Staying Sharp by Snacking Light

I’ve heard a lot about the perception of work being a sort of ‘life within a life’, as though work and personal life don’t overlap.  A common side effect is that people can shift into ‘work mode’ with their diet, forgoing proper nutrition in favor of time savings and efficiency.

I caught myself becoming one of those people.  I quickly developed the habit of getting caught up in a task and seeing stopping for a proper meal as an afterthought.  For my lunch break yesterday, I drove to a local Trader Joe’s grocery store to shatter that habit.

Only $27 later, I had healthy, energizing and tasty snacks to get me through the next week.  We’re launching our new website soon, so I bought all sorts of quick snack items that won’t cut into my productivity yet won’t pack on the pounds.

In case you can’t quite see, I bought a container of Greek Yogurt, 2 bags of wasabi almonds, a bag of roasted pumpkin seeds, a half gallon of milk, a bag of frozen blueberries, and a bag of navel oranges.

I was careful to buy foods with a positive nutritional impact and to ensure that the snacks I would be eating would provide a balance of nutrients, protein and fiber.

It’s been a few days since I made this particular grocery run and I’m very pleased with how much better I feel.  With our new website in the works, it’s been nice to be able to snack very quickly without skipping a beat in productivity, all while making healthy eating choices.

Getting A Fresh Start

In order to start getting back in shape, I knew that my diet would need a fresh start.

What better way to start fresh than to restock your fridge with all kinds of fresh, natural food?

Over the weekend I stopped at a local farmer’s market to take a look around and see what it had to offer.  The Soulard Farmer’s Market in Saint Louis is a pretty robust market; farmers from all over the region come in to sell their products.  Produce, meat, fruit, nuts, candy… if you want it, they’ve got it.

I had just run to the grocery store earlier in the week so I didn’t need very much, but I did take the opportunity to try some interesting new things.  Even if I had come to the market for my staples, most of the products were so cheap and so fresh that it would have definitely been worth the trip.

I can’t rave to you enough about what a different experience shopping at the market was compared to shopping at a supermarket.  From a visual standpoint, it was a much more immersive experience.  The rich colors of all of the unique food products made the market a kind of adventure; there was so much to see!

From a consumer standpoint, the variety, quantity and quality of all of the products on sale was unbeatable.  On top of that, the farmers and merchants knew their products better than any shelf stocker at your local grocery chain ever could.  I was able to seek knowledgeable recommendations for different kinds of meats and ended up learning a little bit about the difference between shoulder ham and typical ham (which is usually cut from the rump of the pig).

I ended up leaving with a few pounds of smoked turkey legs for me to enjoy on Sunday while watching my Green Bay Packers trounce the Oakland Raiders.  I also got some poblano peppers for my breakfast omelets for the week.  Though I didn’t leave with much, it was a great experience and I’ll likely be back on a weekly basis.

If you’ve got a local market, check it out!  You can’t go wrong with most of the fresh, diverse food that they’ll have on sale.

Day 1 - A Little Introduction

Hi everyone!  I’m Jim, the ‘social media guy’ for Extend Nutrition.  I’m fairly new to the company, having moved to St. Louis to take the job just a little over two months ago.

(That’s me on the right with some of the team at a recent conference)

It’s been a pretty seamless adjustment going from college life to true adulthood.  I graduated from Indiana University in August and was lucky enough to have found a job doing all of the things I enjoy.  The one major difference, I’ve found, is time.

Now that I’m a full-timer, it’s been tough to find time to do the things I used to do in my free time while I was at school.  Work is tiring!  Once I get home, make myself dinner and pay a few bills, it’s been tough to find the motivation to get active.  All work and no play has, indeed, made me a dull boy…

I was a wrestler and a football player in high school and an intramural sports fiend in college.  I love to bike, run, lift weights, play football, play basketball, play baseball and do just about anything that gets my heart rate up.  I started to realize recently just how infrequently I’ve been doing any of those things lately.  It’s about time that I change that.

Starting up a blog seemed like a great way to hold myself accountable, so I’m running with it.  Aside from that, I’m just a regular guy who I think a lot of people can relate to.  I work full-time, I’m on a budget and I’m just an okay cook.  If I can shape myself up, you can too!

My goal in starting this blog is to provide both inspiration and information.

Here’s what I mean by that…

Inspiration:

I’ll be posting all kinds of recipes, workouts, and other health tips that I’m putting into practice in my own life in the hopes that some of them might be useful for you.  Feel free to add to the conversation by posting ideas of your own!

Information:

For those of you unfamiliar with Extend Nutrition, I hope that an illustrative blog like this can help you get a feel for how to use our products and how they can help you.

