From WebMD.com:

Keeping-It-Off Superfoods
9 foods that can help keep the extra weight away
By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

Are there really certain foods that can help you lose weight and keep it off? We’re not talking about any so-called miracle food that “melts the fat” (does the cabbage soup diet ring any bells?). These are foods that really can help you lose or maintain weight, either by helping you to eat less or to burn more calories — or, in some cases, maybe even helping to decrease your body fat.

Experts say there are two basic categories of foods that can be considered “keeping it off superfoods” because they fill your tummy without piling on the calories: fruits and vegetables. For example, two whole cups of steamed broccoli packs a measly 87 calories. Or how about two cups of strawberry slices? They’ll add only 99 calories. Even a denser vegetable, steamed carrots, has only 140 calories per two cups. And two cups of a denser fruit, apple slices? That’s only 130 calories.

If fruits and vegetables are the “keeping-it-off superfood groups,” fiber may well be the “keeping-it-off supernutrient.” (Incidentally, the two-cup servings of fruits and vegetables mentioned above all contribute from 5 to 9 grams of fiber.)

Protein is another supernutrient. It’s becoming more scientifically accepted that protein may help to curb appetite. But whether we need more than 0.4 grams per pound of body weight is still up for debate among many researchers.

“Eating enough protein-rich foods of low energy density [calories per portion] is a good strategy for increasing satiety, especially if you are trying to lose weight,” says Barbara Rolls, PhD, a researcher at Penn State University and author of the book The Volumetrics Eating Plan.

Protein can slightly boost metabolism, Rolls says. But, she explains, eating more calories than your body needs — even in the form of protein — will promote weight gain, not loss.

Before we get to the list of “keeping it off” superfoods, let’s make sure we keep things in perspective. At the end of the day, weight loss is still about burning more calories than you take in. The advantage to these foods is that they may help you do just that — if you eat them instead of some higher-calorie choices.

9 ‘Keeping It Off’ Superfoods

1. Green Tea

Go out of your way to indulge in a tall glass of iced green tea or a mug of hot green tea when you get the chance. Here’s why: In a recent study, volunteers who drank a bottle of tea (fortified with green tea extract) every day for three months lost more body fat than another group who drank a bottle of regular oolong tea. Except for the different teas, their overall diets were similar. Researchers suspect that the catechins (helpful phytochemicals) in green tea may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and mildly decrease body fat.

2. Soup (broth- or tomato-based, that is)

Calorie-containing liquids generally are less filling than solid foods, but soups are the exception, says researcher Richard Mattes from Purdue University. In Mattes’ study, participants were fed 300-calorie servings of various soups before eating their lunches (they could eat as much lunch as they wanted). Mattes found that the study participants tended to take in fewer total daily calories on days when they had the soup, suggesting that eating low-calorie soups (the broth- and tomato-based ones) before meals may reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness.

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, director of nutrition for WebMD, agrees that lower-calorie soups (that is, tomato- and broth-based varieties) are highly satisfying.

“If you have soup before a meal, it helps control hunger and you eat less,” she says.

3. Low-Calorie Green Salads

Having a low-calorie salad — not to be confused with salads brimming with cheese, croutons, high-fat dressings, and so on — as a first course can help you feel fuller and reduce the calories you eat during that meal, according to a study by Rolls. She found that eating a small low-calorie salad tended to cut calories eaten at the meal by 7%, and a larger salad by 12%. But the study found the opposite is true with high-calorie salads. These increased the calories eaten during the meal by 8% for a small salad, and 17% for a larger salad.

Just how low-calorie can a green salad be? Consider that two cups of fresh spinach leaves, 10 slices of cucumber, one medium tomato, and 1/4 cup of grated carrot has a grand total of 67 calories (along with a hefty 5.5 grams of fiber).

4. Yogurt

Yogurt is a dairy food, and several studies have found that including dairy products as part of an overall lower-calorie diet may give you a weight-loss advantage. Still, some scientists aren’t convinced, pointing to other studies that show no strong effect between dairy and weight loss.

