“Look! I have
given you every seed-bearing plant that grows on the earth and every
fruit-bearing tree. They will be your food and nourishment.” – Genesis 1:29, The Voice
paraphrase
“Food is our
common ground, a universal experience.” - James Beard
"Tell me what you
eat, and I will tell you what you are." - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
During
our first St. Pat’s Day in Northfield, some friends invited us over for corned
beef and cabbage, and since then we’ve continued the tradition (25 times
counting this year). Good food is such a gift, and certainly so are friends!
With March as National Nutrition Month, my
focus for this month’s wellness missive is on eating well. Admittedly, talking about basic food sense can
be a little bland, yet hopefully there might be something here to chew on, or
merely a palatable reminder.
A
few interesting stats
*
54% of Americans say they would like to lose weight (of over 1000 polled by Gallup in Nov 2011). However, far fewer -- 25% -- say they are seriously trying
to do so.
* One out of four American eats fast food every day. Americans spend more than $100
billion on fast food each year.
* More
than half of the people in a 2012 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation said it was easier to prepare their taxes than to figure out
what they should eat for better health.
A
few simple but good eating basics
~ Similar
to Michael Pollan’s words from In Defense of Food – “Eat food. Not too
much. Mostly plants.” – the USDA is
sending the consumer message of “Enjoy
your food, but eat less.” (Yep,
back to the age-old maxim of portion control; try using a smaller plate, see Less can be
more.)
~ This
follows the initial focus of USDA’s choosemyplate to make half your plate fruits and vegetables (grains and proteins fill the other half of the plate, not chocolate cake).
(Ever
feel like eating well costs too much? Maybe look over the attached scan of
Environmental Nutrition’s “Top 9 Nutrition Food Bargains” or check out Healthy Eating on a Budget.)
~ Eat mindfully – eat consciously,
choose foods that are pleasing and nourishing, and use all your senses to
explore, savor, taste and appreciate; this helps us slow down, eat less, increase
awareness, and cultivate gratitude.
A
few
good tips for weight control
Research on 3,000 participants in
the National Weight Control Registry,
led by J. Graham Thomas, PhD, of Brown
U, found the strategies listed below were shared by those who’d lost weight and kept off most
of their lost pounds (these strategies are also applicable to losing weight, or
not gaining weight):
Eat breakfast regularly.
Walk about an hour a day, or move and burn an
equivalent amount of calories by other activities.
{Another
source says: “According to dozens of studies, regular physical activity reduces
the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some forms of cancer, and
depression…Ten-minute spurts of activity are fine, as long as they add up to
about 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week.”}
[It’s often helpful to track movement or
progress: by using a pedometer (I’m liking my Fitbit), or by using a few other low
cost gadgets or apps that I’ve not tried, only read about: Pocket Yoga,
Gorilla Workout, Noom
Weight Loss Coach]
Weigh yourself at least weekly.
Track food intake. Using software
helps immensely: here’s a few helpful tools--
-
https://www.supertracker.usda.gov
(this gov page gives access to food and
physical-activity trackers, plus nutrition info on more than 8,000 foods);
- http://www.eatright.org/
(this Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics link gives eating and cooking tips,
guidance on reading nutrition labels, and offers videos that demonstrate
preparation of healthy food);
- apps for tracking food intake: MyFitnessPal
or SparkPeople (both of these phone apps did well in recent Consumer Reports’
diet ratings).
Limit eating out to an average of
three times a week including all meals; consume fast food less than once a week.
Limit food variety, mostly eat
similar foods from week to week, and not splurge much on special occasions.
Watch fewer than 10 hours a week of TV. Not only are
we not moving while in front of the TV, we often are mindlessly consuming high-calorie foods.
What
might be an attainable goal for you (or me) to move toward wellness in this
area of caring for our bodies? Aiming to eat off a plate half filled
with fruits and veggies at least twice a week? Regularly eating breakfast? Tracking food intake for a
week? Getting at least 5,000 steps in each day? Checking out an app or link to
learn more? Signing up to participate in a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture – last
summer was my first time as a CSA ‘owner’ and I loved it!)
‘Tis
always good to lighten up ‘-) so I’ll close with a bit of food humor. May you
enjoy food, movement, and many smiles this month.
~~~~~
"Moderation
in all things, except chocolate." – Unknown
“I cook with wine.
Sometimes I even add it to the food.” -W.C. Fields
"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and
money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels
sprouts never do." -- P. J.
O’Rourke"
"The two biggest
sellers in bookstores are the cookbooks and the diet books. The cookbooks tell
you how to prepare the food and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of
it." -Andy Rooney
“Health nuts are
going to feel stupid some day, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.” – Redd Foxx
“Number one rule
of dieting: if it tastes good, spit it out.” – Unknown
Nutrition facts
are useless, just show me how long I have to be at the gym if I eat this.” -
Unknown
