Lifestyle

• Weight Loss Myths Debunked

  Myth: I can use a quickie diet or pill to lose weight and keep it off. Fact: Pills and fad diets do not provide lasting results and can be dangerous. Fad diets and pills are...[more]

• Getting Bikini-Season Ready Part 3: Maintenance

  In the last part of the three-part series about getting your body bikini-season ready, we'll focus on perhaps the most important and often the most difficult part of any weight-loss or exercise plan--keeping the weight...[more]

• Lack of Sleep: A Weighty Issue

  Not getting enough sleep can do more than just make you feel sluggish the next day--it can actually sabotage your weight-loss goals. When you feel tired or low on energy, you typically reach for starchy...[more]

• Spicy Foods: How Pepper Can Help Curb Hunger

  Hot peppers not only add delicious heat to your favorite dishes, they can also provide an array of health benefits. Hot peppers contain a component called capsaicin, which has been shown to kill off cancer...[more]

• The 10 Easy Steps to Weight Loss

  Over the last 20 years, food portions have increased dramatically. As the size of our plates have grown, so has the expectation that the larger amount of food we receive, the better the value. However,...[more]

• 5 Best-Kept Secrets to Include in Your Diet

  You always hear about foods that you need to avoid or eliminate from your diet. What about foods that you should be eating, but may not be aware of? Here are a few that may...[more]

• The 8 Powerhouse Foods You Should Be Eating

  These 8 powerhouse foods are filled with nutrients that are very beneficial for your body. Consider adding these foods to your diet to assist in weight loss and add antioxidants, fiber, and omega 3's -...[more]

• Smart Substitutions: 5 'Staples' to Trade Out of Your Pantry

  Any stop to the grocery store is made quicker and easier when you just have a few 'staples' to pick up. There are many things we like to keep on hand for snacks, quick dinners,...[more]

• 9 Tricks to Staying Healthy When Eating Out

  Eating out can be a gamble especially for people who are watching their weight or managing certain health conditions. Many of the foods prepared outside of the home are high in calories, fat, sodium, and...[more]

• 5 Eating Habits You Should Break

  Some of your daily habits may be hindering your health or weight loss goals. Little things you do throughout the day can either propel you forward or take you back a step, and either way,...[more]

• The 411 on Sushi

  What exactly is sushi? What about sashimi? Sushi is often touted as being healthy, but not all options at your favorite fish establishment are created equal, and some pack significantly more calories than you think....[more]

• Smart Substitutions: Eating Out

  Many foods offered at restaurants are not prepared in the same healthful way that you would make them at home. Heavy use of sugar, oil, butter, refined grains, and salt is all too common. But...[more]

• Healthy Living 101: The Ins and Outs of Fiber

  Fiber comes from plants and can be found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Fiber is the portion of plant foods that the body is not able to digest or absorb. What...[more]

• 5 Common Foods That Are Ruining Your Waistline

  When I speak to clients, I frequently hear the words: "I thought that was good for you!" There are many foods that seem to be "healthy" but may actually be helping you gain weight. Here...[more]

• Smart Substitutions: Sweet Cravings

  Eating healthy does not mean that you must eliminate all sweets from your diet. You just have to be smart about how you satisfy your sweet tooth. It's normal to gravitate towards sweetness; the problem...[more]

• Celebrate Valentine's Day in a Healthy Way

  Valentine's Day brings not only feelings of love and joy, it also brings high-calorie chocolates, candies, cookies, and other treats. Since February is American Heart Month, which aims to encourage adopting permanent lifestyle changes to...[more]

• Healthy Living 101: Understanding Whole Grains

  Whole grains are made up of the entire or "whole" grain, including the bran, germ, and innermost part of the kernel, the endosperm. Each portion of the grain or seed plays an important role in...[more]

• Being a Couch Potato Is More Harmful Than You Think

  The idea of "couch potatoes" tends to conjure up images of overweight, lazy unkempt slacker-types. We've heard about the research that has shown that the more hours of television watched per day, the higher the...[more]

