Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

This article from Salon.com highlights a talk that was given at the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) convention this year. Joanne Ikeda gave a talk entitled, “Raising Large, Healthy Kids Who Feel Good About Themselves and Their Bodies.” She is a nutrition educator at the Center for Weight and Health at the University of California at Berkeley.

• Salon.com Life | Let them eat cake — sometimes – Requires watching a commerical to read it, but it’s worth it.

She is right on the mark as far as how to promote a positive diet in children. I was a fat child who was starved every summer in order to “slim down.” I understand the dangers of making sweets an occasional reward.

Ikeda also cautions against making sweets an occasional reward. She related a story about a Marin County mom who said her daughter had become so obsessed with sweet rewards that she woke up every morning and immediately asked her mother if it was going to be a “junk food day.” Ikeda advised her to reassure the child that from now on, every day would be a junk food day, so she wouldn’t stress about it anymore. In that case, she thinks that giving a child a small treat each day is much better than setting up an obsessive reward response around food.

All of her advice is really down-to-earth and reminds me of the entry that I posted a while back about how to promote a healthy lifestyle in children.

• Starling Fitness » Childhood Obesity

If adults concentrate on their own health and exercise habits, then children will follow along. Almost every little boy wants to be like his dad. If he sees dad going on a run every day, he’s going to want to go along. If he sees his dad eating healthy food at dinner every night, he’s going to eat the same food. That’s how kids grow up to be adults.

Sometimes I think people obsess over their children’s weight because it’s easier than facing the truth in the mirror.

According to this PR Newswire article, chewing gum can help prevent holiday weight gain.

• Happy News – Chewing gum can help with holiday weight gain – PR Newswire

This article sites a survey sponsored by Wrigley, a major manufacturer of… yep, gum. You can learn even more benefits of gum chewing here.

• Benefits of Gum :: Wrigley

There are so many companies out there wanting to sell you their product, promising that it will help you lose weight. The truth of the matter is, that for some people gum DOES help them lose weight. It reminds them that they are not supposed to be eating right now or it satisfies their craving for sweetness. For others, it has no effect.

The connection between weight loss and gum has more to do with the commitment level of the person chewing the gum. The same is true for people who have had success with diet pills, exercise videos or gadgets. Deciding to live a healthy life and to take care of yourself before anyone else is all you need to do. And that’s free.

I was early to my Weight Watchers meeting and two week-one people were talking to the instructor. She wasn’t my normal leader and I was a little disappointed that I was going to be getting my class from a different instructor. I waited patiently for my class to start and I pulled out my Treo to record my weight for this week. I heard the woman ask the question:

“Is Pasta Fattening?”

I almost laughed. That phrase means nothing to me now. Fattening? What does that mean? I had heard that word so many times in my childhood, and I accepted it as law. Certain foods were “fattening” and others were “okay.” Certain food were “bad” and others were “good.” I believed every judgment my grandma made on foods. If that lady had asked me that question five years ago, I would have nodded my head at her gravely, but now I’m stifling a laugh.

How would I answer that question now?

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Self Magazine has an online service that helps you track your caloric intake and exercise. It’s free for their subscribers.

• Self Diet Club

It’s pretty cool, actually.

They have a huge list of foods to search from including name brand processed foods and fast food from restaurants. The same is true for exercise. They have choices of everything from cleaning the house to running 10 minute miles.

I especially like the meal planner. You tell it the number of calories that you want to eat every day and it breaks it down into portions of protein, dairy, fruits and grains for you to eat each meal, including suggestions. Once you choose your selections, you can print up your day and even create a shopping list.

After you’ve maintained your food journal for a while, the Self Diet program can analyze your diet habits and tell you where you can optimize things. They shoot for a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat, so they will analyze what you eat and tell you how your percentages rack up against the recommendations.

This service is free with a subscription to SELF Magazine. For twelve bucks a year, you get the online service AND the magazine. That’s a lot cheaper than the Weight Watchers Online service (not to mention MyFoodPhone) and just as helpful.

