FitSugar

You Asked: Rude Comments While Running Outside

FitSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:00:00 PDT

Dear Fit,
I just started running and am quickly becoming addicted. I'm not exactly thin (which is why I started running), and just about every time I head out for a run, I hear rude comments from people on the street. People scream out of cars, from their porches, and I've even heard little kids yell from the school bus. They say hurtful things such as, "Run, fatty, run," and "Are you running to McDonald's?" It's not just the comments, it's the stares too. I can't afford to join a gym, but this makes me not want to run outside. What should I do?
-Hurt but Determined Debbie

First of all, I think it is great that you have started running. I have found it the most convenient and effective form of exercise for weight loss. You have decided to do something healthy for yourself and should be applauded for your effort. I think it is really a shame that people are so disrespectful to you. I'm sure many of our readers can also relate to impolite or downright offensive comments from others. I have some suggestions, though. To hear them

Eat Cake For Breakfast and Lose Weight, Study Says

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:21:52 PST

If your insatiable sweet tooth is preventing you from losing weight, findings from a recent study may be just the thing to help you slim down. Researchers found those who ate a large breakfast that included something sweet lost weight and were able to keep off more pounds than those who ate a small breakfast.

A group of 193 obese adults (not a huge study) were split into two groups. One ate a large, 600-calorie breakfast that included a sweet item such as a cookie, cake, or doughnut. The other group ate a 300-calorie breakfast with no dessert. Both groups ate the same amount of calories daily: 1,600 for men and 1,400 for women.

Keep reading to find out more details about cake and weight loss.

3 Ways Snacks Can Help You Lose Weight

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:09:19 PST

You might think snack time is just for preschoolers, but everyone can benefit from eating a few bites between meals. Aside from filling nutritional holes in your diet, snacking can also help you on your road to weight loss. If the numbers on the scale are on your mind, here are three ways snacking can help you lose weight.

Snacks Keep Blood Sugar Levels Steady
If you've ever gone too long between meals and have gotten a headache, the shakes, and a loss of concentration, then you've felt firsthand what it's like to have low blood sugar. Snacking between meals keeps blood sugar levels steady, which can help prevent you from grabbing the first (unhealthy) thing you can get your hands on and overindulging.

Fiber Fills You Up
Choosing snacks that are full of water and belly-filling fiber will help keep you full longer, so you actually eat less in the long run. Fruits, veggies, and whole-grain breads are great options, and if you need more ideas, here are 10 high-fiber snacks under 150 calories.

No More Overeating
You eat lunch around noon and dinner isn't until 6 p.m. or later. No wonder you hit the dinner table feeling so ravenous that you stuff yourself silly. Now if you enjoyed a pear with some almonds around 3 p.m., you'd avoid that famished feeling and have the patience to prepare a healthy, sensibly sized meal. It works the other way, too. If you're eating a meal and you know you'll be enjoying a snack in two hours or so, you won't feel the need to overeat at mealtime.

A Doctor Dishes: Which "Superfoods" Are Worth the Cost?

LearnVest — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:15:00 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Most people you speak to these days are trying to stretch every dollar as far as possible - even the ones they spend buying apples and oranges.

Food prices are expected to increase yet again this year, and food manufacturers are making portions smaller without reducing prices. Not surprisingly, a recent Rasmussen poll found that 93 percent of adults report paying more for groceries now than they did a year ago.

So how can we supercharge our grocery dollars and get them to do overtime for us?

Yes, some foods are obviously a better nutritional deal than others (think apples vs. potato chips), but there’s another class of foods that blows the rest of the field away in terms of nutrients and health-protecting qualities: superfoods.

Superfoods can help prevent diabetes and heart disease, repair damage to your body’s cells, and more. But before you go piling them into your cart, know that some superfoods are better nutritional bargains than others. As a doctor and a mom, I’ve sleuthed out which ones are worth the extra cost in terms of their long-term health benefits. Below is the scoop on which ones may help you age better, ward off cancer, and more.

What to Know Before Buying Superfoods

Before we dive into what to buy, there are a few important things to remember about consuming these foods:

Eating foods fresh and in their natural state, especially fruits and vegetables (rather than in pill or powder supplement form), usually allows us to absorb the greatest amount of their nutrients. The way a superfood is processed or cooked can significantly lower its antioxidant content.
If the superfood can’t be eaten fresh, look for easy and appetizing recipes containing it. No matter how “super” a superfood may be, if you don’t know how to cook it, you’ll probably let it go to waste.

