Trying to stop food cravings? Not eating the foods you crave may help, a study finds

by: By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times

The prospect of going on a diet makes many people nervous. Once cravings for verboten foods set in, dieters may fall off the wagon. But a study finds that over time, restricting some foods may tamp down those cravings.

The study centered on 270 men and women who were randomly assigned to a low-carbohydrate diet or a low-fat diet for two years. Those on the low-carb diet were told to limit carbohydrates and eat foods high in fat and protein. Those on the low-fat diet cut back on calories and fat and limited protein to about 15% of calories from protein, 30% from fat and 55% from carbohydrate.

Foods such as jelly that are high in sugar were discouraged on the low-carb diet, and high-carb foods such as bagels were banned on the low-carb diet.

Researchers surveyed participants about how often they craved sweets, high-fat foods, carbohydrates and starches and fast-food fats. Participants also were asked about their preferences for certain foods -- this was used to measure how much they liked the foods that were restricted from their diets.

Conclusion: The findings "demonstrate that promoting the restriction of specific types of foods while dieting causes decreased cravings and preferences for the foods that are targeted for restriction," the authors wrote. That's counterintuitive to what most people think they'll experience when they diet and, the authors noted, could put those dieters' concerns to rest.

The entire article can be found at http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-diet-cravings-20110419,0,3457431.story

The Learning Curve of Cooking

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear “I don’t cook.” If one does not cook, then one must eat out or piece together a meal of highly processed items that are typically microwavable. As I have mentioned before, to move forward one must abandon old ways of thinking and behaving. One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting to get a different result. This same thought applies for weight loss and health. If one does not lose weight or become healthy by eating out every day before bariatric surgery, then one should not expect to lose or maintain a significant amount of weight after bariatric surgery.

I have to admit that I am no different than my clients. Cooking, preparing and planning are no easier for a dietitian than anybody else. It is falsely believed that a degree in dietetics absolves RDs from following the same guidelines. As many of you know, knowing does not imply doing. To do, one must take action by applying what is known.

After completing a masters degree, I had to recommit to eating out less by preparing healthy and delicious meals. Last Saturday afternoon, I dragged out a new cookbook, by a famous Food Network chef, and choose three new recipes to try. I assumed that the Food Network chef had fail-proof recipes, but I was wrong.

Anytime we try something new there is room for error, but we cannot let it drag us down. After spending money, time and effort on my new menu items, I was highly disappointed. Only 1 out of the 3 recipes I tried was actually good. The other two were HORRIBLE! I was disappointed, disheartened and upset. At least when you get food from your favorite restaurant you know it will taste good no matter how bad it is for you!

However, this cannot be an excuse to return to old habits. Even the best will fail. I am putting the cookbook back on half.com hoping to earn my money back to buy a new cookbook.

Cooking can be learned at any age. All you have to do is try. Over time it will get easier and tastier! Check the blog next Monday, 5/2, to learn tips on cooking, planning and grocery shopping.

How Self Control Works

Brain How Self-Control Works It's a skill, we are learning, that profoundly shapes lives. How does it work? Where does it come from?
Scientific American 4/15/2011 by Dan Ariely

The scientific community is increasingly coming to realize how central self-control is to many important life outcomes. We have always known about the impact of socioeconomic status and IQ, but these are factors that are highly resistant to interventions. In contrast, self-control may be something that we can tap into to make sweeping improvements life outcomes.

If you think about the environment we live in, you will notice how it is essentially designed to challenge every grain of our self-control. Businesses have the means and motivation to get us to do things NOW, not later. Krispy Kreme wants us to buy a dozen doughnuts while they are hot; Best Buy wants us to buy a television before we leave the store today; even our physicians want us to hurry up and schedule our annual checkup.

There is not much place for waiting in today’s marketplace. In fact you can think about the whole capitalist system as being designed to get us to take actions and spend money now – and those businesses that are more successful in that do better and prosper (at least in the short term). And this of course continuously tests our ability to resist temptation and exercise self-control.