One study looked at a group of obese adults who ate three, 6-ounce servings of fat-free yogurt a day as part of a diet reduced by 500 calories from their normal intake. The study found that this group lost 22% more weight and 61% more body fat than another group of participants who ate the reduced-calorie diet without emphasizing calcium-rich foods. Even more impressive: the yogurt eaters also lost 81% more stomach fat.

More needs to be learned about the mechanism responsible for this increased loss of body fat, but in the meantime, consider giving yogurt a little more respect. At the very least, a light yogurt may help you stave off hunger due to its combination of protein and carbohydrate. Six ounces of plain, low-fat yogurt contains approximately 9 grams of protein, 12 grams of carbohydrates (from milk, not sugar), and 311 milligrams of calcium. It’s also a great vehicle for healthy additives like fruit or omega-3-rich flaxseed.

5. Beans

Beans help you feel full longer, which means they may work to curb your between-meal appetite. They also give you a big fiber and protein bang for a minimum of calories. One-half cup of pinto beans or kidney beans has around 8 grams fiber and 7 grams of protein, all for about 110 calories.

6. Water

Water is a keeping-it-off superfood because it’s a great alternative to other, calorie-containing beverages. When you drink beverages that have calories (say, fancy coffee drinks or sodas) you are not likely to compensate by eating less food. Mattes’ research suggests that people who drink liquid carbohydrate (in the form of soda) are more likely to consume more calories than their bodies needs, compared with people who ate the same amount of solid carbohydrate (in the form of jelly beans).

Water is necessary for life, and you should be drinking it throughout the day. You can get your water via unsweetened tea, flavored unsweetened mineral water, regular water with lime or lemon, or cucumber. Even brewed coffee (especially decaf) counts if consumed in moderation.

7. Light Diet Shakes

While diet shakes are not the solution to weight loss or maintenance, research shows that they might help. Women who had lost weight on a reduced-calorie plan that included meal-replacement beverages maintained their losses after a year by drinking at least one diet shake a day in place of a meal, according to a study done by Clinical Research laboratories (and funded by Slim Fast Foods). The study authors concluded that the one-shake-a-day strategy might be helpful for people that have difficulty changing their eating habits.

Of course, it’s hard to beat the convenience factor of diet shakes. If you go for a diet shake, choose types that have more fiber and less sugar.

8. High-Fiber, Whole-Grain Cereal

We’ve all seen those whole-grain cereal commercials ad nauseam. But the keeping-it-off potential value of a good whole-grain breakfast cereal is worth mentioning. Whole grains in general help boost fiber and the nutritional value of your meal, but many studies done on their relationship to weight loss have specifically involved breakfast cereals (many funded by cereal companies).

A Purdue University study suggested that having a portion-controlled serving of ready-to-eat cereal (with 2/3 cup skim milk plus a 100-calorie portion of fruit) as a meal replacement may promote weight loss. Other research that looked at data on over 27,000 men over an eight-year period found that as whole grain consumption went up, weight gain over time went down. Another study followed more than 74,000 women (aged 38-63) for a 12-year period and found that those with the greatest increase in dietary fiber gained an average of 3.3 fewer pounds than those with the smallest increase in fiber.

One of the easiest ways to give your daily diet a whole-grain boost is to have a bowl of higher-fiber whole-grain cereal as breakfast or a snack.

9. Grapefruit

Maybe there was something to the old grapefruit diet after all: A study found that grapefruit may help encourage weight loss and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Study participants who ate a grapefruit at each meal for 12 weeks lost an average of 3.6 pounds (some in the group lost as much as 10 pounds), while a comparison group that didn’t eat grapefruit lost 1/2 pound, according to a recent pilot study by Scripps Clinic in San Diego. The researchers noticed that after the meals, the grapefruit eaters also had reduced levels of insulin and blood sugar.

The American Institute for Cancer Research notes that “there’s no scientific evidence to support that grapefruit enzymes burn away fat.” And according to the American Dietetic Association, “if you lose weight when you add grapefruit to your eating plan, it’s probably because you’re substituting it for another food that has more calories.”

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. One pink/red grapefruit takes a bit of time and effort to eat, and it adds 3.5 grams of fiber with only 74 calories. Keep in mind that grapefruit can interfere with the effectiveness of some medications, so check with your pharmacist if you’re taking medication.

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

Today marks day 14 of Phase 1, I’ll officially weigh myself tomorrow morning to determine my loss for the last 2 weeks.

This afternoon I’m preparing food for the coming week, and am introducing some whole grains. The recipes I’ve chosen are:

Breakfast
Spinach and Cheese Squares with Sausage
Sausage and Cheese Breakfast cups
1 slice of sprouted whole grain bread each morning

Lunch and Dinner
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Spinach and Bulgur Warm Salad
Brown Rice, Sausage and Apple Stuffing
Seattle Black Beans
I’ll be supplementing each meal with fresh summer squash from our garden. It’s beginning to ripen at a fast pace, so we’ll have plenty

Desserts
Orange Dream Cheesecake
Strawberry Rhubarb Dessert

Snacks
Dry roasted unsalted almonds
Cucumber
Celery
Bell Pepper
Cheese Sticks
Natural Peanutbutter
Laughing Cow Cheese

I have some cooking to do this afternoon, but not as much as last week. I’ll be reviewing a few recipes in the coming days.

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

I wanted to dress up my blog a bit with some fun diet and exercise blinkies, so I just spent a couple of hours looking online to see what I could find. I’ve included the ones I like the most on my side column, feel free to copy these and use them on your own blog.

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

Prevention Magazine has a really neat tool where you can map your walk and see exactly how many miles it is.

With My Walking Maps, “you can find a walking route in your neighborhood, share it with friends, or you can create a personalized route just for you. Plus, you’ll be able to keep records of your distance, pace and calories burned.” (from Prevention.com’s website)

Check it out! I discovered that the distance around my block is actually 1.17 miles, so I’m walking just a little further than I realized. Very nice

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

Today marks day 12 of South Beach Phase 1. I’m feeling pretty good, and have also begun getting into the habit of walking regularly.

Not only is this helping me physically, but I think it’s helping me mentally as well. I think I have a better overall attitude, and that I’m feeling happier.

I’m also beginning to see small changes in my shape. It’s amazing how even a few pounds can have such an impact. It makes me excited to see other positive changes over the coming months

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

I’m pooped at the moment…last night there was the strangest thunderstorm…I woke up around midnight to nonstop thunder and lightning that went on for well over an hour if not longer. I didn’t get good sleep last night.

Earlier this evening I met up with my friend Amy at McKinley Park and we walked around it twice. It was hard tonight. I was so ready to be done once we got back to my car. I think part of that is being so tired. Tomorrow night I’ll be walking once around my block.

I decided to look up a few quotes about perseverance and share them here:

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t. ~Henry Ward Beecher

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. ~Newt Gingrich

You can’t go through life quitting everything. If you’re going to achieve anything, you’ve got to stick with something. ~From the television show Family Matters

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. ~William James

Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use. ~Earl Nightingale

“Never, never, never give up!” ~ Winston Churchill

“Never Quit. “Don’t ever, ever quit. Recognize that stopping now, regrouping to try a new approach isn’t quitting. If you quit you’ll regret it forever.” ~ Rudy Ruettiger

“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” ~ Vince Lombardi

“It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. “ ~ Confucius

“When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-
It’s when things go wrong that you must not quit.”
~ Unknown

I bolded the parts that really spoke to me. Here is my goal….never quit, rise up whenever I fall, and STICK WITH THIS!

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

From BBC News:

We all know the health risks of smoking, drinking and eating too much. But sleep expert Neil Stanley says we don’t pay attention to the risks of having too little sleep.

In this week’s Scrubbing Up health column, he warns it is time to “reclaim the night”.

Good sleep is vital for good physical mental and emotional health - but unfortunately we seem to live in a society that has forgotten this fact.

In terms of healthy living, sleep is as important as good diet and exercise.

