Healthy Black Friday Tips

Planning to shop until you drop?

Here are some ideas how to have a healthy Black Friday.

• Make sure you had enough sleep the night before.
• Eat a healthy breakfast that will give you energy all throughout the day.
• Never go out with an empty stomach.
• While you're out, plan your meals and healthy snack, at least every 3 or 4 hours.
• If you're eating out, choose a healthy restaurant than fast food chains.
  
• Stay hydrated. Bring along your water tumbler/container.
• Before leaving your home, do some warm up exercises.
• Exercise while shopping like taking the stairs.
• Do some stretches every now and then or while standing in long lines.

Enjoy your shopping!

How To Keep The Pounds Off During Winter Months

Winter is coming, so are the holidays. It's not a surprise if many people gain a few extra pounds. But here are a few tips to avoid unnecessary weight gain.

Be aware that you may gain some weight. If you prepare yourself that the possibility of gaining extra weight is there, you may subconsciously eat less and be more active. This can backfire on you if you aren't careful. If you are aware that you can gain weight, you may very well let yourself go and accept the fact that some pounds are going to be added to your hips. If you will use this information for good and recognize the risk is there, you may be able to avoid gaining weight.

Eat Grandma's Secret Pecan Pie Recipe. Eat Grandma's secret Pecan Pie recipe, but, don't eat the whole pie. Try to limit yourself to a nibble of a few desserts instead of eating a whole piece from each desert selection. We all overeat during the holidays. If you are going to fill up on a holiday recipe, try to fill up on the low carb/high protein delights. Having an extra slice of turkey instead of an extra slice of pie will be better for your waistline.

Play in the Snow. The manufacturers made coats, gloves, and toboggans for a reason. Get out in the snow or cold weather and play with your kids or your dog. Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean it is off-limits. It is an old wives' tale that being in cold weather makes you sick. It just isn't true. Germs and bacteria make you sick, not the temperature. Just make sure you and your little ones are bundled up before you go out. This includes making sure your little one is wearing ear muffs. Cold wind in the ear can be painful or even injure the inner ear.

Running in the snow can also be a great work out. The resistance is great for burning calories and toning muscles. Snow fights are great ways to exercise as well. The bending down and throwing actions can burn calories and tone muscles as well too. You can play, lose weight, and get toned just by playing with your kids in the winter time.

Don't be a Scrooge. Depression has a nasty way of sneaking up on some of us during the winter months. Some suffer from seasonal affect disorder during the cold winter months. If you are prone to this type of depression you should speak to your doctor before it gets out of control. Not just for your weight issues, but, also for your mental health. Depression causes many to overeat or to become inactive. Don't let the winter blues get you down. Talk to your medical professional about your feelings of depression. Winter is a time to be a jolly. Some of us need medical interventions to help us get through the often stressful times during the winter months and holidays. Get the help you need to help you get through this time of year.

Winter Weight Gain. If you do gain weight this winter, just remember, you have those warm months of the spring and summer to get you back into shape. We are usually wearing bulky clothes in the wintertime anyway, so, no one usually will notice you but on some extra weight. Who cares if they do, right? If you put on an excessive amount of weight during the winter you may need to speak with your doctor. You may have bigger issues than just eating too many slices of Granny's famous pie. You may have an underlying condition that requires medical attention.

Winter time, for some, is not the best time for dieting. Dieting during the winter is up to you. Remember, unless you need to lose weight for a medical condition, you should only try to lose weight for yourself. Don't feel pressured to be the perfect body size. We are all different and there are reasons why we all have different body types, body frames, and body weights. Find the best weight for you. Above all else, enjoy yourself this winter season so long as you are being healthy. Just because it is the holiday season does not mean you should eat a whole pie. However, skipping out on eating a slice of pie because you fear you will gain a pound is not fair to you. Remember, you can burn off those calories by doing some simple exercises. Enjoy this winter season and try not to stress too much about gaining weight. Just know that your risks of gaining weight are higher and you should take a few precautions to help reduce the amount of weight you will gain.

Source: Associated Content

Ways to Eat Sea Vegetables

Just like land vegetables, sea vegetables, oftentimes referred to as seaweeds are also a healthy addition to your daily diet. They are loaded with nutrients that they absorb from sea water, which is naturally abundant with micronutrients and trace minerals.

Some of you are probably not comfortable with the thought of eating seaweeds. But before you completely ditch the idea of consuming seaweeds, you've most likely eaten processed sea vegetables once in your life without knowing it. Some are used as food additives, an extra ingredient to your soup, or as a wrapper for your sushi.

But the best way to consume seaweeds is to eat them in their unprocessed form. They're not only naturally flavorful. They are also well-known to benefit the thyroid and help your body's detoxification.

Care2.com shares with us 8 ways to eat seaweeds and actually enjoy it!

1. Agar Agar
As Sara Novak tells us, agar agar is “a gelatinous substance derived from seaweed, which can be used as a vegetarian gelatin substitute or a thickener for vegan dishes.” Low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and high in folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese, vitamin E, vitamin K, zinc, and copper, agar agar is so nice they named it twice.

