The Skinny on Exercise

This post has been writing itself in my head for some time now, usually when I'm slogging through another treadmill workout. I actually love to exercise or, more precisely, am somewhat addicted to it.  I don't feel good when I don't do it, and with the exception of certain points during and right after my pregnancies, I haven't gone a week without exercise in almost 10 years.  But I no longer exercise to lose or maintain my weight; I do it for muscle tone, stress relief, strength and cardiac health.  This represents a huge shift in my thinking over the years and may contradict the advice you typically hear - that in order to lose weight you have to exercise - so first, a little background:

While my exercise habits have stayed very consistent over the past 10 years, my weight has not, ranging almost 25 pounds from the low point to the high point (not including pregnancies).  In the summer of 2009, I was at my heaviest weight in years, exercising vigorously every day while on vacation with another couple. I was complaining about the extra 10 lbs I was carrying and my friend said "But if you keep exercising like you are, you'll be slim in no time." We don't see each other often so how was she to know I had been doing that same long power walk rain or shine, heat wave or cold front, every day for months on end (not to mention the yoga, Pilates, boxing classes and free weights) with no change in my weight. And how was she to know that, based on new research that was about to emerge, she was wrong: exercise doesn't actually help most people lose weight.  After that conversation that I had an epiphany:

Exercise does NOT make or keep me thin. In fact, it makes absolutely NO difference in my weight.

In what seemed like kismet at the time, my personal epiphany came within days of TIME magazine publishing an article that got a lot of attention in the media. I strongly recommend you read the whole article but one of the main points is that while exercise burns calories it also stimulates hunger and most of us end up eating more calories than we burned as a result. It's human nature to think "I can have that dessert because I exercised today." It's also natural to truly be hungrier because you exercised (I was reminded of this Monday when I didn't do my morning cardio for the first time in a few weeks and had half my usual appetite in the afternoon). The article also explains that after a vigorous workout, most people are more likely to be lazier the rest of the day as a result. This is definitely true for me.  If I take a kickboxing class in the morning, I am more likely to suggest Legos than a walk to the park as an an afternoon activity with my son. The article made me realize that what was true for me was actually true for most people, which also explained why I saw the same slightly overweight folks time and again on my walks and trips to the gym.* Of course many people at the gym look fabulous, but we must assume they are also watching what they eat.

It was after the one-two punch of my epiphany and the Time article that I got serious about what I put in my mouth, started exercising LESS and finally lost the 10 lbs (plus a few more). The experience was so life-changing for me, I started school at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, became a certified health coach, began blogging and started my business, Inhabit Health. While I returned to regular exercise for stress relief and because I like to have muscle tone, I no longer believe it will have an effect on my weight and I certainly don't kick myself if I miss a workout. I now exercise to be better, not smaller. 

But enough about me already; here is some useful information for you (for more detail, read the Time article I linked to above as well as this article on exercise myths):

• Unless you are exercising like Lance Armstrong or Novak Djokovic, you cannot eat carbohydrates and sweets freely without consequences (and of course these guys watch what they eat too). Even vigorous exercise a few times a week is not enough to offset extra calories and may actually cause you to gain weight by compensating with more food. 
• Being sedentary most of the time and then hitting the gym hard a few times a week or even an hour per day is very stressful for the muscles (causing intense soreness) and is likely to result in you being lazier when not exercising.
• A lot of the aesthetic effects of exercise people long for - defined triceps, a "six-pack", etc., cannot be achieved until fat is lost (i.e. you can't see the six-pack under the layer of fat), and a healthy diet is the key to losing fat, not exercise.
• In multiple studies, frequent short bursts of activity (the kind life required before TV, computers, supermarkets, etc) have been shown to keep people as healthy as sweat-filled gym visits.  This means that just by being fairly active in your daily life (playing with your toddler, doing handy work around the house), you can be just as healthy as the sedentary office worker who hits the gym for an hour after work every day.

Of course, exercise is still great for alleviating stress, anxiety, depression and arthritis pain as well as lowering high blood pressure, preventing osteoporosis, strengthening your muscles, making you look better in your clothes ... the list goes on. So, by all means, exercise! Just don't count on it alone to affect your weight. A healthy diet is essential for looking and feeling your best.

