I haven't weighed myself yet this week, I will probably do that on Friday- I am 2 1/2 weeks in and thus far at my last weigh in I lost 1 pound. Really??? 1 pound?? I mean I wasn't jumping up and down but it was a start at the scale moving in the opposite direction. However besides the scale I feel AMAZING! I feel pure and not toxic because I'm not putting all these toxic foods in my body and can I say I am actually saving money. I know right?? Saving money?? But I can't do quick runs to a fast food place because I have a urge to fix a hunger fix I have to snack on something I brought. Plus I have to say with my big salads and 1 apple I have for my dessert (I know be jealous) I am stuffed! So we shall see what the scale says this week. But I have channeled my inner chef because I've been getting my hands dirty with trying new recipes, which is very exciting!
Will keep you posted.
Now to what I thought was a good topic for this week's Workout Wednesday. So with the weather becoming much warmer here in Chicago (yay!) and the months drawing nearer to summer its a perfect recipe for a nice big glass of wine, jug of iced tea, or a iced cold beer. However those thirst quenching drinks can add up (rather quickly might I add) to some empty calories. And no one wants that when we are prancing around in a bikini (or in my case a bikini with a towel wrapped --several-- times around). So I came across this article from Fitness Magazine called: Sip Smarter: Guide to Healthy Drinks. I thought it was worth sharing.
Drink and Still Shrink
Glug, glug, glug. That's the sound of pounds being poured on. Studies show that we're chugging 411 liquid calories daily, almost 130 more than we consumed in 1990, and all those sips are adding up. "We don't compensate for what we drink by cutting back on food," says Barry Popkin, PhD, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We still eat the same amount." So slurp a whipped coffee drink at breakfast, a few cans of soda in the afternoon, and a couple of cocktails with dinner and you've just doubled your calorie intake -- and your chances of weight gain -- without realizing it. "Sipping versus chewing changes how our bodies recognize and process the calories we take in," Popkin explains. Some experts suspect that eating, which involves munching and crunching, sends signals to the brain that trigger satiety. "Drinks don't require as much effort to consume, so it's easy to overdo them," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, a spokesperson for the AmericanDietetic Association. You can still enjoy your faves and not gain an ounce: Just follow our sip-smarter guide.
Hit the Bottle
A water bottle, that is. The old eight-cups-a-day rule no longer has merit, researchers say, because we get plenty of H2O from other sources, including fruits, vegetables, coffee, and tea. But sipping at least a few glasses of water daily can deliver some serious benefits, including weight loss. "Thirst can masquerade as hunger, so a lot of times we eat when really our bodies just need water," says Keri Glassman, RD, author of The O2 Diet. To tell the difference, drink a glass of water and wait 15 minutes. If your stomach is still grumbling, have a snack. If not, you were probably dehydrated.
A water bottle, that is. The old eight-cups-a-day rule no longer has merit, researchers say, because we get plenty of H2O from other sources, including fruits, vegetables, coffee, and tea. But sipping at least a few glasses of water daily can deliver some serious benefits, including weight loss. "Thirst can masquerade as hunger, so a lot of times we eat when really our bodies just need water," says Keri Glassman, RD, author of The O2 Diet. To tell the difference, drink a glass of water and wait 15 minutes. If your stomach is still grumbling, have a snack. If not, you were probably dehydrated.
Soda Can-Dos
The average American downs almost 48 gallons of soft drinks a year, according to Beverage Digest, a publication that tracks industry trends. This makes soda the largest single source of calories in our diet, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and such sugary beverages increase our risk for diabetes and heart disease. Slowly, though, we're starting to cut back. Thirty-four percent of soda sippers in a survey by Mintel, a market research firm, say they're drinking more water and less of the carbonated stuff to stay healthy and prevent weight gain. More than half the respondents worry about the artificial sweeteners in diet soda. Although studies are inconclusive, some experts believe that diet beverages also cause people to pack on pounds, in part because the sugary taste triggers cravings for the real thing. Those findings may help explain why we now guzzle one-third less regular soda and 10 percent less diet than we used to, according to Mintel.
Sip Tip: Need your daily soda fix? Limit yourself to one or two cans a day and drink more good-for-you beverages, like low-fat milk and plain water.
