Eat a healthy breakfast every day. Breakfast eaters perform better at work or school and find it easier to control their weight, since a good breakfast jump-starts your metabolism after your overnight fast.
Source: 201 Secrets to Healthy Living by Don Colbert, MD
Start each dinner with a mixed green salad. Not only will it help reduce your appetite for more caloric foods, but it also will automatically add veggies to your meal.
Are you addicted to sugar? Addiction to sugar is probably more common than you think. Americans consume an average of 20 to 30 teaspoons (about ½ cup!) daily of this substance, which has been linked to a variety of health problems, including obesity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), attention and memory problems, hyperactivity, anxiety, and depression. Breaking free from a dependency on sugar is easier said than done. Eat enough healthy food to satisfy your hunger. Eat healthy, whole food snacks like fruit, carrots, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, dates, and dried fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth. Drink plenty of water, too. Add a little fruit juice to sweeten iced tea, carbonated water, and other sugar-free drinks. Frozen fruit, whole or pureed, makes a delicious alternative to ice cream. Once you have cleared sugar from your system, your taste buds will become more sensitive, and these whole natural foods will taste sweeter and more satisfying. If you slow down and eat mindfully, you’ll enjoy these foods even more.
In your teens, twenties and thirties, you need to take care to build as much bone density as you can. And from there, onward, you need to work to hold onto what you’ve got. The best way to do both is to make sure you do some weight-bearing activity (like running and jumping) several times a week.
Source: http://helpyourselfin5.msn.com/#/calendar/2010-07-05
Summer is the season to enjoy your favorite produce, but remember to wash all parts of your fruits and vegetables. Bacteria can live on the outside of a watermelon or the skin of a cucumber, for example. Though you may peel them away and toss them in the trash, the bacteria can be transferred from the outside of the fruit or vegetable to the knife you use to cut them, and then onto the parts you will be eating.
Misha Biden, RD, LD
Keep track of your food intake by writing down what you eat and drink every day. This record will help you see if you need to eat more from any food groups (such as fruits, vegetables or dairy products) or if you need to eat less of a food group (such as high-sugar or high-fat foods). A registered dietitian can help you assess your food log even further. To find a registered dietitian in your area visit.
The ‘Plate Method’ is often used for diabetic meal planning, but it also works well for weight loss and teaching good nutrition. When using the ‘Plate Method’, your goal is to fill ½ your plate with vegetables, ¼ of your plate with a lean protein and the other ¼ should be a starch. Then add one serving of fruit and one serving of low-fat dairy outside the plate and you are ready to eat a healthful, portioned-control meal!
With obesity on the rise in America, many people are trying to lose weight but what if you are the type of person who needs to gain weight? Some tips to help with weight gain include eating larger meals, include extra snacks throughout the day, eat higher calorie foods, and include high calorie beverages. Remember, to gain one pound per week, you need to consistently take in at least 500 calories over your usually daily intake.
True or False? Brown sugar is healthier than white sugar. False! Brown sugar is actually just white granulated sugar with added molasses. The molasses in brown sugar does contain a very small amount of minerals, but unless you eat a large portion of brown sugar every day, the mineral content difference between brown sugar and white sugar is insignificant.
Mindful eating means being more aware and attuned to the factors that lead you eat. The following 3 steps can help you become a more mindful eater:
1) Tune in to the physical characteristics of food. Pay close attention to your senses. Notice how the food tastes. Gauge the temperature. Take a whiff of the aroma. Become 100% aware of what you are putting into your body.
2) Tune in to repetitive habits and the process of eating. Notice how you eat. Pay attention to when you are eating on autopilot. In autopilot mode, you are more likely to act out of habit: eat a snack at the same time each day, multitask while you eat, or eat the same foods over and over again.
