Pumping Iron

If you hope to get pregnant any time soon, you might want to increase your intake of iron from veggies, grains, and supplements, a new study from Harvard suggests. Using information from the Nurses' Health Study II (the large, ongoing study of women aged 24 to 42 sponsored by the National Institutes of Health), researchers analyzed nutrition and fertility data of 18,555 subjects who tried to become pregnant between 1991 and 1999. Specifically, they looked at ovulation infertility--meaning an inability to become pregnant due to poor or no ovulation--and iron intake. women with the highest intake of nonheme iron (which comes fro nonanimal sources such as spinach, legumes, or vitamin supplements)--on average, 76mg per day--had a 40 percent lower risk of ovulatory infertility compared with women with the lowest intake. (The RDA for iron in women is 18g, and 27 during pregnancy.) Intake of heme iron did not have this effect. "It's not clear right now how iron affects ovulation," says study author Jorge Chavarro, MD, ScD, research fellow in the department of nutrition at Harvard's School of Public Health, "although some studies suggest that it is important for the development of the egg prior to ovulation."
from Elle, February 2007.

Hit List of Weight-Gaining Behaviors

This list is a great eye-opener to see how small changes in your behavior can add up in a big way!


Eating second helpings (200 kcal per helping) 3x per week
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 600
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 31,200
Potential Weight Gain per Year 9 lbs

Habitual overeating, every day, 380 extra kcal per day
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 2,660
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 138,320
Potential Weight Gain per Year 40lbs

Eating a large bagel (4.5” diameter, 323kcal) 3x per week rather than a small bagel (3” diameter, 156kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 500
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 26,000
Potential Weight Gain per Year 8lbs

Eating Big Macs (or equivalent, 570kcal) twice a week rather than choosing a small sized hamburger (260kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 620
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 32,240
Potential Weight Gain per Year 9lbs

Eating one glazed doughnut (290kcal) every day at work during your coffee break
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 1,450
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 75,400
Potential Weight Gain per Year 21lbs

Drinking a cup of whole mile (150kcal) twice a day rather than having skim milk (86kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 896
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 46,600
Potential Weight Gain per Year 13lbs

Drinking one regular soda a day (144kcal) rather than diet soda
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 1,008
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 52,400
Potential Weight Gain per Year 15lbs

One small Starbucks nonfat Mocha without whipped cream (170kcal) every day at work rather than black coffee
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 850
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 44,200
Potential Weight Gain per Year 13lbs

Snacking on 15-20 potato chips a day (150 kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 1,050
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 54,600
Potential Weight Gain per Year 16lbs

Eating a bowl of regular ice cream (280kcal) 5x per week rather than having a bowl of nonfat frozen yogurt (160kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 600
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 31,200
Potential Weight Gain per Year 9lbs

Binging twice a week (1000-3000kcal per binge)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 2,000-6,000
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 104,000-312,000
Potential Weight Gain per Year 30-90lbs

Snacking while watching TV 5 hrs a week (136 per snack)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 680
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 35,360
Potential Weight Gain per Year 10lbs

Nighttime eating, five episodes per week (270kcal per episode)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 1,350
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 70,200
Potential Weight Gain per Year 20lbs

Drinking 3 beers at happy hour once a week (146kcal per beer)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 438
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 22,776
Potential Weight Gain per Year 6.5lbs



The list and note above were taken from The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom by Dr. Phil McGraw. I endorse this book as a way to understand the emotional and psychological aspects to overeating, developing a healthy relationship with food, and achieving a positive mental state while losing weight and improving one’s fitness level. I have read the book and have bought it for friends and family.