Healthy Tips for Thanksgiving

Here are some healthy tips to help you survive on Thanksgiving Day…

Exercise

A great way to start your Thanksgiving day is to exercise. If you plan on consuming more calories because of this traditional high calorie meal, a hearty workout will be very beneficial for you, including your waistline.

Exercise is a great way to start your day, which can also help you maintain healthy choices throughout the day.

You may want to focus on an cardiovascular workout, such as swimming, jogging, or using an elliptical machine. All would be great ways to burn a lot of calories for the day.

Drink Water

Just like any other day, it is important to drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated. A benefit to drinking enough water is that you eat less than you would if you were dehydrated, which helps keep you full so you don’t overeat.

Healthy Snacks

Snacking throughout the day is great – only if you munch on healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Remember that Pumpkin pie is a dessert, not a healthy snack to curb your appetite.

Portion Control

Did you know that the average Thanksgiving meal can be 2,000 calories or more? The reason for this isn’t necessarily for what is being eaten, but how much of it is eaten. Be sure to eat a healthy breakfast and snacks before your Thanksgiving Lunch or Dinner. This way, it won’t feel like this is the first and only meal you have had all week.

Healthy Thanksgiving Meal…Mostly!

Be sure to fill your plate with mostly healthy foods rather than piling it with high calorie, fattening, or sugary foods. This way you still get to enjoy some of your favorite traditional food without over indulging.

Remember that treats like candied yams should remain a treat and not become the main course.

Satisfied, not Full

Thanksgiving meal isn’t a race to see who can eat the most in the shortest amount of time. Like any other meal, you shouldn’t continue eating after you are satisfied.

To avoid this painful scenario, be sure to follow these tips:

• Start with just a small amount of food on your plate. If you put a lot of food on your plate from the start, you are more likely to finish your plate, even if you are completely satisfied or full. If you finish your small plate of food and you are still hungry, go ahead and add more food to your plate. It’s easier to add food to your plate later than to test your self control.

• Eat slowly!  It takes about 15 to 20 minutes before your stomach realizes that it is “full”.  At that point, the sick feeling of overeating is unavoidable. It’s Thanksgiving, and it’s OK to eat slowly and enjoy your family and friends.

• Stop eating once you are “Satisfied”. This is a signal that your body gives you letting you know that you have enough food.

Enjoy your family and friends, and have a Healthy Thanksgiving!

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Tags: cardiovascular, drink water, elliptical machine, exercise, Healthy, healthy meal, Healthy Snacks, holiday, jogging, low calorie, portion control, satisfied, small plate, snacks, swimming, Thanksgiving, water, workout

3 Easy Tips on how to be Healthier today

You can be skinny in a number of different ways. To narrow it down, you can become Skinny by doing unhealthy things to your body (diet pills, drugs, anorexic, etc), or you can become Skinny by being Healthy (excercise, eating healthy, etc).  I try to focus my efforts on being healthy, which in the end is what is going to help my body resist deseases, illness, fatigue, depression- and be “Skinny”.

From my own observations, here are a couple of things you can get in the habit of, to help you become more healthy.

1) Replace your Soda with Water

The average 12 oz can of regular Soda has about 150 calories in it. Multiply that by how many cans of soda you drink aday, and it adds up. Even if you are drinking “diet” soda with 0 calories, that doesn’t make it healthy for you. Swap the Soda and other sugary drinks like juice for water. Your body will thank you.

2) Park your car far away from the store

Get some more walking in your day! Europeans are known for walking a lot, and Americans need to get in this habit as well. Walking is easy on the knees and body, so if you are physically able to, try to make excuses to walk more. Make sure with your added walking, you are wearing comfortable shoes that support your feet. This will not only be better for your body and it’s posture, it will help prevent aches and pains with your added walking and will help encourage more walking.  Every extra step counts!

3) Eat out less or not at all

Practically all fast food and restraunts are breeding ground to loads of saturated fats, oils, excessive sugars, and unhealthy sized portions. When you prepare food at home, you get to have more control on what you are putting into your body. Try to use Coconut oil rather than Vegetable Oil, use Honey or Agave to sweeten your foods rather than using  Sugar or Aspartame, and try to eat plenty of vegetables and smaller portions of meat on your plate.

You can start small. Start with these 3 simple steps that can help you in a big way.

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Tags: agave, coconut oil, drink water, Healthy, honey, Lose Weight, Skinny, soda, vegetables, veggies, walking, Weight Loss

Organic Lip Balm by Dr. Bronner’s

Throw away your Chapstick, because I am going to introduce to you a new way to keep your lips hydrated and healthy.

Is Chapstick bad for you?

Chapstick, Smackers, SoftLips, Vaseline, Carmex, and other popular brands out there are actually something you may just want to avoid. Why? They contain Mineral Oil and Petroleum, which actually dries up your lips rather than helping them. If Chapstick causes addiction, it would be better for you to avoid it rather than keep using it.

Alternative

What I love about Organic Lip Balm by Dr. Bronner’s, is that is actually helps heal your lips, without causing an addiction, or a constant need to keep using it over and over again. If my lips ever feel chapped, I can use this Lip Balm a couple of times, and then that’s it. I can go weeks without feeling like I have to need to use the Lip Balm, which is the way it should be- not a constant application.

What’s in Organic Lip Balm by Bronner’s?

In the Peppermint “flavored” Organic Lip Balm by Bronner’s, the ingredients include the following; Organic Avacado Oil, Organic Beeswax, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil, and Natural Tocopherols. That’s right, no Mineral Oil or  Petroleum.

Avoid Chapped Lips Naturally

If you need a quick and instant fix, I definitely recommend this Organic Lip Balm. If you want to prevent and really take care of chapped lips, the best thing you can do is hydrate your body with lots of water. Never underestimate the powerful effects of drinking enough water.

Whether it is the Winter cold or Summer heat – you are now ready to take on any season with chap-less lips!

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