Guest Post: Vary Your Grains

A well-balanced meal contains a protein, vegetables and grains. People often over indulge in pasta and white rice, but don’t eat enough whole grains. Whole grains have been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases including heart disease and diabetes. Due to their fiber content, they can ease constipation, and aid in weight loss and assist with weight control.

When choosing whole grains, always read labels. Remember that just because something is dark in color does not make it a whole grain. Always read the nutrition facts label to make sure the whole grain is the first ingredient. With so many whole grain varieties, you don’t always have to choose brown rice or whole wheat pasta. Consider giving quinoa, farro, or wheat berries a try.

Quinoa is a complete protein, which means it contains all of the essential amino acids. Try adding quinoa to salads or soups, or enjoy it for breakfast with fruit, cinnamon and nuts.

Farro is a good source of protein, fiber and magnesium and works well in place of rice or pasta in recipes. Similar to quinoa, farro also works well as a hot breakfast cereal.

Wheat berries are high in iron, phosphorous, fiber and protein. Try them as a side dish or add them to salads. You can even use them as a yogurt topping in place of granola.

What is your favorite whole grain recipe?  

Guest blog post by Linzy Unger, MS, RD, CDN

Linzy works as a Registered Dietitian at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and is the founder of NutritionA-linZ. She believes that healthy eating should not be stressful or challenging, and teaches her clients how to live healthy without feeling deprived. Visit Linzy’s website at http://www.nutritiona-linz.com and let her help you achieve the healthy lifestyle you have always desired!

Barriers to Healthy Eating

Healthy eating means making changes you can live with and enjoy for the rest of your life. It is one of the best things you can do support your weight loss goals. Changing your eating habits may take time and practice.  But it’s important to stay on track and keep trying. Making any king of change in the way you live your daily life is like being on the path. The path leads to success.

There are many things, such as confusing information, easy access to fast food or emotional eating that can make it hard to change how you eat. They are barriers to your healthy eating. Barriers are things that get in the way of making a change and staying with it. Finding your barriers and learning how to get around them can help you reach your healthy-eating goals. 

Unhealthy food decisions while away from home

Last week was a perfect example that eating healthy while away from home could be difficult. 

I was away from home for a week and found myself in this challenging situation again. 

Hotel rooms are really tough places to make quality food choices and eating generally means restaurants, fast food places, or hotel lounges.

I tried to stick to a healthy eating routine but it was impossible. Limited time, not knowing where to buy healthy food, and eating between meetings prompted me to make hasty, unhealthy food decisions. I ended up with consuming processed foods, heavy fats, and unhealthy preservatives.

We must become more knowledgeable

The weight-loss industry has exploded in recent years. Consumers are expected to spend about $66 billion this year on diet soft drinks, health club memberships, dietary supplements and other products aimed at weight loss.

Some manufacturers are feeding on the false hopes of so many people who would do anything to lose weight and in the quickest amount of time.

By promoting unrealistic expectations and false hopes, they doom current weight-loss efforts to failure and make future attempts less likely to succeed.

We must become more knowledgeable about achieving and maintaining healthy weight and more skeptical of ads promising quick fixes.

The more you know, the more likely you are to do the right thing. Knowledge is the first step to a successful weight loss, but it is the application of knowledge that yields sustained success.

When people know more about the realities of weight-loss, fewer will be inclined to waste their money, time and effort on products that don’t work as advertised.

And the real secret they don’t want you to know is that while losing weight may not be fun or easy, but you don’t need to take out your wallet to do it. 

Misleading ads for weight loss products

Misleading ads for weight loss products target consumers desperate for results. 

To make it easier to spot false weight loss representations the Federal Trade Commission has compiled a list of seven statements in ads that are likely to be a tip-off to deception.

Think twice before purchasing a product that promises the following:

1. causes weight loss of two pounds or more a week for a month or more without dieting or exercise;

2. causes substantial weight loss no matter what or how much the consumer eats;

3. causes permanent weight loss even after the consumer stops using product;

4. blocks the absorption of fat or calories to enable consumers to lose substantial weight;

5. safely enables consumers to lose more than three pounds per week for more than four weeks;

6. causes substantial weight loss for all users; or

7. causes substantial weight loss by wearing a product on the body or rubbing it into the skin.

How does eating real food lead to weight loss?

Consuming real food leads to weight loss as a result of nutrients that are added to the diet, and the ingredients that are removed.

Nutrients that are added are namely fiber and omega-3 fats. Ingredients that are removed are added sugar, refined crabs and other additives and preservatives that both contribute to weight gain and stand in the way of weight loss.

I do not cook and I want to assure you that switching to a real-food food diet can be done and it is not difficult from the planning point of view.The way to achieve permanent weight control and a long healthy life is to base your diet on vegetables, fruits, and grains. Plus some protein. These are the most powerful foods for controlling weight, and most people can eat all they want of them and stay slim and healthy.

So, where do you begin? Your success starts with your next meal.

Change in thinking

You can change you diet around, and in doing so you can lose weight and change your life.

Change can be hard. But change is also part of life. No matter how bad your diet is, you can start fresh now.

You can embark on a new way of living today. Changes that you can start making right this minute will not only lead to weight loss but can do incredible things for your health.

The act of succeeding on daily basis will make you feel wonderful about yourself. And just knowing that you are making changes that will lead to weight loss and better health can be incredible empowering.