Overweight and Obesity - Can You Be Healthy If You Are Overweight?

It is a common idea if you are overweight or obese, you must be unhealthy as well. While there is a good reason behind this, it is not always the case. There are indeed exceptions, which means even if you are above a healthy weight, you can still be healthy: up to an extent, of course.

First, let us examine why there is a relationship between being overweight and being unhealthy. Usually, having a high body fat percentage is a serious complication on its own. The body is simply not able to function optimally when body fat becomes excessive... plaque builds up within blood vessels,

blood sugar rises, cardiovascular health degrades, and

vital organs like the heart and kidneys are affected.

Even liver function can be impaired, as it is forced to sustain greater stress.

Essentially, excess body fat is chronically taxing on the body. Not to mention it can facilitate the development of Type 2 diabetes, which is a corrosive disease by itself.

But... even if you are overweight, it does not mean you also have to be unhealthy.

Ideally, you will do what is necessary to lose weight and improve your health. Your well-being will benefit from fighting to return to a healthy weight.

That said, weight loss is not something you will be successful with in a short period. It could take many months. Perhaps even a year or two for you to reach your ideal weight and maintain it. It is important not to focus too much on these details. Progress is not linear, so it is hard to estimate the time commitment lying ahead of you. Not that it ultimately matters, anyway. What is crucial is to adopt the habits and changes to start to improve your condition immediately.

Don't worry about how long it will take for you to lose weight, or even if you'll ever reach your intended goal. You can get there eventually. In the meantime, however, you ought to focus on actionable plans for your health that you can immediately set in motion.

These plans will get your health on track even if you are still overweight...

First and foremost comes a healthy diet. Do not underestimate the benefits of healthy eating and the benefit it can have on your well-being. Cooking more and eating fewer processed meals is a great start.

Secondly, you can get physically active, or add to your current routine if it is lacking. Be honest with yourself. Exercise on its own will make a significant difference - there is such a thing as being "fat and fit."

Lastly, finishing touches include... cutting down on alcohol, getting more sleep, and eliminating stress from your life as much as you can.

You should know there is no harm in being overweight and unfit. The problem occurs when you refuse to change your ways when you are aware that you must.

Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets.

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Stress: Is Meditation a Viable Alternative to Medications?

One of the biggest health concerns American adults face is stress.

 There's tons of research available that shows how damaging stress can be for your physical and mental health. Using stress management techniques is key to reducing your chances of developing ailments, such as depression, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. These diseases are indirectly related, since stress causes most people to overeat unhealthy foods. When you eat too much toxic foods, diseases like cancer can form. At this point, it would be best to obtain the services of a naturopathic oncologist.

You'll quickly learn that the best alternative cancer treatment is prevention. If you can minimize your chances of stress, you can in turn reduce your risk of developing related diseases. This is why it's recommended that you engage in stress-reducing activities, such as meditation.

Can Meditation Really Help Reduce Stress?

When you think of someone meditating, what likely comes to mind is someone sitting down with their legs crossed and their eyes closed. Some even meditate while lying down. However, this is only one way of practicing meditation. There's another concept called mindfulness meditation and it has shown to help lower stress.

What is Mindfulness Meditation?

Practicing mindfulness meditation is simple. All you're doing is living in the now, which means keeping your mind focused on the present only. You'll find that majority of one's stress stems from thoughts of the past and future. If you're at work thinking about the argument you had the night before or worrying about an upcoming event you have to plan for, then you're not mindful of the present.

These type of thoughts are distracting and only build up your stress levels. The key is to be mindful of the present, but without judgment. Studies show that those who learn how to effectively meditate in this manner are able to lower their stress levels. This was determined by measuring the stress hormone called ACTH, as well a pro-inflammatory cytokines (both of which were reduced).

Research shows inflammation is linked to disease, including cancer. Allowing your body to become toxic with stress hormones is only increasing your chances of this illness. You can consult with a naturopathic oncologist at alternative cancer treatments centers to learn preventive methods you can implement today.

