Avoid the Holiday Gain

The holiday season is upon us, and that means eggnog, rum balls, and lots of holiday parties! My previous post, 'Tis the Season, gave you some tips on how to avoid gaining weight over the holiday season. But since I am just full of advice, I thought I would share some more tips today:

• If you don't love it, leave it! This is a rule that lasts all year long, but especially at holiday time. If you try something at a party and it is not "worth it", then leave it behind! Food is meant to be enjoyed and there is an abundance of good food at parties and your family's house at this time of year. Make every calorie worth it!
• A few bites can satisfy. Instead of thinking that you "can't have" something this holiday season, just remember that you can have it, just control how much. I watched a girl at a party last night take half of a slice of cake and leave the other half for someone else who also may not want the whole piece. Take small portions of lots of different things so you don't feel deprived and can satisfy those cravings.
• Watch the booze. Alcohol has a lot of calories, but it also reduces our ability to make good choices. You tend to eat more when you drink alcohol at an event. Limit yourself to one drink.
• Concentrate on conversations. Instead of hanging out right next to the food table or waiting impatiently for the next course to be served, strike up a conversation with your family and friends (or strangers) at the get together. It may sound silly, but read the newspaper or scan the internet for some latest news and bring it up as a conversation starter.
• Sit down and eat. We tend to nibble while we cook and think those calories don't count (eating amnesia). Chew gum or suck on strong mints while you are cooking so you are not tempted to sample too much. When it is time to eat, get a plate and fork and put food on it and sit down with it and enjoy!
• Don't starve yourself. Often I hear people say they skipped lunch so they could pig out at the holiday party. Eat lighter at lunch, but don't skip it. You will just open the flood gates at the party and eat way too much, feeling guilty and maybe even sick afterwards! Concentrate on fiber and protein, the two things that will provide the most satiety, or fullness for a longer period of time.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas cookie photo courtesy of EverySpoon

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'Tis the Season

How much weight do you gain during the holidays? You may think that you gain 5 or more pounds, but the average American actually only gains one pound. Before you pat yourself on the back, listen to this: Even though we only gain one pound, we don't tend to lose that pound once January rolls around (or even for the rest of the year). So the one pound that you gain turns into 10 pounds over the span of 10 years. And that is just holiday weight, not other weight you may gain from vacations or other times of the year.

Here are some tips to avoid gaining that ONE pound:
Increase your burn. If you are going to eat more, you need to move more. I know time is tight, but stress is high. Use exercise as a way to relieve stress. Even if you just get a 10 minute interval of time to exercise, it is better than none!
Master the buffet. Holiday parties are often set up buffet-style. Do not stand next to the buffet because you will just be tempted to eat more. Survey the buffet before you get your plate so you can decide which foods to put on your plate.
Weigh yourself regularly. Weigh yourself at least weekly so you can assess if you are gaining weight or not.
Get plenty of sleep. I know it is hard to think about getting everything done on your list, but you will be less productive and spin in circles if you are not properly rested.

This was just a few tips to get you started. Check back tomorrow for some more "prevent the holiday gain" advice.

Photo courtesy of Justin Russell

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Turkey Day

With such a momentous food-related holiday this week, I feel compelled to write something about Thanksgiving. No one ever likes to have a dietitian around on the one day of the year when it is definite you will overeat. I agree!

For Thanksgiving Day, I take off my dietitian hat and become a "normal person." I LOVE mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberries. I may even eat a piece of pumpkin pie. I will overeat on Thanksgiving Day just like the rest of America.

When people ask me how to control themselves on Thanksgiving, I ask them why would they want to? It is the one day of the year planned exclusively around food and laziness. Enjoy it! If you are trying to lose weight, take a day off. One day of indulging in the Thanksgiving favorites will not set you back too far. You can get back on your plan on Friday and your movement will be more with all of the shopping you need to do, too!

One thing I do want to mention, though. Thanksgiving (and other food events) are notorious for poor food safety. We eat the meal and then leave it sit out for hours, nibbling through the afternoon and evening. This is where the dietitian hat goes back on and I encourage properly storing leftovers. There is nothing worse than dampening the holiday spirit than someone getting sick!

Check out these blog posts on Thanksgiving Day food safety and storing Thanksgiving leftovers properly.

I am headed out to visit family in Ohio for the rest of the weekend. Have a nice time eating and shopping and I will post again next week about how to survive the rest of the holiday season without gaining weight. In the meantime, Enjoy your Turkey Day!

