Daily Health Habits

HEALTH HABIT DAY 10

Yesterday we talked about calories and paying closer attention to when we eat out. If we could only have available to us food labels for every menu item, I think this country would have a lot less health challenges. What I am about to list below with shock you! Posted here are some of the top 20 worst take out foods. I was floored actually. Some of them don’t seem like that would be that bad, but just look at the nutritional value on these items. We MUST stay educated on what we put in our mouths!

CHECK OUT THESE 20 EXAMPLES OF THINGS WE OFTEN EAT!!

20. Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips from McDonald’s

•(5 pieces) with creamy ranch sauce

•830 calories

•55 g fat (4.5 g trans fat)

•48 g carbohydrates

19. Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo’d Power Smoothie (30 fl oz)

•900 calories

• 10 g fat

183 g carbs (166 g sugar)

18. Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie (whole pie)

•1,020 calories

• 64 g fat

• 86 g carbs

17. Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger

•1,145 calories

• 71 g fat

•56 g carbs

15. Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni ‘n’ Cheese

•1,210 calories

• 62 g fat

•3,450 mg sodium

14. Quiznos Classic Italian (large)
•1,490 calories

•85 g fat

•4,510 mg sodium

• 96 g carbs

13. On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef

•1,450 calories

•102 g fat

• 78 g carbs

2,410 mg sodium

12. Carl’s Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger

•1,520 calories

• 111 g fat

11. Lonestar 20 oz T-bone

•1,540 calories

• 124 g fat

10. Bob Evans Caramel Banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed Hotcakes

•1,540 calories

• 77 g fat (9 g trans fat)

•198 g carbs (109 g sugar)

9. Chili’s Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

•1,600 calories

• 78 g fat

•215 g carbs

8. P.F. Chang’s Pork Lo Mein

•1,820 calories

•127 g fat

95 g carbs

7. Chili’s Honey Chipotle Crispers with Chipotle Sauce

•2,040 calories

•99 g fat

•240 g carbs

6. On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos with Rice and Beans

•2,100 calories

•130 g fat

•169 g carbs

•4,750 mg sodium

5. Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza

•2,310 calories

•162 g fat

•123 g carbs

•4,470 mg sodium

4. Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce

•2,430 calories

• 128 g fat

•207 g carbs

• 5,290 mg sodium

3. On the Border Stacked Border Nachos

•2,740 calories

• 166 g fat

•191 g carbs

• 5,280 mg sodium

2. Chili’s Awesome Blossom
•2,710 calories

• 203 g fat

•194 g carbs

•6,360 mg sodium

1. Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing

•2,900 calories

•182 g fat

240 g carbs

HEALTH HABIT DAY 9

As we get into food intake and calories in addition to watching our fats, sodium, cholesterol and sugars there is one huge area of caution we need to watch out for and that’s food not eaten at home! When we eat out in any capacity, we are vulnerable to putting foods into our bodies of which we have no idea what the ingredients are. So often when we feel we are eating healthy, we are sabotaging ourselves! I will give you specific examples tomorrow, but for today, here are a few good tips for eating out from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA.

DON’T GIVE IN WHEN YOU EAT OUT AND ARE ON THE GO

It’s important to make smart food choices and watch portion sizes wherever you are—at the grocery store, at work, in your favorite restaurant, or running errands. Try these tips:

• At the store, plan ahead by buying a variety of nutrient-rich foods for meals and snacks throughout the week.
• When grabbing lunch, have a sandwich on whole- grain bread and choose low-fat/fat-free milk, water, or other drinks without added sugars.
• In a restaurant, opt for steamed, grilled, or broiled dishes instead of those that are fried or sautéed.
• On a long commute or shopping trip, pack some fresh fruit, cut-up vegetables, string cheese sticks, or a handful of unsalted nuts—to help you avoid impulsive, less healthful snack choices.

HEALTH HABIT – DAY 7 – FATS Continued

Continuing from yesterday on fats, today I want you to see the power of making small healthy changes in your diets! (Go back and read HEALTH HABIT – DAY 6 in the archives on the website if you missed it)

Today I am just going to post 3 tables so you can see for your own self the impact of making small healthy changes in our diets! Ladies, over time these changes will have a huge impact on your health, just like making poor choices will do the same in a negative way. Look over the following tables and be inspired!

Food Category	Portion	Saturated Fat Content (grams)	Calories
Cheese
• Regular cheddar cheese	1 oz	6.0	114
• Lowfat cheddar cheese	1 oz	1.2	49
Ground beef
• Regular ground beef (25% fat)	3 oz (cooked)	6.1	236
• Extra lean ground beef (5% fat)	3 oz (cooked)	2.6	148
Milk
• Whole milk (3.24%)	1 cup	4.6	146
• Lowfat (1%) milk	1 cup	1.5	102
Breads
• Croissant (med)	1 medium	6.6	231
• Bagel, oat bran (4″)	1 medium	0.2	227
Frozen desserts
• Regular ice cream	1/2 cup	4.9	145
• Frozen yogurt, lowfat	1/2 cup	2.0	110
Table spreads
• Butter	1 tsp	2.4	34
• Soft margarine with zero trans	1 tsp	0.7	25
Chicken
• Fried chicken (leg with skin)	3 oz (cooked)	3.3	212
• Roasted chicken (breast no skin)	3 oz (cooked)	0.9	140
Fish
• Fried fish	3 oz	2.8	195
• Baked fish	3 oz	1.5	129

The major dietary sources of saturated fats in the U.S. diet listed in decreasing order.

