Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Movement Movement

There is no way that one can lead a healthy lifestyle sitting idle and hoping that they can get peak health from just foods. I have emphasized a healthy diet that will help you lose weight and keep our entire body immune to what ails it. Movement is still needed to keep the body running like a well oiled machine.

If you need to start and don't know where to begin, start here. You can begin with walking,  but you eventually have to end up at 10,000 steps.

You might want to get your exercise personality. Sometimes signing up for a class or activity may get you motivated. Either way, you will need a healthy mindset to reach a healthy lifestyle. There are right moves to transform your body, just ask Jillian Michaels.

Don't forget to fuel your body during all workouts.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Health Foods In Living Color

I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, but I believe vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, legumes and seeds should be the main part of our diet. Humans are omnivores and need a variety of foods. Make no mistake, if we were wild animals we would be scavengers able to eat anything at least once!

It seems that the latest healthy buzzword is ANTIOXIDANT. Antioxidants protect cells from free radicals which damage cells. Up until now antioxidant research has been done in laboratories in test tubes. Research has now shifted to humans and the results far exceed the laboratory. Scientists want to find out what really happens when you consume the phytochemical foods that are high in antioxidants.  The hope is that scientists can actually tell you if your food with phytochemicals is converting your food into cancer-fighting compounds.

Here  you can find how color identifies the antioxidant. More information can be found here. Color identifies the power behind your fruits and vegetables and berries. So now you start to get the idea of what must be in your shopping cart. So now you should know where your nutrition and diet to a healthy lifestyle come from. So now you can start to plan your healthy nutrition made easy!

In the new world nutrition you need to consume over 7 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruit each day, in my opinion.




Friday, June 28, 2013

Smokers Blues

The one thing that you can't do is tell a smoker why smoking is bad for them. They've heard it all. Sometimes something does come along to shock them, but it only is a Band-Aid solution, because they will continue to smoke. Just look at the affect that the NEW anti-smoking commercials are having on people you know who smoke. It may shock and disgust them showing people whose lives were affected, but smokers will only complain to a friend while they smoke a cigarette!

I can find many tips on quitting, but I'm sure smokers have tried them all. They probably tried the drugs. They also probably tried the patch, the gum, the acupuncture, the cold turkey, need I say more? If they quit, then it was worth it. If not, then you are going to hear me talk about smoking a lot!

Smoking WILL have an impact on your health, one way or another. It doesn't matter if you smoke 1 on occasion or more than 1 pack a day. Down the road you will pay the piper. The whole entire secret to quitting is really a simple one. YOU MUST WANT TO QUIT. Yes the addiction is much stronger than one's will, but unless you WANT to quit, you are already being defeated.

Once you want to quit, you will start a war to beat this addiction. War means you will fight battles. Just because you lose a battle doesn't mean you have to let smoking win the war. KEEP TRYING!

In order for one to WANT to quit, they must choose to do so. Pressure from others, such as loved ones, doctors and non-smokers, will eventually make the smoker doomed to failure. Many smokers will now try to hide it from others.

Although I'll touch on smoking again(and again and again), let me give you some tips that may make it easier.

First and foremost, the biggest mistake you can make to quit smoking is setting a date. Setting dates will only prove that you are doomed to fail. The big one is New Years, where resolutions fail rather quickly. I quit mid-February, when my doctor told me I had bladder cancer. He said I either quit smoking or I will die. I quit cold turkey in 1998 and never smoked again. I was smoking 3 packs of cigarette a day at the time, and I had wanted to quit but couldn't do it.

Lets do the economics, in other words, I'm going to pick your pocket. When I quit, a pack of cigarettes was$2.50 for my brand. If I was still alive today, my habit would cost $30 a day!

Sure smokers always say that once the price goes up they are going to quit, but lo and behold, those people continue to smoke. Nicotine is the most addictive drug of all, and the producers know how to fix the dosage to make you addicted. If not, they would cease to exist, but business is good$$$$$$$!

At $30 a day that would be $210 a week, which is more than half my paycheck. In a year that is $10950. Add to this your health care costs. If you see a doctor more than 3 times a year(including your physical) your ailments are more than likely from your cigarettes. Yes cigarettes and the smokers are skyrocketing health costs for the rest of us.

