HealthyHabits-related stories
Habits Healthy People Have in Common
Photo: Nick J Webb, Flickr
Sure, some of them are obvious, like getting plenty of vitamin C and regularly exercising. We all know we should be doing that. But what about gargling? Or getting a massage? Did you have any idea these actions could help ward off sickness?
It turns out they can, and there's more surprising information where that came from. To learn how to incorporate new ways into your life, and to find out about more healthy habits, head on over to FitSugar for the full scoop! And don't forget to come back and let us know which of these healthy habits surprised you most.
Review: Does this Cookbook Make Me Look Fat?
Diet & Weight Loss, Reviews & Products, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
Photo: Robert Lane
None of the recipes, which constitute the majority of the book, are supremely difficult, and I found myself turning down a dozen pages of food I really wanted to prepare for my family. And I'm not the only one: Lewis' clients have included supermodel Iman, actress Kyra Sedgwick and fashion designer Marc Jacobs. Lewis helpfully breaks down the fat/protein/carbohydrate content of each and every recipe, and she includes the cholesterol and sodium intake too, from the hearty and satisfying Lentil Spinach Soup or the Ratatouille with Chicken Sausage, all the way to the Chocolate-Glazed Pears. (I'm glad she also includes real desserts in this thoughtful book so there's zero sense of deprivation.)
Recession - Is It Pinching Your Healthy Food Budget?
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
For dinner last night, I made a big double batch of black bean burgers and kept my fingers crossed my husband would like them. He did -- he ate three. I was hopeful because he's constantly eating frozen dinners for lunch. Not only are they filled with sodium ... those babies are expensive.
My bean burgers, on the other hand, cost me less than five dollars. We've got enough left over that we'll both be eating them for lunch for the next few days. Cha-ching!
As food prices go up and food budgets go down, people are starting to depend more and more on processed foods that seem to always be on sale. "It's hard to eat healthy on a budget," you'll hear people complain. And while that isn't necessarily true, what is true is that it's easy to choose unhealthy foods when money is tight.
6 Habits Of Successful Losers
Want to know the secret to losing weight and keeping it off? Yeah, I'm guessing you do -- just like the rest of us. That's why Consumer Reports recently did a survey of its more than 20,000 readers, asking them not only about their weight, but their dieting and exercise habits. They found that 31 percent of respondents were of a healthy weight -- either they were always thin or had lost weight and maintained this loss in the long run. Interestingly, whether they were always thin or had lost weight and kept it off, those of a healthy weight shared six habits:
- They control their portions.
- They limit their fat intake.
- They eat fruit and veggies every day.
- They chose while grain over white.
- They eat at home more often than not.
- They exercise regularly.
Notice this list doesn't include any fad diets or magic pills -- just plain old boring, sensible, healthy habits. The good news? These things are totally doable. So what are you waiting for?
(via A Better Life)
Nip Your Sugar Habit in the Bud
Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.
Common diet advice tells us that we should be able to have our cake (or cookies or brownies or ice cream) and our healthy weight, too ... as long as we remember that treats are treats and are to be only eaten occasionally.
This works for a lot of people. And then there are the rest of us, the ones who buy a bag of snack-sized candy bars, intending to eat just one now and then, and then manage to devour half the bag in one sitting.
With friends like sugar, who needs enemies?
In every single weight loss attempt I've ever made, sugar was the thing that eventually tripped me up. But this time around, it's different. I've had a great deal of success, and I'm doing everything I can to keep those diet derailers from stopping my "downward" progress.
Since my biggest diet derailer is sugar, it has to go. Not for good, but for the long haul. Until my new healthy eating habits are firmly in place, letting myself indulge in even a little treat here and there is playing with fire.
Join me on this week's Walking the Walk, where I learn to live without my favorite vice. No processed or added sugars, period. Buckle up, because it promises to be a wild ride.
Walking the Walk - Day 3
Day 3: Yesterday, my head ached all day. I was pretty cranky, too. That's fading, but today I just feel low, and tired, and honestly, like I want to crawl into bed and stay there the rest of the day.I'm not a scientist, but my guess is that I was using sugar as a quick pick-me-up during the day, whenever my blood sugar or serotonin levels dropped. But beyond biology, there's something else going on here. I enjoyed sugar (a little too much, most days), and now it's gone. Luckily, I remember some advice I once got: If you're going to give something up you enjoy, whether it be sugar or cigarettes or whatever, replace it with something else that makes you happy.
