Tuesday, December 6, 2011

HCG Diet

A while back I posted a blog about the HCG diet and the dangers associated with it. For a long time this diet was being advocated by many doctors and other clinicians. But I am happy to say that now the FDA has deemed HCG supplements as illegal.

This was my post:

There are many bogus diets out there. One diet that has me completely floored, not in a good way, is the HCG diet. This diet requires taking HCG (human chronic gonadotropin), which is a hormone, shots and limiting your calorie intake to 500 calories a day. This hormone injection apparantly aids in the fat burning process. Why should we rely on this hormone, rather than burn the fat by exercising?

Honestly, I am so disturbed that doctors are actually recommending this diet to their patients. As a nutritionist I feel this diet is not healthy for ANY patient. The big problem I have with this diet is the calorie restriction. We are supposed to be taking in about 1200 calories a day, that is the norm. Calorie intake can be different for men and women. Also calorie intake can depend on the person's height and built. Some people can handle more than 1200 calories and still be able to work out and lose weight. But the magic number is 1200. Restricting your calorie intake to less than 1200 calories can affect brain function and other processes in the body depend on food intake for them to take place. If our calorie is restricted these processes can still be achieved, but will rely on our fat stores that are already there.

Why is this detrimental? Is this not how we lose weight? These are some questions you are probably asking. When we eat a proper diet with proper calorie intake we are "refueling our body." We can still lose weight if we burn those calories the proper way through exercise. Processes can occur if our body is in starvation mode, but it will occur at the expense of other important processes that are lacking that energy coming from food. Make sense?

Another important factor to consider is vitamin deficiencies. If our calories are restricted this drastically, we will lose all the essential vitamins our body gets from food. We need these vitamins for our body to be healthy. So I 100% do not agree with this diet and do not recommend it to anyone.

Read the following article at this link for updates on the HCG diet:

Feds crack down on homeopathic weight loss remedy - USA Today - http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/diet-nutrition/story/2011-12-06/Feds-crack-down-on-homeopathic-weight-loss-remedy/51673962/1

Monday, November 14, 2011

The most important meal of the day: Breakfast


The key to keeping your weight stable and to avoid packing on the extra pounds is never skip breakfast! I know that everyone's excuse to not eat breakfast is not enough time, but you must make the special extra effort to wake up early and nourish your body with something after that 7-8 hour night fast. If you skip breakfast you are just setting yourself up for binging the rest of the day. We must feed out bodies after sleeping 7-8 hours and it is important for your metabolism as well.

Just like a car your body needs fuel to run on. Think of having breakfast as refueling that empty gas tank. You cannot drive on an empty gas tank and your body cannot function on an empty stomach!!! Your breakfast does not have to be something that will take you 30 minutes to make. It can be something simple as an apple with some string cheese. You have your fiber from the apple and the protein from the cheese that can sustain your for about 2 hours. Another great thing that does not take long is a whole wheat waffle with one tsp of peanut butter. You have the protein from the peanut butter and then the carbohydrate (good carb since its whole wheat) from the waffle.


I notice if I do not eat breakfast I tend to get headaches or I just feel run down all day. By skipping breakfast I have decreased my metabolism. I feel lazy, tired, groggy, and extremely hungry throughout the day.

So remember to fuel up your body in the morning so you can keep on going throughout the day.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

What is a healthy diet?

What is a healthy diet? Everyone may have their own definitions for this. My definition of a healthy diet is one that incorporates healthy fruits and vegetables, whole grains, limits sodium intake, and limiting "bad" fats. This is the basis of the Mad Diet. This is what I have followed and stuck with to keep my weight stable. Let me give you an idea of what my dietary intake looks like throughout the day. This is a typical day for me:

Breakfast:
1/2 whole wheat bagel
1 egg(scrambled)
Tea with skim milk (no sugar)

Workout-about 32 oz water

Snack
Banana or south beach bar

Lunch
Salad: romaine lettuce, 1 royal gala apple, walnuts(about 6-7), blueberries, with rasberry walnut vinagrette dressing
1/2 whole wheat pita with 4 slices of chicken breast
1 cup green tea

28-32 oz of water throughout the day

Snack
piece of cheese

Dinner
1/4 cup brown rice
small salad(1/4 cup): 4-5 baby carrots drizzled with olive oil
and chicken(stew or grilled with spices)

Decaf green tea before bed

This is an example of what I eat. But not daily because variation is very important. If you are redundant you get bored and then tend to fall of the wagon.

