There are SO many diet myths out there that simply aren’t proven to be true. AOL Body took the time to go through some of those myths and provide the facts so that no one will have to waist their time trying to lose weight on a grapefruit diet, or eliminating carbohydrates. Today we’ll cover five of those myths, but of course that’s just the beginning of them!

1. Myth: Drinking liquid meal replacements will help shrink your stomach.
   Fact: Liquid diets were meant for babies! The fact of the matter is this – there is nothing that you can do to shrink your stomach. Your stomach is a muscle, and while it may expand while you’re eating, it will return to it’s normal size.  If you feel as though your stomach has shrunk, it’s all in your imagination. They say that over time, you can get used to eating less so it may feel as though your stomach has gotten smaller, but it hasn’t.
2. Myth: Exercising on an empty stomach burns more fat.
   Fact: If you skip a meal before exercising, you won’t have carb stores to burn, but that doesn’t mean that your body will automatically go to your fat stores to burn. What actually happens is that your body could end up burning your muscle which means a lower metabolism.
3. Myth: Eating white foods is bad for you.
   Fact: Never judge a food by its color! Garlic which is white is great for you, as are pears!
4. Myth: Drinking lots of water will help you lose weight.
   Fact: Certainly water is good for you and is needed, but simply drinking extra water is not going to help you lose weight. The important thing to remember is that when you’re hungry, drinking water may help you “feel” full, but those hunger pains are telling you that your body is craving nutrients which water can’t give.
5. Myth:  Calories eaten after 8PM turn to fat.
   Fact: Any time you eat more calories than you burn, they can be stored as fat. According to AOL Body, “whether you consume them during Good Morning America or Letterman doesn’t matter, there is no intrinsic connection between calories and the clock.

Eating healthy foods can really make a difference in your mood and how you feel. Today we’re going to talk about the different foods to eat that will boost your mood if you’re feeling anxious, nervous, depressed, sad, or lacking energy. With a few changes to your diet, you can easily improve your mood, so let’s take a look!

Protein for energy

Protein can give you a boost in energy thanks to the norepinephrine and dopamine found in protein. Great protein sources include:

• Beans
• Lean poultry
• Lean red meat
• Cheese

Carbs to ease anxiety

If you’re feeling really anxious, carbohydrates just may be what you need to calm yourself down thanks to the boost in serotonin production you have after eating carbs. Try a healthy cereal like “Go Lean Crunch” which is high in fiber and will give you the carbohydrates that you need.

Calm those nerves

If you’re really nervous about something, seek out foods that will stimulate the release of dopamine. Sources include:

• Bananas
• Leafy greens
• Milk

Get rid of depression

Omega-3 fatty acids can help you ease the symptoms of depression. Try to incorporate fish into your diet because it is a great source of these Omega-3 acids. Try foods like:

• Salmon
• Tuna
• Sardines

Turn that frown upside down

Bad moods not only make your day a little harder to get through, but they can also make it miserable for those around you. Studies have found that if your levels of selenium are low, you’ll be more irritable.  Here are a few sources of selenium to help you turn that frown upside down.

• Sunflower seeds
• Whole grain cereals
• Brazil nuts

Source

Remember the whole anti-carb craze several years ago when it seemed like everybody was ditching the carbs? Thankfully that’s over because I love my carbs! The thing about carbohydrates though is to choose the ones that haven’t been refined. Sources of refined carbohydrates would be white breads, pasta, rice, and noodles. Luckily, there are versions of all of these foods that are considered unrefined carbohydrates which means they still contain the whole grain so that they’re higher in fiber and will help you feel full for longer.  Examples of these foods include whole-grain rice, whole-grain bread, and whole-wheat pasta.

Today’s Figure Friendly Recipe uses whole-wheat linguine and it’s prepared in a way that will satisfy your hunger and your taste buds! Enjoy…

–Healthy Whole-Wheat Linguine with Cherry-Tomato Sauce–

All you’ll need:

• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• Salt, to taste
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3/4 pound whole-wheat linguine
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

All you’ll do:

In a medium mixing bowl, add tomatoes, ¼ cup of the olive oil, garlic, olives, salt, and crushed pepper. Let mixture sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Cook linguine in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain into a large colander, then transfer to a large bowl.

Toss linguine with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Place the tomato mixture in a sieve over a bowl to drain excess liquid, then lightly toss the mixture with the pasta. Add the basil, toss again, and serve.

