A Dietitian's View

March 11, 2010

Lose It or You Really Will Lose It!

A new online weight loss program gives you an incentive to lose weight: if you don't, you'll lose money! Loseitorloseit.com lets you choose your own 10 week weight loss goal and how much you're willing to "lose" if you don't meet your goal. It also lets you track your progress online.

If you miss a weigh in or don't meet your goal, you get a monetary penalty. Stay tuned here for diet and exercise advice as this is not the purpose of the loseitorloseit.com website.

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January 24, 2010

Get the Most Nutrition from Your Calories

One of the biggest nutrition problem for most Americans is posed by high-fat, high-sugar foods and drinks, such as snack foods, candies and soft drinks. Eating smarter does not mean you have to immediately go sugar-free and fat-free.

You can make a big difference in your calorie intake by just eating and drinking smaller portions and by making empty calorie choices less often.

The key is to moderate, not eliminate. Watching portion sizes is an easy way to cut back without cutting out. If you want to consume less sugar, limit your soft drink intake to one can a day and switch to sparkling water the rest of the time.

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September 24, 2009

Weight Maintenance

Losing weight is one thing. Keeping it off is another issue. Too many dieters end up back where they started: regaining the weight they worked so hard to shed.

So what are the savvy secrets for staying slim? Turns out it has more to do with what’s on your mind before you think about what’s on your plate.

Dr. John Foreyt, professor of psychiatry and director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston said, “The keys to long-term weight control are problem-solving on a daily basis, predicting challenges and then planning for them. People may say they want a detailed prescribed meal plan, but what they need is nutrition know-how and the problem-solving skills to use any day of their lives.”

He concludes that it’s the power of mind that keeps the trim people trim — and, boy, do they work at it. “They are eternally vigilant with daily or weekly weighing, they monitor calorie intake and they’re highly active, exercising at least 60 minutes a day,” he said.

The exercise of choice is walking — enough to burn 400 calories a day, according to Dr. Jim Hill’s research from the National Weight Control Registry, a database of more than 5,000 people who’ve lost more than 30 pounds and kept the weight off for at least a year.

“The good news is small changes for all of us, things that take very little time and effort, like walking an extra 2,000 steps a day, about 15 minutes, can burn 100 calories,” he said.

Trimming 100 calories from what you normally eat each day can help, too. Skip the cheese on the cheeseburger, choose the low-fat mayonnaise, eliminate one tablespoon of butter, ask for club soda instead of tonic water in a cocktail, use nonfat milk in a latte.

What else does the slim set do to maintain their weight?

They eat until satisfied, not stuffed.

Try putting your fork down halfway through a meal and ask yourself, using a 1 to 10 scale, how full you are. Take a sip of water. Talk to your dining companions. You’ll give yourself time to gauge how hungry you really are. Eating slowly allows the stomach time to trigger the brain’s sensation of fullness.

They eat more fruits and vegetables.

According to a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, healthy weight women eat one more serving of fruit and eat more fiber and less fat per day than overweight people. And even though many people associate weight loss with high protein intake, the statistics from the successful dieters in the National Weight Control Registry don’t support the eat-all-the-steak-you-want diet. Their diets were on average 20 percent protein, 24 percent fat and 56 percent carbohydrates. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are the best sources of healthy carbs.

They have a plan and stick to it.

Seventy-eight percent of successful dieters in National Weight Control Registry ate breakfast every day. They also consistently monitored their food intake.

According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine conducted by Dr. Rena Wing of Brown University, folks who lost weight and kept it off continued to be careful about consumption of lower calorie menu options and moderated their fat intake.

They’re smart about splurging.

Whether it’s chocolate brownies, french fries or lasagna that you crave, realize you love these foods and allow yourself to enjoy them in sensible portions. Feel the textures and smell the aromas to help you feel more satisfied with a smaller portion.

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August 31, 2009

Snack Savvy

Can snacking help you lose weight? It all depends on what you consider a snack and what the rest of your caloric intake looks like.

The main benefit of snacking is that it can curb feelings of starvation before a meal and thus prevent gorging. But when one considers that a typical cookie nowadays is the size of a Frisbee, and one bagel contains as many as 4 or 5 servings of carbohydrates, who's to say what a "small" looks like anymore?

Done appropriately, snacks can help you eat less at mealtime. However, you have to follow a few rules.

1. Plan ahead: Food is not just going to magically appear in the fridge or in your office drawer. Make a grocery store run at least once a week.

Spend time washing, peeling, cutting and whatever else is required to make your snacks ready to eat. If the snack is in the fridge and ready to go, that's what you'll eat. If it isn't, that's when you'll go for the bag of chips.

2. Pack something you like: There's nothing worse than being hungry and having a snack that you're not into. Don't pack rice cakes if you don't like them. Pack hummus with carrots if that's what you like. Pack ¼ cup of lightly salted edamame for a salty snack, or an apple with a thin spread of peanut butter.

3. Portion it out: Remember, this is a snack, not a meal. Snacks should range from 175 to 225 calories. If you're not into measuring out your food just yet, then opt for individually packaged items. Good options include part-skim mozzarella cheese sticks, 6-ounce low-fat yogurts and single-serving containers of such foods as cottage cheese or whole wheat pretzels. Whole fruits are a great snack, of course. Dried fruits are almost as good, but they do contain excess sugar. It's easy to overeat on dried fruits -- about ¼ cup is generally a single serving.

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December 20, 2008

New Sweetner for Beverages

Federal regulators have approved two versions of a new zero-calorie sweetener developed by the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, paving the way for new products.

Cargill, which is marketing the sweetener Truvia from Coca-Cola, said on Wednesday that it had received notification from the Food and Drug Administration that it had no objection to the product, calling it “generally recognized as safe.”

PepsiCo said it also had received a no-objection letter and the same designation from the agency related to its sweetener, PureVia.

Both products use rebiana, an extract from the stevia plant.

This week, Coca-Cola said it would begin selling products made with the new zero-calorie sweetener despite not yet receiving the official word from the government.

PepsiCo said it would not follow suit until the F.D.A. issued the designation.

PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., said Wednesday that it would be releasing three new zero-calorie SoBe Lifewater flavors: Fuji Apple Pear, Black and Blue Berry and Yumberry Pomegranate. The products will be in stores this year, the company said.

Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, said Wednesday it would introduce an extension of its Sprite line with the Truvia sweetener

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November 29, 2008

Weight Loss Pitfalls

Three common sabotages to weight loss efforts:

1.) Liquid Calories
Smoothies and juices are way too easy to guzzle down. Worse, your brain doesn't consider those calories food, so they don't fight off hunger.

Solution: Choose water every other time you're thinking of having a "healthy" drink. Better yet, limit yourself to eight ounces of 100% juice a day or less and skip juice drinks entirely.

2.) Mindless Eating
Think of it as edible amnesia, a condition where you forget things like mowing through a bag of chips while vegging out in front of the TV, or grabbing a bag of M&M's every time you leave a store.
Solution: Uncover problem times by keeping a record of every morsel (or drink) that passes your lips. Maintain the journal for at least a week.

3.) Inactivity
Even if you're sweating in the gym, you may be moving around less later on — because you're either tired or feel like you've already worked out enough to justify skipping everyday activities such as taking the stairs.
Solution: Buy a pedometer and get in at least 10,000 steps a day — in addition to your workout.

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October 14, 2008

Out of sight....out of mind.

To avoid a certain food, keep it away from you and place healthier foods within your reach. Chocolate candies in a clear dish, in your reach are more likely to be eaten then if they are in a darker colored dish on the other side of the room.

Display tasty pieces of fruit or veggie sticks within reach so you are more likely to eat these items than the less healthier ones.

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September 28, 2008

Marketing Tricks

Don’t let a name of a product trick you into eating or drinking more. Studies have shown that people eat more pie when it’s listed as Grandma’s Homemade Apple Pie” compared to “apple pie” and drink more wine when the label says from California as compared to North Dakota.

Watch out for labels with fancy names. Be a careful food shopper and pay attention. Many of us eat more when a food has a tasty name.

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July 02, 2008

Portion vs. Serving

A portion is the amount of food you choose to eat and a serving is the standard unit of measure. The portion you choose may often contain more than the established serving size which ultimately means you can consume more calories. The Nutrition Facts label will help guide your understanding of the “appropriate” amount of a particular food.

It is very easy to overdo portions and eat more than you need, especially when you are dining out or experiencing a special occasion with family and friends. It is important to recognize these occasions by balancing a day where you may overeat with increased physical activity or simply eat less at the next meal. Most importantly, you must remember
that your total diet and exercise regime balanced over several days is what counts.

How can you watch your portion size?
• Place food on smaller plates which gives the eye appeal of more food.
• Be sure that you incorporate fresh or frozen vegetables for every lunch and dinner meal. Vegetables are delicious, packed with nutrition, often low in calories and provide a lot of bulk and fiber.
• Select frozen prepared meals that have “portion control” built right in.
• Select single-serve portions for snacks and desserts. Always use the food label to be sure you are accurately selecting your portion.
• If you select a food from a large container or bag, serve yourself one portion and put the rest away.
• Eat slowly and enjoy your meals. Research has shown it takes approximately 20 minutes for your stomach to signal that it is full.
• Keep snacking to a minimum. If you choose snacks, try to select fresh fruits or vegetables.

