. I aim to get most of my nutrients from veggies & animal products but with depleted soils most of our food just does not have the nutrient base it once did. 

    I used to take upwards of 30+ vitamins & minerals all in capsule form every day. The additional monthly cost was HUGE, I had no idea if I was taking the right combination, if they were being digested or peed out, if what i was taking was actually what I needed and then the confusion of brand, quality & nutritional value came into play.  The gelatin most came in  was actually upsetting my stomach A LOT, I was feeling oogie after that many pills, and I can’t take pills without liquid and water mixed with all those was a recipe for disaster in my digestive system.  I am thankful I have found a top up of dense nutrition that literally tops up my food and keeps my calories in balance.  You can use it as a shake, I like it with coconut oil and makes for a pudding like dessert, or put it in my coffee too! And on days where time is not in my favor, it can substitute for lunch.  It’s not a protein shake, or a weight loss shake or a meal replacement. It’s my daily dose of dense nutrition. And I can’t complain when I get it 25% off too!!

    Complete with:

    • Proteins
    • Superfruits and Antioxidants
    • Supergreens and Phytonutrients
    • Adaptogens
    • Prebiotics, Probiotics, Fibre, and Digestive Enzymes
    • Vitamins and Minerals

    Way more good stuff then a handful of guessing which vitamin is right. 

    Healthy Supplements 101

    It may seem like a lot, but really it’s not. It’s 100% health and I have built these supplements into my daily calorie bracket and they supplement what I can not get from real, clean, whole foods. I call it healthy supplements 101. 

    Need help in if you should be adding supplements or what kind? Just ask, I am only a message away & would love to chat with you.

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  • Nutrition

    Eat Those Veggies

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    Eat Those Veggies

    Eat Those Veggies

    I don’t know about you, but I am too old to yo yo diet anymore. I want my body to pick a weight that is healthy and stay there.  The secret I found to maintaining my healthy weight. is to eat those veggies.  YES, eat them everyday, with every meal and even at snack time. YES EAT THOSE VEGGIES!

    Our bodies require, NEED nutrients. This is how we stay healthy, this is how we stop the yo yo dieting and live our lives. And vegetables are the most nutrient dense food on the planet. They are clean, whole & 100% awesome.

    Let’s talk the good, the bad and the ugly of veggies. NOT all veggies are created equal. I found this out the hard way when the extra 50lbs I was carrying out not leave me.

    Vegetables are the only food that we could live on 100% and not die. They are that nutrient dense. And in learning how to fuel my body i realized there are 3 categories of veggies: good for you, only sometimes good & eat very rare.

    Different Kinds of Vegetables

    Let’s break it down further: root veggies, fruits pretending to be veggies & all the others. 

    ROOT veggies – the ones to stay away from. HIGH in starch which is converted to glucose and stored as FAT in our bodies. These are veggies that grow in the ground – Yams, beets, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, potatoes, carrots, yuca, kohlrabi, onions, garlic, celery root , horseradish, daikon, turmeric, jicama, Jerusalem artichokes, radishes, and ginger. I rarely will eat a root veggie. The starch count doesnt work for me. IF I do eat a root veggie I always pick from the colored ones first. ( carrots, beets ) And use the seasoning ones sparingly like garlic, onions, tumeric. If you are a low carb eater then root veggies are a great way to carb cycle or carb up as it’s still a natural source of nutrients. 

    The next category which I will eat from sometimes is fruits thinking they are vegetables. The ones with seeds – tomatoes, peppers, squashes, zucchini, cucumbers, peas, corn, beans, egg plant – anything with SEEDS. Fruit is HIGH in sugar and so are these ones… our bodies don’t care where the source of sugar comes from (natural or processed) – it’s treated all the same, if it can not be used as fuel immediately its converted to glucose and stored as fat. So a good time to eat these ones is 2-4 hours before you are going to work your body. That way you enjoy the great taste and your body will use the fuel before it can store it.

    A little trick to bring down the macro count is do not eat the seeds – so pick them out and eat the remainder of the plant. And the one fruit pretending to be a veggie that you should never ever eat EVER is corn. A farmer will feed his cattle, pigs, chickens corn to fatten them up so when he goes to the butcher he gets more $ for his animal. If corn is meant to fatten up an animal just think of what it is doing to you!! so put down the cob, and run away. lol  

    And that leaves all the other veggies – fill up on them!! The leafy ones like all the lettuces, spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cabbage, and so forth. These are ones I sneak into a lot of different foods and they fill me up!! If I make a salad I will use 80% of these veggies then sprinkle with the fruit ones and then an oil based dressing. 

