FitSugar

French Warnings on Junk-Food Ads: Cool or Not?

FitSugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:30:00 PDT

French women have long been admired for their ability to eat the rich, high-calorie foods of their cuisine without becoming overweight. They have inspired diet tips and books. This moderate food culture might have more to do with the government than we thought because the French Parliament seems to be legislating the two extremes of current weight issues. Recently, they outlawed images of extreme thinness and they are considering taxing fattening foods like ~~french fries~~ pommes frites and hamburgers.

A friend of mine recently visited France and saw health warnings scrolling on the bottom of television ads for junk food, and took a photo of her hotel TV, knowing I'd want to see. The text translates roughly to: "For your health, eat at least five fruits and veggies a day." These warnings are not just limited to TV ads; they can be heard on the radio and seen in print ads as well. The warning reminds me a bit of the warning labels on cigarettes. While I appreciate those labels, I am not quite sure they keep people from lighting up, but hopefully they get smokers thinking.

So what do you think about these warning messages. Do you think they could help solve the obesity problem? Should we imitate our Gallic friends? Are these warnings . . .

10 Things You Do to Save Money That End Up Costing You More

Wise Bread — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:15:37 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Wise Bread story here on Savvy!

Have you heard of the expression “penny wise, pound foolish”? It’s something I heard a lot growing up, from my parents, and it can have multiple meanings:

You are very careful with small amounts of money, but throw caution to the wind with large amounts. This is akin to someone who eats from the dollar menu every day but then blows a hundred dollars every month on a gym membership that’s never used.
You do things to save money now, only to have those savings cost you more farther down the road.

The second definition is what I’m focusing on today, because it’s a lot easier to fall into the trap of saving money only to have it bite you later on. Here then are 10 things that you may be doing to save money that could actually cost you a lot more in the weeks, months, or years to come.

RELATED: The Case For Expensive Shoes

1. Avoiding Regular Checkups With the Doctor, Dentist, or Optician

It’s something I did in college when money was tight. “Aah, who needs to pay money to a dentist to have him tell me I should floss more?” Well, after leaving the dentist alone for a few years, I paid the price. Avoiding the regular cleanings and checkups left me facing a hefty bill later on when I needed a bunch of costly fillings. I was lucky that I didn’t need root canals or replacement teeth. Now I have a dental plan that covers free checkups twice a year, but even if you don’t, get to the dentist and doctor for health checks. It’s a lot better to pay a co-pay now than pay for major surgery later on. And worse still, it could even cost you your life, especially as so many conditions can be treated if they’re caught early enough.

Read on for more.

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.

Nutrition Myths That Can Cause Weight Gain

Shape — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:04:23 PST

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

Myth: Going Vegan Will Make You Lose Weight
"While various research shows that vegetarians and vegans, on average, consume fewer calories and less fat than omnivores (a 2009 Oxford study found that vegetarians weigh 3 to 20 percent less than their meat-eating counterparts, and a National Cancer Institute study found that subjects who consumed four ounces or more of red meat weekly were 30 percent more likely to die of any cause than those who ate less), these numbers may be misleading," says Rania Batayneh, MPH, a certified nutritionist and owner of Essential Nutrition for You.

Going vegan solely for weight loss can backfire, big time. If you aren’t vigilant with a vegan diet, it’s easy to lack in vital nutrients, vitamins, and proteins, which give you energy and help keep your metabolism stoked. Many first-time vegans may also find themselves reaching for more processed foods like vegan cookies, chips, or even ‘ice cream’ more often with such a restricted diet, and many end up packing on the pounds instead.

If you do decide to adopt a vegan diet, be sure to keep the ‘treats’ to a minimum and plan balanced meals (we love ‘Domestic Vegan’ Diva Jessica Olson’s tips for "going veg"). "Aim to get about 10 to 20 percent of your calories from protein (or about 1 gram per kilogram of body weight), replacing animal protein with healthy plant proteins, like those found in beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy products," Batayneh says. "And, whether you are vegan or not, eating more green, leafy vegetables is great for your health and your waistline."

See which other diet habits may also being causing weight gain after the break!

5 Reasons Your Job Is Making You Fat

FitSugar — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:05:00 PDT

Considering that many of us spend 40 hours (or more) at a desk each week, it's no wonder that work is a major strike against a healthy lifestyle. It's bad enough that we're sitting all day, but there are other work-related factors that contribute to an expanding waistline. Curious? Keep reading to find out why your job may be your diet's worst enemy.

