FitSugar

Healthy Holiday Eating: Keep a Food Journal

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:22 -0800

If the thought of decadent holiday food is stressing you out already, take control and try keeping track of your holiday eating with a food journal. It seems simple, but by writing down what you're eating throughout the day, you'll develop a real awareness of what you're putting in your body. A treat here and there, if you're not keeping track, can feel like it's no big deal, but writing it down will give you a real record of what you've eaten and make it easier to judge if you really do want dessert.

As a trial, test out how food journaling works for you over Thanksgiving, and if it seems to boost your healthy eating habits, keep it going through Christmas and the New Year. Plus, you can make it even easier to keep track by using your phone to journal, or if you decide to get into it, pick up one of these inconspicuous little journals or try an iPhone app. You might just find that this is a health trick you want to stick with.

Holiday Eating Tip: Healthier Easter Basket

FitSugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:45:00 -0700

Easter is coming up this Sunday, and for those of you who celebrate and are also trying to watch your weight, this means another holiday of dealing with candy and sweets. The positive side is that there is no rule that says you have to fill your Easter basket with pounds of chocolate eggs and jellybeans. Fill your basket with these healthier alternatives instead:

Carrots (since the Easter Bunny likes to share)
Fresh fruit
Homemade cookies that are filled with healthy ingredients like oats, raisins, dried cranberries, walnuts, and dark chocolate chips
Bars of Dark chocolate
Colored eggs made with homemade dyes
Dark chocolate covered peanuts, pretzels, or raisins
Mini banana bread muffins
Fitness DVDs
A scented candle
Animal shaped hand soaps (my girls love these)

If you want to see the other ideas then read more

A jar of all fruit jam
Energy bars
A potted plant
Small picture frames
Trail mix
Herbal teas and a mug
A CD of relaxing music
For kids: a coloring book, colored pencils, puzzles, small toys, stuffed bunnies, stickers, play-doh, magnets, disposable cameras, packets of seeds and gardening tools, plastic eggs filled with coins or beads, Silly Putty (it even comes in its own egg), and books about Easter.

Fit's Tips: I don't believe in denying yourself anything, especially during special family and holiday times. Make sure you do enjoy the treats you love, but do so in moderation. So if you get a 12 inch chocolate bunny then you may just want to eat one ear, instead of the entire bunny in one sitting.

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Holiday Eating Tip: Rebound After the Gorge

FitSugar — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:15:00 -0800

Marty, a contestant from season three of The Biggest Loser, once said: "The largest [dieting] obstacle is getting back on track after a cheat day." I have to second that. With the biggest cheat day of the year being Thanksgiving, I thought I would remind you to get back on the healthy lifestyle wagon right away. Don't allow one day of indulgence send you into a downward spiral.

Plan on exercising Friday. Morning is always best, because that way you are sure to fit a workout into your busy post-holiday schedule. Also avoid the temptation to eat pie and leftover stuffing for breakfast - or am I the only one who does that? Instead, have a healthy, balanced breakfast, then make yourself a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread and hold the mayo.

The bottom line: So you might overindulge for one day. Fine. Just don't let it push you off track until the New Year!

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Holiday Eating Tip: Watch Those Calories

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:30:00 -0800

If you're not looking to gain any weight between Thanksgiving and Jan. 1, 2008, then take this into consideration.

Eating 88 extra calories per day between Thanksgiving and Jan. 1 will most likely leave you one pound heavier by 2008 - that's like eating just over three Hershey's Kisses (or a quarter of a slice of pumpkin pie) a day.

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Holiday Eating Tip: Eating in Groups

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:30:00 -0800

The holidays are approaching which means all of us healthy eaters need to be armed to go into holiday meals with our best tricks up our sleeve.

