Today's Supercharged Change: Stay away from trigger foods

There are many trigger foods that make you feel out of control. While it can feel like a chemical addiction, most evidence supports a behavioral response to food that we can manage, but not eliminate. There are five important steps in managing food cravings and maintaining some control. See if they work for you.

1. Identify the problem foods.

2.  Determine whether portion control or substitution with another food will be effective to satisfy but not trigger overeating.

3. Eliminate specific foods (not whole categories) that trigger rather than satisfy.

4. Avoid settings (restaurants and at home) that trigger overeating.

5. Substitute another behavior for the act of eating. For example, learn to knit or chew sugarless gum.

Here are three major food categories dieters struggle with and some suggestions to help satisfy those cravings.

For a sweet tooth: Try sugar-free gum and mints, sugar-free Jell-O and popsicles, 60-calorie puddings or low-cal hot chocolate (should be about 25-50 calories). Don't like low-calorie sweeteners? Try the single-wrapped peppermint Life Savers, peppermint Tic-Tacs, Altoids, or mini lollypops.

For a fat tooth: Look for 100-calorie bags of chips, pretzels or popcorn, low-fat single-serve cheese (Laughing Cow Light or Mini-Bonbel), extra creamy non or low-fat yogurt, turkey pepperoni (about 15 slices), or low-fat hot dogs.

For the starch lover: Find some low-calorie, whole-grain options that are about 50-70 calories a serving, including 100 percent whole-wheat thin-sliced bread, tortillas or mini pitas. You can also try a handful of a high-fiber cereal of your choice, which is about half a cup and 100 calories.

There are no "right" answers. This is truly a personal choice, and some of the best solutions are found by trial and error. What works for you might not work for someone else. So, be open-minded but realistic in your quest to conquer food cravings.

--Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD.

Alien

Kristina --

[noun]: An alien

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Love Language: Quality Time & Acts of Service (Nice!)

The Five Love Languages

Your primary love language is probably
Quality Time
with a secondary love language being
Acts of Service.

Complete set of results

Quality Time:		10
Acts of Service:		8
Physical Touch:		6
Receiving Gifts:		3
Words of Affirmation:		3

Savvy, Saucy & Healthy

http://savvysaucyhealthy.multiply.com/
As promised, here's that site I've been prattling on and on about. My apologies for the delay. This is open to all gals and guys who plan to live a HEALTHY life starting RIGHT NOW!

Feel free to join the group and enjoy all of the functions exclusively available for members. Share testimonials, tips, photos, recipes... sky's the limit, or your imagination!

There's a catch: this site will forever be under construction. Members shall see to the continuing evolution of our group. So what are you waiting for? See y'all there! *wink*

Food Myths That Will Shock You (sample post from the Savvy, Saucy & Healthy site)

Food Myths That Will Shock You

I'd like to tackle some common food myths that seem to have taken on lives of their own. That's the topic of another TODAY show segment. (Scroll to watch the video from the segment below.)

What do you think of these? Do you have any others you've heard about to share? Leave a comment!

Myth #1: "Chinese Food Makes You Hungry"

This is a very old myth, at least several decades old, which comes from the way Chinese food "used to be" prepared.

Years ago, portions were much smaller than other cuisines, low in whole-grain carbohydrates (white rice), and low in fiber (most dishes didn't have much in the way of veggies), and relatively low in protein. So, this combo of factors can help speed up the rate of your stomach emptying, and cause you to be hungrier sooner.

Nowadays, Chinese food has more vegetables, more lean protein/tofu added, and you can get brown rice. Plus, the portions have grown to meet consumer demand. Quite a difference!

Answer? Chinese food does NOT make you hungrier later on than any other type of food.

Myth #2: "Turkey Puts You to Sleep"

This myth is most commonly associated with a Seinfeld episode where Jerry wanted to feed a girl some turkey to put her to sleep. "Turkey has tryptophan" and that will make her fall asleep.

