Environmental Control - The Eating Well Podcast

The Eating Well Podcast #005 on Environmental Control for Wednesday October 19th 2005

Today’s show topic is Environmental control, We’ve mentioned it a lot in previous shows. Now we really break it down and talk about it.

• What is EC? – The obligatory question

• Environment means the area around you. Itextends from your body out to where ever you need it to.
• Your home, car, jobsite or office, restaurants you may visit
• Any place you go or plan to be is considered your environment

There are two types of environmental control: Additive and Subtractive

Either your bringing things into your environment because you want to their influence, or you’re removing things from your environment because you don’t want their influence.

Environmental Control is a behavior modification tool, that you can use to help yourself make better decisions, and change or encourage or discourage a particular behavior.

That behavior can be anything from eating things from vending machines to getting exercise to what time you eat, the list is really limited by your own creativity because environmental control is a tool. Once you learn how to wield it you’ll find all sorts of uses for it.

Environmental control can have a tremendous impact on your ability to eat a healthy nutritious diet and lead a more active lifestyle.

There are a great number of choices you can influence in each enviornment where adding something to them or removing something from them would help you make a better choice.

Adding things to your environment to yield positive nutrtion choices:

• have a large bowl of fresh fruit, already washed available at all times
• cut up fruit salad and grab & go veggies in the fridge
• frozen & canned fruits & veggies in stock
• easy to prepare and/or cook lean meats (sliced turkey, frozen chicken tenders, veggie burgers)
• keep low-calorie/sodium canned f/v’s in your office
• keep water bottle with you at all times
• keep whole grain snacks in your car & office (crackers, nuts, seeds)

Adding things to your environment to yield other positive health choices:

• keep an extra pair of tennis or walking shoes under your desk to walk during breaks
• keep a stocked gym bag in your trunk (clean clothes, water bottle, shoes)
• carry a small journal with you at all time to track progress
• schedule yourself into your day, ie exercise from 2-2:30 pm

Subtracting foods from your environment:

• do not keep your favorites on hand AT ALL, especially not in bulk (ie Ice cream, chips, cookies, nuts, bread)
• brown bag the cheeses (or any other goodie in the fridge) to “hide” it, out of sight, out of mind
• have a separate cupboard in the kitchen for your healthy options so that it won’t be necessary to move a tempting junkfood out of your way to reach the healthy option that you are reaching for
• if you love ice cream, go out for it & enjoy a scoop, do not bring any home. Plan for the calories, decide what you are going to have, exactly, how big or small it will be and all the details, BEFORE you go.

Subtractive environmental control might include removing yourself:

• it is ok to decline an invitation to an event if you know that you will not maintain self-control or end up 5 lbs heavier
• Go to the event, but be sure to eat first.
• Have tea or water w/lemon & let your company know that you really wanted to be there but won’t be eating with them, “I’m not feeling well”
• socialize w/others just until the food arrives, then excuse yourself, return in 10 minutes, they’re done by then & ask for your plate to be removed (no one really notices)

IN THE NEWS
Floridas Star-banner is running a profile on Lynn Fischer called Eating Right
”...it is important to set aside the fad diets and focus on eating to maximize nutrition.”

Fiber - The Eating Well Podcast

Fiber! #004 Why you need it, and where to get it. Proper fiber intake can promote better general health -Fiber supplements and bowel regularity -Improve your cholesterol -Blood sugar control -Reduce the risk of colon cancer? We think so anyway What is Fiber? -Listed on product labels -Include a variety of sources -Most experts suggest 25-35 grams of fiber per day -Most children only have 4 servings of fruit and veggies per WEEK! ---Sources of fiber for American kids -----Apple Sauce -----Fruit Cocktail from a can -----Pizza ---Check your food labels and keep track of your fiber intake, otherwise you're only guessing With fiber intake - Water becomes more important -Use good Environmental Control to get in 64 oz per day Work your fiber intake upwards slowly to allow your body to adjust Soluble vs Insoluble -If you really need to know this, do some research. More important is to get fiber from a variety of sources. Higher fiber foods -Tend to be higher in calories -Tend to be higher quality (nutritionally) -A preferred source of calories, this is why we make room in the calorie budget Try some legumes! Beans are very nutrient dense, so 1/2 a cup is serving -Michelle tells us about the Broccoli incident -Steve recommends 16oz bags of baby carrots -See if your kids will go for plain/raw carrots or apples, you might like them too Most fruits have 2 grams of fiber Most Veggies have 4 grams of fiber Check out the Nutrition Data search bar at the bottom of the page! Cooking foods does not change the fiber content, unless you remove the peel. (Apples) -Michelle chooses canned beans, rinse and ready-to-go Steve gets tons of different fruits and veggies and recommends experimenting with new foods and combinations Michelle recommends oatmeal for breakfast, plenty of fiber and really keeps your blood sugar stable leaving your full for a long time Low-carb diets can mean excluding fruits and veggies! Michelle is rather annoyed with this trend, you need fruits and veggies Try fresh fruits and veggies instead of relying on supplements, you might even like them. IN THE NEWS: -FDA makes needed changes in feed regulations for 2006 (ABC News) -Higher prices for fruit and veggies may mean less access for low income children (Forbes.com) Next show: Environmental Control - Promote positive decisions.

