EAT THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF CARBS 

Oh carbs, they get a bad rap, and unfairly so! It is about time we stop shaming carbs and learn to embrace them! Once we view them in a positive light and learn a long term sustainable approach on how to include them in our diet, we will be able to achieve and maintain weight loss. Carbohydrates are essential to our body, which means they are necessary to consume for optimal health and performance. The key though, is that we strive to eat the highest quality carbs (you know those high fiber, no added sugar carbs) most of the time (there is always room for an occasional cookie) and eat portions that are appropriate for our body and activity level. Let's keep this week's food skill simple. First, here are the foods that are considered to be an optimal "carb"...

ALL GRAINS SUCH AS RICE, OATS, PASTA, QUINOA ETC. , ALL BREADS TO INCLUDE TORTILLAS AND PITAS, ALL BEANS, POTATOES, SQUASH, CORN AND FRUIT. 

Second, use the hand portion guide of how much carbs to strive for at meal times. For women, strive to eat 1 cupped handful of carbs at meals and for men, strive for 2 cupped handfuls. Remember, this is not a rigid rule. If you notice you are still hungry soon after meals, you can increase carbs by 1/2 cupped handful. Conversely, if you are finding that you are stuffed, then reduce by 1/2 a handful. 

While tracking in your app this week, take pictures of your carb selections and pay attention to the quality and portion of carbs you eat. Are most of your carbs from processed high sugar sources? Are you omitting carbs all together? There is no judgement, just simply using the information you gain from your tracking to improve each day. All those baby steps really do add up over time when practiced consistently. Here is to learning to love carbs and how they nourish our bodies! 

Incorporate Yoga at Home 

Most of us inherently know that yoga has many benefits for the body, mind and spirit. In recent years, yoga has worked its way into mainstream health and fitness programs because people have begun to understand the benefits that those who practice it gain.This week, we want you to learn that yoga doesn't have to be intimidating or something you have to practice in a studio (although doing so is a great opportunity to learn from an experienced instructor). You can start slow with short and simple yoga poses at home! Our hope is that we can help you incorporate yoga into your self-care routine, just like brushing your teeth or getting adequate sleep. 

For this week, we encourage you to fit in yoga in a simple way, even if it is 5-10 minutes each day. Below, we are giving you 6 yoga moves to start with. Gently move into each of the 6 poses and hold for 4 rounds of the inhale/exhale breath cycles. If you want more structured yoga workouts, here are our favorite yoga videos that can be watched from your smart phone.