Just Say "No" To Junk

It may be easier said than done, but it may be easier to do than you think! The concept that I just don't understand is why many say how hard it is to eat healthy, but then bring into their home many unhealthy foods. We plan to buy what we eat, don't we?

At first, it may be tough to resist putting the foods we know aren't healthy into our shopping carts, but making that simple decision will eliminate the choices later in whether we eat a healthy dinner/snack or not! The key really is down to what you put into your cart.

Below are just a few friendly tips for healthier alternatives you might want to replace as you shop at the grocery store. They are as follows:

Instead of: Buy:
1. Chips/Hydro Crackers ----- Popcorn Kernals ("Pop" at home!)
2. Soda or Sugar-Filled Juices -----------2. 100% Juices or Lemons/Limes to add to your water
3. Mayonaise -------------------------3. Avocado (This works great for sandwiches!)
4. Cookies or Candy ------------4. Organic Cookies or Soy Ice Cream (Yummy and guilt-free!)
5. White Products -------------------5. Whole Wheat spaghetti, rice, bread, crackers, etc.
6. Milk/Cheese -------------------------6. Soy or Rice Milks/ Block of Parmesan (Far Less fat)
7. Sugary Cereals -------------------7. Oatmeal, Organic Cereals


BASICALLY--IF IT'S MANUFACTURED, IT IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU!! AVOID 'EM!

Challenge yourself, and discover how good it feels to put natural more wholesome foods primarily into your diet. Then when you have that fast food meal or occasional cookie, you know it's okay--because the unhealthy food is a rarity. Best of luck!

Cut the Fat--Cut the Guilt!

You know, I have been trying to think of ways to improve my diet. I don't eat a lot of fast food, but I consume more of it than I'd like to. Chances are good that you experience, like many of us, the guilt that accompanies a "fast food meal."

Not only is the food high in fats and/or sugars, the portion sizes are ridiculously huge! A person typically eats more than twice the amount of food in calories than they actually need in a meal. And this doesn't include dessert! Here are a few tips that I've been trying to implement to feel healthier and increase my energy... (And they have been helping me tremendously!)

• Avoid eating out as much as possible. Eat before going out, and bring a bag of nuts, healthy granola bar, or even an apple to tie you over when you get hungry on the run!
• Watch the cheese! Our culture puts cheese on everything. Pretty soon we'll see it as an ice cream flavor. Ugh, I hope not! Cheese is high in fat, and a portion size is only the size of your pinky. Sorry to say. . .
• Eat an extra healthy breakfast. I have really been enjoying raw oats with blueberries or strawberries. And if you like soy milk, this is a great alternative to milk, which some do not tolerate. When I eat a great breakfast like this, I want to make more healthy choices throughout the day.
• Get rid of that sweet tooth! I love chocolate, but the more days I go without it, the less I crave it. This goes for whatever your addiction may be: ice cream, cookies, cake, soda. I just dare you to conquer your craving. It can be so exciting to know you are in control--and not that silly, lifeless portion of food!

Hopefully, you will find that these simple changes, and sometimes not-so-simple changes can make you feel worlds better from day to day. I have found for myself that I feel cleaner inside, and my stomach is definitely flatter. Regular exercise is a great addition to cutting back on those hidden fats. So get focused, and remember that you are in charge of your own body. Make changes now--and rid yourself of the awful guilt that bad food choices can bring.

Trying to lose weight? Lift weights!

This seems too simple an answer when there are so many supposed "answers" out there to really lose weight. But besides eating healthy, lifting weights helps the body rid itself of fat nearly three times as fast!

Because muscle weighs more than fat, our bodies will utilizes the calories we consume ALL DAY simply because we are paying more attention and exercising our muscles. Free weights are my personal preference because they are easy to use, and because you can switch the poundage depending on which muscle group you are working. This is also a nice method because you don't need membership to a gym.

Any questions to get started? Ask away. Just remember to start off lightly before you begin. And make it a habit to lift weights--you will soon feel your metabolism jumpstart, and your unwanted weight fall off!

A Vegetable at a Time

It can seem daunting to be efficient in consuming all the vegetables and important nutrients that our bodies need daily. But you know what? It is simple when you make it simple in your mind: include a vegetable with as many of your meals or snacks as you can! Rather than putting the focus on the big picture of being healthy, and the difficulties in accomplishing that, decide to add a fresh fruit or vegetable to more of your eating times.

I am not perfect at consuming as many fruits and vegetables as I ought to. But I have noticed that I do much better when I choose to think daily in adding fresh produce to my diet. Another idea to consider: try getting into the habit of washing your produce as soon as you pull it out of the grocery bag. We call it a fruit or veggie bath--and my boys like this notion! We wash, chop, and place the produce in containers. Because it is ready to go, we eat up the fruits and vegetables in no time since it's as easy to eat as a bag of chips--but healthier, of course!

Get Moving!

This little blurb is just to remind you that getting even 20 to 30 minutes of activity as many days of the week as you can will really make a difference in more than just your figure. You will feel happier, less stressed, more alive, and capable of doing more than you would believe.

I don't think I can ever recall a time when I exercised and wasn't glad that I did. Keeping active can change a person's attitude in ways that are astounding. So, quit watching people on tv have fun and go have fun yourself by getting active!

Want To Breathe More?

Did you know that it is only as babies that we, as humans, breathe deeply and correctly? As we age, we tend to breathe more shallow. One of the best ways to send more oxygen to our bloodstream, and breathe deeply all day, is to exercise.

When we challenge our heart to regular exercise, there will come an increase in oxygen, thereby improving the circulation of blood in our bodies. We will find that we feel better all day and can breathe deeper. Our inhale and exhale abilities will deepen in length, and we will also find that singing from the diaphragm is more possible.

Only thirty minutes a day most days of the week? That's correct. It can be walking, biking, aerobics, swimming, anything that elevates the heart continuously. While many find it hard to get started, once beginning the exercise, one may discover it is so much fun they wonder why they make it out to be so awful! So stop reading this--and go exercise your heart! Maybe you'll find yourself breathing deeper because of it!

Eat Right, Eat More

Okay, so it's been a funny notion to me, yet it really is true: when you eat the right foods, you can eat more often! Every person ought to learn moderation in whatever foods are eaten, however, you won't find many people who have gained weight or had health issues from eating too many apples or nuts! (Yes, I said nuts!)

The real issue at hand is that when choosing to keep your body active on a regular basis, you will literally feel your metabolism utilizing the nutrients from the foods that you eat! So if you put 'premium fuel' or healthy foods into your body, then you will function better, and you may find your appetite for good foods increase. If you have just eaten lunch, and want an apple only an hour later, then go for it! Eat a handful or two or three of nuts if you want! Eat right, and you can eat more!

How To Read Food Labels

It is probably no surprise to you that many ingredients in the packaged foods you buy are unhealthy. This is why learning how to read food labels can be vital to the nutrition of you and your family.
Many health problems are now coming to light and are directly linked to these 'unknown' or 'secret' ingredients in many packaged foods. Read ahead and learn what foods to avoid if any of these ingredients are contained in the food item:

1. Fully or Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Soybean, rapeseed, cottonseed, etc.)- this is a preservative to ensure longer shelf-life, which it does, but the bad outweighs the good by causing fat build-up in the arteries and heart chambers. This build-up can increase a person's risk for heart disease and obesity.
2. Sugar, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup Solids, Corn Starch, Modified Corn Starch- these are all basically different forms of sugar which the body does not need! Besides its' addictive qualities, it can also increase a person's risk for diabetes, which nearly guarantees the likelihood of this disease for a person when coupled with family or relatives who have diabetes.
3. Colorings and/or numbers- we don't know what these are or what harm they can do to our body, so why risk?
4. Enriched- this is a clever way of saying, hey, we added lots of nutrients to replace all the natural ones we took out to make it taste better, so it's still good for you! The truth is it is not! We would be wise to keep our rice, bread, and all other grains kept brown as that is their natural color. White rice, bread, and other similar products are depleted of their fiber, causing us to feel hungry sooner.
5. Monosodium Glutamate (aka: MSG) or 'Flavorings'- This ingredient is the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid, and found mainly in soups, gravies, and crackers. A more ideal and truthful term for this ingredient would be poison! FDA results show an "unknown percentage of the population may react to MSG and develop MSG symptom complex, a condition characterized by one or more of the following symptoms:

burning sensation in the back of the neck, forearms and chest
numbness in the back of the neck, radiating to the arms and back
tingling, warmth and weakness in the face, temples, upper back, neck and arms
facial pressure or tightness
chest pain
headache
nausea
rapid heartbeat
bronchospasm (difficulty breathing) in MSG-intolerant people with asthma
drowsiness
weakness."

Nobody can eat everything they should all the time. Afterall, we are only human. But in striving to eliminate these ingredients from our diets, we can not only feel better, but also be confident that we are doing the best we can to avoid later health problems.

We Create Our Cravings

Did you know that the foods you crave are often indicative of the foods you choose to consume? Just think about it. If you eat cheesy chips and a tall glass of milk every day before dinner, you will find yourself craving this unhealthy snack at possibly the same time every day!

So what is the healthy alternative? Are we subject to eat only the foods that we crave? Of course not! Put it to the test. If you eat a banana every morning, you will find that your body will begin to crave a banana every day. Besides the benefits of potassium and added color to your diet, you will be happy to discover that you are really in more control of what you crave than you may think.