FitSugar

Would You Consider Back Fat Surgery?

FitSugar — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:30:00 -0700

We all have those little areas on our bodies that we'd like to change. Some people turn to dieting, some people exercise, and others consider plastic surgery. If back fat is your enemy, there's a new surgery known as the bra-line back lift designed to get rid of those bumps and rolls of skin on your back, sort of like a face lift or tummy tuck. Go in with rolls and leave with smoother, even skin.

It's not so much designed for slightly overweight people who carry their fat on their backs; it's more for people who've lost an extreme amount of weight or who have saggy skin from aging or too much sun exposure. After the surgery, you're left with a scar that a bra or bathing suit would hide. The procedure will run you from $7,500 to $10,000, so a flat back doesn't come cheap. Tell me . . .

Source

Back Fat

FitSugar — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 07:30:00 -0800

Worried about back fat? No matter where it is, fat is fat and one of the only ways to get rid of fat is by burning more calories than you consume. Then, to start building muscle tone you can also do back exercises. So while you get in the groove of burning more calories a quick fix for back fat: Stand up straight. When you stand up straight, you look about 10 pounds lighter.

FitSugar Roundup

FitSugar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:50:03 -0800

You can go easy on the butter in your mashed potatoes when you use Yukon Gold spuds.
New Moon star Nikki Reed says hiking with her boyfriend is her fitness secret.
How well do you know the calorie counts of Starbucks's holiday drinks?
Worried about falling off the healthy wagon? Here are eight ways to get back on track.
I'm curious to know how many days a week you work out.
Ashlee Simpson-Wentz firmly believes in taco night and baby weights.
If you're starting to strength train, check out this guide to beginning weights for lifting.
Learn just how long you need to exercise in order to burn off a slice of T-day pumpkin pie.
I have some great gift ideas for the healthy cook in your life.
Learn a bit more about the fat-burning zone.

Healthy T-Day Dessert: Pumpkin-Carrot Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting

FitSugar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:30:05 -0800

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and my love of all things pumpkin is hardly waning. From yogurt to muffins, I relish this tasty flavor of Fall. If you're looking for a pumpkin pie alternative, these pumpkin-carrot bars are delish. The bit of cream cheese frosting adds a deceptive element of decadence.

Low in calories while remaining full of flavor, these pumpkin bars make a great dessert - perfect for potlucks (much easier to share with large groups than pies) and they're relatively guilt-free. They're high in vitamin A - and trust me you cannot even taste the shredded carrot - and a bar only contains 70 calories and less than two grams of fat. With nutritional stats like that, it's OK to go back for seconds.

Check out the recipe when you read more.

Pumpkin-Carrot Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting
Modified from SparkPeople

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Earth Balance (or other butter substitute)
2 eggs
2 large egg whites
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin pie filling
2/3 cup finely shredded carrot

Cream cheese topping:
4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon skim milk

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Spray a 15 x 10 jellyroll pan with cooking spray.
In small bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, and baking soda.
In larger bowl, use electric mixer to beat sugar, Earth Balance, and brown sugar until crumbly. Add eggs, egg whites, pumpkin pie filling, and carrots. Beat until well blended.
Add flour mixture and mix until well blended. Spread onto greased pan.
To prepare cream cheese topping: mix together cream cheese, sugar, and milk until thoroughly blended.
Drop teaspoon-fulls of topping over pumpkin batter and swirl and cut mixture into batter with a butter knife.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan completely on wire rack before cutting into squares.

Makes 48 squares.

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Looking for more healthy recipes? Then check out the Healthy Recipe Group - the name pretty much says it all.

Don't Blow Your Healthy Habits at the Movies This Weekend

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:53 -0800

It's a big movie weekend, for sure. With New Moon finally out, I've already committed myself to spend an afternoon at the theater - the only complication is that I'm not so fond of the movie-theater fare. It's an admittedly challenging place to stick to healthy food choices, since there usually aren't any to begin with. Just in case you don't believe me, recent research is revealing just how unhealthy movie popcorn can be - and it's probably a lot worse than you think.

An article from WebMd highlights the Center for Science in the Public Interest's findings on the state of popcorn, which claims movie theater popcorn is just about as bad for you as "a pound of baby back ribs and a scoop of Haagen-Dazs ice cream or maybe two Big Macs" - and that's before you even add the butter. For the study, researchers sent samples of popcorn and toppings from three different movie theater chains and compared their findings to the chains' own nutritional information. What they found is likely to make you rethink how you view your movie treat.

