Define Clean Eating

Eating "clean" is gaining traction — but what does it actually mean, and how is it good for the body? You here about it almost everyday if your reading food blogs of watching cooking shows.

Clean eating is a deceptively simple concept. Rather than revolving around the idea of ingesting more or less of specific things (for instance, fewer calories or more protein), the idea is more about being aware of the food's pathway between its origin and your plate. At its simplest, clean eating is about eating whole foods, or "real" foods — those that are un- processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible. However, modern food production has become so sophisticated that simply eating whole foods can be a challenging proposition these days.

Stores like Whole Foods have changed the food scene. We have more mini grocery's that specialize in fresh foods, organic foods and healthier brands. Ten or fifteen years ago we had 3 major grocery's where I live, and we had Whole Foods and convenient foods in gas stations. Today the scene is much different. Healthy foods are becoming common place in the majors and small grocery chains are springing up throughout the city selling organic, fresh, healthy food. Restaurants are starting to offer healthy food on the menu. The difference is today the public demands it. Menu will have to show the calorie count. And recently the FDA what's food manufacturers to put the amount of added sugar on food labels. These changes won't happen immediately but the changes will be a good thing for consumers.

Not eating processed foods is the biggest part of "eating clean". I was surprised to learn how many people don't really understand what foods are considered to be processed foods. Most people don't realize that bread is a processed food and that some cheese is processed. These new milks like soy milk and almond milk are processed foods and may have chemical additives.

I just finished a sugar detox recently. For 10 days I couldn't eat anything with added sugar. I'm glad I did the detox, but it's difficult finding foods or drinks without sugar.  I had to just buy the basics and make my own food. It's very healthy and I learned a lot and I have no regrets. The hardest part was not eating in restaurants. The other hard part was only drinking water, tea and coffee. I could add lemon for flavor and add cinnamon to black coffee. I could eat salads in some restaurants but no salad dressing, only lemon, oil, or vinegar.

The reason I mentioned the sugar detox is, if you want to get a taste of what it's like to "eat clean", try a sugar detox.

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. 

Why I Workout After The Kids Go To Bed

I copied this post for you because it's a misconception that we have to exercise in the morning. I always do yoga at night because it helps me to sleep. It relaxes me. I actually do about 20 minutes of yoga twice a day, but that's me and I don't do yoga to lose weight.


By Charity Curley Mathews

My baby weight isn’t going to lose itself -- and believe me, I’ve tried waiting around to find out. I’ve had three babies in the last four years, which means the same 25 pounds has come and gone three times. Problem is, the other 10 extra pounds I've had for years hasn’t gone anywhere, either. Here it is, right around my waist, enjoying life in elastic pants.

This ladies weight problem is more a fat problem. She needs to lose the excess fat and get her shape back again.

It makes me feel better emotionally. Even though I’d rather collapse on the couch the moment all three of my little rascals are tucked in tight, finding the gumption to fire up a fitness DVD or head out for a walk gives me a sense of freedom. When I start carving out time for myself, I feel better taking care of me, like our household isn’t quite as chaotic as it usually seems. Life with young children is tiring, and when you’ve been dealing all day with tantrums, pull-up diapers and tiny people who insist on dressing themselves even though they can't fasten buttons, it’s easy to sink into an emotional rut by nighttime. 

It makes me feel better physically. By now, everyone knows the chemical benefits of exercise. Working out is scientifically proven to provide endorphins, the same kind you get while sneaking a big piece of dark chocolate while the kids are playing in the other room. The difference being, exercise endorphins actually whittle your waistline, instead of expanding it. 

I can focus on two of my needs at once. Ever the multitasking mom, I make sure that even my workouts are twofers: Since private time is at a precious premium, I throw in a fitness DVD and then I turn the volume down and fire up a fun show or podcast. It’s a system that combines genuine entertainment with physical stimulation -- and both on the cheap. No wonder I’m loving my routine! 

It's an automatic out from my kids' bedtime clutches. When my 3-year-old climbs on my back, demanding one more snuggle before bed, I can truthfully tell her, “I’ve got to do my exercises now. Love you!” And she totally gets it. Love that kid. Sticker for her.

