We found this great post on Eating Well and just had to share it.
Sneaky Food Swaps to Cut 875 Calories
Click picture for Skinny Guacamole recipe
Even though (or maybe because) I’m a registered dietitian and associate nutrition editor of EatingWellMagazine, I think that healthy diets should leave room for indulgences. (Small treats won’t break your diet and may even help you stick to an overall healthy eating pattern.) That being said, I think there are plenty of tasty ways to substitute healthier ingredients for higher-calorie foods without feeling like you’re making a big sacrifice taste-wise. Here are some of my favorite swaps.
Try them all and you can save 875 calories!
1. Swap: Some of the avocado in guacamole for zucchini
Save: 100 calories
The monounsaturated fats in avocado—the main ingredient in guacamole—may be heart-healthy, but they also pack a calorie punch. A typical avocado-heavy guacamole delivers 200 calories per half cup. For the May/June 2012 issue of EatingWell Magazine, the EatingWell Test Kitchen came up with an amazing (and surprising) substitution for half the avocado—cooked zucchini! This is some of the best guacamole I’ve had—and the swap shaved 100 calories off the real deal. Get the recipe for slimmed-down guacamole and more healthy Mexican dips.
2. Swap: A hamburger bun for an English muffin
Save: 120 calories
As grilling season kicks into high gear, beware the burger bun. A typical bun delivers 236 “empty” calories—mostly from white flour—without adding much taste or nutrition. Save 120 calories simply by swapping that burger bun for an English muffin. If you want to really pump up the nutrition, choose a whole-wheat muffin, which will give you added fiber, helping you feel more full from your meal. No English muffins at your friend’s cookout? Scoop out the inside of a regular hamburger bun and you’ll save 60 calories.
3. Swap: Premium ice cream for blended frozen banana “yogurt”
Save: 170 calories
If you’re really craving ice cream, go for it (sometimes I find that just a spoonful will satisfy me, or measure yourself a half-cup serving and enjoy). But if it’s just a cold, creamy treat you’re after, this skinny swap is surprisingly satisfying: put some slightly thawed frozen bananas in the blender and blend until they’re creamy, the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Sprinkle in cocoa powder if you want a chocolaty version. A small banana is 90 calories; a half-cup serving of premium ice cream is 260 calories.
4. Swap: Mayonnaise for low-fat mayo
Save: 45 calories
Mayonnaise—made primarily from oil and eggs—is not surprisingly a calorie bomb (a tablespoon of the stuff packs 90 calories). It may seem like a no-brainer, but swapping low-fat mayo for full-fat is one switch that EatingWell’s Test Kitchen cooks consistently find worth it. Of all the variations on mayo—light, no-fat, reduced-fat—they’ve found that low-fat mayo tastes the best and has only half the calories (just 45 calories per tablespoon).
5. Swap: Some ground beef for grated vegetables
Save: 30 calories
Ground beef is chock full of healthy iron and zinc, but its saturated fat can lend extra calories (that’s why it’s always good to look for lean ground beef). To sneakily lower calories without sacrificing portion size or flavor, try bulking up your beef with shredded or chopped vegetables—mushrooms, peppers, zucchini and even carrots work well. (You might recognize this trick from all those cookbooks on sneaking vegetables into children’s diets, but it works for adults, too—in fact, it’s another trick the EatingWell Test Kitchen uses often to cut calories, boost vegetables and make recipes healthier.) We recommend adding up to 1 cup of chopped or grated veggies to a pound of ground beef when making meatloaf, chili and other dishes. Doing this may help you stretch that pound of beef from four servings to five—and trim 30 calories per serving.
6. Swap: Chicken for tofu
Save: 100 calories
You might think of tofu only as a replacement for meat or chicken when you want to eat vegetarian, but when you’re looking to save calories it’s also a great choice. Ounce for ounce, it has fewer calories than chicken or beef, saving you up to 100 calories per 3.5-ounce serving of chicken breast. (Try it yourself in this Tofu Parmigiana and more delicious tofu recipes.)
7. Swap: Sour cream for plain yogurt
Save: 30 calories
Rich and creamy plain yogurt adds tang and texture similar to sour cream for baked potatoes, burritos or black bean soup. Go for nonfat or lowfat yogurt for the biggest calorie savings (and an added dose of calcium). You’ll save 30 calories per 2 tablespoons.
