Did you know that if you don’t eat breakfast you actually slow down your metabolism? You do. You actually send your body into “hoard mode.” It thinks it’s starving because you’re going such a long period of time– frequently 8 to 10 hours or more– without food. Studies show that people who regularly eat a healthy breakfast within two hours of rising are more likely to control their weight.

Your dinner meal should be your lightest meal, and some experts are recommending that you not eat anything after 8 p.m. By doing this it allows your body to burn and process the food that you have consumed and you end up burning more calories per hour this way as well.

Water, water and more water. You’ve heard it before, but you need to make sure that you drink those eight 8-ounce glasses of water every single day. Your metabolism needs water to work correctly.

Another thing you can to do to help maintain an active, healthy metabolism is to eat every four to five hours. Our bodies work hard to digest and absorb the foods we eat, and your metabolism revs up in response. This is called the thermic effect of food. Take full advantage of this and make sure to schedule meals and snacks every four to five hours.

Eating protein with every meal is another way you can boost and maintain a healthy metabolism. Eating enough protein gives your body a bigger metabolic boost than eating things like carbohydrates or fats. Plus, getting enough protein will ensure you’ll maintain and build muscle mass. (Remember, the more muscle mass you have, the greater your metabolic rate). Make sure to incorporate lean protein into most every meal. Best protein sources: fish, chicken breast, turkey breast, lean red meat, skim milk, nonfat yogurt, eggs and egg substitutes, tofu, beans, and lentils.

Here are some other foods that you can eat that will help increase your metabolism:

Curry: increases the amount of calories your body burns and speeds up your metabolism.
Cinnamon: A little bit of cinnamon can go a long way. Add some zing to your daily cup of tea with this tasty spice to help your body metabolize sugars more effectively and maintain steadier blood sugar levels. Cinnamon can also help lower your cholesterol.
Oatmeal: Because your body takes a long time to break down the fat-soluble fiber in oatmeal, this healthy food lowers your body’s insulin level and speeds up your metabolism as a result.
Soy Milk: Fortified soy milk is loaded with calcium, which helps boost your metabolism. Just stay away from the sweetened varieties.
Apples: this low-calorie snack is high in fiber, which your body must burn calories to break down. Plus, since apples help you stay full for longer, you’ll eat less.
Spinach: Popeye was right about one thing: spinach can help make you strong and healthy. In addition to speeding up your metabolism, it’s a great source of antioxidants, magnesium, potassium, iron and vitamin C.
Beans: Low in fat and packed with protein, beans keep you full for long durations, and your body must burn extra calories in order to process this fiber-rich food.
Almonds: Almonds’ essential fatty acids help raise your body’s metabolism. Just don’t overdo it because they’re also very high in calories.
Coffee: Coffee does have caffeine, which happens to also give you a boost. Just make sure that you don’t exceed two – three cups a day because the side effects could be brutal– like irritability and the jitters.
Grapefruit: is a diet super fruit and lowers the insulin levels in your body that trigger your system to store fat. Plus, it is rich in fiber and your body must burn extra calories in order to break it down.

When you are selecting which foods that speed up your metabolism to implement into your diet it is vital to make sure that you choose healthy foods such as the ones listed above. Make sure you have ample fiber in your diet and to also cut down on foods that are high in or even moderately high in sugar. You should also reduce your tobacco intake if you are a smoker and alcohol if you like to drink because that will help give your metabolism the much needed boost you are looking for.

Earlier this week we talked about eating habits that can help you to have a dramatic weight loss. Now we are going to talk about the simple things you can do to move the weight loss forward.

1. Health App – Whether it be for your phone or on your computer, you really do need some sort of tracking system. This will help you to keep track of the food you eat and the exercise that you do. There are numerous ones out there that can track this information for you, helping you see how many calories you burned and consumed. This information is critical in the weight loss process.

There are also Apps available that will track the distance that you run, walk or bike and calculate not only the mileage but the amount of calories that you burned. This is motivation at its best and helps you realize that when you walk from the back of the parking lot to the grocery store entrance, you are burning calories.

2. Elevated Heartbeat for a min of 30 – 45 minutes daily. This means that if you hate running, not to worry. You just have to make sure that you are walking briskly enough to elevate your heartbeat for 30 minutes. You should be able to talk with your walking partner, but it should labored. This means you are working your body, and burning calories.

3. Rest. Make sure you rest your body adequately between each exercise session, so you don’t damage your muscles. Make sure that you consider protein supplements. This will help your body rebuild the necessary muscles and cells that we use when we exercise and really, just function day to day. If you are tired after you exercise you need to provide your body with the essential proteins necessary to rebuild, rejuvenate and restore your muscles.

4. You don’t have to go to the gym to exercise. There are a lot of different exercises that you can do, at home, that don’t require a gym membership. Squats, lunges, sit-ups and push-ups to name just a few. Adding these exercises to your daily routine will increase your endurance.

5. Ask for Help – Get a workout buddy or someone to help keep you accountable. There is something to be said for knowing someone is outside or at the gym waiting for you to keep you motivated and working out.

If you follow these five easy steps, you will see a gradual weight loss. The toughest part of losing weight is that it doesn’t just slide off like a bad outfit. You have to work it off and that work is hard. Just remember: Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels.

What are some of your tried and true tips for easy to do exercise?

We are entering the time of year when parents everywhere are one fuse short of a blow out. We try to make the holidays absolutely perfect for our off-spring. Typically the time and effort we put into making the holiday’s all shiny and rosy goes entirely unnoticed.  Unless Mom ends up blowing up the bank or something else entirely plausible.

In light of that, Provide Gold has come up with a very simple and easy way to de-stress your holidays.

1. If it’s worth doing its worth doing wrong. What the heck does that even mean? It means that no one is going to notice if your front door has a fresh coat of paint or if all the presents are elegantly wrapped with homemade gift tags. While all the little details are nice, you can let a large majority of them go and the holidays will still be wonderful.

2. Turn off Technology Every Night At A Set Time. At our house we have a rule that all cell phones and computers are off and plugged into a huge outlet in the kitchen to charge. Nightly and no excuses. Everyone has until 11:00pm to finish their homework because once 11 rolls around our handy filter turns on and no one can access the Internet. The filter is the bad guy, not Mom or Dad.
I know. I freaked out when this new rule was presented to me, too. No one is allowed to keep their cell phones or computers in their rooms– including Mom and Dad. It seems drastic, and honestly I nearly had a heart attack to not feel my phone under my pillow; however, I can honestly tell you that I sleep more soundly because I’m not constantly checking my phone.
Try it. You’ll love it.

3. Take A Walk. That’s easy enough to understand. Exercising is a natural way to let off the pent up steam created from stress. However, walking in the winter is just plain cold. Don’t give up on walking because its -40 outside (or at least feels like it) think outside of the box for places you can walk.

• Drop your kids off at the elementary school and then walk the halls. You can figure out how many times around the halls you need to walk to equal a mile. I’ve seen the teachers doing this at several schools (check with the administration to make sure they’re ok with it) .
• Most Malls open their doors early for people to mall walk.
• A lot of the newer high schools and junior high schools have indoor tracks, and if they don’t walk their halls (again, check with administration).

4. Store Bought Is the New Homemade. Of course we all love to eat home baked goodies, but with the schedules that we all keep it’s near impossible to bake like our Grandma’s did. No one needs to know that Mr Piggly-Wiggly made those awesome cookies or salad that you brought to the holiday party. When you’re complimented, just smile and say Thank You. And then silently thank Mr. Piggly-Wiggly.

5. Remember What Nancy Reagan Taught Us… Just Say No. That is the most liberating word in the English language. NO. You don’t have to go to every single party on the planet, bake twenty-four dozen cookies for the PTA or provide a Sub-for-Santa for three families. No. You won’t be thought less of, nor will your family stop loving you. You simply we not be stressed because you embraced the most powerful word on the planet: No.

What are your favorite Holiday de-stressors?

Did you know that the human body, minus water, is 75% protein?

It is.

Our bodies are made up primarily of protein and knowing that little fact helps a person understand why they need to make sure they are getting the suggested amounts of protein daily in their diets. If not, then making sure they are taking protein supplements to reach those required amounts.

Our bodies NEED protein not only to function and stay healthy, but to stay alive. The Amino acids found in protein are vital in every human bodily function. Protein is crucial in formatting bones, teeth, and tissues.

There are three different types of protein Globular, Fibrous and Membrane.

The average person, when hearing those three terms, my find themselves thinking they know nothing about protein. However when you use the more common terms, people are surprised by how much they really do know.

Take for example the term Fibrous Protein. This type of protein is found only in animals. Why? Because Fibrous protein is Collagen – the key component in connective tissue growth—and Keratin—the protein that is found in hair and finger nails.

Globular proteins are typically made up of enzymes and unlike fibrous proteins, globular proteins can act as messengers. It transmits messages to regulate the biological processes. This function is done by hormones, like insulin. One of the most well-know globular proteins is hemoglobin which is the iron containing oxygen transportation system to red-blood cells.

Hemoglobin is found in the blood and carries oxygen from the respiratory organs to the rest of the body (i.e., the tissues). It then releases the oxygen to burn nutrients to provide energy to power the functions of the organism. Then it collects the resultant carbon dioxide to bring it back to the respiratory organs to be dispensed from the body. In mammals, this kind of protein makes up 97% of the red blood cells’ dry content, and around 35% of the total content (including water).

Membrane proteins serve as the receptors and provide transit channels for the protein to pass in and through to the cell membranes. More than half of all proteins interact with membranes.

Understanding the roles that these three types of proteins play within our bodies helps us to make sure we are supplying our body with the healthy types of protein in the correct amounts. Look for more posts later on all the various types of proteins you can eat, and supplements you can take, to help your body get the nourishment it needs.

Sleep is definitely NOT overrated. Unless you’re a toddler. Then it’s totally overrated because you could be missing out on the super secret party that adults have after toddlers go to sleep.

Sleep is usually the first thing, that as adults, we sacrifice in order to get our huge To-Do List done. Eight hours is a lot of time to “give up” for laying around when you could be answering those emails or hitting the gym. However, everyone needs sleep and according to the National Health Interview thirty percent of adults average six hours or less of sleep a day.

No wonder we all feel like zombies.

Typically speaking adults need on average between seven and nine hours of sleep; teens and young adults need on average nine to ten hours of sleep and children and babies vary depending on their age.

image via: sleepfoundation.org

Sleep is vital to the health of your body. It is the time when your body does its repair and rebuilding of muscles. The growth hormone is secreted during sleep– which is necessary not only in the growth of children but throughout adulthood in rebuilding tissues.

Sleep is also vital in restoring mental energy. Contrary to popular belief, sleep will actually help the brain commit to memory the information that you have been learning. In various studies, people who went to sleep after learning new information actually performed better on exams than those who did not.

Proper amounts of sleep can also aid in increased metabolism and weight-loss. If you have consistent, long-term lack of sleep it can cause your body to gain weight. This happens because lack of sleep affects how your body processes and changes carbohydrates. It also changes the hormones in your body that affect your appetite.

Research is showing that not sleeping enough will inhibit not only your ability to remember and recall information, it also affects your productivity.  Lack of sleep can also lead to serious health problems and jeopardize not only your safety but the safety of those around you.

Lack of sleep has been linked with an increase in car accidents, weight gain– due to an increased appetite and health problems such as: diabetes, heart problems, depression and substance abuse. People who do not get enough sleep have difficulties remembering new information, paying attention and reacting to signals.

So ya.  Getting enough sleep is important.

Typically October conjures up images of pumpkin patches, harvest time,  vibrant fall colors, Halloween costumes and candy. Lots and lots of candy. The month makes normal people want to hunker down, read a good book while they listen to “the game”. It’s the month where people start thinking about connecting with family and making plans for winter survival.

However, there is another image that October should be conjuring up and that’s of a Pink Little Ribbon. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast Cancer is the second leading cause of death among women, and this month long campaign is designed to heighten awareness, empower survivors, and assist in preventing the disease.

Over  230,000 women, in the United States alone, will be diagnosed with breast cancer and over 40,610 people will die of the disease (40,170 women, 440 men).  Breast Cancer is not just a disease for women either. One percent of those diagnosed with breast cancer will be men.

Everyone is involved in daily lifestyle decisions that may affect their breast cancer risk. For example: poor diet, insufficient physical activity, smoking and alcohol use, to name just a few. Besides the possibility of reducing breast cancer, these lifestyle improvements are a smart step for a healthier life and can also help prevent heart disease, diabetes and many other life-threatening conditions.

Suggested Lifestyle Improvements:

• Decrease your daily fat intake – especially saturated or hydrogenated fats. – Eat leaner meats and avoid red meat.
• Increase fiber in your diet. Fiber is found in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.
• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables fruits and vegetables have antioxidant properties that may help prevent some cancers.
• Limit alcohol -  Evidence suggests that a small increase in risk exists for women who average two or more drinks per day (beer, wine, and distilled liquor).
• Stay active -  Taking a brisk walk 5 days a week for 30 minutes can help prevent many health problems. Striving to maintain the body weight recommended by a health professional is key because excess body weight (fat) may stimulate estrogen production.
• Don’t smoke. Smoking does not cause breast cancer. It can however increase the chances of blood clots, heart disease, and other cancers that may spread to the breast.

During your monthly self exam, make sure you check for lumps, soreness, nipple discharge, dimpling, redness, or swelling. Report any changes to your doctor as soon as possible. Early detection increases chances for survival. Mammograms are still the best way for early detection in Breast Cancer. Insurance and Medicaid both cover mammograms, and there are many ways for women to get low-cost or free mammograms.

For information on low- or no cost mammography screening, contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at (888) 842-6355 or visit their Web site at www.cdc.gov. Women seeking mammograms at a reduced rate are urged to make their appointment early in the year, as space may be limited. To find a breast-imaging facility, contact the National Cancer Institute at (800) 4-CANCER.