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10 nutrition powerhouses for kids

February 16, 2012 By

Get your kids addicted to these colorful, tasty, nutrient-packed superfoods, like blueberries, cocoa, cinnamon and more.

It’s a fact of life: Chips, cupcakes, and lots of other not-so-nutritionally noble foods are going to find their way into your child’s mouth. Heck, if left to their own devices, a lot of kids wouldn’t eat anything that didn’t come out of a pizza or pasta box. But that’s all the more reason to make sure the meals you serve up are packed with as much good stuff as possible. Parenting went to Rachel Beller, R.D., founder of the Beller Nutritional Institute in Beverly Hills, California, a mom of four, and an expert in eating for disease prevention, to get her top picks of true bite-for-bite nutritional powerhouses. Most important, they’re also foods kids might actually eat. Add them to this week’s shopping list!

Blueberries

They’ve ranked among the healthiest fruits for years (go, antioxidants!). Now research suggests that in addition to protecting against heart disease and diabetes and improving brain function, blueberries may also help reduce visceral “toxic” belly fat — a type of fat that has been linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Ways to get them in your kid’s diet: They’re a natural go-with breakfast choice (say, tossed into a bowl of granola and milk) and are also great in summer salads and desserts. Try making ice pops by freezing a blend of whirred-up blueberries, yogurt and some honey (after age 1).

Tofu

“Whole soy foods are an excellent source of lean protein and have potent anti-cancer benefits,” says Beller. “Tofu is great for young girls because it has a protective effect as their bodies and breast tissue are developing — which lasts into adulthood.”

Ways to get it in your kid’s diet: Dice and toss tofu into stir-fries or soups; use the silken variety as a sub for yogurt in fruit smoothies; snack on lightly boiled and salted edamame (soybeans) — the kids will have fun popping them out of the shells.

Tomatoes

They’re loaded with lycopene — a substance that protects against many cancers. Cooking tomatoes makes them even healthier because the heat releases the lycopene. Hint:

Pairing tomato-y foods with a good fat, like olive oil, helps the body absorb more. Ways to get them in your kid’s diet: Pizza and pasta sauces are obvious choices, or add tomato sauce to turkey meatballs or meatloaf if you need to disguise it. A bowl of chili and salsa for dipping are good options if you’ve got a spice lover.

Low-fat Greek yogurt

It contains healthy bacteria known to boost immunity and aid digestion, and has two to three times the amount of protein and less sugar than regular yogurt. Add a drizzle of honey (after age 1) for sweetness, a bit of maple syrup or try a squeeze of agave syrup (a sweetener with a lower glycemic index, so it won’t make your child’s blood sugar — and energy level — spike and then crash soon after breakfast). Agave is available in grocery stores, either in the organic aisle or where you’d find honey.

Cabbage

It has a mild flavor and crunch that kids tend to like better than the usual salad greens. And cruciferous veggies such as cabbage, broccoli and kale contain phytonutrients known to lower the risk for many types of cancer, as well as improve digestion. It also helps clear harmful toxins from the body by triggering the release of enzymes whose job it is to whisk them out.

Ways to get it in your kid’s diet: Make coleslaw with low-fat mayo; shred and toss it into soups or Asian noodle dishes.

Salmon

It contains heart-healthy omega-3 fats, which are also known to boost brain development, fend off depression, and have superb anti-inflammatory powers. Be sure to pick the wild kind, which is lower in mercury and higher in omega-3′s.

Best way to get your kid to eat it: Pair salmon with ingredients he already likes. Glaze salmon fillets with orange juice or brush them with teriyaki sauce. Or serve it as salmon cakes, burgers or salad (mashed and mixed with low-fat mayo).

Cocoa

You probably think of the marshmallow-studded beverage, but cocoa powder actually has one of the highest concentrations of flavonoids, a compound known to improve blood pressure and heart and oral health. They may also protect skin from sun damage. Use at least 70 percent pure cocoa and check that it isn’t processed with alkali (also called “Dutch processed”), which removes most of the flavonoids.

Ways to serve it (beyond hot cocoa): Sprinkle it on pancakes, waffles or French toast, or melt some dark chocolate and dunk strawberries in it.

Black beans

“Beans are a great source of protein, as well as fiber and calcium — two things kids tend not to get enough of. The darker the color, the better they are,” says Beller. “They also help guard against heart disease and high cholesterol, which aren’t adults-only problems. I have a nine-year-old patient with very high cholesterol.”

Ways to get them in your kid’s diet: Make nachos or quesadillas with black beans, cheese, and salsa; try black-bean veggie burgers, or whip up black-bean hummus.

Basil

This herb is packed with antioxidants — vitamins A, C, and K — as well as iron, potassium and calcium and can help improve digestion. Some research shows it may even ease headaches, notes Beller.

Ways to get it in your kid’s diet: Make pesto and spoon over chicken breasts or stir into cooked pasta. Does your kid freak out at the sight of little green flecks in his food? Welcome to the club! Grind basil up superfine and hide it in sauces, soups, and that ever-popular master of disguise, meatballs.

Cinnamon

Research shows that this spice can help regulate blood sugar, which may also minimize those all-too-common mid-morning energy crashes (kiddie meltdown!), says Beller.

Ways to get it in your kid’s diet: Sprinkle it on oatmeal, pancakes, cold cereal and yogurt, and add a few extra dashes of cinnamon to muffin or quick-bread recipes that call for it. “My kids also love it on air-popped popcorn,” says Beller. Or combine it in a shaker with cocoa and sprinkle both together for a superfood two-fer.

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Obese children outgrowing kids’ clothing and furniture

February 15, 2012 By

(CNN) — In middle school, Taylor LeBaron struggled to fit into his seat. The desks in class had a ceramic plate attached to the chair.

“I was so large, I couldn’t fit in there,” said LeBaron, now 19. “Every other student could. I couldn’t get my legs to fit underneath the desk or my stomach to fit between the chair without getting the desk stuck with me.

“It was really embarrassing. When class is over, everyone gets up, I would take a few minutes extra, tactfully maneuvering out without looking like a fool.”

But LeBaron, who weighed nearly 300 pounds at age 14, never requested a separate table and chair because he didn’t want to draw more attention to himself.

Taylor LeBaron, at nearly 300 pounds, struggled to fit in his seat during middle school.

As children are getting bigger, their clothing, their furniture and other objects that support their weight must also expand.

Seventeen percent of children are obese, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And one in three kids is obese or overweight. The rate of childhood obesity has tripled to the point that pediatricians say growth charts no longer apply to today’s kids.

To accommodate larger kids, some schools have instructions for teachers to provide separate chairs and desks for students who cannot fit into the pupil chairs. And school furniture makers are increasing the size of chairs and desks to accommodate larger students.

“Other students snickered as I would try to get out of my chair,” LeBaron recalled. “You could hear them snickering. You don’t forget how that feels — that embarrassment and that redness in your face.”

Being set apart from peers by sitting in a different chair means “their peers recognize them as large, different,” said Dr. Phil Wu, a pediatrician who leads Kaiser Permanente’s pediatric obesity prevention and treatment effort.

“At all ages, kids don’t want to feel different,” Wu said. “They get ostracized by the peers in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. It’s more of that social psychological impact that’s insidious in a way that’s more profound than what the child might experience than sitting in a standard seat.”

These chairs from Academia Furniture Industries show the range of sizes from 12 to 19 inches.

Hertz Furniture, a company that resells office and school furniture, started offering 19-inch chairs for schools three years ago. The biggest desks available before had a height of 18 inches. The taller chairs have deeper depth and wider seating.

“The desks are getting larger, because if their thighs are larger, you have to move the desks up,” said Amy Hoffman, Hertz’s director of marketing.

Newer student desks with adjustable heights can accommodate bigger bodies. The student seats are designed to look just like the other ones, so they don’t make obese students appear different from their peers.

“That is an obesity trend reflected in the furniture,” said Tom Brennan, president of School Outfitters, which sells school furniture. “For perspective, when we look at import product from China, you can tell the difference from the China market and the U.S. market. The buckets are generally not wide enough. They have to be designed specifically for the U.S.”

Shawn Green, vice president of design and product marketing for KI, a company that designs and manufactures school and hospital furnishings, said the diameter of the metal, the supporting structure and the width, depth and height of school chairs have to be modified to work in the American market.

‘Hard to be a little girl if you’re not’

“People are not only heavier but also getting taller,” Green said. “In general, we’re getting bigger in scale; that affects children as well.”

Chairs made for older and bigger students are being used in middle and elementary schools to comfortably fit overweight and obese students. Schools prefer the “big and tall” sizes for educational furniture, said Tony Ellison, CEO of Shoplet.com, which sells office and school furniture.

In the past five years, the biggest seats have been selling better than the standard sizes, he added. These items also cost more.

It’s not just school desks that don’t fit.

A 2005 Pediatrics study found limited child safety seats for the increasing number of obese young children.

“There was a risk of kids not being covered for safety,” said the study author, Lara McKenzie. “If there are bigger kids, maybe there are some safety devices or equipment that wouldn’t fit them properly.”

The study suggested that car seats should maximize “the protection of obese children.” Another study in 2009 suggested that most children in the study were too heavy to be compliant with child safety seat laws.

Childhood obesity affects their safety in matters beyond child seats and ill-fitting school furniture. Obese kids are more likely to get heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure and are more prone to diabetes, bone and joint problems. Their health problems are also more likely to follow into adulthood.

In extreme cases, pediatricians have reported toddlers with hip displacement problems from carrying too much weight and metabolic abnormalities in their insulin, liver enzymes and cholesterol — usually problems detected in older adults.

Children of this generation have exceeded the growth charts used in the United States since 1977. These charts are a series of percentile curves that illustrate how young children grow.

“Right now, if we say that 15 or 17% of all kids are over 95th percentile for obesity, statistically that doesn’t make sense,” Wu said.

But that’s what has happened.

“Compared to a population of Americans when these growth charts were created, more and more people today are exceeding what would’ve been the top percentile for weight and BMI back then,” he said.

It’s not a matter in whether the growth charts need to be redone, Wu said.

“Our population today has become so large that now, it looks like more and more people are over the limits. It just highlights the problem that we have.”

LeBaron, now 19, lost about 150 pounds during his teenage years.

LeBaron, who wrote about his battle with teenage obesity in his book “Cutting Myself in Half,” said the safety bar at amusement park rides barely locked over his abdomen. He couldn’t find T-shirts with the style he liked in his size.

Clothing is often an issue. Many obese kids and teenagers find that the plus sizes aren’t fashionable. At his peak weight, LeBaron wore 42-inch-waist pants and triple-X-large shirts.

People of that size don’t have many choices except sheet-like T-shirts in bland solid colors, LeBaron said.

