Spring Recharge: 8 Tips for a Healthy Seasonal Transformation
The months of being cooped up inside, bundled up under layers, and craving unhealthy comfort foods are almost behind you.
Summer is just around the corner, and while you may be welcoming the new season with open arms, you may also be wondering if you're really ready for what the warm weather brings: bathing suit season.
If you're someone who's been putting off your fitness or weight-loss goals or haven't been keeping your healthy habits consistent, you may feel a little pressure to get moving.
Are you ready to jump right into regular workouts? Ready to bare your bathing suit body? What do new seasonal beginnings actually look like?
Here are eight tips to a Spring recharge:
- Eat this, not that
- Have on-the-road ready snacks
- Eat bloat-less bites
- Pre-workout foods
- Post-workout foods
- Have a different attitude
- Make healthy habits
- Break down larger goals
Health Expert Trishna Joshi shares eight tips to help transform your winter body into bathing suit ready.
Featuring:
Trishna Joshi, Health Expert
Trishna Joshi holds a Bachelors of Science in Dietetics and Nutrition and her experience includes Miami VA Healthcare System, Miami Children's Hospital, Florida Department of Health WIC Programs in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties and Miami-Dade County Public Schools Department of Food and Nutrition Program.
Transcription:
RadioMD Presents: HER Radio | Original Air Date: April 9, 2015
Host: Michelle King Robson and Pam Peeke, MD
It's all about her. Her body. Her mind. Her wellness. Her sex. Her relationships. Her aging. Her beauty. It's HER Radio starring acclaimed entrepreneur and women's advocate, Michelle King Robson and leading women's health expert, the doc who walks the talk, Dr. Pam Peeke.
PAM: You know, Michelle, when it gets warmer out there?
MICHELLE: Yes?
PAM: You know what we're doing? We're revealing those arm, leg, and body parts that we've been shielding from the public exposure...
MICHELLE: Wait. Wait. Wait.
PAM: ...in all of our winter clothes.
MICHELLE: Are you talking about getting into a bathing suit? Is that what you're really talking about here, Pam?
PAM: Oh. Do we have to go there?
MICHELLE: I'm thrilled to be able to get into a suit. I lost 20 pounds from my surgery.
PAM: Well.
MICHELLE: But, everything's gone south.
(laughter)
PAM: Yeah. Yeah. I know. In other words, sort of hanging out now, isn't it?
MICHELLE: Exactly.
PAM: But, you know, this is a big deal for so many people...
MICHELLE: Yeah.
PAM: ...who have to reveal their bodies and all the rest of this and I want to make sure everyone understands "caution". You're entering the no shame or blame zone. That means that we're loving our bodies. We're all about health or wellness, so when we're looking at a little spring regrouping and recharging, that's really what this is all about and we have Trishna Joshi, who is a health expert and has studied dietetics and nutrition, who's going to help us understand how one goes about this transformation from hiding in the winter to getting on out there and taking better care of yourself as the warm weather starts up in the spring and the summer. We want to go out there and have some fun. So, Trishna, welcome to HER Radio.
What's a first easy step someone could take to be able to help with their seasonal transformation?
TRISHNA: Good afternoon. Well, thank you for having me.
For many people, spring arrives any time between March and mid-May. So, during that transition from winter to spring, there are certain foods that we can keep in mind and incorporate into our daily routine to help with like mucus build-up and cleansing our digestive system to cope with the weather. So, ginger, turmeric and dandelion are actually the first roots that come to mind. These are harvested in early spring and they're really great additions to tea and to salad dressings and just as seasonings to what you cook on a daily basis. These actually help our bodies to naturally rid themselves of toxins and mucus that build up and accumulate over the winter.
So, when we're feeling congested and we feel that uncomfortable sinus pressure, these roots can really help, in addition to garlic. Garlic is excellent for our respiratory tract and it really helps protect us against allergens and to alleviate the symptoms that go along with allergies.
PAM: Trishna? Trishna, one of the things that you're bringing up is a sort of a "eat this, not that" sort of thing and we're swapping out heavy foods with lighter variations that will satisfy cravings, but also being very smart about that. So, you know, when we're looking at these 8 tips, we've got the "eat this, not that". So, the next one could be...What is it there, Michelle?
MICHELLE: It's on the road ready snacks.
PAM: Yeah, I know. So, tell us about that, Trishna.
TRISHNA: Absolutely. So, during the season, you know, the weather's getting warmer, so we're going to more festivals or we're taking more road trips, so in this case, it's important to remember that snacks can be nutritious, healthy, but also taste good. So, if you're going on a road trip, you can take something like fresh cut seasonal fruit with you. Incorporate some proteins and vegetables like broccoli florets, some grape tomatoes. Those are great, especially if you add them with kind of a hummus dip or peanut butter. Something with protein to really help to curb your appetite so you're less likely to reach for those junk foods or gas station staples. It's all about being prepared.
MICHELLE: Right. So exercise eats. What do you eat when you're exercising?
TRISHNA: When you're exercising, it's important to have a combination of protein and carbohydrates and the reason is because our nutritional goal when we're exercising is to enhance our performance and to stay hydrated and to sustain our energy. So, when we're having protein, that really helps to reduce muscle damage and speed recovery, and for toning and building muscles as well. Carbs, of course, are fuel so it's important that before you exercise, you can try and have a meal that's balanced with protein and carbohydrates, about 2 or 3 hours before your workout and, if that's not possible, have a little snack. So, even if it's berries and yogurt or a glass of almond milk or hummus and vegetables, maybe 30 minutes before your workout, that'll definitely help to energize you as well. It's also important as well, after you work out to make sure that you're fueling with extra protein, again to help with muscle recovery.
PAM: Excellent. One other thing that you brought up here, too, is in the tips. This whole issue of the power perspective. Rather than approaching the layer shedding season with a knee-jerk response of sweating it, anxiety, dread, how about changing your perspective? What does that mean, Trishna?
TRISHNA: Absolutely. So, I actually work with the fresh diet. Here, we really emphasize transforming our lives through food. We provide healthy food delivery service with a pure transformational goals and it really helps to increase your energy...
PAM: Right. Okay. But one of the things that I would really like to do is really stick to this issue of the power of perspective. I think it's really important. You step into a variety of different perspectives when you're trying to go through a transformation. What if I succeed? What if I did nothing? I feel sexy. It's fun. You know? It's all about listening to your body's reactions to these new perspectives. If anything, what it is, is reframing what's going on out there. It's reframing and I think that that's incredibly important. That goes hand in hand with the whole issue of goal setting.
Let's go for this mindset reset on the goal. Would you tell us about that, Trishna?
MICHELLE: The defense knockdown.
TRISHNA: Yeah. Absolutely. Mindful eating is so important and that's, you know, for clients who are looking to lose weight because, you know, we've been wearing coats and chunky sweaters and have been covered up for so many months, that, you know, it can be quite stressful and daunting to think of the warmer weather and clothing. Also, when we go to the doctors and we have physicals or we want to fit in our skinny jeans, mindful eating is so important. So, it's good to make sure that we're not focusing on the negative and self-sabotage and we're focusing on the positive. It's a new day. We're focusing on healthy ingredients and when I think of spring, I think of spring cleaning. So, that's not necessarily the actual spring cleaning, but spring cleaning our body as well and making sure that we're changing out the foods that we're eating. Health ingredients and a healthy mindset go hand in hand.
PAM: Oh, I love that. That's a very strong message. So, you know, switching out, swapping out the heavy foods for lighter variations. You know, as Michelle had noted, making sure you've got those road ready snacks because it's so terribly important to stay satisfied.
Don't forget bloatless bites. That was something really interesting as I was studying this with Michelle. You know, it's that combination of fiber and potassium from bananas that helps reduce water retention. That was really kind of a cool tip and really making sure that you've got what you need pre-workout, post work-out, when you're eating. That strong power perspective. You know, really setting a goal that's realistic. At the end of the day, really becoming someone who is taking this transformation seriously and is doing this gradually—not being unrealistic on the overall. I think that's really important.
MICHELLE: And, don't beat yourself up, too, Pam. We can't beat ourselves up.
PAM: Oh, yeah.
MICHELLE: Because we just have to start over again every single day.
PAM: That's right. And make sure we've got that down. So, Trishna, thank you very much for being on HER Radio.
I'm Dr. Pam Peeke with Michelle King Robson.
MICHELLE: So, don't forget. Eat this, not that. On the road ready snacks is really important. Bloatless bites, exercise eats, the power of perspective. Also, you want to make sure that you defense knockdown, go for the goal and be a workout warrior.
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