Refuse to Eat Crap!

My attention has been on a most important subject lately - nutrition and the damage sugar and prepared food products do to our bodies.  Most people don't know what they are doing to their bodies when they eat the fast food or the pre-prepared dinners.  Not even to speak of the sugar-filled soft drinks.  And evidence shows that, like with smoking, the information doesn't get through to the behavior level.  That means, we know it and still do it because the products are addictive.

I just finished an amazing book on the subject called Fat Chance by Dr. Robert Lustig.  Fat Chance is Robert Lustig's  overview on nutrition and the pandemic of sugar-related diseases we are currently experiencing in the West.

 " Our risk for illness is increasing faster than the increase in obesity. Indeed, the cluster of chronic metabolic diseases termed metabolic syndrome - which includes obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), lipid disorders, and cardiovascular disease - is snowballing by leaps and bounds. And then there the other obesity-associated metabolic diseases, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, kidney disease, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Add to that the other comorbidities (related medical conditions) associated with obesity, such as orthopaedic problems, sleep apnoea, gallstones, and depression, and the medical devastation associated with the obesity pandemic is staggering. " (Lustig, p.4)

Fructose The Toxin

-Fat Chance makes the case that all the successful diets have one thing in common: they restrict the amount of sugar.

-Sugar is composed of half fructose and half glucose. Fructose is what makes it sweet, and that’s what’s addictive and what we crave. This is a very dangerous sugar.

-The author makes the point that sugar has the same negative effects of alcohol on our bodies minus the high intoxication effects.

Fiber: The Antidote

-Fiber is half the antidote to the obesity pandemic. (The other half is exercise.)

-Most of the processed "foods" we eat today though, including refined carbs to make pasta and white bread, are stripped of fiber.

-One of the reasons the food industry strips fiber away is to make food lasts longer. Which is one of the reasons why you should stay away from food with unnaturally long shelf lives.

Exercising Is Great But Doesn’t Lead to Weight Loss

-The author says that exercising is more important than diet and works at many different levels, except one: losing weight.

-Physical activity accounts for the smallest factor in energy expenditure going from 5% of the couch potato to 35% of the biggest gym rats.

-However, it goes a long way towards mitigating the negative effects of obesity and is essential for preventing metabolic syndrome.

-Exercise also helps in building muscles, which do consume energy.

So, now, I am trying to get as much fiber as I can and will not touch anything that is not "real food" aka comes from plants. I keep my meat down to a minimum of maybe once a week. I do eat a tablespoon of Skyr on my fruit in the morning plus I eat one boiled egg for protein. Nuts and fresh produce make up my diet.

I exercise daily, keeping my muscles toned and walking for health. I love the videos on YouTube and enjoy working out with them.

I had some blood work done and the doc said it looks great. The HDL was up (good!) and the LDL was down (great!) plus my cholesterol was in a good range. 

Perhaps I am "downsizing" the crap in my body!

Tweaking Your Way To Weight Loss

Dieting is daunting – and ineffective!

Just use self-discipline.  Eat less junk and more veggies.  Exercise your buns off.

Ah, no.

Not my thing. Probably not yours, either.

What if you make just one healthy food upgrade a day? That means a banana or apple with breakfast, or a vegetable with lunch, or carbonated water instead of soda for a meal... just one healthy change from the norm. Even on the worst days, you can make that one change and feel like you have forward momentum. I went from just cereal to fruit on my cereal to only a bowl of fruit and nuts for breakfast.

You might record your upgrades in your journal or calender.

What is the difference between "What's one small thing I can do to make this healthier?" and "Screw it, I'm going to eat all the things." When you're working within a more reasonable framework, when you stop with all or nothing thinking, you make more healthy choices than you would imagine.

And you don’t have to fight with your motivation and self-discipline (or lack of such…)

"Mainstream motivational theory states that, in order to enact change, one must simply "want it more."...it's a pity that we're not motivated enough to save our own lives and live better. But wait...the weight loss industry made $64 billion in 2014. When that much money is spent on something, it means public interest is through the thermosphere...people have willingly suffered and paid money trying to lose weight, and they are still being told their desire for change isn't strong enough. That's so wrong it's criminal...People have plenty of desire, they just need a smart strategy that doesn't rely on doing the impossible."

Mini Habits for Weight Loss: Stop Dieting. Form New Habits. Change Your Lifestyle Without Suffering.

von Stephen Guise

Dump Your Stress – Dump Your Pounds

Why? Because stress increases cortisol levels, and cortisol likes to store weight in your stomach, says Michael Jensen, MD, an endocrinologist and obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. (Researchers aren't sure why.) It could also slow down your metabolism. When stressed and non-stressed women ate the same high-fat meal, the harried ones burned fewer calories at rest afterward, found a study in Biological Psychiatry.

