WE ARE ENCOURAGING YOU TO HELP SHOW THE MESSAGE OF THE WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE TO YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, CO-WORKERS ETC BY INVITING THEM IN TO CELEBRATE AND SUPPORT YOU DURING OUR POTLUCK CELEBRATION. LET US HELP PAINT A VISION OF WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING AND LEARNING AND WHAT WE OFFER! HAVING A GREAT SUPPORT SYSTEM IS ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS TO SUCCESS SO START INVITING! WE ARE ASKING THAT ALL OF YOU BRING IN A HEALTHY DISH TO SHARE ON THE 28TH!
MONDAY
Best Picks and Skips at the Salad Bar
Salad bars can be diet salvation or junk-food minefields. Here's how to get from one end to the other without detonating an explosion of bad fats, sodium, sugar, and refined carbs.
1. Go dark on greens: Build a vitamin -- and fiber-packed --foundation by starting with roughly 1 cup of spinach and romaine leaves (for more than half of your daily vitamin A and all of your K, plus some C, folate, two potent vision protectors, and more). Skip'em: Lighter greens tend to offer less nutritionally. Iceberg lettuce, for instance, delivers only about 7% of the A you need, some K and not much else.
2. Go bright on veggies: Next, add about 1 cup of the most colorful crudités - broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, green and red peppers, beets, like that. Ounce for ounce, vibrant veggies give you more fiber, minerals, vitamins, and disease-fighting antioxidants than their paler companions, like celery and cucumbers. Skip'em: Anything coated in mayo or an indefinable dressing, including carrot and raisin mixes, cole slaw, and potato salad.
3. Choose lean proteins: Aim for about ½ cup of these. Chickpeas and kidney beans are nifty sources of fat-free protein (6 grams each). Sliced hard-boiled eggs (8 grams) are another smart choice; just limit the yolk to limit the fat. Skip'em: Chicken, tuna, or crab salads - they're usually made with high-fat mayo; three-bean salad, which typically is afloat in a sea of oil; and cottage cheese, which is high in aging (read artery-clogging) saturated fat.
4. Sprinkle on extra flavor and crunch: Like cheese? Add 1 tablespoon of Parmesan (22 calories) to punch up the flavor, or 1 tablespoon of walnuts or sunflower seeds for some healthy crunch. Both have good-for-your-heart fats, which help your body absorb the nutrients in all those veggies. Skip'em: Cheddar cubes - you'll quickly eat more than you need; croutons - they may look harmless but at 100 calories per ¼ cup, they're usually high-cal booby traps of refined carbs, sodium, and trans fats. Ditto for crunchy Asian noodles.
5. Dress for success: Now swirl on about 1 tablespoon of heart-healthy olive oil, a splash of vinegar, a grating of pepper, and toss, toss, toss. Ask any chef. It's the secret to a perfect salad - thorough tossing ensures that all the flavors and textures are evenly distributed and lets you use minimal dressing to maximum effect. Skip'em: Walk right past those vats of ready-made salad dressings. Even the low-fat or fat-free versions are usually loaded with salt, sugar, and additives. And just 2 tablespoons of regular blue cheese or ranch have about 160 fat-packed calories
Ready? Dig in. Yum. Mission accomplished!
PS: Prefer a fruit salad? Easy. Go for whatever's fresh - melons, berries, pineapple, kiwi - and top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds for a dollop of good fats and crunchy flavor. Then buy a small container of low- or no-fat yogurt/cottage cheese for creamy protein minus the sat fat in dairy foods. Skip'em: Syrupy canned peaches, apricots, pears, etc. They have far more calories and fewer nutrients than fresh fruit.
3) Which Taco Bell item is a smarter choice?
Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme
Taco Bell Zesty Chicken Border Bowl
4) Which item is the lowest-calorie dessert at the golden arches?
McDonald's Apple Dippers
McDonald's Kiddie Cone
5) Which south-of-the-border meal won’t tip the scale?
2 Baja Fresh Original Charbroiled
2Taco Bell Chicken Ranchero Tacos
6) Which fish sandwich is lower in calories?
Burger King Big Fish sandwich
McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich
7) Which roast beef sandwich is the most diet-friendly?
Arby's Big Montana Roast Beef Sandwich
Hardee's Big Roast Beef sandwich
8) Can you pick the lower-fat sub?
Quiznos Turkey Ranch & Swiss sub (Regular size)
Subway Chicken & Bacon Ranch (6-inch)
Class 4 Week 7
1) Which drive-thru taco salad contains fewer calories?
Taco Bell's Fiesta Taco Salad
Wendy's Southwest Taco Salad
2) Which burger is lower in fat?
Wendy's Jr. Hamburger
Hardee's Slammer
Class 4 Week 7
9) Which grilled chicken sandwich makes a better choice?
Chick-fil-A Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich (with lettuce, pickle & tomato)
McDonald's Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich (no mayo)
10) Which veggie sandwich is as low-fat as it sounds?
Subway 6-inch Veggie Delight Sub (with American cheese)
Panera (or St. Louis) Bread Garden Veggie Sandwich
11) Which potato product weighs in with fewer calories?
Wendy's Baked Potato with bacon & cheese
Burger King medium French Fries
12) Which has fewer calories--the burger or burrito?
McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese
Chipotle Chicken Burrito (tortilla, rice, chicken, tomato salsa, lettuce, and cheese)
The Hunt for Hidden Sugar
How Much of the Sweet Stuff is Hiding Your Foods?