    So if you are a veggie eater already and the weight isn’t coming off as easily it’s time to look at what types of veggies you have been eating.

    eat those veggies

    How to Eat Those Veggies

    Now I encourage you to try a different way of preparing, cooking, roasting veggies. Example is I can’t stand boiled Brussels Sprouts. YUK. But cut them in half, sprinkle with olive oil & roast them at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes and I will eat them all up now. So if you have tried a certain veggie and thought it was gross, I encourage you to try a new way of preparing them. And as we age our taste buds change too so never dismiss a veggie.

    And then lastly, sneak in veggies into weird places through out your day to get the most in.  What I mean is this. I use frozen cauliflower rice in my protein shake instead of ice cubes. There is no flavor change and I’m getting in a whole serving of veggies. Avocados are a great one to mash up and put in anything, fresh baby spinach leaves too – blend them in your shake, cut them up and put into pizza sauce, use as leaves in a salad & more.

    So my closing point, add a serving of a vegetable to each of your meals. Get those nutrients in! Your waist line will thank you.

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  • Nutrition

    3 Day Refresh to Jump Into the New Year

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    Detox cleanse Refresh

    Kick-start healthier eating habits with the 3-DAY REFRESH® and lose weight—without starving.

    Why do a 3-Day Refresh?
    Sometimes your diet gets off track. You go a little overboard on the weekends, a holiday, or while on vacation. Or perhaps your body hits a plateau, and the scale refuses to budge. In 3 short days, you can get your health, your energy, and your vitality back on track — all without starving. With the 3-Day Refresh you’ll conquer your cravings. Lose weight. Start to detoxify your body. Flatten your stomach. Feel lighter and more energized. Your clothes will fit better. And most importantly, you’ll be able to break the cycle of bad nutrition while establishing healthy, new eating habits.

    The 3-Day Refresh was scientifi cally designed to help you:
    • Jump-start your weight loss, while staying full throughout the entire day
    • Get a clean break from any bad eating habits you still may have
    • Kick-start new, healthier eating habits you can incorporate into your life

    3 day refresh heather palmer morinville

    WHAT IS THE 3-DAY REFRESH®?
    The 3-Day Refresh is a scientifically designed program that helps you fast-track your weight loss, kick-start healthy eating, and get a clean break from bad nutrition habits. 3-Day Refresh is a simple, straightforward program that will help cleanse your body and improve the way you feel— without starving yourself. Unlike juice cleanses or liquid fasts which tend to be high in sugar and low in protein (leaving you feeling weak, hungry, and sluggish), this easy-to-follow program helps support your metabolism while nourishing your vital organs.

    For 3 days you’ll follow a program of 3 shakes a day, a fiber drink, plenty of filtered water, plus a wide array of fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats throughout the day to keep your energy and metabolism going.

    WHY REFRESH?

    Maybe you feasted like a king or queen over the weekend, and want to get back on track. Perhaps you simply just want to lose that last bit of annoying pudge. Maybe you used to eat healthy but little by little you fell off the wagon and now are ready to climb back on. It’s also possible you’ve never had a healthy diet but you’re finally ready to start. Sometimes you want to quickly drop a few pounds for an upcoming social event. Or perhaps you’re kick-starting a new workout program and want to shift into high gear right away. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re ready for a few days of clean eating just because it’s the right thing to do.

    Whatever your “maybe” may be, we all have those times when we want to get our nutrition on track—and that’s what the 3-Day Refresh is all about. This program is the easiest way to break the cycle of bad eating habits while creating new ones, conquer your cravings, flatten your stomach, feel lighter and more energized, sleep more soundly, detoxify your body, and dramatically improve the way you feel—ALL WITHOUT STARVING!

    HOW DOES THE 3-DAY REFRESH WORK?
    For 3 days you’ll have a superfood-packed Shakeology® shake for breakfast along with a fruit option; a Fiber Sweep digestive health drink later in the morning; a satisfying, high-protein Vanilla Fresh shake for lunch, accompanied by fresh fruit, vegetables, and healthy fat options throughout the afternoon. For dinner, you’ll have another Vanilla Fresh shake along with your choice from a list of delicious, easy-to-prepare dinner recipes. You can also have tea twice a day and as much filtered water as you like (we suggest you drink AT LEAST half your body weight in ounces per day).

