Tag Archives: overeating

April 25, 2021 · 11:26 pm

How to reduce food waste and promote healthy eating

Food waste and obesity are major problems in developed countries. They are both caused by an overabundance of food, but strategies to reduce one can inadvertently increase the other. A broader perspective can help identify ways to limit food waste while also promoting healthy nutrition, two University of Illinois researchers suggest.

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“You can reduce food waste by obtaining less or eating more. Our concern was that if people are reducing waste by eating more, what does that mean for nutrition? And how do we think about these tradeoffs in a way that promotes both good nutrition outcomes and good food waste outcomes? Public policies have generally focused on either obesity or food waste, but rarely considered them together, says Brenna Ellison, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE) at U of I.

Ellison and Melissa Pflugh Prescott, assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) at U of I, discuss a systems approach to addressing food waste and nutrition in a new paper, published in Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

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May 31, 2020 · 12:27 pm

Can Cherries Cause an Upset Stomach?

Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger

If you are on the lookout for healthy snacks that you can munch on instead of potato chips, chocolate or other not-so-nutritious foods, check out cherries.

Recently, a guy I know bought cherries to satisfy that need without consuming a lot of empty calories. He ended up demonstrating that even natural healthy snacks have their limits. You need to use your brain when snacking and don’t overdo it, no matter whether it’s Cheetos or cherries.

Twice in recent weeks, this guy ate about a pound of cherries at one sitting. Eating that quantity of food at one sitting is just not smart any way you look at it, even a good healthy natural food like cherries.

Searching online for information about the problems he was having, he learned that everyone should limit their intake of cherries at one sitting to a cup at most.

As I say so often on…

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January 14, 2020 · 12:28 am

Tips on overeating – Tufts

One of the key concepts of a living a healthy life and controlling your weight is – “You can’t outrun your fork.” In other words, if you eat badly no matter how much exercise you get it isn’t going to earn you good health. The following tips come from the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter.

steak and french fries on gray plate

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–Focus on NUTRITIONAL quality of food. Highly-processed foods may be more likely to trigger craving and overeating.

–Avoid distractions. Focus on the food you’re eating and slow down to increase odds of recognizing when you’ve had enough.

–Don’t get too hungry. It may be harder to control food intake and choices when the body’s systems are all screaming for food.

–Address stress. Look for ways to cut down on exposure to stressful situations. Try stress-reducing techniques such as meditation and exercise to cut down on stress eating.

–Avoid temptation. Fill your pantry with healthy choices that you enjoy, not highly-palatable highly-processed junk food.

–Listen to your body. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied.

–Get enough Sleep. Ensure you get at least seven hours a night.

–Support policy change. Government and industry policy changes can improve access to healthy choices and make portions smaller.

Although Tufts letter doesn’t mention this one, I have found that the concept – everything I eat becomes a part of me – really helps me to keep from eating badly.

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December 3, 2019 · 12:03 am

The Happy, Healthy Holiday Plate – Tufts

It’s possible to make healthy choices and still enjoy the holidays. Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter has some useful suggestions.

Celebrations often lead to overindulgence, unhealthy choices, and unwanted weight gain. Here are some tips for keeping holiday meals happy and healthy:

bread food plate light

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Make new traditions…and update the old: Many holiday dishes are high in added sugars or salt. Consider making new traditions: try roasted string beans with slivered almonds in place of creamy string bean casserole, for example. Or look for recipes that substitute ingredients to “lighten” traditional dishes. Continue reading →

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September 19, 2019 · 12:09 am

8 Tips to curb overeating – Tufts

No matter how much you exercise, you can’t outrun your fork. If you are eating too much, you may be doing serious damage to yourself. Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter offers the following ideas.

tomato burger and fried fries

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These tips may help to curb overeating:

–Focus on NUTRITIONAL quality of food. Highly-processed foods may be more likely to trigger craving and overeating.

–Avoid distractions. Focus on the food you’re eating and slow down to increase odds of recognizing when you’ve had enough.

–Don’t get too hungry. It may be harder to control food intake and choices when the body’s systems are all screaming for food.

–Address stress. Look for ways to cut down on exposure to stressful situations. Try stress-reducing techniques such as meditation and exercise to cut down on stress eating.

–Avoid temptation. Fill your pantry with healthy choices that you enjoy, not highly-palatable highly-processed junk food.

–Listen to your body. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied.

–Get enough Sleep. Ensure you get at least seven hours a night.

–Support policy change. Government and industry policy changes can improve access to healthy choices and make portions smaller.

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April 28, 2016 · 12:09 am

Why do some unhealthy people live so long?

Eat less; move more; live longer. I don’t know how many times I have written those words or  you have read them. But, they are one of the cornerstones of this blog. You can get lots more detail throughout these pages, but check out my Page – Important facts about your brain (and exercise benefits) for a good concise serving.

However, while reading Time Magazine’s Longevity Issue (Feb 22, 2016) I ran across an interesting item, namely, why do some unhealthy people live so long?

The author states, ” I don’t know how many unfiltered Chesterfields my grandfather smoked, but if you figure two packs a day for 75 years, it comes out to 1,095,000. He died on a Monday, at age 91, and he had been at work the previous Friday….”

cigarette smoker.jpg
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July 11, 2012 · 7:32 am

Can Cherries Cause an Upset Stomach?

