Live Preventatively: Eat Whole Foods

Food is Health; Exercise is Fitness

The way I see it is this; Food is Health, Exercise is Fitness. You need both. It's simple really. Eat good food every day, move your body every day and health can be yours.

Remember that little (yet extremely powerful) saying from Hippocrates, "Food is Thy Medicine?" Well, I've seen it first hand in my life. When I began to change my diet many years ago and eat healthy, it changed how I felt physically, my energy levels went through the roof and I was sleeping better and had more balanced moods.

It is possible to prevent future health problems through eating a whole food diet, and very possibly reverse some of your current health issues.

Incorporating Whole Foods Into Your Life

I do my best to stay away from any food that comes in a bag, box or can that has more than 4 ingredients. Processed food is frankenfood. It's not real. It's not good for you. And it provides nearly no nutritional value.

Sometimes it's hard to avoid processed foods, especially because convenience can be a huge factor when it comes to how we eat, but convenience does not equal health. Most convenience foods contain a lot of chemicals and ingredients that tend to be hard to pronounce and harmful to the body.I travel extensively and believe me, it can be challenging to stay healthy on the road, but the key to staying healthy is being prepared and eating as many whole, unprocessed foods as possible. This includes veggies, whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, healthy fats and lean proteins.

The more of these whole foods we put into our body, the better and healthier we will feel. Eating this way will start to bring your body into a more alkaline state which is how our tissues, blood and organs stay healthy and heal.

Preventative Living

Look, preventative living doesn't have to be hard. It's just about educating yourself. As you age, you body will break down more and more, so you have a choice about whether you want to help it stay strong and healthy or add to the aging process by not taking care of it. Enroll friends or family to help you, shop at your local farmer's market and on the perimeter of the grocery store, plant a garden. Start to seek out delicious recipes to incorporate more alkaline, whole foods into your diet. Get creative. Your body will only thank you, and you will feel so much lighter, happier and energetic. 

This article first appeared on MedicineNet, the information is partly mine but I totally agree with this author. All the health problems humans have today are caused from the foods we are eating. Modern man wants so much the conveniences that we have today, all because our lives are too stressful and subconsciously we are look for the easy way thinking that will ease the stress we have, but food can't ease your stress and most of us haven't learned that yet.

I write E-books and blogs about fitness and weight loss. I’ll show you the cheapest, inexpensive way to lose weight. Right now and for a limited time, my E-book is $1.99 on all the major sites. Amazon.com, iBooks, B&N.com, Scribd, Kobo and many others in several other countries. 

What Kind of Shape Are You In?

Surprisingly Simple Longevity Tests

No one can predict exactly how long you'll live, but researchers have devised some surprisingly simple tests that are strongly correlated with a risk of early death - or a longer life - in the years to come.  Here's a look at some basic ways scientists are attempting to assess your physical capability and the associated chances of living longer. Being in good shape doesn't have anything to do with "how strong you are". Being fit and healthy is what keeps us from have a serious illness. We can get a head cold and it never slows us down but if we get some type of bronchial infection that's serious. Take the simple test below and see how fit you are. 

1.   Sitting-Rising Test:  Developed in the late 1990s by Brazilian scientist Claudio Gil Soares de Araujo at Gama Filho University in Rio de Janeiro, this test simply involves going from a standing position in a small (2 meters by 2 meters) area, to a sitting position on the floor, and then rising again.

Subjects are scored according to how many supports they require to perform the cycle: a point lost for using a hand, forearm, or knee, for example, to either sit or stand.  Another half-point is deducted for generally unstable execution.  A total of 10 points can be achieved for each full cycle.

In a 2014 paper published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Araujo and others discovered that older adults had a 5-6 times greater risk of mortality during the 6.3-year follow-up period, if they scored only 0-3 points on the test, relative to the top-performers scoring between 8-10 points.  A total of 2002 adults between the ages of 51 and 80 years participated in the study.

