Making It A Priority

Let's talk about it.

Many of us put our health on the back burner. We might continually tell ourselves that we will start eating healthy when...

Of course, everything ebbs and flows in life. We have times when we are busier and what's fastest seems to be the only way when it comes to food. I get it. One of the crucial parts of taking care of ourselves is being able to slow down. I mean it. It's so easy to neglect ourselves when we're busy.

This week, this month, this year, practice slowing down.

Take time to pack your lunch for work or if you don't have time to do that, take time to make a good meal at night.

We know in our culture the work never stops, but it is necessary to put our health as a priority.

It might not be easy, but eventually, it will be necessary.

Cauliflower Stir-Fry

Over the weekend, we decided to make lettuce wraps.

Noah went to the grocery store to pick everything up and I had a few things in the fridge that I never know what to do with... cauliflower being one of those things.
I had seen the week before some idea for a stir-fry recipe and someone had made one using cauliflower instead of doing fried rice. I thought it was a great idea!

Noah, doesn't tend to be a healthy eater. Often he grumbles when I make food at how healthy everything is...

So lately, I have been trying to sneak it in.

While he was busy doing other things, I quickly got a skillet out, put some coconut oil in the pan, and cut up the head of cauliflower I had. I chopped it pretty thinly into small crumbles and added garlic powder, black pepper, and some red chili for some heat. I let it cook for about 5 minutes and then added in some carrots. It was really easy. I didn't use a recipe and you can do everything to taste.
You could also use some tamari sauce, or low-sodium soy sauce, along with ginger dressing.

Noah put the ground beef on the stove, and we used a head of butter lettuce for our "taco shells." It was great and even Noah liked it, so I highly recommend, especially if you have grumbles from family about healthy eating. **Seriously, they won't even notice what the cauliflower is!

10 Ways to De-Stress Your Mind and Your Body

There’s good stress … and then there’s bad stress. Do you know the difference? And how are you dealing yours? It’s important to be aware of what stresses you out, so you can build a relationship with your biggest stressors and manage the way you react to them.

Some stress is healthy … it kicks in to protect you in times of need and gives you a sense of focus when you’re about to take a test or give a presentation. It motivates you to rise to the occasion. And in times of emergency, stress can actually save your life.

Then there is the type of stress that is harmful. It can cause physical, mental, and emotional aches and pains. It can cause your body and mind to overreact to situations, resulting in digestive problems, weight fluctuation, heart disease, depression, and a host of other issues that no one desires or deserves.

It’s time to manage the good, the bad, and the ugly faces of stress in your life. Here are 10 tried-and-true ways to manage your stress, so you can get on the path to living a healthy and balanced life.

Number 1: Identify Your Stress Triggers

Recognizing the triggers to your stressful reactions is an important first step in managing your stress. True, it might be impossible to remove life’s stresses, but understanding the things that stress you out—and in what ways—is particularly helpful in solving the underlying problems.

What stresses you out? And how do you react to it? There are a host of physical and mental reactions to stress, and everyone reacts differently. Understanding how it manifests in your life is the first step to finding balance.

Read More: Learn about common symptoms of stress, and tips for how to identify your biggest stressors

Number 2: Get Some Exercise

Moving your body is important to combat stressful reactions, and prevent them from arising in the future. When you keep your body in peak condition, you feel lighter and more energized, leaving you prepared to manage life’s stresses.

No matter what your fitness level may be, the central key is simply to move your body every day. Identifying the type or types of exercise that you most enjoy—and those best suited to your mind-body type, or dosha—will be key to developing a regular exercise routine.

Read More: Learn more about how to create the best exercise routine for you

Number 3: Find Stillness Every Day

Meditation is one of the best tools you have to counteract stress, and your brain’s bias to hold onto negativity.

In meditation, your body actually releases stress and reverses the effects of the flight-or-fight response. This response was really intended to be a short-term mechanism to protect you from perceived danger, which rarely comes in handy nowadays. And the stress generated within you from the response can be harmful to your health.

Read More: Find out more about how meditation can help you manage your stress and improve your balance

Number 4: Eat Well

Nourishing your body with the right food will give you the energy you need to tackle what life brings you, including stress.

