Episode 26: Redefining Summer Food

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Welcome to the Reclaim Podcast. I’m your host, Leah van Dolder. I’m a weight loss dietitian and mindset coach, and this program is for you if you’re a busy working woman or female entrepreneur, and you’re ready to take charge of your health. You’re ready to lose weight and make lasting positive change in your life. The only kicker is that you’re on the brink of burnout. You’re exhausted. You are frustrated. You’re feeling discouraged and uncomfortable. And this is how I help my clients: giving you simple, practical, and savvy strategies to help you achieve your goals while reducing your stress, boosting your mood, your energy, and your self-confidence. To learn more about working with me, check out my website at leahvandolder.com. Welcome to the show.

Hey, guys, welcome to this week’s episode of the Reclaim Podcast. I am really excited today to talk to you because, well, first of all, we’re in the middle of summer at the time that I’m recording this episode, and you are going to be hearing this in August, and there are going to be a lot of beach days and cottage days, and you’re on vacation, and I want to help you eat well and achieve your health and your weight loss goals while enjoying your summer life. So let’s get right into it today. I was talking to one of my clients the other day. We’ve been working together for probably five months now, and I remember she came to me, and she’s like, “Oh, eating healthy in the summer is so hard. I have such a great social life, and you know, all my friends and I, we love going to the beach and having these amazing cottage girls weekends and all of that stuff.”

I’m sure many of us can relate to that. But the problem with that was, and she told me flat out, she’s like, “I eat like garbage. I don’t feel good. My gut is an absolute disaster for three to five days after.” And she’s like, “I feel like my whole body now requires like a week to get itself situated again before feeling well.” And this is a very real thing, right? Like we’re no spring chickens anymore, right? We’re not 19, 20 years old when we can just spring back from a day of, you know, not so great eating and binge drinking. We are in our 30s and our 40s and our 50s and beyond, and it takes us way longer to recoup after a day of indulging and overindulging, especially.

So you kind of get to this point, and my client was at this point, she’s like, “I don’t even know if it’s worth it anymore.” You know, you do start to reevaluate what is worth it and what’s not and what choices are serving you and what choices aren’t serving you. And I really want to hone in on beach food because, kind of going back to this client, but we were chatting the other day about her beach bag and what foods to bring in her beach bag. And she’s like, “I don’t know why my brain doesn’t think about bringing, you know, a chicken salad and fruit and, you know, sparkling water to the beach. She’s like, I don’t get it. Why does my brain not go there? Because she’s having it, you know, most days of the week, she’s like, I know how to make that. It’s so second nature to me. So why would I not think about bringing that stuff to the beach?”

And here’s a truth about our brain. Our brain is very lazy and it doesn’t get very creative. And when I say beach food, what do you think? What’s the association there? I say beach food, and you think, well, french fries, poutine, and, you know, hot dogs or burgers. There’s a very strong association there. And I find with like, with myself and with clients now, after months of working together and I say, when I say beach food, what do you think? And they’re like, “Oh, like the regular healthy stuff that I normally eat at home, right? Like baby cucumbers and chicken sandwiches and fresh fruit and, you know, popcorn or chips and sparkling water.” Like that can be beach food too.

So the first thing that I really want to help you with is just bringing awareness to the fact that, you know, our brain loves functioning in autopilot. And this is a really great moment to snap out of that and just become aware of your autopilot thinking around what beach food means. And I’m here to tell you that I think it’s time to redefine what beach food means or what beach food looks like. Because it doesn’t have to look like chicken wings, french fries, and burgers with loads of bacon and cheese on it. Beach food could absolutely look like bringing a Mediterranean bean salad to the beach in your thermos beach bag, pulling out a couple of apples, and having a trail mix. That’s beach food.

And this goes back to changing your habits and your behaviors, right? Because when it comes to changing your behaviors, we gotta work backward and change your thinking. Because if you’re thinking that beach food means, you know, fries, burgers, and hot dogs, well then you’re probably not going to act any differently the next time you have a beach day. So start thinking differently about this stuff. Because that’s where change happens first, within your thought process, becoming aware of things, and just looking at things in a different way.

So going back to my client, we were chatting about this, and she’s like, “Okay, like I’m absolutely going to pack a bag with fruit, with sparkling water, with a salad, with some chicken on it.” And guess what? It worked like a dream for her. She messaged me and she’s like, “What a hitch, look at this beautiful beach bag.” She’s like, “Plus I felt so much better in my bathing suit. I wasn’t bloated. I wasn’t, you know, all gassy and uncomfortable. I had more fun because now I’m more apt to be getting up and walking the beach and getting in the water. And she just had such a better day because she felt better. Because we could talk all day long about, oh, you know, french fries aren’t healthy for you. But like, bottom line, how do these choices make you feel in your body? To me, that’s what’s very important. To my clients, that’s what’s very important.”

