Daily Diet Blog

May 31, 2008

Starting Off Day with Carbs : Not Good

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 7:12 am

Well, I must admit.  My boyfriend and I have just indulged in a day of total diet debauchery, without an ounce of care for what is good for us, starting our day off with the worst foods you can imagine for beginning your day.  First of all, there was not a good piece of protein to be found in our breakfast, where we ate at our local Cracker Barrel restaurant, which happens to have the best pancakes and maple syrup in our town. 

He got bacon, and my lousy excuse for protein was a pile of scrambled eggs with some processed American cheese thrown on top, which I barely even touched, instead opting for the luscious mounds of cheesy hash brown casserole and the buttery biscuits and pancakes.  Yeah, real well rounded and nutritious, huh? 

Needless to say, about an hour after we ate this carb filled breakfast - and none of it was the good kind of carbs with all that fiber and nutrition, oh no, we were ravenous once again, opting for yet anothe carby, fattening food when we went to the food court at the local mall, and got none other than Sbarros pizza, and to boot, a bread stick to go with it! 

It seems that when you start your day off wrong, that is, with all simple carbohydrates like refined breads and sugary sweets like pancakes drenched in maple syrup - and no, we’re not even talking buckwheat pancakes which at least have a saving grace of bundles of fiber, we’re talking those delectable, fill your belly for an hour then drop you like a rock in blood sugar, buttermilk variety! 

So, in a decided effort to eat a little better for dinner, we decided to go to Boston Market for dinner and make it a day of eating out.  Hey, at least at Boston Market, you can guy some things that aren’t absolutely heinous for your health, like chicken and veggies and sometimes a low fat soup or salad. 

However, of course, after having consumed starches and simple carbs all day, it seemed almost impossible to not go for the carbs one more time for dinner, so I got mashed potatoes.  Hey, tomorrow’s a new day, right?  I just need to make sure I start it with my usual low fat yogurt with berries and veggie sausage links - now that’s a good breakfast that doesn’t leave you feening for garbage all day long! 

February 5, 2008

Wearing Clothes the Slim the Body

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 8:10 pm

My inspiration for writing this post is gonna sound not so nice, but here goes.  I saw a picture of rapper Lil Kim online the other day, and I am the first one to say that a woman should love her curves if she’s blessed with them, but the outfit she was wearing was an example of what not to do if you have curves, because it accentuated everything that may be construed as extra baggage.

My favorite color to wear when I’ve put on a few pounds is black, which is totally cliche, and I know that, but there’s a reason for the cliche - it really works to camouflage weight gain, slim the legs and hips, and create an overall look of length to the body, which overall is slimming and flattering to every body type, hence the reason black is one of the most popular clothing colors in any line you see.

Another rule is to only wear up and down stripes, never horizontal, on any part of your body that you are trying to make appear slimmer.  I love wearing pin stripe pants that have the stripes running up and down, because again, this creates the illusion of longer length, and therefore less heft.

Never wear anything that is too snug, unless you really want to be and appear uncomfortable.  Clothing should gently cling to your body, not squeeze and squish it into submission, unless you are going for the Mariah Carey look, and sorry Mariah, but honey you just don’t get the word “class” at all in the way you dress. 

Women who dress like Ms. Carey actually aren’t doing themselves any favors.  It garners the wrong kind of attention from both sexes, and quite frankly leaves nothing to the imagination, because it is so clingy that it squeezes and squishes all the wrong parts.  In short, if something makes you feel uncomfortable, don’t wear it! 

January 24, 2008

Sauce and Dressing Calories Add Up

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 12:52 pm

You might think that those seemingly harmless salad dressings, mayonnaise and other creamy sandwich spreads, and sauces that we drench our meats in like bbq sauce are relatively harmless as far as calories go, but you’d be very wrong. 

Unfortunately, savory sauces that really dress dishes up, especially if they are creamy or thick in nature, are usually havens for hidden calories that ultimately add a ton more calories to your bottom line at the end of the day, and don’t even add anything to fill you up, which is a double whammy.  Yes, many sauces and dressings are essentially like soda - empty calories! 

They may even increase your appetite as opposed to what our goal is to eat foods that naturally suppress our appetite and make us feel satiated.  Take one of my favorites, and admitted weakness - BBQ sauces.  BBQ sauce is laden in sugar, with a high sugar count and carb count to begin with, especially if it is a sweeter variety that adds honey.  So, essentially by adding this sauce to your meat, you are ensuring that you’ll be ravenous in a few hours, if that.

