It Is Only A Pound...

     After reading an excellent post over at the Disordered Times, I feel compelled to clarify the reasoning behind my previous post. While a one pound weight gain is not a big deal, people tend to gain and keep it on, year after year. And it's much easier to prevent than to lose. 

     If you suffer from disordered eating, realize that a one pound weight gain this year does not necessarily mean you'll do the same every year.... if you're struggling now, or are newly recovered, this year will present new challenges that you will be better equipped to deal with years down the road.

Have a healthy, happy Thanksgiving!

*Erin

Preventing Holiday Weight Gain While Home from College

    

     It's that time of the year again when newspapers begin publishing their holiday weight gain stories. They're always full of tips on how to prevent the weight the typical American gains during the season. (Average weight gain is actually only about one pound, not five like many believe.) But most of these tips are aimed at those actually doing the cooking. Chicago's "Daily Herald" has an opinion column out with some advice.

     The article says:
     "If you've been watching what you eat and have either lost weight or kept it off this year, map your strategy now for navigating the treacherous stretch from Thanksgiving to New Year's." This tip applies to college students. It's always a good idea to plan early.

     "Elevate your activity levels: Starting now, park farther from the mall or supermarket entrance. It'll be easier to find a spot, and while you're walking in you can plan out your shopping." This tip is the single most important thing one can do to prevent holiday weight gain. During Thanksgiving break, I have the all the time I need to exercise.  While our family members are rushing to the mall after work to buy presents, we have all day to go to the gym or go on walks with older family members. 

     When shopping, it's also a good idea to eat a filling breakfast before you go, and plan where you'll eat lunch. At mall food courts, Chick-fila or Subway are decent options. 

     "Volunteer at a local shelter or community organization. During this season, and with this economy, groups need volunteers to do everything from wrap gifts to serving and even delivering meals. You'll get a true holiday feeling when you help others and burn some extra calories." If you're staying in town for the holidays, this is excellent advice. But not if you're going home for the holidays. And going home is often where the real trouble starts... In my small town, it's so boring. To combat this boredom, I try to make plans with friends from high school I don't see very often.

     "Eat before you eat: Before you go to a holiday party, eat something light, like an apple or pear (they're both in season). You won't be hungry when you arrive and you'll make better eating decisions when your stomach isn't rumbling." Good point. However, realize that an apple or pear isn't going to satisfy a craving for pumpkin pie. If you're really craving something, allow yourself to have it and prevent the craving from returning with a vengeance later. 

     It's also worth noting that on Thanksgiving day, I am always the only one in my family who eats breakfast... and I'm also usually the only one who doesn't go back for seconds and thirds, as well. 

     "Don't diet on Jan. 1: If you make eating decisions thinking that you're going to go back to or begin a weight-loss program after the first of the year, you're giving yourself permission to eat too much now. So get those thoughts out of your head right now." In my disordered eating days, I was always setting a date. Decide to be healthy now, not to be skinny then.

     "Think whole grains: Making stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner? Consider using whole grain, whole wheat bread cubes." The problem with the holidays for college kids is that we're usually not the ones making the dinner. Sure, we can make suggestions, but is Grandma really going to listen? It's probably a more realistic idea to fill most of your plate with vegetables and turkey and eat starches like mashed potatoes and biscuits in moderation.

     If you are cooking, WebMD suggests

• Use fat-free chicken broth to baste the turkey and make gravy.
  
• Use fruit purees instead of oil in baked goods.
  
• Reduce oil and butter wherever you can.
  
• Try plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream in creamy dips, mashed potatoes, and casseroles.
  

     Consider steaming your vegetables instead of having a green bean casserole. Or a green bean salad. Choose pumpkin pie over more calorie-dense, nutritionally-lacking desserts. 

     "Go skinny dipping: Bring a platter of colorful, fresh vegetables and low-calorie dip to the party." College kids are going to different kinds of parties than older people. But the last time I had a party, I actually did provide a vegetable tray and it was actually a big hit.

     "Pass on the nog: A jigger (1.5 ounces) of any 80-proof liquor (gin, rum, brandy, whiskey) delivers almost 100 calories - before adding any mix. A cup of spiked eggnog delivers an astounding 400 calories." Eggnog is just asking for it, unless you really love it and want to indulge. If you don't have a strong preference, a few glasses of wine is not going to derail your diet. 

