Burning calories is not usually our main motivation for kissing someone, but it’s good to know that locking lips has benefits we don’t expect. Kissing can burn two to six calories a minute. Do it for an hour and you can burn up to 60 extra calories. Muah! Just don’t fall for these myths that could ruin your metabolism.
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Don’t tell your mom, but we’re giving you official permission to make a mess. As you eat, leave the candy wrappers, fruit peels, nut shells, chicken bones, and other scraps on the table. Seeing it is a visual reminder of exactly how much you’ve eaten and can provide a simple reminder to stop eating when you’re full, according to research done by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.
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If you’ve ever had high blood pressure, you were probably told to cut down or stop consuming sodium. But a new study from Boston University that followed 2,600 people over 16 years found that a low-sodium diet didn’t actually lower blood pressure. So salt might not be the enemy after all—and actually, a little salt might be part of a healthy food plan. The study also found that people with the lowest intake of sodium (along with the highest) had a greater risk of heart disease than the people in the middle. But, that doesn’t mean you should go crazy eating processed foods that contain lots of sodium either. “In general, focusing on reducing processed foods, which tend to be rich in added sodium, and adding in more whole foods may be more effective than just focusing on counting milligrams of sodium when it comes to promoting heart health,” says Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDE, author of Belly Fat Diet for Dummies. Find out the 55 health myths that need to die.
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What do economics have to do with health? At most universities they’re not even in the same building! But it turns out that a dip in the economy can lead to a rise in our weight according to a study done by John Hopkins. Researchers found that from 2008 to 2012—the period known as the great recession—weight gain was strongly correlated with the rise in unemployment, increasing the risk of obesity by 21 percent. This makes sense as one of the first things to go when our budgets get tight are luxuries like health food and gym memberships, not to mention the loss of health insurance that often accompanies a job loss. However, it may help to remember that there are many low-cost or free ways to protect your health—and an investment in you is the best one you can make. For example, here are tricks to spend less on a gym membership and here are healthy food swaps that save you money.
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Whether you’re trying to lose 20 pounds or just looking for ways to be healthier, there’s no shortage of diets to choose from. But only one looks to your blood type to determine what you should or shouldn’t eat.
The blood type diet originated from the 1996 book Eat Right for Your Type by naturopathic physician Peter J. D’Adamo. The idea behind it is that your body’s response to food is directly linked to your blood type, based on what your ancestors with the same blood type ate. Each blood type has its own guidelines about the foods that anyone with that blood type should eat and the foods they should avoid. The diet claims to help people lose weight, improve digestive health, and boost overall well-being.
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Body typing is often more hype than substance, especially when it comes to what to wear. (Not sure if you have a bikini body? If you have a bikini and a body, you’re all set.) But when it comes to your health, your body type can give you important clues about your particular risks and strengths. The key? Where and how you store your fat. Some types of fat are harder on your health than others and may respond differently to different dieting techniques. For example, one study (read more about it here) found that people who carry weight in their stomachs do better on low-carb diets while people who carry weight in their hips and thighs do better on a low-fat diet. And that’s just the beginning—these nutrition experts can help you figure out what your body shape is telling you. Don’t miss why science says your body shape really could be the key to weight loss.
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Look at the tag in your jeans—if it says a number greater than 40 inches, you’re in trouble. Central obesity, where the weight settles around your midsection, is the most important sign that metabolic syndrome could be in your future, says Haitham Ahmed, MD, MPH, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. “A waist circumference of more than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women is the biggest predictor,” he says. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors (abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high levels of blood triglycerides, and low levels of HDL cholesterol) that raises the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and other serious health problems. If you have three or more, you have metabolic syndrome. A large waist can also be one of the seven telltale signs of insulin resistance.
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For folks with diabetes, weight loss is a natural form of “medication.” But in an ironic twist, losing weight may be more difficult if you have type 2 diabetes. Now breakthrough research has revealed a better way for people to go about diabetes dieting to lose weight and reduce insulin resistance. The secret is a concept called intermittent fasting. British researchers created this revolutionary new diet, which strictly limits caloric intake for two days of the week but permits larger portions for the rest of the week. Women who followed the plan lost almost twice as much fat as those who restricted calories every day. Within three months, participants reduced insulin resistance by 25 percent more on nonfast days and inflammation by 8 percent more than people who dieted continuously. These are the 10 life-saving things you must do if you have diabetes.
