Friday, January 08, 2010

Could pistachios be considered "health nuts" or does that only refer to fitness junkies?

Every year my company does this Body Overhaul Challenge to try to help people who are trying to lose weight. People either choose teams or are put on teams with similar weight loss goals. Last year about this time I was about 10 lbs. overweight so I decided to participate. By the end of the program I'd thrown in the towel. Somehow, I'd not only managed to not lose any weight... I'd actually somehow GAINED weight. By the time the program ended I was almost 20 lbs. overweight... about 5-7 lbs. HEAVIER than when I started. ACK!

Since the program ended (last April or so), I have buckled down and started eating smarter (reducing portion sizes, snacking less frequently, etc.) and this year I'm actually only about 2-4 lbs. from my target weight (the ideal weight for a person of my height). So between April and January I not only managed to lose the 5-7 lbs. I'd gained on the program last year, I also lost most of the weight I was trying to lose in the first place.

Go figure!

That being said I do still want to maintain my healthy weight and diet and I'd like to build some strength. My triglycerides are traditionally high and my good cholesterol is too low. Since my diet is much closer to how it should be that leaves exercise as the best solution to get my triglycerides and good cholesterol back where they need to be.

(PS: A serious note regarding the title of this post... some nuts actually do contain a chemical that act as an appetite suppresant... Technically almonds could be considered "health nuts" as I've read that they carry traditionally higher amounts of that chemical than other nuts. That being said eating too many nuts isn't good for you either. So if you want to use nuts as an appetite supressant, stick to the recommended serving sizes listed on the packages)

1 comment:

Susan as Herself said...

UGH---I am watchign my cholesterol now... my doctor threatened meds if it doesn't come down about 20 points. I don't even recall the last time I ate an egg, real cheese, red meat, or whole dairy. Sigh.