Technology and Food – Hand in Hand  — University of Cincinnati COM Chronicles

Sarah Whiteside ’24 An iPod. Then an iPhone. Then an iPad. Then a laptop. It never ends. We eagerly await the newest technology release as if we are not satisfied with a fully capable and working phone. We strive for more. We equate technology with power, and power with success. We rarely stop to ponder […]

Technology and Food – Hand in Hand  — University of Cincinnati COM Chronicles

Good article. I recommend reading the entire post.

We. Are. Doomed.

Chicken Thigh Week – Wednesday

Weds 3/22

The Anti-Bunko meeting last night was a rousing success. Seven showed up and five of us ordered zero sides. Two ordered tots with their burgers. I guess it takes some people a longer time to learn why their jeans no longer fit.

I’m not sure if it was last night’s burger or busyness at work but I wasn’t hungry this morning. I didn’t notice any signs of hunger til around 10:30 AM. So while I may describe my meals as most people would, the times are definitely not the typical meal times. This turned out to be a good day to practice how to Eat Only When Hungry.

We should add eating only when hungry to this post Five healthy habits net more healthy years — Malheur County Health Department and make it Six Healthy Habits.

On Wednesdays the local store changes their weekly ad. I pulled the ad up online and to my surprise found boneless chicken thighs for $1.99/lb!

Chicken Thigh Week! An excuse to get out of the house!

But I was disappointed.

Avoid purchasing chicken if the package has excess liquid sitting in it. The excess liquid usually results from the conventional method of immersing chickens in water to chill them to an appropriate temperature. These liquids are expelled by the chicken once it is in the tray, which weakens the flavor and results in a mushy texture.

Guide on the different types of industrial chicken https://www.watermelon.market/post/guide-on-the-different-types-of-industrial-chicken

I did not buy any cheap chicken thighs BUT I did find one package of the $2.99/lb not as cheap chicken thighs. Now I have plenty of chicken thighs both boneless and bone-in.

So far my meals for today:

Breakfast – Raisin bran, soy milk banana at 10:30 AM

Lunch – cup of soup from the pot I never got around to freezing portions at 1:30 PM

Second Lunch – 2 roast chicken wraps with organic greens and hot honey coarse mustard at 3:00 PM.

It’s “dinner time” now and I’m not hungry.

Eat Only When Hungry

Retrain yourself to recognize feelings of hunger and respect them. Eat when you feel them and stop when they stop. Don’t eat when you’re not hungry. This approach starts with eating breakfast, planning snacks, or eating only part of your lunch and saving the rest for a snack later on in the afternoon. Eat regular meals but don’t eat by the clock.

Eating When You’re Hungry versus Eating on Schedule — https://www.dummies.com/article/body-mind-spirit/physical-health-well-being/diet-nutrition/general-diet-nutrition/eating-when-youre-hungry-versus-eating-on-schedule-202578/

A Chronic and Multi-Factorial Disease

In Mexico, more than 80 million children, teenagers and adults live with overweight or obesity (55% of children from 0 to 11 years, 44% of teenagers and 74% of adults, from a total of 126 million inhabitants). This means that most Mexican people live with abnormal or excessive body fat that may impair their health.

Verónica Vázquez Velázquez, PhD, Co-founder and President of Obesidadeshttps://www.drsharma.ca/

Note: the link above takes you to a blog and the quoted article is several spots down, so scroll down.

Our neighbor to the South appears to have the same obesogenic environment we have here in the US.

Just because the odds are stacked against us does not mean we give up the fight. Start with small, everyday decisions that over time stack the odds in your favor. Make better choices about the foods you eat.

My typical breakfast is Greek yogurt and fruit. A snack was a few crackers and walnuts. A few weeks ago temptation arose when I least expected it. For lunch I debated between a double cheeseburger or a slice of gourmet pizza from the new restaurant downtown. But before I succumbed to temptation I chose instead to try the new bakery and bought a loaf of fresh honey wheat bread. Lunch ended up being a PB&J.

Make better choices every day.

Postscript

I had pizza yesterday. I gained two pounds in less than a day.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

AND I ATE CAKE…

Take Home Lesson:

There are times when the right choice involves more than just making the right food choices. Choose flexibility over rigidity. It’s always good to be a kid again even if for just one day.

You Want Fries With That?

The study found that eating fast food is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a potentially life-threatening condition in which fat builds up in the liver. Researchers discovered that people with obesity or diabetes who consume 20% or more of their daily calories from fast food have severely elevated levels of fat in their liver compared to those who consume less or no fast food. And the general population has moderate increases of liver fat when one-fifth or more of their diet is fast food.

University of Southern California – Health Sciences. “Consumption of fast food linked to liver disease: Risk of liver damage is highest for those with obesity or diabetes.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230110103508.htm (accessed January 11, 2023).

Journal Reference – Ani Kardashian, Jennifer L. Dodge, Norah A. Terrault. Quantifying the Negative Impact of Fast-food Consumption on Liver Steatosis Among United States Adults with Diabetes and Obesity. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2023; DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2022.11.040

But even with Foods With Low Nutritional Quality remember Braum’s Is the Best American Fast-Food Chain You’ve Never Heard Of.

Don’t Eat More of Anything (Until You Decide What to Eat Less Of) — A Country Doctor Writes

A year ago this week, I made a stir with my post about five common weight loss myths. Today I had a patient conversation I have had so many times before: Someone was trying to eat healthier and lose weight at the same time. They are not necessarily the same thing.

Don’t Eat More of Anything (Until You Decide What to Eat Less Of) — A Country Doctor Writes:

Saturday morning. Coffee, clean the shower, catch up on news. Later I’ll work for a few hours on my Future Best Seller rewriting and editing my essay on changing habits, food choices and emphasizing what you don’t eat is just as important as what you do eat. Well, The Country Doctor wrote a nice post on this topic.

Thanks Doc.

More Trouble in Paradise – 12.22.22

Life puts hurdles in front of you: ice cream, home baked cookies, gift packages of divine seasonal sugary treats from well-meaning friends. Even if you work from home the seasonal threats are abundant.

Remember this chart attributed to the New England Journal of Medicine from my first Holiday post Trouble in Paradise (it’s Weight Gain Season)?

Today I introduce you to another Seasonal Threat for weight gain.

Stay the Course

Being housebound is no reason to eat all of the ice cream and home baked cookies in the house.

The fancy gourmet pecans though are OK because they are nuts.

It’s a good thing there’s no beer in the house.

Pizza and other food delivery services will tempt you. Stay strong.

PS. The estimated wind chill is minus 20 degrees F.

Foods With Low Nutritional Quality

A study now shows that many of the meat substitutes sold in Sweden claim a high content of iron — but in a form that cannot be absorbed by the body.

Chalmers University of Technology. “Low nutritional quality in many vegetarian meat substitutes.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221208085718.htm (accessed December 10, 2022).

From the study conclusions:

The results in this study highlight the nutritional limitations in terms of iron and zinc bioavailability of shifting from a diet containing animal protein from meat to a diet based on meat substitutes. This study shows difficulties obtaining essential minerals from a diet in which meat has been replaced with products based on legume or cereal proteins, which might lead to an increase in iron deficiency, especially among vulnerable groups. Our results call for a sharpening on the interpretation of nutrition claims, especially for iron, which would create incentive for producers to improve their products with regard to iron bioavailability.

Nutritional Composition and Estimated Iron and Zinc Bioavailability of Meat Substitutes Available on the Swedish Market – https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/3903

If your diet is plant based stick with the plants, not the highly processed stuff.

Or Make Homemade Veggie Burgers.

Trouble in Paradise – Update and Threat Assessment 12.08.22

 This past Holiday season was the roughest in recent memory. I ate everything in sight. I binged on bagels every day for nearly a week. The cookies, cakes, and pies found their way into my mouth. The sheer quantity of food was my downfall. I put on the pounds and topped the scale at 202 pounds. Time to get back to my normal routine. I’m getting back to my usual habit of eating only when hungry. Avoid sweets. Shrink portions.

Journal entry 10 Years Ago

I was searching my journal on a different topic and found something I wrote 10 years ago. Back then despite eating healthy foods I continued to struggle with my weight. It was the Holiday season. I binged. Then I binged some more. Thankfully I’ve learned a lot since then like how diets really work. Source: Dr. Anthony Pearson.

In my last post Trouble in Paradise (it’s Weight Gain Season) I posted this picture of our dessert board on Turkey Day. It’s how I gained three pounds in three days. The cheese and crackers didn’t help. Nor did #10 twice.

Update and Threat Assessment

  • The three pounds gained were lost but it took two weeks.
  • I removed the beer from the house which was purchased for entertaining company.
  • Yes, I drank the beer.
  • M&M’s spelled correctly is TROUBLE.
  • Two pieces of pumpkin pie are in the freezer. This is OK because pumpkin is a vegetable (botanically a fruit so still OK).
  • Ice cream, normally not in the house but it is and calls my name every night.
  • COOKIES.

The Boss came back from a cookie exchange with the neighbors with several dozen dangerous tiny bites.

Threat Level 4 Red.