Weight Loss Tips From The Doctor Who Did It!

Dr Sundar

It’s a doctor’s job to give the rest of us advice on exercise and healthy eating and in early 2012 Dr Siva Sundar, working as a junior A&E doctor in a busy London hospital, was seeing plenty of patients who needed his words of wisdom.

For many of them, factors over which they did have control, and in particular carrying too much weight, were putting them at risk of serious illness. Some were landing in A&E as a direct result.
At the same time, Dr Sundar felt uncomfortable. He was doling out advice that he clearly wasn’t taking himself. His own weight issues were having a damaging effect on his confidence, career and personal life. So in early 2012 he decided to change. Here’s what he did and how he did it, because these are changes, he believes, that go deeper than getting the body we want.

Turning point
“Looking back I realised that it was affecting not just my career but also my personal life,” says Dr Sundar. “For such a long time I’d really not liked my body and not felt comfortable with it.”
That’s something many of us can relate to. Dr Sundar weighed around 92kg at the time and had tried various weight loss strategies, from expensive gym memberships to even more expensive personal trainers, and each one had failed.

“At one point a couple of years ago I was spending £200 a month on gym membership and personal trainers and I wasn’t shifting an ounce in weight,” he says.
He admits too, that he had a social life that centred, like many of ours do, around meals out and pubs. He was, he believes, in a trough, physically and emotionally, and it was going to to take something quite special to get him out of it.

Transforming time
That something special was exercise, but not just the sort of slow and steady exercise regime that many of us have been advised to take up.

Instead, Dr Sundar started taking intensive classes run by a company called The Transformers, who host boot camps, circuit training sessions, core yoga classes and high intensity workouts in Central and South West London “for people who want to be pushed to the limits”. They’ve worked with celebrities and high flyers and believe the best motivation is seeing results.

According to Dr Sundar, intense workouts are just one of the factors that made his own exercise regime successful. “With Transformers the training is intense but it really gives you results. It’s complete total body workouts with lots of variety.”

“The other nice thing about it is that it’s a very friendly environment, almost like a family. It’s very social, so if you don’t turn up to class people will notice.”

Transformers also offer life coaching and Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) - an approach that uses the mind/body connection to help people achieve goals - in what amounts to a holistic approach to fitness and weight loss.

But it’s the social aspect, Dr Sundar believes, which makes the biggest difference. At the gym people studiously ignore each other, plugging themselves into iPods or staring at TV screens. At Transformers, and by extension at similar groups around the country, you’re welcomed, encouraged, and supported. One client has described it as “personal training in a group”, and it’s the group dynamic that keeps you coming back on cold January mornings. According to Dr Sundar, it’s exercising - and hard - but socialising at the same time.

High intensity circuit training gets results fast

The results
For Dr Sundar, the results have been revelatory. At the simplest level, he’s now toned, athletic and weighs in at a lean 68kg. He lost 15kg in the first ten weeks after joining. He’s shed the weight and kept it off.
But the transformation has been greater than that. He’s confident and happy, and the programme has also given him what he describes as a new found sense of freedom. It’s the freedom to know that, when confronted with a challenge - whether that’s a huge flight of stairs at a Tube station or a difficult problem at work - he has the wherewithal to overcome it.

“There’s a natural process that happens when you start challenging your previous beliefs,” he says. “One of the beliefs I had from before was that I couldn’t do more than ten push ups in a row. When you challenge that, you begin to realise that you can do more than you think you can do, and that’s true in other areas. I now have a new confidence that when I say I am going to do something, I know I can do it.”

The lessons
There are lessons for all of us in this. At a basic level, it’s true that exercising in a well motivated group, rather than slogging along on your own, is a great way to stay motivated and reach your goals. Joining a group like The Transformers - and there are many similar groups across the country - could be the answer if you want to get fit and lose weight but find it too easy to talk yourself out of going for a run.
Dr Sundar’s success also suggests that slow and steady improvement, and easy-as-you-go exercise regimes, may not work for everyone. If your fitness levels are already reasonable, some quite high intensity workouts, and the quick results they offer, may be one key to keeping you at it.
But more than all that, Dr Sundar’s experience should be a motivator for anyone wanting to lose weight and tone up. Because what it shows is that, however you accomplish it, the benefits of exercise go way beyond a six pack. They can be found in added confidence and vitality, and the burgeoning knowledge that, as Dr Sundar says, in all sorts of areas you really can do more than you think.

Source: http://dld.bz/cNhUB 

Tips for Staying Active in the Office to Counteract the Ills of a Sedentary Job

 

 

Nearly 70 percent of costs associated with health care are due to preventable conditions, and new research confirms that spending long hours sitting down during commuting and working can play a significant role in the development of chronic disease.

In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests that sitting in and of itself is an independent risk factor for poor health and premature death—even if you exercise regularly. Researchers have dubbed this phenomenon the "active couch potato effect."

Even the World Health Organization (WHO) now lists inactivity as the fourth biggest killer of adults, responsible for nine percent of premature deaths¹.
In the video above, Dr. Jeff Spencer shares his tips on how to stay active at the workplace.

Research by Dr. Joan Vernikos², former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division (one of the primary doctors assigned to keep the astronauts from deteriorating in space) and author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals, shows that your body actually needs to perpetually interact with gravity through motion in order to function optimally.

Interestingly, with regard to counteracting the ill effects of sitting, simply standing up every 10 minutes or so is actually more effective than taking a walk. And, it’s not how long you stand up, but how many times you stand up that makes the difference.

How to Get More Active During Work Hours

A recent article in The Guardian³ offers several common sense tips for getting more movement into your day-to-day life, especially during work hours.

Using a pedometer will help you assess how many steps you take throughout your work day; then simply make a concerted effort to continuously increase the number of steps you take daily. Simple changes to the way you move about the office can add up, such as:

• Walking across the hall to talk to a coworker instead of sending an email
• Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
• Parking your car further away from the entrance
• Taking a longer, roundabout way to your desk

 Another strategy that can help eliminate some of the sitting is to hold standing-only office meetings. This tends to discourage unnecessary discourse and make meetings more productive in less time. Making slight alterations to your individual work space can also make a difference. For example, you can:

• Organize the layout of your office space in such a way that you have to stand up to reach oft-used files, the telephone, or your printer, rather than having everything within easy reach. Ideally, you’ll want to stand up at least once every 10 minutes, or more, so simply moving one or more things you frequently reach for could allow you to build this kind of movement into your regular work day.
• Use an exercise ball for a chair. Unlike sitting in a chair, sitting on an exercise ball engages your core muscles and helps improve balance and flexibility. Occasional bouncing can also help your body interact with gravity to a greater degree than sitting on a stationary chair.
• Alternatively, use an upright wooden chair with no armrest, which will force you to sit up straight, and encourage shifting your body more frequently than a cushy office chair.
• Use a standing workstation. Standing rather than sitting while doing your work can also be a helpful option. For a demonstration on proper posture, whether you’re sitting or using a standing workstation, check out Kelly Starrett’s video in this previous article.

