Summer is here and for a lot of moms that means caravanning the kids from summer camp to soccer practices all while working a fulltime job. Keeping up can prove to be difficult for all areas of your life. Heck, you barely have time to eat!
Family Registered Dietician, LeeAnn Weintraub joins us live from Los Angeles with tips on how to keep your cool and refresh your look, body and mind this summer.
Bio: LeeAnn Weintraub is a registered dietitian in private practice in Los Angeles, California. She provides nutrition counseling and consulting to individuals, families and businesses. She is a member of the American Dietetic Association, the American Pregnancy Association, the Renal Dietitians Dietetic Practice Group, the Dietetics Practice-Based Research Network, and the Nutrition Entrepreneurs Practice Group, and she consults for numerous food and health companies including The Coca-Cola Company. LeeAnn is also the author of the Everything Glycemic Index Cookbook and writes a nutrition column for the LA Daily News and Daily Breeze.
Q: How can women and moms maintain a healthy diet while balancing all of their responsibilities?
A: Busy moms can manage a healthy diet and still keep up with their busy life and responsibilities by thinking about incorporating an easy, healthy, and convenient breakfast every day. Getting started on the right foot with a really nutritious, energizing breakfast like whole wheat toast with nut butter, or even a sandwich with whole wheat bread and an egg. Any kinds of whole grains in the morning are going to be really energizing to get the day started, and then continuing that on with some healthy snack during the day. Fresh whole foods and high fiber, high protein foods are going to be the way to go with snacks throughout the day to stay energized and be able to accomplish everything you need throughout your busy day.
Women and moms can manage a healthy diet and still keep up with their busy lifestyles by starting with a healthy breakfast in the morning. A good breakfast, like whole grain cereal with low fat or non fat milk, whole wheat toast with nut butters, and any kind of high fiber grain or high protein like eggs, turkey bacon, would be a good way to start the day with a good breakfast and get your energy going. Keep up your energy throughout the day with a few healthy snacks. Healthy snacks are something you can grab and take along and keep your energy up and feel well-fed and nutritious and nourished throughout the day.
Q: What are some simple changes that women can make, to make healthier choices when time is short?
A: There are some things you can do to make small, easy changes when time is short. One thing I like to recommend is shooting for lots of whole grains and vegetables. Making sure you're getting in salads, cooked in raw vegetables throughout the day are easy things you can do to throw in to balance out your plate and get a well-balanced, fresh, healthy meal. Other things I recommend is staying hydrated. Getting dehydrated during the hot summer days can lead to overeating at meals and between meals. Some of those early signs of dehydration can be confused with hunger. So you want to drink lots of fluids and stay hydrated so you can manage your weight and also keep your energy up during these hot summer days.
Q: What is key to staying fresh during summer heat?
A: I think exercise is a really important part of staying refreshed in the hot summer heat. You can start with an exercise or workout routine early in the morning before it gets too hot and take advantage of later daylight hours by getting in a gym workout or going to a yoga class later in the day. There's a lot of ways to fit in exercise too keep your energy up and help work on your weight loss goals and boost your metabolism.
You can still enjoy barbeques, sweets and treats and continue to manage your weight by including foods that you love, because any food entry can fit into a healthy balanced diet. Low and no calorie sweeteners can play an important role in weight management. There's one new drink that I like called Fruitwater. It's a zero calorie, naturally fruit flavored sparkling water that's convenient to grab and go to take whether you're exercising or out on these hot summer days to stay well hydrated during these hot summer days.
Q: And how can moms set a good example for their family when it comes to diet?
A: I think the number one ways moms can set a good example for families when it comes to eating right is making sure the family meal is a regular part of their lifestyle. Having a family meal not only sets a time of day when the family can sit down and relax together and catch up on their day, but it’s a good time for parents to role model to their kids what healthy meals are. It's a time to turn off the TV and video games and kind of unwind and eat healthy foods together. And I think the family meal is something that, over time, will teach the children about good nutrition and how to make healthy food choices because they'll be seeing these healthy foods at home and enjoyed by their family and their parents.