Posted by Alexandra Pitkin on April 20, 2013 under Balanced Eating, Body Care, Budgeting, Fitness, Healthy Living, Making choices
You’re not alone. Counting down the weeks until summer arrives, only to realize that the New Year’s resolution to eat healthfully or exercise more has been put on the back burner. In a panic, you might search online for diets, hoping to shed a few pounds quickly. But can any diet help you lose weight while maintaining your energy level, health and sanity?
Let’s work together to filter out the hype and talk about some standards of nutrition and well-being that are right for you not just for the Summer – but for life.
Trend Alert: #FadDiets
#The8hourdiet
The premise of this diet is you can eat whatever and however much you want within an 8-hour period. Once that time is over, you must fast for the remainder of the day. Quite literally, this diet makes it acceptable to eat pizza and ice cream at every meal. Does that sound like something your parents would let you do when you were a kid?
Pros:
• You can eat unlimited pizza and ice cream
• Potential weight loss
Cons:
• Our bodies need nourishment every 3-4 hours to stay energized, and depriving ourselves can lead to fatigue and irritability
• May miss essential nutrients our bodies need to function
#miracleberrydiet
This diet promises you will lose a pound a week by eating sweets. To do so, you must ingest a “miracle berry” pill before eating. This pill contains a protein that temporarily turns off sour taste buds so that any food consumed tastes sweet.
Pros:
• Our bodies crave sweets especially in times of stress or fatigue to give us energy and release “feel good” hormones
• No need to eliminate any foods
Cons:
• This diet is costly: 10 pills are $15.00. Each pill lasts 30-40 minutes, so at $15 a bottle, you could spend over $300 a month
• The diet is not sustainable. You have created a habit of only eating sweet foods, therefore once you stop the pills, the need for sweets will continue
• May cause intestinal discomfort/heartburn, as highly acidic/spicy foods will now taste sweet, leading to higher consumption of those foods
#Cleanse #Detox #Juicing
These diets are similar: purge toxins and revitalize yourself by drinking shakes. Liquid diets are extremely low in calories and the majority of weight lost initially is water. Once solid foods return, so will the water weight.
Pros:
• Rapid weight loss
• May help identify intestinal distress or intolerance
Cons:
• Dangerously low in calories causing vitamin deficiencies, fatigue, and irritability
• Not sustainable for long term success
• The liver and kidneys filter out toxins regularly, making liquid cleanses unnecessary
Sometimes to lose weight, we forget about the basics of moving more along with healthful eating and choose “quick-fix” diets that not only seem far-fetched, but can lead to dangerous health problems or unpleasant side effects. iBeamforLife emphasizes that all foods can fit into your life – within reason AND emphasizes the importance of incorporating all of the food groups to ensure that you are getting enough nutrients to keep your body, mood and mind at peak performance. Let us teach you how to eat for real life, lose weight and feel great naturally, the way you intended to – and kiss the fads goodbye.
Posted by Christina Pirello on March 21, 2013 under Balanced Eating, Making choices
Maya Angelou famously said that when someone shows us who they are, we should believe them. The same can be said for food and its labeling. Some personal perspective:
When I came home from school every day, my Grandma would have a big pot of some kind of beans or a stew simmering away on the stove, simply prepared with olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs from her window sill. She served it to us as our after-school snack along with bread freshly baked by my Mother. If we wanted cookies, my Mother baked them. If we wanted pizza, they whipped up the dough and— voila!—we had pizza. We lived a life where food was respected and valued, where dinnertime was sacred. And if you didn’t make it to dinner, you’d best be dead, since that was the only acceptable excuse!
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Posted by Lynn Polmanteer on February 11, 2013 under Balanced Eating, Body Care, Fitness, Nutrition
In our fast-paced culture, the New Year is an easy time to feel the pressure for big change – especially when that clock strikes January. Gym’s are full of the well-intentioned, feeling pressure to make changes immediately. However, studies have shown that gradual, supported changes are easier to stick with over time, and result in actual, achievable goals. So Let’s leave all the January resolutions behind. To get healthy for life, it pays to “un-resolve” yourself and keep the drama out of the equation once and for all! Here are ways to get the ball rolling.
Start Today With Two Important Steps:
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Posted by Joe Wheeler on January 7, 2013 under Body Care, Fitness, Healthy Living, Making choices, Nutrition
You’ve heard the old saying – “without your health you have nothing” – well, as we head into 2013, your good health really is the ultimate gift. It’s a gift you can give to yourself and indirectly, to those you love.
