Simple Living : 12 Ways to Create a Healthful Eating Style

1. Forget the fads
Diet fads come and go without offering a permanent solution. When you hear about the latest diet, always ask yourself: Can I eat this way for the rest of my life?

2. Be realistic
Any eating plan needs to work for your family and your situation. It needs to fit with your schedule, your food budget and your cooking skills.

3. Make a commitment
Write down some important reasons for changing your eating habits. Share a written or verbal promise to make healthy food choices with your friends or family.

4. Start slow
Making drastic changes can be a recipe for failure. Small changes can make a big difference, if they last. Pick one
change, like eating breakfast, and make it a habit.

5. Be consistent
The human body responds well to consistency. For example, if you decide to want to start eating breakfast, have at least a small breakfast every day.

6. Stick with it
Research suggests that it takes about 21 days for a behavior to become habit. If you want to start eating breakfast, plan ahead what you will eat in the morning.

7. Be flexible
Life is full of surprises, and sometimes plans need to change. If you have to leave early and don’t have time for breakfast at home, pack something to take with you.

8. Be creative
Make a list of all the possible foods – like all the breakfast options that you enjoy at home, in the car, on the bus or at work.

9. Have items on hand
Once you have a list of possible foods, keep them around at home, at work, or anywhere you might eat breakfast.

10. Plan ahead
Plan ahead of time to have healthy foods available so that you don’t have to eat whatever is handy when you get hungry.

11. Forgive yourself
Healthy eating does not have to be perfect eating. If you make a mistake or miss a few days of healthy eating, no problem. Just get back on track as soon as possible.

12. Congratulate yourself
Changing your eating habits can be tough. Just think how long you’ve had your current habits. Give yourself a pat on the back for any healthy changes.

Readmore »»

Weight-loss Tips Differ In African-American, Mainstream Magazines

Magazines catering to African-Americans may be falling short in their efforts to educate readers about weight loss, a new University of Iowa study suggests.

African-American women's magazines are more likely to encourage fad diets and reliance on faith to lose weight, while mainstream women's magazines focus more on evidence-based diet strategies, according to the study by UI researcher Shelly Campo, published in a recent issue of the journal Health Communication.


"Three-quarters of African-American women are considered overweight or obese, compared to one-third of all U.S. women," said Campo, an assistant UI professor with appointments in community and behavioral health in the College of Public Health and communication studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "African-American magazines tend to embrace a mission of advocacy for the African-American community, but if you're not covering evidence-based weight-loss strategies, you're not really helping your community."

Campo and co-author Teresa Mastin, an associate professor in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations, and Retailing at Michigan State University, analyzed 406 fitness and nutrition articles published between 1984 and 2004 in three major African-American women's magazines -- Ebony, Essence and Jet -- and three popular mainstream women's magazines -- Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, and Ladies' Home Journal.

The magazines suggested many of the same weight-loss strategies, but mainstream magazines were twice as likely to suggest eating more whole grains and protein, smaller portions, and low-fat foods. Relying on God or faith was suggested by 1 in 10 weight-loss stories in the African-American magazines, but in almost no weight-loss stories in the mainstream magazines.

Fad diets were promoted as legitimate strategies in 15 percent of weight-loss stories in the African-American magazines, compared to only 5 percent in the mainstream magazines. Fad diets, defined as diets that may work in the short term but often do not result in sustained changes, included the Dick Gregory Bahamian Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Hilton Head Diet, and the Atkins Diet.

Mainstream magazines offered more strategies per article than African-American magazines. And, while mainstream magazines increased fitness and nutrition coverage during the second decade as the severity of the obesity epidemic unfolded, African-American magazines did not.

"The study clearly points to a need for public-health advocates and advocates of the African-American community to push their media to increase coverage of overweight and obesity health issues," Campo said.

The research is a companion study to previous work Mastin and Campo published in the Howard Journal of Communications in Oct. 2006. The first study showed that food and nonalcoholic beverage ads outnumbered fitness and nutrition articles 16 to 1 in Ebony, Essence and Jet between 1984 and 2004. The 500 ads were primarily for foods high in calories but low in nutritional value, Campo said.

