As the obesity epidemic grows in scope, so too does the “blame game.” Lack of exercise, over-consumption of food, sedentary work environments, lifestyle choices, biological predispositions, genes…the list of possible culprits for America’s fatness goes on.
Fast food is a common target. Earlier this month, an advocacy group launched a campaign petitioning 26 hospitals across the country to remove a major fast food restaurant from their cafeterias with the aim of sending a “better message” to consumers.
Some of the reasoning behind the group’s initiative comes from a 2006 study published in the journal Pediatrics that concluded that allowing fast food centers to operate in hospitals not only affects guests’ consumption of fast food on the day of their visit, but also unintentionally boosts the perception of the “healthfulness” of fast food in general. Here’s more research that supports the initiative:
Courtesy of wagnerfpa.wordpress.com.
So being near to fast food increases the likelihood of obesity, but will removing fast food from hospitals (and other institutions and neighborhoods) help solve the problem?
Consider this:
Blaming fast food restaurants for obesity can place us on a slippery slope. Should we remove buses from our streets to force people to choose the less convenient, but “healthier” walking or biking options? After all, sitting for long periods of time is correlated with obesity, and most adults do not get the recommended level of exercise.
Similarly, while we should limit consumption of fast food, we can’t eliminate it from the American diet as long as there is a demand for convenient, inexpensive, and (arguably) tasty food. We need to improve health through education and develop incentives that encourage healthy lifestyle decisions, proper nutrition, and exercise.
Perhaps a partnership between hospitals and Weight Watchers (or other proven commercial weight loss programs), or the establishment of walking groups or active events within hospital walls, could promote lasting change.
We won’t make any progress in the fight against obesity by playing the blame game at the expense of taking responsibility for our health into our own hands.
Courtesy of www.topnews.in.
What do you think? Will restricting fast food lead to a decrease in obesity? How can we as individuals, families, and institutions promote a healthier America?
February is here and with its arrival comes the opportunity to evaluate the success of health-related resolutions. If you’ve resolved to lose weight in 2012, and find yourself struggling, here are three tips to set you back on track.
Start a Food Diary
One of the tips you hear most often to help you change your nutritional lifestyle is to start a food diary. But what does that mean really? And why is it helpful? Won’t it be depressing to see everything you’ve eaten?
Allow me to de-mystify it for you. Here’s why you need to keep one:
1. You become accountable for what you are putting in your mouth. I don’t ask my clients to write a food diary just to yell at them about everything “bad” they ate. It’s not about “bad” and “good.” It’s being honest about what you’re eating and seeing where you can make small changes in your everyday nutrition that will add up big at the end of the month and year.
2. You recognize emotional triggers or habits that you’ve created. I like to see why my clients are eating what they are eating. This may sound silly but we don’t always eat for energy. Maybe we snack in front of the TV at night or always order dessert when we have lunch with our mom. These are habits and triggers that affect our better judgment when it comes to nutrition.
3. You realize why you are starving before dinner and snack on chips while you cook. It’s important to note what time you wake, eat, and go to bed. How soon you eat breakfast, how often you eat, and when your last meal is before you snooze are important. If you wait too long to eat your next meal you’ll be starving and end up snacking on an entire meal before you sit down for dinner. Or you’ll stop at a fast food drive thru. Both habits are not good.
Here’s an example of a thorough food diary:
7:30 a.m. – Woke up
8 a.m. – 1 apple, 2 tbsp. peanut butter, 1 glass water, 1 cup coffee w/1 tbsp. cream (breakfast, hungry)
10 a.m. – 1 Kashi bar and water (140 calories) (a little hungry before workout)
12 p.m. – sandwich w/2 slices of 35 cal bread, low-fat mayo and reduced sodium turkey lunchmeat (3oz.), 1 serving fat-free pretzels and ¼ cup hummus, water (lunch, hungry)
12:30 p.m. – 8 Hershey kisses, water (needed chocolate 
)
2 p.m. – 1 cup grapes, 2 slices provolone cheese, water (snack, hungry)
3 p.m. – 1 apple, small bottle Coke Zero (hungry)
5 p.m. – spinach salad w/craisins, blue cheese, mushrooms, candied walnuts & balsamic dressing, water (starving, had to go to Whole Foods)
8 p.m. – one glass red wine, one small 96% lean hamburger w/o bun, one handful M&M’s (wanted wine and chocolate, hubby made dinner)
10 p.m. – bed
This was my food diary for a day and I was totally honest! Times, exactly what I ate, why I ate what I did, and when I went to bed. So try one for a week, even better two weeks, and see how you do.
