Feb
28
2010

Secret Eating!

Got lots of comments via email about the last blog on detoxes. Seems many of you have had some pretty rough experiences. Even hospital visits from “cleanses in a bottle.” NO good!! Sorry about that! Hopefully word will spread about the dangers of these diet/detox/cleanses and women will quit taking what they perceive as a short-cut to one less dress size.

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Feb
17
2010

Detox Debunked – “Cleanse” Your Body the Right Way

What a crock! “Detoxing,” the latest fad in dieting, is often just another quick-fix diet repackaged. It’s a word busting at the seams with misunderstanding, which makes it a favorite for not-so-scrupulous marketers.

detox cartoonBut why? We women like the idea of getting rid of the bad stuff that enters our bodies, of cleansing our insides squeaky clean. Like taking our car in for detailing, we believe our bodies can go into a detox stinky and full of gunk and will emerge bright, shiny, and with that awesome new car smell!

Most of us acknowledge that the food chain isn’t as pure as it used to be, and that the typical American diet of burgers, fries, and sweets doesn’t help the cause.

So it stands to reason that a “detox” would be in order. But what is a detox, really, as it applies to the everyday gal? Without getting all heady… detoxification is the metabolic process by which toxins are changed into less toxic or more readily excretable substances.

Eeewwwww!

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Feb
13
2010

Six Easy Ideas to Take Care of Your Heart…. Just in Time for Valentine’s Day!

heart paintingInstead of consuming sugary hearts with little messages written on them by the handful, how about giving a real gift to your heart this Valentine’s Day? Novel concept, I know, but hear me out.

Your heart is absolutely vital to your physical well being. It began beating within the first few weeks of life and will not stop until the end. Can you imagine any machine – or anything else, for that matter, that runs 24/7 for 70 or 80 years… maybe even a century?!?

Your heart is the center of your emotional well being too. There is a reason we express love with hearts – that is the area of our body in which we experience strong emotions.

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Jan
26
2010

How to Live Well on 24 hours a Day

Time is the great equalizer. No one – rich, poor, skinny, fat, old, young – is allotted more hours in the day than anyone else. We all have only 24 hours.

We can’t go into “time debt” taking an advance on future hours. Nor can we stock up, saving time from a slow day for a future hectic one where we might need a cushion of minutes. We all get 1,440 minutes, to do with what we please, each time the calendar advances.

time flies clockSo why is it that some women can find time for fitness, or rather find time for themselves, while others cannot? I know, I know… I can hear the excuses already. In fact, I hear them all the time. “Well, she doesn’t work as much as I do.” Or, “She doesn’t have small children.” Or, “I will when my life slows down.”

Oh yeah? When will that be? When do you think you’ll win the time lottery and suddenly have more than you can spend?

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Jan
22
2010

Your Poor Food Choices are Making Them Rich

7th in a series of 7 on The Fat Dilemma – Why so Many Women Over 40, Despite Their Intentions, Are Still Overweight.

I’m the last person to buy into any conspiracy theories, so I’m going layout only the facts. But I’m sure you’ll soon agree, the facts are hazardous to your health.

Who benefits if you eat less? Well, you, obviously. Maybe your family… just from the money saving aspect. But does anybody else?

old fashion food ad

old fashion food ad

Maybe a more relevant question is who benefits if you eat more? Hmmmmm… agriculture, food product manufacturers, fast food restaurants, regular restaurants, grocery stores, the diet industry, and the drug industry, just to name a few.

So doesn’t it make sense that government policy, given the fact that policy is most often dictated by what lobbyists can do for politicians, is geared more toward the growth and sustainability of those industries (who can pay for the lobbyists), rather than the welfare of the people?

Now I’m definitely NOT an advocate of government interfering with the free choice of people, or even government interfering in the free market. We generally do best when government stays the heck out of our business. (Don’t even get me started on health care reform!)

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Jan
19
2010

Plan to Make Traction and Stay Motivated!

Dec
21
2009

Remember the Beautiful YOU this Holiday Season

I admit it… I’ve had fa-la-la-la-la-la brain for about a week now. My to-do list keeps getting longer while I bask in the joy of the season.

puppy sleepingIf my zucchini bread recipe calls, I answer. If the fireplace and a DVD movie beckons, I’m powerless. If a brisk, sunny day pulls me into a run through our hilly neighborhood, I lace up my shoes, put the dog on the leash, and don’t look back.

Lately, I’ve spent hours gazing at tangerine sunsets, whispy winter clouds, my newly painted, wine-colored living room wall, and into the eyes of our new puppy.

Life is magical. I am content.

So what’s wrong with me?!?

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Dec
9
2009

The Pleasure of Eating

6th in a series of 7 on The Fat Dilemma — Why so Many Women Over 40, Despite Their Intentions, Are Still Overweight.

Okay, so I’m sure the highly intellectual women who read this blog have already heard of the French Paradox – you know, where the folks in France eat more fat and drink more wine, but are thinner than their American counterparts.

Eiffel towerWhy is that? We know that fat grams contain more calories (9 versus 4) than grams of protein or carbohydrates. And we know that wine is a high-calorie carbohydrate that can significantly boost blood sugar.

So what gives? Actually, it doesn’t have anything to do with wine and cheese at all. It has more to do with the PLEASURE many French take in eating their food.

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Dec
4
2009

The Biggest Mistake That Keeps You Fat

5th in a series of 7 on The Fat Dilemma — Why so Many Women Over 40, Despite Their Intentions, Are Still Overweight.

In my years of training, I can vouch for what studies consistently show – the biggest mistake made by women who struggle with their weight is… (dun, da, daaaaa…drum roll please!!)

They don’t eat breakfast.

breakfast smilelyThere it is. I know you were expecting something much more grand, highly technical, or tidily wrapped in insight. Sorry…

It really is that simple… for the most part.

So here’s the scoop. You need to fuel your body kind of like you would a car. You would not expect that your car would perform – on any level – on an empty tank of gas. But we do that all the time with our bodies.

We wake up, rush into our busy lives, and neglect to fuel our bodies until lunch… when we are STARVING, and willing to eat anything that moves! Unlike a car, our body will perform without fuel, but not very well, and not over the long term.

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Dec
1
2009

Cutting Carbs – the latest “Bad Idea” Diet

4th in a series of 7 on The Fat Dilemma — Why so Many Women Over 40, Despite Their Intentions, Are Still Overweight.

So far, we’ve talked about how you can’t reduce your calories below your RMR and expect to lose fat (that’s called “starvation”), how not all calories are created equal, and how “low fat” was a fool’s game. (See below for these first 3 topics in this series.)

Now we get to talk carbs… or “carbohydrates” – their proper name, used last in high school science, long before we became intimate with this macronutrient in a completely fouled up, love/hate kinda way.

carb t-shirtThat’s why this is one of my very favorite topics… because “carbs” are so overwhelmingly misunderstood.

Take, for instance, a quote in a magazine from Tyra Banks. A couple years back, Tyra was asked how she dropped some weight and got back to that level of sexiness accessible only to supermodels. “I cut back on carbs and started eating more fruits and vegetables,” Tyra said.

Really?!?

That’s like saying “I cut back on protein and started eating more steaks” or better yet, “I cut back on alcohol and started drinking more wine.”

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