Category — Health & Fitness

Being a girl I’m totally drawn in by headlines like “Weight loss tip that will help you lose twice as much!”  In my defense, I am always skeptical about claims like that because I think there is so much bad health information out there, but in reading this article a few days ago, I’m in total agreement.

Yahoo News - Study shows value of food diary in losing weight

The recommendation is to keep a daily journal of everything that you eat, and they found that this simple task helped one group lose twice as much weight over the group that didn’t.  

“For those who are working on weight loss, just writing down everything you eat is a pretty powerful technique,”…

Several years ago I joined Weight Watchers and that is one of the things you have to do in order to keep track of your daily points.  After reading this article I started a daily log again, not the points part, but just writing down everything I was eating, and MAN is it a good lesson.  It’s such an easy thing to do and I really believe it will make a difference.  Do I really want to write down that I had 3 handfuls of kettle chips, and 5 brownie bites on my daily log!  You can see how it’s a great way to hold yourself accountable to what you are really eating everyday. So start that daily log!

I LOVE Izze drinks! My favorites are Lemon, Clementine, and Pomegranate. Izze’s are the perfect combination of tartness and carbonation, satisfies my sweet tooth and as far as drinks go, they are way better than other fruit or soft drink on the market. As an added bonus, they seem to be a very forward thinking company.

So, why am I mentioning Izze drinks on my blog. Well, being a healthier, eco-conscious drink they are a bit on the pricier side. A four pack of Izze’s go for $4.99. Now with all the flavors I love, that can add an extra $20 bucks to my groceries and they go so fast! Recently when picking up some organic lemonade at Trader Joe’s I decided to mix a little with club soda and you know what, it tastes exactly like the Lemon Izze. I haven’t been able to replace all the flavors yet with a just as healthy, low cost alternative, but I’m working on it.

My recommendation is to fill your glass with half lemonade and half club soda, mineral water, etc. It’s the perfect combination and replacement for Izze or Limonata Pelligrino, which I love too! Perfect summer thirst-quenching drink! and you’ll make your grocery drink purchases last a bit longer.

BTW, Cranberry juice and club soda, with a bit of lemon is really tasty too. My mom used to make that combo for my sis and I as kids all the time. She always used Perriere but I’m sure club soda will taste just as good.

Thanks to my sister I frequently read Mercola.com for health news. She was able to beat acid reflux and stop taking the prescription drug Nexium by following some of Dr. Mercola’s suggestions. He’s pretty hardcore about health but even if you just change a few bad habits, it will be a step in the right direction.

#1 is to stop eating as many processed foods as possible and here’s a list from an article I read today that lists some criteria to identify “real” food. For some this may seem very obvious advice but for others out there it’s brand new info.

• Grown, not processed
• Messy, not neat and convenient
• Of variable quality, not always the same
• Prone to spoiling, not “forever” fresh
• Vibrantly colored and textured, not dull and bland
• Naturally flavorful, not artificially flavored
• Strongly connected to the land and culture

The article also highlights a new chemical additive, Senomyx, that’s being used by the major food companies like Kraft, Nestle, and others that we need to keep an eye on. It passed FDA approval too quickly for Dr. Mercola’s liking. And as we keep hearing in the news, stay away from High Fructose Corn Syrup and Trans Fats.

If you try to make sweeping changes to what you eat it will be quite hard so just start by eliminating one thing. For example, just start looking for high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients list and eliminate those products from your diet. When you don’t miss that stuff anymore, eliminate the next thing. I stopped drinking soda years ago (loaded with high fructose corn syrup…even diet versions) and I certainly don’t miss it. Give it a try.

Here’s to your health today!