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Probiotics help restore the balance of good versus bad bacteria in the gut. When the balance is out of whack, you may feel bloated, you may be constipated, have diarrhea, or experience many other digestive ills. Resetting the balance with probiotics will improve almost every aspect of our health—not just digestion. “When we consume probiotics, we are introducing strains of bacteria pre-selected for their health benefits,” explains Will Bulsiewicz, MD, a gastroenterologist in Mount Pleasant, SC. Check out some of the other health benefits of probiotics.
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“Lose 10 pounds in just two weeks, guaranteed!” Sound familiar? So many diets promise miracle weight loss that sounds too good to be true, and generally it is. We talked to experts about what it really takes to lose even one single pound.
The short answer: It depends on what type of pound we are talking about. It’s easy to lose a pound of water or a digit on the scale. It’s losing a pound of fat—and keeping it off—that’s more challenging. Here’s how to figure out how many calories you should be eating to lose weight.
In simplest terms, losing fat—even just a pound—means taking in fewer calories and doing more physical activity. There’s been much ado about how many calories make (or break) a pound. The number of calories in a pound is far from set in stone. “There is an adage that a 3,500 caloric deficit is needed to lose one pound, and this is a good average, but height and weight matter too,” explains Holly Lofton, MD, director of the Medical Weight Management Program at NYU Langone in New York City. There is likely no single answer as to how many calories you’d have to skip to lose one pound, since the number of calories in a pound can vary greatly depending on the person, but we do have a ballpark. “You’d need a deficit of 2,000 to 4,000 calories depending on person’s build,” Dr. Lofton says.
(For some context, a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with cheese has 530 calories; add fries for another 230 and a sugary soda for 70 more.)
But not all calories are equal by any stretch. The amount of calories in a pound is also dependent on the food itself. “If you cut 3,500 calories and just ate ice cream, you would lose less than if you chose asparagus and chicken,” Dr. Lofton says. “You want to eat a protein and carb mix or a protein and vegetable mix,” she says. Her tip: High-fiber, low-calorie vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and spinach will allow you to feel fuller, making any caloric deficit easier to manage.
Protein is also key here because it’s super thermogenic, adds Jason Ewoldt, RDN, LD, a wellness dietitian at the Mayo Clinic Health Living Program in Rochester, Minnesota. This is a science-y way of saying that protein turns up the heat in our body’s furnace, which increases our metabolism and our ability to burn fat (which is why so many diets are all about the protein—here are some top plant-based protein sources).
By contrast, eating just carbs will increase fat storage by raising insulin levels. Here’s what happens: You mow down a bag of chips, your glucose or blood sugar shoots up, and your pancreas produces a large amount of the hormone insulin to take the excess glucose out of your bloodstream. The glucose converts to a starch called glycogen, which is stored in the liver and in muscles. The catch? Your body can only store a limited amount of glycogen, so the excess glucose is stored as body fat.
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Our physical build also factors into our ability to lose even just one pound of fat. “If you think of muscle tissue vs. fat tissue, the muscle needs more calories to be maintained,” Ewoldt says, “so one individual could theoretically ingest more calories and still lose weight [compared with someone] who has more adipose fat tissue.”
“In the short term, it takes an energy deficit—burning off more than you take in,” says Scott Kahan, MD, MPH, Director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness in Washington, D.C. This is the equivalent of about 500 calories per day below your maintenance level. You can easily determine your maintenance level (the number of calories you should take in to maintain your current weight) with a free online calculator. If it says you can maintain your weight eating about 2,000 calories per day, shave off 500 to lose about one pound per week in the short term, Dr. Kahan says. That’s probably the best measure of the number of calories in a pound for you personally.
