What are you doing right now? Aside from reading this post, you are most likely sitting somewhere. On your couch? At your desk? In a chair? Wherever you find yourself sitting, I’m sure that it won’t come as a surprise to you, that sitting isn’t good for your health. But did you know that it is so bad for your health that it could be taking years off of your life?
It’s true.
Unfortunately, I can’t even say that I’m setting a good example for any of you by doing something other than sitting on the couch with my laptop myself. However, this new study did get me thinking about ways I might be able to do less sitting, and I think I am going to give a few of them a try (tomorrow).
After adjusting for smoking, height/weight, and other factors, Patel’s team found that compared to sitting less than three hours a day, sitting six or more hours a day:
Increased the death rate by about 40% in women
Increased the death rate by about 20% in men
Increased the death rate by 94% in the least active women
Increased the death rate by 48% in the least active men
It wasn’t just that they weren’t getting exercise. Patel and colleagues found that sitting itself was detrimental to health. Sitting increased risk of cancer death, but the main death risk linked to sitting was heart disease.
That’s scary stuff. I’m sure that I’m sitting more than six hours of the day, and up until very recently I was getting little to no exercise.
So, how many hours a day do you spend sitting? Could you be sitting your way to an early grave? What about your kids?
In the age of couch potatoes, it’s not surprising that a lack of activity has become a serious health risk. The question is — What are you ready to do about it?
Are you ready to take steps to be more active and less sedentary? If so, now is a great time to start. The best part is, the study doesn’t suggest that you have to replace hours of sitting with hours of activity. It seems that even just breaking up your sitting time with a bit of active non-sitting time can be beneficial.
Here are some tips for increasing your life expectancy by decreasing the amount of time you sit. Remember, these are just ideas, use these ideas as guidelines for developing a personal plan that works best for you.
These days we need to do everything we can to help ourselves look and feel healthier. We have more work, more worries, more responsibilities — and all of this can take a real toll on how we look and feel. But there are simple things we can do to rejuvenate ourselves inside and out. Here are my top ten tips for looking and feeling healthier.
1. Drink enough water
This is a big one, because there is no way to be healthy and dehydrated, our bodies need water. Make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day, and remember that soda, coffee, and alcoholic beverages don’t count as hydration. Also See: Staying Healthy And Hydrated
Another benefit of drinking water. Drinking Water Before Meals To Lose Weight – A new study found that middle-aged and older adults who drank two cups of water before each meal consumed fewer calories and lost more weight than those who skipped drinking water.
2. Eat more healthy foods than unhealthy foods
You don’t have to be a health nut, but at least try to incorporate healthy foods into your diet whenever possible. Try this – For a week keep track of what foods you’re eating each day. At the end of the week examine your list and determine if you are eating more healthy foods than unhealthy ones. Then find ways you can replace some of the unhealthy stuff with healthy stuff. Also See: Getting Reacquainted With Health Food
I recently wrote a post about the controversial proposal of making birth control pills available over-the-counter, and in even more controversial news, on Friday the FDA approved a new (prescription only) emergency contraceptive. This new emergency contraception is not the morning after pill, but it’s not an abortion pill either.
Federal drug regulators on Friday approved a new form of emergency contraceptive pill that prevents pregnancies if taken as many as five days after unprotected intercourse.
. . .
Women who have unprotected intercourse have about 1 chance in 20 of becoming pregnant. Those who take Plan B within three days cut that risk to about 1 in 40, while those who take ella would cut that risk to about 1 in 50, regulators say.
The controversy surrounding emergency contraceptives comes mainly from the pro-life (or anti-abortion) community, which is confusing to me because there are hopes that these medications could someday reduce the need for clinical abortions. The main sticking point seems to be that this group of people believe that life begins the moment of conception (or fertilization), and that these emergency contraception medications “abort” a fertilized egg.
Are you honest about your weight? Although I would prefer not to be asked, when I am asked, it never occurs to me to lie about it.
It used to be that women were thought to always lie about their age and weight, but a new CDC study finds that Americans are becoming more honest (at least about) their weight. To be honest, I didn’t even know that there were studies measuring the number of people who lie about their weight. It seems a little odd, but who am I to judge?
