8 Signs You’re Eating Too Much Sugar

Sugar is delicious. Anyone who denies that is lying. But because life is unfair, sugar, especially in copious amounts, is really bad for your health. In fact, once you learn about all the ways sugar impacts your body, it’s difficult to look at it the same way (despite knowing how heavenly it tastes).

So how do you know if you’re eating too much? Here are eight red flags your body is sending you that it’s time to cut back on the sweet stuff.

1. You constantly crave sugary things.

The more sugar you eat, the more you’ll crave it. “More cravings then equal consuming more sugar—it becomes a vicious and addictive cycle,” Brooke Alpert, M.S., R.D., author of The Sugar Detox: Lose Weight, Feel Great and Look Years Younger, tells SELF. This isn’t just because your taste buds have adapted and left you needing more and more to get that same taste, but also because of how sugar gives you a high followed by a crash, just like an actual drug. “By eating a high sugar diet, you cause a hormonal response in your body that’s like a wave, it brings you up and then you crash down and it triggers your body to want more sugar.”

2. You feel sluggish throughout the day.

What goes up must come down. After sugar causes an initial spike of insulin and that “high” feeling, it causes an inevitable crash. “Energy is most stable when blood sugar is stable, so when you’re consuming too much sugar, the highs and lows of your blood sugar lead to highs and lows of energy,” Alpert says. Eating a lot of sugar also means it’s likely you’re not eating enough protein and fiber, both important nutrients for sustained energy.

3. Your skin won’t stop breaking out.

“Some people are sensitive to getting a spike in insulin from sugar intake, which can set off a hormonal cascade that can lead to a breakout like acne or rosacea,” Rebecca Kazin, M.D., of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery and the Johns Hopkins department of dermatology, tells SELF. A sugar binge can show up on your face in just a few days. If your skin’s unruly, Kazin recommends reassessing your diet, otherwise “you may be treating skin for other issues without getting to the bottom of what’s really going on.”

4. You’re way moodier than usual.

The blood sugar crash that happens when you’re coming off a sugar high can cause mood swings and leave you feeling crabby. Not to mention, if your energy is also tanking, that just contributes to a bad attitude.

5. You’ve been putting on some weight.

Excess sugar is excess calories, and since it has no protein or fiber, it doesn’t fill you up (so you just keep eating it). It also triggers the release of insulin, a hormone that plays a big role in weight gain. When we eat sugar, the pancreas releases insulin, which carries sugar to our organs so it can be used for energy. When you load up on sugar, your body’s told to produce more insulin—over time, that excessive output can lead to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means our bodies can’t respond to normal amounts of insulin properly and therefore can’t use sugar the right way. The initial weight gain from simply eating too many calories from sugar is being compounded by the disruption to your normal insulin response (there’s a link between insulin resistance and obesity). What’s more, when the pancreas works in overdrive for too long you can develop diabetes.

6. You’ve been getting more cavities.

When bacteria chow down on food particles in between the teeth, acid is produced, which causes tooth decay. Our saliva maintains a healthy balance of bacteria on its own, but eating sugar can impact the pH and throw off the natural ecosystem. This gives the bacteria a chance to thrive and multiply, leading to cavities.

7. Your brain tends to get foggy, especially after a meal.

This fog is a common symptom of low blood sugar. When you eat a lot of sugar, your blood sugar levels rapidly rise and fall instead of gradually doing so. “Poor blood sugar control is a major risk for cognitive issues and impairment,” says Alpert.

8. Nothing tastes as sweet as it used to.

“Eating too much sugar basically bombards your taste buds,” Alpert says. “This sugar overkill causes your taste bud sugar tolerance to go up, so you need more and more sugar to satisfy that sweet craving.” When your taste buds need lots of sugar to feel like something is sweet enough, it can be tough to lower your base level. However, it you cut back and suffer through it in the beginning, you’ll eventually lower your tolerance again and be content with minimal sugar. You might even start to feel like things are too sweet for you and—gasp!—be happier consuming sugar in moderation.

—By Amy Marturana

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5 Ways to Squat Better

Squats, whether weighted or not, are hands down one of the best, most powerful full-body exercises you can perform: Not only will you tone your butt and thighs, but you’ll develop a stronger core—especially when you start to add on weight with a barbell, kettlebell or dumbbells. But with great power, comes great responsibility: Proper form is essential to seeing the benefits.

We turned to two New York City-based trainers—Keith Wittenstein, CF L4, coach at CrossFit Solace and Nick Lobotsky, CF L1, coach at CrossFit NYC—for some quick pointers on how to improve your squat technique.

1. Make sure to keep your weight in your heels. If most of your body’s weight is being grounded by your toes, you could fall over or compromise form and hurt yourself by being off-kilter. “Keeping your weight in your heels keeps you balanced and allows you to generate lots of force,” says Wittenstein. “It also activates the big powerful muscles of the posterior chain, including your glutes, hamstrings, calves and spinal erectors,” making your bod work harder—and look better. Plus, it helps take pressure off the knees.

2. Push your hips back as you go down. “Sending your hips back first, to initiate the squat, will help allow you to keep your weight in your heels as well as properly align the rest of your body,” says Lobotsky. If you begin your squat by sending your hips straight down, you’ll either end up on your toes in the bottom of the squat (see #1) or with your knees tracking way too far forward, past your toes.

3. Push your knees out slightly. When squatting, you want your knees aligned over your toes. So in reminding yourself to push your knees out slightly, you’re essentially preventing them from collapsing inward. Doing this “helps protect the knees and recruits more muscles in your hips,” says Wittenstein. Think about your knees pointing toward your pinky toes to achieve the positioning, he adds.

4. Keep your chest up. Don’t let your torso drop! Doing so will change your center of gravity, which can be dangerous if you’re using weight while squatting, explains Lobotsky. By holding your chest up and out, you’ll be able to keep the control the weighted bar better, he says.

5. Get loooooow. The goal when doing a squat is to have your hip crease below your knees when you’re in the down spot. “When squatting shallow or above parallel, the knee is doing most of the work and absorbing the force. By squatting below parallel, the knees release the force and the leg muscles start doing the work instead,” says Lobotsky. So not only will you see better results by getting lower, but you’ll also help alleviate pressure on your joints, too.

Now that you can squat like a pro, put your skills to good use with this one-song workout. You’ll feel the burn. Trust.

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6 Simple Tips to Avoid Vacation Weight Gain

It’s officially summer, which means ’tis the season for beach-inspired workout motivation, extra focus on your sun-protection routine — and diet-derailing vacations. For many of us, fitness goals tend to fall by the wayside in the face of sugary umbrella drinks and local dessert specialties.

But the good news is staving off the dreaded vacation-induced weight gain doesn’t have to require iron willpower, says Liz Josefsberg, a celebrity weight-loss coach and nutrition exercise specialist.

“I love to indulge on vacation, but I also love to balance my unhealthy indulgences with a couple healthy ones,” she says.

To stay on track and still get the most out of your vacation, follow these six tips.