To learn more about changing your diet to improve your health, consider signing up for one of my programs or email me about my Nutrition Boot Camp special. www.inhabithealth.com or lindsay@inhabithealth.com. 

* I must add that every study has to be taken with a grain of salt and everyone is different. Some people tell me that once they exercise, everything else falls into place and they eat better too. If exercise does help you lose or maintain your weight, that's great; keep it up!

MyReview of MyPlate

In a long overdue move to clarify what the government thinks its citizens should eat, the USDA revealed its new "MyPlate" logo, a marked improvement over the outdated and confusing Pyramid Graphic. According to the New York Times, "The new design, called MyPlate, was conceived as a crucial part of Mrs. Obama's campaign against obesity, designed to remind consumers about the basics of a healthful diet."

First, the good news: this graphic is easy to read and sensible. We eat off a plate so why shouldn't a plate logo be our guide. The plate is split into four fairly even sections although grains and vegetables appear slightly larger than the fruit and protein sections, which is a good thing as long as the grains one chooses are actually whole grains and not refined carbohydrates masquerading as grains (like most bread, crackers and pasta sold in grocery stores).  A smaller circle, suggesting it could be an "on the side" item sits beside the plate for dairy products.  Unlike the pyramids past, dairy is finally relegated to a secondary position. Dairy has long figured way too prominently in the USDA recommendations thanks to congressional kowtowing to the powerful dairy lobby.  Not sure how Michelle managed to fight that beast (maybe those fabulous biceps had something to do with it) but this is a huge victory.  Not only is dairy not a necessary dietary component for anyone over the age of five or so, approximately 30-50% of Americans are lactose intolerant. And while diary is a good source of calcium for people who don't eat enough greens, most dairy is consumed in the form of cheese, which, although delicious, is not healthy in large quantities. An aside: I almost died when I saw the new Pizza Hut ad for its cheesy bites pizza. Seriously?

Now let's talk about what's not so good about the MyPlate graphic.

The terms vegetables, fruit, grains, protein and dairy mean different things to different people.  Let me give you two examples of meals that technically follow these guidelines:

Meal 1: 30% of plate is potatoes (vegetable). 30% of plate is white rice (grain). 20% of plate is factory farmed red meat (protein). 20% of plate is peaches canned in syrup (fruit).  Meal is downed with a large glass of milk from cows treated with rBGH (dairy).

This person followed the rules but consumed loads of empty calories, unsafe hormones and antibiotics from the factory farmed meat and milk, and a good deal of sugar from the canned fruit. There was almost no fiber in the meal and too many calories in the form of refined carbohydrates.

Meal 2: 30% of plate is a medley of braised greens. 30% of plate is brown rice. 20% of plate is a 4 oz serving of wild salmon. 20% of plate is fresh berries, which serve as the dessert and can be eaten with the organic cultured yogurt served on the side.

This person followed the guidelines and took in an abundance of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, etc. in the form of nutrient-dense and delicious, fiber-rich foods. The meal contained a healthy number of calories in the form of whole grains and healthy fats. It might not escape your attention that the second plate would probably cost a lot more, which is why I wish the government would focus its energy on making healthy food more affordable (let's start with subsidizing vegetable crops instead of corn) rather than trying to tell us what to eat with a pretty picture.

So, the major problem is that the MyPlate still doesn't tell Americans what to eat and what not to eat in a clear manner.  Now some of you will say the government has no place to tell Americans what to eat; and while I tend to be more pro-government than anti-government in general, I tend to agree with you BUT not because I philosophically oppose government suggesting ways for Americans to eat more healthfully, rather, because I don't think they do it well due to basic conflicts of interest.

New and improved graphics aside, the basic premise of the USDA telling Americans what to eat is flawed because the USDA, like most government agencies, is at the beck and call of lobbyists working for for-profit industries.  And lobbyists for the meat and dairy industries make sure that the government never says things like "Don't eat factory-farmed red meat" or "Dairy is not a healthy food for some people." Also, the USDA is the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which means it is also in charge of promoting America's agricultural interests so do you think it is going to tell you to eat a naturally gluten-free South American grain like quinoa instead of the plethora of wheat-based products made here in the US of A? Of course not. It wouldn't be good monetary policy.  Therefore, the USDA advising us on what to eat is an inherently flawed concept despite what I believe are the best intentions of the First Lady and a few congressmen on both sides of the aisle.

