Thursday, September 30, 2010

A Is for Apple....

Fall's favorite fruit stars in three hunger-bursting snacks. Bonus: All make perfect breakfasts for the morning rush!

Apple + Egg + Crispbread = Apple-Egg Scramble
Whisk 1/4 c grated apple and 4 egg whites. Spray a skillet with nonstick spray. Add the egg mixture and cook over medium heat until set. Serve with crispbreads.

Apple + Yogurt + Cinnamon = Autumn Smoothie
Cook 1 1/2 c sliced apples with 1/4 c water in a small saucepan until softened. Drain and cool. Puree the apples, 2/3 c vanilla fat free yogurt, and 1/8 tsp cinnamon in a blender.

Apple + Peanut Butter + Mango Chutney = Nutty Wedges
Cut 1/2 small apple into 4 wedges. Combine 1 Tbsp low-fat creamy or chunky peanut butter and 2 tsp mango chutney in a small bowl; spread evenly on the apple wedges.

Enjoy!

by weight watchers.com

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Wake up to the importance of Exercise

Working Out Improves Sleep Patterns

You stayed up late last night to finish a project, woke up groggy only to realize that you’d slept through the alarm clock, skipped breakfast, then almost fell asleep in the middle of an important morning meeting. It’s now mid-afternoon and, as you’re having yet another cup of coffee to stifle yet another yawn, you realize you’re seemingly sleep walking through your days.

You’re not the only one. Nightly sleep for the average American has dropped from 10 hours (before the invention of the light bulb) to 6.9 hours, with a third of adults now getting even less than that! In fact, nearly half of all adults admit they sleep less so they can work (or play) more, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Although most experts agree that the average adult needs eight hours, most of us have burned our candle at both ends.

But how do you get off this "sleep deficit" merry-go-round? It's easy to say, "get more sleep" but what if you're simply spending frustrating hours tossing and turning, and having trouble finding deep slumber?

First, it’s important to be aware that sleep is not a passive activity. Healthy sleep is every bit as valuable to your overall well-being as exercise and good nutrition. Research shows that a lack of deep sleep (as opposed to irregular or fragmented sleep) undermines the body's ability to fight off disease. Perpetual sleepiness can reduce the quality and quantity of your work by a third, according to the NSF. In fact, if you’re sleep-deprived you’re likely to have higher concentrations of sugar in your blood, which could contribute to development of a pre-diabetic condition.

If you’re having major problems in your sleep life, you probably should consult a doctor. But for most of us who are having trouble sleeping, there’s a simple cure: exercise. Working out regularly has been shown to reduce episodes of insomnia. What’s more, it promotes improved sleep quality by producing smoother, more regular transitions between the cycles and phases of sleep.

Moderate exercise lasting 20 to 30 minutes three or four times a week generally results in better sleep and more energy. You may have to find your own exercise rhythm-– some people can exercise any time, while others do better if they work out in the morning or afternoon, not near bedtime. But, vigorous exercise during the day and mild exercise before bedtime will not only help you fall asleep and stay asleep more easily, but will increase the amount of time you spend in deepest sleep phase (Stage 4 sleep).

In fact, in a study on sleep patterns of adults aged 55 to 75 who were sedentary and troubled by insomnia, exercise was shown to play a key role. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine asked these adults to exercise 20 to 30 minutes every other day in the afternoon by walking, engaging in low-impact aerobics, and riding a stationary bicycle. The result? Time required to fall asleep was reduced by half, and total sleep time increased by almost one hour.

What’s more, exercise offers many other mental benefits:

- Reduces stress by helping to dissipate the lactic acid that accumulates in your blood
- Sharpens your brain by increasing the amount of oxygen available
- Eases built-up muscular tension
- Strengthens and stimulates your heart and lungs
- Stimulates your nervous system
- Increases your production of endorphins— those little substances which create a sense of well-being and increase your body's resistance to pain
- Stimulates release of epinephrine, a hormone that creates a sense of happiness and excitement
- Increases deep sleep, as the brain compensates for physical stress

Shakespeare didn’t know about sleep studies when he wrote about "sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care," but it seems he did know one thing—there’s nothing better than a good night’s sleep!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Short Cut Cooking

Don't have time to baste, broil and bake? Don't worry! We've got tricks that'll help you turn convenience foods into memorable meals — in minutes.

If you're sick of takeout and too tired to spend an hour in the kitchen, we have simple and tasty solutions for you. Many convenience foods can be easily doctored up so that your meals taste like home cooking — but involve far less effort.

Shortcut strategies

- Purchase dried bean, rice and pasta mixes with flavor packets so that you don't have to measure out lots of spices and seasonings. (Buy reduced-sodium varieties if you're following a low-salt diet.)

- Eliminate slicing and dicing with packages of fresh or frozen vegetables that are already cleaned and chopped or shredded.

- Take home a whole roasted chicken to make a quick chicken salad, burrito or wrap.

- Use canned and dehydrated soups as bases for heartier soups and stews.

Short on time, long on flavor

Jodie Shield, MEd, RD, recipe developer and nutrition consultant to The Chicago Tribune, shares some of her super-fast meal ideas below. A few more tips come from Bev Bennett, cookbook author and weight-loss columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

- For quick jambalaya, stir-fry salad-size shrimp, diced low-fat Italian sausage and chopped bell pepper. Combine with a cooked Cajun-style rice mix until well blended.

- One-dish pasta entrées make simple family meals. Try adding chopped broccoli and diced lean ham to a cooked reduced-fat macaroni-and-cheese mix. Or make a vegetarian version with chopped fresh tomatoes and lightly steamed asparagus tips.

- Feed a crowd with a wild rice-turkey casserole: Stir-fry leftover turkey breast, chopped broccoli and dried cranberries; combine with a cooked wild-rice mix.

- Go vegetarian with black bean burritos. Stir-fry diced onions and combine them with canned black beans (rinsed and drained) and a cooked rice mix. Layer down the center of tortillas, top with salsa and low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, roll up, and bake until heated through and the tortillas are slightly browned.

- Add a dash of lime juice, hot sauce and a cup of chopped cooked chicken breast to canned chicken soup. Sprinkle with cilantro and you've got hot-and-sour soup in a jiffy.

- Slice and arrange store-bought, precooked polenta in a 9-inch square pan; top with soy-based chorizo and a little tomato sauce. Bake until just heated through; and you'll be dining Italian-style with almost no effort.

13 Quick Dishes
Now that you have your pantry stocked, here are just a few of the delicious dishes you can toss together—no recipe required!

Chicken Salad: Combine pre-cooked chicken breast, diced roasted red peppers, fat-free mayonnaise and gourmet mustard; spoon mixture into a whole-wheat pita.

Hummus: Purée together chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice; serve with baked corn chips or whole-wheat pita wedges.

Tomato Pie: Top prepared pizza crust with garden-style pasta sauce, reduced-fat Parmesan cheese and oregano.

Royal Rueben: Make coleslaw (combine shredded cabbage/carrot mix and fat-free mayo); place slaw on whole-grain bread; top with lean roast beef and reduced-fat Swiss cheese.

Spicy Salmon: Combine canned salmon, diced pickled jalapeños, gourmet mustard and fat-free mayo.

Asian Chicken: Coat cubed, pre-cooked chicken breast with hoisin sauce; toss with water chestnuts and chopped celery.

Chicken Fajitas: Top whole-wheat tortillas with slices of pre-cooked chicken breast, green bell peppers and red onion; serve with fat-free sour cream and salsa.

Moroccan Couscous: Add boiling water to whole-wheat couscous; let stand 5 minutes. Add chopped mixed dried fruit, ground cumin and sliced almonds.

Turkey Wrap: Spread gourmet mustard on a whole-wheat tortilla; top with smoked turkey breast, reduced-fat cheese, shredded lettuce and sliced tomato; roll up.

Mexican Beans: Combine three bean varieties (black, white, pink), canned tomatoes, diced yellow bell pepper, chopped fresh cilantro and chili powder.

Chicken-Chutney Sandwich: Spread chutney on whole-grain bread; top with slices of pre-cooked chicken breast and red lettuce.

Thai Fruit: Combine fresh and/or canned fruit (such as pineapple, mango, melon, grapes, papaya), sliced almonds and light coconut milk.

Barbecued Pulled Pork: Combine shredded, cooked pork and barbecue sauce; serve on whole-grain bread.


By: Leslie Fink, MS, RD, WW

Monday, September 27, 2010

10 Healthy (and 10 Terrible!) Vending Machine Snacks

It's crunch time, and the snack machine is whispering your name. Pushing the wrong buttons could be a diet disaster -- so check out our top 10 nutritional nightmares, and the 10 smartest snacks.

Guilty Pleasures
These 10 snacks top our "just-don't-do-it" list. Most are packed with sugar, fat, and calories. Check out what you should avoid -- and then choose from our smart snack options instead.

The Worst Pick
1. Drake's Apple Fruit Pie
440 calories, 27g fat, 7g sat fat, 8g trans fat
The Bottom Line: Nutritional nightmare

Second Worst
2. Austin Cheese Crackers with Cheddar Cheese
210 calories, 10g fat, 2g sat fat, 4g trans fat
The Bottom Line: A trans fat fest

Other Guilty Pleasures
3. Pop-Tarts Frosted Strawberry
420 calories, 10g fat, 2.5g sat fat, 40g sugar
The Bottom Line: For sharing only

4. Doritos
250 calories, 13g fat, 2.5g sat fat, 2g fiber
The Bottom Line: "Nacho" best option

5. Skittles
250 calories, 2.5g fat, 2.5g sat fat
The Bottom Line: More calories and fat than Twizzlers

6. Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers (27)
160 calories, 8g fat, 2g sat fat
The Bottom Line: No fiber, no protein

7. Ruffles Original
160 calories, 10g fat, 3g sat fat
The Bottom Line: Nothing but empty calories

8. Cheetos Crunchy
160 calories, 10g fat, 1.5g sat fat
The Bottom Line: Not great, but could be worse

9. Twix
280 calories, 14g fat, 11g sat fat
The Bottom Line: More "bad" fat than a Snickers

10. 3 Musketeers
260 calories, 8g fat, 5g sat fat, 40g sugar
The Bottom Line: Lower fat, but still candy

Nutritional information is for contents of entire package, unless otherwise noted.

Healthy Snacks
These 10 low-fat and fat-free vending machine offerings are the best of the bunch -- and some even include nutritious fiber, protein, and healthy fats!

Top Pick
1. Planters Sunflower Kernels (1/4 cup)
160 calories, 14g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 4g fiber
The Bottom Line: Full of healthy fats

Second Best
2. Baked! Lays Original
210 calories, 3g fat, 0g sat fat, 4g fiber
The Bottom Line: Surprisingly fiber-full

Other Smart Snacks
3. Sun Chips Original
140 calories, 6g fat, 1g sat fat, 2g fiber
The Bottom Line: Made of whole grains

4. Snyder's of Hanover Mini Pretzels (20)
110 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat fat
The Bottom Line: Naturally fat-free

5. Smartfood Reduced-Fat Popcorn
120 calories, 5g fat, 1g sat fat, 2g fiber
The Bottom Line: Low fat, and has fiber!

6. Peanut M&M's
250 calories, 13g fat, 5g sat fat, 2g fiber
The Bottom Line: Just don't go nuts

7. Fig Newtons
190 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat fat, 2g fiber
The Bottom Line: It's fruit!

8. Nature Valley Granola Bar, Oats & Honey
180 calories, 6g fat, 0.5g sat fat, 2g fiber
The Bottom Line: Beats hunger

9. Planters Honey Roasted Peanuts (39)
160 calories, 13g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 6g protein
The Bottom Line: High in protein

10. Quaker Chewy Low-Fat Granola Bar, Chocolate Chunk
110 calories, 2g fat, 0.5g sat fat, 1g fiber
The Bottom Line: Guilt-free chocolate

Nutritional information is for contents of entire package, unless otherwise noted.

By Virginia Sole-Smith, Fitness

Friday, September 24, 2010

How the Pros Curb Food Cravings

Curb cravings for good

Trying to kick your unhealthy food cravings to the curb? These fresh strategies from the pros will help.

Plan on giving in
“Depriving a sweet tooth is a recipe for disaster. Don’t cut things out so you binge later. Instead, try allotting up to a fifth of your daily calorie allowance to the sweet of your choice. Every day I have a small package of Paul Newman’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups; they’re 180 calories for the pack—and I don’t feel deprived.”

—Jillian Michaels, trainer and host of the upcoming NBC show Losing It With Jillian and author of Master Your Metabolism

Faux-fry
"Next time you crave fried onion rings or chicken tenders, try this trick: coat the food with egg whites and a mixture of grated Parmesan cheese, whole-wheat flour, and panko breadcrumbs; spray with a bit of cooking spray, then put it into a 450 degree oven for 10–15 minutes. You’ll have a crispy, healthier treat with the same indulgent taste."

—Rocco DiSpirito, author of NOW EAT THIS!

Collect your candy wrappers
"Instead of throwing away a wrapper after you indulge in something sweet, keep it in a jar. It’ll help you be more aware of how much you’re eating."

—Susan Albers, PsyD, author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food

Go gourmet
"Sometimes, we keep eating because we don’t get that taste hit we’re looking for; bland store-bought cookies, weak milk chocolate, and dry baked chips are among the worst offenders. Trade up for the gourmet version—a killer cookie, some intense dark chocolate, olive oil potato chips—and you’ll be satisfied with less."

—Janis Jibrin, MS, RD, lead nutritionist

Picture your payoff
"Make a collage with pictures that represent you reaching your goal—and look at it when a craving hits. Then ask yourself if having that doughnut will bring you closer to your goals."

—Chris Downie, author of The Spark

Stop checking e-mail
"Cut out distractions. When your attention isn’t diverted, you can truly savor what you’re eating—and that satisfaction will help you control mindless snacking or overeating."

—Lillian Cheung, RD, co-author of Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

Sneak in some nutrition
"Don’t fight your cravings—become friends with them by trying to sneak in a little nutrition, too. Have what you love and crave, but think of a way to make it a little healthier. I make my hot chocolate with carrot juice to get a little health boost."

—Jennifer Iserloh, author of Secrets of a Skinny Chef: 100 Decadent, Guilt-Free Recipes

Clean up your act
"Give up artificial sweeteners—they make you crave more sugar. All of my clients who’ve given these up have had more success with their cravings.”

—Keri Glassman, RD, author of 02 Diet

Check it off
"On a 3x5 index card, write a check every time you successfully say no to a craving. You need to do this 15 times in a row before you’ll be able to conquer any craving. On the reverse side of the card, write down some affirmations to remind yourself why you should resist."

—Judith Beck, Ph.D., director of the Beck Institute of Cognitive Therapy and Research

By Kate Stinchfield, Fitness

Thursday, September 23, 2010

10 Great Ways To Burn More Fat

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.
Samuel Johnson, Author, 1709-1784

You’re so busy you have absolutely no time to work out, right? Wrong. It’s important that you make the time, and I’m here to help you do it. In this busy world filled with work, family and stress, we sometimes have to use a lot of creativity to sneak in workout time.

I’ve constructed some quick tips to keep you moving, your muscles stimulated and your blood flowing in minimal time. Now, you have no excuse.

Here are my 10 fat-burning tips for people on the go:

1. When you first wake up, commit to 10 minutes of continuous exercise. Choose only three movements and perform each in succession without stopping for 10 minutes. For example, Monday you can perform modified push-ups, followed by crunches for your abs followed by stationary lunges. On Tuesday, you can perform free-standing squats with hands on hips, double crunch for abs and close grip modified push-ups (hands 3 inches apart) for your triceps. Just 10 minutes! Just take a quick breather when you need it.

2. Perform timed interval walking in your neighborhood or at lunch. If it takes 10 minutes to walk to a certain destination near your office or in your neighborhood, try to make it in eight minutes. You can also do this first thing in the morning before work as well as on your lunch break.

3. If you have stairs in your home or in your work place, commit to taking the stairs a specific number of times. Tell yourself that you’ll take the stairs six or eight times (no matter what).

4. While seated, perform some isometric exercise to help strengthen and tighten your muscles. For example, while in a seated position, simply contract the abdominals for 30 seconds while breathing naturally. You can also tighten and contract your legs for 60 seconds. Perform about three sets per area. You’ll feel your muscles get tighter in just three weeks if you do this a few times per week. Here’s a video to help show you how:



5. For about $15, you can invest in a pedometer. It’s a small device you can carry that records the amount of miles you walk per day. Each week, simply try to add just a bit more to the mileage. For example, let’s say you walk one mile total during the day in the normal course of activities. Simply try to make it two miles total the following week. Just make a game of it. You’ll burn more calories.

6. Tired at night and just want to sit in front of the TV? Try this technique: Take periodic five-minute exercise breaks and perform some muscle-stimulating and calorie-burning exercise. For example, take five minutes and perform only ab crunches. Then, when it’s time for another five-minute exercise break, perform modified push-ups for five minutes. Then for a final five-minute break, perform stationary lunges. Try to do as many as possible in five minutes and try to beat your amount of reps during each subsequent break. It won’t seem daunting because it’s only five minutes at a time, split over a 30- or 60-minute timeframe. Instead of rest breaks, you’ll take exercise breaks. You don’t really need to watch that commercial, do you?

7. How about performing one exercise movement per day for seven to 10 minutes? For example, Monday: free-standing squats for seven minutes. Tuesday: chair dips for seven minutes. Wednesday: crunches and hip lifts off the floor for seven minutes. Thursday: modified push-up for seven minutes. Friday: stationary lunges for seven minutes. It’s quick, simple and teaches consistency.

8. Want things even simpler? Take the longest route every time you have to walk somewhere — even if it’s to a co-worker’s office.

9. Double-up the stairs. Every time you take the stairs, simply take a double step, or every other stair. It will be just like lunges and the Stairmaster combined — great for the legs and butt.

10. Perform any of the above with your spouse or a friend. I’m sure you can find someone who is in the same situation. The support will give you more motivation and you just may find that you can create even more workout time for yourself.

Hey, I know this won’t make you an Olympic athlete or give you six-pack abs, but that’s not the goal. I just want to see you making an effort to improve. If you take two to three of your favorite tips above, it will be the beginning of something great.

By Raphael Calzadilla, eDiets

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

7 Best Stress-Fighting Foods

I send out a lot of info on my Twitter feed, from nutrition news to management tips. I get the most passionate reaction—and the most retweets—when I talk about stress. In fact, a friend of mine recently told me that stress was her biggest dietary villain. “I eat when I’m stressed,” she said.

To which I reacted, “Good!” You should eat when you’re stressed—it’s our bodies’ natural reaction to want to store calories to face whatever challenge is causing the stress in the first place. The key, however, is to eat what your body wants—the foods that actually counteract the effects of stress, and make you stronger (and leaner) when the tough times pass. So next time anxiety runs high, be sure to grab one of these seven stress-fighting foods.

(And while you're at it, be sure to follow my Twitter feed for hundreds of instant nutrition and health secrets like these.)