In my case, exercise and a healthy diet will fix any blood sugar or serotonin issues I may be having. But I'm also taking time this week to indulge myself in other, non-food daily pleasures: a long walk with my dog, permission to sit down, reading a book instead of doing the dishes, and even a little shopping (but just a little!).
Walking the Walk - The Verdict
It's time to decide -- is this a healthy habit that can be realistically worked into day-to-day life?- Piece of cake! I can definitely work this into my daily routine.
- Not my cup of tea. This is harder than I imagined. Still, I plan to stick with it and do my best.
- Nuts! This seems nearly impossible to keep up. But I'll definitely do it whenever possible.
(Believe me, this week more than ever, I wanted to choose the cake.)
Here's what it boils down to: Giving up sugar has made dieting easier. In just seven short days, I'm already seeing how this not-so-simple step is going to help me lose weight. Not only have I cut calories, I'm also eating more fruits and vegetables at snack time, instead of sugary treats. I'm certain that banning sugar in the short-term is one of the very important keys to my weight loss success.
But can I imagine a life without sugar? No. I really, truly believe in the advice that a healthy diet can include anything in moderation. So while I'm comfortable, for now, living a mostly sugar-free lifestyle (I really missed my beloved poppyseed dressing this week and just may have to make an exception for it in the future), eventually I know I'm going to have to find a way to enjoy sugar without going overboard.
New Year's Resolutions - Start Living Them Today
It's kick-off time ... for the the holiday season, that is. And with that comes holiday weight gain.
Squeeze in fitness during the holidays
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Presents? Check. RSVPs? Check. Holiday cards? Check. Workout? Whoops. It's not unusual for fitness to take a holiday this time of year, but you owe it to yourself to stay fit. Why not try functional fitness? Shoveling snow, taking the stairs, walking to work ... these things will help you stay fit, even when exercise isn't your top priority.
Walking the Walk: Day 7
Day 7: You know what? I've decided to quit counting calories when it comes to non-starchy vegetables. The calorie content is negligible at best. Take the following foods, for instance:
- 1 cup of broccoli -- 40 calories
- 1 cup of cauliflower -- 48 calories
- 3 stalks of celery -- nine calories ... I mean, come on. Is that worth writing down?
- 1 cup Swiss chard -- 32 calories
- cucumber -- 30 calories, for the whole thing!
- 1 cup eggplant -- 38 calories
What do you think of French junk food warnings?
We all know by now that French women don't get fat. And it seems the French government is interested in keeping it that way, what with proposed taxes on junk food and laws against images depicting too-thin models. Now the French are taking their message of health to the media and running 'healthy living' ads on TV and radio stations across the nation, as well as in print. Kind of like this one on Fitsugar, which reads 'For your health, eat at least five fruits and veggies a day.'
I think if introduced in North America, these ads would be a refreshing break from all the pizza and fast foods commercials we are bombarded with on such a regular basis. But would they work? What do you think?
I think if introduced in North America, these ads would be a refreshing break from all the pizza and fast foods commercials we are bombarded with on such a regular basis. But would they work? What do you think?
Walking the Walk: The veggie challenge
Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.
My healthy habits took a slide this summer. Maybe more like a nosedive. Maybe even more like a quick, slippery dunk into the deep end of the junk-food pool. There's something about long days spent at the beach that makes me think more potato chips and chocolate cookies than fresh, green salads. This fall, I'm working hard to reclaim those healthy ways, one step at a time.
Though fruits and vegetables are always part of our daily diet at my house, I've caught myself frequently grabbing a simple bowl of cereal for breakfast or throwing together a sandwich for lunch, rather than slicing and chopping to add those delicious, nutritious fruits and veggies to my meals. Standard nutritional advice says that we should all be eating a minimum of five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, a goal that can be difficult to reach unless you incorporate these nutritional powerhouses into every single meal and snack. This week, that's exactly what I'll do.
