The Healing Power of Broccoli

 Diet & Nutrition  No Responses »
Jun 012011
 

A big part of achieving your weight-loss goals involves changing your diet. While you can out exercise a bad diet, the level of work and time that requires isn’t aligned with the realities of most women’s day to day lives. So each week we are going to focus on a new food you can add to your diet that will not only aid in weight loss, but improve overall health a well. This week: Broccoli.

Broccoli is High in Calcium

If drinking milk isn’t your thing, eating broccoli can help you get the calcium needed to keep your bones healthy and strong without adding excess fat or calories to your diet.  One cup of cooked broccoli contains 74mg of calcium, 123 mg of vitamin C and just 44 calories.  Vitamin C is important because it helps the body absorb calcium better.  Just to put things in perspective, a glass of 2% milk has 300mg of calcium but has no vitamin C and 121 calories of which 42 of those calories comes from fat.

Broccoli Can Help Reduce the Risk of Getting Certain Types of Cancers

Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable; simply meaning it’s an edible plant. Studies have shown that eating cruciferous vegetables can help reduce the risk of many cancers such as bladder and ovarian cancers.  One study showed that men who ate a serving of broccoli or cauliflower a week halved their chance of getting advance stage prostate cancer. Also broccoli contains phytonutrients sulforaphane and indoles which have been shown to boost the body’s ability to rid itself of cancerous cells and for those tumors that do form, they tend to take longer to develop and are smaller in mass.

Helps in Detoxifying the Body

Many phytonutrients work as antioxidants to dislodge compounds before they can damage the DNA.  However, new research has shown that the phytonutrients found in broccoli operate at a much deeper level.  They actually signal your genes to increase production of enzymes that help the body detoxify, preventing harmful compounds from ever attaching.

Can Help Repair Sun-Damaged Skin

A recent Johns Hopkins research study showed that Sulforaphane can help repair sun damaged skin.  Sulforaphane is a compound found in broccoli. When broccoli extract was applied to test animals that had been exposed to UV light equivalent to what a sun bather would be exposed to on a clear summer day, the extract counteracted the animals’ carcinogenic response.

Broccoli is High in Fiber

One serving of broccoli has 9 grams of fiber, that’s about 33% of the recommended amount of fiber needed daily.  A diet high in fiber helps prevent constipation, aids in weight loss and helps prevent certain digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and hemorrhoids. Fiber is very filling and low in calorie, so a diet high in fiber can help you shed those unwanted pounds.

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What I Learned on My Vacation

 Diet & Nutrition  No Responses »
Oct 212009
 

Well Casper is back with an eye opening look at the American way life – from someone who is American, but no loner calls the US home:

Well after a much needed vacation (been three years already) I have had some thoughts. My wife finally convinced me to go “home” whatever that is. I was opting for taking a trip to Thailand or India or Dublin or Greece or Argentina or Cape Town or some other great place I have not yet seen… but the winning argument was that my folks have never seen the baby and hadn’t seen the oldest since she was a baby.

So while I was back home I could not believe how overweight people are. Consistently I was counting 8 out of 10 people were over weight, 2 of which were grossly obese. My wife didn’t even believe my decleration until I said check it out for yourself. then she really started to look and was like ” Wow your right ”

I understand that typically asian people tend to be ectomorphs but this isn’t always the case just look at sumo wrestlers and the people who frequent McDonalds (not kidding… if you want to see a fat Japanese person go to McD’s) The one difference I have to say though is that the diet we eat here in Japan is drastically different. Lots of veggies, lots of raw fish, a little beef, a little chicken, a little tofu and a small bowl of rice with every meal. The food here has not been mass produced by agribusinesses using NPK and GMO. While “Certified Organic” is not as big of a deal here, a lot of the food here is organic anyways, there just isn’t a great need to get certified.

Now for the hard truth. I kinda did crude experiment. I am a pretty lean person, after a fight Iwill take a week or two off of training. Not totally off but I give my body some time to recoup. So I will put on two or three pounds. Not really a big deal. So while home on vacation I pretty much said I am just gonna relax. I am not gonna hesitate on moms good ole apple pie, baklava, brownies, and pecan pie. Or my sisters cheesecake ( she also makes a mean bowl of mashed potatoes), or my dads grillin two full cows. I decided I am gonna actually have a real vacation and just let the discipline slide. I’m not going to mention the Mead and Beer my family makes.

The hard truth is that American food has caused me to gain 17 lbs in 6 WEEKS!!!!!!!

