Weekend Challenge - Avoid Fast Food!

Finally Friday - Yay! We made it to Friday! Every week we post a WEEKEND CHALLENGE! This week’s challenge is AVOID FAST FOOD! 

Tony Horton of P90X fame faces off with the clown; American lives are at stake, Obesity must be defeated!

This will be a busy weekend, especially around here as I post this challenge.  In my neck of the woods we are digging out from Snowstorm Brianna and hustling to get that last minute Christmas shopping done.  Fast food will be easy to grab, but it's so bad for you: high in sodium, deep fat fried, low in nutrition and calorie dense.  

Weekend Challenge: avoid the fast food, completely for this weekend!

How much activity do you have to take on to burn off that large fry?  You can find out with a free membership at MyFitnessPal.com!

Thinking you'll grab the salad as a better alternative?  Most of these come loaded with bells and whistles, packing in as many calories as the burger you avoided.  Then comes the dressings, mostly fat.  Check the nutritional information, you'll be shocked.  Choose your dressings wisely.

The Hardee's Charbroiled Chicken Club comes in at 550 calories.  

The Mc Donald's Asian Grilled Chicken Salad is a better choice, but did you expect 300 calories?

Eating out offers challenges to your dietary goals, no matter the restaurant.  Planning ahead and making informed decisions will help, regardless of the chain.  For this weekend, avoid them all together!  Can you?

As with everything, moderation is the key.  Portion size helps, understand what a portion is.  Pass on the soft drink.  Don't supersize.  Read the nutritional label so you understand what you're eating.  Break the habit of grabbing some thing just because it is convenient.  This challenge of total avoidance is a great way to break the habit and start a better trend.

For more information on just why fast food is so bad for you visit the Livestrong article.

Resources:

Calorie count and nutritional information for menu items at Hardee's.

Calorie count and nutritional information for menu items at Mc Donalds.

Calorie Counter at CalorieCount - over 250,000 foods in the data base with nutritional information!

Be a Label Reader - portion sizes and how to read nutritional lables

Connect with me at the fitter Fitter on facebook for motivation, support and interaction.

"This portion is JUST right" says Goldilocks...

Retrieved from  http://iamachild.files.wordpress.com 

Remember the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears?   Goldilocks sampled bowls of porridge left on the table in a cottage, remaking that one of the bowls was "just right".  Too bad she was talking about how hot the porridge was and not about portion size, many of us adults might be better off if she had.  The truth is most of us struggle with portion control, and it's not all our fault.  Portion sizes are distorted in American society.  When we go out to eat portions are bigger than our parents were served back in the 1950's.  When we shop we have to be label readers, because often a portion is way less than you think.  

Graphic Retrieved from   http://biosensemd.com/solo_blog/21/managing-diabetes-portion-control/

What is a serving?
A serving is the amount of food typically eaten in one sitting and is based on age.  Just as important is the question "a serving size of what?"   Eating too large of a serving leads to weight issues, which leads to health issues.  As a parent the pressure is on, our children learn by what they see, and often they see their parents eating too much of the wrong foods.  So how do you know what their portion size should be?  How big should your portion be?

Child size that portion
In the first three years of life, a child doesn't need more than a 1/4 cup of each serving, the exception is the 1/2 cup of milk per serving.  A good rule of thumb is that a 5-12 year old child needs half the calories of an adult.  For most active children this is 1,000 calories a day.  So, if an adult is enjoying 2 - 3 oz of meat per serving, then the child sized portion should be only 1 oz.

Proper Portion Size = Good Health
Beyond the obvious of a parent leading by example and assisting the child to control their portions by making their plate for them, keep in mind that your child doesn't need everything they ask for every time they ask.  We can teach our children healthy eating habits that will serve them for life by teaching them about portion control and better food choices.  Bear in mind also that a growing teenager who is training heavily for sports needs to be eating enough and many teen girls eat far too restrictive for their age.  Eating enough is a healthy choice, too.  Bottom line is "this is a family effort," says Dr. Jennifer Steinhoff, a ThedaCare Physician.  "Eating habits are as much a behavior issue as a nutritional issue."  When you prepare your plate half should be filled with low carb vegetables, one quarter lean proteins and one quarter whole grains.  Intimidated?  No need to be, there are plates out there designed to help with portion control and they range from no nonsense melamine to chic ceramic that only you will know pertains to portion control.  You can read more about those in this blog post on Portion Control Made Easy.   

