Diet and Exercise

I can’t stress enough how important these two things are to live a happy and long life.  If you want to see your children and grandchildren grow up, and be able to spend time with them in a productive way,  you MUST learn to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Nutrition and physical activity combine for us to have healthy bodies.  Exercise is going to give us fitness along with four major things:

• flexibility
• strength
• muscle endurance
• cardiovascular health.

Diet on its own is not going to be able to give you this.  You need to have the physical part as well.  One thing to remember is that a bad diet can affect the way that your fitness training goes even if you follow the best type of exercise plan that you can.

You need to put a healthy diet and a lot of exercise together to stay as healthy as you can.    The average amount of exercise is 20 minutes per day at least three times a week.  This will help to strengthen your cardiovascular health. 3500 calories must be used in a week by doing any sort of physical activity.  This will benefit you and your heart as well.  It is a good idea to speak to your doctor first to find out what exercise plan is going to be best for you and your body.

The energy nutrients that are stored, glucose and fatty acids, along with a few amino acids, enter into the bloodstream during exercise in order to provide you energy.  This means that the body will respond to exercise by adjusting its fuel amounts.

There is also a way to use diet to control high blood pressure.  Doctors are also finding out that exercise has a role in keeping blood pressure from ever increasing.  By reducing sodium, creating weight loss, limiting alcohol use, sticking to a low fat diet, along with the increased amount of physical activity, a person can control their hypertension.

To build muscle in the body  proteins are used.   This is true when the body is at rest after exercise or any other type of physical activity.  There is research that has shown that athletes will retain more protein and use more of  it as fuel for their body.

The American Dietetic Association has said that one gram protein per kilogram of body weight is recommended for people that do not exercise at all.  For athletes, the amounts are going to be higher.  It should be considered that athletes also need more carbohydrates as well.  If they do not take in enough carbs, their protein will be used up for fuel and there won’t be anything left for muscle building after exercise is done.

There is increasing evidence that weight bearing exercises such as walking, dancing, and running are very good for achieving good bone health.  Swimming can also be included as a good exercise.  These exercises alone cannot make your body healthy.  You must have proper calcium and other vitamins and minerals.  Diet can help keep your body working good and in the right mode for the rest of your life.

Family Dieting

It is true that it is hard to diet on your own.  You can turn to things like exercise classes, support groups, and even a partner.  Some like to go to special health clubs to get the help that they are looking for.  But wait, you may be forgetting an important thing, you have your family there with you to lean on and get great support from.

Families will come together to work through just about anything.  They can work through tragedies and successes, disappointments and happy moments, so why not involve them in  the dieting process as well.  Be sure to check with your doctor first before involving your family members in a group diet.

One of the best ways to get over temptation is to create a healthier environment.  When you get the junk food out of your sight and out of the house, you will be able to feel better because it won’t be tempting you anymore.  I am sure you have heard the expression “out of sight out of mind“.

Getting your whole family involved, will not only help YOU diet but will help everyone in the household get into shape and live a healthier life.  At first, there may be some resistance to this idea.  Just think about it, if everyone can pull together and get this moving in the right direction the benefit for everyone will be great. It can even pave the way for some great bonding within the whole family.

Finding diet and exercise activities that everyone can participate in can be a challenge, but it will be worth the time and effort.  Cook together as a family and giving your children the special skills that they will need to make healthier choices for their diet will be so gratifying.  You can learn to cook healthier and find the good tasting and nutritious recipes that are going to be easy to make and see that they can be fun as well.

There are different books  and videos that are helpful towards children and available for  learning about the food pyramid and other health concerns.  These books and videos are also a great place for adults to start the learning experience.  You can encourage your children to ask the doctor or the school nurses any questions that they may have.  You can incorporate eating healthy in your child’s science project too.

Get outdoors and play some games.  Choose your favorite sports and get down to business.  This is fun for everyone and when the kids and the adults are having fun together as a family, everyone is growing together and getting healthier at the same time.

Family dieting can be fun and good for everyone’s health. Children that learn how healthy habits can help them from early on are less likely to make unhealthy choices in the future like smoking or drinking alcohol.  Work together as a family in the battle of the bulge.  EVERYONE WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS.

Dining Out

Dining out when you are on a diet is very stressful.  This is especially true for people that love to eat.  It may seem like torture and make a person not want to stay on their diet.  There is no reason why you have to give up dining out all together.  Remember that a diet is going to boost your health and some restaurants have a section for dieters.  When you are going out to eat at a restaurant the menu may get you all worked up and could be a temptation.  You need to relax and think about eating your favorite salad or soup before turning to eat the main entrée.

Sometimes you have to watch though what type of soup and salads you are eating.  Some are rich in calories and can leave you feeling even hungrier than you were before.  Choose a salad with lemon and always ask for the dressing on the side.  This way you can control the portion.  I like to dip a forkful of salad into the cup of dressing.  This way you get plenty of taste but not so much dressing.  Try soups too,  like a broth or vegetable soup and ask for a cup instead of a bowl.

You can make your meal healthier by ordering a side salad instead of the fries that most likely come with the meal.  You can also order low fat cheese when ordering a burger or better yet, no cheese.

The sauces for a lot of people are hard to resist.  They are a large source of fat that you may not even notice.  A good idea is to remember that the creamy sauces are worse and ask for these to be on the side if at all possible.  This will help to not eat more sauce than you need for that particular dish.

Having quality control is very important.  Restaurants will bring you a larger portion than what you need most of the time so you can always ask for a child’s portion.  There is a saying in dieting, “always leave a little on your plate“.  Get in the habit of doing this even at home.

You can also share your meals with your dining partner, or take the rest of the meal home for the next day.  You do not have to go off your diet just because you are dining out.  Keep it under control and you will have no problems dining out and can continue eating foods that are good for you, and tasty at the same time.

How to Get Picky Eaters to Eat Healthy Foods

When you have children, one of the biggest challenges is making sure that your child eats all of the food that he or she needs to grow into a healthy adult.  Healthy eating is important from birth!

Get your children to help you in the kitchen.  Children as young as three and four love to help with simple things like stirring and pouring, while older children can learn to crack eggs, measure ingredients, and teens can even help to cut vegetables and cook entire meals.

This is a good time to start teaching your child about nutrition and what is good and bad for them.  Children love to eat foods that they have helped to cook.  Make sure you let them know how proud of  their accomplishments you are. Tell them how good it tastes (even if it isn’t the best thing you have tasted).

Another great way to get a child to eat healthy foods is to look for kid-friendly options. For example, if your child isn’t getting enough dairy foods, try low-fat string cheese.  It is a healthy snack option that is also very fun to eat!  Crackers come in kid-friendly shapes.  Some cookbooks have great recipes for children to fix.

If you are extremely worried about your child getting enough of the proper nutrients he or she needs for daily life, you can find vitamin supplements to help your child’s diet.  A number of  brands makes vitamins that come in fun shapes and sizes so that you can convince your child to take them.  There are drinks and other enriched foods you can give them in order to make sure they get all of the nutrients they need.

The bottom line is that you need to make sure that your child is staying safe and healthy, no matter how picky they may be.  If your child refuses to eat a specific food, they  may just simply not like that food, and you should provide another choice. NEVER force your child to eat a food they really do not like.

However, if your child is just refusing lots of foods, you must be firm about eating nutritious foods.  This could lead to more serious eating habits in their teen years, such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating .  We will talk more about these later.

Be sure to educate yourself about what your child really needs and talk to your pediatrician in order to find out the proportions and types of foods that your child should be eating.

Healthy Shopping

Healthy eating starts with one key activity – healthy shopping. When you head to the grocery store, it is easy to pick up lots of foods that are bad for our bodies without even realizing it.  Shopping for a healthy diet can be difficult if you do not know how to do so, but with these tips, you should find it easier to do the next time you head to the grocery store.

1.  Have a plan before you ever leave your house. Use the sales fliers to check out the great products that are on sale and take an inventory of your pantry and refrigerator to see what foods you need to purchase. Make a list of all the foods you’ll need and stick to that list. Allow yourself one or two compulsory buys, but otherwise stay to the ingredients you’ll need to cook healthy meals for the rest of the week.  Before you leave, review your list and take out any unnecessary junk food.

2.  Shop for a week at a time, or even longer if you have a large freezer. When you have to run to the grocery store every day, you are more likely to pick up junk food items every time you make a trip, and before you know it, your snack supply will be overflowing. You can shop for a week or two in advance by taking a day to plan meals for the week and packaging fresh product to be frozen.

When you’re shopping, it is also important to read the label.  Try to avoid purchasing brand name items simply because they are brand name or purchasing store brand items simply because they are less expensive. Actually look at the product’s nutritional value and try to get the most nutrients for your money. When you eat higher quality foods, you’ll feel more full and, in turn, eat less, so this really is the best way to bargain shop.

If you are shopping just for yourself, you should also consider picking up a basket at the door instead of getting a shopping cart.  If you have a small basket, you simply won’t have room for chocolate brownies and ice cream with your load of other foods, so you’ll pass them by.

3.  Don’t forget to consider drinks into your healthy shopping plan. Most people don’t realize it, but sodas, punches, and beers can have many empty calories and are generally bad drink choices.  Instead, look at the labels and choose diet drinks, water and sports drinks, or natural fruit juices.

With these tips, healthy eating and healthy shopping should be much easier!

Dear Diary

When you’re trying to lose weight, one of the smartest and easiest steps you can take is to keep a food diary.  A food diary is just like what it sounds – a notebook in which you record your daily food intake. You can track a number of things in your food diary or you can keep it simple, but in either case, this is a great way in which to help yourself stick to a weight loss plan.

There are several types of information you can record in your food diary.  First, consider just listing your daily menu.  This will help you actually see what you eat on any given day and notice patterns of unhealthy eating that you never considered before.  Some like to also record calories, protein, fiber, fat, and other nutrients.  Portion size may be recorded as well.  If you truly want to use a diary, you can also list the reasons you’re eating other than hunger, the cravings you experience, and your feelings about your diet on any given day. It’s your diary, so do what is right for you.

When you start a food diary, keep in mind that you don’t have to keep a traditional journal by the bed with a lock and key.  You can use whatever kind of recording and writing tools you like best.  For some people, the traditional journal or just a plain notebook works fine. You can also keep a food diary on your computer.  Simply open up a word processing program and keep the icon on your desktop.  Others like to use Excel or other data entry programs, because they use formulas which help when it comes to adding totals at the end of the day.  You can keep your food diary on a laptop, phone or slip a notebook into your bag during the day – whatever works best for your lifestyle.

Remember to update your food diary every day and review it at the end of each week in order to track your progress.  You may wish to note in your diary when you hit certain weight loss goals or when you gain weight in order to look for causes.  You can show your diary to professionals to make sure that you are staying healthy as well.  Food diaries work great for many people, so you should consider starting one today in order to lose the most weight possible.