Stick to your diet

So this week’s blog is how to stick to your diet.  Many people don’t like to go on diets simply because they hate the concept of them or think that it’s okay to have “cheat days” or reward themselves with unhealthy foods.  The truth is, you are allowed to give in to temptation when it comes to food, but only a very very very small amount. If you don’t give in when you want to at that time, you are more likely to over indulge at another time and regret it later on.

Well here’s some easy tips to sticking to your diet successfully…lhj.com or ladies home journal provides 10 great tips for women to successfully sticking to diets (don’t worry, guy friendly too!)

Make a food diary.. list everything that you’ve throughout the day. This way you know what calories you have eaten and can track the good foods and minimize the bad ones.  This will ultimately decrease the amount of fast food and bad carbs you choose to eat from now on.

Create a plan/choose a diet that fits your lifestyle.. I mean as much as we all want to look like Marisa Miller and Ryan Reynolds…..well the world is just not that perfect. So be realistic! And choose meals that you know are accessible like whole wheat pasta and broccoli with butter.

It’s all about portion control!!! So if you go out to dinner, remember you pay the bill so you can ask for smaller portions. But if they do say no you can ask for a smaller plate and portion the meal out yourself. I know temptation is always there but be strong and don’t eat the meal. Just think, you’ll have more of the meal as leftovers for tomorrow (more bank for your buck)!!

Read more on how to stick to your diet go to this website.

http://www.lhj.com/health/weight-loss/keeping-weight-off/10-tips-for-sticking-to-your-diet/

Happy St. Patty's Day

In honor of St. Patty’s Day, and me being Irish…I’ve decided to do a little research of the effects of alcohol and obesity/weight gain. 

In Ireland, 1 in 5 children are obese

(http://www.ihf.ie/news/foodforkids/obesity.htm)

In the United States 40% of obese children and 70% obese adolescents become obese adults.

(http://obesity.ygoy.com/overweight-chidren-in-america-childhood-obesity-statistics/)

Both statistics are very high, but the US is constantly “upping” other countries because we tend to have larger portions than most other countries. 

In a study called Drinking Alcohol Associated with Obesity published by About.com, men and women who drank the least amount of alcohol per week (about one drink per day, 3 days a week) generally had the lowest BMI. 

Ting Kai Li, M.D. the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Director of this study states that obesity is a high risk for numerous chronic illnesses and early death.  Having a high alcohol consumption will only make shorten the projected lifespan because it can damage your liver quicker than if you were not obese.  The way to assess alcohol consumption is through its quantity and frequency relevancy.  Days drinking alcohol vs. how often you have drink days. 

The reason why so many people associate alcohol use with rapid weight gain is because of its high calorie intake and the fact that it will usually target hunger, even after you consumed all of the liquid calories. 

Drinking alcohol can affect the body’s metabolism because it will store the alcohol as fat rather than using it as fuel because it messing up the body and mind when consumed.  Stereotypically, smoking will coincide with drinking, which can further lead to more cravings for food because the mind thinks that it is getting less than what is actually getting.  The body is constantly working to burn off those calories but the mind doesn’t realize how much calories it already has consumed in liquids and sugars.

So if you were wondering if there was a correlation between obesity and alcohol...there is.

Nettie Freshour Interview

Hey all,

I recently had a very productive and interesting interview with  Nettie Freshour, WVU's consulting dietitian (along with numerous titles).  She was really awesome and basically the most knowledgable person I've met that truly wants to help people with weight-loss/weight-gain.

Click the link above labeled "Nettie Freshour" to read more about her and all of the information I captured about nutrition in my interview.

I am veddy veddy Sneaky, Sir

The other day one of my friends and I were talking about “sneaking” food. Not just any food, fast food; foods we know we should not be eating.  Regardless of what kind of food it was, why did we feel the need to sneak it or hide it from the world that we were eating it. Maybe it’s a girl thing, but we’ve all done the “oh I’ll just sneak/have one more…it won’t hurt” phrase.  But seriously who are we hiding food from? Are we going to get 20 lashes with a wet noodle? (My 7^th grade English teacher used to say that all of the time) anyway, IT’S BORDERLINE CRAZY!

To be honest, I do it all of the time and feel guilty about eating fast food (hence why I try to cook my food), but the real question is, “what would happen if someone ‘found out’ I ate that meal?” probably nothing!! So here’s my confession that I was sneaking: I had both Burger King and Chick-fil-a over the weekend for dinner and I had Coldstone Creamery ice cream.  I definitely do not feel healthy or good about my decisions and yes every calorie counts but sneaking foods can only lead to binge eating or over -eating.

The reason why I say sneaking meals can lead to over-eating is because people don’t see you eat and could become concerned but don’t know that you are actually eating in secret, which leads you to eat double…in front of people. It’s a vicious cycle because you want to seem like you eat normal and are trying to be healthy but are really having trouble controlling cravings.

http://caloriecount.about.com/guilt-sneaking-food-ft193172

this woman’s post does not necessarily apply to being obese but if you apply her story as if she were an overweight woman.. It could lead to obesity because of her sneaking of food.  Her constant snacking and hiding meals because she is trying to limit what she is eating during meal times yet over compensating when she should not be eating at all.  It would be healthier and more logical to eat sensible, smaller meals throughout the day (roughly six) than three large meals and overcompensating with snacking or sneaking meals too.

Anytime you feel the urge to hide a meal or sneak a snack... don't bother because it's not a secret anymore...just eat sensible and you'll have more of a secret to keep.

All I Want To Do Is SLEEP!!

Ever been in one of those moods where you feel like everything is dragging and you don’t want to do anything productive?

It’s been one of those days. Like most stressed-out college kids, I’ve been lacking in the sleep department.  Therefore, this week is about sleep disorders and their effects on the body. 

Since the percentage of Americans who are obese is increasing more every day the more prone to developing more disorders than a healthy, normal (according to BMI) individual. 

People who are obese or overweight are likely to develop a sleep disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a condition where a person stops breathing during sleep and their Oxygen levels decrease immensely. A recently released study, according to njsleepdisorderscenter.com, states that Sleep Apnea can cause a person to become obese because they are so tired they do not have the energy or drive to exercise, in order to lose the weight.

- Glucose does not process through the body as quick in an obese person’s body system. 

- Increasing the amount of sleep will decrease weight and increase energy.

Read more about the effects sleep apnea has to obesity by clicked the link to the article that was referenced above.

http://www.njsleepdisorderscenter.com/obesity.htm

America is known for its larger portions, compared to those in Europe (I’ve been there, I know).  There’s really no rhyme or reason why we have such larger portions than the recommended serving, but larger meals tend to make people more tired than when they normally would be.  Although sleep and water essential to the body and can reduce food cravings, too much sleep can be a bad thing because it can decrease the want to exercise if the individual was overweight.

“A large-scale study at Case Western Reserve University (more than 68,000 women) found that those who sleep less than 5 hours a night gain more weight over time than those who sleep 7 hours a night. The women who slept less were more likely to become obese, and here’s something that may be counterintuitive: the women who slept less consumed fewer calories than the ones who slept a full night, on average.”

http://www.sleepdex.org/weight.htm   < the website explains more about this study for those that are interested in reading further.

Every web site that I searched said pretty much the same things about the connection between obesity and sleeping.  Moral of the story is, sleep benefits the body is more ways than just keeping your energy up.