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March 17, 2008

I Can Make You Thin

Did anyone tune into the new reality show on TLC? Paul McKenna, a self-claimed weight loss guru, uses accessible techniques that focus on controlling the mind’s relationship with food. Every week on the show, he will cover a major theme such as emotional eating, addictions and cravings, motivation to exercise and metabolism, and self esteem and self-image. He has “4 Golden Rules” which turned out to be concepts I teach to my patients as well.

Th 4 Golden Rules
#1 Eat when you are hungry (starving on a “diet” doesn’t work)

#2 Eat what you want, not what you think you should (there are no forbidden foods)
#3 Eat consciously, enjoy each mouthful (put your knife and fork down between bites and do not eat while reading, talking on the phone, watching tv, etc.)
#4 Stop eating when you are full (Tune into your satiety feelings)

We’ll see how the show progresses…

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March 13, 2008

All-you-can-eat seats?

Downing a dog while watching the Texas Rangers or another team may put a fan in the middle of a new controversy: ballparks' all-you-can-eat seats.

At least 13 of the 30 major league teams will offer all-you-can-eat seats for all or part of the 2008 season, up from six last year, USA Today reported Friday.

All-you-can-eat options -- usually offered in the cheap seats -- allow teams to wring revenue out of parts of ballparks that used to sit empty, team officials told the newspaper.

Diet and health specialists say the seats symbolize super-sized fast-food and poor nutrition. At a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the nation is in an obesity crisis, setting aside places for fans to feast is irresponsible, many specialists say.

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November 23, 2007

Front-load your day's calories.

We all know that breakfast helps keep your waistline trim, but here's more solid proof: In a recent study, University of Texas at El Paso researchers found that people who ate breakfast took in 5 percent fewer calories over the course of the day. That's only about 100 calories (if you typically eat the 2,000 calories per day recommended for adult women), but, over time, it adds up.

Saving 100 calories a day for one year equals a loss of more than 10 pounds. Experts estimate most of us eat 20 percent of our daily calories at breakfast, 30 percent at lunch, and 50 percent at dinner. If you eat the majority of your calories before 6pm - you may find that you eat less. If you can't stomach a bigger breakfast (keep it healthy with a combo of low-fat protein, whole grains, and fruit or veggies), add a mid-morning snack (a container of yogurt, some fruit and a few whole-grain crackers, or half a sandwich).

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October 17, 2007

Sleep: Taken For Ganted

Research dedicated to sleep and body weight has been finding some interesting data regarding hormone action. Ever notice when you haven't been sleeping well, you tend to eat more? Maybe you feel like you have low energy and need to eat food for energy...when really you just need a nap or to go to bed earlier.
In a recent study, when sleep was cut in half from 8 to 4 hours per night, subjects craved more high-calorie, high-carbohydrate foods like candy, cakes and cookies. Blood tests showed an inability to use insulin similar to that of someone with diabetes. Cortisol levels increased as well (Cortisol has been linked with abdominal fat storage).

Leptin - a hormone known to increase satiety - decreased in these patients while ghrelin - a hormone known to stimulate appetite - increased. Overall, results indicated a positive association with appetite and weight gain.

If you suffer from chronic sleep deprivation, try these tips:

-- Get out of bed at the same time each morning; that means strive to go to bed at the same time.

-- Make your bedroom cool and comfortable.

-- Don't stay in bed and try to sleep. If, in 10-15 minutes, you are struggling to fall asleep, get up, move to another room and do something distracting but not stimulating. Read or perhaps listen to soft music.

-- Use the bedroom for sleep. Don't pay bills, watch TV or eat.

-- Don't clock-watch.

-- Avoid alcohol near bedtime; avoid caffeine after noon.

-- Relax before bed. Just as you might read to children to help them get to sleep, you need a way to unwind.

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September 20, 2007

Deserve to Splurge?

The need for a reward is human nature. And for many, that "something special" is food. You can't change what makes you happy, but you can minimize the damage to your healthy eating plan. Choose one portion-controlled item that requires you to leave the house, such as a cup of lobster bisque from your favorite eatery or a small, fresh pastry from the bakery.

It's more rewarding to have a nice treat than to waste calories on regular things you can have anytime, like potato chips or cookies. Even better, find a non-food reward: Catch a movie, get a massage at the spa, or buy a flattering pair of yoga pants.

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June 20, 2007

Alli - A Friend or Foe?

Last week, the first FDA-approved weight-loss drug, Alli ( pronounced al-eye), once sold by prescription as Xenical (orlistat), hit store shelves. Until then, the options for dieters looking for that over-the-counter quick fix were limited to dietary supplements like CortiSlim and Trimspa, which aren't required by the government to prove they're either safe or effective.
Enter Alli — a drug that acts on the gut, not the brain, binding an enzyme called lipase to block about 25 percent of fat eaten in a meal. For every 10 pounds you could lose with diet and exercise, you can lose an additional 5 pounds using this drug.

But here's the catch: As the manufacturer of the drug clearly states, "Alli is not for everyone. It's for the consumer who can follow a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet for weight loss."

The key to using this drug successfully is to keep your intake of fat grams to no more than 15 to 20 per meal. Go over that limit, and you could find yourself having to heed nature's call at the most inopportune moments. Another side effect is decreased absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and other nutrients, so Alli users should take a multivitamin-mineral supplement before bedtime.

One more tip: Remember that calories still count. The focus of the meal plan is on counting fat grams, but we don't want a repeat of the last low-fat dieting craze when dieters loaded up on fat-free snacks that were loaded with sugar and calories.

Whether this drug is right for you is a decision you should make with your physician. (For more information on the drug and the weight-loss plan, visit www.myalli.com.)

Here's a suggestion: Before you try the drug, why not first see if you can follow the dietary recommendations that go with it?

Stick to it and chances are good you won't need a magic pill to reach your weight-loss goal after all.

Sample Menu:

8 ounces low-fat Stonyfield Farm vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup Back to Nature Classic Granola
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
(Total = 5 grams of fat)

Subway 6-inch turkey breast sub (lettuce, tomato, mustard
and peppers)
1 cup Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup
Small bag baked potato chips (1 ounce)
Bottled water
(Total = 12 grams of fat)

3 ounces chicken breast strips
and 1 cup snow peas stir-fried
with 1 teaspoon peanut oil
1 cup whole-grain instant brown rice
1 cup won-ton soup
Calorie-free sparkling flavored water
(Total = 14 grams of fat)

Sample Menu:

1 hard-cooked egg
1 slice whole-wheat toast
1 teaspoon
soft tub margarine
1 teaspoon strawberry jam
6 ounces orange juice
Coffee with 2 teaspoons
half-and-half
(Total = 12 grams of fat)

1 cup Progresso chicken noodle soup
4 RyKrisp crackers
4 wedges Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb cheese
Fresh pear
(Total = 12 grams of fat)

3 ounces farmed Atlantic salmon
Medium baked potato with fat-free sour cream
Steamed broccoli and cauliflower
2 Fig Newtons
Iced tea
(Total = 15 grams of fat)

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March 28, 2007

Motivation Boosters

When you need a boost to stay on track, try these strategies:

Make lifestyle changes with a friend or family member. A partner increases the enjoyment factor of physical activity and healthful eating.
Enlist support. Those who have a support system including family and friends are more likely to manage their weight successfully. Watch out for those who attempt to sabotage your efforts.

Please yourself. Remember, the most important reason to work towards a healthy weight is you.
Enjoy how good your healthy weight feels. If you’re eating better, being more active, your clothes fit better, you have more energy, you sleep better – that’s success! Even if the number on the scale isn’t your goal weight. Celebrate your successes with non-food rewards like new clothes, fresh flowers, a special outing, new music to listen to. You deserve it!

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January 09, 2007

A New Year. A New Way of Thinking.

When it comes to weight loss, there's an awful lot of "myth-information" out there. Along with the proliferation of fad diets come some pretty strange notions about how to succeed at weight management.

The beginning of a new year, however, is a great time to start fresh. The following information is offered to help clear up some common misconceptions.

There is no miracle food that burns calories. Grapefruit is tasty and nutritious, but it won't whittle down your waistline. Water is calorie-free and essential, but it won't flush away those excess calories.

Similarly, there is no pill or supplement sold over the counter that can help burn fat or speed up your metabolism. Buying these will only slim down your wallet.

Calories count. Despite the resurgence of the low-carbohydrate craze, if you want to be successful with weight loss, you need to make changes that result in fewer calories being consumed and/or more calories being used by the body.

A deficit of a mere 100 calories a day (one less cookie then usual) can result in a 10-pound weight loss in the coming year. Learn more about the calorie content of food by looking at the "calories per serving" on the food label.

