Tag: health

Posted on

How about grilling a healthy … burger?

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

When someone mentions healthy foods or foods that are good for you  – a burger is probably the first thing that comes to mind. However, there is a way to make a healthier burger and to add healthy garnishes and condiments to make it even more nutritious.
Here at some changes you could make to boost it’s nutrition and avoid some of its unhealthier aspects .

Let’s start with the burger itself – if you make it out of organically raised grass fed or pasture raised beef – that makes it better. You will avoid the hormones and antibiotics by going organic and get the benefit of healthier beef from a cow raised on the food they were designed to eat – grass.

If you make it from bison instead of beef – even better. Bison are free-range animals, and are raised without hormones and antibiotics. In addition, bison is a healthier red meat that doesn’t have the same amount of fat as beef.  Bison (buffalo) is even recommended for heart health by the American Heart Association because it is very low in total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.

A whole grain bun is better than a white bun – whole grain breads are always healthier than those made with white flour – even better if it’s organic. You could always skip the bun altogether and enjoy the burger with some healthy toppings.

Organic condiments like ketchup can help avoid more toxins – and of course, look for ketchup made with sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup.

For an added boost, consider adding some sprouts and avocado (organic of course).
You get some satisfying healthy fats from the avocado (which will help leave your hunger satisfied), and an added vitamin and enzyme boost from the sprouts.

Remember – you don’t have to do these all at once if it seems overwhelming. Take these steps one by one and transform your diet into a healthier one one little step at a time. After you make one change, move on to the next.

 

Questions or comments?  I’d love to hear from you – leave a reply in the box below.

Posted on

Eliminate Negativity = the key to a healthier life?

Could it really be this simple?   Could negativity be what’s holding you back?

 

We know that activities and habits form feedback loops in our lives.

For example, start eating junk food and lying on the couch watching TV every night, and pretty soon you’ll start to feel “blah” and will probably lose the desire to exercise, which will leave you feeling even more tired and wanting to lay on the couch and watch TV, and so the cycle goes.

Conversely, if you eat a healthy diet and exercise every day, you feel more driven to make sure you continue to eat healthy, keep junk out of your body, not miss even one day of exercise, and you start to search for ways to optimize your health even more.

 

What about negativity?   What part does your attitude and mindset play in all of this and with respect to your healthy (or unhealthy) lifestyle?  What does negativity do to your metabolism?  To your immune system?  To how you feel about most everything?

 

What if a negative mindset is what is robbing you of energy and a positive outlook in life?  What if you could forget the negative pictures and words in your mind regarding yourself and your body, and instead, you replaced them with the image of who you want to be and the healthy lifestyle you want to have?

What if those negative words and thoughts that repeat over and over in your head excusing away why you can’t lose weight or can’t get healthy or can’t eat right are the anchors that hold you to your current lifestyle?

 

What if having a positive outlook and attitude had a positive effect on yourself, on others around you and it propelled you to do positive things?  What if you decide to replece the raincloud that seems to always park itself over you and follow you with negative thoughts, words, and mental pictures?

What if the you started to visualize a new healthy who ate good and nourishing foods and followed through on exercise and fitness plans – seeing the new you even as you started taking small steps toward a healthier lifestyle?

Trade in any negativity you might have for a positive outlook today –  and see where it leads you!

 

Posted on

What’s holding you back?

So you’ve decided that you have some fitness goals, or want a healthier lifestyle, or want to lose weight, or want to get into shape and have your body look a certain way, or be able to run a 5k or 5 miles …  what’s holding you back?   It might just be you.

To often people sabotage their own success before they even start something.
Today – now – you have to eliminate negativity from your mind and from your psyche.   It’s very easy to look around and blame your friends, your spouse, your co-workers, your frame, your body type, genetics, the snack food in the vending machine, the fast food restaurants, your busy schedule or any of those things around you – the list could go on and on – seemingly endless.
You could also sabotage yourself mentally and emotionally thinking about past times when you’ve been discouraged or not reached a goal –  or about diets that you’ve been on in the past (remember – diets don’t work – change in lifestyle does).

