Pre-made meals make life easier but are they worth it?

It’s a fast-paced world and pre-made dinners are not just convenient, they’re necessary.

You’ve probably noticed that grocery stores have pre-made meals right at the front of the store that look nutritious.

“The bonus of these pre-prepared foods is they’re ready to go,” registered dietitian at Advice for Eating, Catherine Kruppa, said.

The meals are packed with turkey, salmon, chicken and two sides.

The example we took to Kruppa was grilled chicken, kale and potato salad.

“The thing I like about it is the grilled chicken is right about the appropriate size. It’s supposed to be the size of your palm,” she said. “But calorie wise, we don’t know how the potato salad was prepared.”

She said the meal would be ideal if it were paired with two green sides or brown rice.

The major pitfall is no nutrition label, which is how we know other frozen food options have way too much sodium.

“Our goal for sodium for the day is less than 2,000, close to 1,500. So, this one has over 1,000 so this is 2/3 of our sodium for the day and it’s just one of our meals,” Kruppa said referring to a chicken cacciatore packaged from Safeway.

If you go for low-sodium or no soy sauce, Kruppa isn’t opposed to picking up sushi at the fresh-made counter inside the store.

“Each piece is about 40 calories so the whole meal is about 400 calories. You’ve got your protein, carbohydrate, little bit of vegetable.”

At take home kitchens like “Eatfitters,” Kruppa said you know what you’re getting, so this gets her endorsement.

“Most of those companies are very sodium conscious, the food is going to be fresher for the most part, it’s not going to be frozen food and there’s a lot of variety and diversity in those foods,” she said.

Plus, she says they’re balanced appropriately for all health needs.

“People who are diabetic can use those foods, people with high blood pressure can use those foods and feel safe.”

The best news is, pretty much anything you pick up at a store is better than eating out at a restaurant.

“We think these are bad sodium, but that’s only because we don’t see sodium that’s at a restaurant,” Kruppa said.

By Haley Hernandez – Health Reporter. Originally Seen On Click2Houston.com

from
http://eatfitters.com/pre-made-meals-make-life-easier-but-are-they-worth-it/

Are Supplements Necessary for Weight Loss?

When you’re trying to lose weight, you may be frustrated with slow progress and willing to do whatever it takes to get the weight off quickly and achieve your personal health and fitness goals. You may be tempted to take diet pills and fall prey to the claims of companies advertising special diet supplements that supposedly encourage weight loss in record time.

Although there are safe supplements and vitamins than you can take to enhance your well-being and increase energy, you can obtain most of the nutrition that you need through the food you eat.

Unfortunately, there are several counterfeit supplements marketed as quick fixes for weight loss and health, instead of healthy eating and exercise. In fact, according to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), there are several warning signals related to bogus supplements that should raise red flags for you (www.fda.gov – Supplement Updates) and remind you to proceed with caution:

1. Assurances of immediate results, such as “lose 20 pounds in 3 days.” Losing weight quickly is not only unhealthy; it can be downright dangerous. There is no magic pill for quick weight loss, and any health professional will tell you that the safest and most effective way to lose weight is to limit your caloric intake by eating healthy foods while increasing your activity level.

2. The implication that the supplement is a breakthrough or guarantees results. More often than not, this is a false statement. When there is a true scientific breakthrough, you will see it advertised by mass media, governmental entities and the scientific community. There will be legitimate articles about the study in professional or scientific journals, and health practitioners would likely endorse or, at least, opine about the results.

3. Supplements that are advertised in a foreign language. Can you read the product ingredients? Make sure you know what’s in the bottle and understand what the label says before you take it.

4. Products or vitamin supplements that are promoted via mass email distributions. Beware of ‘junk’ emails marketing magic pills that will give you the body you had in high school. The reality is that it takes a healthy diet and a change in lifestyle to achieve optimal health and wellness.

5. Vitamins or supplements sold as substitutes for FDA-approved medicines. If you have a concern about a supplement or company, you can learn more about it or report it on the FDA website at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport. Or, speak to your medical practitioner and ask for their opinion of the supplement.

Also, just because a supplement hits the stores shelves doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a safe product. The best rule to follow is to remain cautious about what you put inside your body. Although there are many quality vitamins and minerals that can assist with the journey to better health, abundant energy, and maintaining a healthy weight, there are also a host of fraudulent supplements on the market that make empty promises for unachievable short-term goals.

The safest way to lose weight and have more energy is to eat a balanced, nutritious diet and find a support system for ongoing maintenance. For example, companies like Eatfitters in Houston, TX offer healthy pre-made and pre-portioned meals to help you stay on track with a healthy lifestyle. Each of the dishes is low in sodium and prepared fresh for great taste. Eating well is an excellent way to ensure you’re getting the vitamins and nutrients you need for optimal wellness.

from
http://eatfitters.com/are-supplements-necessary-for-weight-loss/

Fight or Flight Response – Is Stress Hindering Your Weight Loss?

Fight or Flight Response – Is Stress Hindering Your Weight Loss?

Eating healthy and losing weight isn’t an easy task; It usually requires lifestyle changes and constant maintenance. If you’re one of the millions of people who suffer from exhaustion and are impacted by daily stressors, losing weight can be even more challenging. The body is a marvelous tool with mechanisms to warn us of pending danger and is geared to keeping us safe as we make our way through life. These same automatic neurological systems can also impede our weight loss.