    WHAT SETS 3-DAY REFRESH APART FROM OTHER 3-DAY CLEANSE PROGRAMS?
    Juice cleanses and other popular short-term cleanses provide incomplete nutrition promoting muscle loss instead of fat loss and can cause a rebound due to the lack of adequate protein, low fiber, and/or high sugar levels. Many juice cleanses can be very pricey, this one is good on the budget. And sets a foundation to proper nutrition to make your year rock in the nutrition department. 

    WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE REFRESHING.
    The 3-Day Refresh is a low-calorie program (about 900 calories a day) but because the shakes and fresh food selections are high in protein and fiber, they will help keep you satiated throughout the day.

    Because this program is packed with fiber, if you don’t already have a diet that’s high in fruits, veggies, and whole grains, it’s a good idea to prepare for the 3-Day Refresh by eating a large salad and/or a few servings of fresh veggies throughout the week leading up to it. If you get a little gas or bloating, this is a sign that you need to up your fiber levels in general. Fiber promotes satiety, balances blood sugar, promotes cardiovascular health, and keeps your digestive tract functioning. If gas is an issue, we’ve highlighted the “low gas-producing” options in the veggie list and dinner recipes in the menu guide. It’s also incredibly important to stay hydrated during the 3-Day Refresh. Water is the body’s lubricant and is required for every major process. It keeps your digestion flowing, flushes out toxins, keeps your system balanced, and helps control hunger. We recommend drinking half your body weight in ounces every day. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be drinking at least 75 ounces of filtered water every day.

    WHERE’S THE PROTEIN?
    You may notice the lack of meat and dairy in the 3-Day Refresh. Fruits and veggies tend to be rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, and the restorative effects of plant-based diets are welldocumented—so here’s your chance to take advantage of that! In fact, we recommend you eliminate animal products entirely from your diet during the 3-Day Refresh by drinking Chocolate Vegan or Tropical Strawberry Vegan Shakeology.
    Don’t worry about getting enough protein. Both Shakeology and your Vanilla Fresh shakes are packed with all the amino acids you need. Many veggies are also good sources of protein, especially greens and beans.

    The Nitty Gritty Details:

    You can do this program any time through out the year. There is no “right” time. HOWEVER – it’s always easier to do it with a friend and that is where I come in.

    January 2-4, 2020 I will be doing this program. You gonna do it with me?

    It usually takes up to a week for your package to arrive, but with the holidays you don’t want it stuck in transit so let’s order your package today.

    Copy & paste the following questions – make sure to answer them too- into an email and send it to me at heathersrunningdiary@gmail.com 

    • Do you have an account with Heather already?
    • Have you ever purchased a Beachbody product in the past?
    • Where do you live? Canada, USA or UK?
    • What flavor Shakeology do you want: whey or vegan in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry or cafe latte?

    I am waiting for your email. And the good news is you will get plugged into my online community for the whole of 2020 and there is no recommended workouts during the 3 days. 

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  • Nutrition

    Meal Planning Made Simple

    • by
    Meal Planning Made Simple Heather Palmer HUTT

    If nutrition is 80% of our weight loss success why is it so hard?! It’s hard because we have made it hard. But it’s time to start over, and make healthy eating a lifestyle and non restriction in the treats we deserve.

    (more…)

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  • Nutrition

    What’s Up with All the Shakes?

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    If you have followed me on social media enough you will know that I enjoy a shake a day to top up my nutrition and how tasty it is. But what confuses people is the why , what, when, macros and all that that goes along with that shake.

    So let’s debunk some myths, tell some truths and shed some light on my daily dose of dense nutrition.

    What’s Up with All the Shakes?

    First of, I do not believe in weight loss shakes. If something is marketed as “weight loss’ please run away, fast. Usually a weight loss shake is intended to be a meal replacement, which means you learn nothing about proper nutrition. What happens when you hit your goal weight? You gain it back because you have not been taught how to eat properly, you just been taught how to replace actual food with a calorie deficient shake. That’s it. So, please put down the weight loss shake.

    Next up, this is not a protein shake. We are not protein deficient. We eat WAY too much protein. Did you know if you have too much protein your body converts it and stores it as fat. So unless you are body building, put down the protein shake. You get enough through normal eating of food, both plant based & animals.

    Whats with all the shakes

    What my shake is, is my daily does of dense nutrition. I can not get all the nutrients my body needs every day in just what I eat. Doing this will put me WAY over my calorie intake for the day, which means weight gain.

    So I take my shake with my lunch or use it as my afternoon snack. It does not replace real food, EVER.

    Now… what’s in my shake? Here is the low down… with over 70+ nutrients, this is the hole filler in my daily eating.