1. Plan your indulgences.
It just wouldn’t be a real vacation without at least a few indulgences, right? But to keep you from going totally off the rails, Josefsberg suggests sticking to a “two on, one off” meal plan.

“Two meals each day need to be very healthy and on target,” she says. “For me, breakfast and lunch are easier to control with eating eggs, fruit or yogurt for breakfast and then a salad for lunch. For dinner, sample a local favorite and maybe enjoy a drink.”

You should also aim to pick your treats before you touch down at your vacation destination. If there’s a local ice cream shop that’s dominating Instagram, plan ahead of time to go there so you can look forward to it. That way you’ll be more likely to hold out for your big indulgence and pass up the dessert menu when it comes at dinner.

2. Stay active.
Keeping up with your 6 a.m. gym routine doesn’t exactly fit with the vacation mindset. And that’s OK. Instead, plan unique activities that will keep you active. Do a walking tour of the city, sign up for a beach yoga class or rent bikes for a day.

3. Take advantage of your tech.
One major benefit of our technologically advanced world is that we have access to information about great dining options anywhere, says Josefsberg. Take advantage of Instagram, Yelp or TripAdvisor to seek out healthy eats when you travel. You’ll get a unique local experience without the guilt.

4. Skip the hotel.
Booking your lodging via Airbnb or VRBO offers the opportunity to cook healthy meals instead of eating out constantly.

Says Josefsberg: “It reduces temptations like all-you-can eat breakfast buffets and even gives you a chance to feel like a local as you shop in markets and visit fruit and vegetable stands.”

If you’re in on a hotel, ask for a fridge in your room; on your way from the airport, stock up on some fruit, cheese and yogurt to keep from splurging between meals.

5. Go sans sangria.
We know, those beach days call for fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them. But they’re packed with sugar and calories, which means they’re major diet saboteurs.

“Alcohol is often the thing that undoes the most of our healthy efforts,” says Josefsberg, who advises committing to a couple of no-drinking days or keeping cocktail hour confined to dinner only.

6. Pack some snacks.
When all else fails, it’s not a bad idea to have some healthy snacks in your suitcase — especially for those endless days stuck in transit. To avoid convenience store junk food, Josefsberg advises slipping a bag filled with healthy eats like granola, trail mix and fruit into your suitcase.

At the end of the day, you have to remember to cut yourself some slack — you’re on vacation after all.

“Don’t get crazy about gaining weight on vacation if you do,” Josefsberg says. “The key is to get back on track as fast as you can when you get home.”

Make it a priority to stock up on healthy groceries, and get back to your regular eating routine as soon as you get home so your lax vacation habits don’t linger too long in your real life.

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The Secret Behind Sweating and Weight Loss

You’ve just had a seriously sweat-filled workout, and you’re already feeling lighter. You step on the scale, and your suspicions are confirmed — you’ve actually lost a pound! Yes!

This proves sweating helps you lose weight, right? Not exactly.

While you did step on the scale and see that your “weight” has dropped, it’s due to fluid loss, not permanent weight loss. In other words, as soon as you rehydrate (which you should do, stat, especially if you’ve seen a drop in your scale weight since before your workout), your weight will return to the level it was prior to the start of your session. For proper rehydration, the general recommendation is to drink 16–24 ounces of water per pound lost during exercise, which is important because dehydration can cause everything from muscle cramps to dizziness if not addressed quickly.

OK, but doesn’t sweating a lot mean you’re burning more calories, and that will help you lose weight faster?

That isn’t exactly true either. Despite what some brands or products claim, those heated yoga classes or sweat suits won’t help you permanently drop pounds by increasing your sweat level alone. Why not? Your calorie burn isn’t measured by the amount of sweat you shed during a workout but rather by the amount of intensity or effort you put into it. Measuring your heart rate or tracking your perceived exertion level during your workout is a much more accurate way to track your expenditure than by how sweaty you are by the end.

And if you don’t get super soaked during your gym session, don’t “sweat it” either — the amount each individual perspires has to do with the number of sweat glands you were born with. (Most of us have somewhere between 2–4 million of them.) The functions of sweat are to help cool your body and to regulate your temperature, whether you’re rocking it out in cycling class or waiting for the bus on a hot summer day.

So, what does it all boil down to? Sweat is a good thing — it’s your body’s cooling system, but don’t count on using it as your gauge for lasting weight loss. Breaking a sweat (and the amount you perspire) has more to do with your genetics and the temperature of your environment than the intensity of your workout or the amount of calories you are burning. Skip trying to simply sweat off the pounds with saunas and sweat suits. For true, lasting weight loss, instead keep your focus on a consistent, balanced workout plan and a healthy diet with the right caloric deficit.

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Grilled Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing

Grilled kale is ridiculously easy and fast to make. It brings out the best in kale, adding smokiness and crispiness. Tossed with fresh peaches and a light lemon vinaigrette, The Healthy Maven’s grilled kale salad creates a feeling of summertime all year-round.

Grilled Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing

Ingredients

For the lemon vinaigrette*

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (certified gluten-free if necessary)

For the kale salad

• 1 bunch kale, stems removed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• 2 medium peaches, sliced
• 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts

Directions

Combine all vinaigrette ingredients and set aside.

Heat your grill or grill pan to medium.

Brush kale lightly with olive oil on both sides.

Place kale directly on the grill, and cook for 1–2 minutes before flipping and cooking for 1 minute on the other. Kale should wilt and char slightly. Watch closely to ensure it doesn’t burn.

Repeat until all kale has been grilled. Transfer to a serving platter.

Top kale with peaches, shallots and hazelnuts.

Drizzle with dressing as desired.

*Recipe yields roughly 3/4 cup of salad dressing, so don’t feel as though you need to use it all. The dressing keeps well in the fridge.

Nutrition Information

Serves: 4 |  Serving Size: 1/4 salad + 2 tablespoons dressing

Per serving: Calories: 215; Total Fat: 15g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 11g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 61mg; Carbohydrate: 18g; Dietary Fiber: 3g; Sugar: 11g; Protein: 4g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 474mg; Iron: 8%; Vitamin A: 140%; Vitamin C: 148%; Calcium: 11% 

Davida is a healthy living blogger behind The Healthy Maven, where she writes about healthy food, fitness and her insatiable sweet tooth. She aims to create delicious recipes that are healthy, gluten-free and filled with good-for-you ingredients but still taste as authentic as the originals. It’s not rare that she’ll throw spinach in her brownies! Check out more of her recipes on her blog and follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Photo courtesy of Davida Kugelmass. Recipe originally posted on The Healthy Maven.

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Ask the Dietitian: What’s the Best Carb, Protein and Fat Breakdown for Weight Loss?

Between all of the different diet trends and conflicting research findings out there, it seems we’re more confused than ever about what and how much to eat, particularly when it comes to protein, carbohydrates and fat. While there’s no one combination that will make the pounds magically melt off you can optimize your diet for weight loss by adjusting the composition of your calories.

Carbs, Protein or Fat: What makes the most sense to adjust?

When it comes to choosing what to eat more of and what to cut back on for weight loss, consider first what you want to achieve. The goal of losing weight is to reduce fat stores while preserving, or even adding, lean tissue—what we refer to as muscle.

Carbohydrates are an important source of fuel for our muscles during exercise and are the only source of energy for our brain and red blood cells. Fat is equally important, playing major roles in everything from brain function to cell structure, but if you’re trying to lose weight, it may not hurt to trade some carbohydrates and/or fat calories for a boost in protein. Calorie for calorie, protein has the most metabolic benefits for weight loss: it increases satiety, stimulates energy expenditure and preserves muscle, which unfortunately is used for energy along with fat during weight loss.

What to adjust, and by how much?

For most, it is perfectly safe to adjust carbohydrate, protein and fat consumption to optimize the diet for weight loss. You may find it beneficial to trade a percentage of your calories from carbohydrates or even fat, for protein calories.

As a jumping off point, let’s review the current recommendations for carbohydrates, protein and fat, as well as MyFitnessPal’s default goals for these nutrients:

Current Recommendations
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating within the following ranges:

• Carbohydrates: 45-65% of calories
• Fat: 20-35% of calories
• Protein: 10-35% of calories

Also worth mentioning here is the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for carbohydrates, which is 130 grams per day. This number is based upon the amount of carbohydrates (sugars and starches) required to fuel an adult’s brain, red blood cells and central nervous system. This is important because if we do not get enough carbohydrates from our diet, the body will break down protein (which it can turn into glucose) to maintain blood sugar levels and fuel the brain and red blood cells.

MyFitnessPal’s Current Default Goals
MyFitnessPal’s current default goals distribute calories as follows: 50% from carbohydrates, 20% from protein and 30% from fat.

To help you visualize some modest modifications, here’s a table summarizing a couple of options for safely cutting back on calories from carbohydrates and fat while increasing protein intake to optimize the diet for weight loss:

	Recommended Ranges (Percent of Calories)	Lower Carb Higher Protein (Percent of Calories)	Lower Carb & Fat Higher Protein (Percent of Calories)
Carbohydrates	45-65%	45%	45%
Protein	10-35%	25%	30%
Fat	20-35%	30%	25%

For those primarily interested in cutting calories from carbohydrates, a 1,200-calorie diet with 45% of calories from carbohydrates would provide 135 grams of carbohydrates, thus meeting the RDA of 130 grams. Go below that and it becomes incredibly difficult to hit your daily fiber goal (which also helps with satiety) and you may feel more sluggish during workouts. Hypothetically speaking, a 1,300-calorie diet with as few as 40% calories from carbohydrates (below the recommended minimum) would still meet the RDA for carbohydrates.

If you’re currently using MyFitnessPal’s default goals and want to trade some carb calories for protein, the 45:25 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio may be a good place to start.

Don’t forget about quality, too.

While there’s no one magic ratio for everyone, you may find that making some modest adjustments to macronutrient intake can help your long-term weight loss efforts. Feel free to experiment but remember: The quality of the protein, fat and carbs you eat are just as important as the quantity.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you adjust your macros:

1. When it comes to carbohydrates, the more complex the better. Complex carbohydrates like vegetables and whole grains, contain fiber which has a beneficial impact both on satiety and blood sugar. Put those on your plate instead of highly refined or simple carbohydrates and sugary treats. This Nutrition 101: Carbohydrates post offers some healthy carb options.

2. Lean protein offers muscle-sparing benefits with very few calories from fat. Check out this great Nutrition 101: Protein post for some great plant-based protein sources as well as some lean cuts of meat, poultry and fish to stock up on.

3. Fats have many benefits ranging from satiety to brain health–especially those rich in omega-3s. Skim over our Nutrition 101: Fats post if you’re looking for some heart-healthy options.

Note: Modest changes in macronutrient intake can be beneficial for weight loss; however, these tweaks may not appropriate for everyone, particularly those with diabetes, kidney disease or other diseases affected by diet composition. As always, it’s best to check with a dietitian or doctor before making these changes, particularly if you have medical concerns.

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What Exactly Happens to Your Body When You Overeat?

Overeating can seem harmless. So you finished that whole bag of chips the other day — what’s the big deal? But as one of the biggest causes of obesity, overeating runs deeper than simply having the occasional case of my-eyes-were-bigger-than-my-stomach syndrome.

“Overeating is when a person eats to the point of feeling uncomfortable,” says Keri Gans, RD, author of “The Small Diet Change.” “You should be able to walk away from a meal feeling satisfied but not stuffed like you need to undo your pants.”

But it’s not just a physical problem. To get to the root of why we do it, it helps to take a closer look at the psychological as well as the physical.

“A lot of it is behavioral,” says Gans. “Since we were children, we were taught to finish everything on our plate, and therefore we’ve lost the ability to recognize when we’re full.”

When you do fall prey to the temptation to overeat, a few things happen to your body.

“The immediate response for people when they overeat is that they feel tired and sluggish,” says Gans. “It takes work to digest a meal, and, if you’re eating a lot of food — especially high-fat foods — that takes a lot of energy for your body to digest.”

Next, you’ll get that uncomfortable bloated feeling. As your body works to digest the high volume of food, your stomach will produce gases, leaving you to deal with the discomfort of your waistband suddenly cutting into your stomach.

You might also experience a separate pain from acid reflux, which can be triggered by downing a high volume of food.

And most importantly (and obviously), any time you consume more calories than you burn, you’ll gain weight.

So what can we do about it? First, figure out if you’re actually hungry or if reaching for the plate of cookies in the break room is more of an emotional response.

“One of the first things I always tell my patients is to use what I call the ‘HALT’ method,” says Gans. “Are they hungry, angry, lonely or tired?”

Once you’ve ruled out an underlying psychological state as your motivation for eating, take a look at what’s actually on your plate. A properly portioned meal that’s high in fiber will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied and nourished. Gans recommends following the 25-25-50 rule: one-quarter of your meal should be lean protein like grilled shrimp, one-quarter whole grains like whole-wheat pasta and half filling fiber like grilled veggies.

You can also eat from a smaller plate when possible, since several studies have shown that how big our portion appears relative to plate size plays a big role in how much of it we eat.

Now that you’re sitting at the table, make mealtime an actual event. “Slow down and remove distractions,” says Gans. “Actually focus on eating, tasting and enjoying your food.”

And finally, she recommends drinking water with your meals — it will help to slow you down and fill you up, giving you the upper hand on overeating.

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10 Freezer-Friendly Breakfasts Under 375 Calories

All hail the freezer! Let’s face it — while we’d all love to leisurely dine on omelets and pancakes before work, we’re simply too busy most days. By preparing a few nutritious options ahead of time — like whole-grain oatmeal muffins, hearty granola bars and breakfast burritos — you’ll set yourself up for morning success. Kick-start the workweek with one of these freezer-friendly breakfasts, all for less than 375 calories!

