Protein Imposters

Lots of people are under the impression that peanut butter, nuts and regular cheeses are great sources of protein. It turns out they are not the best when you are trying to lose weight.

Although these foods have some protein, they are mostly fat, so you'd have to consume a bunch of (high-calorie) servings to get enough protein. For example, to get 25g protein (a good amount for one meal) from tuna, chicken or turkey you would need to eat 100-120 calories. To get that much protein from peanut butter or cheese you would have to eat over 500 calories!

That said, there are low-fat and non-fat cheeses (cottage, feta, string) that are good protein sources. Keep the other foods in the "fat" category and enjoy them in small quantities. Remember that a serving of nuts is only 1/4 cup or 1 ounce.

80 can be the new 40

This Wednesday is the 80th birthday of Joyce Ruygrok, the Founderof Diet for Health. If you know Joyce, you know she is physically and mentally more youthful than most of us and still has the knockout figure from when she was a Goldwyn Girl in the 1940's.

True to character, she is spending her birthday week taking care of her daughter (back surgery), throwing an all-night party for her grandson (3am Batman movie with a dozen teenagers) and spending hours playing Nintendo (Wii Fitness, no less!)

How does she do it?!

You can take heart in the fact that it's not just genetic luck. I've seen her mediocre metabolism (about 1200 calories/day) and she has to work at her fitness, just like the rest of us!

Here are some of her secrets:

1. Joyce makes a splurge plan. With her active social life and travel schedule, Joyce always looks ahead to what special treats she wants to save up for. That helps her willpower in the interim.

2. Joyce weighs herself each morning and especially right after she returns from a trip. It might sound obsessive, but research shows this helps people maintain their weight better.

3. Joyce gives tirelessly & finds the good in everything. Joyce spends more hours volunteering than most of us spend working! There is conclusive evidence that volunteerism, optimism & having a life's purpose are great for health and longevity. In addition to making the world a better place, they help keep you from eating out of boredom, stress or lonliness.

4. Joyce follows the Diet for Health menus when she's at home--which isn't very often--and watches her portions otherwise.

Joyce is proof that a little hard work can make 80 the new 40.

Thanks for inspiring us, Joyce!

The Swimming/Fat Burning Mystery

If you like to swim, it's good to be familiar with the Swim/Fat mystery. No, it's not a Nancy Drew novel (as far as I know), but a conundrum about why swimming doesn't seem to help average people lose weight.

I know--it sounds crazy! Swimming uses so many muscles at once and it sure feels like hard work. Alas, research shows that while swimming is excellent for your heart, muscles & joints, it doesn't take off the pounds as well as other forms of exercise.

Some possible explanations and solutions are:

1. Swimming doesn't get your heart rate high enough, since your arms are doing almost all of the work. To fix this you can buy fins, large or small, that give your legs a killer workout and raise your heart rate.

2. The water and horizontal body position makes it easier for your heart to pump blood than when you are on land, fighting gravity. To remedy this, just swim faster.

3. Most people just get too relaxed in the water and don't push themselves hard enough.

4. Swimming--especially in colder water--increases your appetite. Studies show that people eat about 30% more calories after swimming in a cold pool than in a very warm one.
Whatever the reason, keep swimming! Just try pushing yourself alittle harder and make sure you don't overeat afterwards. And don't be surprised if you need to add some other forms of exercise to really see the pounds come off.