You don’t have the luxury of thinking this way.

Where you are today is the result of all of the thoughts and actions you’ve taken in the past.  Remember, that is the past and what you want to focus on is NOW.

As long as you are living and breathing, it is not too late to make a change.

Yesterday is gone, and you don’t have tomorrow yet – but you do have today – you have this moment right now.   This is the time to decide who you want to be, what kind of shape you want to be in, what kind of lifestyle you want to have, what state you want your health to be in.

 

  1. Decide on your goal.  You may want to work with a coach or mentor if you’re not sure what your goal should be – but once you decide on it – right it down and keep it in front of you – literally.  You need to constantly remind yourself of where you are headed and what you want for yourself.  This is best done once you decide and commit it to paper.   Even better is to have a coach or mentor that helps keep you on track.  As a part of this, you have to decide what is most important to you.  Once you understand your goal, you can start to measure the things you eat and how you spend your time against that goals.  Some things will stack up, other things you will have to give up.   It won’t seem like much of a loss as long as you keep your goal in mind and before you.
  2. Don’t be discouraged that it will take some time and effort to reach your goals.  You didn’t get to where you are today overnight, and you won’t reach your goals overnight either.  You’re in this for the long term and you have to keep your long-term goals in mind.   The one exception to the overnight thing is that it’s not a bad idea to have some mini-goals that you can check off as successes along the way.  Decide to skip candy for a day, or dessert for a week, or to exercise every day for a month.  Checking off these short-term successes can be a great encouragement toward reaching a healthy lifestyle.
  3. Place reminders of your goal around you.  This might be a post-it note on your refrigerator, or on your bathroom mirror – or maybe on the background/desktop of your computer.  These reminders help keep you on track and help keep you from getting of track.  Just like you wouldn’t head East if you wanted to go West, you need reminders of where you’re headed.  Snacks, cookies, cakes, and lying on the couch snacking and watching TV every night are probably not going to help you attain a goal of a healthy lifestyle.  That doesn’t mean you can never eat a cookie or watch a TV show – but it should help you weigh out what’s important and whether your actions are moving you in the right direction.
  4. Change what you need to change to help you reach your goal. If you want to lose weight, don’t go into the donut shop.  If you want to get more physically fit, stop lying on the couch all night every night.  If you want to quit eating junk food, stop buying it and having it in the house.  If you have healthy foods around you – you will eat healthier things.  If you regularly spend some time exercising, you will get more physically fit.  If you get good regular sleep, you will be more rested and an overall healthier person.  Incorporate the good things you want into your lifestyle and remove those negative things that got you to a place where you don’t want to be.  Remember that if you want a different outcome, some things will need to change.
  5. Forget the past.  Its gone and over and you can’t go back and change anything about it.  You have today and the decisions you make right now will move you toward or away from your goal.  Want to lose weight – you will need to change some of the things you’ve done in the past – probably both diet and exercise (see the posts on which is more important).  Want to be able to perform better athletically – you are going to have to find some ways to exercise to help you reach your goal.  Any goal worth having is worth the work to get there.   If you don’t change anything then you won’t change either – that’s what got you to where you are today.

Finally, try to surround yourself with people to can encourage you toward your goal and with things and reminders that will help you get there.  The notes and reminders in your daily planner, and on your screen, mirror and refrigerator are all helpful.  People around you that encourage you toward your goal are even more helpful.   You should create an environment around yourself that helps drive you toward your goal.  It’s your life, and you can have a healthy lifestyle if you

 

 

Posted on

You don’t have time to skip your workout

The most frequent reason I hear people give for why they don’t exercise is that they “don’t have time.” While there are the rare days when you might truly be pressed for time because of travel or flight schedules, I’ll tell you why even on your busiest days – you don’t have time to not exercise.

The reality is that it is a matter of priorities and planning whether or not we have time built in or allotted for working out. The number one thing you can do to make sure you have time to exercise is to build it in your schedule. There is no absolute best time of day to work out; the best time is what works for you. If you’re no currentlyt in the habit of regularly exercising (and you should be), the first thing you need to do is make it a regular part of your lifestyle.