10 Freezer-Friendly Breakfasts Under 375 Calories

1. Banana Granola Bars | Running with Spoons

Having a batch of healthy homemade granola bars in the freezer makes breakfast (or snacktime) a total breeze! Subtly sweetened with ripe bananas, honey and dates, this simple yet hearty gluten-free breakfast treat is packed with nutrition and flavor. Recipe makes 10 servings at 1 granola bar each.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 130; Total Fat: g2; Saturated Fat: 0g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 120mg; Carbohydrate: 27g; Dietary Fiber: 3g; Sugar: 14g; Protein: 3g

2. Gluten-Free Banana Oat Waffles | Kim’s Cravings

Jump-start your day with these fluffy and wholesome banana waffles. Freeze leftovers and reheat in the toaster oven for a light, crispy breakfast in no time! Top with crushed walnuts and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. Recipe makes 4 servings at 1 large waffle each.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 232; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 93mg; Sodium: 82mg; Carbohydrate: 36g; Dietary Fiber: 5g; Sugar: 5g; Protein: 10g

3. Lemon Coconut Baked Oatmeal Cups | Hummusapien

This portable option is packed with fresh lemon and coconut flakes for a light, fresh breakfast. Whip up a batch ahead of time, and freeze for a filling, quick and super-tasty grab-and-go option on hectic mornings. Simply pop one in the microwave for breakfast in seconds. Recipe makes 12 servings at 1 oatmeal cup each.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 157; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 24mg; Carbohydrate: 24g; Dietary Fiber: 4g; Sugar: 6g; Protein:4g

4. Make-Ahead Mini Frittatas | Clean Eating

When there’s not enough time for an omelet with toppings galore, these Italian-style mini frittatas are the next best thing. They’re totally portable and loaded with fresh tomatoes, lean chicken sausage, mozzarella and fresh basil. As an added bonus, they cook up very quickly in the muffin pan! Recipe makes 6 servings at 2 frittatas each.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 291; Total Fat: 16g; Saturated Fat: 6g; Monounsaturated Fat: 6g; Cholesterol: 297mg; Sodium:489 mg; Carbohydrate: 16g; Dietary Fiber: 2g;  Sugar: 4g; Protein: 21g

5. Gluten-Free Almond Butter Zucchini Muffins | Eating Bird Food

For those mornings when you wake up with a raging sweet tooth, almond butter zucchini muffins come to the rescue! Chock-full of freshly grated zucchini, these mini muffins make an ultra-moist, healthy and convenient breakfast. Bake a double batch, and freeze leftovers for grab-and-go treats. Recipe makes 24 servings at 1 mini muffin each.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 87; Total Fat: 7g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 18mg; Sodium: 58mg; Carbohydrate: 5g; Dietary Fiber: 1g;  Sugar: 3g; Protein: 3g

6. Protein-Packed Breakfast Burritos | Fit Foodie Finds

These savory egg and bacon wraps are perfect to grab before work or school. With a whopping 27 grams of protein, they’re sure to power you through any morning. Make a few extra to store in the freezer for easy reheating during the week. Recipe makes 4 servings.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 371; Total Fat: 22g; Saturated Fat: 7g; Monounsaturated Fat: 4g; Cholesterol: 391mg; Sodium: 565mg; Carbohydrate: 21g; Dietary Fiber: 9g; Sugar: 3g; Protein: 27g

7. Banana Berry Oat Bars | MyFitnessPal Original Recipe

When you wake up early or have some time on the weekend, bake a batch of wholesome berry oat bars for a sweet workday breakfast. They’re lightly sweetened with ripe banana and a touch of honey. Top with your favorite berries and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a morning treat you won’t soon forget! (For vegan-friendly bars, substitute pure maple syrup for the honey.) Recipe makes 4 servings at 4 small bars each.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 289; Total Fat: 3g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 642mg; Carbohydrate: 62g; Dietary Fiber: 8g; Sugar: 26g; Protein: 6g

8. Whole Food Breakfast Burritos | Simply Sisson

Making your own healthy breakfast burritos to grab on the way to work is easier than you think! This whole food version combines turkey sausage, eggs, veggies and seasoned breakfast potatoes for a fuss-free, freezer-friendly meal. To speed up the process, cook the turkey sausage and potatoes ahead of time. Toss in a handful of fresh greens for extra nutrition! Recipe makes 16 servings.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 297; Total Fat: 12g; Saturated Fat: 4g; Monounsaturated Fat: 3g; Cholesterol: 181mg; Sodium: 719mg; Carbohydrate: 37g; Dietary Fiber: 9g;  Sugar: 6g; Protein: 16g

9. Blueberry Breakfast Cookies | Ambitious Kitchen

Put some pep in your step with unique cookies made especially for breakfast! Banana, blueberries, flax and oats make these a tasty and wholesome morning treat. (We like to add walnuts and chocolate chips, but feel free to add coconut, almonds or dried cranberries.) Recipe makes 8 cookies.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 206; Total Fat: 12g; Saturated Fat: 4g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Carbohydrate: 24g; Dietary Fiber: 5g; Sugar: 9g; Protein: 5g

10. Healthy Flourless Sweet Potato Muffins | The Big Man’s World

A light and fluffy muffin recipe made with whole grain oats and a cup of veggies? Yes, please! You’d never guess there was mashed sweet potato hidden in these vegan breakfast bites. The best part is that you’ll only need one bowl whip them up.  Recipe makes 11 servings.

Nutrition (per serving):  Calories: 166; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 36mg; Carbohydrate: 25g; Dietary Fiber: 3g; Sugar: 8g; Protein: 4g

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Is This Trendy New Bread Healthier Than Regular Bread?

Bread has gotten a bad rap in recent years, but a new trend in baking is trying to change that. A growing number of bakers are using fresh-milled flour—i.e. flour that they’ve ground themselves or gotten from a local mill—in their breads, all in the name of health.

According to the Wall Street Journal, bread made from freshly milled flour not only tastes better, it has more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than bread made from “regular” flour. In fact, they say it’s better for you than bread made from your standard whole wheat flour, which is typically made by mixing white flour with small amounts of wheat bran.

Is this for real? Experts say yes.

“Fresh-milled whole grain flour provides the goodness of all the parts of the grain, so it contains superior levels of fiber, magnesium, selenium, vitamin E, and phytonutrients,” registered dietitian nutritionist Karen Ansel, coauthor of The Calendar Diet: A Month by Month Guide to Losing Weight, tells SELF. “Any bread made completely from whole grain fresh milled flour is going to give you the benefits of these nutrients.”

Here’s why: Freshly milled whole grain flour grinds up the wheat kernel, which contains the bran (the outer layer packed with fiber), the endosperm (the starchy middle layer), and the germ (the inner layer). White flour, on the other hand, is made just by grinding just the endosperm so that it’s shelf-stable.

“These breads will likely contain more fiber and nutrients that commercial white bread,” says New York City registered dietitian Jessica Cording. “However, it’s possible that because there is some slight variability between nutrient profiles between different grains, the amount may not be as consistent.”

And, while bread made from freshly milled flour is extremely rich in nutrients, Ansel says it doesn’t necessarily surpass the nutrition of 100 percent whole wheat bread. “As long as the bread you’re buying lists ‘100 percent whole wheat flour’ as the first ingredient, it’s loaded with nutrition and is an equally good choice,” she says.

