I worked with the local folks at Let's Dish to help makeover a family dinner's mealtime. My job was to focus on helping the kids make it to dinner with healthy snacks that wouldn't spoil their appetite. It was such a fun project working with everyone at Let's Dish and with the family. Check it out!
http://www.wusa9.com/video/default.aspx?aid=80065&storyid=91493
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Snacking: Why you should be doing it
Does any of this ring a bell? You just realized it’s been 7 hours since you’ve eaten anything so you hit up the vending machine for a snack. Or you just got home and you need to make dinner but you are so hungry that you can’t wait so you reach into the pantry and pull out the saltiest, fattiest snacks because it’s the only thing that sounds good. Or you are on a road trip and realize you didn’t plan accordingly and your kids are starving. So you swing by McDonald’s because it’s cheap and easy. If any of this sounds even somewhat familiar to you, then it’s time to makeover your snacking!
Snacking is essential to your eating pattern because it helps regulate your appetite and prevent overeating of unhealthy foods. If we didn’t snack, we’d be left with only 3 times to eat a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don’t know about you but I love food and I love to eat. Eating only 3 times a day doesn’t cut it for me! Strategically placing snacks in between meals helps control hunger and regulate your metabolism. Snacking also provides your body energy to keep up with your busy schedule and it keeps your mind sharp and focused. From a weight management perspective, snacking is essential to regulate calorie intake throughout the day. If you are left with only 3 times to eat, those meals will be very large. Your dinner meal would typically be the largest of the three because it would come at the end of the day. By snacking, your portions at meals will go down because you won’t be as hungry. You also have a tendency to eat better. If you let yourself get too hungry, then you’ll crave high fat, high sugar, high salt, and overall high calorie foods. Your body needs food NOW! Don’t let yourself get to that point! Snacking gives you some extra time at meals to determine what to eat which means smarter choices.
There is a positive psychological effect that results from snacking. If you know you will be able to eat every 3 hours or so, don’t you think you’ll typically eat less in general at any given time? Otherwise, if you don’t eat regularly, then you’ll overeat because you won’t know when you’ll get to eat again. Snacking allows you to not feel restricted even if you are trying to watch your calories.
So when should snacking occur? Ideally, you should try to eat every 3 to 4 hours. For some people, that means eating a snack between breakfast and lunch and then again between lunch and dinner. Sometimes breakfast and lunch are close enough that no snack is needed. So you need to look at your own schedule and figure out if it would be beneficial to throw a snack in there. Snacks aren’t designed to be large from a portion or calorie perspective. They should be less than 150 calories (maybe more depending on your exercise level and your weight goals). Usually fruit and vegetables with a few nuts or a scoop of peanut butter meet those requirements.
There are lots of options for healthy snacks! If you aren’t sure if you need a snack or if you think you need to come up with some new and healthier snack options, talk with your dietitian. Happy snacking!
Snacking is essential to your eating pattern because it helps regulate your appetite and prevent overeating of unhealthy foods. If we didn’t snack, we’d be left with only 3 times to eat a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don’t know about you but I love food and I love to eat. Eating only 3 times a day doesn’t cut it for me! Strategically placing snacks in between meals helps control hunger and regulate your metabolism. Snacking also provides your body energy to keep up with your busy schedule and it keeps your mind sharp and focused. From a weight management perspective, snacking is essential to regulate calorie intake throughout the day. If you are left with only 3 times to eat, those meals will be very large. Your dinner meal would typically be the largest of the three because it would come at the end of the day. By snacking, your portions at meals will go down because you won’t be as hungry. You also have a tendency to eat better. If you let yourself get too hungry, then you’ll crave high fat, high sugar, high salt, and overall high calorie foods. Your body needs food NOW! Don’t let yourself get to that point! Snacking gives you some extra time at meals to determine what to eat which means smarter choices.
There is a positive psychological effect that results from snacking. If you know you will be able to eat every 3 hours or so, don’t you think you’ll typically eat less in general at any given time? Otherwise, if you don’t eat regularly, then you’ll overeat because you won’t know when you’ll get to eat again. Snacking allows you to not feel restricted even if you are trying to watch your calories.
So when should snacking occur? Ideally, you should try to eat every 3 to 4 hours. For some people, that means eating a snack between breakfast and lunch and then again between lunch and dinner. Sometimes breakfast and lunch are close enough that no snack is needed. So you need to look at your own schedule and figure out if it would be beneficial to throw a snack in there. Snacks aren’t designed to be large from a portion or calorie perspective. They should be less than 150 calories (maybe more depending on your exercise level and your weight goals). Usually fruit and vegetables with a few nuts or a scoop of peanut butter meet those requirements.
There are lots of options for healthy snacks! If you aren’t sure if you need a snack or if you think you need to come up with some new and healthier snack options, talk with your dietitian. Happy snacking!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The importance of making sure the information you read or hear is valid
If you listened to everything you heard or read about related to nutrition and diet, then you'd probably be doing some pretty wacky things! This past Sunday, Good Morning America aired a segment featuring a "nutritionist" named Kimberly Snyder from NY. She presented a lot of misinformation yet she is a practicing nutritionist. NY doesn't have licensure laws so anyone can claim themselves as a nutritionist and therefore disspell nutrition information. The problem with that is that you don't always know where the practitioner got their training and the extent of that training.
