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“Nonfat is nonsense…and other great weight-loss nutrition tips!”: Weight Loss Diary

April 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Written by: on Thursday, April 19th, 2012

My first question is where did April go? I had such plans, so many goals. April got swallowed up by a series of unfortunate events in my life, but I have the reins on my weight-loss program again.

I have been eagerly awaiting my first bit of advice and direction from Lauren, my personal nutrition advisor, of FOODTRAINERS and it is here!

fresh whole strawberries in a cup

Moderation is key when eating anything, including fruit!

1. Fruit but don’t Overfruit. Fruit is low in calories and a part of any healthy regime. However, fruit is sugar and it’s possible to overdo it. I would stick to 2, max 3 1-cup portions of fruit a day. Additionally try to choose lower glycemic fruits such as berries, citrus, cantaloupe, apples, and pears. Also important given family history (and by that she means the diabetes on my father’s side).

I will struggle the most with limiting my fruit. It is just so handy, portable, and satisfying. Clearly, I “overfruit” now. 

2. Nonfat is often nonsense. I would switch nonfat yogurt to low fat. Nonfat to our bodies is higher in sugar. You also aren’t satiated with nonfat in the same way. Same for fat free half and half.

This is surprising, but not shocking. I always believed this but switched to non-fat to shave off precious calories. Fat back in my yogurt and half and half will be delightful and delectable!

3. Try a 3/4 day for portions. I told Lauren that portion sizes were difficult for me, so she recommended I pick 1 day (a non-work day) and do what she calls a “3/4 day”: Eat slowly, chew well and stop yourself 3/4 through your regular portion. Wait 3 to 5 minutes. If you can, stop the meal there. If you cannot, keep going. The goal is to stop and assess, that’s the first skill.

This piece of advice will also be tough but I am trying to model the eating behavior of my daughters who gloriously and unconsciously walk away when done —whether it is scrambled eggs or chocolate cake. I never want them to learn to clean the plate or finish it off just because it tastes  good. Somehow, I never learned to recognize or acknowledge being full enough and satisfied, but it is never too late!

how many grains you should be eating a day

This is how big your daily serving of grains should be...no more!

4. Trade off grains. Keep carbs/grains, cereal, bread, potatoes, rice, etc to 1 meal a day “fist” size (makes me wish I had a bigger hand!)

Prior to a number of stints with the Atkins Diet, I was a card-carrying carb loader. Thankfully, even though that was an impossible lifestyle to maintain, I did take a way a (nearly) firm control over grains, especially cereal. I should have no problem limiting my grains. They are more like treats to me anyway.

5. Drink plenty of water! Get 48 to 64 ounces per day plus 1 to 2 cups green tea (I will need a catheter!)

Water. Well, I guess I will just have to do it even it I don’t like it. I like unsweetened ice tea and make it by the gallons. Even my girls drink it. I will have to ask Lauren if that would be an acceptable substitute. I could always make iced green tea. Of course I don’t want to start out my nutrition tutoring with complaints!

4. Exercise. Work out 150 to 180 minutes a week (total as you go) with one day “longer” 50 to 60 min.

I have come a long, long way in terms of what I can accomplish physically and how often.  Lauren is advising I ramp it up for weight loss.  There are some days that will be very difficult to achieve but One Hour Workout on ValerieLatona.com

 

 

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Do your health a favor: DON’T keep this stuff in your home

March 10, 2012 Leave a Comment
Written by: on Saturday, March 10th, 2012
PIllsbury Vanilla Easy Frost Frosting

Don't keep this stuff in the house if you're watching your weight!

 

When I discovered Pillsbury’s Easy Frost Frosting in a Can, I was excited (that was the mom side of me). Now I could frost cupcakes or cookies for school parties in minutes with zero hassle and mess. It tastes really good and it comes in holiday colors (e.g. pink for Valentine’s Day) as well as chocolate, cream cheese, and vanilla—which are available every day.

BUT (and this is healthy side of me) the ingredient list reads like a long list of nutrition don’ts (including trans fats); if you go to the Pillsbury site to look up the nutritional information, it’s noticeably absent (that’s a sure sign that there’s nothing good in it).

It also has 150 calories for two tablespoons. I don’t know anyone who’s going to measure out two tablespoons, which means you’ll squeeze on more frosting than usual because it’s so easy. And that means more calories.

