Last week, I talked about how the period from the beginning of October through New Year’s is a calorie and weight “Danger Zone.” This is also true for endurance and ultra-endurance athletes. Triathletes have finished their training and racing and are entering the off-season. They are ready to unwind and enjoy some time without the rigors of training. On the other hand, marathon and ultra-runners are starting to gear up. The fall marathon season starts in October and goes into the spring.

For those of us training for fall and spring marathons, it is really, really, really easy to use our training as a way to over-indulge in holiday foods. For those entering their off season, it is really, really easy for them to use the holiday foods as rewards for all of the hard training they have done over the past few months.

Endurance athletes have to watch the holiday season just like everyone else to avoid weight gain that negatively impact performance. Yes, maybe you did just run 18 or 20 miles. That doesn’t mean you can have a whole pumpkin pie! And, just because you did a Turkey Trot the morning of Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean you can eat like it is Thanksgiving day all weekend long. If you are in your off season, you do not want to gain extra weight over the holidays that you then have to work harder to get off the first couple of months of the year. If you are training, you don’t want to put on extra weight over the holidays you have to carry during your race or have to worry about losing before the race.

The trick I use is to only use the “I just did a (fill in the blank) workout. I get to eat (fill in the blank).” once a day on the day that is not race day. If you just ran a marathon, go ahead and celebrate that day, but follow the rule for the two following days. Starting on the third day, return to your normal eating. If you do a long workout, you can use the excuse once a day for a maximum of two of days. It is easy to eat as much or more calories than we burned off by telling ourselves it is OK to indulge because we worked out. And, yes, I deal with this, too.

As the Halloween candy starts to appear, remember to not use your workouts as an excuse to over-indulge. Yes, if you have a long or hard workout you can indulge some. You just can’t use it as an excuse to indulge all the time through the holidays.

This post was originally published in 2009. However, I think it is worth repeating. . . with a few minor changes.

October, November, and December are what I call The Danger Zone time of the year. Within these three months we encounter all sorts of eating challenges. October is the time of CANDY! Candy seems to appear just about everywhere – in offices, on desks, in kids’ backpacks. However, just because candy is around does NOT mean you have to eat it. A previous post had some tips for dealing with Halloween candy. I have two tactics to add this year. The first is to mentally label the Halloween as “not my food.” The candy is for other people, or the kids, or the trick-or-treaters. Every time you think of or see the candy, tell yourself “that’s not my food” and find something else to do. Second, if you do have more candy than you had planned, do not use that slip as an excuse to keep slipping the rest of the day (or week, or month). Recognize that you made a slip, but tell yourself, “that’s OK. I can make better choices the rest of the day that will help me stay on track.”

Once we’ve made it through Halloween, we are faced with Thanksgiving, then Holiday Parties, Christmas, Hannuka, Kawnza, New Years, etc. These holidays and parties are typically food-focused, family-focused and filled with stress. One way to make this year easier and less stressful is to start thinking now about how you will handle any food challenges that come your way.

For example, do you have a hard time (like me) staying away from buffets at parties? You can start thinking now and visualizing how you will deal with the buffets this year. Perhaps make a rule that first you will put fruits and vegetables on your plate then small bites of other items. Or, that you will only make one trip to the buffet. If alcohol is a challenge, make a rule that you will alternate each “beverage” with a glass of water. Do you over-eat at Thanksgiving dinner? Start visualizing how your plate will look this year – with half filled with fruits and vegetables, a quarter with protein, and a quarter with complex carbohydrates or starch (you can also review the Quarter Your Plate newsletter for more information on how to do this). And, don’t forget to visualize what your dessert plate will look like, too.

The last three months of the year do not have to be filled with scary food situation. You just need to plan ahead for how you will deal with them so you are prepared when they happen.

Have a healthy day!

A couple of weeks ago I was in San Diego for the American Dietetic Association (ADA) conference. Traveling, and conferences in particular, have always presented an eating challenge for me. However, this year I was determined to watch what I ate. Part of the problem at the ADA conference is the expo hall. Dietitians deal with food. This means the expo hall is FILLED WITH FOOD! And, in order to tell my clients about new products, I have to sample them. So, the ADA conference is not just an issue with eating while out of town, but managing sampling foods on the expo floor. I used a few strategies this year that I hope will help you manage your eating on the road, too.

Tip 1: Before you go, make a list of foods to have handy. If there are quick and easy meals or snacks you can put together without cooking, have a list of the items you need to make them with you. For example, I’ve started eating a few whole wheat crackers, a couple of wedges of Laughing Cow cheese, and some grapes for breakfast or dinner. Super easy and doesn’t require an oven. Add some peanut butter and you have a great snack of some peanut butter on the crackers. Also, plan for any food you need to support your training and working out. Do you need to pick up sports drink? What about your pre- and post-workout foods?

Tip 2: Find a grocery store. If you made a list before you left take it with you and get your hotel room stocked. If you don’t have a list, stop on the way in and make one so you can avoid impulse buys.

Tip 3: If you are going to drink alcoholic beverages, alternate them with water. This does two things. First, it slows down how fast you drink the alcoholic drinks (and the calories they contain). Second, it helps keep you hydrated since alcohol is dehydrating.

Tip 4: Use an appetizer as your entree. Most entrees in restaurants are 3+ servings. Rather than ordering an entree, order an appetizer to use as your entree. You can still order a salad (dressing on the side) or soup (broth-based) as your appetizer.

Tip 5: Order a  salad (dressing on the side) or soup (broth-based) as your appetizer then split an entree with someone else in your group. Most of us think that everyone at the table wants to indulge in a big meal, but in reality just about everyone at the table is probably conerned with managing their weight. One of your dining buddies may be very thankful for the opportunity to split and entree.

Tip 6: If you are eating alone and order an entree, get a to go box and put 1/2 to 2/3 of the entree in the to go box and set it off to the side. If you finish what is on your plate and wait a few minutes and are still hungry, you can retrieve some of the saved entree from the to go box. If not, you can leave the box behind. If you feel bad about leaving food behind, ask yourself if you’d rather have the extra weight on your body as a result of eating that food, or not. Personally, I’d rather leave the extra in the to go box than have it end up on my hips.

Tip 7: Often when traveling you may not know when food will be available. Either pack some snacks to take with you or pick some up at the store that you can keep in a briefcase, computer case, or purse. I like KIND bars, frut, and fig bars as options.

I hope these tips help you while you travel. If you have tips of your own, I’d love to hear them!

On another note – I’ll be moving the newsletter to MailChimp next week. The format will be a bit different. You shouldn’t have to do anything to move with me. If you have questions, please send me an email.

This morning when the alarm went off at 4:30AM, I thought really hard about turning it off, rolling over, and going back to sleep until 6AM. I laid there arguing with myself. “You need to go workout.” “Yeah, but I”m tired.” “But, you need the workout.” “I know, but I could do it later. The bed is so comfortable. I’m so tired.” “No, you can’t. You need to go now! If you don’t go, you’ll regret it the rest of the day.” Back and forth for a few minutes. I finally got up and ended up having one of the best workouts I’ve had in a long time.

How many times do we have these arguments with ourselves? Why is it that we have this evil little voice that always argues against doing what we know we want to do to reach our goals? When we have these arguments, who wins? If that evil little voice wins, does that help you reach your goals? Usually not. Usually, that evil little voice sabotages your efforts.

If that evil little voice is actually a saboteur why do we even listen to it? The key is to know that you have control over that voice. You can tell it to be quiet, or if you need to be stronger – mentally yell at it to SHUT UP! and not listen to it anymore.

I’m going to challenge you in the next week to quiet that evil little voice. When it starts talking, just say “I’m not going to listen to you” and keep doing what you need to in order to reach your goals. Because, if you engage in the argument, who really wins?

The goal I’m working towards is running the New York Marathon on November 6, 2011. I am raising funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) for this race. One of the other reasons I tell myself to do my workouts is because I am blessed to have two arms, two legs, and a body that lets me run and workout. There are many, many people who want to be physically active and who have to use something artificial to make it happen – a prosthetic leg or legs, a hand-cycle. I’m thankful I have a body that is whole and allows me to run, bike, and swim. Thanks to all of you who have given so far to help me help these special athletes. If you would like to help the athletes sponsored by CAF, you can make a donation (of any amount) here.

I met with a client the other day who was trying to lose some weight, improve his blood pressure, and cholesterol. As we were talking and he was telling me about what he normally eats, there was one food that seemed to appear a lot in his diet – nuts. He was eating almonds, almond butter, peanut butter multiple times a day. When I started asking about his serving sizes of nuts and nut butters, it became apparent that these foods were making up a large part of his diet and could be the reason he could not lose weight.

Nuts are a great food. However, they have a lot of calories, and a lot of fat. What trips people up is that the kinds of fats contained in nuts. For example, 1 ounce of almonds has 161 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 6 grams of protein. Twelve of those grams of fat are mono- and polyunsaturated fats – the “good” fats. However, 1 ounce of almonds is a TINY amount of food. Depending on the brand and size of almonds, 1 oz is about 15 to 25 almonds. Fifteen to 25 almonds is not going to fill most of us up. Peanut butter is another great example. Two tablespoons of peanut butter has about 190 calories, 16 grams of fat, and 8 grams of protein.