Picture courtesy of Violentz

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Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is more than just eating too much that you have to unbutton your pants or falling asleep in front of the football game on TV. It is the time of the year for us to give thanks for what we have.

Here is what I have to give thanks for this year. Since this is a blog about nutrition and health, I will try to keep it within context and not list EVERYTHING I am thankful for.

• A healthy baby. As most of you know, I had my first baby in June, Basil Oscar Gidus. He is by far the most precious, beautiful baby I have ever seen (no bias here). He has 10 fingers and 10 toes, but even if he didn't he would have been perfect. He came out healthy and has been growing and developing just as he should be. He is rolling over like a champ and before long I am sure he will be walking and then running before we know it.
  
• A healthy pregnancy. From start to finish, I had an extremely healthy pregnancy. I felt great with lots of energy and no complications. I am so thankful for my health and do not take it for granted.
• A healthy delivery (do you sense a theme). Seriously, though, I have to mention this, too. Delivering a baby is one of life's greatest moments, but for many people it is scary and painful. I have to say it was a pleasure. One word: EPIDURAL!
• A healthy husband. I thank God every night for putting me together with the most amazing man. Stephen is a marathon runner and understands how important it is to keep yourself in shape and healthy.
  
• My parents. Now that I am a parent, I realize how much goes into parenting. As I said in my Family Meals post, the role modeling of parents is so important in many areas of life, including nutrition. I am thankful for being raised enjoying healthy food.
• My career. I wasn't sure how much I was going to want to or be able to work after having Basil. While I love spending every minute I can with the little guy, it is nice to work, too. I was able to land the job as the Team Dietitian for the Orlando Magic this year as well as pick up some other great consulting jobs.
  

I hope you are able to take a few minutes to think about what you are thankful about this year.

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Family Dinner: Nurture and Nutrition

Yesterday's post was on how important family meals were for me when I was growing up. I promised you more info on how to create a lasting impression on your kids at mealtime.

As a dietitian, I am always interested in statistics on how we can improve the nutrition for our families. A study out this fall in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that teens who eat meals with their families have the following benefits:

• Eat more fruits and vegetables than peer not eating with family
• Drink fewer sodas
• Make it a priority to eat with family
• Teen girls are more likely to eat breakfast when they eat frequent family meals
• Kids who grow up with healthy habits carry them on to adulthood

While nutrition is important, there are even more benefits to eating together. Families who eat together report having closer connections emotionally as a family unit. Family meals are a time for connection, communication, and love. This si not a good time for disciplining children. Mealtime should be a time that everyone looks forward to.

Here are some tips to start making family meals important in your house:

• Don't worry if you don't have time to make the meal from scratch. Just the act of eating together has enormous benefits. Keep it simple and don't feel pressured to have anything fancy. Even if you get takeout but eat it together, it counts as a family meal!
  
• Keep the conversation light. Family meals are a good time to share positive stories about what happened in everyone's day but not a good time to harp on kids to get their homework done or clean up their rooms. You may be surprised what you kids will share at the dinner table when the atmosphere is relaxed.
  
• Have proper attire for the dinner table. Don't let the kids come to the table without a shirt.
• Model good table manners. Proper etiquette will take your kids far in life.
• Mom and Dad: Eat your vegetables. It doesn't matter how many times you tell your kids to eat their vegetables--they are not going to eat them if they don't see you eating them.
• If you don't always have time to eat dinner together every night because of busy schedules, try for breakfast in the morning or lunch on the weekends. Aim for at least two family dinners each week, if not seven!
• Don't make your kids clean their plate. Let them serve themselves from the age of 5 on. Encourage them to take small portions and follow their sense of fullness instead of feeling like they have to clean their plate.
• Get creative. Try new recipes and include the whole family in planning, shopping for, and preparing meals. When kids help to plan the meals they are much more likely to eat everything cooked (even the vegetables!)
• Create a nice environment with a candle, fresh flowers, or some soft music.
• Last but not least: Turn off the TV during dinnertime!
  

Does anyone have any other good tips? I would love to hear them!

Don't you love the 70's family dinner photo? Courtesy of gregor_y's photostream

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Family Meals

My grandma came down to Florida to visit last weekend. This was a big deal because she is 82 years old and came down to see her first great grandchild, Basil. We nicknamed her Gram Gram so that as Basil gets older he will not confuse her with Grandma, who is my mom.

