I know what you're thinking: pizza? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can crack open last night's leftovers in the a.m. if you want to.
I know lots of women who skip breakfast, and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it. Some say they don't have time, others think they're "saving" calories by eliminating a meal, still others just don't like breakfast food.
But the bottom line is, eating in the morning is crucial when you're trying to trim down. "Eating just about anything in the range of 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all," says SELF contributor Katherine Brooking, R.D., who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year's SELF Challenge. And even pizza can be healthy if it's thin-crust, loaded with veggies, and you stick to one slice.
Breakfast is one meal I never miss (my favorite morning combo includes Fage nonfat yogurt topped with fresh fruit and low-carb granola, yum!), and the same goes for most weight loss success stories.
Research shows that eating breakfast revs up your metabolism, keeps you from overeating later in the day and may even help sleekify your abs. Researchers at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles found that breakfast skippers have bigger tummies than those who regularly have a morning meal.
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of pals who end up forgoing it altogether to have just coffee or cola. I say, try heating up last night's leftovers-it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it!
Bonus: I find if I tell myself, "You can always eat it tomorrow," I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it...you may save yourself some prebedtime calories. And watch your body reap the fat-burning benefits. What are your favorite breakfast foods?
Source: http://health.yahoo.com
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Pizza for Breakfast? Yes!
The Easiest Diet Secret
Produce, especially the veggie variety, is a dieter’s best friend. When people eat veggies with a meal, they consume a full 20 percent fewer calories overall — and still feel satisfied afterward, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals.
I know that all that chopping and cooking feels like a drag, but it’s easier than you think to work in five cups of the fresh stuff a day.
At breakfast, have a fruit “smush” made with a medley of fresh berries and yogurt (the lean protein fills me up). Then, at lunch, have a great big salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, peas or whatever your favorite veggies are. Add grilled chicken or another lean protein to hold off afternoon hunger.
Start dinner with a veggie-packed soup, like minestrone, and make a side dish that you love (I’m a big fan of steamed spinach with a little salt). I also love ratatouille (especially in summer), but if you don’t have time for that, heat up some frozen veggies and sprinkle them with Parmesan or lemon juice for an easy, delicious, healthy side. My favorite brand of frozen veggies is from Cascadian Farm.
Source: health.yahoo.com
Friday, March 7, 2008
McDonald's 4-Year-Old Burger
Diet.com Author and Obesity Activist Julia Havey has been aging a McDonalds cheeseburger for 4 years. Find out what happens to this old burger? Fast food cheeseburgers age better than most humans. The French Fries still look fresh and vibrant. Sarah, Diet.com Host, also guest stars
Eat Breakfast, Weigh Less!
It’s been pounded into our brains: Eat fewer calories if you want to lose weight. Not rocket science – right?
Then why is skipping breakfast (and potentially saving 300-400 calories each day) being associated with weight gain?
According to a recent article in the International Business Times, American teens who skipped breakfast ended up weighing 5 pounds heavier than teens who started their day with a morning meal.
Diet surveys were given to 2,216 middle and high school students from Minnesota from 1998 to 1999 and again from 2003 and 2004.
Like toast, an interesting finding popped up: “Girls were initially more likely than boys to skip breakfast. During the five years, the researchers found an almost 17 percent decrease in the number of boys who ate breakfast. At the end of the study, 18.9 percent of the boys missed the meal versus 13.8 percent of the girls.”
I’m not convinced by this study that the teenage boys or girls skip that morning meal in an effort to reduce calories and lose weight.
What I think is a more common problem is that teenagers, like many adults, are rushed in the morning. Many eat extra calories in the evening, from dinnertime and onward and as a consequence, they awaken without a morning appetite.
And in the five years of this study, we’ve certainly seen a rise in the availability of snack foods along with a rise in the stress level of many teens. Facts that may be interrelated.
Teens are also not getting enough sleep. Getting more zzzz’s is probably higher on their to-do list, than waking earlier so they can eat a healthy breakfast.
Skipping breakfast can easily set people up for starting their day feeling sluggish; this doesn’t encourage individuals to take the stairs instead of the elevator or park their car farther away in an effort to burn more calories. It also makes people more vulnerable to food temptations at work and at home.
An important take-home message here is this: when you consume your calories is as important as the type and number of calories you gobble.
Also, how you start your day can set you up for either failure or success.
Source: www.diet.com
