Healthy Sleep Habits

Did you know that the quality of your sleep and your weight are connected? It's true. Research has shown that people who get five or fewer hours of quality sleep each night have a significantly higher risk of obesity than people who get seven to eight hours a night.

Why? Disordered sleep affects your body in many ways. When it comes to your weight, lack of sleep can increase levels of the hormone leptin in your blood, leaving you hungrier and more likely to snack. Lack of sleep also stresses the body, causing it to process and store glucose differently. Of course, it is also hard to plan and prepare healthy meals or commit to being more active if you are tired all the time. In other words, not getting good sleep is hazardous to your weight! So if you're not getting seven to eight hours a night of high-quality shut-eye now, try these tips for better sleep:

• Take the TV out of the bedroom. You should be sleeping, not watching television late into the night.
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol near bedtime. Both lead to lower quality sleep.
• Don't exercise within 30 minutes of your bedtime — doing so may make it more difficult to fall asleep. However, getting regular exercise earlier in the day will promote better rest.
• Develop a sleep schedule and stick to it, going to bed and getting up at the same time from day to day. This will help set your body's internal sleep–wake cycles.
• Don't sleep late on weekends, which can disrupt your pattern. It's better to get up at your regular time and take a nap later in the day if you need it.
• Make sure you have a comfortable bed, bedding, and pillows. Foam mattress pads or toppers can also improve your bed's comfort level.

If you still experience trouble getting a good night's rest after making these changes, talk to your doctor. Medical conditions like obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, or restless legs syndrome could be to blame.

Most important, don't ignore sleep issues. They tend to get progressively worse over time, leading to larger and larger impacts on your health and well-being. This week, make getting high quality sleep a priority. It's critical to your weight-loss success!

A Healthy Take on Italian Food

If you love Italian food, here's good news! You don't have to give it up as part of a healthier lifestyle. But it may be a good idea to make some changes to the items you usually order. You can trim calories and fat while still enjoying a great meal. Try these tips for eating Italian the healthy way:

• Skip over the bread dripping in garlic butter or dipped in olive oil.
• Start your meal with a green salad or a healthy appetizer like marinated vegetables.
• Choose pasta paired with low-fat sauces like marinara, primavera, red or white clam, mushroom, white wine, or tomato and basil.
• Control pasta portions. Aim for a 1½-cup serving. Since many Italian restaurants serve about twice that amount, it may be a good idea to have half of your portion boxed up to go right away. You won't be tempted to overeat if there isn't too much food on your plate, and you will have leftovers to enjoy another time.
• Be careful with pastas stuffed with cheese. Watch portions and choose a low-fat sauce like marinara.
• Avoid creamy sauces like Alfredo — they're high in calories and fat.
• Watch out for risottos made with butter and cheese.
• Cacciatore, scampi, and marsala dishes are good lower-fat choices (remember to watch the portion size and inquire about preparation).
• When eating out, consider splitting an entrée with someone else. If you share one pasta dish and one lean protein dish with a companion, you can both have a balanced meal and enjoy a reasonable portion.
• End the meal with fresh fruit or an espresso or cappuccino. If you'd like to order a richer dessert, share it with your companion.

Step It Up

Do you know how many steps you take in a day? You can, with a pedometer. In fact, wearing one is a good way to gauge how much activity you're getting while just going about your daily activities. It can tell you whether you're active enough or whether you should build some more movement into your day.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Surgeon General recommend a minimum of 10,000 steps per day (roughly four miles). If that seems like a lot, remember that every step you take during the day counts toward the total. When you add up all the steps you take walking among the different rooms in your home, down the hallway at work, and to and from your car, you'll see that it's an achievable goal.

If you don't own a pedometer, consider buying one. Look for a basic model that's easy to operate and easy to read. You don't have to get anything too expensive — there are many decent basic models available for less than $20.

Start by wearing the pedometer for a few days to get a feel for how many steps you're taking now. If it's less than 10,000, challenge yourself to work your way up there. Little changes like parking further away from your office or the store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and walking over to talk to your work colleagues instead of shooting them an e-mail can really add up. Remember that the number on your pedometer is an estimate of your steps. If it is off by a few steps, don't worry about it — just focus on how much you are moving during the day.

This week, buy and use a pedometer to keep track of your activity level. Soon, you'll find yourself looking for excuses to get moving!

Think Outside the Box

Have you ever had one of those "Aha!" moments, when the solution to a seemingly impossible situation just comes to you, or suddenly you see the situation in a whole new way?

