Experiment Update: Some Added Sugar

It has been almost two weeks since I started my "No added sugar" experiment. Let me just tell you that it only lasted for 3 days as absolutely no added sugar. On day 4 I decided that I wanted to put that 6 grams of sugar in my coffee...plus I had a small piece of paleo pumpkin bread at a friend's house which I am sure had some kind of sweetener in it.

I did not, however, let that completely derail me. I decided that no added sugar was a bit harsh, so I modified my plan. Now my goal is focusing less on sugar directly and more on processed food as a whole.

My goal: only one processed food item a day. So far, other than one day last week (date night), I have done it! I found that cutting back on just added sugar still allowed me to eat some breads, crackers, chips and the like as much as I wanted. The great part about focusing on consuming less processed foods in general is that not only am I cutting back on added sugars but also salt and other additives.

So you may be wondering what I mean by "only one processed food item a day". Let me give you some examples of food items I may choose: bread to make a sandwich, pancakes for breakfast, granola to mix in my plain Greek Yogurt, cornbread to go along with my chili at dinner, tortillas with my fajitas, tortilla chips and salsa for a snack, rice cakes as a vessel for my peanut butter. Again, those are just examples of the choices I have to make every day. I can choose just ONE of those. So, to further that example the following is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and oats

Snack: Yogurt and granola (here is my one processed food)

Lunch: Leftover Pesto Chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli

Snack: Peanut Butter and carrot sticks

Dinner: Cajun Shrimp and Rice with snow peas

Snack: Apple slices and Sun Butter

My outcomes so far: My headaches went away after I switched to the processed food focus from the added sugar focus. I am eating far more fruits and vegetables than I used to because I am replacing some of my starch/carb snack foods with them. My energy levels seem to be up as I am much less tired this week than I have been for the past several. I am not having sugar cravings like I was for a while there after coming off of my competition prep diet. My mood even seems to be a bit lifted. And my added sugar intake is still far lower than it was just a few weeks ago. Most days I am staying under 30grams of added sugar but there were a couple of days where I have had as much as 40grams (it really all depends on how many cups of coffee I drink in a day).

So, overall this seems to be working well for me. I think I am going to try to make it a perminent healthy living strategy. I would love to know if anyone else is willing to give it a try and see how it makes you feel!

Experiment in Progress: No Added Sugar

On Saturday night I decided on a whim to stop eating added sugar. So, no teaspoon of sugar in my coffee, no honey in my tea, no bread, no cereal, no Starbucks, no halloween candy, no sweets, no treats, no flavored yogurt, just oil and vinegar on my salads...

My initial goal was to go for a week without any added sugar in my diet. I have now gone for two days. I made it through a halloween party and trick-or-treating without indulging. Honestly, the hardest part so far is not having a spoon of sugar in my coffee. That is what may keep me from making it to a week!

I wanted to try it just to see how hard it would be and also because I felt like I have been eating too much processed food and too much sugar lately. I am also interested to see what I feel like without eating any added sugar.

So far this is what I have eaten:

Breakfast Sunday: scramled egg whites with spinach in cocounut oil plus oats cooked with sliced apple and cinnamon.

Lunch Sunday: Chicken cooked in salsa, rice and roasted green beans

Dinner Sunday: Homemeade Chili, popcorn popped in oil, a few plain potato chips. (Halloween party)

Snack Sunday: Carrots dipped in peanut butter, a handful of almonds

Breakfast Monday: Scrambled eggs in coconut oil, 1/2 of an apple and a clementine

Snack Monday: Plain Greek Yogurt with dry oats and strawberries

Lunch Monday: Salad with Romaine lettuce, ham slices, cheese slices, carrots, and bell pepper all topped with a mixture of mayo, mustard and cider vinegar. (This was delicious! It tasted like a ham sandwich turned into a salad.) And a side of corn tortilla chips.

Snack Monday: Banana, Rice cakes and peanut butter

Dinner Monday: Hommade Chili

Snack Monday: Sun Butter and Apple Slices

I would say that I am definitely eating more fruits than I normally would and maybe a little bit more vegetables as well.

How I feel so far: Pretty good other than a bit of a headache that comes and goes. However, that could be related to parenting 2-year-old and 4-year-old girls more than a lack of added sugar!

I will let you know how long I am able to hold out and of any other changes I see in myself. Does anyone else want to try completley cutting out added sugars? Let me know! I would love to have others try it with me!

Let's Celebrate, It's CHEAT DAY!

It's Cheat Day! That's right, when I am dieting for a competition, I have one day off every week from eating a strict, clean diet. One day a week I have pancakes for breakfast, pizza for dinner and popcorn for dessert. One day a week I don't count my calories, macros, micros, or anything else! I have one day a week to look forward to and meditate on as I down my eggs, oatmeal, tuna, chicken and vegetables early in the week.

However, I do still pay attention to the ingrediets in my food on my cheat day. I still aim for whole foods and no artificial anything. Pizza is homemade, popcorn is from kernels popped on my stove-top in coconut oil and pancakes are made from scratch (actually tried out a new recipe today and it was delicious! I will share it in an upcoming post.)

The greatest part about my cheat day is that my mind and body love me for it! My body stops thinking I'm starving it and so allows more fat to be burned in subsequent days. Likewise, my mind stops thinking so much about what I am missing and concentrates on what I can have again in just one week.

I advise all of my clients to include a cheat day in their weightloss programs. Without it, your metabolism will likely slow down, you will be moody and depressed and feel deprived.

