Just saw a GMA segment about the “humiliation diet.”  In case you hadn’t heard of it, and it was new to me, it’s bloggers and tweeters who write everything they eat at every moment of the day along with a tracking of their weight. To see it in action, check out tweetwhatyoueat.com. Not really a diet at all but sort of a public conscience to keep the writers honest and on track. The latest fad diet or a legitimate way to take the pounds off? I say it could be either so proceed but with some caution: could be a useful tool for dieters who need extreme accountability for their eating actions. As a registered dietitian, I always have clients use a food journal to track eating, primarily for the purpose of being accountable and perhaps enlightened about what is going in his or her mouth. The “humiliation diet” is pretty much the 21st Century, social networking, more public version. HOWEVER, the drawbacks could be extreme as well. If advice and feedback is being given by others without real knowledge of nutrition, it could lead to a lot of dietary misinformation and potentially dangerous eating behaviors. In no way should blogging and tweeting your food intake and weight be in place of a consultation and dietary prescription from a health professional. BOTTOMLINE: if it helps you stay on track and you desire the online component, go ahead and publically post your food journal and weight. But, use extreme caution when listening to any information or changing your diet based on the advice of others in the online community. Always check with a health professional, preferably a registered dietitian, when making dietary changes.

Tags: blogging, food journal, GMA, humiliation diet, tweating food intake, weight loss

Did you gain more weight than you were “supposed to” during your pregnancy?  For the majority of women the answer is probably yes. I base this on anecdotal evidence from friends, clients and according to my OB (he says just about everyone he sees gains more than they are “supposed to”). Here’s a good article with one woman’s struggle. One reason why is that the recommended 25-35 pound gain is only for women with a BMI less than 25 or what is said to be “a healthy weight” before they got pregnant. Only about 1/3 of women in the U.S. fall into this category. If a woman is overweight or obese, meaning her BMI is greater than 25 or 30, before she gets pregnant than she should gain less during her pregnancy. 11-20 pounds is the recommended weight gain currently for obese women and 15-25 for overweight women — some experts say the recs should be lowered even more. A women who is 5′2″ and 137 pounds has a BMI of 25.1, considered overweight and if she’s 165 pounds or more, she’s considered obese.

So chances are you need to gain less weight than you think. And why is it important? The less you gain during pregnancy, the less you’ll have to take off afterwards. You knew that, right? But, I can’t tell you how many friends and clients ignore the knowledge and gain upwards of 50 pounds, by eating ice cream and Oreos, only to regret every bit of it when it’s time to take it off.  So, if you’re currently pregnant or even just thinking about getting pregnant, get your diet in good shape. If you have weight to lose from your last pregnancy, that’s okay, following The Baby Fat Diet will help you take off the weight and eat healthfully. Then keep up with your healthy eating habits and ignore the little devil on your shoulder telling you Ben & Jerry’s is okay since you’re “eating for two.” That’s a myth, only about 300 calories a day extra for just trimester 2 and 3 is really what you should be getting. After all, how many bites of ice cream can you have for 300 calories, not much!

Tags: calories, obese, overweight, pregnancy, The Baby Fat Diet, weight gain, weight gain recommendations, weight loss

I love fresh food and decided last year to begin growing my own produce.  Now, I do not have a green thumb and am sorry to admit that I have contributed to the demise of many beautiful flowers and plants.  In trying to figure out why, I read that it might not be me at all, it may be that my soil is not nutrient rich.  So, for the past year, I have thrown all my produce scraps, lawn clippings and stinky organic fertilizer on my soil plot to get the soil rich with nutrients and ready to plant seeds this fall.  I know, It is a very lazy way to manage a compost heap, since all I do at the end of each day is toss my produce scraps over the fence, hoping it hits the soil.  I also occasionally spread some putrid smelling organic fertilizer and my husband dumps all the lawn scraps on my pile.  Well, I am surprised and overjoyed to report to you that about two weeks ago my mom discovered that my soil plot/compost heap was already growing tomatoes, cantaloupes and butternut squash.  We could not stop laughing as I have not planted anything yet.  They are growing from my table scraps.  So, if this is something you have dreamt about — maybe try it yourself.  I call this method, “gardening for dummies.”  As a result of the many tomatoes that I pick from my garden every other day, we eat tomato and fresh mozzarella salad every day – I want to share the recipe with you.  Let me know what you think.

