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Dr. Joanna Dolgoff

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Weight Loss Tips: Have a Healthy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 14th, 2011

One of the most difficult times of the year for those trying to lose weight is the holiday season. While the holidays are a time to get together with family and friends, every party and gathering is also an excuse to take a holiday from your healthy eating habits. A cookie here, a chocolate there, washed down with some egg nog, and before you know it, your pants are too tight.

The good news is that with a little foresight, those holiday pounds can be easily avoided while still enjoying the holiday season.

To start off, here are our tips for getting through Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving is a great time for a family dinner, but you can keep it healthy without sacrificing flavor.

Start the feast on a healthy – and filling – note. Instead of caloric dips and fatty appetizers, have low-calorie pre-dinner munchies available during food preparation and pre-dinner socializing.

Place bowls of different-colored veggies without sauces on the table first, either at the start of the buffet or as the first dishes passed around the table. That will allow people to cover a good portion of their plates with healthier choices before serving calorie-denser foods like stuffing and mashed potatoes.

Serve salad as a first course. Go heavy on greens, light on non-veggie add-ins like cheese.

Make the vegetable side dishes the star of the show – or at least the co-star. Try new, eye-appealing and interesting veggie recipes that pack plenty of flavor without extra calories.

Avoid adding hidden calories during food preparation, such as adding butter to mashed white or sweet potatoes, or butter, oil or cheese to veggies.

Sneak a few veggies into the dressing, such as diced onions, celery, leeks, shallots, carrots, even cauliflower.

Make gravy a choice, not the default. Instead, the default serving should be turkey without gravy. If someone wants gravy, they should add it themselves.

Be mindful of served portion sizes; someone can always ask for more.

Get everyone up and moving before dessert. Always have plain fruit options along with traditional choices.

Have plenty of water on the table and readily available. Make non-caloric beverages the default option.

GREEN LIGHT IT UP!

Holiday meals don’t have to pack such a high calorie punch. Simple makeover tips can lighten a meal and keep the taste just as good:

Baked turkey – choose a plain bird over a self-basting bird to lower the sodium content. To ensure a moist bird, bake un-stuffed, leave the skin on while roasting and remove from the oven when internal temperature reaches 170 degrees in the breast.

Gravy – use a gravy cup or refrigerate the pan juices (to harden the fat) and skim the fat off before making gravy. Save around 656 grams of fat per cup!

Candied yams – leave out the margarine and marshmallows. Sweeten with a little fruit juice, such as apple and flavor with cinnamon.

Green bean casserole – cook fresh green beans with chunks of potatoes instead of cream soup. Top with almonds instead of fried onion rings.

Mashed potatoes – use skim milk, roasted garlic, and a little parmesan cheese instead of whole milk and butter.

Bread – serve smaller pieces or omit it altogether.

The plate method – imagine your plate divided into thirds. Use the first third to fan out white meat turkey, no skin. Use the second third for salad and low-fat vegetables. Finally, the last third is for all the starches (sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce).

HOLIDAY FOOD FACTS

A typical Thanksgiving Meal

When putting your plate together, choose lots of veggies and avoid heavy creams or sauces.

Roast turkey (dark and white meat) with skin (4 oz)
Candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows (1 cup)
Green bean casserole
Jellied cranberry sauce (½ cup)
Caesar salad
Mashed potatoes with milk and butter (1 cup)
Apple pie with vanilla ice-cream
Pecan Pie

TOTAL CALORIES: 2,796 calories OR 7 RED LIGHTS!

Green Light Thanksgiving Meal

Roast turkey (light meat only), no skin (4oz) (2 GREENS)
Small Baked sweet potato (1 GREEN)
Sautéed green beans (1 GREEN)
Green Light cran-berries sauce (½ cup) (1/2 GREEN)
Mixed green salad with fat-free Italian Dressing (FREE)
Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic and skim milk (1 cup) (2 GREENS)
Green Light pumpkin pie (1 GREEN)

TOTAL CALORIES: 750 calories or 2 RED LIGHTS

RECIPES FOR THANKSGIVING

Green Light Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie saves 244 calories and 14 grams of fat per slice from the traditional version and it tastes identical!

Ingredients:

1 cup Fiber One

16 oz. can pumpkin

½ cup egg whites (about 4)

½ cup sugar OR 3 ½ teaspoons Splenda for Recipes

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, cloves)

12 oz. can evaporated skim milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind the cookies in a food processor.
Lightly spray a glass pie pan with vegetable cooking spray. Pat the cookie crumbs into the pan evenly.
Mix the rest of the ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour into the crust and bake until knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.
Allow to cool and slice in 8 wedges. Optional: serve each wedge with fat free whipped cream.

Serves 8

Each slice (made with sugar):

128 calories, 0g fat, 05g saturated fat, 2mg cholesterol, 249mg sodium, 29g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 6.5g protein. (1 YELLOW)

Each slice (made with Splenda):

79 calories, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 2mg cholesterol, 249mg sodium, 16g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 6.5g protein. (1 GREEN)

COMPARE WITH:

Traditional Pumpkin Pie: 557 calories, 33g fat

Traditional Pecan Pie: 680 calories, 35g fat

Green Light Cran-Berries Sauce

This easy to follow recipe is the BEST cranberry sauce you have ever tasted! You will be hooked! It is also great with roast meats, fish and as a dessert topping!

Most cranberry sauce recipes call for one cup of sugar – 774 calories. Instead replace the sugar with splenda and cut the calories in half.

Ingredients:

1 10-oz bag fresh cranberries

1 cup of water

1 cup Splenda

1 10 oz. bag frozen blueberries (defrosted) or mixed berries

1 small can crushed pineapple in natural juice (optional)

Place cranberries, water and Splenda in a medium-sized pot.
Bring ingredients to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Remove pot from stove and add blueberries and pineapple.
Place in a container and chill in the refrigerator until needed.

Green Light Cran-Berries Sauce (made with Splenda):

48 calories, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 0mg sodium, 12g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 1g protein. (1/2 GREEN)

COMPARE WITH:

Traditional Cranberry Sauce (1 cup):

418 calories, 1g protein, 107g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, <1g fat. (1 RED + 1 GREEN)

For more information about the Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right nutrition plan, visit www.drweigh.com.

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Tags: healthy eating, healthy thanksgiving, lose weight, weight loss tips
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Weight Loss: Are All Calories Created Equal?

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

The article below, written by childhood obesity specialist, Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, examines the effects on your body of different types of foods with the same calories. Although two foods may have the same number of calories, their nutrition value is not always equal. Dr. Dolgoff is a Board Certified Pediatrician and supervises Camp Shane’s menu and nutrition program. Her expertise insures that our weight loss program is scientifically based and proven to be effective. She is a renowned expert in childhood obesity and runs a child and adolescent weight management program that is available to Shane campers year round.

Even if these foods have equal calories to natural foods, their nutritional value is not as great. Skip the processed food!

Our body’s metabolism seems to favor calories from unprocessed foods — such as whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies according to a fascinating study cited in April’s Cooking Light magazine. The study done last year by a professor of nutrition at Kansas State University found that not all calories may be equal: “The body may burn calories from whole foods better than it does calories from processed foods like Twinkies.” Therefore, eating whole foods versus processed foods may actually give your metabolism a nice boost!

The researchers fed people two meals with the exact same number of calories; the only difference was how much the food was processed. Group A was given sandwiches made with real cheese on whole-grain bread; Group B made do with processed cheese on fiber-stripped white bread. The results, published in Food & Nutrition Research, found that the processed meal decreased the rate of diet-induced thermogenesis—the number of calories you burn when eating and digesting—by nearly 50% compared to the meal made with whole foods.

Here’s some whole food for thought: While the calories burned from a single sandwich may be small, this rise in metabolism caused by whole foods might account for about 10% of a typical person’s daily calorie expenditure. In other words, eating whole foods versus processed foods could mean the difference between losing or gaining approximately ten pounds in one year, respectively!

Balancing energy in and energy out is critical to solving the obesity crisis, but calorie counting can be tedious and is most likely not the real answer. A better approach is the whole foods approach, because Americans also need to increase intake of a long list of nutrients, including fiber, potassium, calcium, and vitamin D, which are associated with whole foods. Eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains delivers those nutrients in a form that may also hold a calorie-burning advantage.

Take the lead from Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right, which encourages fruits and vegetables at every meal with an emphasis on choosing whole foods. So, put away those processed chips, and choose an apple or some strawberries instead!

Source: http://drdolgoff.com/blog/2011/04/18/are-all-calories-are-created-equal/

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Tags: Childhood Obesity, nutrition program, weight loss program, weight management program
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Is Fast Food Really That Bad?

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

With all the reports of how unhealthy fast food is, why is anybody still eating it? The reality is, it is cheap, convenient and filling. The problem is that just one fast food meal can pack enough calories, sodium and fat for an entire day or more! Eating fast food on a regular basis can lead to a variety of different health problems including obesity. A recent study from Reuters revealed that fast food companies are increasing efforts to market themselves to children and toddlers with television ads and websites geared to kids. In fact, the fast food industry spent more than $4.2 billion in 2009 on marketing and advertising! Why do companies spend so much money on child-targeted advertising? Because it works! These commercials cause our children to “hunger” for these unhealthy foods. And with the average child exposed to over 40,000 commercials a year, there is no wonder children crave fast food!

Just ask for this sans cheese & croutons and you have a healthier meal option!

Because of the childhood obesity epidemic, San Francisco passed a law regarding fast food. The law, which takes effect 12/1/11, restricts the fast food industry’s practice of giving away toys with children’s meals. Kid’s meals must meet certain nutritional standards before they can be sold with toys. They must be less than 600 calories, contain fruits or vegetables and include beverages without excessive fat or sugar. Toys tend to lure children into buying these kid’s meals so certainly this law will help.

Eating fast food doesn’t have be a disaster. There are ways to make healthy choices. A study conducted by Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity looked into fast food and kids. The study states that healthy side dishes and beverages options for kids’ meals are rarely offered as the default. So while the healthier choices are there, it’s really up to the consumer to pay close attention while ordering. Here are a few tips to get started.

1. Do your research. Preparing before you go can make a huge difference. You can check the nutritional guide of most chains online. You would be surprised just how many calories many fast food items contain. Choices made with knowledge are always healthier.

2. Ditch the soda! Choose to drink water instead. Soda is a huge source of hidden calories. One 32 oz cola packs about 400 calories! Try water with lemon or order unsweetened iced tea for more flavor.

3. “Undress your food”. Be careful of calorie- and fat-packed salad dressings, cheese, sour cream, etc. For example,

You can still eat here if you're on a weight loss diet, but be smart about your food choice!

ask for a grilled chicken sandwich without the mayonnaise.

4. Special order your food. Many menu items would be healthier if they were prepared differently. Ask for vegetables and main dishes to be served without the sauce. If the food is fried or cooked in oil or butter, ask to have it broiled or steamed.

5. Avoid ordering “supersize” portions, regardless of the price difference! An average fast food meal can run up to 1000 calories or more. So choose a smaller portion size, order a side salad instead of fries and don’t supersize anything!

6. Beware of some of those salads. Just because it has lettuce doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Some salads have over one thousand calories. Order your salad without croutons, cheese, fried chicken, and fatty dressings. Instead, choose a salad with grilled chicken and either low fat or fat free dressing.

The nations obesity epidemic has focused attention on fast food restaurants. The good news is that many chains have begun offering healthier options. But they don’t help unless you actually order them. So while it’s not always the ideal choice to eat at one of these chains, with some knowledge and good common sense we can stay on track towards a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Joanna Dolgoff is the medical supervisor at Camp Shane weight loss camp. She is a pediatrician, child obesity specialist, and author of Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right. Her child weight loss program boasts over a 90% success rate and has been featured on WABC News, WNBC News, Fox 5 Morning Show, My9 News, and WPIX News.

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Tags: Childhood Obesity, fast food, obesity epidemic, weight loss camp
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Restaurants’ Hidden Calories Sabotage Effective Weight Loss

Friday, May 28th, 2010

You can’t trust everything you read, especially if it is a nutrition label, In a disheartening study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers found that many dietetic frozen food entrees, instead of being tops in the weight loss nutrition category, had many more calories than their nutrition labels claimed. On average, the frozen foods, including items from Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and South Beach, contained 8% more calories than their boxes suggested.

They also found many discrepancies between the number of calories in food items at many popular chain restaurants and the number of calories these restaurants claim their food contains. On average, restaurant foods contained 18% more calories than listed.

So if you can’t trust a printed calorie count, what can you trust? It seems, not much. According to restaurant representatives, these calorie discrepancies are due to slight variations in portions sizes which can wreck havoc with anyone planning weight loss menus. For example, a particular restaurant worker may use slightly more cheese in the potato skins than another restaurant employee. They claim that it is impossible for workers across the country to keep menu items completely uniform, wrecking havoc with any carefully planned weight loss program.

This study brings into question the usefulness of the new “calorie labeling” laws recently passed in many areas, including New York City. What is the purpose of requiring companies to post calorie counts if they are not accurate?

In my opinion, calorie postings are crucial, even if the actual calorie count is not exact. According to the FDA, restaurant and packaged foods are allowed a 20% margin of error. Therefore, a 300- calorie sandwich may contain anywhere from 270 to 330 calories. These “estimates” (which is really what they are) give consumers a good idea of how healthy a food is and how it can fit in a weight loss program. Even if you don’t know exactly how many calories an item contains, the postings give you an idea of which choices are healthier than others. And since few Americans adhere to a very strict number of daily calories, a rough estimate is good enough, though not also precise enough for effective weight loss.

Some nutrition experts argue that eating an extra hundred or so calories on a continual basis will lead to weight gain instead of effective weight loss. Of course that statement is true, but I just don’t see a better alternative. Having some idea of how many calories a food contains is better than having no idea at all.

Certain restaurants, however, have crossed the line. Slight variations in portion size do not explain the fact that P.F. Chang’s Sichuan Asparagus had more than double the 200 calories the dish is reported to contain. Such egregious discrepancies are unacceptable and restaurants should have to pay significant fines for misleading the public, some of whom are working hard at a program of weight loss and fitness.

Yet not all items went over their stated calorie counts. Researchers found many items that contained fewer calories than reported. Domino’s large thin crust pizza, for example, had one third fewer calories than the listed 180 calories per serving. Now that is a refreshing piece of news, although I guarantee that Domino’s will be posting this new, lower calorie count faster than P.F. Chang’s will change their Sichuan Asparagus calorie count.

Obviously, I would like calorie postings to be as accurate as possible. But when actual people are preparing the meals, there is no way for serving sizes to be 100% standardized. With the current obesity crisis as it is (particularly in the areas of overweight children and overweight teens), we need to do everything we can to give consumers as much nutrition information as possible. Until there is a way to exactly calculate how many calories a person is eating, calorie estimates will have to suffice. For effective weight loss and proper weight loss nutrition, such information is vital. Let’s just institute strict laws for companies, like P.F. Chang’s, who blatantly misrepresent themselves.

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Kids Gain Weight Drinking Whole Milk: So Why Are Schools Still Serving It?

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Recently, America’s school lunch menus have been under fire and parents are becoming increasingly concerned about the state of their children’s health and well-being. Federal law, under the School Lunch Act, provides nutritional guidelines and criteria to which schools must adhere. These guidelines include the amount and type of foods the cafeteria must offer, in addition to placing limits on nutrients like saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Specifically, school lunches must provide 1/3 of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, and 1/3 of the Recommended Energy Intake (REI) for calories. In addition, the cafeteria must offer 5 components as part of a school lunch, of which three of the five must make their way onto the child’s lunch tray. These include a starch, meat (or meat substitute), fruit, vegetable and milk. There are similar guidelines for schools that serve breakfast as well. These guidelines are especially important because many children eat the majority of their meals at school, which can lead to childhood obesity or weight gain if these meals are unhealthy.

Milk contributes a good portion of nutrients to school lunches. It is a valuable, nutrient-dense source of protein, calcium and vitamin D, all of which are important for achieving adequate nutrition and optimal growth in school-age children. However, whole milk can significantly contribute to the saturated fat and cholesterol content of a meal.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) whole milk and other full-fat dairy products are only appropriate for children under the age of 1-2 years old. Children under two, who are in a stage of rapid growth and brain development, have high energy and dietary fat requirements. They need the extra fat that whole milk contains.

Everybody else, however, should choosing low fat dairy products, including skim milk. In fact, the AAP states that no child over the age of two should be drinking whole milk. Skim milk is identical to whole milk in terms of nutritional value, but is markedly lower in saturated fat, cholesterol and calories. Diets high in saturated fat are associated with increased risk for obesity, heart disease and certain cancers. Saturated fat intake causes harmful buildup in the arteries and blood vessels of healthy individuals, starting in young children. It is important to begin healthy eating habits as a child and to continue making healthy choices throughout life.

A good portion of a child’s learning happens through modeling. That is, by watching their parents or other caregivers’ actions, they learn how to be an adult. This is especially important when it comes to eating: your food preferences as an adult are closely related to the foods you saw your parents eating. But what happens when your child is eating 2 out of 3 meals a day at school, plus a snack? Because they are eating so many meals outside the home or the care of their parents, kids are increasingly reliant on teachers, caregivers and cafeteria staff to guide them to make healthy choices and model healthy eating behaviors.

The fact is, the people who are responsible for serving food to or eating with your children usually receive no formal nutrition education. In most cases, a position as a preschool classroom aide or a kitchen worker requires a high school level education. Regardless, whatever their educational background, it is a common misconception for people to think that whole milk has a nutritional advantage over skim milk. It is also very common that parents encounter teachers or caregivers who have different beliefs than their own when it comes to feeding their child. Especially when you’re talking about the welfare of a child’s health, when a parent feels one way but their caregiver feels another way, this can create some tension. A well-meaning day care worker just may not be aware of or understand the reasons why full-fat milk can be dangerous, even for young children. Parents often have a difficult time getting this message across but should continue to be an advocate for their child’s health.

In situations like this, as a parent you have the right to decide what your child does and does not eat. You can stress this issue to the teacher in a polite way while still standing firm. If needed, refer them to an appropriate resource, such as www.MyPyramid.gov, the American Academy of Pediatrics, your pediatrician, or even a local dietitian for further advice on this matter. Your child’s health comes first!

Dr. Dolgoff, a Board Certified Pediatrician, supervises Camp Shane’s menu, nutrition, and parent education program. A renowned expert in childhood obesity she runs a child and adolescent weight management program. Camp Shane is the longest running and most effective weight loss camp in the country.