21 Healthy Tips to Help You Lose Weight

Losing weight can be as elusive as finding the Holy Grail. To some it can be ever so hard to accomplish. But for others, not an issue.... ever. For me, I feel I have been on a 'weight losing' coaster for the better part of my life.

 photo credit

Before I continue, please understand that my No.1 belief is this... being healthy trumps body size. Period! God uniquely designed each of us and thank goodness He never used cookie cutters when he created man or woman. I have a friend who is the same height as me. And yet, she is generally about 10 pounds lighter than me. We wear the same size clothes too! We can't compare ourselves to others. There's just no explaining our sizes, shapes and weights. Focus on being the healthiest YOU that you can be.

Well, we all know when we need to lose some weight. I knew I did about a year ago when I was winded when climbing a flight of stairs. I didn't feel good in my clothes and bottom line... I KNEW what I was putting in my body was JUNK!

So if you KNOW you need to lose some weight, here are simple and healthy ways to help you in this endeavour - I know there's a lot. You can't do them all. Do what you can, but in the end, just love yourself!!!

1. Eat clean. No processed junk. If it's in a box, made from man, your body will not function right and you will hold on to fat! Plain and simple.

2. Stay hydrated. Not only does water aid in digestion, help flush out toxins from the liver, and tone muscles, it also helps to suppress your appetite and increase metabolism. Experts recommend drinking 68 oz of water a day, for a woman with an inactive lifestyle. {Oh, by the way, my friend who weighs 10 pounds less than me??? She drinks a lot of water!}

4. Reduce avoidable stressors in your life and get more sleep! Your brain releases cortisol a hormone that messes with your metabolism when you are stressed. If you want to lose weight, you must find ways to reduce the controllable stresses in your life. A Kaiser Permanente study, published in the International Journal of Obesity found people with lower stress levels who slept more than six hours, but not more than eight were able to lose at least 10 pounds over six months, compared to a control group.Take walks, practice relaxation or breathing techniques, take more breaks, laugh more and get your sleep!

5. If you are having a hard time losing weight, fish oil supplements should become one of your best friends. They are known for being fat burning by nature. Studies have shown that fish oil supplements coupled with a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise can help you lose weight permanently.

5. Green tea helps speed up your metabolism and also helps to burn fat. Drink 3-5 cups daily or supplement orally.

6. Detox... our liver takes a beating and can become sluggish with toxins from food and polluted air. Are you treating it well and cleaning it out regularly? Some simple ways that you can daily care for your liver are any of the following: dry brushing, lemon-infused water upon rising, juicing (replace a few meals a week), sauna therapy (sweating it out), rebounding, cleansing herbs such as  dandelion, licorice, milk thistle, bilberry, chicory root, burdock and astragalus.

7. Reduce your fat intake... particularly those that originate from animals... dairy and meats.

8. You may be deficient in Vitamin D. Dr. John Cannell, M.D., from the Vitamin D Council wrote recently that vitamin D does appear to provide causative weight loss benefits, if not simply by increasing heart health and providing the body with more energy to get up off the couch and be active. He recommends taking 5,000 IU of vitamin D daily for average-weight adults weighing between 125-200 pounds

9. Track your calories. It is amazing what a little bite here and there can add up to.If you have a calorie deficit, you're going to lose weight, if you consume extra calories, you'll gain it. I am thoroughly enjoying keeping my calories in check thanks to My Fitness Pal app.

10. I have learned that just 20 minutes of exercise is effective in reducing your weight. But what will make your weight loss even more effective... weight training. According to Natural News, strength training will greatly increase the speed of your weight loss effort. It will also double the effectiveness of any weight loss program you're on. So grab some weights and get busy.

12. Increase your fiber intake. If you are not having regular BM's, your gut is not getting properly cleaned out. If you have a dirty colon, weight loss will be inhibited. There are several foods that give adequate amounts of fiber ~ check them out here.

13. Consider having at least one meatless meal a week.

14. Don't skip breakfast. According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a healthy breakfast is important in maintaining an ideal body weight. People who skip breakfast to save calories often overeat later in the day, or snack on foods that are high in fat and sugar. Plus, breakfast gives your metabolism a boost.(via Active.com)

15. Avoid white carbs... you know, cookies, cakes, crackers... anything that is not made with 100% whole grains. Overeating white, refined carbs will cause insulin imbalances. Your body has to produce increasing amounts of insulin to break down sugars. Eventually you become resistant to the insulin, and instead converting excess glucose into glycogen, it turns into fat.

16. Munch on these foods that rev up your metabolism... pumpkin seeds, avocados and almonds (keep serving sizes in check though!).

