|
The first course, a pasta dish, arrived and my husband and I looked at each other in surprise. There couldn’t have been more than a cup of skinny spaghetti on the small, salad-size plate. The waiter came over, sprinkled some freshly grated cheese on the sauce and left us to enjoy the first course of our first meal in Florence. We looked at each other and laughed. “I guess we both forgot what normal size portions look like,” I said. Neither of us had been in this beautiful Italian city for decades, and after a day of exploring the streets and museums on foot, we were hungry. We were eager to sample the varieties of pasta and seasonal vegetables recommended by our guide books and made our way to a neighborhood restaurant suggested by a friend. Normally, we would have ordered only one course but the second courses (what Americans would call the entrées) looked too tempting to pass up. My husband ordered an eggplant dish with tomatoes and all sorts of wonderful herbs and I had the seasonal specialty of porcini mushrooms poached in a flavorful broth. Like the pasta dish, our second courses were also small and easily fit on a salad plate. Chewy slices of bread were on the table but no butter and no olive oil for dunking. We decided to split a dessert, assuming it would be too big for one person. It was tiny, a sliver of intensely rich chocolate cake. The plate on which it sat was even smaller, about the size of a saucer. As we walked back to the hotel, stuffed and happy, we compared this meal to the typical meal we would have eaten at an American-Italian restaurant. A saucer of olive oil would be on the table so bread could be dunked (at about 100 calories a dunk), the pasta portion would be large enough to feed a family of five, and the “main course” would consist of eight or more ounces of protein. Were there any Italian restaurants that would have offered poached mushrooms, or eggplant and tomatoes, as the main course? And could the restaurant have gotten away with serving a dessert that was only a taste? Most of the people we saw on the streets during our earlier hours of walking were thin. This was confirmed by clothing sizes in the stores. It was hard to find men’s pants in sizes over 38- 40 and women’s clothes on the racks rarely went above American size 12 or 14. Yet here was a population that ate lots of carbohydrates. They enjoyed not only pasta but also rice and polenta (corn meal) and bread. Indeed as an Italian friend told me, ”A meal without carbohydrate is not considered a meal.” Here in the states we have been told, over and over again, by self-appointed weight loss experts that carbohydrates will make you fat and avoiding them will make you thin. And yet we Americans are growing more obese by the minute. The years of avoiding carbohydrates in the interest of weight loss has done nothing but make us fatter. How do we make sense of this? Look at the meal we were served. Carbohydrates were the first course. They were served with only small amounts of fat from the cheese so we digested them pretty rapidly. While we were waiting for our second course, our brain was busy making serotonin, the brain chemical which not only turns on a good mood but also shuts off appetite. The small second course was perfectly adequate because we were not very hungry by the time it had arrived. The serotonin was working to diminish our need to eat. And the dessert was just a taste treat, something to compliment the intense flavor of the small cups of espresso we drank along with it. The portion sizes were normal, at least normal for anyone not living in the U.S. We looked around at the other diners and every course we saw being served was just as small. We have grown so used to absurdly large portion sizes in our country that we forget how inappropriate they are. Rather than convincing us to accept smaller portions, many restaurants, especially fast- food chains, lure customers by offering enormous portion sizes. We will never stop gaining weight as a country and start to lose it until we are willing to change our perceptions of what is normal food intake. We will never stop overeating until we are willing to give up the notion that eating lots of protein and avoiding carbohydrate will make us thin. Unfortunately, we can’t all go to Florence and experience first-hand what it is like to eat extremely good food served in small portions. But we can follow the food customs: Start a meal with carbohydrate and follow it with a small portion of protein or vegetables. And who knows, the money you save on food may pay for a trip to Italy. | permalink | related link |   ( 3 / 351 )Even though the season is still summer, the later sunrises and earlier sunsets warn us of the approach of fall and return to standard time. Those of us who get up early and return home late notice that the extra hours of daylight we could count on have disappeared. And some of us are already feeling the early signs of winter depression because the absence of light affects our mood. Despite the number of years that have passed since scientists identified Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the cause of this mood and eating disorder is still not well understood. What is known is that as the relative hours of daylight shorten and the hours of darkness lengthen, many people experience a cluster of unpleasant symptoms that may last for months. The symptoms include extreme fatigue and greater need to sleep, an increased desire to eat sweet carbohydrates, a significant decrease in mental motivation and unwillingness to take on new work or social activities, and, finally, depression, anger and irritability. These changes in mood, appetite and behavior may begin as early as October or November and last through the winter into mid-spring. Not everyone experiences the full range of symptoms and often the symptoms they do experience are mild. However, they can still affect one’s life style. A friend told me how her routine changes when it is dark by late afternoon. “During the spring and summer, I come home from work, put on my walking shoes and go for an hour walk before dinner. Or, if there was a class I wanted to take at the gym in the early evening, I would take it. But when it is dark by 4:30 or even earlier, all I want to do when I get home is get into my sweats, lie down on the couch and watch television. I even turn down invitations to go to evening plays, concerts or lectures because I hate leaving the house when it is dark. I might as well be hibernating in a cave.” This winter depression disappears in the spring as the hours of daylight overtake those of darkness. What often does not disappear is the number of pounds that are gained during the fall and winter. The months of eating more and moving less is a ‘perfect storm’ for weight gain. Most people exit the winter heavier by 10-15 pounds and some sufferers from winter depression will gain 30 or 40 pounds. Unfortunately, these extra pounds do not disappear as easily as snowflakes in May. There are some ways to combat winter depression. Artificial sunlight in the form of light boxes containing light bulbs that mimic the spectrum of the sun has been used to alleviate the symptoms of winter depression. Sitting in front of these so-called sun boxes in the early morning diminishes the fatigue, sleepiness, apathy and depression of this seasonal disorder. Still, light does not seem to have as much of an effect on overeating. Antidepressants are also effective and sometimes may be used along with exposure to this therapeutic light. But antidepressants bring their own problems with eating and weight gain and, if taken for many weeks, may exacerbate the overeating caused by the short days of winter. Moving to countries along the equator is not a practical option, although snow birds who go south for the winter do report feeling much more energetic, less depressed and in control of their eating than when they were in the dark north. Now is the time to plan defensive action against creeping winter weight gain. By following these guidelines, you can make it through the winter without your waistline expanding like the snow drifts. 1. Eat according to your body’s seasonal rhythm. Your body will crave carbohydrates and the urge will worsen as the day goes on. As we describe in The Serotonin Power Diet, eat protein, low-fat dairy products, and vegetables in the early part of the day. Switch to healthy low-fat or fat-free carbohydrates in the late afternoon and at dinner. This will ensure that your body gets the nutrients it needs and the carbohydrate it craves. 2. Make a contract with yourself to exercise. If it is convenient to do so, go to a gym. The bright lights, music, noise and other members will get you moving even if you have to drag yourself to the locker room to change. Go as often as you can; this means at least 3 times a week or more. You will feel invigorated when you leave; it always works. If going to a health club is not possible, use your home treadmill or stationary bike. Make sure you have it in a brightly lit place, not in a dark cellar. Go to the library and borrow some funny movies that you can watch while exercising. You will feel better, and laughing will improve your mood. Libraries are also the source of exercise DVDs. The routines that you can do at home are just as good as working out on a machine. In fact, many of the routines will get you to move your entire body and you might consider alternating these video routines with using the treadmill or bike. 3. Play outside. Not only will you burn calories, you will also have the benefit of real sunlight on your face and that will help to restore your good mood. 4. Do fall and winter recreational activities that can burn off many activities. While shoveling snow, chipping ice off of the car, and plowing through a snowy backyard to get to the bird feeder will use up calories, there are things you can do outside which are also fun. Hiking in the fall when the weather is cooler, the leaves have turned color, and the bugs are somewhere else can be exhilarating. Raking leaves is work but on a clear crisp fall afternoon, pleasure as well. Biking is also a sport that lends itself to the cooler days of fall. Bike to an apple orchard where you can buy fresh cider and munch on some newly-picked fruit on the way home. And as fall turns into winter, sledding, skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing and snowman construction will use up many calories. Take heart: The days start getting longer again on Dec 22. | permalink | related link | ( 3 / 342 )Pictures of obese children seem to appear weekly in the media to warn us about the health problems the kids will face unless they lose weight and become fit. Many Web sites are devoted to discussions on how to deal with one’s children, who may be gaining too much weight, without throwing them into the even worse problem of anorexia or bulimia. Parents who avoid bringing junk food into their own homes admit that their children can always manage to eat fatty, salty and/or sugary snacks in a friend’s kitchen. And, of course, once their kids become teens with access to money and a car, all control over their food intake seems totally lost. A casual observation of the eating habits of teenagers indicates that eating at home occurs only when the teen runs out of money, gas or excuses for being away at dinner time. As concerned as we should be about the health risks faced by the obese child and teenager, we should also worry about whether they are getting enough nutrients in the foods they are eating. Children are constantly growing. Sometimes, when they are teenagers, their growth is so rapid it seems as if their bodies change overnight. If they live on a diet of soft drinks, salty snacks, and fast foods, where are they getting the vitamins and minerals found in dairy products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains? We know, for example, that bone disease later on in life may be generated in part by lack of calcium in the diets of teenage girls. Might there be other health problems among adults that can be traced back to nutritionally poor diets as teens? We of a certain generation facing the threat of skin cancer recall our teenage summers when, coated with baby oil, we baked under the sun to get a good tan. Who knew that the sunburned skin we craved then would turn into skin cancers several decades later? Might we also discover years from now that children and teens who avoid or rarely eat foods containing the nutrients the body needs are in a sense malnourished and vulnerable to health problems when they reach middle or older age? As hard as it may be with school and after-school schedules, it is important to make sure that your kids are eating foods that will nourish them. The easiest way to do this is to stock foods in the refrigerator and pantry that supply the nutrients their bodies need. Stop buying the sodas and snacks that contain little except calories. If they can’t find chips or cookies, they will munch on vitamin-fortified breakfast cereal. If they can’t find soft drinks, they may drink water, juice or even milk. If they don’t fill up on chips or French fries, they may eat chicken or beef or even fish for dinner. And if you take a few minutes to spice up cooked vegetables or leave a dish of cut-up raw vegetables with a low-fat, tasty dip, they may even start to eat this neglected class of foods. Finally, try to get them to take a daily multi-vitamin. Despite your best efforts there will be days when they won’t eat anything that nourishes them. And, by the way, take one yourself. | permalink | related link | ( 3 / 156 )Get away from that sugar bowl! According to a just published report from the American Heart Association (AHA), we as a nation are consuming entirely too much of the white stuff. On average we are eating about 355 calories or 22 teaspoons of sugar a day. About one third of this sugar comes from soft drinks in the form of fructose derived from corn syrup. If you are not a regular soda drinker, then presumably you are getting your sugar from candy, cookies, ice cream, pies, doughnuts, cakes, sweetened bread like cinnamon bread, pancakes and waffles. And of course chocolate, which probably should belong in its own special category of sweets, belongs here, too. Must you stop consuming all sugar? No. However, women must limit themselves to 100 calories or 6 teaspoons a day and men to 150 calories or 9 teaspoons a day. If you are drinking a can of soda as you read this, throw it out. One 12-ounce can of cola has 8 teaspoons of sugar so women would be exceeding their daily limit and men would be almost at their limit. There is no information about the kinds of sugars found in alcoholic beverages but one suspects that the AHA would not want you to substitute a light draft beer for a can of soda. Many foods come with their own sugar. These include newly picked “sugar” corn, sweet potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, dairy products, sweet peas, beets, honey, all fruits and breast milk. The AHA ban on sugar intake does not extend to these foods because they contain nutrients that we need to be healthy. Carrots and sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamin A; avoiding them in the interests of cutting back on sugar intake would deprive you of an important nutrient and many others that are present in smaller quantities in these two vegetables. What seemed to motivate this forthright statement against sugar intake was the perception that we (or at least most of us) are all eating too many calories. What is worse, many of those calories do nothing for us nutritionally. Water is a better thirst quencher than soda and high fiber cereal a better breakfast choice than a doughnut. By avoiding sugary foods, we will, or at least should, choose foods that are denser nutritionally. Curiously, what they did not say but perhaps should have mentioned is that many of the sugary foods are also loaded with fat. Doughnuts are fried and accumulate calories from the oil in which they are dumped. Cinnamon rolls contain lots of butter. Fat is also present in piecrusts, cookies, cake, and chocolate. Some of the sugary foods like ice cream also contain heavy cream. And they did not mention the many spicy snack foods contributing to our excessive calorie intake. Nachos coated with melted cheese, fried pork rinds, barbecued corn chips and cheese-flavored curls are also high in calories and missing anything of nutritional value. So if you turn your sweet tooth into a spicy tooth, you can still consume too many calories and be undernourished. Fortunately, the AHA recommendations come with a hefty dose of common sense. The lead author, Rachael Johnson, who is a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont, said that sugar can be added, in small amounts, to make healthy foods taste better. She gave the example of adding sugar to whole grain cereals so they will be eaten. How many kids a few generations back managed to get through a bowl of oatmeal or one of my un-favorite foods, Cream of Wheat, because our moms put brown sugar on top? Many children who hate milk and all other dairy products will drink non-fat chocolate milk because the chocolate and the sugar disguise the milk taste. And many elderly people who have lost some of their sense of taste will still respond to a sweet taste. This is why liquid meal replacements are sweet tasting. Because the organization deals with heart, and not mental, health, the AHA did not mention the soothing, calming effect a small amount of sugar has when someone hears bad news or just needs to calm down. The sugar, which is digested very quickly, triggers the production of serotonin and this brain chemical brings about a sense of tranquility. Nor do they mention that one of the major symptoms of winter depression is a craving for sweet foods which, when ingested, make the depression and exhaustion more bearable. But they did give those who have a sweet tooth a way around this prohibition toward sugar. If you exercise you will increase the number of calories you may eat in a day and that translates into what they