Manage Your Weight

In Case You Want To Pick The Least Caloric Candy on Halloween . . .

October 24, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Here are the calories in some popular Halloween candy in case you want to minimize the caloric damage (you didn’t read that wrong — candy has a big range of calories and fat grams):

Brach’s Milk Maid Caramels: 4 pieces; 160 calories; 4.5 g fat
Kit Kat: Twix Miniatures (3 pieces); 150 calories; 7g fat
Butterfinger: Fun size; 100 calories; 4g fat
Snickers: Fun size; 80 calories; 4g fat
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup: Fun size; 80 calories, 4.5g fat
M&Ms: Fun size bag; 73 calories; 3g fat
Tootsie Rolls: 3 pieces; 70 calories; 1.5g fat
Brach’s Candy Corn: 11 pieces; 70 calories; 0g fat
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate: snack size .49-ounce bar; 67 calories; 4g fat
3 Musketeers: Fun size; 63 calories; 2g fat
Skittles Original Bite Size: Fun size bag; 60 calories; 0.7 g fat
Tootsie Roll Pop: 1 pop; 60 calories; 0g fat
Now and Later: 4 pieces; 53 calories; .5g fat
Peppermint Pattie: Fun size; 47 calories; 1g fat
Starburst Original Fruit Chews: 2 pieces; 40 calories; 0.8g fat
Dum Dum Pops: 1 pop; 25 calories; 0g fat

How Full Is Your Wine Glass? 3 Things Can Make You Pour Up To 12% More

October 7, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Do you know how many ounces of wine you pour into your wine glass? Bet you don’t!

A standard serving of wine is 5 ounces (around 125 calories) and probably looks smaller than you think. Wine glasses generally have a much larger capacity — good for savoring the wine, but not good for pouring portion controlled amounts.

Even though we might think we’re in control of how much we’re pouring, visual cues definitely affect how much ends up in the glass.

3 Things That Make A Difference

A new study published in Substance Use and Misuse found that people poured 11.9% more wine into a wide glass than a narrow one. They also poured 12.2% more wine into a glass when the glass was held their hands rather than when they poured into a glass sitting on a table or counter.

Color contrast made a difference, too. People poured 9.2% more white wine into a clear glass than they did red. High contrast between the wine and the glass — for instance red wine in a clear glass — makes it easier to see the level of the wine.

Tip

If you want to be careful about how much wine you’re drinking, go for taller thinner glasses rather that shorter big-bowled ones; stick to red wine – or wine that has color contrast with your glass; and when you pour, put the glass on the table rather that holding it in your hand.

Do Your Kitchen Cabinets, Fridge, And Desk Drawers Need A Cleanse?

September 26, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Summer is over. Soon many of us will be stocking our kitchens with Halloween candy and then enough Thanksgiving food to feed hordes of Pilgrims. It might be time to take stock of what’s leftover from the lazy days of summer eating.

Are there leftovers from your Labor Day barbecue, a random piece of birthday cake, ice cream containers with just a little bit left, an open bag of mini chocolate chips in case you decide to bake some cookies? Do you really need the gigantic box of cereal from Costco or the two extra jars of peanut butter that were on sale? Do you have some mini candy bars tucked in the corner of your desk?

Hey, we’re all guilty of storing food in preparation for the next blackout or surprise onslaught of family. The problem is that the extra food is not conducive to managing anyone’s weight. Why? Because usually if it’s there, someone will eventually eat it, whether they’re hungry or not. And, usually the kind of food that’s hanging around isn’t picked fresh from the garden – most likely it’s processed and/or fatty, salty and sweet.

The Kitchen Cleanse

Take a look in your fridge, your cupboards, your desk, and kitchen drawers. What’s in there? Why did you buy it and when? Do you really need it – or does it call your name when you really don’t want to eat but can’t escape the pull of the food that’s all too available.

You might want think about what prompts you to buy large quantities of food that tempts you and that you really don’t need to eat. Knowing why you buy is key to developing some good shopping habits. Doing a “cleanse” of your cupboards, the fridge, and drawers to get rid of what tempts you is a good way to prevent gorging — or even nibbling — on hundreds of excess and probably unhealthy calories. Remember: See It = Eat It.

Does Alcohol Make You Gain Weight?

September 19, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

It certainly can. Pure alcohol, gram for gram, has almost twice the number of calories as a gram of carbohydrate or protein. One gram of alcohol has 7 calories compared to the 4 calories for carbohydrate or protein – fat has nine calories a gram. Some research is showing that calories from alcohol may be burned less efficiently, but the calories still pack a punch.

There’s another factor, too. If you drink alcohol along with your other daily food, you’re often adding, not replacing, the calories from other food or drinks. If everything else stays the same, you’ll gain weight. And, alcohol can cause disinhibition — it reduces your ability manage your immediate impulsive response to a situation – in other words, it makes you less focused on how much you’re eating.