How Big is a Portion? Common Portion Sizes by Age
Food Group         Servings/Day     1-3 yrs        4-5 yrs        6-12 yrs      13 -Adult
breads, cereals,      5 or less          1/2 slice      1/2 slice       1/2 slice     1/2 slice
pastas & grains                             or 1/4 cup    or 1/3 cup    or 1/2 cup   or 1/2 cup

vegetables                   3-5              1/4 cup        1/3 cup         1/2 cup       1/2 cup

Fruits                            2-4             1/4 cup        1/3 cup         1/2 cup       1/2 cup

Milk & Dairy                 2-3             1/2 cup        3/4 cup          1 cup          1 cup

Meat & Protein            2-3            1 oz or        1-1/2 oz           2 oz or       2-3 oz or
                                                   1/4 cup      or 1/3 cup       1/2 cup       1/2 cup


Be a Label Reader
Learn how to read a label.  Note the portion size, the calories, fat content, fiber, sodium.  Understand when you read the ingredients that the they are listed by percentage of content, from most to least.  So, if your cereal says whole grain, but whole grain isn't listed as one of the first three ingredients, but sugar is, then there is more sugar in the cereal than there is whole grain.  Being a smart shopper can help you with your diet more than you imagine.  By filling your pantry with good food choices and leaving the bad ones on the shelves at the grocery, you will be far less likely (or able) to indulge in a weak moment.

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Inspired by "Child-sized" in the Autumn 2012 issue of Theda Care magazine. 

Cooler Weather means Comfort Food

With the return of cooler weather comes thoughts of comfort food.  However, the annual return to comfort foods need not mean a return to diet breaking calories.  Your favorite comfort foods can be made over in to better options.  You're eating healthier now, making better choices.  Your favorite stand by recipes can make better choices, too.  

Try these simple substitutions to slim down your cherished old comfort food recipes.
To save FAT & CALORIES:

• Fat-free milk
• Frozen reduced-fat whipped topping
• Lean/extra-lean ground beef or turkey
• Reduced-fat/fat-free mayo, salad dressing and evaporated milk
• Reduced-fat cheese and dairy products

To save SUGAR:

• canned fruit in extra-light syrup or juice
• Sugar-free instant pudding

To save SODIUM:

• Reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream soup
• Reduced-sodium chicken or beef broth
• Reduced-sodium soy sauce
• Reduced-sodium taco seasoning

To Save CHOLESTEROL & SATURATED FAT:

• 2 egg whites for 1 whole egg in omelets and scrambled eggs
• No-yolk egg noodles
• Olive or canola oil to replace butter

Making simple substitutions as we cook or bake counts as better food choices.  Remember, this is a lifestyle change, not just a diet.  Thanks to the October/November 2012 issue of Taste Of Home Simple & Delicious for these tips.  

Visit TasteofHome.com and sign up free for more recipes that trim calories the easy way.  

Whipped Cream anyone?

Hold the whipped topping?  You may not need to.  The question is not whether you want it with or without the whipped topping, but which whipped topping you want.  The best choice turns out to depend on the size of the dollop.

The richness of real whipped cream can't be matched, sorry.  However, it can break the bank nutritionally, so serve this treat sparingly.  Use whipped topping to adorn already decadent deserts.  Whipped topping will also save you calories and saturated fat when it's a main ingredient in recipes like fluff pies and layered pudding deserts.  Just remember to crunch the numbers...

Which is the most de-light-ful to top your desert?

Per 2 Tbsp of the following:          Calories  Fat(g)  Saturated fat(g)  Carbohydrates(g)

Lightly sweetened whipped cream:      51         6              3.5                   0.5

Extra creamy whipped topping:           25         2                2                      2

Regular whipped topping:                   25        1.5             1.5                    2

Sugar-free whipped topping:              20          1                1                     3

Reduced-fat whipped topping:           20          1                1                     3

Fat-free whipped topping:                 15          0                 0                     3

From the April-May 2012 Issue of Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking