Now that its bathing suit and shorts weather, we are all noticing a few extra bumps and bulges that we’d like to lose. And we all want the quickest way to get there. The long way is to intake less calories and burn more calories - boring and slow. The short way is the new fad diet pill or berry drink - exciting and quick, but expensive, not long-lasting, and not healthy. So is there some way to quickly get in shape for summer and do it in a healthy way?
Here are a few tips to cut out calories and creative ways to burn more:
eliminate empty calories like bread in restaurants, sodas, candy, Starbucks, drive-thru food, etc.
don’t use artificial sweeteners because they make you crave more calories
eliminate meat from either lunch or dinner each day and focus on vegetables and whole grains
eat breakfast every day - eggs or oats are long lasting
eat apples as snacks between meals (only 70 calories, natural sugar boost, good fiber)
park farther from the office or store and walk quickly to get there
walk after dinner each evening, gradually increasing speed and difficulty (hills, stairs, etc.)
drink water all day (add lemon if you want)
drink a cup of green tea with lemon and honey each day (I like it mid-afternoon)
take a multi-vitamin supplement
do leg lifts or partial sit-ups on the couch during commercial breaks when watching tv
meet a friend to walk and talk instead of for coffee and sitting to talk
never skip meals, eat smaller meals with small snacks between all day
just try to make the healthiest choice each time you eat
There is never a magic answer to a problem that took a long time to create. Consistently eating healthy food and daily exercise will show results quicker than you think. Just look for ways to eat balanced smaller meals and find ways to be more active every day.
I’m always looking for healthy products to enjoy and recommend. Yogurt, like many foods, can be very healthy or just another sugar laden dessert in disguise. It is surprising to realize that some yogurts have as much sugar as a serving of Frosted Flakes cereal, a Pepsi, or a Snickers bar with very little live cultures to benefit your digestion. For a closer look at yogurt and a comparison of some name brands, read ‘Getting a little culture - yogurt - Brand Name Comparison’.
Stonyfield Farms, on the other hand, has always had high quality organic products with lots of live cultures and plenty of flavors to pick from. Recently, I did some sampling of and a post about delicious Chobani Greek yogurt which is much thicker than regular yogurt because most of the whey is drained off.
The folks at Stonyfield Farms, who I also mentioned in that post, thought their product, Oikos - organic Greek yogurt, was also very good and sent me coupons for their 4 flavors to see if I agreed. I redeemed the coupons and held a “yogurt tasting” with a friend and Greek yogurt connoisseur.
Initially, my favorite thing about the plain variety was the ingredient list. First, it lists cultured pasteurized organic nonfat milk and second, it names five live cultures. That’s it. Imagine that, yogurt made only from milk and cultures. Simple and delicious. The plain variety would make a great substitute for sour cream as a topping, or to make a ranch type salad dressing. I thought it would make a great dip like cucumber and dill, artichoke and parmesan, or smoked salmon. It was delicious mixed with a little feta and herbs, spread on a pita, and topped with sliced olives.
I also tried their flavors - vanilla, blueberry, and honey. They all had a fantastic flavor and would be great as a snack or as a topping for fruit or cereal. The vanilla was not overly sweet which I appreciated. It would be perfect as a layer in a parfait of strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. The blueberry made a great topping for a whole wheat bagel. And the honey on a bagel with a few sliced almonds was truly dessert-like. I also used the honey to make a dip for fruit by stirring in a little natural peanut butter and topping it with a dash of cinnamon.
If you would like to replace cream cheese on a bagel - start with a Thomas brand whole wheat bagel (or mini-bagel) and mix 1/3 less fat cream cheese with equal amounts of either honey or blueberry Oikos. Each time you make it, use less cream cheese and more Oikos until you eating it straight. I personally could see myself taking hunks of a bagel and dipping it into (ok, honestly more like dredging it through) the straight Oikos for breakfast.
So, if you want to try a yogurt that is between 90 and 120 calories per serving, no fat, less sugar, fewer carbs, and twice the protein of most yogurts, then Oikos from Stonyfield is for you. You can even go to their website and get a coupon!