8 Swap: Potatoes for cauliflower
Save: 100 calories
There’s a reason cauliflower has a reputation as the skinny “starch.” Boasting only 29 calories per cup (compared to 130 calories in a medium potato), it also delivers almost a day’s worth of vitamin C. It’s a versatile vegetable that’s delicious mashed, blended into a “creamy” soup or roasted. Celery root is another good swap for mashed potatoes—just replace some of the potatoes with boiled celery root.
Recipes to Try: Creamy Mashed Cauliflower and More Easy Cauliflower Recipes
9. Swap: Spaghetti for spaghetti squash
Save: 180 calories
When I first discovered spaghetti squash I was thrilled—I baked it and used the spaghetti-like interior as a base for my favorite homemade pasta sauce and instantly doubled the amount of vegetables I ate at that meal. But this swap not only ups your veggie intake, it slashes calories while letting you enjoy the flavors of your favorite noodle dishes. Spaghetti squash has only 42 calories per cup—180 calories less than a cup of cooked spaghetti! If you’re not a fan of spaghetti squash, you can still lighten your pasta by using less pasta and bulking up on veggies in the topping.
We want to hear from you! What sneaky substitutions to you use to save calories?
Posted in Health Topics Recipes by .
Apr 12
19
Make Sure Your Fitness Plan Is Smart
By Maria Crompton, a fitness guru and personal trainer with Fit for Life in San Diego, California.
If you’re reading this, you know how important exercise is.
However, there are right ways to exercise and there are wrong ways. In order to get the greatest benefit from your workout and prevent possible injury, you’ve got to do it the right way.
What is the right way? You’re about to find out.
No Pain, No Gain?
You’ve heard the phrase “No pain, no gain.” But this isn’t exactly true for exercise. Actually, exercising doesn’t have to cause pain in order to get you in shape.
If you are just beginning to exercise, a little muscle soreness is to be expected. But don’t give up. Work through it, stick with your exercise routine, and in few days the soreness should be gone for good.
If you ever do experience severe pain while exercising, stop until it goes away. If it lasts for more than a few days, see your doctor.
Three Parts
What does a balanced exercise plan look like to you? Is walking 30 minutes four days a week enough? Lifting weights four times a week? In a word, no.
There are actually three components of a balanced workout routine: aerobic, strength-training, and flexibility exercises.
Aerobic or cardio exercises strengthen your lungs and heart. Examples include running, walking, swimming, cycling, basketball.etc.. But remember to throw in some speedwork and intervals to maximize your results. We don’t need to be out there for boring endless hours.
Strength or resistance training exercises keep your bones and muscles strong and help with coordination and balance. Strength training refers to weight lifting, resistance bands, and body-weight exercises.
The third part of a balanced exercise routine includes flexibility exercises to reduce your risk of injury and improve your body’s range of motion. Examples include stretching, yoga, and tai chi.
It doesn’t matter what order you perform your aerobic and strength-training exercises, unless you have specific goals. Working on endurance? Go cardio first. Trying to focus on building strength? Do weights first. Either way is beneficial. Just be sure to incorporate all three types of exercise each week.
Warm Up and Cool Down
If you don’t warm up before or cool down after exercising you could harm your muscles.
The best way to get your muscles ready for exercising is to include a brief time of light aerobics such as brisk walking or steady cycling to get your breathing and heart rate slightly elevated.
To cool down, continue exercising at a slower pace or lower level of intensity for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then end with a few gentle stretches to loosen your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. A cool-down period will help your muscles recover and help prevent injury or soreness.
Target Heart Rate
To get the greatest benefit from your workout, it is important to exercise at your target heart rate zone.
To determine your target heart rate, you must first find your maximum heart rate. To do this, subtract your age from 220. Your target heart rate is 50-85 percent of your maximum heart rate.
For example, if you are 40 years old, your maximum heart rate is 180 and your target heart rate is between 90 and 153 beats per minute.
To measure your pulse, place your fingers on your wrist or the arteries on your neck and count how many beats you feel per minute, or double the number of beats in 30 seconds.
Sports Drink or Water?
