KTK-Nutrition

Last week we looked at five ways you can lose weight without going on a “diet”.   Let’s look at five more habits you can adopt to drop a few pounds and start to get in shape for the summer.   Too often we go on a “diet”, lose some weight and then regain it once we go off the “diet”.   But what if we adopted habits that helped us not only lose a few pounds but keep the weight off when we do lose it.   So instead quick diets, quack diets, fad diets, try some new eating habits and lifestyle habits to take off the extra holiday pounds.   Here are five more habits to try from the article:   10 ways to Start Losing Weight, No Matter How Unmotivated You Are. 1.  Set some health goals that have nothing to do with the number on the scale Rather than just focus on losing pounds, focus on getting some health measure healthier.   Have cholesterol a little high, how can you change eating and exercise habits to bring down your cholesterol?   A r...

But too many of us aren’t getting the calcium we need.   About 80% of teenage girls and 60% of teenage boys aren’t getting enough calcium in their diets. Most adults are also low in getting enough calcium taking in about 500-700 mg when they need 1000 mg of calcium a day.   The Dietary Guidelines recommend adults have 3 cups of milk or dairy servings every day.  How much calcium do you need each day? Probably more than you are getting.   The chart below shows how much calcium different age groups are getting.   If you aren’t drinking milk or having a yogurt at every meal, you are probably low in your calcium intake. Age Recommended Calcium (mg/day) Children 4-8 1000 Children/teens 9-18 1300 Adults 1000 Women over 50 and men over 70 1200 What foods provide calcium? Although some people take calcium supplements, calcium is best absorbed from food.   Dairy foods – ...

School has started in many areas or will be soon.   So many moms and dads will be packing a lunch for their kids.   On school lunch duty, I observed a lot of kid’s lunches.   One girl opened her lunch to a sandwich always cut into a shape, a heart one day, a diamond the next.   She always had 2 servings of fruits or vegetables in her lunch.   She bought milk and had quite a healthy lunch every day.   Another student had braces.   His mom packed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day.   And every day he threw away the sandwich, not even one bite taken.   I asked him why and he said he didn’t want the peanut butter to get stuck in his braces.   But he never told his mom this.   So, every day she packed the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and every day he threw it away.   The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at eatright.org has some good suggestions for parents when packing that school lunch. Q:   What if m...

Hungry before going to bed?   Checking out what snacks are on hand?   Is it bad to eat before you go to bed?   Growing up I always ate my dessert late, usually just before bed time -   a hard habit to break.   The New York Times has an article, What are the Best Snacks Before Bedtime?   A reader asked them, “I know it’s not good to eat close to bedtime, but I get hungry.   What are the least harmful things I can eat – or drink – say, an hour or two before going to bed?”   Most of their bedtime snack suggestions were low fat and healthy so I adapted some of their suggestions and also added some real life snacks for real people.       Calories – if you are trying to keep off the pounds or lose a few pounds, limit the bedtime snack to 100-200 calories or 300 calories max, says Isabel Maples from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.   If you are trying to bulk up, then adding snacks to your day is a good way to add some cal...