This is a Salon.com article about a teen training camp called Wellspring. Five years ago, it would have been called a fat camp, but Wellspring wants the emphasis to be on the training aspect. They imagine that they are training these teenagers to have a “healthy obsession” with food.

• Salon.com Life | Gut check – By Katharine Mieszkowski

As an overweight child and teen, I’m pretty bugged by Katharine’s attitude toward overweight teenagers:

“I did meet shy kids, who seemed as if they’d be a lot more comfortable alone in front of a computer screen than with their peers. But I also met major social alphas and super-extroverted comedians, who sang and rapped and joked. It may be time for the stereotype of the overweight social outcast to get a big fat makeover.”

She was amazed that teenagers could be overweight and popular. She was amazed that one of the campers was a cheerleader back home. She was amazed that these kids didn’t fit her narrow stereotype of what overweight means. Most importantly, she couldn’t resist saying the phrase “big fat makeover.”

Since I was an overweight teenager, I look at the entire experience differently. Take Lily, the only camper there with the “kahunas” to tell the truth about her situation:

“My mom is embarrassed about the way I look,” says Lily, who weighed 170 pounds when she came to camp and at five feet, five inches is supposed to weigh between 119 and 149 pounds according to the BMI. “She’s afraid I’ll keep gaining weight. She doesn’t want an obese kid, because no one will be my friend and no one will talk to me, and I’ll be really unhappy.”

The truth of the matter is I bet most of those kids are there against their will. They are fantasizing about Pringles and milk and beef and chicken because this is an externally instituted change. The only lasting change must come from within. Unless those kids want to get thin and healthy, throwing money at an “adventure” camp won’t do a thing for them.

Every summer when I came out from under the strict regime of my grandparents and went back home to my parents, I binged. I ate things just because I had been denied them for so long. I binged during those summers, too. I saved up all my allowance money and spent it on the highest calorie food I could. I don’t think these fat camps are helpful to teenagers who are sent to them, only teenagers who beg to go.

Western Wellspring Adventure Weight Loss Camp for Teens in California

Via: Boing Boing: Weight-loss camp demands obsessive measurement

I finally got my hands on a copy of The No Fad Diet from the American Heart Association. It is probably the most realistic diet book you could purchase. It’s based on the trinity of thoughts: Think Smart, Eat Well, and Move More.

The great thing about this philosophy is that you can start anywhere in this cycle and it will affect your decisions about the other facets of health. If you start with Think Smart, you will start to eat healthier and exercise more. If you start with Move More, your head with get in a healthier spot and you’ll want to fuel yourself with better food. If you start with Eat Well, you’ll get the energy to get out there and move more and you’ll feel better. It’s like a cycle that perpetuates itself if you can just jump in there somewhere.

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So, you ate really well on Thanksgiving. You were able to avoid that horrible stomach-stretching fullness that can knock a strong man down for the count on the couch. Maybe you even ate so healthy that you feel a little deprived. Maybe you planned exactly what you wanted, worked it into your weekly plan. You did a great job!

Now, you feel like eating everything in sight!

You don’t understand it. You did so well on the holiday, but you are continually being called by the leftovers in the refrigerator. Or maybe the food court at the mall is calling to you stronger than you’ve ever heard it before. Or maybe you can’t stop thinking about that pie you DIDN’T eat.

Whatever it is, if you feel tempted, read on…

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Here is a list of the common foods that are found on the Thanksgiving table every year. Use this list to calculate what you cannot live without this year and work the total calories into your day. You can celebrate this holiday without guilt and without deprivation. All it takes is a little planning.

