Friday, May 9, 2008
Q: I really, truly can't exercise. Is my diet doomed?
A: I’m so glad to have a chance to answer this question. If I had a dime for everyone who tells me that they can’t diet because they can’t exercise! My response: Don’t! Exercise, that is. If no time to exercise is keeping you from dieting then you should cross exercise off your to-do list for now. It does take time to exercise; it doesn’t take time to eat well. In my experience roughly 80 percent of weight loss is the result of food intake not calories spent in exercise. I myself am an avid exerciser and depend on it to reduce stress as well as for heart and whole body health. But for busy people, adding exercise can become a stress in itself and a barrier to weight loss because it’s an excuse not to eat well. If you’re already exercising, great; continue. But if you can’t find time to exercise now, don’t worry. Focus on eating well - rely on the Wall Street strategies for busy people - and you’ll ultimately reach your goal. For lots of details on how to think about exercise so you won’t be discouraged, as well as countless suggestions, see The Wall Street Diet. (Page 199 gives my famous “twenty minute rule”.)
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Q: I use diet soda to cut down on daily calorie intake. Good or bad idea?
A: Bad idea. Most people who drink diet soda are drinking it as a replacement for water and water is always the best hydrator. Water can actually help boost metabolism. There’s some evidence that suggests that diet drinks can even have a negative effect on weight loss. A recent study found that study animals who ate yogurt sweetened with saccharine versus those who ate it sweetened with sugar experienced weight gain. How’s that for depressing? They’re not certain why this would happen. It could be some metabolic change stimulated by the artificial sweetener or it could be a behavioral change (I’m eating low-cal yogurt so I can have the cupcake.) Some researchers speculate that the artificial sweetener actually triggers your insulin levels and if your insulin levels are triggered you will crave and therefore eat more carbohydrates and more calories overall. In my experience, clients who drink diet soda aren’t drinking water. Despite the fact that some research indicates that water is not important for weight loss, I have seen over and over again clients who are perfect eaters/exercisers but drink no water and can’t seem to lose an ounce. When I insist they up their water intake they lose weight. There is no better research then 10 years of experience! If you are a diet soda addict, try to reduce your intake if you can’t cut it out entirely and make it your goal to get in 6-8 cups of water before drinking your diet soda (this trick always works because there is only so much fluid you can fit into your body : ) . Also try to get in 1 liter by lunch…busy people always wait until the end of the day and there is no way to cram it all in after 6 without having your sleep suffer from the constant bathroom trips. I give a host of tips on water in The Wall Street Diet including recommended daily amounts and how water intake affects weight loss. (You can find a hot tip on the dangers of “diet” mixers on page 134 of The Wall Street Diet.) Bottom line…less diet soda and more water is the way to go to reach your goal.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
How to look and feel fabulous this summer
Have you looked at the calendar lately? There are less than 60 days to Memorial Day weekend! 30 and 40° weather will soon be a memory, and we’ll be basking in 80° sunshine. If your New Year resolutions slipped away in the past few weeks, buried by cold weather, snow, work and family responsibilities, don’t worry: there’s still time to get healthy, fit and lean for summer!
Stress and work productivity
Some of us work better under stress. Give me a deadline, and my creative juices start to flow! The Yerkes-Dawson law states that as stress increases, so does efficiency and production – to a point. At some level, stress becomes too much for us, and burn-out grinds performance and efficiency to a halt.
Stress also has a food connection. Chronic stress actually increases the production of cortisol, a hormone that makes us crave rich, sweet, pleasurable foods. Cortisol demands food high in fat and carbohydrate such as potato chips, donuts, and ice cream to provide a steady source of energy in case we need escape from raging saber-tooth tigers, or deal with escalating work requirements. Cortisol also tells our body to store those extra calories as fat cells in our abdomen, which then turns off the stress hormones.
