Fit or Flop: Do toning shoes really work?

As a natural-born skeptic (and dietitian who is used to seeing a lot of bogus food claims), I was more than a bit wary when I first heard about “toning” shoes… you know… all those flip flops and sneakers that claim to tone your legs and bottom while you walk.  Still, the idea of walking around and getting a firmer butt at the same time was too appealing to pass up.  So despite my skepticism about the claims, I am an owner of 2 pairs of FitFlops and 1 pair of Reebok Easytones.  I like to think that since I’ve been walking around in these things I have a much firmer butt and legs, but it is really difficult to be a good judge of one’s own butt.  (I suppose I could compile some objective data by taking some before and after pics… or umm…asking an unbiased observer … but I don’t know if I really want to know!)

Anyway, it was with great eagerness that I read a recent piece in the NY Times that asked, “do toning shoes really work?”.  That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering. Dr. John Mercer, a professor of biomechanics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, recently conducted a small study to see if these toning shoes actually worked as claimed.

His verdict? According to results presented last June at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, muscle activation and oxygen consumption were almost identical whether the women wore walking shoes or Shape-ups (the shoes used in the study).  In layman’s terms, “toning” shoes are just regular shoes with fancy marketing literature. According to the Times article, other studies have shown toning shoes to be somewhat beneficial, however any effects may be marginal at best.

I guess I am not surprised…. but I’m not disappointed either.  I love both my Easytones and FitFlops.  The FitFlops especially are the most comfortable flip flops I’ve ever worn.  So I will continue to put them on… and happily delude myself into thinking I will soon have “buns of steel”.

– Katherine

Do Toning Shoes Really Work? is a post from: Appetite for Health

Win a month’s supply of  Yasso Greek Yogurt Bars for a cool–and healthy–summer treat.

Five lucky Appetite for Health readers will win a 1 month supply of Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt bars! Read on for entry details.

You might already be a fan of Greek yogurt for its health benefits (good dose of protein and calcium, low or no fat) and super-creamy texture, but we’re betting you haven’t experienced the nutritious deliciousness that is Yasso. The company sent me coupons to try a couple boxes of their Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt bars, and well, these things make me happy, and I’ll tell you why!

I tried the blueberry and the raspberry flavored Yasso bars, and I liked both equally well. My kiddos liked the raspberry version best (though both flavors only lasted a couple days in my house). That was fine, because the fact that they considered them a tasty and acceptable treat was good enough for me. What I like best about the way the bars taste is that they are not overly sweet. They taste like  good Greek yogurt mixed with fruit, which makes complete sense given the ingredients. They taste wholesome…and good. And unlike most frozen treat-on-a-stick products, I actually feel good about having these in my freezer—and “indulging” in them myself!

What’s so about Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt bars?

For starters, they are only 70 calories each, and yet the portion size is not dinky (my kids were happy about that fact, too)! Each bar provides 6 grams of protein and 150mg calcium, has no fat or saturated fat, no corn syrup and no artificial sweeteners. Yasso is made from rbst-free milk, so there are no artificial homones, and they contain live and active cultures, which means they are probiotic rich (probiotics have been linked to improved digestive health and increased immunity). Greek yogurt goodness with no spoon required!

Want to try Yasso for yourself? Five AFH readers will win a month’s supply of  Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt bars (5 free-box coupons, a $30 value). To enter, first  “Like” AFH on Facebook AND “Like” Yasso on Facebook, too. Then leave us a comment under this post and let us know what flavor of Yasso YOU are hoping to sample. 

All AFH terms and conditions apply.

Open to US residents only.

Win a month’s supply of Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Bars! is a post from: Appetite for Health

The Hunger Games we face every day are the opposite of Katniss Everdeen’s hunger she lived with every day in District 12.

Most of us either haven’t felt real hunger in days, weeks or months because we snack or graze all day long.  On the other hand, others are hunger all the time and have intense cravings  because they eat too many foods and beverages that provide little–if any–satisfaction and they trigger our hunger hormones.

