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WHAT'S IN
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Calories in = eating.
Articles, downloads, and links to help you make the most of the calories that you eat.

Check out the latest resources in our What's In, Healthy Eating Library.

WHAT'S OUT
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Calories out = physical activity. Articles, downloads, and links to help you find ways to stand up and move more.

Check out the latest resources in our What's Out, Active Living Library.

THE STAND UP & EAT BLOG

"Cheat Day" Okay?

clock July 18, 2008 09:30 by author Admin

It's five o'clock on a Friday afternoon and after a long week of work you and a few friends head out for happy hour. Having meticulously balanced your calories over the week you figure you deserve the treat; and after all, what will one high-calorie meal do to a week's worth of watching calories?

A lot! Despite what you may have heard about the harmlessness (or even the benefits) of splurging one or two days each week, "cheat day" might not be okay for people trying balance calories in with calories out. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recently reported findings from a study that followed participants over one year of either decreasing their calories by 20% or increasing their daily exercise to have a comparable calorie deficit. What did they find? Before the study started participants consistently gained weight (due to eating more calories and expending less calories) on the weekends but not on weekdays. Although the weekly weight gain was only about 0.077 kilograms, this rate of weight gain could result in an annual increase of 4.0 kilograms, or almost 9 pounds if continued over a year!

And even after the diet and exercise interventions, researchers found this pattern remained the same. Both intervention groups were in negative calorie balance (i.e., they ate less calories then they expended) during the week but on the weekend the calorie restricting group stopped losing weight and the exercising group gained weight–both due to eating too many calories on the weekends.

Still don’t see how a single meal can sabotage an entire week of balanced calories? Do the math… Say Scott determines his daily calorie needs for weight maintenance to be 2300. He is moderately active during the week and sticks very close to his calorie budget each day. But, on Fridays he frequently goes out for happy hour and orders beef nachos (of which he eats 75%) and three light beers totaling 1635 calories. When he arrives home from happy hour he’s usually a little hungry again and eats a few cookies or bowl of ice cream for another 250 calories. Thus, he replaces his typical 450-calorie dinner with a 1885-calorie splurge. While this is only an excess of 1435 daily calories, if he does this just once a week it could lead to an imbalance of 5740 calories over the course of a month, equating to over 1.5 pounds gained if all other calorie conditions remain the same. If he continues this routine for a year it could lead to an 18-plus pound weight gain!

So, yes, every little calorie counts when you’re dealing with the calorie balance scale. And treating yourself to a “cheat day” each week is hard to recover from. However, it is not realistic to forbid yourself from eating high-calorie foods. Instead, allow yourself small indulgences throughout the week (like a square of dark chocolate for dessert); pay close attention to portion sizes when eating high-calorie foods (check out this download - http://www.standupandeat.org/pdf/portion_size_pitfalls_portion.pdf); and plan ahead for times when you know you’ll be tempted to eat more than you’ll expend. An extra walk or bike ride can help to balance out and evening of overeating. 



Few Are Calorie Literate, New Survey Says

clock May 23, 2008 14:24 by author CI Staff

Eleven percent to 15%. There has been a four percentage point increase in one year in the number of people who could correctly estimate the daily calorie intake level that is right for them, according to a new survey released this week by the International Food Information Council (IFIC). A jump of over 25% in a single year. Fantastic! But let’s look at it another way. If we continue at this rate, it will be 21 years – or 2029 – before all Americans know what is the appropriate calorie level for them. 

Obviously, we have to find ways get more people to clue in to their calorie needs – and soon. Armed with this personalized information, people can better reach calorie balance by adjusting their calorie intake to match the number of calories their body burns. Calorie balance is important for maintaining a healthy body weight. Yet, according to the IFIC study, even among people who report being physically active, 44% are not even trying to balance diet and physical activity to manage their weight. 

So let’s just accept that it is easy to calculate a person’s daily calorie needs. (Not! We’ll talk about the challenges with calorie assessment on this site in the future. Even the calculator we provide on the Stand Up & Eat web site will only give you a rough estimate.) How DO we get people to know what is their daily calorie limit is?

  • Should it be calculated at every doctor visit?
  • Provided on each child’s report card?
  • Should a formula be put on YouTube (it’s already there, but not all the methods provided are accurate so beware) or blared across the evening news?
  • How about a Super Bowl ad that tells people how to find out their personal calorie level?

What are your ideas of making Americans more calorie literate a lot sooner than 2029?



Blog Welcome

clock April 20, 2008 06:00 by author CI Staff


 

Welcome to the Stand Up(more) & Eat(better) blog. This blog is produced by Cooper Institute staff because we are passionate – and knowledgeable – and opinionated – about helping people attain calorie balance through active living and health eating. A couple of times a week you’ll see posts on practical information related to:

  • cutting down on fats
  • getting portions right-sized
  • really thinking about what you are eating (yikes!)
  • moving more
  • creating opportunities for healthier living in your home, neighborhood, community, state, nation, and world  
  • and other calorie balance topics

We'll also give our two cents on latest research findings, government policies, and silly or ingenious things people do to keep their lives in or out of calorie balance.

This blog is also a place where people who are interested – for whatever reason – in calories in (aka food and drink!), calories out (fidgeting to football) and calorie balance (preventing weight gain) can share their ideas, comments, opinions, and interests. What we learn from you will help drive further development of the Stand Up & Eat blog and web site, so we’re eager for you to take a stand and share your voice.

What is on your mind regarding calorie balance?  Let us know in the comments section below.