Fitness & Health

Thank You For Smoking

by MomGrind

cigarette-adImage credit: Jollyboy

I can’t believe they used to market cigarettes this way.

Do you smoke cigarettes? If not currently, have you ever smoked? I’m particularly interested to hear any tips for quitting, or better yet, for helping a loved one quit. A family member that I deeply care about smokes, and there’s no stopping them. I sometimes worry so much about what they are doing to their body. I wish I could find a way to make them stop. To make them WANT to quit smoking.

Me? I tried smoking ONCE. Inhaled. Coughed A LOT. My throat was burning and the taste in my mouth was horrible.

Let’s just say it wasn’t a positive experience.

Thankfully, that single bad experience turned me off smoking for good.

Foods You Should Always Buy Organic

by MomGrind

vegetablesOrganic food tends to be outrageously expensive, typically costing 10-40% more than conventional food.

This means that buying organic food is out of the question for many families. But since a few conventional products are notoriously contaminated, it might make sense for some families to buy organic versions of those and conventional versions of other, safer foods.

Produce

The U.S. Department of Agriculture found that even after washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticide residue than others.

Researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) have developed a list of “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables that you should always buy organic, if possible: apples, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, bell peppers, celery, potatoes, and spinach.

The following twelve foods have been found to contain the lowest amounts of pesticides and so it’s fine to buy the non-organic version: asparagus, avocado, banana, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, kiwi, mango, onion, pineapple, sweet peas (frozen), sweet corn (frozen).

Meat, poultry and Dairy

An “organic” label on meat and poultry means that the animals were reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, which may pose risk to consumers and are banned in Europe. Many health experts have raised concerns that the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry industry may contribute to the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria.

In addition, certified organic animals are not fed animal by-products, thus reducing the risk of diseases, including mad cow disease.

Commercial dairy products also contain antibiotics and growth hormones, while organic versions of the same products are free of these harmful additives.

Other problematic foods

1. Corn. The majority of domestic corn has been genetically-modified.

2. Rice. Pesticide use on rice fields in California’s Sacramento River Valley, one major growing region, has been so heavy that it has contaminated groundwater.

A few simple rules to follow when you can’t buy organic food:

1. Buy fresh vegetables and fruits in season. When long storage and long-distance shipping are not required, fewer pesticides are used.

2. Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. This would limit exposure to any one type of pesticide residue.

3. Trim fat from meat and buy skim milk. Hormones and pesticide residue often concentrate in animal fat.

Photo credit:dboy

Healthy Weight Loss Tips

by MomGrind

berries2

If you are trying to lose weight, and are aiming for a healthy weight loss, try to avoid fad diets and counting calories.

Instead, follow these simple tips for losing weight gradually and keeping the weight off:

Don’t call it a “diet”

If you look at this as a temporary ordeal that you have to go through in order to lose weight, then go back to your old habits, you will do just that: suffer through a few weeks of limited food intake, then go back to your old habits and regain all the weight you’ve lost. Instead, you should aim for a lifestyle change. Make changes gradually. Incorporate a healthy new habit once a week, or once a month. Once you have incorporated a habit into your routine, such as drinking 8 glasses of water per day, move on to the next habit.

Set realistic goals

This is related to the previous point. Pace yourself: the journey to achieve a healthy weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. If you set unrealistic goals, such as losing 10 pounds in 2 weeks, you will set yourself up for failure. Instead, decide on small, attainable goals, such as losing 1 pound per week.

Never Skip breakfast

Breakfast not only keeps you from being ravenous and overeating come lunchtime, research also shows it helps jump start your metabolism earlier in the day, so that you burn more calories overall than if you started eating later in the day.

Don’t eat too few calories

If you don’t eat enough, your body will go into starvation mode and will become extremely efficient at using the calories it does get. The result: a slower metabolism, which will make it harder to lose weight.

Avoid eating too little during the day

If you are ravenous by the time you get home, you will likely overeat at the dinner table. Instead, spread your food intake over the entire day. It is a good idea to have 3 meals and 2 small snacks every day.

Incorporate exercise into your routine

Exercise burns calories and builds muscle mass, which burns more calories than fat tissue, even while you rest. Exercise also makes you feel good, tones your muscles and helps you stay healthy. Even if you can lose weight without exercising, you should incorporate exercise into your routine for health reasons. And if you must have a shallow reason to exercise, remember that it is completely possible to be thin and flabby.

Focus on your health, not on your looks

Sure, we all want to look good. Most people would lie if they said that they are losing weight only for health reasons. But focusing only on looking good is a mistake. You should lose weight only if you are overweight to begin with, and you should lose that weight and exercise regularly because it will make you healthier and will improve the quality of your life.

Don’t focus on the numbers

Try not to focus on the number you see on the scale. Try not to weigh yourself too much (once a week should be enough for most people). If you focus too much on your weight, normal weight fluctuations could discourage you to the point of giving up. Instead, try to focus on how you feel. Are you feeling strong and healthy and energized now that you are eating better? Do your clothes fit better?

Don’t rely on diet foods

Since you are aiming for a lifestyle change, it is important not to rely too much on diet products which are expensive and often unhealthy. Instead, try to eat small quantities of high quality, nutritious foods. Remember Michael Pollan’s excellent advice: ‘Eat food. Not too Much. Mostly plants.’

Don’t be too strict

Since healthy weight loss is a long-term thing, it is important to allow yourself a treat once in a while. Whether it’s a small treat once a day, or a bigger weekly indulgence, is up to you. The idea is, that if you want to be able to do this long-term, you have to allow yourself a treat now and then.

Don’t fall for a fad diet

You’ve probably heard about many of them: cabbage soup diet, fruit juice diet, grapefruit diet, Atkins, South Beach, and more. They don’t work long-term because they are too restrictive, or weird, or both. Remember: to achieve healthy weight loss, Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Photo credit: The Wandering Angel

Dealing with Restaurant Food

by MomGrind

restaurant-food-portions1Restaurant food in the United States is notorious for its huge portions.

According to experts, the supersizing phenomenon is partly responsible for the obesity epidemic we are currently facing. How can anyone lose weight when the food industry is intent on keeping us fat?

So, what can we do to avoid eating too much when faced with a huge plate filled with tempting food?

Putting half your entree in a to-go box before you start eating is a well known portion control strategy, but some say it could call attention to the fact that you have self-control issues. I don’t necessarily agree. I think it’s very human to overeat when a large amount of food is placed in front of us. There’s nothing wrong with asking for a to-go box right at the start of the meal.

Other restaurant portion control tricks include slowing down by putting the fork down between bites, pretending that the bread is three days old (or asking not to bring it to the table in the first place), and ordering a veggie, or a baked potato, instead of fries.

Another great way to avoid eating too much restaurant food is to do some research in advance: if the restaurant provides nutritional information on its website, look it up before you leave the house and plan on ordering the figure-friendly items. It is always a good idea to ask for salad dressings and sauces to be served on the side rather than generously poured over your food. Sharing an entree with a friend or with your partner is a great way to make sure you don’t overeat, and it could save you some money too.

At the end of the meal, instead of ordering dessert, my husband and I sometimes bring a bite-size candy bar with us to the restaurant. We order coffee or tea and accompany it with our tiny, just-the-right-size dessert. When we’re in the mood for a “real dessert” from the restaurant’s menu, we share it. Sharing restaurant food is a great portion control strategy and is well worth the extra few bucks that some restaurants charge for food sharing.

Photo credit: emdot

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