Halloween Candy

For the most part, Halloween is for the kids.  You dress them up, go house to house and end up with a TON of candy.  And Saturday night (or Sunday morning……or all next week!) you may be tempted to dive into some of their sweet treats!  Will they really miss one or seven pieces?!!  Or maybe you bought an extra bag of candy all for yourself!  However it happened….you’ve surrounded yourself with all kinds of tempting treats!  Now I’m not going to spend this time telling you how to avoid candy or how to choose raisins or celery over the candy.  That’s great if you do!  But we all love a treat every now and then so let’s see which candy is the BEST choice! 

Most experts agree that the biggest offenders are the candies that have no content:  Candy made of pure sugar and no substance or food.  Dark chocolate, nuts, coconut……these are all real foods and can at least provide a little protein and antioxidants.  The other thing to think about it the calorie count and amount of sugar.  Some candies seem similar but one may be a better option based on calories and sugar content.  Below are some examples from Eat This, Not That and why they are or are not the best choice.

 

WORST “FUN SIZE” CANDY BAR: 
Butterfinger 

100 calories, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 10 g sugar  IT HAS MORE CALORIES THAN TWO BREYERS PURE FRUIT BERRY SWIRL POPSICLES!  Many candy bars are high in sugar. Many are high in fat. But Butterfinger has magical ability to be high in both. Adding even one “fun size” Butterfinger to your food intake every day is enough to add more than 10 pounds to your body in the next year. There’s nothing fun about that.
EAT THIS INSTEAD: 
3 Musketeers

63 calories, 2 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 10 g sugar

WORST CLASSIC FRUIT CANDY:
Brach’s Airheads (3)

140 calories, 1.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 19 g sugar  IT HAS MORE SUGAR AND CALORIES THAN ½ CUP OF EDY’S SLOW CHURNED MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP!  Here’s the basic formula for an Airhead: Sugar and filler carbohydrates, artificial colors and flavors, and partially hydrogenated oils—the source of trans fat. Dum Dums might not be nutritional paragons, but they do have two noteworthy advantages over Airheads:  1. No heart-wrecking oils, and 2. They’re made from hard candy. That means they dissolve slowly on your tongue, letting you enjoy the sweetness over time and preventing you from feverishly tearing through Airheads.
EAT THIS INSTEAD:
Spangler Dum Dum Pops (3)

60 calories, 0 g fat, 11 g sugar

WORST MINIATURE CANDY BARS:
Twix Miniatures (3)

150 calories, 7 g fat, 4 g saturated, 15 g sugar  IT HAS MORE CALORIES THAN TWO FUDGSICLE ORIGINAL FUDGE POPS!  Twix has the worst saturated fat profile of any candy in your kid’s trick-or-treat bag. Think about it like this: Each serving of these bite-sized candies carries 20 percent of the saturated fat you should consume in an entire day. Switch to Tootsie Rolls and you’ll cut your calories by more than half and trim your total fat intake by a whopping 79 percent.
EAT THIS INSTEAD:
Tootsie Rolls (3)

70 calories, 1.5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 9.5 g sugar

 

WORST MINT CANDY:
Junior Mints (1 fun size box)

76.5 calories, 1.35 g fat, 1.13 g saturated fat, 14.4 g sugar  IT HAS AS MUCH SUGAR AS 3 CHIPS AHOY! CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!   Junior Mints are hard to resist because they’re poppable; you feel like you’re getting a lot because you get to enjoy them over and over until the box is gone. What you’re actually getting more of, though, is calories and sugar. Stick with Charlie Brown’s ambiguously gendered girlfriend, Peppermint Pattie, and cut your calories by a third. (Thirty calories may not seem like a lot, but that’s enough to add more than 3 pounds of flab every year to your fine frame.)
EAT THIS INSTEAD:
York Peppermint Pattie (1 snack size piece)

60 calories, 1 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 11 g sugar

 

WORST CHEWY FRUITY CANDY:
Skittles (fun size package)

60 calories, 0.6 g fat, 0.1 g saturated fat, 11.3 g sugar  IT HAS MORE SUGAR THAN 3 KEEBLER SANDIES SIMPLY SHORTBREAD COOKIES!  Repeat after me: If it’s your waist you want to whittle, keep your fingers off the Skittles. Sugar, corn syrup and food dye—that’s all you’re getting from a package of Skittles. Starburst cuts the sugar nearly in half by using apple juice concentrate to add extra sweetness and cut down on the corn.
EAT THIS INSTEAD:
Starburst (fun size w/ 2 pieces)

40 calories, 0.8 g fat, 0.1 g saturated fat, 6.7 g sugar

 

WORST PEANUT BUTTER CANDY: Reese’s miniatures (5)

220 calories, 13 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 23 g sugar  IT HAS AS MANY CALORIES AS TWO CANS OF RED BULL—AND NEARLY SIX SUGAR PACKETS WORTH OF SUGAR!  The American Heart Association says an adult woman should have no more than 25 grams of added sugar a day. Reese’s manages to pack almost that much into one serving of these miniatures. Maybe they should be called “maxiatures”?
EAT THIS INSTEAD:M&Ms Peanut Butter (2 packages)

190 calories, 11 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 17 g sugar

 

So there you have it!  Did your favorites make the cut?!!  Have a WONDERFUL and SAFE Halloween weekend!

