10 of 25

Yes, another list of good-for-you food. Here, you’ll find a short list of foods that you really ought to incorporate into your diet—because, frankly, their health benefits are through the roof. Eating well is one of the nicest things you can do for yourself, and if you can recruit your taste buds to be your ally, you may just discover that it’s fun to be good.

1. Avocados
Creamy, succulent avocados not only contain the best kind of fat (monounsaturated oleic acid) but also help your body block the absorption of bad fats (cholesterol). They’re high in lutein, which aids eyesight, and in potassium and folate, which may reduce the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. And they’re low in pesticides.

2. Beets
The pigment betacyanin, which gives beets their distinctive hue, is just one of several disease-fighting phytonutrients found in this root vegetable. Beets are also a good source of folate, which guards against birth defects, colon cancer, and osteoporosis, and are high in fiber and beta-carotene.

3. Horseradish
Glucosinolate-rich horseradish fights cancer and kills bacteria. It’s also a good source of calcium, potassium, and vitamin C, which, among other things, helps maintain collagen.

4. Sweet Potatoes
Whether orange or white, sweet potatoes contain phytonutrients that promote heart and eye health and boost immunity. They’re flush with beta-carotene (thought to lower breast cancer risk) and vitamin A (which may reduce the effects of smoking).

5. Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables—cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli rabe—contain a powerful range of disease fighters. One particular hero, sulforaphane, may increase enzymes that lower the incidence of colon and lung cancers.

6. Blueberries
Fresh or frozen, blueberries have sky-high levels of antioxidants, which combat the damage done by inflammation. Anthocyanins, the natural plant compounds that give blueberries their deep color, may have antidiabetic effects as well. And new research suggests blueberries might protect the heart muscle from damage.

7. Dark, Leafy Greens
Dark, leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and swiss chard are an excellent source of iron (especially important for women), vitamin A, and lutein for eye health. Best of all, you know those omega-3s everyone’s talking about? They reside in dark greens (including seaweed, which is why they’re concentrated in fish).

8. Alliums
Alliums, the botanical family that includes leeks, onions, and garlic, share many remarkable traits. They can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Research suggests they inhibit the growth of prostate, stomach, and colon cancer cells. They also have antibiotic properties—so they can ward off germs as well as vampires.

9. Whole Grains
Don’t eat whole grains (such as buckwheat and quinoa) just because they are high in magnesium, B vitamins, fiber, and manganese. Do it because they taste great—nutty, buttery, earthy. And that, in turn, may actually help you to not overeat—one study found that people feel fuller after eating buckwheat than after eating other grains.

10. Spelt
Like whole wheat, ancient spelt is sweeter, nuttier, and higher in protein than its processed relatives. Both are also good sources of manganese and copper.

OK. These are the first ten on a list of 25 sUpErFoOdS. Of the ten I am currently occasionally eating all but horseradish. Although I did have that once at the Sader last year at The Ward Family Passover. But I need a kick in the pants to have them more regularly than once a week or less. I have beets every single day. And yams at last twice a week. Blueberries are in the freezer. And spelt is in my Bruce’s Cereal. So I’m heading upstairs to cook Bruce’s to toss some blueberries on.

Next shopping trip I’m going out of my way to buy more of these and to use them in more from-scratch cooking.

Why have I gotten away from really eating healthy? Instead I’ve been sneaking in unhealthy food but just eating less of it.

How’s that workin’ for ya, sweet pea?

N.o.t.

conundrum

Hey. This is so good! I quick stir fried onions, celery, mushrooms and green peppers. Squirted them with fresh orange juice. Added a can of black beans. Tossed it all into a whole wheat tortilla topped with some low fat cottage cheese and a handful of walnuts. The walnuts are new to this combination, and so fun and delish. So crunchy!

As I typed this Hubby yelled down to me, “What’s for dinner?” and when I told him he said he was tired of having to choose  between TV dinners or health food.

I had already cooked deep fried French toast and cheesy scrambled eggs for him for breakfast, so yah, I guess it’s TV dinners for him.

Sorry. I just can’t do both. I can’t take care of me and him at the same time.

it’s my n.o.r.m.a.l

It’s so much easier to loose weight than to keep it off.

It’s so much easier to keep off weight than to have to lose it.

I have heard both of these statements lately. Both from gals who have dieted most of their lives [like moi] and struggled at whatever stage they were presently in. [moi, moi!] I’ve said both of these myself. And I know they are both true. Depending on where I’m at at the moment.

The truth is, it’s hard to lose weight and its hard to keep it off

Pick your hard! Actually, the whole quote is:

“Being overweight is hard…..
Losing weight is hard……
Maintaining your weight is hard…..
Pick your hard.”

The last month has been #@%! dang hard for me. I’ve gone back and forth, both with eating healthy and exercising, but I am encouraged that I’ve not gained more than three pounds without getting right back to what I know. And I have exercised at least a couple of times a week, although I know it’s not what I need [and want!] to do.

And even though I am back  down to 141.5 this morning, [after jumping up to 144 mid-week!] it’s a totally flabby 141.5! I’m not toned and I’m not proud.

I keep thinking how great it would be to feel toned and tight and firm and in control all during Regional Basketball in two weeks. That’s just like me. I go from holiday to holiday, hoping I can get it together or keep it together. And I’ve now added other events, family reunions, Regionals, vacations.

Yah, this has pretty much been my life since age sixteen! I know it’s not normal, but it’s my normal.

more protein

Yah, it’s time. I need more protein. My hair is thinning. I’ve been using some special shampoo Mikelle got for me to stimulate regrowth, but I’m ready to go in another direction as well. I’m not giving up on the shampoo, I just need a bigger boost of help!

I bought whey protein the other day and this morning made a protein shake. Plain yogurt, a scoop of protein powder, a ton of frozen raspberries and some flax seeds. This for my mid-morning snack.

Delish!

Red meat and pork are things I usually avoid and only like to eat fish or chicken. Even though I consume a lot of yogurt and milk, I know it’s time to bump up my protein for several reason besides my hair needs. I’m worried about muscle mass, energy and bone strength. And since I had a little extra time today, [President's Day] I read all about protein supplements. Here’s some of what I found out re-leaned.

Weight

Makers of protein shakes and other supplements often advertise their products as a way to support weight loss. But be careful. They can have the opposite effect. Protein contains calories, so if you take too much via supplements you will gain weight. If used correctly, protein supplements can help you feel full and satisfied for a longer period of time. You will eat less overall, which will help you to lose weight.

Nutrition

The human body needs protein to properly function. The average adult in good health needs between 45 and 55 grams of protein per day. Most Some people get all the protein they need from their regular diet. However, protein supplements can be used if needed to ensure that you are getting enough of this important nutrient. Many protein supplements are fortified with vitamins and minerals, which can also be helpful if you’re not getting them as part of your diet.

Building Muscle

Protein supplements can help to build muscle, although their effect is minimal. Of course, exercise is the best way to build up muscle mass. If you eat protein right after a workout session, it may support your muscle building efforts. Older adults should make sure they get enough protein through diet or supplements, along with adequate exercise, to help maintain their muscle mass. Otherwise, it can be lost easily as they age.

Replacing Meals

The best way to get protein and other nutrients is through eating proper and healthy meals and snacks throughout the day. But if you think you’re too busy to eat, it is better to drink a protein shake than to skip a meal. The protein in the shake and the added nutrients will replace what you missed by not eating regular food.

I’m going to focus on getting those 55 grams of protein every single day for a couple of weeks and document any differences. This, after all, is the only way any of us can responsibly figure out our own path of health and nutrition, by educating ourselves and by testing it on ourselves. We’re our own best guinea pig.

incredible edible flax seed

I have a huge bag of flax seeds I got from Kitchen Kneeds in Ogden last year. I decided to learn a little more about them to see if I’m using them correctly. Boy Howdy. I’ve pretty much been wasting the little wonders!

I’ve put them in a few morning smoothies, but for the most part I’ve been adding them to Bruce’s Cereal. So according to the information I just read, they have become oxidized and lost most of their nutritional value. They have also lost nutrition through heating. Additionally, if they are not ground they basically end up as little flecks in the toi toi. [Pardon my toddler-talk.]

Here’s a summary of what I’ve learned:

You can eat whole flax seeds but you need to chew them good to break them up. Your stomach will not dissolve whole flax seeds and many of them will come out in your stools. Chew about a tablespoon in the morning. Then drink 8 oz of water. Make sure if you chew flax seeds that you drink water since the seeds expand and become gelatinous.

There are brown and golden colored flax seeds. The golden cost more but there is not difference in their nutritional value.

You can grind them up in a grinder and add them to your smoothies. It is best not to use them in any cooking recipes. Heat destroys the value of the flax oil and makes it toxic.

I don’t recommend you buy ground up flax seeds as found on websites or in health food stores. Once you grind your flax seeds, you need to use them in your drinks or food soon after grinding so they don’t lose their nutritive value.

Even though Nutri Flax, ground up flax seed, is packaged so the flax seeds don’t see light or oxygen, what happens when you open the package? These flax seeds are going to be exposed to oxygen and light and as time passes they will become oxidized.

It only takes 10 to 15 minutes in light and oxygen for the ground up flax seeds to become oxidized and lose it nutritive value.

So if you decided to use pre-grounded flax seed like it Nutri Flax, store it in your refrigerator immediately after it is opened and used to minimize its oxidation.

Flax seeds are composed of,

· 41% fat – fifty seven % is omega 3 ?· 18 % is monounsaturated ?· 16% is omega 6 ?· 9% is saturated ?· 20% is protein ?· 7% is moisture

Obviously my bag is nutritionally worthless, but since I can’t seem to throw them away, I’m going to add them to the potting soil in my big plant. Nah, I think I’ll just toss these and get some more.

calorie bombs

Food is information — so what you eat and when you eat it is going to tell your body to either store fat or burn fat.

This is why the kinds of snacks we eat are so important! If we choose a sugary snack — say those little 100 calorie snacks presently flooding the marketplace — here’s what happens:

We raise our blood sugar, we raise our insulin, and the message we get for our body is, “Honey, store fat!”

You say, but it’s only 100 calories! But I say, it’s 100 calories of garbage! And it’s trigger food which will likely prompt you to eat another, and then another of the little 100 calorie bombs, or go to something even bigger, say the carrot cake sitting on the cabinet.

Better, by far, to eat an orange, and apple, some strawberries drizzled with coconut oil [just a touch] and sprinkled with chopped walnuts.

breakfast

What’s the very best tip for losing those first five pounds? What’s the easiest and healthiest way to change in your eating and still lose weight? What’s the best plan for the long haul?

Eat a bigger breakfast!

It’s ironic. It may seem a little counter-productive. You may believe it will add pounds instead of help you lose them. But it’s the very best thing you can do.

There is a study of 200 women. The first group of 100 women ate breakfast with 600 calories every single morning. The second group ate only 300 calories for breakfast. The results will shock you!

The 600-calorie group lost an average of 40 pounds in eight months. FORTY pounds. OK. Wondering how much the 300-calorie group lost in the same period? Nine. 9 pounds.

n.i.n.e.

If that’s not enough to convince you to eat a good hearty, healthy breakfast. I surely don’t know what will!

So what is the ideal breakfast? Something with clean, lean protein, healthy fats, high fiber and slow-release complex carbs. Two scrambled eggs, a whole sliced avocado, a whole sliced tomato and a few almonds is Tah-dah, p.e.r.f.e.c.t!

Protein and fiber is a must for breakfast. They provide Staying Power, Sustained Energy, and Satisfaction.

Now go treat yourself b.e.t.t.e.r !

get ready, get set, point

I guess I am at a standstill. I’ve been 140-141 for several months. It’s a happy standstill! I’m not complaining. I’m thrilled to be in my [Weight Watcher's] weight range and to have lost twenty miserable pounds. However, I do notice my clothes being comfortably loose or slightly snug, though, depending on the amount of exercise I commit to in a period of time.

Years ago my friend Lana told me she had read about the ‘Set-Point’ theory. She said when you are eating healthy and exercising, your body just stops where it is

According to the set-point theory, there is a control system built into every person dictating how much fat he or she should carry – a kind of thermostat for body fat. Some individuals have a high setting, others have a low one.

According to this theory, body fat percentage and body weight are matters of internal controls that are set differently in different people. The set-point theory was originally developed in 1982 by Bennett and Gurin to explain why repeated dieting is unsuccessful in producing long-term change in body weight or shape. Going on a weight-loss diet is an attempt to overpower the set point, and the set point is a seemingly tireless opponent to the dieter.

The ideal approach to weight control would be a safe method that lowers or raises the set point rather than simply resisting it. So far no one knows for sure how to change the set point, but some theories exist. Of these, regular exercise is the most promising: a sustained increase in physical activity seems to lower the setting (Wilmore et al. 1999).

According to the set-point theory, the set point itself keeps weight fairly constant, presumably because it has more accurate information about the body’s fat stores than the conscious mind can obtain. At the same time, this system pressures the conscious mind to change behavior, producing feelings of hunger or satiety. Studies show that a person’s weight at the set point is optimal for efficient activity and a stable, optimistic mood. When the set point is driven too low, depression and lethargy may set in as a way of slowing the person down and reducing the number of calories expended.

The set point, it would appear, is very good at supervising fat storage, but it cannot tell the difference between dieting and starvation. The dieter who begins a diet with a high set point experiences constant hunger, presumably as part of her body’s attempt to restore the status quo. Even dedicated dieters often find that they cannot lose as much weight as they would like. After an initial, relatively quick loss, dieters often become stuck at a plateau and then lose weight at a much slower rate, although they remain as hungry as ever.

Dieting research demonstrates that the body has more than one way to defend its fat stores. Long-term caloric deprivation, in a way that is not clear, acts as a signal for the body to turn down its metabolic rate. Calories are burned more slowly, so that even a meager diet almost suffices to maintain weight. The body reacts to stringent dieting as though famine has set in. Within a day or two after semi-starvation begins, the metabolic machinery shifts to a cautious regimen designed to conserve the calories it already has on board. Because of this innate biological response, dieting becomes progressively less effective, and (as generations of dieters have observed) a plateau is reached at which further weight loss seems all but impossible.

Adapted from Integrative Group Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa by Helen Riess, M.D. and Mary Dockray-Miller.

At first glance, the theory seems to hold water. Many people complain they are stuck at a certain weight. Even serial dieters complain of gaining back lost weight. However, there has never been an exact mechanism found in the body to support the theory. Some researchers suspect the set point theory can be caused by psychological and environmental factors. They believe people in different cultures are comfortable with different body weights, figures and lifestyles. Some people don’t mind being 20 pounds overweight, while others fight tooth and nail to maintain a lower body weight.

Even if this theory seems to explain why you can’t get to your desired body weight, take heart, there are ways to off-set the set point. Many researchers believe the set point theory contributes to the overwhelming rate of obesity in the United States. They believe it allows people to accept being overweight or obese instead of changing their lifestyles. Weight loss surgeries have been on the rise for years which can indicate people are sort of giving up on conventional methods of weight loss and maintenance.

Personally, I recommend lifestyle changes. Changing your diet moderately can result in significant weight loss. Once weight is lost, it is very important to adopt a different kind of diet [food plan]. Only the most naïve [I almost said "dumbest!] person on the planet would believe you could go back to eating like you were before losing weight — and maintain any of your weight loss!] You need to be able to maintain your weight on your new eating plan but you must also feel satisfied and have variety. Exercise is the BEST way to alter your metabolism. High intensity cardiovascular exercise can help increase your metabolism for short periods of time. Resistance [strength training] exercise that builds muscle is very important. [My favorite!] Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. The more muscle and less fat you have, the more calories you can burn in a day. That means you can eat [a little] more food each day than you would be able to if you don’t exercise. That could mean the difference between continued success or slipping back into Candyland. or Fatville. When you continue to exercise [the rest of your life!!!] you can have more variety and occasional treats, which equals permanent s.u.c.c.e.s.s!

Although my recommendations may sound boring, they have been proven to work. Whether the Set Point Theory is accurate or not, a healthy diet and regular exercise can help you lose and maintain weight. Don’t plan diets for a limited amount of time. Plan on permanent lifestyle changes for long-term results.

split second

All it takes is a split second to be in control, really (or out of control). The instant you put that bag of Cheetos in your cart at Wal-Mart is a split second decision pushing you in the wrong direction, but if, at ANY moment during the rest of your shopping trip, you have a split second of sanity and realize those Cheetos should not be in your cart, then all it takes is literally an INSTANT to grab the bag, stick it on a shelf and walk away. That’s it. Decision made. Action taken. No arguing with yourself, no agonizing, no thinking. Just stick them somewhere and go. Same with those leftover goodies in your house. If you are still eating them and regretting it, it only takes a split second of control to turn things around by grabbing them and mashing them into the trash and covering them with garbage or salt or ketchup or whatever. That’s all it takes. When the truffles I got as a gift for Christmas were bugging me, I wanted to eat them. But as I was taking one out of the box, I had a split second of clarity and grabbed a huge handful and ran to the kitchen sink, turned on the hot water and held the truffles under the faucet. It felt ridiculous… chocolate oozing all over my hands, making a mess, and then putting dish soap on the remains to get them down the drain… but it feels a lot less ridiculous to do that than to shove them in my face and watch my body grow new fat rolls.

Grab your split second. That’s all it takes.

[Credit where credit is due: this all from over at Escape from Obesity]

t.h.i.s t.i.m.e

95% of us will gain all the weight back, plus some. That’s what they say. That’s the statistic.

Not much hope available! No encouragement whatsoever. I’ve actually been there several times myself — in the 95 percentile. So how can this time, THIS TIME, be different?

For many people weight loss is a chronic endeavor. All too often the shedding of pounds is a temporary event followed by a steady regain of lost weight. Most popular diets are unsuccessful in the long run because they fail to address the multi-faceted nature of what successful, permanent weight loss entails: m.a.i.n.t.e.n.a.n.c.e.

Maintenance is a boring word. But it’s an important one. It’s where you can really get caught up because there’s no daily/weekly set goal. There’s no one there at the scale to say Woo hoo, you did it.

When you reach the maintenance phase it’s all about what happens after you lose the weight, when nobody wants to talk about it anymore. You’ve done what you had to do and now you’ve got the rest of your life to live.

Valerie Bertinelli, author of “Losing It” [and Gaining my Life Back One Pound at a Time ] and more recently “Finding It” [Satisfying my Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge] has written about her two-and-a-half year weight-loss story. She is funny, blunt, and says so much of what I want to say.

“At the time, I weighed 132.2 pounds, down 40 pounds from when I had begun a very public diet earlier that spring. I had already surpassed my original weight loss goal of 30 pounds and at some point — I had failed to note it on my calendar — I had gone from losing weight to being on maintenance.

I had talked about maintenance for months as if it were a change of life. But I had no idea what it was really about. I figured I would learn once I got there. Then I got there and wondered what it was that I was supposed to be maintaining. My life was in flux — it wasn’t work-in-progress as much as it was simply work. As I would find out, maintenance was exactly that — more work.

And it was life work, not losing-weight work.

If my weight was a barometer of the rest of my life, I still wasn’t where I wanted to be. In addition to concern about my weight, I also knew that I could be better, kinder, smarter, more disciplined, compassionate, patient, and loving. I wanted to feel like I mattered. I yearned for a lightness of being that couldn’t be measured on a scale. I wanted to feel whole, peaceful, and connected to a Higher Power even if just for a few moments.”

That’s exactly what I want for myself: Wholeness. Peace. Connectivity. I want to feel like I matter. I want to feel like I made a difference somewhere, to someone.

And I feel like I’m precariously perched on a high cliff or a tightrope where I could freefall back into old destructive, self-loathing habits. I feel like I’ve come to one of those turnabouts in Idaho Falls, where I could literally go around all day if I didn’t know which direction I was heading.

I’ve checked my own barometer. I also recognize I want to be better, kinder, smarter, more disciplined, compassionate, patient, and loving.

Maintenance is not just about the calories we put into our body. Its trying to figure out why we gained that weight in the first place and really tackling those inner demons.

Weight, for me, is a symptom of what’s going on emotionally. It’s about not being able to give a voice to all the emotions I feel and the stress that comes with that impairment. It’s about the choices I’ve made in life that led to stuffing my feelings and trying to calm them with a mouth full of food.

I so want to be in the 5 percentile! I so want to win this self-imposed civil war. I so want to be able to concentrate on something else more important and more self-building than my weight for the next 30 years.

And I want to quit hiding from the one person who could help solve my problems: me.

This time!