Eating For Health

February was heart health month and March is National Nutrition Month, a campaign led by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.   Their theme this year is, “Put Your Best Fork Forward” meaning that each bite of food counts and even small changes in your diet can have big health benefits.   The overall theme of this nutrition/health blog has been small changes for a healthier you.   Recently, students in the nutrition class I teach wrote down everything they ate for 24 hours.   One student ate Frosted Flakes for breakfast.   I noted if they made just one change, switching to a General Mills cereal such as Cheerios or choosing oatmeal for breakfast, would be a huge change in their diet. Why?   By just switching to a healthier cereal, they would add a serving of whole grains, more fiber, and more nutrients to their day.   The student went to the grocery store, bought a new cereal, took a picture of the box and showed me the picture at the next class...

What does eating “clean” mean?   Is it healthier eating, a fad?    Some people have confused clean eating with very faddish and sometimes bizarre recommendations.   Basically the term, “eating clean” means you are eating whole foods, foods from the farm with less added fat, added sugar and eating less junk food.    There actually is a book , Eating Clean for Dummies   that describe the principles of “eating clean”.    They even have an Eating Clean Cheat Sheet to provide the basic principles of “eating clean”.   So how can you “eat clean”?     Focus on whole foods , the ones that come straight from the farm.    Choose less processed foods.   Choose whole fruits, whole vegetables, and whole grains.   Fresh fruits and vegetables are good, but frozen is also a good choice, canned beans are a good way to add beans to your diet or buy Hummus.   Whole apple vs apple juice   Fresh fruit cup...

      Many people start off on a diet, lose weight and then seem to stop losing.   Why?   SparkPeople had an interesting article on “8 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight” written by a personal trainer.   She said it is one of the most common questions she is asked.   She noted that those on a diet may thing they are doing “everything right” but still plateau.   So why are there no changes on the bathroom scale?   This week we’ll review 4 of the reasons and next week continue with the other 4 reasons.          Reasons for Not Losing Weight –   based on SparkPeople's 8 Reasons Why You're Not Losing Weight and good nutrition advice from a registered dietitian.   You are eating back the calories you burn. Yes, working out is great but then eating everything in sight when you get home, is not so great for weight loss.   When I first started a spinning class, I would come home and be e...