Need Help for Healthy Eating

There is a great magazine called "Prevention" which is all about healthy habits/eating and just general health information.
Here is the link:
www.prevention.com

And they make it all really not intimidating. Things that the everyday person can do. Even some "success" stories on people who have lost weight etc.

I subscribe to the magazine myself. Its a real good read.

All the best,
Susan

I have been thinking the same thing... A friend who is mostly vegan (she lets her self go of course and have a piece of meat or cheese once in a blue moon) suggested the book 'THE KIND DIET' by Alicia Silverstone. I have not gotten it yet but my friend told me it has some great recipies and is very helpful. She also mentioned another book but for the life of me I can not remember its name.

One of the main things my friend stressed to me is allow yourself a meal/snack once in awhile that is not fullly healthy that way you will not feel trapped or confined so much by a "diet."

Another thing she mentioned is that the more meat a person eats the more sweets a person craves... so once meat is lessened one will crave less sweets. You do not need meat to get protein same goes you do not need milk/dairy for calcuim.

Saturday Runs:

Starting Saturday, February 5th, I will be hosting weekly 'chick' runs/walks from various locations in Allen, Fairview, and McKinney. The runs will all start at 7:30am, and will vary in distance depending on the training needs of the group. The runs will continue during the month of February, March, and April. Feel free to bring a friend or meet new friends along the trail. Most routes will be stroller/jogger friendly. This is a great opportunity to run/walk with other women training for 5Ks, 1/2 marathons, and full marathons.

National Fitness Competition:
Baby Boot Camp is sponsoring a Mother Love (MoLo) Fitness Challenge during the months of February, March, and April. I would like to form a team of amazing women to 'take on the nation' in the areas of strength, flexibility (yoga poses), and cardio (running). Each month, we will undertake a new challenge, with prizes awarded at the national and local level. Details are attached. Each participant will receive the following:

- MoLo Fit Pack

- Pre and post measurements

- Weekly assessments

- Opportunity to win local and national prizes each month

- Saturday runs and assessments

Your MoLo Fit Pack includes the following:

- Event t-shirt or tank top

- Client Tracking Sheets for February, March and April

- Client Assessment Sheet that includes pre and post measurements

- Baby Boot Camp pocket folder so you can keep tracking and assessment sheets together

The cost to be a participant in the national fitness competition and to earn prizes at the national level is $39.00 (set by Baby Boot Camp). There are SIX dedicated ladies ready to take the challenge....will you join us? Note: I am a little competitive and want to knock the socks off the local competition in Frisco and Dallas, as well as around the country. Last year's grand prize team won a free Girls Night Out party, and much more!

Deadline: Email or call me by Monday, January 24th, if you are interested in any of the following:

1. Saturday 'Chick' Runs ONLY - complimentary (will send out a weekly email of where the run will start, but must email me to get on the list)

2. Fitness Challenge ONLY - $39.00

3. Fitness Challenge and Chick Runs - $39.00

Local Sponsors: If you are a local mama entrepreneur or know of a local company that would like to provide a prize for our team competition, your support would be greatly appreciated and the favor would be returned in the way of free marketing. Please contact me for more information and details.

In health and fitness,

Cindy Keil

Shape IT Fitness

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Everyone had such great advice. I just wanted to add congratulations for wanting to eat healthier and good luck with your journey. I have my weeks where I eat great and my weeks where I don't so I know it's hard. One hint...start slow. One thing at a time. The fact that you want to is the first huge step!

Hi H.,

My favorite place to shop for healthy food is Whole Foods Market and they organize cooking classes too. I guess you will be able to find a store at driving distance.

Take it easy and make small changes one step at a time. This site also has plenty of tips and advice on a healthy diet and probably explains better how to do it.

http://www.allfoodsnatural.com/nutrition/

Hope this helps.

AWESOME! It can be hard in today's world to eat well. But it is a huge, wonderful gift to give your children. For the soda: is it the caffeine or the sweetness that you want? You can wean yourself off caffeine gradually. If it's wanting the sweetness - I think cold turkey is easiest. I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I often give up sweets for Lent. It's hard at the begining, but after a short while (maybe 10 days?), I "forget" about wanting sweet things. Also, you can satisfy your cravings for sweets with gum, or (this will sound weird): brush your teeth. I never want to eat or drink any kind of treat after I brush my teeth.

If you cut back on or quit meat, you'll need some other sources of protein. Dairy and peanut butter are good sources. Here's a link to how to make meals that give you complete proteins. http://www.bodyforlife2.com/incompletprotein.htm

The cooking magazine called Vegetarian Times is a good source for recipes, and a yearly subscription is pretty cheap. Congrats on your new endeavor!!

H., good for you!
As others have said don't try to change everything at once. When one new thing becomes a habit then work on the next thing.
Start drinking more water and doing some exercise also.
I have a friend who did what you are doing. Over a period of several months she has lost a lot of weight, feels so much better and her doctor is amazed at how healthy she is now. Plus her childrens' lives are improved. It is so worth it! Hang in there.
Good luck and God bless.
Victoria

Congrats on taking this step. Now just take it a step at a time.

Regarding the sodas, they are the quickest way to get empty calories. Two tips for reducing those... #1 Make a rule. one glass of water in between each soda. I try to keep that rule even with diet sodas, because even without the calories, it's not like they are good for me. #2 Eventually stop buying sodas at the store. If you have to pay $1 every time from the vending machine, that will help you cut down, but you can still get them occasionally as a sweet treat.

