Monthly Archives: September 2014
8 Healthy Breakfast Ideas
There’s no rule that breakfast has to consist of food specifically designated for that meal. In fact, last night’s leftovers may be perfect. That’s because most people consume about 50 to 60 percent of their total daily protein at dinner, and shifting those calories to the morning may have health benefits.
1. Front-load your calories
Aim to consume 20 percent to 25 percent of your total daily calories at breakfast (up to 400 calories for women, up to 500 for men, and a bit more for vigorous exercisers). Research shows that it increases levels of the satiety hormone PYY, helping you to feel full, and may reduce the number of calories you consume at lunch, according to Heather Leidy, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri, Columbia. It may also help you avoid overeating later in the day, which may lead to weight gain.
2. Think protein
The latest research suggests that eating protein first thing in the morning is crucial. Having 24 to 35 grams may help prevent weight gain and promote weight loss by stabilizing your blood sugar, decreasing your appetite, and making you feel full. Morning protein also…
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Super Weight Loss Tips from Tufts
Regular readers know that I used to be overweight with a lot of bad eating habits. At my worst, I weighed over 220 pounds with a waistline of at least 44 inches. You can read how I made my first big successful swipe at that problem in How I lost 50 pounds in 52 weeks.
The past nearly 11 years of writing this blog has raised my level of awareness into the stratosphere as far as weight control and healthy eating are concerned. But I always go back to the first principles of portion control and serving size. Tufts offers some super suggestions that will bolster your weight loss efforts going forward. I like the picture below everyone can understand the size of a baseball, or light bulb. The cassette tape, while dated, is still understandable.
Below are a few tips to ensure that you’re eating the right portion amounts:
– Most restaurant portion sizes are at least double or triple the portion you should be eating. As soon as your meal arrives, cut it in half and box up the other half. Take it home to have for lunch the next day.
– Serve food on small plates. Instead of using a dinner plate, substitute a luncheon plate or a salad plate. - When eating at home, put a small portion of food on your plate, and keep the rest of the food in the kitchen. Then, if you want to eat more, you’ll have to get up to get it.
– Read food labels. When a package says that it contains more than one serving, measure out one serving into a separate dish. - Avoid eating in front of the TV or while reading. Instead, focus on the tastes, textures, and aromas of your food. This can keep you from mindlessly munching your way to the bottom of a bowl of popcorn or bag of chips.
– Listen to your body’s hunger cues. Pay attention to feelings of hunger and fullness.
This last point is excellent. Don’t eat for reasons other than hunger. A pint or Rocky Road ice cream will not solve your emotional turmoil.
For more information on the connection between the heart and brain, consider purchasing Heart-Brain Diet: Essential Nutrition for Healthy Longevity by Tufts Medical Report.
I have written further on portion control: A fresh look at portion control and portion distortion, How to Use Portion Control in Weight Loss and Maintenance, Get A Food Scale for Portion Control, Dining Out Portion Control Tricks from Weight Watchers, From “The Portion Teller.”
Tony
Filed under food labels, portion control, portion size
‘Apps for Health’ section hits App Store following Apple’s release of Healthkit enabled iOS 8.0.2
Apple is raising the bar in the health tracking arena. Here is a suite of apps where “…fitness app can talk to your calorie tracker, your doctor can be automatically notified of updates to your health data, and great apps work together for a healthier you.”
Must confess that I am an Apple Fan-boy. My first computin’ machine was an Apple II Plus in 1979. I have been a happy Apple customer ever since. Can’t wait for the Apple Watch to come out. Check out my post Sitting Too Much is Killing Us for more on that.
Tony
Filed under apple, calories, Exercise, health, healthy living
Combination of Aerobic Exercise and Resistance Training Best for Obese Youths
“Obesity is an epidemic among youth,” says Dr. Ron Sigal of the University of Calgary’s Institute for Public Health and Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. “Adolescents who are overweight are typically advised to exercise more, but there is limited evidence on what type of exercise is best in order to lose fat.”
This is interesting. I experienced a similar result when I Lost 50 pounds in 52 weeks. Also, at that point in my life, I had little understanding about cardio vs resistance exercise.
Tony
What exercise program can best fight the “epidemic” of teen obesity? According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, by combining aerobic exercise with resistance training.
