Beans, Beans The Magical Fruit...

This week's Hellthy Habit is upping your fiber intake.  The recommended daily [12] intake is 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women (which drops to 30 & 21 grams respectively for everyone over 51 years).

JUST A WORD OF WARNING: fiber is not the thing you on which to go overboard!!  You definitely want to work your way up slowly, otherwise, your stomach, intestines, and anyone living, working, or within a 10 feet radius won't be thanking you very much!!!


The first thing you need to do is figure out how much fiber your getting already and then set about to increase it several grams a day until you've reached your goal.  So, how to up your fiber intake?


Fruits
Veggies
Whole Grains
Beans


Of course you can use supplements (think Metamucil or FiberOne), but in the long run getting fiber from food is better, as foods that have the most fiber, like fruits & veggies, have other benefits (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc, etc.).


So what's the point of bulking up your diet?


Not only does the fiber make you more regular (good pooping is important!), but it lowers your risk for heart disease by lowering your cholesterol and regulating your blood sugars (which also reduces your risk of developing diabetes), and it helps you feel fuller longer, which of course helps curb your appetite.  No matter how you look at it, you can't go wrong with more fiber!


~a little salt for your bloody mary & celery, for the fiber of course!


PS--don't forget to drink water, it helps the fiber work better!

Small Changes

The good folks at WebMD [11] put together a collection of ways to "slim down without dieting."  Sounds great to me, since D-I-E-T is a nasty, nasty four letter word in my humble opinion!  They've found easy to tweak things that will help you modify how you eat in manageable, um, bites--thus increasing your odds of success and lowering your odds of failure. 

1. Eating slower & making your meals last longer than 20 minutes (they suggest using a timer!)
2. Sleeping more (although not too much, which we'll learn when we tackle sleeping.  While different studies suggest different amounts--7-9 hours/night seem to be the most ideal)
3. Eat more veggies (hmmm...where have we heard this before?!?!?)
4. Adding soup (broth-based that is) to your meal(s)
5. Eating whole grains (make sure whole is in the ingredients, like whole wheat) and avoid refined grains like the plague (well, they didn't say it, but I'm sure it's what they mean!!)
6. Eyeball your skinny clothes!  By keeping something that's a bit too snug in eye range, you're more likely to stick to your guns!
7. Skip the bacon (i resisted the urge to scream and throw a tantrum like a 5 year old diva told she can't have a new pair of shoes to match her new backpack)...sigh.  okay fine, but I'm still saving it for an occasional treat, thankyouverymuch!
8. Build a better slice of pizza by chosing more veggies and less (or no) meat and going easy on the cheese.
9. Cut back on the sugar--particularly in sugary drinks (switch to water or seltzer and save your calories for delicious indulgences, like CHEESECAKE...hopefully there's not a "never eat cheesecake again" suggestion or I will have to act like the aforementioned 5 year old diva!)
10. Use tall thin glasses rather than short wide ones--you'll trick your brain into serving yourself less (works for using smaller plates, bowls, forks, spoons, etc...as you already know if you've been keeping up!)
11. Limit alcohol intake...a little is good, but too much has too many calories and also loosens your inhibitions making it more likely to select the burger & fries rather than the grilled salmon and salad.
12. Sip green tea, as some studies are showing that it might temporarily boost metabolism (no sweatin' required!).  
13. YOGA! Not just for the exercise component, but also because it forces you to focus and tune-in to your body, which can help you resist overeating and indulging in less-than-healthy foods less frequently.
14. Eat at home, where you can control portions, ingredients, cooking methods, etc.  While some places, such as NYC, are taking initiatives to make the consumer more informed (much to their shock!) by posting caloric content--not everywhere is doing this yet nor is every restaurant, so save your splurges and dine out less frequently.
15. Catch the "eating pause"--that moment when you momentarily drop your fork--it's your body signalling you're done!  so listen up, put your fork down, and box the rest up for leftovers!
16. Chew strong mint (sugarless) gum.  Or brush your teeth.  Anything to make you not want to put anything else in your mouth!
17. Shrink your dishes (apparently I was jumping ahead of myself earlier!  yes, I'm reading and typing at the same time..that way you're experiencing it as I'm experiencing it!) even though you're eating less, you'll be cleaning your plate and so you won't feel like you're missing a thing!
18. Get your portions right (REMEMBER MY CEREAL BOWL?!?!?! that's all I have to say about that!)
19. Try to aim for 80% fullness, rather than 100%, or as the Japanese call it hara hachi bu. Smaller plates, smaller utensils, and stopping at "the pause" all help!
20. Eat out YOUR way!  Going out is fun and inevitable, so make the most out of it.  Order appetizers as meals.  Start with a broth based soup or a house salad (NOT drowning in dressing!).  Split entrees with your friends, BF, spouse or yourself the next day (i.e. have half boxed up immediately rather than waiting until you're done eating).  Ask for steamed veggies or grilled meats.  Most restaurants are happy to comply, if not, find a new favorite restaurant!
21. Reach for the red sauce!  Since they're tomato based, they're chokkers with lycopene and have much less calories than the creme based sauces.
22. Go meatless more often.  While lean meats are a great source of protein, going veg or vegan more often will help you shave calories (presuming of course, you're not replacing lean meat with fettuccine alfredo!)
23. Burn an extra 100 calories a day.  Take a walk, hike, jog, clean the house more vigorously--the little stuff adds up!
24. CELEBRATE!  Be it meeting an exercise goal or even making it through the day without any soda--treat yourself to reward your positive behaviors--trust me, you'll want to be doing more!  Personally, I like using mani/pedi or spa treatments, but whatever floats your boat.

