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.)


How to Eat Healthy and Not Get Bored


Everyone knows that variety is important when it comes to diet.  Not only is eating the same foods every day boring, but it is extremely unhealthy as well.  That is because each type of food contains different nutrients, and different levels of those nutrients.  The best way to eat healthy is to eat a wide variety of foods from all the food groups.

It is important to eat a good combination of meats, beans, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  All these foods contain important nutrients, and no vitamin pill can provide the vast variety of nutrients your body needs every day.

Of course simply eating foods from a variety of sources is not enough.  It is also important to make smart choices within those food groups.  After all, nonfat yogurt and a hot fudge sundae are both dairy products!  The best choice in that situation should be obvious, but other choices are more subtle.

Fortunately, the nutritional labels that are required on all packaged foods are a big help for those pursuing a healthier diet.  Not only do these labels contain information on the number of calories, fat grams, etc., but they provide detailed information on the levels of many important vitamins and minerals as well.



HEALTHY EATING TIPS

Fish instead of meat. Small changes can have a huge impact when choosing healthy foods.  Simply exchanging fresh, low fat fish for higher fat meats can greatly lower the amount of fat in your diet and increase your level of health.

Whole grains instead of processed grains. Replacing highly processed grains for more nutritious whole grain products can also have a huge impact on healthy eating.  In nutritional terms, less is more – that is less processing and less refining.  Why? Processing and refining methods strip many vital nutrients from foods.

Cooking techniques. How you cook is also very important when maximizing the health benefits of the foods you choose.  After taking the time to choose the healthiest, freshest broccoli in the supermarket, it would be quite a waste to slather that cooked broccoli with cheese and butter, for instance.

Never overcook vegetables. It would also be a mistake to overcook that broccoli, especially by boiling it in water for a long time.  That is because vegetables can lose significant amounts of nutrients through overcooking.  When preparing fresh vegetables, it is best to quickly steam them in the microwave or on the stove, using as little water as possible.  Use only enough water to keep the vegetables from scorching.

The whole potato. When cooking potatoes, it is a good idea to eat the entire potato, including the skin.  Potato skins contain significant levels of nutrients, including fiber, vitamins and minerals.  Cooking a baked potato in the microwave, or on the grill, is a great way to make the skin moist and delicious.  In addition, these methods of cooking minimize the need for high fat butter or sour cream to flavor the potato.  In place of these high fat options, why not use a dollop of plain nonfat yogurt, or some low fat cottage cheese?

Limit amounts. Choosing a variety of foods is important to a healthy lifestyle, but it just as important to limit the amount of certain foods.  Foods high in sugar, and those high in sodium should be avoided as much as possible.  Does this mean you can never have a piece of cake again? No, it simply means limiting regular consumption of high fat, low nutrition products.

When adopting healthier eating habits, it is important to make changes that you can stick with for the long run.  After all, a healthy eating lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle.  Changing your shopping, cooking and eating habits are not easy, but the many benefits make healthy eating an important habit to get into.

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