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'Tis the Season to be Healthy
Winter comfort foods that won’t pack on pounds
When the cold weather hits, warm sweaters aren’t all that give comfort. For many of us, the winter season is a time of holidays, their accompanying stress and lots and lots of comfort food. It starts with those few extra bags of Halloween candy, peaks at Thanksgiving and doesn’t end until that perennial New Year’s diet begins.
Catherine Kraus, a registered dietitian for the Center for Comprehensive Weight Loss at St. John Oakland Hospital, says the foods we crave for comfort are generally laden with carbohydrates.
“Mashed potatoes, pasta, pizza, cookies, brownies and ice cream sundaes are rich in carbohydrates, which are satisfying on a psychological level,” she says.
Yet the physiological effects create a vicious cycle. Carbohydrates cause the body’s insulin and serotonin levels to rise, creating a comforting, opiate-like effect.
“This explains why you can’t eat just one cookie. After eating a cookie, serotonin levels spike, which induces a state of contentment, or comfort,” says Kraus.
As blood sugar and serotonin levels begin to drop, depression, irritability and fatigue set in, so the quick fix is to eat another cookie.
“Women, especially around the time of their menses, tend to crave chocolate. It is important to practice the rule of ‘everything in moderation,’ in order to avoid binge eating later, due to feelings of deprivation,” she says.
COMFORT COMPENSATION
There’s no need to subsist on salad while visions of sugarplums rouse you from your sleep. Some ways to eat comfort foods wisely include splitting an entrée with a friend, adding high-fiber fruits and vegetables to the meal, substituting low-fat ingredients for high-fat ingredients such as whole milk, and concentrating on whole-wheat products instead of those that use white flour.
Kraus suggests taking a favorite comfort food, such as macaroni and cheese, and preparing it wisely by using whole-wheat pasta or Barilla Plus, which contains protein, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Limit the portion to a half cup and pair it with a vegetable that will complement the cheese. The American Dietetic Association recommends adding more vegetables or beans to increase the volume and thickness of comfort foods or trimming the fat off meat to make it leaner before adding it to stews.
Most importantly, you can keep your comfort fix in line by differentiating between serving size and portion size.
“A serving is a unit of measure to describe the amount of food recommended from each food group. A portion is the amount of specific food you choose to eat,” says Kraus, who recommends using the interactive “portion distortion” Web site offered by the National Institutes of Health at www.nih.gov.
TAKE A WALK
And of course, exercise always helps, no matter what foods you choose to eat. Marty Lillystone, an exercise physiologist for Beaumont Hospital Weight Control Center in Royal Oak, says walking is a great way to keep fit.
“I’m a big advocate of pedometers. Keep track of how many steps you take in the summer; then make it a goal to accomplish the same in the winter,” he says.
Though food temptations are high during the winter months and the desire to exercise is low, resolve not to let good eating habits go into hibernation. Keep the portions reasonable, bundle up for a brisk walk and take comfort in knowing you have a head start on that New Year’s resolution.