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10 Steps to a Thinner, Healthier You

Daily do’s

We get it: You want to lose the jiggle but don’t want to blacklist your favorite eats, count every single calorie, or overdose on gym hours. The great news is, you can drop weight without dieting: Experts say making small change-ups to your day is one of the best ways to lose. We grilled health and fitness pros for the tweaks that will help your shape the most. Road test a few, and you could shed 5 (this week!), 10, or even 20-plus pounds without a whole lot of effort

Power up PB

 ”Buy natural varieties of peanut butter and pour off the oil sitting on top. Each serving will have 20 fewer calories and 2 to 3 fewer grams of fat. It’s a small difference that’ll add up to a couple of pounds per year.” —Amelia Winslow, personal chef in Los Angeles and founder of the healthy food blog Eating Made Easy

Pop to it

 ”Skimping on fiber will make you gain weight. Forget the pretzels and go for a bag of low-fat popcorn. It has five times the fiber and only 90 calories for six cups, so it’s filling and satisfying. A recent study found that when women doubled their daily fiber intake from 12 to 24 grams, their bodies absorbed 90 calories less per day. You could lose almost 10 pounds in a year!” —Tanya Zuckerbrot, RD, author of The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss

 ”Kick up your heels and go dancing with your girlfriends—or have a solo dance session at home. Fast-tempo dances are not only a blast to do, but in an hour you’ll torch 400 to 500 calories. That’s equivalent to light jogging on the treadmill, but it’s way more fun!” —Christine Avanti, author of Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food: Lose the Fake Food and Kickstart Your Weight Loss

Switch things up

“At the gym, lift one set of heavier weights than you’re used to. And on your walk or run, add backward walking and sideways shuffling in one-minute bursts. You’ll challenge your muscles in new ways, work them at a variety of angles, and improve your balance. These things will tone you up and burn extra calories.” —Gunnar Peterson, celebrity trainer to A-listers (including our December cover star Sofia Vergara!) in Beverly Hills, California

Switch things up

Nix nighttime eating

“Cutting out after-dinner snacking is a quick way to help you shed 5 pounds in a week. At night, we’re usually scarfing down junky foods in front of the TV—and it’s easy to consume a meal’s worth of calories, plus belly-bloating sodium. If you’re typically hungry before bed, it might mean you’re eating dinner too early, so push it back. Snack on fruit at 3 p.m. Then at 5 p.m., have a snack bar. At 7:30, you’ll be ready for dinner, and you’ll be eating late enough to stay full for the rest of the evening.” —Heather Bauer, RD, author of Bread Is the Devil: Win the Weight Loss Battle by Taking Control of Your Diet Demons

Be a crunch monster

“Fill your plate with crunchy, chewy foods like carrots, apples, and whole grains. They take more time to chew, and their fiber makes your body work harder to digest them—so you’ll burn more calories during your meal. Eating this way can increase your total calorie burn by 5% throughout the day!” —Leslie Bonci, RD, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine

Keep it simple

“Just focus on cooking wholesome food; you’ll eat well and could even lose 5 pounds in a week. For breakfast, have yogurt and some fruit; for lunch, eat a soup and a winter salad with tuna and walnuts; at dinner, fill your plate with 3 to 4 ounces of fish or chicken, a couple of veggies, and a piece of fruit. And feel free to use a bit of butter or olive oil—you don’t have to deprive yourself.” —Mireille Guiliano, author of The French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook

Beat booze bloat

“Downsize your wine glass to cut calories. Wine glasses today are giant goblets, so it’s easy to pour 6 ounces, or one-and-a-half servings, without noticing. That means those two glasses a night might actually be closer to three (almost half a bottle!), adding up to 300 calories. Instead of drinking this way every day, have a regular-size 4-ounce glass a couple of times a week. You could drop more than 20 pounds this year.” —Tim Church, MD, director of preventive medicine research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 ”Slip exercise into everyday life, and make it fun. Head outside and go ice skating with friends or shape a snowman with your kids. You can even stage a pillow fight in your living room. That burns 82 calories in 20 minutes, plus you’ll laugh the entire time!” —Missy Chase Lapine, author of The Speedy Sneaky Chef