The new report also found that in nine states at least 30 percent of the adults were obese in 2009. The states were Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Mississippi, the highest at 34 percent. In 2007, only Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee topped 30 percent.
No states met a national goal for 2010 of limiting obesity to 15 percent. Only Colorado and the District of Columbia were lower than 20 percent, and just barely.
It did get me thinking a bit about why? Why are Americans becoming more honest about their weight, especially considering that obesity is on the rise?
Could it be that we are finally getting to the point of loving and accepting ourselves, even with our perceived imperfections? That wouldn’t be so bad, maybe those Dove ads (you know, the ones using average and plus size models) are having an impact on how we see ourselves. What ever the reason, if women are feeling better about themselves, I think that’s wonderful. Anyway, that’s my idealistic way of looking at this story, and I think it could be true.
However, it seems the researchers have their own opinion (go figure), and it does make sense. They believe that because of all the press coverage over the ever growing obesity epidemic (and the health problems associated with it), that Americans are becoming more aware of their weight and therefore more honest. The benefit to this observation would be that Americans are becoming concerned about the health risks of being overweight (rather than the stigma), and are keeping a closer eye on it. In the long run (idealistically), this change in behavior may actually prove to be the catalyst to American’s changing their eating habits from unhealthy to healthy, and that would be a good thing. Wouldn’t it be great to go from a society facing an obesity epidemic, to a society facing a healthy living epidemic?
Is it time to start selling birth control pills over-the-counter (OTC)?
The easy answer is, yes.
But is it really an easy question to answer? No. Remember, we are living in a country where many parents are still against condoms being available to students, and where many schools are teaching abstinence only in place of sex-ed classes. I’m thinking this isn’t going to be as easy of a switch as some of these articles make it appear.
The pill meets F.D.A. criteria for over-the-counter medications. Women don’t need a doctor to tell them whether they need the pill — they know when they are sexually active and want to avoid pregnancy. Pill instructions are easy to follow: Take one each day. There’s no chance of becoming addicted. Taking too many will make you nauseated, but won’t endanger your life, in contrast to some over-the-counter drugs, like analgesics. (There are even side benefits to taking the pill, like reduced risks of ovarian and uterine cancer.)
Would you take a pill that promised to make you smarter? That could help you do better on tests? Give you the energy to be more productive? Make you feel more alert?
It is possible, but not without risks.
What are smart drugs?
Smart drugs are really just prescription stimulants (Dexedrine, Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta) that have been used to successfully treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) for many years now. However, when a person without one of these medical conditions takes these drugs, it’s basically a prescription “upper” that gives the user a feeling of being able to conquer any task, along with the ability to stay up longer to complete it.
There is another class of drugs known as eugeroics (ie: Provigil) that work to block chemicals in the brain that cause fatigue and in-turn provide the user with a feeling of alertness. These medications were originally used to treat narcolepsy, and excessive sleepiness due to medical conditions or shift-work.
You can see why college students are gravitating to these drugs, but do they give them an unfair advantage over students that aren’t using them?
It’s important to remember that these are addictive narcotics with many dangerous side effects. Even so, students and professionals are still using them to get an edge over their competition.
According to a reader survey conducted by the scientific journal Nature, one in five respondents has used prescription cognitive enhancers for nonmedical purposes — that’s 50 percent more than those who reported taking these drugs for their intended use! When asked whether these practices should be allowed, 86 percent of the 1400 surveyed answered yes. Apparently, while the chattering classes tsk-tsked the doping habits of pro athletes, those within their own circles — writers, designers, scientists, scholars — have been juicing up themselves, or secretly wishing they could.
Here is a video on smart drugs from Duke University…
Getting Reacquainted With Healthy Food- This is a post I originally did for BlogHer in 2008, but since it still applies now, I thought I would share it here on the Choose You Blog.
For the last few weeks I’ve been making an attempt at eating healthy. And usually this is where I would tell you that I’ve failed miserably. But, I’m happy to report that I have actually been doing pretty well. I think it is in part because, around the same time I decided that I couldn’t afford to gain another pound, I got an email from Elaine Magee. Funny how we get what we need, just when we need it.
Anyway, Elaine is the Healthy Recipe Doctor at WebMD, and she wanted to tell me about her newest book Food Synergy. Even better, she said if I wanted a copy she would send me one. The timing couldn’t have been better.
Evidence is mounting that certain components in the food we eat and drink (minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals, fiber, smart fats, etc.) interact to provide our bodies extra disease protection and a higher level of health. This advanced nutrition science is called food synergy.
Food synergy is like adding 1 plus 1 and getting 4 or 6 instead of 2; the total is greater than the sum of the individual parts (or nutrients).
Why is it that losing weight seems to be so much harder the older we get? I don’t really consider myself a dieter, but I do try to incorporate healthy eating into my lifestyle. In doing so I hoped to lose a little weight and get back to a healthy BMI. It’s just ten more pounds, but I’ve been finding it difficult to even lose one. Why is that? Does it have something to do with getting older? Is there a way to get past it? I decided to take a closer look at how age affects our weight.
I can’t help but think that my age has something to do with my inability to get rid of those last ten pounds. At 42, I’ve been observing some strange happenings to my body. Oddly, my weight has stayed relatively the same, but how the weight is distributed on my body has been changing dramatically (I seem to be plumping up around my waist and belly, while at the same time shrinking in areas I would prefer to keep).
How Much Is Your Life Worth? Even with insurance you may be unable to afford cancer treatment.
There is never a good time to find out you have cancer, but now may prove to be the worst time. With the economy and health care crisis making day to day life more costly for many Americans, a cancer diagnosis can be financially devastating. At the exact time a cancer patient needs to find the strength to fight for their life, they now need to worry just as much about whether or not they can afford treatment. There’s just something fundamentally wrong with that.
The American Cancer Society has released the results of a recent survey that indicates nearly half of cancer patients under age 65 have had difficulty paying for health care costs such as health insurance premiums, co-pays and prescription drugs in the past two years, and that one-third of those currently in active cancer treatment have put off some type of health care in the past year.
Other findings:
One in three cancer patients under age 65 struggles to pay for basic necessities — such as food, heat and housing — and other bills in the past two years.
One in five has used up all or most of savings.
What I find even more despicable, is how insured patients are being denied the most cutting edge treatments because their insurance carriers think they are too expensive.
Last week, we heard that Gwyneth Paltrow was diagnosed with osteopenia (a precursor to osteoporosis).
Osteopenia is the term used for bone density that falls somewhere between less than normal and osteoporosis. People with osteopenia have a greater chance of developing osteporosis, a bone disease which leads to an increased risk of fractures.
Paltrow was told by her doctors that her vitamin D levels were extremely low. Because vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of calcium into our bones, a vitamin D deficiency is the likely cause of her early diagnosis of osteopenia. Many people are wondering if Paltrow’s strict dieting habits (she is an 11-year follower of the macrobiotic diet) could be partially responsible for her current condition. She has now been put on prescription strength vitamin D to hopefully aid in her calcium absorption and prevent the onset of osteoporosis.
What is even more important than sunscreen and eating healthy in the summer?
Answer: Staying hydrated.
Our bodies are made up of about 65% water, and in the summer we are constantly being depleted of it. On a hot summer day, it doesn’t take long for dehydration to set in, and that can quickly become dangerous (even deadly).
Ironically, the summer is also a time when people are less likely to realize they are becoming dehydrated. We find ourselves frolicking on the beach or enjoying a day at the amusement park, and we totally forget about stopping to hydrate.
The best way to prevent yourself and family from suffering the harmful effects of dehydration is to plan ahead, especially if you will be away from your home.
Here’s what I do when I’m planning a day at the beach with my kids…
Most of the time when we read about diet and weight-loss success stories, we hear how “easy” it was and how “anyone” can do it. But the reality is, for most of us, it’s far from easy. In fact sometimes it’s so not easy that we just give up. Believe me, I get it. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve worked hard at eating healthy or exercising with little to no results.
Of course, I’m still inspired when I hear success stories of women like Valerie Bertinelli and Marie Osmond. But what do we do when we are giving it all we got, and we are still not getting the results we’re looking for?
Should we throw in the towel? Consider ourselves a failure? Give up?
No, absolutely not.
Rather than looking at where we’ve gone wrong and just giving-up, it’s time to look at what we’ve done right. That’s what I’ve been trying to do. Instead of focusing on the fact that I haven’t lost any weight in the last six weeks (even though I’ve been eating healthy), I’m trying to focus on the positive…And you can do it too.
For me, it all started in May, when I decided to get serious about making healthy lifestyle changes. Not just because I want to lose weight, but also because I know it will make a difference in my overall health and wellness. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make all the changes I wanted to over night, but I did want to make the commitment to gradually eliminate the unhealthy foods from my diet, while incorporating more nutritious foods.
And now I find myself in the classic half-full or half-empty mark in my healthy eating plan. I can choose to see my plan as half-empty, because I haven’t even lost one pound yet. Or I can choose to see my plan as half-full, because I have had success in eating healthier foods and avoiding sugar. In other words, I can choose to feel good about myself, or choose to feel like a failure. It’s totally up to me. And I’ve decided to try something new, and “choose” to feel good about myself and take a closer look at all the ways I’ve been successful.
Are there summer foods and drinks that can help you stick to your diet and fitness plan? Yes.
The summer is a great time for eating healthy, you just need to remember two things.
One…Which foods are already healthy?
And two…What foods can you make healthier?
Here are some of my favorite healthy foods that might even help you lose some weight and stick to your diet this summer.
Let’s start with keeping cool and well hydrated.
Water.
It’s so important to always stay hydrated and drink enough water (especially in the summer). Here are five ways to make water more palatable and festive for hot summer days.
Peel cucumbers and slice them into a pitcher of cold water.
Add slices of lemon and lime to a glass of ice water.
Add strawberries, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, or cherries to a pitcher of ice water.
Add frozen fruit to a pitcher or glass of water instead of ice-cubes.
Add fresh mint to a glass of cold water.
When water just isn’t enough.
Fruit smoothies are delicious and you can easily make them with any of your favorite fruits. Here are some low-calorie smoothie recipes.
100% fruit juice with additional slices of fruit (instead of ice-cubes use frozen fruit).
Iced green tea with a slice of lemon or fresh mint leaves.
Here are some of my favorite healthy summer foods and how I like to prepare them.
Did you know that getting enough sleep is as important to good health as nutrition and exercise? It’s true. And if you’re not getting enough sleep, you may be putting both your emotional and physical health at risk.
Could something you’re eating be causing you sleepless nights? Are there foods that can help you have a better night’s sleep? If you’re one of the millions of people who just can’t seem to get enough sleep, maybe it’s something you’re eating (or not eating).
When it comes to food, what you DON’T eat is much more important than what you do eat.
Here are Foods and Drinks to Avoid for Better Sleep…
Always avoid large or heavy meals too close to bedtime. Digestive disturbances can interfere with sleep.
If you are prone to heart-burn, avoid spicy foods for several hours before bed.
Avoid drinking too many beverages before bedtime. The added fluids can cause you to frequently wake up through the night to use the bathroom.
Everyone knows to avoid caffeine before bed because it’s a stimulant. But, did you know that you should avoid caffeine for at least six to eight hours before bed? It takes that long for the stimulant effects to be eliminated from the body.
You may think that alcohol will help you sleep because it initially makes you feel tired. However, alcohol prevents the body from entering deeper stages of sleep, and can cause you to not sleep through the night.
If certain foods should be avoided for better sleep, are there foods that can actually help you sleep? This is a little more complicated, but there were three foods that I came across over and over while searching this topic.
What role does stress play in your life? Sadly, these days, stress is not a rare event for most of us. Personally, I’m not sure I can even remember the last time I had a totally stress-free day. Can you?
Stress isn’t always a bad thing, but when stress becomes chronic it can suppress the immune system, cause high blood pressure, and even increase the risk of stroke and heart attack. For this reason, it’s extremely important to learn how to recognize the warning signs of unhealthy levels of stress. We need to recognize when stress is becoming a problem, before it has a chance to cause harmful physical and mental complications.