Araujo's team writes that the Sitting-Rising Test (SRT) is a simple gauge of musculoskeletal fitness, with the capacity to predict mortality among community-dwelling adults in this age range.

2.    Grip Strength:   The strength of your hand grip is typically measured using an electronic dynamometer.  In numerous studies, a stronger grip has been linked with lower all-cause mortality, especially among older adults. In the 2014 UK study of adults aged 53, women's grip strength ranged from 21kg (46lb) to almost 34kg (75lb), while the men squeezed from 36kg (79lb) to 54.5kg (120lb).  Averaged across both sexes, and taking other risk factors like body mass index, smoking status and physical activity levels into account, the 53-year olds with the poorest grip strength had anywhere from a 29% to 98% greater risk of death from any cause during the 13 years of follow-up.

3.    Standing Balance Time:  The same 2014 BMJ paper examined how long its subjects could stand on one foot with their eyes closed.

 The resulting times were short, with a maximum average of just 19 seconds for men, and 10 seconds for women.  The good news: achieving simply those brief standing balance times was linked with lower mortality.  Poor performers of the standing balance test -  clocking in at just 3 seconds for both women and men - had a 2.5 greater chance of dying from any cause, during the 13-year study.

4.    Sitting Height:  If you think your overall height is the only tallness measure researchers are interested in, you're wrong.  Sitting height, an anthropometric measurement which compares the relative proportions of the torso and legs, has been linked in Western populations to the incidence of heart disease. Greater leg length (and less relative sitting height) has been viewed as an indicator of better childhood health, which may protect against age-related illnesses like heart disease and diabetes in adulthood.  

5.    Gait Speed:  Can how fast you naturally walk say anything about your longevity?  Yes - according to epidemiologists from the University of Pittsburgh and elsewhere, in their 2011 paper published in JAMA. The researchers examined 9 separate studies involving a total of 34,485 participants and found that among both sexes, gait speed was linked with survival at all ages. A natural gait speed of 0.8 metres/second (about 1.8 miles/hour) corresponded with average life expectancy for each age; walking faster than that as a natural pace was linked with better than average longevity.

Since walking requires energy, balance, and engages multiple organ systems to work together, the researchers suggest slower speed may indicate hidden illness or poor overall conditioning.

6.    Waist to Height Ratio:  Some researchers believe that waist to height ratio - calculated by dividing the waist circumference in centimetres by a person's height (also measured in centimetres) is a better predictor of disease than weight or body mass index.  The advice is simple: keep your abdominal fat down, and make sure your waist measurement is not greater than half your height.

Bottom line:  These tests are simple tools to measure the statistical probability of an early death, as indictors of overall health and conditioning.  You can improve your own odds of living a long, healthy life by staying physically active, eating an anti-aging diet, staying active within your social circle, keeping stress at bay, not smoking, and drinking only in moderation.

I like the Waist to Height Ratio as being the best way you have to know that you have too much fat. Some woman become very concerned with fat arms or fat legs but the only fat that's important is belly fat. Once you lose your belly fat the fat in other places will also drop off. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Trampoline Workouts, Could This Be For You?

Jumping Fitness Harnesses the Fun of Trampoline Workouts

Jumping Fitness

Jumping® Fitness is a dynamic trampoline-based training system that was first developed in Europe in 2001. Now, for the first time, I've brought this fast-paced, exciting workout to America, recently opening the nation's first studio in Redondo Beach, California.

Set to fast EDM music (think: hot, European dance club-style sound), the class uses specially developed Jumping® PROFI trampolines. The hexagonal shape, rubber ropes, and mesh surface are made to last while reducing noise, static and skid. At about 51-inches wide in any direction, the surface is large enough to allow a wide range of movements, enhancing the class' possibilities.

Each class is intense, but fun, combining fast and slow jumps, variations of traditional aerobic steps, dynamic sprints and power movements, akin to sports performance training. The workout is appropriate for all levels, as jumping height and speed can be adjusted based on your personal fitness capacity.

