Quick lunch box treat. It’s low in calories and it will keep you satisfied.

This is from the November/December issue of Fitness Magazine. Fill a tupperware container with:

cold string beans

edamame (look for ready to eat shelled edamame in your supermarket freezer to save time and money)

black beans

chopped scallions

dress it with a mixture of olive oil, rice wine vinegar, and apricot preserves for a hint of sweetness.

Quick tip to improve your mood.

Sorry all for taking so long to write a new post. I’ve been in jury duty!

I’m cleaning out yet another closet in my house and I found something I tore out from the November 2010 issue of Allure magazine.

Forcing yourself to be talkative for ten minutes is enough to improve mood.

Give it a shot and let me know what you think…

Basic Guide for Eating for High Level Wellness.

Sorry I’ve been away awhile. I’ve been on a Grand Jury for the last few weeks.

This info is from the Wellness Workbook 3rd edition by John W. Travis, M.D. and Regina Sara Ryan. This is a simple guideline to keep in mind when you just want a refresher and it is a great guideline to give to anyone who is new to thinking about wellness and a healthy way of eating.

1. Primarily let plant foods serve as the foundation of your diet.

A. Choose a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains. Keep white rice, pasta, starches, and sweets to a minimum.

B. Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily.

2. Keep food safe to eat by avoiding contamination or improper storage.

3. Aim for a healthy weight.

A. Evaluate your body weight.

B. Find out your risk factors for disease.

C. Choose sensible portion sizes.

D. If you need to lose weight, do so gradually.

E. Encourage healthy weight in children.

4. Be physically active each day.

5. Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat. Use plant oils (like olive, canola, sunflower, etc.) regularly.

6. Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars.

7. Choose and prepare foods with less salt.

8. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

9. Use a multivitamin and multimineral supplement, or a type of plant-bassed superfood, daily.

Missing a night of sleep can slow your metabolism by up to 20% the next day.

Here are 3 interesting tips from the September 2011 issue of Self magazine.

Eating 2 apples a day lowered people’s LDL (bad) cholesterol by 23% and raised HDL (Good) by 3% a year. (research from Florida State University in Tallahassee).

Missing a night of sleep can slow your metabolism by up to 20% the next day. Running your body all night wears it out, so it’s less efficient at burning calories. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

A compound in parsley, apigenin, may fight a type of breast cancer by curbing tumor growth. (Animal research from the University of Missouri in Columbia). (Parsley also improves breath so why not just throw it into your salads or smoothies.)

Do you feel like you have nothing to wear? Here’s How to fix this problem.