It's cheat day! Now, I must go sit on the couch with my husband, watch a movie and eat popcorn, for tomorrow will be filled with heavy weights, eggs, oatmeal, tuna, chicken, vegetables and progress toward my goals. Goodnight!

7 Tips for Weight Loss or Maintenance

It seems that most of the people that I talk to are either trying to lose weight or maintain their weight loss. So, I thought that I would give my top seven tips for doing just that.

#1 First and foremost: Don't diet!
Going on a diet is a temporary thing and therefore the weight loss that comes from it is also temporary. If you want to change your weight for good, you need to change your eating habits, but don't go on a diet! Diets may work in the short term, but who wants to be on a diet for the rest of their life? Not me!

#2 Track your intake for a few weeks.
First you need to figure out what and how much you are currently eating. The best way to do that is to write it all down or use an app created for just that reason. Check out myfitnesspal if you haven't already. Track your intake for at least a week so that you can see what eating patterns you have developed and what changes need to be made.

#3 Eat what you like.
You need to change your eating habits, yes, but that doesn't mean eating things that you don't like. If you try and switch outright to a healthy diet (based on someone else's standards of healthy), you will probably last a few days to a week and then fall off the wagon and go back to eating the exact same way you had been before. Instead, figure out which of the meals you are currently eating are the most healthy, keep those in your weekly rotation and cut out the rest.

#4 Eat the same things all the time.
Yes, variety is the spice of life, but when you are just getting started on your healthy eating journey, it is easiest to keep your meals simple and without too much variation. Honestly, most of the people that I know who have maintained a healthy weight for a significant amount of time eat the same foods almost every single day. It takes the guess work out of it.

#5 Eat when you are hungry (and don't when you're not).
Learn to listen to your hunger cues. Make a mental (or physical, if it helps) note of when you reach for food due to stress, boredom, anger, frustration, etc. Try to swap food out for something more productive. Go for a walk, read a few pages in a good book, call a friend, just take your mind somewhere else.

#6 Drink water (or other no calorie drinks).
Don't waste your calories on drinks. They don't keep you feeling full as long as food does, but can be just as many (or more) calories as a full meal!

#7 Don't set anything as off limits.
Saying that you are never going to eat ice cream or have a Starbucks latte again is setting yourself up for failure. Whatever you deem as off limits will be the exact thing that you constantly crave. Instead, give yourself some leeway. Eat healthy 80% of the time and don't worry about the other 20% so much. It's freeing and allows the mind to stay healthy as well!

If you are intrigued by my tips and want to know more about how to implement a healthy eating style into your life, check out my professional services page!

8 Glasses of Water a Day?

If I asked you how much water you are supposed to drink every day, what would you say? 8, 8oz glasses of water? Yeah, that's what everybody thinks. But why? And is it true?

I can really only speculate as to where that prevelant recomendation came from. Some believe that it stems from a recommendation given in 1945 by the Food and Nutrition Board. Others have searched and researched, but haven't found a clear source for that current thought anywhere!

But is it true? Well...not exactly. Even if people are getting the idea to drink a half gallon of water per day from that recommendation, they missed the point. The sentence following that statement says that most of that amount can be consumed through prepared foods.

Therein lies the biggest rub. We are being told to consume at least 64 ounces of water in addition to everything else that we drink and eat every day. However, the recommendation was actually referring to total fluid intake, rather than pure water intake. If other fluids are taken into account, the number of glasses of water I need to drink is significantly reduced by the 20oz of coffee and 10oz of tea that I drink each day. If you include fluids from food, that total drops even more. There is lots of water in fruits and vegetables. Some are made up of 90% water!

So it seems to me that if you are eating a healthy diet containing adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables and are drinking fluids when you feel thirsty, then you are probably getting enough liquid each day to keep you hydrated. In fact, most health officials will tell you to go by the color of your urine. If it's clear or pale yellow, you are hydrated. If it's on the dark amber side, you may need to drink some water! And always drink when you feel thirsty!

Of course, water consumption needs vary by individual and are dependent upon your age, size, activity level and the climate that you live in. The larger you are, more highly active you are and the warmer the climate that you live in, the more water you need.

I have to say that I have always thought those people carrying a gallon jug of water around the gym with them look ridiculous. I'm glad that I never totally fell for that myth told to me by my fellow figure competitors. I do have to admit that I tried to accomplish the feat of consuming a gallon of water one day during the early weeks of training for my very first figure competition with embarrassing results! I have never attempted it again.

It boils down, once again, to listening to and knowing YOUR body and what makes YOU feel your best. My best friend has always harped on me about not drinking enough water (I'm lucky to consume 24 ounces outside of strenuous exercise) each day. She has been a big water drinker for as long as I have known her and at times has consumed up to 1.5 gallons of water per day. We now both agree that we are reaching a happy medium as I am making sure to get my 24oz of water in each day and she is aiming for 60-90oz a day as opposed to the 128oz that used to be her goal. Regardless, it's obvious that her body demands more water than mine.

So spend some time getting to know yourbody's water intake needs. What is your normal? Are you with me on the 3 cups a day side of the spectrum, or farther up towards the 8 or even 16 cups a day side?

Canola Oil Controversy

Recently I have heard a lot of comments about canola oil being unhealthy and have been warned not to consume it. I am not very knowledgeable about oils, so thought I would look into it, especially since I have a huge jug of canola oil on the floor of my pantry! I also have a big jug of coconut oil, some olive oil and butter in the fridge. After doing some reading, I think I will be sticking with the latter three and disposing of the first.

