FitSugar

Being Thin Doesn't Mean You're Not Fat

FitSugar — Mon, 14 May 2007 14:30:00 PDT

I have talked about being TOFI (thin outside, fat inside) before, but it is back in the news more than ever right now.

New research has found that people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim.

They eat too many fatty, sugary foods - and exercise too little to work it off - but they are not eating enough to actually be fat. Scientists believe we naturally accumulate fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere.

There is an increased risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes with anyone who has increased fat, no matter where it is. This means that normal-weight persons who are sedentary and unfit are at much higher risk for death than obese persons who are active and fit.

MRI's seem to be the only real way to tell if you're TOFI right now, so in order to keep your internal fat deposits at bay then a combination of diet and exercise is the way to go. If you just want to look thin, then maybe all you need to do is diet, but if you want to actually be healthy, then exercise has to be added as well.

Thanks to ccsugar for bringing this issue back to my attention.

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Top 10 Mistakes You Make on the Elliptical Trainer

Prevention — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:08:59 PST

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

By Lisa Hoehn, Prevention

As the weather drops, more and more people head straight to one machine in their gym - the elliptical trainer. According to a 2008 report from the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association, the number of users of elliptical trainers in health clubs grew sevenfold from 1997 to 2007. And while you may be proud of yourself for making it to the gym and squeezing in some cardio, taking a lackadaisical approach to your elliptical workout and casually spinning your legs while reading a magazine or watching TV isn't going to blast away those holiday cookies. Here, 10 mistakes you frequently make on the elliptical and how to fix them so you maximize calorie burn while adding fun to your ho-hum routine.

Top Workout Ideas For When the Gym Is Too Crowded

1. You’re too lazy to enter your information.
Most machines are calibrated for a 150-pound person - but personalizing your stats will help you get a more accurate calorie read. Aim to burn around 100 calories per 10 minutes, says Jennifer Cassetty, an exercise physiologist.

2. Your resistance is zero.
You might feel like a million bucks spinning at a mile a minute, but without resistance, you’re not going to see results, says Röbynn Europe, a personal trainer at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Make sure that you’re using enough resistance to push and pull through the stride. Then continue at a moderate pace until you feel like you’ve done all you can do. "You shouldn’t feel like you have even five minutes left in you when you step off," she says.

3. You're a sloucher.
Standing up straight helps to lengthen your abs, giving you a chance to engage your core and even work your upper body muscles, Cassetty says. Certified personal trainer Neal I. Pire, MA, CSCS, president of Inspire Training Systems in New Jersey, recommends hopping on a machine with an upper body component so you can engage even more muscles - and blast more fat. Can't find a machine that lets you pump your arms? Let go: some research suggests that leaning on machine armrests during exercise reduces calorie burning.

How to Buy a Cardio Machine

4. Your machine sounds like it’s going to take off.
If you can hear the purr of the machine while you’re exercising, it means that you’re going too fast without enough resistance - which means you're not getting the most calorie burn out of your time, Cassetty says. Keeping a steady, moderate pace at a resistance that forces you to use your muscles will get, and keep, your heart rate up.

Learn four more fitness mistakes after the break.

4 More Facts You Don't Know About Calories

Prevention — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:08:37 PST

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

Only 12 percent of Americans can estimate the calories they eat in a day! Find out why we're so clueless and get easy ways to stop calorie confusion
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

You know what calories are, and you probably know that if you eat too many, you'll gain weight. But do you know how many are in your favorite deli sandwich? Or how many calories you should really eat each day? Most Americans don’t. Only 12 percent can accurately estimate the number of calories they should consume in a day someone their age, height, weight, and physical activity, according to a 2010 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation. So what is it about calories that keeps us baffled? Last month, we shared some reasons you might be confused about calories - here are four more and the simple steps that will help you do the math.

