HEALTH / FITNESS
Information about fitness, health, nutrition and weight loss
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In this Section....
- Second Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange
- November Recipes
- Daily Diet Tip
- Tips to Help You Eat Whole Grains
- Those Frustrating Cravings
Second Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange
We hate to say it but Christmas is coming and one of the best parts, in our opinion, is the smell of cookies baking and digging in to the multitude of baked goods that seem to surround us each year. We are asking now for all of our reader's to send in their recipes for this years Christmas Cookie Exchange. We really want to get several responses so that Sue and I aren't the only ones sharing our recipes. So come on, send in a recipe or two and we will add them to our Christmas cookie issue!! Send recipes to recipes@ssbbw-magazine.com. A big thank you in advance, and watch for next month's issue to see these yummy recipes!!
November Recipes - Click Here
This month we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US and this month we're doing something a little different for Thanksgiving this year, for people who get tired of the traditional turkey and all the fixings meals. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
We'd love to feature one of your favorite recipes in any one of our monthly issues, just send them on to us at recipes@ssbbw-magazine.com. Hope to hear from all of you in the following months!
Tips to Help You Eat Whole Grains
Holidays are a good time to stop and check if you are eating as healthy as you would like to be, since we are doing a lot more dining out and visiting with friends and family over the holiday season. That hors d'oeuvre might look light and luscious but what nutrition no-no's are hiding within. One thing you can do to ensure you're getting good nutrition is to switch to whole grains. It's easier than it seems to get whole grains into your holiday meals.
At Meals...
To eat more whole grains, substitute a whole-grain product for a refined product – such as eating whole-wheat bread instead of white bread or brown rice instead of white rice. It’s important to substitute the whole-grain product for the refined one, rather than just adding the whole-grain product. For a change, try brown rice or whole- wheat pasta. Try brown rice stuffing in baked green peppers or tomatoes and whole- wheat macaroni in macaroni and cheese. Use whole grains in mixed dishes, such as barley in vegetable soup or stews and bulgur wheat in casserole or stir-fries. Create a whole grain pilaf with a mixture of barley, wild rice, brown rice, broth and spices. For a special touch, stir in toasted nuts or chopped dried fruit. Experiment by substituting whole wheat or oat flour for up to half of the flour in pancake, waffle, muffin or other flour-based recipes. They may need a bit more leavening. Use whole-grain bread or cracker crumbs in meatloaf. Try rolled oats or a crushed, unsweetened whole grain cereal as breading for baked chicken, fish, veal cutlets, or eggplant parmesan. Try an unsweetened, whole grain ready-to-eat cereal as croutons in salad or in place of crackers with soup.
As Snacks...
Snack on ready-to-eat, whole grain cereals such as toasted oat cereal. Add whole-grain flour or oatmeal when making cookies or other baked treats. Try a whole-grain snack chip, such as baked tortilla chips. Popcorn, a whole grain, can be a healthy snack with little or no added salt and butter.
What to Look for on the Food Label...
Choose foods that name one of the following whole-grain ingredients first on the label’s ingredient list:
- “brown rice”
- “bulgur”
- “graham flour”
- “oatmeal”
- “whole-grain corn”
- “whole oats”
- “whole rye”
- “whole wheat”
- “wild rice”
Foods labeled with the words “multi-grain,” “stone-ground,” “100% wheat,” “cracked wheat,” “seven-grain,” or “bran” are usually not whole-grain products. Color is not an indication of a whole grain. Bread can be brown because of molasses or other added ingredients. Read the ingredient list to see if it is a whole grain. Use the Nutrition Facts label and choose products with a higher % Daily Value (%DV) for fiber – the %DV for fiber is a good clue to the amount of whole grain in the product. Look for terms that indicate added sugars (sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, and molasses) and oils (partially hydrogenated vegetable oils) that add extra calories. Choose foods with fewer added sugars, fats, or oils. Most sodium in the food supply comes from packaged foods. Similar packaged foods can vary widely in sodium content, including breads. Use the Nutrition Facts label to choose foods with a lower % DV for sodium. Foods with less than 140 mg sodium per serving can be labeled as low sodium foods. Claims such as “low in sodium” or “very low in sodium” on the front of the food label can help you identify foods that contain less salt (or sodium).
Whole Grain Tips for Children...
Set a good example for children by eating whole grains with meals or as snacks. Let children select and help prepare a whole grain side dish. Teach older children to read the ingredient list on cereals or snack food packages and choose those with whole grains at the top of the list.
For more information, visit:
http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/grains_tips_print.html
Written by: Maria Albus
Those Frustrating Cravings
(With thanks to the Lindora Clinics of California)
You're having a terrific day. You feel focused, positive, and in control! You've exercised and you're eating well. Then suddenly, without warning, it happens. A nagging temptation for one of your favorite foods grabs hold and refuses to let go. The more you try to ignore it, the more tormenting it becomes.
Welcome to the world of cravings, where powerful forces stronger than mere willpower rule. Cravings can be your worst nightmare undermining your self-esteem, shaking your self-confidence, and derailing your weight loss program. Cravings are a result of various physical, psychological, and environmental factors that affect the way your body and brain function. It may have something to do with your set point.
You see, the human body was designed to store fat and then burn it as fuel. Your brain, digestive tract, muscles and fat all work together through a highly complex system of biochemical feedback loops to maintain a stable weight. That particular weight, which your body strives to maintain, is commonly known as the "set point."
But, you ask, "If my body's designed to maintain a stable weight, why did I gain weight in the first place and why is it so #@*& hard to lose?" Here is the deal: in essence, if you eat more calories and/or get too little exercise over a long period of time, your body's weight regulation system won't be able to cope adequately. It will adjust upward and your body's systems will "settle in" to support a higher weight.
So what happens when you start to lose weight? Because your body strives for equilibrium, its metabolic alarm system goes off as soon as you stop eating as much as you normally do. Your body demands food. Like the ravenous, great white shark, it has one thing on its mind: "Feed me! Feed me!" You begin feeling uncomfortable, anxious, and perhaps even edgy. The quickest form of relief? That's right: food. Thus, the cycle of losing and regaining continues.
Dieters don't fail because of will-power; they fail because of cravings. As long as your set point remains elevated, you will crave food whenever your body senses you're not eating enough to maintain your present weight.
These "hunger alarms" make it especially difficult for overweight people to lose weight, and even tougher for them to keep it off. Your body will fight to hold on to whatever excess fat it has become accustomed to. It will also do its best to replace any weight you happen to lose. Thus, you need to understand the mechanism of cravings in order to control them.
As your body adjusts to a lower weight the cravings will disappear, but one must remain vigilant, as steering too far in the wrong direction will simply 'remind' those regulatory hormones that the fat cell wants to go back to its previous size.
It's not easy, but you can do it.
It's not often a lack of will power. You are battling biochemical signals that want you to maintain your present weight. Understand that you have to battle through these signals until your 'weight hormones' are content at a lower weight.
Never give up on yourself!
Submitted by: Dr. Doug