FitSugar

Diet Tip: Order Half Sizes

FitSugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:00:00 PDT

I have recently been introduced to a new phenomenon while eating out that can help all of us keep to a healthy diet: half sizes.

I was eating out with my girlfriend and she orders the grilled glazed salmon but then adds, "Oh, and I'd like the half size please." Being that I did not see half sizes on the menu anywhere, I was shocked when the waiter answered, "Sure thing." I asked her about how she knew to order a half size and she told me that she always does - restaurants don't typically print half sizes on the menu, but unlike with kids meals many will serve them to you. Sneaky, eh?

I've been trying the half size theory out on my own and it's been hit or miss. I'd say about half of the restaurants I go to serve half sizes. Some just say they don't do half sizes, so you get the regular size meal and take half home, no big deal. But if they do, you're going to be saving yourself a lot of calories and not to mention cash while eating out. To me, it's worth asking.

Do you already order half sizes? Tell me in the comments section below.

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Nighttime Fasting: A New Way to Lose Weight?

Shape — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:09:52 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian with master's degrees in both nutrition science and public health.

If you couldn’t let anything cross your lips from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., but you were allowed to eat anything you wanted for eight hours a day and still lose weight, would you try it? That’s the apparent bottom line of a rat study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, which recently stirred up the weight loss pot.

Top 50 Summer Diet Foods for Weight Loss

Scientists put groups of mice on different diet regimens for 100 days. One group of rodents ate healthy food while animals in two of the groups chowed down on high-fat, high-calorie feed. Half of the junk food eaters were allowed to munch whenever they wanted to while the others only had access to feed for the eight hours they were most active. The conclusion: even though they ate a fatty diet, the mice who were forced to fast for 16 hours were almost as lean as those who ate the healthy fare. Interestingly, the round the clock junk food eaters became obese and developed health problems, even though they consumed about the same amount of fat and calories as the time-restricted junk food fed mice.

See if a nutritionist thinks nighttime fasting works after the break!

Easy Ways to Get More From Your Food Budget

LearnVest — Fri, 18 May 2012 05:15:48 PDT

Go the extra mile with your food budget with these tips from LearnVest.

For years, many people - my husband, mom, sister and even my son - told me to stop wasting so much food.

Throwing away half a piece of chicken here or a handful of grapes there never seemed like such a big deal to me. If I was full or no longer in the mood for that particular food, then I had no problem tossing it.

That is, until I experienced a bad case of sticker shock during a recent trip to the supermarket. The cost of bread, eggs, fish - basically everything I was purchasing - had increased. And, according to the USDA, we can expect prices to rise even higher this year.

As I forked over my money and left with only a handful of bags, I realized just how important it is for me to pay more attention to what I spend on food . . . and to confront how much of it I shove down the garbage disposal.

Unfortunately, I'm not the only one with wasteful ways. In 2010, 33 million tons of food was thrown away, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Obviously, wasted food means wasted money, but figuring out how to make your grocery budget go further can be a challenge.

To keep more food in your fridge (and more money in your pocket), try these expert tips.

1. Ward Against Freezer Burn

Those large bags or packages of frozen veggies or meat come in handy when you have a large family, but "each time you open a bag of frozen food, air gets in and will cause freezer burn within two to three weeks," says consumer saving expert Andrea Woroch. Freezer burn will dry out the meat and make it less tasty. Woroch suggests going small.

Read on for more.

A Reader Shares Why She Loves Running in the Rain

Fit Community — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:05:25 PDT

Don't let the elements stop you! OnSugar blogger egilbride shares her thoughts on why she loves running in the rain in her blog, Ready to Run.

Today I went for a run . . . in the rain. I know most people HATE running in the rain, but sometimes I prefer it to running on a sunny day. Take my Rock n Roll Half-Marathon (did I mention it was my first half-marathon EVER?!) that I ran last August. I may sound a little extreme when I say this, but it was literally like a monsoon. And I loved every minute of it! If I had been running in 90-degree weather in the city in August, I'm not sure I would have finished. But running a half-marathon in the rain was . . . refreshing. Other than causing me to wait in line for the porta-potty a couple of times, the constant downpour didn't have much of an adverse effect on me.

