Sneak the veggies into the diet

Here are some great tips for slipping more veggies into the diet.  I know I'm guilty of not getting my recommended servings per day, sounds like good tips to try!

• incorporate veggies into breakfast
• sneak leafy greens into fruit smoothies
• creative appetizers (think carrots instead of chips)
• double the amount of vegetables on your sandwich
• add more veg to your pasta sauce
• ask for the vegetable of the day (instead of fries) when dining out
• go vegetarian one night of the week

This is a paraphrase of a report on Fox News

Keep the "re-gain" from happening

Fewer people regain weight after a successful diet and exercise regimen than you might think, and certainly less than the 95 percent sometimes cited. But there are certain behaviors and triggers you need to avoid in order to maintain the healthier weight you have achieved, Fox News reported July 22.

Consolidate your victories in the battle of the bulge by:

§ Dropping the “diet” mindset: You won’t keep the pounds off if you think of dieting as a short-term period of depravation or a test of willpower. Long-term success depends upon adopting healthy eating habits over your lifetime, starting by eating whole foods and a balanced diet.

§ Getting proper sleep: You need sleep for your body to repair itself, and lack of sleep can increase stress and related overeating. Sleep is as important as exercise and healthy eating for maintaining healthy weight — shoot for seven or eight hours nightly.

§ Reducing your stress: Chronic stress leads to overproduction of the hormone cortisol, which increases cravings for fat and carbs and slows your metabolism. Try some daily yoga, meditation, or exercise to help calm your mind.

§ Be mindful of the effects of aging: Hormone imbalances can increase as you get older and go through menopause, which in turn can lead to weight gain. Work with your doctor to develop a treatment plan that includes healthy eating, regular exercise and sleep, stress management, and hormone therapy if needed.

seeking the sun (safely)

Wearing protective clothing is actually one of the best ways to avoid sunburns and skin cancer, and more designers are incorporating sun protection into high-style couture, the New York Times reported July 18.

Led by fashion- and sun-conscious female designers, the fashion industry has come out with clothing lines like Parasol, Mott 50, and Cover that are specifically designed to protect against the sun’s UV harmful rays. Whereas a typical white t-shirt has a ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 5, this clothing has a minimum UPF of 50, meaning that no more than 2 percent of UV rays can penetrate the fabric.

J Crew and Target also sell clothing with UPF ratings.

“It’s taken awhile to educate people on what sun-protective clothing is and how it’s different from regular clothing,” says Anne Reilly, a founder of Mott 50. “But it’s been a labor of love because my mom had melanoma and I lost my aunt to melanoma.” Some women buy the clothing to protect against skin cancer, while others simply want to avoid the aging effects of the sun, such as wrinkles, spots, and moles.

“A lot of Americans use sunscreen and a lot of clinicians recommend sunscreen, but there’s good data that sun-protective clothing is a more effective way to protect yourself from the harmful rays of the sun,” says dermatologist Elani Linos, M.D., of the University of California at San Francisco’s School of Medicine. “This is a critical issue as we’re seeing skyrocketing rates of skin cancer — some call it an epidemic — particularly among young people.”

Yoga

Burger lovers, read on...

When it comes to topping your burger, sandwich or salad, there are good condiments, bad ones, and some that fall in the middle in terms of your health, Self reported July 5.

Healthy toppings include:

     salsa: which has lots of vegetables and fiber

     mustard: which has few calories and certainly far less than most salad dressings, for example

     hummus: full of fiber and few calories

     guacamole: a good source of healthy fats

So-so choices include:

     ketchup: typically loaded with sugar and calories

     relish: surprisingly sugary

     BBQ and steak sauce: full of sugar and sodium

     teriyaki sauce: sugar, sodium, and MSG

Worst options:

     sour cream: try yogurt instead of this fatty food

     mayonnaise: another fat-filled topping that can be substituted with yogurt or some lower-fat varieties

4th of July

Don't forget that we will be closed for the 4th of July.  We will reopen on Friday the 5th at 7am.  That means our first group class will be instructor's choice (which, by the way, will be a yoga class this week).  We hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Yet another reason for a little weight loss

Losing even a little weight can yield a variety of significant health benefits for overweight people with Type 2 diabetes, USA Today reported June 24.

The Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study, led by researchers at Brown University, found that diabetes patients who took part a diet and exercise program lost more than twice as much weight, on average, as those who were enrolled in a diabetes education class. They also enjoyed reductions in their risk of chronic kidney disease, depression and eye disease, and had better blood sugar control, improved quality of life, fewer hospitalizations, and took less medication.

However, modest weight loss alone was not enough to lower their risk of heart attack and stroke, the study found.

The findings of the study led by Rena Wing were presented at the American Diabetes Association’s annual scientific meeting.