Nutrition

December 10, 2008

  • Try This Protein Pancake This Weekend to Fry Belly Fat

    Sometimes you just love to rip into a big stack of pancakes on a Saturday or Sunday morning - but trust me, you will pay the price.  Pancakes are very high on the Glycemic Index, which means that insulin levels will surge, and those carbs will be packed onto your body as stored fat…undoing all of the good work you did during the week.  So try this substitute this weekend - I had these last weekend and drizzled them with melted natural peanut butter.  You could also use sugar free syrup or jelly and some real butter to top these tasty high-protein pancakes.  The casein in the cottage cheese and the fiber in the oats will keep you feeling satisfied, and burning fat, straight through to lunch. (…)

November 13, 2008

  • Just Like Everything Else, Blame the Government for our Fatness

    We now have a scapegoat for the obesity epidemic in the US - the USDA!  According to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the national dietary guidelines advising Americans to eat low-fat may have contributed to the obesity problem.  People have replaced fat with sugar and carbohydrates which has increased Americans' total caloric intake and set them up for a host of metabolic disorders, say the study's authors, adding that low-fat foods are not diet foods.  Instead, your diet should emphasize vegetables, fruits, beans, unrefined whole grains, and mono- and polyunsaturated fats, as well as lean proteins.

November 12, 2008

  • Use Your Coconut to Lose Fat

    Olive oil has been king-of-the-oils for a while, but coconut oil may be a better choice for fat burning.  Coconut oil is made up of more than 50 percent of medium-chain triacylglycerol (MCT), a fatty acid that increases fat oxidation, thus enhancing weight loss, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Researchers had test subjects use 4 to 5 teaspoons of MCT oil or olive oil each day for 16 weeks.  The MCT group lost four more pounds than the olive oil group.

  • Try This Fat Loss Powerhouse for Lunch

    Here is one of my favorite lunch time feasts - it has fat-burning protein, monounsaturated fat and lots of fiber!  And even a non-cook like me can whip this up in no time:
    Cook 2 cloves of minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant.  Add 1 pound of peeled shrimp (I like to take the tails off as well), sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until the shrimp is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.  Mash an avocado with 2 Tablespoons of minced onion (the dried kind is good), 1 teaspoon of garlic, 1 teaspoon of diced chili, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Serve the shrimp and guacamole with heated tortillas - my favorite are La Tortilla Factory's Whole Wheat Low Carb Tortillas.

November 11, 2008

  • Decoding the catch-phrases on food labels

    Just because a box of cookies says "reduced fat" doesn't mean you should eat it!  But what do those frequently seen buzzwords actually mean?  Below is a table with the claims and the related FDA guidelines:

    Claim
    Requirements that must be met before using the claim in food labeling

    Fat-Free
    Less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added fat or oil

    Low fat
    3 grams or less of fat per serving

    Less fat
    25% or less fat than the comparison food

    Saturated Fat Free
    Less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans-fatty acids per serving

    Cholesterol-Free
    Less than 2 mg cholesterol per serving, and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving

    Low Cholesterol
    20 mg or less cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving

    Reduced Calorie
    At least 25% fewer calories per serving than the comparison food

    Low Calorie
    40 calories or less per serving

    Extra Lean
    Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood

    Lean
    Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood

    Light (fat)
    50% or less of the fat than in the comparison food (ex: 50% less fat than our regular cheese)

    Light (calories)
    1/3 fewer calories than the comparison food

    High-Fiber
    5 grams or more fiber per serving

    Sugar-Free
    Less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving

    Sodium-Free or Salt-Free
    Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving

    Low Sodium
    140 mg or less per serving

    Very Low Sodium
    35 mg or less per serving

    Healthy
    A food low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and contains at least 10% of the Daily Values for vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein or fiber. (…)

November 10, 2008

  • Souped-Up Fat Loss

    Eating soup as an appetizer will cut your calorie intake for that meal by 20 percent according to a study conducted at Penn State.  After serving men pasta lunches for a month, the researchers found that the study participants ate an average of 135 fewer calories when they started their meal with 1 1/2 cups of a broth-based vegetable soup (approximately 150 calories of soup).  Eating soup forces you to slow down, allowing your body to recognize that it is becoming full before moving on to the next course.  The same held true in a University of Texas study of fatty soups like a clam chowder - men consumed 227 fewer calories when a pizza meal was preceded by soup. (…)