 ”Season and butter the bottom of foods. For example, butter the bottom of toast, and salt the bottom of potato rounds. This sounds weird, but it really helps with weight loss. When you eat foods this way, the flavor hits your tongue right away, and you actually taste more of it. Ultimately, that means you can cut out at least half the belly-bloating salt or butter.” —Devin Alexander, chef and host of FitTV’s Healthy Decadence and author of The Biggest Loser Quick & Easy Cookbook

Dine in slow-mo

“Make sure you’re the last one to start eating and also the last person to finish. I do this, and it helps me slow down and chew my food properly instead of inhaling what’s on my plate—and more. Eat this way and you’ll take in fewer calories at your meals.” —JJ Virgin, PhD, author of Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy: The 5-Step Plan to Sleek, Strong, and Sculpted Arms

 Dress the part”Make a few changes to your party outfit, and you’ll beat the temptation to overindulge. At a cocktail party, carry a clutch instead of a purse. With a cocktail in one hand and your handbag in the other, you won’t be able to reach for too many hors d’oeuvres. And wear a form-fitting dress—it’ll be your biggest reminder to not revisit the food table for seconds.” —Keri Gans, RD, author of The Small Change Diet: 10 Steps to a Thinner, Healthier You

Go by the numbers

 ”Stop eating when you’re at a 5 or 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 is famished and 10 is Thanksgiving full). When you stop at 5 or 6, chances are 20 minutes later, you’ll feel like a 7 or 8. This tactic is great for parties and vacations—and could save you lots of calories per meal.” —Ellie Krieger, RD, host of Cooking Channel’s Healthy Appetite and author of Comfort Food Fix

5 Top Swaps for Thanksgiving Dinner

Search Google images for photos of “obese Pilgrims,” and you’ll come up empty.

That’s because, unlike us, our ancestors didn’t struggle to control their weight. (Well, that and the fact that they didn’t have cameras.)

Our forebears stayed naturally lean, and believe me, they weren’t dieting: They enjoyed a hearty feast as much as we do. But the “traditional” food we eat on this holiday bears almost no resemblance to what the Pilgrims ate during theirs. When they sat around the dining table in their bonnets and cockle hats, they weren’t scraping mayonnaise-based casseroles from Pyrex dishes or passing around sticky slices of pecan pie glued together with corn syrup. More likely, they were eating lean game meats and whatever vegetables they’d recently harvested. They ate real food, in other words—and as a result, they stayed real lean.

Now, I’m not saying you need to go out and hunt elk with a musket. But if you want to walk away from this holiday feast without looking like you’ve been stuffed, you need a few smart strategies. And I’ve got them. The swaps presented here are the same kind of simple, painless upgrades that have helped thousands of Eat This, Not That! readers literally lose tons of weight— like Nichole Storms, who lost 130 pounds in just one year. Storms tried to eat well, so she followed whatever nutrition tips she picked up from friends and family. Problem was: “Everything that everyone told me was completely wrong.” Now, when people ask her how she dropped nearly half her body weight, she tells them it was simple: She finally learned how to eat.

With that in mind, here are five simple swaps for Thanksgiving dinner, courtesy of the all-new Eat This, Not That! 2012. Choose smartly and you’ll still walk away from the table satisfied—but with 1,200 fewer calories in your belly. Make the same swaps when you reheat the leftovers, and you’ll actually start shedding pounds this holiday season!

1. YOUR STARCHY SIDE DISH
Eat This!
Roasted Potatoes (1 cup)
115 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
12 mg sodium

Not That!
Turkey Stuffing (1 cup)
350 calories
28 g fat (12 g saturated)
840 mg sodium

YOU SAVE: 235 calories!

Stuffing is the edible equivalent of a sponge, slurping up all the butter or turkey fat it encounters. That’s why the numbers on that Stove Top package are so deceptively conservative; they don’t reflect the fat-riddled nature of the finished product. Stick with roasted potatoes instead and save yourself the calorie equivalent of a third-pound of lean turkey!

2. YOUR VEGETABLE SIDE
Eat This!
Succotash (1 cup)
160 calories
1 g fat (0 g saturated)
562 mg sodium

Not That!
Creamed Corn (1 cup)
400 calories
22 g fat (N/A g saturated)
580 mg sodium

YOU SAVE: 240 calories!

A good rule when it comes to vegetables? Disqualify any dish that begins with “creamed.” In this case, starch-heavy corn converges with calorie-dense dairy fat to create a side dish with more than a third of your day’s recommended fat limit. Succotash, on the other hand, offsets corn’s excessive starch load with the slow-digesting fiber and protein of beans, helping you fill up quicker and take in fewer calories overall.

