PopSugar

Instead of Feeling Guilty For Indulging, Get Back on Track

FitSugar — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:30:44 -0800

The holidays can be pretty indulgent - decadent meals, cocktail parties, and dessert after dessert to savor. Add to that stressful gift shopping, holidays spent away for home, and workouts being replaced with entertaining and suddenly you've gotten completely off track with your health.

Before you beat yourself up for having that second piece of pumpkin pie, take a deep breath and tell yourself it's OK. We've all been there - instead of punishing yourself over it, make a commitment to get back on track now. In fact, punishing yourself can have potentially harmful results - a study found that women who feel guilty over missing workouts are more likely to develop eating disorders.

To see my tips on staying healthy during the holidays, read more.

After a big meal, go for a brisk walk. Encourage your friends and family to join you too!
Don't deprive yourself during the holidays, as this may lead to overindulging later. Treat yourself to a healthy dessert on the weekends like these pumpkin bars.
Try limiting yourself to one drink a cocktail party or dinner. If you do have more than one drink, alternate between water and alcohol, and opt for sparkling wine, it has way less calories than a cocktail.
If you do fall off the health wagon, schedule time to start exercising again. The holidays are hectic and making an exercise schedule will help keep you committed and motivated.
Find a workout buddy this holiday season. Exercising and staying fit is easier if you have someone in your corner rooting you on.
If you're worried about overdoing it at a holiday dinner, have a healthy snack like an apple or a handful of nuts before you go. This will help fill you up and reduce cravings.
If you really don't have time to exercise during this hectic season find small ways to be active. Use the stairs when you go shopping and park your car as far away from the store entrance as you can so you walk further.
If you do start to obsess over falling off the health bandwagon, limit your freak out time to ten minutes and then let it go.

Did You Change Your Diet Before Conception?

LilSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

When couples plan conception they generally prepare by tracking ovulation and take all the helpful hints they can get.

I recently stumbled on Cooking to Conceive: Fertility-Boosting Foods & Recipes to Help You Get Pregnant ($17) at the bookstore and was intrigued by the concept. It focuses on healthy dishes filled with veggies that add extra calcium, folate, and antioxidants to your diet (no champagne and oysters, but chocolate makes the cut!). It's all logical stuff, but I was impressed by the lineup. Did you change your diet when trying to get pregnant, or did you eat the same until you were eating for two?

Another Reason to Eat Carbs: Boost Your Mood

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:00:56 -0800

The majority of Fit readers call themselves carb queens, and Winter can make those carbohydrate cravings even more intense. But have no fear: scientists are finding even more reasons not to avoid this essential food group.

A recent study of more than 100 obese and overweight adults in Australia found that dieting put people in a better mood; a drop in pounds led to increased satisfaction. But for people on low-carb diets, the mood boost didn't last.

The study group was split, with half the subjects on a lowfat diet and the other half low-carbing it. Interestingly, folks in both groups lost the same amount of weight on average, about 30 pounds. But after a year, the low-carb dieters also lost the positive mood effects, while the low-fat dieters did not. Here's more from the study.

With Teen Obesity, Inactivity Is Only Part of the Problem

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:32:46 -0800

I panic every time I see another "exercise doesn't work!" story - until I read between the lines and learn once again that exercise is a good thing. On the heels of its conversation-starting cover story on the exercise "myth," Time is tackling a new study of teen obesity that claims inactivity is only partly to blame for heavier kids.

Obesity rates in teenagers have triple between 1976 and 2004, with lack of exercise the suspected culprit. But a new report published in Obesity Reviews says that physical activity levels among teens have actually stayed fairly steady. So does that mean that exercise doesn't matter? Hardly, so read more.

Unfortunately, this latest study only looked at activity levels, not eating habits, and the participants were self-reporting on their own habits, which can lead to unreliable data. These figures merely suggest that the increase in teen obesity can't be explained away by teens' lack of exercise, according to Dr. Youfa Wang, the lead author of the study. Here's more:

So does this mean that exercise isn't important in controlling weight? As tempting as that conclusion might be, Wang and other health experts say that's not exactly what the new data show. . . . While exercise may not contribute directly to weight loss, it is critical for maintaining a healthy weight, since it helps calibrate the balance between energy taken in and energy burned off. "The data is too gross, and too general, to assume that [exercise doesn't count]," warns Dr. Janet Walberg Rankin, a professor in the department of human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Tech. "We need to have a dual approach to weight involving both activity and diet. I would hate for people to take away from this study that activity has nothing to do with weight."

Phew! Thanks, doc. I also hope that's not what people take away from this study. In fact, to me, it says the opposite. If teen obesity is going up because teens have increased their calorie intake without increasing their activity levels, then that seems to say pretty clearly that exercise does make a difference. Do you agree?