Plan some time in your schedule every day for exercise. It really doesn’t matter whether it is first thing in the morning or later in the day. You may have to experiment with a few different times of day before you find what works best for you. I prefer to exercise right after I come home from work. By that time, I’m ready for a round of P90X or a good run to wring out the tensions of the day, give my muscles a chance to move, stretch and be pushed, – and sweat out some toxins. The most important thing is to make it part of your daily schedule – a part of your lifestyle.
You do this by doing it regularly – every day.

Putting it on your schedule you makes it a priority – makes it important enough that you have set time aside for it.   Don’t let other things crowd it out – it’s as important (maybe even more important) than the other things you do.  By placing it on your schedule, you won’t be faced with having to make a decision about whether or not you “have time” to work out.

Don’t’ stress too much if you have to miss a day once in a while because of illness or the occasional travel day. But you will find that if you make it a part of your regular schedule, you won’t want to miss it, your day will just go better when you get your exercise in, and your day will feel “off” if miss it.

This isn’t a bad thing; exercise should be something that you look forward to. If you hate what you do for your workout – try something else! There are so many options for staying fit and giving your body the activity it needs to stay healthy – more on that in another post.

Once you make your workout a part of your lifestyle – not only will you find that you do have time for it (even on your busy days) but you’ll also experience a few distinct benefits that come along with daily exercise – including an increased energy level.
More on that in my next post – You don’t have time to skip your workout Part 2; find out about the three distinct benefits you get on the same day that you do your exercise.

Questions, comments, or want to find out more?
Leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear from you!

Posted on

Juice or Juicing

There is a difference.

On the one hand, by juice I’m referring to the jars or cartons of grocery store juice; this stuff is usually clear, filtered, strained and sweetened – often with some added preservatives and flavors as well.  On the other hand, by juicing I’m referring to taking whole foods and using a Vitamix (my recommendation) or other powerful blender to make juice from whole foods.  Just to be clear – I’m referring to juice that still hs the pulp or fiber from the whole food included – not strained, filtered, or extracted juice.  Here are a few of the differences between the two and reasons you should be using a Vitamix.

Freshness

Juice in a jar has been made, distributed, bottled, stored, distributed yet again and then purchased from your store before finally reaching your home.  In extreme cases – for example in the case of orange juice –  the juice may have been stored a year or more before being “enhanced” and packaged and sent to your grocer.
There is no juice fresher than that consumed right after you make it.

 

Fiber

Clear juice in a jar or bottle has been strained and filtered to the point where virtually all of the fiber has been removed.  When you make your own juice from whole foods, they still retain all of the benefit that they did before being made into juice.  While it’s true that the fruit won’t crunch in your mouth like it did before being juiced in your Vitamix, you’ll still be ingesting all of the fiber and nutrition – just in pulverized form.

 

Nutrition

Fresh juice (namely juice made at home with a Vitamix) tends to have a higher antioxidant, enzyme and phytonutrient count as a result of being freshly juiced, and not strained, filtered, and pasteurized. In addition, many juices and especially juice drinks that are labeled as 100% juice or 100% natural contain additional apple or grape juice or juice concentrates as sweeteners.  Stick with fresh made juice – for the freshest and most nutrition, make your own.

 

Juice can be an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but you’re best off when it’s your own fresh made juice.  This way you control the ingredients, can certain of what is and isn’t in the juice, can avoid unnecessary sugar or artificial sweeteners, and can customize the juice to your tastes.   I recommend always including some vegetables in your fruit juice for balance and nutrition.

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Healthy sleep – part 2

This is the second part of a series on sleep, why it’s an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and things you can do to ensure that you’re getting good quality sleep so that your body can do it’s necessary repair and maintenance.
Make sure you check out Healthy Sleep part 1 if you haven’t already done so.

