Arin Lindauer

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. sea bass (cleaned and scaled)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp. fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Lemon wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F°.
2. In a small bowl, combine garlic, olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
3. Place fish in a shallow glass or ceramic baking dish.
4. Brush fish with oil mixture.
5. Bake fish for 15 minutes, then sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Continue to bake for 5 more minutes (or until the fish flakes easily).
6. Drizzle remaining pan juices over sea bass and garnish with lemon wedges.

Nutrition Facts: Calories Per Serving: 174; Fat: 6 g; Carbohydrates: 1 g; Protein: 27 g

 

Feeling guilty about “sneaking” some “forbidden” foods…

Exercising as a way to “make up for” all those calories you ate (or as punishment)…

Binge eating because “I’ve already messed up so much today, what’s a little more?”…

This is what happens when you look at food not as food but as either a friend or a foe.

Too often, food becomes the villain in a bad B-movie. It tempts you. It controls you. It even laughs at you.

So you run to the nearest stationary bike, begging it to save you from the evil food villain. And you pedal like mad… or you do extra step classes all week… or you starve yourself for a day…

And next week the vicious cycle starts all over again. And you go to bed miserable, thinking, “I really messed up on my diet today. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

The problem is, “there’s always something…”

Because then you have this conversation in your head:

“No… I can’t try tomorrow because of that big lunch event at the office. I won’t eat any breakfast or dinner to make up for all the food I know I’ll eat at the party, and I’ll get back on the bandwagon again the day after.

“But wait, the day after is Friday and we’re going out with the Smiths to dinner. I’ll have to get back on the bandwagon on Saturday.

“Oh, wait. Even if I eat well on Saturday, there’s a soccer family potluck on Sunday afternoon. I promised to bring dessert and everyone is expecting me to bring the pistachio cake recipe they all love. And I hate to make it and not eat some of it… I’ll just have to get back on the bandwagon on Monday…”

See? There’s always something. And the way you get down on yourself because of it is “the ugly truth” about health and fitness.

So what can you do? How can you achieve your goal of shedding some pounds and feeling fit, without all the guilt, excuses, sneaking food behind people’s backs, and resulting poor self-esteem?

Now this isn’t a quick fix, but it IS the answer: It all depends on changing your perspective, your mindset.

Start by not telling yourself that some food is “good” and some is “bad”. That leads to guilt when you choose to eat the “bad” food.

Food is just food. Period. Its purpose is to nourish you… body, mind, and soul. Don’t let it nourish just your body and steal your soul.

The key is to recognize that you have choices, every day, about which foods to eat and how much, and which foods to avoid.

If you approach food with the desire to nourish yourself as best you can – body, mind, and soul – the choice becomes clear. You know which foods nourish your body. They are the single-ingredient foods. Like “raspberries”, “carrots”, “kale”, “eggs”, “onions”, etc.

Eat mostly plants, and you will nourish your body. You’ll also nourish your mind and soul, because you can feel great knowing you are taking care of yourself.

And once in a while, you get to choose a food that may not be as healthy for your body; indulging occasionally keeps you from feeling deprived. Enjoy those moments! Don’t feel guilty about them.

Let’s face it, losing weight and getting fit is hardly about the physical stuff at all. It’s not really about how many times you lift weights or how much tofu you eat.

It’s about what’s going on in your head. What you think and believe about what you’re eating and the exercise you’re doing.

Think the thought, “I love giving my body nourishing foods because it makes me feel great” over and over, and eventually it becomes a belief.

Then that belief leads to an action, where you make a choice that is good for you.

I know this isn’t easy, and maybe you need some help sorting out how to make this type of mindset a reality in your daily life. I’d love to help you!

Shoot me a message and we can set up a call to talk.

Enough with the guilt and punishment. Let’s make eating food fun again!

“Drink water, eat good food, be active, rest, relax, connect. Don’t sweat the more complex stuff until you’ve got a grip on the basics.”

