Tag: health

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#TuesdayTip Eating Fat to Lose Fat #Fitness #Health

I hit another milestone today – 40 pounds lost. It took me a long time between the holidays (no pounds gained luckily) and the dreaded plateau.

Anyone who has tried to lose weight has hit a plateau and sometimes they are tough to break through. I tried lowering and raising my calorie counts. Exercising more. Even exercising a little less. Those stubborn 3 or so pounds just would not leave me.

I spoke to my trainer and we talked about my diet and it turned out that in my quest to eat healthier I had seriously eliminated fat from my diet. Both good and bad fats. He said to me, “You need to eat fat to lose fat.”

As you can imagine, I was surprised, but I took his words to heart because he has really helped me improve my overall health and fitness.

So I added back some healthy fats. Avocado. Nuts. Low fat dairy. Coconut oil. Olive oil. Eggs.

What happened? Well, those stubborn pounds disappeared in just a few days. WOO HOO.

So today’s Tuesday Tip is: Eat more healthy fats.

If you want more information on this concept and healthy fats, you can visit these links:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/557726-eat-fat-to-burn-fat/

http://www.coachcalorie.com/eat-fat-to-lose-fat/

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/how-eating-more-fat-helps-you-lose-more-weight.html

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/tips/why-non-fat-isnt-the-answer/

Just a last word of warning: Watch out for foods that claim to be low fat, but just seem too good to be true. Oftentimes there is a lot of added sugar and salt or artificial ingredients to make up for the “lower fat.”
EatFat

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#TuesdayTip Facial Toning Exercises

Let’s face it, gravity keeps us grounded, but it also isn’t the friendliest thing for some of our body parts. Regular exercise can help with keeping your body toned, but what about your face? Is there anything you can do to deal with the effects of gravity and aging?

Apparently there is! Check out the links to these sites and some facial toning exercises to help deal with some very common problems, including drooping eyelids and saggy skin along your jaws and neck.

You may notice that some of the above links mention yoga. My sister is really into yoga, so much so that she became certified to teach. I went to one of her classes the other day and then to a different class on Saturday. In the summer months there is yoga on the beach on Sundays and I love going. I’ve never had good balance or flexibility, so age isn’t necessarily to blame for those things. I find that I am improving both with some occasional yoga classes and doing some yoga at home with a DVD.

Hope these tips helped you today!
Yoga on the Beach

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#FitnessFriday My #Fitness Pinterest Board

I love Pinterest, although I haven’t been pinning that much lately. I’ve just been too busy with work and the holidays. But I have been keeping up with my goals to be more fit. In fact, yesterday I hit the 35 pounds lost mark. I had hoped for it to be 40 by the end of the year, but I’ll take 35 and I plan to keep on going. One thing I do to help get more fit is to use my Fitbit for not only tracking steps, but also as a food journal. Likewise, Wellcoin which I’ve mentioned before.

I also pin interesting workouts, infographics, skinny recipes, etc. to my Fitness Pinterest board and that’s what I’m sharing with you today! I hope you’ll find some interesting information there.
Follow Caridad’s board Fitness & Exercise on Pinterest.

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Yogurt Chicken Salad with Dates #FoodieFriday

I’m not a big fan of wasting food and this weekend I made some roast chicken and had leftovers. I decided, Why not make some chicken salad? Of course, I’m trying to not have too much fat, so I decided to experiment a little and the result was quite tasty. So today’s Foodie Friday entry is a healthier chicken salad made with low fat greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. Another nice thing about this salad is that you can really play with it. If you want it spicier, add a few shots of Tabasco or Cholula hot sauce. For a little crunch, some chopped walnuts or pecans. Sweeter? How about some grape quarters? The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients

2 cups roasted chicken, diced
1 cup low fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
4-6 dates chopped

Directions

Mix all of the above ingredients and voila! A healthier chicken salad. Not only lower in fat, but if you get a greek yogurt that has live cultures, lots of probiotics. Not to mention that dates are a great source of dietary fiber, iron, potassium, anti-oxidant flavenoids and other minerals. A win-win.

Have a great weekend.
csdates

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#TuesdayTip Fitness Apps WellCoin and Fit Bit

As some of you might know, I’ve had a long battle with my weight. I’ve gone up and down so many times that I guesstimate I’ve lost and gained hundreds of pounds.

I’m on the heading down again and have lost 30 pounds. I’ve done that with a combination of better eating (a key part of it) and being more active. I’ve shared some of my healthier recipes with you in the past and today I’m going to share two of the apps that have helped me meet new people who keep me encouraged and help me track what I’m doing so I can keep to my lifestyle change. In the future, I’ll share some apps for workouts and exercise that are helpful.