• Turkey, light meat with skin – 1 cup/140 grams – 276 calories – 12 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Turkey, light meat without skin – 1 cup/140 grams – 220 calories – 5 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Turkey, dark meat with skin – 1 cup/140 grams – 309calories – 16 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Turkey, dark meat without skin – 1 cup/140 grams – 262calories – 10 g fat – 0 g fiber

• Ham – 1 cup/140 grams – 231 calories – 11 g fat – 0 g fiber

• Cranberry Sauce – 1 slice (1/2″ thick/8 slices a can) – 86 calories – 0 g fat – 1 g fiber

• Gravy – 1 cup – 121 calories – 5 g fat – 1 g fiber

• Baked Potato – 1 large – 278 calories – 0 g fat – 7 g fiber
• Mashed Potatoes (prepared with whole milk) – 1 cup – 174 calories – 1 g fat – 3 g fiber
• Mashed Potatoes (prepared with whole milk & butter) – 1 cup – 237 calories – 9 g fat – 3 g fiber

• Bread Stuffing – 1/2 cup – 178 calories – 9 g fat – 3 g fiber
• Cornbread Stuffing – 1/2 cup – 179 calories – 9 g fat – 3 g fiber

• Winter Squash – 1 cup – 76 calories – 1 g fat – 6 g fiber
• Corn – 1/2 cup – 66 calories – 1 g fat – 2 g fiber

• Green Beans – 1 cup – 41 calories – 0 g fat – 3 g fiber
• Green Bean Casserole – 3/4 cup – 165 calories – 10 g fat – 2 g fiber

• Yams – 1 cup – 158 calories – 0 g fat – 5 g fiber
• Candied Yams – 3/4 cup – 335 calories – 9 g fat – 3 g fiber

• Apple Pie – 1 piece (1/8th of a 9″ diameter) – 296 calories – 14 g fat – 2 g fiber
• Cherry Pie – 1 piece (1/8th of a 9″ diameter) – 325 calories – 14 g fat – 1 g fiber
• Coconut Creme Pie – 1 piece (1/8th of a 7″ diameter) – 143 calories – 8 g fat – 1 g fiber
• Pecan Pie – 1 piece (1/6th of a 8″ diameter) – 452 calories – 21 g fat – 4 g fiber
• Pumpkin Pie – 1 piece (1/6th of a 8″ diameter) – 229 calories – 10 g fat – 3 g fiber

• Vanilla Ice Cream – 1/2 cup – 145 calories – 8 g fat – 1 g fiber
• Vanilla Frozen Yogurt – 1/2 cup – 117 calories – 4 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Whipped Cream – 1/2 cup – 177 calories – 7 g fat – 0 g fiber
• Whipped Topping (non-dairy) – 1/2 cup – 83 calories – 5 g fat – 0 g fiber

All calorie listings from:

• NutritionData’s Nutrition Facts Calorie Counter

Here is a handy program to calculate the calories of your meal:

• Good Housekeeping: Thanksgiving Calorie Calculator

You have the power to have a healthy and satisfying Thanksgiving. There is no reason for guilt or deprivation. With planning, you can have your favorites in controlled portions and pass by the foods that you don’t really crave in favor of them. You can do this.

I can hear that voice in the back of your head. You think that it’s only one day. You think that it’s okay to gorge yourself, just this one day. There’s that other voice there, too, though. It’s saying that you don’t want to give up on your dreams, AGAIN. What do you listen to? If you eat like you’ve always done on Thanksgiving, then you’ll feel guilty for giving up on your dreams. If you diet like it’s January First, then you’ll miss out on all the fun. There’s no way to win, right?

Wrong!

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I’ve heard it said about every kind of food, “I can’t eat that. It will give me gas.” Veggies, cheese, milk, fruit, meat, processed foods, uncooked foods, healthy oils, everything. I’ve been sitting in Weight Watchers meetings for almost four years now. I’ve heard that phrase refer to everything.

Sometimes, it’s hard for me not to roll my eyes. Sometimes it’s hard for me not to turn around and “bless” these people with my “vast” knowledge about gastrointestinal pain. Gas is the whole reason why I decided to start eating healthy. My stomach was killing me and a stupid doctor told me that the reason why I was in pain was because I was fat.

What would I tell them if I didn’t hold my tongue? (more…)