Posts Tagged ‘diet’

Time for school, time for you, time to reset.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Face & Body , Refreshing Experts

With the lazy days of summer behind us, you’re probably packing lunches for school, helping with homework and coordinating after-school activities. Things can get a little crazy this time of year, but there are some great ways to handle it.

A common challenge for parents is balancing commitments and responsibilities with quality time and activities for yourself. So as the school rush starts, don’t forget to take some time out for YOU. Taking time to recharge your batteries is rejuvenating, keeping you relaxed and focused on enjoying life!

Follow a few of these tips below and start the school year off right!

Focus on a happy and healthy lifestyle. Find some new, tasty and healthy recipes by frequenting a health-oriented cooking website. (We love Cooking Light.) Start a family fitness challenge. Grab some fresh produce from a farmer’s market and enjoy a picnic with your family. Check out our Comprehensive Weight Management Program if, once and for all, you’d like to lose that extra weight. And don’t forget to soak up the last days of wonderful weather because it ain’t gonna last.

Spend time with yourself. Read a book, take a quick nap, hit some trails for a long walk or find a favorite bike path. Take time out to listen to your body, your mind, and prioritize what’s important. Find some quiet. Remember that thing you’ve always wanted to do, but couldn’t find the time? Carpe diem! Care of the self is an important part of healthy daily life.

Get that glow. When was the last time you treated yourself to a professional facial? (It’s a great way to relax while helping you achieve a clear complexion and glow.) With plenty of options to choose from at our Essentials Skin Care locations, you’ll feel and look refreshed and ready to take on the world–or walk the red carpet! You’ll get some amazing makeup recommendations, too, and maybe even some time-saving application tips.

Get some much-kneaded relief. When your schedule is packed, an hour-long massage can do wonders. There are lots of benefits to massage therapy. From de-stressing to finding out what complete relaxation feels like, mark your busy calendar for a much-needed massage.

Update your look. It’s amazing how one accessory or beauty product can make us look, and feel, like a million bucks. What about those glasses you’ve been eying for a few months? Or that beauty product you’d like to try? Now’s the time to indulge in something just for you.

Even MORE ways to control cravings.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Refreshing Experts , Weight

Our last post about not letting food cravings ruin your weight loss progress really struck a nerve. “Give us more!” you said. OK, here’s more.

Let’s recap: It’s 2:00 p.m. and your brain says, “Cheetos time!”

Summoning a bit of willpower, you open your desk drawer only to find some boring granola bars and a box of month-old dried gritty raisins. You know you should probably choose the granola bar, yet you yearn for the salty, crunchy, finger-staining snack.

Resistance is NOT futile.

What do you do?

Why breakfast matters: More energy, better weight control, better concentration. And that’s just the beginning.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Gallery , Weight

Remember the Farmers’ Almanac? Aside from wild-guess predictions about how hot the summer will be or how much snow is likely to fall next December, there’s always some solid and timeless advice.

Four ways to control cravings

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Gallery , Weight

We’ve all been there. It starts out small. “Ooh, this cookie looks good,” you think. Then, a little while later, after thinking about it non-stop, you have not one, but fourteen cookies.

The culprit? Cravings, with a capital C.

Don’t beat yourself up. Heck, sometimes it’s good to give in to your cravings – in moderation. Here are a few tips to help keep cravings at bay when they come knocking again.

1. Play the waiting game. Since most cravings disappear within 10-15 minutes, try to find an activity to forget your fattening friend. If you find something to occupy your time, chances are you’ll forget about the craving altogether. Clean out your shoe closet (to make room for more, of course), call a friend, take a quick walk, read a good book – you get the idea.

2. Don’t skip meals. Oftentimes, uncontrollable cravings are the result of real hunger. When your body goes for long periods of time without fuel, it’s more difficult to make good eating decisions. That’s when you cave. Instead of choosing a sensible salad for lunch, you’ve binged on vending machine food because you just couldn’t take the hunger for one more second. When you eat three meals a day and drink plenty of water, your cravings will be less likely to surface.

3. Stop dieting. Yep, you just read that. Willpower will only take you so far. Eating mostly nourishing and healthy foods, controlling your portions and doing some real sweat-inducing exercise is the path to lasting weight loss. You don’t have to be 100% perfect all the time. Your goal should be a healthy trend, not adherence to overly strict, no-exception rules. That’s why it’s A-OK to treat yourself once in a while. You deserve it!