For a more detailed analysis of why the government does such a poor job of telling us what to eat, read  Marion Nestle's "Food Politics" or "What to Eat." In the meantime, stick to what you know from reading this blog or follow health and science writer Michael Pollan's simple guideline: "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants."

As always, thanks for reading and stay healthy this summer!

Where is the Love ... for VEGETABLES???

I watched Oprah's 7-Day Vegan challenge episode this week (it was a repeat, original air date was over a month ago), and I applaud Oprah for a) encouraging Americans to eat more consciously, b) making it clear that the vegan lifestyle is one choice among many, and c) being bold enough to show a tour of a slaughterhouse after having been sued by the meat industry. I also applaud the Cargill company for allowing Oprah's cameras into one of their plants (20 other meat processors turned her down) and being willing to have an honest discussion about how meat gets to our table in this country.  I rarely eat factory farmed meat now, and I will likely eat even less after seeing this show. However, the one thing that really frustrated me with this otherwise bold episode of television was the lack of a single mention about actually eating more vegetables to improve one's diet!

Kathy Freston, Oprah's resident Vegan expert, got the most air time despite Michael Pollan also being on the stage.  Pollan, the author of wonderful books like The Omnivore's Dilemma and Food Rules, raised the point that too often vegans replace the animal products in their diet with processed foods and refined carbohydrates.  Freston agreed; however, the show's content focused heavily on making standard American fare fit the vegan lifestyle through the use of processed foods like meat substitutes and carbohydrate-based snacks, rather than encouraging people to eat a primarily plant-based diet full of veggies, unprocessed whole grains, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds. The majority of people participating in this "radical experiment" seemed to interpret the vegan lifestyle as one heavily supported by the cereal and frozen foods sections at Whole Foods rather than one consisting mostly of actual whole food sources like, um, vegetables! In addition to Freston, I have noticed this trend in media appearances by the Skinny Bitch women and Alicia Silverstone, all of whom promote a vegan diet without seeming to promote the VEG in VEGan.


I have long been irked by vegetables getting a bad rap (like those V-8 ads suggesting vegetables are so horrendous one must ingest them quickly and in juice form), but I feel especially peeved about so-called experts touting the benefits of a vegan diet without specifically encouraging the consumption of more fruits and vegetables.  In my opinion, if you are a basically healthy person, switching from a diet high in eggs, cheese and beef to a diet high in packaged cereals, processed soy products and pasta (or worse, loads of sweets) is not exactly a winning proposition.  However, ANY diet can benefit from more vegetables, fruits and legumes as they are nutrient dense, high in fiber and fill you up, hence crowding out less healthy items in the diet like high-fat animal products and refined carbohydrates.

Whether you want to eat less meat or just eat more vegetables, let's talk about loving vegetables because it is possible, trust me.  Last night I ate a heavenly dinner consisting almost entirely of vegetables: fresh sweet corn on the cob buttered and salted, sliced heirloom tomatoes topped with thin slices of mozzarella and drizzled with balsamic vinegar and a hearty portion of spinach sauteed in olive oil and lemon. YUM.  A few nights ago I made a meal of steamed carrots, brussels sprouts, asparagus and broccoli tossed with some butter and shredded parmesan cheese.  Because most of the bulk came from vegetables, these were still low calorie dinners despite the butter, oil and cheese used as garnishes. On both of these days I had protein and carbohydrates at breakfast (eggs and whole grain toast) and lunch (black bean enchiladas, a salad topped with protein) so I had no worries about not getting enough protein.

Vegetables are an afterthought for most Americans if they eat them at all. People just throw some overcooked carrots or microwaved frozen broccoli on a plate and don't really appreciate the flavors.  Many young adults were brought up on canned vegetables or vegetables boiled until the taste disappeared and believe they don't like vegetables as a result.  First things first: TRY vegetables again.  Either learn how to cook them properly or buy them prepared from a store like Whole Foods or a good local deli.  Try them all -- taste buds evolve! Don't expect your toddler to love asparagus, but don't use her immature taste buds an an excuse for your lack of curiosity.  Despite having parents who cooked vegetables well and often,  I have gone from tolerating only about 3 vegetables in my twenties to LOVING every vegetable I can think of in my thirties.  After you enjoy your first taste of sweet roasted parsnips or crispy brussels sprouts, I know you will thank me!