• Healthy Living 101: Classifying Foods

  Foods can be classified by the way they affect the body and/or by their food group. It is important to understand both in order to balance your meals and achieve optimal health. Macronutrients The Merriam-Webster...[more]

• Proteins, Fats, and Carbs: How to Balance Your Diet

  Dieting can be confusing. High-protein diets claim to help you lose weight quickly, but can lead to high cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. High-carbohydrate diets may be low in fat, but can...[more]

• Excess Weight Ages Us More Quickly

  We all know that being overweight or obese can pose threats to our health, especially at a young age. But what effects does overweight or obesity have on the actual aging process? Obese Children Become...[more]

• Healthy Living 101: How to Read a Nutrition Label

  Too often, purchasing food can be confusing, especially with all of the persuasive marketing tactics used by food companies. Learning how to read, understand, and compare food labels can help you maintain, manage, control, and/or...[more]

• Eat This, Not That: Calorie Cutters

  If you eat more calories than your body needs, your body will inevitable store them as excess weight. The trick is to reduce your calorie intake without feeling like you are depriving yourself - and...[more]

• Ideal Body Composition: What You Should Know

  We live in a culture that has become increasingly more obsessed with body image and weight. Dangerously thin bodies are celebrated and coveted, perpetuating the unrealistic goal of obtaining an ideal body--one devoid of any...[more]

• Eat This, Not That: Breakfast Edition

  You've heard that breakfast is the most important meal. It boosts your metabolism, staves off hunger, and provides you energy to start and get through your day. But what if you are making bad breakfast...[more]

• Real FitDay Users Share: What Was Your "A-Ha" Moment?

  What sparked you to embark on your fitness journey? For many of us, it was one moment or incident - the "a-ha" moment - that got our butts in gear and changed our lives forever....[more]

• Meal Planning Made Simple

  The key to long-term weight management and healthy eating is consuming a balanced diet. Restrictive eating and fad diets may provide temporary weight loss, but they may also provide fatigue, hunger, food fantasizing, malnutrition, binging,...[more]

• 10 Tools to Help Keep You on Track

  1. Good Pair of Shoes Make sure you have a pair of shoes that fit you well and are made for the type of activity you plan to do. For example, don't plan to jog...[more]

• 4 New Year's Resolutions You Can Keep!

  The new year is here! While many, many people plan to use this landmark time to get healthier or lose weight, the problem with these goals is that they are difficult to maintain. Most...[more]

• Healthy Kitchen Staples to Start 2012

  If you want to make over your health, refrigerator, and pantry, then make a note of these 12 staples that will get you eating right in the New Year. 1. Assorted Whole Grains Cereals, pasta,...[more]

• Pizza a 'Vegetable'? How to Handle School Lunches

  Recently, Congress passed a bill that classifies the small amount of tomato paste in pizza as the equivalent of a serving of vegetables. The problem is that this legislation can affect the public school...[more]

• 10 Tips to Help You Achieve Your New Year's Health Goals

  With the new year comes the opportunity for a fresh start. For many people, this means leading a healthier lifestyle and losing weight. If this is your goal, follow these tips to stay on track....[more]

• The FitDay Guide to Healthier Holiday Baking

  The holiday season always seems to throw us all into a baking frenzy. We whip up dozens of cookies, cupcakes, pies, candies, and other treats that we then decorate with beautiful holiday colors. While all...[more]

• 5 Ways to Eat Mindfully at Holiday Parties

  The holidays can cause an internal struggle between the desire to splurge on festive treats at numerous feasts and the will to avoid the inevitable weight gain that ensues after overindulging. However, there are ways...[more]

• What You Should Know: The Risks and Rewards of Bariatric Surgery

  The National Center for Health Statistics report that 30% of adults (over 60 million) and 17% of children and adolescents (12.5 million) are obese - i.e. having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 and...[more]