So often, we can get stuck in a rut when it comes to problems. We may fixate on one solution, trying to make it work time and again, rather than moving on to another approach. Thinking outside the box can help you break out of a pattern that isn't working.

For example, let's say eating fast food too often is a problem. After thinking it over, you realize that it's not a love of fast food that does you in. It's that as you drive home from work, you often are so hungry that when you see that fast-food restaurant's sign, you stop and buy dinner there — even though you have a healthier option waiting at home.

After brainstorming a list of possible solutions to this problem, you decide to try having a healthy snack before you leave work and then driving a new route home that doesn't pass that fast-food restaurant. Suddenly, your old strategy — to rely on willpower alone to bypass the drive-through — isn't needed anymore.

After a few weeks, you look back and see that thinking outside the box worked. Instead of stopping for fast food, you're avoiding getting too hungry, taking the new route home, and eating a healthy dinner. Well done!

This week, spend some time thinking about some of the old problems standing in your way of success. Try looking at them in a new light. Is there another way to approach them? Give it a try.

All About Gout

A disease often linked to poor diet and excess body weight, gout has a long history. Accounts of gout cases go back thousands of years. Historically, it was common among royalty and other wealthy classes, who could afford to eat diets that put them at risk. For this reason, gout is often referred to as "the disease of kings." And since many Americans nowadays eat diets that are in many ways similar to those of history's kings, it's no surprise that gout is making a comeback.

In many people with gout, the first sign of the condition is severe pain, swelling, and redness in the big toe. Pain and inflammation can also occur in the feet, ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, or elbows. Usually the pain becomes severe over a matter of hours and resolves over several days. Gout is more common in men than women, and it affects older people more often than the young.

This disease is caused by a buildup of excess uric acid in the body. Normally, uric acid is eliminated by the kidneys, but when the body produces too much uric acid, or when the kidneys aren't excreting it well because of impaired kidney function, the excess uric acid can form crystal deposits in the joints, resulting in pain and swelling.

Excess weight, high blood pressure, and excess alcohol consumption (particularly beer and distilled spirits) have all been associated with an increased risk of gout. High consumption of meats and fish may also contribute. Certain medications may also be associated with a higher risk of gout. These include diuretics, aspirin, and other drugs containing salicylic acid, niacin, cyclosporine (used to prevent rejection after a transplant), and levodopa (for Parkinson's disease).

To confirm that gout is the cause of pain and inflammation, your doctor may need to use a needle to take a fluid sample from the affected area. This sample is then sent to a lab and tested for the presence of uric acid crystals. Gout is usually, but not always, associated with elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. But a high level of uric acid on a blood test alone is not sufficient to confirm the diagnosis of gout. If gout is diagnosed, medications are available to help reduce the number and severity of gout attacks and should be taken as directed. In addition, adopting a healthy, balanced diet with moderate amounts of meat and fish, limiting alcohol consumption, drinking plenty of water, and losing excess weight can also help to control gout symptoms.

If you suspect you may have gout, schedule an appointment with your doctor today. You don't have to just live with the pain.

Coping With Cravings

Let's focus on cravings. You know, those urges that tell you to stop everything and eat a certain food? The truth is, these cravings and urges are normal and to be expected. They are not a sign of failure. Instead, they provide an opportunity to learn what your triggers are.

Try thinking of cravings as ocean waves. Just as a wave recedes after it peaks, a craving will recede if you do not feed it with your thoughts or actions. Instead of giving in to a craving right away, give it some time to pass. Distract yourself for a few minutes by reading or writing in your journal, taking deep breaths, going for a walk, talking about how you feel, or using such positive self-talk as "This urge won't last forever, and I am in control. I am feeling uncomfortable, but I can wait this out." Remember, bingeing might make you feel better for a short while, but you will feel better in the long run if you find a healthier outlet instead.

After a few minutes, check in with yourself. Feeling better? If not, give yourself a few more minutes. Once the intensity of the moment passes, look back and try to analyze what was going on at the time the craving began. Can you identify what triggered it? A feeling? Situation? Person? Event?

Once you've identified the trigger or triggers, develop a short list of other ways you can react to them besides eating. In time, you'll learn to recognize situations that trigger cravings in advance and be better prepared to face them. Be patient with yourself. It takes time to break old patterns.

