Summer Fruits

Two words….. Farmers Market. Who doesn’t get excited to hit up the local farmers for their fresh produce? Nothing like fresh fruits and veggies!! Whether you plan to throw them in a recipe, grill them up, or snack on them raw they are simply irresistible!

I’m going to focus just on the fruits right now as I’ve heard some false info being tossed around. First of all, do you consider all fruits healthy? If you said yes then you are correct. There is a wide variety of health benefits linked to all different types of fruits. From the overwhelming amounts of antioxidants in berries to the positive effects papaya has on your digestive system, its countless.

So now I ask, would you ever think of a fruit to be unhealthy? I’m assuming majority of you are saying no… or maybe wondering why I am asking such a question. I’d never detour you from eating fruits, hey it’s better than a Snickers bar! But if you are focusing on losing a few lbs. then we need to look at the natural sugars each fruits contains.

Amount of sugar based on 100g portion size. 

Banana – 20g, Cherries – 13g, Pineapple/Apple – 12g, Orange -10g, Peach, Apricot, Watermelon, Papaya, Blackberry, Blueberry – 8g, Grapefruit – 6g, Strawberry – 5g.

Amount of calories based on 1/2 cup portion size.

Banana – 100, Blueberries – 84, Whole Grapefruit – 80, Pineapple – 75, Orange – 61, Papaya/Apple – 52, Strawberries – 50, Watermelon – 45, Apricot/Peach – 30, Cherries(3) – 5.

Fruits are amazing foods and OH SO GOOD!! Go get your week’s worth at the Farmer’s Market this next weekend and enjoy them before the summer gets away from us. Just keep in mind the above info to help make a better decision on exactly which fruits you are going to dive into. Maybe instead of 2 bananas today you’ll have one with a few strawberries.  And don’t forget your veggies!!

~Your Health Dork~

PS. I wrote this blog last night and look what I see online today…. check it out!! http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20609990,00.html

 

I had a Bad Day.

No one is prefect…even if sometimes you may think you are pretty close 🙂 If you are starting the change to improve your lifestyle and want to lose weight don’t go into it with thoughts you will never eat another piece of candy, dessert, cheese dip, ect. The minute you tell yourself, for example, sugar is off-limits you will want it even more. Don’t deprive yourself of anything, you need to live your life. Of course moderation is key. Don’t eat the whole bag of M&Ms, take a few, enjoy them, get it out of your system, and move on.

Having a day consisting of poor eating choices can really get you down and in a bad mood. Remember this mood and how you felt. Try not to let yourself go back to that place. Starting your day off with bad choices doesn’t mean you have to end your day the same way. If you start getting into that mood again stop right then and there and make a change. Don’t let the whole day get away from you before you realize you just blew a whole day. You are in control of your day, you will never get that day back, so change it around ASAP!

Need a little boost to get back on track in the middle of the day? Ask a friend to take a walk, go for coffee, read a book….anything to keep you busy and away from the kitchen. Get your mind off the first part of the day and move on. Google a motivational quote, some can really hit close to home for every single one of you. ASK ME! Tell me what’s going on and I’ll do my best to help you through the rest of your day!

When you go to bed that night, once you are at the end of your Bad Day, mentally prepare yourself for tomorrow. You are in control of what’s going to happen, make yourself proud, and kick your bad day to the curb. If you are a planner lay in bed and think of what you will eat for breakfast….even better lunch and dinner, snacks too. Don’t give yourself an option to have another bad day.

Remember we all have bad days. It happens. It’s ok. Hopefully not too often, but don’t give up when you do come across one. Put it in the past and move on to the future.

Bring on many, many GOOD DAYS!!!

~Your Health Dork ~

Breakfast: Yes or No?

We’ve all heard the saying “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Well I’ll go ahead and say, that is a fact! Growing up our parents may have said it, but at that time it pretty much went in one ear and out the other. This time without letting the info slip away lets take a look at some of the reasons this statement is true.

Energy. Your body and brain need energy to function, food is fuel. If you choose not to eat breakfast by the time lunch comes around you are probably feeling fatigued. There is also a better chance that once you do finally eat you will overeat and may not end up making the best choices. Vending machine around? You may be headed straight for it and we all know those things don’t have the healthiest of choices.

Weight Loss. The first time you eat something in the morning your metabolism has begun for the day! Who wouldn’t want that? As we get older our metabolism slows down, so why not do one simple thing for ourselves and get that back up to speed. What you choose to eat for breakfast is a different story. People who choose healthier options for breakfast tend to choose healthier options throughout their day.

Investment. This is your body that is with you forever, choose to take care of it. Certain illnesses are caused due to lack of nutrition, don’t let your body be one of them. Maybe you want to sleep that extra 10 minutes in the morning, but in the long run is that 10 minutes really going to matter? Cherish what you have been given, not everyone has the option of eating breakfast.

Maybe you do eat breakfast, pat yourself on the back, but if you don’t hopefully one of these reasons above will at least get you to reconsider. Breakfast is a FREE meal, why would anyone not take advantage of FREE?

It’s your choice. Now choose.

The Word Diet.

What does the word diet mean to you? Do you use the word daily? Weekly? Monthly? Have you ever been on a ‘diet’? Have you heard someone say they are on a ‘diet’?

Definition of Diet

a) food and drink regularly provided or consumed

b) habitual nourishment

c) the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for special reason

d) a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight

Three out of the four definitions listed have a negative connotation. The first one is the only one that makes any sense. Do you want to get into a habit, have food prescribed, oreatsparingly? The simple day in and day out of eating can indeed be called your diet. But why not call it your lifestyle?

A lifestyle is a choice and that choice is made only by YOU!                       

The word diet is thrown around on a daily basis and truly is what some people live by.They start a new diet, it runs its course, then they fall off the wagon. A little time goes by and they start-up on the next newest diet they have heard about. Round and round they go on this vicious cycle. The first step to getting out of this cycle is by making a choice.

YOU make the choice to live a lifestyle!

It’s only the beginning…..

I’m beginning a new journey and couldn’t be more excited about it! I hope some of you will come along for the ride. There is so much to learn, share, experience, and conquer to mention a few.

You may wonder what I’m doing on here first of all and that’s a great question. I started out with millions of questions to myself wondering exactly what I wanted to bring to this blog. I’m simply here to help.

In my years on this Earth I have managed to do a few things. Moved to 4 different states(not alot compared to some I’m sure), complete 2 half marathons, 3 full marathons, went in and out of relationships, struggled with weight, traveled to a couple different countries, and so on and so on. Probably a little boring to read I’m sure,  pretty simple to say the least.

My focus is to help. I have seen many friends and family members struggle though things and it devastates me. Weight seems to be the winner though and continues for so many. I’m not going to preach that I know everything about losing weight, but from what I have experienced, read, and seen for myself I feel I have a decent amount of knowledge on the topic.

There is a brilliant amount of info on the internet, in books, and experts themselves, but the one things I see alot is everybody is put into the same category. Well hate to say it, but not a single person is the same as the next. With that being said what works for one person isn’t going to work for the next. I’m sure you have all heard that way too many times to count already.

I’m here to help you with YOU! Please ask me anything! If I don’t know, I’ll find out. PROMISE!