Try to avoid sleeping pills or medications designed to make you fall asleep.  These are not really promoting healthy sleep, carry unknown long-term risks, and have side effects and risks of their own.  It has also been observed that the sleep patterns and rem cycles are different when using medications to induce sleep.  When  you were a child and you could fall asleep anywhere, and sleep through just about anything and awoke rested and refreshed.   It wasn’t  generally because you had enough sleep medication in your system – and that same  thing is true now.  Sleep medication can “put you out” at night, but it’s not the same as regular sleep.

Do consider using melatonin as a sleep aid if you are at least 21 years of age or older and have difficulty regularly falling and staying asleep.  Melatonin is a substance that your body naturally produces (in the pineal gland in your brain) to help regulate the sleep/wake cycles.  It is inexpensive, readily available, and effective.  Start with a small dose and work up from there – you may not require much for it to be effective.  Some people also find that they can back down your dosage once you establish healthy sleep patterns.  Melatonin can also be helpful when traveling – taken at bedtime at your destination – to reinforce the signal to the brain that it’s time from sleep – and to help set and regulate the new sleep cycle, especially if you have changed time zones.

If possible, try to create a sleep environment that is quiet and has total darkness. This helps the eye/brain signals reinforce that it is sleep time.  Light (as in the sunrise) is a signal to the brain that it is time to be awake.  Even low level lights like nightlights or the lights from digital clocks can interfere with this process. Studies have shown that your body does detect these sources of light and it does affect sleep cycles.  Ideally, you should remove nightlights, cover the lights from digital clocks and cover and LEDs that may be on cellphone chargers or power switches.  Your goal is to sleep to have as dark a sleeping environment as possible. This may also involve using light blocking shades or drapes over the windows.  You will probably find that as a result you will have deeper, uninterrupted sleep.

What about the temperature?  Too hot or too cold is a problem, though most people find that a slightly cool environment is conducive to good sleep.  Your body will naturally heat you up in the morning when it’s time to get up, as this is a part of the natural sleep cycle.  Don’t be surprised if you’re ready to throw back the sheets or covers in the morning when you wake up, even if you do keep your bedroom on the cooler side.

Finally, try to avoid going to bed on a full stomach, or drinking very much alcohol right before bedtime.  Either of these can interfere with proper sleep cycles and make the difference between getting up in the morning feeling fully rested and refreshed, or having to drag yourself, feeling tired, out of bed in the morning.

Questions, comments, or want to find out more about this post or something else?
Leave a comment using the fields below.

I’d love to hear from you!

Posted on

Healthy Sleep

Have you ever stopped to consider the importance of sleep as a part of a healthy lifestyle?  It is important that you get good sleep on a regular basis; this is when your body does much of it’s necessary repair and maintenance.  Let’s look at a few important factors regarding sleep.

When you are getting enough sleep, you will generally wake up refreshed and energized – not having to drag yourself out of bed.  If you establish a pattern of consistently good sleep, you may find that you tend to wake up about the same time every day – even without an alarm clock (presuming that you go to bed at the same time every day and that you allow enough sleep time for your body to properly refresh). If you feel like you’re falling asleep while your having breakfast – you’re not there yet!!

 

Proper sleep will also give your immune system a boost and will put you in a better mood and state of mind.  Some people find that when they finally change their lifestyle to allow for a proper amount of sleep that chronic headaches go away.  It can also have a positive effect on weight loss, as lack of sleep is another factor that can raise certain hormones that will tend to cause weight gain or impede weight loss.

 

How long should you sleep?  This is different for everyone, but 8 hours is actually a pretty good target.  If you fall asleep quickly once you go to bed, you may find that it’s closer to 7½ hours than 8 since we tend to sleep in 1½ hour long sleep cycles, or multiples of 1½ hours.  Some people may find that 6 hours  works best.  You’ll know that you are getting the proper amount of sleep if you awaken refreshed, without having to drag yourself out of bed.  You will also find that in times of stress or illness your body will require more sleep – let it!  This is also true if you are pushing your exercise or fitness routines to a new level.  Getting enough sleep is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle.  This is when your body does much of it’s repair work – and in today’s world you need repairing and refreshing!  Think of it as a nightly overhaul and tuneup and you may start to think about sleep differently than you do now.  You can’t shortcut this and stay in optimal health.

