My opinion on "Weight Watchers" and "Jenny Craig"

As a nutritionist I have never been very fond of the Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig programs. In fact I find them very confusing and as a dieter I would get frustrated with counting points all the time.  I think the food and the snacks provided by these programs can easily be made at home by yourself. Why waste your money on something you can try yourself?

I recently watched an episode about how Jennifer Hudson lost tons amount of weight on Weight Watchers diet and I think its great. I mean it worked for her and she looks amazing! But as a nutritionist I feel that we can just train ourselves to eat a balanced diet and we would be fine I think many people probably cannot afford the high "prices" that comes with the weight watchers and Jenny Craig diets. My number one rule is cut out the WHITE PROCESSED foods that is the number 1 way to go. That is the basis of the Mad Diet and it has worked for me. I feel more empowered and proud of myself because I did this on my own. I did not count points or calories. I basically cut out the biggest culprit in the American diet today-WHITE PROCESSED foods.

So as this new year begins switch to a healthier you by:

• Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables
• Incorporate those whole grains and whole wheat items into your diet
• Cut out the soda!!!!
• Decrease fried foods and concentrate more on the grilled ones
• Try to have fish about twice a week
• Treat yourself once in a while so you do not fall off the "wagon"
• Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!
• Build those muscles!!! Building muscle helps to increase metabolism and burn fat!
• Incorporate a protein and a carbohydrate at each meal it will sustain your hunger!
• Make sure you snack every 2-3 hours on something healthy. This will hold you help you feel satisfied until your next meal. Never let your blood sugar drop too low because this will just lead to binge eating and over consumption of calories at your next meal.

So before you think about joining Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig try to change your diet yourself and see the results. Your waist will be thinner, but your wallet will not!

New Year's Resolutions: "To lose weight"

 First off I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!!

On this post I want to discuss the famous new year's resoloution people have which is "To lose weight." It is a very good resolution and a very challenging one. I would prefer something like "To get healthy."  A couple steps you can follow as the new year begins to a healthier you:

• Revamp your pantry: remove all sugary snacks, white processed foods, chips, any junk you can find!
• Add some moderate exercise to your daily routine/30 minutes a day is a great start!
• Stock your fridge with fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season
• Switch to 100% whole wheat breads or pastas
• Add some brown rice, quinoa, or couscous to your diet in place of white rice
• Get more fiber in your diet!
• Take a multivitamin!

These are a couple of recommendations on how to get started on your new year's resolution to a much healthier you. I have one tip which is very important when starting a diet/exercise routine: DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED. Losing weight is a process and the slower the weight comes off the better in the long run.  Secondly, try not to fall for quick weight loss strategies, such as; detox diets, carb-free diets, and juice cleanses.  All these fad diets will help you lose weight fast, but will not help you keep that weight off. Once you get back to your normal routine of eating you will put the weight back on. Not only that, but these diets deprive your body of essential vitamins and nutrients that your body needs to function.   

Please feel free to comment on this post if you would like any advice on how to commit yourself to a healthy diet and exercise routine!!!!

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

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.

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!!!!

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.