Spring Reboot: 6 Secrets to Eating Smarter
Dietician Heather Bauer is sharing her tips for healthy eating while working out. (Photo: Henry Leutwyler)
When we kicked off our spring reboot series, we gave you the keys to healthier eating from registered dietician and founder of Bestowed.com (a subscription service that delivers healthy food and snacks), Heather Bauer. She stressed the importance of eating less and burning more, portion control and stabilizing your blood sugar. Next in our series, celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak helped us revamp our fitness routines to focus on walking 10,000 steps a day and emphasized the importance of quick resistance workouts. We asked Bauer to share more of her healthy eating tips with Yahoo Beauty—here’s what you need to know to stay on track going into the summer.
Keep your diet and workout separate. “We often get hungrier when we workout, and if you need to add an extra piece of fruit or more protein in your meals you can do that,” says Bauer. “But you don’t want to be adding so much that you are taking away the importance of the actual diet.”
Eat after you work out. “It’s after the workout that you really need that protein,” says Bauer, who recommends eating your breakfast after your morning workout. If you have low blood sugar in the morning, have half an apple or a handful of berries before working out but save your protein and your breakfast for afterwards.
Stay hydrated. “A lot of people feel very sluggish after a workout and feel dehydrated,” says Bauer. If you are someone that often doesn’t drink enough water, Bauer says try making it fun by creating your own detox water. She suggests making your own ice cubes with cucumbers, strawberries, lime or mint leaves and adding them to your water or adding fresh fruit to a mason jar and filling it with water to drink throughout the day.
Be smart about juice cleanses. While Bauer thinks its fine to use a juice cleanse as a means to help you reset, but it’s important to know what foods to go back to once you are done cleansing. “You’re not going to live on a juice cleanse, eventually you’ll go back to your routine which could involve eating out five nights a week,” says Bauer. The key is to know how to eat in a way that works with your lifestyle. Another mistake people often make is continuing to incorporate juices into their diet after a cleanse alongside a full meal. The problem many juices, especially smoothies, are calorie-laden. “I think it’s one or the other,” she says. “You can’t do both.”
Eat to better your body. “We should make sure that what we are taking in is good for our bodies and more pure,” says Bauer. She suggests trying to buy organic when possible and choosing in-season produce, since many nutrients can be lost when your food is being transported from, say Chile, to your Whole Foods. When it comes to packaged goods, check to see if they are labeled non-GMO. “I try to buy from local farmers, it’s always better, and it tastes better. You can taste the difference of real fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Bauer.
Go for raw fruits and vegetables. “I will tell my clients to have up to three pieces of fruit a day and they’ll be shocked because they heard it’s so high in sugar,” says Bauer. Her response to those clients? “When was the last time you felt like you put weight on because you were eating apples?” Bauer points out that it’s never the apples or the baby carrots, it’s the various dips and spreads that often go along with them. “Raw fruits and vegetables should be inserted into a diet when you are exercising more and feel hungrier,” says Bauer. Instead of reaching for something sweet or savory, try reaching for a fresh fruit or vegetable.
Related:
Heather Bauer’s Tips for Healthy Eating
