Mindy Roth Nutrition

  I have to say that almost everyone I have met wants to target fat in one way or another, mainly around the belly. While there are many ways to lose weight, it can be hard to target the extra fat that we may have.  Before I tell you how to lose belly fat, I want to say this:  there is nothing wrong with belly fat . And there is nothing wrong with wanting to have less belly fat. So I will warn you – in this article, you will not find the quick-fix scams that you might read in a magazine or on the web. I will give you practical, realistic, and big-picture answers surrounding belly fat. Why Does Belly Fat Matter? As I am sure you have noticed, regardless of body fat, people are all shaped differently. And where we store fat in our body matters. There are two types of fat:  Visceral fat and subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat is the padding that is just under the surface of the skin. Visceral fat is the fat deep in the abdomen, often surrounding vital organs like the liv...

When trying to make a lasting change to your health and wellness, a hidden obstacle can stand in your way. Stress. Chronic stress can derail even the best nutrition and movement strategies you are trying to implement. New research from the UCLA has uncovered that stress and obesity are more closely intertwined than most experts recognize. So I wanted to break down that research to help you make actionable steps toward your goals despite a stressful environment.   How can stress lead to weight gain: Stress can affect a bunch of systems that are involved in weight control. Moreover, these are not just isolated effects. Each system is a feedback loop that can affect all others. Cognition: stress can affect your mind, specifically executive function and self-regulation. These include mental skills like thinking, planning, organizing, and the ability to focus and manage your emotions.   Physiology:  There are three ways stress might affect your physiologicall...

  Catching yourself going back and forth to the kitchen when you are feeling bored? Boredom eating is a typical eating behavior that many people struggle with. This blog will discuss what boredom eating is and provide tips for stopping the habit of eating when we are bored. Boredom eating is incredibly common and one I would dare say pretty much everyone engages in at some point in their life. I fall into this category sometimes too! In the past years, I have noticed my clients sharing their struggles with boredom eating and have thought long and hard about how to help them overcome this habit. And now, with so many people moving into the working from home setting, with more access to snacks and less access to distractions, food often is filling the gap. But before I get into the nitty-gritty, I think it is important to preface with the reminder that boredom is a common eating behavior and not a "bad" thing. There is so much shame that isn't warranted around boredom...

  With all the noise out there about getting healthier and how to perform at your max... Whether you’re simply looking to form good diet habits or explicitly looking for a healthy diet for weight loss, here are some essential tips to keep in mind! I am here to give you the  real deal . Focus on thoughtful eating, not deprivation. Just as overeating can spoil your weight loss efforts, so can starving yourself with a rice-cake-and-coffee-diet. Deprivation or yo-yo dieting can, in fact, eventually slow down your metabolism and increase your risk of chronic disease. Weight cycling, which is repeatedly gaining or losing weight, is a common outcome of yo-yo dieting. Weight cycling may be linked to chronic inflammation and increase your risk of chronic diseases.   Look beyond calories. Food is much more than just numbers. Eating a healthy, dynamic life involves more than just merely adding up daily calories. Your body needs to maintain a certain calorie...

  Need some tips on how to adhere to a calorie deficit? I got you! Adhering to a calorie deficit can be complicated at first, especially if you have not done it before. Pretip - make sure that you are in a MODEST calorie deficit. You don't want to restrict yourself too much that you start getting stomach pains, diminished  energy, or provide a change in your mood. Also, you wouldn't  want to restrict yourself too much so you cannot stick to it. Here are the tips to making sticking to a calorie deficit easier!   Eat more protein  – if you are not consuming adequate protein, you likely will not feel full or satisfied. If you have trouble getting enough protein for your body needs, you can either increase your portion sizes for your chosen protein of the day or include high-quality sources. Some examples are meat, fish, eggs, fat-free or low-fat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, seitan, jerky, or deli meat. Eat more for less  – high volume foods li...

There is truth behind the phrase "stress eating." Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the foods we eat can push people towards overeating. Research has linked weight gain to stress. According to an American Psychological Association survey, about one-fourth of Americans rate their stress level as 8 or more on a 10 point scale. And in the past two years, many people's stress levels have increased, primarily due to the pandemic and everything that comes with it. And when stress persists, we tend to overeat. When we are stressed over a long period, our body releases cortisol – which increases appetite and motivation, including our motivation to eat. Once a stressful episode is over, cortisol levels should fall. But if our stress does not go away, we might stay in this increased appetite state long term. Stress can also affect food preferences. Numerous studies have shown that physical or emotional distress increases the intake of foods high in fat, sugar, or both. Once in...