Liquid calories also count. Many people consume a lot of their excess calories in the form of sweetened sodas and iced teas, specialty coffee drinks and alcoholic beverages. Just because they don't fill your stomach, doesn't mean they aren't filling your calorie quota.

All foods can fit when you're trying to lose weight. For certain high-calorie foods, it's simply a matter of how much and how often you include them. Totally depriving yourself of foods you enjoy is generally short-lived.

Simply because a restaurant serves you gigantic portions doesn't mean you need to consume that amount. Portion distortion is a reality you need to overcome. Educate yourself about recommended serving sizes at www.mypyramid.gov.

Weight loss also doesn't have to involve severe hunger and rabbit-size portions. It's not the volume of food that matters, it's the total calories consumed at the end of the day.

One person could eat a mere six items a day, but if they're all high-calorie choices (fried foods or rich desserts), that person will consume a lot more total calories than someone who consumes twice that number of lower-calorie choices.

Some dieters think erroneously that they need to reach their "ideal" weight before their health will improve. Multiple studies have shown that even small amounts of weight loss can improve things such as cholesterol level, blood pressure and diabetes control.

Another common myth: Exercise allows a person to eat a lot more. Physical activity is a key element for long-term weight loss success; however, walking for 30 minutes isn't going to cancel out that 600-calorie dessert.

Weight loss is hard enough without having to separate fact from fiction. The truth is, though, that there's a lot of misinformation out there. Always question the source, and keep in mind the adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

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November 30, 2006

The ADA responds: Beverages with Benefits?

A growing number of “functional beverages�? — juice, tea, soft drinks and flavored water enhanced with herbs, phytonutrients and other ingredients — are being marketed with promises to improve your memory, put you in a better mood, relieve stress, give you energy and fight fat.

Do these drinks deliver on their claims?

In reality, most functional beverages have not been found to offer special health benefits for most healthy people. Among the issues: Claims aren’t proven; the amount of the added ingredient is neither standardized nor identified on the label; and their safety isn’t known.

Functional drinks also won’t overcome dysfunctional eating or living. Your best approach to health and feeling energetic remains healthful eating, regular physical activity and getting enough sleep.

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November 29, 2006

Weight Loss In a Bottle?

Beverage makers have created what they say are calorie-burning alternatives to sugary soft drinks that feature green tea and caffeine. Celsius and Enviga promise that this combination will boost metabolism and burn calories.

Though scientists still aren't sure just how the antioxidant found in green tea — epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG works, some suggest it triggers greater production of a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine, elevating metabolism. Caffeine also raises the metabolic rate, and early research suggests combining EGCG with caffeine is the key to a measurable increase. The concept is intriguing — but far from proven.

Caffeine, of course, plays a role in the drinks' effect on metabolism. Celsius contains 200 milligrams of caffeine and Enviga 100. A Coke or Pepsi contain approximately 35 milligrams of caffeine; a 5-ounce cup of coffee has about 100 milligrams.
Enviga, sweetened with aspartame, comes in three flavors — green tea, berry and peach — and sells for about $1.29 to $1.49 a can.
Celsius, which sells for roughly $1.99 is sweetened with sucralose, or Splenda, it too is available in a variety of flavors.

These drinks are marketed towards consumers who normally down several 150-calorie sugary sodas a day. Of course, simply exercising and replacing regular sodas with low- or no-calorie drinks could obviously help Americans shed excess pounds. But that’s too much work – everyone wants a quick fix that doesn’t involve any effort on their part.

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November 16, 2006

Not a Quick Fix

Successful weight loss is 50% attitude. You didn't gain weight overnight, and you're not going to lose it overnight either, so be patient and positive. A huge problem that people have is unrealistic expectations. They start off enthusiastically and then stop when they don't see major results. Losing a half pound to a pound a week is ideal. If you don't think that's a lot, put it into perspective: one pound of fat equals four sticks of butter. That's a significant loss. Remember, consistency is what brings you results.

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July 14, 2006

Are you really hungry?

Can an apple really tell you if you’re hungry or not? Ever hear of the apple test? This is a way you can determine emotional needs from physiological hunger. At the onset of food thoughts, cravings or prior to eating anything that is offered to you – ask yourself “Would I eat an apple?�? Since apples are usually considered plain but nourishing food, the goal is to determine if you are truly hungry. If you answer yes, I would eat an apple, you are truly hungry. If you answer no, I would eat a donut but not an apple, you are eating to fill emotional needs. Now if you don’t like the taste of apples and you wouldn’t eat them if you were starving on a deserted island – don’t use this test.

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July 10, 2006

A sound and healthy diet ...

(Diet meaning what you eat everyday)

• Relies on a variety of readily available foods.
• Includes an exercise component, preferably at least 30 minutes per day.
• Promotes slow, gradual weight loss of 1/2 to 2 pounds per week.
• Requires medical clearance from your doctor.
• Is based on at least three meals per day.
• Requires a commitment to changing lifestyle habits (behavior modification).
• Contains all the essential nutrients and food groups.
• Is one you can follow long term.
• Prescribes portion control and moderation.
• Provides at least 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day.
• Provides enough food to satisfy your hunger.
— Kathleen M. Zelman

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June 27, 2006

Other possible obesity contributors

Having your air conditioner running during those hot summer days helps keep you cool and comfortable, but did you ever think that it could make you fat?

A review of data on possible causes of obesity states that it just may be. How?

Modern technologies -- such as air conditioning and heating -- help keep us in "the thermoneutral zone," a temperature range where we do not have to regulate our body temperature, a report suggests.

When our bodies are above or below this zone, we increase the amount of energy we spend, which "decreases energy stores," such as fat, the study's authors say.

This is just one of many potential factors that could be driving America's obesity epidemic, said David Allison, director of the Clinical Nutrition Research Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Besides the usual suspects such as fast food and a lack of exercise, he argues that any number of things could be making the problem worse, such as sleep deprivation, taking certain medications, or even quitting smoking -- and snacking instead.

"There are many other factors [not commonly considered] that may also be quite important" to exacerbate weight gain, said Allison, the lead author of the review of obesity studies, published in the International Journal of Obesity.

For example, chronic sleep deprivation also was considered a possible factor.

Many Americans don't get enough sleep, and when tired, people do not have energy to exercise and are tempted to eat, or overeat, in order to gain energy, said David Jenkins, Canada research chair in nutrition and metabolism.

Read more.

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May 10, 2006

Weight Loss Woes

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD hits it on the nose with this quote:

The problem is most diets suggest radical changes from usual dietary habits, and as a result, dieters only last a few weeks to months before throwing in the towel and returning to their old eating habits. Being ravenous all the time, spending an hour a day at the gym, or feeling deprived of favorite foods are triggers that put an end to conventional diets.

So What Works?

It is not sexy, and to some it borders on utterly boring, but the real secret to weight loss is making slow and gradual changes in eating and lifestyle behaviors. Experts recommend trimming 500 calories a day by reducing calories and increasing exercise to result in a 1-2 pound weekly weight loss. Holding the mayo on your sandwich, eating a side salad instead of french fries at lunch, walking 45 minutes, reducing portion sizes, and piling on the veggies at dinner are examples of simple ways to trim 500 calories in a day.

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May 03, 2006

Quote of the Day

Losing weight is inconvenient and intentional. Gaining weight is convenient and unintentional.

It is truly a matter of mind over matter. Wellness is a conscious choice every day, all day. Eat, exercise and eliminate; these are the mandates of wellness. There is no pill for that. Man is the only living thing with the power to make rational choices. We are not animals!

As Americans, we have gotten so accustomed to other people doing our thinking for us, that we are literally eating ourselves to death.

Ivory Dorsey, Mableton, Ga.

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April 07, 2006

Eat and Sleep, Eat and Sleep.

These 2 things that everyone does are important when it comes to weight management.

Eat like clockwork

Women who eat erratically consume more calories and burn them less quickly than those who have six regular small meals each day, according to a British study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Don't go more than three or four hours without eating something.

Get some sleep

People who sleep seven to eight hours per night are leaner than those who get only five or six hours, according to research from Laval University in Quebec. When you're sleep deprived, your body produces more stress hormones, which may increase your appetite.

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April 05, 2006

Think Before You Eat

Let's say you like pizza. Think of your favorite kind of pizza (John’s Wildwood pizza – yum). What if after one slice, you started to feel full? Would you eat 2 or 3 slices just because it’s your favorite? Could you save it for later or be satisfied with just that one slice. If you’re not eating out of hunger, why are you eating? Are you never ever going to have this food again? Have you been depriving yourself of this food and now that you had a taste you might as well eat more than you need? Will eating a lot of it be satisfying to you?

If you have a tedency to overeat, think about why you're actually eating. Keep a food journal and write down not only the food you eat but also what you're feeling right before you eat and then again right after you eat. Don't deprive yourself of your favorite foods. Eat them on occaision and enjoy them. Remember, all food fits!

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March 24, 2006

The cost of good health.

