Many of my clients report they are "always hungry", as if hunger is a personality quirk. Hunger is simply a request for fuel. If you are hungry all the time, you likely are eating too little food during the day (only to overindulge at night).

Think about hunger this way: If you were taking care of a little baby, and the baby was crying because it was hungry, not feeding that child would be called child abuse. Not feeding your own body when it is hungry is being abusive to yourself. Don't do that!!!

Even if you want to lose body fat, you can lose weight without being ravenously hungry. Just eat 100 calories less at the end of the day, and that will theoretically contribute to 10 pounds of fat loss a year. Two hundred calories less at the end of the day, 20 lbs of fat loss. Chip away at weight loss, rather than living hungry (no fun, and not sustainable).

Regards,

Nancy Clark MS RD

Seems like June is a month filled with birthdays—and birthday parties. Several of my clients were born in June, and they are now fretting about birthday cake and other such treats, afraid they will overeat.

If weight is an issue for you, remember that you can enjoy the PEOPLE at the birthday party, and not just the cake. Too often, weight-conscious athletes pay too much attention to the food at the party, and fail to enjoy their friends.

Here are three tips for surviving social events that abound with tempting food.

1. Don’t arrive at the party feeling hungry. When you feel hungry, you are more likely to treat yourself to goodies “because you saved up calories.” My bet is, if you arrive hungry, you’ll not only eat—but you’ll overeat far more calories than you saved!

2. Eat a diet portion of whatever you want. The first three mouthfuls taste the best; savor those and don't feel the need to eat "the whole thing" just because it is there. Be aware of “last chance eating” (you know, last chance to eat cake, so I’d better eat another piece…”). Take that second piece home and enjoy it the next day, when your body is ready for some fuel.

3. Socialize away from the food. That is, don’t stand near the buffet table; find someplace where food is out of reach.

These tips work for any social event. Just remember to have fun enjoying the people, and put food at the bottom of the priority list.

Nancy

All too often, clients come to me whining they have failed to lose weight, even though they have stopped eating "junk foods." Now, they are eating only "healthy foods." They thought hamburgers, fries, and ice cream were making them fat, so they deleted those foods and replaced them with salads (with lots of dressing), trail mix, and protein shakes. Make that, lots of salad, trail mx and protein shakes. Little do they realize, excess calories from "healthy foods" are just as fattening as calories from "junk foods."

If you wnt to trim some undesired body fat, your best bet is to knock off the excess calories of soft drinks, fried foods, and sweets. Theoretically, just 100 fewer calories a day at the end of the day can contribute to 10 pounds of fat loss a year. But be sure to count the calories in "health foods." ....  they can contribute to fat-gain, too.

Nancy