If you are focusing on losing weight and making lifestyle changes, the first two weeks are undoubtedly the hardest. Your body and your mind need time to adjust to your diet, and this initial period requires a lot of motivation and a desire to stick to your new plan. Anytime you make lifestyle changes, it [...]
Entries Tagged 'Food' ↓
Tips For Picking the Right Foods
October 23rd, 2008 — Food, Weight Loss Journal, additives, chemicals, chocolate cake, dressings, food labels, food rewards, food taste, fridge, goals, grasp, healthy choice, healthy eating, healthy food, initial period, lifestyle changes, losing weight, motivation, palate, processed foods, sad fact, sauces, seasonings, temptation from Weight Ladder @ Weight Loss Journal
Avoid These Chinese Take Out Foods
October 14th, 2008 — Chinese, Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Newsweek has a useful article today by Tina Peng titled Unhealthy Chinese-Food Choices listing the seven worst choices at a Chinese restaurant.
Fried rice
Lo mein
Chow fun
Crispy (orange) beef
Lemon chicken
General Tso’s chicken
Barbequed spare ribs
Why were some of those foods bad? Fat, sodium, and calories. All pack more than you think but those are the worst offenders. What [...]
The Rice Diet Solution
October 10th, 2008 — Book Review, Food, Weight Loss Journal, calories, diets, diseases, exercise advice, fad diets, fats, few days, impact workout, lack of protein, lifestyle changes, meditation, moderation, next level, north carolina, preface, processed foods, proteins, rice diet solution, sodium, starvation mode, tai chi, whole lot from Weight Ladder @ Weight Loss Journal
This is one of the oldest diets that is still followed today, and thousands of people swear by it. There is a clinic in North Carolina for those that really want to take this diet to the next level, but the rest of it can get almost the same benefit from reading the book at [...]
5 Ways to Dramatically Decrease Your Calorie Intake the Easy Way
October 9th, 2008 — Food, Meals, Weight Loss Journal, alternative ideas, calorie count, celery, diet, dressings, drink, feeling the pinch, fewer calories, goals, hard time, headway, healthy eating, how many calories, lettuce, losing weight, nutrition, portion control, potato chips, replacements, salads, salty snacks, size bags, sodium, spray oil, sugar, switches, temptation, vinaigrette from Weight Ladder @ Weight Loss Journal
For many of us, trying to consume fewer calories can be very difficult. If you are someone that has a hard time feeling satisfied on little meals, or you just can’t seem to make any headway with your calorie count, there are a few ways that you can dramatically reduce how many calories you are [...]
Continue reading → 5 Ways to Dramatically Decrease Your Calorie Intake the Easy Way
When Diet Food Is Actually Bad For You
October 7th, 2008 — Food, Weight Loss Journal, adult, allotment, calories, chemicals, convenience, diet, diet food, excess water retention, food choices, food labels, healthy eating, high blood pressure, labels, migraines, preservatives, sodium content, suggestion, vegetables, vital functions, warning signs, weight gain from Weight Ladder @ Weight Loss Journal
When you first get on a diet, especially one that is calorie restricted, you’ll find that you are pretty limited when it comes to food choices. For many, it’s simply easier to take advantage of prepackaged meals. While these are expensive, there is a lot to be said for convenience, and for having everything spelled [...]
10 Things That Are Surprisingly Good For You
September 24th, 2008 — Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
The List Universe has a list of ten things that are surprisingly good for you, which really means they’re healthier than you may think. The reality is that most things that are bad aren’t that bad when taken in moderation, but I was very happy to learn that Ice Cream made the list at #1.
Ice-cream [...]
Continue reading → 10 Things That Are Surprisingly Good For You
Sunday Roundup - Lose that Weight!
September 21st, 2008 — 5 steps, Food, Meals, Weight Loss Journal, blood pressure, cyclical nature, depression, exercise, exercisers, fast food, fitness health, health habits, health network, lazy man, little time, loose skin, moms, news sports, nutrition, pregnancy, sports nutrition, tom venuto, tuna salad, weight loss, wellness, workout from Weight Ladder @ Weight Loss Journal
In this edition of the Sunday roundup I’ve pulled several posts from blogs on a myriad of subjects but mostly I found posts on the subject of losing weight. Hopefully they will help you on your way to a healthier and better life. Have a happy and healthy weekend!
The Fitness Health Network Presents:
Fat [...]
