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.)

5 Tips to Excellent Health

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While there are many lifestyle choices a person can make to stay healthy, there are five main behaviors that will increase our chances of staying in optimum physical health. These five healthy functions are essential towards maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit.


1. HYDRATION! HYDRATION! HYDRATION!

The human body can last weeks without food, but only days without water. The body is made up of approximately 70% water. Water forms the basis of blood, digestive juices, urine and perspiration, and is contained in lean muscle, fat and bones. Since the body can’t store water, we need fresh supplies every day to make up for losses from lungs, skin, urine and feces.

Drink as much water as you can tolerate. Water is needed to maintain the health and integrity of every cell in your body. It keeps the bloodstream liquid enough to flow through blood vessels, helps eliminate the by-products of the body’s metabolism, helps to flush out toxins, regulates body temperature through sweating, lubricates and cushions joints, and carries nutrients and oxygen to the body’s cells. Drinking water plays a major role in reducing the risk of many diseases and conditions.

Dehydration occurs when the water content of the body is too low. Symptoms of dehydration include headaches, lethargy, mood changes, slow responses, dry nasal passages, dry or cracked lips, dark-colored urine, weakness, tiredness, confusion and hallucinations. Eventually urination stops, the kidneys fail and the body can’t remove toxic waste products. In extreme cases, the eventual result is death.

Try the flavored drinking waters. Many of these have extra vitamins, no sugar and no artificial colors or flavors. They are a great source for healthy fluid intake. Some are geared especially for women’s needs as well as the special requirements of the more athletic.

2. HOW TO EAT

Nourishment of the physical body is very important but the term “eat healthy” doesn’t really explain how we can get the best food into our bodies and stay healthy. Use the valuable tips below to help you make the best choices.

*Never stuff yourself. Overeating causes weight gain, reduces our energy down to a very low level, and creates dangerous imbalances and wreaks havoc on our metabolism. Always eat in moderation and eat smaller meals throughout the day.

*Eat a majority of healthy foods. Fresh raw vegetables and fruits, lean meats, and whole grains. Vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike should research and find the best foods for their bodies. Stay away from sugar and processed foods (anything in a box).

*Make mealtime enjoyable. If you look at food as something to be enjoyed, you are less likely to make meal time something you "have to do". Stop popping a frozen meal into the microwave. Learn how to cook. Have fun finding healthy recipes and experimenting with them.

Eating healthy means making wise choices for your body. Wise choices come from researching the healthy foods. There are foods considered "superfoods" that need to be part of your diet. Almonds, avocados, green tea, blueberries, raw vegetables and fruits, salmon, oatmeal, and cantaloupe are just some of these superfoods.

3. TAKE YOUR VITAMINS

Intake of the proper amounts of vitamins and nutrients are equally as important as finding healthy foods to eat. Your body requires some certain vitamins and nutrients that are necessary to not only stay healthy but to survive.

*Research and learn about vitamins and supplements and what your personal requirements are.

*Take a multi-vitamin everyday.

Read the label and be sure that:

* If you are pregnant you are either taking a pre-natal vitamin or one with folic acid.

* As a female you are getting the proper amounts of calcium for your age category and watch the iron intake. Women that are post-menopausal don’t need the extra iron.

*If you’re a male, make sure that you get the proper amounts of lycopene which has been shown to protect and maintain prostate health.

4. MOVE!

Exercise is as essential to the body’s good health as proper nutrition. We need cardiovascular exercise that increases our heart rate and stretching exercises that tone our body. but exercise also needs to be FUN. Remember, any amount of exercise is better than none. If you don’t want to go to a gym, try these suggestions:

*Put the remote control next to the television and leave it there. Get up to change your channels.

*Park in the furthest parking spot you can whenever you go somewhere.

*Use the stairs and not the elevators.

*Choose an activity you are passionate about. Did you take dance lessons as a child and just loved it? Find a dance teacher that will instruct adults after work.

*Did you go rollerskating as a child? Guess what? Adults can skate, too. Check out your local rollerskating or ice-skating rink.

*Ride a bike. Bicycling is one of the best aerobic exercises there is. Many cities have biking trails you can use or ride through the park.

*Take a walk every day. Go to the park, walk around the track at your local high school or walk around your neighborhood. Find a friend to go with you.

*Start using the pool in your neighborhood or local YMCA.

A minimum of 20-30 minutes a day is much better than nothing at all.
 5. GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

Getting a good night’s sleep is imperative for good health. We simply don’t get enough. Our busy lifestyles have placed sleep at an all time low on our priority lists. 

Why? We have too much to do, too little time to do it, have too much stress in our lives and we simply do not know how to relax or reduce our stress levels.

Our bodies require rest and sleep. Sleep is the time our bodies repair themselves. These repairs can range from healing and thwarting off potential illness, rejuvenating our energy systems, and keeping our emotions in balance. Find out what you require in sleep hours and go to bed when you need to.

If you have trouble getting to sleep, find ways to relaxyour mind and body. Try taking a hot bath, listening to soft music, massaging your feet, or reading a good book before going to bed.

For many of us, implementing these five suggestions for healthy living may be difficult. Drinking enough water, taking the time to research what to eat, the proper vitamins to take, and finding the exercise routine that will get us moving may seem daunting at first. Adding to that, we must find the time to get enough sleep.

In order to live a long and healthy life these behaviors must become a part of our lives. The most important investment we will ever make in our lives will be the commitment to start healthy habits as a daily routine.

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