Papaya
Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a magic nutrient that could stop the flow of stress hormones—the very hormones that make your body super efficient at storing fat calories? Wouldn’t you want to gobble that food up like crazy, especially if it tasted great? Half a medium papaya carries nearly 75 percent more vitamin C than an orange, and provides potent protection against stress. Researchers at the University of Alabama found 200 milligrams of vitamin C—about as much as you’ll find in one large papaya—twice a day nearly stopped the flow of stress hormones in rats. It should work for you, too.

Other smart sources of vitamin C: Red bell peppers, broccoli, oranges

Bonus Tip: The closer an ingredient is to its original form, the healthier it is for you. Avoid the worst side of the nutritional spectrum by familiarizing yourself with this shocking list of The 15 Worst Food Creations of 2010.

Peppermint Tea
The mere scent of peppermint helps you focus and boosts performance, according to researchers. Another study discovered that peppermint tea makes drivers more alert and less anxious.

Other smart sources of peppermint: Peppermint candy and peppermint oil

Bonus Tip: Beware of disastrous drinks that only pretend to be healthy. Avoid 2,000-calorie shakes, 1,500-calorie smoothies, and other big offenders in this eye-popping list of The 20 Worst Drinks in America in 2010.

Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are loaded with stress-busting potential thanks to high levels of magnesium. Only about 30 percent of us meet our daily magnesium requirements, placing the rest of us at a higher risk for stress symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, tension, fatigue, insomnia, nervousness and high blood pressure. (Basically we’re frayed wires, and magnesium is the electrical tape that can pull us back together.) A quarter cup of pumpkin seeds gives you half your day’s magnesium requirements.

Other smart sources of magnesium: Spinach, Swiss chard, black beans, soybeans, salmon

Avocados
The healthy fats buried in the avocado’s flesh make it an ideal choice when you’re craving something rich and creamy. The reasons? Monounsaturated (healthy) fatty acids, and potassium--both of which help combat high blood pressure. Avocado fat is 66 percent monounsaturated, and gram-for-gram, the green fruit has about 35 percent more potassium than a banana. Whip up a fresh guacamole or slice a few slivers over toast and top with fresh ground pepper.

Other smart sources of potassium: Squash, papaya, spinach, bananas, lentils

Bonus Tip: Learn how to put these and other health-promoting foods to work in your daily diet to lose weight fast and look and feel better. Sign up for the free Cook This, Not That! newsletter. You’ll have quick and delicious recipes delivered right to you inbox.

Salmon
Not only does omega-3 fat protect against heart disease and cognitive decline, but according to a study from Diabetes & Metabolism, the wonder fat is also responsible for maintaining healthy levels of cortisol. And what’s the world’s best source of omega-3s? Salmon. But there’s another trick in salmon’s arsenal—a sleep-promoting amino acid called tryptophan. One salmon filet has as much tryptophan as you need in an entire day, and if there’s one remedy for stress, it’s a good night of blissful Zs.

Other smart sources of omega-3 fats: Flaxseeds, walnuts, sardines, halibut
Other smart sources of tryptophan: Chicken, tuna, beef, soybeans

Bonus Tip: The favorite trick of your friendly neighborhood restaurant? Substituting salt for flavor. Studies have linked high-salt foods to increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and even heart disease--and experts recommend getting no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium in your diet each day. Keep your salt intake in check by cooking with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients—and by dodging the salty disasters in this list of the 30 Saltiest Foods in America.

Almonds
The almond's first stress-buster is the aforementioned monounsaturated fats, but at risk of belaboring that point, let’s look at another almond-centered, mind-calming nutrient: vitamin E. In one study, Belgium researchers treated pigs with a variety of nutrients just before sticking them in a transportation simulator (basically a vibrating crate). After 2 hours of simulation, only those pigs treated with tryptophan and vitamin E had non-elevated levels of stress hormones. Almonds, thankfully, are loaded with vitamin E. To reach your day’s requirement from almonds alone, you need to eat about 40 to 50 nuts. Or you can mix them with other vitamin-E rich foods to save calories and add more dietary variety.

Other smart sources of vitamin E: Sunflower seeds, olives, spinach, papaya

Oatmeal
A biochemical effect of stress is a depleted stock of serotonin, the hormone that makes you feel cool, calm, and in control. One reliable strategy for boosting serotonin back to healthy levels is to increase your intake of carbohydrates. That said, scarfing down Ding Dongs and doughnuts isn’t a sustainable solution. Rather, to induce a steady flow of serotonin, aim to eat fiber-rich, whole-grain carbohydrates. The slower rate of digestion will keep seratonin production steady and prevent the blood sugar rollar-coaster that leads to mood swings and mindless eating.

Other sources of fiber-rich carbohydrates: Quinoa, barley, whole-wheat bread, Triscuits

By David Zinczenko, Men’s Health

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Top 5 Bad Foods - and Healthy Substitutes

Oops, I did it again… If you sing that song whenever you eat a certain food, consider it a “trigger” food. Translation: Don’t derail your diet goals by eating foods you have a history of overeating.

Easier said than done? Here are the three steps to managing those not-so-healthy foods:

1. Recognize your triggers. For me, it’s always been ice cream. I would buy a carton of fudge vanilla swirl, for example, planning to limit myself to just a half cup for dessert. I’d dig into the creamy mixture, have “just a taste” — and all my plans went into the trash. Along with the empty half-gallon carton of ice cream. Inevitably, I felt sick the next day and mad at myself for giving in. I’d try setting up rules (“I’ll only eat ice cream on weekends,” or “I’ll only eat vanilla ice cream — that’s safe and boring”), but those rules were a game of deception that resulted only in weight gained.

2. Accept which ones are “danger zone” foods. If you are unable to limit yourself to a single serving, it’s a “red light” food for you.

3. After you recognize your trigger foods, discover safe healthy foods substitutes. And for help with this critical third step, check out my list below!

Trigger Food #1: Ice Cream
Is ice cream one of your trigger foods? Then keep those half-gallon containers out of your house. Instead, consider one of these healthy foods options:

– Stop eating ice cream. Period. Instead, call around to local frozen yogurt shops until you find one that serves sugar-free, low-calorie frozen yogurt. Check to make sure that it’s really low-calorie (for example, one of the yogurt cafes in my hometown has frozen yogurt that is 10 calories per ounce). Rather than take it home, order a small serving at the cafe, and enjoy it there. — Buy pre-portioned, sugar-free frozen treats, such as sugar-free Fudgsicles. Just 40 calories each, with calcium, protein and no sugar, these individually-wrapped chocolate fudge frozen treats are one of my favorite healthy foods for after-dinner desserts.

Trigger Food #2: Baked Potatoes
I used to consider myself virtuous for ordering a baked potato instead of French fries at a restaurant. Of course, I always opted for the variety stuffed with melted cheese and butter and topped with sour cream. And I couldn’t understand why I didn’t lose weight. Answer: Those enormous potatoes served in restaurants actually are the equivalent of two to four servings. Add in those high-calorie, high-fat extras like cheese, butter and sour cream, and you’re looking at a so-called side course that can have more calories and fat than you’ve budgeted for your entire dinner!

Healthy foods substitutes:
– Steamed vegetables. Skip the butter and cheese topping and sprinkle on some herbs. — A baked potato or yam that you share with a friend — and substitute plain yogurt for that fattening topping.

Trigger Food #3: Pizza
“I’m just going to have one piece,” you promise yourself. Then the delivery person arrives at your front door. You open up the box and that fragrance wafts through the room. One piece leads to another… and then of course there’s the garlic bread on the side. Before you know it, your diet is out the door along with the empty pizza box container.

Healthy foods substitute:
– A whole-grain English muffin half. Top with fat-free or low-fat mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce mixed with herbs, and put under the broiler until the cheese melts. You’ve got the flavor of pizza without the calories and fat!

Trigger Food #4: Pie
Yes, I know, apple pie is as traditional as baseball. And it counts as a fruit serving, right? Hah! When you mix sugar and butter with those apples, then make that crust with lard and more sugar, and top the whole conglomeration off with whipped cream or extra-rich vanilla ice cream, you’re creating a recipe for diet trouble.

Healthy foods substitutes:
– One-half cup of unsweetened applesauce mixed with a half-cup of sugar-free vanilla yogurt and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. — A plain baked apple sprinkled with cinnamon and a packet of sugar-free sweetener, such as Splenda or Equal.

Trigger Food #5: Cheese
One ounce of cheese is only about the size of a domino — and can pack as much as 130 calories. Consider just how much cheese you can tuck away for a snack. Add on the calories in the accompanying crackers. And you’ve just consumed more calories in your supposedly innocent snack than you might have allotted for a half-day of food on your diet!

Healthy foods substitute:
– Individually pre-packaged “light” or fat-free cheese, such as individually wrapped low-fat string cheese.

By Fitness Magazine

Monday, September 20, 2010

Winning the Fight Against Yourself!

Got into a fight this morning. It was not a “discussion." It was not a “disagreement.” It was a full blown fight. No, it wasn’t with my wife or kids or even the other drivers on the highway. The fight started before work and even before anyone else in the house was awake. The person I had a fight with was myself.

You see, if I am going to exercise, it has to go like this: Up at 4:45 a.m., running by 5:00, in the shower by 6:00, and then out the door to work. Now, I never said it this routine was easy (thus the fight). Always on time, I was awakened by the shrill beep, Beep, BEEP of my alarm, signaling the start of the fight. It was on!

You must be kidding. I feel like I just went to sleep a few hours ago! FOR GOODNESS SAKE, IT IS DARK OUTSIDE!

Another excuse jab here: I’m tired!

A plea punch there: It’s dark!

A surprise shot in the dark: Don't get out of this comfy bed!

