'Tis the season to EAT!

Well, the holidays are getting near. And I know in my life during the holidays, I am inundated with food! There seems to be goodies hanging around everyday. I try to keep them out of my house, but I am surrounded at work and parties and my self control usually goes down the drain! So, this year I am not going to worry about what I eat, but how MUCH I eat!

 

Portion control is a huge component of living a healthy life. What are proper portions? According to the USDA Food Pyramid:

• A serving of meat is about two or three ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards. Serving sizes for other proteins would be two tablespoons of nut butters, two eggs, and one third cup of dry beans.  
• A serving of bread is equal to one slice of white or whole grain bread, one ounce of prepared cereal, or just one half cup of pasta, or rice.  
• A serving of fruit or vegetable is equal to one piece, one half a cup of chopped fruit or vegetable, or three-fourths cup of 100% juice. 
• A serving of dairy is equal to one cup of milk or one and one half ounces of cheese.

 

Here is a (fuzzy, sorry!) diagram of portion sizes to keep in mind if you don't know the amount of ounces. As stated above, the measurements are equal to one serving: 

• 1 serving of meat is 3-4 oz. and should be about the size of a deck of cards, or the palm of your hand.  
• 1 cup should be used for carbs such as cooked rice, cooked pasta and ice cream. It is about the size of a tennis ball. 
• 1 serving of cheese is the size of 1 domino (oops... I may eat more cheese than that!)
• 1 medium piece of fruit is the size of a baseball.
• 1 serving (1 tsp.) of fats like butter, or margarine is the size of 1 die.
• 1 small baked potato is about the size of a computer mouse.
• 1 cup of beverage is equal to the size of a woman's fist.
• 2 Tbs. of fats like Peanut Butter, jam, or salad dressing is the size of a golf ball.
• 1 oz. of chocolate is the size of package of dental floss. 

Now think about your portions. Most of us have much larger servings than the recommended amount! And restaurant portions are probably 3-4 servings! So, when you are surrounded by all the goodies this holiday season, use portion control! Don't eat 10 cookies, just eat 1. Try small tastes, not big plates full. That way there is no deprivation! Unless you know you have no self control when it comes to certain things (*cough* - cheesecake..) then you may just have to say no! Check out this link to get more helpful information!   http://nutritiondata.self.com/

 

Are you paying attention to what you are eating??

So, you are taking the time out of you busy life to work out to lose some weight.  Good job!  But, are you sabotaging all your progress by NOT paying attention to what and how much you are eating?  I know you may hate the me telling you this, but if you are trying to lose weight, I mean like 100% trying to shed fat, you NEED to keep a food journal.  I can almost guarantee you are eating too much, the wrong things, or maybe even too little.

A recent study of 1,700 overweight men and women who participated in a six-month weight-loss program found that those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. (Participants also exercised, reduced caloric intake and ate low-fat dairy products plus an average of three servings of fruits and vegetables daily) 

Why do food journals work?

They help hold us accountable for what we are actually eating and raise our awareness of this food that is going into our mouth.  We can "lie" and tell ourselves that we dont know why we keep gaining weight, since we are eating good or how we hardly eat all day, but we forget all the little snacks we mindlessly grab.  Like finishing off the little bits of cookie left in the bag, or the handfull of M & M's that you grabbed when you went by a co-workers desk, or even all the tasting you did when you were cooking dinner.  You know what I mean right?  If we think about it, we do these things all the time.  Now, if we are journaling all that we eat, we can no longer try to tell ourselves that we don't snack that much...  It just makes us pay attention to what we are doing.  It is a lot harder to face the fact that we are eating way too much or eating a lot of junk, when it is right there, on paper, in front of us! 

Another important factor in food journaling is keeping track of your portion sizes.  If you keep track of your portion sizes you will start to learn what they look like better.  Then when you are out in a resturant, you can see that most dishes are around 3-4 portions!! 

Make your food journal work for you

Obsessing about how many carrots you ate is not the point of keeping the food journal!  Just let it work with you to make you more aware of what, when, and how much you are eating.  Make it easy to keep a journal.  Keep a piece of paper in your pocket and scribble down your information when you eat and put it in a notepad later.  Or, if it works better for you, keep track on your computer, or in a little notebook.  Make it work for you!  Don't make it hard or it wont work and you will lose interest and not continue. 

Now, since you are taking all this time to do this journal, make sure you review your notes every day.  See what your patterns are and make changes.  Give food journaling a try.  It has a lot of research that backs it up, proving how well it assists in weight loss efforts.  Good luck and keep working hard!

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi

I just got an email with this video link attached to it. I love Jamie Oliver, (also known as the Naked Chef) so I decided to watch it. I am so glad I did as it was very inspiring. If you have children, are grandparents, aunts, uncles or family of any sort, or just love children, you need to take 20 minutes to watch this video. But, then WE NEED to respond. As adults, it is our responsibility to teach our kids; our future, the proper way to stay alive. Because if we don't, the next generation is going to be way worse off than the generation we are in now.

