Stay Healthy

This is not the kind of post I usually write, but we are not in ordinary times. We are all trying to stay safe from the "virus". The outlook is pretty bleak in the near future but things will get better this summer. 

we have a new uptick in virus cases after Christmas and that was to be expected. 

Meanwhile, we have to try and stay safe. Even if the outbreak tapers off this summer I think we should expect a "new normal". What was normal just a few months ago might not be a reality a year from now.
This might not be the time to worry about your weight. It will take care of itself for now. I know it's a temptation to eat when you spend all day in the kitchen, but if you're not working or going to work take the opportunity to get outside and walk. I walk twice a day now just because I have more free time and I'm tired of watching TV.

YouTube has dozens of exercise videos so take advantage when you have free time. We are all looking for something to do and you will start to get cabin fever because humans can't just hibernate like bears.

This might be a good time to work on a new diet plan. Change your eating habits and get healthy. Avoid junk food and buy more fruit. Stay away from sugar and any foods with sugar. You don't have to starve yourself, just eat better food and you won't be hungry.

If you really want to lose your body fat then 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 $3.99. 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, bn.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. 

Is Salmon Good For A Weight Loss Diet

Read this blog from one of my favorite blog writers. 

By Lisa Lillien, a.k.a. Hungry Girl 

Salmon is often touted as a healthy fish to add to your diet. But does that mean it’s good for weight loss? I’m Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien, and I’m investigating the claim that salmon can help you drop pounds.

Let’s start with an overview of the claims about salmon as a weight loss tool.

One common claim is that salmon's omega-3 fatty acids can help you lose weight. Omega-3s are known to stimulate leptin production in the body.

And leptin, a protein hormone, has been shown to regulate appetite and metabolism. This study found that when leptin levels fall, signals are sent to the brain to increase feeding and burn fewer calories; but when they rise again, the signals are reversed. And monounsaturated fats, in general, have been shown to aid weight loss.

The fish is also packed with protein, a nutrient that’s linked to weight loss. One study found that a high-protein diet can be a metabolism booster, and this study revealed the positive effects of protein on appetite suppression. 

(Another food that’s full of protein and good for weight loss? Almonds!)

Here’s my take on the claims:

Salmon doesn’t have magical fat-burning properties, but it’s definitely a smarter choice than a lot of other foods. All the protein and healthy fats will help fill you up and keep you satisfied. I’m a big believer in eating lots of protein when you’re trying to lose weight!

But it’s important to watch your portions when you’re chowing down on salmon because the calories add up fast. Depending on the variety, a 4-oz. serving of salmon has 215-260 calories and 10-15g fat. Keep in mind, most restaurants serve portions that are twice as large. So keep your eye on the amount you eat, and keep any sauces or toppings on the light side or skip them completely.

A squeeze of lemon is all it needs! And pair it with steamed veggies or another low-calorie side. 

Create a scoopable salad. Sometimes, you need a break from chicken and tuna salads. Replace ‘em with canned or pouched salmon! Try StarKist Salmon Creations — portion-controlled and delicious. Or mix plain flaked salmon with fat-free Greek yogurt, creamy Dijon mustard, and a squirt of lemon juice; then mix in some chopped cucumber, red onion, and capers. Season to taste, and serve over greens. YUM!

Throw it on the grill. There’s nothing better than a perfectly grilled piece of salmon. 

Overall, seafood is a better choice than meat. You can get protein from many different sources, you don't need to eat meat every day.

I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites.

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com
howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com
blogonweight.blogspot.com

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.

Lack Of Exercise Is Second Only To Smoking

Poor physical fitness ranks right behind smoking as leading risk factors for an early death, new long-term research suggests.

By Maureen Salamon
HealthDay Reporter

This post verifies my views on increasing your activity. At some point, people need to take their health seriously. After you lose the ability to exercise and make a change in your life, coming back will become very difficult.

