Losing Weight and Feeling Great

Archive for July, 2008

I did a post about how fast food equals fat food a few weeks ago (read it here).  Now here’s part 2 of why eating out in a restaurant can be killing your diet…even if you think you’re ordering a healthy meal.

There was a book that came out in December 2007 called Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding.  It was a surprising look into what the restaurant industry doesn’t really want you to know, as far as the health of their meals.  Fast food isn’t the only kind of “fat food” out there!

 Low Fat?  Check the Calories!

Well, looks like a restaurant popular in my neck of the woods has gotten burned by their “low fat” dinners.  Applebee’s was promoting its low fat meals on its menu.  Sure, there wasn’t much in the way of fat, but calories?  That’s a whole ‘nother subject!   Diners who were thinking they were getting a healthy meal got served up quite a few calories and carbs in those dinners.  (And apparently the restaurant has removed them from their menus.)

What About High Fat and High Calories?

Then there’s a place like IHOP (of breakfast fame) that sells omlettes that provide more than enough calories, fat, etc. in one meal than you need in a day!  OK, let’s be fair; the Omlette Feast was discontinued (at a hefty 1,300+ calories), but there are still others hanging in there at 1,000 calories.  Do you really want to have eaten your whole day’s worth of food by 9 AM?

What’s in Your Smoothie?

Ah, fruit smoothies!  And when made with yogurt, a healthy meal, right?

Well, not if you’re slurping down that smoothie at Dunkin’ Donuts.   The fruit puree used in the fruit and yogurt smoothie is full of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) — really bad for your blood sugar!  How do you feel about dumping 60 grams of sugary carbs into your body?  (And that’s just the medium size.)

Is There Any Hope?

Well….not much, at any rate.  Salad bars are great if you steer towards the fresh veggies and away from the goodies like cole slaw, ambrosia, potato salad and the like.  Don’t forget to bring your own salad dressing; no guarantee what’s actually in that “low calorie” offering — not to mention the size of those ladles!

I encourage you to read the article where I got this info.  Think about it.  Now I’m not saying to never go out to eat — a meal out every now and then is so nice!  But you do need to be aware of what’s on the menu.  Low fat doesn’t mean low calories, and a “healthy” meal may send your blood sugar skyrocketing.

And just because you aren’t aware of the calories dosn’t mean that they aren’t there!

I saw an interesting article on the obese American the other day.  The article makes the prediction that if we continue as we are, 86% of all adult Americans will be overweight or obese by the year 2030.

Before that, by 2022, 80% of Americans will be at the very least overweight (if not obese).

So, what is the definition of overweight and obese?  A body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more.  Overweight is considered at between 25 and 29.9 BMI.  Just as an example, a woman 5 foot 6 inches tall weighing 186 pounds has a BMI of 30.  (Naturally that can vary somewhat, depending on how muscular you are, but any way you look at it — at the very least you’re likely overweight at that weight and height.)

Want to calculate your BMI?

The Obese American — The Study

These figures come from a study published by the journal, Obesity, which was published online July 24 of this year.

The study was authored in part by Lan Liang, Ph.D., with the federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and was led by Youfa Wang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of International Health and Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

OK, credentials aside, are we doomed to be a nation of fat people?  What are some of the other numbers the study came up with?

In the Year 2048…

The possibility that 100% of Americans will be overweight or obese.  Now, researchers’ credentials aside, I find that extremely hard to believe.  There will always be people who are a normal weight, or underweight.  So the credibility of that number is far-fetched, to say the least.

But, could the 86% by 2030 be correct?  Hard to tell.  If we continue with our current habits, possibly so.  But that’s an awfully big “if”.  Anything can happen between now and then — we’re talking 22 years here.

Still, it’s a hard study to swallow (puns aside).  The fact is that unless we do decide to change our ways, more and more of us will either not lose or will gain weight in the coming years.  And what’s going to be doing to our health?  If we’re not doing great right now, what’s it going to be like once we reach 60?  70?  Do we really want to be confined to a wheelchair or bed because we didn’t take care of ourselves today?