–

This recipe will easily serve four people with a serving size of two cups per person.  Nutritional value is as follows:

518 calories, 19 grams of fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 74 grams carbohydrates, 18 grams protein, 2 grams fiber, 193 mg calcium, 4 mg iron, 472 mg sodium.

Source

Today’s Figure Friendly Recipe comes from The Food Network. It’s Rachel Ray’s take on the Cobb Salad. Now traditionally, a Cobb Salad includes lettuce, however, not this one! If you’re doing the whole low-carb thing, this recipe is for you. It’s a Cobb Salad – but it’s Double the Meat and Hold the Lettuce!

All You’ll Need (it looks like a lot, but it’s really not that bad):

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
2 tablespoons hot sauce, eyeball it
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
2 pounds flank steak
8 pieces “thin cut” chicken breast cutlets
2 slightly under ripe Hass avocados – dark skinned, but still firm
2 vine ripe tomatoes cut into wedges
2 bunches watercress, trimmed and roughly chopped
8 strips bacon, thick sliced
1 lemon, zest and juiced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
1/3 pound blue cheese, crumbled (recommended Maytag Blue)

All You Do:

Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill to high heat.

Mix garlic, steak seasoning, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Divide the mixture between 2 shallow dishes. Add the flank steak to one and the thin chicken cutlets to the other. Toss to coat all of the meats thoroughly and marinate for 5 minutes.

While the flank steak and chicken are marinating, cut the avocados in half lengthwise cutting around the pit. Separate the halves then, using a spoon, scoop out the pit, then use the spoon to scoop the avocado from its skin. Chop the avocado flesh into bite size pieces add to a mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes, watercress and crisp chopped bacon. Dress the salad with the juice of 1 lemon and a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Grill flank steak 6 to 7 minutes on each side. Grill the thin cut chicken cutlets 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove both meats from the grill to a cutting board to rest for about 5 minutes. Thinly slice the flank steak on an angle, cutting the meat against the grain. Cut the chicken into thin strips. Add both meats to a platter or dinner plates. Top the meats with a mound of the salad. To make the dressing, combine in a small bowl the lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, crumbled blue cheese, whisk in 3 tablespoons EVOO. Pour the dressing over the salad. Eat and enjoy the lack of lettuce getting in your way!

A Cobb Salad is usually a big mound of lettuce topped with strips of chopped chicken, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, hardboiled egg and blue cheese. I love it, but I’ve noticed that once I mix it up and start eating, my fork is busy fishing around the lettuce trying to catch all the chicken and bacon. So, I decided to hold the lettuce. I did add some watercress, but that’s for its great peppery flavor!

Enjoy!

Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Some are friendly and good for your bodies, others, not so much. Our bodies need carbohydrates to give us energy so it’s important that you choose the “good” carbs and work on eliminating the “bad” carbohydrates from your diet.

First, what is a carbohydrate? Simply stated, carbohydrates are the sugars and starches found in breads, cereals, fruits, and vegetables. During digestion, carbohydrates are changed into glucose which is a simple sugar.  Glucose gets stored away in our liver until cells call upon it to provide them with energy. See why we need carbohydrates?

How to limit the bad carbs:

Now how do you limit the “bad” carbs? Well first you need to know where you’d find the bad carbs so that you know how to limit them. Examples of bad carbs would come from foods like:

• Sugary cereals
• Candy
• Soda
• Desserts like cakes and pies
• White rice
• White bread
• Some pastas
• White flour
• Table sugar

So limiting the bad carbohydrates is as simple as switching from a sugary cereal to one that’s made from whole grains with no added sugars like Oat Bran, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat n’ Bran, and the list goes on. Other options for “good” carbs include:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Brown rice
• Whole grain breads
• Whole grain pastas
• Beans

A few additional tips:

• Most desserts like cakes, cookies, and pies are going to be filled with sugars that our bodies don’t need.  If you have a sweet tooth, try eating a piece of fruit or sugar-free sorbet. It’ll satisfy your need for something sweet, and you won’t feel guilty for eating it.
• Eliminate soda. It’s bad for you. It’s as simple as that, really. I like to stick to water, and on occasion, 100% fruit juice, although I’d rather eat the actual fruit instead of the juice.
• Make the switch from white bread to whole grain breads.

Limiting bad carbohydrates is one of those things that may not be easy to do if you’re used to eating them, but it’s definitely doable.  Like I said, carbohydrates aren’t created equal.  When you eat too much sugar, you’re putting yourself at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even some kinds of cancers. Pick one “bad” carb that you can work on eliminating and once you’ve been able to eliminate it, pick another. Before you know it, your intake of “bad” carbohydrates will nearly be gone!