Weight Management

Do You Have to Choose Between Wine & Your Waistline?

April 17th, 2013 By Meagan Moyer, RD/LD

When it comes to drinking alcohol and your health, thousands of experts have weighed in. One thing that they can all agree on is that when it comes to drinking alcohol and your weight, moderation is key.

A recent article on CNN.com shed some light on the fact that alcohol not only adds hundreds of calories to your diet – a regular beer can add up to more than 150 calories while a glass of wine can cost you 100 calories – but it also temporarily halts your body’s ability to burn fat. So, while the beer you had with pizza and wings might not be a major caloric offender, your body insists on breaking down the calories from the alcohol first, leaving the calories from what you ate to get stored as fat.

So, does this mean that you must resign yourself to teetotaling? No, says Meagan Moyer, registered dietician for the Emory Bariatric Center. But you do need to follow a few rules to keep from growing a beer belly or wine waist!

Keep it simple – A good rule of thumb is the fewer ingredients the better. It’s generally safer to go with a glass of wine or a beer rather than a fancy mixed drink that is loaded with sugar or salt from added juices, soda and mixers.
Eat before you drink – It might sound counterintuitive if you’re trying to skimp on calories, but eating a snack or meal with healthy fat, fiber and protein can help stave off the sugar crash that often comes after a night of drinking. It also can help you feel full so that you’re not picking off of every tray being passed.
Keep count – Conventional wisdom points to the one drink a night rule for women. So, does this mean you can abstain all week and then blow it out on Saturday? Not so fast. Drinking several drinks in one night will mess with your blood sugar, add hundreds of calories to your diet and decrease your judgment in making good food choices – a trifecta of disaster for your waistline.

Author: Meagan Moyer, RD/LD, Emory Bariatric Center

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Renew Your Weight Loss Goals for 2013

January 21st, 2013 By Sarah Tannen, Dietetic Intern

The new year is an exciting time. As 2012 comes to the end, it is the perfect time to renew your commitment to the goals you want to achieve. Set yourself up for success by following these tips for setting achievable goals.

Tip 1: Set SMART goals

SMART goals are:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-bound

Tip 2: Set a Lifetime Goal

The best goal you can set would be a lifetime goal. Why? Because it is a goal that you can always improve on, and it shapes the way all your other goals are attained. Set a goal that you want to achieve, not what others feel you should accomplish.

Tip 3: Set small goals

Setting smaller, achievable goals will help you reach your main goal by achieving smaller milestones along the way. By setting smaller goals, you allow yourself to specialize and focus in one area at a time. It is easier to stay motivated when you are accomplishing many small goals rather than falling short on one large, unrealistic goal. Stay positive, smaller goals add up over time.

Tip 4: Reward Yourself

Once you complete a goal, take time to enjoy your accomplishments! A reward should be something for yourself that you enjoy and deserve. It can be tangible or intangible such a buying a new shirt or going for a walk to clear your mind. These rewards will give you motivation to continue setting new attainable goals since you know there is something at the finish line. Never reward yourself with food.

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New Year, New You – Why it’s Critical to Your Health to Lose Weight in 2013

December 27th, 2012 By Emory Bariatric Center

Now that the holidays are finally behind us, it’s time to get serious about your New Year’s resolutions. With more than a third of the adult population in the United States obese, it’s no surprise that one of the top resolutions every year is to lose weight.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans resolving to lose weight in 2013, it’s important to understand that losing weight isn’t just about looking good. It’s more about getting and staying healthy – and even improving health issues that are associated with being overweight, such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and joint pain.

Because losing weight truly is a journey, Arvinpal Singh, MD, Medical Director of the Emory Bariatric Center and an American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) Certified medical bariatrician, is hosting an online chat on Tuesday, January 8 at noon EST to share tips on healthful living and weight loss pearls of wisdom, as well as give his insight on different approaches to weight loss, including surgical and non-surgical options.

Get 2013 off to a healthy start and join Dr. Singh and other chat participants to share tips, ideas and get questions answered related to how you can make positive changes to last the new year and beyond.

Related Resources

New Year, New You CHAT TRANSCRIPT

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6 Healthy Eating Tips To Stave Off Holiday Weight Gain

December 20th, 2012 By Sarah Tannen, Dietetic Intern

As the year comes to an end, so often do the thoughts of healthy eating habits. the thought of keeping the pounds off during the holidays. With multiple holiday parties throughout December, it may seem hard to keep the weight off, but preparation is the key to success.

1) Have a Plan
Plan to succeed or plan to fail. Plan accordingly if you know you are going to be limited on the foods you can eat at holiday parties. Bring some healthy snacks to eat at the party or eat a light meal before going to curb your appetite. Sample the foods at the party, rather than eat a plateful of each dish. If it is a party where you bring a dish, bring something that you know you can eat and enjoy. Vegetables and low fat dip are always a good option to add color to the table.

2) Everything in Moderation
There is no need to avoid your favorite holiday foods if you eat them in moderation. Portion sizes are important in weight management and weight loss. Controlling portions allows you to eat the foods you like without depriving yourself. Take one serving of the food you want to eat and walk away from the table. It is more satisfying to eat smaller portions of a variety of foods than a big portion of one food.

3) Exercise
Keep moving to stay warm as well as burn off those holiday calories. Walking 30 minutes a day, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and doing some light weight resistance training can help keep you on track with your weight loss goals.

4) Drink Right, Feel Right
Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated. Drinking water can make you feel fuller and help prevent overeating. Avoid alcoholic beverages since they add extra calories and sugar. If you do chose to drink alcoholic beverages, drink wine, light beer or spirits with no-calories mixers.