Fruit Dip Snack (serves 4):
Mix 2 Tablespoons of natural peanut butter into 1 (5.3 oz.) container of honey Oikos and sprinkle the top with a little cinnamon. On a tray, put 1 apple, cored and sliced; 1 banana, cut into chunks; and 8-10 strawberries. Dip and enjoy. 134 calories per serving.
Pita Appetizer (serves 4):
Mix 2 Tablespoons of President Crumbled Feta with Mediterranean Herbs into 1 cup of plain Oikos. Cut 2 whole wheat pita pockets into 16 triangles. (Cut each pita into fourths and split at back seam to make 8 triangles from each pita.) Can be toasted to crisp them if desired. Spread each triangle with the feta yogurt mixture and top with a few sliced black or green olives. You could easily use Triscuit Thin Crisps instead of the pita triangles. 102 calories per serving.
I was chatting with someone after a recent Lunch-N-Learn about healthy foods and she reminded me of a couple of tricks she uses to satisfy cravings in a healthier way. I thought I’d share her tips and a few others.
When wanting a late night snack, drink a glass of water because we often mistake thirst for hunger.
When craving something sweet, brew some flavored coffee. Often, the warmth and the sweet smell satisfies your craving.
If craving chocolate, make a mug of hot cocoa using skim milk, cocoa, a little sugar, vanilla and a dash of cinnamon.
Only stock your house with healthy sweets and snack options.
Take a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral to make sure your body gets what it needs.
Here are a few other resources that bring an interesting perspective to the cravings discussion. The folks at Family Education have an article titled Healthy Eating: Hunger vs. Cravings to help us better understand our body signals. Nutritional Counselor, Stacey Morgenstern, has an article titled Deconstructing Cravings that even has four things for you to do to answer your craving.
Did you ever consider that your body might be craving a particular nutrient? The folks at Naturopathyworks have. They developed a chart with things like “If you crave bread, what your body needs is more nitrogen, and it will be satisfied if you eat more high protein foods like fish, meat, nuts, and beans.
Cravings aren’t good or bad. They are just your body’s way of telling you what it wants right now. How you answer it will determine what it becomes tomorrow.
In a restaurant, I have made a habit of asking specifically for what I want. Can I get that with brown rice? Will you bring the dressing on the side? Do you have a whole wheat bun? Is your nutritional information posted? I figure if people can ask for double fries or extra chocolate sauce I can ask about something that I am interested in.
This worked beautifully the other night. A few of us were at the mall when someone suggested we get some ice cream. So, we ended up at Marble Slab Creamery. I looked at the selection of ice cream in the freezer and also saw a frozen yogurt machine. Knowing I would make a better decision if I could see their nutritional information, I got bold and asked.
Sure enough, she handed me a laminated card and I quickly compared the small ice cream at 450 calories (250 of those from fat) with the small frozen yogurt at 100 calories with no fat. I chose the chocolate frozen yogurt and was happy to enjoy a treat with everyone and not regret one bite. I normally eat a 100 calorie snack after dinner, so my treat out just replaced my evening snack.
So the next time you’re eating something out, realize that everyone else is asking for substitutions or other toppings and you can too. I think you’ll be surprised how many healthier options are available, if you just take the time to ask.
I decided that when I am in the grocery store, I should regularly buy a healthy product I haven’t used before and try it. It is easy for me to keep using the same products I have already tested, and potentially miss out on newer healthy treats and foods. One I recently tried was Chobani Greek Yogurt. I chose Blueberry Nonfat, but they also had strawberry, peach, honey, vanilla, and plain.
I choose it because I had heard several people raving about Greek style yogurt being extra thick, so I was thinking it might make a good snack or dessert. One container had 140 calories (a little higher than I usually go for a snack, but not too bad) and its ingredients are nonfat milk, blueberries, sugar, natural flavor and 5 live cultures. I like that - short, sweet, and to the point.
The texture and flavor did not disappoint - very thick and creamy. In fact, it reminded me very much of a thick vanilla ice cream or maybe a fat slice of cheesecake. And there were whole blueberries in the bottom with a little sugary syrup that I stirred in. Very creamy and very delicious. So I will add them to my very short list of favorite yogurts - Dannon All Natural, Lowfat Vanilla , Stoneyfield Farms Vanilla or Coffee flavor, and now Chobani Greek Yogurt.