“It was difficult because I’d go into Walmart or another clothing store, I found something cool, like a video game T-shirt, and I wanted to get it,” he said. “It’s not in my size. If they did, I’d have to dig through special drawer of extended sizes. It really hurt. They’re setting you apart.”

In recent years, the apparel industry has paid more attention to the growing size of kids, tweens and teens. Retailers such as the Gap, Forever 21, Old Navy and Target have plus-sized clothing lines for kids and teenagers. The boy’s plus sizes with bigger waist sizes and baggier tees are called “husky.”

It’s a growing trend criticized by MeMe Roth, founder and president of the National Action Against Obesity.

“Anyone making money off this health crisis for children should be ashamed of themselves,” she said. “I’m not surprised people want to benefit from it. There’s such a demand. That’s a societal failing that there’s a hyper growth for plus-sized children.”

Kids should be able to dress in fashionable clothing, but Roth said the fact that children need special sizes is a major health concern.

“Our kids should be the healthiest,” she said. “If outside influences were causing damage to our children this way, a nation or a group, we would be at war. … We should be angry that this is happening to children.”

The shame and embarrassment didn’t motivate LeBaron to get healthier, he said. Instead, it just made him depressed and overcame the confidence that he could ever change. He would retreat home and eat junk food.

What helped, he explained, was having people around him who brought a balance of honesty and compassion, who wanted him to feel good about himself by encouraging healthy choices. Receiving a gym membership gift from his grandparents and hitting 290 pounds spurred LeBaron to start exercising.

LeBaron, now a college freshman in Georgia, lost 152 pounds. One of his proudest moments was being able to shop at Macy’s instead of a special plus-size store.

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Hard to stomach? Parents of obese children should lose their tax breaks, claims senator

May 11, 2011 By

Obesity levels have risen sharply in the past 20 years in the U.S. and one Illinois lawmaker thinks he has the solution – force parents of chunky children to lose their tax breaks.

One in four people in a staggering 33 states are obese and State Senator Shane Cultra says that hitting people in their pockets is the way to slim-down the country.

‘It’s the parents responsibility that have obese kids,’ he said yesterday. ‘Take the tax deduction away for parents that have obese kids.’

Battle of the bulge: Lawmakers in the States are considering punishing parents of over-weight kids financially

Were a ‘sin’ tax to be introduced in Illinois, it would mean parents being denied a $2000-a-year tax break.

According to the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), obesity in Illinois lies at a gut-wrenching 26.5 per cent, but it’s by no means the fattest state. There are 24 states with chubbier citizens. Mississippi is the worst offender, with 34.4 per cent of its population considered officially obese.

The place you’re most likely to see a flat stomach in the US is in Colorado, which has an obesity rate of 18.6 per cent.

Senator Shane Cultra proposed a 'fat tax'
Slim hopes: Senator Shane Cultra proposed a ‘fat tax’

In comparison, the European Union has an obesity rate of just 15.5 per cent, with the UK’s at 24.5 per cent, the worst in the league.

Other measures being considered in Illinois to tackle the state’s bulging waistlines include taxing sugary drinks more heavily. But with 40,000 Illinoisans working in the industry, some lawmakers are wary of punishing its finances too harshly.

Tim Bramlet, executive director of the Illinois Beverage Association, told stltoday.com: ‘We just think the beverage tax is actually the wrong way to go, and won’t help the problem.’

However, Elissa Bassler, CEO of the state’s Public Health, pointed out that money to tackle obesity must come from somewhere, because the already huge medical costs associated with the problem are only set to rise.

‘Currently, the direct health care cost of obesity in Illinois is over $4billion, and that is expected to rise to $14billion or more by 2018,’ she said.

 

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Easy to Follow Diets for College Students

May 3, 2011 By
Looking for diets that would be healthy for you during your college life? We have provided you some options that would allow you to stay healthy and control weight as well. Read on…

Adolescence stage is the most vulnerable stage for putting on weight. Attending parties, gorging on tempting foods, drinks and beverages are a part of fun but such foods have harmful effects on your health when consumed almost everyday. College cafeterias are crowed with students relishing fast foods and junks while whining non stop about the flaws in their figure. Weight loss and weight gain are the topics discussed mostly among girls, who are often ignorant of the fact that it’s the diet that matters the most. The theory is simple, the more you stuff yourself with fatty foods, the more you gain weight. Those who are really concerned about their health, know what to eat and what to avoid. And those who are yet to change their bad eating habits can refer to these easy to follow diets for college students.

Easy Diets that Work for College Students

College life becomes stressful when you are bogged down under the pressure of studies. To keep the mind fresh and energetic, and to bear with the stress, one should follow a nutritious and healthy diet. The foods you consume must provide you sufficient energy for performing extracurricular activities as well.

Special K Diet
Almost everyone is well aware of Kellogg’s Special K Brand. The crispy cornflakes are devoid of fats and an ideal choice for breakfast. Students who stay at hostels can always keep a packet with themselves. To make it tastier, you can add assorted fruits like banana, strawberries and apples. Have it with skimmed milk and enjoy the taste. You can blend it with honey as well. Repeat the same for your dinner if necessary. The special K diet is actually a weight loss diet and therefore, you have to be careful about your meals. Combine the diet with a lot of green leafy vegetables and salads.

1500 Calorie Diet
1500 calorie is the ideal figure for the total amount of calories that could be consumed in a day. Thus, you have to keep an account on the number of calories you consume everyday. So how would you achieve this target? Let your breakfast be of 500 calories and lunch 400 calories. Since the dinner should be light, limit it to 300 calories and the remaining 300 calories would be made up for snacks. For breakfast you can have oats or brown bread. Have with scrambled eggs, margarine or peanut butter. Whole wheat tortillas, a cup of brown rice along with grilled or baked chicken would be the menu for lunch. Have pulses, lentils and vegetable dishes at dinner. Reduce the intake of snacks and replace junks with healthy foods like protein shakes, banana, milk, fresh fruit juices, nuts, popcorn, etc.

Calorie Shifting Diet
The calorie shifting diet is an easy diet to follow for college students. It elevates metabolism levels since you can incorporate various foods in your diet, that cause upshifting and downshifting of calories. If you have planned to follow this diet for a duration of 7 days, then you will have to alternate the calorie count each day. For example, increase the amount of complex carbohydrates in the day you are consuming more calories, while proteins should be consumed in large portions during the downshifting phase. However, make sure that your diet is healthy, comprising of dairy products, vegetables, fruits and whole wheat products. Limit consumption of sugars, white bread and white flour products to control weight gain.

Liquid Diet
Although it’s not recommended for college students to survive completely on liquid diet, what they can do is, include a lot of healthy and vitamin-rich drinks in their diets instead of solid foods. You can start your day with a glass of warm lemon water, that would act as a master cleanse for your body. Opt for low calorie foods, that have been either baked, boiled or cooked in minimum quantity of oil. Have vegetable soups prepared from lettuce, cabbage and spinach. Drink a lot of fresh, unsweetened fruit juices instead of aerated drinks and canned juices. Soups prepared from soybeans, pulses and lentils are also healthy. Beef stew and chicken soup are not only healthy but are also tasty. Energy drinks containing unique combination of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals must be consumed at least once everyday.

I hope you liked the plans given for easy to follow diets for college students. Making a choice between healthy foods and fast foods is indeed a difficult job at this age. But considering the benefits of healthy foods and for fulfilling your weight loss goals, you have to incorporate a diet that would fetch you the desired results. Eating pizzas and burgers once or twice a month is absolutely fine. But a little effort to keep control over your diet would definitely show good results in the long run.

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Self-Esteem and Body Image

April 29, 2011 By

I’m fat. I’m too skinny. I’d be happy if I were taller, shorter, had curly hair, straight hair, a smaller nose, bigger muscles, longer legs.

Do any of these statements sound familiar? Are you used to putting yourself down? If so, you’re not alone. As a teen, you’re going through a ton of changes in your body. And as your body changes, so does your image of yourself. Lots of people have trouble adjusting, and this can affect their self-esteem.

Why Are Self-Esteem and Body Image Important?

Self-esteem is all about how much people value themselves, the pride they feel in themselves, and how worthwhile they feel. Self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself can affect how you act. A person who has high self-esteem will make friends easily, is more in control of his or her behavior, and will enjoy life more.

Body image is how someone feels about his or her own physical appearance.

For many people, especially those in their early teens, body image can be closely linked to self-esteem. That’s because as kids develop into teens, they care more about how others see them.

What Influences a Person’s Self-Esteem?

Puberty

Some teens struggle with their self-esteem when they begin puberty because the body goes through many changes. These changes, combined with a natural desire to feel accepted, mean it can be tempting for people to compare themselves with others. They may compare themselves with the people around them or with actors and celebs they see on TV, in movies, or in magazines.

But it’s impossible to measure ourselves against others because the changes that come with puberty are different for everyone. Some people start developing early; others are late bloomers. Some get a temporary layer of fat to prepare for a growth spurt, others fill out permanently, and others feel like they stay skinny no matter how much they eat. It all depends on how our genes have programmed our bodies to act.

The changes that come with puberty can affect how both girls and guys feel about themselves. Some girls may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about their maturing bodies. Others may wish that they were developing faster. Girls may feel pressure to be thin but guys may feel like they don’t look big or muscular enough.

Outside Influences

It’s not just development that affects self-esteem, though. Many other factors (like media images of skinny girls and bulked-up guys) can affect a person’s body image too.

Family life can sometimes influence self-esteem. Some parents spend more time criticizing their kids and the way they look than praising them, which can reduce kids’ ability to develop good self-esteem.

People also may experience negative comments and hurtful teasing about the way they look from classmates and peers. Sometimes racial and ethnic prejudice is the source of such comments. Although these often come from ignorance, sometimes they can affect someone’s body image and self-esteem.

Healthy Self-Esteem

If you have a positive body image, you probably like and accept yourself the way you are. This healthy attitude allows you to explore other aspects of growing up, such as developing good friendships, growing more independent from your parents, and challenging yourself physically and mentally. Developing these parts of yourself can help boost your self-esteem.

A positive, optimistic attitude can help people develop strong self-esteem — for example, saying, “Hey, I’m human” instead of “Wow, I’m such a loser” when you’ve made a mistake, or not blaming others when things don’t go as expected.

Knowing what makes you happy and how to meet your goals can help you feel capable, strong, and in control of your life. A positive attitude and a healthy lifestyle (such as exercising and eating right) are a great combination for building good self-esteem.

Tips for Improving Your Body Image

Some people think they need to change how they look or act to feel good about themselves. But actually all you need to do is change the way you see your body and how you think about yourself.

The first thing to do is recognize that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it comes in. If you’re very worried about your weight or size, check with your doctor to verify that things are OK. But it’s no one’s business but your own what your body is like — ultimately, you have to be happy with yourself.

