Portion Your Plate Right with MyPlate

If you haven't heard already, the Food Pyramid is no more, and has been replaced with a colorful, ideally sectioned plate. Introducting MyPlate from the USDA.

The idea behind the new concept is that people more easily relate to a plate since they use one everyday for most meals. Plus the guidelines offered by MyPlate are made to be simplier and easier to follow and stick with. So check the following short video on MyPlate and see whether it can help you in your meal planning.





To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences,

Using Your Hands for Easy Portion Control!

You hear it all the time. Watch your portion size when looking to eat healthier and manage weight. It seems so simple, but like most "easy" things, is easier said than done for most. To make portion control work, I feel its best to get to the most elementary level possible. How much more elementary can you get than your hands? My hands you ask? Yes your hands, and this time it really is as easy as it looks.

Check out this hand portion control chart to learn more. For instance the chart states one "cupped" hand is equivalent to half a cup of cooked vegetables, pastas, icecream, pudding etc. This tool is not about using your hands as utensils, but it's certainly an easy place to start. It's really all about having a visual in your head of everyday portion sizes so that it becomes second nature. Then you can truly become portion savvy.


To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences,

A Practical and Fun Take on Non-Dieting

As the new year rolls through, I sincerely feel that a greater number of people are opting for more holistic approaches to weight management. Such holistic approaches include clearing the stuff inwardly that is the real source of weight issues, exercising in ways that are enjoyable and pleasing, making peace with food by eating the most wholesome and pure food out there instead of labeling any food as good or bad etc.

Recently I got in my inbox perhaps one of the best examples of why a non-diet approach to weight management is so important, and that lesson comes from a dog! The video is entitled Lessons on Dieting...From a Dog




I feel that this short video brings the point across in a way that words sometimes don't. Well sometimes simplicity is the most effective way to convey a message.


To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences

8 Ways to Cut the Fat Without The “Low Fat” Label

Low fat foods have been the rave for quite some time and for many concerned with weight management, including such foods in their daily meal plan has become essential. Whilst fat reduced or low fat substitutes for regular foods such as milk and cheese and normally decadent treats like cakes and cookies, may do the trick, this doesn’t come without a price.

Besides the obvious upside to low fat eating-losing weight -there are 2 main down sides.

1. There is the perception that eating low fat foods overrides the impact of other foods in the diet. We often feel that because a food is low fat, that is an automatic free pass to eat more of it than its regular counterpart. We forget that fats are not the only calorie contributors in our diet and that we have to look at the total carbohydrate, fat, and protein component of the food, not just the fat.

2. The taste of food can often be compromised with having less of its flavor enhancing fat component present


Although purchasing foods with the “low fat” label is valuable, there are some ways to cut the fat without necessitating this “label”. That means there is the sense of controlling the fat content without needing to mostly zap it out. There are several subtle ways you can manage the fat without needing the physical “low fat” label. Some useful food substitutions include:

1. Cheddar Cheese: Substitute with half the amount called for using Extra Sharp cheese and ½ tsp dry mustard for flavor.

2. Whipped Cream: Substitute with evaporated skimmed milk, chilled until almost frozen, then whip

3. ½ cup oil for baking: Substitute with ¼ oil plus 1/4 cup applesauce or ¼ cup oil + 1/8 cup applesauce and 1/8 cup buttermilk

4. Bacon: Substitute with turkey bacon

5. 1 Whole egg: Substitute with 2 egg whites

6. 1 cup Chocolate chips: Substitute with 2/3 cups chocolate chips

7. Nuts: Reduce amount by substituting with ½ or 1/3 of what is called for

8. Fudge sauce: Substitute with chocolate syrup

Substitution Tips adapted from Kingley Health



To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-free Food Experiences,

Change the Way You Look at New Years Resolutions and Dieting

The New Years Resolutions and Dieting ritual relies greatly on willpower and pumped up drive. We are encouraged to approach our resolutions full force, and make them as big and extreme as possible.

Therefore, New Years Diet Resolutions create much passion and enthusiasm in the beginning, both of which usually burn out way before the end goal is achieved. The need to get to our desired end weight is so great that we dive right in often time with little preparation.

