Nutrition Resolution
It’s the New Year and if you've decided that weight loss will
be your resolution of choice, you're amongst friends. Approximately 66
percent of U.S. adults are overweight, according to the National Health & Nutrition
Examination Survey. Nutritionists cite the following as reasons people
do not reach their weight loss goals:
1. Skipping Breakfast: Breakfast is your prime opportunity to light the "Metabolic
Furnace." By skipping out on eating, your body may be placed in
'starvation mode,' being taught to store every morsel. Studies confirm
that people who have lost weight and kept it off start their day with
breakfast. Consuming balanced ratios of proteins, carbs, fats and fiber
will allow food to break down at a slower rate, helping to keep energy
and concentration levels high.
2. Skipping Meals and Snacks: Skipping meals leads to low blood sugar
levels, which triggers the 'crash-crave cycle.' This causes the body
to attempt to make up for the food/calories it never received in the
beginning of the day. For people who are 'skippers,' the bewitching hour
is between 3 and 5 p.m., when the temptation is to grab anything that
resembles food, especially sweets, to make up for what wasn't consumed
earlier.
Resolution: Plan ahead. Stock up on items that you can keep at home and
take to work, making sure to measure out reasonable portions.
3. Over-sized Portions: As the size of dishes and bowls used at home
and in restaurants grow, so do our waistlines.
Resolution: Save the plates the size of flying saucers for dinner parties
and purchase smaller sets for daily use. Dining out is trickier. Options
include ordering 'kid size' meals or asking your server to divide the
portion in half, taking home the remainder.
Follow these tips to stay on track for a healthy and happy 2009.