Because Americans are so geared toward thinking of a meal as a meat, a starch and a vegetable; most people don't realize that vegetables as well as whole grains and legumes make perfectly acceptable main course options and that such dishes not only taste great but make you feel great too.  When you leave off the meat and the white starches, you can feel freer to cook and flavor your vegetables with healthy fats like olive oil, cheese or even butter without fear of gaining weight (granted, butter and cheese are not vegan so this would not work if you are shunning animal products for moral reasons).

In summary, whether it's for moral or health reasons, if you are thinking about eating less animal products, start by eating more vegetables and legumes. Chili and pasta don't need real or fake meat to fill you up - add roasted veggies tossed in olive oil to whole wheat pasta or make a 3-bean vegetarian chili -- you will be eating a healthy vegan meal without even realizing it!  Soba noodles with edamame (and/or peanut sauce) and vegetables is a great high protein, naturally vegan meal.  Avocado and hummus make tasty substitutes for mayo or cheese on a veggie sandwich. Adding more whole, fresh plant foods to crowd out the animal products and refined carbohydrates in your diet will allow you to "lean into" (Kathy Freston's phrase) a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, doing good for both your body and the planet, without increasing the processed foods in your diet and thus just replacing one problem with another.

For more yummy veggie and legume recipes, refer back to these Inhabit Health posts:
http://inhabithealth.blogspot.com/2010/09/recipes-legume-time.html
http://inhabithealth.blogspot.com/2010/06/recipes-veggies-4-ways.html

As always, thanks for reading and check out my website for information on my coaching programs to help you live a healthier life. www.inhabithealth.com

Reflections on this Blog (and the Blogger)

Now that I am the girl with the nutrition blog, when I seem noshing on anything other than quinoa and kale I get comments like "wow, bet you won't tell your readers to eat that" or "hmm, haven't seen anything about the nutritional value of nachos on your blog."  While I expect the comments to a degree and even make them myself occasionally (as in "won't be blogging about that huge piece of cake I just had"), the nature of the comments surprise me sometimes, especially because I don't consider this blog to be anti-indulgence or anti-any food group. I see it as one of many tools that can help people have a better understanding of the relationship between what they eat and how they look and feel.  On the positive side, such comments force me to clarify what messages I am really trying to convey with the blog and what rules I live by when it comes to diet, health and nutrition.

When I interact with other members of social networking groups about health and nutrition or visit the alumni message boards of IIN, I can't help but notice that I am more lax about what I put in to my body than most people calling themselves health and nutrition experts. I don't really know my way around a supplements aisle; I don't avoid dairy or gluten like the plague; I love to eat out  (everything from Tex-Mex to five-star dining) and I let my child eat more sugar than he probably should, especially if it means he'll stop whining. Anyone who knows me knows that while my weight falls in a healthy range and I like to exercise, I am not particularly thin nor do I ever eat like a bird.  If forced to say whether I was in the "eat to live" or "live to eat" category I might have to say the latter; however, I do believe in a strong connection between what we eat and how we live.  To sum up, I would say that I eat "very consciously but not very conscientiously." I may not always eat really healthfully, but I know when I am and when I'm not, and I try to strike a good balance between the quality of my diet and the overall quality of my life.  Because life should be like a box of chocolates, not a bag of brown rice, right?

But do I practice what people think I preach? To briefly describe my own dietary habits, what works for me is to prepare most of my own meals using whole, natural ingredients (think steel cut oats or scrambled eggs in the morning, a large salad with ample protein for lunch and fish with vegetables for dinner), but splurge occasionally, mostly on the weekends -- eating whatever I desire at restaurants, venturing out for ice cream with my son or enjoying a decadent meal cooked by my husband.  I tend to prefer what people think of as healthy food, but I have a big appetite so curbing portions is a bigger challenge for me than cutting out junk. I try not to overdo the sugar and generally avoid heavily processed foods, fast food and fried foods; but for me, it's really more about getting the right stuff in than keeping the wrong stuff out, so I make sure I am eating from every food group and getting plenty of plants in my diet. So, that's what I practice in a nutshell.

