Jimmy Dean's Delight Bowls

If you want something that's healthy for you and tastes great too, then you need to try these new breakfast bowls from Jimmy Dean! OMG they're awesome! The great thing about these bowls is that they're made with Turkey Sausage, lowfat cheese, and egg whites! So they're super healthy for you. When you take in the fat, calories, and dietary fiber it only adds up to 5 weight watcher points which I think is awesome! You can't even tell that Jimmy Dean's has used Turkey sausage in their bowls. I add a little salt and pepper and of course the much needed ketchup. Yes I'm a ketchup fan. And the Breakfast bowl is all set and tastes great! Its actually very filling too and just look at all the protein that you get out of it as well! You get 23g of protein! WOW!

15 lbs...

I finally reached the 15 lb mark yesterday for weight loss. I'm very excited about getting back into the 170's. You can follow my progress with the weight loss ticker I have on the side bar *smiles*.

Drink a Little Wine, Live a Little Longer

I really like the title to this article *grins*. So I thought I'd share! It has some great info in it!

Drink a Little Wine, Live a Little Longer

THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- Men who regularly drank up to a half a glass of wine each day boosted their life expectancy by five years, Dutch researchers report.

Light, long-term alcohol consumption of all types of beverages, whether wine, spirits or beer, increased life by 2.5 years among men compared with abstention, the researchers found. By "light," they meant up to 20 grams, or about 0.7 ounces a day.

While numerous other studies have found similar benefits, study author Martinette Streppel, of the division of human nutrition at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, said 40 years of follow-up is noteworthy for many reasons.

"The main strength of our study was the collection of detailed information on the consumption of different alcohol beverages at each of seven measurement rounds," Streppel said.

The long-term, regular follow-up, Streppel added, enabled the researchers to study the effect of long-term alcohol intake on mortality.

The study is published online in April in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

The Dutch researchers evaluated 1,373 men, all part of the Zutphen Study, started in 1960 and named for an industrial town in the Netherlands. The researchers followed them from 1960 to 2000, tracking weight, diet, cigarette smoking, the diagnosis of serious illness and other data, along with their drinking habits.

Over the follow-up period, 1,130 of the men died, half from cardiovascular disease.

The proportion of men who drank alcohol nearly doubled from 45 percent of the men in 1960 to 86 percent in 2000. Those drinking wine rose even more dramatically -- from just 2 percent to 44 percent.

The findings in more detail:

• All long-term light alcohol drinking boosted life expectancy by about 2.5 years in comparison to abstainers. Drinking more than 0.7 ounces a day extended life expectancy by nearly two years compared with nondrinkers.
  
  
• Wine drinkers who averaged just 0.7 ounces a day had a 2.5 year-longer life expectancy at age 50 compared to those who drank beer or spirits. And their life expectancy was nearly five years longer than nondrinkers.
  
  
• Drinking moderately was linked with lower death risk, and drinking wine was strongly linked with a lower risk of dying from heart disease, stroke or other causes.

Streppel couldn't say if the findings apply to women, but suspects the polyphenolic compounds found in wine, especially red wine, produce the heart-healthy effects.

The study adds to the literature of the health benefits of alcohol, but has both strengths and weaknesses, said Dr. Arthur Klatsky, a long-time investigator on the health benefits of alcohol.

"Once again, it shows that people who drink [moderately] do a lot better than people who don't in terms of survival," he said.

However, as with other research, Klatsky wondered if it's the pattern of drinking or something related to the wine drinking -- such as wine drinkers being more likely to exercise or eat a healthy diet -- that is the real link.
In the new Dutch study, he says, alcohol from spirits contributes the most to the total alcohol intake, more than wine or beer.

"It's a little hard to think that a little bit of wine is what is responsible for extending their life," Klatsky said.
The finding, like similar ones, applies more to middle-aged people than younger ones, he said. "People over 50 are the ones most likely to have health benefits from light drinking anyways."

Much more important in reducing heart disease risk, he said, is not smoking, exercising regularly, eating healthfully and maintaining a healthy weight.

I did it!

I'm over the plateau I was on. I have been working out harder at the gym and making healthy choices in food. I weighed this morning and I'm 180.6 lbs. YAY! I've lost 14.4 lbs so far since I started my diet in January. Woo Hoo! I'm hoping to be in the 170's very soon!

The 411 on Calories

The 411 on Calories
Find out how many calories you need to keep your body fueled and fit.

By Krisha McCoy, MS

Medically reviewed by Niya Jones, MD, MPH

If you're interested in nutrition or weight loss, you no doubt pay a lot of attention to calories. But do you know what exactly calories are, and how many you really need?

Calories: The Good, the Bad, and the Empty
There is really no such thing as "good" or "bad" calories. "Your body processes each calorie the same," says Kimberly Lummus, MS, RD, Texas Dietetic Association media representative and public relations coordinator for the Austin Dietetic Association in Austin, Texas. But Lummus adds that some foods are far more nutritious than others. "We strive to make our calories the most nutrient-dense that we can, meaning that we are packing in a lot of nutrition for a very small amount of calories. You are optimizing your calorie budget, so to speak."

While calories get a negative rap when it comes to weight control, calories are actually an important source of fuel you cannot live without. "Your body needs calories for energy," says Lummus. Calories are the force behind everything we do, including eating, sleeping, and breathing.

"Calories are how much energy your body gets from the food and beverages that it consumes," says Lummus. Most food sources are composed of some combination of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and each of these nutrients contains calories. Yet it's important to stay away from "empty" calories in foods like sweets and soda, warns Lummus.

Calories: Finding Your Magic Number
You must find the right balance of calories every day, depending on your overall goals. "Eating too many calories and not burning enough through physical activities would yield a weight gain, while not eating enough calories [to keep up with your calorie burn] would yield a weight loss," says Lummus.

The number of calories a person needs depends on many individual factors, including age, weight, height, and activity level. When dieticians counsel clients on calorie needs, they take all of these facts into consideration and come up with a suggestion for how many calories are needed to maintain, lose, or gain weight.

In general, men need between 2,000 to 2,400 calories and woman between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day. Consuming less than 1,200 calories per day can be harmful to your health, notes Lummus, since it may trigger your body to go into starvation mode, causing your body to actually hold onto calories.

Teenagers' caloric needs can vary considerably. For example, teenage boys may require up to 3,000 calories per day, while teenage girls usually need around 2,200 calories each day. "For children, calorie needs are going to change a lot more because they are growing so rapidly," Lummus continues. She says that infants 5 to 12 months of age need around 850 calories daily, 1- to 3-year-olds need roughly 1,300 calories daily, 4- to 6-year-olds need about 1,800 calories daily, and 7- to 10-year-olds require 2,000 calories daily.

"Counting calories is usually not necessary for children," says Lummus. "You just want to make sure that your child is getting all of the requirements from all of the food groups."

Both children and adults should get the bulk of their calories from a variety of healthful foods, including low-fat or fat-free dairy products, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein sources — the building blocks of a nutritious diet.

Just blogging

Okay. This blog is for me to put my articles on, but its also to help me lose weight. I started at the beginning of January at 195 lbs. I'm down to 181.2 lbs as of this morning. Before I left for Disney I was at 181. So I've lost the weight I gained at Disney. I admit I've been slack on things after Disney, but I'm back in the game.

We're doing a "Biggest Loser" Challenge at work and I need to win it! *grins* The winner gets the jackpot of $200. Isn't that sweet? It only cost $10 to get in. For each pound gained (with a 2 lb leeway) over your starting weight you have to pay an extra $1. I've lost a total of 13.8 lbs so far. I think I'm doing good. I just need to get back to the gym and exercise. I've busted my butt the past two days in the gym. I feel like I've made a lot of progress since the first of the year. My muscles are stronger. I feel more fit!

I watch the biggest loser on Tuesday nights and wonder how some of those people drop 5-10 lbs in a week. I know they do extreme workouts. I'm going to try to push myself at the gym to go out of my comfort zone and to lose the weight I want. There are some people on that show that have lost 140 lbs in just 17 weeks which is amazing! I can't to see who wins! I'm rooting for Tara. I think she's a very strong woman and I applaude the efforts she's made and all the challenges she's won on there.

10 Ways to Get Psyched for Weight Loss

Ready, Set, Lose Weight
Weight loss is a journey. Make sure you're in the right frame of mind by mentally preparing yourself for the road ahead.

By Diana Rodriguez

Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

Losing weight — and keeping it off for good — requires both physical and mental preparation. You need to determine a weight-loss plan that you are able to stick with for the long haul. It's not easy, but there are steps you can take to stay motivated.

10 Ways to Get Psyched for Weight Loss

1. Commit. "The first step is making a commitment to yourself," says Anne Wolf, RD, a registered dietitian and researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. "Make a commitment and then share that commitment with somebody else." This will make you more accountable to your diet, exercise plan, and weight-loss goals.
   
2. Make a plan. "Think about you as a person, as a whole being, and come up with a plan that's going to be best for you," says Wolf. It should be a program that will help you lose weight, but also be easy to stick to. This goes for both diet and exercise.
   
3. Don't wait for the "right time." At one time or another, everyone has determined what they think is the perfect time to start a diet — after the holidays, after vacation, after tomorrow. "I think it's important to recognize that there's never a perfect time to start," says Martin Binks, PhD, director of behavioral health research at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center and assistant professor at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
   
4. Get in the right mindset. Don't fall into an "all-or-nothing" way of thinking, stresses Binks. You don't have to give up all decadent foods or exercise strenuously every day of the week. It's about small changes in your lifestyle that you can stick with and that will brings results overtime.
   
5. Be realistic. "Think about how your life is right now, and what you can realistically achieve in terms of an exercise and eating plan," says Binks. That means considering all aspects of your life, including work and family responsibilities. "If you will be traveling for business over the next two months, you probably need to think of a plan to eat healthily in restaurants instead of a stringent plan you would always need to modify," says Binks.
   
6. Make time for exercise. Fitness is a key component of losing and keeping off weight. It's important to create an exercise plan that's realistic according to your schedule. "Think about how much time you're going to have for exercise. Anything that gets you moving in the right direction is a good start," says Binks. Decide to make physical activity part of every day. All those extra steps add up to pounds lost, and it's even easier when they're steps that you don't really consider exercise — like a walk during lunch hour or hiking in a state park on the weekend.
   
7. Figure out what motivates you. Ask yourself questions to figure out what will help you meet your weight-loss goals, advises Wolf. For example, "Do you need a workout buddy? A reward at certain goals? How can you incorporate healthy foods that you enjoy? What types of activity don't feel like work to you?" These answers will help you formulate a plan that you can stick with.
   
8. Don't think diet, think life change. Preparing to lose weight isn't about starting a diet, it's about "starting to make healthy adjustments that you're going to fit into your life," says Binks. Being "on a diet" implies that it will end. To maintain a healthy weight, the diet and exercise changes you make in your life should be permanent.
   
9. Create a network for weight loss. "There's a social network that begins to develop as you start to attend fitness classes," says Wolf. Taking a yoga, aerobics, spinning, or kickboxing class gives you support. Make friends at the gym, or visit online community groups to find individuals with similar weight-loss goals. Not only will losing weight be more fun, but it will also be more effective.
   
10. Use outside resources. "If you have a difficult time with meals, there are companies like Jenny Craig that prepare your meals for you, if you have the money for them," says Wolf. She also suggests considering what sort of gyms, classes, and parks you have nearby — facilities that help you achieve your weight-loss goals.

It's not about preparing for a diet, but changing your life so that you don't need to diet. Eventually making healthy food choices and getting regular exercise will become a part of your day you don't even have to think about!