The four month Walking challenge is over. I love that my husband’s place of employment decided to get serious about physical fitness. Regular Exercise helps people to lose weight and have healthier bodies which is what we all want. I think more places should do this to help an overweight nation. The challenge helped get people excited about Walking and even a little competitive.
Wearing a pedometer everyday is such a valuable tool. In addition to my Walking and running I was a little shocked at the mileage I put on just going through my day. Plus wearing the pedometer continually challenged me. I plan to continue wearing my pedometer even now that the challenge is over. Over four months I logged 829 miles and 1,616,913 steps. I never imagined the final number would be this high. It just goes to show Walking everyday and some persistence you can accomplish anything you want and be healthier while doing it.
It’s back-to-school time again, and many families are trying to figure out just what to pack in those school lunchboxes! Parents are wondering what foods their kids will eat, which ones offer the best nutrition, and which ones are affordable.
One of the most important lessons to share with our kids is about healthy eating. After all we know that obesity levels in school age children are the highest ever, and that healthy eating habits have been proven to contribute to higher rates of success in school age kids.
The classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich just got an upgrade! This year there is a new product on the shelf it is Naturally More Peanut Butter. This peanut butter features flaxseed for omega-3 essential fatty acids, omega-6, wheat germ for fiber and egg whites for lean protein. Naturally More easily differentiates itself from other natural peanut butters with the added benefits of omega-3, fewer calories, 25 percent more protein and 50 percent more fiber.
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I don’t know about you, but when it’s summer I love to eat ice cream or splurge on some other dessert. We’re more active in the summer so why not allow yourself to enjoy some of these sweet treats. We all need to indulge now and then to avoid deprivation and binging later. Frozen foods can be a great way to treat ourselves—not only for taste and convenience, but for portion control.
For a cool 100 calories, you can unwrap Klondike’s Slim-a-Bear sandwich, or scoop a handful of vanilla Edy’s Dibs. Other diet-smart sweets:
· Luigi’s Italian Ice in lemon or cherry (120 calories)
· Skinny Cow ice cream pops (160 calories)
· Sugar-free Fudgsicles and Popsicles (15-35 calories)
· Weight Watchers Key Lime Cheesecake (150 calories)
· Smart Ones Chocolate Eclairs (140 calories)
Next time you’re looking for a cool treat, try one of these and you won’t have all the added guilt that comes with other desserts.
The challenging thing about vacation for me is the loss of routine. Since I am a weekend binger I need some structure to make better choices. Obviously all that goes out the window when you go on vacation. When it comes to vacation and Losing Weight there are a few things I know.
First of all it is ok to eat things you feel are not ok to eat on a diet or part of a healthy lifestyle. It is really more about moderation than anything. So when I go on vacation I do allow myself to have a few things I normally do not eat. The top of my list is ice cream and cookies. I only had them a couple of times so all and all that is not a big deal. I also had french fries a couple of times which I almost never eat. The rest of the time I made reasonable choices. Your mind and body need this time off from your normal daily life. Life is too short to feel like you are restricted to eat certain foods.
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We all have moments of weaknesses when it comes to food. Some of us have a more than others. Then are some like me that have secret obsessions with food. The stress of trying to lose weight or maintain can cause us to do some crazy things. When I feel the binge desire starting it will be anything I can get my hands on. My latest obsession is Reddi Whip. My Mom had jello with Cool Whip at Easter for the kids dessert and I have been crazy for Reddi Whip ever since. At first I purchased it to put on strawberry pie then it quickly changed to just consuming the can all by itself. I’m now buying four to five cans a week. As for as binging goes there are a couple of positives about the whip cream. First of all I buy the fat free version which is very yummy so when I eat the whole can I’m only consuming about 200 calories which for a binger is nothing. Also Reddi Whip has so much air in it that it has a filling effect. It gives the sensation of fullness I need fast to stop me from eating anything else. I realize this is not a healthy habit. The fact of the matter is other than binging from now and again I really eat very healthy. I really am trying to cut back.
In the spirit of my secret obsession I thought I would include a few healthy reminders to help cut your cravings so you can lose weight.
