Five tips to avoid gaining weight on your summer vacation

Summer seafood is a great option, my son made these!

Recently, I did a segment for CBS on summer eating. Specifically, the topic was how to avoid weight gain on your summer vacation. I’ll spare you the scary stats on “beach bulk”. Around the same time, I read an article in Cooking Light on this same subject. Their advice was something to the effect of don’t worry about your weight too much, when you’re awa,y as that’ll make you binge. Let’s just say I suggest you think about weight a little and not to worry you’ll still have fun.

A little consciousness will lead to confidence.

What to do:

Delay your Play- away for a week? Don’t lobster roll day one, you’ll end up doing it daily.

Tis the season for overfruiting

Overfruiting is a thing…particularly in the summer. My mother asked me this past weekend, “Is pineapple fattening?” My response? Any fruit can cause you to gain weight if you eat too much. I usually say keep fruit to once per day. On vacation, stick to two fruits a day max.

Don’t let your activity fool you.

At the end of the day what you eat is 75% or more of what you weigh. You can bike and hike and still get heavier. By all means, swim, bike and hike while away, just don’t use these leisurely activities as a license to ice cream.

Ditch the Day Drinking

Sumer and, in particular, summer vacations can be boozy. Save the rose’ or tequila for after sundown…ok sundown is late in summer, 5pm?

Dinner Rule: 2 of 4, No More

 Bread

 Booze

 Dinner carbs

 Dessert

These are the four areas than can get you into trouble.

Pick 1 or 2 per meal away but not all 4

Keep these 5 tips in mind- share them with your family and friends and you’ll sail through summer vacations unscathed.

With food (and only food), guy-like is the way to go

While I like to think my messaging and posts are unisex, weight loss advice tends to be female-centric. Male clients who read LBT give me a hard time  “the book is great but did you need to have a dress on the cover?” Or “I’m not wearing a bikini any time soon.” With Father’s Day approaching our plan was to focus on Dude Foods for our June Newsletter. Then, as we dove into the research on this dietary gender divide something occurred to me…when it comes to weight loss, should we all be more manly with our methodology?

More savory

Women tend to have more overall cravings than men. Ninety-seven percent of women report food cravings (no surprise) while for men it’s under seventy percent. Women also tend to crave sweet foods more often (and chocolate is the number one craving, yup) while men crave savory. So, what should you do? I love chocolate (good, dark, 70% chocolate) but after three days quitting sugar I am not looking for it. You can quit sugar with us for the remainder of the month or add non-sweet foods to your diet.  Start with breakfast I’m loving eggs with hot sauce, paleo bread with coconut butter and plain yogurt with cinnamon and cardamom.

Fewer Snacks

 It was interesting to see research supporting the fact that men snack less. Men, on average, have about two snacks a day whereas women have over three. Two is indeed the magic number We have some of our favorite savory snacks in our Dude Food Kit. Brussels sprout chips and the most amazing nuts in the world are not to be missed.

Less Fat Phobic- this is a big one. I still see clients who are petrified to skip their “skim” or look at me as though I secretly want them to gain weight when I suggest nuts or coconut oil. Men are not afraid of fat in their diet (and do not necessarily eat the good ones) but the right fats will make you thin. Think fish, avocado, seeds and coconut.

Eat Less Fruit- I am not anti fruit. I know many people were surprised that I suggested one fruit per day in the book. Nothing is going to happen if that one becomes two some days. Something is going to happen if you love summer fruit a little too much and have four a day, every day justifying it by saying “I eat only healthy, clean foods.”

Booze is OK but not girly booze

 Men drink more alcohol than women, men also metabolize alcohol differently than women (a topic for another day). I’m not here to tell you to booze it up. I am saying to be less “girly” in your drink choices. “On the rocks” will do much more for you than tonic ever has.

If I’m going to be totally honest, when you look at all the studies men are not necessarily eating healthier than women. The stereotypical dude foods they are far from a nutritionist’s dream however, while women may know where it’s at with so, so many things (this goes without saying) men’s overall approach to food that’s more fuel oriented and less guilt-ridden, less snacky and less sweet is probably the way to go.

From the criteria above are you more manly or girly in your food choices? Do you believe men and women fall into these catergories when it comes to food? If you’re quitting sugar with us how’s it going?

We're quitting sugar, want to join us?

 

First off, I know how annoying it can be for someone to tell you to quit something. I read an article yesterday and one of the suggestions was “cut out alcohol and caffeine” and I made a face at the screen, a mean face. After all, I’m the person who sees no reason not to have a cup of coffee while on a juice cleanse. Carolyn says “your cleanse your rules.” So when I started hearing about Sarah Wilson’s “I QuitSugar” book I was skeptical. I was skeptical until I read the book. It’s really, really good and gimmick free. I found Sarah's approach similar in many ways to Foodtrainers.

If you read this blog you may know I’m not someone with a raging sweet tooth. So when Sarah wrote,  “I was a sugar addict but didn’t look like one. I hid behind the so-called “healthy sugars” like honey, dark chocolate and fruit” I was surprised, she could’ve been describing me. And bottom line I know sugar finds its way into my diet and I’m curious to see how I feel without it. Plus, from years of having clients undergoing cancer treatment the line “cancer loves sugar” is a scary one to me. It’s not just about weight or mood but long-term health. And I love the idea of focusing on one habit and recently made what I feel are permanent gains in the hydration department.

So we tossed the idea around at the office and we came up with our version of quitting. We’re starting today and continuing through the end of the month (actually until we attend the Fancy Food Show 6/30 where we're professionally obligated to taste).  Here’s a summary of what’s in and out for the next three weeks.