You Sit at Your Desk All Day - Going to the bathroom and grabbing lunch just doesn't cut it! Remember to get up from your desk often - this will help release your muscles while also giving your seated posture and eyes a break. Use this time to either walk around the office or stretch. Some other ideas to keep you moving: walk to a colleague's desk instead of sending an email; ask to have a "walking meeting" outside instead of in a conference room; and take the stairs over the elevator. We're also fond of quick workouts that you can do during your lunch break like going for a run, power walk, or 30-minute gym session.
Happy Hour (or TV Time) Is Your Go-To Post-Work Activity - After a long day at work, the call of happy hour or a Project Runway marathon may seem like all you can muster. Instead of going from sitting all day at your desk to sitting on a bar stool or your couch, make time for something active. Keep a gym bag stashed under your desk as a visual reminder to hit the elliptical after work, or make a date with a friend to go to a yoga class. And because everyone deserves the occasional happy hour, schedule it for after your workout and choose these diet-friendly cocktails.

See more reasons why your job is making you fat after the break!

9 Easy Ways to Clean Up Your Diet

Prevention — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:42:25 PDT

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

Rules to help you eat less junk and slim down naturally
By Joe Kita, Prevention

Back to the Basics
Base your diet on Mother Nature's finest foods and the weight will come off

Food used to be simple. You ate what you grew on the land or you bought from nearby farmers. Processed food was nothing more than canned, frozen, or cured. Today, food is much more complicated - and we're both better and worse off for it. We can eat a greater variety of healthy foods than our ancestors did (think fresh berries in Winter), but we also can eat a lot more highly processed, chemical-laden ones. And that fare seems to be winning the day, if our epidemics of obesity and diabetes are any indication.

But an increasing trend toward clean eating - with its emphasis on whole, fresh, traditional fare - could mark a turning point in our sometimes dysfunctional relationship with food and help us achieve good health, culinary satisfaction, and optimal fitness.

To help you clean up your own diet and reap the benefits (weight loss and possible decreased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer), we created these nine rules. Start taking baby steps to adjust your diet, and you'll be eating clean in no time!

7 Healthy-eating mistakes you could be making.

Toss a few heavily processed staples
Instead of overhauling your pantry all at once, start by eliminating corn oil and soda - both highly processed, says Nina Planck, author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why. "That alone," she says, "is a huge first step." Another easy step is replacing refined breads and pastas made from white flour with ones made from whole grains.

Focus on favorite foods
To keep it simple, assess what part of your diet supplies the most calories, suggests Mary Ellen Camire, PhD, a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Maine. If you're an omnivore, buy meat that comes from grass-fed cattle and eggs from pasture-raised chickens, but stick to conventional produce instead of organic. If you're a vegetarian, buying organic produce makes more sense.

There's more so keep reading.

Researchers Identify the Top Foods That Are Making Us Fat

Leta Shy — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:18:10 PDT

A new report from Harvard researchers has found the top foods that are making us fat, and the findings are not at all surprising.

The extensive study used data for over 120,000 healthy men and women from previous studies to track their diet every four years from 1986 to 2006 to see how their lifestyle and what they ate affected their weight. The researchers found that within each period the average weight gain was a little over three pounds - which added up to a 17-pound total weight gain over the 20-year period.

What caused that weight gain? Topping the list of culprits are meat, sweetened drinks, fried foods, and any form of potatoes. The biggest cause of weight gain was eating french fries; every extra serving of fries eaten in a day was linked to a gain of more than three pounds, while eating an extra serving of potato chips led to 1.69 pounds. Other diet busters included refined grains (like white rice and white bread) and butter.

But the news wasn't all bad; the study also identified the foods that helped prevent weight gain. Read on for the list of foods that cause and prevent weight gain.

Make It: Healthier Nachos

Heather Dale — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:00:56 PST

Oh nachos, why do you have to be so delicious? I really do love a good plate of nachos - especially when they come loaded with all the good stuff like cheese, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and jalapeños. Not exactly the healthiest guilty pleasure, but they sure are tasty. With Spring right around the corner, I'm trying to get my body back to pre-Winter shape by amping up my workouts and cutting back on my junk food favorites.

Rather than kiss nachos goodbye for the next four months, I've decided to tweak my recipe by cutting out the fat and calories and adding in some wholesome goodness.

Keep reading to see what I've come up with for my new and improved nacho dish.

Fittingly Mad: "Functional" Junk Foods

FitSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:00:39 PDT

Companies are always coming up with new ways to entice customers to buy their products. Recently, a whole line of functional foods has evolved - regular foods that are enhanced with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. These products sound really healthy, so the average consumer sees "Now With Added Fiber" or "Packed With Vitamin A" on the package and places it to the cart without even looking at the label. If they did peek, they would be appalled to see that these products are often just junk food disguised as healthy food. Many of these products contain loads sugar, corn syrup, sodium, and the dreaded trans fat.

Food companies are preying on lazy consumers who see buzz words like "antioxidants," "fiber," and "omega-3s," which make us think we're not getting enough, so we feel compelled to buy these products. The truth is, if you eat a healthy diet full of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins, you don't need all these enhanced foods. You get enough of what you need from your diet alone. If you're worried about making your quota of certain nutrients, then opt for eating a food that naturally contains what you're missing, instead of foods that are artificially enriched.