(ARA) – When it comes to weight loss, activity is essential to obtaining results and supporting a healthy lifestyle. Regular physical activity can produce long term health benefits and is a key component in the fight against overweight and obesity. Now is the perfect time to learn how easy it is to get started.

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans released by HHS states that adults can gain substantial health benefits from physical activity by doing two hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity coupled with strength training activities. A review by the American College of Sports Medicine states that a greater level of activity is needed to prevent weight gain, produce weight loss, or maintain a weight loss. Maintenance of a weight loss takes the most activity — 250 minutes a week. Starting slow and maintaining motivation are key to staying active for the long term. A great way to get started is to join a walking team and set a goal such as walking a 5K. The camaraderie and team spirit will help you stay motivated and keep you on track.

To boost your weight-loss efforts, Weight Watchers has engaged the Active Network, a leading online community that promotes exercise, to help encourage the importance of physical activity and support efforts to get more active. Active.com trainer Jenny Hadfield suggests the following tips to start moving more:

Go for the goal
Whether it’s to walk in a 5K, or simply set up a course in the neighborhood to walk with friends, set a tangible goal. Write that goal on paper and mark a date to reach it to stay accountable. Keep in mind that trainers estimate it takes an average of three weeks to form a new habit and eight weeks to prepare for a 5K (3.1 miles).

Evolution versus revolution
Evolve into a fitness routine; don’t give your body a reason to revolt. Start where you are instead of where you want to be to prevent injury or burn out. To determine your level of activity, get a pedometer and see how many steps you take in a day. Each week, try to increase the number of steps by 500 to 1,000 with a long-term goal of walking 10,000 steps per day.

Switch to manual
Bypassing everyday conveniences can help a person move more. Take the stairs. Climb the escalator. Keep your car parked at a large strip mall and trek from store to store. Walk to your coworker’s office instead of calling or e-mailing them. These small changes can add up to big results.

Get fit with friends and family
Gather a group of friends and set a time to walk or run each week. The commitment provides a built-in source of accountability and can make it more fun. Make activity a family event as well, by adding a sense of variety and adventure on the weekends. Whether it’s organizing a hike with your spouse or a treasure hunt with the kids, getting the buy-in from family with help you reach your goal.

Fitness checking account
Think of the food you eat as money spent, and the activity burned as a deposit, similar to a checking account. For those with busy schedules challenged to find a slot of 30 minutes to exercise, break it up throughout the day. Ten minutes at lunch walking the parking lot; 10 minutes power shopping at the grocery store; and adding 10 minutes to the walk to get the mail. Just like money, whether it’s one big deposit or three small deposits, all denominations add up. If you’re following the Weight Watchers program, adding up activity POINTS values can translate into extra POINTS values for food.

Visit a Weight Watchers meeting for additional support. To find a meeting location near you visit www.weightwatchers.comor call (800) 651-6000.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: walking, Weight Watchers

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(ARA) – When the munchies hit at 3 p.m. what do you do? Do you leave your desk and head to the vending machine? Does the thought of the approaching swimsuit season leave you caught between hunger and dread?

At some point during the day — and often, multiple points — most people crave a snack. It’s easy to grab a snack that’s gratifying but high in fat, calories, cholesterol or sodium — and low on nutritional value.

The desire for healthy snacks (or at least less unhealthy snacks) is not a new one. What is new, however, is the emerging mindset that packing more for the punch, or doing more with less, can allow people to have their snacks and eat them, too. With a few lifestyle adjustments, the 3 p.m. snack — or the mid-morning or late night snack, for that matter — can continue.

Get Dense

To gain more from your snacking experience, go for nutrient-dense snacks that are enhanced with a greater amount of better-for-you ingredients. If you have an extra apple or some celery stalks on hand, take advantage of built-in nutrients and pull them out of the refrigerator.