I saw this on a post recently and it hit home.

Do you remember the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)?  Now I know that’s not the nicest saying but its is pretty true when you think about it.

A mentor of ours constantly asks the rhetorical question. is this the simplest way to achieve the end result or goal?

See, I have watched so many people follow these fancy meal plans only to lose steam a couple weeks in.  There was nothing wrong with the plan, but it was complicated or required a ton of work.

If we eat reasonably well, real food in correct portions will we not achieve the same results?

Following complex plans puts unnecessary stress on situations.

We have enough stress the way it is.

I thought this would be a good reminder not only for our health and wellness goals but also in life.

If crossing the river meant driving over the bridge, would you simply take the bridge in your car?

Or would you park your car, grab a ferry because the ticket was cheaper than the gas to cross the bridge but once you got to the other side of the river you had to grab an uber…you see where I am going…

We do this all the time and don’t even realize.

I will keep this message short and sweet today, 😊.

When it comes to being healthy and taking care of you, remember K.I.S.S.

Drink water daily, about half your ideal body weight in ounces or more if you exercise.

Eat relatively well, good portions, frequent small meals. – Daily

Move your body. – Daily

Take time to recharge.  At minimum every 90 days plan some down time.

Connect with friends and loved ones.

Wash rinse repeat!

You can add in some flare once you have mastered the basics.

I will add that doing the basics can be hard and I want you to know we are here to help.  Shoot me a message, I have time to jump on some calls this week and we can talk through your goals.

Keep it simple!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried)
• 2 x 16-oz. cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed & drained
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 canned plum tomatoes, drained
• 1 x 14-ounce low sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
• 2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (already cooked)
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook for about 5 minutes or until soft.
2. Add garlic and thyme; cook 1 minute.
3. Add the beans, water, tomatoes, and broth. Increase heat to high until stew begins to simmer.
4. Reduce heat; let simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add more water, if needed.
5. Stir in the spinach, and cook until wilted.
6. Add chicken; cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Nutrition Facts: Calories per serving: 502; Fat: 20 g; Carbohydrates: 41 g, Fiber: 12 g, Sugars: 3 g; Protein: 46 g

When you stop to think about all the little tiny organisms you can’t see, and how many millions…billions…of them there are, it’s pretty mind-blowing.

While many are floating around in the air, there are also hundreds of them inside your body.

No, this isn’t a new version of the movie Alien – none of them are going to try to take over your body – but in a sense, this really is a symbiotic relationship.

You thought your unique fingerprint is pretty cool, right?  What about your unique microbiome?

You have bacteria living throughout your body, but there are 300 to 500 different kinds of bacteria in your gut: especially in your intestines and colon. When paired with other tiny organisms like viruses and fungi, you get the microbiome.

And your mix of microorganisms is different from everyone else’s. It’s partly due to your mother’s microbiome that you were exposed to at birth, and partly due to your personal diet and lifestyle.

These bacteria affect everything from your metabolism to your mood to your immune system.

In fact, scientists now know that the bacteria in healthy people are different from the bacteria in people with illness and disease.

Bacteria affect your metabolism by determining how many calories you get from food, and the nutrients you can extract from it. If you have too many gut bacteria, they may turn fiber into fatty acids, leaving fat deposits in your liver. This can cause obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Too-low levels of anti-inflammatory gut bacteria can cause bowel diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, as the bacteria get off track and attack your intestines.

People with colon cancer usually have higher levels of disease-causing bacteria, and people with arthritis may have greater numbers of bacteria associated with inflammation.

And don’t forget the connection between your gut and your brain. When certain gut bacteria are off track, it can lead to anxiety or depression.