2. Arame
Sweet and mild and loaded with iron, calcium, and iodine, arame is just what the ocean ordered for a salad topped with tofu sour cream dressing.

3. Dulse
A very salty seaweed, dulse is often used as a salt substitute in soups and stews. It can also be eaten raw (like jerky). Dulse has been harvested as an iron-rich food source for thousands of years.

4. Hijiki
If you’re cooking for someone likely to be skeptical about seaweed, the mild flavor of hijiki is a good choice to be surreptitiously snuck into a soup or stew. The calcium and iron-rich hijiki is also cost-efficient as it quadruples in size when rehydrated. Try this Hijiki and Wild Rice recipe.

5. Kelp
This sea veggie is rich in carotene, iodine, chromium, and is also known for thyroid stimulation and its cleansing capabilities. “It can be used as a part of weight loss and it’s also great for your skin balance and smoothness,” says Sara Novak. Other claims about kelp’s magic? It has libido-boosting properties, can hydrate the skin in a nourishing seaweed spa bath, and can be used in part of a diet to combat hair loss naturally. For eating kelp, try it in this Soba Noodles with Kelp recipe.

6. Kombu
Whether you buy it fresh, dried, pickled, or frozen, Kombu remains rich in iodine, dietary fiber, iron, and potassium. Actually a form of kelp, kombu is used to support the thyroid, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and prevent a sudden rise of the blood sugar level.

7. Nori
Usually encountered in the thin dark sheets used to make sushi, nori is probably the most familiar seaweed used in Western cuisine. The original plant is typically dark purplish-black, but when toasted, nori turns green and acquires a nutty flavor. Use it in this California Reverse Roll Sushi recipe. And if you have a dog, try sharing some nori with her, as it is one of the ten safe “people foods” for dogs.

8. Wakame
Thin and stringy, wakame is deep green in color and used in making seaweed salad and miso soup. A good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, and Manganese, wakame is popular among those following a raw food or Macrobiotic lifestyle.

Image by ulterior epicure on Flickr.

3 Fatty Foods For Fat Loss

It's certainly confusing when you think about eating fat to lose fat. For many, it would probably not make sense. But here's how it works.

Healthy fats are needed for fat loss:

• They help us feel full and satisfied because of their effect on our appetites - controlling hormones, leptin and CCK.
• They prevent cravings and actually help us to lose weight when we consume them in the right forms and amounts.

According to a research done by a team of scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine, old fat stored around the belly, thighs or butt cannot be burned off effectively unless we have new fat coming in from our diet or our liver.

Dr. Natasha Turner names these 3 fat-rich foods that will help you shed off a few fatty pounds:

A Daily Dose of Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 1 Tbsp

• has been a vital component in a heart-healthy, Mediterranean-style diet.
• are rich in antioxidant compounds called polyphenols, which are known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-coagulant benefits.
• provides a rich source of plant sterols to curb inflammation, aid hormonal balance and control cholesterol.
• prevents not only belly fat accumulation but also the insulin resistance and drop in adiponectin typically seen in people who eat a high-carbohydrate diet.
• breaks down fat cells we already have!

Amazing Avocado: 1/4 to 1/8th Daily

• rich in antioxidants that are great for your complexion.
• contain glutathione, one of the most potent antioxidants and disease-fighting agents available to us.
• high in heart-friendly vitamin E and potassium.
• rich in beta-sitosterol, a natural substance shown to significantly lower blood cholesterol levels.
• helps to balance cortisol, even during exercise.
• help to restore low DHEA and decrease the inflammation typically associated with the stress of intense exercise.

Go Nuts: 10 - 15 Almonds or 1 Tbsp. of Almond Butter

• excellent source of the plant sterol beta-sitosterol.
• contain protein, fiber, plant sterols and several other heart-healthy nutrients.
• slow the absorption of carbohydrates in the body, which may help with weight loss and diabetes management.
• may reduce the impact of carbohydrate-rich foods on blood sugars.

You may now say goodbye to your 100 crunches everyday. Start including these 3 fatty foods in your diet and flat-tummy snacks.

images by foodistablog, sean dreilinger, and tiny banquet committee via flickr

Beach Fun on Saturday

An ex-office buddy called and invited me to head down to the beach on Saturday. Sounds fun, isn't it? Besides, I didn't have anything planned this coming weekend so I said YES! But before I hung up the phone, she asked if I have any sunscreen lotion.

"Huwaaaat?" I asked stupefied. And there I went on telling her about the hazardous health risks of using sunscreens. I might have been too graphic about it because she swore she'd never use any of them ever again. Then, she asked me how come I still have fabulous skin after our last beach outing. Of course, I was more than happy to share my all-natural secret in protecting my skin from the sun.

I'm already excited. I think I will invite another friend. She definitely needs to get a tan.

Image by SanyamStudios.