It is just important to remember to eat every 2-4 hours and hydration is very important. If you multiply your body weight by .66 that is how much water in ounces you should be drinking daily!!!!

Still in shape 3 years after having my second child!

It has been almost 3 years since my second child! I am still at my pre-pregnancy weight! This Mad Diet really works! I think everyone should adapt it as their lifestyle. I have actually stuck with this diet basically after all my pregnancies and it has helped me keep the weight off.

Having a healthy diet and incorporating exercise into your life can be beneficial not only for you, but for your whole family! Being fit gives you more energy for your kids and you can be a better mom. Exercise will keep you energized throughout the day to keep up with your kids. Also, it is a great stress reliever. I look forward to my workouts everyday where I have an hour to myself to not think about anything going on in my life except for burning some extra calories and getting into good shape.

The key to keeping in shape is not only working out, but being active throughout the day. KEEP MOVING!!! If you workout in the morning and keep moving throughout the day you are continuing to burn calories. Always, remember to fuel up as well on healthy snacks. It is very important to eat 3 meals a day and snack in between. Remember to replenish your body with nutrients every 2-4 hours. This will prevent drops in your blood sugar leading to binging at your next meal due to extreme hunger.
Some examples of healthy snacks:
  • nuts(in limitation becasue they can be fattening but they do have protein)
  • apple, orange, banana, berries, or any fruit of your liking
  • raw veggies(celery, carrot sticks, broccoli)
  • string cheese or a slice of cheese
  • 8 oz of skim milk
  • small whole wheat pita with hummus
These are just some examples of healthy snacks. I will have additional posts with more pointers on losing weight and keeping it off!!!!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Long Time No Post!!!

It has been a while since my last post!!! I am in the process of doing my Masters in Nutrition and classes have been pretty tough. However, I am learning a lot and will be posting more information on nutrition and fitness very soon.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Tandoori chicken



I have decided to share with everyone my favorite recipes. This is an easy recipe to follow and it is very quick to make when you do not have time to make anything too complicated. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast cut in small pieces
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1/2 packet of shaan tandoori chicken spice mix
4 tbsp lowfat yogurt
1 green pepper
1 onion
1/4 cup vegetable oil for cooking(add more if you think necessary)
2 tbsp cilantro


Marinate the chicken breast pieces in a bowl with the yogurt, ginger, garlic, red chili powder, lemon juice, soy sauce, and chicken spice mix. Marinate this for about 25 minutes. Then cut green pepper and slice onion and put it into pot with the oil. Saute the onion and green pepper from about 15 minutes. Then add the marinated chicken and cover and cook for about 30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. For garnish add some cilantro.

Serve with brown rice or some whole wheat bread. Add some salad on your plate for some extra fiber and a tasty addition.
ENJOY!!!!

How to replace those sweet cravings for healthy ones


Low fat diets are pretty hard to incorporate in our busy lifestyle these days. As a stay at home mom it is especially hard for me!!! After having my second child I was very disciplined for the past 2 1/2 years, but lately I find myself slipping. Now that my 2 year old can eat cookies, cakes, chips, chocolate, candy etc...(you get my point) it is very hard for me not to enjoy with them. I am sure you are thinking...as a nutritionist she is keeping these foods in her house and giving it to her kids. I believe these foods are ok, but in limitation. They do get their full of protein, vegetables and all the essentials. but I think they are entitled to a dessert now and then. My point being it is hard to constantly keep an eye on what you are eating and how much of it, but we must do it! We must control what type of snacks and how much we are munching on throughout the day.
In order to get an idea of what you are snacking daily, take a ziploc bag and instead of eating what you want put it in that bag. This will give you an idea of what you need to fix about your diet. Definitely do this because it will surprise you as how much snacking you are doing and on the wrong things. This will help you change your diet into a healthier one.

