Lose fat-lose the diabetes: 50 Fat Burning Tips from CBS News

CBS Health has a very good "50 tips" articles for burning off that extra fat in 2011. The article is presented in "gallery view" which I find annoying, but the information is good and you can learn a few new things there. I like number #38, which fits in with my strategy of eating smaller, but more frequent meals:

"#38 Stop Gorging" Your body can only handle so much food at a time, so stick to 600 calories or less per meal to maximize fat-burning, says Leslie Cooper, co-author of Flip the Switch: Proven Strategies to Fuel Your Metabolism and Burn Fat

2 glasses of water before meals = 14.5 Lbs a year weight loss...big deal or big yawn?

14.5 lbs a year seems to be a very boring rate of weight loss...but on the other hand, water is free, good for you and 14.5 pounds a year can get you to your ideal weight eventually without changing very much else in your life.

I don't see a lot of people adding a 2 glass per meal water habit to their daily routine. It seems such a "tame" method. Now, if the article mentioned adding green tea to your diet with ginseng and honey, etc., a few converts might be expected. Perhaps this is why articles abound concerning the health benefits of coffee, tea, soups and certain juices. It may be just the simple act of taking in more water every day is making people healthier.


I believe I will try and add some more of that green tea to my diet. I especially like the mango flavor. I don't mind adding more water if I can spice it up a little.

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The CNN Health report highlights these facts: 

"Dr. Brenda Davy, associate professor of human nutrition, foods and exercise at Virginia Tech, presented  a study at last year's obesity conference in Phoenix, Arizona, showing that people who drank two glasses of water 20 to 30 minutes before every meal lost weight more quickly initially and lost significantly more weight than those who didn't.

In another study by Davy and her group, published last year in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, she found that people who drank water before meals ate an average of 75 fewer calories at that meal. This may not seem like much, but if you ate 75 fewer calories at lunch and dinner for the next year, you could lose about 14½ pounds! In addition, being even 1 percent dehydrated can cause a significant drop in metabolism, which can also interfere with weight loss."

Can Exercise Makes You Smarter? Science Daily says "Yes"

What ever happened to the stereotypic dumb jock? He might be smarter than you thought.


 A  study presented to the Radiological Society of North America this year contained these interesting points: People who walked between 5-6 miles a week had greater brain volume and a slower rate of memory loss as they aged when compared to people who did not walk as often or as much.

Good Food from a Fun Chef - Mediterranean Chicken of Love

The "Happy Diabetic" is a fun loving chef, that was in charge of Cracker Barrel  Restaurant Menu development for many years. He has a lot of good recipies. Here is one...

 

Chef Robert's Mediterranean Chicken of Love

If you've ever traveled to Greece, you know all about the healthy eating habits of the locals. This dish is a rich and full-flavored sample of their cuisine, heavy with aromas from the Mediterranean.

The tender chicken, garlic, and tomatoes create a delicious combination that your friends and family will not soon forget, and it's just as good if you substitute shrimp for the chicken. This recipe is easy to prepare… and remember, it was made with love!

Ingredients

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, sliced
2 cloves of garlic
3 roma tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon oregano
10 pitted kalamata or black pitted olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced chicken and sautè about 4 to 6 minutes, until golden. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Sautè garlic in pan drippings for 30 seconds, then add tomatoes and sautè for 3 minutes. Lower heat, add white wine, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add oregano, rosemary, and basil, and simmer for 2 to 3 more minutes.

Return chicken to skillet and cover. Cook over low heat until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside. Add olives and parsley to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Servings: 4

Nutrition at a Glance (per serving)

Calories 336
Total fat 17.75g
Carbohydrate 4.92g
Protein 34.58g

Nothing to eat? 50 Low Carb Snack Ideas....

Here is a list of 50 low carb snack foods most of these are under 15g of carbs (watch the portion size) and shouldn't elevate your blood sugar too much. The rule of thumb is: Eat 15 grams, wait 15 min. & test again, to see about a modest 15 + rise in your blood sugar.

