Trainer Tuesday with Heather Donoho

Question: Are fruits and vegetables “free foods” in terms of dieting?

Answer: Unfortunately, no. Some popular diet plans may encourage users to eat all of the fruits or vegetables they want while in turn limiting their portions of other foods. While users may have success because they are lowering their overall calorie intake or replacing a candy bar with an apple, fruits and vegetables still have calories and macronutrient levels- protein, fats, and carbs. Other users following the same plan may find they are not losing weight, or even gaining. Here’s why:

Most fruits are carb heavy foods. While a certain amount of carbs are necessary for your body, overdoing carbs (or any macronutrient level) will definitely lead to weight gain over time. For example, I may stick to an 1800 calorie diet plan, but everyday eat an apple, a banana, a cup of berries, and a few chunks of pineapple that I don’t account for because they are “free.” I’ve likely just eaten an additional 300-400 calories, and tons of extra sugar! Your body treats excess calories from healthy foods the same as it does calories from junk food- too much is still too much and may lead to weight gain! Other produce items are heavier in fats, such as an avocado. While avocados are great for eating healthy fats, you must account for this into your overall calorie/macro plan.

On the other hand, not accounting for the fruits and vegetables you eat may make it seem like you are lacking in nutrients you are actually eating. Vegetables in particular are great sources of vitamins. Some vegetables, such as peas, also have a decent serving of protein in them. But again, all foods have calories! The theory behind the plans that say you can eat unlimited fruits and vegetables is that if you “fill up” on healthy foods, you’ll be less likely to binge on donuts, cookies, or chips. This part is true- in general, the more fresh foods you eat, the less processed food you will eat. But often times people will mindlessly eat a banana or a bag of baby carrots and not view it as real food. This habit sometimes leads to eating even MORE if you aren’t realizing the amount of foods you actually are eating, or to feeling like you deserve a “reward” food for eating so well the rest of the day.

The bottom line is, all foods play a role in your weight loss or gain. Be mindful of the nutritional values of all foods and drinks you consume. Make room in your diet for foods you really enjoy and try to eat a well-rounded diet that meets not only your calorie needs, but also your macronutrient (protein, fats, and carbs) needs as well.

Question: Why do I see people weighing their food with a scale?

Answer: People who are serious about weight loss (or gain, if they are trying to build muscle) try to calculate the exact amounts of calories they are consuming. Often times food labels and serving sizes are misleading and can drastically affect one’s results. People use the scales to determine that they are eating the correct amount of that food in grams. For example, a popular protein bar that I enjoy buying is 60 grams according to the nutritional label. The calories and other nutrients on the label are all calculated on that bar being 60 grams. If I weigh my bar unwrapped, it may actually weigh 80 grams due to slight variances in how it was made at the factory. Knowing this, my protein bar doesn’t actually have 160 calories; it really has 212.8 calories. That can be a big difference over time!

Foods that aren’t pre-portioned can also be trouble spots for people tracking their calories. If we cook a steak, we tend to eat the whole steak – not just the portion that actually weighs the 4 ounces that is listed on the label. When most of us want a bowl of cereal, we pour what looks like enough into our bowls. If we make a big pot of rice, we scoop out how much we want. Chances are, we are actually eating at least 2 times the serving size, sometimes up to 4 times too much. Measuring cups aren’t always accurate either. If I were to weigh my bowl, zero my scale, and then add my cereal until it reached the number of grams listed on the nutritional panel, then I would know I was eating an actual serving size.

I don’t recommend that everyone buys a scale and weighs all of their food every day. If you are having trouble losing weight even though you feel like you are eating healthy foods in correct portions, then I may suggest really weighing and measuring all of your foods for a week to check for accuracy. Write down and add up your daily calorie values, and if you are within the range needed for your activity level to lose weight, you should be losing about a pound a week. After about a week of measuring all of your portions, you will find the foods that trip you up the most. Then just pull out the scale for the times you need to be more accurate- like scooping just one cup of your favorite ice cream into your bowl.

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