In light of this and because it's time to start thinking about the holidays, CalorieLab.com offers some great tips and tricks for surviving holiday meals. Here are highlights:

Sit next to the slowest eater at the table and match that person’s pace
Always have some food left on your plate to forestall the “one more helping” impulse
Decide how much you will eat before the meal takes place
Be the last person to begin eating
Limit your meal to the entree plus a maximum of two items, with dessert, appetizer, bread and so forth constituting an item each

Source

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800

Holiday Diet Tip: Don't Skip Breakfast Before a Big Dinner

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:00:54 -0800

Christmas is almost here, and many of you are gearing up for gifts, time with the fam, and that enormous Christmas dinner. It may seem like a great idea to forgo breakfast to save room for your decadent evening meal, but it's not a good strategy for a few reasons. Not only will you feel exhausted and too crabby to socialize, but avoiding breakfast will also slow down your metabolism. To compensate for the calories you didn't consume, your body will conserve them, so you'll actually end up burning fewer calories. If you skip your first meal, you'll be starving by the time dinner rolls around, so you could end up devouring way more calories than you otherwise would.

Research also shows that eating breakfast reduces your risk of heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart failure. So do your body good by enjoying a hearty meal first thing in the morning. Choose foods that are high in protein, low in saturated fat, and full of fiber. Yogurt, high fiber cereal, oatmeal, and vegetable omelets are great choices.

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Healthy Eating Tip: Eating in Groups

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0800

Thanksgiving is a gluttonous holiday, and when sharing a table with others it is easy to lose your moderate ways and over indulge in a foodie version of keeping up with the Joneses. I am here to remind you to stick to your guns and remember your willpower. I have a few tricks to share, just in case you feel yourself succumbing to the chow down peer pressure.

Sit next to the slowest eater at the table and match that person’s pace. Put your fork down when they put their fork down. Eating slower will not only aid your digestion, but you will feel full after about 20 minutes of eating and eat less in the time period.
Aim to be the last person to finish eating, just like when you were a kid and you wanted your ice cream cone to last the longest so you could taunt your siblings.
Always keep some food on your plate so when the hostess tries to push seconds on you, you can say you're not done with your first helping.

Remember to enjoy yourself, but don't let the spirit of the group gorge take over.

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Healthy Eating Tip: Veggies For Crackers

FitSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0800

Party season is coming, which means appetizers and lots of them. One way to turn many finger foods into a health food fest is substituting veggies and fruits for crackers, chips, and bread. If you're hosting a party, I suggest experimenting with your standard cheese and crackers hors d’oeuvres and try putting some produce into the mix. Fruit slices pair well with so many cheeses, and crudités are great for dipping into all kinds of sauces and spreads.

Here are a few of my suggestions for substituting produce for crackers. How to top these fruits and veggies is up to you:

Red pepper triangles
Pear slices
Apple slices

I have a few more suggestions so read more.

Halved figs
Cucumber slices
Belgian endive leaves
Unpeeled, halved red or purple potatoes

If you have any other great substitutes, I would love to hear them, so leave them in the comments section below.

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7 Food Safety Tips For the Fourth of July

FitSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:35:18 -0700

Fourth of July is all fun and games - until someone gets food poisoning! OK, while that may not be your biggest concern this holiday, don't forget food safety when making salads and moving meat from the kitchen to the 'cue. Here are a few important rules to remember.

Clean your plates. If you transport raw meat to the grill on a platter, be sure to wash the platter before plating up the cooked meat or swap out a clean one.
Keep separate cutting boards. Don't use the same cutting board for raw meat that you do for other foods, and be sure to wash rigorously anything that comes into contact with the raw stuff.
Take the temperature. Use a meat thermometer to determine when you meat is cooked: the FDA recommends a temp of 160°F for ground beef and 165°F for poultry.

For tips regarding the nonmeat part of the meal, read more.

Wash the produce. Even if you're grilling the veggies, be sure to rinse them thoroughly and give potatoes and root veggies a scrub with a brush.
Opt for loose lettuce. Avoid potentially contaminated bagged produce and go for heads of lettuce instead. Better yet, discard the outermost layers before washing.
Mind the mayo. Don't leave mayonnaise-based salads like potato salad out for more than two hours or, if it's above 90°F, an hour.
Put it away. Refrigerate any leftovers within two hours of eating.