Fitzy Bitzy: Fitness Blog – Weight Loss Blog – Trainer Blog

Today’s post is by a guest blogger, Sarah Scrafford.  Make sure to check out her information at the end of this post.  I hope you enjoy the change for today.  The tips that Sarah gives are some that we all need to be aware of, so I’m sure you’ll find them very useful to read.  Have a great day!

Guest Post:

Of course, it’s important to follow a diet and exercise regularly if you’re looking to lose weight and become fit, but it’s also important to make sure that the food you eat provides your body with the right nutrients. Nutrition is necessary for a variety of bodily functions including:

• Providing us with energy (carbohydrates and fats)
• Building and repairing cells and tissues (amino acids from proteins)
• Preventing disease and illness (fruits and vegetables rich in flavonoids and antioxidants)
• Assisting the recovery process after an illness or surgery
• Helping to remove waste and toxic matter (water and fibrous foods)

Avoiding certain kinds of food and eating more of others in the quest to lose weight is not advisable because your body is losing out on the nutrition it needs to keep you healthy and fit. Check out these nutrition tips if you’re looking to achieve your dream figure and stay in good health:

• Drink lots and lots of water, especially if you sweat a lot or exercise regularly. Water helps to keep you hydrated and removes toxins from your system. It fills your stomach so you don’t feel the pseudo hunger that drives you to snack on fatty foods. And it keeps your skin glowing with good health.
• Don’t avoid carbohydrates and fats altogether from your diet – they are your main source of energy. Eat carbs that have a low glycemic index (they don’t make your blood sugar levels spike) like whole grain bread and cereal, pasta, boiled potatoes and other tubers and the like. Stay away from sugared and fizzy drinks and other processed food like cakes and pastries.
• Fat is good in moderation. Use extra virgin oil for your sautéing needs and say no to hydrogenated and saturated fats found in junk and processed foods.
• If you must eat meat, go for the leaner cuts or stay with chicken and turkey; trim the fat that’s on the meat before you cook it.
• Include dairy products that are labeled low or zero-fat.
• Eat more of fish that contain Omega 3 fatty acids.
• Include more fruits and vegetables (the more colorful they are, the better) in your daily diet. If you must cook the veggies, boil them with just a little salt.
• Include vitamin supplements if you’re not getting them from natural sources.
• Reduce the amount of alcohol you consume (moderation is the key here as it’s high in calories that do not provide energy) and steer clear of cigarettes.
• Limit your caffeine intake, both from coffee and colas.
• Eat more nuts like walnut and almond (the unroasted and unsalted kind) and seeds like flaxseed.

Nutrition is not something that should be taken lightly – without it, your immune system becomes weak and leaves you prone to frequent illnesses. So ensure that you eat the right food, in the right amounts.

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of ekg tech salary. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

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Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to eat your fruits and vegetables because that’s what you’re supposed to do, no, I want to spend a quick moment on explaining a few of the big benefits of eating them.  Now please realize that I want to keep this short and sweet … no pun intended, so please don’t get on me if I leave out another benefit to eating them.  This isn’t supposed to be a long detailed report on how studies have shown the consumption of fruits and vegetables to cause some miraculous change in the body; my goal is to summarize a few quick benefits that I feel are some of the biggest reasons for including them in your eating plan.

First off, some of you may have heard that the sugar content in veggies, and especially fruits, is too high to bother eating them when you ‘re trying to lose weight. You may have heard of a friend who stopped eating fruit and ended up losing a few more pounds.  True, there is sugar in fruits and vegetables, but there’s also fiber, and fiber is extremely important in the diet.  Because fruits and veggies contain fiber, the sugar content they have doesn’t affect blood sugar like eating a candy bar does.  (Plus, this sugar is natural sugar, unlike the refined/added sugar in candies and sweets.)  The fiber helps slow down the breakdown and absorption of glucose in the body, and as a result, blood sugars levels don’t spike as much, and you won’t find yourself craving more sweets like you would with eating a candy bar.  Fiber is so important, especially for weight loss, because it helps flush the system of all the toxins and junk that builds up in the body.  This keeps the body healthier and more efficient in what it does.

The second reason for fruits and veggies is because of all the vitamins and minerals packed into them.  Now, of course, everybody knows this, so I’m not going to go any further but to say that fresh fruits and vegetables have more vitamins and minerals in them compared to canned, overly cooked, and those that sit out for too long.  Also, make sure you always wash your fruits and veggies because the skins absorb a lot of chemicals, and by washing them, you can help get rid of these chemicals.  But on top of that, a lot of the “good stuff” is right around the skin, so you still want to eat it.

