Find Out What Meat Is Red Meat

There has been a lot of hype about red meat lately, but does every one really understand what meat is red meat? I ask this question because you have no idea how often I hear people using the term ‘red meat’ when actually speaking about a ‘white meat’ variety, and vice versa.  So let’s clear the air, shall we?  
The truth is that red meats are usually red before cooking, as they have a higher concentration of myoglobin ( a substance that helps muscles use oxygen effectively).  Myoglobin causes a distinctive dark red color, hence the name ‘red meat’. Meats such as beef, lamb, venison, bison, and pork are considered red meat by the USDA because they are all red before cooking due to high amounts of myoglobin. Beware when you see pork being advertised as ‘the other white meat’- this is an attempt to make it seem healthier than it actually is!
In terms of health, a recent NY times article provided study results showing that red meat is associated with  a risk of death from cancer and heart disease. Ok, so we’ve all heard the shpeal before…too much red meat can cause heart disease, blah blah blah…. But what makes this article extra scary is just how much eating red meat increases your chances of dying from these causes.
Scientists found that each daily increase of 3 ounces of red meat is associated with a 12 percent increase of dying overall, 16 percent increase of dying from cardiovascular disease, and a 10 percent increase of dying from cancer.  If we’re talking about processed meats, like bacon and deli meats, the numbers are even scarier- 20 percent dying overall, 21 percent for cardiovascular disease and 16 percent for cancer!
After reading this article I am EXTRA happy I’m a vegetarian, and hope that this will persuade more people to do the same- or at least to cut red meat out of their diets completely!

How to Stop Overeating, Once and For All!

I’ve decided to write this post because so many people have been asking me for advice on how to stop overating lately. The problem is that there is no easy solution- the problem of binge eating lies within each individual person and we all know how hard it is to deal with our own demons. There are plenty of websites that will provide you with a list of ways to stop overeating, but I think most of these resources are to simplistic and are ignoring the root of the problem. My post will not provide such a list, it will instead try to point you in the right direction. You have to remember that each and everyone one of us binge eats for a different reason, and a method that works on one individual may not work on another.
Having said all this, I’d like to offer my first piece of advice: talk to a therapist. Although it might seem like overeating is simply an overextended appetite, it’s actually a psychological issue. Most people do not overeat because they feel physically hungry, but because they are trying to deal with some internal struggle, to fill a gap they are feeling. Talking to a professional about your anxieties (even though they may seem to be completely unrelated to your eating habits) will probably make a big difference on how you approach food!
Secondly: avoid fake sweeteners. While it may seem like a good idea to replace sugar with things like ‘sweet n low’ or ‘splenda’ because of their lack of calories, this may not only cause even more weight gain, but be detrimental to your health. Recent studies show that when rats are given fake sweetners with aspartame, they actually eat more. By ingesting something that tastes sweet, but does not have any calories, you are tricking your body into believing you will be getting energy from calories. This, in turn, makes you feel hungry when you don’t get the calories your body thinks it will be getting. So if you have trouble with setting limits on how much food you eat…definitely avoid using sweeteners, as they will only make it harder on you to eat less! Furthermore, as I had mentioned above, aspartame is a toxic substance that can cause serious damage to your body. Check out more on this by reading about splenda warnings.
Lastly: focus on what you eat. Try to avoid eating in front of the television, computer, or when you are on the phone. When we take the time to sit down at a table and eat our meal without shifting focus to a tv program or our ipads, we focus more on what we eat, and actually end up eating less. If you already snack while sitting in front of the tv, or even eat your meals in front of it, this may be a hard habit to break. However, once you break it for a few weeks, you’ll notice that you actually enjoy your food more, and need less in order to feel full. An additional bonus is using this time to catch up with loved ones. There’s nothing more healthy for a family or couple than to eat dinner together while discussing their day.
There you have it! I didn’t include any diet tips, or appetite curbing tricks, because I know that usually those things don’t work. The key to how to stop overeating is to be conscious of why you feel the need to do it, avoid replacing sugar with fake sweeteners, and to focus on every meal you’re having

What Exercises Burn the Most Calories?


If you want to start a new exercise regime in order to lose weight, you probably find yourself wondering what exercises burn the most calories.  I don’t blame you, nowadays time means money, and we don’t want to waste time doing a workout that doesn’t burn many calories. I myself like to partake in time-effective exercises, meaning ones that burn the most in the least amount of time. In this blog post, I will provide you with a list of exercises and how many calories one may burn per hour doing them.


HOWEVER, only use this list to see which workouts burn more, and which ones burn less. You should not use this to see how many calories you will personally  burn. This is because the number of calories you burn depends on a lot of different factors, including your weight, conditioning level, metabolism, workout intensity, and even your sex.



Amount of calories burned every hour for 155lbs. person (roughly!):



RUNNING  (10 min mile)                                                 704 CALORIES

SWIMMING (breaststroke)                                             704 CALORIES

JUMPING ROPE (moderate)                                           704 CALORIES

YOGA (Vinyasa)                                                              594 CALORIES

CYCLING (moderate- 12-14 mph)                                  563 CALORIES

ZUMBA                                                                           536 CALORIES

ROWING MACHINE (moderate)                                   493 CALORIES

HIGH IMPACT AEROBICS                                           493 CALORIES

TENNIS                                                                           493 CALORIES

WEIGHT LIFTING (body building- vigorous)                   422 CALORIES