Heart-Healthy Eating

Posted on May 27, 2010 by admin

Is your diet lending your heart a helping hand or kicking it to the curb?

When it comes to body parts your body can’t do without, the heart is king. But if you’re like many people, you may be treating your beloved heart like an ignored servant. How can you make sure your heart receives a kingly welcome? By eating right.

The Basics

First, it’s a good idea to know what heart-healthy eating actually is. Contrary to popular belief, a diet that is heart healthy isn’t going to keep you from eating anything with flavor. You’re not going to be miserable while on a heart-healthy diet. Actually, you shouldn’t go on a heart-healthy diet – at least not one that lasts for a few months and fades away with your New Year’s resolutions.

Rather, you should maintain heart-healthy eating habits every day of the year.
The simplest recipe for heart-healthy eating habits is to go natural. Most foods you find in nature and eat in their raw or cooked forms are very good for you and many of them actively work to strengthen your heart. On the other hand, manmade foods that are highly processed or infused with ingredients that add flavor and fat often put your heart in harm’s way.

The Battles

Fats and cholesterol can be very dangerous to your heart health. Hence why you should avoid them as much as possible. However, since it’s nearly impossible to rid your diet entirely of all types of fats and cholesterol, you’ll need to choose your battles wisely.

Battles worth fighting in the fat realm are those battles against saturated fat and trans fat. By carefully reading food labels and reducing the amount of butter and other fatty products you eat on a regular basis, you can sidestep the majority of these dangerous fats. Instead of saturated and trans fats, look for foods that contain monounsaturated fats or polyunsaturated fats. Believe it or not, these fats may actually help lower your cholesterol.

Reading food labels will also help you manage the amount of cholesterol you consume. Ideally, a healthy adult will consume no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day. For even better health, try to get no more than 150 or 200 milligrams on a daily basis.

The Salt

A third battle that is often overlooked is the ongoing battle against salt. Though it adds immediate flavor to anything you’re eating, salt also adds to your risk for high blood pressure. As high blood pressure is a key risk factor for heart disease, you ought to pay careful attention to how much salt you eat each day.

According to the American Heart Association, you should consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of salt each day. One of the best ways to avoid going over the recommended limit is to resist the temptation to flavor your food with salt until you take a bite of the food. Some foods are naturally salty and have no need for you to add salt from the shaker. Taking a bite before adding salt may even help you enjoy the natural flavor of the food you’re eating. Over time, your saltshaker may be collecting dust in the pantry!

Living the Life

In addition to eating heart-healthy foods, your heart gains extra protection against disease through regular exercise. The minimum amount that you exercise for good health is 30 minutes five times a week. And while pumping iron helps strengthen your body over all, your heart thrives on aerobic exercises.

To keep your heart pumping strong, you should spend some time jogging around your neighborhood, swimming laps in the pool, or riding your bicycle through the woods. For added protection, don’t smoke, avoid breathing secondhand smoke, and stay in contact with your physician to ensure the steps you are taking for a heart-healthy life are working.

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Goodbye, Cholesterol

Posted on May 27, 2010 by admin

How to kiss cholesterol and your overwhelming fear of it goodbye.

During the 1340s, there was the Bubonic Plague. Approximately six and one-half centuries later, it was the bird flu. Today, everyone runs scared of one arch nemesis: cholesterol. As scared as people are of this substance, many people don’t even know what it is.

How can you reduce the amount of cholesterol in your body and calm your cholesterol fears?

Describing Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a sticky, waxy substance. And as you know, cholesterol is in some of your favorite foods. But did you know that your body also produces cholesterol? That’s because cholesterol actually serves a good purpose, as it is required for your body to produce vitamin D, help your body digest fats, and build the walls to your body’s basic element – the cell.

While your body creates cholesterol on its own and is found in many different foods, cholesterol in excess can be very dangerous. When you have too much cholesterol stored up in your body, it can stick to the walls of your arteries and prevent adequate blood from flowing from the heart to the rest of the body. If enough clogging occurs, the end result can be heart attack or stroke.

Reducing Cholesterol

The good news is that you can take control of the amount of cholesterol in your body. A good first step is to lower the amount of cholesterol you introduce to your body through different foods. This means increasing your intake of low-cholesterol foods and reducing your intake of cholesterol-heavy foods.