Let’s focus on you.
What would you like to break free of in 2013? What would you change? Are you ready to reach for your best health? And just how do you reach that goal in a world with thousands of different diets and a million ways to get off track? Actually, that’s why we started iBeamforLife!
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Posted by Caitlin Quinn on December 12, 2012 under Balanced Eating, Body Care, Fitness, Healthy Living, Lifestyle, Making choices, Nutrition
-Seems that no matter which TV station you watch, or website you visit, you’re bombarded with tips on how to handle the holidays without gaining weight. As dietitians at iBeamforLife, we know that it’s actually about a lot more than that. It’s about your whole-health, as we say in our blogs. Imagine you, enjoying a holiday where you kept on track – not just at the holiday party, but the day AFTER the party as well.
Days after an event are prime times for low will-power. It’s used up after stressful social events with lots of temptation and maybe more than a few good reasons to stress-eat! I often hear from clients who say: “Everything was fine until the next day.” So how do you safeguard your whole health through crazy, hectic holidays? Use these Five Steps to help you maintain your personal balance while relaxing and enjoying more of the season.
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Posted by Alexandra Pitkin on November 25, 2012 under Balanced Eating, Healthy Living, Making choices, Nutrition
Creamy, delicious dairy products have permeated our lives in a big way. From ice cream to cheeses, there’s lots to love. Yet, if you ever experience gas, bloating, or abdominal pain after consuming a lot of dairy you may be in a tough spot. Or maybe you read somewhere that dairy should be avoided and decided to skip it entirely? As a dietitian, I know that lots of information, some of it not so good, floats around about lactose intolerance and dairy. It’s understandable, given the barrage of conflicting information out there. Let’s clear some of the confusion, find out the real deal and start at the very beginning with some basics:
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Posted by Lynn Polmanteer on October 26, 2012 under Balanced Eating, Healthy Living, Making choices, Nutrition, Parenting
Recently I wrote about electrolyte drinks to shed some light on what’s helpful vs. what’s hype. The next step in the series is a small but significant one … into the world of juices. Let’s check out some hidden ways you could be gaining weight from ever-popular juices, along with my best tips and strategies to keep enjoyment in the glass while maintaining your best health – for life.
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Posted by Caitlin Quinn on September 20, 2012 under Balanced Eating, Fitness, Healthy Living, Lifestyle, Making choices, Nutrition, Recipes
The air is crisp, the leaves are falling – autumn is clearly on its way. In my family, autumn means two things: football and tailgate parties. Whether it’s high school football or the NFL, tailgating and football parties are a major part of our weekend.
Unfortunately, tailgate favorites are often loaded with calories, and if you’re not careful, they can quickly undo your health goals. The average tailgater can easily consumer 1,200 calories in a single game!
For some perspective, take a look at some commonly eaten football favorites that will have you working out like a pro player to burn them off:
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Posted by Christina Pirello on August 3, 2012 under Balanced Eating, Body Care, Making choices, Nutrition, Recipes
Life’s certainly a beach in summertime.
When I walk into my gym after any given weekend in the summer, there will be body after body suffering the after effects of too much sun (and other excesses) at the Jersey Shore. How do we keep our bodies and our precious skin safe all summer long? Well, since I just know you will be outdoors, fit and active (you will, right?), there are a few things you should know that will keep you fresh as a daisy with skin as soft as dew – for life.
My five greatest tips for healthy and hydrated skin:
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Posted by Lynn Polmanteer on July 20, 2012 under Balanced Eating, Fitness, Healthy Living, Making choices, Recipes
In April a good friend of mine ran the Boston Marathon. I visited Boston that weekend with some friends to cheer on “Runner Girl” and the trek inspired me to write about hydration. The race took place on an unusually warm spring day with temperatures in the high 80s. We were hot just on the sidelines watching runner after runner and I saw a lot of spectators, including my friends, drinking sports drinks. Sounds appropriate, given all the ads we see every day, right? Well, not quite. Some tips:
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You’re not alone. Counting down the weeks until summer arrives, only to realize that the New Year’s resolution to eat healthfully or exercise more has been put on the back burner. In a panic, you might search online for diets, hoping to shed a few pounds quickly. But can any diet help you lose weight while maintaining your energy level, health and sanity?
