Better health doesn’t need to be a complicated proposition. Sometimes we get so focused on the daunting obstacles that stand between us and achieving better health and vibrancy, that we miss the simple things that can produce amazing results. So, I’ve compiled a short list of 10 simple tips to consider to get on track toward a happier, healthier you…
1. ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE HUNGRY?
Whenever you feel like eating, ask yourself if it’s physical (rather than emotional or habitual) signs of hunger. Sometimes we eat out of boredom, sadness or anxiety. Sometimes we eat because that’s what we do at that time of day. Hunger is your body’s way of telling you that you need fuel, so when a craving doesn’t come from hunger, eating will never satisfy it. When you’re done eating, you should feel better — not stuffed, bloated, or tired. Your stomach is only the size of your fist, so it takes just a handful of food to fill it comfortably. Keeping your portions reasonable will help you get more in touch with your feelings of hunger and fullness.
“Don’t eat till you’re full. Eat till you’re not hungry anymore. There’s a big difference.”
2. DID YOU SLEEP OK LAST NIGHT?
Seriously… did you know that not getting the right amount of sleep can actually make the metabolism stop working correctly?! This means too little sleep = unexplained weight gain.
Can’t sleep?
Reach for Tryptophan-Rich Foods We’ve all heard of warm milk’s magical ability to send us off to dreamland. Do you know why it’s true? Dairy foods contain tryptophan, which is a sleep-promoting substance. Other foods that are high in tryptophan include nuts and seeds, bananas, honey, and eggs.
What if you went and took a brisk walk RIGHT NOW? I’ll tell you what….you’d sleep better, wake more refreshed, not feel nearly as stressed, be more creative, shape your legs AND you’d shed inches!
3. STRESSED OUT?
You do know stress kills, right? Seriously my friend, too high a stress level produces toxic levels of cortisol… which results in everything from hair falling out to stroke. What do you do to EFFECTIVELY keep stress at bay?
Here’s a trick to stress less… Balancing the right and left sides of the brain with sound wave technology is a great way to relax.
“Stress is the trash of modern life – we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life.”
–Terri Guillemets 10
“Brain cells create ideas. Stress kills brain cells. Stress is not a good idea.”
–Frederick Saunders 12
4. 2 QUICK TIPS TO INCREASE ENERGY
1. B Vitamins—Taking vitamin B can give you a boost. Many of the eight B’s help convert the food you eat into energy, says Cindy Moore, M.S., R.D., the Cleveland Clinic’s director of nutrition therapy. “It’s like oil in a car. If your body doesn’t have the oil — the B vitamins that do the conversions — it doesn’t run well.” Get your B’s from lean beef, pork, poultry, or fish, as well as from bananas, nuts, whole grains, and seeds. Also, a multivitamin with B’s help with energy conversion, they just lack the antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids found in so many foods.
2. Drink Up—Downing lots of water and low-sugar drinks helps ensure that nutrients get where they’re supposed to go. Go get a drink of water.
5. CHOCOLATE ACTUALLY HELPS MUSCLES PERFORM BETTER!! YAHOO!!!!
According to a 2011 study, the European Journal of Nutrition suggests that eating dark chocolate with 70% cocoa might aid muscle recovery after a tough workout. A nice recovery snack (not to mention a YUMMY reward) is an individually wrapped square. I did say the word YUMMY, right?
6. ARE YOU A EVENING SNACKER?
Eating night time snacks can be counterproductive to weight loss since the human body handles nutrients differently depending on the time of day. For example, sugar tolerance is impaired in the evening. So, if you’re eating something sugary… you’re more likely to store it if it’s eaten at night. Additionally, consuming more calories in the evening predisposes people to more energy storage; we simply don’t expend as much energy after an evening meal in comparison to morning meals. In laymen’s…. that means weight gain. If you want sweeter things, eat them before 3:00 pm. Your waistline will thank you.
7. TIRED OF BEING TIRED?
It’s no wonder women seem more likely than men to crash and get cranky: studies show that they sleep less, stress more, and do more multitasking than men (surprise, surprise) One way to put pep back in your step will surprise you. Take a shower or bath before bedtime. It’s proven this will provide a deeper, healthier sleep.
8. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! (AKA, IS YOUR BRAIN HEALTHY?)
Do any of these signs and symptoms apply to you:
- Memory loss
- brain fog
- depression
- anxiety
- difficulty learning
- lack of motivation, drive, or passion
- tire easily
- poor focus and concentration
- fatigue in response to certain chemicals or foods
Modern diets, a stressful lifestyle, and environmental toxins all take their toll on the brain. This doesn’t just happen to seniors-brain disorders and degeneration are on the rise for young and old alike.
The good news is the brain is extremely adaptable and wants to get well. You simply have to know how to feed and care for your brain. Good-for-the-brain- food helps, plus brain training exercises really do work!
9. WANNA BE HEALTHY? NO NEED TO THROW THE BREAD AWAY.
Grains have gotten a lot of bad press in the past few years—it seems that grains are the current dietary “bad guy” and sited as the cause of all of our health problems. While my husband (a 4-time cancer survivor) and I feel the chemicals used in association with grains are dangerous, whole grains in and of themselves just aren’t the problem. An enormous amount of research has documented that whole grains are protective against cancer and chronic disease. Certainly cutting grains out for a time to shed some pounds can be effective, but healthy eating should be well-rounded. (Not to mention a happy person doesn’t feel deprived.) This simple aid could help you in planning healthy meals: Your plate should contain 50% vegetables, 25% whole-grain or root vegetables and 25% protein. The protein and grain portion should be roughly the size of your fist, with double the amount of vegetables. Go be healthy and happy my friends…
10. CAREFUL…. DIET SODA MAKES YOU HUNGRY AND FAT!!
It will also cause you to GAIN WEIGHT, yep… GAIN weight! According to Dr. Mark Hyman’s article How Diet Sodas make People Fat, diet sodas make people fat and sick, and may be even worse than regular sugar sweetened sodas!! How does that happen? Artificial sweeteners are hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than regular sugar activating our genetically programmed preference for sweet taste more than any other substance. They trick your metabolism into thinking sugar is on its way. This causes your body to pump out insulin, the fat storage hormone, which lays down more belly fat. It also confuses and slows your metabolism down, so you burn less calories every day. It makes you hungrier and crave even more sugar and starchy carbs like bread and pasta. In animal studies, those that consumed artificial sweeteners ate more, their metabolism slowed, and they put on 14 percent more body fat in just two weeks – EVEN eating less calories. In population studies there was a 200 percent increased risk of obesity in diet soda drinkers.
11. COULD ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST BE THE KEY TO LOSING WEIGHT?
According to Rob Kemp, writer for The National, it’s really is the best meal of day. Don’t take his word for it, though. According to research from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in the US, skipping breakfast leaves people more prone to snacking and more likely to become overweight.
New reports from the 94th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Houston, Texas, may encourage those folk who usually desert their home without a belly full of breakfast to think again.
Researchers at the meeting revealed that eating desserts – cakes, chocolate or carbohydrate-rich doughnuts – alongside a healthier cereal or fruit means people are more likely to lose weight in the long term and keep it off. That’s right, sweet desserts first thing in the morning could be your best dish of the day.
In a study of 200 adults by Dr Daniela Jakubowicz, a senior physician at Tel Aviv University’s Edith Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, dieters were split into two groups. Each had different diet plans. One group was put on a low-carbohydrate regime, with a 304-calorie breakfast that contained only 10 grams of carbs, while another group ate a 600-calorie breakfast, with 60g of carbs. The carbs came in the form of a piece of chocolate, doughnut, cookie or cake.
After four months on the plan, researchers noted that both sets of dieters were doing equally well, with an average weight loss of about 15 kilograms. But in the following four months, those who had not had the sweet treats for their breakfast regained, on average, two-thirds of the weight they had lost. The dieters who ate the cakes, chocolates and biscuits for breakfast continued to keep the weight off and lost, on average, another 7kg.