It happened early one morning, without any warning.

I had just settled in with my hot cup of java and started to look at some work-related files when I heard the ping signalling the arrival of an email. What first set off a tiny warning chime in my mind was the subject of the email: “Farewell to Jane Doe”. Opening the email confirmed my worst fears and alarm-bells began clanging in my head: “Please join us in saying goodbye to Jane Doe. We wish her the best of luck. Pastries and Ice Cream will be served at 3pm in the conference room.”

Those who know me, can vouch for the fact that when it comes to pastries and ice-cream, my stomach turns into a bottom-less pit, but Jane was a good friend/colleague and I knew skipping this party would not be treated lightly. Was I going to let this middle-of-the-week temptation binge derail my fitness regimen?

Not likely. Because of another quick tip:

“When you see a tempt, attempt to preempt.”

In the card game of Contract Bridge, you are advised to make a preemptive bid (higher than necessary/warranted) when you have a weak hand, just so you can disrupt your strong partners’ communication. I cannot find a better analogy here. When you know and recognise your weakness, you are best equipped to deal with it by making a preemptive strike.

Precisely 5 minutes before the party, I made a quick pit-stop at the water-cooler and downed 3 full cups of water. At the party I automatically reached for the smaller plate and ended up eating just half a danish and one small scoop of ice-cream. I didn’t enjoy the food any less, but the recommended serving size was automatically decided for me, thanks to my preemptive move.

So look around your workplace and find your sources of temptation. Is it the guy who keeps a bowlful of candy on his desk and invites everyone to dip into it? Or is it the cheerful lady who religiously brings to work her home-made cookies, brownies and cakes? Or is it the co-worker who loves eating out and invites you everyday?

Recognising these temptations will enable you to make simple preemptive moves (use another walkway away from the candies; say you are allergic to the cookies; or just point to your own lunch which you brought from home!)

Repeat after me, “When I see a tempt, I’ll attempt to preempt!”

It’s even got a nice ring to it.

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, calorie, portion control

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No, I don’t mean run out to the beach and get a tan (although with summer here that is precisely what most poeple are doing). What I mean is:

“Switch to brown bread, brown rice and brown pasta.”

And note that by brown I mean the whole grain kind.

Whole grains are cereal grains which retain the bran and germ as well as the endosperm, in contrast to refined grains which retain only the endosperm.
-Wikipedia

Be watchful of certain food manufacturers who color the product brown and call them things like “brown bread” or “brown rice”. Usually whole grain products will have something like “100% (Stone ground) whole wheat” listed as the first ingredient. Another simple test to make sure you are getting the benefits of a whole grain product is to check the fiber content. You should be getting atleast 2g of dietary fiber from each serving of the item.

Why whole grains are good for you:
Since whole grains contain less/no refinement, they retain their natural fiber content. Dietary fibers are not digested and tend to bulks up your food as it passes through the intestine thereby providing a mild scouring/cleaning effect on the walls and also improved regularity.

Soluble fiber has been shown to be able to bind bile salts which may reduce blood cholesterol levels. It also may slow the absorption of glucose from the intestine, thereby requiring less insulin secretion.
-Wikipedia

Another huge benefit of whole grain foods is that the carbohydrate-content does not get easily absorbed into the bloodstream as glucose. This is based on something known as the glycemic index about which I will post in detail later, but suffice it to say that, in simple terms, eating whole grain foods will make sure that your body will get the energy from the food in a slower and more controlled manner than eating “white” products. This in turn results in less production of the hormone insulin - all beneficiary side-effects.

Whole grain products to replace your whites:
Whole-grain breads are available in most stores, and for a healthful rice replacement consider the whole-grain varieties cous-cous, bulgar and cracked wheat. When mixed with beans or other side-dishes, you wouldn’t even notice you are not eating rice! For pastas, many manufactures have notw come out with whole-grain versions of most varieties (especially good are ones that are fortified with omega fats and fibers like Barilla Plus).

More resources:

1. The U.S.Govt recently issued Guidelines That Provide A Definition of Whole-Grain Food.
2. A good whole-wheat guide.
3. The U.S. Departmen of Agriculture’s Pyramid Guide.

So this summer whether you are off to the beach or just prefer a lap in the pool, when the time comes for that afternoon sandwich, ask for the whole grain options by name.

You will be doing yourself a huge favor.

Technorati Tags: fitness, health, whole grain, whole wheat

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