Pets

Protect Your Pets (and Yourself!)


So, you're avoiding the toxins found in nasty processed foods, personal care products, and even the tools you use to cook. Think your job is done? What about your pets? You may not have considered it, but your four-legged friends can introduce a whole new range of chemicals into your life. Protect them — and yourself — by making a few conscious choices about their care.

Plastics: Remember, the fewer plastics in your life, the better. The same goes for your pets. Plastic pet toys and bowls can contain bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that's harmful to your health and that of your animals. Chose toys made with organic fabrics, and glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bowls for your animals to eat and drink from instead. The same goes for canned pet foods — many cans have BPA in their linings, which can leak into your pet's food. Some small pet food cans are BPA-free, but the only way to know for sure is to call and ask the manufacturer.

Food: Don't just assume that a pet food labeled "natural" will provide your pet with fresh cuts of meat and grains. Processed foods — and the same goes for processed pet foods — don't come from nature; they come from factories. Corporations make large profits by spending less on the ingredients they put in your pet's food. The safest choice for your pet is organic pet food, which has no artificial flavorings, growth hormones, or preservatives. It can be pricey, though, so if nothing else, read the labels and do your research to find the best brands for your pet and the best values for your wallet.

Shampoo: Studies have linked pyrethrin pest-control shampoo and phthalates with autism. Opt instead for pet shampoos that contain natural ingredients.

Make sure your pets get exercise and regular checkups, and try your best to remove the toxins from their lives. Bottom line: When you get rid of the poison, not only will you have a healthier and happier pet but you'll be a healthier and happier you.

Pets Are Good for Your Health

If you have high blood pressure, eating right and working out are definitely the keys to keeping it under control. But research shows that adding a dog or a cat to the mix could help you lower blood pressure even more. In a study of hypertensive stockbrokers, the group whose members were given a dog or cat experienced significantly more stable blood pressure while under stress than the other, equally stressed group who were not given a pet. Have a high-stressed job yourself? You might want to look into getting your own furry friend.

Fats

Good and Bad Fats


Think back on all those past dieting failures. Did you try to completely eliminate fat in one of those diets? Didn't last long on that one, did you? If being ravenous within an hour of eating a plate of steamed veggies didn't do you in, then surely the lack of energy and the fuzzy thinking did.

Let's talk about why you need fat in your diet. Animal and vegetable fats provide valuable, concentrated energy; they also provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormonelike substances. Fats slow the absorption of nutrients into your system, so you can go longer without feeling hungry, and they aid in the metabolism of sugar and insulin, which helps you lose weight. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins, aid in the absorption of vital minerals, and help facilitate a host of other important functions in the body.

Convinced? Good! I know your next question is, How do I know if a food that contains fat is good to eat or not? It all boils down to what kind of fat the food contains. The fats considered to be healthiest come from plants. They are called unsaturated fats, and they raise HDL cholesterol (the "good" kind). The saturated fats found in animal products, coconut oil, and other sources like avocados are good in moderation; they raise HDL cholesterol but also elevate LDL cholesterol (the "bad" kind). You always want to avoid trans fats, which are found in processed baked goods, processed snack foods, and stick margarines — among other bad effects, they lower HDL cholesterol and raise LDL cholesterol, a double whammy that can increase your risk for heart disease.

Reward Yourself

The healthiest fats of all are the omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat that can both raise HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease. Omega-3s may also reduce inflammation and have shown promise in helping relieve symptoms of a host of other conditions, including diabetes and bipolar disorder. Sources of omega-3 fatty acids include fatty fish like salmon, fish-oil supplements, and flaxseeds.

Negative Thoughts

Fixing the Negative Self-Talk


Is your inner voice a trash-talker? If you've tried and failed to reach your fitness goals in the past, negative thoughts might have held you back. Want to succeed this time? Get a journal. It's time to get some of those thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you have a negative self-image?

Do you constantly say things like "I'm fat" or "I'm ugly"? Do you pick yourself apart and beat yourself up when you look in the mirror?

Do you lack self-confidence?

Do you doubt your ability to achieve your goals, weight related or otherwise? Do you dwell on your perceived limits or fears? Do you doubt your ability to accomplish the things you want to accomplish?

Do you feel powerless?