Gram Gram and I were relaxing and chatting one evening after Basil went to bed and we were talking about my favorite subject, food. I was telling her about the many times I hear from clients (and even friends) that their kids are picky eaters. Please understand that Basil is only 4 months old right now and maybe I will eat my words in a few years, but here I go anyway....

Parents tell me all the time that their kids "will only eat mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, or pizza." I was telling my grandmother that I just don't remember having that much control over my parents when I was younger. My mother seriously used to feed us zucchini pancakes for dinner. If that was what was for dinner, that is what we ate. There was no refusal to eat it and have mom make mac and cheese for us instead. You ate what was served or you didn't eat.

The other thing I hear often is that the parents make dinner for the kids and then eat themselves after the kids go to bed. Growing up we ate dinner promptly at 5:30 PM every night. Mom, Dad, my brother and I ate together every night. We always had a vegetable (often fresh from the garden out back) and a glass of milk (I grew up in Wisconsin) at every meal.

I guess I didn't realize that other people did not grow up this way until much later in life. I know that our lives are, or at least seem to be, busier now than they were when I was growing up. Dads (and Moms) get home late from work and miss eating dinner with the family. The kids are overcommitted with afterschool activities and end up eating dinner in the car between practices.

Research consistently shows that when families eat together, the nutritional quality of the kid's diet is better. Family dynamics are better. Kids are more likely to accept new foods and eat vegetables because they see their parents eating them (and liking them). Kids drink less soda and more milk.

I am going to write more about this tomorrow and give you some tips on how to improve your family's eating.

PS Thanks Mom! As with many things in life, sometimes it takes a long time to realize that what your parents did for you is priceless. You instilled healthy eating in me from a very young age and I appreciate it now! How about some zucchini pancakes when I come home for Christmas?

Photo of Gram Gram and Basil taken 11/11/07

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Tea It Up

I received a question recently from a Diet Dish reader asking about green tea. Do you need to buy specialty tea or is grocery store tea in the bag just fine? What kind of nutrients does it have and how much do you need per day?

Let me start out by saying that green tea gets a lot of press for being good for you, but black tea is also very good! Both green tea and black tea are full of flavonoids, a type of antioxidant of antioxidant that helps protect your cells from free radical damage. Tea is considered by many health organizations to be a functional food, meaning it has health properties beyond just the basic vitamins and minerals. Green and black tea both contain about 150-200 mg of flavonoids per brewed cup.

Tea is a great beverage because it is very low in calories at less than 2 calories per cup. It is fairly low in caffeine, depending on how strongly it is brewed, too. The caffeine content of a cup of hot tea is between 15 and 60 mg and iced tea is between 10 and 50 mg per 12 ounces.

Green tea gets extra attention because of the EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) which is a polyphenol compound that is a powerful antioxidant. Green tea has more of this compound than other teas because of how it is processed. Black and oolong tea are made from fermented leaves, unlike green tea which is steamed, preserving that EGCG.

You may have heard that EGCG speeds up metabolism and can aid in weight loss. While it may slightly increase metabolism, I don’t think the research is strong enough to cause weight loss in people adding a mug or two a day.

Potential health benefits

Tea has been linked to decreased risk of certain cancers and heart disease as well as potentially enhancing the immune system. However, eating a healthy diet, maintaining healthy weight, and exercising regularly has been proven to be much more effective at preventing disease.

Caution

Green tea supplements in pill form are not the same thing as brewing and drinking tea. The research is done on the actual tea, not the supplements.

Also, If you are on the drug Coumadin, do not drink a lot of green tea. It does contain some Vitamin K which can interfere with blood thinning drugs such as Coumadin.

How much?

Most of the studies done on the potential health benefits of tea used fairly large amounts of tea—more than 5 cups daily. While drinking this much tea is common in Asia, Americans do not generally drink as much. Researchers do recommend that drinking at least 2 cups per day for the potential benefits. I have found a lot of research done by Lipton, so I think "grocery store" green tea is just fine--no need to get loose tea or to spend a lot of money on tea.

Bottom line

You can get a large amount of flavonoids from all kinds of tea. If you enjoy it, drink it. Don’t expect it to absolutely prevent cancer and heart disease, but the more foods (and beverages) you include in your diet that do contain antioxidants the better! Go brew yourself a mug and enjoy.