In the following article, Pavel G. Somov, Ph.D., author of Eating Moments, proposes that we set no dieting resolutions at all. After briefly explaining the real meaning of the word “resolution”, he goes on to explain in detail why dieting does not work.

You can read the article entitled New Year: No More Resolutions.



To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-free Food Experiences,

The Top Self-Improvement Books to Kick Start Your Goals for The New Year

As a new year and a new decade begins, many of us have new goals and resolutions in place, and we need all the help we can get to keep motivated and inspired to experience the positive results we are working towards. There are so many personal development books out there that it can be challenging to filter out the best ones. And even though you already have even 20 books on your wish list that you’ve either had recommended to you or you’ve researched, each could take you hours to get through. Philosopher’s Notes has addressed this by offering the opportunity for you to read or listen to 100 of the top Self-Development, Success, and Self-Improvement books available.

The books depict top authors in the field like Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle, Jack Canefield, Louise Hay and more. The cool thing about it is that each book entry is a shortened version either in a 6-page report or a 20 minute audio with the major points, ideas, core lessons and principles conveyed in each book. Think of it as Cliff Notes for Self-Help books.

In short, you get the take home message and teaching principles of the book, so you can get what it is that you need to learn from it in the easiest way. This format allows you to get right to the life changing part of the book without needing to get through the entire book first. Plus it costs a lot less than buying 100 books. And if you do decide to purchase some of the books on your own, they are likely to be the books you really resonate with. Often times, we can delay reading a book because we figure we don’t have the time to read through it. But the desire for success, increased happiness, fulfillment, and overall wellness still remains even though we procrastinate. The Philosophers Notes are like bite-size jolts of wellness.


To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-free Food Experiences,

Evaluating Your Eating Style

Our eating style very much influences the way we relate to food. Identifying our specific eating style helps us to better understand what drives or motivates us to eat. Are we motivated by emotions, an insatiable need to limit or restrict our intake or are we purely responding to hunger and satiety cues?


Three (3) main eating styles can be identified. They are Attuned Eating, Deprivation Driven Eating (aka Dieting) and Emotional Eating. Attuned Eating basically means that you recognize and listen to your natural, internal hunger/fullness cues allowing them to guide your eating. Unlike the other eating styles, attuned eating has no other agenda. There is no using food to compensate for anything else, the pressure to label food as "good" or "bad", the need to try to surpress hunger etc.. You don't ignore hunger, you eat what you want, and stop when full without emotional pain, guilt or stress.

It is important to recognize that food is just one component of a healthy, fulfilling life. Healthy living is about body, mind and soul including everything from our relationships, how we care for ourselves, our level of self-confidence, our social interactions and recreational activities etc. Therefore, it is important that we become aware of what eating style we are practicing daily, so that we can better address the factors which may be negatively impacting our relationship with our food.

To better understand Attuned Eating and how all the three eating styles compare to each other please refer to this table from Nourishing Connections explaining everything in much more detail. Nourishing Connections is a non-diet intervention approach to weight management, nutrition and well being.



To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences,




NOTE: Next time I will discuss recognizing the difference between physical activity and regimented exercise aimed at achieving a defined weight, and also incorporating effortless activity into daily living. Also, remember to sign up for the 10-Part E-course on How Non-Diet Weight Management Can Work for You to gain more insight on making eating guilt free and enjoyable.

Getting Enough Calories and Nutrition

Sufficient daily calorie intake is crucial whether you are on a diet or not. Dieting and skipping meals mean restrictive calorie intake which can ultimately decrease the body’s metabolic rate (the rate at which energy is used by the body). As you give the body less calories to work with it responds by trying to conserve energy to make sure that it is able to support its daily tasks. But the result of all of this is usually fatigue and lethargy. Furthermore, if one were to increase calories significantly, it is likely that they would gain weight because those calories would be burned at a much slower rate. This is why once someone has stopped dieting and begins eating normally they may regain the weight.

