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.)

Fish and Heart Disease

8:35 AM  , , ,  No comments

Fish and seafood are healthy choices for high protein and low fat.  There is a strong link between fish and heart disease as fish has been shown in study after study to have a positive impact on health, and to lower the risk of heart disease.  In addition, fish is delicious and easy to prepare.

Many nutrition experts recommend eating fish at least once or twice a week.  The most nutritious varieties of fish, and those that contain the greatest amounts of heart protecting omega-3 fatty acids, are those that live in cold ocean waters.  These varieties of fish include salmon and sardines.

FISH DIET BENEFITS

Fish has long been thought to have a positive benefit on the heart.  Research has shown, and continues to show, the heart healthy effects of fish.  There is little doubt that fish is a healthy food, containing significant levels of protein and smaller amounts of fat and calories than other types of meat.

As a matter of fact, fish is one of the best sources of protein there is.  Everyone needs protein for building muscles and repairing damaged body tissues.  In addition, protein plays a vital role in the growth of nails and hair, in hormone production, and in many other vital bodily processes. 

In addition to fish, many other animal based products, such as meat, eggs, poultry and dairy products, contain significant amounts of protein.  Plant based sources of protein exist as well, in nuts, beans and lentils, among others. 

The key to getting sufficient protein in the diet is to balance the healthy effects of protein on the diet against the large amounts of fat and cholesterol that protein rich foods often contain.  The combination of high protein and low fat is one of the things that makes a diet rich in fish so appealing.


 WHY IS FISH SO HEALTHY?

With the exception of salmon, almost all commonly eaten varieties of fish are very low in fat, and even salmon contains lower levels of fat than many varieties of meats.  In addition, fish is low in saturated fat, the type of fat that is most associated with heart disease and clogged arteries. 

Fish is low in unsaturated fat because of the nature of where and how they live.  Instead of storing energy in the form of saturated fat as land animals do, fish store their fat in the form of polyunsaturated oils.  That adaptation allows their bodies to function normally in the cool oceans and streams where they swim.  It also makes them a great choice for anyone seeking to cut levels of saturated fat in the diet.

For all these reasons, fish remains an important part of any low fat, heart healthy lifestyle.  Substituting high fat, greasy foods like hamburgers and ribs is a great way to make a change for healthy living.

One note about fish and pollution, however.  It is true that many fish caught in polluted waters contain high levels of mercury.  While most commercially caught and grown fish is low in mercury, it is important for fisherman to limit their consumption of locally caught fish. 

FITTING FISH INTO YOUR BUSY LIFESTYLE

Many people avoid fish because they do not know how to prepare and cook it.  While it is true that fish can present more of a challenge for the inexperienced, there are many recipes and cookbooks that make preparation easier.  In addition, many packaged seafood products contain cooking tips and serving suggestions that take some of the mystery out of preparing a nutritious and delicious meal of fresh fish.

Even those who do not cook, however, can enjoy the many benefits of fish in the diet.  There are a number of canned seafood products on the market, including canned salmon, sardines and the ever popular tuna.  So there is no reason fish cannot fit into your healthy eating plan.

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