Is It Time To Relax When It Comes To Your Health?

I see this scenario pretty frequently at this time of the year: A person decides it's time to get healthy. So they start reading about all of the foods they should and shouldn't eat, all of the habits they should and shouldn't have, and they are ready to completely change their life. There are so many different things they could focus on, so why choose just one? Right away they start drinking more water, eating lots of fruits and veggies, tracking how much fat they are consuming (and what kind it is), getting more sleep, burning exactly 325 calories per day through exercise, wearing sunscreen daily- whew! The list goes on and on….

A week later, they are totally stressed out and ready to throw in the towel because it's too many things to think about. Does this sound familiar? Have you ever fallen into the trap of feeling like you have to become perfectly healthy and do everything exactly the way the experts tell you to? With so much information out there, it's easy to get overwhelmed with what you should and shouldn't be doing when it comes to your health.

Take Stock of Your Behaviors and Stay at a Healthy Weight, Naturally

by Susan Burke March, MS, RD, LD/N, CDE

We live in a time of huge portions, cheap food, and timesaving technology. We're burning fewer calories, sitting for hours at our desks, in front of computers, and in traffic. It's so easy to overeat and even best intentions get in the way of getting regular activity. This isn't an American problem—there's even a term that's been coined to describe the world-wide explosion of obesity and weight-related type 2 diabetes—"diabetesity." With barely enough time for our families and friends, how is it possible to take charge of our foods and work in activity?

We can take it one meal at a time, one food at a time, and one walk at a time, and one day at a time. We can make choices that work for us.

When you see a thin person, do you assume that they are that way "naturally"? Or, are they making smart choices most of the time, every day, so that their weight control becomes second nature? People who make mindful eating second nature may appear naturally thin, but they're paying attention to what they're eating—and how much they're eating, and when. They usually stop eating when they're full, although there are times when they may overeat—that's natural too. They eat what they want—but how much they eat is usually just enough.

Thin doesn't come from having a "skinny gene." Almost always, a thin person practices thin behaviors. For example, they consistently monitor their weight—not necessarily by stepping on the scale—they may use their favorite jeans or skirt to keep track of their waist size. (Weight is just a number on the scale, and won't measure your fitness, for example, a muscular person can have an "overweight" BMI (body mass index) and be extremely fit—see a professional wrestler or active basketball player). When the thin person gains unwanted inches, they take steps to reclaim their physique, not by "dieting," but instead by cutting back and adding in; eat fewer servings of bread or pasta, eat more fruits and vegetables—and add more activity. It's not magic—just consistency, with activity.

Overeating is a habit, a learned behavior, and becomes ingrained and expected. Large portions become 'normal' and we are constantly reminded that the larger size is a "bargain"; that "upgrading" your order saves money, and that for just a few cents, your order can be a "biggie." "All you can eat" has become "eat all you can." Fast food eaters consistently underestimate large or super-sized meals by 500 calories. Do that just once a week and you'll gain almost eight pounds a year.

What does it take to gain a pound…or lose one?

SparkPeople's Best Day Ever

Thanks to all of you for your kinds words, encouraging messages and excited notes about the launch of "The Spark."

Here at SparkPeople headquarters in Cincinnati, we celebrated the launch with a trip to a local bookstore to see the book on display and a group lunch. We were so excited that we actually got there as we the employees were bringing the new books out. By later that afternoon, we were getting emails, texts and tweets from friends, fans and members who had seen the book (and bought it)!

"The man checking me out asked if the book was featured on a show today because he has been selling them like crazy," Tanya told us when she went to buy more copies of "The Spark" for friends and family.

Learn How to Preorder the SparkPeople Book

Early this year, SparkPeople announced our biggest news ever--we signed a major book deal with Hay House!

Well, we're happy to announce that as of today, you can preorder your copy of "The Spark: The 28-Day Breakthrough Plan for Losing Weight, Getting Fit, and Transforming Your Life," which connects the dots between health, fitness, weight loss and goal-setting in a whole new way.

It reveals, for the first time ever, the top 27 secrets of success of members who have achieved their goals and/or lost 100 pounds or more. This one-of-a-kind book leads you to understand what you CAN do to make your life healthier and increase your odds of being more successful in all aspects of your life! Plus, you'll get to read about the complete history of SparkPeople and the man who made it all possible--Chris "SparkGuy" Downie. (Note: As a SparkPeople employee, I've heard Chris' story several times, but reading it in the book actually brought me to tears--happy ones!)

The book officially launches on Jan. 5, 2010, but as exciting as it will be to see "The Spark" on the shelves of your favorite store, don't wait until then.

There are plenty of reasons to order your copy ahead of time:

The (Surprising) First Step to Getting Fit

NFL star Terrell Owens recently wrote a book on fitness, which was published by Simon & Schuster. Here is a guest blog post about taking the first step toward getting fit from "T.O.’s Finding Fitness."

Changing your thinking about what it takes to be fit is more important than the whys, whens, and wheres of how you’re going to do it. Here, how to get started and stay motivated.

Everything starts with the mind. Everything! If you set your mind on high things, you’ll achieve high goals. Of course, the opposite is true as well. Lack of ambition and negative thoughts will delivery negative results in every area of your life.

Once you overcome your mental weaknesses, affirm that your body can do remarkable things, and tap into the spirit within yourself, you will be one step closer to making a complete transformation that will lead you to a lifestyle of fitness forever.

An In-Depth Talk with the Author of 'The End of Overeating'

Each time you turn around your box of cereal to read the nutrition label, you have Dr. David Kessler to thank. When your orange juice carton says "fresh," you can trust that it wasn't made from concentrate, thanks to Dr. Kessler. And now, when you open a restaurant menu and see those endless pages of fat-, sugar- and salt-laden concoctions, you can also thank him.

Kessler isn't responsible for the recipes at chain restaurants, and if he had his way, you'd know straight-away exactly what's in them. But thanks to his new book, "The End of Overeating," you know that restaurants are not fighting fairly when it comes to those over-the-top creations. And, after reading the book, you'll know how to fight back.

As a doctor, researcher and former commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, Kessler knew there were certain foods are irresistible to different people.

We can all think of a food that, as the Pringles jingle goes, "once you pop, you can't stop."

For one of his patients, it's M&M's. This man is a journalist who has covered some of the most dangerous conflicts on Earth, and he breaks out into a sweat and falls to his knees at the site of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate candies.

Kessler discovered that there is a biological reason that we're compelled to overeat cheese fries but not celery: Foods high in sugar, fat and salt alter our brains' chemistry.

How to Disinfect Your Home -- Naturally

Simon and Schuster author Ellen Sandback shared this guest blog post, an elegant and simple solution to killing bacteria in your home, from her book, Green Housekeeping .


Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, contaminated fruits and vegetables with salmonella, shigella, or E. Coli bacteria, then sprayed the produce with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, or both. Hydrogen peroxide was one hundred times as effective as vinegar, but vinegar and hydrogen peroxide worked together to kill ten times as many bacteria as were killed by peroxide alone.

This is a very elegant and simple solution to a vexing problem. The bacteria are not just moved around to cause trouble elsewhere; they are—to paraphrase from the movie The Wizard of Oz—not just merely dead, they are really, most sincerely, dead.

Implementing a Domestic Spray Program
I have been using this dual spray system for years, and frankly, it couldn’t be easier.

7 Tips for Controlling Your Hunger’s On and Off Switches

Simon & Schuster authors Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. shared this guest blog post, which offers tips on keeping your hunger in check.

From You: On a Diet:

Duct tape over your mouth isn’t how your body regulates food intake. Your body does it naturally, through hormones. Here are some quick tips for satisfying your appetite.

Get Over Sticker Shock. You should read food labels as actively as you read the stock ticker or the horoscopes. Don’t eat foods that have any of the following listed as one of the first five ingredients:

• Simple sugars
  
• Enriched, bleached, or refined flour (this means it’s stripped of its nutrients)
  
• HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup -- a four-letter word).

Could You Give It All Up to Follow Your Dream?

Eustace Conway is a man who never accepted the word no, who never worried about how others perceived his life, who never gave up on his dream.

Who is Eustace Conway?

"By the time Eustace Conway was seven years old, he could throw a knife accurately enough to nail a chipmunk to a tree. By the time he was ten, he could hit a running squirrel at fifty feet with a bow and arrow. When he turned twelve, he went out into the woods, alone and empty-handed, built himself a shelter, and survived off the land for a week. When he turned seventeen, he moved out of his family's home altogether and headed into the mountains, where he lived in a teepee of his own design, made fire by rubbing two sticks together, bathed in icy streams, and dressed in the skins of the animals he had hunted and eaten."

Author Elizabeth Gilbert called him "The Last American Man" (in the biography of the same name, excerpted above); others have named him a modern-day Daniel Boone.

More simply--and more importantly--he's a man who's following his dream.

