Category: Nutrition

One thought on “6 Things to Remember After a Day of Poor Eating”

  1. I have a few questions that I have been struggling with the answers for a while. For almost two years now, I have been intermittent fasting to lose weight. On a calorie deficit of 1200. I lost 45 pounds as of May 2022… then my life changed because I got married and moved further from town than I already was. I used to walk every day after work but that got to be a bit more difficult.. so I started going to the gym every morning and I did really well with that. The my husband bought me a peloton because I had been wanting one so I didn’t have to go to the gym in the mornings before work. So I started doing that. I am struggling though lately because from May-Now I am showing 7-10 pounds more than I was. So it is very discouraging for me. I can’t tell how much of it is muscle or If I am truly gaining the weight. Things do feel tighter on me so I am just having a hard time. I pray daily over it and I know that I have to be the one to do what needs to be done as well. I just need some guidance on.. 1: if I should continue fasting. or start eating breakfast again? 2: How to restart my metabolism? 3: is this gain possibly muscle due to a new workout? 4: is it better to work out in the morning or afternoon?
    I also want to add that I do some strength training too. and I try to get at least 7 hours of sleep but I have to be at work at 7 so I have to get up at 4:30 AM to work out in the mornings so it makes it hard sometimes.

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6 Things to Remember After a Day of Poor Eating

Posted on by Sarah
I accuse…Miss Orange…in the pantry…with the Cheetos!

Sometimes I worry that this blog is a little too much like Woman’s World magazine–you know, the one where the front cover pairs features on quick and easy weight loss with recipes for cookie dough fudge pie. (I’m not the only one who sees something wrong with this, right?) As a student of nutrition, I realize it may seem odd that on this blog I post recipes for things like chunky cheesecake brownies, lemon cookies, and carrot cake. Here’s the thing: I love food, and that means I love delicious food. I’ve seen the blogs that try to pretend everything should be made with kale and quinoa, and they are NO FUN. Maybe this sounds nuts, but I actually believe, in terms of food and health, that you can “have it all.” To a point. I believe you can eat sweets, fat, red meat, you name it–in moderation. I wouldn’t last a day on any diet that made me give up an entire food category (except maybe beets and/or mushrooms. In fact, I think I’m already on that diet.). So while I’m not crazy about Woman’s World magazine’s blatant juxtaposition of cupcakes and trendy weight loss plans, I think even the strictest calorie counter can (and should?) eat a cupcake every so often.

That being said…

What happens when you too many cupcakes…or hot dogs…or Cheetos? We all definitely have those days, and for me, it’s the easiest thing in the world to get discouraged when I come to the end of a day and realize I’ve totally overdone it and there’s no going back. My self-talk then takes over in the form of a 1980’s TV PSA:

It’s 10 P.M.; do you know where your food is?

Oh yeah, it’s rotting in your belly, you cavernous glutton!

This has happened to me enough times that I’ve given it a(n inordinate amount) of thought. So if you find yourself at the end of the day having royally botched it in the food department, here are 6 things to remember to keep you from getting too discouraged:

1. You can’t “get fat” in one day. Odds are you did not consume enough calories in a single day to put even one full pound of permanent weight onto your frame. With that in mind…

2. Look at the week, not the day. If you’ve ever had a picky toddler, you’ve probably heard this from your pediatrician. And really, are we adults that different? Our health is not made or broken by a single day of eating indiscretion. It’s the larger patterns that really matter.

3. Make a plan to start over tomorrow. We plan ahead for the things that are important–and healthy eating is definitely important. Countless studies have shown the power of writing down what you eat (or will eat). It’s an empowering step that puts you in control. You probably know enough about tomorrow to know what’s in your fridge/pantry if you’re eating at home, or where you’ll be going if you’re eating out. Write down healthy food commitments and stick to them throughout the next day.

4. Your worth does not depend upon your weight. Even if you do gain a pound or two in one day–and even if you are not at a weight you are happy with–your worth is independent of your physical state. You are a human being created by God with purpose on this earth. Don’t let negative thoughts distract you from this truth.

5. Ever heard of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis? It’s the principal that our bodies expend energy (i.e. burn calories) in everything we do, even if it’s not exercise. It’s not an excuse to call reaching for the remote your exercise for the day, but it is something to remember when you feel your energy-in-to-energy-out balance is off.