 

Try to establish regular sleep patterns.  This means going to bed and getting up at the same time most every day; strive for this as your goal.  Hectic schedules and “the stuff of life” may force occasional exceptions, but try to make them just that.  If you can establish a pattern for the time that you typically go to bed and when you get up, you’ll have an easier time falling asleep; this will become part of your body’s’ natural daily rhythm (part of your healthy lifestyle).  You may also find that you don’t have the need or desire to “sleep in” on the weekends, because if you establish normal healthy sleep patterns, you’ll tend to wake up the same time every day, feeling rested and refreshed.

More information in Healthy Sleep part 2

Questions, comments, or want to find out more?  Leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear from you.

Posted on

Five more foods you should start eating

This is the second in a series on foods you really should eat regularly – foods should be part of your healthy lifestyle.  If you missed our first five, you’ll want to go back and review those as well.  I’ll go into more detail on each one of these foods in other posts.

Bison is a great source of protein.  If you like to eat red meat, then you should add bison to your list of must eat foods.   Bison offers several advantages over beef – including that lower in fat (and calories) and cholesterol.  Watch for an entire post dedicated to Bison coming soon.

 

Celery is another low calorie item that should be on your must eat list.
Low in calories, celery is a good source of naturally occurring vitamins C and K.  It also has been shown to have a beneficial effect on both cholesterol and blood pressure.
Tip:  if you don’t like the taste of celery, add a thin layer of almond butter, or throw a stalk in your smoothie.   With a good high powered juicer like a VItamix, you honestly probably won’t even know it’s in there.

Cherries a delicious addition to your must eat list.  Naturally high in antioxidants, sour or tart cherries are helpful for joint pain – especially sour or tart cherry juice.   They pack a an additional punch by helping reduce inflammation as well.  As an added benefit, they’re delicious!  Many people also report that they sleep better when they eat cherries, as they have a positive effect on your body’s levels of melatonin (a natural substance that is produced by your body that helps to regulate sleep/wake cycles).

 

Chocolate   – that’s right – chocolate!  While chocolate is toxic for dogs and other animals, it has been found to have a positive effect on people in several ways.  Dark chocolate especially is a good source of antioxidants, it also has been found to be heart-health friendly (as long as you don’t eat too much of it!); the flavonoids (antioxidants) seem to be especially beneficial to your heart in a protective way – and in moderation, it can help keep your blood pressure and cholesterol readings in healthy ranges   It can also help curb your appetite for other sweets.  Many people find that if they eat a couple squares of good quality dark chocolate that they feel like they’ve gotten your “chocolate fix” –  without as much fat and sugar as milk chocolate.

Coconut Oil is one of my favorite foods … ever.   I eat a spoonful of coconut oil every morning and every evening just for the benefits and healthy fats.  It’s good both in and on your body, as it makes a great moisturizer as well.  Coconut oil has been mentioned before in a posting on healthy oils, and has so many beneficial qualities that it will be featured soon in it’s own posting.

 

Questions, comments, or want to find out more?   Leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear from you.

Posted on

What’s the deal with sprouts?

If you’re not already familiar with them, sprouts can seem pretty weird!  This post will give you some basic info on sprouts, why they’re good for you, how to eat them.

Sprouts are basically just seeds that have been sprouted (allowed to start the process of growing), and usually also given a chance to “green up” a bit to develop a bit of the chlorophyll.  There are many different kinds of sprouts, though most people are probably familiar with or have seen alfalfa sprouts or bean sprouts.  Both are popular on salad bars, and you’ll often find bean sprouts in various Chinese or Thai meals.

Sprouts are good for you for several reasons:

They’re raw.    Raw foods contain enzymes that are not found in cooked foods.  When foods are cooked (above 117 degrees for three minutes or more) many changes occur – including the destruction of enzymes that are good for your health.   Sprouts are an easy and delicious way add raw food and get these enzymes back into your diet.

