Since mini skirts and shorts are around the corner, it makes sense that we’d start to think more about what we’re eating, what we should be eating and what we’re eating way too much of (hello, cupcakes). To help us jump start our spring slim down, The “Today Show” nutrition expert, Joy Bauer, came by to give us her top 7 spring diet tips.

1. Ditch liquid calories. Between coffee drinks that masquerade as ice cream sundaes, sodas full of high fructose corn syrup and super sugary fruit juices, you may be consuming thousands more calories than you realize. Joy’s suggestion: stick with water but make it more interesting by tossing in slices of cucumber, lemon or oranges.

2. Turn off the TV and head outdoors. This one may sound obvious, but it’s important advice. Yes, “Glee” is starting again (thank God). Yes, “Dancing with the Stars” is heating up. But if you’re like me, while you’re stuck to the couch you’re not only NOT burning calories, you’re consuming them. I’ll settle in to watch a show and suddenly I’ve eaten a whole bag of pretzels without even tasting it!

3. Start dinner with a vegetable first course. Joy suggests starting with a salad or a non-creamy, broth-based vegetable soup because the fiber and water content will expand in your belly and as a result you’ll be less likely to overeat when you get to the main meal.

4. Love your grill. One of the great things about grilling is that it makes a cook out of anyone. There’s nothing easier than throwing fish and veggies on the fire. You don’t have to add anything and they end up with flavor.

5. Strike starchy carbs a few nights a week. Sometimes I think, “Well, if it’s whole grain it’s ok…” but Joy suggests, even just a few nights a week, skip the starchy carbs (pasta, bread, grains) altogether. You’ll be forced (in a good way) to load up on lean protein and vegetables instead.

6. Close the kitchen after dinner. To stop yourself from going back for more—especially as the days get longer and the time between dinner and bedtime extends— put closure on your meal by drinking some herbal tea or brushing and flossing your teeth!

7. Eliminate the extras. A few M&Ms here, a few crackers there. . . it can all add up— again, without you even realizing it. If you can cut out the “in between” eating, it will pay off.

For more healthy eating ideas, check out Joy’s new book “Slim & Scrumptious,” which I am in love with. My favorite: her crispy kale and crispy Parmesan chicken. Easy and delicious.

Do you have any diet tips for spring that we should know about? Let us know by posting a comment below or emailing us at thethread@yahoo.com

There’s nothing like a weight loss strategy that takes almost no time or effort–but still works like a charm! Here are 10 successful strategies to cut calories and burn fat that literally take 60 seconds or less.

1. Mix a juice spritzer
Combine your favorite juice (half of your usual amount) with plain or sparkling water. You can cut up to 85 calories per glass–and lose 5 pounds or more a year.

2. Walk while you talk
Burn calories while you talk on the phone: Do the laundry (68 calories), set the table (85), or water plants (102).

3. Study the wrapper
At a quick glance, that candy bar appears to contain 220 calories. But a closer look may reveal that it (or a bottle of juice, bag of crackers, or bag of nuts) provides two or more servings–which more than doubles those calories.

4. Sip green tea before a walk
The caffeine frees fatty acids so that you burn fat more easily. And the polyphenols (antioxidant compounds) in green tea appear to work with caffeine to increase calorie burn. (If you have high blood pressure, skip this tip.)

5. Pack a lunch
Dining out more than 5 times a week may make you eat more–nearly 300 calories a day–than if you dine out less frequently.

6. Dip your bread
Use olive oil in place of butter. It’s healthier and may also help you eat less. In a recent study, dippers ate a total of 52 fewer calories, on average, than those who used butter.

7. Sprinkle flax on cereal
High-fiber ground flaxseed can help curb your appetite and eliminate calories. Add it to yogurt or muffin and bread mixes–it’s available in health food stores.

8. Schedule a blood test
About 1 in every 12 women (most of whom don’t know it) has an underactive thyroid, which can slow down her metabolism.

