While cruising the internet the other day I came across an item on Yahoo talking about the strange tricks that people use to curb their eating.  It ran the range from painting your kitchen blue

(apparently blue signals to the brain you aren’t hungry) to tying a belt or ribbon tightly around your waist so that as you eat you’ll feel stuffed sooner.  I thought “wow.”

These things all sounded so strange to me – especially coming from CalorieKing where we advocate a steady as she goes calories in/calories out method.  Our mantra is logging your diet and exercise, and getting to know your habits so you can change them over time rather than a quick fix or fad diet. Read More »

I read a great article today from Dr. Andrew Weil where he talks openly about his experience with depression.  I was impressed that someone in such a public venue would talk about it, and welcomed it as a validation for my personal wish that more people would talk about it.

Why do I wish more people would talk about it?   First, I wish I had heard more people talking about it when I suffered from depression.  Secondly and more importantly, I see so many people struggling and suffering with it and I want them to know they are not alone.

What triggered my period of depression isn’t important.  What is, is talking about how I felt.  I was tired, crying, and couldn’t focus.  I was even pissed off that I couldn’t intellectualize my way out of it. Reason, sadly had flown out the window. Read More »

Like so many others, my unhealthy habits and weight gain crept up on me.  After having a pretty dramatic surgery I found the scale heading north with increasingly larger numbers.  Call it medication

issues, call it comfort eating, call it lack of exercise… it’s all jumbled up into one complicated mess.

So now I’ve started to unravel that mess.  I have reached that tipping point where I get that my unhealthy habits are within my control – that the comfort I believed food brought me was an empty promise.  I have been eating healthy meals and have been building back to exercise slowly over the past month.  Small steps, but an important turning point in my mental approach to weight loss.

Here’s my issue – despite the positive habits I’ve not seen much movement save for an ounce or two on the scale.  I am confident I’m not the only person who has ever felt that frustration.  I just can’t seem to move the meter. Read More »

When starting a healthy lifestyle program like CalorieKing, you’ll probably hear us talk about “taking small steps.”  Why do we talk about small steps, and what exactly are they?

First, for some like me it’s small steps that got you off track in the first place.  It was that extra muffin each day and avoiding getting up from the computer when work gets too busy.  Each of these small things became a habit that ended up with big lifestyle miss-steps.

Add to that, expecting to make a big change in a short time can be overwhelming – and unrealistic – for most of us.  Jumping in to the deep end of the pool definitely earns us credit for effort and intention, but can you keep treading water forever hoping to see a change?   Expecting something big to happen and not seeing big results are a sure way to lose motivation and fall off the wagon.  I’ve been there.  Many times. Read More »

Before reading this blog, spend a few minutes thinking about your most recent food cravings.  Here are some questions that could help you remember and focus on those cravings:

• What were you craving?
• What conditions seemed to promote or create that craving?  For example, did you smell something very appealing?  Did you see something on TV or in a magazine that prompted it?  Was it quite a while ago when you had your last meal – before this craving hit you?
• How strong was the craving?  Rate it on a scale from 0= none to 100= felt compelled to get this food immediately, even if it meant stopping everything else in my life to get it right now, regardless of cost or difficulty. Read More »

Photo Credit: Ambrose/freedigitalphoto.net

Those of you who know me will recognize the term “small steps.”  It’s what I tell people to focus on when starting a diet and fitness regimen.  If you start small – especially if you are new to exercise, you conquer achievable steps and can feel great about it.  Soon, you start building up bigger challenges and will end up with new, healthy habits you can maintain.

When thinking about starting exercise, the first thing to do is talk to your health care professional. They can provide any special instructions to keep in mind.  They may even have a form of exercise they think would work best for you. Read More »

Diet soda has been in the news recently with a report claiming these drinks may leave consumers at risk for an increased waist and elevated glucose levels which could lead to diabetes for those at risk for the disease.  So should we stay away from diet sodas as an alternative to the sugary sweet sodas?

Image: Paul/Freedigitalphotos.net

The study, performed by the University of Texas Science Center at San Antonio looked at the consumption of diet soda over a period of over a period of two decades.  One of the findings was that those who consumed over two diet sodas per day experienced an increase in waist circumference that was 500 hundred times greater than those who didn’t consume the soda! Read More »

Life ifs meant for living, and we should be able to travel without the spectre of extra inches added to our waistline.  We can and should enjoy our holidays, and trying new things – including food – CAN be a part of it.   Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind as you prepare:

CalorieKing Travel Tips

• Make a daily plan. If you choose to splurge somewhere just keep in mind where you are going to make it up – either through diet or exercise.  Before leaving, use the CalorieKing Food Database to study the calorie content of common foods you are likely to encounter along the way.  You can find healthier options – even at fast food chains. Read More »

Credit: artemisphotos/ freedigitalphotos.net

The media has been abuzz about a recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine linking long-term weight gain to certain food items, and weight loss to others.  Potatoes! They cried with the fervor previously reserved for a witch trial.  It seems potatoes have been highlighted as one of the culprits for long-term weight gain.  Other culprits were sodas, butter, refined grains and desserts.  The additional weight gain over four years ranged from one pound to 3.35 pounds.

So why were potatoes singled out in this study?  It seems those who consumed french-fries and potato chips showed spikes in weight gain, compared to the lowly spud boiled or mashed which only added about 1/2 pound to weight over the same period.  Why? Let’s take a closer look: Read More »

Credit: photostock/freedigitalphotos.net

Have you ever wondered why the CalorieKing program focuses on changing lifestyle habits?  The reason is simple.  Fad diets focus on quick fixes to shed pounds – and often you see people employing these tactics to look good for just a special event.  There is no big picture.  But is this viable?  We don’t think so.  CalorieKing understands health and fitness isn’t just about losing pounds, but rather gaining a better quality of life.

The idea of a the bigger picture of healthy living is one shared by the World Health Organization (WHO).  WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely being the absence of disease or infirmity.”  That is a significant statement.  It means that being healthy just doesn’t mean “I’m not sick,”  it means you have quality of life. Read More »