FitSugar

Healthy Holiday Eating: Keep a Food Journal

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:22 PST

If the thought of decadent holiday food is stressing you out already, take control and try keeping track of your holiday eating with a food journal. It seems simple, but by writing down what you're eating throughout the day, you'll develop a real awareness of what you're putting in your body. A treat here and there, if you're not keeping track, can feel like it's no big deal, but writing it down will give you a real record of what you've eaten and make it easier to judge if you really do want dessert.

As a trial, test out how food journaling works for you over Thanksgiving, and if it seems to boost your healthy eating habits, keep it going through Christmas and the New Year. Plus, you can make it even easier to keep track by using your phone to journal, or if you decide to get into it, pick up one of these inconspicuous little journals or try an iPhone app. You might just find that this is a health trick you want to stick with.

Holiday Diet Tip: Don't Skip Breakfast Before a Big Dinner

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:00:54 PST

Christmas is almost here, and many of you are gearing up for gifts, time with the fam, and that enormous Christmas dinner. It may seem like a great idea to forgo breakfast to save room for your decadent evening meal, but it's not a good strategy for a few reasons. Not only will you feel exhausted and too crabby to socialize, but avoiding breakfast will also slow down your metabolism. To compensate for the calories you didn't consume, your body will conserve them, so you'll actually end up burning fewer calories. If you skip your first meal, you'll be starving by the time dinner rolls around, so you could end up devouring way more calories than you otherwise would.

Research also shows that eating breakfast reduces your risk of heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart failure. So do your body good by enjoying a hearty meal first thing in the morning. Choose foods that are high in protein, low in saturated fat, and full of fiber. Yogurt, high fiber cereal, oatmeal, and vegetable omelets are great choices.

Source

Healthy Holiday Recipe: Sweet Potato and Carrot Latkes

FitSugar — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:00:00 PST

Since many of you are celebrating Hanukkah this week, I wanted to share a twist on my favorite latke recipe. I know oil is a huge part of the tradition, but drenching potatoes in a ton of oil isn't exactly the healthiest thing for you, so check out this recipe. It doesn't involve any deep-frying, and mixes grated carrots with sweet potatoes.

To see how I make a healthier version of this Hanukkah favorite

5 Easy Ways to Clean Up Your Diet Now

Heather Dale — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:53:32 PST

What better time than the present to assess your diet and start making some healthy changes? Choosing to eat a cleaner diet can give you more energy, strengthen your immune system, and even help shed those pesky holiday pounds. Here are a handful of ways to get your diet back on track with a clean makeover.

Tell Us: Are You Going on a Detox?

Leta Shy — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:08:08 PST

I'll admit, I went a bit overboard during the holidays. Faced with table after table of homemade treats, it was hard to say no. So January has been a welcome reprieve from all the sugar I consumed during all of the festivities. Now, it's all about less refined sugars, lots of salads, and plenty of water.

For many of you, a new year may mean detoxing as well. That can be anything from making sure you are eating foods that help get your body back on track (if you're curious, here are 10 detoxing foods to introduce into your diet) to making sure you make this cleansing green drink recipe once a day. Whatever your healthy eating plan of choice, have you decided to detox this month? What ways are you using to cleanse?

5 Reasons to Go on a Cleanse

Leta Shy — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:05:31 PST

Feeling tired, bloated, and lethargic from the holidays? Many people think going on a cleanse in January is a good post-party solution for dropping unwanted pounds fast. But going on an elimination diet - where you remove certain foods, like anything with gluten, dairy, caffeine, and alcohol and focus on eating only fresh, whole foods - is more than about fitting into smaller jeans. While all-juice cleanses can be calorie restricting, a proper elimination diet ensures you eat enough of these nutritious foods to stay healthy (read more about what to expect on an elimination diet here). So if it's not about weight loss, why should you cleanse? Read on for reasons to try an elimination diet!

Healthy Dose Link Time: Resolutions That Aren't About Weight Loss

Susi May — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:12:14 PST

Healthy resolutions that have nothing to do with weight loss - Huff Po
Five yoga poses to detox your liver post-holiday season - Blisstree
Goodbye holiday music! Revamp your workout playlist now - Shape
Plate up with these superfoods for Winter weight loss - Health
Take a tutorial on the single leg bench sit and work it! - Peanut Butter Fingers
The skinny (and hours and cost) on becoming a yoga instructor - Yoga Journal
Ten ways to squeeze in a workout - Fit Bottomed Girls
Losing weight isn't always about eating less - Daily Spark

Don't Lick the Spoon! Holiday Baking Tips to Prevent Illness

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:38:56 PST

It's holiday baking time! But before you whip up all those fruitcakes and homemade Christmas cookies, keep these tips in mind to prevent the stomachache of food-borne illness and the headache of chemicals in foods.

Don't Lick the Spoon
Spritz cookies with a side of salmonella? Sounds like the worst holiday ever. Prevent a horrible bout of food poisoning this season by resisting the gooey, sugary raw cookie dough. One in 10,000 eggs may be contaminated with salmonella inside the egg shell, so it's just not worth the health risk. The same goes for ready-to-bake dough purchased at the grocery store. Recent news linked the 2009 E. coli outbreak to consuming prepackaged cookie dough, reinforcing the importance of baking batter to kill unwanted pathogens.

Keep reading to find out two more tips to stay healthy while baking this holiday season.

Fitness Tips: Healthy Eating For the Holidays

Zelana Montminy — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:59:20 PST

‘Tis the season for holidays parties, and with the festivities come a myriad of tasty treats. But you don't have to resist every temptation to keep a healthy diet. With just five fit tips, we'll show you how to eat smart while you celebrate. Eat a healthy snack before a party, be choosy with your sweets, and B.Y.O.B: Bring Your Own Broccoli! When making your contribution to a party, opt for a veggie platter rather than a cookie tray. But no matter your strategy, enjoy yourself!

10 Foods to Help You Detox

Michele Foley — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:48:03 PST

This holiday season, I went a little overboard and am now feeling the urge to eat clean. Since most detox diets are usually calorie-deprivation diets in disguise, I steer clear of them, but I still think that there are natural ways to get your body back on track. Exercise, cutting out alcohol and refined sugars, and eating a healthy diet does wonders. A little extra help doesn't hurt either.

Here are ten healthy foods with natural cleansing properties. Include them in your next meal and get rid of that extra junk left over from the big feast.