Here’s the 411 on the sleepy stuff: Trypotophan is the precursor amino acid for the brain chemical, serotonin, that does promote sleep. More tryptophan in the brain makes more serotonin, which can make you sleepy, but it's not so simple.

The tryptophan in turkey (and all other proteins) is surrounded by other amino acids that compete with the tryptophan to get into the brain. That's where the tryptophan needs to go to turn into serotonin. In protein, the tryptophan is in smaller amounts compared to others, so when you eat protein, tryptophan can't get into the brain—it's out-competed by the other amino acids. (Have I lost you yet?) No extra trytophan in the brain = No more serotonin = No more sleep. That's why this is a myth. But, people are usually eating a giant meal when they eat turkey, which promotes fatigue, not the turkey alone.

Answer? Myth!

Myth #3: ”Drinking Ice Water Helps You Lose Weight”

Drinking water is always good for weight loss, but this concept is related to the idea that if you drink ice water, your body has to burn calories warming it up.

Technically correct, but the number of calories you burn are really tiny. It's about 1 calorie per ounce of ice water to warm it up. We would think it would take more calories to heat up the water, but it doesn't.

So, drink water, but only ice water if you like it. Of course, you also don't cancel out the calories of an iced beverage that has calories because it's cold (like soda or juice), although that would be nice!

Answer? Myth!

Myth #4: ”Carbohydrates Are More Fattening Than Other Foods”

Carbohydrates, whether fruits and vegetables, or starchy stuff (like breads, rice, pasta, potatoes) all have 4 calories per gram of food. This is the same as protein with 4 calories per gram. It's about half of what fat has at 9 calories per gram!

Where people get messed up is that they first don't realize that fruits/veggies are carbohydrates, rich in water and fiber, and the starchy carbs can be fiber rich, but of course, low in water.

It's a lot easier to gobble down refined starchy carbs (white flour), since there's no fiber to expand in our stomachs to signal we're full. So, people have the perception that carbs are more fattening, because it's easy to overeat on them, and then tend to eat less of the 100% whole grain starches. Plus, carbohydrates are combined with fat for dessert items, which means lots of added sugars (still carbs). But don't blame the carbs on that!

Answer? Myth!

Myth #5:”Spicy Foods Burn Calories”

While this feels like it should be true, it's a myth, when it comes to burning significant calories. We eat spicy foods, start sweating, and feel warm. Is that a metabolic effect? Yes, but such a tiny one, you can't count on that to burn many calories, and certainly not to justify eating a spicy meal just because you'll be burning calories from the spices.

The effect on us is more superficial—sweating and warmth—and not a robust metabolic one. But, you can use spices to rev up the flavor of lower calorie foods like chicken, fish, and vegetables!

Answer? Myth!

Myth #6: ”Avoid Dairy Products When You Have a Cold”

This is such a common myth that a number of scientific studies have been done to test this. The myth is that dairy products have been thought to promote mucus production, and thus should be avoided with colds and other upper respiratory problems, including asthma.

There is no consistent effect of dairy products on mucus production. It cannot be demonstrated that this is a problem. If you feel that you are affected, then don't do it, but don't avoid needlessly. It is possible to have this sensation, since milk can have a filmy residue in the mouth after drinking, but this has nothing to do with mucus.

Answer? Myth!

Silly Thoughts (Made sense at the time)

Whoever coined the phrase “take it like a man” needs to rethink this ridiculous concept.  After all, it’s a well-known fact that women have a higher threshold for pain than men.  Think childbirth/labor and our high level of tolerance for all the nonsense men come up with, lame excuses and all.  So maybe we need to rewrite this phrase to say, “take it like a woman.”  Makes sense to me.  Sorry guys, didn’t mean to burst your bubble.  I certainly don’t hate you.  Just think it’s a bit presumptuous to assume that you’re the toughest species on this earth.  *peace*

Try searching that phrase via your favorite search engine and you'll discover this little-known fact: Boy George's autobiography is entitled "Take it Like a Man".  No comment.

