I found this site when checking the calories for my cafe mocha I had to have this morning. It has listings for tons of restuarants.
And this looks good, but is not free.
I have been actually working at working and not fooling around on the computer. That means I am behind on reading and comments. Hope to catch up in the next day or so. My eating has been going well.
“…with all the recent research promoting the possible health benefits of coffee, maybe it’s time I took a second look at one of America’s favorite beverages.
We all grew up knowing the potential health pitfalls—some rumored, some real—of too much caffeine. Our parents refused to let us drink coffee, afraid it stunted growth, increased stress and caused hyperactive behavior. And we didn’t need a doctor to tell us that our morning cup of joe increased jitters, elevated blood pressure and caused rapid heartbeat. Hospitals used to routinely deny coffee to their patients with heart disease because they were convinced that even decaf would induce rapid heart failure.
But recently, caffeine has been earning some street cred. From helping to decrease the risk of certain cancers to increasing one’s ability to focus, it seems the laundry list of health benefits associated with coffee far outweigh the risks. Studies have shown that caffeine decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, as well as fostering increased energy and improved athletic ability. What’s next? Are we going to hear that coffee cures the common cold, improves our sex life and prevents baldness?
Read the fine print
News reports trumpet the fact that coffee provides more antioxidants than any other beverage. But read the fine print and you’ll find it’s the amount of coffee we drink that raises it to number one on the list. Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, studied the levels of antioxidants in more than 100 different foods, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, oils and common beverages. Coffee contributed the most antioxidants, but that’s because the average adult drinks just less than two cups of java per day. According to the USDA, red beans, blueberries, red kidney beans, pinto beans, blueberries, cranberries, cooked artichokes and apples are among the foods that contain the highest levels of antioxidants. Surprisingly—or not—coffee isn’t on the list!
The wise woman’s guide to coffee dos and don’ts
So, what’s a girl to do when faced with such a conundrum? Well, remember what your mother told you: It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Coffee might offer several health benefits, but drink too much and you’ll tip the balance toward the commonly associated negatives. So, what is moderation? Anywhere from two to five cups per day is generally considered a safe yet effective amount.
Follow these guidelines to enjoy your favorite blend of java without worry, and pat yourself on the back for potentially improving your health.
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How is it possible for me to weigh at night and then weigh the next morning and weigh 4 POUNDS LESS? I weighed 3 times this morning and that’s what it said! It is not possible. I will weigh tonight just to see if I somehow manage to put on 4 pounds during the day. Otherwise, I’m throwing my DAMN SCALE OUT! Does anyone have one of those WW scales? If so, do you like it?
Good morning, all. I had a bad evening last night and over-indulged in (a) those damn peanuts and (b) a huge glass of chocolate milk! Ugh. And after doing so well through the rest of the day. I’d like to know what genetic predisposition or alignment of the planets it is that causes that oh-to-heck-with-it mindset!
Never mind–it’s back on the wagon again this morning. This is the sort of thing that has always defeated me in the past, so I’m glad I can see past it, at least, and not let that slip become a fall. Obviously, I have yet much to learn about my eating habits and WHY I do the [stupid] things I do. But it truly does help to have a place to come and “confess”. :rant:
Onward and upward…or downward, as the case may be. Everyone have great days!
Just how many calories do our cells need to function well? The number is different for every person. You may notice on the nutritional labels of the foods you buy that the “percent daily values” are based on a 2,000 calorie diet — 2,000 calories is a rough average of what a person needs to eat in a day, but your body might need more or less than 2,000 calories. Height, weight, gender, age and activity level all affect your caloric needs. There are three main factors involved in calculating how many calories your body needs per day:
* Basal metabolic rate
* Physical activity
* Thermic effect of food
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body needs to function at rest. This accounts for about 60 to 70 percent of calories burned in a day and includes the energy required to keep the heart beating, the lungs breathing, the kidneys functioning and the body temperature stabilized. In general, men have a higher BMR than women. One of the most accurate methods of estimating your basal metabolic rate is the Harris-Benedict formula:
* Adult male: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)
* Adult female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
(Note: The first number in the equation for females is, in fact, 655. Strange but true.)
Figure out your BMR? Now you need to know how many calories you need, just to keep doing what you’re doing.
Source: Howstuffworks.com
From the Howstuffworks.com website:
The reason why most diets tend not to work for very long is because they are not sustainable. A person gains weight because he or she consumes more calories per day than needed. The diet creates a temporary deficit. When the diet ends, the person goes back to normal eating and the weight comes back.
Let’s look at an example. Say that you weigh 150 pounds. That means that you burn 1,800 calories per day in a resting state. Let’s also imagine that in the course of a day you burn 200 more calories living your life — walking up and down steps, carrying in the groceries and so on. Your calorie needs then are, on average, 2,000 calories per day. Now let’s further imagine that, on average, you consume 2,050 calories per day. On a daily basis your body is taking in, and therefore storing, 50 calories more than it needs. So every 70 days (3,500 calories in a pound / 50 calories each day = 70 days) you gain 1 pound (0.45 kg). If that “50 extra calories per day” trend continues, then over the course of a year you would gain 5 pounds. This, by the way, is the pattern for a big portion of the U.S. population. If you over-consume by just a few calories per day, over time you will gain weight. Keep in mind that just one Oreo-type cookie contains 50 calories, so over-consuming is incredibly easy.
The first step to building a sustainable diet is to start counting the calories that you consume in a day so that you become conscious of two things:
* You need to understand exactly how many calories you are eating on a “normal” day.
* You need to realize where each calorie comes from — you need to build a calorie database in your brain so that you know, whenever you eat something, just how many calories it is supplying.
In the United States, any food that you buy in the grocery store is required by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to have a nutritional label with that food’s calorie content. You can also look at a chart like this one to find out the number of calories in different foods. Any chain restaurant will supply you with nutrition information both at the store and on the Web.
The second step is to figure out how many calories you need in a day. You can use the “12 calories per pound” rule, or you can get more precise by looking at the formulas in How Calories Work.
Pick your “ideal weight” — the weight that you would like to maintain. Then calculate how many calories a day you can consume to maintain that weight.
The third step is to compare the two numbers — You may be startled by the difference between the “number of calories you need” and “the number of calories that you take in” in a day. That is where the extra pounds are coming from.
The fourth step is to figure out how to bring the two numbers in line. What you will soon realize is that 1,600 or 1,800 or 2,000 calories per day just isn’t that many. You have to watch and count everything you eat and drink every day and stick to your daily limit.
The fifth step might be to add exercise to the mix so that you can raise the number of calories you can consume per day. Online resources like this exercise calculator will show you how many calories different forms of exercise can burn. Burning 250 or 500 calories per day through exercise can make a big difference.
Read more:
Cutting Calories – making wise food selections
Weight loss myths
And even more stuff…here.
