Sunday Roundup – April 14

I’ve been meaning to write a lot more lately, actually I have  a few drafts waiting, but I’ve been spring cleaning, training for the 5K and most importantly enjoying my baby girl. She’s growing up so fast. She’s crawling, cruising around, dancing, faking coughs and laughs (yep, already!), waving goodbyes in the cutest way and she’s using up all my attention. She’s the happiest baby girl. I am so lucky I can enjoy her presence all day with me. It’s tiring at times, it’s time-consuming but for now nothing is more important. I promise I’ll revert back to a more consistent blogging schedule and be more active in the community .

Here are this week’s stories.

Opinion Stews / Actually, no you’re NOT a nutrition expert

I’ve been including a lot of articles by Dr. David Katz in the Sunday Roundups lately, and that’s for a reason. Dr. Katz’ articles are scientifically based of course, witfully written and not without a sarcastic sense of humor. In his latest, Dr. Katz walks us through a dozen of analogies to show us that just because you eat does not make you a nutrition expert and just because you’ve lost weight does not entitle you to write a diet book. I’ve written before on how to spot fad diets and how to watch out for quackeries out there, the latest being intermittent fasting and the Aztec diet.

Please read  his article before you seek nutrition advice from the next movie star or your next-door neighbor (who is not, by the way, a dietitian/nutrition expert).

“Everyone who has ever eaten seems to be granted an equally authoritative opinion about nutrition.” Dr. Katz, as quoted in the Huffington Post

‘Overnight Diet’ Promises Weight Loss While You Sleep

Speaking of the latest diets in town, here’s one that promises rapid weight loss while sleeping. Don’t get super excited yet! This diet requires you to get eight hours of sleep per night and to follow a high protein diet for six days and a liquid diet on the seventh. We can all agree that getting enough sleep is crucial to regulate the hormones leptin and ghrelin. When you lack sleep, leptin levels are low so you don’t feel as satisfied after a meal; and ghrelin levels are high so you have a bigger appetite and you crave more food. Now for the diet part. We know that high-protein diets will lead to rapid weight loss the first few weeks.  But, can you maintain it for life?

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“It won’t be fat. It’ll be mostly water. Because there’s no how, no way you’re going to lose two pounds of body fat overnight.” Dr. Ayoob as quoted in abc news

Mercury Exposure Linked to Raised Diabetes Risk

A new study published in the journal Diabetes Care linked high mercury levels to a 65% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The main sources of mercury in the human diet are fish and shellfish. That’s why it is important to choose seafood wisely. Low mercury sources include shrimp, salmon and catfish. Stay away from high-mercury sources that include swordfish and shark.

“Although the study found an association between higher mercury levels and later development of type 2 diabetes, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.” HealthDay

The Truth: Why It’s Hard to Stick to Healthy Habits (And What You Can Do About It)

This is really good article about how to set apart your life goals from your habits and how to start with small and consistent changes to achieve bigger results. It is so easy getting inspired by a huge weight loss goal but if you’re relatively inactive and you head to the gym for two hours in a row the first time, it’s almost certain you’ll feel sore the rest of the week and ditch your workout plan altogether. That’s why it is important to focus on small lifestyle habits that can be maintained and will, with time, become second nature and will bring you closer to your life goal.

“Your audacious life goals are fabulous. We’re proud of you for having them. But it’s possible that those goals are designed to distract you from the thing that’s really frightening you — the shift in daily habits that would mean a re-invention of how you see yourself.” — Seth Godin as quoted in Huffington Post

To end this week’s roundup, I feel like sharing a few videos with you.

The first is What 2000 Calories Look Like. By no means you’re going to eat twenty-eight slices of bread one day and sixty carrots the next, but it’s just a nice way of putting things into perspective. Some foods are more nutrient-dense than others and those are the ones that you must choose more often. And no, you  should not eat one pizza and call it a day! A diet (lifestyle) is not just counting calories. It is eating the right kinds of foods for all the health benefits they provide.

The second is The Crazy Amount of Sugar in Random Foods. Again, this is not saying that one food is healthier than the other because it has less sugar. It is just showing how much sugar (natural and added) there is in some processed foods and it is a lot! We are all better off consuming much less sugar and much less processed foods for that matter.

And the third is UnJUNK YOURSELF: The Process. It is a music video intended for teens as awareness about junk/processed food.  Awesome message, and even though it is for the younger , the music will stick in your head all day! You’ve been warned. “They’ve been processing your food , now they’re processing YOU!”