Holiday Weight Loss Hype

Every year thousands of people make a New Year's Resolution to lose weight and eat healthier, along with exercising more. What if you did not need that resolution each year? What if, instead, you learned a habit of a healthy lifestyle that prevented unwanted weight gain. I understand that some weight gain is caused by medications, but for most of us (including myself), our weight gain is simply from bad habits.

I would like to offer a few tips for the holiday season that might help you (and me) to avoid that unwanted weight gain.

1. Drink 16 oz. of water before each meal. Start about 30 minutes before the meal, ensuring you do this before any gathering or dining out. This will help avoid the pitfall of mistaking thirst for hunger.

2. Carry an apple with you everywhere you go. The holidays are a busy time of year, and we find ourselves grabbing food at a fast-food joint or eating a candy bar to sustain us until our next meal or break. Eating an apple is a much better option. Apples are filling because of the amount of nutrients and fiber in them. They take a while to digest, so it should sustain you for an hour or more. They are also sweet, so they will help with those sugar cravings. This will help curb your appetite, allowing you to avoid those extra calories.

3. Choose desserts wisely. Desserts seem to be the downfall of most people. We simply "cannot" say no to so many delicious desserts. So, make a gameplan before you head out. Decide how much is okay. Take a small plate for dessert that will not allow you to over-eat. Aim for elegance in dining - this does not refer to where you dine, but how you dine. It is not elegant to eat a large plate full of desserts. It is elegant to eat one small dessert and enjoy every bite.

4. Don't prepare more food than is necessary. The trend for Thanksgiving and Christmas is to prepare feasts that would feed 30 people. Instead of preparing more food than is humanly possible for your group to finish, prepare only what you need. Choose a few healthy options to prepare extra of so that you can have your appreciated leftovers. Overall, scale down the amount of each food that you make. Remember to eat only what you need.

By following these tips, you can help curb that holiday weight gain and start the New Year one step ahead.

More tips to come!

I love to help you become healthier! Reply with questions, and if I cannot answer them, I will find someone who can!

Evolution and Our Food

I find it odd when people bring up current food issues and evolution. For example, in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, he discusses that we feed animals food they were never evolved to eat (p. 10). Honestly, I have never believed evolution held any bearing, and comments like these show the folly in this theory. If a cow evolved to eat grass, and we are concerned about the corn it is now fed, we must not think evolution exists. If evolution is what shaped the cow and gave it all of the stomachs needed to digest the grass it eats, why would we think evolution can't help it adjust now? Surely survival of the fittest has shown that cows are a superior animal to the bison. So surely they will adapt and evolve as we run out of grass to feed them. They will simply begin to morph and new cows will be born that are designed to eat corn. Right? Yet, this is not the implication when we read or hear about this current food dilemma. In fact, humans are becoming increasingly allergic to corn, the main ingredient in processed foods.

So you see, we must decide if we agree that evolution is true, or if it is false. If evolution is true, then we have no food concerns because animals and people will adjust and evolve to be able to eat what is more readily available. However, if evolution is not true (which I hold to), then we have some real concerns. The rising epidemic of obesity, food allergies and intolerances, and nutrient poor foods will continue to be more of a problem as long as we continue turning our heads and ignoring it. While most people understand that whole foods are best for us to eat, junk food continues to be the most profitable food industry, second only perhaps to fast food. Truly, the epidemic exists. There is a great concern in America. We have a higher incidence of obesity and diabetes than ever before, especially in children, but our government continues to support their people. We continue to allow this to go on, showing manufacturers that we will happily eat their junk. How much longer will this go ? Will we stand on the side of evolution, assuming that it will get better, or will we stand up and demand whole, nutrient dense, healthy foods?

Finally Done!

I have finished my nutrition science degree, and I am thrilled to be finished! I am ready to jump in and start helping people. I have started some nutrition and diet counseling for some friends so they can be healthier. I hope to share information regularly on here as well. Hopefully you will find it helpful as well!

I love to help you become healthier! Reply with questions, and if I cannot answer them, I will find someone who can!