Morning Everyone!
Well, I'm feeling a bit fried today, mentally and physically! I am getting sick, what Eli & Sharon had it seems. Don't need this with my nephew's B/M coming up this Saturday-and I pray my kids don't catch this. Feeling weird and my it's already attacking my voice, sounding like a frog. Not sure if I will have it in me to even walk today
Also, the scale is way up, which also depresses me. Looking back always before my period (due Sat., lucky me) I lose, and here I am going up, up and away from my low of 138. I know it will go back down, but hey, why not throw a pity party!?! I always feel that if I were cheating, at least I would have something to blame it on, but I'm not, and I'm keeping track of what I eat, and I see no reason for this gain, which is why after this past week of being up, I get annoyed. As I've said in the past when this has happened, I won't change a thing and will venture on, but sometimes, I just need to vent. I guess enough said.
TODAY IS TUESDAY FACTS and there has been a lot of talk about chocolate lately. Here's an interesting tidbit I found:
Some women keep track of their menstrual cycles not with a check mark on the calendar, but with candy bar wrappers. So says Debra Waterhouse, a registered dietician and author of Why Women Need Chocolate. According to Ms. Waterhouse, monthly cravings aren't something to battle, but a "blessing." She explains, "When you're craving a particular food, your body is telling you what you really need. Eat what you want to eat, just don't overdo it."
Ms. Waterhouse describes the reasons why women crave chocolate or fatty foods before their periods. After ovulation the level of serotonin in the brain goes down, producing a drop in mood and energy. Serotonin is a brain chemical linked to feelings of calmness and mood stability. Sugar, she says, boosts serotonin levels. The urge to eat it premenstrually is a natural response.
Along with the premenstrual dip in serotonin levels, Ms. Waterhouse maintains that the body's endorphin levels also fall. Endorphins are also brain chemicals associated with a lift in spirits and energy. "There's an endorphin surge at ovulation that lasts about 48 hours," says Ms. Waterhouse. "For the two weeks after ovulation, your body and brain are trying to restore that high endorphin level:" Chocolate is the perfect combination of fat and sugar needed to increase both serotonin and endorphin levels, she says.
"In the past, food cravings were viewed as a sign of weakness, something we had to find the willpower deep in the soul to overcome. In fact, it's to our benefit to trust our bodies and appreciate the food messages they're giving us," says Ms. Waterhouse.
For women with PMS, the idea that chocolate is okay in limited doses may seem to fly in the face of what has been standard advice for years: avoid chocolate, especially during the premenstrual phase. "It's not a black and white issue," says Stephanie Bender, Director of Full Circle Women's Health in Boulder, Colorado.
Specific cravings for chocolate and cravings for sweets in general are different, says Ms. Bender. "Women who simply have sugar cravings can address that by having more frequent small feedings. They need to be grazers," she says. She continues, "But when a woman says clearly, `I want chocolate,' we may be looking at someone who actually needs more magnesium."
Ms. Bender leans towards examining a woman's need for magnesium if she reports craving chocolate, but she called the possible relationship between chocolate and the body's production of endorphins and serotonin "fascinating." "The whole area of the marriage between endocrine glands, neurotransmitters like serotonin, and hormones is so unexplored. It deserves our attention and respect."
Research shows that a "dose response" can also be helpful in managing food cravings, says Janine Clifford Murphy, a registered dietician with the Nutrition Consultation Service at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "When we're craving sweets, a penny candy can be just the thing. We don't need the whole 65-cent candy bar to alleviate the craving," she says.
A "dose" of ten potato chips has only 100 to 150 calories and about 9 grams of fat," she explains. "That's not going to kill anybody or make them gain five pounds, but sitting with a bag of chips in front of the television is a dangerous habit." She continues, "Food cravings are legitimate. Women shouldn't feel guilty about them. I tell women to count out ten chips, have them with their sandwich, and crunch and enjoy every bite."
"If a woman honestly says, `I can easily buy one tiny morsel of chocolate and be satisfied,' I'm not going to say she should never do that," Ms. Bender states. She also notes that chocolate isn't the only way to raise serotonin levels. "A snack of complex carbohydrates will do the same thing," she says.
In general, a healthy PMS diet recommends avoiding chocolate in order to keep feeling your best. On days when cravings seem especially strong, be sure to eat six small meals to keep your blood sugar and energy levels up.
If you do "fall off the wagon" and go for the chips or chocolate, don't be too hard on yourself. After a dietary slip, it's best not to starve yourself later. Getting back on track with your healthy PMS diet of high carbohydrate, low fat meals will make you feel better than any other form of calorie-cutting penance.
BARBEE, I'm way up too, so you're in good company. Fitday isn't hard to navitage, just go to the foods area, put in your foods and it figures everything out for you. You can put in custom foods as well.
BELINDA, thanks for the chocolate links, I think we have one of them up there, but if not, I will add them in when I get a chance.
MISSGRACE, let us know which recipes you end up trying, and how they turned out.
JOY, hope you had a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Can your master cook program scale down a recipe. I have the recipe from Ole Ole for their salad dressing, but it's a large quantity and I want to scale it down for home use.
JANCAN, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to you too! Is that 14 or 41?? Your fat grams should be 30% or less of your daily intake. If you check out the TIPS & TOOLS BOARD, there is a good explanation on how to figure this all out
BIGO, have no idea about that message you get for the java, I'm computer stupid! If you still have trouble, we can e-mail Suzanne and ask her.
QUILTER, will e-mail you later in regards to your e-mail and Naples. The dish uses fresh tomatoes
AMSER, at this time, I am testing that patience that is little known!! Thank goodness I have more patience with this WOE than I do with my kids!!
OVERCOME, I looked at your fitday. I don't think you are generally eating too much fat. Looks like too little calories on some days, but it seems to average out pretty well.
Well gals, I've got to go, I need to get Lauren up (I've only called her 10 times) and then to school. I feel nauseaus
and don't think that walk is going to happen at this point, more like climb into bed!
So, we'll do a
TEST CHAT on Thursday Night, 9:30pm eastern time to see how it goes - sound good????
I'll check in later!!
Debbie
194/142/129