It's easy to assume that there's little common ground to share with 26-year-old basketball star Candace Parker. After all, not many women share her outlook (literally—she stands 6'4", no stilettos required) or her experience. The standout forward, in her second Olympic appearance, is trying to help the U.S. Women's Basketball team clinch their fifth consecutive gold medal. She seems to thrive on that kind of pressure: Parker's on-court leadership at the University of Tennessee sent her to the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, where in her first year she was named the 2008 MVP and Rookie of the Year. She also made her first trip to the Olympics, where she helped Team USA collect their fourth consecutive gold medal, with a perfect 8-0 record.
She takes her job seriously (just check the inside of her wrist, where her dedication is inked—"To whom much is given, much is expected"), but that doesn't mean it comes easy, especially when it comes to her diet. To any woman who works hard to defend her healthy diet from constant cravings, you and Parker have something in common.
How to Fuel a Champion
Hint: The answer rests on Parker's plate. "I usually eat four meals a day, especially on game days," she says. "I stick to whole grains, and don't eat red meat more than once or twice a week. (I stick to chicken, fish—stuff like that.)" But her busy schedule (a typical training day includes two practices) means keeping to a pretty regular routine. To stave off grumbles and keep her energy up, Parker starts her day with a pre-practice breakfast—usually oatmeal, cold cereal (like Honey Nut Cheerios), or waffles ("my guilty pleasure"). After practice, it's time for her second meal of day, usually a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich with fruit such as strawberries, and juice. She sleeps it off, wakes up to a pasta-based dish, and heads off for practice number two. Parker ends her night her "big meal": baked chicken, broccoli or carrots, and some kind of starch, like sweet potatoes (her favorite).
Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
Like an Olympian
Just as quickly as she can rattle off her go-to healthy eats, Parker drums up her favorites splurges without hesitation: Golden Oreos, store-bought yellow cake with vanilla icing, and Cold Stone Sweet Cream ice cream with cookie dough and strawberries in a waffle cone—just to name a few. "I used to have a huge sweet tooth, but now instead of Oreos I'll have grapes, instead of a huge sundae I'll have granola," says Parker.
Sounds great, but we're not convinced swapping fruit for cookies will satisfy, so we turned to Women's Health registered dietician Keri Glassman for advice. "If you're a generally healthy eater who exercises regularly, there is room to make 'conscious indulgences' that leave you feeling good—not overwhelmed and regretful—about your choices," says Glassman. Her recommendation: Don't ignore a craving. Instead, consider the healthiest way to satisfy that craving, like Parker does. Here, a few of Glassman's favorite swaps for the treats that tempt us most:
If you're craving an ice cream sundae…
Dig into 1 cup of frozen Greek yogurt with bananas mixed and 1 tablespoon of chocolate sauce. You'll still get that frozen treat—and chocolate!—to satisfy your sweet craving, but the protein-packed Greek yogurt is a much better choice than fat- and sugar-laden ice cream.
If you're craving cookies (and can't stop at one or two)…
Made some air-popped popcorn and toss it with 1 tablespoon of dark chocolate chips.
Here's why it will calm your cravings: Popcorn is filled with fiber, which is filling. The dark chocolate chips will soften when mixed with the warm kernels, and will nip that gooey craving in the bud. Also, popcorn crunches like a cookie, without the sugar, fat or artificial ingredients of many store-bought varieties.
If you're craving cake—loaded with icing…
Sub a high fiber cracker with 1 ounce of goat cheese topped with pureed strawberries. Don't sneer. Goat cheese is creamy, just like the icing, and the pureed strawberries give you the sweet punch of icing with way fewer calories, no refined sugar.
If you're craving candy…
Opt for dehydrated fruit. It tastes as sweet as candy, has fewer calories than typical dried fruit, and it's free of artificial ingredients and added sugars.
If you're craving chocolate…
Indulge in 1 ounce of dark chocolate morsels that are at least 60% cocoa (and preferably organic). Dark chocolate is an antioxidant, and believed to promote heart health with other cardiovascular benefits. It also boosts your immune system and has anticancer enzymes. Plus, it's straight-up chocolate, so your sweet tooth shouldn't complain. (And if it does? Mix in 1 tsp of raisins to counterbalance the bitter taste of dark chocolate, which milk-chocolate fans tend to dislike.)
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