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Holiday Eating Without Gaining Weight

October 28th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

The holidays are here. Typically this means people have dozens of opportunities to eat plenty of great holiday treats and traditional foods with friends, family, and coworkers. For many this also means entering the ‘weight gain’ season.

Who doesn’t gain weight during the holidays? It almost seems like an annual tradition for many Americans to gain 5 to 15 pounds of extra weight between October 31 and January 1.

It starts by munching way too much of the Halloween candy and then snacking all the way through Thanksgiving where everyone tends to overstuff themselves. Then you’ve got all those Christmas parties right up until Christmas dinner and then the big New Year’s party. By the end of the joyous holiday season you may have packed on weight like a roly-poly jolly Santa Claus.

There are ways to avoid gaining weight during the holidays. First, you need to have a plan. Second, you need to have the resolve to stick with your plan.

Rather then just giving up and planning on gaining weight you truly can set yourself up to enjoy the holidays and even have a few treats and NOT gain weight.

So start the holiday season by making a decision to have a healthy happy holiday time. You do not have to let loose and abandon your healthy eating for the next two months. You can choose to have some self-control. The pride of having a trim figure is far more satisfying than the brief pleasure of fattening food! (You might want to post that where you can start your day off by reminding yourself of it.)

Here are some tips that may help you:

When you eat take small portions so that you can still enjoy all the special holiday foods. If you take the time to thoroughly chew your food, put down your fork between bites, and enjoy some conversation with your friends and family, you may find you will not be so apt to have second helpings.

Pace yourself on days when you know the you will be attending several parties or holiday functions in a row. Don’t overeat at each one. Instead, choose to eat a little bit at each event so that you’re still hungry when you arrive at the next one.

Eat a good healthy breakfast each day. You may want to try eating fruit each morning during the holidays. This will help you start off your day with a light and low-calorie nutritious meal that tastes great.

Continue with your exercise program. Or if you’re not exercising yet, begin walking at least 30 minutes each day. Instead of mindlessly eating when you feel holiday stress, go outside and get some fresh air and enjoy a walking break to center yourself.

Drink lots of fresh water each day. Our bodies tend to need more hydration during dry winter months. The extra water will help you feel much better and it also helps you feel a bit fuller so you’re less likely to overeat.

People that have a plan beforehand and then stick to that plan are the ones that finish out the holiday season feeling great as they have not only enjoyed the wonderful times with family and friends they also still fit very comfortably into their clothes.

Healthy Eating Habits and Weight Loss For Teenage Girls

September 28th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Unfortunately, weight loss for teenage girls frequently means, for many, improper dieting. These crash diets or experimentation with laxatives and diet pills can often lead to eating disorders, malnutrition and other significant health problems.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, almost 70% of girls have tried to lose weight or go on a diet prior to their eighteenth birthday. This means kids are making the effort to drop the pounds - but do they really need it, and are they doing so in a way that’s truly helpful?

Instead of simply encouraging your teenage daughter to eat healthy meals, it’s also important to instruct her on healthy weight management habits that she can use for the rest of her life.

To learn how you can teach your child healthy weight management and weight loss habits, keep reading.

Encourage Gradual Weight Loss

If your child does actually need to shed some weight, a responsible parent should always encourage slow and gradual weight loss. The ideal rate for weight loss is 1-to-2 pounds per week. Anything more is often an indication of poor nutrition.

Additionally, rapid weight loss is often only temporary with the surprising likelihood of not only regaining all that was dropped but also continuing to gain beyond the original weight. Such a yo-yo pattern is not only discouraging, but it unhealthy for the heart.

In contrast, weight loss that’s gradual is more likely to be sustained in the long term.

Cut Out Fizzy Drinks

Among the greatest weight gain culprits for teens is high-sugar beverages like soda, energy drinks and sugary juices. Instead of routinely serving or providing these, encourage your teen to drink water as a replacement for the other calorie-laden liquids.

Make It a Family Affair

The best approach to teaching your teenager healthy eating patterns is to practice at home. If you don’t already do so, stock your kitchen with healthy foods, prepare well-rounded meals, and provide snacks that are nutritious, filling, and tasty.