There is a downside of fresh-milled flour, though: It starts to lose its flavor immediately after milling, and is supposed to be used within a week. Breads made from the flour have a very short shelf life, so you’d need to buy it fresh regularly or even every day. “For many people, that’s not practical,” Ansel points out.

Bread made from freshly milled flour comes out on top, nutritionally speaking, when compared to white bread, but not on all fronts. “It does contain less folate, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron because these nutrients are added to white flour to prevent nutritional deficiencies,” Ansel says. “A little known fact is that one reason the Dietary Guidelines recommend making half of our grains whole is that if Americans were to cut out all enriched white flour we wouldn’t be able to meet our folate needs.”

But bread made from freshly milled flour can fill you up more because of its hearty grains, registered dietitian nutritionist Beth Warren, founder of Beth Warren Nutrition and author of Living a Real Life With Real Food, tells SELF. And, she points out, it freezes, so you can slice up a loaf, set aside what you want to eat for the next day, and pop the rest in the freezer until you’re ready to use it.

Overall, experts say bread made from fresh-milled flour is a good option if you can get it. But, Ansel says, “if store-bought whole wheat is easier, don’t sweat it.”

—By Korin Miller

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The Upside of a Weight-Loss Plateau

It’s December 31st, 2015. You hop on the scale and you weigh the exact same amount you did on January 1st, 2015. How would you feel?

Happy? Sad?

What if I told you that the average American gains 1 pound every year? And that by not gaining a pound in the year, you’re actually doing well above average!

Most people lose a little bit of weight, hit a plateau, then immediately give up when things aren’t going as quickly as they were before. Most people gain that weight back and then some. This whole phenomenon of quitting when things are going more slowly is a bit like hitting traffic on your way home from work, and abandoning your car on the side of the road because you’re not driving as fast as you wanted. Or getting a flat tire and slashing the other three.

There’s a mantra in Zen: “the obstacles are the path.”

Plateaus happen. We know they’re going to happen. In fact, when we plateau, it means that we’ve made progress! It’s the perfect time to look back and see how far you’ve come because no human endeavor is linear. Learning a language, a musical instrument, how do date, or how to write well all takes time, with improvements coming in waves of easy progress, then stagnation, followed by bursts of more progress.

Diane Fu is a weight lifting coach in San Francisco who tells her athletes, “When you hit that first plateau and you’re not improving as fast as you were before, congratulations! You’re no longer a beginner!”

The same is true with fat loss. Weight loss can be fast in the beginning because the more weight you have to lose, the faster it comes off. The closer you get to your goal weight, the slower things get. So it’s not a sign you’re doing something wrong; it’s a sign you’ve done things right! It’s a sign that you’re completely normal and have hit a point that everyone hits on their weight-loss journey. A plateau is a mark on the road, letting you know you’re heading in the right direction, and that you’ve made a lot of progress.

So now it’s up to you. When most people hit a plateau, all they can think about is that things aren’t going as quickly as they were before, so they quit. The weight comes back on and they’re further away from their goal than they ever were. But plateaus are just part of the journey—a slight bend in the road that is still going to take you where you want to be. Do you turn around to go back? Or do you keep walking?

When you focus on the journey instead of the destination, the plateaus come and go. If you keep tracking, keep making little improvements to your diet, keep walking every day and getting some exercise, then the weeks when things aren’t going as quickly as you want them to will give way to the weeks when everything seems to fall into place.

And, before you know it, it will be December 31, 2015. The average American gains 1 pound a year. The average dieter gains back more weight than he or she loses. So all it takes to be better than average is to keep moving forward.

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Sausage & Vegetable Egg Bake

This yummy sausage and vegetable egg bake is a delicious way to fit a complete meal (and some extra veggies) into one pan. Courtesy of The Lean Green Bean, each mouthful is dense with flavor and eggy goodness! This egg bake can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated and popped into the oven when you’re ready to serve.

Sausage & Vegetable Egg Bake

Ingredients

• 1 medium red pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove moisture
• 2 chicken sausage links, chopped
• 6 large eggs
• 4 ounces cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups bread, cubed (Italian loaf or a baguette work well)
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Optional: ½ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

If serving immediately, preheat oven to 350F. Alternatively, you may cover prepared mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight for baking the next day.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Spoon into a greased 9 inch x 9 inch baking pan.

Bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes, until desired degree of doneness is reached.

Nutrition Information

Serves: 4 |  Serving Size: 1/4 of 9″X 9″ pan piece

Per serving: Calories: 387; Total Fat: 20g; Saturated Fat: 10g; Monounsaturated Fat: 7g; Cholesterol: 355mg; Sodium: 465mg; Carbohydrate: 20g; Dietary Fiber: 2g; Sugar: 8g; Protein: 23g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 591mg; Iron: 18%; Vitamin A: 102%; Vitamin C: 113%; Calcium: 21% 

Lindsay is a Registered Dietitian from Columbus, OH that specializes in nutrition communications and works as the Nutrition Communications Coordinator for HealthyAperture.com and TheRecipeRedux.com. Lindsay is also a freelance recipe developer, writer, and the author behind the healthy lifestyle blog, The Lean Green Bean. For more, follow Lindsay on Pinterest and Twitter.

Photo courtesy of The Lean Green Bean.

Original recipe can be found on The Lean Green Bean.

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20 of the Worst Restaurant Calorie Bombs

How many calories are you really eating at restaurants? Everywhere you turn there are delicious dishes that turn out to be calorie bombs in disguise. A 2016 study by Tufts researchers found that 92% of 364 restaurant meals — from both large-chain and “non chain” restaurants — serve up more calories than the average person needs in a single meal.

Get this: The researchers found that meals at nonchain restaurants averaged 1,205 calories! (Nonchain restaurants are those with fewer than 20 locations, so they are not required to provide calorie information under the menu labeling law adopted in 2010.) Large-chain restaurants had roughly the same stats. To help you understand how many calories you’re getting, we’ve compiled stats from the study and other sources in this handy infographic. There are some tips to help you order up (just not in calories!).

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The 10 Best Yoga Moves for Inflexible People

Once Barbie and GI Joe started doing yoga, we could pretty much call it: Yoga is officially everywhere these days. But all that stretching and balancing is just for bendy people who can flop over their legs effortlessly—the rest of us non-bendy people who already exercise plenty don’t really need it, right?

Not so fast: While being fit and being flexible don’t always go hand-in-hand, being injured and being inflexible often does. But there are ways to get the full benefit from yoga—even if you can’t touch your toes—and without the special studios and the special pants. These 10 starter poses are for people at all flexibility levels, plus you don’t even need a mat!

What you need: a kitchen counter or a chair; a towel; a milk crate, stool, or a small trashcan; an open doorway; and a blank expanse of wall.

With the following poses, keep these five general principles in mind.

1. You should always be able to breathe evenly, so find your edge but don’t go past it! Allow your body to open up and adjust over the space of about five or six breaths in each pose.
2. Keep your core muscles active but not to the point of holding your breath.
3. Keep a neutral spine; no “swayback donkeys” or sunken chests.
4. Twisting happens at the waist, not at the shoulders.
5. When bending forward, hinge from the hips, not the middle of your back.