6. DON’T GIVE UP. Whether you’re on a weight loss journey or a maintenance plateau, the absolute worst thing you can do when it comes to eating right is to throw in the towel. Tomorrow is another day, and it’s never too late to become a healthier version of yourself.

5 Reasons I Don’t Cook Separately for my Kids

Posted on by Sarah
At the Knotty Pine Cafe in Payson, AZ

It’s one of those great debates among parents–along with crib or co-sleeping, when to potty train, and how to discipline–do you or do you not cook separate meals for your kids? I’m sure the number of parents who do this for every meal is low (I mean, how would you even have time?), but there is definitely a contingent of folks for whom it’s a fairly regular occurrence.

Not us.

I’d like to think I’m not a monster of a mother for saying so. Believe me, my kids eat plenty of “kid-friendly” foods like hot dogs, fries, and the ever-popular mac & cheese. They’re not missing out on the occasional indulgence in the American Childhood Dream of greasy, fiber-less grub. (After all, we do shop at Costco and sometimes surrender to the siren song of $1.50 jumbo all-beef dogs–come on, I’m only human!) But by and large, I’m a big believer in what’s good for the goose is good for the gander when it comes to food–that is, what’s good for mom and dad is good for the kiddos, too.

So, not that anyone asked, but here’s my blow-by-blow defense of why I don’t cook separately for my kids. (Side note: I know there are kids for whom this is simply not possible, due to special needs, allergies, or medical conditions. I’m sure this doesn’t apply to those situations.)

1. I want them to develop an broad palate.

For their own good! There is so much incredible food on this planet. I believe they’ll be missing out if their upbringing trains them to enjoy only a handful of “safe” foods. Plus, I don’t want them to end up being chased by dogs because they stuffed mutton in their pockets instead of eating it (Seinfeld, anyone?)

2. Compromise is essential in a family.

The truth is, the world is not our oyster–it’s not mine, and it’s not my kids’. Being part of a family means we all have to compromise, sacrifice, do things we just don’t love doing, because we love others. In our house, that’s the way the tofu crumbles…literally. Making the (albeit small) sacrifice of sometimes eating food they’re not crazy about is one way for my kids to learn this important lesson, which hopefully will serve them well when they have families of their own one day.

3. I simply don’t have time (and don’t want to spend the extra money!)

Does anybody? It’s nutty enough around here trying to get one dinner on the table in the child-diverting 22 minutes of a Jake and the Neverland Pirates episode!

4. I (generally) cook healthy food. I want my kids to eat healthy food.

“Kid” foods, as mentioned before, tend to be a processed grease-fest. If I’m going to the trouble of cooking healthy food for myself and my husband, I certainly want my kids to benefit by eating it, too.

5. There’s power in sharing a meal (one meal).

I believe this. As a family, we hang together, and this includes the food we eat. It undermines the experience when everyone is eating something different. Our culture individualizes everything, but isn’t there is richness in the communal act of a family around the table partaking of the same food together? I think so.

So on this December 31st, happy new year and here’s to many happy, shared meals in 2014!

7 Surprising Facts about Carbs

Posted on by Sarah

Carbohydrates! Brain-fueling building block or fat-building boogeyman? Friend of athletes or enemy of Paleo-dieters? To eat or not to eat, and if to eat, how much? There are so many questions swirling around the concept of carbohydrates. With so many popular diets focusing on elimination of carbs, it’s easy to view them as an undesirable, if not dangerous, presence in your food.

While I can’t answer all the above questions, as a dietetics student, I have been learning my fair share about this one of the three “macronutrients” required for human life (the other two are protein and fats). I won’t say you should go out and carb-load yourself into oblivion, but, you know, they’re kind of essential to you continuing to live, so…


See? Even the Aliens guy says so.

Regardless of how you incorporate carbohydrates into your diet, they are a fascinating supporter of the body’s many functions. So for your information, here are just a few of the surprising things I’ve learned recently about them (and why they are so critical):

1. The brain is the only carbohydrate-dependent organ in the body. The brain exclusively uses glucose, a basic simple sugar carbohydrate, to function. And since your brain cells need twice the energy of any other cells in your body, give the man some dang glucose!

