Manage Your Weight

Worried About Thanksgiving Eating? Here’s Some Help

November 21, 2011 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

A Time For Giving Thanks And A Celebration Of Abundance

Those of us who are lucky enough to go to or host a Thanksgiving dinner are often faced with a dilemma: overabundance. Our Thanksgiving meal has become associated with a true groaning table – a table loaded with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes in multiple formats, cranberry sauce, gravy, green bean casserole, brussel sprouts, and traditional family specialties. For closers there’s apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, cookies, and whatever other desserts Grandma, Aunt Sue, and Mom decide to make or bring.

A Feast and a Caloric Overload

How can you enjoy your traditional Thanksgiving dinner and not feel like a slug for days afterward? The ironic thing is that the usual main dish is really lean poultry (turkey), and the main vegetables and condiments are nutritional powerhouses (sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and cranberries). The traditional dessert is made from a vegetable (pumpkin pie) or nuts (pecan pie) so you wouldn’t think this would be so difficult.

The calories in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner are estimated to range from 2,000 to 4,500, depending on what you put on your plate. Most people of average size who get moderate activity should eat between 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, so Thanksgiving dinner is quite a hefty meal. So are the calories eaten the rest of the day — from the warm-up grazing food to the leftovers. Not everyone gains weight over the holidays, but if you do, those pounds rarely come off.

Who Wants to Count Calories on a Holiday?

Most of us don’t want to count calories on a holiday. If you deprive yourself of the traditional foods you come to associate with holidays, more often than not you end up paying the piper. That’s when you find yourself standing in front of an open fridge rummaging for leftovers because you feel deprived from the stare down you had with your favorite foods earlier in the day.

Have Your Own Plan of Attack

Create an eating plan of attack before the celebration day. You know you’ll eat a bit more – or maybe a bit more than a bit more – than on a typical day. Mathematically allow for your holiday meal. Remember, calories in – calories out. Compensate by eating a little lighter the days before and after. Add in a long walk. It takes 3500 calories to gain or lose a pound — so think about balancing out your calories during the weeks before and after the holiday.

Don’t starve yourself the day of the grand meal. If you try to save up calories for a splurge, you’ll probably be so hungry by the time dinner is ready you’ll end up shoving food into your mouth faster than you can say turkey.

The Key Is Balance, Not Deprivation

Inevitably, if you deprive or restrict yourself you eventually end up overeating. The mantra becomes – “it’s just one day.” The problem is the one day extends to leftovers the next day – then the weekend – then to Christmas parties – then to the New Year’s Eve party. It could even extend to Super Bowl Sunday!

Celebrations the day of are fine. Celebrating for weeks on end is not. Plus, you’ll end up hating yourself!

Try some of these:

Give yourself permission to not eat something just because it’s tradition.
Only eat it if you want it. Eat what you want not what you think you should.
Say no to the friend or relative who is pushing the extra piece of pie. You’re the one stepping on the scale or zipping up your jeans the next day – not them.
Make some rules for yourself and commit to them.
Make a deal (with yourself) that you can eat what you want during dinner. Put the food on your plate and enjoy every last morsel. I’m not even suggesting that you leave some on your plate. But – that’s it. No seconds and no double-decking the plate.
Limit the hors d’oeuvres. They really pack in calories. Make eating one or two your rule.
Trade hors d’oeuvres for a luscious piece of pie for dessert.
Alcohol adds calories (7 calories/gram). Alcohol with mixers other than club soda or diet soda adds more calories. Plus, alcohol takes the edge off lots of things – including your ability to stick to your plan.
Drink water. It fills you up. Have a diet soda if you want. If you’re going to drink, limit the amount – alternate with water.
Control your environment. Don’t hang around the buffet table or stand next to the platter of delicious whatevers. Why are you tempting yourself?
Talk to someone. It’s hard to shove food in your mouth when you’re talking.
Get rid of leftovers. The best laid plans have been defeated by leftover stuffing.
Don’t nibble during clean-up (or preparation for that matter). Broken cookies, pieces of piecrust, and the last spoonfuls of stuffing haven’t magically lost their calories.