Then today, I went for a run . . . and it was amazing. I left my cell phone at home (see my last post reviewing my armband), which meant no GPS and no way to track my time, other than by using my iPod nano, which was set for the wrong time. It was just me, the road, and the rain. And what did I accomplish? A lot! Since I didn't have my phone telling me when I hit each mile and what my time was, I wasn't as worried about speeding up my pace at every mile to hit my goal time. But instead, I reached another "goal," which was to run my entire "course" - which includes running around my ENTIRE hilly block, including one the size of Grendall - twice! And I felt great! It may seem like a small feat to some, but that 2.62 miles (it's just a guess) was the best accomplishment I've made since I started running again! Here's to more victories to come in the future!

Do you like running in the rain? Share your own thoughts on outdoor running below. Start your own OnSugar blog and we might feature your posts on our homepage.

12 Mother's Day Freebies and Deals to Look Forward To

Emily Co — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:30:44 PDT

Mother's Day is coming up and there are plenty of freebies and discounts going around for savvy moms to cash into. Seems like most of the discounts this year cater toward food and drinks; here are a few of them:

Caribou Coffee: Buy one, get one free with this coupon. Print it out or save it on your phone.
Ikea: Free breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes and a cup of coffee on Sunday until 11 a.m. Limited to one per family.
Ruby Tuesday: Get a voucher for a free Simply Fresh cookbook if you dine at Ruby Tuesday on May 13.
Starbucks: Get half-priced Frappucinos at Starbucks from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. until May 15.
Bath and Body Works: Send Mom an ecard from Bath and Body Works, and she'll get a coupon for a free travel-size item.
Olive Garden: Get a free appetizer or dessert of up to $9 with a purchase of two dinner entrees using this coupon. Offer ends May 27.
Denny's: Send Mom a Denny's ecard and get a free skillet cookie.
Champps: Eat at Champps on from May 11 to May 13 and mom will get a free reusable card that will give her $10 off a $25 purchase. You can use it once a month for a year.
Hooter's: Moms get 10 free boneless wings when they eat at participating restaurants on May 13.
Free admission to public gardens: Take a turn around a beautiful public garden with free admission on May 11. Coupon here.
TCBY: Free frozen yogurt for moms on May 13.
California Pizza Kitchen: Get a free spinach artichoke dip by liking CPK's Facebook page. Offer lasts until May 14.

Source

10 Grocery Deals That Trick You Into Spending More

Business Insider — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:15:24 PDT

To help you avoid an expensive grocery bill, Business Insider shares grocery deals that aren't really deals.

These days everyone's trying to make the most of their trip to the grocery store, but it's hard to tell when you're saving big if the grocer is using tricky marketing tactics.

We tapped deals expert and founder of the excellent site Grocery Game, Teri Gault, to help us decipher the deals from the duds and share her exclusive tips for stretching your grocery budget. Try them this week.

1. Reaching for big packages. "People are reaching for the big packages all the time but a lot of times the medium package is cheaper," says Gault. "It's just a marketing thing. We think the bigger package will give us the bulk price but that's not always the case." To find the real steal, calculate the cost per unit using the prices on the shelf.

2. Falling for the "buy one, get one half off" routine. "Whenever you see these they sound like a great deal but the two items together are only a 25 percent savings," Gault says. "Buy one, get one for free is truly half off, not this."

3. Hitting the clearance shelf. While there are good deals to be found here, the problem is that most of the items are only 50 percent off and damaged, says Gault. "You can score good groceries that aren't damaged whenever a sale hits instead."

Read on for more.

3 Ways Cottage Cheese Can Help You Lose Weight

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:53:15 PDT

In order to lose weight, eating low-calorie protein is a must. Protein offers sustained energy, satiates your hunger, and curbs sugar cravings. After you eat a protein-packed food, you feel so satisfied you don't have the urge to reach for extra bites, and this translates to weight loss. Choosing low-calorie, low-fat protein sources is a must and while Greek yogurt has gained a lot of recognition, don't leave out the unsung hero of the protein world - cottage cheese. Here are some ways this simple food can help you drop pounds.

Breakfast: High-Protein Addition
You know how after you eat a bagel for breakfast it's tough to shake that sluggish feeling all morning? Protein has the opposite effect. It offers you energy for hours, so you feel bright-eyed and ready to tackle the day. Eggs and yogurt are popular choices, but for something a little different, whip up a smoothie and you guessed it - add cottage cheese to the blender. For 81 calories, four ounces will add a whopping 14 grams of protein to your glass. The blender will puree the cottage cheese into a smooth consistency, so your taste buds won't even know it's in there. Not into smoothies? Enjoy a bowl of cottage cheese topped with fruit for fiber and sweetness, and nuts for even more added protein.

