A starch is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units.  Starches are great if you are intending on running a marathon, because they can provide sustained energy over a period of time.  However, endless hours of sitting behind your desk at work does not a marathon make.

Carbohydrates get a bad wrap, but carbs are not the enemy.  All fruit and vegetables are carbs.  These are the very foods that you want to load up on to LOSE weight!  Fruit and non-starchy vegetables plus lots of water are your very best bet for losing weight and ridding your body of free radicals.  They are low-calorie and full of fiber!  If you go to a restaurant and see “low carb” option listed by a meal that features lots of vegetables, like broccoli, carrots, onions, and asparagus, you can notify your server that their classification is inaccurate and makes no sense.  Starches are carbohydrates, but carbohydrates are not always starches.

Starchy vegetables contain 80-120 calories per half cup serving, compared to 25-calories per half cup serving of non-starchy vegetables.

To lose weight, a good rule of thumb is to eat lots of non-starchy vegetables and an adequate amount of fresh fruit (use the 2:1 rule: two non-starchy veggies per 1 fruit).  Eat these foods with every meal and snack.

Limit starchy vegetables to no more than 2-cups per day.  Starches include bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, beans (except green beans), peas, and corn.

When you, Lance, and I decide to start training for an endurance bike ride, like the Tour de France, we can eat starchy vegetables to our heart’s content.  However, if our workouts just consist of <60-minute bouts of exercise, we don’t need much starch for fuel.  If weight loss is your goal, vindicate carbs!  Carbs in the form of non-starchy vegetables and fruit are EXCELLENT for weight loss!

Eat plenty of non-starchy vegetables every day, but limit starches to no more than 2-cups.

Homemade fruit and veggie shakes can be a great way to fill up on your fiber and antioxidents.  Conversely, store-bought shakes and smoothies can be a good way to pack on the pounds.  Store-bought fruit drinks can be loaded with added table sugar.  When you make your shakes at home, you have control over what goes in to them.  The sugar in your homemade shakes will just come from real fruit, whereas sugar from store-bought shakes/smoothies comes from sucrose (table sugar) in addition to the fructose (fruit sugar) and fruit juices (fructose and sucrose).  When a dairy product is added, another sugar is tossed in: lactose.  Shakes and smoothies can really aid with weight loss if they’re made the right way.  To control what goes in to your drinks, make these concoctions at home.  The following recipes were featured in Health Magazine (2102; 26 [1], 131-138).

POWER GULP for iron, healthy blood cell and muscle function; more than a daily serving of Vitamin K (for blood and bone health)

1 c sliced kale (from 2-3 large leaves)

1 c seedless green grapes

1 English cucumber

1 Granny Smith apple, cored

1/2 c water

Blend all ingredients.  Makes 2 cups.  Refrigerate up to 2 days (shake before serving)

Serving Size: 1 cup  Calories 110; Fat 0.6g (sat 0.1g, mono 0g, poly 0.2g); Cholesterol 0mg; Protein 3g; Carbs 27g; Sugars 18g; Fiber 3g; Iron 1mg; Sodium 19mg; Calcium 77mg

POST-WORKOUT REFUELER  For muscle repair and potassium to balance your electrolytes and fluids.

2 medium oranges, peeled

1/4 c. whole, raw almonds

1 small sweet potato, raw, scrubbed, and coarsely chopped

1 medium apple, cored

1/2 c. water

Blend all ingredients.  Makes 2 cups.  Refrigerate up to 2 days (shake before serving)

Serving Size: 1 cup  Calories 231; Fat 9.1g (sat 0.7g, mono 5.6g, poly 2.2g); Cholesterol 0mg; Protein 6g; Carbs 36g; Sugars 20g; Fiber 7g; Iron img; Sodium 24mg; Calcium 106mg

DETOX  For high-fiber- to move things through the digestive tract.  Ginger will help to calm the stomach.

2 t. fresh ginger, peeled & chopped

1 medium beet, raw, scrubbed, and coarsely chopped

4 medium carrots

1 medium apple, cored

1 c. water

Blend all ingredients.  Makes 2 cups.  Refrigerate up to 2 days (shake before serving)

Serving Size: 1 cup  Calories 155; Fat 0.7g (sat 0.1g, mono 0.1g, poly 0.2g); Cholesterol 0mg; Protein 3g; Carbs 37g; Sugars 25g; Fiber 8g; Iron 1mg; Sodium 168 mg; Calcium 62mg

TOTAL HEALTH BOOSTER  For vitamins A, B, C, and E.  Lutein + Vit A & C= strong bones and healthy skin.