 

OK, what do you look for to see if you should check your gut health? These are some of the symptoms of an unhealthy gut:

• Your stomach never really feels “right”. Diarrhea, constipation, bloating, reflux, irritable bowel disease, colitis, nausea, and heartburn are telltale signs of gut issues.
• You crave sweets and sugars. This happens when there is too much yeast in your system. Be aware that good bacteria can sometimes be wiped out by a course of antibiotics, leaving you craving sweets due to too much yeast.
• Sudden weight changes. Some bacteria are related to weight loss, and others to weight gain.
• Anxiety or depression. The neurotransmitter serotonin – which affects mood, social behavior, sleep, appetite, memory, and libido – is produced primarily in the gut. If there is an imbalance, you may feel depressed.
• Skin rashes and/or eczema. Inflamed, red, itchy skin may indicate an imbalance in gut bacteria.
• Autoimmune diseases. Rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other forms of autoimmune diseases are affected by an imbalance in gut bacteria.

 

As you may imagine, to affect your gut bacteria, you should change the way you are eating!

Start by eating prebiotics – plant fibers that act as a kind of fertilizer for the good bacteria in your gut. These include pistachios, bananas, garlic, onion, wheat, oats, and ancient grains like quinoa, millet, or chia.

Also add fermented foods such as yogurt, kombucha, kimchi, and kefir, which naturally contain probiotics (the good bacteria).

Eat a lot less (or even eliminate) processed foods, breads, and pastas, as well as foods that are high in fat and sugar, and low in fiber.

I’m sure you can guess what you should eat, right? 🙂  Of course: plants, fruits, seeds, and nuts.

Exercise may encourage the growth of a variety of gut bacteria, which will reduce your risk of disease.

Finally, if you need to take antibiotics to fight illness, consider taking a probiotic supplement so you don’t kill off all the good bacteria, and cause more problems than you solve.

I suspect you’re noticing a pattern whenever I write to you about foods that promote health, aren’t you?

If you would like some support figuring out how to implement this type of nutrition into your daily diet, so you feel stronger, more alert, and just generally healthier, please reach out and we will set up a time to chat.

Looking forward to helping you feel great all over!

Can you believe we are already into February?

January is notorious for goal setting; how are you doing with your goals?

For most of us we have the eternal to-do list that is still not complete.  Which is completely fine as long as we are on track or can get back on track.

I remember when I was expecting first child, by this time of the pregnancy I had his room perfectly put together, clothes all washed and organized.  With anticipating our second, I am still staring at the box that is perfectly holding her crib!  YIKES!

Probably should get on that right?

It does happen to the best of us – we have a goal or end result in mind, but we keep putting it off.

We are too busy or other things keep getting in the way.

That’s life, there will always be something to distract us, something happens to us that is unfavorable or completely unexpected.

Starting anything is exciting, new, fun and when you are in the thick of it stinks.

Just think about any home improvement project.

Coming up with the idea and getting all the stuff is exciting until you are on week whatever and you have run into another snag.

You want to give up.

BUT…

When it is complete it is beautiful.  Looking at Leo’s room I was so happy and could visualize bringing him home into his beautiful room.

Or let’s say you are remodeling your kitchen…it sounded great in the beginning right.  But about a week in you are over it.

You grit and persevere through the plumbing issue, cut twice measure once…kidding.

This is what happens with health and wellness goals.  We can see the end result and we want it.  Week one we are cool.

Heck even week two we feel alright, but 4, plus weeks in and were getting tempted or got the flu, cold, traveled.  Lots of life will get inserted in a month’s time.

It is February, keep getting after it or pick up where you left off.

Hard work and perseverance is always worth it in the end!  Finish what you set out to do, you will never regret it.  If you get stuck along the way problem solve.

Also enlist the help of someone who has been there before.

I would give anything to sit down with my Grandpa again and listen to his stories of how he got through things.  Also, I will never forget sitting at the dining room table and my Grandpa said to me, “why don’t you Google it!” (Thank you, Grandpa!)

Finish what you started, it is always worth it.

Have a wonderful day and if you need anything shoot me a message!