5 Weight Loss Foods: Grains, Asparagus, Pomegranates, Nuts & Green Tea
September 18th, 2008 — Asparagus, Food, Pine Nuts, Pomegranates, green tea, weight loss, whole grains from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Ever get tired of seeing all those green tea weight loss advertisements everywhere? Think they’re scams? Turns out they’re, green tea anyway, actually on the list of five foods that can help you lose weight according to Dr. Maoshing Ni, author of Ask. Dr. Mao on Yahoo! Health.
The five foods are:
Whole Grains: He specifically [...]
Continue reading → 5 Weight Loss Foods: Grains, Asparagus, Pomegranates, Nuts & Green Tea
What You May Not Know About Fat
September 17th, 2008 — 3 fatty acids, Food, Meals, Weight Loss Journal, animal products, avocados, bad fats, canola oils, chicken eggs, corn oils, flax oil, good cholesterol, healthy eating, milk and dairy products, monounsaturated fats, negative connotations, nutrition, omega 3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fats, reading labels, red meat, risk of heart disease, saturated fats, vegetable oils, waxy appearance, wellness from Weight Ladder @ Weight Loss Journal
Most of are trained to recoil in horror at the mere mention of the word fat, and it automatically has negative connotations for most of us. However, there is such a thing as good fat, and if you’re trying to lose weight, it is important to make sure you are getting the right balance of [...]
Don’t Snack on Trail Mix
September 10th, 2008 — Food, Hiking, Trail Mix from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
On my desk is a bag of PLanter’s Trail Mix - Fruit and Nut. It’s a pretty good medley of nuts and fruit actually, some peanuts, raisins, banana chips, cashews, pineapple, cranberries and even some papaya. It’s absolutely delicious. It’s also jam packed with a lot of fat (good and bad fats), calories, and sugar. [...]
Do Natural Remedies Work for Injuries?
August 27th, 2008 — Food, Weight Loss Journal, allergy, aloe, bromelain, centuries, drink, garlic, good science, healing process, heart problems, inflammation, injury, low blood pressure, medicine, natural anti inflammatories, natural remedies, olive leaf, pineapple, skin level, sports injuries, taking medicine, topical application, traditional medicine, vitamin e from Weight Ladder @ Weight Loss Journal
There are a lot of different techniques for handling sports injuries, but many people are now turning back to natural remedies in an attempt to seek relief. If you prefer not to take traditional medicine, there may be some assistance that you can see from these remedies, but it is vital to speak with your [...]
Truth About Eggs
August 25th, 2008 — Cholesterol, Food, eggs from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I remember watching old movies where you’d see body builders consume a dozen raw eggs for breakfast. I mean these guys would be filling up a cup of the good stuff and chugging it down as a source of quick source protein. Since then, with the advent of whey protein powders and shakes and reports [...]
Red Bull May Give Heart Problems
August 18th, 2008 — Energy Drinks, Food, Red Bull from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Hmmm… the first time I saw Red Bull was on a trip to China when I was a teenager, about a dozen years ago. We saw the bus driver drinking these cans and thought he was getting drunk! It wasn’t until we inspected the can did we learn that these were energy drinks, which hadn’t [...]
Michael Phelps Consumes 12,000 A Day
August 13th, 2008 — Food, Michael Phelps, Olympics from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
The New York Post has an article today about the diet of swimmer Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps eats an amazing 12,000 calories a day (vs. a typical diet of 2,000 calories) and is well on his way to trying to beat mark Spitz’s record of 7 gold medals in an Olympics. The man has already [...]
Myths About Coffee: America’s #1 Drink
August 13th, 2008 — Food, caffeine, coffee from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
The New York Times recently took a look at America’s #1 beverage, coffee, and the ingredient that makes people drink, caffeine, the most widely used drug. The article has a lot of facts but here were the ones that stood out for me:
There’s a list of how many milligrams of caffeine is present in average [...]
Spinach: A Nutrient Packed Superfood
August 11th, 2008 — Food, spinach from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Popeye used to eat the stuff by the can when he needed a little ‘pick me up’ against that brute Bruno. I like to grab a whole bunch whenever I make a salad. What is this awesome leafy green? None other than Spinach. Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that is packed with an incredible [...]
Volumetrics Diet: Fill Up To Lose Weight
August 7th, 2008 — Food, Volumetrics, diets from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Volumetrics is a diet plan developed by nutritionist Barbara Rolls, PhD, with one aim in mind - fill you up with food that is low in calories but high in volume (volumetrics! get it!?). She explains the Volumetrics diet in a 2000 book titled The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan and then in 2005 with The Volumetrics [...]
