Good old Mom was still right when she said "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. To maintain a healthy weight and jump-start your metabolism, breakfast is a 'must do', so don't think cutting out that meal will help you cut calories and lose weight faster. Studies have proven that skipping breakfast triggers our bodies to fight "starvation" by holding on to its fat; and really, many us us just overeat later in the day when we skip breakfast.
But, what we choose as our breakfast can make an enormous difference in how we feel and how we lose - or don't lose - weight.
This used to be my typical breakfast:
a small container of yogurt, a banana and orange juice. I thought I was making good choices; after all I was getting protein, vitamin C, calcium, and potassium, right?
Well, yes. But I was also getting very hungry an hour later, and I felt tired too.
Why? Well my "healthy breakfast" had almost 300 calories - which isn't bad - but the kind of calories I was consuming had no filling or "staying power". Here's why:
Banana = 72 calories, 18 grams carbohydrate ( 10 grams sugar) and 2 grams fiber
Orange Juice = 110 calories, 26 grams carbohydrate (22 grams sugar)
Activia yogurt = 110 calories, 19 grams carbohydrate (17 grams sugar) and 4 grams protein
So my 300 calories served me 63 grams of carbohydrates - nearly 50 of them sugars! Note that the fiber content is a measly 2 grams from the banana. Basically the meal I chose to start my day - started it all right - but put me on a fast blood sugar high, that soon plummeted leaving me feeling hungry and tired, and often craving something sweet!
I have spent quite a bit of time as the facilitator of the diabetes support group and know a little bit about carb counting as a means of keeping blood glucose levels steady, so I realized my high sugar breakfast choices - even though I wasn't adding sugar from the sugar bowl to anything -were probably doing me harm.
I set out to make over my breakfast to give me the results I really wanted. I wanted more energy, nutrition per calorie, low sugar content and higher fiber. Fiber is a power nutrient for many reasons: it fills you up, it digests slowly, promotes a healthy digestive tract, and can help lower cholesterol and weight! Protein fuels muscles and provides energy.
So now I alternate between two breakfasts:
Some days I have an egg with low-fat cheddar cheese on a whole wheat English muffin.
Other days I eat a very high-fiber cereal like Fiber One with unsweetened Almond Breeze milk.
I may add an orange, apple or raspberries, but I now only have whole fruit instead of juice.
Here's the difference nutritionally:
Egg sandwich + orange day: 258 calories, 36 grams carbohydrate ( 11 sugar), 9 grams protein ( 1 gram saturated fat) and 6 grams fiber
Fiber One and raspberries day: 150 calories, 28 grams carbohydrate ( about 1 gram sugar), 2 grams protein, 16 grams fiber
Quite a change!
My new breakfasts are lower in calories, and could easily be adjusted up to 400 calories - and in fact, I may add a spoonful of low-sugar peanut butter to make sure I get enough protein on the cereal day, but now I am full and feel satisfied for several hours after eating breakfast; I can tell my blood sugar is behaving in a normal way, my weight and waist are easier to maintain and my energy level is better. I usually have a snack mid-morning of either nuts or string cheese, and then I am fine until lunch.
My old breakfast had foods that are good ones by themselves. But combined, they gave me more sugars at one meal than I normally had in a day. My "extreme makeover" has worked for me, and my hope is that it will prompt you to take a look at how you are starting your day.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
4 Last Minute Holiday Dinner Survival Tips
1. Eat breakfast!
Starting the day with a healthy meal rich in fiber and protein will help "normalize" your appetite for the day. Peanut butter on whole wheat toast with orange slices on the side is a quick easy way to fortify yourself for the busy day ahead. Please don't "starve" yourself in preparation for the main meal of the day. You are more likely to load up on snacks and drinks before dinner if you haven't eaten all day.
2. Take a walk....while the bird is in the oven or after the big dinner - or both! Getting out in the fresh air even for 10 minutes will make you feel like you have "done something healthy" on a day full of indulgences - and you will be right! If you are someone who has a regular exercise daily exercise routine, try to stick to it.