Your body requires plenty of fluids before, during, and after exercise.
Try to drink at least 20 ounces of water several hours before your workout and eight more ounces about a half hour before your workout. Then drink about 10 ounces of water every 10 to 20 minutes during exercise.
During normal everyday exercise, water is usually the best for rehydrating. But when you exercise intensely for more than an hour, sports drinks are as good or even better. Sports drinks contain a high amount of carbohydrates, which provide energy. They also help to replace the electrolytes lost from sweating.
Maria Crompton has been a fitness specialist for 10 years. She has been in the fitness industry as a passionate and dedicated athlete and fitness guru. She loves sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with others. Maria helps people of all levels of fitness, encouraging a healthy active lifestyle that they can enjoy and sustain for life!
Posted in Fitness Health Topics by .
Apr 12
18
How Fad Diets Get it Right
By Emily Barr, MS,RD,CNSC -
Life is too short to waste time and money on fad dieting!
The truth hurts. The honest truth is, as a whole, we (Americans) have weight to lose, and losing weight is time intensive, 
hard work. That’s where the fad diets come sweeping to our rescue, like a knight in shining armor, giving us hope to drop 7-11 pounds in one week!
They proceed to sweet talk us with some trendy words to convince us that we need to detox our body, or melt our belly fat, to help us drop those stubborn pounds. Then they give us hope, telling us why this is the solution that is going to be the one diet that works for us.
It sounds like a sneaky business ploy, but let’s face it…we seem to fall for it every time!
Fad diets get a bunch of things majorly wrong!
They promising rapid weight loss over the course of a few days or weeks. It is a well known fact that rapid weight loss of this kind is not true weight loss, but actually more of the dehydrating kind. We also know that rapid weight loss is not sustainable; the weight is often regained as quickly as it is lost.
Another blunder of fad diets is the elimination of entire food groups. Again, it is also well known that different types of foods provide us with a variety of key nutrients that our body needs to keep our metabolism functioning properly. A third common problem with fad diets is that they are often so strict that we are unable to follow them for more than a few days or weeks.
Fad diets are often so strict that we are unable to follow them for more than a few days or weeks.
The consensus among the experts on how to achieve successful weight loss is to make lifestyle modifications that you can follow for the long term.
Surprisingly, fad diets occasionally get a few things right!
We can use a few of the fad diet strategies to set our lifestyle modification into action.
1.) COMMITMENT
Fad diets require extreme, dramatic changes to your usual food routine. By signing up to do each of these regimens, you are affirming your commitment to change. The idea of rapid weight loss is motivating and may push you to do things you had never done before, like go an entire day eating only chicken and vegetables. At the end of the day, you realize that when you put your mind to something, you can accomplish things you never thought possible.
Action Plan: Assert your commitment to success by writing down your specific goals and motivation for weight loss. For example, you may be motivated to lose weight in order to keep up with your busy toddler. Now that you have your motivation, try setting an easily obtainable, specific goal that you can expand upon. Maybe you start off with the goal to avoid snacking on your child’s leftovers when cleaning their plate. Then once you’ve accomplished that goal, you expand it to stop mindless snacking throughout the day when bored, working, or doing household chores.
2.) PREPARATION
Fad diets usually give you a list of “allowable” foods, and then you proceed to the grocery store to stock up on these items. Why can’t we do the same thing when not following a fad diet?
Action Plan: Set some goals for the week, and then outline how you are going to achieve them. For example if your goal is to boost your metabolism by eating breakfast every morning, you should first plan out what your healthiest breakfast options are, then place them on your shopping list. Finally, try scheduling breakfast time into the day, so you have time to eat it.
3.) FOCUSING ON FOOD CHOICES
By starting a strict fad diet regimen, the not so healthy stuff you are eating goes straight out the window and is quickly replaced by x, y, z, which is specifically designed by the fad diet to reduce your calorie intake (usually so many servings of fruits and vegetables, go figure).
Eliminating our favorite cravings, cold turkey, can often times backfire on us, ending in a splurge, and then guilt. Another approach would be to focus on your fruits and vegetables, and by default, you replace your not so healthy stuff with nutritious stuff! Doing this gives you opportunity (calorie wise) to indulge in the occasional splurge. Plan your splurges carefully (i.e. once a week or once a month), that way you don’t completely abandon your healthy lifestyle.
