Metabolism and Weight Management

Metabolism

If you have the opportunity to have your metabolism measured by a professional, it may be worth the extra effort and small fee to know exactly what your caloric needs fall. These tests are simple breath tests by a device called the bodygem. There are many caloric formulas available on the Internet, which are created for the general public; however, much like the mass diet programs available, they do not take into account the unique factors of each individual that impact metabolism.

Why is metabolism different among different individuals? Not only is metabolism affected by weight, age and gender (which most on-line calculators use to compute), body composition or the ratio of muscle to fat significantly impacts the rate that calories are metabolized. In addition, hormone levels can influence how your body uses the nutrients and calories consumed.

If you simply trust a quick Internet formula you may be eating too much or too little for what you need (or what your body needs) in order to meet your fitness goals. For example, two women weigh exactly the same and are the same height, yet have very different calorie requirements. If they follow the same weight management plan, one may gain weight, remain the same, or lose weight when she was simply trying to maintain her weight.

Knowing your metabolic rate gives you an accurate daily calorie target. Regardless of whether you are trying to gain muscle, lose weight, or become more trim and fit, you will know exactly what your needs are and begin to adjust your diet with accuracy.

Foods Without High Fructose Corn Syrup

As always, I am fighting against the impact of High Fructose Corn Syrup in our food. If you haven't visited HighFructoseFighter.com you may want to take a minute to learn about why you want to avoid HFCS. Below is a list of foods that do not have High Fructose Corn Syrup...Yea! Vote with your dollars and fight High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Baking and Cooking Ingredients:
•Betty Crocker 7-Layer Bar(mix)
•Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Brownie mix
•Betty Crocker cake icing
•Bisquick

Beverages
•Northland Cranberry Juice
•China Cola
•Dr.Pepper(original formula)
•Jones Soda (recently announced that they were going back to real sugar)
•Goose Island soda (Root Beer, Orange Soda)
•Calistoga Juice Squeeze
•Simply Orange juice products
•Simply Lemonade
•Tropicana OJ
•Nestle NesQuik Chocolate Milk Mix
•Nestle "Abuelita" Chocolate Syrup (Hispanic Section)
•R.W. Knudsen Recharge (sports drink)
•Fuze Drinks
•TeaZazz
•Vivi Smart Soda

Bread
•Pepperidge Farms whole grain honey oat
•Nature's Own Sugar Free 100% Whole Grain bread link
•Nature's Own -Honey 7 Grain link
•Nature's Own 100% whole wheat link
•Martins Potato breads and rolls
Thomas's Low Carb English Muffins
•Thomas Hearty Grain Honey Wheat English Muffins (?)
•Nature's Own -Healthline SugarFree Wholewheat
•Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain breads (in freezer section)
•Francisco International Extra Sour Dough bread (the regular Sour Dough does contain hfcs)
•Pepperidge Farm Honey Wheatberry
•Milton's Wheat and Multi-grain bread
•Bagels from a local Jewish bakery
•Kirkland brand (Costco) multigrain bread
•Sara Lee Cinnamon Raisin
•Pepperidge Farm whole grain bagel
•Matthew's All Natural Bread
•Amana Multi Grain Bread
•Country Hearth 12-Grain Bread
•Earth Grains 100% Natural 7-Grain Bread
•Orrow Wheat Light 100% Whole Wheat
•Rays New York Bagels
•Whole Foods store brand hot dog and hamburger buns (they are whole wheat)
•FlatOut Bread
•Alternative Bagel --- sweat wheat

Breakfast Cereals
•Post Grape-Nuts
•Life Cereal/Cinnamon Life
•Quaker Oatmeal
•Cheerios
•Most cereals labeled "Organic"
•Kashi Go Lean (original and Crunch)
•Barabara's Puffins
•Chex Cereals (Wheat, Rice and Corn)
•Kroger Apple Dapples
•Post Honey Bunches of Oats
•Great Value fruit and cream instant oatmeal
•Mom's Best Natural Cereals (all varieties) link

Breakfast Pasteries / Waffles / Bars
•Eggo Nutrigrain Blueberry
•Kashi Go Lean and Heart to Heart Waffles
•The TLC granola bars, by Kashi, all are HFCS free
•Bisquick Mix

Candy
•Lindt Lindor truffles (balls)
•Cost Plus World Market has a lot of imported candy from Germany
•Kellogg's Yogos Bits

Condiments
•Heinz organic tomato ketchup
•French's Worcestershire
•Farman's pickle relish
•Mt. Olive Hamburger dill chips
•Annie's Natural Organic Ketchup
•Frenchs Honey Dijon Mustard
•Woeber Sweet And Spicy Mustard
•Consorzio Bbq Sauce Organic Original
•Whole Foods 365 Ketchup (both regular and Organic)
•Kroger coctail sauce

Cookies and Cakes
•Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies -- plain and the new chocolate
•Kedem Tea Biscuits (reg. and chocolate) --- found in the Kosher section
•Paul Newman sandwich cookies
•Kashi line of cookies
•Back to Nature peanut butter sandwich cookies
•Destrooper Almond Thins Cookie
•Destrooper Butter Crisp Cookies
•Keebler Pecan Sandies Cookies
•Keebler Simply Sandies Cookies
•Lu Le Petit Beurre Cookies
•Lu Scottish Recipe Shortbread
•Mi-Del Snaps Ginger
•Newmans Wheat Free Fig Newton Cookies
•Newmans Own Ginger Os Ginger N Creme Cookies
NewmanS Own Alphabet Cookies
•Pepperidge Farms Butter Chessman Cookies
•Pepperidge Farm 100% Natural Varieties

Chocolate
•Cadbury - Most Varieties
•Hershey's Symphony
•Hershey's 100 Calorie Wafer Bar
•Hershey Skor Candy Bar
•Hershey Special Dark Candy Bar
•Dove - Most varieties
•Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
•Most Imported (Europe) and Organic chocolate

Crackers
•Annies - Cheddar cheese bunnies and honey graham bunnies
•Wasa Crisp Breads (all varieties)
•Atheno's baked pita chips
•Stacey's Naked Pita bread chips
•Dare Vinta Crackers
•Triscuits
•Great Value (Walmart's brand) cracked wheat rounds
•Stone Ground (the white square crackers from Canada)

Dairy
•Brown Cow vanilla yogurt
•Southern Home Nonfat Plain Yogurt
•Dannon Plain Yogurt*
•Mountain High Yogurt
•Dannon All Natural Vanilla Yogurt
•Dannon All Natural Coffee Yogurt
•Horizon Organic Fat Free Yogurt
•Nancys Reduced Fat Plain
•Nancy's Whole Milk Honey Yogurt
•Stoneyfield Farm Yobaby Yogurt

Fruits and Vegetables - Canned
•Motts Natural (No Sugar Added)Apple Sauce
•Most no sugar added packed fruit (check labels)

Granola Bars
•Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch bars
•Kashi Bars
•Odwalla Bars

Ice Cream
•Breyers - All Natural Coffee
•Breyers - All Natural Cherry Vanilla
•Breyers - All Natural Mint Chocolate Chip
•Luigi Italian Ice

Jam, Jelly, Syrup, Spreads
•Skippy Peanut Butter
•Costco makes an organic peanut butter
•Whole Foods brand peanut butter
•Karo Dark (with Blue label)
•Karo Brown Sugar syrup
•Hero Jams (from Swizterland)
•Darbo Jams (from Austria)
•Whole foods brand (365) strawberry jam
•Sarabeth Jam
•Smuckers organic grapy jelly
•Safeway "O" Organics Maple Syrup
•Harry and David Ancho sweet chili peper spread

Pastries
•Ask Local Bakeries

Salad Dressings
•Great Value (WalMart) Zesty Italian Dressing
•Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise
•HIdden Valley Ranch Old Fash.Buttermilk
•Blue Plate Mayonnaise
•Ken's Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing
•Annie's Naturals organic papaya poppyseed salad dressing.
•Annie's Naturals Goddess Dressing
•Brianna's Homemade Blush Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
•Drew's Salad Dressings
•Most Neumann's varieties
•Kraft Honey Dijon Vinaigreette, dressing & marinade
•Kraft Balsamic Vinaigreette, dressing & marinade

Sauces
•Barilla Pesto
•Ken's Steak House Honey Teriyaki Marinade
•Kikkoman Soy Sauce
•Soy Vey Very Very Teriyaki
•Bullseye BBQ sauce Original

Snacks
•Frito's corn chips
•Natural Cheetos

Soups
•Annie's Organic Soups

New Year's Resolutions Re-visited

Today was the first day of the demise of New Year's Resolutions at the gym. How do I know? It was no longer difficult to find a parking space when I pulled into the parking lot at the gym this morning. I knew it was coming, it does every year, but today I was sad thinking that once again the goal to be healthier only lasted a few weeks for so many people.

Here are a couple of insights into how to keep your New Year's Resolutions after the novelty has worn off.

1. The key to change is to focus on what you are doing right. When you do well, or stick to your word, it gives you confidence. Confidence breeds success. Keep a Success Journal. Each night right down everything you did right during the day and re-read those entries to inspire and motivate you to keep going. Remember, success can be measured in little, tiny accomplishments.

2. Believe in the process knowing that it is going to be hard. You have not failed because it is hard. You have not failed because you are tempted by brownies at work. You have not failed because this morning you wanted to push the snooze button one more time. Sometimes we believe that being tempted is failure. Not so. Change is difficult at best. Go into it knowing that it is going to be hard and develop a strategy for those hard moments. You will be tempted!

3. Check it off. Often we become immobilized and don't know where to begin once we have slid off of our plan. Get a small index card and write 3 simple tasks that you will do today towards your goal. Each task gets a big check mark. The one check mark will feel like a victory and usually gives you the emotional boost you need to move on to the next.

Do not abandon your goals! Get up and get going again.