9. Supersize your H2O
Buy the big bottle when it comes to good-for-you stuff such as water: You’ll drink more.

10. Eat a chunky salad
Chop carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, zucchini, or other veggies instead of shredding or slicing. It takes more effort to munch bigger pieces; you’ll do more chewing and eat less during the main course.

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Healthy Diet Foods List

One of the biggest problems people seem to have about being on a weight loss diet is the selection of foods they are going to be allowed to eat. Not to mention, the selection of foods they are no longer going to be allowed to eat. With certain unbalanced diets (for example, low carb) this may be true.

With The Lose Weight Diet, it is false.

The big fear some people have is that they would get tired and/or bored of eating the same healthy diet foods over and over again. Some people may even go as far as to say it’s impossible to consistently eat the same few healthy foods every single day for a long period of time without either falling off the diet or just going insane. Well, first of all, that’s not quite true.

For the most part, I eat the same foods at the same times of the same days every single week/month/year and have been doing so for years now. I realize how crazy that may sound to some people, but to me there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s very convenient and simple. Plus, I really like the foods I eat. I am perfectly happy with these foods. After all, that’s why I made them a part of my diet in the first place.

I am certainly not telling anyone to eat like this, and you certainly don’t have to. I’m just saying some people just don’t need that much variety in their diet.

If you happen to be like this too, great.

However, if you are the type of person who DOES want variety in your weight loss diet because you WOULD get tired of eating the same foods over and over again, then this list is for you.

I have separated the foods into 3 categories:
- good sources of protein
- good sources of carbs
- good sources of fat

Keep in mind though, the key to The Lose Weight Diet (or any weight loss diet for that matter) is total calories consumed. As you learned earlier, weight loss happens when you are in a calorie deficit, meaning you are taking in less calories than your maintenance level and are therefore burning more calories than you consume.

So, while the foods on this list would all make great additions to your diet (for both weight loss and all around health), you need to make sure you stay within your calorie range. Also try to stay close to the guidelines suggested regarding how much protein, carbs and fat your diet should consist of.

With all of that being said, here’s a list of acceptable and healthy diet foods:

Good Sources Of Protein

Chicken (without skin)
Turkey (without skin)
Lean cuts of beef
Lean cuts of pork
Lean cuts of lamb
Lean cuts of veal
Eggs
Egg whites
Tuna fish
Salmon
Shrimp
Lobster
Flounder
Sardines
Snapper
Swordfish
Trout
Crab
Clams
Scallops
Milk (2% or skim)
Cottage cheese (low fat/non fat)
Yogurt (low fat/non fat)
Tofu
Black beans
Garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)
Kidney beans
Lentils
Lima beans
Navy beans
Pinto beans
Miso
Soybeans
Peanuts
Almonds
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Pecans
Pistachio nuts
Natural peanut butter
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Protein powder, protein shakes and protein bars

Good Sources Of Carbs

Brown Rice
100% whole wheat bread
100% whole wheat bagels
100% whole wheat pita bread
Whole wheat/whole grain pasta
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Oatmeal
Buckwheat
Bulgur
Bran cereals
Garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)
Kidney beans
Black beans
Lentils
Navy beans
Pinto beans
Lima Beans

Fruits And Vegetables

Good Sources Of Fat

Salmon
Mackerel
Herring
Anchovies
Sardines
Scallops
Halibut
Fish oil supplements
Peanuts
Almonds
Walnuts
Cashews
Natural peanut butter
Olive oil (extra-virgin)
Flax seeds
Flax seed oil
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds

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From the 15th floor windows of my New York City apartment, I have a clear view of a big and many windowed “health center,” (aka a four-story gym complex). September is one of the gym’s busiest months. Right after Labor Day, active women, who I hope are incorporating daily outdoor activities with a seasonal summer flavor into their daily routines, flock indoors to the gym and an artificial routine of treadmills, exercise bikes and medieval torture devices. I see them sweating early mornings and late at night from my windows. I see them going and coming from my daily walk as I pass the gym.