Food Group	Contribution
(percent of total sat fat consumed)
Cheese	13.1
Beef	11.7
Milka	7.8
Oils	4.9
Ice cream/sherbet/frozen yogurt	4.7
Cakes/cookies/quick breads/doughnuts	4.7
Butter	4.6
Other fatsb	4.4
Salad dressings/mayonnaise	3.7
Poultry	3.6
Margarine	3.2
Sausage	3.1
Potato chips/corn chips/popcorn	2.9
Yeast bread	2.6
Eggs	2.3

The major dietary sources of trans fats listed in decreasing order. Processed foods and oils provide approximately 80 percent of trans fats in the diet, compared to 20 percent that occur naturally in food from animal sources. Trans fats content of certain processed foods has changed and is likely to continue to change as the industry reformulates products.

Food Group	Contribution
(percent of total trans fats consumed)
Cakes, cookies, crackers, pies, bread, etc.	40
Animal products	21
Margarine	17
Fried potatoes	8
Potato chips, corn chips, popcorn	5
Household shortening	4
Othera	5

*All three of these charts came from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA.

HEALTH HABIT – DAY 6 – FATS!

Continuing on from:

Make smart choices from every food group*.

A healthy eating plan is one that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts.
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

(*coming directly from the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” put together by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.)

We are breaking down each point:. For today:

#3 A healthy eating plan is one that Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

Let’s break some of these down and today we start with…………(drum roll please!)

FATS!

Again all of the following information is taken from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans put out by the U. S. Department of Health and the USDA. Please be careful of ANY information you randomly find in articles, on the internet, in books and from friends. Flags should be going up if there are any products for sale, quick result diets with little effort or lifestyle change, or unsourced information backed by scientific journals. Anyone can sound like an expert and any one experiment can back a claim. It takes consistent medical research to back a claim and it’s worth waiting for those results.

BAD FATS:

High intake of saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol increases the risk of unhealthy blood lipid levels, which in turn may increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

I will get into calories later, but even the harmful health affects of these three ingredients are enough to need to make some adjustments to our diets.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

This is HUGE ladies! We must read labels and know what we are eating!! Processed food is literally killing us as well as fast food and most menu items at a restaurant! They along with oils provide approximately 80% of trans fats in the diet! Most of the source of trans fats are in partially hydrogenated oils (avoid at all costs) which is found in the most hidden of places, cakes, cookies, muffins, bread, donuts, baked goods, crackers, etc. Again you must read your labels AND the ingredients!

Consume less than 10% of calories from saturated fatty acids and less than 300 mg/day of cholesterols. No trans fats (It increases LDL cholesterol & increases inflammation and insulin resistance.)

GOOD FATS: (Yes, there are such things!)

Most dietary fats should come from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Sources of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids can be soybean oil, corn oil and safflower oil. Plant sources of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids include soybean oil, canola oil, walnuts and flaxseed. Examples of monounsaturated fatty acids include canola, olive, sunflower oils and nuts.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Replace the oil you cook with AND read those labels!

HEALTH HABIT – DAY 5

Remember, grab your water today! Put down the soda, latte, energy drink or calorie filled foo foo drink and grab, good old water today! If you need to go back to DAY 1 and DAY 2 about water, please do so!

Continuing on from:

Make smart choices from every food group*.

A healthy eating plan is one that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts.
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

(*coming directly from the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” put together by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.)

We are breaking down each point:

#2, Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts.

From the DASH diet:

Treat meats as one part of the whole meal, instead of

the focus

• Limit lean meats to 6 ounces a day—all that’s needed. Have

only 3 ounces at a meal, which is about the size of a deck

of cards.

• If you now eat large portions of meats, cut them back gradually—

by a half or a third at each meal.

• Include two or more vegetarian-style (meatless) meals each

week.

From Mypryamid.gov

• Total fat intake between 20-35% of calories. Replace sat and trans fats with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (fish, nuts, vegetable oils) in the fight to prevent heart disease.
• Use lean, low-fat or fat-free meats, poultry, beans and daily products. (skinless poultry before cooking) Grilled/baked/roast/broil/poach not fried. Trim fat from meat.
• Regular consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids helps to prevent blood clots, protect against irregular heartbeats, and lower blood pressure, especially in people with hypertension or atherosclerosis. Most healthy people should eat 2 servings of fish per week. Watch for mercury. Fish with highest mercury are tilefish, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin and shark
• Limit consumption of red meat. Selecting free range meats from grass-fed instead of grain-fed livestock offers the nutrient advantages of being lower in fat, and the fat has more polyunsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3 type.
• Watch fats in marbled meats, cheese, potato chips, fries, fried wontons, fried fish, baked goods like pie crusts, pastries, crackers, biscuits, cornbread, doughnuts, sweet rolls, cookies and cakes.

