Eat Out Eat Well

weight management strategies

Drive Thru Diets: Say What?Drive Thru Diets: Say What?

By Leave a Comment

fast foodSo here’s the dilemma: you’re stuck in an airport or an Amtrak station – it’s late at night and you haven’t had any dinner.  You’re starving.  Look around.  What’s open to grab a bite of food?  You guessed it fast food, fast food, and more fast food.

Or, you’re driving your kid and a bunch of teammates home from a hockey game – or soccer game – or lacrosse game – that they played in the middle of nowhere.  The kids are hungry, and so are you. What’s available at rest stops and off the nearest exit? Fast food, fast food, and more fast food.

“Can eating fast food help you lose weight?” That’s the question asked in an article in The New York Times.  Some of the fast food chains have started offering reduced fat, low calorie, and/or lighter items on their menus.  We all know about Jared and Subway (Subway now has Fresh Fit subs as well as other low calorie options), but other restaurants have jumped on the moving train.

According to the article, Taco Bell has a Fresco menu which has seven items, including burritos and tacos, with less than 9 grams of fat; Starbucks has panninis that are 400 calories or less; Dunkin’ Donuts has egg white sandwiches; and Quiznos lists menu items that are 500 calories and under. Other name brand fast food places offer grilled chicken and other lower fat items.  And people are choosing to make these foods a routine part of their diets – some in an attempt to lose weight.

So, is this good or bad?  Can you make a habit of dieting on fast food?

Experts have mixed reactions ranging from good, bad, and no way!

Even though the calorie count of these foods may be low, in almost all cases the sodium levels are way too high. And, do you really know how nutritious they are?  What additives are there? Where did the food come from?  Most fast food outlets receive their portion controlled, seasoned, and probably frozen protein sources like chicken and burgers from a central processing facility with explicit instructions on how they are to be prepared.

In his book, The End of Overeating, David Kessler explains how our bodies get addicted to sugar, fat, and salt. Food vendors want to sell food and so they cater to these tastes by adding these ingredients to their food.  We may not know what’s been added, we only know that it tastes good and eventually we begin to crave the food. So, does this create a slippery slope:  eat fast food and consequently crave it?

Asked a slightly different way:  Is fast food always bad and to be avoided at all costs?

Probably not — although some may disagree. Will occasional fast food lunches or dinners spell disaster? Not likely.  If you do eat a fast food meal can you make some choices that are better calorically than others?  You bet.

Bottom line, the SocialDieter has been stuck in airports and train stations late at night and has driven her three sons to many games.  She knows that there are times when the choice is fast food or fast food.  It’s comforting in those instances to have choices that are grilled — maybe with some vegetables — rather than fatty, fried, and sauced with a side of fries.  Sure there may be a lot of sodium and  probably other additives, but an occasional meal isn’t going to break the bank.

Making fast food a regular part of your lifestyle may be asking for trouble. Building a diet around foods that are fresh, delicious, healthy, nutritious, additive free, and easily available is key – but note the words fresh, nutritious, additive free, and healthy.  Are these descriptive of a steady diet of fast food?

What do you think? Is the occasional fast food meal okay to have?  If you do eat fast food, what menu selections are the best?

Calorie Counts: Can You Trust Them?

By Leave a Comment

Ever wonder if you can really trust all of the numbers written on the label of your frozen chicken with vegetables and rice or next to the burger description in your local fast food emporium?


Well, it turns out that you’re right to wonder.  The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/health/12calo.html)  reported on a Tufts study (http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223(09)01679-4/abstract) that evaluated the accuracy of calorie counts of 29 typical under 500 calorie quick-serve  and sit-down restaurant foods and 10 frozen complete meals bought in supermarkets.

The calorie counts of the restaurant foods averaged 18% more than stated and the calorie counts of the frozen foods averaged 8% more than stated. These were average numbers:  some restaurants under reported caloric content; some choices had up to 200% more calories than stated; and in some there were no real inaccuracies.