In the new paper, Campo and Mastin note that both types of magazines tend to place responsibility for weight loss on the individual, rather than examining environmental and economic factors that make weight loss difficult. More than 83 percent of strategies focused on behavior changes, while less than 7 percent focused on environment. For example, magazines recommended eating well and staying active, but rarely addressed issues like availability and cost of healthy food, recreational opportunities in communities, or existence of school- or work-based fitness programs.

"Both genres are highly guilty of over-reliance on individual strategies," Campo said. "We blame individuals too much for circumstances that are not entirely within their control. We know people living in unsafe neighborhoods are much less likely to exercise. And fast food is cheap compared to fresh fruit and vegetables. To tell a poor person that they made a bad choice because they couldn't afford the salad fixings raises some ethical concerns."

African-Americans represent at least 90 percent of the readership of Ebony, Essence and Jet, but 11 percent or less of Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping and Ladies' Home Journal. The magazines were selected for the study because of their large circulation and longevity over the 20-year period.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Iowa.

Readmore »»

Free Weight Loss Tips

Free list of weight loss tips. The purpose here isn't to just give you a big list of tips, but to also help you separate the useful tips from the useless ones.

I consider a weight loss tip to be anything that could in any way be helpful to a person looking to lose weight. It could have something to do with your diet plan or workout program, or maybe just the mental aspect of weight loss such as staying motivated and sticking to your diet. It could just be some way of improving your lifestyle so that it becomes more ideal for losing weight.

Really, any piece of information that could positively benefit someone trying to lose weight will be included on this list. Also, along with each weight loss tip will be sort of a "tip review." By that I mean I will include my own common sense opinion of the usefulness of that tip. You're welcome to disagree with this opinion of course, however in most cases you'll probably be thinking the exact same thing.

This list of weight loss tips will be updated on an ongoing basis, by the way. So, whenever something new pops into my head or somehow comes to my attention, I'll be sure to add it to this list.

Tip rating system:
A - Would probably be useful to everyone, and I myself do it.
B - Could be useful to some people.
F - Useless, or stupid, or unsafe, or any combination of the three.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

This is one of the most popular weight loss tips on this list. I've seen this one everywhere. But, let's be honest here... unless you live or work on the 400th floor, taking the stairs instead of the elevator isn't going to do much for you in terms of losing weight. Sure, you'll walk a little extra, and that's obviously always good. But uh, 1 or 2 flights of stairs a few times a week won't have much (if any) effect on the weight loss of most people.

Tip Rating: B
I gave this one a B instead of an F because I don't want to sound like I'm discouraging extra walking of any kind. Yes, walking is great for everyone. However, don't expect an occasional flight of stairs to make 20 pounds disappear.

Workout early in the day so there is less chance of missing your workout.

I do this, but not out of fear that I may miss my workout. However, I can see how this would happen to people. Something might come up, you might get tired, you might forget, who knows. What I do know is that there are more possible reasons for why a person would miss a workout at 6pm than there would be at 6am. Your alarm clock rings off, you eat, and you go workout. There's very little time in there for something to get in the way or for you to come up with an excuse. So...

Tip Rating: B
This weight loss tip has a lot to do with your schedule, though. I realize that a lot of people workout in the afternoon or at night because they just can't workout any other time. This tip is more for the people who have the option of getting their workout in early if they wanted to.

Keep a workout and diet log or journal.

I'm a big fan of this one. Progress is made by improving upon what you've already done. This applies to workout progress, too. Want to get stronger? Want to increase muscle? If so, you're going to need to make progress. To do that you're going to need to keep track of how much weight you lifted and how many sets and reps you lifted it for on each exercise. By knowing this information, you'll know exactly what you need to do in your workout the next time in order to improve on it.

Were you able to do a certain exercise for a certain weight for 8 reps? Next time try doing 10 reps of the same weight, or try adding 5 pounds and getting the same 8 reps. This type of progress is what causes muscle and strength gains, and it is only possible when you know exactly what you did the previous workout so you can improve it.

As you learned throughout The Lose Weight Diet, one of the most important parts of your weight loss diet plan is keeping track of how many calories and grams of protein, carbs and fat you're eating each day. No matter how great you think your memory is, keeping a log of it all (on paper, on the computer, on fitday.com, etc.) is the only way you'll be able to keep track of it as accurately as possible.

Tip Rating: A
There is no reason to not do this one.

