Saturday, November 26, 2011

A Better Breakfast - with Green Peppers

Its been a while since I added a better meal mostly because my breakfasts & lunches consist of what I have to eat with my Pre-Kers during the program day. But feeling the need to get back in the health nut groove I reached for a couple healthy classics and added a fruit and veggie for a filling healthy breakfast diverse in nutrients.


3 scrambled egg whites

4 strips butterball turkey bacon

1 green bell pepper raw (cut into strips)

1 Clementine orange

1 cup Fat Free Organic Milk

1/2 cup Wench's grape juice


This breakfast is quick and easy to make and includes protein, dairy, fruits, some fats and oils, and vegetables for only 360 calories is you only use cooking spray to fry the eggs and bacon. 


Enjoy! And as always if you have a Better meal that you would like to share please do so under the "YOUR Better Meals" Links!


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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Understanding the Body Mass Index (BMI)

Everyone has their own idea in mind for what their ideal body weight would be. Some of those expectations come from our own personal experience, such as the weight we were when we considered ourselves to be in the best shape of our lives. Sadly many of our body image issues and lofty goals come from the media, unrealistic depictions of what the perfect woman or man should look like. We forget that the men and women magazines depict as being beautiful have a team of people working with them to help project these images. The other source we might go to, and in my opinion the only source that matters, are medical standards of what is a healthy weight for our bodies. Our body weight can affect many aspects of our health, put us at risk for certain disease or help prevent others. Of all the influences that are out there I feel that health related sources for ideal weights are the most reliable. Our memory of what we used to be or our weight from when we were in "the best shape of our life" might be unrealistic because as we get older our bodies change, our schedules change, and the things we used to do to be at the weight we once were just aren't realistic.

Our family and friends are great cheerleaders, most of the time, but it's too easy to not believe family or friends when they tell you that you look great because let's face it we all think the same thing, "They are your family and friends so they are supposed to tell you that." But medical and health related tools are unbiased. They don't care who you are, what you used to look like, or what the media thinks. Their only concern is that you are at a healthy weight.

There are many different health related sources out there some more accurate than others, but some also more easy to use and understand than others. One source many fitness sites offer is one of the simplest tools to help you determine your ideal body weight. The Body Mass Index (BMI). Many sites offer free BMI calculators in which all you have to do is input your height an weight and they determine where you fall on the BMI index.

The numbers differ slightly from site to sight but in general when one looks at an BMI chart or uses a BMI calculator a score below 19 indicates that you are underweight, between 19 - 24 is considered "normal" (I personally do not like the word normal as a descriptor for anything, but that's the classification they use.) A BMI score between 25 - 29 is considered overweight. 30 - 39 is considered obese, and 40 or above is considered extremely obese sometimes referred to as morbidly obese. This information is all really great, but it doesn't really give you a goal weight to focus on for your height. In order to determine a healthy goal weight it's best to look at a BMI chart instead of just using a calculator.



This image of a BMI chart was taken from the Fort Worth Lap-Band website.
 http://www.fortworthlapband.com/BMIChart.aspx

I chose this image mostly because I feel that it is the easiest to understand and includes weight for every height between 4'10" and 6'4" instead of every other inch like some of the other charts do. As you can see from this chart there is quite a range of weight for each height that is considered "normal" or healthy. Basically, one's goal reach a body weight that puts them in the GREEN column.

For example, I am 5'3" and am currently 152.5lbs. which as you can see, still puts me in the "overweight" category. Which is much better than the 175 I was in August of 2011 when I first began my weight loss journey. Note that the "Normal" weight for someone of my height is between 107 and 135. That's almost a 30 pound weight range. The reason there is such a big gap is because there are many body types out there and BMI indexes cannot differentiate between weight from muscle and weight from fat. This is where your have to use a little bit of common sense and honesty with yourself. I know from experience that I will never see 107lbs. I haven't been 107lbs since I was in middle school. When I was the thinnest I ever was in my adult life I was 117lbs and only had 14 % body fat (as indicated by a skin fold calipers test). But I was also on an alarmingly low calorie diet (at the time I didn't realize how unhealthy it was) lifting every day, and running every other day. To lose enough weight to get to the lower end of he "normal" range of BMI for my height I would have had to lose muscle mass. So, instead my goal weight comes from a more realistic and healthy version of me when I was in college. For the majority of my adult life I had been around 125 pounds. Which as you can see puts me well within the "normal" range for my height. And was the result of working out regularly and eating a healthy diet.