* Eat protein every morning and with every meal
* Eat only whole, real, fresh food
* Eat food with plenty of fiber like beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, vegetables and fruit
* Eat smaller, more frequent meals (three meals and two snacks) to prevent your blood sugar from ever getting too high or too low
Thousands of new foods and beverages are introduced into your local grocery store in a year. Some of the most popular items claim to be natural, organic, fresh, low or no fat, to contain no preservatives or to have more vitamins. But some healthy-sounding foods are impostors, implying they offer more than they really do.
Most of us are aware that just because a bread’s label says it is seven-grain or whole wheat, that doesn’t mean it’s so. But there are many more deceptive tricks to avoid. Learn how to distinguish healthy foods from some of the thousands of foods that fool:
Flax, walnuts, and soy
Most people know that the omega-3 fats are the “good for you” fats. There actually are three omega-3s. Flax, walnuts and soy contain an omega-3 fat called ALA that is great for lowering heart disease risk. But that’s about all. You get a much bigger bang for your buck with the other two omega-3s found in fatty fish, especially the omega-3 fat DHA. This fat lowers heart disease risk, and it potentially lowers the risk for depression, asthma, postpartum depression, dementia, and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease. You need at least two servings a week of salmon, mackerel, herring or sardines.
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Exciting new research helps pinpoint why some people just can’t lose weight. They are puffy. Puffy eyes, puffy ankles, puffy hands and puffy bellies! Why do people get puffy? Allergies!
But I am not talking about pollen or dust allergies, nor am I talking about serious life threatening food allergies from peanuts or shellfish. I am referring to low-grade, delayed reactions to food, that until recently have been completely ignored by medicine.
A recent study broke incredible ground in our understanding of our obesity epidemic. Researchers examined two groups of children — obese and normal weight. They found the obese children had three problems (all related) that the thin children didn’t have.
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I don’t know about you, but after I turned 30 I felt like I had to step up my Workout. Now I am in my late 30’s and feeling even more pressure to continually challenge myself. As we move into each decade our metabolism slows a little. Is it true that aging and weight gain go hand in hand? Ask most women over the age of 40 and they will respond with a resounding “Yes!” From behavioral to biological factors, weight gain and aging go together like peanut butter and jelly. Why does this weight gain occur? Is there any way to stop the extra pounds in their tracks?
Physical factors
Starting as early as our late 30’s and into our 40’s, women go into perimenopause, in which estrogen levels begin to decline. Once in menopause, our estrogen levels drop sharply and even greater changes in our bodies begin to occur.
Appetites change: When we eat, our stomachs sort the contents into proteins, carbohydrates and fat, which the body uses for different purposes. Both enzymes and hormones help the food break down. If the body is off-balance hormonally (such as during menopause), its ability to proceed with digestion is interrupted. If digestion is not taking place as it should, feelings of fullness do not register in the brain. During menopause, the body begins tricking the mind into thinking it needs to eat more.
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In fact, you can eat much more food and lose weight. But here’s the catch. You have to eat real food. Just imagine what your great great grandmother had to eat. Everything came from a farmer’s field and nothing from a food chemist’s laboratory. Nothing was refined or processed. There was no need for nutrition labels because nothing had labels.
The bottom line is that quality is much more important than quantity. Eating only whole, fresh, real food completely eliminates the need for calorie counting, or measuring fat grams or counting carbs. This works for one simple reason — you eat not only calories but also information. Eat the wrong information and you give your genes instructions to make you fat. Eat the right information and you give your genes instructions to lose weight. This is based on a new understanding of how food talks to your genes called nutrigenomics.
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32-year-old, Estaban Neiva from Buenos Aires, competing in the New York City Triathlon died Sunday after being pulled unconscious from the Hudson River on a day when competitors battled heat, humidity and stinging jellyfish along the course.The death Sunday was the first in the eight-year history of the New York event. Burke said that at least four competitors were taken to local hospitals with heat-related illnesses, and that two others sustained broken bones. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner, said an autopsy would be performed Monday.
Bill Burke, the race director, said rescuers pulled Neiva from the river about three-quarters of the way through the 1,500-meter swim portion, which ended near the 79th Street Boat Basin. The swim is the first of the event’s three phases and is followed by a 40-kilometer bicycle ride and a 10K run that finishes in Central Park.
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