Trans fat free...for good!

It's official. The NYC Health Department's ban on the use of trans fats in restaurants takes effect as of today, July 1. Say sayonara to pastries, frozen and fried foods, cookies, chips and more that formerly were made with with artery-clogging trans-fats (aka 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oils'). Trans fats increase the shelf-life and stability of products (think of the life-span of a Twinkie!). Unfortunately, these uber-saturated fats also increase our LDL "bad" cholesterol and have been shown to lower HDL "good" cholesterol, posing a pretty big threat to heart health. Products laden with trans-fats are also often laden with excess calories which doesn't bode well for those sassy new white jeans you just purchased for summer.

Restaurants seem to be taking the big switch in stride, successfully scouting out butter, oils and shortenings that aren't hydrogenated...without impacting the taste and flavor of stand-by recipes. NYC's Health Dept has gone as far as creating a Trans Fat Help Center to aid restaurants in finding healthier cooking substitutes. It seems that other cities are following New York's lead...Boston, Seattle and Philly are also looking to declare bans.

All in all, the change over won't have a great impact on you as far as flavor and your fave foods in restaurants. But at least you can rest assured that your health is in slightly better hands. And like with everything, moderation is the key. A tiny bit of really good, REAL butter goes a long way!

Check out this chart published last week in the NY Times showcasing where Americans are getting their trans-fats from...

Surviving summertime happy hours

Hey there! Just in time for beach-weather...check out my guest post yesterday on Glamour.com's Body By Glamour - Margarita Shapes Up blog.
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Margarita Shapes Up
Surviving summertime happy hours
Hi, guys! I'm taking a get-my-life-together day off today (that's what personal days are for, right?!) and lucky for you, my nutritionist friend, Marissa Lippert, a registered dietitian, is guest blogging. See you on Friday! xo

With summer heating up full-speed ahead, I figured what better time to guest blog about summertime cocktails and alcoholic drinks--the perfect topic for a nutritionist, right? Actually, it is! I'm a firm believer in the "everything in moderation" motto (even indulgences) and when the temperature starts rising, dewy glasses of refreshing white or rosé wine start dancing through my head. What screams summertime more than hanging out with friends and coworkers while sipping a frosty beverage? One beverage can easily multiply, however, posing a slight roadblock when you're trying to stay on track with healthy-weight goals. A few things I try to keep in mind: Take it slow and enjoy (rather than guzzle) what you're drinking; stay well-hydrated, particularly in hot weather, and have a glass of water or seltzer between drinks (this also serves as a sneaky tip to curb the amount of alcohol and excess calories you're knocking back); be smart about the type of cocktails and coolers you're choosing--3 or 4 light beers are equivalent to that 400-calorie frozen mango margarita that's loaded with excess sugar.
Here's my top 5 list of summer's 'heavy-hitter' drinks along with some sly-and-slim cocktail picks:
Heavy-hitters
Frozen margarita - 300-500 calories (depending on brand and amount)
Daiquiri and pina colada - 449 calories
Long Island iced tea - 276 calories
Margarita on the rocks - 170 calories
Vodka tonic - 169 calories
Sly-and-slim
Mojito and sangria - 149 calories
White or rose wine - 110 calories
Corona light with lime - 99 calories
Vodka and club soda - 97 calories
Wine spritzer - 40 calories (2 ounces of wine + 4 ounces seltzer)
*calorie amounts above are per serving
We all have one...what's your favorite calorie-smart summertime cocktail?

Wine: Jupiter Images

The Skinny on Sleep

I'll just come out and say it, I'm tired and my bed's been missing me. For the past three weeks, I've been waking up at the crack of dawn every Tuesday and Thursday to sweat it up with fitness expert Lacey Stone and her incredibly challenging outdoor boot-camp, 'BootyCamp', on the West Side Highway. And trust me, I've been getting my booty kicked!

It's been an exhilarating experience, but I've definitely noticed a shift in how my body responds when I deprive it of a few extra hours of sleep each night before Booty Camp (I wish I could get into bed by 10 or 10:30pm, but that'd be a miracle). After the first morning of camp, I remember I could barely form a coherent sentence and my memory was shot. Somehow I made it through a long work day without crashing around 4pm...possibly because I made sure I continued to eat properly, despite visions of bagels and brownies runnig through my head (yes, even nutritionists get cravings sometimes!).

I've mentioned the sleep-sugar-scale connection to many of you before, but waking up earlier the past few weeks, has really hammered it home for me. According to Dr. Michael Breus, a sleep disorders specialist, research studies show that sleep deprivation can cause a spike in grehlin, the "go hormone" that tells us it's time to eat, and a significant decrease in leptin, the hormone that signals we're satiated--step away from the plate. A University of Chicago study found that when we're not well-rested all bets are off, our bodies tend to be drawn to high-calorie, carbohydrate-rich foods like candy, cookies, pastas, breads, chips, donughts, etc. We're sniffing out serotonin wherever we can find it (serotonin's a hormone that releases a calming effect). We think we need a boost in energy, err...sugar, when in actuality, what our body's really craving is just a few extra hours of good solid slumber. To top everything off, chronic sleep deprivation is shown to play a role in obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and other serious health problems.

So what's the "skinny on sleep"? Get a good amount each night, at least 7-8 hours on average! You might be pleasantly surprised the next time you step on the scale.

*Two other quick interesting mentions around sleep:

Check out the series that recently aired on 60 Minutes about sleep and weight gain, The Science of Sleep. Super interesting!

If you're looking for more reading material, check out Michael Breus' book, Beauty Sleep. I love the chapter titled, "From Waistlines to Facelines: You are What You Sleep".