Tag: Nuts

How to track your eating habits

One of the best ways to change unhealthy eating habits is to keep track of them, which makes sense considering most of us underestimate what we actually eat in a day. Identifying patterns of unhealthy eating choices in the record you keep, you can begin to change them.

Create a food record that includes the following items:

  • Date and day of the week. Also note the exact time or the general time of day — such as morning, lunchtime or evening.
  • All foods you eat and drink. Be specific on the types and amounts, and include details such as added fats, sugars — like butter, honey and other sweeteners — and beverages.
  • Portion sizes. Measure or estimate the size in volume, weight or number of items.
  • Your location when you eat. Write down where you are, whether it’s in your car, at your desk or on the couch — and whether you’re eating alone or with someone else.
  • What you’re doing while you eat. Pay attention to what else you may be focused on, such as watching TV or socializing at a restaurant.
  • Your mood. How do you feel — happy, sad, stressed out?

Be honest and record every bite of food you eat. If you don’t record everything, you won’t have an accurate picture of your intake. For the most accurate results, try to record your food intake within 15 minutes of the time you eat. Use a daily food journal to help keep you accountable.

Why focusing on your core is important.

Your incentive to do regular core exercises should be more than skin deep! A strong core — the muscles around your trunk and pelvis — helps prevent injuries and allows you to enjoy physical activity and perform everyday tasks with ease. Read on to learn more about why you shouldn’t neglect this vital area of your body.

Core exercises improve your balance and stability

Core exercises train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen to work in harmony. This leads to better balance and stability, whether on the playing field or in daily activities. In fact, most sports and other physical activities depend on stable core muscles.

Core exercises don’t require specialized equipment or a gym membership

Any exercise that involves the use of your abdominal and back muscles in a coordinated fashion counts as a core exercise. Examples of a classic core exercises are bridge, front plank and pushup.

Core exercises can help tone your abs

Want more-defined abdominal muscles? Core exercises are important. Although it takes aerobic activity to burn abdominal fat, core exercises can strengthen and tone the underlying muscles.

Strong core muscles make it easier to do most physical activities

Strong core muscles make it easier to do everything from swinging a golf club to getting a glass from the top shelf or bending down to tie your shoes. Weak core muscles leave you susceptible to poor posture, lower-back pain and muscle injuries.

Core exercises can help you reach your fitness goals

Cardio exercise and muscular fitness are the primary elements of most fitness programs. But a truly well-rounded fitness program includes core exercises in the mix as well. Whether you’re a novice taking the first steps toward fitness or a committed exerciser hoping to optimize your results, a well-rounded fitness program is the best way to reach your goals.

Pack physical activity into your vacation

Whatever your destination, a vacation provides plenty of opportunities for fitness. The key? Fit physical activity into your plans — and make it fun!

Plan it

  • Consider a vacation centered on an activity such as hiking, biking, rafting, backpacking, golfing, yoga or swimming at a beach.
  • Choose lodgings that offer a pool, fitness facility, spa or guided activities.
  • When making reservations, ask about activities appropriate for your family.
  • Inquire about nearby walking or running paths.
  • Pack a pair of comfortable walking shoes, a bathing suit and sunscreen.

 

Gear up

  • If you’re renting equipment, make sure it’s well maintained and meets safety standards.
  • If you rent a bicycle or in-line skates, include a helmet and pads.
  • Wear the right clothes. Dress in layers if necessary.

 

Jump in

  • Explore the sights by walking, biking or hiking.
  • Try something fun you’ve never done— such as snorkeling, water skiing or kayaking.
  • Walk to restaurants, shops and attractions.
  • Go out dancing in the evening.
  • On a road trip, take breaks for short walks, a game of catch or stretching.
  • At airports, walk the terminal.
  • Try camping, and carry your gear.
  • If the weather’s bad, consider indoor activities, such as in-line skating or walking through a museum.
  • Consider a walking tour.
  • End the day with a dip in the hotel pool.

Be sure to introduce children to new activities gently, and build in time for naps for younger ones.

Does ground flaxseed have more health benefits than whole flaxseed?

Most nutrition experts recommend ground over whole flaxseed because the ground form is easier to digest. Whole flaxseed may pass through your intestine undigested, which means you won’t get all the benefits.

Flaxseed’s health benefits come from the fact that it’s high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as phytochemicals called lignans. One tablespoon (7 grams) of ground flaxseed contains 2 grams of polyunsaturated fatty acids (includes the omega 3s), 2 grams of dietary fiber and 37 calories.

Flaxseed is commonly used to improve digestive health or relieve constipation. Flaxseed may also help lower total blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol levels, which may help reduce the risk of heart disease.

You can buy flaxseed in bulk — whole or ground — at many grocery stores and health food stores. Whole seeds can be ground at home using a coffee grinder or food processor.

Tips for including flaxseed in your diet:

  • Add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed to your hot or cold breakfast cereal.
  • Add a teaspoon of ground flaxseed to mayonnaise or mustard when making a sandwich.
  • Mix a tablespoon of ground flaxseed into an 8-ounce container of yogurt.
  • Bake ground flaxseed into cookies, muffins, breads and other baked goods.