Every body has different nutritional requirements, and Ayurveda teaches us that dietary plan should be based on an understanding of your unique mind-body type, or dosha. If you’re stressed out, what you’re eating is a great thing to look at, as different doshas are triggered by different foods. It’s important to make conscious eating choices with your unique dosha in mind.

Read More: Learn more about how to eat to find a better balance

Number 5: Sleep to Combat Stress

Are you getting enough Zzzz’s? Restful sleep is an essential key to staying healthy and strong. When you’re well-rested, you can approach stressful situations more calmly, yet sleep is so often neglected or underemphasized.

The key is making sure you’re not only getting enough sleep, but that the quality of sleep you’re getting is restful and restorative.

Read More: How to get a good night’s sleep

Number 6: Hit the Road

Taking annual vacations is really good for you. Ask your doctor: it appears that going on vacation may not be an icing-on-the-cake type of indulgence—it may actually be necessary for good health.

But multi-week, exotic getaways aren’t always an option with the many responsibilities that come with life. Whether you have the time and money to head out on a European tour, or can simply afford a long weekend that’s close to home, yet away from the grind, planning a break is a great tool for reducing stress. Plus, it gives you something to look forward to.

Read More: Find more reasons to plan a getaway to reduce stress

Number 7: Create a Gratitude Practice

Gratitude is a powerful force that you can use to expand your happiness, improve your health, and—you guessed it—helps you cope with stress.

Many scientific studies, including research by renowned psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, have found that people who consciously focus on gratitude, experience greater emotional wellbeing and physical health than those who don’t.

Read More: Learn more about the healing power of gratitude, and how to begin your gratitude practice

Number 8: Create Cushions in Your Calendar

If you’re reading this, you probably have a busy schedule, which is one contributor to stress. When you have a lot on your plate, you end up hurrying through the day and multitasking, which will only exacerbate stress levels.

Creating cushions in your schedule is a good tactic to reduce your risk for stress. Leave yourself enough time between getting from point A to point B—whether getting to and from meetings, classes, or getting from home to work to dinner plans—to help diffuse potential stressors that may arise that are out of your control. For example, if you know that you have to be on time to your 9 a.m. meeting and it takes you 20 minutes to get to work, leave yourself 30 so you don’t have to rush or get stressed out if you hit traffic.

Read More:  Learn more about how to manage your time to manage your stress

Number 9: Say Cheese

No one can deny the mind-body connection. But how much power does the body have over the mind?

Research has found that even a phony smile can help you handle stress. So if you’re looking for a way out of stress, you’ll need to smile more.

Read More:  Learn more about how small changes in your body and facial expressions can impact your stress levels

Number 10: Stop Should-ing Yourself

Do you do things in your life because you want to … or because you should? Are you paying attention to the signs the universe is sending you and the guidance you feel deep in your soul? Because we’re so full of ideas and judgments about what we should and shouldn’t do, we tend to ignore the best advice we get—the guidance from our soul.

Lissa Rankin, M.D. has a lot to say about what you should pay attention to … and what you shouldn’t.

Article from the Chopra Center: http://www.chopra.com/articles/10-ways-to-de-stress-your-mind-and-body#sm.0000ql1xipq95dmct6z2mr0zie4id

How do you want to feel?

Today’s Worksheet (it’s a big one!): Core Desired Feelings

feelings: sensations; emotions; inner states; consciousness; inner 
world.

goal: everything you work toward; the objective of your strategy; the 
whole point.

FEELING
How do you want to feel in your life?

Do a stream-of-consciousness riff: concepts, words, feelings, images. This is about optimal, positive, nourishing, and good — very good — feelings. Put them on paper. Let a tsunami of desire flood you. Invest in yourself. Want what you want. Go.

Pattern Recognition 
Study your list of desired feelings. read it over a few times. Read it out loud if you’re inclined. Sleep on it. Take it for a walk. What jumps out at you, feels warm, feels yes!,feels really important and valuable? Identify the words or concepts that really turn you on.

The objective of this exercise is to narrow down your list to three to five desired feelings. Whittle it down; make some tough choices. Having a tough time choosing between, say, creative and artistic, or strong and powerful? Try this: Look up the definitions of words. Each word is its own planet, and knowing the actual definition and origin can be instantly illuminating.

Repetitive questioning. This is a potentially annoying, galvanizing little minde trick: Keep asking yourself how a feeling feels. Get underneath its skin. Like this:

So, what does confidence feel like?
(Answer with the first thing that comes to mind.)
“It feels like winning.”

What does confidence feel like?
“It feels like being certain.”

What does confidence feel like?
“It feels like ... clarity.”

Bingo. What you really desire to feel is clarity.

Write each word you’re considering on its own sticky note, even if it’s ten words. Stick them on the fridge for a day, or around your computer monitor, and see how they make you feel. You’ll start to see how confidence is really summed up with the word strong, or how beautiful, classy, and elegant are present in one word: graceful. Toss the sticky notes that don’t make the cut and see what you’re left with after a few days.

Set a deadline for yourself. “By Saturday, I’ll be clear on my core desired feelings and that’s that.” Don’t sweat it. This isn’t a test. You can change your mind later, have an aha moment, and recalibrate it all when you wake up.

Act the way you want to feel
Five to ten accomplishments or experiences that will make me feel this way:

• Three things I will do today to generate these feelings.

Three things I will do this week to generate these feelings.

Three things I will do this quarter to generate these feelings.

Something to add to your daily routine:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4769/Why-You-Should-Drink-Warm-Water-Lemon.html

The Zero Mountain Health and Wellness Challenge

Experts say it takes 21 days of doing something new for it to become a habit. It definitely takes repeated effort. When we try something new our brain resists because it’s not used to the new way of doing things. It goes against the neuron rut that your brain has created.
Our brains normally take the path of least resistance in life and whatever rut your brain has created is what you do without thinking. It’s your default programming so to speak (from http://blisshealthcoaching.com/32-healthy-habits-change-life/).

Through this 21-Day Challenge, the key is just to become aware of patterns. Without judgment, without criticism just beginning to notice how you might handle stress, loneliness, boredom, anger, sadness, and worry. One of the things that is essential in understanding our relationship to ourselves is understanding how we cope and deal with the outside world.

This isn't something that is focused on necessarily. When we are young we might hold things in that make us feel sad or upset, or we might cry and get angry. As adults, we might go home and have a couple glasses of wine to wind down and relax. There is nothing wrong with this, but at the same time, we have to look at the intentions behind why we do what we do.

Why do we eat what we eat? Why do we come home and feel the need to continue working? Are we really busy? Are we avoiding? What is our relationship to approval? What is our relationship to our own value?

These are things we will explore for the next few weeks.

The way we nourish ourselves is a by-product of how we feel, with that we can get into healthy habits or a vicious cycle.

The first thing we are going to begin doing: 
In the morning, right when you wake up, write down five things you are grateful for.

The "F" Word

When I was down in Fort Smith yesterday, Kathy Karsten and I were talking about the highs and lows of growth. She said something that made me pause as I was walking out the door, "You have to fail forward." Each of us has probably experienced some version or another of our own perceived "failure." Whether it be a "failure" to do something, "failing" to succeed at something, the list can go on forever, but is there such a thing as failure? Especially when more often than not, it is our perceived "failure" that moves us forward. Life is always teaching us. We get to work and we're learning every day. We go home and we're learning every day. When we take away the power of letting things define our success, failure becomes neutral. It's no longer good or bad, because what failure really means is that we're trying, and if we're trying, we're moving forward. So often, in my own life, and through talking to others, I see where our perceived failures keep us stuck. We get trapped in our own circumstances, or in other words our own "stories." We have them. Some of us carry them around with us. We bring them to work, we bring them home... they sound something like this, "I've never been healthy, so I'm not going to be healthy." "I don't have time to take care of myself. I have too many other things to do." "I'm too old." "I'm too fat." "I'm not smart enough." "Why would it matter?" "It's too late." All of these statements in some way or another disempower us. There is no perceived failure that is a dead end. There is no failure, except the failure to try.

At Zero Mountain, the value is in what we give every day. It doesn't mean that there won't be mistakes, growing pains or days that are stressful. As long as we keep trying, every day, to show up and make a difference, that's what matters most. So, keep going... as long as you're "failing forward," you're getting somewhere.

Wellness: It's more than what you eat

The most vital thing that we have in our life is our wellness. Our wellness presides over everything including relationship, career, health, vitality, energy, etc. It is easy to get busy, to get swept up in stress and activity,  this week is about balance, finding and creating balance within your life to benefit you.

