I was at Deseret Book the other day and picked up two books about weight loss. One is called "30 Days to a Healthier Family" by Peggy Hughes. Its filled with tips, advice, activities, and recipes for helping the whole family become healthier. Its an awesome book. The other one I picked up is called "Tip A Day Guide for Healthy Living" by Melanie Douglass. It has 365 tips for improving your health one day at a time. I haven't read all 365 tips yet, but as I've skimmed the book I found several that I really liked, and thought I'd share...
* Find the best workout music... find music with the "BPM" (beats per minute) that matches your activity level. BPM is the number of beats that occur in every 60 seconds of a song. Find the BPM by counting how many beats you hear in 15 seconds of music, then multiplying that by 4. Or, if you use iTunes, you can view the BPM by right clicking on the menu.
- 115 BMP... slow walking, strength training
- 125 BMP... elliptical training, stair climbing, walking 3-4 miles per hour
- 135 BMP... power/fitness walking (4-4.5 mph), moderate cycling (60-70 rotations per minute)
- 145 BMP... jogging (5-6 mph), fast cycling (75-80 rotations per minute)
* Healthy grocery store shopping... the fresher, the better. If you shop for foods from the outer aisles of the grocery store (meaning the frutis, veggies, low-fat dairy, lean meats and 100% whole greain breads) the meals you cook will be much healthier. Venture into the inner aisles to pick up things like healthy, whole grain cereal, brown rice, a few cans of beans, and maybe some whole-wheat pasta (yummy!!). Melanie recommends spending at least 80% of your grocery budget on the "outer" aisle foods. Then make sure you use the fresh foods you buy.
**I tend to do my grocery shopping at Sprouts, the local "farmers market" style grocery store. It has cut down on my grocery budget, since I'm not paying to have my food processed, and we have been eating much healthier.
* Melanie talks about her husband's point of view... "If fruits, vegetables, and whole grains really are so great- and God has told us they are healthiest for us- then why didn't He make them taste better?" (pg. 9). I loove Melanie's response. She says "I have a theory on this. Satan works hard every day to decieve us. Infiltrating our food supply with foods swimming in calories, fat, sodium, and sugar is a subtle yet powerful way to get us down. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains did taste superior to any other food at one time- before our taste buds were introduced to the food of the 21st century." (pg 9).
I thought that was a very interesting take on food and unhealthy vs healthy eating. This week has been a hard one for me. I have NOT made very healthy choices. And I've felt awful for it. I was dreading stepping on the scale this morning, because I was sure I had gained a ton. I also felt weighed down, sick to my stomach after over-indulging in yucky (but oh so yummy!) foods and I haven't had the energy I want. An interesting contrast to the past two weeks when I've done so good, and made so many healthy choices. When I make healthier food choices I have energy to play all day long with Cecelia. I have energy to clean my house. I put more thought into my appearance which makes me feel better about myself. My mind is more aware and alert... all these wonderful things that I'm sure my Heavenly Father wants for me. So, after making this realization, I am once again committed to cutting out the junk in my diet.
What tips have you come across? What words of wisdom do you have to share with us all as we try to live healthier? And how did this week go for you girls?
1 comment:
Thank you so much for that post, Claire!! I needed to hear that! I struggle the same - I feel like I have bipolar weeks. About a month ago (before we started this) I had lost 2 pounds in one week - a big deal for me! I was making great food choices and felt so good, had energy, etc. Then we went on a trip and it just wasn't as easy to make good choices... and I haven't been able to get back to where I was.
So the last couple of days I have really been thinking about the mind/body connection of trying to manage weight. I have been vocally reinforcing myself for good behavior, and even just talking through choices out loud. ("I know I really want that cookie, and why not put some cool whip on it because I love cool whip, but how will you feel afterward? That is a lot of calories to burn that you don't have to burn if you choose to eat some strawberries instead. With fruit I get the sweet tooth satisfaction without the lethargic low of a sugar high!! I am worth the fruit. I can make this choice and like it.")
Okay that was cheesy but you get my point.
I heard on tv the other day (so I don't know how true this is) that one reason high fructose corn syrup is bad is because it doesn't trigger any hunger-satisfaction signals in your body. I have thought about trying to cut that out of my diet, but that is hard!!! There are so many foods that have that in the top 5 ingredients!!!
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