Plan and prepare your meals in advance.

You know what makes sticking to your diet real easy? When you plan what you're going to eat in advance and, if possible, have it ready for you. For example, I know I'll be eating egg whites as part of my breakfast every single morning. By knowing this I can figure out how often I need to buy eggs so they're always in the house. I never wake up wondering what I'm going to eat or if I'm going to find something I SHOULD be eating. I also know I'm going to eat tuna fish, whole wheat bread, brown rice, chicken breasts, nuts, vegetables, etc. every single day. I have it all ready and waiting at all times.

By planning what you're going to eat in advance and having it prepared for you when possible, you greatly lower your chances of eating something you shouldn't be eating.

Tip Rating: A
Everyone reading this needs to stay as strict and consistent as they can with their diet plan, and this tip helps that happen.

Sleep enough!

Hold on. If you're thinking "Wait, are you saying I can lose weight just by sleeping? AWESOME!!!!" you'd be slightly mistaken. Sleep alone will not cause weight loss. It will however help. There are a bunch of science-y reasons for this, and if you are in the 1% of people reading this who want to know those reasons, email me and I'll explain. If you're in the other 99%, just know that sleeping enough will indeed help your weight loss.

That's not all though. You know what it feels like when you're tired? You become lazy. You don't feel like doing anything. Well, when you're goal is losing weight, you can't be lazy and you can't feel like not doing anything. Sleeping enough will eliminate this problem.

Tip Rating: A
Yes, you just read "sleep enough" on a list of weight loss tips. This one is really as easy as they get. You have no excuse.

Keep junk food out of your house.

You know all of that really tasty junk food that is high in saturated fat and useless calories that serves no positive purpose other than being yummy? Good. Then you also probably know you shouldn't be eating any of it. One way to stop eating junk food is to stop putting yourself in a position to eat junk food. By having these types of foods in your house you are obviously going to be much more likely to eat it than if they weren't there. So... throw out/give away whatever junk food you have in your house now and don't buy anymore.

Tip Rating: B
This tip isn't for everyone. It's mainly for 3 types of people... those a little low in the will power department, those who eat when they're bored, and those who live alone or live with people who don't eat junk food. I mentioned the 3rd type because I know a lot of people live with family/friends who eat junk food all the time therefore making it impossible for you to just stop having it in the house. I know what that's like.

For me, I have the will power to not care or let it bother me at all. If you're like that too, great. If not, you have 2 choices. TRY to get like that, or try to convince the other people in the house to cut down on the junk food. Even if they don't care about weight loss, junk food is still unhealthy for them whether they are trying to lose weight or not.

Drink hot water.

They say drinking hot water instead of cold water will help speed up your metabolism and help you burn more calories.

Tip Rating: F
Stupid, stupid, stupid AND useless. I'm not saying that this isn't true. I'm not saying that hot water won't have a different effect on your metabolism than cold water. What I am saying is that any supposed benefit would be so slight that it would be a complete waste of time and effort to even give it another second of thought. These are weight loss tips, not time loss tips. If you want to lose weight, focus on your diet and your workout. If you want to burn your tongue, drink hot water.

Eat right AND workout.

It is technically possible to lose weight through JUST your diet plan or JUST your workout. However, for best weight loss results and for best all around health, you should do it through a combination of both. This will also make it easier to keep the weight off once it's gone.

Tip Rating: A
What more needs to be said? Do both.

Set realistic goals.

No one wants to just lose weight, they want to lose it FAST. They want huge results... quickly. The only problem is, weight loss doesn't happen fast. Results don't come quickly. The reason you need to know this is because setting goals that can't be reached will make you very depressed and discouraged when you realize you didn't reach them. You are basically setting yourself up to fail.

Forget everything you've ever seen or heard. Every advertisement for a weight loss program, pill, machine, or product of any kind is lying to you. The people who claim to have lost huge amounts of weight in insanely short periods of time are lying to you. Those amazing before and after pictures are lies. Yes, really. Like I mentioned in the article, the only way you are going to lose 40 pounds in 1 month is if you have some sort of chainsaw accident.

When you set realistic goals, like losing 1 pound a week or losing 6 pounds a month or losing 60 pounds a year, goals that can actually be reached, you are setting yourself up to succeed.

