FitSugar

Tips from Diets in Review

FitSugar — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:00:00 PDT

I'm always looking for dieting tips and while I think we all have the same theory behind our tips it is great to get a different perspective every once in a while. Here are some great tips from DietsinReview.com. Some tips you may already know, but here are some ideas for ways to keep healthy eating in check:

Eat a diet full of color: Fruits and vegetables are packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and are very low in calories. They help keep you satisfied longer, and are a great snack and can be eaten with every meal.
Eat regular meals: Eating meals throughout the day will help keep your metabolism stable as well as burn-ing calories all day long. When we don’t eat for an extended amount of time it actually inhibits calorie burning. Take mom’s advice to heart and be sure to have breakfast in the morning! Make sure and eat your 3 meals a day, but also sneak in some healthy snacks to keep your body going!
Give your stomach time to catch up: Many of us grew up being told not to snack before dinner as we would ruin our appetite. In actuality, having snacks can help prevent you from overeating. It takes our bodies 10-15 minutes to realize we’ve had enough to eat. Because of this delay, it is very easy to eat more than what our bodies actually need, leaving us feeling overstuffed. When eating at home watch your portions. When eating out at restaurants share your entrees as they typically serve larger portions. Go ahead, spoil your dinner with some snacks.
Eat whole fresh foods: In order for foods to last on our shelves in the grocery store they are filled with preservatives, which in turn deplete the nutrients and vitamins originally found in those foods. When possible, purchase fresh foods and avoid pre-packaged and convenient fast food, as these types of food are typically higher in calories, fat, and sodium.
Get moving: Our bodies were not meant to sit behind a desk all day long. We need daily exercise to benefit our overall health and especially to strengthen all our muscles including our heart. Exercise can also help you sleep better and improve your mood, so whether a high impact workout at the gym or a stroll through the neighborhood, hit the pavement and give yourself the optimal reward.

There are more tips so

Treat yourself: We all have those few foods that we know aren’t good for us yet we have a hard time avoiding them. When we try to restrict these foods from our diet, we tend to overindulge at some point. Allow yourself a treat from time to time, but remember to keep it within moderation. Try having a few bites of cake as opposed to the whole slice at a special occasion.
Be a detective with food labels: When reading the list of ingredients on packaged foods, if you do not recognize the ingredient or cannot pronounce it, perhaps this isn’t something you want to be putting in your body. If you see a product with a laundry list of ingredients, put the item right back on the shelf. Also, make sure when reading labels to review whether calories and fat listed are per serving and not the entire container.
Eat your whole grains: Whole grains are unrefined products that have maintained their nutrients and fiber content, unlike white products that are left with no nutritional value. An additional benefit to eating 100% whole grains, such as breads and pastas, is they help maintain blood sugar levels with less spiking and crashing throughout the day. Whole grains also keep you satisfied longer.
Eat the “right” fat: Fat has gotten a reputation for being bad for us and in many cases this is true unless we are speaking about healthy fats that our body actually needs. Overeating wrong fats (saturated fats) can lead to those unwanted pounds as well as increase your risk of heart disease. Stick to healthy fat sources that are unsaturated such as olive oil instead of butter or margarine, which contain saturated fat. You can use these for sauteing, baking, lubricating bakeware, and more - just be creative!
Beware of liquid calories: Extra calories can add up quickly, for example a 12 ounce can of regular soda can contain 10 teaspoons of sugar! These types of calories will not fill you up but they will most certainly add weight. Beware of the beverages you drink throughout the day, some of the perceived health drinks have several teaspoons of sugar per serving, which many of us tend to overlook tricky naming conventions thought up by slick marketing departments.

Thanks to Diets in Review for sending along these great tips! I am not the only one thinking about these things. Dear has got some more tips for you in her How to Lounge: Approaching a diet post. Source

Great New Site: Diets in Review

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 03:00:00 PDT

There are so many diets out there that it's hard to keep track of them all. Wouldn't it be nice if there were one place where you could go online to get reviews of all the latest diets?

DietsinReview.com is a cool new site where you can find reviews of nearly 100 diets and weight loss plans, including weight loss supplements like the ever-so-controversial OTC pill alli. The site is easy to use so you can quickly find diets in four categories and compare and contrast them with informative reviews of each plan. I really like that there is a section to leave your own comments and/or reviews on the specific diet.

Are Your Birth Control Pills Safe?

Shape — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:06:17 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Last year during my annual exam, when I complained to my doctor about my terrible PMS, she was quick to pull out her pad and give me a prescription for the birth control pill Yaz. "You're going to love this," she said. "All of my patients that are on it think it's the best. It's even helped some of them lose weight!"