Remember, the more you confront your cravings, the better you will be able to deal with them. So when you experience a craving, don't run away or give in. Use it as an opportunity to become aware of what you really need. Soon you'll be riding the wave instead of the crave!

Dive Into Aqua Fitness

Do you wish you could find a workout routine that could provide you with a total body workout without making you break a sweat? Maybe it's time to get into the swim of things!

Water aerobics and other aqua fitness programs are a good fit for people who don't like to exercise, haven't exercised in a while, or who have health problems like arthritis or back pain. The buoyancy of the water offsets the pull of gravity, making you feel lighter. Water also provides some resistance (as you know if you've ever tried walking in water) without putting a lot of strain on your joints. Water workouts cover all the bases at once: cardio, strength training, and flexibility. And like any other form or cardio exercise, they can help you burn excess body fat.

Perhaps the best part is that even though you're getting a strenuous workout, your body doesn't feel like the workout is strenuous. Odds are, you will leave the pool feeling refreshed — not exhausted. Plus, you are much less likely to experience pain or an injury than with land-based exercises.

When choosing a water fitness class, look for one that provides a good warm-up followed by cardiovascular and strength-building sessions and then a gradual cool-down focusing on flexibility. Ask your instructor about his or her background — the instructor should be certified in water fitness. If you have arthritis, make sure the pool is kept at a temperature between 83 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. In that range, the water will help warm up your muscles without overheating you.

Sound like a good workout for you? Check out the options at your local community pool, YWCA, or gym — and dive in!

Resisting Food Advertising

Have you ever noticed that the foods advertised the most heavily also tend to have the highest calorie counts and lowest nutritional value? Promoting junk food and fast food is big business. Companies spend millions of dollars a year in an attempt to get you to choose their burger or chip over another brand. These highly advertised foods are plentiful, easy to get, inexpensive, and engineered to taste good.

Ironically, there is little advertising promoting the foods we should be eating — like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and beans and legumes. Bombarded with powerful advertising images saying that nutritionally poor foods are best, it's no wonder we're reaching for the wrong foods! Some have compared the effort of trying to eat healthy in modern society with trying to be a recovered alcoholic in a town with a bar on every block.

How can you maintain a healthy weight in spite of the pressure to eat unhealthy foods? Try these tips:

Get the info. After you see an ad that makes junk food look tempting, boot up your computer, check out the manufacturer's Web site, and find the nutrition information for that food. When you see that the food is packed with calories, fat, or sodium, it probably won't seem so appealing.

Empower yourself to make healthier choices. We've all been in a situation where we need to eat and the only options for miles around aren't particularly healthy ones. If you find yourself with nowhere to go but a fast-food restaurant or convenience store, you need to know which choices are better than others. Reach for fresh foods like salads and sandwiches with lean meat and vegetables. Hold the dressing, mayo, and other high-calorie toppings, or have them on the side so you can easily control them.

At the grocery store, stick to the perimeter. Most heavily advertised, processed snack foods live in the inner aisles of the grocery store. To avoid temptation, skip those aisles altogether (or just pop in to retrieve healthy items on your shopping list). The perimeter aisles, which typically house fresh foods, are where you want to be.

Question the ads. Would you be as tempted to eat that cheeseburger if it were promoted by an overweight and out-of-shape model (which would be more realistic) rather than the thin, fit, happy-looking one taking a bite? Is the food really the best choice for you and your waistline? Do you really "need" it? Probably not!

19 Ways to Torch 200 Calories

1. Cut a rug

Invite some pals over, turn on some tunes, and have a 37-minute dance party. You know you haven't forgotten the Macarena.

2. Say ahh

Give your honey an end-of-the-day massage for 42 minutes and you'll burn around 200 calories. Just make sure you get one in return.

3. Move things around

Liven up the layout of your favorite room with 30 minutes of furniture rearranging.

4. Hit the bull's-eye

Spend 1 hour and 10 minutes at your favorite watering hole playing a fun game of darts with friends.

5. Make over your casa

Give your living room a fresh hue. Rolling on a new coat of paint burns 204 calories an hour.

6. Scrub-a-dub

Throw a barbecue, but first vacuum, sweep the patio, and straighten up.

7. Hit the market

Buy groceries for your fete (45 minutes of cart-pushing burns 117 calories), carry them inside (5 minutes of schlepping them up stairs burns 43), and put them away (40 calories in 14 minutes).

8. Bat a birdie around

Challenge partygoers to a friendly game of badminton and burn about 200 calories in 40 minutes.