The Healthy Eating Aerobic and Resistance Training in Youth (HEARTY) study, led by researchers at the University of Calgary and University of Ottawa, involved 304 overweight teens in the Ottawa/Gatineau area between the ages of 14 to 18. All were given the same four weeks of diet counseling to promote healthy eating and weight loss before being randomly placed into four groups. The first group performed resistance training involving weight machines and some free weights; the second performed only aerobic exercise on treadmills, elliptical machines and stationary bikes; the third underwent combined aerobic and resistance training; and the last group did no exercise training.
What’s the best exercise to lose fat?
“Obesity is an epidemic among youth,”…
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Filed under aerobics, cardio exercise, Exercise, weight-training
How Can I Get More Coconut Oil Into My Diet?
I have written extensively about the many healthful benefits of coconut oil. Be sure to check out my page – Coconut Oil – Why You Should Include It In Your Diet. Here is an excerpt: “Coconut oil is a medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) as opposed to the long chain fatty acids (LCFA) found in most oil in our diets. Coconut oil is easy on the digestive system, requiring minimal digestion. It travels immediately to the liver to be converted into energy. It doesn’t circulate in the body and end up being stored as fat. So for a quick energy boost, eat a spoonful of coconut oil or add it to your food.”
If you, like me, are looking for more ways to use coconut oil on a daily basis, check out these suggestions that I ran across on Care2’s greenliving network.
• Instead of butter, fry or scramble your eggs in coconut oil, and try slathering it on toast.
• Stir a spoonful in your oatmeal or spread on pancakes for a lower glycemic load.
• Making your own granola? Baking treats? Swap in coconut oil instead of typical vegetable oil or shortening.
• Whirl into smoothies for longer-lasting energy and an instant hit of cholesterol-improving lauric acid.
• Even unrefined coconut oil has a relatively high smoke point, making it great for higher-temperature cooking, such as stir-frying or sautéing. Try cooking your dark leafy greens using coconut oil and a little sea salt.
• Make theater-style popcorn by heating kernels in coconut oil in a heavy kettle. Once popped, drizzle a mixture of melted coconut oil and butter over the top.
• As an alternative to a latte or coffee with cream, in a blender combine 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon unsalted grassfed butter, and 1 cup of coffee until it’s creamy and no oil is floating on the surface, about 20 to 30 seconds. Spike with vanilla or cinnamon, if desired.
• Mash into sweet potatoes or use to cook sweet-potato fries for a rich, nutty flavor.
• When making homemade mayo, replace half the olive oil with coconut oil. Or replace the oil in your favorite homemade salad dressing.
• For a quick treat, melt and mix with dark chocolate to make fudge or bark. Or pour the liquid mixture over a scoop of cold ice cream. It will harden instantly, like on a classic dipped cone.
• Eat it by the spoonful, right out of the jar — a quick supplement and snack combined.
Tony
Filed under coconut oil, weight control, weight loss
The 11 healthiest foods in the world
Grown without chemicals and loaded with nutrition, these 11 foods will keep you (and the planet) healthy for life.
By Rodale News Thu, Mar 08 2012
WHOLE FOODS: Full of nutrition and easy on the planet.
J.I. Rodale, the man who founded Rodale Publishing, launched the organic farming movement in America. A strong believer in the power of food to heal, he knew long before organic went mainstream that producing the healthiest food meant growing it in the healthiest soil — soil enriched naturally with organic matter, not synthetic, petroleum-based fertilizers that can rob it of vital nutrients and minerals. In a 1947 issue of Rodale’s first magazine, Organic Gardening, J.I. Rodale outlined “The Rodale Diet,” a simple recommendation of easily accessible healthy foods, grown without the use of toxic chemicals that, if followed 20 to 30 percent of the time would “give disease a smart punch in the solar…
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Filed under healthy eating, healthy living, Uncategorized
A Decade-by-decade Guide to Optimal Nutrition for Men
Great ideas here. Good clear guidance on realizing where we are in life’s continuum and acting and eating accordingly.
Think your nutrition needs stay the same your whole adult life? Think again: Every decade has its own pitfalls and concerns, from weight creep to heart disease, and this changes what — and how much — you need to eat during each life stage. Check out our handy guide to figure out which foods will help boost your health no matter your age.