I just read a book about decluttering called, I Have Nothing To Wear!: A Painless 12-Step Program to Declutter Your Life So You Never Have to Say This Again!* by Jill Martin and Dana Ravich (Aug 16, 2011). I’ve certainly read a lot of books about decluttering. I wouldn’t pick up a book like this until I heard Jill Martin speak on Sirius radio on the Stars station on the night of “Fashion’s Night Out”. (Fashion’s Night Out is an annual event (this was the third year). The object is to boost the economy by getting people to go out and shop by enticing them with entertainment, celebrity guests, and special deals. Plus proceeds from Fashion’s Night Out merchandise benefit the AIDS Fund of NY. I believe they also hold this event in other cities but in NY it has become a pretty big deal.
I hit one of the department stores early to pick up a FNO t-shirt and check out the scene before it really go started. You see, I have no room for any more clothes or anything else for that matter. I have had to basically stick clothing and objects from three homes into one home. The short version of the story is that I had to get everything out of my childhood home in order to sell it. I donated and sold a lot of it but I took a lot with me as well. I also moved from the NY apartment I’d been living in for many years into a house. That being said, I have a lot of stuff and getting rid of it has been no easy task. I have a lot of sentimental attachment to my stuff.
On the drive back home, I heard Jill Martin on the radio. She feels that the reason we have “nothing to wear” is that we actually have too much stuff so we can’t even see what we have. We tend to buy duplicates and things that we don’t need because we don’t realize what we have. Read Jill’s book for full details but I’m going to tell you what really stuck with me. Jill feels that we shouldn’t own anything that isn’t a 10 for us. (Scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.) She feels that everything you wear should make you feel incredible and that you shouldn’t own anything that you would be even remotely embarrassed to be caught in. That means even the clothing you wear to bed. She doesn’t care if that old t-shirt with the holes in it is the most comfortable thing ever, get rid of it. If you are walking down the street, you should know that if you ran into an ex, you would feel completely fine with it. You know that you look great. You shouldn’t walk away saying “I can’t believe he/she saw me like that. I’m so embarrassed.”
I’ve never gotten rid of “good stuff’. Basically, I’ve been keeping everything that’s a 6 and up. Now I’ve got to get rid of 8s and 9s? This isn’t going to be easy but Jill is right. She says that by the time this process is done, we should be getting rid of (in a good world, donating) 75% of our clothing. Imagine only having 25% of your clothing?
As scary as that sounds, Jill says you’ll end up actually wearing more stuff. How many times do you wear the same things over and over again? I know that I probably switch off between 5 outfits. I also primarily live in workout clothing. This is also part of Jill’s point. We have a tendency to buy and keep things for the life we think we want or for things that we feel we should be doing. It’s hard to admit that I don’t go to a lot of events that require high heels and fancy dresses. The bulk of my life is workout clothes. I need outfits that I can wear out to dinner a few days a week and they certainly don’t need to be all that fancy. Jill’s idea is to figure out what style you are. Are you a surfer chick, a soccer mom, a fashionista, a bohemian, a corporate type, etc. Decide your style and stick with it.
Jill says to have a yes, no, and maybe pile. I can’t do this because I pretty much have been doing this for a couple of years and now it’s time to be ruthless. That being said, I went through draws and got rid of any sports clothing that was no longer perfect and comfortable. I’m so used to keeping things that are “fine” that this wasn’t easy. But I don’t need 50 fine t-shirts. I need 10 good ones. I have two closets in my bedroom that I’m not quite ready to go through yet. I also have stuff in closets and draws in a couple of other rooms. Today, I went into one of the rooms and cleaned out the whole closet and all of the draws. Most of the stuff in now in a donation pile. Next I’m going through the other room and doing the same thing. After that, it’s time to face the bedroom closets. After I’m doing getting rid of everything, that’s when the really hard part is going to come. I know that I’m still going to have too much stuff. That means that I will have to go through everything again and get rid of more stuff. Then I’ll go through again and get rid of even more stuff. Although this process will be brutal, I want to get down to the 25%. I have a feeling I’ll be so much happier. My new rule is that every time one article of clothing comes in, another goes out. I think that’s the only way to keep the clothing to a minimum.
I know that this process is going to upset me but when it’s done, it will be freeing and it will clear the way for me to figure out more of what I want out of my life. Remember that de-cluttering is clearing. Clearing frees up room for creativity. Remember that this project will actually give you more stuff to wear (shop your closet) and you’ll have a lot of stuff to donate to people who really need it. Good luck and let me know how your de-cluttering adventure goes and how this affects your life.

It’s not a myth. When You Feel Thirsty You’re Already Dehydrated.

This is from the September 2011 issue of Shape magazine.

According to Cynthia Sass, R.D. Thirst is your body’s way of letting you know that your optimal water level is down 2 percent. The Institute of Medicine recommends taking in 11 cups of fluid a day and even more if you’ve been sweating. (I always thought it was 8.) All liquids count. You can even drink caffeinated beverages as long as you don’t drink more of them than you usually do. Apparently your body gets accustomed to processing caffeinated beverages which means you won’t experience a diuretic effect. Fruits and veggies count as liquids since they’re 80 percent water (many of them, not all). For ex: A cup of watermelon has about half a cup of water. So DRINK UP!

Hollywood’s Most Extreme Diets. Some A-Listers Will Do Anything to Get Skinny.

This is from the September 5, 2011 issue of OK magazine.

Gwyneth Paltrow.  If Gwyneth Paltrow wants to drop pounds fast, one favorite way is toss 3 week cleanse from Dr. Alejandro Junger. She has 2 liquid meals (soup or smoothies), a salad a day and no sugar, dairy or processed foods. She also works out with Tracy Anderson who has her do things like an hour or two of dance aerobics in superheated rooms daily. (Side note. Tracy Anderson just opened up a place in Watermill (in the Hamptons). I can’t wait to try out her studio and see what it’s all about.)

Angelina Jolie.  A Red Wine Diet. Angelina doesn’t eat much-a little of everything but not too much of anything. Soe days she doesn’t eat much more than a few nuts, a glass of red wine or whatever she picks off the kid’s plates.

LeAnn Rimes. She hits the gym at Equinox 4 times a week. She lifts weights, boxes, and cycles on other days. “Some days I do heavy weights with only 6 to 8 reps, and the other days I do light weights with 22 reps,” she’s said. Her meal pal is made up of protein, fruit, and veggies.

