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!

Courtesy of: DukeDiet.com

Quick Chowder Recipe

This Bacon and Clam Chowder is such a great soup to make on the weekend. It can serve a dual purpose: as a delicious starter for Sunday night dinner and, because you'll have enough left over, as someone's lunch or late-night dinner later in the week. If you feel really industrious, you can double the recipe and put half in the freezer; it'll come in handy some night a few weeks from now, when you've completely run out of energy. Add some salad and a crusty whole-wheat roll and dinner's ready!

Bacon and Clam Chowder

Ingredients

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 large red or yellow bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces Canadian bacon, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3 cups chicken broth
12 ounces new potatoes, cut into chunks
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
1 1/2 cups water
12 littleneck clams, well scrubbed

Preparation

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, bell peppers, and black pepper. Stir well, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Stir in the Canadian bacon, garlic, and thyme; increase the heat to medium-high, and cook and stir for 5 minutes, or until all the juices have evaporated.

Add the broth and potatoes; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the tomatoes and wine (if using), cover, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove from the heat.

Bring the water to a boil in a medium skillet over high heat. Add the clams; reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the clams open.

With tongs, transfer the clams to a bowl, discarding those that haven't opened. Line a fine-mesh strainer with damp paper towels. Pour the clam broth through the strainer into a glass measure, leaving any sand behind. Add the broth to the soup. Reheat if necessary.

Remove the clams from their shells and chop coarsely. Add the clams to the soup; reheat briefly, and serve.

Makes 6 first-course servings.

Per serving: 169 calories, 20g carbohydrates, 14g protein, 5g fat, 25mg cholesterol, 4g dietary fiber, 770mg sodium

Eat More Often, Lose More Weight!

Tell me if this sounds familiar: You didn't have time to eat breakfast, and you got so busy with work or errands that you missed lunch; now it's about 3 p.m. and your tummy is rumbling, so you pull over at the closest convenience store, grab a pack of doughnuts, and proceed to devour them in the car as you race toward your next appointment. Whew!

If some version of that scenario happens to you more often than not, it's time you get on a regular eating schedule. Sticking to a schedule is important because it will help you control your hunger. You may think that skipping meals will help you lose weight because you'll eat fewer calories — but the opposite is actually true! People who skip meals actually tend to eat more calories when they finally do eat.

If you eat regularly throughout the day, however, your hunger level will always be in control, so you won't have a hard time keeping your portions in check and staying away from unhealthy foods. In fact, your body will get used to specific mealtimes, so you won't find yourself feeling hunger pangs at random times during the day — when you're out and about with no healthy food in sight!

Here's your goal for the coming week: Stick to your eating schedule! That means eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, and one to two snacks. Space your meals so that you eat at least every four hours or so. You should also try to eat your meals and snacks around the same time of day every day. I promise you, this will NOT make you gain weight — eating on a schedule will help you look fabulous and feel energized throughout the day!

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 a flat tummy distort our own body image 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.

Courtesy of: The Duke Diet

Get Strong by Squatting

If you're new to exercise, working out can be intimidating. The trick is to begin with exercises you can build on. Let's start with the legs. After all, they help support our bodies in the most basic of activities — standing and walking! Try wall squats, the building block of all squat variations. Here's how to get started right now.

Wall Squat
Stand with your back about 1 1/2 feet from a wall, feet hip-width apart, your weight on your heels. Lean back until your shoulders and upper back touch the wall. Now slowly lower yourself (as if you were going to sit on a chair) until your thighs are parallel with the floor and your legs form a 90-degree angle. In the seated position, your back — from the shoulder blades to the lower rib cage — should rest lightly against the wall. Hold this position for as long as you can, stand back up, and repeat.

When you've mastered the form, kick it up a notch by adding resistance with hand weights. Once you've developed quad, glute, and hamstring strength with this beginner move, you'll be ready to tackle more advanced leg exercises.

Getting Rid of the Belly Bulge

Question:

What is the best way to get rid of the belly bulge?

Answer:

Contrary to what you might think, getting rid of the belly bulge is all about diet and cardio, rather than strength-training exercises that target the abdominals. This is because belly bulge results from excess body fat, not lack of muscle. The best way to reduce the bulge is therefore to reduce your body fat, and we all know what that requires — diet and exercise, baby!

It is possible to carry extra water weight in your tummy. To get rid of this: try cutting your sodium intake to 1,500 mg a day and increasing your water intake. This will help you reduce water retention and reduce the spongy appearance of belly fat just a bit!

But really, it comes down to healthy eating and consistent cardio workouts. Stick with it, kid — it’ll come off. Just keep at it and be patient with yourself.

Get Checked Out

You feel great and are looking more fabulous each day, so why should you take time out of your hectic schedule to visit your doctor or dentist? No matter how old you are, staying on top of regular checkups is crucial to your overall well-being. Prevention is the ideal purpose of checkups, but they also afford the opportunity to catch a problem while it's in the early stages and can be easily treated — allowing you to live long and feel strong!

Mark your calendars! Here's a checklist of appointments you can't afford to miss:

• Mammograms: Starting around age 40 (unless you have a family history of breast cancer and your doctor recommends you start earlier), women should undergo mammograms every one to two years. These tests are in addition to monthly self-exams, starting in your twenties.
• Pelvic exam: If you are a sexually active woman or over 21, you should schedule an annual pelvic exam and Pap smear.
• Cholesterol checks: If you're 20 and are a smoker or have a history of diabetes or heart disease, you should have your cholesterol checked regularly; otherwise you should start around age 45.
• Dental cleaning: For many, a thorough dental cleaning may be at the bottom of the appointment list. Still, even if you have a healthy smile, you should visit the dentist at least twice a year.
• Physical: Here's a general rule of thumb for having an overall physical, even when you're feeling fine: at 20, every three years; at 30, every two years; and at 40 and above, every year.