A friend of yours may tell you that you shouldn’t snack between meals; someone else may tell you that you should. Who’s right?

Do you know the difference between snacking and having a snack? In my definition:

• Snacking is continuously eating or picking at food throughout the day.
• Having a snack entails a set time frame for a smaller meal, or snack.

For instance, Janie eats all of the time, but will tell you that she just snacks. Instead of having a set time for each of her meals and a set snack time each day, she will just “snack” or “graze” throughout her day. However, John has a scheduled snack each day around 4 pm before he heads to the gym.

Which is better for you: Snacking or Having a Snack?

It is actually good for you to eat scheduled snacks (i.e., “have a snack”) if the length of time between two meals is greater than 4-5 hours at a time. For example, if you eat breakfast at 6 am and lunch isn’t until noon, then consider eating a snack around 9:30 or 10 am.

I usually have an afternoon snack on my way out the door at work, because I eat lunch around 1 pm and dinner isn’t until 7 pm—so, around 4:30 or 5 pm, I eat a snack. On a similar note, if you eat dinner at 5 pm, and don’t head to bed until 9 pm or later, it might be good to eat a small snack about an hour before you go to sleep.

With that in mind, what are good snacks to eat?

• Peanut butter and crackers
• Low-fat cheese and crackers
• Granola bars (like Kashi and Fiber One)
• ½ bagel and lite cream cheese
• Small bowl of cereal and low-fat/skim milk
• Piece of fruit
• Celery and peanut butter
• Handful of nuts
• Small bag of lite potato chips/pretzels
• Canned fruit and cottage cheese

However, don’t get into the habit of snacking (i.e., “grazing”) throughout the day. It can throw off the routine of eating and you may not get the nutrients you need. One of the things that you may have noticed from the MyPyramid Plan is that it doesn’t actually tell you what to eat and when. It gives you flexibility throughout the day and the time to schedule in a snack if you need it.

In conclusion, if you are going a length of time without eating, schedule a snack in between a meal. Your body will thank you for the energy boost!

Watching The Biggest Loser each week, I notice that contestants lose between 0-15 pounds a week (and even these numbers vary). For the average person trying to lose weight, are these numbers realistic? And, do you, the viewer of The Biggest Loser, get discouraged when you see such large weight losses?

What Can Happen When You Lose Weight Too Rapidly

1. Your weight could plateau, in which you are no longer able to lose weight, and you may “sit” at a weight for a period of time. For example, losing 10 pounds in 2 weeks, and then staying at 220 pounds for 4 weeks even though you are maintaining your diet and exercise routine.

2. Your body could go into starvation mode. If you lose weight too rapidly by eating too few calories, your body will actually hoard the calories you consume instead of burning them off. This could actually be the reverse of your goals!

3. You have a greater chance of regaining the weight you lost. Studies show that if you lose weight too rapidly, your body doesn’t have time to adjust. So when you go off that “diet”, you will regain some weight back.

So, what is the optimal amount of weight to lose for someone who is overweight? About 1-3 pounds of weight per week is best–slow, steady weight loss.

Think of the tortoise and the hare fable–slow and steady wins the race. By losing weight slowly, your body has time to adjust to the change in weight, it won’t go into starvation mode, and your body won’t feel like you are depriving it of nutrients. As well, you can learn to make some lifestyle changes to your daily routine, and you will be more likely to stick to these changes.

Also, if you are a post-menopausal overweight female, you should expect a smaller amount of weight loss per week (0.5-1 pound). If you are a younger overweight male, you should expect weight loss on the higher end of the range (3 pounds/week).

Points to Remember

1. Every BODY is different. Don’t compare your weight loss to someone else’s. We all have different metabolisms, we all store fat in different places, and we all lose fat first from different places.

2. Don’t feel discouraged if you don’t lose weight one week.

3. Don’t weigh yourself every day–weigh yourself once a week. Our weight may fluctuate on a daily basis, due to dehydration, overhydration/fluid retention/bloating, not having a bowel movement for a few days, not sleeping enough hours the night before, and the dreaded PMS. All of these factors can affect your weight, so it’s best to weigh yourself once a week.

4. Weight is not the be all–end all of life. If you don’t notice any weight loss, but your pants fit better and you have more energy, that is more important than the numbers!

When to Weigh Yourself

1. Weigh yourself at the same time each day

2. Wear the same amount of clothing each time. For example, only in underwear, nude, PJs, etc.). You don’t want to weigh yourself in jeans and a sweatshirt one week and just underwear the next. Of course your weight will change!

3. Keep a log of your weight. I keep mine on the back of my bathroom door.

So, good luck if you are trying to lose weight! Just remember that your overall health is more important than just your weight. Even my husband’s weight swings up to 5 lbs any given day! Plus, he stayed the same weight for the 5 months of marathon training, even after the marathon, but his pants fit much better!

And while you’re at it, say something nice to yourself!!!

