You survived the holidays and now we are going into to the cold dark dead of winter. It's gray, cold and nasty and you really just want to stay in bed all day. You can't get motivated to get to your gym and would rather eat crappy food and veg. You know its not right but what is wrong???
You are probably lacking in Vitamin D. Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin is produced by the skin with exposure to the sun. But in the winter you never get that exposure and even in the summer you are most likely not getting much.
If live north of 40 degrees latitude you cannot get enough sun even at midday in the winter. That's Denver or Philly. In the summer most people have been scared to death of skin cancer. But the truth is the odds of getting caner from sun exposure is very slight, even for very fair skinned people. Using SPF of 8 or higher blocks exactly those rays that your body needs to create Vitamin D and does very little to prevent sunburn.
The problems caused by lack of Vitamin D far outweigh the risk of skin cancer [Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 2003 April; 2(2):86-98]A. Some of the diseases caused by lack of Vitamin D include:
Here we go again. Another Thanksgiving is just a few days away and many of you have probably already started eating poorly. STOP! Don't throw away all your hard earned gains (well losses actually).
Here's what you can eat and what to avoid for the rest of the week and throughout the holiday season.
Eat:
Lot's of fresh, steamed veggies but minimal butter and salt
Lean meat (sirloin, bison), lean turkey or chicken (white meat), fish (cod, haddock, perch, tilapia, trout, whitefish) - preferably organic
Salads
fresh fruits (apples, oranges,mangoes, bananas) but sparingly
Grains with long cooking time like long grain wild rice, steel cut oatmeal, barley. The longer it takes to cook the more nutritious it is.
Don't Eat:
Fast Food (you should never eat fast food)
desserts
Cereals
Breads
Corn
Soy
Cookies
Candy
Sodas
In Moderation and preferably only on Thanksgiving Day:
Alcohol
Small portions of pie, potatoes, etc
If you stick to a good diet throughout the week and the entire holiday season, you can eat pretty much whatever you want on Thanksgiving Day. On Friday you need to get right back to your proper eating habits of 4 to 5 small meals spread throughout the day and making sure you have a lean protein and complex carbs at every meal. Breads and cereals are not complex carbs!
On Thanksgiving Day eat normally up until the big meal. Don't go to Thanksgiving dinner on an empty stomach. Eat something like a bowl of oatmeal (the good kind, not the junk in packets) with some berries and peanut butter mixed in. That will fill you up and make it less likely you'll over-eat. It will also make it easier to get back on track Friday.
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