I can't go to bed without dessert. I admit it. It's a bad habit, I know, especially after reading the latest Health issue. Turns out, those who eat after 8 P.M. rack up 248 more calories than those who finish eating after dinner. Well, duh. I actually thought it would be more. That's not the real killer. The killer is that your body wants to burn off fat at night, which is while people who get the full nine hours weigh the least. Your body is like a machine. Even when you're asleep, its gears are still working, but it needs fuel. It's not getting food so it takes fuel from fat. It's a great system.
Problem is this mode can't begin the second your head hits the pillows. It takes time to burn the calories. Health recommends eating dinner late and going to bed an hour later, so you don't have time to eat dessert. The body needs about twelve hours to convert that fat. Basically, eat dinner at eight, eat breakfast at eight. For the summer, sure I can do that. For the rest of the year, not so much. I wake up at 5:45 A.M. and eat breakfast at 6:00 A.M. Then I eat dinner between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. I don't go to bed at eight. I usually go to sleep between ten and eleven. So no I'm not one of those people who gets the full nine hours.
Here's my rule: Don't focus on the 12 hours. Focus on the old rule that says no eating after nine. Before that I'm not giving you a pass. Don't eat whatever you want. Try to eat something with a little fiber content. If you get cravings at night, give in, but only a little. If you want chocolate, eat a Fiber One Brownie, not a giant hot fudge sundae. Dessert won't wreck your diet, as long as your careful of the time you eat and the content of your treat.
The Pursuit of Healthiness
Your Guide to Getting Healthy
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tip #25: Post Holiday Weight Gain
My willpower sucks. It's true and I'll admit it. I just polished off my third cookie for today. I also gained back over five pounds during the holidays. Too much dessert, way too much dessert.
But I'm making a pact with myself. I'm not counting until the holidays are truly over. I'll continue my journey in the New Year because, right now, stepping on the scale is a bad idea. Every time I see that scale creep up, I get depressed and I eat. Which only makes the scale creep up more. Its a vicious cycle.
Right now, I'm eating what I want without a second thought. Sure that's far from healthy, but that's the goal. This is the one time of year I'm saying "To hell with it!" and munching on candy and cookies. I love eating the stuff and when I'm surrounded by it, I just can't say no. Rather than eating it and hating myself afterwards, I'm eating it and enjoying it, knowing that there is always time to burn the calories off in the New Year.
On January 1st, here's what I'm doing:
Any leftover candy is being donated to Operation Shoebox for the troops overseas.
Leftover cake and cookies (unwrapped) go straight in the trash.
No more specialty coffee drinks or soda.
Lunch (what is now consisting of pb&j and cookies or leftover pasta) will be made up of whole wheat sandwiches and veggies.
Dinner will be on a small plate and consist of veggies and protein (unlike the Sicilian pizza I had last night)
Dessert- cancelled. No eating after 8 pm.
Here's my New Year plan and as long as it is in writing here, I won't forget it and I won't slip up. If you plan on following your own New Year's Resolution, write down your own plan and read it everytime you want to indulge.
But I'm making a pact with myself. I'm not counting until the holidays are truly over. I'll continue my journey in the New Year because, right now, stepping on the scale is a bad idea. Every time I see that scale creep up, I get depressed and I eat. Which only makes the scale creep up more. Its a vicious cycle.
Right now, I'm eating what I want without a second thought. Sure that's far from healthy, but that's the goal. This is the one time of year I'm saying "To hell with it!" and munching on candy and cookies. I love eating the stuff and when I'm surrounded by it, I just can't say no. Rather than eating it and hating myself afterwards, I'm eating it and enjoying it, knowing that there is always time to burn the calories off in the New Year.
On January 1st, here's what I'm doing:
Any leftover candy is being donated to Operation Shoebox for the troops overseas.
Leftover cake and cookies (unwrapped) go straight in the trash.
No more specialty coffee drinks or soda.
Lunch (what is now consisting of pb&j and cookies or leftover pasta) will be made up of whole wheat sandwiches and veggies.
Dinner will be on a small plate and consist of veggies and protein (unlike the Sicilian pizza I had last night)
Dessert- cancelled. No eating after 8 pm.
Here's my New Year plan and as long as it is in writing here, I won't forget it and I won't slip up. If you plan on following your own New Year's Resolution, write down your own plan and read it everytime you want to indulge.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving! That being said, why can't a healthy thanksgiving coincide with that? According to Today.com, the average thanksgiving dinner contains over 4000 calories. A dinner should be about a tenth of that! But don't sweat it! I've compiled a list of ways to save calories on turkey day (without depriving yourself!) and its easy to follow!
Party Time!
1. Don't let your clothes save room for dessert. Choose an outfit that's rather tight-fitting, so when your stomach starts to feel stuffed in that body-con dress, you'll know you've got to stop.
2. Carry a clutch. If you have you're clutch in one hand, and a drink in the other, it won't be so easy to pig out on those appetizers.
3. Mingle. You can't catch up with your friends and family with a full mouth. If you leave your mouth to talking, it can't be full of food.
4. Stay out of the kitchen! Entertain yourself by watching the game, even if you're not a big football fan. You can always enjoy the halftime show, or just have fun watching your uncle and brother go head to head on who the MVP is. If you volunteer to clean up afterwards (good for you!), get the dishes in the sink before the leftovers end up in your mouth!
5. Watch the little ones. My little cousins always keep me occupied on Thanksgiving. I'm so busy making sure they eat, are entertained, and basically stay out of trouble, I hardly eat dinner myself.