The final point I’ll make about fruits and vegetables is their antioxidant powers.  Especially for those working out, fruits and vegetables are essential because they help fight free radicals.  Free radicals are very unstable molecules that can destroy the body; more importantly, they can cause cancer.  When we work out very hard, free radicals can form.  What antioxidants do is they sacrifice part of their molecule to neutralize the free radical.  The free radical gets what it wants, so it doesn’t have to go around destroying the body anymore.  This is one of my biggest reasons for eating fruits and vegetables, especially when I’m training for some race.  Bottom line is fruits and vegetable are essential to help fight off these free radicals.  Combine that with all the other benefits, and fruits and veggies are a must in any eating plan … exerciser or non-exerciser.

If you’re wondering how many servings you need of each, check out MyPyramid.gov.

For those of you too lazy to click the link, these are the daily recommendations (courtesy of MyPyramid.gov).  Clicking the link will explain what constitutes as a cup.

Fruit Servings

Daily recommendation*
Children		2-3 years old		1 cup
		4-8 years old		1 to 1 ½ cups
Girls		9-13 years old		1 ½ cups
		14-18 years old		1 ½ cups
Boys		9-13 years old		1 ½ cups
		14-18 years old		2 cups
Women		19-30 years old		2 cups
		31-50 years old		1 ½ cups
		51+ years old		1 ½ cups
Men		19-30 years old		2 cups
		31-50 years old		2 cups
		51+ years old		2 cups

*These amounts are appropriate for individuals who get less than 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity, beyond normal daily activities. Those who are more physically active may be able to consume more while staying within calorie needs.

Daily recommendation*
Children		2-3 years old		1 cup
		4-8 years old		1 ½ cups
Girls		9-13 years old		2 cups
		14-18 years old		2 ½ cups
Boys		9-13 years old		2 ½ cups
		14-18 years old		3 cups
Women		19-30 years old		2 ½ cups
		31-50 years old		2 ½ cups
		51+ years old		2 cups
Men		19-30 years old		3 cups
		31-50 years old		3 cups
		51+ years old		2 ½ cups

*These amounts are appropriate for individuals who get less than 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity, beyond normal daily activities. Those who are more physically active may be able to consume more while staying within calorie needs.

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I was reading through some news posts this morning, and this blog post popped up.  It has some great information for all those still wondering about low-carb eating, and it even gives you answers from a nutritionist for msn.  I highly recommend looking at it. 

Check it out!

During the summer of 2008, Kaiser Permanente released the results of a study done on whether or not food logs/food journaling have a positive effect on weight loss results.  The results of the study showed that by keeping a daily food log, participants lost twice as much weight as the participants who didn’t keep food logs.¹

Why would food logs have such a huge effect on those trying to lose weight?  Well, the reason I use food logs with my clients is because they’re such a great accountability tool.  Have you ever balanced your checkbook or mapped out your monthly spending habits?  (I’m a big “write out the finances” kind of guy, so balancing a checkbook is something that’s easy for me to relate to.)  Maybe you noticed that you were spending too much on eating out or you bought way too many do-dads this past month?  Did you really even notice these types of habits before you wrote them down on paper?  What was your reaction after you saw them written down?  For a lot of you, it was probably a big surprise.  That same triggered response is what you get when you write down your eating habits.  It’s one thing to realize what you’re eating in the moment, but to actually think about all the different things you put into your body throughout the course of a day, let alone a week, can be next to impossible to visualize, unless you write it down.

My theory with food logs is that when you see everything written down, you can see how choice after choice can add up.  Eating a handful of M&M’s on Monday afternoon might not seem too bad, but when you eat a handful of M&M’s after dinner, and then on Wednesday, and Friday, etc., you can see how those choices start to add up.  I’ve kept food logs for myself, and when using a source like CalorieKing.com to figure out how many calories, fats, carbs, proteins, etc. that I ate with each food, it really gives a great picture of what your overall eating habits are like.