Latest Prevention & Wellness News

Analyzing nearly 800 men starting at midlife, Swedish scientists also found that each measurable increase in fitness levels translated into a 21 percent lower risk of death over 45 years of follow-up.

"Fitness in middle age is of importance for mortality risk for several decades," said study author Per Ladenvall, at the University of Gothenburg. "Persons with low fitness are associated with an increased mortality risk throughout life.""Smoking was the risk factor that was [most strongly] associated with mortality," Ladenvall added. "We were somewhat surprised that the effect of aerobic capacity was even more pronounced than that of high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

"Heart problems caused by narrowed heart arteries, also known as ischemic heart disease, is the most common cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Using exercise testing, which is traditionally used to diagnose ischemic heart disease, the study authors set out to determine the impact of physical fitness on early death from all causes. They also looked at established risk factors of heart disease such as smoking, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

The new research analyzed 792 men born in 1913 who performed an exercise test in 1967, at 54 years of age. More than 650 of the healthiest men also did an exercise test measuring maximal oxygen uptake, called VO2 max. The higher a person's VO2 max measurement, the more physically fit they are.

Tracking the men and using information from several physical exams in intervening years, the researchers obtained data on deaths from all causes. To determine the association between predicted VO2 max (physical fitness) and death, study participants were divided into three groups ranging from low to high VO2 max.

Each increase in predicted VO2 max (physical fitness) levels was linked with a 21 percent lower risk of death over 45 years of follow-up, even after adjusting for other risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

U.S. cardiologists agreed with Ladenvall that the study's long follow-up period strengthens the value of the findings.

But how much exercise is enough to lower a person's risk factors for dying earlier?

This question wasn't addressed in the study, Ladenvall said, "but on a general note, the amount of exercise needed to increase fitness is dependent on the baseline fitness in that individual."

"In people with low fitness, even small increases in activity levels can have beneficial effects," he said.

"It doesn't have to be fast, and people don't have to go out and run marathons," Weintraub said. "We need to think of something on the order of 30 minutes to an hour a day of activity. Get home from work and go for a walk. There's evidence that more activity is better up to a point, but any activity is good."

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. 

Can We Stop Aging

Science tells us that what we call “aging” occurs with age, but not simply because of age. 
The stiffening of the blood vessels and the decline of brain function associated with getting older are affected by what we eat and how much we exercise. If we follow the lifestyle habits associated with slower cardiovascular and brain aging, can we extend lifespan and healthspan? Advances in nutritional science have taught us that eating the right foods enables weight loss and helps to prevent heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Consider  what happened to a friend of mine  when he made radical changes to the way he eats.
When he was 60 years old, he could not walk a city block without feeling pressure in his chest. Yet, as a gift to himself for his 68thbirthday, he celebrated with a brisk run-up and down the rolling hills of Central Park in New York City.

  What enabled him to achieve such a feat?  As I like to say, the road to good health is as close as the end of your fork.

He began eating primarily nutrient-rich, whole foods:  greens and other colorful vegetables, beans, fresh fruits, nuts, seeds and whole grains. He minimized meat, eggs and dairy and eliminated added sugars, oils, white flour, white rice and processed foods.  In doing so, he reduced the number of calories he consumed while simultaneously increasing the amount of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals) and fiber he ingests. I coined the word Nutritarian to describe this longevity-promoting style of eating, that is nutrient-dense and plant rich.

Paul usually ate a huge salad with raw onions and shredded cruciferous vegetables for lunch with a great tasting  nut-based dressing. He also ate beans or lentils in a vegetable-based soup or stew each day. He included three fruits each day, making especially sure to eat berries, pomegranate, cherries, plums, and oranges.

He ate raw nuts and seeds between meals, with a special emphasis on walnuts, hemp, flax and chia seeds, all of which are high in omega-3 fatty acids. And he also made sure to eat a double-size serving of steamed greens at dinner, often adding  mushrooms and onions.

