Snappy Snacks

Whoever told you to avoid snacking was way off target.
Post this list on the back of a kitchen cupboard door and go for good snacks. When you try a new idea, check it off; then add your own inventions to the list.

• Fresh pear with "light" cream cheese
• Half hard-cooked egg with bran crackers; low-sodium tomato juice with no-salt seasoning or a dash of hot pepper sauce
• Frozen yogurt: stir 1 cup plain, low-fat yogurt into a cup of commercial fruit yogurt and freeze
• Toasted, unsalted soybeans
• Unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon and nuts or a spoonful of granola
• Whole wheat blueberry muffin with a cup of skim milk
• Tart or sweet lemonade: juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 cup sparkling water; 1 teaspoon honey or to taste
• Carob cocoa: heat 1 cup low-fat milk, 1 to 1/2 tablespoons carob powder, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, pinch of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon honey or to taste
• Plain yogurt mixed with a spoonful of frozen orange juice concentrate, topped with fresh orange slices
• Blender gazpacho: 1 cup tomato juice, 1/2 stalk celery, 1/2 green onion, 1/4 to 1/2 cucumber, 1 to 2 teaspoons lime juice, sprinkle of garlic, few drops of hot pepper sauce
• Fresh peach with low-fat cottage cheese and graham cracker
• Trail mix: salt-free sunflower or pumpkin seeds, almonds, raisins, dried apricots
• Main-dish leftovers or soup with a salad and a cup of low-fat milk
• Fruit juice soda: mix equal parts cranberry-apple juice, orange juice, or another fruit juice with plain carbonated water (Nature's answer to soft drinks)
• Fresh apple with part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Club soda with grapefruit juice; a handful of granola
• Tomato-buttermilk cocktail: combine 1/2 cup tomato juice, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and a dash of no-salt herb seasoning
• Summer punch: 1 cup orange juice, 1/3 cup pineapple juice (unsweetened), 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 cup plain carbonated water, ice cubes
• Hot chicken stock or broth, fat-free; whole wheat low-salt pretzels
• Plain low-fat yogurt with a handful of fresh blueberries; raisin-oat bran muffin
• Whole grain rye crackers with part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Apple tea: combine equal parts apple juice and herbal tea, such as peppermint; serve iced with lemon
• Frozen grapes, frozen banana slices (dipped in lemon juice before freezing)
• Raw veggies--carrot sticks, celery sticks, cucumber chips, cherry tomatoes-- and powdered dip mix prepared with plain low-fat yogurt and blended cottage cheese in place of sour cream
• Popcorn Parmesan: sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese over air-popped popcorn
• Peanut butter spread thin over brown rice cakes, topped with raisins
• Potato crisps: slice raw or lightly steamed new potatoes into 1/4-inch rounds; bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes (or until crisp and golden), turning once
  

Fast Diet - Eat often and you'll eat less

How do you make a fat rat? You have to tell him the kitchen is closed until dinner time so he can't nibble all day and spoil his appetite. After a week of frustration, he learns to eat a lot of rat chow at his one big meal, and he ends up gaining 30 percent more fat weight as a result. This could be bad news for those of the human species who alternately stuff and starve themselves because they don't have time (or so they say) to eat on a regular schedule. A different study found rats deprived of food all but one hour a day are more likely to choose sugar water than nutritious rat chow when they do eat. If this translates to soda pop instead of bagels for over-hungry people, skipping meals and snacks could do double damage.

If you're a confirmed member of Over-eaters Unanimous, set the Timing now for Quantity (and perhaps Quality) Control. Though it sounds crazy at first, you will not only be less hungry, you will probably eat less (and store less surplus body fat) if you eat more often--every three to four hours if possible. In other words, if you graze, you'll be less likely to gorge. Just choose what you graze on carefully.