Another reason why I love food logs is because I think they have a great effect on the subconscious mind.  Whether you use a personal trainer or not, having to actually write down what you eat and having it stare right back at you is like experiencing it jump off the page and bop you upside the head.  It’s not cool to write down the junk food that you eat and see it on paper every time you eat it, and it’s especially not thrilling to have to show it to someone else like a personal trainer or dietician … it’s embarrassing.  So what happens?  Well, if you’re an ethical person, instead of lying to yourself or to someone else by not writing down everything you eat, you stop eating all that nasty junk food altogether because you don’t want your pride to have to suffer anymore.  Plus, it’s no fun to realize that you’re not losing any weight, knowing a big reason why that is, and not doing anything about it.  If I’m not mistaken, most weight loss individuals want to actually succeed, and if you have something staring you in the face as obvious as poor eating choices, it takes a lot of self-control, or lack thereof, not to start eating better.

So what does a food log look like?  I set my food logs up with 6 columns.  In the first column, my clients write down what day it is.  In the second column, they write down what type of meal it is (breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack).  The third column is the portion size [1 oz., 1/2 cup, 4 tbsp, number of calories (if you know the calorie count), etc.].  The forth column is what food, drink, or flavoring it is.  I then have clients write down the time of day they eat the food, and in the final column, I use this to add up the calories for each meal eaten and any other information I might want to find out.  So for example, let’s say you eat a turkey sandwich and drink a glass of water.  You would write down something like, “Thursday, lunch, 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 1 oz. of Swiss cheese, 2 oz. of turkey breast, 1 tbsp of mayo, 1/2 oz. of iceberg lettuce, 8 fl. oz. of water”, or whatever you put on your turkey sandwich.  You want to be as detailed as possible because it’ll help you figure out exactly how many calories and nutrients you’re putting into your body.  And yes, you should even write down water too; this can help you figure out if you’re getting enough water each day (number of fluid ounces of water you should get equals half your body weight in pounds).

Example Food Log:

As you can see, food logs can be a hassle to do, but so is trying to lose weight.  Just like with the hassles of losing weight, if you want to reach your goal even faster, the hassle of being accountable to a food log is well worth the extra minutes it takes to put the pen to the paper.  (If you haven’t already figured it out, I can’t stress enough how you need to be completing a food log every week of your program.  It really does make an unbelievable difference, and it’s another one of those steps that can help separate the successful from the unsuccessful.)  If you’re not doing foods logs, start, and if you are doing food logs, keep up the great work!

One final reason why if you’re not using food logs yet, why you should be, is because food logs give you a snapshot into the future.  When it comes time for weigh-in day, if you haven’t lost any weight, or maybe you’ve lost weight, but not body fat, a food log can help you figure out why you’re getting the results you are and what your results are going to continue to look like.  If you’re working out extra hard, but still aren’t losing weight, a food log can tell you if you’re eating too many calories, or bad carbs, or bad fats, or not enough protein, etc.  If you’re losing weight, but not body fat, a food log can tell you whether or not your calorie intake is too low.

I see a food log as a roadmap to success.  You may be on the road to nowhere with your eating habits, but if you use a food log to get your bearings on where you need to be heading to arrive at your weight loss goal, you can correct things early on in your weight loss journey and get back on the road to success.  Once on that road, it’s just a matter of checking your gauges by continuing to do what’s working for you and paying attention to the signs along the way to help you avoid running into a detour or weight loss rut.  If you have to make some minor adjustments to your program, you can change up your routines, and since you have your food log in front of you, you can play around with some areas of your eating until you get back on track.  (How’s that for a comparison?)

References:

¹Cass, D. (2008, July 8). Kaiser Permanente study finds keeping a food diary doubles diet weight loss, [Press release]. Provided by Eurekalert.org. Retrieved September 4, 2008, from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/kpdo-kps062308.php

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With this being the official start to most school years across the country, one of the big themes in magazines and news shows has to be ideas for back-to-school lunches.  I remember turkey and cheese sandwiches with pretzels, an apple, a juice box, and a Ho Ho or some other Little Debbie snack being the typical lunch.  But today, some of the lunch ideas thrown out there seem extremely farfetched.

This weekend, I spent most of my time hanging out with my family on the beach.  A lot of us were just sitting there relaxing when we started talking about this one magazine article my mom had just read.  It was giving ideas for kids' lunches, but I felt they were way over the top.  Some of the ideas included salads with foods such as chick peas, red beans, cut up olives, sprinkled feta cheese, containers of vinaigrette on the side, cranberry relish on pitas, smoked salmon sandwiches with hummus or tofu, and kabobs with cherry tomatoes, pineapple, and some low-fat meat. 

