If you follow  media stories regarding health, diet, nutrition and exercise recommendations you may be feeling a little confused. I understand! As health and nutrition guidelines are constantly challenged with new research finding coming to light, the media grabs hold of it and hypes it up. So what you believe one day, may be seem to refuted the next. But in the meantime, the media makes the findings seem definitive. Many respond by jumping on the latest health bandwagon based on inconclusive research.

Some things that have recently be challenged are:

• the role (amount and type) of fat and heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions.
• the ideal frequency, duration and intensity of exercise  for weight loss or  to maintain or improve health.
• if sugar contributes to diabetes, metabolic syndrome, weight gain.
• if “natural” and organic foods are better for overall health.
• if dietary supplements are safe and/or do what the label and advertisements claim.
• the great macronutrient (protein, carbohydrate, fat) debate regarding weight loss, e.g., which is the best approach for fast result or  long-lasting results?

What to do:?

• Use common sense! If it seems to good to be true, it probably won’t help you achieve your desired outcome.
• Go back to the basics. Yes, I know this sounds boring but no matter how many weight loss remedies are touted, how many times you hear you can lose weight can keep if off without exercise and without changing your eating habits, these far-fetched claims are just not true.
• Consult a educated, trained, licensed and/or certified healthcare professional.

Since I am one of those (educated, trained, licensed and/or certified healthcare professional), as in my case, a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer with a BS and MS in nutrition and 25+ years of experience and education to share with you, I will sum up my recommendations and thoughts on what is a healthy diet and lifestyle:

1. Avoid quick weight loss schemes and fad diets. Instead focus on making lifestyle and eating behavior changes.
2. Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables consume 5-9 servings every day.
3. When choosing grain-based sources of carbohydrates, choose mostly whole grains and legumes. Skip refined flours such as enriched, white, semolina (pasta), white rice and other highly processed grains.
4. If you do #3&#4 you will likely meet my next recommendation of consuming 25-40 grams of fiber per day.
5. Eat plenty of lean protein and non-fat dairy products. Skip processed meats as they are loaded with sodium and other additives and often are high in unhealthy fats.
6. Keep moving. Combine the 4 pillars of exercise: strength, cardio, flexibility and balance into you weekly routine.
7. In addition to you more structured exercise program, look for opportunities to be more active throughout your day
8. Get 7-8 hours of quality sleep every night. This not only helps regulate hormones that favor maintaining a healthier weight, it also helps you better manage stress and better perform your daily activities.
9. Choose your beverages carefully. Water, coffee, tea, and limited amounts of alcohol are fine. Pass on the fancy sweetened high-fat coffee drinks and smoothies that are often loaded with more sugar than nutrition. Also decrease sweetened and unsweetened soft drinks and sports drinks.
10. Eat smaller portions and fewer snack foods!!

• First, be prepared and pre-plan! Check out the menu ahead of time and decide what you will order before you get there and are bombarded with food cues and distractions.
  • (See if there is nutrition information on their website)
• Don’t go overly hungry as your defenses may be down compromising your ability to make rational decisions in alignment with your goals.
• To curb hunger, eat a light snack or have a small bowl of tomato or broth based soup before you go.
• Once you are seated at your table, immediately ask for a large glass of water with lemon and drink it before you order. Then ask for a refill to have during your meal.
• If drinking alcohol, limit yourself to one glass of wine or 1 light beer. Slow down your eating and drinking by alternating sips of water with sips of you wine or beer and with bites of your dinner.
• Ask for sauces and dressings on the side so you can control the amount.
• Skip the fried food. Some fried dinners can have 2,000-3,000 calories! Likewise for the cheese-laden and cream-sauced dishes.
• If the portions are large, ask for a doggie bag right away and put half you meal into the to-go container.
• Think about all the reasons for going out besides eating for example,  a change from your daily routine, being waited on, not having to cook and clean up the kitchen afterwards, spending quality time with family or friends. Focus on these things and enjoy the experience.

The latest stats on obesity in America are 1 out of 3 children and 2 out of 3 adults are either overweight or obese. Of course it’s easy to blame the food companies, fast food restaurants and technology, however if you’re are adult, you make your own lifestyle choices. All day long we make decisions that affect our health including: whether or not to exercise; what, when, where and how much we eat; how we perceive and respond to stressors and how much time to allot for sleep and rest.

Many of us think that how we treat our own body is our own decision and nobody else’s business. However with health-care costs associated with sedentary lifestyles and poor diets rising to $147B in 2010, maybe it’s time to accept some self-accountability. The added costs to society doesn’t just lie in the health care arena, it spreads into a myriad of other areas, such as public transportation, sport and entertainment venues and stores. Bus companies and airlines have to remove seats to accommodate larger seats to accommodate bigger bottoms. Public safety is effective as airlines try to offset the increasing weight of our bodies with the weight of the baggage compartment. Entertainment venues have to consider larger size seats as well, which means fewer seats and lost revenue.  Supermarkets have to buy expensive motorized carts to allow customers handicapped by their obesity to ride rather than walk to shop the aisles of the store.

All this is happening now and it’s been predicted that in 10 years 43% of Americans will overweight/obese. It’s not that we don’t try to get a handle on out girth. On any given day, 50% of women in the U.S. say they are on a diet. We spend 60+ million annually on weight loss, yet very few of us are successful.  I am sure you can think of many people you know, yourself included, that have lost weight “successfully”. Yes, we’re pretty good at losing weight. BUT we are even better at gaining it back and then some! If you lose weight only to gain it back, then the diet or program was not successful. So again, it’s not that we don’t try; it’s that we’re going about it the wrong way.

Weight Loss Success requires making permanent lifestyle and mind-set changes that facilitate your weight loss and allow you to maintain that weight loss. It’s a choice and it takes a long-term commitment.

If you read through my book and/or previous blogs, you’ll discover what it really takes to lose weight and keep it off. You’ll find tips, tools and strategies to improve nutrition, find ways to fit in getting fit, and most importantly how to deal with stress & emotional eating, modify behaviors and adopt a winning weight loss attitude.

A discussion of green eating and healthy foods that green in color.

In keeping with National Nutrition Month Theme of “Eat Right with Color”, my blog today has to do with green-colored foods. However, let me digress for a moment and discuss the new “green eating” trend. That refers to reducing your carbon footprint, or impact on the environment. Choosing more locally grown vs. foods that have to travel across the globe to reach you plate, plant based foods and organically grown are all ways to “eat green”.

Here a few foods of various shades of green that can help boost your nutrition:
1. Bell Peppers: Most common is the green variety, also come in red, yellow and orange: Rich in antioxidant vitamins A & C. Also a good source of vitamin B6 and folic acid and fiber. Low in calories at only 25 calories per 1 cup, sliced. All this makes them great for heart health and keeping weight in check.
2. Cabbage: As the staple of the corned beef and cabbage feast traditional for St Patrick’s day, this veggie ranks high in nutrition as it falls in the category of cruciferous veggies (usually the ones with strong odors when cooking; other include broccoli, brussell sprouts, onions…). These veggies are known for their anti-cancer properties. Cabbage is a good source of vitmains K, C and Bs; fiber, calcium and only 33 calories per cup cooked. (fat from the corned beef boost this up a bit).
3. Avocado: Looking for a source of potassium, protein, fiber, magnesium, calcium and healthy fat all rolled into one food? Avocado has it all! Plus the combination of all the fiber, healthy fat and protein keeps you full longer to keep cravings away. At 322 for a medium avocado, for weight loss purposes, add just few slices or cubes to your meal, Serve your guacamole with cut veggies rather than adding more fat with corn chips.
4. Kiwi: As much Vitamin C as an orange with fewer calories and a splattering of other vitamins, minerals & fiber. It’s naturally sweet and really perks up a fruit cup.
5. Green Beer: Yes, beer contains some B vitamins & magnesium. Recent studies show it may increase bone density in women. So be Irish for a day and enjoy a glass.
6. Green Gummy Beers: Just kidding – Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. I’ll be wearing and eating green on March 17.

Rather than thinking about what you shouldn’t eat, take a fresh look at DIET. “Shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” create guilt and contribute to unnecessary frustration when trying to eat healthier and/or lose weight.

Rather than focus on that, why not look at improving your enjoyment of food by choosing a variety of fruits and vegetables.  The more variety, the more colorful, generally the more nutrition.  For example, bananas are high in potassium and B vitamins, dark green leafy veggies are high in folic acid, citrus, peppers and kiwi are great sources of vitamin C, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage may reduce your risk for certain cancers; yellow, orange & red fruits and veggies are usually high in carotenoids that  protect your eyes and cells. Berries tend to be lower in sugar than most fruits and also are powerful antioxidants.  Be open to trying new snacks, recipes and meals with plenty of fruits and veggies to achieve incremental enhancements to your nutrition. I have a couple of recipes containing berries on the resources page of my web site.

Take your focus away from calories, fat and/or carbs and set a daily goal to add at least one more fruit or vegetable in you daily diet each week until you hit somewhere between 5-9 servings per day.  A serving  is approximately 1/2 cup cooked, 1 cup raw or a  medium to small piece of whole fruit. Sounds like a lot? It may at first, as the average American eats only 2.3 servings of produce per day. So if you are currently eating just 2 servings, set a goal to eat 3 tomorrow.  But first, you have to get prepared to meet that goal! That may require thinking about what you like, what you’re willing to try, any resources you may need, e.g., sales circular from local stores, recipes, etc. Most importantly, you will need to plan for and take the time to get to the market. You can’t eat it if you don’t have it!

With that last thought in mind, you will be far more likely to reach for a piece of fruit or can of V-8, if it’s in you fridge or your lunch pack. You’re far less likely to choose some salty, sugary, fat-laden junk food if you clean out your refrigerator and cupboards now. Donate or toss the foods that are not helping you achieve your health and weight loss goals.

Here are some ways to increase your fruit and veggie intake:

• At breakfast, add veggies to your scrambled eggs or omelet. I make up mini crust-less quiches using my muffin tins. This way I’ll have a ready-made breakfast several days in a row. I freeze the rest for the following week, for food safety reasons and also to prevent boredom from eating the same thing day-in and day-out.  Here’s an idea for a Greek mini quiches: to your egg/FF milk mixture, add sauteed spinach, chopped & drained tomatoes, diced green onions, sliced black olives, and low-fat or fat-free Feta cheese.

• Pack a lunch and snacks to have on hand during work. I usually bring washed, trimmed berries in a re-usable container, some cut-up veggies, such as carrots, mushrooms, peeled and julienned jicama, cucumber slices and/or cherry tomatoes, a Mini Bell low-fat cheese, a low-sodium V-8 a stainless and and a square of dark chocolate or oz of unsalted nuts to snack on during the day. You can even set these up and place in the front of the fridge to keep on track when you are at home all day.

Instead of some gooey desert, for a quick and easy after dinner treat,   dip a large strawberry in melted dark chocolate and pop in the refrigerator to harden. Serve with a glass on red wine or herbal tea for a relaxing satisfying end to your meal. Be present in the moment and savor the flavors, textures and sensations.

Next step, go brush your teeth; you’re done eating for the evening. Tomorrow  you’ll  wake up feeling healthy, refreshed, energized and ready to set your daily goal!

At www.eatright.org, the official site of the American Dietetic Association, fellow dietitians remind us that there is more to losing weight than just counting calories. There are a number of ways I could expand on this thought. In keeping with ADA’s National Nutrition Month Theme “Eat Right with Color”, I will address the importance of variety and color when trying to lose weight.

My favorite part of my Transform Your Grocery Cart supermarket tour is the time we spend in the produce aisle.  Here, I explain how choosing a variety of fruits and veggies, including a wide spectrum of colors, can not only help you meet your daily vitamin and mineral needs, these colorful foods are loaded with health-promoting phyto-chemicals. Phyto-chemical is a fancy word for components in plants that may confer health benefits. Some of these phyto-chemicals are powerful antioxidants that protect our cells from aging & free-radical damage.