     "If you're still hungry after your first pass, wait 15 minutes before returning to the buffet."

Of course.

     If you've dealt with disordered eating, and going home is a trigger for you, begin a plan of attack now. What will you do if you feel the urge to binge? Keep yourself busy by making plans for shopping and movies with high school friends. Ask your parents to have healthy foods available for you. If I didn't ask, mine never would, and being surrounded by the junk foods they normally keep in the kitchen makes me nervous. Don't feel obligated to spend the whole week at home if it makes you uncomfortable.

     So what are some other good tips for the holidays?

Photo courtesy of CarbonNYC

High Levels of Fructose May Lead To Overeating

       A recent study from the University of Florida found that rats who ate a diet high in fructose developed leptin resistance, a condition that contributes to overeating. 
     Leptin is a hormone that signals fullness.
     When the rats were given a high-fat, high-calorie diet, the leptin resistant group gained more weight than the others.

     If these results are applicable to humans, they help shed some light on the obesity epidemic in our country. Added sugars are in everything!

     Fructose can be added or natural in foods.

     It's in fruits and fruit juices, cured or breaded meats, sweetened milk, honey, and 

maple syrup, some vegetables and some bread and cereal products, according to the Mayo Clinic.
     It’s also in soft drinks, pastries, ketchup, jellies and many processed foods, according to 

Science Daily.

       In food label ingredient lists, sucrose also refers to fructose. Sucrose is white sugar, which contains fructose.
     Of course, high-fructose corn syrup is also major source of fructose. It represents over 40% of the caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
     But for those who decide to watch fructose consumption, it's important to not focus solely on high-fructose corn syrup.
     If someone is specifically trying to avoid high-fructose corn syrup, they may reject a product that contains it for another food with a different type of added sugar.
     If you regularly go out to eat at certain restaurants, look at the ingredients lists available at some restaurants’ websites. For instance, at Burger King’s site, high-fructose corn syrup is listed as an ingredient in the sandwich buns and Tendergrill chicken filet.
     Websites that provided nutrition information, like NutritionData.com are also helpful.
     The easiest way to limit fructose is to quit drinking soft drinks.
     Another convenient method would be to switch out reduced-fat or fat-free salad dressings, very high in fructose, for more satiating, regular versions.
     If craving sugar, have some. 
     But if you don’t specifically want something sweet, it might be wise to get an idea of how much fructose you're actually consuming.

What Are You Really Craving?

      Did other colleges just get done with midterms too? Between 4 extracurriculars, my graduate assistantship, and school, I already had to make a concerted effort to blog. I posted way more regularly in the summer, and my blog is aimed at students in college! Then, in the lead-up to midterms, Student Body got even more neglected . Sorry it's been so long!

     I've heard from a few new readers! Thanks for commenting. I hope you look through the categories on the left and find posts that have covered areas of concern. If there's anything you'd like to see covered, please let me know.

     Right now, I'm struggling with recognition of true hunger. I mentioned in my previous post that studying makes me hungry. Since then, I've realized that there is more to it than that.

     Mid-study session, I often feel the urge for a snack. I explained before that mental exertion actually has been shown to lead to hunger. However, I've noticed that a lot of times, I am craving something other than food. For instance, I'm tired, and my body needs to rest. If I don't sleep, I turn to food. 

     It could be simply a need to ease my mind. It might be just a wish to let loose and have fun for a moment, or be social, or just process what I'm learning. But when I'm in study mode, I don't like to give myself permission to take a break. I prefer to plow through and finish, then rest at the end of the day. Yet for some reason, I do give myself permission if it is to eat. After all, I can't just let myself skip meals all day, or I would binge at the end of the day. So I let myself stop, but only if it's for a "good" reason, like eating.

     The problem with this kind of thinking is that there's nothing wrong with taking a break to nap, or relax, or talk, or whatever. Taking a moment for my mental health is just as legitimate as taking time to eat. Food is a necessity, but so is allowing myself to be happy.

     So my goal is to change this kind of thinking, and ask myself what it is that I'm really craving when I start thinking about a snack. I'll let you know how it goes....

