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Your Stay-Full Diet Plan (7 Days)

DP — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:46:40 +0000

Last time you tried to lose weight, did you become so ravenous that you blew it with a big binge? Sure, you have to eat less to slim down, but drastic changes shouldn’t happen overnight. We’re here to make the trimming process painless. The plan: Give yourself 2 to 3 weeks to gradually reduce portion sizes. Start by comparing the amount you’d normally eat with the recommendations in our portion guide. Then, downsize proteins, starches and/or fats by about one third each week until you reach the ideal serving size. To fill in the gaps, round out your plate with lots of volume-rich foods (big in mass but low in calories) like fruits and veggies.

Sample 5-Day Stay-Full Meal Plan

This plan provides about 1,550 calories a day. (If you need more or fewer calories, simply add or subtract a snack; each one is about 150 calories.) To help you lose weight while staying full, we’re emphasizing water-packed soups, salads, fruits and veggies. The menus also include lean protein and fiber-filled whole grains; these foods are digested super-slowly, so they’ll ward off between-meal hunger pangs that weaken your willpower. Feel free to mix and match breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks as you like.

Day 1

Breakfast

Bacon, egg & tomato sandwich: Top 2 slices lightly toasted whole-grain bread with 1 scrambled egg, 1 slice turkey bacon and 2 slices tomato.
4 oz calcium- and vitamin D-fortified orange juice

Lunch

Greek shrimp salad: Whisk together 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, ? tsp dried oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over 1 cup romaine lettuce, 2 Tbsp feta cheese crumbles, ½ cup sliced grape tomatoes, 5 sliced Kalamata olives, ½ sliced red bell pepper, ¼ sliced cucumber, 2 slices red onion and 10 precooked shrimp; toss.
10 whole-wheat pita chips

Dinner

Risotto with saffron & scallops: Cook ¼ cup Arborio rice in 8 oz chicken stock according to package directions. Stir in 1 pinch saffron. Sauté 1 clove crushed garlic in 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add 4 oz bay scallops and sauté until opaque (about 3 to 5 minutes). Fold into risotto.
2 cups baby spinach sautéed in 1 tsp olive oil

Snacks

8 oz minestrone with 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan
4 oz all-natural rice pudding topped with 1 Tbsp dried tart cherries

Day 2

Breakfast

5.3 oz 2% Greek yogurt with honey, 1 sliced banana, 1 Tbsp chopped walnuts

Lunch

2 oz smoked turkey slices, ½ sliced apple, 1 slice Cheddar and 1 Tbsp honey mustard on 2 slices whole-wheat bread
½ cup cucumber salad (sliced cucumbers drizzled with white vinegar and seasoned with salt and pepper)

Dinner

Chinese food takeout: 8 oz ginger chicken with broccoli, 5 oz garlic sugar snap peas, ½ cup brown rice

Snacks

½ cup soft-serve chocolate ice cream
1 cup cantaloupe chunks and 1 cup pineapple chunks, topped with ¼ tsp chopped mint

Day 3

Breakfast

Strawberry French toast: Dip 1 slice whole-wheat bread into 1 large beaten egg. Fry in 1 tsp butter over medium heat until golden, 2 to 3 minutes, turning halfway. Top with 1 cup sliced strawberries tossed with 1 tsp sugar.
8 oz nonfat or 1% milk

Lunch

Southwestern veggie burger: Prepare 1 black-bean veggie burger according to package directions. Serve on whole-wheat hamburger bun with ¼ sliced avocado, tomato and onion slices, and 1 Tbsp barbecue sauce.
10 blue-corn tortilla chips

Dinner

Cranberry-chicken couscous: Combine ¼ cup dried cranberries, ¼ tsp curry powder and ½ cup chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Add ¼ cup whole-wheat couscous. Cover, remove from heat and steam for 10 minutes. Add 4 oz cubed grilled chicken breast and 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley; toss.
1 cup string beans with 1 tsp olive oil

Snacks

16 oz light mango smoothie (Try Jamba Juice Jamba Light Mango Mantra, or make your own smoothie by blending ½ cup frozen mango chunks with ½ cup calcium- and vitamin D-enriched orange juice and ½ cup nonfat vanilla yogurt.)
1 oz cinnamon-brown sugar roasted almonds

Day 4

Breakfast

1 cup whole-oat cereal (such as Cheerios), 1 cup blueberries, 2 Tbsp almonds, 8 oz nonfat or 1% milk

Lunch

Small 3-bean chili and ½ roast beef sandwich with wasabi (spread 1 Tbsp wasabi mayonnaise on ½ kaiser roll and top with 2 oz lean roast beef, ½ tsp pickled ginger and romaine lettuce)

Dinner

4 oz meat loaf
1 small baked potato with 1 Tbsp sour cream
1 cup sliced carrots roasted in 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

Snacks

1 mini Babybel cheese and 1 apple
10 pretzel twists dipped in 2 tsp Nutella hazelnut spread

Day 5

Breakfast

½ cup cooked oatmeal with 1 tsp brown sugar and 1 Tbsp each dried cherries, dried cranberries and dried blueberries (or try Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal)
12 oz nonfat cappuccino

Lunch

Peanut butter and banana pizza: Spread 1 whole wheat pita with 1 Tbsp peanut butter. Top with ½ sliced banana. Drizzle with 1 tsp honey and broil for 2 minutes.
8 oz nonfat or 1% milk

Dinner

Mexican rice bowl: Toss ½ cup cooked brown rice with ½ cup each drained canned black beans and microwaved frozen corn. Top with ½ cup diced tomato, ¼ cup chopped onions, 2 Tbsp shredded Cheddar and ¼ cup chunky salsa.

