ATD: What Diet Should I Follow for PCOS?

Hello, I have PCOS.  I really don’t know how to count calories and I’m really not sure what meals I’m supposed to eat. I have tried a lot of different ideas but none of them seem to work for me I can’t seem to get the weight off. I’m a really picky eater. My question is what do you suggest I do?  –Iris W.

Dear Iris,

There is some evidence that women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome have an increased rate of heart disease and diabetes. Insulin resistance is not uncommon, and about 50% of women with PCOS are overweight, although it is not clear why. The recommended diet for PCOS is usually low in simple sugars, moderate in complex carbohydrates, and moderate in fat and cholesterol.

What Triggers Your Bad Habits?

I spend a few hours each week visiting diet and health blogs to see what the word is on the street.  Occasionally I’ll leave comments but mostly I enjoy reading and being entertained by others.  I was reading Ryan Sullivan’s blog No More Bacon, and found his views on triggers and what causes people to take action refreshing. His story is living proof that triggers work.

Here is my non-weight loss related story about triggers, that could trigger something in you.

ATD: Which Diet Product Do You Recommend?

I would like to know your views, please, on Sensa!  I am 5’1″ and weigh 129.  I am looking a Fat Loss 4 Idiots, the Nuphedrine, or Sensa, but would like your opinion.  I work at a desk and then go to take care of my mother.  I should be walking more, and am not happy about this weight…thanks for your assistance. –Terri B.

Dear Terri,

Interesting Research on Child Nutrition

There’s been several interesting studies lately related to dairy, nutrition and children.  Here are some thoughts from Karen Kafer:

• In the April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, a new study found girls that drank soda at age 5 had higher subsequent soda consumption and lower milk intake in later years.  This resulted in a higher consumption of added sugars and lower intakes of protein, fiber, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium from ages 5 to 15 years, as compared to girls who did not consume soda at that age.  They found additional evidence that children need more parental guidance regarding consuming soda and other sweetened beverages.

Five Great Reasons to Exercise

Yes, you know you should be exercising. But, like flossing every day, or cleaning the oven, exercise can end up being of those “should do” things which we put off almost indefinitely.

Perhaps it feels like a chore. Maybe you’ve had bad experiences with exercise in the past. You might struggle to see the point – surely what’s important when you’re on a diet is that you eat less?

Sometimes, it’s worth having a reminder of the reasons why we want to do something – not just why we feel we should. Here are X great reasons to exercise:

Keeping Dieting Simple

We often turn our diets into a huge, complicated mission.

We try, in vain, to absorb all the (conflicting) nutritional advice out there.

We obsess over details, and get caught up in trying to achieve perfection – berating ourselves when we don’t quite manage it.

It’s very easy to get paralysed by indecision when we’re trying to lose weight. Perhaps we can’t decide what diet we should follow. Maybe we have limited time and attention, and don’t know whether it’s better to exercise or to prepare elaborate raw-food meals.

Something’s Missing On Losing It With Jillian

(Bob & Jillian – The Ying to my Yang)

So by now I’m sure most of you have watched Losing it With Jillian Michaels on NBC.  For those who haven’t, the show revolves around Jillian living with overweight families for 1 week to figure out where they went wrong with their bodies, health, weight, habits, etc.  Now, I really wanted to hate this show (mainly because of that signature hip pose she does in every picture she takes), but with each episode I grew a little fonder of what NBC and Jillian are trying to do.  But not everyone seems to be able to tolerate the single dose of Jillian.

How to Avoid Boredom Eating

One of the most common reasons for snacking is boredom.

If you’re hanging around without much to do – perhaps a slow day at work, or looking after kids – then it’s very easy to turn to food as a quick moment of interest.

You may convince yourself that you’re “peckish” or “hungry” every few hours, so that you have an excuse to eat. You may be going through a situation where, in some ways, food is the most interesting thing in your life – where your thoughts are constantly turning to the next snack or meal.

How to Get Motivated to Diet When You Have Lots of Weight to Lose

If you’ve got a lot of weight to lose, you’ll have been overweight for a while – perhaps almost all your life.

