POST QUARANTINE REBOOT

Post Quarantine Reboot Written By: Dina Garcia, RDN, LDN

Do you feel like life in quarantine threw everything off schedule? Have you fallen into unhealthy eating habits? Do you think you need to go on a “strict diet” to get back to yourself?

The feeling of needing to go on a restrictive diet or start a new weight loss plan after getting out of routine, such as going on vacation, an extended holiday, or experiencing an emotional event is not unusual. However, the act of restrictive eating, creating a list of food rules, and setting strict routines is not the answer.

This month I’m empowering you with simple but effective ways to reboot your health while breaking free from adding unnecessary (and often ineffective) food and exercise rules and restrictions.

Drink Up. Being adequately hydrated helps your body function at optimal levels. When dehydrated, you feel sluggish and have an increase in sugar cravings for a quick energy boost. Drinking water helps boost your metabolism, eliminate waste, re-energize your body, and much more.

Reboot Action: Drink at least eight to ten eight-ounce glasses of water per day. Start the day with hot water and lemon juice. Take a mid-morning and mid-afternoon break with green, black, white, or herbal tea. Drink at least eight ounces of water before your meals.

Create meals and snacks centered around fresh vegetables, fruit, beans, legumes, whole grains, and plant-based fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds. As you shift from packaged foods to more plantbased foods, monitor how well you feel. What are the positive shifts you are noticing?

Reboot Action: Keep a journal to reflect on how your health is improving. Do you have more energy? Are you sleeping better? Are you experiencing a decrease in cravings? Have you seen an improvement in your skin? Are your clothes fitting better? Creating awareness of positive changes fuels your motivation to continue to healthy habits.

One struggle client share with me in maintaining a healthy weight is not planning nutritious meals and snacks. When life gets busy, it’s tempting to forgo the veggies and just head to the drive thru. The thing about relying on the quick and easy options is this usually means your meals are higher in fat, sodium, and calories. However, a little time planning and preparing for the upcoming week can keep you stocked with foods that empower your health and the choices you make. Use the weekend to plan meals and snacks. Consider dividing up planning and prep steps into different days to make it less overwhelming.

Reboot Action: Start by pre-chopping veggies for salads and stir fry, boiling eggs, grilling chicken, and making soup. Double up your recipes and freeze half for another night of the month. When planning your meals, plan for what you will cook as well as leftovers. It’s okay to even plan for the nights you plan to eat out or pick up, the secret to success is in the planning.

Research has shown that you are more likely to eat what’s in front of you based on the size of your plate. Which means, the larger the platter, the larger your portion. An easy solution is to downsize your dishware. And this doesn’t have to be done just for dinner; this is a great tip to practice at breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

Reboot Action: How can you use smaller plates, bowls, and glasses? Swap the dinner plate with the salad plate? Shop for old vintage dinnerware? Please send me an email on how you plan to do this.

Bypass the Booze. It’s no secret that empty calories from beverages can add up. Not only do the calories from booze add to your waistline, but they can also inhibit your willpower to make healthy food and lifestyle choices. The result? You consume more calories and end up sleeping in for your morning sweat session.

Sweat Daily. Participate in regular exercise that gets your heart pumping. Besides burning calories, activity is essential to boosting your mood and reducing stress. During exercise, your body releases endorphins, making you feel good and increasing the motivation to eat well and find joy in day-to-day life.

Reboot Action: Start interval training. Interval training is alternating short bursts (about 30 seconds) of intense activity with longer intervals (three to four minutes) of less intense activity.

For example: if walking, add short bursts of jogging into your regular brisk walks. If running, add sprints. You can also incorporate weight training with high-intensity cardio workouts for a HIIT workout.

Don’t Skimp on Sleep. Not getting enough sleep can get your whole body off balance and ultimately affect your food choices. Sleep deprivation can decrease leptin, the hormone that tells your brain when you’re full, and increases ghrelin, the appetite-stimulating hormone.

Reboot Action: Create a bedtime routine that helps you unwind and relax. Avoid electronic stimulation from the TV, computer, and the phone. Drinking hot tea, dimming the light, and reading will calm your mind and body as you prepare for a good night’s sleep.

Freeze Dried Raspberries 1 oz. Mango 1 oz. Raspberries

Squeeze of Orange

Squeeze of Lime 4 oz. Mango LaCroix

1. Freeze-Dried Raspberry Rim. 2. Muddle Mango and Raspberries. 3. Squeeze Orange and Lime. 4. Add Ice and Mango LaCroix. 5. Stir and Garnish.

Fun Round of Golf at Longtime PGA Tour site TPC-Four Seasons Resort with Cart Full Use of Tournament PGA Tour Practice Facilities Buffet Dinner at Historic Byron Nelson Golf School Team Awards, Tourney Gifts, Stories & Surprises Relaxed, fun format, play your own ball. 6 feet apart from all! 1 P.M. Tee Times!

Friends, it’s been Tough Year in golf, Let’s end it with a Fun Fall Outing! I don’t need to tell you that 2020 has been the strangest of all golf and travel years. Great trips we had planned were gone, fun trips to the Ryder Cup and Atlantic, Canada vanished (the November Masters No fans!). So how better to end the year on a good note, but with a fun afternoon of golf and dinner at the Fabulous TPC Four Seasons in closeby, drivable Irving, Texas, on Thursday, October 8.

Third Annual Art of Golf Classic at the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Dallas, Championship Course. The one-day tournament, set for Thursday, Oct. 8,includes gifts, prizes, a golf clinic and a chance to play the same course the PGA Tour’s best battled for 25 years.

October 13-15, 2020

November 9-15, 2020

April 5-11, 2021 Extremely limited Badges & Lodging still available.

August 23-25, 2021