Mounting Evidence Indicts Sitting as Independent Risk Factor for Poor Health

In recent years, researchers have taken a serious look at the effects of inactivity, and have repeatedly found that not moving or engaging in very limited-range movements for extended periods of time has a profoundly negative impact on health and longevity. For example, a recent analysis⁴ of 18 studies (which in total included nearly 800,000 people) found that those who sat for the longest periods of time were twice as likely to have diabetes or heart disease, compared to those who sat the least. And, while prolonged sitting was linked to an overall greater mortality risk from any cause, the strongest link was to death due to diabetes.

According to lead researcher Thomas Yates, MD⁵:

“Even for people who are otherwise active, sitting for long stretches seems to be an independent risk factor for conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease.”

An earlier study⁶ highlighted much of the recent evidence linking sitting with biomarkers of poor metabolic health, showing how total sitting time correlates with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other prevalent chronic health problems—even if you exercise regularly. In other words, even if you're fairly physically active, riding your bike to work or hitting the gym four or five days a week -- you may still succumb to the effects of too much sitting if the majority of your day is spent behind a desk. According to the authors:

"Even if people meet the current recommendation of 30 minutes of physical activity on most days each week, there may be significant adverse metabolic and health effects from prolonged sitting -- the activity that dominates most people's remaining 'non-exercise' waking hours."

What I Now Do to Interrupt My Sitting

Dr. Vernikos’ groundbreaking research into the health effects of anti-gravity situations may actually be among the most practical, as she has been able to determine what it is about uninterrupted sitting that robs you of your health, and what kind of movements will counteract this damage—and how much of it is required to make a difference. In essence, sitting prevents your body from interacting with and exerting itself against gravity. While not nearly as severe as the antigravity experienced by astronauts, uninterrupted sitting mimics a microgravity situation, which has the effect of accelerating the aging process. 

Thankfully, Dr. Vernikos’ research shows that simply standing up, about 35 times a day or so, will counteract the cardiovascular health risks associated with uninterrupted sitting. This is based on double-blind research where volunteers would spend four days in bed to induce detrimental changes. She then tested two groups to see which was more effective, walking or standing, and how long you would have to walk, or how many times you’d have to stand up to get better again. Her findings revealed that:

• Standing up once every hour was more effective than walking on a treadmill for 15 minutes for cardiovascular and metabolic changes.
• Sitting down and standing up repeatedly for 32 minutes does NOT have the same effect as standing up once, 32 times over the course of a day. To get the benefit, the stimulus must be spread throughout the day.

After reading Dr. Vernikos’ book, Sitting Kills, Moving Heals, I was inspired to give some serious attention to this because even though I perform a lot of structured exercise, including high intensity interval training, I was guilty of sitting down a vast majority of the rest of the day. So what I’ve done is this: I found an online timer and set it to go off every 10 minutes. When it goes off, I stand up and do one of the following:

• Four jump squats. (I thought of this after looking at a table of different activities that increase your exposure to gravity in her book. One of them was jumping up and down, which gets you up to six times gravity. Squatting is an extension of standing, so if you squat and stand, you can get the maximum benefit of working against the force of gravity. By adding jumping to it—going from a squat to a jump, landing into a squat again—you end up with about 6.5 Gs)
• Stand up really slow and sit really slow five times doing a Foundation posture, or
• Four or five one legged squats, alternating legs each period and for the third round, squatting with both legs. This will also go a long way towards building your leg strength and costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time

Sedentary Lifestyle Linked to More Harmful Body Fat

Your level of day-to-day activity also influences the type of fat your body accumulates, with more sedentary lifestyles being linked to higher levels of “white fat”—a type of fat that is less metabolically active than so-called “brown fat.” Brown fat is a heat-generating type of fat that burns energy instead of storing it, and this may have important implications when it comes to weight management. Previous research has shown that certain groups of people tend to have more brown fat than others, and there are direct correlations between the activation of brown fat and metabolic measures of good health.
For example:

• Slender people have more brown fat than obese people do
• Younger people have more brown fat than elderly people, and
• People with normal blood sugar levels have more brown fat than those with high blood sugar

Exercise, it turns out, helps transform white fat into healthier brown fat. Both mice and men participating in a recent study were found to respond to intense exercise in this way. As reported by Medical News Today⁷:

“The exercise regime had the men training on an exercise bicycle for 12 weeks and the mice running on an exercise wheel for 11 days. Compared to the original white fat caused by sedentary behavior, the new, browner fat, was much more metabolically active... Kristin Stanford, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, said: '... It's clear that when fat gets trained, it becomes browner and more metabolically active. We think there are factors being released into the bloodstream from the healthier fat that are working on other tissues.'  

... Stanford says the findings provide even more motivation to go out and start exercising. Even if you don't lost weight, the study suggests that exercising will still train your fat to be more metabolically active and improve overall metabolism and health.”

Keeping Active for Life

Avoiding sitting for long periods of time may at first seem “impossible” if you commute to a fulltime desk job, but really, all you need to do is alter the way you work and travel in small ways. For example, standing up every 10 minutes or so could easily compensate for the majority of the damage associated with sitting. Simply reorganizing your office space to be less convenient, forcing yourself to repeatedly get out of your chair, can help you build more physical movement into your workday. 

It’s important to realize that while modern technology has ushered in an era of previously unfathomed speed, connectivity and productivity, it comes at a big price if you’re not careful about counteracting factors such as increased physical inactivity. The answer is quite simply to revert back to a lifestyle that incorporates natural movement, even if you have to devise “ploys” like moving your printer to the other side of the room, instead of having it on your desk within easy reach. 

It’s becoming increasingly clear that your body needs perpetual movement in order to function optimally, and this includes both non-exercise movements, and a more regimented exercise plan. In the case of the latter, exercises in which you use your body the way it was designed to be used is quite clearly the most powerful way to optimize your health and fitness. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is an example of this. 

This type of Peak Fitness exercise mimics the way ancient hunter-gatherers used their bodies, and research has again and again confirmed that HIIT outperforms traditional aerobic cardio exercise. That said, I believe it’s important to include a variety of exercises, as doing the same ones all the time will lead to a relative tolerance and will not provide your body with the variety of stresses it needs to continuously adapt, improve, and grow stronger. Four additional types that will turn your Peak Fitness regimen into a truly comprehensive exercise plan are:

1. Aerobic
2. Strength Training
3. Core Exercises (including Pilates, yoga, and/or Foundation Training)
4. Stretching

Source:  http://dld.bz/cHS3m



Fat-Boosting Gene Mystery 'Solved'

The mystery of a genetic flaw which greatly increases the risk of obesity in one in six people has been solved by an international group of scientists.

A version of an obesity gene, called FTO, had been linked to a bigger belly, but the reason why was uncertain.

