How to Protect your Skin in Summer

Summer is officially here!  (At least in England.)  The weather has been amazing the last two weeks.  I really hope it sticks around for a while.

However, with the sun comes some responsibility to take care of your skin.  We are all aware that we’re supposed to wear sun cream while in the sun…and reapply every couple of hours or after swimming…etc.  But, what else can we do?  Can our diets help protect our skin?

Absolutely.

I believe that what we put into our bodies can do magic.  Not literally, but I think proper nutrition makes a great difference in all aspects of our health – our immune system is stronger, we maintain normal weight more easily, we have better concentration, and the list goes on.

Anyway, I read an interesting article today, which suggests 3 fruits to eat to help protect our skin against sun damage.  So, I thought it was worth sharing, from www.realage.com:

Eat These 3 Fruits for Great Summer Skin

Slather on that SPF every chance you get this summer. But for extra sun protection points, eat plenty of these fruits as well: cherries, nectarines, and watermelon.

These juicy treats not only cool your mouth in warm weather but may shield your skin from warm weather, too. Compounds in the fruits may boost your skin’s natural resilience against wrinkles and sun damage, according to Allison Tannis, author of Feed Your Skin, Starve Your Wrinkles.

In-Season Skin Savers
What’s so special about this trio of fruits? Check out their unique protective benefits.

• Cherries: Eat a daily handful and you may enjoy fresher, less puffy skin. It’s all thanks to the inflammation-fighting anthocyanins and melatonin in cherries, writes Tannis. Melatonin may boost UV protection and cell growth as well — two great ways to keep wrinkles at bay. Tart cherries tend to be highest in melatonin. 
• Nectarines: These smooth-skinned sisters of the peach provide a mini-spa’s worth of nutrients that may help correct sun damage from the inside out, according to Tannis. They offer skin goodies like lycopene, lutein, niacin, copper, and vitamins A, C, and E. The A, C, and E trio also works to control inflammation and free radical damage in both the watery and the fatty layers of skin. 
• Watermelon: Nibbling on watermelon wedges has the power to refresh your face as much as your palate, thanks to the high water and lycopene content. Lycopene helps protect and preserve connections between skin cells so skin is tighter, smoother, and better able to retain moisture.

To your health,

Kimberly

Eat More to Weigh Less

That was the title of a seminar I attended while I was on my recent cruise vacation.  Eat More to Weigh Less.  I like the sound of it, so I was curious to see what the speaker had to say (I had a hunch already, but it’s still great to hear a new person’s perspective.)

The speaker was a personal trainer who had quite a bit of nutrition training under his belt too.  Here are a few of the key messages that I got out of it:

1. People these days are eating too little of the right things and too much of the wrong things.

The “wrong things” were explained using the acronym CRAP.  (Sorry if that word offends anyone – I’m just repeating what I heard – it does fit the topic though.)

C – Caffeine

R – Refined Sugar

A – Artificial Sweeteners

P – Preservatives

So, these are the things that many people are having too much of.   This will include all packaged foods, carbonated beverages, desserts, coffee etc.  Essentially, the message here is eat natural foods and watch your caffeine intake!  Natural foods are things that can be pulled out of the ground, plucked off a tree, or were at one time living (if you’re a meat eater.)  I totally agree with this message.  I think eating naturally as much as possible is always a good choice, hence I encourage people to follow a “natural” weight loss plan or diet rather than any other plan.

2. Eat Balanced Meals

The speaker went through the main categories of nutrients that we get from food (i.e. carbs, protein, and fat) and what his opinion was about the best ratio.  He truly believes that 40/30/30 ratio is the best.  This is the ratio that the Zone Diet promotes, if you’ve ever heard of that.  So, 40% of your calories come from carbs and 30% from each of protein and fat.

The Zone Diet is actually a pretty strict way of eating if you follow it correctly.  Whether or not that is really necessary is for each person to decide, but I think it is too hard to follow for the average person.  Not that eating right, losing weight naturally, and being a healthy person should be a breeze, but I think in our modern day, busy lives, we can’t/won’t be able to plan for every meal.  So, we need some flexibility in whatever nutritional regime we are following.

I think it is fine to take something like the Zone Diet as a basis for how you eat, but add some flexibility to it. For example, you don’t need to make every single meal fit the 40/30/30, but just aim to have your full day’s calories split roughly down to that.  And if your typical diet is a little bit off the 40/30/30, don’t stress about it.  I think my diet is more like 50/25/25 and I do okay.  Unless you’re training for a big event or are a professional athlete, you don’t need to follow things so closely – you can still lose weight and be a healthy person.

3. Eat the Right Carbs, Protein, and Fats

Finally, the above nutrients were broken down into “favorable” and “unfavorable” items.  If you eat favorable things within each category, you can eat more at each meal.

Carbs – Favorable items were things with lower GI carbs or complex carbohydrates.  Essentially, these are things that are slower to hit the blood stream, so release energy more slowly to your body.  Unfavorable items were the opposite – so things that give you a quick energy hit (e.g. banana.)  The exception to this is if you are about to do something very physical (gym, football game, physical labor).  In this case, you might want the quick energy from a banana rather than a slow release of energy from something else, maybe an apple.

Protein – Favorable sources of protein were things that walk on two legs or less (chicken, turkey, fish) and plant based protein sources like tofu and lentils.  Unfavorable sources were things that walk on four legs (beef, pork, lamb, etc.)  If you choose an unfavorable source of protein to have with your meal, you should only have a portion the size of the palm of your hand (in diameter and thickness.)  With a favorable source you can have almost double that.

Fats - Favorable fats are plant based, so this includes nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, or other vegetable oils, among other things.  Unfavorable fats are foods high in saturated fat; basically this is man-made fats.  Butter, cheese, and anything with trans fats certainly fall in this category.

Overall, I really enjoyed the seminar and thought there some great bits of wisdom in there.  Even if you already “know” all of these things, it helps to have a reminder and a kick in the butt once in awhile.   You can Eat More to Weigh Less if you’re eating the right things.  Eat natural foods.   Make sure you’re getting carbs, protein and fat in your diet.  Eating right and losing weight doesn’t have to be rocket science, but you’ve got to be sensible and treat your body right.  It will work for you better if you do.

To your health,

Kimberly

What are the least healthy foods?

Well, this is one site’s take on the top 5 worst foods you can eat:

1. Eggs Benedict – the site states that because of the high fat and calories, this is a bad food choice.  If this is a favorite food of yours, just ease off on the hollandaise sauce and either get rid of the bacon, or use a turkey substitute.

2. Cheeseburger – the “bad for you” status of this comes from the high saturated fat, high calories, high sodium, and white bread.  To make it more heart and waistline friendly try a bean burger or vegetable burger instead of the beef burger.  Also, choose a whole wheat bun and only have half.  Or skip the bread altogether!

3. Duck Confit – this has tons of salt, fat, and calories.  I’ve never tried it…I just don’t think it sounds good.  I have no alternatives to offer!

4. Fondue – as this is essentially cheese, you can probably figure out why it’s on this list.  If this is a favorite (I certainly love it!), I can only say to enjoy this once in awhile and try not to eat just this for a meal!  Make a fondue and share it with others and then have a big salad and other healthy side dishes to make the meal complete.

5. Fettuccine Alfredo -Again, this is laden with calories, fat and usually refined starch (white pasta.)  Choose a tomato based sauce and whole wheat pasta to make your meal healthier.

Read here for the full article.

There are hundreds of other items that could be on this list, but most can be modified to be healthier options.  If I had to add anything to the above list, it would be desserts!  The reason I say this is because desserts also have tons of refined sugar – which is not only completely un-nutritious, but also depletes the nutrients from your body. It is a double whammy.

If you’re following a natural weight loss plan, you should be able to enjoy most things in moderation.  Just try to make about 80% of your choices natural food products.

To your health,

Kimberly

The #1 Reason why People don’t Lose Weight?

The title of this post is actually the title of a blogpost I saw on www.diet.com.  It certainly caught my eye, so I had to find out what this #1 reason was.

The article at www.diet.com states that the #1 reason why people don’t lose weight is that they do strictly cardio workouts without doing any resistance or weight training. The article goes on to talk about reasons why, specifically, women do not do any weight training.  Go ahead and have a read for yourself.

Weight training

I agree with the author that weight training is very important for your weight loss.  This is for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, by getting your body toned up, gaining more muscle mass, you are actually causing your body to burn more calories at ALL times.  Even when sleeping.  That’s right.  Muscle burns more calories than fat, so by putting some weight/resistance training into your fitness regime you are helping your body work to your advantage in your weight loss goals.