If you are in the mood for a bag of munchies to satisfy your cravings, remember that today’s bagged snacks come in a wide range of better-for-you varieties. Snyder’s of Hanover, for instance, offers products like multigrain pretzels, chips, and puffs, and recently developed a dedicated EatSmart line of better-for-you snacks that fall into the nutrient-dense category.

Indeed, beyond traditional salty snacks made with whole grains, many bagged snacks today are made with non-traditional snack food ingredients. You can actually increase your intake of vegetables with products like vegetable-based crisps. EatSmart Veggie Crisps and Soy Crisps, for example, are made from real potatoes, tomatoes, spinach and soy.

Make Bold Choices

Nutritionists and foodies alike can attest to the fact that eating more flavorful food lends a certain satisfaction to the eating experience. Those who eat boldly flavored snacks may be less likely to over-consume and can take their time to enjoy how the food tastes.

Recognizing that bold flavors enhance the eating experience, manufacturers are responding with more intense and gourmet flavor profiles for snacks, such as pesto, parmesan, chipotle peppers and fire-roasted tomatoes, among many others.

A quick glance at a supermarket shelf in the snacking section supports the notion that consumers are seeking more unique flavors for snacks. Even the most popular chips come in a broader range of flavors beyond traditional cheese, ranch or sour cream and onion, while crackers are also topped with everything from cracked black pepper to bits of rosemary. Snyder’s EatSmart All Natural CheddAirs and Veggie Crisps include a variety of bold flavors you’re sure to enjoy.

Go Natural

For those looking to maximize their snacking experience, all-natural snacks offer an added benefit of “clean” labels, namely, with fewer preservatives and artificial ingredients. Again, supermarkets and restaurants are offering more natural and organic products, in response to growing customer demand.

Looking for “all natural” or “organic” wording on packaged snacks and taking a few seconds to read the label is an assurance that what goes into snacks doesn’t have to be unpronounceable.

Realize that Size Matters

Mindless eating, particularly snacking with little thought of controlling intake, is where a lot of people get into trouble. It may not seem like it when we’re eating while working, texting or watching TV, but it’s very quick and easy to overdo it.

To make it easier on consumers, snack food providers continue to introduce portion-controlled packaging, through 100-calorie packs and snack size products. Those items, ranging from chips to pretzels to snack cakes, are specifically designed to help people keep track of their snacking and stick to a pre-planned intake.

Pretty soon there won’t be an excuse not to snack, given all of the available options. Better-for-you snacking fits into just about any lifestyle – and, in turn, can help ensure a better fit into that swimsuit.

For more information on Snyder’s of Hanover full line of “Better-for-you” snacks, call (800) 233-7125 or visit the company Web site, www.snydersofhanover.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: smarter snacking, snack, snacking

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(ARA) – You glance at the clock on your desk as your stomach begins to growl and realize you have hit the 3 p.m. slump — that vulnerable time after lunch yet still hours from dinner. In order to satisfy your hunger, you look for a quick fix to help you finish out the day. However, stuck at the office, with deadlines looming and energy levels low, your choices may not be as sensible or healthy as you would like. In fact, nearly 75 percent of consumers questioned in a recent survey by Impulse Research consider quite a few to all of their snack choices unhealthy.

Before you resort to grabbing the usual empty calorie options like chips, cookies and candy, why not take a more proactive approach? By following a few easy guidelines and taking advantage of the office fridge, you can create a personalized “vending machine” full of sensible treats.

“A smart snacking strategy helps you curb cravings, stabilize your blood sugar and keep your energy levels up,” says Devin Alexander, chef and bestselling author of “The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook.”

Alexander feels that snacks should not be viewed as just a treat between meals, but as an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. By taking a more serious view of these mini-meals, you can learn to plan and prepare for your cravings with guilt-free options. In addition, when you provide your body with smart snack fuel, you ensure that you won’t be starving when it comes time to eat your main meals and you will make better eating choices overall.