Include a Fruit or Vegetable in Every Meal and Snack
These pure and clean foods add more vitamins and minerals with the least amount of calories than any other food. With all of the fiber, water and nutrients that occur naturally in fruits and veggies, you’ll feel fuller longer and will have better health overall. Pair them with lean protein for a well rounded meal or snack. Apples and peanut butter, pears and walnuts, broccoli and low-fat cheese, or baked potatoes and salsa all add up to feeling satisfied without a ton of fat and calories.
Pay Attention to the
Calories You Drink
The calories in fancy coffees, pop, juice, protein shakes, smoothies, and alcohol are all included in your calorie total at the end of the day. You can eat great, sticking within your calorie limit, but a Starbucks frappucino and two glasses of wine can add over 350 calories to your total. Over a week’s time, that’s ¾ of a pound. In a month’s time you have almost three pounds! Yikes!
So stick with water, black coffee and tea, and diet drinks, and count those special drinks as a meal to stay on track.
Which of these tips has worked best for you?
The summer is winding down and it’s time to get back into the habit of bringing lunch to work.
The proverbial turkey sandwich, apple, and Doritos might be well-established and slightly boring staples in your brown paper bag. But cheer up! Taking your lunch to work or school packs a benefit punch you might not have imagined.
Here are 3 ways a bagged lunch beats lunch out any day of the week:
1. Money-Savings
Brown-bagging it saves approximately half what you would spend eating lunch out. So, if you’re currently spending $10 a day on lunch and switch to packing your own , that’s a savings of $1,300 per year! You can then put that money towards personal training at the club and reaching your fitness goals.
2. Portion Control and Immediate Gratification
Yes, the sandwich, apple, and even some Doritos can be healthier than eating out. When you pack your lunch, you are in control of what you eat. You’re also prepared when hunger strikes. Ideally, you are packing a lean meat (probably in sandwich form on whole wheat bread), some fruit, a snack, and maybe a small sweet treat. The portion sizes are controlled, and you can eat as soon as you get hungry.
If you’re like many, this scenario should sound familiar. It’s nearing noon. You realize you are hungry, drive to a restaurant, realize you have moved beyond “hungry” and into “starving” territory, wait some more for the server to take your order and then order too much food. You scarf it all down to return to the office on time, and end up feeling lethargic and way too full.
Everyone’s been there, but you don’t have to go there again. If you had your lunch packed, you could walk to the bench just outside your office, eat slowly while people-watching, and even have time for a lap or two around the block.
Which brings us to benefit number three.
3. More Time for Exercise
If you burned even 100 extra calories per day each lunch hour, that adds up to a loss of 7.5 pounds in a year. And with all of the calories you’ll save just by bringing your lunch, it could be even more. I know I would enjoy being 10 pounds lighter by next September!
So, how do you stay clear of the same old boring bagged lunch?
1. Try not to bring the same exact thing every day or you will start to dread your lunch.
Rotate between lower-sodium turkey breast, roast beef, or chicken breast lunch meat, tuna salad, maybe a bean salad or lettuce salad one day, and of course, leftovers.
2. Remake your leftovers if you don’t like eating the same exact thing.
Mix-in whole wheat pasta and some tomato sauce, serve over brown rice, or wrap it up in a flour tortilla with some low-fat cheese. Add in carrots, celery, zucchini, red/green pepper, or cucumber slices and a low-fat dip.
Toss in a few pieces of fruit (apples, bananas, cherries, and cut-up melons are all great, mess-free options), a “snack” item, such as baked chips, low-fat pretzels, or popcorn (remember to stick to the one-ounce serving size!), and a treat such as a fun-sized candy bar, one ounce of dark chocolate chips, or a serving of gummy bears, and you’re all set!
You should also add in a few items for your mid-morning snack and your afternoon snack. And to make it all much more fun, buy yourself a new insulated lunch box while you’re back to school shopping! Your co-workers will be green with envy when they see your Superman Thermos in the fridge.
How do you keep your bagged lunches interesting?