Even though trampoline exercises are similar to exercises performed in other fitness classes, because the trampoline's surface is springy, the benefits of the workout are somewhat different. For instance, while jogging on the ground is considered a high impact exercise, it's considered low-impact on the trampoline. Likewise, because your body has to constantly make minute adjustments to the spring-like surface as you land and rebound, jumping helps develop core strength, balance, coordination, and stability. Not to mention, the workouts are stress-relieving and fun. Who doesn't like jumping on a trampoline? 

Well, I can think of some, seniors. The author doesn't really point out that even if this isn't a high impact workout, it is a workout that will spike your heart rate. That might be o.k. for younger adults, but might not be o.k. for senior or those with poor balance.

For those not near Redondo Beach, CA, no worries! You can still jump right in. (Pun intended). Incorporate the following four exercises into your own home-based circuit, performing each exercise for a minute before progressing to the next one, continuing the circuit for 30 minutes. If you don't already have a home trampoline, the Jumping® Fitness trampoline is available for purchase and comes with a full-length workout DVD.

About the Author, Jakub Novotný

Jakub is a Jumping® Fitness master trainer and spokesperson for the company's United States branch.

This is a good workout. My wife has been using a "rebounder", that's the popular name for these small trampolines, for several years now and you will get a full body workout in 30 minutes. Rebounders are made by several manufacturers and they're sold at sporting goods stores and on Amazon and Ebay. If you're serious about getting one and trying this workout, look for a very solid one with a long life guarantee. A good rebounder that will support a person weighing 200+ pounds may cost $100 or so. The cheaper $30 variety won't hold a lot of weight for a long time. If a rebounder collapses, under the weight you could be injured.

This is a good workout for losing weight and it's a low-impact workout that's easy on the joints so it's something worth consideration.

I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight and exercise that will help you lose weight. 

I wrote an ebook that will give you all the info in one read. It's a how-to book that also tells you about the mistakes I made and how to avoid them.

My ebook is available at www.amazon.com, www.B&N.com, iBooks (download the app), kobo.com, scribd.com and many more. My ebook will go on sale in May for $1.99. This special will only last for a limited time.

Break Through a Weight Loss Plateaus

It's extremely common to hit a plateau at some point during your weight loss journey. And, obviously, it can be really discouraging when the number on the scale doesn't move. Good news — there are certain things you can do to help bust through that plateau and watch the scale number lower.

Reevaluate Caloric Needs

As you lose weight, your body burns fewer calories — sad, but true! This means that over time, you need to consume fewer calories to lose weight at the same rate.

You have two options: 

1. Consume less food every day
2. Move a little more to make up the difference. 

Back to Basics

Good habits sometimes fall by the wayside when you get too comfortable with a program, so make sure you're as on track as you think you are. For starters, write down EVERYTHING you eat. You may not realize how many little extras you're sneaking into your day. Also, make sure you measure out or weigh your foods. Measuring cups and a small kitchen scale are great tools you can use to ensure you're eating exactly the portions you're accounting for. 

Move

Exercise burns calories. It's that simple! If you haven't started a workout routine yet, start by walking 30 more minutes a day or by trying out a dance class at the local gym.

The Key To Heart Health

If you've been working out, either step up your intensity or add an extra workout each week.

If you're on a budget, there are a lot of free videos available online, from yoga and pilates to cardio and dance. The key here is just to move more than usual, at least until you break through that weight loss plateau.

Switch It Up

Being consistent can be great, but sometimes you need to change things up to get your body back on track. If you typically eat three large meals and no snacks, try skipping one meal every other day. If you've been snacking a lot, try skipping those snacks and replacing them with larger meals. Once you've broken through the plateau, you can always go back to the plan that best fits your daily life.

