What is hunger?

Are you hungry? Are you sure? These are questions we don’t ask ourselves. And yet, we need to.A lot of us are disconnected from our physical hunger signals. We eat by the clock, by the mere sight of food, because of people eating around us, and for emotional reasons. In other words, we don’t always eat just because we are hungry.

An innate drive
Hunger is one of the primal forces of life. Babies cry when they’re hungry, and caretakers respond with food. This is the beginning of our personal relationship with hunger and satiety. Eating to satisfy hunger is a learned behavior. But, what if something interferes with this learning?Crossed wiresA parent can misread signals. A baby may be fed when not hungry, but fussy or crying for other reasons. Food may be offered to a child to relieve him when he’s hurt or upset. When food is used as a distraction or reward, the child becomes confused about why we feed him. The process of learning to eat in response to physical hunger becomes interrupted. Research shows you’re actually trained how to eat by your family. Taste, smell and texture preferences are culturally learned. Being taught to use food for reward or comfort in childhood is one of the strongest shapers of adult eating behavior. While there is a genetic component to chronic dieting and overeating, it has a smaller effect than the food environment in which you grew up.

Types of hunger
Eating behavior specialists refer to three types of hunger:

• Physiological is triggered by signs, like stomach growling and headache
• Mouth is triggered by the sight, smell, taste, and memory of food
• Psychological is triggered by emotions, like anxiety, anger and sadness
  

What to do?
Keep a food and feelings log. When you get the idea to eat, record your feelings first. Regardless of whether or not you choose to eat, note what you are feeling. Explore ways to deal with your feelings without eating.

Explore the physical signs of hunger. If they are very faint or almost nonexistent, you’re probably not hungry. Be brave enough to wait until you’re hungry before you eat, and then give yourself full permission to eat until you feel satisfied.

Forget the clock and vow to eat only when physically hungry. Don’t worry if it’s 2 times a day, or 8, let your body, not your mind, call the shots. After a while, you’ll probably settle into a pattern of three meals a day.

10 Secrets for Healthy Cooking

If your eating habits are anything like those of most Americans and you are looking for the simplest advice possible we would tell you to eat more vegetables, fruits and whole grains and less of just about everything else. But if you’re ready for just a bit more guidance, our 10 principles of healthy cooking will get you started:
1. Use smart fats. Not all fat is bad. Opt for unsaturated (e.g., olive oil) over saturated fats such as butter. But still use them in moderation because all fats are loaded with calories.
2. Go unrefined. Pick whole grains over refined grains. Whole grains like brown rice and bulgur have their bran intact and thus have more fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and other nutrients.
3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Most people don’t get enough! Aim for 5 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Pick produce in a variety of colors to get a range of antioxidants and vitamins. A serving size is 1⁄2 to 1 cup depending on the fruit or vegetable.
4. It’s not all about the meat. Meat is a great source of protein but it’s also a big source of saturated fat in many people’s diets. So eat small amounts of lean meat, fish and poultry. Fill up the rest of your plate with healthy vegetables and whole grains.
5. Choose low-fat dairy. Dairy products like milk, sour cream and yogurt are a good source of calcium. Replacing whole-milk dairy products with low-fat or nonfat is an easy way to cut saturated fat in your diet.
6. Keep portions reasonable. Even though we would all like a magic bullet for weight control, it really boils down to calories. One of the easiest ways to manage calorie intake is by eating healthy portions.
7. Use sweeteners judiciously. Sugars of any kind, whether corn syrup, white sugar, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup, add significant calories without any nutritive value.
8. Keep an eye on sodium. Whether you have high blood pressure or not, it’s wise to watch your sodium intake. The USDA’s dietary guidelines for Americans recommend consuming less than 2,300 mg (about 1 teaspoon salt) daily.
9. Go for the flavor. Enhance food with bold flavors from healthy ingredients like fresh herbs, spices and citrus. When your food has great flavor, there’s no reason to feel deprived.
10. Be mindful and enjoy. Make conscious food decisions rather than grabbing for what is most convenient. Make sure it is something delicious and savor it. When you enjoy what you eat, you feel satisfied.
Reprinted from Eating Healthy, http://www.eatingwell.com/

Which popular diet plan works best?

