Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Interesting Article--Things to Eat to Lose Weight

When doing some research on different ways I could change up my diet and move to the next level of eating healthy, I came across the article below about 4 foods that are "must eats" to lose weight. I hope you find it as informative as I do!!!

Things to Eat to Lose Weight - 4 Natural Appetite Suppressants That You Will Love

One important way of improving weight loss is by taking appetite suppressants--foods that either make you feel full faster but are low on calories. Unfortunately, many appetite suppressants come in the form of diet shakes, supplements and other manufactured products which raises the issue of side-effects.
But the good news is that there are certain natural things to eat to lose weight and reduce suppress your appetite including the following:

Natural Suppressant #1: Lentils
(How about "natural suppressant" since that's our topic? Let's change that for all of them)
An understated but powerful food item is lentils, which has plenty of benefits not only for enhancing weight loss but for your overall health. Lentils are packed with protein and fiber: 9 grams of healthy proteins per half cup serving and 8 grams of fiber per serving, to be exact. They also have lots of minerals required in the body for metabolism. As an appetite suppressant, lentils travel relatively slowly through the digestive system compared to other legumes like beans, thus keeping you full for longer. To have a little fun with them, try the different colored lentils for soups, dips and spreads.

Natural Food#2: Celery
A great vegetable to reduce appetite is celery. It is very rich in fiber and offers very few calories- a whole cup of celery contains 16 calories. This combination of high fiber and low calories, as well as the slight salty taste and crunchiness of the celery, makes it ideal for reducing your appetite. (watch the grammar of using "appetite" on its own) Celery will satisfy hunger without the calories, so you can eat as much as you wish without worrying about gaining weight.

Natural Food#3: Pickles
Natural pickles-usually made from cucumbers-- are great snacks / salads as they are very low in calories--a whole jar of pickles will only add about 50 calories to your body. In addition to keep you satiated, brine cured pickles will allow intestinal microflora, which aid in the digestion process and help boost the immune system, to flourish.
There are many varieties of pickles in the market like salted, half-sour, backed et cetera and so it is important to always read the ingredient labels before adding them to your shopping cart. Steer clear of the ones with artificial additives and flavoring as these will actually cause you to add weight.

Natural Food#4: Bananas
This is a fruit with a long list of health benefits and is often featured prominently in many weight loss diets. Some of the health benefits associated with the consumption of bananas-whether ripe or unripe-include:
1) Helps to maintain a healthy blood pressure due to their near perfect potassium / sodium balance.
2) Prevents eye-sight degeneration in old age.
3) Helps fight kidney diseases
4) Helps control anemia by providing the body with high quantities of iron to facilitate the formation of red blood cells.
Why talk about health benefits in an article about natural appetite suppressants? Simply because when your body is out of balance you crave things you shouldn't or wouldn't if you were healthy. But, health benefits aside, this wonder fruit aids directly in the weight loss fight in various ways. Here's a few:
1. Ripe bananas are an excellent substitute for sugary snacks. This keeps you from overloading your body with refined sugar calories that leave you hungry and send weight directly to the places you want to keep the weight off of!
2. Bananas have sugar in its natural form within the the fruit and are high in monosaccharides--glucose, sucrose, and fructose--which will keep your energy up and help you burn more calories and keep your appetite in check
3. Finally, bananas help you suppress your appetite because their fiber content will keep you satiated and nourished.. Feeling full is the #1 goal of natural or synthetic appetite suppressants so the fiber in bananas is your friend!

So there you have it! Four satisfyingly suppressing super foods to eat to lose weight. Be creative with them and enjoy looking at yourself in the mirror after these natural appetite suppressants have worked their wonders on your body!