No

• Sweetener in coffee or tea. I realized there’s 8g sugar in a tsp. of the manuka honey I use; I only use a ½ tsp. once a day but still
• Mints- I have these anise mints I keep in my purse, I’m anti gum for reasons beyond sugar but no gum either (keep a toothbrush in your makeup case)
• Dried Fruit- I will miss you those raisins in my Juice Generation kale salad
• Nutrition bars- I usually have a Health Warrior or Zing bar once a week
• Stevia- as we say sweet begets sweet so no stevia and if you’re having yellow, pink or blue packets cut those out forever, not just the 3 weeks
• Pops/Sorbet – so tempting in this weather but so sweet
• Cakes, cookies, muffins or any other baked goods, gluten free or regular they're still sweet
• Dark chocolate- this was a hard one for me to sign onto but if you're going to quit...

Yes

• 1 fruit a day (this is different from what Sarah suggests)
• 1 small coconut water per day (IQS informed me coconut water low in fructose) OR green juice (with 1 fruit) OR kombucha. 
• Alcohol- we agree with Sarah alcohol has its own issues beyond sugar. However, alcohol is low in fructose. IQS suggests says wine, beer and pure spirits are ok. If you’ve read my book you know I think spirits are the way to go (sans mixers).

For the record, Sarah doesn’t recommend you go cold turkey/ cold sugar day 1.  She suggests a little time to assess where sugar is in your diet, to read labels and raise awareness. I have had the book for a couple of weeks and my “sweet-dar” (sugar radar) was heightened. Many gauges for sugar consumption are tossed around I would suggest aiming first for under 25 grams a day and ultimately going below 20 grams (approximately 4 grams is equal to one teaspoon of sugar).

Do you want to join us for these few weeks and give quitting a go? The Foodtrainers team is here for you on the blog, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@Foodtrainers. You know you can #TIDEI (tweet it don't eat it).  I would also suggest you pick up I Quit Sugar (and visit the website) it’s full of facts and encouragement not to mention fantastic recipes. At the start of the post I wrote that it’s not for someone else to tell you to quit something, from IQS “you’re doing this not because you have to, but because it might make you feel better. Please go gently and don’t punish yourself.” I told you this woman gets it.

Do you think about the amount of sugar you eat? How would you describe your relationship with sugar? Have you considered quitting? Read this book? Want to join us for these three weeks?
A couple of notes:

Since Sarah and I  connected, IQS read my book as well and posted some of my tips, they are doing a Little Book of Thin giveaway 

We're doing the same. If you comment here and retweet this post (or regram on Instagram @Foodtrainers) you'll be eligible. Our winner will be selected on Friday, June 13th.

It Is Possible To Overfruit

Not long ago, I wrote a post for Blisstree (love Blisstree) entitled “Eight Things to Never Put in Your Smoothies.” I talked about sorbet (does this need to be in your breakfast?), soy protein and “too much fruit”.  Regarding fruit I said, “sure, smoothies seem healthy, but the problem is that calories add up, even from fresh fruit. So avoid smoothies that are bigger than 16 ounces or are made with more than two cups of fruit.” Let’s just say people didn’t like me saying anything negative about their beloved fruit. I was told, “too much fruit, really? With all the things wrong with the American diet, too much fruit isn’t what I would hone in on.”

If we’re talking about eating habits of Americans, I’d agree. Processed food, pesticides, food dyes, hormones in our food and heavily sweetened and salted foods are all bigger problems than fruit. Most Americans, after all, eat too little fruit versus too much (unless we count juice, fruity pebbles and “fruit” snacks). However, if we’re talking about the ideal diet or what to eat in order to lose weight, I’m sorry folks it is possible to overfruit.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fruit and think fruit is a part of any balanced diet providing fiber, phytochemicals and antioxidants. Weight Watchers’ new points system allows unlimited fruit. While this may work for someone switching from the standard American diet (fast food, processed food, lots of food) to a healthier one or for someone with a significant amount of weight to lose, I think it’s a mistake for those with less to shed.

My reasoning is based on a few criteria. First, what would be a weight-related post without mentioning calories? Between breakfast, smoothies and snacks I see many new clients consuming over 400 calories from fruit. Second, this amount of fruit would contain over 70 grams of sugar or over 16 teaspoons. In case you’re shouting “but it’s fruit sugar silly” that’s part of the problem. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that fructose consumption reduces circulating levels of leptin (the hormone that inhibits appetite).  “the combined effects of lowered circulating leptin and insulin in individuals who consume diets that are high in dietary fructose could therefore increase the likelihood of weight gain and its associated metabolic sequelae.” Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics had this to say, “the metabolic problems that result from sugar intake are mostly due to the fructose content.  Less is better for health.  Fructose is sweeter than either glucose or sucrose.” Dr Nestle’s comments happened to be about soda and not fruit but fructose is fruit sugar. Speaking of sugar, the most alarming, must-read sugar article I’ve read recently was by Gary Taube’s in the NYT magazine.

If you’re just starting to make weight loss efforts or you’re losing weight and results have slowed try reducing your fruit intake. I would suggest two cups of fruit a day which is still four servings according to the USDA. If this is your current intake reduce further to 1 cup (or 2 small pieces) of fruit a day. The intention is not to eliminate fruit but just not to overdo it. And to be more of a buzz kill specific, stick to fresh or frozen fruit and skip dried fruit or fruit juice.

Do you think fruit plays a role in weight loss? How much fruit do you eat a day? Is it possible to overdo anything we eat? What is your favorite fruit?