I LOVE chocolate in all its glory – milk, white, dark, with nuts, in liquid form, smothered on a piece of fruit, yum! But knowing that it can be good for my health is a definite plus. I would try to put it in everything, just like I do with chia seeds. However, it is not the quantity of chocolate you eat to access those health benefits, but the specific compounds in chocolate itself.

Truth is, chocolate is too good for us to be feared by us. It’s time to de-demonize this delectable treat, which has a long history of health benefits.

Chocolate has an extensive history dating back thousands of years ago to the time of the Mayans and Aztec civilizations. Then it was introduced to Europe in the Middle Ages to be the chocolate we know today as a sweet, silky and delightful confection. In recent time, extensive research has been highlighted in various media outlets proclaiming links to reduced risks of heart attack, diabetes and stroke, as well as improving brain function. These health benefits are derived from cocoa beans of the cacao tree, where the principal compound of the cocoa bean is polyphenols.

Polyphenols act as an antioxidant in which they help the body’s cells against free radicals that are formed by everyday processes of the body such as, breathing and environmental contaminants (i.e. pollution or cigarette smoke). Furthermore, antioxidants from cocoa have anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective (protects the heart), antiheptoxic (protects the liver), antibacterial, antiviral, antiallergenic, and anticarcinogenic effects.

Within the polyphenol group, one nutrient abundant in cocoa and chocolate are flavonoids. Flavonoids are typically found in a variety of fruits and vegetables with the main type of flavonoids being flavanols. Flavanols are responsible for providing the strong and bitter taste of cocoa, which can be a familiar taste of dark chocolate where flavanols are most prevalent. It is these flavanols that have the positive effects on the heart by lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow to the brain and heart, and making blood platelets less sticky and able to clot.

In addition, it has been suggested that chocolate can help reduce belly fat. Though it can pack on the calories and the pounds if consumed in abundance, choosing dark chocolate may be a better option. Dark chocolate consumed moderately, one ounce three times a week, can possess the benefits of curbing appetite; therefore, reducing belly fat.

Most people like me need a chocolate fix once in a while, but we have to do so in moderation. Much of the commercial chocolate sold contains added fat, sugar, calories, and preservatives. But don’t feel guilty sneaking a little piece of dark chocolate, it can keep your heart healthy.

Summer has arrived which means sunny days, warm temperatures, and ample opportunity to show off your hard-earned bathing suit-ready body. If you’re still trying to work off the winter weight, healthy eating and exercise will do the trick in getting your body summer ready. Healthy eating focuses on including whole grains, lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and plenty of water daily. In addition, a combination of cardio and strength training exercises will help tone your body overall, including the dreaded belly fat. You cannot “spot reduce” so if you want to lose the muffin top or the pot belly, try some of these fat burning exercise tips to burn overall body fat from head to toe.

Pump Up the Cardio

–          A good overall cardiovascular conditioning exercise program is crucial to burn fat

–          Walking is excellent, but most people have to pump it up a bit from their routine pace, especially if they’ve been exercising for a while and flab is not budging

–          Increase the days or length of workout time. If you work out two days, increase to three. If you’re jogging for half an hour, increase to 45 minutes or an hour

–          Interval training, alternating bursts of intense activity with bursts of lighter activity, is a good way to burn more fat. For example, walk for five minutes, and then jog for five. This strategy will burn overall more calories and more fat. If you are already jogging, jog then sprint to mix it up

–          Increasing intensity for a short period within your regular workout will burn more total calories and therefore more fat

Pump Iron or Do Other Strength Training

–          Weight training 3x a week for a half hour each session is ideal for beginners

–          Once flab is under control, two weight training sessions a week will help maintain tone

–          Work the full body. Work all the major muscle groups, (not just the flabby ones), but incorporate full-body weight training exercises that also focus on your flabby areas

–          For muffin top, focus on abdominal, oblique muscles by doing bicycle kicks, or do oblique twists with the cable weight machine

–          Can’t make it to the gym? Try home exercises to burn fat. For example, get a broom, hold it straight up over your head, then lean to the right and left. You should feel effort in your love handles

–          For flabby upper arms, do dumbbell kickbacks with hand weights (with upper arm parallel to the floor and bent at the elbow, lean over a weight bench or other low bench with your other arm supporting your body. Extend the lower arm holding the weight until it is straight. Repeat and switch the weight to the other hand.)