It seems that doctors, nutritionists and the general public alike are not in agreement on the health effects of canola oil. I read many educated opinions that ranged from it being completely safe and having health benefits to no one should ever consume it EVER because it's a toxin.

I think my opinion falls somewhere in the middle.

First let me tell you what proponents and opponents agree upon and then I can let you decide for yourself who you side with.

If you pick up a bottle of canola oil in the store, it most likely has a picture of a yellow flower on it. So, most of us naturally assume that this oil comes from some part of the canola flower. Technically, I guess that's true. Except that there is no such thing as a canola flower. The word Canola comes from combining "Canada" and "ola" (which means oil). That's because Canadian scientists developed canola oil. They started with rapeseed oil but had to go back and genetically modify the plants to reduce their erucic acid content. Prior to it being modified, it was inedible, toxic even. A much smaller amount of that toxic substance (erucic acid) still exists in the GMO oil, but the small amount is considered safe to consume by the EPA.

Canola oil has a high amount of omega-3s which is something that we should be consuming more of. However, they have to be handled with care and not overheated. Using canola to cook at high temperatures is not a good idea. When the oil is processed, they use high heat, which causes free radicals (carcinogens) to form within the oil. The high heat also causes some of the unsaturated fats to convert to artificial transfats. Artificial transfats are the worst kind of fat that exists.

The oil is also processed with hexane to deodorize it. Trace amounts of hexane are left in the oil. Hexane is a very volatile solvent (boiling point 69ºC, or 156ºF) with a very low toxicity (LD50 in rats of 49.0 milliliters per kilogram). Hexane has been used to extract oils from plant material since the 1930s, and “there is no evidence to substantiate any risk or danger to consumer health when foods containing trace residual concentrations of hexane are ingested” .

So it seems that those who trust the studies saying that canola oil is safe for human consumption, are willing to believe that it is healthy and fine to consume. They believe that it has a positive effect on ones cholesterol levels when used to replace saturated fats in the diet. But those who take issue with GMO foods and who would rather see long term studies done on canola oil's health effects, are opposed to its consumption.

For me it still boils down to eating whole foods and reducing processing. Since canola oil has to be highly processed and that processing results in less than desirable side effects, I am inclined to stick with natural oils such as olive, coconut and animal fats.

Whole foods are the best foods!

Baked Zucchini Bites →

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for snack food recipes that contain veggies that I think my kids might eat. I found this one last week and added it to my meal planning menu for this week. I gave it a try yesterday and it was a huge success because it was a huge hit with both of my kids! These are so flavorful and are packed with good for you veggies such as zucchini, garlic and onion.

I did have to change it up a little bit. Since I can not eat gluten, I just used regular gluten-free bread crumbs. We didn't dip them in anything. They are good by themselves! I don't have a mini muffin tin, so I used a regular one and put about a tablespoon of "batter" into each one.

And even though I made these for the little ones, my husband and I both really like them too!

Natural Flavors

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I am thoroughly disgusted by what I have found out regarding natural flavors. I really shouldn't be surprised. I have heard rumors of these things before, but reading a transcript from someone who creates flavors for a living really sealed the deal for me. No more natural flavors for this family! It won't be easy, and it may be a slow process to remove them from the house, but I think it will be worth it.

So are natural flavors really natural? Yes, they are, but not in the way that any normal person would think. Here is the definition of natural flavors according to the FDA:

The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.

That doesn't sound too bad, right? The problem is that when you see something that is strawberry natural flavored, you probably assume that it is flavored from strawberries. That is most likely NOT the case. It also makes sense that things that are meat flavored would come from natural meat sources and things that are fruit flavored would come from natural fruit sources, but that's not always true either. The most disturbing thing that I found is that the flavors vanilla and strawberry can both come from the contents of the anal sac of beavers.

WHAT?!

Yeah, that's what I said too.

Natural? Technically, yes.

Good to consume? Maybe not.

Good on the conscience? Heck No!

I am starting to think that the only reason that is the most disgusting one I could find is because it is the only one that has been "leaked" to the public. That little tid bit of information was given to 60 Minutes by a Flavorist (one of the people that actually come up with and create the natural flavors that go into our foods). I can only imagine that the companies who sell these flavors want to keep their ingredients under wraps so that they can stay in business! So, what other interesting (read: horrifying) things are we consuming under the label "natural flavor"?

Those companies have another reason to keep their ingredients hidden from the public eye. They may be promoting obesity through triggering overeating. The Flavorists are tasked with creating flavors that are irresistable and fleeting. That way, we can't just eat one (I mean, when was the last time you ate just one cookie?) and the next time we see that same thing on the shelf of the store, we will buy it again. It makes sense for the food companies. It doesn't make sense for us as consumers.

So, what are we to do as consumers? In my opinion; Eat whole foods. Whole foods don't contain natural flavors. Maybe if enough people can stay away from packaged foods and those that contain natural flavors, the companies will start to lose money and have to change their practices. It sure would be nice to live in a world where we don't have to scrutinize food labels!

Whole Food School Lunches

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Packing whole food lunches for our kids is not an easy task, I know. However, it's worth the extra effort and it's not quite as hard as you think! Like most things, it takes a little planning and a little prep work but it is very doable.

Let me let you in on my method of packing a lunch for my 4 year old that is in preschool:

I start with a protein source. That may be leftover sauteed chicken or baked chicken nuggets, turkey burger broken into "nuggets", peanut butter, nuts, a turkey (no nitrates, Applegate is a good brand) sandwich, tuna salad, a cheese stick or some yogurt.

Next I add in a fruit. She loves grapes, orange slices, strawberries, blueberries, melon chunks, apples, pears, pretty much anything!

I also try to get a vegetable in there. I can count on her eating grape tomatoes (but aren't those actually a fruit?!), so i pack those quite often. She also likes red, orange and yellow bell pepper strips, carrots sticks and avocado (also a fruit?!). She will eat frozen peas and frozen mixed vegetables (but turns her nose up at them if they are cooked/warm), so I can just throw some of those into a container as well. I have also sent her with leftover roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes.

Then I think about any extras such as a homemade muffin, some clean crackers, hummus for dipping the veggies in, some granola to top off her yogurt with, a few raisins or, on occasion, some tortilla chips.

So, for example, yesterday she had half of a peanut butter and jelly (homemade jam) sandwich (homemade whole wheat bread), a whole apple and a cheese stick. On Wednesday she will have sweet italian sausage slices, some frozen mixed veggies, a few peanuts and a banana.

When it comes to finding clean bread, crackers, chips, etc. that are store bought; find a brand that has very few ingredients (preferably less than 6) all that you know what they are and can pronounce. Stay away from both artificial and natural flavors. More on that next time!

Example crackers: Back to Nature brand Harvest Whole Wheat Crackers and Late July Brand Organic Classic Rich Crackers.

Example bread: Ezekiel Bread

Example chips: Wellsley Farms Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips (I get these at BJs).

Read labels as you shop. You can find snacks that are made from whole foods. It just takes a little extra effort (and money, which I wish wasn't the case!).

For more great school lunch ideas check out The Gracious Pantry

Even more great school lunch ideas can be found at 100 Days of Real Food

I hope this helps some of you tired mommas out!

Thanksgiving feasts are nearly upon us! How to enjoy them responsibly.

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Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Does that stress you out? Why? Does thinking about all of the food and all of the choices that you will have to make surrounding food stress you out?

Don't let it!

You CAN make healthy choices!

You CAN eat everything that you want to and not gain five pounds over night.

You CAN eat to satisfaction and not to that uncomfortable overstuffed feeling!

You don't have to have an unhealthy relationship with food.

Believe in yourself and in your ability to make healthy choices for yourself.

Will there be 10 different things that you want to eat tomorrow? Ok. You can! Just take one spoonful of each item. You can have it all...in small portions.

Are you looking forward more to desserts than dinner? That's Ok!Eat a few bites of turkey and a green veggie and save room for a couple of slices of pie. Then enjoy your pie and don't feel guilty about it!

Or maybe it's the appetizers that you like the most. That's fine too! Turn those into your main meal and scale back on the actual dinner.

Do you have to make choices? Yes! but you CAN do it and feel satisfied and not stuffed and guilty!

Think ahead, make a plan for what will be satisfying to you and stick to your plan. Enjoy your family time and be thankful for a life that allows you to make healthy, satisfying choices.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Are you Addicted to Food?

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My big realization of the week: I am addicted to food!

After doing some research on food addiction, I realized that I am, in fact, a food addict. That is a hard realization to come to as a health professional, fitness fanatic and self proclaimed nutrition coach.

The sad things is, I believe most Americans are food addicts. I also believe that it stems from a very, very bad and wrong food environment.

Refined, processed food (sugar) is as, if not more addictive than cocaine, heroine and morphine.

We live in a world where high fat, high sugar and high salt foods are readily available in abundance. Processed foods surround us, and they are addictive! Dr. Pam Peeke explained why in a podcast that she recorded with Chalene Johnson.

These Processed foods that are high in fat, sugar and/or salt are hyper-palatable according to Peeke. That means that they send our brain into overdrive with the pleasure response that they create. Think about the difference in sweetness and perceived pleasure from something natural such as a banana compared to a high-sugar, processed food such as a cupcake. Big difference, right? And that's why it is dangerous. Addictions stem from dysfunctions in the brain related to pleasure and self-control which are regulated by dopamine.

Those with drug addictions and those who are obese have decreased numbers of dopamine receptors. This is linked to a reduced ability to resist temptation and with less enjoyment of food or drugs.

You see, before processed foods were available, our ancestors would take a bite of a ripe piece of fruit, the pleasure (dopamine) receptors in their brain would light up telling them how good that was and they would feel satisfied.

Today we have super sweet, super pleasurable foods that we buy in multipacks. We eat one Oreo, our brain lights up like crazy and we feel wonderful, but a couple of hours later we feel hungry again and we remember how good we felt after eating that Oreo, so we have another...and another. Now our brain is thinking, "that's too intense! We can't live this way!" so it does the only thing that makes sense. It reduces the number of pleasure receptors in order to bring us back to equalibrium. So tomorrow when we have one Oreo, the pleasure sensation is less intense. As a result, we eat another, and another, and another trying to replicate the same level of pleasure as we got the very first time we ate an Oreo. Our bodies just weren't meant to be inundated with such rich foods 24/7. Our brains are wired to set us up for addiction to hyper-palatable foods.

How does this scenario unfold for you? If you have had a long and stressful day at work, do you come home and try to eat away the stress through pre-dinner snacks that make you feel full even before you sit down and devour your whole dinner as well?

Or maybe a long and whine filled day at home with the kids sends you reaching for the tub of ice cream after their bedtime? (That one is so me!) Or maybe you have created a habit of eating every time you sit down to watch something on TV and you eat so mindlessly that before you even realize it you have devoured an entire family-size bag of chips.

