Eat Your Heart Out and Stay Healthy, Too!

So, I don’t know about all of you, but I have this problem with food — I love it.♥

And when I am surrounded by it 24/7 like I was this weekend, I have a tough time staying away from the fabulousness of it all. I ate so much dang food during the festivities come and gone that I swear I gained like five pounds … all in my ass.

But I don’t feel that sorry about it. It would be one story if I always ate like that, but I don’t. I am not perfect by any means, but I am usually pretty good at regulating my splurges.

I do think, however, that it is nice to know how to make some healthy decisions in those situations. I, for one, always try to just taste little bits of things — a little bit of cheese here, cake there, miraculous Cuban food (my future mother-in-law’s specialty!) over there … you get it.

But I thought it may be a good idea to consult my trusty Eat This, Not That book to help ya’ all out with making healthy decisions the next time you decide to party it up.

At the Ballpark: Choose a box of Cracker Jacks and a 12 oz. beer (Total: 559 calories, 7 grams of fat), instead of nachos and a 16 oz. cola (Total: 847 calories, 38 grams of fat — all from the nachos!).

At a Fourth of July Bash: Choose baked beans (3/4 cup without bacon), watermelon (1 medium slice) and 4 oz. of coleslaw (Total: 346 calories, 9.5 grams of fat) as your sides, instead of vegetables with ranch dip, potato salad and corn on the cob with 1/2 tablespoon butter (Total: 520 calories, 32 grams of fat).

At a Swanky Part-tay: Choose 12 large shrimp with 2 tablespoons of cocktail sauce and a 6 oz. glass of champagne (Total: 295 calories, less than one gram of fat), instead of a crab cake and 8 oz. gin & tonic (Total: 530 calories, 19 grams of fat).

Now, eat it up!

Health Check!

DID YOU KNOW?

You should eat immediately after exercise — ideally within 30 minutes of working out — so your body doesn’t begin breaking down muscle tissue to repair itself.  — Eat This, Not That

The Easter Bunny Just Might Have it Out For Our Rear Ends

I know we just discussed an Eat This, Not That matter yesterday, but because I know many of you are celebrating the holiday weekend — and doing so with a candy overload — I am hoping to advise you a bit on your sugary choices.

I will also attempt to adhere to the advice I am about to share with you.

I will try . . . just like the rest of you, right?!

I was flipping through my book last night and came across a section labeled Your Easter Basket. Now, how could I not share this information with you?

Here is what the nutrition whiz kids have to say this time:

Eat This —

Cadbury Creme Egg (150 calories, 5 g fat – 3 g saturated – and 22 grams of sugar)

Jordan Almonds — 12 pieces (200 calories, 7 g fat – 1 g saturated – and 26 grams of sugar)

Gummi Bears — 14 pieces (140 calories, 0 g fat and 22 grams of sugar)

Milky Way Midnight Bar (220 calories, 8 g fat – 5 g saturated – and 29 grams of sugar)

Hershey’s Cookies ‘n Crème bar (80 calories, 4.5 g fat – 2.5 g saturated – and 9 grams of sugar

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans — 14 pieces (150 calories, 0 g fat and 27 grams of sugar)

Hershey’s Hugs — 9 pieces (210 calories, 12 g fat – 7 g saturated – and 21 grams of sugar)
Not That! —

Solid chocolate Easter bunny — 170 grams (920 calories, 52 g fat – 32 g saturated – and 92 grams of sugar)

Snickers Almond bar (230 calories, 11 g fat – 4 g saturated – and 26 grams of sugar)

Marshmallow Peeps — 5 pieces (140 calories, 0 g fat and 34 grams of sugar)

Hershey’s bar, milk chocolate (300 calories, 18 g fat – 11 grams saturated – and 33 grams of sugar)

Butterfinger bar (270 calories, 11 g fat – 6 g saturated – 29 grams of sugar)

Hershey’s Kisses, milk chocolate — 9 pieces (230 calories, 13 g fat – 8 g saturated – and 21 grams of sugar)

