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The Secrets to Holiday Eating

Published October 29, 2009 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

The holidays bring an overabundance of food to our lives! Oh, how easy it is to overfill, gain weight, and then be left with guilt and frustration. Try out these tips to save your waistline and feel great about yourself after the holidays have passed!

Avoid skipping meals and snacks earlier in the day prior to a holiday meal. This is a sure-fire way to set you up for cravings, overeating, or binge eating.
Take an active role in planning the holiday meal. Suggest a sit-down meal vs. buffet style.
Offer to make a healthy dish or two to share at holiday gatherings. This will help to balance out the more rich dishes.
Allow yourself to eat dessert moderately. Depriving yourself will only lead to feeling left out and may result in “backlash” eating later on.
Plan ahead so you’re not starving. Find out what time the holiday feast will take place so you can be sure to not arrive hungry only to find out that the meal won’t be served for another 2 hours!
Be active! Take part in active games like tag football, a neighborhood walk, or a scavenger hunt.
Focus on other activities and socializing vs. eating and food. Enjoy conversation with family and friends, play card or board games, sing festive songs, or watch a holiday parade.
Have a plan in place for times when you may notice yourself overindulging. Step away from the table, get some fresh air, or journal your thoughts.
If you feel like you’ve “blown it”, remember that the holiday is only one day out of 365 days of the year. This one day alone can’t possibly impact your weight or appearance. Use this experience to shape your next holiday into one that feels more successful!

These are just a few of the strategies you can implement to prevent holiday weight gain. Join dietitians Ursula Ridens RD and Lisa Nelson RD for the free teleclass “10 Secrets to Survive the Holidays Without Gaining Weight“. You’ll learn more about steps you can take to stop holiday weight gain and have your specific questions answered. Go to https://www.lisanelsonrd.com/newu/holidaycall.html to sign up!

Posted in Heart Health, Lose Weight | Tagged holiday eating tips

Weight Loss – 5 Tips to Cut Calories When Dining Out

Published October 27, 2009 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

If you are trying to lose weight or maintain your weight restaurants can be a challenge due to the calorie rich menu items. Here are 5 tips to help you:

1. Stop a bad cycle. Just because you dine out on night does not mean you’re healthy intentions are permanently ruined. Start the next day fresh with a heart healthy breakfast.

2. Maintain your social schedule, but actually eat out less. You can still attend social events, but eat a healthy meal at home first and then snack lightly at your social event.

3. Be specific about your order. Don’t be afraid to alter the menu item to fit your needs, such as requesting salad dressing on the side or replacing fries with mixed vegetables.

4. Don’t eat out when you’re starving. Same tip as when grocery shopping – never shop when hungry! In both instances you are much more likely to make poor choices. Snack on something light before an evening out.

5. Put temptation out of reach. If the group you are with orders chips and salsa as an appetizer or a basket of bread is places on the table, put a reasonable amount on your plate and then move it out of reach.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Top 5 Key Strategies to Lose Weight Permanently
http://www.weightlosswithlisa.com

Posted in Lose Weight | Tagged dining out tips, lose weight, weight loss

How to Cook Vegetables to Retain Nutrients

Published October 22, 2009 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

Yes, how you prepare vegetables and how long there are exposed to heat affect nutrient content of fruits and vegetables. The main nutrients “lost” during cooking include water soluble B vitamins and vitamin C. Many of these water-soluble vitamins are leached into water when cooked. You can preserve the nutrient losses by using the cooking liquid in soups or sauces. Steaming or microwaving vegetables are too cooking methods that preserve nutrients.

Also, chopping vegetables after cooking can preserve nutrients. A study found that carrots left whole when cooked retained 25% more of certain nutrients. This is likely due to the increased surface area exposed for nutrients to leach out of vegetables while they are in water. A taste test was also completed and the carrots that were cooked whole were preferred based on flavor. Cooking carrots whole preserves nutrients and natural sugars that impact flavor.

You will enhance flavor and nutritional content by cooking vegetables whole and chopping them afterwards.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Heart Healthy Tips
http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com

Posted in Heart Health | Tagged how to cook vegetables

How to Read Food Labels for Fat and Sodium

Published October 20, 2009 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

You know you should be reading food labels, but what’s the point if you don’t know what you’re looking for? Let me give you a few guidelines you can follow to make food labels work for you.

1. Select foods with less SODIUM than the following amounts per serving:

Frozen or packaged dinners – 500 mg
Microwave Popcorn – 350 mg
Desserts & Cookies – 250 mg
Cheese – 200 mg
Chips, Pretzels – 200 mg
Bread, Crackers, Rolls – 140 mg

2. Select foods with less FAT than the following amounts per serving:

Frozen dinners – 10 g
Cheese – 5 g
Microwave Popcorn – 5 g
Lunch Meat – 3 g
Soup – 3 g
Snacks – 3 g
Bread, Crackers, Rolls – 3 g
Frozen yogurt or Sherbet – 2 g

Remember, when reading labels look at the serving size. A serving size is not necessarily an entire can of food. If a can contains 3 servings and you eat 1 can, you need to multiply the sodium or fat per serving times 3. For example, I have a can of chicken noodle soup with 920 mg of sodium per serving and 6 servings per can. If I eat the entire can, I consume 5520 mg of sodium (920 x 6). If you want a refresher on how much sodium you need everyday, review the post – Reduce Salt to Lower Blood Pressure.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Heart Healthy Tips
http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com

Posted in Heart Health, Lower Blood Pressure, Lower Cholesterol | Tagged how to read food labels

Lower Cholesterol – Do you understand the difference between LDL and VLDL cholesterol?