Do you feel as if you have no control over your life, or do you rely on excuses like "I'm genetically predisposed to being overweight"?

Do you label yourself in self-deprecating ways?

Do you think and talk about your failure to lose weight as a foregone conclusion? Do you refer to yourself mockingly (or not!) as a stereotype — the happy/funny fat person in the room? Is your e-mail address "fatso@blank.com"?

Now think about your responses to these questions. How would you describe their tone? Are they affirming and constructive, or downbeat and destructive? If you want to turn your thinking around, ask yourself one more question:

How is this negativity serving you? Answering this question will help you understand why you have been perpetuating these destructive thoughts and behaviors so that you can cut them out at the root. Is what you say about yourself really the truth? Or is it a defense mechanism? And if so, against what? Are you just making complicated excuses? How does this kind of negativity help you achieve your goals?

Here's the last step: Go back and answer the above questions again, and force yourself to use only positive terms. It can be hard to let go of negative thought patterns. Often, they're the result of years of self-loathing and your internalizing of the negative opinions and judgments of others, but you can do it. Remember, knowledge is power. The next time one of these negative thoughts crops up, you'll have the awareness to cut it down.

Having Fans Never Hurts

Once you turn your negatives into positives, you might just become your own biggest fan! But having a network of people who genuinely want to see you happy and successful is also essential. The key is to find people who are supportive without being asked. Whether it's your mom, your kids, or your best friend, an encouraging and steady presence in your life can bring strength and courage when you need it most.

Carbs

Confused About Carbs


Q: I went on the Atkins diet once and lost weight fairly easily and quickly. (Later, I gained it all back.) On your plan, I'm a slow oxidizer, and I'm afraid that I will lose weight very slowly — or worse, gain weight! — with the amount of carbs I'm eating. Am I off base?

A: Yup. WAY off base, killer. When you cut all the carbs out of your diet, you lose a lot of water weight right off the bat, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. The real question is, why didn't the weight stay off? And how did you feel on Atkins? As a slow oxidizer, you require foods with a higher percentage of carbohydrates to best serve your metabolism and energize you both physically and mentally — so I'm betting you must have felt pretty crappy on Atkins.

Weight loss is about calories — it's that simple. You can eat carbs and lose weight as long as you stick to your calorie allowance. Because you are a slow oxidizer, eating HEALTHY CARBS will improve your energy level, thus helping you to work out longer and harder to burn more calories.

What I don't want you eating are unhealthy, processed carbs like white bread, white rice, and packaged junk food. Such foods will ultimately make you overeat because they mess up your blood sugar balance and your metabolic hormones. I am sure you've heard the terms "sugar crash" and "craving carbs." These conditions result from eating crap, so stick to your calorie allowance and make healthier carb choices — whole-grain bread instead of white bread, air-popped popcorn instead of Doritos, brown rice instead of white rice — and you will be A-OK, I promise!

Pair Carbs With Protein

One reason whole grains are so much better for you than refined grains is that they still have their fiber, and that fiber helps slow the rate at which the body breaks down the grains' carbohydrates. The overall effects of that slowdown are that your blood glucose levels don't spike severely and you feel satisfied longer. Pairing carbs with protein has a similar effect. Because protein is metabolized more slowly than carbohydrates, it helps stabilize blood sugar and keeps you feeling full longer. Always look for high-fiber carbs, and pair them with a protein source like lean meat or low-fat Greek yogurt.

Labels

Decoding Label Lingo


You've seen the fine print at the bottom of contracts and applications, but have you ever actually read it? While it might seem insignificant, it can contain all sorts of loopholes. The same goes for food labels, and you should think of them as the "fine print" on your dinner.

It's a crummy fact of life, but many things don't come as advertised. Packaged foods are no exception. Don't be fooled by the glaring orange "Healthy" sticker on the front of a package of food. Turn the item over and look for these common food-label traps:

"Sugar-free" — Many people assume this means "carb-free," but it does not. Compare the total carbohydrate content of a sugar-free food with that of the standard product. If there is a big difference, the sugar-free version might be worth buying IF it is made with a nontoxic sweetener like stevia or xylitol — steer clear of artificial sweeteners like aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) and sucralose (Splenda). If there is little or no difference in the carb content, choose the option with the most natural ingredients.

