FitSugar

Skinny vs. Healthy: Where Do You Stand?

Heather Dale — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:10:55 PDT

In the recent issue of Health, actress Anna Paquin discusses Hollywood's distorted perception of what's considered healthy. She says:

"I think there’s also a really big difference between looking healthy and being healthy. People in this town have a weird tendency to say, if someone’s lost weight, "Oh my God, you look amazing." And you’re like, "I just had my tonsils out and didn’t eat for three weeks." Literally, I had my tonsils out last year. You’re on a liquid diet so, of course, you lose weight. But it’s not healthy."

Other celebs have also weighed in on this topic; Bethenny Frankel admitting to growing up with an unhealthy body image, and constantly obsessing over her weight. Hilary Duff admits that she let herself get too skinny between the ages of 17 and 19, eating nothing but steamed vegetables and broiled or grilled chicken. She soon realized that not giving your body enough of what it needs can be really dangerous.

Keep reading about the other side of this debate.

10 Eating Tips For Avoiding the Freshman 15

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:55:11 PDT

Going away to school can be dangerous on the waistline. The dorm dining hall is like a giant, all-you-can-eat buffet. And let's be real, the food choices at most campuses are not healthy. On top of that, many students don't have access to a kitchen, and will ultimately eat all of their meals out. It's no wonder most of us gain some weight when going off to college, though the infamous "freshman 15" is really more like 10 pounds. And don't be fooled - weight gain isn't reserved to first-year students only. The eating habits you develop during your first year away can stay with you through college and beyond.

Whether you're eating in a dining hall or cooking for yourself in your first apartment, a few simple strategies can help you avoid that first-year college weight gain. Here are my tips for eating healthy while you're away at school.

Don't skip meals, especially breakfast. Starting with a filling breakfast helps steady your metabolism throughout the day. Here are five ideas for quick but healthy starts.
Drink lots of water. At the dining hall, during lectures, throughout cram sessions, whenever! Skip the soda and carry a water bottle that you can refill throughout the day to prevent constipation and bloating.
Include at least three food groups in every meal. When choosing from the endless dining hall bounty, make an effort to get plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein, and calcium - not just pizza and chicken fingers. And the more color on your plate, the better.

For the rest of my top 10 healthy eating tips,

6 Whole Grains to Help Control Your Weight

FitSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:00:00 PDT

Cheap and healthy are my go-to adjectives these days, and whole grains fit nicely within these requirements. Whole grains are heart healthy, fight belly fat, contain appetite-controlling fiber, and are low-glycemic carbohydrates, which means they can help to control your weight. Keep your hunger at bay and achieve a healthy weight by incorporating more of these carbs into your diet.

Speak Up: Do You Agree With Meghan McCain About Women's Weight?

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:00:00 PDT

Her dad's presidential bid is over, but blogger and aspiring pundit Meghan McCain is still speaking her mind, and this time, it's got nothing to do with politics. McCain recently wrote a piece for The Daily Beast criticizing the never-ending criticism of women's bodies in the media. She wonders why, after all the progress women have made in the past few decades, is women's weight still a "socially acceptable prejudice"?

McCain, who wears an 8 or a 10, was prompted to write the piece after talk-radio host Laura Ingraham made fun of McCain's "plus-size" body. The senator's daughter used the opportunity to question why women's weight is even part of the political and cultural discussion:

Everyone from Jessica Simpson to Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey, and Hillary Clinton has fallen victim to this type of image-oriented bullying. . . . After Kelly Clarkson’s recent appearance on American Idol, the first commentary I read on the Internet was about her weight gain instead of her singing.

What do you think of McCain's point? Do you agree that women's weight is one of the last socially acceptable forms of prejudice? Or do you think she is overreacting? Should we keep healthy weight in the forefront of our dialogue?

Source

Celebrity BMIs Suggest the Numbers Can Be Misleading

FitSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:00:35 PST

When you're striving to achieve a healthy weight, it's natural to look for guidance about what exactly that means for your body. While the jeans test is telling in terms of your body's changes, your pants can't tell you how many pounds you might need to lose or gain to get to your best weight.

For years, we turned to the body mass index (BMI) formula for a clue about where we fall on the health curve, but the calculation doesn't differentiate between the weight of muscle from fat and therefore isn't as trusted as it used to be.