Keep reading to find out two more ways cottage cheese can help with weight loss.

5 Fitness Myths That Mess With Results

Prevention — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:31:20 PDT

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

By Jenna Bergen, Prevention

With so many people offering advice on weight loss, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. All too often I’ve overheard a hardworking gym-goer sharing a well-meaning but ill-informed tip with another exerciser. And I’m not the only one who’s heard fitness folklore being swapped on the training room floor. I spoke to top experts in the field to find out the common fitness myths they hear from clients. From the pseudo miracles of the "fat-burning" zone to the misguided magic of working out on an empty stomach, these fitness falsehoods should never be followed.

Nine Exercise Moves You're Doing Wrong

Myth No. One: Keep your heart rate in the fat-burning zone

If you've been exercising at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate in order to shed flab faster, you could be slowing your slim down. "The fat-burning zone is a complete myth," says Wayne Westcott, PhD, Prevention advisory board member and fitness research director at Quincy College. "While it's true that you burn a higher percentage of fat calories when exercising at a moderate pace, you burn fewer calories overall." For instance, if you get on a treadmill and walk at a 3.5 mph pace for 30 minutes, you might burn 250 calories. If you raise the speed to seven miles per hour, you’d burn 500. Bottom line? "It’s much better to go at the faster speed." Prefer the elliptical trainer? Make sure you're not making one of the top 10 elliptical trainer mistakes.

Myth No. Two: Boosting cardio is the best way to bypass a plateau

"The most effective way to lose weight is to include both cardio and weights in your routine," says Jari Love, star of the Get Extremely Ripped: 1000 Hardcore DVD. "One study found that when individuals cycled for 30 minutes a day, they lost three pounds of fat and gained a half pound of muscle in eight weeks. But individuals who cycled for 15 minutes and weight trained for 15 minutes a day lost 10 pounds of fat and gained two pounds of calorie-burning muscle."

Try This Workout to Drop Two Sizes by Summer!

Keep reading! We bust three more myths after the break.

Geeks We Love: An MP3 Maker of History

Anna Monette Roberts — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:53:05 PDT

Arguably one of the most important tech inventions of our generation, the MP3 player didn't just invent itself. For that, we can thank Kane Kramer. He may not be a household name, but Kramer developed the first portable digital audio player 20 years before it became industry standard. In 1979, he designed the IXI digital audio player, the first of its kind to transfer and store music to-go. The player contained a credit card-sized IXI chip that held between 30 minutes to an hour of music, depending on the audio system (mono or stereo). All of this in 1979!

Kramer told us in an email that before the age of Internet, he imagined the "idea and concept of delivering music, data, and video down telephone lines on demand" via a small, portable device. Kramer's sketches, which are over 40 years old, very closely resemble what we now know as the iPod and iPod Mini. In 2008, Apple admitted that Kramer is the true genius behind the iPod technology.

The players that Kramer developed fit in the palm of your hand and featured a small LCD screen and a central navigation control panel. Despite several websites claiming the player only held three and a half minutes of music, Kramer insists the IXI held one hour of mono audio, half an hour of stereo, or 16 tracks of master recordings. He even thought of attractive aspects that we often take for granted, like having the ability to "select any track in any order" or download new content onto the device "in a matter of seconds."

It's truly fascinating - and almost unbelievable - how many trends Kramer invented almost 20 years before MP3 players would hit the mainstream market. In his 1979 proposal for IXI Systems, Kramer predicted that MP3s would "replace the heavy costs of distribution of records and tapes," would provide "immediacy of delivery," and "eliminate the need for retailers to carry any inventory." Sure enough, in the past two decades, almost every music store has closed down, while online MP3 sales have skyrocketed. If you're wondering what music will look like in the next 20 years, you better turn to Kane Kramer.

Source: Kane Kramer

Find Out How Much Makeup Other Women Really Wear

Miriam Lacey — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:06:00 PDT

A few weeks back, we asked you how much makeup you actually wear, and now the results are in. Thousands of people responded, and you might be surprised at the answers other ladies gave. See all the stats for yourself now.