Sun Maid Vanilla Yogurt Covered Raisins — 1/4 cup (130 calories, 5 g fat – 4 g saturated – and 19 grams of sugar)

Now that we are all a bit more educated on the ins and outs of our Easter baskets, there is one point that I would like to stress to you: Fun times, like the holidays, are cookie-cutter-made for indulgences — literally. The most important thing to keep in mind for anyone who is looking to lead a healthy lifestyle is that there is a time and a place for letting your nutrition “rules” gain a little flexibility. The truth is, no healthy diet ever consists of cutting out one particular food group or treat; that way of thinking only leads to a ravenous bagel and chocolate binge at 3 a.m. in the morning.

What a healthy way of life does involve is learning when to enjoy your favorite treat and when to stop. So, while this list is a fantastic guide, use it as only that — a guide. But if your favorite Easter splurge is that chocolate bunny, then go for it.

Just eat half and save his ass for another day.

Health Check for The Day!

Several studies suggest that the size of the plate we eat on has a serious effect on our caloric intake. So, next time you are at a buffet, pick the smaller dish, such as the salad plate. It will seem like you’ve eaten a lot more than you have, and your stomach won’t know the difference.
— Eat This, Not That

  Interesting, huh?

Now, I have a lot to tell you about my weekend, including a broken tooth, spending about 9 hours in New York City and walking several, several blocks for cheap (but good!) wine. I will tell you all about it this afternoon, but for now I’ve got to run!

Enjoy the day, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! 

Why Skipping Breakfast is Making You Fat

VS.

I am very sleepy today.

You know that kind of tired where your brain feels fuzzy and you wake up already thinking about falling back asleep? Yeah, that is how I feel today.

But enough about me.

Yesterday, I was reading through Eat This, Not That: Thousands of Simple Food Swaps That Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds-or More!, the invaluable nutrition resource by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding that I have told you about in an earlier post.

Well, there is one very interesting page titled, “When You Need to Wake Up and Go” where Zinczenko and Goulding discuss with the reader the foods that are good, and not so good for helping to open your peepers.

What’s more, according to Eat This, Not That, not eating breakfast will cause you to “drag all day — and even put on the pounds.” Here are some of the proper choices that the authors suggest a good little breakfast eater put on his or her plate:

• Eggs and Whole Wheat Toast — “Eggs are a great source of protein, and having them for breakfast sets you up for a perfect day of eating.” The authors go on to say that Saint Louis University researchers found that people who eat eggs for breakfast consume 264 fewer calories the rest of the day than those who eat bagels and cream cheese. Whoa! Who woulda thought that a little egg could make such a big difference?!

• Cottage Cheese with Berries — I don’t know about you, but I cannot stand cottage cheese; I have just never been able to tolerate the texture. But, apparently, this fruit and cheese curd combo will produce “slow and steady levels of blood sugar, not a sudden spike,” like your Eggos may. Another protein and fiber-rich pairing includes two scrambled eggs stuffed into a whole wheat pita.

Did you know? Waiting more than 90 minutes after waking to eat breakfast may increase your chances of obesity by nearly 50 percent?!! Yikes!!

• Post Original Shredded Wheat – The book suggests that all breakfast cereals should have 5 grams of fiber and less than 5 grams of sugar per serving in order to be deemed a good breakfast option. “The fiber will help keep your belly full and your blood sugar levels stable.” The authors suggest that if shredded wheat is too boring for you, adding mix-ins, such as strawberries or raisins will give ho-hum cereal an extra punch.

Unfortunately, the book delivers the fateful news that one of the worst (but oh-so-tasty!) menu options for the morning is a bagel and cream cheese. “At 500 calories and 20 grams of fat, this classic is one of the worst ways to start your day.” The combo has been shown to cause a dip in energy and a spike in hunger before lunchtime should even be a thought in our brains. In addition to bagels, croissants, doughnuts, danish and pancakes all fit the bill as “Not That” foods. Kind of a bummer, but good to know … I guess. ):

So, I am still feeling very yawnish, but now this post has made me hungry. What ever will I eat for breakfast? Hmmm….

