Couch potato withdrawls....

All the sugar and fat were actually quite enjoyable, and sitting on the couch didn't feel too bad, either. If you try and change everything too quickly the odds are greater that you will feel bad, get discouraged, and give up. So be patient. Make changes slowly over time and you will be more likely to keep those habbits. Then trying to be "perfect" on Monday and by Thursday your back on the couch. Add a new habbit each week.

Count em' up!

Counting calories is hands-down the most effective way to weight loss as well as weight maintenance. Essentially, you must make sure you eat as many calories as you burn daily to maintain your weight, or, eat less than you burn to shed excess weight. Sounds pretty easy huh? I have been doing this for a while now using sparkpeople.com and I have really liked it. You type in what you eat and it adds up calories. The only problem was that I would not forget and not do it til at night then try to remember what I ate and I know I was probably forgetting something. I like to put a little peice of paper in my pocket so i always have it and write things down as I go. Another thing is that you should try to count everything that goes in your mouth. I find myself as a mother when I cut the crusts off-eating them. Little bites here and there add up pretty fast. If you don't do this I would reccomand it for a week even so you know a general idea of what your eating and how you can maintain or lose weight or even gain if you need to (um why can't that be me:).

Being at a healthy weight is important. I would like to be fit and skinny but since I am just fit thats ok with me. Sometimes your outside doesn't tell you weather a person is healthy or not. So eat healthy foods and exercise but don't stress if you not size 2. The average american girl is a 12 and 5'4". I am mostly telling me this but maybe you need to hear it too. I like these because make calorie counting easy. If your eating out of the cracker box you will most likely eat more then a serving so this saves you from those extra calories.

Change your world....

One importnant key to living a healthy life is having an enviornment that makes healthy living easier. If your cupboards are full of junk food and you leave no time for exercise

your setting yourself up for gaining weight and not being healthy. Pack your fridge with fresh fruits and vedgies so when you feel like snacking you reach for a carrot instead of a treat. I try to cut up the fruit and veggies before hand so it makes it easier to pick a healthy snack. Alot of people like the 100 Calorie packs. For me they are more pricey so I get the snack sized baggies and when I get some from grocery shopping i separate the food in the serving sizes helping with portion control and make it easier to grab a healthy snack like almonds. In places it may be harder then others like at work or at a party. At work bring healthy snacks or eat before you go to the party and just have a little of the party food. Going starving to a pot luck dinner...not smart. Eat a little before so your not starving and you have more control. It's the little daily changes you make that make a big difference in the long run with your health.

Berry Delicious!

If you didn't know already berries are super good for you. Super food for sure. They are loaded with antioxydiants. You've might have heard the buzz about the health benefits of phytonutrients – naturally occurring compounds found in plants. There are hundreds of known phytonutrients, and some have antioxidant properties that can help improve immune function and reduce the risk for chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. Since phytonutrients are most concentrated in the peel or skin of fruits and vegetables, berries – with their edible skin and high skin-to-fruit ratio – are an especially concentrated phytonutrient source. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries all have particularly high ORAC scores (ORAC is a scientific measurement of antioxidant content) and are four of the top 20 food sources of antioxidants. The blueberry has the highest ORAC score of all the berries.

Berry benefits don't stop at chronic disease prevention. A low-calorie, high-fiber choice, berries make a satisfying snack or addition to any meal. You can also find nutrients like folic acid and vitamin C in abundance in berries. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that a serving of strawberries has even more vitamin C than an orange!

I like to put berries in some oatmeal in the morning or a smoothie. Berries can be a little expensive so I like to buy the frozen ones but fresh is always more nutrient dense. So find ways to fit berries into your diet.

REAL beauty....

I thought this picture was funny....

A new survey of women between the ages of 25 and 45 found that 75% eat, think and behave abnormally around food and have body image issues. These results weren't limited to a specific ethnic or racial group, applying to most women in general.

The study also found that 31% of these women had used vomiting, laxatives, diuretics or diet pills and some point in their lives to lose weight. Among these women, more than 50% did so at least a few times a week.

Here are some other interesting results from this study:
67% of the women were trying to lose weight.
53% of dieters are already at a healthy weight and are still trying to lose weight.
39% said concerns about what they eat or weigh interfere with their happiness.
37% said they regularly skip meals to try to lose weight.

We are surrounded by media that tells us we need to be stick thin. I am studying Advertising (done In December yay!) and I think that DOVE is genius! They have a campaign for REAL BEAUTY!

The average american women wears a size 12 not a 2 so don't starve, throw up, or do things like that. They make you feel less and less beautiful on the inside everytime you do. I KNOW when you are healthy mind and body, you feel beautiful.

What's your real age?

Many have you have already heard of Dr. OZ but he has been on Oprah numerous times. He knows EVERYTHING about health. He talks about your "real age". We know how old we are by how many years we have been on earth but our bodies age differently depending on how we take car of them. Take the real age quiz. Just click HERE! It asks questions about your health habits, sleeping, eating, weight, etc. On the website click My Real Age in the top left corner. Here are my results...

