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There's nothing more satisfying than leaving behind a difficult year and looking ahead toward a fresh start. In fact, it's our love for new beginnings that make New Year's resolutions so popular every year.
People set resolutions related to all sorts of things, like finances, relationships, fitness, and healthy eating. But sometimes it can be difficult choosing a goal for yourself that you feel you'll be able to follow.
With this in mind, we decided to talk with the Eat This, Not That! Medical Expert Board to get their advice on the best food and healthy eating resolutions for 2022.
Here's what our board has to say about New Year's resolutions, and for more healthy eating tips, make sure to check out The 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now.
"My wish for you in 2022 is to start really practicing an attitude of addition rather than subtraction. Please fight off the desire to cut food out and embrace what you can add in! Seeds (chia, flax, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower), microgreens, spices, fermented foods are all underrated foods that have powerful nutrient profiles. Sprinkle seeds on your toast, top your sandwich with microgreens, try recipes with turmeric and ginger and throw some kimchi in your grain bowl. Your brain and gut will thank you."
Sydney Greene, MS, RD
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Say this next time you're enjoying a meal: "I am going to take the time to enjoy every bite of what I eat and enjoy the choices I consciously make. I am also going to stop dieting and find a healthy way of eating that will make sense for the rest of my life and allow me to enjoy eating."
Howard Grossman, MD
"My best food resolution is to worry less about what you should do with food and more about what food can do for you. Eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods can work wonders for your mind and body. This includes improving your gut microbiome, strengthening your immune system, boosting your mood, and fighting against chronic degenerative diseases. Stop micromanaging your food choices and instead, trust that food is your friend and an important aspect for well-being and longevity."
Lisa Moskovitz, RD, CDN, CEO of NY Nutrition Group
"You can make a grocery list, plan your meals ahead of time, and go shopping in your pantry first before going to the supermarket."
Chef Nik Fields
"When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I find that more approachable goals are more sustainable than completely giving up certain foods. Instead of a dry January, which can result in major binging in February thanks to complete deprivation, I like recommending a 'damp' January. Instead of giving up booze cold turkey, commit to having 1 to 2 drinks per week. Allowing those indulgences can make the journey much easier to stick to without feeling like you have to live without.
One simple resolution I like to suggest is taking a calcium and magnesium supplement before bedtime. Since many people are not meeting their calcium and magnesium goals, having the simple goal of taking this supplement pre-bedtime can help fill the gap while also possibly supporting quality sleep (thanks to the magnesium)."
Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN
"Think about what you can add to your eating plan as opposed to what you should take away. For example, by being positive, and focusing on adding more healthier produce, you may no longer even want junk food anymore. Add fruit for breakfast, greens with your lunch, and try a new roasted veggie for dinner. Consider the 'power of one,' which means yes, you can have dessert, and yes you can enjoy a starch. Just pick your favorite one and enjoy it rather than banning dessert altogether. When faced with an assortment, choose the one you like most, practice portion control, and enjoy it!"
Lisa Young, PhD, RDN
"So many people make strict goals for the new year, but the truth is, balanced goals that you can maintain over time are best! The 80/20 rule says 80% of the time focus on what you should be doing like eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fat. Then 20% of the time you can splurge a little and eat some of the foods that you shouldn't eat every day, but like to enjoy from time to time. The reality is, there will always be a vacation, happy hour, or celebration, so you have to learn to include those eating experiences into your eating plan without going overboard. The 80/20 rule can help you reach your goals and enjoy splurges from time to time."
Amy Goodson, MS, RD, CSSD, LD
"Oftentimes, folks put a lot of negative energy around avoiding foods or taking away 'bad' foods from their diet. Instead, I recommend putting a positive spin on food and making the New Year's resolution to enjoy and savor every meal, every snack, and every morsel of food that goes into your mouth."
Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, FAND
"This rule simply means that at each meal, you'll make sure to include either a red, orange, or green-colored fruit or vegetable. This way, you'll be making an effort to pick a beautifully colored food that will not only make your plate look more appealing, but will also help to make you feel satisfied with nutrient-packed wholesome, nutritious food that's rich in water, fiber, and anti-inflammatory compounds. Eating colorful produce helps to promote a healthy weight while assisting your body in staving off chronic diseases, like heart disease and diabetes. Meanwhile, concentrating on getting these colorful healthy foods on your plate will prevent you from focusing on the less healthy foods."
Tammy Lakatos Shames, RDN, CDN, CFT, and Lyssie Lakatos, RDN, CDN, CFT, also known as The Nutrition Twins.
"Every single person signing up for [my program] starts the conversation by saying 'I've tried this, this, this, and this diet and nothing works.' And that's because they don't! Or at least not for the long game. You might get a quick 30-day fix because you ate no carbs, only drank juices, or lived on cabbage soup.
But these things aren't healthy for your body and mind, and they're not sustainable. So I beg you, no more fad diets again! Talk to me or anyone else who can help get you still eating the good stuff and still living your life in a healthy and delicious way."
Melissa Pfeister, RD
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Best Food Resolutions You Can Make in 2022, According to Our Medical Experts Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That
(WETM)- With the new year just days away Americans look at this time to set goals and resolutionsmost commonly relating to fitness and dieting.
Heather Maio, owner of New York Sport and Fitness(NYSF) gives tips on how to be successful withthose healthand fitness resolutions.
She says, I think for both things, one of the things that people forget to do is to evaluate where they are right now.Sowe just set thesegoalsbut we dont take into consideration our current lifestyle, our current habits or current, you know, situations and things that may get in our way. Andsofor example, if my goal is to get to the gym five days a week, but I havent been to the gym in the past two years, that might not be that realistic.