The bottom line is that the body needs ample energy and the ability to function at its best. It is able to do this by utilizing Carbohydrates, Protein, Fats and many minerals and vitamins. Carbohydrates' role is primarily to provide a direct source of energy and fuel. Fat also provides energy although the process of extracting energy from fat is more complicated.

There is an interchange of mostly carbs and some fat for energy as needed, but it is ideal to have enough carbs in the diet so that the body isn’t forced to resort to both Fat and Protein in the absence of sufficient Carbohydrates. Protein has many other major functions (e.g. for tissue building and repair) and when the body is forced to use it for energy then this usually means that the body is greatly deprived and starved. So be wary of extreme carb. restriction.

Carbohydrates, Protein and Fats are all essential and need to be consumed in proportion to each other to make sure that they are being utilized in the most efficient way in the body. Although there are variants to the proportions, daily requirements are generally 55% Carbohydrates, 15% Protein, and 30% Fat of total calories consumed for the day. They are each used by the body in very specific ways to complete tasks and maintain an optimal state of health.

A simple way to ensure that you are getting enough energy and nutrition is to consume nutrient-dense foods. This means less processed foods,and foods which have been minimally altered. This would also ensure that you are consuming enough vitamins and minerals which are also needed for generating energy and serving the many other functions of the body. For e.g. at breakfast time, a nutrient dense food like whole grain hot or cold cereal with nuts or whole grain bread with nut butter would provide high quality Carbohydrate, Protein as well as Fat calories, and essential vitamins and minerals.


To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences,

Can You Overdo Healthy Eating?

I know you must be asking, How can anyone overdo healthy eating, isn’t healthy to any degree a good thing? Well sometimes you can overdo a good thing. Once the “bad”, unhealthy food has been identified the objective becomes elimination, elimination, elimination.

One common area of overdoing health is with fats and low carbohydrates. In the case of fats and carbohydrates, which are often categorized in the “bad” food category, one would think that these weren’t nutrients required in the diet. Things can quickly get out of hand, to the point where elimination of these targeted foods becomes the dominant energy a person experiences around eating.
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Extreme avoidance of anything that is labeled as “bad” can create anxiety.

-Generally any negative emotions attributed to food whether it is around excessive, emotional eating or avoidance eating leads to guilt and unease.

-Overdoing healthy can also lead to a very unilateral view of foods. For example a food item as a whole is only judged by its absence of the “culprit” ingredient or component. That’s why it can become so easy to overdo foods labeled as “fat-free” for example.

In the case of "fat-free foods, often times, the rest of the nutritional profile of the food, aside from the fat content, is almost overlooked. It is most helpful that the overall nutritional value of a food be considered when your focus is on health. A soda is fat free, but most wouldn’t generally consider it beneficial nutritionally. A cookie might be “fat-free”, but be loaded with fake ingredients.

So it’s important to broaden and open your mind, so that you don’t miss out on nutritionally valuable foods just because they're not fat-free or carbohydrate free, etc. Yes it’s fine to include these in the diet as well, but not exclusively so. And it also must be remembered that these nutrients are needed in certain quantities in the diet to promote good health, energy for the body, and proper functioning of all the organs of the body.

Healthy eating should be more about "What You Can Eat" rather than "What You Cannot Eat”. Food should never create anxiety whether it be about excessive eating or the extreme elimination of foods considered as unhealthy or inclusion only of foods considered healthy. Unless someone truly has a food allergy, there should be some balance, because healthy eating is as much about having wonderful, enjoyable, stress-free eating experiences as it is about the food itself.


To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences,


NOTE: Next time I will be discussing getting adequate calories in the diet for optimal health and energy whether you are looking to loose weight or not. Also, remember to sign up for the 10-Part E-course on How Non-Diet Weight Management Can Work for You to gain more insight on making eating guilt free and enjoyable.

A Diet For Life?

Like most other people, I am always faced with someone around me looking for the ultimate answer to weight management. Often the answer which most people expect is in some form of diet recommendation or extreme calorie restricted meal plan. For many Nutritionists it’s therefore easy to succumb to the Diet Doctor role, because that’s what people expect and it's where the demand and cash is.

