Category: Healthy Lifestyle

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5 Steps to Help you Achieve Your Goals
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5 Steps to Help you Achieve Your Goals

Have you ever said to yourself, “I need to eat healthier next week” or made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight? Were you able to stick with it for more than a week or a month? Do you know generally what to do, but doing it AND doing it consistently trips you up?  

We have proven that healthy choices can be sustainable for years.

Use these 5 steps to help you reach your goals

From fresh starts and strong goal setting to extra accountability if needed, you will support your health goals in a sustainable way, maybe this time – forever.

Step 1: Write Down your Goals:

Just write it down. When you write your goals, you’re forcing yourself to be clear about what you want to achieve instead of beating around the bush. Just by writing down your goal, it starts to look realistic and achievable. And keeping these goals written down in a place that’s visible to you all the time, in a way reminds you of the bigger picture.

Step 2: Aim for SMART Goals:

Specific- Frame definite goals. Don’t generalize them so that you don’t lose track due to the lack of clarity.

Measurable- Assign precise amount, date or anything which will help you measure your degree of success.

Attainable- Decide realistic goals which will be achievable. If you get a goal you don’t believe is feasible, it will only demoralize you.

Relevant- Set goals which are relevant to you. There is no use to set a goal which doesn’t help in your development.

Time-bound- Keep a deadline for your goals. It will keep you organized, and the sense of urgency will help you achieve them quicker.

Step 3:Create an Executable Plan:

 When we’re planning our goals, most of us, fall prey to worrying about the outcome. Instead of that, if we just focused on how would go about achieving things, life would’ve been a lot simpler and accomplishments a lot more accessible.

You can start off by having a one-page plan to understand how you would like to achieve your goals. Write down individual steps and keep a check on your progress. Don’t complicate these steps as a simple plan is always easier to follow.

Step 4: Keep Motivating Yourself:

Research indicates that sharing your goals with a person close to you can increase the chances of you achieving your goal. Crazy as it sounds, it’s the truth. You see, goal setting is not a one-time activity. It is an ongoing process. You need to keep yourself motivated so that you don’t stop until you reach the desired result

Step 5: Celebrate your Achievements:

The world’s most successful people agree that what you ‘get’ by achieving your goal/s is not as important as what you become in the process. Unless you appreciate your efforts you may not be motivated to set another goal. Success can not be achieved overnight. It requires constant effort. But if you don’t succeed exactly what you thought of, you will definitely progress.

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Nutritionist-Approved: HOLIDAY HEALTH HACKS
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Nutritionist-Approved: HOLIDAY HEALTH HACKS

It’s inevitable that you’ll be attending festive events over the next few weeks, with nearly all of them centered around calorically dense food and drinks. Add to that seasonal stress and hectic schedules, and it’s no wonder that the average person packs on a few extra pounds from Halloween to New Year. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be the case with these 10 tips to help you survive the frenzied holiday season!

This holiday season, when your social schedule begins to expand, your waistline doesn’t have to. Use these 10 healthy holiday tips to keep your wellness goals in sight without depriving yourself of holiday happiness!

1. BE PICKY AND TREAT YOURSELF!

The holidays are the time to enjoy the foods that you don’t typically have throughout the year. At parties, help yourself to a serving of your favorite festive treats. Forgo the ho-hum items that you can have all year long. Yes, the hummus and vegetable plate is healthy—but if you normally eat that for snack, save your calories for a bite or two of something truly worthy.

2. TRIM THE TREE AND TRIM YOUR TOPPINGS

Just like that Christmas sweater, accessorize with care. To minimize added calories and fat, go easy when adding nuts, cheese, cream sauces, gravy, butter, and whipped cream to food. These additions can add an average of 25 calories per bite. Limiting add-ons means you leave the table feeling satisfied, not stuffed.

3. PACK MINTS

When you’re hosting a healthy holiday party, resist the urge to eat when you’re cooking or already complete. Carry mints or sugarless gum with you to pop while cooking, so you’ll be better able to enjoy your calories while you eat!

4. DON'T SKIP MEALS

Avoid the urge to skip meals before a celebration, and eat as your normally do. While skipping meals sounds good in theory, it almost always backfires, leaving you starving and eating everything in sight once you arrive to the event. Since protein is the most satiating nutrient, have a small, protein-filled snack before a party. Check out our recipes for protein-packed No Bake Protein Balls snacks. A small snack takes the edge off your appetite and empowers you with a bit of restraint.

5. WORK THE ROOM

If possible, position yourself away from the food table so you aren’t tempted to take bites between conversation points. Instead, take a plate and fill it with the food you really want to enjoy. Wait at least an hour before going back for more if you’re still hungry.

6. ASK FOR WATER

The holidays are associated with over-imbibing. Remember that alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories, especially seasonal favorites like eggnog and mulled wine. Plus, having one too many will lower your inhibitions, making you more likely to eat more food than you need.

