Synergy Connection

10 Tips for Making Healthier Meals

Times are Lean These days, meat is much leaner than it has been due to trimming efforts on the part of meatpackers. Beef labeled as "loin", "round" and "extra lean" are your best choices. According to The Wisconsin Beef Council, cuts like top round, tenderloin or sirloin qualify as lean, healthy selections.

Roasting, baking, grilling, braising and broiling are healthy meat-cooking methods. Use non-stick pans and choose cooking sprays over oil or butter during preparation. Another way to reduce fat is to strain cooked ground beef and rinse it with hot water. (Drain it well before you continue the recipe.) Be sure to keep portion sizes in check.

Be Choosy About Chicken Sure, chicken is a great American dinner mainstay, but many of us turn a potentially diet-friendly staple into something considerably less than healthful. Say no to fried patties, chicken fingers, nuggets and franks. Switch to broiling, roasting, baking or steaming. Use a non-stick pan with cooking spray, broth or wine.

Keep in mind that dark meat contains about twice as much fat as white meat. Also, chicken skin is fattening. You can remove the skin yourself before cooking, choose skinless varieties, or take off the skin before you eat it. Basically, however you choose to avoid it ... just make sure you do.

Trim Up that Turkey If you're preparing a turkey, why not cook the stuffing separately? You will reduce its fat content by preventing the turkey fat from soaking into the dressing. Try to use less butter or margarine when preparing the stuffing. Don't forget to skim the fat off of the gravy with a gravy separator or by refrigerating it. Leave the drumsticks for the kids; as with chicken, choose light meat over dark and you'll save quite a few calories.

It's Getting Steamy in Here ...Serve steamed vegetables instead of heavy casseroles or cheese-based dishes. Steaming or microwaving veggies means you don't have to add any fat during preparation; choose lemon juice, herbs, or vinegar over margarine. Use herbs and spices or imitation butter sprinkles as seasoning instead of butter, oil or cheese.

If steamed vegetables don't suit your taste buds, reduce the amount of oil you use if you sauté them. Broth or flavored vinegar makes a great substitute for oil.

Go for Grains Whenever you have the chance, choose whole grains as your bread choice. For example, you could choose whole grain breading for stuffing preparation; whole grain dinner rolls; whole wheat bread for sandwiches; and wild rice instead of white.

All types of white bread are high in refined sugar and pack in more calories than grains. These refined sugars are some of the "bad carbs" we hear so much about these days. If you still crave white bread occasionally, choose a "lite" or diet version, which will save you a few calories.

Virtually "Veggie" Pretend you've gone vegetarian for a while. If you're still hungry after the main course, choose vegetables as seconds, rather than meat- or bread-based dishes. Try to choose healthier options like steamed or boiled veggies instead of casseroles or those topped off with butter or cheese.

By selecting healthier fare when you go for another helping instead of the entrée, you'll take in fewer extra calories and fat while adding more fiber. A second round of small portions of a variety of dishes will be much more satisfying than a little more of the main dish.

An even better alternative to second helpings is to get up and get your mind off eating. Taking a walk or playing with the family pet are great diversions. By moving on, you may find you're not still hungry after all, and forgo seconds entirely.

Powder Your ... Dessert? Got milk? Trade it in for the powdered variety when baking and you'll save yourself a lot of fats and calories. A visitor wrote in to suggest that using evaporated skim milk in her favorite recipes instead of cream or milk has been one of the changes that led her to an 80 pound weight loss! Add equal parts water to replace milk or use it straight from the can as a substitute in recipes calling for heavy cream.

Fruit as a Finisher Instead of pie or cake for dessert, offer fruit-based fare like fondue, fruit cocktail, yogurt parfait, or, simply a fresh piece fruit. Not only will this reduce the fat and calorie content of your meal's finale, most folks find fruit more refreshing than sweets. After all, by dessert we're usually eating out of sheer habit anyway, not from hunger, so why "waist" the calories?

Spring Clean Your Diet!

Culprit 1: White Bread  White bread is really tasty. Especially when there's a nice layer of peanut butter one slice and grape jelly on the other. There's a good reason we love white bread -- it's what we grew up on!  Plus, it's only human to like the taste of it better than whole grain varieties. Why? It's refined ... which basically means ... it's sugar.  Even the "lite" versions of white bread aren't such a good idea. White bread digests much quicker than whole grain and therefore leaves you feeling hungry much sooner.

Culprit 2: Soda   Soda ... aka "sugar water" ... chock full of empty calories that go down oh-so-easily  Just one serving of regular soda packs in more than 100 calories ... but how many of us stop at just one serving? Go back for refills at your favorite fast food eatery and you can easily consume thousands of liquid calories in one sitting.

Culprit 3: Fruit Juice Sure it sounds healthy, but fruit juice can pack in as many -- if not more -- calories than soda.  

Culprit 4: Frozen Foods Fish sticks and chicken nuggets may be a convenience champion -- easy to zap in the microwave, ready in seconds ... but they're diet disaster. They've been deep fried long before they've made their way to your freezer. Stick with fish and chicken as your protein choices -- they're great for low-carb and low-fat dieters -- just choose broiled, grilled steamed and roasted varieties instead.

Pre-prepared frozen dinners can be iffy too. While some like Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice are often lower in fat. But even if the fat gram count is in check, be sure to keep an eye on calorie content. A good rule of thumb is to always choose a meal with 300 calories or less.  

Many other makers' frozen dinners are not your best choice if you're watching your weight. Case in point: I recently picked up an escalloped chicken and noodles dinner by a famous maker. I turned it over to take a gander at the nutrient content -- this tiny little meal actually contains more fat and calories than a Big Mac!  

Culprit 5: Full-Fat Dairy is good for us because of its nutrient-content ... particularly for women, who need calcium to prevent osteoporosis. But full-fat dairy products like whole milk and regular cheese are very not waistline-friendly in the least. For example, a large glass of whole milk actually packs in as much fat as a small hamburger patty!  

Even diets that recommend cheese like South Beach make sure to indicate you need to choose the reduced fat frommage rather than the full-fledged stuff. You can easily adjust to reducing your dairy's fat content by doing it a little at the time. Nobody says you have to switch from whole milk in your Cheerios one morning to non-fat milk the next. Try reduced-fat first, then work your way down. Even if you find you don't like non-fat, sticking with reduced fat makes a difference.  No one can always avoid fattening foods all the time ... just keep in mind moderation is the key in all things weight loss!  

Remember, when it comes to long-term weight management, small changes are the ones you'll find it easier to stick with. And the new, good habits you stick with are the only ones that will work!

10 Steps to Changing Your Eating Behavior

If, when you want to lose weight, you have (or still do) alternated between the experience of success because you follow your meal plan (you call it "being good") and falling off the plan and regaining lost weight (you call it being bad), consider the following tips to break this self-defeating cycle and make lasting lifestyle changes.

 1. Learn what works. Rigid dieting has a 95 percent failure rate. Successful weight management is predicated on exercise, good nutrition, education and support.

 2. Become Physically, Not Externally, Connected to Eating. Internal hunger cues--such as a rumbling stomach, a slight headache, fatigue, irritability and decreased concentration--are meant to remind you to meet your energy requirements and maintain your natural set point weight. Developing an ability to recognize signals of hunger and satiety can help you acquire the internal power to regulate your food intake.

 3. Use the Rating of Perceived Hunger Scale. Using this scale can make you more aware of your internal hunger and satiety cues. On a scale of 1-10 measure your hunger & satiety before you eat with 1 as a signal for extreme hunger and 10 a signal for extreme fullness. With this scale in mind, begin to read your body's signals. Your target range should be between 3 and 8. If you wait until your perception is 0, you may eat too much too fast, particularly since it takes your brain 15 to 20 minutes to sense that your body is full. You should begin to eat at 3 on the RPH scale and stop at 7 or 8, when you're comfortably full and satisfied. That requires eating slowly and paying some attention to the eating process.

 4. Distinguish Between Emotional and Physical Hunger. Physical hunger is a physiological process that occurs every three to four hours. When you don't listen to hunger cues, your hunger subsides and your body begins to slow down to conserve energy. Emotional hunger involves eating when you're sad, happy, anxious or bored. Understanding when you are trying to satisfy emotional needs with food can help you find more appropriate ways to meet those needs. 

