Beautifully Well Conversations with Nik
Curated conversations for women with National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach Nik Sweeney. Transparency meets community with engaging topics surrounding self-care for busy women.
Beautifully Well Conversations with Nik
Plate Makeovers: Small Changes, Big Results
We explore how to eat mindfully to support health goals without deprivation, focusing on positive approaches to food choices that create sustainable lifestyle changes.
• Understanding hunger cues and eating only when truly hungry
• Using smaller plates and bowls for natural portion control
• Slowing down while eating to give your brain time to register fullness
• Choosing foods high in fiber, vitamins and minerals
• Making simple healthy swaps (yogurt instead of pudding, veggie-loaded pizza)
• Transforming favorite recipes with healthier ingredients
• Approaching food changes with a positive mindset
• Planning healthy snacks to avoid excessive hunger
• Finding ways to make nutritious food delicious and satisfying
This week, identify one eating habit you'd like to improve and make a small change to support your health goals. Remember, it's not about restriction – it's about making food choices that help you feel your best.
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Awesome Welcome. Good evening. Welcome to the Beautifully Well Lifestyle Program. We're going to talk about food. We love talking about food, but tonight's topic we're going to focus on how we can eat in order to support the health goals, so it's so good to see you joining us this evening. In our last conversation, we talked about those carbs and a simple way to identify carbs that are helping that will help us and minimizing those that may not help us reach the goals. But tonight we're going to talk about just the way we think about food, this positive approach to eating, aiming to manage those portions and then, at the same time, getting excited. I know we don't use the word diet around here, because the moment you think of diet, you think of reducing restrictions, restrictions, avoidance, none of that. We should be able to have fun in this part of the journey, especially when what we're doing is for lifelong sustainable results, right? So we'll talk in a bit more detail. Please feel free to chime in the chat, because we wanna hear how are you able to stay focused and eat those foods that are supporting the better health goals that you have, and how can we use?
Speaker 1:You know the psychology of the mind when we're deciding what we want to eat. Right, because emotionally, eating is real, it happens. There are cues, and sometimes it's not even that we're hungry. It could be that we're thirsty, or could it just be that we've developed this habit of eating Based on something that we customarily do, like even just watching television. So we're going to dive in. If you can see the screen here.
Speaker 1:We're going to tap into Anthony's story. There are two parts to Anthony's story, so if you'd like to think about, as we go through Anthony's story, if there's anything that resonates with you, when Anthony took a new position at his job, he started working through his lunch breaks, ignoring his hunger. On the days he would skip lunch, he would feel very hungry I mean very, very hungry, tired and shaky after work. So he would usually stop at a store and buy a bag of potato chips to eat on his drive home. And even though Anthony wasn't that hungry when he got home, he would eat dinner anyway. This new eating habit caused Anthony to put on some additional weight and when he went to visit his doctor of course you know what he was told that he was at risk for type 2 diabetes.
Speaker 1:Now, at first, anthony was not feeling the changes that he knew he needed to make, especially as it related to his food. He depended on a snack whenever he missed lunch, in his mind, immediately just thinking about the stress of his job and his you know, just his the way that he worked, the time, timing of his work and this new habit of skipping lunch to how could he overcome this, let alone a type of snack, you know? But because his health is on the line, he decides to put forth some effort, just a little, to put forth some effort, just a little. So, knowing he was at risk for type 2 diabetes and that it is a serious condition, that he decided to make some changes for himself and he got his family on board. But Anthony started small, these small changes to curb those recent eating habits. So this is what he would do. Now he's listening to his body and he's making an effort to focus on only eating when he's hungry. So on those busy days when he can't take a break for lunch, he'll take an unsalted or low salt nuts, cut up veggies, to work so he can snack when he gets hungry. That way he never gets hungry after work and he still has a healthy appetite for dinner. But Anthony went a step further with his mindset. He decided to take a positive approach towards the changes. So now he focuses on the outcome. You know what will happen when I decide to do this. So now, staying healthy for himself and his family. He's feeling better, of course, he has even more energy, and now he's excited about this new approach.
Speaker 1:So think about you for a second when you think about what's one eating habit that you would like to improve or change Anything you'd like to improve or change and notice it said one right. Sometimes we think of all kinds of things. We could start counting on the fingers. But think about that one eating habit. Is it similar to Anthony, where you are more likely to skip lunch because of your workday? Maybe you're working through something, are you not a breakfast eater? But you realize if you were able to eat a little something in the morning, it could be that energy boost that you need. What is that one habit that you need? What is that one habit At night, you're used to snacking on something, like me, them, cinnamon, gummy bears.