It can be incredibly daunting to think about changing your habits and losing a significant amount of weight – but you can do it.

Are you feeling anxious about the journey ahead and wondering if it’s worthwhile or whether you’ll have the willpower to stick to your diet?

Here’s how to get motivated.

Aim to Lose 10% of Your Starting Weight

First, don’t set a target goal which takes you right down to a BMI of 20-25. Instead, aim to lose 10% of your starting weight.

How to Establish an Exercise Routine You Can Stick To

How often have you started a new exercise plan, and given up after a week or two? Perhaps you planned to go to the gym three times a week after work, or you were going to do an hour of walking every day. You lasted for a few days – but then you were too busy, and too tired, to carry on.

To get real benefits from exercise, you want to find ways to stay consistently active – rather than exercising for brief, intense periods. (You’re also more likely to injure yourself if you exercise irregularly.) Here’s how to establish a routine which you can stick to.

How Quickly Can I Lose 20 Pounds?

One of the questions I am most often asked is how to lose weight quickly. When someone has a special event coming up, they suddenly realize they would rather weigh 20 pounds or so less in order to fit into a certain outfit, or just to look more fit for the people they will be mingling with. Then, the race is on! How can I lose all this weight in a week or so?

Is This Diet Too Good to be True?

photo credit: malias

With so many diets advertising quick weight loss and boasting to burn off the most fat, how can you tell which one will really work? Here are ten top warning signs that the latest fad diet really is too good to be true!

1. Weight loss is guaranteed! Nutrition is never an exact science, so no one diet can guarantee weight loss for everyone.

The 75 Percent Diet

A few years ago, I came across a very simple dieting concept. No calorie counting, no weird diet foods, no skipping meals. It was simply this:

Eat 75% of whatever you normally eat.

So, if you’re currently eating a 40g bowl of cereal with milk for your breakfast, switch to a 30g bowl. If your usual lunch is a 300g baked potato, switch to a 225g one. And so on.

Why It Works

The theory behind this diet is that if your current food intake is keeping you overweight, reducing your intake by 25% will be enough for you to lose weight – probably 1-2lbs per week.

What is a Calorie?

photo credit: The Vista Dome

We hear the word “calorie” used all the time when we discuss diets. You eat so many calories, burn off a number of calories in exercise, restrict calories to lose weight; but what exactly is a calorie? Technically, it’s a measure of heat, or energy. A calorie (actually a kilocalorie) is the amount of energy required to raise a kilogram of water one degree Celsius. The number of calories provided by a food is determined by using equipment called a bomb calorimeter to burn the food and measure the energy it yields. We obtain our energy from food, and we burn it through activity and daily body functions; or–if we have enough and don’t need any more at the time–we store it as fat. Later, our body cells can access the fat and receive calories from it.

Four Ways to Deal With “Trigger” Foods

Have you ever scoffed down a cupcake or a bar of chocolate … only to ditch your diet for the rest of the day? Many of us have “trigger” foods. We label them as bad, and if we eat them, we invariably over-indulge. This leads to feeling that we’ve failed, and that we might as well give up.

Often, that giving up means that our diet isn’t just derailed for the day – we take the whole week off, or even quit dieting for months.

So, how can you deal with those “trigger” foods … and those diet-breaking moments? Here are a few different techniques to try.

Low-Calorie Dessert Ideas

photo credit: realrabbit

One of the things I miss most when dieting is having dessert. So many desserts provide many hundreds of calories. Just one cup of ice cream or slice of pie can run over 500 calories: Indulging in treats like this can cause a pound of weight gain each week. Fear not! There are some tasty treats than run less than 200 calories–some as low as 100–that are actually good for you as well.

Why Very Low Calorie Diets are a Very Bad Idea

Have you ever looked at a diet plan which promised an astonishing rate of weight loss – perhaps 10lbs in 2 weeks? Chances are, it relied on you drinking specially formulated drinks, or eating from a very restricted range of foods. “Very low calorie” diets are defined as diets which involve fewer than 800 calories per day, and are often liquid-only.

