The Frisbee Workout!

For those who might not like to go to the gym or “workout”, here is an idea for you: Frisbee. That’s right, play Frisbee with your kids, with your dog, or with a friend. And if you can, play Frisbee when it is really windy outside – It makes it more challenging.

I recently played Frisbee (the first time in years), and with the wind blowing at the lack of aim and catching coordination, I was left running after the Frisbee again…and again. I ended up running around a lot, but I didn’t mind because I was having fun and wasn’t thinking about myself working out, but just playing this game and trying to improve at it.

As adults working all day every day in this little office/desk/cubicle, it can be hard to get up and do something. Try to find something you enjoy that helps you stay active, gets you moving, and hopefully laughing all at the same time. By the end of it, you will have had fun, and burned some calories all at the same time. Good for your mood and your body all at the same time.

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Tags: burn calories, frisbee, fun, laughing, Lose Weight, moving, playing games, running, stay active, work out, workout

Thanksgiving can be good for you…

Thanksgiving can either brake you or be quite beneficial for your body. It’s all about preparation. Here’s a couple of traditional foods that no Thanksgiving should be without.

Turkey

Great news, Turkey is not only low in fat (ok, without the skin anyways), but it is also high in B Vitamins, Potassium, Zinc, and Folic acid. So what’s so great about all of that? These wonderful nutrients are helpful in lowering blood cholesterol, protect against heart disease, and cancer. What else does Turkey do to help? Turkey also aids the immune system, nerve function and growth, and help regulate blood pressure.

Potato

High in Vitamin C, B-Complex, Potassium, Magnesium, and Calcium. As a result, potatoes are helpful with relieving high blood pressure and rheumatism, and helps boost the immune system. If you are trying to lose weight though, limit the potato intake.

Cranberry

Full of antioxidants, Calcium and other healing properties.  Research suggests that Cranberries can help with heart disease, helps to strengthen bones, can get rid of some types of stomach ulcers, heal urinary tract infections, and even helps as dental health. A lot of Cranberry products are loaded with sugar, so try to go the all natural route.

Yams

Yams are like a super veggie, with lots of vitamins and minerals that are very helpful to the body. Yams are a great source of Potassium, B Vitamins, Manganese, Fiber, Folic acid and healthy carbohydrates. If you want to reap the ultimate benefits of yams, I would suggest skipping the idea of “candied yams”. Adding the sugar to the yams will dilute the health benefits of the yam, so a great alternative is using a small amount of butter or coconut oil and a couple dashed of salt and pepper. No sugar needed to enjoy.

Pumpkin

High in Antioxidants (Carotenoids, Zeaxanthin and Lutein) and also high in Fiber, Iron, and Zinc. If you can find a Pumpkin Pie recipe without all the sugar, you will be all set!

Healthy Thanksgiving

As you can see, Thanksgiving can be very healthy for you. How you can ensure that Thanksgiving is a healthy meal for you, is to avoid sugar as much as possible. Another thing that you can do, is be sure that you eat until you are satisfied. Don’t just keep eating more and more just because food is there. That’s what leftovers is for! Don’t get so stuffed that you feel sick. If you do, you aren’t benefiting your body the way you should be.

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Tags: Cranberry, Healthy, Nutrition, potato, potatoes, Pumpkin, Thanksgiving, Turkey, Weight Loss, Yam

Fruit and Nut Food Bars by LÄRABAR®

I try to have a healthy snack available to me at all time, which pays off when I least expect it. If I am ever hungry, I don’t have to come to the point of desperation where I would have ended up eating something I would have later regretted. I like to carry a delicious LÄRABAR® with me, and I will tell you why.

LÄRABAR® Beats the Competition

Most food bars that are marketed as healthy are actually full of processed ingredients or lots of sugar or artificial sweeteners.

The only way to know for sure if any food bar is healthy, would be to check out the label – ingredient by ingredient. I encourage you to check out the ingredients in a Fruit and Nut Food Bars by LÄRABAR®, and you will soon see the difference between these bars and other food bars.

Flavors and Ingredients

I was shocked to find out how delicious these food bars are, once I realized how few of ingredients were involved in making them. When you have flavors that reference a pie, you would think that they would be comparable to junk food rather than raw food.

Check out my favorite LÄRABAR® flavors, and the ingredients that they contain. The only way for you to know how delicious they are, would be to try them for yourself.

Pecan Pie – dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon.

Cinnamon Roll – dates, walnuts, almonds, raisins, cashews, and cinnamon.

Coconut Cream Pie – dates, unsweetened coconut, almonds, cashews, and extra virgin coconut oil.

Peanut Butter & Jelly – dates, peanuts, unsweetened cherries, and salt.

Lemon Bar – dates, cashews, almonds, lemon juice concentrate, and natural lemon flavor.