Here are some ideas for easing your stress in a short time:

10 Minutes: Chew a Stick of Gum

Researchers from Australia and England found that in moments of stress, gum chewers felt less anxious and had 18 percent less cortisol (the stress hormone) in their saliva. "Chewing increases blood flow to the brain—which may make us feel more alert—and it may also distract us from stressors," says study coauthor Andrew Scholey, PhD, director of the Centre for Human Psychopharmacology at Swinburne University.

12 Minutes: Brew Some Black Tea

People who drank four servings of black tea a day for six weeks were able to de-stress faster and had lower levels of cortisol after a stressful event, according to a study from University College London. Chemical compounds in the antioxidant-packed beverage may relax us through their effect on neurotransmitters in the brain. Actually, I prefer green tea.

15 Minutes: Try a DIY Massage

The International Journal of Neuroscience reported that a 15-minute chair massage twice weekly can lower stress, likely by calming the sympathetic nervous system. The at-home approach is an effective alternative. "Simply rolling a tennis ball over muscles with the palm of your hand can trigger a similar response," says Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

20 Minutes: Put Pen to Paper

A 2010 study in Anxiety, Stress & Coping found that writing about a stressful event for just 20 minutes on two different days lowered levels of perceived stress. Putting feelings on paper appears to organize thoughts, helping us process unpleasant experiences and release negative emotions.

30 Minutes: Put on Music You Love

Music can elicit positive emotions and reduce your levels of stress hormones. A study in the Journal of Advanced Nursing found that patients who listened to songs of their choice were less anxious before surgery. Boost your mood even more by dancing along to trigger the release of feel-good endorphins.

45 Minutes: Take a Tech Break

In a study by University of California, Irvine, and U.S. Army researchers, heart rate monitors showed that checking e-mail put subjects on constant high alert with heart rates that indicated stress. "We found that shutting off e-mail eases anxiety," says study coauthor Gloria Mark, PhD. Commit to no e-mail for 45 minutes a day to begin weaning yourself off.

60 Minutes: Clean House

Housework's repetitive nature can help release tension. "We get lost in the rhythm of folding clothes or vacuuming, which can disrupt stressful thought patterns and trigger the body's relaxation response," says Herbert Benson, MD, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Source: From the December 2012 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

Scare Yourself Thin

Scare Yourself Thin

Sometimes knowledge can motivate (scare!!) us into better behavior. It is a kind of „away from“ method but it works for many people.  Personally, I use both the „away from“ and the „toward“ types of motivation.

Read on and observe your feelings and motivation to lose weight and get fit:

Before Dr. Frederick Banting and his colleagues at the University of Toronto isolated insulin in the 1920s, doctors tried to treat diabetes with high doses of salicylates, a group of aspirin-like compounds. (They were desperate and also tried morphine and heroin.) Sure enough, the salicylate approach reduced sugar levels, but at a high price: side effects included a constant ringing in the ears, headaches and dizziness. Today’s treatments for diabetes are much safer and generally work by replacing insulin, boosting its production or helping the body make more efficient use of the hormone. But researchers over the past few years have been re-examining the salicylate approach for new clues about how diabetes develops.

What they have discovered is a complex interplay between inflammation, insulin and fat — either in the diet or in large folds under the skin. (Indeed, fat cells behave a lot like immune cells, spewing out inflammatory cytokines, particularly as you gain weight.) Where inflammation fits into this scenario — as either a cause or an effect — remains unclear. But the case for a central role is getting stronger. Dr. Steve Shoelson, a senior investigator at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, has bred a strain of mice whose fat cells are supercharged inflammation factories. The mice become less efficient at using insulin and go on to develop diabetes. “We can reproduce the whole syndrome just by inciting inflammation,” Shoelson says.

When doctors treating Alzheimer’s patients took a closer look at who seemed to be succumbing to the disease, they uncovered a tantalizing clue: those who were already taking anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis or heart disease tended to develop the disorder later than those who weren’t. Perhaps the immune system mistakenly saw the characteristic plaques and tangles that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients as damaged tissue that needed to be cleared out. If so, the ensuing inflammatory reaction was doing more harm than good. Blocking it with anti-inflammatories might limit, or at least delay, any damage to cognitive functions.

Losing weight induces those fat cells — remember them? — to produce fewer cytokines. So does regular exercise, 30 minutes a day most days of the week. Flossing your teeth combats gum disease, another source of chronic inflammation. Fruits, vegetables and fish are full of substances that disable free radicals.

How about the connection between overweight and hair loss:

Overweight people tend to lead sedentary lifestyles, which for various reasons helps to create the conditions that trigger hair loss.

Very little exercise also means lower peripheral circulation of blood, and this can be a problem for the health of the hair follicles, but it is also true that it is a statistical fact that the obese people eat too much fatty food and especially saturated fatty acids, which are the most damaging to your hair and overall health.