This is dangerous when it comes to snacking at home: leftover frosting should be thrown out immediately. I made the mistake of keeping it—and then when I had a craving for something sweet, I squeezed on a bit to a cookie…and then a bit more…and then a bit more on another cookie. And while I was talking on the phone (never talk while you snack, I should know this!), I squeezed some on to a spoon and ate that. WHAT THE HECK WAS I DOING???!!!

I must have taken in at least an additional 500 calories in just frosting alone. It’s dangerous to have this stuff in your home—for your health and your waistline. A better bet: make frosting the traditional way—from scratch. That way, you know the ingredients you’re putting into your—and your kids’ bodies—and you’re less likely to have it around after you need it.

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What to Eat After Exercise…So You Don’t Gain Weight

January 22, 2012 1 Comment
Written by: on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
woman lifting a barbell

It's easy to negate the effects of a good workout by eating the wrong foods afterward!

What’s best to eat for recovery after a hard workout? That’s what marathoners, body builders, and exercisers ask. They read ads for “recovery foods” with the “perfect” ratio of carbs to protein and a “proprietary” formula— and emphasize immediate consumption the minute you stop exercising. But the truth is that engineered recovery foods, which often cost more, are actually no more effective than standard foods.

Q: Who should eat a recovery diet?

A: Too many athletes are obsessed with rapidly refueling the minute they stop exercising.  They’re afraid they’ll miss the one-hour “window of

best recovery food for exercisers

Skip the pricey "recovery" foods; a glass of low-fat chocolate milk may be all you need.

opportunity” when replacement of glycogen [stored glucose] is fastest. But refueling still occurs for several hours after exercise, just at a slowing rate. So there’s no rush! Given a steady influx of adequate carb-based meals and snacks, muscles can refuel within 24 hours. If you have a full day to recover before your next training session, or if you have done an easy (non-depleting) workout, you don’t need to obsess about refueling immediately afterward. Over the course of the next 24 hours, you should repeatedly consume carbohydrates with each meal/snack, along with some protein to build and repair the muscles (e.g. chocolate milk or a fruit smoothie).

Refueling as soon as tolerable is most important for serious athletes doing a second bout of intense, depleting exercise within six hours of the first workout, including:

√ triathletes doing double workouts

√ soccer players in tournaments

√ people who ski hard in the morning and again in the afternoon.

The sooner these athletes consume carbs to replace depleted muscle glycogen and protein to repair damaged muscle, the sooner they’ll be able to exercise hard again.

Q: How many carbs do I need?

A: According to the International Olympic Committee’s Nutrition Recommendations, adequate carbs means:

Amount of exercise Gram carb/lb Gram carb/kg
Moderate exercise (about 1 hour/day) 2.5 to 3 5 to 7
Endurance exercise (about 1-3 h/day) 2.5 to 4.5 6 to 10
Extreme exercise  (more than 4-5 h/day) 3.5 to 5.5 8 to 12

 

For example, a 150-lb triathlete doing extreme exercise should target about 500 to 800 grams of carb/day (2,000 to 3,200 carb-calories). That’s about 500 to 800 grams of carbs every 4 hours during the daytime.

Q: What are some good carb-protein recovery foods?

recovery food for exercisers

Simple recovery food: cereal (carb) and low-fat milk (protein). Nothing elaborate and pricey necessary!

A: Your recovery meals and snacks should include a foundation of carbohydrate-rich breads, cereals, grains, fruits, and vegetables plus a smaller amount of protein (at least 10 to 20 grams per recovery snack or meal). Best bets:

√ fruit smoothie (Greek yogurt + banana + berries)

√ cereal + milk

√ bagel + (decaf) latté

√ pretzels + hummus

√ baked potato + cottage cheese

√ turkey sub

√ pasta + meatballs

Do NOT consume just protein, as in a protein shake or protein bar. Protein fills your stomach and helps build and repair muscles, but it does not refuel your muscles. Your muscles want three or four times more calories from carbs than from protein. If you like the convenience of protein shakes, at least add carbs to them. That is, blend in some banana, frozen berries, and/or graham crackers.

Keep in mind that recovery calories “count.” I hear many frustrated dieters complain they are not losing weight despite hard workouts. Perhaps that’s because they gobble 300 or so “recovery calories” and then go home and enjoy a hefty dinner. By organizing your training to end at mealtime, you can avoid over-indulging in recovery-calories.

