The holidays can be stressful. There are holiday parties, family obligations, and eating temptations. Many people just take a break from their fitness program. Most of us overeat during the entire 5-week holiday season. If you do not exercise, you will just gain weight and be stressed. A slight increase in body weight each holiday season can add up over time until it becomes a potential health problem. Even though the average weight gain may be fairly small, the weight is usu

It is difficult to take of weight of one only does cardio exercise. While cardio is a component of a good exercise program, it is necessary

Are you exercising properly for weight loss? If you have been pounding the pavement or the treadmill with nothing to show for it, perhaps it is time to change up your workout. Think about adding an incline to your treadmill routine. You can also alternate between a comfortable pace and a rapid, high intensity speed. If you have been walking outdoors on flat land, start to add some hilly terrain. Alternating between the treadmill and other cardio machines can be helpful as can

This week we will discuss the importance of keeping a food diary. Keeping a record of food intake can be difficult for some at first. It can be embarrassing to record eating a box or cookies or a quart if ice cream. Analyzing the food diary will tell you why and when you over eat. Ask yourself the following questions: What were you doing when you ate the high calorie food? Were you bored or unhappy? Were you with anyone? Were you watching TV or out to dinner? Are you an em

Make time for fitness in order to decrease the risk of disease. Guidelines recommend people get about 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week. Although more research is needed to confirm the underlying mechanisms driving the protective benefits of exercise, exercise is an easy way to encourage good health overall. There is a connection between fat and breast cancer and exercise helps one to keep their weight at a healthy level. Women that are overweight may have elevated lev

In addition to the dreaded (and easily avoidable) holiday weight-gain, we have to be concerned about an increased risk of injury. Increased stress levels during the holidays affect the entire body, as stress can exacerbate neck and back problems. If you’re flying or driving a long distance to your Thanksgiving dinner, get out of your seat and move around frequently (but not while you are driving). While cooking, remember to take breaks and adjust your posture. Carrying heavy

Many people have bought into the myths and misconceptions about foods and how they affect our health and/or weight loss. These misconceptions come about largely due to the media and its promotion of faulty research data. An example of the myths that propagate the notion of weight would be ‘Eating fat makes you fat’ – we now know that this is simply a falsehood. To help you clear up any faulty beliefs regarding diet, check out the top four diet myths below: 1. Eating fat

​It may be necessary to stay way from white starches like refined grains and refined sugars. These foods also can cause an increased appetite and cravings. Try whole grains, instead. If you are having trouble losing weight increase your proteins and healthy fats. Weight loss can be more complicated than just counting calories. Sometimes you have to tweak a few things to see what works for your unique situation. Always read labels. Know what you are putting into your body. Try

After losing 70 lbs - 28% down from my peak - I learned these 13 tricks to help me along my weight loss journey. 1- Drink two tall glasses of water a minimum of ten minutes before eating anything, 2- Reduce/eliminate white starches/sugars(bread, pasta, cereal, rice, potatoes and pizza) 3- Monitor your meals. Find a web or smart phone app food tracker and use it. I used WebMD’s tracker. If you eat a bag of potato chips, record it on the tracker. You’ll be able to see your calo

Everyone is unique when it comes to weight loss, improving your fitness level and general health. You might be in a fitness program with a friend and not getting the same results. But do not give up. You cannot compare your results to anyone else. If your health buddy is heavier than you to begin with, she will lose weight quickly at first. Men will lose weight faster than females due to testosterone and greater muscle mass. Older people will lose weight slowly due to slowe

If you have a tendency to gain weight during the winter, it’s important for you to figure out what factors contribute to this tendency, and then plan accordingly. Weight gain is a real concern. Our lifestyles are sedentary and our obesity rate is increasing. Those extra pounds acquired over the winter may stay with you and increase yearly. If every year you gain 5 to 10 pounds, in just 5 years it can lead to obesity. Obesity increase our chances of developing chronic disease.

One of the main concerns among many patients going through treatment for cancer is weight loss. The inability to keep weight on often contributes a great deal of anxiety to an already stressful situation. Side effects of radiation or chemotherapy treatment such as nausea, sore mouth and throat, stomach cramps, and taste changes can all decrease one’s desire to eat. But there are things you can do to help combat this situation. Protein and Cancer From the Greek meaning, ‘of pr

1. Restaurant portions can be huge so even before you start your meal, have your server wrap up half of your food. Keep in mind, a portion of fish or meat is about the size of your fist or a deck of cards. Some restaurant portions can feed a family. Of course you can wait till you have finished some of your food before you ask for it to be packaged. But the chance of you having anything left over to take home will decrease if your meal is in front of you. Most people wi