• Using Thanksgiving Day Leftovers in a Healthy Way

  Turkey Day has come and gone, leaving us all feeling a little softer around the middle. So what are you supposed to do with all of those leftovers if you're trying to avoid overeating several...[more]

• How to Cut Extra Fat, Sugar, and Calories from Fall Vegetable Dishes

  Sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkins, and other colorful squash are available in abundance during the fall season. Upcoming holidays like Thanksgiving also bring these vegetables to the forefront, showing up in numerous recipes. Orange-colored vegetables are...[more]

• Spilling the Beans on Bean Benefits

  We all know that fiber is an important part of a healthy diet. We also know that fiber is likely our closest ally when it comes to feeling full in between meals and snacks, which...[more]

• Omega-3 and Omega-6: The Essential Fatty Acids to Include in Your Diet

  Essential fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that we must get from food. They are necessary for optimal brain function, metabolism regulation, hair growth, bone health, and many other vital physiological reactions. Omega-3 and omega-6 fats...[more]

• 4 Ways to Eat Healthy During the Holiday Season

  The holidays are a time for us to gather with family and friends to celebrate. For better or worse, with celebration comes food. If you have been working very hard at eating healthy, losing weight,...[more]

• Stress Eating: What You Can Do to Keep It at Bay

  Stress, boredom, or any array of emotions can lead to cravings for food. If these cravings take control too often, you might find yourself eating large portions of high calorie, sweet, and/or fatty foods. However,...[more]

• Can Eating More Frequently Lead to Weight Loss?

  Have you ever wondered how some people can eat quite frequently but never seem to gain weight? It's often said that eating smaller, more frequent meals fuels your metabolism and helps keep you satisfied throughout...[more]

• Have a Compassionate Holiday: Save a Turkey

  Do a turkey a favor and have a vegetarian or vegan holiday celebration. For ethical and health reasons, vegetarians don't eat animals, including beef, poultry, pork, lamb, and fish). In addition to meat, vegans don't...[more]

• 5 Food Safety Tips for the Holidays

  Tis the season! The holidays are a wonderful time of goodwill, giving thanks, and gathering around warm fires with loved ones. The holiday season also includes festive celebrations centered around delicious food. Holiday parties are...[more]

• Healthy Holiday Eating: A Comparison of Two Meal Plans

  During holiday gatherings, you may be confronted with array of food and drink options that you rarely see during the rest of the year. Though overindulging could derail your health plans, do not despair! Study...[more]

• 4 Things to Know About Flu Season

  The Truth About the Flu Shot Each year, experts from the US Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study virus samples collected from 136 national...[more]

• A Guide to Healthy Holiday Eating

  The holidays are upon us with 6 weeks of temptations from the end of November to the beginning of January, with well-wishers who leave plates of cookies at the office or drop by with gooey...[more]

• 5 Ways to Prevent Weight Gain When You Can't Make Your Own Food

  Staying healthy can be difficult when you have limited resources. College students, for example, typically live in dorm rooms with only small refrigerators and no access to stoves or other kitchen appliances. Frequent business travelers...[more]

• Understanding Metabolism: How It Influences Weight Control

  It may be tempting to blame your failed weight loss attempts or weight gain on a slow metabolism. However, it is rare that excessive weight gain from a medical problem slows metabolism, as in cases...[more]

• 8 Ways to Eat Healthy on a Budget

  It's often been said that eating healthy is too expensive. This is simply not true. With a few strategies, you can save money while also avoiding extra pounds. Frozen fruits & veggiesPurchasing frozen produce is...[more]

• Understanding Metabolism: What Determines Your BMR?

  Metabolism refers to the processes that the body needs to function. Basal Metabolic Rate is the amount of energy expressed in calories that a person needs to keep the body functioning at rest. Some of...[more]

• Can a Nutritious Diet Help Prevent Cancer?

