Eat Fat to Lose Fat

It's a tough time of year, weight wise: we've evolved to store calories in winter, and if you're like me -- that's what your body is doing!
So I've been reiterating some of my guiding principles in recent posts. These are health/eating/activity "rules" that might be broken more often than not, but still are great ideas to keep in mind.

(See previous posts for what you've missed)

Healthy Foodie Rule #6: Eat Good Fats

Unless a physician tells you otherwise, there's no reason to avoid all types of fat. The ones from plant sources known as monounsaturated fatty acids (abbreviated as MUFA) should be part of the healthy foodie's diet. The fat in many types of fish is also good for us.

Conversely, we should minimize or avoid "bad" fats, which include those from animal sources--found mostly in meat, poultry and dairy products--as well as the largely man-made stuff known as trans fats that extends shelf life in a range of processed foods.

This posting is about what we should be eating, and less about what to avoid, so I'll make the avoidance part brief. For packaged foods, read labels. If the ingredient list includes the words "partially hydrogenated," put the thing back on the shelf and step away! Avoid fatty cuts of meat--or avoid meat/red meat altogether; remove all skin and visible fat before you eat meat, fish or poultry; choose fat-free or low-fat dairy products.

OK, enough of what not to do. Here are some of the fats we CAN and SHOULD eat. Of course, fat of all kind has more calories by weight than do the other food groups (proteins and carbohydrates), so if weight control is an issue, be careful not to overdo.

AVOCADO not only tastes marvelous, it also is a very healthful food.

NUTS of all kinds are loaded with MUFA and satisfy hunger longer than many other snacks; add nuts to cereal and/or salads for a MUFA boost.

OLIVE OIL as well as CANOLA OIL are great for you. The lauded Mediterranean diet is based on cooking with olive oil -- and eating it on bread (instead of butter or margarine) and salads, among other uses. Olive oil is our go-to oil for dipping and for salad dressings, while I usually cook with canola or peanut oil thanks to their higher smoke point. 

Fatty fish such as salmon also constitutes good fat.

Being healthier in 2014: here's how

Just adhere to these Healthy Foodie Principles, as much as you can.
The ones I've covered so far (details in previous posts, below), are:
1. Eat at home and cook your own food
2. Eat 9 servings of fruits and veggies daily (not as hard as it sounds)
3. Exercise 45-60 minutes (almost) every day
4. No supermarket or fast-food meat (it's really, really bad for us)

Next........

Healthy Foodie Rule #5: MINMIZE LIQUID CALORIES

I try to limit beverages to these (in order of amount consumed):

Water, tea, wine, coffee, cocktails--and a very occasional soda.

Plain water, whether bottled or tap, should be every healthy foodie's main beverage. If you drink alcohol -- as I often do, having wine with dinner -- be sure to drink one glass of water for each glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage.

Tea is my morning caffeine drink of choice -- I make a large pot with loose-leaf black tea every day. Many studies conclude that both tea and coffee can, or even should, be part of a healthful diet, with green tea having the most beneficial substances.

As you probably know, wine and especially red wine has been shown to have health benefits, although consuming more than a drink or two a day of any alcohol should be avoided.

The drinks I actively avoid are those that add nothing but empty calories to my daily tally--or the vitamins in them are overwhelmed by the sugar and/or fat they contain. This means no soda -- I minimize diet sodas to a couple of times a week -- and no fruit juices. Not to mention no milkshakes or obscenely caloric coffee drinks.

It's not that hard to stick to water when you're thirsty and simple coffee or tea when you need a caffeine boost. My strategy is to save as many of the liquid calories as possible for something I can sink my teeth into.

More useful foodie rules to live by

Here's my next installment (see prior posts for Healthy Foodie Rules #1-3)

Healthy Foodie Rule #4: NO SUPERMARKET OR FAST-FOOD MEAT

If you have watched "Food, Inc." or "Fresh," and/or read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma or some of his other books, you know that our nation's industrial food system is terribly unhealthful and environmentally irresponsible. One of the worst offenders is how we raise, slaughter, distribute and consume meat -- not just beef and pork, but also poultry and seafood.

Unless you're vegetarian, it's almost impossible to opt out completely from the industrial meat system. For instance, when eating out you're highly likely to be served meat, poultry or fish that was inhumanely raised, fed ingredients that the animals don't naturally consume, handled in ways that promote dangerous food-borne illnesses and/or farmed (in the case of much seafood). It's daunting, when you think about it.

My response has been twofold. One, I try never to eat fast-food meat of any kind, including stuff I used to order occasionally such as an Arby's roast beef sandwich or a grilled chicken sandwich at one of the fast-food joints that seem to be your only choice sometimes. Frankly, this has not been hard since I have never been a fan of fast food. (One guilty exception: when I'm in North Carolina, I indulge in Bojangle's fried chicken. But this doesn't happen more than two meals in a year....)

Second, I will not buy meat or poultry at the supermarket, and I'm also very careful about where I buy fish.

When possible, I buy meat and poultry from local farmers who raise their animals naturally and handle their products with extreme care.

It's very hard to be 100% pure even in these halfway measures, but it's a step in the right direction.

Healthy Foodie Rules to (try to) Live By -- Part 2

(Continued from post below this one....)

Healthy Foodie Rule #3: EXERCISE 45-60 MINUTES A DAY

To stay fit and healthy while also being a dedicated foodie, you simply must exercise (almost) every day of your life.

Obviously, that can be a tall mountain to climb -- so to speak.

That 45-60 minute minimum refers to cardiovascular exercise.