1. Exercise makes you hungry
Though studies are mixed when it comes to whether exercise actually stimulates or suppresses appetite, many people think of working out as a way to eat whatever they like. "There’s definitely a mentality of 'I have sweated therefore I deserve,'" says Bonci. However, with most people burning about 100 calories per mile, a short workout won't give you a free pass to eat junk food. "If you walk two miles, eating a handful of chips post-workout can undo the calories you burned," says Bonci. As mentioned above, gym machines don’t accurately measure calories burned, either.

Stop the confusion: To stop an after-workout binge, fuel up pre-gym, Zied suggests. "Have something before - something with carbs and a little protein, like whole wheat toast and peanut butter or a banana and milk." Depending on the intensity of your workout, you may need something afterward as well. After a workout longer than 45 minutes, you should aim to eat about 200 calories.

Tips to Stop Overeating After Workouts

2. Liquid calories are ignored
"People are spending hundreds of calories on beverages each day," says Zied. Unfortunately, a lot of those calories are from sugar-sweetened drinks and alcohol, not milk and 100 percent fruit juice. According to a 2007 study, beverage intake accounted for roughly 12 percent of total calories in 1965 and steadily increased to 21 percent in 2002 - that's 222 extra calories a day from drinks alone! Because bottled drinks often contain multiple servings, it’s best to either pour a serving in a glass or look for mini soda cans and juice boxes.

Keep reading for more info about calories and weight loss after the break.

How to Get Your Metabolism Moving

Health — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:03:06 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

Does your metabolism grind to a halt after 35? Can certain foods rev it up? Answers ahead — and they're good.
By Paige Greenfield

Here's something to feel good about: your body is a calorie-burning machine. You'll even torch a few while reading this article. The point is, every single thing you do — from breathing to eating to sleeping — uses energy. The number of calories it would take just to lie in bed all day is called your resting metabolic rate. And just like your curly hair or warm personality, yours is unique.

"There are so many factors that determine your metabolic rate," says Janet Rankin, PhD, professor of human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Tech. Among them: your height and weight (bigger people burn more calories), your gender (women have slower metabolisms than men), your age (your metabolic rate declines as you get older), how much muscle or fat you have (muscle burns more calories than fat does), and your DNA.

Health.com: Little Ways to Lose Big Pounds

Although you can't rewire your double helix or switch back the clock, there's still plenty you can do to be a fast burner, Rankin says. All you need to do is remember these four research-backed truths.

Cardio Revs Your Metabolism For Hours Afterward
Resistance training often hogs the metab-boosting spotlight. It's no wonder, since a pound of muscle at rest fries three times as many calories as a pound of fat. However, cardio is every bit as crucial for keeping your metabolism humming.

New research explains why: In a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, people pedaled a stationary bike as hard as they could for 47 minutes.
The finding: They slashed 190 calories above their resting metabolic rate for 14 hours after their workout. Add that to the 519 calories, on average, the cyclists scorched from the workout itself, and that's one heck of a sweat session.

"If you do just two to three vigorous bouts of exercise per week for 45 minutes, you could lose a pound of fat every two weeks from the combination of calories expended during exercise plus what you burn afterward," says study author David Nieman, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Appalachian State University.

So how can you tell if you're pushing hard enough? Any sweat-inducing activity you can sustain for 45 minutes will do the trick.

More useful tips after the break.

Ways to Ramp Up Workouts For Holiday Indulging

Michele Foley — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:35:54 PST

Confession: I've thrown in the towel when it comes to healthy holiday eating. Between the cocktail parties, office treats, and elaborate dinners, it seems near impossible! To compensate for my indulgences, I am ramping up my fitness regimen. (Recent studies confirm that regular exercise minimizes weight gain that comes from a fatty, high-calorie diet.) If holiday indulgences also have the best of you, see which kind of calorie-torching workouts will give you the most bang for your buck during this season of indulgence.