November 9, 2008

  • 5 Belly-Filling Foods

    If your stomach is growling here are five great options to fill you up and keep you on the fat-burning track:

    Almonds - 1 ounce of almonds contains 6 grams of protein and 9 grams of monounsaturated (healthy) fat
    Oatmeal - 1 cup of oatmeal has 4 grams of fiber, which will fill you up and keep your regular
    Salmon - Full of omega-3 fats, a 4 ounce serving has 25 grams of protein
    Quinoa - Quinoa is higher in protein than other grains like barley or couscous, and is extremely versatile
    Black beans - 1 cup has a whopping 15 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber! (…)

November 8, 2008

November 7, 2008

  • Can You Really Eat More and Lose Weight?

    Recently, someone asked me for my views about the amount of daily calories they should consume, and whether a 800-1000 calories' intake can help to speed up their weight loss. (…)

November 6, 2008

  • Are You a Binge Eater?

    Ever wonder if you have a serious problem with binge eating?  In a recent issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, I read a feature article about the treatment of bulimia and binge eating.  Bulimia is defined as 2 or more episodes of binge eating (consuming a large amount of food in 2 hours or less) at least twice a week for 3 months.  These episodes may be followed by vomiting or purging (with laxatives or diuretics) and may alternate with fasting and compulsive exercising.  People who suffer from bulimia often view this behavior as a shameful secret. (…)

  • 1 Pound Of Fat = 3,500 Calories

    There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat. Thus, if you cut back or work off just 3,500 calories, you will lose an entire pound of fat. (…)

November 5, 2008

July 23, 2008

July 22, 2008

  • Study Confirms What the Real-World Already Knew - Low-Carb is King!

    A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques.  The low-carb diet also improved cholesterol more than the other two. (…)

June 9, 2008

  • The 90/10 Rule for Fat Loss

    Life is not perfect - and your fat loss program shouldn't be either.  You can't expect yourself to follow your program to the letter every second of every day until you reach your goal.  If you do, you are setting yourself up for failure.  That is why you need to apply the 90/10 rule to your nutrition and exercise. (…)

June 6, 2008

  • Fat Loss Challenge: Day 19 - Pushing through Plateaus

    Today's scale weight is 221.8, which is up from our lowest reading of 219.2 - and again, that is ok.  We're looking bigger picture here.  Remember, 19 days ago we were over 234.  The question is, can we consistently come in under the 220 mark and push downward?  Remember, I put some carbs back into my diet to help counteract the sluggishness and soreness I was feeling, but they are all within 3 hours of my workout.  So, immediately after my workout I'm consuming a protein and Gatorade combo in a 1:2 ratio, followed up by a meal that is within 3 hours of the end of my workout that also contains carbs - quinoa, oatmeal, even a bagel.  However, after that, it is protein/vegetables and naturally occurring carbs in nuts, dairy, etc.  I will take another body fat measurement and see if we're making progress there.  Again, I'll try to take some pictures this weekend. (…)

June 4, 2008

  • Weight Loss Challenge: Day 17 - Back in the Flow

    This morning's scale weight was 221.8, lower than expected despite the increased carb intake.  Also, the Bodymetrix BX 2000 arrived last night, so I'm still learning how to use it.  Once I've got it figured out, I'll post the body fat measurement as well as some pictures that show the cross-sections of fat, muscle and bone - pretty cool stuff! (…)

June 3, 2008

  • Weight Loss Challenge: Day 16 - Tweaking, tweaking

    The most important thing to understand during any weight loss effort is that you have to continue to make small changes to what you do to continue to see positive progress.  For me, the intensity of my recent workouts have left me abnormally fatigued and more sore than usual.  When this happens, I tweak my mid-workout and post-workout routine to include a fast-absorbing protein and carb shake.  There are plenty of pre-mixed shakes available out there, but I prefer to "roll my own" using Gatorade and vanilla whey protein powder.  I've done this the past two days post-workout, so we'll see if it helps. (…)

May 30, 2008

May 29, 2008

  • Weight Loss Challenge: Day 11 - Nutrition Info

    Here's today's summary:

    Calories - 2,352
    Protein - 223 grams
    Carbs - 85 grams
    Fat - 125 grams

    56 grams of the carbs came from 32 ounces of Gatorade that I drank while playing golf - had nothing else so I had to drink it. (…)

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