Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Do it for your health
While there are many reasons to loose weight, exercise and change your diet, the fact that obesity is directly linked to many serious diseases is a major reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Let's take a look at type 2 diabetes for example. Type 2 is the most common for of the disease and with a whopping 80% of the diabetic population being obese or seriously overweight this is a major cause for concern. To put it simply diabetes is a disease that affects your body's ability to produce insulin and to regulate your blood sugar. If not managed correctly people could slip into a diabetic coma, loose their eyesight or even die for complications. Another scary statistic is that many overweight people have diabetes and do not even know it, putting these individuals in serious risk. Another major disease associated with being overweight is heart disease. This is because too much fat in your blood increases triglycerides or "bad cholesterol." In turn this leads to heart attacks, congestive heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms, plaque build up in the blood stream and more. Obesity can also affect your ability to have children and in women their ability to maintain a normal pregnancy. I know this was a major concern for me because with four pregnancies and a lot of weight gain associated with each one I knew I was at risk as were my children. So the point is to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Eat right exercise and embrace your health because if you do not take care of yourself you may not be healthy for long.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Increase your activity
Today is the day to start evaluating how much physical activity you are getting each day. You have already starting keeping a food journal and now is the time to start writing down your activity as well. If you find that you spend the majority of the day sitting down try to fit in an extra 30 minutes of movement each day and work up to 60 minutes. This can be as simple as walking or playing a sport. There are even several video games for Kinect or Wii that will fit the bill. If you spend your time doing an actual workout that is even better! The point is to get moving. The more the better but don't overdo it or you will be very sore the next day.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Day four- Sugar woes
Yesterday we talked about cutting down on the sodium and today we are going to talk about reducing the amount of sugar in our diets. Sugar adds weight fast and it adds up fast. Just one can of regular soda for instance has the equivalent of about 10 packs of sugar, yikes! So today continue to write in your food journal and make notes as to how much sugar and sodium you are consuming. The answer to your weight loss dreams may be as simple as making a few small changes.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Day Three- Reduce Your Sodium Intake
Today’s tip for weight loss is to reduce your daily
sodium intake. Salt and sodium can increase blood pressure and they cause your
body to retain water. Processed foods are loaded with sodium and can cause your
weight to fluctuate up to five pounds. Plus foods that contain high amounts of
sodium also typically have excess calories and poor nutritional value. Remember
that ca calorie reduction diet needs to be high in nutrients in order to be
healthy. So to reduce salt and sodium the biggest thing you can do (besides
laying off of the chips and fries) is to start cooking your own foods and
avoiding adding salt. Processed and fast foods are a nightmare and should be
consumed only occasionally if at all. Also start buying products that have no
added salt. The more ways you can reduce sodium the better for your health and
your weight loss goals.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Summer Weight Loss Series- Day Two
Day Two- Keep a Food Journal
Many studies suggest that keeping a food journal is
quite beneficial for both weight loss and healthy living. The results show that
people who kept accurate food diaries lost nearly twice as much weight as
people who did not. So how does writing down everything you eat and drink
affect your weight loss or healthy living goals? The first reason is that
people become far more aware of what they eat when they keep a record of it.
Everyone snacks now and then and the truth is that eating throughout the day is
quite beneficial in terms of maintaining proper insulin levels and boosting our
metabolic rate. However a lot of people do not realize how much they eat or how
often they are eating the wrong kinds of foods. For example if you eat a single
serving bag of chips or a small order of fries with your lunch three times per
week you are looking at about a seven pound weight gain per year just from
that. This does not include other diet choices and drinks can be especially
troublesome. Like one can of regular soda per day can pack on another 15
pounds! Plus drinks high in sugar are also linked to diabetes and heart
disease. Keeping a food diary makes people so much more aware of what they eat
and how often they eat it that it is a powerful tool to have in your healthy
living arsenal. But that is not the only reason to jot down your daily
consumption. Another major reason why food journals are beneficial is
accountability. People feel guilty plain and simple if they have too many
“bad" entries but feel proud when they are making better choices. This
affect is even more prominent for those who share their diaries with others. Finally
those who ramp up their journal entries by including information about
portions, calories, sugar, sodium etc. increase their benefits by truly taking
control of their nutritional habits. So plain and simple the goal for today is
to begin a food journal. Start recording what you eat and drink and become more
mindful of your choices. Continuing this habit will really help you to reach
your goals and to maintain your weight loss.
There’s an app for that…
By the way there are literally hundreds of apps for
both recording your daily food intake and many of them also provide nutritional
info at a glance. There is also a convenience factor to being able to keep
track of everything on your smart phone or media devices.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Summer Weight Loss Series - Day One!
Welcome to day one of the Summer Weight loss Series here at
Fitness for Mind, Body and Spirit!
Have you recently gone swimming only to discover that you are not ready to wear that super cute swim suit? Maybe you have been trying to loose weight for awhile or you know you need to lose some weight but have not yet found the right program. Well whatever your situation this is the place to find what you are looking for. Right here we are going to teach you all the weight loss secrets and tips that are found in the big name commercial plans. The best part is that it won't cost you a dime to learn from us! Our experts are simply here to help you to loose weight, to get healthy and to reduce your risk for diabetes, heart disease and other complications that can occur from carrying too much weight. So without further ado let's get started on your 100% free diet and exercise program exclusively from Fitness for Mind, Body and Spirit!
Day One:
Today we are going to start changing the way your metabolism works with your body. Instead of eating a three meals you are going to either eat six small meals or three medium sized meals with a small snack every two to three hours. This will help your body to keep burning what you eat. This works because if you deprive yourself your body thinks you are starving and your metabolism works against you by working to keep extra fat and weight. On the other end of the spectrum, if you eat too many calories then your metabolism can't keep up and again the excess is stored as fat. Either way this is no good, so we are going to retrain your system by keeping a steady flow of calories but avoiding excess. So try to select foods that have little to no salt and don't eat too many sweets.
Tune in tomorrow and each day as we implement a new part of the program. Before you know it you will be burning calories and dropping pounds!
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