Fruits and vegetables are always good bets if you’re trying to avoid cholesterol. You can also go with fat-free or low-fat dairy products; nuts; beans; and skinless, lean poultry or meat. At the same time, you’ll want to avoid foods high in cholesterol. This list includes baked goods made with egg yolks; sausage, bologna, and other processed meats; fried foods; and whole milk.

Accepting Cholesterol

Because your body produces cholesterol, you will never be cholesterol free. Instead of attempting to rid your body and your diet of every bit of cholesterol, you should aim for a more noble (and possible goal): eating a healthy, well-balanced diet.

In order to ensure your diet remains low in cholesterol, use the following tips when cooking:

  • cut off as much fat as you can from meats before cooking
  • find ways to cook using only egg whites (not egg yolks)
  • boil or broil your food instead of frying
  • go with low-fat versions of ingredients
  • cook more low-fat, filling foods and fewer high-fat foods

Remember – you can’t cut all of the cholesterol out of your diet, but you can do your part to get it to a healthy level.

What’s the Good Stuff?

Making cholesterol even more confusing is the seemingly new revelation that all cholesterol is not created equal. As you probably know, there is “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol. But which is which?

“Good” cholesterol is the lay term for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. HDL cholesterol actually protects against heart attack. Therefore, maintaining a healthy level of HDL (40 mg/dL or higher) is essential to good overall health.

“Bad” cholesterol is another name for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Responsible for the artery clogging that cholesterol is known for, LDL should be avoided whenever possible. The ideal level of LDL cholesterol is less than 100 mg/dL. When high LDL is coupled with low HDL cholesterol levels, being overweight, or smoking, you are at a substantial risk for heart disease and stroke.

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Why Your Exercise Routine Isn’t Working

Posted on May 27, 2010 by admin

Something isn’t quite right about your exercise routine. You’re about to find out what it is.

You don’t go to the gym to hang out. You’re there to get fit, to feel better, and to gain more energy to get through your stressful day. So why is it not working? Here are a few common reasons your body may not be responding how you want it to after a good hour or two at the gym.

Your Body Has Peaked

If you’ve been working out for a while and have stopped seeing the results you saw during the first few weeks, your body may have hit its peak. This happens most often when you perform the same exercises over and over, day after day, without any change in your routine. But don’t worry – you can get past this problem with relative ease. All you have to do is add some variety and spice into your routine.

An easy way to do this is by changing the type of weights you use. If you usually workout exclusively with plate weights, grab some dumbbells – or better yet, kettlebells. If that isn’t enough to get your body to start responding to gym time, talk with a personal trainer about new exercises to sprinkle into your regimen for continual improvement.

You’re Not Committed

Many people get frustrated with their gym routines only to realize they aren’t spending enough time in the gym to see any noticeable difference. And while you may spend hours each day thinking about how you need to get in the gym, thinking isn’t doing. Yes, the right mindset will improve your physical fitness and help you push your body in the gym, but you’ve got to be in the gym to actually push your body.

If you’re spending two hours in the gym every day but leave without any results, you may be committed to visiting the gym, but not using the gym. When working out, make sure you’re giving 100 percent the entire time. That doesn’t mean you have to lift hundreds of pounds with each repetition, but you should be focused, using proper posture and moving from one exercise to the next without a 20-minute water break between each set.

Your Diet Doesn’t Mesh

Working out regularly is a must if you’re going to obtain optimal fitness. But if you think you can eat whatever you want on your way to good health, think again. Your exercise routine is only as good as your diet. Therefore, eating a healthy diet is essential to making the most of your gym time.

In fact, if you don’t eat healthily, you probably won’t feel up to pushing yourself in the gym, making it even harder to reap the rewards you so desperately want. To make sure your gym time is well spent, you may need to modify your diet to include more fresh fruits and vegetables, fewer late-night snacks, and more lean protein sources, such as lean meat and peanut butter.

You Can’t See

If you’re like many people, you may be your worst critic. While everyone around you is gawking at how good you look, you wish you could lose three more pounds and another inch or two from your waist. How do you get over this problem? With a diary.

When you begin working out, keep track of your routine, noting repetitions, weight lifted, and time spent on the treadmill. Over time, you will certainly notice an improvement in your endurance, strength, and overall fitness – even if your waistline isn’t the tiny circle you think it ought to be. Keeping track of fitness in this way helps you keep a healthy tab on your improvements over time and will keep you committed to the gym and a healthy diet!

