The next time you want a quick healthy meal or snack, consider these combos. Each of these grab and go partners can be prepared in a flash.
Now is the time to start helping your entire family eat healthier. The combinations shown here are not only beneficial to your body, but most are easy enough for children to put together.
Some of the items are staple foods you may already have in your pantry. Plan for success, start today, show your family that eating healthy is easy and tasty.
How will you ever get there if you don’t know where you are going?
Take some time to write down your goals. Sure, they will most likely change, but start somewhere. Here are a few good reasons to put your goals in writing:
Shows Intent & Fosters Commitment – with a written goal, you now have a plan. Just the simple act of writing it down shows intent, provides a constant reminder and fosters commitment to see it through.
Focus – When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools. (quote -Michael Leboeuf)
Motivates & Makes it Vivid – If you take the time to continuously review your written goals, they stay vivid in your mind which in turn help motivate you to stick to the plan.
Enables you to see and celebrate your progress – seeing progress goes a long way to help keep you on track. Celebrating small successes is a perfect way to keep your eye on the prize.
NutriBullet: The Superfood Nutrition Extractor®. Turn ordinary food into superfood and add years to your life! Available at most major retailers.
Simply fill halfway with raw veggies and the other half raw fruits. Easy to use, makes delicious, nutritious smoothies.
In need of a brain-boosting breakfast to power your way through the day? For sustained energy and a nutritional boost, here are some superior choices in the breakfast bunch.
1. Blueberries
These bright blue beauties contain one of the highest antioxidant capacities of all fruits, making blueberries a no-brainer (…or shall I say a yes-brainer?) There is evidence that these superfruits can improve memory, as well as boost the immune system. Blueberries, along with other members of the berry family are lower on the glycemic-index (GI). A low GI along with their high fiber content helps slowly release sugar into the bloodstream for sustained energy.
2. Walnuts
What do you think of when you see an unshelled walnut? Looks like a brain, right? Well, that is no coincidence, my friend! Walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids shown to boost brain health and reduce inflammation. The healthy fats found in walnuts will help absorb fat-soluble vitamins and the protein will “stick to the ribs” to keep you satiated until lunch.
3. Spinach
Vitamin C found in the strawberries of our Berry Brain Boost NutriBlast (below) helps absorb the iron contained in spinach. Iron enhances oxygen distribution throughout the body, waking up the immune system, boosting energy, and enhancing brain activity. Spinach is also an abundant source of vitamin K (almost 200% of the daily value in one cup raw), a nutrient required to help build strong bones.
4. Rolled Oats
We’ve all heard oatmeal helps reduce cholesterol, but do you know how? Its high soluble fiber is key. It not only helps keep your heart healthy, it will also slow down the rate at which the sugars from fruits are released into the bloodstream. This prevents any drastic energy highs or lows, the foundation to keeping you awake and alert. Choose gluten-free to prevent any inflammation caused by potential allergies or intolerance.
5. Almond Milk (or other dairy alternative)
With milk intolerance and dairy allergies on the rise, it is best to choose a dairy alternative fortified with calcium to meet the needs of growing bones. Fortunately, there are several options available that contain even more calcium than a glass of cow’s milk. Almond, rice, organic soy, oat, flax, and hemp milks are a few options you can find in your local market. This will also lend a creamier consistency to your NutriBlasts that your whole family will love.
Incorporate these top 5 foods in a delicious, nutritious NutriBlast. It’s the perfect start to the day!
Berry Brain Boost NutriBlast
25% spinach
½ banana
½ cup blueberries
¼ cup strawberries
¼ cup raw walnuts
3 Tbsp gluten-free rolled oats
Unsweetened almond milk to the MAX line
Blast for 45 seconds.
–Krista Haynes, R.D.
NutriBullet Nutrition Advisor
To Your Health!
Exercise can help people lose weight, increase energy and improve outlook. But, here’s added bonus: studies show that those who exercise also are physically younger. Who couldn’t appreciate that?
The fitness-age connection
Keeping fit can help your life expectancy in two ways, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. It can decrease your chances of developing diseases and conditions as you age. It also can affect the aging process itself, as shown by the impact on an individual’s chromosomes.
During the study, researchers learned that chromosomes can give clues on the effects of aging. The chromosomes of the most active people were similar to those of inactive people 10 years younger – a strong reason to get moving.
Another study by the Buck Institute for Age Research found that exercise – and weight training in particular – actually can revive muscle tissue. Active older men and women took part in six months of twice-weekly strength training. Then, their tissue samples were compared to those of younger men and women. Exercise brought the samples from the older group back to levels similar to those in the younger group.
Boost your brain power
Exercise can slow the aging process not only physically, but mentally, too. In another recent study of Canadian women older than age 65, a link was found between physical exercise and the brain. Those who did regular aerobic exercise had better blood flow to the brain, which helps its ability to process information. In fact, the women who exercised scored 10 percent higher in brain function tests.
Keeping your brain fit with mental workouts also can help increase memory. So, challenge your brain by trying a new hobby or tackling a crossword puzzle, suggests the American Psychological Association. Learning a new language or playing a new musical instrument may help, too.
Get your weekly dose
In order to reap the benefits of exercise you have to hit the pavement, not the couch. You can follow these guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. They suggest that healthy adults need at least:
Along with a healthful diet, regular exercise can help you make your health a top priority. But, talk with your doctor before significantly increasing your exercise levels.