That makes sense, so how do you make realistic goals? Maio says, youhave totake into accountwhat you like and where you currently arestartreallysmall, one, two, three tops like seriously no more than threethingsI can change right now.Sofor a lot of folks, if we just concentrate on okay, one meal a day, Imgonnamake sure I have areally niceserving of vegetables, and Im going to prioritize eating some animal protein. It seemsreally small, but those two things are hugelyimpactfuland it still leaves room for everything we really enjoy eating so we dont have that restricted Im on a diet type feeling.
For those of you who already maintain a pretty routine diet and fitness lifestyle, what sort of health and fitness goals can you set? Maio says, if you know that you have your strongpointsso somebody is alreadygettingto the gym. Okay, well, where could we maybe turn the value up on now a littlebit.My biggest tip for anybody iskeepeverything the same Monday through Sunday. So,dontset yourself up to feel the need to cheat or to feel the need to you know, wait until Thursday to have a treat that you like. Eat what you want all the time but lean into what we just talked about keeping the veggies keeping the animal protein and so try to keep everything nice and even. Thats where we see really,really coollong termresults.If you find yourself having trouble committing to your resolutions dont beat yourself up. Maio has a saying about failure
Heres the thing with failure,failure means you tried right, which is so incredibly cool.I truly believethatthe only real failure is if you do not try at all. And so,think about failure and reframe it. Its a failure. Its feedback. You learn what did not work.
Good luck in the new year with your resolutions!
Go here to read the rest:
Maintaining fitness and health resolutions in the new year - WETM - MyTwinTiers.com
The festive period usually involves a large amount of food, alcohol, and socialising.
As a result, January comes around and many of us put a huge amount of pressure on ourselves to lose weight and be 'healthy'.
For many, this is done by counting and restricting calories - the most popular fad diet around. Although this can work in the short-term, it can also have major unwanted side-effects and is difficult to maintain.
Here, Tamara Willner, a senior nutritionist with NHS-backed healthy eating plan Second Nature, explains why calorie counting just doesn't work as a long-term weight-loss solution, as she launches the company's #CancelCalorieCounting campaign.
She also shares other ways to reach your weight and health goals that don't involve obsessive counting or harsh deprivation - and six balanced, healthy diets for you to enjoy at home.
Here, Tamara Willner, a senior nutritionist with Second Nature, explains why calorie counting just doesn't work as a long-term weight-loss solution, as she launches the company's #CancelCalorieCounting campaign. She also shares meals you can eat to lose weight in a healthy, balanced way, like these mouth-watering Weekend Scrambled Eggs (pictured)
WHY EATING LESS DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK
Calorie-counting is a result of the myth that weight loss is as simple 'eat less and move more'.
By this line of thought, if we reduce the amount we put into our bodies and increase how much we use up, we'll lose weight.
The basic idea can work (in the short-term) but when considering something as complex and unique as our bodies response to foods, the science doesn't add up.
Not all calories are equal, for example, 100 calories of avocado vs 100 calories of biscuits, and the number of calories we actually absorb from foods varies greatly between individuals - it's rarely the number we see on the packets.
WHY 'GOOD' AND 'BAD' FOOD IS DAMAGING
Most of us who've tried dieting before have practised calorie-counting at some point in time.We might not even realise we're calorie counting if we're taking part in a traditional weight-loss programme.
Often programmes provide lists of foods that relate to 'points' or colours that attach moral value (e.g 'red' foods are bad) but these are usually all just based on calorie content.
Interestingly, according to the Second Nature survey of 1,000 people who currently calorie count or have calorie counted in the past, conducted by One Poll, 41 per cent think this language encourages a negative relationship with food.
If calorie-counting worked in the long term, we'd only need to try it once or twice and then we'd see our results and be able to sustain it.
Healthy and hearty: A bacon and bolotti bean stew recommended by Tamara (recipe below). She explained that the science of calorie counting does not work in the long term
WHY WE GET TRAPPED IN A VICIOUS CYCLE
A strict diet that focuses on calorie counting might work for some, but for the majority, it's a short-term solution and will fail at some point, leaving us where we started.
1) It promotes low-calorie foods rather than healthy foods
31 per cent of people surveyed by SecondNature.io say they struggle to eat healthy foods if they're high in calories. This means that weve moved away from thinking what would nourish my body to whats the lowest-calorie option. If we compare a sugary, ultra-processed (but low-calorie) cereal bar to a Ryvita cracker with avocado and cheese on top, the latter has more calories, but it also will keep us fuller for longer and provide our bodies with a variety of nutrients.
2) Its hard to keep up because we feel hungry
One-third of those surveyed would go to bed feeling hungry up to four times per week. When were scrimping on meals to save up calories for things we enjoy, like chocolate, were not providing our bodies with enough fuel, so its no wonder 46 per cent of us feel hungry while calorie-counting.
3) It can negatively impact our mental health and social lives
Any lifestyle changes should be things we can incorporate into our lives over time. Skipping social events, as 48 per cent admitted to doing while calorie-counting, isnt sustainable behaviour. This will only further fuel poor mental health and lead to us giving up. Second Nature enables you to make small changes you can keep up without sacrificing your happiness.
This is usually because calorie-counting results in a vicious cycle. We want to lose weight, so we cut our calories, which leads to some short-term results, but then we can't keep up this behaviour because we feel hungry and grumpy so we stop it, resulting in us regaining the weight and then some.
Once we're in this cycle of yo-yo dieting it can be very hard to break, and it can sometimes have a negative impact on our metabolism in the long term, leading to us storing fat more easily.
One of the main reasons we might struggle to keep up this behaviour is hunger.
