How Accurate Is Your Fitness Tracker?

Wearable fitness trackers — including Fitbit and Jawbone devices — are wildly popular ways to keep a tally of all the daily activities you do. They count steps and calories, measure heart rate and, in some cases, monitor things like how much and how well you sleep. But before you live and die by those numbers on your device, you might want to consider something: How accurate is all that information anyway?

According to a new study by researchers at Ball State University’s Human Performance Lab, the answer is they are both very accurate and wildly inaccurate — depending on what they’re measuring. When it comes to counting steps, these trackers do a great job, as long as those steps are taken while walking or running. “But they all tended to underestimate the amount of activity subjects got while doing household chores like sweeping, cleaning and doing laundry,” said Alex Montoye, a clinical exercise physiology professor at Ball State University.

The researchers watched subjects perform various activities and used a tally counter to record every single step observed. They also had subjects hooked up to a metabolic analyzer to measure the amount of oxygen used, which relates directly to how many calories are being burned. This data was compared to the steps and calories recorded by the trackers the subjects wore.

And while the number of steps recorded during walking and running were nearly spot-on, the trackers overestimated the number of calories burned during those activities by anywhere from 15 to 40 percent. That’s enough to negate that cookie you thought you earned during your workout.

None of these flaws are reason enough to stop using a fitness tracker, especially because these tools are powerful motivators for many people and do a great job at keeping you accountable to your activity goals on a daily basis. “The takeaway is to be careful not to take the numbers too literally,” cautions Montoye. “The number on your wrist doesn’t matter as much as the fact that you’re being active every day.”

Sally Wadyka is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist who writes about nutrition, health and wellness.

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Good or Bad: Rice Pudding

This traditional dessert has been making a comeback on social media, but is it a good idea to eat this comfort food regularly? Find out if you want to get involved with the recent renaissance of this dessert.

Good

The sweet, rich and creamy mixture is downright delish. You’ve got to love that it’s made from simple ingredients like rice, milk, sugar and eggs. While this is a dessert, it does offer some nutritional benefits, including almost 10 grams of protein and 15 percent of the daily recommendation for bone-building calcium per cup.

Most rice pudding recipes can be easily modified to be lower in fat and to remove common allergens like eggs and dairy; rice is also naturally gluten-free. If you choose to make it with whole-grain brown rice, it can add to your daily fiber intake. Boosting nutrition by adding fruit is also a tasty option. Add canned pumpkin to the custard and serve it topped with fresh seasonal fruit.

There’s also an advantage if you choose to buy your rice pudding instead of making it: Unlike many other types of store-bought puddings, most brands of rice pudding have an impressively simple ingredient list. Most contain nothing but low-fat milk, rice, sugar, eggs and salt.

 

Bad

The calories and fat in rice pudding can stack up quickly. Recipes made with whole milk, cream, egg yolks and gobs of sugar can create a dessert with an excessive amount of calories, fat and sugar. Many popular recipes will tip the scales at far over 300 calories per serving.

 

Bottom Line: A thumbs-up with a few stipulations. Most rice pudding recipes keep it super simple, making this dessert a good choice to satisfy a sweet craving. Choose a recipe that uses lower-fat ingredients to keep the calories conservative.

Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc., which specializes in culinary and sports nutrition.

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6 Fitness Tips For Long-Term Success

Everyone wants to get in beach body shape for summer, but how about making changes to get fit and stay fit throughout the year? These six tips will help set you up for long-term success.

Avoid overshooting.

Know your limits, and be practical about how much you can and should exercise. It’s better to start conservatively and progress to more strenuous workouts than to start by overdoing it and risk getting burnt out or injured. If you currently exercise one or two days a week, bump it up to three. Eventually work up to five or six, and always include a day to rest.

Set a goal.

Sign up for a race or competition, map out a new route, or join a class you’ve always wanted to try. Working toward attainable goals will help keep you motivated and dedicated. Decide on a way to reward your accomplishments that’s not food-related, and then work toward a new goal.

Asses hydration.

According to a new study released by the , many Americans actually are drinking enough water — but are you one of them? The report also found that as physical activity increased, so did water intake. But because folks who exercise regularly are at greater risk for falling short on fluids, it’s worth counting up the ounces you drink for a couple of days to see where you stand.

Eat for performance.

