Yesterday afternoon I was looking through my twitter feed, when a post caught my eye.
Women's Health posted an English Proverb that read "Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork".
At first glance, I didn't quite get what they were going for, but after reading it a second time, I totally got it. Then I thought about how many people I know who are literally digging their own grave with their own knife and fork, and it made me a little uneasy.
I mean, we claim to live in the most modern of times. Medicine has never been more effective and saving lives and preventing the spread of diseases. People understand the importance of early detection of diseases such as cancer and hypertension, and yet they struggle with grasping the importance of preventing obesity. Yet obesity is a suspected contributing factor to many types of cancer as well as a long string of other potentially fatal health maladies. To put it succinctly, we have convinced people that it is important to get mammograms and colonoscopies to help detect possible tumors in their infancy, but we have somehow managed to forget that what and how much we eat is just as important.
It's kind of funny to look back at old proverbs and adages. I sometimes have to shake my head at how right those sayings are, only to see how badly we've gotten off the path and screwed things up. It's almost unfathomable to me, that in this modern age we really do have such a hard time seeing the forest for the trees.
It doesn't seem far fetched to me that what we consume plays a huge roll in our overall health, but, for whatever reason, some people just can't quit digging their grave with their own fork and knife.
Showing posts with label Diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diet. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Where Do We Get Our Salt?
So after reading my post about why too much salt in your diet can cause an elevated blood pressure, today we are going to look at the hidden ways we get salt in our diets without even knowing it. (If you missed my post on the effects salt has on bp, find it here.)
Most people think the key to limiting dietary salt intake is to limit the use of the salt shaker.
But alas, as with the Transformers, in this situation there is much more than meets the eye.
The amount of salt that we add to the food that we eat is minimal for most, and even insignificant for some. How come then, does the average American consume close to 5,000 mg every day, which is about twice the recommended amount?
Simple answer, processed food. When food is processed, lots of changes take place that effect the quality of the food. An often overlooked result of the processing is the amount of salt added to help preserve the food and prevent it from spoiling. This excess salt, which often is barely even tasted, makes up the majority of salt that we consume in our modern diet.
Don't believe me? Let's look into this a little more closely. Stouffer's makes a frozen lasagna that comes completely pre-made, all you have to do is pop it in the oven and you've got a seemingly healthy, almost home-cooked meal.
But when you look at the nutrition facts, there are a couple of numbers that are a bit startling, to say the least. The amount of fat found in a single serving of the frozen lasagna contains 20% of the daily recommended fat content. While this is a little scary, it is not completely unreasonable since there is so much cheese and ground beef in the lasagna. The amount of salt (sodium) however, is almost unbelievable. Stouffer's lasagna has 671 mg of sodium in a single serving, which is an astounding 28% of your recommended daily amount!
The reason this is a troubling situation is simple, when you eat a piece of lasagna, it doesn't taste salty. So without even knowing it, you are getting a whole lot of salt in one meal eating something that doesn't even taste salty.
Stealth salt can attack you from many fronts, but did you know it can attack you even when you are making a viable attempt at eating healthy? Case in point, canned green beans from Green Giant.
Now let me be clear, I'm not campaigning against green beans or any kind of canned vegetables. While canned varieties aren't perfect, you can make a lot worse food choices than canned green beans. What this example illustrates, however, is the importance of reading labels and acknowledging that processed food has some sneaky ingredients, and excess sodium is chief among them.
So while a can of green beans has plenty of health benefits, be aware that a serving has 16% of the daily amount of salt in it, which is 380 mg. A number like that is certainly too big to ignore.
Then there is the king of hidden fat and salt when it comes to processed foods: fast food establishments. McDonald's food is so processed that you can set a happy meal on the counter at room temperature for months, and it will not break down. If that doesn't scare you a little bit, take a look at some of their numbers. A McDonald's double cheeseburger has 1150 mg of salt. A Big Mac has 1040 mg. 5 chicken strips have 1240 mg of salt. All of these items, which are some of the most ordered foods on the menu, have almost half of your daily salt content.
And you still haven't eaten any French fries.
A large order of French fries only has about 350 mg of salt, a relatively small amount since the fries actually taste salty. However, since most people add more salt to their fries when we get them, the actual amount of sodium in a McDonald's meal is likely between 1500-2000 mg, which is an admirable daily maximum, not a singular meal total.
