Archive for the ‘Weight Loss’ Category

Replacing Sodas and Sweetened Beverages with Diabetes-Friendly Drinks

Sunday, March 4th, 2012

For some people, the idea of skipping your morning pick-me-up Dr. Pepper or missing out on your SoBe fruit punch with lunch is a devastating idea. But you can do this!

Slowly cutting back and replacing your sugary drinks with better alternatives can be such a smooth transition, you won’t even notice!

Follow this step by step guide to slash out that liquid candy that you know is hurting your body and you’ll start to notice several benefits: much better blood sugar control; losing weight from cutting out those liquid calories; improved energy; better teeth and gum health; and a feeling of accomplishment for doing something healthy for your body.

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Wednesday Wellness Tip: Lose Weight Safely with Diabetes

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

For many years now, losing weight has been one of the top 10 New Year’s Resolutions among other goals such as get a better education, drink less alcohol, get out of debt and stop smoking.

For people living with diabetes, getting to a healthy weight is a great New Year’s resolution as long as you go about it in a healthy manner. It is also important to know a few important details about losing weight with diabetes.

Here you’ll find some helpful hints to make sure you keep your blood sugar level within a healthy range while you get to the best weight for your body.

I wonder how many people make this same resolution each year because they gain back the weight they lost at the beginning of the year? Don’t fall into line with that crowd.

It is not healthy for your body weight to fluctuate and it is not good for your mental health either. Here are some tips to help you be successful in accomplishing this goal but then to also maintain your accomplishment.

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Study Supports More Protein, Fewer Refined Carbs: Manage Blood Sugar and Keep Weight Off

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

Now, don’t let the title confuse you! There are two key principles here that you need to understand before you run out the door to a steakhouse.

Let’s just clarify the difference between refined carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. The classification depends on the chemical structure of the food, and how quickly the sugar is digested and absorbed.

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Weight Loss and Weight Management: No Better Day than Today

Friday, November 18th, 2011

With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the string of holiday parties and events soon to follow, I want to give a word of encouragement for those of you that are starting to worry about your waistline.

You can be successful in weight loss or weight management during these exciting yet food-filled weeks to come!

If you just started thinking about losing weight.

If you have lost weight recently and don’t want to gain it back.

If you are dreading the pounds you think you’ll gain.

Even if you don’t care about your weight right now. Don’t let a few parties side-track you. In the grand scheme of your life, the holidays of 2010 are quite small in comparison.

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The Holidays Begin: Don’t Fall into the Holiday Feast or Famine Diet

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

Halloween just passed by and Thanksgiving, holiday parties, Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Years are hot on its heels. Don’t get lured into the feast and famine mentality that can come with the food heavy parties and famines in between to “make up for it.” This up and down cycle is not good for your blood sugars, your weight, your metabolism or your mental health.

Start out this holiday season with the right mentality and game plan to maneuver through the parties, the holiday stress, and the ever-present temptations without high highs, dangerous lows, and an expanding waste line. You know it’s true.

The fad diets, the short starvation diets, the detox diets, the low carb diets, the liquid diets. None of them work long-term. None of them are healthy. And most of them make you feel terrible.

Set your mind to it now; plan a steady and healthy diet with enough flexibility that let’s you feel like it really is Christmas.

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Manage Your Weight: Substitute Recipe Ingredients Like a Pro

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

Do you find your good nutrition intentions thwarted by recipe ingredients like shortening, whole milk, butter, cream, and sugar? Cooking at home not only can save calories and money, it empowers you to know exactly what is going into your food. So don’t get frustrated by choosing a seemingly healthy recipe only to find out that it is not as wholesome as you thought. All you need are a few good substitutions in your back pocket to be the healthy, master chef or baker.

Here is a list of baking substitutions that will expand your recipe index. You can choose those recipes that you love and make them better for you with a few switches and swaps.