Fresh Tomato and Mozzarella Salad Recipe

1 cup organic cherry or plum tomatoes cut in half

2 oz fresh mozzarella cut into cubes

1 tbsp fresh basil leaves chopped

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tbsp kosher salt

Tags: baby fat diet, compost, family health, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato salad, gardening, healthy eating, weight loss

I am in love with my new lunch recipe and wanted to share it with you.  It’s rich in protein and healthy fats.

1 pouch or can of tuna or salmon

1 tbsp low fat mayo

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

13 whole wheat baked pita chips

Mix first 3 ingredients and eat with pita chips — it’s that easy!!!!! (it’s also good with chopped red onion)

Tags: baby fat diet, healthy eating, healthy fats, healthy recipe, protein, recipe, salmon, sunflower seeds, tuna, weight loss

I always try to get my family and clients to eat more sweet potatoes - they are easy and nutritious (and very versatile).  You can eat a very filling, medium-sized sweet potato and only eat 100 calories.  And these calories are not empty -for those 100 calories, you get no fat, almost 4 g fiber, and satisfy 38% of your daily needs for vitamin C, 730% for vitamin A (yes, that is supposed to say 730%), and a lot of beta carotene ( there is no set recommended daily intake for this provitamin A carotenoid).  So, eat your sweet potatoes!  Other than just heating and eating - you can get fancy and try other ways of preparing.  We like to make a sauce (some might consider this a soup) to add to our chicken or pasta (we like it with whole wheat orzo).  Try this and get creative –

Saucy Sweet Potatoes serves 4

Ingredients

3-4 medium sweet potatoes

3-5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1minced garlic clove

onion powder to taste

(kosher salt if you need it)

Directions

heat 3-4 sweet potatoes in microwave until soft and remove skins

Place in sauce pan and add stock

blend using hand held blender (or put in counter top blender before sauce pan if you do not have one) — if you do not have one, you should get one - they are great

bring to simmer and add garlic and onion powder

cook for about 3 minutes and add to chicken, pasta, etc. (use your imagination)

Let us know what you think!

Tags: baby fat diet, healthy eating, healthy recipes, recipes, sweet potatoes, weight loss

Okay - I have to share this program with you — I evaluate diet and exercise programs for my clients often.  And one that is really hot right now is P90X.  From a dietitian’s and exercise instructor’s perspective, it is a great program.  The eating plan is pretty balanced and the exercise regimen is great.  I am not a huge fan of supplements, so based on my advice my clients and friends did not purchase any of the supplements and just followed the eating plan. Not only have people lost weight and improved their muscle strength, stamina and flexibility on the program, but some have improved their blood pressure, triglyceride and cholesterol.  If you are looking for something to help you lose weight and get fit, P90X might work for you.  You can also buy it used on Amazon.

Tags: baby fat diet, healthy eating, nutrition, P90X, weight loss

A new study finds there are consistent keys to successful weight loss. The secrets?

• Eat breakfast
• Exercise about an hour a day
• Maintain a consistent eating pattern on weekdays and weekends

The first one seems easy.  Don’t skip breakfast.  I find that most people don’t eat enough for breakfast, trying to save up calories for later in the day. However, this tactic always backfires and leads to overeating in the evening. So, make sure you have a healthy, fiber and protein filled breakfast of at least 400 calories. 

Exercising an hour a day may seem daunting, but it needs to be something you work into your routine, just as you would with showering, brushing your teeth and getting dressed. If you exercise more vigorously you can cut the time down. So start with an hour a day of brisk walking and work your way up to jogging if you can. Then you can cut your exercise down to a half hour while burning the same number of calories. I also find that evening workouts, after the kids are in bed, are the easiest for me to stick with. Perhaps you’re a morning person so a morning workout is better. Either way, just schedule in the time and stick to it.  I also find that having equipment in my house offers more flexibility. Whenever I have 15 minutes free, I hop on the elliptical - a few bouts like this and I’ve met the requirement.