3. YOUR ENTRÉE
Eat This!
Turkey breast (4 oz) with homemade cranberry sauce (2 Tbsp)
195 calories
4 g fat
265 mg sodium

Not That!
Dark turkey meat (4 oz) with canned cranberry sauce (1/2-inch slice)
410 calories
10 g fat (4 g saturated)
320 mg sodium

YOU SAVE: 215 calories!

Ditching dark for light meat is an effortless way to cut calories from your plate. And when it comes to condiments, steer clear of canned cranberry sauce—an 8-ounce can has 63 grams of sugar, making it a third sweeter than a Hawaiian Blizzard from Dairy Queen. The cranberry sauce you make yourself, loaded with chopped berries, citrus, and nuts, is far tastier and it puts you in control of the sugar.

4. YOUR SWEET SIDE
Eat This!
Roasted Butternut Squash (1/2 cup) with olive oil
50 calories
1 g fat (0 g saturated)
4 mg sodium

Not That!
Candied sweet potatoes (1/2 cup) with marshmallows
250 calories
8 g fat (5 g saturated)
270 mg sodium

YOU SAVE: 200 calories!

Unless you’d rather finish your dinner with a two-mile run than a two-hour nap, plan on skipping this saccharine side. You’d need the run just to burn off one serving. Sweet potatoes are wonderfully nutrient-rich, but their benefits are lost once they’ve been basted in butter and topped with clumps of refined sugar. Alternatively, butternut squash provides carotenoids, vitamin A, and potassium, with fewer than half the calories and carbohydrates of this sweet-potato dish. Just set your oven to 400°F, drizzle with olive oil, and roast the cubed squash until soft—about 30 minutes.

5. YOUR PIE
Eat This!
Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream (One slice with 2 Tbsp whipped cream)
338 calories
14 g fat (4 g saturated)
25.5 g sugars

Not That!
Pecan Pie a la mode (One slice with ½ cup Vanilla ice cream)
677 calories
29 g fat (6 g saturated)
47.5 g sugars

YOU SAVE: 339 calories!

Pie is a Thanksgiving necessity, but eat just one slice of pecan (with ice cream), and you’ve taken in a third of the calories you should eat in a day. Do that once a week and you’ll be 10 pounds heavier within a year! Make the shift to pumpkin pie and you cut your calorie load in half while earning the nutrition boons of potassium, iron, and vitamin A

BCWAP December 10, 2011 7am and 9am

Bootcamp With A Purpose October 22, 2011 7am-8:30 am

As we continue to grow our community involvement and support our local charities, we will host a Bootcamp With A Purpose every 3rd Saturday of the month.  For the month of Octomberl we  will be Supporting Breast Cancer Awareness. This Bootcamps With A Purpose Event will be held on October 22nd, 7:00am – 8:30 am rain or shine.

Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. It is considered a heterogeneous disease—differing by individual, age group, and even the kinds of cells within the tumors themselves. Obviously no woman wants to receive this diagnosis, but hearing the words “breast cancer” doesn’t always mean an end. It can be the beginning of learning how to fight, getting the facts, and finding hope.

Women in the United States get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer except for skin cancer. It is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in women.

Each year it is estimated that nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die. Approximately 1,700 men will also be diagnosed with breast cancer and 450 will die each year. The evaluation of men with breast masses is similar to that in women, including mammography.

 Please Join us for our  BCWAP supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Saturday October 22nd  from 7:00am-8:30am . Come Sweat for A Cause.

Alittle Comdey relief

  One of my clients sent me this and I couldn’t stop laughing.

A WOMAN’S WEEK AT THE GYM

_______________________________

WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn’t try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

JC was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so JC put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? JC told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other sh*t too.

_______________________________

THURSDAY:

As*hole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn’t help being a half an hour late– it took me that long to tie my shoes.

He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny b*tch to find me.

Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine– which I sank.

_________________________________

FRIDAY:

I hate that bastard JC more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.

JC wanted me to work on my triceps. I don’t have any triceps! And if you don’t want dents in the floor, don’t hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

________________________________

SATURDAY:

Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..