What if a banana cost less than a chocolate bar? Or a cereal bar cost less than a donut? Or an entrée salad cost less than a cheeseburger and French fry meal? Would you choose the less expensive food item, simply because of the price? What’s more important – money or your health? The junk food tax is being proposed to help combat the rising rates of obesity. Complaints have been made that eating healthy is too expensive. What if the tables were turned and now it was more expensive to eat junk food? The idea is that if healthy food was more readily available and less expensive than junk food alternatives – people will choose to eat more healthfully.

The problem is with obesity, if you eat too much of anything, you can gain weight. If it takes 3 cereal bars to fill you up, you may have been better off eating the donut. Again, it’s all about balance (I feel like a broken record). Daily donuts could turn into an unhealthy habit. If you like donuts, eating a donut every now and then, balanced out with other healthy foods and an active lifestyle could fit into your healthy lifestyle. Consider what you eat for the whole day, the whole week and work on finding a balance.

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March 23, 2006

Feeling Hungry?

Did you know:
You can gain 1 pound by consuming an extra 10 calories each day for 1 year?
You can gain 10 pounds by consuming an extra 100 calories each day for 1 year?

Luckily most people do not eat the same amount of calories each and every day. Sometimes you eat more, sometimes you eat less. It’s all about balance. If one day you eat a little (or a lot) more than usual, most people tend to eat less the next day. But – you have to be able to tune into your hunger and satiety signals. When you’re able to recognize these signals – you’ll find that your body is trying to tell you something.

The same thing happens during any given day. You eat a big breakfast and you probably won’t feel hungry for awhile - compared to a day when you just had a piece of fruit for breakfast. That’s why you shouldn’t let one particular meal or day ruin your healthy lifestyle plan. Enjoy what you ate, forget about it and move on. It will balance out if you’re eating out of true hunger and stopping eating before you get stuffed. Give it a try one day. Pick a relatively normal activity day (whatever that means) when you can have a balanced breakfast and try not eating again until you can feel the hunger. Eat slowly and try to feel those fullness signals coming on. You might be surprised that there’s actually food left on your plate and you don’t want to finish it. Save it for the next time you feel hungry.

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January 30, 2006

Structured Flexibility

Throw out the words always, never, and forever. Evaluate your nutrition and activity goals in terms of how you are averaging out over a week or a month. Understand normal eating as the ability to recognize internal cues for hunger and satiety. There are no bad foods (unless they spoil!) and no fattening foods. Your appetite is what moves you to seek out food you enjoy and encourages you to eat a variety of food. Implementing structure in a flexible manner will help you find order. Try living in the middle ground vs. the land of rigid perfectionism.

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January 24, 2006

More Reason for Balance

"Energy balance" is a term not usually encountered outside stress management advice and yoga poses. But now the American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR) is promoting the concept for weight loss -- and maybe even cancer prevention. The idea: Match the number of calories eaten with those expended daily.

"Everyone's heard the idea 'eat less, exercise more' " in the context of weight loss, says Karen Collins, a registered dietitian who helped design the AICR energy balance campaign. Now there's growing evidence, Collins says, that "achieving energy balance reduces the risk for cancer and other diseases while preventing weight gain."

For years, researchers thought that fat cells were simply inert, doing little beyond serving as storage for the body. "Now we know that fat is metabolically active," Collins says. Research suggests that fat cells release small amounts of hormones and other growth factors that can spur healthy cells to grow and divide at an accelerated rate. That, in turn, may increase the risk of cancer.

How to Balance Rather than simply counting calories, AICR suggests restoring energy balance first by increasing the proportion of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and beans in every meal. These foods are high in fiber, water and nutrients that help you feel fuller with fewer calories. Plus, fruit and vegetables are rich in plant-based substances that can help defend cells against damage that appears to lead to cancer.

What Else Will Help Boost physical activity. "We can't control our metabolism," Collins says, "but we can control how much we move." Exercise -- whether taking the stairs or going to the gym regularly -- helps burn more calories.

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January 17, 2006

Small Steps, Big Rewards.

To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first.
William Shakespeare

Sometimes simple changes can bring about big results.
When it comes to losing weight, more often than not, it's all about numbers. Think of your body like a machine. Calories in have to equal calories out in order to maintain your weight. The majority of us have calories in more than out. But all it takes is a little change to turn that the other way around.
It takes 3,500 calories to build a pound. If you have a deficit of 100 calories every day for a year - either by eating less or exercising more - you can lose 10 pounds in a year. The key is to make small changes that are reasonable, achievable and realistic to maintain.
Try writing down everything you eat and drink; then start looking at small changes you can make in that pattern. Over the course of a year, a small change can easily add up to 5, 10, even 15 pounds. Try this:

1. Switch from whole-milk products to skim-milk products. If you consume three servings a day, you can save up to 200 calories a day. That's 20 pounds you can lose next year.
2. When you go to a restaurant, ask for half of your portion to be put in a doggie bag right away. Even if you only go out twice a week, you'll easily save enough calories to lose 10 pounds a year.
3. Reduce the use of butter and margarine. Use applesauce in recipes instead of oil. Try fat-free, butter-flavored spreads or sprinkles (unless you're watching your salt). Just eliminating a pat of butter on your morning toast will let you drop 10 pounds.
4. Chill soups, gravies and stews, then skim off the fat that floats. Doing this can save you up to 100 calories a serving.
5. Use extra-lean ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey. Instead of bacon, use Canadian bacon or prosciutto, a lean Italian ham. Buy beef labeled "select" instead of "choice" or "prime" (select meats have less fat). Trim all fat from meat cuts.
6. Is a tall glass of juice your morning ritual? Swap that 20-ounce OJ for a real orange and you not only save more than 100 calories, you also get some fiber while you're at it.

7. Meatless products, such as imitation hot dogs, bacon, burgers and sausage, are available at many grocery stores. They often have half the calories of their meat counterparts.
8. Eliminate that daily coffeehouse run. Switching from a 16-ounce cappuccino to regular coffee with artificial sweetener can save you well over 10 pounds a year.
9. Switch from fried potato chips to the baked ones. Doing so saves 90 calories. If you do this every day, that's your 10 pounds.
10. Learn how to add 10 minutes of exercise a day. The goal is 30 minutes a day. If you walk for just 30 minutes - even just three 10-minute walks a day - you will lose 13 pounds this year.
11. Cut back on egg yolks. It's the yolk that contains virtually all of the fat and cholesterol. Try using egg substitutes. Or, in most recipes, you can use two egg whites instead of one whole egg.
12. If you love microwave popcorn, you don't have to give it up. Just switch to the light kind and save tons of fat and calories, enough to lose 10 pounds if you eat it every night.
13. Use sugar substitute instead of sugar in all your baking. If you use a couple of teaspoons in your iced tea and a couple on your morning cereal, you could easily lose 10 pounds by switching to a substitute.
14. Switch your afternoon soda to a diet soda to save 150 calories (per 12-ounce can) a day.
15. If you can't take diet soda, just downsize your soda portions. If you usually pick up a 44-ounce soda in the morning, switch to a 24-ounce size and save about 200 calories a day. That's about 20 pounds this year.
16. Switch from 100-plus-calorie sandwich bread to the light whole-wheat bread. You save 100 calories per sandwich, and you get the benefit of good-for-you whole grains.
17. Swap out your cheese. Replace the 1 ½ ounces of cheddar or American cheese on your sandwich with one ounce of nonfat mozzarella and lose 11 pounds next year.
18. Switch from two tablespoons of regular mayonnaise to two tablespoons of low-fat mayonnaise on that sandwich.
19. Portion control is essential when it comes to eating meat. A portion of meat is 3 ounces - about the size of a deck of cards. Most people eat two to three times this. Try putting just a portion on your plate at meals.
20. Replace your regular beer with light beer and save about 50 calories per bottle.
21. Forgo regular bottled salad dressing (2 tablespoons, about 150 calories) for an equal portion of fat-free dressing (about 40 calories) for a net savings of at least 100 calories.
22. Take the stairs every day at work. If you go up and down often enough (say up and down five flights three or four times a day) you've got your 100 calories.
23. Don't supersize anything. Switching from the 6-ounce fries at McDonald's to the 2-ounce size saves you about 300 calories. So doing that just twice a week can lead to a big weight loss.
24. Remove the skin from a chicken breast after cooking and save 100 calories each time.
25. Instead of topping ice cream with crumbled cookies, crushed chocolate candy or hot fudge, top it with 2 tablespoons of fresh berries and save about 100 calories.

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January 09, 2006

Traffic Light Diet

The Traffic Light Diet has been successful with kids who are just learning what a healthy diet consists of. It's the program which is used at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

What’s the theory?

The Traffic Light Diet plan offers a new way to help you cut calories. Foods are divided into one of three colour categories based on their calorie content and nutritional value. Red foods are high in calories with few nutrients, Amber foods are high or reasonably high in calories but are also high in nutrients and Green foods are low in calories with plenty of nutrients. By choosing Green foods, going easy with Amber foods and limiting Red foods you’ll lose weight.
What does the diet involve?

Quite simply you eat as much as you like from the list of Green foods, eat moderate amounts of Amber foods and avoid or eat only small amounts of Red foods.