Poor or inadequate sleep can have serious consequences on overall health and wellbeing and has been shown to lead to lower immunity, poor performance and mood changes.

In the longer term, inadequate sleep is associated with a greater risk of a number of diseases, such as heart disease, depression and diabetes.

There are also important consequences of poor or inadequate sleep which negatively affect the way we feel and perform during the day.

Round the clock
We are living in an increasingly “tired” society. Think about how you feel at the moment with one as very tired and 10 as feeling wide awake.

I reckon very few of you are a seven, let alone a 10. Why do we go through life feeling this tired?

One reason is the increasing extension of the daytime activities into the night.

When I was growing up in the 1970s, Tomorrow’s World each week promised us a future where, due to advances in technology, there would be so much leisure time that we would have to come up with new ways of amusing ourselves.

Unfortunately what was created by all this new technology was the 24/7 society.

Technology never sleeps, and thus people can work around the clock - whether they are in the office or at home.

The long hours, information overload and stresses associated with 21st Century living negatively affect our sleep which, in turn, is detrimental to our health, work performance and even our relationships.

Convenience brings risks
As a society we need to give much more serious consideration to our work/life balance particularly with regards to sleep.

For example it has been estimated that in future a third of the workforce will be working shifts, mainly in the service sector.

However there is a large body of evidence which shows that working shifts is bad for health and increases accidents at work.

So, whilst it is of course important for some workers to work around the clock, does the convenience of paying a bill at 2am really outweigh the health risks of having so many people doing shifts?

It has been reported that tired drivers now cause more deaths on European roads than drunk drivers, and yet whilst it has become socially unacceptable to be drunk behind the wheel or in the workplace it is almost a matter of pride that we believe we can function properly when tired.

Yet you would not want a drunken surgeon operating on you or a drunken train driver taking you to work, so why would you accept a tired one?

The problem of poor sleep is perhaps even more important in children as it has been linked with increased risk of - amongst other things - obesity, diabetes, poor academic performance and behavioural problems.

You only have to watch an episode of Supernanny to see how profound the positive effect of a good night’s sleep can be on the behaviour of children.

Over the past decade there has been an increasing body of evidence that shows that sleep plays an important role in regulating weight and controlling appetite, and so I find it surprising that when earlier this year the government started its Change 4 Life healthy living campaign there is no mention of the importance of good sleep.

Isn’t it about time we reclaimed the night for sleep?

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

From the American Diabetes Association:

Is Walking Enough?

Walking has proven to be the key to a successful weight loss and fitness plan for many. For example, the Diabetes Prevention Program enrolled subjects who were at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Participants lost approximately 10-15 pounds each and started a program of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, five days a week—and most of them relied on walking as their primary activity.

The results were dramatic: participants in the study reduced their risk of developing diabetes by nearly 60 percent during the course of the study. And walking is a natural—it’s free, requires no special equipment and people of all ages can enjoy it all year long.

So get your shoes on and get walking!

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

Whenever I run across interesting tips about healthy living, I’ll be sharing them here on my blog.

From the American Diabetes Organization:

EATING RIGHT: GIVE YOUR BODY WHAT IT NEEDS

Portion Control: How Much Food is Enough?
Since 1990, obesity has increased by over 60 percent in the United States, and type 2 diabetes—which is closely linked to obesity—has increased by nearly 50 percent. In an era of super-sized food, we are indeed becoming supersized ourselves.

Whether your goal is to lose weight or to maintain it, calories count. The good news is that, when you limit the number of calories you consume each day, you don’t need to cut out your favorite foods, you just need to know how much to cut back on the serving size. This is known as “portion control.”

Many people find portion control an important part of the solution to losing weight. By monitoring the serving size of the foods you enjoy, and by combining it with regular exercise, you can enjoy a wider variety of meals—including your favorite foods and ethnic dishes—and still lose weight. Another bonus is that you’ll find your meals more interesting and satisfying.