3. Plan in advance! This is the key to every single wellness success: plan what choice you will make before you are faced with something that tempts you to veer from your healthy lifestyle program. Thanksgiving Day Dinner may not be the time or place to try to lose weight, but it can certainly be a time when you follow a strategy for making wise choices: eat small portions of the foods you really love...sit back and relax... and then decide if you really want seconds or can be content to wait for leftovers at the next meal. Practice saying "no thank you " if you know you will be around someone who may push tempting foods your way. And finally, plan to go back to "normal" eating the next day because it's very easy to let this first holiday meal turn into a season of binging on high calorie, high fat treats.
4. Enjoy! Celebrate whatever the day brings to you in terms of family or friends or solitude - give thanks for the good things in your life. Conversation, play, sharing, creating memories or reflecting on them - these are the calorie-free things that we can all focus on at Thanksgiving !
Need more ideas? Click here for more tips for holiday survival from WebMD.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Starting the day with a healthy meal rich in fiber and protein will help "normalize" your appetite for the day. Peanut butter on whole wheat toast with orange slices on the side is a quick easy way to fortify yourself for the busy day ahead. Please don't "starve" yourself in preparation for the main meal of the day. You are more likely to load up on snacks and drinks before dinner if you haven't eaten all day.
2. Take a walk....while the bird is in the oven or after the big dinner - or both! Getting out in the fresh air even for 10 minutes will make you feel like you have "done something healthy" on a day full of indulgences - and you will be right! If you are someone who has a regular exercise daily exercise routine, try to stick to it.
3. Plan in advance! This is the key to every single wellness success: plan what choice you will make before you are faced with something that tempts you to veer from your healthy lifestyle program. Thanksgiving Day Dinner may not be the time or place to try to lose weight, but it can certainly be a time when you follow a strategy for making wise choices: eat small portions of the foods you really love...sit back and relax... and then decide if you really want seconds or can be content to wait for leftovers at the next meal. Practice saying "no thank you " if you know you will be around someone who may push tempting foods your way. And finally, plan to go back to "normal" eating the next day because it's very easy to let this first holiday meal turn into a season of binging on high calorie, high fat treats.
4. Enjoy! Celebrate whatever the day brings to you in terms of family or friends or solitude - give thanks for the good things in your life. Conversation, play, sharing, creating memories or reflecting on them - these are the calorie-free things that we can all focus on at Thanksgiving !
Need more ideas? Click here for more tips for holiday survival from WebMD.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 19, 2010
And the Holiday Food Season Begins!
There is no question that the next six weeks will be focused on people's favorite foods more than at any other time of year. It can be a season that destroys the healthy eating plan of even the most conscientious among us.
Ever wonder how many calories are consumed in the traditional Thanksgiving dinner? Well - making allowances for food choices and preferences - more than 2000 is average for Americans. Yes, that's in one meal - not the whole day! And that's with good old "healthy" turkey as the centerpiece of the meal.
Click here to find out how far you'd have to walk to burn off the calories in your Thanksgiving meal - I did and found out my meal of choice weighed in at 2130 calories: requiring about 20 miles of walking to burn it all off! As you can imagine, I am not likely to do that after cooking, and consuming the feast.
Remembering that 2000 calories is the daily recommendation for young healthy weight adults (and 1600-1800 is the recommendation if you are older, a middle aged woman or overweight), the trick is to figure out how to enjoy the flavors and goodies that we love during the holidays without taking in twice the calories, fat, and sugar that we want to.
Simple swaps and changes to lighten up the turkey dinner include:
MSNBC has even more ideas in this video http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21870864/ns/today-today_holiday_guide
Ever wonder how many calories are consumed in the traditional Thanksgiving dinner? Well - making allowances for food choices and preferences - more than 2000 is average for Americans. Yes, that's in one meal - not the whole day! And that's with good old "healthy" turkey as the centerpiece of the meal.