Now take what you have found in that bag and replace your sugar cravings with a piece of fruit or a vegetable. This the best low fat snack you can have. Plus replacing those munchies here and there with a piece of fruit will prevent you from grabbing something every 20 minutes or so. Sugary processed foods do not sustain your hunger for long, but fruits and vegetables provide a longer feeling of satiety. Anything with fiber will take your body longer to digest and will make you feel fuller for longer. Remember also to eat every 2-4 hours to prevent blood sugar from dropping too low and leading to overeating at your next meal or snack.

You can always have a bowl of fruit as a dessert if you are craving something sweet. To make that bowl of fruit even tastier add a little low fat whip cream with some dark chocolate chips on top. Dark chocolate chips are high in antioxidants and much healthier than milk chocolate. You should think of it in limitation though and not overdue the dark chocolate. It is healthy, but it has fat as well so too much cannot be healthy. But dark chocolate definitely satisfies that sweet tooth in a healthy way.

My favorite fruit bowl to have is apples, blueberries, and strawberries with some low fat whip cream and dark chocolate chips on top. This satisfies my sweet tooth and the fiber from the fruit helps me keep full until my next 2 hour feeding :)

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Pilates


I have discovered that pilates is a great way to lose the feeling of soreness after a strenuous workout. For those of you who love to workout, but feel the pain afterwards try Pilates!!! Pilates will help you stretch those muscles that are being overworked in your heavy cardiovascular or weight workouts. It will help you feel more lean and will also help some inches dissapear. You do not have to join a gym to take a Pilates class since there are many Pilates workouts that are available on dvd or even online! Even 10 min day or every other day can be beneficial. I have found a couple exercises that were online and I have been doing them for about 2 weeks and I can already see the benefits. My cardiovascular workouts seem much easier now since my muscles are not so sore.

Pilates not only provides exercise for your body, but your mind as well. You are concentrating on controlling those muscles to increase flexibility, tone, and strength of your body. Currently many additional things are being used in the exercise of Pilates such as weights, medicine balls, and stability balls. This will just enhances the affect the Pilates exercise has on your body. Furthering the results of the Pilates exercise. So add a pilates workout into your exercise routine and you will definitely see the benefits.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Very important to read those nutrition labels


I think it is very important to read nutrition labels these days. Alot of the foods we eat now contain so many chemicals, food dyes, processed flour, refined sugars, and basically other ingredients that are not beneficial to your health. All these extra things that are added to the foods are basically added to increase the shelf life of them. This is why we need to stick to a healthy diet and concentrate on natural fresh healthy foods.

For example today I decided to have my whole wheat waffles with some strawberries for breakfast. Now you would think that is the perfect healthy breakfast. It has the whole grains and the fruit it is just perfect. As you can the see the product says nutri-grain and also that it is made with 8g of whole grain! Well boy was I wrong! By chance I decided to read the label because most of the whole wheat products I was seeing at the store had unbleached flour or enriched flour on their ingredients label. Now technically this does not make the product 100% whole wheat anymore! This product is now a refined or processed food.

The meaning of using enriched wheat flour is to increase the shelf life because waffle are found int he frozen section. So basically it is a chemical process that strips the wheat of its essential vitamins and minerals so it can last longer in the freezer. Now this causes the wheat to lose its most important nutrients and changes the whole process of its digestion in our system. Since it has become a refined or processed food it will digested very quickly in our system rather than the slowly complex digestion process that 100% whole wheat products should do. This is not healthy...if the product claims to be 100% whole wheat it should be 100% whole wheat....therefore I think I will have to start making my own homemade waffles from now on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So the point of this post is to reinforce the fact that reading nutrition labels is very important especially if you are concentrating on eating healthy.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Exercise: When to work out

