lose a pound a week

Slow Down Your Eating And Feel Fuller – Really!

May 29, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Do you wolf your food down so quickly that it’s gone before you realize you’ve eaten it all – and you’re left still hungry and staring at an empty plate?

Slow down when you eat!

People who eat quickly eat more calories than they would if they ate a bit more slowly. People who eat more slowly also feel fuller.

Why Does Slow Eating Make A Difference?

A recent study showed that hormones that give you feelings of fullness, or satiety, are more pronounced when people eat slowly. Subjects given identical servings of ice cream released more of these hormones when they ate it in 30 minutes instead of 5 minutes.

It leads to eating less, too. People who ate at a slow pace compared to when they chowed down very quickly said they were fuller and ending up eating about 10 percent fewer calories.

Twenty Minutes Or Less

Americans start and finish their meals — and clear the table — in less than 20 minutes. A study published in the journal Appetite, found that people eating lunch by themselves in a fast food restaurant finish in 11 minutes. They finish in13 minutes in a workplace cafeteria and in 28 minutes at a moderately priced restaurant. Eating with three other people takes about twice as long – which can still end up being a really short chunk of time.

Once again, Moms around the world are right – slow down when you eat. (Doesn’t that often go with don’t grab?) Slowing down allows you and your brain to register a feeling of fullness and may even mean that you eat fewer calories. You might even have time to really taste and enjoy your food, too.

This is the last week of the lose 5 pounds in 5 weeks challenge. How are you doing? Let us know on Facebook — and give Eat Out Eat Well a “like” while you’re there.

Brunch: Is It Lunch Or Breakfast – And Do you End Up Eating Both?

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

Do you have trouble keeping the calories in check at a brunch or a buffet? It’s pretty darn hard with all of that tempting food staring you in the face. It’s even harder when there’s both tempting food and you’re with lots of friends having a good time — a classic recipe for mindless (over)eating.

A sit down brunch is a little easier to control than a buffet. At least you’re ordering something specific and not subjected to the myriad of delectable choices at a buffet.

You still have to deal with overflowing bread and pastry baskets and multiple mimosas or bloody marys – but the best bet is to make a deal with yourself ahead of time about how many drinks and how many baked goods you will allow yourself to have. Ahead of time is key – staring at freshly baked muffins while you decide what not to eat makes a reasoned decision pretty difficult!

Here’s Some Tips For Handling A Buffet/Brunch:

Choose a seat that puts your back to the buffet table or kitchen spread and preferably some distance away. How long can you sit and stare at those sticky buns without wanting one? Not having them in your line of sight helps to keep your mind out of the “I’ve got to have it” mode.

Distance helps, too. Having to get up and walk past lots of people, many of whom you know, with a plate filled to the brim can serve as a “seconds” and “thirds” deterrent.

Before putting any food on your plate, just cruise the buffet eyeballing all of the choices and decide what you’ll have before you start filling your plate. Make trade-offs: a sticky-bun and coffee instead of a couple of drinks and a second slice of toast . . .

What’s going to energize you and what are you going to eat the rest of the day? If you think you can eat at 11AM and have no food until the next day, bad decision. By late afternoon you’ll probably be so hungry that you’ll head for pizza or a cheeseburger while promising yourself you’ll get back on track the next day.

Have a good meal that will fill you up, keep your blood sugar at a nice level, and tastes good so you don’t feel deprived. What does that mean? Some protein and some complex carbs. Easy on the fat and simple carbs.

Put your food on a smaller rather than larger plate (look for the smaller plates near the salad/fruit section) and you’ll fill up your plate and your stomach with fewer calories.

If you decide you really will feel totally deprived if you don’t indulge in one of those delicious baked goods, try to choose one without loads of thick buttery crumbs on top, cut it in half and be satisfied with that amount. Put it on a separate small plate that you can easily push away from you. Keeping it on your main plate means you’ll be nibbling at it the entire time.

Enforce the no seconds rule: take what you want the first time, eat it and enjoy it, and stay away from reloads.

If you indulge, don’t beat yourself up – keep the 80/20 rule in mind. Eat well 80% of the time and 20% of the time allow for some indulgences. Total deprivation never works and leaves you vulnerable to a major “raid the fridge” or “hit the bakery” attack. Instead, plan ahead, know you’re going to indulge, choose carefully, and enjoy your choices – without going overboard.

Can You Save Calories Eating A Ham And Cheese Sandwich Instead Of A Salad?

May 14, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Somehow we’ve embraced the idea that salads are always a light and healthy choice. Sometimes they are – but all too often they aren’t.

