Weekly Wellness
Issue 432
Featured Article
REMOVED
Fitness Tip
Support Essential for Weightloss Efforts
When you start a new workout routine or a walking program in hopes of dropping a size or two, make sure to complement your workout with a diet-support program, too. You'll be more likely to reach your goal, according to a University of Missouri study. After 12 weeks, women who joined a popular diet program lost 9 pounds, while gym members lost just 3. Twice as many women in the gym group dropped out of the study, and those who finished told researchers they had trouble staying motivated. The researchers say overweight women who join a gym just for weight loss are likely to quit because most gyms don't offer the same emotional encouragmenet found in support groups. If you really don't wish to join a support program, experts say a personal trainer, a workout partner or a life coach may provide similar benefits.
Nutrition Tip
Good things can come in big packages!
People eat more than they realize when faced with large portion sizes. This usually means eating too many calories. But, not all large portions are created equal. Larger portions of water and fiber-rich foods, like fruits, vegetables, and broth-based soups, can fill you up with less calories. Start with an appetizer. Research shows that if you eat a low-calorie appetizer before a meal, you will eat fewer total calories during the meal. Start your meals with a broth-based soup or a green salad without a large amount of cheese or croutons.
Quip or Quote of the Week
Quote
"A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness". --Elsa Schiaparelli
Quick Recipe
Five Minute Chocolate Dipped Fortune Cookies
15 - 20 storebought fortune cookies
1/2 cup chocolate baking chips
Line a 9 X 13 inch baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. Set the fortune cookies on the baking sheet. Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Microwave on high power for 90 seconds.
Holding a fortune cookie by its ends, dip the rounded bottom of the cookie into the chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off and place the fortune cookie on the wax or parchment paper. Continue with the remainder of the cookies. Place the cookies in the refrigerator to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Tidbit(s)
How Caffeine Works
Adenosine helps prepare the body for sleep by curbing the chatter between nerve cells and by widening blood vessels to increase the flow of oxygen. Receptors on the surface of the brain cells cannot tell the difference between adenosine (A) and caffeine (C). So when you consume caffeine, it attaches itself to the receptors and adenosine is shut out. Without adenosine to make you sleepy, your brain activity perks up and you're more alert. By blocking adenosine, caffeine also constricts your blood vessels, which can make a headache disappear.
See also: Should You Go Decaf?.
Food Fixes
Researchers in Sweden have discovered that you can make yourself 2-1/2 times less likely to catch colds from now on simply by eating yogurt.
One bushel of wheat can make 90 one-pound loaves of whole wheat bread.
Tasty Tidbit...
Dice up an apple and toss in 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and a dash of apple pie spices. Top with a sprinkle of oats. Then warm it all up in the microwave. Sweet!
More Cooking Tips and Quick Cooking Tips on the Web site!