When it comes to needed weight loss, teens who have the support of their families are often much more successful at weight loss and maintenance than those who do not. In addition, children who grow up trained in healthy habits at home tend to embrace them for the rest of their lives.

Make Breakfast a Priority

Teenage girls frequently skip breakfast - whether because they don’t feel hungry, are running late, or think doing so will help them lose weight. The truth is, taking a few extra minutes for your daughter to eat a nutritious breakfast will not only fuel the body and brain, but will also kick-start her metabolism, meaning she’ll burn more calories throughout the day.

Stop Eating At Least 2 Hours Before Going To Bed

Night-time snacking can be a real habit in a person’s life. Many find themselves eating out of boredom rather than hunger. If you notice your daughter eating after supper on a regular basis ask her to consider if she’s really hungry or is she’s just bored. Also, explain to her that experts say that it’s wise to finish eating for the day at least 2 hours before calling it a night to lessen the likelihood of those final calories being stored as fat. Encourage your daughter and her friends to center evening get-togethers around physical activities rather than eating ones.

Discuss Body Issues

If you suspect your teen is wrestling with her weight or has body image issues, it’s critical to discuss these concerns with her openly. You should resist the temptation to chastise or blame her for extra weight or poor dietary habits.

Rather, encourage your daughter to open up about eating patterns, whether her goal is truly a diet, why dieting has become such a priority (if indeed it has), and her own body image concerns. Weight loss for teenage girls is a touchy subject, but parents should not consequently allow the discussion to go ignored. Her lifetime health is at stake.

Cellulite - What Is It?

August 26th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Cellulite is the term given to the lumpy substance resembling cottage cheese which is most commonly found on the thighs, legs and butt. While cellulite can be seen on both males and females, it is more common for women as they have more body fat, which is typically stored on these problem areas, in the event of pregnancy.

Contributing Factors

There are a few different factors which typically contribute to the presence and extent of cellulite. Genetics plays a major role here, as does your gender, the amount of fat on your body, your age, and the thickness of your skin. Diet, insufficient water intake, drinking coffee, smoking, tension and stress, medication, and a sedentary lifestyle also play a factor in cellulite’s appearance.

Poor Skin Tone And Inflexible Skin Tissues

Poor skin tone, thin skin and inflexibility of the skin tissues allow the normally hidden large fat cells to make their appearance. Skin tone is necessary to keep fat cells smoothly beneath the skin. Stretched skin or thin skin does not have the ability to cover the fat cells adequately. When the connective tissues beneath the skin become inflexible, their attachment points to the skin pull the skin constantly, which gives the dimpled appearance.

Weight gain and loss of skin tone can cause the appearance of cellulite. Weight gain produces more fat cells and fills up fat cells underneath the skin surfaces. As more weight is gained, more cellulite may make its appearance. Though it’s important to understand that cellulite can be seen on a person who is not overweight if their skin tone and connective tissue become inflexible or have any of the other contributing factors.

Diet, Exercise And Massage

Your options for natural care of cellulite include diet, exercise and massage. Eating diets rich in nutrition while low in fat and sugar provides the body with the fuel it requires to keep cells healthy and functioning at their best. And healthy cells make healthy bodies.

Hydrate

Drinking plenty of water is always necessary to help the body stay hydrated and aid the body in flushing toxins out.

Work Out

Regular exercise brisk enough to break a sweat helps in many ways. Exercise is a great means to gain and maintain muscle tone, burn calories, strengthen your cardiovascular system, and aid in the removal of toxins. In addition, most people who exercise find it helps them not only feel better physically, but increases their self-esteem as well.

Massage Therapy

Massage is also a great way to keep the skin and tissues toned to prevent inflexibility and help keep the fat cells covered allowing the body to maintain a smooth look.

While there is not much you can do about your genetics, your gender or your age there is plenty you can do about the other factors that contribute to cellulite’s appearance. The degree to which the cellulite bothers you may be the factor that regulates your motivation to make some lifestyle changes in hopes of seeing its appearance fade.