Fats - The Eating Well Podcast

UPDATED LINK! Fats! #003 The good the bad and the ugly. Follow up question from Sue in Ohio. -- Thank You Sue! We talk about Grazing all day long Michelle recommends breaking your caloric intake up: 30% at breakfast 40% at lunch 30% at dinner and having carbs, fat and protein at every meal. When should I get my fats in? Consider it fuel for your body. When do you need to fuel up? Before you go out, or after you get back? Fuel-up in the morning instead of using caffeine! Steve tried out some soy meat alternatives. Morning Star Farms Light Life Smart Ground Yves Boca Burger Kudos to Steve for giving them a shot. Soy used as a replacement for meat greatly reduces your fat intake. Fat supplies energy to your body in a compact form. You NEED fats in moderation to feel and be well. Americans get plenty of fat, the problem is they're not choosing the good ones. Question from Amber -- Greets Michelle and not Steve "Hey!" Wants to know about good fats and bad fats. Thanks for the question Amber! Mono-unsaturated and Poly-unsaturated fats - GOOD FATS! - We talk about the health benefits of the good fats for balancing your HDL and LDL. Memory tool: Happy and Lousy. Over the Counter Cholesterol Test Kit Saturated Fats - BAD FATS - Found mostly in animal sources. These fats are required for normal health but should be used in moderation as they tend to raise your LDL or Lousy Cholesterol Trans-Fat - THE UGLY FATS - Cheaper, longer shelf life, but at the cost of your health. Question from GH -- Thank you GH! GH wants to know about Trans-fat and how to know if it's in the food products we buy. Study after study shows that trans-fats can mutate cells in your body, which could lead to cancer. New laws will be forcing manufacturers to display the amount of trans fats in the nutrition facts panel on the package starting in 2006. Check the list of ingredients for trans fats. Some foods that don't typically have labels may have trans-fats. They have long shelf lives and and may be available in convenience stores because they're cheaper to produce, display for sale and stock than more perishable products. In-n-out burger cooks their fries in cotton-seed oil which is trans-fat free. (CA, AZ, NV area fast food chain) Special mention to some trans-fat all-stars: Donuts and Stick Margarine. So instead of using these trans-fatty products just use real butter, just remember to use it in moderation. You don't need butter. Good fat

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sources to include with moderation: Walnuts, Almonds, Peanuts - Dry roasted or Raw, unsalted, and no coatings or coverings. 1 ounce is plenty. Olive Oil and Canola Oil. Look for extra virgin. Choose these over other fats. Still exercise moderation, you don't NEED these fats, but they are far better than the alternatives. Try the Misto to help you minimize the amount of oil you're using to cook with. Try Fish, good for protein, and some have those great Omega III fatty acids. Salmon, Cod, Sardines, Tuna. Remember it matters how you cook them. Avocado - good for fat content - not so hot with calories. Omega III fatty acids are great for heart health. We talk Flax and Michelle recommends flax meal. Flax Meal should be stored in its original package, and kept in the refrigerator. Fat-Reduced Products to help you reduce the Bad and eliminate the Ugly out of your dietary fat intake.

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We recommend the SmartBeat Mayo, and Butter Spray. Steve likes the ICBINB Spray. Big recommendation for Walden Farms Brand products! Try the marshmallow dip! Fat free dairy. Milk, Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Sour Cream. You may not be able to switch from full-fat to no-fat products overnight, but you can work them in slowly. Soon they will be your preference, and you'll be cutting out a lot of fat. Remember that we'd like you to replace the foods you normally eat with these lower fat or better fat foods. It does you no good to simply add these foods. Michelle mentions the Golden Circle Eggs which contain Omega III's. And then we wrap up with more tips on Trans-Fats - Restaurants use them to reduce costs and Convenience food items. IN THE NEWS: Slate - 40th birthday of the 7-11 Slurpee Reno Gazette Journal - Hagen Daz vs The Slurpee Try the Crystal Light or Diet Pepsi Slurpee for huge calorie savings.