5) When in Doubt, Fruit and Veggie It Out
Include fruits and vegetables at every meal. Snack on vegetables or fruits throughout the day instead of the holidays goodies at work. Not only are fruits/veggies low in calories, they are high in antioxidants, giving you extra immunity during the cold winter months.

6) Forgive Yourself and Move On
Don’t let the thought of overindulging at Thanksgiving keep you from moving forward in your weight loss goals during the rest of the holiday season and into the new year. Take every day as a new day and a fresh opportunity to get closer to your goal.

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Diet Frustrations? 5 Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight

September 6th, 2012 By Meagan Mohammadione, RD, LD

Losing weight is hard and can be very frustrating at times. Here are some common pitfalls that people make and suggestions on how to get over them.

You think fat-free also means calorie-free – When a food claims to be fat-free, sugar-free, or light, it doesn’t mean the food is low in calories or even healthy. Eating these foods often lead people to think they can eat more! How many times have you thought, “These cookies are low-fat, which means I can eat more.”? Always check to see how many calories there are in one serving before you begin eating to avoid any unwanted surprises.
You’re not being truthful to yourself – No one saw you eat that handful of potato chips, so it doesn’t count, right? Accountability is a big part of weight loss, and it’s a lot harder to be accountable to ourselves than to other people. Many people find using food diary websites or Smartphone apps to log their food intake as a great way to stay accountable. Try using My Fitness Pal or Lose It!
You are skipping breakfast to save calories – People who skip breakfast actually eat more! Eating breakfast kick-starts your metabolism for the rest of the day. Eating only one or two large meals at the end of the day is like throwing wood into a fire that has no flame. Eat something within one hour of waking up. If you are not a breakfast person, try having a meal replacement shake or smoothie, which are not as heavy on the stomach.
You think you can’t exercise – Anything that raises your heart rate counts as exercise. Think about what kind of physical activity you enjoy doing — you are much more likely to stick to it if you like it. For those that are short on time, exercise is cumulative. You don’t need to exercise for long periods of time to see the benefits. And most importantly, remember that some exercise is always better than none at all.
You are expecting perfection – We all know that no one is perfect. But for some reason, we expect ourselves to be perfect when it comes to losing weight. We get angry with ourselves for “falling off the wagon”. Learn to forgive yourself. Remember that we don’t have to hit a home run; we just need to get on base.

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Energy Density: How to Eat More with Fewer Calories

July 20th, 2012 By Emory Bariatric Center

Eating out is typically an opportunity for people to overeat and go overboard with portions. If you are trying to lose weight, sometimes eating out can be a setback. Not only are the portions larger, but the food is typically higher in fat, salt, and sugar. Research has shown that when we have the choice between eating more or eating less, we typically choose to eat more, especially when we have something tasty in front of us!

One approach to combat overeating fatty and highly caloric foods when you are out, is to start a meal with a large salad filled with non-starchy vegetables (with little or no dressing), or a broth-based low calorie soup. Focusing on eating foods high in nutrients and water, but relatively low in calories, also known as “low energy dense” foods, help to satisfy you due to their water content. Low energy dense foods include non-starchy vegetables, some fruits, broth based soups, and non-fat dairy. They may also keep you from eating large quantities of “high energy dense” foods, which will be higher in calories and fat. High energy dense foods include cookies, chips, pasta with cream sauce, and fried foods to name a few. You can eat a lot more raw leafy greens than you can eat French fries, for a lot fewer calories.

Eating a diet higher in low energy dense foods may help with portion control of the higher energy dense foods. For example if you are at a restaurant and you start a meal with a large house salad filled with vegetables and the dressing on the side, and you order chicken parmesan as your entrée, you are likely to eat less of the entrée compared to if you had not eaten the salad. You may even leave the restaurant feeling pleasantly satisfied, without feeling overstuffed. When you are cooking at home, you can also increase the bulk of pasta dishes and soups by adding vegetables.

The bottom line with many eating plans is to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. Not only are they packed with nutrients, but they also have more water and fiber that can help satisfy you and displace your intake of the more “unhealthy” foods available to us.

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6 Tips for Controlling Your Weight During the Holidays

November 23rd, 2011 By Emory Bariatric Center

All of us know that the holidays can be a perilous time for those who wish to lose weight, with all the parties, family gatherings and food around us. It is part of our culture to overeat from Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day, and others around us are likely to do so. Moreover, the food consumed often is high in sugar and fat, and alcohol does not relieve hunger very well, and can cause us to be less in control and more inattentive.

The following are some ideas to consider to help you control your weight during the holidays:

Remind yourself that our culture at large does not have to be your personal culture.
Make sure that your thinking and attitude are healthy. Think of moderate eating during the holidays as a step toward better health and function, and not as “deprivation.” Avoid berating yourself for any lapses; however, do not gloss over them, and use them as a cue to set goals for the next time you are in a similar situation.
Plan an overall strategy in advance of the holiday season. Consider what problems you have had in the past and think of ways to address these problems successfully.
Go to a social event with a plan for eating. Compensate for any planned increase in eating with reduced eating and/or increased exercise before the event. If possible, avoid going to the event when overly hungry or tired. While there, eat slowly to help control the quantity of food consumed.
Avoid having leftovers or high-calorie food sitting around in your environment without a plan for them.
Don’t forget exercise, which easily can be neglected with busy schedules and colder weather.

What else? Do you have tips and tricks that you use to control your weight around Thanksgiving and other holidays? If so, please share them with us and our readers in the comments below!

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