Next, identify which aspects of your appearance you can realistically change and which you can’t. Everyone (even the most perfect-seeming celeb) has things about themselves that they can’t change and need to accept — like their height, for example, or their shoe size.

If there are things about yourself that you want to change and can (such as how fit you are), do this by making goals for yourself. For example, if you want to get fit, make a plan to exercise every day and eat nutritious foods. Then keep track of your progress until you reach your goal. Meeting a challenge you set for yourself is a great way to boost self-esteem!

When you hear negative comments coming from within yourself, tell yourself to stop. Try building your self-esteem by giving yourself three compliments every day. While you’re at it, every evening list three things in your day that really gave you pleasure. It can be anything from the way the sun felt on your face, the sound of your favorite band, or the way someone laughed at your jokes. By focusing on the good things you do and the positive aspects of your life, you can change how you feel about yourself.

Where Can I Go if I Need Help?

Sometimes low self-esteem and body image problems are too much to handle alone. A few teens may become depressed, lose interest in activities or friends — and even hurt themselves or resort to alcohol or drug abuse.

If you’re feeling this way, it can help to talk to a parent, coach, religious leader, guidance counselor, therapist, or an adult friend. A trusted adult — someone who supports you and doesn’t bring you down — can help you put your body image in perspective and give you positive feedback about your body, your skills, and your abilities.

If you can’t turn to anyone you know, call a teen crisis hotline (check the yellow pages under social services or search online). The most important thing is to get help if you feel like your body image and self-esteem are affecting your life.

 

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Compulsive Exercise

April 28, 2011 By

Rachel and her cheerleading team practice three to five times a week. Rachel feels a lot of pressure to keep her weight down — as head cheerleader, she wants to set an example to the team. So she adds extra daily workouts to her regimen. But lately, she’s been feeling worn out, and she has a hard time just making it through a regular team practice.

You may think you can’t get too much of a good thing, but in the case of exercise, a healthy activity can sometimes turn into an unhealthy compulsion. Rachel is a good example of how an overemphasis on physical fitness or weight control can become unhealthy. Read on to find out more about compulsive exercise and its effects.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

We all know the benefits of exercise, and it seems that everywhere we turn, we hear that we should exercise more. The right kind of exercise does many great things for your body and soul: It can strengthen your heart and muscles, lower your body fat, and reduce your risk of many diseases.

Many teens who play sports have higher self-esteem than their less active pals, and exercise can even help keep the blues at bay because of the endorphin rush it can cause. Endorphins are chemicals that naturally relieve pain and lift mood. These chemicals are released in your body during and after a workout and they go a long way in helping to control stress.

So how can something with so many benefits have the potential to cause harm?

Why Do People Overexercise?

Lots of people start working out because it’s fun or it makes them feel good, but exercise can become a compulsive habit when it is done for the wrong reasons.

Some people start exercising with weight loss as their main goal. Although exercise is part of a safe and healthy way to control weight, many people may have unrealistic expectations. We are bombarded with images from advertisers of the ideal body: young and thin for women; strong and muscular for men. To try to reach these unreasonable ideals, people may turn to diets, and for some, this may develop into eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. And some people who grow frustrated with the results from diets alone may overexercise to speed up weight loss.

Some athletes may also think that repeated exercise will help them to win an important game. Like Rachel, they add extra workouts to those regularly scheduled with their teams without consulting their coaches or trainers. The pressure to succeed may also lead these people to exercise more than is healthy. The body needs activity but it also needs rest. Overexercising can lead to injuries like fractures and muscle strains.

Are You a Healthy Exerciser?

Fitness experts recommend that teens do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. Most young people exercise much less than this recommended amount (which can be a problem for different reasons), but some — such as athletes — do more.

Experts say that repeatedly exercising beyond the requirements for good health is an indicator of compulsive behavior. Some people need more than the average amount of exercise, of course — such as athletes in training for a big event. But several workouts a day, every day, when a person is not in training is a sign that the person is probably overdoing it.

People who are exercise dependent also go to extremes to fit activity into their lives. If you put workouts ahead of friends, homework, and other responsibilities, you may be developing a dependence on exercise.

Signs of Compulsive Exercise

If you are concerned about your own exercise habits or a friend’s, ask yourself the following questions. Do you:

  • force yourself to exercise, even if you don’t feel well?
  • prefer to exercise rather than being with friends?
  • become very upset if you miss a workout?
  • base the amount you exercise on how much you eat?
  • have trouble sitting still because you think you’re not burning calories?
  • worry that you’ll gain weight if you skip exercising for a day?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you or your friend may have a problem. What should you do?

How to Get Help

The first thing you should do if you suspect that you are a compulsive exerciser is get help. Talk to your parents, doctor, a teacher or counselor, a coach, or another trusted adult. Compulsive exercise, especially when it is combined with an eating disorder, can cause serious and permanent health problems, and in extreme cases, death.

Because compulsive exercise is closely related to eating disorders, help can be found at community agencies specifically set up to deal with anorexia, bulimia, and other eating problems. Your school’s health or physical education department may also have support programs and nutrition advice available. Ask your teacher, coach, or counselor to recommend local organizations that may be able to help.

You should also schedule a checkup with a doctor. Because our bodies go through so many important developments during the teen years, guys and girls who have compulsive exercise problems need to see a doctor to make sure they are developing normally. This is especially true if the person also has an eating disorder. Girls who overexercise and restrict their eating may stop having periods and develop osteoporosis (weakening of the bones), a condition called female athlete triad. Medical help is necessary to resolve the physical problems associated with overexercising before they cause long-term damage to the body.