What do you do when your stress levels zoom through the ceiling? After 9/11, a survey by the American Institute for Cancer Research found that 20% of people were eating more comfort foods such as mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese. 19% sought out sugar to reduce their stress, reaching for cookies and ice cream. Comfort foods such as cookies, snack crackers, and donuts may make us think we feel better. But that feeling only lasts for a few minutes, and then reality kicks in. We feel physically terrible because our blood sugar is dropping like a rocket. We feel emotionally drained because we ate far more than we anticipated. Our stress levels go even higher because we feel like we just can’t cope and meet our health goals at the same time.
A 3-step approach for success
Don’t let your hectic work, social, and travel schedule get in the way of meeting your health and fitness goals. In my new book, The Wall Street Diet, I outline numerous strategies to reaching your goals. Instead of increasing your stress levels by adding yet another project – a diet – to your already jam-packed life, put these three simple yet effective tips into place.
Tip 1: Prioritize
Maybe you have 5, 10, or more items on your to-do list to get your body health-and-fitness-ready for summer. Prioritize that list, and focus on just one weak area. If you try to do everything at once, you’re going to increase your stress levels, which typically leads to inactivity and failure. Each week pick one primary goal for the week, and stick with it.
For example, you might decide to start with alcohol consumption. Alcohol is the fastest way to add empty calories, and it weakens your resolve to choose healthier foods. The average serving of 1.5 ounces of 80-proof alcohol contains about 90 calories before adding mixers. There’s no need to abstain from alcohol completely. Instead, you might choose to drink only one mixed drink per day. Or you might decide to stick with a glass of wine and forgo high calorie mixers. Try drinking mineral water with a slice of lime at a cocktail party instead of alcohol.
By prioritizing your to-do list, you’ll keep your goals manageable and feel successful. Each small success breeds even more success, and before you know it you’ll make progress in every area on that list.
Tip #2: Prepare
Preparation trumps will power every time. Plan out what you’re going to eat for breakfast and lunch. Limit yourself to one or two breakfast choices, and just a few lunch options to keep it simple and hassle-free. Plan for at least three days per week where you have a finite lunch and dinner, such as a turkey sandwich from the corner deli or a frozen meal for dinner. Pick one or two snacks to bring with you each day. A 6-ounce container of Dannon Lite and Fit yogurt, a Kashi TLC granola bar, an apple, or a Babybel light cheese are satisfying, healthy snacks that won’t increase your stress levels.
Plan ahead for a weekly massage to work away stress. Take a 5 minute walk outside in the middle of the day to let the sunshine revive your spirits. Before you step into a stressful meeting or pick up the phone to call a difficult client, take 5-10 deep, slow breaths. Let the air fill your lungs and energize your body, and exhale away stress and tension.
#3: Recover
If you view any slipup as a defeat instead of a bump in the road, or you demand perfection in your eating habits, you’re more likely to increase your stress levels and strike out on your health and fitness goals. Resetting yourself by doing something active and concrete helps you restructure your thinking so you avoid an all-or-nothing attitude that cripples your success.
Use a Protein Day after a day filled with eating disasters to get right back on track. Base your meals and snacks around protein: eggs or egg whites for breakfast, grilled chicken or fish in a salad for lunch and with steamed vegetables for dinner, and canned tuna or sliced turkey for snacks. A Protein Day gives your body a break from carbohydrates and breaks the cycle of overeating and then feeling terrible.
Another recovery tool is a Veggie Night, where you microwave a white or sweet potato and two cups of vegetables. In less than 10 minutes you have a satisfying meal that helps erase the earlier lapses of the day. Enjoying a Veggie Night helps you regroup, so you wake up the next morning feeling light and ready for a balanced breakfast.
Two months and counting!
Enjoy the warmer weather, sunnier days, and longer periods of daylight as we move through Spring into Memorial Day Weekend. With the tips outlined here, you’ll be beach-ready before you know it!