4. No more eating in front of the TV. Sometimes it’s hard to stop and have a meal at the table, but if you eat in front of the television, chances are you’ll get so caught up in the next catfight, sports highlight or news story that you’ll lose track of how much food you’ve actually consumed. Make your eating mindful and pleasurable, not a background activity.

The bottom line? Cravings will never disappear, but with these tips you can keep them manageable.

Three words of advice for this weekend’s cookout.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Gallery , Weight

Hold. The. Mayo.

Nothing beats the traditional summer weekend cookout, especially here in Madison when summer seems to fly by so quickly.

So the grills heat up, and the delectable dining takes over. Of course, there are lots of special little extras — condiments — that can add up pretty quick.

Let’s take a look at how just two tablespoons of various condiments add up:

Ketchup: 30

Yellow mustard: 0

Dijon mustard: 28

Honey mustard: 20

Sweet pickle relish: 39

Mayo: 180

Hot sauce (like Frank’s or Tobasco): 0

Fresh salsa: 20

Sauerkraut: 5

One slice of American cheese: 94

Did the mayo jump out at you? It should. At a whopping 180 calories, ask yourself if it’s really worth it. (Hey, sometimes it is. We’ve all been there.)

Instead, opt for mustards, fresh produce like tomatoes and dark green lettuce, and almost any kind of hot sauce or salsa.

This weekend, enjoy the wonderful foods of the season and be sure to include lots of fruits and veggies. But be careful with needless extra calories. Just remember those three little words: Hold the mayo.

The Dean Comprehensive Weight Management Program is chock-full of great tips like this. Whether you’re looking to lose 20 pounds or 200, there’s a path for you. There’s also an incredible staff, tons of support, great information and everything you need to make a healthy, long-lasting change for the better. Check out the Dean Comprehensive Weight Management Program here.

It doesn’t show signs of stoppin’: The annual barrage of popcorn tins.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Gallery , Weight

Fair warning, people: It’s just a matter days before one of those shiny metal popcorn tins finds its way into your life. You’ll find them mysteriously appearing at work, in conference rooms, on kitchen counters and coffee tables.

This hallmark of the holidays is designed to tempt you with equal parts cheese, caramel and butter. And like a powerful black hole, it sucks us in with a 100% success rate. But hey, popcorn’s healthy, right? Right?

Obviously, this presents an important question: Of the three scrumptious flavors, which one is most likely to keep your diet intact?

Dietary guidelines say a serving of popcorn is about two cups, so we’ll use that for all of the flavors. Here are the numbers:

Cheese popcorn: 170 calories, 13 grams of fat, 210 milligrams of sodium, 11 grams of total carbs.
Butter popcorn: 160 calories, 12 grams of fat, 160 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of total carbs.
Caramel popcorn: 100 calories, 2 grams of fat, 135 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of total carbs.

Bottom line: In total calories, surprisingly, the caramel corn comes out on top. If carbs are a concern, then the cheese or buttered options get the nod. Oh yeah… those are conservative numbers up there, and super-gourmet brands typically add more of their delicious toppings, so keep that in mind.

We soooooooo wish this had a happier ending, but the truth is that none are particularly good, and moderation is still the best option regardless of your choice.

Actually, there’s much more satisfying option: Pick up a calorie-free Dean Martin album, make the popcorn yourself, go very light on the butter and salt, and save at least 50 calories per serving.

POLL: Bacon-flavored lattes?

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Gallery

We couldn’t possibly make this up.

You know when you occasionally treat yourself to a latte at an awesome local coffee shop, you might add a little hazelnut syrup? Or maybe a splash of vanilla or caramel? Or maybe you go with the spirit of the season and have the barista toss in a bit of pumpkin-flavored syrup? Yummy, right?

Well, one of the industry-leading producers of that syrup — Torani — has introduced a new flavor: Bacon.

No one will deny bacon its rightful place in pop culture, and certainly, it HAS made a resurgence of late. But bacon-flavored lattes? Really?

Tell us what you think. Like all Refresh You polls, this is totally anonymous.

Tricia’s blog: Here’s an excellent tool for keeping track of calories in and out.

By tricia   Category: Refreshing Stories , Weight

Our guest blogger, Tricia, provides a word-for-word account of the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) program at Dean Clinic, part of the Comprehensive Weight Management program. If you’ve been reading along, you know that’s a fake name, but she’s absolutely a real person.