At any rate, you can read more of the article here, and decide for yourself if you will be an obese American in 2030.  Me — I don’t intend to!

It’s no secret that foods that raise blood sugar are the whites:  sugar, white bread, white rice, etc.  In fact, you’re pretty much safer staying away from anything white (cauliflower being an exception to the white rule).

But there are other foods that can raise blood sugar that aren’t white, and that may be good for you.  These can include sweet fruits like pineapple and potatoes (although potato skins are OK).  Raisins and many dried fruits also fall into that category.  Corn and peas are two other foods that can raise blood sugar more quickly than other healthy foods.

You need to be careful about yogurt.  If it’s low-fat or fat-free, there might be a great deal of sugar in that container.  Fruit on the bottom also has sugar, generally in a syrup.  Yes, yogurt can be healthy, but plain is best as far as sugar goes.  Otherwise…read labels carefully.

Foods That Raise Blood Sugar to Stay Away From

In addition to “the whites” as listed in the opening paragraph, what other foods fall into this category?

As expected, items like cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream show up in this category.  But also are chips and pretzels.  The chips and pretzels contain white flour or corn (both can raise the bloods’s sugar). 

Fruit juice can be counted among the foods that raise blood sugar — and quickly!  Part of it is that most fruit juices for sale include HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) that can send blood sugar skyrocketing.  Otherwise, juice tends not to have any pulp, present in fresh fruit — and the pulp (fiber) helps slow the release of sugar into the blood.  If you must have fruit juice, make it freshly squeezed.

Know Your Body

Some people are sensitive to wheat, even whole wheat, rye, pumpernickle, etc.  If that’s you, stay away from these as much as possible.

Others are sensitive to most fruits, due to the high fructose concentration.  If you’re ultra sensitive to fruit, eat extra veggies instead.

High blood sugar isn’t anything to laugh about, even if it’s not officially up to diabetic levels.  It can damage your body, not to mention help you gain weight (or have trouble keeping it off).  Hmmm, sounds like I’ll be needing a post on the damage high blood sugar can cause the body. 

But for now, be mindful of what you eat.  It’s perhaps unreasonable for most people to cut out high sugar foods in the cold turkey method.  But you can start gradually reducing and then eliminating the foods that raise blood sugar from your diet.

Are you struggling with how to lose weight successfully?  Do you try to be good each day, only to turn to snacks at night…and the diet goes out the window?  Or even more frustrating…you do everything you’re supposed to and the weight stays the same on the scales?

Lose Weight Successfully (Keep it Off)

Losing weight is partly in the mind — you have to be committed to your new eating plan.  And by the way, “diet” should perhaps be banned from the vocabulary.  Why?

Because when you finish losing the weight, you “go off the diet”.  But unless you’ve changed your eating habits in the meanwhile, you’ll likely go back to bad habits.  I’ll bet you’re familiar with what happens next — you gain the weight back and then some!

But if you’ve exchanged your old bad habits for nwe good ones, you are far more likely to keep the weight off.  And incidentally, that’s one reason for a slow weight loss — it gives you the time to develop new habits.

Supplements or Pills?

How to lose weight successfully — can it include supplements?  It’s a mixed answer.

Some supplementation is probably appropriate if you’re taking it for health benefits more than weight loss (even if it has somewhat of a weight loss component).  An example is a green tea extract; good for its antioxidant properties, and with a mild thermogenic effect.

On the other hand, other weight loss supplements…the answer isn’t conclusive.  Some people are helped by the supplements, others aren’t.  However one thing is universally true — no supplement will work all by itself, without following a sensible eating program.  (And exercise as well.)

A Healthy Diet to Lose Weight

Yes, you can lose weight with a fad diet.  But the question of the day is…will you keep that weight off?  Or will you need the latest fad again in a few weeks or months?

A healthy diet to lose weight is one that you can follow for life.  One that has the amounts of proteins, fats and carbohydrates for your body metabolism.

How to lose weight successfully — how to keep the weight off — depends on your commitment to change.  If you keep following your old habits, the weight will just come back.