Keep Your Health Tips

Studies have shown that people who eat breakfast gain less weight, are more alert and have healthier hearts. After not eating, for eight to ten hours overnight, our bodies need to be refueled. Breakfast jump starts our metabolism. People who skip breakfast often end up in a mid-morning slump and consume more calories throughout the day.

Living such a busy lifestyle presents a nutritional challenge. Most often, unless we awaken at the crack of dawn, we are usually running out the door, running children out the door, or both. While intellectually we may realize the importance of eating breakfast, sometimes it is that one more thing we just can’t get to.

I have discovered a short cut solution that allows me to eat breakfast while on the run. The following are five of my favorite portable breakfasts:

3. A hard boiled egg, a glass of milk, and a banana.

2. A bran muffin, (make a batch and freeze them ),a glass of milk and fruit.

3. A peanut butter and honey sandwich on whole wheat bread and fruit.

4. A fruit smoothie made with milk and protein powder.

5. A cheese sandwich on rye with lettuce and tomato. (Yes, a cheese sandwich)

Experiment with your favorite foods and create your own breakfast on the run. Be sure to include a fruit or vegetable, a good source of fiber and a protein. Include your fruit with your breakfast or have it as your midmorning snack. Make breakfast a habit. In doing so, not only are you helping your body but teaching your family good eating habits, as well.

Constance Weygandt is an author, speaker and balance mentor. For more information or to sign up for Constance’s free recipe newsletter, visit her website at http://www.balancedwellnessonline.com

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3 Simple Steps from Nature.

1. What to eat
2. How to eat
3. When to eat

WHAT TO EAT

Anything fresh… Fresh food should be the mainstay of your diet. Preferably a wide variety of foods, that are locally produced and in season. Nature will always provide you with the best food in your region each season. Avoid pre-prepared and packaged, processed or frozen foods, especially those with additives and preservatives. Follow this simple rule;

“As long as you do not have to open a package, box or can” you can eat or drink it.

HOW TO EAT

You should eat plenty of raw foods and certainly when cooking avoid boiling for long periods, micro-waving and deep frying. Ideally, lightly grill, steam or stir fry.

WHEN TO EAT

Listen to your body and eat when you feel hungry. Every meal should be eaten slowly, at a table or in a place where you can enjoy and allow your body and mind to focus on the process. Chew each mouthful. Don’t gulp down your food whilst you are doing something else like watching TV, working on your computer or doing something that will distract you. Take your time and enjoy your food. Most importantly, when you feel full, stop eating . and put it away. It takes a few minutes from the time the food is digested to inform the brain that this is sufficient. Give yourself and your brain some time to digest the food physically and mentally.

Try and avoid drinking whilst you are eating. If you must drink, have some room temperature water, never cold or a glass of wine or warm tea.

AVOID (OR AT THE VERY LEAST CONSUME IN MODERATION):

- any junk/fast food;

- fatty or deep fried food;

- milk/cheese, unless you own the cow and you can have the fresh milk;

- refined sugar and other sweet food such as chocolate and candy;

- cakes, biscuits, refined and processed cereals;

- fizzy or artificial drinks, including juice made from concentrate;

- coffee from any jar (and that includes Nescafe) or any decaf coffee. It’s ok to drink fresh coffee in moderation; and

- excessive consumption of alcohol.

TIPS FROM NATURE

- Listen to your body and it will tell you what you need and when to eat.

- Although we are programmed to drive and buy as much as we can from the supermarket, make an effort not to. For a while, try to walk to the local grocer each day, look at the fruit and vegetables available and choose the ones that your palate calls for that day. Variety is very important. The same goes for fish, meats and other products. Not to mention the benefits of the daily walk.

Follow these guidelines and eating naturally will always provide you with the nutrients your body needs.

Mother Nature Know Best

Practitioner of TCM in London, with a degree from the University of Beijing.

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Perhaps the cheapest and most expedient way to lose weight is to walk it out. Most people can lose at least one pound a week by walking at a moderate pace for at least thirty to sixty minutes a week.

Not only is walking great for weight loss, but it also cuts your risk of stress related mood disorders, heart disease, colon cancer, stroke, breast cancer and diabetes!

Every individual is different when it comes to how long it will take for him or her to burn the fat off. To put it simply, a pound of fat equals 3500 calories. In order to lose that one pound a week you will need to burn off 3,500 more calories than the total calories that you consumed for that week.

Time does not matter as much as distance. However the faster you walk the more calories you will be burning per mile.

Walking your weight off is not the same as strolling. You can stroll weight off but it will take a lot longer then if you walk at the optimal fat burning pace.
This determined pace means that you are breathing a little hard but not so hard that you cannot carry on a conversation in full sentences.

It helps to pretend that you are walking fast, like you would if you were a bit late for an important appointment. When you are walking at this speed it means that you are exercising at sixty to seventy percent of your maximum heart rate, which burns calories efficient, helps create lean muscle and elevates the efficiency of the metabolism.

So how do you know how many calories you are expending?
A simple rule of thumb is 100 calories per mile for a 160-pound person.

However to treat walking your weight off seriously you will need two tools, a pedometer which can be acquired for about twenty dollars at a drug store and some way of counting the calories of the foods you eat every day. This can be as simple as an online site with lists of calorie values for different foods and a notebook.

Most pedometers automatically calculate the amount of calories that you have burned based on your weight, height and other values. Most of them measure the distance you have walked in both miles and calories burned. This allows you to easily see how many calories you have burned during a walking session.

By keeping track of the calories you consume during the day you can easily calculate how far you would need to walk to burn off the 3,500 calories that you would need to burn off in one week to lose just one pound. If you wanted to lose two pounds then you would increase your walking to burn off 7,000 calories a week.

Patricia has been interested in health and fitness since the early 70’s and knows how to seperate hype from fact.
Dieting & Fitness Articles & Tips

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