Chew More, Weigh Less?

Chew More, Weigh Less?

Next time you grab a handful of nuts to snack on, count to 40. A recent study revealed that when people ate a small serving of almonds, 40 chews quelled hunger better than 10 or even 25 crunches of the same amount of nuts. The Magic Number Not only did the extra chews help curb hunger best. .

Next time you grab a handful of nuts to snack on, count to 40. A recent study revealed that when people ate a small serving of almonds, 40 chews quelled hunger better than 10 or even 25 crunches of the same amount of nuts.

The Magic Number
Not only did the extra chews help curb hunger best, but also the feelings of fullness lasted longest when people gave the nuts the extra chews. And the practice may work with other foods, too, because researchers suspect it may simply be the mere act of chewing that switches on your brain’s satiety center. (Make your almonds extra special with this recipe from EatingWell: Spiced Spanish Almonds.)

Try These Tummy Tamers, Too
Some other ways to eat less and whittle your waist . . .
Save yourself the nut calories and chew this instead.
Leave the dishes on the table. Find out why eyeing the evidence of your feast helps put the kibosh on hunger.
Don’t eat at your computer. Here’s why.

Here are 10 more ways to fake out your appetite.

Burning Calories at the Gym
"Calories burned" readings on gym equipment are only estimates, but they provide a pretty good measure, depending on how honest you are with your information.

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By Krisha McCoy, MS
Medically reviewed by Niya Jones, MD, MPH

You finish your workout on the treadmill and the machine reads 300 calories. But how do you know if that number is truly accurate? Experts say there's a good chance it's not.

Burning Calories at the Gym: Crunching the Numbers

At the end of your workout, most cardio machines provide you with the number of calories you burned. Keep in mind though that this reading is an estimate — and often an overestimate — and should not be taken as gospel. "If you see that you expended 300 calories for a workout, there is probably about a 10 percent margin of error," says Pete McCall, MS, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. "The number you see on the treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical machine, stair climber, etc., is just an estimate, but it is a relatively accurate estimate. It is based on what is called metabolic equivalents, or METs, which refers to how much oxygen your body uses."

McCall says that one MET is equal to 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of your body weight per minute. This is the amount of oxygen your body requires at rest. When you work harder (e.g., when you exercise), your body burns more METs. "Your body has to expend energy to use oxygen. If you're running, your body needs more oxygen and your body spends more energy," McCall says.

The cardio equipment at the gym uses information on the number of METs it takes to perform a given exercise, as well as your weight if you enter it, to give you an estimate of how many calories you burned. "It is more accurate if you enter your weight and your age than if you don't," McCall notes.
If you are trying to lose weight, you may be particularly interested in finding out the exact number of calories you burned during your workout.

"If people are really concerned about monitoring weight loss, the gym equipment is a good estimate, but the best estimates are going to come from heart rate monitors," says McCall.

Newer heart rate monitors allow you to program in your resting heart rate and your age, and they use this information to give you a more precise estimate of the calories you expend.

Burning Calories at the Gym: Maximizing Your Burn

When deciding which piece of gym equipment will give you the best burn, don't count on the calories-burned estimates from the machine. In order to burn more calories, you simply have to work harder. So the best way to determine which piece of equipment will help you burn the most calories is by gauging how hard you are able to work on it — if you're not able to sustain a workout on the elliptical machine, for instance, use the treadmill instead.

While you can use the calorie counters on gym equipment as rough guidelines, the most important way to maximize the number of calories you are burning is to find a piece of equipment you enjoy using and to use it often.

13 Weight Loss Tricks That Work

13 Weight Loss Tricks That Work

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NOTE: The Weight-Loss Trick That Never Works Hydroxycut, a widely sold herbal supplement that touts powerful fat-burning powers, has a dark side: It could kill you.

On Friday the Food and Drug Administration recalled most Hydroxycut products after the death of a 19-year-old boy. The product is linked with 23 other reports of liver problems ranging from jaundice to liver failure. It's further proof that weight loss doesn't come in a pill. But getting the body you want doesn't have to feel like an impossible battle, either.

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1) Have Lots of Sex: First off, it's pretty damn fun. But it can also keep you on the slim track. Having an orgasm releases the same endorphins in your brain that eating chocolate does--without the calories. And research shows that the more weight you lose, the better your sex life gets: A Duke University study found that even a 10 percent reduction in weight (that's 15 pounds if you weigh 150) resulted in major improvements in all areas of the participants' sex lives, including arousal, feelings of attractiveness, and enjoyment of sexual activity (read: oodles of Os).

2) Make a Promise: It's really hard to blow off a commitment you've made to lots of people. If you join an athletic event to raise money and you default on your training, you're not just letting yourself down but also the charity and everyone who sponsored you. Go to stepbystep-fundraising.com and click on "Athletic Events" to find one near you. (Triathlon, anyone?) Some groups (below) even provide free coaching.

3) Enlist Fido: Consider adopting a fuzzy friend if you don't have one already. Studies show that owning a dog can help you drop pounds. Why? Come rain, sleet, or snow, you've got to get your butt outside with pooch a few times a day (unless you really want urine-soaked carpets). What's more, most pet owners say they don't want to let down their exercise-starved doggy at walk time. It's another version of rule number 2.

