Healthy Snacks

I came across Are you eating enough of these foods while reading my fitness blogs. Although it says diet foods I really wouldn't consider them diet foods, because most of the time when you put the word diet in front of it your brain automatically tells you that it's not going to taste as good as the real thing...or at least that is what my brain tells me.

I talked to my Dr. about what kind of foods I should be eating to feel fuller and she told me I should be getting more protein in my diet. Proteins take longer to digest and because of that you will feel fuller longer. There is a full article that has been published on the Harvard School website that talks about different proteins, what good sources are, which ones to stay away from, etc. Don't get me wrong I am not promoting the Adkins diet because I personally don't think it's a good idea, your body needs carbs it just doesn't need 20 servings of them in a day =)

Nuts are a great source of protein, although some nuts are better than others. Almonds for example are probably the best, and that is raw almonds that aren't salted. The reason for this is because peanuts and cashews are so delish most people cannot stop at one serving. A serving size of almonds is 1/3 cup. Meats should always be lean cuts of beef, it's more expensive but it is a lot better for you. Try ground turkey breast instead of ground beef, it's a much healthier solution. Seafood is a great source of protein and is very low in fats.

Fruits, you pretty much cannot go wrong unless you purchase canned ones that are in heavy syrup, or load it with sugar. Fruit in it's natural state is great, it's sweet and will provide your body with the natural sugars it needs.

Veggies are another thing that you can't go wrong with unless you load it with butter and salt. If you are a salt person try some Mrs. Dash and try a little olive oil over butter if you need it. I personally can eat green peppers raw like an apple, but I know that isn't for everyone.

Granola is good I personally recommend Bake to Nature or Bear Naked because both are low fat and good for you.

Other healthy choices for snacks are:
low fat cheeses
cereal look for ones low in sugar and sodium
ants on a log (celery with low fat peanut butter and raisins sprinkled on top)
fat free and salt free pretzels
for a longer list of snacks go to:
http://www.nojunkfood.org/vendors/healthy_snack_list.html
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=59

Alli Diet

I am writing this post because my mother works with a woman who is thinking about taking Alli. When Alli first hit the markets I was excited and thought (like many others) this is going to be the "miracle" pill to get me back on track.

I went out to the drug store and purchased a box, I brought it home and my boyfriend asked me if I minded waiting a couple of days before taking the drug so that we could do some research. I went to the company website which of course talked the product up and was completely biased (no surprise) I read that one of the side effects is "leakage" or "treatment effect" which are basically nice terms for having feces drip out of your rear with no control.

After going to other sites and reading reviews and the countless number of horror stories I decided the product was not for me, and I returned the box before even opening it. The side effect I talked about above is supposed to only happen when you eat foods high in fat, but from what I have read it's been happening to those who have been eating healthy.

"I took it about 2 weeks ago and thought on the entire situation before I decided to comment and concluded that this wasn't for me. I have always managed to carry that extra 20 pounds or so around even though my doctor says that he just doesn't get why. I practically already live the "Alli diet plan". I eat healthy and I do cardio 4/5 times a week and weights/yoga 3/4 times a week. I was hoping that maybe this would aid giving me through that extra step. I had the same problem as another reviewer with "leakage" (as Alli calls it). It was only the second day of taking it. I'm sure glad it was a day off. I spent all day in the bathroom and felt miserable. And unlike what they say, I wasn't going out and munching on hamburgers and fries but eating grilled chicken or fish with veggies! So like others have said... if you already feel that you know how to eat properly, this pill is not for you and can only make life more embarrassing!"

"Seriously, this didn't work. I got so tired of ruining my underpants and rushing everywhere because I had to hit the bathroom whenever I was standing for a while that I had to stop taking this stuff. It's easier to just avoid fatty foods. It's a ridiculous product."

both of these reviews can be found on

http://www.sybervision.com/reviews/Review-Alli.php
more reviews
http://www.supplementcritic.com/reviews/alli_reviews

Change your eating habits, piece of cake....wait did I just say cake?