Diets are often geared towards short term weight goals. So they have their purpose. However, in the case where someone gets wonderful results from a diet, there is often that awkward post-diet period where the weight has been lost, but the person doesn’t know how to or is not willing to let go of the diet.Even if there has been no desirable results, the tendency is to get on another diet.

Although, it can be hard to break free of the routine of such structured eating, one has to ask themselves the question “Can I or do I want to be on a Diet for Life or for any extended period of time?” Especially when undergone for extended periods of time I've seen dieting easily lead to Anemia and reduced nourishment in some form or the other. It makes sense with such aggressive elimination and restriction of individual or entire groups of foods, and not to mention the 'laxative' diet teas and questionable 'magic bullet' concoctions. Although diet bars, shakes etc have evolved somewhat they are no substitute for real food.

The Savvy Non-Dieter advocates things like regular meal intake without skipping meals or starving oneself, incorporating the most healthy forms of carbs, protein, fats in the diet, eating mindfully with attention and purpose, portion size awareness, increasing appreciation and understanding of the food we eat (quality and wholesomeness, freshness, sustainability, organic certification status etc.), among other things.

It pays to be a Savvy Non-Dieter, not simply as a type of defiance against all things diet. It’s about being empowered to more often bring quality of life and quality food encounters to the forefront of our eating experiences. It pays to be a Savvy Non-Dieter in a Food Phobic World.

Plate Size and Portion Control

Plate Size in relation to portion control seems so simple a concept, but one which has mostly gone unnoticed at the dinner or restaurant table. I have written before regarding how helpful it is to look at not only the utensils but also the size of the plates we use when dishing out food. It just so happens that a few days ago on Food Network’s Food Detectives the Plate Size/Portion Control connection was confirmed with a scientific experiment conducted in collaboration with Dr. Brian Wansink.

The experiment was performed on two groups who were each served the exact buffet-style meal, one group using a small plate and the other using a significantly bigger plate. It was found that the group with the larger plates ate about 38% more food than the group using the smaller plates, and that was even with the smaller plate group having seconds.

What The Findings Indicate:

The findings show that plate size does truly matter when it comes to eating, because we usually tend to eat what we put on our plate. So instead of measuring food, as a diet would have you do, begin with changing your plates instead. That way food portion management becomes something you can begin to do with very little thought. Take in consideration the Total Diameter of the plate including the rim or border.

Things get so much easier when we don't have to think about them all the time, and then they actually work. Switching to a smaller plate size and only eating what can reasonably be added to the plate is a simple thing to do. As a true Non-Dieter you must pledge to no longer be a slave to food; and finding ways to make weight management and mealtime effortless is key. Changing your plates is an easy start.

5 Reasons To Have A Fun Exercise Routine That You Can Absolutely Love

Don’t we all want to exercise in a way that doesn’t have us expending a quarter of the day at the gym when we have already expended three quarters of it on work and family? Or perhaps you are just not a morning person like me, and the idea of getting up 5am every morning before work to jog in the park or go to the gym might be too much for you. And don’t even get me started on those winter mornings!
Shouldn’t exercise be sweet, fun and fit into our schedule?

From my personal experience, I have found squeezing in minutes of exercise in inventive ways have been more effective than hours at the gym. I am on a constant quest to find exercise alternatives that are fun, simple, and effective. I know there are many who would probably keep to an exercise routine if it met the above criteria.

Convince yourself now that exercise ought to be fun. Here are some reasons to support that notion:

1. Exercise on its own has been found to be a stress reducer, but when it is fun too, your heart is truly into it. This can be a true soul booster and you really feel the euphoria from the experience.

2. Fun in exercise fuels long-term desire.It puts you in the mode of wanting to do the activity which you find fun and enjoyable. Therefore you do it more often.

3. It is easier to solicit the involvement of family, friends etc. to become part of a fitness activity that is fun and enjoyable. Eg. Bicycling, playing basketball in the backyard with the kids, playing volleyball on the beach, going salsa dancing or taking a salsa class with the spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend.

