Eat to lose weight

I just had a conversation with the nursing staff at my doctor's office yesterday concerning weight loss. They had been trying to lose weight and had successfully lost some weight but were now at a plateau. These women are educated and know what they should be eating, but they were not aware of how much and when they should be eating. This became obvious when I dug a little further and found that both went the whole work day without eating, so from 8-6pm they did not eat a thing. Additionally, one of them had not eaten yet, and it was already noon. This nurse in particular even made the comment that she used Weight Watchers to successfully lose the bulk of her weight and they made her eat all the time. After speaking with them the possible problem became clear -- in response to their baffling question of "why am I not losing weight" I was able to provide a simple answer...YOU MUST EAT TO LOSE WEIGHT! Going all day without eating will only sabotage your efforts at losing weight (and staying energetic and happy and let's not forget, healthy). In fact, the US weight loss registry shows that those who lose weight successfully eat breakfast at the same time every day. So, what does that tell us? We need to eat on a schedule. The body needs to know when to expect food, so that it does not try to conserve energy. We want the body to feel free to burn calories. Another important factor are all of the nutrients that are missing from their diets because of their limited food intake during the week. You also need key nutrients to help your body burn energy efficiently. Additional problems with not eating all day can also include overeating at other meals, feeling as if it is okay to eat higher fat foods since you did not eat all day, etc. (You know all the inner talking we do to rationalize unhealthy eating.) So, here is my advice...
1. Eat breakfast at the same time everyday to break your overnight fast -- make your body confident, so that it will burn energy efficiently.
2. If you do not have time for a sit down lunch during the day, that is okay, just make sure to bring healthy snacks with you and eat every 2-3 hours during the day.
For example,
-- if you eat breakfast at 7 am, by 10 am make sure and have a piece (or two) of fruit.
-- by 12 pm make sure and have an all natural peanut butter (2tbsp) sandwich with no added sugar jelly (1 tbsp) and whole wheat bread
-- by 2 or 3 pm have a homemade trail mix (high fiber cereal, handful of almonds, raisins and a few semisweet chocolate chips) and another piece of fruit
3. Make sure and eat a healthy dinner with at least two vegetables if you did not eat any veggies during the day.
4. If you are hungry before you go to bed, eat a high fiber cereal and skim milk as a snack.

Paltrow exercised away the baby fat

Did you catch Gwyneth Paltrow on Oprah this week? I missed the episode but I did see an article yesterday with her comments on how she got her body back after baby number 2. It was refreshing to hear that not only did it take her 2 years to lose the baby weight, but it took hard work to take off the pounds. She credits lots of exercise for helping her lose the weight. While she worked with a celebrity trainer, there's nothing she did that regular people can't do themselves. It's really about motivation and sticking with it. I know for myself, taking off the baby weight and then maintaining my weight long term requires that I exercise daily - in addition to eating right most of the time (chocolate daily is a must have). I have some equipment in my basement and when I put the kids to bed at night, I go down there and enjoy an hour of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune while I work out. No nannies, celebrity trainers or state-of-the-art gym needed. You can do it, too. Buy a jumprope or an exercise video and get started. You'll be looking like Gwyneth in no time - or at least the best, fittest version of you (which is even better).

New Quick and Easy Recipe

I have another recipe to share with you that I created with ingredients found in my fridge and pantry -- my family really liked it and so it passed the test for blogging!

1 lb cooked chicken breast -- you can boil or bake it (I boiled the chicken the night before)
1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup no-fat sour cream
1/2 cup low-fat Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion (I used my small chopper)
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (I used the small chopper again)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup organic, low sodium tomato sauce
Whole wheat tortillas (or use corn for a lower calorie option)
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Chop the cooked chicken breast in a chopper (I cut up the chicken and used my small chopper since it is easy to clean) and place into pan with olive oil
2. Add all ingredients (except tortillas) and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes (you may want to adjust some of the ingredients based on your desired consistency)
3. Using a tablespoon, place mixture in center of tortilla, spread and roll tortilla - repeat until all mixture is used up (or you run out of tortillas).
4. Place tortillas in baking dish and drizzle more tomato sauce over top if desired and cover with foil.
5. Bake at 425 for an additional 10 minutes.
6. Enjoy with brown rice and small red kidney beans
Nutrition info for two tortillas --
340 calories (made with 2 whole wheat tortillas) or 180 calories (made with 2 corn tortillas)
13 grams protein and 5 grams fat (with either the whole wheat or corn)

New moms are drained

A new report confirms what all new moms already know -- having a newborn is demanding and stressful. In addition to trouble sleeping (3 AM feedings, anyone?), the report found that 40% of the women had trouble taking off the baby fat and 24% experienced chronic backaches. I'm guessing they're related - it can be challenging to exercise if your back is injured. They also found that a large percentage of the women were back at work by 12 weeks postpartum, which adds another challenge.

So, to all you new moms out there it's important to cut yourself a little slack. Just like you wouldn't expect your newborn to start crawling or walking immediately after entering this new world, you shouldn't expect that you'll immediately be able to spring right back into your old body or prior energy level. Take baby steps. Set small, realistic goals for yourself. For this week, try this goal: each day eat 1 more fruit and 1 more vegetable than you currently do. Go for a walk this weekend with the baby in the stroller.

And know this, there is a light at the end of tunnel - life does get easier. I always say that as a new mom, it's all about finding your groove -- getting used to the new norm. And by making small healthy lifestyle changes along the way, before you know it, you'll be movin and groovin right back into your skinny jeans!