8. Bat a birdie around

Challenge partygoers to a friendly game of badminton and burn about 200 calories in 40 minutes.

9. Act out

Help your guests burn off even more of that barbecue fare by leading them in an hour of charades.

10. Sing, laugh, repeat

Settle in for an hour of Glee and participate by belting out those lyrics; you'll burn more if you do it standing, chorus style. When it's your turn to rest your chops, laugh. Singing zaps 136 calories an hour, and 20 minutes of giggling torches another 67.

11. Bypass the boob tube

A 2-hour game of Scrabble will make you smarter and 200 calories thinner.

12. Hit the mini links

When's the last time you played putt-putt? All it takes is about an hour to slash 200 calories.

13. Weed and seed

Make your yard happy by uprooting those pesky weeds for 25 minutes (127 calories) and planting some new seedlings (77 calories for 15 minutes).

14. Relive recess days

Join the kids in a 20-minute game of hopscotch (113 calories) followed by 22 minutes on the trampoline (87 calories).

15. Strike out

Meet your pals at the local bowling alley for an hour's worth of friendly competition. Give extra style points to the person whose outfit clashes most with the rental shoes.

16. Shop it off

Hit the end-of-summer sales -- you'll torch 11 calories for every outfit you try on.

17. Get your om on

Unwind with some Vinyasa yoga. Flowing from Sun Salutations to standing poses like Triangle will burn 200 calories in about 25 minutes.

18. Clean your machine

Wash and wax your ride, and you'll burn 204 calories in 40 minutes. Straighten up the inside of your car, too, and you'll melt those cals even faster.

19. Tap your toes

Fidget throughout the day and you could burn an extra 200 calories before dinnertime. Researchers say people who fidget burn 350 calories a day more than non-fidgeters.

Self-talk and Exercise

When you work out, what messages are running through your head? How you think about exercise greatly influences how you feel about it — and how likely you are to stick with it. If your self-talk during exercise is all negative, your experience with exercise will be negative, too.

Do any of the following thoughts sound familiar?

• I don't like exercise.
• I'm not a natural athlete.
• I'll never get better at this.
• Everyone is looking at me.
• I missed a workout, so I may as well give up.
• I'm too tired for this.
• I'm never going to reach my goal.
• If I exercise, I'll feel exhausted afterward.

If any of these — or any other — negative messages come to mind during your workouts, try replacing them with the following:

• I will keep trying until I find an activity I enjoy.
• My body is made to move.
• I will gain skill over time.
• Others can think what they like — I won't let it stop me.
• I may have missed a workout, but I can get back on track today.
• I'm tired, but I'll aim for just 10 minutes of exercise and then see how I feel.
• I can and will reach my goal.
• After I exercise, I really feel good about myself.

This week, pay attention to the thoughts you're having during exercise and focus on replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. Doing so will make your workouts more productive and enjoyable.

Make Social Events Work for You

For many people, socializing means eating and drinking. There's a wonderful social aspect to eating, and you don't have to lose that pleasure — when you learn how to make it work for you and not against you. You can have plenty of fun and pleasure, as you discover the secrets of smart socializing. Here are some strategies you can try:

• Change the location. Suggest a non-food-centered outing from time to time. Plan a trip to a museum, for example, rather than a dinner out.
• Work the clock. Try to plan the outing either before or after standard mealtimes — at 10 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, or 8 at night, for example. That way, a meal won't be on your or your companions' mind.
• Eat before you go. You'll be less tempted to reach for unhealthy foods in social settings if you eat a balanced meal before you go.
• Watch the alcohol. In addition to providing empty calories that your body doesn't need, alcohol can also impair your judgment. Stick to one drink and then switch to water, iced tea, or a diet beverage.
• Visualize success. If you know food will be the focus of an outing, spend some time visualizing yourself making good food choices and managing your portions before you go.
• Bring a healthy option. If the event is a potluck, bring along a green salad, a vegetable tray, a low-fat dish, or a fruit salad to assure there will be a healthy dish available.
• Enlist your friends. Your friends can be your best supporters. So don't be afraid to let them in on your needs. For example, a friend may be more than happy to choose a restaurant with healthy options or split an entrée with you if you suggest it.

This week, imagine yourself facing some of the common social situations in your life. Journal about the challenges you might face and how you plan to handle them.

Restless Legs Syndrome

While most people might not associate restless legs syndrome (RLS) with a struggle to stay fit, this relatively common but often untreated condition can zap your energy, leaving you with little left to work out, eat right, and generally take good care of yourself.

Could you be among the estimated 1 in 10 people in the U.S. with RLS? It's possible, if these symptoms sound familiar:

• A strong urge to move your legs, accompanied by feelings of discomfort such as itching, creeping, tugging, or pulling. These feelings occur when your legs are at rest, and they subside when your legs are in motion.
• Insomnia or interrupted sleep as a result of the urge to move your legs.

In most cases, the cause of RLS is unknown. Some cases of RLS have been linked to deficiencies of iron, vitamin B, or folate; in these cases, a healthy, balanced diet or supplements can help to relieve symptoms. Sometimes RLS is linked to another health condition, like peripheral neuropathy (loss of sensation or pain, particularly in the limbs, which may be a complication of diabetes or other disorders), impaired circulation (for instance, varicose veins or swelling in the legs), or Parkinson's disease (a nervous system disorder associated with tremors and impaired movement). In these cases, treating the underlying condition can help to alleviate RLS symptoms. RLS may have a genetic component as well, as some cases seem to run in families.

Because certain drugs can aggravate the symptoms, be sure to tell your doctor about all medications and supplements you take. Drugs linked to RLS include antinausea drugs like metoclopramide (brand name Reglan), antiseizure drugs like phenytoin (Dilantin), antipsychotic drugs like haloperidol (Haldol), and some cold and allergy medications.

If you suspect you might have RLS, ask your doctor to evaluate you for this condition. Avoiding caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol may help reduce the symptoms. Prescription medications are also available that can calm the symptoms and help you get a better night's sleep.

The World's Simplest Workout

New Workout–The 30-20-10–Produces Impressive Results

A just-published paper in the Journal of Applied Physiology outlines a new workout that could become as popular as Yasso 800s, because the “numbers” are just as simple. The new workout is called “30-20-10 training” (or 10-20-30). Veteran runners who followed the training for just 7 weeks improved their 5K times by four percent, dropping from 23:03 to 22:16.

They also lowered their blood pressure and their LDL cholesterol. The workout appears to be health-enhancing as well as performance-enhancing.

The study should interest runners, because it didn’t just measure physiology “markers" (some of which improved and some of which didn't change). It measured actual performance, which improved quite dramatically. The 30-20-10 runners, three women and five men, also lowered their 1500 meter times by six percent, from 6:09 to 5:49. They did this while decreasing their weekly training mileage by 50 percent.

Here’s how to do a 30-20-10 workout.

1. Warm up with easy jogging for about a mile. (The studied runners warmed up for just ¾ mile.)

2. Jog for 30 seconds, run normal training pace for 20 seconds, and sprint for 10 seconds. Immediately repeat this cycle four more times, producing one continuous five-minute repeat.

3. Jog for two minutes. Then repeat step 2 two or three more times. (The subjects in the JAP study did 3 x 5-minutes for the first four weeks, and 4 x 5-minutes for the next three weeks.)

4. Cool down with easy jogging for about a mile. (The studied runners apparently did no cooldown, but we always recommend one.)

In the study, 18 moderately trained subjects (12 men, 8 women; average age, 34; normal training, 18 miles a week) were divided into two groups. One, the Controls, continued their normal training, and showed no improvements after seven more weeks of training. The 30-20-10 group followed the above training system, running just three times a week for an average of about 30 minutes per workout. They trained just under 9 miles per week.

An important result of these two training systems: The Control group spent 0 minutes per week running at or close to maximum heart rate, while the 30-20-10 group did about 40 percent of their running at/near max HR, even though they sprinted for only 16 percent of each minute. This occurred, presumably, because their HR stayed close to max as they recovered from each sprint.

The 30-20-10 workout might be considered a controlled “fartlek” workout, but with more rigor. No GPS required. Just run by feel. It would be easy to do on a grassy field or a smooth trail or dirt road. A safe, low-traffic road would be fine too, if you don’t mind the extra pounding.

It’s difficult to say how the workout would perform if you did it just once or twice a week (or four times!), but there’s a general rule for intense training: A little is better than none; and a lot is too much.

The researchers concluded: “Training with 10-second speed intervals can have a major impact on performance.” Also: “The 30-20-10 training led to reduced resting systolic blood pressure and blood cholesterol, suggesting a better health profile for already trained subjects.”

