Who can eat just one chip? One chocolate?  Not me. Many of us have “trigger foods”. These are foods we have trouble controlling our intake of. My trigger food happens to be chocolate. If you read this blog regularly, you’ll notice many of my posts have to do with my lack of control with chocolate….  (pic of man having trouble controlling his intake of donuts….hmm …reminds me of  some of the comments regarding a contestant of New Hampshires Biggest Loser Competition who happened to love donuts).

 I gave a speech at my Toastmasters meeting on Tips to Control Your Intake of Trigger Foods. As usual, the speeches were posted on Youtube. Check it out. Also, for the complete list of tips, check out my previous post on trigger foods.

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Ok, so it wasn’t the Oprah Winfrey Show, but it was probably more amusing. I have never been interviewed on tv before where I had a 150 pound black lab (named Newman) drooling on my lap while I spoke! I guess it was my fault for bringing in the bagels and muffins for show and tell…

The fiasco started with my 2 hour and 20 minutes of trying to get to Cranford, N.J. (after missing trains and getting lost). Upon my arrival 5 minutes prior to show time, I was greeted by George Mcdonough - the host, his staff and a large dog named Newman. It turns out the dog is part of the show and would sit next to us on the couch the entire time.

The hour long show is called Here and Now and is broadcast on cable channel 35 in N.J. It is actually a political talk show where the host, George, interviews a guest and takes call in questions from viewers. The people who know me would be rather suprised to hear that I was on a political talk show as politics are not my specialty. However, George had decided to have a show on nutrition for a change of pace.

Here are some of the highlights of the show:

1. We were discussing Body Mass Index (BMI) as it relates to health. BMI is a reliable indicator of total body fat, which is related to the risk of disease and death. Ideally, your BMI should be between 18.5 and 24. A BMI of 25-29 classifies you as overweight and a BMI of over 30 is obese. George just happened to have a scale with him (hmm…) so we decided to get his weight and calculate his BMI. While George appears rather trim,  his BMI put him into the overweight category - much to his dismay.  In George’s possible defense, people who have a lot of muscle mass may have a higher BMI. I’m not sure whether or not this is the case with George as I am not aware of his muscle mass status.  Check out your BMI using this calculator.

2. Moving on to more fun with George (at this point, he was probably beginning to question his decision of bringing me onto the show!), I then decided to calulate his waist-to-hip ratio. Your waist-to-hip ratio is an important tool that helps you determine your overall health risk. People with more weight around their waist are at greater risk of lifestyle related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes than those with weight around their hips.
Use a measuring tape to check the waist and hip measurements.
- Measure your hip circumference at it’s widest part.
- Measure your Waist Circumference at the belly button or just above it. Divide your waist by your hips. Women should have a ratio of .85 or less and men 1.0 or less. Use this link to calculate your waist-to-hip ratio. Luckily, George had an ideal waist to hip ratio - though he did complain about my reading of his waist size. He seemed to feel his waist was substantially smaller than what I measured.  I won’t publish what my reading was  :)   (And no, the pic on the right is not of George’s waist!)

3. Throughout the show, Newman was panting, drooling, wagging his tail loudly agains the wall and was trying to eat the muffins and bagels I had on the table. George was a very amusing, lively host throughout the hour.

Moving to more serious stuff, here is some of what we talked about in the show:

1. Americans are rapidly becoming more and more overweight. 20 years ago, approximately 46% of Americans were overweight, now it is 66%. If it keeps going up at this rate, by the year 2050, almost every American will be overweight. You will be freakish if you are lean!

2. We have increased our caloric intake by an average of 200 calories in the past 20 years.

3. Portion sizes are 2-5 times larger than their orginal size.

4. We eat 47% of our meals on the outside. This is a problem as most foods purchased on the outside tend to be jumbo sized.

5. An average muffin has 500 calories and a bagel has 350-425 calories (and that is before the cream cheese or butter is added!)

6. Salads can be deceptively high in calories. For example, a caesar salad with grilled chicken can have up t0 900 calories.

7. Salad dressings can be killers. For example, the mini container (2 oz) of viniagrette salad dressing from Cosi’s has 350 calories!

