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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.)

Motivational Tips

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Life is getting more and more complicated and difficult for many of us. Are the stresses of life getting you down? Are you having fewer and fewer “good” days? Do you crave laughter, feelings of joy, contentment and peace? If so, use the following motivational tips to help you find your smiles again.

ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVE, EMBRACE THE POSITIVE. If you develop a positive attitude towards all things in life, you will attract all things positive back to you. Release negative thoughts. They are hazardous to your health. Once you get used to focusing on positive thoughts, it gets easier to dispel the negative ones. This includes eliminating the negative people from your life. They only look for what is wrong with the world.

KEEP IT SIMPLE. One of the main sources for stress is a life that is too complicated. Simplify it! Impossible, you say. No, it is not. It is necessary for a life well-lived. How to start? Identify what is most important in your life and eliminate everything else. Period. By ridding yourself of your life’s clutter, you are left with what is valuable. What IS clutter? You know what it is. It is overbooking yourself until you have no minutes left in the day, it is an overly materialistic lifestyle full of toys and luxuries that you sweat to pay for, it is a diet rich in unhealthy foods, it is a messy living space, and it is having your priorities in the wrong order.

LIFE IS SHORT. Re-evaluate your priorities. Put them in the order they should be in. Life is precious. Savor every moment of it. You can never go back and reclaim the time you have lost. Spend your time with those that are most valuable to you. Forget the rest. 



MOVE! Dance, roller-skate, swim, rake your leaves, or take a leisurely walk. Doing any sort of aerobic movement revs up your metabolism, gets you motivated, and releases endorphins that make you feel good all over. Your perspective changes and you feel better about yourself. In short, physical movement is one of the best all-round motivators around.

NURTURE YOU. Get a massage, meditate, take a day off to do nothing, have lunch with a friend, take a walk in the park, watch your favorite movie or read a book, go shopping for nothing in particular, take a nap in the hammock, take a long, hot, bath in your favorite bath oil. Do whatever makes YOU feel good. After all, who knows better than you what makes you happy?

TAKE RISKS. To keep your mind and body active, get out of your comfort zone and try new and different things. Never be afraid to go where you have not gone before. Life is all about taking chances to find what makes you happy. If making changes and taking chances terrifies you, take baby steps. Eventually, you will find what you are looking for but only if you are willing to start the search.

USE YOUR SENSES. Surround yourself with things that inspire you, bring you joy, and make you feel good. 

*Do you love bright colors? Paint your living space with colors that you love. 

*Do you love music? Listen to the music that brings you joy as often as you can.

*Do you love certain scents? Buy candles that have those scents and burn them as often as you can.

*Do you love to touch? Use fabrics that are soft and inviting. Pet your dog or cat. Give your children a hug. Caress your spouse. 

Use your senses as they were meant to be used, to experience life in ways that bring you joy.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM? If you hate your job, what would you rather do? Be specific. Write a list of your passions, your strengths, your gifts, and your shortcomings. What type of job fits your list? Where would it be? Who would you work with? Would it be your own business or working for someone else? What steps must you take to achieve this job? By making your list and answering these questions honestly, you will learn much about yourself and what you really want. Live the life you want now. Tomorrow may be too late.

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