When some free side dishes were added to entrees they boosted the inaccuracy of the total stated calories to 245%.  This highlights the nasty little fact that all too often we forget to add the calorie count of those side dishes – which are often over the top in calories and fat – to the total calorie counts of our meals.

All of the variations fell in the 20% margin that the FDA allows for packaged food (although it doesn’t specify maximum overage for restaurant meals they also fell within the 20% margin).

It’s easy to understand how there can be variation in restaurant food – a longer pour of oil, a little more of a schmear of cream cheese on the bagel – it’s often in the hands of the preparer.  Prepackaged food produced under factory control is a little more difficult to understand and obviously accounts for overage of only 8% versus 18% (there’s some speculation that since food companies are heavily penalized for underweighting they may add a little more volume, and therefore calories, to protect against this possibility).  And, as a Tufts researcher points out: 5% excess calories daily for someone eating 2,000 calories a day could mean a 10 pound weight gain in one year.

What to do?  Be mindful and aware. If it looks to good to be true, it probably isn’t.  Translation:  If it’s swimming in oil, arrives with a big pat of butter melting on top, it’s smothered in melted cheese, or it’s gargantuan in size it’s probably not a low cal meal.  Trust your reaction and stick up for yourself.  If you don’t get what you ordered or what’s described, bring it back and ask for it to be prepared the way it’s supposed to be.

New Year Resolution Status

By

clip_image002_0003Resolutions lead to frustration when you set too many or they’re unrealistic.  Sure everyone would like to lose 20 pounds in one week (ever wonder how they do it on the Biggest Loser?) or go from sedentary to marathon runner in a month. It just doesn’t happen – or if, by some miracle it happens like it does on the Biggest Loser, how sustainable is the achievement?

The American Psychiatric Association (www.HealthyMinds.org) offers some tips to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions:

Try again. Everyone has both made and broken resolutions. We’ve all tried to lose weight or go to the gym more frequently or eat more fruit and veggies.  Not totally succeeding before doesn’t mean that you won’t succeed this time. Have a positive approach.  Create new positive habits to replace the old negative ones.

Don’t make too many resolutions. Our brains don’t like too much disruption at a time.  They’re used to doing something one way.  Pick one thing at a time and create a habit around it.

Be realistic.  Pick a realistic, attainable goal with a clear time frame. A personal goal isn’t a “deal” which can never be broken. Don’t paint yourself into a corner by swearing you’ll do something that might be impossible to achieve –like swearing you’ll never eat ice cream again.

Choose your own resolution. Make sure what you are doing is what you want to do for yourself and not for your friends or relatives. Do you really want to lose weight or are you doing it because your partner wants you to?

Make a plan and write it down. Plan what you’d like to accomplish in three and six months. Set mini goals for each week that lead to accomplishing the big goal. Achieving the mini-goals gives you motivation to keep going and allows you to keep track of your progress.  For example:  your big goal is to eat fast food only once a month rather than your current five times a week.  How about a mini goal of 4 times a week for the first two weeks, then 3 times a week, etc.

Write it down.  Writing your goals down reinforces and solidifies your commitment.  It also makes it harder to lie to yourself.

Create a support network. Family and friends can support your efforts, be a source of accountability, and motivate you to keep going. Unfortunately, they can also be saboteurs (both intentionally and unintentionally) so know what you’re going to do or say if that happens.  Have you heard this:  “Gee, I know you’re on a diet but why don’t you have a little piece of this chocolate cake I made just for you because I know it’s your favorite.”  Figure out how to deal with comments like that.

Forgive yourself and have a plan for setbacks.  Having a plan for when you slip or get off track helps you get back in the swing rather than throwing in the towel in frustration. So you polished off the breadbasket last night at dinner and then followed it up with half a container of ice cream.  It happened.  It’s over.  Don’t let it derail you.  What’s your strategy for getting back on plan?

Give yourself visible cues to remind you of your new behavior.  Send yourself emails, ask co-workers to keep you on your toes, leave post-it note reminders on your kitchen cabinets.  Old habits die hard.  A note on the cabinet where you keep the crackers and chips might prevent you from mindlessly reaching in and munching.