CHEST, SHOULDERS & UPPER BACK

1. Upper Chest and Back Opener
Do this move anywhere, standing or sitting. And definitely bust it out at the end of a long flight to release that “cabin pressure” in your upper body.

With bent elbows, raise arms to shoulder height. Make hands into loose fists facing each other. Open chest by drawing elbows back like they’re going to meet behind your back.

As you return to the starting position, continue the motion, wrapping hands around opposite shoulders and stacking elbows on top of one another. To get a nice stretch along upper back and the back of your neck, tuck your face into the triangular space created by your elbows. Repeat the motion a second time, switching which elbow is on top. Do at least 2 to 3 sets.

2. Chest and Shoulder Opener

Here’s a move to get those chest and shoulders to open up. It’s the antidote to long stints hunched over a desk. Do this standing or sitting.

Hold a towel in front of you with one end in each hand. Raise arms up in a wide V overhead to locate the edge of the stretch. (You should feel an expansion in upper chest and the front of shoulders. If you aren’t finding that sweet spot, try moving hands farther apart or closer together on the towel.) Also try this snazzy variation: Hold the towel in both hands behind you. Spread feet out a bit wider than hip distance, toes pointing forward. Bend forward from the hips, dropping torso over legs. Raise arms with the towel overhead from behind.

3. Seated Spinal Twist

Keep this spinal twist handy as you work toward that corner office. It’s great for de-stressing and undoing the damage of a full afternoon of slouchy sitting. Remember: The twist happens at the waistline; resist using the chair’s back to wrench your body around further into the twist.

Seated on a chair, swing legs to the left side. Twist to the left so torso is facing the chair back and grasp it with hands. If neck will permit it, complete the full spinal twist by looking over left shoulder. (Don’t force it. Just look ahead if neck twinges in protest.) Swing round to the right and repeat.

4. Standing Twist

Let’s invite more of your body to this yoga party. As with the seated version, the twisting should come at the waist and your hands should help hold you in the pose, rather than cranking your spine past the limit.

With hips squared to the front of the chair, place right foot on the seat (thigh should be parallel with the floor). Put right hand on hip and left hand on right knee, and twist to the right. For a nice counter twist, come back to center and continue twisting to the left, placing left hand on hip and right hand on right knee. Repeat the twist and counter twist with left foot on the chair.

5. Standing Wall Twist

C’mon baby, let’s do more twists! To get deeper in this pose, bring the wall into action.

Place a chair next to a wall. Bend the leg closest to the wall and place it on the chair. This time when you twist, place hands on the wall to hold yourself in a deeper position—but walk them back toward center if your back starts to protest! Repeat on the opposite side.

 

HAMSTRINGS & CALVES

6. Half Dog

Let’s put a few more smudges on that wall! If you’ve ever tried a downward dog pose but couldn’t straighten your legs, a “half dog” against the wall is a great gateway pose that’ll help to open up the entire backside of your body.

Stand a few feet in front of a wall and place hands flat against it a bit above waist height. As you bend forward from the hips, walk feet back and continue to straighten out arms. Try not to let an arch creep into lower back; keep tailbone neutral. Also, keep eyes gazing down, dawg! If that 90-degree angle is too much, start a little closer to the wall and place hands higher up. (Ain’t no shame in keeping things more vertical.)

7. Chair-Assisted Half Dog

Cluttered wall? Here’s your workaround: the chair version of that forward bend.

Stand a few feet from a chair, wrapping hands around the back of it. Bend forward from the hips, keeping back in a neutral position. Tip: You can also do this stretch while holding on to a kitchen counter. Consider it the ultimate in microwave multitasking and do it while waiting for food to heat up.

If you’re getting in a forward-bend groove and feel yourself opening up, try flipping the chair round and using the seat for balance. It’ll deepen the stretch and get you closer to toe-touching distance. Likewise, you can sub in an old milk crate or flip over your bathroom garbage can to limbo a little lower. (But as always, don’t push it to the point of pain!)

8. Seated Forward Bend Variation

This pose is the tried-and-true way to gain flexibility in your lower body. That said, it can be discouraging to watch others rest their heads on their knees while you go red in the face trying to graze your toes with a fingertip. Towels to the rescue! Lasso your foot with one, and you’ll increase your reach and do the pose in good form.

Loop a towel around left foot and sit up straight. Bend right knee and rest right foot as far up left leg as right knee will allow. Bend forward from the hips. If your hamstring is tight, hold the pose sitting upright.

Not enough of a stretch? Try bending elbows a bit to go a bit deeper into the bend. Repeat on the right leg.

9. Reclining One Legged Stretch

If stretching is an ongoing strugglefest, this pose will be a welcome way to make peace with your hamstrings. A doorframe provides solid support here. The corner of a wall works, too.

Lie faceup on the floor, positioning body in a doorframe so right leg is on the ground through the doorway and left heel is positioned on the wall. Relax, breathe normally, and let the wall do all the work! The closer your butt is to the wall, the more intense the stretch—so if you’re stiff, move your butt farther away from the wall and position left heel lower on the wall. Scoot over to the opposite side of the doorframe to repeat on the right leg.

10. Easy Balance Sequence

Yoga isn’t just a stretch-a-palooza. It also involves strength and balance. These simple standing poses are great for people who want to improve their balancing skills. Try them first with one or both hands on the chair back for support, and if you’re feeling like a boss, ditch the chair and hold your arms loosely out to either side for balance. If you start to topple, tap your raised foot down to the ground and try again: Your joints and muscles still have the challenge of keeping you upright and balanced, but you can bail out of the pose any time.

Standing with a chair on left side, do a posture check: Eyes on the horizon? Ears positioned over relaxed shoulders? Shoulders over hips? Core engaged? Weight evenly distributed on both feet? Good. Now, with one or both hands resting on the chair back, raise right foot in front of you a few inches off the ground and hold it for three to five breaths (not shown). Bring foot back in to center, then send it out to the side for three to five breaths. Bring foot back in to center, then send it back behind you for three to five breaths. Repeat on the left leg.

Images Courtesy of Greatist.

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Is Workout Music Worth The Distraction?

Thinking critically and working out don’t mix well. Maybe it’s because they’re so often at odds: one action requires focus, the other relaxation. Combined, they’re a draining slog. If you don’t believe me, try listening to an audiobook while running on a treadmill.

Lately, the same conceit of overcommitting our attention has got me thinking about music and how we use it during workouts.

Do we actually listen, or do we more often just… rely on it?

A cursory Google search will turn up dozens of studies arguing that music can improve both your endurance and performance, either by numbing you to pain or distracting you from it. I don’t disagree with this notion — it’s practically undeniable that the more you mentally remove yourself from the experience at hand, the longer you’ll be able to keep it up.

But is that what we want from exercise?

If you’re on board with my latest post, you’ll agree that part of making a healthy routine repeatable is keeping your motivation intrinsic — running because it makes you feel good, not simply because you want to be healthier.