Make a Positive Change

Girls and guys who exercise compulsively may have a distorted body image and low self-esteem. They may see themselves as overweight or out of shape even when they are actually a healthy weight.

Compulsive exercisers need to get professional help for the reasons described above. But there are also some things that you can do to help you take charge again:

  • Work on changing your daily self-talk. When you look in the mirror, make sure you find at least one good thing to say about yourself. Be more aware of your positive attributes.
  • When you exercise, focus on the positive, mood-boosting qualities.
  • Give yourself a break. Listen to your body and give yourself a day of rest after a hard workout.
  • Control your weight by exercising and eating moderate portions of healthy foods. Don’t try to change your body into an unrealistically lean shape. Talk with your doctor, dietitian, coach, athletic trainer, or other adult about what a healthy body weight is for you and how to develop healthy eating and exercise habits.

Exercise and sports are supposed to be fun and keep you healthy. Working out in moderation will do both.

 

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101 Ways to Lose Your Gut

November 27, 2010 By

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The average man’s body houses 43.2 pounds fat. And at any one moment, that number is either increasing or decreasing—it’s never stagnant. Spend more of each day burning fat than you do storing it, and over time, you’ll bury your belly forever. Sound simple? It is.You see, there’s no single secret formula for losing fat. In fact, find 100 successful losers and they’ll give you 100 different ways to win the battle of the bulge. But we did them one better. On the following pages, you’ll find 101 tips designed to help you lose your love handles, bust your gut, and define your abs. Simply incorporate three or four into your life every day, and you’ll finish off your fat easier and faster than you ever imagined possible.

Eat more protein.
About 25%-30% of the calories in each gram of protein are burned in digestion, compared to only 6%-8% of the calories in carbs. Do the math: You save 41 calories every time you substitute 50 grams of protein for an equal amount of carbs. Read labels.
Avoid foods with “high-fructose corn syrup” in the ingredients list. Since 1971, consumption of this sugar substitute—which is used to sweeten soda, commercial baked goods, and even condiments—has increased more than 350% in the U.S., paralleling the rise in obesity.

Get off your ass.
Do every exercise standing instead of sitting. “You’ll expend up to 30% more calories,” says Joe Stankowski, C.P.T. The solution for the bench press? Dips.

Mix up your movements.
When you lift, perform supersets in which you alternate between sets of lower-body and upper-body exercises. That way, your lower body rests while your upper body is working. “This allows you to work your muscles maximally with very little downtime between sets for a faster, more effective workout,” says Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S.

Exercise blind.
When you’re using the elliptical trainer, try letting go of the handles and closing your eyes. (Be careful!) Without the visual feedback, your core muscles will have to work harder to keep you balanced, burning more calories.

Embrace yardwork.
View any type of physical activity—even those you try to avoid, such as mowing the lawn—as a chance to burn fat and condition your body. (Just make sure you use a push mower.)

Snack on dill pickles.
They have one calorie per slice.

Take larger steps.
When using the stair climber, skip one out of every five steps. Then take one large step to get back to your normal walking pattern. This step recruits additional muscle, upping fat loss, says Cameron McGarr, C.S.C.S.

Rent motivation.
Once a week, watch a movie that inspires you to exercise. Examples: Rocky (for the gym), American Flyers (for cycling), Hoosiers (for team sports), and Chariots of Fire and Without Limits (both for running).

Break a record.
Challenge yourself to run farther in the same amount of time—even if it’s just one-tenth of a mile—every single workout. This ensures you’re always burning more calories from one workout to the next.

Smash your dinner plates.
And buy smaller ones. That way, even if you fill your plate to capacity, you’re ultimately eating less than what you would likely pile on your existing platters.

Cut carbs.
Yes, you’ve heard it a zillion times. The reason: It works. In just one of many recent studies, a Journal of Nutrition report found that men who reduced their carb intake to just 8% of their daily calories lost seven pounds of fat and gained two pounds of muscle in six weeks.

Lift first, then run.
By doing cardio after you’ve lifted—when you’re already tired—the same speed or intensity will have a greater effect than had you done it beforehand, says McGarr.

Change directions.
Try this interval-training trick on the elliptical trainer: Ride for 30 seconds as fast as you can, then immediately reverse your direction and ride for 30 additional seconds just as fast in the opposite direction. Rest 60 seconds and repeat. The force of stopping your momentum, as well as going from a dead stop to full speed twice in the same interval, will give your fat-burning efforts a massive boost, says MF training adviser Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S.

Fill up on high-fiber foods.
Consider them “good carbs.” Their bulk takes up space in your stomach, helping you feel full and eat less. The top fiber food: beans, which contain 8 grams per 1/2 cup. Research shows that guys who added 12 grams of fiber a day to their diet lost a quarter of an inch from their love handles, without otherwise modifying their diet.

Top your salad with vinaigrette dressing.
Studies show that acidic foods such as vinegar and lemon juice work like lighter fluid in your body’s fat incinerator, increasing carb combustion 20%-40%. Researchers believe the acids blunt insulin spikes and slow the rate at which food empties from your stomach. Fermented foods like pickles and yogurt are also good sour options.

Don’t skip meals.
Not eating for long periods of time puts your body into a catabolic state, meaning it starts to break down muscle tissue fo energy— and conserves fat.

Try the VersaClimber.
The more vertical you are when doing cardio, the more calories you burn.