Starting with these simple things:
1. Eat More Veggies
2. Drink Plenty of Water
3. Sleep
4. Move/Exercise
5. Connect (this can be taking time to do yoga, be with friends/family, church group, social group, running group, book club, volunteer, etc.)
6. Put down the processed food. If it's in a package, unless it's almonds, cashews or pistachios, skip it
7. Unplug. Take time away from your phone and computer. At the end of the day, unplug.
8. Eat a meal with someone you love
9. Quiet time. Whether you go on a quiet walk or simply have a few moments of quiet when you wake up in the morning, give yourself space to listen to your body
10. Do your best, let go of the rest

The way we nourish ourselves, ultimately reflects how we value ourselves. This week take time to value you; your time, energy, gifts are all a part of you. Living well is a balance, to find balance we have to take time to notice what we need and what we don't need.

Use this week to reenergize, recharge and get grounded. 

Quick Tips on Fast Food

It happens. We're on the road, traveling, in need of a quick bite, we all know fast food happens. Here is a list of tips for healthy fast food on the road.

A quick rundown on some of the smartest menu options at some of the nation’s most popular restaurant chains:

McDonald’s

Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich

Calories          350
Total Fat         9g
Carbs             42g
Protein           28g
Sodium          820mg

Although the typical “go-to” healthy option is a salad, I would recommend ordering the grilled chicken classic sandwich instead at McDonald’s. It’s more filling, offers a good amount of protein, and is portable. Pair it with some fruit and a black coffee for a complete meal from Mickey D’s that you don’t have to feel guilty about.  In fact, you’ll be lovin’ it. 

Subway

Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki 6″ Sub

Calories          370
Total Fat         4.5g
Carbs             57g
Protein           25g
Sodium          770mg

For a great lunch option without sacrificing flavor, consider choosing the sweet onion teriyaki sub. Just choose the half-foot option! The fat content is extremely low and there’s no fat in the tasty sauce (oh, and definitely avoid buying that bag of chips or cookie in the checkout line). 

Burger King

Whopper Jr.

Calories          350
Total Fat         21g
Carbs             28g
Protein           12g
Sodium          640mg

A flame-broiled classic, the Whopper Jr. with cheese packs less than 400 calories. On the side you can also add a small salad and some juice. There’s no reason you can’t eat like a king every once and a while when you’re watching your eating. 

Starbucks

Tall Cafe Americano

Calories          15
Total Fat         0g
Carbs             3g
Protein           1g

Caffeine is a trucker’s best friend. But, believe it or not, all those fancy caffeinated beverages can add up in the calories. Instead of drinking up all that sugar and calories, stick to a classic like a tall caffé Americano—which is essentially just a plain black coffee in Starbucks language. Although in all honesty, there are way cheaper places to get that cup-o-joe fix anyway.

Taco Bell

Fresno Style Bean Burrito

Calories          330
Total Fat         7g
Carbs             39g
Protein           28g
Sodium          1,120mg

Thinking outside the bun? Try the fresno style bean burrito. It’s only 330 calories and can be a afternoon snack. But, with this item, you should still be cautious if you’re on a low-sodium diet.

General fast-food rules to live by:

• Avoid fried sides (AKA fries and onion rings)
• Don’t drink your calories (forego milkshakes, sugary coffee drinks, and soda)
• Beware of condiments in calories! Adding that extra BBQ sauce can also add a bunch of hidden calories to your meal)

Being healthy can be difficult at time. But, one of the most important things you can do is plan for the best—-but prepare for the worst. So next time you find yourself with no other choice but to fuel your hunger with some drive-thru dinner—just think about it differently. Making smarter choices is easy and you don’t necessarily need to sacrifice time or energy to stick to your diet.