I kept moving during the assault as the barrage of excuses filled my mind. I slowly made it to the bathroom to find today's running gear where I left it the night before. Even there, the attack continued: I can't get up and run when it gets cold in a few months. Then I was hit from behind with another jab of justification: It’s too dark. I could get hit by a car!

Put on my armor to boost my strength and defend myself better. Socks on. Shorts. Shirt, shoes, and visor. Trusty iPod in hand. That was all it took to bring down the offender. The fight was over and I was out the door. Even then though I could roughly hear his voice from the distance telling me: Just run three miles instead of the usual five. But it was too late—I had won today by a knock-out!

That's how my battle went this morning, but in reality, it's a battle I fight every day. I’d like to say that I am an undefeated champion, but that would be a lie. Sometimes I do lose and the voice wins. Many people think that a personal trainer never misses a workout and never struggles with eating the right things (or staying away from the not-so-right things). But I struggle just as much as everyone else. It is not easier for me than it is for others. It all comes down to the moment of the decision—like 4:45 a.m. every morning. That is where the battle is won or lost.

We all know how important exercise is to our health. We all know we should be doing it, but we allow ourselves “outs” with what we consider justifiable excuses. You can excuse yourself out of anything if you keep listening to yourself long enough. You can let those rationalizations make sense if you try. But I have come to a personal conclusion, a motto of sorts:

I will do what I need to do, in order to do what I want to do.

If that means getting up at 4:45 a.m. then so be it. I want to be healthy for a long time. I’ve got a long list of reasons why. I like to feel good and feel good about myself. I like the way exercise and eating well make me feel. I want to be around to spend a long, healthy lifetime with my wife. I want to wrestle with my kids and laugh and play and see them grow up and maybe even give me grandkids and great-grandkids one day! I want to be in the "90 and up" age category in the local 5K! I will do what I need to do (exercise and eat right) in order to do what I want to do (live a full life).

I'll tell you something I don’t want though. I don’t want to cheat myself out of precious time because I didn’t do the things I should have to live that long life. I don’t want to rob my wife or kids of years they could have with me. I don’t want to stare at the ceiling in a hospital room one day thinking, “I wish I would have taken better care of myself and not allowed this to happen.”

I want to encourage others to do what they need to do to be healthy. I want to encourage you to stay in the fight and not give into the excuses. Nike still has the best excuse-buster I can think of: Just Do It! Does it mean getting up early even though you'd rather sleep longer? Just do it. Does it mean staying up later to hit the gym and cook a healthy meal? Just do it. Is it hot or cold outside? Just do it. You name the reason why you shouldn’t do it, and just do it anyway.

The fight will be on again tomorrow morning. Same time, same place. Wish me luck—no, wish me determination—and I’ll do the same for you! After all, we are in this fight together.

By Jason Anderson, Certified Personal Trainer

Friday, September 17, 2010

Health Benefits of a Cucumber...

Cucumber is a native plant of India and other tropical regions; it is used as a popular fresh vegetable in a variety of salads and sandwiches and is a mainstay of many of today’s lunches.

Whether it’s cucumber wedges tossed in a garden salad, slices on a sandwich, or used as an appetizer for parties, the cucumber is a nutritious and healthful pick.

Cucumber traces its roots to northern India, but was widely available to Western cultures in Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Today it is cultivated across East and Southern Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Cucumber’s nutritional benefits include natural salts, enzymes, and vitamins essential for strong cell growth and repair. In addition, the high mineral content and minerals in cucumber peel offer a natural source for a fresh, powerful antioxidant. The alkalinity of cucumber is also a positive attribute, and because of its water base, the cucumber is also a top choice as a diuretic.

Aside from its internal uses, cucumber can help control constipation, stomach disorders, arthritis, cholera, and acne. The high water content, combined with its ability to balance acid, helps to reduce disorders and ailments that may be a cause of overproduction of various acidic compounds.

Juicing a cucumber is, perhaps, the best way to consume it for maximum nutritional benefit. Juicing helps to preserve all minerals, natural-occurring vitamins, and nutritioun value; cucumber juice can be combined with other vegetables such as carrot and beets for a detoxifying drink or smoothie.

As a beauty aid, the cucumber provides immediate relief to puffy eyes; a fresh cucumber can be cut into thin slices, and these placed on the eyes for 5-10 minutes. This works incredibly well after a tiring day at work in front of the computer, and helps to relieve stress and dark circles around the eye area as well. Grated cucumber can be used as a mask and tonic for the entire face and neck. The benefit of a high sulfur and silicon content helps with skin surface issues and balancing, and the natural cooling properties provide for an easy facial on a hot humid day.
Adding mint, coconut, or egg whites to a cucumber paste will give you additional properties for maintaining fresh and youthful skin. Leave on your face for 20 minutes, rinse, and pat dry. You’ll notice an immediate difference!

Cucumber is just another of nature’s natural gifts for exceptional nutrition and great skin. Inside and out, the cucumber’s natural health benefits make it a top choice for an at-home facial, remedy for various distresses and conditions, plus a healthy option for your lunch or dinner salad.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The No-Hunger Way to Cut 100s of Calories

Lose weight -- and keep it off -- with super-simple diet tweaks that trim 100, 250, even 500 calories a day.

Cut 100 Calories a Day -- Lose 10 Pounds a Year
The last thing you want to do right about now is go on a diet. (Okay, it's pretty much the last thing you want to do ever.) Luckily you can zap the bulge without resorting to rabbit food. The trick: Eat just a little less. Scientists at Harvard and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge found that people who lowered their calorie intake lost an average of 13 pounds in six months no matter what kind of diet they were on. "This is the best weight-loss news in a long time," says Frank Sacks, MD, nutrition professor at Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study. "If you don't like what you're eating, you're not going to stick with it. These findings give you flexibility to trim a bit here and there and still enjoy your favorites."

In fact, by nixing just 100 calories a day, you'll lose more than 10 pounds a year. Up your cuts to 250 and you're down 26 pounds. Want to lose faster? Ditch 500 calories daily and you'll drop those pounds in half the time. We found 50 so-easy ways for you to trim a little but save a lot.

Cut 100 Calories at Breakfast
* Use skim milk in place of flavored Coffee-mate in your two morning mugs.
* Eat a bowl of high-fiber cereal and you'll consume fewer calories all day.
* Order bacon, not sausage, with your eggs.
* Choose a yeast doughnut instead of a denser cake one.

Cut 100 Calories at Lunch
* Use 1 tablespoon of mayo and 1 tablespoon of low-fat cottage cheese to make tuna salad.
* Put barbecue sauce, not honey mustard, on your chicken sandwich at Wendy's.
* Top your burger with onions, lettuce, and tomato and skip the cheese.
* Ask for the 12-ounce child-size soda instead of the 21-ounce medium at the drive-through.
* Slim down your sandwich by using Arnold Select 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins instead of whole wheat bread.
* Toss your salad with 1 tablespoon of dressing until every lettuce leaf is coated. You'll get away with using half the usual serving size. Try this trick at dinner too.
* Skip the crackers and shredded cheese on your chili.

Cut 100 Calories at Dinner
* Trade butter for a flavorful spread made with garlic, fresh rosemary, and light, trans fat-free margarine.
* Making meatballs? Mix half the amount of ground beef the recipe calls for with half as much cooked brown rice.
* Instead of two slices of medium pepperoni pan pizza, choose thin-crust.
* When munching on chicken wings, don't toss the bones midway through. Seeing the evidence of your feast may help you eat less, studies show.

Cut 100 Calories from a Snack
* Trade 1/2 cup of premium vanilla ice cream for 1/2 cup of Breyers Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream.
* Ordering a cone? Make it the sugar, not the waffle, kind.
* Munch on Pirate's Booty. In a study, switching to an air-puffed cheesy snack twice a day saved about 70 calories a pop.
* Grab a Dannon Light & Fit yogurt, not a low-fat fruit blend.
* Replace half the butter in cake, muffin, and brownie recipes with an equal amount of applesauce or mashed bananas. You'll save about 100 calories for every tablespoon you swap.
* Indulge in a slice of angel food cake drizzled with chocolate syrup rather than three cookies.

by Melissa Daly, Fitness Magazine

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Dress for success.... show off your favorite parts

For the ladies....

Each of us has a favorite body part – or we should. Do you have an area you think is worth accentuating? If you do, good for you. As you get closer to your fitness/health/weight loss goals, you will likely want to show off more of your body, highlighting your best features:

· Thin wrists? Wear some bracelets or bangles to show them off.
· Great legs? Wear skirts to highlight those gams.
· High collar bones? Get some scoop-neck tops.
· Tiny waist? Tuck in that shirt and belt your waist.
· Muscular arms and shoulders? Wear tanks or cap-sleeved tops to accentuate them.

You can use colors to your advantage, too. The single best use of color for a slimming effect is dressing from top to toe in one dark hue, such as navy, brown or black. Did you ever wonder why school buses are yellow? It’s because that color is so eye-catching. Dress up any body part you want to accentuate with brights like yellow, orange or hot pink while wearing dark colors on areas you want to draw the eye from; dark colors recede.

Do you have a nice, long neckline, but are your hips are wider than you’d like them to be? Pair a canary V-neck tee with dark blue jeans.

Proud of your shapely shoulders and lean legs but think you’re top heavy? Wear a high-necked black sleeveless shirt to show off your shoulders – while minimizing your chest – with a fuchsia skirt to accentuate your gorgeous legs.