  Following a nutritious diet has proven benefits: lowering your cholesterol, preventing heart disease and diabetes, and minimizing excess weight gain. However, it has not yet been proven whether a nutritious diet can prevent diseases like...[more]

• 7 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat More Vegetables

  It's one of the greatest frustrations in a health conscious person's life - Getting stubborn children to eat vegetables. You know it's good for them. But then they sneer at spinach, laugh at the lettuce,...[more]

• What Are Carbs? How They Work (and How to Get Them to Work for You)

  Most people view carbohydrates as "evil" foods. Found in breads, pastas, cereals, and almost everything sweet, carbohydrates receive a bad reputation for causing weight gain. In reality, carbohydrates provide energy your body needs to help...[more]

• "Off-Limits"? Think Again! How Cheating Can Help You Succeed

  We've all heard the old adage "cheaters never prosper." But when it comes to following a healthy diet to lose weight or maintain your current weight, do cheaters prosper? Some diets allow for certain "cheat"...[more]

• Protein and Dairy: A Dieter's Best Friends?

  New research has found that increased consumption of protein, particularly protein from dairy foods, helps people who are dieting lose more fat and preserve lean body mass (muscle) during exercise- and diet-induced weight loss. The...[more]

• Carbs and Dairy: Is It Really Safe to Skip Them?

  As a child, I was taught that my meals needed to come from 4 simple food groups: grains, seafood/meats (including beans), dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese), and fruits/vegetables. Since then, the USDA has issued numerous versions...[more]

• Pre-Diabetes and How You Can Stop It

  Many people will develop diabetes in their lives. The causes of Type II diabetes are most often related to weight gains from taking in too many calories and not getting enough exercise. A lack of...[more]

• Getting Enough Fiber Is Easier Than You Think!

  The average American is not consuming enough fiber. Most health experts recommend approximately 25-35 grams of fiber every day. A few of the numerous benefits of fiber include its ability to stabilize blood sugar, reduce...[more]

• 16 Surprising Sources of Protein

  Protein does more than just build strong muscles. It also strengthens bones, increases satiety, protects against heart disease, and helps support a healthy immune system. We also know that consuming plenty of protein is an...[more]

• 3 Healthy Pantry Staples You May Not Have (Yet)

  Being super smart and health conscious FitDay users, I know you have all got the standard staples in your food cupboard such as beans, whole grains, tomato sauces, and nut butters. These are all wonderful...[more]

• How Do You Stay Motivated? 4 Tips from a Dietitian

  Motivation and consistency are the key components to being successful with almost anything one sets out to accomplish. Whether you are working toward weight loss, quitting smoking or winning a race, motivation and consistency will...[more]

• What Are Net Carbs?

  Most people who are concerned about their health are very familiar with food labels. You've probably looked at your fair share of Nutrition Facts panels, ingredient lists, and health claims on packaged foods. Reading labels...[more]

• Eat This, Not That: A Comparison of Two Meal Plans

  Every day, we are constantly faced with choices about what to eat. For most of us, it's got to be quick and easy, and it's got to taste good. Unfortunately, the healthy benefits of a...[more]

• Low, Less, and Lite: How to Decipher 'Healthy' Food Labels

  Ever walk down a grocery store aisle and try to decipher labels? Or have you had a hard time deciding whether a product labeled as "low fat" is better than "low sugar?" You are not...[more]

• Great Flavor with Healthy Additives

  Can you really add flavor without adding calories or risking adverse health effects? We have all heard that we should cut down on the salt we add to our foods to prevent hypertension, and that...[more]

• 3 Steps to Smart Snacking

  If you ask anyone in the health profession how often you should eat, you will most likely be told to eat 5 to 6 small meals spread out over the course of each day. The...[more]

• A Dietitian's Take on the New MyPlate

  The USDA's familiar MyPyramid has just been replaced with MyPlate. The consensus seems to be that this new model is simpler and easier to understand than the previous version, and I completely agree. Consisting of...[more]