Here we are at the beginning of a New Year. In considering the changes we want to make in our lifestyles, weight loss is the #1 New Year’s Resolution in 2017. How many of us say we want to lose weight – 21.4%.
Why are we fat?
- We eat too much. For over 30 years, we have been trained to eat 20 percent more. And now we are almost 20 percent overweight. Bingo!
- We're apt to move less. So we don't burn as many calories.
- Half or more of what we eat is "dead" food. Dead food has no nutrients. We call it dead because refining takes out almost all of its vitamins, minerals and fiber. It's super-tasty, super-digestible and you can eat a mountain of it without feeling full. But it's dead, and it's making us sick and fat.
Being successful in that weight loss effort escapes most of us. So we have some great ideas for making small changes that can create success in your resolution. In their article in AARP the Magazine, Why Eating Dead Food Is Bad for Your Health, authors Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D. have suggestions on making the dietary changes easier.
What Is Dead Food?
Filler: This is everything we're taught to love: bread, white rice, white pasta, sugar, chips, soft drinks.
Processed food: Prepared items top this list: frozen meals, snacks, desserts. And weird stuff like ketchup.
Fast food: Think of your beloved french fries, cheeseburgers, milk shakes, griddle cakes and anything else that can be fried.
An Eating Strategy for Life
Build the perfect plate. Your plate should be 50 percent veggies and fruit, 25 percent whole grains, and 25 percent meat, poultry or fish.
Quit the Clean Plate Club. Your sainted mother was wrong — it's bad to clean your plate. The iron rule: Exercise more; eat less.
Don't drink your calories. Sugar-laden colas, milk shakes and sports drinks are awash in calories but don't make you feel full.
Limit the booze. Having one or two glasses of wine a night is fine. Having 17 is not.
If you have diabetes ... eat right. Your body needs insulin to digest carbs. But eat the wrong kinds of carbs and your insulin system can go haywire.
Here's why: Your gut turns all carbs into sugar. When that sugar hits your bloodstream, insulin is released and your muscles use the sugar for energy. Great. The problem is that dead food has no fiber, so it goes through your digestive tract quickly. Your body sends out an ocean of insulin to mop up all the sugar. Phew! But now there's no sugar in your system and you're hungry again. An hour or two after eating a mountain of slop, you're ravenous. The result? The insulin system breaks down and you end up with diabetes, amputations, blindness, heart attacks. Awful.
Dean and Draper
We hope you found some good ideas in this blog for meeting your weight loss goals this year. We want to support you in your search for good insurance solutions, too. Contact us.
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The recommendation(s), advice and contents of this material are provided for informational purposes only and do not purport to address every possible legal obligation, hazard, code violation, loss potential or exception to good practice. Dean & Draper Insurance Agency specifically disclaims any warranty or representation that acceptance of any recommendations or advice contained herein will make any premises, property or operation safe or in compliance with any law or regulation. Under no circumstances should this material or your acceptance of any recommendations or advice contained herein be construed as establishing the existence or availability of any insurance coverage with Dean & Draper Insurance Agency. By providing this information to you, Dean & Draper Insurance Agency does not assume (and specifically disclaims) any duty, undertaking or responsibility to you. The decision to accept or implement any recommendation(s) or advice contained in this material must be made by you.
©2017 Dean & Draper Insurance Agency All Rights Reserved.
The recommendation(s), advice and contents of this material are provided for informational purposes only and do not purport to address every possible legal obligation, hazard, code violation, loss potential or exception to good practice. Dean & Draper Insurance Agency specifically disclaims any warranty or representation that acceptance of any recommendations or advice contained herein will make any premises, property or operation safe or in compliance with any law or regulation. Under no circumstances should this material or your acceptance of any recommendations or advice contained herein be construed as establishing the existence or availability of any insurance coverage with Dean & Draper Insurance Agency. By providing this information to you, Dean & Draper Insurance Agency does not assume (and specifically disclaims) any duty, undertaking or responsibility to you. The decision to accept or implement any recommendation(s) or advice contained in this material must be made by you.