Boost Your Body Image

When you think of your body, what thoughts come to mind? Do you focus on what's "wrong"? Do you feel embarrassed about your body? Like so many people who struggle with weight, you may find it difficult — or perhaps not even know how — to work toward a healthier relationship with your own body. But you can learn to accept and appreciate yourself.

A healthy lifestyle is about more than eating well and exercising — it is about accepting and embracing your body and treating it well. It's not about waiting until you've reached some ideal weight or some particular goal before learning to notice what's good about yourself and your body. After all, staying motivated requires that we celebrate every success. Maybe your clothes feel a little looser or you're feeling better about the way you look — it's important to notice all the steps along the way.

Remember, few people fit into or can ever obtain the supermodel standard of beauty. Yet, media images bombarding us with cellulite-free thighs, rock-hard abs, and flat tummies create unreasonable, expectations and can leave us feeling inferior if we feel we don't measure up.

This week, pay particular attention to the messages you send yourself about your body. Are they mainly negative? If so, practice replacing them with more self-accepting thoughts. Take a look in the mirror and find the things about your body that you like, and say that you like them out loud. Start thinking of your body as something special that deserves your great care and attention.

Healthy Preworkout Snacks

Do you often have a snack before your workouts? While eating before you exercise may seem a little counterintuitive — after all, isn't one of the aims of exercise to burn calories? — it can actually be a good move. If it's time for your workout but you haven't eaten anything for a few hours or more, a snack can give you the energy you need to get going. And it can prevent you from being so hungry when you're done exercising that you make poor food choices.

The best preworkout snack is one that includes carbohydrates, which provide an energy boost, and protein, which sustains the energy boost and helps you feel satisfied longer. Here are some ideas:

• Half a bagel with low-fat cream cheese
• An apple with reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• A banana with peanut butter
• Yogurt with berries
• A few crackers with tuna
• One slice of bread with turkey

The key is to keep your portion small — around 50 to 100 calories. Eat your snack 30 minutes to an hour before you work out, keeping in mind that the body takes a little longer to absorb the energy from foods containing fat.

And before you stock up on energy bars or other products that promise to give you a boost during your workout, take note: While these products can be a convenient option, they can also be high in calories. If you do choose a sports bar, look for small ones that contain 100 calories or less.

Multivitamin Supplements

Should you take a multivitamin supplement? If you eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean protein, you probably don't need one. But if you want to be sure you're getting the recommended daily amounts of important vitamins and minerals, a multivitamin pill can be a good way to do so.

Vitamins and minerals are nutrients found in foods that your body needs to function optimally. Because your body can't make these nutrients on its own, they must come from food or other sources. Some important ones include the following:

• Vitamin A: Needed for healthy vision and cell development; also acts as an antioxidant, protecting the body's cells from substances called free radicals. Food sources of vitamin A include liver, fish, fortified dairy products, carrots, and sweet potatoes.
• Folic acid: Helps the body make new cells. It's especially important that women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant get adequate amounts of folic acid. It's found in dark leafy greens, dried beans and peas, oranges, and fortified grain products.
• Vitamin C: Plays a role in building connective tissue and keeping the immune system healthy; also acts as an antioxidant. It's found in citrus fruits, broccoli, green peppers, spinach, and other fruits and vegetables.
• Vitamin D: Contributes to bone health, in part by helping the body to absorb calcium; also plays a role in the immune system. Your body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight, and it's also found in fortified dairy foods and cereals.
• Vitamin E: Helps to repair body tissues and acts as an antioxidant. Vitamin E is found in fish, milk, egg yolks, vegetable oils, nuts, and other foods.
• Calcium: A mineral used to build bone. It's found in dairy products and, in smaller amounts, in greens like broccoli and kale.
• Iron: Helps to carry oxygen to the body's cells. Food sources of iron include organ meats, beef, poultry, beans and lentils, and fortified cereals.

Before you purchase a multivitamin, read the label to see what percentage of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of each vitamin it contains. As you'll see, some brands contain much more than the RDA, while others contain less. It has not been proved that taking more than the RDA is beneficial, and taking very high doses of any vitamin can be harmful. Choose a multivitamin that covers the bases but stays at 100 percent of the RDA or less. In addition, check that the label carries the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) symbol. This will ensure that the supplement's manufacturer adheres to certain purity standards and that the supplement can be easily broken down in your digestive system and absorbed.

And remember, taking a multivitamin doesn't mean you can forgo eating well. No pill can replace the benefits of eating a healthy, balanced diet, but a multivitamin supplement can provide a little additional assurance that your body is getting the nutrition it needs.