But, Ewoldt cautions, “humans are very bad at keeping track of how much they’re eating. They generally underestimate calorie intake—they forget about that candy bar they ate in between lunch and dinner. They forget about pouring a little more orange juice in their glass in the morning—and that all adds up.” This is how to tell if you’re drinking too many of your calories.
In addition, people “tend to overestimate calorie expenditure. So we go for a walk and think we burn 500 calories, and you put that person in a research setting and it’s actually only 200,” he continues.
Exercise does make a difference though, Dr. Lofton says. She typically recommends a minimum of 180 minutes a week of huffing and puffing for weight loss, and sometimes suggests kicking it up to 300 minutes per week. Some exercises are superior calorie burners than others. These are the workouts that burn the most calories and the workouts that don’t burn nearly as many as you think.
“For most people, focusing on moderately decreasing caloric intake will be more reasonable to achieve than increasing physical activity, though a combination is ideal,” Dr. Kahan says. “Most important, especially for those who have had challenges managing weight, is figuring out why it’s been difficult to decrease their calorie intake or increase activity.” Now that you know how to measure calories in a pound, find out the reasons your diet isn’t working.
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Sugar equals wrinkles, says Anthony Youn, MD, a plastic surgeon in Troy, Michigan, and author of The Age Fix: A Leading Plastic Surgeon Reveals How To Really Look Ten Years Younger. “Sugar causes glycation, a process by which the sugar molecules bind to and deform the collagen and elastin in our skin,” he says. Collagen and elastin are the two main proteins that give our skin its youthful, supple properties, so we want to preserve them as much as possible.”Giving up (or reducing) the amount of sugar you eat can also reduce glucose and insulin spikes in your bloodstream, reducing chronic and acute inflammation linked to aging.” You can get your glow on within 14 days of giving up sugar, Dr. Youn says. Here’s how to get started cracking a sugar addiction.
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This superstar squash is good for more than just Halloween treats: add a can to pasta, chili, or quick breads for extra creamy texture and a fast dash of nutrition. Or you can stock up your pantry with these 15 other healthy foods nutritionists eat every day!
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Think that you’re overweight because you love the taste of food too much? That might not be true—in fact, it appears to be the opposite. Gaining weight reduces your taste receptors by 25 percent, according to a new study published in PLoS Biology. This may lead people to overeat as they try to get the same sensation and flavors from food that they did when they were thinner. Foodies take note: Food really does taste better when you maintain a normal weight. Try these 50 ways to lose weight without a lick of exercise.
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Stress can play a big role in weight gain, which is why it’s critical to be aware of why you’re eating at any given time. Alexis Eggleton, 34, went through this struggle until she joined Weight Watchers. “Weight Watchers gave me the tools to practice portion control and moderation, and really helped me work on my work-life balance and emotional wellness,” Eggleton says. She’s maintained her 100-pound weight loss by staying committed to a workout regimen that includes walking, running, biking, or working out at home with fitness DVDs, and eating sensible portions, always using her measuring cups and spoons. Memorize these portion control sizes for easy weight loss.
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The painkilling effect of dental anesthesia lasts longer in the afternoon than it does in the morning. In one study, lidocaine kept nerves numb up to five times longer when it was injected in the early afternoon compared with early morning. Don’t miss these 11 home cures for toothaches.
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What’s the healthiest vegetable on the planet? If you said kale, you would be wrong. According to research published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s journal Preventing Chronic Disease, the true powerhouse vegetable is watercress, a cruciferous cousin of kale that grows in fresh spring water and adds a peppery punch to salads. Use spicy watercress raw in smoothies or sandwiches for a good-for-you boost. Other ideas: Gently cook the greens as you would spinach, or try this simple salad of watercress and macadamia nuts from celebrity chef Ming Tsai. Check out these 12 delicious superfoods that will boost your diet.
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Christina Powter, founder/designer of Chill by Will and personal trainer, explains: “There are three important keys to slimming down and living a healthy life: gratitude, real foods, and movement. Taking a moment to say five things you are grateful for will help jump-start your day. Eating real food like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and animal proteins will fuel your body. Movement is the final key. You can start slow; the most important thing is that you enjoy the activity you’re doing. Taking a walk, playing with your dog, running with your kids—anything that brings joy will fill your inside with happiness and ensure you stick with the routine well beyond summer.” Check out these 30 healthy eating tips that just might change your life.