Couple that with another favorite and admitted weakness of mine, which is coleslaw, and you’ve got a three alarm fire on your hands when it comes to your appetite in the next hour or two.  We just had BBQ with sauce and also with coleslaw (this really is a delectable combo), but since the coleslaw was laden in creamy sweet, tangy sauce also, we were starving in about two hours, to the point of shaking.

Lesson here is that sauces are to be only eaten when they are considered a treat and you know you are eating badly.  It’s ok to eat badly once in while, just don’t make it a habit.  And, if you can, cut back on the dressings and sauces even when you do eat bad, and opt for more of a vinegar based sauce, something that’s not as creamy and that satiates rather than accelerates the blood sugar levels and appetite, acting as a natural appetite suppressant so you don’t over do it again in the very near future. 

If we eat the right foods, it actually makes our blood sugar regulate, much like the natural compounds in products like hoodia, which work by way of regulating blood sugar, one of the key components in regulating the appetite, and even staving off excessive thirst - one of the hallmarks of diabetics (excessive thirst is a part of diabetes).   

January 13, 2008

A Healthy Colon and Weight Loss Goals

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 6:47 pm

How important is a healthy colon as it relates to maintaining a healthy weight, and also being able to lose weight?  Well, it’s very important actually.  Your colon and your whole digestive system are the way out for toxic substances as well as excess fats, sugars and other toxins that build up in our body and cause excesses of fat stores, cellulite and other unsightly bulges and creases where we don’t want to see them, and if our colon or waste tracts are backed up or unable to process and eliminate correctly, our weight loss goals may be stopped dead in their tracks.

You’ve probably heard that phrase before that “death begins in the colon”, and while is may seem sensationalist (I know it did to me at first), it is actually true in many cases.  Most times people with stagnant colons and digestive health issues simply do not eat the right diet for their condition and they unknowingly (or perhaps knowingly in some cases) clog their system further, and irritates the linings in critical organs like the colon and intestines, making it more difficult to move toxic waste out efficiently.

A good herbal colon cleansing like the Bowtrol system (see the Bowtrol Colon Cleanser Review) is in order for anyone embarking on a weight loss goal, and that is because most people need one in the first place, and if they are to lose weight successfully and feel great doing it, they first need to make sure that they can get rid of all that excess stuff efficiently.

It is said that many times if we have highly efficient colons that we could successfully rid our bodies of the daily assaults we place on them with chemicals and preservatives in our foods, not to mention unhealthy, saturated fats and refined sugars.  And what about how we absorb the good stuff?  Well guess what, if your digestive system and colon are not in good shape, it inhibits the body’s absorption abilities, so those antioxidants your eating or drinking aren’t as able to be absorbed and do their good work in the body. 

So you see, colon cleansing it two fold, not only does it get rid of toxic materials that increase weight and make you feel icky, it also increases the absorbent abilities of the main organs of the body that are responsible for moving antioxidants and beneficial nutrients to where they need to go and be utilized. 

January 9, 2008

Relationships and Dieting

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 10:33 pm

It would seem that husbands and wives would be the first people to be pleased when their spouses drop unwanted pounds.  Often, this is not the case.
In certain circumstances, when there is a signifigant change in body image, the reverse reaction can occur.  Spouses,as well as boyfriends and girlfriends, can feel uneasy when a dramatic change threatens the balance or feelings of security within a relationship.
When confronted with resentments over going to the gym or staying on your new low calorie eating habits, there are steps you can take to keep your relationship healthy.  First, keep your own personal resolve.  Don’t allow the comments to dissuade you from staying on track as you have to keep your physical health and longevity paramount.
Include your partner in some of your new physical activities.  This step is especially important if your partner is heavy.  Both you and your partner can sign up for a yoga class or for even more fun, dancing lessons.  You can take walks or start jogging or bicycle riding together.
Talk to your signifigant other about your determination to keep your body healthier to live longer without health problems.  Involve your partner with healthier food preparation and fitness tips.
Discuss the need for a positive encouraging environment for the sake of maintaining your new healthier appearance and for the health of the relationship.  If your signifigant other is too heavy, let them know, in a caring manner, that you would like to see them healthier and fit to keep an active lifestyle as you both age.