20s: High Energy
You’re no couch potato! In your 20s, you’re likely in college or working in your first job after graduating, and your spare time is filled with sports, hiking and other active pursuits. Savor the decade, because it means you can get away with downing more calories than your older brethren without piling on weight. “But just because you can eat a lot of calories doesn’t mean they should be empty calories,” says Keith Ayoob, EdD, RD, FADA, a former Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics…
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Filed under Exercise, health, healthy living, weight control
Proven Ways to Get Happier Right Now
Happy people live healthier and longer lives. Check out 11 Habits of Happy People, How Exercise Makes You Happy – Infographic, Positive, Happy People Suffer Less Pain.
I also have several posts on How to Harness Positive Psychology for You – Harvard, What is Positive Psychology?Tony
Long hours at the office, a lack of sleep, poor nutrition and other stressful events in life can chip away at your happiness, leaving you feeling less than savory at the end of the day. If you find yourself feeling stressed or flooded with this kind of negative energy, it’s important to remember that you are in control of your thoughts, and ultimately, your life.
It is up to you to get happier, and to do that, positive changes must be made.
It’s a proven fact that more people in this world want happiness in their life over being rich or famous. Unlike becoming rich and/or famous, reaching your own state of happification doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it can be FUN when you use proven methods that work best for you. The great part about happiness is that ANYONE can find it. Here are 5 of…
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Filed under happiness, Harvard, Positive Psychology, positivity
Why Drink Water First Thing in the Morning? – Infographic
Regular readers know that I am in my third week of recovering from skin cancer surgery, face and back. I was visiting with a friend of mine and mentioned that since the operations, I had no energy and had actually been napping one to two hours a day. He said that he had heard on CNN a good way to increase your energy was to start the day drinking a glass of Water because a full night’s sleep is a dehydrating experience. That sounded interesting to me and I have been reading about it. This infographic is the beginning of that reading.
To read further posts on drinking water check out Oleda Baker – Drink Enough Water, and Some Cool Water Facts.
Tony
Filed under colon, water, weight control
Healthy Reasons To Enjoy Chocolate Every Day
“In the right form, chocolate is a true super food. Of all the foods available on planet Earth, chocolate is perhaps the most magical and maybe one of the best health foods around. Fortunately, it’s also one of the most delicious, so enjoy it in good health.”
And also remember that you must be scrupulous in your portion control. One to two ounces will do the trick.
One to two ounces are sufficient for excellent health benefits
Tony
BY MICHAEL T. MURRAY JUNE 10, 2013
Is there such a thing as a guilt-free pleasure when it comes to food? Absolutely, and chocolate is one of them. This delectable, seemingly addictive food is produced from the beans of the cacao tree, whose official name is Theobroma cacao. Its scientific name reflects our long-standing love of chocolate that’s endured for millennia (theobroma is the Greek word for “food of the gods”).
Here are a few scientifically proven health benefits of consuming moderate amounts of heavenly, high-quality chocolate.
1. It improves your mood.
Chocolate has long been associated with love, and now scientists have discovered a possible chemical connection. Chocolate contains a compound known as phenylethylamine (PEA), a brain chemical that’s released during moments of emotional euphoria. In addition to PEA, controversial findings suggest that chocolate contains pharmacologically active substances with the same effect on the brain as marijuana. The…
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Filed under brain, brain health
Health Benefits of Organic Food
In general, organic food consumers, manufacturers, and farmers strongly believe that organic food has the following benefits compared to non-organic food. While there are plenty of arguments against the multitude of organic food being overpriced on the market, there is no denying that there are some benefits that can be enjoyed.
Organic Food, Organic Food Basics
The health benefits of organic food are more based on perception than real facts. However, the sweeping public opinion that organic food is healthier than conventional food is quite strong, and is the main reason for about 30% of growth in the organic food industry over the past 5-6 years. Much of this inflated support of organic food as a healthier alternative comes from environmental groups who don’t want pesticides and fertilizers to do any more damage to the environment, so promoting organic foods, which don’t use those types of chemicals, seems like a good way to get the results they want. The producers of organic food are also very strong contributors to the idea that organic food is superior to other types.
First of all, there is a small amount of scientific evidence to show that organic food is better in quality than conventional…
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Filed under organic food
Sitting Is Killing You – Infographic
I posted on the dangers of Sitting Too Much earlier this week.
Now comes this awesome infographic with even more info on it. If it appears small to you, double click on it and it will blow up (at least it did on my Mac.)