Other tips for dressing slim:
* Opt for small patterns instead of larger ones and avoid wearing prints or patterns on top and bottom – that visually adds 10 pounds!
* Get rid of anything you own that’s pleated – or at least relegate these clothes to gardening/painting/fishing pants. We women – most of us – have the typical hourglass figure with hips larger than our waists. When wearing pleated pants to fit our waists, the pleats splay out over our hips, creating extra space and making our lower abdomens appear larger than they actually are.
* If you wear a jacket, make sure it’s fitted. A boxy jacket makes for a bulky you.
* An “oldie but goodie” slimming rule is dressing in vertical stripes. Thin, vertical lines on jackets, shirts, pants, dresses and skirts creates the illusion of a longer, leaner you.
* Beware the blue jeans. Wearing them high, accentuating your tiny waist, may be less than flattering from behind because the higher your wear them, the bigger your butt looks. Try to find a pair that sits relatively low on the waist – they don’t have to be indecently low – but the waistband should not be too far above the bellybutton. And skip the peg or tapered leg look. Instead go with a straight leg or boot cut, which will elongate the legs and keep your hips in proportion.

Take advantage of what you were given naturally and what you’ve worked so hard for. Dress to play it up. When you see your reflection, it’ll make you smile.

By Elizabeth Evans Fryer, Health & Fitness Writer for SparkPeople

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Just How Committed Are You to Losing Weight?

For some of us, visualizing a goal is easy. For others, goal setting comes more naturally. Thomas Edison visualized the light bulb long before he succeeded in its invention.

Visualizing and goal setting are important steps to success, especially when it comes to weight loss. Preparing for a journey that lasts a lifetime also helps keep everything in perspective. Using available tools, reading articles, and connecting with others for support, keeps us going when we want to give up. Even with all this, the journey is still long, hard, and frustrating.

Sometimes all the resources and accountability in the world can't make up for one of the most important keys to success – commitment to your weight loss and health goals. You can have the vision, a plan, resource tools, and support but without heart-felt commitment to ignite the passion to go the distance, success may be fleeting.

Here is a scale to help you rate your commitment to reaching your weight loss and health goals.

Not Very Committed - You acknowledge the importance of eating right and exercising. You have joined fitness centers or purchased workout equipment but they never seem to get used. You have been known to purchase great looking workout clothes but many of them still contain the tags. You have the best intentions to make changes but something always seems to get in the way. You have tried many diets. Unfortunately, you quickly give them up in favor of your favorite restaurant foods or parties with friends.

Somewhat Committed - You have been told you need to make lifestyle changes to improve your health and you believe it is important. You want to make the changes but making time in your schedule with work, family, and friends proves difficult. You use your gym membership or home equipment and follow your "diet" every couple of weeks but quickly fall out of a routine. Your intentions are good but as the old saying goes, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Very Committed - You are learning to make changes and are determined to see this new lifestyle change through. Although there are a variety of things in your diet that still need attention, you are making progress with small, sustained changes. You are willing to continuously learn new habits and seek information and motivational help. You are learning what foods are best for your lifestyle and have found ways to get exercise that you enjoy. Frustration at the slow pace sets in from time to time and makes you want to give up but you quickly get back on track with the encouragement of others. Finding the balance with work, family, and personal time is always a battle but you are learning to make it all fit to reach your goals. While you have significantly reduced your visits to restaurants and use of convenience foods, you are still learning to embrace the social implications. You believe slow and steady will win the race and accept that you can't be perfect but work to do the best you can each day.

Passionately Committed - You fully embrace the principles of your new lifestyle and have fully incorporated them into your day to day life. Visits to restaurants are very limited and so are convenience foods in the pantry. Nutrient rich meals and meaningful time with family and friends have taken their place. Exercise is enjoyable and you now miss it on days you take off. You have found a wonderful balance between work, family and community and your healthy lifestyle and outlook compliment every aspect of your life. You are setting new goals, love the new "you" that has been discovered and your positive changes have been noticed and inspirational to others.

Zealously Committed - Your standards for healthy living are very high. Strict rules and guidelines regulate what you eat or how you exercise. You are willing to sacrifice all aspects of your life to achieve your goals. You do not notice the impact your eating and exercise choices have on others around you. Those that do not jump on board with your level of commitment easily irritate and annoy you. When family or friends suggest you are too committed, you become defensive. You find wonderful comfort and control in your life from the food and exercise routines you embrace.

Do you recognize yourself in one of these descriptions? Right now I would be in the "very committed" category. For years, I was passionately committed to health and exercise goals. At different times, I have been zealously committed and those goals became unhealthy tools in my life. After the birth of each of our children, I continued to work out but mostly just to check the activity off the "to-do" list. Today with active teens that only have a few years left at home, I want time with them to be a bigger priority. I know that in a few years when they are gone there will be plenty of time to return to a passionate level of commitment. For now, I will be happy to remain very committed as I continue with my active lifestyle and enjoy as much time as possible with my family.

By Sparkpeople

Monday, September 13, 2010

Concentrate On Your Core

Exercise Your Body from the Inside-Out

Whenever you walk or run, your core muscles are active, keeping you upright, balancing your body as your weight shifts, and absorbing the impact as your feet hit the ground. Your body’s core forms the foundation of all your movement. If your core is weak, you are susceptible to poor posture and injury. Lower back pain is also more likely to occur.

Your core muscles lie deep within your torso and pelvis. They are layered, overlapping and connected to each other.

Unlike weight lifting, a core-strengthening program exercises your whole system at once. You also don’t need any equipment. The strength you use in holding a position, as well as the gravitational pull of your own weight, work out the core muscles. You’ll be surprised at how great an effect a simple routine can have on your daily living activities.

The Core Benefits
The major core muscle is called the transversus abdominis. It is deep in your abdomen and circles your torso. To feel it contract, pull your belly button toward your spine. Hold the contraction for 10 seconds, then release. Repeat several times. You can do this exercise anytime, anywhere.

Breathing is important while you do core exercises. Practice breathing deeply from your diaphragm before starting core exercises. Sit or stand with your back straight and shoulders relaxed. Exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds, expelling as much air from your lungs as you can. Then inhale for 6 counts, feeling your belly and chest expand as your lungs fill with air. Repeat 3 times, then breathe at a more normal pace throughout your exercises.

The following core exercises are simple enough to do on your own. To be safe, you should always check with your doctor before trying any new exercises.

Leg Press
Lie on the floor with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor. Raise your right leg off the floor with the knee still bent until your leg forms a 90-degree angle. Rest your right hand on the kneecap. Push against your knee with your right hand while pulling your knee toward your hand with your abdominal muscles. Hold for 3-4 deep breaths. Repeat with the left leg and hand.

Abdominal Crunch
Lie on your back and place your feet on the wall, so that your knees form a 90-degree angle. Cross your arms on your chest. Keep your gaze fixed forward. Using your abdominal muscles—not your neck—lift your chest as far as you can off the floor, even if it is only an inch or two. Hold for 2-3 seconds if you can, then release. Repeat 8 times. Remember to breathe deeply throughout this exercise.

-- By The American Institute of Cancer Research

Friday, September 10, 2010

Measure Progress Without the Scale!

An Arsenal of Tools for Your Motivation

Frustrated. Disappointed. Hopeless. Skeptical.

Whichever you choose, these emotions are enemies of people trying to lose weight—especially when you feel like you have done everything right. For many trying to shed pounds, the elation from that initial weight loss is brought to a screeching halt when the scale stops moving. But instead of viewing this as a setback, look for other ways to measure your progress besides the scale. After all, good health isn’t always measured in pounds.

Losing weight usually involves a relatively simple calorie equation: burn off more calories with daily activity than you consume through food. So what happens when these numbers indicate progress, but the scale doesn’t? Before the aggravation sets in, consider why this might be the case. If you’ve been hitting the gym on a regular basis, participating in both cardiovascular and strengthening exercises, then chances are good that you have shed some fat. But the scale might not indicate this because you have also been building lean muscle. Since muscle is dense (a small volume of muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat), the scale might not reflect your hard work.

4 Non-Scale Signs of Progress
1. See results by taking a trip to your very own closet. Take out a pair of pants that fit snugly before you began your new, healthy habits. Are you able to ease into them, when before you had to sit (or lie) down and yank them up your legs? This is a sure sign of progress toward a leaner you! What about an old shirt? Is it now a little loose around your waist or arms? Also look for improved muscle definition when you check out your body in the mirror. There are many everyday indicators that you are firming up your body, from how your clothes fit to sitting more comfortably in a booth or small chair.

2. Aside from weight, use other numerical signs of progress. When you first start your program, take measurements of your waist, arms, neck and hips. Even if you are not losing pounds, you very well may be losing inches all over your body as your figure slims down and tones up with muscles. Measuring your body is more reliable than the scale alone. Other numerical indicators include a reduction of blood pressure or cholesterol, heart rate, and body fat percentage.

3. Monitor how a healthy diet and regular exercise affects your energy levels. Not only will you be able to work out for longer intervals of time, but everyday chores will also become easier. Whether cutting the grass or simply walking up the stairs, these behaviors will come effortlessly. Think of all the daily activities you could use more energy for—grocery shopping, house cleaning, playing with your kids, and more. Pretty soon you’ll be training for your first 5K!

4. Lastly, be conscious of how you feel emotionally. You’ve been working hard to reach your goals. Hopefully, the hard work will come with a boost in self-esteem, confidence, and happiness. Are you beginning to feel more comfortable in your own body? Work to build a positive vocabulary to stay motivated.

Just because the scale has stopped moving doesn’t mean that you’ve hit a plateau in reaching your goals. Don’t give up out of frustration—all healthy behaviors are well worth the effort. Whether it’s better sleep at night or more energy throughout the day, start listening to the signs your body gives you that all of your hard work is paying off!

By Liz Noelcke, Staff Writer, Sparkpeople

Thursday, September 9, 2010

25 Best Nutrition Secrets

Sarah Palin is on a diet. So is Barack Obama, Glenn Beck, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Peyton Manning, the pitching staff of the Texas Rangers, all the judges on America’s Got Talent, and the entire cast of Glee. In fact, from Chris Rock to Kid Rock to The Rock, everyone you can name is on a diet.