On the other hand, there are a few people who really need to batten down the cupboards, This girl's one-day Eating Diary had 40 entries. Each time she would pass out peanut butter graham crackers or fruit juice to one of her three preschoolers, she'd have a bite, too, often with a cheese and Frito chaser. There was nothing that looked like a real breakfast or lunch anywhere on her diary, and not a veggie in sight.

And that's the main problem with quick foods and no prepared meals: the vegetables, especially cooked veggies, seem to disappear. If you have unlimited access to food during the day, designate a definite time for meals, and schedule a reasonable number of fillers in between them. If you have to, leave a note on the fridge that says, "Safe Deposit Box: Only open for snacks at 10, 2, and 4."

HUNGER BUSTERS

• Eat breakfast, or a more substantial breakfast, with a little protein or fat, especially if you're plagued with afternoon hungry.
• Eat a snack or meal every three or four hours during the day; it doesn't have to be much, sometimes a blite or two will do.
• Eat a real snack, while sitting down, before you start dinner or while it's cooking; gry to keep your paws off the dinner foods until dinner, when you can be conscious of what and how much you're eating.
• Eat something before you go, whether it's a late dinner out, a beer and chips party, or a long meeting with only coffee for refreshment.
• Take something with you when you go to the movie, the beach, or the park; otherwise, the concession will probably snatch your small change.
• Keep a list of good and easy snack ideas handy, and add a few of them to your grocery list each week.
• Some of the most popular snacks can provoke hunger rather than satisfy it; take it especially easy on the Spoilers, sugar, salt, caffeine, and alcohol.
• Eat mostly fiber foods, and you won't have to deal with going hungry at all.
  

Tame Your Appetite / Set the timing

You got hungry. It happened yesterday, today, and will happen again tomorrow. Though it happens every day, you still forgot to stuff your pockets with fruit, or to make a sandwich for lunch when you left home this morning. A breakfast pastry and coffee obligingly shuts down stomach grumbling for a while, but by one o'clock the pangs are ordering "Eat something or die". All that's in sight or smell is the crispy chicken shack, the pretzel, the quick-dip ice cream cart, and the trusty vending machine. You feel compelled to gorge but settle for a hot dog instead though you're on diet!

Never a stranger, though, Hunger is back again, double strength this time, by 4 o'clock, and no wonder. Thus far, the most intense part of your day has been fueled by a sugar-coated roll, a hot dog, and two "diet" sodas. You're still short 60 percent of your daily calorie quota.

5:30 pm finds you desperately ransacking the ice box. The verdict: nothing quick and nutritious, so the candy bar hidden in the freezer will have to do. "I'll just diet tonight", you decide righteously while crumpling the wrapper. But your body has other ideas. By the time dinner is on the table, you're over-hungry. The unfed animal appetite orders "Eat, eat" and you obey, gobbling too much, too fast, hardly able to taste or enjoy the food going down the hatch. You never intended to finish the day in this ravenous condition. How did it happen?

If you're hungry all the time, or over-hungry at the wrong times, your timing may be off. The obvious antidote for hunger is to eat, and eat often. The best way to do this is to add between-meal snacks while cutting the size of main meals. In other words, graze, don't gorge. Think in terms of 6 small, equal-spaced meals instead of 1 or 2 big ones. Living Lean students who adopt this schedule rarely complain about being hungry that is, unless they graze on all the wrong things.

"But eating during the day makes me feel sluggish." Maybe you're eating too much at a sitting and then sitting some more. You're an even better candidate for between-meal snacks; they help sustain your energy and allow you to feel satisfied with smaller meals. Also make sure your lunch includes a protein source. Too much carbohydrate,and you're likely to feel drowsy instead of energized afterward.

"But we've always been told not to eat until we're hungry." If you skip or skimp on perfectly good meals, you're likely to get hungry later when there's nothing nutritious for miles around. As you tumble into bed tonight, resolve to try a new tack tomorrow: plan to get hungry because you will eventually, and then eat before you do.