Speaker 1:But this time you decide, hey, instead of that snack, maybe I'll opt to try something a little more healthier, right? So how can we begin to eat the right amount. So here are a couple of tips that can help you. One understand your hunger cues. Eat only when you feel hungry. Try not to make other reasons for hunger right Bored, sad just because food is around. And we talked only briefly about sometimes, those emotional feelings, those emotional triggers that could cause us to feel like, oh, the best way to feed the emotion, or to feel better, is to feed the emotion.
Speaker 1:Second tip try not to wait until you're hungry, and this is where snacking is key. If you'll notice, even with the meal plans the dietician approved meal plans it has snacks listed throughout the day. Because the moment you feel hungry, what are you more likely to do? Anthony satisfied it with a bag of chips. What's your go-to snack? Or when you're on a, oh, you're in that state where they call hangry. You just have to eat something. You begin a grocery shop, but you done picked up a couple of things along the way to eat.
Speaker 1:So try not to get too hungry, and the best way to do that is to just have some snacks on standby or really map out your times that you can eat, you know when you can control it, trying not to skip a meal whenever possible. But then we think about portion control as well. We can control a portion without being a rocket scientist with a smaller plate, a smaller bowl. When we do this with a small plate or a single serve plate, then we're managing our portions and we know that big tip in between, if we're eating a smaller plate, is to drink that water. Get that water in to act as a filler. If you've had snacks before, trust me when I say eventually those smaller plates, if it's not happening already, will be more than sufficient. It will not only curb the appetite, it'll help you digest your food even better. So you're not dealing with gut health issues and your metabolism is definitely on point and we want the metabolism to work because we're working on achieving healthier weight goals.
Speaker 1:But then you notice this here how many of us do this? I mean, do we find ourselves just eating to eat? It's just a routine that we have the plate is there, we're eating it and then it's gone. Or are we mindful eaters where we're taking our time to enjoy the food, trying not to eat and drive? That's something I have to work on, because I'll tell you, if I'm hungry and I just picked up something, I try not to eat. I try not to eat and drive, but are you enjoying the food?
Speaker 1:And eating slow enough to give our brain a chance to catch up with what we're doing? Isn't that amazing? Weight loss and just overall health is more mental than anything. But it's our whole system. The entire body system has to function and be on the same page. And can you imagine, just taking a time to eat slower will help the brain to trigger the way we need it to, and that is to remind us that we are eating so that we are full and we're less likely to eat more than we think our body needs.
Speaker 1:And exactly what is that? Because I talk about mindfulness all the time. It's a buzzword, you hear it all the time. We can be mindful about everything that we do, but when we talk about mindful eating, exactly what is it? It's just an awareness of what's happening that allows food to be more of an experience instead of a routine or an obligation, and we can see how this also helps us to really enjoy our food and add fun to this side of the journey. And I'm talking even from this.
Speaker 1:They're saying mindful eating. They're saying mindful eating. I'm talking about mindfully cooking, actually enjoying that process of cooking healthier foods, different foods. So when we eat I love how they word this so we eat when our body tells us, when the stomach is growling or the energy is low, listen to your body and aim to eat to the point of satisfaction and not fullness. Right, we grew up from that time at that, during that time where you had to eat everything on your plate. Well, you couldn't get up from the table or let alone get dessert, because if you can't eat all of this, what makes you think you're going to get a slice of cake or a couple of cookies? But this is something for some of us, because we are conditioned to become full, I mean, like the belly about to burst out your pants. You got to eat everything to condition the mind to become satisfied with what we ate.
Speaker 1:And then we think about the quality of our food. Are we eating less processed foods? Are we trying not to eat too many frozen foods, with the exception of frozen veggies? Right, because our frozen vegetables, if they're right, the only ingredient is the vegetable, no preservative, just the veggie. And then we know, name your favorite nutritious food. If you want to put that in a chat, feel free. But what is one food at the top of your list of foods you enjoy that are healthy and nutritious, and is it a food that you would eat on a regular basis? So let's think about this positive approach that you could implement right away.
Speaker 1:There were a lot of tips there. I love beets. I love that. Yeah, I put beets in my coleslaw. That's how much I enjoy them. But those are good tips and think about what you could implement. Could you slow down a little bit more with food? Could you add a few more vegetables to your meals throughout the day? Could you reduce one of those snacks? Is it that super salty snack? Or is it chocolate, which we don't have to eliminate, but you know your portions? Is there a way for you to become more mindful in your selection of food?