Now this doesn’t matter to me because already back into training for the last week I have lost 5 lbs. Now that jet lag is over I can actually train unhindered. The fact is the American way of life will KILL you. I can’t see it any other way. Pay attention to what your putting into your body. You can do it!

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Eat and Think Yourself Thin?

 Diet & Nutrition  No Responses »
Sep 162009
 

While I may be able to eat myself thin I doubt very seriously I can think myself thin. The folk over at Blackdoctor.org seem to disagree however:

Exercise is only half of the equation; what you eat is the other half. Your attitude towards food can either make or break your weight loss regime. Follow these simple rules to slim down.

The Way to Eat

Eat MUFA. Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs for short, pronounced MOO-fahs) come from the healthy oils found in plant foods such as olives, nuts, and avocado. Include a MUFA at every meal. Incorporate a serving of one MUFA-rich food every time you eat.

Have a clear calorie goal. Consume four 400-calorie meals a day. Significant weight loss requires calorie control. For the average woman, 1,600 calories per day is ideal because it’s low enough to create weight loss while maintaining energy and preserving calorie-burning muscle.

Eat often. Have a meal every 4 to 5 hours to help control your blood sugar and hunger and keep your metabolism in high gear.

The Way to Think

Manage stress. This emotion causes a spike in the hunger-stimulating hormone cortisol, sending you straight for the sweets. And when cortisol is high, extra calories are deposited directly as belly fat.

Ask for help. Among people who have permanent weight loss, 70% reported having strong social support, compared with only 38% of those who lost and regained weight. Recruit others to join you (or encourage you), or sign up for an online support group…Keep reading.

The “mangae stress’ tip I can relate too. Not only will you eat yourself fat if you’re reeally stressed, but no matter how much exercising or eating right you’re doing the weight willnot come off.

Talk about frustrating.

As far as asking for help, studies have shown that black women in particular lose weight in groups, but not so well solo, so if you have some freinds you can join up with so so. Hell, make a game/competition of it. Loser has to by everyone dinner…or something.

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Bad Habits That Pile On the Fat

 Diet & Nutrition  5 Responses »
Aug 092009
 

Business Day has a good article about all of the bad habits people have that are keeping them fat:

The experts have identified seven common diet mistakes most people make and how to fix them.

1. Underestimating how much you’ve eaten

Studies show overweight people tend to underestimate significantly how much they eat, and the bigger their portions, the more their calorie calculations go off track. One recent investigation by Dr Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think (Bantam Dell), found that people who supersize fast-food meals actually underestimate the calorie content of their burger and fries by as much as half.

2. Discounting the effects of peer pressure

Findings from the Framingham Heart Study reveal that when one person in a family or network of friends gains weight, others tend to gain weight too, perhaps because it becomes more socially acceptable to be chubby.

3. Distracting yourself from eating

Wansink’s studies show that environmental distractions, such as watching television, talking on the phone, reading while eating and eating with others, can be a big disconnect. In one study, he learned that even stale popcorn can lead people to overeat at the movies, not because they’re hungry, but simply because the bucket is there. This occurs as much due to the fact that you’re not paying attention to what you eat, as to a habit you’ve developed of multitasking while munching, he says.

4. Eating too many different foods

The more choices, the more you tend to eat — just think of all the temptations at a food buffet and the overwhelming desire you have to sample it all.

5. Not weighing yourself enough

“We have exhaustive evidence that people who weigh themselves daily lose more weight than those who don’t,” says Dr George Blackburn, associate professor of surgery and nutrition at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and author of Break Through Your Set Point: How to Finally Lose the Weight You Want and Keep It Off (Collins). People who watch their weight are more likely to closely monitor their eating and exercise behaviours and regain control of their diets quickly if they gain weight.

Keep readng the rest of the article. There’s some great information and tips there.

Weighting yourself daily is something I do and something I’ve recommended before on this blog as a way to maintain your weight. People have a tendency to ignore the tightness of their jeans, but if you see the weight go up on the scale a couple of pounds you’re more likely to adjust your diet or workout to lose the weight as opposed to waking up 20 pounds heavier trying to figure out how you got there and how you’re going to drop the pounds…again.

Now I know I’ve been guilty of all of the above habits. However, as far as peer pressure I am usually the biggest in my group of friends, so you’d think that being around the skinny crew would make me slimmer – yeah not so much – lol. Although I will say that I’m from a big city (by big I mean the average person is chunky) and that makes me the “skinny” girl here, so it’s easier to be heavier and not stress about it as much.

