What is a Vegetable? Pizza is NOT a Vegetable!

Freedictionary.com states this for the definition of a vegetable:

veg·e·ta·ble (vjt-bl, vj-t-) n.

1.

     a. A plant cultivated for an edible part, such as the root of the beet, the leaf of spinach, or the flower buds of broccoli or cauliflower.

     b. The edible part of such a plant.

     c. A member of the vegetable kingdom; a plant.

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or derived from plants or a plant.

2. Suggestive of or resembling a plant.

3. Growing or multiplying like plants.

Now, I ask...is pizza a vegetable?  Let's break down the components of pizza starting with it's base or crust.  The crust is not a vegetable as it is made from dough (flour and yeast).  Then comes the tomato paste.  This is where it gets a little sticky and where the U.S. Government has failed when it comes to regulations.  The law put in place allows 2 Tbsp (the amount typically used/slice) to be considered a vegetable.  The 2 Tbsp of tomato paste doesn't measure up to the vegetable regulations from MyPlate.  MyPlate recommends 2 1/2-3 cups of vegetables per person and considers 1 large tomato, 1 cup chopped or sliced to be 1 vegetable or 1 cup of tomato juice to count as 1 vegetable.  No where does it say that 2 Tbsp or 1/8 cup of tomato paste is equivalent to 1 vegetable!  Side note: technically speaking, tomatoes are fruits.

These regulations are actually in place for the school lunch system that feeds many children.  A population base already in danger of obesity and it's related health risks.

Back to the pizza, on top of the tomato paste comes the toppings.  Last time I checked, most people were not topping their pizza with only vegetables.  According to Shareranks.com, cheese, pepperoni, chicken, bacon, and meatballs are the top 5 toppings. Among the top 10 include Canadian bacon/ham, onions, sausage, goats cheese, and mushrooms.  So, out of 10 top toppings, onions (at #7) and mushrooms (at #10) are the only vegetables listed!  I don't believe you would get a cup out of the amount of onions and mushrooms on a slice of most Americans' pizza slices. 

Now that we have the pizza components identified, we can see that counting pizza as a vegetable is quite a ludicrous thing to do.  We encourage everyone to add cups and cups of veggies to their pizzas so that they can, in fact and accurately, count their pizza toppings towards their vegetable count for the day, but we know that may not be reality. 

It's important to know the facts.  Know the facts about what counts as a vegetable and how to get the recommended number in each day.  The only one you end up hurting in the long run is yourself for denying the fact that you thought pizza was a vegetable!

At HNT, we can help you to achieve the goal of getting in 3 full cups of vegetables.  It takes skill and strategy to implement this lifestyle change and we would love to help you make it your lifestyle to get 3 cups in each day. Call our office 317.489.4817 for more detail about our health and weight management program.

(source of definition)

 

Surviving Thanksgiving!

If you are like most people you have about 5 Thanksgiving events to go to: his moms, your moms, your sisters, your immediate family, your daughters, etc...not to mention work or church related get togethers! How to do you begin to survive all that food with out gaining weight? One word, planning. 

Planning is the first key to surviving any event with a lot of food.  I would suggest knowing what items the host is planning on having.  When you know the food options, it makes it easier to plan what fits in to your calorie budget.  If you determine that all the options are out of your calorie budget, then it's time for you to plan what your day or meal will look like.  Will you have meal replacements ready or make them when you get there?  Do you have the equipment (ie. oven, microwave, blender, etc)? Will you take your own food?  Maybe something lower in calories like a oven baked turkey breast salad.  No matter what your actual day/time/location plans are you have to have a MEAL plan that will work with your goals.

The second key to surviving any event is to stick to your plan that you developed in step 1! Figure out what it will take for you to follow through with your plan and plan that out too. 

Third, look up calories so that you are aware of how many calories stuffing (or dressing), sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, the rolls, the mashed potatoes have.  You would be surprised at the amount of calories you may see. 

Then, ask family and friends for support.  Ask them to bring vegetable dishes that aren't covered in sauces, butter, or glazes! Those things only add calories.  Serve gravy on the side to be able to choose how much you want to use. Make your dish contribution to the event one that supports your goals...think mixed fruit dish for dessert.

Last, listen to yourself.  You know what you need to do...now do it (or don't do it if it involves eating a whole pecan pie)!  

Look here for common calories of Thanksgiving foods.

Here is a list of Hungry Girl approved foods for Thanksgiving. Some great reduced calori ideas!