Health.com recruited its top two nutrition experts to calculate the BMIs of seven celebrities by analyzing their photos. The experts were told each celebrity's height measurements but used weight estimates, so their calculations aren't 100 percent accurate. Still, the results offer some surprising insight about the accuracy of BMIs. To see their approximate BMI calculations for celebs and athletes like Beyonce and Tony Romo,

5 Things About: Healthy Weight Loss

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 03:30:00 PDT

I have received many questions recently about healthy ways to lose weight and I would like to preface this list of 5 things by saying fad diets and crazy fasts are not the way to go.

To lose weight you need to be in a caloric deficit, meaning you consume fewer calories than you are expending. Think of it like this: Calories in needs to be less than calories going out. It really is pretty simple.
To lose one pound a week you need to be in a caloric deficit of 3500 calories. The best way to do this is to combine eating less calories and burning more calories – that means exercise! Cardio is great for burning calories. See these posts for ideas to freshen up your cardio routine.
You should never eat less than 1200 calories a day. Eating less than 1200 calories slows down your metabolism, since your body thinks a famine is coming. It is not nice to tease your metabolism in this manner. Play nice and eat healthy well-balanced meals loaded with nutrient rich veggies, fruits and grains.
The longer it takes for you to drop the pounds, the better chance you have of keeping them off. Remember: slow and steady wins with race. This is why you should really think of losing weight as making a life style change rather than dieting. Once you lose the weight, you want to maintain all those healthy habits that helped you shed those pounds in the first place.
Losing 1 to 2 pounds a week is considered healthy. Losing more than 2 pounds a week is a serious shock to your body. This also means you are not starving yourself or depriving yourself. Fad diets, or diets that have you cut out an entire food group leave you feeling less satisfied and full which leads you to cheat on your diet and then give-up. Remember it is a life style change you are working towards and having a healthy relationship with all kinds of food.

Looking for more tips and encouragement? Check out these diet tips for they will surely help. Of course, reading FitSugar regularly should help too!

Good luck!

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.

It's Not a Diet! Lose Weight With Lifestyle Changes Instead

Leta Shy — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:39:18 PST

Whenever you resolve to eat healthier or fewer calories, it can be easy to fall into the diet trap - thinking that you just have to power through for a few weeks eating only lettuce in order to meet your weight goals. But instead of dreading the idea of healthy eating, think of your new goals as a lifestyle change, not a diet, with these tips.

Get creative in the kitchen: When you've resigned yourself to eating the same healthy thing over and over again, you can get bored with your meals pretty easily. If you're apprehensive about trying a new healthy food or you just don't know where to start when it comes to making a healthy meal plan, check out our delicious healthy recipes index for endless ideas.

Don't use ultimatums: Crash dieting sets you up for failure; a better solution is to think of your new eating initiatives as something sustainable. That means that while you may have to cut back on your daily doughnut habit, you shouldn't deprive yourself of your favorite unhealthy foods forever. Have a cheat day or have treat or two, mindfully, so you'll be more apt to stick to your new eating plan.

More tips for staying away from the "diet" mentality after the break.

Healthy Dose Link Time: Why Being Single Can Sometimes Be Better

Michele Foley — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:27:35 PST

Why being single is sometimes better (for your waistline) - Self
Find out what happens to unused muscles - Fit Bottomed Girls
The foods that health experts always keep in their kitchens - Real Simple
Salad shouldn't be boring: rosemary and balsamic-roasted grapes and olives - Vegetarian Times
Make it really count! Sex positions that double as exercise - Fitness
How one couple lost 285 pounds together - Daily Spark
Rebecca Romijn says losing baby weight was the "hardest thing I've ever done . . . " - Fit Celeb
Seven simple ways to get healthy right now! - InStyle

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.

Celebrity	Height	Estimated Weight (lbs)	Estimated BMI	BMI Verdict
Angelina Jolie	5'8''	118	17.9	Underweight
Arnold Schwarzenegger	6'2''	240	30.8	Obese
Beyonce	5'6''	130	21	Normal
Tom Cruise	5'7''	166	26	Overweight
Tony Romo	6'2''	224	28.8	Significantly overweight
Serena Williams	5'9''	150	22.1	Normal
Jennifer Love Hewitt	5'2''	120	21.9	Normal