Intense cardio: If you're looking to melt away fat, walking mindlessly on the treadmill isn't the most effective way to go. New research says that intense workouts are the key to weight loss and speeding up metabolism. Skip the recumbent bike and choose a spin class, cardio kickboxing or dance class, or run continuously on the treadmill at a challenging speed. The idea is to keep the heart rate up and feel so out of breath that you wouldn't be able to carry on a conversation. Need guidance? Use the talk test to gauge the intensity of your workout.
Interval training: If going at a fast pace for an entire workout seems daunting, opt for interval training instead. Whether you're running, biking, or on the elliptical, alternate back and forth between moderate and beyond-fast speeds. A recent study in the International Journal of Obesity confirms that interval training is key when it comes to getting rid of belly fat. Interval training also increases the after-burn effect. This means that post-exercise, your body burns more calories, even at rest or sleep, after doing intervals than after doing a steady paced workout. Check these examples of interval workouts to do on the elliptical, treadmill, and more.
Circuit training: Circuit training is the best of both worlds: a workout that mixes strength training with cardio. (This also makes it an effective workout to do when time is short.) Even though it may not seem like it, building muscle is key to losing weight. Since muscle tissue requires more energy to exist than other tissues (like fat), it burns more calories overall. Mixing it in with cardio keeps the heart rate up, meaning you kill two birds with one stone. Check out this 30-minute circuit workout.

4 Surprising Things You Don't Know about Calories

Prevention — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:12:55 PST

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

Only 12 percent of Americans can estimate the calories they eat in a day! Find out why we're so clueless and get easy ways to stop calorie confusion.
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

You know what calories are, and you probably know that if you eat too many, you’ll gain weight. But do you know how many are in your favorite deli sandwich? Or how many calories you should really eat each day? Most Americans don’t. Only 12% can accurately estimate the number of calories they should consume in a day someone their age, height, weight, and physical activity, according to a 2010 survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation. So what is it about calories that keeps us baffled? Here are 8 reasons you’re confused about calories and the simple steps that will help you do the math.

8 Healthy Foods That Help Fight Disease

1. Portions Sizes Are Out of Control
You’ve all heard about the rapidly expanding serving sizes of restaurant and fast food portions, but just how bad are they? Portions sizes in restaurants may contain double or triple the calories of home-cooked meals, and studies show eating out is associated with a higher BMI. Unfortunately, those portions affect our waistlines. When there’s more food on the plate, people eat more-up to 30% more, according to an analysis of several studies.

Stop the confusion: Use this cheat sheet of portion sizes. We know it’s hard to look at your plate as decks of cards, tennis balls, and all the other, so start by measuring out your food servings at home and take a good look at what a half-cup of pasta looks like. Until the serving sizes are engrained in your brain, when dining out, aim to eat half of your meal, saving the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Comfort Food That’s Actually Good for You

2. Serving Sizes Are Deceiving
"There really aren’t standard serving sizes for packaged foods, which makes them confusing," explains Elisa Zied, RD, author Nutrition at Your Fingertips. She gives the example of cereal. A standard serving size of breakfast cereal is approximately 50 g, but depending on the cereal, that could mean a cup and a half of flakes or half a cup of heartier granola. Depending on the type of cereal you’re eating, just eyeing how much you put in the bowl, like most people do, can lead to inaccurate calorie counts.

Not only that, but larger-than-life snack foods may seem like single servings even though they often contain two to three servings per packet. Buy a 16-ounce bottled Coca-Cola, and the nutrition label reads 100 calories . . . for one of the two servings in the bottle. Drink the whole thing, as many people do, and you’re really getting 200 calories. Eat the whole bag of Austin Zoo Animal Crackers, commonly found in office vending machines, and you’re getting 230 calories, nearly two servings, instead of just one.

Keep reading to learn even more about calories!

How to Stick to Your Diet (or Workout)

Health — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:07:08 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

By Su Reid St. John

I've been struggling a bit recently with old, not-so-great eating habits. I've made a few halfhearted attempts to stem the tide, but it wasn't until last week, when I found my favorite jeans a little hard to button, that I realized I'd gotten pretty far off track. So I turned to a simple mantra for help: It's not an option.

I repeat it every time a plate of brownies shows up in the break room, my husband bakes gingerbread cookies and leaves them on the counter, or I'm simply contemplating a second helping of tortellini.

