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Good eating and its relationship to weight loss

 

Good eating

Is your waist tighter than you'd like? Have you finally decided to get down to a healthy weight and keep it there? Then it's time to give up fad diets for good.

For decades, most nutrition professionals have told us over and over again that weight depends on calories in and calories out.

To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, in addition to getting plenty of exercise to stay fit and burn off excess calories, it's important to eat a wide variety of foods to get a balanced range of nutrients.

A calorie-smart diet consists of nutrient-dense foods that provide a good amount of essential nutrients compared to their calorie count.

Nutrient-rich foods include whole foods; vegetables; fruits; lean meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, and cooked dry beans;

and fat-free or low-fat dairy foods. For a balanced, healthy diet, simply choose a whole grain food, one or two vegetables, one fruit, a lean protein source, and a low-fat dairy food for each meal.

Also note that research has shown that including animal protein foods in a weight-loss diet helps preserve lean muscle tissue while losing fat.

Eggs are one of the highest quality sources of protein and also provide varying amounts of many other nutrients, all for just 75 calories per large egg.

In addition to being quick and easy to prepare, nutrient-dense eggs go great with the whole foods, vegetables, and fruits you need.

For example, an Open Face Spinach Omelet Sandwich is a tasty, well-balanced combination that only needs a serving of fruit and low-fat milk to make a hearty, healthy meal any time of day.

Open Face Spinach Tortilla Sandwich

(4 portions)

cooking spray

4 cups fresh whole baby spinach leaves or chopped large spinach leaves (about 6 oz.)

1 tablespoon of water

4 eggs

1/2 cup low-fat (1%) cottage cheese

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, crushed

1 (8 to 9-inch) plain, tomato or herb focaccia bread, split crosswise (about 5 oz.)

4 tomato slices

Evenly spray a 10-inch skillet or omelet pan with spray. Add spinach and water. Cover.

Cook over medium heat until spinach softens, about 1 minute. Pour out the liquid, if necessary.

In medium bowl, beat eggs, cheese and seasonings until combined. Pour over spinach mixture. Gently stir to evenly distribute the mixture in the pan.

Cook over medium heat until egg mixture is almost set, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Let stand, covered, until egg mixture is completely set, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using a pancake turner or spatula, slide the frittata from the pan onto the bottom half of the pan. Top with tomato slices and top half of bread. To serve, cut into wedges.

Nutrition information per 1/4 serving of recipe with baby spinach and plain focaccia bread:

217 calories, 8 g total fat, 216 mg cholesterol, 448 mg sodium, 121 mg potassium, 23 g carbohydrates, 15 g of protein and 10% or more of the RDI for vitamins A, B12 and C, riboflavin, calcium, iron, phosphorus, dietary fiber

Tales from the gym My personal trainer

  

No one expects to hire a personal trainer and be worse off than when they started, and yet it happens. Most gyms are careful to check certifications, but not all do.

There was the coach from Minneapolis, for example, who encouraged members of his class to jump three feet into the air.

(One person shattered a tibia and another sprained an ankle.) And a New York City trainer swears she'll "never forget" the loud pop she heard when a co-worker pushed her client's torso too far forward in a straddle stretch.

"The woman tore the muscles on the inner side of both thighs," the trainer recalled. "She needed surgery and she spent nine months in recovery."

To play it safe, Michele Stanten, director of fitness at Prevention magazine, offers these tips to help you spend your time and money wisely and avoid injury, including an alternative solution to the traditional personal trainer:

• “Make sure the potential trainer takes classes to stay educated,” says Stanten. “Certifications from organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

or the American Council on Exercise mean the instructor has invested in their career.”

• Share a trainer with a friend to save on rates that can range from $75 to $150 per hour, depending on where they live.

• Use exercise DVDs at home. Choose an exercise DVD that addresses your specific needs, follow the instructor's advice and instructions, and start a regimen at home.

With these concerns in mind, the experts at Prevention have created a DVD that offers safe and dramatic results for much less than the price of a training session.

Led by one of the nation's top trainers, Chris Freytag, the “Prevention Fitness Systems:

Personal Training” DVD ($15) allows users to create their own personalized exercise routine. They can also choose to work on specific goals such as losing weight, firming or flattening the belly.

The DVD suggests different routines for each day of the week, based on your fitness goals.