Action Plan: Make a list of all of your favorite fruits and vegetables, and then stock up! But don’t stock up on foods that tempt you. Focus on filling your home with healthy foods. In other words, make your home your “safety zone”. Save those willpower smashing foods for special outings where the serving size is controlled and there aren’t any leftovers (e.g. going out for a scoop of ice cream vs. buying ice cream for the house)!
4.) SET MEALS AND SNACKS
Fad diets would prefer you to eat smaller portions frequently throughout the day. Well, they may not get the food choices correct, but the grazing type meals and snacks are right on the money.
Action Plan: Make a daily meal plan including 3 meals and 1-2 snacks to ensure you eat every 3 hours during the daytime hours. If you don’t plan ahead, you may find that you have gone hours without eating, which slows down your metabolism!
5.) WATER
Fad diets usually will emphasize water, requiring you to drink a certain amount of water every day. Again, genius! Most of us do not drink nearly enough water; therefore increasing our water intake will allow us to enjoy a sense of fullness, thereby reducing our calorie intake.
Action Plan: Set your daily water goal and stick to it! One suggestion is to divide your water up into 3 portions – drink 1/3 before noon, 1/3 before 4 PM, and the remainder before 8 PM. Whether you prefer to count ounces or actual glasses of water, just make sure you drink enough water each day to stay hydrated. Drink. Refill. Repeat.
Considering trying a fad diet to achieve weight loss? We urge you to reconsider it! Fad diets may begin with initial weight loss, but they generally end with added weight gain and frustration. Whether you are interested in weight loss to improve your health or self esteem, please know that learning how to live a healthy lifestyle is the best way.
Need a little guidance? We are here to help! We offer FREE nutrition advice and guidance. Please click here to learn more!
Posted in Emily Barr Health Topics prevent diabetes by .
Apr 12
16
Run to Curb Your Appetite
RUN IT OFF
Exercise isn’t just a good way to take your mind off eating; it may curb your appetite, too.
In a study of 11 male college students, researchers found that during a 60-minute run on a treadmill, and for up to two hours afterward, production of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin dropped, while production of the appetite-suppressing hormone peptide YY increased. But when the students lifted weights for 90 minutes, ghrelin levels declined as peptide YY levels remained the same.
The results suggest that when a craving hits, weight watchers are better off going for a jog than pumping iron.
*People with diabetes should check with their doctor before beginning a new exercise plan.
Source: American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, January 2009
Posted in Fitness Health Topics prevent diabetes by .
Mar 12
30
Through My Daughter’s Eyes
I remember holding my daughter for the first time and looking into her eyes. Although small, her eyes told a story filled with infinite possibilities. I saw motherhood as being a lifetime of firsts – first words, first steps, first recital – each one flooding my heart with abundant joy and love.
First dance recital
As my “baby” turned into my “little princess”, I could see the change in her eyes.
Now when I look into her eyes, I can still see her beauty growing inside, but most importantly, when it comes to looking for a glimpse into what her future can be, I see that her brown eyes are right there, staring back at me.
My daughter is at a highly impressionable age, in which almost every experience doubles as a possible influence. Limiting her TV to PBS and videos has not been a strong enough gatekeeper to thwart the efforts of kid-targeted advertisers. Short of blindfolding my daughter in the grocery store, or leaving her behind, it’s hard to prevent her from being bombarded by the countless kid-targeted products, placed perfectly at her eye level – of course. And if the pressures on TV and the in-store advertisements weren’t hard enough, I have to compete with the greatest threat of all – kid-to-kid, word-of–mouth advertising.
The kids on the playground and in the classroom are like parakeets, repeating whatever they hear at home and sharing their likes and dislikes, which influences how my daughter perceives different foods. I’m constantly being told by advertisers, other parents, even my own daughter what I should be buying.
Wait a minute, Mr. Advertiser, unless you plan on contributing to her college fund and the weekly grocery budget, you don’t get to have a say in how my child is raised.
