Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Miso Soup Project

If college offered a Major in competitive eating, I would have a 4.0. In an effort to slow down my super-sonic speed eating habit I have decided to test out The Miso Soup Project. My mom actually suggested this one to me. Since Miso soup is low cal and low carb it’s a great way to fill up on mostly water and stave off a man-sized hunger so you can eat like a classy lady should. So far it has been very effective. I have a bowl of soup, wait 20 minutes then have my meal. It gives my slow processing brain time to realize I’m full so I don’t overeat (a chronic problem of mine, check out my post Confessions of a Binge Eater). I have tried soooo many things to solve this issue, I even talked to a Doc about it! He said it is a psychological thing and I need to re-train my brain to slow down and banish my lifelong membership to the CPC (clean plate club). I blame it on those 20 minute speed lunches we had in lower school, I hardly had time to get my food (much less eat it) before we had to go! My rents weren’t too bad about finishing everything on my plate but I just feel bad when I waste food, I’m trying the ingenious trick of taking less food to being with....

Friday, September 4, 2009

Be Grocery Store Savvy

What you do at the dinner table actually has more influence on your waist line than what you do in the gym. Of course a combination of diet and exercise is idea but let’s be honest, with the busy college lifestyle sometimes that’s just not possible. So if you have to sacrifice one, skip the gym and eat a healthy meal with appropriate serving sizes. But as I said in earlier posts “eating healthy” is hard to do with all of the gimmicks and false advertising we see on the shelves. Here are a few tricks to avoid those traps the food industry looooves to catch us in:

1. Beware of deceiving labels- When a product has “Low Fat”, “Fat Free”, “33% less fat” splashed all over the box you tend to think it’s diet friendly. That leads us to think we can have more of them. What these products save in grams of fat may make up for ten-fold in serving size and the amounts of sugar and carbs. Also beware of the serving size. Those tasty little “100 calorie” snacks or drinks may be 100 calories for half of the bottle. When you drink the whole thing you’re looking at 200 empty liquid calories you unknowingly consumed.

2. Eat This, Not That Supermarket Survival Guide- I actually carry this book in my purse when I shop. You would be surprised how different brands of the same kinds of food are significantly different when it comes to the nutritional facts. Pick this book up at any bookstore, it will be one of the best purchases you make!

3. Go organic and/or local- They may be more expensive but they contain no pesticides or fertilizers and some studies show organic has a higher concentration of nutrients. Buying local means it didn’t get handled several times picking up bacteria on its way into your refrigerator. Buying organic also promotes biodiversity and minimizing pollution so you’re helping yourself and the environment at the same time!

4. Shop the perimeter- The less packaging and processing a food item goes through, in general means it’s the healthiest. Fruits, veggies, dairy, and meats are all located on the edges of a supermarket. You should stay away from the items in boxes, bags, or cans which are mostly composed of by-products, eliminating the nutritional value.

5. Save the earth one plastic bag at a time- One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone gets one item and gets a plastic bag to carry it to the car!! Buy the “green” bags for $.99 at any grocery store and keep them in your car. They are a lot stronger so you can fit more stuff in them and you have done your part for the environment for the day!