Medtronic Insulin pumps
Are you curious about insulin pumps? I am a trainer for Medtronic so let me know if you want to see what pumping is all about. It will make you life so much more enjoyable!
Posted by Beverly Herman-Rivera
Ups and Downs
Ups and downs
Weigh yourself just once a week to avoid being fooled by fluctuations
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
BY MEG NUGENT
Star-Ledger Staff
Thanksgiving is almost here (yum!), the kickoff of the annual season of indulgence, when many of us want to forget we ever heard the word "moderation" in relation to food and drink.
You, however, may be a highly superior being who plans to keep an eye on your waistline by weighing yourself every day between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Good for you, but you had better rethink your strategy.
"When stepping on the scale, it is important to consider that there are daily variances in your number that are all a part of managing your health and weight," said Dixie Douville, a registered nurse and vice president of Active Weigh Health and Weight Loss Coaching in Flanders. "In actuality, a person's weight will fluctuate about 2 to 3 pounds on any one day."
This has more to do with how much fluid, not fat, your body is retaining or losing at a given time because "one can't expect to gain or lose a significant amount of weight, in terms of fat or muscle, in a short period of time," said Scott Fisher, a registered dietitian and director of the Fitness Center at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck.
Even if they're not due to body fat, these temporary and subtle weight fluctuations can frustrate or elate people who are watching their weight. Deal with it by reminding yourself that these small changes are normal. "And keep in mind that your scale does not dictate your self-worth, and the overall trend in your weight is what to watch, not the day-by-day number," said Douville.
Here are 12 reasons behind your daily ups and downs when it comes to pounds as you navigate the next few weeks of big holiday dinners, boffo buffets and other foodie blowouts:
1. Weighing yourself at the wrong time, the wrong way.
"Simply eating a meal and drinking a large cup of water and then getting on the scale can easily result in an extra 1.5 to 2 pounds on the scale," said Lauren Kolesa, a registered dietitian whose practice, LMK Nutrition, is in Randolph.
The best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning, before you eat breakfast, after you've gone to the bathroom and without wearing clothing. Clothes and shoes can significantly elevate your weight on the scale. Consider that a pair of jeans can weigh 2 or 3 pounds, according to Beverly Herman-Rivera, registered dietitian and a certified diabetes educator at the Diabetes Management Center at Saint Michael's Medical Center, in Newark. Try to weigh yourself only once weekly, and use the same scale.
2. Eating a high-sodium meal or snack.
Examples of this are soup or frozen dinners. You can gain about a pound from chowing down on high-salt items because it can lead to water retention. The good news is, it shouldn't last long. "Any fluid that might be retained with sodium is quickly passed out of the body," said Fisher.
3. Eating a big Thanksgiving meal.
Yes, that dial on your scale can take a jump upwards after a huge feast. "You can eat as much as 3 pounds of food, depending on the density of the food. When you get to the point where you've got to unbutton your pants, that's easily 3 pounds," said Douville. "If you think about it, you buy apples by the pound. So, if you eat an apple, it obviously weighs something. After you eat, you are carrying around the weight of the food you consumed until it is digested properly."
4. Becoming constipated.
"We often eat poorly during the holidays -- low fruit and veggie intake and therefore low fiber, plus lots of refined carbs," said Kolesa. "Poor diet during the holidays, in combination with a disrupted routine, less sleep, different meal schedule, travel, often leads to constipation. A week of no elimination can easily result in a few extra pounds on the scale."
5. Gulping down a large bottle of fluid.
"Step on the scale before and after you have had a 20-ounce bottle of fluid. Until the body absorbs what it needs and disposes of the rest, you own the weight," said Douville. "Don't worry. It is not permanent and it is definitely not fat."
6. Downing holiday spirits.
"Alcohol can deplete your water," said Fisher, and the diuretic effect can translate into about a pound decrease in your weight on the scale.
7. Downing high-calorie holiday spirits.
Alcohol packs a double whammy because you can also gain a couple of pounds if you choose mixed or fruity drinks. Calories in mixed drinks can add up pretty quickly, as much as 400 to 500 calories, Fisher said. "Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, almost as many calories as 1 gram of fat," he said.
If you're going to drink an alcoholic beverage, try a wine spritzer, suggested Riva Touger-Decker, registered dietitian and director of Graduate Programs in Clinical Nutrition at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark. Wine spritzers have added fluids, which cut the amount of alcohol you're consuming.
8. Going low-carb.
Low-carb/high-protein diets can cause an immediate loss of fluids in the body, which can lead to a lighter weight on the scale, said Kolesa. The body stores carbohydrates as glycogen, and Fisher said that for every gram of glycogen you store, your body also stashes away about 3 grams of water. If your body lacks carbs from your eating plan, then it will use the glycogen stores and "you shed that water stored with the glycogen," Fisher said. "Water loss from glycogen use ... can account for significant swings in body weight over the course of several days, or even day to day."
9. Going back on carbs.
You may have already guessed this, but your weight starts rising again as soon as you resume eating carbs, which your body will store away with those 3 grams of water.
10. Doing an intense workout session and sweating like crazy.
A well-conditioned person can lose 4 to 5 pounds in an intense, hour-long workout, said Fisher. This is because your body is tapping into those glycogen stores and you're also losing water by sweating. "The better conditioned somebody is, the more you sweat," Fisher said. "Sweating is one of the body's mechanisms for cooling itself. The more conditioned you are, the more efficient your sweating mechanism is."
11. Being laid low with an illness.
If you're vomiting or have diarrhea, you can experience several pounds of fluid loss, Fisher said. "When you rehydrate yourself appropriately, you would gain that weight right back.
12. Fluctuating hormones. "A shift in hormones can produce a change in the body's fluid balance and, depending upon the week in a woman's menstruation cycle, the scale may go up or down," said Douville. Some women are unaffected by hormonal changes and water retention, said Kolesa, while others can gain 1 to 3 pounds during the course of a menstrual cycle.
Meg Nugent covers health and fitness for The Star-Ledger. She may be reached at mnugent@starledger.com or (973) 392-7955.
Posted by Beverly Herman-Rivera
Holiday recipes
If you need new ideas for your holiday table check out the recipes on Dlife.com
Posted by Beverly Herman-Rivera
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Posted by Beverly Herman-Rivera