Less PMS and not having to worry about my weight? I was sold, even though I'd only intended to talk to her about lifestyle and/or diet modifications since my birth control needs were already taken care of. Before I stopped into the pharmacy, however, I looked up the pill online (Paging Dr. Google!). The results were anything but the lovefest I'd been promised. In fact, the information I found scared me so badly that I never filled that prescription.

Am I Normal? Your Top Six Sex Questions Answered

It quickly became evident that I wasn't the only woman concerned when Yaz and it's sister pill Yazmin, two of the most popular pills on the market, came up for review by the FDA after reports that the manufacturer may have hid and minimized critical health risks. But is the hysteria warranted?

Find out how safe birth control pills are after the break!

In The Mommy Diet, Alison Sweeney Offers Fitness Tips For Every Level

Leta Shy — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:51:25 PDT

Between the encouragement among the contestants and the life-changing before-and-after shots that flash on the screen, there's a reason why The Biggest Loser gets your emotions going. The show is a positive, supportive look at the struggles people face with diet and exercise.

The new book by the show's host Alison Sweeney, The Mommy Diet ($14), is no different - it's chock-full of support and encouragement. The easy read is divided into stages of motherhood, from prepregnancy (such as foods to eat when you are trying to get pregnant) to the life of a busy mom. The actress weighs in on different aspects of pregnancy and postpregnancy body and mind, including fitness, diet, fashion, and romance tips.

Of course, exercise is a big part of her month-by-month plans, and Alison offers useful tips even if you aren't a new mom. If you're looking for advice on how to ramp up or kick-start a workout routine, you may find this book helpful. The actress recommends the old standards - making sure you are active every day, switching out high-fat diets for natural, whole foods, and elimination diets - to help start any regimen, and also offers exercises (fully explained and with some illustrations) and sample meal plans for people at every level of fitness.

But even if you are an old pro, the working mom and fitness fanatic has a few maintenance tips for you as well. Check out a few of her tips after the break!

Udi's: Finally, a Good Gluten-Free Bread

Michele Foley — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:40:02 PDT

I love bread, something that became very apparent to me while doing the Remove diet. Since gluten was off-limits, I tried my share of gluten-free bread, and from my own experience, most of it is not good. Store-brand gluten-free breads are rock hard and are really only edible when toasted, but even then, they're still pretty bad. It ended up being easier to give up bread altogether than eat the gluten-free stuff. That was until I found Udi's Gluten Free Foods - a line of bread products that could easily pass for having gluten in them.

The first thing that you notice about Udi's is that it's not sold in the frozen-food aisle with all the other gluten-free bread. Udi's has somehow managed to come up with a bread that is shelf-stable and can be eaten directly from the package; no heating necessary. Then you'll notice how light Udi's is - it's airy, moist, and looks like bread. It also tastes good, and for those living with celiac disease, it's a chance to enjoy good bread, muffins, bagels, and pizza crust without having to make them yourself. Udi's will also fool your gluten-eating friends. It was weeks before my boyfriend realized that he was eating gluten-free bread. Compare that to the previous gluten-free bread I had that he promptly spit out.

Months after ending the Remove diet, I'm still eating Udi's bread. Partly because it's good, and because it's good for me. Having learned that I'm sensitive to gluten, I now pick and choose when and what gluten-based products I eat. Having Udi's makes it easy to enjoy toast with my eggs, a healthy pizza for dinner, or a sandwich for lunch. And while I don't know how they make it unlike any other GF bread on the market, mu guess is it's because Udi's comes from a group of artisan bakers. Udi's already had several cafes and bakeries in Colorado before coming up with a bread for their gluten-intolerant friends. I'm just glad that they eventually made their way into stores.

Source

5 Reasons Your Workout Isn't Working

Shape — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:44:13 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Have you been working out consistently for months (maybe even years) and yet the scale is creeping up? Here are five ways your workout could be keeping you from losing weight, and what our experts recommend to start shedding pounds again:

1. Your workout routine is making you eat too much.
Is your workout causing you to use the "I burned it, I earned it," excuse when it comes to your diet? "Studies show that people tend to eat more calories when they take up exercise," says Michele Olson, Ph.D., professor of exercise science at Auburn University Montgomery, and creator of the Perfect Legs, Glutes & Abs DVD.

Think your 45-minute morning run was enough to burn off that slice of chocolate cake on the dessert menu? Consider this: the average, 140-pound woman burns about 476 calories (at a 10-minute mile pace) running for 45 minutes. The average restaurant dessert clocks in around 1,200 calories (or more), so even if you only eat half of a slice, you'd still easily eat away your run - and then some - in less than 10 minutes.

