Quote of the Week

Victory requires payment made in advance

Coming Soon: More Preventative Care

It seems like everywhere I've turned over the past couple of weeks there's been so much buzz about preventative care. And I like it! It's really staggering what people pay to cover up the damage they've done. I know one of the reasons I'm so preventative in my own lifestyle is because I'm a worry wart. I've always been worried something bad will happen and it normally does if I'm not too careful....so I take the less-risky of the two roads (when I'm on good behavior).

There's just some crazy statistics out there that's recently caught my eye and I couldn't resist sharing...here's the mind-boggling numbers:

1. “Studies have shown that changing lifestyle could prevent at least 90 percent of all heart disease. Thus, the disease that accounts for more premature deaths and costs Americans more than any other illness is almost completely preventable, and even reversible, simply by changing lifestyle.” -Dr. Dean Ornish

2. We spend a staggering $2.3 trillion annually on health care – 16.5 percent of our GDP and far more than any other country spends on health care – yet the World Health Organization ranks U.S. health care only 37th among nations, on par with Serbia.

3. The problem is that we have systematically neglected wellness and disease prevention. Currently in the United States, 95 percent of every health care dollar is spent on treating illnesses and conditions after they occur. But we spend peanuts on prevention.

4. Consider this: Right now, some 75 percent of health care costs are accounted for by heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and obesity. What these five diseases and conditions have in common is that they are largely preventable and even reversible by changes in nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20090625/ts_ynews/ynews_ts408

5. Sixty-four percent are either overweight or obese. The figures are stunning: 1 out of every 3 Americans born after 2000 and 1 out of every 2 minority Americans will contract early-onset diabetes. Twenty percent of healthcare costs are on diabetes, and that’s going to skyrocket. We spend less of our paychecks on food than at any point in history. When I was a kid, 18 percent of our income was spent on food. Today it’s a little over 9 percent. We spent something like 5 percent of our income on healthcare; today we spend 18 percent.

Source: http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2009/06/21/robert_kenner_discusses__food_inc/?page=1

Here's the deal. By no means do I have it altogether...it's always going to be a "work in progress" for Mandy to "get it together" but that's okay with me. I'm happy with myself as long as I know I'm heading in the right direction with the intent that I might not ever get there.

Do something different this week. Try doing or eating something you've not tried before. Spice up your life and get out of the monotony of sameness. Don't be one of the statistics above, create a healthier you!

Quote of the Week

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.”

—Anne Lamott

10 Nutritional Mistakes Smart People Make

1. Skipping breakfast. Experts agree–skipping breakfast just means you’ll be hungrier later, which can make it more difficult to control both your diet and your weight.


2. Not eating before a workout. Providing the body with food for energy allows for a better, more productive exercise session. Try eating a pre-workout meal consisting of carbs, a little fat and some protein.

3. Waiting too long after exercise to eat. One of the best things you can do to prepare for your next workout is eat a small meal that includes both carbohydrates and protein within two hours of your last session.


4. Replacing meals with energy bars or replacement drinks. Many energy bars offer little more nutrition than your average candy bar and replacement drinks may lack adequate fiber. There’s really no substitute for healthy whole foods.

5. Eating too much protein and not enough carbs. The current popularity of low-carb diets has many people trying to fuel their workouts with poultry instead of pasta. But carbohydrates are essential to effective workouts.


6. Trusting the accuracy of dietary supplement labels and claims. Because the supplement industry remains largely unregulated, manufacturers can make unproven and untested claims about their products. Do your homework before putting anything into your body.

7. Not consuming the right amount of calories for the amount of activity you do (i.e., too many or too few). Your caloric intake should be sufficient to support your active lifestyle, but not so abundant that weight control becomes a challenge.


8. Believing that exercise means you can eat whatever you want. Whether you exercise a little or a lot, you still need to follow a healthy, balanced diet and watch you portion sizes.

9. Not drinking the right amount of fluids. Dehydration can be a serious problem, especially if you exercise in hot, humid environments. Drinking fluids before, during and after exercise will help you maintain adequate hydration levels.


10. Jumping on the latest diet craze in search of that elusive “edge.” It’s tempting to believe there is some magic formula out there that will dramatically improve our performance or lose weight, but the best approach is to stick to the basics and follow a healthy, balanced diet.

Know what you're drinking!

I have this huge issue with asp.ar.tame. I can't stand cry.stal light, die.t sod.as and anything with the stuff in it.

If you're addicted to drinks with this stuff in it, please take a minute to understand what you're consuming.

Do your body a favor and read up on the nutritional benefit it's getting from the diet sodas you're consuming.

http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/dangers.htm

I bet you didn't know meth.anol (aka wood alcohol/poison) is in asperta.me, how can that be healthy?!

Quote of the Week

“Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.”

—Swami Sivananda

Continuing Education on YOU

A couple of weeks ago I listened to a teleclass on, the "Power of You" by Todd Durkin. Todd's a guru in the fitness world, and one of the great "trainer of trainers." Take a peek into my world and listen to some very inspirational information that I think could absolutely change the way you live.

Here's some tidbits on what you'll get from the class:
- How you can quickly shed those 10-15 lbs of unwanted weight
- What to eat, when to eat it, and why to eat it
- Top 5 exercises that you MUST do to ignite your metabolism and maximize results
- The top 5 foods that you MUST include in your nutrition plan
- Why a hormone imbalance could be keeping you overweight and what to do about it
- 3 creative ways to rejuvenate and re-energize yourself
- 3 things you MUST do if you are in pain, your joints ache, and you don't feel the swagger you used to
- The absolute 1 thing that you MUST do to reach success & significance in any area of your life

Click here to listen but please note the first 9 minutes are blank...skip forward to the message!

F.ood, In.c. Movie

I can't wait to see this movie! Check out the trailer and I think you'll agree!

Addiction

Function: noun
1 : the quality or state of being addicted
2 : compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

Sugar addiction is a term for the situation where individuals crave sugar-laden sweet foods and find it extremely difficult if not impossible to control their intake. The attraction to sugar had in the past been considered merely psychological dependence, but recent research has shown that withdrawal symptoms occur during periods of abstinence, a key element of physical dependence.

Yup....this is me. Even with the sweet a week guidelines if full effect I still crave sugary things all the time. It's just good to have a label now!

Quote of the Week

"The difference in winning and losing is most often... not quitting."

-- Walt Disney

Focus on the Solution

There are studies, testimonials and endless reasons why food journaling is a key component in losing weight. Think about it if you aren't already food journaling and your goals is to lose weight, why haven't you started? Does the thought sound overwhelming and too time consuming? Can you just think of a million reasons why it's just not for you? How about this....

Instead of thinking up every excuse in the book of why you can't do something and then focusing all your energy on the barriers that stand in your way of the goal, why not try thinking about all the ways you can overcome the barriers? Focus your energy on making it happen, instead of why it's not happening for you.

I am the only person in control of my life. If someone wrongs me, says something negative or rude, the only control I have is how I react. I decided a long time ago that nothing would stand in my way if I wanted something bad enough. After that was established I decided I needed to make a caculated plan to get what I want (just ask my husband). It's worked most every time!

Still not convinced you want to try food journaling? Click here to read what other's are saying about it. It's not just me that finds food journaling key!

Quote of the Week

"The more uncomfortable I find something, the more I need to do it. Comfort is a poor teacher." -Ed Chasteen