Rethinking Skim Milk

I went to college when “fat free” was all the rage.  Snackwells, skim milk and fro-yo were in. Avocado was out. As absurd as it sounds to recount this now, it’s even funnier to think that I was in New Orleans, land of beignets and muffaletas. Little did I know that my eating regime was as off-kilter as the city’s cuisine.  Aside from improved nutrition knowledge and time to “mature” what strikes me about this type of eating is how poorly it must’ve tasted. How many cups of greyish coffee did it take to prove this point?  A few too many.  I write this to show you how easy it is to get swept up in an eating trend or prevailing nutrition advice.

You will not find skim milk in my refrigerator today and I’m proud to say my day starts with coffee and a splash (or 2 splashes) of  delicious half and half. (currently Sky Top farms grass-fed, non-homogenized, adore it). I also didn’t switch my kids to  1%  at 2 years old as the current advice from the AAP suggests. After my brief “blue period” I went back to how I was raised. A little bit of the real thing is best.

I’ve posted before about organic milk and ultra pasteurization but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago  that I realized the potential problems with skim milk. My interest was first piqued reading Walter Willet’s Fertility Foods. We have many clients trying to conceive and the research about skim dairy and infertility floored me. Low-fat dairy contributed to infertility (when issues are based on anovulatory failure) and full-fat dairy increased fertility.  What really turned me off was the proposed reasoning. When the fat is removed from milk, the portion that’s not fat contains more androgens and other hormones that may not be conducive to fertility.  The androgen argument may explain why another Harvard study found that teenage boys drinking skim milk had a higher incidence of acne.  Again, what’s in the fat or skimmed out seemed to help.

Last week, I read an article posted by my colleague Julie Negrin entitled “Is Skim Milk Making You Fat”. The article challenges the traditional “low fat dairy for health and wellness” dogma.   They write:

It’s becoming widely accepted that fats actually curb your appetite, by triggering the release of the hormone cholecystokinin, which causes fullness. Fats also slow the release of sugar into your bloodstream, reducing the amount that can be stored as fat.

I find this so interesting as we have a country that's watching dietary fat and getting fatter.  It always seems to me that children have the best innate sense of calorie regulation. An Australian study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that children’s calorie intake did not change when they were switched to low-fat milk. Children replaced the calories with other energy sources and did not lose weight.  Another large study tracked the habits of 19,252 Swedish women for 9 years. Women increasing their whole milk consumption the most lost 9% of their body weight, on average. Women who increased their low-fat dairy the most gained 10%.

Anecdotally, I am also concerned about skim milk and bone health. Fat in milk can help us assimilate vitamin D. I have not found a tremendous about of research on this but have seen many 30-something clients who grew up on low-fat milk now with osteopenia and fractures. I’d be curious to see if the very thing we think is helping us may not be.  This whole debate reminds me of the whole butter versus margarine debate. On that subject, the great Joan Gussow said “I trust cows more than chemists.” The more I read about the processing involved in making skim milk palatable, I think this applies here too.  If you eat dairy, I would suggest a little bit of the real thing.

Do you purchase milk? What type do you buy? Are you skeptical of skim milk?

My Spices are Alphabetized by Desk is a Mess

The desk that inspired it all,  not mine it's Fit Chick's

If you came to my kitchen you could open my spice drawer and see bottles alphabetized from Arrowroot to Vanilla Bean. In my refrigerator there’s usually a pitcher of iced tea, another of filtered water, glass containers of prepped vegetables and multiples of staple ingredients. I make a menu over the weekend and cook most nights. Before you get annoyed or think I’m bragging, don't worry there's more to this story. Food and nutrition are important to me and I spend time and energy focusing on what my family and I consume. I have a system that works and work to make the system better. Just off of the kitchen is another room; it’s a small room my husband and I use for our home office.

There are two white desks and matching chairs. My husband’s desk is orderly. There are two laptops, framed photos of the children and one of me, a scanner/printer and the most current issue of Golf Digest. Then there’s my desk. Until yesterday, my desk had piles of clippings: recipes, articles to potentially blog about, magazines I hadn’t read yet, food labels, bills, mail, a necklace I had taken off, you get the picture. You actually will not get the picture because I forgot to take a before photo. This room was an anomaly. It was such an eyesore that, when home, I often disconnect my MacBook and move it into the kitchen and work there.

With my children away at camp for another few weeks, I sensed an opportunity and decided to call in a professional. My friend recommended a professional organizer named Kim Parker and gave me Kim’s phone number.  When I texted Kim I asked for her website, turns out it’s not up yet. She’s not on twitter either. Hmn,  I wondered what my desk would look like if I wasn’t blogging or tweeting but I am so that's that. Kim arrived and jumped right in. She buttered me up telling me I have “lots of things happening in this space" (no kidding) home stuff, work stuff, running stuff and travel stuff. We got to work purging and the truth is, given the time, I love tossing things. Some Kim wisdom:

• Just because something is good information (handouts from 10 years ago) doesn't mean you have to keep it, especially if not using it
• If you have cabinet or drawer space you don't need files on your desk (who knew?)
• When organizing, often things get worse, look worse, before they get better.
• Choose your system, there's more than one. My husband scans everything. He would have scan-kids and a scan-wife if possible. Kim reassured me paper is a possibility as long as it has a place.