1 medium apple, cored

2 medium soft pears

1/2 c fresh cherries, pits removed

Blend all ingredients.  Makes 2 cups.  Refrigerate up to 2 days (shake before serving).

Serving Size:  1 cup  Calories 192; Fat 0.4g (sat 0g, mono 0.1g, poly 0.1g); Cholesterol 0mg; Protein 1g; Carbs 51g; Sugars 35g; Fiber 8g; Iron 1mg; Sodium 2mg; Calcium 29mg

If you are using your shake as a meal replacement, you may add 1c ice, 1/2 c low-fat (& <12g sugar per half cup) yogurt, and 1 medium peeled banana with 1c of any of the juice from the shakes listed.  That will convert your shake into a smoothie!  Just as a snack, the shakes alone should suffice.

Forskolin comes from the roots of a family of coleus plants that are cultivated in India.  It has long been used for treating high blood pressure.  This medical plant causes vasodialiation (widening) of blood vessels and it induces more forceful contractions of the heart muscles.  Doctors have treated high blood pressure or heart failure by injecting forskolin intravenously.  It has also been used as an inhalant to treat asthma and as eye drops for glaucoma.  What about the pill form of forskolin that you’ve seen at the local vitamin shop, touting it as a weight loss supplement… hype, hoax, or hope?  Well, based on two clinical studies, this one has hope.

With the limited research on forskolin for weight loss, or even the effectiveness of forskolin taken orally, period, it’s too soon to say, but the claims may hold merit.  Only one of the studies referenced above was subject to peer review and published in a medical journal.  One was conducted on six individuals with 50mg per day.  It did show significant fat loss in all of the six subjects, but caution is suggested because this study was partially funded by a company that holds a patent on a forskolin product.  Until more clinical studies have been published in medical journals with similar findings, we won’t know whether this supplement should be among our “101 Legit Ways to Lose Weight.”  The hypothesis is that forskolin may increase activation of lipase (an enzyme that the body uses to break down fat) and thus improve fat oxidation.  Exactly what the optimal dosage is or would be is yet to be determined.  Critics argue that even if this root could improve fat metabolism, there is insufficient evidence that it is effective in pill form.

We wouldn’t suggest snagging a bottle of this off of the shelf at your nearest GNC just yet.  There are possibly unsafe side effects, due to the vasodilator properties.  It carries a warning by cancer researchers that it may have a role in causing cyst enlargement in women with polycystic kidney disease.  Forskolin for fat loss will be under investigation in the months and years ahead.  Keep this one on your radar, as it may be among the weight loss supplements of the future.  Maybe.

With a host of websites out there, touting questionable fitness and nutrition advice, it’s refreshing to find www.exrx.net.  This site references research to support the information posted.  It is a free resource that is useful for fitness and wellness professionals, health enthusiasts, and weekend warriors, alike.  The navigation pane on the left side of the home page provides access to several useful pages for anyone aspiring to lose weight.  Some of these include: beginner’s page, exercise instruction, aerobic conditioning, fitness testing, weight management, diet and nutrition.

The diet and nutrition page provides a complete list of sub-pages.  Some that may be especially beneficial for people aspiring to lose weight are: “Dietary Guidelines,” “Progressive Eating Goals,” and “Rationale.”  ”Develop a Diet” may help you learn how to eat in such a way that you can sustain your weight loss, long term.  It is a way of eating that can become a way of life; this is not intended to be a “diet” in the restrictive sense.

“Foods for Fat Loss” lists certain foods that may rev up fat metabolism, and it documents the research studies that have supported the claim.  However, just because studies have been done that support the notion that a certain food or beverage boosts fat metabolism doesn’t mean that the claim is true or the date complete.  (exrx.net does a great job in listing the items on this page as “foods that MAY aid in fat loss”).  For instance, one of the things listed on that page is that drinking cold water may help you burn more calories, because of water-induced thermogenesis (your body having to warm the liquid to room temp).  The post referenced a large study that supported the fat-burning claim of drinking cold water because it requires roughly 24 calories to raise the temperature of a cold glass of water from 22 to 37 degrees Celsius in the body.  Although that is true, the nominal amount energy expended during thermogenesis is not believed to be substantial enough to consider cold water a fat-blasting miracle maker.  http://www.chow.com/food-news/54270/does-drinking-ice-water-burn-calories/  Be diligent about looking up the studies referenced and do your own research to see what else you can find on it.  After gathering all the information you can, decide for yourself if it’s worth a good ole college try.

www.exrx.net is an informative website that contains plenty of useful information for anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of fitness, health, and wellness.  We find it practical enough to consider Exercise Prescription on the Net worthy of #16 on our 101 Legit Ways to Lose Weight countdown.