May 15th, 2012
Listen to my QR77 Radio Program here
Every monday at 4:15pm on QR77 Radio join me and Angela Kokott host of Calgary Today with our segment “You are what you eat” to get the goods on healthy eating. If you missed my segments I will be archiving these audio discussions on my blog here.
Overwhelmed? How to decide what to eat
- We are overwhelmed….Dr. Brian Wansink, a food psychology researcher estimates we make about 200 food related decisions per day.
- Think about ordering coffee in the old days (circa 1980) vs. ordering from starbucks now… No wonder people are stressed about food.
- Not only are we faced with a colossal amount of decisions. We have never been more bombarded with mixed messages about what we could and should be eating. Many of the clients we see also know that it also seems like everything that is good for you is also bad for you and vice versa.
- You have probably seen your favourite food go from good to bad to good again. Even the innocent banana has been given a bad wrap. A BANANA! People may have even slipped up and had a whole banana when their weight loss plan would have only said they could have half. I want to ask you…has anyone ever gained to much weight because they ate too many bananas?
- Lets look at the ingredient label on a banana….oh yah it doesn’t exist. That’s because it includes….banana.
- Start with REAL FOOD – real food is the stuff that grows in the ground, on trees, is recognizable as food by your great grandparents. Real food either doesn’t have a food label or has simple words an 8 year old can easily read.
- Decrease FOOD IMPOSTERS
- If it sounds like something that has been made by a mad scientist then likely you should eat less. I’m not saying elim
inate these. Have a bit of fun with these but your grandma was right – eat real food.
- Understand how to read a nutrition label
- Get more of these: fibre, vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, iron
- Get less of these: saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, added sugar
- Review the serving size in comparison to how much you are eating since the numbers on the label will change if you eat more than the package serving.
Listen to episode 6 here: overwhelmed? how to decide what to eat
Tags: food decisions, food psychology, grocery shopping, label reading, meal planning, real food, what to eat
Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Mindsets, Our Radio Program "You are what you eat" | No Comments »
May 15th, 2012
Listen to my QR77 Radio Program here
Every monday at 4:15pm on QR77 Radio join me and Angela Kokott host of Calgary Today with our segment “You are what you eat” to get the goods on healthy eating. If you missed my segments I will be archiving these audio discussions on my blog here.
Nutrition for time crunched families
- One of the most common things I hear is “I don’t have time to eat well”
- The amount of time we spend preparing food has changed.
- In the early 1900’s North Americans spent ~6 hours per day preparing food;
- in the year 2000 we spent (~45 minutes);
- what do you think the current estimate is? (~20 minutes).
- We make time for the things we prioritize.
- How big a priority is your health and your families health?
- How long do you take to prepare and eat your meals?
- While I certainly wouldn’t want to see us going back to spending 360 minutes per day preparing food like back in the 1900’s, ripping open a package and eating in 5 minutes isn’t a solution either.
- Replace saying “I don’t have time to eat well” with “how could I afford not to take the time to eat well”.
- Shift how you think about food preparation since ironically many of the ways we try to save time actually costs us time.
- Think making eggs takes too long for breakfast? It may actually take longer to make toast than eggs….try it
- Is it really faster to stand in line at starbucks or wait in a drive through line at Tim Hortons than make a coffee at home?
- What about eating out? I was working a family who were working parents that ate out in restaurants or picked up fast food sometimes five times per week. On restaurant days it took 2 hours to get everyone in the car, have a family feud about where to eat, order and wait – I challenged them to eat at home more often to save time which was one of their most precious resources. They saved time and their health.
- To save time this family needed to do 2 things: shop less and cook double.
- Time saving tips that don’t sacrifice nutrition: shop less and cook double.
- Shop less. The average Canadian shops twice per week – Aim for shopping 1X per week if you are time strapped. Shopping more often will cost you more time. It also costs you more money. Retailers know the more often you shop the more you will spend. Ever run into the store just for milk and ran out with $100 worth of groceries. The more often we shop the more likely we will also do impulse buys – which may include convenience junk foods.
- Cook double. It takes the same amount of time to cook double the quantity. Use these for lunch, for leftovers at dinner tomorrow, or freeze them for a day you are short on time.
- HATE leftovers? why not try “planned extras” instead – cooking a larger quantity of ONE part of the meal for tomorrow
- Eg. Rice to go with tonight’s BBQ meal and leftovers for tomorrows stir-fry. Alternatively freeze it.