In order to eat or drink the things we love, many of us cut down on our meals to 'balance' the calories, with 52 per cent cutting down meals to eat chocolate, 45 per cent for alcohol, and 40 per cent for biscuits.
As we're then reducing the number of whole foods with protein and healthy fats we're consuming, we're likely to feel hungry more often. Sadly, whilst calorie counting 33 per cent of us say we go to bed feeling hungry three to four times a week.
WHAT TO EAT INSTEAD...
Rather than restricting your diet this January, there are other ways to reach your weight loss goals and be able to sustain these in the long term.
At SecondNature.io, which was this year announced as one of the government's anti-obesity partners, the focus is on eating whole foods and meals that are naturally high in protein and healthy fats, which keep us fuller for longer.
Additionally, diet is one piece of the weight loss puzzle, so focusing on our stress, sleep, and movement helps us to make changes we can sustain.
It's also important you let yourself have the things you enjoy in moderation, and where possible make small swaps to reduce the number of refined carbohydrates you're consuming.
By doing so, you'll manage your blood sugar levels much more efficiently and this can have a number of benefits, including reducing your chances of developing type 2 diabetes whilst also reducing sweet cravings.
BREAKFASTS
Peanut butter Jam oats
Serves 1
Prep and cooking time: 12 minutes
Ingredients
40g rolled oats
250ml milk
2 tsp chia seeds or milled flaxseed
60g frozen berries
60ml water
1 tbsp peanut butter
Method
Weekend scrambled eggs
Serves 1
Prep and cooking time 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
3 medium or large eggs
1 tsp fresh chives or basil, finely sliced (optional)
Method
1. Crack the eggs directly into a cold saucepan with 1 tbsp of butter. Turn on the heat and begin stirring the eggs with a spatula.
2. As the eggs start to cook (it sticks to the bottom of the saucepan), take the pan off the heat for 10-15secs and keep stirring. Once the eggs have cooled a little, return the pan to the heat. The key to this recipe is to keep stirring at all points.
3. Keep repeating step 2 until the eggs are cooked to your desired consistency (slightly runny vs. more firm).
4. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and give the mixture a final stir before serving. Sprinkle any herbs (if using) over the top.
LUNCHES
Halloumi Chermoula traybake
Serves 4
Prep and cooking time: 40 minutes
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C or 180C fan.
2. Prepare the chermoula by adding the garlic, coriander, parsley, paprika, cumin, lemon zest and juice, the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper to a blender, and blend until smooth.
3. In a baking dish, combine the aubergine, zucchini, red pepper, red onion and chickpeas, mix through the chermoula evenly and bake in the oven for 30-40mins, or until the vegetables have softened.
4. Add the sliced halloumi on top of the vegetables and bake for a further 15mins, or until the halloumi is lightly golden.
5.Serve with a squeeze of lemon
Roasted cauliflower and fennel soup
Serves 4
Prep and cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
2 cloves, garlic minced150mL water800mL chicken stock300mL single cream2 bay leaves150g bacon, diced60g hazelnuts1 small handful of chives, sliced
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180 fanC. Toss cauliflower in 2 tbsp oil on a baking sheet;. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing once, until florets are browned all over and tender, 3035 minutes.
2. While the cauliflower is roasting, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large saucepan, over medium heat.
3. Fry the shallot, fennel and garlic until softened (5-8mins). Add 150ml water and cook until mostly evaporated (around 5mins).
4. Add roasted cauliflower, stock, cream, and bay leaves; season lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until cauliflower is very tender, 20 minutes.
6. While the soup is simmering, fry the bacon in a small non stick frying pan and set aside once golden brown. No need to add any oil as the bacon will release oils.
7. In the same pan fry the hazelnuts until golden and roasted. Set aside to cool and then roughly chop.
8. Remove the bay leaves from the soup and discard. Let the mixture cool slightly
9. Puree cauliflower mixture until very smooth. Using an immersion blender or blender. But ensure the mixture has cooled if using a blender.
10. Serve topped with bacon and hazelnuts.
DINNERS
Beef bourguignon
Serves 4
Prep and cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes
2 tbsp tomato puree200g pearl onions200g baby chestnut mushrooms, halved1 bay leaf5 sprigs fresh thyme500ml beef stock300ml red wine (or extra 300ml stock)1 tbsp cornflour2 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole dish, over medium heat.
3. Add the diced beef and brown for 5mins, until mostly browned on the outside, but not cooked through.
4. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside.
5. Add the celery, carrot, and onion to the pot, and cook for 5-7mins, until tender.
6. Add the garlic, thyme leaves, and tomato puree, and cook for another 2mins.
7. Add the red wine, stock, pearl onions, bay leaf, and browned beef. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Bring to a boil, then add the lid, and place in the oven. Cook for 1 hour.
It is very important to have breakfast. It is very important for reducing weight, controlling blood sugar in the body, giving the necessary energy to the body, etc. But having breakfast daily is not enough. For this, it is also necessary to take the right diet in breakfast. At the same time, it is very important for those who are working out or dieting to lose weight, it is very important to have breakfast in the right way. Otherwise, some mistakes made in breakfast will spoil all your efforts to lose weight.
You are making mistakes regarding breakfast, it can be detected very easily. If you feel hungry again within a few hours of having breakfast, then it means that you are doing some mistakes during breakfast. These mistakes will make you want to eat again and again and in such a situation it will not be possible for you to lose weight.
Having breakfast in a hurry while roaming: Often people live early in the morning and because of this they are not able to sit comfortably and have breakfast. They have breakfast while running or working. By doing this, the sensors of his brain are not able to reach the fact that his stomach is full. Due to this, they feel hungry again in no time.