Now I'm not a parent yet, but it seems to me that not only would kids be grossed out by half of this stuff, but it also seems that for a parent to prepare these lunches day in and day out, it would be very unrealistic.  For one, it’s hard enough for adults to eat this way, let alone their kids, and two, it would seem to be very expensive and time-consuming for a parent to prepare these types of lunches.  I'm not saying you should pack junk food in school lunches, I'm just wondering how the typical parent, who already has a full-time job and runs their kids around from one extracurricular activity to the next, is supposed to have the time to do this, especially with 2 or more kids.

So I want to know.  For any parents out there who pack their kids’ lunches, would you be willing to try to jazz up your kids’ lunches with the ideas that are currently being thrown out there, or does it seem next to impossible for you to do? 

If you want more ideas, either Google "back-to-school lunch ideas", watch the morning news shows, or pick up a magazine that covers this type of topic.  The ideas are everywhere right now.

Have you seen the news lately? It’s all over the place. I turned on The Today Show “today”, and they had a dietitian on there talking about how most kids’ fast-food choices are unhealthy for them. Then I’m trying to figure out what I want to write about today, and I see articles all over the Internet talking about this same topic.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest revealed that of the 1,474 kid’s fast-food options they tested, 93% of them did not meet the calorie standard of being under 430 calories. Forty-five percent were too high in saturated fat and trans fat, while 86% were too high in sodium.

Seeing these numbers, it kind of makes you feel a little sick to your stomach knowing that you could be contributing to your kids’ eating issues as they mature into adulthood. But can we really blame fast-food restaurants for the obesity epidemic sweeping through our nation’s youth? To some extent, I say yes; it is partially the fast-food industry’s fault. As of right now, the requirements of what restaurants need to make available to the public are about as mixed up as a 888-calorie milkshake, and while some cities, such as New York and San Francisco do require their restaurants to post the nutrition content of their foods on boards for people to see, most cities do not. So yes, some of the blame does fall on restaurants creating foods that they can hide the nutrition facts of, but even if they were required to make available to the public the nutrition content of their foods, how many people would actually stop and look at a nutrition chart before ordering?

The fact is, many don’t. Test it out for yourself. Go to your neighborhood McDonald’s and look for their nutrition chart. From as many as I can remember, it seems to me that McDonald’s does a good job to make their nutrition information known. And like McDonald’s, some restaurants do post their nutrition information online. Not all, but some, especially fast-food restaurants. Anyway, go into your neighborhood McDonald’s and see how many parents and non-parents actually bother to consult the nutrition chart posted on the wall before ordering. (I’ve seen them by the door or by the area where the napkins and ketchup are.) Sadly, not many do.

And that’s my point. Even though fast-food restaurants and “slow-food” restaurants can take some of the blame, the blame ultimately falls back on us. Should we really be regularly going out-to-eat or to McDonald’s or Arby’s? And on top of that, should we regularly be feeding our kids those foods? Of course not. It’s time we take responsibility for our own actions instead of trying to put the blame on someone else. No one is forcing parents to take their kids to a fast-food restaurant. Will a fast-food meal, every once in a while, cause a child to become unhealthy? No; it’s the repetitive trips to the local fast-food restaurant that will come back to haunt them.

Just like I tell my clients, it comes down to choices. You can choose to eat healthy, or you can choose to not eat healthy. You can choose to eat high-calorie foods, or you can choose to not eat high-calorie foods. You can choose to clean you plate, or you can choose to only eat half of the food that’s on your plate. You can choose to sit on the couch all day, or you can choose to get outside and exercise. It all comes down to choices. It all comes down to the decisions WE make, not what others make.

WebMD has a great article on this whole kids’ fast-food study and some healthy kids’ options at restaurants. Because as you know, there still are healthier options you can choose when eating out, kids or no kids, and just because you have a full plate in front of you doesn’t mean you have to eat it all in one sitting. It’s time to take responsibility for our own actions and the actions we teach our kids; let’s not blame this one on the fast-food industry too. … They already have enough to worry about.

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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten this question.  It’s no wonder it’s asked so much with all the conflicting reports that are out there.  One minute, coffee is good for you, the next minute it’s bad.  With weight loss, though, there’s one answer that can always be given to the question of whether or not coffee is OK to drink.

