Posts
I wrote previously about the challenge of motivating others to make changes in their lives. I stated that we need to recognize that there is a problem in the first place. This study emphasises that we are NOT seeing ourselves in a true light. We either beat ourselves up unjustly or think we are just fine when we are not.
I do know that I am overweight right now so I am on the right path. On a good note I have lost more than five pounds since starting my new job. I am much happier. I'm sleeping more and I am more active. I have yet to workout on a regular basis yet but I am taking baby steps to get their. I have been taking the stairs and I am parking on higher levels in the parking garage just to add another flight of stairs. My next step is to get up in the morning. I believe that I will be able to do this by next week as I am figuring out how to run my life on this new schedule.
Read the article and ask yourself if you are seeing yourself correctly or do you need to look again?
1 in 4 Overweight Women Think They're Normal Size: Study
MONDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Almost one-quarter of young women who are overweight actually perceive themselves as being normal weight, while a sizable minority (16 percent) of women at normal body weight actually fret that they're too fat, according to a new study.
The study found these misperceptions to be often correlated with race: Black and Hispanic women were much more likely to play down their overweight status compared with whites, who were more apt to worry that they weighed too much (even when they didn't).
Although the study looked mostly at low-income women attending public-health clinics in Texas, the findings do mirror other studies in different populations, including a recent Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll.
That survey found that 30 percent of adult Americans in the "overweight" class believed they were actually normal size, while 70 percent of those classified as obese felt they were simply overweight. Among the heaviest group, the morbidly obese, 39 percent considered themselves merely overweight.
The problem, according to study lead author Mahbubur Rahman, is the "fattening of America," meaning that for some women, being overweight has become the norm.
"If you go somewhere, you see all the overweight people that think they are normal even though they're overweight," said Rahman, who is assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMBG).
In fact, "they may even be overweight or normal-weight and think they are quite small compared to others," added study senior author Dr. Abbey Berenson, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health at UTMBG.
The new findings are published in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The study looked at more than 2,200 women who had arrived at a public-health clinic for reproductive assistance, such as obtaining contraceptives.
According to the study authors, more than half of these reproductive-age women (20 to 39 years), who were the subject of this trial, were above a normal body mass index (BMI). An even higher proportion of black Americans (82 percent) and Mexican Americans (75 percent) were overweight or obese.
Women were classified into one of four groups: "overweight misperceivers," meaning overweight women who thought they were normal-weight or even underweight; "overweight actual perceivers," who accurately perceived their size; "normal-weight misperceivers" who worried they were too heavy; and "normal-weight actual perceivers," meaning those whose perceptions were in sync with the weigh-scale.
According to the study, 23 percent of overweight women saw themselves as being smaller than they were, while 16 percent of normal-weight women worried they were too big.
Race seemed to play a role in self-perceived weight. Among overweight women, 28 percent of blacks and about 25 percent of Hispanics considered their weight within the normal range, compared to 15 percent of overweight white women. The trend was the opposite among normal-weight women, with more whites (16 percent) believing they were fat, compared to just 7 percent of blacks.
Women who had more education and surfed the Internet were more likely to be in tune with their actual body size, the researchers said.
Mistaken notions of one's weight status can have implications for behavior, and perhaps health, the researchers noted. For example, women who were overweight but thought they were normal size were less likely to try to lose any excess weight by dieting or other means. On the other hand, women who saw themselves as fatter than they were, were more likely to use diet pills or diuretics, to induce vomiting or to smoke cigarettes, often as ways to control or lessen their weight.
"Unfortunately, women can't do anything to lose weight if they don't perceive themselves as overweight. It does start there," said Keri Gans, a registered dietician based in New York City and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "If they don't perceive themselves as overweight, they're not going to adopt healthy behaviors to lose weight and prevent disease. Meanwhile, the normal-weight people who don't recognize they're at normal weight are engaging in behaviors that put them at risk for illness."
Women need to be aware of what "normal" actually is, in terms of numbers. And weighing yourself isn't the only way, and may not even be the best way, to monitor creeping weight gain, Gans said.
"I don't think the only way to maintain body weight is to weigh yourself," she said. "You know when your pants are too tight. You don't need a number to tell you that."
More information
To check your BMI
SOURCES: Mahbubur Rahman, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Abbey B. Berenson, M.D., director, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Keri Gans, R.D., spokeswoman, American Dietetic Association; December 2010, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Published: 11/22/2010
Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All Rights Reserved
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Fidgit to lose weight
I read this article years ago about a link between fidgeting and being thinner. I am a huge fidgeter (I don't think this is a word but I am going to use it anyway) myself and often annoy those around me (sorry in advance). Once I read this article I know I had ammunition to keep fidgeting. One of the reasons this works is because you are moving! The concept that moving more causes us to burn more calories is not new. What is interesting is that the hormone Bsx was higher in mice that fidgeted. This hormone is supposed to help us regulate when we are hungry. I don't know what came first the chicken or the egg but I am gonna try to tap my feet more at my desk. It might help me produce more of the hormone that will help me out with my hunger and at the very least I will be burning a few more calories. Yes, every calorie does help you ward off those pounds and helps you live a healthier life.
Here is the link to the article if you are interested.
http://www.naturalnews.com/022249.html
Here is the link to the article if you are interested.
http://www.naturalnews.com/022249.html
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Take the stairs!
Need I say more? Take the stairs people! Park far away. Make your own cookies. Years ago there was no such thing as "working out". We just worked. Now that we have all of these wonderful conveniences we have to workout. Make it easier on yourself and add more movement to your daily life. I would love love love to hear how you sneak activity into your life. Please leave a comment so we can do it too!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
29 Ways to Add More Fiber To Your Diet
I found this article about how to get more fiber in your diet. I have no idea who Stealth Health is and the link lead to no where but I don't want to take credit for it. While doing research I found that trainer after trainer use the same article as their own. Hello plagiarism! The original URL is at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!
In the lexicon of weight loss, the term “good carbs” refers to complex carbohydrates. These are foods like whole grains, nuts, beans, and seeds that are composed largely of complex sugar molecules that require lots of time and energy to digest into the simple sugars your body needs for fuel.
One of the biggest benefits of foods rich in complex carbs is that they also contain large amounts of fiber. Fiber, in basic terms, is the indigestible parts of plant foods. It is the husk on the grain of wheat, the thin strands in celery, the crunch in the apple, the casings on edible seeds. Fiber protects you from heart disease, cancer, and digestive problems. Depending on the type of fiber (there is more than one!), it lowers cholesterol, helps with weight control, and regulates blood sugar.
Bottom line: This is one nutrient you don’t want to miss. Yet the average American gets just 12-15 grams of fiber a day — far below the recommended 25-30 grams. And that was before so many of us started cutting carbs for weight loss — and cutting fiber in the bargain.
Here’s how to sneak “good carbs” and extra fiber into your daily diet with a minimum of effort.
1. Eat cereal every day for breakfast. Ideally, aim for a whole grain, unsweetened cereal with at least 4 grams of fiber per serving. Just eating any cereal might be enough, however. A University of California study found that cereal eaters tend to eat more fiber and less fat than non-cereal eaters. Healthy, high-fiber cereals you might want to consider include Kellogg’s All-Bran Original, Kashi GO LEAN, and Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.
2. Eat two apples every day. Not just to keep the doctor away, but because apples are a good source of pectin, a soluble fiber that contributes to a feeling of fullness and digests slowly. One study found that 5 grams of pectin was enough to leave people feeling satisfied for up to four hours.
3. Make a yogurt mix every Wednesday for breakfast. Take one container of yogurt and mix in 1/3 cup All-Bran cereal, 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds, and 5 large, diced strawberries for a whopping 12.2 grams of fiber — nearly half your daily allowance!
4. Eat baby carrots and broccoli florets dipped into low-fat ranch dressing as you afternoon snack three days a week. You’ll fill up the empty space in your tummy while getting about 5 grams of fiber in each cup of veggies.
5. Keep a container of gorp in your car and office for the munchies. Mix together peanuts, raisins, a high-fiber cereal, and some chocolate-covered soy nuts. Allow yourself one handful for a sweet, yet high-fiber, snack.
6. Switch to whole grain crackers. You’d never think a tiny cracker can make a difference, but one regular whole wheat cracker has 1/2 gram of fiber. Ten crackers give you 5 grams of fiber. So next time, spread your peanut butter on whole grain crackers (look for brands that proclaim they’re trans-fat-free) instead of bread for a different taste treat.
7. Mix your regular cereal with the high-test stuff. Okay, we’ll be honest. We wouldn’t want to face an entire bowl of All-Bran either. But just 1/3 cup packs a walloping 8.5 grams of fiber. Mix it with an equal amount of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and you’ll barely know it’s there (but you will be one-third of the way to your daily fiber intake). Check out the Nature’s Path brands, which offer several truly delicious, high-fiber choices.
8. Add kidney beans or chickpeas to your next salad. A quarter cup adds an additional 5 grams of dietary fiber, notes Lisa Andrews, R.D., a nutritionist at the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati.
9. Make sure that the first ingredient in whole grain products has the word “whole” in it, as in “whole wheat,” or “whole grain.” If it says multi-grain, seven-grain, nutra-grain, cracked wheat, stone-ground wheat, unbromated wheat or enriched wheat, it’s not whole wheat, and thus is lacking some of the vitamins and minerals, not to mention fiber, of whole grains.
10. Every week, try one “exotic” grain. How about amaranth, Bulgar, or wheat berries? Most are as simple to fix as rice, yet packed with fiber and flavor. Mix in some steamed carrots and broccoli, toss with olive oil and a bit of Parmesan or feta cheese, maybe throw in a can of tuna or a couple of ounces of cut-up chicken, and you’ve got dinner. Or serve as a side dish to chicken or fish. Make sure all grains you try are whole grains.
11. Once a week, make pearl barley (which doesn’t require any soaking before cooking) as a side dish. One cup sports 10 grams of fiber, nearly half your daily allotment.
12. Sneak in oatmeal.
13. Use whole wheat bread to make your sandwich every day. Even Subway and other such sandwich shops offer whole wheat options for lunchtime munching. If you want to gradually break into the whole wheat club, use whole wheat bread as the bottom slice of your sandwich and regular bread as the top layer, suggests Joan Salge Blake, R.D., clinical assistant professor of nutrition at Boston University’s Sargent College. Eventually, make the switch to whole grains.
14. Every week, switch from a white food to a brown food. So instead of instant white rice, you switch to instant brown rice. Instead of regular pasta, you switch to whole wheat pasta. Similarly, whole wheat pitas instead of regular, whole wheat burritos instead of corn, whole wheat couscous instead of regular. Within two months, you should be eating only whole grains, and should have increased your daily fiber consumption by an easy 10 grams without radically changing your diet!
15. Spread your sandwich with 1/2 cup hummus. Bam! You just got 7.5 grams of fiber in a tasty package. Lay some spinach leaves and a tomato slice atop for another couple of grams.
16. Make beans a part of at least one meal a day. They’re packed with fiber (15 grams in just a cup of black beans) and, since they come canned, so easy to use. Just rinse before using to remove excess sodium. Here are some tips for getting your beans:
18. Have a beet salad for dinner. These bright red veggies have virtually no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, quite a bit of potassium, and 2 grams of fiber. Try roasting whole, peeled beets for 45 minutes, chilling, then dicing into a summer salad.
19. Make rice pudding for dessert tonight. Only instead of white rice, use brown to, as Emeril would say, “kick it up a notch.”
20. Snack on popcorn. The microwave variety works just fine, but we prefer air-popped popcorn without the oil. Each cup of popcorn delivers 1.2 grams of fiber.
21. Switch to whole wheat flour when baking. You can start by going half and half, eventually using only whole wheat flour for all your cooking needs.
22. Throw some flaxseeds, wheat germ, or other high-fiber add-ins into batter. They add crunch to your cookies, muffins, and breads — and loads of fiber.
23. Eat the skin of your baked and sweet potatoes. Eating baked potatoes with the skin instead of mashed ups the fiber at least 3 grams (depending on the size of the potato).
24. Start every dinner with a mixed green salad. Not only will it add fiber, but with a low-calorie vinaigrette dressing, it will partially fill you up with very few calories, and thus offers great benefits in weight loss/control.
25. Always add lettuce and tomato slices rather than cheese to sandwiches. Not only do they add fiber, but they also reduce calories.
26. Use beans or lentils as the main protein source for dinner once or twice a week. A classic dish such as pasta e fagioli works well.
27. Make your fiber sources suit the seasons. A cold lentil salad, or corn and black bean salad in summer, then vegetarian chili in winter.
28. Snack on dried fruit every day. Tasty, chewy, satisfying, easy to eat on the go — and loaded with fiber. Try dried apricots, dates, figs, peaches, pears, and bananas.
29. Drink your fiber. Make your own smoothies by blending whole fruits (cut out the big seeds). If everything in the fruit goes into your glass, you’ll get the fiber from the edible peel, often missing from fruit juice.
Don’t Forget To…
Drink plenty of water. You need water to help the fiber pass through your digestive system without getting, ahem, stuck. So as you’re increasing the fiber in your diet, also increase the amount of water or other unsweetened beverages you’re getting.
Also, don’t up your fiber load all at once. That’s just going to overwhelm your system, leading to gas, bloating, and constipation. Instead, start slowly. Try one tip a week for the first couple of weeks, then two, then three. By week four or five, you should be up to the full 25-30 grams — or more.
http://www.bspcn.com/2009/03/31/29-ways-to-add-more-fiber-to-your-diet/
29 Ways to Add More Fiber To Your Diet
Written by Stealth HealthHow to plant more “good carbs” into your diet.
Fantastic Fiber
Virtually every weight-loss program — be it Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, or Dr. Dean Ornish’s — welcomes “good carbs” as part of a healthy, lean, long-term diet.In the lexicon of weight loss, the term “good carbs” refers to complex carbohydrates. These are foods like whole grains, nuts, beans, and seeds that are composed largely of complex sugar molecules that require lots of time and energy to digest into the simple sugars your body needs for fuel.
One of the biggest benefits of foods rich in complex carbs is that they also contain large amounts of fiber. Fiber, in basic terms, is the indigestible parts of plant foods. It is the husk on the grain of wheat, the thin strands in celery, the crunch in the apple, the casings on edible seeds. Fiber protects you from heart disease, cancer, and digestive problems. Depending on the type of fiber (there is more than one!), it lowers cholesterol, helps with weight control, and regulates blood sugar.
Bottom line: This is one nutrient you don’t want to miss. Yet the average American gets just 12-15 grams of fiber a day — far below the recommended 25-30 grams. And that was before so many of us started cutting carbs for weight loss — and cutting fiber in the bargain.
Here’s how to sneak “good carbs” and extra fiber into your daily diet with a minimum of effort.
1. Eat cereal every day for breakfast. Ideally, aim for a whole grain, unsweetened cereal with at least 4 grams of fiber per serving. Just eating any cereal might be enough, however. A University of California study found that cereal eaters tend to eat more fiber and less fat than non-cereal eaters. Healthy, high-fiber cereals you might want to consider include Kellogg’s All-Bran Original, Kashi GO LEAN, and Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.
2. Eat two apples every day. Not just to keep the doctor away, but because apples are a good source of pectin, a soluble fiber that contributes to a feeling of fullness and digests slowly. One study found that 5 grams of pectin was enough to leave people feeling satisfied for up to four hours.
3. Make a yogurt mix every Wednesday for breakfast. Take one container of yogurt and mix in 1/3 cup All-Bran cereal, 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds, and 5 large, diced strawberries for a whopping 12.2 grams of fiber — nearly half your daily allowance!
4. Eat baby carrots and broccoli florets dipped into low-fat ranch dressing as you afternoon snack three days a week. You’ll fill up the empty space in your tummy while getting about 5 grams of fiber in each cup of veggies.
5. Keep a container of gorp in your car and office for the munchies. Mix together peanuts, raisins, a high-fiber cereal, and some chocolate-covered soy nuts. Allow yourself one handful for a sweet, yet high-fiber, snack.
6. Switch to whole grain crackers. You’d never think a tiny cracker can make a difference, but one regular whole wheat cracker has 1/2 gram of fiber. Ten crackers give you 5 grams of fiber. So next time, spread your peanut butter on whole grain crackers (look for brands that proclaim they’re trans-fat-free) instead of bread for a different taste treat.
7. Mix your regular cereal with the high-test stuff. Okay, we’ll be honest. We wouldn’t want to face an entire bowl of All-Bran either. But just 1/3 cup packs a walloping 8.5 grams of fiber. Mix it with an equal amount of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and you’ll barely know it’s there (but you will be one-third of the way to your daily fiber intake). Check out the Nature’s Path brands, which offer several truly delicious, high-fiber choices.
8. Add kidney beans or chickpeas to your next salad. A quarter cup adds an additional 5 grams of dietary fiber, notes Lisa Andrews, R.D., a nutritionist at the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati.
9. Make sure that the first ingredient in whole grain products has the word “whole” in it, as in “whole wheat,” or “whole grain.” If it says multi-grain, seven-grain, nutra-grain, cracked wheat, stone-ground wheat, unbromated wheat or enriched wheat, it’s not whole wheat, and thus is lacking some of the vitamins and minerals, not to mention fiber, of whole grains.
10. Every week, try one “exotic” grain. How about amaranth, Bulgar, or wheat berries? Most are as simple to fix as rice, yet packed with fiber and flavor. Mix in some steamed carrots and broccoli, toss with olive oil and a bit of Parmesan or feta cheese, maybe throw in a can of tuna or a couple of ounces of cut-up chicken, and you’ve got dinner. Or serve as a side dish to chicken or fish. Make sure all grains you try are whole grains.
11. Once a week, make pearl barley (which doesn’t require any soaking before cooking) as a side dish. One cup sports 10 grams of fiber, nearly half your daily allotment.
12. Sneak in oatmeal.
13. Use whole wheat bread to make your sandwich every day. Even Subway and other such sandwich shops offer whole wheat options for lunchtime munching. If you want to gradually break into the whole wheat club, use whole wheat bread as the bottom slice of your sandwich and regular bread as the top layer, suggests Joan Salge Blake, R.D., clinical assistant professor of nutrition at Boston University’s Sargent College. Eventually, make the switch to whole grains.
14. Every week, switch from a white food to a brown food. So instead of instant white rice, you switch to instant brown rice. Instead of regular pasta, you switch to whole wheat pasta. Similarly, whole wheat pitas instead of regular, whole wheat burritos instead of corn, whole wheat couscous instead of regular. Within two months, you should be eating only whole grains, and should have increased your daily fiber consumption by an easy 10 grams without radically changing your diet!
15. Spread your sandwich with 1/2 cup hummus. Bam! You just got 7.5 grams of fiber in a tasty package. Lay some spinach leaves and a tomato slice atop for another couple of grams.
16. Make beans a part of at least one meal a day. They’re packed with fiber (15 grams in just a cup of black beans) and, since they come canned, so easy to use. Just rinse before using to remove excess sodium. Here are some tips for getting your beans:
- Puree a can of cannelloni beans for a tasty dip. Add 2 cloves garlic and a tablespoon each of lemon juice and olive oil to the blender. Use as a dip for veggies and whole grain crackers.
- Spread nonfat re fried beans on a whole wheat burrito and sprinkle with chopped chicken and shredded cheese.
- Use 1/2 cup black beans and salsa as a filling for your morning omelet.
- Make a bean salad with canned black beans, fresh or frozen corn kernels, chopped cilantro, chopped onion, and chopped tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and a dash of vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Make your own special chili pizza. Top a prepared (whole wheat) pizza crust with some kidney beans, shredded cheese, and ground turkey cooked with chili flavorings.
- Start serving edamame (soybeans) as a side dish. You’ll get 4 grams of fiber in 2/3 cup of the sweet legumes, not to mention the cancer-fighting phytonutrients inherent in soy.
18. Have a beet salad for dinner. These bright red veggies have virtually no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, quite a bit of potassium, and 2 grams of fiber. Try roasting whole, peeled beets for 45 minutes, chilling, then dicing into a summer salad.
19. Make rice pudding for dessert tonight. Only instead of white rice, use brown to, as Emeril would say, “kick it up a notch.”
20. Snack on popcorn. The microwave variety works just fine, but we prefer air-popped popcorn without the oil. Each cup of popcorn delivers 1.2 grams of fiber.
21. Switch to whole wheat flour when baking. You can start by going half and half, eventually using only whole wheat flour for all your cooking needs.
22. Throw some flaxseeds, wheat germ, or other high-fiber add-ins into batter. They add crunch to your cookies, muffins, and breads — and loads of fiber.
23. Eat the skin of your baked and sweet potatoes. Eating baked potatoes with the skin instead of mashed ups the fiber at least 3 grams (depending on the size of the potato).
24. Start every dinner with a mixed green salad. Not only will it add fiber, but with a low-calorie vinaigrette dressing, it will partially fill you up with very few calories, and thus offers great benefits in weight loss/control.
25. Always add lettuce and tomato slices rather than cheese to sandwiches. Not only do they add fiber, but they also reduce calories.
26. Use beans or lentils as the main protein source for dinner once or twice a week. A classic dish such as pasta e fagioli works well.
27. Make your fiber sources suit the seasons. A cold lentil salad, or corn and black bean salad in summer, then vegetarian chili in winter.
28. Snack on dried fruit every day. Tasty, chewy, satisfying, easy to eat on the go — and loaded with fiber. Try dried apricots, dates, figs, peaches, pears, and bananas.
29. Drink your fiber. Make your own smoothies by blending whole fruits (cut out the big seeds). If everything in the fruit goes into your glass, you’ll get the fiber from the edible peel, often missing from fruit juice.
Don’t Forget To…
Drink plenty of water. You need water to help the fiber pass through your digestive system without getting, ahem, stuck. So as you’re increasing the fiber in your diet, also increase the amount of water or other unsweetened beverages you’re getting.
Also, don’t up your fiber load all at once. That’s just going to overwhelm your system, leading to gas, bloating, and constipation. Instead, start slowly. Try one tip a week for the first couple of weeks, then two, then three. By week four or five, you should be up to the full 25-30 grams — or more.
http://www.bspcn.com/2009/03/31/29-ways-to-add-more-fiber-to-your-diet/
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Negative effects of soda
Sorry I haven't blogged in a bit. I just started my new job and I am getting used to everything. It is great by the way!
My cousin Charlotte (sorry if I spelled your name wrong) just asked what is worse sweet tea or soda. I told her to go with the tea and add your own sweetener if needed so she knows exactly what she is drinking. I just saw this on yahoo and thought it would be great to share. I very rarely drink soda and feel like the worst mother in the world when I do let my kiddos drink it. Here are some solid reasons why you too should take steps to remove it from your daily diet. Click on the title to be redirected.
My cousin Charlotte (sorry if I spelled your name wrong) just asked what is worse sweet tea or soda. I told her to go with the tea and add your own sweetener if needed so she knows exactly what she is drinking. I just saw this on yahoo and thought it would be great to share. I very rarely drink soda and feel like the worst mother in the world when I do let my kiddos drink it. Here are some solid reasons why you too should take steps to remove it from your daily diet. Click on the title to be redirected.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
To keep the pounds from coming back you need to eat this!
Fiber
A high fiber lifestyle of 25-50 grams of fiber per day has shown to prevent future weight gain and can help you feel fuller which may cause you to eat less.
Fiber protects your heart from Cardiovascular disease and improves survival rates better than antioxidants, beta carotene, and vitamins E & C.
Fiber is linked to reducing colon cancer.
Fiber can eliminate type II diabetes! If you are a diabetic you need to take in 50 g of fiber per day.
Not getting enough fiber is thought to be the cause for 70% of appendicitis cases in children.
Can you see how good this stuff is for you? You need it. I need it. We all need it. I will tell you how to get more of it into your diet tomorrow. Who knew fiber could be so exciting? I know I am a HUGE health dork. I can't help it I just love the fact that we can actually make ourselves well by living differently! Let me help you! I am jumping up and down here people can you tell?