Alexander offers four quick tips to help start your new “vending machine” off on the right track:

Bring Snacks from Home
Rather than rely on the baked goods someone left in the office kitchen or the communal candy jar to provide a balanced snack solution, bring snacks from home as the first step in taking control of your snacking habits. In addition, stocking up at the grocery store is a more budget-friendly option than spending a few dollars each day at the vending machine. Keep your waistline and your wallet in check with this simple step.

Flavor, Flavor, Flavor
Making smart choices doesn’t mean you have to rely on bland celery sticks or rice cakes to control your snack cravings. Look for wholesome options that leave you satisfied and also taste great. Sargento natural cheese snacks are only 50 to 80 calories per individually wrapped serving and research has found that people find cheese just as delicious as chips or cookies.

“Keeping a stash of fruit, nuts and cheese sticks in the crisper assures that you have a quick, healthy and tasty snack on hand that will provide both protein and fiber to keep you feeling full longer,” says Alexander.

Co-Op with Coworkers
Don’t try to go it alone; start a snacking support system! Coordinate with colleagues to set up a schedule that rotates responsibility for bringing different smart snack options each week. To start things off on the right track, provide suggestions for healthy snacks, like low-fat brownies, trail mix, a fruit and cheese plate or nuts. As the schedule continues, you can all add new favorites to the list of “approved” snacks. The group accountability will motivate you to stay on track and avoid poor choices. Be sure to enjoy your “off” weeks when your office mates are bringing the healthy munchies.

Keep it Convenient
Knowing that your afternoons will still be as busy and hectic as ever, make sure to choose snacks that won’t take a lot of time to prepare before eating. “Make it easy on yourself,” says Alexander. “Snacking shouldn’t add any stress to an already full work day.” Conveniently pre-portioned and individually wrapped Sargento natural cheese snacks, like String Cheese or Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar sticks, are a great way to eat on the go.

By using the above tricks to combat poor snacking choices, you should find your afternoons more productive and yourself more energized. You’ll be up for that promotion in no time.

Find more snacking tips from Devin Alexander at www.sargento.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: office snacking, snacking

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(ARA) – Staying on track with your weight is difficult. You might be tempted to skip breakfast as a way to save calories, but this plan usually backfires. Bypass breakfast and you’ll end up being ravenous and unable to make smart eating decisions at lunch.

“Skipping breakfast only delays hunger, and often leads to overeating later in the day,” explains Bob Greene, an exercise physiologist, personal trainer to Oprah Winfrey and author of ‘The Best Life Diet Cookbook.” “But not just any breakfast will do. Some standard options like Danishes or doughnuts are simply empty calories. Instead, choose a balanced, nutritious dish.”

That means your breakfast should include all three “macronutrients”: carbohydrates, such as whole-grain toast; healthy fats like nuts or nut butters; and lean protein (such as egg whites and nonfat or 1 percent dairy). This combination offers a wealth of nutritious ingredients, but is also the most satisfying for the calories and will keep your hunger in check until lunch, Greene explains.

Protein — especially high-quality protein, such as eggs — helps quell appetite. Greene recommends Crystal Farms AllWhites and Better’n Eggs as a convenient way to add lean, high-quality protein to your morning meal. Made from real eggs — but with no fat, no cholesterol and half the calories — AllWhites and Better’n Eggs are optimal sources of protein. Both products come in easy-to-pour cartons and can be found in the dairy case of your local grocery store.

“We all have busy lives, but it couldn’t be easier to add lean protein to your breakfast,” Greene says. “From traditional scrambled eggs to increasing the protein in a smoothie recipe, egg alternatives bring healthy convenience right into your fridge.”

For an on-the-go breakfast option packed with protein, Greene recommends this makeover of the traditional greasy breakfast sandwich. Prepared in just 10 minutes, the Spicy Bacon and Cheese Eggwich combines high-protein egg substitutes with cheddar cheese and lean turkey bacon in a whole-wheat English muffin. With 17 grams of protein, this sandwich also includes good sources of fiber and calcium — two other essential nutrients that are often lacking from morning meals.