–          To maximize the fat burning during weight training, women should aim for 12-15 repetitions per exercise and focus on a higher number of reps rather than constantly boosting the weight

–          Men should aim for 8-12 reps and increase weight periodically

Crunch Your Flab

–          If a muffin top is due to abdominal muscles not being exercised a long time, toning up those muscles may help

–          In addition to cardio and healthy eating, belly fat can be toned up with crunches and reverse crunches (lie flat and raise your hips and legs to work the lower abdominals)

–          Get more from your core. You’ll get more from your Pilates, Yoga, or core-focused moves that will lead to a slimmer, flatter belly. Move from your waist. When you twist, make sure movement happens from your bottom rib up while keeping hips still

–          Add small weights for more fat burning potential. Start with a 5lb medicine ball or hand weight between both hands and swivel left to right and back, bringing the weight across your body while maintaining your torso above the ground (in a V shape)

 For other tips on slimming down for summer and for life, please also check out…Belly Fat Burning Tips for the Summer

Since this seems to be such a common concern, we’d like to share our answer to this frequently asked question. You may also want to check out our previous post – Getting Rid of the Jiggle Around Your Middle

If you have any additional questions, please post them below or sign up for a free nutrition session.

Question:

I have been working out two times a week in karate, one day a week with football, and some of my time I spend lifting weights and doing sit-up excercises used by navy seals.

Nothing is getting rid of my body fat, I have been nearly starving myself, drinking only water, and only eating breakfast and dinner. Along with the fact I haven’t lost any weight I have gained weight, mostly muscle. The weight I’ve gained totaled 20 pounds, 55% of which is fat.

I’m getting angry. Nothing is working!

Answer

 By Cindy Marasigan–Skinny Gene dietetic intern, nutrition counselor, fitness instructor, and culinary chef 

I can see your frustration on losing body fat. It sounds like you are very active and you do a variety of sports and exercises. 

There are plenty of ways to quickly drop pounds, but to keep it off for the long term — plan to lose weight slowly. If you have struggled with losing weight and keeping it off, it’s probably time you revisit weight-loss basics.

Make smart food choices from every group

• Your body needs the right fuel to stay energized and strong. The best way to get the nutrients you need is to enjoy a wide-variety of foods from all of the food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy.

Get the most nutrition from your calories

• You can make a big difference in your calorie intake by eating and drinking smaller portions and limiting foods that are high in sodium, solid fats and added sugars.

Balance food and physical activity

• To reach a healthy weight, make sure to include physical activity in your day. The minimum for good health is 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week, but some need to be physically active for longer to reach a healthy weight.

Eating Right for a Healthy Weight

Achieving and maintaining a healthier weight will contribute to your overall health and wellbeing.

The following tips are for adults who want to make changes in their lifestyle and move toward a healthier weight.

Start with a Plan

• Develop a plan for lifelong health, not just short-term weight loss. Don’t lose sight of the big picture: achieving overall good health. By putting more emphasis on your health, experts agree that you can raise your overall self-esteem, resulting in healthy eating, weight loss and improved health. Set healthy, realistic goals.
• When you make changes step-by-step and set realistic goals, you are more likely to succeed in reaching them. Start with two or three specific, small changes at a time. Track your progress by keeping a food and activity log. When you’ve turned a healthy change into a habit, reward yourself with a fun activity.
• Get a personalized eating plan at www.mypyramid.gov. Your MyPyramid Plan will give you the amounts of each food group you need daily. If you have special dietary needs, consult your healthcare provider or contact us for a customized plan.

Healthy Eating Tips

• Eat at least three meals a day and plan your meals ahead of time. Whether you’re eating at home, packing a lunch or eating out, an overall eating plan for the day will help keep you on track.
• Balance your plate with the right portions of a variety of foods. Half your plate should be filled with vegetables, one fourth with lean meat, poultry or fish and one fourth with grains. To round out your meal, add a glass of fat-free or low-fat milk and a serving of fruit for dessert. Try changing from a large dinner plate to a smaller one. It may help you feel satisfied with reduced portions.
• Start your meal with low calorie foods like fruits, vegetables and salads. Then move on to the main course and side dishes.