via Healthy Trucker 

The Gift of Wellness

One of the most vital and critical parts of life is our state of wellness. When we feel good, we're able to accomplish more, be there for others, be there for ourselves and really work hard to fulfill what we want in our life. Life is a gift. We know this. How we treat it, spend it and use it however, is up to us. As we head into September, we might already be feeling a shift. The weather has cooled down, the light is a little different in the mornings and nature is beginning to suggest change. We're changing all the time, what we need is changing all the time and at Zero Mountain, I am here to help facilitate positive change when it comes to overall health and wellness. Some of you know that I have a yoga studio up in Fayetteville called Maitri Yoga. The word maitri (my-tree), means loving-kindness to oneself. The reason why I chose this name is because from the moment I stepped onto my yoga mat, I felt a change. There was a shift and after I got home from class I wrote that I had just experienced the beginning of everything. It's amazing how one moment can change our life. It's incredible how someone's words can affect us so deeply and how life is always giving us what we need. It's taken me a long time to learn how to take care of myself. In fact, it's a work-in progress every single day. Through the years, since I was about 22 I have worked really hard to heal my body and my life. I went from feeling disconnected, depleted, tired, out of touch, distant, emotionally drained, not looking or feeling like myself to feeling connected, rejuvenated, grounded, present, emotionally available and looking/feeling like myself, my true self. Life is busy. We work, we have obligations, families, things to take care of, mouths to feed and a day to get through, but it's better to be thriving rather than surviving, trust me. However, it takes a commitment to yourself; to your health, to your feelings, to your needs, to your body, heart and mind. We have the power to take care of ourselves and get what we need. Here are some things I have learned through the years, that I wanted to share with you guys.

1. Love Yourself. Unconditionally. No exceptions

2. Forgive Yourself. Yep. Forgive yourself for the times when you didn't know better, didn't take care of yourself and were hard on yourself. Forgive yourself when you didn't love yourself.

3. Get Rest. Take breaks. 

4. Eat like you love yourself. When you're body is hungry, feed it with nutrients

5. Listen to your body. You know that quote, "You know more than you think." It's true. All we have to do is listen.

I am graduating with my license as a wellness coach. We have been trained to be holistic health and wellness counselors and I would love to share this with all of you. I have learned a lot, not only through this program, but in my own journey. 

This September: Live well. Love well. Work well. 

Summer is here

What does that mean? Your body needs different foods in the summer than in the winter. It might be obvious to you, you might feel it, but it also might not be obvious at all. In Ayurveda, which is the ancient system of creating balance within the body, there is a distinct difference in the way we take care of our bodies throughout the year. Summer is the season of Pitta. Pitta is fire. It's hotter, there's more inflammation.

Here are a list of veggies to place emphasis on in the summer months to stay cool, calm and hydrated via lifespa:

Alfalfa Sprouts *Artichokes *Asparagus Avocados Bean Sprouts *Beet greens *Bell Peppers *Bitter Melon *Broccoli *Cabbage *Cauliflower *Celery Chicory *Cilantro Collard Greens *Cucumbers *Dandelion Eggplant Endive *Fennel Green Beans

*Jicama *Kale *Lettuce Mushrooms Mustard Greens *Okra Parsley Peas Pumpkin *Radishes (moderation) *Seaweed *Snow Peas Spinach (moderation) *Squash, Acorn Squash, Winter Sweet Potatoes Swiss Chard Tomatoes (sweet) Turnip Greens *Watercress *Zucchini

The Benefits:

Of Dark Chocolate...

And, yes I eat it every day.

What are you Investing in?

             

Hi Zero Mountain Family,

It has been a while. I hope the spring is finding everyone well. There is such new vitality in the air around this time of year. We start to brush off the dust from the winter hibernation and all the sudden everything begins to bloom. With all this new energy, there is a time and a place to start fresh.

I was thinking earlier today about investments. Maybe it's the tax season... or simply the reality that what we invest in is important to the quality of our life. Time is priceless. How we spend our energy makes up how we spend our days, which becomes how we spend a lot of our life. We work, we might spend time with family, our dogs, our cats, our friends, we may cook, clean, work out and although, this all may feel mundane there is such a blessing in each and every day. How we invest in it makes all the difference. Each day is a new beginning, a fresh start, so to make it count choose to invest in it.

1. Wake up with Gratitude.
2. Choose an affirmation: Yep, wake up and remind yourself that you are whole, complete, powerful, worthy, strong, capable, beautiful, loving and awesome
3. Drink Water
4. Move Daily
5. Hug. That's right, hug someone. It releases oxytocin, the feel good hormone
6. Eat Well and with people you care about as often as you can. Sharing meals also releases oxytocin.
7. Choose veggies
8. Eat some dark chocolate
9. Do something that makes your heart happy, every day.
10. Sleep

What to Eat?

