How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

With all the decadent food, holiday parties, and other festivities between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it can be difficult to make it to New Years a few added pounds. It’s no wonder that the most popular New Year’s resolution is weight loss. However, this doesn’t have to be the case! By playing it smart from Thanksgiving to January 1st, you truly can maintain your weight. These tips are sure to help you survive the holidays without adding on some extra jiggle.

1. Yes, it’s ok to indulge. Some treats like gingerbread men, pumpkin pie, fudge and more are only around for the holidays. Don’t deprive yourself – enjoy! The trick is to choose smaller portions of your seasonal favorites and eat them slowly so you can savor them. Once you’ve had your favorite dish, give away the leftover and move on.

2. Eat healthy all day long. If you know you are going to fall off the bandwagon by indulging in treats, don’t abandon ship and just eat poorly the entire season long. Make an effort to eat a healthy breakfast and incorporate at least 2-3 servings of vegetables every day.

3. Make healthy eating easy. The holidays can be a very busy time of year which means that meal prep should be simple. Take some time on the weekend to chop up all the fresh fruits and vegetables from your shopping trip to save time later in the week. You can also just switch to pre-chopped vegetables or frozen produce to make things even easier. My favorite way to prepare vegetables  in the winter is to roast them with a bit of salt and olive oil. I’ll do a big batch on the weekend so I can just reheat them for dinner or toss them on salads for lunch.

4. Hide the treats, showcase the healthy eats. Think out of sight; out of mind. Keep fresh fruit on the counter and plenty of fresh cut vegetables, hummus, plain yogurt, and cheese sticks in the fridge so they are the first things you see when coming to the kitchen when you have the munchies. Since the healthier snacks are in plain sight, you may be more likely to reach for those before you dig through cabinets to find the holiday treats.

5. Make movement a priority. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it can be easy to let your workout routine get bumped down to the end of your to-do list. Instead, look online for short intense workouts you can do at home in the morning or make an extra lap around the store to add some walking.

6. Beware the “red cup”. Yes, I agree that the gingerbread latte and peppermint mocha from Starbucks are delicious. However, if you find yourself with red cup in hand more than once or twice a week, you may want to reconsider how you get your caffeine fix. Choose unflavored drinks or ask them to decrease the amount of syrup they add – otherwise those sugary calories add up quickly!

 7. Join a healthy holiday challenge. I know I have been loving the fun activities and social media activity from Elf for Health! There are dozens of other challenges with supportive community members to help you stay healthy through the holidays. Check out this December Workout Challenge via Bess Be Fit or the Move Happy Challenge from Better with Veggies.

How do you stay healthy over the holidays?

Food Addiction: Fact or Fiction

You can’t stop with just one…

I go to eat just one cookie and the next thing I know, the whole package is gone…

I’m a chocoholic…

I’m sure at least one of those statements is either one you’ve uttered or heard before. I know I have! They all relate to one concept  – food addiction. If you are anything like me and have a bit of a sweet tooth, at times it may feel like food is indeed addicting. As the holidays approach, I feel like this topic is particularly relevant since it can be tough to not over indulge in all those holiday treats that are readily available this time of year! So, let’s talk about food addiction. Is it really possible that certain foods can lead to addiction? Here are 10 things I learned from my research on the topic.

1. Food addiction is defined as a compulsive desire to consume “hyperpalatable” foods in excess to reproduce pleasurable changes in brain chemistry (ie. increased dopamine) similar to what you would see in drug addiction.
2. The Yale Food Addiction Scale is one of the best tools we currently have  for identifying individuals who suffer from food addiction.
3. From what we know from mouse studies, “hyperpalatable” foods are the most habit forming. These include sugary foods, processed foods, or high fat/high sugar foods. (2)
4. Potentially addictive foods activate the same pleasure/reward centers in the brain as common addictive drugs. Both food and drugs can stimulate the caudate nucleus, hippocampus, and insula and trigger the release of striatal dopamine, a key player in our brain’s reward system. (3)
5. In some studies, food addiction was more prevalent among obese participants. In other studies, there was no significant difference in the number of normal weight vs. obese individuals who scored higher on the Yale Food Addiction Scale. (1) Just as some people seem more susceptible to substance abuse, some may be more likely to develop food addiction.
6. When rats are allowed to binge on sugar, the same neurochemical changes in dopamine, acetylcholine, and opoid systems occur as when they are exposed to an addictive drug. Repeated exposure to sugar results in higher consumption of sugary foods at each feeding as time progresses and desensitization to dopamine (due to fewer D2 receptors) produced from sugary food binges. (2) Therefore, like a drug, a person has to eat a larger volume of a food to have the same “feel good” sensation.
7.  Rats will also binge eat high fat/high sugar foods which produce the same addictive features as the sugary foods do. They will also binge on fat only, but fat does not cause them to have withdrawal/addictive symptoms like the other foods.  (2)
8. Scientists are using binge eating disorder as a model for trying to try and better understand how food addiction works.
9. If future research finds that food addiction is truly a factor of obesity, the addition of medications that control certain neurochemicals in the brain, may become an important part of treatment.
10. As we learn more about food addiction, it may soon play an interesting role in public policy – like more bans of junk food similar to the regulations on soda size in New York.

