There are many variations of passages of Lorem Ipsum available, but the majority have suffered alteration in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words which don’t look even slightly believable. Read more
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There are many variations of passages of Lorem Ipsum available, but the majority have suffered alteration in some form, by injected humour, or randomised words which don’t look even slightly believable. Read more
Many reports suggest that people gain from 7-10 lbs during the holidays. How can you ensure that you don’t fall into that group? Simply follow the tips below. Honor yourself by honoring your body. Everything you consume either contributes to or detracts from your health. I encourage you to choose well. To help you in choosing well, here are some tips for maintaining your weight over the holidays.
First Things First
Schedule your exercise for the first part of your day so it doesn’t fall to the mercy of the extra holiday errands you’ll probably be running. Picking up food for the office party, a gift for the hostess, Christmas shopping; these extra errands can cut into your time and before you know it, the whole day is over and you haven’t exercised. Author and blogger Ann Voskamp says “Word In, Work Out, Work Your Plan” in that order.
Don’t Skip a Meal
Skipping breakfast and lunch so you can really throw down at dinner? No. Don’t self-sabotage. You need to adequately fuel your body for optimal energy and performance throughout the day.
Make it Count
If you’re consuming calories, make them count. Why waste a significant portion of your caloric intake for the day on empty beverages like alcohol, soda, cider and eggnog? I LOVE eggnog but I don’t love what it does to my body. Your average cup of eggnog has nearly 350 calories and 19 fat grams! So I have to exercise self-control and stay away from the stuff. I’ll save my calories for the small treat that I’ll allow myself to enjoy.
Portion Control
On most round dinner plates there is a ridge about 2 inches in from the edge. Your food should be contained within that inner circle. But most of us fill the plate to the very edge. To prevent overeating, we can exercise portion control by eating off of a salad plate instead.
Be Selective
Does EVERY item present need to be on your plate? For Thanksgiving I’m going to be selective. I am indifferent when it comes to stuffing so I’m not even going to put it on my plate. Rice pilaf and mashed potatoes, well I could eat those anytime and they aren’t my favorites either so I’ll pass on those too. Again it’s about making those calories and fat grams count.
Beware Of The Sneaky
Oh the sneaky calories that can catch up on you when you aren’t paying attention. You are standing around chatting at a party and each time the hors d’oeuvres come past you grab some. Pretty little phyllo purses filled with goodness, fried little somethings, wrapped little somethings, cheese and crackers, all manner of spreads and dips…and before you know it, BAM! It isn’t even dinner and you’ve consumed enough fat and calories that equate to a dinner.
Wait Before Having Seconds
After eating it takes the brain 20 minutes to register that you’ve eaten. So before you go for that second plate, wait a while. There are also times we mistake thirst for hunger so while you’re waiting sip some water.
It is my prayer that by following these tips you’ll maintain your weight over the holidays and not feel the guilt or weight (no pun intended) of carry around those extra holidays pounds. If you remain steadfast, you can enter 2016 feeling great about your choices and perhaps won’t have to have the proverbial LOSE WEIGHT New Years Resolution.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been inspired to live fully.
Photo CreditPhoto Credit
Sour. Tangy. And down right thirst quenching. That’s my take on lemon water. I drink it every day, all day and have been doing so for at least 6 years now. We’ve all been taught to drink our 8 cups a day. Why not up the benefits quotient of your daily water by adding lemon.
Lemon
It’s like holding the sun in your hands. Its color radiates brilliance. From being used in the 1700’s to successfully fight scurvy to today’s lemon water hype, the Lemon has:
~51% of your daily value of Vitamin C
~Vitamin B-6, Thiamin, Magnesium, and Potassium, among others.
~Antioxidant Power
8 Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water
It is suggested that lemon water:
~Makes Your Belly Flat
~Improves Digestion
~Helps The Liver Perform Optimally
~Keeps Sickness At Bay
~Helps Improve Acid/Alkaline Balance
~Helps Improve Skin
~Helps Increase Iron Absorption
~Is An Anti-Inflammatory
A few studies have been done to substantiate many of these claims. We can also surmise a few things that just MAKE SENSE as related to the benefits of drinking lemon water.
~Lemon does contain pectin fiber, which can help control hunger. So chances are that can help curb your eating thus impacting the belly.
~Lemon water can help relieve symptoms of indigestion and increase production of bile aiding digestion.
~The typical American diet is highly acidic. This causes a condition in the body called acidosis. Drinking lemon water can help bring acid/alkaline levels back into balance.
~Vitamin C is important in the formulation of collagen so yes drinking that lemon water would seem to make your skin glow and appear taut.