     

Studying Makes Me Hungry

     Has anyone else noticed that since school started, they've been more hungry???

     I noticed this right around the time I read this article. Apparently, there is some preliminary research that suggests mental strain, while not burning any excess calories, might make us more hungry. 

     I can see why. We need energy for work. Food is energy, and mental tasks are definitely still work. But it just doesn't seem fair!

     I am at a job all day where I sit and stare at a computer screen. It actually makes me miss the days when I was a waitress!

     The best advice I can think of: take short walks during the day in which you give your mind a rest and your body some physical exertion. Exercise is also a good way to get energy without taking in any calories.

Exercising on a Time-Crunched Schedule

     According to my poll, some of you want to read about exercise and have trouble fitting it in to your schedule. I feel your pain.

     Between an assistantship, classes, clubs and time with friends and family, sometimes I wonder how I will fit exercise into my day. But I still manage to go to the gym at least 5 days a week. 

     How do I fit it in? Well, I'm that girl. I'm the one on the Stairmaster reading a text book. And I definitely did not have time to dress up before I went to the gym.

     It's true that reading on the machines doesn't bode well for a vigorous work-out. But, moderate workouts are beneficial too. They may not burn as many calories in the same amount of time, but they conserve energy, so you can work out longer. They might not have as many cardiovascular benefits, but it's better for your body than lying on the couch. I try to fit in a few vigorous workouts, but if I need to study, I see nothing wrong with slowing down and reading on the elliptical machine.

     And this type of exercising may have a side benefit as well. In one study I previously discussed, moderate exercisers didn't quit eat as many calories as vigorous exercises, despite burning the same amount at the gym.

     There are lots of tips out there about fitting exercise into your day, but they usually involve moves to do at the office, or advice like taking the stairs rather than the elevator. College students have different needs. We aren't stuck in the office. Let's take advantage of it while we can!

100-Calorie Packs are Not the Answer

     Everyone's been talking about the 100-calorie packs and how great they are for dieters. Now that school is back in session, maybe you're in need of some quick snacks that you can buy on the go, and these mini-portions of junk food sound tempting.  After all, they're only 100 calories, right?

     Put aside the fact that the idea of snacks in small-portion packaging is anything but innovative. Before the days of "super-size," those were normal servings. Ignore the fact that most bags of chips and cookies should probably be that size.

     Ignore the environmental effects of the enormous amount of packaging that is being used.

     Then consider this. College Candy recently posted about healthy snacks, and while I generally agree with several of their suggestions, I take issue with their assumption that if you ate from a "real bag of Ruffles you'd end up eating way more," so you should eat from these 100-calorie packs.

     Research has found that's actually untrue, because "large packages triggered concern of overeating and conscious efforts to avoid doing so, while small packages were perceived as innocent pleasures, leaving the consumers unaware that they were overindulging." (ScienceDaily) 

     Some of the study participants had just been weighed and given body image surveys, so if they were prone to feeling bad about their weight, these feelings may have been even more pronounced. They may have felt like the other participants were watching them and judge for their consumption. I have felt that way, so I know others have as well.

     So, it's not true that you'll eat less if you eat from 100-calorie packs. But, there are more individual factors to consider. If you're not just watching calories, but trying to eat healthfully, remember that even eating a small amount of high-fat or sugary food will make your body crave more. It's the long run that matters. 100-calorie packs add up.

     But if you are one of those people who worries about digging into a big bag of chips in front of others, at least know that you are not alone. And if you're not trying to give up junk food, but feel hesitant to eat from a big bag, it might be a good, small goal to set for yourself. If you feel judgmental vibes, try to convince yourself that you're imagining it... because you ARE. 

     It may seem like I've contradicted myself, but I'm trying to recognize that the answer is not the same for everyone. If you're trying to become more healthy, these snacks aren't going to do it for you. If you're trying to lose weight and normally eat a whole bag at one sitting, maybe they're a good small step. And if you suffer from disordered eating, or just bad body image, maybe the real issue is you don't want to look like you're eating too much, and if that's true, it might be a good idea to think about the negative effects of that kind of mindset on your life. 

     Let me know what situation you fit!