Weight Report Cards

Schools in Massachusetts have adapted policies to report on students' BMI numbers in grades 1, 4, 7, and 10. The main goal of this policy is to alert parents when their child is overweight or obese so that parents may take action and correct the situation.

In a nation where childhood obeseity rates are climbing and Type 2 Diabetes is being diagnosed at younger and younger ages, perhaps this policy is a good way to combat unhealthy trends we're seeing in children. It's bringing awareness and forcing parents to deal with poor nutrition choices.

But are parents really unaware that their children are overweight or are unaware of the dangers of a poor non nutritious diet with lack of exercise? Is it necessary for schools to report on this? It's certainly a debate that can be had of government intervention & Nanny State, but overall, is it really providing feedback that parents aren't already aware of?

Can this be successful and what are the dangers of "weight report cards"?

It seems like these BMI reports are opening flood gates. More than likely parents can tell if their children are obese, and the only thing that these reports are going to do is damage a child's relationship with food when he or she receives an "F" on their weight. Think of how a 7th grade girl is going to accept a poor grade on her body. If you're a thirteen year old girl, and you're told by your school nurse that you're overweight, how well can you process that? Even a woman at 30 will have problems with a doctor telling her she is overweight.

These BMI reports are nothing more than stating the obvious about children's weight. Telling a kid he or she is fat, is not going to change anything. If schools in Massachusetts want children to be healthier they need to change what food is being offered in the schools and increase the physical activity the children have. Labeling and sending home report cards on a child's weight will only insult a parent and cause insecurity in the students.

Anyone who watches the news or picks up a paper knows that children are at greater risk for obesity and Type 2 Diabetes now a days. Pointing fingers at those who are at risk is not going to solve anything, all it will do is make a child feel bad about his or her weight and body image. The best thing the schools can do is find a way to increase activity on daily basis for students and take away foods like chicken patties, french fries, and candy.

This is a poor stab to improving the welfare of these students. If the schools really cared, they'd remove the vending machines & soda from their schools. But since companies like Coca Cola and Pepsi pay schools to host their products, the schools will continue to serve things like Doritos and Reese's Cups. Hopefully I'm proven wrong and there is no damage but only positive outcome from these BMI reports. We shall see.

Athletes & Carbo-loading

“I gotta carb up for the run tomorrow” Does this sound familiar? Something you or perhaps a friend has said the night before a race or long work out? Carbo-loading is something done by a lot of athletes in days or night before a marathon or century. A lot of athletes will carbo-load the night or day before a long training run as well.


What is Carbo-Loading?

It’s a term used to describe an increased intake of complex carbohydrates one or two days before an endurance event. By storing carbohydrates in your body, you’re storing glucose/glycogen, which is what your body uses for energy. The goal is to store energy in your body so that you extra fuel to get you through your endurance event.


Why does this work?

Our bodies rely on glycogen for energy. Glycogen comes from sugars and starches within our diet. When you're running/cycling/swimming/climbing, etc for a long distance your body burns up it’s initial glycogen and it looks to stored glycogen for more energy. Your body will pull energy from the stored glycogen. Your body can pull energy from stored fats, but it’s not as as easy to access, and your body is more efficient when it uses energy from glycogen.


How to Do It?

It’s pretty simple! The day before your event (or two days before if your stomach prefers) eat your normal caloric intake of food. Replace fruits, fats, dairy, vegetables, and proteins with complex carbohydrates. You don’t need to solely eat starches, you can add in the other food groups so that it’s enjoyable. A good example of this would be to swap a spinach salad for a
wheat pasta salad for lunch.


Common Misconceptions


1. Over Eating - You don’t need to binge on pasta. Eat the normal amount of calories you would eat, just increase the complex carbohydrates and swap them for other food groups.

2. Eating Table Sugar - Your body won’t be able to use the sugars from a piece of cake the night before a marathon. The only time your body can use simple sugars for energy is when you consume them during the race/training run. Dean Karno famously describes doing this during some of his all-night-long-ultra runs.

3. Using Protein for Energy - Your body doesn’t want to use protein for energy. It wants glycogen. Furthermore, you can’t store protein. Your body needs a certain amount of protein every day, any protein consumed over that amount is stored as fat. Which is another area that your body dislikes getting energy from.

4. Carbo-Loading for Any Activity - You really only need to carb up for activities that require at least 90 minutes of cardiovascular activity.

Cake is Getting a Make Over!