5. Neutralize Food. There are no good or bad foods--all foods are okay when eaten in moderation. Forbidding certain foods can make you want them all the more. If portion control is a problem with particular foods, try specific strategies with these items, for example measure out one serving of potato chips and put the bag back in the pantry.

 6. Do Not Skip Meals. Eating frequently throughout the day (3 small meals and 2-3 snacks) stimulates your metabolism. Skipping meals (especially breakfast) can decrease your metabolism.

 7. Dispel Myths; Do Not Create Them. A safe weight loss is 1 or 2 pounds a week, not ten. Be wary of supplements and meal replacement products. Remember, a healthy body comes from healthy eating.

 8. Be Supportive, Not Critical. People lose weight at different rates. Weight may drop off quickly at first and then plateau, or vice versa. The important thing is that long-term healthy behavior gets results. Reassure yourself that you are working hard.

 9. Watch Your Language. Notice if you find yourself thinking "I will never lose weight" or "I feel fat"? Watch for thoughts that are negative or irrational, rather than supportive of your goals. See if you can accurately describe your mood. Are you angry, sad, afraid? Understand that "fat" is not a feeling.

 10. Change the Reward System. You are probably used to rewarding yourself and being rewarded by others for losing pounds, rather than for altering your behavior. Create a system of rewards for the positive changes you make, rather than the numbers you see on the scale 

Today's dieter is faced with a plethora of weight-loss methods, each promising better results than the next. However, simple observation reveals that a method that works for one person may not work for another person. When choosing a weight-loss method, how can you know beforehand which method will deliver the results you desire?
We live in a physical world that is governed by natural laws, such as the law of gravity. These laws are absolutely reliable, in other words, you can always count on them to operate the way they are supposed to operate. Is there a Law of Weight Loss that is equally reliable? Can a Law of Weight Loss be spelled out that is 100% guaranteed to work for everyone, all the time no exceptions? Yes, there is!
Regardless of which method you choose to lose weight, if your method doesn't conform to the Law of Weight Loss your results will be haphazard and unreliable...you may even not see any results at all! And, you will have wasted your time, energy, money and possibly endangered your health.
Here is the Law of Weight Loss: You will lose weight when your body absorbs fewer calories than your body burns. Regardless of what types of food you eat, or what type of exercise you perform, or how often you eat, or how you combine foods, or what supplements you take, or how many grams of protein, fat and carbs you eat, or the state of your genetics, hormones and metabolism, a successful weight-loss method must meet the conditions of the Law of Weight Loss. Some weight-loss methods may satisfy the conditions of the Law of Weight Loss, causing you to absorb fewer calories than you burn, and thereby allowing you to achieve your weight-loss goals, while other methods may not satisfy these conditions.
How can you tell beforehand which method will satisfy the conditions of the Law of Weight Loss?
Looking closer at the Law of Weight Loss reveals that satisfying its conditions is a matter of simple math. You must have fewer calories going into your body than are going out of your body. If you could always guess the correct balance of these calories, you would never have a weight problem in the first place. In order to do simple math you need to work with specific numbers. You can't just guess what the numbers are. Can you imagine trying to manage your bank account without looking at your specific number of dollars and cents? It's the same with managing your weight. Studies show that people are generally poor at correctly guessing the numbers they need to follow to manage their weight.
A good weight-management program will give you specific numbers to follow based on your individual body composition and energy balance. These numbers usually involve your specific calorie intake, resting metabolic rate and activity level. Properly balancing these numbers will satisfy the conditions of the Law of Weight Loss, thereby allowing you to lose weight without relying on drugs, supplements, surgery, restricted foods, unbalanced diets or strenuous exercise.
In addition, monitoring and modifying the numbers in a good weight-management program will allow you to form new lifestyle habits that will make keeping the weight off automatic for life! 

STRESSED IS "DESSERTS" SPELLED BACKWARDS

Rather than "medicate" yourself with food when the day is hectic, try this idea by a Vietnamese monk and internationally acclaimed author. He suggests we use the ringing of the phone as a reminder to relax. He advises we stop whatever we're doing for a few seconds and take a deep relaxing breath during the first ring or two. And smile.  You'll feel better and, with the smile reflected in your voice, you may make the caller feel better, too! And that also may improve your mood.
ACTION PLAN: Try this the next time the phone rings today. And remember to smile.

START YOUR PLAN Remember, the more specific you are about when, where and how you'll start healthy new eating habits, and the more you repeat them, the greater your success. As well-known author and speaker Ralph Waldo Emerson, said "The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine." 

What makes people overweight? People gain weight when the number of calories they eat is more than the number of calories their bodies use. Many factors can play a part in weight gain.

Habits. Eating too many calories can become a habit. So can choosing activities like watching TV instead of being physically active. Over time, these habits can lead to weight gain.

Genes. Overweight and obesity tend to run in families. Although families often share diet and physical activity habits that can play a role in obesity, their shared genes increase the chance that family members will be overweight.

Illness. Some diseases can lead to weight gain or obesity. These include hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, and depression. Talk to your health care provider if you think you have a health problem that could be causing you to gain weight.

Medicine. Some medicines can lead to weight gain. Ask your health care provider or pharmacist about the side effects of any medication you are taking.

The world around you. You can find food and messages about food at home, at work, at shopping centers, on TV, and at family and social events. People may eat too much just because food is always there. On top of that, our modern world-with remote controlled televisions, drive-in banks, and escalators-makes it easy to be physically inactive.

Emotions. Many people eat when they are bored, sad, angry, or stressed, even when they are not hungry. Although you may not be able to control all the factors that lead to overweight, you can change your eating and physical activity habits. Losing as little as 5 to 15 percent of your body weight over 6 months or longer can do much to improve your health. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, losing 5 percent of your body weight means losing 10 pounds. Losing 15 percent of your body weight means losing 30 pounds. A safe rate of weight loss is 1 to 2 pounds per week.  

Try some of these ideas to support your weight loss efforts:

·          Keep a food diary.

·          Shop from a list and shop when you are not hungry.

·          Store foods out of sight.

·          Use a smaller plate with smaller servings.

·          Eat at the table with the TV off.

·          At restaurants, eat only half your meal and take the rest home.

·          Take a different route if you regularly pass by a tempting fast food place.

·          Expect setbacks and forgive yourself.

·          Seek support from family and friends.

·          Be realistic about weight loss goals.

·          Aim for a slow, modest weight loss.

Tiny Bites Total Big Calories!

"I never eat between meals."   "I rarely have dessert."   "Almost everything I eat is low fat."   Do you ever hear (or perhaps say!) these comments, which are often followed by: "But, why am I still gaining weight?"

To answer that question we often have to zoom in closer and check those "tiny" bites of food we might overlook throughout our day. For instance:

Bite 1: One-fourth cup of orange juice remains in the carton. You might as well finish it, right? Calories: 26 

Weight Loss Plateau

It’s kind of like running into a wall - that feeling you get when, after a few months on a weight-loss program, you suddenly stop seeing results. This is called hitting a plateau and it is not uncommon. In fact, unless you continually update your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced, you can almost be guaranteed to plateau at some point along your journey toward reaching your goal weight.

Weight-loss Woes   The first thing you should do upon hitting a plateau is try to determine the cause. Could you be eating more calories than you think? Research shows that most people underreport the number of calories they eat - it's not that they're lying; they just don't know how to make an accurate assessment of how much they're eating.  And even if you're eating less calories than before you lost the weight, you could be eating just enough to maintain your current weight at your current activity level.  It is important to keep in mind that as you lose weight, your metabolism slows down because there is less of you to fuel, both at rest and during activity.  So, while a diet of 1,800 calories per day helped you lose a certain amount of weight, if you've hit a plateau, it could be that 1,800 calories is the exact amount you need to stay at your current weight.