So, know that you know me, it’s time to get started!  Let’s get this train rolling!  Let’s hit the gym!  Let’s eat smarter!  Let’s turn up the culinary creativity!  It should be an exciting adventure and I hope that my efforts can be of use to you all.

Janice Baker - This Month’s Health Hero!

Congratulations to Janice Baker, selected as our ‘Health Hero’ for the month of November!  We interview a select health care professional from our network each month for our ‘Health Hero’ spotlight, which you can find in our monthly newsletter as well as right here on our blog.

Q: How did you come to be involved in nutrition?

In the late 1970’s there was a big rise in people becoming more interested in nutrition and how eating healthfully is so connected to the whole state of health risks and problems. My family has struggled with diabetes and health issues which made a large impression in the direction I decided to take while in college! I worked in acute care and intensive care. Soon, diabetes began to grow and I became a diabetes educator. I am a registered dietitian; certified diabetes educator and certified nutrition support clinician, and have an MBA.

Q: What is your nutrition philosophy?

My nutrition philosophy is to stop the chatter about the quick fixes, miracle diets, and fake foods.  Move, sleep, and choose healthful foods! People need simple bottom line information that is not confusing. I strive to give that type of information as well as accept what the patient is willing to do to become healthy.

Q: What types of clients do you most often work with?

I work with a variety of patients including, people with diabetes, prediabetes, weight issues and eating disorders. 

Q: What is the most important piece of advice you give people with diabetes about their daily eating habits?

Don’t eat in front of the TV or while standing up. Pay attention. Food choices are your medicine. Keep food journals and records of what you eat and when you eat it. I think the missing link is that people are told, “eat this, not that,” when really it should be to pay attention to how you eat. 

Q: How did you hear about Extend Nutrition products and how are you currently recommending them?

I learned about Extend snacks through trade shows and ads in magazines. I have read Francine Kaufman’s book and have worked with her husband regarding technology and diabetes management. She is a brilliant woman. I recommend the Extend snacks to patients who are crunched for time and also to those who have very erratic glucose issues. 

Q: What are your clients’ favorite Extend Nutrition products and do you have a favorite of your own?

Any of the bars are their favorite because the bars travel so easily. When people are on the go this is a really great snack. I personally like the crisps! 

Q: How do you stay involved in the community?

I have lived in Rancho Bernardo for close to 30 years and have volunteered with the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Taking Control of Diabetes, American Cancer Society, and in local schools. I also work a lot with TCOYD and was the dietitian for Extreme Diabetes Makeover. I especially love working with my seniors who are a lot of fun! 

Q: Do you have a special story about one of your clients that you would like to share?

Yes I work with several attorneys who have very erratic and long days. The Extend bars are very helpful for one attorney as he uses insulin and the Extend bars help keep his blood sugar more stable. He also exercises at the gym and has one after work and this helps reduce his chance of overnight lows. I try to keep them out of the danger zone and Extend helps to do that.  

Q: Besides working as a dietician what do you do?

My career as an RD, CDE and CNSC is more than full time. I have a private practice, write for magazines and cookbooks, work with eating disorders, and appear on television and radio spots.  Outside of this, I am a mom of 3; two boys ages 17 and 20, and a daughter who is 15.  My husband of 27 years is an architect.   

Q: What’s the best part of your career?

I love seeing my clients realize that they have the power to influence their health and take control of their risks of diabetes complications.  Everyone is coming from a different place and it is so important to listen to clients and not make assumptions about what they are or aren’t willing to do.  Offering choices, support and acceptance go a long way.  I also love connecting with my high school friends on Facebook and cheering them on towards a healthy lifestyle, since I was a cheerleader in high school. Now I do this in a whole different area, but it’s much the same. I enjoy giving people hope and helping them to smile even when they get scary news. I like to meet new people and never know what each day is going to be like and that makes it interesting!

We’d like to once again congratulate Janice on her selection as our November Health Hero and for taking the time to speak with us.  Keep it up, Janice! 

Amazon’s Gone Nuts!

Amazon.com is currently offering a great promo deal on Extend Nutrition products that’s definitely worth checking out.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Boxes of 15 Chocolate Delight and Peanut Delight bars are currently priced at $14.96, marked down from $23.99
• 5-bag boxes of Chocolate Extend Drizzles are currently $6.99, marked down from $9.95.

For Amazon’s catalog of our products and current prices, click here.

Remember, you can subscribe to a repeating order from Amazon and save even more.  Their current ‘Subscribe and Save’ price on the aforementioned bars, for example, are $12.72 a box!

