Archive for the ‘Health’ Category



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The Top 5 Foods to Lower Your Cholesterol

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

According to the Mayo Clinic here are a few good food choices for improving your cholesterol number.

1) Oatmeal and Oat bran (Soluble Fiber). Soluble Fiber lowers the bad LDL cholesterol without lowering the good HDL cholesterol in your body.  Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, apples, pears, psyllium, barley and prunes.

2) Nuts: Walnuts, Almonds, and More (Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids). the FDA recognized the benefits of nuts and their role in heart disease prevention by approving a health claim for seven kinds of nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, some pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts). Limit your intake to  1.5 ounces a day, as nuts are high in calories. To avoid gaining weight, replace foods high in saturated fat with nuts.

3) Fish (Omega-3 Fatty Acids). Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol. Doctors recommend eating at least two servings of fish a week – of which the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids are in mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon. Non-fish eaters can also get omega-3 fatty acids from foods like ground flaxseed or canola oil.

4) Olive Oil (Antioxidants). Olive oil contains a potent mix of antioxidants that can lower your LDL cholesterol but leave your HDL cholesterol untouched. The Food and Drug Administration recommends using about 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil a day to get its heart-healthy benefits. Some research suggests that extra-virgin olive oil has even greater cholesterol-lowering effects.

5) Foods Fortified with Plant Sterols or Stanols. Plant sterols and stanols are substances found in plants that help block the absorption of cholesterol. Many foods now are being fortified with plant sterols and stanols. Fortified margarines, orange juice and yogurt drinks can help reduce LDL cholesterol by more than 10 percent. The Mayo Clinic says

The amount of daily plant sterols needed for results is at least 2 grams — which equals about two 8-ounce (237 milliliters) servings of plant sterol-fortified orange juice a day.

Keep these cholesterol-busting foods in mind the next time your at the grocery store.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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Understanding BMR – Basal Metabolic Rate

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

MetabolismTrue weight-loss success comes from a basic understanding of metabolism. Metabolism is the rate at which your body uses energy or burns calories. Your body will expend energy no matter what you are doing, even when you are asleep. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate at which your body burns calories while at rest. BMR decreases with age and with the loss of lean body mass. Increasing your muscle mass increases your BMR.

Discovery Health has our favorite BMR Calculator, so you should check it out and see your rate. You can get a more personalized and accurate BMR figure by seeing a qualified trainer or a registered dietitian; they can actually take a measurement on a device similar to a calculator that will estimate the number of calories your body burns per minute.

Understanding your BMR (at least approximately) is an important part of knowing how best to lose weight. Knowing whether your body burns 2200 calories or 2500 calories per day makes a significant difference when planning your ideal calorie intake for weight-loss.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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Posted in Health, Weight Loss | 4 Comments »

The Benefits of Keeping an Fitness Journal

Friday, February 5th, 2010

A lack of motivation is why many people quit their fitness routine and do not have success with losing weight.  Keeping an exercise journal and a food diary will help you see where you are at and where you are going. It will also help keep you accountable for the exercise you do and the food that you eat. Having this knowledge of your progress and visibility of your goals is a great motivator.

An exercise journal can help you to increase your overall fitness. Say you start out being able to walk a mile but your goal is to be able to walk 5 miles. A journal is a great aid to help you plan your workouts so that you are slowing increasing the duration or intensity, and this helps your stay on track with your fitness improvement plans. Next, be sure you keep a record of what kind of exercise you do each day, how long you do it and the intensity. It’s important to have a balanced plan where you spend some time on strength training, some on cardiovascular fitness and on flexibility.  Keeping a daily record of this will help you keep track of where you are at and what you need to work on. It’s a great way to help you improve your workouts and reap the benefits of increasingly difficult exercise. You should review your notebook each month and see just how far you’ve come.

It is also a good idea to keep a food diary.  Keep track of what and how much you eat at each meal, as well as any snacks.  It can be very motivational to look back over the last few months and see how your eating habits have changed… hopefully for the better! Also knowing that you are keeping track of everything you eat and drink makes you think twice about your eating choices. It makes you accountable and helps to boost your self control.

