Back to school healthy lunchbox ideas

As the lazy days of summer wind down and kids head back to school, you may start thinking about what to pack in the lunchbox. This is something I struggle with every week of the school year: getting my kids to eat a nutritious lunch that can be prepped fast. Here's an article I wrote with 8 easy, healthy lunch options. By the way, these are great lunches for yourself, as well. They are all nutrient packed and have less than 500 calories, so can help you stay (or get back) on track with your diet this fall. Since they are full of fiber and protein, feeling satisfied through the afternoon is a guarantee. So once again, eating like your kids is beneficial to your health and your waistline!
Tip: For me the quickest way to get through the grocery store with healthy food in my cart is to make a list ahead.

Amazing Olympians and their diets

Are you watching the Olympics? I'm addicted to it. In fact, I've been up every night well past my bedtime watching the swimmers, divers, gymnasts and volleyball players. It's so inspiring to see these athletes performing such amazing feats. The other day I was on the treadmill jogging and watching the 100 meter runners racing. I felt like we were running together - of course, I was going about 1/100th the pace they were going.
Watching all of these extremely fit individuals led me to think about the diets they follow to fuel the record breaking performances. I found some articles talking about the diets of amazing gold medal swimmer, Michael Phelps and his teammate, Ryan Lochte. You have to see what they are eating - it's mind boggling! While their calorie needs are really high because they're burning tons of calories, I would think their diets would be pretty pristine. Not so, for some of the athletes - filled with fast food! Gymnasts seem to be a little more conscious since maintaining a sleek physique is part of the deal - and they don't burn quite as many calories.
So, enjoy reading about what the athletes are eating but I wouldn't follow their lead - when it comes to diet, anyway. Let them inspire you to get off the couch and go for a run or a bike ride, instead. Enjoy the games!

Drink Your Tea

A new study out of Athens Greece shows that drinking 3-4 cups of green tea a day will keep your vascular system healthy. This is extremely important as your vessels impact almost all aspects of your health. Now, I have heard it before -- you do not like green tea. Fortunately, there are flavored green teas that are great for brewing. (Or if you prefer it cold, brew it then add some ice and cool it down). I personally do not like regular green tea, but have found one that I have been able to get used to and now enjoy -- Republic of China Pomegranate Green Tea. I had to try several before I found one that I liked. By the way, there are also studies that show green tea to have a weight loss benefit -- although, the jury is still out on this one. So, schedule in some tea breaks throughout the day, and better yet, add a piece of fruit or some nuts to your tea break.

Update on "finding the middle ground" dieter

I talked to the patient yesterday who was having trouble finding how to live in the middle ground -- he tends to only live in extremes. I'm very happy to say that we are successfully moving to the middle, even if by baby steps! At our first meeting he was skipping eating all day long, "saving up his calories" just to binge at night and thus make up for every last calorie -- laying down to go to bed on all of that food wreaks havoc on the body as well. Now he's eating something small every few hours and he said he feels so much better. His choices are getting a little bit better too. He's having cereal in the morning with yogurt and a banana instead of his old habit of a bagel or white roll with butter at the deli. And at dinner his portions have been significantly reduced. This week he's working on trying to include more than one food group at each eating occasion. For example, his chosen morning snack has been 3 cheese sticks but it would be better to have one cheese stick and a handful of almonds or an apple. Variety and including all food groups ensures a distribution of healthful nutrients rather than just loading up on certain ones. Next week we're going to the grocery store so I can show him good choices aisle by aisle. I'll let you know the shopping list we come up with!

Oprah going vegan

Did you hear that Oprah announced she's going vegan? For 21 days, that is. This means she's cutting out all meat, eggs, dairy -- any animal foods or foods associated with animals for three weeks. Interestingly, a vegan diet can be very healthy if it's done properly -- meaning you get all the necessary nutrients from plant sources. There are certainly some vitamins and minerals that can be in short supply (B12, iron, calcium) on a diet like this if not careful. Oprah, of course, has a chef preparing all the meals - many of which are based on soy and tofu with an abundance of fruits, vegetables and grains. Check out what she's eating -- it seems pretty time-consuming to make all of the foods everyday if you're doing it yourself, although I admit I didn't try the recipes yet. But, even without going fully vegan, adding a few meatless recipes to your repertoire is beneficial both to your health and to the environment's, so it's worth checking out.