If you can relate, there are three ways to eat to win the Hunger Games. They include:

1. Use a hunger scale and eat according to your true physiological hunger cues;

2. Eat a protein-rich breakfast; and

3. Avoid “naked” carbohydrates.

Use the Hunger Scale

All of us have the ability to control our calories, but you just have to listen to your body. Using the hunger scale below, try to eat when your body feels like a 4 on the scale and stop when it’s about 6-7. You want to avoid being so hungry that you overeat and at the same time, you don’t want to eat until you’re Thanksgiving-full or ready-to-unzip-my-pants full.

Your body will metabolize and utilize foods best when you eat the right amounts at the right times. This strategy also works to help us from caving in to cravings for less healthy choices. If you binge on foods, using the hunger scale will essentially stop binges because most binge-eating stems from emotions rather than true physical hunger.

Keep a food journal for 5-7 days and make sure you mark where your hunger is from 1-10 before and after eating.

Try to keep your hunger controlled and within the 4-7 range on the scale. (When you wake up, it’s okay if you’re a 2.)

When you’re eating a meal, take a few minutes to pause during the meal to assess your hunger. If you’re still below a 6, continue eating. Remember, it takes 15-20 minutes for the stomach to provide the brain signals of fullness so take your time at meals, and get to know your body and when you need to stop eating to reach the feeling of 7 after a meal.

2: Eat a Protein-Rich Breakfast

Numerous studies show that eggs and other protein-packed breakfasts help temper hunger and up the satiety so you’ll eat fewer calories during the entire day. Obesity researchers believe  that the quality of protein–rather than the quantity–may be more important when it comes to enhancing satiety while dialing down hunger hormones.

In one study,  subjects who ate high–quality protein foods from sources such as eggs and lean Canadian bacon for breakfast, reported a greater sense of fullness  compared to when more protein was eaten at lunch or dinner. Other studies also have reported that dieters experience better weight loss when they eat protein-rich foods earlier in the day and carbs more at dinner.

While the jury is still out on how much protein is best, I suggest 25 grams of high-quality protein for breakfast as a start. A large egg has just 70 calories and 6 grams protein so enjoy 1-2 whole eggs and additional whites as part of your first meal. I personally love quick, veggie omelets, scrambled eggs with spinach and mushrooms, or a slices of frittata. I eat eggs several times a week and can attest that they do help keep your cravings for carbs on the back burner. And if you have to eat your breakfast out, try some of the best-bets like the Starbucks’ Turkey Bacon and White Cheddar Classic Breakfast Sandwich, Dunkin’ Donuts Egg White Turkey Sausage Wake-Up Wrap or the Subway Egg White and Cheese on Flatbread, which Consumers Report recently ranked as one of the best.

Another great high-quality protein for breakfast is milk protein so Greek yogurt is among the highest protein sources of all dairy foods so 6-8 ounces of a nonfat or low-fat Greek yogurt will provide you with about 25 grams protein.

Here’s an option for making your own open-faced egg, spinach sandwich.

3:  Avoid Naked Carbs

What’s a naked carbohydrate?  These are foods and beverages that are great-tasting, and their calories are primarily from carbohydrates. Naked carbs include candy, white toast with jam; baked goods, soda, juice, sugary cereals, among others. In addition to being carby, they usually lack fiber and protein which all help to slow down digestion and absorption of carbohydrates.

When you eat these types of carb-rich, nutrient-poor choices,you’ll want to make sure to eat or drink them with protein, fiber and fat to help temper the blood sugar response. Keep simple carbohydrates (added sugars)  to no more than 10% of your total calories or about 200 calories a day if you’re a woman and 300 calories a day if you’re a man.

Related Articles: Distracted Dining & Worst Fat Habits & How to Lick Sugar.

–Julie Upton, MS, RD, CSSD

Eat to Win The Hunger Games is a post from: Appetite for Health

Having trouble getting off the couch to exercise? It may not be as hard as you think to get healthy!

Can you get healthier with just 20 minutes of exercise a day?

When I was working as a nutrition counselor several years ago, I spent a significant portion of each session talking not about food – but exercise. I can tell you from personal experience, once I started saying “60 to 90 minutes per day for exercise”, many of my clients completely tuned out.  If fitness is a way of life for you – an hour or 90 minutes of exercise might seem like fun and a no-brainer.  But many Americans are not even coming close to the USDA exercise recommendations, which call for 60 minutes or more of moderate exercise most days of the week. According to some surveys, a whopping two-thirds of Americans get no exercise at all!