But is it a Replacement for Medication?

This is the million dollar question, especially since millions of people are prescribed medications each day. Any chance you have of eliminating a prescription drug is a good thing. Studies show that this type of meditating can actually replace the need for pain medications. In the research, the participants who practiced it witnessed a 57 percent reduction in pain discomfort and 40 percent decrease in pain intensity.

This alone should convince people of the power of meditation. You can learn more about improving your lifestyle from a naturopathic oncologist, who also specializes in treatments like detoxification, IV vitamin therapy and chelation therapy.

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Weight Loss Plans For Women Over 40

This is something that all weight plans for women over 40 need to keep in mind. No matter what diet plan you as a woman are following, research has shown that keeping a detailed food diary, a record of everything you eat, helps keep motivation positive and can quickly help you point out problem areas in your diet.

Maintaining a food journal while you are losing weight and for a full year after you reach your target weight helps keep the pounds off. Just knowing that you will be honestly writing down every bite you take can help curb overeating or eating unhealthy foods. There is no point in cheating in your food journal; its function is to help you maintain healthy weight loss so you will only be cheating yourself.

To make tracking food intake a fun project, start by finding an appealing blank diary or notebook for recording your food consumption. Pick something that you'll enjoy seeing several times a day. You can buy a special pen to use, something with an unusual design or ink color. Just for fun, you can use different ink colors for each day of the week. You'll be using your food diary multiple times each day so make it a pleasant experience!

Then plan how you'll record each meal and snack. The point is to not only write everything down, but to do it in a way that is easy to go back and read. This way you can quickly spot trends that are enhancing weight loss or foods that are blocking progress.

Many people like to keep a corresponding exercise journal, recording activities and length of time. It is a proven fact that weight loss occurs when calorie intake is less than calorie expenditure. That's the only way to really shed those extra pounds! Research confirms that calorie output has to be greater than calorie intake for lasting weight loss. So, keeping track of both food intake and exercise only makes sense.

If you would like, you can keep tack of calories using the many calorie charts for various foods. Although some experts insist on recording calories, others say focusing only on calories isn't the wisest activity. Portion size is another important factor. Simply cutting down the size of the portion is one of the easiest ways to lose weight. You are still eating many of the foods you enjoy, just smaller amounts of them, cutting calories by cutting portion size. Again, some advise weighing or measuring portions, others suggest using smaller plates and bowls so you will naturally cut portion sizes to match the size of your dinnerware.

You can include pictures of yourself and a weigh in every month to track your progress. Fill your food journal with inspirational quotes or anything that will help you maintain positive motivation. Make it beautiful, something to be as proud of as your new, slimmer body!

Use your food diary to look for patterns, watch for foods that are preventing successful weight loss, and congratulate yourself when you've achieved your weekly eating goals. Set aside a few minutes each week to analyze your diary. Food journals are a great tool to help speed weight loss, but to work, you have to use them! So, if you need a weight loss for women over 40, this food journaling is something simple you can do.

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Top 10 Worst Foods To Health

As people's lives get busier, concerns about food and health get put in the back burner. People would rather have food that is fast to prepare, appealing and delicious, and don't think about how these foods may affect their health. However, keeping your diet healthy is not all that difficult. Even if you can't do without certain foods in your life, at least stay away from these top ten worst foods to eat as much as possible.

1. Processed Food - Although they're extremely easy to prepare and convenient, these babies are loaded with preservatives, which can increase a person's likelihood of having cancer. A diet of processed foods will give you loads of salt and fats, but none of the nutrients that your body really needs.

2. Frozen Dinners - When you go home at night, the last thing you'd want to do is to cook a meal. Most people settle for microwaving frozen dinners as it's both cheaper and easier. These dinners are filled with artificial flavorings and preservatives so they can last longer in your fridge. They are also low in nutrients, and high in calories.

