Please god, make me thin! ( part1)

In my practice as a dietician, there is one case that used to frustrate me to the core, and that’s the case of dieters who, despite their commitment to the diet, barely lose any weight.

It would be easy to say they’re lazy; they’re not doing the right thing. However, the problem is that the human body and mind don’t always react to our orders the way we would want them to. So many reasons, and so many different people come to the clinic and do not lose weight, and yet, each and every one of them has a different reason for their ”failure”.

Case #1: Slow metabolism

We are not all created equal. As a matter of fact, going back in time, retaining energy (in other words fat) when food was scarce was considered an added value. As a matter of fact, “survival of the fittest” meant that, those with the slowest metabolisms; i.e. those able to maximize the energy obtained from small amounts of food were the ones who survived. The tremendous change in humans’ lifestyle was faster than any evolutionary genetic change. Therefore, the ones considered the fittest back in the days, are now the ones suffering from excess weight and related diseases.  The bottom line is, don’t be so harsh on yourself, not so long ago, your ancestors survived from this slow metabolism.

Case #2: The compulsive/emotional eater

A diet is a lifestyle change. You are changing the way you eat, and we all know that eating has moved from a survival instinct, to a pleasure instinct very often in our modern society. We no longer eat to feed ourselves. We eat to enjoy the flavors, the mood, and we eat to sooth ourselves. Many of us turn to sweets while facing a bad day at work. Many of us treat themselves to a fatty meal at night, as a reward for a tiring day. And, many of us consider that at this point in their lives, food is their sole source of comfort and pleasure. We all have comfort foods. Mine is pasta with cheese and ketchup or cream. For some its ice cream, or cake, or chips. Whatever brings you back to that safe memory is a comfort food. It’s only natural to indulge in a comfort meal from time to time. But the line between an occasional binge and a regular binge is very thin. The minute you start relying on food for satisfaction in your daily lifestyle, you slim down your chances of being able to cope with the changes a diet brings into your life. I very often recommend to my patients to channel the negativity in them into something other than food. For some, it could be crying, for others a hot bath, or going to the mall, or any artistic activity. And for many, dealing with these issues requires help from a therapist. Keep in mind when exploring such an option that your health’s at stake.

Barley feta thyme salad

Ingredients:

1-      Cups raw barley

2-      3 bunches wild thyme

3-      1 bunch rocca

4-      Spring onions to taste

5-      3 cups cherry tomatoes

6-      6 cucumbers

7-      Green pitted olives to taste

8-      1cup lemon juice

9-      ½ cp to 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

10-   500g  feta cheese

11-   Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1-      Bring 2 cups barley and 4 cups water or broth to a boil.

2-      Reduce heat to a simmer; cook, covered, until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 40 to 50 minutes.

3-       Let stand 5 minutes.

4-      Cool (http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/healthy_cooking_101/shopping_cooking_guides/whole_grain_cooking_guide)

5-      Wash the vegetables and dry them

6-      Slices cucumbers

7-      Cut cherry tomatoes in half

8-      Chop spring onions

9-      Cut feta cheese into cubes

10-  Mix green thyme with rocca, add half the cherry tomatoes, the cucumbers, half spring onions, and cooled barley

11-  Place in your serving dish

12-  Add green olives, feta cubes, the rest of the cherry tomatoes, and the spring onion in a decorative way on top of the rocca/ thyme/barley mix

13-  In a bowl: mix lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste

14-  Just before serving poor your dressing all over the salad

Note:
The feta cheese is very salty, therefore you barely need any salt
This salad was made for a big group, around 10 people. If you want to have a smaller portion, keep around the raw ingredients in your fridge, and have some barley cooked and kept in the fride for a last moment salad.
Benefits of barley found on below links:
http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/health-benefits-of-barley
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-799-BARLEY.aspx?activeIngredientId=799&activeIngredientName=BARLEY

Vacation tips for an always thin you: part 4

Rule #10: Don't over-order

When in a new place, with plenty of flavors, you’re tempted to try everything on the menu. And often, you end up over-ordering. Well, start by prioritizing. Whag is your favorite item on the menu? Choose that as your main dish. What do you feel like trying as well? Ask your friends if they would like to share it with you. in addition, you can always ask your waiter about their specialities and follow their advice. As for dessert, always share it, you will regret having a full piece of cake or fondant on your own after a heavy meal.

