Have you ever seen someone who looks thin and lean in jeans and a sweater but looks saggy in shorts and a tank top? That is skinny fat, which is thin but not lean. Too much fat and not enough protein in your diet can contribute to being thin but not necessarily lean. When we eat fat our bodies like to store it as fat. When we eat protein it provides us with what the body needs to rebuild and to preserve our muscle mass therefore helping to keep us lean. Less fat, more protein equals a lean physique. How…
Author: Ali Valentine
Ali Valentine
Ali is a registered and licensed dietitian and nutritionist from Pennsylvania. She is proactive in her approach to improving the nutritional health of her clients. Ali is extremely effective in developing individualized nutritional treatment plans for each client's specific lifestyle.
Mention soy to my rural community in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the response is “yuck”. This eloquent word is coupled with a facial expression that is meant to express disgust. I respond by asking if he or she has ever had soy protein in any form. Have you ever tried veggie burgers, veggie chicken, tofu at a Japanese restaurant, microwaveable dinners that are made with soy? I’ll ask. 99% of the time the person has never tried any of the soy protein sources that I mention. 1% has tried a veggie burger and were disappointed that it did not duplicate a…
I find that the general public knows that eating fiber is a good thing and THEY would probably eat more fiber if they knew how. Advertisers are marketing anything that is made from flour as “made from whole grain” and this is not helping people choose the right high fiber foods. You would think that it should help, but it isn’t. White bread, as I explain to my patients, is made from whole grain. Wheat (whole grain) is stripped of fiber and nutrients and becomes white bread. It is then nothing more than sugar made into a loaf, so to…
Hunger is the most overused word I hear in my profession. I am not sure if the general public is even aware of what hunger really is. Most people spend most of their time trying, subconsciously of course, to elude hunger at all cost. For most Americans, their eating pattern goes something like this: Breakfast is generally eluded, like hunger. The eggs and toast type of course. A sugary, creamy coffee drink, although not considered breakfast, is generally consumed in its place. Hunger will not catch me. The “I haven’t eaten anything all day so it’s okay” high calorie, high…