17. Evaluate if you have a food intolerance (sensitivities). You may have a food intolerance and not really know it. Side effects can mimic those to irritable bowel like skin eruptions, Crohn's disease or inflammation of the GI tract, ear problems, lethargy, nasal congestion, arthritis symptoms and allergies. Common foods that people can be sensitive to are wheat, dairy, sugar and corn. A key element in figuring out what food to eliminate first is, ask which food you eat very often and a food you have high cravings for. Read more about an elimination diet here.

18. Stop eating 3 hours before you go to sleep.

19. Incorporate healthy fats like avocados, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, fish and nuts. Don't avoid these foods. These fats fire up your metabolism so that you can lose weight.

20. Keep up with supplements. All overweight people are deficient in major nutrients. Here is a list of ones to consider (please research these on your own to see which ones you may need): B vitamins, l-tyrosine, CoQ10, digestive enzymes, flax oil, kelp, lecithin, ginseng.

21. Stop drinking diet soda... please! According to Sharon Fowler, MPH, "Diet soda is not a health food. In fact, it's not a food at all, it's simply a slurry of chemicals, a number of which may have deleterious effects on the body." Most recently diet sodas have been tied to increased risk of stroke and heart attack, and while many people drink them as an aid to weight reduction, research suggests if you drink diet soda, weight gain may be the result instead. (via Natural News)

So these are just my takes on weight loss... what are proven ways that work for you???

8 Tips for Getting Your Kids to Eat Healthy

Photo Credie: Daniel Holland

I get emails quite often from moms who are trying to feed their picky eaters a healthier diet. This topic is something that is near and dear to my heart. As blogged about before (here, here, and here), my journey to health began mostly because I had a "sick" kid. I adamantly resolved to find the answers to get my little boy healthy again. After hours of research and stack fulls of books from the library, I feel God gave me some great answers... mostly through a clean environment, clean food and good supplements.

I am passionate about helping people and especially kids eat healthy diets. Just today while on a field trip with my son and about 6,000 other elementary kids from around our city, I got a peek into what foods parents are feeding their kids... and to be honest, it was pretty gross. Something really needs to be done and maybe the handful of people that read my blog can help start that movement toward feeding our own kids a healthier diet.

(I'm not perfect. My kids want Doritos and other unhealthy goodies that are
marketed to kids just like any kid does. Sometimes I have
given in. So don't assume I'm perfect 100% of the time. But the majority
of the time, we really try and eat clean at home.)

So if you have a child that is picky... or one that eats mostly junk or getting healthy foods in them is a challenge, here are a few bits of advice.

1. Go easy on 'em... please. Nothing will un-motivate a child like a tyrant-like parent, pushing them to eat foods that they are not use to. Be positive. Smile when you are introducing new foods. If they aren't interested the first few times, don't give up and don't let them know if you're frustrated.

2. Practice patience. Introduce new healthy foods one at a time. It will take some time... usually a lot of time. Be patient, and again, don't give up.

3. Make it a fun, new adventure for them. My kids love to pick out a fruit or veggie of their own. Take them shopping with you. Give them their own basket or cart and let them fill it up with things they would like to try or what they know they like. Trust me, this works!

4. Turn on the food charm. Eating clean and healthy does not equate with being bland and yucky. Seriously. Steam broccoli just at the peak of softness, add a tad of olive oil or butter and a little salt. Put it in a cute kid bowl. Just don't make it look boring. This goes a long way with kids.

5. Lead by example!! This is most important. If they see you eating what you are serving, they know it's safe and good. Talk about the flavors, how you cooked it, where it came from, etc... basically talk about what you are eating. Kids will not just magically eat healthy when they don't see you eating it as well.

6. Be upfront with what certain foods do in the body. I tell my kids all the time about the food they are eating. "Those black beans have tons of fiber and protein that will make your belly feel good and give you a lot of energy". Or sometimes it may go this way, "That pop has a ton of sugar which isn't good for your teeth and can make you feel lousy later". Some may think this isn't right, but I want my kids to know what they eat and how it directly affects how they feel and their overall health. When given this information, children really do process it and over time it begins to stick!

7. Don't throw in the towel. It will take time, this adventure. There will be days you want to throw in the towel, but I encourage you to stay strong. For the health of your kids, if anything. To me, that's so important. I want my boys to grow up healthy and strong. Not sick and tired and depressed. I want the best for them in every way possible.

8. Start early. If you are reading this and have little ones, infants and toddlers, please start now on a healthy journey. Don't wait until they are school age, it gets too hard then. They can still change, but introducing the healthiest foods when they are little will only help to guarantee they will prefer those over unhealthy choices later.

Here are some resources that have helped me.

Deceitfully Delicious. Great book on deceitfully adding colorful veggies to everday dishes ~ your kids will never know!

