Are you watching what you eat?
By Demie Scott For The Courier-News September 18, 2012 3:54PM
Personnal Trainer Demie Scott April 30 2010 in Crystal Lake. (Dave Shields/For Sun-Times Media)
Updated: October 20, 2012 6:06AM
How many of you watch cooking shows?
No, not the reality shows where an award-winning chef or recipe takes first prize. I am talking about the hard-core shows where ingredients are highlighted and their transformation into a tasty meal can be witnessed firsthand.
Come on, raise your hand. You know who you are. It is almost a type of voyeurism, watching all this food come together.
Now, lower your hand if you have actually prepared any of the meals, appetizers or reduced-calorie dishes. Most of you still have a hand in the air, don’t you?
We can safely say, with some degree of certainty, that most people have no intention of hosting a dinner party, shopping for exotic foods or reducing calorie-laden ingredients in their favorite recipes (isn’t it the calories that make them the favorites?). So then, what’s the point of watching these cooking shows?
Everyone can easily list the pros for tuning in, but what about the cons?
1. Food preparation can be a dangerous stimulus — making you seek out something to eat.
There is a basic motivation that advertisers follow when placing food commercials in specific time slots during TV programming, counting on you to grab some food — preferably their product.
2. Food Preparation can be a dangerous stimulus — causing you to crave a “taboo” food.
TV celebrities seem to have fun during food prep, reciting clever anecdotes and funny stories with sprinkles of laughter — to match the sprinkles on cookies.
3. Lastly, did I mention that participating in or watching food preparation can be a dangerous stimulus? The urge you to indulge in calories that you previously ignored.
If you have opted to manage your diet through better meal choices, calorie reduction and more-effective planning through journaling, why subject yourself to a random food stimulus?
Could it be that you simply enjoy watching the art of food preparation — even find it to be entertaining?
If the answer is yes, set a few limits for yourself:
Watch no more than three food prep shows per week; at least one show must demonstrate reduced calorie options to support better choices.
Commit to preparing at least one healthy ingredients recipe twice in a month.
Absolutely no eating, snacking and/or picking at any food whatsoever during the show.
Remember my motto: What would Demie say?
Well, this time, it would be, “Watch what you eat.”
Next time: “Rack up points.”
Demie Scott is a certified personal trainer and owner of FrisScott and Associates Inc. and occasional columnist for The Courier–News. Have a health and fitness question or topic you would like considered for future columns? Email Scott through the contact us page on her website, www.makingfitnessconvenient.com. Check with a physician before starting an exercise program.
