Holiday Eating

Many dieters go into weekends, holidays, and vacations with what I call the "weekend mentality" or "holiday mentality." This is where all caution is throw to the wind and the word "healthy or diet" is barely acknowledged for fear of "ruining a good time." The reality is there will always be weekends, holidays, and special occasions that will taunt us with food temptations.

You can still indulge in your favorites. You have a few choices. Simply make these days maintenance days.  Enjoy your favorites a bit but honestly moderate them. Savor them and eat them very mindfully. I still like to consider a food plan more of a lifestyle not a diet you are "on and off on". Include your treats as part of your day's allotment.

Or remember there are seven days in a week. If you have 3 events in any given week pick the events or event you want to indulge in and diet the rest of the week.

Sugar and Your Immune System

As if there aren't enough reasons for not consuming huge amounts of sugar here's one more thought that some of you may not be as aware of: It depletes your immune system.

Whether your carbohydrate intake consists of plain processed sugar or just refined carbs, too much of either affects your immune system in a negative way. Here's why. Carbohydrates simply make you body PH balance more acidic. The more acidic the body is the more bacteria and viruses love you, setting you up to get sick more readily. A lot of animal products do the same. The answer is basically eat your fruits and vegetables, especially the veggies. They are being promoted more by most health authorities anyway like the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. They are suggesting even more than the original 5 a day (although that's a great start)! They are encouraging more like 9-11 servings!

Before you say that's impossible, remember the servings of these crucial food groups are very small. A vegetable serving is 1 cup raw or a half cup of cooked. Fruits vary more in size but you can always check The Mayo Clinic's  Diabetic Exchanges for more precise amounts.

What's Really Whole Grain?

. 

Many people say they don’t care about eating sweets yet in the same breath say they love whole grain chips, whole wheat bread, energy bars, tortillas, and commercial cereals. Just note though, these carbs simply equal sugar in the long run too even if they state on the label they are whole grain products.


They are still easily broken down in the digestive process leaving the product with very little fiber and nutrient level left intact, even if they are "fortified" with synthetic vitamins. 

A real whole carbohydrate breaks down slowly. But the minute a food is processed in any way it is easily broken down causing blood sugar problems. We might call these foods complex carbohydrates but in reality food manufacturers are grinding them up so much they could still be considered refined even if a product says its 100% whole wheat. Better for us, yes, but still pretty refined, so go easy on these foods.

So what’s best then when it comes to consuming “good wholesome carbs?” Try all fresh vegetables, fruits, and beans/legumes. (Just watch your total portions if you are watching total carbohydrate intake.) They are rich in phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and fiber compared to all the other so-called 100% whole grain refined products.. These are real "whole food" carbs not food found in wrappers.

Excuses for Excess Holiday Eating

It's one thing to indulge a little during the holidays but all too often it's about using it as an all out excuse to overeat.

One of the biggest excuses I hear over and over is that the holiday foods are available only at this time of year.


Actually these foods or similar ones like it, are often available throughout the entire year. (Remember special occasions and social gatherings will always be around and with it, all kinds of  unique foods).  In fact many of the holiday foods have been around already for a few weeks or longer, and they will still be available in the weeks ahead.

There are plenty of opportunities to indulge a little with your holiday favorites and still manage your weight. It might be helpful to decide just how many times do you really need to eat something to feel like you've indulged in it. I'm not talking deprivation here, just moderation. I like to use the term "loving limits" for yourself. And guess what, I bet you'll love yourself more after all the holidays for not gaining too much weight!

Shopping as a Workout?

A few weeks ago I started talking about doing things ahead of time to avoid the extra stress of the season and  keep your weight loss still a priority during this busy time of year. Today's emhasis will show you how to stay active physically while you do your holiday shopping.

Make shopping hit the mark with 10,000 steps.Where will you be shopping and what stores are you going to hit in a specific area? It should take about 90 minutes. 90 minutes will equal approximately those 10,000 steps for health benefits. It's a lot of walking, but you will have no problem if you're distracted with shopping

Pick out  4 or 5 stops on your shopping route and put a bit  more into the walking; don't just stop in each store that is placed side by side on your list. Cross the street, take the stairs up and down to another level in the mall, walk around another block and other cars a few times. Got the idea?

Omron HJ-105 Pedometer with Calorie Counter will help you get those 10,000 steps too just to make sure and it even tracks yours calories.

Good Sugar, Bad Sugar

Is there really such a thing as "good" or "bad" sugar? Well. in a nutshell, all forms of carbohydrates eventually break down into "sugar" for our bodies to use as a fuel source. However if you think of grades of gasoline it's the same thing, some are just better than others and affect your bodies differently.

Some sugars occur naturally in food, for example the lactose in milk and fructose in fruit. Or, if you look at a yogurt container you might get really confused because depending on the the kind you pick some have only the lactose and some have added teaspoons of sugar or other suspicious ingredients. So how to do you know then? You not only read the actual label but the ingredients listed on the label to check for added sugars under the names of brown sugar, raw, or invert sugar, syrup, including corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup,  malt syrup, honey, molasses, agave nectar, evaporated cane juice, and fruit juice concentrate. Anything with an "ose" at the end of the word is a tip off too.

But getting back to the more natural forms of sugar think about a strawberry. It may have fructose but it also contains numerous other healthy nutrients and fiber. The sugars in a plain strawberry are okay in moderation, since they contain other good phytonutrients.

But if something has a label nutrition label it's important to look at the entire label including the ingredient list.

Tis the Season for Sugar

Most of us know that we are a nation of over 67% overweight along with all of its associated problems. Much of it is blamed on plain old sugar and  excessive amounts of it.

According to the American Heart Association most women should consume no more than about 6 teaspoons of added sugars a day.  Men should not exceed about 9 teaspoons of the sweet stuff. This translates to about 100 calories of added sugars for women, and about 150 calories for men.

I shutter to think that a 16-ounce (2 cups) bottle of soda has about 11 teaspoons of added sugar. It’s been estimated that the the average American consumes about 22 teaspoons of added sugars a day or about 355 calories’ worth a day. The blame seems to be coming coming from sodas and other sweetened beverages (including fruit drinks), coffee "shakes," desserts, candy, and breakfast cereals. But there's more to the story of course than just liquid calories out there called big portions!

.And how do you sort it all out when it comes to naturally occurring sugar and the added white sugar? More on this later this week.