It is a sign of the times — but also our American culture — that many women seem to have only two modes: sitting or spinning. They’re either avoiding even the slightest heart rate increase (like those women in my apartment building who take the elevator to the second floor) or they’re sentencing themselves to hours at the gym as punishment for their indulgences throughout the day. So often I see the begrudging look on women’s faces and hear the phrase, “I don’t want to go to the gym, but I have to.” Pourquoi? If you are eating mindfully, and eating the correct portion sizes, you don’t have to torture yourself on those metal contraptions or run a marathon to stay trim. French women reject the notion of “no pain, no gain,” opting for a more pleasurable notion of mild, sustained exertion. We prefer all-day movement, what I like to call “the slow burn,” and we practice it as second nature instead of attacking it like boot camp.

Exercise requires the same sense of balance we require in other aspects of our life. We know by now that most dieting has a yo-yo effect and fails; we must recognize that too little and too much exercise meet the same fate. Overexertion at the gym may actually sabotage your weight loss goals. Too many women I know go overboard on the treadmill, and then eat more as either mental or hunger compensation. Eating a protein bar loaded with chemicals and calories just to burn them off seems silly. Or is it just to moi? The overheated workout also often leads to defeatism (I give up!). My window survey confirms those overcrowded gyms in January are half as crowded in February and March. Those New Year’s resolutions may provide us with the motivation, but after a few weeks of killing ourselves on the elliptical, we burn out.

French women see exertion as an integral part of the day. I encourage you to look at everyday movement (what you do in street clothes, not spandex) as essential to your overall wellness, and not to see exertion as something assigned to the gym. Here are a few French tips on how to stay fit without ever setting foot in la gym.

1.) Don’t save your steps, multiply them! Instead of driving your car around in circles to find a close spot, purposefully park far away and walk the couple extra feet. Do you know burning a mere 50 extra calories a day equates to five pounds a year?! Burn those calories creatively; think thrice about using interoffice mail, walk that memo to your coworker’s office. Take an extra few laps around the block at lunchtime, take the long way home when walking your dog at night. The principle is to squeeze as much physical exertion as possible during a few intervals a day into what were once routine tasks tied to avoiding any physical efforts.

2.) Incorporate simple resistance movements into your daily routine. Use your own body weight as resistance wherever possible. Isometric exercises, discreet but effective, are very French. This can be done before you even leave the house in the morning. For example, while waiting in traffic or on the subway, contract your abs for 12 seconds with your back pressed against the seat (it’s better for you than road rage). When reading a magazine at home, try sitting on the floor with your legs stretched and apart in a V and your hands on each side; this is a great stretch for your inner thigh muscles.

3.) Take care of your core. I’m a firm believer that we need to attend to our abdominals as we age. These are the muscles that hold all our vital organs in place; they support good posture and a healthy spine, something we must take care of as we get older. Do a few sit-ups as part of a little stretch/exercise/yoga routine in the morning — it’s never too early or too late to start this ritual.

4.) Acquaint yourself with small to moderate free weights (3-5 lbs.), especially if you’re over 40. A bit of extremely simple resistance training is an antidote to hours spent on gym machines. Short but focused movement with small weights is a good way to preserve upper body tone and bone density and supplement the cardiovascular benefits of an active lifestyle. A little goes a long way, and that only increases the older you get, so don’t let extremism overtake you.

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Myth 1: Potatoes and bread are fattening.
Actually: It’s just the opposite. Starchy vegetables and bread (whole-grain bread, that is) are quality carbs needed to fuel every part of you, from your brain to your muscles. What gets you into trouble is how you eat them: Smear butter on a slice of whole-wheat bread or deep-fry potatoes and you can double, triple, or quadruple the calories.

Myth 2: Drinking a glass of water before a meal curbs appetite.
Actually: Yes and no. Water tames appetite if it’s incorporated into food, such as soup, or a thick drink, like V8 100% Vegetable Juice. Apparently, when water is bound to food, digestion is slower, explains Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman’s Diet.