My days start with either an outdoor walk through our hilly neighborhood or some time on the treadmill in our basement. (I will admit that I much prefer going outdoors, but weather sometimes makes that impossible, alas.) Even if I don't walk especially fast, humping up our hills or putting the treadmill on a moderately steep incline definitely elevates my heart rate. If your walking location is on flat terrain, you need to speed up your gait so that you are working your heart -- and burning calories.

Most exercise specialists agree that if you can't do 45-60 minutes of cardio in one time period, it's okay to spread shorter bursts throughout the day. Take a 20-30 minute walk in the morning and another on your lunch break or after work -- whatever fits best in your schedule.

But cardio exercise isn't the whole story. You also need to incorporate strength training, balance work and stretching. Pilates counts as strength training, and yoga gets the stretching in, making both of those practices quite beneficial. I hear that tai chi (is that how you spell it?) is great for improving balance, too.

Are there days when I don't get my minimum 45-60 minutes of cardio; are there weeks when I don't do enough muscle work or stretch for 30 minutes? Yes, but it's rare. Snowstorms wreak havoc, as do travel and illness. But as anyone who knows me well would agree, I find ways to exercise through almost anything -- on the road, snowed in, or fighting a cold.

I find that my health and happiness -- including managing stress -- depends on keeping up this exercise regimen. Exercise is vital.

Not only that, but keeping up with exercise allows me to EAT MORE! :)

 

Healthy Foodie Rules to Live By -- or try to -- PART 1

To enjoy food while staying fit and healthy, it helps to have a few guiding principles.
This post and the next couple will reiterate my Ten Healthy Foodie Rules, posted each year around this time as we recover from our holiday excesses -- if not yet, then soon!

1. EAT AT HOME & COOK YOUR OWN FOOD

This is a simple one, really: we should eat most of our meals at home, and prepare them ourselves.

I'm all for some shortcuts, such as pre-peeled and cut veggies, but in general your meals will be healthiest when made yourself, from scratch.

Otherwise, you really don't know what's going in your mouth.

I heard Michael Pollan on the radio not long ago saying it's OK to eat as much "junk food" as you want--as long as you cook it yourself. He was talking about French fries, as I recall. That used to be a very occasional treat, if only because deep-frying potatoes makes a huge mess in the kitchen and most people don't want to hassle with that very often. Now you can drive through you-know-where and get a piping hot, salty hit of crispy potatoes any time of day or night, any day of the week. Insanely, French fries are by far the most widely consumed "vegetable" in the U.S. If we only ate them when we prepared them at home, fries would not be anything like as over-consumed.

2. EAT NINE (9) SERVINGS OF FRUITS/VEGGIES PER DAY

Nine servings, say what? If that sounds impossible, keep in mind that nutritionists' agreed-upon serving sizes are pretty small.

One serving =

1/2 cup cooked vegetables 
1/2 cup whole berries, sliced strawberries or fruit salad

1 small apple (a large apple cut into slices would be 2 servings) 
1/2 large banana, or one whole small banana 
1 cup salad greens

1 cup raw vegetables, such as carrots, bell peppers or sliced cucumbers

Healthy foodies should eat nine (or more) servings of vegetables and fruit each day for several reasons. They are the best sources of vitamins, antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients, as well as excellent sources of dietary fiber. They fill up your tummy and keep you from eating empty calories full of fat and sugar.

My best advice for achieving this daily goal is to have fruit and/or veggies with every meal and most snacks.

For instance, have some fruit with breakfast, no matter what time of year it is. Right now I'm eating half a red grapefruit most mornings along with oatmeal or cold cereal heaped with berries. Try to include salad (with fruit on it as well as raw veggies) or vegetable soup with lunch whenever possible. And half of a dinner plate should be heaped with cooked vegetables every night...at least, when you're eating at home. (It's very hard to eat enough vegetables when dining out, alas.) (See healthy foodie rule #1, above, about eating out versus eating at home.)

And of course, let your snacks include fruits and vegetables whenever possible.

Don't Slack Off

Exercise is more important than ever during the holiday season.

Our routines are disrupted by extraordinary social obligations, shopping, fixing up the house for company, and maybe also year-end personal business and work demands -- all of which conspires to take the wind out of our sails in the realm of exercise.

But in fact we need to make exercise a real priority right now. Otherwise the pounds will pack on, our sleep will be disrupted and our stress levels can get into the danger zone.

There are a couple of built-in "positives" about the season that can make exercising easier. The weather, for one: in some parts of the country, winter has not locked itself in and your local conditions might actually be perfect for long walks, hikes or jogs--whatever your fitness level permits.

If you have a yard, raking leaves or prettying up your landscape can be great exercise, or if you live where winter is already rearing its head, then snow removal (done carefully) really burns calories, too.

Even shopping can provide exercise opportunities. Get to the mall early and do a couple of (or a few) loops around the shops before you slow down to hit the stores. Instead of trying to find a parking place near a store entrance, go to the farthest outer corner of the lot and walk. Walk back to the car with purchases and return again. Take the stairs rather than escalators or elevators within the mall or department stores.

Because of all the social outings we're getting into, I have been ramping up my exercise time by small increments. In addition to a morning walk of 45 minutes, I try to take a 15-minute walk at lunch. On weekends, I bump that 45 minutes up to 60 minutes and also hit the gym. I try to jog part of the way and/or add more hills into my route.

Holiday travel is another potential saboteur of exercise. Depending on the location and circumstances, I will look for a gym or at the very least be sure that I walk a lot, and at an aerobic pace for at least 30 minutes a day.

Bottom line: be vigilant about looking for exercise opportunities wherever you can find them. Five or ten minutes here and there add up over the course of a day, and your body will thank you come New Year's Day!