Host, Karen Bentley
Welcome to the My Thin Lifestyle Blog!
Our Blog's mission is to provide an interactive forum for you, our valued listeners, to comment on our shows, share product recommendations and/or healthy recipes, let us know who you’d like to hear from in a future show, and/or share your own personal success story about a healthy change in your life.
How To Rev Up Your Metabolism – from the December 2008 UC Berkley Wellness Letter
November 26, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
So everyone wants to know: how can we change our BMR; kick it up a notch (sort of without trying)? There are several factors affecting your BMR. They are: Age, Gender, Hormone Levels, Climate (who’s going to move to lose weight?), Fidgeting (many researchers believe this is a genetic trait that you cannot acquire through training), Body Size (the more weight you lose the lower your BMR – which kind of works against you), and Body Composition – which is the relationship of your body fat to lean body mass (Muscle).
The experts at UC Berkley claim that most people don’t do enough strength training, which is the only way to change your body composition to influence the BMR. Instead, UC Berkley recommends that you put your focus on expending more energy through physical activity every day – particularly cardio activity like walking and biking and swimming.
The current recommendation, from the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, is to spend 2.5 hours per week in moderately intense activity (roughly 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week). Or, if you’re willing to work at a more vigorous intensity level, which is harder work, you only need to spend about 15 minutes per day, 5 days per week.
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Comparing Types of Diets
November 21, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
Measuring the Effectiveness of Diets: The typical Low-Fat Diet, the Atkins Diet (low-carb), and the Mediterranean Diet (lots of oils, fish and fresh fruits and vegetables).
In general, the simpler the program, the better the result. In the Tufts study, the Atkins Diet people lost an average of 12 pounds. The Mediterranean Diet followers lost 10 pounds. And the Low-Fat dieters lost 7.3 pounds. The moral: Experiment with different diet plans/programs until you find the one that’s “right” for you.
Also, keep a food diary! Those dieters who kept a daily food record lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. One of the Tufts researchers observed that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages you to eat less. And it doesn’t have to be a big formal diary or a notebook – a simple piece of paper or sticky note will do. What’s important is the reflection process, not the recording process
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About Omega-3 Fats – from the Harvard Health Letter, November 2008
November 6, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
The fatter the fish the better. For example, the fattest fish are herring, mackerel and swordfish. And it’s better to sauté these fish in a little olive oil, or broil or bake them, rather than roll them in a batter or deep-fry them. If you don’t like fish, you can take fish-oil capsules, but consult with your health care provider first.
Another thing to consider is that fish are often polluted – high in mercury, PCBs, and dioxins – and this is especially important for pregnant women to know as high mercury levels can impair fetal brain development. On the other side of the coin, a Danish study showed that the childhood development scores were higher in kids whose mothers ate a lot of fish when they were pregnant. So, the FDA says the best thing to do is to eat fish without high mercury content: mackerel, shark, swordfish and tilefish. They also remind us that white or albacore tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna.
Finally, you can take your Omega-3 fats through plant sources – especially flax seeds and walnuts, because these plants contain an acid called ALA (Alpha Linolenic Acid) that the body converts to an Omega-3 fat. However, the Harvard Health Letter says the conversion process in the body (of ALAs to Omega-3) is not very efficient so, if you’re just using plants, you won’t get enough Omega-3 fats. All the benefits from Omega-3 fats have been based on the consumption of fish (or fish-oil capsules).
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8 Tips for Stopping “Emotional Eating”, from The Mayo Clinic:
October 31, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
2. Know your emotional eating triggers (keep a journal to help find patterns).
3. Find something else that can comfort you besides food. (e.g. - Just ask for the comfort you need.)
4. Don’t keep unhealthy foods around.
5. Do keep healthy snacks around (fruits and low-fat, low-calorie choices).
6. Make sure you’re giving yourself enough calories. Too few calories will backfire on you.
7. Exercise! It’ll help you manage your mood and decrease your stress.
8. Get enough sleep. There’s a proven relationship between inadequate sleep and overeating.
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10 Successful Weight Loss & Weight Sustaining Tips, from dietchannel.com, with commentary by Karen Bentley
October 17, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
2. Introduce some weight training (go to a YMCA or gym).
3. Keep a diary or journal of what you eat.
4. Put your focus on health instead of on fitness. Instead of obsessing over every pound, obsess about living one healthy day at a time.
5. Take the time to find out why you overeat. Get to the root of your overeating problem and minimize your impulse to overeat by cutting out sugar and white flour and setting generous but firm eating boundaries.
6. Go to a support group – if you’re the type of person who needs support from others.
7. Learn about portion control – and get a food scale to help you get started.
8. Take the weight off slowly – 1 or 2 pounds per week.
9. Eat slowly.
10. Eat less dietary fat.
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Advice on How to Be a Supportive Parent – from The Mayo Clinic:
October 9, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
2. Talk to your child about her/her feelings and help them to deal with emotions in a way that doesn’t involve eating and comforting oneself with food.
3. Help your child to set and focus on positive goals.
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Recommendations for Dealing With Overweight Children - from The Mayo Clinic
October 9, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
1. For children under seven (7), the goal should be to just maintain weight.
2. For children over seven (7), the goal should be very, very slow weight loss – like one (1) pound per month (or maybe one (1) pound per week, depending on the child).
On Food Choices:
1. Cut back on foods you buy with sugar and fat in them.
2. Provide healthy snacks.
3. Never use food as a reward or as a punishment
4. Get sugar-sweetened sodas and fruit drinks out of your house.
5. Have family meals; don’t eat in front of the TV.
6. Cut back on eating out.
On Activity:
1. Limit the time your child can spend in front of a screen, whether it’s a TV or game or computer screen, to two (2) hours per day.
2. Put the emphasis on activity, any activity, not on exercise.
3. Find activities your child likes to do and encourage them.
4. Be active yourself. Find active things you can do as a parent and child - or as a family unit.
5. Mix your activities up – to keep things interesting for your child.
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Dr. David Katz’s 5 “Nutrition Detective” Food Packaging Clues:
October 3, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
2. The first ingredient is the biggest (e.g. – sugar in a breakfast cereal).
3. Look for “suspicious characters” hiding in the Ingredients list. e.g. - partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup (both of which are unhealthy).
4. Generally, the longer the Ingredient list, the less desirable/healthy the food item is going to be. The most nutritious foods of all have an Ingredient list of a single word (e.g. - banana, apple, orange, broccoli, etc.) – they’re direct from nature.
5. Fiber is your friend. Look for at least 2 grams of fiber per 100 calories – and the word “whole” to make sure it’s a whole grain.
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25 Tips on How You Can Be More Active Right Now (From The Harvard Health Letter):
October 3, 2008
Posted by: Karen Bentley
2. If you take a bus or train, walk to the next stop (don’t get on at the stop closest to you).
3. If you take a bus or train, stand up while you’re riding
4. When you walk, swing your arms.
5. If you’re in a book club or some other social group, have your meeting while walking.
6. If you’re a soccer parent, walk around the field while you’re watching your child play.
7. Stand tall; improve your posture.
8. Get somebody to walk or jog or bike with you.
9. Walk your dog(s).
10. If your kids are playing in the playground, play with them instead of watching.
11. Pack a picnic and take a walk to have that picnic.
12. Dance.
13. Wash and dry your dishes by hand (will save some energy, too!).
14. Use a manual (non-electric) can opener.
15. Clean your house yourself.
16. Hide the remote control; get up an change the channel by hand.
17. Go swimming.
18. If you’re walking along the beach, walk in the water (for that little extra resistance).
19. If you work in an office/cubicle, get up and walk to your colleague’s office/cubicle to talk instead of sending an email to someone 50 or 100 feet away.
20. If you’re on the phone, stand up while talking instead of sitting.
21. Grow a garden.
22. Push your lawn mower.
23. Think small bouts of activity (i.e. – “exercise snacking”0
24. Be a stairmaster; skip the elevators and escalators.
25. Take two stairs at a time.
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