Everyone Needs a Treat

Need a treat?

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  Going too long without a treat is impossible. And I doubt I am alone in thinking that way. For me, never indulging in a cookie or two, ice cream, or crackers or chips is not an option.

  I've found an all or nothing mentality doesn't work too well. I need balance and routine. Even in my eating habits.

  As careful, and as conscientious as I am about how I eat, I always find room for an occasional treat or two! I'd go crazy otherwise.

  Giving yourself a break, indulging -- whatever you want to call it -- is a necessity in order to stay with your day-to-day routine. Long term dieting, if that's what you wish to call it, isn't possible.

No Chemicals, Please
  How you indulge, and how often you indulge is key. When it comes time for your treat, be picky!

  Calories and fat are okay. Chemicals are not! I know, in today's world, this is tough. The readily-available stuff -- the candy bars, the potato chips, the microwave popcorn -- is the easiest to get our hands on! But it's also the most damaging health wise.

  Not surprisingly, there are non-chemical options. You just have to look a little harder to find them.

Unreal comparison.

  For those with a sweet tooth (like me), check out Unreal Candy. They 'reinvente' your favorite candy, and make it with 100% REAL ingredients. No artificial junk, no corn syrup, no hydrogenated oil, no preservatives, no GMOs, and 50% less sugar.

  Cleaned up junk food. Worth a try if you ask me.

  If you find yourself reaching for a candy bar, make it an Unreal candy bar. Or there's Newman's Own Organics cookies. Or Eden Organic popcorn.

  The point is: there are options. And they go beyond M&Ms, Ritz Crackers, Doritos, and Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn. They are non-GMO, no chemical foods.

  Our body knows how to process calories, fats, and sugars. It doesn't, on the other hand, know what to do with chemicals. When we take the chemicals out of our snacks, it then becomes about the quantity -- how much we're eating of it (check out the podcast linked below for Jillian Michaels' talk of her 80/20% rule).

  Long story, short: pick a version of  your treat of choice that is not loaded with chemicals and/or trans-fat.

 Many times, this conversation leads to diet talk: the fad diet everyone is trying at the moment, what's working for your friend, and so on. Everyone wants to know, 'what should I be doing; what's the best diet?' 

Fill up with whole foods.

The Best Diet
  There is no 'best diet' per se.

  What I find valuable about each diet-of-the-moment is that they allow me to learn a little bit more about nutrition. If you do some research on your own, and try to learn about the various (and they are wide-ranging) ways of eating, you'll find yourself becoming educated on each and every one of them.

  You learn about food, and how it fuels you. You learn what works for you, and how your body reacts to various foods. We're all vastly different, and therefore we all react to eating habits and diets in different ways. You learn to value the quality of food.

  And most importantly, at least for me, it truly allows you to realize a balanced diet, filled with as many 'whole foods' as you can fit in, is the way to go.

  Check out this blog post from Precision Nutrition for great information about diet specifics.

  It's realizing it's a lifestyle choice, not a diet. Being healthy isn't a destination, it's a way to live.

Fads Come and Go
  Diets, gimmicks, and the popular workout-of-the-year don't last forever.

  Excluding entire food groups (such as fruit), one macronutrient or another (carbohydrates, for example), or strict demands with how to prepare food (raw food diet) are impossible diets to stick with for a prolonged period of time, let alone your entire life.

A little joke I dug up.

  To restrict yourself in such an extreme way is not a sustainable way of life.

  While you might go low-carb or paleo for four or five months, and see great results. Inevitably, we start going back to a more 'normal' way to eat. Those restricted foods are added back in, and that's when we run into trouble.

  The basics -- the well-rounded, whole food, in-moderation advices -- will last through time. If 'healthy' is a goal, habits and lifestyles have to be adjusted to match that goal. Again, it's a lifestyle, not a diet.

  We've all heard it, and it's true: Cleaning up your diet, limited processed foods, really will make you feel better, and be healthier -- even when you find yourself wandering towards the junk food aisle!

  Be conscientious and thoughtful about how you are eating, but don't forget to give yourself a break every once in a while too! It will make you more successful in the long run.

LINKS:

Jillian Michaels Podcast 4/29/2013
Enjoy Foods You Love Without 'Cheating'
Food Babe's Non-GMO Snack Brands
UNREAL Candy
Newman's Own Organics
Precision Nutrition: the Best Diet

Sugary Ban: Right Intentions, Wrong Execution

Mayor Bloomberg announcing extreme ban of sugary drinks.

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  Today is going to be a quick interruption to my vacation blogs. As much as I like to write about traveling, I needed a change up. Lucky for me, something popped up in recent days that gave me the perfect distraction.

  We've all heard about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's intention to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in New York City.

  I have to admit when I first heard about his proposal, I thought it was the right thing to do, and a great start to hopefully reversing our nation's obesity problem.

  Nationwide: 68.8% of adults are overweight or obese (35.7% are obese), and 31.8% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese (16.9% are obese). In New York City, more than half of the adults are overweight (34%) or obese (22%).

  So it is clearly just that: a PROBLEM. And something needs to be done.

  Regardless of what is causing Americans to become more and more obese with each passing year, I initially felt this extreme ban could potentially catapult us into working towards a solution. I mean really, when do you ever need a pop (soda, whatever you want to call it. OR juice -- which is just as dangerous to our waistlines/health as pop is) larger than 16 ounces???

  NYC and Bloomberg have been trendsetters in the past when it comes to health and adopting aggressive regulations. They were among the first to place bans on smoking in restaurants and parks, to prohibit artificial trans-fat in restaurant food, and require health inspection grades to be posted in restaurant windows.

  At first people complained and argued that those restrictions infringed on our personal rights and freedoms. But after a short time, similar restrictions have been adopted throughout the country. And throughout the world.