Photo courtesy of Chaparral [Kendra]

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Thank you Doctor Anonymous

Thank you Doctor Anonymous for publishing Grand Rounds 4.9 and including my post on how to prevent diabetes. Grand Rounds is a compilation of medical blogs for the week. There are usually some interesting reads, so check it out.

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Eat Before Exercise?

I have heard it way too often lately…."My trainer (or someone else) told me not to eat before I exercise in the morning because I will burn more fat if I exercise on an empty stomach." This is simply not true! In fact, the opposite is true. You should eat before you work out to lose weight.

When you wake up from overnight, your glycogen stores (carb stores) are pretty low. It seems logical that since your glycogen is low that you should then use fat for energy if you go and work out. If only it were that easy we would not have the epidemic of obesity that we have! Instead of your body using stored fat to fuel your workout, your body decides to use muscle instead of fat. It wants to hang on to fat, just like you like to hang on to your savings account. Your body treats your fat stores like savings and does not like to have to use them.

In addition, whenever you put your body into significant low energy, it thinks it is starving and that just teaches the body to go into survival mode and hang on to fat. Not only will you store fat, but you also won’t get a good workout. If you have ever hit the wall or felt really low on energy during a workout, it is very likely due to improper fueling before you worked out.

If you are exercising first thing in the morning, I don’t expect you to eat a large amount. Just a small pre-workout snack is enough to tell the body that it has some fuel coming in. As long as the body knows that you are giving it some fuel to work with, it will respond with burning small amounts of body fat. However, it is when the deficit is large (no food after overnight fast) that it will conserve fat storage. Even eating 100-200 calories will do the trick.

If you are not exercising in the morning, but rather at lunchtime or after work, have a small snack before your workout if it has been more than 3 hours since your last meal or snack. Again, a 100-200 calorie snack should be plenty to get you through that workout. Follow the workout with your next meal within an hour or with a snack if it will be longer than that until the next meal.

You will actually lose more body fat and perform better if you eat before working out. If you are still skeptical, give it a try for a few weeks and let me know how it goes!

Labels: exercise, maintaining weight loss, sports nutrition, Tara Gidus

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Control Your Diabetes

Yesterday I wrote a post about preventing diabetes, so today I thought I would write about basics if you are diabetic. Or...if you are the loved one of someone who is diabetic, read on!

The diet for diabetes is actually not that complicated, but following a few simple rules will really help to control blood sugar.

1. Establish a routine. You need to eat around the same time and around the same amount day to day. That doesn't mean you have to eat the same thing every day, but just about the same number of carbs/calories at each meal and snack. For example, don't skip breakfast one day and go to the all you can eat buffet for breakfast the next day! Set up a schedule of eating so that you are eating your meals at about the same time each day. If you decide that breakfast is at 7 AM, then you should always eat breakfast between 6:30 and 7:30 AM. Don't deviate more than a one hour window.
2. Control your portions. While carbohydrates are very important, all food eventually turns into glucose. You do not want to overconsume any food because that will raise glucose levels. Carbs get into the bloodstream most quickly, but fat, protein, and especially alcohol have also been known to push some diabetics over the edge.
3. Learn how to exchange. Years ago a diabetic meal plan was rigid and very boring. You were not allowed any "sugar" or any fun! Now as long as you know how many carbs you can have at each meal and snack, you can "exchange" foods that have a similar nutritional profile. This is not to say that you can live on ice cream sundaes and chocolate instead of whole grains and fresh fruits, but it does give you some freedom to have a small piece of birthday cake at your kid's party. Check out the American Diabetes Association's resources on Exchange Lists.

If you are cooking for someone who is diabetic or need some new recipes for yourself, click here for some great recipes.

Did you know that there is a Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid? It is similar to MyPyramid, but the serving sizes vary for some foods.

The last resource I want to share is a guide to eating out for diabetics. The hardest part of eating out when you are diabetic is portion control. Order smart but don't be afraid to ask for a box to take home your leftovers!

If you need help with creating a diabetic meal plan, contact a Registered Dietitian in your area.

Picture courtesy of istockphoto.

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Diabetes Prevention

November is American Diabetes Month, so I thought it was fitting to talk about what you can do to prevent diabetes.

Incidence of diabetes has been on a dramatic rise for years. The American Diabetes Association reports that 21 Million Americans have diabetes and another 54 Million are at risk. Wonder what your risk is? Click here to take a Diabetes Risk Test.

How can you reduce our risk?

