Let's Give Soy Another Chance

There are so many ways to get this good-for-you protein into your daily diet. If you bypass Tofu at salad bars, skip the meatless dishes at Chinese restaurants, and avoid edamame like the plague, it's time to give soy-based foods a second look. "Whole soy foods are a great substitute for meat," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Their healthy protein content makes them a good option even if you are not looking to become a vegetarian or opting to eat less meat. This legume should be a regular and great-tasting part of your diet.

All soy products are made from soybeans, mostly grown here in the United States. You can buy whole soybeans dried or canned, or in the produce section.  Beyond the whole bean, soy takes on a number of different faces. Roasted soy beans are sold as soy nuts or ground into soy nut butter. Soy beans can be soaked in water, cooked, and filtered to make soy milk and soy yogurt. Adding a coagulant to soy milk produces tofu, which ranges in texture from very soft to extra firm depending upon how much liquid is removed. Soy beans can also be fermented into a paste called miso or a cake or patty called tempeh, which is often used in place of meat in sandwiches or grilled and eaten on its own. Soy can also be found in packaged foods- such as frozen meatless burgers, cereals, and energy bars - often in the form of "soy protein isolate," meaning it's mostly the protein from soybeans you are getting.

Soy's biggest nutritional claim to fame is its complete protein, one of the only plant proteins that contains all nine essential amino acids our bodies need from our diets. This makes it an ideal substitute for meat, poultry, and eggs. In fact, a half cup of cooked soybeans supplies about one-third of your necessary daily protein. That protein and the fiber it contains make it very filling.

Soy also packs a number of phytochemicals, including isoflavones, which may work together to help fight conditions like cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. (Though you might have heard that women with a history of breast cancer should avoid soy, recent research suggest that's probably not necessary, says Karen Collins, R.D. nutrition adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research.) Like most foods, you get more of their good-for-you attributes when eaten closest to their original state. You may get slightly more nutrients from fermented soy foods like miso and tempeh, since the fermentation process can make those nutrients more absorbable by the body, but most forms of this legume deserve a place on your plate.

There are two exceptions: First, avoid soy isoflavone supplement pills and powders. Research has not yet determined how much of it is safe to take. Plus, unlike whole soy foods, they don't give you the full range of phytochemicals and other nutrients. Secondly, though foods made with soy protein isolate (like soy burgers and soy dogs) do usually contain less saturated fat than their meat counterparts, they also tend to be loaded with sodium and additives, so use them as a treat, but don't make them a staple.

Soy can be used many, many ways in cooking and it tends to absorb the other flavors in your recipe, so it's great to use with your favorite seasonings. Because it is so soft, silken tofu works well as a thickener for sauces, dips and smoothies. My favorite pasta sauce is made blending tofu and roasted red peppers, along with some seasoning and vegetable broth.  Have some fun exploring for recipes and remember that when you add soy, you are adding protein and fiber so you are likely to find it very filling.

barbarajlaird.zumba.com
gettingfitwithbj@gmail.com

Not Losing Weight?

I hear people report that they diet and work out and track their calories and do all the right things but still are not losing weight. Sometimes the answer isn't easy to come by and a full health assessment by your physician is appropriate. Most often when someone isn't making progress the answer may be found in these common and all-too human mistakes.

You are eating back all the calories you burn. When you work out you are burning extra calories. That's why exercise is so important in the weight-loss process. But many people overestimate how much they burn and even use the exercise excuse to overindulge. Have you ever told yourself, "Well I worked out today so this treat is OK."? Or, "I'll have this now but work out extra hard tomorrow to burn it off."? If this sounds all too familiar it may be one reason you are not losing weight. In order for exercise to help you lose, you can't re-eat all those extra calories you burned.

You're relying on exercise alone to do the trick. Exercise alone will not help you lose wight. Let me repeat that, exercise alone will not help you lose weight. Exercise does burn calories, but usually not as much as people think. A full hour of intense exercise may only burn 400 - 500 calories for a lot of people. On the other hand, it's easy to eat hundreds, even thousands, of calories in a few minutes. If you are not changing what you eat and reducing your calorie intake, exercise alone probably won't provide the help you need.

You are not eating as healthfully as you think. We all think we eat pretty well. Especially when we frame it in the context of how others around us eat. The truth is that the majority of people could and should improve their diets immensely. If you are not meeting basic guidelines for a healthy diet (which involve far more than just counting calories alone) and you don't track your nutrition intake to see how it all adds up, you shouldn't make assumptions about how well you actually eat. For those of you choosing those weight-loss in a shake and bar solutions, it really does matter what other real foods are in your daily intake.  A generally accepted guideline to sustaining a healthy diet and weight is that no more than 50% of the nutrients your body needs and gets should come from supplements (regardless of the form of the supplement). Ideally, the highest percentage of nutrients we consume should come from whole (not processed) foods. Research confirms that people underestimate the quantity of food they eat, so read labels and measure.

You're doing the wrong kind of exercise.  If you are exercising regularly, you are already doing a very important thing to improve your health. But when it comes to exercising for weight loss, there's a lot of confusion out there. All types of exercise will burn calories, which can help with weight loss. Weight loss is all about burning calories and cardio is still the calorie-burning king. But, strength training is important too, so that you can manage your energy and the amount of muscle versus fat that contributes to your weight loss. The best exercise plan emphasizes cardio for calorie burning and includes strength training to preserve lean muscle. Both are important. Neither approach can do everything by itself.

You are not being consistent enough. When you are struggling to lose those last 5 or 10 pounds or to overcome a plateau, consistency in your efforts (both healthy eating and exercise) is even more important. It is common to choose and stick to a strict diet and fitness program for days or weeks at a time. But, those rigorous programs don't always help you build the healthy habits that you will be able to sustain as a new lifestyle. Short bursts of eating perfectly and exercising religiously may not show results on the scale. Assess the reasonableness and regularity of what you are choosing and doing.

Successful, permanent weight loss is not a onetime event. It is an integration of healthy diet choices and regular physical activity that becomes a sustainable new lifestyle for you and your family. That means taking the time to learn about options, find tasty, healthy food choices and explore exercise and fitness options to find ones that are fun for you.

Good luck and please feel free to contact me if I may provide additional information and support.

barbarajlaird.zumba.com
gettingfitwithbj@gmail.com