The study's results show that the calorie count of movie theater popcorn ranges from just about 400 to 1,200 calories, and contains an alarming serving of saturated fat that's equivalent to three days worth of your daily recommended portion, and anywhere from 200 (in the smallest 6-cup size serving) to 1,500 milligrams of sodium. Additionally, the study revealed that both AMC and Regal theaters pop their popcorn in coconut oil, which has a saturated fat content of a whopping 90 percent. Cinemark theaters, which pops their popcorn in canola oil, earns the rep as the healthiest chain, with a significantly lower saturated fat content - ranging from 2 grams in the 420-calorie small size to 5 grams in the 910-calorie large popcorn bucket. But, keep in mind that popcorn is usually just a part of the order - add a soda or your choice of candy, and your order is easily nearing 1,700 calories.

To learn about healthier options at the movies read more.

To avoid a serious caloric overload on your movie outing, the solutions are simple. Opt to share a small, unbuttered popcorn, and request that it be popped without salt (according to the article, these chains will happily oblige), or knosh on something healthy before you head out. If you can, bring a small bag of almonds or a piece of fruit along. Be smart about your choices, and don't let one afternoon at the movies spoil your healthy habits. It's totally fine to indulge every now and then, but a 1,200-calorie serving of popcorn that packs more saturated fat than you need in three days is hardly a treat for your bod or health.

Smarter T-Day Eats: Go Gold For Your Mashers

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:00:11 -0800

I love me some mashed potatoes, especially on Thanksgiving. The problem is that this dish is usually overloaded with tons of butter and cream, which can be a big problem if you're trying to stay healthy. One way I make my mashed potatoes healthier is by using Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes instead of the old stand-by, Russet potatoes.

It might seem peculiar that switching out potatoes makes a difference, but these smaller variety potatoes are naturally creamy and sweet, and their skins taste like butter. This means that you can cut down on the amount of butter and cream you would normally add to the dish.

When shopping for Yukon Golds or Yellow Finns, look for smaller ones that aren't much bigger than one inch in diameter. Potatoes harvested early are creamier because they're more tender. Also, the more yellow the potato, the better - it's vitamin A contained in the skin that give these potatoes their golden hue. There's potassium in the skin too, so when making your mashers, don't peel! Another great thing about Yukon Golds and Yellow Finns is that their skins are pretty thin and won't detract from the creaminess of your dish if you leave them on.

For a few more tips on how to make mashed potatoes healthier, read more.

For added nutrition, add sweet potatoes to your mashers mix.
Substitute reduced fat or lowfat milk for the cream, or try making them with evaporated skim milk.
Cut back on salt by seasoning mashed potatoes with garlic, onion, and herbs.
Omit dairy altogether and mash in cauliflower and broth instead.

How do you make your Thanksgiving meal healthier? Share the details in our Healthy Recipe Group.

Source: Flickr User karindaziel

Exercise, Weight Loss, and the Fat Burning Zone

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:50:01 -0800

Much has been made of late about exercise and its relation to weight loss. There was the Time cover story The Myth About Weight Loss and a recent article on the topic in the New York Times, which recommended working out in the fat burning zone.

You see the phrase on all types of cardio machines: the fat burning zone, aka the "weight loss zone," means working out at a lower intensity to burn fat as fuel. But these workouts also burn considerably fewer calories. I was confused about how we should all be spending our cardio time, so I took my questions to exercise physiologist Jason Karp, who also happens to be an avid runner.

When I asked him if we should all be scaling our workouts back and aiming for the fat burning zone, Karp explained that it's not the type of fuel your body is burning, but the overall calories that count. "It doesn't matter if you're using fat or carbohydrates. In order to lose fat from your waistline you don't have to be using fat as fuel during workout," he said. He offered up the example of sprinters; they don't train in the fat burning zone, but they're mighty trim in the torso. Losing weight comes down to math - you want to be in a calorie deficit to shed pounds and body fat. Higher intensity exercise puts you at a higher burn rate. To burn the most calories in a cardio workout, skip past the fat burning zone and work out with more intensity. To really burn up calories, Karp recommends intervals. To learn why, read more.

Essentially, interval workouts give you the most bang for your sweat buck. Karp explains that with "intense exercise you're pushing your body more out of homeostasis," that is, the equilibrium of energy the body prefers to maintain. During the few hours after an interval workout, the body must go through a recovery period, and a lot needs to happen to return to the body to pre-exercise levels. "You've got to drop the heart rate, synthesize glycogen for the muscles, remove lactate from muscle and take it to the liver," says Karp. All these actions require energy, which raises the metabolic rate for many hours after exercising. Thirty minutes of exercise at a low intensity doesn't place nearly as much stress on the body as intervals, so you burn fewer calories both during and after the workout.

Before you hit the track and start running intervals, Karp recommends building a strong cardiovascular fitness base and working with a trainer for guidance. Even if you're not ready for sprints, play with your speed during your next cardio session. Slow and steady might win the race, but intervals will burn more calories.

Source: Flickr User pistoldrawn

Why Exercise Won't Help You Lose Weight . . . Sort Of

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:00:36 -0800

There have been a lot of reports in the last year confirming that contrary to popular belief, not all exercise leads to significant weight loss. If you want to shed pounds, it mostly comes down to diet. It’s no surprise that changing your diet can help you lose weight, but for decades, many people believed that exercise was the best pathway to a slimmer, fitter you.

Today the New York Times added to the news that exercise doesn’t significantly aid in weight loss by reporting the results of an exercise and obesity study. The study followed a group of 58 obese individual who underwent three months of supervised aerobic activity but didn’t change their diets at all. And while the group lost an average of seven pounds, many participants barely lost three.

I admit that when all of these studies started coming up I was a little shocked, but it turns out that high intensity workouts mainly burn carbs, not just fat.

To hear what type of exercise may maximize fat loss, read more.

The article explains: "'The message of our work is really simple,' although not agreeable to hear, said Edward Melanson, PhD, the lead author of the study. 'It all comes down to energy balance,' or, as you might have guessed, calories in and calories out. People 'are only burning 200 or 300 calories' in a typical 30-minute exercise session, Melanson points out. 'You replace that with one bottle of Gatorade.'"

Fat loss can be maximized, but it’s a matter of how you approach your workout. To do this, work out at a lower intensity in your fat-burning zone, which is 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. For most people this zone falls between 105-134 beats per minute. Melanson’s study also found that once weight is lost from reduced calorie intake, exercise might prevent it from coming back by resetting metabolic pathways that stop the body from wanting to store fat.

The research is interesting, but should not dissuade any of us from our fitness goals. The benefits of exercise reach far beyond weight loss - it helps the brain function better, reduces stress, creates a toned body, and is important for healthy heart function.

Healthy Holiday Swap: DIY Pumpkin Yogurt

FitSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:47:40 -0800

I love pumpkin-flavored anything - pies, muffins, cheesecake, even ice cream! But gorging on too many sweet pumpkin treats can leave me with a sick stomach full of unhealthy fats and sugars. One way I've been satisfying my pumpkin cravings is by making my own pumpkin-flavored yogurt at home.

It's really easy to do, just mix plain yogurt with canned pumpkin puree. If you're trying to cut back on sugar, use 100 percent pure pumpkin puree and add your own spices and sweetener. If you want the instant flavors of pumpkin pie, mix yogurt up with canned pumpkin pie puree that's been sweetened with sugar and spices.

I sometimes use vanilla yogurt with the pure pumpkin mix just to give it a little sweetness, and if I'm craving the texture of pumpkin pie, a nice sprinkling of healthy granola or oats seems to do the trick.

Share your healthy snack ideas in our Snack Attack group!

Holiday Healthy Punch: Mulled Wine

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:30:54 -0800

I hosted a jack-o'-lantern carving party at my house this weekend and needed to come up with a nice cocktail for my guests. During the holiday season I love warm and spicy drinks like eggnog and hot buttered rum but they're filled with tons of sugar or fat. A nice alternative is making a big batch of mulled wine. It's served warm and uses all the spices associated with the holidays, but has zero fat and contains the heart healthy benefits of red wine. It's a great cocktail for parties because it's really easy to make ahead of time.

Keep coming back to Fit throughout the holiday season because we'll be giving you all sorts of healthy recipes to enjoy this year.

To check out the recipe, read more.

Mulled Wine
original recipe

To make this recipe you will need an empty tea satchel for the spices. As an alternative, whole spices can be substituted for the ground spices. If using whole spices, tie them together in a cheesecloth or use a stainless steel tea infuser.

Ingredients

1.5 liter bottle of dry red wine
Zest from 1 lemon
Zest from 1 orange
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon cloves
1/2 tablespoon ginger
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
Honey, agave nectar, or apple juice to taste
Orange slices or cinnamon sticks for garnish

Directions

Pour wine into large saucepan and cook over low heat.
Add lemon and orange zest to the wine.
Place the spices into an empty tea satchel. Put the satchel into the saucepan and brew the mixture for 30 minutes.
Add sweetener of your choice to taste.
Pour the wine through a strainer and serve in heatproof glasses. Garnish each glass with a sliced orange or cinnamon stick.

Serves 10-12.

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Please share your trimmed down, revamped, and low cal recipes in the Healthy Recipe group. I am always looking for new eats to try.