Home Grown Vegetables Taste Better
August 4th, 2008 — Eggplant, Food, Garden, tomatoes from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
This spring and summer, my wife and I have restarted our patio garden and planted some tomatoes, hot peppers, and bell peppers. So far we’ve only harvested a handful of patio and Roma tomatoes but they’ve tasted fantastic. We did it for several reasons:
There is entertainment value out of growing your own fruits and vegetables,
It’s [...]
The Good Avocado Superfood
July 31st, 2008 — Avocado, Cholesterol, Food, HDL, LDL, Lycopene, tomatoes from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
As a child I never had the opportunity to eat much avocado. I’m Chinese and avocado simply didn’t make its way into many, or any, of the meals my mom prepared so I wasn’t exposed to the delicious treat until much later. I think my first try was sometime in college when I tried guacamole, [...]
Omega-3 vs. Omega-6 Balance
July 24th, 2008 — Fat, Fish, Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Earlier this week I wrote about why Omega-3 fatty acids are important and discovered that it’s not only important to eat Omega-3 oils but it’s important to ensure your Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are in proper balance. Both are essential but the proper ratio is necessary because both compete for the same metabolic enzymes. [...]
What Are Omega-3 Fatty Acids?
July 22nd, 2008 — Fat, Fish, Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Omega-3 fatty acids are good for you, that’s something we’ve known for quite some time now, but do we know why? I didn’t until I did some research.
Why Omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids are family of unsaturated fatty acids that your body can’t make itself and it’s an essential nutrient for your body. What exactly is the [...]
Daily Recommended Values
July 21st, 2008 — Cholesterol, Daily Recommended Values, Fat, Fiber, Food, Saturated Fat, calories, carbs, protein, sodium from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Do you know what the daily recommended values (DV) are for everything on that nutrition label? It’s like budgeting, you don’t know if you’re doing well or doing poorly unless you have a reference point. Daily recommended values is the FDA’s way of setting reference points and it’s important to know what they are, even [...]
Low Carb Diet Is Best!
July 16th, 2008 — Food, diets from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Which is best? Low carbs? Low fat? Or the Mediterranean diet chock full of healthy fats, fruits, and veggies? Turns out that conventional wisdom, where lower fat is always better, doesn’t always win out and the latest study shows that low carbs is actually the biggest winner. This was a story featured on ABCNews and [...]
What are Nitrates and Why Are They Bad!?
July 15th, 2008 — Carcinogens, Food, Nitrates, Nitrites from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Nitrates, and nitrites like sodium nitrite, are additives. They were added processed foods, usually meats like cold cuts and hot dogs, to fight botulism. The unfortunate part is that they can form nitrosamines in our intestines once they are digested. Nitrosamines are bad because they might be carcinogenic.
Does that mean you should avoid processed foods [...]
Best Fruit Drinks for You
July 10th, 2008 — Best Food, Food, weight loss from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
My wife used to drink a lot of apple juice as a child. She absolutely loved the stuff. Me? The only juice I ever drank was orange juice. Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice, usually with as much of that juicy fiberous pump as humanly possible. I always thought apple juice was like sugar water and [...]
Carnival Foods
July 8th, 2008 — Food, Worst Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
It’s been a long time since I’ve gone to a carnival but the same types of food served there are also served at local Renaissance festivals, wine festivals, and, well, every other festival. Newsweek took a crack at the most unhealthy carnival foods:
Deep fried Oreos
Cotton candy
Corn dogs
Deep fried Twinkie (detecting a trend?)
Snow cone
Funnel cake - [...]
Post 4th of July Roundup
July 6th, 2008 — Food, alcohol addiction, bbqs, caffeine, change of pace, dirty word, drink, exercise, family time, fitness health, friendly food, goals, gym, health goals, health network, healthy eating, high intensity, hotel food, hydration, lazy man, ncn, nutrition, nutrition fitness, rocco castellano, self discipline, smoothie king, ups, ups and downs, water, weight loss goals, wellness from Weight Ladder @ Weight Loss Journal
How was everybody’s 4th of July? Did you enjoy your fireworks, BBQs, and family time? Better still did you all keep on your diets and stay focused on your health goals during the celebration?
From the Fitness Health Network this week were quite a few good articles in my opinion. Check them out:
Did [...]
Is Margarine Better than Butter?