Speaker 1:So now we get back to Anthony, and this picture looks different than the first one. We go back. Anthony is smiling until he made his way to that doctor's appointment when that doctor told him change going to come. So let's take a look at Anthony now in his part, the part two, of his story. Ever since, anthony began making some changes. Look at the outcome. Now he's choosing foods that have fiber, vitamins, minerals. His veggies are on point, he's eating more brown bread than white bread and he's enjoying fruit. He's made some small changes in his amounts of processed food, so he's reduced those and now he's working towards more nutrients, fewer calories. And we know the system to that. When we say more nutrients, fewer calories, we're talking about those vegetables and preparing them in a way where they still maintain as much of their nutrients as they can. But because Anthony is choosing these foods that are higher in fiber, he's drinking his water to fill up without adding extra calories that come along with those sodas or coffee drinks where there's more sugar than coffee. His fiber is helping him to digest his foods properly. So he is not ashamed to say he is regular in his activity, if you know what I mean. But because he's loading up on fiber, he's feeling full longer throughout the day and that feeling is helping him to.
Speaker 1:You know carb that appetite or that desire for those foods that are contrary to the goal. So how do you make these healthy choices so we can stay as far away as we can from a type 2 diabetes diagnosis? Well, we want our foods that are high in fiber, full of vitamins and minerals, and you already know here the top three veggies, whole grains and fruit. How much would you say you're eating on a daily basis of your vegetables? They don't all have to be fresh, they can be cooked. Our whole grains wheat bread, our whole grain rice, whole grain pasta. How are you with fruit? Dried fruit is okay, but we got to read that label. How much dried fruit? What if you're making your own trail mix so you're managing the sodium content of walnuts, pecans or peanuts and we're adding some of those dried fruits? Are we still being mindful of the sugar content? Notice this.
Speaker 1:Said less processed, Remember, a food becomes processed, and more processed the more it is away from its natural state. That potato is cool when we bake it versus french fries versus potato chips. How processed? So, on any given day, how much of the food you intake is processed? If you were to break it down by a percentage, if you were to break it down by a percentage and when we talk about processed we're talking about frozen meals, chips, cookies, cakes, pies when we take chicken and fry it versus baking it what percentage of your foods would you say are more processed?
Speaker 1:And then, when we look at high in nutrients we talked about our fresh veggies, those superfoods low in calories. Right, Can't go wrong with our veggies, whole grains and fruit. Nobody's saying you have to be a vegetarian but you have to go vegan. We still need protein. We can get protein in a variety of ways, but that low calorie one is the big one. That's the clincher. The lower the calories, the less processed. So inside the digital curriculum you'll see that they have these charts and we're going to talk about some easy swaps, some things that we can alternate for and not have to miss out on the taste, and we can still enjoy it.
Speaker 1:Instead of chocolate pudding, why not try some plain nonfat yogurt? Now, this says with a teaspoon of jam. But what would you? What could you do? Could you add fresh fruit? Do you like peaches? And you have a really nice, sweet, juicy peach that you could cut up and into small pieces. What about your berries? This is one bag of potato chips. So instead of that bag of chips, why not have three cups of air popped popcorn? Or even a bag of skinny pop? Those medium French fries that are fried or from the fast food place, why not bake your own fries? Cut them up and bake them so that you can save some of the nutrients. Keep in some of those nutrients and save yourself the extra fat from fried french fries.
Speaker 1:We're not eliminating pizza here. We can still have pizza. But maybe instead of that pepperoni which is going to give us a processed, cured meat with a bunch of sodium, we can opt to have that slice of pizza, but we could veggie load it. Add some of those fresh veggies on a pizza, or order the pizza with some veggies. Your mushrooms, your peppers, yeah, broccoli on a pizza. And then we have a couple other suggestions the actual orange versus the orange juice, and we already know orange juice or our fruit juices can count as a serving of fruit. They should have only natural sugar, the fructose, and we're just still mindful to make sure that it doesn't have any added sugar. And that amount, the amount that we decide to consume but on any given day to have a fresh apple or a fresh orange, will save us some calories. And if you notice the difference with this chart, it's the calorie difference when we go back up to that chocolate pudding at 153 calories versus that non-fat yogurt with the jam, which will still be low in calories if we added a couple of slices of fresh fruit. Notice that one bag of chips at 460 calories, but some air popped popcorn could be as a little less than 100 calories a serving. So we're noting our calories.