I felt like my voice was quickly becoming out numbered. If advertisers are spending more than $2 billion a year to target children, I’m going to need some reinforcements. That’s also when I realized one very important thing. Yes, there are many negative distractions vying for my daughter’s attention, but at the end of the day, her eyes are still on me. I get to decide what the next move will be. My decision was simple, reassert my role as CEO of my household, as the Head Product and Produce Inspector, as Chief Health and Wellness Ambassador, in other words- MOM.
I have a family history of diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, but I’ve decided to pass on a different family tradition. One in which we live to prevent diabetes, not find ways to live in spite of it. The studies show that 1 in 3 children are projected to develop diabetes in their lifestyle, losing up to 23 years of life. But when I look into my daughter’s eyes, I’m reminded of the vow I took in my heart to love and protect her. And right now, statically, diabetes is her biggest threat.
You’ve probably heard the saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, I believe this has never been more true than today. I feel so grateful to have other friends and family in our lives whose actions reinforce our values of living a healthy lifestyle. My daughter’s eyes might be on me, but she’s also looking to see who else supports the values and ideal that I put forth.
(*Please click on each of the 10 numbers below to see the pictures.)
Since my daughter was born, we tried to be a living example of what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. Each week we have a family day, which generally incorporates both family fun and physical activity. We also make a conscious decision to expose her to various forms of competitive events. Since before my daughter was 2 years old, she’s been going with us to cheer on our friends at their marathons. When we can’t cheer them on in person, we show her photos of the event and talk about their accomplishments.
My daughter goes to see Jarod run his first marathon
“Come on guys, let’s run like Lindsay.”
Last month, I signed us up for our first Mother-Daughter 5k. Two weeks prior to our race, we cheered on her “Auntie” Lindsay at her first ½ marathon. My little runner’s eyes beamed as she watched Lindsay run towards the finish line. In that moment, my daughter idolized Lindsay, and my heart was happy. I knew that a new connection had been made, linking my daughter’s understanding of what exercise is and why we do it, to an actual desire to grow and develop as a runner.
So proud of her Auntie Lindsay for doing a 1/2 marathon
After Lindsay’s ½ marathon, my daughter couldn’t wait to participate in her own race. She asked several times a day, every day, for two weeks, “When do I get to do my race Mommy?” Then she’d tell my husband, “Daddy, you have to cheer like Jarod (Lindsay’s husband), and say wooooo really loud. Okay Daddy?”
The day before the race, my daughter and I went to the pre-race expo and picked up our bibs. As we stood in line, my little runner told everybody within an earshot how she was going to “win” her race tomorrow. She’d say, “Are you running tomorrow, cause I am, and I’m gonna run super fast, so I can win.” Seeing her excitement filled my heart with joy.
Picked up our bibs and are ready for our race.
After what seem like months to my mini-me, the day of our Mother-Daughter race finally came, but the circumstances were less than ideal. A huge storm came through San Diego that weekend. This part of sunny California was, well, anything but sunny.
The night before, I watched as the rain pelted against the window and the trees swayed. I didn’t want to get the mail in that weather, much less do a 5k. We had a little dress rehearsal, trying on several combinations of fleece jackets and rain gear. I tossed and turned throughout the night, worrying if I was making the right choice by subjecting her to such inclement weather. But then I remembered the cover of the Parents magazine that I just saw, “Raising a kid that won’t give up”.
Maybe this race can be much more than a lesson about physical activity and living a healthy lifestyle. It’s an opportunity to show my daughter that life is anything but easy, but we have a choice. We can cower and hide from adversity, or we can decide to dance in the rain. When we properly equip ourselves, we can fight through whatever we are going through, and come out a winner at the end.
Showing our medals.
On the big day, I quickly put in an appeal to God as we pulled away from the house. “Lord, I can handle the cold, but I don’t know if I can put my daughter through this rain.” Despite my growing anxiety, we headed towards the race, knowing I reserved the right to pull out of the race if I didn’t feel it was safe to continue. As soon as we approached the parking lot for the event, the rain stopped. I looked to the skies and smiled in gratitude.
My daughter talked about how excited she was during the car ride, but as soon as the wind hit her face, she began to get scared. “Mommy I want to go inside.” “Oh honey, we can’t go inside”, I said. “The race is outside. Don’t be scared. It’s just the wind, and you’ll warm up as soon as we get moving.”