Click here to find out how far you'd have to walk to burn off the calories in your Thanksgiving meal - I did and found out my meal of choice weighed in at 2130 calories: requiring about 20 miles of walking to burn it all off! As you can imagine, I am not likely to do that after cooking, and consuming the feast.
Remembering that 2000 calories is the daily recommendation for young healthy weight adults (and 1600-1800 is the recommendation if you are older, a middle aged woman or overweight), the trick is to figure out how to enjoy the flavors and goodies that we love during the holidays without taking in twice the calories, fat, and sugar that we want to.
Simple swaps and changes to lighten up the turkey dinner include:
- Choose white meat instead of dark and save almost 200 calories.
- Make stuffing with whole wheat bread and olive oil instead of butter.
- use fat-free mushroom soup to make your green bean casserole and sauteed onions instead of the canned fried ones.
- Make gravy with canned fat-free broth instead of the drippings from the bird.
- If you are having bread stuffing, skip the dinner rolls.
- For dessert, have a slice of pumpkin pie instead of pecan pie and save 140 calories.
- Watch portion sizes! Having a small serving of your very favorite dishes instead of heaping your plate with everything offered will leave you feeling unstuffed, but satisfied at the end of the meal.
MSNBC has even more ideas in this video http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21870864/ns/today-today_holiday_guide
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Mom Was Right...Most of the Time
The other day I saw an ad that had a large stalk of broccoli with the phrase "Mom Was Right" printed across it. An effective ad for getting the message across that we need to eat green vegetables! Moms have always told their kids "Eat Your Vegetables" and sure enough, Mom was right about that. The FDA, the American Cancer Society, and nearly every other health agency urges us to EAT 5 A DAY - at least 5 servings of colorful vegetables and fruits for good health. Can I stress that 5 really should be a minimum? And that because a serving is usually 1/2 to 1 cup , it's really not hard to get more than that in one day.
Benefits of eating more veggies are numerous: they should be the primary source for most of our vitamins and minerals - especially trace ones - rather than relying on vitamin-fortified juices and packaged foods. Vegetables, especially the dark leafy ones are literally "brain food" - that's how important they are to our development. In addition, most vegetables add valuable fiber to our diets - fiber that keeps our digestive tract operating smoothly.
Now let me get on my fast food soapbox for a minute and stress that the limp piece of iceberg lettuce on your fast food burger, hardly counts as one of your servings of vegetables. Nor do the french fries. In this blog-o-sphere, french fries ( and yes, I love them too) are a "once in while snack" - like carnival food....not be counted on as a nutrient.
Your "five a day" should be real food munched raw, or cooked with a minimum of alteration: steam, bake or microwave - even stir fry - carrots, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, chard, green beans, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and squash to your heart's content. What you get in return is vitality, weight control, and lowered risk for diabetes and several forms of cancer.
Now the one "mom-ism" I take exception too is "Clean Your Plate". After all, this blog is focused on healthy weight. Many of us grew up around dinner tables where starchy foods were piled on our plates and we weren't permitted to leave the table until every bit was gone. (OK, I admit, this is also the reason some people think they don't like vegetables: I remember pushing peas around the rim of my plate for what felt like hours!) However, the best rule for finishing your meal in a healthy way is to pay attention to your hunger cues. Eat slowly and notice when you are starting to feel full. If you are full, you are finished..even if there is still food on the plate. That's the healthy weight way to monitor exercise portion control.
Now let me get on my fast food soapbox for a minute and stress that the limp piece of iceberg lettuce on your fast food burger, hardly counts as one of your servings of vegetables. Nor do the french fries. In this blog-o-sphere, french fries ( and yes, I love them too) are a "once in while snack" - like carnival food....not be counted on as a nutrient.