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Magnesium, especially when combined with zinc, is the perfect one-two detox combo, according to Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, a naturopath, doctor, author, and medical advisory board member for the Nutritional Magnesium Association. “Magnesium stimulates cell activity so that toxins are released into the bloodstream while zinc acts as a strong antioxidant which helps destroy ‘free radicals’ in the body and at the same time removing heavy metals,” she explains. You can find magnesium in spinach, almonds, and dark chocolate but if you’re looking to get a larger dose without eating cups of greens, try dissolving magnesium citrate in water. Bonus: Magnesium’s science-backed benefits include calming and relaxation properties.
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Inspiration: Tracy Anderson, multi-platform fitness entrepreneur, celebrity trainer, and author“I started my journey with Tracy’s #gybg (hashtag: Got Your Back Girl) Challenge in January 2016. Over the next 15 weeks, I lost over 35 pounds, and by the end of the year, I had lost half of my body fat. Tracy and her #tamily kept me motivated and supported throughout my weight loss. Since the #gybg Challenge required participants all over the world to post daily workout clips on Instagram, I began to feel accountable to the community to show up for myself every day by working out. I would have never believed that social media could change my life in so many ways, but it literally did—new body, new friends, new career, new city—new ME.” – Julie Roberts, 43
Check out these amazing weight loss-transformation stories.
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Don’t follow any diet with a number in the title—”The 7-Day Diet,” or “The 48-Hour Diet,” for instance. “That implies there’s an endpoint,” says Philadelphia medical weight loss expert Charlie Seltzer, MD. The problem with those quick fixes? “You’re not addressing the things that have made you overweight in the first place,” he says. Uncovering the behaviors and making a plan to overcome them is what creates lasting change. Try these quick weight-loss tips from nutrition pros.
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Candy wrappers, fruit peels, nut shells, chicken bones: When it comes to eating messy food, it may be better to let the garbage pile up on the table rather than demurely throwing it away as you go. Seeing the debris left from your food is a visual reminder of exactly how much you’ve eaten and can provide a reminder to stop when you’re full, according to research done by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. Don’t miss these weight-loss tips that nutritionists swear by.
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Nutrition experts agree that no diet is perfect for all diabetics. What’s important, however, is that a diet is based on foods that the patient enjoys eating, can afford and that he or she can prepare. “Examples of ‘diets’ that are most appropriate for diabetics include the Mediterranean Diet, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, and a plant-based diet,” says Sarah Rettinger, MD, an endocrinologist at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. However, she insists that there is no perfect ratio of carbs, protein, and fats for all diabetics. Here are the best foods for diabetics.
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You’ll eat more calories if your cereal bowl is filled with smaller flakes than larger ones, even if your serving size is smaller, according to interesting recent Penn State research. Researchers took a basic wheat flake cereal and crushed it down to various smaller volumes (80 percent, 60 percent, and 40 percent of the original size). They asked 41 adults to eat cereal for breakfast once a week for four weeks; each week they poured a different-sized flake version. As flake size was reduced (meaning the cereal looked more crushed), participants poured a lower volume of cereal, but still ate more in terms of calories. “Without us even knowing it, these variations can have a big impact on how much we’re eating,” study author Barbara Rolls, PhD, professor of nutritional sciences, said in a press release. “For cereals with small pieces, the recommended serving size should be reduced to account for the uncharacteristically low volume, in the same way that the recommended serving size is increased for voluminous foods, such as puffed cereals and leafy greens.” Make sure you’re not making these breakfast mistakes that could sabotage your weight loss.
