Maureen's Tips!

5. Yogurt? Some not as healthy as we think. 

A 20-ounce Coca-Cola has 27 grams of “total sugars.” A standard, six-ounce flavored Yoplait yogurt also has 27 grams of total sugars. How much of those 27 grams is milk sugar (lactose, not harmful), and how much is added sugar (sucrose)? A Greek yogurt with no added sweeteners is 16 grams of total sugar per six ounces. That means each Yoplait has 11 grams of added sugar. So, when you consume a Yoplait, you’re getting a yogurt, plus eight ounces of Coca-Cola. Read the sugars on your yogurt labels and try to get a yogurt with sugar lower in the ingredients list.

6. Eat what our grandparents ate

Think a traditional Japanese meal (lots of veggies, fish, soybeans, and some rice) or a traditional Mediterranean diet (fish, nuts, olive oil, salads, fruit). They often ate smaller portions, too.

7. Eat, don't drink, your fruit  

Drink water, milk, tea or coffee, club soda and sparkling water. Juices, smoothies (and worse, power drinks) are super-high in calories and don't offer the fiber (fullness factor) of the fruit. Some studies show that drinking in calories can make us hungrier!

8. Escape processed sugar

More than 600,000 food products sold in the United States contain sugar, and the labels can make it sound healthier by masking it under terms like ''fruit juice,” "date sugar,'' "agave nectar'' or "blackstrap molasses.'' All contain fructose, which too much of can fry your liver and cause the same diseases as does alcohol.

Maureen's Tips!

3. Be choosy on breakfast

Make sure cereal has more than five grams of fiber and even less sugar. If your breakfast isn’t filling you up, or you have to have 3 or more cups of cereal to feel satisfied, maybe re-think what you’re eating for that most important meal of the day. Having a good breakfast, balanced with some protein, fiber and whole grains is key to making good decisions for your whole day.

4. Wait 20 minutes for seconds 

Food must move 22 feet through your intestines from your stomach to the cells that say you are full. Take appropriate sized portions and try not to come famished to a meal.

·         Eat slowly and chew food well.

·         Savor the flavor of each bite of food before swallowing.

·         Put your fork down between each bite.

·         Wait at least five minutes (preferably up to 20 minutes) before deciding to have seconds. During this time, “check in” with yourself to find out if you’re really hungry.

Here are the stats for the week of 05/20/13. These are weight loss percentages calculated from the original weigh in weight.

Megan: 0%

Nina: 3%

Lynn: 2%

Debra: 1%

Ellen: 1%

Cathy: 3%

Paul: 1%

Jodi: 0%

Betty: 2%

Tristen: 0%

Gwen: 3%

I still need weights for Edison, Nela and Kenzy.

I’m signing us up for an online competition called WorkOutrageous. On this website we will have an online competition that calculate our workouts. It’s a fun game the Alfonso turned me onto that the PA students did this last year. I think it will be a lot of fun and really competitive. The next step for me in to incorporate workouts into my routine once I’m done with my quarter. Excited!

Good work people!

MyFitnessPal App

Please take time to look at the MyFitnessPal app for your Iphone or other smartphone. I find it really helpful. The scanner function is awesome, you just scan the barcode of whatever you buy and it can be added to your daily food log in a snap!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Maureen's Tips!

1. Shop around the edges of the supermarket

And don't go there hungry. Stock up on fruits and vegetables in the produce section; grab the milk, the fish. Stay away from the aisles.

2. Compare ingredients 

In the grocery store, the greatest use of a Nutrition Facts label is comparing foods against each other: “this granola bar has 15 grams of sugar and 1 gram of fiber, while this other one has 5 grams of sugar and 5 grams of fiber.” The label can give you clues on how filling, and nutritious, one food will be compared to another.

Here We GO Northgate!

UWNC Biggest Loser Competition

This will be a 12 week competition that will begin this coming Monday, May 6th with a weigh in on the scale in POD3 in room 157 and conclude with a weigh in (room 157) on Monday July 29^th.

It is recommended that we have teams, so after we get enough participants we will create teams and select team captains. You can join the competition at any time during it. We will also have weekly weigh ins, on Monday’s in the same room in POD3. It is recommended that each team create a chart and record  the weekly weight loss. I will also create them for the blog. There is no need to put actual weights, just the weight loss each week. There is a $1 charge at the time of weigh in if you do not lose weight each week. This money goes into the pot for the winner.

Here is a calculator that we can use each week to calculate the percentage of weight lost.

http://www.shapefit.com/weight-loss-percentage-calculator.html

Our lovely dietician, Maureen Chomko, will be providing nutritional tips on the blog along the way so make sure to check in!

Please respond to this email and let us know if you like to join the competition. It’s only $10 to join, and well the hard work to actually exercise and lose weight!

Good luck everyone!

The Fun Club!

This blog has been created to help all of us who are participating in the UWNC Northgate Biggest Loser Competition. The competition will be eight weeks in length, beginning Monday May 6, 2013 and ending with a weigh in on June 3, 2013. To enter you must put $10 in an envelope with your name and weight on a card. The envelope should be sealed and handed into our manager Paul for safe keeping.

Good luck everyone!