Exercise Your Options   This leaves you with two options: Lower your caloric intake further or increase the amount of time you spend being physically active. The first option is less desirable because you may not be able to get sufficient nutrients from a diet that is very low in calories, and it is difficult to stick to it for very long. It is much better to moderately reduce calories to a level that you can sustain when you reach your goal weight. The same is true for exercise. Trying to exercise for several hours per day to burn more calories is a good way to set yourself up for failure. Not only does this type of regimen require an enormous time commitment, it is hard on the body, making you more susceptible to injury and overuse syndromes.

To help balance the intake with the expenditure, a good rule of thumb is to multiply your goal weight by 10 calories per pound, and add more calories according to how active you are. Again, be realistic. Don't attempt too much in an effort to burn more calories. Instead, aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity most of the days of the week and, as you become more fit, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exercise sessions. Choose activities that you find enjoyable, whether that be in-line skating, step classes or even mall walking Another means for getting you off the plateau is strength training, which has been shown to be very effective in helping people manage their weight because the added muscle helps to offset the metabolism-lowering effect of dieting and losing weight. Muscle is much more metabolically active than fat; therefore, the more muscle you can add, the higher your metabolism will be.

Get Off The Plateau   If you've stopped losing weight, the key to getting off the plateau is to vary your program. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about anything.  By shaking things up a bit and varying your program by introducing some new elements, you'll likely find yourself off the plateau and back on the road to progress in no time.

SALAD TOPPERS AND FLAVOR POPPERS

"You can put everything and the more things the better into a salad, as into a conversation, but everything depends on the skill of mixing." ~ Charles Dudley Warner 

Sometimes people think green salad = lettuce = blah. Not so.  The only limits to exciting salads are limits of the imagination. Begin with salad greens. Enhance the eye appeal and nutrition of a salad by adding colorful fruits and vegetables. Keep it light by limiting the amount of salad dressing to about 1 tablespoon per 1 1/2 to 2 cups of greens. Then make the flavor really POP by adding some of the following ingredients. You can either put them atop or mix them in with your salad.
While some of these salad additions are higher in fat than others, just small amounts (about 1 tablespoon) can give extra flavor without too many calories. Also, many provide a nutrition boost! Add from one to three of these flavor accents, depending on how many other ingredients are in your salad.

1. ARTICHOKE HEARTS: marinated Enjoy the tangy taste of sliced marinated artichoke hearts in your salad. It's as easy as opening a jar and adding as desired.

2. CHEESE: Parmesan If your experience with Parmesan cheese is limited to shaking it from a can, try using a vegetable peeler to shave about a tablespoon per serving from a block of cheese. Or, sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan on salads. As just a small amount kicks up the flavor, you may find you can afford trying some of the more expensive Parmesan cheeses. Add flavor and bone-building calcium, too!

3. CROUTONS Add crunch, flavor and fiber with homemade whole grain croutons

4. DRIED FRUIT: cherries, cranberries, raisins  Add these dried fruits for their flavor. Benefit from their
antioxidants that may help protect against cancer and heart disease.

 5. FRESH HERBS: basil, chives, dill, parsley Toss small basil leaves or chopped larger ones in with your
greens. Try chopped fresh dill. Add some minced chives or parsley. Start with about a teaspoon of herbs per person and adjust according to taste preference. Herbs boost flavor without increasing calories  many culinary herbs (both fresh and dried) have antioxidants that may help protect against such diseases as cancer and heart disease.

6. FRESH FRUIT: apples and pears Slice apples with their skins into salads. The skin adds eye appeal and important dietary fiber, as well. Research shows an apple a day may indeed help keep the doctor away by helping reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer. Some commonly available apples that may be especially tasty in salads include Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Red Delicious and Winesap. The juicy sweetness of pear slices, skin included, also tastes great in salads. Pears continue to ripen after they're picked. To determine if a pear is ripe, gently press it at the stem end. Most types yield to pressure when ripe. To speed the ripening of pears, put them in a ripening bowl or in a loosely closed brown paper bag at room temperature. Or, just set them in a pretty bowl on your counter and enjoy their appearance as they ripen. Plastic bags don't work for ripening. Refrigerate when ripe in an open or a perforated plastic bag in your refrigerator crisper drawer.
Store fruits in a refrigerator crisper drawer separate from the one in which you store vegetables. Fruits give off ethylene gas which can shorten the storage life of vegetables. Some vegetables give off odors that can be absorbed by fruits and affect their quality.
COOK'S TIP: Keep Cut Fruit from Browning Keep cut fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas and peaches,
from turning brown by coating them with an acidic juice such as lemon, orange or pineapple juice. Or use a commercial anti-darkening preparation with fruits, such as Ever-Fresh (TM) or Fruit-Fresh (R), and follow the manufacturer's directions. Cut fruits as close to serving time as possible. Cover and refrigerate cut fruit until ready to serve. Refrigerate peeled/cut fruits and vegetables so the TOTAL time they're at room temperature is less than 2 hours.

 7. OLIVES: black or green Add extra oomph with olives. For ease of eating and to distribute their flavor throughout the salad, pit and slice olives before placing them in your salad.  About a tablespoon of olives per serving should be sufficient. Experiment with different types for different flavors. For example, many people enjoy the rich flavor of kalamata olives, a black olive frequently found in Greek salad, pasta and pizza recipes. (By the way, did you know olives are a FRUIT?

Snack attack: Know what foods to choose when hunger strikes

Your stomach is growling but lunch is hours away. You're eyeing the cookies on the counter, but know that you'll feel guilty if you indulge. If you think your best option is to avoid the snack altogether and wait for lunch, think again. A wide variety of snacks can fit into a healthy lifestyle, so you don't need to avoid snacks. Rather, plan them with variety, moderation and balance in mind. Find out why and how snacks fit into a healthy diet and discover creative ways to satisfy your hunger.

The benefits of snacking  You may feel regretful about snacking, but snacks aren't necessarily bad. In fact, mini-meals several times a day can be beneficial. Here's how:

Binge control. If eating several low-fat whole-grain crackers, a few pretzels, a piece of fruit or raw vegetables keeps you from taking second or third helpings at your next meal, you may actually consume fewer total calories for the day.

Extra energy and nutrients. Traditional, made-at-home meals often lose out to busy schedules. A grab-and-go snack can be the difference between some nourishment and none at all.

Choose your snacks wisely  Select foods that can satisfy your hunger, supply your body with energy and provide important nutrients. Choose a wide variety of these foods to ensure that you get all the necessary nutrients, and to make your snacks more interesting. Here are some of your best snack picks:

Whole grains. Whole-grain snacks are rich in complex carbohydrates and fiber, which give you immediate energy that has some staying power. Look for items such as low-fat whole-grain crackers, whole-grain pretzels and whole-grain crispbreads.

Fruits and vegetables. Eating fruits and vegetables provides a feeling of fullness with no fat and only a small amount of calories. They also provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients.

Nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds are a good source of protein, which helps keep you feeling fuller longer. The fat in nuts and seeds is monounsaturated fat, a healthy kind of fat. Nuts and seeds are high in calories, however, so don't eat them in large quantities.

Low-fat dairy products. Cheese, yogurt and other dairy products are good sources of calcium, protein, and other nutrients. Dairy products can be high in fat, so choose the low-fat versions. Yogurt may have a lot of added sugar, so you may want to consider "light" yogurt if you want to limit your calorie intake.

Though snacks can contribute to a healthy diet, they can also be a source of excess calories if not eaten in moderation. For example, a reasonable amount of almonds (about 23 kernels or a handful) contains 164 calories. But if you eat handful after handful until it totals a cup of almonds, the calorie count jumps to 800-plus calories.

Looking for quick, easy-to-prepare snacks?  You're apt to opt for good-for-you snacks if you stock your refrigerator and shelves with foods that are fast — not fussy. These ideas for healthy snacks minimize fat and calories and maximize whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Toast one-half of a whole-wheat English muffin. Top with one slice Canadian bacon, a tomato slice, and one slice low-fat American cheese. Microwave until the cheese melts.

Mash half a banana into 2 teaspoons peanut butter and spread onto a whole-grain bagel. Large bagels contain up to 400 calories, so choose a smaller 2-ounce bagel.