In your fitness journal be sure you to keep track of any erratic sleep patterns or when you are feeling frustrated, or if you are sore after a particular workout. Basically, the more you record the better. By reviewing you journal you will see patterns of how your lifestyle is affected by each workout and be able to make necessary changes.

One of the best ways to keep a fitness journal is online.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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Does Coffee, Tea, etc. Count Toward Your Water Intake?

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Water, of course, is essential to our survival as human beings. As a follow-up to our previous article, How Much Water Should You Drink, we want to explore what exactly counts as water. Does it have to be pure water or can anything that we drink that contains water count towards our daily intake? As you might expect, this is widely disputed.

Some seem to think that coffee, teas, and soda do not count towards your daily water intake because they contain caffeine and therefore act as diuretics which increase the dehydration process. Some even say that for every cup of caffeinated beverages you consume you should add a extra glass of water to your diet. But what if you are drinking decaffeinated coffees and teas? Because decaffeinated beverages do still contain trace amounts of caffeine they could still act as diuretic, but certainly would not be as bad as drinking their fully caffeinated counterparts. However, there are opposing views as well. An article from the Mayo Clinic states that recent research shows that caffeine only has a diuretic effect if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (or 4 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.

There are many people that rarely drink a pure glass of water and they are still alive. Is this the healthiest way to live? No. If you’re trying to maintain your weight or lose some you should not be filling yourself by consuming the empty calories that many beverages offer. So, it would seem that coffee, tea, and soda probably do count somewhat toward your water intake, but they simply cannot replace the beneficial properties of pure water.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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Posted in Health | 2 Comments »

Fitness Roadblocks

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

There are many things that can get in the way of your fitness goals. Here are a few things to watch out for and avoid.

  1. I Don’t Have Enough Time to Exercise: Have you ever caught yourself using not having enough time as an excuse not exercise? We’ve all been guilty of it. If it is something that is truly important to us (and let’s face it, our health should be high up there on the priority list) then we can find time to squeeze it in. You may need to rearrange your schedule a little bit. Try getting up 30 minutes earlier in the morning. Just think how good you will feel all day knowing that you have already completed your workout!  If you know that you are not going to have a chance to do a full workout that day try going for a few 10 minute walks throughout the day. You will be amazed at how refreshed  you feel after this. Give it a try when you start to feel that afternoon slump.
  2. I’m Not Athletic: Being athletic is not a prerequisite to physical activity. Try something simple to get started; go for a brisk daily walk or better yet start a walking group with your peers that are in the same boat as you. Before you know it will have gained the confidence to branch out and try other things.
  3. Exercise Is Not Fun: Then you must be doing the wrong kind of exercise. You should not dread your workout each day, it should be something that you look forward to doing. Try different things until you find something that excites you. Get some friends, family, or neighbors involved; you don’t have to do it alone.
  4. I’m Too Tired After Working All Day: For some of us if we waited until the evening to workout it would just never happen. For me working out in the morning or at least during the first part of the day is the best way to ensure that I workout each day. So if you find that putting off your workout until the evening really means that it’s not going to happen then you might want to consider getting up a little earlier and doing it in the morning. Also, make the most of your lunch hour. Get out and go for a walk. Or if your workplace has a gym then by all means use it!  Midday exercise will also give you a burst of energy that can help you get through the rest of the afternoon a little easier.  Make sure you are getting enough rest at night. It will be harder to get up and exercise if you have stayed up too late the night before, and NO you cannot use that as an excuse!

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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10 Great Health Foods for Eating Well

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

A healthy lifestyle means maintaining a healthy diet of foods that benefit the body without a large caloric impact. According to the Mayo Clinic here are 10 best bet foods for eating well, in no particular order.

  1. Almonds
  2. Blueberries
  3. Apples
  4. Broccoli
  5. Salmon
  6. Red Beans
  7. Spinach
  8. Sweet Potatoes
  9. Vegetable Juice
  10. Wheat Germ

These 10 health foods are some of the healthiest because they meet at least three of the following criteria:

  • Are a good or excellent source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients
  • Are high in phytonutrients and antioxidant compounds, such as vitamins A and E and beta carotene
  • May help reduce the risk of heart disease and other health conditions
  • Are low in calorie density, meaning you get a larger portion size with a fewer number of calories
  • Are readily available

What do you think? Do you have anything else to add to the list?