Stress and work productivity
Some of us work better under stress. Give me a deadline, and my creative juices start to flow! The Yerkes-Dawson law states that as stress increases, so does efficiency and production – to a point. At some level, stress becomes too much for us, and burn-out grinds performance and efficiency to a halt.
Stress also has a food connection. Chronic stress actually increases the production of cortisol, a hormone that makes us crave rich, sweet, pleasurable foods. Cortisol demands food high in fat and carbohydrate such as potato chips, donuts, and ice cream to provide a steady source of energy in case we need escape from raging saber-tooth tigers, or deal with escalating work requirements. Cortisol also tells our body to store those extra calories as fat cells in our abdomen, which then turns off the stress hormones.
What do you do when your stress levels zoom through the ceiling? After 9/11, a survey by the American Institute for Cancer Research found that 20% of people were eating more comfort foods such as mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese. 19% sought out sugar to reduce their stress, reaching for cookies and ice cream. Comfort foods such as cookies, snack crackers, and donuts may make us think we feel better. But that feeling only lasts for a few minutes, and then reality kicks in. We feel physically terrible because our blood sugar is dropping like a rocket. We feel emotionally drained because we ate far more than we anticipated. Our stress levels go even higher because we feel like we just can’t cope and meet our health goals at the same time.
A 3-step approach for success
Don’t let your hectic work, social, and travel schedule get in the way of meeting your health and fitness goals. In my new book, The Wall Street Diet, I outline numerous strategies to reaching your goals. Instead of increasing your stress levels by adding yet another project – a diet – to your already jam-packed life, put these three simple yet effective tips into place.
Tip 1: Prioritize
Maybe you have 5, 10, or more items on your to-do list to get your body health-and-fitness-ready for summer. Prioritize that list, and focus on just one weak area. If you try to do everything at once, you’re going to increase your stress levels, which typically leads to inactivity and failure. Each week pick one primary goal for the week, and stick with it.
For example, you might decide to start with alcohol consumption. Alcohol is the fastest way to add empty calories, and it weakens your resolve to choose healthier foods. The average serving of 1.5 ounces of 80-proof alcohol contains about 90 calories before adding mixers. There’s no need to abstain from alcohol completely. Instead, you might choose to drink only one mixed drink per day. Or you might decide to stick with a glass of wine and forgo high calorie mixers. Try drinking mineral water with a slice of lime at a cocktail party instead of alcohol.
By prioritizing your to-do list, you’ll keep your goals manageable and feel successful. Each small success breeds even more success, and before you know it you’ll make progress in every area on that list.
Tip #2: Prepare
Preparation trumps will power every time. Plan out what you’re going to eat for breakfast and lunch. Limit yourself to one or two breakfast choices, and just a few lunch options to keep it simple and hassle-free. Plan for at least three days per week where you have a finite lunch and dinner, such as a turkey sandwich from the corner deli or a frozen meal for dinner. Pick one or two snacks to bring with you each day. A 6-ounce container of Dannon Lite and Fit yogurt, a Kashi TLC granola bar, an apple, or a Babybel light cheese are satisfying, healthy snacks that won’t increase your stress levels.
Plan ahead for a weekly massage to work away stress. Take a 5 minute walk outside in the middle of the day to let the sunshine revive your spirits. Before you step into a stressful meeting or pick up the phone to call a difficult client, take 5-10 deep, slow breaths. Let the air fill your lungs and energize your body, and exhale away stress and tension.
#3: Recover
If you view any slipup as a defeat instead of a bump in the road, or you demand perfection in your eating habits, you’re more likely to increase your stress levels and strike out on your health and fitness goals. Resetting yourself by doing something active and concrete helps you restructure your thinking so you avoid an all-or-nothing attitude that cripples your success.
Use a Protein Day after a day filled with eating disasters to get right back on track. Base your meals and snacks around protein: eggs or egg whites for breakfast, grilled chicken or fish in a salad for lunch and with steamed vegetables for dinner, and canned tuna or sliced turkey for snacks. A Protein Day gives your body a break from carbohydrates and breaks the cycle of overeating and then feeling terrible.