In my opinion the best time to workout will be in the mornings. It is good in the morning because it bascially is a great jump start to your day, in a lot of ways. When you workout in the morning you are setting up your body to burn calories for the rest of the day. When you exercise you are burning calories during and even after your workout is over. Exercise that increases your heart rate significantly, heavy aerobic exercise, can increase your metabolism. It is this increase in metabolism that gives the body the energy boost to keep burning calories through out he day. If you exercise in the evening, try to fit it in by 6pm. This will allow your body to keep burning calories for some time before you go to bed. Also, late workouts can interfere with sleep schedule because after working out you have so much energy it might be hard to fall asleep! However, if you are just doing some weight workout or yoga type stretching this might not interfere with your sleep patterns because it does not increase your heart rate as much.

So try to get that workout done with in the morning and you will feel better throughout the day and keep burning some extra calories!!!!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

My thoughts on the Atkins diet

The Atkins diet has been a controversial diet. The effect of the Atkins diet on weight loss is positive, but its long term effects on the body itself can be detrimental. What is the Atkins diet? The Atkins diet is basically a diet that includes meats, cheeses (not low fat cheese), certain vegetables, and eggs. Its major point is that there is NO bread or fruits allowed! Now how are we obtaining are carbohydrates in this diet? We are not! I have worked as a nutritionist as well as done my B.S. in nutrition and I am completely against this diet because of the negative effects of not including fruits and grains in this diet. This diet can be debatable because it actually works. The weight does come off from eliminating the bread and fruits in the diet, but the lack of nutrients from the fruits and other vegetables that are forbidden on this diet can have negative effects on the body.

If we are limiting our carbohydrates our body is using our stored fat as fuels and this can lead to ketone bodies. Our brain relies on glucose to function not ketone bodies. It can function on these ketone bodies produced, but only on a limited basis. The Atkins diet restricts the body of carbohydrates to about 20g per day. The normal amount of carbohydrate recommendation is about 150g per day. The breakdown of carbohydrates to fuel the brain is a much quicker way to receive the glucose needed for the brain to function. The breakdown of fats and proteins is a much slower process. If we include good carbohydrates such as, fruits, grains and vegetables it will be beneficial and not promote weight gain. But the Atkins diet severely restricts in fruits, certain vegetables, and of course grains for the first two weeks. After 2 weeks certain fruits and grains are introduced gradually, but not enough to provide the nutrients and vitamins the body needs.

The Atkins diet focuses on high fat foods and low carbohydrate intake. High fat foods can have a huge impact on our cholesterol levels possibly leading to heart disease. All the cheeses are supposed to be regular cheese and not low fat!!! This does not sound healthy to me. There is no limit on eggs in this diet and eggs are very high in cholesterol. Although, I will not argue that eggs are a very good source of protein and iron, but 3-4 egg omelets a day is not healthy.

As a nutritionist I do not condone this type of dieting due to so much of the negative effects associated with it. Personally, I think that a diet that includes healthy carbohydrates and that is low in fat can provide a good weight loss and a healthy weight loss. The Atkins diet claims that it was designed for those with heart problems and obesity. However, the high fat content and high cholesterol content does not seem like it would be a good choice for those with heart problems.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Detoxification diets

My opinion on diets that promise rapid weight loss is that it just leads to "unsuccessful permanent weight loss." That is why I completely disagree with "detox diets." Detox diets claim that they promise weight loss in a short amount of time, but the weight loss is not permanent. What is a detox diet? A detox diet basically is a way of cleansing our system and that involves a strict diet regimen to clear our body of toxins that have accumulated from pollution, pesticides in our food, and alcohol. There are many detox diets out there and their basic purpose is to cleanse the system. Some detox diets will last 3 days and some will be 10 days, just depends what your purpose is on going on this type of diet.

