When I got an iPhone a couple of years ago, I had no idea what was in store. It has become a central part of my life. At times it seems like it is an extra appendage – always on my body somewhere. It also seems like there are always new and better apps coming out to help make our lives easier, more informed, and more healthy. Here is a list of some of the apps I’m constantly using or recommending.

GroceryIQ: Lets you keep your shopping lists for multiple stores in one place. You can assign items to aisles then arrange the aisles in each store to match the order of the actual store so your list is in the same order as you shop. If you have an item that has a barcode that you need to buy, you can scan the barcode, it finds the item, and you add it to your list. The best $0.99 I’ve spent in a long time.

Locavore: I like being able to buy and cook local produce, but I’m not good at knowing what is in season and, sometimes, what to do with it. Locavore tells you, based on your location, the produce that is currently in season and coming into season. Also, provides recipes for in season and coming into season produce. This app will also locate farmer’s markets near you which can be great when you are traveling and want fresh, local produce. It is a bit pricier at $2.99 but nice to have if you like buying and eating locally.

Dirty Produce: Organic produce can be expensive. Some produce you don’t need to buy organic, and some you should. However, keeping those lists in my head isn’t going to happen. Now, I have the list with me always. This app lists the “Dirty Dozen,” the “Clean 15,” and has a full list of produce from dirtiest to cleanest. Free!

Seafood Watch: Knowing which seafood is “safe” and “sustainable” is harder to keep straight than knowing which produce to by organic and which to by conventionally grown. Seafood Watch, developed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, lists seafood and sushi by name and provides information about how good a choice it is and, if is listed as “Avoid,” why. For example, Orange Roughy is listed as an “Avoid” because it can have high levels of mercury, the populations have been decimated due to years of heavy fishing, and that these fish are caught using bottom trawls which can damage the sea floor and habitat. It also provides interesting tidbits such as that Orange Roughy grow slowly and reproduce late in life, “so that fillet in your freezer might be from a fish older than your grandmother!” Free!

Restaurant Nutrition: When you go to eat out at a major chain restaurant, do you wonder how many calories and how much fat is in that hamburger and fries? You can find out using this simple app. It lists the restaurants and foods in each along with nutrition information for each item. This app is a huge help if you eat out frequently. Free!

LiveStrong: Lets you log your food and activity. This app is a huge help if you are trying to manage your weight. It also syncs with Livestrong.com so you can enter information both on the iPhone and on-line. $2.99

Lose It!: Another food and activity log. I know several people who have had success losing weight and keeping it off using this app. Free!

Do you have a favorite iPhone app? I’d love to hear about it.

“Never work before breakfast. If you have to work before breakfast, get your breakfast first.” ~ Josh Billings

Did your mother ever tell you “breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” Well, she was right. Breakfast is literally breaking the fast your body has been in while you slept. Your body needs fuel first thing in the morning. While you sleep your still needs energy because your body is still working – you are still breathing, your heart is beating, your muscles may move as you dream. All of these things take energy. To get the energy your body is using both fat and glycogen (your body’s storage form of sugar) from the liver and muscles. You can think of them like gas tanks. By the morning, your body has used up a lot of the glycogen in those gas tanks and needs to be refilled. Breakfast is the fuel that helps refill those tanks.

But, the morning is usually a busy time for most people. I hear “I don’t have time for breakfast” all the time. One trick, is to fix something the night before or the weekend and have it ready to grab-and-go. One idea is a smoothie and toast. Blend up the smoothie the night before so in the morning all you have to do is pour it in a glass or go-cup, make a piece or two of toast and you are out the door. Breakfast taco are also a great grab-and-go. You can make them on Sunday and they will keep in the refrigerator for two or three days. I’ve also included one of my favorite breakfast recipes  - muesli parfaits. Again, you can make them on Sunday and keep them in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Another way to fit in breakfast is remember that breakfast does not have to be breakfast food. Why not have a sandwich, salad, or soup? Last summer I enjoyed a nice stew for breakfast for a few weeks. I was amazed at how much it filled me up and kept me going until lunch. Don’t be afraid to try something different. If you don’t try it, you won’t know if it will work for you.

Remember, breakfast really IS the most important meal of the day!

. . . Then it probably is.  Celebrety trainer Jillian Michaels is facing, to date, three lawsuits based on her supplements.  On the package of one product, Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Calorie Control™, it states “Two Capsules Before Main Meals And You Lose Weight. . .That’s It.”  Really?  All I have to do to lose weight is take two of these pills before my main meals?  Sign me up!

Then, I look a little closer at the label and find this:  WARNING:This product contains a significantly potent xanthine (i.e., caffeine and caffeine-like stimulants) mixture of about 100 mg per regular 2-MetaCap serving. Consult your physician before use if you are sensitive to stimulants. Do not exceed suggested daily serving. Not for use by individuals under the age of 18 years. Do not use if pregnant or nursing.

A Red Bull has 80 mg of caffeine in an 8.2 oz can.  A cup of coffee has between 80 and 135 mg of caffeine.  If you take six capsules of the supplement, you’ll be consuming 300 mg of caffiene – about the same as three cups of coffee.  Not necessarily an issue, unless you are sensitive to or avoid caffeine.

This supplement also contains guarana extract, cocoa seed extract and ginger root powder.  These are intended to suppress your appetite.  Guarana is claimed to help with weight loss, but the research has not show this to be true.  Also, those with a heart condition, high blood pressure, or anxiety disorders (among others) should not consume guarana due to the high caffeine content.  When you stop using guarana, you can experience withdrawal symptoms like those when you are addicted to caffeine.  It just keeps getting better.

I could go on, but am going to stop here.  What’s the moral of the story?  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  If you are looking at a pill, supplement, or anything you put into your body do some research and be comfortable with it.

If losing weight was easy, we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic.  Losing weight takes work.  Keeping weight off takes work.  If you are struggling with your weight, find a healthy way to do it.  Find a Registered Dietitian and someone to help you find a way to burn calories you enjoy.  It can be done, and done without pills that promise outrageous claims.

“The journey of a thousand pounds begins

with a single burger.” ~Chris O’Brien

OK, I do know that “ain’t” is not a word, but it just flowed in the title. I couldn’t resist.

Have you gotten used to ordering by numbers – you know those “value meals?” Fast food places make it so easy! “Yes, I’d like a number 1, a number 5 and a number 9.” Just pictures and numbers, and voila! – you have dinner! Although ordering by numbers is easy, and in fact encouraged, it is not the way to order if you are trying to watch your waist line or hips.

For example, if you visit McDonald’s and order a combo of a Big Mac, medium fries, and a medium drink you’ll consume 1,130 calories and 48 grams of fat. Yeah, I’ll take a number 1, please! However, if you order a Quarter Pounder (no cheese), a side salad with the butter garlic croutons, the low fat balsamic vinaigrette, and a bottle of water, you’ll get 530 calories, 23 grams of fat. This option doesn’t have a number, but you can still order it and save yourself 600 calories and 25 grams of fat. When we order by numbers, we tend to order more food which means we almost always end up eating more.

I had a client tell me that she actually had an argument when not ordering by numbers. It went something like this:

Client: “I’d like a hamburger and a medium diet coke.”
Order Taker: “Don’t you just want a number 3?”
Client: “No. I”d like a hamburger and a medium diet coke.”
Order Taker: “But it would be cheaper to get a number 3.”
Client: “I don’t want the fries. I just want a hamburger and a medium diet coke.”
Order Taker: “Don’t you want a number 3?”

Apparently this went on for some time before my client finally got her order. She knew if she got the fries she would eat them. So, she did not want to be anywhere near the fries (she is very motivated to reach her goal).

One of the best ways to get away from ordering by the numbers is to print the nutrition information for each restaurant and keep it in your car. You can even highlight the “best” choices so you can find them quickly. That way, you can be informed when making your choices.

Next time you visit a fast food restaurant, or a restaurant where you order by numbers, I challenge you to not order by numbers and see what happens.

“My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people.” ~ Orson Welles

Super Bowl Sunday is fast approaching. That means Super Bowl parties are planned. I read that sales for antacid increase by 20% on Super Bowl weekend. That scares me. What is everyone eating? OK, I know what they are eating because I’m usually at a Super Bowl party. Chips, dips, pizza, wings, cookies, candies, brownies – most parties are a junk food-fest.

How do you stay on track at a Super Bowl party? Here are a few ideas:

• Avoid “air food.” “Air food” is food that goes directly from the serving container to your mouth – no plate involved. The key here is that you don’t really see “air food.” If you don’t look at it, your mind is less likely to register it than if it comes from a plate. Take a plate and put food on the plate and step away from the food area. before you eat it. This also keeps you from eating the whole bowl of chips. If you want more, you have to make the decision to go back.
• Alternate water and alcoholic beverages. We tend to eat more when we drink alcoholic beverages. Alternating water can help you stay hydrated, too.
• Eat before you go. If you are not hungry, you are less likely to over-eat at the party.
• Take something healthy. It could be a fruit or vegetable try. Or, black bean brownies. Or, Cherry-Almond-Chocolate Clusters (this is what I’m taking).
• Don’t hover near the food. Find other locations to hang out to minimize the temptation.

Hope this helps you manage the “air food.”