Rule #11: Don't eat something you can have at home

Even if you are craving home foods after a few days, please, don’t waste your meals on something you can have every day at home. Discover new flavors; enjoy new tastes instead of filling yourself with comfort foods. It will only add up your total calories, and will rarely be a substitute for the new country’s meals.

Vacation tips for an always thin you: part 3

Rule #7: Careful with the alcohol

If you're planning to eat and drink, my advice is to go for low calorie drinks such as wine, and pace yourself. You don't want to add drinkable calories to your overall damages! A long heavy dinner will allow you to have at least three drinks without even noticing (since your stomach is full, alcohol will reach your blood slowly, therefore you won't feel its effect as soon as expected). In that case, count your drinks, and have some sparkling water in between alcoholic drinks.

Rule #8: Keep on wearing your jeans throughout your vacation

It might not be as efficient as a scale, however, it will help you slow down your overeating. If it feels like your jeans tightening, you will automatically decrease your intake. Also, along the same lines, shop at the beginning of your vacation, this way; you will pay more attention to your meals to fit in your new outfits.

Rule #9: Skip the bread and butter

Some calories are simply useless, like bread and butter served athe beginning of meals. You probably knew it already, however, during vacations, we’re less likely to stick to such rules. Well no! Bread and butter should be a big no, even when you’re abroad. You’re already piling enough extra calories to want to avoid these additional ones. Plus, no one ever said "I went to this restaurant, and oh! The bread and butter there was exceptional".

Vacation tips for an always thin you: part 2

Rule #4: Don't force yourself to finish your plate

A very difficult task when you're having a meal that you might never try again is not cleaning up your plate. You want to enjoy every bit of it, however, do remember that indigestion will ruin it for you, and not being able to enjoy your new shopping items should be higher on your priority list.

Rule #5: Walk a lot

The good thing about traveling is that there is plenty of walking. You can easily walk for 2 to 3 hours per day while visiting a new country. My advice is to maximize that time. Avoid using cabs, cars, or any other means of transportation if you can make it on foot in under 20mins. Wear comfortable shoes, and go explore your new surroundings, this will allow you to see more things, while burning off some of your meals.

Rule #6: Don't skip all opportunities to have a healthy meal

Even if you're on vacation, there will be opportunities to eat healthy. When it happens, grab it! Even if you're in indulgence mode, a good salad, or a grilled fish with some vegetables won't kill you. The point is not to be on a diet while on vacation, but rather to have healthy meals when possible. They will be the exception, and hence you will be surprised and will enjoy them, while sparing your waistline a bit.

Vacation tips for an always thin you: part 1

I just came back from a long vacation in the US. My trip was both touristic, and culinary, and needless to say: the US is the fat food nation.

Before my trip, I promised myself that I would endulge in everything available and not think too much about dieting. However, I followed some simple rules to avoid over stacking fat on my butt. In my opinion, these rules can apply to any person who can handle one or two post vacation kilograms, but still wants to avoid coming back home looking like a parade float.

Rule #1: Eat your vegetables

Even if you are on vacation, don't kill all your good habits. Try eating vegetables with each meal, and favor dishes that can have vegetables as a side order. It's always better to spend more time eating greens or some steamed vegetables than anything else served on the menu.

Rule #2: Careful with the dressings

Not all salads are created equal. Always remember to ask what comes in/on it other than the vegetables, and more importantly what the dressing is. Avoid mayo or egg-based dressings such as ranch, Caesar, or mayo-mustard dressings, and favor simple balsamic or lemon-oil ones. It is always better to ask to have it on the side, so you can gauge the amount of fat you're adding to your greens.