That’s why women in one study found chicken-rice soup more satisfying than chicken-rice casserole and a glass of water — even though the soup had 27% fewer calories! One exception to this rule: It’s easy to confuse hunger and thirst, so if you find yourself craving something — but what? — drink a big glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that’s what your body really wanted.

Myth 3: Shellfish is high in cholesterol.
Actually: On the one hand, it’s true: Just 3 ounces of shrimp delivers more than a third of your daily cholesterol. But there’s a surprising flip side to this story: Shrimp is low in saturated fat — the kind that becomes artery-clogging bad cholesterol — and has a smidgen of heart-healthy omega-3s. In fact, University of Southern California researchers discovered that eating shellfish, such as shrimp, every week reduced heart attack risk by 59 percent!

Myth 4: The occasional burger and fries won’t kill you.
Actually: It depends on your definition of “occasional.” If occasional means every Friday night and then some, well, you may be pushing it. But if it means every few months, and you’re fit, and you’ve got good numbers (i.e., weight, waist size, cholesterol, blood pressure), AND you’re chowing down on vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and other nutritious fare most other days, hey, you’ll live. But few of us are that perfect. If you do occasionally indulge, offset the effects of a fat fiesta with a brisk 90-minute walk afterward.

Myth 5: Women naturally gain weight after menopause.
Actually: While you can blame a lot of things on hormones (everything from acne to PMS), in this case, slowing down physically is far more likely the cause. Study after study has found that older women who exercise regularly and vigorously can maintain their figures.

Myth 6: Diet soda is worse than the real thing.
Actually: We all would be better off switching to water, diluted fruit juice, and green tea rather than drinking soda — diet or regular. Both types increase kidney and heart disease risk, plus they contain acids that erode tooth enamel, inviting cavities.

Final Fact (this one’s no myth): Maintaining your weight, waist, and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

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There are three primary areas that you need to focus on if you want to lose bodyfat. They are all equally important and include weight training, cardiovascular exercise and proper nutrition.Without these three things in proper balance you cannot achieve adequate loss of bodyfat. Let’s break these down:

1. Weight training: Weight training will help you build lean muscle mass as well as improve your metabolism so you can alter your body into a fat burning system. Adding weight training to your fat loss regimen pushes your body to continue to burn calories (thus fat) long after your workouts are over. A fitness professional is highly recommended in order to develop a workout program that will meet your needs.
2. Cardiovascular exercise: Cardiovascular exercises are essential in promoting maximal weight loss as well as turning your system into a bodyfat burning machine.Without this you are only cheating yourself. Research has revealed that combining cardiovascular exercise with weight training causes your body to burn calories more quickly and for longer periods of time than if you only complete one form of exercise. You really must strive for 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at least 5 days a week. A number of experts recommend that you complete cardio in the morning when you initially wake up. Your body will burn fat since there is no food in your system at that time. If you can’t do cardio in the morning then certainly work it in at an additional time during the day.

3. Nutrition: This aspect is fundamental if you want to know tips to lose bodyfat. You ought to strive to eat a high protein diet (1 gram of protein per 1 pound of bodyweight) per day. A high protein diet has several benefits. It allows you to burn additional fat, reduces water retention, makes you less hungry and raises your metabolism. Foods high in protein include: Beef, chicken, turkey, fish, and eggs. You also need to minimize the amount of “bad” carbs which include foods made with white flour or processed flour). Stick with foods made with wheat or whole grain products but focus more on fibrous carbs such as vegetables for your carb intake. Most importantly, avoid foods high in saturated fat. These include butter, processed foods, junk (fast) foods, cooking oils, etc. These are limited lists.

Practicing these tips to lose body fat are essential if you want to lose weight, bodyfat and gain a lean, muscular appearance. Check your progress weekly by weighing yourself or taking bodyfat measurements. Set a goal to lose 1/2 a pound to a pound per week. As long as you are achieving this keep doing what you’re doing. If you stop losing weight then it’s time to increase your cardio, reduce the amount you are eating or both.