Enjoy the company of friends and family-those are tips on surviving Thanksgiving.


        

Apps for Smart Phones that help with WEIGHT LOSS!

Do you have an iPhone or other kind of smart phone? If not, you might be a fraction of people that hasn't ventured into this well expanding trend and you may be missing out on some pretty sweet apps to help with your health and weight management.  Now that I have those of you disappointed that don't have smart phones, I'll let you in a secret...some of them have websites that do the same thing! Just create a page & voile you are ready to use!

1. My Fitness Pal : A great website OR app that can track calorie intake, foods you regularly eat, and exercise while giving you other tools that may be helpful along the way.

2. Run Keeper: A fitness app or website to help you track, measure and improve your fitness.  Great for figuring mileage around a path you typically run or just for tracking the number of minutes you do physical activity!

3. Our Groceries: An app that helps you plan and store your meal plan for the week.  It also allows you to create a shopping list and check off as you go through the store.  You can make multiple lists (ie. one for Walmart, one for Safeway, etc) OR you can use it for other lists (ie. questions for next doctor visit, to-do list, etc)

The great thing about the 3 listed above is that they are all FREE! Take advantage of resources you might already have.  Who knows, they may help you to improve your health and weight management.

 

Need Motivation for Exercise?

It's all you think about for days and weeks on end. The possibilities of having Carrie Underwood's legs, or maybe even Carrie Underwood's moms' legs would be fine too.  How do I get them or how do I get in the grove of something to do with physical activity?  Well...first thing is first, dust off that exercise bike in the front room, remove the clothes from the treadmil, or sell the equipment you don't use and buy a gym membership!

When we look at our activity levels and the Transtheorehtical Model for stages of change, there are 6 stages:

1. Precontemplation: no action is being done and typically people do not know the behavior they are or are not doing is harmful
2. Contemplation: people start to understand their behaviors may be problematic so they start weighing the options
3. Preparation: people intend on taking action in the near future and may begin with small steps in the right direction
4. Action: modifications have been made and taking action has begun...positive change has occurred
5. Maintenance: people are working to prevent relapse (in other words...going back to #1). This stage could last forever
6. Termination: people have zero temptation & 100% self efficacy.  There is no way they are going back to the old behavior

What stage are you in regarding physical activity?  If you are in the precontemplation stage, rethink whether it is a good idea to be sedentary all the time.  What are the risks of being sedentary?  Does this improve your overall health?  Gaining knowledge about WHY physical activity is important will help you in this stage.

If you are in the contemplation stage, think of the barriers that are preventing you to be physically active.  Is it because you are in pain from joint/hip replacement, injury, etc or is it because you are limited in time, money, energy?  Identify your barriers and find ways to overcome them. 

If you are in the preparation stage, come up with a plan on HOW to get physical activity in.  Make a list of motivating sayings & post where you will see them daily. Write down your goals and vocalize them with someone to hold you accountable.

If you are in the action stage..this is great! However, it can be daunting to know that you are doing what you need to be doing. So...rewards are OK, but we prefer non-food related rewards such as a new shirt or pedicure, tickets to your favorite sports teams next game, etc.  Seek out social support or ask your spouse if they will be your workout buddy. 

If you are in the maintenance stage, know what you need to do to deal with temptations that may take you away from doing physical activity.  For instance, snoozing your alarm clock! Instead put your clock on the other side of the room so you have to get up to turn it off.  Or, schedule time in for activity so it's not forgotten about at the end of the day. 

Once you work your way up through the stages of change your are that much closer to your goals (whether they are to have Carrie Underwood's legs or not...is a different question).  Doing what you know you can do is motivating all in its self, but find other things that motivate you whether its a special reward system, signing up for local 5k walk/runs or time later in life with your family! Whatever it takes for you to get moving is what you NEED to do now!

Free Samples...Where?

Look familiar?

Grocery stores all over the place are now or have been offering "sample-stations".  The idea is simple marketing: have customers try foods in hopes that they end up purchasing what they tried.  I'd say it's working for the store if they have continued to provide samples on a weekly basis. 

I was in the local Meijer a few Fridays ago around noon and what do you know...it was sample day!  As I walked through the dried food isles and wrapped my way back around the milk/dairy and meats to the produce there were at least 15 sample-stations. 

