JTH9: Identifying and Overcoming Obesity Related Diseases with Stephanie Gray, RD

Did you know that the fat in one doughnut is equal to TEN bagels or that ½ cup of ice cream has the same amount of fat as four 8-ounce cups of low-fat vanilla yogurt? I like knowing that three slices of thin-crust veggie pizza is the equivalent of one slice of pan pizza with meat topping because veggie pizza is my favorite! Although the lower-fat foods outnumber the higher fat versions, it isn't a green light to eat mass quantities. Losing weight and getting healthy is about portion size as we discovered.

We learned a lot at our last Great Weight Off meeting about portion distortion thanks to Stephanie Gray, a Registered Dietitian with MGH. Did you know that the kid's size meal served in restaurants is actually an adult portion?! No wonder it's so hard to lose weight, we're all eating way more than we need and we don't even realize it. I don't know about you, but I'm a former member of the “clean-your-plate” club. I grew up knowing that I had to eat everything I was served in order to leave the table or get dessert. It took many years to overcome that childhood conditioning and it is still an automatic response sometimes, especially if stress is high. On top of that, everything is bargain priced if you “super-size” it. So, instead of the 12 oz can of soda, we're getting Polar pops which Stephanie said can contain the equivalent of 4-5 sodas. We get the jumbo size popcorn at the movies (that comes with free refills) which contains 1,650 calories and 93 grams of fat!

Stephanie brought some props to demonstrate accurate portion sizes. She said that what we call a salad plate is the size plate we should use for our meals because smaller plates make us think there is more food on it. She showed us a bowl and asked us how much cereal we would put in it. How much cereal do YOU put in your bowl? Of course, we fill it to the top! She showed us a serving size is ½ to ¾ full. Seriously, who fills their bowl only half-way up unless that's all the cereal left in the box! Stephanie's talk about portion size was very enlightening. I learned a lot that will help me on my wellness journey.

Stephanie also explained triglycerides (fat in the blood, bad news if it gets too high) and HDL (good cholesterol) and gave us several tips on how to lower the triglycerides and increase HDL (eat more fruits and veggies, choose good fats like walnuts, almonds, peanuts or peanut butter, and exercise). She also talked to us about nutrition, food labels, obesity related diseases, and the benefits of exercise.

Stephanie said she recommends that her patients use MyFitnessPal to log their food intake because it's convenient for most people who carry their smart phone everywhere. You can scan the bar code on the container of what you consume and it automatically calculates nutrition information. Tracking what you eat creates an awareness of how much you are consuming. I have used MyFitnessPal for a couple years and love it. In addition to your nutrition, you can track and see reports on your exercise, water intake, weight, measurements, etc. It also has a social feature where you can interact with your friends and encourage each other. Cost: FREE!

Stephanie's presentation was jammed-packed with a lot of helpful information. She took the time to answer our questions and we could tell that she truly cares about helping people get healthy.

Kathy

Special thanks to Stephanie Gray, RD for sharing her expertise about getting healthy! 

 This is one of the handouts Stephanie brought to show us the comparison of fat in food.