I pinned her bib, #678, to her Hello Kitty rain jacket, and we were off. The first part of the course was the hardest, because my 32 pound child had to fight her way against 40 mile an hour winds. I held her hand tightly in my grasp; it was almost as if I were afraid the wind might take her away.
Before I knew it, my little competitor had turned her focus from the blistering winds and fringed weather to people in the race that she wanted to catch up to or pass. One was a little girl that was almost 2 years her elder.
A friend she met along the way.
Including the inevitable potty break – she is 4 after all – we crossed the finish line, hand-in-hand in less than 50 minutes.
It’s funny, because now when my little 5ker tells her story, she doesn’t bring up the cold weather or wind. She says, “I crossed the finish line with my mommy.”
When I see the world through my daughter’s eyes, I see plenty of negative temptations, but I also see hope. She is surrounded by so many people, parents, aunties and uncles, neighbors and friends, all helping to challenge what has become “the norm” and instead promote living healthfully.
As for me, our first Mommy and Me race is a day I will never forget. Thinking about what she accomplished, walking (evening running) her first 5K before the age of 5, fills me with tremendous amounts of love and pride.
I look back smiling, because it turns out it did shine brightly that day. It just wasn’t in the sky. It was on her face.
ABOUT ME: My name is Marlayna. I’ve recently shared my story about why I chose to LIVE MY LIFE WITH INTENTION- my life’s journey towards becoming who I am today (click here to read it). I’m a mother, wife, friend, and a diabetes prevention advocate. I occassionally blog about living a healthy lifestyle.
Posted in Faces of Prevention Living Life With Intention by .
Mar 12
22
Is a Calorie a Calorie?
Calories in versus calories out is important, but not the essential key to weight loss and weight maintenance.
This is a great blog (below) to argue the point that 1600 calories from twinkies does not treat your metabolism the same as 1600 calories from a properly balanced diet full of the right carbohydrates, a combination of high biological value proteins and complete vegetarian proteins, and the right mix of fats including the optimal ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats.
Is a Calorie a Calorie?
By MARK BITTMAN
I was looking forward to “Why Calories Count,” the new book by Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim. I figured gaining an advanced education in calories might allow me to better understand diet and weight gain. These two are not faddists but clear thinkers: actual scientists. But of course there is more to weight gain than the calorie. 
This was obvious from the moment I asked Ms. Nestle a key question: “Is a calorie a calorie?” This sounds simple, and if the answer is “yes,” all you do is take in fewer calories than you expend and you’ll lose weight. It need go no further than that.
It might help to first define a calorie, and that’s easy: it’s a measure of the energy derived from a food source. A gram of fat has been determined to have nine calories and a gram of protein or carbohydrate four calories; so for any given measure, fat has more than twice as many calories as protein or carbs. Those numbers are not perfectly accurate, but they’re good enough.
A food isn’t a food — they’re all different — but since a calorie is just a measurement of energy, how can it vary? When I asked my question, Nestle’s answer was confounding: “Yes and no,” she said, adding, “It’s Talmudic.” Because calories change as they enter the body, the nine grams for fat and four for everything else turn out to be not very accurate measures at all; besides, foods are only rarely one thing or another.
Here’s what is true, she said: “The studies that have measured calorie intake, that have put people on calorie-reduced diets and measured what happened, show no difference in weight loss based on composition of the diet.” When people are essentially incarcerated, when all intake is weighed and measured, they will lose weight if the calories in their diets are reduced — regardless of the composition of the diet.
“That’s why we hear a calorie is a calorie,” she said. “But no one lives under experimental conditions, and foods are complicated mixtures: fiber makes a difference and form makes a difference.” (Fiber is special because it’s not digested or digested incompletely. Most of its calories don’t get into the body, which is one reason why fruits and vegetables, which are high in fiber, help with weight loss.)
The “calorie is a calorie” argument is widely used by the processed food industry to explain that weight loss isn’t really about what you eat but about how many calories you eat. But if it were just about calories, you could eat only sugar and be fine. In fact, you’d die: sugar lacks essential nutrients.
That’s an obvious case. But although a calorie may be a calorie when people talk about weight loss and nothing else, there are other factors involved. And once you get past my perhaps lame “Is a calorie a calorie” question, you can begin to see something approaching the truth. For one thing, says Nestle: “There are dozens of factors involved in weight regulation. It’s hard to lose weight, because the body is set up to defend fat, so you don’t starve to death; the body doesn’t work as well to tell people to stop eating as when to tell them when to start.”