8. We talked about the huge amount of calories found in Chinese food and other ethnic foods.

9. Less than 1/3 Americans get adequate exercise and 25% of people do absolutely no exercise at all.

10. For weight loss, an average women should consume 1200-1500 calories and a man 1600-1900 calories. Of course, this will vary widely depending upon the age, activity level and individual metabolism of the person.

I will get a DVD of the show and will try to put at least a few minutes of it on this blog. Stay tuned!

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Has anyone ever had dined at one of NYC’s top restaurants -  Le Bernardin? If so, I bet it was one of the best meals you ever had. Chef Eric Ripert  is the chef at Le Bernardin. I had the pleasure of working with Chef Eric at the “Recipes for Hypertension” program sponsored by  Norvartis in NYC at the W Union Square  on November 13.

Check out the invitation.

The program was similar the the one we did in Chicago at the Swiss hotel. See my previous post for details. This time we had Dr. David Gomolin from Boston presenting the medical lecture. I presented the nutrition lecture to approximately 80 physicians. See some of my sodium shockers I presented in the lecture.

Chef Eric Ripert  did the cooking demonstration. He prepared 3 delicious dishes. It’s always so interesting to watch chefs at work. He asked me if I would like to assist him in preparing the meal. While I would have been honored to slice and dice with Chef Eric Ripert, I declined as I value my fingers. Cooking is not my forte. At least there would have been a room full of doctors to assist if I had an accident. I decided to stick to lecturing. Overall it was a great program once again!

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I gave a talk on Holiday Eating Tips to the public speaking group I belong to -  Toastmasters.   I talked about how to handle tempting food in the office, why strict dieting during the holiday season is not a great idea, how to avoid the “holiday pig-out syndrome,  and how to handle holiday parties. Check out the video.

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I  lectured at New York Presbyterian Hospital  back in May 2007 . The title was  “I’m Tired of Weighting: New Treatments for Obesity“. I presented this lecture with Dr. Louis Aronne and Dr. Jonathon Waitman.

I lectured for 30 minutes then took part in a panel discussion. Here is an excerpt of the lecture (starting with discussing overweight dogs!):

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I just got back from Chicago where I lectured on diet to lower blood pressure. The lecture was held at the Swissotel and was sponsored by Novartis. The program was called Recipes for Hypertension Management.

Check out the invitation.

The program was great! Both the participants as well as the presenters really enjoyed the evening. I don’t know of any other program sponsored by a pharmaceutical company that includes a lecture on diet/lifestyle, a cooking demonstration by a famous chef, a great meal as well as education on a new medication. Most pharmaceutical companies have educational programs that include a talk by a physician (and a meal of course) … but I’ve never heard of a program that included a nutritionist and a chef!

The evening consisted of:

1. Cocktails and dinner at a beautiful hotel.  Hotel Executive chef, John Seagro prepared a delicious meal for the attendees.
2. My lecture on Nutrition/Lifestyle for Hypertension Management. (I think it went pretty well if I do say so myself!).
3. Lecture by well known physician Dr. George Bakris (who was also very entertaining) who discussed Novatis’s new medication for hypertension called Exforge
4. Cooking demonstration by well known chef, Rick Tramonto . Check out his new book that just came out yesterday - Fantastico. His farro, ceci bean salad and marinated fish dishes were delicious!  I will be posting these recipes in a day or so. His sous chef, Chris Pandel also did a great job with the preparation.
5. Lastly, there was a Q & A panel discussion.

Novartis is piloting this program”Recipes for Hypertension”  in LA and NYC next week. I will be participating in the NYC program on Nov. 15 at the W Hotel in Union Square. Hopefully the program will be worthwhile for them to continue. It’s a great (and fun) way to educate physicians on the importance of lifestyle as well as medication when it comes to treating high blood pressure. It also shows them that tasty meals can be healthy and low in sodium. 

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Here is a speech called “Fuel Your Workout” that I presented at Toastmasters,  a public speaking group. I hate to watch myself on video…  but I will be brave and post it anyway (btw - I don’t think I really have a “lisp” like I do in the video….at least I didn’t think I did!)