If you are one who feels they struggle with food addiction, here are 3 things you can do to help control your craving for addictive foods.

1. Don’t buy addictive foods. You are less likely to binge on foods if you have to go out of your way to get them rather than keeping them in the house.
2. De-stress. Stress and lack of sleep often wear down our self-control. Even in this busy, stressful time of year, schedule time to participate in activities that relieve your stress like walks, yoga, reading a good book, etc.
3. Monitor your exposure to advertising. Yes, this can be very difficult, but when you are trying to control your cravings for fast food or candy, it can be difficult if you watch ads for those things constantly. Think about limiting your tv time or walk away when commercials are on.

Superfood Bowl with Spicy Kale and Tempeh

One neighborhood restaurant that has already become a favorite of mine is the Chicago Diner. It’s completely meat free but you would never have guessed by how delicious the food is there! They are actually best known for their reuben – which is, in fact, awesome. Another favorite of mine is something called the soul bowl which has quinoa, greens, black beans, blackened tofu, and mashed sweet potatoes. I was craving it the other day, so we decided to whip up a similar at home. It turned out so well, I wanted to share it with you! Everything in this bowl is packed with great nutrients for you. Quickly search any of these foods online and you’re sure to see at least one person call them a “superfood”!

Superfood Bowl with Spicy Kale and Tempeh (vegan, gluten-free)

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 package tempeh, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 bunch kale leaves, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/3 cup black quinoa
• 1/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1 medium baked sweet potato, mashed

Directions:

1. Heat canola oil in large saucepan. Add tempeh and cook until it begins to brown on the outside. Pour in the vinegar, soy sauce, and sriracha and cook one minute. Add the kale and cook 5-7 minutes or until kale begins to wilt.
2. Add dry spices to kale/tempeh mixture. Stir and cook another 1-2 minutes or until kale is soft.
3. In a small saucepan, combine quinoa, water, and broth. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook on medium heat until quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid, about 15 minutes.
4. Combine kale/tempeh mixture, sweet potato, and quinoa in a bowl and serve.

Fad Diets Debunked: The Intermittent Fasting Diet

After all the fun I had coming up with my detox diet post, I thought I would make a series of it and review a few of the most popular diet trends out there! Today, I wanted to chat about the intermittent or alternate day fasting diet. Have you heard of this one? A few wildly popular books have been published recently toting this diet by different names like: The 5:2  Diet, The Fast Diet, or The Overnight Diet. I know women’s health magazines and various blogs have been talking about this diet a lot over the past few months. However, is it really worth all the hype? Here’s the basic concept of the diet:

• Eat your normal diet (or a little bit healthier version of your normal) 4-6 days of the week
• On the off days you will either completely fast for close to 24 hours or drastically restrict your calories to about 25% of your needs. Another way to achieve the fast period is by skipping two meals one day.
• Weight loss occurs because during your fast days, your body goes through your stored energy (glycogen) and then begins to use fat as an energy source

So, to lose weight all you have to do is fast a couple of days a week – no changes in your non-fast day diet required? Hmm… let’s take a closer look at the published research behind this diet concept and see what you think. To date, most of the research has been on mice so it is difficult to relate those same benefits to humans. Also, almost all human studies have been conducted at the same medical facility – University of Illinois in Chicago. Most have lasted on a few weeks, so we still have no data on long-term effects of this type of diet.

• 16 obese adults followed an alternate day fasting diet (eat one day, “fast” on 25% energy needs the next) for 8 weeks and lost an average of 5.8% of their original body weight. They also noted a significant decrease in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. (Source)
• A group of 8 non-obese men and 8 non-obese women fasted every other day for 22 days and lost an average of 2.5% of their body weight. Of note, hunger did not decrease on fast days over time so many subjects felt the diet wasn’t sustainable in the long-term. (Source)
• No significant or consistent positive effects on blood sugar have been found using alternative day fasting to date. (Source)
• The effect of intermittent fasting on cancer risk is yet to be tested in humans, but mice studies show it might be protective against certain types of cancer. (Source)

My take home message for those thinking about intermittent/alternative day fasting? It may be a great idea in theory, but I feel like making simple, healthy diet changes will be a lot more effective for weight loss in the long run. Plus, the research out there on the subject is still very limited. You may see a pound or two come off in the first couple of weeks you try intermittent fasting, but over time, you will get much better results by changing the type of food you eat, not the timing.

What do you think? Have you ever tried intermittent fasting? 

8 Healthy Ways to Flavor Your Oats

What are your favorite breakfast foods? Are you a fan of sweet or savory breakfast dishes? My favorite breakfast food is oats, which have become quite the staple for my first meal of the day. Not only can they be dressed up all kinds of different ways, they are also great for you! It is chock full of fiber, selenium, and magnesium and is one of the only foods that will actually keep me feeling full until lunch time.  In addition, a diet rich in the soluble fiber, beta-glucan, contained in oats has been shown to help lower your LDL or “bad” cholesterol as well as your overall risk of heart disease by as much as 10%. (Source)

Often, when I suggest eating oatmeal to patients, they are hesitant to try it because they feel it is too bland or boring. Others may already be eating processed oatmeal in packets which is great in theory, but is often chock full of sugar and fake flavorings. They are also expensive! However, if you buy plain rolled oats, they are always cheap and still have all their good-for-you fiber without the added chemicals and sugar. Whenever I prepare my oats in the morning, I use milk for the liquid rather than water for some additional protein and calcium. Plus, milk gives the oats a lot creamier texture as well.

Here are some of my favorite healthy ways to dress up oatmeal:

1. Chopped apple, cinnamon, and walnuts
2. Diced banana, peanut butter, dash of maple syrup
3. Halved figs, vanilla, and walnuts
4. Chopped pear, almond butter, cinnamon
5. Chopped peaches, chia seeds, diced almonds
6. Peanut butter and dark chocolate chips
7. Pumpkin puree, cinnamon, walnuts
8. Berries, coconut cream, and chia seeds

Do you like oatmeal? What is your favorite way to dress up your oats?

4 Ways to Lower Your Risk of Breast Cancer

Source

Over the course of the year, over 220,00 women and 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer according to the CDC. That’s just one year! With such staggering statistics, it’s likely that you personally know someone who has battled breast cancer. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to recognize and honor those with who have battled or are currently battling breast cancer. It is also a time to consider what you can do to help lower your own risk of breast cancer.

• Maintain a healthy weight. Numerous studies have indicated that those who are overweight or obese are at a higher risk for breast cancer – especially if you were a normal weight when younger. For example, the Nurses Health Study found that women in their 50’s who gained up to 50 pounds since the age of 18 were up to 45% more likely to have breast cancer than those who maintained their weight. (Source)
• Exercise regularly. Regular physical activity correlated to a significant decrease in postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Reduction in risk ranges from 20-80% in the studies reviewed with at least 75 minutes of moderate activity per week. (Source)
• Monitor your alcohol intake. Observational studies have showed a significant relationship between breast cancer risk and alcohol intake. Breast cancer risk was increased by 28-50% in women who routinely drank 2 or more alcoholic beverages/day compared to non-drinkers. (Source)
• Increase your intake of fiber. A few studies have measured a significant 13% breast cancer risk reduction from a higher fiber diet (about 26 grams of fiber/day). So, load up on more fiber and antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables throughout the day!  (Source)

Take some time this October to sport some pink and work on lowering your risk of breast cancer with these healthy diet and lifestyle changes. Encourage your friends and family to work on making healthy lifestyle changes to their risk as well. Perhaps we can lower those staggering statistics from the CDC!

Debunking the Detox Diet

If you take a second to google “detox diet”, you may be surprised to find that over 16,300,000 hits pop up! The detox diet trend is overwhelmingly popular, but is it sound science? Some of the most popular hits include Dr. Oz’s 48 Hour Weekend Detox, the Lemon Detox, the Best Detox Diet for Weight Loss, etc. All of them make claims like, “remove all toxins from your body!” or “feel energized and rev up your metabolism!”. From all that we know about health and diet, do you ever wonder why you never hear any doctor (besides Dr. Oz) or dietitian prescribing them? Let’s talk a little today about why detox diets aren’t what they are advertised to be.

Detox Diet Discrepancies:

• Eliminate Toxins: If you review the claims provided with any of these diets, the dietary “toxins” you need to eliminate are never clearly defined. Why? They do not exist! Food does not contain “toxins” that need to be cleared out of the body simply by practicing a specific diet. The USDA regulates everything that is put on food or fed to animals to make sure additives such as flavor enhancers, food coloring, pesticides, and preservatives do not cause any adverse effects on your health. In addition to regulation, your body itself is designed to effectively eliminate any substances which could be harmful. The liver breaks down any non-food substances (think medication or food additives) so they can be excreted by the kidneys which filter all of your blood and produce urine. Your gut also helps prevent any harmful bacteria or pesticides in food from entering the body in the first place.
• Help You Lose Weight: Many, if not all, detox diet plans ask you to severely restrict calories, eliminate most food groups, or fast completely over the course of the diet. The “weight loss” in this case is water weight from restricting calories too much or fasting over a period of time. However, once you return to eating normally, the 1-2 pounds that were lost during your detox will come back.
• Decrease Bloating: A lot of detox diets focus on juicing or eating only a few fruits and vegetables and drinking lots of liquids. For a person who normally eats a lot of refined foods and little fiber, going on a high fiber detox  diet can have significant GI effects. By dramatically increasing your fiber intake, you help eliminate constipation (and therefore, bloating) by going on these diets.  Again, this is only short term unless you maintain a higher fiber diet after the detox.
• Make You Feel Energized: The reason for this is two-fold. One, you feel better because you have eliminated refined grains and junk food from your diet for a couple of days and increased your fiber intake, eliminating constipation. The other reason? It is just all in your head – ie. the placebo effect. You believe that by doing this detox, you are doing a good thing for your body, and thereby convince yourself that in fact, you do feel better.

So, if a detox diet isn’t the way to “clean up your diet and your body”. What can you do? Here my 7 tips for cleaning up your diet. Instead of going on that detox diet, eat this way for at least 3 days and see how you feel. The best thing about eating this way is that instead of serving as a temporary cleanse or diet, it will be a jump start for adopting a healthier diet for the rest of your life. Choose one of these 7 tips to start with, or jump right in and incorporate all 7. Check out my recipe page for tasty ideas on how to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains!

Have you ever gone on a detox diet? What are your thoughts?

10 of My Favorite RD Bloggers

For today’s 10 link Tuesday, I thought I would share 10 of my favorite, fellow RD bloggers. Until I started blogging myself, I never realized just how great of a community of dietitians in social media I was joining.

1. Kath Eats Real Food: Kath’s blog was one of the very first that I ever started reading. I love her simple, approachable way of talking about healthy eating. She posts almost all of her meals too. They always look so delicious!
2. Inspired RD: I love Alysa’s honesty when it comes to living and eating with celiac disease. If I come across a patient with this diagnosis, her blog is one I suggest following!
3. The Lean Green Bean: Lindsay’s blog is the place for fun recipes, crossfit tips, and the famous Sunday Food Prep shoutout!
4. Prevention RD: Nicole’s recipes and pretty photography are worth every visit to her blog!
5. Nutritionella: At first, I was drawn to Elle’s blog because I really admired her design as well as her fabulous photos. Plus, her recipes are delicious!
6. Nutrition Unplugged: I admire Janet Helm’s way of using well researched posts to dispel common nutrition myths.
7. Dietitian Cassie: I love Cassie’s no nonsense approach to nutrition and we share a lot of similar philosophies about diet and health.
8. Fannetastic Food: I love reading about Anne’s newest running adventure and her simple recipes always turn out so yummy.
9. Nutrition Adventures: Karman’s food photogrophy is gorgeous and her recipes are always so creative.
10. Delicious Knowledge: I just recently found Alex’s blog, but I am so glad I did! She has it all – fabulous recipes, gorgeous photos, and fitness tips as well!