(I'll admit that whole "setting yourself up to succeed" line was pretty lame, but really, it's true.)

Tip Rating: A
Weight loss is all about persistence. And, setting crazy goals that you can't reach and then not reaching them is an extremely common reason for a person to give up. To avoid that, set realistic goals.

Change how you eat your food.

This one is actually a compilation of similar weight loss tips all revolving around ways people trying to lose weight should eat their food to almost "trick" themselves into not eating more than they should.

For example, eat slower. The faster you finish your food, the more likely you are to eat extra food. Chew slowly. Put your fork down after every mouthful. Take a minute break in the middle of eating. Take smaller bites. Drink water before/during eating so you get full faster. Instead of starting off with your full serving amount, take half a serving and then go back for seconds. Use smaller plates. Etc., etc., etc..

Tip Rating: B
As much as I really want to give this one a giant F, I can't. You see, to me, this tip is stupid and useless. I know there are people out there who feel the same way. But, for every person like us there is probably someone else thinking "Yes I know, if I took smaller bites it probably would feel like I ate more than I actually did." I can't really argue with that. If you think something will help you, go for it.

Workout on the same days, at the same times.

Working out is obviously an important part of weight loss. And, the best way to stick to your workout is to turn your workout into something that just gets done without really thinking about it. Make it a regular part of your life. You know how you just know to brush your teeth after you wake up? In that same way you should just know to workout. It needs to become part of your normal routine. The best way to accomplish this is to workout at the same times, on the same days.

If you workout on random days at random times you become more likely to miss a workout. If you train yourself to workout on a strict schedule, it will become much harder for you to break from that schedule. That of course means you won't miss workouts.

Tip Rating: A
This one obviously depends on your own personal schedule, but no matter what kind of schedule you have, you should try to workout on the same days of the week at the same times of the day. For me it's to the point now where I know what day it is by what I did in the gym that day. "What day is it? Oh right, I did chest and triceps. It's Monday." When your workout becomes such a regular part of your life, you'll see how hard to becomes to miss one.

Readmore »»

How to compare juicers so you get the best juice machine for your needs

When you start to compare juicers, it is best to first start out with a list of your needs and how you plan to use it. If you want to start juicing for health reasons or for weight loss you will have a different set of needs than if you just want fresh orange juice when you wake up in the morning. Also, if you have a large family or plan to make a large quantity of juice, you will be better suited to a different machine than if you are single or only want to make a glass of juice per day. Lastly, when comparing juicers, think about your time, budget and physical arm strength. Some of the more effective machines require some strength to use.

When I first began to research juicers, I was amazed at the different technologies available. A juice machine can be based on one of 3 main technologies. First are manually operated crushing or auguring types. These are mounted to a flat surface with a clamp or suction cup. They are good for juicing wheat grass and other heat sensitive living foods. When you use these, a lot of arm strength is required so be ware. They are also only good for small amounts of juice making because they are slower to operate. Next are the electric juicers.
When you learn about juicers that are electrically operated, you are going to come across in 2 distinct technologies. The first is the centrifugal type. These juice machines have a spinning basket the cuts up the produce into tiny tiny pieces. They spin very fast to separate the pulp from the liquid. The newer models have an automatic pulp ejection system. If you are juicing more than 1 pint at a time, make sure to invest in this feature. If not, the drawback is you will have to stop the machine to clean the basket. The other technology is the masticating type. These juice extractors chew and grind the produce through a set of gears and augers to extract the juice from the plant. The advantage to them is higher quality juice, a dryer pulp (when juicing tough vegetables like wheat grass and broccoli), and more juice from the produce. The disadvantage is they are usually more expensive and operate slower than centrifugal models.

When you compare juicers, think about ease of use and reliability.

No matter which type of juicing technology you choose, there are 2 more features you should consider. First is the warranty. This will range from 90 days to over 5 years, depending on the manufacturer you choose. It addition, find out the size of the feeder tube on the machine. If you plan on juicing apples, carrots, and other large living foods or fruits, you will want to get the largest feeder tube possible. The reason is the convenience factor. If you have to cut up each and every carrot or apple you want to juice, it can be very laborious. You will have to decide which is right for you. If you take all these things into consideration, you will be much more informed when you decide to purchase a juicer you should be able to make the best choice for your circumstances.

Readmore »»