Health Is Vital

Health is taken for granted, until you can't any more. In this blog I hope to put down on paper some of the articles I come across and want to remember, about health. I will be personalizing these articles to apply to me. I am diabetic, over weight, have high blood pressure and tinnitus, so these are the things you will find here. I will include nutrition, exercise, and holistic health, and many other ideas. I work in the health profession, particularly mental health, and have an interest in suicide prevention; so these topics will also be covered in this blog. Please, if you are suffering reach out. Our county health and crisis line is 1-855-278-4204.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

**Weight Loss Saboteurs

This is a list from Everyday Health of things which can sabotage weight loss.  Some of these things you would not suspect, while others make sense. 
Love of Late Night Television: Now here I have a problem.  I don't stay up late on week days, but I do on the weekend.  I don't watch television however.  I watch movies, or once in a while I get working on a project.  However the snack craving can sometimes hit on this nights.  The advise from this list is to tend towards healthy snacks, which is easier said than done.
Traveling for Work: I thought I was sunk, as I travel five hours daily.  But they are talking more about business travel, where you are away from home, and prone to eat at unhealthy restaurants, or snack as you travel by car.  I don't travel for work, but when I travel for visiting this is something to be concerned with as those gas station foods can pack on the calories fast. 
A Cardio Obsession: I have no worries here.  However the reason for this is because too much cardio breaks down muscle, not fat.  They suggest a combination exercise, one minute cardio ad then a minute at a slower pace, like running sprints between walks. 
Blasting the Air Conditioner: If we are forced to use mechanisms of our body to cool down, then we burn calories and can better control our weight.  Also a cooler environment seems to encourage you to eat more.  (Actually the opposite is what the say, we eat less when we are hot.)  I think resorting to a salad on hot days, or something very light, are defenses against heat.
A Jam Packed Fridge: An overloaded fridge not only leads to spoilage of food, it also seems to hide foods.  The vegetables in the cooler seem to be forgotten and we grab the easy fattening foods.
A Daily Diet Soda Habit: This one seems weird.  Diet sodas save calories.  However research shows those with the diet soda habit gain more weight.  Perhaps the reason is you later satisfy the sugar craving with other snacks.  I for the most part avoid sodas, except when I get the craving for rootbeer.
Constantly Multitasking:  This one also is a paradox.  You would think being more busy would lead to more calorie burn.  However it does lead to less thought taking towards our diet, and more ikely to choose unhealthy foods which put on weight.  Also exercise is one of the tasks that often is thrown out when people are busy.

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