The answer is no … at least for the most part.  I was going to say it depends, but I know people get tired of those responses, so I’ll just come out and say it.  If you’re trying to lose weight, lose the coffee.

First off, there is a big difference between black coffee and Starbuck’s coffee.  For example, a Grande Carmel Macchiato, with 2% milk, gives you 240 calories and 4.5g of saturated fat.  Even the nonfat milk version still gives you 190 calories, even though the saturated fat is down to 0.5g.¹ The point is, I’ve seen so many people, who claim to be trying to lose weight, make Starbuck’s a daily habit, sometimes more than once per day!  When I used to work for a gym, I even saw some people carry Starbuck’s with them as they worked out!  So, if you’re trying to lose weight, you know that calories mean everything.  Drinking your calories is a big no-no.  Even coffee creamers can add up.  The average coffee creamer serving is around 15-20 calories.  Most people I know add two creamers with each cup of coffee, so that’s about 40 extra calories.  Say you have 2-3 cups of coffee, or more, per day; those little creamers start to add up.

Second, the caffeine in coffee isn’t conducive to weight loss.  If you remember me talking about how important water is for weight loss, you remember that caffeine is a diuretic, and although research is starting to show that it’s not as big of a diuretic as once thought, it’s still a diuretic.  This means that when the body starts to dehydrate, the kidneys start to decrease their function.  When this happens, your liver has to pick up the slack.  The liver is already your big fat metabolizer, so if it has to worry about doing the kidneys’ job too, it obviously won’t be able burn off fat as fast.  This means that more calories will be stored as fat and less excess body fat will be burned off … another bad thing when trying to lose weight.

Finally, some of you are probably saying, “But Dan, I drink black, decaffeinated coffee.”  Well, that’s definitely a lot better than other options, and to be honest, maybe the antioxidant benefits found in coffee make drinking black, decaf coffee OK.  My feeling is, you can get the benefits of antioxidants from other sources, such as fruits and vegetables, and because water is so vital to the body and fat loss, any drink that isn’t water is just preventing your body from getting the proper amount of fluid ounces of water it needs.  If you’re getting the proper amount of pure water you need in a day, that’s another story, but for the majority of people, we don’t get the proper amount of water our body needs everyday.

I know it can be extremely hard to give up coffee, so if you need to, start small.  Maybe just try giving it up for one day a week.  Once you do that, shoot for two days, etc.  The sooner you can give it up completely, and I know it won’t be easy, but the sooner you can, the sooner you can make another step in the right direction with your weight loss efforts.

References:

¹“Nutrition Information from Starbuck’s Menu”, provided by the company website, http://www.starbucks.com/retail/nutrition_info.asp, accessed July 31, 2008.

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School nutrition is such a hot topic right now because of its contribution to childhood obesity.  No longer will you find some schools with easily accessible pop machines or vending machines filled with cookies and candy.  Some schools are now offering nothing but healthy choices in their vending machines.

It’s not just the vending machines that aren’t providing healthy options for kids, some school lunches aren’t that much better.  With choices like corn dogs, pizza, hamburgers, nachos and cheese, tacos, and chili dogs, it’s no wonder childhood obesity is on the rise.  And maybe these types of foods weren’t an issue years ago, but in today’s “super-sized” society, a hamburger these days has way more calories than a hamburger of years past.

In the June 23, 2008 issue of Time, there were some very interesting articles on how times have changed with today’s kids.  Active lifestyles are down and portion sizes are up, and this trend is leading to the explosion of childhood obesity at an alarming rate.  No longer are diabetes and heart disease an adult problem.  Now kids are developing diabetes, and some are even in the early stages of heart disease.

It seems that childhood obesity is on everybody’s mind these days, and while the government has stepped in to help schools get a handle on what they’re serving their students, the problem is many schools are still failing.  In fact, according to TIME, the USDA says that less than one-third of public schools are meeting the recommended standard for how much fat and saturated fat should be in their meals served.

While some schools are doing a better job to make their lunches healthier, another problem that’s being noticed is that kids choose to neither pack a lunch or buy a lunch from the cafeteria line.  Instead, they get through the day on Mountain Dew and a bag of cookies from the vending machine.  That’s why schools are starting to crack down on vending machine use.  Some schools have gone so far as to “lock” the pop machines and vending machines during lunch time, and they don’t open them back up until after school is finished for the day.

The good news is that efforts are being made to make school meal choices healthier.  Independent School District in Spring, Texas was just awarded the honor of being the District of the Year in School Nutrition.