If any of the above scenarios sounds familiar to you, you may be a food addict too.

So, where do we start to recover from our food addictions? Well, I'm not 100% sure. I AM sure that Pam Peeke has some great advice in her book entitled The Hunger Fix which I plan to purchase. I also read an article by someone prone to addiction that said the only way to recover is through abstaining completely. That means whatever it is that you overeat on a regular basis, you have to get out of your house and vow to never eat again.

I'm not sure that I am quite to the total abstinence stage myself, but I do know that when I make a dessert for a special occasion, from now on, whatever is left after the guests are gone and all of my family has enjoyed one serving, will be tossed out. I will not be buying any chocolate just to have on hand. I will not be buying any kind of candy or processed sweet just to have in case I get a craving. When I want something sweet, I will have to go out and get (one serving) of it right then and there. When I go out to events where there is a smorgasbord of desserts, I will choose one. I will enjoy it slowly and then I will move on and enjoy the company of friends and family even more. When I sit down to rest in the evenings after my intense day with my WONDERFUL children, I will brew a cup of decaf coffee or hot tea and sip that while I decompress instead of searching through the cupboards for something, ANYTHING sweet.

But perhaps, you are an all-or-nothing type of person. In that case, maybe abstinence is the answer.

Or perhaps you fall into one of the statistics that Pam Peeke talked about in the podcast: women with a history of abuse are 90% more likely to be a food addict and 50% of obese people have a history of trauma or abuse. If that's the case, then please see a therapist. Start there, and begin the healing process because even though you may know intellectually that food can't fix the problem, your brain is still signaling you to try that method first and you have to get off of that never ending circuit!

If you are intrigued by this post, I encourage you to listen to the podcast. It was very enlightening and entertaining.

Lastly, boycott processed foods! We need to get our country back on track in so many ways, and this is an easy place to start that will better our own health immediately, and hopefully the health of our entire country eventually.

High Protein Diet: Good or Bad?

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I have been following a high protein lifestyle for years. I swear by it for competition prep. I also tend to recommend it to my clients because of the success that I and many of my friends have had following it. I feel good when I follow a whole food, high protein diet and I haven't ever had negative side effects. I know that many have concerns regarding eating a lot of protein, so I wanted to go over what I know and believe about this style of eating.

First, let me explain what high protein diet means. A high protein diet is any way of eating that is higher in protein than the recommended daily allowance set forth by the USDA. So, anything over 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight would qualify. For example: a 150lb healthy adult eating the RDA for protein would be eating 55 grams of protein per day. One can get that much protein from one cup of Greek yogurt, three ounces of lean meat and two tablespoons of peanut butter. That's not a whole lot of protein and therefore it's pretty easy to spill into a high protein diet pattern without even thinking about it. If that same person were to eat two eggs for breakfast, a snack of one container Greek yogurt, a turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch, another snack containing a handful of nuts and a steak for dinner, they would consume about 70 grams of protein, which would be considered high.

Now let's look at what studies have shown about the effects of a high protein diet on weight loss efforts and other positive effects of this nutrition plan.

According to a review in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition "There is convincing evidence that a higher protein intake increases thermogenesis and satiety compared to diets of lower protein content. The weight of evidence also suggests that high protein meals lead to a reduced subsequent energy intake."

So, high protein meals make you feel full and satisfied. They also keep you from eating extra calories at future meals and they increase your metabolism. Win, win, win!

A 2004 Study in the Annals of Internal Medicine Concluded that "Compared with a low-fat diet, a low-carbohydrate diet program had better participant retention and greater weight loss. During active weight loss, serum triglyceride levels decreased more and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level increased more with the low-carbohydrate diet than with the low-fat diet."

This study found that a high protein diet had a positive effect on cholesterol levels. It increased the good cholesterol and decreased the bad. It was also easier for participants to stick to than a low fat diet. Win, win!

According to a 2006 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition "An HP diet, compared with an AP diet, fed at energy balance for 4 d increased 24-h satiety, thermogenesis, sleeping metabolic rate, protein balance, and fat oxidation. Satiety was related to protein intake".

This study confirms the outcomes of the previous two studies mentioned. High protein diets keep you feeling full longer than lower protein diets, promote fat loss and increase ones metabolsim. Win!

Lastly let's look at the research done on the negative side effects of this type of eating.

The following results were found in a review published in 2005 in the Journal Nutrition and Metabolsim: Although the efficacy of high protein diets for weight loss has been evaluated, there have been no reports of protein-induced diminutions in renal function despite subject populations that are generally at risk for kidney disease (e.g., dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension) [14,15,22,85-87]. A randomized comparison of the effects of high and low protein diets on renal function in obese individuals suggested that high protein diets did not present a health concern with regard to renal function their study population [65]. In this study, 65 overweight, but otherwise healthy, subjects adhered to a low or high protein diet for six months. In the high protein group, both kidney size and GFR were significantly increased from that measured at baseline. No changes in albumin excretion were noted for either group and the authors concluded that, despite acute changes in renal function and size, high protein intake did not have detrimental effects on renal function in healthy individuals. Similar findings were recently reported by Boden et al. [88] in a study of 10 subjects who consumed their typical diet for 7 days followed by strict adherence to a high protein diet for 14 days. No significant changes were noted in serum or urinary creatinine and albumin excretion, suggesting no ill-effects of a high protein diet on renal function.

