FitSugar

The Leanest Cuts of Meats Revealed

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:30:00 PST

Sick of chicken yet? You're not alone, but how does someone who's trying to watch her calories and fat intake pick a lean type of meat? I found a basic breakdown on the leanest meat choices on Yahoo and I thought it would be helpful in deciding which meat meets your needs. Here are the highlights:

Bison: We hope you’re ready to expand your dinner horizons because bison (aka buffalo) is the big winner. (Deer and elk are right on its hooves, er, heels.) Believe it or not, bison has slightly less fat and fewer calories (2 grams and 122 calories per 3-ounce serving) than skinless light meat chicken (3g and 144 cals). Plus, it’s a terrific source of protein (24g) and iron. The taste? Similar to beef, though slightly sweeter and richer.

Bonus: With bison (wild game, too), you aren't exposed to the cancer-linked growth hormones and antibiotics administered to farm-raised cows.

Beef and Veal: Beef and veal are skinniest when they’re loin or round cuts, such as beef bottom sirloin (6g fat, 150 cals) and top round veal (3g, 128 cals). Avoid veal cutlets and breast meat.

Pork: Choose leg cuts, such as ham, or loin, as in boneless sirloin pork chops or top loin chops (both have about 7g fat and 170 cals).

Lamb: Try cuts from the shank half of the leg (if labels aren’t clear, ask the butcher). Well-trimmed shank-half cuts have 5-6 grams fat and about 155 calories per serving.

Fit's Tip: Meat is generally higher in cholesterol and saturated fat than chicken, fish or vegetables, so use the choices above for those times when you just need some red meat.

Source

5 Tips for Cooking with Lean Meats

FitSugar — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 03:30:00 PDT

There are many ways to cut down on meat fat in your life, aside from participating in Meatless Mondays. You can basically aim to cook with lean meats.

Seems simple enough, but I always like a few tips when it come to healthy cooking. Here are a few tips from the Mayo Clinic on cooking with lean meat that I found helpful, so I thought I'd share them.

Choose lean cuts of meat and poultry. The leanest poultry choice is white meat from the breast of chicken or turkey, without the skin. Lean cuts of beef include round, chuck, sirloin or tenderloin. Lean pork includes tenderloin and loin chops.
Check labels on ground meat. When buying ground beef, look for packages with the highest percentage lean meat - 90 percent or higher. Most grocery stores offer several types of ground beef with varying percentages of lean meat by weight.
Try low-fat ground turkey or chicken breast meat. Ground poultry can have as much fat as ground beef has, or more, because it often includes dark meat and skin. To make the leanest choice, choose ground breast meat, or look for low-fat ground chicken or turkey.
Trim off any visible, solid fat from meat and poultry. This includes the skin on poultry. When roasting a whole chicken or turkey, leave the skin on during cooking, but remove it and the fat underneath before eating. Also, remove any visible fat from pork and beef after cooking. Remember beef labeled "choice" will have a lower fat content than those labeled "prime" or "select."
Use low-fat cooking methods. Low-fat cooking methods include grilling, broiling, roasting, sautéing and baking. When cooking meat in your oven, be sure to put the meat on a rack within a baking pan so that the fat drips away.

5 Foods That Boost Your Memory

Prevention — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:17:12 PDT

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

By Mandy Oaklander, Prevention

Leave it to scientists to burst our bubble. For years, studies have told us that chewing gum can boost memory recall, and as such, we’d pop Chiclets during noggin-twisting times: exams, high school reunions, Jeopardy. Did it ever work for us? Honestly, we can’t remember - and there might be reason for that.

A study out of Cardiff University in the UK found that not only does chewing gum not help your short-term memory, but it also impairs it. Though there are certain activities that surprisingly boost brain health, gum chewing isn’t one of them.

In a series of three experiments, 97 university students were asked to recall either a short sequence of letters or identify the missing item in a list. They performed significantly worse when chewing gum, no matter how vigorously or how lazily they chomped. Researchers speculate that the tongue, mouth, and jaw movements of gum chewing disrupt short-term memory (For a fun way to refresh your mind, try these seven brain games).

Nine Surprising Reasons You Can’t Concentrate

You can still fight short-term memory loss, hand to mouth, with these five tricks!