To prepare for the week, I made a quick run to the store today. I loaded up on some favorites -- cucumbers, colored peppers, watermelon, and fresh cantaloupe. In a couple of days, our CSA crate will arrive, full to the brim with tomatoes, kale, corn, salad greens, more cucumbers, green peppers, summer squash, and green beans. And a few days after that is our weekly trip to the farmer's market, where I can load up on more favorites like leeks, and those tiny little gold tomatoes we love so much. If there is ever a season to reacquaint yourself with fruits and vegetables, this is it.
My healthy habits took a slide this summer. Maybe more like a nosedive. Maybe even more like a quick, slippery dunk into the deep end of the junk-food pool. There's something about long days spent at the beach that makes me think more potato chips and chocolate cookies than fresh, green salads. This fall, I'm working hard to reclaim those healthy ways, one step at a time.
Though fruits and vegetables are always part of our daily diet at my house, I've caught myself frequently grabbing a simple bowl of cereal for breakfast or throwing together a sandwich for lunch, rather than slicing and chopping to add those delicious, nutritious fruits and veggies to my meals. Standard nutritional advice says that we should all be eating a minimum of five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, a goal that can be difficult to reach unless you incorporate these nutritional powerhouses into every single meal and snack. This week, that's exactly what I'll do.
To prepare for the week, I made a quick run to the store today. I loaded up on some favorites -- cucumbers, colored peppers, watermelon, and fresh cantaloupe. In a couple of days, our CSA crate will arrive, full to the brim with tomatoes, kale, corn, salad greens, more cucumbers, green peppers, summer squash, and green beans. And a few days after that is our weekly trip to the farmer's market, where I can load up on more favorites like leeks, and those tiny little gold tomatoes we love so much. If there is ever a season to reacquaint yourself with fruits and vegetables, this is it.
Your Turn: What's your healthiest habit?
Let's face it: Nobody's perfect. But most of us try our best, and that should count for something, right? Over at AOL Health, they've recently put together the Good Enough Guide to Health -- a handy checklist of bare minimum you can do to make a positive impact on your health. For instance, we're told we should be getting eight to 10 servings of fruit and veggies a day. But if that's just not possible? Five will do just fine.
We all have a strong points and our weak points. So we want to know, when it comes to healthy habits, which is your strength?
Six health mistakes women make
Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss
Sometimes it's hard being a member of the fairer sex. We're busy. Really busy. In fact, a recent study found that women work a 15-hour day, no matter how many hours they actually put in at their jobs. So it's understandable that we may make a few mistakes throughout the day -- forget to pick up milk, send a child to school without her lunch money, leave the cat out all night. It's just going to happen.
But according to Prevention, women are also making big mistakes when it comes to health. But unlike forgetting to wash your daughter's soccer uniform, making mistakes about diet, fitness, and lifestyle can cost you more than inconvenience in the long run. If you're guilty of some of the following mistakes, take a closer look at where healthy habits rank on your list of priorities and see if you can't make a difference in your own personal health.
But according to Prevention, women are also making big mistakes when it comes to health. But unlike forgetting to wash your daughter's soccer uniform, making mistakes about diet, fitness, and lifestyle can cost you more than inconvenience in the long run. If you're guilty of some of the following mistakes, take a closer look at where healthy habits rank on your list of priorities and see if you can't make a difference in your own personal health.
Beyonce on the ups and downs of weight gain
Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment
Everyone knows it's more fun to gain weight than to lose it. And if you're getting paid big bucks to gain it, well, all the better. But there comes a time when the bagels and fried food have to be put away and the weight has to come back off. That's what happened to Beyonce Knowles. She was asked to gain 20 pounds for her role as Etta James in Cadillac Dreams. But when shooting was finished, she was left not only with a paycheck, but with 20 pounds extra weight, which she had to lose for psychological thriller Obsessed. "I had to lose it," she said, "I was so angry with myself. I was like, 'D'oh! Why do you have to go through this?'"
Losing weight is such hard work. I've always wondered about celebrities who gain weight for roles. Matt Damon recently buried his fit figure under a layer of extra pounds for the movie The Informant, and Hillary Swank will put on 20 to 30 pounds (ironically) for the movie version of the book French Women Don't Get Fat. Not only is it hard mentally, I imagine, to get back into healthy habits after being out of them so long. But isn't all that yo-yoing hard on your body? Maybe not as hard as giving up a million-plus dollar role in a major motion picture, I guess. What do you think?
