Tag Archives: calories

Fun July 4th Activities for the Entire Family

It’s the hottest (often literally!) holiday of the entire summer, and one most of us look forward to all year long. July 4th celebrates the birthday of the United States of America, and the most common form of celebration is the community picnic with fireworks. It’s great to spend time with your friends and family, and everyone enjoys a day off, but don’t let the holiday celebration plop your bottom into a lawn chair for the day.

Instead, why not take part in some of these fantastic activities that the entire family, from kids to grandparents, can join in on? As a bonus, we’ve included the calorie counts of some popular picnic foods so you can see if that Firecracker popsicle is really worth it! (hint: it’s a good choice!)

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Posted on June 28, 2025 by Carmen

Bust Through a Plateau with Diet and Fitness

Christina is a mom, registered nurse, and blogger. She fully admits to both a love of too much food and a love of the couch, two vices she struggles to overcome on a daily basis. In the past two years, she’s lost nearly 50 pounds through diet and exercise, some of it chronicled on her blog, Losing My Hind.

Most people who are actively trying to lose weight hit a plateau now and then. You’re working hard, losing weight as a result, and then suddenly all of that progress stops and you wonder if your scale is broken because it’s been displaying the same number for weeks.

Plateaus are often the body’s way of recalibrating and adjusting to the changes you’ve brought about. But if you’re like me, you can only handle a plateau for so long before you get a twitchy eye and the urge to throw your scale through the bathroom window. I was recently stuck at a plateau for over a month, which felt like years to me, and anyone who had to listen to me rant about it.

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Posted on June 25, 2025 by GuestBlogger

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution: Lessons Learned

After the disappointment in the last episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, it was a wonderful surprise to see that the administrator of West Adams High had hopefully found a loophole, so that Jamie and his kids could indeed cook for the entire school, at least as an assembly. The administrator said that the school was based on experiential teaching and preparing kids for college, so healthy eating fit right into their principles. In the mean time, Jamie continued his role of instructor, trying out different subjects beyond culinary arts.

In math class, Jamie taught about calories and consequences by allowing students to choose a snack between soda, chocolate bars, pizza, or oranges. He then allowed them to experience weight gain using weight backpacks. Jamie then took his math students out to the track having the students walk around the track enough times to burn the calories of what they had just eaten.

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Posted on June 14, 2025 by Brooke Randolph

Fun and Healthy Activities for Father’s Day

As Father’s Day approaches, there are sales on all kinds of ties, tools and barbeque aprons with slogans like “Best Dad Ever” available. But this Father’s Day, consider making it a health conscious holiday and take dad to do some activities that will boost his health and help you enjoy some quality time together.

There are a lot of activities that can be done outside during this time of year when the weather is warm and the sun is shining. Dad will love the fact that you thought to do something fun with him that may also burn some calories and allow him to be one with nature. Consider the things your dad likes to do outside and make a day of it. You and dad can go by yourselves or invite the entire family along- either way, you are bound to have a great time he will never forget.

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Posted on June 9, 2026 by Descygna

Meal Snap App Counts Calories From Your Pictures

When I first heard of Shazam, the app that tells you what song is playing when you have it anywhere near the speaker, I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. While it is definitely cool, my experience with the free version has been mixed, since there is a lot of stuff it won’t recognize.

There’s a similar app used in the diet world now called Meal Snap, but its problems are probably a little bigger. Here’s the premise: you take your smart phone, snap a picture of your food, send it off to Meal Snap, and you get back an estimate of the calories in the food.

The attraction to this sort of app is pretty obvious. If you want to track your calories, it is a bit of a hassle. Or is it? If you’re going to go through the trouble of taking a picture of your food and sending it off for someone to send you back the information, you can probably simply go to any number of websites that give you calorie information. (more…)

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Jason

Enjoy Amusement Parks While On A Diet

Amusement parks offer endless enjoyment options for both adults and children, from crazy rides and roller coasters to games and fatty food options. Obviously, walking around all day burns calories and leaves you completely exhausted at the end of the day, but how can you resist the fatty temptations of the luxurious smells and big colorful food stands? Below are the five steps to sticking to your diet while enjoying family time at an amusement park near you.

