What are empty calories?

Currently, many of the foods and beverages Americans eat and drink contain empty calories – calories from solid fats and/or added sugars. Solid fats and added sugars add calories to the food but few or no nutrients. For this reason, the calories from solid fats and added sugars in a food are often called empty calories. Learning more about solid fats and added sugars can help you make better food and drink choices.
Solid fats are fats that are solid at room temperature, like butter, beef fat, and shortening. Some solid fats are found naturally in foods. They can also be added when foods are processed by food companies or when they are prepared.
Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added when foods or beverages are processed or prepared.
See what Dr. Luigi Gratton has to say about empty calories and healthy choices
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bE81a6vZY8

Solid fats and added sugars can make a food or beverage more appealing, but they also can add a lot of calories. The foods and beverages that provide the most empty calories for Americans are:

• 
  Cakes, cookies, pastries, and donuts (contain both solid fat and added sugars)


• 
  Sodas, energy drinks, sports drinks, and fruit drinks (contain added sugars)


• 
  Cheese (contains solid fat)


• 
  Pizza (contains solid fat)


• 
  Ice cream (contains both solid fat and added sugars)


• 
  Sausages, hot dogs, bacon, and ribs (contain solid fat)

These foods and beverages are the major sources of empty calories, but many can be found in forms with less or no solid fat or added sugars. For example, low-fat cheese and low-fat hot dogs can be purchased. You can choose water, milk, or sugar-free soda instead of drinks with sugar. Check that the calories in these products are less than in the regular product.

In some foods, like most candies and sodas, all the calories are empty calories. These foods are often called "empty calorie foods." However, empty calories from solid fats and added sugars can also be found in some other foods that contain important nutrients. Some examples of foods that provide nutrients, shown in forms with and without empty calories are:

Food with some empty calories	Food with few or no empty calories
Sweetened applesauce (contains added sugars)	Unsweetened applesauce
Regular ground beef (75% lean) (contains solid fats)	Extra lean ground beef (95% or more lean)
Fried chicken (contains solid fats from frying and skin)	Baked chicken breast without skin
Sugar-sweetened cereals (contain added sugars)	Unsweetened cereals
Whole milk (contains solid fats)	Fat-free milk

Making better choices, like unsweetened applesauce or extra lean ground beef, can help keep your intake of added sugars and solid fats low.

A small amount of empty calories is okay, but most people eat far more than is healthy. It is important to limit empty calories to the amount that fits your calorie and nutrient needs. You can lower your intake by eating and drinking foods and beverages containing empty calories less often or by decreasing the amount you eat or drink.

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IS LACK OF SLEEP AFFECTING YOUR WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS?

The total hours of sleep you get each night directly affects mood, metabolic rate, hunger, cravings, energy levels, and in turn, weight loss. If you have weight loss goals and are working hard at eating healthy and exercising regularly, to be successful t is critical you are getting a full 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. While the body is asleep it creates a hormone called leptin that is responsible for regulating hunger and increasing metabolism. Sufficient sleep also regulates the release of another hormone called ghrelin that increases appetite; therefore, adequate sleep will reduce 

overeating with the regulation of hunger levels and decreased appetite. Studies have also found that reduced hours of sleep will also result in an increase in the stress hormone cortisol, which has been linked to weight gain, most prominently in the abdominal region. Lack of sleep will also affect decision making in relation to food choices because it is believed that when the brain is tired due to sleep deprivation it demands more energy in the form of simple carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are normally not part of your “healthy eating regimen” and are usually high in sugar, calories, and unhealthy fats such as cakes, ice cream, cookies, pasta, and bread etc.

Another large factor attributed to weight loss is regular exercise and beginning each day without a good night’s sleep could also result in a lack of energy to do so. A common excuse is usually “I’m too tired to work out today, I would rather take a nap” or if you do make it to the gym feeling fatigued, the intensity level of your workout will be sacrificed.

Here are some tips for getting more sleep each night:

• Set a regular bed time for weeknights and stick to it

• Try to not eat 2 to 3 hours before bed time and avoid foods high in carbohydrates, protein is your best choice

 • Avoid alcoholic beverages, although they may make you feel drowsy, they will actually affect the body’s ability to fall into the deep sleep you need to regulate hunger hormones

Having trouble falling asleep? Sleep Now is an all natural dietary supplement containing passionflower, hops, melatonin, valerian and lavender, that helps regulate your sleep-awake cycle. Sleep Now promotes relaxation for better sleep without drowsiness, so you can rest easy.

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How much protein is enough?

Protein serves as the building block of all your body's cells. It helps repair and build new cellular tissue, oxygenates your blood and plays an indirect role in numerous other functions. Protein is one of three macronutrients you need to consume in sufficient amounts to support your energy needs. Protein should account for a certain percentage of your total calories, so 100 g of protein a day may be ideal for some people but either too much or too little for others.

Recommended Dietary Allowance

Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for all nutrients are set by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The RDA for protein for adults over the age of 18 is 10 to 35 percent of your total calories. The RDA for children aged 4 to 18 is 10 to 30 percent of their total calories. Children aged 1 to 3 should consume 5 to 20 percent of their calories from protein. There is no RDA for protein for infants.