7. DON'T SET YOURSELF UP FOR FAILURE

The holiday season can be hard enough to maintain your weight, let alone trying to shed pounds. Allow yourself a few treats and set your goal on weight maintenance so you can enjoy holiday foods guilt free. If you focus your mindset on maintaining weight with a plan for the new year to get back on a more ridged weight loss plan, you’ll be less likely to fall into a failure trap.

8. PRACTICE MINDFUL EATING

Here’s a tip that can be applied year-round: Research shows that mealtime multitasking leads to overeating and consuming more calories than you need to feel satisfied. Instead, concentrate on your meal while you’re eating it. Focus on chewing your food well and enjoying the smell, taste, and texture of each item. Even at a busy dinner party, set your fork down between swallows to fully enjoy each bite.

9. SMALLER IS BETTER

The number-one habit linked to a smaller waist was small portions! One helpful tip for portion control is to take smaller bites and sips, tricking your brain into eating almost 30 percent fewer calories. When you take smaller nibbles, chew your food longer, and eat more slowly, your brain thinks you’ve eaten more than you actually have.

10. WATCH THE MIXED DRINKS

Whenever possible, skip the mixed drinks and punch bowl and opt for wine or champagne instead. A single shot of rum, vodka, or gin mixed with club soda clock in at around 100 calories per drink. However, that number can easily triple when you add in sugary mixes, juices, or regular soda.

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Interesting Cooking Ideas To Make Life Easier
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Interesting Cooking Ideas To Make Life Easier

INTERESTING COOKING IDEAS TO MAKE LIFE EASIER

Cooking is one of those things that you have to do every day whether you want to or not. A lot of people dread this part of their day because they find it difficult or monotonous. Here are a few quick tips that will make it less stressful and even something that you will look forward to.

1. QUALITY UTENSILS

Getting a thousand-dollar toaster is probably not worth your money but investing in good-quality cooking utensils can make a huge difference. A common problem every chef has is tearing up when they are cutting onions. A good fix is to get a quality knife. This will help you cry less when you cut onions, and it will make cutting things much easier. Similarly, if you find it hard not to burn things in a pan, even a non-stick pan, get a pan that has a thicker base.

This is slightly more expensive, but it distributes heat much better, which prevents things from burning easily.

2. SUBSTITUTES

One of the worst things is when you want to cook something, but you are short on just one or two ingredients. Luckily, if you expand your cooking vocabulary, you will learn that there are many healthy substitutes in cooking that can be used for sweet and savory dishes. Moreover, if you are trying to keep the calorie count low, you can use alternatives that offer the same great taste but with far fewer calories.

This way, you don’t have to stuff your fridge and pantry with things you only use once every six months, and you save money by not having to spend on so many different ingredients.

3. SLOW COOKING

After a long day or on a lazy weekend, the last thing you want to do is go to the kitchen and cook. However, you don’t want to order food either because you are in the mood for something homemade. An easy solution is to look into some low and slow recipes for your next meal. Some of these can even be set up ten or twelve hours in advance. All you need to do is put everything in a cooking vessel and let it cook away while you attend to other things. A day or night later, you will have a meal ready to be served.

#4. DRINK MEALS

In the busy seasons of life, it can feel like a chore just to eat. A good solution is to look into healthy drinks that can replace your meals. All you need to get is some protein powder and maybe a carb source if you want something really filling. This gives you all the nutrients you need without ever having to chew anything. We don’t recommend doing this daily, but on the days when you are in a time crunch, drink meals are a valuable option.

 

Making cooking easy is all about finding solutions that meet your needs. If you enjoy rice with your meals, getting a good rice cooker will be an excellent decision. Being able to cook healthier meals more easily will save you a lot of time and will make it much easier to stay in shape throughout the year. Most times, we compromise on the quality of food for convenience. Smart cooking will help you make the right choice more often.

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Why The Keto Diet is Causing You to Gain Weight
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Why The Keto Diet is Causing You to Gain Weight

WHY THE KETO DIET IS CAUSING YOU TO GAIN WEIGHT

In the last few years, the keto diet has gotten a lot of positive and negative press, especially since the high-fat, low-carb method of eating has generated a slew of keto-friendly goods and online recipes. 

While the keto diet may have some benefits (some claim it reduces blood sugar levels and provides you more energy) and is needed for some individuals for medical reasons (always talk to your health care provider), it also has some drawbacks (we’re talking a lot of fat consumption) that should be considered.

Yes, the keto diet is believed to help you lose weight faster, but if you’re not careful, it can potentially cause you to gain more weight unintentionally.

UNDERSTANDING GENES:

It’s a startling phenomenon, but it’s true. Obese people have been shown to pass on their obesity to their children and grandchildren, according to research. Every body type is distinct, and each has its own metabolism. Your body’s response to the Keto diet plan may be influenced by your genetics.

