Live’ly Friend Question:
If I keep some Live'ly containers, can I use these to help me with my portion control when I am on my own?”

Hala Barghout’s Answer:
Interesting question; however the answer is no since the Live’ly containers are not used for the purpose of measurements but instead they are used to contain the food.
Nevertheless, at Live’ly we emphasize on maintenance program whereby the dietitian gives you tips on your meal portions and on the accurate and exact measuring utensils to use such as a small weighing scale for solid foods and measuring cups for liquid foods. In addition to that a written diet plan can be prepared to guide you better in your life long journey of maintaining a healthy weight & lifestyle.

To make this recipe healthier, Live’ly suggests the following changes:

On Mother’s day March 21st, Ogilvy advertising invited Live’ly to the "Chevrolet Traverse Mother's Day" afternoon tea. They asked for a dietitian to appear as a guest speaker and discuss matters related to family and health; of course it involved cars as well! Yasmine Haddad was chosen to be the guest dietitian of this event held at the Ewaan Restaurant in the Palace Hotel.

March - April 2010: Decision Makers TV channel presents a social program every Friday called “Cup of coffee”; which covers a range of topics. Yasmine Haddad was the guest dietitian on this show twice in the last two months. She discussed nutrition matters related to diabetes, anemia, eating out as well as women’s nutrition needs through pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause. So look out for our dietitian on this show!

April 2010: The radio presenter from DubaiEye, Suzanne Redford, enrolled in the Live’ly full meal package for four weeks during the month of March 2010. In April, her designated dietitian, Yasmine Haddad along with various other people from the heatlh sector were featured on her show “Eye On Health” to talk about many health topics in occasion of the World Health Day. Various topics were covered on the show such as Suzanne’s pleasant experience with Live’ly from losing weight to eating healthy and following healthy lifestyle as well as the different Live’ly programs and package.

On April 5th 2010, Live’ly was asked to send a dietician to give a presentation at the Ras Al-Khaimah Women’s Collage. The college was holding a health awareness week, so Rima Itani gave a presentation about sports nutrition, as well as a small presentation on Live’ly services to the staff and students. Batoul Malatyali, our customer care representative, also attended the event representing our services and packages. The staff and students had many questions about weight management, and were excited to be informed about Live’ly’s plan to deliver to Ras Al Khaimah!

In May 2010, Nestlé collaborated with Live’ly on their campaign “Rewarding Mothers” where Live’ly meal program was the reward for eight winners with Nestlé.

Reach Hayya - a lifestyle make-over:
Live’ly is happy to announce teaming up with the Hayya Health club!  Together we can help people reach their goals ideally through both the right food and exercise regimen.  Currently Hayya and Live’ly are running a fitness contest, where Live’ly will be providing the food and nutrition consultation and Hayya the professional exercise trainings for the competitors! We also have agreed on mutual discounts of 10% for both their clients and our clients.  In addition, we will be providing health information for the Hayya newsletter so look out for Live’ly and Hayya.

Some believe individual behavior is the sole responsible for unhealthy eating and weight related diseases. While they are in charge of establishing and maintaining the lifestyle changes necessary to improve health, a person’s dietary and calorie intake is largely dictated by environmental factors such as relationships, community, socio-cultural norms, the country’s infrastructure, technological developments, and politics. How do these factors interact and how to develop multilevel solutions to weight problems?

The individual
Individual characteristics are good predictors of eating behavior; these include religious, educational and social backgrounds, taste preferences, mood, as well as self-confidence and self-image. Some people are convinced that they cannot follow a diet regimen after just a few unsuccessful attempts; thus negatively affecting their ability to change their behavior. Others are simply uneducated about healthy eating; so they build their ideas based on village gossip and the tales of their grandparents. As a result, the latter end up trying all sorts of fad diets and health threatening practices.

Nonetheless, it has been shown that even if you educate people and change their attitude towards food and health, there is no guarantee they will eat healthier, because the fact of the matter is that the environment dictates most health behaviors.

The network
Environment first means the social and family network of a person. In a recent German study, they found that fat consumption was greater in social context meals compared to meals eaten alone. In the Middle East as well, when you are invited for a meal you know there will be a large variety of choices on the menu that will intrigue you. Furthermore, even if you don’t feel hungry at the time, you know you will end up eating to just please the host and socialize with the guests. It is thus not surprising when research proves that you have a greater chance of gaining weight if your friends gain weight; in fact you have a 57% more of a chance! This was revealed in recent studies at both Harvard and University of California, where weight gain was referred to as "socially contagious"! Peers and family members definitely influence how much and what you eat, how much you exercise, and how important weight loss or weight gain is.

The community
Social influence is not to be held responsible alone. Institutions, where we spend a major part of our lives, have a tremendous responsibility of endorsing healthy habits. In the US for instance, researchers found that 67% of middle schools and 83% of high schools (in all parts of the nation) have contracts with a soft drink bottling company; this gives students access to soft drinks all day long! In the last couple of years healthy schools have become a national priority, and the government has been imposing regulations on caterers, vending machines, as well as on educational establishments to hold physical activity classes. The government has also been promoting fresh fruits and vegetables consumption, while banning high fat and sugar rich food items. In the same spirit, some business corporations are putting into practice guidelines for healthier food choices, and providing opportunities for physical activity during work hours.

Public policy
On the other hand, affordability of healthy food, to a larger extent, is what affects our choices. This falls under the responsibility of regulators and government agencies to impose economic incentives to choose healthier foods. To encourage people to seek the right advice, governments should also consider having health care that reimburses for nutrition counseling. Moreover, authorities should control the mass media promotion of fast food and calorie dense snacks. A very good example of this is taking place in France, whereby the National Program for Nutrition and Health (“Program National de Nutrition Sante”) imposes on national television health claims with any food related advertisement, and a reference for the public to consult when needed (www.mangerbouger.fr).

Comprehensive interventions are now what are needed to prevent or solve the world’s most imperative health problems, such as obesity. However, this approach should not be limited to obesity as just a public health matter. It should also apply to individuals and their understanding of the multitude of factors that come into play when trying to manage weight or prevent diseases. Individuals should work on resisting peer pressure, educating themselves from reliable sources on food and health, serving as role models for their children and younger siblings, and on providing healthier environments for their students and employees. In addition and most importantly, they should make sure to visit only certified places when seeking nutritional advice, or they will end up promoting the irresponsible sources that are spreading all the wrong information and aggravating the already severe obesity pandemic.

Commercial milk shakes can be loaded with unwanted calories: a typical fruit and dairy shake can contain up to 400 Kcal with half the calories coming from simple sugars and the other half from saturated fats. Fortunately there is lighter version for this: Fat free fruit smoothies. These are prepared with fresh fruits, fructose powder (or natural honey) and sometimes can be mixed with skimmed yogurt. A medium size mixed berry smoothie without yogurt would be around 150 Kcal or 2 exchanges of fruits.

Please read below to find out why…

The body needs many nutrients to function at its optimum level. If your body feels great you feel great!

These nutrients can be obtained by eating a variety of foods from all the food groups. Include a variety of colors in your meals by adding different colored fruits and vegetables. Include more dark green vegetables like leafy greens, broccoli, and orange vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes. Make sure to take your protein from a variety of sources including fish, dairy products, beans, peas, and nuts. Also make sure to include whole grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice or pasta in your every day meals.