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center compared various diets in 811 obese people over a period of two years. What they found was very interesting. Click http://caloriecount.about.com/popular-diets-tested-compared-b273305 to read which plan works best.

What's your favorite?

Setting up an exercise program

Click http://caloriecount.about.com/article/partner/exercise_plan for a 12-week personalized exercise program

How to estimate portions

An essential part of calorie counting is accurately estimating portion sizes. It is not difficult to do when you eat at home, but determining portions when you eat out is a bit harder.
Research shows that people of all ages, education levels and body weights erroneously underestimate their food portions by 20 to 200 percent. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) finds that adults typically underestimate consumption of grains, sweets and fats, and overestimate fruit, milk products, and servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts. When it comes to vegetables, women overestimate and men underestimate their servings.
Read more here

Guide to a Guilt-Free Valentine's Day (or any special occasion)

A restaurant meal, chocolate, wine...it all adds up whether it's Valentine's Day or any other special occasion. Learn how you can enjoy the treats and stick with your program from Igor's Journal on Calorie Count http://caloriecount.about.com/users/Igor/267421.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_2009-02-10&utm_term=title1

Eating Light when Eating Out

Fast Food Tricks
There’s no need to avoid your favorite take-out food if you’re trying to eat healthier and lose weight. Weight Watchers asked a nutritionist to explain which ethnic dishes and burger joint picks are the most waistline-friendly. Order up and dig in!

Nutritionist Jill Franks says that you don't have to avoid takeout altogether when losing weight. "Be choosy and ask questions about the food you order. What is the food cooked in? Is it fried?"

Click here for insight into what to eat at many types of restaurants -- Indian, Italian, Thai, Chinese and American.

Do you have a take-out trick?

General Comments about weight loss and the SCA program

General comments - about the program, your weight loss questions, your successes

What dieters can learn from the Super Bowl

Reposted from Igor's Journal at www.CalorieCount.About.com
Watching the XLIII Super Bowl, I noticed what an important role motivation plays in the competitiveness of NFL teams. Those teammates are constantly knocking each other on their helmets, yelling into each others' faces, and going ballistic after good plays. Is there something that we can learn from those guys?
I am not suggesting that we start slapping each other every time we lose half a pound, but I do think we should look at how football players break up their overall goal of winning the game into many little mini-goals, and what they do to re-focus after every single play. For example, if you wanted to lose a certain number of pounds in 2009, you should break up your yearly goal into 12 smaller monthly goals, and then focus on each one of them separately. This approach will not only make your ambitions seem more manageable, but it will also give you a more instant gratification.
You could even go one step further - how about breaking up your yearly goal into daily ones? For example, you could reward yourself on those days when you manage to stay under a certain number of calories, and punish yourself when you don't. This will allow you to re-resolve and re-focus every morning when you get out of bed, and you'll know exactly how you're progressing.
Last but not least, just like football, dieting is also a team sport and you'll need the support of your community to win this game. That's why we encourage our users to create their own groups, share a journal, or post in public forums. Basically, do anything that will help you stay focused, even if it involves knocking on other people's helmets, yelling into their faces, and going ballistic after losing weight.

Healthy Snack Ideas

Snacking is a part of life, but not all snacks are bad. What kinds of snacks have you found to be both filling and light?

Healthy Recipes

Got a recipe for a meal that tastes good and is healthy? Share it here!

Exercises you can do at work

What exercises can be done in the office, at the plant, at your desk? How can you build exercise into the work day?

How do you eat healthy while traveling?

Eating healthy on the road can be a challenge with airport fast food, on-the-go eating and large portions from restaurants. How do you eat healthy while on the road?