Snacks

Two 2¼-in. homemade chocolate chip cookies; 8 oz coffee with 1% milk
1 pear, quartered, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and roasted at 400°F for 15 minutes, topped with ½ cup vanilla frozen yogurt

11 Satisfying Foods (Keep this list with you!)

Vegetable- and-bean-based soups and chilis
Fresh fruits and vegetables
Baked potatoes
Main-dish salads with vinaigrette
Lean broiled or baked meat, fish and skinless white-meat chicken
Brown rice, whole-wheat couscous risotto, pasta and polenta au naturel or with a light vegetable or tomato sauce
Whole-grain cereals
Small servings of olive oil, canola oil and butter
Small portions of natural tortilla and regular potato chips (Fat-free ones aren’t satisfying)
Mini-servings of cookies, ice cream and brownies
Coffee, tea, nonfat cappuccinos and lattes

To help with your weight loss program, include Slim Trim. Click here to learn more.

Interval training

DP — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:37:25 +0000

Interval training can cut exercise hours sharply

AP – A woman exercises in a gym in central London, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer – Thu Feb 25, 7:04 pm ET

LONDON – People who complain they have no time to exercise may soon need another excuse. Some experts say intense exercise sessions could help people squeeze an entire week’s workout into less than an hour. Those regimens — also called interval training — were originally developed for Olympic athletes and thought to be too strenuous for normal people.

But in recent years, studies in older people and those with health problems suggest many more people might be able to handle it. If true, that could revolutionize how officials advise people to exercise — and save millions of people hours in the gym every week. It is also a smarter way to exercise, experts say.

“High-intensity interval training is twice as effective as normal exercise,” said Jan Helgerud, an exercise expert at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. “This is like finding a new pill that works twice as well … we should immediately throw out the old way of exercising.”

Studies on intense training have been published in sports medicine journals and have largely been based on young, healthy people. Experts say more studies are needed on how older and less fit populations handle this type of exercise before it can be recommended more widely.

Intense interval training means working very hard for a few minutes, with rest periods between sets. Experts have mostly tested people running or biking, but other sports like rowing or swimming should also work.

Helgerud recommends people try four sessions lasting four minutes each, with three minutes of recovery time in between. Unless you’re an elite athlete, it shouldn’t be an all-out effort.

“You should be a little out of breath, but you shouldn’t have the obvious feeling of exhaustion,” Helgerud said.

In Britain and the U.S., officials recommend that people get about 2 1/2 hours each week of moderate exercise. Those guidelines target a mostly sedentary population and are intended to help with weight control and heart health, not boosting fitness levels, increasing strength or endurance.

Some experts have cautioned that ordinary people shouldn’t substitute their regular exercise routine for intense training.

“There isn’t enough evidence to say people should do one or the other,” said Gary O’Donovan, a sports and exercise expert at the University of Exeter. “Any bout of exercise has the potential to improve your blood pressure or lower your cholesterol, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be intense.”

Still, O’Donovan said more intense exercise would probably produce better benefits.

Helgerud says the time people spend in the gym could be slashed dramatically if they did interval training instead. He said officials have been too afraid of recommending intense training for fear it would be too much for some people.

“I’m much more afraid of people not exercising at all,” he said. “Inactivity is what’s killing us.”

When compared to people on a normal exercise routine, like jogging, research has shown those doing interval training can double their endurance, improve their oxygen use and strength by more than 10 percent and their speed by at least 5 percent. Even studies in the elderly and in heart patients found they had better oxygen use and fitness after doing interval training.

Still, experts advise people to consult a doctor before starting any fitness program.

For Adamson Nicholls, a 36-year-old Londoner and martial arts enthusiast, interval training is a way to boost his endurance so he can outlast sparring opponents. “It’s a shortcut to explosive fitness,” he said, adding the training resulted in snappier and heavier punches.

Using interval training, Nicholls got into top shape last year in about six weeks with weekly 45-minute sessions. He estimates the same level would have taken about three months via regular training.

Experts say that’s because intense bursts of activity are precisely what the body needs to build stronger muscles. Traditional workouts lasting an hour or more simply don’t push the body enough.

“A lot of the (benefits) from exercise are due to a stress response,” said Stephen Bailey, a sports sciences expert at the University of Exeter. “If you disturb your muscles, there’s an imbalance created and your body will start signaling pathways that result in adjustments.”

Bailey said intense bursts of exercise help the body to convert one type of muscle fiber into another type that uses oxygen more efficiently and is capable of exercising a lot longer. Even though interval training only takes a few minutes, its effects last for hours.

“You’ve exercised at such a high intensity that you’re going to create a massive disturbance in your muscles,” Bailey said.

That creates a higher metabolism for several hours afterward, which the body will bring down by burning fat and carbohydrates.

“This is definitely the way forward to save time on your exercise,” Nicholls said. “The results are worth it.”

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