Another recovery tool is a Veggie Night, where you microwave a white or sweet potato and two cups of vegetables. In less than 10 minutes you have a satisfying meal that helps erase the earlier lapses of the day. Enjoying a Veggie Night helps you regroup, so you wake up the next morning feeling light and ready for a balanced breakfast.
Two months and counting!
Enjoy the warmer weather, sunnier days, and longer periods of daylight as we move through Spring into Memorial Day Weekend. With the tips outlined here, you’ll be beach-ready before you know it!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Spring Pilaf with Salmon and Asparagus
Ingredients
4 cups water
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups (1-inch) diagonally cut asparagus
3 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Bring water to a boil in a large skillet; add salmon (skin side up). Return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove fish with a slotted spoon and discard water; cool fish slightly. Remove and discard skin; break fish into large pieces.
Return pan to heat; melt butter over medium-high heat. Add asparagus; cook 6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice, peas, and broth; cook 1 minute. Add salmon, parsley, and remaining ingredients; stir well to combine. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 391(29% from fat); FAT 12.8g (sat 3.4g,mono 4.3g,poly 4g); PROTEIN 24.7g; CHOLESTEROL 61mg; CALCIUM 43mg; SODIUM 385mg; FIBER 2.7g; IRON 3.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.9g
From Cooking Light, APRIL 2003
Research Roundup: How to reduce your risk of heart disease
Are you curious about what to eat – and what not to eat – to decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease? The OmniHeart trial published information in the February 2008 issue of The Journal of the American Dietetic Association on the effectiveness of three different eating patterns to decrease blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors. Saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium intake were kept even in the three groups, but total carbohydrate, protein, and monounsaturated fat content differed. All three diets lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and decreased overall risk of developing heart disease. Each diet emphasized the use of fresh fruit, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products; included whole grains, nuts, and fish; and reduced intake of red meat, sweets, and sugary beverages.
These global, population-based messages are important, but science is taking the next step in making individualized recommendations, based on your personal genetic profile. Navigenics is one company with a federally certified laboratory that screens personal genetic material from a sample of saliva and provides clinically-based, individual feedback on specific steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. In the near future, your physician will be able to give you precise guidelines on lifestyle habits to prevent chronic disease. For now, keep eating your fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish, and whole grains.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Honey Oatmeal Muffins
Makes 12 Muffins
Ingredients
¾ cup rolled oats
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
14 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup honey
½ cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
Directions
Combine oats, flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and soda; mix well. Beat eggs, honey, milk and oil together; mix well. Pour honey mixture over dry ingredients; mix only until moistened. Spoon into oiled muffin tins. Bake at 375°F for 20 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean.
Nutrition Information
179 calories
32% of calories from fat
6.5g fat
36mg cholesterol
26 g carbohydrate
2.5 g dietary fiber
5 g protein
178mg sodium
Source: National Honey Board www.honey.com
Sugar Substitutes and Weight Gain
Researchers from Purdue University tested this theory on two groups of rats in three different experiments. They discovered that rats fed yogurt sweetened with saccharin went on to eat more calories and gained more body fat and weight than another group of rats fed yogurt sweetened with glucose, which is basically pure sugar. The researchers theorize that our bodies expect sweet foods to contain calories, and when they don’t, we overcompensate by eating more calories throughout the day. The findings, published in the February 2008 issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, present a possible explanation for the rising tide of obesity, even in the presence of thousands of foods and beverages sweetened with no-calorie sugar substitutes. This study was done in rats, not humans, and it only used saccharin, an older sugar substitute that is less widely used than aspartame or sucralose. However, limiting your sweet intake – from both sugar and sugar substitutes, seems like a prudent step to maintain a healthy body weight.
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