2. Some animal products contain carbs. Thought you couldn’t consume any carbs from animal sources? Surprise! The lactose in milk and other dairy products is a disaccharide, which means it’s a sugar, which means it’s a carb.

3. The name “carbohydrate” tells you what it contains. The chemical structure of carbohydrates is a carbon backbone with hydrogen and oxygen molecules attached. “Carbo” means carbon and “hydrate” means water–H20 (hydrogen and oxygen).

4. Carbohydrates are the only fuel source metabolized fast enough to support hard exercise. For an active person, a low-carb diet would definitely not be a wise choice. With a limited supply of carbohydrates in the body, engaging in hard exercise will result in low energy, muscle fatigue, and even mental fog.

5. Fiber is actually a carbohydrate–technically. While the body cannot digest fiber (and that’s why it passes through), it is technically a complex carbohydrate, since it’s typically made up of long chains of sugars. Unlike other carbs, it doesn’t provide energy to the body, but it still counts as one! Who knew?

6. The dramatic weight loss at the outset of a low-carb diet is usually water weight. Your body stores carbs in glycogen in your muscles and liver. When your diet does not provide adequate carbohydrates, your body must call upon its reserves, meaning it releases the glycogen, which is bound up with a whole lotta water. As your body burns through the glycogen, the water is also released, meaning the initial “success” of a low-carb diet may not be what it seems.

7. Final word: carbohydrates are the most important energy source for the body. Your body wants to use carbs. It stores them in reserves to make you use them, even if you stop feeding them to yourself. They are utterly essential to life and health, and they contain no more calories than any other macronutrient. In short, healthy sources of carbohydrate are your friend and in my humble dietetic student’s opinion, should be embraced, not avoided.

8 Things to Freeze Instead of Toss

Posted on by Sarah
“…and I’m covered in children’s footprints. Yes, footprints.”

Does every family have weird sayings that no one really remembers the origin of?

When I was a kid, whenever it was time to get our shoes on at my grandma’s house, she would croon in this goofy faux-Southern voice like Mammy from Gone With the Wind, “Get yer choos on, Lucy, doncha know you’re in the city?” For years I just thought this was one of Grandma’s quirky sayings–only recently did my husband Google this phrase and discover this was a popular song in the ’50s. I kinda wish I hadn’t found that out, actually. I would have liked to have gone on believing my grandma just had an unexplained penchant for Southern accents in the presence of children’s shoes.

My husband‘s family, though, has more obscure catchphrases than you can shake a stick at. Their code word for calling someone a moron is “rowboatman.” Why? Are they rowing the boat backwards? With fish instead of oars? Maybe someone knows, but it’s a mystery to me. And ever since we’ve been married, when someone is about to throw out perfectly good food, Anthony (my husband) has been known to say, “Uncle Kenny hates waste!” Granted, he does have an Uncle Kenny, but why does Uncle Kenny hate waste, and how did the specter of his disapproval get passed down into family lore??

Now, whenever I go to throw out food that’s going bad or I know I won’t use up, I hear in my head, “UNCLE KENNY HATES WASTE!!!”  Uncle Kenny has become the Elf on the Shelf of my food usage. (And I’m already pretty conscientious about food waste–have I mentioned the spasms of guilt over Cheerios?) That being said, allow me introduce you to my friend the freezer–that bastion of refuge for foods on the wayward path. Many an extra food in our house has been saved from the trash by finding asylum behind its doors. So many times when there’s not that much of something left, throwing it out seems like the logical choice, but it doesn’t have to be! Here’s a list of foods you can freeze to preserve them instead of toss them, even if only in small amounts:

1. Coffee:

I always end up with a little extra coffee at the bottom of the pot. At some point this summer I realized that I could save it in ice cube trays to have on hand for iced coffee. It’s like someone gave me free Starbucks coupons!

2. Fruit: 

Another summer-specific freezable. These early weeks of August I have seen berries and peaches on sale like they’re going out of business. How nice would it be in November when strawberries are an outrageous $4/pound to pull some out of your freezer? If you stock up now, you can! Freezing berries is super simple: just wash, separate, and place on waxed paper on a baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours. (I’ve also done this with pineapple and mango, by the way.) Peaches are a bit more challenging, as you’ll want to boil briefly to slip the skins off before freezing. Still, totally worth it! Fruit for months to come!

