Category: Diet & Nutrition

Pt. 3: 30 Tiny Diet Changes That Can Help You Lose Weight

Continuing with Tiny Diet Changes

Use smaller dishes or plates

 

Opt for smaller bowls instead of large dinner plates, suggests Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS, a senior bariatric psychologist at the Bellevue Center for Obesity & Weight Management. Similarly, a study in the journal Appetite found that people ate more candy when the bowl of sweets was closer to their desk. Try plating dinner away from the table instead of serving family-style to combat overeating or mindless grazing. Don’t miss these tips for getting over a weight loss plateau.

Pack your lunch the night before

Portion control is a big part of losing weight and keeping it off, according to the Mayo Clinic. Pre-packing your lunch could help. “Learn about portions and embrace the idea, not just because they help you lose weight, but because it’s great to know the right size for your own body and activity level,” Dr. Bazilian says. Portioning out your lunches also takes the guesswork out of eating out and could help you save money. These are the tips a weight loss coach won’t tell you.

Log what you eat

Keeping a food journal could help you reach your weight loss goals. Best Health reports a recent study found participants who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. Colleen Cannon, a clinical psychologist in Canada who specializes in helping people deal with the emotional side of eating, says the act of writing down what we eat helps us become more aware.

Or photograph your food

If writing down your meals seems like too big of a task, try snapping pictures instead. Visually seeing your food could highlight bad habits stalling your weight loss. Doing so also helps you pay more attention to future choices. Here are other weight loss tricks that have nothing to do with diet or exercise.

Skip foods marked “sugar-free” or “fat-free”

It might seem like swapping regular products for “sugar-free,” “fat-free,” or “diet foods” is an easy fix. But they could do more harm than good. In fact, artificial sweeteners they could even cause weight gain, according to research published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. As for fat-free foods, choosing the full-fat option will keep you fuller longer, according to Pashko. Steering clear of ravenous hunger will ensure you don’t overeat later.

Photo credit:  Whiteaster/Shutterstock

Related:  Pt. 4: 30 Tiny Diet Changes That Can Help You Lose Weight – TUTORING YOU

Pt. 2: 30 Tiny Diet Changes That Can Help You Lose Weight

Continuing with Tiny Diet Changes

Only eat in designated areas

Another tactic that helps eliminate distractions while eating is eating only in designated areas. One study even found that families who eat dinner at the kitchen table tend to have lower BMI. Sitting down at the table means you are more likely to focus, rather than be distracted and overeat.

Eat your vegetables at the beginning of the meal

Andrew James Pierce, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS, inventor of the SugarChecked app suggests prioritizing vegetables and serving them at the beginning of the meal. This ensures that nutrient-dense veggies fill you up first. Eating them could help curb your appetite before moving onto the next portion of the meal. Give these other 11 natural appetite suppressants a try.

Add a vegetable to every meal

Likewise, try including a vegetable in every meal. The combination of water and fiber will add volume without adding lots of calories. You’ll also be fuller longer making it easier to eat less. Plus, vegetables are natural sources of vital nutrients that your body needs.

Display healthy foods—and keep tempting options hidden

Keeping fruits and vegetables in your line of sight could encourage you to eat more of them—rather than other high-calorie snack options. On the other hand, research shows that when unhealthy options are in full view, hunger and cravings may increase. One study published in Health Education & Behavior specifically found that when high-calorie foods are more visible at home, the residents are more likely to weight more, compared to people who only keep a bowl of fruit out. These are the superfoods that could help you lose weight.

Eat protein in the morning to prevent nighttime sugar cravings

Consuming protein in the morning will stabilize blood sugar, Sharon Collison, RD, sports dietitian and clinical instructor at the University of Delaware says. “Make sure to have an excellent source of protein with every breakfast such as Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or two to three eggs,” she says. Eating more protein earlier in the day could also help reduce sugar cravings in the late afternoon, Collison adds.

Photo credit:  SeventyFour/Shutterstock

Related:  Pt. 3: 30 Tiny Diet Changes That Can Help You Lose Weight – TUTORING YOU

Changing your diet could add up to 13 years to your life

Changing what you eat could add up to 13 years to your life, according to a newly published study, especially if you start when you are young.

The study created a model of what might happen to a man or woman’s longevity if they replaced a “typical Western diet” focused on red meat and processed foods with an “optimized diet” focused on eating less red and processed meat and more fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts.