If you are on the lookout for healthy snacks to munch on instead of potato chips, chocolate or other not-so-nutritious foods, check out cherries.

Recently, a guy I know bought cherries to satisfy that need without consuming a lot of empty calories. He ended up demonstrating that even natural healthy snacks have their limits. You need to use your brain when snacking and don’t overdo it, no matter whether it’s Cheetos or cherries.

Twice in recent weeks, this guy ate about a pound of cherries at one sitting. Eating that quantity of food at one sitting is just not smart any way you look at it, even a good healthy natural food like cherries.

Searching online for information about the problems he was having, he learned that everyone should limit their intake of cherries at one sitting to a cup at most.

As I say so often on these pages, “Eat less; move more; live longer.”

LiveStrong.com notes that, “Cherries are high in quercetin, a flavonoid that offers antioxidant protections against free radicals. A handful may offer you many health benefits, including heart disease and cancer prevention, but eating too many cherries can lead to stomach upset. Large amounts of quercetin may upset your stomach, triggering nausea and vomiting. Stick to a single cup of cherries to determine your threshold for quercetin intake.”

The take-away here is that overeating any food, even a healthy, natural fruit like cherries, can hurt you. Forget the mindless munching and think about portion control. That is one of the keys to getting a handle on your weight. You can read further on this in a post I wrote about eating watermelon, another very healthy food. You CAN have too much of a good thing.

If you are a guy/gal who has a sweet tooth and just can’t resist junking out, please take a moment to read my Love Letter to Hostess Ho Ho’s and Twinkies – NOT. It might give you a clearer perspective on how junk food damages  you.

In the right hand column of this page you will find the portion control tag to read any of a number of posts on that topic. Get control of your portions and you will have grasped a key to controlling your weight.

Check out my Page – Snacking – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Tony

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April 11, 2012 · 3:38 pm

What Happens to My Body When I Overeat?

This is a companion post to the one I wrote on Overexercising.

I was recently invited to a free celebration buffet at a local riverboat. I probably have about one buffet a month there and pretty much control myself despite some wonderful temptations like an open soft serve machine and trays of apple cobbler. However, I found myself caught up in the ‘celebration’ and yielded to the temptation by overindulging. It didn’t help that they upgraded their offerings for the celebration. Part of the experience was two free alcoholic drink tickets, too. I don’t drink much, particularly when I am driving, but I did indulge as I will explain further on.

This prime rib tasted even more delicious than it looks.

Since one picture is worth a thousand words, take a good look at the photo of the prime rib I was served. If it looks delicious to you, I can only say that it tasted sinfully better than it looks. When I was in the buffet line later I heard people using the phrase, ‘melts in your mouth.’ I knew they were talking about the prime rib. It was that good.

If the prime rib were all that I ate, I would have shot past my usual lunch calories when at home, but it wasn’t … by a long shot.

I also ate some fried shrimp, corn on the cob, steamed broccoli and finished off with a strawberry sundae. I used one of the drink tickets for a shot of Bailey’s to put in my coffee. I make no pretense at sophistication. I just love Bailey’s in coffee. Usually it comes with a shot of whipped cream melting on the top. It’s like a child’s alcoholic drink.

I am not going to break down each of the elements of my lunch, but I reckoned that it amounted to just under 1800 calories. For those of you who aren’t regular readers, I weigh 145 pounds and need around 2000 calories per day to maintain my weight. Clearly, an 1800 calorie lunch shoots me over the top.  My usual breakfast smoothie comes to just under 400 calories so I was already over my calorie budget for the day.
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November 9, 2011 · 8:12 am

How to Avoid Overeating – Harvard

Some 60 percent of us are overweight, 30 percent actually obese and another 10 percent suffers from Type 2 diabetes, a preventable and ruinous disease that stems from inactivity and poor nutrition. The problem is that we are eating badly and not exercising enough, clearly overeating constitutes a major problem for us.

So the issue of Harvard Medical School’s Health Bulletin on “Controlling what – and how much – we eat” seems particularly useful.

Here is what they have to say on overeating, “One expert on nutrition and behavior change has developed a number of behavioral techniques for reducing ingestion of unhealthy calories. Brian Wansink, a Cornell professor and author of Mindless Eating, has identified five situations where people are particularly at risk for ingesting large quantities. He has called them “meal stuffing,” “snack grazing,” “restaurant indulging,” “party binge-ing,” and “desktop or dashboard dining.”

“To reduce meal stuffing, Wansink suggests using a smaller plate, and serving the meal from the stove, not from the dining table. “Our research shows you eat 22 percent less on a 10-inch than on a 12-inch plate.”

To reduce snack grazing, keep the snacks at least six feet away from your desk or from wherever you are sitting. The distance forces you to think before you grab another bite, and Wansink’s research shows that it can translate into a 125-calorie reduction in your daily energy intake (every little bit helps See our blog item on Creeping Weight Gain.)

The same distancing advice applies to party bingeing. You should also put no more than two items on your plate on any trip to the snack table and start with the bulky, low-calorie stuff — the raw vegetables.
“Wansink also advises people not to try more than a couple of his techniques at one time.

“We find that if people can maintain changes for a couple of months, they will then make a second, or third, or fourth change,” he says.

To read further on Snacking, check out my Page – Snacking, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Tony

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