Arthur Martens is the founder of Guaranteed Wellness Inc, and created the popular weight loss resource "From Flab to Fab: 3 Proven Principles to Permanently Drop the Pounds!" ( [http://flabtofabweightloss.com/] ) to help people lose fat safely, quickly, and permanently. To Receive powerful resources on weight loss and wellness visit [http://flabtofabweightloss.com/].
As we always say, "Welcome to the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!"
For more great Fat Burning Facts and Simple Solutions see his other articles on EzineArticles.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arthur_Martens


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6375315

Thursday, July 11, 2013

My Week in Workouts

I've never posted or written down what all I do during a week as far as working out goes. I wanted to start documenting what all I'm doing so it will hold me accountable and also hopefully inspire some of you to try new things! I am using an app on my iPhone called Lose It! This allows me to document my eating/calories along with my workouts/calories burned. My goal this week has been to burn more than 500 calories per day.

Here we go!

Monday (total daily calories burned = 1103)
5am - Swimming - Finished 20 laps at our local Rec Center. Pool is 25 yards/per lap. Estimated calories burned = 676
8pm - Workout Anytime (local gym) - Multiple items completed (Total Calories Burned = 427):
  • Elliptical, 10 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 127
  • Walking/Jogging on Treadmill, 30 minutes, various speeds. Estimated calories burned = 136
  • Weight lifting/abs workout, 45 minutes, various weights. Estimated calories burned = 164
Tuesday (total daily calories burned = 796)
6:30pm - Workout Anytime (local gym) - Multiple items completed (Total Calories Burned = 418):
  • Elliptical, 10 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 127
  • Weight lifting/abs workout, 30 minutes, various weights. Estimated calories burned = 109
  • Stationary Bike, 10 minutes, vigorous speed. Estimated calories burned = 182
8pm - Rec Center - Multiple items completed (Total Calories Burned = 378):
  • Walking on Treadmill, 25 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 114
  • Stair Machine, 12 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 191
  • Free weights, 20 minutes, various machines. Estimated calories burned = 73

Wednesday (total daily calories burned = 676)
5am - Swimming - Finished 20 laps at our local Rec Center. Pool is 25 yards/per lap. Estimated calories burned = 676
In the afternoon, we went to our outdoor local pool and just did a recreational swim, no structured workout. Considered this a "resting night".

Thursday (total daily calories burned = 609)
6:30pm - Workout Anytime (local gym) - Multiple items completed (Total Calories Burned = 609):
  • Elliptical, 10 minutes, moderate speed. Estimated calories burned = 127
  • Weight lifting/abs workout, 45 minutes, various weights. Estimated calories burned = 164
  • Stationary Bike, 10 minutes, vigorous speed. Estimated calories burned = 182
  • Walking/Jogging on Treadmill, 30 minutes, various speeds. Estimated calories burned = 136

And the week is not over yet! Tomorrow (Friday) & Saturday morning have more swimming planned. I'm also planning on getting in another workout at the Rec Center Friday night. And to top off the week, Saturday night is the Glo Run--a 5k that's under black lights and has a DJ and is going to be so much fun!

Friday, July 5, 2013

Healthy Mexican Dinner

We love Mexican food in our house! When deciding to go unprocessed, you can still make delicious Mexican options. Here is something we tried tonight and it was amazing!! Including the "meat"!

Ingredients
1 can Black Beans, drained and washed in cold water
4 Roma tomatoes
1/2 white onion
1 clove fresh garlic
1/2 Mango
1 Avocado
1/2 Jalapeno pepper, including seeds
1 Serrano pepper, no seeds
1 bag rice
1/2 bell pepper
1/4 cup cilantro
Soft shells or chips
Romaine lettuce
Spices Used: salt, pepper, coriander, chili powder, cumin

How to Put It All Together:
Black Bean "Meat"
Add one can black beans, drained and washed in cold water, in the blender. Add in 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, heaping 1/2 of chili powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 pinch salt.

In a small pan, put 1 tsp Olive Oil on medium heat. Let this get warm and add in 1/4 bell pepper minced, 1/4 onion and 1/2 garlic clove minced. Heat until softened or onions translucent. Add mixture to the blender.

