There are some changes you may make in an attempt to be healthier than can actually be sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Let’s discuss some hidden calories that may hide in some supposedly “healthy” choices.

Bagels and Muffins

Muffins and bagels have changed drastically over the years. In the past, if you grabbed a muffin at your local coffee shop they would’ve been about the size of a tennis ball. Nowadays muffins are closer to softball size, while bagels have increased an average of 4-6 inches in diameter.

The increased size equals a dramatic calorie increase. One standard muffin or bagel can provide 400-600 calories.

If you’re in a hurry and the only option is to grab breakfast on the run, choose to eat half the muffin or bagel and save the rest for another day.

Salads

Just because it’s a salad doesn’t mean it’s the best choice on the menu.

Continue reading ‘Hidden Calories: Watch out!’ »

Take your fitness routine outside! Here are three activities you can add to your week for fun with friends/family and calorie burning to reach your health goals.

Calories burned for each of these warm-weather activities:

Freestyle Fitness – Swim laps

Take you kids to the pool and swim laps while they play. Swimming works the entire body, toning your chest, back, abs, arms, and shoulders.

Calories Burned per 30 minutes = 238 calories

Continue reading ‘3 Activities to Burn Calories in the Great Outdoors’ »

So, what diet is right? Do you need to stick with a low carb intake to lower cholesterol? Do you need to go high protein to lower blood pressure?

What’s the best way for you to achieve optimal heart health?

Later this month, Rosanne Rust will provide a step by step guide on what you can do right now to balance calories, carbs, and fat to achieve your health goals.

Here’s a little of what she’ll be covering . . .

• Add good carbs to your diet and still maintain a healthy weight,
• Spot hidden fat in “high fiber” foods,
• Add good fats to your diet: It’s easier and tastier than you think, and
• Get over your fear of “the bun”!

Continue reading ‘Balancing Calories: What You Must Know About Carbs and Fat for Optimal Heart Health’ »

A recent study found walnuts linked to improved cardiovascular health due to improved function of the endothelium (inner lining of blood vessels) in those with type II diabetes.

Not only was the walnut addition linked to improved endothelial function, but participants also experienced increased fasting serum glucose levels, reduced LDL cholesterol, and lower total cholesterol.

Back in 2004, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a label claim for walnut packages:

“Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to walnuts (and nuts in general) is calories! Nuts are not low in calories, so you must watch your portion size. Going overboard can lead to weight gain and counteract the heart health benefit of adding walnuts to your daily diet. A 1.5 ounce serving of walnuts provides ~278 calories. There are approximately 20 walnut halves in a 1.5 ounce serving.

Here are a few simple ways to add walnuts to your daily diet:

• Sprinkle chopped walnuts on oatmeal or breakfast cereal
• Mix walnuts with dried fruit for a nutritious snack
• Add toasted walnuts to a salad or pasta dish

Do you eat walnuts regularly?

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps
http://www.lowercholesterolwithlisa.com

One major holiday down, one to go! So, how did you do sticking with your plan to be heart healthy and lose weight? Not so good, well don’t worry it’s not too late to redeem yourself.

Most people gain an average of 1 pound every holiday season. Now, what’s one pound? Doesn’t seem like that big of an issue, but the problem is most do not lose this extra weight. The pounds simply continue to add up year after year. It may take several years before you look at yourself and wonder “what happened?”

To prevent this (or reverse past events!), you must take steps to counteract all the extra calories that go along with the holidays. How? Increase your physical activity these next 4-6 weeks. Extra walks, longer workouts, increased intensity levels.

Adding an extra 120 minutes of activity each week (that’s less than 20 additional minutes/day), will burn an extra ~600 calories/week. That’s an extra 3600 calories burned over six weeks to compensate for the pecan pie, cookies, and alcohol. Of course, 3600 calories only goes so far. You must make wise decisions with the holiday meals, so you’re not consuming 3000-5000 calories in one day

The holidays can be a big hurdle in a weight loss and heart health plan. Holidays don’t mean you can’t enjoy the good food and desserts, but do so wisely!

Be sure to sign up for The Heart of Health and receive the FREE report Stop Wasting Money – Take Control of Your Health today at http://www.hearthealthwithlisa.com.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD

The largest ever controlled trial of weight loss plans found when it comes to weight loss, the bottom line always comes down to calories.