I will focus on one in particular called the "master cleanse diet." This diet is the one that celebrities are using to quickly lose weight for movies or social events. I completely disagree with putting your body through this as there is completely lack of caloric intake in this diet. What it basically entails is:
  • Warm water and salt in the morning
  • 60 ounces drink mix of cayenne pepper, lemon, and maple syrup drank throughout the day
  • a laxative tea at night
There is hardly any caloric intake because there is no food involved! This diet basically is a 10 day course. The laxatives help increase the process of the elimination of wastes from the body. (simply say causing diarrhea) Also, the warm water and salt will help with the elimination process. So from this I can definitely tell you the weight that you will lose is all WATER weight. After you resume your normal eating habits the weight will come back on fast.

You may be wondering if this diet is used to cleanse our system, why is it so bad? Well, int he cleansing process we lose very important electrolytes and there is risk of dehydration. The most negative part of this diet, as I have mentioned, NO PERMANENT weight loss.

In my opinion stick to a diet that is low in fat, low in carbohydrates, full of fresh fruits and vegetables, and also incorporate healthy grains. This type of diet does not promise rapid weight loss, but does promote weight loss in a gradual manner. When you lose weight gradually and in a healthy way the weight loss will be permanent. Also, you will have to incorporate an exercise regimen as well. If you exercise even 30 minutes a day or every other day it will help!

Stay away from diets that promise a quick fix to a bigger problem.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Healthy lunch


I have kept off all the weight that I have lost through eating a healthy lunch after working out. I have a salad that is packed with healthy vitamins and nutrients. I never used to eat fruits, but lately I have been eating alot!!! My lunch is a salad with carrots, strawberries, blueberries, apples,pomegranate flavored dried cranberries, romaine lettuce, and sliced almonds. I also include half a sandwich with some kind of meat, usually chicken, on 1/2 of whole wheat toufan pita bread. I also have some green tea during lunch as well.

This is a great post workout lunch. The fruits provide all the essential vitamins and healthy carbohydrates that our body needs to refuel. Since the pita bread is whole wheat is healthy as well.

Preparation of this lunch does take some time since you do have to cut up all the fruit, but it is worth it. And you can always pre-cut the strawberries and keep them in the fridge for when you need them.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Exercise on vacation

It is vacation time and it is time to take a break from that workout routine, right? WRONG!!! When you are on vacation sure it is a time to relax and have fun. Also, probably splurge on your eating! It will make you feel better if you add in maybe 25-30 minutes of a workout into your schedule.

Depending where you are and if the weather is nice you can always walk! Walking is the best form of exercise and will keep you form gaining those extra pounds during your vacation time. If there is a gym in your hotel even better, just 20-30 minutes will not put a damper on your vacation. Even 25-30 min yoga session before your vacation companions wake up will have a refreshing start to your day.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

cravings

I feel that if you are craving something you should definitely have it . It will prevent overeating or instead of 1 day cheating it might lead to 1 week or a month or you might even give up on dieting. We cannot give our bodies the same thing everyday. We need variety to keep ourselves interested and keep ourselves focused. We get bored easily and getting bored of dieting will just lead to failure. So if you want that ice cream, fries, or a burger have it! Just remember there are healthy ways to eat these "forbidden foods."

For example, if you want ice cream have a small cup, one scoop if you are out at the ice cream shop. If you are at home stick to 1/2 churned its just as good as regular and it has half the fat. Honestly to me it tastes really good and now most companies are making 1/2 churned ice cream. If you really want to cheat have it in a cone instead of a cup you can savor it for longer!!!!

Ok my take on fries......smaller portions!!!!!!!!!! Do not think just because today is your CHEAT day you can go ALL out. Remember moderation is the key. It will keep your weight in check for a longer time rather than just a month maybe it will help you keep it off for a year.
Always get the fries without salt and if you are making it at home you can use olive oil and no SALT maybe salt substitute or other seasonings you enjoy. You can bake the fries at home and they just come out as good as they are when they are fried.

BURGERS----MY absolute favorite food. Have the burger on a whole wheat bun and if you are going to cheat have a good burger not one from the fast food places because you do not know what kind of meat that is!!!! When it comes to the condiments remember MODERATION. Do not slather on the mayonnaise or extras.

