In a New England medical journal study, men and women with genetic risk of obesity were 4 times more likely to become obese drinking one sugary drink a day versus those who drank one a month. Sugary drinks (juice is no better than soda) tampers with your body’s ability to maintain stable weight. They make you fat. They allow you to eat the way you normally do plus the extra calories whereas, eating whole wheat bread and beans fill you up so you don’t consume extra. Aim for water, tea (without sugar), or fruit/herbs/veggie infused water.
When losing weight, should you cut carbs or fat or protein? After a year, those who cut fat as much as possible versus those who cut carbs lost the same amount of weight – 12 pounds. Both groups cut about 500-600 calories per day and ate healthy without sugars or refined grains. Unfortunately, Americans get a quarter of their calories from added sugars and refined grains and very little from vegetables (excluding potatoes).
The conclusion? If you eat whole foods without sugar and refined grains, it doesn’t matter if you cut carbs or fat. Eating healthy is the main take home message. In addition, minimize those sugary drinks as they are nothing but empty calories. A few pounds every year adds up over the years.
Enjoy your holiday meals. Don’t obsess about your food. Do enjoy it but choose whole foods (single ingredient foods), minimize sugar and refined carbs. Listen to internal cues and watch those portions too.
If you need help understanding nutrition and all the mixed messages out there, give us a call. We will address your stress level, eating habits, exercise, cravings, emotional eating, and overall health and happiness. Start with a free health consultation at www.HappyFoodHealth.com or (619) 876-2655. See if this is the right match for you. I do things very differently to make health a natural lifestyle and this is not for everyone. Check out Yelp for other people’s opinion of Happy Food.
~ Samantha Hua, Nutrition & Holistic Health Coach, San Diego, CA
