I provided my grocery list in six areas: Fruit/Veggie, Bread, Frozen, Dry Goods, Meat, and Cold items (like dairy). As you will see, the list of foods that I buy could stand some improvement. Why not use this list as a springboard to make over your own grocery list, keeping in mind that the most important changes to your shopping list need to be both manageable, sustainable and will help you to be as efficient and healthy as possible – always a bonus for all of us!

See our Healthy Family Grocery Guide now. Download, print, and use to inspire your own grocery makeover!

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Get a Grocery Makeover with the Healthy Family Grocery Shopping Guide

So, wouldn’t it be great if you knew what you could do to control your diabetes, or better yet prevent diabetes, in the first place? Well, you’ve come to the right place. This blog post will describe the top three steps you can take to prevent or reverse type 2 diabetes.

1. Eat healthy

If you already have type 2 diabetes, then you have (hopefully) learned about the importance of keeping carbohydrates consistent throughout the day, meaning enjoying a small amount of healthy carbohydrates with each meal. Well, this also works in preventing type 2 diabetes.

I recommend people choose carbohydrates in the form of fresh or minimally processed starchy vegetables (like potatoes), fruits, beans (like lentils), and whole grains (like brown rice, quinoa, and corn) for their meals. Non-starchy veggies have such low carbs for the calories and they are almost 100% water that you don’t need to limit those.

Just watch how they are prepared. Steamed or broiled with herbs, spices or a little olive oil is best. Refined sources of carbohydrates should be limited as much as possible: sugar, white bread, white rice, etc. You don’t need to eliminate all foods with these ingredients, but try to make a healthier swap whenever possible and limit your portion sizes of these foods.

2. Exercise more

Exercise can help slow or prevent the progression of diabetes a number of ways. Exercise helps to maintain a healthy weight, lose weight, manage stress, and improve sleep (more on that next). Exercise also helps people manage a healthy blood sugar level whether you have diabetes or not.

When you exercise, you burn sugar for energy. Regular exercise also helps keep blood vessels healthy to prevent heart disease, which diabetics often get from damage to blood vessels. You don’t have to be a marathoner either. As little as 1,000 calories worth of activity spread throughout the week (walking 30 minutes and 20 minutes of strength training three times a week) causes your muscles to utilize sugar more effectively and keep it from floating around in your blood, which leads to diabetes.

3. Lose weight

Get a tape measure and take a waist measurement. Men, if you’ve got 40 or more inches around the waist you have 12 times the risk of developing diabetes than a male with 35 inches. Women, if you have 37 or more inches around the waist you are 12 times more likely to get diabetes than a female with 32.5 inches.

Eating healthy and exercising more are the best steps to losing weight. Get a trainer, dietitian, join a class, or buy a book/dvd… but do something to help yourself lose weight sensibly.

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Top Three Ways to Prevent Diabetes

As the mother of six children, and a weight loss success story herself, Carmen is all too familiar with managing a household, her health, and the needs of the other busy bodies in her home. She’s a real mom who gets it, who has figured out how to make it all work, and will help you find your way there, too.

Sign-up now, and then learn more about the Mom to Mom Newsletter.

Each month you can expect to see family-friendly recipes, ways to get fit together, and learn about activities that bring the family closer together. Proving good health depends on more than just what you’re eating, it’s about the happiness and well-being of the whole family.

Look for your first Mom to Mom Newsletter before Thanksgiving, as Carmen helps you prepare to celebrate and offer thanks in a more healthful way.

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Announcing New Mom to Mom Newsletter

Remember, if you are not breaking a sweat, you are not working hard enough!

So, putting exercise aside, being healthy mentally and physically requires a lot more than just getting the heart rate up. Below are 10 simple ways to a healthier you! Each of the following will help increase your energy levels and in turn, better workouts and more productive days will be the result.

1. Rest: Get six to eight hours of sleep a night
2. See the Doctor: Schedule regular doctor/dentist visits
3. Relax: Find time to relax and enjoy life
4. Be More Active: Find ways to get the heart rate up more throughout the day, in addition to exercising
5. Laugh: Find time to laugh
6. Eliminate Stress: Avoid stressful situations and try not to worry as much
7. Help Someone: Giving back has been proven to offer health rewards
8. Get a Hobby: Can help you enjoy life more as well as reduce stress levels
9. Try Something New: Try something new each week or weekend (dancing, hiking, etc.)
10. Smile: Reduces stress and it seems to be contagious

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10 Simple Ways to a Healthier You

These are the 7 things you need to know before you leave the house to have the most fit and healthy day possible.

1. How much sleep did you get the night before? Getting enough sleep is an important key to maintaining a healthy weight and having enough energy to get your exercise choices accomplished.

2. Nothing, eggs and bacon, or peanut butter toast? Studies have shown that a healthy breakfast helps jump start your metabolism, and the best choice is a complex carbohydrate and protein combination. Eggs and bacon might taste yummy, but it’s a higher fat choice.

3. Where’s your water bottle? Drinking enough water during the day keeps your body hydrated and helps you lose weight. Often, we reach for food when we are actually thirsty. To avoid a plethora of waste, buy a refillable bottle and then drain it every hour. If the idea of that much water makes you crazy, add in a flavored drink packet.

4. What about lunch? Don’t leave the house without your lunch. Relying on fast food choices is a quick road to the wrong foods. Take a few minutes to pull together a salad with some chopped chicken breast or even a healthy frozen meal and pair it with a piece of fruit. You will be so glad you did when noon rolls around!

5. Do you have your sneakers? Can you walk to work? Walk from the bus stop? Run the stairs during part of your lunch hour? Adding in exercise in small bursts can help you maintain that trim waistline.

6. Do you have a couple of healthy snacks within easy reach? Stashing a small baggie of trail mix or almonds, a protein bar or some fruit leather in your purse, vehicle or desk can save you when the mid-day munchies strike.

7. Put on your game face! Go out there with a positive mental attitude and a can-do spirit and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what great healthy choices you make!

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7 Things You Need to Know to Have a Healthy Day

But, only certain sports and fitness expenses qualify. The PHIT Act defines qualified activities as amounts paid for fitness center memberships, physical exercise programs, and exercise equipment.

Here are some of the expenses that are covered:

• Youth camp and physical activity fees
• Membership fees for a health club
• Exercise/fitness classes or personal trainer’s instruction
• Sports league fees (any age)
• Marathon/triathlon registration fees
• Equipment used exclusively for participation in physical exercise/activities

Expenses that are not included are:

• Expenses incurred from member-owned and operated private clubs
• Clubs that offer golf, hunting, sailing and horseback riding
• Apparel and footwear not used exclusively for physical activity
• Travel and accommodation expenses incurred while participating in physical activity

Any incentive to have our citizens get healthier is a fantastic idea. The act is sponsored by Rep. Ronald Kind (D) of Wisconsin. His co-sponsors in the House of Representatives include:

Tammy Baldwin (D) of Wisconsin
Joe Barton (R) of Texas
Earl Blumenauer (D) of Oregon
Kevin Brady (TX) of Texas
Robert Brady (D) of Pennsylvania
Christopher Carney (D) of Pennsylvania
Jim Gerlach (R) of Pennsylvania
John Gingrey (R) of Georgia
Marcy Kaptur (D) of Ohio
Mike McIntyre (D) of North Carolina
Jerry Moran (R) of Kansas
Donald Payne (D) of New Jersey
Todd Platts (R) of Pennsylvania
Zach Wamp (R) of Tennessee
Robert Wexler (D) of Florida

Contact your congressman to show your support for the Personal Health Investment Today Act of 2009 (PHIT Act or HR 2105)!

(via: Examiner.com)

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Make Fitness a Tax Deduction With the PHIT Act

Since the first season, experts behind the scenes of the show found the contestants shared many characteristics, which I listed below along with tips for changes you can make along with the contestants:

No idea of the number of calories they need or what they actually consume.

Your behavior change solution: Try the DietsInReview.com health calculator to determine your calorie needs. Visit www.mypyramid.gov to journal your food intake to compare your needs to what you actually consume.

Most skip breakfast and snacks and let a long time go between meals.

Don’t skip any meals and eat every 3-4 hours. Don’t let more than 5 hours go between meals. You have to eat to lose weight – it’s what you eat that matters most.

Most consume very little fruits and vegetables.

If you follow the Biggest Loser diet I introduced earlier this week, you will follow the 4-3-2-1 plan that has you eating 4 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. Get 1/2 cup of fruit with fat-free Greek yogurt at breakfast, 2 cups of veggies as a lunch salad, 1 cup of raw veggies as a snack or with dinner, and 1/2 cup of fruit with dinner.

Most are not getting enough protein, and what they do get is high in saturated fat.

Choose lean protein and try to get fish most days of the week. Choose canned tuna, white fish, or salmon. Shrimp is also low in saturated fat. Chicken, pork, and beef with no skin and visible fat trimmed can be healthy, too. Have tuna on your lunch salad and beef or pork at dinner. Vegetarian? No problem! Beans and rice are an excellent source of protein. Try black beans, cannelini beans, and lentils.

Most get very little whole grains.

The Biggest Loser diet has very little grain servings, so you gotta make them whole grains. Whole wheat products, corn, brown rice, and quinoa are just a few examples.

Most have too much “white stuff” (sugar, refined flour).

If you follow The Biggest Loser Diet to the letter, you aren’t eating products with these ingredients.

Little planning of meals, mostly on-the-go eating and dining out.

Reserve about 3 hours a week to plan your meals, make a grocery list, and shop for the ingredients. This will save you time, calories, and money because you won’t need to dine out or worry about on-the-go eating.

Most are meeting their daily caloric needs through beverages alone (e.g. caloric sodas, juices and fruit punch).

This is just plain scary. Don’t drink your calories. The exception for me is fat free milk. You can include fat free milk in oatmeal or with a piece of whole wheat toast with a tablespoon of almond butter. Milk has calcium, vitamin D, and natural protein and carbs.

Many consume very little water.

If you aren’t drinking calories, you’re drinking water to stay hydrated. Try infusing water with lemon or orange slices. I also like to brew herbal tea and keep it cold. I mix it with carbonated water for a fizzy, calorie-free drink.

Nearly all reported limited to no exercise.

If you read my article earlier this week about the Biggest Loser workout, you know you should be getting 7 hours of exercise so this change is easy for you! If you haven’t yet worked up to 7 hours, keep up with what you are able to do and add 30 minutes a week.

Nearly all prioritize everything and everyone else in their life ahead of their own health.

It’s great you have people in your life who you love, but don’t you want to be there for them as long as possible? That means you have to be a little selfish and make the time to workout, insist on healthy meals for the family, and make sure everyone gets their sleep. No lounging at the computer and TV at night on a usual basis. Set limits on these things that don’t add quality and health to your life. Before you know it, you’ll wonder how you ever got along being so sedentary and eating so sluggishly.

• Sign-up now for the Biggest Loser Newsletter
• Join the Biggest Loser Club Online
  

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Biggest Loser At Home: Changing Behaviors That Matter

What’s so special about “the ranch” that allows the transformations to occur? In a word, environment. One of the reasons the people lose so much weight consistently is because of their new environment. All the barriers that usually exist to behavior change (job, life stresses, family and friends, lack of time, lack of knowledge about what to do) have been removed. Their new job is to exercise, learn about good nutrition habits, and practice them. This is one of the keys to their success. They get enough time in the new environment that once they leave they have enough knowledge and motivation to keep it going… Essentially, they transform their lifestyle.

That said, “Biggest Loser” success is within everyone’s reach. In this first post of a series, I’m going to review the nutrition changes that happen on the ranch and give you tips for how you can make similar changes at home and lose weight with the contestants.

Biggest Loser Diet

Here’s the nutrition criteria contestants follow on the show, which is created and monitored by a registered dietitian.

• modified low carbohydrate diet:  45% of calories from carbohydrates (mostly fruits, vegetables and some whole grains), 30% of calories from protein, and 25% of calories from healthy fats or oils (seeds, nuts, avocado, olive oil)
• no “white stuff”
• whole foods, elemental ingredients
• 4-3-2-1: daily 4 cups minimum of fruits and vegetables, 3 servings of healthy proteins (e.g. fish, skinless chicken breast, 93% lean ground turkey), 2 servings of whole grains, and 1 serving of healthy fat.
• Aim for everyone to have 1 serving of fish daily.
• There is room for 1 optional treat per day.
• Cereals must have minimum 5 grams of fiber per serving and less than 5 grams of sugar per serving. This limits the cereals to certain oatmeals, bran cereals, or other high fiber cereals on the market.
• Goal of 7 calories per pound of body weight for daily caloric intake. This is recalculated after significant weight loss. (So a 250 pound person could consume 1750 calories per day.)

Participants are provided with calorie counting resources and a food and exercise diary which they must maintain daily. This helps to raise awareness of past behaviors and develops an understanding for calorie balance through diet and exercise.

At-Home Changes You Can Make

• Make over your pantry. Take stock of how much processed snack foods you have and say “goodbye.” Most of the foods in your pantry should be healthy, shelf-stable foods. Canned beans, tomatoes, oatmeal, almonds, whole grain pasta, etc. should replace chips, cookies, and high sugar cereals (even the “diet” versions).
• Plan out your meals and snacks. Decide what you would like to eat for your meals and snacks that follow the “Biggest Loser” 4-3-2-1 plan. Daily 4 cups minimum of fruits and vegetables, 3 servings of healthy proteins (e.g. fish, skinless chicken breast, 93% lean ground turkey), 2 servings of whole grains, and 1 serving of healthy fat.
• Make a new grocery list. Based on your meal plan, make a list of what you will buy at the grocery store – and stick to it. Don’t get deterred by impulse buys or sales on sweets, treats, and snack foods.
• Journal your food intake for two weeks. Food journaling is an effective tool for weight management. It helps you stay honest and accountable. Most importantly, you will learn so much about your food choices and how mindfully eating can help you lose weight.

• Sign-up now for the Biggest Loser Newsletter
• Join the Biggest Loser Club Online
  

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

The Biggest Loser Diet at Home

It seems to me, the stressors in our lives are affecting just about everything in our lives. If you’re like me, when you are stressed you put the gym on hold, or have a lack-luster workout. All that water retention combined with a bad workout really does not do wonders for the scale.

Now, having stress is bad enough, but now knowing that it can hurt weight loss may put you into a tailspin, but don’t worry.

Here are a few tips that I use to help de-stress my life.

• Make lists-  Make a to-do list. Weekly, daily, whatever. Write down what you have to do for the day. Why? WE FORGET THINGS. I found that when I put my schedule down on paper, not only is it out of my mind, I can easily see exactly what needs to be done and time accordingly. Far too often we try to keep everything inside our heads. It just causes more stress
• Fuel the fire-  Turn a bad day at work into a great workout. Use some pent up anger at your boss for fuel. When I’m angry, I do interval sprints. I seem to run faster for longer and by the end of them not only did I get a great workout, but I’m not mad anymore.
• Get it out-  Let your stress go. Yell, scream, hit a heavy bag, punch a pillow. Whatever works for you, just let your stress air out. You will feel calmer and can look at your list and start working.

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Stress Hurts Weight Loss: 3 Ways to Avoid It

When you are dieting, getting ample sleep is essential. If your body does not have enough energy, it will tell you that it wants more calories to help keep it going. If you are tired, it is more difficult to fight off temptations, keep a positive frame of mind, and motivate yourself to exercise.

Sleep can be interrupted by many things, often when someone is unable to fully relax. Few things are more frustrating than trying to sleep when you can’t. Most people do not realize that sleep is a habit, something you teach your body, similar to your stomach “growling” or preparing for food at the time you have taught it to expect that you will eat. In the same way you can learn to sleep. The trick is the discipline it requires and sticking to a routine until sleep comes easily. I have taught several people how to sleep. The process is a bit involved, but can be relaxed once you are sleeping more easily.

• You MUST get up at the same time every day. That means no sleeping in on weekends. If you get up at 6 a.m. to go to work, you have to get up at 6 a.m. on Saturday, even if you came home at 2 a.m. Friday night.

• Do not nap. If you want to learn to sleep at night, you do not want your body to sleep during the day. Also, if you push through the day without much rest, you will be more likely to fall asleep at night.

• Do not do anything in your bed but sleep. This means no reading, eating, watching TV, or arguing. Take it elsewhere. Like Pavlov’s dogs, you want to pair your bed with sleep so it happens automatically.

• Ensure that you have a comfortable sleep environment free of allergens and distractions. Your bedroom should be dark and cool. Make sure your bed is comfortable according to your personal preferences.

• If you are not sleeping, get out of bed! You want to pair your bed with sleep, so lying in bed awake is counter-productive. Participate in quiet, soothing activities, returning to bed the moment you start to feel sleepy. Housework is likely too strenuous. Only read things that you are willing to walk away from, even in the middle of a sentence.

• Start preparing yourself for bed 4-6 hours before you intend to sleep by turning off the TV and computer; avoiding heavy, spicy, or sugary foods; and keeping strenuous activities to a minimum.

• Avoid nicotine and alcohol all together, as neither will help you sleep or sleep well. When you indulge in alcohol, you do not progress in to the deepest levels of the sleep cycle.

• Turn off all computers and televisions. Both screens have a strobe light effect that can be stimulating to your brain, keeping you awake. Many people like to sleep with a television turned on; however, your brain cannot fully rest because it continues to process what it is hearing from the television, even while you are asleep!

White noise, dairy products, and even counting sheep can also be helpful when learning to sleep. If you are not sleeping well, take your physical and mental health into your own hands by teaching yourself to sleep using these tips.

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Learning the ABZzzs of Healthy Sleeping Habits