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Sarah Bowmar began her career in digital marketing but soon realized that her main passion was fitness and helping others also become fit. Bowmar says there was one workout that had the most dramatic effect on her body: “It’s called the super fly crunch, and it targets your abs,” she says. You’ll need bands or a cable strength training machine to pull this one off. Assume a plank position, and place your feet into handles of the band or cable machine, suspending your legs off the ground. Now bring your knees forward to your chest in a crunch. Start out slow—you may only be able to do a few repetitions of this demanding move at first. Want more from Bowmar? Follow her fitness Instagram. When you start your workout, make sure you avoid these common exercise mistakes that work against you.
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The diet food of the past may have been cardboard-tasting, fake-sugar-laden garbage, but today there are products that can help you slash calories, stave off hunger pangs, and keep portions reasonable without sacrificing taste. (A lot of them will help fill in nutritional gaps in your diet, too). “Even though whole foods are the foundation of a healthy diet, it’s simply not practical to eat a diet that consists entirely of whole foods,” says Karen Ansel, RD, author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-aging: Stay Younger, Live Longer. “The good news is that packaged foods have made a lot of progress when it comes to cleaning up their ingredient lists.” We asked pros, including Ansel, for their top picks to help you lose 10 pounds and came up with one killer grocery list.
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Considering eating disorders are incredibly common, you might be curious to know what causes these unhealthy relationships with food and mirrors in the first place. The long and the short answer is both your genetics and societal influences. “We say that genetics load the gun and environment pulls the trigger,” explains Bonnie Brennan, the senior clinical director of Adult Services at Eating Recovery Center in Denver, Colorado. “Genetic predisposition, though not necessary, can play a big part in the risk.” A study in 2011 confirms that for white females, developing an eating disorder has a high degree of heritability. “More research is needed to determine the prevalence of eating disorders among those of different races and ethnicities, but we do see symptoms of eating disorders across all populations,” Brennan adds.
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If you’re indulging in a milk shake and I think it’s high in fat and calories, levels of my hunger hormone ghrelin will dip a lot lower—and leave me feeling more satisfied—than if I believe I’m sipping on a healthier shake, even if the two have the same calorie count, a study in the journal Health Psychology showed. Check out these science-backed foods that help you stay full.
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Soup is a successful dieter’s secret weapon! A 2014 study found that regular soup eaters have smaller waists and weigh less than people who don’t eat soup. Look for those with low-fat milk or low-sodium broth and add your own veggies for slimming fiber. Check out this list of 33 foods that are way more nutritious than you ever realized!
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Losing the weight fast. Here’s why: It may give you a psychological boost that helps you stick to your new habits; in studies, quick weight loss led to more pounds off overall plus longer-term success in keeping it off. However, “anyone can do a cleanse or an extreme plan,” says Lisa Lillien, founder of HungryGirl.com and author of the book The Hungry Girl Diet. “But the minute you stop, you gain the weight back and haven’t learned anything.” We interviewed top nutrition and fitness experts to get their best advice for quick and safe weight loss. Here are 40 more fast, easy tips to lose weight.
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The DASH diet—short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension—is a healthy-eating, heart-conscious plan that aims to treat or prevent high blood pressure by lowering sodium intake and increasing the consumption of nutrient-rich foods. According to the Mayo Clinic, following this diet will give you results in just two weeks; over time, your systolic blood pressure could drop as much as 14 points.
You can learn more about this healthy diet here.
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Perhaps the original low-carb eating plan, it emphasizes protein and fats while restricting carbohydrates, particularly those from refined, processed, or starchy sources such as bread, pasta, and baked goods. Plenty of fresh vegetables provide fiber, and in lieu of counting calories, followers track their net carbs (the number you get when you subtract dietary fiber content from total carbohydrates on the nutrition label). The tactic is said to slash weight and keep it off by balancing blood sugar levels, reducing hunger, and decreasing fat storage. Developed in the 1960s by cardiologist Robert Adkins, MD, its popularity has remained steady ever since, especially with the recent surge in adopting a ketogenic diet, which forces the body to burn fat instead of carbs. Dana Cohen, MD, an integrative medicine physician in New York City and author of the upcoming book Quench, worked with Dr. Atkins and shares her favorite Atkins-approved grocery items. Here’s what it’s like to follow a ketogenic diet.
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