Finally, add 1/4 cup the Mango Salsa (listed below) to the blender. Blend all items until they are a paste-like consistency. Transfer this from the blender to the pan used to heat the warm ingredients and put on medium-high for approximately 5-10 minutes. Use as the "meat" for your Mexican meal! You can also flatten this out in the pain and shape into burger shape for Mexican hamburgers!

Mango Salsa
Chop the following ingredients: 3 Roma tomatoes, 1/2 mango, 1 Serrano pepper (no seeds), and 1/2 Jalapeno pepper with seeds, 1/4 of bell pepper, and 1/4 of onion and place in food processor. Add in 1 tsp cilantro, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 pinch cumin, 1 pinch salt, and 1 pinch black pepper. Blend until liquid salsa consistency.

Guacamole
Take one avocado cut into chunks and add to small bowl. Add 1 tbsp. Mango Salsa and stir until creamy.


We took Romaine lettuce and used them as taco shells adding the "meat" mixture, Mango Salsa, and guacamole to make a delicious Mexican treat! The kids used regular soft shell tacos and added the "meat", salsa, regular rice, and cheese for their version. We hope you enjoy!!!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

4 Tips to Cut Processed Foods

As I continue to workout a lot, I'm finding I lose the most weight when I change my diet. I have been trying to cut out processed foods. (I have failed this over the past 3-4 days) This is one of the hardest things I've ever done! I believe that's why I'm drawn to write about it again tonight.

I am finding I struggle most at work during lunch and at night for dinner. When I go straight to the gym after work, I don't have an issue, but with my schedule getting a little more hectic, it's not always easy to get to the gym before 9 or 10pm at night.

On my quest to put together some meals for myself, I came across 4 tips to cut processed foods from your meals and stick with it! I have referenced the link to the article at the bottom of this page.

To summarize, here are the suggestions:
  1. Don't quit "cold turkey"! Evaluate what you are eating or drinking on a daily basis and slowly move to a total non-processed option. The example they give is of orange juice. Fresh-squeezed orange juice is your non-processed option. Orange juice not made from concentrate is the "almost real" option. Orange juice from concentrate is the "barely real" option. And orange sodas/flavored drinks are the "bad"/processed option. Depending on what type of orange juice you are currently drinking, move to the next best option. Continue this process until you are at the fresh-squeezed option, also known as the non-processed option.
  2. Think about how processed foods are affecting your body. Once you list out the items you are eating and drinking, evaluate those items to see how they are affecting your body. It can be as simple as making you feel tired all the way to increasing your blood sugar or blood pressure, headaches, and bowel issues. Think about if it is worth the risk to your overall health to continue to consume those items. Having trouble remembering what items are doing to you? Make flashcards and place them strategically around your kitchen/house where you are frequently tempted to consume these items. Better yet--put those reminders in your car, your wallet, and with your grocery bags so you are reminded NOT to purchase these items! Out of sight/out of mind.
  3. Choose fresh ingredients to make quick meals when time is of the essence. If you are crunched for time during a busy week, skip the drive thru and choose options from your local grocery store which you can use to prep a quick meal. For instance, pick up fruit and veggies that are pre-cut but still fresh. When in an extreme pinch, choose a garden salad and a piece of fresh fruit.
  4. Learn new recipes and prepare meals you can use for leftovers. Research non-processed food recipes online. I am also putting new recipes on this blog to try and share new ways to put a healthy twist on favorites, like chocolate chip cookies and brownies! The main thing to watch in your recipes are for ingredients that are processed. A website I have found with good recipes is www.detoxinista.com. Once you find recipes you like, save them on your tablet/phone or print them and make a custom recipe book. We have also started trying new recipes with our friends which makes it much more fun!
Thank you for being on my journey to get healthy and fit by not only being more active but changing my eating habits as well.

As promised, I found this article at: http://www.naturalnews.com/039249_processed_foods_diet_tips.html