Super Secrets

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Supposedly, some people lost more weight than others using these super diet secrets (or not so secret, as the case may be):

Cutting out sugary drinks better for weight loss than restricting food - Ask Boots

The people who reduced their 'liquid calories' during the course of the study lost more weight than people who didn't reduce their liquid calories.

Diets That Reduce Calories Lead to Weight Loss, Regardless of Carbohydrate, Protein or Fat Content - February 25, 2009 -2009 Releases - Press Releases - Harvard School of Public Health

Another important finding was that participants who regularly attended counseling sessions lost more weight than those who didn't.

Diabetes Research Summary - People Will Lose More Weight with a Modified Low-carbohydrate Diet than a Low-fat diet - American Diabetes Association

People on the MLC diet lost more weight than the people on the NCEP diet.

Financial Incentives Can Encourage Weight Loss - ABC News

Overweight employees who were paid a small amount lost more weight than those who weren't compensated for their efforts, according to one of the first studies to examine such a strategy at workplaces.

Weight-Loss Drugs More Effective With Lifestyle Change -- Goldfarb 3 (3): 8 -- DOC News

Over a 1-year period, participants who received the combination of medication and group meetings lost more weight than those who had drug or lifestyle changes alone.

Obesity - A Two-Year Randomized Weight Loss Trial Comparing a Vegan Diet to a More Moderate Low-Fat Diet[ast]

Individuals in the vegan group lost more weight than those in the NCEP group at 1 year [ - 4.9 (- 0.5, - 8.0) kg vs. - 1.8 (0.8, - 4.3); p < 0.05] and at 2 years [ - 3.1 (0.0, - 6.0) kg vs. - 0.8 (3.1, - 4.2) kg; p < 0.05] .

Weight Loss - Complementary - Prevention.com

A preliminary study found that people trying to lose weight using a meal-replacement formula containing soy protein lost more weight than a group not using any formula.

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Panic No More

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Panic No More

Trying to lose weight can put anyone into a panic – that's for sure. So here are some of the more common issues that come up while fighting the battle of the bulge, along with some helpful tips.

I have been reading about stress and weight lately, and came across this article that I found interesting and motivating. It talks directly about eating problems such as pigging out, binge eating, and stress eating and offers tips to deal with each situation. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but there are some good, solid tips that make a good, short read that just might motivate you today.

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Stress, Cortisol and Weight Gain

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Stress, Cortisol and Weight Gain

A recent survey showed Americans find personal health a much more stressful topic than even a year ago. And what's one of the top stress producers for women? You got it - concerns about weight. What many of us don't realize (and what scientists are just starting to understand) is that dieting, Americans' most common solution to weight concerns, doesn't offer any real answers for the majority of us. Instead, it just confuses the picture by adding more stress that can lead to health risks that have nothing to do with too much body fat. What's more, our reaction to stress very often ends up adding even more pounds - exactly opposite to the effect we're seeking.

This article talks about cortisol, the hormone that the body produces when its under stress. Stress is something I’m very familiar with, and I often wonder if it’s at the root of my weight gain. This article brings up an interesting point: what if the dieting itself is hurting my chances of losing weight because of the inherent stress I put myself through to accomplish the goal? It brings up interesting points, and ones I will need to consider further. It’s a good read, I suggest you check it out!

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Adrenal Fatigue

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Adrenal Fatigue

Dr. James L. Wilson coined the term "ADRENAL FATIGUE" in 1998 to identify a group of signs and symptoms that people experience as a result of suboptimal adrenal function. This lack of optimal adrenal performance is often associated with the affects of stress on the human body.

Are You Experiencing Adrenal Fatigue?
* Tired for no reason?
* Having trouble getting up in the morning?
* Need coffee, colas, salty or sweet snacks to keep going?
* Feeling run down and stressed?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may be experiencing adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue: Is there such a thing? - MayoClinic.com

Adrenal fatigue is a label applied to a collection of nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems. The term often shows up in popular health books and on alternative medicine Web sites, but it isn't an accepted medical diagnosis.

So, what do you think? Fact or Fiction?

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8 Fantastic Fibrous Foods

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8 Fantastic Fibrous Foods | Fitness Destinations

Most studies indicate that Americans don’t get nearly enough fiber, especially with the proliferation of processed foods filled with white flour, which is made only from the fiber-less endosperm of the grain, with none of the bran and germ parts of the grain that provide the fiber. In fact, if you read labels, it’s pretty rare to find any prepared food that has more than a gram or two of fiber. It can make you despair if you think about having to get to the 25 to 38 grams you need every day. So how can you get your daily dose of fiber without eating yourself into a coma? There are some fiber-rich superfoods that can help get you to your daily recommended allowance, without the coma.

