Gorgeous photo from the Flatbush Farm Share IG account @flatbushfarmshare of our week’s produce on September 30! Yes, even in the heart of Brooklyn you can get connected with people who are passionate about supporting small farmers and eating delicious fresh produce. We love our weekly surprise!
On episode 4 of My Umble Opinion we heard from Doug Albert, nutritionist and musician. We covered a wide variety of topics, including some trips down memory lane from when Doug knew me as a beginner band kid, so I thought I’d put some sound bites from the interview and some other gems from Doug here on the wellness page for those of you interested in some quick nutrition tips. You can get in touch with Doug at turningpointsnutrition.com if you want to continue the conversation or if you have other questions!
Q: What’s your go-to snack?
With snacking, I’d ask the person if they really need a snack or is it some form of emotional need. If we eat to satiety for our meals, I doubt we need in-between food sources. Instead I’d suggest a non-caloric flavored drink to bridge us to the next actual meal.
Q: What kind of “bars” (energy bars, protein bars etc.) do you recommend?
Keep in mind that I continue to evolve with my understanding of “proper human nutrition.” I am currently not a fan of bars. I’d rather see someone eat real whole non-processed food. I haven’t eaten a bar in probably 3 years.
Q: How do you help clients set realistic goals?
I don’t blame people for eating fast food if that’s what your family can afford right now. Even there, I will work with my clients: “If I have my two boys with me and we’re stopping at McDonalds what are my best options?”... I’m not trying to have anyone be perfect at all of this. I teach the 80/20 rule, saying try to be good 80% of the time and you’ll really see benefits.
Q: What’s your advice on how to shop for groceries?
One of the best things you could do for yourself and your family would be to shop the perimeter of the store and then get out of there as soon as you can! … when you go into the middle of the store, everything is in a box and has been changed by human hands… The type of foods that are readily available in the middle make our body almost panicked with “what is this latest kind of Frankenstein food-type substance.” … A lot of times those boxed things in the middle are where the trans fat are added as stabilizers. Take the cracker or cookie isle; for the food to be stabilized and not go bad they have to add all kinds of trans fats to keep it from going bad. You actually want your food to go bad! I think the main thing is to try to focus on … eating real food. If you can look at it and say “I see the origin of this food” [that’s good] but if you get something and you actually have no idea as you look at it what the ingredients are in that food...take eggo waffles for example. … So if anyone wants to just get started I think that’s the starting point for people.
Q: What’s your line for when a client doesn’t meet their goals or expectations for that week?
First I want them to know that we all have that week or we all have that day, and they are not a bad person because of it. I actually will often just say, that’s the power of the addictive foods. I don’t want you to always say to yourself, “yeah I’m lazy and I’m eating too much food.” That’s the message we were [already] told ... that did not work. So I think instead it’s just accepting the fact that you need to avoid the foods that push your buttons. I just come at it from compassion and say, let’s start again.
Q: Eating well is one part of good health, what are the other big bullet points on the list?
Mindfulness, mental health, and I think in that way trying to have your strategy for what you’re going to do during a stressful time. … whether we’re in a pandemic or not, there’s stress that can take body down just as easily as a bad diet can. So, talking to people about whether they are able to meditate or journal some gratitude each day, or ya know, I’ll even just send a link to a podcast that’s called “pray as you go” and that’s just a 10 minute devotional … but I think that’s one of the things is taking care of your stress.
Getting optimal sleep. And with that sleep, some of that is putting the electronics away an hour or two before you want to go to sleep so the body can start to prepare for that.
Another one that’s coming to mind as I’m looking out our window right now is getting some sunshine every day. I believe that actually helps with sleep, it help with circadian rhythms but it also helps with the vitamin D that we need. You don’t need a lot of it but I think we need to be intentional about getting a little bit of sunshine.
I’ve seen any one of these take down people occasionally... You can be doing all the right things except you’re stressed out, and if you’re stressed the body is not going to necessarily metabolize food very well. And the body is not going to even help you lose weight because at that moment during a chronic stress situation your body is really not focused on metabolism or losing weight.