Plate and Pyramid Perplexity

“Now, first lady Michelle Obama is helping roll out another tool to fight America’s obesity epidemic: ChooseMyPlate.gov, the new food icon and website that Obama administration officials say is a lot easier to understand and follow than the old food pyramid from which we’ve learned for nearly two decades. “As long as they’re eating proper portions, as long as half of their meal is fruits and vegetables alongside their lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, then we’re good. It’s as simple as that,” the first lady said at the MyPlate.gov unveiling at the US Department of Agriculture, which developed the MyPlate icon.” -John Garcia ABC News

Pretty sure Ms. Obama is a LAWYER. Pretty sure this is one of the most colorful wastes of time since… well, the “MyPyramid” icon. And, who says we “learned” anything from the Pyramid the last 2 decades? Have you walked into a school lately? Perhaps a mall? How bout a beach or a HOSPITAL? Wow.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I do commend Ms. Obama for her healthy initiatives and think she has the greatest of intentions, but I also feel she’s working with folks at the USDA that should know better!

We’re paying for pretty new posters and “icons,” while our kids are nutritionally stupid, and their parents aren’t much better off. We can mandate homosexual history education and women’s rights to reproduction, but we won’t teach our kids how to EAT!? Something we HAVE to do! Daily. Everyone. Dietitians, health professionals and MOMS, have been trying to get PROPER nutrition education in schools and healthier school lunches for YEARS, but I’m so glad we were able to push through this [redundant] “campaign”, so our kids, parents and cafeteria workers can STILL BE CONFUSED!

To MyPlate’s defense - in the full article - Ms. Obama mentions a parent not having time to measure out proper portions of foods “i.e. 3 oz meat etc.” True. (BTW in my practice I’ve never recommended this, nor have I come across any parent that does it). She states the “plate” as something easier to visualize, and that the Pyramid is confusing. Agreed.

However. As long as America classifies French fries as veggies, and mac and cheese as grains, we are in serious trouble.

The problem…

All current and previous government sponsored attempts to classify food into pretty pictures and “icons” STILL does not tell us how to feed our families. For instance…

Do you see the problem? All foods are “properly categorized” using both MyPlate AND MyPyramid methods – I even threw in buzz words I get in my office all the time, somehow indicating the meal is now “healthy” – however, this is a high calorie, high sugar, high starch, high sodium and high saturated-fat meal – hardly balanced -- with ALL foods falling into the “carbohydrates” macronutrient category and a Diabetic nightmare. Not to mention the lack of COLOR and variety – there are NO antioxidants, no phytonutrients and no Omega 3 fatty-acids. THIS, ladies and gentlemen is where we’ve messed up in the school system – this, and providing a CHOICE for KIDS while forcing Cafeteria directors to stay within a ridiculous budget.

Classifying food as fruit, grain, vegetable… etc. doesn’t help at all. Who came up with that anyway?! It makes no sense. Our bodies treat food differently based on what MACRONUTRIENT category they belong to: Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat. Hence the mass confusion, a concept that I didn’t learn until I was in COLLEGE! Now, there are more nutritious carbs, proteins and fats than others, but a proper balance of THAT is what we should be striving for.

Instead, check this out…

It’s not perfect, there are parameters that should be explained, aaand that’s why I’m here.  Some foods will always fall into multiple categories. But if this was ALL I was using to base my family’s nutrition off of – we’d be in MUCH better shape. BTW Diabetics, tape this to your fridge and follow it like a cult! It will drastically help in blood sugar control.

That’s my two-cents anyway, because you asked right? ;)

A Dietitian's Struggle

So, in an effort to be the most Transparent Dietitian I can be, that is the name of my blog, is it not? And in light of my last blog entry, I found it important to let you in on one of my husband’s and my biggest nutrition struggles. Yes, being married to a transparent Dietitian means you too must be transparent :). Ha ha, no, he agreed for me to share.

We are both, hmmm, vertically challenged (requiring less calories daily), love rich, decadent sweets and are both quite “emotional,” of course I prefer the terms “passionate about life” ;). With great emotion, comes great self-soothing. Aaaand what does a Baptist soothe with best? Food! Lol. Our struggle is simply maintaining our calories in a healthy range daily. DAILY, as in ONGOING. Ongoing, as in FOREVER.

Keeping our bodies at a calorie balance is tough. Some never achieve it. Some have such high metabolisms they’ve never had to “work on it,” but at some point in life, we will all choose to focus on or ignore our caloric needs. As I’ve said before, its a crucial, non-negotiable, step one, and for some, where they will stop, as we strive to achieve a physically healthier life, or refuse to acknowledge its importance.

My husband plays with an extra 10 lbs he’d rather not have. He finds stressful, long days, and enticing foods, make it difficult not to exceed his budgeted 1500 calories at times. He overshoots too many days – weeks – months in a row and steadily gains weight. For me, it’s the opposite, coupled with over-compensation. I tend to teeter on maintenance and weight loss calorie recommendations (whether I ‘need’ to lose weight or not) and push the limits with my exercise, because I’m a perfectionist. It’s never good enough, and never will be. Follow that up with emotional, over-eating largely out of over-restriction and “rinse, wash, repeat,” you’ve got a very unhealthy relationship with food. Neither mentality is a healthy one. Both involve a sinful reliance on self, and most certainly, gluttony and recklessness at some point.