CrossFit Athlete Mel Ockerby Shares Her Beach-Ready Workout

Leta Shy — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 01:31:48 PDT

Have you gotten on the CrossFit bandwagon? Many celebrities are fans of CrossFit, and it's becoming more and more popular as a way to get results fast without being bored. Mel Ockerby is one such fan. The former gymnast started CrossFit training just two and a half years ago and now spends her days challenging herself and others as a Puma trainer and member of the reigning champion team in the Reebok CrossFit Games (I took a 12-minute workout with her last month, courtesy of Puma, and let me tell you, she knows what she's doing). I recently spoke to her about how she got into CrossFit, and asked her to share a bikini-ready workout with us.

FitSugar: Why do you like CrossFit so much?
Mel Ockerby: It's fun! You work out with your friends. The workout changes every day. It's never boring. It never gets "easy." Yes, you get better at certain movements, but once you're good at a movement, you either want to add more weight or do more reps to make it challenging again. There's always a challenge, and it can be competitive.

FS: What does your weekly workout routine look like? Do you have a rest day? Do you have less-intense days?
MO: I work out five times a week, usually two workouts per day, each lasting an average of 12 minutes. Some "rest" days, I will do a very low-intensity jog.

FS: What do you say to someone who is scared to try CrossFit?
MO: Just walk in the door! The people are super nice, the coach will scale the workout to your fitness level, and the feeling after you finish a [workout] is unmatched by anything else!

FS: What diet tips do you recommend for someone trying to get in shape for Summer?
MO: Eat real food! Lean meats (fish, chicken, grass-fed beef, seafood, turkey), veggies, nuts and seeds, and avocados. Avoid processed foods. Don't overdo the fruit and nuts.

CrossFit is all about simple, scalable moves that you can make more difficult by adding weights or reps. Mel recommends you try the following workout to get in shape for Summer, going as hard as you can without breaking form. Continue adding reps (or weights) to each exercise when you're ready - it's more important to "get the mechanics down first, perfectly" before you make your workout harder, Mel warns. "[There should be] no intensity until movements are consistently great," she says.

Read on for the workout.

From the Community: Everything You Need to Know About CrossFit

Fit Community — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:22:23 PDT

FitSugar reader meetcasey interviewed CrossFit expert Robert Sax, owner of the CrossFit Amped Gym, and posted the Q&A in our Get Fit For 2012 community group. Check out what Robert had to say about this rising fitness trend!

Meet the Expert: Robert Sax

Can you begin by telling us a little about yourself?

I am 27 years old and a Capricorn (yes, that’s the goat). I’m originally from Portland, ME (the first Portland), and I currently live in Bellevue, WA. I graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts with a BS in exercise science. I own CrossFit Amped, coach during the day, fight crime at night, and occasionally put down an entire jar of fresh-grind almond butter. Mmmmmm, fat!

What is CrossFit?

Textbook definition: it is constantly varied functional movements executed at a high intensity. CliffsNotes version: constantly changing workouts that involve body weight movements, gymnastics, aerobic and anaerobic training, Olympic lifting, power lifting, strongman movements, and anything else my twisted mind can conjure up! It is a universally scalable platform for exercise that allows any man or woman of any age and ability level to participate. I have worked with every walk of life and haven’t been stumped yet. In fact, I am currently coaching two men who are deaf, which was a challenge at first because of the amount of detail needed to comprehend and apply to certain movement patterns. Now it is no problem. In fact, I’ve learned some sign language because of it!

Learn more about what a CrossFit workout is and how it can change your body after the break

Happy 47th Birthday, Sarah Jessica Parker - See SJP's Fit Philosophy

Michele Foley — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:30:17 PDT

Birthday girl Sarah Jessica Parker, who turns 47 today, is a shining example of how to stay fit and fab well into your 40s! Keep reading to see how Sarah Jessica stays healthy, toned, and sane under the pressure of being a busy actress and devoted mother of three.

Fitness as a priority: You don't get arms like Sarah Jessica's from lifting three-pound weights. Next to Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica has some of the strongest guns in the business, sculpted by her daily personal training sessions and regular yoga classes. Sarah Jessica told Good Housekeeping, "I do like feeling fit and healthy. When you're young, you can run around and not really care about what shape you're in because you wake up every day feeling OK. But now that I'm older, I need to do more for myself." Want arms like Sarah Jessica? Check out this push-up variation that Sarah Jessica learned from trainer Marc Santa Maria.
She doesn't deprive herself: Sarah Jessica does not hide the fact that she loves food, and counts pasta, bacon, and cheese as some of her favorite indulgences. Like Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica lives to eat and makes up for it with her regular fitness routine. It's not a total junk-food fest, however, as she's also followed the Hamptons Diet of lean meats, healthy fats, and low carbs during those times that she's needed to drop a few pounds.
Being active isn't just about working out: We've all seen the photos - Sarah Jessica Parker walks everywhere! Whether she is picking up the kids from school or running errands, she prefers to hit the pavement rather than rely on a car to get her everywhere. And when distances are too far, she's also been known to hop on a bike to get her where she needs to go. Besides being a moderate-calorie burner, walking can help elevate your mood and ease digestion and is also a great way to catch up with a friend. It can also act as the gateway drug to running: check out this eight-week plan to go from walking to running in no time!