High amount of sugar: If you are working out a lot, dieting all day and still you are not losing weight, then take a look at your breakfast. If you are drinking backed food or packed juice in breakfast, then a lot of sugar going into your body through them will not allow you to become thin.
High-calorie but low-nutrition: If you are eating such things in breakfast, in which calories are a lot but the nutrients are minimal, then such breakfast will increase your weight instead of reducing. Always eat rich protein items in breakfast. With this, you will not feel hungry for a long time and calories will also be less in it.
Junk food: If you are taking only soup in dinner or not having dinner to lose weight, then keep in mind that even then your breakfast should be balanced. Otherwise, a heavy breakfast will fill the quota of calories saved in the night and you will not be successful in the objective of losing weight.
You may have them already neatly written down, they may be still distilling in the back of your subconscious, or given the year weve had you may have written them off for the present moment.
Yet it is this time of the year that many individuals reflect on the last 12 months, and often put together a list of what they will try to do to make the next year better, or improve themselves. While being the best you may be a very noble thought, actually how realistic is it, and could it be doing you more harm than good?
We are all aware that perfection doesnt exist but some of the goals we set ourselves have raised the bar so high, that failure, for want of a better word becomes an inevitability and we come crashing back to the ground feeling worse than before we started. An interesting point is that many New Years resolutions are abandoned by mid-January.
Naturally my column will veer toward those resolutions which benefit your physical and mental health, the two being equally important.
However, when picking any goal, among the questions to ask yourself might be, is this change realistic, can I incorporate it into my life without other duties, responsibilities and relationships suffering, and also what do I hope to achieve by any alteration to my lifestyle.
Many goals are sadly unrealistic. Unless you are a highly trained athlete, for the majority training hard for six days a week is unsustainable. Like working too many hours, you are more likely to suffer a drop off in performance, end up with an injury and indeed become so disillusioned that you abandon exercise altogether. We all have a certain capacity, and for most, working and exercising within sensible limits is likely to yield greater long-term gains.
Similarly, many people feel that being the best you translates into being everything to everyone, never saying no, and always presenting a sunny disposition. It is not a failing to refuse certain requests due to time constraints, lack of resources, or even because it will prevent you from doing things that you would like to be doing. Being helpful is obviously a very attractive characteristic, but make sure you dont become the go to person for everyone and everything.
In the same vein of doing things for yourself, if because of the pandemic youve missed an important screening test for example a smear, or you are on a medication which requires blood monitoring and you think youre overdue, please enquire about these. Being proactive about your health will not be frowned upon and many medical professionals will welcome your enquiry and desire to take ownership of your health.
No one can live like a saint, and while it would perhaps be wrong of a doctor to advocate cheat days, a healthy diet without the occasional treat, whatever that may be is more likely to have you eating well the rest of the time. Many diets are ultra-restrictive, such that you may forget the social aspect of eating, and decline offers from your friends and family to dine together. Weight loss takes time and dedication, and crash dieting is less likely to be good for the body, or be sustainable. Our children also watch us like hawks so crash dieting and over exercising may influence their perception and behaviours.
On the last point of what you hope to achieve, your goals can be very simple but should be enough of motivator so that when you waver, they prompt you to keep going. For example, youre more likely to stop smoking because you want to run around with your children without getting breathless, or have more money to spend on nice things.
However, we all remain human, and in spite of our best intentions we will waver and we will fall. I hasten to use the word fail because of its harsh nature. When this happens, while it is important to recognise it, beating yourself up will not help, not will abandoning your resolve. It is better to accept that it happened, put it behind you, and continue with your good intentions.
Finally, many are overly self-critical and hence feel the need to have a set of resolutions in the first place. Self-improvement is a journey which often doesnt run smoothly. The most important thing is to be kind to yourself on the way.
See the article here:
Dr Zak Uddin on New Year resolutions - Dorset Echo
The internet is full of quick-fix weight-loss hacks. One popular suggestion is to eat 'negative-calorie' foods such as celery, because you burn more energy eating and digesting the celery than you absorb.
Is it true that eating some foods makes uslosecalories rather than gain them? And does eating these foods help weight loss? We asked three experts in nutrition and physiology: 'Do negative-calorie foods exist?'; here is what we found.
Louise Dunford, an expert in nutrition and physiology from De Montfort University in the UK,explains that"acalorieis a unit of energy, usually expressed as kilocalories (kcal) for the energy content in food".
Most food packaging comes with labels that describe how many calories are in that product. We consume calories by eating and use calories by burning energy.
Dunford says: "Ourenergy needsare made up of three components:
The energy needed to maintain a body at rest, which is the energy needed for our body to carry out its basic processes so we can live.
The thermic effect of eating, which is the increase in metabolic rate after eating, while food is digested and absorbed.
Additional energy needed for activity and exercise."
"The theory behind negative calorie foods is that some foods have lower calorie (energy) content than the amount of energy it takes to digest and absorb the food into the body," Dunfordsays.
"This sounds plausible, in theory. But in reality, even the lowest calorie foods, such as celery, contain more calories than it takes to break down and absorb them in the body."
Some foods that have been labelled as 'negative-calorie' include celery, grapefruit, tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, lettuce and carrots.
Two of the three experts said there was no evidence that negative-calorie foods exist.
"Even the humble stick of celery, while being about 95 percent water, still contains a small number of kilojoules from carbohydrate (65 kJ to be exact),"saysTim Crowe, an expert in nutrition from Thinking Nutrition.