There are other health related tools you can use to help you determine your ideal weight such as the skin fold caliper test I mentioned, if you can find someone who is trained in how to accurately use them. There are other more sophisticated and expensive tools uses by professional athletes and other health professions, but the BMI charts and calculators are the best tool for the average person. As long as you keep in mind that weight is not the most important factor. That is why most fitness sites encourage you to take other measurements such as waist and hip measurements or heart rate tests.

I have included links to several websites that offer free BMI calculator from sites associated with the health issues or diseases that can result from being overweight and of course the

 The Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institute of Health
 http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/


American Institute for Cancer Research
http://www.aicr.org/reduce-your-cancer-risk/weight/tools_bmi_calculator.html?gclid=CPmbpt7BxawCFcZM4AodkVbtqg

You can also find many other BMI calculators and charts by using your favorite search engine.

Don't get hung up on the young girl or guy you used to be.
Don't let the media tell you what your ideal body weight is.
Set realistic goals and aim to be healthy!



Friday, November 18, 2011

Make Your Next Food Choice a Better Food Choice!

One mistake many dieters seem to make is thinking that if they don't eat perfectly (according to their diet plan) their whole day is shot so they should just keep eating whatever they want and start anew tomorrow. While making sure you eat better tomorrow is definitely a good idea, you don't have to wait that long to make better food choices.

One misstep doesn't ruin your whole day. I know sometimes it's frustrating when you have been eating and working out according to your plan and then in a moment of weakness or special occasion you eat something that you or your diet plan has deemed as "forbidden" and it feels like all the work you have done this far was for nothing. Don't give into that feeling of guilt or hopelessness and especially don't let it ruin the rest of your day. You can start making better food choices with your very next choice. So, just because you ate a piece of chocolate cake at Uncle Fred's 80th birthday party at 2:00 doesn't mean you should just give up for the day and eat a whole bowl full of Bon Bons as a midnight snack and it definitely doesn't mean you should skip a meal altogether.

Remember when you eat multiple small meals throughout the day it keeps your body in calorie burning mode. So if you know there's going to be cookies and cakes at a Wedding Reception, don't skip a meal to reserve the extra calories for the junk food you know you will fall victim to, just eat small healthier, lower calorie meals before the reception. This will have you feeling fuller at the reception so you will be less likely to eat more junk food. Going to the reception hungry because you tried to reserve calories for the special occasion could back fire in a big way because you'll eat more of the higher calorie less healthy foods there.

Each food choice you make can help make a difference. So start with your next food choice. If you had that piece of chocolate cake. Make sure you drink water instead of soda and eat a better meal later that day.  That way you only took on a few extra calories today. And you can still start new again tomorrow and make sure you stay on track!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Setting Mini Goals

You've made one of the most important decisions of your life. You've decided to adopt a healthier lifestyle, to lose weight, and get in shape. You look in the mirror and pick apart the parts of your body you fantasize slimming down or becoming more defined. You step on the scale and think to yourself, "I'm X number of pounds heavier than I ever wanted to be in my life." According to BMI indexes you fall into the "overweight," "obese," or "morbidly obese" categories. At this moment the concept of losing as much weight at you need to be considered healthy seems insurmountable, especially if you have tried many different ways to try and lose weight in the past. So what do you do?

Set mini goals. We all have mini goals in our minds anytime we set out to do anything. The same is true when we evaluate ourselves in the mirror, on the scale, or in any other way when it comes to our bodies. We all think, "I'd feel so much happier if I could just get down to my pre-pregnancy weight" or "I'd look so much better if I could just lose an extra 10 pounds" Almost immediately following that thought is, "but it would sure be nice if I could get down to the weight I was when X number of years ago" and then finally, but I would sure love to to be in as good as shape as I was when I was in college or the the shape I was before..."

When you look a big goal it's easy to get discourage, especially in weight loss because weight is gained so much easier and faster than it is lost. So, when you're only losing weight at the rate of a pound or two a week (the best case scenario to develop better food and health choices over a long period of time). It's hard to get excited about being 5 pounds lighter in one month when you have 50 pounds or more to lose. This is where the mini goals come in. When you sent a mini goal you get that sense of accomplishment several times along your weight loss or fitness journey. Which motivates you to keep pushing toward your overall goal.

Those of you who have been following me on facebook, twitter, or myfitness pal know that I have set several minigoals for myself. I started out with an overall goal of losing 50 pounds. My first mini goal was to lose at least 5 pounds in one month. My next mini goals was to lose 20 pounds by my birthday (in 4 months). Once I reached both of these goals... one well head of schedule as my birthday isn't until next month! I decided on another reasonable mini goal. 10 more pounds by the new year. This is a rate of 1 pound a week... yes even over the holidays.

