We BB trainers love posting pics of our latest homemade and healthy food creations to Instagram and Facebook with the ever-growing #bbresults! This week’s News Round-up is all about making food choices that won’t sabotage all the sweat you’re dropping in BB classes!
The BB Fitness News Roundup is carefully curated bi-weekly by our own research hound, BB trainer Kara Stewart-Agostino.
FOOD LABELS TO SCARE THE YOGA PANTS RIGHT OFF YOU
The Canadian Restaurant and Food Services Association recently announced that the Informed Dining Program will be rolled out in 17 restaurants across the country beginning in March 2014. Restaurants such as the Keg, Milestones, and Montana’s have already been sporting the yellow icon with a pink ‘I’ in their BC branches but now all Canadians will be informed of the calorie count for all menu items. Given that a 2013 study showed the average diner underestimated calorie counts by about 500 calories per meal (that’s an hour of spinning, for those of you keeping track…), it seems we do need a little guidance when it comes to estimating the make up of a “special sauce” or so called “salad” packed with bacon, fried chicken and cheese. With added info about grams of protein, fat, carbs, sodium and sugar you’ll have some help making your order on those lunch and dinner dates. Ultimately though, it’s up to you not to order the club sandwich with a side of fries! Do you think food labelling will help you choose more wisely?
fast food labelling
FOOD LABELS THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY MAKE YOU EAT MORE
Labelling unhealthy foods on a menu might help you avoid hidden calorie-bombs, but what about processed foods masquerading as heath foods? It probably won’t come as a surprise to you that food companies have been targeting people who are trying to lose weight and eat healthier by making all sorts of health claims about their products. A study out of Colorado Technical University has confirmed that people tend to eat more of the foods labeled ‘fat-free’, ‘sugar-free’, etc. Portion-control is important for all foods but really, if a food needs to make a health claim then it’s probably not that healthy. Producers of whole foods like spinach, eggs, and apples don’t need to tell you that they’re good for you. If it comes in a box, bag or package, you should exercise portion control. Continue filling your cart (and your face) with foods from the grocery store perimeter: meats, dairy, veggies, & fruit.
NUDGE YOURSELF TO CHOOSE HEALTHIER AT THE GROCERY STORE
One of the top stay-lean strategies is to simply not bring junk food into the house. Looking for a trick to make sure more fruits and vegetables make it into your diet? Texas social scientists have been playing around with “nudge marketing” in grocery stores to convince more people to buy fruits and vegetables instead of processed foods. Take a look at their strategies and then consider trying this one, which was proven to encourage shoppers to choose more produce… Place a brightly coloured piece of duct tape down the middle of your shopping cart; produce goes on one side and everything else goes on the other. Not into public displays of dorkiness? Skip the duct tape but use the bottom of your cart for produce and protein, and allow yourself only to fill the smaller top basket with optional foods. You’ll load up on a buffet of fruits and veggies and limit your processed & convenience choices… then, when a nighttime craving hits, you’ll reach for one of those oranges you loaded up on instead of face-planting into a box of crackers.
drink your germs… kombucha is another good-bacteria source to add to your list.
FERMENTED FOODS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
What should definitely be in your shopping cart? A health advisor to the Globe and Mail makes the case for beneficial bacteria, aka probiotics, to improve your heart health, reduce body fat and killer visceral fat in the abdomen, and ward off arthritis. The microbiologist tells us to look beyond yoghurt and kefir, and to look to fermented foods such as kimchi, pancetta, sauerkraut and even carbohydrate based foods such as sourdough and injera bread (a staple in Ethiopian diets) for good sources of probiotics. By rebalancing the bacteria in the gut, the “good germs” in these fermented foods actually delay aging. Yogurt, anyone?
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