So, which of these bad habits is keeping you fat?

How do you work your way around them?

If these aren’t your bad habits what are the habits you have that’s preventing you from losing wight?

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Emotional Eating: Why I Eat

 Diet & Nutrition  14 Responses »
Apr 152009
 

If anybody has been reading this blog as late than you know that Ive been struggling in the weight category. You know that the extremely high stress situation I find myself in has had me turning to food – mainly sugar- for support. The thing is though that most of the eating has to do with boredom. Currently I’m caregiver to my mother, occasionally my two young sisters and of course, my 4 year old daughter. No one else. Just me. Day and day out.

Without going into too much detail my mother is a difficult woman, one who I have been trying to please all of my life to no avail. If I was to be completely honest I am incredibly resentful of the current situation because I wasn’t supposed to be back in my hometown. Some promises were made that didn’t pan out and at the last minute I ended up living with my mother instead of having my own house. Now I realize, regardless of what I was doing or where I would have been living, all roads led home because of my mom’s heart surgery.



Now I find myself stuck in the house, with no outlet, responsible for a house full of people and a rather large house without a whole lot of help as far as taking care of my mom goes. Each day I wake up and there is nothing, absolutely nothing to look forward to. Each day I just pray for the day to end, in hopes that each day I wake up and go to bed brings me closer to the day I can have my life back. I’m bored. I’m defeated and I feel like at 29 my life as I know it is over.

Now there’s a lot I”m not saying, a lot of history and a lot of anger…but the 20lbs I’ve put on in the last couple of months is because food is the only thing interesting in my life right now. It’s the only thing I have some control over. I don’t go out. I don’t do anything, but take care of a house full of people and work…when I can. It’s frustrating and there’s no sign that it is coming to an end anytime soon. I’m holding on by a thread.

There’s no joy in this house. So I use Oreos to find some peace that I’m not getting anywhere else. And part of me doesn’t care, because what does it matter? No one is going to see me anyway. I don’t leave the house except to go to the grocery store or take my daughter to the park. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so defeated in my life and the only bit of joy I have is in the food I eat.

I recognize that this has to give at some point. 170lbs is horrible. I can’t imagine 200lbs. But right now it is what it is. But that’s why eat. There just ain’t shit else to do.

Foods You think are Healthy but Aren’t

 Diet & Nutrition  3 Responses »
May 032008
 


I’m sure we’ve all chowed down on food that we swore was healthy only to find out later that it was anything but. Well, AOL compiled a list of 12 popular “healthy” foods that are probably adding more calories to your diet than you realize:

1. Pasta Salad

2. Pretzels

3. Baked Beans

4. California Rolls

5. Low-Fat Salad Dressing

6. Yogurt with Fruit on the Bottom

7. Corn Oil

8. Granola Bars

9. Croutons

10. Fruit Cocktail in a Can

11. English Muffins

12. Low-Fat Peanut Butter

So which one of these are you guilty of? For me it was the yogurt with the fruit on the bottom. Yogurt was a little meal in a cup or a quick an easy snack after running. I would eat 2 or 3 a day. The calorie count was 120 so I was thinking, “Eh, not bad.” But then one day I said let me look at the sugar count. There were like 25 grams of sugar (coulda been thirty), I said…Damn. Maybe I need to put that down.

Breaking Up With Food

 Diet & Nutrition  4 Responses »
Apr 092008
 

I have to break up with food before it kills me.

I clearly remember some 2 1/2 years ago when I wrote that on my weight loss blog. At 359 lbs, I weighed more than Shaquille O’Neal. I was wearing a 26/28, the very last size in Lane Bryant. I was suffering from borderline diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, mild asthma, joint pain, and high blood pressure. I was only 28, but at the rate I was going, it wasn’t certain I would see 38.

I had to break up with food before it killed me.

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t overweight. I was a chubby kid and have some memories of my mother sometimes having a hard time finding clothes for me for special occasions. She tried to help me – there were doctor’s visits, specialized weight loss programs, gym memberships and dance classes. I would have initial success and then return to my same old habits. It got to the point that I was taking money from my her purse to buy extra food. I was am an addict.

By the time I got to high school, I tipped the scales at 250lbs. I don’t ever remember weighing anything less. I joke that I went from diapers to size 3x overnight. Looking back, I can clearly identify the reasons I started gaining weight. My overdeveloped frame drew unwanted attention and thus began a sense of unease around men that still persists today. Essentially, I put on a fat suit to shield me. The fatter I got, the less attention I would draw. By the time I went off to college, I was well over 300lbs.