By the way, if you have not yet taken yesterday’s survey about volunteering, please do it now! I am hoping we can all inspire each other to do more for our communities!!

Eat Good Food … But Not That.

I hope you know by now that this blog is not about weight loss. I know I am not fat, and I am not going to try to give you any advice about “shedding those last pounds.” Even though I believe there is a great purpose for all of those efforts, Eat, Pray, Run is, instead, about achieving total wellness — for you and for me.

The other day, my fiance and I went to the bookstore and he bought me a couple of books that he thought might give me some food for thought — no pun intended! — for my blog. He is really cool like that. One book he got me was Eat This, Not That: Thousands of Simple Food Swaps That Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds-or More! by David Zinczenko, Editor-in-Chief at Men’s Health magazine, and Matt Goulding.

At first I was like, “Great, honey. What are you trying to tell me?”

But then, I started flipping through the book and realized it was really neat! Eat This, Not That was exactly the message I am trying to convey through this blog; it was all about making better choices for complete health.

The authors of the book came up with this genius idea of taking the menus of several popular food chains, and putting food choices from those menus into the “Eat This” or “Not That!” categories.

For example, you may be surprised to learn the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder without cheese is a better choice than the Premium Grilled Chicken Club sandwich. Weighing in at 410 calories and 9 g fat (7 g saturated), the Quarter Pounder burger beats out the chicken sandwich’s 570 calories and 21 g fat (7 g saturated).

We had just been to P.F. Chang’s China Bistro that night, so I was excited to see if I had made some good decisions. I am usually pretty good with picking healthy foods, but it is was interesting to see just how good I am!

I ate the Citrus Soy Salmon with brown rice and asparagus, but I don’t know the nutrition content of it because it was from a specialty menu.

I only ate about 1/3 of the portion because I was so full from loading up on appetizers — two Chicken Lettuce Wraps, two Vegetable Spring Rolls, some Sesame Soy Cucumbers and a glass of red wine, but shhh!

Still, my decisions seemed like fairly clean, healthy options, while still allowing me to have a bit of fun.

Anyway, according to the book, one of the “Eat This” choices at P.F. Chang’s is the Wild Alaskan Sockeye steamed with ginger. This dish has 750 calories and 50 g fat (8 g saturated). On the other hand, an big no-no, “Not That!” option is the Sriracha Shrimp Salad, totaling 1,130 calories and 46 g fat (7 g saturated). Other “Eat This” options include the Seared Ahi Tuna, Ginger Chicken & Broccoli, and the Sichuan-Style Asparagus. The not-so-diet-friendly options menu items include the Salt & Pepper Calamari, Kung Pao Chicken and Spicy Green Beans (Go figure, a veggie!). Lastly, the “Weapon of Mass Destrution” is the Lo Mein Pork. The impact? 1, 820 calories and 127 g fat (23 g saturated). YIKES!!

The book also comes packed with all kinds of interesting facts, — Did you know you can save 17 grams of fat by replacing mayo on a Burger King WHOPPER with barbecue sauce? — the best kind of cookies to choose at the supermarket, and the healthiest choices from basic menus, such as a typical Mexican restaurant’s food selections.

But, anyway, I must make a point. I am not going to walk around with my Eat This, Not That book in my purse. I don’t want to be “that girl,” whipping out my health book just so I can make a dinner decision. What I do want you to understand, however, is the purpose of a book such as this. I am interested in Eat This, Not That, and books of the sort, because it makes you think twice. It is a fantastic resource for helping me — and you! — to make more educated decisions.

So, I am going crazy learning about all of this stuff. I keep reading and saying, “Are you kidding?!” and “Holy crap!” I am driving my fiance crazy with thousands of, “Did you know…?” I am sure he is so glad he bought this book for me!

By the way did you know any sandwich at Subway can be made into a salad? How cool is that?!

OK, OK, I am done now….