4. It can open the door to like-minded people who help support you in your efforts to incorporate unconventional forms of exercise into your life.

5. Your exercise space is more likely to be in a 'non-exercise' environment such as your home, a dance studio, the beach, the park, your backyard etc. Therefore this removes the mindset of having to be in 'exercise-mode' as you would be in a gym for example; plus you are surrounded with the familiarity of your home, family, dog or whatever resonates comfort for you.

When you exercise for fun, you are there to be in enjoyment of the activity and this is the primary focus. In fact it's not exercise at all. It is just something you love doing.


The hardest part is getting ourselves to start somewhere, and often we may feel that if we can’t do the whole, long routine then we can’t do anything period. But it doesn’t have to be all or nothing with exercise. Anything that you can do gets your body working, and helps to build your motivation. So make it sweet, easy and fun always! Now there’s a new concept.

Do in Order To Become Inspired...Then Do More.

At this time of year many of us are inspired to make Resolutions and Declarations of things that we intend to accomplish in 2009. With these general statements, we enter the new year with a new sense of vigor and a true call for real action. There is a great deal of inspiration and a sense of empowerment.

We start out ready to act, and hope that we can stay inspired and focused enough to keep the momentum going. But the decision itself and your conviction are not enough. I feel that waiting for conviction and inspiration, we never do anything or we give up the moment we don't 'feel' it anymore. So in this sense, it is true that "inspiration seldom generates action" or at least consistant action. Even if the goal is to be more inspired, this itself requires concrete action to get you to that state.

Doing when you don't feel like doing is sometimes an important way to keep inspired about a goal or resolution. Just think of a time when the last thing you wanted to do was smile, but you physically forced the smile perhaps after thinking of a cute puppy or something or someone pleasant. You didn't need to wait until you felt better or witnessed something funny to smile. However, taking action to 'fake it' may well have gotten you to a better feeling state even if you may not have been feeling your best.

The initial month or two of the year will most certainly test the strength of the changes you hope to make and stick with for 2009 and beyond. When it comes to food related goals, choose to incorporate the Non-Dieter Mindset principle of Being Unconventional. Do it your way and be open to adjusting your resolutions/goals to suit the changing tides of your life. After all, change is the only constant; it's just inevitable. Knowing that you're not bounded to the original form of a resolution or goal can make action towards it feel less constraining. Resolutions are too general and constricting anyway.

In terms of nutrition related goals , make the idea of fun a guiding and integral element. For example, with healthy eating the statement "I am trying foods from different cultures and experimenting with at least 4 new cuisines" or "I am shopping at a Natural/Organic Food Grocer" sounds more like something you may take action towards in the long run than if you were to simply say "I am eating healthier".

Remember that in real life, eating healthier often takes a backseat to eating enjoyably. People often say that they want to eat healthy, but if the food sucks they seldom stick to the 'healthy' plan. Trying foods from different cultures will certainly make your eating experiences more enjoyable while expanding on the number of healthy food choices made available to you.

Set actual objectives. Because these are specific and measurable outcomes, they put you in a constant action mode. Plus they cut a big and daunting goal into bite-size tasks you can better handle. By being specific, you make yourself more accountable. How many different foods do you want to try and by when? Write a list of ethnic restaurants to visit or a new recipe to try and set a time frame. Which Natural/Organic Food Store will you visit and how often per week or month? It might seem like a little more effort, but it eliminates vagueness which is a precursor to non-action.

Thinking that inspiration is always going to be available at will or you are always going to be enthusiastic about change is quite a misunderstanding. That's the main reason I feel so many well intentioned goals and resolutions get thrown in the bucket within a short time. People may feel that not having inspiration means that they probably don't want what they thought they wanted after all or they are not strong enough for it or they can't do it. Sometimes, however, taking responsibility for your own inspiration means that you may have to, as the saying goes, "Fake it Until You Make It". In the end taking any positive action, regardless of how small, truly brings about inspiration and results.



**I wish all of you a joyous and marvelous New Year and wonderful, fulfilling and healthful eating experiences always.