Tyra Gets a Nutritionist to Get Her Shape in Shape

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:17 -0800

You may already know that Tyra's made a lifestyle change, thanks to a little healthy competition with her girlfriends that began last January. While being more active and committing herself to regular cardio sessions certainly helped her tone up, an episode of Tyra's show this week reveals that her slim-down is in large part due to working with a nutritionist and drastically changing her eating habits. With recent studies debating that weight loss has less to do with exercise, and is more about food, Tyra's revelation seems a timely bit of healthy advice.

Overall, I'm totally impressed with Tyra's take on getting fit - proclaiming the episode "Get Your Shape in Shape," she emphasizes the focus on individual body type, rather than on being skinny, and offers constructive tips for shaping up your shape - like making a decision to get healthy for yourself and keeping a food journal to monitor what you're eating.

A true believer in the power of food, Tyra also claims that new eating habits put and end to her "stomach attacks," which she suffered from since she was 10, and reveals that her weight loss is 80 percent attributable to diet and 20 percent attributable to exercise - she didn't even hire a personal trainer. Are you a believer yet?

Photo Courtesy of Warner Brothers

Can You Scale the Food Pyramid?

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:00:40 -0800

The old food pyramid you remember from grade school got an upgrade in 2005, but the basic sentiment remains the same. The government guidelines advise eaters to choose a variety of foods from the different food groups in order to eat a balanced diet. How much do you know about the food pyramid? Take my quiz and see how you measure up.

Take the quiz

Do Tell: What Was Your Mother's Relationship to Food?

TresSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Did you "thin-herit" food issues from your mother?

According to a poll conducted by teen magazine Sugar, girls ages 12 - 18 said that their mother's eating and/or dieting habits and views on food were the biggest influence on their own relationship to food. It was found that if a mom diets, she's twice as likely to have a daughter with an eating disorder.

What was your mother's relationship to food? Do you think it has affected you positively or negatively?

Smarter Eats: Use Smaller Plates and Grab It to Go

FitSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:30:34 -0700

I grew up in a house where I was told to clean my plate. Not always a bad thing but it stuck with me for many years, even after serving sizes kept growing. I'm also a fast eater, something I've been working on, but I sometimes overeat before realizing I am full. A few things I've done to help kick my habits are using smaller plates and always taking food to go.

After inheriting some dishware from my grandmother I noticed that the dinner plates used during her era are much smaller than the ones we use today. I now use these dishes at home, which has reduced my portion size - yet I'm just as satisfied after every meal. Scientists confirmed that the brain takes visual cues when it comes to eating. If we see it, we somehow believe that we have to eat it and will end up feeling unsatiated even if we're physically full.

Portion sizes are out of control in restaurants. To remedy this I usually have half of my meal packed up to enjoy as lunch the next day. I don't go out of my way to starve myself, but it's always pretty obvious when you're given too much food at one sitting. If it's a restaurant I frequent a lot and know that the portion is going to be big, I ask my server ahead of time to make me a doggie bag before the plate even gets to my table.

All You Can Eat - Recession Buster or Fat Maker?

FitSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:00:15 -0700

Taybarns restaurant is introducing a new dining concept to the English - all you can eat. It's nothing we haven't seen in the United States. We have all-you-can-eat baked potato and pizza bars, endless breadsticks and salad, and the kind of buffets that would make Elvis weep if he was still kickin' it in Vegas.

The Taybarns message is clear: "Enjoy as much as you like, as many times as you like. All for one fixed price!" That fixed price gives you a 111-foot counter filled with pizza, Chinese food, carving stations, fry stations, desserts, and more. The English are going crazy for the buffet-style chain, and while neighboring restaurants continue to close, Taybarns is on the up.

During tough economic times, giving people the most bang for their buck seems like a smart business model, but at what cost? As reported by the BBC, not everyone likes Taybarns. They think the chain encourages unhealthy eating habits and will cause England's collective waistline to expand.

It's a common argument, and one that's been batting around in the US for some time. Is it the fault of (insert any fast food giant here), or does the responsibility fall on the individual? Does walking into Taybarns rob a human of their free will, and why isn't healthy food more accessible to the masses?

Have You Ever Done a Cleanse?

FitSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:47:09 -0700

I was asked recently if I've ever detoxed like Gwyneth Paltrow does. Personally, I've never committed myself to a rigid master cleanse or detox diet for a prescribed amount of time, but I've definitely made adjustments to my diet.

After an unusually indulgent holiday season spent away from home, I cut out alcohol and sugar for a month and ate nothing but brown rice and steamed veggies for two days. And though I do think putting limits on sugar and alcohol are helpful, you won't see me on a restrictive meal plan like that again. It's important for me to have a balanced diet that also consists of dairy, fruit, and lean protein, and most cleanses don't allow for that.

I have a few friends that cleanse at least four times a year and they swear it does wonders for them. What about you - have you ever cleansed?