As I was discussing food choices with this client, I calculated that he was eating about 800 to 1,000 calories, and sometimes more, a day from NUTS! Now, I believe nuts can be a great food to include in your eating plan . . . in moderation! We talked about reducing the amount of almond butter or peanut butter he was using on his morning toast. His concern was that if he used less he “wouldn’t be able to taste it!” He likes his nut butter. We talked about how he can reduce the amount he uses over time to get used to eating less over time. His wife had moved them away from white rice to brown rice and he now likes brown rice. We talked about how using less, and changing your expectations about how food will taste can work with nut butters, too.

What does this mean to you? If you include nuts or nut butters in your eating, take a minute to look at how many nuts you are eating and how much nut butters you are eating. Check your serving sizes to be sure you are not eating more than you want. (Hint: If you are using measuring spoons to measure nut butter give the spoon a quick spray with cooking spray to make it slide out easier.) And remember, even things that are “good” for you still count.

On Thursday, June 2, the USDA revealed a new tool to help Americans improve their eating. They Pyramid is out. The Plate is in.

I was never a fan of the Pyramid.  It was confusing and, really, unusable. However, the Plate is something every person can use when eating. Overall, I’m happy with this new tool. In fact, I have been using a version of this in my counseling for years.

I like that the Plate is visual. You can look at your plate and see how well it matches the picture. Is half of your plate fruits and veggies? Is about a quarter protein? Is about a quarter grains?

On the My Plate website the USDA provides additional guidance of “enjoy your food, but eat less” and “avoid oversized portions.” Also, great guidance.

Although I think the Plate is a great tool, and I know there are limitations in the presentation, there are a couple of things I would change. First, I would rename  ”grains” to “starches” and include not just grains, but also starchy veggies. Some people will fill half of their plate with French fries or mashed potatoes and believe they have gotten their veggies. Your body treats starchy veggies and grains in a similar way that is different from non-starchy veggies like green beans and leafy greens. All starches should be limited for us to be healthy and at healthy weights.

Second, I like the guidance about “eat less” and know that it is hard to quantify “eat less” for everyone. However, “avoid oversized portions” could be quantified. I know a lot of guys who can go to a buffet, load up their plates multiple times and not consider that “oversized portions.” For proteins and starches, I tell people to use the plam of their hand, one-inch high to estimate servings. For non-starchy veggies and fruits, I say eat as much of them as you want. The other thing to consider is the size of the plate. If you are eating the way the Plate recommends on a nine-inch plate, you will have smaller portions than if you are eating on a 12-inch plate.

The dairy on the side is an interesting inclusion. I do not necessarily believe that you need dairy at every meal. If you are going to include it, choose non-fat or low-fat varieties.

Take a look at the Plate and see what you think. Will you use it when you plan your plates? Do you like it?

Perhaps you have seen the latest Coca-Cola ad campaign “Open Happiness.” The billboard that caught my eye had a kid drinking a Coca-Cola with a baseball bat over his shoulder. I thought, “That’s cute.” Then, “Really? A Coke is going to make me happy?” I can think of a lot of other things that will make me a lot happier (and not pack on the pounds).

Food and beverage companies make money when we buy and consume their products. The more we buy and consume, the more money they make. And, the larger we get.

It is important to be mindful of the advertising food and beverage companies use to get us to eat more. It is also important to be aware of how restaurants present food to get us to order more.

Brian Wansink writes about how restaurants get us to eat more in his book Mindless Eating. He makes the point that we also taste with our mind. If we think the food is going to taste good, that increases the chance that it will, and that we will eat more. One example he uses is from a restaurant that listed “spring-fresh medallions of well-mannered beef.” What is “well-mannered beef?” Actually, maybe I don’t want to know. . . .

Brian Wansink talks about  four basic themes for menu descriptions that trigger our expectations.

1. Geographic labels that remind us of where a food came from – Tex-Mex, Country Peach Tart, Kansas City Barbeque.
2. Nostalgic Labels that remind us of the past and trigger happy associations such as Grandma’s Cherry Pie, Legendary Chocolate Mousse Pie.
3. Sensory Labels that describe taste, smell, and mouthfeel such as Velvety Chocolate Mousse, Buttery Plum Pasta.
4. Brand labels that associate a brand we like with the restaurant’s food like Butterfinger Bilzzards and Jack Daniels Glazed Ribs.