If a woman began eating optimally at age 20, she could increase her lifespan by just over 10 years, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine. A man eating the healthier diet from age 20 could add 13 years to his life.

Focusing on a healthier diet could also lengthen the lives of older adults, the study said. By starting at age 60, a woman could still increase her lifespan by eight years. Men starting a healthier diet at age 60 might add nearly nine years to their lives.

A plant-based eating style could even benefit 80-year-olds, the study said: Men and women could gain about 3.5 years of extra life from dietary changes.

A model of longer life

To model the future impact of a person’s change of diet, researchers from Norway used existing meta-analyses and data from the Global Burden of Disease study, a database that tracks 286 causes of death, 369 diseases and injuries, and 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories around the world.

The largest gains in longevity were found from eating more legumes, which include beans, peas and lentils; whole grains, which are the entire seed of a plant; and nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pecans and pistachios, the study found.

It may sound simple to add more plants and grains to your diet, but statistics show that Americans struggle to do so. A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found few Americans eat close to their daily recommendations of fruits and vegetables.

The CDC study found that only 12% of adults consume 1½ to 2 cups of fruit each day, which is the amount recommended by the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Only 10% of Americans eat the recommended 2 to 3 cups of vegetables each day, including legumes.

About 50% of grain consumption should be whole grains, yet over 95% of Americans fail to meet that goal, according to the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans, instead eating processed grains, which have been milled to remove the grain, bran and many nutrients, including fiber.

Nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains contain more than just protein. They include healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidant “phytochemicals” that have been associated with lower risk of chronic diseases.

Red and processed meats

Eating less red and processed meat such as bacon, sausage and preserved deli meats was also linked to longer life.

That makes good sense: Red and processed meats have been linked to significant health risks, including coronary heart disease and bowel cancer.

Replacing red and processed meats with lean poultry, fish and plant proteins is one way to improve a diet quickly, experts say.

Plant proteins include soybeans (edamame), chickpeas, lentils and other legumes, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, and whole grains like quinoa. Some vegetables, like broccoli, also contain higher levels of protein.

A 2020 study which tracked more than 37,000 middle-aged Americans found those who ate the most plant protein were 27% less likely to die of any cause and 29% less likely to die of coronary heart disease than people who ate the least amount of plant protein.

How to improve your diet

One way to incorporate more plants into your diet and consume less red meat is with the Mediterranean diet, which has won best diet five years in a row, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Tied for silver was the DASH diet, which stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension, and the Flexitarian diet, which encourages being a vegetarian most of the time. All of these diets focus on meals full of fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

An easy way to start eating the Mediterranean way is to cook one meal each week based on beans, whole grains and vegetables, using herbs and spices to add punch. When one night a week is a breeze, add two, and build from there.

Article By Sandee LaMotte, CNN Photo by © Adobe Stock

Why Dietitians Love Zoodles with Meat and Grain Sauce

Zucchini noodles called zoodles

This nutrient-packed dinner idea comes from Jenna Volpe, RDN, an Austin-based registered dietitian. She recommends swapping out traditional pasta noodles for noodles made from zucchini as a way to sneak in more veggies.

And no pasta dish is complete without a hearty sauce, so Volpe recommends whipping up a tomato-based sauce packed with protein-rich ground turkey and complex carbohydrate-rich quinoa.

How to Make This Meal

This meal comes together in three simple steps, and there are plenty of shortcuts (like using store-bought sauce and zoodles) that’ll help speed up your prep time.

  1. Use a vegetable spiralizer to make your own zoodles or buy them pre-cut. You can either enjoy them raw or warm them up.
  2. Combine tomatoes, cooked ground turkey and cooked quinoa for the sauce. You can make a batch of homemade sauce or purchase a store-bought spaghetti sauce, such as Rao’s.
  3. Combine zoodles and sauce together and serve.

1. It’s High in Protein

2. It’s a Good Source of Vegetables

3. It’s Lower in Saturated Fat

4. It’s Rich in Dietary Fiber

This meal puts vegetables at the center of the plate in an appetizing way, that this recipe is also customizable. If you enjoy regular spaghetti noodles, you can use those instead of zoodles — just up the veggies in other ways. Alternatively, you can swap out noodles for whole-grain pasta, which is typically high in fiber and other nutrients.

