Calm Down, Shed Pounds

If your belly is getting bigger, anxiety may be to blame. Research suggests that during times of high stress, the body deposits fat into the abdominal area. That harried and hurried state also increases levels of cortisol, a chemical that can spur emotional eating. Worse, rampant stress can wreak havoc on your sleep, which may cause weight gain. Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center found that people who got five hours of shut-eye a night were 60 percent more likely to be obese than those who slept seven hours. Those who snoozed for six hours were still 27 percent more likely to have weight problems. "You can't erase all the stress in your life, but you can feel calmer overall by learning how to produce a relaxation response whenever you get riled up," says therapist Elizabeth Scott, M.S., who provides stress management advice at About.com. Here, her tips:

> Breathe S-L-O-W-L-Y
It is physiologically impossible not to calm down when you do this, because it lowers your heart rate.

> Tense Up, Loosen Up
Tighten every part of your body, then relax each muscle group, starting with your head and working down to your feet. This stress-relief technique also helps focus your attention (so you stop racing from thought to thought).

> Tune In & Tune Out
A 2007 study from the University of Louisville School of Medicine showed that listening to soothing music can help lower stress levels.

> Grab A Pen & PAPER
Studies show that people better understand and learn from their emotions when they write about them. You can also phone a pal: "Your emotions and communication skills are ruled by different sides of the brain," explains Scott." When you talk, you get both hemispheres of your brain working together to process whatever's upsetting you."

> Stay In The Moment
Do anything you can to quiet that incessant inner voice. (How will I get everything done tomorrow? Did I pay all the bills this month? Will we be able to afford those car repairs? Immerse yourself in a relaxing activity, such as baking, gardening, or walking, and think of nothing but the sensations surrounding what you're doing at that moment. The more you focus, the less likely your mind will wander into its worry zone.

4 Foods - Eat to Lose

EGGS

Start your morning with them, and you'll curb cravings for the rest of the day. Researchers from Wayne State University studied 30 overweight women, feeding them a breakfast with eggs, toast, and jelly one day, and, two weeks later, a bagel with cream cheese and yogurt (both meals had similar calorie counts). When the women had the protein-packed eggs instead of the bagel breakfast, they are 164 fewer calories at lunch and around 400 fewer calories over a 24-hour period. Cut that many calories a day, and it could add up to a 41-pound loss in a year.


LOW-FAT DAIRY

Try to have at least three servings daily. A study from the University of Tennessee showed that dieters on a six-month program who followed a high-dairy meal plan lost nearly twice as much weight (around 24 pounds) as their nondairy-eating peers, and they shed more abdominal fat too. The researchers suspect that dairy activates fat-burning mechanisms.


HIGH-FIBER FOODS

Beans, lentils, veggies, and whole-grain cereals and breads take longer to digest and thus keep you satisfied longer. What's more, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed various studies and found that participants who ate whole-grain foods had lower insulin levels. Translation: They were less likely to have constant cravings, says Mary Ellen Camire, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at the University of Maine. "It also takes longer to chew and eat these foods, which is important because it gives your body time to register signals of fullness."


FISH

It's the most filling protein - even more so than beef! A Swedish study showed that participants who are salmon for lunch consumed 11 percent fewer calories at dinner than those who ate beef for their midday meal (both dishes had the same number of calories).

Balancing on Weight

“We need to focus a little less on the numbers – weight per se – and more on the behaviors that are most important, like being physically active and eating healthy foods.”

Say you‘re physically fit, 5’5” and 140 pounds. According to dietary guidelines, you’re well within the healthy weight range for your height. But if you’ve heard about the widely publicized Harvard Medical School study of body weight and health risks, you may be wondering if you need to diet. By the standards of that study, you’re about 20 pounds over the optimal weight and have a higher risk than thinner women of developing cancer and heart disease.

In this study of 115.000 women, the authors found that the women least likely to die prematurely were those who had never smoked and weighed 15 percent less than the average American woman (or about 119 pounds, if you’re 5’5”). Other studies have linked obesity to increased health risks, but this one seemed to say that even average weight women should worry.

A closer look at the stuffy reveals that there is little cause for alarm. The increased risk was quite small until a woman was heavier than average (around 165 pounds, if you’re 5’5”). And experts point out that the study did not emphasize the women’s diet and exercise patterns, which may be more important to health than what you weigh.

“We are all genetically different, and some of us are thinner than others,” says Tim Byers, M.D., professor of preventive medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, who wrote the editorial that accompanied the study. “If you’re eating a good diet and you’re physically active, you’re going to define your own [healthy] weight,” says Dr. Byers. “We need to focus a little less on the numbers – weight per se – and more on the behaviors that are most important, like being physically active and eating healthy foods.”

If you’re not genetically lean, trying to get down to rail thinness is unrealistic and possibly in healthy because you’d have to diet stringently or exercise to an extreme to maintain that lower weight.

Glamour mgz

Soy Lowers Cholesterol

Should you be eating more?

Recent news reports on soy have touted its cholesterol-lowering powers and the possibility that it might help prevent breast cancer.

Tofu

Before you stack your fridge with bricks of tofu, here’s what you should know:

The analysis of several studies on soy protein recently published by researchers at the University of Kentucky in Lexington found that a diet rich in soy protein brought about dramatic reductions in cholesterol. But the main beneficiaries were individuals who started out with very high cholesterol levels – a group that includes relatively few your women. Studies of the effects of a soy-rich died on preventing breast cancer are underway, but experts are still unsure just how beneficial it will prove to be.

Tempe is a fermented soy bean product originally made by Central Javanese people - Indonesia

Soy milk

Soy products, like tofu and soy milk, are excellent sources of protein; some are also rich in calcium. Adding tofu to stir-fry or using soy milk in recipes is an easy way to incorporate it into your diet. But don’t feel you have to eat it. “Soy protein isn’t magic – it’s one more weapon in the arsenal of better health,” says registered dietitian Gail Levey.