The secret to losing bodyfat in the long term in persistence. You are making lifestyle changes with this strategy. If you stick with it you can attain a healthier lifestyle and improved body image. It may take several weeks or months but the results are worth it. You can decide to do nothing and stay as you are or you can apply these strategies and start your path to a lean, muscular body.

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The first step is to determine how many calories you need to eat daily to maintain your current weight and then try and consume 300-500 grams less per day if your goal is weight loss. Each person will vary depending on gender, weight, height and level of daily physical activity (a sedentary occupation vs. and active occupation). An easy way to start is by only cutting your calories by 300 a day and also exercising an extra 200 to make 500 a day. By doing this, you will be burning 3,500 calories a week or one pound of body fat per week. It is recommended that no more than 2 pounds or 7,000 calories be lost per week for lasting weight loss.

The starting point would be to start being aware of what you are consuming each and every day. One way is to look at the nutrition facts that are labeled on the foods and drinks that you are consuming. Everything you eat these days will have a food label on the back of it. For example, the nutrition label for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream states that there are 240 calories per serving, 16 grams of fat and 11 grams of saturated fat. You may think that the fat looks pretty bad, but 250 calories isn’t that bad! Unfortunately, it is that bad, because that is only in one serving which, if you read the label, is only ½ a cup.

A half of a cup of ice cream could fit in the palm of your hand. Even worse, many individuals will eat a whole pint in one sitting. If 2 cups = a pint of ice cream and there are 4 servings in that pint, that means that the individual has consumed close to 1,000 calories, 64 grams of fat and 44 grams of saturated fat. That was just dessert!!! So when you are looking at the labels, make sure you read the serving size because you are most likely going to have more 1 serving size.

For weight loss and cutting calories, you will need to learn more about nutrition. If you have a great knowledge of the nutrition tips and healthy calories that will help your body burn more calories just by eating, you have one half the battle. Many fast food chains and family restaurant chains have nutrition facts on their websites.

Looking at how many calories that fast food meal you had for lunch and dinner may be an eye opener for many. You can know what you are eating and how many hidden and unnecessary calories are coming from those meals. Just because you may think you are eating something healthy like a salad, but some of the dressings out there add an extra 100-250 calories. If you get ranch dressing on your salad you are adding about 200-250 to your meal.

Many of us are unaware of the calories we are putting into our bodies each and every day. Starting to look at the labels on the foods we are eating is a great start in trying your calories. Many cookbooks provide nutrition facts at the bottom of their recipes along with ways to modify certain ingredients to make your meal healthier.

Another example where you need to start cutting the calories is in the liquid form. Soda, juice, alcohol, specialized coffee drinks and sweetened teas are all in the high calorie/low nutrition category called “empty calories”. Just by replacing ANY of these drinks with water, you could easy take 200-800 calories out of you day. Beverage calories can add up. For example, a Super Big Gulp contains 800 calories, a 20-ounce cola is 250 calories, one can of beer has 145 calories, and a Starbucks Chocolate Malt Frappuccino with whipped cream has 610 calories! Empty calories in the form of liquid do not help the appetite either as they can lead you to be hungry and eat more also.

Other tips to help lower your caloric intake is to cut down or limit all unrefined sugars that are found in foods such as cookies, cake, ice cream, candy and candy bars. An example of this would be going to subway and getting a cookie to add to you healthy sandwich meal you just bought. That one little cookie will add 200-220 calories to your meal. Also cut out high caloric fried foods such as potato chips, onion rings, French fries, donuts, and fried foods. One example how calories can add up would be if you went to Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner and ordered two pieces of chicken, Cole slaw, and mashed potatoes.