Choose Fresh Foods Over Packaged

If you've been eating too many meals out of a box or bag, you may want to try adding more fresh options to your diet. This is especially true if you're a fan of mom and pop brands. Those are sometimes less accurate than mass produced items when it comes to the nutritional information. If you're struggling with stalled weight loss, you may want to skip prepared foods for now. Limiting packaged foods in favor of fresh foods (lean protein, fresh veggies and fruit, etc.) is a great way to jump-start your weight loss.

Beware of Bites

We're all guilty of having an extra bite here and there.

But those extras have calories, and those calories can really add up! Try to cut out the extras or at least be totally honest and record every single one of them in your food journal. You might be surprised to see you're eating more calories than you think!

Get Support

Invite friends to come with you on a walk, join an online health community like calorie count, or sign up with a local fitness group. Sometimes the support and help of others is all you need to get back on track.

Drink Water

This might go without saying but drinking water is super important. It keeps you hydrated, helps you feel full, and flushes out toxins. Travel everywhere with a bottle of water in hand and try to drink at least eight cups daily. 

Plateaus can be very discouraging  but is normal. Your body doesn't like when you lose weight, it things Your starving and it starts to hoard fat instead of burning fat.  

You can actually gain weight.

If you want your body to keep burning fat, you have to trick your body. Your body doesn't know how much fat is too much. Humans never had a problem with too much fat before the late 1800's. Oh sure, there has always been overweight people going back thousands of years, but not in the numbers we have today. People have always been more active than modern man and we didn't have to workout to burn calories. Also, before the 1950's we never had processed food, the food we ate was all natural. We never imported food from other countries and for the most part, our foods were locally grown.

The consumer has bought into this recent trend of buying processed foods to save time. In the future, we will discover that this trend was the biggest mistake modern man has made. 

 I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight and exercise that will help you lose weight. 

I wrote an ebook that will give you all the info in one read. It's a how-to book that also tells you about the mistakes I made and how to avoid them.

My ebook is available at www.amazon.com, www.B&N.com, iBooks (download the app), kobo.com, scribd.com and much more. My ebook will go on sale in May for $1.99. This special will only last for a limited time.

Partying and Drinking on a Diet

A great post, this is a popular question That comes in my inbox almost every week.   This post from "HealthNet" has good information and because we often part with friends, overeating is a problem and can ruin your diet. Hopefully, you can get some valuable tips.

 How to Eat (and Drink) Smart

By Jay Williams, Ph.D.

The standard answer given to the age-old question of how to eat sensibly at parties is, “Eat before you go.” Really? Has that ever worked for anyone? Whenever I do it, I end up eating twice: once before I go and again after I get there. If we ate at parties only because we were hungry or the food was good, the tip might work -- but the majority of party calories are emotional or social (or both).

After years of trying, I've finally mastered the science of eating healthily at parties. Here are three levels of party-food mastery you can call upon at your next gathering. (Thanksgiving doesn’t count -- that’s your one Get Out of Jail Free card.)

Good: Scan The Buffet Before Getting In Line

Choose your top three picks and get through the buffet as quickly as possible. Pausing can easily add 500 to 1,000 calories to your plate. Line-cutting is allowed. Sit-down dinners are harder, especially with the hostess wondering why you didn't indulge in the deep-fried cheese balls. Solution: Leave the empty calories on your plate and claim lactose intolerance, or say you're highly allergic. Both of those white lies have worked for me in a pinch.

Better: Ask Before You Eat

If the server comes around with a tray of delicious-looking but unrecognizable appetizers, make sure to ask what they are before popping one into your mouth.

Best: Plan (Way) Ahead

The month before: If we're talking holiday party (Thanksgiving through New Year's), get down to your fighting weight so gaining one or two pounds won’t be a disaster and you'll still be able to zip up that sexy New Year's Eve dress. (By the way, this same tactic will work for a wedding, graduation or family reunion during the year.) If it takes you four weeks to look your best, you probably won't want to undo all that work in a single weekend.

