Scales For You

It seems like Christmas today since this is the day my family will be here to celebrate.  We all met at my brother’s this morning for a country ham breakfast, and tonight they’ll be at my house for turkey and all the trimmings.  Tomorrow, we meet with my husband’s family and have turkey, ham and a variety of other food and tomorrow night the ladies at church meet to swap ornaments and eat finger foods.  Now tell me how I’m expected to think about healthy eating with all this going on around me, plus I’m doing all the cooking for tonight and a lot of it for tomorrow.  It seems that Americans, especially the ones in the south, celebrate every occasion with food.  No wonder obesity is at epidemic stages in our country.  Surely there’s some other tradition that we could start that would eliminate a lot of the unnecessary (and detrimental) eating of food.

I’m making another resolution–I make one every year at this time–to start cutting back on food after the holidays.  I’ve got a good weighing scale that will tell me if I’m being successful or if I’m just fooling myself.  If you need scales, you’ll find a variety in many styles, colors and sizes at  www.holladaypartners.com  

Have you ever thought about comparing budgeting your money you are spending with budgeting your food you are consuming.  A new VISA study found that American “misplace” about $3,000 in cash every year.  It may go for gadgets such as iPods, iPhones or Blackberries or just things we want for our kids.  In order to stop this “mystery spending”, we must review our purchases regularly so we can see quickly what we’re spending, then set a budget and stick to it.  This will help eliminate impulse buying and help us start to save. 

Doesn’t this sound a lot like dieting.  We “misplace” food by eating-on-the-go, snacking, eating while reading or watching television, and eating when we’re not hungry because someone else is eating or providing food.  In order to stop this “mystery eating”, we must document what we eat so we can see quickly what we’re consuming, then set a food plan and stick to it.  This will help eliminate impulse eating and we can start to lose the excess weight.  We will need scales to measure our food portions and scales to weigh ourselves in order to make this process work.  A variety of scales in many colors, sizes and styles are available at  www.holladaypartners.com   These are quality designer scales that will match any decor at the lowest prices ever.  Check them out.  You’ll be glad you did!

Over and over we’re told not to eat fat.  We see low-fat, no-fat, lite, etc. describing food products that are supposedly good for us.  It would be nearly impossible to remove all fat from our diet, and it would not be healthy.  Some fatty acids are essential nutrients, meaning the body can’t produce them from other compounds and needs to consume them in small amounts.  All other fats that the body requires are non-essential and can be produced in the body from other compounds.  Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested, absorbed, and transported in conjunction with fats.

For women, a body fat of 10-12% is essential, 14-20% is considered a healthy range for athletes, 21-24% is healthy for fitness, 25-31% is considered an ‘acceptable’ range and anything above 32% is considered obese. For men, 2-4% body fat is essential, 6-13% is an athletic body fat range, 14-17% is considered a ‘fit’ range, and 18-25% is acceptable. Anything above 26% for men is considered obese.  So, how do you find out what your body fat is?  A body fat scale can take your height and weight and immediately give you the percentage of body fat in your body weight.  This information is essential to  plan your diet and exercise program to maintain a healthy body.  Check with   www.holladaypartners.com for a body fat scale at the lowest price ever.  Get started toward a healthier lifestyle today.  You’ll be glad you did!

Pressuring a child to eat may not work.  He may eat less.  Researchers in Britain studied 62 mothers and their children from birth to 2 years finding that the children who were pressured to eat by their moms weighed less at age 2 than children who were not pressured.  Also, mothers who constantly emphasize the importance of cleaning the plate may influence us as we get older to eat everything on our plate whether we need it or not.  This can only lead to overweight and obesity, which in turn, leads to health problems.

A bathroom scale won’t solve the obesity problem, but it can help us determine progress  when we’re trying to lose unwanted weight.  Holladay Partners offers a variety of bathroom scales–different styles, shapes and colors–at the lowest prices with free shipping.  Check us out.  You’ll be glad you did!

One of the most effective stress management programs is a physically active lifestyle.  Many of us spend our day working in an office at a desk with a computer.  We come home tired (especially mentally tired) and can’t seem to work an exercise time into our routine.  Also, our children seem to be more interested in video games, computers, cell phones and television than they are in physical exercise.  When this situation is combined with eating out, fast food, and snacking on candy and chips, the health of our nation is in trouble. 

