The interwebs are abuzz about the supposedly “miraculous” Raspberry Ketone supplements. Raspberry Ketone popularity started with Dr. Oz's show in February 2012, when he nicknamed it a “miracle weight loss drug.” Some even credit Raspberry Ketones with stimulating hair growth, but for our purposes here, let’s talk about weight loss. Raspberry Ketones are derived from red raspberries. Proponents claim that the supplement will stimulate your metabolism causing weight loss. However, there are no reliable studies to prove this.   Specifically there is no scientific evidence to show how it alters metabolism to promote weight loss. There is also no scientific evidence to determine a proper dosage. If you find a study that claims otherwise, check the funding source. Most likely, that study was funded by a company who produces or funds raspberry ketone products. As far as I know, no major pharmaceutical companies are investing in Raspberry Ketone research. And it is my opinion ...

Weight maintenance takes work. This is true whether you are hoping to maintain a recent weight loss or to ensure your weight stays on track as you age. Calories In vs. Calories Out Maintaining your weight is more complicated than maintaining the ratio of calories eaten vs. calories burned. Why? Because there are so many variables that affect this ratio, such as metabolic efficiency (is your body burning the right types of energy appropriately) timing of meals, and type of exercise (anaerobic vs. aerobic). Be sure to take into account your energy needs (for daily living plus exercise), nutritional needs, and exercise regimen. These are different for every person and vary according to age, sex, weight, co-morbidities, and fitness level. Loss vs. Maintenance Be flexible in your approach to weight maintenance. What works to lose weight does not always work for maintenance. If you’ve lost weight through calorie restriction and/or by eliminating groups of foods, weight maintena...

Everywhere you turn, people are talking Paleo! Here at Kindred Nutrition, Paleo is the eating plan clients ask about most. What is Paleo? Websites, magazines, even entire books are devoted to Paleo. The diet is especially popular among people advocating the Crossfit exercise plan. But what, exactly, is Paleo? Well, descriptions vary depending on who you ask. But most advocates generally define the Paleo diet as those foods eaten by our hunter-gatherer (Paleolithic) ancestors. This translates to lots of animal protein and lots of plants (veggies and fruits). The rationale for the Paleo diet, loosely explained, is that we should eat those foods humans evolved eating, as opposed to the grain-heavy, processed diet of more modern times. The argument seems logical enough, and lots of fresh produce is a no-brainer, right? Let’s take a closer look. Paleo Basics To “eat Paleo,” avoid all processed foods and sugar, and limit (but do not eliminate) carbohydrates. Specifically, avo...

As many of you know I'm a dietitian.  I've been a dietitian for fourteen years and recently started my own practice .  In addition, I'm a mom of two preschoolers and a wife.  I love my job and am so happy that I worked so hard to start my practice.  It gives me flexibility even with the added stress and it challenges me from a professional growth standpoint, as a mother, and a wife. I see clients who range from pediatric to geriatric and I'm reminded every day that frankly, life is hard. For some of my clients insurance covers my services but for many it is an out of pocket cost that is fairly expensive.  Add the expense to the added stress that comes with our generation and it's a lot to take.  Which brings me to a point about our generation. We've all heard it.  Our kids will be the first generation who will not out live their parents because of the "obesity" epidemic.  I see many pediatric children who are overweight or obese and I also see...

Last year the New England Journal of Medicine published that on average North Americans gain one pound of weight from Thanksgiving to New Years Day.  Of course, this is an average number meaning some gain less and some gain more. I've thought about this a lot because, in my opinion, Thanksgiving through New Years is the most difficult time of the year when it comes to nutrition counseling. Most of my clients live in absolute fear of gaining weight.  To them it means failure, disappointment, and can increase negative feelings about body image.  In addition to that fear, stress is at an all time high with holiday travelling, food preparation, and gift giving and focusing on nutrition can almost be debilitating.   W hat if the focus on the holidays from a weight management perspective was just to maintain?   Would that take some of the pressure off or ease the fear of failure?  I think it's worth a try so here are some of my tips to maintain through the ho...

I'm back after quite a long break.  Call it writers block or what you may but I've abandoned my blog and missed it greatly.  I have to say I was greatly impressed when I just logged on and saw that I've had over 15,000 views in the last few months.  I have been reading all your comments and listened to all your pleas to come back so here I am. Thanks for the push. Recently on my facebook page I asked for some help with some ideas to get me back on track with my blogging.  The first question I had was from one of my very good friends regarding the use of Coconut Oil for cooking asking, "I've been reading a lot lately about cooking with coconut oil...why is this better than olive oil?  Are there certain oils to avoid all together?"  My immediate reaction after reading this was 1) I hate the Internet  2) the Internet is going to slowly kill my profession by providing misinformation and then 3) well maybe there's some pos...

I have a lot of clients who come to my office with “a fear of carbs.”   They are either avoiding carbs or craving carbs.     Each visit is independent of each other, however the guilt, stress, and confusion is usually similar.   As I silently and calmly thank the media for yet again mass misinformation we soldier on and figure out the best plan to move forward. My theory has always been that the more you restrict your calories, a.k.a the fuel your body needs to get things done, the more your body is going to crave its simplest form of energy.   That unfortunately is carbs and if you aren’t eating enough of these the cravings are going to be constant and strong. You can imagine how excited I was when I read Cornell’s latest study that explored the relationship between hunger and food choices and consumption. The study reviewed 128 students and split them into two groups.   One group fasted for 18 hours starting at 6 pm and the other (the control grou...