Mix 1/4 cup cold leftover chicken or convenience-type chunk chicken with sliced seedless grapes, 1/2 tablespoon sunflower seeds, 1 tablespoon plain yogurt or fat-free mayonnaise, and a dash of curry powder. Stuff into a hollowed-out green pepper or half of a whole-wheat pita pocket.

Spread 1 tablespoon part-skim ricotta cheese over one-half of a small cinnamon-raisin bagel. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired and top with apple slices.

Layer a soft mini corn or flour tortilla with 2 tablespoons shredded low-fat cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese. Microwave until the cheese melts. Slice into bite-size pie shapes. Dip into some salsa if desired.

Spread 1 ounce ricotta cheese over a brown rice cake. Layer with fresh strawberries or a tablespoon of sugar-free spreadable fruit. Or try using a spread of herbed goat cheese and sliced olives.

Top a small baked potato with 2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.

Spread 1 tablespoon fruit-flavored low-fat yogurt or 100 percent fruit jam over a slice of whole-grain crispbread.

Daily Burger, Fries: A Recipe for Stroke

Eating a double cheeseburger and a large order of french fries every day can increase the risk of stroke by 65%, research shows. Researchers say that menu selection contains about 65 grams of fat.

Researchers also found that 4,000 mg of sodium from salt a day increases stroke risk by nearly 90%.Though it may seem impossible to eat that much salt, Armistead D. Williams III, MD, tells WebMD that it "is quite easy. A personal pizza, for instance, contains at least 2,400 mg of sodium." In his study, 20% of the participants ate more than 4,000 mg of sodium daily.While most people know that obesity is a major problem in the U.S., this is one of the few studies to actually show a relationship between diet and stroke, Ralph Sacco, MD, tells WebMD.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. And stroke leaves many others with disabling problems, such as paralysis or inability to speak clearly.

Sacco's ongoing study involves more than 3,100 men and women. Sacco, professor of neurology and epidemiology at Columbia University in New York, and his colleagues reported the findings Wednesday at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference 2005. Halina White, MA, a postgraduate research fellow at Columbia University Medical Center, says, "We used the American Heart Association dietary recommendations for fat intake of approximately 30% of daily calories, which would be 65 grams of fat in a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet," White says.

People that ate the most amount of fat had the highest stroke risk, White tells WebMD. Looking at it another way, those who ate more than the AHA recommended 65 grams of fat had a 64% increase in stroke risk compared with those who ate less than 65 grams of fat. She says 65 grams of fat "is equal to a large fries and a double cheeseburger."

Less Salt, Fewer Strokes  In a second study, Sacco's group analyzed the effect of salt on stroke risk. Williams, a neurology resident at Columbia University, says the AHA recommends that sodium intake be limited to 2,400 mg a day, which is a little more than a teaspoon of salt. Those eating more than 4,000 mg of sodium a day increased their stroke risk by 90% compared with those eating 2,400 mg or less, says Williams.

High salt intake is associated with high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke. But Williams says the increased stroke risk was seen regardless of blood pressure. Lawrence Brass, MD, professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., tells WebMD that the importance of these findings is not only in the risk reported but also in the empowerment that it gives to patients and families to take control of their own health. "That importance cannot be underestimated."

Food & Portion Size

Getting Started  If you want to lose weight, cutting calories is a good place to start. This does not mean you have to stop eating your favorite foods. It does mean eating less.

“Portion control” means:

See how much you eat  

Decide how much to eat

Cut back on portion size

Keeping Track Start by seeing how much you eat. Find out by writing down everything you eat each day. Be sure to write down what you eat and how much. Do this for at least three days. You can use our Food & Activity Tracker or just keep a list on a piece of paper. Many people find that they eat more than they thought!

Serving Sizes Look at your list and compare to the serving size guide below. How does your list compare?

Here are some serving size guidelines:

Meat, fish, poultry – 3 oz. (about the size of the palm of your hand)

Cheese – 1 oz. (about the size of your thumb)

Milk, yogurt, fresh vegetables – 1 cup (about the size of a tennis ball)

Bread – one slice

Rice or cooked pasta – 1/3 cup

Potato or corn – 1/2 cup

Dry cereal – 3/4 cup

You may find that your serving sizes are much bigger. If so, it’s time to make a change! Get started by using measuring cups and spoons to serve your food. After a while, you’ll be able to “eyeball” the amount.

Food Pyramid  Compare your list to the Food Pyramid below. Use it as a guide to how many servings to choose each day from each group. Here are some questions to ask:

Are your portion sizes too large?

Are you eating enough vegetables?

Are you eating too much meat?

Remember This  Don't feel bad and think you have to lose a lot of weight. You only have to lose 5-10 lbs. to lower your chances for diabetes. If you have diabetes, losing 5-10 lbs. could help you manage it.

Rebounding Weight

Ask U.S. adults if they're trying to lose weight, and three out of four say "yes," polls show. Weight loss is a major industry, from support programs to diet books to special foods. Yet more than 60 percent of Americans are overweight, and the numbers are getting higher.

With all this dieting, why are so many people still unsuccessful at controlling their weight? One reason is that although many people manage to lose weight, they usually don't keep it off.  "In a period after weight loss, usually about six months, the weight starts going back up," she says.

Even in the best medically supervised programs, nearly two-thirds of participants are back where they started within three years and 80 to 90 percent within five years, says Gary Foster, Ph.D., clinical director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania.   For people who lose weight on their own, the relapse rate may be even higher.

Why Weight Bounces Back  Why is it so difficult to avoid putting those pounds back on? Biology, environment and the pressures of everyday life all play a role.

Biology — The body's metabolism, programmed for survival in times of food shortage, works against dieters. "Your metabolism slows down because it's trying to conserve energy," Obarzanek says. "So you get hungry, your body doesn't expend as many calories as before doing the same things, and you have to reduce calories even more."

Environment — "It's tougher to lose weight and keep weight off now than it was 20 years ago because there are so many incentives to eat more and move less," Foster says. "The cheapest foods are often the unhealthiest." Activity is reduced by labor-saving devices, sit-down entertainment such as television, and the growing number of people in desk jobs.

Life pressures — "Weight control takes a lot of work, hard work," Foster says. "If life gets in the way — a spouse gets ill, your child is going through behavioral problems — the disposable energy that you have for any project, including weight control, gets diverted." So you go back to old habits, and you regain weight.

You Can Succeed  Is it possible to lose weight and keep it off for a long time? Plenty of highly motivated people have succeeded. Now, research is starting to provide a clearer picture of how they do it.  Some of the most detailed information comes from a national long-term study. The National Weight Control Registry contains information on 3,000 people who have lost 30 to 100 pounds (average, 60 pounds) and then kept their weight stable for at least one year (average, five years). 

Exercise   People in the weight-control registry, on average, burn up about 2,700 calories a week in physical activity. That's equal to about one hour of moderately intense activity every day — for example, five miles of walking. "I think this is the most important [factor]," Hill says.   It's not clear if people who lose smaller amounts of weight need to exercise this much. Still, a large body of research agrees that exercise is essential in counteracting the body's tendency to regain weight.  Without exercise, the other efforts are simply temporary. There are very few people who can lose weight and keep it off without changing the amount of energy they expend.  

If you have been inactive, start with 10 to 30 minutes of moderately intense activity, such as walking, three days a week. Build up to 30 to 45 minutes on most or all days of the week   Reduce sedentary activities such as watching television. Build more activity into your day by parking farther from your destination, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, gardening, walking a dog, etc.  Schedule your physical activity a week in advance, budget the time to do it, and use a diary to record the amount of time you spend exercising. Record the type of activity as well as the intensity.

Self-Monitoring  People in the weight-control registry are highly disciplined about this. They weigh themselves a lot and they record what they eat on a regular basis.  Self-monitoring is important because it allows you to notice weight fluctuations early and to take action.
This doesn't mean you get crazy about every pound you go up or down  but it does mean that this is a chronic problem and when you gain weight what are you going to do about it? The way you reverse small weight gains is to have a specific plan.