This article answers the question about how much fiber we should be getting, whether we should be taking fiber pills or dinks to supplement fiber needs, and why we should even be concerned about fiber in the first place. There is also a good list of fibrous foods that could be used to boost the fiber content of meals.

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Menu Planning

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Menu Planning - Meal Planning - Meal Plan

Three Menu Planning Methods

• The Night Before: This is the method that takes the least forethought. It provides the most control over waste and the opportunity to use up leftovers. Plan at least the dinner you intend to serve the next day and have a good idea for lunch.
• A Week, Fortnight or Month at a Time: I prefer to plan a fortnight at a time. Others prefer to plan for a week or month. Whichever timespan you choose the process is the same. This method allows you to take good advantage of weekly supermarket sales. It requires you to shop once a week.
• Rotating Menus: When you are seriously pressed for time and your family is very picky, this is the best method to use. You plan out 10 to 20 complete menus and then rotate them, serving a different one every day. It limits variety, but there are no surprises. Since you are so familiar with each meal you are able to prepare it more quickly, or make and freeze several batches at once and spend the least amount of time in the kitchen.

Hillbilly Housewife talks about three different styles of menu planning. I have to admit, we are a "night before" family. It's more convenient for us to to our grocery shopping in the morning for the entire day. Yes, it might waste a little gas, but honestly the grocery store is very close to our house and we would probably waste more money throwing out wasted food that didn't fit in with our "taste" for the day. A common theme at our dinner table is "What do you want for dinner tomorrow night?" at which time many suggestions come up. I try to pick the healthiest of them, but sometimes I give in.

Like tonight. Tonight we are having frozen pizza.

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Calorie Count Recipe Analysis

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Calorie Count Recipe Analysis

Get the nutrition facts on your favorite recipes

This website will allow you to input your recipe into the fields provided and get back a food label that you can analyze just like the food labels in the store. It's a great resource for keeping track of the nutrition values of your favorite recipes as you change them to become healthier.

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Super Size Me

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Download Super Size Me for Free. Watch Super Size Me Online with Other Documentary Films and Free Movies.

"Super Size Me" is one man's journey into the world of weight gain, health problems and fast food. It's an examination of the American way of life and how we are eating ourselves to death. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock unravels the American obesity epidemic by interviewing experts nationwide and by subjecting himself to a 'McDonald's only' diet for thirty days straight. His Sundance award-winning feature is as entertaining as it horrifying as it dives into corporate responsibility, nutritional education, school lunch programs and how we as a nation are eating ourselves to death.

Watch the documentary file Super Size Me for free at the site above. This movie is very eye opening. I applaud his effort in showing people what fast food can do to you.

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Food Heroes or Zeroes?

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Food Heroes or Zeroes? - Page 1 - MSN Health & Fitness - Diabetes Meal Planning

The truth is, some people with special risks do need to be cautious about their intake of "scary" foods such as fish, coffee, eggs, wine, and soy. The rest of us are just depriving ourselves of their significant health benefits—from reducing the odds of cardiovascular disease and cancer to preventing blindness. Here's how to get over it.

I found this article interesting. So often I hear warnings about seemingly good-for-you foods and I wonder: are they really all that bad? This article by MSN Health & Fitness helps to dispel some of the red-ticket warnings about popular foods and why they are healthy for you after all.

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Over 100 Quick and Easy Healthy Foods

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Over 100 Quick and Easy Healthy Foods - Stepcase Lifehack

Sometimes cooking takes a lot of time in our life, but we got some good news for you. We gathered an excellent list of cooking recipes which are easy to prepare. There are categories of receipts like Breakfast, Salad Entrees, Soups, Fish, Chicken and Turkey, Lean Meat, Vegetarian Entrees, Side Salad/Dressings, Side Vegetables, and Desserts. You don’t even need to think what to cook tonight!

Anyone who knows me knows I can't cook very well. I try, but I'm just not a natural in the kitchen. I've browsed through this list of recipes and most look easy enough to make and healthy enough to fit in my diet. I'll never be a good cook but hopefully I can find recipes to compensate for that.

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NutritionData.com

Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com

On Nutrition Data, you'll find detailed nutrition information, plus unique analysis tools that tell you more about how foods affect your health and make it easier to choose healthy foods.