________________________________

SUNDAY:

I’m having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun– like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

10 Best and Worst Restaurants in America

A few years ago, it occurred to me that the restaurant industry felt no responsibility for the health of its patrons. The obesity rate was rising and people were eating out with increasing frequency, yet restaurants kept developing new and novel ways to inject more calories and sodium into everyday foods. They stuffed pizza crusts with molten cheese, hollowed out bread loaves to make bowls for cream-based soups, and amplified the size of their cheeseburgers to make space for more bacon, onion rings, and sugar-based sauces. I decided then that I’d do my small part as an author and magazine editor to instill some degree of accountability.

I began by collecting data on calories, fat, and sodium. I looked at side dishes and appetizers, drink options and desserts. I took note of which restaurants still relied on trans fats and which ones provided healthy options for calorie-conscious customers. I was shocked to discover the abysmal state of the industry. In 2010, when Eat This, Not That! released its first-ever Restaurant Report Card, a third of the restaurants landed in the D or F range—and not one chain earned an A. Since then, I’ve followed the industry closely. I’ve criticized when criticism was appropriate and praised when the improvements were made. And this year, I’m happy to report, the improvements were many.

In 2011, we’ve seen a flurry of new low-calorie items, and the restaurant industry is becoming increasingly more transparent about nutrition. (IHOP was the latest to disclose its nutritional information, and it did so immediately after we published our last Report Card.) But while healthy changes are coming, the progress is slow, and many—if not most—restaurants still make it far too easy to unknowingly wreck your diet with a thousand or more calories and multiple days’ worth of fat and sodium. The industry as a whole is improving, but it still has a long way to go. Below are the absolute best and worst restaurants from this year’s Restaurant Report Card. For the complete list of grades, pick up a copy of the brand-new Eat This, Not That! 2012.

THE BEST RESTAURANT IN AMERICA: SUBWAY
Grade: A
Congrats to Subway for being the first chain to ever receive an A on the Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Report Card. This year, Subway announced a limited-time plan to carry avocado, and all the heart-healthy fats found within, in every one of its 24,200 U.S. stores. According to the company, roughly half the stores decided to keep it on the menu once the short-term offer was over. That’s huge, but not nearly as huge as the chain’s other initiative. This year, Subway cut sodium by 15 percent in its regular sandwiches and 28 percent in its Fresh Fit sandwiches. If Subway weren’t already America’s healthiest restaurant chain, it certainly is now.

Eat This!
Buffalo Chicken Toasted Sandwich (6-inch)
420 calories
15.5 g fat (3 g saturated)
1,190 mg sodium

Not That!
Chicken and Bacon Ranch Toasted Sandwich (6-inch)
570 calories
28 g fat (10 g saturated)
1,090 mg sodium

“C”RAZY RESULTS: People who take 500 mg of vitamin C daily burn 39 percent more fat while exercising. For more health, nutrition, and fitness tricks and tips, follow me right here on Twitter or sign up for the FREE Eat This, Not That! newsletter!

RUNNER UP #1: RED LOBSTER
Grade: A- 
Red Lobster is a nutritional superstar compared to the other sit-down restaurant chains. The daily cast of rotating fish is the centerpiece of a menu long on low-calorie, high-protein entrees and reasonable sides. The chain might even earn an A next year if it manages to put down the salt shaker.

 Eat This!
Peach-Bourbon BBQ Shrimp and Scallops
490 calories
22 g fat (4 g saturated)
1,680 mg sodium

Not That!
Pecan-Crusted Jumbo Shrimp
730 calories
25 g fat (4 g saturated)
3780 mg sodium

RUNNER UP #2: CHICK-FIL-A
Grade: A-
Chick-fil-A ranks among the best of the country’s major fast-food establishments, thanks to a line of low-calorie chicken sandwiches and an impressive roster of healthy sides. The Chargrilled Chicken Sandwiches average only 335 calories apiece, and no sandwich has more than 600 calories. Sure, the chain specializes in fried chicken, but every cut is cooked in 100 percent peanut oil, which contains twice as many monounsaturated fats as typical vegetable oil.

Eat This!
Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich
290 calories
4 g fat (1 g saturated)
1,030 mg sodium

Not That!
Chicken Caesar Cool Wrap
460 calories
15 g fat (6 g saturated)
1,510 mg sodium

TROUBLE WITH CHICKEN: Would you believe a sandwich called Chicken and Avocado Club could harbor more than 1,700 calories? Well it does! Find out who serves it, along with the other must-avoid chicken dishes, by checking out The Worst Chicken Dishes in America.