-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian
Ready for a little experiment? Grab that jar of sugar, a measuring spoon, a plate and a can of regular soda. Then, dump one teaspoon of sugar onto the plate. Repeat this nine more times. Do you know what you have, besides a mess? The amount of sugar in one 12-ounce can of soda! Just look at that mound! Now locate the sugar listing on the soda's nutrition label—40 grams. Four grams of sugar equals one teaspoon. Do the math. That innocent can of pop contains 10 teaspoons of sugar and 160 empty calories. Even if you don’t drink regular soda, the typical American now eats the equivalent of about 31 teaspoons (124 grams) of added sugar every day. That sugar alone adds up almost 500 extra calories—about 25% of the average person's caloric intake. WOW! Less is More So how much should you limit your sugar intake? Several health organizations suggest that added sugar should be limited to no more than 10 percent of your total calories. This does not include naturally occurring sugars found in fruits (fructose) and dairy products (lactose). The chart below lists the maximum recommended daily sugar intake based on various calorie levels. Maximum Sugar Intake
Daily Calorie Intake
Grams
Teaspoons
1200
30
7.5
1500
37
9
1800
45
11
2100
52
13
2400
60
15
2700
67
17
Deciphering Labels It can be confusing to try to find out how much added sugar a food contains. The sugar listing on a Nutrition Facts label lumps all sugars together, including naturally-occurring milk and fruit sugars, which can be deceiving. This explains why, according to the label, one cup of milk has 11 grams of sugar even though it doesn't contain any sugar “added” to it. To determine how much sugar has been added to a food product, follow these two tips:
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Read the ingredients list. Learn to identify terms that mean added sugars, including sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, dextrin, honey, invert sugar, maple syrup, raw sugar, beet sugar, cane sugar, corn sweeteners, evaporated cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, malt, molasses, and turbinado sugar.
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Refer to the chart below for approximate amounts of hidden sugar in foods. Class 4 Week 8
Hidden Sugars in Foods
Food
Serving Size
Added Sugar
Cakes and Cookies
Angel food cake
4 oz piece
7 tsp
Banana Cake
4 oz piece
2 tsp
Brownie, no icing
1 oz piece
4 tsp
Cheesecake
4 oz piece
2 tsp
Chocolate cake, iced
4 oz piece
10 tsp
Chocolate chip cookie
1 cookie
2 tsp
Coffee cake
4 oz piece
5 tsp
Cupcake, iced
4 oz piece
6 tsp
Fig Newtons
1 cookie
5 tsp
Gingersnaps
1 cookie
3 tsp
Glazed doughnut
1 doughnut
6 tsp
Oatmeal cookie
1 cookie
2 tsp
Candies
Chocolate candy bar
1 bar
7 tsp
Chocolate mint
1 piece
2 tsp
Diet Danger: High Fructose Corn Syrup
The Effects of Corn Syrup Aren't So Sweet
-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian Class 4 Week 8
Trying to save money, food companies introduced High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) into the food market in the 1970s. Sweetening manufactured foods this way is profitable, because it is less expensive and much sweeter than sugar, yet easy to transport because of its liquid state. Today HFCS is found in a variety of foods from soda pop to ketchup, fruit drinks to salad dressings, cereals, breads, flavored yogurt, and sauces. What is Fructose? Fructose, a monosaccharide, is sometimes called “fruit sugar” because it is naturally found in fruits. Fructose is also found in honey, and is a component of table sugar (sucrose), which is a disaccharide composed of fructose and glucose. When we eat most carbohydrate foods, the blood sugar level increases and insulin is secreted to transport the sugar into the body’s cells. Besides helping to transport blood sugar, insulin also triggers the release of a hormone called leptin. Leptin helps control hunger by signaling the brain that the body is full and therefore to stop eating. The interesting fact about fructose is that it is metabolized in a totally different way than other carbohydrates. It does not stimulate or require insulin for transportation to the cells. Since there is no need for insulin release, there is also no secretion of leptin. Therefore the feeling of satiety is altered—you continue to eat and possible overeat.
Class 4 Week 8
Is Fructose the Enemy? Fructose should not be eliminated from your diet. It is primarily found in fruits, which provide a wealth of nutritional benefits to the body. Fructose found in fruits is fine! However, are we setting up our bodies for damage by constantly feeding it foods that have been filled with sucrose (fructose and glucose) and heavily loaded with HFCS, which is approximately one-half fructose? What the Research Says… A few studies have demonstrated that participants who consumed soda sweetened with HFCS did not reduce their total caloric intake to compensate for excess calories consumed as HFCS (compared to subjects who drank artificially sweetened soda). The data suggests that HFCS does not provide the body with a sense of fullness. This may cause an increase in excess calorie intake, leading to weight gain. A recent study conducted by the University of Cincinnati provided additional information. Mice freely consumed either water, fructose-sweetened water, or soft drinks. The researchers found increased body fat in the mice that drank the fructose-sweetened water and soft drinks—even though these animals decreased the amount of calories they ate from solid foods. The Smart Action! Whenever possible, avoid food products that contain HFCS and refined table sugar. This is not a magical cure for weight loss, but the preliminary research indicates that it may play a role. These foods often have little—if any—nutritional value.
•
Take inventory of your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Start reading the fool labels. If HFCS is one of the main ingredients (which are listed in descending order on the food label), scratch it off your grocery list—permanently.
•
Try to limit foods that have “sugar” as one of the first ingredients.
•
Start shopping around the perimeter of your grocery store; this is where you will find the foods in their natural, unprocessed state.
•
Fill your grocery cart with low fat dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, eggs, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, whole grains, cereals and breads.
Although food manufacturers may lose out on your business, your body will thank you!
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