It keeps me loose. I’ve always been an active person, but I've never been particularly thin. That’s a whole other ball of wax, one that involves eating a lot less, especially given my height and metabolism (sea slug-ish). Right now, after baby number three, my fitness goals are purely focused on moving all my body’s parts every day, and noticing how good it feels. My creaky neck, that pinch behind my left shoulder blade and oh, those hips... ouch! What they need is movement, strengthening and stretching.

It makes exercising seem like a treat instead of a chore. Ever since my kids were born, I’ve been a work-from-homer instead of an online executive leading a team from the comfort of a fancy office. Nowadays, my time spent being a professional and my time spent being a mom totally blur together, to the point where my average day goes something like this: Interview an expert for an upcoming article. Throw a load of clothes in washing machine. Edit photos for Foodlets.com. Check emails. Get dinner going. Throw clothes in dryer. Set up a conference call with new consulting client.With a schedule like this, I find that it’s honestly just too tiring to consider doing ONE MORE THING at the end of the day -- unless I make it feel like a reward.

For a while, I really resented the whole idea of having to stick to a nighttime fitness routine. Wait, now my "special thing" is exercising? Since when is that “fun”? Then I had a change of heart. Life requires effort. Should one of my daughters ever find herself in a similar situation someday, I'll be able to tell her: “Make the effort. Make yourself healthy.” Because I've learned from personal experience that along the way, she'll be happier.

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My new ebook is in online bookstores now. You can go to Amazon.com and type the title in the search bar: How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight? The price is $3.99. I think you'll find it interesting. I write about myself and my battle with weight and all the mistakes I made and how you can avoid the mistakes and lose the unwanted body fat.

The ebook is also at http://barnesandnoble.com and they have a special introductory offer right now $2.99. Also available on iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, and others worldwide.

STOP BURNING SUGAR AND START BURNING FAT

A great article that explains why we workout but don't lose any inches. The article explains why you could be working out just to burn the sugar and other sources of energy but not real fat.

by Shaun Hadsall

Did you know that the years of eating processed foods, lack of exercise, and normal eating patterns have literally PROGRAMMED your body to burn NOTHING but calories and sugars from the foods you consume everyday…
…INSTEAD of burning off your ugly body fat?

In fact, today's exercise programs take way too much time and use old-school methods that cause you to crave more food and calories – especially calories from sugar – FORCING your body to burn sugars and waste away nothing but stored energy.

This means that EVERY time you eat and exercise your body is busy fighting a losing battle.

BUT – what if there was a way to RESET your body’s fat burning switch so that your body burns fat FIRST every time you move and exercise?

Well there IS.

It’s a super simple 3-step metabolic primer from my colleague, and Stubborn Fat Expert, Shaun Hadsall that TURNS OFF your body’s “addiction” to burning sugars, while making your most stubborn fat your “go to” energy source in ONLY 3 or 4 days.
STEP #1: Try to consume zero starches or fruits for 3 or 4 days in a row during the week.

This will help accelerate depletion of glycogen (your stored energy) and get your body burning fat again. This should equate to a total of 25 to 50 impact carbs for the day. Consume protein in every meal to help increase satiety and keep your body in “fat burning mode”.

You’ll program your body to burn a ton more belly fat by using this approach just a few days of the week.

STEP #2: Increase your fats and double your servings of green cruciferous veggies on deplete days.

When you lower carbs for a few days you’ll automatically need energy from other sources. Friendly fats and cruciferous veggies should be your go to macronutrients to help provide this needed energy.

Some good examples to use are extra fish or krill oil, olive oil, coconut oil, grass fed butter and small amounts of raw nuts for fats -- spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, arugula, green beans, Brussels sprouts and cabbage are great choices for extra veggies.

This will help provide all the fiber, vitamins, and minerals necessary to maximize fat-loss during a lower carb phase.

It will also DECREASE your cravings in a big way.

STEP #3: Double your daily water intake when you deplete carbs.

Remember, for EVERY gram of carbs you eat over the weekend (or any other time) your body holds nearly 3 grams of water.

So if you had a few slices of pizza, some bread and a bowl of ice cream we’re talking an extra 700 to 1000 grams of water sitting under your belly skin.

Consuming extra water is the fastest way to UNDO the damage of over-eating, getting rid of excess water retention, and facilitating other metabolic processes that burn fat.

A good rule of thumb is to consume at least 50-60% of your total body weight in ounces of water a few days after overeating.

After 3 or 4 days of using this strategy, your body and hormones will be PRIMED to burn PURE fat when you exercise.

You just have to make sure you’re using the RIGHT TYPE of exercise or all this could be nothing but a waste of your time and energy.

If your serious about trying this, the exercise is important, but if your an active person and you don't spend hours sitting, a quick 10 minute workout with stretching first and afterward maybe all that's necessary.

If you really want to lose the extra flab you can get help, I write 4 blogs and I’ve written two E-books. Read some of my other blog posts.

gettingtoahealthyweight.wordpress.com

idropped40pounds.wordpress.com

howbaddoyouwanttoloseweight.blogspot.com

blogonweight.blogspot.com

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.com, BN.com, iBook, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, and Gardner books in the U.K.

My second e-book is available in the same stores. And on smashwords.com. If you use the Smashwords' promotional code You can get my second book for $1.99 (TL96R). Just type in the search line “getting to a healthy weight”.

5 Reasons To Eat Real Food

This is a great post that I'm re-blogging from the 'MyFitnessPal' website. The post is about the 
advantages of Clean Eating. This is only a portion of a larger post that I hope to reblog at a later date.  For people who want to have a better diet but don't know where to start, this article should help you.

1. Eat “healthier” without thinking about it. It’s useful to think of food as nutrients (macro-and micronutrients) so we can better understand our body. When it comes to healthy eating, it’s more useful to think of food simply as food. Choosing “real” foods lets you eat healthier from a nutrient perspective without thinking too much about nutrients.

2. Redefine your relationship with food. Do you find yourself labeling food as “good” or “bad” based on a predefined notion of what healthy eating looks like? Nothing should always be that black and white, least of all a healthy relationship with food. Choosing real foods forces you to reevaluate the foods you think are healthy (aka processed foods labeled “low fat,” “sugar-free” and so forth). That being said, if you’re willing to buy real food ingredients to bake a cake, you should be able to enjoy a slice of dessert without a side of guilt.

3. Get the most nutrients out of the foods you’re eating. Processing foods usually removes or destroys valuable nutrients. The two exceptions are fortified foods (think: orange juice with added vitamin D) and preserved foods (think: canned and frozen). Choosing mostly real foods helps you maximize the nutrients you get from the foods you eat.

4. Cook, connect, and celebrate with friends and family. Real food means real cooking! Since real foods come in the most natural form, it pushes you to be creative in preparing and cooking your meals. Cooking is an essential skill when it comes to living a healthy life. Since good food is a cause for celebration, get your friends and family members involved if you can.

5. Live a longer, healthier life. “You are what you eat” is a simple mantra capturing the impact that diet quality has on your quality of life. Eating mostly real foods will decrease your chances of getting a debilitating chronic disease like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, or cancer. After all, the goal of being physically healthy is to live a long life whilst avoiding these pitfalls. 

I think people have forgotten that first line in #5, 'You are what you eat.  This phase isn't new. I remember being in school some 50 years ago and reading the same thing. I think people use to pay more attention to what they ate. Today all we look for is convenience and price. Isn't that the real problem with our overweight population? We want to spend more time relaxing and less time worrying about our health or our appearance.

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. 

Running Part II

After you're comfortable with a two-mile walk and you can do the walk at a pretty fast pace your ready to jog a little. First of all, a pretty fast pace would be two miles in 45 or 50 minutes. The first day I started jogging I was only jogging about 100 yards at one time and then walk again until I catch my breath and then I jogged again another 100 yards and so on.

Today, I can jog about a 1/4 mile then walk a 1/4 mile and so on. My goal would be to jog 10K and eventually to run a 10K race. I have to start with the 5 K which is 3.1 miles and build up. I know it's going to take some time. It doesn't make any difference if I actually run a 5 K or not. All that time I'm working out for the run, I'm losing body fat little by little and becoming a healthier person and that's the real goal, but I have to have the other goal to stay motivated.

I believe that humans don't age by calendar years. What we think of aging is really the result of us gaining weight and slowing down, eating the wrong foods and not taking care of the body we have.
The problems humans have is that we don't really know how to take proper care of our bodies. We don't know what humans are capable of, what our minds are capable of, and how long a human could live. We have no idea, science bases everything they know on past experiences. All they really know is that each generation will probably live a little longer than the present generation because that's the way it's always been.

We need to listen to our bodies and do a better job of staying healthy. It's not something that happens automatically. There 's plenty of free information on good websites that will give you all you need. If you're a young adult, still in school, it will be much easier to get in good shape.

Running to lose weight has been proven to work but don't forget your diet. You won't be starving, you'll be eating clean, fresh food. The Dash Diet is a good example. The Mediterranean Diet is my favorite. You have many more choices. If you don't cheat, if you stick to the running and walking routine and do it every day and stay with a diet of clean, fresh foods you will lose fat and become a healthier person. If you're under doctor's care now you'll want to talk to your doctor before starting any exercise routine.

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. 

Running To Lose Weight

I don't want you to get turned off because you think there's no way you could ever do this. I subscribe to many newsletter and I get one from "Runner's World". Yes, I started running again and most people would think I'm just and old man. Even my relatives think I'm crazy for running again after 50 some years of not running. Back in the early 1970's, I was hit by a car and my left leg had severe damage. I had stopped running long before that but after the accident, I never thought I'd run again.

Just recently I read an article on "running for beginners" and how you can use a walk and run routine to interval train and even if you have knee pain, this type of exercise will strengthen the knee and reduce the knee pain. I've had knee pain for years and I even had a repair job on the left knee about 5 years ago, so I was "all in" if this can reduce knee pain and help me control my weight, I'm for it.

I started running a few months ago. I do the walk, run routine I read about and you really can lose fat.  Most of the fat loss will be in the belly, hips, butt, and thighs. But don't think the fat will just falls off,   You have to change the way you eat. That part was pretty easy for me, I already changed my diet and lost most of my body fat, but if you want to "Run To Lose", I suggest you look at the Runner's World website and consider investing in their new book "Run To Lose". It's not expensive, check it out.

Or you could read my blog and over the next few day's, I'll tell you what I did and how it worked for me and reading my blog is free. Or if you like to hold paper in your hand when you read, You can download my ebook from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or iBook, it's $3.99 and then you can print it.

Enough about books, I was a real skeptic when I first started to run. But I followed my tried and true methods for any exercise and I started slow. At the Park near my house, there's a 2-mile jogging track; when I jog at night I go to the High School and use the track. I start by walking 1/4 mile or one lap around the track just to warm up, then I start jogging for about 100 yards and then go back to walking slow, after I catch my breath I start jogging again and keep that up for 2 miles. At the High School, that's about 8 laps. I have a personal goal to run a 10K in the city marathon. I'm sure by January I'll be ready.

What you want to realize before you start any exercise program is that the pace I set for myself can be more than you can do and that's understandable. I workout more and I'm in very good physical condition for my age. Depending on your health and you can't be comparing yourself to other overweight, out-of-shape people you might know. Compare yourself to the way you were in High School. The age of your body has very little to do with time. Sure, we calculate age by calendar years, but your real age has very little to do with the calendar.

When you first start a walk, run routine you want to do mostly walking. Your body has to get use to exercise all over again and depending on the amount of weight you gained over the years, this may take you a few weeks. You want to do just plain walking for a few weeks, don't push it. If you're in middle age and are overweight, it's possible to do damage to your heart by intense exercise. If you get out-of-breath easily, talk to your doctor about exercise. There is a safe heart rate to achieve when exercising, and to exercise at a heart rate more than that can be dangerous.  Building up your endurance for a heavier workout is called "conditioning". This is important if you want to achieve your goal. Running is by far the best way to condition your body, lose body fat and become a healthier person.