July 3rd, 2008 — Butter, Food, Margarine from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
It’s gotten to the point where I don’t know if margarine is good for you, bad for you, better than butter, worse than butter, which is it? The flip flopping by the scientific community has my head in a spin and I have no idea which way is up. Fortunately, in the confusion, science has [...]
More Beets & Cabbage
July 2nd, 2008 — Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Beets and cabbage have headlined the latest “best foods you’re not eating” article, this time on the Well column of the New York Times. Author Tara Parker-Pope listed these items as foods you should be eating but probably aren’t (along with simple preparation methods):
1. Beets
2. Cabbage
3. Swiss chard
4. Cinnamon
5. Pomegranate juice
6. Prunes
7. Pumpkin seeds
8. Sardines
9. [...]
Cut One Soda A Week
June 24th, 2008 — Beer, Food, Small Changes, soda from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Cut one 120 calorie soda or one 120 calorie beer a week and you’ll lose some serious weight.
A pound of fat is about 3500 calories, so cutting a 120 a week for a year would save you 1.8 lb. of fat a year. While that doesn’t seem like a lot, that’s one soda a week. [...]
High Protein, Low Carbohyedrate Diets
June 23rd, 2008 — Food, atkins, diets from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
If you’ve ever heard of the Atkins diet then you’re familiar with one of the most popular high protein, low carbohydrate diets. The idea behind high protein and low carbohydrate diets is that you get approximately 30-50% of your calories from proteins, which is much higher than what the American Heart Association, the National Cholesterol [...]
5 Vegetarian Proteins & Roundup
June 22nd, 2008 — Food, General from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I mentioned earlier that my wife and I might go vegetarian for a week and so I began researching some vegetarian sources of protein. As it turns out, there are plenty of proteins out there from non-meat sources so I figured I’d find five that could be our staples. The five are:
Beans
Tofu
Peanut Butter
Lentils
Broccoli
This whole vegetarian [...]
Idea: Going Vegetarian For One Week
June 20th, 2008 — Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I heart me some meat. I like steak, I like burgers, I like chicken, I like wings, I like pork and I’ll even have some lamb on occasion, though that’s a bit of a pricier cut. I’m a fan of meat and have been for quite some time now. However lately, my love of meat [...]
POWERade Zero Mixed Berry Tastes Not So Great
June 13th, 2008 — Food, Powerade, Reviews from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
This week we had two double header softball games in the wonderful heat and humidity that is Maryland. The first game was on Tuesday and the second was just yesterday, Thursday, and it was pretty warm on both days. Tuesday was far worse, with a combo hit of humidity and heat that really sapped our [...]
Continue reading → POWERade Zero Mixed Berry Tastes Not So Great
Friendly Fast Food
June 12th, 2008 — Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Did you know that the preservative used in Chinese dishes like Peking duck and pickled tofu can cut cancer by two thirds? Or that heart attack victims who took extract pills were 45% less prone to repeat attacks? Those and many more fast food friendlies were showcased by The Sun today.
The Outback Aussie Cheese Fries [...]
Hotels Are No Good For Exercise
June 3rd, 2008 — Food, Internet, Weekly Review, exercise from Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Health
If you’ve been wondering where I am lately, I haven’t been extra Lazy. I’ve been on a vacation in Boston. It hasn’t been much of a vacation as the stress of seeing family and friends and getting things done isn’t as relaxing as I hoped. As far as this blog goes, I [...]
How to Avoid Missing Breakfast
May 28th, 2008 — Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Weight Loss Journal had a great post the other day listing 4 ways to avoid missing breakfast, which is the most important meal of the day.
His advice of timing yourself is crucial because it really shows how quickly you can eat a good breakfast. How long does it really take to pour a bowl of [...]
Diet Coke Drops Sodium Benzoate (E211)
May 27th, 2008 — Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
One of the concerns about Coca Cola’s Diet Coke was that it contained an additive called sodium benzoate, known as E211. Sodium Benzoate is used to stop carbonated beverages from going mouldy but has been linked to damaging DNA and hyperactivity in children. Sodium benzoate is not a human-created chemical, it occurs naturally in some [...]
Why Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Good For You
May 22nd, 2008 — Antioxidants, Cholesterol, Food, HDL, LDL, Olive Oil from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Olive oil is great. OK, why?
If you have no idea, welcome to the club because until about fifteen minutes ago I had no idea either. I just knew that olive oil was supposed to be good for you and that you should be buying extra virgin or virgin olive oil if you want [...]
Continue reading → Why Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Good For You