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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.)

How to Achieve Excellent Health

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A healthy functioning body is the most valuable asset you can possess.  You owe it to yourself to take care of it and keep it at its peak level of health. Learn how to create a healthy body and life for yourself so that you can enjoy life to the fullest.


WHAT DO YOU EAT?  Consuming the right foods is vitally important.  You are, indeed, what you eat. Many people find it very difficult to eat in a healthy way because they’ve long formed improper eating habits that can be very hard to change. 

You must understand that your body is a living organism that uses the food you consume to recreate itself. Before a cell dies it reproduces another cell from the food you are currently consuming. If you had the choice, would you want to create your body from the nutrients in the food you are consuming right now?

ARE YOU MOVING ENOUGH? You must engage in some sort of regular physical movement every day, preferably 30-40 minutes. It doesn’t have to be working out in a gym. Actually, one of the best and healthiest ways to engage in exercise is to simply take a walk every day. 

Walking can do amazing things for your body, both mentally and physically. Try it. Start slowly. You will start to feel the difference almost immediately. Walk with a friend. Walk in the park. Walk for your health!

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?  “As your mind flows so your life goes.” What does this mean? Your life is a product of the thoughts you think, which leads to the actions you do, which then creates the results you see. 

Someone who is severely obese cannot lose weight if they continue to think that they must have a pound of ice cream every day to be happy. The key to changing this ingrained habit pattern is to progressively change that way of thinking to one that will produce right habits/actions, thereby producing the desired results.

ARE YOU HAPPY EVERY DAY?  You might consider the possibility of being happy every day to be impossible but IT IS possible. How? Smile for at least one minute as soon as you get up each morning. It doesn’t matter if your life is totally upside down - smile anyway. 

There are many benefits to smiling. From a body chemical standpoint it does the body well. Secondly, smile and say hi to as many people as you can throughout the day. Just these 2 tips alone are enough to improve your mood and outcome in life significantly. 

HOW MUCH REST DO YOU GET?  Rest = Restoration. Makes sense, doesn’t it? While exercise and movement are essential for stimulating circulation and the elimination of toxins, rest and sleep provide an opportunity for the body to cleanse, repair, and rejuvenate on a deep cellular level. Nourishing your body with plenty of healing sleep and rest is essential for becoming whole.

If you strive to practice these components, you will have what it takes to achieve excellent health, feel better and live longer.

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