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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Workout Tips for Stay at Home Parents

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

It is so easy to get stuck in our daily routines, we stay busy doing things for the kids, the never ending cycle of keeping the house clean (not to mention laundry), that it can be easy to let exercise fall through the crack. Regular workouts are important because they help you to improve your fitness and set a great example for your children to follow. If they see you taking care of your body then they will be a lot more likely to follow suit.

  1. Make exercise a priority – this may mean getting up an hour before anyone else in the house is up for some “me time.”  Go for a run, or hop on the treadmill or exercise bike.  Having that time to yourself in the morning will make you a happier more peaceful parent.
  2. Exercise with your kids – Make exercise something the entire family will enjoy.  Play ball, start a game of Simon Says where you do jumping jacks, touch your toes, and lunges, or set up a badminton net in the backyard. If your kids are old enough go for a bike ride together. There are countless fun things you can do together as a family.
  3. Invest in a jogging stroller or bike trailer - Trust me when you are pushing or pulling one of these you will really be maximizing your workout, and, bonus, the kids will love it!
  4. Join a gym that has daycare -  This is especially helpful if you have small children or if you just do not like to exercise outdoors.  It’s convenient and you have the peace of mind knowing that your children are just a page away.
  5. Buy a workout video -  These are great to have around. Especially on those days you aren’t able to go outside or are not able to make it to the gym. Plus they can be aalot of fun and a nice change from your normal exercise routine.

Remember that doing something is better than nothing.  So don’t be discouraged if something comes up and you are not able to do your full workout.  If you only have a few minutes use them.  Do jumping jacks or jump rope, do sit-ups.  Just get moving and take advantage of the time that you have!

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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Posted in Exercise | 2 Comments »

Is It OK to Exercise When You’re Sick?

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

I know a lot of us have probably had this question, especially in cold and flu season. If you have little ones you may spend much of your winter with a cold or the sniffles. So, is it alright to still workout or should you take it easy? Here a link to an informative article that will help you with the answer or disappoint you if you if you were looking to use your next cold as an excuse to stay in bed!

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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How Much Water Do You Drink Daily?

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Everywhere you look you will find a different number. Are you drinking too much or too little, is 8 glasses really the magic number? The answer will be different for everyone because there are so many variables involved…where you live, the climate, your weight, how much you perspire, etc. Here is a little trick for estimating how much water you should drink.

Calculating how much water you need
Take your body weight in pounds and divide that number by 2. That is an estimate of how many ounces you should drink each day.  So if you weigh 100 pounds, divide that by 2 and you have 50, so you should be drinking at least 50 ounces of water per day. If you are exercising or are going to be out in the heat then you will need to drink more water than you normally would starting a few hours before you are exercising or going out in the heat.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

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Posted in Health | 1 Comment »

The Benefits of Regular Exercise

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, but regular exercise is even better. There are numerous ways that a regular exercise program will benefit you and make you feel better, we’ll touch on just a few of them here.

  1. Your Body Will be in Better Overall Condition – Stronger bones, better skin, more brain power, muscle strength and definition all improve with consistent exercise
  2. It Will Improve Your Mood – Give it a try after a particularly stressful day at home or work.  After you workout you should feel happier and more relaxed than before.
  3. You Will Get Sick Less – Regular exercise jump starts your immune system and helps reduce the number and colds and viruses you get.  It will also help prevent or manage high blood pressure and cholesterol.
  4. Will Boost Your Energy Level – If you notice you are feeling tired and sluggish all the time it might mean that you need to get more exercise on  a daily basis.  Exercise helps your blood circulate through your body more efficiently which in turn will leave you feeling more energized.
  5. Better Sleep – Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. Just be careful not to exercise too close to bedtime or it may leave you too energized to fall asleep.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

Posted in Exercise | No Comments »

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