called discretionary calories. It is like having money in your wallet that is not earmarked for a needed purchase. So if your sweet tooth is calling, put on your gym shoes and burn some calories. Then treat yourself to something sweet. | permalink | related link | ( 3.1 / 64 )Last weekend I saw an acquaintance at an organization meeting I attend once a year. Last year she had completed a month-long stay at an all-inclusive spa dedicated to getting its clients to lose weight, eat sensibly, exercise regularly and accept a permanent healthy life style. Pat (not her real name) was very excited, as she was sure she would be able to transfer all she had learned in the spa to her life back home and finally put the problem of gaining and losing weight behind her. As she told me a year ago, “I finally have learned how to eat, when and how to exercise and how to deal with my problems without turning to food. It was worth spending a month in the spa.” She came over to me and before I even had a chance to say hello, she pointed to her bulging stomach and said, “I gained it all back. I was so sure I wouldn’t but this year has been so hard. Our business was stagnant, my daughter is getting a divorce and we had to put my mother-in-law in a nursing home. So I ate too much, I stopped going to the gym, and I didn’t use any of the stress-reducing strategies I learned at the spa. I would love to go back for a month this year but we can’t afford it.” We were interrupted by the start of the meeting but promised to stay in touch. Pat’s situation troubled me. First, I was sorry that she now had to worry about her weight and fitness on top of everything else going on in her life. Second, her story was so typical of people who go away to a health-weight-fitness facility to learn how to live a thinner lifestyle. To be sure, if her life had been gentler this past year, her weight probably would have remained lost and she might have continued to follow a healthier way of eating and exercising. But when she confronted one difficult situation after another, she reverted back to the eating habits that caused her initial weight gain. Later on, after several telephone conversations, she told me that the spa’s behavioral management team had told her to meditate or call a friend or family member if she felt her eating was getting out of control. “They didn’t tell me that if I wanted to eat chocolate cake, my meditation would be focused on how soon I could get some. And how could I call friends and say that I was unable to stop myself from eating all the fattening foods I always turn to when I am upset? My friends would either come and join me or make me feel guilty and bad about myself. “ I explained to her that no spa, no matter how therapeutic or supportive, could teach her how to fight against overeating and under exercising when she faced real life problems. “What sounds feasible while sitting in a spa classroom may not work after you receive a distressing phone call or look at your 40lK. The only way to learn how to resist overeating and becoming a couch potato when you are stressed is to go through a program while those events are happening.” I then told her about the various problems that showed up while our clients were participating in our weight-loss program. Our clients struggled with all sorts of dilemmas, from spouses having affairs, going through divorces, breaking up with their boy or girl friend, losing jobs, getting a new boss from Hell, dying or overbearing parents, dealing with sexual harassment and coping with scary medical diagnoses. Often these problems would bring the diet and exercise to a total halt but our clients had us. Plus, if they were in a group, the other dieters could also offer advice, support and encouragement. And just as important, we recognized that sometimes eating is the only way of dealing with stress. So instead of telling our clients to talk a walk, call a friend, meditate or do a crossword puzzle when they were overtaken by cravings, we told them what and how much to eat to satisfy their cravings and not gain weight. “If you had been our client, we would have told you to switch immediately to a carbohydrate dinner plan as soon as the problems began. You would have eaten your protein at breakfast and lunch because it seems to be easier to handle stress early in the day. Then you would eat only starchy carbohydrates from about mid-day on.” “Does this have something to do with serotonin? “ she asked. “ “Yes, “ I went on. “When you confront stress after stress, as you have been doing all year, your serotonin levels drop. And when they go down, your appetite goes up and your mood plummets. Eating carbohydrates without protein triggers the synthesis of serotonin in the brain. And as your brain restores and increases its serotonin content, your ability to handle stress increases.” “So if the spa had told me to eat baked potatoes or pasta at night, would my stress have gone away and my overeating with it?” “No. The stressful situations would not disappear. Obviously your financial situation would not have improved because you ate baked potatoes for dinner but your ability to tolerate the stress, regardless of where it was coming from, would have improved. “ I went on to tell her that increasing serotonin would give her breathing space and allow her to sit back and figure out how to cope with her problems rather than eating her way through them. “You know how they tell you to take deep breaths when you are anxious so you will feel calm?” I asked. “Well, when your brain makes new serotonin, it is like your emotional self taking deep breaths. And this gives you the calmness and confidence to tackle your problems. And by the way, serotonin restores the energy that anxiety and worry take away. So you can start going to the gym again. “ “I was afraid you were going to say that,” she grinned at me. “But if eating a potato will make me feel less stressed and more energetic, at least I can stop being a couch potato.” | permalink | related link |  ( 3 / 55 )Back Next |
|
|
Categories