Another big mistake smokers make when they try to quit is they announce it to everybody. Although people may wish you well, they all await your failure to announce that they knew you couldn't do it. This is another reason why one must WANT to quit. Determination is your only weapon to beat addiction. Will power is what will feed your determination.

If you WANT to quit, there may not be an immediate solution like mine. People will try and fail. The best way to quit is to explore and see what will work for you. If you fail, my advice is to immediately continue to find a solution. Perhaps cold turkey may work, perhaps you need gum, patches, medication, counseling, etc., just don't keep smoking after a failure and try again tomorrow rather than next week!

It takes 10 years to actually break free of nicotine. I had quit for a number of years from time-to-time in my smoking history. The funny thing is that if I smoked one pack when I quit, I would start slow(the first one) and not only reach one pack a day within a month, but a pack and a half within three months!

Enlighten yourself about nicotine addiction. In other words, know your enemy that poses as your best friend. Nicotine makes you its puppet, and controls you. This is why I have seen too many dying people continue to smoke their cancer sticks. They are on chemotherapy and continue to smoke. When they die, their smoking buddies blame the chemo for their deaths!

Smokers come up with too many excuses to protect their habit. They become connivers as they look for ways to smoke where smoking is restricted, such as airports. They actually believe it is their right to smoke. The rude awakening is coming since smoking areas are being limited and fines will be enforced. Yet another hole in the pocket.

Smoking...you can bet I have a lot to say and some of the things I say will sound like a broken record!

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Changing Your Bad Habits

To determine how healthy people actually are, we need to consider their diet, their everyday lifestyle and their exercise regiment. To start a healthy lifestyle certain habits need to be changed. The speed of the results will depend on how much effort and change one is willing to make. You can take baby steps or take-off on an airline.

In the food department the biggest change is in the meat department. Eliminate processed red meat such as bacon and deli meats and replace it with fish and poultry. If you must have red meat try bison or organic 95% fat-free ground beef. Beef should be limited to maybe a couple of servings a month.

You should eliminate refined foods and replace them with whole grain foods. A whole grain bread, for example, the first word in the ingredients is WHOLE. If, for example, the first ingredient is whole wheat, or whole grain, the nutrients are naturally in the product. Otherwise it's enriched or refined. Switch breads, pastas and cereals to the whole grains. They are more filling and contain bran and germ which are beneficial. Beware of 7 grain or twelve grain breads because they are just enriched with grains and aren't as beneficial as Whole!

Eat AT LEAST 5 or MORE servings of fruits and vegetables. Variety is what brings the true benefits of fruits and vegetables, and a variety of colors is a cornucopia of health. Vegetables should be not only a staple food but a main food. I consume more vegetables than any other food. They are what naturally builds your immunity against a variety of ailments and disease.

Eliminate soda and other sugary drinks. Come back to regular water or switch to seltzer or club soda. Eliminate or cut your alcohol intake. Regardless of the health benefits you focus on, more than 1 serving for women and 2 servings for men A DAY, is more harmful than beneficial. Also, alcohol is sugar and can literally add pounds over night!

Women with a waist over 35 inches, and Men over 40 inches, need to lose weight. Waist size tends to be a good predictor of ones health, because belly fat is closely tied to disease risk.

A healthy lifestyle involves the social aspects of life to give one a healthy mind and mood. The more friends you have, the more fun you have, the way you deal with stress, how controlling you are of your emotions, are a determination of your social health.

It goes without saying that if you smoke, your health is going to suffer either now or in the future. This deadly habit is tough to quit, but it can be done. The secret to quitting is that one has to want to quit, otherwise it is impossible. This is the reason many fail no matter what they do, because they aren't really ready to quit.

Sleeping less than 7 hours a night can lead to problems from obesity to diabetes to cardiovascular disease, just to name a few. Sleep is essential for the body to rest and recharge itself. We live in a hectic society where the stress sometimes makes it impossible to get any sleep as insomnia is on the rise.

You need to exercise on a regular basis getting at least 3 hours a week. Weights should be part of ones regiment. Movement is encouraged, but some type of exercise is a must. The benefits of exercise don't only keep our outsides and insides fit, they also help fight obesity, diseases, and can even reverse many ailments.

I would urge you all to take Dr. Oz's Health Test.

Welcome to the start of the journey.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Useful Online Health Links

From time to time, I'll dedicate some entries to healthful sites, tools, and resources that are useful to your endeavor to get healthy.

Here is a tool to record your family health history.