As for what preach ... What I want this blog to be about is sharing information (based on my studies and common sense) about what foods are healthful and what foods are not (and what "foods" are not actually food) and then letting people take that knowledge and do what they want with it, including disagree with it.  I try to distinguish between what foods are healthful as opposed to what foods make sense on a weight-loss plan because too many people, as a result of the media messaging and marketing around food, think the definition of health food is diet food (low fat, low calorie) or think diet food is always good for you. I couldn't disagree more.  I want to stop people from thinking they were "good that day" because they subsisted on a slim fast bar, a Diet Coke and a low-calorie frozen entree.  In my opinion, this is where the culture of food and weight has gotten so off base: people think homemade lasagna is BAD and meal replacement shakes sweetened with aspartame are GOOD.  I like to think I am clearing the noise a little and helping you actually LISTEN to your own body rather than the cacophony of mixed messages coming at you from diet books, magazines and food advertisers, all of which care more about their bottom line than the size of your bottom (not to mention your insulin and cholesterol levels).

I also like to think I am helping people, especially women, be realistic about health and weight.  Every week someone I know starts a new celebrity-endorsed cleanse or fad diet in the hopes of losing those 5-10 lbs they don't really need to lose.  When I see stick-thin celebrities in magazines confessing "I was bulimic" or "I was obsessed with my weight," I think "DUH!" Looking like a model takes either a ton of good habits or a lot of bad habits.  Being TV-thin means eating very conscientiously whether you are being health-conscious or not.  Some of these celebrities may really eat healthfully and stick to a plant-based diet or veggies and lean protein, but it's also possible that many use unhealthy tricks to stay thin like stimulants, purging or starvation.  As I have told a few people, crack and meth will make you skinny too but they aren't good for you.  That being said, nuts and whole grain breads are good for you but eat loads of either a day and you won't be thin.  Being healthy takes many forms; healthy for you may be a size 10, but it may be a 2 for someone else.  One of the first steps to being healthy is being realistic about what weight is healthy for you.

Being Hollywood thin takes more sacrifice than I am willing to make, but being healthy also takes effort -- cooking a lot of your own meals, regular exercise, using will power when necessary -- and I am willing to do that work.  This is my balance. It works for me. Inhabit Health's mission is to help you find your own balance by providing you with the knowledge and tools to make dietary choices that empower you and make sense for your life.  Inhabit Health is not about shedding pounds, it's about shedding light on a field clouded by misinformation and false marketing promises.  I want to be sure I am answering your questions so feel free to suggest an idea for a blog post; I can't promise I will tackle it, but I will at least try to direct you to someone who does. As always, thanks for reading!

For more information on my personalized coaching style, visit my website www.inhabithealth.com.

The Hidden Cost of "Free" Foods

A few years ago I came across an interesting article on debt counseling; one part in particular really intrigued me: the article quoted a debt counselor who said his #1 rule for women who shop too much and get into debt was to never buy anything on sale.  The reason for this being that you are more likely to buy things you don't really need when they are on sale because you convince yourself you are getting a deal.  Although I have never had a shopping addiction, I took this to heart because I noticed the things in my closet that I never wore were all things I bought on sale. This debt counselor also said that you should never buy things you don't love enough to buy at full price.

Well, I feel the exact same way about "free" food items, i.e. the "sugar-free" and "fat-free" products that fill the aisles of major supermarket chains (and now the plethora of "gluten-free" and "dairy-free" items - appropriate product choices for a consumer with a real gluten or lactose intolerance but not exactly a health boon for the rest of us). The bottom line is this: when you think something is free, you are a lot more likely to overindulge and pay the price later, whether it's cookies, chips, shoes or handbags!

Just like those 40% off must-have designer shoes, all of these "free" foods are still costly (to your health if not your budget). Before we get into some of the hidden costs of "free" foods, first let me remind you that any food that claims to be healthy usually isn't. Why? Because if it's telling you it's healthy, it comes in a box and that means it's processed and packaged. Do the carrots or sprouts in the produce aisle tell you they are fat and dairy and gluten free? No, but they are.  However, you better believe that sugary cereal produced by the major manufacturer will tout its so-called healthy virtues - "cholesterol-free" (duh! it's not an animal product), "low-fat" and "a great source of whole grains" (yeah, plus 20 grams of sugar to make up for the lack of fat and to disguise the healthy whole grain taste).

