Eating When You’re Not Hungry

Wait a minute - eat when you’re not hungry?  Why would I advise you to do that?  There are times when you should eat even if you’re not hungry, such as upon rising in the morning or after several daytime hours without eating.  There are various reasons people sometimes don’t feel hunger, including having a history of calorie restricted dieting or being physically ill.  Depression, grief, and anxiety are other common reasons hunger is diminished.  Some sedentary people rarely feel tremendously hungry.  It’s important to pay attention to your body signals and emotional states.  Going more than four hours during the day without eating causes the metabolism to drop as the body strives to preserve energy.  It also may result in overeating later in the day.

However, from years of experience working with overweight people, I can tell you that there are many unwise reasons people eat besides hunger.  People eat to relieve stress; some find food takes their mind off of the stressor while others choose crunchy foods to expend the energy that is building up.  Sometimes people eat to be social and “fit in,” perhaps succumbing to peer pressure.  Workplaces are filled with opportunities to feel the need to eat.  Often people eat to decrease fatigue, when what they really lack is sleep.  Some folks eat out of habit, because it’s mealtime or because they always eat when they come home from school.  A major reason people eat too much is because it tastes good.  This common restaurant behavior brings up one last reason diners overeat – because they paid for it. 

Enjoying a well balanced diet and eating at least three times a day is best for overall health and weight management.  Let me know if you need help with either what or when you eat, so you can look, feel, and be your very best!

Are You Allergic or Intolerant?

While about 25% of adults claim to have a food allergy, only about 2% have a true allergy. Most of the rest of are experiencing some level of food intolerance, a much less serious condition. Understanding the difference can make life easier for those with intolerances while avoiding a serious reaction for those with a real allergy. Take this true-false quiz to test your knowledge:

1. If you experience gas or cramps from milk, bran, or broccoli, you’re probably allergic to them.

2. If you find lactose or high-fiber foods difficult to digest, you should avoid them altogether.

3.You can experience harmful reactions to wheat and not even realize it.

4. The greatest food allergy risks are from seafoods, not nuts.

5. Products labeled as “manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts” are just as risky as those labeled “may contain peanuts.”

Answers: 1. False. These are common signs of a food intolerance resulting from digestive problems such as a lack of certain enzymes or difficulty processing some substances such as fiber or sulfites. With an allergy, the immune system treats certain food proteins as invaders.
2. False. Often these foods can be tolerated in small quantities while gradually increasing the amount consumed.
3. True. Celiac disease strikes about 1 out of 130 people, a cross between intolerance and an allergy to the gluten in wheat. Many who have the disease have no recognizable symptoms other than nutrient deficiencies.
4. True. Seafood allergies are twice as common as nuts or peanut allergies and can be very serious. See your doctor if you have a reaction after eating seafood, even if you’ve never had a problem before.
5. True. Manufacturers can use either phrase, so if you have an allergy, avoid foods with either label.

Source: Consumer Reports on Health November 2007

If you find yourself experiencing discomfort and various symptoms after eating, keep a journal of exactly what you eat, how much and when. Look for patterns and try to isolate the source by combining fewer foods. Consult your doctor if serious discomfort occurs or for help in determining the cause (and remedy) of such symptoms. Gas, bloating, nausea and other forms of digestive distress are not normal, so don’t dismiss them. Nurture your body today!

Save Your Health and Your Pocketbook

Last week I looked at the high cost of being overweight or obese.  Today I’d like to brighten the news and give you some very doable changes you can make to keep more money in your bank account.  Let’s begin with the biggest money saver – lowering blood pressure. 

In July 2009 the American Journal of Health Prevention reported that that a 400 mg. reduction in daily sodium intake could save some 1.5 million people with uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure) over $1500 per year.  A 400 mg decrease in sodium is a very realistic goal.  Read the labels on canned soup, teriyaki and soy sauce, pickles, and even unsuspecting foods such as cottage cheese.  Look for reduced sodium versions of all kinds of foods in your supermarket and at lowsaltfoods.com.    

If overweight or obesity is your concern, you may be pleased to know that the Journal reported that a 100 calorie reduction in food intake per day would save some 71 million people an estimated $815 a year.  Like sodium, there are many ways to accomplish a 100 calorie reduction.  Eliminating one chocolate covered Oreo gets you 115 fewer calories.  Substitute it with a regular Oreo and save half the calories.  Switch from regular beer to light beer to shave 40 calories off each serving, and eliminate one beer altogether to cut 140 calories on average.  Similarly, one glass of wine is about 120 calories and a can of soda is 150 calories.

Finally researchers looked at what lowering high cholesterol would save each of the almost 4 million people affected and found it was over $500 per year.  To accomplish these savings, this population would need to reduce their saturated fat intake 5 grams per day.  Saturated fat is found in animal products such as butter, milk, and meat.  An 8 ounce glass of whole milk has about 8 g of saturated fat, 2% has 5 g, 1% has 2 g and non-fat or skim milk has less than .5 g.  Choosing chicken (without the skin) or fish over sausage or bacon will result in similar reductions.  While 1 tablespoon of butter has 7 g of saturated fat, margarines have trans fat, another dietary hornet’s nest we won’t get into here.  Strive to cut your intake of both in half and your unhealthy fat intake will decrease accordingly.

Overweight is Expensive

We all know that illness is expensive, given doctor bills, tests, treatments, and medications.  Have you ever thought about the additional costs of time lost from work, travel to and from the doctor, and hiring someone to do what you were physically unable to, even if it’s just washing the car?  George Washington University researchers assessed all these factors and calculated something close: the cost of being overweight or obese.

Someone who is overweight has a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 but less than 30.  For someone 5’ 5” tall, this would mean a weight between 150 and 179 pounds, regardless of gender.  An overweight man or woman 5’ 9” tall would weigh between 169 and 202.  The cost of being overweight varies between women and men: for women, it’s $524 annually while for men it’s $432. (The cost difference between women and men is due to the findings that overweight and obese women earn less than those at a healthy weight, while men are not disadvantaged this way.)

Obesity begins where overweight ends, so having a BMI over 30 makes someone obese.  The annual cost of carrying this much additional weight is alarming: $4879 for women and $2646 for men.    What’s equally concerning is that two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese and almost 18% of teenagers are obese.  Can you imagine what the cost of this weight will be to these teens over their lifetimes if they don’t take the weight off?

While there are so many reasons to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight besides cost, money is a big motivator for lots of us. Next week I’ll look at some ways we can actually save money by making healthy lifestyle changes.

Source: USA Today 9/22/10

Some of the Craziest Things I’ve Heard

Last week I encouraged you to hold a new thought, and I suggested several for you to consider.  Sadly, there are plenty of not-so-great approaches to wellness out there that you’ll want to avoid. For fun, I’d like to share a few of my favorites with you:

·       Ever try to seal a wound using Krazy Glue?  Well, please don’t try!  There are special skin adhesives that medical personnel may use, such as Dermabond, but Krazy Glue is not the same thing.  It can cause inflammation and infection.*

·       Have you considered delaying beginning an exercise program until you really need it to lose weight, sort of holding onto a trump card?  I had a client who tried this approach.  I don’t follow this reasoning, because everyone needs to exercise to be healthy, and even more so if they’d like to lose weight.

·       Then there was the public speaker who announced that he’d stopping exercising four years ago, just because, as if being sedentary was a personal choice he’d made, like adopting veganism.  What’s up with that?

·       I hope you haven’t purchased a whole body vibration machine to fight osteoporosis.  It’s hard to believe these are back in style, but I’ve seen them advertised around town for a while now, with the pitch that they help reduce bone loss.  (I remember as a kid watching Wilma Flintstone on one of these machines!)  Last year the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reviewed all the research on this issue and reported that there is no evidence to support these claims.*

·       Finally, I’m all for calorie-burning activities, but chewing gum is not an effective one for weight loss.  Gum chewing only burns only 11 calories per hour.  (There are 26 calories in a Hershey’s Kiss.)  However, if it keeps you away from the Hershey’s Kiss, I’m all for it.  Just make it sugarless gum.*

* Source: Berkeley Wellness Letter February 2012)

Get a New Thought

Sometimes all it takes to shift perspective and get going in the right direction is a new thought.  Just the simplest expression can make all the difference, I’ve found.  Here a few of my favorites relating to wellness.  The first three come from my experience as a Weight Watchers Leader.

If you bite it, write it. Corny, I know, but it really helps clients realize that every little crumb, taste or morsel has calories and makes a difference!  Often, just writing down everything you eat in a day raises your awareness and enables you to figure out a better approach.

Feedback, not failure.  Rather than beating yourself up for a choice you made, see it as feedback - “Guess that didn’t work very well!”  Then ask yourself what you could do differently next time to have a better result.  Promise to take that action and move on.

Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. This is my all-time favorite WW expression because I love food.  But, I remember how good it felt to reach my goal weight and go shopping for clothes at my new size.  It was definitely more fun than any piece of cheesecake or pizza I’ve ever had.

Practice makes progress.  Michelle Duggar uses this encouragement with her 19 children.  Whether it’s establishing an exercise habit, learning to say “no” or creating a new eating routine, you don’t have to be perfect to be successful.  Staying with it and practicing will bring progress, which creates momentum and motivation.

More Ways to Avoid Overeating

According to feedingamerica.org, “in 2010, 48.8 million Americans lived in food insecure households.”  Given that statistic, it’s hard to believe that overeating is a major problem in our society - but it is.  It’s a common issue with eating that many of my clients face.  Here are a few more ways to help you stay in control and avoid eating too much:

·       Be aware of when you’re feeling stress, because it’s true that food alleviates anxiety.  Thankfully, so do many stress relievers that are calorie-free.  Visit Kebba Buckley Button’s website to learn more about ways to reduce your stress without eating more.

·       Engage in aerobic exercise to increase the volume of your brain’s cortex, enabling you to more effectively rein in the impulse to overeat.  Exercise can also reduce your stress level, and it doesn’t need to take more exertion than brisk walking.

·       Eat off of smaller dishes and avoid eating directly out of a large box or bag.  Studies show that when people are offered equal amounts of food, they consume more of it when it’s served on a larger dish.  Help yourself by placing a serving onto the smallest dish possible. 

·       Distract yourself with something pleasurable when a food craving hits.  While it’s true that our bodies may crave a needed nutrient, most of the time a craving is emotionally- or habit-based.  Break the automatic response with music, reading, an activity, or a talk with a friend.

If you still find yourself overeating, keep a food journal. For many, the simple act of writing down what they eat motivates them to eat less.  If not, the record will help you identify the patterns so you can look at ways to avoid the situations altogether.

Source: Nutrition Action, Center for Science in the Public Interest, May 2012