Muscle vs. Fat:

• If you only have a small amount of weight to lose, then you may feel like the weight training is not helping you move down on the scale. In fact, the number may even go up, but you will look thinner. This is due to an increase in lean body mass (muscle, bone, blood volume) and a decrease in body fat. In other words, even if the scale doesn’t change much, you will probably see a difference in how your clothes fit.
• On the other hand, if you have a lot of weight to lose, you will also experience an increase in lean body mass and loss of body fat. But the results on the scale will probably be more dramatic.

Exercise Basics:

• At its most basic, losing weight is about burning more calories than you eat.
• To lose one pound of fat, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities. That sounds like a lot of calories and you certainly wouldn’t want to try to burn 3500 calories in one day. However, by taking it step-by-step, you can determine just what you need to do each day to burn or cut out those extra calories. Below is a step by step process for getting started.

Important Steps:

•  Calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). Your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to maintain basic bodily functions like breathing and digestion. This is the minimum number of calories you need to eat each day. Keep in mind that no calculator will be 100% accurate, so you may need to adjust these numbers as you learn more about your own metabolism.

Example:

• My BMR is 1400 calories and I burn about 900 calories with regular exercise, walking around and doing household chores. To maintain my weight, I should be eating 2300 calories (1400 + 900= 2300). However, after keeping a food journal, I find that I was eating 2550 calories every day. By eating 250 more calories than my body needs, I will gain about a pound every 2-3 weeks.
• This example shows how easy it is to gain weight without even knowing it. However, it’s also easy to lose weight, even if the process itself can be slow. You can start by making small changes in your diet and activity levels and immediately start burning more calories than you’re eating. If you can find a way to burn an extra 200 to 500 calories each day with both exercise and diet, you’re on the right track.
• Calculate your activity level. For a week or so, keep an activity journal and use a calorie calculator to figure out how many calories you burn while sitting, standing, exercising, lifting weights, etc. throughout the day. Another, easier option is to wear a heart rate monitor that calculates calories burned. After a week, add your totals for each day and average them out to get a general idea of how many calories you burn each day.
• Keep track of how many calories you eat. For at least a week, enter and track your calories online (e.g., with Calorie Count) or use a food journal to write down what you eat and drink each day. Be as accurate as possible, measuring when you need to or looking up nutritional information for restaurants, if you eat out. After a week, add your totals for each day and average them out to get a general idea of how many calories you eat each day.
• Add it up. Take your BMR number and add your activity calories. Then subtract your food calories from that total. If you’re eating more than you’re BMR + your activity calories, you’re at risk for gaining weight.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your weight loss goals!

By Diana Kelley

Don’t let one of these rumors prevent you from reaching your weight loss goals

Sorry, Journey, but it’s finally time to stop believing. In weight loss myths at least. Believing popular misconceptions can keep you from taking the right course of action to reach your goals, says Julia Valentour, MS, program coordinator and media spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. Blaming a plateau (or a gain) on any of these half-truths will keep you stuck in your rut and derail your motivation. Here, 10 of the most pervasive diet-related rumors and the real scoop on how to hit your goal weight for good.

1. “Strength training will bulk me up.”

First, let’s tackle the myth that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. A pound is a pound is a pound–whether it’s made up of muscle or fat. That said, muscle is denser than fat and takes up less room, so two women who weigh the same can look much different if one has a higher ratio of lean muscle mass to fat, says Valentour. “Muscle weight is a good weight because you look firmer, smaller, and more fit. It’s also more metabolically active, so just having more muscle will boost metabolism throughout the day to help keep you leaner.”

It’s important to incorporate strength training into your routine so you burn calories at an optimal rate all day long–and using heavier weights could help maximize your efforts. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that working out with heavy weights even for as few as 3 to 6 repetitions increased exercisers’ sleeping metabolic rate–the number of calories burned overnight–by nearly 8%. That’s enough to lose about 5 pounds in a year, even if you did nothing else!

2. “I exercise every day, so I can eat whatever I want.”

The sad truth: Even if you work out religiously, going to yoga several times a week and sweating it out in Spinning, it’s not a license to eat as much as you want and still expect to lose weight. This may seem obvious, but the desire to reward a workout well done is natural; after all, you endured those endless vinyasas–you deserve an extra slice of pizza (or three), right? Not if you’re trying to lose weight.

“You can outeat your workout,” says Valentour. Even though you burn calories and fat when you exercise, it’s often not as much as you think–or what the readout on the treadmill tells you. UsePrevention’s Daily Calorie Calculator tool to see how many calories you should eat each day.