Salt is great. It makes our foods taste better, and our bodies need it to function properly. However, like many things, too much of a good thing isn't good.
Now that you know why too much salt elevates your blood pressure, and where most of the salt we eat comes from, hopefully you will start to make some changes to your diet to limit the salt you consume. Stay tuned for my next post, where we will look at some ways to make great tasting foods at home without using too much salt.
Most people think the key to limiting dietary salt intake is to limit the use of the salt shaker.
But alas, as with the Transformers, in this situation there is much more than meets the eye.
The amount of salt that we add to the food that we eat is minimal for most, and even insignificant for some. How come then, does the average American consume close to 5,000 mg every day, which is about twice the recommended amount?
Simple answer, processed food. When food is processed, lots of changes take place that effect the quality of the food. An often overlooked result of the processing is the amount of salt added to help preserve the food and prevent it from spoiling. This excess salt, which often is barely even tasted, makes up the majority of salt that we consume in our modern diet.
Don't believe me? Let's look into this a little more closely. Stouffer's makes a frozen lasagna that comes completely pre-made, all you have to do is pop it in the oven and you've got a seemingly healthy, almost home-cooked meal.
But when you look at the nutrition facts, there are a couple of numbers that are a bit startling, to say the least. The amount of fat found in a single serving of the frozen lasagna contains 20% of the daily recommended fat content. While this is a little scary, it is not completely unreasonable since there is so much cheese and ground beef in the lasagna. The amount of salt (sodium) however, is almost unbelievable. Stouffer's lasagna has 671 mg of sodium in a single serving, which is an astounding 28% of your recommended daily amount!
The reason this is a troubling situation is simple, when you eat a piece of lasagna, it doesn't taste salty. So without even knowing it, you are getting a whole lot of salt in one meal eating something that doesn't even taste salty.
Stealth salt can attack you from many fronts, but did you know it can attack you even when you are making a viable attempt at eating healthy? Case in point, canned green beans from Green Giant.
Now let me be clear, I'm not campaigning against green beans or any kind of canned vegetables. While canned varieties aren't perfect, you can make a lot worse food choices than canned green beans. What this example illustrates, however, is the importance of reading labels and acknowledging that processed food has some sneaky ingredients, and excess sodium is chief among them.
So while a can of green beans has plenty of health benefits, be aware that a serving has 16% of the daily amount of salt in it, which is 380 mg. A number like that is certainly too big to ignore.
Then there is the king of hidden fat and salt when it comes to processed foods: fast food establishments. McDonald's food is so processed that you can set a happy meal on the counter at room temperature for months, and it will not break down. If that doesn't scare you a little bit, take a look at some of their numbers. A McDonald's double cheeseburger has 1150 mg of salt. A Big Mac has 1040 mg. 5 chicken strips have 1240 mg of salt. All of these items, which are some of the most ordered foods on the menu, have almost half of your daily salt content.
And you still haven't eaten any French fries.
A large order of French fries only has about 350 mg of salt, a relatively small amount since the fries actually taste salty. However, since most people add more salt to their fries when we get them, the actual amount of sodium in a McDonald's meal is likely between 1500-2000 mg, which is an admirable daily maximum, not a singular meal total.
Salt is great. It makes our foods taste better, and our bodies need it to function properly. However, like many things, too much of a good thing isn't good.
Now that you know why too much salt elevates your blood pressure, and where most of the salt we eat comes from, hopefully you will start to make some changes to your diet to limit the salt you consume. Stay tuned for my next post, where we will look at some ways to make great tasting foods at home without using too much salt.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Surviving The Holidays
As Thanksgiving Day here in the United States rapidly approaches, there are more "how to avoid unhealthy eating during the holiday season" articles than you can shake a stick at.
I kind of get sick of reading them, to be honest, yet I'm going to add another bit of holiday eating advice to the ever-growing list.
However, I think my thoughts might contradict every other health-slant piece of advice out there. And here's why, cause I'm going to tell you to eat. Don't worry about calorie count, fat content, or anything else. Thanksgiving is rooted in feasting on the bounty that the Earth has provided, and even if we get more food out of a can than from the ground these days, let's still enjoy the bounty.