And so are you.

How can I be so sure? Because a “diet” isn’t something you go on and go off of, like a prescription. A diet is what you eat, day in and day out, whether you planned to eat that way or not. So when people ask me what kind of “diet” they should follow, I always tell them to follow the one they’re already on—the way you like to eat is the way you should eat. In researching the Eat This, Not That! book series and seeing people lose 10, 20, 30 pounds or more effortlessly, I've learned that if you want to make big changes to your health, forget about following somebody else’s diet. Just make a bunch of little changes to the diet you’re already following. Believe me, it’s the best way to get results. Below, I’ve listed the 25 best new nutritional tweaks you can make that will improve the way you look and feel—fast and forever!

1. Drink a second cup of coffee. It might lower your risk of adult-onset diabetes, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

2. Keep serving dishes off the table. Researchers have found that when people are served individual plates, as opposed to empty plates with a platter of food in the middle of the table, they eat up to 35 percent less!

3. Think before you drink. The average person drinks more than 400 calories a day--double what he or she used to--and alone gets around 10 teaspoons of added sugar every single day from soft drinks. Swap out sweetened teas and sodas for no-cal drinks and you could lose up to 40 pounds in a single year! (To see more proof of how wayward beverages can utterly destroy your diet, check out the 20 Worst Drinks in America. Many of these drinks contain more than a day's worth of calories, sugar and fat!)

4. Practice total recall. British scientists found that people who thought about their last meal before snacking ate 30 percent fewer calories that those who didn't stop to think. The theory: Remembering what you had for lunch might remind you of how satiating the food was, which then makes you less likely to binge on your afternoon snack.

5. Eat protein at every meal. Dieters who eat the most protein tend to lose more weight while feeling less deprived than those who eat the least protein. It appears that protein is the best nutrient for jumpstarting your metabolism, squashing your appetite, and helping you eat less at subsequent meals.

6. Choose whole-grain bread. Eating whole grains (versus refined-grain or white bread) has been linked to lower risks of cancer and heart disease.

7. Think fish. Consuming two 4- to 6-ounce servings of oily fish a week will sharpen your mind. Among the best: salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, and trout. They're high in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's. Study participants who had high blood levels of DHA also performed better on noverbal reasoning tests and showed better mental flexibility, working memory, and vocabulary than those with lower levels.

8. Sign up for weight-loss e-mails. Daily e-mails (or tweets) that contain weight-loss advice remind you of your goals and help you drop pounds, researchers from Canada found. We're partial to our own Eat This, Not That! newsletter, and to the instant weight-loss secrets you'll get when you follow me on Twitter here.

9. Cut portions by a quarter. Pennsylvania State University researchers discovered that by simply reducing meal portions 25 percent, people ate 10 percent fewer calories—without feeling any hungrier. Serving yourself? Think about what looks like a reasonable portion, then take at least one-quarter less than that. (By the way, studies show today's restaurant servings are 2 to 5 times bigger than what the government recommends!)

10. Turn off the TV. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts found that people who watch TV during a meal consume, on average, 288 more calories than those who don't eat with the tube on.

11. Put your fork down when you chew. Or take a sip of water between each bite—eating slowly can boost levels of two hormones that make you feel fuller, Greek researchers found.

12. Choose rye (not wheat) bread for breakfast toast. Swedish researchers found that rye eaters were more full 8 hours after breakfast than wheat-bread eaters, thanks to rye's high fiber content and minimal effect on blood sugar. As a result you'll want to snack less and eat less for lunch.

13. Eat a handful of fruit and vegetables a day. In one study, people who ate four or five servings scored higher on cognitive tests than those who consumed less than one serving. (Remember: Salad isn't always the healthy choice. Check out 20 Salads Worse Than a Whopper to see what I mean. You'll be shocked.)

14. Sip green tea. It might help you build a strong skeleton, say researchers in China, and help protect you from broken bones when you're older. And one study found that it helps fight bad breath, too.

15. Work out before lunch or dinner. Doing so will make the meals you eat right afterward more filling, according to British researchers—meaning you'll eat fewer calories throughout the day.

16. Hung over? Choose asparagus. When South Korean researchers exposed a group of human liver cells to asparagus extract, it suppressed free radicals and more than doubled the activity of two enzymes that metabolize alcohol. That means you'll feel like yourself again twice as quickly.

17. Sleep 8 hours a night. Too much or too little shut-eye can add extra pounds, say Wake Forest University researchers. Not there yet? Try these 7 simple strategies for longer, deeper sleep.

18. Discover miso soup. Brown wakame seaweed (used in miso soup) can help lower your blood pressure, especially if your levels are already high, say researchers at the University of North Carolina.

19. Drink two glasses of milk daily. People who drink the most milk have about a 16 percent lower risk of heart disease than people who drink the least. (I recommend nonfat or 1 percent milk.)

20. Take a zinc supplement. Just 15 milligrams of zinc a day (the amount found in a Centrum Ultra multivitamin, for example) will motivate your immune cells to produce more of a protein that fights off bacterial infections.

21. Go ahead, eat your favorite foods. Good eating doesn't need to be about deprivation—it's about making smart choices. Why eat a 1,000-calorie cheeseburger if a 500-calorie burger will satisfy you just the same? The bottom line: Eat foods that you enjoy, just not too much of them.

22. Choose foods with the fewest ingredients. There are now more than 3,000 ingredients on the FDA's list of safe food additives—and any of these preservatives, artificial sweeteners and colorings and flavor enhancers could end up on your plate. Do you really know what these chemicals will do to your waistline or health? Of course not. Here's a rule of thumb: If a 7-year-old can't pronounce it, you don't want to eat it.

23. Snack on popcorn. In a 2009 study, people who ate 1 cup of microwave popcorn 30 minutes before lunch consumed 105 fewer calories at the meal. Just choose the kind without butter.

24. Or snack on walnuts. Eating a handful of walnuts each day may boost your HDL (good) cholesterol fastest, while lowering your LDL (bad) cholesterol.

25. Scramble your breakfast. People who ate eggs in the morning instead of a bagel consumed 264 fewer calories the rest of the day, according to a Saint Louis University study. That’s because protein is more filling than carbs.

By David Zinczenko, Mens Health

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Healthy Low Calorie Snacks...

Are you ever in the mood for a great snack but either don't know what you want in a reasonable amount of calories, fat, etc. or you don't know the combination of food to eat for the right nutrients... try some of these to satisfy your craving and your tickle your taste buds.

Satisfy your cravings between meals with these healthy, low-calorie snacks. Pick two treats each day (each snack is 150 calories or less).

Hummus with Pita and Peas
3 tablespoons hummus; 1/2 whole-grain pita, cut into pieces; and 1/2 cup pea pods

Strawberries with Chocolate Sauce
1 cup strawberries drizzled with 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup

Apple and Peanut Butter
1 medium apple, sliced, with 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Caramel Apple (without nuts)

Pumpernickel with Swiss Cheese
3 slices mini pumpernickel with 1 slice Swiss cheese

Oatmeal and Berries
1 packet low-sugar oatmeal topped with a handful of berries

Spiced Maple Yogurt
Spiced maple yogurt: 6 ounces plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and a dash of cinnamon

Green Tea with Cookie
Unsweetened green tea with 1 oatmeal dark-chocolate cookie, such as TLC by Kashi

Granola Bar
1 trail-mix granola bar

Beer and Nuts
12-ounce light beer and 12 pistachios

Chocolate Pudding
1 chocolate pudding cup with 1 graham-cracker square crushed and sprinkled on top

Cafe Mocha
12-ounce nonfat cafe mocha (no whipped cream)

Tomato Juice and Cheese
8-ounce V8 juice with 1 piece of string cheese

Chips and Dip
2 tablespoons low-fat spicy bean dip and 18 baked tortilla chips

Crackers with Honey Soy-Nut Butter
4 whole-grain crackers with 1 tablespoon honey soy-nut butter

Oranges with Walnuts
4-ounce mandarin-orange cup topped with 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Chocolate-Covered Soy Nuts
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 140 calories, 5g protein, 15g carbohydrate, 8g fat (4g saturated), 1g fiber

Apple and Cheese (laughing cow or low fat)
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 150 calories, 1g protein, 15g carbohydrate, 8g fat (5g saturated), 3g fiber

Chips and Guacamole (low fat)
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 152 calories, 3g protein, 17g carbohydrate, 9g fat (1g saturated), 4g fiber

Strawberries and Cream (fat free)
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 153 calories, 3g protein, 28g carbohydrate, 5g fat (3g saturated), 7g fiber

Pudding (fat free or sugar free) with Cherries
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 141 calories, 3g protein, 34g carbohydrate, 0g fat (0g saturated), 1g fiber

Coffee and Fig Newtons (2)
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 134 calories, 2g protein, 28g carbohydrate, 2g fat (0g saturated), 2g fiber

Red Grapes and Raw Almonds
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 148 calories, 4g protein, 18g carbohydrate, 8g fat (0g saturated), 2g fiber

Lemon Sorbet with Raspberries

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 140 calories, 2g protein, 34g carbohydrate, 1g fat (0g saturated), 6g fiber

Cereal (like Fiber One or a Kashi brand) and Yogurt, fat free or plain

Diet Root Beer Float, low fat ice-cream or yogurt

Healthy Cocktail
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 136 calories, 0.19g protein, 10g carbohydrate, 0g fat (0g saturated), 0.05g fiber

Ingredients
· 1.5 ounces lemon/lime vodka
· 1.5 ounces lemonade
· 1.5 ounces pomegranate juice
· 4 ounces club soda

Cheese (laughing cow) and Crackers (100% wheat)

Dark Chocolate York Peppermint Pattie

Edy's Slow Churned Double Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Partially by Fitness magazine &

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Not all Carbs are Created Equal

It’s true. A carbohydrate-rich diet can inflate appetite and girth. Low-carb diets do promote short-term weight loss, but are accompanied by some severe dangers. So what should you do? The truth is, you can have your carbs and eat them too—you just have to know how to choose them.