A study, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, showed it made fatty foods more tempting and altered levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin.

Obesity experts said drugs targeting ghrelin might reduce weight gain.

There is a strong family link with obesity, and a person's genetic code is thought to play a major role in the risk of them becoming overweight.

People have two copies of the FTO gene - one from each parent - and each copy comes in a high and a low-risk form. Those with two-high risk copies of the FTO gene are thought to be 70% more likely to become obese than those with low-risk genes.

But no-one knew why.

Hormonal

A team, led by researchers at University College London, tested two groups of men. All were a normal weight, but one group had the high-risk FTO genes and the other was low risk.

The first tests looked at levels of the hormone ghrelin either side of a meal in 10 men from each group.

Levels of the hormone, which makes people hungry, did not fall as far in the high-risk patients after the meal. Their ghrelin levels also began to climb more quickly.

In separate tests, a series of brain scans after a meal showed further differences between the two groups. Men with the high-risk genes found pictures of high-fat foods more appealing than the low-risk men.

Dr Rachel Batterham, the head of the centre for obesity research at University College London, told the BBC News website: "Their brain is set up to be particularly interested in anything to do with high-calorie food."

She said they were "biologically programmed to eat more".

Help?

Dr Batterham said understanding how FTO affected the odds of becoming overweight would help patients.

She said exercise such as cycling was an excellent way to lower ghrelin levels and there was a significant amount of research from pharmaceutical companies working on the hormone.

She added: "Also protein meals do lower ghrelin more, so anything that suppresses ghrelin is more likely to be effective in FTO patients."

The FTO mutations were probably life-saving at one point in human history when piling on the pounds in the summer would help people survive the winter.

Commenting on the findings, Prof Steve Bloom, from Imperial College London, said: "We know the tendency to overeat in a society with too much food and no need for exercise is inherited.

"Slowly we are discovering the factors which make us overweight and this study, encompassing not only demonstration of a higher level of hunger hormone, ghrelin, but also changes in the brain associated with ghrelin's action, is an important step forward."

The study was funded by the Rosetrees Trust and the Medical Research Council.

Source: http://dld.bz/cHPuu

5 Simple Swaps to Make Your Summer a Little Bit Healthier

Summer days are filled with relaxing moments with friends and family — which can often mean hours-long meals, frozen treats, and sugary drinks. Try one or two of these simple swaps this week to make sure you don't ruin the fun by stressing over a few extra calories.

1. Ice cream treat: A stop at your favorite ice cream parlor is a worthy treat on hot days, but if you're not careful it can become a daily habit. Stock up on one of these portioned frozen yogurt treats instead — at many under 100 calories each, you can calm cravings without reaching for the cone.
2. Cocktail hour: It's hard to resist an evening of drinks on the patio, but those glasses of sangria can add up, calorie wise. Remember to savor each glass slowly and choose a lower-calorie spirit to imbibe. Get more tips for saving on happy hour here.
3. Picnic in the park: A picnic spread is like a never-ending buffet of fried, creamy, or sugary foods ready for you to enjoy. Make a few of these healthy picnic recipes to take along with you to ensure you've got options when that second helping of fried chicken is calling your name.
4. Iced coffee break: It's too hot, and you need something frosty to wake you up. While an occasional Frappuccino can be a great treat, making your iced coffee break a daily habit can set you back thousands of calories. Cut the calories by more than half by opting for light options, nonfat milk, or a smoothie instead. Here are the healthiest iced Starbucks drinks to order instead of the Frappuccino.
5. A BBQ every week: Your social calendar is filled with backyard Summer parties, which can mean lots of hamburgers, hot dogs, and chips and dip in the foreseeable future. Navigate those weekend barbecues by swapping that sausage for grilled shrimp and veggies, cutting down on the condiments, and bringing your own healthy dip. Get over 40 more healthy grilling tips and tricks here!

Source: http://dld.bz/cHMdF

Facial Fitness

 

PONDS

In the same way that you can tone up your legs with a good run or lift weights to zap flabby arms, you can use facial exercising to benefit your face tone. Aside from stimulating your facial skin’s circulation, a good facial workout can also tighten up the underlying muscles to help create a taut, more youthful appearance.

Easy and quick facial exercises

The brow smoother
Diminish the appearance of hooding on your upper eyelids with this easy brow smoothing exercise. To begin, spread your fingers across the centre of your forehead. Next, pull your fingertips down while lifting up your eyebrows. Do this for a count of 30 seconds three times a day.

The cheek sculptor
To lift and tone the facial muscles that give shape to your cheeks simply place an index finger on the top of each cheek bone. Now smile so that your cheeks lift up while pulling your top lip flat against your teeth, making sure your top and lower lips are kept far apart. Repeat and release 20 times in a row. Repeat three times a day.

The jaw toner
Want to prevent a sagging jaw line and create a bit more definition to avoid a double-chin? Open your mouth and curl your lower lip over your bottom teeth. Slowly open and close your mouth five times. Perform this exercise three times a day.

The turkey neck buster
Stick your tongue out as far as it can go and curl it upwards as though you’re trying to touch your nose. Hold this pose for 10 seconds and then repeat, but this time try and touch your chin. Repeat this exercise 10 times. You know the drill; perform three times a day.

The glow booster
When you apply your moisturiser at night, gently massage it into your face with both your hands using broad, even strokes. This will help stimulate blood flow to your skin to give you a healthy-looking glow and assist with better product penetration.

Got it? With a little dedication, facial exercise enthusiasts believe you can start to see a difference in your face in as little as a week, so happy facercising!

Source: http://dld.bz/cGnka

Medicate Yourself With Food!

 

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One of the biggest topics in the health and wellness world right now is using food as medicine. We often look for the quick fix to our health issues rather than looking at the real issue. Popping a pill for high cholesterol while eating a big mac isn’t going to solve the long-term problem. If you want to be healthy you have to give your body the right fuel. You wouldn’t put petrol in a diesel car because you know it would ruin the engine. So it makes sense that when we continue to put harmful foods in our bodies we eventually feel and look like what we eat.

Many think of fruits and veggies as a way to eat ourselves thin when we should really start looking at what these foods can do for our bodies other than being a solution to dropping those last couple of pounds. Revising the way you eat can absolutely turn your health around. Start looking at that salad as a way to nourish and heal your body and you’ll not only start feeling great, but you may just feel tempted to pull those skinny jeans out of your closet that you’ve beenhiding for so long!

Stash these Foods in Your Medicine Cabinet!
Berries
We love berries! Full of vitamins and minerals, loaded with fiber (to keep you full!) and vitamin C, berries are essential in your refrigerator. They have zero fat and are the lowest carbohydrate of any fruit. Research shows that berries are proven to slow down the aging process, boost immunity, and can help protect against certain types of cancers. Blueberries have the highest level of antioxidants helping to protect cells from free radicals. Blackberries cultivate a strong immune system, fighting off symptoms of the common cold.