So I want to walk you through, what do I got here? How many? Six. Six categories that make a killer beach bag that’s going to give you energy, that’s going to make you feel incredible and comfortable in that sexy swimsuit of yours and is going to keep you, I say on track in quotes here, but yeah, keeping you on track without you feeling like you have to have five days of recovery to get back to your normal state. So let’s get right into this. And hey, before I do, take a sec, take a pause, go rate five stars and review this podcast. It helps so much with the growth of the podcast, and I just appreciate you being here. So thank you for doing that for me.

Okay, six categories that make a killer beach bag to help you with your health, how you feel in your body, and help with sustainable weight loss over time. Number one, let’s talk about hydration. I mean, girl, you’re sweating at the beach, you’re losing a ton of fluid, but yet we don’t really think about, oh yeah, let’s pack some water. Our immediate default thought is, oh yeah, I’m just going to pack a bunch of alcohol. So again, let’s redefine what hydration means. Let’s redefine and rethink what goes in your beach bag. Here’s some things that I love putting in my beach bag. Bubbly, so that’s sparkling water. I also really love putting Perrier, and they’ve got incredible flavors out right now, like strawberry, watermelon. I saw a peach mango one the other day and San Pellegrino. They’ve got awesome sparkling waters. Look for the ones that have zero added sugar, zero artificial sweeteners, but those three brands, Bubbly, Perrier, and the San Pellegrino, they are awesome brands that are great for your beach bag. Also pack water too. I mean, you’re going to be losing a lot of fluid when you’re sweating. So pack your water. I love bringing my one-liter water bottle absolutely everywhere with me. Put a bunch of ice in it. You’re good to go.

Second category of your beach bag, bring some fruit. An easy-to-eat fruit that doesn’t get a bunch of sand all over it because that’s the worst. Everybody hates chewing on sand. Bring some apples, some whole apples. Those are great. I love Honeycrisp apples; they are amazing at this time of year. Gala apples and Crips Pink are really tasty types of apples. Find strawberries; they are really great too to bring to the beach. They are a nice big berry. So you’re not dropping them all in the sand. Strawberries are great. And even dried fruit, right? Dried dates, dried apricots, bringing some raisins that come in the little containers. Those are awesome.

Third one is vegetables. And guys, like I am the queen of just going for easy because it works. You do not have to get into five-star fancy dining in order to be healthy. You know what kind of veg I pack on my beach bag? Stuff that I don’t have to wash or cut, which looks like those bags of baby carrots, those bags of baby cucumbers, or those little mini peppers. Those are perfect for the beach. The other thing too that I am doing because my garden is exploding with them right now, but zucchinis. And I don’t know if you’ve ever tried them raw, but they’re really great raw. Just cut them up like you would a cucumber. Or I put them in sticks, like carrot sticks, and they’re great with dips. Which rolls into my next category of dips. And actually, before I do, going back to the veggies for a sec, sometimes I brought salads to the beach. I mean, they can be a little bit messier, but they absolutely work. You can make a salad at home that’s a handful, a couple of handfuls of spring mix or even a bag salad and putting that in a Tupperware or a glass Pyrex container. That totally works at the beach. You put the dressing on at home so you’re not making a mess and fiddling with things on the beach, but that works too. Why not? Why not? Give it a go. If it’s not the best thing to have at the beach, whatever, then don’t do it again. But I personally find that doing the veggie and dip style seems to go over a little bit better than salads.

Alright, let’s talk about dips. There are a ton of different dips out there and some of them are really great for you and some of them are absolute garbage. So a few of my favorites are tzatziki. That’s a really tasty low-fat dip and a low-calorie dip. Hummus is another really good one. You can get all sorts of flavors now. My go-to is that Summer Fresh brand. They’ve got dill pickle flavored hummus. It’s amazing. Guacamole is another really good one and you don’t have to make your own guac if you want to have at it, but I really love buying the holy guacamole individual packs of guacamole. I’m sure there’s many other brands that have them too, but those are really handy for the beach. Straight up tomato salsa is also a really great dip. Pouring that in a Tupperware container and bringing that. And there’s some really great Greek yogurt dips out now. And one of my girlfriends, she gave me a really awesome recipe, you know, doing a cup of Greek yogurt, plain, a cup of plain Greek yogurt with a cup of feta cheese. You put that in a blender, put in some fresh lime juice and some red pepper chili flakes, and you got yourself a high protein dip that is perfect for vegetables or crackers or pita.

