What’s New? Mid-year 2011
What’s New? Mid-year 2011
Welcome once again to this Health and Fitness blog. Here is another fascinating snippet of health related news for you to read all about:
What’s new?
It’s time for an update. You might be interested to learn what I’ve been up to for the Women and Weight Website and otherwise. If you have a minute I hope you’ll give this post a read and then leave a comment to let me know about the challenges you face with weight management.
I'm riding my bike for the first time in many years. What are you doing to get the exercise you need?
To begin with, I can’t believe it is already almost August. I’m pleased to say I have been living in my “new” state for nearly 3 months! It’s slowly beginning to feel like home. Thank goodness. Because I hadn’t moved from one state to another in such a long time, I had completely forgotten what it is like and just how time consuming it can be!
Given that I am feeling more settled, I am also making time to get more caught up with my professional reading. Current knowledge about health, nutrition, and weight management is continually being updated and refined. I hate being out of touch with the latest developments. Although the Internet kept me informed to some extent when I was unable to read my journals and newsletters, somehow it’s just not the same.
My current projects:
1. I’m making good progress on putting together a simple, easy-to-follow guide on getting started with a healthy low calorie diet. In my experience, the people who are most successful with weight loss and maintenance are the ones who come up with a workable plan for meals and snacks that suits their particular needs and preferences. You just can’t get this from someone else’s sample menu no matter how well thought out it might be.
What I’m attempting to do may or may not be as simple as I would like. But that’s the hope. Whether you are someone who struggles with not having a clue about how to get started or you simply need to do a bit of tweaking with an otherwise healthy diet, I’m hoping this guide will be just what you need.
2. I received an invitation to test a set of dishes designed for quick and easy portion measurement. Great idea! Who doesn’t need a gentle reminder about what is enough? The invitation was a surprise. I don’t get contacted very often and particularly for a product that seems to offer so much value. I plan to share my review in the next week or so.
Some product thoughts:
1. Truvia
Although I am not a fan of zero calorie artificial OR natural sweeteners, I decided to give Truvia (stevia) a try. It’s been on the market for a while now but I was just too busy with everything else going on in my life to see what it was like.
Yesterday, I tried mixing a packet of truvia crystals into an unsweetened cold drink. I was pleasantly surprised at how the product added just a bit of sweetness without an awful aftertaste. Maybe I’ve finally found a product I could use.
I am still an advocate of weaning oneself off of overly sweetened products. Added sugars from any source are a problem for many people. Maybe Truvia could provide that touch of sweetness without any added sugar.
What has your experience been? Do you like Truvia? How do you use it
To read more about my thoughts on artificial sweeteners for weight management:
Artificial Sweeteners for Weight Loss: Do They Work?
To read more about my thoughts on natural sweeteners:
Natural Sweeteners and Weight Loss
2. Justin Nut Butters in Individual Packets
I am happy to say I have now found a grocery store in my new town that sells Justin’s nut butter packets. Nut butters offer a good source of protein, healthy fats, and other nutrients. I’m glad I could add these packets to my small collection of easy to pack and carry food products for when I travel by car, train, or plane
You can purchase the nut butters online if you are interested:
http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/
[Healthy Low Calorie Eating when Traveling: See how I planned for a two-day train ride a couple of summers ago to have nutritious low calorie food for a 1200 calorie diet.]
3. Cascadian Farm Organic Cinnamon Crunch
My husband purchased a couple of new breakfast cereals for us to try. The one I’ve tried so far is Cascadian Farm Organic Cinnamon Crunch. I’m not sure I would buy it again.
First of all the outside of the package touts that it has 8 grams of whole grain. That’s nice but not all that much. However, it does just meet the USDA recommendation in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for a whole grain product to provide a minimum of 8 grams of whole grain per ounce.
The package also suggests the cereal is a good source of fiber. It has 3 grams of fiber per serving but I feel you can do better than that. Three is good if it actually comes from the cereal grains. But if you examine the ingredient label, you’ll see the added oat fiber and maltodextrin. Oat fiber is o.k. but I’m not so sure about the added functional fiber in the form of maltodextrin.
Here are some of my previous recommendations for cold cereals:
Ten Top Breakfast Cereals for Weight Loss
And here are some of my recommendations for hot cereals:
Exercise:
I’m getting back to exercising! How about you? I had been a runner for many years and then in the last couple of years I gave long distance running a try. I loved it! But I’m sorry to say I got too late of a start in life. My knees are telling me I had better be careful.
So I’ve rethought my exercise habits. I still do yoga stretches and will be looking for a good yoga studio so that I can practice with other people. I’m also back to walking instead of running. In many ways this is just as good if not better BUT it is more time consuming. I’m also enjoying a renewed interest in riding my bicycle. There are some great biking and walking trails where I now live!
In addition to getting back to exercise, I’m also back to wearing my Bodymedia FIT armband that measures the calories I’ve burned over a 24-hour period of time. This device gives me an added incentive to keep my calorie intake to a reasonable level depending on whether I want to lose weight or maintain.
To read more about the Bodymedia armband:
Bodymedia Review: A Weight Loss System
How are you doing with your diet and exercise? I’d love to hear from you.
[Disclaimer: The product link in this article is for Amazon.com. I am affiliated with Amazon. However, I only promote products that I personally like or that I have researched with the intention of trying myself. If you click through a link I provide and make a purchase I may receive a tiny commission that helps me pay for the time I spend to research, write, edit, and maintain this website. Thank you.]
You may be able to get the full story by clicking here:
Women and Weight Website
Also, check out this great weight loss and health site for more ways to lose weight and stay healthy.
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment