Hello To Healthy Eating

Archive for January, 2010

Healthy Eating makes you feel better and look better. This video by syndicated columnist Rita Heikenfeld shows you recipes, cooking tips and is a guide to healthy eating . Featuring Rita Heikenfeld from AboutEating.com.

Three universal goals most of us share are: to live longer, to
live free of illness and to control our weight. Interesting
enough, normal walking lets us achieve all three.

In fact, walking may be man’s best medicine for slowing the
aging process. First, it works almost every muscle in the body,
improving circulation to the joints and massaging the blood
vessels (keeping them more elastic). Walking also helps us
maintain both our muscle mass and metabolism as we age. It also
keeps us young in spirit. For anyone out of shape or
unathletically inclined, walking is the no-stress, no-sweat
answer to lifelong conditioning.

All it takes is a little time, common sense and a few
guidelines. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation
floating around regarding fitness walking, weight-loss and
dieting.

Walking is one of the best exercise for strengthening bones,
controlling weight, toning the leg muscles, maintaining good
posture and improving positive self-concept.

People who diet without exercising often get fatter with time.
Although your weight may initially drop while dieting, such
weight loss consists mostly of water and muscle. When the
weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid getting fatter
over time, increase your metabolism by exercising daily.

To lose weight, it’s more important to walk for time than speed.
Walking at a moderate pace yields longer workouts with less
soreness – - leading to more miles and more calories spent on a
regular basis.

High-intensity walks on alternate days help condition one’s system.
But in a waking, weight-loss program, it’s better to be active
every day. This doesn’t require walking an hour every day. The
key is leading an active life-style 365 days a year.

When it comes to good health and weight loss, exercise and diet
are interrelated. Exercising without maintaining a balanced diet
is no more beneficial than dieting while remaining inactive.

The national research council recommends eating five or more
servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Fruits and vegetables
are the ideal diet foods for several reasons. They’re relatively
low in fat and calories, yet are often high in fiber and rich in
essential vitamins and minerals.

Remember that rapid weight-loss consists mostly of water and
muscle – - the wrong kind of weight to lose. To avoid this, set
more reasonable goals, such as one pound per week.

Carbohydrates are high-octane fuel. They provide energy for
movement and help raise internal body metabolism. They’re also
satisfying. The key is not adding high-fat toppings to your
carbohydrates.

It’s everyday habits which define our weight and body composition.
A three-minute walk after each meal is worth four pounds less body
fat annually. Two flights of stairs a day burns off half a pound
of body fat in a year. On the other hand, one candy bar eaten
daily will cost you 20 pounds annually.require walking an hour
every day.

Many people are trying to lose weight, but have you ever considered losing weight as a family? Typically, when one member of the family is not eating healthy foods, the rest of the family is also participating in unhealthy behaviors.

Working together as a family to lose weight can be the push you need to actually do it. After all, you want what is best for your family, right?

Start by planning healthy meals together. Working as a family, you can split up the responsibilities.

For example, have your spouse go grocery shopping, while you cook and your children do the dishes. Whenever you cook a healthy meal, make extras and take that along to work the next day instead of relying on take-out and fast food.

Cooking together also helps you bond and can teach both you and your children valuable life skills.

As a family, join a gym as well. Sometimes there is a family discount if three or more members of a household join the same gym, and often the facilities found here are better than any exercising machines you may have at home.

As a family, you can also play tennis or racquetball together or motivate one another to work out. Some gyms even have fun family resources, like family softball leagues and indoor swimming pools.

When you want to lose weight, working together as a family to set goals can also work really well. Setting goals is important for any weight loss program, but as a family you can work together to push one another.

Some husband and wife teams even like some friendly competition when losing weight.

For example, challenge your spouse to prepare for a marathon, train together, and then compete during the actual race to see who finishes first or finishes the most of the race.

No matter how much weight you want to lose, it is always easier to do so when you have people to help you along the way.

Your family is perfect for this because you live together and already know one another’s eating and work out habits. When you lose weight together, you have a great chance to bond as well, providing strong family ties and better relationships in general.

Losing weight is never easy, but with a little help from your family members, all of your weight loss goals can definitely be achieved one by one.

It’s our body’s vital fuel, a health drink from mother nature.
It’s calorie-free, inexpensive and easily obtained. Yet few
people follow the old fashioned advice to drink eight glasses
of water a day.

Most people drink when they are thirsty, but the beverage of
choice tends to be some other drink besides water. Americans
drink two or three glasses of plain water a day, according to
a U.S. Department of Agriculture survey conducted in the late
1970. Based on an analysis of all fluid intake by adults, it
is said to total about two quarts of water a day, and this
includes water from foods and from other beverages. It’s not
usually necessary to actually swallow two quarts of plain water
every day. However, people with special problems such as kidney
conditions might be exceptions.

Americans drink eight gallons of bottled water a year, roughly
two ounces or a quarter-cup a day, according to the International
Bottled Water Association. Californians drink three times the
national average of bottled water, downing 24 gallons a year, or
nearly a cup a day. Climate and seasons of the year play a role
in one’s thirst also, and just as we tend to perspire more in the
summer months, we also tend to drink more water.

Boosting intake of plain water makes good sense, many experts
concur, because water eases digestion and regulates body
temperature.

Water also bathes the cells and accounts for about 60 percent
of body weight. And it can help us exercise longer and more
efficiently. Drinking water can ward off constipation and maybe
even crankiness. An since it’s a natural appetite suppressant,
water can help us lose weight and keep it off. It can help keep
skin healthy, although it won’t necessarily banish acne.

Who should drink water? We all should, but pregnant women,
nursing mothers and athletes should be especially careful to
drink a sufficient amount. When it is hot or humid, upping
water intake is also wise. There are certain workers who seem
to have a more difficult time developing the water-drinking habit.
Among those who don’t normally drink enough water are teachers,
airline attendants and nurses.

Drinking fluids, particularly, water, during exercise reduces
cardiovascular stress and improves performance. After a strenuous
workout, you have to replace the fluids you have lost. Otherwise,
you will suffer chronic dehydration. Drink water before, during
and after exercising, and remember that water reduces body
temperature thus making the whole exercise process safer.

Water can be especially helpful for people with a history of
kidney stones because it dissolves calcium in the urine, reducing
the risk of stone formation. Among physicians, urologists are
probably most likely to extol the virtues of water, And it has
been documented that drinking water mostly before 6 P.M. can
reduce the likelihood of nocturnal bathroom visits.

It is interesting to note also that water helps prevent urinary
tract infections, both for men and for women. Too busy to count
how many glasses a day you drink? There are other ways to calculate
if your intake is sufficient. Dark-colored urine often suggest you
aren’t drinking enough water. Get into the habit by starting with
a glass of water with every meal, then work in a cup between meals.

Advertising has been strong when it comes to losing weight products and services. Through this medium, people are becoming more interested and captivated with the promises and the assurances these ads hold.

In this modern world, everything that meets the eye is marketable- sad to say.

We need not carried away with these commercials. Increasing your metabolism is the best means of doing so. You just need yourself, and a little help from outside factors. The first step is to measure your metabolism.

How do we measure metabolism?

A metabolic test comes in two ways. The first method is direct calorimetry. This method measures the energy expended in the form of heat. The other one is indirect calorimetry, it measures the amount of oxygen consumed over a period of time.

Traditionally used in hospital and research facilities due to the cost of the machine and the need for trained technicians.

What are the needed preparations for the test?

The aim of the test is to gauge the RMR or the Resting Metabolic Rate of an individual.

Therefore, he or she needs to avoid eating a meal 1 and a half hours before the test, avoid exercising on the day of your test and avoid the use of stimulants such as caffeine on the day of the test.

What happens in the testing bed?

You will relax in a seated position; the doctor will ask you to do this. A mask or mouthpiece would be used and you have to breathe in there for ten to fifteen minutes. A report after the test would be printed out by the machine.

The most important part is that you discuss the results with the doctor in order to come up with the next steps for your diet plans.

Would the test results be useful for good?

No. You have to retest after some time. Your RMR and your total metabolism changes through time. Change in any element of your lifestyle would directly affect the result. For you to keep a track of your metabolic rate, seek help from a doctor.

There is a need for one person to give value to his metabolism because it will not just decide your size but it will have an impact on your lifestyle and on your entire life.