Though eating  nutrient-rich food is critically important, it is not the only factor that determines good health. For example, Vitamin D, vitamin B12, and proper omega-3 intake are important for optimal health, as well as  limiting sodium and high glycemic carbohydrates.

You may be surprised by how your body can heal itself  by simply eating right and getting exercise. 
You may also be amazed that your taste improves as you start to eat healthier, that you actually get more pleasure from eating and you can eat generous portions of great tasting healthy dishes.  Some people would say that they could never give up the processed food they crave. But you need to know that rejecting these foods is a mere temporary loss. What you gain is the highest level of energy and good health you ever had. If you were searching for the Fountain of Youth, you certainly found it. As he told people who asked him how he felt on his 68th birthday, “I honestly feel – no joking, no exaggeration – that I am only at the halfway point of my life.”  The facts are the same dietary portfolio that protects your heart also protects your brain from aging and prevents cancer.

We now know a lot about the factors associated with longevity. 

Studies of calorie restriction in animals have given us information about the cellular signaling pathways associated with longevity, and we can turn on those same genes and signaling pathways with our dietary and lifestyle habits.  

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. 

Are You Destine To Gain Weight?

Your genes are why your eyes are brown and your hair is red. They are what make you,  "you". But can genetics determine the size of your jeans?

Research shows that differences in your genes can lead to weight issues. So if your parents are obese, you’re more likely to be, too. But that doesn’t mean you will without question. Many people with obesity in their families aren't heavy. And you can fight the odds with diet and exercise.

Is There a “Fat Gene?”

There’s one gene that’s getting a lot of attention, called FTO. Scientists found that people with certain differences in this gene have a 20% to 30% higher chance of obesity. And those differences are pretty common. That said, I don't think your genes will make you fat, but your parent's genes change as they change. So if they were overweight when you were conceived then maybe those genes may have created a fat baby, but that doesn't mean you're going to stay fat. I remember a case in my family were one boy was born over 11 

pounds but throughout childhood and now as a young adult his weight is perfectly normal.

Dozens of other genes are linked to weight as well. Some, for example, cause people to just naturally store more fat. That could be heredity. But it’s still unclear exactly how much weight genes really do carry. Are you really destined to be overweight?

“Obesity is a very complex disease, and many factors can contribute to it and cause it, including genetics, behavior, and environment,” says Naima Moustaid-Moussa, PhD, director of the Obesity Research Cluster at Texas Tech University. Obesity can run in families -- not because of genetics, but because of habits and environment, she says.

More than a third of adults in the United States are obese, Moustaid-Moussa says. “The number of Americans with obesity has steadily increased over the past five decades, but this can’t be explained by some dramatic changes in our genes.”

Jung Han Kim, PhD, an obesity researcher and professor at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, agrees. Obesity has increased around the world with industrialization, a sedentary lifestyle, and a fat-filled diet, she says.

The Bottom Line

Family history alone doesn’t seem to be enough to make you obese. “Genetics does play a role, but the truth is who you are is still determined by how you live your life,” Li says.

So the same advice holds true:

Get active. Aim for 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity exercise like brisk walking every week. Even doing 10 minutes at a time helps. Weight training, done at least twice a week, will help make your muscles strong.

Eat less. Cut calories. Lopping off 500 to 1,000 a day can help you lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.

Choose good-for-you foods. Go for fruit, veggies, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy foods. Fish, lean meats, beans, eggs, and nuts are also good options.

There's a bunch of different opinions about cutting calories for weight loss. Personally, I had to change the food I was eating. If you eat fresh, healthy foods you will be cutting calories. It's all the manufactured foods and drinks that are loaded with calories.
We are a product of our environment and in your early years, you eat whatever your parents feed you. And the exercise you get depends on your parents. So before you reach middle school you are pretty much programmed to do whatever your parents allow you to do, which depends a lot on the region of the country and whether you live in the city or country.