You may be thinking that high protein diets cause kidney damage or problems, but the above review did NOT find that to be the case.

The following excerpt was taken from that same review published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism in 2005: "Athletes, particularly in sports requiring strength and power, consume high levels of dietary protein [89,90]. In fact, many athletes habitually consume protein in excess of 2.0 g/kg/day [91]. Supplementation with amino acids will further increase dietary protein levels in these individuals [92]. Yet there is no evidence that this population is at greater risk for kidney disease or losses in renal function [90]. Poortsmans and Dellalieux [93] found that protein intakes in the range of ~1.4–1.9 g/kg/day or 170–243% of the recommended dietary allowance did not impair renal function in a group of 37 athletes. We found no data in the scientific literature to link high protein intakes to increased risk for impaired kidney function in healthy, physically active men and women."

That last phrase is key! Nothing indicates that a high protein diet increases kidney problems in HEALTHY, PHYSICALLY ACTIVE men and women.

In conclusion, I fully agree with the advice given by the Mayo Clinic on following a high-protein diet. If you have renal disease, don't follow a high protein diet. However, if you are healthy and physically active, then it's a great way to kick off weight loss, build muscle or allow you to maintain your current weight. Just make sure that you are focusing on whole foods, lean meats and get in plenty of fruits, veggies and fiber.

Halloween Treats

Reading Be Mom Strong's post about Halloween candy yesterday inspired an impromptu question-and-answer session between me and my three-year-old. This is how it went:

Me: What is Halloween all about?

Lorelai on Halloween two years ago after eating an orange iced cupcake.

Lorelai on Halloween two years ago after eating an orange iced cupcake.

L: Treats

Me: What kind of treats?

L: Lollipops and sticky chocolate.

Me: That's what Halloween is about? It's about treats?

L: Yes.

Me: What do we do with the treats after we get them?

L: We bring them home.

Me: And do what with them?

L: Eat them.

Me: Are treats healthy food?

L: No

Me: How should we eat our treats?

L: One at a time.

Me: How many treats should we eat every day?

L: A couple.

Me: What kinds of healthy food should we eat every day?

L: Vegetables and fruits.

I learned a couple of things from this very honest conversation with my preschooler:

  1. Holidays are about treats (candy, cookies, cakes) to our generation of kids. Which I think is sad. I put so much time into costumes and traditions, but all they take away is the getting of candy. We need to work on changing this. The focus of our celebrations shouldn't be the getting of "treats" but of quality time and tradition.
  2. I'm doing a pretty good job of teaching my kid to identify healthy versus not healthy foods. Teach them young! Expose them to all kinds of produce. Their palates (and most likely their waistlines) will thank you later in life!
  3. I'm not doing so well at teaching them how many treats are acceptable in a certain time frame. A couple of treats a day is a couple too many in my opinion. I think I would have been ok with her saying one a day, but a couple? (And yes, she does know what a couple means). I have, in the past, been of the mindset that a small sweet a day wards off binge eating, but I'm trying to cut back even more than that for myself and my kids. I don't want my kids to think that candy and sugar-laced baked goods are a staple. I want them to learn to like foods that are naturally sweet and think of them as "treats". Things like real fruit smoothies, fresh fruits themselves and even naturally sweet vegetables like red and orange bell peppers and sweet potatoes. I want them to appreciate special treats when they get them because they are a rare thing. But it's so hard in our culture to actually make them rare! All I can say is that I am trying.

So, what do we do with all of the candy that comes in over the holidays? Well, I start by throwing away the real junky stuff that doesn't even taste that good. I keep a few of the higher quality items in a basket on a high shelf in the pantry that isn't visible to my children very often. I use those things for bribes sometimes (hey, nobody is perfect!) or I make them earn it somehow. Every once in a while I will give them a treat just to give them a treat, but that happens less than on a weekly basis. They get plenty of random treats from friends and family members. I don't need to add to it.

As far as what I hand out on Halloween, I don't. That's right, my door is dark. There are plenty of other people out there handing out junk food. I don't want or need to add to the predicament our children are in.

But that's just me. Every one is different. I liked Emma's idea of getting rid of the candy in her own home after Halloween day and handing out healthier alternatives to candy. She has some great info on her page about ways to dispose of your Halloween candy (other than shoveling it into your face). So if you haven't checked out bemomstrong.com yet, you should!

Thanks for the post inspiration, Emma!

Losing Weight: It's Not Impossible!

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Weight loss. It sometimes feels like an unacheivable goal.

Take heart! It is achievable! There are a few things that you need to keep in mind if you are on a weight loss journey:

  1. You are going to feel hungry. Any person, diet or supplement that promises weight loss without ever going hungry, lies. Your body wants to maintain homeostasis. If you weigh 152 pounds, it wants you to give it enough calories every day to maintain those 152 pounds. If you give it less calories, your body will tell you that you need to eat more and you will feel hungry if you don't give it more. Going to bed hungry is a normal thing for anyone who is successful at losing weight.
  2. If you are losing weight incredibly quickly, you will, most likely, gain it all back. Fad diets and diets that are extremely restrictive don't work well in the long run. They usually can't be maintained for long periods of time and when you go back to your normal way of eating you gain back every pound (or more) that you lost. Slow and steady is the way to go for weight loss. You can also be sure to maintain your muscle and only lose fat by taking it slow and aiming for just one or two pounds lost per week.
  3. It has to be a lifestyle change in order for it to stick. Dieting doesn't work, as I stated above, because it is short term. Most people diet until they hit their goal weight and then stop dieting and start gaining weight back. If you make small, permanent changes in the way you eat, when you lose the weight, it will stay gone. A good place to start is concentrating on eating more vegetables. Vegetables are filling, provide lots of micronutrients that your body needs to keep you healthy and are usually very low in calories.
  4. Gaining muscle helps you lose fat. Hit the weight room and you will see an increase in your metabolism and a faster fat burn. Concentrate on maintaining or increasing muscle while you are losing fat and don't just pound the pavement or spend hours on the elliptical. Doing only cardio while decreasing calories pretty much guarantees that you will lose muscle along with fat and decrease your metabolism.
  5. Planning and tracking your food intake is key. I know it's not fun, but it really does make a huge difference in wether or not you are successful at losing weight. It is so easy to misjudge serving sizes and accidently eat three talblespoons of peanut butter rather than the intended two (which is a 100 calorie difference!). Studies show that those who track their caloric intake are more successful at losing weight.

So here is what you need to do every day to be successful at losing weight: Wake up and make a plan of what you will eat for the day (even better if you do it the night before!), then head to the gym for a weight lifting session to get your metabolism revving. Next you will track what you have for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner making sure that you are eating things that you like and that you can imagine continuing to eat for the rest of your life. Lastly, you will go to bed a little on the hungry side. The next morning when you wake up and get on the scale you may see a quarter of a pound drop, and that's great because a quarter of a pound a day is almost two pounds a week! Stick with it and those pounds will add up, you will hit your weightloss goal and be able to keep it off.

Sugar: How much is too much?

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Since I talked about cutting back on sugar, you may be wondering how much sugar is ok to have and how much is too much to consume. Today I want to shed some light on what sugar in moderation really means and looks like.

In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake.

The above statement was taken directly from the World Health Organization's Guidline: Sugars Intake for adults and children.

That means that if you are eating 2,000 calories a day, less than 200 calories should come from added sugars. That translates to less than 50 grams and less than 12.5 teaspoon of the sweet stuff. If you are only eating 1,500 calories a day that knocks your numbers down to 150 calories, 37.5 grams and 9.4 teaspoons.

The American Heart Association takes an even harsher stance against sugar and recommends that adult women have no more than 24 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar a day and adult men no more than 36 grams (9 teaspoons).

As a comparison, the average American consumes 22 teaspoons (88 grams) of added sugar every day. We have our work cut out for us to reduce that by about 75%!

The information about how much the average american currently consumes comes from an amazing graphic that I found. It pinpoints exactly what is going on with current sugar consumption in the U.S. I love that it ends with "sugar is as addictive as cocaine." We need to kick the habit and reclaim our health!

Let me give you an example of what a day's meal plan might look like for a woman aiming to hit the recommendations set forth by the American heart association; no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day:

**Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1 slice whole wheat toast, 1 tsp butter, 1 medium orange, 1 cup of coffee with 1 Tbs. half and half and 1 tsp sugar

**Snack: Kind bar, 1 medium apple

**Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad with 2 Tbs. low fat raspberry vinaigrette dressing and 1/2 ounce walnuts.

**Snack: afternoon pick me up coffee with 1 Tbs. half and half and 1 tsp sugar. , snack bag of pretzels, Plain Oikos Greek Yogurt Cup and 1/2 cup fresh strawberries

**Dinner: Chicken and vegetable Teryaki stir-fry over brown rice.

**Total Calories: 1,438 Fat: 53 grams, Carbohydrates: 158 grams, Protein: 97 grams, Sugar: 56 grams, ADDED Sugar: 26 grams

So as you can see, this menu is very low in processed foods. That is the only way to keep the added sugar content where it should be. There is no room for sweets, sodas or really any extras at all. I tried to include flavored yogurt, but that added 11 grams of sugar! If you follow the guidelines set out by the World Health Organization, you can trade out the plain yogurt and fresh strawberries for strawberry flavored yogurt and still be within their reccomendations.

Of course it is fine to have more sugar ocassionally, but this is what your menu should look like the majority of the time as far as sugar content goes.

Artificial Sweeteners

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I'm going to touch on a highly debated subject today. If you come to a different conclusion than I do after giving it some good thought and doing some research, so be it.

The topic: artificial sweeteners. My stance: avoid them.

I haven't always felt this way. There was a point in my life when I consumed artificial sweeteners on a regular basis. That was when I was trying to battle my sweet tooth and my weight but still eat sweets every day. That was when I would diet really hard and restrict my calories really low, then break and binge. That was when I had horrible self esteem, horrible eating habits and was incredibly unhealthy. That was when my weight yoyoed and I came to be at my heaviest weight ever. That is also why the results and conclusions drawn from a study published in the journal Obesity make perfect sense to me.

Age, education, socioeconomic index, exercise, and dieting were greater in AS [artificial sweetener] users, who were more likely to be female and OW/OB [overweight/obese]...Total calories, calories from carbohydrates and sucrose, and alcohol consumption were lower among AS users (P < 0.0001), whose sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption was one-fourth that of nonusers...Percent of calories from protein, total fat, and saturated fat were significantly higher in AS users (P < 0.0001).

We observed a classic, positive dose-response relationship between AS beverage consumption and long-term weight gain. Such an association does not, by itself, establish causality. But it raises a troubling question, which can be answered only by further research: are ASs fueling—rather than fighting—the very epidemic they were designed to block? Further research is needed to evaluate the possible impact of AS use on the risk of obesity—and its metabolic sequelae—in the next generation, as well as our own.

A review done in the Yale journal of biology and medicine has this to say about the topic:

A rise in the percent of the population who are obese coincides with an increase in the widespread use of non-caloric artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame (e.g. Diet Coke) and sucralose (e.g. Diet Pepsi), in food products....While people often choose diet or light products to lose weight, research studies suggest that artificial sweeteners may contribute to weight gain.

So to recap: those who use artificial sweeteners consume less sugar but more calories from other sources than those who don't and, therefore, are still more likely to be overweight or obese even though they are also more likely to diet and exercise. That way of dieting is what I never want to go back to. Replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners just so that you can have sweets without the calories from sugar is a bad idea. When your body tastes something sweet it expects there to be sugar released into the blood stream, but no sugar comes, so you crave something sweet again. If you are addicted to sugar, switching out regular sweets for ones sweetened with artificial sweeteners isn't going to do you much good. (Trust me, I know. I've tried it!) You aren't going to break your craving cycle that way, and you may even make it worse.

Preload experiments generally have found that sweet taste, whether delivered by sugar or artificial sweeteners, enhanced human appetite...Aspartame also increased subjective hunger ratings compared to glucose or water...artificial sweeteners, precisely because they are sweet, encourage sugar craving and sugar dependence.

Did you catch that? Artificial sweeteners cause you to want to eat more and cause you to crave sugar! I used to think that artificial sweeteners were healthy but again a review in the Yale journal of biology and medicine has this to say:

Whether due to a successful marketing effort on the part of the diet beverage industry or not, the weight conscious public often consider artificial sweeteners "health food". But do artificial sweeteners actually help reduce weight? Surprisingly, epidemiologic data suggests the contrary. Several large scale prospective cohort studies found positive correlation between artificial sweetener use and weight gain.

The American College of Sports Medicine states that "while artificial sweeteners are thought to be safe, there is no health benefit to consuming them".

I have said it before and I will say it again: eat whole foods! Artificial sweeteners are not whole foods. In fact, they aren't even foods at all — they are chemicals. It's interesting how several of them were discovered:

We owe the discovery of several artificial sweeteners to a few brave scientists who violated the code of laboratory hygiene and tasted their samples, often inadvertently. Saccharin, the oldest artificial sweetener , was discovered by Constantine Fahlberg at Johns Hopkins in 1879 while working on coal tar derivatives.

A scientist in a lab using chemicals accidentally licked his fingers and discovered that the mixture of chemicals on them happened to be sweet, and voila, artificial sweeteners were born. Gross! What was the intended use? Should that really be ingested? Again, gross!

Not only that, but the other ingredients that are associated with artificial sweeteners are artificial colors, artificial flavors, and highly refined carbohydrate sources. None of that is good for you! Even if it does somehow help you lose weight, what is it doing to your insides?

I know what it used to do to mine and it wasn't pretty. I used to have severe stomach problems that were something like IBS symptoms. It was awful! The more I have gotten away from processed foods and started eating whole foods[^gf], the fewer symptoms I have had.

Rid your body of foreign substances! Stop ingesting artificial foods because they aren't foods at all! And read food labels carefully because they are now hiding the stuff in everything. I was surprised to learn that it's even in Pedialyte.

If you are wondering how to get your sweet fix if you can't have artificial sweeteners, the answer is: sugar, honey or maple syrup in moderation. Everything in moderation.

In my next post I will talk about cutting back on sweets, whether they be naturally or artificially sweetened. The American College of Sports Medicine believes that "You can reduce your salt and sugar intake by eating fresh fruits and vegetables, limiting the sauces and toppings you put on food, and reading the labels on prepackaged items." I tend to agree. It is possible to reduce sugar and overall caloric intake without artificial sweeteners!

[^gf]: I also switched to a gluten free diet which has helped a lot.

A Day of Food

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One of the most asked questions I receive while discussing nutrition with others is, "so, what do you eat on a daily basis?" Today I am going to answer that question for all of you.

Most days I get up and go for the coffee first. I usually have one cup of coffee with two teaspoons of sugar in it while I'm cooking and with my breakfast. Most of the time I go with the old familiar healthy staples of oatmeal (made from old fashioned rolled oats with some cinnamon and a splash of coconut milk to top it off) and scrambled eggs. Two or three hours later I will have a handful of nuts and an apple, banana or homemade granola bar. If I do a weightlifting workout, I will have a whey protein shake (a couple scoops of chocolate whey protein mixed with water) post workout. For lunch I often have tuna salad (with real mayo, brown mustard, dill and pepper) over some mixed salad greens and a sweet potato or a piece of fruit. My afternoon snack usually consists of peanut butter and rice cakes alongside my second cup of coffee with another two teaspoons of sugar. Dinner varies, but is often chicken stir fry with plenty of veggies and brown rice. And I usually have an evening snack of another piece of fruit or (more likely) a piece of chocolate or some stovetop popcorn.

Is my diet perfect? No. Could I stand to eat more veggies and drink more water? Yes. My main goal right now is cutting down on sugar and refined carbohydrates. I have a major sweet tooth that I don't want to pass to my children. I am also trying to put on a few pounds of muscle, so my protein intake is pretty high. My largest focus is eating whole foods and not many processed foods. I think I'm doing pretty well at meeting all of those goals.

You will notice that my diet is not at all low fat (whole eggs, nuts, peanut butter, mayo). I'm going to address my take on fat in my next post.