This weekend and coming week I encourage you to be mindful of the food advertising you see. Really pay attention to it and how it may impact your purchasing and eating decisions. And, when you eat out, watch the descriptions.  How do the descriptions play in to what you order and how much you enjoy the food.

What are your favorite food ads and restaurant food descriptions?

Many of my clients and friends struggle with the “I know what to do, I just don’t do it” syndrome. We know we should eat “better.”  However, when the waiter brings the dessert menu, or we are bored at home and head for the pantry, we just cannot seem to stop ourselves. I’ll admit that I often deal with this issue, too (as do many of my fellow dietitians).

I encourage you to spend some time thinking about why you do not do what you know you should. Is it fear? Fear of failure? Fear of success? Fear of change? Fear of the unknown? Fear relationships will change? Is it a lack of knowledge? Do you not truly believe you deserve to achieve your goals?

Take a few minutes of quiet time and try to pinpoint the underlying reason. Yes, it is easy to order that dessert and the dessert is yummy. But, if eating that dessert undermines your weight loss or weight maintenance goals why are you doing that? If it is a one-time or occasional choice that is one thing. If it is sabotaging your efforts, that is when you need to determine the deeper why to the behavior.

Once you know the reason you do not do what you know you should, you can work on understanding and addressing the issue. If it is a fear of failure why are you afraid to fail? We learn a lot when we fail. And, I do not know one person who has always succeeded in everything they did. Failure IS an option. Failure is inevitable when we challenge ourselves.

If you have failed in the past, why? Take those reasons and learn from them. Was it a lack of planning? Lack of support from family? Really dig into it and determine what happened. Then take those as lessons learned and plan to succeed this time. Each time something goes wrong, or you feel like you failed, look at the situation and determine what you would do differently next time.

It may take some time to dig down and find the reason why you do not do the thinks you know you should. Do not stop with “dessert tastes good.” Ask yourself, “what else?” and “why do I feel the need to do that?”

Once you have the deeper, underlying reason, then you can begin to address it and you WILL reach your goals.

It seems like everyone is looking for a single reason why obesity is so rampant in the world. Sugar is one thing that a lot of people point to for why so many people are overweight and obese. I do agree that sugar is a problem, but the real issue is the sugar added to foods, not the sugar naturally in foods.

Athletes need carbohydrates to fuel their activity. Everyone needs carbohydrates to fuel their activity. Sugar = carbohydrates. There are different ways sugar gets into our food. That is where the problem lies.

Some foods have natural sugar – like fruit. Some people will limit fruit in their diet because it is high in sugar. I disagree with that because fruit, particularly fresh fruit, also has fiber, water, and a lot of antioxidants.

Where the problem lies in with sugar that is added into foods. Manufacturers add sugar into, it seems, everything.  One example is peanut butter. If you have peanut butter in your house, read the label. Is sugar there? I don’t think we need sugar in our peanut butter. I prefer natural peanut butter. The ingredients are nuts, salt (maybe), and oil. Any sugar? Nope! That is one reason people have a hard time switching to natural peanut butter – it is not sweet.

The amount of sugar we consume has been steadily rising since the 1950′s along with the rise in consumption of prepared and processed foods. Food manufacturers make more money when we eat more. Therefore, they have a financial incentive to get us to eat more. One way they do that is by adding sugar to foods because sugar is one of those things that drives us to eat more.

For the next few days, pay attention to how much sugar and sweet foods you consume. Are they from unprocessed foods like fruits, or from processed foods? Read the food labels and ingredient lists to see if there is hidden sugar. A lot of times we do not register the taste, but it is there. And, the ingredient list may not say sugar, but may say one of the following:  high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, fructose, glucose, dextrose, galactose, lactose, maltose, corn syrup.

How much sugar are you consuming?

One of the only TV shows I keep up with is “The Biggest Loser.” I do not agree with everything, but am also inspired by how the contestants transform not only physically, but mentally. In an episode a couple of weeks ago, the contestants went home for two weeks. When they returned to the ranch, one of the contestants said that she learned that saying “no”  to food and other things that would not move her towards her goal was really saying “yes” to herself and her success.

That statement struck me as profound. What a mind shift! That attitude can enable all of us to stay on track towards our goals. When you come across something or someone who will not move you forward, you can say “no.” And, that “no” will help you move forward and reach your goal. That “no” is really a “yes” to yourself and your goals.

Are there things that you can say “no” to that really are a “yes?” I encourage you to look for those things that do not move your forward – food, eating opportunities, and people. Practice saying “yes” to yourself and “no” to those things that do not help you. 

What kinds of things can you say “no” to that really are saying “yes” to yourself?