Your "five a day" should be real food munched raw, or cooked with a minimum of alteration: steam, bake or microwave - even stir fry - carrots, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, chard, green beans, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and squash to your heart's content. What you get in return is vitality, weight control, and lowered risk for diabetes and several forms of cancer.
Now the one "mom-ism" I take exception too is "Clean Your Plate". After all, this blog is focused on healthy weight. Many of us grew up around dinner tables where starchy foods were piled on our plates and we weren't permitted to leave the table until every bit was gone. (OK, I admit, this is also the reason some people think they don't like vegetables: I remember pushing peas around the rim of my plate for what felt like hours!) However, the best rule for finishing your meal in a healthy way is to pay attention to your hunger cues. Eat slowly and notice when you are starting to feel full. If you are full, you are finished..even if there is still food on the plate. That's the healthy weight way to monitor exercise portion control.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Can We Change the Future?
"In the United States, 1 in 3 people will have Type 2 diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "
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West Virginia is already a "leader" in numbers of adults who have the chronic disease, diabetes mellitus, or type 2 diabetes. Characterized by an the body's inability to properly produce insulin and process sugar in the blood, diabetes can be a "silent killer" like hypertension: you may not know you have it if you are not routinely tested, but it will be there doing its damage. A simple fasting blood test will give you the number of your blood glucose level. Too high on more than one occasion, and your doctor may tell you that you have joined the growing population of people with type 2 diabetes. Why do you want to avoid this happening? To make it very simple, having diabetes makes your risk for other major illnesses like heart disease and stroke go up dramatically. Unmanaged, diabetes can cause blood vessel damage to occur all through your body, and that can affect your eyes, your nerves, your feet, and your kidneys. Complications of uncontrolled diabetes can include blindness and amputation. So diabetes is a whole-body, systemic disease.
Adding to the sense of urgency is the fact that younger and younger people are developing diabetes. Whereas we used to call it "adult onset diabetes", that description has been changed - type 2 diabetes now can be found in teenagers.
The rise in cases of diabetes parallels the rise in the numbers of people who are overweight or obese. This has to be a concern to us as parents and community members. For most people - including children - the key to avoiding developing diabetes is : maintain a healthy weight by eating well and being active.
Worried? Want to take steps to avoid being part of this epidemic? We can change this prediction, if we each take responsibility for our own health:
<
West Virginia is already a "leader" in numbers of adults who have the chronic disease, diabetes mellitus, or type 2 diabetes. Characterized by an the body's inability to properly produce insulin and process sugar in the blood, diabetes can be a "silent killer" like hypertension: you may not know you have it if you are not routinely tested, but it will be there doing its damage. A simple fasting blood test will give you the number of your blood glucose level. Too high on more than one occasion, and your doctor may tell you that you have joined the growing population of people with type 2 diabetes. Why do you want to avoid this happening? To make it very simple, having diabetes makes your risk for other major illnesses like heart disease and stroke go up dramatically. Unmanaged, diabetes can cause blood vessel damage to occur all through your body, and that can affect your eyes, your nerves, your feet, and your kidneys. Complications of uncontrolled diabetes can include blindness and amputation. So diabetes is a whole-body, systemic disease.
Adding to the sense of urgency is the fact that younger and younger people are developing diabetes. Whereas we used to call it "adult onset diabetes", that description has been changed - type 2 diabetes now can be found in teenagers.
The rise in cases of diabetes parallels the rise in the numbers of people who are overweight or obese. This has to be a concern to us as parents and community members. For most people - including children - the key to avoiding developing diabetes is : maintain a healthy weight by eating well and being active.
Worried? Want to take steps to avoid being part of this epidemic? We can change this prediction, if we each take responsibility for our own health:
- Lose weight if you are overweight.
- Lose weight safely by staying within a range of 400 calories per meal, with two or three 100-calorie snacks
- Limit saturated fats; limit red meat, hamburgers, fried foods
- Avoid refined carbohydrates - eat whole grains instead
- Avoid vending machines and fast food - eat real food
- Choose water instead of soft drinks or fruit juice; drink fat-free milk
- Learn to cook quick nutritious meals at home; pack your lunch and snacks to control your portion sizes and your hunger
- Eat lots of non-starchy vegetables; choose beans as a protein source at least once a week.
- Make sure you get lots of FIBER in your diet.
- Walk, run , bike, swim, take the stairs, zumba, stretch, lift weights - just keep moving - every day!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Don't Wait 'til the Holidays to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
Most articles that address ''holiday weight gain" refer to the six weeks from Thanksgiving through New Year's, but I believe the holiday season starts right about now - with the fall festivals, football tailgates and Halloween preparations. Late fall is possibly the most food-focused time of the year.
So it's certainly not too early to investigate the truth about holiday weight gain and make plans to avoid it!
For a long time, health professionals and people themselves thought that the average amount of weight gained by people during the holidays was between five and ten pounds. The good news is that recent studies have found this to be untrue. The National Institutes of Health followed a diverse group of 200 Americans, their diets and weights, and found that although nearly everyone did gain weight during the holiday period, the average weight gain was around one pound, not five or ten.
The bad news is that most people did not lose that pound during the next year. Or the next. Or the extra pound they gained the next year, and so on. Further bad news is that people who were already overweight have been found to gain more than the one pound during the holidays. They gain about five, and like the other group, do not usually lose that holiday weight gain. So holiday goodies and over-indulgence can definitely have an effect on our country's obesity problem.
Yet it is possible to enjoy holiday foods and not gain weight! In fact, it is possible to conitune on a weight loss program during the holidays without feeling deprived.
We'll touch on several strategies in the upcoming weeks as we approach the new year, but probably the most important thing to do is begin now to plan for the kind of holiday season you want! We do that now anyway as we make lists : lists of gifts, people to send cards to, a cleaning and decorationg schedule, and so .... this year add YOUR WEIGHT MANAGEMENT GOALS to your other lists.
Remembering that adding 3500 extra calories to your diet over several days can lead to a one pound weight gain in a week, figure out how to budget in the special foods you want to enjoy without making them "extra" calories. This may mean that you skip the mashed potato casserole in order to have the pumpkin pie. It may mean that your daily walking time becomes 30 minutes instead of 15; or that you add jogging or a step aerobics class to burn even more calories. As always, watch portion sizes! Having a bite or two of a rich dish and really enjoying it can satisfy your sweet or savory tooth as much as a full portion would. It's good to remember that just because the food is there, you don't have to eat it.
What's my personal best trick? I know what my favorite holiday foods are. I plan in advance to enjoy certain foods while giving up fattening "side dishes" that I usually eat just becasue they are "there." I also know what special dishes and desserts I really like, but aren't "holiday essentials" for the rest of my family. And I know that if I make it, I will be the one who will likely overindulge in excess calories until that goodie is gone. So I just don't make those recipes anymore. The old "out of sight, out of mind" ( and mouth) trick. For someone else, it may be deciding not to keep a candy dish stocked all season if you know you are likely to "just have one" everytime you walk past it. It takes some thought and honesty with yourself to plan ahead to avoid the holiday bulge; but because the alternative is pounds you aren't likely to lose, it's worth it!
So it's certainly not too early to investigate the truth about holiday weight gain and make plans to avoid it!
For a long time, health professionals and people themselves thought that the average amount of weight gained by people during the holidays was between five and ten pounds. The good news is that recent studies have found this to be untrue. The National Institutes of Health followed a diverse group of 200 Americans, their diets and weights, and found that although nearly everyone did gain weight during the holiday period, the average weight gain was around one pound, not five or ten.
The bad news is that most people did not lose that pound during the next year. Or the next. Or the extra pound they gained the next year, and so on. Further bad news is that people who were already overweight have been found to gain more than the one pound during the holidays. They gain about five, and like the other group, do not usually lose that holiday weight gain. So holiday goodies and over-indulgence can definitely have an effect on our country's obesity problem.
Yet it is possible to enjoy holiday foods and not gain weight! In fact, it is possible to conitune on a weight loss program during the holidays without feeling deprived.
We'll touch on several strategies in the upcoming weeks as we approach the new year, but probably the most important thing to do is begin now to plan for the kind of holiday season you want! We do that now anyway as we make lists : lists of gifts, people to send cards to, a cleaning and decorationg schedule, and so .... this year add YOUR WEIGHT MANAGEMENT GOALS to your other lists.
Remembering that adding 3500 extra calories to your diet over several days can lead to a one pound weight gain in a week, figure out how to budget in the special foods you want to enjoy without making them "extra" calories. This may mean that you skip the mashed potato casserole in order to have the pumpkin pie. It may mean that your daily walking time becomes 30 minutes instead of 15; or that you add jogging or a step aerobics class to burn even more calories. As always, watch portion sizes! Having a bite or two of a rich dish and really enjoying it can satisfy your sweet or savory tooth as much as a full portion would. It's good to remember that just because the food is there, you don't have to eat it.
What's my personal best trick? I know what my favorite holiday foods are. I plan in advance to enjoy certain foods while giving up fattening "side dishes" that I usually eat just becasue they are "there." I also know what special dishes and desserts I really like, but aren't "holiday essentials" for the rest of my family. And I know that if I make it, I will be the one who will likely overindulge in excess calories until that goodie is gone. So I just don't make those recipes anymore. The old "out of sight, out of mind" ( and mouth) trick. For someone else, it may be deciding not to keep a candy dish stocked all season if you know you are likely to "just have one" everytime you walk past it. It takes some thought and honesty with yourself to plan ahead to avoid the holiday bulge; but because the alternative is pounds you aren't likely to lose, it's worth it!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Don't Be Afraid to Go Nuts!
Does the idea of snacking on a baggie full of celery stalks for your afternoon snack leave you feeling more than slightly uninterested?
Getting through the stretch of time between light lunch and healthy dinner can be the downfall of anyone's weight loss program. Unless you plan in advance for a snack that you will like and that will satisfy you, you'll probably toss the celery and head for the vending machine.
That's where nuts - a food that combines protein, fiber and healthy fat into one small package- can come to your rescue.
Getting through the stretch of time between light lunch and healthy dinner can be the downfall of anyone's weight loss program. Unless you plan in advance for a snack that you will like and that will satisfy you, you'll probably toss the celery and head for the vending machine.
That's where nuts - a food that combines protein, fiber and healthy fat into one small package- can come to your rescue.
A handful, depending on the size of the hand, can be the ideal snack portion: a quarter cup. You can keep roasted, unsalted mixed nuts on hand or choose any variation of nuts. Almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios, pecans, and macadamias make great snack choices - alone or in combination. One of my favorites is the new Planter's Heart Healthy mix:
Canned nut mixes are convenient and tasty, but you can save yourself money, salt, and often calories and fat grams by buying plain unsalted walnuts, almonds, pecans, and even peanuts in bags in the grocery store produce or baking sections.
An average serving of nuts (1/4 cup roasted almonds, for example) contains: 6.7 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 205 calories, 9.5 grams protein, 18 grams fat, 1.4 grams saturated fat. And that's the one thing we have to pay attention to: serving size: a palm-full is not very much, so eat them slowly. The fat and fiber will fill you up faster than you think, but still remember you are just having a snack, not a meal!
WebMD includes other low-calorie, celery-free snacks in their List of Top Ten Low-Carb Snacks.
An added benefit to making a small quantity of nuts part of your daily food intake can be improved cholesterol levels, making nuts a key to a heart-healthy diet, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The study revealed that people they followed who consumed 2.4 ounces of nuts per day had better cholesterol levels than people who consumed the same amount of saturated fat, but no nuts. Read more here to learn about these heart-friendly benefits!
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