Understanding Homeopathy

August 21st, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Homeopathy is a system of medicinal treatment that would be considered a form of alternative medicine. The homeopathic system of treatment is based on two principles: Law of Similars and Potentization.

Law of Similars

Back in 1796 a German physician by the name of Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann published a paper in which he detailed his principle that “likes are cured by likes”. Hahnemann claimed that quinine, a medicine widely used for successful treatment of malaria, produced symptoms of malaria in a healthy person. The patients of malaria were treated with a medicine which created the same symptoms as those created by the disease. The observations with quinine and other medicines led Hahnemann to his “Law of Similars”.

Four years later Hahnemann advanced his doctrine of “potentization of dynamization” which stated that medicines in small doses effectively exerted their curative power.

Potentization

Potentization is a process by which medicine is diluted in precise steps and subjected to a vigorous shaking action called “succussion”. This process brings about an energetic change that gives medicines a deeper curative effect. Repeated dilution ensures that the medicine has no toxic effect. This allows homeopathic use of many substances which would be unsafe under normal conditions.

Homeopathy is relatively young - just over 200 years old. New medicines and treatments are constantly being evolved and documented. Such research studies are called “provings”, after a German word meaning ‘test’. As a result of these research studies, Homeopathy is used in a wide variety of health conditions.

Lower Concentrations More Effective

Homeopathic medicines do not work strictly by chemical action. At ‘higher potency’ the medicine is diluted so much that concentration of original medicine reduces to insignificant level. Yet at these lower concentrations, the medicines not only work, they are more effective. The “potentization” process brings energetic change in the medicine. In turn the medicine stimulates the body’s defense mechanism to fight the cause of disorder. This approach produces more stable cure as compared to treatment with drugs. Direct chemical action of the drugs often produces harmful side effects. Homeopathic medicines on the other hand have no or little side effects. They are safe and non-toxic.

Two centuries of existence has firmly established homeopathy. It is accepted form of treatment in many parts of the world. However, the theory of homeopathy is inconsistent with known laws of science; therefore the critics often dismiss it as pseudoscience and quackery.

While critics dismiss it as an effective treatment method, those who have been helped have a different opinion. Because homeopathic medicines have a relatively slow but lasting effect, they are not first choice in emergency situations, but do have their place in many others.

Aromatherapy – How It Works

August 20th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Aromatherapy is a type of alternative medicine that has been around for about 6000 years. Aromatherapy involves the use of essential oils to address not only physical symptoms, but mental, spiritual and emotional factors as well, making it a holistic therapy. Holistic therapy recognizes that these aspects of your being are essential to take into account as they all greatly influence your overall health.

Essential oils enter your body in three main ways:

* through your skin
* through olfaction - your sense of smell
* through your lungs

The Skin

Using essential oils in massage is the most common use of aromatherapy. The massage oil is made from a carrier oil with a few drops of essential oils added, this allows the essential oils to be absorbed into the skin. Applying heat will increase the rate at which the oils are taken in. The massage itself will produce a bit of heat, and covering the area with towels or blankets or a heated wheat bag is also common.

Once the essential oils are absorbed into the skin they work their way into the underlying tissue thereby affecting the nerves, organs and blood stream.

Here’s a quick and easy experiment to prove that essential oils really can enter your body through your skin. Cut a clove of garlic in half and rub the liquid (garlic essential oil) from the cut end on the bottom of your foot. See how long it takes before you can taste garlic on your breath (usually about 15-20 minutes).

The Sense of Smell (Olfaction)

The olfactory receptors, which are called chemoreceptors, are nerve endings embedded deep within your nasal passages. Fragrance chemicals in the air are inhaled and dissolve once they hit the fluid lining in your nasal passages. This allows the chemoreceptors to pick them up and send the ‘chemical message’ to the brain.

These chemical messages are sent first to the frontal lobe of the brain where the smell is analyzed, and secondly to the limbic system and autonomous nervous system. This is where emotional and physical responses to the fragrance are created. For instance, you might feel calm or sleepy, or you might sneeze. Other times you might be reminded of something in your past, and this experience will have an emotional response attached to it.