This website is amazing. You can find the "food labels" for any food, even things like bananas and eggs where you might not purchase the product with a label on it. My favorite part about this website, however, are the tools it offers free to visitors of the site. Today, for example, my diet was low in protein, high in fat, and right on for carbohydrates. I needed a food that was high in protein, low in fat, and somewhat low in carbs. I utilized the Nutrient Search tool to find a list of foods that would round out today's meals. In the top five I noticed nonfat mozarella cheese, and it was easy peasy to add a bit of it to my salad at dinner. Have I said I love this website?

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I Hate Vegetables

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I hate vegetables. It took me years to eat a decent salad, but even then it has to be loaded with a creamy dressing like ranch or blue cheese. I eat them anyway, because I figure that veggies coated with lite ranch dressing (or fat-free dressing when I can find it) are better than no veggies at all. On the plus side, the salads tend to be somewhat healthy, with green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, raw spinach, shredded carrots, radishes, and red cabbage. I'll usually throw in other things like cucumber bits or baby greens if I have them. Sometimes I'll add a bit of shredded cheese or croutons, but I've nearly eliminated the croutons.

They look so good, don't they? All those colors and all that vibrancy just draws you. But the taste! Even a tiny bite of some of those things makes me want to gag.

I just don't like vegetables, and this is one battle my inner brat is winning. I know I need to eat them. I just can't figure out how to actually like eating them. And if I don't like them, how will I eat them for the rest of my life? I don't even like potatoes or corn unless they are loaded with fat (butter, oil, or gravy).

If you have any secrets to share, please do! I want to like vegetables so I can enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

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Healthy Dining Finder

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Healthy Dining Finder

Healthy Dining’s vision is that every restaurant in the U.S. join the Healthy Dining Program to offer their customers a selection of delicious Healthy Dining options … so that dining out is a delicious part of a healthy lifestyle!

I was amused when a quick search of my area brought up Burger King as the closest spot with a healthy menu choice. The top suggestion for an order at BK was a BK VEGGIE® Burger that has 420 calories and 16 grams of fat. Other choices included offerings from Domino's Pizza, Cracker Barrel, Blimpie, and Hooters. It was an informative site and a good resource if you want to eat out. Next time we decide to go out to eat, I'll try to head over there and find the healthiest menu option first!

On a side note, I noticed McDonald's was not anywhere on the list, even though they are very close to my house. Somehow, I'm not surprised.

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Living and Raw Food Recipes

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A website I stumbled across today titled vegan recipes and vegetarian recipes - living and raw - uncooked! claims they are the "home of the largest collection of Living and Raw Food recipes online". I don't know about that, since I haven't searched the entire internet, but they certainly have a large collection of recipes to choose from.

The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1

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The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1

Food prices are climbing, and some might be looking to fast foods and packaged foods for their cheap bites. But low cost doesn’t have to mean low quality. In fact, some of the most inexpensive things you can buy are the best things for you.

The downward spiral of the economy has hit many of us very hard. Eating healthy is expensive on the best of days. I appreciated this article that highlights some healthy foods that can be found for less than the price of a burger at a fast food joint.

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MyPyramid Tracker

USDA - CNPP - MyPyramid Tracker

MyPyramid Tracker is an online dietary and physical activity assessment tool that provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient and physical activity information.

This website is not very intuitive and clunky to use, but it's sponsored by the USDA so it has to be factually correct, right? Well, according to the trackers on this website, both my diet and my exercise levels are perfectly fine for the most part. I even scored a perfect score on the exercise scale despite the fact that I sit on my butt for 8-10 hours a day doing office work and have no identifiable exercise plan. Of course, using the potty is an exercise, according to the website. It's a good thing I ate my raisin bran this morning!

As if this weren't bad enough, it is not intuitive to use. To enter food for a different day, you actually have to go to the log in page and change the date there. It took me quite a while to notice this.

While I admire the USDA for trying to educate the population, this tracker is inefficient and not very accurate, in my opinion. If you want a good tracker for diet and exercise, head over to sparkpeople.com.

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Mediterranean Diet For Heart Health

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Mediterranean diet for heart health - MayoClinic.com

The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating plan combining elements of Mediterranean-style cooking. Here's how to adopt the Mediterranean diet.

This website breaks down the Mediterranean Diet and explains how to use the concepts to improve your health. I like that MayoClinic points out that the success of the Mediterranean Diet might come from factors external to eating habits such as exercise and social habits of the residents of the Mediterranean areas. The article is a good read, and I recommend it for anyone who wants to learn more.

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