Would you know if your stress level was becoming unhealthy? Here are some of the symptoms you may experience if you’re suffering with chronic stress…
Muscle tension
Physical weakness
Poor memory
Sweaty hands
Fear
Confusion
Inability to relax
Constant worry
Shortness of breath
Palpitations
Upset stomach
Poor concentration
When these symptoms are accompanied by ongoing stress, it’s time to consult with a medical professional.
[I know there are many people that think it's a sign of weakness to admit that stress, anxiety, or depression is getting the better of them...But the truth is, it's a sign of strength. It takes a courageous person to recognize when it's time to reach out for help.]
Celebrating Women Surviving, Inspiring and Blogging with Cancer
In the United States their are over 11 million people surviving cancer, and chances are you even know one of them. In June we celebrate those cancer survivors. This post will highlight the many women who are surviving and blogging cancer. These are women with extraordinary strength, who inspire us all to live each day to our fullest. I hope you’ll take some time to check out their blogs and their stories of survival. And if you know a woman blogging through cancer, please take a minute to leave their link in comments.
Is it possible to make fitness fun? I think that depends on whether or not you want to have fun. Let’s face it, if you’re not enjoying your workout, you’re going to find excuses not to do it. But working out doesn’t have to be a drag, we all have the power to make our workouts fun. It’s a choice, if you want to make your workout more fun and exciting, take some time to think about ways you can do that.
Thankfully, we are all wonderfully different, and what’s fun for me, might not be fun to you. That’s why the smartest way to make fitness fun, is to make it your own. If you love the outdoors and wonder why you hate your time on the treadmill, maybe you should try taking a walk on the beach or in a park instead. Do you hate to workout because it’s the only time during the day you can catch-up on your favorite television shows? Well, instead of being a couch potato, get a piece of exercise equipment that you can put in front of the television. Watch your shows and burn calories at the same time.
What ever reason you have for not being able to enjoy your workout, take some time to think of ways to make it more fun for yourself. Here are some tips I have for making fitness fun…
Last week I wrote about my sleep troubles, and how I hope to overcome them by the end of the summer. In that post I gave many tips that I hope will help me (and anyone else suffering with sleep deprivation) to get more sleep. Some of those tips are going to be easy for me, and others are going to be more difficult, but I plan on conquering this. As someone who lives with chronic medical problems, I know how important sleep is for my overall wellness (and I want to be as well as I can be).
At this time, my sleep issues are just about trying to get a little more of it. It’s not to the point that I’m unable to function. But if it did get to that point, I wouldn’t be shy about reaching out for help from my doctor or a sleep specialist.
Most of us can catch-up on our sleep when we’ve had a couple nights of not enough sleep. But it becomes much more serious when it’s ongoing — night, after night, after night. The big problems develop when we don’t get that chance to catch-up on all the lost hours of sleep.
The question then becomes…How do we know if our sleep deprivation has gotten to the point that we should seek out professional help?
Here are a few warning signs of a sleep disorder that may require a doctor or sleep specialist …
Are you one of the millions of Americans not getting enough sleep? When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep? Can you even remember?
I can remember when I stopped getting enough sleep. It was in my early twenties, when I started working night-shift as a nurse. I didn’t do it for too long (off and on for a few years), but once my body learned it could stay up all night, things would never be the same. That was well over twenty years ago. Today, I can be exhausted all day long (and I usually am), but once ten o’clock rolls around my body seems to get a second wind. And since getting to bed by 10pm is just about impossible, I find myself seeing 11pm, midnight, 1am, and if I’m lucky by 2am I’m able to fall asleep. Most nights I’m not so lucky and I manage to hit the hay around 3:30am.
We all know that it’s important to get enough sleep. But do you know why?
Too little sleep can cause:
Memory problems.
Anxiety, stress, and depression.
A weakening of the immune system.
An increase in the perception of pain.
Driving Impairment.
Weight gain or loss.