The solution: Make your workouts count by pairing them with a healthy diet that stays within the appropriate calorie range your body needs in order to lose or maintain your weight. Olson recommends writing down what you are eating to keep track of calories consumed, and then subtracting the calories you burned, for your true daily number.

See even more reasons why your workout isn't working after the break!

Does This New Finding Make You Rethink Your Salt Intake?

Leta Shy — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:43:30 PST

Every day new studies tell us what to avoid or what new superfood should be helping us. One thing that's been constant has been limiting our daily salt intake. But a new study suggests that you may not need to care about your salt intake.

The study, published in the Journal of Hypertension, reviewed data and found that while patients who reduced their salt intake lowered their blood pressure, lower sodium intake led to higher cholesterol and adrenaline levels, among other measurements, all of which can affect blood pressure or heart rate. The study didn't look for whether these effects led to higher rates of heart attacks or strokes.

The average American eats much more than the 2,300 mg of per day (about a teaspoon) recommended for healthy adults (at-risk groups should eat 1,500 mg a day). We've always been told that limiting the amount of salt in our diets is important, and experts say this hasn't changed - it's just that some people are more affected by high sodium levels than others. Does this new finding make you rethink your salt intake?

Is Going on a Juice Fast a Good Idea?

Leta Shy — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:07:10 PDT

Going on a juice cleanse, or drinking nothing but pressed juices extracted from fruits and vegetables, has been all the rage lately. The idea sounds like a good one - combat the effects of a wild night out or a life of indulgent eating with a few days or weeks of "detox" to rid your body of lurking toxins. Backed by celebrities and celebrity doctors alike, it's no wonder that drinking your diet has been gaining popularity. But is following a juice cleanse safe? Read on to learn more.

What's the Appeal?
Many of juicing's benefits are more anecdotal than scientifically based, but proponents of juicing are enthusiastic about it. Many claim that juicing vegetables and fruits allows you to absorb the nutrients easier than eating them since less digestive work is needed. Proponents also claim that following a juice-only diet can help your body detox, which may lead to more energy, clearer skin, and fewer digestive and other health issues. With high-profile juicing fans like Nicole Richie, Salma Hayek, and Gwyneth Paltrow and filmed testimonials like Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead - a documentary about a man's 60-day all-juice diet and his subsequent healthy transformation - the popularity of going on an all-juice diet has only grown.

Does It Work?
The lack of peer-reviewed studies on the effects of juicing has led to conflicting information about whether it's a do or don't. Most scientists, however, agree that going on a juice fast is unnecessary for ridding your body of toxins. Our liver and kidneys are already effective at eliminating any unneeded waste, so following a liquid-based diet won't help any more than normal.

Find out more about going on a juice fast after the break.

The Best and Worst Flu Season Remedies

Prevention — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:12:53 PDT

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

Find out which immune-boosting supplements really help — and which are just hype
By the Editors at Prevention

Flu shots, hand washing, healthy eating, and regular exercise are the best ways to avoid cold and flu.

But sometimes even the most scrupulous germaphobes and healthy people get sick anyway. While certain natural remedies can help shorten symptoms — or prevent infection entirely — many people waste money on measures that are all hype. Here's how to know the difference so you can get well faster — without wasting a penny.

The Germiest Spots in Your Home

1. Omega-3 Pill
The Verdict: Help
Take it: All season long
If you don't like or eat a lot of fish, pop an omega-3 supplement daily to reap the fatty acid's impressive immune-fortifying properties. Omega-3s increase the activity of phagocytes — cells that fight flu by eating up bacteria — according to a study by Britain's Institute of Human Nutrition and School of Medicine. Other research shows that omega-3s increase airflow and protect lungs from colds and respiratory infections.

Look for purified fish oil capsules that contain at least 1 g combined of EPA and DHA.

Keep reading for the rest of the list.

A Vegan Strawberry Pudding For Everyone!

LilSugar — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 10:53:16 PDT

One of the fruits most loved by toddlers are strawberries. It's like candy to them! Whip up an all-natural strawberry chia pudding - chia is a great source of omega-3 and a great alternative for kids who don't like to eat fish - as dessert or as a special breakfast, and we're sure it'll get a rave review! Even if your tot doesn't follow a vegan diet, this is a must-try recipe! It's quick, easy, and altogether yummy.

Source: Love Raw

Keep reading for the tasty (and easy!) recipe.