We worked for about four hours and though we’re not done yet. I feel great. I didn’t know how much the disorder was bothering me until we started to clear it. Marc joked “I can’t believe throwing out files put you in such a good mood.” This got me thinking about the carryover effect of organizing. Ironically, I see the reverse effect among my clients. Once food becomes more organized, clients often feel more motivated at work or more balanced when it comes to mood. Freeing yourself from clutter, whether it’s papers, stress or weight – provides you will energy for other pursuits. So now I’m off to make tonight’s ceviche and of course tweet and read some blogs.

What is your clutter area or what do you put off? Do you think it’s unusual to be organized and orderly in one area of your life  and chaotic in another? Where are you most and least organized? 

Kate's Weight: The Incredibly Shrinking Duchess

The few posts I’ve done on celebrities and their weight always seem to elicit a certain number of responses along the lines of “we shouldn’t talk about other people’s weight” or “we should focus on their work”. If you share this view, I apologize this post is not for you. I am intrigued by weight loss and weight gain. Celebrities are well documented and weight can be traced along with fashion highs and lows and unfortunate “procedures” (poor Courtney Cox couldn’t leave well enough alone). I found myself thinking about a status update from my friend Meg, who said I could use her name. She wrote:

“Love Kate Middleton but isn't she moving from bridal skinny to a bit scary skinny? Or am I just jealous of what appears to be an ever-shrinking waist?”

Back in May, I wrote about my royal wedding “binge”.  So many people, like me, were sort of transfixed by this woman who seemed (and seems) to be a perfect princess now Duchess.  Like my friend Meg, I too am a Kate fan. She’s likeable with her wide smile, poise and the way she looks lovingly at William. I had thought it was my professional bias but I had keyed in on Kate’s weight loss. When I read Meg’s comment and the comments on her comment I realized many people have noticed Kate’s incredibly shrinking waist. In her recent California visit, Nicole Kidman and Reece Witherspoon looked downright chubby next to Kate. The Daily Mail entitled one article “the waist that made Nicole Kidman look dumpy.”

The "Whistles" outfit, thoughts?

This is all speculation and nobody knows the reason behind Kate’s weight loss other than her. Having said that, I’m full of curiosity. Sure Kate is the picture of composure, perfectly dressed and coiffed. She appears to be at ease with public appearances but can you imagine the attention? In my “research” I have read posts about the hose Kate, as a royal, is required to wear, her workouts at a private gym and boatloads about her, somewhat dowdy if you ask me, Whistles outfit for her final event Stateside. When billions of people are scrutinizing you, can anyone (or any female) be immune? We know about Diana’s eating disorder and Fergie was rudely nicknamed “the Duchess of Pork” so maybe weight issues and the Windsor family go hand and hand.

I asked my friend Meg for permission to use her comment and she added:

 And I keep thinking about it, I loved that she was kind of a (extra pretty) regular girl and now she looks like she could slip through a subway grate. I also wonder if I'm jealous of her thinness in a kind of a triggering way...like maybe when a friend loses a lot of weight and suddenly you see her differently...it's rife.       


I don’t see this exactly as Meg does but agree that, in the past, Kate looked like a lean, athletic and “regular” girl (who happens to be almost 6 feet tall). She had just right look where few would argue she had to lose or gain weight. This weight loss to be reminds me of Jennifer Hudson though the two started with very different physiques. Despite how seemingly comfortable these women were prior to being in the spotlight, something changed. Let’s hope for Kate it was just a visit to Hollywood and nothing more. I doubt it though.

What do you think of Kate’s weight loss? Do you may attention to celebrity’s weight? Do you agree that the navy and white number wasn’t Kate’s best?
PS Congratulations to Cameo on winning our gluten free giveaway. 

Does Slimming Down Make You Shallow?

I love reading other blogs and the corresponding comments. One of my favorite blogs is Ivy League Insecurities. Aidan, who writes ILI, recently had a baby, her third. Although she had the baby just six weeks ago, she’s eager to get her body back and posted about this. In my line of work, this is totally normal. At the 6 week mark, most women are cleared for exercise by their doctors and starting to emerge from the new baby fog. Yet, Aidan was somewhat reluctant to share her desire to downsize. In her words “I feel a bit embarrassed and ashamed that I am writing about something that is admittedly so much more superficial than other things I could write about.”

I chimed in and told Aidan she’s shouldn’t apologize for her interest in “losing it.” How we feel about our bodies influences how we feel in general. Taking control of your body, after carrying a baby, or after gaining weight for other reasons often has a carryover effect. Taking the reigns, as I see it, is a good thing and about more than simply fitting in your “reference jeans”. If Aidan had been writing about confidence or carving out time for herself she might feel it was less superficial. Weight loss is as much about that as it is getting physically smaller.

Another commenter had a very different opinion of the post. Someone named Mary said “when I saw the title my heart dropped a bit and I was saddened… sad because with a newborn and 2 littles you were already dissatisfied with yourself.” Now I (vaguely) recall those early days after each of my boys were born. I remember staring at them amazed that they had been inside me for nine months. Yet, this infant adoration didn’t blind me to my post baby pooch. I don't know if I was "dissatisfied" with myself, it was more like I wasn't my, physical, self.

Aidan closed her post indicating she should honor her body more. She asked readers “when it comes to your body and your own appearance, are you forgiving or exacting?” I don’t think these qualities are mutually exclusive. There isn’t a day I go for a run that I’m not grateful that my body works. Having lived with a parent who was an amputee later in life, I do not take health for granted. I would say I absolutely honor my body AND like my jeans to fit.

Do you think it’s sad to want to lose weight? Should we be thinking and writing about more “important” topics? What would be your answer to Aidan’s question, are you “forgiving” or “exacting” when it comes to your body?