Q: What about recovery electrolytes? Do I need them?

woman exercising hard outdoors and sweating

Simple foods still work best after a particularly tough workout, particularly if you sweat a lot.

 

 

A: After a hard workout, many athletes reach for a sports drink, thinking products like Gatorade or PowerAde are “loaded” with sodium (an electrically charged particle). Think again! Milk and other “real foods” are actually better sources of electrolytes than most commercial sports products. These electrolytes (also known as sodium and potassium) help enhance fluid retention and the restoration of normal fluid balance. Here’s how some common recovery fluids compare:

Beverage (8 oz) Sodium (mg) Potassium (mg) Protein (g) Carbs (g)
Water – – – –
PowerAde 55 45 – 19
Gatorade 110 30 – 14
Low-fat milk 100 400 8 12
Chocolate milk 150 425 8 26
Orange juice – 450 2 26

 

As you can see, after a hard workout, recovery fluids that such as chocolate milk, orange juice, or a latte offer far more “good stuff” than you’d get in a sports drink. Sports drinks are dilute and designed for drinking during extended exercise.

bagel with peanut butter

A bagel with peanut butter provides carbs, protein, and sodium—important for replenishing after a tough workout.

To assess how much sodium you lose in sweat, weigh yourself naked pre and post an hour of exercise, accounting as best you can for any fluid consumed. Loss of one pound equates to loss of about 700 to 1,000 mg of sodium. If you sweat heavily and lose a significant amount of sodium, you can easily replace those losses with pretzels (300 mg sodium/10 twists), a bagel (500 mg) with peanut butter (200 mg/2 tbsp), Wheaties and milk (300 mg), or a spaghetti dinner with tomato sauce (1000 mg/cup Ragu sauce). The truth is: most athletes actually consume plenty of sodium, from everyday food!

Q: What should I eat before I exercise?

A: According to research presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, consuming protein before lifting weights enhanced recovery better than consuming a protein drink afterwards. That’s because your body digests pre-exercise protein into amino acids during exercise and puts those amino acids right into action repairing damaged muscles.

Q: I never really feel like I recover well. Is something wrong?

woman running on beach in sweats

Sure, you love your morning runs, but make sure you take at least a day off every week to rest; your body needs it!

A: If you have to drag yourself through workouts, there could be an underlying issue. The most common:

√  You’re overtraining. Rest is an essential part of a training program; muscles need time to refuel and repair. Take at least one, if not two, days off from exercise per week.

√  You’re anemic. Anemia is common, so have your doctor monitor your serum ferritin (stored iron). If your iron stores are depleted, you’ll feel needlessly tired during exercise. An estimated half of female athletes are iron-deficient, as indicated by low serum ferritin stores. (About 14% of all women are iron deficient.) A survey with collegiate male runners suggested about 20% had low serum ferritin. Iron supplements help resolve the problem, along with a good recovery diet.

So the moral of the story is: Eat wisely, and you’ll recover well—and feel great without gaining extra weight!

Copyright: Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD January 2012

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The tough love truth about how to lose weight

October 16, 2011 Leave a Comment
Written by: on Sunday, October 16th, 2011

It’s New Year’s—and with the holiday and festivities (and holiday hang-overs) come the inevitable resolutions to lose weight. Before you get started on your diet, here are a few basic “tough love” facts about weight that are good to be aware of:

woman weighing herself on a scale

Don't avoid the scale: it can keep you on track.

1) Obesity starts with just a 5-pound weight gain. Think it can’t happen to you? Think again. People aren’t born obese, but they can certainly be heavy when they’re young (as we can see from the staggering numbers of children and adolescents now struggling with obesity). It can also happen to anyone at any age—and as you get older and your metabolism starts to slow down, it gets even easier to put on weight. It starts with gaining just a few pounds…and then a few more…and then even more. And that’s why it’s so important to be vigilant about your weight throughout your life; if you put on 5 pounds, work to take it off right away…as the more you gain, the harder it will get, guaranteed. If this means you have to weigh yourself every day or every week, so be it.