Living and working in a high-paced area, I notice that a lot of what we say is negative. We are quick to judge others and even quicker to judge ourselves. How often have we looked in the mirror and exclaimed “I have fat thighs/hips, stomach”, “I hate my hair”, “If only I could change…?” I do it, my husband does it, and even girls I know who have model-perfect bodies do it. But it’s not right! By judging ourselves and those around us, we are trying to conform to a standard that we have set, a standard that says “this is what is good, and I have to match up to what is good.”

But who defines this standard? If you think about it, it’s crazy. What constitutes “the perfect body” for me might not be what you think is the perfect body? So who is right? No one!!

Not only should you talk to yourself lovingly, talk to others with the same level of respect. Even if you think that someone else is out-of-shape, try to find something about them that is positive: do they look nice in that shirt today, does that necklace bring out the color of their eyes? Commend others on what they are doing right, and do the same for yourself. Start the day off with a positive attitude and give yourself a hug everyday. You might think I’m crazy, but try it! It’s the easiest thing you can do for yourself!

_{[Photo by kalandrakas]}

I am one of those people who are hesitant to embark on a new adventure alone. I have been in situations where, if I don’t know anyone else but the person throwing the party, I will have a difficult time going to the party. I get anxious. I expect that some of you are like me in that sense. I like to envision myself at the event (and hopefully having a good time) before I actually go to the event. If I can’t “see myself in the situation”, I won’t go.

This hesitance covers all aspects of my life: career, social (as mentioned above), and even in my personal fitness. Since my husband stopped running due to a back injury, I have had a couple of opportunities in the area to run local races (5K, 8K, 10K races). However, although I have been “very close” to signing up and have told others “oh, I’m going to run that race too!”, I have become too anxious about the event to actually sign up (”will I be the slowest runner there?”, “how will I get there?”, “will I know anyone else there? If so, will they laugh at me?” etc). After all, my running buddies are not in the immediate area, and running a race would be me–just me–embarking on a new adventure. I’ve always had my husband or friends to be there to help me through these things.

This holiday, the local road runners club threw a New Year’s 5K race that was practically free ($5 for non-members) and there was NO pre-registration until race day so I didn’t have to stress about signing up or losing registration dollars if I didn’t show up–not that I’ve done THAT before!). So, although we had friends over to celebrate the New Year, I decided to get up early and run the race!

Although I had those anxiety-ridden feelings the night prior and the morning of the race, I forced myself to go to the race and actually run. What did I have to lose? My previous fears of being the last person to finish and my fears of not knowing where to go and what to do dissipated when I realized that

a) I just followed everyone else when signing up for the race and running, and
b) I actually finished in the top 42% of female runners (of ~100) and female runners in my age range.

So, what WAS I so afraid of all this time?????

So, I am sure that many of you are probably like me: hesitant to try something new. I’m here to tell you that although it’s natural to be afraid and anxious about some new adventure, it’s important to break through those walls if you want to accomplish goals in life.

Maybe you’re afraid to go to the gym because people will “make fun of you”; the way I see it, if others are making fun of you, then they just aren’t working hard enough at the gym! Maybe you don’t take that aerobics class because you’re afraid you’ll “make a fool of yourself”–do you think the instructor did a perfect routine the first time they took a class? Probably not–just remember, everyone has to start somewhere!

This empowerment I feel today by doing something that I was so afraid to do may not mean that I’ll be able to just forget my anxieties and sign up for/run every race, but I hope that it will help me embark on new adventures that I may have been resistant to even attempting because of that “fear factor”. Good luck on accomplishing your goals and getting over that hump!

_{Photo Courtesy of Violator3}

I have been traveling a lot lately (I’m so thankful I have such a cool boss!) and haven’t been able to get my normal workouts in as much as I’d like. What’s a girl (or boy) to do? Well, walk the airport terminals!!

Most security points are right at the entrance to the airport, so you have free reign to walk all of the terminals. I had my carry-on luggage with me (luckily it had wheels), so I put on my walking shoes and did laps around the airport before my flight took off. (I think I was able to walk for about 45 minutes and did 15 minute laps around Dulles Airport).

Unfortunately, I didn’t do my research before I traveled, as one of the airports I visited has a walking trail (go Minneapolis!!). Although I was only able to walk for ~20 minutes while in Minneapolis due to time contraints, I was still able to get some exercise before I sat for several hours on my flight. After doing some research once I landed, Minneapolis/St Paul airport is the 1st of its kind to have an airport walking program!

Lesson learned:

1. Walk the terminals, if you have time to spare. Try to get luggage with wheels so that you don’t have to carry a bag.
2. Make sure to pack your walking shoes or wear them to the airport.
3. Check out the airport’s website before you travel to see if they have a walking path. If so, print it out and take it with you on your journey.
4. If the airport does not have a walking path or list the distance between terminals/security checkpoint, buy a pedometer and track how many steps you take. 2000 steps = roughly 1 mile of walking.

See, it’s that easy! If you arrive at the airport early, walk!