Happy Skinny Girl

A heart friendly Starbucks?

Posted on August 28, 2008 Comments here (5) ♥

This is a guest post by Lisa Nelson, RD, LN

I may have some good news for Starbucks lovers.

Normally, the high sugar, high fat, high calorie beverage and menu items offered by Starbucks were reasons to steer clear if you struggle to lower triglycerides, lower cholesterol, or shed extra pounds. Starbucks is typically not the best place to grab a quick breakfast with a Frappuccinno, while scanning the daily paper.

Simply selecting a Grande Frappuccino and Cranberry Orange Muffin would start your day with a whopping 850 calories and 30 grams of fat!

In the past Starbucks has not embraced the idea of offering more nutritious items. They did remove trans fats and started offering nonfat milk this past year, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

The good news is Starbucks has decided to revamp their breakfast menu to offer six heart friendly breakfast options. The goal was a menu with fewer calories, more protein, more fiber, and more fruit.

New menu selections include:

Apple bran muffin – 330 calories, 8 grams of fat, 7 grams fiber
Baked berry stella – 280 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams fiber
Power Protein plate with peanut butter – 330 calories, 16 grams fat, 5 grams fiber
Chewy fruit and nut bar – 250 calories, 10 grams fat, 4 grams fiber
Perfect oatmeal – 140 calories, 2.5 grams fat, 4 grams fiber

These new options provide reduced calories and fat grams, while boosting dietary fiber content. All good moves if you are looking to be heart friendly.

You still need to use your head when choosing a beverage. Starbucks is not removing its’ high calorie, fat, and sugar beverage options. One of the best choices is a simple Caffe Americano (15 calories, 0 grams fat).

So, if you enjoy the Starbucks ambiance, you’ll now be able to enjoy a heart healthy breakfast, too. Hopefully, the taste of the new menu items lives up to the flavor of their coffee!

Do you want to receive regular heart health and weight loss tips? Dietitian Lisa Nelson publishes The Heart of Health ezine bi-weekly, providing heart health and weight loss tips. Go to http://www.eNutritionServices.com/f/The_Heart_of_Health.html to get your copy today!

Back To The Fitness Routine

Posted on August 23, 2008 Comments here (1) ♥

I’m back from a long break and I’m ready to fight for a better body. Are you with me?! I’m more confidence now than ever that I can do this. I break my bad habit of constantly yo-yo dieting. Overeating problem is slowly fading away and I’m on my way to build up my strength. Everything seem to just fall into places, and I can ”smell” my future!

My main goal is to get active everyday. I graph both the weight and the activities I do everyday and then average out on 5 days to see where I’m heading. What I’ve learned is that fitness routine doesn’t have to be long, hard and boring. That’s why I love 10 minutes fitness segment. As I’m in better shape I can do more segments without feeling it’s too tough. It’s the best way to ease back into the fitness routine I think. At Amazon, there are 10-minute solution workout DVDs and also beach body which is always fun, Tony Horton’s 10 minute trainer. Or you can put together your own 10-minutes move. Don’t forget to add the warm up and cool down though.

The issue is not about weight loss anymore but about building a better body. The end goal is the same but building a better body sounds more exciting than lose weight. If you ask yourself, how can I build a better body? You’ll probably get tons of answers, for example eat greens, fruits, protein, fish, and healthy nutritient dense food. Build up your strength. Lots of things you need to do that will urge you to take action. But if you ask yourself: how can you lose weight? What comes up?
- eat less
- exercise more
- train hard
- follow your schedule
- no junk food
- no cake
- no sugar
- a lot of NO and a lot of HAVE TO

Asking the right question you’ll get more specific answers and you’ll take action accordingly.