You may be able to relate to how quickly and dramatically ‘chemical messages’ can be sent to the brain if you’ve ever had the experience of having smelled a real strong scent or odor that may, or may almost have, caused an upset stomach.

The Lungs

The fastest way to get essential oils into your bloodstream where they can start working is by inhaling them. Since your respiratory system is designed to get oxygen into your bloodstream, when you inhale the fragrance of vaporized essential oils, they too are carried quickly into your bloodstream.

Some Benefits of Essential Oils

In France, the birthplace of aromatherapy as currently defined, it is a part of mainstream medicine in the control of infections because of the strong antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral and antifungal properties of many essential oils.

All essential oils are antiseptic to some degree. However, a few of the more powerful antiseptics are lavender, thyme, clove, cinnamon, tea tree, manuka and oregano.

Essential oils are extremely beneficial in skin care. The ancient Egyptians, who invented cosmetology, used essential oils in skin care around 5000 years ago.

A study in Japan showed that lemon, vaporized in a room, reduced typing errors by 54%. Lemon is well known for its antiseptic and antimicrobial properties which would make it additionally beneficial in office environments.

Some essential oils actively mimic neurotransmitters which have a powerful ability to alter mood. These can be helpful for conditions such as stress and depression.

These are just a few of the many uses of essential oils in aromatherapy. But there is also an important aspect of aromatherapy that is often overlooked - the pleasure aspect. Using essential oils is fun, even if you aren’t a qualified aromatherapist. Find authentic essential oil suppliers and have some fun discovering which fragrances you enjoy; they are bound to have a beneficial effect even if you just use a few drops in your bath water.

A Word of Caution

Please understand that these oils do affect the body, so inquire about the safety of use if pregnant or breastfeeding or with other conditions as some may not be suitable during that time. Also, as the field grows more popular, it’s important to find out where the product comes from and how it is produced to ensure its safety. Do a little homework first, and then enjoy.

Sing Yourself Healthy

August 11th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

From the youngest of age to those only young at heart, everyone loves a good sing-a-long whether you consider yourself a singer or not. Singing is a natural and enjoyable part of life. Many youngsters learn to sing before they learn to talk, because it’s so natural.

Everyone can be taught to sing; you don’t necessarily need to have a great voice just a desire to make a joyful noise. Whether you sing in a choir, the car, the privacy of your shower or at the pub’s karaoke night singing is an activity that is healthy, fun and affords a great many benefits to the body and mind.

Sing to Relax

Singing helps us to relax and feel better. It allows us to express deep emotion and releases us from stress. It often has a way of lifting our sprits in the midst of whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

Physiological, Emotional and Psychological Benefits

Doctors believe that singing is good aerobic exercise for the lungs, abdominal muscles and blood circulation. Singing with or without music is also used in therapy for treating adults who have suffered emotional, physical, and psychological trauma and illnesses. For example music and singing can aid the treatment of stroke victims for whom speech is impaired. Singing is considered beneficial as it helps articulation, rhythm and breathing.

One of the ways in which singing has benefited people is in its use with the elderly. It is becoming popular in the UK and other parts of the country for seniors to join community groups and choirs to sing anything from hymns to modern songs.

The Zimmers

There’s even a British ‘rock group’ made up of 40 old age pensioners called ‘The Zimmers’ who have made a cover version of The Who’s song ‘My Generation’. They have become a bit of a global phenomenon with their popularity reaching as far as the U.S. shores and beyond. The band was originally created as part of a BBC documentary about the treatment of elderly people in Britain. For the pensioners involved however this has certainly brought them out of ‘retirement’ and given them a new lease of life.

Many of the elderly see these singing groups as a lifeline and something to look forward to. These groups are a means of forging good friendships and giving them a sense of belonging which is bound to have a ripple effect as far as their health is concerned. Singing songs from their childhood may well evoke happy memories of youth and special occasions which will cause them to feel better within themselves. Studies in America have shown that singing in the elderly improves their breathing, posture, voices and life expectancy.

So regardless of your age or your ability to carry a tune, join in a chorus and tap into the joys of singing your way to health and healing!

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