- Eg. Baked potatoes the first night, pan fried the next night
- Eg. Extra grilled veggies from supper for a pasta salad in a few days
- Eg. Double the grilled chicken breast for quesadillas, salad, or stir-fry the next night
- Challenge the way you think about food preparation….cooking healthy doesn’t have to take you oodles of time.
Tags: family meals, grocery shopping, healthy eating, leftovers, meal planning, quick meals, time saving tips
Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Mindsets, Kids Nutrition, Media-TV-Radio, Our Radio Program "You are what you eat" | No Comments »
May 15th, 2012
Listen to my QR77 Radio Program here
Every monday at 4:15pm on QR77 Radio join me and Angela Kokott host of Calgary Today with our segment “You are what you eat” to get the goods on healthy eating. If you missed my segments I will be archiving these audio discussions on my blog here.
What should I eat? BMW – Balanced meals work
In this segment I will address the following questions. It might seem basic but many people are missing at least one of the three components of a balanced meal.
- What are the 3 parts to a balanced meal? examples?
- Review why we need veggies/fruit?
- Why do you need grains/starches ie/ carbs – some people think we should eliminate these for health/weight loss? What happens if you don’t get enough? Too much?
- Why do you need protein? What happens if you don’t get enough? Too much?
- What is wrong with just a salad with chicken for lunch?
- What is wrong with juice and toast for breakfast?
Listen to episode 4: April 2, 2012 here: BMW: Balanced meals work!
Tags: balances meals, breakfast, carbohydrates, carbs, fruits, grains, lunch, meal planning, protein, supper, vegetables
Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Mindsets, Kids Nutrition, Our Radio Program "You are what you eat", Weight Management | No Comments »
May 13th, 2012
Fifty-eight-year-old Dallas took his new diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes seriously. He began a walking program and read the sugar levels on all packaged food. His doctor told him to eliminate white foods, so he weeded out the majority of grains in his diet and decided to go low-carb.
Dallas dropped a few pounds and was managing healthy blood sugars, but noticed his energy level was getting progressively weaker. While he initially enjoyed his new high-protein diet, he missed potatoes, toast and dessert.
Dispelling three common myths about diabetes helped Dallas find more flexibility in his eating plan.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: alternative sweeteners, canadian diabetes association, carbohydrates, carbs, dessert, diabetes, glycemic index, myths, sugar, white foods
Posted in Calgary Herald, Health Concerns, Healthy Eating, Healthy Mindsets, Weight Management | No Comments »
May 13th, 2012
Suzanna, 49, hadn’t been a breakfast eater since she was a teenager. She was certainly not a morning person and never felt hungry until about lunchtime. As she was struggling with obesity and creeping blood sugars, her doctor warned her that without some significant changes she would end up with Type 2 diabetes similar to her dad. She knew she needed to make some changes to get her health on track, and this included tackling breakfast.
Research shows that the benefits of taking time to eat a balanced breakfast are worthwhile for all ages. Breakfast gives your brain the essential energy it needs for a full day ahead, and breakfast eaters tend to struggle with their weight less than breakfast skippers. A large number of observational research studies also show that people who regularly eat breakfast also may have higher intakes of fibre, vitamins, calcium and other minerals, as well as lower intakes of fat and total calories. And there’s more.
A May 2012 article published by Mekary and colleagues in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that simply eating breakfast may also decrease disease risk. The researchers reviewed the eating patterns of more than 29,000 men that were followed for 16 years. Skipping breakfast resulted in a 20 to 25 per cent increased risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: breakfast, diabetes, eggs, hot cereal, oatmeal, recipes, weight loss, weight management, yogurt parfait
Posted in Calgary Herald, Health Concerns, Healthy Eating, Healthy Mindsets, Kids Nutrition, Media-TV-Radio, Weight Management | No Comments »
May 13th, 2012
Anne was a devoted stay-at-home mother of two healthy, beautiful girls ages four and seven. For two decades, Anne had tried just about everything to lose weight. But, over the years, the liquid-shake programs, low-carb plans and starvation diets eventually manifested into bingeing and purging.
She hid her bulimia from family and friends, too depressed and ashamed to reach out for help.
Because she was still overweight, her feelings of shame were amplified.
Anne will never forget the day her seven-year-old daughter asked, “Mom, am I fat?”
As overweight parents and those with eating disorders will attest to, they want nothing more than for their children to be free of the pain and obsessions they have lived with. They want their children to grow and develop healthily and to have a better relationship with food and their bodies than they do.
Why then, despite a parent’s instinct to protect their children from their pain, do children of parents with eating disorders often struggle with food and body image?
