Josh Bezoni's Blog - Posts Tagged "weight-loss"
The Breakfast Calorie Bomb In Your Cupboard
When you consider the image of a "well-balanced breakfast," what comes to mind? There is a decent chance that the meal you are imagining reflects the messaging you have been forcefed since you last watched Saturday morning cartoons - a tall glass of juice, maybe some toast or eggs, and big bowl cereal. The breakfast cereal is near-universal as a quick, cheap, and allegedly healthy way to start your day, especially if you are on-the-go. Unfortunately, breakfast cereals are not much more than slickly packaged and purposefully misleading food disasters that counteract many Americans’ otherwise healthy life choices every day.
Breakfast cereals are so dense in carbohydrates that they do very little to encourage your body to actually burn fat. Instead, they inject your diet with a shocking about of processed grains a refined sugar. The vast majority of boxes you will find in your local cereal aisle qualify as high-glycemic carbs. That means that they are fattening, because your body is so quick to absorb it as sugar into the bloodstream with very little effort.
In contrast, low glycemic foods offer better fiber and micronutrients per serving. This often equates to better all-around nutrition. Further, since they take your body longer to absorb, you are left after a low GI meal feeling fuller for more time. This can help ward off the desire to snack emptily or eat unnecessary calories later in the day. As a result, you are more likely to lose weight. You should always choose the breakfast option with the least processed grains, that eschews things like artificial sweeteners in favor of remaining healthier. That option will almost never be found within the typical, brightly colored cereal box.
Breakfast cereals are so dense in carbohydrates that they do very little to encourage your body to actually burn fat. Instead, they inject your diet with a shocking about of processed grains a refined sugar. The vast majority of boxes you will find in your local cereal aisle qualify as high-glycemic carbs. That means that they are fattening, because your body is so quick to absorb it as sugar into the bloodstream with very little effort.
In contrast, low glycemic foods offer better fiber and micronutrients per serving. This often equates to better all-around nutrition. Further, since they take your body longer to absorb, you are left after a low GI meal feeling fuller for more time. This can help ward off the desire to snack emptily or eat unnecessary calories later in the day. As a result, you are more likely to lose weight. You should always choose the breakfast option with the least processed grains, that eschews things like artificial sweeteners in favor of remaining healthier. That option will almost never be found within the typical, brightly colored cereal box.
Three Easy Weight Loss Tips
Coach Tim, who serves as the head nutrition coach fro the BioTrust team recently released a blog detailing three food tricks that you should implement as soon as possible if you are hoping to expedite the weight loss process. The three tips are sourced from a Cornell University researcher named Dr. Brian Wansicnk, so they come with scientific backing.
Dr. Brian Wansink determined that people who have a fruit bowl in their household weigh in at 8 pounds lighter than those who do not boast a fruit bowl in their home. The study also revealed that the effect is even more robust for those who carry at least two different types fruit and placed the bowl in a high-traffic location.
Dr. Wansink did a lot of great work researching how the placement and proximity of healthy and unhealthy food can affect our eating habits. In addition to having a diverse fruit bowl on your kitchen counter, Wansink also suggests removing other foods from the counter. His research revealed that men and women who kept cookies, chips, and other unhealthy snacks in eyesight weighed, on average, ten pounds more than those who didn’t. Perhaps more surprising is the fact that people who had boxes of cereal on their counter-weighed upwards of twenty pounds more. Soda on the counter led to a weight difference of 25 pounds. All this shows you the importance of the proximity of food and how our self-control is a complicated issue.
Always opt for a smaller plate. While this is my no means groundbreaking, Dr. Wansick confirmed that dining using smaller plates can make a substantial difference in how much you consume and, consequently, your health. Wansick specifically determined that switch to a 10-inch plate from a 12-inch plate can decrease portion sizes by nearly a quarter.
Thanks to Wansink and his research team, you now have three great tricks up your sleeve that are incredibly easy to implement. What are you waiting for?
Dr. Brian Wansink determined that people who have a fruit bowl in their household weigh in at 8 pounds lighter than those who do not boast a fruit bowl in their home. The study also revealed that the effect is even more robust for those who carry at least two different types fruit and placed the bowl in a high-traffic location.
