I’ve always considered myself to be pretty savvy about food and diet… but since there are SO many psychological layers to eating; food, body image, etc., it’s easy for us to abandon our rational brain and wholeheartedly believe things about our bodies that may not be true. Even the savviest of us all may be tempted to believe weight-loss fabrications, which is why I investigated some of the things people have told me (which I believed!) by speaking with a nutritionist.

“If you eat protein and carbohydrates at the same time, your digestion is less efficient because the stomach is using different enzymes at once, as opposed to focusing on one type of food at a time.”
–Every nutritionist I’ve talked to has said this is complete garbage. And I’m glad to hear it, because my faith in my beloved In-N-Out burger has been restored (sorry to everyone who’s not in California or parts of Arizona. They truly are the best burgers on Earth…worth the airfare, I promise). In fact, it’s better to eat both protein and carbohydrates together– the carbohydrates give you quick glucose for energy, but the protein ensures your blood sugar doesn’t drop later because it takes longer to digest. When your blood sugar doesn’t drop (like it would if you ate simple carbs alone) you won’t get hungry as fast and you won’t become a sugar junkie.

“If you eat within three hours of when you go to sleep, your food will instantly turn to fat because you don’t have time to burn it off”
–Again, nutritionists tell me they can’t believe stuff like that gets published. Read More »

I like to eat, but I also like to fit into my size 6 jeans. There lies my little dilemma. As much as I like to go running and what not, that doesn’t always seem to suffice; I mean, it would take a run from here to London to burn off the amount of cake I could eat in one sitting.

Doctors and nutritionists are now saying that the best way to stay energized, full and healthy is to eat 6 small meals a day and not the two huge ones like so many of us do. Note: 6 small meals do not include cupcakes, bags of chips and other fatty snacks.

So, how do you get through the day and not pack on the pounds? Start with some healthier snacking options:

1. Almonds and Laughing Cow Cheese. Portable and protein packed, almonds are one of the best things for your body. Pop a handful in a Ziploc bag with two wedges of Laughing Cow cheese (30 calories each) and, for under 200 calories, you have a healthy, filling snack.

2. 100 Calorie Packs. These are great on the go because they give you a quick low-cal fix and totally ease the cravings for the bad stuff. If you’re really in the mood, grab two bags. If you were to dig your paws into a real bag of Ruffles you’d wind up eating way more than the 200 calories (not to mention all that grease!) in this snack. Read More »

When it comes to dieting, so many people do it, but so many people don’t understand the process. They know they need to cut calories, but how does one cut calories when they don’t even know how many they were eating to begin with? And how do people even remember all the things they ate in an entire day? And what about the rest of us not trying to shave off a few pounds? Shouldn’t we be conscious of what is going into our bodies, too?

These are the biggest arguments for getting in the habit of keeping a food journal.

Food logs can help you stay on track in many different ways:

Drinking:
In one evening at the bar you could consume more than 800 extra calories; that’s like running on a treadmill for two hours! If you think about what you’re drinking and add it to your log at the end of the night you will notice how much you’ve actually taken in, which may prompt you to make better choices in the future…or avoid ordering that cheese bread…. (Note: no need to pull out the food diary at the bar, friends. Total buzz kill!)

“Good” foods versus “Bad” foods:
You would be surprised as to how many calories are in foods though of as “good” versus other that are constituted as “bad”. For example, did you know that a Dunkin Donuts muffin has more calories than their regular donut? I bet you didn’t. It’s surprising! Just think what else you may misinterpret as “healthy” or “better” for you. It’s easy to get tricked into thinking something is “good” for you when really it isn’t. So, researching and writing down what you eat will get you thinking about food instead of just throwing it down the hatch. Read More »

Most normal fajitas or any similar Mexican-like foods will set your number of daily calories over the edge with gobs of refried beans, sour cream, or crazy cheese sauces. Not this fajita—it has all the taste but serious health benefits as well. If you are craving something Mexican that isn’t quite authentic but that tastes fresh and delicious, this is what you want!

It can easily be a 15-minute dinner if you’re rushing, and it’s pretty versatile (any kind of bell pepper will work, the corn is optional, etc.). Here are the ingredients for one fajita:

• canola oil, olive oil, or vegetable oil (or any other oil, really)
• 1 thin-sliced chicken breast, cut into strips
• ¼ tsp taco seasoning
• ½ red bell pepper, sliced into very thin strips
• ½ medium onion, sliced into thin rings
• 2 tablespoons corn, fresh or frozen (optional)
• ½ to ¾ cup fresh spinach, rinsed and stemmed
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 1 whole-wheat tortilla wrap

To begin, put the oil in a shallow pan. Let it heat up, and add the thin rings of onion and strips of bell pepper. Sauté them over low-medium or medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until they are browned, much reduced, and beginning to caramelize. Read More »

“My diet starts tomorrow…right after I devour this pizza, plate of chicken tenders, and a six pack of beer today”

How many times have you been in this situation in college or heard one of your friends say they are going to start eating healthy at a certain time in the future? Everyone always assumes that one more greasy, fatty meal won’t make a difference. But now, researchers are proving that you are only as healthy as your last meal.

One cheeseburger can do damage to your health, reports Time. “Just one high-fat, high-sugar meal can trigger a biochemical cascade, causing inflammation of blood vessels and immediate, detrimental changes to the nervous system,” explains a study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

But, wait, don’t worry, there’s also some good news published in this study! Read More »

Okay, before you all jump down my throat for that title…This post is in reference to a real book that has been published, and is actually on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Although I find the title mildly offensive, it has truly changed the way I eat, helped me drop those pesky extra post-college pounds, and improved my health overall.

Skinny Bitch, written by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, is a straight-forward (and sometimes abrasive) book detailing their philosophy for girls who want to “stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!” I mean, who doesn’t want that? The authors go into detail explaining evidence and scientific research behind what actually goes into all types of food and definitely do not hold their feelings back!

Although the book basically preaches a vegan lifestyle (no meat, dairy, etc.), I think everyone can take something away from their overall philosophy: You should know what you’re eating and where it came from, and food that is natural or organic is better for you than all the processed crap we eat daily.

After reading this book, I decided to change a few of my own habits and the results have been amazing… Read More »

To me, afternoons are like a barren wasteland. They last for hours that can feel like days, and there’s no relief in sight until dinner. To silence the grumbling stomach, it’s important to have a snack sometime in the middle of those wasteland hours.

While it might seem appealing to grab a triple-shot mocha at Starbucks, that’s really not the best thing for our minds or our bodies to have (or, in many cases, our wallets). If you want a snack that scores high on both nutrition and taste, consider one of the following:

Pita with Hummus. You can buy your hummus at the store (roasted red pepper is my favorite kind), or make your own for cheap using a scaled-down version of a recipe like this one. Cut a slit in the side of your pita, shovel in a few spoonfuls of hummus, and you’re good to go.

Yogurt with Topping. It’s really easy to take a container of yogurt with you wherever you need to go, and yogurt has the added advantage of meshing well with almost any topping choice. Try tossing a few chocolate chips on top of caramel yogurt, fresh blueberries atop a carton of strawberry, or a spoonful of toasted nuts and honey on top of plain vanilla. Read More »

Now that you freshman ladies have a few weeks on campus under your belt, you can plainly see the difficulties that arise when attempting to maintain a healthy lifestyle (or weight) in college.

Between the late night pizza runs, pre-football game beer runs and the inability to find anything remotely healthy and appetizing in the cafeteria, avoiding the Freshman 15 is harder than anyone thought.

And, without mom and dad making you those well balanced dinners like the old days, staying healthy doesn’t get all that easier as the college years go on, either. I tried it every year I was in school, but all I knew how cook was Mac and Cheese and leftovers of Chinese take-out.

And soon my fat jeans became my only jeans and my immune system went into shock.

Enter, The Dorm Room Diet, a new book by Daphne Oz; daughter to Oprah’s favorite doc, Mehmet Oz. Daphne, who struggled with weight issues all her life, is a sophomore at Princeton and chock full of great ideas to maintaining a healthy lifestyle in the dorms.

Her ideas are sometimes obvious, sometimes not what you want to hear, but always guaranteed to keep you healthy and happy, even after a rough night on the town.

Daphne’s book is entertaining, witty and outlines a plan that includes healthy eating, exercise and vitamins. The perfect combination to keeping healthy in college. Read More »