Although it is part of my life’s work and professional responsibility to encourage people to keep daily food/activity logs, I have to admit that it’s one of the toughest parts of my job.  After pleading, prodding and bribing my clients to jot down every single morsel of food and drink that they consume on a daily basis, it is so reassuring to see that it really works.   A recent study of 1,700 overweight and obese individuals conducted by Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, OR found that people who kept daily records of what they ate over the course of 6 months lost double that of non-dairy keepers – 18 lbs (8 kg) versus 9 lb  (4 kg)!  If you ask me that’s pretty significant….then why do people resist this task that is a sure-fire road to success?  

I’ve been given so many reasons by my clients:  ”I forget to bring the log with me”, ”it’s too time-consuming”, “if I am eating badly, I don’t want to write it down” (isn’t that the whole point!?), “I am not a detailed person”, “I am embarrassed to show you what I really eat”, “my dog ate it”, I left it on my desk at the office” (coincidentally everytime we meet!), etc…..

The list of excuses is endless, however the results are clear cut - if you write it down, you become more aware of your eating behaviors and drop pounds!  If mindful eating is your goal – a handful of this, gulp of that and forkful of the other will become part of our conscious calorie intake and not brushed aside as inconsequential. Afterall, it all adds up (or not!) on our waistlines, hips and/or thighs.   And less could mean the difference between developing a chronic disease or not.     

I challenge you to start writing down what you eat today.  It will be eye-opening and life enhancing, for sure!  

The more I read about how eating less red meat and dairy products saves the planet, the greater my conviction becomes.  From an eco-friendly standpoint, eating fewer animal products, specifically of bovine origin (i.e., cattle), leads to using less fossil fuel to grow, transport and process feed for cattle.  Recent research from Carnegie Mellon University  in Pittsburgh found that if an average family substitutes chicken, fish or eggs for red meat and dairy products one day a week for a year – this would save greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to driving 760 miles!  It gets better, using NO animal products for one day a week for a year reduces emissions equivalent to driving 1,160 miles!!  

Although a locavore lifestyle – eating only locally grown foods, might seem environmentally superior, the Carnegie Mellon research found that food production can impact our carbon footprint more than how far food must travel to get from field to plate.  In other words, making dietary shifts such as eating less red meat and dairy can equate to about the same greenhouse gas reduction as eating locally…!      

To read the study in Environmental Science and Technology , go to  http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2008/apr/science/ee_foodmiles.html.  

Either way, whether you choose to eat fewer animal products or support your local farmers, your steps toward sustainability will not go unnoticed – for both yours and our planet’s health. 

As always, I’d love your thoughts on this important topic…..

There’s a new disordered eating epidemic out there called “pregorexia”!  Yes, it is what you think and it’s scary.  Pregnant women are sacrificing their unborn baby’s health, as well as their own health, to keep their weight in check during pregnancy.   With images of supermodels carrying little bumps on svelte bodies and magically shedding any extra pounds practically in the delivery room, pregnant women are becoming obsessed with how much they gain.   The number on the scale has become prominent for pregnant women, which could lead to low-birth weight babies and harm expectant mothers.  Nutrients are leached from mother for baby (for example, calcium is leached from the mother’s bones if the baby needs more).  This is why extra nutrients and calories are essential during pregnancy. 

As far as the guidelines, the average weight woman should gain between 25 – 35 lbs; underweight women between 28 – 40 lbs and  45 + lbs for multiple gestations.   

If there’s any message I can give to pregnant women, now is not the time to restrict calories.  It may seem enticing to keep the extra pounds at bay, but as a mother of two, I can attest that the weight comes off –especially during the toddler years!

Check out the recent CBS News article at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/11/earlyshow/health/main4337521.shtml. 

By not eating enough calories — they are risking giving birth to

We made it – 5 years!  Having just celebrated my fifth wedding anniversary, I am the first to tell you that marriage has been positive for my health.  I thought that was the consensus among the experts in nuptual research – however, to my surprise new research in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior has revealed that never-married men are taking better care of themselves and improving their overall health status (and decreasing the so-called “wellness gap” between married and unmarried people).  When I think about it — as a wife, mother of two toddlers and a professional person, my focus on my own health and wellness has certainly shifted as my life is consumed with changing diapers, cleaning dirty knees and faces and singing the A,B,C’s.  One thing that I can’t deny is that my balance is better: from balacing my plate to my time – the need to share everything has made me a better person….

It’s good to know that single or married, people are focusing on their health.  I’d love to hear your thoughts….