Basically, what I am looking for in a healthy yogurt is a low fat milk to start, natural sugar, and live cultures (the more the better). If it doesn’t come with fruit, I have no problem adding my own fresh or frozen fruit. In fact, I prefer a good vanilla yogurt and my own fruit. I regularly make a bowl of fruit and use just a spoonful or two of yogurt. And if fiber and regularity are what you are looking for, just add a spoonful or two of ground flaxseeds or whole oats. In my opinion, that is just as effective and healthier than some of the new products with those claims.
So the next time you’re in the grocery, read a label or two and pick a healthy product to try and let me know about it!
If you get a large box of chocolates, pick your favorite 6 and eat them 2 pieces each day. Two pieces gives you around 150 calories (unless they’re truffles which are 170 each piece) which you can burn in a 42 minute walk. I never can decide if we should take the rest of the candy to work to let others struggle with overeating it, or throw it away but waste the money. Whatever you do, get it out of your house.
You could ask for a box of Cocoa Via chocolate covered almonds. They use good dark chocolate to coat plain almonds for 140 calories per pack. A pack could easily be your afternoon snack.
You could try Sweet Riot’s chocolate-covered cocoa nibs from Whole Foods. They look like chocolate covered raisins but are little pieces of the cocoa bean straight off the tree. These little crunchy bitter bits of chocolate coated in chocolate pack tons of health benefits. I will definitely be giving these a try.
You could go for a fresh fruit bouquet (fruit on sticks). Delicious cold fruit you don’t have to prepare at all. Eat all you want, guilt free - Yum.
You could think of something meaningful to YOU for Valentine’s, and ask for that. (Instead of letting society tell you that you want flowers and candy.)
My favorite Valentine’s Day gift has nothing to do with flowers, dinner, or chocolate. My hubby takes me out and we buy some cute “Valentinesy-kind-of-mug” and go have coffee at Starbucks or Panera. We talk and laugh and enjoy some time without the kids. Then, each time I use that mug I remember the fun time out and that my hubby has learned to ask me what I reallywant, and then give it to me. Now that’s a gift!
Nuts are probably my favorite snack to take along in the car. Partially because they are not messy, don’t spoil, or melt. But mainly for the energy and feeling of fullness they give me for eating such a small amount. Anytime I research them, I’m even more convinced they are a healthy asset when properly used in our diets.
Some of the health benefits of nuts were concisely explained in an article at Ask Men, which tells how nuts help lower blood cholesterol, prevent heart disease, relax blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and have lots of fiber and vitamins.
In addition to keeping your heart healthy, nuts are linked with fighting cancer and even helping control weight. A 28-month study quoted at World’s Healthiest Foods showed that people who ate nuts at least two times per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than people who never or almost never ate nuts. The Body Ecology Guide also has an informative guide about common nuts and their benefits. Six Wise’s article “If You are Nuts About Health, Try the Top 6 Healthiest Nuts” even taught me some new things about nuts.
So here’s my personal list of favorite nuts in the order I reach for them. Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pine nuts, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, macadamias, sesame seeds, pistachios, cashews, peanuts.
The trick to properly using them in your diet is to have a small, regular servings. Think of nuts as a replacement to another fat you might eat. Instead of butter on your toast, use peanut butter (natural, for best nutrition) or almond butter. Instead of a snickers bar in the afternoon, eat a handful of walnuts and dried apricots or macadamia nuts and raisins. Sprinkle a few to top off your morning fruit and yogurt. Think of it as doing your body lots of little favors.
I’m dedicating this post to the person in Iowa who needs these tips. I was pondering how to say yes to holiday parties without saying yes to thousands of extra calories to reckon with later. There really are lots of strategies and there is at least one that will work for you. Here are some of my favorites:
Eat a small nutritious meal before you go the the party so you will not be very hungry. Go for the purpose of enjoying a dessert that you get to choose (as if you had a coupon for one free dessert).
View the party food as dinner and make a balanced meal out of what you put on your plate. Start by choosing vegetables and fruits if available (but go very easy on any sauces), add a serving of something with meat, and end with a dessert. Voila - one nice plate of dinner you didn’t have to cook.