Some of the items include: “Sitting 6+ hours a day makes you up to 40% likelier to die within 15 years than someone who sits less than three. Even if you exercise.”
Tony
Filed under sitting, Uncategorized, weight control, weight loss
6 Things You Must Know About Money and Happiness
Here are six facts that may surprise you—and tips on how to live the good life, no matter how much you’ve got.
I have written numerous times on happiness. For further posts, check out 75 Years In The Making: Harvard Just Released Its Epic Study On What Men Need To Live A Happy Life, Don’t Worry, Be Healthy, Positive, Happy People Suffer Less Pain, Why Should I Be Happy? Happy People Live Longer – Time Magazine, How Exercise Makes You Happy, Can I Be Happy?
Tony
August 20, 2014 By Amanda MacMillan
If you were offered a well-deserved raise at work or a no-strings-attached wad of money, would you take it? You’ve surely heard that money can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly get you closer to an enjoyable life, right?
Yes and no, says Elizabeth Dunn, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending. “It turns out, what you do with your money seems to matter just as much to your happiness as how much you make,” she says; good news for those of us without a sudden windfall or promotion in our near futures.
Here are six facts that may surprise you—and tips on how to live the good life, no matter how much you’ve got.
Don’t sweat the six-figure job
“There is definitely a correlation between income and…
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Filed under happiness, Positive Psychology, relaxation, stress
A Good Night’s Sleep May Mean a Good Day’s Work
The researchers even narrowed the ideal amount of nightly sleep for workers down to seven hours, 38 minutes for women, and seven hours, 46 minutes for men, according to the study in the September issue of the journal Sleep.
The team also found that insomnia-related symptoms — waking early in the morning, feeling more tired than others and using sleeping pills — were all linked with a significant increase in time off from work due to illness.
For more on the importance of sleep please check out my Page – How Important is a Good Night’s Sleep?
Tony
Too much, too little slumber linked to raised number of sick days, researchers say.
Getting enough sleep each night may mean you’re less likely to take time off from work due to illness, a new study suggests.
The study included more than 3,700 people in Finland, aged 30 to 64, who were followed for an average of seven years.
Those who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours a night were much more likely to have extended absences from work due to illness, the investigators found. People with the lowest risk for taking time off from work due to sickness were those who slept between seven and eight hours a night.
The researchers even narrowed the ideal amount of nightly sleep for workers down to seven hours, 38 minutes for women, and seven hours, 46 minutes for men, according to the study in the September issue of…
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Filed under aging, sleep, sleep deprivation
Nine Days After Skin Cancer Surgery: Update
This is meant to be just a brief updater. I am in my second week following Mohs skin cancer surgery. Regarding exercise, I still haven’t ridden my bike or done anything outside of brief walks that would be described as exertion. This is just following doctor orders, also I have very low energy.
Yesterday was the first day since the surgery that I did not take a one to two hour nap in mid-afternoon.
While I have been careful about eating, I have not been crazy scrutinizing every calorie in fear of gaining weight since I am not riding 20 miles a day on my bike as I usually do. In view of that, I am surprised that I have not gained a pound. Most pleasant surprise.
I thought it might be interesting to compare two pictures of the incision on my face. The first was taken two days after the surgery and was the first time the wound was exposed since the nurse bandaged it after the operation. The second was taken this morning. For the record, these stitches are the kind that dissolve over time, so they will not have to be removed. My apologies to the squeamish for these photos. I share your squeam.
Two days after surgery
Here is the one from this morning:
This morning, 10 days after surgery.
I have put nothing on this wound except Vaseline to protect it. This morning is my first day to leave it uncovered without the big rectangular bandage. I started to use Emu oil and coconut oil on it today. Will post a picture a year from now to show how well it healed.
Note: I posted on March 26, 2015. Click the link to read it.
If interested in the details on this surgery, check out my posts What Happened During My Skin Cancer Surgery, What About Life After Skin Cancer Surgery? and I Have a Second Skirmish With Skin Cancer.
To complete what I had thought was going to be a very brief post I want to let you know that I had similar surgery on my face in August 2012. I blogged about how well the facial scar healed in How Emu Oil and Coconut Oil Hid a Facial Scar in August 2013.
Tony
Filed under biking, cancer, Mohs surgery, Skin cancer surgery
Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger 