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As doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and providers in Pediatrics and Neonatal Medicine we advise parents on the best ways to foster health and well being for their children and their family. As professionals in the medical field we often fall short in taking our own advice, which in the end affects our own health and our lives. We give parents brochures and pamphlets to supplement the conversations we have. It's called anticipatory guidance. As adults have access to information from a myriad of sources including books and magazines, resources online, and our associations. If anything we probably have an abundance of information with a lack of taking the next steps towards using the information to live our best life. This is true for our health, our wealth, and our overall well being.
Keep your stress level in check to keep extra pounds in check. When your body feels stress it tends to hoard calories and fat to provide a defense mechanism. You might know that the stress you are experiencing is temporary, but your body may think that you're fighting off wild animals and that you must run. Work at reducing your stress to remain calm and assist your weight loss.
Water - Mayo Clinic states that we lose up to 11 cups of water a day through urine, sweat, bowel movements, etc. As a minimum that amount of fluids need to be replaced daily. To keep it simple, drink a cup of water every waking hour. All fluids count toward the total, so the orange juice, the milk, and the protein shakes can all count toward that one cup an hour goal. But alcohol and sodas do not count. In fact, put coffee on the do not count Beneficial healthy habits list. Lastly, during my last workout, I drink about a liter of water. I sweated up a storm. During workouts, drink as much as your body demands.
Don't be afraid to try new programs, new dishes, and new recipes. Don't pre-qualify your decisions by going to research and reading about calories and studying the fat content. Instead, just try it. Keep a journal. Record your feelings in the journal. Observe how your body reacts. Create a dialogue with food that works for you rather than living in someone else's system. Don't fear change - change is required to move from overweight or obese to healthy and lean!
The food group that we all eat too much of is meat. Try to limit your meat intake, and emphasize meat alternatives for your protein needs. While you definitely need meat or an alternative for the protein, most people eat far too much from this food group. You will be surprised at how little is actually required to get you through the day.
Most of us tune out our body's protests. It is a requirement in modern society. When we are constantly stuffing our bodies with foods that damage and harm us, our bodies cannot continue to sensitize us to the pain or we would be in a constant state of suffering. So instead, the brain tunes out the signals like background noise. We no longer realize the harm that we are doing to ourselves. We confuse cravings with hunger. We think we want sugar when our body is screaming for Healthy living advice fats. It creates a state of constant stress that we are not conscious of, and it impacts the core of our health.
1) Eat breakfast - it's amazing to me how many people leave the house for school or work without anything in their stomach. Who lets their kids go to school hungry? Unfortunately, this is a huge problem. "I'm not hungry" and "I don't have enough time" are two of the most common excuses. No more excuses! Studies have proven that eating anything before going to school leads to better test scores in morning classes. If you not eating breakfast, then start with something tomorrow. It can be cereal and milk or other traditional breakfast foods or even a slice of leftover pizza. If you can't stomach solid food, drink a slim-fast/ensure or other liquid meal supplement. This one change will increase your metabolism and raise your glucose level giving you more energy and better concentration.
Yo-yo diets always seemed to present the easy solution, because what we refuse to accept is that losing weight the natural way is long-term and gradual process, which takes time and efforts in order to succeed.