I’m going to share the last two categories with you that makes a killer beach bag for your health and your sustainable weight loss. But I just want to let you know, guys, these examples that I am sharing with you, these are straight from the Reclaim coaching program.

I would never share anything with you that I don’t do myself and share with my clients. These are simple nutrition examples that I use every single day with my clients and within my own household, and they give you results. They not only give you results towards your health and your weight loss, but they give you so much energy, and you’re not wasting your time trying to make all this stuff on your own.

Like a lot of these examples, you can go buy already prepped. And the other cool thing too is that a lot of clients that I work with, you know, you’ve got family and you’ve got kids. And I think something that needs to be said here is you simply putting together this beach bag of healthy options. You are modeling such incredible healthy behavior. Your kids are learning by watching you. You know, your actions speak so much louder than anything that you tell anybody, right? Your kids don’t listen to you, but they will learn from watching you.

So you’re making a massive impact on your family. And even for those of you who don’t have kids, like I can tell you firsthand, you’re going to have a massive impact on your friend circle by just showing up with a healthy beach bag. And some people will be like, whoa, like what’s going on here in a very good way. And some people won’t say anything, but whatever. You’re doing the best for you, and you are being a really healthy role model, and you have a lot of influence without even saying anything.

Okay, last two categories here. Proteins, because I find this can be hard at the beach. So here’s my favorite ones. Boiling eggs ahead of time and bringing some boiled eggs or deviled eggs. Those are awesome to have at the beach. Protein bars. I mean, they’re great. They’re already packaged. You don’t have to make them. So some of my favorite brands, I really love the RX bars that we have here, and even the Cliff Builders Minis. Those ones are perfect size and they keep two single digits of sugar.

I’ve added sugar in the bar, which is great. And the other thing that I like to bring to the beach is those little flavored tuna packs, you know, the peel-off top ones. And they come in all sorts of awesome flavors like lemon, dill, tomato, basil. I mean, there are so many different kinds, but those things are awesome to have at the beach. No mess, no fuss. You don’t have to bring a can opener. They’re really easy. They’re great. And pre-made bean salads. I found some at the grocery store the other week. Some are fresh brand, but there are all sorts of other brands that make bean salads.

This one in particular had chickpeas in it. It had some vegetables in it, and it was really tasty and so easy to bring to the beach because I didn’t have to make it. And the last one would be deli meats. And before I talk about deli meats a little bit more, I know your jaw is dropping like, oh my gosh, I thought deli meats were the worst thing ever. You know what? Deli meats, they aren’t something that I have in my fridge on a regular basis, but I got to tell you, there’s a time and a place to have them.

And some brands have come out with much better recipes for their deli meat. My favorite brands would be Maple Leaf Natural Selections or President’s Choice Free From. They have some great roasted chicken and roasted turkey. And then deli meat is something that I have as a perfect thing for the beach. And I’ve been doing pickle roll-ups with them. Take a big dill pickle and then you just take a slice of turkey or chicken and roll up the pickle in it. I know, so delicious, so easy. And doing, rolling with the deli turkey or the deli chicken for those. So that is protein.

Now you’ve got your protein. Now let’s talk about the crunchies because we all love a good cracker or chip or something like that at the beach. Some of my favorite crackers these days are those Popcorner or sorry, chips. Some of my favorite chips these days. The brand Popcorner, they are popcorn chips and they are baked. So they are so tasty. They’re so light. And my favorite flavor is a salt, and I think it’s just sea salt. It’s amazing. They have all sorts of different flavors.

So Popcorner, those harvest snap peas are also very good. Those little, I mean, you can get them raw like the snap peas that would fall into the veggie category. But these ones, those harvest snap peas are more like little straws or kind of like chips, but they’re very tasty too. High fiber, high protein. Tara. Tara makes some really great vegetable and root vegetable chips. So those are great for the beach.

And a couple of cracker brands that I really like. Those Mary’s organic crackers are amazing. She’s got really great seed crackers or whole grain crackers. Kashi also makes some really great seven-grain and whole grain crackers. And Triscuits has really upped their recipe. I should be getting sponsored for these things. Anybody know how to set that up for me? But Triscuits, their thins are so good. And I really like their parm garlic Triscuit thins.

So those are six categories of things that you can stock in your beach bag to keep you feeling good, to keep you feeling energized, light on your feet, comfortable in your bathing suit, and just help you enjoy the day more instead of rolling around on your beach towel because you feel all gross and bloated.

The last thing that I have to share with you because you may know all of these things and have this strategy for the beach bag, but there’s something to be said when you know what to do and you don’t do it. Why is that? I’ve had a lot of story that we’re making up in our head, and a very common one when showing up with your own food or healthy food to the beach is you get in your head and you make up the story that somebody is gonna say something about it.

Somebody is going to think that you’re being rude for showing up with, you know, healthy food. Somebody’s gonna think that you’re better than them for showing up with healthy food, or somebody’s gonna think or, you know, pass judgment on you because you’re, you know, changing your habits and making a healthy lifestyle for yourself.

I know you’re probably thinking, oh my gosh, Leah, get out of my head. This happens all the time, and this is what is so groundbreaking and what really helps with the execution piece because, and that’s why women work with me, right? They know what to do and they say it all the time. I know what to do but I don’t do it.

So something’s happening along the execution line of things, and it’s typically these stories that we tell ourselves because as humans we hate pain or anything uncomfortable, and we hate the feeling of rejection or we hate feeling judged. We hate it. So we do a lot to kind of avoid it. So here’s just a couple of things to leave you off with today.

I find simply calling yourself out on that be like, hey, is this a story or is this actually true? I find that’s very helpful because it puts you in this like state of awareness and you’re able to have a little chitchat with yourself because really, is somebody going to think that you’re better than them for showing up with healthy food? Is that actually true? Has someone ever said those words to you or is that just a story that you’re telling yourself that’s really getting in the way of you executing?

Ringing the beach bag, right? So just catch yourself and ask, wait, is that really true? Is this just a story that I’m telling myself? And the second one, give yourself permission to prove yourself wrong. We put so much pressure on ourselves in social situations like, oh man, you know, I hope all goes well and like, oh geez, this is a big test to see if anybody says something to me about bringing a healthy beach bag.

Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. I want you to think about this as just a little quiz, right? This is not a final exam of you showing up to the beach with a beach bag. Just give yourself permission to try this stuff out. Be your own investigator, you know, be curious about what happens versus critical and judgmental of yourself for this situation.

So bring the beach bag, try it out, prove yourself wrong because I bet you nobody will say anything to you. And if they do, it will probably be like, oh my gosh, look at you, like way to go girl, you brought some healthy options. And people are probably going to eat from your bag because you brought healthy stuff. So give it a try, try it out, prove yourself wrong.

You know, you got to give your brain some proof to be like, oh right, I did try that out and nobody actually said anything. And actually people love that I brought a veggie tray, didn’t even have any leftovers to bring home. Because this is going to help with your execution, like time and time again down the road.

And the last little piece here around the execution of things, because I do get this a lot, it’s like, what if people think that I am, you know, quote unquote better than them for, you know, bringing healthy food or not drinking alcohol? You know, what if somebody thinks that, right?

Well, here’s the thing, we have zero control around what people think. And if they even thought that, they’re probably not going to say it to you. So here’s what I want you to think instead. Instead of thinking, oh, but what if they think they’re better than me? No, no. I want you to just ask, what’s better for me? What’s better for me?

It’s better for you to show up with these healthy foods that make you feel good. It’s better for you to hydrate yourself versus, you know, having five coolers sitting on the beach in the afternoon. It’s better for you to be displaying these healthy habits for your family. It’s better for you. Because at the end of the day, this is all about you. It’s your body, your health, your happiness. It’s nobody else’s. This is about you. And that’s not selfish. This is self-care. This is self-love. Do you? You do you.

So with that, guys, this wraps up this week’s episode. Tell me how you love this episode. Go on over to Instagram, and hey, if you’re not following me, you have to. You’re missing out a lot if you’re not over there. So my handle is Leah Van Dolder. Tell me that you love this episode and take some pictures of your beach bag. Tag me on Instagram. I’d love to see what you guys are packing in your beach bag.

And if you would love to learn more about working with me and you are ready to take that next step or you’re ready to level up your health and your weight loss, reach out on Instagram. Tell me that you’d love to chat or go right to my show notes. There’s an application link to apply to work with me, and we’ll go from there. This is a great time to do so because we’re coming into the end of summer, right? Thinking about September. So this is the best time to start or level up your journey.

I’m excited to hear from you, and I’ll catch you guys in the next episode. Bye for now. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Reclaim podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, I encourage you to follow, rate, and review. To learn more about working with me, check out my website at leahvandolder.com. Thank you again for being here. It means the world to be able to connect with you.

Girl, keep doing amazing things. You have everything that it takes to achieve your goals and be successful at anything that you want.