  • Use non-hydrogenated oils or trans-fat free margarines instead of butter 
  • Use evaporated skim milk instead of heavy cream
  • Replace half the amount of cooking oil in a recipe with an equal amount of applesauce or pureed prunes or figs.
  • Swap half the amount of white flour for whole wheat flour
  • Grease your baking pans, molds, and sheets with cooking spray instead of butter and flour
  • Safely cut the original amount of sugar in half
    • If you like to use sugar substitutes, follow the label instructions for substitutions
  • Replace shortening with the same amount of butter
  • Cut the fat in half and replace the difference with buttermilk in quick breads
  • Use 2 egg whites in place of one whole egg
  • For recipes that use several eggs, swap half the number of eggs for the equivalent in egg substitute
  • Cut the amount of fruits or nuts in half and add to the top of cakes or breads instead of mixing in
  • Use skim milk or 1 percent over whole milk
  • Swap 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder for an ounce of unsweetened chocolate
  • Use non, fat plain yogurt or non-fat sour cream instead of regular sour cream
  • Use cake flour instead of white flour for crusts. This allows you to cut back on the butter slightly.
  • Cut out at least some of the salt
  • Use spices like cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg or citrus zest to replace flavors
  • Replace cream cheese with skim ricotta cheese or half the cream cheese with low fat cream cheese
  • Whipped cream can be totally replaced by chilling a can of evaporated milk  for 12 hours and adding 1 teaspoon lemon juice before whipping until stiff.
  • Evaporated milk in a recipe can be switched for evaporated skim milk

What are your best healthy substitutions and what have you successfully swapped out? Tell us your secrets and your recipes.

Remember, just because you are able to cut out some fat and sugar, does not mean that you get to have more. Portion size is just as important! Have fun concocting and making small changes to improve your health!

Next time, we’ll dish over some great cooking substitutions.

Aerobic Fitness and Anaerobic Exercise: What are They and How Can They Help Your Diabetes?

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

When you hear the word aerobic exercise do you think about leotards and high kicks?

Or when you think about “lifting weights,” do you picture strong men pulling cars?

For someone that is not very familiar with the more scientific aspects of aerobic and anaerobic exercise, you might have comical ideas of the classic 1980s aerobics class instructor (a la Jane Fonda work out videos) and the classic football player throwing around weights and grunting.

That’s ok! If you’ve never heard what the differences are and what those words actually mean, you can learn right now!

Here are some basics that will help you understand the differences so you’ll be able to choose the right exercises for you.

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Lunch Packing 101: How to Create a Healthy and Tasty Lunch to Go

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Prepare Your Own Lunch to Lose Weight and Control Blood Sugars

First, let’s review your motivation to pack a lunch. Remembering just how much you’ll benefit will help you to set aside the time to prepare your lunch ahead of time.

  • Better calorie control
  • Pre-planned carbohydrates
  • Less temptation
  • Save money
  • More time during your lunch break
  • Motivation in the middle of the day to stay healthy
  • Better energy in the afternoon

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Wednesday Wellness Tip: Pack Your Lunch

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Pack Your Lunch to Lose Weight and to Keep Your Blood Sugar Steady

With a fast food joint on every corner and lunch deals in tons of restaurants, it is quite easy to plan to “grab some lunch” each day. Did you know that eating out at a restaurant adds an average of 500 extra calories to what you would have eaten if you prepared your meal? It seems hard to believe but take a second to think about it.

What do you add to meals that wouldn’t sitting at your kitchen table? What is the size of your plates at home versus the huge portions in restaurants and fast food places?

Do you know just how much mayonnaise or butter is slathered on that meal you’re buying? How about those extras you don’t have at home like the chips, the salad bar muffins, the free soft serve yogurt, the fries, the cokes?

It all adds up before you can blink.

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Wednesday Wellness Tip: Walking Your Way to Better Health

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Here is a walking program for beginners or expert walkers to get you moving and improving your health!

Walking exercise improves glucose control and cardiovascular fitness for heart health, and it helps with weight control.

To start, just get up and go! Walk 5-10 minutes at an easy pace. As that gets easier, add 5-10 minutes each week until you are able to walk 30 minutes without stopping.

Then start this program, walking each week’s target minutes at least 3-5 days a week. And remember, HAVE FUN!

 
 

Target Heart Rate

Maximum Heart Rate (beats per minute) = 220 – your current age

Walking rate = 60-70 % of Maximum Heart Rate

Example for 50 year old: 220 – 50 years = 170 bpm (that’s your max heart rate)

60 % of 170 bpm is 102 bpm and 70% of 170 bpm is 119

So you would want your heart to beat 102-119 beats per minute during the “target heart rate/brisk walking” minutes.

 

How to Check Your Heart Rate:

Find your pulse with two fingers either on your inside wrist or neck.

For 1 minute, count the number of pulses you feel.

The total number of pulses in exactly 1 minute is your current heart rate.

 

Find more information about starting a walking program with this great presentation from dLife.