Sustainable, Healthy Diet  Although people in the registry originally lost weight using a variety of diets, the vast majority kept the weight off by following a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, Hill says. Although new research indicates that low-carbohydrate regimes such as the Atkins diet can produce significant weight loss, very few people in the weight-control registry were following Atkins long-term, Hill says.   Another important rule is to control portion size. I still believe that reducing dietary fat is the most efficient way of reducing calories. Patients who are successful at long-term weight control make rules for themselves about eating. Then they make those rules second nature.  For example someone who eats a salad every day, but longs for a cheeseburger, at some point will give up and eat the burger. In contrast, people who permanently lose weight often say they don't do anything special to keep it off because they have made a permanent change in how they think about food.  They have sort of drummed the cheeseburger out of their minds. They have a new reality.

Breakfast  This is another important element for people in the National Weight Control Registry. "They eat breakfast, so they're spreading out their calories over the day," Hill says. This pattern is important to reduce hunger and bingeing, Dr. Solomon says. "You have to eat breakfast. You have to spread your calories out and eat at least three or four times a day."

The Role Of Support    It's difficult to keep weight off, but research indicates that it helps to have some outside support.  We know that frequent contact with a health provider or some other entity that's looking after them — that would include a support group — is helpful. We find in our sessions that people who attend the most sessions lose the most weight. Unfortunately, we don't know cause and effect. If you force people to go to sessions, would you get the same effect? Maybe people who are successful are proud, so they show up.

The form of support you need may depend on your personality. My sense is that in an attempt to find out what works we generalize too much. Some people are solo dieters and some like buddies. The most consistent data show that consistent contact with a professional improves the long-term outcome. But ultimately what matters is individual vigilance. Maintenance is a very active process. If you go with the tide, you will gain weight.

Food Cue Solution

Donuts in the break room: Avoid going to the break room or save a piece of fruit from breakfast to have as a midmorning snack. Leftovers on the stove: Immediately after dishing food onto plates for meals, place leftovers in the refrigerator and run water in the dirty pans. 
Some tips to minimize food contact:

• Prepare a grocery list before you go to the store. Leave problem foods on the grocery shelf, do not bring them into your home.
• Store food out of sight - get rid of the cookie jar and candy dish.
• Send leftover desserts home with your company or take them to work 
• Serve food from the stove instead of serving it family-style.Put leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer immediately after the meal.
• Have each person, including children, rinse their plates and put them in the dishwasher.
• Eat a piece of fruit or fresh veggies to curb your appetite before dining out. This will help you to not over-indulge on the rolls in the breadbasket.
• Tell the waiter that you do not want the basket of chips or rolls to be brought to the table, especially if you are dining alone
• Request certain foods, such as chips or French fries, be left off your plate 
• A good tip to remember: Planning ahead can help you achieve victory in the battle against your food cues and keep you from eating when you are not hungry.

BEHAVIOR CHAINS Frequently, one event will lead to another and the results can effect the lifestyle changes you are trying to make. Behaviors occur like links in a chain, bound together with feelings of guilt, depression or sadness. To change this undesired end result, work backwards through the chain until you have discovered the initial event that led to the problem.

If the chain of events is broken, the final activity or emotion will not occur. The earlier in the chain that you intervene, the more likely you are to succeed in breaking the chain. The intervention can be a very simple change or one that requires adding time between activities.
In the example, having a healthy snack before the staff meeting (such as dried fruit or low fat fruit bars) could have prevented the undesired result of eating the two donuts. Or the stress could have been alleviated by walking to a location other than the break room where the donuts were located.

TIPS TO BREAK BEHAVIOR CHAINS
Use the following tips to break your behavior chains.
Shopping

Always shop with a list. 

Never shop when hungry.

Take only as much money as you need for the items on your list.

Ask another family member to do the shopping for the family.

Eating

Slow down your speed of eating by pausing between bites, or by laying down your fork between bites.

Chew your food thoroughly.

Use a smaller plate.

Remind yourself that it is okay not to clean up your plate.

Remove serving dishes from the tables.

Where You Eat

Always eat at one spot in your home or at work.

Add flowers or special linens to make the place you eat special.

When You Eat

If you feel hungry, do something else that doesn’t involve eating.

Use delay tactics such as setting a timer or other activities for at least 10 minutes before giving in to an urge to eat.

Do no watch TV, read the newspaper or talk on the phone when while eating. Enjoy the flavors, textures and aromas of the foods you are eating. You will feel more satisfied with the foods you are eating when you pay attention to these details.

Spread the foods eaten over the entire day. When the majority of foods eaten are during a short period of time, inappropriate eating can occur.

Emotions

Don’t use food as a therapist to your emotions, such as mad, glad or sad.

Use other relaxation or pleasurable activities to calm down from your emotions.

Develop coping skills that do not involve food.

HOW TO OVERCOME EMOTIONAL EATING

6 STRATEGIES TO COMBAT "OUT-OF-CONTROL" EATING

#1. ASK YOURSELF, "ARE YOU AN EMOTIONAL EATER?" Emotional eating is the troublesome use of food to take care of emotional needs (to manage stress, boredom, anxiety, anger, loneliness, etc.). Here's how emotional eating works...Food and "food thoughts" are used as distractions from uncomfortable feelings. For example... you have a fight with a family member or with your boss. Suddenly, you find yourself thinking about the chocolate candy in the cupboard or in the candy machine down the hall. As soon as you start thinking about the chocolate, you are no longer focused on how angry you feel. People use food thoughts and food because doing so helps them manage their mood.

#2. RECOGNIZE "EMOTIONAL EATING" When you reach for food, ask yourself, "Am I turning to food to meet a physical need--am I really hungry?  Or, am I focusing on food to avoid feeling bored, stressed, angry, lonely, etc.?"

#3. STOP DIETING AND STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF! Diets don't work! Food restriction sets an emotional eater up for more emotional eating... and the scale makes people crazy! Why give a scale that kind of power. Get rid of it. (If you absolutely must monitor your ups and downs, the fit of your clothes will tell you everything you want to know.)

#4. EXPLORE WHY YOU ARE SO OBSESSED WITH WEIGHT Does this sound familiar? "If I could just lose weight, I'd be happy." Think about that. Is your life really that simple or one- dimensional? Or, is it possible that your focus on your weight gives you an illusion of control? Blaming all of life's disappointments on weight, body shape or size, can feel safer than taking a good, long, honest look at other life issues-like your relationship skills, your feelings about emotional and/or sexual intimacy, personal or career change, etc.

5. DEVELOP NEW SKILLS AND HEALTHIER COPING STRATEGIES The use of food to manage mood is a self-reinforcing behavior. Somewhere along the way (consciously or unconsciously), you tried it and it worked. You learned that it worked; therefore, it became a habit. The good news is you can now consciously learn new, healthier habits for emotional regulation (take a class, hire a coach, or work with a counselor who specializes in emotional eating and mood regulation issues).
#6. SHIFT YOUR FOCUS TO SELF-CARE Develop an extensive Self-Care List. On it, list everything you can think of that gives you pleasure. (If you can't think of anything, explore new strategies. Ask other people what they do to manage stress, to self-nurture, and to have fun.)
Carry the list around with you. Pull it out every time you're tempted to use food to meet an emotional need. Eventually, these new habits that you're developing will begin to replace the old emotional eating habit and will feel much better in both the short and long runs.
For lasting behavioral change to occur, the focus must shift from dieting and weight loss--to self-care and a desire for improved health, eating well and being fit. Remember, dieting and deprivation are traps for an emotional eater. Self-Care is the way out.

The 100-calorie Snack Attack Plan

 ... often for snacks, people only need 100  calories to help control hunger. Only they're reaching for a candy bar or a bag of chips that in a small amount may be giving them more calories than they need.  Fight back when you have a snack attack with some of these snacks that offer about 100 calories. (NOTE: Very active people may need larger portions or a combination of these snacks.)

ACTION PLAN  Physical Activity: What Counts as Exercise?

Daily physical activity is essential for good health and the prevention of chronic disease. Exercise is one category of physical activity, and refers to activity performed for the purpose of improving fitness and athletic performance. But physical activity also includes some activities of daily living, such as walking errands, and household and yard-care tasks.