Like other sources of fiber, flaxseed should be taken with plenty of water or other fluids. Flaxseed shouldn’t be taken at the same time as oral medications. As always, talk with your doctor before trying any dietary supplements.

By Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

Recipe makeovers tips for healthier dishes

Can you count your grandmother’s beloved bread pudding as a healthy recipe? Scrumptious as it may be with four cups of whole milk, one stick of butter and four eggs, you probably wouldn’t find it on a list of healthy recipes. But you don’t have to remove it from your recipe box. Just modify that bread pudding with a few simple change-ups, and you’ve got another healthy recipe for your collection — not a fat and calorie disaster.

Here are three techniques you can use to help create healthy recipes. Remember, these are just some examples. Use your imagination and experiment to find other ways to create healthy recipes — maybe you can even serve them to Grandma!

Reduce the amount of fat, sugar and salt

You can often reduce the amount of fat, sugar and salt without sacrificing flavor in healthy recipes. Use these general guidelines:

    • Fat. For baked goods, use half the butter, shortening or oil and replace the other half with unsweetened applesauce, mashed banana or prune puree. You can also use commercially prepared fruit-based fat substitutes found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
    • Sugar. Reduce the amount of sugar by one-third to one-half. Instead, add spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg, or flavorings such as vanilla extract or almond flavoring to boost sweetness.
    • Salt. For most main dishes, salads, soups and other foods, you can reduce the salt by half or even eliminate it. You can reduce salt by half in baked goods that don’t require yeast too. For foods that require yeast, you may need to experiment: Some salt may be necessary for leavening to keep baked goods from being too dense or flat.

Ways to make new habits stick.

All of us approach the process of personal change a little differently. But anyone can take a cue from these key principles as you work to adopt new habits.

  1. Build confidence. Focus on strategies that play to your strengths and your skills. Consider how you have succeeded in the past, and build your plan from there. Past experiences — good or bad — are learning opportunities and should be seen as a useful tool in tackling new goals with optimism.
  2. Create a routine. An eating or activity schedule can create a better sense of control. Make sure your schedule is one that truly works for your life and not one you can follow only for the short term. That’s why it’s important to set realistic goals — the more successful you are, the easier it will be to stay motivated.
  3. Focus on what you’re adding to your life. Try not to fixate on what you’re giving up, whether it’s certain foods, habits or a little extra TV time. Focus on things like the delicious, healthy meals you are eating and how energized you feel after a workout. Celebrate success as you notice even the smallest positive changes in how you look and feel; it will give you the momentum you need to keep going.
  4. Make your program your own. Take a day off from exercise, or enjoy one of your favorite foods once in a while. The more you make your program work for you, the less likely you are to rebel against it. Figure out what it takes — within reason — to make your healthy lifestyle pleasurable and sustainable.

By following these principles, you can enjoy a lifetime of healthier living — and a healthy weight!

Hunger vs. craving: What’s the difference?

Have you noticed that when food temptations strike, it often has more to do with your mood than when you last ate? You may crave food to relax, relieve stress or boredom, soothe anger, or cope with loneliness, sadness or anxiety. Indulging in cravings during these emotional times may lead you to eat too many high-calorie, sweet, fatty foods.

Everyone has a food craving at times — and yes, chocolate is at the top of most people’s list. The first step to managing your cravings is being able to identify when you’re truly hungry. Learn how to recognize the difference between a craving and hunger.

Cravings:

  • Are usually for comfort foods, such as chocolate, sweets and fatty foods
  • Are often caused by negative feelings
  • Lead to eating that makes you feel good at first, but then guilty
  • Increase during a woman’s pregnancy and menstrual cycle
  • May be stronger when you’re dieting, especially if you’re giving up your favorite foods
  • Can occur even after you’ve recently eaten
  • Pass with time

Hunger:

  • Usually occurs when you haven’t eaten for a few hours or more
  • Results in a rumbling stomach, headache or feeling of weakness
  • Doesn’t pass with time
  • Isn’t just for one specific food
  • Can be satisfied by a healthy snack or meal

If you have a craving, distract yourself. Try calling a friend, listening to music, taking a walk or bike ride, reading, or writing. If a negative feeling is causing your craving, use positive self-talk, exercise or a fun activity to improve your mood.

Making healthy choices, dietary fats.

Your body needs some fat to function normally. But it’s wise to choose the healthier types of dietary fat and then enjoy them — in moderation.

The good and the bad
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the best choices. Look for products with little or no saturated fats, and avoid trans fats: Both increase blood-cholesterol levels and can increase your risk of heart disease. And keep in mind that all fats — the good stuff as well as the bad — are high in calories, so measuring and moderation are key.

The good:

  • Monounsaturated fats are found in olive, canola and peanut oils, as well as in avocados and most nuts.
  • Polyunsaturated fats are found in other plant-based oils, such as corn, sunflower, soybean, sesame and cottonseed oils. Omega-3 fats are polyunsaturated fats that help your cells function.