RUNNER UP #3: JAMBA JUICE
Grade: A-
Jamba Juice makes more than a few faux-fruit blends—beverages unnecessarily weighted down with sherbet, sorbet, and other added sugars—but its menu has a ton of real-deal smoothies as well. The chain recently added an incredible new line of Fruit & Veggie smoothies, as well as new additions to its low-calorie food menu. All in all, Jamba still sits squarely near the top of the nutritional totem pole.

Eat This!
Orange Carrot Karma Fruit & Veggie Smoothie (Original size, 24 fl oz)
270 calories
1 g fat (0 g saturated)
57 g sugars

Not That!
Mango-a-go-go Smoothie (Original size, 24 fl oz)
400 calories
1.5 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
85 g sugars

DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH: We found a coffee substitution that will save you 1,000 calories! Discover the best calorie-cutting beverage swaps in the 20 Worst Drinks in America.

RUNNER UP #4: STARBUCKS
Grade: B+
The sugar-loaded lattes and frozen drinks aren’t always kind to your waistline, but a solid line of breakfast and lunch sandwiches buttressed by oatmeal and parfait make Starbucks a reliable place to tame a growling stomach. Add to that a new line of low-calorie, protein-studded Bistro Boxes and you have one of the most reliable low-calorie, on-the-go lunch spots in the country. And if you decide you need a caffeine fix, just remember to keep it simple. As a general rule, the longer the name, the more sugar contained within.

Eat This!
Chicken and Hummus Bistro Box and a Grande Cappucinno with 2 pumps of vanilla syrup
430 calories
12 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
605 mg sodium
24 g sugars

Not That!
Turkey and Swiss Sandwich and a Grande Vanilla Latte
640 calories
19 g fat (8.5 g saturated)
1,315 mg sodium
39 g sugars

THE WORST RESTAURANT IN AMERICA: CHEESECAKE FACTORY
Grade: F
With more calories than a county fair concession stand and more sodium than a salt flat, the menu at the Cheesecake Factory is in desperate need of an overhaul. The chain did unveil its new SkinnyLicious Menu this year, but unfortunately it’s still secretive about the items on its regular menu. Thanks to transparency laws in places like New York and California, however, we were able to peak behind the fatty curtain. What we saw: Dozens of items with about 2,000 calories per dish. Stick to the SkinnyLicious menu or find a new place to eat.

Eat This!
SkinnyLicious Hamburger
570 calories
10 g saturated
1,111 mg sodium

Not That!
Grilled Turkey Burger
1,200 calories
27 g saturated fat
1,544 mg sodium 

#2 WORST RESTAURANT IN AMERICA: TGI FRIDAY’S
Grade: F
We salute Friday’s for its smaller-portions menu; the option to order reduced-size servings ought to be the new model, dethroning the bigger-is-better principle that dominates chain restaurants. But Friday’s still refuses to provide nutrition info, and our research shows why: The menu is awash in atrocious appetizers, frightening salads, and entrées with embarrassingly high calorie counts.

Eat This!
Jack Daniel’s Chicken with Coleslaw and Fresh Broccoli
640 calories

Not That!
Jack Daniel’s Chicken Sandwich with Fries
1,590 calories

#3 WORST RESTAURANT IN AMERICA: FRIENDLY’S
Grade: D
For the health-conscious eater, there’s nothing particularly friendly about this joint. Breakfast is a sordid affair of fat and refined carbohydrates, while lunch and dinner are headlined by a roster of high-calorie sandwiches, salads, and chicken dishes. Even the Under 555 Calories menu, the only bastion of decent eating, is temporary. The best thing we can say about Friendly’s is that it has okay sides.

Eat This!
Sweet & Spicy Grilled Shrimp
490 calories
9 g fat (0 g saturated)
1,660 mg sodium

Not That!
Golden Fried Shrimp
1,080 calories
51 g fat (18 g saturated)
3,830 mg sodium

BREAKFAST BLUNDERS: Want to start your morning with a full day’s worth of calories? Of course not! So don’t even think of touching the 20 Worst Breakfasts in America.

