Thank You For Visiting Our Blog, FEEL BETTER AND LIVE LONGER!

The purpose of our blog is to share what we have learned about nutrition, weight loss, fitness, and health, in order to help you find ways to feel better and live longer. It is amazing how much our diet and lifestyle affect our health and well-being.

Did you know that you can reduce your risk and even prevent many diseases and health conditions simply by making some changes to your diet? Check back often for valuable tips and information.

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF:

For the first time in my life I have found weight loss success. During my adult life I have tried dozens and dozens of so-called "diets" and none of them worked over the long-haul. Oh, I was able to lose weight with some of them, but once I went off of the "diet" I quickly gained back all of my weight (plus some).

I have finally learned that losing weight has to be a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix. Crash diets and all the other crazy diets will not only cause you to fail, they are harmful to your health. To lose weight and keep it off you must NOT go on a "diet." What? Why? Because we all consider a "diet" a temporary thing. For example, how many times have you said, "Oh, I will go on this low-fat diet until I lose 20 pounds." Okay, what happens after you lose the 20 pounds? Or you simply give up? You go back to your old habits and gain that 20 pounds back.

The only way you will ever be successful at losing weight, with the added benefit of improving your health, is to make healthy changes that you can live with for the rest of your life. Period. Not for a week, a month or 3 months, but for life. For me, my initial goal was to lower my cholesterol level. I had to have a blood test for my insurance coverage and my cholesterol level had to be lower than the previous year's levels or I would have to pay a much higher premium. Well, that was a pretty good incentive for me make some positive changes.

I sat down and figured out what I needed to do. I knew I had to change the way I ate and I knew I had to exercise in some form or other every day. So, I made a list and I stuck to it. It was difficult at first. To make matters worse, I am a compulsive eater. However, as the days went by, it became much easier because my body stopped craving sweets and processed foods. For the first time in my life, I was never tempted to binge because I never felt deprived.

Use the list below and make whatever changes you need to make in order for it to work for you. FYI, my cholesterol level dropped 65 points after 7 weeks, and my triglycerides dropped 70 points! Another benefit that I hadn't planned on was that after being an insomniac since my teen-age years, I now sleep like a baby every night!

MY LIST FOR WEIGHT LOSS SUCESS:

1. Avoid "white" Foods & Processed Foods. These foods have no nutritional value and are "empty" calories. Sweets, anything made with white flour,and anything that comes in a package with a long list of ingredients. Always read the food labels. Stay away from those long lists of ingredients. The longer the list, the more chemicals and additives are present. These are extremely toxic to your body.

2. Drink Lots of Water. Water keeps your body's organs hydrated and flushes out unhealthy toxins. It helps to fill you up and reduces your urge to over-eat.

3. Eat a Healthy Breakfast. Instead of coffee and donuts, try fruit, yogurt, grains like oatmeal or whole grain toast, and lean protein. NEVER skip breakfast. By eating a large, healthy meal when you get up in the morning, your metabolism will "rev up" and you will not be hungry by mid-morning. If you skip breakfast, your body will go into starvation mode and store calories in your body as FAT, yes FAT! So do yourself a big favor and eat breakfast.

4. Reduce Your Stress Level. So many of us live with too much stress. Stress lowers your immune system, making it easier to get sick. It also makes us lethargic, tired, and depressed. There are a lot of simple things you can do and a lot of ways to feel better about yourself and your life. Take a long, hot bath, read a book, listen to music, get a massage. Do something nice for yourself. Giving yourself something to look forward to is a tremendous mental incentive.

5. Move! Oh my gosh! There are so many ways to incorporate movement into your day, even at work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get up every hour and walk around your floor, your hallway or your desk. Park your car in the farthest space from where you need to be. Walk or bike to work. Skate, dance, golf, jump rope, clean house, play tag. The best exercise you can do is to walk. Try to take a walk every day! The more you move, the more your metabolism will be your friend. (I walk 3 miles every day whether it is raining, snowing or freezing.)

5 Ways to Keep the Weight Down During College

10:44 AM  , ,  No comments

This is a guest post provided by Liz C. She contributes and runs FindCollegeCards, a student resource site helping students learn everything from credit to starting their first year of college.

Have you ever heard of the Freshman 15? If not, you may want to look into it, because if you’re going to be a freshman in college this upcoming fall, you may have a few things to worry about.

Let me touch up a little bit on the topic really fast. The freshman 15 is a saying that many students know about. It’s when you gain 15 pounds or more during your first year of college. It seems as if many students tend to pack on the pounds. What causes it, you might ask? Well, between the alcohol, the unhealthy eating and a lot of sitting around in class, you can probably put them together to get an answer.

So, you don’t even need to be a freshman to gain weight. Whether you’re a junior, a senior, or a fresh graduate, let’s take a look at 5 ways on how you can keep the weight down.

#1 Take advantage of the gym – Many of your bigger colleges are going to have gyms and many people don’t know about it, but you can usually work out there for free. Find some downtime and work out for about one hour or so.

#2 Eat healthy – Just because you’re away from home and eating at the college cafeteria, it doesn’t mean you have to eat junk. Yes, even your cafeteria has some great, healthy alternatives such as fruits and veggies.

#3 Walk and bike – Since many of your college campuses are near little college towns, you may want to get into the habit of not using a car. Instead, take your bike around town, or even walk. To make the walk or bike ride fun, find a partner to ride around with.

#4 Watch your stress levels – It can be rather stressful in college between your tests, works, your roommates and more. Studies have shown that many people out there tend to eat when they are stressed out. Practice some techniques in order to keep your stress levels down such as getting yourself in a quiet place, or just taking a walk.

#5 Get a motivation buddy – Working out by yourself can get rather boring and sometimes you just may not feel that motivated. Instead of feeling that way, find someone on campus that can help you out. Whether you need someone to work out with, or bike with, post an ad on Craigslist or the school bulletin board.

As you can see, motivation and healthy eating can take you a long way. As long as you try to implement these tips, you should be able to find yourself keeping a healthy, balanced weight.

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