You likely already have a jar of spaghetti sauce on hand, so pick up some zucchini, ground turkey and quinoa on your next grocery run to make this wholesome dinner.

Source: livestrong.com©

Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

What Happens to Your Body When You Go Keto

As with any diet shift, putting your body through a keto regimen has pros and cons. Here’s what you need to know about what happens to your body when you go keto.

  1. You may experience the keto flu.
  2. You may experience the ‘whoosh.’
  3. You may lose weight easily.
  4. You won’t get ‘hangry’ anymore.
  5. You’ll decrease inflammation.
  6. You could experience hydration or kidney issues.
  7. You may have gut issues.

 There are various levels of strictness but generally speaking, when you go keto you switch your body from getting energy from carbohydrates to sourcing energy from fat.

Source: eatthis.com©

If You are Craving some Foods, Eat these Instead

Food cravings are the dieter’s worst enemy. These are intense or uncontrollable desires for specific foods, stronger than normal hunger.

The types of foods that people crave are highly variable, but these are often processed junk foods that are high in sugar. Cravings are one of the biggest reasons why people have problems losing weight and keeping it off.

Try this first: Drink some water.

Thirst is often confused with hunger or food cravings.

If you feel a sudden urge for a specific food, try drinking a large glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that the craving fades away, because your body was actually just thirsty.

However, if the craving persists, then call on the suggestions in the chart below.

Food cravings aren’t bad; how you respond to them may make a difference. Giving in to cravings may lead to overeating and consuming more calories than your body needs. This can contribute to weight gain and other health issues.

However, completely ignoring food cravings or trying to suppress them can also be harmful. This may cause feelings of deprivation and ultimately lead to binge eating or unhealthy restrictive behaviors around food.

Believing that your cravings are bad may also create a negative attitude toward food and eating, which can further impact your relationship with food. It’s okay to eat the foods you crave. If you feel as if your cravings are excessive or out of control, take a look at your overall diet and make sure it isn’t too restrictive and that you’re eating enough. Talk to your healthcare provider about your concerns.

Source: Angie Barnett (Pinterest); healthline.com; betterme.world

Photo credit: evucenter.com

Weight loss: Gain control of emotional eating

 

Find out how emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts and get tips to get control of your eating habits.

Sometimes the strongest food cravings hit when you’re at your weakest point emotionally. You may turn to food for comfort — consciously or unconsciously — when facing a difficult problem, feeling stressed or even feeling bored.

Emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts. It often leads to eating too much — especially too much of high-calorie, sweet and fatty foods. The good news is that if you’re prone to emotional eating, you can take steps to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track with your weight-loss goals.

How the mood-food-weight loss cycle works

Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Major life events or, more commonly, the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts. These triggers might include:

  • Relationship conflicts
  • Work or other stressors
  • Fatigue
  • Financial pressures
  • Health problems

Although some people eat less in the face of strong emotions, if you’re in emotional distress you might turn to impulsive or binge eating, quickly consuming whatever’s convenient without enjoyment.

In fact, your emotions can become so tied to your eating habits that you automatically reach for a treat whenever you’re angry or stressed without thinking about what you’re doing.

Food also serves as a distraction. If you’re worried about an upcoming event or stewing over a conflict, for instance, you may focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the painful situation.

Whatever emotions drive you to overeat, the end result is often the same. The effect is temporary, the emotions return and you likely then bear the additional burden of guilt about setting back your weight-loss goal. This can also lead to an unhealthy cycle — your emotions trigger you to overeat, you beat yourself up for getting off your weight-loss track, you feel bad and you overeat again.

How do you get back on track?