I’ve been arguing about this with a good friend of mine.  I really think nuns should be accorded the same rights as priests.  It’s unfair to deny women of the chance to perform our Sunday service, simply because most of our Church’s learned are men.  That’s right, I’m rocking the boat.  Granted, I probably don’t know as much as the learned, but I think He would want everyone to be treated equally.  I’m not even willing to entertain the argument that Eve came from one of Adam’s ribs.  There are a lot of reasons why the New Testament was written.  I’m keen on discovering them cuz I'm pretty sure this will help me find some closure on this argument (which might have been going on since women started thinking for themselves). I'm not setting a time table on this one but I'm hoping the resolution will come soon.  Sorry, but it’s gonna take some vigorous arguments and heavy verbal artillery from the FEMALE section of our clergy to convince me otherwise.  I just hope I haven’t committed some grievous sin in voicing out this opinion. :(

While surfing the net tonight, I discovered something… the question of female vs. male is actually as old (and sometimes as silly) as the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg.  Case in point, I found this on Yahoo Answers:

“If Eve came from Adam, why does boy come from girl?

When a fetus is growing the initial gender is female - and it remains a female unless it later transitions into a male.

So does that mean that women are actually the overruling gender, and males transition from females and not the other way around - and so wouldn't this contradict the view of the Bible that males come first and women are formed from males?”

 

That was the question.  And a lot of people really weighed in on the subject.  But this one really cracked me up:  “No. And to your initial question, boys come from their mothers because men can't get pregnant. duh.”  Silly and sarcastic to boot!  Another adjective that starts with an "S" comes to mind.  Great combo, ei?

And finally, this is totally unrelated but equally as alarming... I think my friends and I NEED to stop using the Mimisty moniker.  After all, sty is synonymous with… well, you get my drift.  So saying Mimi-sty is just plain silly (word of the day).  I think I’m just gonna stick with either Mimi or Misty.  I think I’m going to bed now.  My head has officially gone to the toilet.  Buona notte!

Five Kilos Gone (Part Deux)

"WHAT?!?" I literally shouted when I stepped on the scale tonight.  That comment made by one of La Nueva's managers that I had lost some weight was ringing in my ears all night so I decided to finally step on my scale after a seven-day absence.  (I honestly thought it was merely "pity compliment" cuz I was all alone eating one lonely little hash brown.) Can't believe the title I'm using for this blog is actually appropriate this time.  I'm a bit incredulous cuz I still feel bloated from the holidays.  Not counting PMS (and then menopause, as Riri so candidly puts it), that is. Still incredulous cuz this latest "report" by my trusty scale is ridiculous. Seriously!

This is one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to Monday.  Because I'm sure the heavy duty scale located conveniently outside the cafeteria of my new home, T to the E, will never lie to me.  But on second thought, my loyal purple scale has never let me down.  Hmmm... I guess this walking addiction of mine is finally paying off?  Nah, I think I'll visit T to the E this week.  Need to submit some things anyway.  We'll see if I can finally mimic my favorite "Heroes" episode for real this time.  Five Years Gone vs. Five Kilos Gone... me likey!!!  Come to think of it, maybe it's not just the walking... all this moping around and "moni2x" as brother Eyean puts it is also taking its toll.  I'll definitely take it.

Although... Ms. Tara Boyance's sit-up regimen might prove handy too.  December 2008 goal, here I come! (I hope.)  Wish me luck! :)

This is a little embarrassing (and honestly, I'm a bit disappointed)

Guess this is my "real" Heroes match.

Got this when I answered the questions sans my "evil yet confused" Elle mindset.  Tee Hee.

Being an idealist, I can relate to Hiro's qualities. Too bad, my heart was really set on being Elle. :P

Which Heroes Character Are You?

Hahaha. See? Mind over matter. :P