Be committed and willing to work on your goal.  Decide if you’re really willing to make the change in your life. Just making a resolution because it is the New Year won’t keep you motivated to attain your goal. Give yourself visual references – pictures, clothes you want to wear, etc.

Congratulate yourself. Reward yourself when your intermediate goals or resolutions are met.  Maybe it’s time to buy a new pair of jeans to fit your new slimmed down or toned up body.

Diet Diary

By Leave a Comment

I will lose 20 pounds.  If only saying it could make it happen.

Recent research shows that keeping a food diary can help. According to a study, people who write down everything they eat each day lose twice as much as those who don’t.clip_image002_0001

Nearly 1,700 people participated in a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/podcasts.cfm?id=60-second-science , (July 11, 2008). They followed a heart-healthy diet full of fruit, vegetables, and low-fat or nonfat dairy;  attended weekly group sessions; and exercised moderately for 30 minutes a day. After six months nearly two-thirds had lost at least nine pounds. The biggest surprise came from the food logs — people who kept track of what they ate lost twice as much as those who didn’t.

Why should you write down what you eat?

It helps you remember what you’ve consumed. Your short-term memory (your active memory) stores info for about 18 seconds. That’s why it’s important to write down what you ate right away.  You forget – or overlook – if you wait until the end of the day.  You mean you forgot about the candy bar you bought when you stopped for gas?

It creates a record of what you consumed. It’s way too easy to forget the candy you snagged from the bowl on someone’s desk or the rest of the grilled cheese sandwich you ate off of your son’s plate.

It shows you’re serious. Putting your goals on paper takes them from thought to commitment.

A written record keeps you accountable. At the end of the day you have to account for your actions to yourself.  Seeing what you’ve eaten in writing makes it a lot harder to lie to yourself.

It can help you to spot patterns. You may not even realize that you routinely hit the vending machine every day at 11AM and 3PM – or that your car always navigates its way past the donut shop for your glazed chocolate fix on the way home.

Seeing what, how much, and when you’re eating can be a real eye opener and the key to a strategic eating plan to fit your lifestyle.

New Year’s Eve

By Leave a Comment

It’s New Year’s Eve.  If you have big plans, enjoy yourself.  If you’re watching your weight, have a plan – you can still enjoy yourself and not feel deprived.

clip_image002Devise an eating strategy before you go out and commit to carrying it out.  Then you’ll have a much better chance at succeeding – and not hate yourself and curse the scale on the first day of the New Year.  Here are some ideas:

  • If you are going to a party with lots of hors d’oeuvres decide beforehand how many you will have.  Three varieties, one of each?  Two varieties, two of each?
  • Alternate your drink of choice – wine, champagne, liquor – with sparkling water.  Cuts down on the calories, helps with sobriety, and makes it easier for you to resist food temptations.  Hold that glass of sparkling water or diet soda in your hand – the only people who will know it’s non-alcoholic is you and the bartender (who most likely could care less about what you are drinking).
  • If you’re going to dinner decide if you’re going to have dessert ahead of time.  Makes it easier to plan.  If you are going to indulge – even if it’s the house specialty smothered in whipped cream, compensate by having a salad with dressing on the side as your appetizer.  Nix the bread.  Just balance your caloric intake the best you can.
  • If it’s a pizza, wings, and beer affair think about ways to minimize your fat intake – pizza and wings (especially the dip) are loaded.  Cut the pizza slice in half – leave the other half in the box.  When you go back for seconds, retrieve the other half slice. You’ll end up eating just one slice but you’ll feel like you’re having two.  If you can, take off some of the cheese – the main source of fat.  Some people use paper towels or napkins to absorb some of the extra fat floating on the surface of a slice.  Up to you – but it sure does cut down on calories – mopping up the equivalent of two teaspoons of oil knocks off just under 100 calories.

Do you have any tricks or tips you would like to share?