  Placing the health of our people and public safety ahead of personal freedoms.

Anything larger than 16 oz would be banned under Bloomberg's proposal.

  But I knew this 'sugary' drinks ban would cause an uproar. I could hear the arguments against it start before I even finished reading about Bloomberg's proposal:

  This is not America! What is happening to our freedom? This is not the business of the government! What will be next?

  After thinking about it for a few days, and thinking about the slippery slope we'd be stepping onto, I realize a widespread ban of sugary drinks would not be a good thing. Both politically and nutritionally.

  Politically, we'd be opening up a whole new can of worms. Dangerous, new precedents would be set, and there would be no turning back.

  And nutritionally, though I think at times we need a nudge in the right direction in this department, we need to learn personal responsibility on our own. Instead of banning, educate. What is it about sugary drinks that is harmful to our health? What is it about sugar that leads to obesity?

  If anything, now I hope Bloomberg's sugary drink ban re-opens the discussion, and makes people realize this is serious business. We DO have a problem, and we need to start searching for solutions.

 LINKS:

NY Times: Bloomberg Plans a Ban on Large, Sugary Drinks

US Obesity Rates 

NYC Obesity Rates 

Our Fear of Fat

Good vs. Bad Fats.

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  How many of you, when buying groceries, turn the box over and look at the food label?

  Great first step.

  It's important to know what's in our food. But what's the first thing you look at? If your first glance is at the fat content, stop it!

  Being afraid of fat is what's gotten us into trouble in the first place.

  Though the years, Americans have developed this fear of fat. That all fat bad for us, and we should stay clear of it at all costs. That couldn't be further from the truth.

  Fat does NOT immediately store in/on your body as fat! Fat is created on your body though stored energy, which is excess/extra calories!

  You know those low-fat/no-fat diets that were pushed for years and years? Turns out they might have made Americans fatter than ever before.

  The healthy fats (yes, there are healthy and necessary fats) have been cut out of our diets, and have been replaced with processed carbohydrates and refined sugars (that store in our bodies as fat after digestion). THAT is what has made obesity rates sky rocket. Along with rising rates of heart disease and Diabetes, low-fat diets have done a number on Americans' health.

  Meanwhile, a fear of fat continues to be instilled in us. The fear of fat has got to stop. Fat in your diet is not the enemy, and it never has been our enemy. 

Four Kinds of Fat

Trans Fat - What we should AVOID!

  There are four different kinds of fat, but they are far from equal. Only one of them (trans fat) should be avoided at all costs. The rest (saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated), if consumed within a healthy diet and normal caloric intake, are perfectly healthy to have!

Avoid
  Trans fat (the one we should avoid!!): This shows up on food labels as hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oil. These fats do NOT occur naturally, and are produced through a process where vegetable oil is heated up using hydrogen gas, making it more solid (called Hydrogenation).

  This process was intended to increase shelf life and improve the texture of processed foods.

  In a nutshell, trans fat wreaks havoc on our bodies. It has been shown that if only 3% of your daily calorie intake are trans fats, you raise your risk of heart disease by 23%!

  Trans fat is most commonly used in commercially baked goods, crackers, salad dressings, and fried foods. And just because it says "Trans Fat Free" on the box, doesn't mean there isn't any trans fat in the product.

  The FDA allows that label on anything that has less than a half-gram of trans fat per serving. Sure, a half-gram is nothing, but it adds up over time! So word to the wise: check the ingredient list. If you see hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil, put down the box and find something else to buy!

In Moderation
  Up until recently, saturated fat (found in animal fats/protein) has gotten a bad rap. It was widely claimed that saturated fat raised your cholesterol, and was so bad for you, it would kill you. Studies now show that, while animal fats do in fact raise LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, they help raise your HDL (good cholesterol) as well.

Trans fats break down of fast food fries and chicken.

  For that reason, it should be noted that you don't want to over-do it, and consume massive amounts of saturated fat. But there is no need to avoid meat entirely! Instead we should be on the lookout for trans fat and processed carbohydrates!

'Healthy' Fats
  Unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) are essential to a healthy diet, and an optimally functioning body. It has been shown that fatty acids help our cells stay move-able and flexible, and also help build cell membranes.

  Fatty acids also benefit nerve function as fats compose the material that insulate and protect our nerves. Consuming healthy fats also slows the digestion process, allowing our bodies to absorb more nutrients. 

  Monounsaturated fats which are found in whole milk products, olive oil, sunflower and flax seed oils, red meat, nuts, and avocados, have great benefits. Fats are essential to brain function (the brain is composed of 60% fat!!), and aid in learning ability and memory retention. They've also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol levels.
  

'Healthy' fats.

  Polyunsaturated fats are found in most seeds and nuts, fish, leafy greens, and where we get the infamous Omega-3 fatty acids. These fats have been found to be naturally anti-inflammatory, are beneficial to heart health, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

  These fatty acids are also particularly important during pregnancy, as they are are critical to fetal brain development.

  The fact that these fats are 'healthy' should always be kept in mind. However it's not permission to eat an entire package of almonds, or go crazy with guacamole every night.

  After all, there are nine calories per gram of fat in food (versus four calories per gram in both protein and carbohydrates). The idea is to enjoy these things in moderation on a regular basis, within a balanced diet to aid body/brain function, lower cholesterol, and decrease the risk of heart disease.

  The stigma of fat, that it makes you fat and it is bad, needs to change! What will make you fat is excess calories that will be converted and stored as fat. Again, fat does not go directly into your body, and become fat on your body. So stop being scared of fat! Stop worrying about the fat content of foods, and start paying attention to the quality (no trans fats and processed carbs), and quantity of your food!

  Hope you found this helpful!

 




LINKS:
   Jillian Michaels Podcast 4/8/2011