• Maintain a healthy weight. It is no coincidence that incidence of diabetes has increased as incidence of obesity has increased. If your "ideal" weight is unrealistic for you, at least work on losing 10-20 pounds. Even modest weight loss can have profound impact on your health.
  
• Eat light and eat often. Keeping your glucose consistent throughout the day is one of the best nutritional habits to prevent diabetes. Do not skip meals. Do not overeat at meals. Have three small meals and three snacks daily to spread out your calories and therefore blood glucose throughout the day.
• Limit concentrated sweets. It is a myth that eating sugar causes diabetes. Your body does not have a certain threshold for sugar that all of a sudden you will get diabetes eating your 1,000th cookie. However, limiting simple sugars is a good nutritional practice and can help to keep your blood sugar under good daily control.
• Choose foods with a low glycemic index. Even foods we think are healthy like pretzels can have a strong impact on blood sugar when eaten by themselves. Choose whole grains instead of refined grains and look for fiber and protein in snack foods.
• Move more. Exercise is like natural insulin--the more you move the more you use excess glucose in your bloodstream. Look for every opportunity in your day to get more daily activity in addition to daily exercise.
  

In addition to the lifestyle modifications above, make sure that you have a yearly physical with your physician. Part of the yearly bloodwork he or she does should include a fasting blood glucose. Staying on top of your fasting glucose yearly will help you to see if it is creeping up well before you suddenly realize you are diabetic. If you do find that it is getting higher year after year, seek the help of a Registered Dietitian to create an individualized eating plan to help you prevent becoming diabetic.

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BAM!

My birthday was Sunday and my sweet husband took me out for a really nice dinner. He asked me where I wanted to go and I picked Emeril's. I have lived in Orlando for 8 years and never been there. Do you have places in your town that are tourist attractions for everyone else but yet you have never been? Living in Orlando, we have a ton of tourist attractions so it is hard to keep up, but being the foodie I am I figured I should try Emeril's out at least once.

The food was outstanding. I had the Chilean Sea Bass with a parmesan polenta cake and green beans and roasted tomato. Since it was my birthday, I had the almond bread pudding with chocolate gelato. Outstanding except that I was so full I couldn't finish it!

A table next to us had a family of six with three young girls, parents, and grandma. One of the little girls was also having a birthday, and she looked to be about 11 years old. I heard them ask if Emeril makes table visits to wish people Happy Birthday. The waiter smiled and said that he had been working there for 15 months and in that time had never met or seen Emeril himself. I guess with a cooking show and 10 restaurants in 6 different cities it is hard for him to get around to them all!

Among all of his cookbooks, he has several cookbooks geared toward getting kids to eat food other than just chicken nuggets. He has a foundation, The Emeril Legasse Foundation, which supports creating educational opportunities for children.

While dinner was good, I was slightly disappointed that we didn't hear one "BAM" all night!

Photo courtesy of Emeril's.com

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Pea in a Pod

I dressed Basil up as a Pea in the Pod for Halloween. My husband thought it was kind of a lame costume, but I thought it was pretty darn cute. I mean, what dietitian doesn't want to dress her first born as a green vegetable?

The Pea Pod baby inspired me to write about the nutritional aspects of peas. I am not a huge fan of regular green peas, but I absolutely LOVE sugar snap peas.

The nutritional profile of sugar snap peas is pretty impressive. They are only 40 calories per cup with 2.5 grams of fiber. As far as green vegetables go, they are high in protein at 2 grams for sugar snap peas and 4 or more grams per half cup for shelled garden peas.

Very high in iron, thiamin, Vitamin A, Vitamin C High in manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and Vitamin B6

If you are thinking about growing peas, check out this link. Peas like cool, moist weather with soil at least 45 degrees. I guess that means I will not have much luck growing them in Florida. Good thing because I have yet to start a garden here.

I love sugar snap peas raw. One of my favorite healthy snacks is a pile of fresh sugar snap peas dipped in some hummus. They are so naturally sweet, though, that you don't even need anything to dip them into.

My other favorite use of sugar snap peas is in a good stir fry. They are especially good stir fried with mushrooms and a few Tablespoons of sesame seeds.

In honor of my son, here is a recipe for Basil Sugar Snap Peas.

I always love to see the history of different vegetables, too. If you are a history buff or just a food lover like me, click here to read about the history of the green pea.

Labels: Tara Gidus, vegetables

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