Keeping fit means eating right. Fuel your workouts by eating properly beforehand and making smart choices during the rest of the day. It’s fine to indulge occasionally, but try not to undo all that hard work by eating too many high-calorie foods.

Remember to recover, recover, recover.

This buzzy sports nutrition term actually means something. Get in a meal or snack of some healthy carbs and protein directly after exercise to help replenish energy stores and build muscle. Get into the routine of doing this after any strenuous exercise session, and see our list of recovery food suggestions.

Have fun.

To make a long-standing commitment to exercise, it’s ideal to actually like to exercise. With so many options to choose from, you don’t need settle for something you aren’t interested in. Find a new activity you’ll be excited about with our list of hot new fitness trends.

Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc., which specializes in culinary and sports nutrition.

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Order This, Not That: Red Lobster

This chain has been around for as long as I can remember, and it’s still frequented by loyal customers. Find out what you should be ordering the next time you hit up your local Red Lobster.

Appetizers

Order: Signature Shrimp Cocktail (pictured at top)

Shrimp is a very lean protein, and it is pretty low in calories too. It’s a great way to add protein to your diet without saturating it with fat and calories. The sodium is undoubtedly high in this dish, but if you cut back on the sauce, you can cut out much of the sodium.

Per dish: Calories 130; Fat 0 g (Saturated 0 g); Sodium 1,070 mg; Carbohydrate 11 g; Protein 21 g

Not: Crispy Calamari and Vegetables

Although you will be getting in some veggies, such as broccoli and red peppers, this fried calamari dish served with tangy marinara and ranch dressing for dunking contains close to the recommended amount of daily calories. Even if you split it with someone, it’s more than 900 calories and an entire day’s worth of sodium per person before the entree even arrives.

Per dish: Calories 1,830; Fat 127 g (Saturated 15 g); Sodium 4,720 mg; Carbohydrate 138 g; Protein 36 g

Main Entree

Order: Broiled Wild Caught Flounder Dinner

This flakey white fish is broiled and served with a choice of a side vegetable off the menu. It’s a great way to take in your recommended weekly serving of fish without consuming too many calories. Make sure, however, to order a side vegetable that isn’t drowning in fat or calories.

Per dish: Calories 430; Fat 9 g (Saturated 0 g); Sodium 720 mg; Carbohydrate 8 g; Protein 73 g

Not: Bar Harbor Lobster Bake

This bad boy is named after a town in Maine where lobster bakes are a way of life. It contains a combo of lobster tail with shrimp, sea scallops, mussels and tomatoes that’s piled over linguini in a garlic and white wine broth. This dish contains 172 percent of the recommended amount of daily fat, 200 percent of the recommended amount of saturated fat and 159 percent of the recommended amount of sodium.

Per dish: Calories 1,850; Fat 112 g (Saturated 40 g); Sodium 3,810 mg; Carbohydrate 115 g; Protein 90 g

Sides

Order: Fresh Broccoli

This simple side is your best bet, as it contains only 40 calories per serving. Broccoli is also packed with vitamins C and K and lots of phytochemicals to help fight and prevent disease.

Per dish: Calories 40; Fat 0 g (Saturated 0 g); Sodium 35 mg; Carbohydrate 8 g; Protein 3 g

Not: Creamy Langostino Lobster Baked Potato

You might think that because this potato is baked it’s the healthier choice. The “creamy” factor, however, jacks the calories up more than necessary. You’re better off with a traditional baked potato for 180 fewer calories.

Per dish: Calories 390; Fat 17 g (Saturated 5 g); Sodium 1,170 mg; Carbohydrate 48 g; Protein 13 g

Dessert

Order: Key Lime Pie

Split this treat with a friend, or take half home for later. Of all the sweet treats, it contains the fewest calories.

Per dish: Calories 430; Fat 19 g (Saturated 11 g); Sodium 280 mg; Carbohydrate 64 g; Protein 9 g

Not: Chocolate Wave

This sweet treat is a warm, decadent chocolate cake with creamy fudge frosting, topped with vanilla ice cream and rich chocolate sauce. If you eat the entire dessert on your own, you’ll be downing more than 50 percent of the recommended amount of daily calories and more than 100 percent of the daily maximum for saturated fat.

