Servings not Calories

The weight-loss powerhouse Weight Watchers announced some changes to their popular points diet system this week. We applaud their recognition that the kinds of foods you eat is also as meaningful as the number of calories you consume. Progress is good, even if in small steps.

The best big step for everyone is to eliminate food that comes in boxes... if people simply stopped eating things out of boxes we wouldn't have an obesity problem in the US (my humble opinion). And, I fully recognize such an undertaking would be massive. So, in the meantime, we've designed Move.Eat.Be. to teach people to find their own personal path to wellness.

One of the best things about the nutrition portion of Move.Eat.Be. is we focus on servings instead of calories. Let's face it counting calories is tedious and it requires a reasonable amount knowledge on serving sizes and the ability to read labels (through our food label redesign project we all now know the labels currently displayed on our foods are confusing, at best). Yes, having a general idea of the science behind calories consumed and calories burned is important. Burn more than you consume is easy to understand. Counting each one? Old news. 

Evidenced by the Weight Watchers change, the "secret" that conventional nutrition is starting to embrace is that the kinds of foods we eat are much more important than the number of calories. Ever heard of a junk food vegetarian? These are people who give up meat in the name of "health" and end up eating processed, junk food instead. Not a good idea!

By counting servings you develop a stronger link between what you eat and your health. In Move.Eat.Be. we help people design their weekly eating plan by counting servings of:

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Grains
• Plant Protein
• Water
• Lean Meat
• Treats

This system allows a great deal of flexibility and it gives you an easy way to make incremental improvements over time. Vegetarians and vegans can simply plan for zero servings of lean meat and more plant protein. Each week, we encourage you to add one serving of something new (quinoa anyone?). And, we include treats. To be fair, we help you set a goal for a reasonable amount of treats per week and treats include a wide variety of things (like processed foods including soda and sugary drinks, cookies, cakes, ice cream, chips, etc.).

If you eat more whole, natural, real food you will be more healthy. There really isn't an easier way to life-long health and wellness. 

What Simon Doesn't Say

Most will remember playing Simon Says during our growing up years. Seemingly a simple game to entertain and occupy children, it is actually a wonderful practice in living in the present and listening. I suspect there is a market for corporate training programs to re-teach the concept, but that is not why we're here today. 

There are plenty of studies that say we emulate the behavior of those around us. Such concepts have even gone so far as to say we can lose weight by hanging out with thin people because we're more likely to make more healthful food choices in their presence. Therein lies another business idea.... Companies can hire fit, happy looking people to hang out in the corporate cafeteria and eat vegetables. And, also not why we're here.

We're here to discuss the abysmal record Americans have when it comes to eating fruits and vegetables. A study published a few days ago shows us the news. Only 32.5% of people get the recommended daily servings of fruits (2 servings) and a mere 26% had the recommended servings of vegetables (3 servings). We know they are good for us. We know they taste good. We know our bodies feel better after eating well instead of eating poorly. And yet... Yet we don't make it happen. Why? Complex answer which is some combination of access, cost, education and convenience. Last I checked there were no corner quick-service restaurants focused on fruit and vegetables (another business idea though challenging to be successful).

Our challenge is clear. Each and every one of us can increase our own consumption of fruits and vegetables. We can plan our Eat. menu each day with more servings than we are getting now. Add one serving of a vegetable and a fruit each day until you get to the daily recommended servings. And then keeping adding. The USDA recommendations are too low for optimal health. How far should you go? Depends on what works best for you. Personally, I consume 5 servings of fruits and 8-10 servings of vegetables on a daily basis. Add servings, give yourself some time to adapt to less junk and more fresh and then see how you feel. 

Getting more is most important. Getting plenty is the best thing you can do for your long term health and wellness. If the people around you aren't doing so, start the trend. Do what Simon doesn't say. 

Good for Oshine, Good for You

A steady diet of processed foods and sweets, to include jelly and marshmallows, has caused Oshine to put on a few pounds. In fact, Oshine weighs in at twice the proper weight for someone her size. What is a girl to do? Give up the junk and dine on fresh fruits, vegetables and a few weekly servings of lean protein (chicken breasts and eggs). Plus, lots of exercise!

Oshine is in her breeding years and it is wise for her to get a bit more healthy before she conceives. None of this is at all surprising. Each of us, if on a regime of processed food and no exercise, will quickly put on the pounds. And, it is (unfortunately) not all that unusual for someone to be two times their natural weight.

What makes Oshine so special? She's an orangutan. A beautiful, orange, furry girl with a bit of a belly. We'll keep track of Oshine and her progress now that she's living the healthful life. If she can do it, so can you!

◆Eat.◆ Lunch, Redefined

Soup and a salad. Sandwich and a salad. Burger and fries. Very popular lunch choices. A Google search reveals the most popular lunch remains a bologna sandwich. According to FitDay, there are 255 calories in a bologna sandwich with spread. That is a very reasonable amount of calories for your lunch. Hopefully, if you choose such a lunch you would use organic bologna (from sustainable raised sources) and whole grain bread to make it even better. Buying organic bologna and organic whole grain bread might seem expensive, but consider how much money you'd save if you packed your lunch at home and avoided the local deli. 

One step further? Try something new for lunch. Two cups of kale sauteed in garlic and one whole tomato sliced is 138 and 22 calories, respectively. Lunch for a total of 160 calories? Surprisingly enough, it is a very filling choice and it looks pretty, too. Plus lots of Vitamin A, C, lycopene and other nutrients. 

Part of learning to Eat. well is experimenting with different things. And, more importantly, noticing how you feel for the few hours afterward. Most of us feel pretty happy after stuffing ourselves with Thanksgiving dinner and then we lounge around for the rest of the day feeling, well, stuffed. 

A lunch of tomato and kale may not sound great to you. Though you could try it. How about one day during the next week, you choose something for lunch you wouldn't ever ordinarily think about? You may be pleasantly surprised. Lunch, Redefined.

What To Eat?

On a daily basis, we receive thousands of messages about what we should eat. Television and radio commercials, billboards, what our family, friends and co-workers are eating, news on the web and the latest research in the daily paper. Wisely, many of us have learned to be skeptical about some of these messages but it does leave us with the question of what to eat.

The best advice is the most simple:

1. Eat only whole, natural foods
2. Eat less than you think you need
3. Drink more water
4. Eat more fruit and many more vegetables
5. Eat organic as much as possible

To be really clear, to eat only whole, natural foods means you eliminate processed food and many things which have been marketed as healthy. Bread, even "whole wheat" bread is a processed food. White rice is a processed food. Whole, natural foods means to eat things that haven't been changed by humans. Another way to look at it... if it comes in a box, it is processed.

If you want one piece of direct, clear advice? Eat kale. Sauteed in a little olive oil, with chopped onions and garlic? Delicious!

Meat Your Vegetables? Seriously?

The benefit of small amounts of television watching is you miss some of the ridiculous commercials which proliferate prime time television. Last evening, I saw this commercial for Manwich which claims every serving of Manwich has a whole serving of vegetables. The commercial ends with the tagline, "Manwich. Meat Your Vegetables." On the ConAgra Foods website, they report a "Full serving of vegetables" means that one 1/4 cup serving of Manwich contains or is the equivalent of 1/2 cup of vegetables.

So many questions come to mind! First of all, what is the "equivalent" of 1/2 cup of vegetables? Second of all, what unnatural thing does one have to do to 1/2 of vegetables to make them fit into 1/4 cup serving with other stuff in it? Third of all, what exactly is in the can?

I don't happen to have a can of Manwich around the house and can't really bring myself to go and buy one. For the record, the link to get nutritional information on the ConAgra website leads to a page that says "We are updating our product nutritional information. Our apologies for the inconvenience. Please check back later." I wonder how long this message has been there and if they are not posting nutritional information because it is too frightening. According to this blog, the ingredients are:

Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Less than 2% of: Salt, Sugar, Dehydrated Onions, Dehydrated Red and Green Bell Peppers, Chile Pepper, Tomato Fiber, Spices, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Dehydrated Garlic, Carob Bean Gum, Natural Flavors.

It doesn't really seem likely that all of those ingredients would total up to a full serving of vegetables. Unless.... unless, of course, they are counting the High Fructose Corn Syrup and the Corn Syrup as vegetable. Yes, both of those ingredients come from the much produced vegetable, corn. Though I don't think it fair to trick the average consumer into thinking if they eat a Manwich for dinner they are eating a full serving of vegetables.

I would like to believe a full serving of vegetables looks more like, well vegetables. Carrots, broccoli, kale, lettuce. You know... the stuff you buy around the edges of your grocery store, the stuff that comes in its own skin or peel, the stuff which doesn't require a box or a can. Come on, ConAgra. Stop fooling the American consumer so you can sell more stuff in a can. More stuff mostly made out of corn (which when processed, doesn't really count as a vegetable!).

P.S. - When you do a spell check on something and words are highlighted as mis-spellings DO NOT EAT THEM! Guar and Xantham gum (made with corn...).

Fruits and Veggies

A discouraging report from the CDC - no state meets the recommended consumption for fruits and vegetables. Healthy People 2010 set objectives that at least 75% of Americans would eat 2 or more fruit servings a day and 50% would eat 3 or more veggie servings a day. Our results? Only 33% get the recommended fruits and only 27% are eating their veggie servings.

The impact of this behavior is pretty signficiant. First of all, not getting enough fruits and veggies is bad for your body. These foods reduce your risk for stroke, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. They contain fiber and important nutrients. They are also more calorie-friendly that other snacks. Read more on why they are good for you.

As if that is not bad enough, each of our choices impact all of us. Contrary to what you might think, we are all really in the same health care system. Yes, we may have different insurance and we may go to different places to receive care. However, there are limited resources in our health care system, and they are shrinking. If each of us keeps ourselves and our families more healthy, it will reduce the burden on our health care system.

The bottom line? Fruits and veggies are good for you. They're good for your loved ones. They're good for your neighbors. And, they're good for America. Come on, people! Peel a banana, bite into an apple, eat some salad greens or broccoli.