Weight loss is achieved by two basic factors.  These are a solid nutrition plan and exercise.  Keep your meals balanced with the three main macronutrients; proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  For example a dinner plate consisting of a lean meat or fish, vegetables and brown rice.  Exercise every chance you get.  I don't mean hit the gym 7 days a week.  Simply supplement you workouts by using the stairs instead of the elevator, taking a walk after dinner, biking somewhere close instead of taking the car, being very careful of course, playing outside with nieces nephews, grandchildren, children, taking the dog for a walk, you get the picture.

Nutrition and exercise in action.  It's a simple mathematical equation.  Burn more calories than you take in.  3500 calories equals one pound of fat.  So let's say I wanted to start losing 1 pound a week, which is still well within a healthy range of weekly weight loss.  I need at least 3000 calories a day to maintain my current weight with my current activity level.  I would cut back to 2500 calories a day while still expending 3000 calories.  This would be a deficit of 500 calories a day and 3500 calories in one week, equaling 1 pound.  7 X 500= 3500  See how easy this is.  Just eat a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner with one or two small healthy snacks in between and exercise a little more and you will be well on your way.  Here's a helpful site that gets into more detail with body calculators for your specific needs.  www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php

You're only as great as you let yourself be.   

Sodium is an essential mineral to the human diet, and the human body only needs 500 mgs. a day. Too much too often can lead to high blood pressure, so If you are trying to cut back, here's a simple trick.  Canned vegetables can contain high amounts of sodium unless you buy the low sodium or no sodium variety.  If you have canned vegetables in your cupboard already, an easy trick is to simply rinse them in a strainer under cold water.  This will remove alot of the sodium from the meal.  This can also be done with tuna fish and canned meats.  I hope this helps.

We eat to live, not live to eat. 

 

Fiber, fiber, fiber

It seems like everywhere you look fiber is being pushed.  There is a good reason for this, just to name a few important benefits.  Fiber promotes regular bowel movements, improves absorption of minerals, helps you maintain a healthy weight, and soluble fiber as part of a diet low in cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.  Sources of fiber are legumes, nuts, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  Some common examples would be Oatmeal, Beans, Plums, Broccoli, Whole wheat products, Popcorn and even Coffee. Women should be getting, on average, 20-25 grams of fiber per day, and Men, on average, 30-38 grams per day.  Like any other change in diet or exercise, take it slow.  Build up to these numbers by adding a little each day and varying your sources of fiber.  Also, remember to drink plenty of water, as fiber will absorb more water in your system to help with improved bowel movements.        

Plan your meals weekly

I have found that planning out my meals for the week keeps me on track with my fitness goals.  Set aside 30 minutes to an hour on Sunday night for the planning.  In a planner or notepad write down B:, L: and D:, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Next to each of the letters write out a balanced meal.  For example next to Lunch or L: I would write out Turkey Breast Sandwich on Wheat, Steamed Broccoli and half an apple with Peanut butter.  Here I have a Good Proteins, Good Carbohydrates, and Good Fat.  Don't forget to have small healthy snacks in between meals.  The body is like a steam engine, and needs a constant supply of coal (food) to keep the steam (energy) going to move down the tracks. (metabolism)

Hello All,

An email was sent to me that I just had to share.  This woman is so inspiring.  She will make you want to get up and exercise. 
Her name is Leoda Anderson and she is 92.  I'll just put her quote here and let her tell the rest.

"Since I've danced throughout
my life of 92 years, and
walked to and from my job
at the University of Texas for
20 years, exercise is a habit,
and tripping into teaching
line-dancing was a natural
accident. We have fun at the
Senior Activity Center on
Lamar Boulevard and the
Hancock Recreation Center
during Lifetime Learning sessions. 
Good exercise for the
mind, too; those dance routines
are far more complex
than the Texas two-step."

"Good food is good fuel:
fresh vegetables. fruits,
grains. nuts and meats, with
the joys of some pie. cake
and Ice cream in between. I
am not a vegetarian. Some
people take better care of
their car than of their body.
How disrespectful of what is,
after all, our chief means of
transportation. Keeping fit
is a responsibility - to ourselves
and our fellow beings.
We cannot do a makeover of
the flawed genes we all inherited,
but we all can put up a
good fight for good health."

-Leoda Anderson