Ask yourself: How does music factor into that philosophy?

Shop This Article: UA Headphones Wireless

This isn’t a plea to outlaw playlists. It’s an attempt to change how we think about them. Too often I’ve found myself only partly experiencing music during my runs and more likely instead to develop subconscious associations between certain songs and physical exhaustion.

This summer is a chance to change that. Take that music you love, that album you’ve been waiting to explore — and save it for a time you can fully devote your attention. Separate your activities and pay attention to them, rather than imagining you are somewhere else. Listen to Tame Impala’s “Currents” (if you haven’t yet, do it now) without counting strides in your head.

Here’s an experiment to set this all in motion:

1. Make a jump-starter playlist, with the focus on establishing your rhythm during a workout. I like hook-heavy, percussive songs for this (dubstep and trap are favorites, but do you).
2. Go for a run or workout of your choice. Anything that keeps your breathing quick and regular.
3. Don’t leave the task at hand as you find your tempo. Stay focused on where you are and what you’re doing. Tap into that electric feeling of dopamine slowly seeping in and activating your whole body. Feel your breath begin to double up as you hit the ceiling of a sustainable, comfortable rhythm.
4. Let the music fade to the background. If it doesn’t happen naturally, try turning the volume down. When you find yourself thinking of other things, only occasionally checking in on what song is playing, do yourself a favor.
5. Hit the stop button. Your playlist has done its job — you’re in the zone. Now just let that feeling run its course, and enjoy the hissing of summer lawns.

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Take Your Fitness Info Beyond the App with Our New Premium Feature

Over the next few months, we’ll be releasing multiple new features that will be available as part of our MyFitnessPal Premium subscription. We can’t wait to show you everything we’ve been busy cooking up — and we don’t just mean our Chunky Monkey Trail Mix.

If you haven’t already joined Premium, now is a great time so you have access to all of our new Premium features as soon as they’re released. We don’t want to spoil the surprise, but we can say that our Premium updates are designed to make it easier than ever to reach your health goals. Start your Premium membership today by clicking here.

Premium Just Got Even Better

If you’re a Premium member, you can now export the following information from your account:

• Progress History
• Meal Level Nutrition Details
• Exercise History

You have the option to choose a custom date range for the information you’d like to export. We’ll email you a set of CSV files that you’ll be able to use in whatever way you find most helpful.

Exporting Your Information Is Easy

You can find the Export button on both the Progress and Nutrition screens in the app.

Here’s how the feature works on iOS:

And here’s how it works on Android:

Next Step: Check Your Email

You should find an email from MyFitnessPal that looks like this in your inbox:

Your information will arrive as a set of CSV files that you can download by clicking the button in the email. We recommend downloading the files on a computer instead of a mobile device.

Now, The Fun Begins!

You’ll receive three files: Progress Summary, Exercise Summary and Nutrition Summary.

You can open the files in Excel or another data program and do a deep dive into your habits by creating custom graphs. You may want to try combining your progress history with your exercise and meal history. Or, calculate your calorie and macronutrient ratio changes over time to understand your nutrition at a deeper level. The possibilities are endless.

You can also print your files and share them with your personal trainer, nutritionist, registered dietician, friends or family members.

For more details on about getting the most out of your information, click here.

Explore MyFitnessPal Premium

MyFitnessPal Premium members can enjoy this feature on both Android and iOS. If you’d like to sign up for MyFitnessPal Premium, click here.

Upgrade to the latest version of the app (if you haven’t already) to start using this feature today!

Be sure to look out for more exciting Premium features coming soon.

We hope you enjoy and happy tracking!

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So You Want to Stop… Craving Junk Food

I love ice cream. I love ice cream the way most people love their next breath of air. And I would eat ice cream morning, noon, and night if it weren’t for those pesky tens of thousands of accumulated calories. Even though I know it’s not the best food choice, I often get cravings for it that will last for days. Which is why I was probably thinking about ice cream when I read this story:

Two monks were walking down a muddy road after a heavy rainstorm. As they walked, they came upon a beautiful woman who was unable to cross the deep puddles to the other side of the road. The elder monk lifted her up and bore the beautiful woman across the road before continuing on his way to the monastery. Later that evening, the younger monk asked the elder monk, “Sir, isn’t it true that we monks may not touch a woman?” The elder monk responded, “Yes, that is true.” “Sir, then why did you carry that woman across the road?” The elder monk smiled, “I left her on the side of the road, but you are still carrying her.”

Luckily, ice cream is not a moral issue and I am not a monk. But as this ancient story illustrates, cravings are a part of life. They do not indicate that you’re weak or doing something wrong, instead cravings are simply proof that you’re human. And luckily, there is a very simple strategy to deal with what my mom calls, “wanting what you don’t want”—Give into it (a little). This works for three reasons:

1. Willpower is a limited resource According to the research of psychologist Roy Baumeister,we don’t have an endless supply of willpower. In the story, instead of obsessing over the woman, the younger monk could have spent all day in prayer and doing good for others. Similarly, the brain power you spend denying yourself ice cream is brain power you could be using to make lots of better food and lifestyle choices. In fact, experiments have shown willpower is linked to available glucose. So you might simply be low on willpower because your blood sugar is low, and giving into the craving (a little) will make it easier to resist and make better food choices in the long run.

2. Not doing something is harder than doing it Another major neurological factor in the success of giving in (a little) is that humans are really bad at not doing things. For example, don’t think of a pink elephant. Now don’t eat ice cream. See? If you tell yourself you can’t ever have something, you’re far more likely to want it—in psychology this is called “reactance.” Telling yourself you can have something, even just a little bit, actually makes us feel less controlled by the craving, and we’re more likely to be able to avoid it in the future.

3. Giving in a little bit trains your willpower By having a taste of what we want, we are teaching our brains that what we want is not a scarce resource and that there will be ice cream in the future. In 2012, scientists at the University of Rochester revisited the famous 1972 “marshmallow experiments,” and demonstrated that children who were given reliable access to marshmallows could actually resist eating marshmallows 4 times longer than children who were given irregular access to marshmallows. Which means giving into cravings every now and then actually improves your ability to resist cravings in the future.

On a practical level, I have 3 tips:

1. Portion it out.
2. Enjoy it.
3. Put it away.

When I am desperate for ice cream, I make my patented “Stevo Sundae,” vanilla ice cream with a shot of bourbon poured on top. I sit down and do nothing else but eat my sundae so I can enjoy it more. And when I’m done, I go through the ritual of cleaning my bowl and putting the pint away, which tells my brain, “Hey, I’m done!” And if I want more, I remind myself that if I really, really want it, I can have a little bit tomorrow.

What do you do when a craving hits? Share your strategies in the comments below.

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Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

A sweet and healthy twist on chips and salsa, this fruit salad with cinnamon chips from Food Fanatic is a quick and easy way to add fruit into your diet. What’s more, this snack is great to take on the go!

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients

For the chips

• 12 wonton wrappers, cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Cooking spray

For the salsa

• 2 apples, diced
• 1 cup diced strawberries
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, and spread the wonton wrappers on it. Spritz the tops of the wonton wrappers with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle it over the wonton wrappers.

Bake for 9–10 minutes until they are browned and crispy. Cool completely; they will crisp up a bit more as they cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the apples, strawberries, lime juice, onion and cilantro.

Cover tightly, and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Serve with the cinnamon wonton chips.

Nutrition Information

Serves: 4 |  Serving Size: 3/4 cup salsa + 12 chips

Per serving: Calories: 130; Total Fat: 1g; Saturated Fat: 0g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 4mg; Sodium: 141mg; Carbohydrate: 30g; Dietary Fiber: 4g; Sugar: 13g; Protein: 3g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 170mg; Iron: 6%; Vitamin A: 2%; Vitamin C: 52%; Calcium: 3% 

We’re Food Fanatic – a gathering of the best food bloggers the internet has to offer in one tasty spot. If you love food? We’re your people. For more delicious recipes, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Original recipe created by Stacey of Bake. Eat. Repeat. and published on Food Fanatic.

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Ask the Dietitian: What’s the Deal with Starvation Mode?

Ever skipped a lunch break only to be warned by a well-meaning buddy that it could put your body into “starvation mode” and damage your metabolism? Before you dash off to stuff a dollar into that vending machine, it’s important to understand the different ways that people define starvation mode and how it differs from actual starvation.

What is starvation mode?

“Starvation mode” is a slippery term. While one camp wishes that the starvation mode myth would die already, another staunchly defends its existence. Unsurprisingly, this boils down to the differences in definition. The two most common definitions are:

1. Starvation mode is a phenomenon where metabolism slows down because you’re not eating often enough.
2.  Starvation mode is a phenomenon where your metabolism slows down because you’re not eating enough calories.

“Starvation mode” is not eating often enough.

The implied horror of being in starvation mode is that your weight loss stalls because your metabolism is broken. Where did this idea come from? It came from the popular weight-loss tip that you should eat six small meals per day instead of three square meals. Because digestion requires you to burn calories to get calories from food, eating six small meals was supposed to keep you at an elevated metabolism for weight loss. Conversely, not eating frequently enough means you burn fewer calories and your metabolism slows down (aka starvation mode).

By this definition, “starvation mode” is a myth. You don’t need to constantly eat to keep your metabolism elevated. Your metabolism doesn’t break just because you decide to skip a meal every so often. Additionally, when it comes to weight loss, the overall calories consumed matter more than how often you eat.

“Starvation mode” is not eating enough calories.

If you regularly slash a reasonable number of calories (e.g., 250–500 calories per day) to lose weight, you may run into the dreaded weight-loss plateau after a streak of scale victories. It’s a very real and normal consequence of losing weight. Here, starvation mode and weight-loss plateaus are two sides of the same coin. Both refer to what happens when you weigh less — you consequently have a lower metabolism and burn fewer calories. While it’s a bummer to be handed this reality in a calorie-rich environment, the adaptation was useful in the past when food shortages were common.

If you drastically slash calories and are eating a very low-calorie diet (Think: less than 1,000 calories for women and less than 1,200 calories for men), “starvation mode” can actually be starvation. Starvation from chronic undereating can be counterproductive to weight loss and dangerous to your health. Eating very low-calorie diets for extended amounts of time puts you at risk for malnutrition because it makes it very difficult for you to obtain all the vitamins and minerals through food alone. Additionally, your metabolism drops way down to conserve energy, and your body breaks down valuable muscles and organs in a futile effort to maintain adequate fuel for your brain. (If you want to learn more, read Why Undereating Won’t Actually Help You Lose Weight.)

The Takeaway

In both definitions, the hallmark characteristic of starvation mode is a slower resting metabolism and increased hunger — both of which threaten to boot people off the weight-loss horse. This is more likely to happen when you use calorie restriction as the only tool in your weight-loss kit. If your goal is to lose weight and to keep it off, you have to focus on changing your lifestyle. No two bodies are the same, so be open to different strategies, find the ones that work for you and stick with it! Need some inspiration? Check out these 67 science-backed weight loss strategies to get you started!

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3 Signs You Might Have Low Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is the attention-grabbing diva in medical checkups, but it turns out that low blood pressure—known as hypotension—can cause its own reality-show-level damage, too.

Typically, your blood pressure should be around 120/80, though there’s variation, and those numbers (which represent, respectively, the pressure in your arteries when your heart is pumping and when it’s between beats) might be a little higher or lower for you on a normal day. When BP is less than 90/60, it’s considered low.

Though low blood pressure tends to develop later in life, many of the young women that Erika Schwartz, M.D., a physician and author of patient advocacy guide, Don’t Let Your Doctor Kill You, sees in her practice have it. A lot of them don’t realize it, but then fret that it’s unhealthy when they find out.

“Low blood pressure by itself is not a cause for concern, particularly in young women,” says Schwartz. “But when symptoms start occurring, then that’s when you should look at ways to counteract it.”

There are three main signs that you might be battling some low blood pressure ills:

1. Dizziness or lightheadedness, especially when standing up suddenly

You’re looking at the bottom row of books and you pop up to continue your search, and suddenly: whoa, head rush. This is the most common symptom of low blood pressure, and if it happens only occasionally, then it’s no big. Schwartz notes that this one can often get corrected by making sure you’re not dehydrated.

2. Brain fog, complete with crappy memory about things that just happened

Multitasking sucks for everyone (seriously, everyone), but if you’re usually on top of your to-do list and you suddenly start feeling foggy, it could be hypotension. You’ll feel disconnected or spaced out, and then your short-term memory gets glitchy. Fun!

3. Feeling super low energy, even when you’ve had enough sleep

You got your 8 hours, and your butt is still dragging. Even combatting it with venti-sized, multi-shot beverages only works temporarily. Low blood pressure can cause fatigue, and some experts have suggested that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and low blood pressure may be linked.

Less-common symptoms of low blood pressure might be blurred vision, general weakness, and nausea. Sometimes it can cause fainting, and rapid, shallow breathing, and has even been linked to depression, according to the American Heart Association.

The best treatment for low blood pressure is in your lifestyle—and on your kitchen counter.

Although high blood pressure is often addressed with medication, physicians are very reluctant to go that route with hypotension, Schwartz says. That’s because making some tweaks to your everyday habits can yield much better results than popping meds.

What works? The tried-and-true efforts that you may be doing anyway: trouncing stress with activities like yoga, getting enough sleep, ditching the smokes, staying hydrated, and maintaining a moderate-to-kickass level of fitness.

Also, stop being so stingy with the salt.

“Culturally, we have the mentality that salt isn’t good for you,” says Schwartz. “But we need it to maintain normal blood pressure and to support the adrenal system. Women, particularly, require salt because it helps address physical changes during their periods.”

Playing around with good-for-you habits will likely vanquish all those annoying low blood pressure symptoms. But if they persist for more than a few days, then check with your doc, because some conditions can cause low blood pressure, like heart issues, endocrine problems, and pregnancy, especially during the first 24 weeks. So, make an appointment, and maybe have a salt-crusted pretzel on the way.

—By Elizabeth Millard

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