Healthy Memphis

Week one of the Memphis Health Center's Lose to Live weight loss challenge and Deborah Golston's off to a slow start.

She lost a pound, dropping from 193 to 192.

Golston, 50, was pleased. She arrived at the health center in South Memphis on Thursday for the second weigh-in of the 12-week contest fearing she'd gained weight. After a good start, Golston's appetite got the better of her and started eating more, including more meat. Cutting down on beef and pork was part of her strategy for dropping eight to 10 pounds a month during the challenge.

She made some strides. Golston fulfilled her pledge to stop the middle of the night meals. She still wakes at 2 or 3 a.m., but now fills up on raw vegetables. She's also eating smaller portions, just too many of them, she said with a laugh.

Her goal for this week? "Get more exercise," she said. The center staff recommended 15 to 20 minutes a day.

Golston is one of roughly 150 health center patients and staff who signed up for the competition. The winner will receive $300 and a year's membership to the Hope & Healing Center.

 We'll check in with Golston regularly during the challenge. 

You can also join share weight loss goals and struggles with other Commercial Appeal readers. Sign up to post your pictures and share your goals at focus.commercialappeal.com.   

Enrollment is underway for a free weight-control program targeting adolescents and their families.

The 12-week program, called Strong Me, is designed for those age 6 through 15. At least one parent must also participate. It will be offered beginning in October at Shady Grove Presbyterian Church, 5530 Shady Grove, and at Caritas Village, 2509 Harvard.

Developed by Dr. Janice Pride Boone, a Memphis pediatrician, the program is designed to help families change their daily routine, particularly their eating and exercise. The goal is to help participants increase their exercise and stabilize their weight. Each session includes exercise and a healthy meal as well as other activities. “We walk participants through what change looks like,” explained Boone, who is also a licensed family therapist.

The Caritas Village program is funded with a grant from the United Way of the Mid-South. The East Memphis program is a ministry of the church. Enrollment is limited to 25 families at each location.

For more information, call (888) 495-6555.

Report cards have arrived. Sunset is inching toward 8:15 p.m. Vacation Bible schools are opening their doors. This week The Commercial Appeal's Health & Fitness section is marking summer's start with a story about summer time weight gain. Mid-South physicians said too many young people spend summers snacking in front of a screen.

This week Dr. Pedro A. Velasquez of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center will answer reader questions related to childhood obesity and the risk of summer weight gain.

 Send in a question and then check back for his reply. He will periodically check the blog and post answers.

 Here is a question to start the chat. Where do you place diet sodas in the hierarchy of healthy or unhealthy drinks? Would you always chose the diet option for children and adolescents? 

Dr. Velasquez sent in this answer: "In regards to health, neither one will be my first choice. It is associated with increased intake of caffeine, fructose, sodium, phosphates etc.. It also may promotes long-term abnormal mineral changes in bone. Soda has become the preferred drink for the youth.It is the substitute for water, milk and healthier drinks. In our clinic we have children that soft drink represents a significant amount of the extra calories (300-2000 cal/day). It is really hard to promote healthier weight in patients drinking sodas. There are studies that supporting sodas are the best predictor of obesity in children regardless if the are diet or regular. There is very limited information suggesting that drinking diets drinks promote weight loss.

However, in patients with diabetes, drinking diet drinks may help to control the increase in glucose values but it does not mean that it is healthy. My inclination is to include soda in the unhealthy category and limiting their consumption is my strong suggestion."

One delectable super food that is good for our overall health including our hearts is dark chocolate or more specifically cocoa and bittersweet chocolate (which must contain at least 60% cocoa). It is appropriately coined "food for the gods". Studies show that the flavonoids found in dark chocolate can do such remarkable heart healthy tasks as increasing HDL (good cholesterol), lower LDL (bad cholesterol) as well as lower blood pressure and your triglycerides, which in turn lowers your risk for atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.  Below is a recipe for an unbelievably delicious Chocolate Almond Biscotti. I was lucky enough to sample this recipe in Altoka, Tennessee where a book club baked the biscotti for a talk I gave there. See if you can find the 4 super foods in the recipe below. ENJOY!

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

11/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped slivered almonds

2 ounces bittersweet (60% cocoa or more) chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat on low just until combined. Fold in the almonds and chocolate.

3. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet and shape into a loaf about 9" X 5". Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Remove to a rack to cool, about 15 minutes.

4. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Cut the loaf crosswise into 18 (1/2 inch thick) slices. Place the slices cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake, turning once, for 25 minutes, or until dry and crisp. Remove to rack to cool completely.

Makes 18

Per serving: 145 calories, 65 calories from fat, 7 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, 2 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat, 34 mg cholesterol, 81 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 3 g protein.

SOURCE: “WomenHeart's All Heart Family Cookbook; Featuring the 40 Foods Proven to Promote Heart Health,” by Kathy Kastan and Suzanne Banfield (Rodale, $29.95, 301 pages).

We’re having an online conversation with registered dietitian Ashley Hofeditz and certified personal trainer Judy Oros this week. The topic is shaping up for bathing suit season.

Got a question about exercise or nutrition?
Here's your chance to ask it.

They’ll  check the blog and respond.

Can you remember the last time you sat down to a meal really hungry?  Or are you eating dinner because it is 6:30 and you always eat dinner at that time? 

The American Dietetic Association offers these insights regarding eating and hunger:  Read the rest of this entry »