A word of warning, though, before you get too food crazy. Thanksgiving is a one day holiday, not a four day one. Feast on Thursday. Eat like a king. Have a second piece of pie with two scoops of ice cream.
You'll be ok.
But on Friday, the holiday is over. Enjoy the leftovers as they are available, but enjoy them sensibly. No need to over overdo it two days in a row. Mix in a little salad with your green bean casserole. Maybe only have one side instead of stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and corn bread.
You see, the reason for holiday weight gain isn't a one day feast, it's the four day bender. Keep things under control after Thanksgiving, and you'll have a head start on the goal of not gaining any weight between now and the New Year.
I kind of get sick of reading them, to be honest, yet I'm going to add another bit of holiday eating advice to the ever-growing list.
However, I think my thoughts might contradict every other health-slant piece of advice out there. And here's why, cause I'm going to tell you to eat. Don't worry about calorie count, fat content, or anything else. Thanksgiving is rooted in feasting on the bounty that the Earth has provided, and even if we get more food out of a can than from the ground these days, let's still enjoy the bounty.
A word of warning, though, before you get too food crazy. Thanksgiving is a one day holiday, not a four day one. Feast on Thursday. Eat like a king. Have a second piece of pie with two scoops of ice cream.
You'll be ok.
But on Friday, the holiday is over. Enjoy the leftovers as they are available, but enjoy them sensibly. No need to over overdo it two days in a row. Mix in a little salad with your green bean casserole. Maybe only have one side instead of stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and corn bread.
You see, the reason for holiday weight gain isn't a one day feast, it's the four day bender. Keep things under control after Thanksgiving, and you'll have a head start on the goal of not gaining any weight between now and the New Year.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tomato Heaven
If your garden did better than mine did this year, you may have more tomatoes right now than you know what to do with. I picked some up at the farmers market last weekend, and am now obsessed with my new way of eating them.
Best part about this "recipe" is that it takes all of a minute to be ready.
Other best part, it's super healthy. Enjoy.
1. Medium to large tomato (or a couple handfuls of cherry or grape tomatoes)
2. Olive oil
3. Cheese
4. Salt/Pepper
Just chunk the tomato and put the pieces in a bowl.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the tomato pieces.
Add salt and pepper if you want.
Top it all off with a sprinkle of your favorite cheese. My personal favorites are gorgonzola and crumbled blue cheese. Feta would be good too. If you like milder cheese, try some fresh mozzarella.
Best part about this "recipe" is that it takes all of a minute to be ready.
Other best part, it's super healthy. Enjoy.
1. Medium to large tomato (or a couple handfuls of cherry or grape tomatoes)
2. Olive oil
3. Cheese
4. Salt/Pepper
Just chunk the tomato and put the pieces in a bowl.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the tomato pieces.
Add salt and pepper if you want.
Top it all off with a sprinkle of your favorite cheese. My personal favorites are gorgonzola and crumbled blue cheese. Feta would be good too. If you like milder cheese, try some fresh mozzarella.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Fall Harvest
For most of the country (except for the poor saps like me that live in Florida), the most delicious time of the year is about to arrive. As fall approaches, crops in fields across the country are ripening up and being harvested.
And that should be excellent news to anyone out there who enjoys healthy, fresh, and local foods.
Fresh, local produce is, in my opinion, the best option to improve the quality of food we are putting on our tables at home. It is also a great way to keep your money circulating in the local economy, though that's another topic for another time. Fresh and local has a huge benefit over grocery store fresh, since it hasn't traveled thousands of miles to get to your house. When produce is harvested to be shipped all over the world, it is often times picked well before it has had a chance to fully ripen. This causes the produce to be less flavorful, and may have an effect on the density of the nutrients. But produce grown locally is much more likely to have been harvested when it is actually ripe, and therefore be more tasty and better for you.
So this weekend, and for the rest of the fall, try to avoid the produce aisle at the grocery store and instead stop by the farmers market or produce stand. And when you do, you will no doubt find better food for you and you family.
To help find farmers markets, CSAs, and produce stands where you live, visit localharvest.org and enter your zip code. And to read more about the perks of shopping at farmers markets, check out this earlier blog post.
And that should be excellent news to anyone out there who enjoys healthy, fresh, and local foods.