I often have a hard time deciding what to eat. I'll reach for something conveniently packaged and realize that I could get more nutrients from something equally convenient, that is not packaged. Here are a great quick list of healthy foods for you!

P.S. Dr. Joel Fuhram has a great book called Eat to Live. It is wonderful! 

Happy Holidays!

I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner. During this busy time of year it's easy to get wrapped up in to-do list. Take time to remember to breathe every day, drink lots of water, hydrate your skin to combat the dry winter months and enjoy every moment of this magical season! 

The Feeling of Tired

"I'm tired." Do you hear this a lot? I know I say it a lot. Probably more than I should. I throw this phrase around like confetti. Why? If we're not tired in this day and age, then clearly we're not doing enough. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I feel so tired I think I can barely make it through the day and I'm actually tired and it's not all in my head. At the end of the day, most of the time, I crawl into bed thankful for it because it feels so good to rest my head on a pillow. But, on the days when I'm not "tired," it often feels like, "oh no," did I do enough?

My teacher says this all the time. We live in the society where being stressed out, depressed and tired is normal. As he points this out, I begin to notice this concept more and more. Why is it so normal to be tired? Why is it so normal to not feel good? Why is it normal to not be happy?

Perhaps it's because we are comfortable with being tired. It actually keeps us from doing enjoyable, nourishing activities. Then, if we find ourselves doing nourish activity we might feel like we should be working, or doing something else. Sometimes we're tired from having "too much fun." So where is the balance?

The truth is at some point or another we are all tired. The perspective is in how we look at it. When we're tired from work, we can balance it with something like eating nourishing food, playing with the dog, taking a yoga class, going for a run and being grateful for the moments when we work, and grateful for the moments when we're not working and get to unwind. When we have a lot of social activities, travel, people to see, etc., sometimes that in itself can be so exhausting I would rather be working, however I think maybe being grateful for the moments when our hearts are full and we're tired because we feel needed, loved and supported is something to be grateful for. Tired can be the best feeling in the world, or it can be a feeling that plagues us day in and day out.

The thing is we need to save the "I'm tired" for when we're really good and tired. Whether it's after those long runs, a good day with your kids, a productive day at work, being tired when you're really good and tired is a wonderful thing. So when we're tired, we say thank you. When we are constantly tired we need to look at how we live our lives and if it's healthful and helpful. I'm guilty as anyone to throw in the "I'm tired." But maybe we can shift our perspective, into a new way of viewing the feeling of tired.

When you're good and tired: rest.
When you're feeling constantly tired: rest, but give yourself some extra love and care. Take a bath! Eat some nourishing food. Watch a movie and give yourself permission to relax.
When you're feeling restored, energized and replenished: be grateful, put it to good use but don't feel like you have to go make yourself exhausted all over again.

Take care of yourself and enjoy! 

via Manolos to Asolos

10 Thoughts on Whole Living

via Whole Living

::REMINDER::

Let go of perfection. Do the best you can. Work hard. Be kind. Love. Smile. Let go. Forgive. Have compassion. Take time to breathe. Be grateful. Love others. Drink water. Get outside. Walk. Play. Enjoy!

Let's Talk Protein

How much do you actually need and how much is actually in the food we eat?

When you hear the word you probably think of meat? But guess what? Broccoli also has protein. Yep! When it comes to plant vs. animal protein this is where it gets a little tricky. For the most part, I will say that we don't need as much protein as we think, however, it is a very important part of our every day diet. My favorite sources for protein are nuts, seeds, almond butter, tempeh, red meat and quinoa. Those are my top five. Chicken is also a great source of protein but the benefits you receive from red meat as far as nourishing your red blood cells, iron and helping to repair your muscles is so important. If you are a vegetarian, there are excellent sources of plant based proteins that contain iron.

It is best to try to be as well rounded as possible when choosing your protein sources. A little at every meal is great!

Adding almonds on top of a spinach salad is a great way to incorporate good protein + iron. For breakfast you can put some almond butter on top of a piece of toast or an apple. For dinner perhaps have a chicken breast or a couple of slices of steak. You don't have to eat the whole thing in one sitting! Save some for lunch!

The goal is to try to be as well-rounded as possible. Incorporating veggies, whole grains and fruits are also very important items to remember and don't forget the water!!