So, that's the first problem with these foods: any food that is altered from its original state, whether the fat is removed or the sugar or something else, is more processed and thus less natural.  Highly processed food is now being recognized by most health and nutrition experts as the #1 problem in the American diet and the #1 reason for the increase in the chronic diseases that kill so many Americans every year although they are preventable. For a summary on this and other problems with America's food supply, see this great op-ed by Mark Bittman.

The second problem with these "free" foods is what's put in them to compensate for the lack of sugar, fat or whatever else was removed. The sugar that should be in sugar-free foods is generally replaced by aspartame, which is a known neurotoxin and thought to be carcinogenic in large amounts.  I try to never touch the stuff personally.  Most people love sweets and it's perfectly natural to want something sweet at the end of a meal.  My advice: Try a small piece of good dark chocolate or some fresh berries instead.  Never go grocery shopping hungry, when you are likely to be tempted by cakes and cookies placed in strategic locations to get you at your weakest.  It's best to not keep a lot of sweets in the house, but if you have a spouse or kid that demands them, find something that they love but you can do without (for us, it's the ginger or cocoa snaps shaped like hearts that they sell at Whole Foods - husband and son love them, but they do not tempt me in the least).  Whatever you do, do not resort to non-foods full of artificial ingredients like sugar-free jello or pudding pops.

As you may have noticed by now, most "fat-free" foods are very high in either sugar, carbohydrates, chemicals or all three. Don't even get me started on "fat free Half and Half." If Half and Half is by definition half cream and half whole milk, what is this stuff made of? Suffice it to say it involves a series of chemical reactions dreamed up by a highly paid "food scientist." We all know by now that margarine is worse for you than butter and that fat-free cookies, cakes and flavored yogurts are just piles of sugar that never really satisfy you but still make you gain weight.  Fat itself, in reasonable amounts, does not make you fat. It is a necessary part of the human diet, and it's the component of food that satisfies you - this is why people find they can eat 10 fat-free cookies in one sitting.  Most experts agree you can safely consume 25-30% of your calories from fat (all the better if it's mostly the unsaturated kind) without putting on weight or increasing your risk of disease.

My advice: buy and eat whole fat or low-fat versions of the foods you love (Greek yogurt is something that is best in the low fat version, not whole or free) but learn what the actual serving size is. A tablespoon of butter or sour cream will not kill you or make you fat.  Just like everyone should have a clothing budget, it is smart to have your own personal food "budget" as well.  Love butter and cheese? Can't live without cream in your coffee? Fine, have an appropriate serving size of real stuff (about 1 oz) and skim fat or calories from somewhere else in your diet OR if you are incapable of eating a small amount of something, avoid it all together if you are trying to lose weight (see how this relates to the theory of buy full price or not at all!), but don't fill up on poor tasting, highly processed substitutes for the original.

For problems with gluten and diary free items for those that don't need them, read this post in my archive.

Training yourself to eat all things in moderation is the key to maintaining your weight over time; so instead of going on 4 crash diets a year where you cut fat and sugar, try this at every meal: fill 60-80% of your plate with vegetables and other whole, plant-based foods and then use animal protein and/or fatty foods as fillers and garnishes: think a large salad topped with 3 oz of protein, a handful of shredded cheese or nuts and 1-2 tablespoons of an olive oil or yogurt based dressing; or a roasted vegetable and whole wheat cous cous salad tossed with an oz of feta cheese and a touch of olive oil.  You get the idea. If not, you know where to find me: www.inhabithealth.com.

Diet DOs and DON'Ts for the New Year

It's THAT time of year!  If you aren't sure what I am talking about, go to your local supermarket and let the magazine covers tell the story: Us Weekly will tell you which celebrity diets really work and People will inspire you with stories of average Americans who lost "half their size."  If you, like so many Americans, are contemplating how you are going to lose those extra pounds come January 2nd, I hope you might find the following guidelines helpful when choosing a diet plan or coming up with your own plan for a healthier 2011.