2) No one is to blame but you. Yes, we can point to the high fructose corn syrup in so many foods as the culprit; we can blame all those unhealthy fast food companies that make junk food cheaper to eat than healthier fare; we can point fingers at our genetic makeup, our emotions, our lack of willpower, our love of food… And sure, these may contribute to your weight gain, but the truth is: no one is forcing you to overeat. The only person you have to blame for putting on weight is yourself.

 

Weight Watchers location next to Porkys in Lindhurst, New Jersey

A real-life picture about how hard the choices in life are! (Actual picture from Lindhurst, New Jersey)

3) Nothing in life comes easy—and weight loss is no exception. For some reason, people today believe that losing weight should come fast—and most disturbing—easily. All it takes is one look at the preponderance of diet pills on the market, detox diets, miracle cures…and even—to some degree—gastric bypass surgery. The idea is that someone else can provide the cures to our problems, when in fact it all starts from the ability within oneself to change. But so many people today don’t look at their weight issues that way: they want solutions and they want someone else to provide them, fast … and essentially do the work for them. Bottom line is there is simply no substitute for changing, and cutting down on, what you eat and exercising regularly.

 

woman and man exercising outdoors

Make exercise a daily habit and you

4) You don’t like to exercise? Tough. There is no question that exercise—moving your body—is absolutely essential to keeping your body healthy. Yes, it’s hard sometimes—really, really hard—to get motivated, but it’s not optional. Period. And this starts in childhood: the more kids sit around and watch TV or use the computer, the less time they’re outside being active. I notice this firsthand with my son: in the winter, it’s hard to motivate him to get outdoors and he puts on weight as a result. But in the summer when he’s more active, he drops it naturally. I’ve found the same is true for me: if I don’t make it a priority to get to the gym—no matter what the season—I pack on pounds. (And just so you know: I’ve never been a skinny model type who doesn’t have to work out—and most people aren’t.) What it takes is at least 30 minutes of activity (walking, an exercise video, cardio, etc) most days. If you’re able to get in 3 to 4 days a week, that works. The key: this is not a program that you’re doing for 3 or 4 or 5 months to slim down for some event or trip. This is for life.

5) If you’re an obese woman, you will have a tougher time in life than a man. This fact disturbs me too but it’s true. Last year, the journal Obesity published a study suggesting that obesity was a political asset — in men, not in women, despite what people were saying recently about Chris Christie. The truth is: no matter how much you try to deny it, you will be looked at differently than your thinner peers. Rather than getting steamed up about it, use that energy to do something about it. Make a commitment to be healthier for you. And I can guarantee you that you’ll not only feel better about yourself, you’ll be healthier and you’ll exude more confidence. And that goes a long way in your job and in your life.

And for any of you who might get angry by my words here, saying things like: “You don’t know how difficult it is, you haven’t been there,” I can say this: With each of my pregnancies, I gained 50 to 70 pounds. No I wasn’t obese, but I was definitely much heavier after giving birth. And I can tell you that I had to work hard to get my weight back down: it took time (almost a year after each pregnancy), consistent exercise (even on days when I did not want to do anything!), and willpower, but slowly and steadily the weight came off. And the same holds true for everyone who follows these simple tough-love rules.

The beauty of weight loss is that everyone can do it—and keep it off for good.

 

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Exercise is better than medicine!…and more

June 10, 2011 Leave a Comment
Written by: on Friday, June 10th, 2011

 

Woman and man running, exercising

Get out there and exercise: doctors' orders!

Each year, more than 5.000 health professionals gather at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM; www.acsm.org). At this year’s meeting (Denver, June 1-4, 2011), exercise physiologists, sports medicine doctors, and sports nutritionists shared their research and offered updates. Here are three updates that might be of interest.

The power of exercise
“Exercise is medicine” is the slogan for ACSM’s public health campaign to teach people the importance of living an active lifestyle “Exercise is better than medicine” would also be a good slogan! According to Dr. Karim Khan of the University of British Columbia, lack of physical activity is the biggest public health problem in the 21st Century. (I know, I am “preaching to the choir” because you are undoubtedly already active. But I’m sure you have friends and loved ones who spend too much time on the couch. Please pass along this message along to them.)