Yogurt
Not only will you reap the benefits of protein and calcium, but also yogurt has key minerals that help fight osteoporosis. Yogurt is a perfect snack for diabetics and everyone else because it can help maintain blood sugar levels. Try topping some low fat Greek yogurt with berries of your choice and you’ve got yourself a snack filled with benefits!

Spinach
While you should try and incorporate a variety of leafy greens in your diet to reap the most benefits, spinach has been shown to protect against chronic disease such as heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer. If salads aren’t your cup of tea try adding a handful of this disease fighting leaf into a smoothie. You wont taste a thingexcept deliciousness!

Beans and Legumes
Loaded with phytochemicals, folic acid, fiber, iron, magnesium and many other great health benefits, beans are inexpensive and great to add to a meal for a low calorie vegetarian option. Beans and legumes can help reduce the risk of cancer, lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels. They can also help stabilize blood sugar. There’s no reason not to fill up on these little guys!

Eggs
Eggs are packed with high protein, and are a great source of carotenoids, choline, and xeanthin. Choline is an essential nutrient, especially for women who are pregnant. They also promote eye health and prevent macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in many older people. We give eggs a thumbs up here!

Salmon
This fish has healthy and nutritious omega-3 fatty acids that can help lower blood fats and prevent blood clots associated with heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fish (especially fatty fish) at least twice a week. Salmon or other fatty fish such as tuna can reduce the potential intake of saturated fat from other higher fat food!

Source: http://dld.bz/cGnjy

Eat Fresh!

Eating more foods as close to their natural state as possible may help keep your skin looking its best for longer.

 

PONDS

Eating more foods as close to their natural state as possible may help keep your skin looking its best for longer.

Anyone who’s embraced some type of raw food diet will be the first to tell you it’s improved their health in leaps and bounds and many medical doctors agree. Choosing food that’s fresh and in its natural state is a great way to ensure you get the maximum nutritional value out of each and every bite. This is because a lot of the time, cooking and processing food ends up destroying its nutrients.

It’s also good for skin
In short, getting lots of vitamins and minerals in your diet will always be good for your health as well as your skin. If you’re consciously eating as many raw foods as possible, or choosing raw items over processed, nutrient devoid items, you’re definitely going to improve the intake of nutrients needed for healthy skin. Collagen-encouraging antioxidant vitamins like A, C and E and minerals like zinc are essential to your skin’s reparative process.

The list of celebrities who’ve embraced raw food diets or try to eat as much raw food as possible is endless and includes big names like Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Alicia Silverstone, Madonna, Angela Basset and Susan Sarandon. You’d have to agree, they’ve all got amazing, glowing skin.

Eat consciously
Now we’re not saying you should convert to a serious raw food diet and turn up your nose at cake for the rest of your life. What we’re suggesting is that next time you’re faced with choosing a snack, you consider picking up a handful of antioxidant-rich berries or vitamin-packed nuts in place of a fatty pie or a packet of chips that have low nutritional value. You may find that increasing the amount of raw, fresh food that you consume sees you drop a dress size and enjoy more radiant-looking skin.

Glow baby glow
Aside from eating well, there are other ways to assist in getting a beautiful, radiant-looking complexion and one of them is to invest in a good exfoliator, something like POND’S Perfect Colour Complex Naturals gentle exfoliating facial foam. This will help remove any old, dead skin that lies on the surface of your face and dulls your complexion.

Another good reason to regularly exfoliate is that when your skin isn’t clogged with old surface cells it’ll have an easier time absorbing the beneficial ingredients in your skincare products. One product that’ll go a long way to helping you get that ‘glow’ is POND’S Flawless Radiance anti-spot intensive even tone serum. Just a few drops every day will help prevent pigmentation before it appears and give your skin a bright, new luminous look.

Source: http://dld.bz/cGngb

Putting Sports To The Test

When it comes to regular exercise, being able to chart your progress is essential – tracking improvements in your fitness can make a massive difference in staying motivated and achieving your goals. But losing sight of how much – or little – you’re doing is all too easy.That’s where the Nike+ FuelBand comes in, monitoring your every move and the rate of activity to see how many calories you’ve burned, how far you’ve travelled and how much NikeFuel (a universal metric of activity) you’ve earned. And like a personal trainer, it tells you when to make that extra bit of effort and when to celebrate your achieved goals.

Simple insights

I’ve often been put off by the sea of fitness apps and gadgets out there that overload you with stats, facts and data without ever really offering much insight into what you’re doing, and how well you’re doing it. Thankfully, the Nike + FuelBand keeps things simple but informative, breaking down your daily activity into digestible bits of data while showing how close you are to achieving set goals via a coloured bar that builds from red to green.

And because the Nike+ FuelBand measures all types of exercise in the same way, it’s easy and accurate to compare the sports and activities you’re doing, from running and rowing to basketball and tennis.

Running still streets ahead

Out of all the various sports and activities I dabble in, I’ve always assumed running to be miles ahead in terms of calorie-busting exercise as it requires continuous movement for long periods of time. The Nike+ FuelBand certainly backed this up - a 25-minute, five kilometre run burned over 300 calories more than nearly 4,000 steps, generating just under 900 NikeFuel points.

When comparing this with a game of basketball, for instance, I had to spend nearly an hour on the court to achieve similar results. No real surprises here, perhaps, but just wearing the Nike+ FuelBand during the game proved it wasn’t only a great piece of technology but a fantastic motivator too, spurring me on to work that little bit harder to meet my NikeFuel goal.

Surprise calorie-burner

The biggest surprise came when I picked up a tennis racquet. I didn’t believe that knocking a ball around for an hour could really stand up to running’s impressive stats but after just 25 minutes I’d burned over 200 calories, amassed close to 750 NikeFuel points and clocked up nearly 1,000 steps, giving time on the treadmill a real run for its money. Not bad when you consider how small the playing surface of a tennis court is.

The verdict

While running is clearly king when it comes to getting the most amount of exercise in the shortest possible time, using the Nike+ FuelBand has definitely made me reconsider the importance I place on it over other sports and activities. An hour of tennis, for instance, not only offers a similarly impressive workout but it’s a much more social activity and one I’ll be looking to do more of.

Even over the course of a few days the Nike+ FuelBand has proved to be something of a lifestyle-changer as well as a smart exercise tool. Just having something telling me how active I am each day is a surprisingly effective motivator, helping me to not only have a better handle on my fitness but to make concerted changes to boost my daily count of NikeFuel points.

Source: http://dld.bz/cFGdY

The 4 BEST Foods to Eat Before Bed (And The 5 WORST)

When it comes to eating before bed, it's pretty simple:
 Eat the perfect night-time fat-burning foods and AVOID disastrous night-time fat-storing foods.

FREE REPORT that reveals which foods to eat and those you MUST avoid.