As Gandhi said: "You need to be the change you wish to see in the world".

5 Foods to eat everyday...

Hi everyone! I was just checking my email this morning and on the home page of Yahoo, there was an article I wanted to share. It is "5 foods you should eat everyday". http://shine.yahoo.com/event/makeover/the-5-foods-you-should-eat-every-day-710199/

So, your new goal (along with drinking more water), should be trying to get some, if not all 5 of these foods in each day! Try it, see how it goes!

Just so you know, and I don't get in trouble for copyright violation.. I did NOT write the following. it is an excerpt from the link above..

1. Leafy Greens
Medical experts call them one of nature's miracle foods. Leafy greens like Swiss Chard and Kale are high in nutrients like Folate and Vitamins A and C that can lower your risk of cancer. Just one cup of dark, leafy greens a day could also prevent diabetes and high blood pressure.

2. Nuts
Many nutritionist recommend nuts like almonds, cashews and walnuts because they're high in natural fiber. Fiber slows your digestive process, keeping hunger and unhealthy mid-afternoon snacks at bay. Goodbye vending machine runs!

3. Onions
Studies show that consuming onions on a regular basis may reduce symptoms of asthma and the risk of developing stomach cancer. Add them to soups and stir-fry, and just remember -- the stronger the onion, the greater the health benefit.

4. Whole grains
Refined grains, like white rice and pasta, have lost 90% of their nutritional value through the refining process. As if that weren't enough to choose whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and whole oats, a recent study showed that a diet rich in whole grains actually flattens your belly by reducing fat storage in your lower abdominal region.

5. Yogurt
Making yogurt part of your daily eating routine can improve your digestion -- if you're buying the right stuff. Check that the label lists "active cultures" to make sure you're getting healthy probiotics, and pick a yogurt rich in Vitamin D to prevent osteoporosis.

This is me writing this part though: make sure you watch the sugar level of yogurt! Some of the yogurts are almost all sugar! Sure, you think you are doing a good thing for yourself by eating it, but if it is mainly sugar, it is not worth it!!

"You can't out exercise a poor diet"

So I am doing some research about golf conditioning, (which I am in the process of putting a program together...) and I was off topic for a minute and saw this great quote from a lady named Nancy. She said "You can't out exercise a poor diet". I love it! It is so true. Are you working hard, but not really paying attention (or knowingly ignoring) to what you are putting in your mouth? Are you thinking you are eating decent, but really, if you wrote it all down, it wouldn't be so great? This is something to think about if you really want to see the results you are working so hard to get!

Interesting Nutrition information

“Losing weight is 20% exercise and 80% proper eating” – Robert Kennedy, Publisher Oxygen Magazine

**Calorie = Kcal = unit of energy (measurment)**

Calories are not our enemies! However, you have to burn more than you take in to lose weight! 3,500 calories = 1 lb. of fat. So, to lose 1 lb. you have to burn 3,500 calories. DON’T get frustrated! It can be done! Safe and long lasting weight loss is losing 1-2 lbs per week. (NOT 20 OR SO LIKE ON THE BIGGEST LOSER!) so if you burn or save 500 calories/day for 7 days = 1 lb. 500 Calories in not very much… It is like 1 snickers, and one Pepsi in a bottle. Or sometimes a Grande Mocha Frap from your favorite coffee shop! So, easy right? Just don’t eat. Or if you “only eat one or two meals a day”… then you are also making it harder to lose weight. Why? Read on:

Your body is a furnace and needs fuel to keep it going. If you don’t eat enough “fuel” then the fire (energy) will go out. Sounds Cliché but it is true. Experts agree, despite my wrestling diet minded father, that we eat5 - 6 mini meals per day. Now I say MINI meals… For example, breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and if necessary, snack. What it does is starts and keeps your metabolism running all day. When you don’t eat enough, and start to make your body hungry, your body goes into starvation mode, and hangs on to every last calorie it can! It isn’t going to starve to death!!

Now, keep in mind Women that are trying to lose weight should try to keep their calorie intake between 1200 – 1600 calories. If you are very active, you can up it to 1800 – 2000 calories to keep your energy going with your major workouts. So, you have to split up 1600 calories between 5-6 meals. Make sure to keep snacks around 100 calories, and have a bit of protein, carbohydrate, and good fat in each meal and snack.

One thing I do listen to my father on, (ok and maybe it is proven too, but I don’t let him know that it isn’t his idea), is cutting your portions in half will make a dramatic difference! We as a society, eat WAY to much in our portions! Just think, by cutting your portion in half, you save so many calories and probably make it way closer to the proper serving size!