FitSugar

Diet Tip: Put Down the Fork Between Bites

FitSugar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0700

One way to make sure you don't overeat is by slowing down so that your stomach has time to register that it's full. There are plenty of tricks to keep yourself from scarfing down dinner, such as eating with your non-dominant hand.

Here's an even easier one: Make sure you put down your fork between every bite. If you're eating something with your hands, such as pizza or a sandwich, put down the actual food. Then, don't pick up the fork or food again until you've chewed and swallowed the previous bite. When you start to feel full, put down the fork altogether!

The forced pauses will prevent you from racing through your meal and give you more time to savor it. Plus, not only is this a healthy eating tip, but it's also good table manners, don't you think?

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Diet Tip: Put Down That Fork

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:30:00 -0700

I have mentioned the idea of putting down your fork between bites before, but I want to thank user VicVicVictooriaa for bringing it up again.

It's true, putting your fork down between bites will force you to eat slower, thus giving your body enough time to register the amount of food you're actually putting into your body before it's too late (and you feel uncomfortable). Chances are you'll realize you've had enough much sooner than if you were to scarf down your whole meal without releasing your grip on your fork. If that doesn't work, you can always try a diet fork.

So try it out and let me know if you notice a difference in how much you eat by using this technique in the comments section below.

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Minutes to a Healthier You . . .

FitSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:00:00 -0700

It is not just the minutes spent sweating it out at the gym that count toward good health. Simple everyday activities promote a happy, healthy you, and one of those overlooked habits is chewing and enjoying your food. Take time out of your day to focus on your food. Your meals provide nourishment, but food has an emotional component as well. Not only will chewing your food, help you feel fuller longer, it will slow down your meal, leaving you satisfied with less food. Slowing down at meals can just make the entire process of eating enjoyable and improve your digestion. To focus on your food, don't eat breakfast while watching the Today show, don't eat lunch at your desk, and do put your fork down between bites at the dinner table and converse.

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Healthy Eating Tip: Eating in Groups

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0800

Thanksgiving is a gluttonous holiday, and when sharing a table with others it is easy to lose your moderate ways and over indulge in a foodie version of keeping up with the Joneses. I am here to remind you to stick to your guns and remember your willpower. I have a few tricks to share, just in case you feel yourself succumbing to the chow down peer pressure.

Sit next to the slowest eater at the table and match that person’s pace. Put your fork down when they put their fork down. Eating slower will not only aid your digestion, but you will feel full after about 20 minutes of eating and eat less in the time period.
Aim to be the last person to finish eating, just like when you were a kid and you wanted your ice cream cone to last the longest so you could taunt your siblings.
Always keep some food on your plate so when the hostess tries to push seconds on you, you can say you're not done with your first helping.

Remember to enjoy yourself, but don't let the spirit of the group gorge take over.

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Diet Fork: Cool or Not?

FitSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Recently I came across a new product, The Diet Fork ($8.95 for 10 - buy it here), which is supposed to help one eat slower while simultaneously burn more calories. Here's how:

Shorter and dulled teeth inhibiting user from grasping larger pieces of food at any one time.
Smaller triangular shaped surface area allowing dieter to hold less food than many other forks.
Uncomfortable grip compelling user to put fork down between bites, slowing the user's eating speed.

OK, so basically it's a broken fork that makes it hard to eat. Sound incredibly frustrating to anyone else? I'm curious what you guys think, is the Diet Fork cool or not?

(Oh and sorry for the lame image, but that is all they had on the Diet Fork site.)

Visual Reminder: What Portion Sizes Look Like

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:01:31 -0800

Serving sizes have grown so much in recent years that we barely remember what an average portion is supposed to look like. When restaurants offer us tremendous amounts of food, it's difficult to put down the fork and say "done," even after you're full. Overeating can sabotage your goals of reaching or maintaining a healthy weight, so here's a visual guideline from ABC showing how big the portion sizes on your plate should be.

Food	Portion Size
3 oz. of meat	Deck of cards
Baked potato	Computer mouse
Bagel	Hockey puck
Potato chips, pretzels, popcorn	Teacup
Rice	Cupcake wrapper
1 oz. of cheese	Roll of film
Nuts	Egg
Pasta	Lightbulb

To see a video clip about portion sizes from ABC, read more.

Fit Tip: Curious to know more about what serving size measurements look like? Then check out this handy chart.

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Preschooler development

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:50:36 -0700

Illustrations

Preschooler development

HEALTH GUIDE REFERENCE FROM A.D.A.M

Definition

The normal social and physical development of children ages 3 - 6 years old includes many significant milestones.

Information

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Gross motor development in the 3- to 6-year-old should include:
- Becoming more skilled at running, jumping, early throwing and kicking
- The ability to catch a bounced ball
- The ability (at 3 years) to pedal a tricycle but perhaps not steer well becoming able to steer well around age 4
- The ability (at around 4) to hop on 1 foot, followed with balancing on 1 foot for up to 5 seconds
- The ability to perform a heel-to-toe walk
Fine motor development milestones should include:
- The ability to draw a circle upon request at about 3 years
- Drawing a person with 3 parts
- Beginning use of children's blunt-nose scissors
- Self-dressing (with supervision)
- The ability to draw a square by age 4
- The use of scissors progressing to cutting a straight line
- The ability to put clothes on properly
- Managing spoon and fork neatly while eating
- Spreading with a knife by about age 5
- The ability to draw a triangle

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

The 3-year-old uses pronouns and prepositions appropriately
The 4-year-old begins to understand size relationships
The child enjoys rhymes and word play
The 5-year-old shows early understanding of time concepts
The child is able to follow 3 simple commands

Stuttering may commonly occur in the normal language development of toddlers 3 - 4 years of age. It occurs because ideas come to mind faster than the child is able to express them. It more commonly occurs if the toddler is stressed or excited.

When the child is speaking, give your full, prompt attention, and do not comment on the stuttering. If the stuttering is accompanied with other signs, such as tics, grimacing, extreme self-consciousness, or if the stuttering persists longer than 6 months, consider having the child evaluated by speech pathologist.

BEHAVIOR

The preschooler learns the social skills necessary to play and work with other children. As time passes, the child's ability to cooperate with a larger number of peers increases. Although 4- to 5-year-olds may be able to start participating in games that have rules, the rules are apt to change frequently at the whim of the more dominant child.

It is common, within a small group of preschoolers, to see a dominant child emerge who tends to boss the others around without much resistance from the other children.

It is normal for preschoolers to test their limits in terms of physical abilities, behaviors, expressions of emotion, and thinking abilities. Having a safe, structured environment within which to explore and face new challenges is important, but well-defined limits must be included.

The child should display initiative, curiosity, the desire to explore, and enjoyment without feeling guilty or inhibited.

Early morality develops as egocentrism gives way to the desire to please parents and others of importance. This is commonly known as the "good boy" or "good girl" stage.

Elaborate story-telling may progress into lying, a behavior that -- if not addressed during the preschool years -- may continue into the adult years. Mouthing-off or backtalk in the preschooler is usually a means of getting attention and attempting to elicit a reaction from the adult it is directed toward.

SAFETY

Safety is extremely important for preschoolers.

The preschooler is highly mobile and able to quickly get into dangerous situations. Parental supervision at this age is essential, just as during earlier years.
Car safety is critical. The preschooler should ALWAYS be in a seatbelt when riding in the car. At this age children may be riding with other children's parents. It is important to review with others, who may be supervising your child, your rules for car safety.
Falls are a major cause of injury for the preschooler. Climbing to new and adventurous heights, the preschooler may fall off playground equipment, bikes, down stairs, from trees, out windows, and off roofs. Lock doors that access dangerous areas (such as roofs, attic windows, and steep staircases) and provide strict rules for the preschooler to understand areas that are off limits.
Kitchens are a prime area for a preschooler to incur burns, either trying to help cook or coming in contact with appliances left to cool off. Encourage the child to help cook or learn cooking skills with safe, cool recipes. Maintain alternate activities for the child to enjoy in an adjoining room while cooking, keeping the child away from the stove, hot foods, and other appliances.
Keep all household products and medicines safely locked out of the reach of preschoolers. Know the number for your local poison control center. The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

