Out with the Old, In with the New

Hello everyone! I hope everyone has had a safe and happy Holidays with family and friends, and continues to do so!

First off I would like to apologize for not posting as often as I said I would, there have been some personal circumstances that have needed my attention the past couple of weeks.

As for now though, I am back with some tips for going into the new year. It's time for that old cliche, "out with the old, in with the new", where everyone makes that resolution to either lose weight or just be healthier. Let's face it, a lot of us probably don't keep that resolution, and it's probably because we bite off more than we can chew and it becomes overwhelming. I have some tips and ideas to share, to help you make your resolution to be healthier and/or lose weight seem a little smaller, and more manageable.
  
    1. Ditch the "diet". Yeah, I said it, ditch that sucker.  So many fads and diets are focused heavily on things you can't have. What they don't take into account is our brains kick into reverse psychology mode, and you end up struggling and giving up because you find yourself only wanting those foods you can't have. The key is not to diet, but to change your lifestyle and ways of eating completely. What do I mean by that? It means taking what you normally would eat, and finding the healthier alternatives. It may seem like a tedious task at first, but in all honesty, I have come to find it can be kind of fun exploring and trying different things. Something else I've come to find, cooking healthier meals makes me feel like a gourmet chef, and the food looks and tastes more upscale than say, a "healthy" microwave dinner. Finding healthier alternatives to your favorite foods can be something as simple as replacing ground beef with ground turkey in sloppy joes (trust me, I've tried it, it's fantastic) or instead of getting the pre-packaged  lunch meat which can be highly processed and loaded with phosphides and phosphates and tons of sodium, head to your grocery store's deli counter and ask for a few ounces of low-sodium, skinless, sliced chicken, turkey, ham, or roast beef cut to the thickness of your choosing. I could go on forever about the little things you can do to make the things you love a little bit healthier, but for more tips and tricks I like to turn to the books put out by "The Biggest Loser". I have one right now called "Six Weeks to a Healthier You", which is six weeks of (delicious) meal plans that focuses on a different aspect of your health, i.e. cancer prevention, blood pressure, heart health, diabetes, etc...The recipes in there are subject to mix and matching or repetition to your liking, but try to stick as closely as you can with it. If you just want recipe ideas, The Biggest Loser and Weight watchers puts out cookbooks that are full of healthy and delicious meal and snack ideas.

      2. Detoxify. It is always a good idea to start a healthier lifestyle off with a whole body detox. I get asked all the time what this means, so let me tell you. There are things we eat everyday that leave behind a mess of sludge, toxins, and all kinds of other things that our bodies are not able to digest or get rid of on it's own, so we have to flush it out of our system, i.e. liver, colon, kidneys, intestines. There are so many detox products out there it can be kind of hard to figure out which ones will actually flush out your system. What ever you do, when you are looking at cleansing or detox products, READ THE LABEL. Some of these things only focus on one thing such as regularity, getting rid of water weight and so on. What you want is something that will flush out your entire system. A product I like is "Whole Body Cleanse" from a company called Enzymatic. It is a 10 day detox system that includes a detox booster, fiber capsules, and acidophilus pearls (which help replace good bacteria that will help your digestion). This detox is a simple system to follow and it is gentle on your system, but effective, and can be found at your local grocery store or on GNC's website. I just got done using it, and I feel great. Something else I am going to try beginning January 1st, at the urging of a friend is a plan called "The Master Cleanse". I'm not going to really go into detail or officially recommend this yet since I haven't tried it, but I have heard nothing but good things about this cleansing plan, so we will see what happens. Always make sure to get on a regiment of some kind of probiotic after detoxing so to replace the good bacteria your body needs for healthy digestion. I recommend using Acidophilus Pearls put out by Enzymatic.

     3. Water, Water, Water. This is probably preaching to the choir here, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to drink lots of water. I personally try to drink AT LEAST 4-16.9 oz bottles of water a day, if not more. Water is a natural flushing agent for the body, and I love how good I feel after drinking a bottle.