Don’t be a couch potato.
If you’re a TV junkie, add up the number of hours you watch right now, and cut out all reruns—even if there’s an episode of Seinfeld on you’ve never seen. Spend the time you save on your feet: outdoors or in the gym.

Hit the weights.
If you’re lazy, it’s not as bad as you think—just 10 minutes a day of lifting, three days a week, will help. Harvard research shows that 30 minutes of weight training per week has a greater reduction on waist size than almost any other variable.

Pass on the potatoes.
In any form—mashed and baked, as well as French fries and potato chips. They raise levels of insulin in the blood, triggering your body to stop burning—and start storing—fat. (Sweet potatoes are acceptable; they have more nutrients and fiber.)

Eat your biggest meal of the day after you lift.
It takes calories to digest food. And researchers at the University of Nevada found that it takes 73% more calories to process that food after a weight-training session than if you hadn’t worked out at all.

Chug H20 before a meal.
The water will take up room in your stomach, making you feel more full and reducing your appetite, says Christopher Mohr, M.S., R.D.

Request substitutions.
Any time your restaurant entree comes with a side of pasta, potatoes, or rice, ask for vegetables instead, says Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D. (Your server will be more than happy to accommodate you.)

Join a league.
That is, sign up for a sport such as softball, soccer, or even kickball. It’ll automatically schedule exercise sessions into your week, and because you’re part of a team, you’ll have peer pressure that’ll ensure you keep showing up.

Break between scoops.
That is, if you can’t live without ice cream, cake, or other calorie-laden desserts, go ahead and have one scoop (about 1/2 cup) or one small slice. Then, if you still want more, wait 20 minutes. Typically, you’ll find that while you wait, hormones kick in and trigger a feeling of fullness, reducing desire for that second serving.

Brush your teeth more often.
In a recent Japanese study of 14,000 people, researchers found that men who brushed their teeth frequently were leaner than men who did not. Thank that minty-fresh flavor, which may make you less likely to snack between meals.

Eat an unbalanced diet.
“By cycling your calorie intake so that you eat less calories one day and more the next, you’ll keep your metabolism on its toes,” says Volek. And that’ll ensure you keep burning fat at a high rate. The key: Shoot for an average of 2,000 calories a day over a week’s time.

Dial up an incline.
When you run outside, you apply force to the ground and propel your body weight forward all by yourself. When you run on a treadmill, the belt helps you. To counteract this, always walk or run on at least a 1% incline, the treadmill grade an English study found is nearly equivalent to outside running.

Stick to no-calorie drinks.
That means coffee, tea, diet soda, mixes such as Crystal Light and, of course, water.

Have breakfast every day.
Research from Harvard and Boston’s Children’s Hospital shows that obesity rates are 35%-50% lower in people who eat breakfast regularly, compared with folks who don’t. Nutritionists believe a.m. meals help regulate insulin levels and hunger, so you’re less likely to overeat throughout the reminder of the day.

Avoid foods that come in a bag or box.
Typically, these are highly processed carbs—foods that quickly raise blood-sugar levels and shut down your body’s ability to burn fat.

Snack between meals.
This not only keeps you from being ravenous—and overeating—at lunch and dinner, it forces your body to process food all day long, which keeps your metabolism stoked.

Buy a TiVo.
And only watch the shows you record. By fast-forwarding through the commercials, and watching only the shows you care enough to set a season pass for, you can cut your TV viewing—and the amount of time you spend on the couch—by more than a third.

Load up on yogurt.
When researchers at the University of Tennessee put a group of volunteers on one of two diets—one high in calcium and one not—and cut each group’s calorie intake by 500 calories, they found that the people getting calcium lost twice as much weight (an average of 13 pounds) compared with people on the standard diet. Study author Michael Zemel, Ph.D., believes extra calcium helps the body burn more—and store less—fat.

Order appetizers.
And avoid the bread bowl at all costs. If you’re ravenous when you sit down to eat at a restaurant, immediately order a side salad, or a meat- or vegetable-only appetizer, rather than be tempted by these bottomless —and fattening—freebies.

Pop peanuts.
Nuts have a very high satiety power—meaning they make you feel fuller after eating than many other foods. And even though they’re high in calories, those calories appear to be processed differently in the body. University of Michigan researchers found that men who added 500 calories’ worth of peanuts a day to their diet gained no excess weight at all.

Track your calories.
You could do it in a journal, but we know that’s never going to happen. Instead, do it on the Web, at a site like fitday.com. Just create a free account, plug in the amounts of food you’re eating throughout the day, and let the software tell you exactly how good—or bad—you’re being.

Do sprint intervals.
Interspersing short, all-out sprints with brief periods of rest is the most effective form of cardio for fat loss, says Stankowski. Try a 2-to-1 “work-to-rest” ratio. That is, sprint two times longer than you rest. So if you run a 150-yard sprint—a good distance to start with—in 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, then repeat 3-7 times.

Check your mood.
The desire to snack may not be due to hunger at all, but rather the result of loneliness, depression, or anxiety. “Emotional eating is at the core of bad eating choices,” says N.Y.C. psychotherapist Elizabeth Fagan, C.S.W. If you often find yourself eating when you feel down, or if you feel happier after a meal, that may signify a problem.

Shop for one.
If you have to buy cookies, chips, or other processed junk foods, buy the single-serving package—rather than the large, family-style bag. That way, when you eat the whole package—and let’s be honest, you know you will—you’ll at last have done a lot less damage to your waistline.

