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.)

Don't Skip Breakfast

5:17 AM  , , , ,  No comments

In the morning, you always find yourself rushing. You’re rushing to the shower, rushing through traffic, rushing to work.  You may feel as if you don’t have time for breakfast, let alone a nutritious breakfast.  You may just not be hungry at that time of day, or you believe that you need to lose weight, so you skip breakfast altogether.  However, by eliminating breakfast, you’re not only jeopardizing your health—you will have a much more difficult time losing weight. 

WHY YOU MUST EAT BREAKFAST

There are a number of good reasons to eat breakfast:

Ø   Eating breakfast speeds up your metabolism, critical to weight loss.  Think about it.  You may eat dinner around 6 p.m.  If you wait until lunch to eat again, 18 hours have passed.  Breakfast is critical to your overall health and well-being. 

Ø  Skipping breakfast tends to make you overeat at lunch.  Successful dieters eat breakfast.  This probably seems counter-intuitive to you, the idea that you must eat food in order to lose weight. 

Ø   Breakfast aids your concentration.   A number of studies demonstrate that breakfast improves one’s focus, helping him or her at work or at school.        
        
Ø   Breakfast is a proven mood elevator.  This is quite important, since it is critical to remain positive when trying to lose weight.  Anything that you can do to lift your spirits should be considered beneficial.  

Ø   Breakfast can enhance the efficiency of the body, making it easier for you to burn fat.  This is true for both young and old, so make sure your children eat breakfast as well.  A smoothly-running body is a healthy body and one that is more likely to become lean over time.

Ø   Breakfast sets the pattern for the day.  If you make healthy decisions at breakfast, you’re more likely to make the right decisions regarding the other meals of the day.


WHAT TO EAT

The type of breakfast you eat depends upon the diet you are pursuing.  You might choose a high fiber meal, such as cereal, or a high protein meal, such as scrambled eggs and ham.  Your breakfast should contain plenty of vitamins and minerals to help your body remain healthy throughout the day.  

One thing you should avoid at breakfast is eating something high in sugar, such as a sugary breakfast cereal.  While such a meal can lift your energy level temporarily, after a few hours, your energy level will drop again.  While it is always better to eat something, you should be careful in the food choices you make at breakfast.  

In order to work effectively, your body needs to eat regular meals.  Some diets call for three meals a day; others rely on five or six smaller meals eaten more frequently.  While breakfast may be your most important meal of the day it should not be your only meal of the day.

Eating breakfast is a habit.  However, if you haven’t eaten breakfast in a while, it may be a difficult habit to get into.  Try to eat something every morning, even if it’s only a little bit.  Make sure that you have time to actually sit at the table and eat, rather than trying to eat breakfast on the run.  If you follow this formula, you will be in a better position to lose weight over the long term.

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