December 29, 2007

Sodium’s Influence on Diet

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 6:57 pm

Gosh, I’d have to say that besides sugar and fat, salt is definitely one of my downfalls when it comes to my diet.  Even when I’m watching the sugars and the fats in my diet, I tend to salt my food more and use saltier seasonings to make up for the flavor I feel is lacking because I can’t use a lot of the “other bad stuff” in my food or recipes.  Salt is really tasty, let’s face it.  That’s why fast food tastes so good - it’s sodium content is usually out of control!

High sodium usually leads to high blood pressure which, among other things, can lead to increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and kidney disease and failure.  It can also make you retain lots of water, and that doesn’t make for a pretty sight - ladies can side with me on that one, since our hormones often make us retain a lot of water and seemingly gain weight overnight sometimes.  Water weight and water retention are one of the reasons that people with heart problems are often prescribed water pills that make them get rid of excess water retention.

So, what can excess sodium do to your diet and your body, respectively, and how can you better control the sodium intake in your diet to achieve greater health, and hopefully better blood pressure? 

Well, we do need SOME sodium in our diet.  It is essential to nerve function, and certain systems would shut down without this important mineral believe it or not.  However, studies have been done that show most Americans consume more than three times the recommended daily allowance of sodium (salt) in their diet. 

First of all, don’t salt your food, especially if the food has already been cooked with some salt or has been cooked with seasonings that contain sodium.  Or, of course if the food you are eating has a lot of naturally occurring sodium, then please do not salt your food.  This may seem really hard to do at first, believe me, if I had high blood pressure, I would greatly miss salting my food.  However, people I know who have stopped salting their food say that they actually grow accustomed to it without extra salt, and prefer it that way.

Read the sodium content on all of your food before you buy it in the store.  If there is an option, especially in canned veggies, make sure you buy the low sodium option instead of the regular canned veggies.  At fast food places, almost always opt for the burger without cheese and many condiments, as this is where much of the sodium comes in.  A salad at these places is the ideal choice actually, but if you have to, just take the cheese off and hold most condiments if possible. 

 

December 18, 2007

Laid Up? Take Advantage and Eat Less

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 5:19 pm

I was inspired to write this post because I am, at the moment and for the past week, laid up.  What I mean by laid up is I can’t work out and I can’t be on my feet for very long at one time, let alone work out.  So, as a consequence, I’ve had to be sitting down a lot of the time (which I can’t stand, I’m used to working out) and I cannot stand for long periods of time, nor walk around for long periods of time.  Which puts a damper on two things - working out and holiday shopping! 

So, I really didn’t want to gain exponential amounts of weight because my physical activity is so limited for the next couple of weeks, and knew that although I might want to snack out of boredom, I would have to really watch my appetite. 

I’m going to try chewing the hoodia gum for a while so that my appetite is suppressed, although with the reduced activity my appetite is not out of control, I’d like to make sure my caloric intake is lower than usual so I can take advantage of this time I cannot move too much and maybe shrink my stomach a bit. 

Kill two birds with one stone, eh?  Anyways, that is the plan and after a week of being laid up it seems I havent’ gained much weight, I’ve just gotten more flabby because I can’t keep up on my muscle tone and strength training. 

November 13, 2007

Does Caffeine Boost Exercise and Calorie Burning?

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 10:04 am

There have seemed to be a few schools of thought on whether caffeine can help you burn calories or may actually foil your calorie burning capabilities, particularly if you exercise after a caffeine burst.  Well, which does it actually seem to be?  I know I myself prefer to workout without caffeine in my system, although there may be some residual caffeine in my system if I happen to be drinking a little cup of coffee or a caffeinated energy drink like FRS, the one that combines antioxidants with caffeine and vitamins for energy boosts.

The big thing about caffeine before working out, and the reason it was treated as something you should not do before you work out, is because it was thought to rush the dehydration process.  Not to mention the fact that exercising with caffeine in your system could affect your electrolytes balance, and make you feel fatigued before you normally would have without the caffeine during your workout, making your workout less intense as well as shorter, which we all know isn’t what you’re going for when trying to slim down and tone up with your exercise asipirations. 

The recent findings on whether caffeine truly is a detriment to your workout does not confirm what many suspected, that caffeine should be avoided before a workout, and actually proves the opposite.  It proved that caffeine actually boosts one’s performance many times during their workout, and enables people to actually workout longer than they normally could without caffeine in their system.

The people who headed up the study found that there is really no validity to avoiding caffeine prior to a workout and that the concerns of exercise experts that the person may experience increased dehydration and less ability to perform at peak levels during their workouts since most people in the study did not exhibit these characteristics after they had imbibed some sort of caffeinated drink.  Hmm….interesting! 

August 6, 2007

Want to Gain Weight? A Subject We Usually Don’t Talk About

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 5:56 am

Trust me, I know that decision-making isn’t easy when it comes to wanting to do something about your weight. What I’ve found though is that looking at all of your options can sometimes help steer you in one direction or another, so let me list the three main choices you seem to have right now so you can pick the one that’s best for you.

Give up your dream of gaining weight and having the type of body you’ve being dreaming of.  Sure, you can just throw your hands up in the hair and say “It’s not worth the trouble!” And you may feel that way now, but how would you feel a few years down the road when you look in the mirror and are still unsatisfied with the reflection staring back at you? Are you going to be happy then?

Are you going to regret the decision to give up? You need to think about these things, because even though gaining weight won’t be easy, if you start today you could achieve your goals in a matter of months. If you give up, you’ll be just as dissatisfied with your appearance in a year as you are right now, if not more so.

Work on gaining weight by yourself.  Obviously, this may financially be the easiest course of action, but I can promise you it won’t bring you the results you’re hoping for.  Unless you are an expert on nutrition, exercise, and the human body, you won’t have the right combination of information to make smart choices concerning healthy weight gain.  Instead, you’ll end up falling back on that misinformation. You may end up overweight instead of more fit.

You may end up causing damage to your body because of not eating a balanced weight gain diet.  You may end up harming your health because of a reliance on supplements. Do you want to take those risks just to save a few dollars now? Isn’t your health and your dream worth a small investment?  Hire a dietitian to assist you in the process. 

If you can afford their services, a dietitian could be quite useful to you. Of course, you have to remember that except in very specific circumstances most insurance providers won’t pay for these visits. You’ll have to cover the expenses out of your own pocket, and many dietitians will require you to visit them every week or every month during the entire duration of your weight gain. Those fees are going to add up quickly.

Not to mention that dietitians are similar to other medical professionals, and they don’t always explain things in terms that are easy for the average person to understand. After you read GainingWeight.info, you would be able to speak to the dietitian using his or her jargon and you’d be able to ask educated questions that will help you get the most from your time with them.

August 3, 2007

How Important is Chewing Your Food?

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 9:54 pm

Well, in a word, chewing your food adequately is very, very very important.  It’s important to maintain your weight, and the integrity and health of your digestive system for a couple of reasons, and there are a lot of people who chew their food way too little and end up paying the price for this little oversight (which is usually a hard to break habit) in several ways. 

First of all, chewing your food at least 25 times with each bite, especially the bigger the bite (some of you may balk at this, but this is really important and will help you in so many ways), is essential to making sure your stomach will be able to break down and digest the food properly without over burdening itself.  The digestive enzymes in the mouth essentially “pre-digest” the food the longer the food stays in the mouth before it is swallowed and is on it’s way to the stomach for final digestion before it moves through as waste. 

If you don’t chew enough, you don’t allow the food enough time in the mouth for this critical “pre-digestion” process that helps speed everything along and makes you into one, big efficient digestion and waste elimination machine.  Not only that, but if you chew and essentially liquify the food in the mouth before it is passed on to the stomach instead of leaving large chunks, it leaves more surface area for the digestive enzymes in the stomach to attach to the food and begin their work.  What does this mean for you?  More efficient digestion, less excess weight most likely, less indigestion, and less gas (that alone if a huge benefit for many of us!)

The second reason that chewing enough is essential to maintaining our ideal weight and losing weight if that is our goal is because the longer we chew our food, the less we eat, since it takes us longer to finish our food, and in that time, it allows our brain more time to receive the signal from the stomach that the body is satiated, or full.  

So you’re really killing two birds with one stone by chewing your food several times before swallowing.  You get full faster, you essentially create your own natural appetite suppressant, which is very cool, and you make it much easier for your poor stomach to digest the food, leaving the door shut to digestive issues and colon and intestinal discomfort, which is excellent for your overall health. 

Many people don’t realize how much their digestive health is linked to other areas of the body and even your mental health.  Your whole body suffers if you make it hard for your stomach to accurately digest food and prepare it for smooth elimination.  You dig? 

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