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More Benefits of Water

April 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Here is another article confirming the benefits of drinking plenty of water.  In my opinion, if you’re drinking enough water throughout the day, you won’t need to drink water just before your meals, but that is what this article is recommending.  Either way, if you’re trying to lose weight naturally, water has got to play a part in your plan!

To your health,

Kimberly

Article Source: www.realage.com

Lose Weight Faster with This Premeal Habit

Kick your slim-down efforts into high gear by starting each meal with about 16 ounces of water.

In a study of dieters, those who started each meal with a tall glass of water dropped more weight over 12 weeks — and shed it more quickly — compared with the dieters who skipped the water and just dug in.

A Wet Way to Lose More
In fact, the water drinkers lost about 4 1/2 more pounds than the control group. And they dropped the weight about 44 percent faster. So if you’re feeling a little panicked about the teeny tiny bit of time you have left to drop your winter weight before swimsuit season, think about what you drink. In this particular study, the drink-water-lose-more benefit varied by age — it wasn’t a factor for younger adults. But plenty of other research has suggested that drinking more water in general could boost weight loss efforts. 

A Matter of Age
Why the boost for water drinkers? It’s possible that being properly hydrated curbed their hunger, helping them eat less at each meal. And their water habits may have caused them to cut back on high-calorie, fructose-laden drinks. A third possible mechanism? The water drinkers were asked to track their daily water intake, which may have led to more careful monitoring of calorie intake, too. 

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Why to drink Water (not Coke)

April 3, 2010 By 1 Comment

I got this great email this morning, so I’m sharing it with everyone.  I don’t know the original source of the information so can’t substantiate the facts, but I still think it is interesting. Enjoy!

Water

  1. 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
  2. In 37 percent of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
  3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 3%.
  4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100 percent of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
  5. Lack of water is the Number 1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
  6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80 percent of sufferers.
  7. A mere 2 percent drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on a computer screen or on a printed page.
  8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45 percent, it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79 percent, and one is 50 percent less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Coke

  1. In many states in the USA, highway patrol cars carry two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
  2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
  3. To clean a toilet:  Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the “Real Thing” sit for one hour, then flush it clean.  The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.
  4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:  Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of aluminum foil that has been dipped in Coke.
  5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals:  Pour a can of Coke over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
  6. To loosen a rusted bolt:  Applying a cloth soaked in Coke to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
  7. To bake a moist ham:  Empty a can of Coke into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake.  Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.
  8. To remove grease from clothes:  Empty a can of Coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run it through a regular cycle.  The Coke will help loosen grease stains.
  9. Coke will clean road haze from your windshield.

Other information

  1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid, which has a pH of 2.8.  Phosphoric acid will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.  It also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.
  2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate), a commercial trucker must use the hazardous material cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.
  3. For about 20 years, the distributors of Coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks.

So, what are you going to choose? If you’re trying to lose weight naturally, keep fit, and just have better general health, water should certainly be a part of your plan each and every day.

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: , , , ,

Recipe for a vegetarian burger

February 3, 2010 By 1 Comment

Even for non-vegetarians, vegetarian burgers can be a delicious choice for a meal.  I will almost always choose a veggie burger over a real one.  Depending on what you put in your veggie burger, they can be a great thing to add to your diet if you’re trying to lose weight, consume more vegetables, or just be a healthier person.

I found a recipe for a vegan burger on http://www.simpleveganrecipes.co.uk, which I thought was worth sharing.  The great thing about this recipe is that it uses no animal products and has beans in it for that extra protein and fibre content.   And you can change up the spices a little bit to suit your preferences.

For you vegetarians out there who feel like you miss out on barbeque season, I would imagine you can take this same recipe and grill the burgers rather than frying them.   I’m certainly going to try it…once some barbeque weather is here.

Butter Bean Burgers

1 onion, chopped finely

1 red or green pepper, chopped finely

1 carrot, grated

4 oz. (100g) breadcrumbs

1 tin butter beans

Ground cumin

Ground coriander

Chili powder

Soya flour

What to do

Fry onion, carrot and pepper for 5 minutes.

Place them in a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, 1 tsp. each of cumin, coriander and chilli. Add a little salt and pepper, 1 tbsp. soya flour. Mash the butter beans and add them. Mix well.

Form the mixture into 4 thick burgers and coat them with flour.

Fry the burgers for 20 minutes and serve with vegetables.

Serves 2-4

Enjoy – and let me know what you think about it or if you have some good variations.

To your health

Kimberly

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How to Beat Afternoon Fatigue

January 16, 2010 By 1 Comment

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

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: , , , ,

Weight Watchers – Is it your weight loss solution?

October 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hi all,

Ever thought of trying Weight Watchers to get rid of those extra few (or many) pounds?  I’ve never done it myself but know people that have had a lot of success with it.  Here is some info about how it works.  Maybe it is the right thing to aid you in weight loss!

Since the 1960′s the Weight Watchers programme has been popular amongst those wanting to get rid of those excess pounds and look and feel healthier. Backed by body science and proving to be a great way to lose weight for many satisfied dieters, this is how it works.

It’s an eating plan which implements a points system to help dieters keep a tab on their eating habits. The dieter first completes a brief survey and based on the answers provided a pointed eating programme is allocated. As the weight loss begins, the amount of points allowed decreases. However, the good news is that all food and drink is assessed with a point value, so even if you are eating out in a restaurant you can have a little bit of what you fancy.

When you are watching how you use your points it becomes clear which of your eating habits need addressing in order for you to lose weight and become healthier.  The programme offers support by way of meetings held each week affording dieters the luxury of being able to discuss their strengths and weaknesses with others following the regime.

The Core Plan came along next, a programme developed from the Points System.  The Core Plan allows the dieter to choose food from a list of healthy foods instead of totting up the points each day. Those taking part can eat until they are satisfied as long as they only consume what is on the list of allowed foods, and they will lose weight in the same way as the Point System.

Weight Watchers then expanded to the World Wide Web and on line dieters were able to use e-tools to help manage their eating and exercise routines. Recipes became plentiful and information was available to determine how many points any given serving contained.

The latest step forward as far as Weight Watchers are concerned is their Momentum Program. This consists of a combination of the Points System and those little extras called filling foods. People on this diet begin with the basic point counting programme which helps them decide which foods to eat and teaches them all about portion control. They are then allowed to move to the next stage and introduce filling foods, those extras to give you an energy boost and to make you feel as if you are not starving yourself.

The whole attitude of Weight Watchers is to make the dieter aware of healthy eating. Its not simply about counting points as this only tends to make dieters stick to their allocated point allowance instead of actually changing their views about what they eat. For example, using up 30 points eating sweets is within the points allowance, but it is really healthy? The answer to that question is a resounding NO! Dieters need to use their points as healthily as possible on a balanced intake of food without any particular food being permanently banned.

Eating habits continue to be tracked whilst on the Momentum Programme and this helps the dieter to remain on track and stops any straying back to the poor food choices of the past.

The Weight Watchers diet provides the dieter with all they need to be successful. Additionally, the support system is invaluable in achieving the weight loss you are aiming for.  A good coaching or mentoring system is useful no matter what your goal!

Is it a long term solution?  My feeling is no with regards to the Points system, but possibly yes when talking about the Core Plan .  I think it can be a good way to achieve some quick results and to help you change your eating habits and your mentality about food.   Then once you’re on a role, you can just start eating sensibly on your own.

Has anyone out there tried Weight Watchers?  I would love to hear your experiences and what worked or didn’t work for you.

To your health,

Kimberly

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