Valentour recommends eating 250 fewer calories per day and aiming to burn an extra 250 calories a day; that creates enough of a calorie deficit to achieve an average weight loss of a pound a week.

3. “It’s harder for women to lose weight than for men.”

Okay, this one has some basis. Biologically, men are built with more lean muscle mass (the compact, tight muscles that keep metabolism humming) than women are–meaning his metabolism is working at a 5 to 10% higher rate (even if he’s the same height and weight as you) when you’re lying on the couch together. Annoying, isn’t it?

Another biological challenge women face is that we generally have more body fat than men do, and our bodies are more inclined to store it. On top of that, women lose about 1/2 pound of calorie-burning muscle mass a year during perimenopause and sometimes a pound a year during menopause. With the deck stacked against you, why bother trying to fit back in your skinny jeans?

You can do something about these problems, but it’s going to take some work–and sweat. Add strength training to your fitness routine at least twice a week to shed fat and build lean muscle mass that will fire up your resting metabolism.

4. “All calories are equal, so it doesn’t matter what I eat.”

Ever since you learned what a calorie is, you’ve been told that they’re all alike: Whether you eat 500 calories’ worth of celery stalks or creme brulee, your body will burn or store them equally, right? Wrong. New science shows that when it comes to weight loss, calories are nowhere near alike.

Some foods take more work to eat–and therefore burn more calories while you’re digesting them. Just the act of chewing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean cuts of meat can increase your calorie burn by up to 30%! And then your stomach and intestines do their jobs. In a Japanese study, researchers found that women who ate the foods that required the most work had significantly slimmer waistlines than those who ate the softest, easiest-to-eat foods. The fiber and protein in such foods take so much effort to digest that your body doesn’t absorb some of their calories.

5. “Eating fat will make me fat.”

Fat-free products are so-o-o over. There’s nothing special about fat that packs on pounds: Getting enough fat in your diet–the Institute of Medicine recommends that it make up 20 to 35% of calories–is essential for good health, but the type of fat matters.

Monounsaturated fats–MUFAs (pronounced MOO-fahs), for short–come from the healthy oils found in plant foods such as olives, nuts, and avocados. A report published in the British Journal of Nutritionfound that a MUFA-rich diet helped people lose small amounts of weight and body fat without changing their calorie intakes. Another report found that a breakfast high in MUFAs could boost calorie burn for 5 hours after the meal, particularly in people with higher amounts of belly fat. Pair these delicious healthy fats with a reduced-calorie eating plan and you’ll lose weight and reduce belly fat.

Limit saturated fats and avoid trans fats in your diet. Both kinds can cause health problems.

6. “Eating at night will make me gain weight.”

Cutting out nighttime snacking is a popular weight loss strategy because it feels logical–eat less when you’re less active. But this topic has been debated for years, and even recently, a study in the April 2011 journal Obesity suggested that eating after 8 PM may increase the risk of obesity, but there aren’t clear-cut reasons why.

It’s mainly how much you eat–not when you eat–each day that affects weight gain. Many people eat at night out of boredom or other emotions instead of hunger, and they wind up consuming more calories than they need for the day–calories that are then stored as fat. Also, people who eat at night may wake up without an appetite and skip breakfast, the meal that helps control calorie intake throughout the day.

To ward off nighttime hunger, eat dinner an hour later, suggests Marjorie Nolan, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. You’ll save calories by curbing the urge to nosh in front of the TV. “Having dinner a little bit later–but at least 2 hours before sleeping–helps prevent mindless snacking, which often happens in the evening,” says Nolan.

7. “Drinking a ton of water will help me drop pounds.”

Stop hogging the office watercooler (and running to the loo). It’s possible that drinking water can aid weight loss efforts, but it won’t automatically make you lose weight if you’re not changing any other habits. A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study found that people who regularly drink water eat nearly 200 fewer calories daily than those who consume only coffee, tea, or soda. And if you sip water instead of sugary drinks, the calories you’ve saved will help shed pounds.

Drinking ice-cold water can help you burn more calories too. German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day raised resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily–possibly because of the work it takes to warm the fluid up to body temperature. It’s up to you to decide whether 50 calories is worth guzzling ice water–or whether it would be easier just to take the stairs.

8. “Becoming a vegetarian will help me drop a size.”