"No sugar added" — This simply means that sugar wasn't added during processing or packaging. That doesn't mean the food is sugar-free. Check the label carefully because the food may still be high in sugar and carbs.

"Fat-free" — Fat-free foods can be higher in carbs than the full-fat versions and can contain almost as many calories. Fat-free cookies are a perfect example. Repeat after me: Fat-free foods are not necessarily a better choice.

Read your labels carefully, and remember this rule of thumb: The shorter the list of ingredients, the more natural the food is likely to be.

Keep an Eye on It

When you change your eating habits, you'll spend a lot of time reading labels at first. Once you become accustomed to the fine print on your favorite foods, however, it gets a lot easier. That said, don't assume that the products you buy every week will remain good choices. Companies can change their product formulas and serving sizes at any time without alerting the media — or you. If the packaging on your favorite tortillas or string cheese suddenly has a new look, read the back extra carefully.

Try Different Modes of Exercise

Try Different Modes of Exercise


Need to take your workout to the next level? Try a different modality. What's a "modality"? It's really just a fancy word for your particular form of exercise. In addition to intensity, weight load, and number of sets and reps you do, you can alternate between different exercises that work the same muscles, thereby changing your "mode" of exercise.

For example, if your routine includes the seated row machine, which works the midback, biceps, and forearms, you can alternate it with another machine or activity that works the same muscles — try to choose one that provides a change of position from the seated row, as well as a different pace. In addition to spicing up your routine, alternating your exercises trains your muscles through different ranges of motion, allowing you to target them with greater accuracy.

There are plenty of options to choose from to keep your program challenging, fun, and as effective as possible. You are learning this stuff so you can take the reins, so be honest with yourself about what your body is getting out of your workouts. You won't make progress unless you constantly challenge yourself. That's right — it's never going to get easier, just better. Keep demanding new things from your muscles, and you'll continue to see the results every time you look in the mirror.

Taking It Up a Notch

No matter what type of resistance you're using, even if it's your own body weight, there are many ways to increase or decrease the resistance level of your exercise. For example, if your routine includes 1 set of lunges for 20 reps using just your body weight as resistance, change it up by doing 2 sets of 10 reps each, with a 15-pound dumbbell in each hand for added difficulty.

Restore Missing Nutrients

Restoring Missing Nutrients With Power Foods


When you consider what we Americans typically put into our bodies each day — all the junk food, refined and enriched grains, and other sources of empty calories — it's not surprising that more than 80 percent of us don't meet the daily recommendations for key nutrients. Many vitamins and other micronutrients are necessary for hormone production, which means that to maintain a healthy metabolism, we need to pay attention to our nutrient intake.

Here are just a few key nutrients you probably need to restore to your diet. The daily nutrient intakes listed are recommendations of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, a world-renowned research center on the science of micronutrients.

Pantothenic acid (5 milligrams a day): All steroid hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, can be produced only when you have enough pantothenic acid, or vitamin B5.

Food sources: 8 ounces yogurt (1.35 mg); ½ cup sweet potato (0.88 mg)

Potassium (4.7 grams a day): Potassium is both a mineral and an electrolyte that regulates as much as 40 percent of our resting metabolic rate.

Food sources: 1 medium baked potato (926 mg); 6 ounces tomato juice (417 mg)

Vitamin B6 (2 milligrams a day): This vitamin helps the body release glucose from stored glycogen. It also binds to the receptors for steroid hormones, preventing the uptake of excessive hormones and thus possibly helping to reduce the risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Food sources: 3 ounces chicken (0.51 mg); 1 medium banana (0.43 mg)

Zinc (15 milligrams a day): Zinc levels are linked to levels of leptin, the hormone that helps us feel satisfied after eating.

Food sources: 6 medium oysters (76 mg); 3 ounces dark-meat turkey (3.8 mg); 1/2 cup baked beans (1.8 mg)

Cover Your Bases With a Multivitamin

Ideally, all of our nutrients would come from the foods we eat. But given changes in farming methods, the sad state of our soil, and the lack of biodiversity in this country, even our whole foods are not nearly as nutritious as they once were. Taking a high-quality multivitamin can help ensure that you're getting the nutrients you need. Look for a multi with all the ingredients listed above plus biotin, folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, copper, magnesium, selenium, chromium, calcium, and vitamins A, B12, C, D, E, and K. Premenopausal women should choose a multivitamin that also contains iron.