Those formative years are very important in the way you will develop as an adult. So in some respects, if you're looking for someone to blame, maybe your parents did have something to do with your weight problem. But most of the chubby kids in school have lost that fat, I know I did, so you can't use that excuse forever. 

If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. E-books are the easiest and cheapest way to learn about any subject without groping through hundreds of websites looking for the material you want. 

My first e-book is “HowBadDoYouWantToLoseWeight” and it sells for $2.99 on most online bookstores like Amazon, BN.com, iBook, Kobo, and Gardner books in the U.K.

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smash words.com. Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

About Obesity

The meaning of the word has changed some since The Affordable Care Act passed. Now we adopted the British scale or the way they calculate Obesity. They use the BMI Method. By calculating your Body Mass Index, it tells doctors your percentage of body fat. So if your BMI is 30 or more you are now Obese. If your number is between 25 and 30 you're considered to be overweight and if you're less than that your normal. You should know your number. You can find out by using the BMI Calculators that are free on fitness websites like WebMD.com. 

Most overweight people are obese and don't know it. They think they should lose a little weight but it's nothing serious when actually it is, These are the one who probably haven't seen a doctor. Then there are the people who thing their weight is fine but they are overweight. Because they haven't seen a doctor they have no clue. 

So Is it our fault we're overweight, or not. I think it’s a little of both. Some of this we can’t help, but some of the fault is ours because we haven’t been keeping pace with the times. The world has been changing right before our eyes. The food industry has made the biggest change next to medicine. Most of our food today is processed. What does that mean? Manufacturers are in the food industry today and they’re making big money. Back in the 1950’s and 60’s we bought food from a grocery store in the neighborhood, you bought meat from a butcher and we could buy fruit and vegetables from a produce stand.  We could do all of this even in the big cities.

Today, your food comes from all around the world. Many of the foods are genetically altered to make the product more resistant to drought, more resistant to insects and altered to grow faster so It can get to market quicker. All of these changes will allow the grower to grow more product each year and make more money. So, why is that bad?

Humans have found out the hard way that processed foods aren’t very good for us. We have more cases of cancer, more obesity and we don’t get the same nutrition that we would get from locally farmed products. That’s one reason you see the organic produce in the stores today. Yes, they make more money from the organic foods, but people are demanding organic produce. We want produce that was grown without chemicals sprayed on them. Small organic farmers don’t make enough money to afford pesticides and fertilizers.  

So when you look at the changes in the last 40 to 50 years, for humans, they’ve been rather dramatic. In the sense that obesity and being overweight was not nearly the problem it is now. I mean, our rate has literally doubled. That’s a huge change. So, what happens? Number one would be, our genetics were set up for a life where one, we had to move a lot more, and two, there weren’t near as many calories, salt and sugar in our foods.

 We didn’t have this constant intake of calories. And so fast-forward now, 2016, what’s different? Ok, one is, calories are everywhere. Two, you take a bite of something, there’s many more calories per bite. And three is, our portion sizing is much, much larger. And we have data to show that.

The average man and the average woman, eat clearly twice the calories per day than, say, 50 years ago. So this is a tough one and the problem is, our genetics really were set up for people who were much more active. Today, we work more with our minds than with our bodies. In other words, we have millions and billions of bacteria in our intestines that actually have genetics, to try and hang onto calories and put them into the human body as well. 

Today’s human eats much more and has much more food available then people did 50 years ago. I was growing up in the 50’s and early 60’s and if I wanted a snack after school, my mother told me to get a piece of fruit. We always had apples in the house. Today, I still keep a bowl of fruit. Apples, pears or oranges and bananas.

As consumers, if we want to stay healthy, be a normal weight and avoid a lot of health problems that being overweight causes, then we have to pay more attention to the food we eat and the amount of food we eat.

People today just go along to get along and spend most of the time on remote. They go through their daily routine without giving much thought to what going on around them. They go through life eating and drinking whatever they want regardless of the harm they might be doing to their body. 