In my next post, I'll continue on about running and becoming healthy and fit.

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. 

The Ways To Keep Your Real Age Down

If you’re in your 50s, your dreams of Olympic gold are probably over, but that doesn’t mean you need to feel old. A study published in June 2016 showed a drop in physical performance between ages 50 and 59, coupled with a low level of physical activity--that’s a recipe for having an older RealAge.

Your "real Age" is your Biological age. Your body doesn't go by a calendar, it doesn't use your calendar age to judge you. We wear-out our body and that's the end of life. So how do we wear out our body? By not taking care of it. 

“No one should be surprised that people start to decline in physical abilities in their 50s. We reach our peak physical abilities in our 20s and early 30s,” says Keith Roach, MD, Sharecare’s chief medical officer and co-creator of the RealAge Test. “That being said, staying active can maintain that level of physical ability much longer than if you stop exercising.” We misjudge what we do all day and mistake that for exercise. And some of it maybe exercise but if your gaining weight over the years it's because you're doing less.

The cycle of life begins with the child that has endless amounts of energy and even as a young adult if you have a low amount of body fat you still have lots of energy. But as we age our body did have stored nutrition but by age 30 we used up the stored nutrition and have to rely on food to replace that stored nutrition. This is the point we get ourselves in trouble. We don't eat enough nutrition during the day to give the body the energy it needs for body functions. 

Daily Steps and Physical Challenges
The study carried out by researchers at Duke University and published in Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences studied 775 people from 30 years old to over 100. Researchers monitored the participants’ average daily steps and minutes of physical activity per day, as well as their performance in four physical tests: standing on one leg, standing up from a seated position repeatedly for 30 seconds, a walking speed test of four meters and a six-minute walk.

All metrics showed a significant decline with increasing age, with three of the four starting in the 50 to 59 age group. The balance test declined by 19%, from 55.1 seconds for 40 to 49-year-olds to 44.8 seconds for 50 to 59-year-olds; chair stands decreased from 19.4 times in 30 seconds to 17.2; and the six-minute walk decreased from 680.7 yards to 654.7 yards.

Even the baseline totals for steps and activity— about 7,000 steps per day and 40 minutes of activity per day for people between ages 50 and 59—were low, according to Dr. Roach. “It’s sad how little people are doing,” he says. “Seven thousand steps per day is not good. Four thousand is sedentary. We want people taking at least 10,000.”

Stopping the Clock
You may never be as fit as a professional athlete, but it’s never too late to be the fittest version of yourself, says Roach.

Here are three ways to slow the march of time—and keep your RealAge young.

1. Move more. Roach says everyone should take at least 10,000 steps per day (he averages about 20,000). “It only takes about 10 minutes to get 1,000 steps,” he says. “It’s not hard to do.” Roach recommends for people who take public transportation to get off one stop early and walk the rest of the way to your destination. Another trick is pacing while on the phone.

2. Lift weights. You don’t have to be setting world records, but a little resistance training can have surprising benefits. Getting stronger will also improve your balance. “Strength training not only helps with balance and coordination, but it helps keep your bones strong,” says Roach.

3. Do yoga. Doing yoga now can set yourself up for a safer, more active lifestyle when you’re older. One out of three people over age 65 fall every year, leading to injuries, hospitalization, and even death. Plus, fear of falling can lead to anxiety and reduce confidence. A 2014 systematic review of 15 studies found that yoga may increase balance, in addition to keeping your muscles flexible.

If you think the Fountain of Youth can be found inside a jar, you may want to think again. Longevity wellness isn't about appearing younger; it's about protecting your health. Consider increasing your life expectancy from the inside out with things like adding more nuts to your diet, getting better quality sleep and nurturing your healthy relationships. Everything you do can be a step towards a longer life – just make sure they're the right ones.

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.