An important question, then, is really something like, “What can I eat to keep from putting on weight?” and here the answer turns out to be not only easy but also expected. “If you’re eating a lot of fruits and vegetables,” Nestle says, “you’re not taking in as many calories as you would if you were eating fast food and sodas.” Yes, that’s a calorie issue; the latter group is way higher in calories than the former. But though there’s a difference between eat less and eating better, “eating better makes it much easier to eat less.”
Ultimately, the calorie is political: marketing affects instinct, and Nestle and Nesheim really shine in their analysis in this realm. (Their slogan: “Get organized. Eat less. Eat better. Move more. Get political.”) When I asked Nestle what she would do, given that people in the United States were obviously eating too many calories and that the resulting excess weight was costing all of us life years and money, she answered quickly: “We need a farm bill that’s designed from top to bottom to support healthier diets, one that supports growing fruits and vegetables and making them cheaper. We need to fix school lunches so they’re based on fresh foods, and fix food assistance programs so people have greater access to healthier foods.”
Her list goes on: fix the food-safety system; make it possible for people to get into farming; fix front-of-packaging labeling.
And a couple of big ones: “Stop marketing food to kids. Period. Just make it go away.” And get rid of health claims on food packages too. “Unless,” she says, reverting to her pure science role, “they’re backed up by universally accepted science. Which would get rid of all of them.”
Even if a calorie is a calorie, the situation is not so simple.
……
Have questions about calories or other information included in this post? Please click here to email us, or sign up for a free nutrition appointment (via phone).
Posted in Emily Barr Health Topics by .
1. Kale – 1 cup raw provides: 34 calories, 6.71 grams carbohydrate of which 1.3 grams is fiber, excellent source of Vitamin A (515 mcg RAE) and C (80.4 mg), good source of Calcium (90 mg) and Potassium (299 mg)
2. Asparagus – 4 cooked spears provides: 13 calories, 2.5 grams carbohydrate of which 1.2 grams is fiber (combination of insoluble and soluble fiber), naturally fat free, good source of Vitamin C (4.6 mg), high in Folate (89 mcg DFE), and good source of Vitamin A (604 IU)
3. Broccoli – ½ cup serving steamed provides: 27 calories, 0.3 grams fat (0 grams saturated fat), 5.6 grams carbohydrate of which 2.6 grams is fiber, high in Vitamin C (51 mg), high in Folate (84 mcg DFE), and a good source of Potassium (229 mg)
4. Cucumber – ½ cup slices provides: 8 calories, 1.9 grams carbohydrate of which 0.3 grams if fiber, naturally fat free, and a good source of Vitamin C (1.5 mg)
5. Brussel sprouts – 4 sprouts provides: 28 calories, 5.5 g carbohydrate of which 2 grams is fiber, 0.5 grams fat, high in Vitamin C (48.4 mg), and good source Folate (47 mcg DFE)
6. Bok Choy – 1 cup shredded provides: 10 calories, 2 grams carbohydrate of which 1 gram is fiber, naturally fat free, excellent source of Vitamin A and C , and a good source of Folate
7. Spinach – 1 cup raw provides: 7 calories, 1 gram carbohydrate of which 0.7 grams is fiber, naturally fat free, high in Vitamin A (41 mcg RAE) and C (8.4 mg), Iron (0.81 mg), and Folate (58 mcg DFE), and a good source of Magnesium (24 mg)
8. Artichoke – ½ medium provides: 30 calories, 6.7 grams carbohydrate of which 3.5 grams is fiber, naturally fat free, good source of Vitamin C (7.5 mg), Folate (44 mcg DFE), and Magnesium (38mg)
9. Swiss Chard – 1 cup raw provides: 7 calories, 1.35 carbohydrate of which 0.6 g is fiber, naturally fat free, good source of Magnesium (29 mg) and excellent source of Vitamin A (110 mcg RAE)and C (10.8 mg)
10. Cabbage – 1 cup chopped provides: 22 calories, 5.16 grams carbohydrate of which 2.2 grams is fiber, naturally fat free, excellent source of Vitamin C (32.6 mg)and K (67.6 mcg)
*Data source: USDA Food Nutrient Laboratory; CDC: “Fruits & Veggies Matter; NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
Winner: Ellen C.!