Last time I promised I’d tell you about a great resource that has helped me a lot. In fact, it’s been absolutely golden.

Ladies and gentlemen, CalorieKing.com.

One of the ways I can gain weight easily is by going into pretty powerful denial about what and how much I am actually eating.  CalorieKing is a really easy (and free) program that helps you track exactly what you are eating – and subtract calories burned exercising – so you can’t get away with denial. It’s really helpful. When I am working on my laptop at night or checking Facebook after dinner, I just jump over to CalorieKing and enter the info. It’s quick and really simple. And it doesn’t let you get away with anything!

So I continue on, in maintenance mode.  Ideally, in maintenance, you continue to lose weight since the calorie levels are still low. Because I have been struggling (and perhaps because I am exercising) I have put on five pounds. Not what I’d like to report, but I am still winning the battle.

At times I wish I was back in the low-calorie part of the program. No decisions to make. No portions sizes to worry about. I loved having all that extra energy to redirect to other parts of my life. But – I’m here. I keep learning. And I have the support of the program staff whenever I need it. If you are considering the program—DO IT! You won’t regret it.

Stay tuned… there’s much more to tell you about my adventure.

To see all of Tricia’s posts and her complete journey through the Very Low Calorie Diet at Dean Clinic’s Comprehensive Weight Management Program, use the search word “Tricia” in the search box in the upper right. To learn more about the program or get started yourself, click here and have a look.

Football food: You need a game plan or your diet gets penalized.

By The Refresh You Staff   Category: Gallery , Weight

Football is brutal, especially on diets. And when you live in a state filled with rich pregame traditions (and by rich pregame traditions we mean creamy fat-laden cheese-globbed bacon-covered traditions), a good game plan is essential.

So this fall, whether you’re attending a tailgate on Regent Street, hitting the local sports pub in Monona or entertaining fellow fans at your home, don’t let your diet get, um, sacked.

We’re not suggesting you nosh on salad and drink ice water in a sea of burgers and beer, but there are some ways to keep things under control.

PERSONAL FOUL: UNNECESSARY CALORIES.

Items labeled as fried, crispy, creamy and cheesy aren’t going to be the most healthful options. Before your festivities get under way, try eating an apple (or another fiber-filled snack) to avoid showing up hungry. And it really does make a difference when you sub out a side of deep-fried onion rings for steamed broccoli or opt for the no-cheese, no-mayo version of a sandwich.

PERSONAL FOUL: HARD-TO-MONITOR PORTION SIZES.

When you’re with a bunch of people, it’s easy to chow down on a appetizer and assume you didn’t consume many calories because everybody’s eating it. For example, an order of hot spinach and artichoke dip with chips packs as much as 1,200 calories and 90 grams of fat. So  even if you split it four ways, that’s 300 calories per person. Ouch. Instead, opt for foods you can eat by the piece.


PERSONAL FOUL: NOT SPLITTING.

OK, so you don’t want your friends to give you a hard time for ordering a tiny salad with light dressing, but you know you don’t really need a big ol’ hamburger with fries, especially if you’ve snacked on the appetizer. See if a friend wants to split your meal with you or ask the waiter to put half in a to-go box before bringing it out. You won’t miss the calories one bit, especially with the destraction of the game.


PERSONAL FOUL: FAILURE TO PLAN AHEAD.

If you know where you’re going ahead of time, check out the nutrition information, choose what you’re going to order and then do it. Most restaurants have some healthful, lower-calorie, non-salad options available. For example, Buffalo Wild Wings has a grilled chicken sandwich that weighs in at only 470 calories and 7 grams of fat (without fries, of course). Not the greatest, but way better than huge sandwiches.

PERSONAL FOUL: FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND HOW MANY CALORIES ARE IN THE DRINKS. We all know that football and beer go hand in hand, but those empty calories can add up quickly. With light beers, you can be well under 100 calories for a 12-ounce serving — not bad if you limit yourself to one or two over the course of the event. Microbrews, on the other hand, can get close to 200 calories per serving. With other types of alcohol, especially when mixed with a sugary base, the calories per serving can be outrageous. Just do some investigation and planning before the event, and you’ll instantly know your limits.

With these tips, football season doesn’t have to be the end of diet season. For your next tailgate, see if you can make some healthy, positive changes.

Enjoy the game!

Stephanie’s blog, part 6: Sure, I’m on the Very Low Calorie Diet, but my family isn’t.

By Stephanie   Category: Refreshing Stories , Weight