"Though there is an energy cost to your body in digesting food, called the thermic effect of food, but that equates to about 10 percent of the energy in the food. So even celery adds some kilojoules to your diet. And while it's a small number, it's definitely not a negative number."
Although not a food,cold waterhas been considered calorie negative. Cornelie Nienaber-Rousseau, an expert in nutrition from North-West University in South Africa,says:"Water contains no energy and when drinking water outside body temperature ranges will expend some energy to maintain the body's internal temperature i.e. the so called water-induced thermogenesis effect."
Several studieshave tried to investigate whether this effect could be beneficial for weight loss, but most found no or minimal calorie expenditure after drinking cold water.
Chewing gum although something which we may not consider food has also been considered 'negative-calorie'.
Again, however, its effect is minimal, Nienaber-Rousseausays:"Mastication merely burns11 kcal (46.2 kJ) per hourand can therefore hardly be considered as being real exercise. Because one stick of gum contains around 10 kcal (42.0 kJ), it will require being chewed for one or more hours to burn the energy the gum provides."
If celery, grapefruit and cucumber do not cause us to lose calories, how come they are often found in effective weight-loss diets?
"Diets based on so-called negative-calorie food or to use the more acceptable term 'free foods' do not work because they cause an energy deficit, but rather because these foods satisfy hunger by filling the stomach with food that is not energy dense and coupled with exercise can lead to burning more fuel than was ingested to create an overall energy deficit," Nienaber-Rousseausays.
Or, as Croweputs it: "How foods like celery, lettuce and broccoli can help you lose weight is if your mouth is full of celery, then there's no room to fit in burgers and fries."
Eating so-called 'negative-calorie' foods can therefore aid weight loss by making you feel full. However, it is important not to just add them into your diet.
"It's important to replace higher calorie items on a plate rather than add these fruit and vegetables to meals, as by simply adding healthy items you increase the overall calorie content. For example, a cheeseburger plus a salad contains more calories than a cheeseburger alone," Dunfordsays.
Interestingly, this can be psychologically difficult to do Nienaber-Rousseaunotes"studies indicate that people would underestimate the energy content of a food/meal when a healthy food such as a free food is present this phenomenon [is known] as the 'negative calorie illusion'''.
"Unfortunately, negative calorie foods are a myth, and there is no easy way to lose weight and keep it off in the long run," Dunfordsummarizes.
"Changing your food and drink options for healthier ones on a permanent basis is more likely to lead to sustained long-term weight loss than short-term dieting alone."
Article based on 3 expert answers to this question: Do negative-calorie foods exist?
This expert response was published in partnership with independent fact-checking platform Metafact.io. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter here.
See the original post here:
Here's What You Really Should Know About 'Negative-Calorie' Foods, According to Experts - ScienceAlert
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Diet success stories are everywhere. Unfortunately, so are diet failure stories.
A decade ago, a study of dieting and dieters found that 95 percent of diets fail and almost everyone who does lose weight will regain it all within 1 to 5 years. While some argue those numbers, one fact is certain: diets are incredibly hard and seeing one through to a final goal is a herculean effort.
Of course, that often comes back to resources. If you want to launch yourself on a popular diet like Keto, whose plan do you follow? And without a personal chef or a dietician on retainer, can you live the Keto life and still be happy?
Among todays hottest diets, the high-fat, low-carb Keto approach is one of the toughest ones to get right. But it can not only lead to big results, it can also be customized to the needs of each dieter. Konscious Ketos Simple Keto System breaks down all the hurdles that often crush a Keto diet with a streamlined plan that help make Ketowell, simple.
Their plan combines technology and a stable of Keto-based products to ignite the diets sweet spot, boosting metabolism and supercharging the bodys ability to burn fat.
Everything gets started with the Simple Keto Quiz, a 17-question intake that harvests answers about the persons lifestyle, eating habits, and health goals. Those answers lead to the cornerstone of this plan, a personalized 28-day Keto meal plan built especially for that specific user.
And this is Keto, which means meals arent all green vegetables and tuna fish. Users enjoy delicious breakfasts, lunches, an afternoon snack, dinners, and even dessert, all while sticking to the plan. On the menu are items like cilantro-lime chicken, garlic butter steak, blueberry pancakes, creamy pasta with pesto, and more. Of course, thats all crafted around your special tastes and favorites so the menu will always be something that you actually want to eat.
Meanwhile, the Simple Keto System app not only helps you track your progress but offers lifestyle advice as well. Their culture emphasizes finding the balance between the foods a soul craves, and the nutrients the body needs. By finding that natural balance, each user is a step closer to their full potential to look and feel their best every day.
And members can also stock up on handfuls of scientifically developed supplements and meal replacement shakes that suppress appetite while raising levels of ketone bodies that speed up your Keto results.
You can get started on your own Keto journey now with the Simple Keto Quiz and see exactly what your own personalized meal plan features. It just might be enough to make the decision for you.
Prices are subject to change
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The Simple Keto System is how smart dieters do Keto the right way | TheHill - The Hill
The HP Pavilion Aero 13 redefines useability with its extreme lightweight form. But is a laptop watching its weight a practical one to live with?
Product Name
HP Pavilion Aero 13
Pros
Cons
The HP Pavilion Aero 13 is easily the most underrated laptop launched in 2021, especially for a laptop that costs less than 1 lakh. While other manufacturers were busy fitting Quad HD displays and fancy metal bodies, HP adopted a different formula simplify and add lightness. Yes, thats the mantra Lotus boss Colin Chapman followed for his race cars in the 1960s, and even after 50-60 odd years, it works wonders on a utilitarian laptop.
