Diet and Nutrition

8 Fad-Free Basics of Weight Loss from the Experts

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., RD, Best Life lead nutritionist

Here’s a secret from a nutrition insider: Even experts find weight loss fraught and confusing. A recent paper by The Obesity Society, a scientific organization devoted to researching causes and treatments for obesity, says as much. In an attempt to provide clarity, the organization published core guidelines. Not earth-shattering by any stretch, they provide an un-faddist view of the basics of weight control.

BMI is just a screening tool, not a diagnosis of 25 to 29.9 is considered “overweight” and 30-plus is “obese.” If you’re at 25-plus, you don’t necessarily need to lose weight. But if you also have a waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men, you likely do need to shed pounds.

Focus on percent of weight loss, not ideal BMI. Not everyone needs to drop below a BMI of 25 to be healthy, and some just cannot. Instead, if you have too much body fat, focus on losing at least three to five percent of your starting weight—it can significantly improve blood pressure and other aspects of your health. Losing more, like 10 percent, can be even more helpful. (more…)

Posted on July 28, 2024 by BestLifeDiet

Sara Kolling Lost 85 Pounds After Leaving an Abusive Relationship

If you’ve ever been in an abusive relationship, you know how it drains you of your spirit and self-esteem. Today, our true weight loss story focuses on Sara Kolling, a woman who had the courage to leave her abuser and for the first time in a long time, devote herself to her own well being. After losing 85 pounds, Sara feels stronger than she has in years, in more ways than one.

Though Sara admits she was always the girl who was picked on and teased in school about her weight, she acknowledges that the pounds really started to pack on during the first year of her marriage. Once the abuse began, Sara became an emotional eater and says she just ate, “no matter what.” After three years, Sara finally sought a divorce.

The first thing I changed was no more diet soda, and no more eating after seven p.m.

On her own again, Sara finally got serious about wanting to lose weight when she got tired of her clothes being too tight, not being able to keep up with the students she worked with, and feeling like she couldn’t do even the simplest workout routine. She started by eliminating all the sugary, processed and junk food from her diet. The book, The Eat Clean Diet, by Tosca Reno was her first guide.

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Posted on July 27, 2024 by Dani Stone

7 Things You Must Know About Energy Drinks

Ask a room full of people about energy drinks, and you’re likely to get a room full of different responses. Some people love them, some hate them, and a fair amount fall squarely in the middle. Shape Magazine attempts to shed some light on the issue by breaking down what energy drinks contain, and how they can affect the body.

Whether you’re a regular consumer of energy drinks, or only pop the tab of one occasionally, there are some things everyone needs to know before consuming one.

Energy Drinks Aren’t All Bad All the Time
Everyone has one or two things in their lives they need extra and energy and focus to accomplish. Personally, I turned to energy drinks during sorority recruitment to stay awake and enthused during a long week of mingling. For others, energy drinks can be used to stay alert at work, or power through your workout.

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Posted on July 25, 2024 by Elizabeth

Trader Joe’s Gets Juiced and Jumps on Board the Cold Pressed Juice Trend

Trader Joe’s has always been a wonderful grocery option for people who like to eat healthy and eclectic foods. Quirky and honest, Trader Joe’s has always offered a quality range of new and exciting choices.

Recently, Trader Joe’s joined the pack of grocers and coffee stops offering green cold pressed juice. Cold pressed juice extracts juice from fruits and veggies by crushing the produce without using heat, causing the juice to be thicker with far more nutrients than regular juice. Green juice is growing in popularity because it is the easiest way to consume your servings of fresh produce every day.

Pulp Fiction: Why My Misadventures in Juicing Left Me Feeling Terrible

Trader Joe’s will carry a line of cold pressed juices that are the same colors as traffic lights.

The red juice contains beets, cucumber, apples, celery, and carrots.
The yellow juice contains apple, pineapple, yellow pepper, cucumber, lime, and mint.
The green juice contains kale, spinach, apple, lemon, and ginger.

The juice is simply called “Trader Joe’s Cold Pressed Juice.” (more…)

Posted on July 24, 2024 by Jessica Tholmer

How to Lose a Guy in 12 Meals: Foods Your Man Just Doesn’t Understand

Want to ditch a guy you’re not in to? Maybe passively scare off your boyfriend? A nice green smoothie or cup of Kombucha ought to do the trick!

Shape Magazine talked with men to find out which foods they can’t stand, and landed on 12 bites and sips that they just don’t get.

We know there’s “guy food” that involves nachos, burgers, wings, and beer. But who knew they were so averse to the most basic garden variety produce like beets and zucchini? Which, according to Matt O., is “an inferior cucumber in every possible way.”

Homemade Sweet and Spicy English Cucumber Pickles

Twelve men dished to Shape the foods that turned them off completely. Just as women don’t understand the need to sit around drinking beer up to our elbows in barbecue sauce, men are apparently lost on our desire to turn kale in to chips and almonds in to milk. (more…)

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Natalie K

TED-MED and Dr. Richard Besser Host a Candid Chat about the 1 in 3 American Children Who are Obese

Quick Stats About Childhood Obesity

Nearly 1 in 3 children in America are overweight or obese
8.4% of children 2 – 5 years old are obese
17% of children 6 – 11 years old are obese
20.5% of children 12 – 19 years old are obese

This afternoon, Dr. Richard Besser hosted a conversation on Google+ Hangouts as part of TED-MED to discuss childhood obesity. Dr. Besser is a pediatrician and the Chief Medical Editor at ABC News, and the author of Tell Me the Truth, Doctor, a comprehensive health guide that will both inform and surprise as he deciphers fact from fiction for nearly 70 confusing medical questions.

