Body Image PSA... a must watch

 

This video is under 3 minutes long

but it brings to light a lot of startling statistics about

how men and women, and boys and girls are viewing their bodies.

We need to make a shift

We need to stop associating size with health

Body weight issues are very complex, it is not as simple as too skinny, or too heavy.

Talk to your doctor about a healthy weight for you 

And remember to

Move, eat healthy, laugh.

Healthy Reminder of the Week

Here are some healthy things to try to do for yourself this week and for life.

Happy Monday!

Revolutionary

LC's 7 Days to Skinny Jeans

Lauren Conrad has put out a 7 Day plan to help you recover from your holiday eating.

The goal is to get you back into your skinny jeans

But even if that isn't your goal, you just want a simple meal and exercise plan for 7 days to kick start the new year and new healthy lifestyle this is a good place to start.

There are Breakfast ideas, lunch and dinner recipes, simple snacks, and quick 20-60min exercise plans.

I am doing this 7 days and I will keep you posted on my progress.

Im not trying to fit into any skinny jeans but I am trying to eat healthy, pack tasty good-for-me lunches to my new job and do something active every day.

CLICK HERE to see the plan and set up what you are going to do for the next 7 days.

To Help me succeed I have written down what I plan to do each day.

I will share with you what I am eating and what exercise I am doing each day 

if you decide to join me post about it in the comments!!

Today was Day 1 and I would say it was about half way successful.

The problem was I got a really late start...

11:30 - oatmeal 

1:30 - 5 min warm up, Intervals on treadmill x8, cool down

3:00 - cheese string snack

4:30 - Salami pita - with spinach, pickles, cucumber, tomato and feta

but then I ate a piece of cheese cake.

Total water: 7 cups. 

Oh well it's saturday. 

Take Care of Yourself

Start taking care of yourself Now.

Living Health shouldn't be about doing something to yourself but about doing something for yourself 

-Eat in moderation, stop when you are full

and live an active lifestyle 

 -if you don't like the gym, find an activity you love like Tennis or Hiking

Create healthy Habits

{source}

Healthy

6 weeks challenge!!

I have booked a trip to Mexico for the beginning of September!!!!

I am trying to get ready for the beach by eating healthy and doing something active every day.
I will keep you updated on what Im doing, what Im eating and how its going!!

Saturday I did the 30 day Shred from Jillian Michaels.
Sunday I did one of the workouts from the Women's Health Hot body yoga app called "Torch calories fast" - it burns 450 calories in 1 hr... I only did 15 minutes though haha!!!
Monday I did strength exercises such as pushups/ incline push ups, crunches, and reverse crunches, and squats whenever I found a couple extra minutes.

Today I have a soccer game if it doesnt get rained out.

What workout apps, videos, or routines do you use?? I am open to any suggestions.

Tomorrow/Wednesday - I will post the recipes for some of the lunches I've been packing and going to Hot Yoga!!!

Healthy Food? Dinner Edition

Veggie Burger

Subsituting vegetables for beef isnt necessarily a bad idea.

But veggie burgers are often bound together with cheese, and packed with sodium for flavor.

They also tend to be huge throwing your portion size out of wack

Add a white bun, sugary ketchup, and some mayo and you just might be getting more than 1000 calories

Juice

While 100% juice is an easy way to one of your daily servings of fruit

a 16oz glass or apple or orange juice contains about 55g of carbohydrates... mostly sugar.

(about 12 spoonfuls!!!)

And juice lacks the fibre that is in fruit that fills you up.

Try to stick to one 8oz glass of 100% juice a day or less (thats one fruit serving)

Frozen Diet Dinners

When you take out high calorie fat and sugars... you also take out flavor

To make these dinners taste good they replace this lost flavour with sodium

Which means major water renetion for you

Skip the prepackaged dinners and instead, freeze home made meals into single-portion size dinners.

Use glass containers to avoid any harmful chemicals that can leach out of plastic when it gets heated.

Healthy Food? Part 2

Dried Fruit

It can have 5-8 times as many calories as the fresh kind.

The sugar becomes concentrated and many brands add extra sugar.

