DO BLUEBERRIES HELP YOU TO LOSE WEIGHT?

I have been making a concerted effort to lose weight since mid-June and feel that I have been fairly successful since I have lost 34#. I have been in a bit of a stall for a couple of weeks, but made an observation this morning after I weighed myself and found that I had lost two more pounds. The observation was that last night I had some blueberries in a slushy, and that this summer when I was losing weight so fast, I was eating blueberries on a regular basis.

Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon? I would be interested to know.

BEWARE OF LIQUID CALORIES

From Yahoo today

Are Beverages Making You Fat?

Sixty-six percent of Americans are overweight - and liquid calories are part of the problem. Guzzle a 20-ounce bottle of Pepsi and it will cost you 250 calories...order that Starbucks Venti Caramel Macchiato and you're looking at 340 calories. Although loaded beverages can be a delicious occasional splurge (I admit it!), when it comes to managing your weight, remember to account for those calories - and moderate you intake.

Follow these three tips to avoid packing on the pounds:
1. Think before you drink
Be mindful of beverages loaded with caloric ingredients like sugar, corn syrup, fructose, milk, cream, syrup, special flavoring, and even fruit juice. When it comes to managing your weight, calorie-free water will always be your best bet.

2. Calculate the "total calories" you'll be drinking - not just one
serving.
Many beverages list calories per serving but pack 2 or more servings into each bottle. Make sure you look at the serving size...and calculate how many servings (and total calories) are included in one container.

3. Healthy drinks can also pack on the pounds
Just because a product claims to be "all natural" or contains "no refined/added sugars" doesn't mean it's calorie-free. For example, 100% fruit juice and fruit smoothies are filled with nutrition, but also often high in calories. If you're watching your weight, you are better off eating fruit versus drinking it.

Consider this: Trim 500 liquid calories from your daily diet and you'll save 3,500 calories a week. That's potentially one pound of fat lost per week and more than 50 pounds lost at the end of the year!


Total calories in popular beverages:

Soda

* Soda (20-oz. bottle) = 250 calories
* 7-Eleven Big Gulp (32 oz.) = 400 calories
* Large movie theatre soda (44 oz.) = 550 calories
* 7-Eleven Double Big Gulp (64 oz.) = 800 calories



Tea and Coffee Drinks

* Snapple Peach Iced Tea (16-oz. bottle) = 200 calories
* Arizona Lemon Iced Tea (20 oz.) = 225 calories
* Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino:
+ Tall (12 oz.) = 200 calories
+ Grande (16 oz.) = 260 calories
+ Venti (24 oz.) = 380 calories

* Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Grande (16 oz.) = 270 calories
* Starbucks Chai Iced Tea Latte Grande (16 oz.) 260 calories
* Dunkin' Donuts, Coffee Coolatta (16 oz. w/2% milk) = 190 calories



Fruit Beverages

* Jamba Juice: Banana Berry (classic smoothie):
+ 16 oz. = 280 calories
+ 24 oz. Original = 450 calories
+ 30 oz. Power = 600 calories

* POM Pomegranate Juice (16 oz.) = 320 calories
* Orange Juice (pint container, 16 oz.) = 220 calories
* Orange Juice (one cup) = 110 calories
* Naked Juice, Orange Mango Motion (16-oz. container) = 240 calories
* Odwalla Citrus C Monster (16-oz. container) = 300 calories
* Country Time lemonade (12-oz. can) = 130 calories
* Minute Maid lemonade (20-oz. bottle) = 260 calories



Flavored Waters and Sports Drinks

* Vitamin Water (20-oz bottle) = 125 calories
* Life Water (20 oz.) = 125 calories
* Gatorade (20 oz.) = 125 calories

SOCIALLY CONTAGIOUS OBESITY

If your friends and family are fat or get fat, odds are you will be also says the results of a federally funded study published in recently in the New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the National Institute on Aging. Oddly enough this appears to be true even if they live far away. In addition to poor eating and exercise habits, there is also the perception of what is an acceptable weight. Personally, I find this is also true when it comes to acceptable behavior.

Is the solution to obesity to get rid of your friends and family? Of course not! That would be the last thing that you would want to do because having more friends makes you healthier.

Some of the findings of the study were:

- When an obsese person gained weight, their friend also gained at least a portion of that amount of weight.

- Gender also played a role in that in the cases of same sex friendships, a person's obesity riskincreased by 71 percent if a friend gained weight. Between brothers, the risk was up by 44 percent and 67 percent between sisters.

Some other experts fault the study because of the small sample group and limited vicinity in which they lived. They tend to agree with my observation that people tend to go with the flow of the people around them.

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SUGGESTION FOR MAINTAINING THE FITNESS ROUTINE

To stay physically active, I think of my time like a bank account. When deadlines keep me at work late, I might borrow time from my designated fitness quota, but I have to pay that time back before the week is done. (I go spinning on Saturday morning to signal to my body that the workweek is over!)

ALLI - NEW OTC DIET DRUG HAS AN UNCOMFORTABLE SIDE EFFECT

There is a new OTC Weight Loss drug out there that has just been released. It's called Alli. The producers of this drug, GlaxoSmithKline, recommend having an extra pair of pants with you at all times. Read more about this drug and its side effects here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263093/site/newsweek/?from=rss

TIPS TO MAINTAIN YOUR WEIGHT WHILE ON VACATION

There is an old adage that "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". This certainly holds true for maintaining you weight while on vacation. Consider some of the following tips before you head out on your next trip.

- Try to remain on your regular eating schedule.
- Pack some healthy snacks like fruit or a turkey sandwich that you can eat if your schedule gets disrupted.
- Eat a good breakfast. One that is high in protein will carry you far into the day.
- When eating in a restaurant opt for foods that are prepared baked, broiled or grilled as
opposed to fried or creamy.
- Many hotels now have refrigerators in the rooms. One technique of not eating too much at
one time is when you order, ask your waiter to put half of your food in a take out container
and bring it to you when he/she brings the check. That way you won't be tempted to eat
too much at one time.
- Schedule in some time for fitness on your vacation. Walk, swim; if you golf, walk the course
instead of using a cart.

Consider some of these tips and you will arrive back home relaxed, refreshed and more likely to be at the same weight as when you left.