Dr. Besser assembled a discussion panel for today’s session, including:

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association
Don Schwarz, Health Commissioner and Deputy Mayor for Health and Opportunity, City of Philadelphia
Elissa Epel, Professor, UCSF School of Medicine
Lisa Simpson, President and CEO, Academy Health

The group began by talking about stress and the effect it has on health, both in children and adults. Stress is biologically potent and causes us to overeat sweets. Research shows the combination of stress and overeating is “the most dangerous combination,” Elissa says. One of the challenges the group agrees on is taking the research and putting it into practice. Very little is happening so far to create actionable programs that make a difference.

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Posted on July 22, 2024 by Mike Beauchamp

Little Blue Dynamos: My Love Affair with Blueberries Made a Blueberry Cucumber Salad

It’s my favorite time of year: peak blueberry season! If you’re anything like me, you can’t get enough of these little balls of deliciousness. Farmers markets, U-Pick berry fields, or from the local produce store, I can’t gobble them up fast enough.

Peak season is anytime from late June through early September, so I’m even known to buy extra large amounts in bulk and freeze* for the rest of the year. Then I add them to smoothies, pancakes (my favorite recipe is this one), oatmeal, you name it! I even found a way to add these little guys to a savory salad. Don’t believe me? We’ll let you try the recipe for yourself!

Why the love affair with blueberries? These little blue dynamos… (more…)

Posted on July 21, 2024 by Katie McGrath

6 Slim Summer Sips That Skip the Hips

By Team Best Life

Craving a nice cold beverage to quench your thirst and beat the heat? Be careful what you reach for—some beverages can pack a pretty big caloric punch. In fact, some drinks can end up costing you more than a meal!

Take a look below to figure out how many calories some of your favorite drinks will set you back. All calorie information is based on an eight-ounce serving, unless noted.

Lemonade (powder mixed with water) – 40 calories

Sports Drink – 60-80 calories

Soda – 65-95 calories

Iced Tea – 90 calories

Light Beer – 100 calories per 12 ounces

Regular Beer – 150 calories per 12 ounces

Frozen Margarita – 226 calories per 10 ounces

Strawberry Daquiri/Pina Colada – 250 calories for 4.5 ounces

See the Calories in 4 More Popular Summer Cocktails

Of course, calories shouldn’t be the only thing you pay attention to. You should be on the lookout for artificial sweeteners, which are used to sweeten a beverage without adding any (or many) calories. These can be problematic because they may increase your cravings for sweet foods and interfere with your ability to appreciate naturally sweet foods. (more…)

Posted on July 21, 2024 by BestLifeDiet

Lacey Raul Lost 100 Pounds and Completed a Half-Marathon. Weight Loss Done Right!

When Lacey Raul was growing up, no one held her accountable for what she ate, urged her to exercise or explained the future ramifications of a sedentary lifestyle. After trying to lose weight the “wrong” way for years, Lacey shifted gears, lost 100 pounds and kept it off, the right way. In May, she completed her first half-marathon and finished with a very respectable time of 2:24.

Pulp Fiction: Why My Misadventures in Juicing Left Me Feeling Terrible

carrot juice

By Cat Poland, a writer who shares her experiences with life and motherhood at Mom on the Range.

You know what’s cute? Baby bellies. Aren’t pregnant women adorable?

You know what’s not so cute? Baby bellies when you’re not pregnant. I’m not making a blanket statement about the size of other women’s bodies and what I think they should or shouldn’t look like. I’m talking solely about my own.

It’s annoying. Pants don’t fit well, and forget about wearing maxi dresses without getting “the look” from others. Is she, isn’t she? When a family member put her hand on my belly and asked if I had “news,” I lost it.

What if I did a juice fast? (Or cleanse, as some might call it.) I just wanted to look not so pregnant. And I was curious. Would I have renewed energy as some claimed? Would I cure my pesky battle with constipation (thank you, hormones). Would I feel rejuvenated? (more…)

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Health Buzz

Meet the Dietitian Who Eats Butter, Sugar, and Carbs, and Says You Can, Too!

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life lead nutritionist

As I got the butter out from my fridge the other day, a friend of mine commented in surprise, “You eat butter?”.

She’s right to question. For years, there was no butter in my kitchen because it contains a lot of saturated fat, which nutrition scientists believed could lead to heart disease and possibly increase the risk for cancer and even dementia. But being a nutritionist, I keep up with the food research, and things change. I started thinking of how my diet has changed over the past decade, and here are the main shifts; the ways I changed my own diet for the better.

I ENJOY BUTTER. Even after margarine was exposed as a trans fat nightmare, I still avoided butter because 63 percent of the fat in butter is saturated. I went along with the scientific thinking: If you eat too much saturated fat, levels of LDL (“bad” cholesterol) rise, and people with higher LDL are more likely to develop heart disease. (more…)

Posted on July 17, 2024 by BestLifeDiet

Diet and Nutrition

Quick Stats About Childhood Obesity

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