Calculating Protein Needs

You can determine your protein needs by first calculating your total caloric needs. Calculate your caloric needs using an online calculator that takes into account your age, sex and activity level. The average American adult typically needs about 2,000 calories a day. If 10 to 35 percent of your total calories should come from protein, you would then need 200 to 700 protein calories each day. Protein contains 4 calories per 1 g, so this caloric value amounts to 50 to 175 g of protein per day. A protein intake of 100 g a day would be appropriate for adults who consume anywhere from about 1,200 to 4,000 calories a day.

Insufficient Protein

There is no defined level at which excessive amounts of protein are associated with adverse health effects, according to the IOM. Any protein you consume that your body doesn't need is excreted through bodily waste. Too little protein in the diet, however, is called protein-energy undernutrition, and it can lead to severe impairment of your vital organs, dehydration, problems dispelling bodily waste and possibly death. A diet consisting of 10 percent protein should be thought of as the minimum amount necessary to maintain health.

Protein Sources

Protein exists in both animal and plant sources. The best way to ensure adequate protein intake is to consume a wide range of meats, grains and vegetables. Fish and poultry are generally better than red meat because they have similar protein content but much less fat. Dairy products offer plenty of protein but can also be high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Try to consume low-fat dairy products when possible. Legumes, beans and whole-grain products are the best plant sources of protein, particularly soy.

Healthy Weight Loss

American culture has encouraged weight loss to the point that too many people will engage in unhealthy methods of rapid weight loss only to discover there really is no miracle fix. For as many medical issues that can arise from gaining too much weight, just as many can be found when you engage in losing too much weight. And rapid weight loss puts your on the path to unnecessary and dangerous health issues. 

Any good weight loss program will not encourage you to lose more than 2 pounds a week. Please, please do not fall for the next miracle pill, or powder, or liquid. Please do not starve yourself for two days or two weeks. Please do not cut out carbs completely. Any program that tries to convince you that you need to go to such extremes is not a healthy weight loss program. There are no permanent answers in temporary solutions.

Healthy weight loss can only be done using a plan that addresses your nutritional needs first. Change your nutritional intake and you will change your weight. Those who desire to eat sugary diets, calorie loaded diets, or low calorie diets will be more likely to revert back to their old habits within six months of stopping the weight loss diet. Dieting is not the answer to weight loss. Nutritional intake is. A healthy weight can only be accomplished by using a healthy plan.

Herbalife provides the world's leading nutritional shake mix (Formula 1). Formula 1 is all natural, provides up to 21 vitamins, minerals, essential nutrients and supports healthy weight management.

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See what Dr. Luigi Gratton M.D, M.P.H. had to say at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-WWGindkh0

Get out and exercise

The Couch to 5K nine-week plan

A week-by-week description of the nine-week Couch to 5K plan.
Week one :

Begin with a brisk 5-minute walk, then alternate 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking, for a total of 20 minutes.

Week two:
Begin with brisk 5-minute walk then alternate 90 seconds of running with 2 minutes of walking, for a total of 20 minutes.

Week three:
Begin with brisk 5-minute walk then two repetitions of 90 seconds of running, 90 seconds of walking, 3 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking.

Week four:
Begin with a brisk 5-minute walk then 3 minutes of running, 90 seconds walking, 5 minutes running, 2½ minutes walking, 3 minutes running, 90 seconds walking, 5 minutes running.

Week five:
There are three different workouts for this week. They are as follows:
Workout 1: brisk 5-minute walk, then 5 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, 5 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, 5 minutes running.

Workout 2: brisk 5-minute walk, then 8 minutes running, 5 minutes walking, 8 minutes running.

Workout 3: brisk 5-minute walk, then 20 minutes running, with no walking.

Week six:
There are three different workouts for this week. They are as follows:
Workout 1 brisk 5-minute walk, then 5 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, 8 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, 5 minutes running.

Workout 2: brisk 5-minute walk, then 10 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, 10 minutes running.

Workout 3: brisk 5-minute walk, then 25 minutes with no walking.

Week seven:
Begin with a brisk 5-minute walk then 25 minutes of running.

Week eight:
Begin with a brisk 5-minute walk then 28 minutes running.

Week nine:
Begin with a brisk 5-minute walk then 30 minutes running.
Tips on progression:
The programme is designed for beginners to gradually build up their running ability to be able to run 5K without stopping.
The pace of the nine-week running plan has been tried and tested by thousands of new runners, so you can trust the programme.
You can, however, repeat any one of the weeks until you feel physically ready to move on to the next level.
Structure is important for motivation, so try to allocate specific days in the week for your runs and stick to them.
Rest days are critical. A rest day in between each run will reduce your chance of injury and will also make you a stronger, better runner.
Resting allows your joints to recover from what is a high-impact exercise and your running muscles to repair and strengthen.
Some new runners starting the programme experience calf pain or sore shins (sometimes known as shin splints).
Such aches can be caused by running on hard surfaces or by running in shoes that do not have enough foot and ankle support.
Always do the the 5-minute warm-up walks as instructed in the podcasts before each run and check that your running shoes are offering good support.
You will have good runs and bad runs. Accept it and don’t spend too much time analysing the how and why. Even a bad run is good for you.

Check out this video about all natural products that will support your body during physical activity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ7ME_mDW0w 

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