These promo deals will be for a very limited time only, so jump on these deals while you can!

Word Around the Web

Laura Cone’s Review of our Extend Shakes, as seen on Associated Content

For dieters, it’s great. I do not have diabetes and don’t have risk factors for the disease. But Extend Shake, with 2 net carbs, does control my hunger on a diet.

It has a low glycemic index and 24 vitamins and minerals. It’s also easy to transport. The protein powder mixes easily in water so you don’t even need a blender.

While drinking the shakes for a week, I lost 2 pounds.

For taste and results, I give the Chocolate Extend Shake a 4.7 out of 5 stars.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7914721/extend_shake_review_protein_shake_to.html?cat=51

Commit to Cut the Candy!

All of our sweet teeth got a workout yesterday, of that I’m sure.  It was Halloween, after all, and it would be darn near impossible to cruise throughout the day without the temptation of sugar.  Between the candy corn, fun-size candy bars, festive cupcakes and seasonal pumpkin treats, we’ve all had at least one dietary lapse in judgement for the sake of sugar.

While a treat every now and then is okay, the tricky part about Halloween treats is the fact that they’re a self-perpetuating phenomena; they work their way in to your diet and they’re not easy to purge.

An interesting article posted today on Time’s Healthland blog cited teens going about weight loss in the wrong way, and I’m sure there lots of people out there who share a few of the same misperceptions regarding committing to a weight loss regime.

Commitment is Key

Committing to breaking a habit is always tough at first.  Whether it’s biting your fingernails or ditching starchy snacks, the human body resists change.  Once you get into a rhythm, it’s not easy to interrupt your body’s inertia towards a given routine.

The Livestrong Blog posted a great checklist of measures to take to begin curbing sugar intake that basically filter down into two categories; equipment and awareness.

Equipment

In order to effectively kick a habit, you’ve got to prepare yourself to do it with the necessary tools.  You’re not going to kick a sugar habit without introducing alternatives to the foods you’re avoiding, so stock up your fridge with greens and fruits to start.  When your most convenient, go-to snack becomes an apple or a salad in lieu of a candy bar, you’re already off to a great start.

Awareness

The tricky part to bad habits is that we’re not aware that we’re doing them.  It may not occur to us when we indulge on unhealthy foods, so it’s up to you to be firm in your commitment to kick sugars.

When you hit the convenience store on your way to work, do your research.  Check out nutrition labels and don’t let yourself walk out of the store with sweets.  It might help to go to the aisle with your favorite guilty snack, pick it up, and put it right back on the shelf while walking away with a smirk of self-satisfaction.

Start Now!

Everyone knows that the holiday season is one of constant temptation, so start up with the good habits now so that you have time to solidify them before Thanksgiving and Christmas.  With a renewed perspective, your new year’s resolution might finally be something else besides ‘shed the holiday gut’

Sprinkles vs. Sensibility

Who couldn’t love Halloween?  Each year, it’s a zany mix of costumes, fun and games that has appeal for all ages.  Unfortunately, all that fun comes with a heaping side of gluttony for most of us.  Whether your Halloween party takes place in your third-grade classroom or the office break room, the following debate will apply:

Sprinkles vs. Sensibility

Okay, we all know that Extend Bars have all sorts of nutritional benefits.  With 5g of fiber, 12g of protein, only 1g of net carbohydrates and the unique ability to help control blood sugar for up to nine hours, the Extend Bar is obviously the healthier choice of the two.  The cupcake, however, has SPRINKLES!!!  (nomnomnom)

It’s tough to compete with a cupcake once the mid-day munchies make themselves heard in the pit of your stomach, especially when those delicious demons are available in abundance on Halloween (and the month following).  Before you indulge, however, take a minute to evaluate some other tasty and festive options.

The Clemson Cooperative Extension has put together a list just in time for tonight’s festivities that should help to introduce some level of moderation through the holiday.  The guide helpfully suggests alternatives to fat- and sugar-laden Halloween treats and also provides some ideas for how to manage the influx of sugar in the weeks following the holiday.

It’s okay to indulge a little bit today, but it’s important not to get carried away with all of the fun.  As much as we’d all love to snarf up cookies and candy all day, sticking to three balanced meals and some leafy greens (with a cupcake somewhere in between) will let you wake up with a clear conscience tomorrow morning.

Fatten Your Conscience, Not Your Midsection

A popular option for parents trying to avoid allowing their children to binge on candy for three months is to find a place to donate it.  All sorts of programs exist that distribute candy to the sick, the less fortunate, or even soldiers overseas.

By giving away your extra sweets, you and your kids can both feel good and look good for the choices you’ve made this Halloween.