We know that exercise can reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, dementia, and other diseases of aging. But what most people don’t know is 16% of North Americans will die from low fitness/sedentary lifestyle. That’s more than the 14% of people who will die from “smokerdiabesity” (smoking, diabetes, and obesity combined). If exercise is so good for us, why are so many people failing to exercise regularly? And how can we get them to exercise by choice? Incentives work in the short term. That is, employees who get a discount on their health insurance premium will initiate an exercise program. But in the long term, people maintain an exercise program if it gives them pleasure, makes them feel good about themselves, improves their mood, and offers friendship.

Wanna-be exercisers should take weight loss out of the equation. That is, if they are exercising just to lose weight, what happens when they reach their goal? They’ll still need to keep exercising to maintain that fat loss, so they had better start a program they are interested in enjoying for the rest of their lives!

Just as MDs monitor blood pressure and weight, they should also monitor physical activity. Thanks to ACSM’s Exercise is Medicine campaign, doctors are now being encouraged to prescribe exercise to their overfat, underfit, (pre)diabetic clients, telling them how often, how hard, and how long to exercise. This written prescription has been shown to help improve exercise compliance.

Nutrition for injuries
Unfortunately, part of living an active lifestyle seems to entail being injured; no fun. Athletes with injuries should pay attention to their diet. If they are petrified of gaining weight (yes, petrified is a strong word, but it seems fitting to many injured athletes who seek my counsel), they may severely restrict their food intake. One runner hobbled into my office saying, “I haven’t eaten in two days because I can’t run…”

While injured athletes do require fewer calories if they are exercising less than usual, they still need to eat an appropriate amount of fuel. Injuries heal best with proper nourishment. For example, if you have had surgery (such as to repair a torn ligament), your metabolic rate might increase up to 20%. Using crutches increases energy expenditure by 5 to 8%. If a wound happens to get infected, metabolic rate can increase by 50%.

When injured, you want to eat mindfully, so that you eat enough calories—but not too many calories. Before you put food into your mouth, ask yourself: “Does my body need this fuel? … Will this food provide nutrients to help my injury heal?” Your mind may want excessive treats to comfort your sorrow, but the nutrient-poor cookies that help you feel happier for a moment can contribute to undesired fat gain that will increase your misery for the long run.

If you have ever had a broken bone, you have seen first-hand the muscle wasting that occurs when, let’s say, a leg has been in a cast for 6 to 8 weeks. The good news is, according to Dr. Stuart Phillips of McMaster University, muscle strength and power returns quicker than muscle size. You can minimize excessive muscle loss by eating adequate protein. The typical (and adequate) protein intake is 0.5 g protein per pound of body weight per day ((1.1g/kg/day). During recovery, a better target is about 0.7 g pro/lb (1.6 g/kg). For a 150-pound athlete, that’s 75 to 105 g protein for the day, an amount easily obtained through your diet. Simply choose a protein-rich food at each meal and snack throughout the day to help maximize healing and minimize muscle loss.

Creatine and health
Creatine has been shown to enhance performance in sports that require short bursts of energy (including ice hockey, sprinting, soccer, weight lifting). The question arises: Is creatine harmful? According to Eric Rawson, PhD of Bloomsburg University in PA, creatine is safe. Although critics have tried to implicate creatine in athletic events that resulted in death, other factors were involved, such as excessive exercise in extreme heat.

The NCAA and other sports organizations discourage the use of creatine in teenage athletes. Teens who take creatine while their bodies are growing will never know how well they could have performed with simply a good sports diet and hard work. The question arises: Will athletes who take creatine be enticed to try other ergogenic aids, such as harmful and illegal steroids? The answer is unknown.

On a daily basis, the brain uses creatine to help us think and process. (Thinking requires quick energy, and creatine enhances that metabolic pathway.) Taking creatine supplements can increase brain creatine by 4 to 9%.
When the brain is tired, as happens with sleep-deprivation, creatine may be able to enhance brain function. For example, sleep deprived rugby players who took creatine improved their accuracy when throwing a ball (compared to those who did not take creatine). The effect was similar to if they had taken caffeine, another alertness-heightener.
Creatine might be helpful for athletes who suffer a concussion. Research with animals suggests taking creatine pre-concussion enhances recovery. Granted, few athletes know when they will get a concussion, but anecdotes tell us that hockey players who routinely take creatine (and have higher brain creatine status than athletes who do not take creatine) report enhanced recovery. In certain medical situations (such as muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease), creatine can also have a health-protective role.

Copyright: Nancy Clark, MS, RD CSSD June 2011

 

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