Secondly, by doing some weight training, you are working out different parts of your body.  When people simply follow a cardio routine, they tend to do the same thing day after day.  Some people like running.  Some people like cycling.  Some people like aerobics classes.  Whatever it is, if that is all you do, your body does get used to it.  That is not to say that you aren’t burning calories and doing a good thing for your body, but it is even better to have some weight training to keep it interesting for your muscles.

#1 Reason?

While I think that weight lifting is important for those trying to lose weight (and for those just trying to be healthy), I don’t think it is the #1 reason why people don’t lose weight.  I believe that DIET is the #1 reason why people don’t lose weight.  I think many individuals struggle with what the “right” things to eat are. And even when people think they know the “right” things to eat, they have a hard time changing their habits.

Their is so much conflicting information out there about how to lose weight – what the heck are you supposed to believe?

Well, I whole-heartedly believe in following a wholesome, natural diet.  None of this low-fat stuff.  None of this low-carb stuff.  I like balanced eating.

If you are trying to get a kick-start on your weight loss and want some guidance on what to do, if you haven’t yet downloaded my free report on weight and fat loss, have a look at it now.  There is a download option in the top right corner of this site.   And feel free to send me questions if you want to know any specific information.

To your health,

Kimberly

An Easy Way to increase your Weight Loss and Improve your Health

Quick and Easy

Nowadays a LOT of people are looking for the quick, easy way to lose weight.  Every month, there is a new pill, celebrity diet, or other fad idea to help you get rid of your excess pounds.  Why is it that so many people (in many countries, not just the USA) are still overweight?  Well, these fads are not the solution for long-term weight loss and health.

Surround yourself with the Right people

One easy step you can take to start your healthy, natural weight and fat loss is by surrounding yourself with people who also want to live a healthy lifestyle.  It is totally free!  And natural!

When you hang out with people who like to be active, and people who have healthy eating habits, it is SO much easier to also have those habits.  The peer “influence” in this case is a really positive thing.   When you end up going to friends houses for dinner, or entertaining people in your own home, you can be more confident that the food choices will be in line with what you like to put in your mouth and that the people coming to see you will be happy with the healthy things you are making for them.

Additionally, when you say you’re going to go to the gym after work, or go for a jog on the weekend, your friends or colleagues will support you in that.  They won’t try to steer you away from that because they understand the importance of exercise.

It is incredible what peer influence does to a person.  We always think about it in terms of teenagers and smoking, drugs, drinking, or cutting classes.  We often talk about kids and whether or not they are hanging with the “wrong crowd.”  But, that mentality is much less often applied to adults.

But, that doesn’t mean that peer pressure ends when you become an adult.  And health and wellness is a perfect example of this.

How to do this

If you already have lots of friends and family around you who have healthy lifestyle habits, then great.  Let those people help influence the way you’re living your life.  If they invite you to go for a hike, bike ride, jog, or tennis game, say yes.  It is fun socially and also great for your health.

If you don’t already have people around you with good eating or exercise habits, then you need to do something about it.  I’m not saying you should disown your current friends and family, but just try to meet some new people.  There are lots of clubs out there for joggers, walkers, hikers, or just about anything fitness related.  There are also group exercise classes at gyms.  You can start attending something like that and meet new people that way.

Try to find a healthy cooking club somewhere in your area.  That is also a fun way to meet new people with similar values.  Or you can always just find an online forum about health and weight loss.  This isn’t as effective as being with people face to face, but it’s a good first step.

Another really important thing to do is to talk to your current friends and family who don’t share your same desires to be healthy.  Let them know that you would like their help and support in being a healthy person.   Let them know that your goals are important to you.  If they are true friends, they should respect that. Maybe some of them will even join you

Peer influence will always be a part of life, so why not make it a positive influence?  Something to help you meet your weight loss and fitness goals.

To your health,

Kimberly

The Importance of Walking

Walking: Get Moving

I have written previously on this site about the importance of walking when it comes to weight loss, weight maintenance, and general health and wellness.  But, I want to write about it again because I’m personally experiencing the effects of not walking as much.

For the last five years, I have walked at least a couple of miles 5 times a week.  This was simply getting to and from the train station, then to and from my office building after getting off the train.

Without making many other changes in my life, this daily walking helped me lose almost fifteen pounds.  Now, that was gradual weight loss, but it was without any effort, dieting, starvation, extreme fitness, or anything else.  It was great!

For the past six months, I have been working three or four days a week at a different location…somewhere I can’t walk to.   I haven’t replaced that walking with any other form of regular exercise, apart from the exercise I was doing before this change in job location.   And now, finally, six months later I really feel the difference. I feel it mainly in the belly area and in my legs.  It feels awful.

I’m telling you this for a couple of reasons.

Two lessons

Firstly, I want to stress the importance of consistent exercise, like walking.  You don’t need to have a crazy fitness plan to get yourself in better shape.  You just need to have some consistent level of fitness in your life.  You need to get up and move.  And if you can break it up into a couple of shorter sessions during the day, that is great . If you can do some or all of that activity first thing in the morning, before you eat breakfast, even better.  I honestly believe that getting some exercise first thing in the morning, before you’ve consumed any calories, is the best way to start the day.

Secondly, I think it is interesting that it took a full six months of getting out of my walking routine before my body started putting weight on again.  What this means to me is that once I get my body into good shape and do good things for it, it can hold those good results for a time without as much effort.  (i.e. it is easier to maintain your weight than it is to lose weight)

What does this mean for you?

No matter what shape you are in, adding some walking to your daily routine can bring amazing benefits.  My experience with walking has been mostly weight related, but walking is great for other things too.  Walking keeps your joints more flexible.  Walking keeps your digestive system working better.  Walking is great for your heart.  Etc.

If you can find a friend or a group of people to walk with, it makes it easy to make it part of your routine.  Or just try to walk for twenty minutes in the morning before you go to work.  Even substituting one of your drives during the day (say, to the supermarket), can be a good start.  However you fit it in, just start walking.  You will feel great and lose weight.

To your health,

Kimberly

Coffee or no coffee?

No matter what diet, health, or fitness topic you choose, I bet you can find someone out there who can argue for it and someone who can argue against it.  That is certainly the case when it comes to discussing coffee or just caffeine in general.

How do we really know if we should drink it or not? Well, I was just thinking about it one morning on my way to work this week.  I’m not sure why, but it came to mind.  And then, I had an email from www.precisionnutrition.com mentioning that they had posted an article about this very subject.  They must have heard my thoughts

You can read the article here.  It is very in depth and somewhat technical, but if coffee or caffeine is a part of your life, it is certainly worth it. I really enjoy Precision Nutrition’s message about nutrition and overall health.   I think you will have to sign up for the site to be able to view the article, but they have some great content, so go for it.

To your health,

Kimberly

How to Beat Afternoon Fatigue

The Afternoon Slump

Whether you work in an office, from home, at a construction site, out there on the roads everyday, or anywhere else, I think most of you will have experienced the afternoon slump.  This is something that seems to kick in somewhere between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, or if you have an early lunch, maybe sooner.  It makes you feel like curling up and going to sleep.

I can remember times when I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open in front of my computer.  It was the worst feeling and it was horrible thinking that someone might see me with my eyes closed, even if just for a second!

And since a midday kip normally isn’t possible, due to work commitments, location (I certainly don’t have a nap room at my office!), or any other reason, what do we end up doing?

This slump usually makes us reach for something to bring us back to life.  Some form of caffeine.  Maybe chocolate.  Maybe even just some fresh air or an ice cold glass of water.

How to Avoid It

Whatever it is that helps you get through this afternoon fatigue, you don’t have to deal with this feeling ever again.  What is it that has rid me of the PM slump and can help you do the same?

Nutrition.

What you eat (especially at lunch time) can help you avoid the afternoon tiredness.  Once I started cutting out high carb lunches, and/or sugary things right after my lunches, I noticed a huge change in my energy levels.

What exactly did I do?  I substituted bread heavy sandwiches (i.e. baguettes, baps, rolls) with whole grain sliced bread sandwiches.  Or I substituted any type of sandwich with a salad.  I also made sure I was getting wholesome vegetables in my meal.  Just to clarify, this doesn’t include iceberg lettuce and a couple of slices of cucumber.  I’m talking about hearty vegetables, like spinach, rocket, or other nutrient packed leafy greens.  Broccoli, green beans, carrots, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, and sweet potato are good options (and there are plenty of others.)  You can steam some of these to have as a side dish with your salad/sandwich, or you can just have them raw, either on your salad or on the side.

One other thing I did was to make sure I was getting some healthy fats.  This includes putting some good quality olive oil on my salad, having some avocado, or adding seeds/nuts to my meal.  These all provide the “good” fats to your meal and help you stay full for longer.

Finally, I made sure to have some lean protein.  If you’re a meat eater, this can be turkey, chicken, or fish.  If you’re a vegetarian, this can be low-fat cheeses or tofu.  Just like fats, protein also helps you stay full longer.

Sweet Tooth

Now, regarding what I said about not having sweets, candy, cookies, etc right after eating, here is what I found.  If I really needed to have something sugary, I waited until a couple of hours after I had my lunch before I indulged.   By doing this, I was giving my lunch a chance to digest a bit and my blood sugar levels a chance to stabilize before feeding sugar into my body.

Now, I have to just say a quick piece here about sweets.  If you’re trying to follow a healthy eating plan to lose weight, just be a healthy person, or for any other reason, sugary things should not be a big part of your daily diet.  This includes sugary drinks…even fruit juice.

Blood Sugar Levels

Why does eating high carb (especially low quality carb) and sugary things make you tired?  The short answer to this is that these things all hit the blood stream really quickly and heavily, causing the blood sugar levels to increase rapidly.  This makes the body give out insulin to help control the blood sugar levels.  Because the blood sugar levels were sent so high, the amount of insulin given out is more than what is necessary to control it, and therefore, it brings the blood sugar levels down to an even lower level than they were at before you ate anything.

Where does that leave you?  Tired.  And probably wanting more food and/or caffeine to compensate for that.

This is not a healthy cycle to put your body through on a daily basis.

In Summary

The things I’ve talked about in this article should actually apply to all of your meals.  If you follow these principles, you will have more energy, feel happier, be healthier, and lose weight.  Even if you’re happy with your current weight, if you’re not eating like this now and you change your habits to follow these principles, you’ll probably lose a few pounds.

To your health,

Kimberly

What is your New Year’s Resolution?

We are well into the first week of 2010.  On my first day back at work I heard so many people (mostly women) talking about “being good” in the new year.  They were referring to their eating habits, in case it wasn’t obvious

I have to admit after my overly indulgent Christmas celebrations, I feel the same.  I think it is natural though, simply because you probably have been going to more social activities, getting less sleep, possibly stressing about buying presents or about travel plans, etc.  All of these things invite more lenient or excessive eating habits and more drinking.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with this – it is a really fun time of year for many people.  I certainly enjoyed it!  But, it can leave you feeling sluggish and unmotivated.

So, what is your New Year’s Resolution?  If it has to do with diet, nutrition, fitness, or just general health, you are certainly not alone.

I have made a commitment to get back into a more regular fitness program…despite the freezing weather.  I did a 10k back in October and then haven’t done much since then.  I mean I’ve done a bit of running, a few weight sessions, and had some gym time, but nothing very consistent.  Now is the time to get back into it.

If your resolution is not fitness or health related, that’s fine too.  There are lots of things that are good to commit to in the new year.  Whatever it is, stick with it!  Don’t be a statistic – one of the people who keeps their resolution for 2 or 3 weeks and then gives up.

And I would love to hear your resolutions if you’re willing to share!

To your health,

Kimberly

How can CLA help your weight loss?

CLA, which is conjugated linoleic acid, is something you may or may not have heard of before.  It is a slightly altered form of linoleic acid, which is an essential fatty acid.  CLA is naturally occurring in dairy products, beef, and eggs.

Why am I mentioning it?  CLA has been shown to help you lose a little bit more body fat that you would without it.    Here is an article from Prevention magazine talking about a study done on CLA.  I don’t like the fact that it refers to it as a “diet pill” because it isn’t, but the study is interesting.   Read here.

I have been a CLA user for a few years now.  I really recommend it because I’ve seen the results.  Alongside a healthy diet and some exercise, CLA did help me lose more body fat with it than without it.  It won’t be as much extra fat loss as you will get taking crazy heart racing diet pills, but this is actually something that is natural!  It just provides that extra help to keep you motivated and keep you fitting in those skinny jeans (or whatever the man equivalent might be.)

If you do decide to use it, be patient.  It will not make you lose weight in 2 weeks, but rather over a number of months.

To your health,

Kimberly

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