Take a look at your Eating Diary once more. Do you see clusters and holes in your eating routine? If so, distribute the same number of calories more evenly.

Fiber is good for you

Dietary fiber is good for you. It speeds up elimination and adds bulk, helping prevent constipation, varicose vain, hemorrhoids, diverticulitis, irritable colon, appendicitis, gall bladder disease, and even colon cancer. Wheat bran isn't habit-forming like some laxatives. Water-soluble fibers, on the other han, bind with fats like cholesterol and carry them out of the body along with nasty carcinogens, reducing your risk of heart disease and colon cancer. High-fiber diets have also been used in the treatment of diabetes and hypertension. Oat bran, dried beans, and apple pectin are especially effective.

But that's not all. Fiber holds food in your stomach longer, preventing a rapid rise in blood sugar, slowing down calorie absorption, and staving off hunger a little longer. Dried beans are also good, especially if they are presoaked and well cooked to release the soluble fiber. But there are other excellent choices, including oats, buckwheat, pasta, peas, sweet potatoes, corn, apples, orange, and wheat bran.

The Fiber Connection: Filling, Not Fattening

There is no arguing with your appetite after a long day of hiking the nature trails or cleaning out the attic. You will be hungry and it appears very easy to overeat.

But exactly how much food is too much food? A small slice of strawberry pie is more than a gallon of salad if calories are the yardstick. And if you crowd the dinner table or fill your stomach, it does not necessarily mean you have abandoned quantity control because dietary fiber casts the deciding vote. For example, an apple may seem like a lot of food and a more satisfying snack when compared with a half cup of apple juice. But the calories are just the same, the only difference is fiber. And eating more high-fiber, high-volume, low-fat foods is a slick trick because it could cut your calories in half.

From the study, a low-to-high-fiber switch slashed participants' calories from 2,000 to 1,500 a day, even when they ate all they wanted. The fiber-full meals were rated just as tasty and filling, and did not trigger extra nibbling to replace the saved calories. On the other hnad, the low-fiber meals tended to induce overeating: participants failed to stop eating when they were pleasantly full.

It appears that eating more dietary fiber is the easiest way to fight hunger and also maintain quantity control without the hassle of counting calories. And if you have been avoiding carbohydrates because they are fattening, please hear this: fiber foods are filling, not fattening!

Fast Diet - Eating Diary

Before choosing the appropriate route for a cross-country trip, you need to decide what your departure point will be and have your auto checked out for any problems that need attention. In the same way, to effect changes in what and how you eat, it's important to do some consciousness-raising about your current eating habits. Some practices may need only minor repairs, while others demand an extensive overhaul, but the mechanical work will facilitate the journey from where you are to where you want to be.

The best way to know exactly what you eat is to write it all down. Record right now regardless of whether it has been a good or bad day, whether it's morning or late at night - everything you have eaten or drunk so far today. Complete today's record. Then log your oral travels for two more days.

Use the eating diary form if you wish. It will provide extra information that could come in handy: why you eat, where you eat, and so on. In addition, you may want to record a weekend day, since your usual routine is often disrupted after the 5 O'clock whistle on Friday. Suggestion: don't plan ahead for this activity. You may be tempted to alter your accustomed eating pattern, and this is one diary that should tell it like it is.

What do you want to lose?

Everyone wants to lose weight these days. But losing weight is not necessarily a guarantee of losing body fat. It could be water. Since your body is about 60% water, fluctuations in body fluids can show up on the scale as a sizable number of pounds. Or it could be glycogen. This energy reserve - weighting more than a pound - will shrink over the course of a day if you fail to eat enough carbohydrate or if you forget to eat. It isn't only fat that has vanished. Glycogen and its associated water and even some body protein have disappeared as well.

The next day or so you experience an imperceptible increase in appetite as your body restores this naturally occurring fuel reserve, along with its accompanying water. You step on the scale again and a weight gain. Through all these dramatic weight changes there may be no substantial change in body fat.

