Don’t buy Temptations!

There is a reason why you are healthy or unhealthy. Duh, right? Well…if it were all so easy, then everyone would be healthy and fit. Reality is most Americans are not healthy. Here are some tips on how you can make sure you are making the healthiest decisions while you are shopping at your local grocery store.

Plan Ahead

Be sure that you come up with a complete meal plan-even one with a little wiggle room! I have noticed that I am the healthiest when I come up with a plan- healthy snacks and all- before I head to the grocery store. Be sure to come up with a grocery list based on your eating habits for the upcoming week, and stick to it!

Buy Yummy foods!

Be sure you enjoy what you are eating! If you aren’t going to look forward to your lunch or your 3:00 snack…what makes you think you are going to stick to your healthy meal plan rather than hitting the vending machines to splurge on your latest craving? If you treat yourself with healthy foods that you love, you are more likely to stick to your planned food.

I love Strawberries. To me, they are a wonderful treat. A dessert! So when I know it’s going to be a tough day sticking to my healthy eating habits, I am sure to include a nice bowl of fresh strawberries in the mix. I have delicious food to look forward to; comes with everything healthy and won’t leave me with any type of regret when putting on my skinny jeans! Moral of the story? Just because you are on a “diet”, doesn’t mean you can’t be happy when it comes to what options you have to eat.

Don’t buy your biggest Temptation!

Be sure to set yourself up for success! When you are at the grocery store, be sure to only buy healthy foods that you will enjoy eating. If you buy chocolate, candy, cakes, cookies, etc and you may think “it’s just a little bit” or “it’s just one”, but you are setting yourself up for failure (aka “weight gain”). You may think your not chowing down on a lot of goodies, but more often than not,  you are chowing down on more calories (the fat and sugar kind) than you realize, and they will add up faster than you can say “Skinny Twinkie”. If it’s not in your house, it’s not likely you will run to the store at 10:00 PM to pick up your craving food. If it is already available in your house, there is a good chance you will just eat it as you watch “The Biggest Loser”, which of course causes regret and unhappiness.  Do yourself a favor. Don’t buy anything you know you can’t control yourself with.

Up, Up, and Away!

Are your jeans getting tighter and tighter every week? Don’t give in to the horrible temptation of going up a size. Ok, if you are in the 6th grade going through a growth spurt, that doesn’t count. But if you are a grown woman gaining weight that is just “fat” due to poor eating habits and lack of exercise…don’t just go up a size and forget the weight gain ever happened. If you go up a size…you will more likely go up another size…and another size…    Do you see where this is going? One day you go to the Mall to just go home and realize you are a size 16 when you used to be a size 8. Ever heard of “letting yourself go”? This is how it happens. One French Fry at a time. Good news, there is hope! Don’t take that route again. Let’s start eating healthy NOW! Don’t wait until after the holidays…after your Birthday…or after this or that. Start an Exercise program NOW, or as soon as you speak with your Personal Trainer on what exercises you can begin with.

The choice starts now. Make the right one, please.

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Tags: craving, diet, exercise, failure, Fitness, gain weight, Healthy, Lose Weight, personal trainer, plan ahead, snack, strawberries, success, temptation, win

Cinnamon

Cinnamon has been used for centuries for its taste and many medicinal health benefits.

Cinnamon comes from dried bark from a Cinnamon tree. The bark can be either dried and rolled into cinnamon sticks, or dried and ground into a powder.

Benefits

•Cinnamon contains Calcium, Manganese, Fiber, and Iron.

•Cinnamon has been found to have a helpful effect on blood sugar levels, which makes it helpful for those who have Diabetes.

•The smell of Cinnamon may help with memory.

•Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory effects, and when mixed with Honey may relieve arthritis pain.

•Cinnamon has an anti-clotting effect on blood and actually helps with blood circulation.

•Natural preservative by preventing bacterial growth, which can ultimately help prevent or kill bacteria infections.

Uses

You can use Cinnamon in just about anything. You can add a dash of cinnamon to your breakfast cereal in the morning, add it to herbal tea, or top on your dessert. You almost can’t go wrong when trying to add Cinnamon to your regular diet.

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Tags: alcium, anti-clotting effect, Anti-inflammatory, arthritis, blood circulation, fiber, honey, iron, kill bacteria infections, Manganese, memory, prevent bacterial growth

Drink more water!

Water is extremely good for you, especially considering that most of our body is made up of water. It’s hard for me to drink anything else (besides the occasional glass of home-made orange juice, of course).

Water linked to Weight loss

Water helps you lose weight, and helps you keep it off. Water is naturally 0 calories (that’s right, z-e-r-o), which is an obvious help to losing weight-especially since you don’t have harmful additives.

keep reading for some reasons why water will help you lose weight (and why you should throw out that soda…right now!)

Hungry?

A lot of times when you are feeling hungry, it is because you are actually thirsty. By making sure you are drinking your 8 glasses of water a day, you are not only curbing unnecessary food cravings, but quenching your thirst with something your body needs, which also helps to metabolize stored fat in your body.

Be creative!

Another way of adding water to  your daily routine is through fruits and vegetables. This doesn’t mean you get should skip your 8 glasses of water a day, but this is just another way to add water to your body!

Did you know that common fruits like apples, blueberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, and strawberries contain about 80% (or more) water? Some common vegetables like lettuce, carrots, spinach, zucchini, and cucumber are also about 80% (or more) water. Again, just another healthy way to add water to your body that you disparately need.

Got Water?

Water is beneficial for your overall health. It helps with your skin, kidneys, liver, metabolism, bladder, blood pressure, and helps your body just function better. It is important to keep hydrated year round to keep your body in full running order.

It’s best for your body to stay hydrated through water, and avoid sugar and caffeine filled drinks when you are thirsty. When you are showing signs of being thirsty, your body is begging for water, not the latest energy drink.

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Tags: blood pressure, hydrated, kidneys, liver, low calorie, metabolism, necessity, quenches thirst, skin, Weight Loss, year round, zero calories

Grape-nuts by Post Cereal

Taste

I actually like this high fiber cereal-every once in a while, It’s not so bad! If you are bored with the high carb/fiber taste, you might want to mix in some fruit, dried fruit, or maybe even some honey to add a little flavor to it. Grape-nuts is great since you don’t need to eat a lot of it, and you still end up getting full. You might want to try eating this slowly, since this does seem to expand in your stomach.

Health and Nutrition

The reason I like this cereal is mainly how impressive it’s Iron content is. For just one serving, you get 90% of your daily value of iron (based on a 2,000 calorie diet). Iron is something a lot of women are low on, and this is a great cereal to add some Iron to your diet. I was low on iron, and I couldn’t handle anymore Sugar Snap peas or Pumpkin Seeds, so I tried Grape-nuts! Of course, you don’t want too little or too much Iron, so please keep that in mind as well. It is all about balance.

Serving: 1/2 cup

Calories: 208

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Tags: Breakfast, cereal, grape nuts, great taste, Healthy, high fiber, iron