Additionally, most fruits and vegetables are low in calories and are good source of fiber. In a recent tweet, I mentioned Zima orange cherry tomatoes as a great snack. They’re as sweet as candy! What a great choice that would be to combat the 2 PM doldrums. These tasty little tomatoes fit into almost every weight loss plan and they are far less likely to lead to overeating or cravings than sugar, salt and/or fat-laden junk foods.

Plant-based foods, especially colorful produce, provide satiety and nutrients to not only help you lose weight, but also keep you healthy. And there is so much variety to choose from. Be creative, try something different and enjoy the various tastes and textures.

A key behavior that I have observed in my most successful clients is  they consume five or more servings of veggies and fruits per day. Research shows this as well; eating plenty of fruits and vegetables reduces your risk of obesity, cancer, and hypertension and heart disease.

In my next blog, I will share ideas of how to boost your daily fruit and veggie intake.

Yesterday’s comments from Rush Limbaugh about Michelle Obama’s weight really got me going. First of all, who is he to throw stones? Overweight, likely falling into the obese category, he is not a very credible judge of anyone’s weight or food choices.

In my weight loss coaching practice and book, I strongly discourage “perfectionism” in food choices. Labeling foods good or bad is counter-productive to weight loss and permanent eating behavior changes. Attaching a label to food gives it power, making it more difficult to make conscious, rational decisions that are in alignment with one’s vision and goals. With my Eating Behavior Journal and other tools, my clients and readers have learned to track and understand their own food choices, so they can happily fit in all kinds of food during weight loss and maintenance phases.

From the pictures I’ve seen of Mrs. Obama, I bet our First Lady’s percent body fat falls right smack in the middle of the healthy range. She obviously works out regularly and has excellent muscle tone to prove it. With all that muscle on board, she exudes health and energy. Yes, I think she is a great role model!

Guess what, Mr Limbaugh? As a registered dietitian and personal fitness trainer, I figured out a long time ago how to successfully mange my weight and I’ve taught many others how to do the same. Today, I’m quite healthy, thank you–even if I have ribs for dinner once in a while.

How many times have you heard ” Diets Don’t Work?” I have even use this as the title for another post. So I am devoting this post to a discussion regarding what makes a diet stick. (Yes, I want your comments on what has and has not worked for you).

First, let’s define weight loss success as you lose weight and keep off at least 80% for the rest of your life.  For example, if you lost 50 pounds and kept all but 40 pounds off permanently, I would qualify that as a success provided that you adopted and maintained healthier habits.

Second, any plan in which calories in are less than calories out will result in weight loss, although very low calorie diets may cause a reduction in your metabolic rate. This results in a need for fewer and fewer calories over time and a slowing of the weight loss.

5 Rules that translate into a successful diet or weight loss plan:

Rule # 1: If you keep off at least 80% of your original weight loss permanently then your approach was a success.

Rule # 2: The plan allows you to live a normal life. It allows  you to practice  and  learn how to manage situations that occur in daily life such as: eating out, traveling, holidays, vacations, special occasions and stress of a busy work and home-life.

Rule # 3: The plan improves your overall health AND well-being. For example, lower blood pressure and cholesterol resulting in your doctor lowering doses of some medications.  Additionally, you have plenty of energy to enjoy life without overly restrictive or excessive behavior. This usually translates to a reasonable, healthy diet and exercise regimen.

Rule # 4: You adopt new patterns and not only don’t feel deprived, you actually enjoy your new choices in food, exercise and stress management.

Rule # 5: It helps you identify and address the underlying issues and habits that have tripped you up in the past. You learn new ways to manage stress and other uncomfortable emotions without using food as your primary coping mechanism.

