Health & Fitness

All food is one of the macronutrients, fat, protein, and carbohydrates. There are good options in all three categories and bad ones. To eat healthier, choose the best types of each macronutrient and avoid the worst sources. For carbs, fruits and vegetables are good sources, while candy bars and donuts are bad ones. Trans fats in fried foods are poor sources of fat, but salmon is a good source. Here are healthy options and unhealthy ones for protein.

Avoid poor-quality protein that often has fillers and additives or fried protein options.

Processed meats are an example of poor-quality protein. It’s not the meat itself that’s the problem. It’s all the additives. They include hot dogs and sausages with tons of nitrates and sodium. While the protein may be marginally good, the additives negate any benefits. Deep frying also reduces the benefits of even the healthiest protein options. If you eat chicken or shrimp, avoid the breading and deep frying and opt for steamed, boiled, grilled, or baked alternatives.

Choose protein sources that provide other benefits.

Eggs don’t cost a lot but provide a lot of nutrients. They are high in B vitamins, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and choline. Tuna, salmon, and other fatty fish are also excellent sources. They contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids that make them even more beneficial. For vegetarians, beans and lentils are good options. They’re also high in fiber.

You need quality protein daily.

You can’t store protein, so you have to eat it daily. If you’re a vegan, it’s more difficult. Protein is made from amino acids. Your body can make most of them, except nine. These are essential amino acids that must come from food. Animal products contain all nine essential amino acids, so they’re complete. Few plant protein options do. Beans are good sources of protein but are incomplete. When combined with rice, the two become complete protein sources. If you’re vegan, choose your sources carefully. You don’t have to eat all the amino acids at once, just throughout the same day.

• Protein powders and protein bars may sound like a viable choice, but they aren’t. Many protein bars are nothing more than glorified candy bars and protein powders can be deceptive. Many contain unhealthy fillers.
• Quinoa is one plant source of complete protein. Soy products, hemp seeds, chia seeds, buckwheat, amaranth, nutritional yeast, and blue-green algae are others.
• You can’t go wrong with skinless chicken breast. Bodybuilders often consume it when they’re training. It’s lower in calories and high in niacin, selenium, B6, B12, plus phosphorus.
• Not all protein sources are expensive. Canned tuna, organ meats, chicken, beans, and eggs are examples. If you choose red meat, make it meat or animal products from pastured, grass-fed animals. They’re higher in nutrients.

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People who don’t know any vegetarians often picture them as lean and lanky, able to lose weight at the drop of a hat. However, there are some overweight and obese vegetarians. Choosing a vegetarian diet doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be thinner. Losing weight is all about the calories consumed. Vegetarians consume milk, eggs, or both. There are vegetarian candy bars, puddings, and junk food. The Impossible burger, a meatless alternative to the Whopper, is vegetarian. Both have approximately the same number of calories. If you’re vegetarian and live on junk food, you’re more apt to be round than lean and lanky.

It’s the veggie part of vegetarianism that makes you thinner.

If you’re eating healthy, regardless of the type of diet you chose, you’ll lose weight. A healthy diet includes plenty of whole foods, including fruits and vegetables. Whether you’re an omnivarian and consume both meat and vegetables, or a vegetarian, eating more fruits and vegetables fills you, but doesn’t provide many calories. They fill you up and the fiber keeps you feeling full longer.

A vegetarian’s diet is generally lower in calories.

If you’re eating a healthy plant-based diet, you’ll consume all the nutrients you need, plus plenty of fiber and protein. Both of these keep you feeling full longer. A diet focused only on meat and animal products doesn’t contain filling fiber. Fiber also slows the entry of glucose into the bloodstream, which prevents blood sugar from spiking. That sugar rush can cause insulin resistance, making weight loss more difficult.

Whether you’re vegetarian or eat both meat and vegetables, it’s all about the food you choose.

It’s all about cutting out highly processed food and food with added sugar, plus eating a healthy diet that counts. It doesn’t matter whether you’re vegetarian or flexitarian—choosing to eat both meat and vegetables. Alternative meat substitutes may not be as healthy as the real thing. Some have taken many vegetarians on a dangerous path of consuming high amounts of chemicals and calories in their diet. No matter how vegetarian or vegan a cookie is, it’s still a cookie.

• Studies show vegetarians tend to weigh less. People who follow a vegetarian diet also reduce their risk of heart disease compared to nonvegetarians. It may be due to closer attention to healthy eating.
• Losing weight is all about making smarter choices. Increasing more produce in your diet is a smarter choice. Since vegetables are lower in calories, it takes a huge amount of veggies to gain weight.
• Vegetarians need to ensure they get all essential amino acids. Eggs and milk products can help do that. Without adequate complete protein in the diet, muscle tissue is lost and metabolism slows.
• Even if you’re eating a vegetable, it’s all about how it’s cooked. French fries come from potatoes, which are vegetables, but a diet of French fries won’t help you lose weight. Stick to healthier options and reduce the salad dressing you use on salads.

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Between toxic sites and flooding, people in Louisiana may find that a detox makes them feel better. It also helps if you’ve made poor dietary choices and need a dietary reset. Look at the product you use in your own home. Shampoo, cleaning products, and abuse of cigarettes, alcohol, or food add to the problem. Detoxing isn’t a new fad. It’s been around for years. It’s a way to give your organs a rest, remove toxins, let inflammation subside, and allow your body to build new healthy cells.

Don’t just jump into a detox.

Plan your detox for the best success. Start slowly if you’re giving up bad habits like alcohol abuse, smoking cigarettes, or abusing medication or illegal drugs. If you’re trying to eliminate the toxins from food, slowly cutting back on highly processed food and refined sugar will help. You can switch household cleaners to something environmentally friendly. Instead of a commercial toilet and bathroom cleaner, use distilled vinegar and sprinkle baking soda for a lightly abrasive scrub.

Find a time you can take several days off without stress.

Schedule your day or two of detox. Make it a time you can eliminate stress from your life and spend time alone, with no demands. Learn relaxation techniques you can use if you’re faced with stress. You can meditate, do deep breathing, or do a form of exercise that helps you relax, such as yoga and tai chi. Spend a few weeks before detoxing to help perfect your technique.

Look for a program that fits your needs.

You can detox with smoothies and fruit or vegetable juices or do a water fast. Detoxing is about flushing out toxins and also giving your digestive system a rest. It’s one of the oldest ways people use and instinctive. If you don’t feel good, you rest and limit your eating. Beet juice detox, watermelon juice, cucumber lemonade, an ACV detox, and coconut water detox are a few options.

• Detoxing can occur for a variety of reasons. By eliminating toxins, it can improve skin, aid in losing fat, and diminish bloating. Your body does its own detox via the colon, kidneys, and liver. Your detoxing gives your body rest and improves that elimination through your system.
• If you’re under stress with a busy schedule, put detoxing on the back burner. It will just cause more anxiety and stress if you’re constantly thinking of everything you need to do. Opt for a massage or sauna instead.
• If you’re using fruit and vegetable juice to detox, make sure you include the fiber from the fruit. Blend the fruits and vegetables, rather than juice them. The fiber helps you feel fuller.
• Not everyone should attempt a detox. If you have a health condition, are diabetic, pregnant, lactating, or are taking medication, always check with your health care professional first.

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Even though it’s beautiful and the people are friendly, just like living anywhere, there are some stressful times for everyone living in Louisiana. If you’re having problems with weight loss, consider stress management. Stress is a killer. It can affect the entire body and cause you to gain weight. That’s right! It’s all about the hormones created when you feel stressed and many of the chemical reactions in the body. Maybe the same things that put you on tilt also put pounds on your belly.

Hormones are messengers that trigger chemical reactions.

The body is an amazing machine. It’s programmed for survival. In prehistoric times, people survived dangers by fighting or running. The body had to make changes to improve its performance. It releases hormones, like cortisol, to signal the body. More blood had to be sent to the extremities, so some functions that weren’t vital for the moment were slowed, like digestion. The heart rate increases and you breathe more rapidly to provide more oxygen to the brain and muscles. Pupils dilate to improve vision by letting more light in the eyes. Muscles tense and other changes prepare the body for the impending danger.

Today’s stressors are more insidious.

Everyone can understand how being attacked by a wild animal could create stress, but you may not be aware of how everyday things can create the same problem. Sounds and images can create stress, even though they’re only a video. A crying baby, an angry boss, or even traffic jams are stressful. That causes the body to release cortisol. Due to many things, including slowed digestion, it causes fat to accumulate in the abdomen.

Cortisol causes sugar cravings.

Cortisol provides the second wind to continue fighting or running when your initial reserves deplete. It’s why it causes sugar cravings and makes your body demand more energy. It can also slow your metabolism to preserve the energy for escape or victory. You’ll burn fewer calories making it even harder to lose weight. It can cause difficulty sleeping. Lack of sleep causes increased ghrelin—the hunger hormone. Stress can also wear you out, diminishing your energy for exercise.

• One of the best ways to control stress is through exercise. Exercise mimics fighting or running, which burns off stress-related hormones and gets you back to normal.
• You may feel too tired to work out, but if you push through it and take the first step, you’ll be amazed at how it can boost your energy level and make you feel less stressed. Exercise also helps you sleep better, to reduce the production of ghrelin.
• Other ways to deal with stress include deep breathing techniques, meditation, and an attitude of gratitude. Changing your focus to a more positive one can change your life and the shape of your body.
• Take charge of your feelings. You can’t control what anyone else does, but you can control how you react to their behavior. Carry a bottle of water with you at all times. When you feel stressed, drink some water and wash away that feeling.

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If you want a safer workout that will keep you fit, low-impact exercises are a good option. They’re excellent for people with injuries, joint issues, back problems, or those who are older, out of shape, or pregnant. Low impact means you aren’t jumping or pounding your feet on the ground. They’re exercises where at least one foot is always on the ground. You won’t be jumping so you reduce the risk of joint injury, disc compression, or other musculoskeletal problems.

Low impact cardio will still get your heart beating fast.

When you run, the less time your feet touch the ground, the better. That causes you to become airborne, so you land hard. It’s hard on joints and takes a toll on the rest of the body. You don’t have to run to get a cardio workout, swim, row, or ride a bike. Use a stationary bike if you’re pregnant to avoid the potential of falling.

You need to include a cardio workout as part of a complete fitness program.

Running is just one way to get your cardio, but your feet slapping against the ground every mile can take a toll on your joints. Try jumping jacks without the jump, just stepping side to side, or something as simple as walking. Ride a stationary bike. If you have knee problems, put the setting on a lower resistance level. You can help lubricate the joints without increasing stress. Improving circulation provides maximum benefits without additional joint stress.

Low-impact exercises can improve strength.

Not only does the movement help lubricate the joints, but it also improves muscle and ligament strength to protect the joints. Strength-building workouts do that and most are low-impact. You can use bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, or weights to build muscle. For instance, lunges are beneficial if you do them correctly and have hip strength so your knees don’t push out too far. Do a clamshell to help with that problem. Until you build more hip strength, do a modified lunge. Start with one foot forward and just lower and raise your body, without moving your feet.

Get relief from the heat while you build your muscles with aquatic exercises.

Exercising in a pool provides extra resistance while preventing stress on the joints. Even ordinary walking is more taxing on the body. There’s 12 times more strength-building resistance doing an exercise in water than doing the same exercises on dry land. Almost any high-impact exercise becomes a low-impact one when you do them in a pool. For instance, traditional jumping jacks switch from high-impact to low-impact when you do them with your body in water.

• Do jumping jacks but omit the jump. Just step to the side as you raise your arms and clap your hands above your head and as you lower your hands, step back into starting position. Alternate the leg that steps outward.
• Squats are another low-impact exercise you can modify to work different muscle groups. Widen your stance when you squat or narrow it to work muscles on several planes and other muscle groups.
• Stretching is low-impact, plus a good way for everyone to warm up and loosen muscles. Some forms of exercise, like tai chi, are a low-impact way to build strength, cardio, and flexibility.
• Always check with your health care professional before doing any type of exercise, especially if you’re pregnant or have a health condition. You may have to modify some exercises or avoid them entirely.

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