When our body perceives external danger (this can be stress related) the hypothalamus (a small yet powerful region of our brain that manages the autonomic nervous system and the pituitary gland) activates two systems: the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal-cortical system (Hypothalamus). These two nervous systems work to assist us during times of stress, with the sympathetic system utilizing pathways of nerves to originate physical reactions in the body and the adrenal-cortical system using the bloodstream as a super highway. When these two systems combine and are thrust into ac&on to encourage the avoidance of the threat, the result is the ‘fight-or-flight’ response. The fight or flight response is an automatic reaction in the body that enables people as well as animals to move quickly to cope with perceived threats to survival (Stress Recess: Fight or Flight).

Of course, the stressful situations that originally initiated this type of neural stress response were quite different than the daily stressors of the 21st Century. Early man’s threats usually appeared while hunting for food, or when his food was perhaps hunting him. The fight or flight response today can be attributed to stressors such as a traffic jam, workplace overload, waking up late, teens arguing, or just a fundamental lack of sleep. Although these chemicals produced by our amazing bodies produce benefits for our survival, the adrenal glands producing cortical hormones encourages our bodies to hang on to excess weight. This cycle of stress and the body’s reaction to it (producing excess cortisol) is a dangerous one that impedes weight loss.

When our body speeds up in response to stress, we grow tense – think of how your blood pressure rises when you’re rushing to get to work but get stuck in traffic. As we become more alert (if we have to move quickly), the sympathetic nervous system notifies the glands which signal the release of epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) into the bloodstream (physical effects of stress). Then, the blood pressure and heart rate soar, while stress hormones flush throughout our body. When this happens daily, there’s a risk of being in a constant state of stress – that signals our bodies to hold on to the excess weight.

The nutritional link to stress is the need to reduce the body’s stress reactors through proper nutrition and exercise. Keeping your blood sugar balanced is an effective way to reduce the fight or flight response. For example, eating portion-controlled, balanced meals throughout the day helps to keep your blood sugar balanced. Companies like Eatfitters in Houston, TX offer creative solutions to being ‘too busy’ to eat well by delivering a host of pre-packaged and portion controlled meals. Each meal is a perfect blend of fats, carbohydrates and protein, providing you with the energy you need to face the day. Stress will always be part of life but eating well will help keep your fight or flight reactions at bay so you can successfully lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle.

from
http://eatfitters.com/fight-or-flight-response-is-stress-hindering-your-weight-loss/

January Newsletter

From Super-Sized to Minimized – How To Lose Weight with Portion Control

From Super-Sized to Minimized – How To Lose Weight with Portion Control

Losing weight and eating healthier isn’t an easy task. In our fast-paced, ‘more-now-faster’ culture, trying to eat sensibly and lose weight in a world of excess can feel like an uphill struggle. As portion sizes increase in America, we become conditioned to accept the larger portion sizes as ‘normal.’ Everywhere we look there’s a “super-sized” or “extra-large” option on the menu. In restaurants, the portions are much larger than they were years ago. In fact, portion sizes have continued to increase, and there’s no sign of the trend slowing down anytime soon.

The sensible way to win at the weight loss game is to control how much you eat. Portion size is a crucial component to weight loss, and the size of the portions you eat will determine the number of calories in the meal. To lose weight, you must decrease the number of calories ingested and increase the amount that your body moves – this is the formula that leads to weight loss.

There are many ways to control your portions. It’s important to note that the size of a serving is measured using uniform measurements, but a portion relates to the amount of food you are eating at one time. For example, you can eat one serving but that serving size may actually be a large portion with a high caloric value. Since portion control can be confusing, you may decide to use a company such as Eatfitters in Houston, Texas (www.eatfitters.com), that create delicious pre-packaged and pre-portioned meals. This takes the guess work out of healthy food choices and portion control. These ready to go meals are easy to pack and prepare without any counting calories or worrying about portion sizing.

Other ways to control portions is to share your meal or when eating out, order from the kids or appetizer menus. For example, you can share an entrée with your dinner companion or order an appetizer as the main dish, or even order from the kids’ menu (the portions are usually smaller). Then, round out your meal with a salad and dressing on the side.

Of course, adding movement to your day and increasing exercise will also help with your weight loss efforts. If you can’t join a gym or make it to an exercise class each day, just strive to get your body moving to offset the calories consumed. Many people have found that wearing a pedometer is a helpful and fun way to count the number of steps taken in a day. Another way to get more exercise is to work out with a buddy, or in a group as having someone to be accountable to can be encouraging. Finally, you can get the whole family involved by creating a calendar to track progress, using stickers for motivation. Or, cook healthy meals together in the kitchen and try out new healthy recipes.

As you go on your journey of weight loss and creating an overall healthy lifestyle, strive to choose wisely and remember that you have control over the portions that you consume. Just because we’re offered a larger size doesn’t mean we have to eat it. Find tricks that work for you such as using portion control containers or using pre-packaged and portion controlled foods. Add in some exercise and watch the pounds drop. By making small positive changes each day, you will get closer to reaching your weight loss and health goals.

from
http://eatfitters.com/from-super-sized-to-minimized/