Fresh, local produce is, in my opinion, the best option to improve the quality of food we are putting on our tables at home. It is also a great way to keep your money circulating in the local economy, though that's another topic for another time. Fresh and local has a huge benefit over grocery store fresh, since it hasn't traveled thousands of miles to get to your house. When produce is harvested to be shipped all over the world, it is often times picked well before it has had a chance to fully ripen. This causes the produce to be less flavorful, and may have an effect on the density of the nutrients. But produce grown locally is much more likely to have been harvested when it is actually ripe, and therefore be more tasty and better for you.
So this weekend, and for the rest of the fall, try to avoid the produce aisle at the grocery store and instead stop by the farmers market or produce stand. And when you do, you will no doubt find better food for you and you family.
To help find farmers markets, CSAs, and produce stands where you live, visit localharvest.org and enter your zip code. And to read more about the perks of shopping at farmers markets, check out this earlier blog post.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Finding Your Six-Pack
A common goal for many people starting an exercise plan is to work on their abs, with the ultimate goal of developing a six-pack.
What is so often overlooked, and so conveniently omitted in ever ab info-mercial ever made, is that seeing your six-pack doesn't require doing more ab exercises. To see your abs you must cut down on the amount of adipose tissue that your body is storing in that area.
To put it bluntly, you have to lose the belly fat to find the six-pack.
Before you feel like all hope is gone, however, realize that there are ways to lose the weight, it just requires some dedication and self-control.
The biggest way to impact your waistline for most people is to reexamine their diet. In this day and age, it is so easy to consume more calories daily than what we actually need. Whether it is because restaurant portions are out of control or because we drink so many calories from a bottle, there are a multitude of ways to cut back on the number of calories going into our bodies on a daily basis. And if you are able to lower the number of calories going in, your body won't have any excess calories to store as at, which bodes well for your waistline.
Along with calorie control, exercise is also very important to help keep your weight under control. While many people feel that running is the best form of exercise to lose weight, it is far from the only way to get a level of exercise that is good for your health in general, and your abs in particular. Biking, swimming, and walking are all great alternatives to running as a way of burning extra calories. Strength training is another very effective way to burn calories, and has actually been shown to have a longer lasting impact on your metabolism than most forms of cardiovascular exercise. Leisure time activities can also help you burn calories on a regular basis. Playing tennis or racquetball are great forms of fun exercise. Golf is great too, provided you don't spend the entire 18 holes riding in a cart. Most courses are 3-5 miles in length, so if you can walk while playing you will get a great deal of exercise while enjoying a day at the golf course. Even something as fun and easy as playing with your kids or grandkids can provide you with some much needed exercise.
Developing a six-pack is difficult. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you or trying to sell you something--or probably both. But, with some dedication to the plan, it is a totally achievable goal.
Just remember, it won't happen over night and you might need to do a little more than just 8 minutes per day.
What is so often overlooked, and so conveniently omitted in ever ab info-mercial ever made, is that seeing your six-pack doesn't require doing more ab exercises. To see your abs you must cut down on the amount of adipose tissue that your body is storing in that area.
To put it bluntly, you have to lose the belly fat to find the six-pack.
Before you feel like all hope is gone, however, realize that there are ways to lose the weight, it just requires some dedication and self-control.
The biggest way to impact your waistline for most people is to reexamine their diet. In this day and age, it is so easy to consume more calories daily than what we actually need. Whether it is because restaurant portions are out of control or because we drink so many calories from a bottle, there are a multitude of ways to cut back on the number of calories going into our bodies on a daily basis. And if you are able to lower the number of calories going in, your body won't have any excess calories to store as at, which bodes well for your waistline.
Along with calorie control, exercise is also very important to help keep your weight under control. While many people feel that running is the best form of exercise to lose weight, it is far from the only way to get a level of exercise that is good for your health in general, and your abs in particular. Biking, swimming, and walking are all great alternatives to running as a way of burning extra calories. Strength training is another very effective way to burn calories, and has actually been shown to have a longer lasting impact on your metabolism than most forms of cardiovascular exercise. Leisure time activities can also help you burn calories on a regular basis. Playing tennis or racquetball are great forms of fun exercise. Golf is great too, provided you don't spend the entire 18 holes riding in a cart. Most courses are 3-5 miles in length, so if you can walk while playing you will get a great deal of exercise while enjoying a day at the golf course. Even something as fun and easy as playing with your kids or grandkids can provide you with some much needed exercise.