Five Steps To Enjoying Amusement Parks On A Diet:

1.  Eat a rather large healthy breakfast before entering the park. I recommend eating a higher than normal carbohydrate breakfast to help you stay full longer and provide you with plenty of energy to be on your feet all day.

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Posted on January 25, 2026 by Matt

What is a Calorie Deficit?

If you’ve been dieting for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard the words “calorie deficit.” It’s a big term that has a very simple meaning. At its most basic, a calorie deficit is an equation for successful weight loss.  Just as 1+2=3 is true, calories burned – calories ingested = weight loss.

A calorie, by definition, is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a kilogram of water by one degree  Celsius. In its more common use, it is used to determine how much the foods that you eat will affect your weight. A calorie deficit is created when the amount of food energy (calories) you take in is less than the total calories you use, and it is the difference between what you eat and what your body burns. In order to lose weight, you will need to create a calorie deficit. This means that your body will turn to stored energy to function and you will see a weight loss. The size of the calorie deficit will determine how much weight you will lose.

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Posted on January 19, 2026 by Carmen

Everything You Need to Know About Counting Calories

Counting calories can be an excellent way to lose weight. After all, to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you take in. By tracking your calories each day, you can better balance how much exercise you need to create a deficit. The more you go over your calorie goal, the more you’ll need to burn in the gym or compensate for with your next meal. Remember, you need a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose one pound.

So, just how do you count calories? Well, it’s pretty easy. First, you determine the best way for you to track your calories. There are many online places to log your calories, food journals you can buy, or you can even make your own food diary using a plain notebook. Be sure to pick the method that is most convenient for your lifestyle. Next, you need access to a reliable calorie-counter book or website, such as CalorieKing.com. From there, you just write down every little thing and bite that you have no matter how small it is, along with its amount of calories. At the end of each day (or as you go), tally up how many calories you’ve eaten and see if that number meets your calorie-restriction goals. Adjust as necessary!

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Posted on January 7, 2026 by Jennipher

What is the 2,000 Calorie Diet?

I’ll be honest, the 2,000 Calorie Diet is only an appropriate weight-loss diet for a special segment of the population. That segment would include active young men with lots of muscle mass, growing teenagers, women who are extremely active, and people who are very tall with a large frame. The rest of us? We’ll probably maintain our weight or even gain weight with this many calories.

That being said, this is a delicious diet with lots of variety and lots of food to fill you up and fuel those workouts! Read on for a full 2,000 Calorie Diet eating and workout plan!

2,000 Calorie Diet Eating Plan

Breakfast: Make a breakfast burrito with one small whole wheat tortilla, one scrambled egg cooked in one teaspoon canola oil, one-third of a cup of black beans and two tablespoons of salsa. Also enjoy a cup of skim milk.

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Posted on January 6, 2026 by Jennipher

What is the 1,600 Calorie Diet?

Eating a 1,600 calorie diet is an effective way to lose weight if you stagger your meals throughout the day, choose highly nutritious foods and work in a treat or two so that you don’t feel deprived. Eating 1,600 calories a day is a good weight loss plan for men, those who are taller, those who have larger frames and for those who work out regularly at a moderate to high intensity. The key is to eat more in the morning and at lunch and make sure that you’re eating every three hours or so.

1,600-Calorie Diet Meal Plan

Breakfast: One whole-wheat bagel with one egg white, one ounce of low-fat cheddar cheese  and a tomato slice.

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Posted on January 5, 2026 by Jennipher

What is the 1,400 Calorie Diet?

While a 1,200 calorie diet can result in faster weight loss, it can also be harder to stick to because there’s not nearly as much flexibility with your meals and snacks (every calorie has to be chock full of nutrition). Because of this, many people opt to go with a 1,400 calorie diet. This diet and exercise plan will still result in steady weight loss, yet has a few more calories for those who do more activity or are of a larger frame.

However, just like the 1,200 diet plan, it’s important that you select nutritious foods as much as possible and eat regularly throughout the day with the bulk of your calories being consumed at breakfast and lunch.

1,400 Calorie Diet Meal Plan

Breakfast: Eat half of a cup of cooked steel-cut oatmeal with one cup of skim milk, a few walnuts and one cup of fresh blueberries.

Morning snack: Part-skim mozzarella stick with one cup of grapes.

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Posted on January 4, 2026 by Jennipher