Anything from sesame seed coated chicken nuggets, whoopee pie cake mixes, pumpkin pie, green bean salad, crackers, cookies, fish, etc.  You name it, they had something like it to sample.  Most people I noticed walking through the store in search of the next sample-station.  It was like they had gone there for lunch!  In fact, if they had gone there for lunch it probably wasn't THAT bad of an idea because most of the time the sample is so small it doesn't add up to much, right? Or does it?  The problem with it all is that most people probably had or were on their way to eat lunch and decided to have a few or 10 samples of the foods provided.  Yikes! And the even bigger problem is that they are thinking "it can't be that many calories for this small bite". 

Have you ever found yourself in this situation?  Thinking a sample is OK and that it can't be that many calories?  Re-think the situation and try to figure just how many calories it was! You would probably be surprised at the number it all racks up to be.  If you don't know the calories count 50 per bite as a rule of thumb...not a stuff-your-mouth-so-full-you're-going-to-spit-bite, but a normal bite.  For 10 samples...500 calories!!

The next time you see a sample-station at the grocery store or any where else think twice whether that bite is worth the calories. 

 

{image courtesy of www.fedupforlunch.com}

Do You Need A Water Enhancer?

Water can be boring, especially if you are used to sweetened beverages or juices, but now it doesn't have to be! Kraft has a new product on the market to help enhance the flavor of water.  It is called MiO.  There are six flavors that have these claims (from their website): "Caffeine-free, Calorie-free per 8 fluid ounce serving, 0g Carbohydrates and considered a free exchange, Sugar-free, Free of artificial flavors, Kosher, Gluten-free, Cruciverbalistic, Tasty, & Good-looking".  They are around $3.99 per bottle and supply ~24 8 ounce servings to your flavor liking.  In other words you can squirt a lot for more flavor or less for less flavor!

Looking for the new product & can't find it?  It's located at many stores like Target, Meijer, Kroger, Jewel/Osco, Publix, etc. Go HERE to see all places you can find MiO.

Click to see How It Works!

Weight Loss: Not an All or Nothing Mindset

When I was growing up I often heard the saying "If you can't do something right then don't do it at all".  This kind of mantra can lend itself to an 'all or nothing mindset' which is so popular when attempting to lead a healthier lifestyle.  The quest for perfection can actually sabotage our best efforts and in some ways be a convienant cop-out in achieving our health goals.  Are you prone to the 'all or nothing mindset'?

Answer these questions to find out:

1.  Do you typically begin your new program, idea, meal plan, exercise routine on a Monday?
2.  Do you use the words good and bad to describe certain foods and your eating behavior?
3.  Do you typically want to speed up the process by eating less food or Health One Meal Replacements than your meal plan suggests to reach your goal?
4.  Do you expect to suffer, feeling starved & deprived?
5.  Do you expect to completely eliminate your favorite foods?
6.  Do you 'fall off the wagon' and 'throw in the towel' after making just one unhealthy food choice?
7.  Are you convinced that past failed attempts were due to lack of effort and/or staying focused?

What changes have you made over the years to decrease the pattern of 'all or nothing'?

Here are some suggestions to help with the 'all or nothing' mindset:
1.  Don't start on a Monday! Of the 46% of the people that started on Monday, by Tuesday evening 32% were back off track.  Starting on a Monday can be a subtle way of giving yourself permission to go all out on the weekends.
2.  Ditch 'good' and 'bad' foods.
3.  Stop starving yourself for faster results.
4.  Don't suffer through your diet.
5.  Don't dump your favorite foods.
6.  Don't let mistakes derail you.
7.  Forget the past.


(information modified from Sparkpeople.com)

           

Lifestyle Changes

After Foundation, our great intentions and positive lifestyle changes can slowly but surely give way to some habits we thought we had said goodbye to. It can be discouraging and a bit humiliating. The "inner voices" can have a hey day with us. "Don't I already know this, what is my problem, I'm too busy to focus on this, or this stuff is just too tedious."

The reality is lifestyle change is a process and life can throw us some challenging curve balls. The main thing to remember is you don't have to go at it alone. Sometimes we all need to be accountable to someone besides ourselves (especially when those inner voices are influencing us in the wrong direction).

The point is....we're here for you if you need some support getting back on track. There is a complimentary check-in on Wednesdays from 11:50 to 12:10. The wellness walk follows afterwards! All are welcome but your choice on that one. Practice classes are $30/month. Just want to drop in for one class to recharge, $10/class. Would like some one-on-one guidance, $20 for a 25 minute session. I wanted to offer some different options. As we say the view for optimal health is so worth it but there are different styles to achieve it. 

Have a well week,