* DO make this the year that healthy eating and exercise become habits, not just brief phases that mark the two weeks after New Year and/or the 2 weeks before your bikini vacation in the summer.
* DO make this the year that you eat more fruits and vegetables to increase your life expectancy, not just the year you starve yourself to get into a particular dress.
* DO make this the year you throw away the meal replacement bars and buy a cookbook instead.  Go for comprehensive titles like Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything or How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (I asked for these for Christmas and can't wait to dig in).
* DO let 2011 be the year you stop thinking about what you can't eat and start thinking about what you should eat (i.e grains, greens, good fats, etc!).
* DO make 2011 the year you change your life, not just your weight.

Now for what NOT to do:

1) Don't go on a diet that involves mixing any kind of powder with water and calls that a "meal replacement."
2) Don't follow a diet that encourages you to "satisfy your sweet tooth" with non-foods like fat-free cool whip or sugar-free jello.
3) Don't do a diet that requires you to carry a Ziploc bag of supplements in your purse or gym bag.
4) Don't follow a diet that forbids you to eat fruit. Did you put on weight because you ate too much fruit over the holidays? Of course not.
5) Don't follow a diet that never once asks you to actually cook or prepare anything yourself.  In other words, if it starts with 1-800-(fill in the diet) and requires you to unwrap and microwave all your meals, put the phone down!

Research shows that people can lose weight on any and every diet if they stick to it.  No matter what theory it's based on, every diet on the market involves some form of calorie restriction even if it never mentions the word calorie.  When you take in less calories, you lose weight.  However, research also shows that 90% of diets fail in the long-term because nearly everyone who loses weight on a diet eventually gains it back.  This is why any successful diet must involve or at least spur an actual lifestyle change that is maintainable once the glory of the weight-loss high wears off.

In my experience (both personal and professional) plans that emphasize the consumption of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and unrefined carbohydrates (think nuts, beans and whole grains like steel cut oats, quinoa and brown rice) and encourage you to cook your own meals have the best chance for success.  Diets based around cooking and eating real food (as opposed to counting grams of fat or calculating caloric intake) work because you will feel so good from cutting the processed junk that you will be encouraged to avoid it in the future, and you will learn how to prepare healthy meals so making good choices will become second nature.  To find out more about my plans for helping people make good health a habit, visit my website www.inhabithealth.com.

Have a Happy, Healthy 2011!

Organic? To Buy or Not to Buy

I just had lunch at "Yeah! Burger," a gourmet burger shop run by one of Atlanta's top chef's, Shaun Doty.  Richard Blais, of actual Top Chef fame, has a similar place, Flip, on the other side of town.  Both of these chefs, renowned for their talent in the kitchen, have given up their fine-dining restaurants to run burger joints, because, I presume, that's where money can be made in the restaurant industry in this economy.  For the record, my cobb salad with "all-natural, free-range" chicken was fantastic as were the hand-cut fries I nipped off my son's plate.  When I go some day for dinner I plan to try to either the "all-natural" turkey or bison burger. To me this restaurant embodied the two trends going on around food right now - wanting to eat high quality food but needing to eat affordable food during a tough economy.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how the positive trend of increased awareness around proper nutrition (and the dangers of our industrial food supply) can co-exist with the other trend on every one's mind - our unstable global economy.  Just as we finally see a willingness in politicians of both parties to tackle the childhood obesity crisis, we also see an uptick in advertising from fast food chains like Pizza Hut promising to feed a family of 4 a nutritionally empty meal (large pizza, a liter of Pepsi and cinnamon sticks) for something like $10, which is no doubt appealing to a struggling family.  The standard argument against higher taxes on sodas and other nutritionally empty foods is that it is a "regressive tax" that will hurt those that can least afford it the most. While most people reading this blog are probably fortunate enough not to have to choose between putting cheap food or no food on the table, some of us probably still ask ourselves how important it is to eat high-priced organic and fresh food during a bad economy.  I won't claim to be an expert on the topic of organic food, but I will share with you what I believe to be the real reason to eat organic food and my list of the foods I believe you should buy organic or not buy at all.

