Skating Uphill-PINK Magazine

March, 2014l

By

Judith Lawrenson

“Snax, Snacks, Snaques-Spell it however you like. Snacking can be the kiss of death to a healthy lifestyle program.”   The Uphill Skater

All right, ladies. We have been here before. We have had our “Come to Jesus” meeting about what snacking can do both to you and for you. Still, it is yet another part of the answer to that same old question: “Why am I not losing weight?”

There are several theories going around about how often one should eat in a day. Some say that eating five times a day is best and many other studies indicate that the three meals a day that is traditional is the best. Still others say that you should eat when and only when you are hungry. Although the “five times a day” crowd say that the five times a day should each be considered a meal and should be of equal size, we all know that is not going to happen and that at least one of those times is going to be smaller-hence a snack.

If you plan to eat three times a day should you include some sort of a small pick-me up-snack in the afternoon? Some say absolutely yes so your protein and sugar levels are maintained. Others say no as it conditions your body to always be sated and you never actually feel the pang of actual hunger.

Personally, I think all of these theories are just that-someone’s theory. We all get the fact that it is what we eat rather than how often we eat it that is important. Remember, as I have stated before, weight loss and good health is 90% diet and 10% exercise.

So, having said all of that, I will tell you my sad story. In the beginning of my original weight loss saga two years ago, I started to journal my food intake. I know it is a pain in the butt, ladies, but here is what I learned by day two. I was eating more in snacks than I was in actual food. Yes, my snack calorie intake was actually more than my meal intake. I was snacking on nuts which I know are high in fiber and protein but are also high in calories-about 190 per ¼ cup in fact. I also snacked on cheese and crackers or apple and peanut butter, or even “health” bars. It was quite easy to rack up 500 calories very quickly!

So, the point of this month’s guide is to tell you that whatever theory you favor about how often to eat, actually you should be watching WHAT you eat. I never give advice without a helping hand so here it is. Many times I am asked to name some good snacks and I am happy to do this now because I actually know the answer to that question.

Walnuts-1/4 cup                                 String cheese

A cup of coffee (yes!)                         Any fruit but especially grapefruit or apples

Any vegetable raw or cooked           A packet of instant oatmeal

Any cereal with non-fat milk             A boiled egg

Tomato and cottage cheese               Greek yogurt

Any pre-packaged item under 150 calories

A cup of spice tea                                    A cup of low cal vegetable soup

I could go on and on buy if you GOOGLE healthy snacks or some other such language you can get list after list. What you select to put into your body as fuel will reflect on how you look and how you feel. That, like it or not, is a given.  I have given you many healthy choices and I am sure you know that donuts, candy, wine, junque food etc. are not your friends. Joan Rivers used to say: “A minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.” She was right and we all know it.

Tune in next time for a special issue of PINK and a different kind of Uphill Skating article. We will get down and dirty and talk about not diet, not exercise, but some of the other things in ur lives which may not be quite so good for our health!