Anyway, below is a summary of what Kimberly said.
1. Don't eat protein bars!! She said that protein bars contain soy protein isolate which is a processed and genetically modified ingredient and it can suppress thyroid function (she gave no research to support that statement and did not specify if it was specific to certain populations). Instead she wants people to eat a whole avocado a day. Yikes! Avocados, per Kimberly, have non-clogging fat. Even if avocados have heart-healthy fat, it's still fat. If you ate an entire avocado, you would be consuming over 300 calories and almost 30 grams of fat which is about half your day's requirement.
2. Fruit snacks make kids moody and hungry. Ummm, ok. I have to admit that I give my 1 year old fruit snacks and they in no way make him moody or hungry. Instead of fruit snacks she wants kids to have almond butter sandwiches. She claims almond butter has less sugar than peanut butter. Well, not if both are all natural. The sugar content is the same!
3. Don't drink diet soda. It has a high glycemic index which means it'll spike your blood sugar. The last time I checked, diet soda contained artificial sweetener which means there is no sugar in it which means it can't spike your blood sugar. Now there is some talk about diet soda and the insulin response but that's a whole different issue which she didn't address....thank goodness!
4. Don't eat fruit after dinner because it sits on top of heavier food and will "back you up". What???? That's news to me. Never learned about that one in any of my physiology or nutrition classes.
Take home message from all of this?? Make sure you know where your information is coming from. There is a huge difference between a nutritionist and dietitian. If you hear something that you find interesting, research it yourself. Understand who said it first and what that person's training involved. Otherwise, like I said earlier, you could be doing some wacky things!
Anyway, below is a summary of what Kimberly said.
1. Don't eat protein bars!! She said that protein bars contain soy protein isolate which is a processed and genetically modified ingredient and it can suppress thyroid function (she gave no research to support that statement and did not specify if it was specific to certain populations). Instead she wants people to eat a whole avocado a day. Yikes! Avocados, per Kimberly, have non-clogging fat. Even if avocados have heart-healthy fat, it's still fat. If you ate an entire avocado, you would be consuming over 300 calories and almost 30 grams of fat which is about half your day's requirement.
2. Fruit snacks make kids moody and hungry. Ummm, ok. I have to admit that I give my 1 year old fruit snacks and they in no way make him moody or hungry. Instead of fruit snacks she wants kids to have almond butter sandwiches. She claims almond butter has less sugar than peanut butter. Well, not if both are all natural. The sugar content is the same!
3. Don't drink diet soda. It has a high glycemic index which means it'll spike your blood sugar. The last time I checked, diet soda contained artificial sweetener which means there is no sugar in it which means it can't spike your blood sugar. Now there is some talk about diet soda and the insulin response but that's a whole different issue which she didn't address....thank goodness!
4. Don't eat fruit after dinner because it sits on top of heavier food and will "back you up". What???? That's news to me. Never learned about that one in any of my physiology or nutrition classes.
Take home message from all of this?? Make sure you know where your information is coming from. There is a huge difference between a nutritionist and dietitian. If you hear something that you find interesting, research it yourself. Understand who said it first and what that person's training involved. Otherwise, like I said earlier, you could be doing some wacky things!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
I'm terrible at this!
So it's evident that I'm not so good with blogging. I kept thinking in the back of my mind "you need to do a new blog" but it never happened and now it's been almost 2 months! Lesson learned....if you really want to do something, you need to write it down, commit to it, and make it happen! This carries over into any goal you have whether it's nutrition, exercise, or behavior related. If it's important to you and you feel strongly about following through, then make it happen! If you keep forgetting or the goal isn't at the forefront of your mind, how can you change that? Write it on post-it notes, set it as a reminder in your cellphone, or put it as a daily appointment in your email calendar. Surround yourself with reminders of this goal. That's my plan :)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Greek yogurt
Yummm!! My new favorite snack is the Greek yogurt varieties now on the market, such as Chobani and Oikos. They are not as sweet and have more of a sour taste to them. They are also extremely filling despite being the same serving size as the traditional yogurts. Greek yogurts have more protein (about double) than traditional yogurts and more cultures of probiotics. Probiotics are so good for you as they improve gut health and boost your immune system. So if you have heard of them or tasted them yet, they try them out!! You can find them at most grocery stores. Happy snacking!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Best post-workout snack
The workout itself is great for your body. It gets your metabolism revved up, it burns calories, it trains your muscles to become more efficient, and it makes you feel good. However the post-workout snack is almost as important as the workout itself. If you throw all good eating habits out the window and reward yourself with a snack that defies sound nutrition principles, then you probably just negated many of the good benefits your workout provided you. Your muscles worked hard and they need proper nutrition to repair and grow stronger. However there is a little wiggle room. Let me explain.