Spicy Bacon and Cheese Eggwich
Time to Table: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup (8 ounces) Better’n Eggs
1/4 teaspoon cayenne hot pepper sauce
1/8 cup (1/2 ounce) shredded Cheddar cheese
2 slices turkey bacon, cut in half crosswise
2 whole-wheat English muffins, split

Directions:
Spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Add Better’n Eggs and stir in hot pepper sauce. As egg substitute starts to set use spatula to lift edge of eggs, letting uncooked eggs flow to bottom of skillet. Cook until egg substitute is set but still moist. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and then fold over the egg substitute so the cheese melts in the middle.

Place turkey bacon on microwave safe plate. Cover with paper towel. Microwave on high for 30 to 40 seconds or until warmed.

Toast each half English muffin in toaster. Spoon about 1/2 cup mixture on top of two toasted muffins. Top each with one piece cooked bacon. Top with remaining toasted muffins.

Makes two servings. Nutrition per serving: 226 calories, 54 from fat; 6 grams total fat; 2.5 grams saturated fat; 15 mg cholesterol; 534 mg sodium; 27 grams total carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 17 grams protein.

For more healthy on-the-go recipes, visit www.betterneggs.com and Bob Greene’s Web site, www.TheBestLife.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: egg recipe, High-protein Breakfast, Spicy Bacon and Cheese Eggwich

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Need a little fat loss advice? Hey, who doesn’t? We would all like to increase our fat loss potential and every little bit of advice counts. Sometimes, the advice is obscure and a little odd but it does help. No, this is not an inference to weird secrets that will melt fat away while you sleep. Instead, it is simply a means of pointing out some valuable little nuggets of information that can make fat loss more possible. So, here is some lesser known fat loss advice that might prove helpful.

Getting Sunlight

No, you can not burn calories getting a tan but the positive effects of the sun include enhancing metabolism. So, spending some time in the sun would prove helpful if you are dieting. As far as fat loss advice goes, it is a minor help for those looking for a little extra boost in their dieting venture.

Walking After Meals

Here is some important fat loss advice: immediately after you eat a meal it would be wise to take a 20 minute walk. This way, you will burn off a few calories and get your metabolism slightly revved up. No, walking for a short while after eating will not get you ripped to shreds but it will aid in eradicating unnecessary and unwanted fat by boosting your metabolism in a minor fashion. Yes, sometimes even minor aspects deliver major results.

Fish Oil

Taking fish oil supplements are a major help in losing weight. These supplements can be taken by the spoonful or in capsule form. The purpose of these supplements is to provide the body with Omega 3 Fatty Acids. These acids are critical for boosting metabolism. Again, they are not miracle pills but they provide proper supplementation for the body’s ability to perform requisite functions.

Don’t Drink Calories

Here is some critical fat loss advice: don’t ingest calories in liquid form. Sure, that glass of orange juice looks healthy but it is probably 200 calories. Plus, when you drink it you will be ingesting the same number of calories as an order of French fries but WITHOUT ingesting solid foods. That means it will do nothing to curb your hunger. This is a critical point because drinking calories will often lead to significant weight gain. That is why it is critical to stick with no calorie liquids such as water, diet soda, unsweetened ice tea, etc. Believe it or not, this approach will work wonders.

Tags: Fat Loss, Fat Loss Advice

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If you are one of the millions of people out there right now who are overweight and wanting to do something about it, you are going to need to create a healthy fat loss diet plan for yourself. There is no quick way or shortcut around it, and for fat healthy loss weight you are really going to have to work hard and put your all into it.

The majority of people just assume that healthy fat loss diet is simple and that they just have to start when they want to. Unfortunately, sticking to a healthy fat loss diet and exercise plan is actually quite difficult, and will be especially so during the first few weeks you are on the diet.

What to Eat

If you want to come up with a healthy fat loss diet plan, of course you are going to need to learn about what the right foods are, what you should be including in your daily diet plan. In fact, more than anything you should learn what foods to avoid.

Basically you are going to want to stay away from all sugary and fatty foods, anything deep fried or covered in oil is just going to be crawling with calories and really doing a number on your heart. All foods that are high in carbohydrates are okay to eat now and again but you really want to keep an eye on the number of carbs you are pulling in each day through the foods you are eating.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are very important to eat, and if you can stick to eating the fruits earlier in the day, even better. This is because many fruits contain a lot of sugar, and so by eating them earlier on in the day you give your body a chance to work the sugar off by the time you are going to bed.

When shopping for vegetables, make sure that you choose those that are brightest in color. The brighter their color the healthier they are going to be for you.

Also in a healthy fat loss diet you are going to need to include lots of water, six to eight glasses a day being what is recommended. Of course if you can’t make the six to eight glass a day mark, know that as  long as you are eating the right foods, namely leafy green vegetables, that you will be making up for the water you are lacking through these foods.

Tags: Fat Healthy Loss Weight, Healthy Fat Loss Diet

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When a person has that last 5lbs that they can not lose, they are probably looking for solid fat loss advice. Then again, they may have read every diet fat loss tip in the book and still can not arrive at an answer to their problems. Well, if this is the case there is no reason to become despondent. After all, there are a number of proven methods out there for fat loss that you probably never seen before.  So, let’s take a look at a few fat loss tips that may very well aid in getting one over a weight loss plateau.

Frequency of Eating

Here is a diet fat loss tip many people are not familiar with – the more frequently you eat the greater the chances are that you will lose weight. Now, some may be shaking their heads at this statement. After all, if you eat more you will probably gain weight not lose it. Ok, we are having a little trouble with semantics here.

The diet fat loss tip is to eat more often but not in volume. In other words, if you eat three meals a day at 2400 calories, eat 6 meals a day at 400 calories each meal. The end result will still be 2400 calories but the intervals between meals will be shorter. Now, some may wonder what the value of this is. That’s a fair question and here is the answer: when you go long stretches in between meals your metabolism will slow down. As a result, much of what you eat may end up being stored as fat if you don’t burn it off.

When you eat smaller meals spaced out through the day, your metabolism will remain speeded up. As s result, you will burn more calories and this will shed a great deal of excess weight. But the key here is not to increase calories. If you increase calories then you will be overeating. Obviously, the best diet fat loss tip one could provide would be to avoid overeating. But retaining the same calorie volume is not overeating. It is simply eating in a much more smart fashion.

Of course, this does not mean that you should neglect to exercise. This is an important diet fat loss tip as well. Simply eating with greater frequency will not eliminate excess weight, but it is a valuable tool in the overall process of getting rid of unwanted pounds.

Tags: Diet Fat Loss Tip, Fat Loss Advice

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Many overweight people are curious to know whether or not healthy rapid fat loss is possible. The truthful answer is that no, healthy rapid fat loss is not possible, but that by creating a healthy fat loss diet and exercise plan you will be able slowly lose weight and gradually work up to losing the desired amount.

The reason that healthy rapid fat loss is not possible is because there is really no way to lose a significant amount of weight in a seriously short period of time, at least not without doing damage to your body. Another reason healthy rapid fat loss does not work is because even though you may be able to lose a whole bunch of weight quickly, you are more than likely going to pile the weight right back on, if not more, which is obviously a serious problem.

When it comes to healthy rapid fat loss or weight loss in general, you need to think for the future, and not just for the present. Sure it might be nice to lose five or ten pounds in just a few days, but you need to think about how your body is going to react to this afterwards.

By starving yourself or having an eating disorder, you are doing serious harm to your body. When there are no new nutrients for your body to feed off and get energy from, it will need to start taking from the resources that are already there. This may sound good but do not get excited because your body will not turn to the body fat on your body as you may think, but instead to the muscle.

Therefore, by starving yourself, rather than losing body fat you will actually be gaining it and losing any muscle that you may have had to start with.

Coming up With a Plan

If you want to go about it the right way and realize that the idea of healthy rapid fat loss is really not possible, there are a few steps that you are going to want to take. The first is to create a diet plan that you are going to be able to follow. The best idea is to meal plan, so come up with healthy ideas for meals for the week and then you only have to go out once a week to buy all of the necessary ingredients.