Even at 359lbs, I still embraced life. I started traveling internationally right after I graduated. I had romantic relationships. I dressed better than most people I knew, overweight or normal. I was always aware that I was often the largest thing in the room, but it wasn’t something that constantly bothered me. I wasn’t miserable. My personality and style was such that people didn’t treat me differently because of my weight – at least not to my face. I just went about my life as a morbidly obese woman, assuming that’s how it would always be. I didn’t even own a scale and often didn’t know my weight until my yearly physical. Like so many things in my life, if I ignored it, it wasn’t an issue.

As I entered my late twenties, I started noticing more joint pain, particularly in my knees. I was getting more winded. I was tired of carrying around the weight of two people. I discovered that I was borderline diabetic, something I had always feared. I was tired of taking up more than my share of the train seat ; tired of dreading the whispered request for a seat belt extension. I didn’t want to end up a statistic – losing my life to something preventable. I had too much to live for.

I had to do something.

I had to break up with food before I killed me.

I am Vivrant Thang, a new guest blogger here at Sweet Potato Pie. I feel I have an important story to tell -how I lost 140lbs and seven dress sizes and added years to my life. It’s not a conventional story, but one I hope that some of you will relate to and learn from.

Left Without Saying Goodbye

 Diet & Nutrition  2 Responses »
Feb 192008
 


He was my best friend, my rock, my reason for smiling everyday. From the time I turned sweet 16, always there…in just the right places. I delighted in the way he made me feel. There was a spring in my every step…I could practically dance the night away. It didn’t matter if I filled up on Waffle House bacon and eggs or five chicken soft tacos from Taco Bell at 3a.m. with my gal pals…he’d work it off (wink wink).

Throughout my twenties, I reveled in my ability to tame him. I admit my will to do the right thing was never very strong…but so what? I had him, he had my back even when I would royally mess up. The partying, drinking, sleeping till noon, or even rolling into work after 2 hours sleep, I could do it because of his strength. I never knew how much I relied on him………..until he left. He went out with me on the night before my 30th birthday, but when I fell asleep that night, I didn’t know that would be the last time I saw him.

No good-bye, no note, no warning whatsoever. He left. He left me for someone younger. Well, not just younger, I admit, probably someone more intuned with his needs, someone not as arrogant and self-absorbed as I. Basically, someone that gave a damn.

There are times I think I have finally accepted his leaving. I go shopping and I’m reminded all over again. Every pair of jeans, a cute form fitting dress…..the snugness is too much, suffocating…I usually leave in tears only to wallow in the shoe department of Macy’s. Is there any wonder why I own 100 pairs of fabulous strappy sandals, fly boots and every indigenous reptile skinned pumps?

Its been almost 10 years this July, and he’s not coming back. I realize this. I’ve moved on, attempted to regain some semblance of balance in his absence. But its not easy, each day is a journey. I walk and walk…some days I think I see him and begin to run…just trying in my desperation to maybe, somehow catch just a glimpse of him. I speed up thinking if I can just catch him and grab him and explain and apologize….but alas, its not him. He’s gone, not coming back

My sweetie, my love, my boo…………………

My DAMN METABOLISM LEFT ME AND HE DIDN’T EVEN SAY GOOD-BYE!!

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Black Women’s Health: SAD and Overeating

 Diet & Nutrition  5 Responses »
Feb 022008
 

Since I got back from vacation I’ve been depressed and have felt completely incapable of dealing with my weight loss goals … as a matter of fact before I went on vacation I was depressed.

Winter doesn’t work for me. I love Autumn and Spring, but I HATE winter. It isn’t just the cold that I hate, but the lack of light that I absolutely detest. In truth even though I love Autumn, from the moment the first chill in the air signals its arrival, I start to feel a creeping melancholy.

The British isles are cold, grey and damp and in the winter the days are super short. Sometimes you don’t see the sun for weeks and if you do it is fleeting – a you’ll miss it if you blink experience. For a long time I have suspected that the lack of sunlight affects my mood. Now I am sure of it.

According to the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association:

SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a type of winter depression that affects an estimated half a million people every Winter between September and April, in particular during December, January and February.

It is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the hypothalamus due to the shortening of daylight hours and the lack of sunlight in winter.

For many people SAD is a seriously disabling illness, preventing them from functioning normally without continuous medical treatment. For others, it is a mild but debilitating condition causing discomfort but not severe suffering. We call this sub-syndromal SAD or ‘winter blues.’