Happier Hour
We're a nation that loves to celebrate with a drink; we consume more than 500 million gallons of wine, beer, and spirits a year. Research shows that we would imbibe even more if liquor contained functional ingredients, such as antioxidants, enzymes, and vitamins. "There's a growing number of people who want to sip a cocktail and get health benefits at the same time," Taub-Dix says. We're also watching our waistlines and choosing skinnier drinks. Seven of the 10 top-selling domestic beers are light beers. And customers keep asking for more: Budweiser just launched a new brew called Select 55. With only 55 calories per 12-ounce bottle, it's the lowest-calorie beer on the market. Here's a reason to toast: Women who drink one to two servings of wine, beer, or liquor a day tend to gain less weight over time than teetotalers, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Some studies indicate that regularly drinking a small amount of alcohol may reduce our appetite.
Sip Tip: Moderation is key. While too much alcohol can hurt your health, experts say that a little bit daily may boost it. Stick to no more than two 5-ounce glasses of wine, 12-ounce bottles of beer, or 1-1/2-ounce glasses of liquor a day.
Get Juiced
OJ accounts for more than half of all fruit-juice sales in the United States, and no wonder: We each consume more than four gallons of it a year. "A cup a day is fine, especially if you have trouble getting your daily servings of fruits and veggies otherwise," Taub-Dix says. "But eating a piece of fruit is the better choice, since it packs more fiber into fewer calories." A medium orange has about 60 calories, 12 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of filling fiber; an 8-ounce glass of juice has 112 calories, almost twice as much sugar as the fruit, and only half a gram of fiber.
Sip Tip: Be sure to pick a carton labeled "100 percent juice." "There are plenty of impostors out there containing a lot of added sugar. For a healthier fix and to slash the calories, mix juice with seltzer or club soda," Taub-Dix says.
Good Sports Drinks
Five years ago a straight-up sports drink, like Gatorade or Powerade, was pretty much the only option for quenching your post-workout thirst. Now enhanced waters, like Vitaminwater Zero, and protein drinks, such as Muscle Milk, are filling the gap. "This category used to cater mainly to athletes, who needed to rehydrate after hard workouts," says Sarah Theodore, global drinks analyst at Mintel. "But sports drinks have evolved to meet the needs of all sorts of exercisers, from those looking to lose weightto people who want to build muscle."
Sip Tip: "If you're hitting the gym for less than an hour, low-cal sports drinks or flavored waters are great," says FITNESS advisory board member Leslie Bonci, RD, author of Sport Nutrition for Coaches. "The sweet taste can heighten your desire to drink, helping you stay hydrated." If your sweat sessions last an hour or more, stick to the full-calorie varieties. Long workouts increase your body's production of the stress hormone cortisol, which can weaken the immune system, says David C. Nieman, PhD, a researcher who studies exercise at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Sipping a sports drink provides just enough fuel to decrease the stress on your system, reducing cortisol levels.
Energy Boosters
Today there are hundreds of choices for those in need of a quick pick-me-up, including energy shots (small low-calorie or calorie-free drinks promising supersized caffeine levels), energy-drink mixes, and fortified water jacked up on vitamins. Many energy drinks contain megadoses of caffeine (145 milligrams or more for every 8 ounces), so experts caution against making them a daily habit. "Too much caffeine can cause anxiety and insomnia," says Paul Arciero, PhD, an associate professor at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. While fortified water may seem like an easy way to get the nutrients you need, it's not the best answer. "Water with vitamins is no substitute for eating whole foods, which have a variety of compounds and antioxidants to help your body stay healthy," says Keri Gans, RD, a nutritionist in New York City. Plus, one bottle can have eight teaspoons or more of added sugar.
Sip Tip: Arciero recommends consuming less than 600 milligrams of caffeine daily. If you take a multivitamin, limit yourself to one bottle of fortified water.
6 Rules to Drink By
Keep count. No more than 10 percent of your total daily calories should come from beverages. If you're eating 1,800 calories daily, that's 180 calories, or a glass of orange juice and half a can of soda. Double-check labels first: Some bottles contain two or more servings.
Time it right. Drink most of your high-cal beverages during the day, when you're most active and likely to burn them off.
Savor the flavor. Is a mocha coffee whip calling your name? If you're going to indulge, take the time to enjoy it. Ordering it as part of a meal means you won't register howmany calories it has.
Pace yourself. Whether it's cocktails or soda, have a glass of water between each round. You'll consume fewercalories and stay hydrated at the same time.
Milk it. A glass of skim milk -- especially good for curbing before-bed munchies -- ranks just behind water and tea when it comes to RD-approved drinks. Also on the list? One-hundred-percent juices such as pomegranate and cherry, which are rich in antioxidants but whose whole fruits are not always easy to find or eat.
Sources: Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD; Susan Mitchell, PhD; Maye Musk, RD; LeeAnn Smith, RD
Originally published in FITNESS magazine, June 2010.
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