<p>Small changes in habits add extra pounds, says lead author Dariush Mozaffarian, an associate professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.</p>
<p>Researchers analyzed data on the weight and eating and lifestyle habits of nearly 121,000 men and women from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up study. Participants were tracked every four years for 20 years.</p>
<p>They gained an average of 3.35 pounds over four-year periods and almost 17 pounds over the two decades, according to the study reported in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. Findings:</p>
<p>•People who made the most unhealthful dietary changes gained nearly 4 pounds more in four years than those who had the healthiest dietary habits.</p>
<p>•People who ate an extra serving of chips a day gained an average of 1.7 pounds more in four years than those who didn’t eat that extra serving.</p>
<p>•People who drank one more sugar-sweetened beverage a day added an extra pound more in four years than those who didn’t.</p>
<p>•Other factors that led to weight gain: decreased physical activity, increased alcohol intake, less than six hours of sleep a night or more than eight, and increased TV viewing.</p>
<p>Although counting calories and watching fat intake have been emphasized recently, the new study indicates it may be better to focus on improving your overall diet, Mozaffarian says.</p>
<p>sigh…I used to be such a great speller! Thanks for catching my incorrect spelling of elliptical–problem solved. BUT, at the rate I use it, I burn about 375 calories in an hour, according to the machine–pretty similar to mathmom.</p>
<p>Haven’t had tiome for much in the way of exercise in the past few days (last exercise day was Sunday) but I have been good with watching what I eat (though did splurge on a fattening peach martini last night - yumm!) and am down 5 lbs from my start. I am happy with that. I have 11 lbs to go to get to my goal, and will decide from there if/when I hit it.</p>
<p>So, what are opinions on homemade smoothies???</p>
<p>Was in a breakfast rut this week and it was hot so smoothies sounded good. </p>
<p>Mine are milk, yogurt and fruit based. I don’t eat much fruit the rest of the day unless we are having watermelon for a side a dinner. </p>
<p>A typical smoothie for me includes:
1/2 cup-ish of skim milk
Fruit of two small peaches
1/4 to 1/2 c. yogurt - usually plain or vanilla
Several ice cubes
Dash of vanilla</p>
<p>One day I did a little more splurgy:
The milk, the yogurt, the ice
1/2 c. fresh local strawberries
1/2 scoop of chocolate ice cream (really! it was only 1/2 scoop!)
(wonder if I could have used some cocoa powder to sub in the flavor)</p>
<p>I usually have it at my desk with either a handful of almonds/multigrain cereal or 1/2 whole grain muffin or bagel. </p>
<p>Opinions or suggestions for other combinations???</p>
<p>A good breakfast “shake” if on-the-go or if not a morning food person…use a scoop of the low carb/low sugar protein powders (Muscle Milk, Pure Protein) mixed with milk. Can also use protein powder in smoothies to hold off hunger longer.</p>
<p>Oh, I love morning food! But in trying to keep it lower carb, somewhat healthy, I just needed a diversion from the usual! “Powders” are not something I am interested in, but I know many people use them.</p>
<p>I have posted this simple recipe before - but this is my morning breakfast. I drink it every day before I go out to walk. My MIL uses it as her 3 PM pick-me-up. I know it doesn’t suit those who are going low carb so there is no need to start proselytizing :). </p>
<p>1 cup Westsoy lowfat vanilla soy milk (Calories 120, 1.5g fat, 90 sodium, 21 carbs, 4g protein.
1 large ripe banana (chopped and frozen - this is the key. A chopped, frozen banana tastes very, very sweet and makes the smoothie nice and thick)
2 teaspoons Hershey’s Cocoa powder. (<10 calories - the baking cocoa)</p>
<p>Every night I chop up the bananas and put them in a tupperware container. It is such a ritual - when I travel I really miss my smoothies.</p>
<p>After being sick of how much weight I’d gained in the past few years, I joined WW in February. As of the beginning of June I’d lost almost 20 # (19.6, to be exact). I was losing slowly, but steadily and I was happy with that. I needed to lose 35-40# total, so I was about halfway there.
