Health Talk Today

Healthy Living

Top 10 Weight Loss Secrets

Apr 21st, 2009
by Marilyn.
1 comment

Losing weight isn’t so hard if you do it a little at a time. Find a sensible plan that fits your needs and follow it. Sounds simple, but simple isn’t always easy.

I found a free ebook that sounds like it has solid information. I’ve just skimmed the book and plan to read it soon.

Free download: The Hacker’s Diet and the spreadsheets.

Top 10 Weight Loss Secrets

  1. Surprise! There’s no secret. There’s no shortcut to losing weight. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to change your lifestyle.
  2. Eat less and do more. You gain weight when you take in more calories than you burn. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in.
  3. Keep a food journal. Knowing what you eat and seeing it in black and white is the first step to making good food choices. A food journal can be as simple as paper and pencil. Or as sophisticated as a computer program. I use CinchCoach as part of my weight management system.
  4. Make eating an event. Plan what you’re going to eat, prepare a plate or bowl, sit and enjoy your meal or snack.
  5. Chew, Chew, Chew. Take small bites and chew well. This helps break down the food. And the saliva starts to break it down. This will help your digestive system.
  6. Find a support system. This could be a spouse, sister-in-law or trusted friend. Make sure it’s someone you can confide in and who will give you encouragement. Stay away from negative people. You don’t need to be nagged or feel like a failure.
  7. Join a support group. Find a local meeting or start one. Or join an online support group.
  8. Walk 10,000 steps a day. Wear a pedometer to monitor your walking. If you’re sedentary, you may only walk 2,000-3,000 steps a day.
  9. Park your car away from the store or building. Walking the extra steps burns more calories. find other ways to add more exercise like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walk 15 minutes with a friend before eating lunch or take a Sunday morning bike ride thru the park.
  10. Think thin. Keep a positive attitude. Don’t expect to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time. About 2 pounds a week is a good target. To lose one pound, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than what you eat.
Marilyn Kvasnok

Migraine Headache Tips

Nov 22nd, 2008
by Marilyn.
No comments yet

If you’re getting a migraine, here are 4 things you can do that may help . . .

  • Take a walk. It relieves stress and stress can contribute to a migraine.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Warm your hands in a bowl of warm water to increase the blood flow to your hands and away from dilated vessels in your head.
  • Put a cold cloth on the back of your neck to take excess blood away from your head.

Changing your diet may help to avoid a migraine in the future. Foods that may trigger a migraine include . . .

  • White sugar
  • Red meat
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Safflower and canola oils

It’s difficult to make big changes to your diet. If you find you can’t quit these foods immediately, try to keep cutting back until you rarely eat them.

In addition to taking daily vitamins, here’s a list of extra supplements that have helped others . . .

Marilyn Kvasnok

Lead in Vitamins

Oct 23rd, 2008
by Marilyn.
No comments yet

I found charts on The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website that talk about a safe/tolerable exposure levels of lead for women an children. Could there really be a SAFE and TOLERABLE exposure level of lead? I thought lead accumulates in the body. ANY level of lead sounds bad to me.

One chart lists the provisional total tolerable intake levels (PTTI) for children and adult women. That sounds like the amount of lead that’s OK, according to the FDA, if children and women ingest it every day. Another chart lists vitamin brands and the amount of exposure in a daily dose.

I checked for my vitamins. They aren’t on the chart. I’m relieved. But, I saw many brands that I recognize: Centrum, Flintstones, One A Day, The Vitamin Shoppe, Solaray, Puritan’s Pride, Twinlab, GNC, Solgar, Sundown and Viactiv. These are just a few of the brands on the FDA’s chart.

Our health is in our hands. Choosing a good vitamin may take a little research, but it will be well worth it over time. Look for a company you can trust – One that does research on the ingredients it uses, quality control tests on the products and has a good reputation. I found one that works well for me.

Marilyn Kvasnok

It’s Time to Take Control

Oct 3rd, 2008
by Marilyn.
1 comment

To this day, I have trouble throwing things away. Maybe I’ll wear it again – just to work in the yard. Maybe it has just one more use before it falls apart. Maybe someone else can use it. What is it? It’s everything in my possession.

My parents were always conservative. They taught me well. I remember mom carefully washing aluminum foil, then gently folding it so she could use it again. Clothes were handed down. Paper written on one side was recycled as shopping lists and note paper. Dad saved scraps of wood and other construction material to use later. I remember him pounding old nails to straighten them so he could use them again. My family was green long before it was popular. We just didn’t know it.

So, here I am, after years of being very conservative. What do I have to show for it? Closets and drawers FULL of stuff. It’s time to change my relationship with my stuff. When a friend was moving out of state, she threw out tons of stuff and had garage sales to sell the better things. I asked how she could part with all of it. Her answer was so profound, her words still ring in my ears. “I can give away the things I like, because I’m keeping the things I love.”

So, now it’s my turn. I’m cleaning with a new attitude. I’m going to throw out everything that’s worn out and broken. I’ll donate to my favorite charity. I’ll sell and give away some things. And . . . I’ll keep the things I love.

I’ll be thinking about all the time I’ll have when I’m not in the middle of all the clutter and memories. And, in the end, it’s time that is our most precious resource. It can’t be saved. It must be spent wisely. I’m committed to making every day worth the time it’s costing me.

For a new view on time, check out the Life Expectancy Calculator by Peter Russell.

Marilyn Kvasnok

Butter vs Margarine

Sep 15th, 2008
by Marilyn.
No comments yet

I remember when I was growing up, we used butter. I was too young to question it, but I’m sure we used it because it was the accepted spread for toast, frying and other cooking and baking needs.

At some point, we all switched from butter to margarine. It had no cholesterol, so it was supposed to be the healthy alternative. And now, lots of years later, I’m considering switching back to butter. Here’s why . . . Today, margarine has some saturated fat and trans fatty acids – Neither of which are good. Plus, I’m not thrilled with the way it tastes.

And I keep hearing that margarine is just one molecule away from being plastic. I always thought “close” only counts in horseshoes and grenades, so I did some research.

Snopes comment on margarine being one molecule away from plastic is . . .
“These types of statements (even if they were true) are essentially meaningless. Many disparate substances share similar chemical properties, but even the slightest variation in molecular structure can make a world of difference in the qualities of those substances.” The article goes on to say that the same statements about Velveeta Cheese and Pam are false, too. Also, Cool Whip is not close to styrofoam and Cheez Whiz is not 2 ingredients away from garbage bags.

But, I’m not convinced that butter is better because butter has saturated fat. It’s more of a natural food than margarine, but it has cholesterol.

I did a little comparison shopping . . .

Land O’Lakes butter was $3.89 a pound. The ingredients are sweet cream and salt. Then, why does it taste waxy?

The store brand was $3.39 a pound. The ingredients are cream and salt.

An interesting alternative was butter from a local farm. It was a 2 pound roll of butter for $8.49. The ingredients are sweet cream and salt. It came wrapped in waxed paper and could easily be opened in the store. That bothered me. One of the rolls looked like it had already been unwrapped. Was it sampled (yuck!) or dropped?

Even so, I’m stongly leaning toward butter. And I like the one that’s locally churned. If I can purchase one from the back of the shelf that looks untouched by human hands, I just may give it a try.

Marilyn Kvasnok

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