The week before: Announce that you're bringing your favorite dish. Don't ask, “What can I bring?” The answer to that question is always “Nothing” or “A bottle of wine.” Bring a healthy dish you love, and put that on your plate first.

The night before: Get enough sleep. This will help you make better food choices the day of the party. Why? Because sleepiness affects our hormone levels -- including the hormones that control appetite. If you're tired, your body may start craving the sugary foods that will trigger an immediate release of serotonin and dopamine. And that will make the dessert table at the party very hard to ignore.

The day of the party: Decide in advance what you're going to drink. Consider not drinking alcohol at all -- it’s just empty calories, and you can have plenty of fun without it. (I do it all the time.) If you do want a cocktail, order a lower-calorie one. (Jack and Diet Coke, anyone?) After that switch to Club Soda with a twist (no calories).

The hour before the party: Make a pact with your partner or friend that neither of you will overindulge. That way, you can hold each other accountable and avoid making bad choices together. Knocking a chicken wing out of a friend’s hand is absolutely acceptable, and he or she will thank you for it later.

And here are a few final words of wisdom...

Do Not:

1. Skip breakfast thinking you will “save the calories.” Research has shown when you skip breakfast, you're likely to gorge at dinner.
2. Tell yourself (or the person standing next to you), “I only eat this way at parties.” Your body has no idea that this is a special food for a special occasion -- it only knows that it's fattening and will derail your diet.

Do:

1. Call your best friend for an immediate food intervention if you have to. Leave a message if you get voicemail. Remember, it's your body -- not your host's -- and you’re not going to be smiling tomorrow if you overeat or drink tonight to make them happy.
2. Bring gum. It'll give you something to chew on instead of empty calories, and there will be nowhere to put the chewed gum when the appetizer tray comes around. (Your mouth will be in a bind!) Plus, you'll have minty-fresh breath for up-close conversations. Icing on the proverbial cake!

So enjoy! Socialize! After all, that’s what parties are really about. Focus on your friends, not the food. You'll be much happier tomorrow if you're not stuffed.

I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight and exercise that will help you lose weight. 

I wrote an ebook that will give you all the info in one read. It's a how-to book that also tells you about the mistakes I made and how to avoid them.

My ebook is available at www.amazon.com, www.B&N.com, iBooks (download the app), kobo.com, scribd.com and many more. My ebook will go on sale in May for $1.99. This special will only last for a limited time.

What My Website's About?

I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight and exercise that will help you lose weight. Today I want to talk about food. 

We all know by this time that when you cut calories in your diet, you have to pack all the nutrition you can in everything you eat. You can’t waste calories on food that isn’t giving you something in return. So, in order to give me energy, I try and eat all I can of the super-foods. 

One of the new ones is Quinoa.

What is quinoa?

Well, some consider it a grain and some don't.  Either way, it's definitely in the grain/rice/cereal family, and that's a family I enjoy eating.

Even better news is that quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wah) is actually a pretty good source of protein when compared to most grains, packing in 8 grams per cup.

Even better news is that quinoa is the only grain that contains complete protein, each gram containing all 26 amino acids.

Even BETTER news is that quinoa is extremely low glycemic coming in at an extraordinarily low 35 on the scale while offering a generous 5 grams of fiber per cup.

Do you now how AMAZING quinoa is?

It's the grain of all grains.  You can mix it with beans, you can eat it by itself, you can mix it in "salads", serve it alongside steak, chicken, or fish...you can pretty much do whatever you want with it anytime you need a quality, low glycemic, high fiber, protein-packed carb source.

In case, you're not familiar with the “super foods” just do a search on the internet and there’s plenty of websites like “Health.com” that will give you a full list. Just to name a few: Blueberries, tomatoes, oats, avocados, salmon, broccoli, green tea, eggs, and almonds. There’s actually about two dozen more which gives you a big variety of choices. Try to eat some every day. 