When you exercise, your body pulls glycogen from the muscles. Glycogen is your body's storage form of glucose or sugar, which is the primary fuel for exercise depending on the type and the intensity level. If you workout at a higher intensity or are involved in anaerobic exercise (short, powerful bursts of energy such as strength training or certain sports), then your body primarily uses glycogen for energy. If you are involved in low or moderate intensity exercise, your body will use fat along with glycogen for energy. Once you are done exercising, you must replete the glycogen. If you don't, you won't have enough energy to do your next workout or the one after that. Or maybe you will but your performance will be less than ideal and you won't last as long as you might usually do. So bottom line, you must replete that glycogen!
You have a window of opportunity to replete glycogen and ideally it's within 30 minutes. Within that 30 minutes when you finish exercising, you should have a snack that is comprised of carbohydrate and protein. Ideally you don't want carbohydrate that is full of fiber because fiber slows digestion. You actually want the carbs to be digested rather quickly so they get to your muscles. Protein is important to include as it helps your body digest the carbs and it allows your muscles to absorb the glucose for storage.
A client of mine came to me with 2 goals. She told me that she wanted to win races (she's a triathlete) and she wanted to lose some weight. One catch though....she wanted to keep her Starbucks skim caramel macchiato in her diet. When it comes to weight loss, that might be something that would need to be cut out more frequently than she would have liked. However because she already exercises regularly, I encouraged her that the ideal time to include the Starbucks coffee would be right after her workouts. It includes carbohydrate from the syrup and protein from the milk. Of course there are other snacks that are of better quality nutrition however keeping this coffee in her diet is extremely important to her. So we made it work to her benefit. If you like to eat foods that contain a lot of simple sugar, the best time to do that would be after a workout. You still need to control the portion size however make consumption of these foods work to your advantage. For example, if you like to eat chocolate, have 1 or 2 small pieces along with some milk as your post workout snack.
A few other suggestions for snacks include: a glass of chocolate milk, cottage cheese and fruit, a cup of yogurt, a toasted bagel with slices of cheese on top, a sandwich with turkey and cheese, or a piece of fruit and a glass of milk. Of course these are just a few suggestions. Think about what you like to eat and be sure to get a combination of carbohydrate and protein after your workouts to reward your muscles for their hard work. You'll notice the difference in your strength and muscle tone for eating a proper snack after exercising.
When you exercise, your body pulls glycogen from the muscles. Glycogen is your body's storage form of glucose or sugar, which is the primary fuel for exercise depending on the type and the intensity level. If you workout at a higher intensity or are involved in anaerobic exercise (short, powerful bursts of energy such as strength training or certain sports), then your body primarily uses glycogen for energy. If you are involved in low or moderate intensity exercise, your body will use fat along with glycogen for energy. Once you are done exercising, you must replete the glycogen. If you don't, you won't have enough energy to do your next workout or the one after that. Or maybe you will but your performance will be less than ideal and you won't last as long as you might usually do. So bottom line, you must replete that glycogen!
You have a window of opportunity to replete glycogen and ideally it's within 30 minutes. Within that 30 minutes when you finish exercising, you should have a snack that is comprised of carbohydrate and protein. Ideally you don't want carbohydrate that is full of fiber because fiber slows digestion. You actually want the carbs to be digested rather quickly so they get to your muscles. Protein is important to include as it helps your body digest the carbs and it allows your muscles to absorb the glucose for storage.
A client of mine came to me with 2 goals. She told me that she wanted to win races (she's a triathlete) and she wanted to lose some weight. One catch though....she wanted to keep her Starbucks skim caramel macchiato in her diet. When it comes to weight loss, that might be something that would need to be cut out more frequently than she would have liked. However because she already exercises regularly, I encouraged her that the ideal time to include the Starbucks coffee would be right after her workouts. It includes carbohydrate from the syrup and protein from the milk. Of course there are other snacks that are of better quality nutrition however keeping this coffee in her diet is extremely important to her. So we made it work to her benefit. If you like to eat foods that contain a lot of simple sugar, the best time to do that would be after a workout. You still need to control the portion size however make consumption of these foods work to your advantage. For example, if you like to eat chocolate, have 1 or 2 small pieces along with some milk as your post workout snack.
A few other suggestions for snacks include: a glass of chocolate milk, cottage cheese and fruit, a cup of yogurt, a toasted bagel with slices of cheese on top, a sandwich with turkey and cheese, or a piece of fruit and a glass of milk. Of course these are just a few suggestions. Think about what you like to eat and be sure to get a combination of carbohydrate and protein after your workouts to reward your muscles for their hard work. You'll notice the difference in your strength and muscle tone for eating a proper snack after exercising.
Friday, May 29, 2009
My goal for you
Hello! Thanks for checking out my blog! I'm new to blogging but after much thought I decided to take the time to start my own blog. You can read about me and my practice in my profile. My goal with this blog is to bring nutrition information to you in a way that you can actually understand it!! It's so hard to figure out what's right, what's not, will this hurt me, what will help me, etc. I also hope to present real life scenarios and problem solving about eating healthy and maintaining healthy behaviors to you by my life and the way I eat but also through my friends, family, and clients...anonymously of course. :) If you have a suggestion for a blog topic, please let me know!
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