Enough is enough. I’m committed to turning my viscous cycle of sleep deprivation around by the end of the summer. Here are a few of the ways I plan on trying to do that…
How important is willpower when it comes to our ability to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle? Is it possible to change poor eating habits to healthy ones if you don’t have a lot of willpower?
My answer: The more willpower you have the easier it will be, but perfection isn’t necessary.
No one wants to admit that they lack willpower or self-control, but the truth is, none of us has an unlimited supply. Some days we may have less self control than others, but that makes us normal, not imperfect.
When it comes to healthy living, a healthy dose of willpower is helpful. The good thing is, once you’ve had the willpower to resist certain unhealthy choices and adapt healthy ones, willpower is needed less and less because your new choices become habit.
If you have unhealthy habits, it is possible to change them into healthy habits. They say it takes about three weeks for something to become a habit (or to unlearn a habit), so those first three weeks are when willpower is most needed. And there are things we can do to help maintain are willpower during these critical times. Here are a few tips…
May is Lupus Awareness Month, and even though it’s the end of the month, I wanted to do my part to bring more attention to this devastating disease and some of the brave women living and blogging with it.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects many more women than men. In fact, ninety percent of people who develop Lupus are women. The scary part about Lupus is that it can damage any organ in the body (including the heart, kidneys, lungs, blood, joints, and skin) causing life-threatening complications.
The most common symptoms of lupus are: extreme fatigue or exhaustion, headaches, painful or swollen joints, fever, a butterfly-shaped rash across cheeks and nose, sun- or light-sensitivity, and hair loss.
Approximately two-thirds of people with lupus will develop some type of skin complication. This often is in the form of a rash or sores, most of which will appear on sun-exposed areas, such as face, ears, neck, arms, and legs.
There is no single laboratory test that can determine whether a person does or does not have lupus. Diagnosing lupus involves analyzing the results of several lab tests that are used to monitor the immune system, along with a review of the person’s entire medical history.
Systemic lupus is the most common type of lupus. Systemic lupus can affect any organ system of the body, including the heart, kidneys, lungs, blood, joints, and skin.
In lupus, the immune system loses its ability to tell the difference between foreign substances, such as viruses or bacteria, and the body’s healthy tissue. The result is the production of auto-antibodies that attack healthy tissue.
Since many symptoms of lupus mimic those of other illnesses, lupus often can take three to five years to diagnose. Symptoms of lupus can come and go over time, which makes a definite diagnosis more difficult.
There are many courageous women living and blogging with Lupus, and May is the perfect time to check out their blogs and show them some love and support. If you know a woman blogging with Lupus please share their link in comments.
Did you know that 57.7 million Americans suffer with mental illness? That’s 1 in 4 of us. Chances are, if you’re not one of those four, you most likely know someone who is. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve had my bouts with depression and anxiety over the years. Thankfully, I always recognized when I needed to reach out for help, and when I did, I got it.
But because of the stigma associated with it, it’s not always easy for people to reach out for help. That’s why it is so important to shed light on this issue and help eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and on May 18th bloggers were encouraged to come together through a Blog Party and help bring awareness to the issue of mental health. The goal was to help educate the public, decrease stigma, and to discuss strategies for making lasting lifestyle changes to promote overall health and wellness.
Take a little time and visit some of the blogs that participated in the Mental Health Blog Party…
Did you see the headlines linking sunscreen to skin cancer? Are you feeling confused about how to protect yourself and family from the dangers of sun exposure? These stories stem from a report by the EWG (Environmental Working Group). Many of these “fear driven” headlines would lead you to believe that it might be more dangerous to use sunscreen than not. Let me assure you, it is still best to use sunscreen, but you should use it wisely.
A statement from The American Academy of Dermatology says, “scientific evidence supports the beneficial effects of sunscreen” and sunscreen is “an important tool in the fight against skin cancer.”
It seems like a real shame to me that these reports are coming out now, at the beginning of the summer season, when we should all be doing everything we can to protect ourselves and our families from the dangerous effects of the sun. We need to take every measure possible to reduce our risk for developing skin cancer, and using sunscreen is still the first line of defense.