You pay 79,999 for the standard variant of the HP Pavilion Aero 13 with the AMD Ryzen 5 5000 processor. This is almost nearing the MacBook Air territory, where Asus and Lenovo have some great alternatives to offer as well, including HPs own Envy x360. The Aero 13 does not look as special as some of the names here but for what it offers as a package, I think this is easily one of the best Windows laptops in this price range.
To see whether my notions had any relations with reality, I swapped my work PC (a humble MacBook Air M1) with a Pale Rose Gold Aero 13. And by the end, I wasnt surprised.
Design is subjective but from where I sit, the Aero 13 feels like any other HP Pavilion notebook I have seen so far. It is quite slim and sleek as a lightweight laptop should be but the overall design treatment feels dated. The lid with its old HP logo and the signature Pavilion underline takes away from the appeal; I wonder why HP did not borrow some of the svelte looks from the Envy x360.
Look inside and theres still not much to get excited about. Apart from the edge-to-edge keyboard layout, the deck itself looks bland. The slim display bezels are a welcome change but its rough plastic surfaces take away from the overall appeal. Theres none of the visual drama that the Envy x360 offers for a similar price. Maybe HP should have made the Aero 13 a part of the Envy series instead of the boring Pavilion range.
However, all of that boring image flies away as soon as you lift it. Because for a 13-inch laptop, the Aero 13 feels unbelievably lightweight! In fact, it feels as if theres nothing inside. I was able to hold the laptop like I would hold my iPad; the sub-1 kilo weight feels wonderful if you carry around your laptop a lot. Plus, HP has cleverly used a combo of magnesium alloys and recycled plastics, which make this laptop nice to hold. The Aero 13s softer edges and clever contours make the MacBook Air feel uncomfortable for my hands. This is easily the most comfortable laptop I have used -- Ever!
And despite the slim chassis, the Aero 13 has all the necessary ports. Theres a USB-C port that supports charging and displays, two USB-A ports with 5Gbps speeds, an HDMI 2.0 port, a 3.5mm audio/mic port, and a proprietary HP charging port. For wireless connectivity, there is Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6.
Accompanying this lightweight form is a great display. You get a 13.3-inch IPS LCD display with a pixel resolution of 1920 x 1200, with an aspect ratio of 16:10. That 100 percent sRGB colour profile means that the Aero 13 has got one of the most vibrant LCD displays in this price segment, barring the Asus VivoBook OLED. Windows 11 and everything that it hosts looks lively, with good contrast levels. The peak brightness of 400 nits also helps in most indoor situations. There is no high refresh rate though, something which gaming laptops and the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Ultra offers at this price.
Sitting inside the HP Pavilion Aero 13 is AMDs Ryzen 5 5600U processor accompanied by an integrated AMD Radeon graphics. Theres 16GB of 3200MHz DDR4 RAM and 512GB of PCIe M.2 SSD onboard. The Aero 13 still comes with Windows 10 but I tried the Release Preview build of Windows 11, which is almost as stable as regular Windows 11.
For daily productivity tasks, the Aero 13 is more than capable enough to hold itself while I throw my office workflow at it. Running Google Chrome with 10-11 tabs simultaneously, MS Word and WhatsApp in the background, and music streaming none of these bogged down the Aero 13. Not bad since the Ryzen 5 5600U on the Aero 13 is limited to 15W of power, which limits the performance potential but does not heat up the keyboard area like other Ryzen 5 laptops do.
Adding up to the productivity is the fantastic keyboard. Not only do the keys have ample travel, they offer satisfactory feedback as well. Coupled with the well spaced layout and large keys, the Aero 13 makes for a very good writers laptop. I have typed thousands of words, including this review, and never did I feel the need to plug in an external keyboard.
However, I did use an external mouse to help with work since the trackpad isnt as nice. It is responsive to gestures but the tracking and sensitivity is not on par with what the competition offers. Theres a fingerprint scanner for Windows Hello login it is convenient for quickly logging in without passwords but the detection rate is inconsistent quite often.
The audio experience has been fine, although theres room for improvement as always with these slim laptops. The speakers are decently loud for watching some YouTube videos or participating in a video call but they lack the depth and bass; keeping your headphones handy is a good idea. The mic works greatly, picking up my voice clearly but the 720p webcam is usable as long as you are sitting next to a window on a bright sunny day.
Now obviously you wont buy a HP Pavilion Aero 13 for gaming but if you throw some GTA 5 at it, or F1 2020, you get playable frame rates between 30-40 fps at low graphics and tuned down resolution. For editing high resolution pictures on Adobe Photoshop, this laptop has enough grunt. Those looking for editing video should look elsewhere.
This is an area where the Aero 13 does not match up to the rest of the package. With its small 43Whr battery, I was able to get a maximum of 5 hours on single charge with my regular office workflow thats well below the promised 10 hours of battery life. Do note that I kept the laptop connected to Wi-Fi all the time, set brightness levels between 30-40 percent, and kept it on Sleep when not using. A bigger battery could have helped make the Aero 13 more convenient to carry around without a charger for a whole day.
HP provides a 65W charger in the box, which is cumbersome to carry around in backpacks. I mostly charged the laptop with my portable 65W OnePlus charger via the USB-C port and it did the tricks, although it took over 2 hours to do a full recharge.
Lightness is good and HP adding that in abundance to the Aero 13 makes it highly practical and desirable. Hence, if you have a budget of 80,000 to spend on a laptop you need for your hybrid work-from-home routine, your educational needs, or just for personal entertainment, I highly recommend the HP Pavilion Aero 13. Its not the most exciting looking Windows laptop at this price but the rest of the package is fantastic. Its highly portable form factor, a solid keyboard, reliable performance, and a nice display make it a great choice. Battery life is a downside though and if you need that dearly, the Apple MacBook Air M1 is still the benchmark in this class.