The main reason to buy "USDA certified organic" food is because the growth, production and distribution processes for these foods are inspected and have to meet rigorous standards to get stamped with the organic seal.  No other foods, including those labeled "all-natural" or "hormone free" or "humanely raised" have to meet any standards other than those of the farmer or producer if they are not labeled "certified organic."  Most farmers and food producers are not inspected at all. For the most part, if a brand claims to be "all-natural" or "free-range" it is probably a little better than something that doesn't claim to be that but there is no guarantee. Now, does "organic" always mean healthy? No. Ask any of the overweight people I see at the Whole Foods hot bar piling up their plates with organic mac and cheese, fried chicken and pizza.  If I am craving something like that, I do feel better if I eat it somewhere like Whole Foods rather than out of a frozen box from the supermarket because it is fresher, taste better and free of unnecessary additives, preservatives and fillers.  I believe that organic and natural food is greeted with more kindness and efficiency by our digestive systems and less likely to make us feel crappy, but I think too much organic mac and cheese will make you fat just like too much processed mac and cheese will.

So, if organic foods are raised and produced with higher standards, it makes sense that the foods you would most want to buy organic are those that are otherwise grown and produced under very poor or questionable circumstances.  For this reason, I ALWAYS BUY organic eggs, dairy products and meat.  The animals raised under conventional methods are treated in a detestable fashion (stuffed into spaces they can't move in and given large quantities of food that is not natural to their systems -- remember, cows are herbivores but the ones raised in factory farms are fed grain) and they often become sick because of it and are treated with multiple courses of antibiotics.  Eating meat with antibiotics is now thought to be part of the reason for the recent increase in antibiotic resistant bacterial infections in animals and humans.  Also, industrial farmers trying to get the most meat from their animals for profit reasons often give their animals growth hormones. The amount of growth hormones people consume by eating animal products is thought to be a reason why girls menstruate so much earlier than they used to, as well as a possible reason for the increased likelihood of developing certain types of cancer when one consumes a diet high in red meat.  For these reasons, I always buy organic eggs, meat and dairy.  When dining out, I occasionally eat meat that is not organic or humanely raised (if it doesn't say it is, it's not) and I am not proud of that, but I find it hard to live up to even my own high standards all the time.  The more I learn, the less likely I am to eat things of unknown origin, but it still happens from time to time because I am human, occasionally hormonal and have cravings.

After doing a fair amount of research on organic foods, I have come to the conclusion that it is not necessary to eat organic fruits and vegetables IF you take the time to wash them and peel them. Research has shown that washing produce removes the majority of potentially dangerous microbes found on it.  I buy organic apples because my son will just grab one and eat it with the peel on and I know that the peel is where most of the residue from the pesticides would linger in a conventionally grown apple.  While I think organic bananas taste better than regular (some may dispute that), I would not hesitate to eat a non-organic banana because I would peel it first - same with an orange or an avocado.  I don't eat many raw vegetables, but if you like to eat raw carrots multiple times a week, you should buy organic because of the quantity you are consuming (any risk posed from pesticides certainly adds up if you are eating something frequently).  If you are cooking your vegetables, you are most likely killing off any dangerous microbes anyway.  I typically spend the extra money on organic fruits and vegetables because I think they taste better and I am willing to sacrifice some material things like new shoes or jeans for better tasting food. There is also some evidence that organic fruits and vegetables contain slightly more nutrients (likely because they are grown in richer soil), but if you are on a budget, the difference is not significant enough to worry about in my opinion.

It is also helpful to know about "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Clean Fifteen" a list put together by EWG (the Environmental Working Group) of the most and least contaminated fruit and vegetables.  This shopping guide (also available as an iphone app) is great to have in your wallet so you know what fruits and vegetables to buy organic, or wash extra carefully or not buy at all if you cannot afford to buy organic. Also, if you are pregnant or nursing you might want to be more vigilant about not allowing any chemicals into your body and the easiest way to do this is to buy certified organic if you can afford it.

So, if you are feeling the squeeze financially but still want to eat a healthy diet, the advice is similar for anyone who wants to be healthy and cut their risk of preventable disease - eat less animal products and processed foods and more plant foods, just wash them first!

Just a reminder this holiday season that 37 million people in the United States do not have enough to eat right now.  To help, consider volunteering at your local food bank or giving a holiday donation to an organization like Feeding America. While we can debate the politics and benefits of organics, some families are just trying to figure out how to put food on the table so if you can, help those less fortunate this holiday season.

For more information on how to eat, feel and live better, consider hiring a health coach.  Visit my website for more information on my programs.

Cheers to your health!