#4 WORST RESTAURANT IN AMERICA: BAJA FRESH
Grade: D
It’s nice that Baja makes all of its menu items fresh on-site, but why can’t it make a simple chicken burrito for less than 600 calories? And what’s up with all of the “naturally occurring” trans fats in their quesadillas and nachos? The only safe options are the tacos, the torta, or a salad topped with salsa verde and served without the elephantine tortilla bowl.

Eat This!
Chicken Americano Soft Tacos (2)
460 calories
20 g fat (9 g saturated)
1,180 mg sodium

Not That!
Chicken, Bean, and Cheese Burrito
970 calories
35 g fat (18 g saturated)
2,230 mg sodium

#5 WORST RESTAURANT IN AMERICA: PERKINS
Grade: D
Of the more than 90 dishes at Perkins, only five qualify for its Calorie Counter menu. Besides that, you’ll find entrées with more than 4,000 milligrams of sodium, pasta plates with more than 100 grams of fat, and an all-day omelet menu that averages more than 1,500 calories per order. Even the Grilled Salmon with broccoli, a dish that seems impossible to screw up, packs 1,150 calories. Currently, the chain has stores in 34 states. Hopefully, it slims down its menu before expanding to the other 16.

Eat This!
Top Sirloin Steak Dinner with Baked Potato, Whipped Butter Blend, and Broccoli
770 calories
34 g fat (12 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
470 mg sodium

Not That!
Down Home Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and Broccoli
1,040 calories
65 g fat (26 g saturated, 2 g trans)
2,530 mg sodium

Dining at any of this year’s worst restaurants occasionally is fine. Just don’t make a habit of it. Likewise, avoid these fat traps and watch the pounds melt away: 20 Habits That Make You Fat.

Lose Weight Around the Clock

4 Rising Food Costs That Will Hurt Your Wallet

Prices are on the rise in grocery stores across the country. You may not notice the changes right away; that loaf of bread may be only a dime more expensive than it was last year. The soda you buy may be the same price but it’s now 1.5 liters instead of two. Many of the major cereal manufacturers, such as General Mills, have warned of impending price increases.

Why Are Grocery Prices Going Up?

While almost every grocery store aisle is affected by rising prices, a large part of the reason all comes down to two commodities: wheat and corn. Both food staples have been hit hard for the past two years – a combination of climate change, natural disasters and crop disease. Russia has experienced severe drought for the past two years and had stopped exporting wheat altogether to ensure enough of a domestic supply. They have resumed limited exports as of July 2011 but supplies are still short. A disease called wheat rust UG99 has wiped out crops across Africa and is spreading to other wheat-producing countries at a rapid pace.

There have been many corn crop failures across North America also, but the real culprit for corn is that it is being used to make ethanol, an arguably sustainable fuel. Hundreds of thousands of acres that once grew corn for people now grow it to power our cars.

At first glance, it may seem like these increases will only mean you’ll be paying more for a few grocery items like bread and popcorn, but wheat and corn are included in the vast majority of foods that you may eat every day. Here are four areas where you will see rising prices.

1. Cereals, Breads and Pasta Products

Most processed cereals are made from corn and these will be hit hard by price increases in the next year. The commodity price of corn has nearly doubled since 2010 and is rising again due to the massive drought Texas is facing. Breads, rolls, cakes and cookies will all rise in price from the steep jump in the price of wheat. According to food manufacturers, the industry has been holding back from increasing retail prices but cannot absorb the costs any longer.

2. Sweets

Most processed “sweets,” from soda to cookies to jam, are made with high fructose corn syrup. The lack of corn supply is causing prices in these areas to steadily rise. Watch out for shrinking packages, as well. Many companies will keep the same price point but drop the amount you get.

3. Beef, Pork and Chicken

Almost all industrialized meats fed on corn, mainly because it was the cheapest feed available. As the price of corn rises, there are still no cheaper alternatives, so the price of meat rises because of the higher input price.

4. Cat and Dog Food

Pet food contains grains in one of two ways: processed dry food often contains corn as one of its primary ingredients and canned food contains meat chunks or wheat-based thickeners. It’s not just the cost of human food that will go up.

The Bottom Line

You might not be able to do anything directly about rising grain prices, but you can shop smarter. Look for loss leader sales on those groceries that you purchase regularly. Make more of your own food directly from raw ingredients, such as cookies and rolls. Pet food can be stored for six months to a year so stock up when you can find a good price. Paying more attention to prices in the grocery store will help you stretch your food budget the farthest.

Committed to the Run!

