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Can a Food Diary Help You Lose Weight? |
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 Wondering how to keep a food journal? Here are 8 tips for making a food diary work for you.
What if just by making one change in your habits, you could double your weight loss? It may sound too good to be true, but many experts say that the simple act of keeping a food diary can encourage you to eat fewer calories -- and thus lose weight.
Several studies have shown that people who keep food journals are more likely to be successful in losing weight and keeping it off. In fact, a researcher from one recent study says that people keeping a food diary six days a week lost about twice as much weight as those who kept food records one day a week or less. For the six-month study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, dieters kept food diaries, attended weekly group support meetings, and were encouraged to eat a healthy diet and be active.
How does writing down what you eat and drink in a food journal work this kind of magic? For one thing, keeping a food diary instantly increases your awareness of what, how much, and why you are eating. This helps you cut down on mindless munching, says Megrette Fletcher, MEd, RD, executive director of The Center for Mindful Eating.
Food diaries also help people identify areas where they can make changes that will help them lose weight, says Victoria Catenacci, MD, assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. For example, she says, "people don’t realize how many calories they are obtaining from caloric beverages and snacks, and these can be easy interventions … that can help reduce calories."
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Super Foods: Antioxidants and Your Immune System |
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 One of the best ways to keep your immune system strong and prevent colds and flu might surprise you: Shop your supermarket’s produce aisle.
Experts say a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help you ward off infections like colds and flu. That’s because these super foods contain immune-boosting antioxidants.
What are antioxidants? They are vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that protect and repair cells from damage caused by free radicals. Many experts believe this damage plays a part in a number of chronic diseases, including hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), cancer, and arthritis. Free radicals can also interfere with your immune system. So fighting off damage with antioxidants helps keep your immune system strong, making you better able to ward off colds, flu, and other infections.
Antioxidants for Immunity: Where to Find Them
Adding more fruit and vegetables of any kind to your diet will improve your health. But some foods are higher in antioxidants than others. The three major antioxidant vitamins are beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E. You’ll find them in colorful fruits and vegetables – especially those with purple, blue, red, orange, and yellow hues. To get the biggest benefits of antioxidants, eat these foods raw or lightly steamed; don’t overcook or boil.
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Rating the Girl Scout Cookies! |
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 It's that time of year again...Girl Scout Cookie time. So which Girl Scout cookies are the most healthy -- or perhaps I should say the least unhealthy?
The most figure-friendly Girl Scout cookies are those with the fewest fat grams and calories per sensible serving. Below is my ranking, from most figure-friendly to least, of popular Girl Scout Cookie options. The ones with asterisks beside their names were superlative in some category (like lowest in fat or highest in sugar) among those ranked.
1. *Cinna-Spins (1 pouch = 15 mini cookies; 24 grams weight)
*Lowest in fat; lowest in saturated fat; lowest in calories
- Fat grams: 2
- Saturated fat grams: 1
- Calories:100
- Sugar grams: 8
- Total carbohydrate grams:19
- Fiber grams: less than 1
- First 4 ingredients: enriched flour, sugar, palm oil, and high fructose corn syrup
2. *Shortbread (4 cookies; 26 grams)
*Lowest in sugar among the regular cookies - Fat grams: 4.5
- Saturated fat grams: 2
- Calories: 120
- Sugar grams: 4
- Total carbohydrate grams: 19
- Fiber grams: less than 1
- First 3 ingredients: enriched flour, sugar, and palm oil; cookies contain less that 2% of the remaining ingredients
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 Squash comes in two seasonal categories--hard-skinned winter squash and soft-skinned summer squash. Both are usually available year-round.
Winter Squash (acorn, butternut, spaghetti, pumpkin)
Winter squashes are high in nutrition. A cup of cooked acorn squash has about 115 calories, a whopping 900 mg. of potassium and 9 grams of fiber, 25 mg. of vitamin C, plus some B vitamins and iron. A cup of butternut squash has similar amounts, plus 9 mg. of beta carotene. Pumpkin is lower in calories, even richer in beta carotene, and a top source of lutein. Winter squashes can be hard to cut. Microwaving for a minute or two first makes it a bit easier.
Summer Squash (zucchini, crookneck, patty pan, chayote)
Summer squashes are about 95% water, so a cup of cooked summer squash contains only about 30 calories, and about 3 grams of fiber, 350 mg. potassium, and 10 mg. of vitamin C.
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Is Your Health Food Really Healthy? |
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 The following article by Rachel Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., EatingWell.com is one that I feel is worth sharing. Hope you enjoy it!
Don’t be fooled by health halos. Some of the worst offenders:
Energy Bars
Energy bars usually contain protein and fiber—nutrients that help you feel full—but also may be loaded with calories. That’s fine if you occasionally make one a meal, but most of us eat them as snacks. You might as well enjoy a Snickers, which at 280 calories is in the same range as many energy bars.
Lesson Learned: If you need something to tide you over until dinner, look for a calorie-controlled bar with about 5 grams of protein (e.g., Balance 100-calorie bar, Promax 70-calorie bar).
Granola
Granola sounds healthy. But it’s often high in fat, sugar and calories. Don’t be fooled by a seemingly reasonable calorie count; portion sizes are usually a skimpy 1⁄4 or 1⁄2 cup. Low-fat versions often just swap sugar for fat and pack as many calories as regular versions.
Lesson Learned: Read granola labels carefully and stick with recommended portion sizes (which are teeny), perhaps as a topping on fruit or yogurt.
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A nutrition and weight management professional, Fran is the director of Lifestyle Consulting in Austin, Texas. She has worked exclusively in the health and wellness industry for over thirty years and is an ACSM-certified health/fitness instructor, an ACE-certified lifestyle and weight management consultant, an IDEA master trainer, a Cooper-certified wellness coach, and a cancer exercise specialist. Fran received her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, and her M.A. in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Chicago and is the author of two books, Dining Lite in Austin and The Lifestyle Cookbook. 
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