The study was completed by researchers at Harvard and Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. Researchers evaluated the results of four different diets providing different levels of fat, carbohydrates, and protein, including a diet similar to the low fat Ornish diet and high protein/low carb Atkins plan. The dieters were encouraged to reduce caloric intake 750 calorie, exercise 90 minutes/week, and keep a food journal.

Weight loss results ranged from a 50 pound loss to a 5 pound gain. The bottom line was reducing caloric intake and sticking with the weight loss plan. Whether the diet was low fat or high protein or whatever, did not have an have an influence.

So, if you want to lose weight you need to find a plan you can stick with for the long term. If you’ve been following my posts, you know I’m “pro” making healthy lifestyle changes and “anti” dieting. I’d love to help you by evaluating your current dietary habits and providing a customized weight loss plan you can move through step by step to achieve your weight loss goals. Learn more here – Customized Weight Loss Plan.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Top 5 Key Strategies to Lose Weight Permanently

Here are four additional tips to decrease the impact of stress and elevated cortisol levels on your weight.

1. Don’t fight the cravings.

If you need something sweet it’s okay to satisfy your sweet tooth – in moderation. It’ll cut off your elevated cortisol levels response before things get out of control.

2. Limit caffeine.

The combination of caffeine and stress raises cortisol levels.

3. As always, don’t skip breakfast!

Being deficient in certain vitamins, such as B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium causes your body stress and boosts cortisol levels, along with food cravings. Breakfast is a great quick and easy way to add these nutrients to your diet everyday. Some yogurt with fresh strawberries provides vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium. Add whole grain toast with peanut butter and you’ve boosted you B vitamin intake. As an additional bonus the healthy fatty acids in peanut butter slow the production of stress hormones.

4. Get enough sleep.

Sleep and stress – Adequate sleep is the most effective way to cut stress. Getting an average of 6 ½ hours of sleep nightly may increase cortisol, appetite, and weight gain. Ideally shoot for 7-9 hours of sleep. It only takes a few nights of good sleep to balance yourself back out.

To learn more about the impact of stress and cortisol on your weight, I recommend reviewing the article How Stress and Cortisol Affect Weight Loss. I’d love to help you lose weight and keep it off – permanently! Check out the programs available to help you at http://www.weightlosswithlisa.com.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
The Best Way to Lose Weight

Stress is linked to weight gain in that it stimulates the release of cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that breaks down muscle to provide the body with needed glucose for energy needs. Cortisol also relocates fat cell deposits into the visceral cavities of the abdomen. Increased abdominal fat increases your heart disease risk.

Here are three tips to decrease stress related weight gain.

1. Push-ups

Effective, instant stress reliever that tricks the body into thinking your escaping stress. Push-ups cause your blood to circulate quickly, transporting cortisol to your kidney’s and removing it from your system.

2. Eat slowly

Stress typically leads to consuming meals very quickly, which equals bigger portions to fill full, and adds to your belly fat. Being mindful and eating slowly, savoring every flavor/texture, may actually lower cortisol, decrease your calorie intake, and move fat away from the abdominal area.

3. Avoid strict calorie restricted diets.

If you’re always “on a diet”, cortisol levels may rise as much as 18 percent. The rise in cortisol causes a blood sugar spike followed by a drop. This roll coaster ride makes your brain feel deprived of sugar (it’s main source for energy) and your ability to stick with a strict diet plan falters.

I’ll be sharing four more tips in a few days.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
The Best Way to Lose Weight

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again – breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There’s just no way around it.

I frequently hear “I don’t have time for breakfast” and “I’m not hungry in the morning”, neither reason negates the importance of eating breakfast every morning. Maybe it’ll be easier to make breakfast a priority if you understand why it’s so important.

First, breakfast occurs after about an 8 hour fast (think how many hours are between your last meal of the day and breakfast). When you wake up in the morning, your blood sugar and glycogen stores (carbohydrates stored in your muscles and liver) are depleted and the body is searching for fuel. If you don’t feed your body it goes into conservation mode, drops your metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories throughout the day), preserves your fat stores (the body is thinking “starvation”), and will turn to muscle for the energy it seeks.

Second, when you skip breakfast you’ll frequently grab snacks mid-morning to tide you over until lunch. Usually, the snacks that tempt you are high in fat, sugar, and calories. A breakfast that includes a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fiber reduces these mid-morning cravings.

What’s Going on Physically

Your body is primed and ready to go in the morning. Your metabolism is boosted and your hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and serotonin are highest first thing in the morning.