3. Potato Chips - People think that munching on these is good for their health because technically, potatoes are good for the body. However, these not only contain bad carbohydrates, they are also filled with a carcinogen called acryl amide.

4. Doughnuts - When it comes to food and health, majority of pastries raise a red alarm, but none are as deadly as the doughnut. Yes, doughnuts are extremely tasty and easy to munch on, but they are also loaded with sugar, especially the glazed variety. A large glazed doughnut on its own already contains 250-300 calories and 10-20 grams of fat.

5. Low Fat Labels - Beware of foods that say they're low fat. Most manufacturers of calorie-loaded foods often market low-fat versions of their wares so that health conscious people will be more comfortable when buying them. However, these may destroy your diet even more since you're more likely to eat more because you don't feel the guilt associated with binging on fatty foods.

6. Carbonated Drinks - Soda is delicious and it quenches one's thirst really well. However, do you know that each can of soda contain no less than 10 teaspoons of sweeteners like sugar? Since these drinks are carbonated, they also increase the likelihood of gastric pain, hyper acidity, ulcer, and even pancreatic cancer. Chugging several cans per day also puts you at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.

7. Margarine - Margarine brings a plethora of food and health issues simply because they are filled with Tran's fats, which is the main culprit for bad cholesterol. A diet filled with margarine will not only pack on the pounds, it can also hurt your cardiovascular system and give you loads of health issues like hypertension and heart disease.

8. Sugar-Free Food - In the same way that low-fat labels can misguide you; sugar-free food is also extremely dangerous because you tend to eat more of these because you don't worry about the sugar content. Also, since they don't have any sugar, most companies use artificial and chemical preservatives to give flavor to these otherwise bland foods, making it dangerous to your health.

9. Liquid Meals - Manufacturers say that drinking these is equivalent to one full meal, so if you're on a diet or don't have time to eat, this will still give you the calories you need. However, there is no substitute for real food, and although these may contain calories, they don't contain the proper nutrition your body needs daily.

10. Pork Crackles - Tasty and delectable, these pork crackles are absolutely dangerous to people who are conscious about their health. Deep fried and salted fatty pig skin is filled with bad fats, salt, and should be avoided at all cost.

Now, it's not bad to have these once in a while, but if you're really meticulous about food and health, there are a lot of alternatives out there to keep you from grabbing one of these the next time you go to your favorite supermarket or restaurant. Remember, health is a worthy investment, and it all starts with what you eat.



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Guy gives up added sugar and alcohol for 1 month

Get Rid of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) by Pressure Canning Your Food

Monosodium Glutamate, otherwise known as MSG, has been linked to a wide variety of illnesses. Everything from headaches to chest pain, and even breathing problems for those who suffer from asthma are just a few of the bad side effects. Pressure canning completely eliminates MSG from the food because you simply don't use it at all during the canning process. You do have to be careful if you don't create your own spice blend when canning, as some of the store bought canning mixes do include it in their blends.
People that are sensitive to Monosodium Glutamate may experience different bad side effects at different times, too. Depending on their personal body chemistry and their health level, the results of ingesting MSG can vary. For instance, someone who has high blood pressure problems may feel a rapid heartbeat. Individuals that suffer from arthritis can have increased swelling and aches in the muscles as though they have the flu. It can even produce neurological problems such as depression, anger management issues, migraines, panic attacks, and insomnia is people that as sensitive or already having problems such as those individuals suffering from fibromyalgia or any type of mental disorder.

Pressure canning can help completely alleviate all of these bad side effects by preserving your foods, home grown or purchased at a farmers market or grocery store, in a healthy way. You will find that using a pressure canner is simple to do and your food will taste significantly better than anything you ever purchase from a grocery aisle. Pressure canning correctly will also leave more of the nutrients in your foods as it is not completely processed out.
The initial cost of pressure canning quickly pays for itself, particularly if you are a home gardener or even if you buy in bulk from a farmers market. Another way might be if you have an overabundance of one food, say tomatoes, you can trade with another gardener for their overabundance of green beans. If you do not have enough space for a garden yourself, community gardens work well. Community gardens where everyone chips in on the weeding and various gardening tasks along with the price of seed can keep your costs much lower as the food is divided amongst those that actually worked the soil and produced the food.