The remainder of the article can be viewed at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-self-control-works

How Your Schedule Can Help (or Hurt) Your Health

Disruptions to our circadian rhythm, the 24-hour clock that drives sleeping and wakefulness, affect our bodies in more ways than previously believed.

New research shows that each of our organs contains cells with their own circadian-clock genes that help bodily processes, such as digestion, operate with maximum efficiency at certain times of day.

When a person's circadian clock is thrown off—by jet lag or shift work or eating at the wrong time—it can, over time, contribute to weight gain and depression. It may even increase the likelihood of heart and liver problems.

"If you disturb that 24-hour organization, you're going to have a disruption of function within the tissue," says Fred Turek, a biology sciences professor and director of Northwestern University's Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, in Evanston, Ill.

To read the rest of the article follow this link:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704471904576228532850374342-lMyQjAxMTAxMDIwOTEyNDkyWj.html

Green Light!

Did you know, most chain restaurants have nutrition information readily available on-line or in the store. For example, when you visit McDonald's, turn over the placemat on your tray or look at the wrapper to view the nutrition information. Look up your favorite places before you eat out to have a plan for ordering. There are a few quick and easy ways to cut calories. These include: leave off the cheese to save 60-100 calories per sandwich or salad, pack up half BEFORE you start eating, ask that the food be prepared without additional oil (pasta, fajitas, stir fry, vegetables), or swap high fat sides such as fries, chips or mashed potatoes with vegetables or fruit.


Weight Watchers Cajun Lime Tilapia 350 calories, 5 grams of fat
Teriyaki Chicken Pasta 450 calories, 8 grams of fat
Applebee's has a great Weight Watchers menu! Most entrees contain around 500 calories or less.

Chili's
Bowl of Chili 360 calories
House salad with low fat ranch dressing 225 calories
Margarita Grilled Chicken 600 calories, 13 grams of fat

Olive Garden
Venetian Apricot Chicken 380 calories, 4 grams of fat
Herb Grilled Salmon 510 calories, 26 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat
Steak Tuscano 590 calories, 20 grams of fat
Choose pasta with a marinara or tomato-based sauce, rather than a creamy sauce. Creamy sauces add additional fat and calories. For example, cheese ravioli with marinara sauce only has approximately 660 calories.

Happy Dining!
-Mallory Piontkowski, dietetic intern

Applebee’s

Red Light!

For many eating out has become a regular aspect of life. Busy schedules, fatigue, shuttling kids to and from make eating out even more appealing. However, despite your best efforts to choose healthy items, restraunts are not on your side. Food prepared outside of the home is laden with salt and hidden calories in the form of large poition sizes, added fat and added sugars. To lose weight and improve health the answer is simple, eat out less. And remember, if it is not healthy for you it is not healthy for children either. Just because they are younger and may not struggle with weight, does not mean that these foods do not not have an impact on their present and future health. Check out the caloric content of these "red light" foods.

Chili's
Quesadilla Explosion Salad 1400 calories, 88 grams of fat Classic Turkey Sandwich w/French Fries 1340 calories, 63 grams of fat. Even without the fries, the sandwich has about 1,000 calories!

Olive Garden
Tour of Italy 1450 calories, 74 grams of fat Fettuccine Alfredo 1220 calories, 75 grams of fat Pork Milanese 1510 calories, 87 grams of fat

Applebee’s
Oriental Chicken Salad 1130 calories, 95 grams of fat Three Cheese Chicken Penne 1470 calories, 79 grams of fat Quesadilla Burger WITHOUT fries 1240 calories, 103 grams of fat. Fries add an additional 400 calories

1 Slice of Small (8"-9") Pizza
Lou Malnati's Sausage Thin Crust 240 calories, 15 grams of fat Lou Malnati's Pepperoni Deep Dish 540 calories, 32 grams of fat Papa John's Original Crust Cheese 210 calories, 8 grams of fat Pizza Hut Supreme Stuffed Crust 420 calories, 21 grams of fat

Now you must be wondering "what can I eat?" Check out the blog Thursday for some "green" light options that won't set you back in your weight loss journey! -Mallory Piontkowski, dietetic intern