Day 14 - March 7 - Change Your Brain, Change Your Body

After my eating time, I came across Dr. Daniel Amen (great last name!), author of "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body" and wanted to share some of the information I learned. It really made me think about what I've been putting in my baby bowl. Here are the Amen Clinics Rules for Brain Healthy Eating:

1. Think high quality calories in versus high quality energy out.
-For example exchange a 700 calorie single cinnamon bun for a 400 calorie salad made up of spinach, salmon, apples, green peppers and blueberries

2. Drink plenty of water, not too many of your calories
-Think about the amount of calories you DRINK each day: Starbucks, juices, alcohol. Is it worth it? An alternative drink if you NEED flavor: water, lemon juice, stevia (lemonade with virtually no calories)
-If you're in love with coffee but need to ween yourself: start with decaf, use almond milk instead of regular milk or cream and use stevia instead of sugar (Here's a company who has lots of fun flavored stevia, Stevita: http://www.stevitastevia.com/)

3. Eat high quality, lean protein throughout the day
-http://www.shapefit.com/high-protein-foods.html (this was included by me, not Dr. Amen)

4. Low glycemic , high fiber foods carbs
-http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/information/food_and_nutrition/foods-high-in-fiber.html
(this was included by me, not Dr. Amen)


5. Focus your diet on healthy fats
-http://www.ehow.com/about_5120731_healthy-fats-eat.html (this was included by me, not Dr. Amen)

6. Eat from the rainbow
-Fruits and veggies

7. Brain healthy herbs and spice
-turmeric, especially good for reducing in plaque found in Alzheimer's
- saffron
- sage
- cinnamon, also a great aphrodisiac

8. Know your important health numbers:
-BMI (Here's a link to calculate yours: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/)
- calorie requirement and how many you eat a day
- how many fruits and veggies you eat a day
- how many hours you sleep a night (7 are preferred 8 is ideal)
- your vitamin D level
- your inflammatory markers
- your hormone levels (thyroid, DHEA, cortisol, testosterone, progesterone, estrogen)
- cholesterol
- blood sugar levels

9. Hypnosis and meditation (and I'd like to add prayer!) can boost your brain

10. Start today

A good tip: To boost your happiness, WRITE DOWN 5 things you're grateful for everyday.

Meaningful Movement: 30 minutes step ladder on the treadmill (to know more about this, read Day 5) and machines: quads, inner thigh, outer thigh


Foods that fit in a baby bowl, Day 14:
-fried egg on half a slice of whole wheat with strawberries

-taco salad
-popcorn
-handful of popcorn, one bite of granola apple crisp and one strawberry
NOTE: Cleaning the kitchen is a danger zone for calories! The above was eaten while I was tidying up - putting away the popcorn, transferring the apple crisp into another container and getting the strawberries washed. In the back of my mind, I wasn't going to eat more than what would fit in a baby bowl but I was also munching on food I didn't PLAN for.
-8 almonds
-corn dog