I'm glad to see that Oprah is interested and gets her tremendous audience interested in following a healthy lifestyle. I just hope anyone out there thinking of jumping on the bandwagon (longterm, especially) thinks to consult a dietitian before trying a diet that could potentially cut out many important nutrients.

The psychology of weight loss: Finding the middle ground

I was recently talking to a patient who needs to take off a significant amount of weight. He was contemplating having the LapBand surgery but wanted to give good old fashioned diet and exercise one more try first. He's yo-yoed for years, trying various diets that have worked for short periods of time but always regained the weight and more. Each time, his efforts involved a weight loss program where you have to buy prepackaged meals or cut out whole food groups and he said it just got boring after a while so he always went back to old eating habits. Once we started delving into why he gravitated toward those programs and talked about why they haven't worked over the long haul, it became clear that his underlying state of mind plays a huge role in his weight. While it wasn't that surprising to me, as psychology plays a huge role in just about anyone's weight problem, it was certainly an aha moment for him. Talking it out for over an hour and half I came to understand what might be going on and how we might start to address his issues. He's very much an all or nothing kind of dieter. He either eats bacon double cheeseburgers with fries or he has a salad with no dressing. There's really no middle ground in his eating habits. And over the past several years, he has just decided, consciously or subconsciously, that he'll eat what he wants and worry about it another day. But the added pounds have been weighing on his mind and he's starting to physically feel the effects of the weight. So, we started talking about finding that middle ground -- you know, the place where you can be comfortable eating for the long haul and take care of your health without feeling deprived. After a number of suggestions, such as ordering the grilled chicken sandwich with barbecue sauce rather than the one with melted cheese and bacon, he seemed confident that he could make some healthy changes that he could live with for the long term. I'm anxious to see his food diary next week. Hopefully we've taken a baby step toward the middle ground. I'll keep you posted.

Get your partner on board to take off pounds

If you want to successfully take off the baby fat, you've got to get your hubby on board. We know that it's easier to lose weight when you have support for your efforts and you make healthy lifestyle changes for the entire household. In other words, clean out your cupboards of the junk and stock up on fruits and veggies (that means for everyone)!
Interestingly, a new study finds that the amount of support a significant other provides when the partner is trying to lose weight may be a reflection of the strength of the relationship. Researchers from Ryerson University in Toronto asked couples whether their non-dieting spouse was supportive of their efforts to follow a healthy diet and not surprisingly, those who described their relationship as supportive felt that the spouse was, in fact, helpful. Supporting a healthy lifestyle change isn't just about encouragement but really needs to include sharing in changes in shopping and eating habits. The researchers found that partners who put up obstacles - eating junk foods or making negative comments - for the well-intentioned healthy eater were often unaware that they were doing so.
Bottomline: Speak up and get your spouse on board with making changes toward a healthy lifestyle. Chances are, he could stand to take off a few too!

Can how much you eat influence your baby's gender?

A new study came out this week that's been getting buzz all over the internet, papers, magazines, and tv. The study from the UK found that women who ate breakfast and a higher quality diet with more vitamins and minerals were more likely to conceive boys than those who skipped the most-important-meal-of-the-day. They also ate more calories overall prior to conceiving - 2413 for boy mamas vs 2283 for girl mamas. (The boy moms were more likely to be exercising to use up the excess calories because there were no differences in weight or body size between the groups.) Of the 740 British women in the study, about 56% of the women in the highest third for calorie intake had boys versus about 45% of the women in the lowest third for calorie intake. Some researchers say that this makes sense as boys are more likely to be conceived in times of plenty because it takes more calories and nutrients to support the male embryo.
When I read these articles, I seriously thought it might be April 1st and it was all a big joke -- I mean it's the male sperm that determines the gender so why would the mom's diet make a difference? (After looking it up on the National Institutes of Health, it turns out the study is real and was just published.) But, maybe the mom's diet plays a role in which sperm gets to nab the coveted egg. Thinking about my own experience, I have 2 boys and know that I always eat breakfast and exercise regularly, so could it be true? Does this theory hold up for your experience?
Before you jump on the bandwagon and start eating more or less in the hopes of choosing the gender you want (if you're trying to conceive), there are definitely a few flaws I can see in the theory: 1) In developed countries, like the UK and US, there's always plenty -- in fact most of us eat too much -- so it would make sense that there should be more boys than girls, but that's not the case 2) the researchers site that women on diets are the reason for the trend that girl births outnumber boys in the last 40 years, yet calorie intake has increased for everyone (2283 calories for the moms of girl babies is more than anyone was eating 30 or 40 years ago -- doesn't seem like they were dieting. Calorie intake has been steadily increasing over time - women eat about 350 more calories per day on average than they did in 1970).
The bottomline is that more research is needed to confirm whether a mom's pre-conception diet can influence her baby's gender. The one thing we know for sure is adequate nutrition before and during pregnancy does increase the odds of having a well baby, regardless of the gender. So, eat breakfast and a balanced diet since a happy, healthy bundle of joy is the most important outcome of all.