Great News! Cake is getting a make over. We hope to continue to post new articles every week on nutrition related news (school lunch, new statistics, controversial diets, etc) and we will also make finding information easier. There's been feedback that it's been difficult to post comments, so that will also now be super user friendly. The new information that is coming will consist of the following:

Proteins/Fats/Carbs:
What they are, where we find them, how much we need, why we need them. Proteins: Incomplete & Complete - what we need, what they are, how we need, and you can’t store protein. Types of Fiber, Types of Fat, etc.

Athletes: Hydration, Eating & Refueling, Carboloading, Post Work Out Snack

Changing Your Eating: Easy ones to make, the steps, grocery shopping, planning your meals. How to plan nutrition/eating for traveling Eating out for Dinner - healthy options Eating by the Clock, Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full Hollywood Stereotype Ideals vs Eating Healthy Do it on a budget

Diets & Quacks: Explain a fad diet & why it fails, how to tell what a fad diet is, explain false credentials, how to decipher news. We'd like to have a weekly fad diet article as well.

Nutrition Related Illness: Diabetes, CVD, Obeseity, Eating Disorders, What can Impact your Eating & Health?

Food Groups & Food Servings: what are the food groups, how many servings do we need, and what a serving size looks like

Definitions: terms that often come up in articles, or will come up here that might be helpful for people to do a quick look up.

We hope to have the new site up and running by next week. Stay Tuned!

Portion Control vs Serving Size

Portion Amounts & Serving Sizes are hot topics in weight loss, nutrition, and foodies. What’s the difference?

A serving is the recommended amount/size of food that the My Pyramid & American Dietitic Association set forth for us.

A Portion is the actual amount on our plate. Typically restaurants will over serve, and you may be consuming 2-3x the amount of food you may actually need.

How can you tell what a portion looks like? Look below at some guidelines.

2-3 oz of meat = the size of a deck of cards

1 Baked Potato = the size of a computer mouse

1 Pancake = 1 CD

1 piece of fruit (Apple, Organge) = A woman’s fist

3 oz serving of Fish = Check Book

Important to Keep in Mind!!! If you look at the Nutrition Label on the back of your Food, it will tell you HOW MANY SERVINGS are in that package of food. Use this a guide for portion sizes.

Example: Cheese

If you bought a block of cheese, you will most likely see that it has 8 servings in that block. If you were to divide the block into 8 equal slices, one of those slices will equal 1 serving.

Healthy Cooking - Try this Swap!

If you like to make baked goodies in your home, try this in your recipes:

• 
  
  1 Cup of Buttermilk - SWAP for 1 Cup of Reduced Fat Milk + 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 
  
  2 Tablespoons of Butter - SWAP for 2 Tablespoons of Reduced Fat Margarin
• 
  
  2 Cups of White All Purpose Flour - SWAP for 1 Cup of All Purpose White Flour & 1 Cup of Wheat Flour
• 
  
  1 Egg SWAP for 2 Egg Whites

You'll be surprised how much these swaps can help make goodies a little bit healthier and you won't even notice the difference!!! Happy Baking!

Healthy Foods Under $1

Healthy Foods Under $1 Great article from the American Heart Association! This ties into previous discussions and posts on how to buy healthy foods with out wiping out your checking account. The AHA has an awesome nutrition section that's very helpful, easy to read, and informative. Check it out! www.heart.org

Eating on a Budget

"I want to eat healthy, but it's so expensive"

This is a very common phrase and belief that we Americans have. Try hard to banish this from your thoughts. It may seem that buying healthy foods is more expensive, but the truth is, eating junk food for years will cost you significantly more in health care costs in the long run. And if you know enough tricks and are a smart shopper, you can buy healthy foods for a decent price. Here are some tips to lower your grocery bill.

1. Buy on Sale. I recently was at Safeway and asparagus was on sale for $.79 a pound. If anyone here likes this vegetable, you know that it usually runs $5 a pound. I bought a few pounds, and froze 80% of it. I can have asparagus with many of my meals for next few months, and it didn't break the bank. You can do this with chicken, fruit, vegetables, bread, etc.

2. Buy Canned or Frozen Produce. Often times I shop at Trader Joe's. They have very affordable prices. I bought a bag of frozen green beans and a can of pineapple for a combined price of $3.29. That's less than a latte at Starbucks.

3. Buy Local. Look online for farmers markets in your area. Food from local farms are usually less expensive plus you're supporting your community.

4. Rewards Cards. A lot of mainstream grocery stores offer rewards cards that give an extra discount or offer special prices on select items. They're not credit cards, they're free, and can save you 10-12% some times. I know Safeway and Shaws Supermarkets offer these. Check to see your grocery store does too.

If anyone else has some helpful tips on how to cut down grocery bill costs please post in the comments section!