As I’m writing, I’m still not sure many of you are getting this concept. We. Will. Always. Have. To. Watch. Our. Calories. ALWAYS. Even Billionaire’s have to budget. There is no time in our lives, NO TIME, when we will be able to simply consume calories without needing to turn around and expend them. It’s not how our bodies were designed.

Our view of “weight loss” and health has been so skewed by gimmicks, marketing, quick “fixes” and fads, that we somehow think there is a beginning, and an end to health. There is never, NEVER a time when we simply have “achieved” health and can coast with Bon Bons and Krispy Kreme’s for the rest of our lives. We have to change this way of thinking.

Your “number” may change based on your current season of life. I don’t need as many calories now, even pregnant, than I needed when I was 9 years old. But there is always a number, always a calorie requirement, that if we don’t meet, consistently, we’ll fail to maintain an appropriate weight. All other health efforts are null and void if we don’t maintain a healthy weight.

Notice I keep saying “healthy weight.” Healthy weight = a weight at which you are comfortable. When you’re joints and knees don’t ache simply from excess weight. It’s when your lab work improves and your risk for preventable diseases decreases. When you’re sleeping better at night. When you can move around without becoming winded. When you simply feel good, clear minded, and able to best function in life.

We are all a work in progress. If you take nothing away from this blog entry, take this: health is a constant discipline. There is no beginning, no end. Some days we hit the mark, some days we miss it completely. The goal, is to have more days that we healthily hit the mark and pick ourselves up when we don’t, better yet, ask a more powerful God to pick us up, striving to make those times fewer and shorter. Get back to work.

The secret to weight loss, and a healthier life...

CALORIES!!!!

See ya!

Lol. Okay, enter the inevitable eye rolls and yells at the computer – please refrain from throwing objects. Buuuut, it really is math. MATH. Now, if you’re still reading, you’re offering me excuses as to why it’s not the calories for you. You’re mumbling, “I’ve tried that, *expletive*!” OR, “Just wait till you turn 30!” Yes, yes, I’ve heard I should expect wonderful things when I hit the big 3-0; I’m waiting with baited breath. However, it is simply black and white, non-opinionated, proven fact, that you must burn more or as many calories as you take in, to lose or maintain your weight. If you eat more calories than you need, you will gain weight. End. Of. Story. It is the FIRST step to any weight loss, or healthy initiative – the FIRST. And it is essential.

Now, there are VERY FEW exceptions. Yes, I know, you all fall under the “exceptions”category. Well, guess what, most of the exceptions, have solutions – HA!

1. Have your Thyroid checked – it’s a simple blood test. If your MD (not an Herbalist!) finds there are problems, insist on a medication regimen with close following. A strict medication regimen should result in a normalized metabolism.

2. So, your Thyroid’s fine -- Visit a facility that offers an instrument for measuring REE (Resting Energy Expenditure) its called Indirect Calorimetry and usually involves a breathing apparatus. Not a contraption you stand on or a calculation at your local gym. This will give you a more accurate representation of the calories your body is burning at rest – AKA THE GOAL. For most – its between 1100 and 1500. I’ve seen ONE patient with a metabolism close to 900 – and she had a diagnosed metabolic disorder from birth! She was also average weight – how bout’ them apples.

3. Not in denial? Simply jump in. Try 1200, 1500 or 1800 calories. Not real scientific I know, but even if I do the math specifically for you, I will place you in the closest of these categories. Start low and move up as needed.

(Now, I won’t begin to ignore medications and disease states that may cause water retention – edema – steroids and the like, that cause weight gain or excessive hunger. Please discuss changing these medications with your MD if weight gain is an issue for you. However, limiting your calories can still help dramatically in these cases).

The math. 3500 calories is equal to 1 lb. The trick is finding a way to cut these calories from your days, without putting yourself into starvation. This is harder for shorter ladies, aiming for 1100-1300 calories a day for WL, where this may only be a deficit of 200-300 calories from your normal 1300-1600 calorie day, resulting in 1 lb per 2 weeks. Tall men might be able to handle a deficit of 1000 calories a day without too much restriction - this is about 2 lbs loss per week. Obnoxious? Yes. Healthy? Afraid so. Consuming fewer calories than your REE or BMR will result in starvation -- limited early weight loss with plateau or gain thereafter, and inevitably… Cranky. Pants. Wow. Do us all a favor and eat.

Your challenge. Find a non-cumbersome way to STRICTLY track your calories - STRICTLY! Food journals are rarely maintained long-term. If its not easy, you won’t do it. I get that. Here’s what we do. Jordan, my favorite, and hottest client, aims for 1500 calories a day, most days of the week. He writes NOTHING down. Why? Because he lives by the “cash system” for calories. He has 300 calories to spend for breakfast, 600 for lunch and 600 for dinner. This just works well with his schedule. Occasionally he borrows from lunch for his coffee concoction, and from dinner, for his frozen custard concoction – but still sticks to his calorie “cash.” No credit here, well, because credit = love handles.

We use these phone apps to stay within our “calorie cash allotment,” they are my favorite! Calorie King and Eat This Not That.

I don’t care WHAT you order or bring for lunch, remember, this is step ONE, without mastering this step you DO NOT go on, and without losing excess weight, you will be defeating the purpose of ALL healthy dietary modifications. I want your calories, snacks, nut-bowl-trips, fancy coffees, desk-drawer chocolates and “juice with meds,” to fit within your calorie allotment. We can talk about the quality of your calories later. Get to work.