   4. Make your calorie intake count. A lot of people lose weight by counting calories. This however, can be good, and bad. It can be good because you reduce your caloric intake, but bad in that you can misguide yourself in the numbers. We tend to look at something, and say, "This is low calorie, I can eat it, it's good!". WRONGO! While something may be low calorie, that does not mean it's good for you. The trick is to make the calories you take in count, meaning make those calories go to work for your body and contribute to it's healthy functions. Oh and don't let yourself be fooled by the label. I am seeing time and time again that while something may claim to be a "lite" or "low calorie" or "low fat" version of something, really look at that label and check amount per serving and how many servings are in the product. Is it really better than the original? A lot of times, no, it isn't. Surprisingly, the "healthier" alternatives tend to be higher calorie, fat, carbs, and/or sodium, so really pay attention to those labels, most importantly serving size.

   5. Eat, eat, eat. Surprising huh? well, it's true. Everywhere I turn I hear that when overweight people are asked how many meals a day they eat, they say "2 or less". It's been to much of a pattern I'm seeing for me to discard it, because I have to place myself in that pattern as I have been guilty of this habit (usually skipping breakfast). The simple truth is, your body needs fuel to run, and that fuel is stored in the foods we eat, hence why it's important to get our meals in, and make them count. If you're not a big eater, spread your eating out over the day and eat five or six smaller portions, instead of three big meals. I like to grab a protein packed breakfast that looks something like an egg, with a side of fruit, and a whole grain piece of toast or english muffin. It's important to get both protein and complex carbs in the morning because it takes longer for your body to digest it, and it will keep you full longer, enabling you to keep your energy up longer. A little trick to maximize your breakfast benefits, make sure to eat within 10-30 minutes of waking up to optimize your metabolism.  For snacks I like to grab something like a half a turkey sandwich mid morning, and applesauce, or trail mix (I make my own, and would be happy to share my recipe upon request) in the afternoon.

   6. Supplementation. Supplementation is a key factor in health. Our diets alone are not enough to get all the vitamins our bodies need throughout the day. I usually take vitamin D3, Calcium with magnesium and zinc (the mag. and zinc help your body absorb the calcium), Omega3, and a probiotic. Of course this is just a general tip, we are all different, so we all need different things, so just find what is best for you, and go with that.

   7. Working out. Over the past month or two I have learned some surprising information about working out. A lot of us tend to think treadmills, bikes, elipticals, and stair steppers are our best friends at the gym. Personally, I hate all of these machines, and was excited to learn that these machines are actually doing less for us than we think. The trick to working out is using your own body weight and compound exercises. Examples are yoga, pilates, tai chi, boxing, kick boxing, and weights. A lot of these exercises work more than one muscle in your body (which is what I mean when I say "compound exercises"), not only that but they also get your heart rate up when you do fast repetitions , which is where you most effective cardio comes in. All these types of exercises build muscle, which is what will ultimately help burn fat, but it will help you build a leaner mass (it won't make you look like body builder, though don't worry). Another major mistake people make is setting a routine for themselves when they workout. This is probably the worst thing you can do for yourself in this department. The key is keeping your body in what's called "shock" which essentially means keeping it on it's toes so to speak, and not letting it settle in, which is when it will plateau and your weight loss either slows down significantly, or stops all together. This is why P90X is so effective. It rotates the kind of workouts you do to keep your body going on it's course. It'll have low key workouts like yoga or something similar for a week or two, and then the next week have a high octane, boot camp style workout.

Please note that every single one of these tips can be altered to fit your needs. Every single one of us is different and have different needs, so please, feel free to adjust as needed :)

If you have any tips of your own, I would love to hear them! email them to belladonnabeautyblog@gmail.com, and I will share them with everyone else!

I hope everyone is successful on their quest to happier, healthier lives in 2012, and I look forward to your stories!

-Becky