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Exercise for Big Bodies

Posted on May 27, 2010 by admin

How you can begin living a healthy life with a few simple exercises.

Whether you inherited your weight problem, suffered a life-altering injury that caused you to be immobile for a long period or time, or have just made bad dietary choices, there is no time for self-pity if you’re going to overcome a weight issue. What can you do when your weight prevents you from fitting on an exercise machine; causes knee, joint or heart problems; or makes you feel too embarrassed to wear a bathing suit? Swallow your pride and get to work. And it is very hard work.

If you think you’ve got the resolve to do what it takes to shave some pounds off, read on to find out how you can get started.

The place to start is your doctor’s office. Have your physician check on any current health conditions that are affecting you. Also, going to the doctor will allow you to get a baseline on your heart rate and overall health, which will make it easier to work with your physician to monitor your progress along the way. The key to any weight-loss routine is to find an exercise you can enjoy doing and to start out slowly. Ask your physician for recommendations of good exercises, and give them a shot. If you find them too repetitive and boring or a little more difficult than you expected, try something different. Gradually, smartly increase the time you spend at it as well as the intensity of your exercise.

For those who may be severely obese, the exercises to get you on your way would be simple leg lifts, arm raises, or bending and leaning over, which can be done while sitting. These movements provide the muscle strength necessary for future exercises and will minimize your risk of injury. As you go through each day, look for ways to add more movement and exercise. Make it a part of your daily life.

A great form of exercise for anyone is walking. The more steps you take, the better you’ll feel. Even walking from one end of the house to the other is helpful. When walking, start off slow and only go short distances. Each day try to go a little farther but do not overdo it. If needed, take frequent breaks and don’t walk so far that it will be hard to make it back to your starting point. No matter where you’re walking, be sure to wear good walking shoes and drink enough water along the way. Doing these easy steps will keep your body ready for the next walk around the block.

For those who are able to wear a bathing suit and have access to a body of water, swimming is a wonderful form of exercise if you’re obese. As the water supports your body and therefore does not put the usual strain on your bones and joints, swimming makes it possible to move your body with greater ease, which increases your strength, stamina, flexibility, and range of motion. With these improvements in tact, performing other exercises on the ground will become easier as well.

No matter how much you weigh, what you may need most is accountability and encouragement along the way. If possible, a personal trainer is a great way to stay on track and stay safe along the way. A close friend can also help keep you accountable or tag along for your regular workouts. Joining a support group may be a good option for some. With any exercise program, remember that the gym isn’t the only step to losing weight. You should also eat a healthy diet. Not only will healthy, low fat foods help you lose weight, but they will also give you the energy you need to do the exercises that do the body good.

Understanding Obesity

As the weight of the average American has been increasing during the past decades, health professionals have claimed America to be suffering an “obesity epidemic.” How do you know if you’re overweight or obese? First, you have to calculate your body mass index (BMI).

To do this, multiply your weight in pounds times 703. Next, figure out how tall you are in inches, and square this number. Finally, divide the first number by the second. The answer is your BMI.

A BMI below 18.5 means you’re underweight, between 18.5 and 24.9 is a healthy weight, 25-29.9 is overweight, and 30 and above is obese.

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Dance as Exercise

Posted on May 27, 2010 by admin

It may just be creative movement to you, but to your body, dancing is a great workout.

When you take to the dance floor, you transform into a machine. Nothing matters except the next move, and every one is made with the ultimate precision. Or maybe your dancing style looks more like someone suffering a seizure, and you dread the thought of anyone ever seeing you bust a move. No matter what level of a dancer you are, your body can still reap many of the same benefits.

Starting with the Legs

Unless you’re dancing in a chair, your legs are going to get a fantastic work out when you’re dancing. Practically every move in the world of dance involves moving your legs, and the longer and more intense your dance is, the better work out you’ll give your thighs and calves.

As you move, pay attention to what makes your legs feel the burn best. Deep dips, high jumps, and powerful sprints across the floor will turn an average dance into an excellent addition to your exercise routine.

Moving into the Arms

While your legs are kicking and swaying, your arms should be doing much the same – and then some. Whether you’re dancing with your toddler, spouse, a complete stranger, or all by your lonesome, your arms should be working continuously. From tossing your partner in the air to creating poetic motion in the air, your arms have an opportunity to experience a unique test of endurance.

Don’t think dance is getting your arms in shape? Strap light weights to your wrists and keep dancing. You’ll definitely feel the burn after the next time you burn up the dance floor, and your arms will look great as a result!

Burn, Baby, Burn!

Now that you know dancing can help tone your body, there’s something else you may be interested to learn. Busting a move burns a lot of calories. How many calories can you expect to lose during a three-day dance-a-thon? There’s no telling. But you can find out how many calories you can get rid of in a 30- or 60-minute dancing extravaganza!

15 Minutes 30 Minutes 60 Minutes
Slow Dance
175 pound male		 60 120 241
Fast Dance
175 pound male		 110 220 441
Slow Dance
120 pound female		 41 82 165
Fast Dance
120 pound female		 75 151 302

Don’t Forget the Core

Without a strong core, your legs won’t move and your arms can’t flail about as you dance. Fortunately, your core can get a good bit of exercise as you enjoy an evening at the club, showing off your newest moves.
To dance your way to a strong core in an exotic way, try belly dancing. It may seem scary, but belly dancing is a safe and effective way for people of all shapes and sizes to get some fun movement into their day and wind up with a stronger core, which will help in all aspects of life.

Dance Safely

Because dancing can work out your entire body, you should treat the dance floor like the gym. That means starting slow, stretching out your entire body, and not getting out of control and putting yourself in harm’s way.
You should also maintain your body’s hydration by drinking plenty during your dance routine. And don’t rely on alcohol to keep you well hydrated. To stay properly hydrated, be sure to get adequate water before, during, and after hitting the dance floor.

How Many Can You Count?

Think you know your dance steps? Close your eyes and name off as many dances as you can think of, and have a friend check your list against the one below. If you name them all, you are Lord of the Dance!

  • Ballet
  • Ballroom
  • Belly
  • Break
  • Cha Cha
  • Disco
  • Foxtrot
  • Hustle
  • Jazz
  • Jitterbug
  • Line
  • Mambo
  • Menengue
  • Salsa
  • Square
  • Swing
  • Tango
  • Tap
  • Twist
  • Waltz
  • Slow
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Building Firmer Abs

Posted on May 27, 2010 by admin

What you can do to achieve the American dream of a six-pack set of abdominal muscles.

You’ve been doing sit-ups and crunches for the past three decades, and they’re just not doing the trick any more. So what can you do to get back your six-pack today? You’re about to find out.

Lose the First Layer

You may have heard the notion that a killer set of abdominal muscles is hiding just out of sight, tucked away neatly behind a layer of fat on your stomach. In case you thought this was a quack idea dreamed up by people who wanted an excuse for their beer bellies, you may be surprised to find out this claim is true.

Before you can firm up your abs, you have to get rid of that first little layer of flab. Of course, you can do thousands of sit-ups and relish the knowledge that a fabulous six-pack rests beneath a protective shield of fat, but wouldn’t you rather show off the abs you’re working so hard to accomplish? To do this, you’ll need to either reduce the calories you eat or burn off more calories each day. Regardless, a full-body workout is the only way to lose weight and begin to see your rock-hard abdominal muscles peak out.

Get on the Ball

To help your abs get the biggest impact without too much extra effort, try taking your workout on top of an exercise ball. As any exercise on a ball requires additional balance, you’ll strengthen your core and your abs during any exercise.

In addition to sit-ups and other abdominal-specific exercises on the ball, do any other exercise activities you can think of using your exercise ball. To get a good work out when you’re not working out, keep an exercise ball at your office desk. Every other hour, swap your regular desk chair for your exercise ball. Getting used to sitting on an oversized bouncy ball will take some time, but the effort will be well worth it, as your abdominals reap the tight, muscular rewards.

Keep Them Off Balance

Want those regular old abs to turn into washboards that could be used for cleaning clothes if needed? You’re not going to get there if you only push your abs with one or two specific exercises. In order to drive your abs to their muscular limit, add plenty of variety into your abdominal routine.

Since you may not know many abdominal exercises beyond the traditional sit-ups and crunches, consult a personal trainer to learn what unique exercises you could perform to get maximum performance out of your abs. A few good exercises to help your abs shape up include a Pilates zip-up, canoe twist, and cat kick*. Sound fun? Then what are you waiting for? Stronger, better-looking abs await!

Odd Names, Great Results

Not sure whether you want to get involved in exercises with strange names, such as the canoe twist? Fortunately, you can learn the movements at home, so you don’t have to ask the fitness pro at the gym about the cat kick. Here are three abdominal exercises that will give your midsection a solid, ripped appearance. And unlike the ab-enhancing work out you’re use to, these all take place while you’re planted firmly on your feet.

Pilates Zip-Up – To perform this exercise, stand straight with your heels touching, your toes turned outward just a bit. Raise your arms up beneath your chin, as if you are about to row a boat. Press your arms directly down, hands and arms remaining very close to your body, and breathe out. At the same time, raise yourself up until you’re standing on your toes. Hold the position for a couple seconds and return to your starting position, repeating 20 times.

Canoe Twist – With your feet apart, interlace your fingers into a tight grip. Pretending you’re standing in a canoe, swing your hands, arms, shoulders, and chest to the right in order to row your imaginary canoe. At the same time, raise your right knee up and toward the left. Inhale, go back to your starting position, exhale, and perform the rowing movement on the other side. Give each side 20 repetitions.

Cat Kick – When you want to perform this well-named exercise, put your feet together and extend your arms out on either side, as if trying to make a perfect “T” with your body. As you breathe out, lift your left leg up and forward, while rotating your arms forward (keeping them level with your shoulders) until you wind up in a cat-like position. If done right, you’ll feel as if your belly button is nearly touching your spine. Slowly return to the starting position, swap sides, and perform 20 times on each side.

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Slow Down!

Posted on April 11, 2010 by admin

The benefits of taking your time at your dining room table.

On your mark, get set, slow! If eating is a competitive sport at your house, it may be time to slow it down for your good health. Why should you consider reducing your speed at the dinner table? The perks are numerous!

Perk 1: Weight Loss

This is the first perk listed, because it is the single most exciting benefit of eating slowly. After being assumed for decades, it finally became scientific fact a few years ago when researchers discovered that study participants ingested fewer calories when told to chew their food a certain amount of times and drink water between bites. Some were so excited by the possibilities that they did the math and figured an individual could lose up to 20 pounds a year simply by eating slower. That’s right – all you have to do to lose a few pounds is eat slower! Add on some other lifestyle modifications and you could be well on your way to being the thinnest, fittest you you’ve ever been.

Perk 2: Enjoyment

Eating fast may seem to make sense. After all, you can cram a lot more food into your face if you move fast. But one study showed that slowing down actually helps you enjoy your meal more. And when you enjoy your food, you’re able to enjoy your company as well!

Perk 3: Satisfaction

One of the worst parts of filling up on food on the quick is the excessive fullness that often accompanies your binge eating. By slowing down the pace of your fork and spoon, you’ll feel properly filled without being stuffed like the turkey you’re eating.

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.
— Voltaire

Perk 4: Improved Digestion

As you know, the purpose of eating food is to give your body fuel to keep going strong. When you eat too fast, your body is unable to transform the food you eat into anything useful. Rather, it simply pushes many of the vitamins and nutrients you need out of your body without ever using them. When you eat slowly and chew your food plenty, you help your body break down your food and make your food immediately useful.

Perk 5: Reduced Stress

Eating on the run may seem like a good idea that will help you get more work done. However, if you’re sprinting through your meals, thinking only of the next thing you have to do, you’ll suffer the stressful consequences. Instead, eat slowly and put work out of your mind. Consider every bite carefully and you’ll have a restful lunch that will get you ready for all those work projects that need your attention

Making It Happen

Now that you know why you should be eating slowly, you may be wondering how to make it happen in your home. Though you may not be able to make your entire family eat slowly, here are some tips that will get you on the road to slow and healthy.

Chew as many times as you can. Go for 35 times each bite or take it a little further for even more enjoyment.

Talk with your tablemates. Between every bite, try to talk to someone at your table. And remember what mama told you – don’t talk with your mouth full!
Put down your fork after each bite. When no one is eating with you, putting down your fork between every bite is a great way to make sure you’re pacing yourself.

Top off your morsels with a hit of water. You can help your stomach fill up faster by drinking water after every bite of food.

Don’t fill your plate to the brim the first time around. By serving yourself small servings at the beginning of your meal, you’re less likely to eat too much.
Before getting seconds, wait a few minutes to make sure you really want more.

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A Big, Bad Boost of Metabolism

Posted on April 11, 2010 by admin

What to do to improve your body’s automatic calorie-burning ability.

Did you know you can burn calories by sitting still? While you’re on the computer? Watching television? Taking a rest? Taking a nap? In order to get your body to work for you when you’re not working, you have to get your metabolism as high as possible. Here’s how.

Most Important Meal – You’ve heard it all your life, and it’s just as true today as it was when you were a kid: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not only does breakfast fuel your brain and body to perform well, but it also prevents your body from trying to hold on to calories out of fear of starvation. When your body goes on the defense, it burns as few calories as possible, as it isn’t sure when it will be fed again.

Don’t Diet to Death – Because of this natural response to a lack of food, you should be careful to avoid cutting back too many calories from your diet. Instead, eat sensible, healthy meals and try to avoid eating heavy dinners or chowing down three or four hours before going to bed. This gives your body plenty of time to get rid of more calories as you move around in your daily routine. You should also switch to frequent, smaller meals, which will give your body a constant source of energy and encourage it to continually burn as many calories as possible.

After Breakfast Aerobics – Having eaten a healthy breakfast to get your day started right, you’ll want to make the most of your meal. In order to do this, hop into the gym for a morning-sized portion of exercise. One of the best choices for the early hours is aerobic exercise, which gets your whole body working hard and helps your metabolism run high all day long.

At around age 40 I put on 20 pounds. I had always had a perfect metabolism, but my metabolism betrayed me, as it does most people – except a very rare few who will always be thin.
– Suzanne Somers

Exercise without Air – On top of your aerobic workout, you’ll also want to get in some weight training to increase your metabolism. As you know, lifting weights is one of the best ways to build muscle. Since more muscle means more calories burned at all hours of the day and night, you’ll need to buff up if you’re interested in getting the highest metabolism possible.

Never Stop Moving – Unless you’re a personal trainer, you can’t stay in the gym all day lifting weights, running on the treadmill, and playing racquetball. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop exercising when you’re not within arm’s reach of an exercise bench or treadmill. In fact, one of the most effective ways to build your metabolism is to stay mobile all day long. Walk to the office next door instead of picking up the phone, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and tap your feet to the music as you’re sitting at your desk. These little movements will have consistent, long-term benefits when it comes to keeping your metabolism going strong.

Sip on Water – Want your body’s metabolism to work overtime? Just want it to work properly? You’re going to have to drink plenty of water. Otherwise, your metabolism will never get to the peak you seek. And if you drink refreshing cold water, you’ll increase your metabolism slightly, as your body works to warm the water up to body temperature.

How to Kill the Burn

Wondering what you do every day that decreases your body’s ability to burn off extra calories? The following are a few common metabolism killers:

eat very few calories a day and all of them are unhealthy calories
stay sedentary constantly, without making any attempt to get fit
skip meals and ignore your body when it is begging for food

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Verifiably Vinegar

Posted on April 11, 2010 by admin

And you thought vinegar just tasted good in salad dressing.

Regulating blood sugar levels, providing energy, and even healing your body (according to the ancients), vinegar has long been heralded for its health benefits. But there’s one potential perk that has people hungry for more.

New research has shown that vinegar may actually provide just what you need to aid in your goal of weight loss. Though there have been no long-term studies and the current information is based solely on mice-based research, the results are promising. Hopefully the future will continue to show positive effects of vinegar, including how this tasty additive can help humans shed pounds.

Where the Strength Lies

For years, it has been thought that apple cider vinegar lends a hand in weight loss. While any kind of vinegar will yield positive health benefits, the acidic vinegar in apple cider vinegar supposedly contains some magical fat-burning protons or neutrons. While those claims are unfounded, there may be one magic ingredient that will make vinegar your waistline’s best friend. According to research, the waist-shrinking strength of vinegar lies in acetic acid.

During a recent study, some mice were given water or acetic acid, which is the main ingredient found in vinegar. All of the mice in the study ate the same amount of food, but the mice who were fortunate enough to get an acetic acid-heavy diet wound up with as much as 10 percent less body fat than their water-drinking peers. That’s right – all the skinny Minnies and Mickeys did different was drink up acetic acid instead of water. Will it translate to you and your loved ones? That’s still up for debate.

How It Works

Currently, it is not completely understood why the mice who ingested acetic acid gained less weight than those who drank water. However, it is suspected that something in acetic acid flips the switch on a gene that helps the body to tear down fats. Regardless of how it works, the thinner mice are proof enough for diet-hungry folks looking for the next bit (and healthy) way to lose weight.

