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New Survey shows 40% Women want a thigh gap (Gasp!)

duhIn news that is not at all shocking to anyone not in denial and trying to push strong or fat is the new skinny rubbish, a survey done by the London research group OnePulse has found that a whopping 40 percent of women said they would feel more confident with a thigh gap. Of women who said they already have a thigh gap, 65 percent said they would feel fat without it.

Whoever said thigh gaps were so last year and out of style (this would be the fat acceptance, thin shaming and/or hating crowd) can stop spreading what can only be classified as wishful thinking. Women want thigh gaps – and have always wanted them – because THEY find it to be attractive. The truth is no one aspires to be overweight, fat or obese. We all inherently know and feel more confident when we are at the size we were meant to be, and what our great grandparents naturally were – a heck of a lot smaller than what is considered normal today.

The article agrees with me:
While it’s not certain the numbers would apply to a larger population, they do suggest that the era of the lusted-after thigh gap — a space between a woman’s upper thighs, so her legs don’t touch when in a neutral position — is far from over.

The thigh gap is still praised on young girls’ social media pages and featured as an ideal in how-to fitness guides across the Internet. But idolizing what is an unattainable body shape for many women is unhealthy, Serani said.

It is very frustrating that they are still touting this crap about thigh gaps not being attainable (despite mentioning in the article that there are people who have thigh gaps) and unhealthy. To this last point I urge you to spread the good word about the thigh gap hack, and all the success stories of women who have been able to slim their legs in a healthy manner… that is by simply being mindful of one’s diet and choosing the best exercises instead of the most popular ones, like squatting and lunging.

7 Ways to Weigh Your Food / Figure out your Calories When Eating Out

eating-out-while-dieting-1Recently, thanks to Obamacare,  restaurants with 20+ locations are required to list calorie content information for standard menu items on menus. Total calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, sugars, fiber and total protein have to be made available in writing upon request.

Unfortunately, most restaurants and cafe’s don’t fall into the 20+ locations category, and as such it can be very difficult to accurately guess what’s in the food you’re consuming when eating out. It would be easy if they had paper overwrapper, as they would need to mention all the info there.

That doesn’t mean all hope is lost though. Here are my tips on how to get a good idea of the nutritional value of food not prepared by you. Keep in mind that all these things can be done in tandem to get the most accurate estimate:

 

Step 1. Order the Most Unprocessed Food

Processed foods have the most variation when it comes to calories. That’s because added ingredients meant to give food a distinctive taste (creamier, richer, sweeter, crispier) can really add to the bottom line of the nutritional content.

That doesn’t mean that a restaurant can’t totally wipe out the lower calorie value of whole foods like vegetables by pouring on sauce or oil. However, you have a better chance of asking your whole food to be prepared (or not prepared) a certain way to cut back on those calories, while you have no such option of pre-packaged foods the restaurant chooses to purchase – like bread.

So, when dining out look for the most unprocessed, whole – closest to its natural state – foods on the menu. Look out for the way it is prepared and avoid anything deep fried, fried, or breaded and go for grilled, baked, roasted, or boiled.

In case you’re wondering how ordering the most unprocessed food will let you know how many calories you’re consuming – be patient my friend, we’ll get to it in the later step.

 

photolibrary_rf_photo_of_food_take_outStep 2. Always Section Off Half to Go

The next thing you should do when ordering out is immediately upon getting your dish, divide your meal into two. If you are dealing with a solid type of food (like salmon or other white fish, it’s easy to cut and stack one piece on top of the other to visually make sure you have half).

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