Per dish: Calories 1,100; Fat 62 g (Saturated 21 g); Sodium 730 mg; Carbohydrate 133 g; Protein 21 g

 

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Nutrition News: Healthiest Veggie-Cooking Methods, Pregnancy Obesity Risks, Silk For Fresh Fruit

Healthier veggie prep

We all know vegetables are healthy, but some ways of preparing them are healthier than others. In general, cooked beats raw, CNN reports, noting, “Studies show the process of cooking actually breaks down tough outer layers and cellular structure of many vegetables, making it easier for your body to absorb their nutrients.” And while the ideal method may differ slightly for different vegetables, the news site reports, as a rule of thumb it’s often best to steam (don’t boil) or microwave your veggies and “keep cooking time, temperature and the amount of liquid to a minimum.” Then throw in a wee bit of olive oil and you’re good to go.

Best ‘metabolic start’

Eating for two may require some restraint. Women who gain an excessive amount of weight (more than 40 pounds) or have elevated blood sugar levels during pregnancy may “imprint” their children with obesity – increasing the children’s risk of obesity later even if they are born at a normal weight — a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research has concluded. “What we think is happening is the baby is adapting to an overfed environment, either because of high glucose or excess weight gain,” Dr. Teresa Hillier, of Kaiser Permanente, told UPI. “Metabolic imprinting, or obesity imprinting, is what we’re talking about. We don’t really understand why it’s happening but we know it’s happening.” Hillier advocates following standard medical recommendations for exercise and diet during pregnancy — and gaining neither too much nor too little weight — in order to give children the best “metabolic start” in life.

Silky stay-fresh solution

Fruit is yummy and healthy when it’s fresh. But when it’s well past its prime? Not so much. But biomedical engineering researchers at Tufts University say they may have found a way to keep fruits and vegetables fresh longer — by coating them in edible silk. The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports, report they were able to extend the life of strawberries and bananas by coating them with a micrometer-thin membrane of edible silk fibroin, which had the effect of “slowing fruit respiration, extending fruit firmness and preventing dehydration.” The researchers cite U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about half the world’s crops produced for human consumption are lost somewhere along the food supply chain, “mostly due to the premature deterioration of perishable crops.” Given that fact, they note, an edible, “flavorless and odorless” coating that keeps them fresh may have major benefits.

Amy Reiter is a writer and editor based in New York. A regular contributor to The Los Angeles Times, she has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Glamour, Marie Claire, The Daily Beast and Wine Spectator, among others, as well as for Salon, where she was a longtime editor and senior writer. In addition to contributing to Healthy Eats, she blogs for Food Network’s FN Dish.

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7 of the Quickest — and Healthiest — Side Dishes Ever

Here’s the predicament: You’re having guests over for dinner tonight, and while you’re at the grocery store gathering ingredients for your carefully thought-out dessert and entree, you realize you completely forgot to plan a side dish. Don’t panic — we’ve all been there. When you’re short on time, it’s wise to avoid slow-cooking grains and zero in on the produce aisle instead. Spring peas, asparagus, edamame and fresh salad greens are just a few of the season’s lifesaving ingredients, each one quickly and easily transformed from its raw state into a flavorsome, complementary side. Here are seven of our easiest and lightest spring sides that are ready in 20 minutes or less. Tuck these ideas away in your recipe arsenal to consult the next time you’re hosting — no one will know the dish was an afterthought.

Green Salad with Strawberry-Balsamic Vinaigrette
Time: 5 minutes
Rachael Ray’s simple five-minute salad embraces the flavors of spring with fresh greens, strawberries and a sweet-tart vinaigrette.

Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Time: 7 minutes
For less than 80 calories per serving, you can dress up mixed salad greens with Food Network Magazine’s rich buttermilk dressing that calls for pungent blue cheese, tangy sour cream, lemon and hot sauce.

Quick Vidalia Onion, Mushroom and Parsley Salad
Time: 5 minutes
This salad is all about simplicity and highlights the subtle sweetness of Vidalia onions. Try to get the slices really thin — the texture and flavor will be especially delicate.

Sauteed Asparagus with Olives and Basil
Time: 20 minutes
The combination of savory garlic and olives plus aromatic basil brightens crisp asparagus in this 20-minute side dish. Cutting the asparagus into short pieces allows them to cook quickly.

Chile Garlic Edamame
Time: 12 minutes
High-protein edamame benefits from the robust flavors of garlic, pepper flakes and lime juice in this quick and healthy side dish. Serve it alongside your favorite stir-fry for a well-rounded weeknight meal.

Green Beans Gremolata
Time: 20 minutes
Ina Garten enhances these quickly blanched green beans with olive oil and a homemade gremolata that includes lemon zest, grated Parmesan, minced garlic and parsley. Before serving, top the dish with toasted pine nuts for crunch.

Creamed Spinach
Time: 19 minutes
Ellie Krieger uses low-fat milk and chicken broth to add flavor and creaminess to this lightened-up creamed spinach. The dish will take less than 20 minutes to prepare if you thaw the frozen spinach well ahead of time.

Check out more quick and easy spring side dishes from our friends:

Feed Me Phoebe: 5-Ingredient Za’atar Beet Toasts
Devour: Beat the Clock with Easy, Under-15-Minute Side Dishes
Creative Culinary: Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (Pasta Ponza)
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Five Fast & Fantastic Spring Side Dishes
TasteBook: Asparagus Ribbons with Lemon Juice and Shaved Parmesan
The Wimpy Vegetarian: Cilantro-Lime Cauliflower Rice (with Coconut)
Taste with the Eyes: Teacher Appreciation Luncheon and Corn with Sweet Chili Butter
FN Dish: Counting Down the 5 Quickest Spring Side Dishes Ever

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Veggie Gardening 101

How Does Your Garden Grow? Tips for Beginning Vegetable Gardeners

You see all the beautiful fresh produce at your weekly farmers market and think, “How hard could it be to grow some of this myself?” The short answer: not that hard, provided you choose low-maintenance veggies and follow a few simple rules. We asked Kevin Karl, farm manager at Growing Gardens, a nonprofit in Boulder dedicated to building community through urban agriculture, to help would-be gardeners start to dig in.

 

Healthy Eats: What do you need to think about before you start planting?

Kevin Karl: Find out what the average last frost date is where you live (here in Boulder, it’s May 15), and plan your planting around that. Seed packets and seed catalog companies are also great at providing detailed information about when to plant and how long each particular plant needs to grow before it’ll be ready to harvest.

 

HE: Do you need to do anything to prep the soil before planting?

KK: If you’re doing container gardening, it’s easy to just buy soil and compost and create a healthy, balanced soil. But if you’re planting in a piece of land or a raised bed, it’s worth getting your soil tested to find out what nutrients it could be lacking and what you need to do to ensure your soil has the key nutrients it needs. After testing, use an appropriate slow-release fertilizer — you can do it once before planting and not have to fertilize again until next year. [You can buy at-home soil test kits at places like Lowes and Home Depot, or check with your local state university to see if they have a lab that will test for you.]

 

HE: Are there ways to limit weeds?

KK: After I fertilize, I water my garden as if I had just planted seeds. Then I wait a couple of weeks. That gives all the weed seeds already in the soil a chance to germinate. Then go through and weed the whole area before you plant anything. That way you’re starting off with a really clean seed bed. It won’t eliminate weeds, but it’ll make maintenance of your garden a bit easier.

 

HE: What are some of the easiest vegetables to grow?

KK: Greens — like lettuce, kale, spinach and collard greens — are a great place to start. You can grow them from seeds, in the ground or in pots, and they don’t need as much sun as some other plants. Carrots are another good one for beginners. But keep in mind that they take a while to germinate — people think they’re not coming up, but it just takes longer than you might expect. Tomatoes can be a little trickier, but the payoff of being able to pick a fresh, sun-ripened tomato is worth it. I’d recommend starting with cherry tomatoes, because they don’t take as long to produce and they’re so much fun to pick.

 

HE: What’s a common mistake you see beginner gardeners making?
KK: They plant their seeds too deep. You don’t want to plant a seed more than twice as deep as the width of the seed — which means for something like carrots or lettuce that have really small seeds, you want to put them just under the surface and barely cover them with dirt.

 

HE: What’s your advice for people who get frustrated by plants that don’t grow or produce the vegetables they hoped for?

KK: The key is just getting out there and planting things. It will be a learning process, and every year you will learn so much just from doing it. Also, it pays to plant a variety, because one year the weather might be better for tomatoes and the next year you could get only a few tomatoes but a bumper crop of zucchini.

Sally Wadyka is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist who writes about nutrition, health and wellness.

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