Developing a six-pack is difficult. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you or trying to sell you something--or probably both. But, with some dedication to the plan, it is a totally achievable goal.
Just remember, it won't happen over night and you might need to do a little more than just 8 minutes per day.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Quantity Over Quality
As if we needed further evidence of modern man's (really modern America's) complete and utter cluelessness when it comes to food and nutrition, consider the following:
Would you be more likely to purchase:
Why, then, are people who choose to buy organic food considered either hippie-ish or snobby/elite because they choose to not buy the cheaper, non-organic food? Why is quality so important in our stuff, but it is irrelevant when it comes to our food?
A lot of people I know genuinely do not understand why quality food is better for you. Many think that there is little if any difference between a peach in a can and an organic peach straight from the tree. Or they don't see the difference between a McDonald's burger made with feed lot beef and a homemade burger from a free range cow.
The ultimate problem is that somewhere people learned to shop for food on the basis of price alone, and have therefore paid literally no attention to the quality. And here is the funniest part of this whole unbalanced equation. When you buy the cheaper, less nutritious food, your body doesn't stay full as long when you are eating the same amount of food. So you actually end up eating more and spending as much or more money on food than if you would have just bought the more nutritious organic food. As an example, my typical breakfast includes two fried eggs and a piece of toast. About this time last year, I started buying my eggs from a local farmer who raises chickens and sells free range eggs. When I made the switch from store bought to free range and fresh, I noticed that I was able to go much longer before feeling hungry when still just eating the same two eggs and the same piece of toast. In many cases, the eggs from the farmer were even smaller than those from the store. However, the eggs from the farmer are literally packed with nutrients, whereas the store bought eggs have not near as much. So instead of being ravenously hungry after just a couple of hours at work, I have a snack 3-4 hours into my day.
The big food corporations have done a great job keeping the lid on the fact that the more processed a food is, the fewer nutrients it contains. And since there are fewer nutrients, you are going to be hungry again sooner, and therefore eat more. All of which means more profit for big food.
What big food can't stop, however, is people from stumbling upon the truth on their own, and then hopefully spreading the word.
So that's what I'm doing. People, we are smack in the middle of a health crises in this country, the likes of which we have never seen before. Yes, we do need to exercise more. We are more sedentary than we have ever been. But, even if you never increase your activity level, you CAN make a drastic change in your health simply by eating better.
So the next time you're at the grocery store or produce market, look for the organic seal. Yes, you'll pay more for the higher quality foods, but when is the last time paying more for better quality has stopped you?
Would you be more likely to purchase:
- a Mercedes or a Kia?
- Abercrombie & Fitch or Wal-Mart brand?
- iPhone or a flip-phone?
- Grey Goose or Popov?
- Organic or Non-Organic?
Why, then, are people who choose to buy organic food considered either hippie-ish or snobby/elite because they choose to not buy the cheaper, non-organic food? Why is quality so important in our stuff, but it is irrelevant when it comes to our food?
A lot of people I know genuinely do not understand why quality food is better for you. Many think that there is little if any difference between a peach in a can and an organic peach straight from the tree. Or they don't see the difference between a McDonald's burger made with feed lot beef and a homemade burger from a free range cow.
The ultimate problem is that somewhere people learned to shop for food on the basis of price alone, and have therefore paid literally no attention to the quality. And here is the funniest part of this whole unbalanced equation. When you buy the cheaper, less nutritious food, your body doesn't stay full as long when you are eating the same amount of food. So you actually end up eating more and spending as much or more money on food than if you would have just bought the more nutritious organic food. As an example, my typical breakfast includes two fried eggs and a piece of toast. About this time last year, I started buying my eggs from a local farmer who raises chickens and sells free range eggs. When I made the switch from store bought to free range and fresh, I noticed that I was able to go much longer before feeling hungry when still just eating the same two eggs and the same piece of toast. In many cases, the eggs from the farmer were even smaller than those from the store. However, the eggs from the farmer are literally packed with nutrients, whereas the store bought eggs have not near as much. So instead of being ravenously hungry after just a couple of hours at work, I have a snack 3-4 hours into my day.