How to Read Medical Headlines

Being able to separate the credible from the hype is key to understanding what the latest medical research means for your health. When you're reading, watching, or listening to a medical news story, look for the following criteria:

Original studies: A medical news story should tell you who did the research, when it was done, and where the research was published or presented. Stories that don't say where the research comes from should be questioned.

Rigorous research: Pay attention to the details of how the study was done. Were many people involved (hundreds or more) or just a few? Was it a human study or one done on animals? Was there a control or placebo group? How long was the study period? Who funded the research?

Balanced information: Oversimplified or one-sided stories often leave out key facts. There's often far more to the story than is presented in a short broadcast or news article.

Multiple sources: Count the number of experts quoted in the article. There should be several experts quoted, and ideally, ones with different perspectives on what the research means.

Related studies: One study taken alone does not provide the complete picture. Ideally, the article should mention past studies done on the topic and explain how the current study fits into the big picture.

Legitimate reporting: Who wrote the article, and where does it appear? Is it from a recognized news source or someone's personal Web page? Is it really an advertisement disguised as news? Question if the writer is pushing a hidden agenda.

Remember, you can't believe everything you hear or read. If something sounds too good to be true — such as a promise that you can lose weight without changing how you eat or how much you exercise, that one particular food is the answer to weight loss, or that a pill can replace a healthy lifestyle — it probably is.

Eating Healthfully While Traveling

When you're traveling for business or pleasure, it can be tempting to take a vacation from your eating plan. Even if your intentions are good, it can feel as if you're surrounded by nothing but fast food, junk food, and other unhealthy snacks in airports, hotels, convention centers, and tourist areas.

But wait — it's possible to travel and still eat well. Keep these ideas in mind when eating on the road:

Pack your snacks: You don't have to worry about healthy choices not being available if you plan ahead and bring your own. Some portable options include nuts, fresh or dried fruit, pretzels, low-fat granola bars, and mini carrots.

Fill up before you go: Don't travel on an empty stomach. If you have a healthy and sensible meal before you go, you'll be less tempted to reach for something to eat in desperation.

Search out your options: When you arrive at your destination, take a few minutes to locate some nearby restaurants and shops with healthy eating options. When it's time to eat, you won't have to worry about where to go.

Remember, vacation calories count: Don't fall into the mind-set that your trip can be a vacation from your goal to eat well. Remember to keep track of calories on the road, just as you do at home. If you're a Duke Diet & Fitness Online member, you can print blank copies of your Food Log to take with you.

Order on the side: Control portions of high-calorie extras by asking for salad dressings and condiments like mayonnaise on the side, or requesting that they be left off altogether. Most cooks use far too much of these fatty sides, adding calories and fat you don't need.

Indulge in moderation: Part of the joy of traveling is experiencing new cuisines. Don't deprive yourself of a taste of the local flavor — but do keep your portions in check and make healthy choices whenever you can.

Keep moving: Remember to squeeze some activity into your trip, too. Walk around the airport terminal while you're waiting for your flight, stroll along the sidewalks in your destination city, go for a swim in the hotel pool. Staying active will help keep you on track.

Building Your Network for Success

While much of the work to make your weight-loss program succeed is up to you, finding proper support can certainly improve your chances for success. Think about the following descriptions, and then for each one, name one or more people in your life who could play that role in your "support network":

• The Listener and Guide: Someone who will listen when you need it and can give advice when appropriate without being judgmental.
• The Kindred Spirit: Someone who is "on the same wavelength" as you and shares experiences similar to your own.
• The Helper: Someone who can lend a hand in practical ways, such as taking on a chore like shopping or watching the kids so you can have time to work out.
• The Partner: Someone who will exercise or make other lifestyle changes with you.
• The Motivator: Someone who will cheer on your successes and help you look on the bright side during rough patches.
• The Soul Mate: Someone who knows you, understands you, and has your physical and emotional well-being at heart.
• The Expert: A professional you can turn to for technical advice on exercise, nutrition, health concerns, and breaking old habits. Experts who may help include personal trainers (look for a trainer who has an exercise-related degree and certification from the American College of Sports Medicine or the American Council on Exercise), dietitians, and qualified health-care providers.

