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CrossFit: Cult or Conditioning Program?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 31, 2012 CommentCrossFit is the hottest fitness trend around and probably the most misunderstood. If you've seen the rock-hard physiques of CrossFitters (if not, just Google "CrossFit Games"), you might be thinking about trying the "sport of fitness" or "training for the unknown and unknowable."
CrossFit began as a form of training used primarily by the military, law enforcement, and emergency responders. In just over a decade, it's grown to thousands of affiliates (local gym owners) and has its own world championships, the CrossFit Games, where the top men and women compete for the title of Fittest on Earth and each wins a check for $250,000. CrossFit now attracts everyone from professional athletes and Olympians to the overweight-and-out-of-shape to busy professionals trying to tone up and slim down.
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Going Gluten-Free? Don't Forget Fiber.
Tweet Share on Facebook July 31, 2012 CommentIf you've recently adopted a gluten-free diet—eliminating wheat, barley, rye, and any food that contains derivatives of these ingredients—you may have inadvertently eliminated something else from your diet as well: fiber.
Getting adequate fiber in the diet is essential for a host of reasons, including maintaining regular bowel movements, maintaining low cholesterol levels, managing your weight, preventing colon cancer, and supporting a diverse and thriving community of friendly gut bacteria. These beneficial bacteria manufacture vitamins, help protect you from foodborne illness, and stimulate the production of immune cells that boost your resistance to other infections.
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How to Stop Sabotaging Your Health
Tweet Share on Facebook July 30, 2012 CommentWhen you make a choice to eat, what drives your decision? For many people, it can be any number of feelings, from boredom or stress to fatigue or just wanting to "taste" whatever it is you are craving. But there is only one physical signal we have that indicates it's a good time to eat, and that's hunger. Hunger is very interesting. It's not an "on/off" switch, but rather it's more like the volume on your television. There are many levels. When the hunger "volume" is up, your feelings may be more intense, like a growling stomach or an urgent need to eat for more energy. When the hunger volume is lower, it could be that you are just starting to feel hungry again, but it is not as intense. If you wait a bit, you will feel the hunger increase.
You can rely on your hunger signals if you don't try to fight them. You usually feel sensations in your belly area like a stomach growl or empty feeling that occurs between three and five hours since your last meal, depending on how much you ate and how quickly your body processed it. When you listen to the signals in this way, it is call "intuitive eating"—trusting your body to give you signs of physical hunger, and trusting yourself to honor those signals by eating.
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Vacationing Without the Bulge
Tweet Share on Facebook July 30, 2012 CommentIn summer, especially August, the pace slows down so much it's as if the entire country breathes a huge sigh of relief (I know I do). Who cares if business is down a bit? It's expected this time of year—and besides, it gives you a chance to take a well-deserved break and, if you feel like it, hop on a plane to the islands or drive to a nearby resort.
But vacations offer many opportunities for indulgences that can add up to extra pounds if you're not careful. I have two philosophies regarding vacation indulgences:
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Plant a Garden. Grow a Community.
Tweet Share on Facebook July 30, 2012 CommentHere's a simple experiment for you to try, right there at your office. Find a sunny window that people pass by often or congregate around. Add a simple clay pot filled with soil and a basil plant on the ledge or a nearby table or desk. Watch what happens.
My prediction? It will go something like this: One person will see the basil, stop and smell it, and say how much he or she likes it. Another will ask how it's best used. Someone will chime in with recipe suggestions. The next person will give a story about a grandmother who used to grow not only basil but many other things as well. A funny story will somehow be told, maybe about the time a new bride made basil pesto and used a whole head of garlic instead of just a small clove, and how the new in-laws smiled through gritted teeth and said it was delicious. People will start laughing and getting a little louder. Others will come and ask what's going on. Several days later, a few pots of other types of herbs will magically appear. Conversations will continue. Community will grow. All because of that basil plant.
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4 Good Uses for a Sprinkle of Sugar
Tweet Share on Facebook July 27, 2012 CommentIt's undeniable that we're battling a bulge problem in our country, and we know that the underlying cause is fairly simple: We eat too much and move too little. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, added sugars are contributing to the obesity problem, since they're full of extra calories and very little nutrition. They show up in many unexpected processed foods, including breads, salad dressings, and granola bars, and saturate soda, candy, and sweetened cereals.
But here's the rub: Sugar, on its own, can be a lovely addition to an overall healthy diet, and it doesn't have to lead to diet sabotage. The problem is that our sugar usage is often out of control, going hand-in-hand with our dependence on overly processed foods and drinks. Consider that one can of a cola beverage contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar; if you made your own lemonade with squeezed lemons, fresh water, and sugar, you would likely only use half that amount, and it would still be plenty sweet.
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Dear (Food) Diary...Today Was a Disaster!
Tweet Share on Facebook July 26, 2012 CommentHarriet was one of my first patients. She kept a food diary diligently yet she hardly shed a pound. After several weeks, I suspected that she wasn't accounting for the foods she "tasted" while cooking and entertaining. As an experiment, I suggested that she put tape on her lips while she prepared meals. Sure enough, to her surprise, she banged into her lips more often than she ever expected. Only then did Harriet realize that total honesty was missing from her daily journal. She went on to change her faulty habit—and lost quite a bit of weight.
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5 Simple Steps to a Tasty (and Healthy) Sandwich
Tweet Share on Facebook July 26, 2012 CommentI have a confession to make: I love sandwiches. So it always disappoints me when my patients think that in order to lose weight they need to forgo sandwiches. I know they think it's because bread will cause weight gain. But really it comes down to the size of the bread—and everything else that goes with it.
For me, the perfect lunch consists of a sandwich and I couldn't imagine going without one. So instead of thinking you can't eat healthfully and have your sandwich too, I suggest you simply learn how to make a healthier sandwich.
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Are We Sugar Crazy?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 25, 2012 CommentThe acrimony directed at sugar, in all its forms, has taken a particularly bitter turn of late, with the suggestion that sugar is a poison and should be regulated as such through some combination of taxes, product bans, and dose restrictions. Is this rational, or maybe just a bit crazy? Let's chew on it.
Excess dietary sugar is irrefutably harmful. The calories provided—whether from sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, or any other variant—are empty, carrying no nutritional benefit to offset the cost, and they contribute to weight gain and obesity. The glycemic effect of sugar—its tendency to raise blood sugar, and in some cases insulin—can further contribute to extra pounds and obesity, as well as hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance, and ultimately, diabetes. Such, by and large, is the epidemiologic indictment of sugar.
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Keri's Kitchen: A Dinner Your Kids Will Love
Tweet Share on Facebook July 25, 2012 CommentWhether you are a professionally-trained chef, foodie, or your family's resident cook, making dinner for the kids can be a challenge. One has an allergy, another is a picky eater, and the other won't eat anything without ketchup—it's always something. To avoid dinnertime drama, I keep in constant rotation five "go-to" meals that are healthy, tasty, and I know the kids will eat. But I always throw something novel into the mix to get my kids to try new foods and to prevent boredom. I also have a few "fast-food" meals that I can pull together with the healthiest frozen ingredients that my kitchen is always stocked with.