When do these tasks count as exercise? This seemingly simple question is hard to answer, because the answer depends on many factors. Here are some of the things to consider when you are trying to figure out how much physical activity you get out of daily life.

How intensely do you exercise? As you can imagine, the number of calories burned during household activities varies greatly, depending upon how vigorously a person works. Vacuuming is a good example of an activity that may or may not count as exercise, depending on the intensity with which it is performed. Do you move quickly or slowly? Do you go after the cobwebs on the ceiling, reaching or climbing a ladder? Do you crouch down to get dust balls under furniture?

The same goes for washing the car or scrubbing the bathtub. These tasks performed slowly still burn more calories than you would expend watching television or sitting quietly. But the intensity may not be great enough to help with weight control, prevent high blood pressure or confer the other health benefits that require moderately intense physical activity.

For the activity to "count" as exercise, you should feel like you are exerting yourself somewhat, or even somewhat hard. Your breathing should get a little faster, and you should feel warmer, maybe even start sweating. Activities that feel fairly light when performed for a few minutes become "aerobic," and are helpful when performed for a total of at least 30 minutes.

What's your current level of physical fitness?  If you are really out of shape and have been fairly inactive for a long time, then even vigorous vacuuming counts as exercise. Your cardiovascular system will find activities, such as washing windows, scrubbing floors and raking leaves, challenging.

The bad news is, if you are in pretty good shape, you have to work harder before daily activities, like washing your car, count as exercise. Because your fitness level is already fairly high, your cardiovascular system is more efficient, and it doesn't have to work very hard during most household tasks. These tasks will still burn calories, but they won't help you maintain your cardiovascular fitness.

Will your activities lead to injury? If you are considering performing household activities you haven't previously performed, be sure they are safe for you. Some activities may favor one side of your body, like shoveling snow and raking leaves. These activities can also be strenuous, even though they do not look all that hard. People with back problems should be careful not to lift heavy loads, or work in positions requiring the torso to twist and bend over at the same time. If in doubt, check with your doctor. Start with short periods of light loads.

Can you walk more?  Walking is one of the most beneficial of daily activities. If performed at a brisk pace, it has tremendous health effects. Look for opportunities to walk errands, and extend the walking you already do on a daily basis. Several short walks during the day add up to a significant amount of exercise. No time for a long walk? Try 15 minutes during your lunch hour, 15 minutes during a break, and then another 15 minutes before or after dinner. And take the stairs as often as possible.

Addressing health and fitness goals.  Busy people are happy to hear that daily activities can count toward their exercise time. However, some health and fitness goals really require additional activity. For example, if you want to lose weight, lower high blood pressure or control type 2 diabetes, you may need at least one hour of moderate-intensity exercise a day. And most people will find that strength training has a greater, more balanced effect than lifestyle activities for toning muscles and improving balance and musculoskeletal strength.

1 Exercise trade-off. Expending 100 calories by exercising is the equivalent of burning two Oreo cookies, eight Saltine crackers or four cups of plain popped popcorn. You can burn 100 calories by cycling vigorously for 20 minutes, walking briskly for 25 minutes, playing 10 minutes of squash or racquetball, or bowling for 45 minutes.

2 Lighten up. Food that is labeled "light" must have 33 percent fewer calories, or 50 percent less fat or sodium, than the regular food item.

3 Steamed rice is nice. In order to eat healthy in a Chinese restaurant, avoid deep-fried foods such as fried noodles and egg rolls, and choose foods that have been boiled, steamed or stir-fried. For example, a cup of fried rice has 320 calories and 13 grams of fat, while a cup of steamed rice has 170 calories with 0 grams of fat

4 Daily stimulation. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the average American consumes about 200 milligrams of caffeine a day -- the amount found in approximately two or three cups of coffee.

5 Sugar fact. Six teaspoons of sugar in an eight ounce glass of water is equivalent to the concentration of sugar in some soft drinks.

6 Don't mess with stress. During stressful times in your life, try to eat enough protein. Stress may cause your body's tissues to break down faster and mend more slowly. Protein is important because it helps to repair tissue. Foods that serve as good sources of protein include fish, poultry, lean meats, milk products, dried beans and seafood.

7 Salt sense. The National Academy of Sciences suggests that you limit your daily intake of sodium to 1,100 to 3,300 mg (about one teaspoon of table salt). Merely bypassing the salt shaker is not enough. You also need to examine your intake of processed foods, which are often loaded with sodium in several forms.

8 Spread it thin. Butter and margarine have the same caloric content -- about 100 calories per tablespoon. Although butter has more saturated fat than margarine, saturated and unsaturated fat have the same number of calories. Because butter is an animal product, it also contains cholesterol, which margarine does not.

9 Sweet tooth. Chocolate is the food both men and women crave most often. In fact, the average American consumes about 12 pounds of chocolate each year, equaling approximately 28,000 calories.

10 Give it time. When you have a food craving, eat the food slowly. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes after you've eaten for your stomach to signal your brain that your craving has been satisfied.

11 C-mingly helpful. Some experts believe that vitamin C may help protect against the common cold and certain forms of cancer (e.g., esophageal and stomach). Vitamin C is found in its natural state in many types of fresh fruits and vegetables, including grapefruit, strawberries, green and red peppers, oranges, cantaloupe, tomatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes and dark leafy greens.

12 Bugs Bunny had a good idea. One carrot a day has enough beta-carotene to lower the risk of cancer, particularly lung cancer. Other vegetables high in beta-carotene are beets, broccoli, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes and tomatoes.

13 Egg-xactly. The white of an egg is almost pure protein. All of the fat and cholesterol is in the yolk.

14 Almost a ton. The average American teenager eats 1,817 pounds of food in a single year.

15 Beerly 80 percent of normal. Light beer typically has 20 percent fewer calories than regular brew.

16 Heart smart. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils appear to be protective against heart disease, probably by cutting blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels -- both significant factors for heart disease.

17 Good and lean. Meat, poultry and seafood which carry a lean label must contain fewer than 10 grams of fat per serving, with only up to four of those grams of fat being saturated.

18 A lot of fizzle. Americans drink carbonated soft drinks at the rate of 42 gallons per year. That's an average of 486.2 cans a year for every man, woman and child.

19 Less is better. Use common sense when ordering at a fast food restaurant. A single burger should be ordered rather than anything that is "double," "jumbo" or "super." Smaller portions are preferred over larger portions. For example, a large order of french fries has 400 calories and 22 grams of fat, whereas a small order of french fries has 220 calories and 12 grams of fat.

20 Coffee sense. For those of you who want to reduce the amount of coffee-derived caffeine you consume, merely switching to an alternative form of coffee can help keep your caffeine intake within an acceptable range. For example, percolated-brewed coffee has less caffeine than drip-brewed coffee, while instant coffee has less caffeine than brewed.

21 When the numbers don't jibe. The amount of fat in milk varies significantly. For example, 48 percent of the calories in whole milk comes from fat, 34 percent of the calories in "2 percent" milk comes from fat, and 5 percent in skim milk comes from fat.

22 Color-coded nutrients. In general, the darker the food, the more nutrients it contains. Pink grapefruit contains more than 30 times the vitamin A of white grapefruit. Romaine lettuce has twice the calcium and iron, eight times the vitamin C, and more than 10 times the vitamin A of iceberg lettuce.

23 Healthy to the bone. You can easily add calcium to your diet. Two tablespoons of nonfat, dry milk added to half a glass of skim milk boosts the calcium level in the beverage by 70 percent (from 150 milligrams to 255 milligrams). By eating a banana, you gain a generous portion of both potassium and calcium.

24 Less jolt. For coffee drinkers who prefer lattes, a two-ounce shot of espresso in a latte has less caffeine than an eight ounce cup of drip-brewed coffee.

25 Sweet unknown. Food labels should be checked for sugar content. Sucrose, or table sugar, is not the only form of sugar that can be added to a food product. Other forms of sugar include barley malt, corn sweetener, corn syrup, grape sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose, honey, lactose, maltose, mannitol, sorghum, sorbitol and maple syrup.

26 On the road again. More than 46 million Americans patronize fast food restaurants every day, usually consuming foods high in fat and calories.