Portion control can also help you overcome the biggest challenge: maintaining your new healthy weight. If you have diabetes and are overweight, shedding those extra pounds by trimming serving sizes and calories can help lower your blood glucose levels. You may want to refer to the following tips that offer an easy way to “eyeball” your food to determine portion size.

How much is a portion?
Many meal plans include a certain number of servings of the different food groups. But estimating a serving size can be a challenge. Here are some useful tips to help you size up your meal:

~ A one cup serving of carbohydrates, including fruit, vegetables, pasta or rice is about the size of your fist.
~ One three-ounce serving of protein, such as meat, fish or poultry, is equivalent to the size of a deck of playing cards or the palm of your hand.
~ A one-ounce serving of cheese is equal to the size of your thumb.
~ A one cup serving of milk, yogurt or fresh greens is about the size of a tennis ball.

Does your diet measure up?
When you monitor portion size, understand calorie content and get regular physical activity, you can choose just about anything. First, talk to your health care team so you know when and how much to eat. Then arm yourself with a few facts that can help you use your meal plan more faithfully:

~ Eat a total of five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, including a variety of colors: green, yellow, orange and red.
~ Aim for at least six daily servings of unrefined starches like bread, cereal and starchy vegetables. Starchy vegetables include peas, dried beans and lentils as well as potatoes. Try replacing white rice and white bread with brown rice and whole-grain bread (read bread labels carefully; many breads that appear to be whole grain actually contain mostly refined white flour).
~ Eat sugars, sweets and desserts in moderation. These foods tend to be high in calories and fat and contain few vitamins and minerals.

Even a small weight loss can be a big boost to your health. For example, the Diabetes Prevention Program study looked at a group of people at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The study showed that losing just 10-15 pounds and getting 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, five days a week, reduced their risk of developing diabetes by nearly 60 percent during the course of the study!

Choose Heart-Healthy Foods
You can protect your heart and blood vessels by eating less saturated fat and choosing the types of fats that help your cholesterol levels. The ingredients you use and the way you cook can make a big difference. Try these tips:

~ Cook with less fat. Use a low-fat or fat-free way to cook. You can cut down on total fat by broiling, microwaving, baking, roasting, steaming or grilling foods. Nonstick pans and cooking sprays also work well.
~ Boost the flavor with seasonings and sauces instead of fats. Look for recipes that use herbs and spices for flavor instead of fat. Try using these seasonings on foods:

- Squeeze fresh lemon juice on steamed vegetables, broiled fish, rice or pasta.
- Try lemon pepper or mesquite seasoning on chicken.
- Use onion and garlic to liven up meats and vegetables.
- Try baking chicken or pork with barbeque sauce or low-fat Italian dressing.

~ Trim the fat when possible. Cut away visible fat from meat and poultry. Roast food on a rack to let the fat drip off. Make soups a day ahead so you can chill them and then remove the fat that has risen to the top.
~ Choose lean cuts of beef, pork and poultry. To help keep your cholesterol on target, choose lean cuts of meat and poultry. Try some of your favorite recipes with these lean choices.
~ When selecting beef, choose lean cuts of beef such as round, sirloin and flank steak; tenderloin; rib, chuck or rump roast; T-bone, porterhouse or cubed steak.
~ Select lean types of pork such as ham, Canadian bacon, pork tenderloin and center loin chop.
~ Choose poultry such as chicken, turkey or Cornish hen without the skin. The white breast meat is lower in fat than the darker meat in the thigh and leg pieces.
~ Choose low-fat dairy products. Diary products can be part of your meal plan. To cut back on saturated fat, choose items made with non-fat or low-fat milk. Some low fat choices are listed below.
~ Milk: Fat-free, .5% and 1% milk, low-fat buttermilk.
~ Yogurt: low fat or fat free yogurt.
~ Cheese: cottage cheese, grated Parmesan, any cheese with 3 grams of fat or less per ounce.
~ For a frozen treat, try low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. You can also freeze regular yogurt for a treat.

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose

I’d like to wear clothing without binding waistlines when they’re not elastic

I’m tired of feeling fat and bloated

Do I really have cheekbones???

~ His Sweet Gypsy Rose