If we want to be healthy and fit we have to pay attention to your bodies' needs.

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. 

Is More Exercise Better?

This post published on WebMD confirms my belief that your diet is the most important part of the weight loss journey.

If a little exercise is good, then more is better in terms of calorie burn and weight loss, right? That's what most of us tend to believe.

But it's not necessarily true, a research team says. They found that people who exercise a lot don’t burn extra calories for their efforts beyond a certain point. Their new study is published in Current Biology.

Don’t drop that gym membership just yet, though. WebMD asked two experts to discuss these findings and the role of exercise.

On one point both agree: The new research is not discouraging exercise, which is crucial to keeping your body and mind healthy. But it does provide more evidence that diet, not exercise, is the key to losing weight.

What did the study find?

Pontzer and his team measured the daily activity levels of more than 300 men and women -- along with how many calories they burned -- over the course of a week. They came from five different countries across Africa and North America: the U.S., Ghana, Jamaica, Seychelles, and South Africa. People in some of those nations tend to be more physically active than many Americans.

The researchers had everyone's body mass index (BMI). They measured activity and calorie burning for a week but didn't track whether people gained or lost weight.

Exercise did have an effect on how many calories people used, called energy expenditure. But the number of calories burned didn’t increase dramatically as people got more exercise. Those who had a moderate activity level burned a few more calories daily, on average around 200, compared with the most inactive people. But those who exercised beyond the moderate activity level saw no effect of their extra effort as far as how many calories they burned

Although the study didn't define ''moderate'' in hours of activity, Pontzer describes moderate exercisers as those who are active ''but not serious athletes” -- someone who walks a couple miles a day or bikes to work and back, for example. Pontzer's team did find that those with higher body fat percentages actually burned more calories with exercise -- presumably, he says, because there is more fat to burn.

What do the findings say about the role of exercise in weight loss?The study didn’t focus on this specifically, but Pontzer says exercise ''can be part of a successful weight loss strategy. We need to think about exercise and diet as two different tools."“Exercise is good at lots of things, such as maintaining heart health,” he says. “Diet is going to be the better tool for managing your weight."The findings may show that the inactive lifestyle of many Americans hasn't contributed as much to the nation’s obesity epidemic as public health officials believe, Melanson says. He stresses that the study does not prove that, but simply adds information to the ongoing debate about why Americans are so overweight. The study found, in Melanson's view, seems to tip the scale a bit more toward overeating, not under-exercising, to explain the current U.S. obesity epidemic.

Why is it that more exercise is not better? Do we hit a kind of plateau?Yes, Pontzer says. "If you are more active, your body might be adapting,'' he says. "We hit an energy expenditure plateau. It's part of the reason your body adapts to your new exercise routine." That may be why many find it so hard to lose weight, he says. But, he believes, there is such a thing as an exercise “sweet spot” -- the point at which workout benefits, including calories, burned, peak. That spot is probably different for everyone, Pontzer says, although the new study didn’t look into that.

How do you find your ''sweet spot"?Pay attention to your body, Pontzer says. You know you're out of the sweet spot and overdoing it when you feel worn out constantly and you need more time to recover from exercise, he says. At that point, it's time to work out less.

What's the best take-home advice from this research?Even if researchers eventually decide that diet plays a bigger role than an exercise in weight control, Melanson says, ''the public health message is not going to change one bit. Exercise does matter [for overall health], whether you lose weight or not.''Working out has lots of health perks, including diabetes prevention, blood pressure control, stress reduction, and boosting your mood to help with depression. It can also contribute to brain and immune system health, experts say."This [study] says the first thing to do is diet and it won't hurt to throw in exercise," Pontzer says.

f you really want to lose your body fat then 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 $3.99. 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, bn.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. 

Until February 23rd Smashwords has a sale on my ebook for $.99, don’t miss out. This book is a one-stop-shop for all your weight loss questions. Use the coupon code CL77K.