6. Stay on your feet. It torches extra calories. Plus, when you're sitting down with little to do, those mini quiches will look extra appealling.
Drinks and Appetizers
7. Avoid soda or sugarfied drinks. They are empty calories and only increase your appetite. Stick to water for the most part.
8. Watch the alcohol. Other than the fact it clouds your judgement making you more likely to say "oh screw it!" and binge on thanksgiving, alcohol is mostly empty calories, like soda. Avoid anything with tonic especially. If your friends offer you a drink you've never heard of like a "Thanksgiving cocktail" make sure you ask what's in it and do the calculations for it before downing it.
9. Stick to a veggie based appetizer. Leave the meat for dinner. Try to eliminate dips as much as possible. Shrimp isn't a bad option either, but skimp on the cocktail sauce.
10. Only take one of each appetizer. Don't take a handful of jumbo shrimp and call it diet.
11. If something sounds good, eat it! Just eat one serving, and keep a track in the back of your mind.
Dinner and Dessert
12. Say it with me: white meat, no skin, light on the gravy. Fill up on the meat.
13. Opt for a veggie based side like carrots and green beans (green bean casserole doesn't count) and go easy on the stuffing and other carbs.
14. Drink water with dinner and drink at least one full glass before you sit down to dinner.
15. Go splitzies on a slice of cake or pie for dessert or a roll for dinner.
16. Start eating after everyone else, be the slowest eater at the table, and finish the second you're full.
17. Eat at the kid's table! Well, maybe not. I mean, eat as much as they eat. While the adults binge, the kids eat around the size of a normal adult meal on thanksgiving.
18. Don't go back for seconds. Just because the mashed potatoes are there, doesn't mean you have to eat them.
19. Stick to one moderately large dessert, or a few small ones. Don't eat half the cake and go back for a plate of cookies.
20. Most of all, enjoy the day. Eat things that you might not usually get to have. For me, I have stuffing sometimes on an average weeknight so I won't eat that on thanksgiving. I'll eat the stuffed mushrooms that I only have once a year. Same goes for dessert. My cousin is a pastry chef so I'll eat the new and innovative dessert she brought for us, not the chocolate chip cookies.
I hope this guide helps you to a healthy, happy thanksgiving! I'm sure this will help you to a ho-ho-ho healthy Christmas (or whatever you celebrate. I don't judge!) Hope this helps you have a great winter!
Party Time!
1. Don't let your clothes save room for dessert. Choose an outfit that's rather tight-fitting, so when your stomach starts to feel stuffed in that body-con dress, you'll know you've got to stop.
2. Carry a clutch. If you have you're clutch in one hand, and a drink in the other, it won't be so easy to pig out on those appetizers.
3. Mingle. You can't catch up with your friends and family with a full mouth. If you leave your mouth to talking, it can't be full of food.
4. Stay out of the kitchen! Entertain yourself by watching the game, even if you're not a big football fan. You can always enjoy the halftime show, or just have fun watching your uncle and brother go head to head on who the MVP is. If you volunteer to clean up afterwards (good for you!), get the dishes in the sink before the leftovers end up in your mouth!
5. Watch the little ones. My little cousins always keep me occupied on Thanksgiving. I'm so busy making sure they eat, are entertained, and basically stay out of trouble, I hardly eat dinner myself.
6. Stay on your feet. It torches extra calories. Plus, when you're sitting down with little to do, those mini quiches will look extra appealling.
Drinks and Appetizers
7. Avoid soda or sugarfied drinks. They are empty calories and only increase your appetite. Stick to water for the most part.
8. Watch the alcohol. Other than the fact it clouds your judgement making you more likely to say "oh screw it!" and binge on thanksgiving, alcohol is mostly empty calories, like soda. Avoid anything with tonic especially. If your friends offer you a drink you've never heard of like a "Thanksgiving cocktail" make sure you ask what's in it and do the calculations for it before downing it.
9. Stick to a veggie based appetizer. Leave the meat for dinner. Try to eliminate dips as much as possible. Shrimp isn't a bad option either, but skimp on the cocktail sauce.
10. Only take one of each appetizer. Don't take a handful of jumbo shrimp and call it diet.
11. If something sounds good, eat it! Just eat one serving, and keep a track in the back of your mind.
Dinner and Dessert
12. Say it with me: white meat, no skin, light on the gravy. Fill up on the meat.
13. Opt for a veggie based side like carrots and green beans (green bean casserole doesn't count) and go easy on the stuffing and other carbs.
14. Drink water with dinner and drink at least one full glass before you sit down to dinner.
15. Go splitzies on a slice of cake or pie for dessert or a roll for dinner.
16. Start eating after everyone else, be the slowest eater at the table, and finish the second you're full.
17. Eat at the kid's table! Well, maybe not. I mean, eat as much as they eat. While the adults binge, the kids eat around the size of a normal adult meal on thanksgiving.
18. Don't go back for seconds. Just because the mashed potatoes are there, doesn't mean you have to eat them.
19. Stick to one moderately large dessert, or a few small ones. Don't eat half the cake and go back for a plate of cookies.
20. Most of all, enjoy the day. Eat things that you might not usually get to have. For me, I have stuffing sometimes on an average weeknight so I won't eat that on thanksgiving. I'll eat the stuffed mushrooms that I only have once a year. Same goes for dessert. My cousin is a pastry chef so I'll eat the new and innovative dessert she brought for us, not the chocolate chip cookies.
I hope this guide helps you to a healthy, happy thanksgiving! I'm sure this will help you to a ho-ho-ho healthy Christmas (or whatever you celebrate. I don't judge!) Hope this helps you have a great winter!
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