Apple Pie – dates, almonds, unsweetened apples,  walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon.

Serving: 1 bar
Calories: 200 or less

You can buy the Fruit and Nut Food Bars by LÄRABAR® at your local grocery store, health food store, or at LaraBar.com

Image Credits: LaraBar.com

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Tags: healthy snack, LÄRABAR®, low calorie, Nutrition, product review

Liquid Aminos by Bragg

Nutrition

Liquid Aminos by Bragg is a Certified NON-GMO liquid protein concentrate. Liquid Aminos by Bragg is not fermented or heated, Gluten-Free, no preservatives, no artificial colors, no alcohol, and no chemicals . This product does have a small amount of naturally occurring sodium, and no table salt is added.

Health Benefits

Liquid Aminos by Bragg comes from healthy soybeans, and it contains Essential and Non-essential Amino Acids in naturally occurring amounts.

16 Amino Acids included in this product: Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Tyrosine, Valine, and Lysine.

There are 20 amino acids, and this product has 16 of them! So what is so important about Amino Acids? Amino Acids are the building blocks of proteins, and you need sufficient protein intake for healthy muscles, nails, hair, ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, and even most body fluids. Amino Acids also help with metabolism.  Simply put, the chemical properties of Amino Acids control just about all cellular processes- which is why they are known as being “essential”.

Consider this, Protein takes up the next largest part of our body weight (next to water), and your body’s health is directly related to your body’s need for healthy protein.

Taste and Uses

This product taste similar to  Soy Sauce, which is exactly why I use it as a Soy Sauce replacement. You can add Liquid Aminos to stir-fry for a much healthier alternative, soups, dressings, salads, tofu, jerkey and other meat seasonings- the list goes on. You can add Liquid Aminos by Bragg to just about anything you could (or would) add Soy Sauce to, or you can always be more creative and use it for other things as well.

Your body doesn’t store extra Amino Acids, so it is something you need to get every single day in your food. I believe you too will benefit from this product since it helps you with 16 of the 20 amino acids that are so helpful for your body.

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Tags: 16 amino acids, Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Bragg, Certified NON-GMO, dressings, Essential Amino Acids, Glutamic Acid, gluten free, Glycine, Healthy, Histidine, Isoleucine, jerkey, Leucine, Liquid Aminos, Lysine, meat seasoning, metabolism, Methionine, naturally occurring sodium, no alcohol, no artificial colors, no chemicals, no preservatives, no table salt, NON-GMO, not fermented, not heated, Nutrition, oups, Phenylalanine, Proline, protein, salads, Serine, soy sauce, soy sauce replacement, soybeans, stir-fry, Threonine, tofu, Tyrosine, Valine

Review: The Biggest Loser Season 8 Week 9

My only comments for Week 9 are reserved for what happened at the very end of the episode. When Daniel was sent home, he visits his old friend David from The Biggest Loser Season 6

Here is the conversation (not quite word for word, but pretty close) that Daniel has between his now much heavier friend David from Season 6:

Daniel “So what’s going on with you, where’s your head at like weight loss wise?”

David: “I have other things going on that are more important to me right now.  i’m overweight, yeah, i’m a big guy”

Daniel: Not a priority?

David: Not right now. I don’t feel the unhealthy. Ya know, I don’t feel it. You know, when it does, when that changes, then I’ll start losing it”

(Daniel’s Comments for a little bit, then David Continues…)

David: I know I can do it, I just gotta make that decision to do it.

Daniel: What do you think keeps you from making it now?

David: I’m just taking some time to relax and working every day. You know, I’ll lose it eventually.

Is it possible to actually be so extremely lazy/tired/unintelligent that you would rather choose to die rather than live?

That’s exactly what Season 6 contestant David is doing. How is his own life not a priority to him right now? Is eating healthy and working out so terrible that you would rather just deny your current situation and decide you would rather be 6 feet under rather than walking among the living? Really? Your job isn’t more important, and the fact that he says he doesn’t “feel the unhealthy” is an absolute lie. Every day he looks in the mirror is a reminder of how he is killing himself with choices he made – with each meal and with each day that goes by that he doesn’t chose to exercise.

He said it  himself, folks. “I just gotta make that decision”. Yes, he is making the CHOICE to be the way he is.  Sad, but we all have a Choice of whether or not we are going to be healthy or not.

You can tell David tried to lose weight on the Biggest Loser Season 6 because he is “supposed to” or because “I’m fat” or perhaps because of the prize. He needs to realize that he needs to lose weight because he NEEDS to if he wants to live. Again, it’s a Choice. Nobody is force feeding him or chaining him down so he can’t find a gym.

I choose to live. You?

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Tags: Choice, Daniel, David, eat healthy, exercise, fat, Fitness, important, Life, Live, Obese, review, Season 8, The Biggest Loser, Twinkie, Week 9, Weight Loss