Burning Real Fat is like burning a big oak log. It's slow going. It's difficult to ignite, but once it catches fire it provides steady heat for a long time. Thus, body fat is a key to endurance energy. Glycogen, a carbohydrate, provides a more immediate fuel source, as when you sprint to catch the bus. Like kindling twigs, it's easy to ignite but rather short-lived, providing a quick burst of energy. A combination of the two fuels is more effective than either one alone since they work as a team.

Weight loss, then, can be quick and easy. But Real Fat Loss must be slow. Except for a very large person or someone shedding a lot of water, 1 scale-pound a week is a maximum weight loss, and 1/2 pound a week may be an optimum - both to protect health and to ensure that positive changes in body composition and body image are permanent.

Body Fat - Friend and Foe

Have you ever wondered why your body goes to such extremes to store fat you don't want? One reason is that your body fat protects against mechanical injury. Another reason is that it acts as a heat insulator. Fat added during pregnancy us and energy reserve for the nursing mother, a reserve that may be depleted only with extended breastfeeding.

Even more important than these reasons is simple survival. Our ancestors' bodies were adept at storing fat in anticipation of constant famines. For them, it was survival of the fattest. Although this is still true for some people in some areas of the world, for most of us famine means "I didn't have time to eat today." When you reach the bottom line, your excess fat is more likely to be a health liability than survival insurance.

Medical exam and Personal health record

If you don't already have a physician who counsels you on the importance of eating healthy and staying physically active, then find one. In addition, keep a folder containing personal health records and medical history for each family member. You can assume this information is contained in your various physicians' files, but you can't be assured it will be readily available in an emergency. Know your usual blood pressure, blood lipids, medications - including how much you take and how often - immunizations, and any other vital statistics. Your health is your responsibility, not your physician's.

Advise your doctor that you will be increasing your physical activity and altering your diet to include more fiber and less fat. If you're more than 35 years old or in very poor physical condition, your doctor will probably suggest a physical and laboratory exam and possibly an exercise stress test before you begin the changes. Request a blood lipid profile, including HDL-cholesterol and relevant ratios. These provide valid information about your risk of cardiovascular disease and will help you plan your aerobic activities accordingly.

Fast Diet - Participation Agreement

Now, are you really ready to begin? Then read the following contract, print out and sign it. This is the binding contract, so consider it thoughtfully. Have a supportive person be your witness if possible.
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I really want to lose fat and become fit.

I am solely responsible for my self-improvement project and will enlist the support of others when necessary.

I acknowledge this ongoing project as a current priority in my life.

I am comfortable with realistic, long-term goals consisting of positive thoughts and constructive actions, since they will produce the most enduring benefits.

I will make changes for the better in my lifestyle and habits because my health and happiness are important to me


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Signature

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Date


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Witness

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Date

It's time to diet

Although there may be a more convenient time, there really is no perfect time to have a baby, move to another city, change jobs, or stop smoking. There is likewise no optimum time to begin making changes toward a healthier lifestyle unless you really want to change.

With each passing day, someone within earshot can be heard to say, "I need to get rid of some of this extra FAT!" or "I should get in shape, just look at me!". "Should" and "oughta" are not the same as "want to" which is still not the same as doing. Just compare the money spent on fitness togs, health clubs, and "diet" schemes with the number of people who are still overfat and out of shape.

Psychologists agree that continually complaining about one's health but not doing anything to improve it is unproductive; it fosters obsessive guilt while reinforcing a sense of powerlessness. This attitude can lead to compulsive eating, chronic "dieting" and serious damage to self-image.

If you're sincerely want to boost your health and appearance, on the other hand, nothing can stop you. Getting started is the toughest part - like pedaling a bicycle up a hill. Even a conditioned athlete would have to use the climbing gear at first, but the anticipation of the downhill ride helps top spur that initial push. If these lifestyle changes seem arduous right now, don't worry; very soon you get to learn back for the downhill coast.