A Complete Guide to Keeping Your Metabolism Strong and Healthy

Learn everything you need to know to keep your metabolism in check.

Every cell in your body requires energy to function―whether it’s delivering nutrients to your brain, pumping oxygen from your lungs to your muscles during a long power walk, or producing infection-fighting white blood cells deep in your bone marrow. Metabolism is the name for the system by which the body converts the calories in food to energy (blood sugar) to perform these and many other functions.

Many factors contribute to your metabolism, including heredity. You’re born with an internal speedometer that regulates your base metabolic rate (BMR), the pace at which your body uses energy when you’re at rest. BMR accounts for approximately 60 percent of the total energy an average person expends in a day. (The rest is used in digestion, exercise, and non-exercise activities―showering, chopping vegetables, or fidgeting.) “We are not sure what makes people different in terms of metabolism; the genes determining that have yet to be identified, but it’s being explored,” says Gary Miller, PhD, associate professor of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Read more

Eat to Beat the Blues

We’ve all turned to food after a bad day. But instead of reaching for whatever seems soothing, eat something that science shows may truly lift your spirits.

• Pick fruit, vegetables, fish and other whole foods. In a recent study of close to 3,500 men and women published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, those who reported eating a diet rich in whole foods in the previous year were less likely to report feeling depressed than those who ate lots of desserts, fried foods, processed meats, refined grains and high-fat dairy products. Previous studies have shown that antioxidants in fruits and vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids in fish are associated with lower risk of depression. Folate, a B vitamin found in dark green vegetables like spinach, beans and citrus, affects neurotransmitters that impact mood. It’s possible that the protective effect of the whole-food diet comes from a cumulative effect of these nutrients, says lead study author Tasnime N. Akbaraly, Ph.D.
• Go ahead: order the bagel. In a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who for a year followed a very-low-carbohydrate diet—which allowed only 20 to 40 grams of carbs daily, about the amount in just 1⁄2 cup of rice plus one piece of bread—experienced more depression, anxiety and anger than those assigned to a low-fat, high-carb diet that focused on low-fat dairy, whole grains, fruit and beans. Researchers suspect that carbs promote the production of serotonin, a feel-good brain chemical. Also, the challenge of following such a restrictive low-carb diet for a full year may have negatively impacted mood, says study author Grant D. Brinkworth, Ph.D. Read more
  

Fight Halloween Candy Cravings

Tempted by those little Halloween cadies? Learn what its going to take for you to burn off those extra calories.

Here are the calories for some Halloween candies:
Nestle’s Crunch – Fun Size 3 bars=210 calories
Peanut M&M’s – Fun Pack 2 bags=80 calories
M&M’s – Fun Pack 2 bags=180 calories
Snicker’s – Fun Size 2 bars=160 calories
Milky Way – Fun Size 2 bars=150 calories
Kit Kat – Fun Size 2 bars=100 calories
Hershey Chocolate Bar – Fun Size 1 bar=90 calories/ 5grams of fat
Reese’s Cup – 1 cup=80 calories
Butterfinger – Fun Size 1 bar= 100 calories
Twix – Fun Size 1 bar= 80 calories
York Peppermint Pattie – 1 pattie=70 calories
Twizzlers – 1 treat size pkg= 45 calories
Almond Joy – 1 snack size bar = 90 calories
Milk Duds – 1 treat size box = 40 calories
Butterfinger – 1 snack size bar = 100 calories
Milky Way – 1 snack size bar = 90 calories
SweetTarts – 1 treat size pkg. = 50 calories
1 Tootsie Pop – 1 pop = 60 calories
1 Tootsie Roll – 1 small roll = 13 calories

Note: Calorie content is based on 1 serving of Halloween snack or fun size packages, not full size servings found in the candy aisle.

If you are not worried about all of these extra calories over the next week that is fine, but if you would like to avoid Halloween candy and the calories that they offer here is a few tips.

1. Change the way that you think about the little Halloween candy. Most of us will associate these candies with childhood and that carefree feeling, instead think of them as something that will raise your blood sugar and make you jumpy.

2. Eat properly so you can stay away from Halloween candy. If you keep yourself on track for eating then avoiding the Halloween candy is easier because you will not be hungry.

3. Only buy the Halloween candy that you do not like. What may be tough for someone to resist may not be too hard for you to resist.

4. Decide what you are willing to eat ahead of time. Look at the list above, there are some good decisions that you can make that will stop you from making this a weight gain holiday by eating the right Halloween candy. I am a big fan of Tootsie Rolls and those are apparently OK to eat.

5. Just stay away. there is some willpower involved in not eating the things that we are not supposed to eat. Have some willpower and you can stay away from treats, it is only a one week holiday anyway, right?


Cancel Out Candy Calories in 3 Moves

TRY: Mountain Climber
Start in plank position (hands and toes on floor, back straight, abs engaged). Bring right knee to chest and tap toe on floor; straighten leg. Repeat with left knee. Do for 3 minutes.

Burn off: 70 calories, or 13 pieces of candy corn.

TRY: Power Jump

Stand with feet 6 inches apart. Squat, then push up, leaping forward and as high as you can. Repeat, jumping to the left, back and to the right. Do 25 rounds.

Burn off: 80 calories, or two Snickers Minis.

TRY: High March
Extend arms while holding a candy-filled pumpkin. March in place, bringing knees up as high as you can for 2 minutes (without spilling candy!). Rest 1 minute. Do 3 sets.

Burn off: 40 calories, or one mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

To find out how long it takes to burn off that Halloween candy, click here.

Source:
Evil candy calories: http://ow.ly/wPf6
Candy Lovers' Calorie Blast: http://ow.ly/wPBm