Symptoms

Sleep problems: Usually desire to oversleep and difficulty staying awake
but, in some cases, disturbed sleep and early morning
wakening
Lethargy: Feeling of fatigue and inability to carry out normal routine
Overeating: Craving for carbohydrates and sweet foods, usually
resulting in weight gain
Depression: Feelings of misery, guilt and loss of self-esteem,
sometimes hopelessness and despair, sometimes
apathy and loss of feelings
Social problems: Irritability and desire to avoid social contact
Anxiety: Tension and inability to tolerate stress
Loss of libido Decreased interest in sex and physical contact
Mood changes In some sufferers, extremes of mood and short periods
of hypomania (overactivity) in spring and autumn.

 

I definitely have a number of these symptoms. I have been depressed, lethargic, suffering from insomnia, anxious, unsociable and definitely overeating sweets.

Treatment

Light therapy has been shown to be effective in up to 85 per cent of diagnosed cases. That is, exposure, for up to four hours per day (average 1-2 hours) to very bright light, at least ten times the intensity of ordinary domestic lighting.
Antidepressant Drugs like Prozac are effective in alleviating the depressive symptoms and combing well with light therapy.
Psychotherapy, counselling or any complementary therapy which helps the sufferer to relax, accept their illness and cope with its limitations are extremely useful.
Vigorous exercise, especially outdoor activities.

My partner bought me a light therapy box for my birthday a few weeks ago and I have been using it religiously. It has completely alleviated my symptoms and I have been able to turn my attention once again to addressing my food/weight issues. As mentioned in my last post, I have returned to Greysheeter Anonymous program and so far it has been as wonderful as it was the first time around. I feel well on my way to successfully addressing my obesity. In GSA we weigh in once a month so I will now be providing monthly updates of my progress.

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What is the Hunger About?

 Diet & Nutrition  6 Responses »
Dec 012007
 

By the time I finished reading Listen to the Hunger by Elisabeth L., I understood clearly for the first time that I was using food, mostly sweet foods, to mask various issues in my life.

I was desperate as the author said to get “unstuck” from this behaviour. I was ready to learn the answer to the question “What is the hunger really about?” I called the woman who’d recommended the book and we had a good chat at the end of which she invited me to accompany her to my first “Greysheet Overeaters Anonymous” meeting.

Greysheet Overeaters Anonymous is a 12 step program and like all 12 step programs it is based on the principles and traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous and believes that the first step to recovery is to first admit that there is a problem. I knew I had a problem and I was desperate to find a solution, so I had absolutely no reservation about getting up during that first meeting and saying: “Hi I am Nona, I am a compulsive overeater and sugar addict.” That evening I got a sponsor (someone to support and guide me) who gave me a low-carb food plan known as the Greysheet food plan and the next day I began the most amazing journey of my life.

When I started the program, I had reached an all time high of about 86kgs/190lbs. Over one year at a consistent rate of about 5-6 pounds per month I lost 31kgs/70lbs to achieve 55kgs/120lbs. for the first time in my adult life. I maintained that weight for 5 years.

In order to lose the weight and maintain it I ate 3 meals from the Greysheet food plan which consisted of fruit, vegetables, and protein. I weighed and measured everything I ate without exception even when I ate out. It was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life but it was also the most freeing. I also ran for ½ an hour five days a week and lifted 5-10lb free weights in my apartment. I stayed in Greysheet for 5 years and then switched to regular Overeaters Anonymous because I wanted a less rigid food plan.

OA did not recommend a specific food plan and my weight fluctuated a little as I tried to figure out what food plan would work best for me. Finally I decided to use the Greysheet food plan and continue to weigh and measure but with exception. I returned to my optimal weight of 55kgs/120lbs.

Attaining and maintaining a healthy weight changed my life in several ways. for the first time I felt comfortable in my own body. I was amazed at it … at what it could do. I loved to run, jump, skip move. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to move. Having been overweight my entire life, movement didn’t always come easily to me. I loved the way my clothes fitted and I loved the confidence looking great gave me.

As great as the impact on my body was, the impact on my psyche of doing the 12 steps program and seeking therapy was more profound. Slowly over 10 years I was able to excavate, examine and resolve in the minutest of detail the debris of my life. Finally I understand what the hunger is about for me.

After 10 years of “recovery”, I thought, “okay this is it. I’ve got this thing all wrapped up.” Well, I was to discover that when it comes to addiction you never have things all wrapped up.

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