Tweak of the Week: Portion Distortion

Do you know what a serving of meat looks like? No, it’s not the 22-ounce T-bone at your local steakhouse. A proper portion of meat is 3 ounces. Do you know what that looks like?

That’s one of the major problems of weight loss: understanding portion size. You can eat all the right foods, but if you eat them in over-sized portions, you’ll still be consuming too many calories. In a country where bigger is better and “all-you-can-eat” is the mantra, it’s no wonder we have a serious weight problem.

Several well-controlled, laboratory-based studies have shown that serving larger portions leads to eating more food. Even when eating more, people don’t report being more satisfied. Most people underestimate the amount of food they eat — and overestimate the amount of exercise they do. This is a recipe for disaster.

Knowing what a proper portion looks like doesn’t have to be difficult — you don’t need a food scale (although it wouldn’t hurt). To give you visual comparisons for suitable serving sizes, eDiets Nutrition Specialist Renee Brunetti, LD/N, gives you these food cues to properly pick your portions.

Visual examples of different food portions:

–1 medium fruit — tennis ball or tight fist
–1/2 cup of fruit, veggie, cooked cereal, rice or pasta — cupcake or tight fist
–1 cup of raw salad — the amount you can hold in two hands cupped together.
–1 medium baked potato — computer mouse
–1 cup of cold cereal — large handful or tight fist
–1-ounce bagel — a yo-yo
–3 ounces of meat, poultry or fish — palm of a woman’s hand or deck of cards
–1 ounce of cheese — 4 dice or the top half of your thumb
–3 1/2 ounces of tofu — 4 ice cubes
–1 ounce of meat, fish, chicken or poultry — 1 egg
–1 teaspoon — the tip of a medium-framed woman’s thumb (also, 3 teaspoons is equal to 1 Tablespoon)

Note: The following items expand after cooking.

–1 ounce of pasta will cook up to about 2 ounces, which is equivalent to 1/4 cup. Pasta doubles in volume.
–2 tablespoons of rice cook up to about 6 tablespoons, or about 1/3 cup. Rice triples in volume.

A recent study in the journal Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism confirmed that use of packaged entrees as part of a weight-loss diet is an effective means of achieving portion control and enhancing losses of weight and fat mass in overweight men.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Slim Your Hips: The Hot Workout!

Four-point plan for trimming your hips:

1. Follow a calorie-reduced nutrition program. This is your first line of attack in reducing body fat.

2. Perform cardiovascular exercise such as jogging four to five days per week for 30 minutes. Many of my personal training clients and eDiets members have experienced great success with a moderate intensity cardio program (e.g. jogging, power walking and video tapes).

3. Strength train twice a week for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Even small amounts of muscle rev the metabolism and stimulate fat loss.

4. Do a specialized routine for the hips. This allows one to work the hips with concentrated exercises so that when body fat is reduced, you’re left with lean, tighter hips.

In this article, I’m focusing on No. 4: a specialty workout routine for your hips (I’m also including a cardiovascular recommendation.). The key is to choose exercises for the lower body based on compound movements. Compound movements work multiple muscle groups, not just one. This burns more overall calories and accelerates fat loss. I have included one isolation exercise as almost a warm-up, but then we go right into our compound exercises.

Pay close attention to the exercise descriptions and animations:

1. Ankle Weight Standing Leg Abduction

Starting Position:

* Place an ankle weight on your left ankle.
* Stand erect with your weight on the right leg with a soft bend in the knee and your right hand on a chair or table for balance.
* Place your left hand on your hip.

Movement:

* Contracting the outer thigh (abductor) muscles, move the left leg away from your body while keeping the leg straight, stopping when you feel a contraction in the area of the buttocks.
* Slowly return to the starting position.
* After completing the set on the left side, repeat on the right side.

Key Points:

* Exhale while lifting the weight.
* Inhale while returning to the starting position.
* If you have one leg that is more dominant than the other, start out with the less dominant leg first.

Perform 25 repetitions on each side and immediately go to the next exercise.

2. Dumbbell Squat

Starting Position:

* Stand up straight with feet shoulder-width apart.
* Hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms hanging down at your sides and palms facing one another.
* Maintain a neutral spine and a slight bend in the knees throughout the exercise.

Movement:

* Lower your body by bending from your hips and knees, stopping when your thighs are parallel with the floor.
* Contracting the quadriceps, slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:

* Exhale while returning to the starting position.
* Inhale while lowering your body.
* Do not let your knees ride over your toes (you should be able to see your feet at all times).
* It helps to find a marker on the wall to keep your eye on as you lift and lower; otherwise, your head may tend to fall forward and your body will follow.
* Think about sitting back in a chair as you are lowering down.
* Push off with your heels as you return to the starting position.
* You may want to try this exercise without weights until you master the movement. It is a very effective exercise that involves most of the muscle groups of the lower body, but if done improperly can lead to injuries.

Perform 20 repetitions. Wait 45 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

3. Dumbbell Lunges

Starting Position:

* Stand straight with your feet together.
* Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms down at your sides.