Download it for FREE in 2 seconds here: http://dld.bz/cFnuB
 

27-Stone Mother Who Was Terrified of Going Abroad in Case She Got Stuck in a Plane Seat Loses 16 STONE And Ten Dress Sizes

• Sue Thompson, 40, dropped from an obese 27 stone, to a healthy 11 stone.
• She shrank from a size 32 to a size 12 by adopting a healthy eating regime.
• She was motivated by the fear that she was an embarrassment to husband, Shaun, and daughter, Jessica-Ray.

A mother-of-one who was terrified of getting stuck in an aeroplane seat has been crowned this year’s Slimming World Slimmer of the Year after losing 16 stone.

Sue Thompson, 40, was so afraid of getting her 27-stone frame stuck in an aeroplane seat that she spent years avoiding her family’s requests for a foreign holiday.

However, Mrs Thompson, who dropped ten dress sizes to weigh a healthy 11 stone, can now jet off on her first holiday with husband, Shaun, and daughter, Jessica-Ray, 15.

Sue Thompson, 40, shrank from an obese 27 stone to a healthy 11 stone. She also dropped ten dress sizes to go from a size 32 to a size 12. She has been crowned Slimming World's Slimmer of the Year

She was so heavy (left) that she once cracked a sunbed but she says that when she was younger she was not worried about her weight and that embarrassing events like this did not motivate her to lose weight (right)

 

Mrs Thompson, who left her job to work for Slimming World as a regional advisor, said that she had lived with being large her whole life but had never felt any worse for it, despite her weight often leading to some embarrassing situations.

She said: ‘I knew I wasn’t one of the skinny girls at school but it never affected me when it came to friends or boyfriends and I wasn’t bullied or anything like that.

‘As I got older I started to gain more weight but even embarrassing situations, like the time I cracked a sunbed at a tanning salon, didn’t motivate me to lose weight. 

 

‘It changed when I had Jess, I hated the idea that I might be an embarrassment to her or Shaun.

 

‘They never said anything and I know they loved me whatever my size but I always worried about how my weight impacted on them.’

Mrs Thompson, from Durham, spent years making excuses not to attend social occasions because she was afraid of embarrassing her husband, and avoided parents' evenings in case other mothers thought she was a bad parent.

Mrs Thompson says she was motivated to lose weight by the birth of her daughter, Jessica Ray, 15. She was so embarrassed by her weight that she avoided parents' evenings for fear people would think her a bad mother

 

Mrs Thompson says that she does not consider herself to be on a diet now - she just ditched the takeaways and only eats fresh, home-cooked food

 

A turning point came when she realised her size also had implications for her long-term health and dying prematurely became a real concern.

She said: ‘I’d sort of accepted that being overweight was my fate. I genuinely believed that my weight would be what killed me – which is scary looking back now because I was only 37.

‘I used to go to bed at night and wonder if that might be the night I didn’t wake up.’

As a result, Mrs Thompson joined a slimming club in March 2010 in a bid to lose weight and save her life.

She said: ‘I was totally embarrassed. I was terrified I’d be too big for the scales and even made my friend check with the consultant first, and I worried I’d be the biggest person there.

‘I probably was the biggest but it didn’t matter, everyone was different shapes and sizes but we were all in the same boat and in it together.’

Mrs Thompson used to be too afraid of getting stuck in an aeroplane seat to go on foreign holidays. She is now looking forward to taking her daughter, Jessica-Ray (left), on the family's first trip abroad

 

Mrs Thompson was worried that her weight would eventually kill her. She feared that one night she would go to sleep and not wake up so she felt that she needed to join a slimming club to save her own life
 

Mrs Thompson ditched the takeaways and ate only fresh food cooked at home. She said: ‘I always say I’m not on a diet, I just eat healthily now.

‘I’ve got a completely different relationship with food. It used to be a battle, but now I know how to eat healthily and that I can still have treats if I want them so there’s nothing to fight anymore.

‘If I want a treat I have it, but I’ve found that a lot of the time you only want it because you think you can’t or shouldn’t have it.’

Mrs Thompson lost 10st in 12 months and was 15st lighter by the time her 40th birthday came around in October 2012.

Her weight fell from 27st 8lb to 11st 5½lb and her dress size shrank from 32 to a 12.

 

Mrs Thompson says that when she attended her first Slimming World Class she was terrified she would be the heaviest person there and that she would break the scales

She said that losing the weight has completely changed her life.

‘People often don’t recognise me and say that I look like a new person, I feel like one too. At T in the Park someone even described me as a cougar, I couldn’t believe they meant me!

‘Three years ago I never dreamed that I’d be able to lose the weight, so it’s hard to believe I’m not only half the size I was but that I have a whole new career and so much to look forward to.

‘Life really has begun at 40 for me and I can’t wait to get stuck in! When I went to bed I used to worry whether I’d wake up or not, now I find it hard to sleep because I’m thinking about all of the exciting things I’ve got planned.

‘And winning Consultant Slimmer of the Year 2013 is just the icing on the cake!’

Source: http://dld.bz/cE6yw

 

4 Key Strategies For Killing Food Cravings

When you're constantly hungry, it makes choosing the right foods at the right times really challenging.

Staying full and energized while eating fewer calories—that’s the secret to long-term fat loss success.

Here are 4 key strategies for feeling satisfied after a healthy meal and staying full longer. You'll not only have a lot more energy, you'll crave (and eat) less later. . .

1. Eat your water. Yes, eat. Drinking water is great, and you should throughout the day, but it doesn't provide the same level of feeling satisfied as when you eat foods high in water.

There is a separate mechanism in the brain that controls hunger and thirst. If the food you eat contains water, it will stay in the stomach longer while it's being digested.

PLUS, foods high in water are naturally very low in calories – making them ideal for fat loss.

Many fruits and vegetables contain 90 – 98 percent water! The following are some of the most hydrating foods. . .

- Watermelon contains 92% water and electrolytes, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium – all of which (positively) influence your metabolism!

- Grapefruit contains only 30 calories and is comprised of 90% water!

- Cucumbers are 96% water and contain just 14 calories in an entire cup!

- Cantaloupe is 89% water and contains only 27 calories per 1/2 cup!

- Strawberries contain just 23 calories per 1/2 cup and are made up of approximately 92% water. Plus, strawberries rank as the 4th strongest antioxidant-rich fruit!

- Broccoli contains 90% water and anti-cancer nutrients that help to detoxify the vast number of potential toxins that we encounter each day. Plus, it's a great source of fiber!

You may have noticed that these water-dense foods are all carbs. Because they’re natural (and not processed), I’d suggest the portion being about the size of your fist. So, a small grapefruit or a cup of
sliced strawberries, for example, would work well.

2. Fill up on fiber. Fiber is critical to fat loss in several ways: first, fiber contains only 1.5 to 2.5 calories per gram, while other carbs contain 4 calories per gram (fat contains 9 calories per gram).
Essentially, you can pile your plate with plenty of high-fiber foods without worrying about caloric-overload.