Now you might be saying ok I thought you said just have what your craving, but then all these dos and dont's. WELL you want to keep the weight off, but you also want to eat the the foods you enjoy. This is how you do it!!!! You can have all the foods you want just make that food healthier and in moderation.

Monday, February 28, 2011

VITAMINS

I have started taking fish oil supplements. Omega 3 fatty acids are very important to include in your diet. It is great for people who do not like fish, which is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids. I would rather take this supplement! It is very good for heart health, joint pain, and for your skin. They usually come in 1200 mg and one should be enough, although the bottle recommends 2 at meal time. Unless you have an already existing heart condition might want to take 2. Always consult with your doctor before taking any vitamins or medications.

A multivitamin is also very important especially for women. If you are thinking about having a baby it is very important to incorporate a multivitamin with 400mcg of folic acid daily. Folic acid is very important in preventing birth defects and you do not want to be lacking in this vitamin if you are thinking about conceiving.

VERY IMPORTANT for women is vitamin D and calcium. Most multivitamins come with at least 400 IUD of vitamin D. I have noticed that they have increased the vitamin D amount in the vitamin I take to about 800IUD. Vitamin D is very important because it helps the calcium get absorbed in our system. When more calcium is available in our blood more will be available to our bones. As women we need to be concerned about osteoporosis. We need to save our bones!!! So take a multivitamin and ask your doctor what calcium supplement is best to suit you. If you drink at least 3 glasses of milk a day already then your calcium supplement intake should not be that high. (has to be an 8oz glass)

There also has been debate that increased vitamin supplements is not good for your health. Although, I believe in concentrating what is important for your body. You need to think about what you are lacking in your diet that you can replenish safely through a multivitamin.

Friday, February 25, 2011

bread


I recommend Nature's Own 100% whole grain bread. Usually I have a salad and half a sandwich for lunch. That was getting really monotonous. So I decided to have a full sandwich with side of carrot sticks along with some green tea. I was worried about the extra bread and eating a whole sandwich. But when I checked the nutrition label today turns out each slice of this nature's own 100% whole grain bread has only 12 g of carbohydrates per slice, which is not bad!
Compared to other breads that will have about 20-25 grams of carbohydrates per slice. So choose this bread when you are making a sandwich.
It also has whole grains and that will be a great source of fiber.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

FAD diets

There are many bogus diets out there. One diet that has me completely floored, not in a good way, is the HCG diet. This diet requires taking HCG (human chronic gonadotropin), which is a hormone, shots and limiting your calorie intake to 500 calories a day. This hormone injection apparantly aids in the fat burning process. Why should we rely on this hormone, rather than burn the fat by exercising?

Honestly, I am so disturbed that doctors are actually recommending this diet to their patients. As a nutritionist I feel this diet is not healthy for ANY patient. The big problem I have with this diet is the calorie restriction. We are supposed to be taking in about 1200 calories a day, that is the norm. Calorie intake can be different for men and women. Also calorie intake can depend on the person's height and built. Some people can handle more than 1200 calories and still be able to work out and lose weight. But the magic number is 1200. Restricting your calorie intake to less than 1200 calories can affect brain function and other processes in the body depend on food intake for them to take place. If our calorie is restricted these processes can still be achieved, but will rely on our fat stores that are already there.

Why is this detrimental? Is this not how we lose weight? These are some questions you are probably asking. When we eat a proper diet with proper calorie intake we are "refueling our body." We can still lose weight if we burn those calories the proper way through exercise. Processes can occur if our body is in starvation mode, but it will occur at the expense of other important processes that are lacking that energy coming from food. Make sense?

Another important factor to consider is vitamin deficiencies. If our calories are restricted this drastically, we will lose all the essential vitamins our body gets from food. We need these vitamins for our body to be healthy. So I 100% do not agree with this diet and do not recommend it to anyone.

healthy diet

It has been a long time since my last post! Why? Because nothing has changed!!! I am on track with eating right, but cheating sometimes because honestly I can afford it. So I chose to write today because I have been learning some interesting things on nutrition and health. I will post them under separate headings because they are two separate topics that are very important to know!