So the cholesterol levels rise, the sebaceous glands get irritated because the sebum contains one of the two forms of DHT, and the hair falls out.

In addition, obesity is a condition that can cause hormonal imbalances, and this can trigger the thinning of your hair.

Or, if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant:

Being overweight during pregnancy can cause complications for you and your baby. The more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have pregnancy complications and the more risk the child has for defects after birth.

(CNN) „Risks of major birth defects increased in step with the severity of a mother's obesity or overweight, a study published in the BMJ medical journal found.

Based on these results, women should be encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle and be at a normal body weight before conception, said researchers led by Martina Persson, a researcher in the clinical epidemiology unit at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.“

Overweight and Alzheimer’s

Weight, which includes obesity, is linked with Alzheimer’s disease. This is an area of very active investigation as researchers discover associations between brain health and the body chemistry that controls weight.

Too much body weight often means too much fat tissue, and fat tissue can have dangerous effects on health. Overweight or obesity, too, increases the risk for many medical diseases. In the United States, more than a third of adults are obese. The medical cost each year for an obese adult is estimated to be $1,429 higher than for someone of normal weight.¹ Some scientists point with alarm to the increase in obesity. They warn that this is going to raise the rate of Alzheimer’s disease development in our population, which is already increasing due to higher numbers of people who are older or overweight.²

1. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html 2. Nepal B, Brown LJ, and Anstey KJ. Rising midlife obesity will worsen future prevalence of dementia. PLOS ONE September 2014;9:1-5.

Proper exercise and a healthy diet are easily accessible tools that can help us reduce the risk not only for Alzheimer’s disease but for many other medical problems as well. Stated in a more positive way, a healthy lifestyle, which includes weight management, can increase the likelihood of optimal aging, prolonged independence, and a greater quality of life.

What kinds of health problems are linked to overweight and obesity?

Excess weight may increase the risk for many health problems, including

• type 2 diabetes
• high blood pressure
• heart disease and strokes
• certain types of cancer
• sleep apnea
• osteoarthritis
• fatty liver disease
• kidney disease
• pregnancy problems, such as high blood sugar during pregnancy, high blood pressure, and increased risk for cesarean delivery (C-section)

I don’t know about you but I’m inspired to go for a brisk walk and then eat a healthy meal consisting of veggies and a salad.

You in?

Is Your Mind Your Haven? Or Hell.

Is your mind your haven? Your safe place? The element of yourself that motivates you to lose weight, declutter our lives, go for new goal, enjoy rewarding relationships?

I was doing my yoga and listening to some wonderful guided meditations by the Honest Guys. They have some soothing yet powerful thoughts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e33dETmxAr0#t=563.269666

Or, my favorite guided meditation for letting go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG71OxOoqEM

Our minds should be a safe place, our haven.

But is this so? Are we perhaps our own worst enemies?

Does your thinking empower or weaken you?

THE ‘PLUS ONE MINUTE’ IMPROVEMENT PLAN

THE ‘PLUS ONE MINUTE’ IMPROVEMENT PLAN

I was watching this video this evening:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DbvSl_C_kY

It reminded me that reaching goals doesn’t have to be hard.

Get 1% Better Every Day: The pleasant Way to Self-Improvement

Instead of trying to make radical changes in a short amount of time, just make small improvements every day that will gradually lead to the change you want. Just like compound interest, you start with a small amount yet you end up with riches by taking what you’ve saved plus interest. Repeat...

So, each day, just focus on getting 1% better in whatever it is you’re trying to improve. That’s it. Just 1%.

If you want to learn to play an instrument, practice 10 minutes. The next day, you practice 10 minutes plus 10x1%= 11 minutes.

You want to improve your core strength by doing planks for a certain time, say 10 seconds.  The next day, you do your plank for 11 seconds. The third day, 11x1%. It won’t exhaust or frustrate you but you will get stronger daily.

“When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens — and when it happens, it lasts.” —John Wooden

• Want to start the exercise habit? Just do a single push-up as soon as you roll out of bed in the morning. The next morning, add another. And so on and so forth. In two months, you’ll be doing 60 push-ups in the morning. Or run in place for 10 seconds. Add one second each day.
• Want to establish a morning and evening routine? Start with the evening, and concentrate on the 10 minutes right before you go to bed. Plan what you’ll do during those 10 minutes — it might be meditative breathing for one minute, brushing your teeth, then stretching, and reading for 7 — and make it a habit. Every day, add 5 more intentional minutes until your whole evening becomes a satisfying routine. Boom! You have a great evening ritual. Then work on the morning.
• Want to start writing? Instead of making it a goal to write a page each day, just start off with writing for a minute. That’s all. You might only get a sentence or two down, but that’s okay. The next day, add a minute. In a month, you’ll be writing for 30 minutes.
• Want to start meditating? Begin with a minute of breathing exercises. Or being quiet and still for one minute. Or start with 10 seconds and add 1% each day.
• Want to lose weight? Cut out one fast food meal. Or a sugary soda. Or cut your usual dinner portion in half.