The big food corporations have done a great job keeping the lid on the fact that the more processed a food is, the fewer nutrients it contains. And since there are fewer nutrients, you are going to be hungry again sooner, and therefore eat more. All of which means more profit for big food.
What big food can't stop, however, is people from stumbling upon the truth on their own, and then hopefully spreading the word.
So that's what I'm doing. People, we are smack in the middle of a health crises in this country, the likes of which we have never seen before. Yes, we do need to exercise more. We are more sedentary than we have ever been. But, even if you never increase your activity level, you CAN make a drastic change in your health simply by eating better.
So the next time you're at the grocery store or produce market, look for the organic seal. Yes, you'll pay more for the higher quality foods, but when is the last time paying more for better quality has stopped you?
Monday, August 22, 2011
Why Personal Trainers are Helpful
When people think about hiring a personal trainer, one of the first reasons that they dismiss the notion is that it costs too much money. I'm inclined to agree with that logic when you're talking about the typical, in-gym personal trainer that is charging $30-$50 per 45 minute training session. However, if you're looking for a cheaper alternative that still provides plenty of benefits, allow me to explain why a DK FitSolutions plan may be the best thing for you and your health.
1. Paying a little money may actually help motivate you to workout more. If you're paying for a service, you might as well use it, right? And according to Women's Health Magazine, spending some money on a personal trainer is the number one way to stay dedicated to working out.
2. Personal trainers help prevent your routine from going stale. A good personal trainer will accept your feedback about what things you like and dislike, and design programs that will meet your goals without being monotonous.
3. A good personal trainer will give you new exercises and moves that will challenge you in a different way than what you've been doing. Sure, doing squats/leg presses are great ways to tone your legs and burn calories, but have you ever tried the Bulgarian split squat or around the clock lunges? Variety in the gym is a good thing, and personal trainers can help provide that.
4. Personal trainers can also provide you with a sense of accountability. I am fully willing to check up with you daily, if need be, to make sure you're sticking with your plan. For some folks, knowing that someone is going to call or send an email asking about their workout is the best tool to make sure they actually get to the gym or do their at-home workout for the day.
5. At DK FitSolutions, we not only work with you to improve your fitness, but we also work with you to help improve your diet. What you eat plays such a huge role in how you look and feel, and so many personal trainers are slow to address the foods you eat. While we in no way try to impose a strict caloric limit nor forbid certain foods, we strive to make you more aware of the food choices that you make and how those choices effect your overall health.
There are more benefits than just these five examples of why DK FitSolutions would be a great choice for you to help improve your health. Why not give us an opportunity to prove what we can do?
Visit www.dkfitsolutions.com for more information on how to let us help you. You've got nothing to lose.
And remember, whatever your health or fitness problem, we have a solution!
1. Paying a little money may actually help motivate you to workout more. If you're paying for a service, you might as well use it, right? And according to Women's Health Magazine, spending some money on a personal trainer is the number one way to stay dedicated to working out.
2. Personal trainers help prevent your routine from going stale. A good personal trainer will accept your feedback about what things you like and dislike, and design programs that will meet your goals without being monotonous.
3. A good personal trainer will give you new exercises and moves that will challenge you in a different way than what you've been doing. Sure, doing squats/leg presses are great ways to tone your legs and burn calories, but have you ever tried the Bulgarian split squat or around the clock lunges? Variety in the gym is a good thing, and personal trainers can help provide that.
4. Personal trainers can also provide you with a sense of accountability. I am fully willing to check up with you daily, if need be, to make sure you're sticking with your plan. For some folks, knowing that someone is going to call or send an email asking about their workout is the best tool to make sure they actually get to the gym or do their at-home workout for the day.
5. At DK FitSolutions, we not only work with you to improve your fitness, but we also work with you to help improve your diet. What you eat plays such a huge role in how you look and feel, and so many personal trainers are slow to address the foods you eat. While we in no way try to impose a strict caloric limit nor forbid certain foods, we strive to make you more aware of the food choices that you make and how those choices effect your overall health.
There are more benefits than just these five examples of why DK FitSolutions would be a great choice for you to help improve your health. Why not give us an opportunity to prove what we can do?
Visit www.dkfitsolutions.com for more information on how to let us help you. You've got nothing to lose.
