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.)

Life Balance

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If your life is as hectic as most people’s, you probably have moments when you feel like it is completely out of control. How do you rein everything in and achieve some sort of balance to your life?

Having balance is a having a sense of harmony and peace in your life. Your life is made up of many different areas, your health, your family, your work, your financial situation, your social life, your recreational time, and your personal growth.

How in the world do you balance out all of those things? You won’t be able to spend time each day in each area in equal amounts. However, if you can spend quality time in each area, you will feel like your life is in balance.

Remember, though, that you must not neglect any one area or you will cause other aspects of your life to fall into disrepair. For example, if you devote your energies to your job or business, then your personal life will suffer.



HOW TO FIND BALANCE

To find a life balance that is healthy, you must be able to integrate all of those areas of your life that are important to you. To be successful at this, you must be able to make choices about what areas come first.

Yes, it can be very difficult to prioritize your life. There will always be sacrifices that must be made. You must decide what means the most to you in your life and make your choices based on that criteria.

When you are ready to bring balance to your everyday life, follow these tips:

ALLOW SELF-CARE TIME.  Find ways to relax, relieve tension, and minimize stress. Meditate, read, take a walk, knit, listen to music or have quiet time where you can reflect, relax and chill. Follow a healthy eating plan, exercise, and get adequate sleep. Learn how to have fun!

BE FLEXIBLE.  This is something that challenges many people. If you cannot be flexible, life can be a lot more stressful. Learn that not everything happens exactly as you plan it. There will always be times when you must make adjustments. If you don’t accomplish everything you expected to, accept it and move on. Perfection does not exist.

ORGANIZE.  Always plan ahead. Create a structured plan at work to anticipate your needs and the needs of others who work with you. This eliminates wasted time. Try to have contingency plans for unexpected crises. Allow time each day to step away from your desk. Take a walk or take a break with co-workers.

Organize your personal space, as well. Clean out closets, the garage, the attic or your kids’ rooms. Take stock of what needs to be thrown out, put in a garage sale or given away to charity. Being organized helps free up precious time for things that are more important.

SAY NO.  It is very difficult for many of us to say “no.” We don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings or we don’t want to seem like we don’t care. Overextending yourself, however, will lead to excessive stress. Too much stress upsets the balance of your health. Concentrate your time and energy on your priorities. Be willing to say "no" to everything else Define your boundaries and stick to them.

SCHEDULE. Schedule chunks of time throughout your week (time that you are not at your job) for all the things that are important to you. Don’t try to fill every minute. That will only cause undue stress.

Instead of wishing you had more time to spend with your loved ones, actually schedule time to spend with them on a regular basis. For your spouse, it could mean a date to have dinner or go see a movie. For your kids, it could mean watching movies at home or playing games with them.

SET LIMITS. This applies to everything in your life, work and personal. If you tend to work too long every day, set an 8-hour limit and stick to it. If you are challenged by this, find ways to eliminate those tasks that are non-essential and concentrate only on the essential ones.

SIMPLIFY.  What are the things that are most important to you? If your life is too full, too busy and over complicated, you have no space for what truly matters and you are missing out on the things that give your life joy, serenity and laughter. You must simplify your life to make room for personal growth, relationships, and the fullness of life.

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