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

Listen to episode 6 here: overwhelmed? how to decide what to eat

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.  

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!

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.

Myth 1: I only need to pay attention to the sugar on the label

The most important item for someone with diabetes to examine on a food label is the total grams of carbohydrates. This is because most carbohydrates (except fibre) directly influence blood sugars.

The type of sugar in grains, pasta, rice, bread, legumes and starchy veggies is complex carbohydrate (longer chains of sugar, similar to a pearl necklace). Foods such as fruit, milk, yogurt, some vegetables, beer, table sugar and sweets have simple carbohydrates (single or double units of sugar).

There are other important numbers on a label for diabetics. If you are overweight, watching calories is important. Since people with diabetes are also at risk for heart disease, reducing trans fats, saturated fats and sodium is important.

Choosing higher fibre foods and meals and snacks that contain protein also helps to improve blood sugar control.

Myth 2: I should avoid white foods and carbs in general

There is no reason to avoid carbohydrates if you have diabetes. Carbohydrates are essential for brain and nervous system functioning, and for your muscles as energy. Natural foods such as fruits, veggies, grains, milk and yogurt supply important nutrients and phytonutrients.

Since carbohydrates are found abundantly in starchy foods, juice, savoury snacks and sweets (and are commonly overeaten), be ruthless at watching how much of these you have.

While everyone’s needs are different, a good place to start is to have a maximum of two pieces of bread or, alternatively, one cup of grains, potatoes, corn or fruit per meal or snack. Having a bun and a baked potato, or two slices of garlic toast along with a cup of pasta, may be too much.

For better blood sugar control, it’s better to have smaller meals and add snacks than to have large meals. The best way to assess how your body responds to the common foods you are eating is to purchase and use a blood sugar monitor regularly.

Carbs with high glycemic index can spike your blood sugar rapidly. Choose starchy foods with a lower glycemic response, such as most beans and legumes, basmati rice instead of short grain rice, yams more often than white potatoes, whole grain breads instead of white breads, and high fibre bran cereals more often than low fibre cereals.

Myth 3: I must avoid dessert and use alternative sweeteners

While moderate consumption of alternative sweeteners aspartame or sucralose is considered safe by the Canadian Diabetes Association, it doesn’t mean you must use them.

Small amounts of regular sugar and dessert can be included, but you need to be savvy about how much and what you’re eating with them. Look for recipes that use less sugar. Eat dessert separate from a meal so you can spread out the carbohydrates you have at one time.

Lastly, head out for a walk or any type of physical activity, since this is one of the single most effective ways to lower your blood sugar.

Dietitian Andrea Holwegner owns Health Stand Nutrition Consulting Inc. Visit healthstandnutrition.com or phone 403-262-3466 for nutrition counselling and to subscribe to her free monthly ezine. Twitter.com/chocoholicRD

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.

Build a balanced breakfast

As Suzanna learned, the key to starting the day out right is to ensure you have a combination of carbohydrates needed for brain satisfaction and protein needed for fullness. The easiest way to think about breakfast is to ensure you have the following three components:

1. Grains/starches such as whole-grain toast, high-fibre breakfast cereal, oatmeal or leftover pasta, rice or other grains from supper.

2. Fruits/vegetables such as fresh fruit, canned unsweetened fruit, dried fruit, frozen fruit or even raw or cooked veggies if you prefer.

3. A source of protein, such as eggs, nuts, nut butter, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, soy milk, protein powder, tofu, meat, poultry or seafood.

Breakfast ideas with a twist

Looking for some breakfast ideas? Here are three common breakfast themes with a traditional option and a few new ones with a twist.

Yogurt parfaits:

- Traditional: vanilla/fruit yogurt, granola and fresh/frozen berries

- Tropical: plain yogurt, diced fresh/frozen thawed mango and fresh/canned unsweetened drained pineapple topped with sliced almonds and bran cereal.

- Banana split: plain/vanilla yogurt, sliced bananas, sliced strawberries and crushed peanuts.

Hot cereals:

- Traditional: rolled oats, diced apples and raisins served with brown sugar and milk.

- Pumpkin porridge: rolled oats, canned pumpkin, raisins, milk/soy milk, cinnamon, vanilla, peanut butter/nut butter served with brown sugar or maple syrup (see side bar for recipe).

- Cranberry crunch: steel cut oats, dried cranberries and cinnamon; top with toasted pecans/almonds/walnuts, milk and maple syrup.

Eggs:

- Traditional: scrambled, poached, boiled or pan-fried eggs with whole grain toast and fresh fruit.

- Mexican: whole grain tortilla wrap stuffed with scrambled eggs made with ham (optional), onions and red peppers topped with grated cheddar cheese and salsa.

- Greek: whole-wheat English muffin with a pan-fried egg, sauteed spinach with onions and olives and topped with feta cheese.

Recipe: Rise and Shine Pumpkin Porridge

Starting your day off with a warm bowl of oatmeal not only tastes fantastic but will boost your fibre intake and protect against heart disease. Here is a hearty protein-rich variation with added pumpkin to boost your beta carotene intake.

What You Need:

1 cup (250 mL) skim milk or soy milk

1/2 cup (125 mL) canned pure pumpkin (see Cook’s Note)

4 tbsp (60 mL) raisins

1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp (1 mL) cinnamon

1 cup (250 mL) rolled oats

1 tbsp (15 mL) peanut butter or other nut butter

In a pot on the stove, combine milk, pumpkin, raisins, vanilla and cinnamon and bring to a gentle boil.