And remember, whatever your health or fitness problem, we have a solution!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Worst Breakfast
What is the absolute worst thing you can have for breakfast? Doughnuts and some fancy coffee drink from Dunkin? A McGriddle meal from McDonalds? A grand slam from Denny's? Or my personal favorite, the three egg special from Fat Jacks?
Perhaps, surprisingly, none of these calorie and fat bombs would qualify as the worst breakfast you can eat. That distinction goes to something much smaller: nothing.
Breakfast has long been called the most important meal of the day, and for good reason. When you wake up in the morning, your body is literally in starvation mode. If you don't get some fuel into your body soon after waking up, your metabolic fire will go out and the amount of calories you burn throughout the day will be significantly reduced.
Now this doesn't give you the green light to go through the drive-thru every morning, but please make sure you get something before you leave for work in the morning. Whether it's eggs and toast or just a banana with your coffee, something is better than nothing. And you really need to have something.
Perhaps, surprisingly, none of these calorie and fat bombs would qualify as the worst breakfast you can eat. That distinction goes to something much smaller: nothing.
Breakfast has long been called the most important meal of the day, and for good reason. When you wake up in the morning, your body is literally in starvation mode. If you don't get some fuel into your body soon after waking up, your metabolic fire will go out and the amount of calories you burn throughout the day will be significantly reduced.
Now this doesn't give you the green light to go through the drive-thru every morning, but please make sure you get something before you leave for work in the morning. Whether it's eggs and toast or just a banana with your coffee, something is better than nothing. And you really need to have something.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Dietary Hiccups
As a health and fitness professional, I take living a healthy lifestyle pretty seriously. I try to eat as much local and organic food as possible, and try to make physical activity a regular component of my daily routine.
In an attempt at being completely honest though, I have to say that I am human. Ergo, I am not perfect. The other day I had a major food slip-up.
Allow me to explain.
On Tuesday, for whatever reason, I wasn't feeling it when I got home from work. My wife was out of town, and after walking the dog I had no desire to make something legit for dinner. So, I pulled a frozen pizza out of the freezer and put it in the oven. 15 minutes later, dinner was served. After cutting it up, I ate what I thought would be my dinner. Then, I went back for more. Then, I just finished the whole dang thing. I sat on the couch, feeling full and completely unsatisfied. Then I went to the freezer for a bowl of ice cream.
Needless to say, when I went to bed that night I wasn't feeling the greatest. But yesterday, I was back to eating a better array of foods and have noticed no real differences in how I've felt except for the time right after gorging on Tuesday night.
So what is the point of this story? Simple. Eating a "perfect" diet all of the time is impossible. Sometimes life gets in the way of ideal, and that's O.K. The trick is to only screw up for one meal or one day once in awhile. If you eat well for most of the time, a bad choice or two won't derail your progress. Keep going forward and you'll see progress. I promise.
In an attempt at being completely honest though, I have to say that I am human. Ergo, I am not perfect. The other day I had a major food slip-up.
Allow me to explain.
On Tuesday, for whatever reason, I wasn't feeling it when I got home from work. My wife was out of town, and after walking the dog I had no desire to make something legit for dinner. So, I pulled a frozen pizza out of the freezer and put it in the oven. 15 minutes later, dinner was served. After cutting it up, I ate what I thought would be my dinner. Then, I went back for more. Then, I just finished the whole dang thing. I sat on the couch, feeling full and completely unsatisfied. Then I went to the freezer for a bowl of ice cream.
Needless to say, when I went to bed that night I wasn't feeling the greatest. But yesterday, I was back to eating a better array of foods and have noticed no real differences in how I've felt except for the time right after gorging on Tuesday night.
So what is the point of this story? Simple. Eating a "perfect" diet all of the time is impossible. Sometimes life gets in the way of ideal, and that's O.K. The trick is to only screw up for one meal or one day once in awhile. If you eat well for most of the time, a bad choice or two won't derail your progress. Keep going forward and you'll see progress. I promise.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Navigating the Grocery Store
If you've decided to take charge of reinventing yourself, congratulations. And if you've made the decision to start making more of the meals you eat, then you're off to a good start in the journey of the rest of your life. So now that you're cooking your own food, we need to take a look at what ingredients you use in your cooking.