Avoid the temptation to get impatient and start rushing forward and taking big leaps. Take it slow, steady, and consistent.

Simply try to do a little bit better than you did the day before.

Losing Weight is a Mental Challenge that you can WIN!

Losing Weight is a Mental Challenge that you can WIN!

There are many reasons why we let our weight balloon:

You’ve Developed Poor Habits

You associate crazy eating with social acceptance

You Eat for Comfort

You Like to Push Your “Feel Good” Buttons

You avoided fats and didn’t notice the increase in sugar

You Think “Why Even Bother?” confusing that with „I Am Good the Way I Am“

You’re Embarrassed to Go to the Gym

You Think Black and White/All or Nothing

You’re Depressed

You’re Comparing Yourself to Others

These are solid, but not insurmountable, hurdles.

We know by now that vegetables and fruits plus lots of water should make up the largest portion of what we put into our mouths.  We also know the dangers of fast food, sugar and pre-prepared foods. Then there’s the exercise we need to be getting, even if not as difficult as Navy SEALs training.

Okay, it’s a cinch.  We know what we need to do so we do it.

Daggone!  It’s not a cinch at all!

It’s not which „diet“ you chose.  In the long run, it is the diet you can stick to that will be the perfect diet for you. If you plan to be on your diet temporarily, if you are shooting for a specific weight and then back to „normal“ eating, your weight loss will be temporary.  Which diet aka “healthy way of eating” do you want to marry until death do you part?  That question is up to YOU, not researchers or diet gurus trying to sell books, courses and products.

Weight loss isn’t about finding the perfect diet, it’s about changing your life.  

Aye, there’s the rub.  What you’ve been doing up until now has been so pleasant.  We are hardwired to do things that make us feel good.  And that __________ (pizza, ice cream, beer, MacBurger – you fill in the blank) is promising to do just that.

If you think of it, you weren’t born craving those things.  You learned to love them.  And you can learn (re-learn) to love foods that are real foods and not junk.  Sure that is harder than if you’d gone through your life with other habits.

It’s a challenge!

Everyone has to make the decision for himself or herself.  It’s a mental process, not a physical process… You need to pour yourself even more into changing your mental attitude towards food and exercise.  Having a mental plan is not as hard as it sounds.

Begin by looking at damaging habits

You may have learned to eat candy and pizza from your family and friends but you don’t have to keep doing that.  It’s all about changing habits that are destructing your success.  You might be dipping into your secretary’s bowl of goodies.  Or perhaps you spend your evenings in front of some sort of screen and absentmindedly munch something unhealthy. Maybe your portions are just too large.

Write down all the habits that are keeping you from being slender, from sleep deprivation to chocolate bars in your desk.

Pick one of those habits, maybe a relatively easy one, to change.  What do you want to do instead of that habit?  You can replace the bad habit with a good one. If you’re craving that morning pastry, for instance, eating a piece of sweet fruit instead might be easier than just going without altogether.

Bad Habit	What I do now	What I want to do from now on?	How am I going to go about it?

Questions you might ask yourself:

... am I eating the rest of this meal because I’m still hungry or am I eating it because it’s there?

... do I really need to reward or comfort myself with crappy edibles? Or is there another way?

... do I feel in control of my eating habits? 

... do I know how to deal with negative thoughts?  Your thoughts are not necessarily correct, just because they pop into your head! („Oh, I just ate a donut. Well, my diet is down the drain now so I might as well eat another one.“)

… how can I avoid unhealthy carbohydrates and processed sugar (baked sweets, candy) today?

You might also take an approach in which you lose about 10-20 pounds/kilos at a time, and then maintain that weight for 4-9 months before trying to lose another chunk.  In that “maintenance” period, try to figure out how to eat to keep that new weight.  Once you prove to yourself that you can maintain it with ease, restart your effort to lose further weight.  This way you are very confident in your ability to maintain what you’ve already lost and only need to focus on the new challenge ahead.

Tuning into our bodies is the secret.  What is really going on?  As soon as we are aware of the weight and its consequences plus the reasons we eat, we have a great chance of developing the motivation to persevere.

Find out what other people have done and decide what is right for you. Get support from your family, friends and co-workers.  If they know how important it is, they will back you.

As I’ve suggested earlier this is much more of a mental challenge than a physical one.

Wake up everyday and think, “What do I have to do today to be healthy?”  As you can see, you are rewriting your story!