27 Cooking smart. Stir-frying is one of the best methods for retaining nutrients while cooking vegetables, followed by pressure cooking and steaming. Boiling is one of the worst, as is deep-frying.

28 Not so obvious. A bagel with jelly is a somewhat healthier choice for breakfast than a blueberry muffin. A bagel with one teaspoon of jelly has about 200 calories and one gram of fat, while a blueberry muffin has about 273 calories and 12 grams of fat.

29 Hidden salt. When eating out, watch out for terms that indicate a lot of sodium: au jus, in broth, cocktail sauce, pickled, smoked, soy sauce or teriyaki sauce.

30 Protein matters. An average-sized man needs about 63 grams of protein a day (slightly more than two ounces) and an average-sized woman needs 50 grams (slightly lest than two ounces).

31 Listen to Linus (Pauling). The RDA for vitamin C is 60 mg for adults (age 19 to 50), half of what you get from one eight-ounce glass of fresh orange juice.

32 Fighting radicals. Consuming a diet high in antioxidants (i.e., vitamin C, vitamin A and beta-carotene) may help protect the body's cells from damage by neutralizing free radicals. In general, green and orange fruits and vegetables are good dietary sources of antioxidants.

33 Vegetarian's delight. Soybeans have an abundant amount of all nine essential amino acids, and are consequently an excellent source of protein for those who avoid all products of animal origin.

34 Almost faster than a speeding bullet. Alcoholic drinks are absorbed so fast and so efficiently that about 20 percent of the alcohol in a drink reaches your brain within seconds after you have consumed it.

35 Flushed away. Vitamin C and the entire list of B vitamins all dissolve in water. This means that you cannot store large amounts of these nutrients in your body. If you take in more than you need, you will urinate away the excess.

36 Water logged. Your body is mostly (50 to 70 percent) water. Exactly how much water depends on how old you are and how much muscle and fat you have. Muscle tissue has more water than fat tissue.

37 Where's the beef? The average American eats three hamburgers a week while Americans consume 40 billion burgers annually. The number of hamburgers and cheeseburgers consumed in restaurants has jumped by nearly a fifth since 1990.

38 Variety is the spice of life. No one food or class of foods, regardless of the benefits, can give you all the nutrients that you need. A healthful diet means variety and eating foods from all five food groups -- grains, vegetables, fruits, milk products and meats.

39 Less than imagined. You may not be absorbing the bulk of the nutrients you take in. Even under the best conditions, calcium uptake rarely exceeds 50 percent of intake, and maximum iron absorption from certain foods may be only 5 to 15 percent.

40 A matter of gender. A 140-pound man can keep his weight steady while eating about 10 percent more than a 140-pound woman, who is the same age and performs the same amount of physical work. Why? Men have more muscle tissue than women and, consequently, burn more calories than women both at rest and during activity.

41 Keeping things in perspective. Even if you are watching your calories, eating a few "goodies" once in a while is not a crime. The following snacks have only 50 to 60 calories each: two chocolate kisses; eight chocolate-covered mini grahams; one low-fat, sugar-free ice cream bar; 12 jelly beans; one mini peanut butter cup; and one cracker "sandwich" filled with peanut butter or cheese.

42 Fiber fills. Fiber-rich foods, such as many fruits and vegetables, tend to be bulkier and help you feel more full on a low-calorie diet.

43 Fat-free doesn't mean calorie-free. If a food package label says the food is fat free, the product must contain fewer than 0.5 grams of fat per serving. Calorie-free items must contain fewer than five calories per serving.

44 Swift delivery. Cooked vegetables should be served quickly. After 24 hours in the refrigerator, vegetables lose about one-fourth of their vitamin C, and after two days, nearly half.

45 Unwelcome occurrence. Almost three-quarters of all allergy reactions to food are caused by three foods: eggs, milk or peanuts.

46 Cancer buster. Cabbage-family (cruciferous) vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and cabbages, appear to protect you against colorectal, stomach and respiratory cancers.

47 Perfect partners. If you take vitamin and/or mineral supplements, you should take them with food. Food helps improve the absorption of nutrients. If fat-soluble vitamins are consumed on an empty stomach, they are not efficiently absorbed.

48 Think zinc. Just as women lose iron during menstrual bleeding, men lose zinc at ejaculation. As a result, men who are extremely active sexually may need extra zinc. Zinc is found in a variety of breads and cereals, meat, poultry and fish. The RDA for zinc is 15 milligrams for men and 12 milligrams for women.

49 Keep it coming. You need a fresh supply of water every day to replace what is lost when you breathe, perspire, urinate and defecate. On average, this amounts to approximately 12.5 cups a day.

50 The great pyramid. According to the Food Pyramid developed by the Food and Drug Administration, the majority of what we eat daily should come from grains such as bread, cereal, rice and pasta. The recommendation is for six to 11 servings of grains a day (six servings for a small female and 11 servings for a large male).

Summer and ice cream may go together like vanilla and chocolate, but a new report shows some frozen confections served up at popular chains pack as many calories and saturated fat grams as a steak dinner with all the trimmings. A study from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) shows what used to be a 150-calorie treat has now mutated into a 1,200-calorie indulgence. Super-sized sundaes, shakes, and other specialty items not only contain multiple scoops of ice cream, but they're mixed with candies, cookies, brownies, and sugary sauces and then topped off with a generous serving of whipped cream and sprinkles.

"It's as if these ice cream shops were competing with each other to see who could inflict the greatest toll on our arteries and waistlines," says CSPI senior nutritionist. "It's not just regular ice cream, but premium. It's not just one scoop, but two or three. It's not just a cone, but a chocolate-dipped waffle cone. It's not just hot fudge, nuts, and whipped cream, but every conceivable combination of cookie, candy, and chocolate."

The ice cream study is the latest in a series of CSPI reports that have highlighted the nutritional pitfalls of some of America's most popular foods, such as pizza, Chinese takeout, and movie theater popcorn.

And when it comes to America's favorite indulgences, it's hard to beat ice cream. According to the International Ice Cream Association, Americans spent more than $20 billion on frozen desserts and ice cream in 2001, and more than six out of every 10 dollars spent on ice cream are spent away from home at ice cream parlors, scoop shops, and other retail outlets.

A Coronary in a Cone  Aside from the high sugar content of most ice cream treats, researchers say premium ice creams are higher in artery-clogging saturated fats than their regular and reduced-fat counterparts.

The study showed some of the worst ice cream concoctions are dripping with more fat and calories than a full one-pound rack of ribs, two 12-ounce New York strip steaks, or nearly three McDonald's Quarter Pounders.

For example:
Häagen-Dazs' Mint Chip Dazzler -- With three scoops of mint chip ice cream, hot fudge, Oreos, chocolate sprinkles, and whipped cream, this portable sundae has 1,270 calories and 38 grams of saturated fat.

Baskin Robbins' vanilla shake (large) -- At 24 ounces, this seemingly benign beverage still has 1,070 calories and 32 saturated fat grams.

Cold Stone Creamery's Mud Pie Mojo -- A mix of coffee ice cream, roasted almonds, fudge, Oreos, peanut butter, and whipped topping with 1,180 calories and 26 grams of saturated fat.

Friendly's Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cyclone (large) -- Vanilla ice cream topped with creamy peanut butter sauce, hot fudge, marshmallows, whipped topping, sprinkles, and Reese's Pieces tipped the scales at 1,470 calories and 28 grams of saturated fat.

Ben and Jerry's Brownie Special -- A brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, peanuts, hot fudge, and whipped cream has 1,020 calories and 22 grams of saturated fat.

TCBY's Toffee Coffee Cappuccino Chiller (large) -- A concoction of frozen yogurt, milk, coffee flavoring, and whipped topping that contains 1,200 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat.

"Frozen yogurt is lower in fat than ice cream, but I doubt that people go into TCBY expecting the calories and saturated fat of two pork chops, a Caesar salad, and a buttered baked potato -- in a drink," says Hurley.

Choose Your Ice Cream Wisely  The good news is that researchers found that many ice cream chains offer reduced-fat ice creams, frozen yogurt, sherbet, or sorbet with only 100-200 calories in a single scoop and little or no saturated fat compared with premium ice creams that have 250-350 calories and about 10 grams of saturated fat.

