Total Health Work

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Your mother always told you that you needed to eat your vegetables if you wanted to grow up to be strong and healthy.  Since then, we’ve been inundated with a barrage of information from every source imaginable that she was right.  But does that mean that we’re follow our mother’s advice (and the advice of every health expert on the planet)?

According to both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medicine report, the answer is no.  According to recent research, only about 25% of Americans are getting the minimum recommended daily servings of fruits or vegetables. (Only 20% are getting getting both.)

It only takes one cup of raw or cooked vegetables or two leafy greens to count as a serving.  So do one cup of rar friut or a quarter-cup of dried fruit That doesn’t seem like much, but apparently, the majority of Americans think it is.  Or at least their eating habits have avoided even this minimum.

So what does this look like?

- 1 small apple

- 1 large orange

- 1 small wedge of watermelon

- 8 large strawberries

- 1 large bell pepper

- 2 stalks of celery

- 12 baby carrots

- 1 large ear of corn

One thing that I noticed while going over this list was that french fries and donuts were not listed. (Bummer!)

If you’re not sure how many servings of fruits and vegetables you should be eating, you can to to www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov to calculate the number of servings that are right for you.

Listen to your mother.  You’ll be healthier and you’ll make her happy.

Stay Healthy

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Starting the New Year has always been a favorite time for people to start a new diet.  Which can be good.  But many, if not most, of the fad diets making the rounds in the tabloids and latest lose-weight-fast scam are not only ineffective, but often dangerous as well.

There are approximately 127 million adults in the United States who are overweight.  Sixty million of these are considered to be obese and nine million classified as "severely obese" by the American Obesity Association.  That’s a total of over one-third of the US population.

With these scales continuing to tip away from a healthy lifestyle, it seems ironic that Americans are as obsessed with diets as they are with food.  The intent is in the right place, but the solution is often misguided.

Our culture of instant gratification, with our microwave ovens, drive-thru windows, and multiple remote controls for everything from the television to our ceiling fans, has produced an expectation of immediate results for everything in our lives.  This impatience is especially harmful with applied to areas affecting our health.

Many of the fad diets are popular because of their "immediate" results.  What most people don’t realize is that the majority of weight being shed is the result of water and lean muscle, not body fat.

In addition, most people who lose weight on these diets not only end up regaining the weight lost through the diet, but actually end up gaining a few pounds on the back end. (yes, the pun is intentional … what can I say.)

This "yo-yo" dieting has been connected with shorter life spans.  In spite of the dangers, however, thousands will jump on the next quick-fix diet and start popping pills to shed the holiday pounds as soon as the new year rolls in.

Regrettably, there is no magic pill or miracle diet that works overnight.  There are, however, some amazingly simple, but powerful lifestyle choices that can help you to lose pounds permanently while improving your health.  And you don’t have to starve yourself to get great results.

One program that helps to achieve this is called "Fat Loss 4 Idiots."  I hate the name and their website is pretty goofy, but their program is effective while maintaining a healthy perspective.

So as the new year begins, be smart in the choices you make to stay healthy.  If you want to lose a few pounds and start getting back in shape, take the long route and make it a lifestyle change instead of a three-week fad.  You’ll be happier with the results and stay healthier in the process.

Stay Healthy

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Tags: diet, dieting, fad diet, fat, lose weight, obsesity, shed pounds, weight loss