Speaker 1:So what you'll do is think about what are some of those healthy swaps that you personally could make. What are the things that you're eating now, or enjoy now that you would swap for something else, and it doesn't always have to be a total replacement, remember we talked about here or enjoy now, that you would swap for something else, and it doesn't always have to be a total replacement, remember we talked about here. This is not about deprivation and avoidance. Now, if you're there, that's great, but when we think of the, instead also think about the portion, also think about the amount. And I'll give you an example here. Like with the chocolate chip cookies that I'm typing up here, maybe when you have those chocolate chip cookies, you're eating five out of the pack, but what your swap might be? Well, I'll eat two of these chocolate chip cookies instead of the five that I normally would, and that's a win and decide to do a less cholesterol alternative. You know, like your Earth Balance, smart Balance. There's so many options here the white bread you have to incorporate some wheat bread. So many options that we can use.
Speaker 1:And then, when you think about your foods, what are some things that you could do to your favorite foods to make them healthy? I'll never forget when I talked about a hack for mac and cheese. Like, who has a hack for mac and cheese? It's still mac and cheese. But what are some ways that you could make mac and cheese a healthier, um, a healthier dish? Could you reduce some of the cheese? Could you reduce the butter instead of butter, reducing some of that fat with the butter alternative instead of whole milk, could you use two percent or one percent? There are ways to do this. And guess what? Brown pasta, wheat pasta is not all bad. So, um, I thought about you know, in my mac and cheese, because I love broccoli. I love broccoli with some cheese sometimes. Then, instead of big pieces of big broccoli florets, I could literally cut up those florets, almost dicing them and adding the broccoli to the mac and cheese. So there's so many ways that we can do this.
Speaker 1:Choose cheeses that are strong in taste and low in fat, like your Parmesan and your feta. Absolutely, love feta on a salad. Better quality items, if we can right. Play with flavors, play with those spices in your cabinet, some of those fresh herbs this was interesting. You can get a whole bunch of herbs even at a Wegmans or Whole Foods for under $2. Like your fresh parsley, cilantro, some basil, playing with those flavors and our veggies. Cook them light. I can cook calligreens in under 30 minutes and you would love them. I promise we don't have to cook down our veggies. Our carrots, baby carrots, are naturally sweet. Have you ever tried cinnamon glazed carrots with some honey and cinnamon? Oh, my goodness, so delicious. So think of some healthier ideas. We don't have to go too far out the box and remember we always talk about first. What is that one thing that you could do throughout the week? Um, what little change, one small change that you could make throughout the week that could help you reach your goals.
Speaker 1:If you're a lasagna lover, you'll see this recipe is inside the hub and I always say just try it. You never know. In the original lasagna recipe we already know how to make lasagna. We've made it a number of times. My personal hack to lasagna is to add mushrooms If you don't want to use ground beef, to opt for turkey because it has a little less fat, or even do a vegetarian one. If you're not opposed to using those mushrooms and spinach as a filler, you certainly can, and it is still delicious, trust me on this.
Speaker 1:In the recipe makeover, he opts to use those whole grain noodles, he uses zucchini, he decides to use ground turkey instead of ground beef and notice, with his cheese, he decides to use one cup of the part skim mozzarella cheese. Trust me, you don't taste a difference. There is no difference in the taste from regular mozzarella and the skim mozzarella cheese, because you have surrounded this with so much flavor already that you're not missing anything. So I want you to think of your personal recipe makeover. What would you do, what would be the makeover in one of your favorite dishes to make that dish healthy? And we had a few examples. But I want you, throughout this week, to think about what is a recipe that you would make over, and could this recipe be a family tradition? Would you try this with your family, just to get an idea, to get a sense of whether or not they will go for it? In some cases, until we say anything, family doesn't even know that we've changed a few things around, as long as it tastes good and I know that we're all cooks on this call.
Speaker 1:So just to recap and feel free to use the chat if you'd like, we are eating healthier. We're changing our mindset towards the foods that we need in order to reach our health goals. So when we think about this positive approach, a couple of ways to stay positive about these choices, and this next week ahead of us, it's only Monday. So what does Monday, how does Monday set up your success for this coming week? When we think about your healthy food goals, first switch that mindset to positive. How can you positively look at your week and be real at the same time?
Speaker 1:Right now, as we speak, are there healthier food options in your refrigerator, in your pantry? What are those healthy, healthier options that are there and how can you take them and make them delicious so that you can enjoy a week of food food? The other point made in both Anthony's story and in one of the tips is how many of us are using a smaller plate or a smaller bowl to stay on top of our portions, and are we aiming to get that snack in a couple of those healthy snacks so we can avoid the feeling of hunger? Those hunger pains kick in and we're looking for whatever is not held down. So those are some of the tips for tonight. Feel free to chime in the chat. Thank you for joining.