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Can you lose weight without the diet? Some more habits to try.

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Last week we looked at five ways you can lose weight without going on a “diet”.   Let’s look at five more habits you can adopt to drop a few pounds and start to get in shape for the summer.   Too often we go on a “diet”, lose some weight and then regain it once we go off the “diet”.   But what if we adopted habits that helped us not only lose a few pounds but keep the weight off when we do lose it.   So instead quick diets, quack diets, fad diets, try some new eating habits and lifestyle habits to take off the extra holiday pounds.   Here are five more habits to try from the article:   10 ways to Start Losing Weight, No Matter How Unmotivated You Are. 1.  Set some health goals that have nothing to do with the number on the scale Rather than just focus on losing pounds, focus on getting some health measure healthier.   Have cholesterol a little high, how can you change eating and exercise habits to bring down your cholesterol?   A relative di...

Can you lose weight without the “diet”?

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Did you make a resolution to drop a few pounds in 2018?   Or are you thinking about summer, swim suits, shorts and want to just drop the few pounds you gained over the holidays?   Are there some “habits” you can adopt to help you take off some weight without going on a crazy diet?   Just listening at the gym, one hears all kinds of myths and crazy diets people go on to lose weight.   Many of these diets result in you losing more nutrients than pounds.   Many people are trying the Whole30 diet and then surprised to hear that the U.S. News & World Report has ranked it as one of the worse diets to be on in 2018.   In fact, the experts ranking the diets tied the Whole30 diet with the Raw Food Diet “ as the worst of the worst for healthy eating. ”   Probably because the diet bans grains, dairy grains and beans so you are cutting out important nutrients like calcium and vitamin D from your day.   Probably a good thing it is only a 30 day diet and no...

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

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Are you at risk of diabetes?   About 1 in 4 Americans have diabetes and don’t even know it.   About 23 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes and 7 million of us don’t even know it.   Another 79 million Americans have prediabetes.   We can take some steps to lower our risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.   The American Diabetes Association has a wealth of information on diabetes and even a Diabetes Risk Test you can take. There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2.   They used to call these juvenile diabetes and adult diabetes.   However, so many Americans, even those at a young age are getting Type 2 diabetes that they no longer refer to this as adult onset diabetes.   Type 1 – Usually kids or young adults get this type of diabetes, that is why it used to be called juvenile diabetes.   This type affects about 5% of Americans.   The body does not produce the insulin needed to get sugar (glucose) into the cells so blood sugar rises...

Add Some Yogurt to Your Day

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Why is yogurt so healthy? Protein – yogurt is not only a good source of protein, the protein in yogurt is a high-quality protein.   Eating protein at meals helps you feel full longer as protein has “staying power” and takes longer to digest than carbs.   This may be the reason that yogurt helps keep off the weight.   Greek yogurt is higher in protein than regular yogurt but often has less calcium. Probiotics – a huge, benefit of yogurt is the probiotics.   The “friendly bacteria” in yogurt that seems to have so many health benefits.   Look on the label for “live” active cultures when buying yogurt. Fat in Yogurt – the fat in yogurt contains “sphingolipids” a type of fat that actually seems beneficial to heart health.   And fat is more filling.  Eating whole milk yogurt would be a snack that would be more filling and have more "staying power" than a low fat yogurt.  Not All Dairy Fat is Equal – one would think that the dairy fat in butter wo...

Weight Loss – Myths and Truths

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So many Americans try different diets or think some myths like “gluten free” will lead to weight loss success.   Time magazine has an excellent article, The Weight Loss Trap:   Why Your Diet Isn’t Working .   They interviewed many experts and discuss the National Weight Control Registry .   What is this registry?   It is a study of over 10,000 people who have lost 30 or more pounds and have kept it off.   The study attempts to figure out why these people were success stories and others who go on diets gain back the weight they lost.   What are some of the take-a-ways from this article?       1.  Find a diet or eating plan that works for YOU .   What worked for your neighbor, your best friend may not be what it best for you.   People react differently to diets.    One person can lose a lot of weight on a diet and another person on the same diet loses only a few pounds or may even gain weight.   A st...

Drink Tea for Good Health

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Who doesn’t enjoy a cup of hot tea, especially in winter?   Does tea have any health benefits?   Do different kinds of tea have different health benefits?   Yes.   An interesting article, in Environmental Nutrition discussed teas for various health reasons such as weight, insomnia and improving your immunity. Many people make health claims for herbal teas, but what health claims are true and reliable?    Weight – are there herbal teas that promote weight loss?   Green, white and oolong teas:   These 3 teas have chemicals in them called catechins .   In the lab at least, these chemicals do affect fat metabolism.   Green tea is especially rich in catechins.   Roobios tea :   This is a different tea, a red tea with a different chemical.   This one has the chemical, aspalathin.    One study showed it helped improve fat metabolism. Peppermint tea:   a real treat on a cold winter day.   The smell of peppermi...

Mix some Trail Mix for A Hike

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What fun to go hiking in the fall.    We just got back from hiking in the Shenandoah National Park.   Cooler weather, wonderful views, trees starting to turn colors and a great and fun way to exercise.    If you are hiking or going on a picnic this fall, bring some homemade trail mix.   If you make it yourself, or “make” it from bins in your local grocery store you can pick the options and the quality of the mix.   Sports Nutritionists and other recommend trail mix as a healthy way to refuel.   The fruit in trail mix offers many health benefits such as being good for your heart.   A 2016 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found those who ate one-half cup of fruit a day lowered their risk of heart disease.   And for those who forgo nuts because nuts are high in fat, a lot of research shows a handful of nuts a day can help you maintain, not gain weight.   Other studies show that eating nuts can help you lose weight.   ...