-United Healthcare, Source4Women
Side Note: Most of us have had a goal that didn’t happen as quickly as we wanted it to. Yes, you worked at it, but it seemed every possible obstacle got in the way, and finally you gave up. If that desire to be a happier, healthier person has been laying dormant inside you for awhile… DON’T GIVE UP!
Remember, a little FAITH can go a long way, even in dieting. No challenge is to small or to petty for us to pray for strength. The things you’ve waited for in your life, God will bring to fulfillment. Faith is Fail Proof… we can give you the tools, and the rest is up to you. You’ve Got This!
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Now there is a way to calculate which fruits and veggies are the most nutrient dense. ANDI stands for “Aggregate Nutrient Density Index.” An ANDI score shows the nutrient density of a food on a scale from 1 to 1000 based on nutrient content. A value of 1000 being the most nutritious per calorie, and 1 being the least. ANDI scores are calculated by evaluating an extensive range of micro-nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidant capacities.
Start looking for ANDI scores at participating grocers.
Muscle Vs. Fat – The Benefits of Building Lean Muscle
If you have recently started working out, and the scale isn’t budging, or even worse, it keeps going up, but your clothes are fitting better and you are feeling smaller, don’t be discouraged.
The scale is just one tool used to measure your weight loss progress. A greater indicator is the way your body is changing and how your clothes are fitting. Before you toss the scale out the window there is a bit of critical information you must learn about Fat vs. Muscle.
Did you know that even though 5 lbs of muscle and 5 lbs of fat weigh the same, if you put them on the scale together fat takes up so much more mass then the same weight in muscle? This photo shows a clear picture of the difference in their mass. Sometimes your weight may not adjust much but when you replace fat with muscle you will be so much smaller and tighter.
Another benefit of building lean muscle is the amount of resources (calories) it consumes to maintain. Your body really does burn more calories maintaining muscle than it does maintaining fat. Which means that building muscle increases your metabolism.
OBESITY – by Jenny Flynn
What would your life be like if you…
…..were healthier?
…..could control your weight?
…..had the self confidence you desire?
Well, we at Letslose, want to help you achieve this goal in life.
Did you know?
More than one third of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. Individuals that are obese are at a much higher risk for contracting more than 30 medical conditions which include but are not limited to: Type 2 Diabetes (adult onset diabetes), Metabolic Syndrome (cluster of the most heart attack risk factors), Hypertension (high blood pressure), Coronary Heart Disease (narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the heart), certain forms of Cancer, Gall Bladder Disease(modern illness of diseases of the gallbladder ex: gallstones), Respiratory problems(breathing problems consisting of asthma and allergy problems), Sleep Apnea (sleep disorder which causes abnormal breathing patterns), Arthritis (inflammation of the joints), Stroke and Depression.
Now we can more fully understand why a weight reduction as small as 10 percent can significantly reduce an individuals health risk.
We, at Letslose would like to provide you with some psychological support by helping you identify your food triggers and the difficulties you have experienced in previous weight loss efforts and helping you find the key to remain healthy forever. We believe it takes a team effort and we support our patients in helping them modify their behavior that have prevented past success.
Letslose would like to start with a few suggestions to offer you which consist of: choosing healthy foods, exercise, be realistic, eat a balanced diet, reduce
portion size, seek family support, and keep a food diary.
Also, make a habit in reducing bad foods from your diet by limiting: saturated fat, total fat, alcohol, salt, sodium, sweets and empty calorie foods.
Everyone makes mistakes, and has bad days, but work to prevent them from occurring by NOT: moving too quickly, eliminating entire food groups, failing to exercise, eating and drinking hidden fats, cutting too many calories and being impatient.
We at Letslose, would like to encourage our patients to take baby steps, plan menus, prepare meals at home, cut out restaurant meals, and with all this it will change your life!
PSALM 103:1: Praise the Lord, my soul, and never forget all the good he has done: He is the one who forgives all your sins, the one who heals all your diseases
Do you Eat to Live or Live to Eat?
What is your relationship with food? Is it healthy? Or does it consume you? Do you eat on a schedule? When hungry? Mindlessly? For comfort? Are you thinking about your next meal while still digesting your last?
Although food is a very important part of life, instead of just consuming food, many Americans are letting food consume them. Even to the point of death.
Education and identifying the What, When, Where & Why of your eating habits is the first step to a healthier, happier life. Ask yourself the following questions (and be honest):
What do I eat? Foods that are good for me or junk?
When do I eat? When hungry? On a schedule? All day long?
Where do I eat? At the table? In the car? In front of the TV? In bed?
Why do I eat? Hunger? Comfort? Boredom? Socialization?
The list of sicknesses and disease directly linked to our diet is long; Some of the more common are type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol issues, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, thyroid conditions, polycystic ovary syndrome (women). Then there are secondary conditions that are ultimately linked with obesity such as muscular problems, joint replacements and loss of limbs to name but a few.
What is it going to take to get you on the path to healthy eating? The goal for all of us is to Eat to Live, while still enjoying food. Contemplate the above questions and your answers. There is no “quick fix” or “magic pill”. Even the services of LetsLose, Advanced Weight Loss Clinics are at best only an aid…
The real power to fight this battle lies within you, and you ARE stronger than you think.
