7 Bad Eating Habits You Should Change Immediately

People are obsessed with dieting and weight loss! Don't believe
me? Just tune-in to any source of advertising...you're instantly
bombarded with the latest diet schemes and "Hollywood" food
fads.
Here in America, we have built a thriving industry trying to
control our weight and treat the consequences of over-indulgence.
The cost of weight loss and obesity related health care
treatments is staggering...Americans alone spend around $114
billion every year! And even with all this interest in losing
weight, we continue to pack on the pounds like never before...
- A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or
obese...up about eight percent from earlier estimates.
- Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost nine
million are overweight...triple the rate in 1980!
- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese.
For Americans, modern life may be getting TOO easy. Our cushy
lifestyle means we expend less energy and consequently need fewer
calories to sustain our normal body weight.
Think about it for a moment...
Entertainment no longer requires energy expenditure. In fact,
it's usually quite the opposite. We now entertain ourselves in
the comfort of our own home while watching TV and munching on our
favorite snack. Whether it's television, computers, remote
controls, or automobiles, we are moving less and burning fewer
calories. Common activities that were once a part of our normal
routine have disappeared...activities like climbing stairs,
pushing a lawn mower or walking to get somewhere.
And please do not misunderstand me...I appreciate comfortable
living just as much as the next person. But, here is the
problem...
With all of our modern day conveniences and "cushy" style of
living we have not adjusted our caloric intake to compensate for
our decreased caloric expenditure. We consume more calorie rich
and nutrient deficient foods than ever before. Consider a few of
the following examples comparing what we eat "today" vs the
1970's (U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):
- We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of
them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption
has jumped 45 percent since the 1970's, from 138 pounds of grains
per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of the wheat
flour is consumed as whole wheat.
- Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but
only because French fries and potato chips are included as
vegetables. Potato products account for almost a third of our
"produce" choices.
- We're drinking less milk, but we've more than doubled our
cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one source
of saturated fat in our diets.
- We've cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the
loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried), so
that overall, we're eating 13 pounds more meat today than we did
back in the 1970's.
- We're drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than
milk, compared to the 1970's, when milk consumption was twice
that of pop.
- We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable
oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has
increased 32 percent.
- Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding
waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. People are
consuming roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day,
about 20 teaspoons on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is
found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies. In
1978, the government found that sugars constituted only 11
percent of the average person's calories. Now, this number has
ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and as
much as 20 percent for American teenagers!
Unfortunately, it would seem that the days of wholesome and
nutritious family dinners are being replaced by fast food and
eating on-the-run. We have gradually come to accept that it's
"OK" to sacrifice healthy foods for the sake of convenience and
that larger serving portions equate to better value.
It's time recognize that we are consuming too many calories and
time to start doing something about it! Each of us can decide
TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits WILL become a
normal part of our life!
We can begin by exploring our values, thoughts and habits...
slowly and deliberately weed-out the unhealthy habits and
activities and start living a more productive and rewarding life.
And remember, it has taken a long time to develop bad habits, so
be patient as you work toward your goal!
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes
only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any
disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any
health care program.

9 Tips to Stop Food Cravings and Help You With Your Diet

Most of us are "regular" people. We don't eat the perfect diet
all the time and have our struggles with food, same as everyone
else. But having an awareness of this fact and knowing a little
bit about our health and food nutrition can help when it comes to
making wise decisions.
Many people struggle with food "cravings." Studies tell us that
it's fairly common for food cravings to happen at certain times,
quite often at around bedtime. Your guard may be down, you may
have had an unusually hard day, and off you go on your
not-so-merry way to find that tasty treat. Fatigue and stress
often combine to take their toll on the best of intentions.
When food cravings are unconstrained, what starts out as a
bedtime snack quickly turns into a full blown feeding
frenzy...not something most of us fully understand or appreciate.
We head to kitchen and every other place where food can hide,
clearing a path as we go.
Most food cravings are not about satisfying a nutritional need or
imbalance. They seem to be more emotionally related, or God
forbid, are caused by plain old gluttony. Exactly why we
over-indulge is not completely understood, however our knowledge
about this subject continues to grow.
Listed below are some thoughts and ideas about food cravings:
- If the food isn't available, you can't eat it! Empty the cookie
jar and keep it that way! Keep healthy food choices on-hand.
- Recognize the feelings and emotions that lead-up to a food
craving. Do you have food cravings when you’re bored, lonely, or
stressed? If you can identify a trigger, you can deal with the
emotion that’s making you desire a certain food. Try to deal with
the triggers in the best way you can.
- Sometimes, even recognizing that a craving is about to happen
doesn't seem to help. Don't beat yourself-up. There is always
tomorrow. Call a friend, make good use of your support network
and share your feelings with someone.
- Get enough sleep. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to
crave things.
- Never give-up. When you "slip", press-in, bear-down, get a
grip, do whatever is necessary to re-gain control. Try to
practice restraint most of the time, but don't get legalistic and
un-balanced in your weight loss approach. Think moderation and
not abstinence at all times!
- Understand that self-control and discipline by themselves,
won't cut it! If you depend totally on yourself for control, you
will fail. Forming caring and supportive relationships is
required. If you do not currently have a support network, start
building one TODAY.
- Exercise. It increases feel-good endorphins that cut down on
your cravings. Try to get at least 30 minutes of physical
activity every day.
- Use moderation. Instead of stuffing yourself with every kind of
food hoping that your craving will go away, eat 100 to 200
calories of your "craved" food.
- Substitute with low-fat foods and complex carbs. If you’re
hungry for chocolate, eat non-fat chocolate yogurt. Try fig bars
or raisins for a sweet craving.
- Never skip a meal. Eat every three to five hours. Try six
smaller meals or regular meals with nutritious snacks.
- Understand that hunger craving are oftentimes stress related.
Practice other ways to treat chronic stress – a walk in the park,
spiritual connections, a cozy fireplace, baths...all these
stimulate neurochemicals that activate regions of the brain that
stimulate pleasure. Relaxation techniques may work by reducing
the psychological drives on stress output, which can be the root
causes of stress. Bottom line, substitute pleasurable experiences
for comfort foods.
- Beware of certain medications. They can stimulate appetite.
Drugs used for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder
can be appetite stimulants. Other drugs, both prescription and
over the counter, may influence appetite as well. If you are on a
medication, and troubled by food cravings, discuss this with your
doctor or pharmacist. You may be able to find an alternative that
doesn't send your cravings out of control.
- Distract Yourself. What's that old expression...idle hands are
the devils workshop? Get busy. Do anything other than cave-in to
your desire for food, and keep doing it until the cravings
subside.
- One final thought, take a look inside your refrigerator and
kitchen cabinets and do some general "house cleaning." Throw-out
all that unhealthy stuff that is waiting to sabotage your diet,
and start shopping more wisely. A little forethought and careful
planning will go a long way for improving your chances of
success.
Eat wisely, be happy, and live long!
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes
only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any
disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any
health care program.

10 Tips To Reduce Fat In Your Diet

1. Steam, boil, broil, or microwave vegetables, or stir-fry them in a small amount of vegetable oil.

2. Season vegetables with herbs and spices rather than sauces, butter, or margarine.

3. Try lemon juice or fat-free dressing on salad, or use a yogurt based dressing instead of mayonnaise or
sour cream dressing.

4. To reduce saturated fat, use vegetable oil or tub margarine instead of butter or stick margarine when
possible.

5. Replace whole milk with skim or low-fat milk in puddings, soups, and baked products. Substitute plain
nonfat yogurt, blender-whipped cottage cheese, low-fat sour cream, or buttermilk in recipes that call for sour cream.

6. Choose lean cuts of meat, and trim any visible fat from meat before and after cooking. Remove skin from
poultry before or after cooking. Monitor portion sizes. (Lean meats end in "loin".)

7. Roast, bake, or broil meat, poultry, or fish, so that fat drains away as the food cooks.

8. Use a nonstick pan for cooking so added fat will be unnecessary, use a vegetable spray for frying.

9. Chill broths from meat or poultry until the fat becomes solid. Spoon off the fat before using the broth.

10. Eat a low-fat vegetarian main dish at least once a week.

10 Ways to Curb Your Snacking Binges

When you're dieting, the thing that can really wreck a healthy eating plan is that awful feeling that comes over you to just grab a huge bag of potato chips and polish it off while watching your favorite sit-com.

We've all been there before!

There are things you can do to help yourself avoid the ugly urge to snack uncontrollably.

1. First things first:
Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plan to have healthy snacks throughout the day. Do not skip meals or planned snacks. Skipping nutritious foods will make you feel uncontrollably hungry!

2. If you can, avoid purchasing any unhealthy snacks. There are so many "good-for-you" snacks on the market today, there is really no reason why you should have a cupboard full of ring-dings and cheesecurls. Start learning to read the back of the packages of foods - look at the fat content - if it says that the fat content is over 5% per serving - look for a different snack.

3. Here's a list of healthy snacks that are low in fat content, but still high in satisfaction (and I'm not talking about carrots and celery!):
- pretzels (watch the sodium content, though.) - graham crackers
- any type of low fat crackers - (there are many different varieties - read the back of the packages to make sure that they are low in fat. Again, be wary of the salt content.) - low fat cookies
- popcorn without butter (you can buy butter flavored salt.) - a cup of fruit with non-fat cool whip on top or a spoonful of honey.
- fat free pudding
- a stick of sugar-free chewing gum - a couple pieces of licorice - a cup of raw veggies with non-fat salad dressing for dip (ok, so you may have to eat a few carrots.)

4. Treat yourself to scented candles. When you feel like you need a snack - light the candles and enjoy them! This actually does work - I've tried it.

5. Instead of a snack, have a drink. Try a non-caffeinated herbal tea with a spoonful of honey. There are several drinks on the market with no caffeine and no sugar - buy a lot of that stuff - different kinds - and keep it on hand. Before you go for a snack - drink 8 oz. of your favorite drink, then decide if you really need a snack.

6. Take up something you can do with your hands -- crochet, knitting, puzzles, cross-stitch, sewing, playing piano, paint your nails and toenails, weed the garden, do a little housework, look at a magazine for the fashions you will buy when you're thinner... In other words, get your mind off food and onto a healthy hobby.

7. Don't watch TV. TV encourages snacking - you're sitting there, you feel like you should be doing something - so you go for the snack. Also, most of the commercials are about food. Stay away from TV, take up reading or another activity in number 6 above.

8. When you're finished with a meal or a planned snack, brush and floss your teeth - this will help you stay away from food for about an hour.

9. THINK - just take about one minute to think about what you are doing. Go look at yourself in the mirror during this minute. Ask yourself, "Do I really want to eat this and PAY the CONSEQUENCE?"

10. Use your NutriCounter - Every time you eat something - input it into your NutriCounter - This will help you keep track of what you've REALLY eaten. Snacking and nibbling can be the death of a healthy diet. Here's info on the NutriCounter: http://nutricounter.com

Last month, we had a fabulous testimonial from a satisfied NutriCounter user. Here's what he has to say about keeping track of what you eat:

"I already have a NutriCounter, it has done wonders for me. In April, I had my gallbladder removed (I'm only 33). I am 6' 4" and was 304 lbs., in pretty good shape. After my operation, I started to watch what I ate, the doctor said it would be a good idea. Writing everything down was a real pain, although I thought it was working well.

21 Secrets of Fit People

1. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it often. Water *is* the drink of choice, but if you don’t enjoy it (I admit it… I don’t), drink Propel, Diet Ice, Reebok Water, Vitamin Water or some other form of healthy fluid intake.

2. Think twice before deciding what to eat and why, making sure that it is healthy and will provide you good nutrition.

3. Measure intake based on activity, not how you "feel.” Need should mandate intake, not mood.

4. Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excessive calories, even if they are fat-free and high protein will turn to excess weight!

5. If your diet is unbalanced, try a daily vitamin and mineral supplements for total health. 6. Limit caffeine and exposure to even second hand smoke.

6. Focus on short-term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing daily exercise.

7. Keep a daily log of what you’re actually eating… this includes grabbing a handful of chips here, the crust of your kids sandwich, and all your snacking.

8. Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember that no matter how hard you’re working out, if you’re consuming too many calories, you’ll never see the muscles that lie beneath layers of fatty tissue.

9. Enjoy an occasional (once a week) “unhealthy” treat, but never an “unhealthy” week or “unhealthy” vacation.

10. Limit alcohol intake to special occasions.

11. See fitness and health as a privilege, not something to take for granted.

12. Enjoy contributing to the health of others by having a partner or friend to exercise with, as well as recruiting others who desire to feel better and have more energy.

13. Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising or using things that keep you motivated and inspired like new shoes or great music.

14. Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.

15. Subscribe to fitness magazines to keep focused on health as an overall way of life.

16. Invest in the right tools, good shoes, a health club membership, a portable MP3 player, fitness equipment, a personal trainer, etc.

17. Don’t compare your body to others. Instead, work to be your personal best.

18. Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total fitness. Measure success by the way your clothes fit, and not a number on a scale.

19. Make it your goal to do some form of exercise 6-7 days a week.

20. Create an exercise schedule the day before, instead of leaving it to chance or waiting to “find” the time. If our last two Presidents of the United States can find the time to work-out 5 days a week, you can find the time too!

21. Get adequate amounts of sleep. Remember that people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.

4 Great Diet Tips

Here are 4 diet tips we all need reminded of from time to time.
Diet Tip 1: Never eat standing up.
Mom was right. Sit down and eat your food! Never eat standing up. One of the easiest ways to sabotage your diet is to 'eat without thinking'. Fix yourself a plate. Sit down and eat properly. You'll be less likely to just pop food into your mouth without paying attention.
Diet Tip 2: Fluids
Drinking plain water is always top choice on a diet. You can also drink flavored water instead of soda. Soda is nothing but empty calories. No nutrients, lots of sugar. Instead, grab a bottle of water flavored with a spritz of fruit.
Drink water. Even the FDA recommends at least 8 full 8 ounce glasses of water a day to keep your body working right.
When you're dieting, you should drink even more. It's not just that full feeling - water helps your body digest foods properly, cleans out your system and hydrates you. Many people are a little dehydrated part of the time.
Diet Tip 3: Skip High Fat Foods and Snacks
Skip the fatty snacks fried in hydrogenated oil like potato chips and french fries. These kind of snacks contribute fat and calories and not much else. Foods like this are a no no on a diet.
Instead, grab a handful of dried fruit or a cup of yogurt for the same amount of calories and a lot more nutritional benefit. You want to upgrade your diet in general.
Diet Tip 4: Yes, You Need Exercise
Can't afford a gym membership? Make an agreement with friends or family to exercise together. Make a date at least three times a week to play volleyball, take a walk or spend half an hour doing something active. You will draw closer to your friends and family, while burning off excess weight. Pretty soon every one will notice your weight loss.

5 Easy Steps To Help You Lose Weight

When loosing weight, most of us don't have the time to drastically change our lifestyles. We need a practical and convenient way to integrate effective habits into our daily lives. The following steps are easy and practical ways to get you on the track to loosing weight and feeling better.

1. Drink Water! Water doesn't just help quench your thirst. All metabolic processes within the body utilize H2O and drinking plenty of it helps your body function optimally. It also helps you feel your best---many of the common daily headaches and fatigues we experience can result from a lack of water intake.

2. Eat Breakfast! Many Americans fail to realize the true value of a morning meal. It not only boosts energy for the long day ahead, but keeps your metabolism regulated. Skipping a meal can put the body into "survival mode" which means that it actually begins storing and saving fat as opposed to burning it.

3. Exercise! There is no easy way around it: successful and sustained weight loss requires a commitment to physical activity. The best way to be loyal to physical activity is to work it into each day. Take a small part of each day to go for a walk, do aerobics, do yoga, or whatever other type of activity you enjoy. Mix it up so that you don't get bored with it. Soon, you will not only get used to it, but you will feel better too!

4. Choose Variety! Don't let popular dieting trends fool you: Carbs are good for you too! In fact, carbohydrates are what your brain run on and are very important for proper body functions. Following a high-protein diet over a long period of time can not only cause headaches, but also places considerable stress on the kidney. The important thing is to eat a variety of foods. This includes fruits, vegetables and even carbs. Just remember to be smart about the types of carbs you eat:: whole wheat instead of white.

5. Eat Slowly! We all get in a hurry from time to time, but it is important to take the time to listen to our bodies. Eating quickly doesn't give our bodies time to tell our brains that we have eaten enough. Consequently, we continue eating and are left filling stuffed and bloated. Eating more slowly allows us to recognize when we actually have eaten enough and stop—it also helps us savour and enjoy the food we do eat.

Essential to loosing weight is giving our bodies what they need. This means drinking plenty of water, eating timely and proper meals, staying active, and giving our body the time to tell us when it is full. Our bodies will reward us for our attention.