Better Health in 20 Minutes a Day? is a post from: Appetite for Health

How Men Make Us Fat

To love and to hold….in thinness and fatness…’til death do us part.

There’s plenty of blaming going around when it comes to why we’re overweight or worse. We can blame food companies, the government, work and endless other options but one that I find particularly interesting is the research that shows how men make us fat.  That’s right, research shows that  when a single woman enters  into a relationship with a man, she gains weight.  When women go through breakups or a divorce, they generally lose significant amounts of weight.

I’ve experienced “love fat” first-hand and most of my female friends have as well.  and so have most of my female friends. There’s no disputing the fact that those with the Y chromosome can really wreak havoc on our diets.

Here are the main reasons why so many people experience so-called “love fat” that follows falling in love, saying “I do” and becoming a mom. I’ve also provided an Rx for each because being in love and with a man doesn’t have to come with love handles.

It’s comfy: When we’re single, we simply care more about our body and how we look so we pay more attention to diet and exercise. We wear tighter, more revealing clothes and sexier lingerie. But once we get hitched, we get more comfortable and don’t worry so much about appearances. We wear PJs more and our skinny jeans and other tight clothes get lost in the back of  the closet.

Rx: Do what it takes to motivate you to want and desire your single figure. Get some of your single-girl-slim clothes out of the back of your closet and use the garments as motivation to get your body back to your slimmer self. Whatever you do, don’t think…”I’m married…I don’t need to worry about this anymore.”

You eat like him: If your man doesn’t have a healthy diet (and most men really don’t), you let his bad diet habits rub off on you.  Most women are happy with a salad for lunch and often dinner too.  Men, not so much. Your man may be a meat-and-potato-man but that doesn’t mean you need to be too. But since women aim to please our guys, we often cook and eat what our man prefers.

Rx: If you can’t change your guy’s diet for the better, explain to him that you have to have healthier options at the meals you eat together. You’ll also have to eat even better when you’re not with your man to help accommodate the less healthy meals you enjoy with him.

He likes curves: Let’s face it, a man’s ideal woman is curvier than many of us like for ourselves.  Numerous studies show that men prefer women who have curves like J.Lo, Beyonce or Kim Kardashian over the pin-thin types like Victoria Beckham. In fact, in one study, Australian researchers gave men line drawings of women of various sizes and men overwhelmingly choose women of a “normal” size, more like size 10-14.  Few men find stick-thin women attractive, so it’s no surprise that if you’ve put on a few lbs since hooking up, he probably likes it.

Rx: Explain to your man that the extra lbs are unhealthy and make you feel less confident and more self-conscious. Make sure he knows that your desire to lose weight has nothing to do with your love and desire for him.

Your portions are man-sized: Single gals don’t necessarily want to eat burgers, burritos, pizza, Hungry Man frozen dinners and drink beer most weeknights, but those may be foods that were typically in his diet before you came along. Men need many more calories than women do, so he can “afford” the high-calorie eats. However, if you try to keep up—bite for bite– keep you’re going to pile on pounds. Most men need 3,000 calories or more a day and most women need about 2,200.

Rx: You can love your man, and eat with him, but don’t eat everything he eats and stick with your single-girl-slim portions. While you can enjoy your main meals with him, be sure you don’t eat more than 5 times a day.  Breakfast, mid-am snack, lunch, afternoon snack then dinner.  Men often eat a lot after dinner, but we can’t afford those additional p.m. calories.

You Move Less: There are several studies that show couples watch more TV and get less exercise than singles. It’s nice to relax in the evenings together, just be sure that you are getting the same (or more) exercise as you did when you were single.

Rx: Try to find a form of exercise that you both enjoy and can do together.  If you can’t settle on something, explain that you need your time to get daily exercise and work on a schedule that ensures that both of you are able to workout.

You get preggers: When you decide to have a child, your personal needs get pushed even further aside and that often equals a worse diet, lack of time and more stress. Research shows that women who gain excess weight during pregnancy have a harder time getting back to their pre-pregnancy weight.  What’s more, having a second or third child without getting back to pre-pregnancy weight before conception is a major contributor to obesity.

