Do you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but feel like stress and a busy schedule continually interfere with your best intentions? Check out this interview with Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN who shares her views about a holistic approach to health & wellness, along with some great tips to make it a little easier to keep yourself healthy!
Nationally recognized nutrition expert and author Keri Glassman is the founder & president of Nutritious Life, a nutrition practice in NYC, and Nutritious Life Meals. She’s authored three books: Slim Calm Sexy Diet (2012), The O2 Diet: The Cutting Edge, Antioxidant-Based Program That Will Make You Healthy, Thin and Beautiful (2009), and the Snack Factor Diet, (2007.) She has appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, Access Hollywood Live, The View, The Talk, The Chew, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, The Wendy Williams Show, MSNBC, The Fox News Channel, and CNN, and is the nutrition and health contributor for NBC’s New York Live.
1. When did you become interested in nutrition?
I ALWAYS was interested!! My friend claims I told her in 7th grade science class that I was craving almonds because my body needed vitamin E! Still not sure if that is true, but, I was always interested. I was also a junk food junkie and an athlete, so I became increasingly interested in understanding how I could fuel my body to be thin and strong – and not be a yo-yo junk eater!
2. Your website says you take a “whole person” approach to nutrition. What does that mean? What are the advantages to this strategy?
Taking a “whole person” approach to nutrition means you are not just looking at diet when it comes to being healthy and fit. Rather you are also looking at all of the other areas of your life that affect your diet, weight, and health! The term “whole person” extends beyond what we eat and pays equal attention to what I call the “8 pillars of a Nutritious Life.”
As important as it is to eat well – what I call eating empowered, it is just as important to drink up, exercise steady, pamper thyself, maintain a healthy sex life, sleep deep, stress less, and live happily in your world. All of these factors influence our quality of life, health and happiness! For example, stress may cause us to lose sleep, which in turn may cause us to consume more calories and thus become less motivated to go to the gym! The 8 pillars are all connected and it is important to take each one seriously. Taking a whole person approach to nutrition not only helps you look your best, but makes you feel your best too. My new book The New You and Improved Diet: 8 Rules to Lose Weight and Change Your Life Forever, explains how these 8 pillars are connected to and support each other and find your best and new YOU!
3. What are the most common nutrition issues you see with your busy professional clientele?
My busy clients suffer most commonly from the effects of an on-the-go lifestyle, which includes juggling a career, family and social life. This is often overwhelming and maintaining a healthy diet – let alone sleeping enough and managing stress – slips through the cracks. A common issue is that they don’t have what they think is enough time (or energy) to cook and prep, so they end up eating out frequently and making poor choices, going too long without food, and then often throw in the towel only to say “I’ll start fresh tomorrow”! All of these habits affect weight, health, sleep, energy, stress etc. etc!
4. What are some simple changes or strategies they can adopt to improve their nutrition?
The key here is to plan, prep and be consistent! Planning dinners and deciding ahead of time what you will eat is huge. Simply writing down your plan for your dinners can save you calories, stress, and time! This should include dinners in and out. If you are going to be eating out, find out where and check the menu ahead of time. If you are dining in, make sure you have everything you need for what you have planned and if you don’t, well, then you know exactly what you need to grab on the way home. If you get home and don’t have what you need, you will never end up sticking to it! Again, plan ahead! Have your go-to 5 items for breakfast and 5 items for snacks that you know can make a few healthy breakfasts and snacks from. Keep these foods on hand at home and work ALL the time. Be consistent!
5. What advice do you have for those who don’t like to, or don’t have time to cook?
I understand that some people just don’t operate well in the kitchen. For these clients, I educate on the best convenience items. For example, you don’t have to be a chef to prepare frozen veggies! Also, often these people are dining out more and I educate them on how to order to maximize nutrition and minimize extra calories and sodium.
6. Can you give us some go-to options for these different cuisines?
Japanese: Brown rice tuna avocado roll, green salad with one tablespoon dressing, edamame and 4 pieces of sashimi.
Italian: Chicken paillard, insalata mista with a tablespoon of vinaigrette, and a side of steamed or sauteed broccoli rabe.
Steakhouse: Petite filet, tomato and onion salad and side order of steamed or sauteed spinach.
Indian: Tandoori chicken and lentil soup
7. What are some healthy snack choices that are easy to find and stash at the office?
- Small apple and 2 tsp. nut butter (I like to keep Justin Nut butter individual packets)
- Plain lowfat Greek yogurt with 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds and cinnamon
- ½ avocado with lemon and sea salt
- 2 high fiber crackers with cottage cheese
- Kind Bar
- 15 mixed nuts (pecans, cashews, almonds)
- Crudite with individual package of hummus
- Lowfat green tea latte with 10 almonds
- 3 cups air popped popcorn (or one of the healthier packaged ones)
8. What foods do you recommend your clients avoid, or limit, when getting leaner?
Take out anything with artificial sweeteners, dyes, and a whole bunch of OFF limit ingredients. Basically, try to get them to eat as little packaged and processed food as possible!!
9. What are the top 3 tips you have for busy working professionals looking to lose body fat and improve their health?
Be consistent.
Eat real food.
Listen to your body : eat when you are slightly hungry and stop when you are slightly satisfied.
10. Any final tips or information you want to offer?
We tend to tell ourselves “This week I’ll start my diet,” or “Monday is a new week.” Rather than waiting for Monday to come around, treat every meal like a Monday morning! Every meal is an individual opportunity to eat well! Lastly, don’t focus on what you can’t have. Instead, try and incorporate what you can have… it’s not that you can’t have the cake but rather you can have the blueberries.
These are very helpful and sound tips, Keri. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to share your insights with our BuiltLean community!