Continued here:
HP Pavilion Aero 13 review: Proof that dieting helps - HT Tech
Eating gluten-free foods as a healthy diet has yet to catch on in Japan to the degree it has in the United States and Europe. Improved food labeling in the last several years has increased recognition of allergies. However, living or traveling gluten-free in Japan is still comparatively difficult due to the pervasiveness of wheat in foods. A long-term resident who has lived without wheat products for nearly two decades offers advice on eating gluten-free while in Japan.
Moving to Japan in 2001 had unimagined consequences for my health. I had become severely lactose intolerant while attending grad school in the United States in the late 1990s, and my digestion only worsened after coming to Japan. No amount of careful dieting helped, nor did getting tested for allergies offer any clues for my condition.
I had become afraid to eat anything at all, since everything I ingested made me sick (I thought, like the sister in Laura Esquivels iconic novel Like Water for Chocolate, that I might actually die from gas). On top of all of the food problems, I suffered several miscarriages, which I later discovered can be caused by malnutrition stemming from gluten intolerance. Thanks to the newly blooming internet I also learned about elimination dieting, in which you cut out one possible allergen from your diet at a time over a period of months, and gave it a try.
The second thing I tried eliminating was wheat, and no further testing was necessary. My digestive woes disappeared, but most surprisingly the pain of my menstrual cycle, which previously left me in a fetal position for half a day every month, mellowed to a mild backache.
Unfortunately, at that time conditions like gluten intolerance and celiac disease were not widely recognized. My allergist referred me to a specialist who told me that there was no way I had a wheat allergy, as that was something only small children have, and they grow out of it. Even without a diagnosis, it was clear to me that I did not have a problem as long as I shunned wheat, so I trusted my gut. Subsequently, my skin rashes cleared up, my fingernails got thicker and stronger, my hair filled out, and I now have a healthy 16-year-old daughter.
Living wheat-free was much easier said than done, though, as food labeling in Japan was still relatively hit-and-miss. Thankfully, although gluten-free food has yet to really take off in Japan, identifying safe products is a lot easier now, in large part because of Japanese food labeling laws that have taken effect since 2015. Recognition of food allergies has also rapidly increased in recent years, and agricultural programs designed to promote rice consumption have increased the number and variety of products made with rice flour instead of wheat flour. Still, adhering to a medically necessary gluten-free diet in Japan is comparatively challenging, particularly if you are not fluent in both reading and speaking Japanese.
Water binding with the gliadin and glutenin proteins in wheat flour forms the large protein complex called gluten, found in wheat, barley, rye, and sometimes in oats. This complex protein binds to itself and forms a regular and continuous network of fine strands, allowing wheat flour to stick together to capture the air bubbles that create the foamy texture of bread. But thats not all; gluten is extremely elastic and can absorb about twice its own weight in water. These propertieswater absorption, stickiness, and plasticitymake it fantastically valuable in the food industry. In products like butter and ice cream it can be used to extend bulk and create a smooth texture. Wheat flour is commonly used in the freezing process of prepared foods containing rice to keep the grains from clumping up, as a binder and extender in processed meat products, and as a thickener or coloring agent in sauces. Gluten is even in some makeup and skin care products. Syrup sweeteners made from barley are a completely unlabeled way to encounter gluten in Japan.
Gluten intolerance, celiac disease, and wheat allergy are not the same thing, but the primary way to mitigate any of them is to completely eliminate wheat products from the diet.
A wheat allergy is a reaction to any of the four wheat proteins: albumin, globulin, gliadin, or glutenin. This is much easier to detect and diagnose than celiac or gluten intolerance, because the effects are almost always immediate: swelling or itchiness in the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting, or even anaphylaxis, which can be fatal.
Celiac disease and gluten intolerance, meanwhile, are autoimmune disorders: a persons body has an adverse reaction to the large gluten protein complex. The reaction occurs mostly in the small intestine, and it can take a long time to damage the organ to the point where serious effects are felt immediately after ingesting gluten. For most sufferers, even the smallest bit of gluten will cause a reaction, but the outward manifestation can be delayed, sometimes by many hours, and the severity of the perceived problem may vary. Symptoms can range from bloating or gas to diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, headaches, skin rashes, and even hair loss or miscarriage. Many of the symptoms result from malnutrition caused by the damage to the intestine rather than from the immediate reaction to gluten in the gut, and people who have celiac disease or gluten intolerance may not even know they have it, but have general ailments and are unable to pinpoint the cause.
Lots of people may benefit from a gluten-free diet because they are actually mildly gluten intolerant and do not know it, or because a diet of this kind forces them to carefully monitor what they ingest. However, such a diet can be both much more expensive and less healthy than a regular diet if not properly understood. This is because many gluten-free products intended to mimic and replace traditional wheat products are primarily made of starchy ingredients like rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch, and potato starch. The products may not be inherently unhealthy, but may have lower overall nutritional value and higher sugar levels than the wheat products they are intended to replace.
With a basic understanding of nutrition and food science, almost any traditional wheat-based dish can be made gluten free.
Perhaps counterintuitively, convenience stores are among the best places to get something safe to eat, as products are consistently and strictly labeled. However, you cannot rely on the allergen labeling because that information is only targeted at wheat allergy. It is best to learn enough Japanese to read the ingredient label itself, and beware of things like modified food starch (; kak denpun) and maltose (; bakugat). Other important words to look out for are cake flour (; hakurikiko) and even soy sauce ( or ; shyu)which, although made from soybeans, usually includes wheat in the production process. Even with standardized labeling rules, small food manufacturers are not always consistent with names of ingredients or with the allergy labels, so if you are not sure, do not eat it.