3. Fresh herbs: I wish we had more fresh herbs in our garden, because it always seems wasteful to purchase the arbitrary amount of ounces grocery stores package theirs in. (What on earth are people making that uses up an entire 6-ounce package of fresh thyme?) Thankfully, certain herbs are quite conducive to freezing, such as thyme and rosemary. Just pop them in a Ziploc, push out the excess air, and you’re good to go. Other herbs more prone to wilting–basil, oregano, cilantro, etc.–can be frozen in water or oil in ice cube trays, then popped into soups, stews, marinades or other dishes that don’t require the herbs to be crisp. It’s a garden in your freezer.

4. Chicken broth: If you find you have extra canned chicken broth after completing a recipe, consider freezing it. Place in a lidded plastic container and freeze for future use.

5. Lemon juice: We live in Arizona, where every school child learns about Citrus as one of the state’s “5 C’s.” (I’ll love you forever if you can tell me the other four.) There are months in the spring when even the homeless people won’t eat any more lemons because they are too dang sick of them. This past spring, when not one but TWO of our neighbors gave us heaping bags of lemons, I froze the juice in (yet again) ice cube trays and it lasted for months.

6. Lemon/orange/lime zest:

See? It makes the lemons happy when you freeze their skin. *Actual lemon, not an actor.*

Lemons, stay there. I’m not done with you yet. If people are dropping bags of lemons on your doorstep like little citrus babies for you to adopt, don’t just freeze their juice–freeze their zest, too. Same Ziploc bag procedure as fresh herbs.

7. Onions: white/yellow/green: If I had a shrink ray, I would use it on onions. I always buy the smallest yellow ones in the grocery store bin, and I still seldom use a whole one at once (or an entire bunch of green onions). Fortunately, similar to fresh herbs, if you don’t need onions to be particularly crisp, they do great in the freezer. Chop finely and Ziploc as above.

8. Bread/tortillas/burger buns: If you’re a freezer veteran, you probably know this one, but it bears repeating that when you can’t use up an entire loaf, or if you see a fantastic bread sale, stash what you can’t immediately use in the freezer. Just make sure it’s pre-sliced so you can thaw individual slices as desired.So go nuts! Freeze away! Just don’t forget about the things you’ve frozen for too long…like that apple juice concentrate I’ve literally been meaning to throw out for two years. Guess I’d better go do that now that there’s photographic evidence.

Yep, that bad boy on the bottom left.

10 Things You Didn’t Know about Food Labels

Posted on by Sarah

I’m old enough to remember the days before the Nutrition Facts labels. It was 1990 when George H. W. Bush signed the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act into law. I may have only been eight years old at the time, but I remember those little black and white rectangles suddenly showing up on food packages (about the time Beauty and the Beast came out, according a child’s powers of association). Now, though, it’s hard to fathom a time when consumers didn’t have access to information about the nutritional contents of their purchased foods (and, come to think of it, a time before Be Our Guest couldn’t get stuck in my head for days on end…). I certainly rely on label reading to be sure I purchase the healthiest, safest, least processed foods as reasonably possible for my family. Obviously, the best diet would be heavy in foods that don’t come with a Nutrition Facts label–fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs straight from a local chicken, etc.–but even the most devoted whole-foods-dieter has to break down and buy some M & Ms sometimes, right?

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…(these bread crumbs were the worst thing I found in my pantry).

As I’ve pursued my interest in food and nutrition through lots of reading and taking some dietetics courses, I’ve gained some inside info on the whole Nutrition Facts game. Here are several things I didn’t know until recently. Stick with me as I let you in on the secrets…

10 Things You Didn’t Know about Food Labels

1. 2% or less: Seen this one before? I used to (blissfully ignorantly) assume that everything on the giant list following this phrase comprised 2% or less of the total contents of the product. Nope. “2% or less of the following” means 2% of each of the ingredients listed. Therefore, if 15 ingredients come after this phrase, up to 30% of the product could be contained in this list. Yikes. Also, for these lists there is an exception to the rule that ingredients be listed in descending order by weight. So once you see that 2%, it’s pretty much a free-for-all.