~Iron is more easily absorbed when paired with Vitamin C so add a squeeze of lemon juice to your protein or spinach for better iron absorption.
~Lemons are antioxidants which cut down free radicals, boost the immune system and help you heal faster.
Personally, I find that it quickly quenches my thirst. When drinking lemon water I am apt to do less mindless eating and I am satiated so that could contribute to keeping the belly from getting big. I rarely get sick, don’t have inflammation and my skin looks well. Should I attribute this to drinking the lemon water? All I’ll say is it’s working for me. And hey, even if you aren’t the recipient of all the wonderful things lemon water is touted to do, you can still feel good about yourself for having consistently drank water and adding the lemon wasn’t taking much of a risk. So go ahead and drink your lemon water.
For more on the benefits of lemons click here
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Sitting across from Rae Lynn and Audra, I listened to the cacophony of chatter emanating from my peers; a bunch of 9th and 10th grade students maximizing on one of the free moments in the day, lunch time. In between the babble, they took bites of beefy macaroni as I nibbled on a tempeh sandwich. Needless to say, being an African-American vegan child in the 80’s & 90’s wasn’t so easy.
Thus were the early years on my health & wellness journey. My father has been a vegan since 1976. I was raised by my mother as a meat eater but went to live with my vegan father when I was 14. The transition was quite jarring. To go from ham, greens, and mac & cheese for Sunday dinner to brown rice, lentils and steamed broccoli: to go from a gallon of cow milk in the fridge regularly to homemade almond milk prepared freshly right before I left for school was a transition indeed. I was already ‘different’. My dad is Jamaican with floor length dread locks and I dressed differently. I wanted to be the social butterfly and be liked which led me to talk A LOT often brash and loud but really I was a bookworm. So the food was yet another thing that set me apart.
In college I did what many college females do, I gained weight. Coupled with the fact that my mother died suddenly two months into my freshman year in college, I ate late and ate lots of prepared foods, which I almost never did when at home with dad. And it was not until my early-twenties, suffering from hyperthyroidism, high cholesterol and weighing 178 lbs. that I realized I was far removed from the healthy, nourishing, plant based diet that I experience when with my dad. I expressed my concerns to my then boyfriend (now my husband) and he committed to helping me get my health under control. With his help, I learned to manage my thyroid disease, manage my cholesterol and lose weight by eating differently and exercising regularly.
After I became pregnant with my 1st child, the desire to nourish my body grew stronger. I wanted to provide the best conditions I could for the growing baby. I read and read and finally began to know and understand some of the food decisions my father made. I finally knew for myself why we had eaten bee pollen, umiboshi plums and miso soup.
For over ten years now, I have been on this amazing journey of health and wellness. In a year, I consume hundreds of books, articles, documentaries, demos and the like, teaching myself to honor my temple through proper nourishment, rest and exercise. While my name is Tyra, I’m no food tyrant. I simply seek to make choices that are God honoring and since He has taught me how to care for my temple, following through on that is the least I can do. Furthermore, His word says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Wednesdays here on the blog are Wellness Wednesdays. Each Wednesday, I will share a nugget with you that I have learned along my journey with the hope that you will be inspired to implement the suggestions so that you are living fully. And to live fully and feel alive, you must be intentional about caring for your temple. I want to come alongside you to inspire you as you walk out your journey of health and wellness. And the journey requires not only proper nourishment but also adequate rest and exercise and we will tackle all of these here on Wellness Wednesdays too. Thank you for allowing me to partner with you on your journey.
I look forward to sharing some of the best practices that have worked for me. Here are just a few that I’ve implemented which have helped me remain energetic, youthful, strong, and focused.
~ I eat whole, unprocessed, unrefined, plant based foods 85% of the time.
The other 15%…well, I give myself room for a little indulgence.
~I meal plan. Every other Sunday I sit down with my coupons, grocery list
and menu-planning sheet to create a plan for the next two weeks.
~I have a green smoothie for breakfast, a raw salad with some type of protein for lunch and a nutrient dense dinner almost everyday.
~I’ve nearly eliminated dairy from my diet. When I did I immediately noticed all mucus and sinus problems were gone…like instantly!
~I exercise at least 3 days a week. In my ideal world, I would go to Zumba or African dance but since that doesn’t fit into my schedule and family dynamic, I make use of my treadmill, on demand videos, YouTube videos and an occasional boot camp class when I can get there. I also keep my resistance bands in my car for impromptu working out.
These are just a few of the best practices that have enabled me to honor my temple, manage my weight and nourish not only myself but my family as well.
I look forward to our continued journey. So where are you on your health and wellness journey? Let me know because I want to support you.
As always it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully. If you’ve been inspired, please comment and share.