What can I eat?

Green foods include veg, fruit, low-fat milk and yoghurt, white fish and seafood. Amber foods include potatoes, low-fat cheese, oily fish, lean meat, poultry, beans, nuts, seeds, rice, pasta and high-fibre breads and cereals. Red foods cover just about everything else.

What else does the book include?

The extensive colour-coded chart lists a wide range of foods and includes advice on portion sizes. There’s also sensible information on healthy eating and a selection of 7-day plans for different lifestyles such as single people, couples and families. Plus there’s an extensive list of questions and answers, recipes and a section on exercise.

How much weight will I lose?

At least 1lb a week.

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December 08, 2005

Downsize your plates and serving utensils.

That's what some cafeterias and restaurants do to help cut consumption. People see plates as a 'unit' of food, so when food services want people to eat less, they give them seven-inch plates instead of nine-inch plates. Same goes for serving utensils. In an ongoing study, researchers have replaced the large scooper at a university's cafeteria ice cream vat with a smaller one. Result? Lowered consumption.

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December 06, 2005

Fill your cookie jar.

Not with cookies but with strips of paper that have an activity written on them. It could be wrapping presents, writing Christmas cards or holiday notes, taking a walk around the block, giving yourself a bubble bath, doing a few push-ups or calling a friend. When you feel hungry, reach into the cookie jar. Whatever you pull out, you do.

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December 05, 2005

The 5+2+1 Concept

The 5+2+1 Concept is a simple, consistent, common-sense strategy for long-term weight management. It states:

At least 5 fruits and vegetables each day.

No more than 2 hours of sedentary, non-acedemic activity each day.

At least 1 hour or moderately vigorous to vigorous activity each day.

1. You'll eat what you have available. If you don't buy fruits and vegetables at the grocery store, you won't eat them. If you don't order them at restaurants, you won't eat them. This is the first step. Change your environment. Write down all the fruits and vegetables you like and then BUY them! Order them if eating out! Do you like them cooked, uncooked? Search for new recipes online or find a good low fat cookbook.

2. Our lives have become so "easy" in this technological age. We have remote controls for just about anything. What if you had to change the channel by getting up and walking over to the TV? Or turn off the light using the light switch? Sitting and watching TV is one of the most inactive things you can possible do! Limit yourself to 1 hour a day of television viewing. You can't possible want to watch all those shows?? Pick a few that you really like and then find something else to do. You'll be surprised with how much free time you'll have to finish projects, play with your kids or pets, cook healthy meals or go grocery shopping.

3. Yes, the dreaded E word. On top of our active lifestyle of not being so sedentary, we need to MAKE time for exercise. Which means a bout of exercise of 1 hour in length. Speed walk, jog, run, bike, swim, aerobics, anthing that gets your heart pumping, blood flowing and large muscle groups (arms or legs) moving. And you need to do it today and tomorow, next week, next year and so on. This isn't something you'll do every now and then. Find something you like to do and even switch up your routine every couple of months to prevent boredom.

Take it one step at a time. Maybe, try one of these ideas this week and once you have made it part of your routine, move on to the next. Don't make too many changes at once or you'll be overwhelmed and more likely not to stick with it. That is the goal - be consistent. Consistency gives you results.

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November 28, 2005

Americans eat more food than ever.

Americans today are living in a very fat land.

Government economists say that not only is there more food available for the American diet than they have ever recorded, but Americans are also eating more each year.

The amount of food available for Americans to eat has increased 16 percent over the last 35 years, from 1,675 pounds in 1970 to 1,950 pounds in 2003. That translates to about 2,757 calories per person each day -- about 500 daily calories more than was available for consumption in 1970, the Department of Agriculture says.

The increases in food production have coincided with a period where Americans are getting heavier -- and taller, too.

The average adult male today weighs 191 pounds today, compared with 166 pounds in 1960, and is 1 1/2 inches taller, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The average female weighs 164 pounds today, compared with 140 pounds in 1960, and is 1 inch taller.

Obesity rates have also increased and are two times higher than in the 1960s.

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September 28, 2005

Myth Buster: Eating late at night will cause weight gain.

In most cases, when you eat does not affect your weight. However, you should have a regular eating schedule. Whether it’s 3 or 6 meals a day, keep them consistent. Scenario 1: If you eat breakfast at 7am and lunch at 12pm and don’t eat dinner until 8pm, you’re probably going to be starving and eat more than you should. Eating more calories than your body needs can lead to weight gain. If you’re in this situation, you still need to eat. Including a snack in between those two meals would be wise so that you’re not famished. Then, snack on raw vegetables while you’re getting dinner ready. Eat slowly and give your brain time to feel satiated. Scenario 2: Let’s say you eat at 7am, 12pm and 6pm with a few snacks in between. The trouble arises when you’re eating another meal at 10pm, which you probably don’t need. Also late-night snacking on high fat foods while watching TV or out on the town can pack in unnecessary extra calories. Scenario 3: Breakfast-skippers who eat at 12pm, 5pm and probably again at 8 or 9pm may be eating more than they think. A lot of people think if they skip breakfast, they’ll be saving calories. But, like scenario 1, their body is in starvation mode and they may have a tendency to overeat later on in the day. This is one exception to the theory that states when you eat is not important. Research suggests that eating something when you wake up in the morning is important for weight control. It gets your body out of sleep mode and gives you energy to work or play during the day. Whatever works for you: bowl of cereal or oatmeal, yogurt and fruit, smoothie, grilled cheese sandwich, peanut butter on toast or a leftover piece of pizza. (Side note: Most research done on this topic uses ready-to-eat-cereal as the breakfast of choice. )

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September 12, 2005

I like it.

"Today, Americans spend $110 billion a year on fast food, more than we spend on higher education; we spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music — combined." Read more.
(Online subscription required. Click here if you are not registered with the Moodesto Bee.)

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August 16, 2005

McDiet

Everyone's heard about the lady losing weight by eating Mickey D's 3 times a day, right? This in response to the documentary Supersize Me starring Morgan Spurlock who eats McDonalds for 30 days straight. He ends up gaining 25 or so pounds, his cholesterol goes up, he gets a fatty liver and just feels awful. This lady, Merab Morgan, says she has lost 37 pounds by eating only at McDonalds for 90 days. However she also mentioned that she's grown tired of the food and went off the diet for 10 days and gained 5 pounds! Every dietitian in the world is saying a) this in not a solution to your weight problem because it is not something you can follow long term b) if you gained 5 pounds in 10 days, there's something else going on whether it is water shifts or you really really overate on those ten days and c) a McDonalds diet is going to be high in saturated and trans fat - the two worst fats found in food. Even if you do eat the salads, apple dippers and yogurt parfaits - you can't live off that for the rest of your life and depending on what you put on the salads, they can also become unhealthy choices. McDonald-type foods are easy to recreate healthy versions at home. If you like Egg McMuffins - put an egg (or egg whites) and a slice of canadian bacon on an English muffin and you have breakfast. Making it at home you control what extra fat is added to the sandwich. Make a hamburger with lean ground beef or turkey, a whole wheat bun and add your toppings. Chop up some vegetables or buy the ones already chopped, grill a chicken breast on the barbeque and you have a chicken salad. Want french fries? Slice a russet potato into strips, add a little olive oil and some spices and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Eating McDonalds or any other fast food every now and then is no big deal. Eating it everyday, 3 times a day or even a few times a week is a different story. I think people have a misconception when it comes to cooking. It's too easy and convenient to go through the drive-through and pick up dinner. Make a little time for your health and cook up something good tonight!

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June 20, 2005

Dairy Dreams of Weight Loss

Petitions Question Dairy Marketers' Weight-Loss Claims
By Betsy Spethmann

A watchdog group is asking the Food & Drug Administration to quell claims from dairy marketers that drinking milk helps dieters lose weight.

The group also petitioned the Federal Trade Commission in April, arguing that weight-loss claims from eight food companies and three marketing agencies constitute false advertising.

Neither government office has acted on past petitions from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and the FTC and FDA are unlikely to take action against dairy marketers in this case.

The group last week filed its petition with the FDA against marketing groups International Dairy Foods Association, Dairy Management, Inc., National Dairy Council; marketers The Dannon Co., General Mills (Yoplait), Kraft Foods, McNeil Nutritionals (Lactaid) and Lifeway Foods; and agencies Draft, Lowe & Partners and Weber Shandwick, who collaborate on the National Dairy Council's "24/24 Milk Your Diet. Lose Weight!" campaign. (That effort won a 2004 Gold Reggie for the Promotion Marketing Association.)

The group asked the FDA to recall or seize "misbranded food products" that carry a weight-loss claim. The Washington, DC-based group argues that the claims are based on limited research. The IDFA's Milk Processors Education Program (MilkPEP), which runs the "24 in 24" campaign, cites research from 23 studies on its Web site, 2424milk.com.

"The dairy/weight connection is well-supported in scientific literature. We stand behind our promotions and ad messages," said Stacey Stevens, director of nutrition affairs and communications for the National Dairy Council.