HEALTH HABIT – DAY 4 (Keep drinking your water!)

As we had spoke of making smart choices from every food group yesterday, I’d like to break each of the suggestions over the next three days.

A healthy eating plan is one that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.

Here is what has helped me to do these things:

• I will add a fruit or vegetable to every meal and snack.
• I will add frozen veggies (the next best thing to fresh), to a can of soup (low sodium and fat), to eggs, to just about anything that makes sense!

HEALTH HABIT – DAY 3

A WORD OF WARNING!

We must be VERY careful where we get our nutrition and health information! There is so much misinformation about health and nutrition and can spread like wildfire with the help of the internet. One of the most trustworthy sites used by scientists and others is the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed with millions of abstracts of research papers published in scientific journals around the world.

For the next week or so my information will be coming directly from the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” put together by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Make smart choices from every food group.

The best way to give your body the balanced nutrition it needs is by eating a variety of nutrient-packed foods every day. Just be sure to stay within your daily calorie needs.

A healthy eating plan is one that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts.
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

For the next few days we will go into each of these in more detail!

HEALTH HABIT – DAY 2

WATER –

We are going to continue on with WATER! This is so important that we get this. So, today, to motivate you, I want to list for you the benefits of drinking water!

1. Healthy skin.

Nothing will improve the appearance of your skin better than drinking enough water. Drinking water moisturizes your skin from the inside out. Water is also essential to maintaining elasticity and suppleness and helps prevent dryness.

2. Flush toxins.

Water helps remove toxins from the body, in particular from the digestive tract.

3. Reduce your risk of heart attack.

Researchers at Loma Linda University in California studied more than 20,000 healthy men and women and found that people who drink more than five glasses of water a day were less likely to die from a heart attack or heart disease than those who drank fewer than two glasses a day.

4. Cushion and lube your joints and muscles.

Water makes up a large part of the fluid that lubricates and cushions your joints and muscles. And drinking water before, during and after exercise can also help reduce muscle cramping and premature fatigue.

5. Get energized and be alert.

On average, most adults lose about 10 cups of fluid a day through sweating, exhaling, urinating, and bowel movements. Even minor dehydration can cause impaired concentration, headaches, irritability and fatigue.Water is also essential for proper circulation in the body.Drinking more water everyday will help your think more clearly. Research has repeatedly shown that staying hydrated is necessary for the human brain, which is 85 percent water, to function at optimal levels.

6. Stay regular.

Water helps prevent constipation by adding fluid to the colon and bulk to stools. Something as simple as fluid plays a major role in preventing constipation. Not only does the liquid encourage bowel movement, but it also softens the stools.

7. Reduce your risk of disease and infection.

Consistent failure to drink enough water can lead to Chronic Cellular Dehydration. This condition where the body’s cell are never quite hydrated enough leave them in a weakened state, vulnerable to attack from disease.

8. Regulate your body temperature.

Water regulates the body’s cooling system. Water is the nutrient your body needs the most. Between 55 and 75 percent of adult body weight is water, and it is critical in regulating all body organs and temperature.

9. Burn more fat and build more muscle.

It has been shown that dehydration decreases protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is what builds muscle. When you suppress protein synthesis, fewer calories end up building proteins and more calories end up in your fat stores. Increased water consumption can help you control weight by preventing you from confusing hunger with thirst.

10. Get well.

The traditional prescription to ?drink plenty of fluids? when you’re sick still holds strong. Water can help control a fever, replace lost fluids, and thin out mucus. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

HEALTH HABIT – DAY 1

Today we begin our journey to health one day at a time, one habit at a time! You will be shocked at what a difference it makes in our health, our energy, and our attitudes when we develop healthy habits! I am excited for this new addition to the daily prayer challenge! Let’s take it all one step at a time to improve our lives!

Taken directly from MyPyramid.gov:

“You may be eating plenty of food, but not eating the right foods that give your body the nutrients you need to be healthy. You may not be getting enough physical activity to stay fit and burn those extra calories. This is a starting point for finding your way to a healthier you.

Eating right and being physically active aren’t just a “diet” or a “program”—they are keys to a healthy lifestyle. With healthful habits, you may reduce your risk of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and certain cancers, and increase your chances for a longer life.”

This is what we have to look forward to!

Today’s challenge: WATER! 60% of our body weight is water. It is vital to the healthy functioning of our bodies. We must be proactive in giving our bodies water on a daily basis. Thirst lags behind our body’s need for water. The average women needs about 2.7L of water a day (anywhere from 8-12 cups). How many opportunities a day can we replace what we drink with water? Your challenge today is to start your day with water and continue on throughout the day! I will tell you, those who are trying to loose a few pounds will do so in a healthy way (and save $$ on those drinks) just by replacing many of our drinks with water! You will find yourself at first running to the bathroom more at the beginning. See that as toxins leaving your body! Drink up!!