In the past couple of weeks, though, I am losing my motivation. Part of it is having my kids home, I think…now I’m back to cooking for more than just myself and H; more going out; more parties/cookouts, etc. Also, I think I get tired of having to think/track what I’m eating. And, for the record - I think the new WW program has been great and not difficult to follow; I usually don’t feel deprived. Tonight is my WW night and I’m sure that I’m either up or the same.<br>
For those of you that have been successful in staying on track - or getting back on track - any advice for those who start out strong but have a hard time staying motivated?<br>
I feel so much better being 20# lighter, so I don’t want to go back!</p>
<p>Lost 30# with WW last year; always felt ‘I can’t eat this or that’; add some stress and weight started creeping up; wasn’t able to be successful with new Points Plus (I ate way too much fruit)
What helped me was reading Taubes ‘Why we get fat…’
Now I am following a controlled carb scenario with lots of fat, only natural sugars, mostly veggies and berries. Using Livestrong MyPlate for tracking; aiming for carbs at 20-30% of calories, ~50% fats, 20-30% protein.
I am below the 30# I lost last year. I am rarely feeling the cravings (what I used to think of as hunger). There are plenty of suitable options at parties and restaurants.
Looking forward to seeing the lab numbers when I go for my physical in the fall</p>
<p>When I need motivation, I just check out what idad or mowc or bunsen burner or many others are doing.</p>
<p>I have always tried to play tennis at least one time per week for the last 30 years and setting up habits that are attainable helps. I may not run or do weights or anything else but barring illness or travel, I get my tennis in.</p>
<p>Working out with other people can be helpful as one person can drag another to the gym on low days.</p>
<p>Surround yourself with people that workout too if possible. A lot of people workout at the office and it becomes infectious.</p>
<p>Everyone has down days or weeks - that’s part of life.</p>
<p>Since its debut in the '80s, the Atkins diet and similar low-carb menus have swung back and forth, lauded and vilified, several times over. Some supporters say they’re a fast track to weight loss with less hunger, while detractors say they’re too restrictive and don’t provide enough fuel—carbohydrates break down to glucose, which powers the body and brain. New research could tip the scales once again in favor of low carbs. According to a study published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a low-carb diet may reduce the risk of death from all medical causes, especially heart disease—if it’s heavy on proteins and fats from plants, not animals. A low-carb regimen heavy on meat raised the risk of dying from cancer and other medical causes, the researchers found after following more than 85,000 women for 26 years and 44,000 men for 20 years.</p>
<p>a) Don’t think about your final goal. It just makes the task seem bigger. Instead, set a goal of losing five pounds. You already know you can do that because you’ve done it (nearly) four times already. So your goal, you entire focus, would be on getting to the 20 pound mark. Then, celebrate and make your new goal 25 pounds.</p>
<p>b) Make sure you have a pair of “thermometer jeans” – some piece of nice clothing that is still too tight. Go out and buy something if you have to. Hang it in the front of your closet and try it on every week or so and enjoy that it starts to fit and then fits but too tight and then fits perfectly. Huge motivation.</p>
<p>c) Crank up your exercise. As you lose weight and get more fit, you have to kick up the intensity of your workouts in order to get the same effect. If you are walking, throw in some hills. If you do cardio machines, throw in some intervals – normal pace for a minute and then as fast as you can go for 30 seconds, then back to normal for a minute. Whatever. If you do dumbbells, buy a bigger pair. Whatever. It’s easy to start losing muscle mass when dieting and exercise is the key to maintaining (or increasing) muscle, which is in turn the key to weight management. Muscle burns more calories 24/7 than fat does.</p>
<p>What a bizarre article. USNEWS highlights “low-carb” and “Atkins” throughout the article and then proceedes to pitch Dean Ornish’s ultra-low fat, high carb, vegetarian diet and admonish against eating any meat, dairy, or cheese.</p>
<p>The article starts out with low-carb or lower carb with this:</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Dean Ornish seems to be mentioned as a source for finding vegetable-based protein. His overall approach (which I’m not really familiar with) isn’t mentioned.</p>
<p>My2, unlike many people, I have always found that summer is the time I am more likely to gain weight. You might think it would be the opposite with summer produce and all, but like you, the kids are around more so I am probably cooking/baking/eating meals differently because I have more of their stuff around. Plus, our days/evenings include more “fun” - going out for ice cream, sitting around the firepit and having snacks, dining outside at restaurants, etc. </p>
<p>I have tried to beat this by trying to do more planning ahead. Last night, I knew I wanted a small cupcake so at dinner I had less a smaller serving of dinner and said “no” to the garlic bread - not even a bite. </p>
<p>What goes in your mouth is YOUR decision. I think lots of it is frame of mind and getting personal satisfaction from both the small (passing up the garlic bread) and big (last year’s pants are loose!) successes.</p>
<p>This thread is really helping me since it was started. THANK YOU!!!</p>