PARENTING TIPS

Because sex role development is based in the toddler years, it is important for the child to have appropriate role models of both sexes. Single parents should assure that the child has the opportunity to spend significant time with a relative or friend who is the opposite sex as the parent. It is important for divorced parents to not be openly critical or make degrading comments about the other parent. When the child exhibits sexual play or exploration with peers, the play should be redirected and the child informed that it is inappropriate without shaming the child for this natural, innate curiosity.
Because language skills develop at a rapid rate in the preschooler, it is important for parents to read to the child regularly and talk with the child frequently throughout the day.
Discipline measures for the preschooler should provide opportunities for making choices and facing new challenges while maintaining clear limits. Structure is important for the preschooler, and having a daily routine (including age-appropriate chores) can help a child feel an important part of the family unit and enhance self esteem. Reminders and supervision may be necessary for such chores to be accomplished. Recognizing and acknowledging good behavior or a chore performed correctly or without extra reminders are extremely important. Take the time to note and reward the good behaviors.
From age 4 to 5, backtalk frequently occurs. Parents are encouraged to address such behaviors without reacting to the words or attitudes presented by the preschooler. If the child feels such words provide power over the parent, the behavior will continue. This is one of the hardest areas for parents to remain calm while they try to address the behavior.
When anticipating a child's entry into school, it is important for parents to keep in mind the wide diversity among children at 5 - 6 years in terms of attention span, reading readiness, and even fine motor skills. Both the overly anxious parent (concerned about the slower child's abilities) and the overly ambitious parent (pushing skills to make the child advanced) can be detrimental to the child's normal progression into the academic setting.

Review Date: 12/4/2006

Reviewed By: Rachel A. Lewis, MD, FAAP, Columbia University Pediatric Faculty Practice, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

A.D.A.M. Copyright

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997-2009 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

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Slow Down, You're Eating Too Fast

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 03:30:00 -0700

Overeating...it is an easy thing to do. We all do it and it leaves us with a bellyache or a sense of guilt (if you're trying to lose a few pounds). Since it takes 20 minutes after you start eating to register feelings of fullness, slowing down while eating is a great way to avoid eating more than you need. Here are a few tips on how to avoid that over full feeling.

Put your fork down between bites and completely chew your food before shoveling in the next bite.
Meditate on the food. I have already told you about the chocolate meditation, and you can do it with any food. Pay attention to the taste and the texture of what you are eating.
Don't eat in front of the TV. Mindless snacking often translates into overeating.
Eat foods that require some work - artichokes, pistachios, sunflower seeds, pomegranate, crab or lobster. You have to work for your food here and that will help slow you down.
If you eat with your family or house mates engage in conversation. Since you don't want to be impolite and talk with your mouth full, it will take longer for you to eat. Plus a good conversation and good meal make a great combination.
Try to avoid eating on the run. Wolfing food down in your car or while walking to the subway is a horrible way to digest food. Plus you generally make choices based on convenience rather than your health.

I sure do hope these tips help you slow it down.

Scale Back Your Food Choices

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:30:00 -0700

With restaurants expanding portion sizes with menu items like the Country Burrito from Hardees or the 42 oz. Xtreme Gulp at 7-Eleven (pictured), it's easy to eat way more than you actually need or even want. I am not saying you have to give up going out for a meal, but just be smart when you do. Bigger size may mean a better value, but is it realistic to need 42 oz. of soda in one sitting? Probably not.

One way to be smart is by scaling back how much you actually eat and drink in the first place.

Here are a few tips for getting you on track:

Steer clear of large, jumbo and king size orders. Even a medium portion can be big, so share it with a friend. Better yet, opt for the small.
Eat half of what you order. Ask for a doggie bag and enjoy the rest on another day.
Have a bottle of water or diet soda instead of a regular sugar-laden soda.
Order a side salad with your meal.
Savor your food and eat more slowly. Put your fork down between bites. This will help you eat less.

Also, be sure to check out some of my breakdowns of popular restaurants before heading out so you can make wise choices along with portion size.

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Part One: 8 Secrets of the Naturally Thin

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:15:00 -0700

We all want to know what those naturally thin people are doing to stay so um, naturally thin. Prevention has discovered that healthy thin people just don't think about food the same way as everyone else. In this 8 part series, I'll reveal Prevention's 8 secrets of naturally thin people one by one.

They Choose Satisfied Instead of Stuffed: On a fullness scale of 1 to 10, the slim stop eating at a level of 6 or 7, says Jill Fleming, RD, author of Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates. The rest of us may keep going to an 8 or 10. Why? It may be because you mistakenly equate the sensation of fullness with satisfaction and feel deprived if you stop short, says Fleming. Or you may just be used to finishing what's in front of you, regardless of whether you really need it.

Emulate The Naturally Thin: About halfway through your next meal, put your fork down and, using the 1 to 10 scale, rate your level of fullness. Do it again when you have about five bites left. The goal is to increase your awareness of how satisfied you feel during a meal. (Bonus: It also slows down your eating, which allows the sensation of fullness to settle in.)

Look out for the other secrets posted this week. Can't wait? Then check out Prevention.com.

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