Simply put, if you really want to get rid of the Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) from your life, pressure canning is the best way to store nutritious food and get the job done. It's safer than water baths, the costs are recouped quickly, and it makes for a fun way to get the family involved in a healthier, happier lifestyle.

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How to Break Unhealthy Eating Habits?

Are you plagued by unhealthy eating habits? Unhealthy eating habits can make you feel bloated and fatigued. Food should fuel your energy and not make you feel worse than you were before you ate. Most people develop bad eating habits during their childhood. That is why it hard for them to change their eating habits. It can be hard, but it is not impossible. Here are seven ways you can change your unhealthy eating habits.
1. Do Not Rush
It takes you years to develop an unhealthy eating habit. Therefore, it may take you years to break one. Do not look for a quick fix, because there isn't one. You will not be able to change a lifetime of habits overnight. Therefore, instead of doing a complete overhaul of your diet, you should gradually introduce yourself to healthy eating habits. You are more likely to adapt to the new habits and permanently keep them. Plus, if you focus on breaking one habit at a time you will not feel overwhelmed and become tempted to forgo the whole transition.
2. Have a Positive Attitude
Choosing healthy foods over your favorites can be difficult. You will need a positive attitude to help you get through it. Thus, you should focus on the delicious foods you can eat and try to forget all the foods you cannot eat. Also, think about all the positive things you will gain by switching your diet. This can keep you motivated and on the right back to breaking your unhealthy eating habits by removing the foods containing extra fats and calories from your diet.

3. Keep Your Commitment
You cannot rush the change, but you have to stay committed to seeing it through. Change does not happen overnight. That is why it is important to stay committed to your new diet. Pick the healthier foods by determining what your motivation is. Your motivations can help you stay committed and on track. Do you want to change your diet, because you want more energy? Are you trying to prevent developing diseases like type 2 diabetes? When you adopt a healthier lifestyle, you have to be committed to it. You need goals to keep you on track. Most of all, you need something to motivate you.
4. Love the Small Changes
You should focus on the small changes. Most people get caught up in trying to reach the big goal that they ignore the small triumphs. Small goals add up. For example, drinking one less soda a day is a good goal to start off with when you are transitioning your eating habits. Once you set and accomplish one small goal, set another one and go from there.
5. Set Smart Goals
Your goals need to be smart. There are five attributes to a smart goal. Your goal has to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Do not set goals that are too optimistic and overarching. They can set you up for failure, because when you do not complete it, you will feel defeated and want to give up. Setting small goals is the way to go. They are attainable goals, and they will boost your confidence. They should be well defined and have a start and end date. For example, say that you will increase the amount of fruit you eat on a daily basis by 5 grams. You can start by adding fruit to your breakfast and having it for a snack.
6. Have A Weekly Plan

If you do not have a plan, you are planning to fail. You need a weekly plan to help you stay on track. You should never go a week without a healthy eating plan. Create a grocery list that only has healthy foods. Do not deviate from that list when you go to the store. Also, plan out your meals. When you do not know what to eat, you will resort to picking unhealthy foods. You should also set times for your meals and your snacks.
7. Do Not Buy Trigger Foods
You cannot be tempted to eat unhealthy foods if they are not in your home. Make sure your purge your home of all your temptations. In a weak moment, you may be tempted to give in and eat the foods.
Eating healthy can be difficult. First, you have to overcome a lifetime of unhealthy eating habits. The journey will be long and hard, but the health benefits are unmeasurable. Stay committed, set your goal, and keep a plan to succeed.

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Benefits of eating fruits and vegetables - For kids (children)