Well...here's my first suggestion...baby steps. Trying to do everything all at once get too tough. I am working in steps. The first thing I did was kick the soda addiction. (it really was for me.) The thing that helped me was this water that wal mart ... has. by water and peanuts. It is called "Sam's Clear American.' It is not in the pop section...but it tastes like pop, or enough that it helped me get off the Dr Pepper. I( I think they put CRACK in is,jk:)
Another thing that I have started using is tofu. I use firm....now tofu has gotten a bad wrap. I can be very good if you season it. I have put it in chili, I just cut it up in to small chunks and stir it in. I just cut my serving from 600 calories to maybe 300....I'm just throwing numbers out there, for example. You can use this little trick, in the meantime learning how to cook differently.

I'm guessing that the documentary you are referring to was Food Inc.? One of the people featured in that film was Michael Pollan. He has written several very good books about food, but the one you may find of use here is called Food Rules: An Eaters Manual. It is $5 on amazon.com, and it is a list of "rules" about eating/food shopping. The nice thing is that you can pick 2 or 3 to start, then add as you go along. It can be overwhelming to try to overhaul your diet all at once, it's nice to be able to take small, meaningful steps. I have found this to be a really helpful resource in own endeavor to eat better.
Best of luck to you!

Soda is my vice as well. I used to buy it and keep it at home. Now, I don't bring it into my home at all. I drink tea instead if I want something sweet to drink - MUCH fewer calories, and the sweet taste of tea helps the craving for the sweet taste of soda. I didn't cut it out totally, cause I found I break down more when I do that. Now I only drink it when I'm at the playplace (like McDonalds) w/my son - maybe 1x/week or less. It helped!

Portion size is the key, and is the hardest thing to do. Something to help you would be to shop at the Dallas Farmers Market if that's convenient for you. My husband works near it and he brings home fresh veggies weekly - the prices are FANTASTIC.

Also, I LOVE mashed potatoes - used to eat a lot of them (from the box), but since Hubby brings home potatoes from the Farmers Market, I microwave 2 and it's just enough. I may actually be eating a smaller serving, but it doesn't feel like it, plus I get the roughage from the skins, etc.

Just do little changes. Don't have the junk food in your house - it'll be easier not to eat it. Then, when you go out to a friends, a party or something, it's a special treat and not a regular food item in your home. I break down and get my favorite cookies every few months, but then it's not in the house any more.

Don't be hard on yourself - you can do it!

Hey H. - Take a look at my archives, I got some great advice on this question quite a few months ago. I too am on a weight loss journey. It's VERY hard. I didn't read what anyone else has written, but here goes my quick advice (I need to get to the gym!)
1. Drink tons of water
2. Shop the perimeter of the store. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Substitute ground beef with groud turkey or chicken (tacos, spaghetti ect). Whole grain pasta, brown rice. Sometimes it takes some getting used to, but it really is quite tasty.
3. Watch what a serving size is. Cereal is usually only 3/4 of a cup! Add fruit to that with a big glass of water.
4. Eat every 3 to 4 hours. Healthy snacks, nuts are very filling. Don't eat after 6pm
5. Move your body EVERY DAY. Take walks, join a gym, swim. At least an hour a day.
STOP DRINKING SODA! it's very hard (I used to drink a TON of Mountain Dew in my younger years...so nasty now) but totally worth it.
There are a ton more things that I do, but I think those are the most important. I've lost 94 pounds since last June, so I think it's working!!
Good Luck, L.

I think O. siple thing to keep in mind is "meat is a treat." Small portions of meat and LARGE portions of veggies/salads. Try to cut out "the white stuff": white bread, rice, potatoes, etc. replace with healthier whole grains. Ditch the soda! Try Sobe Lifewater Yumberry Pomegranate -- 0 cals &100% vitamin C. You'll never miss the soda!

First, Congratulations! You are making a huge first step by wanting to change! I would give you two suggestions.
1-Make permanent changes, but make them one at a time and go slowly. Decide how to start and then every few weeks make another small change. For example, to keep from drinking sugary drinks I keep a pitcher of herbal tea sweetened with stevia ready at all times for me and the kids, but I always offer water first.
2-The simplest tip I can give is: If you don't buy it you won't eat it. Leave the candy and junk food at the store and bring home fruits, veggies and whole grain snacks.

Hi H., Good for YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! Must have been Food Inc? I have started my family on clean, real food, since Jan. There is so much information to sort through. And it can be very time consuming, not to mention expensive. So these are my rules. Limited processed - packaged food. This has been my struggle because of the convenience and time saving nature of the beast, lol. I try to cook a lot on my days off and always make enough dinner for lunch the next day too. Just cutting out any thing with high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils is a great start. We also are not eating as much meat because of the price of organic cuts. Wholefoods.com has some great recipes for healthy meals. I have not weighed myself because I am looking at it as a healthy life style change, not a diet. I have noticed my rings are loose, I do not have to unbutton my pants to pull the up or down,lol, and my skin has cleared up too. Giving up the soda is a good start, but you will have sugar withdrawal and caffeine withdrawal too. I didn't drink soda, but massive amounts of fast food coffees loaded with cram and sugar. I switched to skim milk and 1 sugar. Good luck. I am still figuring out the healthy eating too, but anything is better then nothing.