I have signed up for a lot of fitness blogs and many of them talk about changing your eating habits, I came across this feed in The Weight loss Journal that's title is easy diet changes which does list some good tips but I think the process needs to be even more gradual than that. If you are someone that can easily give up something then I don't know how you got over weight in the first place. If your a person that drinks more than 60 oz of soda in a day (5 cans) then just giving up soda isn't going to be easy, try cutting your intake each day or try mixing in diet into your regular soda until you have switched over to the diet soda completely. Quitting soda is a hard one, I have tried many times and well I need something to drink other than water all the time. I like different flavors.

Another example is sweets, which are a killer for me. We do not keep any kind of sweets in our house except for jello pudding in a box which is fat free and it's for an every now and then dessert, I won't buy the pre-made pudding cups cause I will eat 6 in one sitting!! Well if you work in an office like myself you know there is always food!! Especially if you work with all women (which I am one) you know that there are candy jars, cupcakes, cakes, donuts and everything else. In the office setting everything is celebrated birthdays, weddings, childbirth, becoming a grandparent, Christmas, thanksgiving, and even some made up holidays just to have food. In my last position I gained 20 pounds in a 2 yr period of time!! We had food days all the time, and then all we did was sit at our desks and eat....maybe work, of course this isn't always a problem for some but for those who have no self control like myself it is a problem.

I have been working for another company in an office and it is the same thing here, everyone has candy jars on their desk and someone brought donuts in today just to bring them in (made up holiday ;) ) But where do they set the donuts? not back by them but at the front desk which is out by me of course I have had one... So what do you do in circumstances like this one? You want to make better choices but a lot of us that are over weight have no self control and having food in your face is basically like being given a permission slip.

I am fortunate enough that I am going to be moving into a department where food is no longer going to be an issue, thank god!! I talked to my Dr. about this one day and she said it used to be a problem in her office, and that she even had patients sending in stuff like boxes of chocolates around the holidays. She said one day she had to tell everyone in her office no more bringing in junk food, and had to tell sales reps to quit trying to butter them up with sweets and fats. She said that they also throw away any chocolate given to the office, if they do want to "treat" the office they have to find healthy snacks such as fruit baskets. My Dr. has never had a problem with her weight, even when she was pregnant she still looked slim, but she does understand what it is like for those in her office that are over weight and are struggling not to be so.

This may be a problem that you want to take up with your office, and your boss. Let them know that you have a problem with food, they may find other ways to celebrate or you can even suggest a new way. Your environment has a lot to do with your habits, if you can create an environment where you don't have to look at junk food it is easier to gradually weed them out of your diet. I have switched over to diet soda completely and I also drink more water. I just have to tackle the sweets and the greasy food, which I work on doing everyday.

Another reason some over eat or eat junk is because it is a comfort food, I am also guilty of this. I came across How to make lifestyle changes on the Weight Loss Journal which made up for the "easy" diet changes because this tackles an important issue of why? why do you eat so much? why do you eat what you eat? why do you eat when you are stressed? why do you eat when your upset? Once you find out the why, you will then know the how and knowing the how will be what you need to overcome your eating issue. I am still working on the why, and once I find it out I will be sure to share it with you...until then I'm taking 1 day at a time

Cereal Nightmare

How the heck do you find a good cereal? Yesterday I went grocery shopping to stock back up on healthy foods so I stop going out to eat. I love to eat cold cereal for a quick breakfast. I usually get Special K strawberries cereal, but I decided to compare nutrition labels. I was shocked to see the special k's second ingredient is sugar. I mean it has a lot of vitamins and minerals, but the second ingredient sugar?? Anyway so I decided to look at other cereals I thought to be healthy, I looked at Total 100 whole grain, and guess what the second ingredient was....sugar. I did look at the Kahsi cereals and they actually had a good list of ingredients but the vitamins and mineral daily values weren't impressive.

After spending about 15 minutes walking up and down the cereal section I walked by Grape Nuts which I was shocked this cereal has NO sugar in it, the vitamins and minerals in some areas weren't as high as others but no sugar was a seller for me.

Here are some other links that talk about what to look for in a cereal:
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/choosing-healthy-breakfast-cereal
http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/N180.htm

Still in a Funk

We closed on our house June 27th and since that it has been a down hill slump, although this week has been better.

We didn't have a refrigerator in the house for about 2 weeks so we were going out to eat everyday, which we all know is not healthy, and even when you do want to try and find something healthy it is a challenge to do so in Northern Kentucky where bbq and gravy are seen as a survival need. We are finally out of our townhouse that we were renting our last day was 7/28. Now we are trying to get everything organized in the house, we spent a month painting, clearing bushes, and other misc. tasks that are needed when you first purchase a home.

I also just got back in town from a 4 day trip to New Hampshire, so that was more going out to eat. I did make sure to take advantage of fresh seafood while I was up there, and we did do a lot of walking around Portsmouth and checking out all of the shops and the harbor. I really need to focus on getting the house organized because right now I am living out of boxes, I just need to get back into gear and quit procrastinating

Hitting a snag

It seems that I have hit a snag in my wanting to live a healthier lifestyle and that I have reverted back to the same habits I had once I started this life style choice.

I have A LOT of bad habits when it comes to dieting, which I don't even like to call it that because I'm not just dieting I'm trying to make some serious changes in my life. My spouse and I recently bought a house that needed some work done to it before it is able to be moved into and with being there long days we have started to eat out, and by eating out I mean the heavy fat crap that is served at most places when you just want something quick to eat so you can get back to work. Since we have bought the house I have been stuck in a rut and just keep going round and round with my bad habits. I had steered off chocolate for a couple weeks (and I work in an office where several people have candy jars on their desk!) but this week and some of last week I find myself raiding their candy jars telling myself it's only a little piece of candy, but that little piece of candy becomes the size of a king sized candy bar in no time.

I do keep a food diary and I have read on several weight loss blogs such as Get Fit Slowly and Weight Loss Journal and they talk about the importance of keeping a journal as well as my Dr. which I do keep a journal on thedailyplate.com which is a free service that allows you to keep a journal of your daily food intake and gives you the amount of calories to consume in a day to ensure that you loose 2 lbs per wk. Which since we bought this house has been very depressing and I'm finding it harder to get back on track now. My spouse is wonderful and tries to help me get back on track but I have been finding it harder this time around than when I first started. I crave foods high in fat and I want chocolate like crazy. One good thing about getting the house is that I have been more active, painting, going up and down a ladder, carrying things in and out which has helped in not actually gaining any weight.

I am hoping that since we now have a refrigerator in the house we will go back to cooking more, I also need to get a new pedometer since I broke mine and I did go on a 45 min walk this morning. I have my fingers crossed and hope to get back on track soon otherwise I'm going to have to change my blog name!!

Weight Loss Around the World

As many of us Americans know we are by far the most obese country in the world, although other countries are now starting to have problems of their own. We now have a new epidemic with childhood obesity, and I wonder how do other countries react to weight problems. I decided to look at countries that are on the same level of economic development as our own, and I came across How the Swiss Do It and they have a 70% success rate of individuals not only loosing weight but keeping it off (which is the biggest challenge), while in America we have a 5% success rate. Just looking at the figures one can easily tell who has the better weight loss program.

When you read over the article you see that these people have a 2 week hospital stay where their calories are reduced and they are to start an exercise regiment. They do this along with cognitive therapy, and art therapy. The cognitive therapy helps individuals get to the root of why they are over eating in the first place. I think this is a brilliant idea, when I get stressed out I want to eat, when I get depressed I want to eat and I'm a worrier so I am stressed all the time, this type of therapy would be a benefit to learn better habits and other ways of venting stress.

Mayo Clinic and researchers in Norway, Mexico and Australia have taken another approach which is a surgical procedure that is less invasive than bariatric surgery. It's a device that stimulates nerves in the stomach to make a person feel full, this procedure is reversible and have not yet been approved for actual use.

I like the way that the swiss do it, the only problem is most of these countries the health care is provided for by the government, so even with health insurance in America this kind of treatment would be very costly and that is if insurance even covers it. I plan to write a letter to my Dr. and asking her what she thinks of it.