2. “Natural flavors”: You’d think that “natural” flavor was preferable to “artificial” flavor, right? After all, I’d rather eat a natural chicken than some artificial robot chicken, wouldn’t you? Well, come to find out, “natural” flavors are not as straightforward as all that. Under the Code of Federal Regulations, “natural” can mean anything derived from a natural source, such as plant or animal products (as in, not derived from chemicals). This provides a pretty wide range–as this article puts it, “from bugs to beaver butts.” Literally. Castoreum is extracted from beavers’ anal glands, and certain food dyes are insect-derived. But it’s natural!

3. Trans fat loophole: If a food contains .5 grams or less of trans fat per serving, the Nutrition Label can round it down to zero. That means if a product with, let’s say, .45 grams of trans fat has five servings, eating the entire container means you have consumed 2.25 grams of trans fat. Research has repeatedly shown that even a modest intake of trans fats significantly raises the risk of cardiovascular disease. The thing to remember is that trans fats occur when fats are hydrogenated, so if the ingredient list includes anything “hydrogenated,” it contains trans fats.

4. Don’t be afraid of everything with a long and/or unfamiliar name. Yay, something positive! Mixed tocopherols, for example, which you often see in cereal ingredient lists, are simply Vitamin E. Then again, L-cysteine, used in breads and other baked goods, is a frequently made from duck feathers or human hair….and the sodium benzoate in your soda is used as rocket fuel. So just do your research.

5. Soluble and insoluble fiber: Some Nutrition Facts labels offer the extra details of a food’s fiber–how many grams of soluble or insoluble it contains. What’s the difference between the two? Soluble fiber is, as it sounds, dissolvable in water. This means it can bind fat to help lower cholesterol, as well as reduce high blood glucose. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, does not dissolve in water–so it’s certainly not gonna dissolve in your intestines. This is a good thing, though, as this is the fiber that absorbs fluid as it makes its way through your digestive tract. Translation: this is the one you need more of if you suffer from The Big Block-up.

6. Sneaky sugar: Sugar is sugar is sugar. You may pat yourself on the back as you consider how those Kashi granola bars use brown rice syrup instead of high fructose corn syrup, but keep in mind that’s still sugar. The sugar wolf has many sheep’s disguises. Alternate names for sugar include: maltodextrin, brown rice syrup, glucose, sucrose, dextrose, lactose, maltose, evaporated cane juice, crystalline fructose, sorghum, and barley malt syrup.

7. Courtesy calculations: The Nutrition Facts label has a couple of what I call “courtesy calculations,” meaning that you can actually calculate these figures on your own. Calories from fat, for instance, mean (of course) how many calories per serving are provided by fat in the food. If you happen to know that 1 gram of fat, regardless of the type, contains 9 calories per gram, you will always be able to determine this yourself. Go check your pantry. Every “calories from fat” figure is approximately 9 times the grams of fat listed.

The second courtesy calculation falls under the carbohydrate figure. You may be aware that sugars are carbohydrates and contribute to the final carb tally on the Nutrition Facts label. (As in, don’t be fooled into thinking you’re getting 15 grams of whole grain carbs when a cereal’s label says “15g carbs” if that cereal also contains 12 grams of sugar.) If you subtract the grams of sugar from the total grams of carbohydrate, what remains is your carbs from starches (like hopefully whole grain).

8. Why alcohol doesn’t have Nutrition Facts: The reason alcohol doesn’t have to have Nutrition Facts labels is that is it under the jurisdiction of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, not the FDA. Keep in mind, though, that the average 5 oz glass of wine has 120 calories and the average beer has 150 calories.

9. Why some labels include things like magnesium and phosphorus and others don’t: It always seems kinda random to me when I see a food label touting its percentage of vitamin K, zinc, or pantothenic acid (What the heck is pantothenic acid?). Well, this is because labeling of any micronutrients beyond Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, and iron is totally voluntary. Products that flaunt their riboflavin all up in your face are just showing off…in a good way.

10. Nutrition Facts font: Okay, last one is a bit of trivia just for fun. The FDA doesn’t require a particular font/typeface to be used, so theoretically, companies could get creative and someday you might see a label in Comic Sans or everyone’s favorite adorable girly font, “Curlz.” Like this:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1/2 cup
Servings per container 2
Eat me! I’m ADORABLE!!!