In addition to being low-calorie, high-fiber foods are more filling. Fiber is absorbed by our bodies more slowly than other foods, which means we feel full longer.

Foods high in fiber are fruits and vegetables, beans, lentils, legumes, and natural whole grains. Aim for at least 25-35 grams each day to help reduce your caloric intake and keep you feeling full and
energized longer.
3. Include protein at every meal. A meal with carbs alone causes blood sugar spikes and crashes, which leave you feeling tired, hungry, and weak. Protein helps slow this from happening, so that the carbs you eat aren’t converted to body fat, and allows for energy to be released slowly.

Great protein sources are lean meats, fish, lowfat dairy, legumes, and unprocessed soy products.

Your choice of protein should be approximately the size of your palm. For example, a medium-sized chicken breast.

4. Don't leave out healthy fat. Since fat is so calorie-dense, it's important that you eat it in moderation . . . BUT in small amounts, it provides flavor and has a positive impact on slowing insulin
response, like protein.

My favorite healthy fat source are nuts and seeds because they are also a great source of protein and fiber. Other excellent fat sources are avocados, olives, and fatty fish (e.g., salmon).

The fat source you choose should be about the size of your thumb. This is about 5 almonds for the average-sized woman or 7 almonds for the average man.

Putting this into Action

 Now that you know which foods keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout the day, here are some great ideas that combine them all together for one super fat-burning snack or meal:

1. Stir in a little peanut butter (healthy fat) and protein powder (protein) into oatmeal (fiber), topped with strawberries (water).

2. Dip cucumbers (water) in hummus (fiber and healthy fat) and cottage cheese (protein).

3. Marinate broccoli (water and fiber) and boneless, skinless chicken breast (protein) in a little olive oil (healthy fat) and balsamic vinegar and wrap it in aluminum foil on the BBQ.

4. A bowl of Greek yogurt (protein) with pieces of watermelon (water), topped with flaxseeds (fiber and healthy fat). These meals will make you FEEL completely different.

Your mood and energy will stabilize. You won't have that gnawing, dissatisfied feeling anymore.

You'll feel a lot more self-control when it comes to what you eat and when you eat it.

How To Lose Stomach Fat in 10 Days With Ab Exercises (NO Equipment Needed)...!

Why not try this and see if it can help you get a flatter belly...

 

 

Lots of other people have seen great results with this.

 

STOP Eating These Foods (Eat THESE Instead)!

If you ever want to get a flat belly fast, then you must STOP eating fat-storing foods, and replace them with fat-burning foods.

The problem is, many "healthy" foods are anything but and are a total scam...and there's also a TON of misinformation about which foods are truly unhealthy and which foods actually BURN fat.

For example, saturated fat can be a HUGE fat burner, and many foods marketed as healthy are some of the WORST foods for your waistline.

My buddy Nick P. just wrote an extremely REVEALING article about all this, and I'm strongly encouraging all of my subscribers to read it immediately:
STOP eating these foods (eat THESE instead)

In the article he reveals the truth about which foods truly burn fat, which "unhealthy" foods are actually HUGE fat burners, and which so-called "healthy" foods you absolutely must avoid to get a flat belly fast.

Read the article here right now: STOP eating these foods (eat THESE instead)

Beach body countdown: how to get in shape for summer

With holiday season upon us, we've enlisted the experts to help you achieve your summer body goals...

 

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© Micah Camara, http://bit.ly/ZhVqjk, CC BY-NC-ND

According to the experts at The Dukan Diet HQ, today - 23rd May - is the day people finally get serious about their beach body countdown, as it's exactly two months until most people head off on their summer holiday.

Worried that there isn’t enough time to shed pounds and develop a lean, gorgeous physique worthy of even the skimpiest bikini? Fear not.

With hard work and determination, it can be done - or so say the experts. All that’s needed is a few adjustments to your diet and workout programme. We asked a group of leading nutritionists and personal trainers for their indispensable rules on getting fit for summer – you'll find their top tips below.

Let the beach body countdown commence...

Eat fat-burning foods

The more muscle you have on your body, the faster your metabolism. Most of us are aware of this rule, but did you also know that the foods you eat also give your metabolic rate a kick?

Nutrition Consultant Claire Harper (thenutritionguide.co.uk), says: “Foods to burn fat are those that raise metabolism, such as seaweed and kelp which contain iodine, an important mineral for the thyroid gland, which controls our metabolic rate.

"Also, eat foods that open blood vessels, delivering energy and nutrients to the cells; green tea, chilli and ginger. "Lean meat is also helpful for two reasons: it takes more energy to digest meat than carbs and also meat helps us build muscle, meaning you burn more calories at rest.”

Rex Features

Raise the intensity

Slow, boring runs round your favourite running track may keep your fitness ticking over, but it will do little to help you shred fat and fit into your bikini. To really tone up, you need to do faster, more intense sessions.

Personal trainer Jacob Nadav says: “Focus on high tension resistance exercise (either heavy weights or slow bodyweight exercises), followed by High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and then by 15 minutes of steady cardio. HIIT is very effective for two reasons: the rapid increase and heart rate and blood pressure forces the body to work anaerobically for short bursts of time and can help break down fat and prepare it to be burned. Secondly, the heart rate slows down faster than blood pressure after every sprint, forcing a situation where the heart pushes a lot of blood with less contractions, effectively making the heart muscle stronger.”

Cut down on the carbs

In fact, refined carbs (white pasta, bread, rice) should go completely. Nadav puts it in simple terms: “Any diet with too many carbs will make it harder to lose weight.” Next!

Roberta R via Flickr

© Roberta R, http://bit.ly/123tp0K, CC BY-NC-ND

Don’t think you don’t have enough time

Summer is just around the corner, but don’t let that be your excuse for not trying.

Trainer and fat loss expert Gavin Walsh (walshthefataway.com) says: “For someone who is committed to the cause, two months is certainly plenty of time. Although, it really depends on what sort of shape and weight loss we’re talking about to be beach ready.

"I’ve trained people who have lose over 20 pounds in four weeks just with body weight exercises and a diet that avoids processed food, wheat, refined sugar, dairy, caffeine and alcohol. It’s not easy, but if someone is really serious about making a change, then they have plenty of time.”

Don’t obsess over calories...

Instead of getting your calculator out, instead consider whether you are eating the right kind of fuel.
Nadav says: “I’m not a firm believer in the calories in, calories out theory – our body is slightly more complex than that. The general diet advice would be more to focus on a good diet of unprocessed foods with a high ratio of protein and fats.”

...and don't fret about how often you hit the gym

It’s quality, not quantity, after all. And never overlook the fact that, regardless of how hard you train, you won’t shift any pounds unless your diet is in good shape.

Walsh says: “How often you train all depends on what shape you are or how much weight you want to lose. If someone only has seven pounds or so to lose then they would be able to get away with training just a few times a week.