Decide ahead of time what you want to eat - i.e., one dessert and one drink. Then take your time looking at all your options before choosing which dessert and which drink.
Eat slowly while visiting. View the talking as the most important thing (the reason you came), and a bite or sip as something you do only at a break in the conversation (something that is an interruption to the reason you came).
Decide which items you will allow yourself in large quantities. For example - unlimited water and cut up veggies (just a drizzle of ranch on your plate to touch the veggies to). Start with water and veggies, enjoy a couple of other items, and then go back for more water and veggies.
If it is potluck, bring something nutritious you can enjoy guilt-free . It is likely there are other people attending who would appreciate it as well.
Look on Calorie King to find the calories of some likely snacks at the party and what amount of exercise they require to burn. For example 235 for a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing and 192 for a 16 oz coke. That total of 427 calories requires 2 hours of walking to burn off. On the other hand, you could eat 4 plates of mixed veggies and not even have half that amount of calories.
I think setting a goal and meeting an expectation are important keys. If I decide ahead of time generally what I want to eat and drink at a party and then meet that expectation, I can stop at that point and feel satisfied. If my only expectation is that there will be a lot of food that will taste good, I have no trigger signaling me to stop eating. If my only goal is to go and eat free food that tastes good, I can do that all night. But I will regret that choice (or lack of goal setting) at some future point.
So the next time you RSVP for a party and decide which outfit you’ll wear and if you’ll need a jacket, also decide which strategy you’ll use to help you be happy and healthy long after the holiday.
I discovered a new treat recently, and its green. I know many people only link the words treat and green together when thinking of M & M’s, but I’m talking about green food. Now don’t write me off as one of those people who hate chocolate or don’t indulge in a sweet treat. Its just that I have replaced most of my junky treats (high calorie and fat but low fiber and vitamins) with healthy treats (nutrient rich, low calorie and good fat).
My new treat..drumroll, please.. is Bolthouse Farms “Green Goodness” fruit juice blend. I had tried their more “normal” sounding juices and knew they were delicious. I just talked myself out of trying the green one each time I would consider it. The other day I read the nutrition facts and decided it was worth trying once. It was surprisingly sweet, fruity, and satisfying. An 8 oz serving has only 140 calories, no fat, and lots of vitamins and minerals - several over 100% of my daily requirement. I bought the 32 ounce bottle and thoroughly enjoyed my “treat” five times.
The next time you’re at a convenience store to grab a snack or a drink, I dare you to try some “Green Goodness”. If you’re skeptical, start with a “normal” sounding one and work your way up like I did. No trick here - its as delicious as it is nutritious. And that’s saying something.
Do your kids beg to launch a penny and a quarter down that wide mouth container at the mall and see which one “wins” the race? We all know THE MALL wins the race. While I’m game for most things once, I would not allow my kids to waste their money (or actually mine) to send coin after coin ‘down the drain’ to add up for someone else. I feel the same about adding empty calories to my waistline.
I was pondering strategies to avoid eating candy before, during, and after Halloween. Some good suggestions to save ourselves from the empty calories can be found at Web MD’s ‘10 Tricks to Avoid Halloween Candy Temptations’ and Associated Content’s ‘How Parents Can Avoid Overindulging in Halloween Candy. I think my favorite suggestion was to leave the empty wrappers out on your desk (or the counter for stay-at-home-moms) to keep in mind how many of those “fun size” bars you’ve enjoyed today. A fun sized butterfinger is 103 calories and takes about a 28 minute walk to burn it back off. When I look at it like that it doesn’t seem fun to me at all.
So is the person who saves the penny really better off in the long run? They are if they develop a lifestyle of saving and disciplined spending. If they consistently weigh their options and make wise choices, they will have many, more appealing choices later. Just like we can put on weight by making lots of little choices, we can keep it off the same way. So for each fun size candy you don’t enjoy this Halloween, you have saved yourself 30 minutes of walking just to break even. You could take the walk anyway and burn off last years candy, or relax and enjoy the time you earned doing something you like. Happy Savings!