Of the 1000's of products available to you in your local grocery store, not many can be classified as good for you. As an example, take a walk down the cereal aisle. How many types of cereal could you make a valid argument about the nutritional benefits of that particular brand? Half? Maybe a quarter? Even cereals that most people view as healthy pack a lot of sugar into your bowl. And the amount of sugar found in most kids cereals would blow most people's minds.
In fact, if you walk down most aisles in the grocery store, you are much more likely to find unhealthy options as opposed to good for you options. There is, however, a much safer area of the grocery store to shop. If you stay to the perimeter of the store, your chances of finding healthier food improves dramatically. Typically, the perimeter of the store has the meat, dairy, and produce sections. While there are certainly good and bad choices that can be made in these sections, your chances of coming out ahead are much better.
The "problem" with shopping the perimeter is that most of these products have expiration dates. The fact that they aren't jammed full of preservatives is actually a good thing. I heard it said once that the foods you should eat are the foods that can go bad. Obviously, the fewer the preservatives in something, the better it probably is. And to further that though, if a "food item" literally won't go bad, you really shouldn't eat it--happy meal or Twinkie anyone?
The other "problem" with shopping the perimeter relates to the cost of buying perishable foods. I can't very well argue that healthier foods are cheaper than non-healthy ones, but let me try to give you a little common sense. People spend so much money on health and beauty items. Whether it's make-up, hair products, cleansers, or spa treatments, all of theses products are rather pricy and work to improve our external appearance. Why not save a little bit of that money and instead spend it to improve the quality of food you are eating. Not only will the better food improve your overall health, but you may be surprised that better food will improve the health of you skin, hair, and nails as well. When it's all said and done, the impacts of eating well by far offset the marginal difference of cost over the long run.
As is the case in all areas of improving your health, you can improve your diet if you want to. The money you save from eating out all the time will more than pay for the healthy food you are going to start buying. And if you really want to start saving on your produce, check out local farmers markets and fruit stands. Read more about the benefits of farmers markets here.
Once you make the commitment to eat better, you'll be surprised at how well you feel. An occasional splurge is obviously ok, but limit the junk food you put into your body and your body will thank you for years to come.
Find out more ways to improve your health at www.dkfitsolutions.com
Of the 1000's of products available to you in your local grocery store, not many can be classified as good for you. As an example, take a walk down the cereal aisle. How many types of cereal could you make a valid argument about the nutritional benefits of that particular brand? Half? Maybe a quarter? Even cereals that most people view as healthy pack a lot of sugar into your bowl. And the amount of sugar found in most kids cereals would blow most people's minds.
In fact, if you walk down most aisles in the grocery store, you are much more likely to find unhealthy options as opposed to good for you options. There is, however, a much safer area of the grocery store to shop. If you stay to the perimeter of the store, your chances of finding healthier food improves dramatically. Typically, the perimeter of the store has the meat, dairy, and produce sections. While there are certainly good and bad choices that can be made in these sections, your chances of coming out ahead are much better.
The "problem" with shopping the perimeter is that most of these products have expiration dates. The fact that they aren't jammed full of preservatives is actually a good thing. I heard it said once that the foods you should eat are the foods that can go bad. Obviously, the fewer the preservatives in something, the better it probably is. And to further that though, if a "food item" literally won't go bad, you really shouldn't eat it--happy meal or Twinkie anyone?
The other "problem" with shopping the perimeter relates to the cost of buying perishable foods. I can't very well argue that healthier foods are cheaper than non-healthy ones, but let me try to give you a little common sense. People spend so much money on health and beauty items. Whether it's make-up, hair products, cleansers, or spa treatments, all of theses products are rather pricy and work to improve our external appearance. Why not save a little bit of that money and instead spend it to improve the quality of food you are eating. Not only will the better food improve your overall health, but you may be surprised that better food will improve the health of you skin, hair, and nails as well. When it's all said and done, the impacts of eating well by far offset the marginal difference of cost over the long run.
As is the case in all areas of improving your health, you can improve your diet if you want to. The money you save from eating out all the time will more than pay for the healthy food you are going to start buying. And if you really want to start saving on your produce, check out local farmers markets and fruit stands. Read more about the benefits of farmers markets here.
Once you make the commitment to eat better, you'll be surprised at how well you feel. An occasional splurge is obviously ok, but limit the junk food you put into your body and your body will thank you for years to come.
Find out more ways to improve your health at www.dkfitsolutions.com
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