Challenge yourself to start working down this list--it's a sure fire way to get in the express lane on the road to hellthy!  Now, let the tweaking--and losing--begin!


~a grain of salt, taken preferably with a shot of tequila and a wedge of lime (to prevent scurvy, of course!)

Snowball Effect!

Think you have to lose a lot to see hellthy results?  Think again! 

Dr. Oz [10], in promoting his new program, Just 10, gives us 10 reasons to lose just 10 pounds!  Yep, just dropping 10 pounds can significantly improve the following:

1. Lowers your cholesterol by 10%.
   
2. Lowers your blood pressure, which lowers your risk of heart disease, kidney failure, and dementia.
   
3. Reduces your risk of heart attack by half...HALF!
   
4. Reduces your risk of dementia.
   
5. Reduces your risk of developing sleep apnea.
   
6. Reduces your joint pain, as 10 pounds equals 30 pounds of pressure on your knees!
   
7. Reduces your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes by up to 60%!
   
8. Reduces your risk of cancer, in fact studies are showing that an 8 pound loss shows a reduction in breast and uterine cancers.
   
9. Improves your sex life, as nearly 80% of overweight men experience erectile dysfunction and diabetes and high blood pressure both decrease your sexual drive.
   
10. Reduces your reliance on medications, specifically those to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and alleviate joint pain.
    

All that and your jeans fit better, how can you argue with that?  Thanks Dr. Oz!!


~a grain of salt, with a shot of tequila and lime (to prevent scurvy, of course!)

New Year, New Resolutions...New You!

Okay, so I admit it--I like to read success stories.  It makes me feel that this is all actually possible.  So every January I indulge in buying People's issue of "They Lost Half Their Size!"  I mean we're talking about people who have literally lost an ENTIRE person worth of weight.  That's impressive--I don't care who you are!

There are several commonalities amongst all the people they interview and a great starting point for us all: they cut down on their portion size, they upped their servings of veggies, they started exercising, and--the focus of our next Hellthy Habit--they set realistic and small goals.

One person summed it up best when she said "it's overwhelming to think about losing 200 pounds, but 5 or 10 pounds? That's much easier to think about reaching."

Think about it.  Let's say you need to lose 100 pounds--if you're safely losing 1-2 lbs a week, it will realistically take you at least a year to achieve.  A WHOLE YEAR!  That's a long time.  And what happens when you hit a plateau and your weight is refusing to budge?  My guess (if you tend to think anything like me) is that you're still focused on the gap to your goal, not what you've already lost.  A year is a very long to go without any recognition.  It is more than enough time to let the doubt and fear take hold and make you think about...and make it easier to give up.  However, if you break it up into smaller goals of, let's say 10 pounds, it will only take you 6 weeks to achieve.  Only 6 weeks and you can celebrate a success!  Then 57 pounds down the road when you've hit a plateau, it will be frustrating--yes!--but you ONLY need 3 more pounds to reach your next goal of 60 pounds.  I don't know about you, but 3 pounds sounds A LOT reachable than 43 pounds--making it a lot harder--in my humble opinion--to give up and get off the road to hellthy.

Just a bit of food for thought...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

~a little salt for your bloody mary (trust me, after NYE celebrations, you'll need it!)