But registered dietitian Althea Zanecosky says if ice cream is what you really crave, there's no reason you have to give it up completely.

Most people can afford 250-300 calories for their treat for the day, and it's something people should build into a daily food plan. But it's also important to stick to that plan and not overindulge.

To keep ice cream splurges within reason, we recommend:

Stick with a single scoop of ice cream when eating out.

Try a lower-calorie frozen yogurt or sorbet and see if it fulfills your craving for a cool treat.

If ice cream is a problem food for you, don't keep it in the house.

Use small scoop of ice cream as a topping for fresh fruit and berries rather than the other way around.

52 Tips for Losing Weight ~ A Tip a Week

1.            If you add one of these tips a week to your daily routine, in one year you will have developed some very healthy habits!

2.            Eliminate one tablespoon of fat a day and you will lose 10 pounds in a year.

3.            Avoid strange fad diets -- if you can't eat that way for the rest of your life, don't waste your time or your health.

4.            Limit alcohol consumption -- each serving contains 100 to150 calories.

5.            Eat fruit at least twice a day.

6.            Keep a food diary about your food choices, indicating how hungry you are each time you eat. Pay particular attention to your level of hunger when you snack.

7.            Perform aerobic exercise a minimum of 30 minutes three times a week. Log this on your food diary. Gradually increase the length and frequency of your workouts.

8.            Weigh yourself no more than twice a week.

9.            Give yourself a non-food reward for every 5 pounds lost.

10.        Slow down your eating speed -- make meals last at least 20 minutes. Try eating with the other hand or taking a sip of water between bites.

11.        Use smaller plates.

12.        Bring your lunch to work at least three times a week.

13.        Start to strength train twice a week. Building muscle increases your metabolism and forces your body to use fat, not muscle, when you're cutting back on calories.

14.        Stop eating while watching television.

15.        Have someone else put away leftovers.

16.        Buy a good low-fat, low-calorie cookbook or magazine subscription.

17.        Try two new reduced-calorie recipes a month.

18.        Eat breakfast daily.

19.        Don't read while eating.

20.        Have a sweet treat once a week.

21.        Keep healthful snacks at home and at work.

22.        Limit your cheese consumption to reduce fat and saturated fat -- use cheese and lunchmeat with less than 5 grams of fat per ounce.

23.        Add calorie counting or fat-gram counting to your food diary for a few weeks if your weight loss is slowing down. Maybe you're missing something.

24.        Substitute herbs and spices for salt.

25.        Shop for food when you are not hungry, and use a shopping list.

26.        Replace ground beef with ground turkey or soy crumbles in dishes such as spaghetti. Don't skip the protein in your meals; find a leaner substitute.

27.        Eat three vegetables a day.

28.        Always eat sitting down.

29.        Request that your family and friends respect your efforts to lose weight and get fit -- beware of loving "sabotage."

30.        Take a walk when you're stressed or angry.

31.        Eat two dairy products a day -- be aware of your calcium intake. Select low-fat or nonfat dairy products to reduce fat calories.

32.        Order dressings and sauces on the side and apply them with a fork.

33.        Increase your fiber intake -- chose whole-grain breads, cereals and pasta products, legumes, and raw fruits and vegetables.

34.        Add slow-down food to your meals -- crunchy vegetables, a large glass of water, hot soup or beverages, or fresh fruit to fill you up.

35.        Cook with chicken broth, nonstick cooking spray, wine or water.

36.        Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.

37.        Shrink portion sizes of meats and starches, and pile on the vegetables.

38.        Ask how the food is prepared when ordering in a restaurant.

39.        Choose low-fat frozen yogurt or frozen juice bars instead of ice cream. Be careful of the portion size -- these foods still have calories!

40.        Select clear broth- or tomato-based soups over white soups.

41.        Keep the junk foods out of sight in your home and workplace.

42.        Take walking shoes or a jump rope with you when you travel to keep up with your exercise.

43.        If you?re getting off track, try to pre-plan your food intake for the next three days by writing it down.

44.        Buy frozen diet dinners with 10 grams of fat or less and 800 milligrams of sodium or less.

45.        Avoid batter coating or breading.

46.        Use two egg whites in baking instead of one whole egg.

47.        Stretch during television commercials -- arm circles, leg lifts, head tilts, etc.

48.        Eliminate the butter on your rolls or popcorn.

49.        Learn to say "no" gracefully when a friend or relative offers you a second helping.

50.        Choose pizza with vegetable toppings rather than high-fat meats, such as sausage and pepperoni. Ask for less cheese. Have you ever tried tomato pie?

51.        Choose cooking techniques that keep fat to a minimum, such as baking, grilling, broiling, roasting or steaming.

52.        Add more low-fat soy products to your diet for the soy protein and health benefits.

53.        Forgive yourself when you slip -- and make the next food choice a healthy one.

The Secret Power of 100 Calories

Would you give up 100 calories to lose 10 pounds? That's all it takes, if you're patient. Just cut back 100 calories a day ... and keep everything else the same. In a year you'll shed approximately 10 pounds (100 cal. per day X 365 days divided by 3,500 cal. per pound).

But eat just 100 calories over your energy needs every day? You'll expand by 10 pounds a year. Suppose you weigh 150 pounds. With a steady 100 extra calories, theoretically you could double your weight in 15 years! How much smarter to put the brakes on as soon as you detect the first tug in your waistband. Below, see how easy it is.  

12 Ways to Save 100 Calories:

Instead of 1 cup low-fat granola with raisins ... have 1 cup raisin bran.

Instead of a large café latte with whole milk ... have a large café latte with skim milk.

Instead of a whole 4 oz. bagel ... have half a 4 oz. bagel plus an orange.

Instead of a turkey sandwich with 1 1/4 tbsp. mayo ... have a turkey sandwich with 1 tbsp.

Instead of 2 slices cheese pizza ... have 2 slices veggie pizza (no cheese).

Instead of tossed salad with 2 tbsp. ranch dressing ... have a tossed salad with 3 tbsp. fat-free ranch dressing.

Instead of a hamburger ... have a Boca Burger or a Gardenburger.

Instead of Chinese vegetables plus 1 cup fried rice ... have Chinese vegetables plus 1 cup steamed rice.

Instead of a baked potato with 2 tbsp. butter ... have a baked potato with 1 tbsp.

Instead of 1 cup macaroni & cheese plus 1/2 cup broccoli ... have 1/2 cup macaroni & cheese plus 1 1/2 cups broccoli.

Instead of a slice of chocolate fudge cake with icing ... have 4 Hershey's kisses or a half slice of cake.

Instead of 6 cups of microwave popcorn, movie-theater-style ... have 6 cups microwave popcorn, low-fat, butter flavor.

Balancing the Energy Equation   Americans as a group follow a lifestyle that is simply too sedentary. The following examples demonstrate this point:

Nearly 60 percent of adults report irregular or no leisure-time physical activity.

For ninth- through 12th-grade students, the ratio of time engaged in physical education has declined in comparison to time spent in the classroom.

In other words, American children and adults need to increase their levels of physical activity.

Obesity is due to an imbalance in the energy equation—between what a person takes in and what is burned up. The energy equation is affected by a person's body makeup and lifestyle factors. Recent studies show that genetic factors vary from person to person and influence how the body controls weight throughout life.

Given that this genetic factor is influenced by how a person chooses to live, health care providers, weight counselors, and dietitians stress the importance of one's lifestyle and diet in weight control/loss regardless of the existence of one's so-called genetic "obesity factor."

Solutions for Achieving Healthy Weight

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is all about lifestyle and dietary habits:

Get back into shape. Exercise before work, at lunch, and/or after work. Exercise with a buddy or with an organized group. Exercise at work (e.g., take the stairs, park in one of the farthest spaces) and before/after work to avoid the dreaded "spread." Overcome the temptation to avoid exercise because of the discomfort it may cause.

Avoid the habit of stocking your workspace or cubicle with "handy" junk foods. Substitute with better quality foods that are low in sugar, fat, and calories.