1. String Cheese
2. Celery and carrots
3. Cucumber sticks
4. Apple slices
5. Pretzels sticks
6. Popcorn (Mini Bag)100 calorie bag
7. Half a peanut butter sandwich make sure to use whole grain bread
8. Some cubes of cheese & a couple of rye triscuits
9. Peanut M&M's (very high carb and high GI - use sparingly)
10. Baked apple with a little cool whip
11. Celery sticks with peanut butter(you can find them in the store)
12. Cheddar cheese & apple slices
13. Muenster & pear slices
14. Feta & tomatoes
15. Sunflower seeds in shell
16. Dried apricots (High carb & High GI - use sparingly)
17. Bananas, strawberries, grapes(High carb)try freezing them for a summer snack
18. Arrow root cookies(limit to 15 gr carb)
19. Steamed asparagus with a squeeze of lime juice
20. Grilled zucchini with a squeeze of lemon juice
21. Poached fish served on lettuce leaves
22. Tuna roll ups in whole wheat tortillas
23. Tossed salad
24. Crunchy peanut butter toast with 1/8c raisins & 1/2 t cinnamon
25. Crunchy peanut butter toast with sliced peaches
26. Crunchy peanut butter toast with bananas
27. Coffee with cinnamon as a drink
28. Sliced radishes with a touch of salt
29. Crystal Light iced tea
30. Frozen grapes, frozen strawberries or frozen bananas(High Carb)
31. Laura Scudders 'nothing-added-except-salt peanut butter'
32. Dole fruit cups that come in a 6 pack. Freeze them and it is just like eating sherbet(contain real sugar)
33. Low fat Lorraine Swiss cheese and low salt crackers
34. Salsas mixed with low fat sour cream in a blender and then dip celery, green peppers and carrots in it. You can bake tortilla chips too.
35. Sugar free Jell-O containers
36. Little cans or containers of lite fruit with low fat cottage cheese.
37. Add bouillon(I use onion) to plain yogurt and dip veggies in it.
38. Raw carrots dipped in either tahina or organic unsweetened peanut butter
39. Raw cauliflower pieces and (plain) hummus (for dipping).
40. Hard boiled eggs
41. Deviled eggs
42. Egg salad on Wasa crackers
43. TUNA SALAD HEAPED ON WASA CRACKERS
44. EGG OR TUNA OR CHICKEN SALAD WRAPPED UP IN BUTTER LETTUCE LEAVES
45. BLT ROLLED UP INSIDE A SLICE OF TURKEY BREAST
46. MEATBALLS (COLD)
47. COLD ROAST CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS OR WINGS
48. SLICED ROAST BEEF WRAPPED AROUND STRING CHEESE STICKS
49. BEEF JERKY, SLIM JIMS, OTHER CURED DRIED MEAT PRODUCTS
50. SUGAR FREE JELLO

How Many Sugar Cubes are You Eating?

Can you visualize how much sugar is in the food you eat? You can now. The "sugar cube" pyramid project does the trick.

It is made by taking the grams of sugar found on the food's nutritional information label, multiplying that number by the number of servings and thus finding the total grams of sugar in a package. Then divide the total number of sugar grams by the weight of 1  sugar cube (4.1 grams of sugar).

Got that? Now, just take that number and count out all the sugar cubes you make yourself a nice sugar pyramid.  Better take a picture before someone eats it.

 I think this would make a great project for kids to do at the Science Fair. I teach Biology and am seriously thinking to make this an extra credit project for this year or I could have all the kids bring a box of sugar cubes and have them make a sugar pyramid/food product/photo display. We could then set up in the cafeteria. 

Then again, the kids walking by might just eat the sugar cubes. Maybe we’ll just use the pictures.

For more pictures visit: Diabetes Mine