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.)

Vitamin D Deficiency

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Vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients our bodies need in order to survive and to reduce our risk of all types of diseases. Yet, vitamin D deficiency is widespread in the United States and other industrialized countries where people spend most of their days indoors.

If you work indoors and do not get some exposure to sunlight on a regular basis you are compromising your health by being deficient in vitamin D. It is extremely difficult to get all of the vitamin D your body needs for good health without some exposure to sunlight. 
 
VITAMIN D SOURCES

Your body has only two vitamin D sources: sunlight and food. Sunlight on our skin is a lot more important for our vitamin D levels than food. However, the farther away from the equator we live, the less sunlight is available, especially during the colder months. In spring and autumn you need to get your sun around midday to make enough vitamin D. In winter, it is not possible to get enough from the sun so you should take a good quality vitamin D3 supplement.

This makes food, a secondary source of vitamin D, very important. What are the best food sources for Vitamin D? Fortified foods, such as cereals and orange juice, provide some vitamin D, but not nearly enough to prevent vitamin D deficiency. The best food sources of vitamin D are salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, and cod liver oil. You can acquire enough natural vitamin D from your diet, but you have to eat a lot of fish.



GUIDELINES FOR USING SUNLIGHT AS A SOURCE OF VITAMIN D

Most of us can use the sun as our source for vitamin D at least part of the year.

*Vitamin D production occurs naturally before your skin burns. Use common sense when in the sun. If you are fair-skinned you need only a short time but if you are dark-skinned, you will need longer. Never allow yourself to burn.

*Try to expose as much of your skin as possible. The more skin exposed, the less exposure time you need. Turn over to maximize the area of your skin that is exposed.

*Do not wear sunscreen (except on your face). Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.  Sunscreen absorbs the rays that your body needs. What is left is not enough for your body.

*When you are through, go inside and cover up. Give your skin a chance to absorb the vitamin D. Your goal for sun exposure should be 3 or 4 times a week.

*If you have areas of skin on your body that are sun-damaged, do not expose them to the sun.

RISKS OF VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY

Vitamin D deficiency is linked to an increased risk of:

*Auto-immune illnesses

*Infectious diseases (colds, flu, tuberculosis)

*Leukemia

*Many types of cancer

*Diabetes type 1 and 2

*Osteoporosis

Power of Vitamin D: A Vitamin D Book That Contains the Most Comprehensive and Useful Information on Vitamin D Deficiency, Vitamin D Level 

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