Remember that you can eat all you want but without exercise you are not going to be able to achieve the weight loss results you desire, so you are going to need to get physically active.

Tags: Healthy Fat Loss Diet, Healthy Rapid Fat Loss

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“Eat chocolate cake and still drop 20 lbs!” Anyone who has ever stood in the check out line at the grocery store has seen these magazine proclamations. While these articles are great for selling magazines they are absolutely abysmal when it comes to actually helping people lose weight. Here is a solid diet fat loss tip: if you are looking for fat loss secrets there really aren’t any. Yes, many people try and sell fat loss secrets but they are snake oil salesmen playing to an audience that is not sure about the proper methods of losing weight.

Why Secrets are so Popular

The reason many of these so called fat loss secrets are so popular is because people are looking for a quick and easy way out of dropping weight. The best ways to lose weight involve a proper diet and decent amounts of exercise. That’s it! But, there will be those individuals who do not want to clean up their diets. They are also even less inclined to exercise. So, when some bizarre fad diet comes along or some inaccurate advice column finds its way to print certain people will gravitate towards these ideologies. The end result, however, will be predictably futile. Again, there is a right way and a wrong way to lose weight. When you try and navigate through bad advice posing as fat loss secrets you will invariably be disappointed in the end.

Sadly, many people use this disappointment to seek out even more dubious advice. They are looking for the Holy Grail of fat loss without effort. Sorry, such fat loss secrets really do not exist. Instead, it would be far better of an idea to stick with those entities that can truly deliver on what they promise.

Better Advice

If you are looking for solid fat loss secrets, it is best to stay away from dubious publications. Instead, stick with honest and reliable nutrition and exercise publications. (Note: bodybuilding magazines that subliminally promote steroid abuse are NOT honest and reliable!) These magazines and publications will steer anyone looking to drop weight into the right directions. Also, these publications provide practical advice regarding dealing with stumbling blocks. They are not rooted in fantasy land and are often quite helpful. So, sticking with them would be the best move you could make if you really want to learn those open fat loss secrets. This is the best advice possible and it works!

Tags: Diet Fat Loss Tip, Fat Loss Secrets

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Millions of people around the world right now are struggling to lose unwanted body fat from off their bodies. This is not always the easiest task, but if you are one of these people you need to realize that the most important thing is not how much you are losing but rather if you are doing it the healthy way.

Healthy body fat loss is very important if you want to not only lose the right amount of weight but also keep if off in the future. Fad diets and eating disorders may get some of the weight off now, but chances are that you are just going to gain this weight right back, possibly even more.

Energy and Weight Loss

One of the most major issues that needs to be considered when it comes to healthy body fat loss is energy and weight loss. Your body uses food for energy and so you need to make sure not only that you are eating enough, but that you are eating at the right times during the day. Instead of eating three huge meals in a day, you should split them up and start eating five to six smaller meals a day.

This will help you achieve healthy body fat loss because you will be less sluggish, your stomach will get smaller, and yet you will be fuller throughout the day and so you will not crave sweets and snacks.

Do it Gradually

Another important issue on the topic of healthy body fat loss is more of a tip, and is to take it slow, or gradually, rather than just throwing everything at yourself all at once. If you want healthy body fat loss, you need to slowly increase the amount of activity that you do.

Find something that is easy and that you are going to enjoy, rather than something you are going to consider as being a chore. You are then more likely to build it into your routine and continue to exercise rather than avoid it altogether.

Maybe you have the weekends off and you can start going for walks or jogs. Even if you start to use the time in between your favorite television shows to get up and do a few sit-ups – every step you take here is really going to help.

As you can see here, healthy rapid fat loss is really not an option. Instead, you need to make this something that you are going to work at and make a major part of your life.

Tags: Healthy Body Fat Loss, Healthy Rapid Fat Loss

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