However, statistically, drinkers aren’t more likely to be obese than nondrinkers. But a number if factors come into play: the amount and type of alcohol; when, where, and the type of drinking pattern; the way your body processes the alcohol; and various psychological factors.

Gender Differences On Drinking Days

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition compared the food and calorie intake of 1,864 people on days when they did and didn’t drink. On drinking days men (including 10% who were heavy drinkers which would skew the numbers higher) averaged 433 extra calories; 363 of them came from alcohol, the rest from extra food and other kinds of beverages. The men also ate more protein, fat, salt, and meat on drinking days.

Women averaged an extra 299 calories on drinking days, almost all of them coming from alcohol. Although they didn’t eat much more than on nondrinking days, they did eat more fat and less healthy foods.

Good News, Bad News

About 35% of American adults don’t drink, 55% are light or moderate drinkers, and 10% drink more than a moderate amount. It’s estimated that alcohol directly or indirectly causes 90,000 deaths a year in the US, including more than 11,000 traffic fatalities.

But drinking has benefits, too It can be part of social, business and family life and regular drinking, even in small amounts, decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol, like aspirin, reduces blood clotting — a transient effect that lasts for about a day. Alcohol can raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels over time and moderate intake helps to reduce the risk of other health problems, including type 2 diabetes, gallstones, peripheral artery disease, and perhaps dementia.

The most serious health risks — alcoholism, heart and liver disease, hypertension, certain cancers, osteoporosis, car crashes and other accidents — come mostly from heavy drinking, but moderate drinking can affect your coordination and ability to drive, operate machinery, or swim.

If You’re Going To Drink, Should You Do It Every Day?

It seems that drinking small amounts regularly and with meals (it slows the absorption of the alcohol) is better than occasionally drinking larger amounts. Some research findings suggest that daily (or almost daily) drinking is best for the heart; other studies have found that drinking every other day is enough to get benefits; and still others have found that it only takes half a standard drink a day. (In the US a “drink” is 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor, which all contain about 14 grams of pure alcohol.)

What’s Moderate Drinking?

In the US, moderate drinking — as defined in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans — is up to one drink a day for a woman and up to two for a man. (Other countries define moderation and the size of a “standard” drink differently.) The recommended amount is less for women because they tend to be smaller, have proportionately more body fat, and have less body water (alcohol is diluted in body water). Generally, the same amount of alcohol would cause higher blood level of alcohol in women than in men and would also cause more impairment.

A Losing Team Means Lots Of Sugar, Fat, And Calories. No Kidding!

September 15, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

How did your team do this weekend? Did they win or lose?

If you’re being careful about what and how much you eat, you better hope they won (for more reasons than one) or chances are you’ll be joining your fellow fans who will be rummaging around the kitchen or who have the pizza place on speed dial.

That’s not hearsay. According to a study published in Psychological Science, on the Monday after a big football game fans of the losing team like to load up on sugar and saturated fat. Fans of the winning team go for healthier foods.

How Much Fat? How Many Calories?

Researchers looked at food consumption habits on typical Mondays for people living in over two dozen cities. They compared that data to people’s food consumption on Mondays after NFL games in cities with NFL teams who had played games over the weekend.

They found that people living in cities where the football team lost ate about 16% more saturated fat and 10% more calories compared to how much they typically ate on Mondays.

People in cities where the football team won ate about 9% less saturated fat and 5% fewer calories compared to their usual Monday food.

These changes happened even when non-football fans were included in the study sample. And, they didn’t find these results in cities without a team or in cities with a team that didn’t play that particular weekend.

The after effects were even greater in the most football crazed cities; the 8 cities with the most devoted fans, people gobbled up 28% more saturated fat after a loss and 16% less after a win.

A Down To The Wire Game Turned Up The Food Effects

The trends were especially noticeable when a game came down to the wire. When their team lost, especially if the loss was unexpected, or by a narrow margin, or to an equally ranked team — the effects were the most noticeable. The researchers think that people perceive the loss, perhaps unknowingly, as an identity threat and use eating as a coping mechanism. A winning team team wins seems to give a boost to people’s self control.

To further test their findings, in an experimental setting the researchers asked French participants to write about a memory they had when their favorite soccer team either won or lost a game. Then they asked them to choose either chips and candy or grapes and tomatoes as a snack. The people who wrote about their favorite team winning were more likely to pick the healthier snacks.

What You Can Do

Previous studies have shown how sports can influence — among other things — reckless driving, heart attacks, and domestic violence. But, according to the researchers, no one had ever looked at how sports results can also influence eating.

The researchers suggest a technique to use tp help keep your fat intake and calories under control if you root for a team that doesn’t have a winning record — or even if you just live in a city with a team that tends to lose.

After a loss, write down what’s really important in your life.
They found that this technique, called “self affirmation,” eliminated the eating effects that occurred after football losses.

Want more tips — especially if you eat in dining halls of any kind? Get my new book, now available on Amazon — 30 Ways to Survive Dining Hall and Dorm Room Food: Tips to Avoid the Freshman 15.