Foods that PRETEND to be healthy...

1. Baked Potato Chips
2. Gummy Fruit Snacks
3. Light Ice Cream
4. Diet Soda
5. "Calorie-Free" Spray Margarine
6. Nonfat Salad Dressing
7. Low-Fat Cookies
8. 100-Calorie Snack Packs
9. Pretzels
10. Spinach Wraps
11. Vitamin Water

See the reasons why here...

Inspiration????

5 Benefits of Dark Chocolate

1. Studies have shown dark chocolate to lower blood pressure
2. Studies have also shown dark chocolate to lower bad cholesterol (LDL)
3. It turns women on more than a passionate kissing session (no wonder they want it for Valentine's Day!)
4. Contains serotonin, a natural mood-boosting anti-depressant
5. Stimulates pleasure-inducing endorphin production

Now, even though there are several benefits of dark chocolate, as with anything else, moderation is key. Make sure your chocolate delights fit into your daily caloric needs, and try to work your way up to the highest percentage dark chocolate you can enjoy.

Dr. Oz's FIVE ingredients to avoid...

To make your diet more healthy, Dr.Oz says to remember his "rules of five". Look at the labels of the foods you eat if you see one of these five ingredients listed as one of the first five things used to make it, DON'T EAT IT.

1) HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

"We most commonly find this in soft drinks", Dr. Oz says "it's an inexpensive sugar which mens we're gettin a lot of it in our diets'

2) SUGAR

Dr. Oz says when you eat sweets, your brain receives schizophrenic messages. "It says I received calories but didn't receive any nutrients." he says. Your body will keep craving food until it gets these nutrients.

3) "ENRICHED"

Also watch out for products inside with "enriched" flour, like white bread. "Why would they take bread and have to enrich it? Because they take all the important vitamins out of it, and they sprinkle just a little bit back in there.

4) TRANS FAT

Also known as hydrogenated fat. These are fats that were once in liquid form but have hydrogen added to make them solid at room temperature to extend the shelf live of the product. But it shortens the human life.

5) SATURATED FATS

These fats come from four-legged animals like pigs and cows.

Tips from Dr. Phil (via Mom)

(didn't have time to edit...just copied and pasted from mom's email...)


1) Eat 3 regular meals a day - Breakfast , Lunch, Dinner) and 2 snacks.Try to schedule your meals at a fairly regular times, whenever possible. This keeps your blood sugar steady, so that you're less vulnerable to cravings. In addition it helps you settle into a more disciplined eating pattern.

2) Have a protein serving at each of your 3 main meals. This breaks down to an egg, 2 egg whites, or a turkey product (such as turkey bacon/or sausage for breakfast; 4 ounces of protein for lunch and 4 ounces of protein for dinner. Protein is a hunger suppressor and has a positive effect on metabolic activity.

3) East unlimited amounts (but at least 4servings) of non starchy vegtables (salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach,green beans, etc) daily. These my be raw or cooked, fresh or frozen. Eat these foods until you feel full but not stuffed. Learn to turn into you hunger and fullness cues.

4) Modify you intake of starchy carbs ( potatoes, rice, whole grain, high-fiber cereal,legumes, etc.) to one serving per day. (for women )and 2 for men since usually require more calories than women.Do not eat the starchy foods after noon.

5) Eat tw10o servings of fresh fruit daily-but No fruit juice in gthis stage, because juice does little to help suppress your appetite.

6) Eat at least two serving of low-fat daily (often limilte or cut out altogetherin manuy diets,these foods furnish the bone-building calcium.When calcium supplies dwindle,lvels of a hormone Calcitriol go up,on a negative effect on fat burning. Calcitrial switches off mechanisms that break down fat and activates those that produce it. You need dairly in your diet not only for the calcium but for also to support fat metabolism.

7) Chose from healthy fats. Enjoy a tablespoon a day of high response cost, high -yields fats or oils, or ,if the fat is a reduced-calorie product, have 2 tablespoons a day. Healthy fats suppress hunger. No nuts or seeds allowed in thes stage as it is too easy to go overboard.

8) Drink 8-10 ounces of pure water a daily/. Although you can enjoy a variety of noncaloric beverages. water is the best choice. Drinking tooo little water leads to dehydration, a stte of imbalance tht can slow down metabolism.

9) Eat allowable foods and he has a list) only from the high response, high yield lists.

AND NOW THE GOOD NEWS!
10) Don't stay in Stage 1 more than 14 days!! Although you may return to this stage if you have reached a plateau and don't continue to lose.

7 SIMPLE SLIMMING TIPS

According to diet and exercise expert John Foreyt, here are some "secrets" to losing weight. He admits they're simple, but in his many years of experience, he's found that it's the small changes that make the biggest difference.

1. Sleep -- Get eight hours of sleep a night. Between work, school, and other commitments, this isn't easy. But make it a priority.

2. Breakfast -- Eat breakfast. Mom always said it was the most important meal of the day. She was right.

3. Walk -- Walk briskly for 60 minutes every day. No gym membership or fancy equipment required.

4. Record It -- Write down what you eat. It's the best way to keep track of your food intake.

5. Weigh In -- Step on a scale every day to monitor your progress.

6. Find Support -- There are plenty of local and online support groups that can keep you motivated and moving forward.

7. Persevere -- Never give up.

Wedding Day COUNT-down

My idea for a FITNESS CHALLENGE game to get us all slim, trim and healthy for the wedding. Each of us mentioned in one way or another that we were determined to get “serious” about getting in shape in 2009. So my idea would be that we do it together. It would be really FUN if we had some sort of a Family Web-site or blog…to post our successes, failures, and anything that might help each other along the way. But, sadly, that is not my expertise.

BUT…here’s the plan:

We have 27 weeks to go until Luke & Carissa’s wedding. If we break it into smaller manageable sessions, we can do 3 – nine-week sessions starting tomorrow, Jan. 5^th.

Here’s what I was thinking: everyone commits to a nine-week challenge and a $15.00 Entry Fee (which can be paid at the completion of the session to the winner to be used for a mani/pedi treatment). This way, we have something at stake and something to strive for- besides the obvious of looking and feeling better!

We can all still do whatever “diet” plan we want, but we will earn points for certain things. The person with the most points at the end of 9 weeks wins the pot. Here is a sample of what I am thinking, but I’m open to suggestions, of course. Maybe we can try this for the first 9 weeks (Jan 5 – Mar 8) and then change it up a bit for Session 2.

To earn points:

Sticking to your diet plan - 5 points per day

For each 8 oz of plain water - 2 points

Going a full day w/o pop - 3 points

Each serving (according to the ADA) of veggies - 3 points

Each serving of plain fruit - 2 points

For each 30 min. of exercise – 10 points

And what about this for Bonus POINTS:

15 min.(at keast) if Bible or devotional Reading – 5 bonus points

Getting at least 7 hrs of sleep - 5 bonus points