I am 26.9 and my age is 22.4. Word of wisdom helps huh. It told me i need more weight training and i need to lose 15-20 pounds...big surprise but other then that very healthy. oh and reccomended sleeping 1-2 more hours each night then I get. I'll have to tell Keagan to sleep til 8:) Check it out!

It's a vitamin world....

So I talked about before, how diet pills are not good for your heart and cause long term damage but there are many things that you can take to increase your health and longevity. These are some vitamins and herbs that I take. I am interested in any herbs you might take and what the benefits are. Here is what i take.....

1. Multi-vitamin. I actually take a prenatal vitamin because I am trying to get pregnant. A vitamin should not replace a healthy diet but work with a healthy diet to get all the nutrients you need. Most vitamins are water soluble or fat soluble meaning in order to absorb the nutrients you must eat something and drink something along with your vitamin. Just make it a habit to take it with your breakfast.
2. Calcium supplement. This is so important as women because our bones will become brittle and to prevent osteoporosis in our old age. I like the calcium chew things or you can even take tums as a calcium supplement. Also your diet, calcium is found in milk obviously but you might not know that dark leaf spinach has much more calcium then milk!
3. Fish Oil. We know that our bodies need fat. Not french fries, not greasy foods but we need the good fat in nuts, fish, avocados, olives, olive oil, etc. It is recommended to eat fish 2-3 times a week. I don't. So to get my omega 3 fatty acid I take 2 capsules of fish oil a day. It is SO good for your heart!
4. Cascara Sagrada. This is a just an herb that kinda gives you a little cleanse. I only take it maybe once or twice a month but it gives your system a good cleanse.
5. Flaxseed. I get milled flax and put it in yogurt, smoothies, etc. It is also cleansing and have omega 3 fatty acid in it and it good for the heart.
You can get all of these at Wal-Mart for cheaper then at the health food store. Are there any herbs or things you take to improve your health?

Getting back on track...

This post is directed directly to me:) Living a healthy life is about consistancy. If you eat one bad thing it doesn't make a big difference but If you do everyday it will make a difference. So we just had the a holiday where most people eat too much and not the healthiest things right? It can be easy to think oh i messed up my diet, forget it. One key to healthy living and weight loss is to get right back on track. Set some new goals to motivate yourself. When i eat too much I like to drink tons of water to flush whatever it was through me. I am not usre it works but it seems like it would. So try to get back on track the next day instead of beating yourself and just giving up. This one is more for me.....i don't know if you beat yourself up but for me I need to hurry and get back on or I will wait a while.....then 5 pounds heavier:)

Beware!

Watch for "hidden" sugar in processed foods like bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, and soups. And be careful with "fat-free" products. Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. Fat-free does not mean calorie-free. Learn to read labels and ask for a nutrition guide at resturaunts.

Are diet pills really all that bad?

I recently had a friend who had been trying to lose weight for a while but was stuck. She exercised, ate pretty healthy but just stayed the same. Her doctor gave her some perscription diet pills and she lost 30 pounds very rapidly. I thought wow i should try that. I had thought about it before and thought..."those don't work and just an advertising sceam" but seeing my friend lose so much weight so fast was VERY tempting. So I started reading and I am glad that I did.
Diet pills do have potential to help a person lose weight and can be very appealing, especially if you are someone who has struggled to lose weight in the past but these advantages should be weighed against the dangers of diet pills.
Prescription diet pills are very strong drugs and much more potient then over the counter diet pills. They are addicting and harmful. In reading, it shows that something like having a lap band put on is much safer then taking diet pills (speed).
Each diet pill has its own set of potential side effects. Some diet pills, especially the stimulant-based diet pills, are habit-forming and as such can be abused. Abuse of these drugs may lead to dependence and heart and health problems. Metabolism disruption which effects many things in our bodies.
Most diet pills suppress the appetite, which causes you to consume fewer calories. On the surface, this seems like the ultimate solution for losing weight. However, as you reduce your caloric intake enough to produce quick weight loss, your metabolism also slows down. As your metabolism slows, the amount of weight you lose also slows down. So you may lose weight quickly or get that "quick fix" but in the long run you will ending up usually gaining because a slowed metabolism. Same thing happens in cases of anorexia.

The solution, of course, is to combine lifestyle changes to your diet slowly. You need to find the fine line of not starving yourself and not over eating. Lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, dietary changes, and regular health checkups can greatly increase your long term weight loss success.
Many diet pills work by norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine reuptake inhibition. One of these diet pill side effects is that it is known to substantially increase blood pressure in some patients. Serious dangers of diet pills of this nature can arise in those patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, or stroke. Also, this type of diet pill is a controlled substance and can be habit forming. Other diet pill side effects from this type include: headache, back pain, abdominal pain, hypertension, palpitation, anorexia, constipation, nausea, thirst, joint disorder, insomnia, dizziness, anxiety, depression, rash, acne, etc…

So diet pills may bring instant gratification but they hurt you in the long run (and sometimes short run) I would reccomend exercising more if you want to raie your motabolism and try to reduce your calorie intake and eat healthy foods. We have been given these bodies from Heavenly Father to learn to control them and take care of them. If we are taking diet pills we are not controling our appiteite, this pill is. We are not controlling our heart rate, the pill is. So you control you, its hard but will last a lifetime!