Victoria Beckham.  Total Portion control. Victoria follows the “Five hands” diet to get her ready for the spotlight. She eats 5 meals a day, each restricted to a handful of high-quality protein (like salmon, shrimp, tuna or eggs). Nutritionist Martica Heaer says she would equate a “handful” to about 3 ounces of protein, which is less than 190 calories per meal.

Britney Spears. Exercising at all hours. For Britney, she finds that hitting the gym after hours works best for her. She’s not a mrning person. She reportedly exercises for 3-4 hour stints; and to look her best on tour, she also ditched alcohol and junk food.

Anne Hathaway. Living on Greens and not much else.

Which Path of Service is Yours?

This is from the book 1: How Many People Does it Take to Make a Difference? By Dan Zadra and Kobi Yamada.

There is a cause or an issue out there with your name on it, something you care about, someplace where you can serve or make a difference in a way that is unique to you. Whatever it is, find it-and follow it. Let the answers to these questions guide you.

List Your Concerns

Causes I care about-things that get my creative juices flowing:

Things that upset me, or make my blood boil:

Things that make me sad, cry or feel indignant:

Issues I always talk about with my friends:

List Your Strengths

Things I am good at:

Things that make me feel good:

Talents I would be excited to use more:

My unique background or experience:

Will fasting Before Exercise Tap Into Your Fat Stores?

This one is from the August 2011 issue of Shape magazine. Don’t exercise on an empty stomach in hopes of tapping into your fat stores. In a recent study, researchers at the University of Padua in Italy found that subjects who worked out after eating a healthy breakfast boosted their metabolism more than a group of fasting exercisers did. Even more surprising, those who fueled up first were still using more energy-especially from fat stores-a full 24 hours later, “People who eat before exercising perform better,” says Wayne Andersen, M.D., author of Dr. A’’s Habits of Health. In short, Andersen says that if you eat about 30 minutes pre-session, you’ll  be able to push yourself harder and your muscles will keep burning calories longer. Make sure to get a good mix of protein, carbs, and electrolytes. He recommends whole-grain cereal with lowfat milk, juice, and a banana (I personally don’t eat any of these things. I might go for lowfat greek yogurt with berries and a teaspoon of raw honey or a high protein shake or a veggie smoothie with protein powder.)

I found this to be interesting because I’ve heard the tapping into your fat stores thing a lot. I’ve felt guilty for years for not being able to exercise on an empty stomach. I’ve also noticed that I can do my best during a workout by eating 30 minutes prior to the session!

Is Soda A Gateway Drug?

What Happen to Your Body After You Drink a Soda Every Day, For a Long Time by Bliss Tree (From Yahoo Healthy Living June 16, 2011)

soda_89794646.jpgSugar rushes and caffeine highs followed by a depressing energy crash are what happens to your body if you drink a soda right now, but plenty of Blisstree readers actually seem to be okay with that. Some of you think it’s alarmist to compare a caffeine and sugar rush to doing drugs, and some just don’t really care about the slump they’ll find themselves in after drinking 39 grams of sugar, but what makes us really worried about a soda-slurping habit is what happens over the long term.

Here’s a quick snapshot of you, in a few years, after drinking soda on a regular basis:

You’ll Be Fatter: According to research in the Nurse’s Health Study, which monitored the health of 90,000 women for eight years, drinking a single soda every day of the week added 10 pounds over a four-year period.

You’ll Probably Have Diabetes: In the Nurses’ Health Study, women who said they drank one or more servings a day of a sugar-sweetened soft drink or fruit punch were twice as likely to have developed type 2 diabetes during the study than those who rarely consumed these beverages.

You’re Much More Likely to Develop Heart Disease: According to a study published in 2007 in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, subjects who drank a soda every day over a four-year period had a 25% chance of developing high blood sugar levels and a 32% greater chance of developing lower “good” cholesterol levels. The Nurses’ Health Study found that women who drank more than two sugary beverages per day had a 40% higher risk of heart attacks or death from heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages.

You’re Probably Also Less Healthy In Other Ways: Several studies, including the 2007 study published inCirculation, suggest that diet sodas have some of the same effects on health as regular sodas, despite having none or very little of the sugar. Why? Drinking soda is typically part of an overall lifestyle that’s not very healthy: We know you don’t like us to compare drinking caffeine and sugar to substance abuse, but when it comes to your lifestyle, some think that soda is just like a gateway drug.