The Truth about Carbohydrates
* Carbohydrates are the body's ideal fuel for most functions. They supply the body with the energy needed for the muscles, brain and central nervous system. In fact, the human brain depends exclusively on carbohydrates for its energy.
* Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy products, foods made from grain products, and sweeteners such as sugar, honey, molasses, and corn syrup.
* The body converts digestible (non-fiber) carbohydrates into glucose, which our cells use as fuel. Some carbs (simple) break down quickly into glucose while others (complex) are slowly broken down and enter the bloodstream more gradually.
* During digestion, all carbohydrates are broken down into glucose before they can enter the bloodstream where insulin helps the glucose enter the body’s cells. Some glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles for future use, like fueling a workout. If there is extra glucose, the body will store it as fat.

All carbohydrates are not created equal.
There are basically three types of carbohydrates:
1. Simple carbohydrates are composed of 1 or 2 sugar units that are broken down and digested quickly.

Recent research has shown that certain simple carbohydrate foods can cause extreme surges in blood sugar levels, which also increases insulin release. This can elevate appetite and the risk of excess fat storage.

2. Complex carbohydrates (also referred to as starch) are made up of many sugar units and are found in both natural (brown rice) and refined (white bread) form. They are structurally more complex and take longer to be broken down and digested.

Complex carbohydrate foods have been shown to enter the blood stream gradually and trigger only a moderate rise in insulin levels, which stabilizes appetite and results in fewer carbohydrates that are stored as fat. Unrefined or ‘whole grain’ carbohydrates found in products like brown rice, whole wheat pasta and bran cereals are digested slowly. They contain vitamins, minerals and fiber which promote health. Fiber and nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits and beans which are carbohydrates also have many important functions for the body and are important for good health.

3. Indigestible carbohydrates are also called fiber. The body is unable to breakdown fiber into small enough units for absorption. It is therefore not an energy source for the body but does promote health in many other ways.

Simple carbs, complex carbs, and fiber are found in many foods. Some provide important nutrients that promote health while others simply provide calories that promote girth.

* Sugar, syrup, candy, honey, jams, jelly, molasses, and soft drinks contain simple carbohydrates and little if any nutrients.
* Fruits contain primarily simple carbohydrate but also valuable vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water.
* Vegetables contain varying amounts of simple and complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water.
* Legumes such as beans, peas, lentils and soybeans contain complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein.
* Milk products contain simple carbohydrates along with protein, calcium and other nutrients. * Grain products contain complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein. The amounts vary depending on the type of grain used and the amount of processing. Selecting whole grain options whenever possible is recommended.

What You Should Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring! Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. Including the appropriate amounts and types of carbohydrate-rich foods in your diet is essential for long-term health and weight loss/maintenance.

The Body’s Immediate Reaction to Very Low Carbohydrate
Diets When there is a severe deficit of carbohydrates, the body has several immediate reactions: * With no glucose available for energy, the body starts using protein from food for energy. Therefore this protein is no longer available for more important functions, such as making new cells, tissues, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies and the regulation of fluid balance.
* When carbohydrates are lacking, the body cannot burn fat in the correct way. Normally carbs combine with fat fragments to be used as energy. When carbs are not available, there is an incomplete breakdown of fat that produces a by-product called ketones. These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy.
* Due to the lack of energy and the accumulation of ketones, low-carb diets are often accompanied by nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bad breath, and dehydration.
* Because of dehydration and a lack of fiber, constipation can result.
* Exercise and fitness performance is reduced on a low-carb diet. Do not be surprised if your energy level is so low that you cannot make it through your normal workout routine.

The Long-Term Effects of Low Carbohydrate Diets
When you severely restrict carbohydrates, your consumption of protein and fat increases, which has several long-term effects:

* The risk of many cancers increases when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet.
* Protein foods are also high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to needle-like uric acid crystals in joints, causing gout.
* Kidney stones are more likely to form on high protein, ketosis-producing diets.
* Over time, high protein diets can cause a loss of calcium and lead to osteoporosis.
* The risk of heart disease is greatly increased on a low-carb diet that is high in protein, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat. A temporary reduction in cholesterol levels may be experienced, but this is common with any weight loss.

The Million Dollar Question
How do you include carbohydrates in you diet in a safe, effective, and controlled way? The “Please KISS Me” (Please Keep It So Simple for Me) plan for carbohydrate control is a wonderful tool that only contains 3 simple rules:

RULE 1: Include the following in your diet:
- Fruits: 2-4 servings daily
- Vegetables: 3-5 servings daily
-Whole grain breads, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal, and brown rice: 6-11 servings daily
- Legumes, beans and peas: 1-2 servings daily Low-fat and non-fat dairy products: 3 servings daily

RULE 2: Limit the following to less than 2 servings daily:
- Fruit Juice
- Refined and processed white flour products (bread, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, c- rackers, cereal)
- White rice
- French fries Fried vegetables

RULE 3: Eliminate the following from your diet or eat only on occasion:
- Sugary desserts, cookies, cakes, pies, candies
- Doughnuts and pastries
- Chips, cola and carbonated beverages
- Sugar, honey, syrup, jam, jelly, molasses

That’s it! A simple, effective carbohydrate-controlling plan that allows you to reap the countless benefits of complex carbohydrates and fiber while enhancing your health and maintaining a healthy weight. The long term result will be a healthy you!

By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

Friday, September 3, 2010

A Light and Healthy Labor Day Bash

Throw a fabulous end-of-summer party with minimal effort and minimal calories. Our expert shares her ideas for ushering in the fall in easy, low-cal style.

Homemade barbecue, creamy side salads and decadent desserts don't have to add on the pounds this Labor Day. Heed our advice, and you can serve your guests healthful dishes with minimal effort. After all, you shouldn't have to labor all day on Labor Day.

The "un"-Labor Day
You can prepare a feast for your friends and family without sweating it out in the kitchen. Jackie Newgent, RD, a culinary instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, suggests some fabulous ways to make light and healthy party fare with ease.

Easy, breezy preparation ideas
Start early"A lot of recipes can be prepared ahead of time," says Newgent, who points out that ground meats can be flavored and formed into patties and then stored in the freezer until ready to use. Crisp vegetables, like carrots and celery, can be cut up a day in advance and stored in the fridge in containers with a tiny bit of water.

Look for shortcuts
Instead of shredding cabbage for your coleslaw, consider buying a pre-shredded slaw mix. You can also buy a reduced-fat graham cracker piecrust instead of baking your own.

Read recipes for preparation hints
Some recipes, or parts of recipes, can be made in advance and the food can then be frozen or refrigerated. Read recipe intros and the entire instruction list for clues before deciding on a menu, Newgent advises.

Marinate, marinate, marinate
Don't get up at the crack of dawn to whip up sauces and thread your kebabs. Make or buy a low-cal marinade, then let your kebabs, meats or fish soak up its flavor overnight in the fridge.

Simple service with flair
Opt for serving platters with unique color and style
Plaids, flowers, polka dots, even a bright shade of blue can turn an ordinary dish into something spectacular. So can a large square plate topped with burgers or a star-painted basket filled with rolls. "Mix and match," encourages Newgent.

Garnish away, fat-free
Sprinkle chopped herbs around a serving platter, present meats on a bed of greens or top off a dish with freshly grated zest if it already contains that flavor (for example, sprinkle lime zest over a Mexican dish that contains lime juice).

Get clever with condiments
Decorate a Mexican dish with dollops of fat-free sour cream or salsa. Or, says Newgent, decorate the rim of a burger plate with dots of mustard and ketchup.

Lighter Recipes:

Grilled Corn
Ingredients:
1 ½ T fresh lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp table salt
4 piece(s) corn on the cob, husked

Directions:
- Preheat grill to medium
- In a cup, stir together lime juice and zest, chili powder and salt; brush over husked corn.
- Grill corn until tender and lightly charred, turning once or twice, about 10 min.


Tropical Chicken with Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
6 T fresh lime juice
3 T ginger root, fresh, minced
6 T apricot preserves
6 T soy sauce
1 lbs uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz pieces
1 large sweet potato(es), scrubbed and sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds

Instructions:
- Preheat grill
- In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, ginger, preserves and soy sauce. Set aside ½ of marinade. Add chicken to remaining marinade, cover and refridgerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours, turning chicken occasionally.
- Grill sweet potato slices until tender, about 8 min., brushing with reserved marinade as they cook. At the same time, grill chicken until firm and cooked through, about 4 to 5 min. per side.


Mixed Berry Crumble

Ingredients:
2 cups blueberries
2 cups raspberries
¾ cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups unpacked light brown sugar
1/3 lbs butter, melted (1 stick)

Instructions:
- Preheat oven 350
- Place berries in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, combine flower and sugar. Remove 3 T of flour mixture and gently toss with berries. Place berries in an 8 inch square pan.
- To make topping, add melted butter to remaining flour mixture; combine well. Crumble little bits of topping all over top of berries. Bake until berries just start to bubble, about 35 to 40 min. Cut into 8 pieces; serve warm or at room temperature.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

By weightwatchers.com

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Stop Emotional Eating Before It Starts

De-Stress in 3 Minutes or Less

What is the single, most common problem that most dieters face when trying to lose weight? Will power? Nah. Temptation? Sometimes. Emotional eating? Bingo! That’s why it takes so much more than good intentions and information about nutrition and exercise to be successful. The ability to manage difficult situations and feelings effectively—without turning to food and eating—is a necessary foundation for a successful weight loss plan and healthy lifestyle.