The two pieces of fried chicken would add up to about 500 calories, which includes nearly 25 grams of fat and around 200 mg of cholesterol. This is almost half of the fat suggested for a whole day and it isn’t healthy fat. The Cole slaw has about 200 calories from its sweet dressing and around 10 grams of fat. The mashed potatoes and gravy add another 125 to 150 calories and more fat grams. The medium soda adds about 175 calories, all from sugar, with no nutritional benefit. This meal just has way too many calories, with more than 1000 calories for only one meal. It has too much fat and a lot of sugar as well. So by limiting your intake of these types of foods, you will be on your way to cutting your calories.

Downsizing your portions is another easy and effective way to lower your daily caloric intake for weight loss. Portion sizes in restaurants have tripled in size in the past 30 years. We are used to super sizing and the word downsizing does not sound good. Some example of downsizing would be to get a to-go box while you order while eating out. When your food arrives, go ahead and put half of it in the box. You can eat it the rest as an afternoon snack. Another is to share a dinner plate with a friend or partner when you go out. A tip when you are at home is to only use smaller plates so that your plate looks like it is full.

We are also used to being told to get more food when we are at a friends’ house or at your families’ house. The hosts want to make sure you get all of their great cooking and then some. You want to be polite and get seconds and even thirds. This is when you can double and triple your calorie intake and will not help with weight loss. Most people are positive when you tell them you are trying to reach some health and fitness goals and that one plate is enough. Cutting portion sizes will help in your quest to cut calories. Remember that in order to lose body fat you have to cut your daily caloric intake more or burn more calories by moving.

So far you have heard three ways to help cut and count calories which will help in weight loss…

1. Look at labels 2. Cut down on empty calories in foods and drinks. 3. Eat smaller portions. An easy staring point to all of this is to get a small journal and start writing down the calories in everything you consume. You may not even change any of your eating habits at first as you write down what time and what all you eat each day in your journal. An example may be that you had a glass of coffee, piece of bread with jelly, and a banana for breakfast. Then you had a glass of coffee around 10am with a doughnut. For lunch you ate out at Jason’s Deli and had one of those great spud potatoes. You were too stuffed to eat in the afternoon but have a coke to give you some energy to finish the afternoon at work. Dinner was spaghetti with sauce, a roll, salad, and a glass of wine. You ended the night with a small bowl of ice cream.

If you were adding the whole days up in your journal, your daily calories would be about 3,200 for the day. Most people need way below that number just to maintain their weight. Having a journal will help you become aware of everything you eat throughout the day and how many calories you are eating. For a lot of people, it lets them know if they have eaten too much or too little for that particular day. For others it is an accountability partner as you have to write down everything that you eat each day. Even those 4 little pieces of Hershey kiss after lunch that added up to 104 calories. Having a daily journal is very important for anyone wanting to cut their calories.

You always have to remember that in order to lose body you need to eat fewer calories or burn more calories. An easier plan would be to do both. A good healthy way to start would be to cut your intake by 300 calories and to exercise to burn off 200 calories.

Moving and staying active will help in your quest to cut and count calories. Counting your calories and trying to cut it will be easy for some people and hard for others. You have to start somewhere. If you have a lot of changes to make in your eating habits, then try only 1 or 2 of these steps at a time. Once you have a handle on those one or two of the steps, make another small change. Before long these simple steps will become habits in your daily routine, enabling you to live a healthy lifestyle.

It is important to note that there are some people out there that do not get enough calories. A diet that is too low in calories doesn’t provide the body with the nourishment and adequate nutrients it needs to perform activities of daily living. If your body does not get enough calories it will begin to start feeding off your muscle and using protein as fuel instead of carbohydrates and fat. Drastically reducing calories is not an effective way to lose body fat because instead of losing fat, you lose muscle. Getting enough calories doesn’t mean big meals. Don’t take all your calories in one or two daily feasts. Instead, eat five or six smaller meals. Amounts and needs vary depending on your gender, body type and activity level. Whether or not you’re trying to lose weight, always strive to eat balanced meals and snacks that provide enough calories to keep you energized.
by: John Manjarres

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