When you prepare your own food, you know exactly what is going into the dishes you eat. It's easy to gauge calorie and fat content, as well as control portion size. But all bets are off when you're dining out.
One way to dodge the problem is to avoid eating out all together — but we all know that's simply not possible. The good news? You can make smart choices when you do eat out.
When it comes to losing weight, "calories in/calories out" is the name of the game. Burn more than you consume — it's that simple. But how do you know how many calories you consume in the first place?
Q: Is it better to eat a meal before or after a workout? Why?
A: Both. Here's what I like to do: have my breakfast at 9 a.m., work out from 10:30 to 12, and eat by 1 p.m. Here's why:
Q: What is your opinion on "cheat days"? My friend's trainer says it's okay to have one cheat day during the week (as long as you remain on track the rest of the time). But I've been struggling with my weight for years now, and I'm wondering if it's because of my one day of food sin every week. Am I correct?
In the late seventies, less than 15 percent of Americans were obese. Thirty years later, 32 percent of us are obese. What happened between then and now? First, the idea became popular that fat was evil and "low fat" diets were best. Whenever possible, fat was removed from processed foods and replaced with sugars and other carbs. At the same time, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) got really cheap and became food manufacturers' go-to sweetener.
You know that junk you have in the trunk — that extra padding you hate on your hips and butt? You may not like the way it looks, but it's not necessarily bad for you. The fat surrounding your gut, though, is a different story — in fact, it can be deadly.
Okay, go grab a notebook or journal. It's time to start getting real about your emotional eating. Sure, it can be a vicious cycle if you allow it to progress, but I'm going to show you a quick little trick to help you understand your behaviors and break the destructive pattern. Let's go.
You're all trying not to go over your allotted calorie amounts for the week, but how many of you are having trouble eating enough calories? It may not seem like a big deal to consume a hundred or so fewer calories than you're supposed to each day, but that's a dangerous — and incorrect — assumption.
Do you start getting hunger pangs at 11:50 a.m. in anticipation of lunch? We've all been there. The cause is the hormone ghrelin; released when the stomach is empty, it sets off a chain reaction in the body to make you hungry. In general, you want to keep levels of ghrelin low during the day so you can keep hunger in check. Apart from an empty stomach, there are several factors that can raise ghrelin levels, including drinking alcohol, eating too few calories, and eating greasy, fatty foods.
When you consider what we Americans typically put into our bodies each day — all the junk food, refined and enriched grains, and other sources of empty calories — it's not surprising that more than 80 percent of us don't meet the daily recommendations for key nutrients. Many vitamins and other micronutrients are necessary for hormone production, which means that to maintain a healthy metabolism, we need to pay attention to our nutrient intake.
