Category Archives: Nutrition

TIPS FOR NAVIGATING THE HOLIDAYS…THE LOW CARB WAY!

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by Jennifer Richards, Obesity Management Specialist compass

Holiday time can be one of the most challenging times for maintaining a healthy low carb eating plan.  Parties, social events, family gatherings, eating on the run while holiday shopping, dining out for holiday gatherings…lots to do and SO many temptations!

No worries…you don’t have to sacrifice your enjoyment of the holidays while maintaining low carb eating.  With a little planning and getting into the right frame of mind, you’ll be able to safely navigate the holidays.  Here are my tips:

Scenario #1 – You’ve been invited to a party or family gathering

Plan of action

  • Before you leave for the event, eat half of your regularly planned low carb meal. This way, you have filled up partially on healthy foods and you won’t be completely ravenous by the time you get to the gathering where all the temptations will be.
  • Once at the party, scan the buffet table for low carb options before you walk up to fill your plate. There are almost always several low carb options in a holiday spread (cheese tray, veggie tray, party sausages, bacon-wrapped liver hors d’oeuvres, etc.). Go up to the table, take your low carb choices, then move away from the table.
  • Find your friends or family members and have FUN catching up and socializing…that’s the most important part of the event anyway!
  • If you’ve been asked to bring a dish to share at the event, make something that is low-carb (cheese tray, veggie tray, liver pate, etc.). Or if you’ve been asked to bake something, ask if you can bring an alternative to baking such as the items listed just now. This way you KNOW there will be something for you to safely eat, AND you can show friends and family how delicious low-carb eating can be.  Have fun with it…get creative and make it tasty!

Scenario #2 – You’ve been invited to a restaurant for a holiday gathering or you’re out power-shopping and need to have a bite to eat

Plan of action

  • The day before your outing, go online to see if your restaurant posts its menu. Scan the menu for low carb offerings and decide, before you go, what you will order. That way, you won’t be overwhelmed by tempting and high carb selections because you’ve already made your choice at home, when you were not distracted or really hungry from waiting a long time to be seated. You’ll be free to focus on enjoying your company while also enjoying a guilt-free low carb meal.
  • Don’t be afraid to order a couple of appetizers as your entrée. These are often smaller portions and don’t include the high carb sides with them that automatically come with a typical entrée (such as mashed potatoes or rice).
  • Just say “no thank you” to the bread basket when it comes. Instead, have something to distract you while you wait for your entrée (share holiday photos on your phone, review your shopping list, doodle on napkins, play cards, play word games or “I spy” if you have young children with you).

Scenario #3 – You’d like to enjoy a festive adult beverage, but know that many of these are loaded with carbs

Plan of action

  • Knowledge is power. Know the general carb content of beer, wine, and spirits.
    • Beer (regular) – 12.6 g carbs in a 12.5-ounce serving
    • Beer (light) – 8 g carbs in a 12.5-ounce serving
    • Wine (red) – 3.8 g carbs per 5-ounce serving
    • Wine (white) –  3.8 g carbs per 5-ounce serving
    • Champagne – 3 g carbs per 6-ounce serving
    • Distilled spirits – vodka, rum, gin, scotch, tequila, brandy, cognac or whiskey – any serving of these has zero carbs
    • Please note that these are average carb contents, and they can vary from brand to brand
  • Ask the bartender to make a white wine spritzer for you, half white wine and half club soda or zero-calorie tonic water…this way you cut the carbs of a white wine drink in half
  • Since distilled spirits have zero carbs, use mixers that also have zero carbs to create a carb-less mixed drink (for example: rum and diet cola)
  • Remember, the carbs in these drinks need to be counted toward the allowance of 30 g carbs per day in your low carb eating plan!

INSTEAD OF STRESSING ABOUT WHAT TO EAT,

STRESS THE FUN AND JOY OF THE SEASON…HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Dr. Robert Cywes’ interview on the latest study that revealed bacon, sausage and red meat can cause cancer

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Please see the link below from the 9am newscast (October 27, 2015) on WPBF Channel 25 in West Palm Beach, FL.  Dr. Robert Cywes of St. Mary’s Medical Center was interviewed on the latest study that revealed bacon, sausage and red meat can cause cancer.

http://mms.tveyes.com/MediaCenterPlayer.aspx?u=aHR0cDovL21lZGlhY2VudGVyLnR2ZXllcy5jb20vZG93bmxvYWRnYXRld2F5LmFzcHg%2FVXNlcklEPTc5MDk2Jk1ESUQ9NTQwOTM4NSZNRFNlZWQ9OTM1MyZUeXBlPU1lZGlh

Controversial & Current: Turning Conventional Nutritional Wisdom on its Head

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by Jennifer Richards, Obesity Management Specialist
what to eat

What if everything (or nearly everything) you’ve ever learned about what constitutes healthy eating was wrong?  I believe it is. I have come to this conclusion through the combination of my academic research, review of the literature, current scientific evidence, and my clinical experience working with my clients for weight loss/maintenance.  Just take a look around at the obesity epidemic we are now experiencing…you’ll find plenty of confirmation that current practices are not working for a lot of people!

What if more researchers started to challenge some of the long-held beliefs about what good nutrition is?  Maybe then they would uncover new evidence for what really comprises an effective and sustainable plan for healthy eating.  People would then be armed with valid information from which to make their dietary choices for good health. Obesity (which is just one of the many unhealthy symptoms of today’s widely accepted, yet misguided, nutritional advice) might decrease significantly and we would become a healthier population.

As a public health professional, part of my mission is to add to the body of knowledge for evidence-based practice in obesity prevention and management.  Two books that have really shaped my thinking about this are:

why we get fat

1) Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It by Gary Taubes*

  • Challenges conventional nutritional wisdom, especially the Western diet
  • Suggests obesity/weight management should be addressed by drastically reducing carbohydrate consumption, including whole grain carbs
  • Suggests physical activity has less to do with weight loss than conventional practice advises

wheat belly

2) Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD*

  • Explains that modern day wheat has been genetically altered and the biochemical change in its gluten causes an increased immune response
  • Wheat creates a drastic spike in blood glucose level, even whole wheat
  • Wheat consumption significantly contributes to increased abdominal fat (the most dangerous type; this type of fat is a combination of visceral, liver and intramuscular fat, which is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases)

* The strength of these books is that they are heavily backed by peer reviewed research studies conducted over many years.

So, are you ready to sink your teeth into these juicy books that challenge the status quo about what healthy nutrition really is?  Then read on…but with this caveat; as you digest the “out of the box” ideas and information in these books, do so with an open mind.  Your effort will be well worth it!  If you read them, I’d love to hear what you think.