EFP KABS getting it done. Run girls run, gearing up for the Tough Mudder.

11 Common Dietary Supplements Explained

The use of supplements in the United States has risen in the last 20 years: While only 40% of the American adult population took supplements in 1994, the number rose to over half of all adults by 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This increase could be attributed to more people becoming concerned that they aren’t getting enough nutrients, but how do you know which vitamins you need, how much you need and how often you need them? Read on to get the lowdown on 11 of the most common dietary supplements. If you’re considering adding any of them to your healthcare regimen, be sure to talk to your doctor first about any side effects, risks or complications.

B Vitamins

There are several B vitamins, from B1 to B12, and they’re all incredibly important to our body’s functioning. But a commonly deficient one is B12, a nutrient that helps keep the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). “B12 is a common deficiency; some people just have a harder time genetically absorbing it than other people do,” says Max Langhurst, a naturopathic specialist and supplements advisor at Patients Medical. “We put people on B12 because they’re either low or they have a diet that doesn’t support it enough. For instance, someone who has dietary restrictions, whether it be an allergen, [dairy or shellfish in particular] or a different lifestyle, like if they’re not eating meat.” He also says people who consume a lot of alcohol might want to supplement B12. Otherwise, Langhurst says a multivitamin should be fine. “Every multivitamin will have a spectrum of B vitamins.”

Calcium

Due to the growing focus on osteoporosis and bone health, calcium supplementation rose from 28% in 1994 to 61% in 2006 among women 60 and over. “If you eat a fair amount of green leafy vegetables, dairy and meat, you’re getting plenty of calcium. So to me, 500 mg a day is enough as a supplement—again ‘supplement,’ not ‘replacement,’” says John Pan, MD, executive director at the George Washington University Medical Center for Integrative Medicine. While Langhurst recommends a bit more for anyone over 50 years old, there is a limit. “No more than 1,200 mg per day for people over 50 because there’s a concern of calcium deposits [which leads to unabsorbed calcium settling into the body’s soft tissue]. Excessive calcium is also associated with mineral imbalances,” he says. Dr. Pan, however, doesn’t really think the problem with bone health is solely related to calcium deficiency. “Taking extra calcium doesn’t hurt. We want them taking calcium, but the problem is that calcium isn’t enough for bone health. Vitamin D is really more important,” Dr. Pan says. “Vitamin D regulates how the body uses calcium.”

Coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may not be a vitamin you’ve heard much about before, but it’s an important one, especially for people taking certain medications for high cholesterol. “Statins (a medication millions of people around the world take) are used to lower cholesterol, but they also block the formation of CoQ10, an essential ingredient [used by] the mitochondria to make energy,” says Dr. Maroon. “This can lead to muscle cramps, memory impairment and a whole lot of other complications.” If you are taking a statin, Dr. Pan says your doctor should be telling you to take CoQ10. If he or she is not, ask why. “Most cholesterol drugs are a statin, which deplete CoQ10, so you really need to take an additional 10 mg,” Dr. Pan adds

Fish Oil

An important supplement for just about everyone is fish oil, which contains an omega-3 fatty acid that can help with everything from cardiovascular health and brain functioning to arthritis and inflammation. “Science is saying you need 500 mg and is encouraging people to eat cold water fatty fish (like salmon, sardines, herring, anchovies, trout and mackerel) twice a week,” says Duffy MacKay, ND, a naturopathic doctor and vice president of Scientific Regulatory Affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition. But the reality is that people aren’t eating enough fish, so fish oil supplements have become globally accepted. However, according to Langhurst, not all fish oil supplements are created equal. “You want to look for whether or not it’s molecularly distilled, because that’s the process that will filter out some of the metals,” he says. Some of the higher-quality brands Joseph Maroon, MD, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh and author of The Longevity Factor, recommends include Nordic Naturals, GNC and Carlson.

Folic Acid

From 2003 to 2006, only 34% of women aged 20 to 39 used a dietary supplement containing folic acid—a number doctors would like to be higher. Folic acid is very important for women, especially during their childbearing years, because it helps prevent neural defects in fetuses and is beneficial during the early stages of development. However, sometimes women don’t know they’re pregnant until they are two, three or four weeks into it, which is why it’s important for young women to start taking a supplement before conception, says Dr. MacKay. Folic acid is found naturally in leafy greens, citrus fruits, beans and whole grains. “If you have a robust and varied diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, you might be one of the few Americans who can get all your nutrients from food. But for the rest of women, folic acid in a multivitamin is important,” Dr. MacKay adds.

