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Dietitian Michigan

Strategies To Reduce Stress To Avoid Weight Gain

Posted on by Ayanwola Titilayo A

Not only can stress lead to poor eating habits, it can also impact your ability to maintain a healthy weight. Stress also causes hormonal changes, which can signal the body to gain weight.⁠

For example, when you are under stress, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol.⁠
Elevated levels of cortisol can lead you to crave sugar-laden food. Consuming too much sugar elevates your blood glucose and therefore your body stores this excess sugar as abdominal fat. Cortisol also slows down your metabolism, making it harder to lose weight.⁠
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When you’ve gained weight and your clothes no longer fit, it’s easy to become more stressed. This leads to a vicious cycle of eating more, gaining weight, and staying in a state of perpetual stress. ⁠

Although you can’t completely cut out stress from your life, there are a few strategies you can use to reduce your stress and better regulate your weight.⁠

1) Engage in mindfulness based practices like meditation & deep breathing exercises⁠
2) Keep a food journal so you can pay attention to your food habits⁠
3) Practice mindful eating by savoring your meal without any distractions⁠
4) Make mindful movement a priority such as taking a walk or trying yoga⁠
5) Don’t skimp on sleep – aim for at least 6 hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep⁠
6) Make room for your hobbies⁠
7) Be kind to yourself⁠
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If you’re struggling with weight gain and are ready to ditch those 10, 20, 30 + pesky pounds, I can help! Book your spot for a free dietary assessment call with me and let’s get you started to lose weight and keep it off for good.⁠

Sustainable Diet Plan That Works

Posted on by Ayanwola Titilayo A

Jollof rice with stew, chicken, plantain and veggies. Jollof is hands down my fav. Nigerian dish. Made with health boosting ingredients such as tomatoes and red bell pepper that contain antioxidant lycopene and carotenoids, fragrant herbs and spices such as thyme and garlic. What’s not to love? ⁠

As a Nigerian American Registered Dietitian, it has always been important for me to honor an individual’s cultural and food preferences.I have seen clients from diverse back grounds perplexed because they have either been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol and were given vague nutrition advice from their doctor or another dietitian, which was not culturally relevant. They were confused as to how to fit in their staple foods with these recommendations. They didn’t want to give up their favorite foods, and they don’t have to.⁠

With diet culture, it’s been perpetuated that healthy food should only look a certain way. I’ve been blasted on a forum, the commenter discussing a video I made on How to build a balanced plate. Summarized, the comment was: “She’s a dietitian. How can she tell people that it’s okay to eat white rice?”.⁠

Come again?

I wouldn’t tell my clients that they COULD NEVER eat white rice, which Is a staple in most cultures. My recommendation was to watch the portion size, and to pair it with vegetables for added fiber so as to reduce the blood sugar spikes that come with eating ANY carbs. Sounds reasonable enough, right?⁠

With a few tweaks I create sustainable plans for my clients that works. I teach my clients how to incorporate their favorite foods into their diet, while addressing their health conditions, without sacrificing their cultural preferences, taste or food quality while feeding their body with all the good-for-you nutrients that it needs.⁠

If you too are tired of depriving yourself of your favorite foods, struggling with creating a healthy balance with your food choices, and want to get rid of the dieting mentality, then my nutrition coaching program is perfect for you. Want to learn more? Let’s chat. Book your spot for a free dietary assessment call today.

Health Journey Reminder For Everyone

Posted on by Ayanwola Titilayo A

Wherever you are at in your health journey, this is your reminder to be kind and patient with yourself. You didn’t gain weight overnight, your cholesterol levels didn’t get elevated out of the blue, and you didn’t develop unhealthy habits just yesterday. As long as you continue to be consistent with building up healthy practices daily, you will make progress towards the direction of your health goals. ⁠

In my nutrition coaching program, my clients are able to see excellent results because we build on consistency. I guide them with my proven signature formula which I perfected over 10 + years helping 1000s of people achieve success with their health goals. ⁠
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The road ahead can seem daunting but it doesn’t have to be. ⁠With the high level of accountability that I provide my clients, they are able to see results without spinning their wheels. Providing encouragement every step of the way, I make their transition to a healthier diet painless, and extremely enjoyable. ⁠

If you’re tired of struggling with poor health and are curious to see what high level of support and accountability will look like in your health journey, let’s chat. Book your spot for a free dietary assessment call.⁠

Chocolate and Caffeine. Is there a correlation?

Posted on by Ayanwola Titilayo A

A bowl of dark chocolate pieces In the production process of turning cocoa beans into chocolate, two substances are formed- cocoa butter and cocoa solids. The cocoa solid content of the chocolate determines the amount of caffeine contained in the end product. The darker the chocolate, the greater the amount of cocoa solids contained which translates into higher amounts of caffeine. White chocolate however, is only comprised of cocoa butter. Since it does not contain cocoa solids it does not contain any caffeine.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 400 milligrams a day of caffeine for healthy adults has generally been deemed a safe amount. This equates to about four or five cups of coffee. Individuals who are pregnant or have specific health conditions (such as cardiovascular disease) should consume much less amounts or may need to completely avoid caffeine altogether.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Composition Database, here are some standard caffeine amounts in the following containing foods:

Coffee, brewed 1 cup (8 fl oz.) = 96 mg caffeine
Coffee, Cuban 1 cup (8 fl oz.) = 494 mg caffeine
Coffee, Espresso (1 fl oz.) = 63.6 mg caffeine
Black tea, hot 1 cup = 48 mg caffeine
Green tea, hot 1 cup = 28.8 mg caffeine
Hot Chocolate, cocoa ready to drink 1 cup = 7.44 mg caffeine
Milk Chocolate, hot cocoa 1 cup = 5 mg caffeine
Soft Drink, Cola 1 can (12 fl oz.) = 33.5 mg caffeine
Chocolate, dark, 70-85% cacao solids (1 oz.) = 22.7 mg caffeine
Chocolate, dark, 45- 59% cacao solids (1 oz.) = 12.2 mg caffeine
Semi sweet chocolate, candies (1 oz. approx. 60 pieces) = 17.6 mg
Candies, milk chocolate 1 bar (1.55 oz.) = 8.8 mg caffeine
Candies, white chocolate 1 bar (3 oz.) = 0 mg caffeine

Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, especially those who do not consume caffeine containing foods or beverages regularly. Those that are more sensitive to caffeine my experience a slight difference such as an uptick in energy levels and alertness even when caffeine is consumed in small amounts. This is not unique to chocolate however, and such effects may be noticed from consuming other caffeine containing foods and beverages such as tea or coffee. When it comes to chocolate, a rule of thumb to remember is the darker the chocolate, the higher the caffeine content.

The scientific literature suggests that consuming caffeine at doses less than 400 mg/ day is generally safe. The quantity of caffeine found in chocolate in comparison to other common sources of caffeine, has very little stimulating effects in the majority of people. Therefore eating chocolate before bedtime is generally safe. If you’re susceptible to the effects of caffeine, you should listen to your body, and when you want to indulge in caffeine containing foods such as chocolate, watch your portion sizes, don’t consume it close to bedtime, and think of opting for milk or white chocolate instead. For additional guidance, speak with a Registered Dietitian for nutritionally sound information tailored specifically to your needs.

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