Dr. Wansink did a lot of great work researching how the placement and proximity of healthy and unhealthy food can affect our eating habits. In addition to having a diverse fruit bowl on your kitchen counter, Wansink also suggests removing other foods from the counter. His research revealed that men and women who kept cookies, chips, and other unhealthy snacks in eyesight weighed, on average, ten pounds more than those who didn’t. Perhaps more surprising is the fact that people who had boxes of cereal on their counter-weighed upwards of twenty pounds more. Soda on the counter led to a weight difference of 25 pounds. All this shows you the importance of the proximity of food and how our self-control is a complicated issue.
Always opt for a smaller plate. While this is my no means groundbreaking, Dr. Wansick confirmed that dining using smaller plates can make a substantial difference in how much you consume and, consequently, your health. Wansick specifically determined that switch to a 10-inch plate from a 12-inch plate can decrease portion sizes by nearly a quarter.
Thanks to Wansink and his research team, you now have three great tricks up your sleeve that are incredibly easy to implement. What are you waiting for?
Emotional Eating: Change your tune.
Controlling our habits is an uphill battle for supremacy. The mind, torn between what we want and what we need, will do all in its power to keep us happy but not always healthy. One of the largest reasons diets go off the rails is our emotional attachment to food, and when it gets the better of us. Like any addiction, the brain lights up with activity when indulging in its favorite food. What are some of the best ways to combat cravings while keeping yourself together?
Comfort food, the very idea of it conjures up images, smells, and tastes. However, how many of those foods would you consider healthy? What we eat has a direct effect on our brain chemistry, and after long periods of denying the unhealthy options, a return to unhealthy habits can feel euphoric. The need to use ice cream and sugar as a stress management tool is powerful, many food companies unabashedly use this to their advantage. If you can find one commercial with someone enjoying ice cream on a commercial without smiling, you’ve truly struck gold.
Stress makes no indication of ever going away, so it’s our job to cope with it. Emotional eating is often a vicious cycle, wherein we eat to be happy, get upset when we gain weight, and repeat the cycle. So instead of reaching for a sleeve of cookies, grab your car keys and get out of there. A long drive, jog or walk can help clear your mind. Getting space from your addiction can not only help to reset your mental state but give you time to think about the decision you were about to make. Walking and jogging are also excellent alternatives for their physical benefits, able to stimulate those same pleasure centers of the brain without the aid of sugar.
Music also has similar effects on the brain and its pleasure centers. The next time cravings creep up on you, grab the nearest volume knob and turn it up. Your favorite music will not only help save you from yourself but when combined with the above act of jogging or walking, can motivate you past mile marker after mile marker. We don’t have to be victims of ourselves any longer. Armed with these quick tips, you’ll be ready when those nasty habits rear their delicious faces.
Comfort food, the very idea of it conjures up images, smells, and tastes. However, how many of those foods would you consider healthy? What we eat has a direct effect on our brain chemistry, and after long periods of denying the unhealthy options, a return to unhealthy habits can feel euphoric. The need to use ice cream and sugar as a stress management tool is powerful, many food companies unabashedly use this to their advantage. If you can find one commercial with someone enjoying ice cream on a commercial without smiling, you’ve truly struck gold.
Stress makes no indication of ever going away, so it’s our job to cope with it. Emotional eating is often a vicious cycle, wherein we eat to be happy, get upset when we gain weight, and repeat the cycle. So instead of reaching for a sleeve of cookies, grab your car keys and get out of there. A long drive, jog or walk can help clear your mind. Getting space from your addiction can not only help to reset your mental state but give you time to think about the decision you were about to make. Walking and jogging are also excellent alternatives for their physical benefits, able to stimulate those same pleasure centers of the brain without the aid of sugar.
Music also has similar effects on the brain and its pleasure centers. The next time cravings creep up on you, grab the nearest volume knob and turn it up. Your favorite music will not only help save you from yourself but when combined with the above act of jogging or walking, can motivate you past mile marker after mile marker. We don’t have to be victims of ourselves any longer. Armed with these quick tips, you’ll be ready when those nasty habits rear their delicious faces.
