Thursday, November 29, 2018

12 New Year’s Resolutions Health Experts Hate the Most

“I’m going vegetarian”

Vegetarian beetroot and black beans burger with melted cheese and thyme

Novice vegetarians sometimes gain weight because they don’t realize cheese, pasta, and other vegetarian standards are loaded with calories. Instead of becoming a full-fledged vegetarian, Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, LDN, a nutrition consultant and author of Walking off the Weight for Dummiessuggests eating a mostly plant-based diet while slowly reducing your meat intake. “Add puréed beans or lentils into ground beef to create a burger patty with less animal protein and more fiber,” she says. “This swap won’t leave you hungry. A study found that the protein in peas staved off hunger better than whey protein [from dairy], making it a filling option. Adding in vegetarian sources of protein like beans and lentils can be a good way to boost fiber in your meal plan, and that can help promote a healthy body weight.” She suggests snacking on roasted chickpeas instead of pretzel or chips, or tossing beans on pasta and salads. “You’ll add more protein to a vegetarian diet without increasing calories significantly,” she says.

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Tips to Stay Fit and Healthy in Ramadan

In Ramadan, it's important that you maintain your health while fasting. The first thing is to have a healthy eating habit. Given below are some tips that can help you stay fit and healthy in this holy month.

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Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Here’s When Your Body Burns the Most Calories at Rest

Here's When Your Body Burns the Most Calories at Rest

Your body burns calories all day long to keep your organs humming, your blood pumping, and your lungs breathing—not to mention maintaining hundreds of other body processes. But a new study published in Current Biology reveals that there are times during the day when your metabolism really hums—and times when it slumps.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston placed seven volunteers in a windowless room for three weeks, turning down the lights and waking them at different times while measuring their calorie use around the clock. The study revealed that we burn about 129 more calories—at rest—between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on average, compared to the early hours of the morning (2 a.m. and 8 a.m.). Even more intriguing is that the body seems to favor carbohydrates as an energy source early in the day and becomes more efficient at burning fat later in the afternoon.

Experts previously thought the body’s resting metabolism ran at a fairly steady rate around the clock; these findings indicate that calorie burn ebbs and flows with the body’s natural rhythms, reports lead study author, neuroscientist Jeanne Duffy, PhD, in a press release. One take-home message of the study seems to be yet another reason to avoid late-night snacking: The body’s energy demands are so low that those extra calories are likely to be converted to fat. Check out these 7 ways to cut calories if you’re trying to lose weight.

There may be implications for the best times to eat certain types of food—such as carbs in the a.m., more protein and healthy fats in the afternoon—but more research is necessary before anyone can make firm recommendations. Perhaps the most important lesson is that people should keep a regular eating schedule, according to Duffy. An irregular meal pattern can throw off the body’s rhythm, depress metabolism, and lead to weight gain, she says. Here are 23 more lazy ways to burn more calories every day.

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7 Proven Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

What is intermittent fasting?

clockIntermittent fasting—periods of voluntary abstinence from food and drink—is a broad term that can be applied to many different practices. This type of dieting has spurred many books and has received a lot of attention as of late as studies (mostly in animals) have shown that it may reduce the risk for several diseases. The most popular approach is the 16/8, which requires fasting for 16 hours a day. Another version, alternate day fasting (ADF) alternates 24-hour periods of fasting (or very restricted 500 calorie diets) with days of eating freely. The 5:2 approach limits fasting to just two days a week while the Warrior Diet follows a 20-hour fast with one large meal consumed at night. “Part of the confusion with intermittent fasting lies in the lack of a definition,” says Robin Foroutan, RD, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “To some people intermittent fasting means that they fast every day while to others it means they only eat between 11 and 6.” Here’s everything you need to know about the Warrior Diet.

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Monday, November 19, 2018

15 Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions and How to Keep Them

Get in shape

Weight-lossGood choice! According to a 2015 Nielsen survey, the most common New Year’s resolutions have to do with getting in shape. If you’re resolving to hit the gym to improve your health or just your physique, you can avoid falling off the fitness cliff come February by enlisting a friend to exercise with you, or joining a regular class where you’ll be missed if you skip a session or two. Need additional motivation? Personal trainer Larysa DiDio recommends using fitness technology to stay on track. “Fitbits will tell you when you’ve been sitting too long and you need to move. Food apps will tell you when you’ve eaten too much and you need to stop. Exercise apps will tell you how many calories you’ve burned. All this information will keep you aware and working toward your goals,” said DiDio in an interview with TODAY.

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15 Things You Don’t Realize Are Sabotaging Your Weight Loss

Over-emphasizing health food

Grocery-shoppingStart with the fact that there are plenty of unhealthy foods that masquerade as healthy. Although choosing healthy foods are the correct path, they can’t be consumed without keeping portions in check. “My patients often report eating low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets full of healthful foods like quinoa, green leafy vegetables and berries, but they are eating too much of these foods,” says Gillian Goddard, MD, an endocrinologist and certified nutrition support clinician in New York City. “What makes foods healthy is their nutrient content. This does not mean we can eat them in limitless quantities.” For example, a half cup of quinoa has 111 calories. “Most people are eating two or three cups of quinoa in a sitting which can come in at 400-600 calories. That doesn’t include, the nuts cheese and olive oil they are adding,” adds Dr. Goddard.

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18 Secrets of Women Who Manage to Work Out Every Day

Do it to feel good

If you think that every workout you do needs to be at 110 percent, you may get discouraged when you have an off day. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to go hard every single workout, just getting enough in to feel good,” says Sydney Stargatt, 27.

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