EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT AND SPECIAL IN THEIR OWN WAY

At the Skinny Gene Project, we provide a personalized approach to helping others live a healthier lifestyle. Each person in our program is special to us. We pride ourselves in getting to know each person (from stay at home moms to successful businesswomen), understanding their needs, and giving them the individualized attention needed to live a healthier life.

Our personalized approach to positive lifestyle change is particularly important when it comes to the wonderful group of people we’re serving in San Antonio.

Here’s a glimpse into the work we are doing in Texas.  

Every two weeks, I meet up with my patients for about an hour to talk to them about how to make little changes in their diet that can really make a BIG difference. This particular time, I began to teach each person how to listen and understand their body’s needs.

LESSON 1: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

Previously, I had given each patient a task of completing a 7-day food log, to see what, when, where, and how much food they ate on a daily basis. I then compared their food diary to what their body REALLY needed. We generally refer to process as a nutrition analysis.

Now… knowing what a person needs to change, and explaining it to them are two completely different things. Some my next step was to give each person a personalized presentation on “Understanding And Listening To Your Body.”

As the presentation began, I started explaining different metaphors on how the body works. For example, comparing our bodies to a car. Much like how a car requires fuel to run, our bodies need food to function. Our body sends us signals when its fuel source is running too low or too full. We also talked about the body’s “fuel gauge”. So when our body is hungry, or may be close to (E) empty, we begin to experience symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, or grouchiness.  When the body can no longer take any food, just like when cars have reached (F) full, we may begin to feel symptoms such as being bloated, gassy, or tired. These metaphors make it easier to understand how the body works when compared to everyday life.

What we need to learn TODAY to have a healthier TOMMORROW  

After discussing how our metabolism works, I  began showing each person (individually) their total nutrition needs (calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates, etc). Every patient was in SHOCK when they realized that what they had been eating was so harmful to their body, in comparison to what their body truly needs!  They were surprised about what they had learned, but they were also pumped up and knew they wanted to make some serious CHANGES in their lives.

APPLICATION: EATING BREAKFAST

After the presentation, each patient was weighed. They were given a diet that contained their specific caloric intake needs and their weight loss goal! Their main objective for the week was to concentrate on eating BREAKFAST— I taught them that it is the MOST important meal of the day!  I showed them examples of healthy breakfast options, whether they had time to cook or were on the go.  I also had the opportunity to go through a shopping list, which ranked foods from levels 1- 4; level 1 being foods you could eat several times a day, and level 4 foods you should eat very infrequently and with extreme caution.

Each patient was asked to bring any additional nutritional labels that they would like to be included in their special Skinny Gene grocery list for the next appointment. I really stressed the importance of drinking more water and trying to make exercise a daily habit. They left the clinic motivated and excited to start using the information that we provided to them.

Each of them wants to become a new person; they want to look good and feel good, on the inside and out. To make this transformation, they’re ready to start living a better and healthier life!  

By doing this I am helping them have a better understanding on what they need to do TODAY to have a healthier TOMMORROW.  

I am really excited to see my patients next week!

Stay tuned for more updates….

By: Nancy Juarez-Skinny Gene Bilingual Nutritionist

See more post about our program in San Antonio:

Great Things Happening For Skinny Gene in TX

Meet Nancy Juarez

 The McDonald’s Dollar Menu, El Pollo Loco’s Loco Value Menu, Taco Bell’s Why Pay More value menu and  the Wendy’s Super Value Menu are all great for our pocketbooks, but what about our waist lines?  When it comes to eating out, everyone would like a deal, but after reviewing the $1 menus at several fast food restaurants, a deal may not be what our body really wants….or needs!

When it comes to fast food, the tricky part is figuring out if a true “value” is being offered, or if it’s an “eat now, pay later” kinda thing? 

Fast food is notorious for being two things, cheap and loaded with fat – especially our heart’s enemy, saturated fat.  Although the cost of the food may leave you with a few extra dollars in your pocketbook for the week, the high fat content can really do some damage on the scale and to your long-term savings. 

What if $1 today would cost you (not your insurance) more than $10,000 in the future? Not sounding much like a value now, does it?

The American Heart Association recommends eating foods with less than 25- 35% of calories coming from fat, eating foods with calories from fat >35% can greatly increase your risk of heart disease, especially if you have high blood pressure or extra weight!  Heart Disease is the #1 killer in the US, and one of the most expensive diseases to treat. Yikes!

So, knowing that we want to keep the % of calories from fat below 35% (ideally below 30%), here’s what I found out about the real value offered at these fast food giants…..

Let’s start with Wendy’s. The Wendy’s Super Value Menu has some delicious items, such as the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, 5-piece Chicken Nuggets, French Fries, and 3 types of Chicken Go Wraps, but on average 46% of the total calories of all of these “value” items comes from fat!  This (meaning the 46%)  is 150% of our desired maximum calories from fat, which should have 30% or less of the total calories coming from fat.

So these $1 dollar deals are not the best, but what can you order that won’t put your heart and health in danger?  The Grill Chicken Go Wrap has the lowest % of calories from fat at 36%, this would go nicely with a side salad, mandarin orange cup, or baked potato that would decrease the meals fat composition closer to 30%. 

America’s favorite fast food chain, McDonald’s, received the wrath of the media with the documentary “Super Size Me”, but also responded with an attempt to make their menu items “healthier”.   But how did they do?  Yes, they are using healthier oils, trans fat free, and have added the Apple Dippers, yogurt parfaits, and a variety of  salads to the menu, but what about the Dollar Menu?  The lunch (or non breakfast) menu contains one sandwich, the McDouble, which has 44% calories from fat, again 150% of our desired maximum calories from fat (which should be less than 30%) and don’t forget the fries, another whopping 45% calories from fat! 

The dollar menu does include healthier options of the side salad and Yogurt Parfaits, both great choices all around! 

This topic could go on and on, including the Jack in the Box Value Menu as well as the Taco Bell Why Pay More Menu, both containing multiple items with 50% calories from fat! 

When eating out, you must do your homework!  Look for key words such as grilled and baked and ask for no mayo or dressings!  Looking for healthy dining choices marked on the menu or check out www.healthydiningfinder.com to find the best choices on the run!    

Oh, and don’t fall into the label trap! Nutrition labels can be very misleading. Remember to look at the cute little line “Calories from fat”, it is hiding below the total calories, to see what percent of the calories in your food is coming from fat.  Our goal is to have the calories from fat be less than 20-30% of the total calories.   The other line that says total fat, followed by daily value % is usually a small number that doesn’t tell us what we really need to know! 

Still a little confusing? Here’s an example…. Quaker Corn Bran cereal has 90 calories per 3/4 cup serving – 10 of the 90 calories are from fat, therefore we can conclude this in an excellent choice of cereal with a total of 11% calories from fat!  The confusing part of the label says the cereal is 2% daily value of fat, but that is based on a 2000 calorie diet – but it’s not specific to you!  Another reason this cereal is a great choice is the 5 whopping grams of fiber, but we can talk more about that later!

If you have questions about reading labels and finding  the % of fat, please email me at healthyhome@jmossfoundation.org.

By Emily Barr, MS, RD, CNSC