The FDA will review the petition, but won't comment on pending petitions that are before the agency for review, a spokeswoman said.

The non-profit group filed a separate petition with the FTC in April, asking the commission to block dairy marketers' weight-loss claims. The FTC is reviewing the petition, a spokesperson said. The FTC has not contacted the National Dairy Council about that petition, Stevens said.

For more information on this publication, or to subscribe to the print edition, visit http://www.promomagazine.com.

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May 31, 2005

Weight Loss Strategies

There are pills, tapes, books, fads and countless strategies for losing weight, but there are basic principles that people with weight-loss success stories have in common. The Diet Channel offers the following "Top 10 Strategies for Permanent Weight Loss."

1. Exercise. It’s nothing new, but it’s probably the most important predictor of whether you will succeed at long-term weight loss and weight-loss maintenance. Strive for a minimum of five 30-minute sessions per week. The good news is that recent research has shown that three 10-minute sessions in a day are as good, which helps many in combating the old "no time for exercise" excuse. Be certain to find something you enjoy -- you’ll be more willing to stick with it. Who knows, you may even enjoy its positive benefits so much that you get hooked.

2. Pump iron. This is listed separately because of the significant weight-loss benefits attached to weight-lifting in and of itself. The more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you will burn. Aerobic activity burns calories, but muscle is where it’s at when it comes to giving your metabolism a significant daily boost, even at rest.

3. Keep a diary. A food diary can provide a large amount of self-awareness. Devote some time each day to record what you have eaten and how much, your hunger level prior to eating and any feelings or emotions present at the time. This journal can identify emotions and behaviors that trigger overeating, foster greater awareness of portion sizes, and help you discover your personal food triggers. Study its patterns and identify where you may be able to make more healthful changes.

4. Focus on being healthy, not thin. Think about selecting foods that will help your body’s health rather than its weight. The food pyramid (www.mypyramid.gov) offers a basic outline of the types and amounts of food you should eat each day to give your body the nutrients it needs for optimal health. This year, it updated the pyramid so that it takes into account gender, age and activity level in making nutrition and calorie recommendations.

5. Find out what’s eating you. All too often overeating is triggered by stress, boredom, loneliness, anger, depression and other emotions. Learning to deal with emotions without food is a significant skill that will greatly serve long-term weight control. Try alternative, healthful behaviors that will help you cope.

6. Get support. Encouragement from others is a key component to successful weight loss. If you’re not getting it at home or among friends, try a weight-loss organization that offers support groups. You may also wish to check with your local hospital to see if their registered dietitian conducts group weight loss programs.

7. Watch your portions. With increasingly large portions served at restaurants, Americans’ concept of normal servings is a bit distorted. When necessary, divide your food in half and ask for a take home bag. You don’t have to be a plate-cleaner. Learn to pay attention to your hunger level and stop eating when you feel comfortably full, rather than stuffed.

8. Lose weight slowly with small changes. Realize that the more quickly weight is lost, the more likely the loss is coming from water and muscle, not fat. Muscle tissue is critical in keeping our metabolism elevated, so losing it actually leads to a decrease in the amount of calories we can eat each day without gaining weight. Strive for a weight loss of no more than 1 or 2 pounds per week.

9. Slow down. From the time you begin eating, it takes the brain 20 minutes to start signaling feelings of fullness. Fast eaters often eat beyond their true level of fullness, and the amount of calories consumed before you begin to feel full can vary significantly depending on how quickly you eat.

10. Eat less fat, but do it wisely. Eating less fat can help you lose weight, but that does not mean you can eat unlimited amounts of fat-free products. Fat-free foods have calories, too. If you eat more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight.

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May 26, 2005

Soft drinks eat up calorie allotment.

If you reach for a soft drink every time you’re thirsty, you could be wasting a good deal of your calorie allotment for the day -- more so than in years past, the American Dietetic Association says.

About 50 years ago, a soda came in a 6-ounce bottle that was about 75 calories, the association says. Today, a 20-ounce plastic bottle of regular soda packs about 250 calories. The 64-ounce, "big-cup" soft drinks sold at convenience stores can deliver a whopping 800 calories.

Add up your soda calories and consider this: Most adults need about 1,600 to 2,400 calories a day -- period. One 800 calorie big-cup means a lot less food and nutrition that day, if you’re going to stay within your calorie limit. Less nutrition means less strength and less lasting energy.

Regular or diet soft drinks are OK now and then, the dietetic association says. But as an everyday drink choice, they crowd out nutrient-rich drinks and much-needed water. Regular sodas have a lot of sugar and carbs, but no other nutrition. And if consumed in place of milk, they could contribute to bone loss.

Also, sugary sodas contribute to tooth decay, though no more than juice or other carbohydrate-rich foods.

Here are some tips for adopting a ‘now-and-then soft drink’ lifestyle:

Order the small size, even if "bigger" seems like a better deal.

Save it for later. If a 20-ounce or bigger bottle is your only choice, pour a smaller amount in a cup and save the rest.

Decide when you’ll really want a soda, and limit yourself so that it’s not often.

Switch to milk -- maybe chocolate or strawberry -- for a more healthful option.

Source: "365 Days of Healthy Eating from the American Dietetic Association"

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May 24, 2005

Weighty study finds wealthy battle the bulge.

Janet Kidd Stewart, Chicago Tribune wrote:

Is thinness waning as a status symbol? Extra girth went from a Victorian mark of power to a moniker of the lower class in the 20th Century, and it has showed little sign of a turnaround. Until this month, that is, when a study presented to the American Heart Association showed rising obesity rates among people who earn more than $60,000 a year.

Studying government data linking family income to obesity levels, Dr. Jennifer Robinson of the University of Iowa and colleagues found the percentage of the higher-income obese grew from less than 10 percent in 1970 to nearly 27 percent in 2002. In the same period, obesity rates among people earning less than $25,000 rose to 32.5 percent from 22.5 percent.

"The inverse relationship between income and obesity seen in earlier studies has eroded," Robinson said. "Obesity prevalence now is similar across all income categories, with obesity prevalence in the highest income group rapidly approaching that of the lowest income group."

Researchers used data collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 1971 to 1974 and 2001 to 2002. It included Americans over 19 years old and defined obesity as having a body mass index (derived from height and weight) of 30 and above.

Thirty-one percent of those earning $25,000 to $39,999 had a body mass index of more than 30 in 2002, up from 16 percent in the early 1970s. Those earning $40,000 to $60,000 saw more than a 200 percent increase.

Wealthier people can afford leaner cuts of meat and fresh produce, as well as pricey gym memberships and personal trainers. So why the increase? Robinson said longer commutes and workdays, as well as trends toward restaurants replacing theater and other entertainment, are to blame.

"There's also the whole question of income instability today, which leads to insecurity and probably stress eating," Robinson said. She said these potential causes are only speculation, as are the health implications. Richer folks have better access to health care and may not be as affected by obesity as poorer ones, she said.

Robinson acknowledged another possible explanation: The beauty bar is rising.

Even though income levels in the study were adjusted for inflation, the study looked at all people earning more than $60,000 as a single group. In most U.S. markets today, it takes a lot more than that to be classified as rich.

On Chicago's North Shore, a wealthy enclave, thin is still in, said Abigail Natenshon, a Highland Parkpsychotherapist and author of "When Your Child Has An Eating Disorder: A Step-by-Step Workbook for Parents and Other Caregivers."

"Yes, it's still a status symbol," Natenshon said. "There are studies that have shown young children would rather live through a nuclear holocaust than be fat. And rich people have more time on their hands to do what it takes to stay in shape and more money to spend on health clubs."

Still, Natenshon is uncomfortable drawing bright lines between income and weight problems, citing recent health research showing strong genetic links to obesity.

"I know some very wealthy people who are obese. And [the patients] I treat for eating disorders have problems that run much deeper than trying to look a certain way for the country club crowd."

How to buy into a thinner appearance without busting the seams of your wallet?

Rather than blowing the food budget on wild salmon and fresh raspberries, buy the most nutritionally packed foods you can afford and sneak exercise into your schedule in place of television, Natenshon suggests.

"The key is to get rid of the Hollywood images and to learn to accept the size and shape we were born with. Then eat three balanced, nutritious meals a day ... preferably around the table with your family."

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May 11, 2005

Gain Weight Right

Janet Shearer wrote:
Pricy protein supplements not necessary if athletes eat healthful diet

C. writes that her 22-year-old son is bulking up. He is working out at the gym and changing his diet.

C.'s son uses a protein powder supplement. He is eating more green vegetables and increasing the protein in his diet.

"Is the supplement safe? What are guidelines for safe, healthy weight gain?" C. asks.

Healthy weight gain requires physical activity and additional calories. Some people believe that to build muscle, these additional calories should come from protein.

The truth is that excess protein is not stored as muscle in the body. It is used as energy or stored as fat.

For healthy weight gain, additional calories should come mainly from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates will fuel the physical activity required to build muscle.

Athletes and weight lifters often take protein supplements, possibly at their body's and their wallet's expense.