The bad:

  • Saturated fats are found in animal-based foods, such as meats, poultry, lard, egg yolks and whole-fat dairy products, including butter and cheese. They’re also in cocoa butter and coconut, palm and other tropical oils, which are used in many coffee lighteners, snack crackers, baked goods and other processed foods.
  • Trans fats — also called hydrogenated vegetable oils — are found in hardened vegetable fats, such as stick margarine and vegetable shortening. Lots of foods contain these unhealthy ingredients as well, including crackers, cookies, cakes, pies and other baked goods, as well as many candies, snack foods and french fries.

Choosing foods with the best types of dietary fat

First, focus on reducing foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. Then emphasize food choices that include plenty of monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs). But a word of caution — don’t go overboard even on healthy fats. All fats, including the healthy ones, are high in calories. So consume MUFA-rich and PUFA-rich foods instead of other fatty foods, not in addition to them.

Here are some tips to help you make over the fat in your diet:

  • Use the Nutrition Facts label and ingredient list when selecting foods. Look for the amount of trans fat listed. By law a serving of food containing less than 0.5 grams of trans fat can be labeled as 0 grams. Therefore, it is important to also check the ingredient list rather than just the Nutrition Facts label for the terms trans fat and partially hydrogenated.
  • Prepare fish, such as salmon and mackerel, instead of meat at least twice a week to get a source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Limit sizes to 4 ounces of cooked seafood a serving, and bake or broil seafood instead of frying.
  • Use liquid vegetable oil instead of solid fats. For example, saute with olive oil instead of butter, and use canola oil when baking.
  • Use olive oil in salad dressings and marinades.
  • Use egg substitutes instead of whole eggs when possible to cut back on the cholesterol in yolks.
  • Select milk and dairy products that are low in fat.

How to eat more and lose weight

Feel full on fewer calories? It might sound like another gimmick for weight loss, but it’s not. This concept is called energy density, and it’s an important weight-loss tool.

Weight loss with more food, fewer calories
Simply put, energy density is the number of calories (energy) in a specific amount of food. High energy density means that there are a lot of calories in a little food. Low energy density means there are few calories in a lot of food.

When you’re striving for weight loss, your goal is to eat low-energy-dense foods. This helps you feel fuller on fewer calories. Here’s a quick example with raisins and grapes. Raisins have a high energy density — 1 cup of raisins has about 434 calories. Grapes have a low energy density — 1 cup of grapes has about 82 calories. You may feel full after 1 cup of either fruit, but the calorie difference is astounding!

Vegetables
Most vegetables are low in calories but high in volume or weight. Many vegetables contain water, which provides weight without calories. Examples include salad greens, asparagus, green beans, broccoli and zucchini. To add more vegetables to your diet, top your pasta with sautéed vegetables instead of meat or cheese sauce. Decrease the meat portion on your plate and increase the amount of vegetables. Add vegetables to your sandwiches. Snack on raw vegetables.

Fruits
Practically all types of fruit fit into a healthy diet. But some fruits are lower calorie choices than others are. Whole fresh, frozen and canned fruits without syrup are good options. In contrast, fruit juices and dried fruits are concentrated sources of natural sugar and therefore have a high energy density — more calories — and they don’t fill you up as much. To fit more fruits into your diet, add blueberries to your cereal in the morning. Try mango or peach slices on whole-wheat toast with a little peanut butter and honey. Or toss some mandarin orange and peach slices into a salad.

Carbohydrates
Many carbohydrates are either grains or made from grains, such as cereal, rice, bread and pasta. Whole grains are the best option because they’re higher in fiber and other important nutrients. Emphasize whole grains by simply choosing whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, oatmeal, brown rice and whole-grain cereal instead of refined grains. Still, because many carbohydrates are higher in energy density, keep an eye on portion sizes.

Protein and dairy
These include food from both plant and animal sources. The healthiest lower energy-dense choices are foods that are high in protein but low in fat, such as legumes (beans, peas and lentils, which are also good sources of fiber), fish, skinless white-meat poultry, fat-free dairy products and egg whites.

Fats
While fats are high-energy-dense foods, some fats are healthier than others. Include small amounts of healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in your diet. Nuts, seeds, and oils, such as olive, flaxseed and safflower oils, contain healthy fats.

Sweets
Like fats, sweets are typically high in energy density. Good options for sweets include those that are low in added fat and contain healthy ingredients, such as fruits, whole grains and low-fat dairy. Examples include fresh fruit topped with low-fat yogurt, a cookie made with whole-wheat flour or a scoop of low-fat ice cream. The keys to sweets are to keep the serving size small and the ingredients healthy. Even a small piece of dark chocolate can fit into a weight-loss plan.

Making energy density work for you
When you stick to the concept of energy density, you don’t have to feel hungry or deprived. By including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains in your diet, you can feel full on fewer calories. You may even have room in your diet for a tasty sweet on occasion. By eating larger portions of low-energy-dense foods, you squelch those hunger pains, take in fewer calories and feel better about your meal, which contributes to how satisfied you feel overall.