They’re packed with nutrients.   The process of a seed sprouting actually increases the vitamin and mineral content when it sprouts.   This is an easy and natural way to get nutrients in a natural and very digestible manner.

Talk about natural!  Sprouts require no fertilizer, pesticides, or anything other than water.  Best of all, if you buy organic sprouts or start with organic seeds, you know that you’re not ingesting any unwanted pesticides or chemicals – only the natural nutrients provided by the process of sprouting.

Sprouts are delicious!  Depending on the type of sprout, sprouts can have little flavor, be very subtle, or even rather bold tasting.  Some sprouts are nutty or spicy tasting.  I recommend that most people start with alfalfa sprouts.   They’re mild tasting, easy to buy already sprouted in most grocery stores, and easy to grow at home.  They also have a mild taste, so it’s an easy addition to many foods.   From there – experiment!  You’ll find that there are a variety of readily available sprouts, and many options if you grow your own.

Sprouts can be incorporated into your diet in so many ways!   Here are three ways you can try (but don’t stop here – try your own combinations).

  1. Add them as a topping to your salad.   This is a pretty easy way to add sprouts to your diet, as you can add them to your salad without changing the flavor much, and you can even begin to do this if you eat out at a salad bar
  2. Add them as a topping on a sandwich.  Sprouts can add a healthy snap to your sandwich both in terms of taste and texture.  Add a forkful or two of sprouts to your next sandwich for an easy nutritional boost.
  3. Add them to your juice.  Juice should already be a regular part of your healthy lifestyle.   Toss a forkful or two of sprouts into your blender or Vitamix the next time you make juice to get the added nutritional benefit.   With a good blender or even better – a Vitamix, the sprouts will be incorporated into the juice without leaving any chunks, bits, or anything stringy.

 

Have a question or something to say about this post?  Leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you.

Posted on

What about probiotics?

There has been a lot of interest in probiotics recently, and I often get questions from people about them:  what are they, are they really good for you, and do I use them.  This is a brief look at probiotics, what are, how they benefit you, and why I regularly use them, and how you might incorporate them into your diet.

Basically, probiotics are beneficial bacteria (live) that are thought to have a positive effect on several aspects of your health.  In simple terms, you can think of these as the bacteria behind many of the fermented foods we eat: yogurt, kefir, and raw sauerkraut.  You can also obtain probiotics in pill form, which can be helpful for travel or situations where you may not have access to a natural source.

The beneficial bacteria in probiotics are believed to have many positive effects on one’s health; that’s the reason for the recent and renewed interest in probiotics.  Among other things, there seems to be a strong link between consumption of probiotics and a number of health issues including:  diarrhea, constipation, overall gut health, gas, indigestion, and an overall boost to the immune system.  There are numerous other health benefits attributed to probiotics – enough to warrant your own use and see how you benefit.

I use them for all these reasons – and to help keep the proper balance of bacteria in the gut.  Stress, antibiotics, travel, and exposure to pathogens are just some of the things that can throw off the balance of good/bad bacteria in your system.  I use them regularly at home and carry some probiotic capsules with me when I travel.  I personally like the Enzymatic Therapy brand (Pearls), but there are many other good ones available too.  These are readily available online and at many mass market retailers and drugstores.

You can incorporate probiotics into your diet on a daily basis in a number of ways.  Yogurt with live cultures and Kefir are two easy ways to get a daily helping of probiotics.   I personally drink a cup of Kefir daily for the boost it gives me.  There are even yogurts and yogurt drinks with increased levels of beneficial bacteria to help provide a greater boost.   You can also use raw sauerkraut or other vegetable based probiotics to your diet (raw because cooking kills of the beneficial bacteria) as a delicious way to add probiotics to your diet.

 

As with everything, I recommend that you make this a part of a healthy lifestyle – something you do regularly to benefit your healthy.   This way you’ll always get the protective benefits and the boost that probiotics can bring.