5-Minute Fat Burners

I actually got it from Lisa Delaney, author of the funny, insightful book Secrets of a Former Fat Girl (and former executive editor at Health magazine). She came up with the phrase in a desperate moment, trying to stop her formerly out-of-shape self from quitting yet another workout. "Those four little words ended the internal argument right there," she writes. Bam. Done.

It's not an option.

The finality of this particular mantra is what makes it so effective for me. It simply slams the door on the possibility of doing something I don't need to do - this is the way it is, no arguing. It's oddly freeing, too, because as soon as I say it, my inner waffling comes to a halt and I no longer have the stressful "should I or shouldn't I?" debate running nonstop through my brain.

More tips after the break.

How Can I Get Rid of Love Handles?

Shape — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 04:14:40 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to personal trainer and strength coach Joe Dowdell for some help!

Q: How can I get rid of love handles?

A: There isn't just one secret to losing love handles - it's a combination of factors. It's true that the typical answer of total-body strength training, high-intensity cardio intervals, proper nutrition, and sound recovery strategies are the keys to long-term success, but there are more secret strategies for burning belly fat.

You've probably heard that cortisol, the "stress hormone," is responsible for excess abdominal fat, but that's only part of the story. Your body produces cortisol in response to stress—physical, mental, or emotional. This may include extremely low-calorie diets (fasting or starvation), infection, lack of quality sleep, emotional trauma, or intense exercise, as well as daily stressors such as job pressure or relationship trouble.

Top 50 Fall Dit Foods for Weight Loss

Stress and cortisol alone do not make you fat, but research has linked high cortisol levels with storage of body fat, particularly visceral belly fat. Visceral fat is packed deeper in the abdominal cavity and around the internal organs, whereas "regular" fat is stored below the skin (known as subcutaneous fat). Visceral fat is particularly unhealthy because it is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes. Therefore, the key to avoid storing excess fat around your middle is controlling your cortisol response, or the amount of stress on your body.

Learn the top tips for getting rid of love handles after the break!

Facials and Acne

Allure — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 04:05:00 PST

We're excited to present this story from our friends at Allure:

Getting facial treatments with extractions may reduce premenstrual acne, but the timing seems to be important, according to a report in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science. When performing comedone extraction (steaming and gently pressing on the skin around blocked pores to remove dirt, oil, and debris), "I observed that when I did this with my clients midcycle, just after ovulation, they had less acne prior to their periods," says study author Katerina Steventon, a cosmetologist in the United Kingdom.

Her hypothesis: Such facials should be done around ovulation, because pore size decreases afterward, and because the skin becomes more oily and vulnerable to bacteria before menstruation; all these conditions may make extraction less efficient in preventing premenstrual acne. This needs to be tested in a clinical study, she adds.

How to Maximize the Health Benefits of Olive Oil

Zelana Montminy — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:24:53 PDT

Chances are high you use olive oil regularly, but do you know how to best reap its health benefits? Recent studies confirm the numerous benefits of a Mediterranean diet, a diet focused on healthy fats largely sourced from olive oil. To find out how to get the most from this prized oil, I sat down with Laurent Halasz, olive oil expert and the owner of Fig and Olive, the celebrated Mediterranean and French Riviera-inspired eatery with locations in New York and Los Angeles (where the president recently dined!) to get the scoop.

Better Than Butter
Laurent suggests using olive oil instead of butter while cooking, especially as a finishing step by drizzling the oil on your dish. Drizzle it on everything, even on the most unexpected choices such as desserts - I can vouch that it's surprisingly delicious mixed with sweets!

Taste Trumps Color
When asked whether flavor or color matters more for identifying healthful oils, he notes that the health benefit of the oil comes from the level of natural antioxidants, or polyphenols. Laurent explains that "a high polyphenol content can be identified when we taste the olive oil and it creates an assertive, peppery astringency in the back of the throat and makes us cough. A bitter, unpleasant or flat olive oil usually indicates an oil that has oxidized and has low antioxidant content."

Keep on reading to learn more about olive oil.