Movement:

* Step forward with the right leg and lower the left leg until the knee almost touches the floor.
* Contracting the quadriceps muscles, push off your right foot slowly returning to the starting position.
* Alternate the motion with the left leg to complete the set.

Key Points:

* Inhale while stepping forward.
* Exhale while returning to the starting position.
* The step should be big enough that your left leg is nearly straight. Do not let your knee touch the floor.
* Make sure your head is up and your back is straight.
* Your chest should be lifted and your front leg should form a 90-degree angle at the bottom of the movement.
* Your right knee should not pass your right foot. You should be able to see your toes at all times.
* If you have one leg that is more dominant than the other, start out with the less dominant leg first.
* Discontinue this exercise if you feel any discomfort in your knees.

Perform 15 repetitions for each leg. Rest 60 seconds and repeat each an additional time.

At the conclusion of the above exercises (both sets), wait two minutes and go directly to the cardiovascular recommendation below.

4. Jogging or Power Walking
Perform 30 minutes at a moderate intensity. I’ve found that jogging has a great effect on reducing overall body fat and leaning out the lower body. For those who are unable to jog, power walking is a great alternative.

Perform the entire routine twice per week on alternate days of the week for six weeks while also incorporating my four point formula — and reap the rewards of slimmer hips.

Check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Unsold cars around the world

Nissan has announced plans to cut its Sunderland workforce by 1,200. Thousands of unsold cars are stored around the factory’s test track

Honda is halting production at its Swindon plant in April and May, extending the two-month closure announced before Christmas to four months. Honda and Japanese rival Toyota are both cutting production in Japan and elsewhere.. Pictured, Hondas await export at a pier in Tokyo

Earlier this week Jaguar Land Rover said 450 British jobs would go

The open car storage areas in Corby , Northamptonshire, are reaching full capacity

Imported cars stored at Sheerness open storage area awaiting delivery to dealers

Newly imported cars fill the 150-acre site at the Toyota distribution centre in Long Beach , California

The build-up of imported cars at the port of Newark , New Jersey

Stocks of Ford trucks in Detroit , Michigan

Peugeot cars await shipment to Italian dealers at the port of Civitavecchia

Unsold cars at Avonmouth Docks near Bristol

With many manufacturers on extended Christmas shutdown, the number of cars rolling off production lines in December fell 47.5% to just 53,823

Thousands of new cars are stored on the runway at the disused Upper Heyford airbase near Bicester, Oxfordshire, on December 18, 2008.

Sales of new cars in the UK have slumped to a 12-year-low and production of cars at Honda in Swindon has been halted for a unprecedented four-month period because of the collapse in global sales and represents the longest continuous halt in production at any UK car plant. The announcement comes on a day when the EU’s Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen warned the outlook for the European car industry was ‘brutal’ and predicted not all European manufacturers would survive the crisis.

Popularity: 3% [?]

5 Beauty Secrets of the Pros!

Here are your five free beauty tips:

1. Rub a damp eyebrow brush over a bar of glycerin soap. Then comb through brows to shape them and keep them in place all day!

2. To keep your face from looking overly “done,” soak a washcloth in warm water. Wring it out so it’s barely wet, and gently press over skin. It’ll blend and set the makeup.

3. To smooth out a smudged manicure, dip your finger in polish remover. The color will blend and even out on its own.

4. Power up the clarifying effects of your shampoo without damaging your hair by adding three dissolved aspirin to each application. Your hair will feel squeaky clean.

5. Intensify the effects of your moisturizer and keep it from interfering with your foundation by gently blowing on it with a hair dryer set on cool for about 30 seconds.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Top 10 “Trans Fat” Foods:

1. Spreads. Margarine, for example, contains both trans fats and saturated fats, both of which can lead to heart disease. Other non-butter spreads and shortening also contain large amounts of trans fat and saturated fat.

2. Packaged Foods. Favorites such as cake mixes and Bisquick contain generally have several grams of trans fat per serving.

3. Soups. For example, ramen noodles and soup cups contain very high levels of trans fat.

4. Fast Food. Those beloved fries and other crunchy foods are deep-fried in partially hydrogenated oil.

5. Frozen Food. From frozen pies to pot pies to breaded fish sticks, frozen foods generally contain trans fat. Even if the label says the product is low-fat, it can contain trans fat.

6. Baked Goods. Commercially baked products contain more trans fats than any other foods. Examples include doughnuts, cookies and cakes.

7. Chips and Crackers. That crispy texture comes from shortening. Even reduced fat brands may contain trans fat.

8. Breakfast Food. Cereals and energy bars often contain trans fats, even if the labels claim to be “healthy.”

9. Cookies and Candy. Check the labels for the fat content. For example, a chocolate bar probably will contain more trans fat than gummy bears.

10. Toppings and Dips. Flavored coffees, nondairy creamers, whipped toppings, gravy mixes and salad dressings typically contain trans fat.

Popularity: 3% [?]