MyFitnessPal gives you many tools such as a food journal, calorie counter  and even lets you set a goal for weight loss, for example, and gives data on how to achieve it.

Nutridiary is another journal for diet and exercise.

Perhaps it isn't good to diagnose yourself, but if you give your symptoms to Medify it will give you answers.

Greatist is a site with nutrition, exercise and an inspiration to total health. Everyday you get a recipe and a workout of the day.

Drugs.com is all the information you will need on prescription, over-the-counter and natural products.

WebMD is a medical authority on the internet.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

1) Going Against The Norm

Your BMI is a way to measure a human's body shape based on the individual's height and weight. Even though I fall into the overweight category, my doctor seems to think that my current BMI is fine. This is why you should always consult your personal physician before adopting a lifestyle change.

An informative site is ChooseMyPlate.gov that basically gives you the new nutritional pyramid. I don't totally agree with the government's assessment. Dr. Andrew Weil has developed his own food pyramid. Even the Mediterranean diet pyramid has gotten a facelift.

When it comes to exercise there are those for mostly women, and those for mostly men. I say mostly because both sites have exercises for both sexes. But make sure you educate yourself about exercise and start slow, if you are just starting or haven't exercised in awhile.

Well, looks like we have a lift off...

Sunday, June 23, 2013

2) Finding YOUR Niche In A Healthy Lifestyle

If you want to achieve a healthy lifestyle, it will take trials and errors on your part, until you find what's right for you. Everyone is different and everyone has their goals they want to achieve. Through the right foods and a proper exercise program, you will find it easy to reach your ideal weight and BMI(Body Mass Index).

One should be careful not to over train. It can make you avoid exercise for a long period or it can become an obsession and become dangerous to your health. There are people that are dropping dead in gyms. They were the ones that went everyday.

There are things to start doing now to start a healthy lifestyle. Do some walking everyday. Eat small meals every 2-3 hours, rather than three large meals. Start experimenting with ways to make healthier foods taste to your liking.

I will in future entries give advice and resources about living a healthy lifestyle. The journey hasn't even started. If I give just one piece of advice that makes a difference, then it's all worth it. Understand that the individual is the one to find his/her niche as to what works, and what doesn't.

Friday, June 21, 2013

3) A Healthy Mood and Mind

If you're feeling down in the dumps, there are actually foods that can boost your mood. Here are foods that boost your mood for all occasions. Here is information on mood boosting foods and introducing them into your diet. It also tells you how what you are eating may be causing your down in the dumps mood.

You might find that a combination of mood foods can give you an extra boost. Try these recipes. If you can't wait, here are instant mood boosting foods. Then there are those that you should eat all the time.

This site not only helps with your mood but it also is a great resource for the mind. There are simple ways to improve your mind, mood and outlook. So a healthy mind leads to a healthy mood, and sometimes food is a big health.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

4) The Deadliest Habit

Time to tackle the biggest risk to everyone's health that is addicted to the problem. So powerful is this Siren's Song that people will continue to do it until they die. A death sentence is inevitable with this highly addictive and most detrimental to one's health after merely a few uses. Yes, it's time to talk about smoking and nicotine.

Smoking is a tough subject to tackle. A highly addictive, over the counter drug, cigarettes prove that nicotine is a highly addictive drug. Cigarettes have gone up over 500% in price since I quit, and their sales are still going strong. I smoked 3 packs a day at $2.50 for a pack of Marlboro. Today, if I was still alive, I would be paying $30 a day!

Quitting is the biggest problem for those addicted to nicotine. Nicotine is so strong that the addicts sometimes employ underhanded means to get a puff. Especially where smoking is restricted and there is a long time span to smoke, such as airports.

Smoking is a touchy subject. People don't want to be deprived of what they perceive is their right, but is actually an addiction that will kill them and lead to a number of health problems. Smokers can't perceive the fact that their health problems are why healthcare fees are astronomical.

Quitting smoking is an individual commitment, because what works for one may definitely NOT work for the other. I was able to quit Cold Turkey. This may not work for the thousands who want to quit.

I can offer tips after tips, after tips on how to quit. The bottom line is that the smoker has to WANT to QUIT, or there is no quitting.

Although I know that this is a touchy subject and I know that smokers are going to smoke regardless what they say, this will be a recurring topic on this blog.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

5) Catching Zs

One of the most essential needs we can't be deprived of is sleep. Sleep has so many benefits that humans need the rest it delivers. Lets face it, if you want a healthy lifestyle it is null and void without needed sleep.

Unfortunately, in today's multi-tasking, highly stressed society, we are losing sleep and many are becoming insomniacs. The CDC has declared that insufficient sleep is a public epidemic. It's not getting better.

Most people are using prescription drugs and they are either insufficient or addicting. Alcohol does not give one the proper needed sleep and interferes with REM. To get a good night's sleep, we must prepare to sleep.

Quit using caffeine and caffeine products at least 8 hours before bed. Don't eat anything at least 3 hours before bed. Drink calming teas before bedtime. Just as there are foods that give you energy, there are foods that calm you, relieve stress and promote sleep.

There are natural remedies that may help you sleep. Some can use all the help they can get. So I'll give them another one!

Something that may work better than prescription sleeping pills, may actually be certain anti-depression prescriptions. Here's one that seems to work from some I spoke with.

Be careful with melatonin, because too much can actually have an adverse affect.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

6) Workouts Without The Gym

Since people are starting to get healthier, gyms are getting more crowded. It goes without saying that exercise is a must for a healthy lifestyle. Now you have to see what you are willing to spend to avoid the gym. You can invest in treadmills or you can take the stairs. You can buy an elliptical machine or go up a few hills.

Beneficial exercises give you an endurance, strength and aerobic training. You probably can work on each one a couple of days a week. Endurance can be developed by climbing steep hills or a number of stairs. Strength can be achieved with can goods in a bag or investment in some equipment. Aerobics can be achieved with a mile brisk walk or light jog.

Here are essential gym equipment on any budget. You can also learn what you need for your specific home gym as you create your home gym!

Then there really is a way to get totally fit without a gym.

If in the end you do join a gym, make sure it is convenient, not too crowded, and you get your money's worth.

Monday, June 17, 2013

7) The Importance Of Weight Loss And Weight Management

Walking should be a must do exercise for all people of all ages. The benefits can prevent anything from cancer to diabetes to depression, just to name a few. A walk after dinner may reduce your diabetes risk. Weight loss can also beat depression, and yes there is a link according to Dr. Michael Craig Miller, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He suggests to start small by walking 15 minutes a day.

You should invest in a pedometer and your goal should be 10000 steps a day which equals 5 miles. It's a small price to pay for your health, and can save you a gym membership. Future entries will tell you how to avoid the gym altogether.

The best nutrient for both weight loss and management is fiber. So here are some fiber rich foods. Here are either already mentioned or new high fiber foods. Knowledge is power and the more you know the better you can develop a plan that works for you.

Beer bellies are a myth since the calories come from the alcohol. Make no mistake, alcohol may contribute to the belly, but it's the caloric intake as a whole that gives the belly.

Get to know your BMI(Body Mass Index). Learn what your weight means and where you are. Obesity creates as many health problems as smoking.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

8) Energy Foods

The first thing I eat in the morning is yogurt. But not just any yogurt, plain yogurt. Since not all plain yogurts are equal, I look for the least calories, the less sodium, and the less sodium. I use a touch of maple syrup to sweeten the yogurt and add a serving of wheat germ to it. Two-three hours later I will consume an egg or an oatmeal concoction that uses a banana, honey and cocao. About an hour and a half later, I'll have an apple.

Along with the morning coffee, these are my morning energy foods.

Here are some energy foods. What you find is that certain ones repeat themselves in other sites, such as these energy snacks. If you really want to wake up try these!

By consuming energy foods, most are high in fiber, you will eventually get the energy to start moving. These energy foods also help you lose weight which will help you hit the ground running when it comes to exercise.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

9) Foods For Health

When it comes to nutrition, a healthy diet(meaning the foods you eat, not weight loss) isn't as tasteless and boring as it was years ago. Today you can cook, season, and combine a variety of healthy foods to taste delicious.

The World's Healthiest Foods website is an informative reference for all healthy foods. It has useful resources for healthy cooking and healthy eating.

The one thing one should learn to do when it comes to food is to learn how to read a Food Nutrition Labels. Everything has to be taken into consideration such as servings and ingredients, because there are loopholes in disguising what you don't want.

One may assume that peanut butter is a totally great health food. Some are more healthy than others and here is where the label and ingredients come in. Look at this peanut butter. It claims 0 Trans Fats in a serving size of 2 Tbls. This is enough for one slice of bread. My guess is that people tend to use more than one serving size. It has 190 calories per serving and 130 come from Fat. Although the label claims 0 Trans Fats the ingredients contain: HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN).
This is what Trans Fat is made of. How do they get away with it? A serving may be borderline on Trans Fats and they don't have to claim there are any in there. Although it contains sugar, the powder you mix with water PB2 is a much healthier choice.

Dr. Mercola breaks down some facts on some well known, and not so known, health foods. Another useful site for health and nutrition is  Doctor Oz.

I may continue to refer to these and other sites and will supply health links galore. Much like the changing health information out there, this blog is in its initial evolving stages.

Friday, June 14, 2013

10) Easy Exercises

Your best beginner workout tools are a pedometer and a heart rate monitor.

You should thrive to walk 5 miles a day. That is 10000 steps on a pedometer. Walking is the easiest of exercise. Challenge yourself by walking uphill or up 10 flights of stairs.

Cleaning, gardening, walking, bicycling, swimming, etc., just MOVE! Jog, run, lift weights, etc., just challenge yourself! Your goal is to build strength, endurance and an aerobic exercise that keeps your heart pumping.

10 Exercises  To Start:
Walk-anywhere and anywhere.
Jog for at least a block.
Clean your house or apartment.
Take a bike ride of at least 5 miles
Go on a hike
Go swimming
Join a gym and stick to it
Move
Verb
Action

The countdown to health has begun. 10....

On The Launchpad

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Each one of us is an individual and what works for one may not work for the other. The biggest obstacle is procrastination. Procrastination leads to excuses that lead to a defeatist attitude that keeps us in an unhealthy state.

Although diet and exercise play a big role in achieving a healthy lifestyle, they don't necessarily have to start at the same time. If the journey takes baby-steps it will take you longer, but you will get to  your thousand mile goal.

If you change your diet and start eating the right foods, they will eventually give you the kick start to want to move. Let me explain this, if you eat the proper foods, they will give you the energy to want to move. Move is a verb that implies exercise in my world.

You don't have to totally be a couch potato when you start eating the right foods. Get up and walk to destinations. Manually change channels. Take the stairs. Walk around the block. Walk around the block. These are all starts.

We must change the word DIET to mean the foods we eat and not associate it with weight loss. When it comes to diet as weight loss, many associate it both consciously and unconsciously, with a temporary solution. This is about a lifestyle and becoming as healthy as you can or want.

The foods that stimulate weight loss are rich in fiber. The foods that stimulate energy are rich in protein. If you can eat small meals every 2 or 3 hours apart, you will see overall health results rather than eating three big meals 4-6 hours apart. If your last meal of the day is 3 hours before bedtime, weight loss will be much easier for your overall health.

When it comes to health and changes, be prepared to fail, but eventually you will find your niche and find a lifestyle you can live with. This is just the beginning to of the journey and you decide how fast you will go and where you will end up. I will give thousands of pieces of advice, and if just one works for you, my mission is complete.

This is the Launchpad....prepare for take of to health!



Tuesday, June 11, 2013

To Egg OR Not To Egg

When it comes to health, the egg seems to be one of those controversial subjects that has arguments on both sides of the fence. One side sees it as a health food, the other as a food loaded with bad cholesterol. The truth is that eggs are good for you, but you should limit your weekly intake.

Some argue that egg yolks are as bad for the arteries as smoking. The eggs should be avoided at all costs, but egg whites are OK? I believe that the eggs benefits far outweigh the negatives. They are the perfect post workout protein meal. I also believe that too much consumption of eggs can lead to heart disease and obesity. It is here you need the moderation rule.

The truth about eggs and cholesterol is that healthy individuals can have an egg a day depending on their other cholesterol intake. But the argument for eggs can go on forever!

So I say that the bottom line is don't fear the egg. But too much egg can kill you. My recommendation is 4 eggs a week. Always on your workout scheduled days. I'll admit that I was overdoing it because I was consuming 2 hard boiled eggs a day for five days and one egg on weekends. I now dropped to 4 eggs in 7 days.

Think of the economics in my change. A dozen eggs in a week verses a dozen in three weeks. I may have finally broken the plateau of my current weight loss.  Other factors are also coming into play that will be discussed in the future.