 

Cold and Flu

There are lots of “old wives' tales” when it comes to cold and flu season.  I know I’ve heard many of these myths before!  

Remember to eat lots of fruits and veggies, get lots of sleep, exercise and minimize stress.  This helps boost your immune system to keep you nice and healthy!  And don’t forget to wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face. 

 

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Chia Seeds

Have you ever tried chia seeds?!  They are super healthy and very easy to add into your diet. 

There are many ways to enjoy them!  You can add them to oatmeal, sprinkle it on salad, make it into a pudding or egg substitute, sprinkle it into a smoothie or shake, put it in baked goods and even on top of fresh fruit!  Chia seeds are an easy add in!

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Results

Have you been working out and exercising for some time now and haven’t seen the results you’ve wanted?  There may be an easy answer to why this is happening!  I came across an article online and they listed 10 reasons you aren’t seeing results.  Here they are!

 

Exercise monotony. 

The problem with doing the same thing all the time is that your body gets so used to it that it no longer has to work hard, which means your body will not be going through any changes.  Rather than sticking with the same classes or exercises….switch it out!  Try new things and use lots of variety.

 

No lifting, no gaining.  

While cardio is good for heart health and losing weight, lifting weights is good for turning your body into a lean, mean, muscle machine.  If you are lifting heavy weights where reaching eight reps is almost impossible, your body will be burning calories for hours after you are done.  You do not get that same benefit from doing cardiovascular exercise.  Once you are done running, that is it. So start picking up some weights and lift!

Where is the challenge?  

Do you always set your treadmill on the same speed and incline? Do you always use the same weight for your chest presses? If you do, then you are not giving your body a challenge that it desperately needs in order to see results. Start adding sprint intervals to those jogs or using heavier weights for those presses. It’s okay if you cannot run for long or can’t lift as many reps — that is good. Your body is being challenged which means it will have to work harder!

 

Food is the enemy.  

Let’s face it — you can work out like an Olympic athlete, but if you go home and gorge on pizza, pasta and cake, all that hard work was for nothing. Exercising is not a license to eat whatever you want. Be mindful of what you are eating throughout the day including those little bits of your kids’ leftover food. Every bite adds up!

 

Sipping away your success.  

Just like food, what you drink can also have an impact on seeing results. Your favorite café mocha may be like heaven to drink, but it is probably packed with lots of sugar and carbohydrates. Some juices, smoothies, flavored teas, and coffees have many calories along with the added sugar and carbs. Enjoy them at your own risk or opt for something better like black coffee, herbal tea or lemon water.

Stressing too much. 

Your emotional health can also take a toll on your physical health. If you are constantly stressing over everything, your body releases too much cortisol, a hormone that regulates stress. When you are under a lot of stress, your body reacts negatively to it. A decrease in muscle tissue, blood sugar imbalances, and increased abdominal fat can all result from constant high levels of stress. Find a relaxing activity that you truly enjoy, and do it every day to keep stress under control.

 

Not enough sleep.  

As with stress, if you are not sleeping enough, cortisol levels will be higher than they should. Make sure to go to bed at the same time every night whenever possible and wake up at the same time. You should get at least seven quality hours of sleep. Create an environment that is conducive to a good night’s sleep like turning off your electronic devices (including your TV and smartphone) and/or playing soothing music.

 

Your food is not what you think it is.  

There are a lot of healthy options when it comes to food, but there is also a lot of confusion. Some labels claim foods are natural or healthy, but they really are not. As a result, you’re not eating as healthy as you think you are. Become an avid label reader and read the ingredients first. If the ingredient list is a paragraph long, you would be wise to skip it and find something better. Foods should be mostly natural, unprocessed, and have minimal ingredients.

 

Skipping the water.  

It is just as important to stay hydrated as it is to eat right. Drinking water throughout the day will not only help your digestive system and flush things out (so to speak), but it will also help keep hunger in check. More often than not, those hunger pangs are really a cry for some hydration.

 

You never rest.  

Believe it or not, you need at least one day off from exercise each week. Your body needs time to recover, and the only chance it gets to do that is when it is not engaged in any physical activity. Gains are made during the recovery process and not when you are actually doing the work. So let your body do what it needs to give itself a break!

 

Everyone has set backs and plateaus.  Don’t let that discourage you!  You may just need to make a few adjustments to some of the things listed above!  Have a WONDERFUL weekend!