Find inspiration.
Take a digital picture of yourself, shirtless, in all your fat, naked splendor. Then use a photo-editing program on your computer to erase your love handles and create your own digital “after” shot. (You can also take a Polaroid of yourself in front of a black background and use a Magic Marker to thin down your waist.) Post the pictures somewhere you’ll see them often, like on the fridge or in your office at work.

Go the distance.
Perform intervals for a designated distance rather than a designated time. Otherwise, you’ll be running shorter sprints as you get tired, reducing the number of calories you burn, says McGarr.

Cheat once a week.
Use the meal as a reward for a week’s worth of hard work, or the completion of a project you’ve been dreading. “It’s OK for people to blow one meal a week without feeling guilty,” says James W. Anderson, M.D., director of the Metabolic Research Group at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. “If you follow a healthy diet 95% of the time, you can relax and enjoy yourself the other 5% of the time without gaining weight,” he says.

Row to the sky.
Every time you complete 10 reps on the rowing machine, lift the handles straight up over your head—without bending your elbows—for two consecutive repetitions before returning to normal rowing form. This works your shoulders and back harder, as well as your legs, since they have to produce more power in order to give you the momentum to perform the move, says McGarr.

Avoid white bread.
When Tufts University researchers studied the waistlines and diets of 459 people, they found that even in men of similar age and activity level, those who ate white bread frequently weighed more than those who didn’t. “The calories from white bread and refined grains just seem to settle at the waistline more than calories from other foods,” says Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., the study author.

Keep an eye on portion sizes.
“Most people who have been lean their whole lives have a much better understanding of proper portion size than people who are overweight,” says Deborah Riebe, Ph.D., a professor in the department of kinesiology at the University of Rhode Island. “If they go out to eat, they’re much more likely to ask for a doggie bag right away or to leave food on their plate rather than cleaning it up,” she says.

Never forbid yourself a favorite food.
Here’s a shocker: When a group of U.K. researchers told 30 women to avoid chocolate, then packed them into a room filled with the stuff, the women were much more likely to sneak a bite than individuals who hadn’t been given the order. Blame the allure of the forbidden: The more you tell yourself you can’t eat something you love, the more you’re going to want it.

Outdo yourself.
When you exercise on the rowing machine, try this interval workout: Row for 60 seconds, note the distance on the machine, then rest 60 seconds. Repeat, only this time, row for 55 seconds and try to match or better your distance from the first time. Rest 55 seconds, then repeat, reducing the time to 50 seconds. Continue until you can’t beat your original distance.

Sneak extra activity into your day.
Pace around your office while talking on the phone; run into the bank to cash your check instead of using the drive-thru. When researchers at the Mayo Clinic fed a group of volunteers an extra 1,000 calories a day over the course of eight weeks, they found sedentary individuals gained eight times more weight than those who fidgeted a lot during the day.

Turn off The Late Show after the monologue.
Or give up the morning visit with Matt and Katie—whatever it takes to grab a few more minutes of sleep each day. When researchers at the University of Chicago studied men who were sleep-deprived, they found that after just a few days, their bodies had a much harder time processing glucose in the blood—a problem common in overweight diabetics. When the individuals returned to a more normal seven to eight hours of sleep a night, however, their metabolisms returned to normal.

Buy some new blinds.
And maybe a new mattress, because it’s not just the amount of time you spend sleeping that keeps you lean, it’s also the quality of your sleep. Fat cells in your body produce a hormone called leptin that helps the body keep track of how much potential energy (i.e. fat) it has stored. But leptin is only produced during certain stages of sleep. Miss out on those stages because you’re not resting soundly enough, and you’ll disturb levels of the hormone, leaving your body with no real idea of its energy reserves. Consequently, you’ll end up storing calories rather than burning them.

Don’t starve yourself.
“Under normal conditions, humans absorb only about 80% of the nutrients from the food they eat,” says A. Roberto Frisancho, Ph.D., a weight-loss researcher at the University of Michigan. But, he says, when the body is deprived of nourishment, it becomes a super-efficient machine, pulling what nutrients it can from whatever food is consumed. Start eating again normally and your body may not catch up; instead it will continue to store food as fat.

Eat more slowly.
“It can take 12 minutes or longer for the signal that you’ve started to eat to make its way to your brain,” says Mark S. Gold, M.D., of the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida. Quick tips: Sip some water between every bite of food you eat, or at least eat more meals with friends or family members. You’ll be more likely to talk and therefore to eat more slowly.

Floss twice a day.
When researchers in Brazil studied 13,000 people over a three-year period, they found that men with the highest levels of inflammatory agents in their body were also the most likely to gain weight. And periodontal disease, which is caused by poor oral health care, is one of the most common sources of inflammation. Brushing twice a day, flossing, and making regular trips to the dentist are the best ways to prevent the disease. Hate flossing? Studies show that a dose of Listerine may be just as effective at reducing levels of inflammatory bacteria within the mouth.

Step on the scale at least once a day.
“If there’s one thing that comes up over and over with the thousands of patients enrolled in the National Weight Control Registry, it’s weighing yourself every day on a scale,” says Rena Wing, Ph.D., founder of the registry, which tracks more than 4,500 men and women who have lost an average of 20 pounds or more and kept it off for at least six years. “Don’t obsess over the number,” she says, “but at least keep track of the general range of what you weigh so you can catch small changes as they occur and take corrective measures immediately.”

by Adam Campbell and Brian Good

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