Without knowing the particulars of the supplement, how much your son is using or how much your son weighs, I am unable to make a judgment on the supplement's safety.

However, too much protein can lead to harmful side effects such as metabolic imbalance, toxicity, nervous system disorders and kidney problems, says the American Dietetic Association.

According to the association, recreational exercisers need about 0.5 to 0.75 gram protein per pound of body weight. That means a 150-pound exerciser needs about 75 to 115 grams of protein each day.

This amount of protein is easily consumed in a healthful diet. For example, six ounces of lean meat provide about 42 grams of protein. A one-cup serving of milk or yogurt provides about 8 grams of protein. Eat three of these and you have 24 more grams of protein.

Bread, pasta and cereal provide protein. A slice of bread, one-half cup pasta or one cup of dry cereal each contain about three grams of protein. Nine servings of grains give you 27 grams of protein.

Vegetables also offer protein. One-half cup of cooked vegetables like greens, green beans, cabbage or summer squash provides about two grams of protein per serving. Starchy beans and peas contain even more protein. Three servings of vegetables give you about six more grams of protein.

Protein from food offers several benefits over protein from supplements. First of all, protein in food naturally has the right combination of amino acids.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. There are 20 of them that link together in different ways to form proteins. Your body cannot tell the difference between amino acids in supplements or amino acids from food.

Protein and amino acids in food may taste better than supplements. Plus you may feel more satisfied when you take your protein dose in food rather than in pill or liquid form.

To view a fact sheet on healthy weight gain, visit the American Dietetic Association Web site at www.eatright.org/Public/NutritionInformation/92_11841.cfm.

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April 26, 2005

Considering a popular diet plan? For the sake of your health, check it out.

Diet books routinely top the best-seller lists, and new plans come out seemingly every day. Do they work? Will any of them be right for you?

If you are considering one or more popular diets or exercise plans, you owe it to yourself and your health to make sure their claims are valid. Ask yourself: Does the diet plan …

Promise a quick fix?
Encourage or require you to stop eating certain foods, food groups or products?
Rely on a single study as the basis for its recommendations?
Contradict recommendations of reputable health organizations?
Identify “good�? and “bad�? foods?
Just sound too good to be true?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, keep looking – for a plan that is backed by solid science, lets you keep eating your favorite foods and allows for flexibility.

Keep in mind: Your best source for help in making healthful changes to your diet is a dietetics professional with the training and expertise to help you develop an eating plan that is right for you. Visit www.eatright.org to find a dietetics professional near you.

Produced by ADA's Public

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April 14, 2005

'Eat Right' Enzyme Directs Healthy Eating

Scientists Find Ancient Signal That Directs Appetite for Nutrition; Next Challenge Is to Listen
We shouldn't need our mothers to tell us to finish our vegetables -- research shows our bodies are wired to let us know.

Neuroscientists working separately at the University of California at Davis and at New York University School of Medicine have revealed an ancient "switch" in some mammals that signals the appetite to seek foods with perfect nutritional balance.

The mechanism has been found in rats, mice, slugs, even yeast and, the researchers say, there's every reason to believe it also exists in people.

"It's a very simple mechanism that's present in very simple organisms," said David Ron of the New York University School of Medicine. "When you see that in biology it usually means it's an important mechanism that's present in all species, including humans."

The trick is finding a way to emphasize that switch over less-healthy ones -- like the impulse to scarf down large quantities of fat and sugar -- so that people might listen to it more diligently. As researchers point out, the signal to eat good nutrition is only one of a wide array of signals at play when it comes to appetite.

"Food intake is complicated," said Ann Kelley, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. "There are so many molecules in the brain that turn it on and off that no one has a clear definitive idea of how it all works."

The 'Eat Right' Signal
The switch for eating good nutrition is not a single mechanism, but a cascade of events that starts with an enzyme known as GCN2 kinase. When eating a food that's deficient in one of the 20 critical amino acids (the building blocks that make up proteins), the body detects the deficiency in the bloodstream and puts the brakes on appetite. This prevents the animal from eating too much of one thing -- say corn, which lacks the amino acid tryptophan, and triggers more foraging for foods that can complete their nutritional needs.

"This tells us that we have an innate mechanism for recognizing what's good for us to eat," said Ron, who published his results in the current issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

Dorothy Gietzen of the University of California at Davis has found similar results in rats, mice, even slugs. When Gietzen knocked out the gene that serves up the critical enzyme switch, the animals continued to eat foods that lacked nutrition. Animals who had not been tampered with waited for something more nutritious to come along.

"If the amino acid is not there, they won't eat the diet," said Gietzen, who published her most recent results in the journal Science. "Their brains recognized that their diet was not good for them."

The problem is there are other, stronger signals that don't always tell us to choose the apple over the candy bar.

"The story goes that in evolution when we didn't have much food around, the instinct to eat food rich in calories was a good signal to have because high-fat foods store well," said Kelley.

Battle of Signals
Kelley's research has shown that a high-fat diet appears to alter the brain biochemistry through the release of reward signals, in a similar reaction to drugs such as morphine. This is due to the release of opioids -- "pleasure chemicals" in the brain -- that reduce the feeling of being full.

More studies by Dr. Sarah Leibowitz, a neurobiologist at Rockefeller University in New York, have shown that exposure to fatty foods might reconfigure the hormonal system to want more fat. In her research, rats fed a high-fat diet become more resistant to leptin -- the hormone that stops eating. At the same time, levels of galanin -- a peptide in the brain that stimulates eating and slows down energy expenditure -- increased.

"Imbalanced diets, whether rich in sugar or fat, interfere with normal satiety processes, causing resistance to hormones such as insulin and leading to overeating," she said.

This might explain why an estimated 129.6 million Americans, or 64 percent, are overweight or obese. When we're faced with high-fat and high-sugar options, it becomes difficult to fight the urge to indulge. Still, there is reason to hope that the body's healthier instincts can win out when it comes to appetite.

Studies of babies have shown that, when presented with a variety of unprocessed foods, infants instinctively eat a little of each to achieve perfectly balanced meals. Ron thinks this means the babies are tapping into the very primitive enzyme switch that cues for complete nutrition.

That said, in today's society, where most Americans face an abundance of food choices and struggle with an abundance of urges, there may be no signal as important as culture -- and being told to finish your vegetables.

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March 31, 2005

Visual Cues

Bottomless Bowls: Why Visual Cues of Portion Size May Influence Intake
Brian Wansink*, James E. Painter and Jill North

* Applied Economics and Marketing, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY;
Family and Consumer Science, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL;
Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois.

Objective: Using self-refilling soup bowls, this study examined whether visual cues related to portion size can influence intake volume without altering either estimated intake or satiation.

Research Methods and Procedures: Fifty-four participants (BMI, 17.3 to 36.0 kg/m2; 18 to 46 years of age) were recruited to participate in a study involving soup. The experiment was a between-subject design with two visibility levels: 1) an accurate visual cue of a food portion (normal bowl) vs. 2) a biased visual cue (self-refilling bowl). The soup apparatus was housed in a modified restaurant-style table in which two of four bowls slowly and imperceptibly refilled as their contents were consumed. Outcomes included intake volume, intake estimation, consumption monitoring, and satiety.

Results: Participants who were unknowingly eating from self-refilling bowls ate more soup [14.7 ± 8.4 vs. 8.5 ± 6.1 oz; F(1,52) = 8.99; p < 0.01] than those eating from normal soup bowls. However, despite consuming 73% more, they did not believe they had consumed more, nor did they perceive themselves as more sated than those eating from normal bowls. This was unaffected by BMI.

Discussion: These findings are consistent with the notion that the amount of food on a plate or bowl increases intake because it influences consumption norms and expectations and it lessens one’s reliance on self-monitoring. It seems that people use their eyes to count calories and not their stomachs. The importance of having salient, accurate visual cues can play an important role in the prevention of unintentional overeating.

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March 29, 2005

Low-carb? High-cal? Check the Label.

The number of low-carbohydrate food products available in supermarkets keeps growing in response to consumer demand. If you’re purchasing low-carb products, keep in mind that low-carb doesn’t necessarily mean low-calorie.

First, remember that the term “low-carb�? has not yet been defined by the Food and Drug Administration, leaving the definitions for now to food manufacturers. And just because a product is labeled low-carb does not mean it contains fewer calories. In fact, some “low-carb�? products contain more fat and calories than products that aren’t marked low-carb.

Your best guide to what’s in your food is the Nutrition Facts Panel on the food label. Be a smart consumer and read the Nutrition Facts Panel before you purchase your foods.

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March 04, 2005

Carbohydrate Type, Not Amount, Linked to Obesity

When it comes to carbohydrates, it's not how much you eat, but which kind, that makes a difference to your bathroom scale, new research shows.

People who are overweight do not appear to eat more carbohydrates overall than people who weigh less, the researchers report in the American Journal of Epidemiology. However, they found that overweight people tend to eat more refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and pasta, which cause a rapid spike in blood sugar.

"Total amount of carbohydrate is not related to body weight," Dr. Yunsheng Ma of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester told Reuters Health. "It's the type of carbohydrate that's important."