"However, if a person has a stone or more to lose then I’d recommend 4-5 times a week, three tough sessions and two lighter recovery sessions.

" I do have to point out that training more won’t help necessarily if you haven’t changed your diet. To get the best results possible you’ve got to do both and, in all honesty, what you eat is more important than how many times you train.”

Rex Features

Crunches aren’t the answer!

Jessica Alba has been flashing off her washboard abs a lot lately, and naturally you’ll need to do endless crunches and sit-ups to get your own set, right? Wrong!

Walsh explains: “It’s a common misconception that doing sit-ups will cut through belly fat to reveal a finely-tuned six-pack.

"Unfortunately, losing belly fat doesn’t work this way. If you’ve still got a large layer of fat over the top you won’t see them.

"To really take a step forward you need to do some form of resistance training, whether that is in the gym or at home with dumbbells or barbells. Interval training also works well in terms of burning extra calories and elevating your metabolism for several hours after a workout.”

Eat clean for a month

‘Clean’ eating is the new thing – but don’t mistake it for a fad.

Walsh explains: “I recommend cutting out wheat, processed foods, alcohol, caffeine and dairy for four weeks and then accessing the results so far. This is known as clean eating and gives your body a detox that allows your hormones to get back on track.

"Think of it as resetting your hormones, so that they can help you find your natural bodyweight and shape. If your goal is to drop a considerable amount of weight it’s worthwhile calculating your calories maintenance level and reducing this by 20-30%. As you lose weight each week, this will need to be re-calculated as the maintenance level will drop with the weight loss.”

Do this workout...

Don’t forget, someone somewhere who is far busier than you is out working up a sweat, so don’t use time as an excuse. But if you’re really pushed, try incorporating the Tabata principle into your programme a few times a week.

Walsh says: “One of the easiest and most effective methods is to use Tabata. This involves exercising hard for 20 seconds followed up by a 10 second rest for a period of 4 minutes.

"You can change the exercises as and when you wish to but a good full body workout would look something like this: jumping jacks, squats, desk/table press-ups, lunges, plank and burpees.
"Rest one minute after each exercise and do as many reps as you can in each 20 second period. Trust me, it’s harder than it sounds.”

Source: http://style.uk.msn.com/health/beach-body-countdown-how-to-get-in-shape-for-summer

5 Exercises To Reduce Cellulite And Burn Fat Off Your Thighs And Butt

Several factors that contribute to the development of cellulite include gender, genetics, hormonal imbalances, fluid retention, diet choices, and the natural elasticity of the skin. Cellulite is the unsightly dimply appearance of the skin that is caused by deposits of fat cells accumulated in the connective tissue. Unlike other fat deposits within the body, cellulite tends to dimple and pucker the skin because it is just below the surface. Men rarely develop cellulite, yet it is thought that approximately 90% of women experience it to some degree. So what can we do, how can we get rid of cellulite?

Investing in expensive creams that claim to cure cellulite, or spending a ton of money for liposuction procedures are not the answers for getting rid of cellulite. There are several measures you can take to improve the appearance of cellulite or even banish it. The key factors that really work to improve cellulite are getting your hormones in balance by keeping estrogen levels down, improving blood circulation, reducing fluid retention, eliminating certain foods that contribute to cellulite, and eating the right foods that help to eliminate it. Exercise can also play an important role in helping to achieve a firmer, smoother look that will also improve the appearance of cellulite trouble spots. Here we discuss some helpful exercises to get rid of cellulite.

These exercises can be done in just 20 minutes per day , and are recommended three times per week. The targeted ares to work on include the stomach, hips, and thighs. Begin with a cardiovascular warm up for two minutes to get the blood pumping. This can include moderate paced walking stair climbing, or cycling either on an indoor machine or outdoors. Gradually pick up the pace and work at an increased intensity for approximately eight minutes, gradually slowing things downs for a two minute cool down.

Next, work on a little strength training by doing one set of repetitions with a weight that is not too heavy, but heavy enough to give the muscles a workout. Do each of the following exercises for ten to fifteen repetitions: the Dumbbell Squat, lunges, advanced step-up, Scissors Press, and the inner thigh squeeze. As your strength begins to increase over time, challenge yourself by holding the repetitions for a longer period of time.

It is important that after each type of strength training exercise, to then stretch out each muscle you just worked for a period of twenty seconds. Then, move onto the next strength training exercise. When you have completed each strength exercise, stretch out your body by doing the butterfly stretch when the entire exercise routine is completed.

Keep in mind that these exercises to get rid of cellulite will only go so far in helping to reduce the dimpled look of cellulite. Eating properly, maintaining a healthy weight, and working to improve circulation will all go a long way towards getting rid of cellulite. By learning more about how to get rid of cellulite, you can look forward to getting rid of that unwanted dimpling, and looking good and feeling good about yourself again. For more information, check out cellulitefactor.com.
                   

Breakfast: Your Secret Weapon

Start every day with a satisfying breakfast to help set you up and keep you feeling full until your next meal.

 

Eating breakfast could help you reduce snacking and avoid overeating later in the day. According to Professor G. Harvey Anderson, a specialist in Nutritional Sciences, there is evidence to suggest that breakfast eaters weigh less than people who skip breakfast.

Food is fuel

Eating breakfast is like filling up on an empty petrol tank. When you wake up in the morning, your body is low on fuel, like a car running on empty, explains diet expert Kathleen Zelman. The idea is to choose foods that will kick-start your engine by:

• Giving your body energy to run on.
  
• Possibly preventing you from overeating later in the day.

Not enough incentive? Try this food for thought: If you skip breakfast, you're often more inclined to make up for it the rest of the day, warns Zelman.

In fact, if you're a classic 'snacker', eating breakfast can help you avoid those impulse munchies. In fact, a 1992 study suggests that skipping breakfast can often result in eating more to 'make up for it' throughout the rest of the day.

"The ideal breakfast is based on carbohydrate and protein," says Anderson, who is currently researching the food combinations that make up the most satisfying meals. He believes that the most satisfying breakfasts work two ways, rapidly raising blood sugar levels for a quick burst of energy, followed by a longer term energy boost from high fibre, complex-carbohydrate, protein-containing foods that are more slowly digested.

Of course, if you love fresh fruit or sweet cereals, you can still include them in your breakfast. For example, you can mix a handful of your favourite cereal with a carton of low fat yogurt and some fruit, such as apricots or blackcurrants. If you have a blender, you can make delicious smoothies with fruit, such as bananas, and skimmed milk. Or how about:

• Grilled back bacon and tomato slices, on brown toast, half a bagel or a muffin.
  
• Delicious grilled kippers.
  
• Hard-boiled or scrambled eggs (or egg whites) with a couple of crispbreads.
  
• Low-fat yogurt.
  
• A banana and a small handful of peanuts or almonds.

No time for breakfast?