Independent School District was recognized for its efforts in areas such as providing many low-fat meal options for breakfast and lunch, providing fresh fruits and vegetables in the classroom, low-fat, flavored milk options, whole grain choices, and very inexpensive meals with elementary breakfasts costing $0.90 and secondary lunches costing $1.75.

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It’s my wife’s birthday today!  She would kill me if I told you how old she was, so I guess I better not.  Either way, it’s going to be a great day filled with fun and some good food …

Here’s the trick, though.  I can’t let myself eat to many sweets today.  One thing that works out for me is I don’t like cake too much, so that’s good, but I still like ice cream now and then.

Alright, so here’s a question.  How should you eat on a big day like your birthday?

This is where I think people get into trouble.  If your trying to lose weight, or maintain a healthy weight, eating some birthday cake isn’t going to cause you to blow up like a birthday balloon.  It’s when you eat cake and ice cream on your birthday, and the day after, and the day after that, and ….  You get the point.  Realize, if you’re in the middle of losing weight, it’s essential that you’re even more conscious of what you eat, but treating yourself to something that has no nutritional value whatsoever is OK from time to time.  Even though I’m a trainer, I still am consciously aware of what I eat, so today, I’ll probably have a little ice cream, but I won’t have it everyday after that.

I’m all about rewards.  If you’ve been working hard and eating right consistently for sometime now, rewarding yourself now and then with something sweet can be used as a motivator even more.

Try this.  Before each week, write out your goals for how many days you want to exercise and how many days you’re planning on eating right for the week … don’t just say 1 and 1.  Really push yourself.  I typically have my clients exercise AT LEAST 3 times per week and eat right AT LEAST 5 days per week.  After that week, if you have hit your goals, then treat yourself with a food that you love but know that you shouldn’t eat much of.  Or maybe, treat yourself with some other type of reward like a new book or movie or whatever you think is a good reward.  But guess what.  If you don’t reach your goals for the week, then you shouldn’t reward yourself!

I’ve found that setting up a rewards system like this is a great way to help with staying consistently motivated, and it helps you stick it out until your reach your ultimate goal.

Food is such a huge contributor to weight gain; my feeling is, you can work out till you’re red in the face, but if you’re eating like there’s no tomorrow, you’ll never see the scale drop a single pound.  Make sure you get your nutrition in check, but don’t be afraid to reward yourself from time to time.

On a side note, if you feel that by eating a cookie it’s going to ignite this hidden craving for cookies that you’ve always had, then without a doubt, stay away from them.  If you can eat a cookie and control yourself enough to only eat 1 or 2 for that day and no other days in the week, then by all means, don’t be afraid to let yourself live a little through your weight loss efforts.

Speaking of weight loss.  I saw today that Oklahoma City is tearing it up with their weight loss goal.  Oklahoma City has consistently been showing up on different lists as one of the most obese cities in the country, so the mayor decided to do something about it.  On December 31, 2007, he created a weight loss initiative called “This City is Going On A Diet”.  The goal is to lose ONE MILLION pounds as a city, and as of today, Oklahoma City has lost 110,560 pounds!  Over 20,000 residents of Oklahoma City have signed up to be part of this program, and the average weight loss per person is up to 5.47 pounds.

The program contains resources to keep its participants eat right and exercise consistently.  It also has tools to help individuals track their progress so that they stay accountable to their goals.

Congratulations Oklahoma City; keep up the great work, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Amber!  I love you very much!

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Eating out, it’s something that a lot, if not all, of us do.  The last I read, the typical meal at a restaurant (fast-food or sit-down) was at least 1,000 calories!  And those hidden, added dangers (salt, fat, and sugar) can sometimes contribute up to a whopping 50-100% more to the calorie content of your meal!  If you’re not careful, eating out can be one of the worst wellness decisions that you make.

So what are some positive steps you can take to reduce the consequences of eating out?  Well, the obvious answer has to do with calories.  It’s clear that the portion sizes of today aren’t what they used to be.

Bummer!

According to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study released in 2003, between 1977 and 1996, salty food portion sizes have increased by 93 calories, soft drinks by 49 calories, hamburgers by 97 calories, French fries by 68 calories, and Mexican food by an unbelievable 133 calories!¹ I can only imagine how much bigger they are today.