Remember, always be as clear and specific as possible when requesting help from your support network. Instead of a vague request like, "Can you help me lose weight?" try saying, "Can you watch the kids on Monday and Wednesday evenings from six to seven so I can join an exercise class?" or "Will you help me shop for and prepare healthy dinners three nights a week, so I can cut back on going out to eat?" The better you communicate exactly how the members of your network can help, the more supportive they can be.

Is Your Thyroid the Problem?

For some people who gain weight easily, a dysfunctional thyroid gland may be partly to blame — though only rarely is it a major cause of excess weight. The thyroid gland is located in your neck and is responsible for many complex regulatory functions within the body. Hormones produced by the thyroid play a role in regulating metabolism, or the rate at which the body uses calories.

When the thyroid gland doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone (a condition called hypothyroidism), your body's metabolism slows, and burning fat becomes harder. If an underactive thyroid contributes to weight gain, treating the thyroid condition may help with weight loss. The thyroid glad can also be overactive (a condition called hyperthyroidism).

One reason thyroid problems are often overlooked is that the symptoms tend to be subtle or confused with those of other diseases. Symptoms of reduced thyroid function may include fatigue, sluggishness, trouble waking in the morning, depression, dry skin and hair, constipation, fluid retention, low sex drive, and muscle aches and cramps. Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include nervousness, irritability, rapid heart rate, and tremors.

If you're struggling with your weight and you suspect your thyroid may not be working normally, ask your doctor to test your thyroid function. A simple physical exam and blood test is the only way to know for sure.

Six Exercise Myths

Chances are you've heard all kinds of advice when it comes to working out. But are these maxims fact — or fiction? Don't believe these common workout whoppers:

Myth #1: Exercise should hurt. Whether you've been told "No pain, no gain," or that you should "feel the burn," the reality is that exercise doesn't have to be painful to be effective. In fact, pushing yourself too hard, too fast will most likely lead to an injury — not a fit physique!

Myth #2: You can target specific areas. Don't buy into the myth of spot exercising to reduce fat in a particular area. While it's true that strengthening exercises will target specific muscles — for example, crunches strengthen your abdominal muscles — no exercise can burn fat in a specific area.

Myth #3: To benefit from cardio, you have to do it for at least an hour at a time. It's just not true that if you don't have an hour to exercise, you may as well not bother. For weight loss, it's just as effective to work out frequently for shorter periods (such as 10 or 15 minutes). Remember, it all adds up.

Myth #4: If you strength train, you'll get bulky. Many people avoid strength training because they're afraid it will cause them to bulk up. The truth is, while resistance training helps you maintain your lean muscle mass, building substantial amounts of muscle is very difficult, especially when you're losing weight. Unless you're a bodybuilder following a program designed to increase your muscle mass, odds are you won't bulk up.

Myth #5: If you exercise, you can eat whatever you want. While exercise does burn calories, what and how much you eat still matters. For example, a one-mile walk burns about 100 calories — so you'd have to walk for 12 miles to burn off the typical 1,200-calorie fast-food meal of a hamburger, fries, and a soft drink!

Myth #6: There's a quick fix. When it comes to fitness, slow and steady wins the race. Don't buy into advertisements that promise certain fitness equipment or activities will get you in shape quickly or with no effort.

Dealing With "High Risk" Situations

Do you ever feel as if you're in a situation in which your eating can easily get out of your control? Perhaps it's every time you go to a party, when you're at a buffet, while you're doing certain activities like shopping, or when you're feeling very hungry, bored, tired, or stressed out.

Whatever the reasons, it's a good idea to think back over situations that led you to overeat in the past — to learn about yourself and develop strategies for dealing with similar circumstances should they arise in the future. Take some time to write about a past situation, answering the following questions:

• What were the circumstances? Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing? And so on.
• How were you feeling physically? Were you hungry? Sleepy? Feeling a little weak or run down?
• How were you feeling emotionally? Were you anxious or sad? Angry or tense? Happy or joyful?
• What thoughts were going through your mind?
• Were you aware of any specific cues to eat, such as the presence of trigger foods, or friends eating in front of you?

Be as specific as you can, and remember that the important thing is to recall the details of the situations that led you to overeat — to identify the triggers but not dwell excessively on "what went wrong." This is not an exercise in beating yourself up!

Once you've written about a high-risk situation, brainstorm some strategies you could have used to avoid overeating. Evaluate these options, and then choose a couple of helpful and realistic ones to keep in mind for the next time you find yourself in a similar situation.

If you give this exercise careful thought, then the next time you face a high-risk situation, things won't feel so out of control. Think of it as planning for success!