Stir in oats and reduce heat until oatmeal is soft and creamy, then add peanut butter or nut butter.

Serve with milk and top with brown sugar or maple syrup.

Makes 2 large servings.

Cook’s Note: Canned pure pumpkin is unsweetened and not the same as pumpkin pie filling. To check if you have the correct one, review the ingredients and confirm that pumpkin is the only ingredient.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: Calories 365, Carbohydrates 60.6 g, Protein 14.3 g, Fat 7.7 g, Dietary Fibre 8.1 g

—

Andrea Holwegner, B.Sc., R.D., is The Chocoholic Dietitian and owns Health Stand Nutrition Consulting Inc. in Calgary.

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.

Whether you have an eating disorder or are struggling with an unhealthy relationship with food or your weight, here are three important things you can do right now to improve your whole family’s relationship with food, body image and health.

Prioritize family meals

Research is very clear that families who eat together have better nutrient intakes and are less likely to be overweight or develop eating disorders.

If you are overweight or struggling with bingeing or bulimia, eating alone is tempting but can be triggering. It is often the time when you may eat for comfort or sabotage. As Anne discovered, choosing only to eat when she was with others worked. Her kids helped her be accountable to model healthy eating habits and choose what her body needed for nourishment.

Eat enough

Anne was surprised to learn that her diet plan, which recommended eating less than 1,200 calories per day, was less than what her short four-year-old child needed. Depending on activity level, an average adult woman needs 1,800 to 2,400 calories per day. Are you trying to hit a calorie target more suited to your child?

Eat enough. If you are chronically depriving yourself of the essential food you need each day, your body interprets this as a sign that there is a famine and chooses to adjust hormones and your metabolic rate to conserve energy.

Simply eating enough and at regular three-to-four-hour intervals during the day helped Anne prevent some late afternoon bingeing and purging, and get control of her weight.

Slow and steady

Chances are you already beat yourself up enough. Remember that creating a healthier relation-ship with food and your body takes time, especially if you have been emotional eating and abusing your body for a long time.

If you hate the way you feel about food and your body, it can be tempting to work in isolation. The only way to feel better is to start talking about it with experts who know how to help.

Seek professional help from your family physician as well as a registered psychologist and registered dietitian who specialize in eating disorders and emotional eating. While moms often excel at giving support to those around them, even the caregivers need caregiving.

Dietitian Andrea Holwegner is the Chocoholic Nutritionist and owner of Health Stand Nutrition Consulting Inc. Visit healthstandnutrition.com or phone 403-262-3466.

“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.

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).

Although children in the early years are assumed to be naturally busy and active, they spend 73 to 84 per cent of their waking hours being sedentary.  In addition, despite the detrimental effects on physical and social development, most young children are exposed to screen time too early in life and for too long.

“Regular physical activity is essential at a young age as it contributes to bone and skeletal health, motor skill development, psychosocial health, cognitive development and healthy body weights,” says Dr. Mark Tremblay, Director, CHEO-HALO. “It is also key to avoid the harms associated with excessive sedentary behaviour, in particular the negative effects of screen time exposure, in the earliest years of development. Lifestyle patterns set in the early years predict health outcomes later in life.”

For healthy growth and development, the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for the Early Years recommend:

• Children under the age of one should be physically active several times daily – particularly through interactive, floor-based play. This should include supervised indoor and outdoor experiences such as tummy time, reaching and grasping, pushing and pulling, and crawling.
• Children aged one to four should accumulate at least 180 minutes of physical activity at any intensity spread throughout the day.  This should include a variety of activities in different environments where children can develop movement skills, such as climbing stairs, playing outside and exploring the environment, brisk walking, running or dancing.
• By age five, children should progress towards at least 60 minutes of energetic play, such as hopping, skipping and bike riding.

Minimizing sedentary behaviour, including screen time, during waking hours is just as important as being physically active. Sedentary behaviours are characterized by little physical movement and low energy expenditure and include sitting or reclining for long periods of time. For healthy growth and development, the Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years recommend:

• Caregivers should limit prolonged sitting to no more than one hour at a time, for example, sitting or reclining in a stroller, high chair or car seat, and watching television or playing with non-active electronic devices like computers, video games or phones.
• Screen time is not recommended for children under the age of two.
• Screen time should be limited to less than one hour per day for children aged two to four.

“These guidelines place a high value on the benefits of physical activity that begin in a child’s early years and accumulate throughout life,” says Kelly Murumets, President and CEO of ParticipACTION, the national voice of physical activity and sport participation.  “It is crucial for parents and caregivers to give young children regular opportunities to move more, and it can be as simple as getting outdoors to explore the neighbourhood rather than sitting in front of the TV, or by playing on a mat reaching, pushing or crawling rather than keeping children idle in a high chair.”

To download a copy of the new Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years please visit www.csep.ca/guidelines and participACTION.com.

Here is a helpful handout from ParticipACTION: Tips on how to get your young children to move more

For the full details on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for children in their early years visit:

http://www.participaction.com/en-us/Get-Informed/Physical-Activity-Guidelines/Guidelines-for-the-Early-Years-0-4-Years.aspx

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