Cortisol

This hormone promotes the breakdown of lipids (fancy name for fats) which is a good thing; however, it also promotes the breakdown of muscle. It blocks muscle from taking in more amino acids (muscle building blocks) and inhibits new muscle formation.

Adrenaline

Your fight or flight hormone increases your blood sugar to give your body immediate energy by breaking down glycogen in the liver and mobilizing amino acids stored in muscles. However, I’ve already stated that by the time morning rolls around, your glycogen levels are depleted. This means there’s not a reserve glycogen supply and muscle receives adrenalines full attention for the fuel it’s after.

Serotonin

Just to throw an extra hurdle into your morning routine, serotonin is at peak levels first thing in the morning. Serotonin reduces your appetite. There’s a reason you don’t feel hungry!

Research Support

A recent weight loss study reinforces the importance of breakfast. Two groups of women were compared. The first group followed a low calorie diet (1200 calories) that included a balanced protein/carbohydrate intake. This first group ate 50% of their daily calories in the morning (600 calories). The second group followed a low calorie (1000 calories), low carbohydrate diet and ate 25% of their calories in the morning. The first group lost ~40 pounds over 6 months, while the second group lost ~10 pounds (28 pounds first 4 months, followed by 18 pound regain). These results support the fact that a substantial, well-balanced breakfast is essential for long-term weight loss success.

Quick and Easy Breakfast Lose Weight Ideas

What can you do if breakfast doesn’t appeal to you? If you’ve been skipping breakfast for years, changing your habits will be hard, but not impossible. Take it slow and add something small working your way up to a good breakfast with a balance of carbohydrates and protein.

Here are some examples of quick and easy breakfast meals that include a balance of protein and carbohydrates.

Whole wheat toast with peanut butter
Low fat cottage cheese with canned peaches (light syrup)
Banana with handful of mixed nuts
Whole grain cereal with low fat milk
Apple with hard-boiled egg
Low fat yogurt with granola

By eating a well-balanced breakfast you provide your body the fuel it needs, protect your muscles, boost your metabolism, and reduce cravings throughout the day.

February is American Heart Month. In recognition of American Heart Month you can access Heart Health Made Easy at a 25% savings. Learn more about this take action guide to lower cholesterol and blood pressure at http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD

My weakness is caffeine-free Diet Coke. For me, soda and popcorn go hand-in-hand. Well, even though I am drinking diet I have to remember I am not sitting pretty. Soda affects tooth decay, tooth discoloration, and for those that do not choose diet, weight gain.

Any drink that is carbonated has a low pH level. What you ask? Let me explain. The process of carbonation adds carbon dioxide and results in the formation of carbonic acid. This acid lowers the pH of a beverage. A pH of 1 is acidic and 7 is neutral. Battery acid has a pH of 1; water has a pH of 7. The pH of Pepsi is 2.49, Coke is 2.63, and Mountain Dew is 3.22. The acid in soda can damage tooth enamel in just 20 minutes. Think about how you usually drink your soda. Do you drink a 12 oz. can in 5-10 minutes or are you sipping on it over a period of an hour or so? You can help combat the effects of carbonic acid by drinking your soda in less than 20 minutes and rinsing your mouth with water after the fact. Saliva also helps neutralize the acid. Don’t forget to protect your children’s teeth! Children are even more susceptible to tooth erosion because their tooth enamel is not fully developed. 

Habitual soda drinkers are adding layers of sugar, which turn to layers of plaque on their teeth. This plaque then absorbs stains from food products. This is how dark colored sodas lead to tooth discoloration. Bye, bye pearly whites!

Weight Gain

A 12 oz. can of regular soda contains about 150 calories. If you drink one can everyday you consume 4200 soda calories each month and 50,400 calories each year. This is equal to an extra 14 ½ pounds of body weight. Most people do not limit themselves to just 12 oz. a day. . . .one 20 oz bottle of regular soda daily would be an additional 26 pounds each year.

So, as you kick back and enjoy that acidic, staining, waist expanding can of soda, maybe you should think about splurging on a fancy bottle so you can switch it up and enjoy some refreshing water once in awhile instead!

Tired of burning hard earned cash on fitness gadgets you don’t use? End the vicious "cycle" now! Get your FREE report: "Stop Wasting Money – Take Control of Your Health" at
http://www.lisanelsonrd.com.