Calories

Calorie Countdown


Reading food labels can help you make smart food choices that'll contribute to your healthy diet, but are you sure you know how to calculate the calories in the portions you're eating?

Start by checking the Nutrition Facts label for the serving size and the number of servings in a package. Serving sizes are standardized and measured into units such as cups (and sometimes pieces), which makes it easier to assess the nutritional information.

Remember that calories are usually listed per serving, NOT per container. Be sure to read the fine print, because marketing folks can really be crafty. For instance, the label on a pint of ice cream may trumpet the fact that the product has fewer calories than its competitor, which might make you think you're getting a low-calorie food. But when you turn the container around, you might discover that there are roughly 300 calories per serving and four servings per container, meaning that this pint contains a whopping total of 1,200 calories. For many people, that's enough calories for a whole day!

Checking nutritional information can be frustrating and confusing at first, but now that you know how to do it, you will never miscount calories again. You'll also be able to make changes and adjustments so that you stay within the guidelines of your personal caloric intake. Don't let misleading packaging screw with your diet. Fight back by educating yourself and actually reading the labels!

Toning

What Does "Toning" Really Mean?

All of us want to "tone" our muscles to achieve a cut, fit look. But what exactly is "toning"? Let me clarify a little: The word "toning" has nothing to do with the size of a particular muscle; it refers rather to making a muscle lean by burning intramuscular fat, and conditioning the muscle for better performance.

You can't actually build muscle mass unless you're eating more calories than you're burning, but you can tone a muscle to make it leaner. To tone your muscles, you should weight-train four days a week, working each muscle group twice a week. After you work a particular muscle group, you should give it two days of rest before you focus on it again.

Here's a sample toning program that works each muscle group without overdoing it:

Monday: Work the chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, upper abs, obliques.

Tuesday: Work the back, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower abs.

Wednesday: Rest.

Thursday: Work the chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, upper abs, obliques.

Friday: Work the back, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower abs.

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday: Do a cardio-only workout.

Remember: Exercise is the architect, but recovery is the builder. You have to give your body adequate recovery time to heal itself and grow stronger. If you work out too often without resting, you'll just break your muscles down.

Afraid of Bulk?

Women always tell me that they feel hesitant about toning exercises that require weights because they're afraid of building bulky muscles. Hear me out, ladies: It's extremely difficult for women to gain muscle mass simply by doing toning exercises — we don't have the testosterone that guys do that lets them build mass. Using weights to tone your muscles will make you look trim and terrific, not big and bulky.

Breaking Habits

How to Break Bad Habits

Old habits die hard, but the good news is that they do die. Don't lose hope or beat yourself up over it if you're having trouble breaking bad habits. It's not that easy to change your ways. Just keep plugging away.

Start by replacing old habits with new ones. The key is to learn how to take care of yourself and pamper yourself in ways that are life affirming rather than self-destructive. Learn how to deal with sabotaging emotions by establishing some healthy patterns of behavior and investing in your physical and emotional well-being.

If you judge yourself every time you're in front of a mirror, try focusing on the things you love about yourself. When was the last time you looked in the mirror and told yourself how great your features are and how beautiful you look?

If you're constantly looking to the media for stories about celebrity diets and weight loss, try finding more realistic role models — everyday people who've lost weight or achieved other goals similar to yours. They will be the most inspiring. Start paying attention to people you know.

If you tend to blow off your workouts until your vacation rolls around — or there's some other event, like a wedding, lighting a fire under you — ease yourself back into your daily workouts. Without commitment, you won't be able to achieve the goals you truly desire. Put your life in perspective. Everything is a choice — from how you feel when you wake up in the morning to whether or not you floss your teeth at night. To make the right choices, you need to ask the right questions: What is my true goal, and how are the choices I'm making going to help me achieve that goal?

Be Proud Now

Don't wait until you reach your ultimate goal to pat yourself on the back — be proud now! Just taking the first step — signing up for this program and reaching out for help — is something to be proud of. And every achievement along the way should be rewarded. You deserve it!