Peggy Bradford of Sewell, New Jersey hasn’t always been the avid promoter of health that she is today. Before losing 70 pounds the 47-year-old mother weighed close to 220 pounds and suffered from severe depression. The weight gain came after a major surgery that required her to be on a hormone replacement for one year, which left her feeling terrible both physically and emotionally.

After facing resistance from her doctor about getting off of her medications, Peggy told her husband she was going to take matters into her own hands, and that’s exactly what she did.

Peggy almost instantly began eating healthier and watching her calories, cutting out soda and choosing protein bars over candy bars. For exercise she purchased a pedometer to encouragement more daily movement.

“I started out doing 10,000 steps a day with 4 pound weights,” she said. “I’ve built myself up to between 20,00-30,000 steps a day and 12-15 pound weights. I not only jog in place when I do my workout, but I jog in place when I talk on phone, iron, do dishes, etc.,” she said. “It sounds crazy, but the steps add up and have been a huge part of my weight loss journey.”
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There was a time when the only option one had for tracking their activity was a pedometer- a simple machine that clicked over a number after it sensed a step. Those days are long gone. There are many tracking devices on the market and Nike just introduced the latest and greatest this week.

The Nike+ FuelBand was just introduced. It’s a sleek personal accelerometer that measures activity in what Nike calls “Fuel” units. Every motion from walking to breakdancing is tracked by the band and contributes to a daily tally of “fuel” you’ve consumed.

The band contains two arrays of LED lights. The first horizontal strip of lights measures the users progress turning from red to green as the goal is met. The second array is white and serves as a display screen to light up “steps,” “cals” (calories) or “fuel.” These are the categories the FuelBand tracks. The user links the band with a computer to initially set daily goals and then they can track and chart their progress as they move through out their days. The band also pairs via bluetooth to a smartphone app so the user can monitor their progress on-the-go.

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By Dr. Mache Seibel for Care2.com

Ask a person if they want to stay well and in less than a nanosecond you will get a universal, resounding “Yes!”

Then ask if they eat healthy, exercise regularly, incorporate relaxation into their daily routine and get enough sleep. The response is much slower and the percentage saying, “Yes” is a lot lower.

Sure, people want to make changes to improve their health, but changing old habits for newer, healthier ones is hard work. For many, it seems almost impossible. Why else would the average person make the same New Year’s resolution 10 different years without success, or only one in seven people who have had a heart attack make long lasting changes to improve their diet or exercise habits? Don’t you think it is time to take responsibility for your own health?

The trick is to start simple. Small changes can make a big difference. Here are five simple steps you can start doing today to improve your health.

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Like any other child-at-heart, I love cereal. Whether it be a small bowl with breakfast or an afternoon handful, I simply can’t get enough. Cereal can be a good source of nutrients but it can also be an even better source of excess sugar (among other things.) While some cereals are falling to the wayside in a quest to introduce healthier foods to the masses, Fiber One has created a new option for cereal-lovers.

According to the nutrition panel, each ¾ cup serving of the Fiber One 80 Calories Honey Squares contains only 140 mg of sodium and a whopping 10 g of dietary fiber- that’s 40 percent of your recommended daily value! The ingredient list boasts whole grain corn as the number one ingredient but it also contains sucralose, which is fine in moderation although I personally prefer a natural sweetener.

It tasted great as a morning meal and I tried it with both vanilla almond milk and regular skim milk on different occasions. The texture was light and crunchy and it was very filling. I also tried it on top of a yogurt parfait and it added just the right touch of crunch without the amount of sugar that’s in the granola I usually splurge on.

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Rebecca Wilson practices cognitive & mindfulness-based therapies and researches health psychology and behavior change. Her website, habitspark.com, focuses on how to use positive habits to create healthy and happy lifestyles.

First of all, what exactly is a habit? A habit is a behavior that you do so regularly that it becomes almost automatic. Although many habits are good, like brushing your teeth, some habits are devastating to a healthy lifestyle and weight control. Here are the 3 worst habits and how to break them:

Bad Habit #1: Eating mindlessly. Eating on the run, eating without paying attention to your hunger signals, and eating to escape painful feelings.

Break It: Replace eating mindlessly with eating mindfully. Eat at a dining table and make sure you aren’t doing anything else while you are eating. Before you start eating, notice your hunger level. As you eat, pay attention to your senses: the taste of the food, the feel of it, the smell, and how it looks.

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