When negative emotions threaten to trigger emotional eating, you can take steps to control cravings. To help stop emotional eating, try these tips:

  • Keep a food diary. Write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you’re feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you might see patterns that reveal the connection between mood and food.
  • Tame your stress. If stress contributes to your emotional eating, try a stress management technique, such as yoga, meditation or deep breathing.
  • Have a hunger reality check. Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate just a few hours ago and don’t have a rumbling stomach, you’re probably not hungry. Give the craving time to pass.
  • Get support. You’re more likely to give in to emotional eating if you lack a good support network. Lean on family and friends or consider joining a support group.
  • Fight boredom. Instead of snacking when you’re not hungry, distract yourself and substitute a healthier behavior. Take a walk, watch a movie, play with your cat, listen to music, read, surf the internet or call a friend.
  • Take away temptation. Don’t keep hard-to-resist comfort foods in your home. And if you feel angry or blue, postpone your trip to the grocery store until you have your emotions in check.
  • Don’t deprive yourself. When trying to lose weight, you might limit calories too much, eat the same foods repeatedly and banish treats. This may just serve to increase your food cravings, especially in response to emotions. Eat satisfying amounts of healthier foods, enjoy an occasional treat and get plenty of variety to help curb cravings.
  • Snack healthy. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a healthy snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with low-fat dip, nuts or unbuttered popcorn. Or try lower calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving.
  • Learn from setbacks. If you have an episode of emotional eating, forgive yourself and start fresh the next day. Try to learn from the experience and make a plan for how you can prevent it in the future. Focus on the positive changes you’re making in your eating habits and give yourself credit for making changes that’ll lead to better health.

When to seek professional help

If you’ve tried self-help options but you still can’t control emotional eating, consider therapy with a mental health professional. Therapy can help you understand why you eat emotionally and learn coping skills. Therapy can also help you discover whether you have an eating disorder, which can be connected to emotional eating.

Source: mayoclinic.org

Photo credit: lifecanyon.com

A Trainer Told Reghan to Make These 2 Changes, and They Helped Her Lose 80 Pounds

 

Reghan on Starting Her Weight-Loss Journey

Reghan told POPSUGAR that her weight-loss journey began when she was 18 years old. She was tired of not fitting into cute clothes and never having a date, and she expressed that she felt down about her appearance. As she’s gotten older, her reasoning has changed. Today, at age 34, Reghan wants to be strong, confident, and healthy and set a good example for her children.

Reghan on How Much Weight She’s Lost to Date

During her two pregnancies, Reghan gained weight. After the birth of her second child in 2014, Reghan weighed 230 pounds and was ready to lose weight and get into shape. “I started eating more clean foods and really getting into exercise,” she said. After consistently working out for a few months, Reghan lost 20 pounds. Two years later, she had lost a total of 80 pounds.

How She Lost the Weight

Shortly after giving birth to her second child, Reghan decided it was time to get back in the gym and took up kickboxing. In that class, she became friends with a few women, and they introduced her to weightlifting. “I followed along with them, and that’s how I found my love for weightlifting,” she said.

In 2015, she was introduced to a trainer, who created a clean eating plan and workout schedule for her to follow. “I started seeing results with the eating plan paired with the workouts, and I was feeling so good,” she said. Now that she’s lost the weight, she likes to mix up her workouts and incorporate different styles of training — like kickboxing, running, and barre — into her weekly routine.

A Peek at What Reghan Eats in a Day

Here’s a typical day of eating for Reghan:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup of oatmeal (made with egg whites) topped with blueberries and cinnamon. A coffee with a splash of milk.
Lunch: A salad full of vegetables topped with chicken, turkey, or tuna. 1/2 cup of sweet potatoes, brown rice, or quinoa.
Snack: An apple with almond butter.
Dinner: Roasted or steamed vegetables with a lean protein like chicken, shrimp, or beef.
Dessert: Two squares of dark chocolate.

Reghan works out four to five times a week, and on the days that she trains, she will have a protein shake, a protein bar, or an extra snack like vegetables with hummus.

Reghan on Challenges, Nonscale Victories, and Her Advice for Others

Initially, meal prepping was extremely difficult, but once she made it a habit, Reghan found that it helped her make healthier choices throughout her day. Feeling strong, having more confidence, and being able to fit into cute, stylish clothing are just a few of her nonscale victories.

For those beginning their own weight-loss journey, Reghan said to never give up and be consistent. “One bad day or weekend won’t stop your weight-loss progress, but giving up will!”

Source: popsugar.com/fitness/

Related:  

What Happens To Your Body When You Snack All Day

With more time spent at home over the past year, you may be finding yourself back and forth to the kitchen throughout the day. You may not even realize how frequently you’re popping in for that mid-morning snack or afternoon pick-me-up, not to mention, if you’re opening up the pantry once again late at night to continue snacking. While enjoying snacks throughout the day may seem harmless (and seems to be feeding your hungry body), having a snack all day actually isn’t doing your body any favors.