There’s one more thing to consider: you should never begin a keto diet without first conducting research and consulting with a qualified professional. A nutritionist or dietician can assist you in determining your body type and the ideal diet for you.

Nutritionists frequently advise that you have your APOE gene tested. You can use the APOE gene to learn more about how your body metabolizes fat. Other genetic issues could be to blame for the unwelcome weight gain while on the ketogenic diet. Changes in eating habits and switching to a low-carb diet do not benefit a lot of people.

WHY IS THE KETO DIET REALLY MAKING YOU GAIN WEIGHT?

1. Consuming Meals With Too Much Pure Fat/Oil

It is critical to consume less amount of energy than the body requires in order to burn body fat. If you consume too much fat, your body will shed it and store extra energy it doesn’t require. As a result, your fat stores will gradually increase.

Hold off on the extra oil and butter as a quick remedy for this.

Avocados, seafood, full-fat cheese, seeds, olives, and nuts should all be prioritized over minimally processed whole foods.

2. Eating Too Many Keto Snacks With High Fat

Snacking on keto-friendly kinds of foods can help you avoid hunger in between meals. When we don’t portion our high-fat snacks properly, though, it’s surprisingly easy to overeat them.

Nut butter, full-fat cheese, and low-carb nuts are excellent examples of this. Though these kinds of snacks are healthful when consumed in moderation, an extra ounce might supply the body with enough nutrition to keep it from depleting its fat reserves.

If over-snacking is a problem for you on a keto diet, try switching to higher-protein and/or lower-calorie snacks. These are more filling and lower in calories, allowing you to get through for hours without feeling hungry.

3.Eating Too Few Nutrient-Dense Foods

Consuming nutrient-rich whole foods is the main key to healthy, long-term weight loss, regardless of which diet plan you follow. Low-carb veggies, full-fat dairy products, salmon, pastured fatty meats/poultry, olives, avocado, seeds, and low-carb nuts are all examples.

We supply the body with lots of healthy fats, fiber, protein, minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins when we eat these keto foods. As a result, we tend to be more energized and satiated throughout the day, and we don’t feel we have to get snacks.

4. Underestimating Your Food Consumption

A lot of us have a natural tendency to underestimate the quantity of food we consume. In fact, this happens to be a common source of what is undoubtedly the most irritating aspect of dieting: stepping on the scale after days of eating the appropriate foods only to notice weight rise.

To avoid this, you need to get a better understanding of what quantity of food is too much for your body.

FINAL THOUGHTS

These are some of the elements that influence how you enter ketosis. It’s crucial to remember that optimal health necessitates moderation. When every detail is in exact amounts, you can get to a point where you can lose weight.

It is more vital to improve your health than to lose weight. The keto diet focuses on better managing your additional macronutrients. However, if your sole motivation is to lose weight, you must avoid these blunders in order to achieve your goal.

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Turkey Day Do's & Don'ts
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Turkey Day Do's & Don'ts

Thanksgiving is the time for friends, family…and a lot of delicious food! Of course, it’s tricky to strike that balance between enjoying your holiday meal and overeating to the point of serious discomfort. Don’t worry – we’re here to give you some simple tips to help you avoid getting stuffed this Thanksgiving!

We’ve all been there: you sit down at the table for Thanksgiving dinner, load up your plate with your favorite holiday dishes…and then 20 minutes later, you’re barely able to move. So what exactly can you do to avoid that dreaded stuffed feeling?

Don’t get us wrong – we aren’t saying you shouldn’t indulge in a delicious Thanksgiving feast! It’s the holiday season, after all. Live it up a little! That said, there are a few things you can do to feel your best while still enjoying your favorite dishes. Here are a few simple tricks for how to avoid getting stuffed this Thanksgiving!

Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

Before you even begin to fill up your plate, spend a moment looking over the spread. Take a look at what’s there and see all the dishes you’re working with. Once you have a clear idea of what’s available, you can make a mental note of what you actually plan to put on your plate. This will prevent you from over-serving any of the first dishes that come your way – you’ll know to save room on your plate for the other good stuff to come!

 

Start with Smaller Serving Sizes

Speaking of over-serving, it’s better to start with smaller serving sizes of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. We’re all guilty of having eyes that are bigger than our stomachs, especially when it comes to holiday meals! If there is more food on your plate than you’re actually hungry for, you’ll probably still end up eating it. Start with smaller servings, and chances are you’ll have plenty of food. Of course, if you’re still hungry, you can always go back for seconds!

Take a Break Before Reaching for Seconds

It’s easy to want to immediately go for seconds once your plate is empty. This is especially true when the food is so delicious! However, if you want to avoid overeating, it’s best to give your body a bit of time to rest and digest before you decide if you want to go in for round two. After a few minutes, you may realize that you don’t even need seconds! 

Put a pause on eating and just enjoy being with friends and family. After all, spending time with your loved ones is the real point of Thanksgiving!

For more health and wellness advice for the holidays and beyond, you can take a look at our blog.