Please send me your health and wellness questions so I can help you.
There have also been questions about how to become a follower. There is a link button on the top left of the page and on the right margin. Select either of them and then you will have to sign up through a group such as google. You just select which one you want and then create a user name and password. Once this happens you will get a confirmation email. Now you are a follower and get get my posts sent to your email.
A high fiber lifestyle of 25-50 grams of fiber per day has shown to prevent future weight gain and can help you feel fuller which may cause you to eat less.
Fiber protects your heart from Cardiovascular disease and improves survival rates better than antioxidants, beta carotene, and vitamins E & C.
Fiber is linked to reducing colon cancer.
Fiber can eliminate type II diabetes! If you are a diabetic you need to take in 50 g of fiber per day.
Not getting enough fiber is thought to be the cause for 70% of appendicitis cases in children.
Can you see how good this stuff is for you? You need it. I need it. We all need it. I will tell you how to get more of it into your diet tomorrow. Who knew fiber could be so exciting? I know I am a HUGE health dork. I can't help it I just love the fact that we can actually make ourselves well by living differently! Let me help you! I am jumping up and down here people can you tell?
Please send me your health and wellness questions so I can help you.
There have also been questions about how to become a follower. There is a link button on the top left of the page and on the right margin. Select either of them and then you will have to sign up through a group such as google. You just select which one you want and then create a user name and password. Once this happens you will get a confirmation email. Now you are a follower and get get my posts sent to your email.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Adding fruits and vegetables to your diet
The next thing I did was to add more fruits and veggies to my diet.
I started with veggies because they are a little harder for me but not by much. My plan to have one veggie at every meal (two at dinner) and a veggie for one of my snacks. Then I planned on having fruit at breakfast and as a snack. It was easier for me to add things to my diet before cutting things out. Adding the veggies and fruits then made it harder to eat as much junk because I could only fit so much in my stomach. I tried this for a week and then reviewed what improvements I needed to make. I didn't do anything else until I started doing this first.
Some people find it easier to start by adding fruit because they hate veggies. For those of you who HATE veggies I suggest finding ways to sneak them into your meal so you don't have to taste them. Deceptively Delicious is the cookbook I use but I know of at least one other that deals with the same topic(I just can't think of the name). Almost any vegetable can be added to spaghetti sauce and you can add small diced veggies to burgers and meatloaf. Onions, carrots, celery are my big three that I commonly add. You can also use vegetable purees to dip chicken in before coating it in breadcrumbs to make chicken nuggets. These were actually the best nuggets I ever made! Cauliflower can be added to mashed potatoes and spinach can be added to brownies! Nuts I know but I couldn't even tell.
The main thing is that I had to start thinking about what I was eating in order to make changes. What healthy foods are you going to add to your diet in the near future? Everyone wants to hear from you!!
I started with veggies because they are a little harder for me but not by much. My plan to have one veggie at every meal (two at dinner) and a veggie for one of my snacks. Then I planned on having fruit at breakfast and as a snack. It was easier for me to add things to my diet before cutting things out. Adding the veggies and fruits then made it harder to eat as much junk because I could only fit so much in my stomach. I tried this for a week and then reviewed what improvements I needed to make. I didn't do anything else until I started doing this first.
Some people find it easier to start by adding fruit because they hate veggies. For those of you who HATE veggies I suggest finding ways to sneak them into your meal so you don't have to taste them. Deceptively Delicious is the cookbook I use but I know of at least one other that deals with the same topic(I just can't think of the name). Almost any vegetable can be added to spaghetti sauce and you can add small diced veggies to burgers and meatloaf. Onions, carrots, celery are my big three that I commonly add. You can also use vegetable purees to dip chicken in before coating it in breadcrumbs to make chicken nuggets. These were actually the best nuggets I ever made! Cauliflower can be added to mashed potatoes and spinach can be added to brownies! Nuts I know but I couldn't even tell.
The main thing is that I had to start thinking about what I was eating in order to make changes. What healthy foods are you going to add to your diet in the near future? Everyone wants to hear from you!!
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