The other key to continued success is being able to forgive yourself and setting realistic expectations. If you only lose 9 pounds when your goal was 10... still recognize the 9 pounds you did lose. Set a more accomplish able minigoal for he next round.

So to recap.

1) break down your overall goal into mini goals
2) be realistic about your mini goals
3) acknowledge your accomplishements even when you don't make your mini goals
4) forgive yourself and keep focused.



Thursday, November 3, 2011

EverydayHealth.com: How to Reduce Stress With Diet Diet Center - Everyday Health

Message from Sender: Saw this article posted on twitter. Thought it might be interesting to share.

Everyday Health: How to Reduce Stress With Diet Diet Center
A healthy diet can help reduce stress, and some foods in particular offer stress-busting qualities.


Make The Most Of Your Health, Every Day!

Come on in and explore the best health site on the Web. Everyday Health features:
  • Health information, personalized just for you!
  • Condition-specific Health Centers
  • Health Guides from A-Z
  • Expert Q&As from leading MDs
  • Interactive tools and calculators
  • Message boards by condition
  • Breaking medical news and features
  • Over 200 delicious and nutritious recipes

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Eating Season: Tips to Survive!

So, Halloween has come and gone and sitting somewhere in your house may be a huge stash of your kids' candy. And you've been feeling guilty and maybe even a little like you're losing your focus or maybe have even fallen completely off the weight loss wagon. Fear not! And don't give up! With the holidays coming up everyone stresses and worries about overeating and trying all kinds of tricks to try to stay within their calorie or nutritional goals. All the stress isn't helping. So maybe it's time to just relax and accept that yes, you are going to over eat at least a few days out of each of the next few months, but you've worked hard to this point to lose the weight you've lost and get in the shape that you are in now. Don't throw it all away over a few days of feasting. There's plenty of days between Trick-or-Treat and Thanksgiving that you can get back on track, and days between Thanksgiving and your winter holiday (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Solstice...etc) to get back on track and even a few days between the winter holiday and New Years Eve to workout and eat right. After that, unless you celebrate Three Kings Day or Russian Orthodox Christmas (or some other January holiday that I'm not aware of) you can pretty much get your healthy lifestyle back in full swing. Also keep in mind, sometimes varying your diet can sometimes help boost your metabolism for a while. This following is a repost of a blog post I wrote when I had the A Better Reflection: Nutrition Blog as a separate blog.

Boost Your Metabolism: Splurge for a Day!

As you may know, health and fitness isn't a new concept for me. I used to be in fantastic shape (as evidenced by the Picture/Logo I use for A Better Reflection blogs and FB page.) I do keep in mind that research is constantly being done on key health and fitness issues and people are constantly learning knew things about how the body works. When I was in college, I used to restrict myself to eating healthy and watching my diet diligently during the school/work week, then on the weekends I'd allow myself to eat however my social life dictated. Keep in mind this didn't mean I went out and made it a point of eating more calories or unhealthy food, I would just relax and not focus on it so much, and yes, I'd have a big slice of chocolate cake and 2 scoops of Ice cream at a friend's birthday party. I had read that varying your diet in a similar way actually shocks your system and boosts your metabolism as long as it doesn't happen more than once a week.

The theory behind this is that your body is expecting to burn a certain number of calories a day in the form of specific types of food. So, when you have a random day in which you take in a considerable amount of more calories and foods that you don't normally eat, it shocks the system and kicks it into high gear for a little while.

I have been using this theory since I started my journey to get back in better shape and so far I am finding success with my nutrition and weight loss plan, but never wanting to be one that passes on misinformation, I decided to do a bit of research to see if there is still anything out there to support the Splurge to boost your metabolism theory, and I was able to quickly find one!

Check out this article on Model Diet Plan to find out more about this theory and more tips to boost your metabolism such as these 10 Tips:

1) Don't Starve Yourself - this actually decreases your metabolism
2) Cut Back on Alcohol
3) Put a little spice in your life... or a least in your food!
4) Take your vitamins and Omega 3s
5) Build some muscle!
6) Take time for Green Tea
7) Get more Iodine in your diet
8) Keep it cooler in your house - your body will burn more calories to regulate your body temp
9) Eat more Blueberries and Watermelon!
10) and of course, Vary your diet once in a while

For more on these tips visit:
http://www.modeldietplan.com/metabolism.htm