Iron

Iron is an important part of overall health, as it is an integral part of many of the body’s proteins and enzymes. Because it helps with the transportation of oxygen in the blood cells, iron deficiency can cause fatigue, poor work performance and decreased immunity. “Iron is so important and it can be hard to get with specific diets, like vegetarians, who aren’t exposed to a lot of iron. But it’s one you shouldn’t be supplementing unless you need to,” says Dr. MacKay. “When you get a blood count at the doctor’s office, that’s an indicator of your iron status, so a lot of times a doctor will tell a young woman, ‘You’re a borderline anemic; I want you to take a multivitamin with iron in it.’” Unless your doctor recommends it, however, you do not need to take an iron supplement. “If you take too much it is not good for you,” says Dr. Pan, MD.

Melatonin

Sleep disorders affect between 50 and 70 million Americans—that’s nearly 20% of the population, according to the NIH. While melatonin is not a sleep aide, it can help balance a person’s wake-sleep cycle. “It’s a hormone produced in the pineal gland that regulates your circadian rhythm,” says Langhurst. “Each person is different, but when the lights are off, your body produces it. If you are exposed to too much light, it can throw that off.” Langhurst cautions that no one under 18 years old should take melatonin, because their body produces enough of it. For those over 18, Langhurst says it is safe to use for insomnia in low doses. “Start with 1 to 2 mg,” Dr. Pan recommends. “That’s the standard dose for sleep.”

Multivitamins

According to the CDC, 40% of U.S. adults take multivitamins, making them the most commonly consumed dietary supplement. And for good reason: “If you have a good, healthy diet—you eat cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc.) and don’t have a high meat intake—then I think you’re going to get most of the nutrients you need. But the majority of people don’t do that…because of the nutritional status of most people in this country I think a good multivitamin is the best place to start,” says Dr. Maroon. He recommends a “targeted” multivitamin (one intended for your gender and age group), that contains B vitamins, vitamins A, C, D, E and K as well as various minerals, like calcium and magnesium. “I think the GNC products, the Mega Men and Mega Women vitamins, work well.”

Vitamin C

Vitamin C, a nutrient found in foods, like citrus fruits and cruciferous vegetables, and fortified products, like juice, acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage by free radicals, which are “compounds formed when our bodies convert the food we eat into energy,” according to the NIH. “Vitamin C is a vitamin that’s water soluble, and it’s excreted very rapidly, so taking a high dose in one pill doesn’t make sense,” says Dr. Pan. “If you’re taking 1,000 mg at a time, you’re not absorbing it fast enough. So generally speaking, taking 500 mg is all you need to take. But if you want to [increase dosage] because you feel a cold coming on, then taking 500 mg three times a day is better because you’re excreting it every eight hours.”

Vitamin D

Vitamin D, a nutrient found in fatty fish, meat, dairy and fortified soy beverages, helps build and maintain strong bones by helping in the absorption of calcium, according to the NIH. It also helps muscle, nerve and immunity functions. While the use of dietary supplements containing vitamin D has increased for both men and women since 1988, it hasn’t been enough, according to Dr. Maroon. “Vitamin D is either low or deficient in 50% to 60% of people in the United States. They should take at least 800 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D a day,” he says. “And optimally, whenever an individual gets a physical examination, they should get their vitamin D level measured and then supplement accordingly.” Dr. Pan agrees, saying that people really need to make sure their vitamin D levels are high enough. “Vitamin D is the only vitamin that I measure first and, depending on the level, determine how much they should be taking. Then I re-test until they get to the optimum level,” he says.

Zinc

Zinc is a necessary nutrient found in the body’s cells that aids the immune system, as well as helps the body grow from conception and through childhood, according to the NIH. But once you’ve reached adulthood, it’s not necessary on a day-to-day basis says Ed Park, MD, MPH, an anti-aging expert at Recharge Biomedical Clinic. “Zinc has been shown to shorten the time of colds and flu. So if you’re feeling that scratchy nose or throat, zinc will shorten that up,” says Dr. Park. “But in general, zinc deficiency is not a big problem. It’s a metal, so I wouldn’t recommend daily supplementation. It’s not something you need to replace, like iron or calcium.”