We have a winner for the beautiful personalized necklace from Camilee Designs….such a fantastic piece of jewelry! Thanks for all your posts, comments and sharing and be on the lookout for more contests coming up soon. Our winner is….drumroll, please!
Ellen C.: I liked your page and shared it. Thanks for the chance.
Thanks to all who participated and congratulations Ellen!
Posted in Gifts and Giveaways by .
Mar 12
16
Good Greens That Benefit Every Body
Pin It
By Emily Barr, MS,RD,CNSC
Green represents a lot of terrific things, like “being green” is good for the environment and “making the green” is good for your wallet. And if you like Saint Patty’s day, you will be sporting some green attire for good luck.
What about eating your greens? You never felt that lucky, as a kid, missing play time while staring at a plate of Brussels sprouts that you absolutely refused to eat. Now looking back on those stubborn nights, you may just realize how lucky you were to be offered those wondrous greens.
Eating foods of the green variety benefit you in many ways; the potential for cancer prevention, protection against heart disease and type 2 diabetes, weight management, soluble and insoluble fiber, and not to mention the vitamins, minerals including calcium, antioxidants, phytochemicals, carotenoids, and flavonoids (A.K.A. really good things for your body and metabolism).Now are you interested in stepping up the greens?
BENEFITS OF GOING GREEN
LOW IN CALORIES: Weight management and disease prevention go hand in hand. By keeping your body at a healthy weight, you reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. The lower calorie greens typically range between 10-30 calories per ½ cup serving, which can play a very important role in weight management by replacing other high calorie foods.
Low calorie greens to try: Spinach (1 cup raw = 7 calories), Swiss chard (1 cup = 7 calories), bok choy (1 cup = 10 calories), and cucumber (1/2 medium = 8 calories)
GREAT SOURCE OF FIBER: Greens contain both types of fiber, soluble and insoluble fibers that benefit the heart by reducing cholesterol and the waist line by filling you up on fewer calories. Both types of fiber are helpful to regulate your blood sugar control.
Fiberful greens to try: Cabbage (1 cup chopped = 5.16 grams carbohydrate of which 2.2 grams is fiber); Brussel sprouts (4 sprouts = 5.5 grams carbohydrate of which 2 grams is fiber), artichoke (1/2 medium = 6.7 grams carbohydrate of which 3.5 grams is fiber), and spinach (1 cup raw = 1 grams of carbohydrate of which 0.7 grams is fiber).
ANTIOXIDANT RICH: Many green vegetables are an excellent source of Vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. What this means is that they limit cell damage and help repair cells that have been damaged by free radicals. When free radicals are in action, they change the cell, which may lead to health risks including illness by decreasing your immune system, heart disease, cancer, and arthritis.
For green vegetables with an excellent sources Vitamin C to try: Kale (1 cup raw = 80.4 mg), broccoli (1/2 cup cooked = 51 mg), Brussel sprouts (4 sprouts = 48.4 mg), and bok choy (1 cup = 30 mg)
FULL OF FOLATE: Folate is a vitamin found in high amounts in green vegetables, which plays a vital role in cell metabolism, especially for pregnant moms, growing babies and kids. Folate is also involved in the metabolism of homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine are connected to heart disease.
Folate rich greens to try: Spinach (1 cup raw = 58 mcg DFE), brussel sprouts (4 sprouts = 47 mcg DFE), broccoli (1/2 cup cooked = 84 mcg DFE), and asparagus (4 spears = 89 mcg DFE).
LOW FAT: The majority of green vegetables are naturally low in fat and saturated fat, which is great for your heart!
The following super green veggies have less than 0.5 grams fat per serving: Kale, asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, brussel sprouts, bok choy, spinach, artichoke, swiss chard, and cabbage.
Posted in Emily Barr Health Topics by .
Free Tips and Recipes to Help You Live a Healthy Lifestyle.
Enter your information and we’ll send you monthly health tips from our Registered Dietitian and fun recipes from our Skinny Gene Recipe Swap.
