Monthly Archives: August 2009

Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid

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I found an interesting article over at the People’s Chemist about how certain foods (and additives) can make you eat more. It’s well worth checking out, and it definitely makes me want to check my food labels more carefully.

It also made me think about paying more attention to what I eat, how much, and when. Let me explain.

Fat free

In the article, Shane discusses how many people get tricked into thinking that fat free is good for you, when in fact that’s not really the case. Here’s an example from my own experience.

A friend of mine used to watch her fat intake religiously. This was several years ago, when it was common to read that fat, and only fat, can turn in to fat on your body. The idea was that you could eat as much as you wanted as long as it was fat free, and you’d magically not gain weight. You’d even lose weight.

I know it sounds silly now, but people believed it. She used to bring an entire bag of fat free fig newtons to work for breakfast, and eat the whole thing. And she wondered why she couldn’t lose weight.

She fell victim to what happens to a lot of people who eat any kind of “diet” food. Knowing that it’s lower calorie, lower fat, lower sugar, etc. often just encourages us to eat more of it. We feel that it doesn’t quite count so much, so it’s o.k. to have one more.

So, the best solution may be to eat “real” foods and watch your portion sizes.

However, I realize that may not always be possible. Take my husband for example. He’s diabetic, so sugar and real sweeteners are a no-no for him. He uses splenda, and when he eats desserts, they’re splenda sweetened. For him, that’s a better option that sugar. Of course, he still has to watch his portion sizes very closely!

Things to avoid

The article linked above lists some foods to avoid, like MSG and high fructose corn syrup. Here are a few others.

  1. Desserts. Most are loaded in calories, fat and sugar. Save these for a special occasion and substitute fruit instead.
  2. Fast food. It’s tough to find something healthy at a drive through, no surprise there. Pack lunch instead. If you don’t have time or like doing that, try a “real” restaurant where you can get a vegetable lunch, fish, etc.
  3. Most things that come in a box, can or bag. A boxed dinner is loaded in preservatives. Ditto for instant mix dishes. Buy yourself a crock pot and cook it yourself.

Again, common sense rules. Try to eat as much real, whole, fresh foods as possible. Avoid additives, processed foods, etc. If it comes from a box, you can’t recognize it, or it lasts darn near forever, you  probably shouldn’t be eating it!

You don’t need willpower

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WebMD had an interesting article a couple days ago, Why Willpower Often Fails.

The gist of the article is this, we often over-estimate the strength of our willpower. And those who are the most confident of their ability to resist temptation are the ones who fail the most, and the worst.

If you’ve ever been on a diet, no one has to tell you that temptation often wins out over willpower. If it didn’t you wouldn’t need to keep dieting, would you? There are some things you can do to give yourself a better chance of succeeding.

  1. Admit that there will be temptation, and accept that it may be hard to resist. Those who were most humble about their willpower were the ones most likely to succeed in resisting, according to the article.
  2. Avoid situations where you’ll be tempted, as much as possible. Think of times when you usually “blow it” and try to do something different to help you resist. Television time is a tough one for me, so I try to keep busy knitting, writing, cleaning house, etc. If I just sit and watch television, I can eat hundreds of calories before I even realize it.
  3. Build good habits. We’re creatures of habit. Often we do things without thinking, so it’s only smart to take advantage of that. When was the last time you ate a whole tub of popcorn at the movies before you realized it? Or maybe you ordered dessert before you remembered you were on a diet? Work on replacing those bad habits with good ones, and you’ll find yourself doing healthy things automatically instead.

So, the next time you’re faced with a situation that might cause you to fall off the wagon, take some time to build up your defenses before-hand.