One thing you don’t want to do is buy into claims of 50, 80, and up to 100 SPF. These claims lead consumers into a false sense of security. And many people believe that if they use these high SPF sunscreens, they can put it on once and be protected for the entire day. This is not true.
I contacted the American Cancer Society for a comment. Here is the statement they sent me, from Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, Deputy Chief Medical Officer…
Imagine how hard it would be to suffer with daily pain that can effect your entire body, unrelenting fatigue, headaches, sleep problems, along with depression and anxiety? Now try to imagine feeling this bad only to have friends, family, and even doctors tell you, “You don’t look sick!” or “It’s probably all in your head”. Sadly, this is what it’s like to be a person who suffers with Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a misunderstood, complicated, painful, chronic medical condition that affects millions of Americans, and May is devoted to bringing more awareness to it. It’s not known why, but women are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia much more often than men. Many women are not only suffering and living with Fibromyalgia but they are also blogging about it. You can learn more about this disease by reading some of the funny, frustrated, and sometimes heartbreaking posts written by these incredibly strong women. I hope you’ll take some time to check them out and show them some love.
Are you thinking you should lose a few pounds to look your best this swimsuit season? If so, now is the time to get started. Don’t worry, it’s not necessary to go on a crash diet. The best thing you can do is make healthy food choices that will contribute to weight loss.
So rather than starving yourself on fad diets, make positive changes in your eating habits to look and feel great. It’s not about trying to look like a swimsuit model, it’s about feeling good in your own skin…I’ll start by getting a bathing suit that flatters my curves, along with a nice sarong, and I’ll also try losing a few pounds.
If you’re like me, and you want to shed a few pounds before getting in your swimsuit this summer – Here are ten dieting tips that might help you…
1. Make fruits and vegetables a big part of your diet.
Try to eat at least two servings of fruits or vegetables with each meal.
If you’re not a big fan of vegetables, ease your way into them. Start with one serving a day, and work your way up from their. If you hate vegetables, try doctoring them up a bit with cheese, sauces, or dips.
For a quick healthy snack – Dip raw carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, or other vegetables into your favorite low calorie salad dressing. It helps if you keep a stash of fresh vegetables cleaned, cut, and ready to eat in your frig at all times. In a pinch, buy bags of ready-to-eat cut vegetables (they even make carrots that are cut to the size and shape of chips).
When possible, eat an all veggie lunch.
Always have several bags of frozen vegetables and frozen fruit on hand.
Are you an emotional eater? If it’s any consolation, you’re not alone. I have to confess…I am an emotional eater. When I’m upset I eat. When I’m stressed I eat. When I’m worried I eat. And let’s be clear, these are the times I have uncontrollable urges to eat junk (candy, cookies, ice cream), all the stuff I know is bad for me. I could be eating healthy for months, then something upsets me, and it’s all over.
The crazy thing about being an emotional eater is that you know that eating isn’t going to make what you’re upset about any better, but you do it anyway. In fact, you know that eating the junk that you’re craving is actually going to contribute to making you feel worse, but you do it anyway. You even know that once you start it’s going to become a vicious cycle of craving, eating, and then feeling guilty about it. Even so, you still do it. Isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result? Maybe so, but I still try not to be too hard on myself when this happens to me. I sometimes think it’s worse when I try to fight the urge to eat through my emotions, it just seems to make my cravings even stronger.
Emotional eating is something we do in an attempt to suppress negative feelings in our life. There are many triggers that accompany emotional eating, here are a few…
Relationship or marital problems.
Financial worries
Unemployment
Health problems of your own or family member.
Stress at work.
Bad weather
Fatigue or lack of sleep.
So what’s an emotional eater to do? This is what I try to do…
Are you tired and sluggish all the time? If so, it could be something you’re eating (or not eating). Knowing what foods can help keep your energy up might be just what you need to get through your busy day. Before we talk about what food are best, lets take a quick look at what you should try to avoid…
Stay away from “quick-fix” foods that contain a lot of sugar or caffeine (like candy bars, soda, and coffee). Although these may give you a quick spike in your energy level, that energy will rapidly bottom out leaving you feeling even more lethargic.