Published October 19, 2009 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

If you are trying to sort out everything regarding cholesterol and make an informed treatment decision that’s best for your health, you may be feeling overwhelmed. I’ve already given steps to raise HDL and lower triglycerides, now I’d like to more into VLDL versus LDL.

Let’s start at the beginning. You eat a food and it provides more energy (calories) than you immediately need. The liver breaks down some the carbohydrates and protein and forms triglycerides (fat) and cholesterol. The liver is the major fat producing organ, while our adipose tissue (fat cells) stores the fat made by the liver.

Well, we all know that oil (fat) and water (blood) do not mix. So the liver, in order to solve this problem and export the triglycerides its’ created, coats the fat (triglycerides) with a protein, cholesterol, and phospholipid shell. A phospholipid shell is a structure that acts as an emulsifier so the fat and blood will mix. The resulting product is called a lipoprotein (lipo or lipid = fat).

Lipoproteins can transport different components throughout your system, such as cholesterol, fat, and protein. LDL (low density lipoprotein) and VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) transport mostly fat and cholesterol, but differ in the amount of each.

The liver releases VLDL into circulation. VLDL is made up of 55-65% triglycerides, 10-15% cholesterol, 15-20% phospholipid, and 5-10% protein. For comparison, HDL the “good” cholesterol is 45-50% protein. Once the VLDL is released, enzymes in the bloodstream interact with the triglycerides within the lipoprotein and change the package from “very low density” to “low density”. LDL is “less dense” than VLDL because it has lost a large chunk of triglycerides, changing its concentration to 10% triglycerides, 45% cholesterol, 22% phospholipid, and 25% protein. Now, there is an intermediate step between the VLDL and LDL, but for simplicities sake we’ll stick with the more general overview of what is taking place.

If you have high LDL levels, an oxidation process takes place that leads to plaque development in your artery walls, damage to vessel linings, and heart disease. Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E may slow or inhibit this oxidation process.

So, let’s summarize.

LDL and VLDL are both “lipoprotein packages” in your blood. Both are considered “bad” types of cholesterol.

They differ in what each package carries.

LDL – “bad” cholesterol
LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol carries mostly cholesterol, some protein, and minimal triglycerides throughout your circulation. LDL should be less than 130 mg/dl, ideally less than 100 mg/dl.

VLDL – “bad” cholesterol
VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol contains minimal protein and mainly transports triglycerides. VLDL should be less than 40 mg/dL.

To prevent VLDL and LDL from clogging your arteries, follow a diet to lower cholesterol and consume antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables.

Be sure to sign up for the free ecourse How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps at http://lowercholesterolwithlisa.com.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com

Posted in Lower Cholesterol | Tagged bad cholesterol, fat, labs, LDL, lower cholesterol, vldl

Meal Planning – Do you know what you're having for dinner?

Published October 15, 2009 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

It gets very old day after day having to worry about what you’re going to eat for three meals each day and snacks. Throw in changed plans and crazy schedules and the fast food lane is suddenly looking more and more appetizing.

A simple way to make the burden of meal preparation much easier is to plan ahead. Planning a menu does not have to be complicated, it simply requires investing a little time each week to plan ahead.
There are many benefits to planning your meals.

A meal plan saves you money. Having a plan will reduce unexpected trips to the grocery store and impulse purchases. You can also work leftovers into your plan to reduce wasted food.

A meal plan saves you time. By planning ahead you’ll have the ingredients you need on hand versus last minute stops at the grocery store, trips to the neighbors, or searches to the bottom of your freezer.

A meal plan promotes weight loss. By having a plan in place you decrease the stress of thinking about what you’re going to eat everyday. You’re less likely to “cheat” and grab a treat from the vending machine because you planned ahead and have a healthy snack of nuts and dried fruit on hand. You’re less likely to opt for the drive thru because you have everything you need for supper at home and ready to go.

All you need to do is pick one day each week to outline your meals/snacks for the week to come. Make sure you have the ingredients you need on hand. Use your menu plan to create your grocery shopping list and stock your fridge/cupboards with the ingredients you’ll need for the week.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
1-A-Week Weight Loss Tips

Posted in Heart Health, Lose Weight | Tagged lose weight, meal plan, weight loss

The Secrets to Holiday Eating

Weight Loss – 5 Tips to Cut Calories When Dining Out

How to Cook Vegetables to Retain Nutrients

How to Read Food Labels for Fat and Sodium

Lower Cholesterol – Do you understand the difference between LDL and VLDL cholesterol?

Meal Planning – Do you know what you're having for dinner?

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