Son of 'Post' Editor Wrote His Own Happy Ending

Quinn Bradlee could have taken the easy way out.

Quinn, now 27, grew up in privilege, the son of Washington Post power couple Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee. He went to the best schools, lived in historic mansions and was surrounded by famous writers and politicians.

His father was the editor of the Post during the Watergate years, and his mom is a columnist and best-selling author.

From birth, Quinn had been plagued with health problems--illnesses, seizures, and migraines among them--and had even had open heart surgery while still an infant. He was sick more often than not and had a few close calls. Instead of accepting doctors' suggestions that Quinn be institutionalized or treated differently, Sally Quinn became her son's tireless advocate, eventually getting to the root of his health problems.

At age 14, he was finally correctly diagnosed as having Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome, or VCFS, a common but little-understood disorder that is characterized by various physical ailments and learning disabilities.

Are You An Apple in a Lollipop World?

Identifying your body shape and learning to love it are two different things.

This is especially true when the world indicates we should be something we don't see when we look in the mirror.

Do you know what your body type is and have you learned to accept and love it?

10 Requests to Add to Your Dining Repertoire

No matter what restaurant you choose, you can find something healthy to eat, as long as you know a few magic phrases, says Jenna Bergen, author of "Your Big Fat Boyfriend: How to Stay Thin When Dating a Diet Disaster."

Here's how Jenna sticks to her healthy eating strategy even when her boyfriends wants wings or pizza:

Speaking up can make a huge difference in slimming down. Go ahead and be picky when placing your order.

A Minute With: Triathlete, Firefighter and "Engine 2" Author Rip Esselstyn

World-class professional triathlete turned firefighter Rip Esselstyn knows how to eat right and stay in shape. The son, grandson, and great-grandson of renowned physicians, he had been eating a plant-based diet for years.

So when he discovered that one of his fellow firefighters had dangerously high cholesterol (344), he created and implemented the Engine 2 Diet to help others at his fire station reduce their cholesterol and improve their overall health.

His fellow firefighters adhered to a fully plant-based diet for 28 days. They significantly reduced their cholesterol levels and lost weight by eating foods that were nutrient-dense, naturally low in calories and high in fiber--not to mention delicious and easy to prepare.

The results were astounding.

That firefighter whose cholesterol was a whopping 344 dropped his levels to somewhere in the 270s a year later. Then he agreed to try Rip's plant-based plan. Three weeks later, his cholesterol was down to 196! In 2008, 15 people started the second 28-day Engine 2 pilot study. At the outset, the group's average cholesterol was 196. By the end, participants' average cholesterol levels declined 62 points. The average weight loss was 14 pounds.

Rip's book, The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan that Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds, comes out today.
We recently chatted with Rip about his healthy eating habits, the book, and how anyone can adapt the Engine 2 Diet for their lifestyles.

We Read It: 'Your Big Fat Boyfriend'

Healthy eating is hard enough when every significant person in your life is on board. If you're the only person you know who is trying to get to get fit, it's an additional roadblock for you to overcome. If you're newly in love and your significant other isn't exactly a good eater or avid exerciser, it's that much more difficult to stick with even well-established healthy habits.

Studies have shown that women almost always gain weight in relationships. When you're in love (especially new love), it's easy to forget to count calories and record food intake--especially when you're sharing a nibble with your honey.

Jenna Bergen, a Spinning instructor and yoga fanatic from Philadelphia, had always been a healthy eater. Then one day she tried on her favorite jeans and realized they no longer fit. She had gained 13 pounds over the course of her relationship.

From sharing his nachos during the game, to munching popcorn together at the movies, ssnacking on peanuts at the ballpark, ordering takeout on weekends and skipping morning workouts to cuddle--those calories and missed workouts take a toll.

Jenna knew she wasn't alone and wrote "Your Big Fat Boyfriend: How to Stay Thin When Dating a Diet Disaster" (Quirk Books, January 2009, $14.95).

Dietgirl Shares Her 20 Best Weight-Loss Secrets

Today's guest blogger is Shauna Reid, otherwise known as Dietgirl. In 2001, after seeing her gigantic white underpants waving in the breeze, Shauna decided enough was enough. It was time to lose weight. Then 351 pounds, she could barely walk down the block. Seven years and 175 pounds later, the 31-year-old Australia native is happily married and living in Scotland. (See the before and after photos here.)

How did she lose half her body weight and keep it off? Ultimately, the same way many SparkPeople members did: Through perseverance, hard work and moderation. Here, she offers 20 tips for those trying to lose weight and get healthy.