One cup of grapes = 60 calories

One cup of raisins = 460 calories.

And all the sugar and the sticky consistency makes dried fruit a major cause for cavities.

Granola

Sure its full of healthy oats and nuts

But Do you know why its so crunchy?

Because its cooked with oil. 

And there is a ton of added sugar.

One bowl can be 500 calories.

If you like granola, portion control is really important, try just sprinkling it on top of yogurt.

And make sure you read the label and choose the healthiest brand.

Summer Salad

Mango salad

I made this a couple times this week and it was delicous and summery.

I chopped up a bunch of whatever I had in the fridge...

I didnt measure or anything, just what looked good.

I thought I would share with you my salad "recipe" and some health benefits of all the ingredients!

Mango

(one cup contains 25% of your daily intake of vitamin A -thats good for your eyes)

Avocado

(eating avocados for only one week can lower cholesterol on average 17%)

Cucumber

(contains silica which is good for connective tissue, and can improve your complexion)

Red Bell Pepper

(linked to reduced risk of a number of cancers, and contains more vitamin C than oranges)

Red Onion

(contains a surprising amount of polyphenols.. phytonutrients which help protect agains disease)

Cilantro

(a powerful cleansing agent, chemical compounds in cilantro bind to heavy metals in the body and help eliminate them)

Lime Juice

(Anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-biotic and detoxifying properties, and can help get rid of ulcers)

So mix your self up this healthy summer salad and start enjoying the benefits today!! It would also make a great salsa if everything was chopped smaller and you added more juice.

Impress everyone by bringing it to your first BBQ of the summer...

(click on the ingredient to see more health benefits)



Heart Health

Did you know heart attacks are more likely to occur in the morning?

Why?

Because in the mornings

-your blood pressure has started to rise, and is much higher than when sleeping

-your arteries are more rigid, making them more likely to rupture

-your blood is thicker

-so what can you do to prevent a heart attack in the morning?

Taking all heart-related meds in the evening before bed - around 10pm

-cholesterol meds- because your liver makes more cholesterol at night

- blood pressure meds can help keep your blood pressure lower in the morning

-taking a baby asprin as a heart attack prevention is more effective if taken at night

-even taking half of your multi vitamin at night is good for you because of the

antioxidant benefits.

So stay heart healthy, talk to your doctor about switching your meds to the evening

{source: Dr. Oz}

No more toys in SF

A new law in San Fransisco has been passed that will stop McDonalds from adding toys to Happy Meals.
The toy has long been the lure behind getting a McDonalds happy meal - and hopefully this will cut down on how many of these unhealthy meals are fed to kids.

In order for a meal to qualify to get a toy it must meet the following criteria:

-Less than 600 calories
-Less than 35% of the calories come from fat
-Less than 640 milligrams of sodium
-A fruit or vegetable

while this doesn't guarantee a healthy meal it is a least a step in the right direction
The adequate intake of sodium for kids 1-8 is between 1000-1200mg - so this qualified meal could still contain more than half the sodium your child should get in a day.

found on foodfitnessfreshair.com

Ginger

My Mom always tried to get my to drink Ginger tea when I was sick but I never really liked it. I have learned to like a little bit of ginger, but Im still not sure Im ready for her potent tea.

Ginger has been used for thousands of years for nausea, motion sickness, colds, joint pain, and circulation problems. It is a warming spice, like the ones mentioned in the previous post and it can be used to raise the body temperature to help fight infection.

Click the link below to read more about this health-full ingredient and get some recipes
http://www.wholeliving.com/article/power-foods-fresh-ginger

Healthy Popsicles?

Skip the fruit juice with all the added sugar - and make a healthier version at home.

Take your favorite fruit, berries, mangoes, watermelon - cut into chunks and puree in the blender. Add a little water if it looks too thick.  Sweeten to taste if you like.

Then pour them into store bought Popsicle moulds and freeze.

Or try just filling your moulds up with yogurt and freezing them.  Yummm.

These ones look like they have a slice of kiwi!

If you dont have popsicle moulds you can use paper cups. After you fill them cover with tin-foil and then insert a popsicle stick.