Goal Check–Are You Eating Smart?

With two out of three months of the first quarter passed, and one week into the last month, now is a great time to evaluate your New Year’s resolutions! If you’ve fallen off the bandwagon, don’t despair. You are not alone. Many Americans attempt to live healthier lifestyles beginning January 1 of each year. And unfortunately, because people tend to want immediate results and have skewed expectations, they don’t get past the “action” stage of their goal setting.

The biggest problem in reaching success lies in setting goals too large…or those that require too big of a behavior modification. Baby steps are a better, more sustainable route to success.

For your health’s sake and to help you get back on track, I will review several key components to successful wellness goal achievement.

First, diet alone strategies have a 98% failure rate when that is the only adjustment you make. In other words, don’t buy the latest diet fad book.

Secondly, don’t go for an all or nothing approach to training or nutrition. Many folks err by making BIG changes to their diet which makes the lifestyle too difficult to sustain. Don’t set yourself up for failure.

Third, avoid a focus on a specific nutrient, like high protein, or limiting food variety. That means no carbs or eating the same basic foods over and over will certainly lead to goal failure.

And while we are on the subject of no or low carb diets, let’s get educated for a moment. First of all, it’s PROCESSED carbs that are not your friend. Real food carbs from whole grains, fruits and vegetables ARE your body’s friend. Why? Your body requires serotonin to maintain your mood and motivation. Serotonin acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. To make a long story short, when blood glucose levels are low (as they WILL be if you are avoiding carbs!), that means less serotonin. Serotonin impacts your mood, sleep, muscle contractions, sexual desire, appetite, memory, learning, social behavior, temperature regulation, etc. Get the picture?

So what is the best approach? It’s one that emphasizes moderation and intelligent eating choices. Begin by making moderate adjustments–like reducing the amount of empty calories you eat that comefrom processed sugars, carbs and alcohol. Then, add moderate amounts of physical activity. Continue making these small changes. Increase fruits and vegetables. Alter fat intake by reducing saturated fat intake and replacing it with essential fats. Last, put a little more time into your grocery list and meal planning and you will be rewarded with BIG changes in your health long term.

For more ideas, see my earlier blogs on small steps to big changes.

Have a blessed week. Lift strong, be healthy.

The Sex Boost

Straight from the March issue of Prevention Magazine are 7 surprising ways that sex can do your body some good. (and here I thought the article entitled, “Get a Health Boost in Bed” was going to be about catching enough zzz’s!)
1. Sex helps reduce chronic pain. Yep, it triggers the release of endorphins, corticosteroids, and [...]

Read the full article »

Clean Up Your Diet, Eat Less Junk, Stay Healthy

Consider this statement from Nutrition doc David Katz, “Eating well is part of the formula that can reduce our risk of ANY major chronic disease by 80%” and you’ll understand the case for natural foods. It’s true, we are what we eat. The average adult loses about 300 BILLION cells each day due to aging [...]

Read the full article »

New Habits, New You (summarized from Prevention Magazine)

I read a great article that is perfect for summarization in that I can give you the quick hits in Cliff Notes version without leaving much out!
When making positive changes for your health and longevity, the changes are easier to make and more certain to keep, if they are made in smaller increments. Small steps [...]

Read the full article »

2 Simple Tests for Heart Disease

Here are two very simple tests to help determine your heart disease risk:
1. What’s your waiste-to-height ratio? The amount of belly fat might e the best indicator out there of Type 2 diabetes risk. This has been indicated previously in a number of tests, but once again, new Swedish research confirms this link. What’s [...]

Read the full article »

A Reason to Enjoy Chocolate–For Your Health!

If you love chocolate like I do, you like to find justifcation for your favorite vice. So just in time for Valentine’s Day, allow me to share a few benefits of indulging in chocolate!
You’ve probably heard the real benefits are found in dark chocolate or cacao…which is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants are important because [...]

Read the full article »

3 Steps to Stay Younger, Gain Engery & Lower Disease, Part III

Earlier this week we talked about 3 simple steps to help you achieve longevity and health. We talked about steps 1 & 2–moving your body and eating your superfoods. Today, we will talk in more detail about #3–stimulating your mind.
It’s important to stay “mentally agile” and quite fun to do. Simply [...]

Read the full article »