As Anne learned, you may think you are hiding your dieting habits or eating disorder from your children, but children learn what they live. Perhaps they are picking up subtle messages about how you classify food as good or bad, or how you eat diet foods while they are told to eat something else.
Maybe it is because they have watched you stuff or starve your-self to numb uncomfortable emotions. It may also be because you skip eating their birthday cake or sit on the side of the swimming pool fully clothed rather than participating. The little things are big things.
The good news is that it is never too late to get things on track and redefine healthy relationships with food, body image and your family.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: anorexia, binging, body image, bulimia, eating disorders, kids nutrition, parents, purging, weight loss, weight management
Posted in Calgary Herald, Health Concerns, Healthy Eating, Healthy Mindsets, Kids Nutrition, Media-TV-Radio, Weight Management | No Comments »
March 27th, 2012
Registered Psychologist Adele Fox is facilitating an eating disorder support group – for more information check out this brochure: eating disorder group brochure
“A supportive, educational experience where women in recovery can share and learn from each other to continue on the path of health and aliveness”.
This group is for women 17 years and older that struggle with symptoms of bulimia. You must be currently in treatment or completed treatment and now active in your own recovery process.
For more information contact Adele directly at: 403-809-7809 or www.myndcare.com.
Tags: bulimia, eating disorder
Posted in Healthy Mindsets, Upcoming Event | 1 Comment »
March 27th, 2012
Children four and under should move more, sit less and avoid screens
Canada’s first-ever physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines for the early years released
CALGARY (ALBERTA) March 27, 2012 – Children aged four and under should move more and sit less every day as recommended by the first-ever Canadian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years. All children aged one to four should accumulate at least 180 minutes of physical activity throughout the day, and children under the age of one should be physically active several times daily. Parents and caregivers should also limit prolonged sitting for more than one hour at a time and excessive screen time.
The Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years (ages 0-4 years) are Canada’s first systematic evidence-based physical activity guidelines and the world’s first standalone sedentary behaviour guidelines for this age group, which puts Canada at the forefront of the emerging body of sedentary research. They are presented by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) and ParticipACTION, with support from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group (CHEO-HALO).
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Tags: andrea holwegner, children and activity, CSEP, day care nutrition, health stand nutrition consulting inc., kids, kids fitness, participaction, physical activity, registered dietitian, screen time, toddlers activity
Posted in Health Concerns, Kids Nutrition, Sports Nutrition, Weight Management | 2 Comments »
March 27th, 2012
Every monday at 4:15pm on QR77 Radio join me and Angela Kokott host of Calgary Today with our segment “You are what you eat” to get the goods on healthy eating. If you missed my segments I will be archiving these audio discussions on my blog here.
How often should I eat? KISS (keep ingesting something silly)
This sounds like a a simple question but it is actually quite complex. The good news is there are multiple ways to eat and still achieve the health, energy and weight management you need.
Listen to Episode 3, March 26, 2012:
Episode 3: How often should I eat?
In this segment I discuss the two common types of eaters I see in our practice: GRAZERS and GORGERS
You describe “grazers and gorgers” to classify eaters – what do you mean by this?
- Grazers munch on small amounts constantly throughout the day and gorgers eat big meals, enjoy feeling full and then simply just wait longer periods of time between meals. Both of these styles of eating have pros and cons and one isn’t necessarily better than the other – it is more about personal preference.
What are the challenges for the gorger?
- Getting too hungry and ending up in a state of “homicidal hunger” where you overeat and make poor choices.
What are the challenges for the grazer?
- Despite being promoted as better you can be overeating by the end of the day since it can be difficult to know when you are hungry and when you are full.
How long should we go between meals?
- KISS (keep ingesting something stupid)
- Be a “go-getter” (somewhere in between a grazer and gorger) eat every 3-5 hours
Tags: andrea holwegner, breakfast, eating out, energy, food, health and wellness, health stand nutrition consulting inc., healthy eating, lunch, nutrition, productivity, registered dietitian, snacks, speed of eating, supper, the chocoholic dietitian, vegetables, weight loss, weight management
Posted in Health Concerns, Healthy Eating, Healthy Mindsets, Media-TV-Radio, Our Radio Program "You are what you eat", Weight Management | No Comments »
March 27th, 2012
This is good news! Check out this article:
Tags: andrea holwegner, chocolate, day care nutrition, emotional eating, food, health and wellness, health stand nutrition consulting inc., healthy eating, nutrition, registered dietitian, snacks, the chocoholic dietitian, weight loss, weight management
Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Mindsets, Weight Management | 1 Comment »
