Archive for July, 2010

EATING SANELY MEANS MOVING, TOO

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Eating sanely is by definition about eating, right?  Well, yes, though it is also about moving.  We eat well, at least in part, to maintain good health and a satisfactory weight.  And you’re not likely to achieve either without moving your body.

People exercise much less often now than in earlier eras—in fact, many of us now lead lives in which it would be completely possible to not exercise at all.  Our bodies pay a steep price for not moving, though.   In terms of weight, exercise doesn’t necessarily prevent weight gain or cause automatic losses.  We have to eat right, too.  But exercise builds muscle and supports healthy metabolism in ways that scientists continue to analyze.
We hear and read about exercise in the news pretty regularly these days.  On June 4^th I wrote “Stand Up to Keep Weight Down”, in response to findings about sitting vs. standing.  For it turns out that even just standing beats staying seated on cardiac and other measures.   Dr. Amos Oz puts his own spin on these studies in his latest O, the Oprah Magazine column (August 2010).  And a recent Sunday New York Times Magazine item notes that even men who work out regularly show cardiac worsening if they sit a lot when during the rest of the week.  (more…)

Tags: exercise
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SUGAR: Eating Sanely with a Sweet Tooth (Part 2)

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Sweets top the food pyramid—they sit on that tiny “eat sparingly” point. We know “eat sparingly” is easier said than done. Sugary foods fill way too much of the average person’s diet these days. It’s hidden in foods we buy, we love it, and it’s hard to stop after any amount that could be called “sparing”.

As promised in June 25’s blog, I continue here the discussion of how to stick to those small amounts. I started with a few ideas about buying less, switching to items containing less, and eliminating sugared beverages. Now we turn to the sweets we eat because we want to—whether that’s candy, cookies, pie, or cake. How do you start to say “No, thanks, I’ve had enough” after one piece?

It doesn’t make sense for anyone—skinny, fat, or in-between—to eat sugar in large quantities. So what’s reasonable for you? A small serving per day? Two per week? Three? This is what you can set as your “working to get to” goal. (What’s reasonable if you have a lot of weight to lose will be on the lower end–not only because of the calorie content, but also because of how the sweets may affect your metabolism.) Often people will target something like “one chocolate after dinner each night”, or “dessert on weekend nights”.

Aim for this goal amount. Know that as you begin, you’ll probably want more after you’ve had that amount. Think of how you’ll deal with the desire for more. I’ll describe a couple of possible strategies here. First, giving yourself a time limit before you head back to the cookie plate sometimes works. This kind of scenario might evolve like this: (more…)

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STORIES OF STOPPING BINGING

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

“Can people stop binging after years?…”   I share one of a series of success stories at the Psychology Today blog, “Thin From Within.  Read more at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thin-within.   Sugar:  Eating Sanely With a Sweet Tooth (Part 2) will appear in this Eat Sanely blog space next week.  Have a happy and healthy July 4th!

Posted in "Thin From Within", Weight Loss | No Comments »

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