8 Craziest health rumors

Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, PREVENTION, wrote about the top 8 Craziest health rumors

They are as follows:

1.) Baby carrots are preserved with bleach
2.) Working out on an empty stomach burns more fat
3.) Eating too much sugar causes diabetes
4.) Does Listerine mouthwash help keep mosquitoes away?
5.) Spicy foods boost metabolism
6.) Liquid eyeliner causes sinus infections
7.) It’s safe to follow the 5-second rule for dropped food
8.) Can cracking your knuckles cause arthritis?

Lisa's 7 Week Jump Start: Week 5 Results

After five weeks of Jump Start, I am down another 1 lbs. For a total of 8 lbs. This is how I did it this week.

1. Resiting free donuts.

2. Turning around my sabotage thinking.

3. Having a protein snack on Tuesday night, my late night, so I wasn't so starved I had to go to McDonald's.

4. Walked some extra step while running errands.

Also, this 1 lbs help me reach another bigger milestone of losing 10% of my starting Weight watchers weight.

Lisa's 7 Week Jump Start: Week 4 Results

After four weeks of Jump Start, I am down another 2.8 lbs. For a total of 7 lbs.This is how I did it this week.

1. No diet soda.
2. When I went to McDonald's I didn't get the Angus meal for 32 points. But got a McDouble and a McChicken for 20 points
3. Got some extra sleep.
4. Went to Trader Joe's and got some salad fixings. I spent 30 dollars but I got 6 salads out of that. The comparable salads at Penn Station are $9.25 each.


Also, this 2.8 lbs help me reach a bigger milestone of losing 25 lbs.

10 Ways to Beat Bloat

10 Ways to Beat by Nicole DeCoursy Mead lists 10 things you can do to reduce your belly bloat. They are:

1. Pick Potassium-Rich Foods

2. Beware of habits that cause you to swallow excess air — like chewing gum

3. Cut Starches like bread and pasta before bed time, because they may cause you to retain water.

4. The bubbles in carbonated drinks will make your belly pooch out

5. Some people have difficulty digesting artificial sweeteners, which can cause gas

6. calcium and magnesium in your diet before your period can reduce bloat.

7. To help evacuate gas,try massaging your abdomen in the direction of your GI tract

8. Nibble on Parsley

9. Pop a Probiotic, these "good bacteria" can keep you regular and bloat-free

10. Fight constipation by walking for at least 15 to 20 minutes each day

Lisa's 7 Week Jump Start: Week 2 Results

After two weeks of Jump Start, I am down another 2.2 lbs. For a total of 3.4 lbs.

This is how I did it this week.

1. Increasing exercise. I went from 8 WW activity points to 14 WW activity points.
2. Making better choices at restaurants. Not clearing my plate at the diner. I was OK letting left over fries go in the trash.

Calorie Counts on Cardio Machines

Calorie Counts on Cardio Machines by Liz Neporent discusses what you need to look for to determine the accuracy of the calorie count you get from carido machies. Here are the highlights:

1. The calorie counter on any device is, at best, an estimation of your work output.

2. At the minimum, the machine's information panel must allow you to enter your weight, since the bigger you are, the more calories you burn -- no matter what you're doing. If the machine doesn't ask you to enter your weight, the information is useless.

3. Even if the machine factors in weight, it still can't account for variations in muscularity and cardiovascular efficiency between people of similar weight.

4. None of those machines factors in individual fitness levels and the specificity of the exercise.

5. The numbers that you see apply only to you, and only for that particular piece of exercise equipment. You can use the readout to compare workouts on that machine, but don't try and correlate the information you receive from two different types of equipment.

6.Use a heart-rate monitor for a more accurate feedback.

Support in Weight Loss Efforts

Many people say a lack of emotional support causes them to struggle in weight loss efforts. Well, I use to feel that way until I reframed what support means to me. For example,

Old way of thinking: My husband doesn't want to exercise with me he must want me to be fat.
New way of thinking: Husbands allows me 20 minutes in front of his precious couch to do a workout video is a tremendous sacrifice in his mind for my weight loss.

Old way of thinking: Friend comments on me returning for seconds. She just wants to put me down.
New way of thinking: Friend is just mirroring back the concerns I have expressed to her about my weight.

Therefore, in 2010 I will focus on the good intentions of those around me in my weight loss journey versus expecting them to bend over backwards and change their habits to help me lose weight.

5 Resolutions Not to Make This Year

Here is the list Cosmopolitan.com put out

1. Quit your job and wait for a dream career opportunity to present itself.
Reality check: Suck it up and hang on to your gig for now. Appease yourself by taking a class or picking up a hobby that will make your résumé stand out, like learning a foreign language or starting a blog.

2. Change your man.
Reality check: While some relationship tweaking is to be expected (hey, few guys are natural-born good kissers), if the words "fixer-upper" and "project" could describe your boyfriend, it's time to get real.

3. Triple the number of friends you have on Facebook.
Reality check: Less time stalking your friends' friends' friends. More time catching up with buddies you actually care about.

4. Don't eat any junk food.
Reality check: Cutting out all unhealthy food from your diet will most likely lead to binge eating, followed by intense guilt, by mid-January.

5. Save more money.
Reality check: Let's be honest. In this economy, we're just happy to be able to pay our rent, gas, and credit card bill.

Lisa's 7 Week Jump Start: Week 1 Results

Here are my base line Measurements:

12/30/09

arm: 15.5 in

chest: 48.5 in

hips: 52.5 in

waist: 43 in

wrist 6.25 in

After one week of Jump Start I am down 1.2 lbs.

This is how I did it this week.

1. Sharing my entree while dining out.

2. Not eating fast food breakfast.

3. Making better choices at Taco Bell. Instead of eating "the box" and regular large soda at 36 points. I had the "diet drive-thru" special with a burrito supreme and diet soda for 14 points.

Jump Start Update

Here are the changes that I have made in the first two days

1. High fiber breaksfast of fiber one or old fashion oatmeal.

2. Sharing an entree while eating out.

I went to Weight Watchers and got a baseline weight. I weigh 251 lbs. So now we have a starting point for the 7 week jump start.

Well keep you posted!!!

Lisa's 7 Week Jump Start

Well, I have finished my first semester of Grad school. It was grueling and time consuming. I spent 7 hours a week in class, 20 hours a week studying, and 12 hours a week in commuting. I now have a 7 week break before Spring Semester.

I am going to use that 7 weeks to jump start my weight loss and recommit to Weight Watchers. I have mostly been maintaining bigness for the bast 6 months. Now I am going to get on a losing streak. I have decided to use the 7 hours of class time for exercise. I am also going to turn the 20 hours of studying into more sleep town.

I will be chronicling my journey here. I will post my stats on Wednesday.

What Healthy Habits Do You Enjoy?

An apple a day? Flossing after every meal? Taking the stairs at work? What healthy habits do you enjoy the most? Or, at least do the most regularly? Let us know in the comments!