WellCoin

I learned about Wellcoin several months ago and am now a Wellcoin Ambassador. What is Wellcoin? Wellcoin bills itself as the “World’s First Health Currency” and basically, you enter information about your lifestyle to earn points you can exchange for things like gift certificates, healthy food and drink samples, yoga lessons, etc. It’s free to join, but to earn the points you will need to photo document the various healthy activities you are doing.

The activities are many. You get points for counting steps, sleeping 7+ hours, eating healthy meals, participating in the community by verifying other people’s activities, etc.

I find that documenting my activities helps keep me aware of what I’m doing and also, I see interesting new foods, etc. that others are trying out. Makes me want to be adventurous and try them out as well.

Click here if you want to follow me there!
WELLCOIN_AMBASSADOR_BADGE_SECONDARY

FitBit

As I mentioned, being more active is a big part of being healthier. I log at least 12,000 steps a day by walking to and from my office from the train station, getting up every 30 minutes to move and going to the gym for cardio and strength training. Yes, it can be work, but I am feeling so much better and stronger. It’s worth it!

I use FitBit and its community and app to help me. This does require the purchase of a FitBit device and there are several different kinds. I have the Fitbit Flex which I wear on my wrist. I have friends who use the Zip and the One which attach to your clothing. Still others have variations of the Charge (wristband) which also track your heart rate. Regardless of which one you choose, the end goal is the same: monitoring your activity.

In addition to monitoring, you can friend people on FitBit and cheer them on. Challenge them to daily or weekly goals. It’s all in the name of helping others stick to it. You can friend me by clicking here!

Another thing I really like about the FitBit is the smartphone app. You can use the GPS on your phone to have the Fitbit track your walk. You can also journal what you eat with a really nice interface.

The Fitbit also helps you track your sleep so you know if you are getting that essential 7+ hours of sleep (I don’t regularly, but am getting better).

I hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip!

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#TuesdayTip Boosting Your Metabolism

As some of you may know, I’ve been trying to lose weight and be healthier. I’ve made some lifestyle changes to do that and have lost 30 pounds. Some of the changes are probably obvious, but I’ll share them anyway along with some links for you on this Tuesday Tip day!

I drink more water! Water fills you up. It helps your liver process toxins from your body and first thing in the a.m., it wakes up your metabolism from a long night of rest. Click here for more info on how drinking water can help you!

I walk more and I exercise every day in one way or another. I try to hit the gym for cardio exercise at least twice a week and then do strength training twice a week. As we get older, it’s important to improve our core strength and stay strong to do everyday tasks. Click here for info on the muscles to work on for core strength and a quick core workout.

If you want, you can friend me on Fitbit and challenge me to a workout! I love challenges.

I’ve stopped using artificial sweeteners and only have sugar in my first cup of coffee. I’ve also limited myself to two diet sodas a day. Rough for me, but I know they are not healthy. Here’s a good article from the Mayo Clinic explaining the different sweeteners and possible concerns with them.

Finally, I’ve been researching ways to boost my metabolism to help burn calories. At work I’ve got a little kitchen timer that dings regularly to remind me to get up and move. I’ve started doing intervals on the elliptical and even while I’m walking, changing the pace to increase my metabolic rate. Click here for more tips on things you can do to boost your metabolism and burn calories just by doing some pretty simple things.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip!
TuesdayTip

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#Fitness Friday Tips for Getting More Fit & Healthy

I’m always striving to be healthier and to find ways to get more fit. Since I try to keep up on news about such things, I’d thought I’d share them with you in a new Friday segment – Fitness Friday!

Check out these articles on various aspects of being more fit and healthy.

3 Steps to Avoid Junk Food Cravings: http://bit.ly/1IK9XYw
Calories count more than fat or carbs: http://reut.rs/1L8NPKW
Don’t Fear the Scale – Why you don’t have to fear weighing yourself every day: http://cnn.it/1IK8O36
Fighting Office Body – Move more to improve your health & Posture: http://yhoo.it/1IK7Eoe
High Protein Breakfasts May Help Prevent Fat Gain: http://bit.ly/1IK9BRs
How to Stay Motivated in your Fitness Regimen: http://bit.ly/1IKad9Z

Now I have to say one thing about the article on the types of calories not mattering as much as the calories themselves. I’ve been using my Fitbit and religiously tracking what I eat and how active I am. When I eat the same number of calories, but include “bad carbs” such as bread, crackers, cookies and pasta, I not only gain weight immediately, but I experience belly bloat and other things. I’m not saying you all will experience the same thing, but you need to listen to your body and what it’s telling you about the food you’re eating.

Speaking of Fitbit, if you want to become a pal and cheer me on while I cheer you on, you can friend me at https://www.fitbit.com/user/3GZT48.

If you want to join me and others in a DietBet – that’s where you put your money on how much weight you can lose – click here to check it out!
FitnessFriday

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