Healthy Fish Sticks

A friend asked me to include more healthy fish recipes and this one immediately came to mind. Most kids love fish sticks, and I must admit, I like them too. So, I decided to find a way to make healthier fish sticks. Here are two versions of my fish sticks recipe that stuck.
The amounts that I will share are approximate, I actually think I make it a little different every time -- you may have to tweak it until you find what works for your family.
1st version --
1-1.5 pounds tilapia
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
1 cup flax meal
1/2 tsp salt (you can also add garlic salt, onion powder, etc for flavor)
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tbsp skim milk
Slice the tilapia (to a fish stick size). Then lightly beat the two eggs with the milk. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients. Now just dip the tilapia slices in the eggs mixture, then coat with the dry mixture and put on an olive oil sprayed pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees (I try not to preheat for too long, so I typically turn on the oven when I am almost done). When all the fish sticks are on the pan, I lightly spray then with olive oil -- I love the Mazola Olive oil spray. Then cook for about 15-20 minutes -- keep an eye on them and when they turn golden, they should be done.
2nd version --
Everything above just add sweet potato puree to the egg mixture. I guess I typically add about 1 cup. Poke a few holes in 1-2 sweet potatoes (depending on their size) and microwave until mushy. Remove peel and put in food processor until smooth. Then add to the egg mixture above and dip away! I love this recipe with the sweet potato it not only add nutrition but it adds sweetness to the fish sticks. They are a big hit with my kids and my husband. Try it!

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.

Sleep to lose weight

Are you getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night? If not, here is your excuse to get more zzz's. Studies show that people who sleep at least 8 hours tend to weigh less. Why? Because, sleeping actually helps your body produce less of the hunger hormone ghrelin and produce more of the fullness hormone leptin. Also, not sleeping enough may cause cortisol levels to go up which increase appetite and may even help add belly fat. In fact, a study from the University of Chicago showed that it only took a few sleepless nights to drop leptin levels by 18% and increase ghrelin by 28% causing cravings for starchy foods and sweets to jump by as much as 45%. So, mom's, for the sake of your figure...go to sleep.

Eating for Energy

We could all use some extra energy - well, maybe not if you are under10 years of age. For those of us that are not bursting at the seams and running and skipping to everywhere we go, there are some healthy ways to feel more energetic. Besides exercising, which actually increases your energy level, there are certain eating habits that can also help. Ask yourself the following questions to see if your lack of energy is diet related --
-- first, have you eaten in the past 3-4 hours?
-- Are you eating healthy foods, that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits, veggies, low-fat yogurt and whole grain carbs?
-- Are you getting enough iron in your diet (you need 18 mg/day)? You can find iron in whole grain foods, beans, lentils, leafy greens, blackstrap molasses, iron-fortified cereals and beef and dark cuts of chicken. Vit C will help you absorb iron, so eat an orange or drink some orange juice with your iron-containing food.
-- How many glasses of liquid have you drank today? Make sure you stay hydrated -- drink your water.

Eating like my kids results

Here is the result of Monday's trying to eat like my kids. First as a reminder, here are the foods we ate --
B-fast - oatmeal, drinking yogurt
Snacks - sunflower seeds, mandarin orange cup, banana
Lunch - sunflower butter and all natural jelly on whole wheat bread, raw almonds, natural fruit leather, skim milk
Snack - baked Cheetos, grapes, skim milk
Dinner - Cooking light recipe, Sept. issue, p. 172 Chicken Pot Pie and Skim milk
Here are the results (I have also included the percentage of hitting my recommended intakes based on my gender, age, and activity level).
-- 2176 calories which is 97% of my recommended amount of 2245 calories
-- my macronutrient breakdown was -- 51% carb, 21% protein, 29% fat (all within the optimal
ranges of 45-65% carb, 10-35% protein, 20-35% fat)
-- my omega 3's intake was very low at only 20% of the recommended 1.1 grams
-- my fiber was 100% at 25 grams
-- cholesterol was 45% of the ok amount of 300 mg at 135 mg
-- my folate and iron were low
This is not bad for one day. We typically do not evaluate a diet on just one day of eating but instead look at the entire week. So, if you have a bad day it is ok, because you can make up for it. To improve my eating this week, I will increase my omega-3 intake by eating salmon, walnuts and flaxseed bread over the next few days. Also, I will add orange juice to breakfast to help increase my folate intake as well as a serving of beans with dinner to help increase my iron (and folate intake).
I said I would do this the whole week, so I am still eating like my kids. So far, I have really enjoyed taking the time to sit down and eat breakfast with them.

Fatness is Sweeping the Nation, Save Yourself

OK, I cannot help but write these tips after seeing the CDC slides again (from my last post). These are some easy to incorporate behaviors to help you lose weight or not gain weight, try these for two weeks -
--eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day - count at the end of the day, make up for the amount missing at dinner, e.g. I only ate 3 fruits today, so at dinner I need to have two servings of vegetables
--include a 1/2 cup serving of beans or lentils in your meals once a day -- make sure they are not cooked with bacon or with oil, just water (and maybe some garlic)
--snack on one big handful of your favorite nut or seed (1.5 oz or about 15-30 depending on size) once a day
--drink plenty of water, try to drink at least 5 8-ounce glasses of water throughout the day
By adding these foods, you will naturally replace other less "healthy" foods. You will also add important nutrients that can help you feel great and stay in shape. Lastly, add exercise to your day, even if it is only for 15 minutes... get that heart-rate up (Try this -- jump rope outside for 15 minutes while the kids play. Jump for 3 minutes and take a 1 minute rest, do this 5 times for a total jumping time of 15 minutes).
We want to hear from you in two weeks -- tell us your success stories!!! Or share some tips of your own.