Large chain restaurants, known as famiresu (family restaurants) in Japan, now almost universally provide nutrition and allergy information online or even in the shop, making it relatively easy in larger towns and cities to find something to eat. Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka in particular have a handful of restaurants that either have completely gluten-free menus or serve gluten-free options, and these are pretty easy to find online. However, once you get away from population centers, finding a restaurant that will serve a gluten-free meal can be daunting. By far the safest bet is to find an authentic Indian restaurant. Real Indian curry is almost always gluten free, and typically comes with rice. Yakiniku (Korean barbecue) is pretty safe, but you have to be careful to specify that the meat you get is not marinated in anything, and watch out for the salad dressing. (In general plain salt and pepper is your safest bet.) If you bring your own gluten-free soy sauce and read the allergy listings carefully, you can usually eat some sushi, but beware that shops boasting lower prices sometimes use wheat vinegar instead of traditional rice vinegar.
One way you can really tell the quality of a restaurant or eating establishment is by the way they treat their food-challenged guests. A lot of places will give you a blank stare if you ask about gluten-free food, vegetarian options (vegans in Japan have a terrible time), or other allergy information. However, sometimes you will come across a real gem. Even if a local cafe just fixes you a bowl of rice and a simple egg omelet, it is great to be able to have a place to eat out with friends.
Home-made gluten-free pies.
Tragically, eating informally prepared food of any kind can lead to serious consequences. Many people still do not understand that soy sauce normally has wheat in it, or that rice balls prepared on the same cutting board where bread or tempura just rested could be contaminated. Even dashi broth made with consomm powder can have wheat in it, as can candy made from the traditional sweetener mizuame ( or). A person who has serious intolerance, allergy, or celiac should never accept home-prepared food in Japan unless the cook well understands the issues involved.
Unfortunately, medical resources like antibody testing and diet advice for gluten intolerance are still relatively hard to come by outside of Tokyo. However, online shopping has changed the game in the past 20 years. These days, ordering xanthan gum or even pure soba flour is simple and quick. Various online retailers offer all kinds of gluten-free noodles, breads, cakes, pies, and snacks, much of it delivered frozen and in small packages. Additionally, groups on social networking sites are extremely valuable for asking questions and finding products.
Larger supermarkets usually have a section with allergy-appropriate products, including things like gluten-free soy sauce and noodles. These tend to be fairly expensive, but helpful in a pinch. Few products in Japan, however, are marked gluten free unless they are specifically manufactured as such. In many cases you have to trust to sanitation laws and the careful packaging Japan is famous for. Cross contamination is not unheard of, but in general food processing standards in Japan are extremely high, so things like chocolate bars, mochi rice, and soba noodles made with jwari () 100% buckwheat flour can be trusted to be nothing more than what they say they are.
Living with celiac, gluten intolerance, or a wheat allergy in Japan can still be extremely disappointing, because you are never going to be able to eat tempura, ramen, gyza, takoyaki, or any of the thousand mouthwatering options available at local festivals and in izakaya However, with a bit of planning and a reasonable command of the Japanese language, you can eat well and even experience local cuisine to a certain extent. Nicer hotels will often bend over backward to provide a delicious and beautiful gluten-free meal, as will the more expensive restaurants and bars. If you do not speak any Japanese at all, print out and laminate one of the translated explanations you can find online, and just ask your host to read it. Use your cellphone to translate the labels of food products, and if all else fails get a simple salmon onigiri or a Soy Joy bar from the nearest convenience store.
Happy eating!
(Originally published in English. Banner photo: A selection of gluten-free ingredients. All photos Anne Kohtz.)
Go here to see the original:
Happy Eating: The Ups and Downs of a Gluten-Free Diet in Japan - Nippon.com
By Katherine Tweed
Keeping a healthy weight is a worthwhile goal at any age. As you get older, it can get trickier.
You might not be burning calories like you did when you were younger, but you can still take off extra pounds.
The golden rules of weight loss still apply:
There are some other things you need to do if you're over 60 and want to lose weight.
1. Stay Strong
You lose muscle mass as you age. Offset that by doing strength training. You can use weight machines at a gym, lighter weights you hold in your hands, or your own body weight for resistance like in yoga or Pilates. Keeping your muscle mass is key to burning more calories, says Joanna Li, RD, a nutritionist at Foodtrainers in New York.
2. Eat More Protein
Because you're at risk for losing muscle mass, make sure your diet includes about one gram of protein to every kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight. "Protein also keeps you full for longer, so that helps with weight loss efforts," Li says. She recommends wild salmon, whole eggs, organic whey protein powder, and grass-fed beef.
3. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Drink plenty of water. Sometimes, thirst masks itself as hunger. As you get older, you may not be as quick to notice when you're thirsty, Li says. She says you should get 64 ounces of water a day. You can drink it or get part of it from foods that are naturally rich in water, such as cucumbers and tomatoes. If you're not sure if you're getting enough water, check your urine: It should be pale yellow.
4. Outsmart Your Metabolism
Eat more small meals and snacks, and don't go much longer than 3 hours without eating. "Because your metabolism is already slow, if you're starving yourself, it just gets slower," Li says. You may need fewer calories than you did when you were younger. Ask your doctor or a registered dietitian about that. "If you're eating the same way you did when you were 25, you're definitely going to be gaining," Li says.
SOURCES:
Joanna Li, RD, nutritionist, Foodtrainers, New York.
Cleveland Clinic: The Color of Pee.
Excerpt from:
Dieting After 60: What You Need to Know - WebMD