Fortunately, there are many proactive steps you can take to keep functioning on all your mental cylinders during tough times. These steps range widely from basic relaxation techniques to the development of a reliable support network. Other options include:

* Keeping a food journal to help you identify your emotional eating triggers
* Cultivating mental and emotional well-being through practices like meditation, mindfulness, massage, and yoga
* Developing good problem solving skills
* Turning to the Message Boards for help and support when you need it; offering help to others as a way to get your mind off your own troubles and gain a little perspective on things

But all of these things take time, and there are many instances when you need something you can do right now, to keep yourself grounded, focused and able to make good decisions. After all, you don’t always have time to take a walk, relax in a hot bath or call a friend to talk things over. That’s what we’ll be talking about here—a 3-minute trick for handling stressful situations in the moment.

Minute 1: Stay Grounded
Emotional eating happens when you lose your connection to your grounded self. Stress itself is not what makes you reach for something to eat. In fact, stress is often a good thing and your grounded self knows this! We need the physical stress of exercise to keep our bodies in good shape just as we need the stress of intellectual and emotional challenges to keep our minds healthy.

Nine times out of ten, what really leads to emotional eating is getting caught in a "mind storm" of worst-case scenarios, projections, misinterpretations, and all the emotional overreactions that come with these thoughts. This "storm" turns a manageable challenge into something that makes you feel helpless, overwhelmed, ashamed or afraid—and sends you to the kitchen to find something to stuff those extreme feelings. When you can stay grounded in the moment of stress, you have many more options.

Here are some simple ideas to keep you grounded when something (or someone) pushes your buttons and your feelings start to spiral out of control:

* Take a few deep breaths. (You can also count to 10, if that helps.) If the stressful situation involves someone else, take a timeout and agree to continue the discussion in a few minutes.

* Remind yourself where you are. Take a look around, noticing and naming the colors and shapes in the space around you.

* Notice the physical sensations you are experiencing. Whether it's a sinking feeling, turmoil in your stomach, tension in your hands or jaw, restricted breathing, or heat on the back of your neck, try to name the feelings that go with the sensation. Is that sinking feeling fear, or dread? Is the heat a symptom of anger?

The idea here is to stay in your body and in the moment—with what’s real—instead of going inside your mind where all those unreal scenarios are just waiting to get spun out-of-control.

Minute 2: Reality Check
Once you’re calm enough to start thinking productively, put all those thoughts that are clamoring for attention inside your head through a quick reality check. Here are several very common thought patterns that have no place in reality. Do any of these apply to you?

All or nothing thinking
Example: You go over your calorie limit or eat something on your “forbidden” list, and then decide to keep eating because you’ve already “blown it” for today. Reality: Weight loss is not a one-day event. If you stop overeating now, you’ll gain less and have less to re-lose later. That’s something to feel good about!

Reading your own thoughts into someone else’s words
Example: Someone made a mildly critical or unsupportive remark to you, and you feel completely devastated. Reality: The more bothered you are by such remarks, the more likely it is that you are being overly critical of yourself. When you treat yourself with respect, what others say won’t matter nearly so much.

Either-Or thinking
Example: You make a mistake or have a bad day and feel like a complete and hopeless failure. Reality: No one does well all the time. Mistakes are a necessary and valuable opportunity to learn—if you don’t waste them by getting down on yourself.

Taking care of other people’s business
Example: Something is going badly for someone you care about, and you feel responsible, or pressured to fix it. Reality: People need to learn from their own problems. You aren’t doing anyone a favor by trying to fix things just to make yourself feel better.

Minute 3: Putting Things in Perspective
Most common problems that you face in everyday life are much easier to handle when you keep them in perspective and avoid making mountains out of molehills. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to make sure you aren’t in the mountain-making business:

* How big a deal is this, anyway? If I knew I was going to die in a week, would this be something I would want to spend this minute of my remaining time on?
* Will any bad things happen if I postpone thinking about this until I have more time to figure things out?
* Do I have all the information I need to decide how to respond to this? Do I really know what’s going on here, or am I making assumptions? Am I worrying about things that might not even happen? What do I need to check out before taking action?
* Is there anything I can do right now that will change or help this situation?
* Am I trying to control something I can't, like what other people think, say, or do?
* Have I really thought through this problem, and broken it down into manageable pieces I can handle one-at-a-time?

Use this approach whenever your thoughts or situations begin to feel overwhelming, and you'll quickly find that the mountains that seem impossible at first can quickly morph into what they really are—manageable hills that you DO have the ability to climb. All it takes is three little minutes of your time.

By Dean Anderson, Behavioral Psychology Expert, sparkpeople

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Is Your Diet Making You Fat?

A Dieting Mentality Can Lead to Problems

A healthy lifestyle is an ideal that we all strive for. Eat right, exercise regularly, get enough sleep. It seems pretty simple, right? But, we all know that it's much more complicated than a few simple words. While you might be successful in one area, like meeting your diet goals during the week, you can easily fall short in another by not exercising regularly. If you're still in "diet" mode, temporarily changing your habits just until you reach your goal, then one of these dieting dilemmas could be preventing your from reaching your goals - and achieving a permanent, healthy lifestyle. Your diet might be making (or keeping) you fat if

you fail on the weekends. You strive to eat well and hit the gym throughout the week, but once you leave work on Friday evening, all bets are off. Weekends should definitely be used for unwinding and relaxing, but be careful not to go overboard and cancel out all of the hard work you put in during the week. One weekend of overeating, overdrinking, and under-exercising can easily undo the healthy diet and exercise program you followed for five days, stalling your progress towards your goals.

Instead, view weekends as a chance to do the things that you enjoy and spend quality time with your family and friends. “Weekends” should not be synonymous with calorie splurges or alcohol binges. Use your free time constructively: plan your menu for the upcoming week, design a new workout routine, take your time grocery shopping, and read your favorite health magazine. Try cooking up a big batch of healthy meals on Sunday that you can eat without much fuss during the week.

Take advantage of your time away from work to get outside and be active. Weekends are the perfect time to play tennis, go on a walk or work in your yard. Get your kids and other loved ones involved as well; weekends are YOUR time to enjoy physical activity—without watching the clock or keeping a strict schedule!

…you make exercise excuses. No doubt, it's difficult to make exercise a priority in your life. Perhaps you had an extra busy week and didn't have a spare moment to get the gym. Soon thereafter, that exercise-free week turned into two, then three weeks and so on. Exercise can help you reach your weight loss goals much faster than dieting alone. Plus, strength training builds lean muscle that fires up your metabolism so you burn more calories all day long. Are you really “too busy” to include even a little exercise, a few times a week, or are your priorities elsewhere? Taking a 10-minute walk IS better than no exercise at all. Anything that gets your heart rate up and blood flowing is a good start.

…you don’t care where calories come from, as long as you are under your goal. It’s easy (and important) to focus on the calories, but you should also focus on the quality of foods your calories are coming from, as well as meeting other nutrient goals. There is a huge difference between eating 400 calories of chocolate for lunch and enjoying a 400-calorie salad, loaded with leafy greens, beans, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers. For one, the salad will fill you up longer, and boost your protein, fiber, vitamin, mineral, and health-enhancing phytochemical intakes. Chocolate, on the other hand, will leave you hungry for the same number of calories.

Make sure you get the most out of what you are eating. If you eat too many high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, you're more likely to overeat and less likely to meet your body's nutritional needs. This increases your risk of lifestyle diseases related to diet, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and osteoporosis. Think about the sources of your calories as you plan out your daily menu.

…you starve during the day and gorge during the evening. You might think that eating as little as possible throughout the day will help you lose weight. Perhaps you skip breakfast altogether and only eat a small snack during the day. But if you don't fuel your body regularly throughout the day, you're more likely to binge in the evening—at dinner and into the late evening. Plus, without adequate nutrition all day, your metabolism will wane, and slow, making your energy levels low and weight loss even harder.

Instead, space out your meals and snacks evenly throughout the day. Always start with breakfast, which is proven to help people lose weight, and enjoy a good balance of nutrients—lean protein, whole grains or unprocessed carbohydrates (fruits for example), and healthy fats like nuts—every time you eat. Eating at regular intervals will keep your energy high and your metabolism boosted while warding off hunger.

…you go "off" your diet on special occasions. This is a very slippery slope once you step onto it. An extra drink for a friend's birthday, a high-fat dessert at your co-worker's retirement party, and pretty soon, you view almost every "special occasion" as a way to justify overindulging in excess calories. You enjoy these special treats so often that you're "off" your diet again, eating everything with a last supper mentality until you're ready to re-start your diet next week, next month, or next year.

Be careful. One key to a healthy lifestyle is moderation, and moderation means setting limits, applying portion control, and making choices based on long-term health goals, not immediate gratification. If you know that you have a family picnic (i.e. unhealthy food fest) coming up, do your best to maintain your healthy eating and exercise habits in the days prior to it. Go on an extra walk or make an extra trip the gym. Make sure that you eat a balanced breakfast the day of the event, and consider eating a healthy meal before you arrive so that your hunger won't tempt you to overindulge. It’s okay to enjoy yourself and to celebrate important events in your friends’ lives, as well as your own. Make your friends and experiences the center of these occasions—not the food.

When you're "on a diet" excuses like these make it easy to go off of it. After all, you just go back on again once you're done having your fun. Forget the "diets" and start going on a "healthy lifestyle" instead.

-- By Liz Noelcke, Staff Writer, sparkpeople