Eliminating meat from your diet can result in great health benefits, but if you don’t follow a vegetarian diet properly, you could accidentally pack on pounds.

Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet, explains common vegetarian beginners’ mistakes that may cause weight gain. Vegetarian “types” to avoid becoming:

Cheese-aholic vegetarians: They cut out meat from their diets and turn to cheese as a protein source. But cheese is a high-calorie, high-fat food and should be eaten in moderation.

Faux-meat fixators: All they eat is boxes of frozen faux meats, such as soy chicken nuggets, vegetarian sausage links, and veggie bacon strips. These products are okay once in a while, but they are heavily processed and can have a lot of sodium, resulting in bloating and water retention.

No-veggie vegetarians: A lot of vegetarians don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. They eat only grains, beans and veggie burgers, all of which can be high in calories.

Same-meal-minus-the-meat vegetarians: These people eat the same meals they did before, but without the meat. If they’re not replacing the protein, they’ll probably have a ferocious appetite and may be missing out on essential nutrients.

“Vegetarian” food label fans: These people find any recipe or packaging that contains the word “vegetarian” or “meatless” and then overeat that food. They often wind up taking in too much junk food. Be aware that the word “vegetarian” is not synonymous with “healthy” or “low calorie.”

Blatner recommends replacing meat with beans in recipes for an easy, healthy–and inexpensive–protein source. She advises new vegetarians–and those who want to dabble in a vegetarian diet–to start having fun with vegetarian recipes. “Find ones you like that you’re going to keep eating. Enjoy the journey of it.

9. “Subbing diet soda and diet foods is a smart way to lose.”

Chugging cans of diet soda and eating prepackaged diet foods may seem like a no-brainer way to trick your body into pound-shedding mode because they have few or no calories–but it’s not going to give you lasting results.

Diet soda may increase your risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that includes high levels of belly fat, blood sugar, and cholesterol. People who consumed just one diet soda daily had a 34% higher risk of the syndrome than those who abstained, according to a University of Minnesota study of nearly 10,000 adults ages 45 to 64.

What you’re trying to do when you eat diet foods and drink diet soda is to cheat your body, says Ashley Koff, RD, resident dietitian on the new Lifetime show Love Handles: Couples in Crisis. “The body is physiologically smarter than your ability to override it. If you use one of those things as your tool, you’re always going to need that. And you might be getting weight loss results but no health benefits.” She says many people eventually get frustrated that they became dependent on these products.

“My approach across the board is that the best thing you can do is be a ‘qualitarian,'” says Koff. “Choose the best-quality foods available. The diet versions will have fewer calories than the quality versions, but they’ll also have fewer nutrients.”

10. “Weight gain and belly fat are unavoidable after 40.”

Let’s be honest here: You’re not going to wake up on your 40th birthday with a gut and 10 extra pounds on your frame. It does get harder to lose weight as we age, but you can put some healthy habits into practice now to maintain your weight–or even lose–as the years pass by.

The years leading up to menopause, known as perimenopause, are prime time for weight gain: On average, women put on a pound a year, mostly around the waist, according to the Mayo Clinic. Out-of-whack hormones and a slowing metabolism are a couple of the weight gain culprits.

But reaching menopause doesn’t have to mean getting plumper. Studies show that the more you work out, the slimmer you’ll be, even during this transition time. Keep your diet in check and you’ll boost your results.

Fine-tune your workouts and eating habits to shed those pounds–and keep ’em off–with these tips:

Exercise at least 4 hours a week: That amount helped nearly 44,000 women in their 40s or early 50s achieve weight loss instead of weight gain during a 10-year American Cancer Society study. Try this essential over-40 workout.

Crank it up for 10 minutes a day: In a Kaiser Permanente study, a similar group of women who exercised vigorously (by jogging, for instance) for 10 or more minutes a day had waistlines nearly 6 inches smaller than those of women who didn’t raise their heart rates that high.

Lift weights: Two or three sessions a week can help stave off age-related muscle loss, which slows your metabolism.

Skip the refined carbs: Women whose diets were high in whole grains and fiber gained less weight than those who ate more sugar and white flour, reports a Danish study.

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We thought this article (above) did a great job dispelling many diet and fitness myths, but we realize that it can also create quite a few questions. If you have questions about what you read, or other nutrition related questions, please feel free to speak with one of our experts.  Simply click here to register for a  FREE consultation with a nutritionist.