Despite the preliminary results of the study, researchers caution anyone from leaping head first into a diet with excessive amounts of acetic acid. Instead, they still recommend a healthy and balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Of course, you could top off some of those vegetables with some sweet and delicious vinegar.

Reduced Tales

Generations of weight-loss lovers looking to lose a few pounds have willingly turned to vinegar. Though there was no scientific evidence to back up their claims, mama’s promise that vinegar aids in weight loss was accepted and acted upon regularly.

One of the most common ideas is that a little bit of vinegar before meals helps curb food cravings. Known as the apple cider vinegar diet, this novel way to lose weight requires you to down as much as three tablespoons of vinegar before every meal. While an apple cider diet may help you lose pounds, experts claim the weight loss has nothing to do with the vinegar. Rather, the loss you experience is because the diet requires you to eat less and get regular exercise – which is required of any healthy diet that actually results in weight loss. Of course, you may also eat less because you can’t taste your food due to the overwhelming flavor of apple cider vinegar that has taken over your mouth.

Either way, current studies show that you could lose just as many pounds by eating less and not drinking all that vinegar! So put down the glass bottle, pick up a fork of fresh green beans, and enjoy!

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How You Can Cheat on Your Diet

Posted on April 11, 2010 by admin

(And still lose weight.)

There’s a new diet on the market that is sure to turn heads and gain instant followers. Dubbed the Cheater’s Diet and explained in Dr. Paul Rivas’ book, Cheater’s Diet: Lose Weight by Taking the Weekends Off, the Cheater’s Diet sounds like an easy trek to weight loss. But don’t let the name fool you. The Cheater’s Diet may let you off the hook a little bit, but you’re going to have to give a lot more than you get.

If you’re anxious to learn more about this gracious diet, keep reading.

Gone to Greece

Though called the Cheater’s Diet, there are some rather rigorous dietary recommendations. The recommended foods of choice come from the Mediterranean: whole grains, fruits, lean protein, unsaturated fats, peanuts, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products.

Unlike a typical healthy diet, the Cheater’s Diet doesn’t let you pick and choose how much of each food group you eat. It also doesn’t recommend multiple small meals throughout the day. Rather, it requires you to eat two snacks and three meals every day. During these meals, dieters fill their plates up with one-quarter a plate of lean protein, another quarter with whole grains, and half the plate with fruits and vegetables.

Welcome to the Weekend

When it comes to the cheating part, you’ll have to wait for the weekend. But once the weekend arrives, the guilt-free cheating begins! From Saturday morning at 9 a.m. until Sunday evening at 9 p.m., cheating dieters are encouraged – no, required – to fill their bellies with unhealthy vittles.

What can you look forward to when Saturday rolls around? How about some of your favorite things? Chocolate, pizza, ice cream, cake, and wonderfully delicious hamburgers are the order of the day on Saturday and Sunday. The only things you have to fight are the urge to eat more than you should and eating foods that may send you down a spiral of bad foods beyond the weekend.

Weeklong Work

The secret to success with the Cheater’s Diet is eating right five and one-half days a week and doing one other thing. That one other thing is exercise. In fact, if you’re only following the dietary recommendations of the Cheater’s Diet, you’re only going to get half of the success you seek.

In order to get the full benefit of the Cheater’s Diet, you’ll need to dedicate yourself to a regular exercise regiment. Preferably, you’ll find your way to the gym five days a week, performing both aerobic and weight-bearing exercises. You may also need to adjust the amount of calories you eat. As the Cheater’s Diet prescribes a calorie count for all users that isn’t adjusted for people of different sizes and athletic prowess, you may have to adjust it yourself to make sure you’re not eating too much or too little.

You’ve Got to Stop

If you thought your other diets required self-discipline, you’ve not seen anything yet. When you opt for the Cheater’s Diet, there is no question of when you’ll fall off the bandwagon. You’re supposed to do just that every weekend. The question is whether you’ll climb back on the wagon during the coming week.

So if you have a hard time curbing your desire to treat yourself every time you lose a pound or two and don’t think you can get all your splurges in during 36 allotted hours, you may need to stay away from the Cheater’s Diet. On the other hand, if you think you’ve got the discipline to make the Cheater’s Diet work for you, you may want to give it a try. All you have to do is eat right, get plenty of exercises, and know how to stop eating like it’s the weekend.

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