If we keep our exercise routine simple and consistent, and find the time of day that most easily lets us work it into our schedule, we can start to form a habit.  Someone said it takes about 21 days to form a habit.  That’s just three weeks!  The routine doesn’t have to be extensive–thirty minutes of walking will be sufficient–but it must be regular to help combat stress.  It really makes it fun and entertaining if the whole family is involved.  And the payoff is great–not only will our stress level go down, but we’ll be able to see a difference when we step on the weight scales!  Holladay Partners offers a variety of colors and styles in scales at the lowest prices.  Check us out!

If I had all the money that I have spent because of being overweight, I could buy a new Harley Davidson motorcycle.  I’ve bought books, videos and computer programs that tell me all the things I need to do to control my weight.  I’ve gone to diet programs and paid their fees (plus the gas to take me there) just to get them to weigh me once a week when I could have weighed at home.  I’ve bought all kinds of processed diet foods that should have made me healthy and beautiful instantly.  I’ve bought big clothes, medium clothes and small clothes to fit my body at different stages of my weight loss programs.  I’ve bought exercise programs and machines and paid membership fees to gyms to tone up my fat. 

What have I accomplished?  My digital bathroom scale shows progress sometimes, but failure a lot of the time.  I’m going to have to set my mind to change my attitude about food and exercise.  If I can learn to only eat when I’m hungry and eat only enough for my body’s needs, my body won’t have to store the excess food as fat.  If I form the habit of exercising, I’m told that it will become such a part of my routine that I won’t want to miss it.  (I can’t be sure because I’ve never exercised enough to form a habit.) The main problem I see is that money will not buy “will power” and that’s what I really need!

Did you realize that body fat contains only 14% water while lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water.  That is a difference of 61%.  Since a significant fraction of the human body is water, it would seem that to rid our body of unnecessary fat tissue would help keep our body water percentage where it needs to be for good health.  Everyone has their own idea as to the best way to get rid of our fat.  I just read a new study that shows that interval exercise is more effective at reducing body fat than steady-state exercise.  Interval exercise is when you alternate the level of intensity during an activity.  They suggested that after a warm-up walk, increase to a moderate pace for 15 seconds, then slow down to easy for 60 seconds.  Repeat six times; end with a two-minute cool-down.  That sounds a lot easier than what we used to think–strenuous exercise–no pain, no gain.

I don’t know if this study is reliable, but body water scales can help determine our percentage of body water.  By weighing weekly, and documenting the results, we can determine if our eating habits and exercise program are leading us to a healthier body.   

Our world is full of magazine articles and books about healthy eating, exercising, and losing weight.  With all of this information at our fingertips, why are so many of us still having problems maintaining a healthy body weight?  Many physicians are now using the body mass index (BMI) as a measurement to determine if we are overweight or obese.  BMI is reliable for most people between 19 and 70 years of age except women who are pregnant or breast feeding, competitive athletes, body builders, and chronically ill patients.  Usually, the higher your BMI, the higher your health risk.  If your waist size is greater than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women, the risk increases.  If your BMI is from 25.0 to 29.9, you are considered overweight; a BMI over 30 is considered obese.

BMI equals a person’s weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. (BMI=kg/m2).  If your math skills are as rusty as mine, the formula sounds a bit complicated.  A set of body mass index scales can solve the problem.  If the scales can figure your BMI, why bother trying to recall what you learned in math class.  
 

Most people think a granola bar is a healthy snack.  Granola bars do contain certain vitamins and nutrients, but many also have a great deal of fat and/or sugar.  In many low-fat foods, there are as many calories as their full-fat versions because of additional sugar.  Regardless of what claims are written on the front of a package, you need to read the ingredients.  Remember, the ingredients are listed in order of the ones that are highest in the contents.

Whether your goal is to lose weight or to maintain your present weight, reading the ingredients on food before you consume it will help you determine what should be included in your diet.  A weight scale will help you evaluate your progress.  Be weighing weekly, you will see results soon if you are persistently eating the right foods in the right amounts.

Have you ever felt like food was your enemy?  Food is a necessity of life, therefore, we can’t just remove all food from our homes.  Losing weight is difficult because food is both–a necessity and an enemy.   Perhaps, we need to change our attitudes regarding food and eating.  Instead of “living to eat,” we need to “eat to live.”  If we can consider our bodies as the machine we will use to carry us around for the rest of our lives, we will want to keep it maintained and in perfect running condition.  (That’s how we treat our vehicles!)  We will select the healthiest food in the right amounts to keep our bodies at their healthiest weight, and supply them with all the needed nutrients.

A change of lifestyle calls for a change of attitude.  It’s not easy, but well worth the effort in the long run.  A set of  weighing scales will help us see our progress in this new endeavor.  Remember:  EAT TO LIVE!