According to Mintel, 94% of Americans are snacking at least once per day, and that number is on the rise. So, when you open your pantry looking for a bag of chips to hold you over until your next meal, know that you’re not alone. However, it’s essential to understand exactly what is happening to your body when you’re constantly snacking all day, instead of simply enjoying a single snack or forming healthy snacking habits.

Here are some of the negative effects of snacking all day has on your body.

1. You’ll have a higher caloric intake.

Naturally, by eating more food throughout the day, you’re going to be consuming a higher amount of calories. And by eating more calories than your body actually needs, you’ll likely gain weight.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to give up snacking for good. In fact, numerous nutritionists actually say it’s good to enjoy a snack during your day—especially during that long stretch between lunch and dinner. It’s important to fuel your body when it’s hungry, instead of mindlessly snacking on empty calories that aren’t actually going to make you feel full. It’s important to make your snack a mini well-balanced meal, given that it’s the Only Way To Snack and Lose Weight, Say Experts.

2. Your body could be in a constantly inflamed state, which negatively affects your immune system.

When’s the last time you’ve thought about your immune system while having a bite of chips and guacamole? It turns out that snacking could actually be giving your immune system a major problem. Now more than ever we have become a snacking culture, eating semi-constantly throughout the day. Smartphone app data shows, not only are we eating on irregular schedules, but we’re spending 16 hours a day in a so-called “fed” state. This state is one that prompts immune system activity, as triggers the production of transient inflammatory response. Even though this is normal and perfectly healthy when eating just three meals a day, if you’re one to snack, you could be putting your body in a near-constant state of inflammation and stress on your immune system.

Instead, choose a time to enjoy one of your favorite snacks during the day—like one of these healthy snacks you can buy—so you feel fed without constantly keeping your body in that “fed” state throughout the day.

3. You’ll probably gain weight.

Even if you think you’re eating smaller meals due to snacking more throughout the day, odds are they’re not small enough to maintain your weight. Higher daily calorie intake, mentioned earlier, quickly turns into more weight gained. Weight gain will happen even faster if the snacks you are consuming are large or packed with protein. Research from BBC News found that the average American is taking in about 600 more calories than they were in the 1970s. That’s a drastic increase that is likely responsible for the widespread obesity throughout the United States.

Instead, the key to having a healthy snack is making sure to incorporate complex carbs, healthy fats, and fiber. This will ensure that your snack for the day is actually a filling meal instead of constantly feeling hungry and reaching into the chip bowl. A few easy examples of snacks that include these three key nutrients include an apple with peanut butter, Greek yogurt with berries, hummus and carrots, or whole-grain crackers with slices of cheese.

4. You could develop tooth decay.

As you could imagine, eating more frequently throughout the day, while sticking to the average teeth brushing schedule of once in the morning and once before bed, leaves plenty of time for bacteria from plaque to begin decaying your teeth. The worst snack food culprits that feed into this damaging bacteria are anything sugary or full of carbohydrates—chips, granola bars, candy, we’re looking at you. The more you snack throughout the day without brushing your teeth directly after, the more likely it is that you’ll have tooth decay.

5. It can prevent overeating at mealtimes.

The one significant positive we’ve found on snacking throughout the day is that it can prevent overeating at mealtimes, especially if your meals typically tend to be more spaced out leaving you feeling ravenous by the time your next meal rolls around. According to Healthline, this feeling could lead to eating more than you typically would and also making more unhealthy choices, which will ultimately result in significant weight gain. Thus, a small snack (or two) throughout the day, especially if they’re healthy snacks, could help to keep your extreme hunger under control.

6. You’ll have an increased risk of heart disease.

If you’re usually going for cookies, candy, chips, or pretzels when snack time rolls around, you could be increasing your risk of heart disease. The reason for that is these processed foods are all incredibly low in nutritional value and are also packed with refined sugars. The conditions that come with consuming these unhealthy snack foods can quickly lead to an increased risk of heart disease, especially, as noted by the American Heart Association, when eaten by an individual who is overweight.

Instead, ditch the processed foods and look for whole, real ingredients to snack on that are full of those nutrients that help you to feel full.

Article written by Rachel Linder for EatThis,NotThat©