Image: Ambro/Freedigitalphoto.net

With the summer BBQ and backyard party season upon us, the best thing for calorie counters is to meet these food oriented gatherings with a plan.  One good way to stay on top of your plan is to prepare low calorie meals for your spread or to share when invited elsewhere.  Who doesn’t like a guest with a yummy dish to share?  We’ve got you covered for all kinds of dishes from dips to desserts – and speaking of dessert, you HAVE to try the strawberry cheesecake bites…. Read More »

Image: Freedigitalphotos.net

While many people associate winter with straying from their diets and packing on the pounds, many of us find they suffer equally from summer time weight gain.  Between long holiday weekends, trips to local fairs and the ballpark, and vacation eating, many of us feel like our diets crash and burn in the summer sun.  It seems like food is part of every summertime ritual; but we may deceive ourselves into thinking that because the weather is nice we are more active than we really are.

There is nothing we here at CalorieKing love more than a good plan.  It’s what keeps us on track with our calories in/calories out mantra.  It helps us navigate those times when we can’t control all of the circumstances around us.  So, because we hold dear this love of plans, we’ve put together a handy CalorieKing checklist to help you navigate one of the most ubiquitous of summertime activities – the summer backyard party/bbq: Read More »

Eileen and Her Fitness Coach

Let’s face it, making changes to your lifestyle habits can be really hard.  It’s always helpful to have someone right by your side helping you to make the right choices, motivating you and keeping your spirits up.  I am very fortunate to have a fitness coach right in my own house – her name is Molly.

Regardless of the weather, Molly wakes up every morning at 6:16.  There is never a deviation.  She springs into action and makes sure I am awake and ready to go out for a morning walk.  I used to avoid mornings like the plague, but her enthusiasm has quickly grown on me.  I often tell her as we are taking our tour around the park that I am glad we are out as I would have missed all the lovely sunrises. Read More »

Healthy Eating Helps More Than Your Waistline

There is a lot of noise out there about what works for keeping your eyes healthy – that is aside from wearing your sunglasses to protect from the sun.  The latest talk is about how to protect your eyes from the inside by looking at what you eat and is someone who is keen on good food and how it works with your body I wanted to investigate.

What causes damage to the eyes in the first place?  In large part it’s age, but add to that those nasty free radicals out there such as the sun, cigarette smoke, air pollution, combined with high blood pressure and obesity/metabolism which can create damage to the eye over time.  These outside factors attack the health of the retina and in the case of high blood pressure and obesity the overall health of your body upon which your eye depends.

So, how do you protect yourself from the inside out?  Let’s take a look at the some key vitamins and antioxidants that help: Read More »

I love food.  I love everything about it – the shopping, the preparing and most of all the eating.  This led me to pursue a onetime career as a pastry chef.  I loved everything about culinary school and my sweet tooth got even larger – swaps just weren’t on the agenda.  Fortunately when you work in a busy restaurant you burn off a lot of what you taste, but now that I am back to my old ways in front of a computer all day, the calories aren’t coming off as quickly.  Time to diet!

A healthier diet choice!

As you would expect this knowledge that I would have to change my food habits presented some challenges to my sugar coated mind. I kept thinking – I’m probably not the lone foodie working towards a healthier waistline so what do we do when we know we have to build better habits?

Now, those of you who have met me in the CalorieKing forums know there is nothing I like better (next to food) than a good project.  I decided I would sit down and create a food lover’s – and a calorie counter’s – guide to some smart swaps and healthier eating. Read More »

Do you want to hear an alarming statistic?  Women are 100% more likely than men to seek annual exams and preventative health care.  That is an astounding figure in and of itself – now consider according to the CDC men die first from the top 10 causes of death and die approximately six years earlier.

Men, what’s going on?  Why are you so afraid of going to the doctor?  One can imagine a variety of reasons – men may fear the stigma of admitting to feeling an illness.  They might fear the unknown, knowing they have families and friends counting on them.  They may be busy.  They may be stubborn and macho. Read More »

Allan and Leenie Before Their Afternoon Walk!

Most CalorieKing fans hear from me regularly, but I know nothing can take the place of the advice from the CalorieKing himself!  We asked for your questions a while back and we were thrilled at your response.  You had great questions and the Calorie King has answered!

For those of you new to CalorieKing, Allan Borushek – our founder- is a dietitian with over 30 years’ experience in clinical dietetics and community health education. It is his passion for nutrition and education that brought CalorieKing to life and educated millions of people on smart food and lifestyle choices.  He was delighted to hear from you –our members- and was happy to answer some of your questions.

Allan writes, “Thank you all for submitting your questions and letting us know what questions you’d like to see answered. Here are my answers to some of your questions.” Read More »

CalorieKing Tips for Healthy Eating on a Budget

Between rising gas prices, interest rates and paying all the monthly debts it can be hard to make ends meet when you are thinking about planning your healthy diet.  Life is meant for living and the added stress of worrying about putting a healthy meal on the table shouldn’t be an added pressure. I’ve taken up the challenge of putting together the top 15 CalorieKing Tips for keeping your grocery bill low – some of which have come from our CalorieKing community. Read More »

Based on the last Q&A we did with “J” and his incredible success, many of you asked for more.  Not only did you ask for more but you nominated one of our frequent posters in the CalorieKing forum -  someone who is always full of wisdom and advice for everyone on their journey.  Listen to what our very own “Paperbacknovel” has to say about her experiences and you’re sure to come away as motivated as I was!

What were your weight control goals?

When I first began CalorieKing in January 2009, I weighed 268 pounds.  My initial weight-loss goal was to eventually weigh-in at 130, which I did reach, until I had an injury in 2010. I currently weigh 143. Read More »

Obesity in America

I recently started reading NPR’s Obesity Series.  Among other utterly amazing and terrifying statistics on diet and obesity was one which visually blew my mind – such as the average revolving door has over time been revised from 10 to 12 feet!  While I’m a visual person and envisioning that drove a point home for me, perhaps the numbers might mean more to others.  Here are some shocking ones:

• In 2010 there were over 72 million obese Americans
• In 2010 the amount of money lost annually attributed to obesity was $4,879 for women and $2,644 Read More »