The 700 Club with Pat Robertson


GUEST BIO

Enjoy Comfort Foods Without the Guilt

By The 700 Club

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT COMFORT FOODS
Matt Goulding says the foods we love most do the most damage to our bodies.   We find comfort in the sugar, salt, and fat that give our favorite foods their wonderful tastes and textures.  When we eat out, restaurants use a lot of these ingredients because they are cheap.  Then, we get a taste for this and we fall into those traps at home and we will crave the high fat, high calorie foods.

There are many factors associated with comfort foods.  In part, they can be about memories – maybe your grandmother made a special dessert or your mother made your favorite lasagna after you won a ball game.  There is also a science to comfort foods that causes us to crave them when we are stressed or sad.  They are easy to eat and high in fat.  Stress triggers the release of several hormones, starting with the two main ones…adrenaline and cortisol.    The occasional adrenalin rush or cortisol release is normal.  However, when stress becomes chronic – cortisol can actually signal cells in the body to store as much fat as possible and inhibit the body from releasing fat to burn as energy.  Even worse, that fat tends to accumulate in the abdominal region because visceral fat has more cortisol receptors than fat below the skin.  A scientific study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation by researchers from the University of Texas discovered that high amounts of stress in mice caused an increased hunger of the hormone ghrelin, which resulted in an increase their intake of high-fat food.  This study shows we crave comfort food when we are emotional and are triggered to eat more of it.

Unfortunately, we think we can eat these foods and burn the excess calories through working out but that is not always the case – Matt says exercise does not always equal weight loss.    We need to find simple ways to cut calories. 

SKINNY COMFORT FOODS
Matt has seen different angles of comfort foods.  He once worked at a well-known chain restaurant that served macaroni and cheese.  They started with a quart of heavy cream and two sticks of butter then added lots of cheese.  The end product was macaroni and cheese that was 2,100 calories a serving.    
Matt says you can still have comfort foods any time you want and still lose 10, 20, 30 pounds or more.  You just need a few smart swaps and some simple recipes.  There are a few secrets you need to know to indulge in your favorite comfort foods and still lose weight.  Starting with high quality, healthy ingredients is always a good foundation.  Matt will be making Macaroni and Cheese.  He will also be sharing about other comfort foods you can eat:  Spinach, Sausage, and Pepper Pizza, Oven-Fried Chicken, Crispy Oven-Baked Fries, and Ricotta Cheesecake.

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