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Meal Planning + Why You Should Throw out This Diet Rule

Dr. Polo has written two articles that now appear online at HuffingtonPost.com.

In the latest article, Dr. Polo gives you a refresher course in meal-planning and how it can help you manage a busy winter schedule. Many families find themselves running from activity to activity in the winter. It is also a time when we can become less creative around breakfast and packed lunches, after months of using up our energy there. 

Here is an excerpt:

Whenever possible, cook more than you need at dinner time so you have easy to grab lunches the next day. Casseroles and soups can be toted to school in a thermos and extra grilled meat is perfect for a rice bowl or ploughman's lunch. Extra rice can be rolled into seaweed for sushi. Moving your lunch prep to dinner time will also smooth out the hectic school routine.

Jot down a few tips when you read this article. 

In another article, Dr. Polo is sharing weight loss strategies based on her work in-clinic helping hundreds of patients each year shed substantial amounts of weight. One myth she confronts often, as it is ingrained in her patient's belief system, is that breakfast must be eaten immediately upon rising. Dr. Polo challenges you to consider what you need over when you eat, saying our food choices and listening to our own bodies is more important. This is a must-read for anyone who is currently facing weight loss or maintenance challenges, or really a primer for anyone on the way habits and associations govern us.

Here is an excerpt:

If you are trying to lose weight, intermittent fasting may be helpful and valuable, too. In this case, and if your body responds well, I suggest aiming for a 12-hour period in which you abstain from food. What does this look like? The exact timing depends on your individual body -- for some this might mean ceasing food at 6 p.m. and not hitting the breakfast table until after 6 a.m., but for those who eat dinner later, this might mean 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., or even 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. The key is to find YOUR ideal schedule, and this isn't something a health-care provider or diet book can tell you.

Read the article here.  

Read all of Dr. Polo's articles on Huffington Post. 

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Surviving the Sugar Binge this Halloween: The Best and the Worst Halloween Treats

Halloween is just around the corner; for many kids and adults alike it has become a holiday that offers an excuse to eat candy - lots of it. 

So what’s wrong with all of that sugar? Lots, actually, including increased risk for diabetes, heart disease and cancer, mood-altering effects and suppression of the immune system. You know how kids can seem to bounce off of walls when they have too many treats? Sugar is supplying them with artificial energy but what goes up, must also come down. The sugar crash post-Halloween should give us all concern. Here are some of the worst offenders, which are chock full of glucose fructose, dyes, colouring, sugar (of course) and no nutritional value like fiber and protein.

Candy to Avoid:

Candy Corn

Twizzlers

Crispy Crunch

Starburst

Skittles

Butterfinger

Caramilk

What can you do instead of indulging, or letting kids indulge in the treats? You can choose healthier alternatives to candy. We’ll share a few ideas with you here. And if you are going to have a few or many (we know it’s hard to resist), there are some less sinful choices. We’ll give you the lowdown on that too.

Healthier Alternatives:

Real Fruit Gummies

Glosette Raisins or Peanuts

Seaweed snacks

A Juice Box (100% fruit)

Apple Sauce in pouches

Lara Bars

Cliff Bars (they even make mini ones)

1 bag Skinny Pop Popcorn

The switch technique: Ask kids to save a few of their favourites and then turn in the rest in exchange for a toy instead. Donate the unused candy items.

And if you really must indulge, try the least sinful of the bunch:

3 Musketeers

• At 63 cals a small bar, it also isn’t filled with caramel or peanuts. The inside is lighter and fluffier and therefore has less sugars and calories than other candy bars.

Tootsie Roll

• At 50 cals a roll, it can satisfy the chocolate fix with fewer cals than a chocolate bar

Peanut M & M’s

• At 90 cals a pack, these peanuts are loaded with protein and fats that keep us full and energetic plus fiber in the peanuts make it a better choice than plain M & M’s

Reese’s Mini Cups

• These have 88 cals for 2, fewer calories than a Reese's cup. Plus the small wrapping makes it harder to open (so you might eat fewer). The peanut butter provides protein

Raisinettes

• At 67 cals per serving, the sweetness of the raisins give you a sugar fix, plus the fiber in raisins make it a healthier choice

Kit Kat Chocolate Bar

• Each has 70 cals. The wafer middle gives you a satisfying crunch, with less calories for a lighter choice

Crunch

• With the rice krispy pieces it is a lighter option and comes in at only 60 cals

For adults, those little candy bars can haunt you everywhere - at the grocery store they beg to be bought, someone has put them out at work. Because they are little, you think one, two or a dozen can’t hurt! I was on Global TV recently sharing how many calories are in some of your favourites, and what you have to do to burn those excess calories off. In case you don’t want to add 150 situps and 490 Jump Rope Jumps each time you reach for 2 bars, it’s best to keep them out of your sight and reach as much as possible.

 

 

If you do plan on indulging, be sure to increase your vegetable and water intake pre and post Halloween, and to increase your level of activity to counteract increased calorie consumption.  Get plenty of sleep as well to support your immune system, which will take a hit with all of that sugar. Post-Halloween get right back on track with a balanced and healthy diet.

Do you have a candy soft-spot at Halloween? What are some of your strategies for avoiding a sugar-overload in your house?