Diet and Nutrition

Dieting 101: Setting Realistic Goals and Reaching Them

We’re working on a plan for healthy weight management without dieting. If you’re just joining us, you need to catch up. Read the last post, Dieting 101: Getting Started, and make sure this is a journey you want to be on. If you’ve rejected dieting and prepared yourself for changes, it’s time for goals.

Setting realistic goals is so important. You build success upon success. By starting small, you will repeat the easy changes and they add up to big results. So first thing, give yourself permission to set easy goals. Take the struggle out if it!

Goal-Setting Tips

Think short-term: What is a small change you can do today and repeat tomorrow? Maybe you do no exercise at all. How about measuring how active your lifestyle is with a new, inexpensive pedometer. Wear a pedometer and see how many steps you take. If you have a desk job, I’d be surprised if you get more than 3,000 steps a day and you need 10,000. Does this motivate you to walk 30 minutes at lunch or after dinner? (more…)

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Rebecca

Benefits of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids

While both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids belong to what’s called polyunsaturated fats, they have distinct differences. They are both referred to as “essential” because they are a necessary part of sustaining a healthy body. The importance is underlined by the fact that our bodies cannot make them, so we must get them through dietary means.

Omega-3s get most of the press, particularly for their anti-inflammatory and heart disease prevention benefits. Additional benefits include improving arthritis, preventing cancer, and improving your skin’s condition.

Like an infomercial… but wait, there’s more! Omega-3s improve eye health, and benefit brain function, improving mood and memory. (more…)

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Jason

Has President Obama’s First Year Taken Its Toll on His Health?

A recent article from the Associated Press caught our attention. Rather than critiquing President Obama’s health care reform bill, his national security plan or his initiatives to curb the effects of climate change, the article instead analyzed how the president has been taking care of himself during his first year in office. And what a first year it has been.

Keeping in line with other previous presidents, President Obama takes his health very seriously. Not only does he start his day with a morning workout but he and first lady Michelle have created a White House community garden in order to extol the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables and to combat childhood obesity.

But given an economy that rivals The Great Depression, skyrocketing unemployment rates, a controversial war in Afghanistan, a failing automotive industry, a housing and mortgage crisis, and a foiled terrorist attack on Christmas Day, some are wondering if the stress of the past 365 days has taken its weighty or rather weight loss toll on the president.

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Posted on December 29, 2023 by heather

Dieting 101: Getting Started, For the Last Time!

Let me just start this post series with a statement. I don’t believe in “diets.” Diets do not work because they are too restrictive. Diets are something you start and then stop. Whatever you do when you stop can lead you right back to the place you came from – or worse! If your feelings of deprivation and restriction are large, chances are your “boomerang” back once you lift the restrictions will be huge. How would you like to end that cycle once and for all? If you’re with me, read on. If you’re not, come back when your latest fad diet experience fails you.

Step 1: Reject Dieting for Good

Can you do it? Can you actually say to yourself that years of dieting has not worked for you and it’s time to try something that does? Go ahead. Give yourself permission to take care of yourself instead of deprive yourself. (more…)

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Rebecca

Restricted Calorie Diet: What You Need to Know

strawberries Calorie restriction diets may not sound fun but these very reduced calorie diets are all the rage right now, particularly as Americans look to the starting line of the New Year to make 2024 the year to finally the lose weight.

Calorie restriction diets, or CR for short, not just promise weight loss, but also recent research has suggested that reducing calories over the long-term may slow the process of aging, reduce risk of certain diseases and cancers and extend lifespan. In fact, the science is so potentially powerful and hopeful that one of largest studies investigating this eating plan, the CALERIE study, just wrapped up a two-year investigation of the prolonged effects of calorie restriction on adult Americans.

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Posted on December 28, 2023 by heather

Top Celebrity Diet and Weight Loss News of 2024

No one’s weight is more scrutinized or weight loss practices more imitated than the Hollywood crowd. With personal budgets that allow for the best training, cooks, and food, not to mention the freedom in scheduling to make time for working out, it’s no wonder these stars have enviable figures. But as Sandra Bullock told InStyle Magazine, and we’re sure other actresses would agree, she “gets paid to stay in shape.”

Based on page views at DietsInReview.com, these are the top 20 celebrity, and celebrity-related, diet and weight loss stories of 2024. Some stars got in shape, and others got out of shape. Either way, these are the stories we were most interested in hearing about.

1. Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper Discuss Biggest Loser

2. Rush Limbaugh Loses Weight with Quick Weight Loss Centers

4. Katie Holmes’ Scientology Detox Diet Raises Concerns

5. Gwyneth Paltrow’s “Clean” 3-Week Detox Diet (more…)

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Natalie K

Helping Others Can Help You Achieve Success

It seems obvious to many that finding a great trainer, mentor, or coach can put you on the right path to meet your fitness goals, but you may not have considered that being a mentor for someone else can also contribute to your personal success.

You do not have to be an expert to learn from your own experiences and share those lessons with others. Sometimes the best mentors are the ones who are more able to remember the difficulties of the journey. It is not important for you to have all the answers to help someone else; even Jillian Michaels has felt stuck when helping others. (more…)

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Vitamin Guide A-Zinc: Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an antioxidant and protects our body from free radicals. These free radicals can damage our cells and also cause cardiovascular disease, which is why it can be said that vitamin E is essential to maintaining a healthy heart and protecting against heart disease. As an additional benefit vitamin E is also effective in helping with the immune system.

Vitamin E is typically measured in milligrams and the recommended daily intakes are as follows:

Men 19+ years of age = 15mg/daily
Women 19+ years of age=15mg/daily
Women who are breastfeeding= 19mg/daily (more…)

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Amy

Therapy Shown to Help Teen Girls Reduce BMI

Research published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders has shown that therapy may be more beneficial in preventing young girls from becoming overweight than traditional health education classes for teenagers. The study followed 38 girls who had an above average weight, some of whom also reported episodes of loss of control eating or binge eating.

Both above average weight and episodes of loss of control eating are considered characteristics that make someone high-risk for developing obesity. The girls were randomly distributed into two groups, either attending Interpersonal Psychotherapy sessions or standard health education classes. All of the research participants completed the courses to which they had been assigned and received follow-up visits for a year. The girls who participated in Interpersonal Psychotherapy were more likely to stabilize or even decrease their BMI than the girls who participated in the health education courses that are traditionally offered to teenagers. (more…)

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Healthy Holiday Recipes

Whether you’re hosting the entire event or simply taking a single dish to add to the spread, these recipes are sure to not only be a hit, but also provide a healthy break from the traditional dishes.

Celebrate this holiday with flavorful recipes that offer a healthy alternative or introduce a new taste to your family’s table.

Apricot Citrus Stuffed Ham

Simple Mashed Cranberries (more…)

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Natalie K

Health Benefits of Coconut Water

It’s that time of year, particularly for those in the colder northern climates, when people dream about relaxing on the beach on some remote tropical island with a fruity cocktail in hand. One of the more popular images is of drinking from an open coconut on the patio of a beachfront hotel.

If you have ever opened a fresh coconut, what you saw was a thin, opaque liquid that has a slight almond flavor. Coconut water, not to be confused with coconut milk, is the clear liquid inside young (green) coconuts.

As the coconut matures, the coconut water is gradually replaced by the coconut meat. Coconut water is consumed fresh, because once it’s exposed to air, the liquid rapidly loses most of its nutritional value, and begins to ferment. (more…)

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Jason

Diet and Nutrition

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