If you ignored a lot of this, you ate everything is sight, and your exercise was walking back and forth to the to the buffet table, put on the tourniquet. It was just one day — just don’t let it stretch into days or weeks. Remember to enjoy the holidays. Be grateful. That’s the point, isn’t it?

Should You Blame The Turkey For Thanksgiving “Food Coma”?

November 18, 2011 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

The Bird And The Berry

Turkeys and cranberries, part and parcel of our modern Thanksgiving (and Christmas) menus, are both native to the Americas.

About 46 million turkeys landed on US dinner tables last Thanksgiving, around 736 million pounds of turkey meat. US farmers produce 735 million pounds of cranberries, 1.9 billion pounds of sweet potatoes and 931 million pounds of pumpkins.

Thanksgiving “Food Coma”

Urban myth is to blame the bird for your Thanksgiving “food coma.” Wrong. You may have post-meal fatigue, but the turkeys are getting a bad rap. The amount of sleep-inducing tryptophan in most turkey meals isn’t responsible for your coma-like state – blame the number of calories, the booze, and your relaxed state instead.

What Was on the First Thanksgiving Menu?

American Indians, Europeans, and cultures around the world often feasted to celebrate the harvest and to thank the higher powers for sustenance and survival.

We know that the first Thanksgiving dinner in the Plimoth (Plymouth) Colony, in October 1621 in what is now Massachusetts, was attended by about 50 English colonists and 90 Wampanoag American Indian men.

The Wampanoag killed five deer, the colonists shot wild fowl, and maybe some geese, ducks, or turkey. Some form of Indian corn was served and probably supplemented with fish, lobster, clams, nuts, wheat flour, pumpkin, squash, carrots, and peas. They were true seasonal eaters and it was harvest time.

Was The First Thanksgiving The True Thanksgiving?

Although the 1621 Plimoth Thanksgiving is thought of as the first Thanksgiving, it was really a harvest celebration. The first “real” Thanksgiving didn’t happen until two centuries later. (In the 17th century a day of Thanksgiving was actually a day of fasting.)

What is known about the three day Plimoth gathering comes from a letter written by Edward Winslow, a leader of the Plimoth Colony in 1621. It had been lost for 200 years and was rediscovered in the 1800s.

In 1841 Alexander Young, a Boston publisher, printed Winslow’s description of the feast and called it the “First Thanksgiving,” which caught on.

In 1863 President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving Day a national holiday. The current date for the observance of Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of November, was established in 1941 by President Franklin Roosevelt.

9 Easy Ways To Eat Less

November 17, 2011 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

As the holiday season goes into full swing, here’s some helpful tips:

Fill your plate once, whether it’s from a buffet or just from the stove top. That’s it. No seconds – and double-decking isn’t such a great idea, either.
Use the smallest plates, bowls, and glasses you can to help you feel full even when you’re eating less. The smaller the plate the less food that can go on it. You probably won’t even know the difference because your eyes and brain are registering full plate. According to the CDC, a study looked at how adults reacted to four different portion sizes of macaroni and cheese given to them on different days. The larger the portion, the more people ate, eating 30% more when they were given the largest portion compared to the smallest one, yet they ranked their hunger and fullness similarly after both meals. Only 45% noticed that there were differences in the size of the portions they were served. The same optical illusion applies to glasses. Choose taller ones instead of shorter fat ones to help cut down on liquid calories.
Keep the serving bowls off of the table. Put food on your plate and then sit down to eat it. Serve reasonable portions on individual plates instead of helping yourself out of bowls on the table. According to an article in the May 2011 Nutrition Action Healthletter, when serving dishes are left on the table men eat 29% more and women 10% more than if those serving dishes stay on the counter.
Leftovers lead to overeating so make only what you need. If you do cook enough for multiple meals pack up the extras and put them away immediately. Avoid eating the little bits of leftovers in the pots – those calories really add up – as do all of those tastes while you’re cooking and preparing. Do enough nibbling and tasting and you come close to eating two meals.
Distractions equal mindless eating. Excess calories and the size of the package your food comes in influence how much you eat. The larger the package, the more you tend to eat from it. If you have a bag of chips in your lap as you watch TV or surf the net you don’t even realize how much you’re eating – and, in many cases, don’t gauge whether you’re full of not – so you keep eating. If you do watch TV or work at the computer while you’re eating, don’t eat straight from the package. Divide up the contents of one large package into several smaller portions. Put it in a bowl or on a plate.
Don’t eat off of your kid’s plate, your spouse’s plate, or your friend’s plate. The calories from someone else’s plate still count – and are oh so easy to forget about.
Hide the stuff that tempts you. Out of sight, out of mind is really true. We all tend to eat more when it’s right in front of us. Food we like triggers cravings and eating. So, keep the veggies in the front of the fridge and the rice pudding in the back. Get rid of the candy dish and the stash of pop tarts in your desk drawer. If you buy jumbo size packages, put the excess somewhere inconvenient so you’ll have to work to get at it.
Don’t feel obliged to eat out of courtesy – even if you don’t want the food or you’re full – just because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. Get over it – the calories are going into your mouth, not theirs. If someone really hounds you about trying something you can always claim an allergy or that you’re eating heart healthy (claiming an upset stomach might buy you an early exit or other guests avoiding you like the plague).
Pick your dining companions carefully. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine seems to indicate that if you’re struggling with your weight, there is a good chance that your friends and family are, too. You also tend to mimic your table companions. If they eat fast, you eat fast – if they eat a lot, you eat a lot. In his book, Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink, PhD cites a study that shows how strong the tendency is to increase the amount you eat when you eat with others. Compared to eating alone, you eat on average:

35% more if you eat with one other person
75% more with four at the table
96% more with a group of seven or more.

Are You Using The Holidays As An Excuse To (Over)Eat?

November 15, 2011 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Gotta have the Christmas cookies, the candied yams, the stuffing with pecans, both pumpkin and pecan pies, the peanut brittle, eggnog, and whatever else your particular holiday, culture, and family traditions dictate.

Really???

Ask yourself why. Are your groaning table and edible holiday delights really because of tradition – or, in part, an excuse to surround yourself with the food you love and want to eat?

There is nothing wrong with tradition and wanting to share your memories and love through food.

Are Holidays An Excuse To (Over)Eat?

The big question to ask yourself is: am I really sharing/holding to tradition and memories of the season – or am I using the holidays as an excuse to make and eat a whole lot of food that I really would prefer not to eat – or eat in such quantity?

Most people who know me also know that I bake really good Christmas cookies – for a lot of events, not just Christmas. I baked them for a party for my son’s July wedding (not a Christmas tree in sight) and as I brought them out there was a chorus of “Christmas cookies” from his friends who have eaten them many times before. Didn’t matter that it was July. The recipe was the same, they tasted the same, and they came from my kitchen.

What’s my point? I love baking these cookies, and I love sharing them. There are a whole host of emotions wrapped around these cookies.

I also know that I love eating them. Have I ever used an occasion as an excuse to bake them – even though things would have been fine without the cookies? You bet I have.

Why? I love those cookies. I love to eat them. I love to eat the dough (I’m really not endorsing that – It’s a bad habit and the dough does have raw egg in it).

The bottom line is that I end up eating hundreds of calories – delicious, but not healthy ones – that I certainly don’t need. And, even though I’m sharing what I consider to be “a little bit of love from my kitchen,” I still, very frequently, use the holiday or the event as an excuse.

Some Helpful Hints

I’m certainly not advocating giving up baking Christmas cookies or whatever your specialty or tradition is. What I am suggesting is that you ask yourself the reason for doing so. Recognize and be mindful of your reasons.

If you do make your specialty – plan for it. Make it and then keep it out of sight (out of mind). Eat it with everyone else – not in a constant stream of tasting and little snatches from the fridge or cupboard.

Store your amazing food out of sight and, hopefully, out of mind. Far away, too. Usually if we have to work to get food it may take some of the desire out of it. So store the food in the basement or someplace out of the kitchen.

Leftovers? Send them home with your family and friends. I’ve fed lots of college dorms and offices with my leftovers. Freeze them and store them in the back of the freezer where you can’t see them (although I can attest that frozen Christmas cookies are great – my sons once ate a whole container of them out of my downstairs freezer without my knowing about it. Had to bake another batch before Christmas dinner.)

Traditions are important and food is nurturing. Traditions, family, and holidays can also be stressful. Cook away if that’s your pleasure. Just ask yourself if you are using holidays, traditions, guests, and family as excuses to (over)eat.

Free Food Is Hard To Resist (And A Caloric Nightmare)

November 10, 2011 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Morning meeting. Right in front of you: platter loaded with bagels, danish, and doughnuts parked next to giant coffee urns. A freebie breakfast and the beginning of a blood sugar roller coaster ride.

No worries if you miss the morning carb fest – if all the platters aren’t picked clean the remnants will surely end up in the snack room next to the birthday cake (it’s always somebody’s birthday) or the leftover cookies from someone’s party the night before.

Costco on the weekend. There are at least three tables manned by people offering you samples of hot pizza, luscious cheesecake, or tooth-picked pigs ‘n blankets. Just the right size to quickly and neatly pop into your mouth – especially when you circle back for seconds.

Errands. Stops at the cleaners, the tailors, the veterinarian, the hair salon. On the desk or counter: giant bowls piled high with freebie candy. You can dig deep for the kind you like – Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, mini Snickers, Tootsie Roll pops. You name it — it’s usually there for the taking.

Party or wedding. How do you escape the platters of salami, cheese, mini quiches, and then the desserts covered with icing, whipped cream, and powdered sugar?

What’s The Problem With Free Food?

Not a thing if you don’t care about calories, nutrition, and how you’ll feel after an overload of sugar, fat, and salt. Tons of “starving” students and young (and not so young) adults have chowed down on ample quantities of free food. Here’s the question: are full bellies with no impact on the wallet ultimately the best choice?

Occasional dips into free food are probably not going to hurt anyone in reasonable health. But, on a consistent basis, there is certainly a downside to your health. There could me a more immediate concern, too. A whole bunch of non-nutritious (junk, processed, and high calorie) food eaten right before a time when intense concentration and focus is necessary (translation: exams and presentations) could certainly have a negative impact.

Why Do We Find Free Food So Attractive?

Most of us find it pretty darn hard to ignore “free food,” the food that’s just there for the taking. It’s everywhere – and we’ve become accustomed to valuing cheap calories. Think about it: when was the last time you resisted the peanuts, pretzels, or popcorn sitting on the bar counter? What about the breadbasket – that’s usually free, too.

We don’t have to eat any of this stuff. But we do. Why? Some of us have trouble passing up a giveaway regardless of what it is. Some see it as a way to save money – despite possible negative health consequences. And a lot of us use “free” as an excuse or sanction to eat or overeat sweet, salty, fatty junk food.

And the calories? Free doesn’t mean calorie free. But it’s all too easy to forget about those calories you popped in your mouth as you snagged candy here and tasted a cookie there. Yikes. You could eat a day’s worth of calories cruising through a couple of markets and food stores.

Before The Freebies Land In Your Mouth

How about creating your own mental checklist that, with practice, can help you figure out whether or not it’s worth it to indulge. Even f you decide to go for it and taste the salami, butter cookies, and cheese cake, at least you’ll have made a mindful decision rather than mindlessly shoving food in your mouth.

Ask yourself: Is the food you’re so willing to pop in your mouth . . .

fresh and tasty, with some nutrition? It might be if you’re at a wedding or an event, but the odds go down if it’s food handed out at the supermarket or grabbed out of a large bowl at the cleaners.
clean? How many fingers have been in the bowl of peanuts or have grabbed pieces of cheese or cookies off of an open platter?
something you really want – or are you eating it just because it’s there?
loaded with fat, sugar, and salt that adds up to mega calories? Every calorie counts whether it’s popped in your mouth and gone in the blink of an eye or savored more slowly and eaten with utensils off of a plate.

Choices, Choices

Just because food is free doesn’t mean you have to eat it. No one is forcing you. Beware of the cascading effect: if you let yourself sample the candy, pizza, cheesecake, popcorn, or cookies, perhaps you’re giving yourself permission to continue to overindulge in food you probably don’t want to/shouldn’t be eating.

Highly caloric, sugary, and fatty foods can act as the key to opening the flood gates that cause you to continue to indulge for the rest of the day (weekend/week). Loading up on simple sugars – the kind found in candy, cookies, cake, and many processed foods – causes your blood sugar level to spike and then to drop –leaving you hungry very quickly and pretty darn cranky — and isn’t great for your waistline, either.