If you can not access the video that is posted here, try this link:  Fueling Your Workout on YouTube.  For more details on sports nutrition, check out my post “Fuel Your Workout” a few weeks ago.

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Check out Martha’s quote in Womansday.com        

Snack Off the Pounds
How to fit mini-meals into your weight-loss plan

Trying to lose weight? Snacking doesn’t have to be your downfall. In fact, having small, frequent meals can actually help you shed pounds. Not only does it rev up your metabolism so your body burns slightly more calories than it does when you eat less frequently, snacking also helps you stay in control so you’re less likely to overeat at lunch or dinner.

Don’t forget to keep calories in mind, however. “Many women who struggle with weight eat too many calories between meals, often without even realizing it,” explains Dawn Jackson, R.D., a Chicago-based registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. “In some cases, snacks may pack in more calories than meals.”

How Many, How Big?
One midmorning snack and one afternoon snack, each containing up to 200 calories, will satisfy most people, suggests weight-loss expert Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Penn State University and author of The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan. Dr. Rolls says a daily diet containing about 1,600 calories, with about 400 for breakfast, 500 for lunch, 500 for dinner and two 100-calorie snacks, will promote weight loss among most overweight women.

“Snacks should also be planned,” adds Dr. Rolls. “Too often, snacking is mindless nibbling on whatever you have readily accessible in the refrigerator or cupboard. Before you know it, you’ve eaten five hundred calories’ worth of chips.” Instead, pay attention when you’re eating and don’t allow yourself to eat and read or eat and watch TV. When you’re eating, that’s all you should be doing.

The Right Snacks
The best snacks are those that are high in bulk and low in calories—essentially, foods that fill you up with the fewest calories. Ideally, a snack should contain carbohydrates, fiber and protein, with perhaps a small amount of fat.

Fruits and vegetables are among the best snacks of all because they’re rich in nutrients and fiber and low in calories. When you snack on most non-starchy vegetables, you don’t even have to account for them in your diet, says Dr. Rolls. Some vegetables that contain significant calories are potatoes, corn, beans, peas, lentils and winter squash.
Fresh fruit is a great option, too, because most women can have two or three pieces of fruit daily without worrying about gaining weight. Fruit juice and canned fruit in syrup are less filling and these should be limited.

Snack Attacks: Reality or Not?
Afternoon and after dinner are the times when most people have problems controlling what they eat, says Martha McKittrick, R.D., C.D.E., a registered dietitian and weight-loss counselor at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. “Afternoon snacks are usually a good idea if there’s a long time between lunch and dinner, but most people can go without an evening snack. They’re eating more out of habit than because they’re physically hungry.”
Often, the desire for a snack comes from another emotion or from habit, not hunger, says McKittrick. Here’s what she has her patients do when they have a snack attack. Before grabbing something to eat, answer these questions: “Am I really hungry? Do I feel hunger pangs?” If the answers are yes, plan and eat an appropriate snack of up to 200 calories.

If not, you may be bored, stressed, frustrated, mad, worried or tired. If you can identify an emotion that is causing you to want to eat, find an appropriate way to deal with that emotion. Eating a snack cannot do anything to beat boredom or solve a conflict. Take a break, call a supportive friend, stretch or do something positive for yourself.
 

See my post on basic tips for snacks and suggestions for crunchy snacks (more ideas for snacks will be coming soon!)
 

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I was interviewed by Gina Shakespear on organic food and overall nutritional choices. She was reporting for New Tang Dynasty Television New York. Check out this link to see my first appearance on a Chinese TV station.

 My quote: “Over 66% of Americans are over weight. Foods tend to be processed … many foods are refined so you often don’t find whole grain breads and cereals.  When you’re eating on the run, we often do not eat enough fruit and vegetables, not enough fiber and too much fat and sodium. It is also difficult to make healthy choices from a weight control standpoint when you’re on the run  - especially in America - because of the jumbo sized portions.”

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I belong to a public speaking group toastmasters. It is a great program that helps you improve your public speaking. Here is one of the speeches I did at toastmaster’s on insomnia: (the sound quality is not that great… do I really sound like that?)

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