Probably. Definitely not. Possibly. OK, it depends. While there are hundreds of genes that impact weight, there are several known mutations that run in families and apparently predispose those who have them to obesity. Someone who is predisposed to obesity may have a harder time resisting extra trips to the buffet line and a harder time losing weight once it’s gained than someone without that genetic makeup. Let’s use my family and in-laws as real-world examples:
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With (sometimes) cheap, (often) chic fare, like arugula pizza, squash empanadas and fish tacos, the country’s 15,000-plus food trucks are rolling into virtually every big city and many small towns across the United States, including Atlanta. The food truck revolution is upon us, and while mobile food is not typically classified as nutritious, there are certainly some delicious lighter options that don’t compromise when it comes to satisfying appetites.
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If this is you, don’t be ashamed. Maybe you should be a little embarrassed, but certainly not flat out ashamed (joking). First of all, you’re not alone. Café Physique was born of the idea that it’s simply hard to get to the gym regularly, so we get it.
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After I digested my notes from the nutrition conference, I posted a quick synopsis of what I’d learned on Facebook, and a lot of my mom friends were interested in hearing more. While I so wish they could’ve been there with me to hear all of the awesomeness firsthand, I put together these notes to help shed some light on why I was so inspired to start telling my kids…”no”.
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Earlier this month, I attended a statewide nutrition conference where I got to hear results of some recent research on childhood obesity. I started out listening to the presenter as a nutrition professional, but I ended up hearing her as a parent. Even my notes from that day reflect the mindset change as my scribbles flowed from interesting facts and figures (Georgia has the 2nd highest incidence of childhood obesity; 40% of Georgia children are overweight/obese) to self-reflective questions (Am I doing enough to instill healthy eating habits in my children? Is blaming their pickiness just a cop-out for lazy parenting?).
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I’m often asked about what I fix my family for dinner. When I take the time to describe the deliciousness, mouths water and my inbox is usually flooded with requests for the recipe. But when I’m in a hurry and dismissively say, “we eat a lot of vegetarian meals,” I get blank stares and the subject quickly changes. There’s no better way to kill a conversation about great food than to suggest a vegetarian meal to a committed meat eater.
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“No matter how much you exercise, if you eat poorly, you will struggle not with just your weight but with your health.” I recently read this quote from nutritionist, Michelle LeSueur, on Facebook, and I couldn’t agree more.  At Cafe Physique, we offer both fitness and nutrition services. Our personal training, yoga, and pilates offering is hot stuff. Everyone understands the benefits of working out, so the fitness services are easy to sell because people just get it. The nutrition services? Um…not so much.
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Like  many other women across the country, I saw the movie Eat, Pray, Love with a large group of girlfriends. We followed up the movie with a lively discussion over Italian-inspired gourmet pizza.   When asked about her “word” (you gotta see the movie to get this part), my girlfriend, Kristen, said her “word” is balance.

At the time, I couldn’t figure out my word, but it came to me one night later that week when I was drifting off to sleep…
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My sister despises soup, but I’ve always known that something is wrong with her. I love soup! It’s hot, filling, delicious, easy to prepare, and 1 can often contains a whole day’s worth of sodium. Oops!

While canned soup is souper salty, the lower-sodium versions available from many companies can go a long way towards turning soup into a nearly perfect meal. There’s only one problem:  The soups lacking sodium are often lacking something else…taste. If you’ve also found this to be the case, you’ll find this guide from the Nutrition Action Newsletter quite helpful:
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Food drives are plentiful during this time of the year, and most everyone wants to participate. However, all too often, donors are going through their cupboards pulling out all of the non-perishables their family doesn’t want – cheeseburger macaroni Hamburger Helper (sans the hamburger), outdated instant grits with fake bacon chunks, fruit cocktail in heavy syrup.

No wonder this stuff has collected dust in the back of the pantry. If you won’t eat it or feed it to your family…why donate it to someone else?

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