Let’s take a look at what to avoid when choosing a diet or weight loss plan:

1. Overly restrictive, e.g., eliminates or severely restricts a food group, so it becomes impossible to follow for a life-time and will set you up for nutrient deficiencies. Or requires the purchase of  special foods and/or supplements in order to achieve quoted results. This may be fine for a very short-term to jump-start your weight loss but be careful of programs or products that can lead to dehydration and and nutrient imbalances. (If you are not sure, consult a registered dietitian). Packaged meals and drinks may help but the program must allow enough flexibility that you can behave like a normal person in everyday life.

3. Quick fixes. Don’t waste your money! Anything that sounds too-good-to be-true, probably won’t work in the long run. They’re are just a band-aid approaches that rarely, if ever, give lasting results.

4. Program or product says you will achieve amazing results without exercise.

5. Program or product says you will achieve amazing results without changing your eating habits (and other similar nonsensical claims).

 5 keys to Successful, long-term weight loss maintenance:

Key # 1. Develop and stick with a strict monitoring plan.

• This may include setting a 3-5 pound weight range, weighting yourself daily or twice weekly.
• Keep a daily eating behavior and exercise journal and conduct a assessment and goal setting session each evening.

Key # 2. Start out the day with a healthy breakfast that contains protein and a little healthy fat and carbs from veggies, whole grain and/or fruit. In general, do not skip meals. Pre-planned snacks are fine.

Key # 3. Preplan and Be Prepared. This means making time to set goals, keeping track, planning your week, making time for grocery shopping and doing some meal preparation so you don’t leave things up for chance.

Key # 4. Exercise program includes cardio, strength and flexibility and that you do most days (5 or more) of the week.

Key # 5. You identify and deal with obstacles, such as situations and emotions, as they present themselves,  so you don’t veer too far off-tract before reigning yourself back in.

 I invite you to look at other articles in my blog that address these tips in more details.

Dear Readers,

I will periodically post links to exercises and exercise tips on my fitness page, so be sure to check them out. The first addresses a familiar issue. “Where did my waist go?” If you once had a nice waistline (you may have to think back to your late teens early twenties), you may be asking this question too. So far, I have gone through a couple of pregnancies, a bear of a schedule where I traveled 3 weeks out of a month for several years in a row, nasty Midwest and New England winters, hormonal changes and a number of life-changing events. Through all of this, I have maintained my waistline.

I truly believe that what I choose to eat, the importance I place on getting enough sleep and the types of exercise I do has really slowed down mother nature, gravity and all other shifts that happen as we go through various life stages that lead to thickening around the mid-section.

Diet ( No, I am not referring to the four-letter word most people associate with some form of deprivation to lose weight)

• I lean toward protein including non-fat and low-fat dairy.
• Eat lots of fruits and veggies.
• When I eat carbs, I choose the healthier whole grain options like steel-cut or rolled oats, brown rice, stoned ground  and whole grains.
• What I don’t eat often is:

1. fast food.
2. highly processed foods that contain ingredients that make a bee-line to your waistline including: High Fructose Corn Syrup, sugar, corn syrup, and Trans-fat.
3. high fat foods in general with the exception of nuts, avocado and olives as they contain healthy fats.
4. refined starches  including pasta, bagels, white rice, and products that are mainly white flour other highly processed grains.

Exercise: I do strength training 2-4 times per week, I teach a bootcamp that combines strength training and cardio, walk, spinning class or bike riding, Zumba and other dance, and seasonal activities like ice skating, X country skiing, swimming and hiking when I can fit them in. The most important in all this is the core work that I include in the classes I teach and my work-outs at the gym. So click here for some ideas for effective core exercises or order my book Fitting in Getting Fit .

Sleep and Stress Management: I am adamant about getting 7-8 hours of sleep and have been able to put things in perspective and not get riled up necessarily. Exercise, adequate rest, knowing your priorities  and being able to say no really help keep you in a calmer state. What does this have to do with your waistline? As I explained in chapter 6 of my new weight loss book, Below the Surface…Weight Loss Transformation by kj, stress and lack of sleep negatively effect hormones resulting in fat being stored in your mid-section.

If you want to maintain your waistline or find it once again, think about your current diet and see if you can make a few changes, same with your fitness plan, get moving and add some strength training and core work, don’t sweat the small stuff and go to bed earlier!