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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.)

Ingredients in Soda

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Many adults love to drink soft drinks but teenagers and children are the largest consumers. Because the caffeine in soft drinks peps us up and acts as a diuretic and the sugar interrupts the body’s fluid absorption, drinking soda pop only leaves us thirstier.

Soda pop contains sugar and harmful additives that have absolutely no nutritional value. The rise in the consumption of soda pop is causing an increased risk for illnesses and diseases in adults and children, including obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, bone loss, and heart disease. Despite the dangers, soda accounts for more than one-quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States.

What are the ingredients in soda? The main ingredients and their dangers are listed below:

Aspartame. An artificial, chemical sweetener used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. Aspartame can cause brain tumors, birth defects, cancer, heart disease, edema, neurological problems, diabetes, weight gain, increased appetite, or hallucinations and predispose you to Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis. Aspartame poisoning mimics symptoms of MS. In addition, when aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, a known carcinogen.

Caffeine. Drinks containing caffeine can cause the body to lose calcium. This leads to bone loss and increased risk for osteoporosis. Caffeine can increase the risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, heart palpitations, and mineral depletion. As little as one cup of a caffeinated drink a day can lead a person to become "dependent" on caffeine. This means that if you quit drinking it, you can develop withdrawal symptoms like tiredness, irritability, and headaches.



High Fructose Corn Syrup. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a loosely bound, unstable sugar that forms compounds damaging to cells and tissue. HFCS puts extreme stress on the pancreas, increasing the risk for pancreatic cancer. How much high fructose corn syrup is in soda pop? Up to an unbelievable 17 teaspoons per 20-ounce bottle!

Phosphoric Acid. Soda pop is very high in phosphorus. If levels are high, calcium is not absorbed effectively and is leached out of the bones. Phosphorus also needs to maintain a one-to-one ratio with calcium. When an imbalance occurs, the phosphorus corrodes the stomach lining and the liver, upsets the natural pH balance of the kidneys, causes acidity in the body and increases the risk for colon cancer.

Sodium benzoate. This is used as a preservative in may brands of soda pop. When sodium benzoate combines with citric or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) it forms benzene. Benzene is a carcinogen that increases the risk of leukemia and other cancers. The reaction to benzene is increased in the presence of heat or light.

Sugar. Soft drink manufacturers comprise the largest users of refined sugar in the United States. Sugar increases insulin levels, increasing the risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and many more negative side effects. Most sodas have over 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of sugar! Plus, one large glass of soda can contain up to 400 calories!

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