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.)

Should You Take Multivitamins?

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If you’re like most people, you do not eat an adequately balanced diet that provides you with all of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients that your body requires; and you probably don’t have the time or energy to make sure that you do get all of the nutrients you need. Our fast-paced lifestyle and culture has led to a boon in the multivitamin industry.

Multivitamin supplements are available in a number of different forms, including tablets, gel capsules and liquids. Convenience is the most obvious benefit to taking multivitamin supplements as it is much easier for a person to take one dose that contains all of the necessary vitamins compared to taking each one individually.

This is especially true for children as it can be difficult for them to take a large number of vitamin supplements every day. One dose a day is far easier. A liquid multivitamin supplement is the most suitable form for children but it also benefits anyone who has difficulty taking supplements in traditional tablet form.

 HOW TO CHOOSE THE PROPER MULTIVITAMIN

The increase in the availability of multivitamin supplements has led to an assortment of brands that carry them and a huge variety in the actual content of the vitamins themselves. The names of some of the nutrients in these multivitamins can be a little bewildering and many people simply do not know which ones they require.

To make the decision simpler there are now a number of multivitamin supplements created for specific people and groups of people. For example, there are ones that are designed for children. These contain the specific nutrients that children need for them to grow and develop properly.

There are multivitamin supplements designed specifically for pregnant women. Pregnant women have very unique nutrient requirements to ensure that their baby receives the necessary nutrients.

As we get older we also have different nutrient requirements so there are multivitamins made specifically for the elderly. There are also supplements that are broken down by age and gender. Women’s nutritional needs differ from men’s especially during periods of significant hormonal fluctuations like menopause.

It is important to consider the contents of any multivitamin supplement before taking them. There are some vitamins that can be toxic if too much is absorbed and this can occur more easily with multivitamin supplements as there are so many nutrients included in each vitamin.

The labeling of the actual percentage of the recommended daily allowance for each multivitamin supplement should be clearly listed and must be assessed before taking them. Always seek professional medical advice before taking any supplement if you are unclear about the benefits of the contents.

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