    • Premium Protein and Amino Acids
    • Antioxidants and Super-Fruits
    • Phytonutrients and Super-Greens
    • Adaptogenic Herbs and Botanicals
    • Probiotics, Prebiotics, Fibre, and Digestive Enzymes
    • Vitamins and Minerals

    As a low carb, healthy fat eater this totally fits into my macro count. How could proper nutrition not fit into any macro/calorie counting system?

    Fueling my body with proper nutrition actually keeps me fuller longer, cuts down on crazy out of control cravings and helps me not only lose weight but maintain a healthy lifestyle once my goals are met!

    My husband began having a shake as an afternoon snack every day, and in less then 3 weeks, lost 13 pounds of fat from his body! He has said he is full and doesn’t feel the need to snack anymore. BINGO! This is why proper nutrition is important!

    Whats with all the shakes

    And what is cool, is the shake I drink comes with a 30 day, 100% money back guarantee. YES, you don’t like it you get your money back! And what is awesome is you use this as a base, the recipes to make the most delicious shake are endless, I like to crush ice cubes with diced up spinach and almond milk. Sometimes I add berries, or a spoonful of peanut butter. make cookies, or pudding or just mix with water and go! There is no one way to drink for everyone.

    Now… price. Yes we have to talk money. Most people shop for a shake based on price alone. Please don’t do that. You truly get what you pay for, you pay cheap you get cheap. Now with my shake, I am not buying chips, pop, cookies, donuts and junk as much as I don’t need to eat that stuff, so my shake budget replaced the money I spent on junk in a month. Add up your monthly coffee shop trips, donut sneaks, fast food breakfasts, how many take out pizzas, hamburgers and cake did you eat this month? I bet all that cost 3 times more then a 30 day supply of awesomeness?! So stop telling me you can’t afford proper nutrition. You can. you are buying 30 shakes up front instead of one at a time. Trust me, it’s worth it!

    So… you ready to try? 2 formulas to choose between – whey or vegan and up to 5 different flavors. The only downside is you must live in somewhere in Canada, USA or the UK and be over 18 years to enjoy.

    I want you to email me right now, heathersrunningdiary@gmail.com and let’s get you hooked up with your daily does of dense nutrition today!

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  • Nutrition

    Stuck In a Weight Loss Plateau, Try These 3 Easy Steps

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    Stuck In a Weight Loss Plateau, Try These 3 Easy Steps

    Weight loss is hard, keeping it off is hard and you are motivated, staying true to your nutrition plan & fitness schedule and then…. Stuck In a Weight Loss Plateau Try These 3 Easy Steps to break through.  Before I list them, you have to know its not an overnight remedy. This is every day, all day – for life.  But don’t worry you will break through.  So don’t rearrange those calories or macros just yet.

    Stuck In a Weight Loss Plateau, Try These 3 Easy Steps

    Step 1

    Are you getting 8 hours of sleep a night? Every night!!! YES 8 hours, your body needs to heal, recover and rest and without that sleep your body can’t and won’t work properly and your weight will suffer. Yes you may feel great on 5 but your body is designed for 8 so try to get to bed a little earlier tonight and get the rest your body needs.

    Step 2

    Are you drinking enough water? Not water disguised as coffee or in tea, but actual clear, plain water.  If your body doesn’t get enough water it stores what it does get and you retain it and thus the scale does not move.  My gauge for am I drinking enough, is my pee is very light yellow, almost clear. If it’s clear that is too much.  So yes, chug that water to move that scale!

    Step 3

    Are you eating the right amount of calories EVERY day? For example, if your calorie intake is 1600 you need to eat that EVERY SINGLE DAY! Don’t be at 900 today, then 1100 tomorrow and then 1800 the next. Every day – 1600!!  Your body knows how much it needs, and if you don’t give it your body will store what it does get as it thinks its being starved. So yes EAT your calories. But make sure they are healthy, non processed calories. If I can’t grow it I don’t want to eat it. I find the days, weeks my calorie intake is low, I don’t lose weight but I actually gain. But the weeks I eat my calorie intake every day I lose weight.

    Stuck In a Weight Loss Plateau, Try These 3 Easy Steps

    So there you go. 3 easy steps to bust through your plateau. If you are doing these religiously, 6-8 weeks and nothing is changing, then it’s time to look at your macros, calorie amount with what you are fueling your body with ( any foods with hidden sugars & carbs) and fitness levels.

    If you are stuck with where to begin, I will work with you. I have plateaued a few times over this last year and it’s when I buckle down that I break through it, so don’t hesitate to send me an email at heathersrunningdiary@gmail.com and we can work together to bust you out!

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