Taking portions sizes into consideration, here are some useful steps to ward off that unwanted belly fat from slowly sneaking up on you:

1.    Avoid “samplers” and “super-sizing” items.
It goes without saying, the number of calories you consume by wolfing down one of these meals can be astronomical.
2.    Avoid “buffet-style” restaurants.
These all-you-can-eat restaurants play tricks on your senses and end up feeding you much more than you actually need to eat.
3.    Choose water over other beverages.
It’s a great appetite suppressant, so you’ll feel fuller faster, and it’s 0 calories!
4.    Choose soup, salad, or chili instead of fries.
This is a great way to reduce the calories and fat content of your meal.
5.    Split your meal with someone else at the table, or before you even get your meal, have the waiter or waitress give you a take-home box.  When you get your meal, put half of it in the box, even before you start to eat it.
When my wife and I treat ourselves to a place like The Cheesecake Factory, we end up splitting a pasta dish, and sometimes we even have some left over!  Not only is this a great way to reduce your calories, but it’s also extremely inexpensive!
6.    Order your salad dressing on the side, and use the “dip and eat” method.
Salad dressings contribute the majority of calories to most salads, and by either dipping your fork or fork and salad in the dressing for each bite, you’ll have just enough taste without the large number of calories.
7.    Avoid creamy options of foods such as soups, salad dressings, pasta sauces, chowders, sour cream, etc.
Cream equals fat.
8.    Cut off the visible fat around meats.
9.    Order a sweet potato over a baked potato.
Sweet potatoes are lower on the glycemic index, and they have more fiber, which means they’ll fill you up faster.  Plus the sweet taste means you’re less likely to load on the sour cream and butter as you might with a baked potato.
10.  Choose grilled chicken sandwiches or salads at fast-food restaurants.
These are some good lower-calorie, lower-fat choices.
11.  Taco salads are not true salads.
These “salads” are loaded with calories and fat.
12.  Choose steamed rice over fried rice.
Fried means fried in fat.
13.  Avoid eating too many tortilla chips.
According to Don Pablo’s, a serving of their chips and salsa (12 chips and 2 oz. of salsa) is 338 calories!² How many of you know someone who has more than one basket of chips and salsa during a meal?
14. Choose lean steaks, grilled chicken, or fish.
A lower-calorie, lower-fat choice.  Plus, they’re great sources of protein, and protein is great for fat loss.
15.  Choose cooked/steamed vegetables as the side.
16.  Limit the amount of complimentary bread or salad before your meal.
According to Fazoli’s, one of their garlic breadsticks has 150 calories and 7g of fat.³ Times that by 3, and you’re up to 450 calories and 21g of fat just from the breadsticks.  That’s almost a meal’s worth of calories in itself!
17.  Eat slowly and continually drink your water before and during your meal.
Your food will be allowed to digest, and you’re hunger will be suppressed faster.
18.  It’s OK to say no to desserts.
19.  If possible, avoid the “whites”.
White bread, white rice, white sugar, white flour, white potatoes, all are high on the glycemic index.
20. Choose menu items that are steamed, broiled, baked, roasted, stewed, grilled, blackened, or poached.
21.  Don’t be afraid to be difficult.
Remember, it’s your body, and you’re paying for it.  You have the right to request changes to your food that will make it healthier.

Now it’s time to take action on these suggestions.  Don’t just read through them, actually do them.  Your body will thank you for it, and I’m sure that you’ll thank yourself because you won’t leave the restaurant with your pants unbuttoned and barely able to walk to your car.  It’s the little choices of today that can add up to the big changes of tomorrow.

References:

¹ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2003, January 22). UNC Study Confirms That Food Portion Sizes Increased In U.S. Over Two Decades. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 17, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2003/01/030122072329.htm
² “Nutrition Information from Don Pablo’s Menu”, provided by the company website, http://www.donpablos.com/pdfs/NutritionalGuide707.pdf, accessed July 17, 2008. The information provided was last updated July 12, 2007.
³ “Nutrition Information from Fazoli’s Menu”, provided by the company website, http://fazolis.com/menu/nutrition/c/drinks_desserts_extras/, accessed July 17, 2008. The information provided was last updated June 13, 2008.

I need your help!  I’m in the process of publishing my first book, and I want to hear from you.  If you were to buy a health and fitness book, what would you want in it?  What areas of health and fitness would you want it to talk about?  How many pages would you want the book to be?  Any feedback you could give in the comments section would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks, and have a great day!