Rx: Be sure that you are at a healthy weight before even thinking about having a child. And when pregnant, follow the new guidelines for appropriate weight gain.

Bottom line: Men are great and being in love is wonderful and can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling gifts of life. With some simple communication and being more aware of how men influence our eating and exercise, we can enjoy couple hood without gaining weight.    

How Men Make Us Fat is a post from: Appetite for Health

Sports Nutrition News You Can Use

This post is provided by Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on sports nutrition. Nancy’s “how to” books on nutrition for sports and exercise, including her best selling “Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook” and food guides for new runners, marathoners, soccer players and bicyclists are popular resources.

SCAN, the nation’s largest professional group of Sports & Cardiovascular Nutritionists recently held their annual meeting. Here’s some of the latest news presented to help you eat to win!

• Bet on Beets: Beets, as well as rhubarb and arugula, are rich sources of dietary nitrates, compounds that convert into nitric oxide (NO). Nitric oxide dilates blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, and allows a person to exercise using less oxygen. In a study, cyclists consumed pre-ride beets and then three hours later (when NO peaks), they rode in a time trial. Every cyclist improved (on average, 2.8%) as compared to the time trial with no beets. Impressive! The amount of nitrates in 7 ounces (200 grams) beets is an effective dose. How about enjoying beets—or a bowl of borscht—in your next pre-game meal?

• Fuel up while cooling down. Immediate replenishment of carbs and protein can decrease muscle soreness and inflammation, plus enhance muscle repair. What you eat before you exercise can also effectively reduce post-exercise recovery. In a study, trained athletes consumed two 10.5-oz. bottles per day of tart cherry juice the week before an excruciating exercise test. They recovered faster and lost only 4% of their pre-test strength, compared with 22% loss in the group without cherry juice.

Tart cherries (the kind used in baking pies, not the sweet cherries enjoyed as snacks) can help not only athletes but also individuals who suffer from the pain and inflammation associated with fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. Consuming tart cherry juice (two 10.5-ounce bottles/day for 10 days) reduced the muscle soreness associated with “fibro-flares” and enhanced recovery rate. Similar findings occurred in people suffering from osteoarthritis; drinking tart cherry juice for three weeks reduced arthritis pain.

Tart cherries have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Other foods that have high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity include raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. Fruit smoothies, anyone?!

Research to date has studied the effects of drinking 21 ounces of tart cherry juice per day for 1 to 3 weeks. (That’s the equivalent of eating 90 tart cherries/day). More research will determine the most effective dose and time-course. Because 21 ounces of tart cherry juice adds 260 calories to one’s energy intake, athletes will need to reduce other fruits or foods to make space for this addition to their daily intake.

• A zzza-deprived Nation: Some 80% of teens report getting less than the recommended nine hours of sleep; nearly 30% of adults report sleeping less than 6 hours each day. Not good. Sleep is a biological necessity. It is restorative and helps align our circadian rhythms.

Sleep deprivation (less than five hours/night) erodes well being, has detrimental effects on health, and contributes to fat gain. When we become tired, grehlin, a hormone that makes us feel hungry, becomes more active and we can easily overeat. Sleep deprivation is also linked with Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Sleep deprivation is common among athletes who travel through time zones. This can impact performance by disrupting their circadian rhythms and causing undue fatigue and reduced motivation. In comparison, extending sleep can enhance performance. A study involving basketball players indicates they shot more baskets and completed more free throws when they were well rested versus sleep deprived. For top performance, make sleep a priority!

• Lean to Love Your Body. Athletes, as well as those who are overweight or obese, often believe that their body is not “good enough.” In a five-year study with teens, low body satisfaction stimulated extreme and destructive dieting behaviors that led to weight gain, not weight loss. The same pattern is typical among many seemingly “healthy” athletes. If you want help finding peace with your body, please seek help from a sports dietitian. Use SCAN’s referral network to help you find someone local. What are you waiting for…?

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) counsels both casual and competitive athletes at her office in Newton, MA (617-795-1875). Her Sports Nutrition Guidebook and food guides for new runners, marathoners, and soccer players offer additional information. They are available at www.nancyclarkrd.com and sportsnutritionworkshop.com.

Sports Nutrition News Your Can Use is a post from: Appetite for Health

What??  Lose weight with cake?  Surely you must be joking, you say!
I love when weight loss research yields unexpected results.  So here’s one that uncovered something very interesting… and potentially delicious!

Researchers at Tel Aviv University randomized 144 obese people, ages 20 to 65, to two low-carbohydrate diets providing 1,400 daily calories for women and 1,600 for men. The diets were identical except that one included a high-carbohydrate, protein-enriched breakfast with a choice of cookies, chocolate, cake or ice cream for dessert.

During an initial 16-week period, the average weight loss in each group was identical — about 32 pounds. But over a 16-week follow-up, people on the dessert-with-breakfast diet lost an additional 13 pounds on average, while the others gained back all but 3.5 of the pounds they had lost.  The full study appears in the March 10 2012 issue of the journal Steroids.

Those on the dessert regimen maintained lower levels of ghrelin — a hormone that stimulates hunger — and reported significantly higher levels of fullness.

It’s not suprising that this study made the headlines this week.  We all want to have our cake, eat it, and lose weight too!  But keep the following in mind: this study was calorie controlled.  Women ate 1400 calories per day…. the typical American woman eats nearly 1,900 calories everyday.  So don’t conclude that dessert alone = weight loss. Also, the desserts were just a small part of the breakfasts.

Still, the findings of this study are encouraging and they reaffirm what we often say at Appetite for Health: diets do not have to mean deprivation.  If you eat what you crave (at least in small amounts), you may decrease cravings and consume fewer calories as a result.  So enjoy a small slice of cake… guilt free!

– Katherine

Can Cake Help You Lose Weight? is a post from: Appetite for Health

Lucky for you, you have a great chance to win a SodaStream machine.

That’s right.  SodaStream has gifted us with a few of their amazing fizzy drink machines ($150 value each)! The Genesis machine features a sleeker, more modern design that I just love. Three lucky Appetite for Health readers will win—will it be you? See below for entry information.

Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m one of those people who tends to run on the dehydrated side of life—it’s something I’ve been working on for years. I like water, but not enough to get the amount I really  need. I also adore carbonated beverages, but gave up sweet sodas years ago (soda is still the leading source of added sugar in the US diet, don’t cha know?). I also eliminated the diet soda that was my compromise drink, all in an effort to train myself to drink more water. It worked, but I still missed the bubbles.

The SodaStream machine is the cure for my dehydration ills. These machines make it soooo easy to create exactly the bubbly beverage you want by combining juice, tap water, the SodaStream flavorings that are available (there are over 50 flavors!)—really, whatever you want to combine to make your drink of choice. (Julie has even used hers to create white wine spritzers for parties!)

Using a SodaStream means your drink is  completely customizable! They’re also a great tool to help you cut calories. First, with them, you probably won’t drink as much regular soda and I find that if  I want an “adult” beverage, I can dilute the calories by adding some fizzy water to it.  I also cut all of my orange juice with fizzy water too so that I’m constantly diluting my liquid calories. It’s a really, really good tool to help you reduce calories in your diet–and your family’s as well.

Plus, no more buying plastic bottles of water or soda—saving money and the planet at the same time, Yay!

The SodaStream machine requires no electricity and there’s really no clean-up whatsoever. Plus, it’s relatively small at 5′ wide, 17″ high and 8.5″ deep. Even in a small kitchen, there’s plenty of space for it. What’s not to like, right?

Three AFH friends will win a  SodaStream “Genesis” machine valued at $150! To enter, simply  “Like” AFH on Facebook AND “Like” SodaStream on Facebook, too. Then leave us a comment this post and let us know what kind of drink mixture you would like to make on a new SodaStream machine! Get those creative juices flowing (hee hee)! For bonus points, refer at least one new Friend to our Facebook page (be sure he or she tells us you sent them)…we’ll take that into great consideration.

Winners will be announced on Monday, May 14.

All AFH terms and conditions apply.

Win a SodaStream Machine! is a post from: Appetite for Health