Maintaining a consistent eating pattern on weekends and weekdays isn’t hard, it just requires a commitment. Many of my clients say that they eat out on the weekends and the choices they make aren’t the healthy ones. They feel they deserve it because they’ve been so good all week, yet they negate all of the hard work they’ve done. In reality everyone needs to stick to healthy habits even when eating out. Pick the healthier choices on the menu - grilled fish or seafood, lean meats, steamed veggies. Pass on the fries. Limit the drinks to one. I promise you, the old adage is so true, “nothing tastes as good as being fit (okay, I changed it slightly) feels.”

Try these three changes and you’re on your way to a healthy, fit you for life.

Tags: breakfast, eating out, exercise, secrets, weight loss

The Easter Bunny’s basket is full of heart healthy flavanols…well, as long as the basket is carrying chocolate.  A recent study, once again, showed that as little as a square of dark chocolate (about 7-10 g) can have a significant impact on your cardiovascular health.  In the study, 19,357 people between the ages of 35-65 were assessed.  Those who at an average of 7.5 g of chocolate per day over a ten year period had lower blood pressure and an estimated 39% lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who ate the least amount of chocolate (average 1.7 g/day).  So, what’s the take away?  You can enjoy a moderate amount of dark chocolate (45%cocoa or more).  What is moderate? Keep it to no more than 20 g/day (about 85 calories).  That is half of a regular sized 40 g candy bar.  Help yourself to not overeat chocolate by either breaking the bar into pieces before you dig in or buy the individually wrapped squares of chocolate.  One of my favorites is the 60% cocoa Hershey’s Extra Dark Pomegranate - each square is 10 g and 43 calories.

Tags: baby fat diet, chocolate, dark chocolate, health, healthy eating, Hershey's, Hershey's Extra Dark, nutrition, weight loss

I just ran across and interesting study - taxing soda is estimated to help people drop 5 pounds a year.  At the University of North Carolina researchers looked at price, energy intake and weight and found that if the proposed 18% soda tax is implemented, people would consumer 56 fewer calories each day, which amounts to 5 pounds/year for young to middle-aged adults.  As the price of foods increase, the consumption of those foods decrease.  For now, New York has tabled the soda tax discussion.  However, it is interesting to note that soda had the largest price decline over a 20 year period, second to pizza. The price of a liter of soda went from $2.71 to $1.42, a staggering 48% decrease.  So, these foods are actually getting cheaper and (we already know) people are eating more.  Don’t fall prey to unhealthy choices because of cheaper prices — in the long run, it can end up costing you your waistline and health.  In my practice, one of the ways that I help my clients lose weight (and it is the easiest way to lose weight), is to have them cut down on their sugary drinks.  By cutting down your regular sodas by two 12 oz bottles a day - you can lose a whopping 29 pounds in one year!  Each 12 oz can has 140 calories.  Now, if you drink the 20 oz bottles, you can lose 54 pounds in one year.  It is really that easy — challenge yourself today to cut down by two.

Tags: baby fat diet, health, nutrition, soda, soda tax, weight loss

I am constantly trying to create and find healthy and quick recipes that my kids will eat between baseball games and gymnastics and basketball and dance…you get me.  Well, last night before baseball we created another winner that I want to share with you –

Turkey and Sweet Potato Tacos

Pre-cooked white turkey breast (or if you have the time, cook it yourself)

Sweet potatoes

Whole wheat/low fat tortillas

Start the sweet potatoes in the microwave — cook for 10 minutes or until they are soft.  Meanwhile, cut turkey into strips and heat (stick in microwave with the sweet potatoes for the last 3 minutes of cooking).  Put tortillas between two humid paper towels and heat for about 20 seconds, depending on your microwave.  Once everything is heated, cut open sweet potatoes and mash the insides with a fork (no skins). Then put the mashed sweet potato and cooked turkey in the tortilla.  Add a glass of low-fat or non-fat milk and you have a great meal.  My family loved it.

Tags: baby fat diet, health, healthy recipes, nutrition, weight loss