Do You Eat Meat? Ask Yourself These Important Questions

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:10:34 PDT

The majority of the US population include beef, poultry, or fish in their diet, which can be excellent sources of protein, vitamin B12, omega-3s, iron, and other essential nutrients. There's definitely a healthy and a not-so-healthy way to eat meat, so ask yourself these important questions to ensure your steak, grilled chicken, and tuna fish sandwich are doing your body good.

Am I Getting Enough Fiber?
(Wo)man can't live on meat alone, and while many low-carb diets applaud eating mostly meat, it's not something you can sustain. Besides valuable vitamins and minerals, fruits, veggies, and whole grains are also high in fiber, something meat lacks. Fiber not only keeps your digestive system happy, but getting your fill (25 to 30 grams a day) is proven to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Enjoy a fiber-rich side dish with every meal, including fresh salads, whole grains, and grilled veggies. You can also get creative and add fiber to your meat recipes like this beef and bulgur burger.

Keep reading to find out what other questions meat eaters should ask themselves.

What's the Difference Between Corned Beef and Pastrami?

Susannah Chen — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:15:24 PDT

After I made corned beef this past week, I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about it, other than the fact that it's absolutely delicious. What, exactly, makes it different from that other deli favorite, pastrami? Corned beef and pastrami are both beef cuts that have been cured and cooked. But that's where the similarity ends. Although brisket is commonly used for both, corned beef can also be made from lean round, while pastrami can also come from navel (plate) and round. Corned beef is first soaked in a salt water brine with pickling spices, then boiled.

The process for pastrami varies widely, but in general, the meat is first cured with a spice rub or soaked in brine. From that point, it's encrusted in peppercorns, then smoked. The beef may be hot-smoked all the way through; if not, it is then steamed or simmered. Were you aware of the difference between the two? Which do you ask for on a reuben?

Got a burning question? Join the Burning Question group in the YumSugar Community! It's your place to post the most pressing questions about the culinary world.

Source: Flickr User Marshall Astor

Reasons to Not Eat So Much Red Meat

Leta Shy — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 02:07:51 PDT

A strict vegetarian or vegan lifestyle isn't for everyone, but we can all benefit from eating less red meat. What's so bad about a few burgers, steaks, and bacon breakfasts, you ask? A lot, actually. Read on to find out why you shouldn't eat so much red meat.

You'll live longer: The number one reason to limit your red meat intake - you'll live longer. Studies have shown that regularly eating red and processed meats increases your risk of developing heart disease and cancer, in part because of the high saturated fat and cholesterol content. The newest study, released this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is the first to link the amount of red meat you eat to your actual risk of death. It found that replacing just one red meat dish a day with a healthier protein choice like fish, legumes, or poultry reduces your risk of dying early by seven to 19 percent.

More reasons to lay off the red meat after the break.

Battle PMS With These Foods

Fitness Magazine — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 04:06:30 PST

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

Are you plagued with period pain, fatigue, or other symptoms that turn you into a zombie for the week? Get relief by upgrading your diet. Here, experts share the foods that can boost energy, beat cramps, banish moodiness, and more.

Iron-Fortified Whole-Grain Cereal

Many women, especially those who consume very little meat or are vegetarians, don't get the iron they need. This saps their energy and makes it difficult for them to concentrate, says Karen Ansel, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson. "For women with heavy periods, iron is even more important because they lose larger amounts with each monthly flow. Iron-fortified whole-grain cereal is an easy way to get your daily dose." Ansel recommends looking for a box that provides at least 25 percent of the daily value for iron, then chase it down with a glass of orange juice - its vitamin C will help you absorb even more iron. At dinnertime, if you're craving iron-rich red meat, go ahead and have some, says Marissa Lippert, RD. Just stick to a lean cut (flank steak or tenderloin) and a 3- to 4-ounce portion.

More foods after the break!