4) Rock Out: A recent study by the North American Association for the Study of Obesity found that women are more likely to stick to an exercise program if they listen to music while working out. So thank God for jogtunes.com. The site lets you select your workout pace, then download playlists of songs with bpm's (beats per minute) that match your heart rate. For example, if yours gets up to about 150 bpm when you exercise, songs like the Killers' "Mr. Brightside" are perfect.

5) Get Out Your Sexiest Skinny Outfit: You know that yogurt commercial where a woman takes a teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini and hangs it on her wall to help motivate her to lose weight? She's one smart cookie. "I tell clients to take out an outfit they love and haven't been able to wear for a long time," says Christopher Warden, C.S.C.S., a personal trainer in New York City. "Just pulling it out of the closet serves as a visual reminder of the goal they're trying to accomplish."

6) Lift The Weight You've Lost: A great way to keep yourself from sliding into what-the-hell eating mode when your weight loss plateaus: Use dumbbells that correspond to the number of pounds you've already dropped. You can't possibly forget how far you've come when you're straining to complete three sets of triceps kickbacks with a 10-pound weight. Feel how much you're struggling to lift? That used to be on your butt!

7) Get Gabbing: Reams of studies prove that support from other people can keep you motivated to lose weight. And a new study from the University of Kansas shows that dieters who get counseling over the phone lose just as much as those who get it face to face. So if you can't make that 5 p.m. Weight Watchers meeting, check out Bally's Built to Fit weight-loss and nutrition program at ballynutrition.com, which offers weekly 15--minute phone sessions starting at $1 per minute.

8) Call On Your Inner Cheapskate: You don't blow off the dentist, even though having your teeth drilled is about the most un-fun thing you can imagine. Why? Because you'll get charged whether you show or not. Consider buying a package of personal training sessions and scheduling all your appointments now. Ditto with yoga or dance classes: Buy a bunch in advance and sign up at the same time. Who would throw away workouts that are already paid for?

9) Become A Class Regular: Join a group exercise class and make friends with your fellow regulars. Seeing your pals will inspire you to attend even when you feel like playing hooky. The guilt factor--always highly motivating--can help here too. After all, in a place where everybody knows your name, they'll also know when you've missed a workout.

10) Get Rubbed: A new study from Ohio State University shows that women who accept their bodies are more likely to have better eating habits. And decadent as it may sound, getting a massage can help with that. "Allowing themselves to be touched by another person--even when they aren't at their ideal weight--can help women become more comfortable with their bodies," says Mitch Klein, a licensed massage therapist in New York City.

11) Face Your Reflection: When you feel fat you probably shun mirrors. Turns out you should do the opposite. A study in the International Journal of Eating Disorders found that mirror-exposure therapy--staring at your bod in the mirror and stifling the usual criticisms of your thighs--can improve body image, which, as we said in rule 10, can help keep you committed to healthy eating. Try it: Speak to your reflection without using any negatively charged words. For example, instead of "I have a huge butt," say, "My waist looks smaller thanks to my curves."

12) Chart Your Progress: Weight loss is serious business. Treat it that way. Weigh yourself every morning--a study in the Annals of Behavior Medicine shows that people who do daily weigh-ins are more successful losers--and write the number down. If you're even vaguely computer savvy, it's a snap to create a chart with a fever line that shows the pounds dropping away over time. When you get discouraged--say, you haven't lost a pound in a week--seeing your long-term progress will boost your motivation.

13) Score Some Free Stuff: There's no motivation like saving money. And since insurance providers want you to stay healthy so you don't develop expensive diseases like diabetes, some offer perks that make getting fit easier. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, for example, gives its members discounts to certain gyms and free consultations with a dietitian. Check with your provider.

Equipment at the gym

I've recently started using a different piece of equipment at the gym. It looked intimidating. It looked like it would seriously make my legs hurt. I would be on the regular eliptical machines on the row behind it staring at it and wondering what pain it would cause. Sad, but true. Until the other day I finally got up the nerve to use it and I love it! I feel like I move more on it and it targets certain muscle groups depending on how high you set the ramp. It can work glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves. WOW! It has different settings for you to work out each muscle group too! I love it and I sweat A LOT when I work out on it. Which means I'm getting a great workout I think. Haha! Here's is the link to the piece of equipment: http://www.precor.com/comm/en/efx-com/546i. The one on the site looks like a newer version of the EFX546i, but you get the jest of it.

Smarter Snacks Keep Off the Weight

Smarter Snacks Keep Off the Weight
Planning ahead is key to having the right snacks on hand when cravings hit.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Whether your snack attack hits in the middle of the afternoon or during late-night TV, it can damage your weight-maintenance plan. Mindless snacking will put back on those pounds faster than you can say, "Pass the ranch nachos."

Smarter Snacks: Better Choices
A lot of the time, it's the little indulgences that really add up, says Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at the Houston Northwest Medical Center. Here are some healthy suggestions from Banes to satisfy your urge for snacks and keep that weight from coming back.

Find healthy snacks with the taste sensation you crave. If your craving is sweet or creamy, try light or frozen yogurt, fruit, or sugar-free pudding. If your craving is crunchy or salty, try pretzels, popcorn, a couple of graham crackers, or apple slices with a bit of peanut butter.

Opt for protein. "When snacking, it's helpful to include a little bit of protein, like the peanut butter with the apple, or cheese and crackers, or string cheese," says Banes. "The protein will take some of the edge off the hunger pang. I've had patients who really like baked pita triangles with hummus. Sometimes you have to think a bit outside the box."

Don't forget the dairy. Banes' suggestion of dairy products such as yogurt and string cheese for weight maintenance is supported by a study of 338 men and women who were trying to maintain their body weight. Those who ate three or more servings of dairy a day held steady during the nine-month study, while those who ate very little dairy were more likely to gain.

Smarter Snacks: Stock Up Wisely
A little bit of snack planning and self-knowledge can go a long way toward helping you maintain or lose weight, says Banes, whose personal credo is "All things in moderation." But, she cautions, moderation does not mean a daily chocolate bar!

Know your temptation threshold. It's important to know how much self-control you have when you are near the snacks you really love. Some people may be able to keep chocolate in the house and only eat it every now and again, but others will find themselves gobbling up handfuls every day. It's wise not to keep the snacks that tempt you to excess at home or in the office, says Banes.

Keep healthy options readily available. Banes advocates filling up with vegetables and fruits. Research supports this theory. A study of 1,713 adults who have been successful with weight loss showed that those who ate five or more servings of fruits and veggies a day were most successful at achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. So stock your snack supply with baby carrots, grapes, celery sticks, apples, berries, fresh salad fixings, and other vegetable treats. Broths or other soups without a cream base can also be good snacks.

Have a vending machine game plan. The best-laid diet plans can go awry and you may find yourself staring down the office vending machine despite your best intentions. It is still possible to make good choices, says Banes. Remember to choose items that have that bit of protein in them. "Pretzels or peanut butter crackers would be a better option than, say, the M&Ms or the KitKat bar," she advises.

With advanced planning and some willpower you, you’ll be prepared to make healthy food choices that will satisfy any snack attack.

YOUR METABOLISM 101

Get a Grip on Insulin's Ups and Downs
(from Julian Michael's Newsletter)

One of the endocrine system's most important hormones is insulin, which plays a critical role in how your body uses food. When you eat, your digestive system breaks food down into glucose, and the glucose circulates in your bloodstream (where it's often referred to as blood sugar). In response to the rise in glucose after a meal, the pancreas releases surges of insulin, whose job is to clean the glucose from the blood. Insulin directs some of the glucose to the body's cells, which use it for energy. Some of the glucose is diverted to the liver, where it's converted into glycogen (stored glucose) for later use by the muscles. Insulin then helps turn any leftover glucose into fatty acids and stores them in fat cells, where they can be tapped later for fuel.

Problems arise when your body starts creating too much insulin, which can happen for several reasons. One of the most common is that you ate too many highly processed, refined carbs, such as white bread or pasta. Such carbs increase blood sugar dramatically, requiring a rush of insulin to clear the blood. If your blood sugar surge is really dramatic (as it would be if you ate those refined carbs on an empty stomach), insulin overreacts and works twice as hard to clean the sugar from the blood. This overefficient removal of sugar means that your blood sugar concentration drops, with the result that you feel hungry again and crave (and probably eat) more carbs. That's the postsugar "crash and binge" cycle, the root of sugar addiction. In addition, when your muscles are still fueled from your last snack, the insulin converts those extra calories into fat. And as long as large amounts of insulin remain in the bloodstream, your body won't have a chance to tap into your fat stores for fuel — so you won't burn any fat, either.

This cycle can eventually lead to insulin resistance, a condition in which your body produces insulin but the cells become insensitive to it — as a result, the insulin can't do its job to lower the glucose concentration in the blood. Insulin resistance is a precursor of type 2 diabetes and is common among overweight people. Elevated levels of glucose in your blood is a surefire sign of it.

There is hope for preventing the problem. The key is to maintain low levels of insulin by eating whole foods, pairing carbs with protein, and avoiding highly processed carbs. When your insulin-release mechanism works the right way, it helps keep your weight in check. When it's not working, you're in trouble. If you can take control of your insulin's ups and downs, you'll be primed to lose weight and restore your body's hormone power!

Let's Go Banana's!

One banana packs a potassium punch of at least 450 mg. At more than 20 percent of your necessary daily value, that's a lot of the vital mineral. But the banana's reputation as a potassium powerhouse is a bit overblown. Many other common foods--such as beans, potatoes and halibut--contain much more potassium. Of course, that doesn't mean bananas aren't generally healthy. In fact, they're one of the healthiest fruits around.

• Bananas are full of vitamin B6, which wards off fatigue and insomnia.
  
• The serotonin and norepinephrine that occur naturally in bananas help to combat depression.
  
• Because bananas are high in fiber, they keep the digestive tract healthy and regular.
  
• While they're high in potassium, bananas are very low in sodium--making them a perfect food to prevent high blood pressure and stroke.