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Recently I overheard the following exchange between two women while waiting at an ATM machine.
"I just can't seem to lose those last five pounds. I go to the gym every day but I pile on those calories at night. I do love my red wine." Her companion responded, "I know. My downfall is that little saucer of olive oil you get when you go out to eat. I could make a meal out of bread dunked in the oil." Calories can sneak up and add up to pounds not lost or pounds gained. Every one who has struggled to lose weight, and struggled more not to regain it, knows that certain foods or beverages have a way of sneaking in extra calories. Sometimes you don't even realize how many calories you are getting, especially when the food is healthy. Take olive oil and red wine. You have all been told that they are good for your heart and your longevity. But your jeans may not appreciate what you are doing for your heart. Just because a food is good for you, it does not mean that it will not add unwanted calories to your diet. And you cannot justify consuming large quantities of red wine or olive oil by saying to yourself, "If one glass of wine or bread chunk dunked into olive oil is good, then more is better." The real problem is that so many people live such sedentary lives that their bodies do not have the opportunity to burn off many extra calories. The lady who goes to the gym every day is sitting at her computer or in her car for much of the rest of the day. The woman dunking her bread in the olive oil is not working a jackhammer, hauling bricks or moving furniture for a living. So the extra calories taken in as wine or the crumbled cookie or your kid's left over peanut butter sandwich add up and prevent the body from getting rid of excess weight. Or these extra calories can stealthily and steadily increase weight so that after six months or a year, you find yourself three or four pounds heavier. The answer is not to start eating like robots with premeasured meals or avoiding eating anything that is not l00% needed for nutrition and health. You can do this for a few weeks but it is not compatible with real life. The answer is to be aware of the caloric cost of what you are eating and drinking. Knowing how many calories are in your glass of wine or that a tablespoon of olive oil is 100 calories (same as for butter) and that the crumbled cookie has the same number of calories as the unbroken one at least gives you the chance to make an informed decision as to whether you want to eat that food or not. For example, drinking one glass of red wine is fine but if you are drinking more because you are thirsty, drink water instead. Additional consumption of wine or any alcoholic beverage must be seen as a source of unnecessary (no nutrient value) calories. And if you are serious about your weight, you may decide to refrain. If you ate frugally during the day, exercised and know your body can handle extra calories at dinner without any weight problem, then wine, olive oil, dessert, or any other calorie indulgence is fine within moderation. What it comes down to is following your own personal calorie budget. Many of us splurge once in a while on a purchase of something we really don't need but want and manage to pay for without breaking the budget. The same is true of eating. There is "give" in the system of calories consumed and calories used. But just as you can be lured into spending too much with the promise that you can buy now and pay latter, you also can be tempted into eating too much without contemplating that your weight will "pay later." Once you work out your own calorie budget, you will find it very easy to stay at the weight you want and indulge in your favorite foods or beverages as well. | permalink | related link |   ( 3 / 20 )Sometimes you just have to eat something sweet. It is more apt to happen during the dark days of winter when your brain is yearning for carbohydrates to make you feel less grumpy and tired. But the call from a sweet tooth can come at any time. What should the dieter or the person trying not to gain weight do? Why give in, of course. Giving in can be perfectly compatible with losing weight and probably will make the next day's dieting even easier. As long as the sweet is portion controlled, relatively low in fat and eaten in a relaxed guilt-free manner, there is no reason not to indulge. Obviously people with diabetes can't indulge their sweet craving because such foods may put too much demand on their insulin needs. But for just about everyone else, eating a small, l50 calorie sweet snack even on a daily basis is not going to trigger diabetes, especially if the snack is part of a healthy diet. However, not all snacks are equally effective in satisfying the sweet tooth without impairing weight loss. Having watched a Food Network program on baking Christmas cookies, I realized that none of those butter-filled goodies would make it onto the A list for allowable snacks unless one had to gain 15 or 20 pounds in a big hurry. Chocolates are also off the list (alas), along with chocolate-nut confections, gourmet ice cream, doughnuts, cakes and pies. These foods can taste wonderful but they contain more fat calories than sweet calories and should be thought of as cups of melted butter with added sugar. Still, there is no reason for despair. There are a few chocolate-flavored breakfast cereals that contain practically no fat. A cup of these cereals contains fewer calories than half a Snicker's bar. You can also enjoy a cup of fat-free hot cocoa topped with a marshmallow. Heated fat-free fudge sauce poured on reduced fat frozen yogurt or ice cream is enough to make your sweet tooth cry for mercy. So will honey drizzled on cinnamon toast. Meringues, nearly fat-free and so sweet that it is hard to eat more than a couple at a time, are available in a variety of flavors from vanilla to chocolate chip, And don't forget the s'mores. They are not just for summertime. Marshmallows heated, spread with fat-free fudge sauce and smooshed between graham crackers (get out the napkins) is also an incredibly sweet treat. Finally, if you love to bake but are afraid to do so because of the temptation to eat what you made, check out low-fat recipes on the Web. There are countless versions of brownies, fudge, chocolate cake, apple pies and chocolate chip