September is Hunger Awareness Month

As the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) faces a potential $40 billion budget cut, this Hunger Awareness Month comes at just the perfect time. According to the USDA, over 50 million Americans are living in a state of food insecurity. Food insecurity means that a family, at some point during the year, must decide between paying for medical bills, loans, housing, etc. instead of purchasing food. Of note, the individuals within that 50 million are not all adults, that number includes 16.5 million children as well. (Source)

Food insecurity also contributes to a person’s risk of chronic disease as well. When healthy food costs so much more than the processed stuff, this makes sense. According to 1999-2004 NHANES data, low-income participants were more likely to report a hypertension or high cholesterol. (Source) Individuals struggling food insecurity are also at higher risk for overweight and obesity, especially women and children. In fact, children from low socioeconomic homes are two times more likely to be obese than children from higher income homes. (Source)
The issue of hunger has not gone unnoticed, however. There are hundreds of wonderful organizations out there working to help alleviate food insecurity in our country and around the world. For example, Meals on Wheels provides millions of hot meals to home-bound seniors. Feeding America fights hunger by coordinating thousands of food pantries. No Kid Hungry connects needy children with nutrition programs such as school breakfast and summer meals. Here in Chicago, the Greater Chicago Food Depository feeds thousands of people every year at shelters, pantries, and their Produce-mobiles. These organizations can’t get by without thousands of volunteers and donations – that’s where you and I come in!

Here’s a few ideas of what we can do to help fight hunger and food insecurity:

• Map the Meal Gap and see how hunger impacts your own community
• Wear orange to show your support
• Volunteer at a local food pantry
• Donate canned goods
• Take the SNAP challenge and try to eat with only $4.50/day (The CEO of Panera Bread is doing it!)

Supplements: Worth the Extra Cost?

Did you know that according to the latest NHANES data from 2006, 53% of the US population takes at least one supplement on a regular basis? (Source) So, if supplements did all that they promised, you would think that our nation’s rate of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes would be lower, right? Research studies which have looked at supplement use and disease risk have often come up with neutral or negative results. Of course, that isn’t what they tell you at the store or in their commercials!
You know what is consistently linked with a lower risk of chronic disease? A high intake of fruits and vegetables.  The combined or synergistic effect of the variety of nutrients in fruits and vegetables are more effective than the isolated nutrients found in supplements. Something I am always happy to hear as fruits and vegetables are much cheaper than supplements. Plus, as a dietitian, I would much rather encourage patients to eat real food than take a pill.
To get a better understanding of the science behind supplements, let’s take a quick look at some of the most recent research. Not all the research is negative, as you’ll see.

• The Cochrane Library (known for doing excellent study reviews), looked at whether antioxidant supplements (like Vitamin C and E) had any effect on the prevention of disease in healthy persons and those with chronic disease. Antioxidant supplements had no effect on prevention of disease or mortality. In fact, they may slightly increase your risk by about 2%. (Source)
• In a large study of over 38,000 older women (mean age 61.5), a 6% increased risk of mortality was associated with use of multivitamins and 10% for iron.  The only supplement with a 9% mortality risk reduction was calcium. (Source)
• Supplements were unable to provide any effect on cardiovascular health risk after reviewing 50 studies. (Source)
• The famous SELECT (Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial) found that Vitamin E supplementation increased prostate cancer risk by 13% in men 50+ years of age. (Source)
• Omega 3 supplements and cardiovascular disease risk continues to be debatable – which surprised me! Even though supplementation can lower triglycerides, it has not consistently decreased mortality from cardiovascular disease. (Source)
• Vitamin D supplementation appears to help prevent falls in the elderly and when combined with calcium, decrease risk of breast cancer by 14-20% per the Women’s Health Initiative Study. (Source)

Overall, it appears that taking supplements to try to ensure that you balance out a poor diet or prevent certain diseases is not going to work. You can’t just take a multivitamin or supplement as “insurance” and continue to eat a diet low in fresh fruits, vegetables, and fiber. A well rounded diet is much more effective for preventing chronic disease over time than supplementation in a healthy individual. Supplements are indicated in some cases such as deficiency as diagnosed by a physician or in early pregnancy (folic acid supplementation helps prevent neural tube defects). In any case, it is best to check with your doctor before starting any supplementation, especially if you are taking other medications. However, for most of us, I think spending a few extra dollars on a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will bring much more satisfaction and health benefits than many dollars better spent on a supplement.

What do you think? Do you take a multivitamin or other supplement?