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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.)

Fake Health Foods

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Do you know that some health foods are not healthy and can actually harm your health! Consider some common myths about deceptive foods and the wholesome alternatives you can use instead:


1. Fruit Juice

Fruit juice may be delicious, but it’s often loaded with more high-fructose corn syrup than actual juice! Consumption of high fructose damages the liver by causing excess triglycerides and bad cholesterol, decreasing blood glucose and higher levels of uric acid, and promoting the development of fatty liver disease.

A much healthier alternative is to start juicing fruits and vegetables yourself. We are supposed to get 6-8 servings of vegetables and fruits every day but very few of us actually get that. Juicing is an easy, healthy way to help guarantee that you will reach your daily target.

2. Pasteurized Milk

Milk is touted as a healthy food but pasteurization destroys active enzymes and denatures the fragile proteins in milk. It also kills beneficial bacteria and lowers the vitamin content of your milk.

A better alternative is raw milk, milk that hasn’t been pasteurized. The pasteurization process kills most of the organisms that aid in digestion and metabolization, destroys enzymes and diminishes vitamin content. Raw milk promotes good health by crowding out bad bacteria and helps prevent yeast overgrowth in the intestinal tract.

3. Cereal

Cold cereal seems like a convenient and healthy meal, but combined with pasteurized milk, it can be a bowl full of nutritionally damaging food. Cereal itself undergoes a process called extrusion that denatures its proteins (making them toxic) and destroys the grains’ naturally occurring fatty acids. The result is a nutritionally void carrier for sugar and sodium.

Better alternatives? Eat whole grain toast with an egg and whip up some juice in your juicer. Or eat a bowl of oatmeal (not the instant kind), topped with fruit, some ground flax seed and raisins.
 4. Processed Cheese

Processed cheeses, especially individually wrapped slices, have little nutritional value. They are pasteurized and are full of fillers and preservatives. If you are going to buy cheese, buy the real stuff. Real cheese, especially the hard varieties, has protein, Vitamins A & D, and loads of calcium.

5. Protein Bars

Protein bars now compete with candy bars in convenience stores and grocery aisles, but these quick snacks are not necessarily healthy. Many protein bars use soy protein and count sugars in their top 3 ingredients! Instead of offering you a healthy option, they actually contribute to fungal infections.

A better alternative? Almonds and other nuts are easy, nutritious and delicious snacks for those on the go.

6. Energy Drinks

Their labels say they contain various herbs, minerals and the amino acid taurine, specially designed to boost your energy by the time you reach the bottom of the can. If you look at the ingredients, you’ll find that the main ingredients in most energy drinks are caffeine and sugar making them hardly more than high-priced soft drinks.

Energy drinks have overtaken bottled water as the fastest-growing category in the beverage business. A better alternative? Drink healthier fluids like water or tea, and if you must have a jolt of energy, a good old-fashioned cup of black coffee will at least spare you the sugar.

7. Fast-Food Salads

Most fast-food chains have jumped on the health bandwagon and are now offering salads, wraps and other healthy menu choices for just such nutrition-minded customers. But all salad is not inherently healthy.

In fact, the salad ingredients that most fast food chains use make most of them no more healthful than a burger without the bun, dipped in salad dressing, said the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). One of their more startling findings: McDonald’s Crispy Bacon Ranch Salad has more fat and calories and just as much cholesterol as a Big Mac! 

A better alternative? Create your own fresh salad using lots of veggies, some lean protein (egg, chicken), a few nuts or seeds or a small amount of cheese, and a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.

When shopping for food, ALWAYS read the nutritional labels. That way you have a better idea of what you are actually putting in your body.

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