Quinoa is a good alternative to rice or potatoes. A 4 oz. piece of meat with a cup of quinoa, vegetable and beans and you have about 40 gm of protein and every few calories.

When you're trying to lose weight and lose fat, it's important to maximize your protein. Try and eat protein at every meal, yes even breakfast. As you lose weight you want to avoid losing muscle mass and that's not easy. But eating lots of protein will help you to maintain your muscles. The challenge is to avoid red meat. Red meat has protein but also has animal fat and too much animal fat will cause you to gain fat, not lose it. Fish and poultry has protein but most of your protein should come from plant protein. If you can get about 80 gms. a day of protein, you won't get hungry. Protein at every meal will keep you feeling full.

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I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight and exercise that will help you lose weight. I wrote an ebook that will give you all the info in one read. It's a how-to book that also tells you about the mistakes I made and how to avoid them.
My ebook is available at www.amazon.com, www.B&N.com, iBooks (download the app), kobo.com,  Scribd, and more.

Your BMR is Another Must Know

BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate

I've written about this before and I get questions about this all the time, "How many calories do I need?" This post will answer the question. Losing weight is still about calories. The calories you take in every day vs. the calories your body burns. So, the big question is  "How many calories does your body burn?" If you're going to lose weight you need to know your BMR (the number of calories your body burns). So, read the post below for help.

The calories you take in every day vs. the calories your body burns. So, the big question is  "How many calories does your body burn?" If you're going to lose weight you need to know your BMR (the number of calories your body burns). So, read the post below for help.

Measuring a Healthy Lifestyle
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Definition

Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body burns at rest to maintain normal body functions. It is the amount of calories per day your body burns, regardless of exercise. It changes with age, weight, height, gender, ethnicity, diet and exercise habits. An average BMR would be 1850 calories per day for an adult man and 1500 calories per day for an adult woman of average height and weight. Don't use the averages if you're overweight, use a calculator to get your number. Those numbers are accurate if you're in good shape and your body is functioning on all 8 cylinders. If you're overweight your body doesn't burn as many calories and your body can't burn all the calories you eat. You don't even have to be overeating, some calories your body can't use and it will store those calories in fat cells and leave them there. Some of the things we eat the body can't process and only the food or drinks that get processed will be separated and either disposed of or used by the body.

Yes, it's a little complicated but because of the things we eat, we are either functioning the way we should or not. If you aren't getting enough nutrition some of the body functions will not work properly and you could gain weight, lose weight, or your immune system becomes weak and you become ill.

This is the number before factoring in any movement, it is below even the sedentary level. Once you add in what it take to simply move around for basic functions, while still being sedentary, the average calories per day needed would be 2200 for the man and 1800 for the woman. This number is pretty accurate for a young adult in good condition and proper weight.

Calculating Your BMR

Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator: Input your height, weight, and age and adjust for your activity level to find out how many calories you can eat and maintain body weight. In order to lose weight, you would want to eat fewer calories and/or burn more calories through exercise. This calculator uses the classic Harris-Benedict equation for energy expenditure.

Basal Metabolic Rate - Burning Calories Even at Rest

You may think your Fitbit is fibbing or broken when it tells you that you've already burned a few hundred calories when you get up in the morning. What, you wonder, was I running in my sleep? No, it is simply reporting the calories you burned due to your basal metabolic rate. Normal body functions like breathing, blood circulation, and brain functions all burn calories so you do burn calories when you sleep.

Find a BMR calculator on the internet and because the answer can vary do it twice on two different sites. I found a good calculator on CalorieCount.com.

I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight and exercise that will help you lose weight. I wrote an ebook that will give you all the info in one read. It's a how-to book that also tells you about the mistakes I made and how to avoid them.

My ebook is available at www.amazon.com, www.B&N.com, iBooks (download the app), kobo.com, scribd.com and much more. My ebook will go on sale in May for $1.99. This special will only last for a limited time.