cookies. Just remember to count the broken bits when you measure out your snack portion and you will be fine. | permalink | related link | ( 3.1 / 26 )Every once in a while, a new client tells us that she is hungry on our diet. And our response is always: eat more. There is absolutely no reason to suffer on a diet. When our female clients feel hungry, it is usually because they need more calories than the 1400 offered by the women’s food plan. Sara for example is tall and started the diet weighing close to l90 lbs. I told her that she should follow the men’s plan as it offered more calories and at her height and weight, she needed them. There is nothing gender specific amount the food plans; they are based simply on the fact that on average women are shorter and weigh less than men and so need fewer calories. We had a male client who was short and whose goal weight was 140 pounds; he found that he could not lose weight unless he followed the women’s caloric quota. Calorie needs are not etched in stone. How much you need to eat depends on your starting weight, your activity level and to some degree your age. A young mom who is running after twin toddlers will be using up more calories than an 85 year old who needs a walker. If you need to lose 70 plus pounds you may have to start on more calories than a person who is l0 pounds away from her goal weight. We once had a client who weighed more than 500 pounds. She at five meals a day until she came back to us and told us that she did not need to eat so much. But we did not want her to be fearful of being hungry as we knew that hunger would drive her from the program. As you lose weight, you will find yourself needing to eat less; this is why the last 4 weeks of our diet plan gives you only one snack a day. We want you to stay on the diet long enough to get to the once a day snack stage. So be kind to your hunger It will go away And let you diet Yet another day. | permalink | related link | ( 3 / 26 )OK, I have to admit I bought M&M's Halloween candy back when it first appeared on the drugstore and supermarket shelves (probably September some time - it all seems to be available earlier and earlier each year and in greater and greater abundance). M&M's are still my favorite candy and I knew much of it wouldn't last for the trick or treaters. (OK, I confess, I've since bought more M&M's along with fun size KitKat bars, my other favorite). In the interest of keeping my brain and my taste buds happy, I'm indulging every day or two. But only one. I'm not pretending they have the antioxidants found in dark chocolate or any other nutritional benefits. But I have to say the "fun size" packet of M&M's, at just barely over 100 calories and 15 g of carbs (they're actually quite low in fat: only 4 g), is a great way to snack when I eat them with a few healthy oat bran pretzel nuggets - makes a delicious sweet and salty crunchy combination that is quite satisfying. Particularly as the days are getting shorter and the weather colder, and you may be needing serotonin-boosting snacks more than ever to control your appetite, restore your mental energy, and boost your mood, why not use those "fun size" candies to make your Halloween-time snacks, well, more fun? | permalink | related link | ( 3.1 / 30 )I wish that the increased risk for bingeing were mentioned in the long list of antidepressant side effects. For someone on lexapro, prozac, zoloft, celexa, or any number of other antidepressants or mood stabilizing medication, an emotional stress can make food cravings even worse and lead to a binge. Take this story from someone on medications for bipolar disorder that I saw while researching the internet: "I went to my uncle's funeral today who was like my best friend. I ate two donuts with hot cocoa, Then I ate three pieces of bread with a huge pasta plate. Then I came home and ate ice cream and a half of banana cream pie. Great diet huh?" We've heard plenty of stories from clients who reported bingeing on pizza, peanut butter, packaged cookie dough, mayonnaise straight from the jar, apple fritters, take out Chinese food, and huge bags of chips before beginning our weight loss program. You may have your own food-laden escapes that ultimately wreak havoc on your well being. Such eating is a numbing, temporary escape from distress and it's understandable given challenging circumstances. Clearly there are times when taking a deep breath, going for a walk, or even calling a good friend does not eliminate either the intense food cravings or the emotional distress brought on by difficult situations, and food seems to be the only option. But even under the most extreme circumstances, food can indeed be used positively thus avoiding at least some of the undesirable consequences of such a binge those being feeling out of control, uncomfortably stuffed, lethargic, and guilty about consuming so many calories that so easily add up to weight loss. We don't want you to be afraid of food, especially carbs, but rather to get the positive benefits carbs can give you. Some foods, because of their high calorie content and tendency to cause binges, we recommend you avoid entirely (like banana cream pie) not only if you want to lose weight but also if your goal is to be as equipped to deal with life's stress as adeptly as possible. Healthy oils like canola, olive, and walnut oil are thought to have positive health benefits when used in moderation so we encourage them in small amounts as part of your weight loss program. But when eating carbs for the purpose of de-stressing and losing weight, opt for low fat carbs. Otherwise, the fat can give you excess calories, make you feel comatose, and slow down the brain's ability to make the serotonin that can ultimately make you feel better (and slimmer). It's up to you whether you want wholesome carbs or if you want to include the occasional refined variety for taste purposes and so you don't feel deprived of a "treat" every once in a while. Pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, chocolate rice cakes, fat free bran muffins, and fat free sweets can not only make you feel good, but they can also prevent a binge that may leave you feeling worse than before, even if you're on medications and experiencing great stress. Pasta, anyone? | permalink | related link |  ( 3 / 101 )Next |
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