Listen to lunchtime orders and you hear salad, salad, salad – and an occasional sandwich. Sometimes the sandwich is the clear winner in terms of calories and fat. For instance, a ham and cheese sandwich ranges from 350 to 450 calories depending upon how much ham and cheese there really is – and whether it comes with mustard or mayo (and, of course, not fries or chips). And sometimes the salad is a better choice — depending on what goes into it. Check out the following nutritional facts for salads.

The Green Base

The green stuff that’s the base for most salads isn’t the problem. Most greens are very low in calories and pretty nutritious.

1 cup shredded Romaine: 8 calories, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein, 0 gram fat
1 cup of Arugula: 6 calories, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein, 0 gram fat
1 cup raw spinach: 7 calories, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram protein
1 cup chopped kale: 32 calories, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 0 gram fat

Where’s The Problem?

Answer: Hidden in high calorie add-ons and dressings.

Generally, at least ¼ of a cup (frequently more) of dressing is added to a tossed salad. A ladle of creamy dressing has about 360 calories and 38g of fat (a cheeseburger’s worth).
Tuna, macaroni, and chicken salads, the holy grail of delis and salad bars, are loaded with mayonnaise, which is loaded with fat. ½ cup of chicken salad has around 208 calories, 16g of fat; tuna salad has 192 calories, 9g fat; tuna pasta salad has 397 calories, 9g fat; macaroni salad has 170 calories, 9g fat. (Remember, ½ cup is pretty small.)
Then there’s cheese. A ¼ cup (a ¼ cup serving is really small) serving of shredded cheddar has 114 calories, 9g fat; blue cheese has 80 calories, 6g fat; feta has 75 calories, 6g fat.
Croutons and Crispy Noodles: ¼ cup of plain croutons has 31 calories, 0g fat; 1 serving of McDonald’s Butter Garlic Croutons has 60 calories, 1g fat; ¼ cup of crispy noodles has 74 calories, 4g fat
Dried cranberries: ¼ cup has 98 calories, 0g fat
Nuts and seeds: ¼ cup sunflower seeds: 210 calories, 19g fat; chopped walnuts: 193 calories, 18g fat
Avocado, ¼ cup: 58 calories, 5g fat
Bacon bits, 1 tablespoon: 25 calories, 2g fat
Bread (often used to sop up leftover dressing): 1 piece of French bread, 82 calories, 1g fat; 1 dinner roll, 78 calories, 2g fat. Dressing sopped up by the bread or roll: lots of extra fat calories!

This tip is part of the “lose 5 pounds in 5 weeks” challenge. Read more about the challenge here and post how you’re doing on Eat Out Eat Well’s Facebook page.

Vegetables In Restaurants Might Not Be Low Calorie As You Think

May 3, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Welcome to week #2 of the lose a pound a week challenge. This week’s tips focus on how to save calories when you eat out.

Are you afraid to eat out for fear of “blowing your diet” or because you think there aren’t good choices to be had? Are you tired of hearing that you shouldn’t go to restaurants if you want to control what you eat?

Choices

You can choose to eat out and eat well. It’s all in the choice that you make.

Your first choice is when you select which restaurant to go to (do you want grilled fish or a huge plate of pasta). The second round of choices come when you’re inside the door and confronted with the menu, the breadbasket, and the portions.

No Trauma

Don’t let the thought of eating out be traumatic. Restaurants exist to serve you meals and it is up to you to choose which one to go to and what you will eat when you get there.

Eating well and eating lean does have to be complicated. The simpler the better.

Make sure you have lean protein from meat, fish, vegetable, dairy, or grain sources. Look for healthy fat sources like olive oil and avocado. Grains should be whole grains. Aim to fill ½ to ¾ of your plate with food from plants.

If you’re not certain how something is prepared or would prefer to have something that is prepared differently, just ask. Most restaurants are accommodating when asked nicely (and not at their busiest hour). They might even suggest something that is not on the menu.

Week 2, Tip #1: Vegetables Are Amazing But Beware The Oil Slick

Steamed veggies may not always be the most delicious. To make them taste better, chefs often finish them off with butter or rinse them with oil to amp up flavor before they’re brought out to your table (and the sheen from the fat makes them look prettier). Sometimes veggies and salads are tossed with bacon or bacon drippings to make them taste good — but without mentioning it on the menu.

Softer vegetables like mushrooms, or veggies with soft insides, like eggplant, absorb more fat than harder vegetables like sweet potatoes, beets, and parsnips.

You can always ask to have your vegetables served “dry” or look for pickled vegetables – they’ll be higher in sodium, but low in fat.

And remember, you also always ask if you can substitute a vegetable for potatoes, rice, or pasta. Most restaurants will agree.