Excuse: I don't have time to make myself breakfast, so I have to eat croissants from the café or chocolate from the vending machine...

If you're in a rush in the morning, how about a packed breakfast? Try a hard boiled egg (make up a batch one evening while you're making dinner, cheese triangles or fresh fruit or those dinky little packets of raisins or dried apricots. And for those times when you really can't stop, keep a stash of Weight Watchers Snack Bars in your desk drawer or glove compartment.

Excuse: I just can't eat before 1pm.

You don't have to eat breakfast at the crack of dawn if you don't feel like it. As long as you eat within several hours of waking up you'll be fine and many people prefer 'elevenses' anyway. If you can't stomach much, try a few grapes, half a glass of fruit juice or a plain crispbread. After a few days, your body might naturally look forward to its morning wake-up call and you can try more substantial meals.

Excuse: I would like to eat breakfast but am afraid it will put my hunger into overdrive.

Don't worry about this - research suggests that the opposite is true. Many people experience less erratic eating patterns (like mid-afternoon and after-dinner munchies) when they eat several small snacks and meals throughout the day. There's more good news, according to Anderson. In addition to being slimmer, people who eat several small, nutritious meals are often healthier than those who eat one or two big meals per day.

Source: http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=4491&sc=3027

Top Tips For Eating Out!

Eating out may seem like a tricky proposition when you're trying to lose weight, but a night out doesn't have to mean a night off your plan.

 

Be prepared
If you're starving hungry when you get to the restaurant you're more likely to order an option that you may not otherwise. Have a bowl of zero ProPoints value soup to take the edge off your hunger before you head out.
If you're not familiar with the restaurant, look up their menu online before going out.
Remember you have your weekly ProPoints allowance of 49 for special occasions just like this!

Start off on the right foot
Order a bowl of soup before your meal — not a creamy soup, but a stock-based vegetable or French onion. It will be satisfying and can keep you from eating more than you planned.
Start with a side salad (minus bacon, cheese and croutons). Ask for low fat or fat free dressing or balsamic vinegar on the side; and be sure to dip your fork into the dressing, then into the salad.

Have it your way
Know what you want to eat before you get there and stick to that order.
Avoid anything fried.
Ask for dressings, sauces, butter and sour cream on the side, instead of on the dish itself.
Choose lighter fare like marinara sauce rather than Alfredo.
Order dishes containing plenty of Filling & Healthy foods. "Even if it's pizza, make it a slice loaded up with veggies," says one Community User. "Or a vegetable omelette instead of a cheese one, or fruit salad instead of pastry."
Adapt your order and ask for substitutions. "My favourite salad at my local cafe comes with fried chicken," says another Community User. "But I always request it with grilled chicken. I think it tastes better and it cuts down the ProPoints values."

Manage your size
If you're eating at a buffet, survey the food items before you put anything on your plate. Remind yourself that you're eating to be satisfied, not to get your money's worth.
If the portions are large, why not ask if you can get a smaller portion of the item you order. If not, ask for a takeaway box with the meal. Before you start to eat, put half the meal in the box.
Split your main course with the person you're with. If you have the impulse to finish everything on your plate, it's better to not have all that food in front of you.
If you know the portions are larger than you want to eat, order a starter as your main course. Source: http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=3&art_id=29341&sc=3030

Top 10 Cooking Basics

You don't have to be a domestic diva to be able to cook your own healthy, delicious meals. Follow our top 10 tips for kitchen success.

With our 10 basic tips for using the greatest kitchen techniques, you'll be well on your way to success.

Tip 1. Invest in a set of cookware that has a non-stick finish. This will enable you to prepare foods with little or no added fat. In addition, you'll want to pick up some cooking spray, so you can coat your cookware with it for even less sticking potential.

Tip 2. Prepare meat, poultry and fish using low fat cooking methods such as broiling, grilling and stir-frying. And remember that both fresh and frozen vegetables taste great either steamed or cooked in a microwave.

 

Tip 3. Marinate meat, poultry, and fish in low fat marinades such as salsa, teriyaki sauce, orange juice or Dijon mustard. Marinades add lots of flavour without the addition of fat.

Tip 4. Fresh or dried herbs are excellent substitutes for butter or oil; their addition only adds flavour to your recipes. Try adding dill to steamed carrots, saffron to brown rice, corriander to baked fish and ginger to stir-fried chicken.

Tip 5. Remove the skin from chicken or turkey before you cook it. This is a great way to ensure your choice of meat is lean and healthy.

Tip 6. Skim and discard fat from hot soups, stews, or chilies. Or chill the soup, stew, or chili and skim off the solid fat that forms at the top.

Tip 7. For most recipes, you can trim the amount of fat called for by 25 to 50 percent without affecting taste or quality. For example, substituting skimmed milk for whole milk in mashed potatoes still makes for creamy comfort food. You'll be surprised how delicious soups can be without cream, or how good your vegetable casserole tastes made with reduced fat cheese.

Tip 8. Add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg instead of sugar to fruit cups or beverages to help increase the sweetness.

Tip 9. Replace one-quarter to one-half of the ground meat or poultry in a casserole with cooked brown rice, or cooked and chopped dried beans. You'll cut back on fat and boost fibre.

Tip 10. Instead of flour, cornstarch or cream, try thickening sauces, gravy and stews with puréed potatoes.

Source: http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=45251&sc=3017

Fried Scorpions On California Restaurant Menu

A Californian restaurant is serving up stir-fried crickets, ants, scorpions and silk worm larvae on its menu.

http://video.uk.msn.com/?mkt=en-gb&vid=15c160b2-7727-49bc-b14f-3bbb6c0df883&from=sharepermalink&src=v5:share:sharepermalink:uuids

Ruby Tuesday's Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients:
5 oz. chicken breast
Italian Dressing
12 inch flour tortilla
margarine
1 cup shredded monterey jack/cheddar cheese
1 Tablespoon tomatoes, diced
1 Tablespoon jalapeno peppers, diced
Cajun Seasoning (to taste)
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
Sour Cream
Salsa

Place chicken breast in a bowl with enough Italian dressing to
coat; allow to marinate 30 minutes, refrigerated. Grill marinated
chicken until done in a lightly oiled pan. Cut into 3/4" pieces
and set aside.

Brush one side of tortilla with margarine and place in frying pan
over medium heat. On one half of tortilla, add cheese,
1 Tbls. tomatoes, peppers, and Cajun seasoning in that order. Make
sure to spread to the edge of the half. Top with diced chicken,
fold empty tortilla side on top, and flip over in pan so that
cheese is on top of chicken. Cook until very warm throughout.

Remove from pan to serving plate and cut into six equal wedges
on one side of plate. On the other side put lettuce, topped with
1/4 cup tomatoes, and then topped with sour cream. Serve your
favorite salsa in a small bowl on the side.
Source: http://www.recipesecrets.net/forums/recipe-exchange/7954-ruby-tuesdays-chicken-quesadillas.html