Are Superfoods "Good Buys" If I’m Shopping on a Budget?

Read on to find out.

Reese Witherspoon Works Out Just to Stay Healthy

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:43:11 PST

At 36, Reese Witherspoon always looks amazing. Strong, sculpted, lean, yet feminine. How does Reese do it? She told Us Weekly:

"I work out all the time anyway just to stay healthy. I don't believe in crash dieting or anything like that."

From yoga sessions to running, this Oscar-winning actress loves to get her sweat on. Regular exercise offers a slew of health benefits, including improved sleep, increased energy and brain function, a happier mood, a stronger immune system, and prevention of health issues like heart disease and diabetes. But not everyone loves exercise, and some just use it as a weight-loss tool. What about you?

Weight Loss Rules You're Allowed to Break

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:58:49 PST

If you love to eat, losing weight can seem so structured, you immediately get frustrated and grab the first decadent food you can find. Even though there are some very specific guidelines that can help you reach your goal faster, there's no one-size-fits-all weight-loss plan for everyone. Here are five rules you can bend and still drop pounds from the scale.

No Cheesecake, Wine, or French Fries
While dessert, alcohol, and fried foods tend to be high in calories, just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean you have to live without the foods you adore. Actually, denying yourself the bites you crave can backfire, causing you to feel deprived, resulting in bingeing. You can't eat these foods all the time, but it's perfectly healthy to enjoy a few spoonfuls of ice cream or a small glass of chardonnay every once in a while. Just limit your portion sizes and only indulge about once a week.

Salad, Every Day
Salads aren't for everyone, and the dissatisfied feeling you get afterward could cause you to head to the nearest pizza joint. Plus salad toppings can really add up. When a bowl of greens is covered in candied walnuts, cheese, dried cranberries, avocado, and creamy dressing, a seemingly healthy salad can run higher in calories than a burger. If you're not into a bowl of raw veggies, choose other low-calorie meals that incorporate veggies such as sandwiches, broth-based soups, grilled veggies, and whole-grain salads. You have to enjoy the foods you're eating in order to stick with a healthy meal plan.

Keep reading to find out three more diet rules you can break and still lose weight.

Your Run Burned How Many Calories?

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:13:27 PST

Whether you run on a treadmill and glance at the display, or keep track of your run outside with a device, it's nice to know how many calories you're burning, especially if weight loss is one of your goals.

Here's a nifty chart to let you know what your pace and workout time translates to in calories burned. It can also help you figure out how intensely and how long you need to exercise in order to negate the cupcake you savored at lunch.

Do you know how many calories you burn after a moderate 20-minute jog at a pace of 10 minutes per mile? Find out when you after the break.

Healthy Dose Link Time: Zooey Deschanel's "Weird" Body Image

Susi May — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:35:15 PST

Zooey Deschanel says her normal body is a bit weird in Hollywood - Blisstree
Scale up! A healthy approach to dropping two pounds a week - Self
The best energy bar for your nutritional needs and taste buds - Real Simple
A new way to cut your workout time in half - Health
Harness the power of yoga to rev up your weight loss efforts - Prevention
Go international: what's considered health food in Asia and Europe - HuffPost Healthy Living
Get ready to run 13.1 miles in eight weeks - Carrots' n' Cake
Yoga helped Charlize Theron give up the smokes - Mind Body Green

3 Things to Monitor During Every Workout

Leta Shy — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:03:02 PST

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.

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.

4 Things I Wish I'd Known at the Start of My Weight Loss Journey

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:54:39 PST

No stranger to the Freshman 15 in college, in fact, I experienced something closer to the Freshman 30. It wasn't until I saw a photo of myself heading into my sophomore year that I realized I was carrying quite a few extra pounds and that it was time to do something about it. It took me a very long time to lose the weight (we're talking not until after graduation), all because I thought I knew what I was doing. Boy was I wrong. Here are four things I wish I had known at the start of my weight loss journey.

You Can't Eat Peanut Butter Out of the Jar
While peanut butter is full of heart-healthy fats, it's not void of calories - one tablespoon contains 105. I found myself spooning it straight out of the jar, wondering why my jeans weren't any looser. This is important to remember with all healthy foods: just because they aren't considered junky, doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want. Be aware of portion sizes when it comes to whole grains, nuts, seeds, and health food store snacks.

Keep reading to find out what else I wish I had known about weight loss.