The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper

Just read through Bob Harper's new book, The Skinny Rules.  Good read.  I wish he would have used the word healthy or fit vs skinny but he really does not focus on "skinny" in the book.  A lot of little tips and tweaks to share.  The list of "rules" is really nothing new but still a great refresher of things to consider.  If you want to read the list of his rules, you can go to Amazon.com and click on "search inside this book".  Like every other nutrition book, take away what can work for you and ignore the rest.  

Detox and Fiber - something that applies to everyone

Is detox necessary?
I get asked on a regular basis about "detox" and if I think it is necessary.
For the average person:  NO.  You do not need to fast (stop eating), do a juice cleanse or add drastic dietary modifications.
YES, you should focus on eating cleanly (veggies, fruits, nuts, whole grains, lean organic meats etc).  Those changes can be made over time.  You need to reduce or eliminate (as much as possible) all of the things that are not good for our bodies like sugar, hydrogenated fats, refined grains, food coloring and preservatives (just to name a few).

What about colon cleanse supplements?
If you are feeding your body heaps of junk food and trying to take colon cleanse/detox supplements, you are not accomplishing anything positive.  You are creating a vicious cycle of diarrhea, dehydration and reducing the ability of your gastro-intestinal system to help your immune system (the two are very connected in function).  Given sufficient amount of water, our bodies have an amazing ability to clean themselves via the function of our kidneys and liver.  If you consume a lot of water, that only helps the process along.  If you do not like water, try iced or hot tea sweetened with stevia.

So what should I do?
In my opinion, the most beneficial thing that anyone can do to help naturally detox is to greatly increase their consumption of fiber.

How much?
Do not add huge amounts all at once.  Start small (2-3x a day) and increase your intake until you find the right amount that your digestive tract can handle.

Most Americans get only about 5-10 grams of fiber per day in their diet.  But the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends:

• 25 grams for women and teenage girls
• 30-38 grams for men and teenage boys (as they usually consume more calories than women)

Different types
There are two different types of fiber and they both help clean our bodies in different ways.

Soluble Fiber	Insoluble Fiber
slows down digestion	prevents constipation
makes you feel full	speeds up the passage of waste through your gut
helps control weight
helps blood sugar levels
helps lower LDL “bad” cholesterol

My favorite supplements
I try to get as much fiber as I can from real food sources but I also have a few staples that I use on a regular basis.

1) VitaFusion Fiber Gummies.  Target has a generic that is exactly the same.  Walmart has a generic that is lower in fiber with a few more calories.  It essentially has 0 net calories because the only calories that it contains are not readily absorbed by your body.  And it packs the largest amount of fiber in a small serving.  Two fiber chews have 10 calories and 5 grams of fiber.  That is 20% of what you should be consuming each day.  If you had no other sources of fiber in your diet (BAD), you could eat 10 fiber chews each day, which contain 100 calories, to get 25 grams of fiber (remember men need a little bit more than women).

2)  For someone who does not eat gluten, wheat, soy, dairy or animal products (are vegan/vegetarian), Fiber 35 Diet chews are a great option.  188 calories to get 25 grams of fiber.

3) Another great vegetarian product from GNC.  250 calories to to get 25 grams of fiber.

Other favorites in our household

Some of my other favorite fiber containing foods:

Quaker High Fiber Oatmeal - 1 packet has 40% of daily fiber for a woman

Fiber One 50 calorie yogurts - one container has 20% of daily fiber for a woman.

My husband and kids could live on Fiber One Chocolate, Caramel & Pretzel 90-calorie bars.  We buy them by the case.  They provide 20% of daily fiber needs for a woman.

At the metaphorical end
Try increasing your fiber intake for a week and let me know what you think.  I won't even mind the dirty details.

Waldorf Salad - my lower-calorie recipe

My mom used to make this all of the time when I was younger.  I got a craving for it last night.

Crunchy, sweet, creamy, nutty - delicious!

Ingredient                               Calories

1 chopped Fuji Apple                70

¼ cup Celery                             4

1 tbsp raisins                             30

5 sliced grapes                          20

1 tbsp crushed walnuts              40

1 tbsp hellmans low fat mayo     15

2 tbsp low fat cool whip            25

1 packet splenda or stevia          0

Throw all of the ingredients in a container, put the lid on and shake. 

Makes 2 larger servings about 100 calories each or 3 smaller servings about 70 calories each.

*I have made this with vegan mayo, fat free-mayo, fat-free cool whip, vegan whipped cream (coconut milk based) etc.  It pretty much always tastes the same, regardless of what I use. 

Favorite new snack

A new snack that I have been enjoying - only 67 calories!  Odd, as I usually avoid calorie-laden bagels and most dairy.  But this is kind of yum!  Nothing original, but the mix of flavors is still a great combo.

Update: 
I forgot to add that I love adding Eggbeaters to this too.
I cook eight (1/4 cup) Eggbeater/egg white omelets at a time.  I keep the extra stored in the fridge and warm them up as I want a snack.  Each 1/4 cup omelet adds 5 grams of protein and 25 calories.  So Egg beaters added to the 1/2 bagel and spreadable cheese = 92 calories.

Other flavor combinations:
My son loves the cinnamon raisin bagel thins with reduced calorie plain cream cheese.
My daughter loves the plain bagel thins with the reduced calorie plain cream cheese.

I have also tried the Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb spread (love it) and the Laughing Cow Mozzarella, Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil spread.  I really like it too but it has a strong basil taste.  If you like basil you will love it.  If you typically do not like basil, I'd skip it.