Rule #3: keep the fries till the end

You ordered steak et frites, a grilled chicken with sautéed or mashed potatoes, or a burger and fries. We'll keep the potatoes till the end. At this point, you'll be full and less likely to finish your carbs + fat = extra calorie portion.

Summer body!

Dear readers, you may have all noticed that the weather is getting warmer. With regards to that matter, here’s a gentle reminder from Mother Nature, summer is coming! Of course, it’s good news, however, the winter season may have altered our silhouette somehow. Today, our goal is to start a kick-ass program to get back in shape before the tanning season.

Rule #1: Clean up your kitchen

It’s time to clean up your kitchen. Some items need to disappear! Indeed, after a long and stressful day, it’s harder to keep up with the good resolutions if comfort food is just around the corner. As a start, let’s get rid of them once and for all. Everything processed and non nutritious should disappear: Chocolate bars, cookies (even diet cookies), chips, candies, frozen fries, pizzas, dehydrated soups, mashed potatoes, and heavy sauces (mayonnaise, sweet and sour sauce, ranch, cocktail…), corn flakes and so on…

Rule #2: Don’t buy diet foods you don’t need

It‘s also very important to stack your kitchen with the right foods. Avoid buying diet foods that you don’t usually consume, because you’ll end up adding calories to your diet by introducing more foods, rather than decreasing your overall intake. For example: No need to get diet biscuits, and desserts if you don’t usually snack on sweets.

Rule #3: High water content foods

Buy plenty of high water content foods. They will be your perfect ally when you feel like snacking. In other words: apples, oranges, strawberries, or any watery fruit, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli or cauliflower (super filling), and low fat plain yogurt of course! These items will give you the impression of being full when, in fact, you have actually consumed a very low calorie food item, hence they are ideal for hungry dieters.

Rule #4: Drink up and don’t get bored

If you are not a big fan of water, try innovating by having sparkling water lying around (flavored and/or non-flavored). In addition, always have some homemade flavored water in your fridge. It’s very simple to prepare:  Add some fruits, lemon, mint, or even cucumbers to a bottle of water, and keep it in your fridge. It will lightly flavor the water, without adding any calories.

Rule #5: Proteins to handle smaller portions

I’m not telling you to go on a high protein diet, not at all! But if you decrease the amount of pasta, rice, potatoes, and bread you consume on each meal, and add a bit of a lean protein source, you will be able to decrease your portion’s size without being very hungry. For example, add up some turkey slices, or low fat cheese, or a boiled egg to your breakfast, and eat ½ the bread or toast you usually consume. For lunch and dinner, add more lean meat or chicken to your stews, or some tuna or light cheese to your salad, and decrease the rice, pasta or potatoes you usually eat. And snack on individual light cheese portions, or low fat yogurt instead of having cereals, chocolates, or cookies. This way, you will curb your appetite, and be able to eat less easily.

Rule #6: Go to the gym

This is no secret, you have to move to burn fat, and you have to lift/exercise to build muscles, i.e. have a sexy toned body. So forget about watching TV after work with a bag of chips or even carrots. Now is no time for compromises.  Pick an activity that interests you (there are so many diverse sports activities around you: dancing, spinning, running, swimming, yoga, Pilates), and start exercising! The results will be worth it! If you don’t really know what to do, enroll in a class, or ask for the help of a trainer. You can drag a partner with you, that way, you will have someone to share this activity with, which will make it even smoother, and will be some kind of “fun” time with your buddy. And for the loners, some sports are ideal, such as swimming, or running outdoors. All you need is to empty a few hours per week, and dedicate them to sports. I promise you, it will be worth it. Look around, and you’ll notice that bodies you envy are those of sporty people…

As for those who exercise regularly, well, you don’t need me to motivate you any further to go the extra mile before the bikini season. Just keep doing what you’re doing, but more rigorously.