These findings suggest that low-carbohydrate diets, which recommend people cut back on all carbohydrates, are missing the mark, Ma added.

"Carbohydrates are not the enemy," he said in an interview. "But you have to watch the kind of enemy."

Ma explained that refined carbohydrates are often found in processed foods that contain a lot of sugar. This type of carbohydrate has what's called a high glycemic index, meaning it causes a rapid increase in blood sugar. The body stores that sugar in muscle, but if it is not used, it becomes fat, he noted.

In contrast, whole grains, fruits and vegetables have carbohydrates that don't have such high glycemic index, Ma said.

In the report, Ma and his colleagues note that in the last 20 years, the rate of obesity has increased, despite the fact that people are eating less fat. To help investigate the role carbohydrates play in obesity, the researchers measured the height and weight of 572 healthy people, and asked them to regularly report what carbohydrates they ate. Ma's team followed study participants for one year.

They found that people with a higher body mass index -- a measure of weight that factors in height -- tended to eat carbohydrates with a higher glycemic index. The amount of carbohydrates people ate had no influence on body mass index.

"Refined carbohydrates are no good, but the total amount of carbohydrates is okay," Ma noted.

He added that some countries now include a food's glycemic index on the labeling, which can be helpful for people trying to lose weight or deal with diabetes.

(SOURCE: By Alison McCook. American Journal of Epidemiology, February 15; 2005)

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February 09, 2005

The Fullness Factor

Many things influence how much food you eat at a meal, including how long it has been since you last ate, the taste, smell, and amount of food on your plate, and a complex array of physiological, psychological, and genetic factors that shape appetite. One important factor is satiety—that is, how full you feel while you eat and afterwards. The sensation of fullness occurs when your stomach and intestines send signals to the brain. If you’re trying to lose weight, you should know that satiety is not just a matter of how much you eat, but also which foods you choose.

One expert on how to feel full on fewer calories is Dr. Barbara Rolls. Her book The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan is based on a series of studies she conducted over the last few years at Penn State University in the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior. We like her advice. Much of it is just common sense, but that’s in short supply in this age of supersized fast foods, hugely popular fad diets, and surging obesity rates.

Water everywhere

The key to weight control, according to Rolls, is to eat foods with a low energy density—meaning relatively few calories per ounce—so that you leave the table feeling full and satisfied without breaking the calorie bank. Notable among these foods are fruits and vegetables and dishes that contain them (such as stews, pasta dishes, or smoothies), as well as soups. What these have in common are a high water content and usually lots of fiber. In contrast, foods with a high energy density—that is, lots of calories per ounce—typically have a low water content, and often are high in fat, which is the densest source of calories.

It’s easy to follow Rolls’s plan. For example, to reduce the energy density of chili, use lean meat and add celery, extra tomatoes, and mushrooms. To bulk up a pasta salad and cut the calories in half, add zucchini, carrots, and other veggies—fresh, canned, or frozen. Add lettuce, tomato, and pepper slices to a sandwich. Snack on an apple instead of chips or pretzels, for example, and grapes instead of raisins. A 100-calorie serving of raisins is only one-quarter cup; but a 100-calorie serving of grapes is nearly two cups. It’s obvious which is going to make you feel fuller.

Soups usually have a low energy density (except for those containing lots of butter or cream). In one Penn State study, women who had soup as a first course ate fewer calories overall during meals. Salads serve the same purpose, provided you use low-calorie dressing. If you consume bulky water-rich foods, you don’t have to eat less food when you diet. And such foods tend to be very nutritious. Rolls also recommends whole-grain pasta, breads, and cereals; their fiber makes them more filling. Seafood, skinless poultry, lean meats, and low-fat or nonfat dairy products are also on the menu. Because of its protein content, milk, even nonfat, helps people feel full and thus eat less. Whole fruit is always preferable to juice.

Food that satisfies

Rolls is not the only researcher studying satiety. Australian researcher Dr. Susanne Holt at the University of Sydney has developed a Satiety Index based on how full people feel during the two hours after eating 240 calories’ worth of various foods, which are all compared to white bread. Bulky high-fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables rate high. High-fat foods rank low, since 240 calories worth is a small portion. For instance, baked potatoes are more than three times as filling as white bread, but fatty croissants are only half as filling as the bread. Whole-grain bread is 50% more filling than white bread. Cakes, doughnuts, and cookies (high in fat and sugar) are among the least filling. The more fiber, protein, and water a food contains, the longer it will satisfy.

Despite the claims made by advocates of high-fat diets, fat seems to have less of an effect on satiety than protein or carbohydrates. However, studies on carbohydrates and satiety have had inconsistent results, in part because foods containing them are so varied. Clearly, some high-carbohydrate foods, such as fruits and vegetables, which are high in fiber, are more filling than others, such as white bread or pasta. Fiber boosts satiety in a number of ways. And while insoluble fiber (abundant in whole wheat) increases fullness in the short term, soluble fiber (in oats, for instance) can produce a feeling of satiety many hours after a meal. A number of studies have shown that high-fiber foods consumed at breakfast or lunch can significantly reduce food intake at the next meal, compared to low-fiber foods.

And keep in mind: One way to eat more filling foods is to find more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that you like. Most Americans have a very limited range. Try a new fruit or vegetable each week. And keep adding them to different dishes. It will never get boring.

Source: UC Berkley Newsletter. Research conducted by Pennsylvania State University researcher Barbara J. Rolls, PhD…I worked in her lab :)

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January 28, 2005

Calcium and Weight Loss

Calcium, as we all know, is an important part of our diet because it helps to keep our bones strong. What you may not know is that calcium is also thought to play a role in weight management. Research suggests that a diet high in calcium can help promote weight loss. Calcium has been shown to regulate fat metabolism and core body temperature. The recent research has looked at the calcium found in low fat dairy products. It is unclear whether calcium acts alone or synergistically with other components found in dairy. Aim for 1200 mg of calcium each day. Try to achieve this with primarily low fat dairy products. An 8 fl oz glass of milk, preferably 1% or skim, has 300 mg of calcium. One cup of yogurt has about 300 mg of calcium. One ounce of low fat cheese has about 150 mg of calcium.

How do you know how much calcium is in certain foods? Read the food label! Calcium is located on the bottom portion of the nutrition facts label, listed as a percentage. The one thing you can do with calcium that you can not do with any other nutrient is replace the percent sign with a zero. The percentage is based on 1000 mg of calcium. For example, a yogurt container with 30% calcium has 300 mg of calcium.

For recipes and more information, visit www.2424milk.com. Click on “Milk your diet. Lose Weight�?

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January 21, 2005

Weight Loss Rules You Can Live By

1. 80/20. What matters most is what you do 80% of the time. You can decide what to do with the other 20%. If you eat healthy and are physically active 80% of the time, you will have plenty of room to splurge on a night out or enjoy a well-deserved day of rest.

2. You make time for things that you want to make time for. Right now you have to decide that your health is a priority. You will make time for your health, you will make time to make healthy food choices, you will make time for exercise, you will make time for you.

3. Every little thing counts. If you have 10 free minutes where you can either sit and watch TV or stand at the water cooler or eat a doughnut or go for a walk…you will go for a walk. Find 3 ten minute blocks in your day and you’ll add 30 minutes of activity that you didn’t have before.

4. Get Over It! Ever feel like you’re a bad person because you ate a piece of chocolate cake? Get over it! It’s a piece of cake, a cookie, an ice cream cone. So what? First off, enjoy it. Don’t devour it before anyone can see you. It’s ok. Carry on with your day. So you only eat half your baked potato at dinner, don’t eat a snack before bed or you add some extra time to your cardio workout. It’s not like you got caught stealing…trust me, you’re not a bad person.

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January 13, 2005

Upholding Your Resolutions

Find yourself slacking on your New Year’s Resolution to lose weight? Try these 5 tips to get back on track.
1. Make a goal. Be sure it is specific and realistic. Write it on a notecard and post it on your fridge. This way you can continually remind yourself of why you are making all of this effort.

2. Logs. Keep food and activity logs by writing down everything you eat and drink and how much/what type of exercise you do each day. This will hold you accountable and help you identify patterns (when/what/why you eat and are active).

3. Stay active. One of the most important determinants of weight loss is your activity level. Most people don’t realize how inactive they are in their daily lives. A good way to monitor your activity level is by wearing a pedometer. It will count the number of steps you take and miles you make. At the end of the day you’ll know where you stand.

4. Get support. Surround yourself with encouraging friends and family members. It’s a lot easier to keep your resolutions when you don’t feel like an outcast or different from everyone else. Who knows? Maybe you’ll start a new trend and everyone will walk with you on their break or order their salad dressing on the side.

5. Reward yourself. Find something that is important to you (besides food) and use it as a reward for meeting your daily/weekly/monthly goals. Rewards could be a manicure, pedicure, massage, money to put in a jar, new exercise clothes/equipment, cookbook, tickets to a sporting event, or new tennis shoes.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.�?
--Edith Lovejoy Pierce

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