Energy drinks are particularly bad because of their high levels of caffeine and sugar. Energy drinks may also cause…
Nervousness
Irritability
Insomnia
Rapid Heart Rate
Increased Blood Pressure
Consuming high levels of salt may also contribute to a sluggish feeling.
I know many people don’t think our government has any business telling us what we can and can not eat. Until recently, I might have even agreed. But the problem of obesity is reaching epidemic proportions, and there’s no signs of it getting any better on it’s own. More and more evidence is pointing to the dangers associated with all the high fat, high sugar, and processed foods we are eating. And with such a limited amount of healthy food available to the consumer (at least compared to unhealthy foods), its virtually impossible to suggest that people have a “choice” when it comes to avoiding trans fats and processed foods.
These foods are not just making us fat, these foods are killing us. The CDC estimates that more than 300,000 Americans die each year from obesity-related complications…Doesn’t our government bare some responsibility in protecting the lives of its citizens?
It seems we are long past telling people to simply avoid these unhealthy foods, for so many people that is just not an option. To make matters worse, it’s now believed that junk food can be as addicting as cocaine.
What can be done?
I don’t think there is one way to fix this problem, but I do think that something needs to be done. Here is a graph showing preventable causes of death…
Obesity isn’t a problem that can be solved with a one-size-fits-all solution. But there are things our government could do that would help.
Although controversial, some say that taxing junk food is the answer. But during a recession it’s hard to justify increasing the cost of food (even if it is junk). I think taxing junk food could be a good idea, as long as it’s done in conjunction with making healthy foods more available and affordable. And what about taxing the manufacturers producing this junk too? It surely couldn’t hurt to make selling junk food less profitable.
I also think more regulations on processed and fast foods would be beneficial. Eliminating trans fats is a great start, but lowering the acceptable amounts of sodium and sugar being used by manufacturers is also very important. We have to stop allowing manufacturers to sell products that are essentially killing consumers.
Find out what BlogHer was a guest on Oprah, who played cards with Brad Pitt, and who had their first kiss with Scott Baio. HINT: One of them was me.
In the spirit of their newly launched Fun and Games section, BlogHer has cooked up a Scavenger Hunt using some of your jaw-dropping profile facts. Playing is fun and easy, and we’re giving away cash prizes, natch.
Here’s how it works:
Read (and marvel!) at each fun fact about a BlogHer.
Tell us which amazing BlogHer the fact belongs to. We make it easy by giving you just two links to BlogHer profiles. Follow each link, read both surprising facts and then answer (links will open in a new window, so you won’t lose your place on the entry form).
If you score 100 percent correct answers, you’ll be entered in a random drawing to win one of ten $100 Visa gift cards. Late to the game? No worries, we’re leaving this open until Tuesday, April 20th, at 5 p.m. Pacific. Read the official rules here.
National Public Health Week: Can We Become A Healthier Nation?
I think many people living in the United States would be surprised to know that we are not one of healthiest nations in the world. Not even close.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) would like to change that, but they can’t do it alone. So during the first week of April, the APHA would like to bring more awareness to public health, and offer ways that we can all help this country become a healthy nation.
While the United States spends more on health care than any other nation in the world, it lags behind many developed nations in important health measures. Compared with other developed nations, the United States has relatively low life expectancy, high infant mortality rates, a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and persistent health inequities.
This is simply unacceptable. Since the early 1900s, APHA has vigorously promoted the need for universal health care coverage. However, while universal access to health care is vital to improving the health of our nation, it is just one element of reforming our health system. In order to more fully and effectively achieve a healthier nation we need to ensure the underlying social and economic conditions that allow individuals and communities to be healthy.
We must shift from a nation solely focused on treating individual illness to one that also promotes population-based health services that encourage preventive and early intervention practices.
What do you think? Can we become a healthier nation? Would you be willing to help us get there?
My name is Catherine Morgan...I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. I'm also a contributing editor for BlogHer Health & Wellness.
Welcome to my blog...I write a little bit of everything with an emphasis on healthy living, inspiration, nutrition, and health news. I hope you'll find topics that interest you here, and I would love to know what you think in comments. Thanks for stopping by.