In the 21^st century, we’ve become accustomed to very quick results. We have mobile phones, fast broadband, overnight shipping, instant downloads and so on. When it comes to dieting, though, technology hasn’t made a difference. Our bodies still work in just the same way that they worked thousands of years ago.

Have You Set Your “No Eating Zone”?

One of the most basic rules for weight loss is “only eat in the kitchen, sitting at the kitchen table”. This limits the amount of food that is consumed between meals or without thinking, because usually snacks are not eaten sitting down at the table. Hundreds of calories can be scarfed down munching on a bag of chips while searching for something in the pantry to make for dinner, or mindlessly popping nuts into your mouth while scanning the newspaper.

How to Beat Your Cravings – Every Time

Maybe your diet was going along swimmingly for days or even weeks. You were sticking to your meal plans, avoiding certain foods, and turning down chocolate, cake and chips.

And then you had a craving for something. Perhaps you just had to have a chocolate bar. Maybe you couldn’t stop thinking about ice-cream.

Whatever it was, you cracked, and you ended up eating rather a lot of all the wrong sorts of things.

So how can you beat your cravings next time? Here are a few “do”s and “don’t”s to try…

What’s Leptin Got to Do With It?

For years, researchers have been studying what makes some people eat more than others: What makes some people eat more calories than they need? What makes us feel full?  In 1994 scientists discovered a hormone called leptin. This hormone is produced mostly in the fat cells (a small amount is also produced in the stomach) and sends a signal to the brain that says “We’re full now; we can stop eating”.

What a momentous discovery! The finding of a hormone which signals to the brain we are full . . .  Think of the possibilities: If we can isolate this hormone and deliver it to overweight people everywhere, we can suppress their voracious appetites, make them eat less, and eliminate the suffering from the consequences of being overweight forever!

How to Eat More Mindfully (And Diet More Effectively)

Do you often end up eating on the run, grabbing lunch at your desk, or scoffing down dinner in front of the television?

Many of us do – and it’s one of the key reasons why we end up overeating. If we’re distracted during a meal, we’re likely to miss our body’s cues that we’re getting full. We also won’t get so much enjoyment from the food.

Eating mindfully means that you concentrate on the meal or snack which you’re enjoying, rather than shoveling food into your mouth while your thoughts are on something else entirely. I’ve come across the idea several times, but I particularly like this explanation from Willie Hewes:

Share Your Calories With a Friend

One of the best ways to diet is to share your calories with a friend! Think of all the foods that have a part you favor: maybe it’s the pizza you love, but not the crust; the icing but not the cake; the clams but not the chowder; the chocolate chips more than the cookie. I know some of you are saying, ‘I love ALL the parts’, but surely there are times you finish a portion you’re just not that into simply because it’s in front of you.

Five Ways That Carrying a Notebook Can Help You Diet

When you’re on a diet, it’s the little things which make the difference between success and failure. Ditching a daily soda and a donut is enough to let you lose a pound every week … but similarly, an extra snack or a sneaky nibble here and there will stop you making progress (or even see you piling the weight back on).

When it comes to exercise, most of us neither want nor need to be marathon runners. A half-hour daily walk, and ten minute of stretches during the commercial breaks on TV, is enough to start getting fitter and healthier.

Help With Your Weight Loss Diet Is Easy to Find!

photo credit: alanclarkdesign

There have been many studies conducted over the past few years to find out if the internet can be a useful tool to aid in dieting. And the results are in: The answer is a resounding, “yes”! There are many types of programs on the world wide web that assist dieters in reaching their goal. Here are a few examples:

Eat Less Salt or The FDA Will Make Sure You Do

Salt is a common staple in many household foods. In fact, many of the foods have excessive amounts of salt in them, and we might not even realize it.Lately an effort is being made to put pressure on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help reduce the amount of salt found in many processed foods. They are proposing that the salt in processed foods be reduced in steps, so as not to affect the flavor too much at one time.