Chocolate to help you lose weight

There's a great, delicious product that I would recommend to anyone who's been trying to eat well balanced, feel satisfied and keep the calories down - and guess what? - it's chocolate, real melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. Surprised to hear a dietitian say so? Nope, studies show that including small amounts of really satisfying treats in a balanced diet helps people stick to those diets and take off weight for the long term. But my suggestion is not just any run-of-the-mill chocolate, however. I am a big fan of Hershey's Extra Dark portion-controlled, packaged squares. At 45 calories each, you can have one or two without any concern for blowing your diet and believe me you will feel satisfied.
I'm sure you've heard that chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is rich in antioxidants and can have real health benefits, such as decreasing blood pressure. (In fact, studies show just a small amount everyday can have this effect.) The Extra Dark squares contain a hefty dose of the antioxidant flavanols thanks to being 60% cocoa and even have nice amounts of fiber and iron. And if you're worried about the fat and saturated fat in them, don't. Most of it is a kind called stearic acid, which has been shown to have no effect on cholesterol levels, the main concern with saturated fats. Plus, if you're losing weight, which is easier if you can have calorie-controlled, yet satisfying treats, your cholesterol will come down as the pounds come off.
I can practically feel my blood pressure lowering, as I enjoy two squares every day at 3 o'clock with a cup of antioxidant-rich pomegranate flavored white tea. It's such a flavorful and satisfying afternoon lift, it's all I need to hold me to dinner. If I could describe to you how luscious they are - well, you should really just get a bag and give them a try.

Most Women Feel Fat

I have friends and lead weight loss groups of women that are not happy with their bodies. Most are moms that just never lost the baby fat or they lost the fat but are not back to their pre-baby shape. And now, with their hectic lives directed by their children, are finding it hard to fit in a healthier diet, not to mention exercise. Well, they are not alone, in a new survey of 2000 women sponsored by SlimFast, 78% of women said they are larger than they want to be, with more than half wanting to be a size 8 or smaller -- today the average size is 12. Ok moms -- we need to slow down and figure out a way to take care of ourselves. Our negative body image can be passed onto our children. For their sake, let's eat healthier and feel good about ourselves!!! Read my post on August 14th for some quick tips. Click here to read more about the survey.

Do "diet" foods pack on pounds?

Feeling guilty for choosing the regular ice cream rather than the sugar-free frozen yogurt? Don't. A new study suggests that consuming diet foods and diet drinks may not help keep pounds off and may even lead to weight gain. In the article, one researcher speculates that the body can't be easily fooled and makes up for the missing calories and more. He says people may even crave more sweets when diet foods are eaten. However, researchers are conflicting in their opinions on the topic and it's certainly not conclusive. As a dietitian, I think that reduced calorie foods can be part of a weight loss diet by helping cut down on calorie intake if and only if they are still viewed as a dessert or indulgence and limited in the same way the high-calorie food would be. Remember the "Snackwells syndrome?" If you feel more satisfied with a small portion of the luscious, full-fat Haagen Dazs than the sugar-free frozen yogurt, than by all means savor every (small) bite of the real thing.

New Report by the USDA: Creative Solutions for Controlling the Purchase of Unhealthy Foods

I just came across an interesting report (click here to access a more in-depth review of the report) by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with proposed methods of helping consumers choose healthier foods -- I must admit, it is one of the more creative (government) solutions to the obesity epidemic yet. It mainly has to do with helping adjust behavior vs. more education. It may work for those who struggle with the temptation to purchase unhealthy foods (which is pretty much everyone).
Here are some of their suggestions --
*using a prepaid "healthy card" in grocery stores and schools - an example would be limiting the purchase of treats and sodas or at least keeping them to a minimum. Also, the report states that in schools it could be pre-determined what portion of the card had to be spent on fruits and vegetables.
*portion sizes - we get it.
*on-line grocery shopping -- this could help avoid the temptation of buying less healthful foods at the store, you would simply drive up and pick up your order.