Calories

Maintaining a workout routine can be mostly about having the motivation to get up and get out. Even so, you should also have a plan for what you should watch out for while you're sweating. To get the most of your workout, make sure that you're monitoring these stats while you exercise.

1. Heart rate: You should monitor your heart rate so that you are reaching your cardio goals, such as the right level of intensity in your workouts. It also helps to know what your max heart rate is so that you don't continuously overwork yourself — you should normally be working out at 60 to 90 percent of your heart rate unless you are sprinting or otherwise doing interval training. If you don't want to invest in a heart rate monitor, you'll have to do the math to find out your heart rate manually. Just make sure you're using the newer formula for determining your maximum heart rate; the old school "220 minus your age" formula isn't optimized for women. Learn how to calculate your maximum heart rate more accurately.

Read on for more stats you should be monitoring with every workout.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Only 12 percent of Americans can estimate the calories they eat in a day! Find out why we're so clueless and get easy ways to stop calorie confusion
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

You know what calories are, and you probably know that if you eat too many, you'll gain weight. But do you know how many are in your favorite deli sandwich? Or how many calories you should really eat each day? Most Americans don’t. Only 12 percent can accurately estimate the number of calories they should consume in a day someone their age, height, weight, and physical activity, according to a 2010 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation. So what is it about calories that keeps us baffled? Last month, we shared some reasons you might be confused about calories — here are four more and the simple steps that will help you do the math.

1. Exercise makes you hungry
Though studies are mixed when it comes to whether exercise actually stimulates or suppresses appetite, many people think of working out as a way to eat whatever they like. "There’s definitely a mentality of 'I have sweated therefore I deserve,'" says Bonci. However, with most people burning about 100 calories per mile, a short workout won't give you a free pass to eat junk food. "If you walk two miles, eating a handful of chips post-workout can undo the calories you burned," says Bonci. As mentioned above, gym machines don’t accurately measure calories burned, either.

Stop the confusion: To stop an after-workout binge, fuel up pre-gym, Zied suggests. "Have something before — something with carbs and a little protein, like whole wheat toast and peanut butter or a banana and milk." Depending on the intensity of your workout, you may need something afterward as well. After a workout longer than 45 minutes, you should aim to eat about 200 calories.

Tips to Stop Overeating After Workouts

2. Liquid calories are ignored
"People are spending hundreds of calories on beverages each day," says Zied. Unfortunately, a lot of those calories are from sugar-sweetened drinks and alcohol, not milk and 100 percent fruit juice. According to a 2007 study, beverage intake accounted for roughly 12 percent of total calories in 1965 and steadily increased to 21 percent in 2002 — that's 222 extra calories a day from drinks alone! Because bottled drinks often contain multiple servings, it’s best to either pour a serving in a glass or look for mini soda cans and juice boxes.

Keep reading for more info about calories and weight loss after the break.

There are tons of diets claiming that focusing on protein is the key to weight loss — either eating more or less of it can help you shed pounds fast. But a new study has found that weight loss may be less about how much protein you eat than how much you eat overall.

The study, released this week in JAMA, followed 25 participants closely for 10 to 12 weeks who all stayed in a hospital for monitoring. The volunteers were first fed a "weight-stabilizing diet" for up to four weeks, and then later fed a high-calorie diet about 1,000 calories over their previous meal plans. During the period they were overfed, the participants were split into three groups and put on either a low-protein, normal-protein, or high-protein diet.

Find out how much each group gained and why you shouldn't always focus on just protein intake after the break.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Only 12 percent of Americans can estimate the calories they eat in a day! Find out why we're so clueless and get easy ways to stop calorie confusion.
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

You know what calories are, and you probably know that if you eat too many, you’ll gain weight. But do you know how many are in your favorite deli sandwich? Or how many calories you should really eat each day? Most Americans don’t. Only 12% can accurately estimate the number of calories they should consume in a day someone their age, height, weight, and physical activity, according to a 2010 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation. So what is it about calories that keeps us baffled? Here are 8 reasons you’re confused about calories and the simple steps that will help you do the math.

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1. Portions Sizes Are Out of Control
You’ve all heard about the rapidly expanding serving sizes of restaurant and fast food portions, but just how bad are they? Portions sizes in restaurants may contain double or triple the calories of home-cooked meals, and studies show eating out is associated with a higher BMI. Unfortunately, those portions affect our waistlines. When there’s more food on the plate, people eat more—up to 30% more, according to an analysis of several studies.

Stop the confusion: Use this cheat sheet of portion sizes. We know it’s hard to look at your plate as decks of cards, tennis balls, and all the other, so start by measuring out your food servings at home and take a good look at what a half-cup of pasta looks like. Until the serving sizes are engrained in your brain, when dining out, aim to eat half of your meal, saving the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Comfort Food That’s Actually Good for You

2. Serving Sizes Are Deceiving
"There really aren’t standard serving sizes for packaged foods, which makes them confusing," explains Elisa Zied, RD, author Nutrition at Your Fingertips. She gives the example of cereal. A standard serving size of breakfast cereal is approximately 50 g, but depending on the cereal, that could mean a cup and a half of flakes or half a cup of heartier granola. Depending on the type of cereal you’re eating, just eyeing how much you put in the bowl, like most people do, can lead to inaccurate calorie counts.

Not only that, but larger-than-life snack foods may seem like single servings even though they often contain two to three servings per packet. Buy a 16-ounce bottled Coca-Cola, and the nutrition label reads 100 calories . . . for one of the two servings in the bottle. Drink the whole thing, as many people do, and you’re really getting 200 calories. Eat the whole bag of Austin Zoo Animal Crackers, commonly found in office vending machines, and you’re getting 230 calories, nearly two servings, instead of just one.

Keep reading to learn even more about calories!

Calories in, calories out — it's not so much that it's confusing, but that it can be hard to keep track of it all. What if, instead, nutritional labels did all the work for you, by including the amount of exercise it would take to burn off all those calories in the food?

A new study found that when teenagers were shown just how many minutes of exercise it takes to burn off a can of soda, the number of people who reached for the sodas fell by 50 percent. In fact, the teens were less likely to buy the sodas if they were shown a sign saying that it would take 50 minutes of exercise to burn one can of soda off than if they were shown a sign that told them that the sodas were each 250 calories.

Thinking in terms of your workout can be an effective way of practicing healthy eating. After all, if you know how much sweat and energy it takes to burn 300 calories, you may be less likely to mindlessly reach for the office candy jar while you work.

Does calculating calories in terms of how much you exercise work for you?

When I first signed up with my personal trainer I also started counting calories to log into a food journal. Three days in, and I realized that I wouldn't be able to maintain it. Counting every calorie not only proved time-consuming, but mind-consuming as well — instead of enjoying what I was eating, I felt like I was thinking more about just how many calories I'd be knocking off my daily limit.

Not everyone has the same experience when they count calories, of course, and many people find that doing so is a simple and effective way to keep their weight in check (Kate Hudson is a fan of counting calories). But if you find that it's too hard, there are many other ways to keep calories in check without feeling like you're obsessing over them.

Choosing slow-digesting fiber-rich fruits and vegetables or whole grain instead of starchy carbs, for one, will help you feel full longer. And portion sizes are important, too. Big, loaded plates mean more calories, so make sure you know what a portion of meat or carbs should really be (learn more about portion sizes here), and use a smaller plate so you're not tempted to overfill. And whenever you are eating prepared foods, make sure to take a good look at the nutritional label. Not sure how to read one? Here are tips on what to look for when reading a nutrition label.

Are you a calorie counter, or do you like to focus on eating healthy instead? Whatever your strategy, share your tips below!