The Sneaky Chef. Over 75 recipes that ingeniously disguise the most important superfoods inside kids’ favorite meals.

Healthy Cooking for Your Kids. Beautifully illustrated and easy to make meals your kids will love.

The Cleaner Plate Club. Offers a friendly, non-judgmental, and often humorous guide to feeding kids seasonally, healthfully, and without fuss.

Enjoy this journey. Once you get over those initial hurdles, it really begins to get fun.
Keep visiting this blog for kid-approved recipes and know there is always
encouragement here for you!

Friday's Fav... Chickpeas

After tossing this favorite in my head all week, I finally reasoned with myself and made it my Friday's favorite. Although it may not seem too appealing for some at first, at our house it is definitely one of the whole family's all-time favorite snack food ~ mostly when used as hummus.

Chickpeas, or garbanzo bean, is latin for "little ram" because its shape is similar to that of a ram. It originated in the Middle East then spread to African and Indian cultures, but now its popularity has spread all over the world.

To give you a little background, I was not always concerned about health. I was raised in a home where frozen and processed foods were used quite regularly and for the most part, we were fairly healthy. But as I began my nursing career and started to see similarities between poor diet choices and poor health, I took mental notes.

I remember taking care of a sweet lady at a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was admitted because of an accident, but during the time I had her as a patient, I gleaned a ton of inspiration. To this day, I still think about her and how her healthy and "clean" diet made a huge impact on me. She and her husband were physicists and the picture of perfect health. "Skinny", "attractive", "athletic" would be adjectives to describe them both. When her husband came in to visit, he brought her fresh fruits and vegetables and also her daily vitamins and supplements. She did not eat the hospital food. I was connecting the dots and seeing that what she was putting in her body was not only making a difference on the inside, but the outside too. I wanted that!

So back to chickpeas... sometimes the things we know we should put in our bodies, at a glance, may not be our first choice. But if we truly think about, know about what we are eating, the choices should not be so hard. Chickpeas are a powerhouse of nutrition, in my opinion. I love eating things that contain a ton of nutrients all in one. They are like the diamonds in the rough of our pantries. Chickpeas have a smooth, nutty-buttery taste that even my baby enjoys. And not to mention, super cheap at around $.89 a can.

The first nutrient worth noting in chickpeas is fiber. In just one cup you are getting half of the daily value needed. It also contains both types of fiber, insoluble and soluble. Both help to remove toxic waste in the bowels, regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol and promote an optimal ph level to prevent microbes from producing cancerous substances.

Next, they contain iron and folate both used on the cellular level to promote healthy blood cell functions. Folate, a b-vitamin, is also known to decrease the risk of birth defects in newborns if the mother has the adequate amount during pregnancy. Along with anemia, iron helps with hair loss, energy, and headaches.

The last ingredient in chickpeas to get pumped about is magnesium. Most American diets are extremely low in this mineral which has been known to be linked to the following diseases: diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, many mental and mood disorders, insomnia, cramps, neck and back pain, heart arrhythmias, strokes, fibromyalgia, arthritis and many more. Chickpeas are also high in zinc which is known to help migraines. Now how can you not want to eat some chickpeas after reading all that!

Here are a few ways you can incorporate chickpeas into your family's diet...

Salad... Romaine or spinach leaves, tons of veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded carrots), sunflower seeds, whole, from the can (rinsed) chickpeas... with a light vinegarette, of course.

Hummus... Like I said, we mostly enjoy chickpeas when they are pureed into a beautiful substance called hummus. I generally do not make my own, because I don't always make the time to do it... although I should. My favorite brand is by Sabra. It is extremely smooth and every flavor they offer is amazing and quite honestly, addicting. Hummus is wonderful when dipped with celery or carrot sticks, cucumbers, tortilla or pita chips and our family's favorite... veggies stix like these.

Chana Masala... Ok, I know you might be stepping into some crazy, new waters with this one, but if you are open to new, bold flavors, I dare you to try this recipe found here. I was introduced to Indian food by my close friend who went to Uganda to adopt... there she found a love for Indian food while eating at the food markets. When she came back, she convinced me to visit an Indian restaurant with her and I instantly fell in love with the flavors and not to mention the way they did magic on the chickpeas.

I'll leave you with a recipe for hummus. I have only made hummus once mostly because I'm short on time plus I heart Sabra... but here is the recipe I have used.

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans

1/4 c. olive oil

1 1/2 T. tahini paste

1 garlic clove

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 t. salt

Few tablespoons of water...

Throw into a food processor and process until smooth. The mixture might be a bit thick and hard to process so you can add the water or a bit more olive oil until it is very smooth and creamy.