I AM HEALTHY, NOT OBSESSED

I believe in being healthy when it comes to exercise and eating “clean” for the large percentage of my week.  Why do I bring the word obsessed into this picture…well...here it is in a nutshell…just as with anything else, too much of anything or an obsessive attitude can bring about an unhealthy balance in life…regardless of how good it is.   If I was spending hours on end exercising, putting exercise above everything in my life to the point of letting it interfere or negatively impact my life, relationships, and self…NO  GOOD.  I mean really…can you imagine if a scenario went like this…I am invited for the day to relax at a spa with hubby, or attend an important function with my family and I said nope … gotta exercise, or I need to be late so that I can get my workout in…OK…now that would be OBSESSIVE.

I am not saying that exercise is not important, it definitely is a lifestyle along with my nutrition, but I am talking about for example…the old habits of Darla from my competition days, and sometimes modeling where obsessive did enter the picture now and then.  Not cutting myself any slack with food and working beyond my physical means…YUCK.  What the heck was I thinking…my A1 personality type was definitely on hyper mode during my “obsessive” days.  What I am saying is that a good thing can be overboard or “obsessive” and cause more harm than good…in all aspects of life…physical, mental, and spiritual.   Probably the worst would be complete burnout of a repeated behavior…my fitness would be a “have to” instead of a “want to”…OH MY and NO WAY.  I want my healthy life to be a fun “lifestyle”, maintainable by consistent exercise and healthy food intake for the majority of the time…something I look forward to doing and just feel weird if I don’t. 

My Fabulous Friend and Hubby

I am so glad to be in a much more relaxed “older, wiser, better” place with balance and I truly enjoy all moments in life.  I am not going to lie and say that I never struggle with letting go of a day of exercise because sometimes I do…the rearing of old ugly habits knocking on my mental door.  Thank goodness for a more relaxed hubby who balances me out really well when I need a verbal chat to bring the sometimes “Over Do It” Darla back to reality.  Being healthy is definitely a FABULOUS description of my lifestyle…OBSESSED … well, when that word gets tossed my way…I greet it with a Stay Healthy Smile!

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATIONS

Personal Share:  I just got back from a mini vacation boat camping trip with my wonderful husband, son and soon to be bride....and a bonus...I ran into one of my best friends who was camping in the cove around the bend...now talk about a small cove... I mean world.  We had such quality time with lots of swimming, great food and overall fun!  YES...I we found another waterfall and my Mom will kill me (love ya Mom) as I frolicked about the falls and climbed on a few rocks;)  Fitness is FUN and does not always have to be the same routine.  I say be spontaneous, be a kid, splash around and laugh so hard that your belly hurts...LIFE IS TOO SHORT!  Enjoy the pics and Stay Healthy~

                                                                                                      

Fun swim and climb to the falls with friends

                            

 

GREAT FUN WITH FAMILY ~ I AM AN OUTDOOR STAY HEALTHY GIRL

OUR NEW FAVORITE COVE ~ BULLARD'S BAR

 

Night on the Water with my Son, his fiance and Hubby

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding! 

 

Have a Fabulous Week!

 

Stay Healthy!

 

Darla:)

Food Packaging Sneaks and Cheats

While the size of packaging may not seem immediately relevant in a book focusing on nutrition and health, I'm of the opinion that it's plenty important. When you're paying for air, your food dollar is being wasted.

Almost all of us have encountered the irritation, and disappointment, of discovering that a bag, jar, or box contained much less than we were expecting. Sometimes we're not really being shortchanged. There are functional reasons for "slack fill" in packages, like protecting delicate and breakable contents during transport. But cutting quantity to avoid raising prices is a time-honored tactic for manufacturers in tight economies. And in this one, too, many shoppers are noticing a trend toward stealthily shrinking package sizes. Deloitte's 2011 Consumer Food and Product Insight Survey found that nearly almost three-quarters of respondents (74 percent) say the size of some packaged goods is smaller.

Packaging to Price

The practice of manipulating package design or size to disguise price increases is called "packaging to price" and manufacturers are getting very clever at it. Here are just a few techniques that they hope busy shoppers won't notice:

Changing the shape of the package. Reducing the depth, but not the width, of familiar boxes. From the aisle, everything looks the same.

Distracting from smaller sizes with banners like "New E-Z pour bottle, " or "Same Great Taste." Describing new, but smaller, packaging as "greener," "future friendly," or with similar terms to suggest that it uses fewer resources in manufacture.

Packaging in larger containers, bags, or boxes to conceal product price hikes. The packages may say, "Now, 40% more!" But you're paying 50% more.

Adding more brine, syrup, or water to canned foods. Packaging in new, visually identical containers, but slightly reducing the content food. Here the "pound" of bacon suddenly weighs 15 ounces and the "pint" of ice cream contains only 14 ounces.

Black Hole Tactics

While packaging to price can be defended as the simple exercise of free market principles, some "black hole" tactics are especially deceitful. These include:

Adding dimples to the bottom of jars or molded packages Including useless partitioning inside packages, or bags inside packages Concealing pure emptiness, not evident at purchase, under bubble or blister packaging

Let the alarm bells go off when you notice new packaging for a familiar product. Be sure to check the price label to see if you're actually getting less.When you suspect slack fill, look at the net weight of the product you're considering and compare weights and box sizes of nearby products. To file a complaint, contact an FDA district complaint coordinator. A list of coordinators for each state can be found here.

Dr. Baldasare lives in Orlando, FL with his beautiful wife and three children. Over the last fifteen years he has helped over 12,000 people get healthy by educating and motivating them to make better choices. He is a frequent guest speaker at the University of Central Florida and Wellness seminars. He is the author of the The Great American Food Fight.

Raw Food Detox Diet For Seniors

A raw food diet is a nutrient rich diet of mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. Nutrient rich equals stronger bones, healthier skin and a greater resistance to disease. Older people tend to have brittle bones that break easily, liver spots and blotchy skin, and they get sick easily. A diet of processed and cooked foods is responsible. The raw food diet is a low-toxin diet.

During a detox diet you eliminate the toxins from cooked and processed foods. Live foods are also rich in the antioxidants that help to prevent cancer and reduce the aging process. Some of the foods richest in antioxidants are blueberries, blackberries, spinach, tomatoes, red grapes, pomegranates, cranberries, prunes, raspberries, strawberries, apples, pecans, cherries and plums. Eat plenty of these foods during your raw food detox to cleanse your body of toxins.

The older population is susceptible to chronic disease and decreased organ function mainly due to nutrition. Decreased organ function may affect the digestive system, absorption, metabolism or the excretion of nutrients. A large percentage, approximately 80 percent of people over 65 may suffer from one or more chronic diseases.

Nutrition, known to interact with the aging process in various ways, is an important factor in their prevention and/or recuperation. There is no better method of obtaining proper nutrition than a detox diet. Don't worry about going hungry while eating these foods because you will eat as much as you want to. Your hunger will always be satiated.

Don't let anyone tell you that your activities should be completely restricted due to your age. OK, maybe you have slowed down a little bit as you aged, but that doesn't mean you should just sit around and age more. On the other hand, if you're 70 you don't suddenly decide you can run a marathon. However, you can take walks, ride a bike or workout. There are workout videos for seniors... and... you can eat right.

A lot of people have a hard time with change, but just to incorporate 25 percent more natural fruits and vegetables and nuts into your diet is a good beginning. It'll get your detox started and you will probably feel good enough about it to forge ahead until your diet is at least 75 percent raw. Raw foods are rich in the nutrients you will not get in processed and cooked foods. You should also drink 8 glasses of water every day.

Fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts and legumes are all great raw foods and there are many recipes available to help you make attractive and tasty dishes. Eating raw foods will naturally reduce your caloric intake and increase the nutrients your body requires. The average person gains 1.5 pounds per year. By age 40 what we have always teasingly called "old age chub" sometimes begins to become apparent. That's because at 40 you're not as active as you once were.

You're sitting in an office all day instead of playing football. You're getting the kids fed and settled down instead of going out dancing. Stuff happens. Eating a diet of 75 percent raw foods is a natural weight control. No, you won't waste away. Once your body reaches its natural weight, it'll stabilize itself.

Everybody, regardless of age needs to drink water. You sweat, you use the bathroom; you are constantly eliminating fluids from your body. Drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water (preferably 8) every day will replace the eliminated fluids and keep your body hydrated. When you are dehydrated your blood pressure can drop causing you to become light-headed or dizzy; you may even pass out. You can experience organ failure if your condition goes untreated. Your urine should be clear or very light yellow when you are drinking enough water.

Usually seniors living on their own are still functioning pretty well. One very good thing about raw food is there's very little or no cooking, so, if getting around in the kitchen is becoming hazardous the danger of getting burned is out, you don't have to spend a lot of prep time to make your carrots look attractive... and you don't have to wake up one morning and declare yourself a raw foodist. You can incorporate raw foods into your diet at a rate that is comfortable for you.

Raw food detox can be a problem if you're not moving around too well. You may want to make sure you're near the bathroom. Another very good thing about eating raw foods is that you don't have to read labels. You know what you're buying. If there's some processed foods you have to eat because of something in your medication, by all means, do so. You may eventually find that you don't need as much medicating once the nutrients of natural foods kick in.

And most importantly, always listen to the advice of your health care provider. Don't be surprised if your physician suggested you increase the amounts of fruits and vegetables in your diet. A raw food detox diet will improve the way you look and feel.

Subscribe to my free Raw Foods Diet Newsletter and learn the many benefits of a raw food diet as well as the dangerous secrets the food industry doesn't want you to know about. Enjoy more Raw Foods Articles and a raw food life!

Juicing Tips to Help You Get Started With Ease

You can easily make a nutritious juice, but it helps if you have the proper tools as well as getting the correct advice. Juicing can be a very important part of any diet and getting to grips with juicing isn't difficult. All you need is tips to help you along the way. Keep reading and we'll offer some tips to help get you started.

1. Take time out in between juicing different batches in order to empty the juicers bin. This is especially important whenever using larger amounts of vegetables or fruits. Make sure you stop the device in order to empty the actual pulp bin when it is full.

2. Whenever juicing leafy veggies such as spinach, it is a good idea to form the leaves together into a ball. When forming the leaves into a ball, such as crumpled paper for example, you are going to make a more solid mass for the juicer to work with. This will help prevent little bits of leaves from showing in your juice and affecting the consistency.

3. To begin with, start with easier vegetables like carrots, celery or cucumber. Don't overdo the carrots, as using them a lot can raise your blood sugar level. After a while, you'll want to leave carrots out of your daily juicing routine and instead concentrate much more on the nutritional rich vegetables.

4. By doing your own juicing, this will save you from having to buy expensive juices from the shop and will also enable you to be able to lower your vitamin and supplement intake. Being healthy can in turn, mean taking fewer prescription drugs or vitamins, helping you also to save money by simply keeping yourself in good shape.

5. With regards to juicing, something that you might want to bear in mind is to stay clear of certain kinds of dry or squishy products, like bananas and squash. This is really important since these kinds of fruits are simply not really suitable for juicing.

6. As some juices are quite potent, it is a good idea to speak to a paediatrician before giving any juice to a child. This is because some fruits can cause diarrhea if taken too much. If you cannot get to speak to one in the near future, then stick with juice that is generally sold with children in mind, like apples and oranges.

7. If you're presently pregnant or considering getting pregnant, then it is essential to think about talking to a doctor first. This is really important since you want to make sure that the potential powerful effects of having your own home-made juice, won't affect the health of your baby.

Exercise Alone Is Not Enough

If you feel that you are not as powerful in build as your peers, you might consider weight training and body building. Your will also have to consider several other factors regarding smoking, alcohol consumption and diet. Training does not get the body in optimum health alone.

Much is being made these days about smoking and drinking too much. Unfortunately we eat too many convenience foods these days. These foods are packed with useless calories such as sugar, refined fats and flour. These have no nutritional value and will only make you put on weight.

If you want optimum nutrition to develop your muscles and body, an exercise plant has to be devised and your diet will have to include a high protein intake. If you are not a great meat-eater then you can add a high protein supplement called maximuscle cyclone. This preparation is not only used by body builders, but many athletes and sport stars, such as rugby players, too.

It is not only in meat that proteins are found. They are also found in dairy products and vegetables. Roughage can be obtained from fruit and vegetables too. This will keep your colon healthy and free of impacted debris.

Some diets say that only fruits should be consumed before midday, but this might not be practical if you are working out strenuously. One thing that is important is not to mix proteins with carbohydrates as the processing of these by the intestines is different and they will not be digested properly when eaten together.

If bought online then you will be able to obtain discount supplements. These products are not harmful to you and may stop your muscles from cramping up after a vigorous exercise routine. It is, therefore, recommended to take one of the two shakes that you are required to take after working out. It must be stressed that you should never substitute a diet with a supplement. These preparations are designed to be taken with a healthy life style.

If you are on a proper balanced diet then you will probably get enough proteins and useful amino acids from your diet alone. Another factor to consider is that supplements could interact unfavorably if you are on medication. The product should not be used before having consulted a medical practitioner in this case.

You will not see improvements immediately. Muscle growth is normally seen after a month. You should, therefore, give this product time to have any impact. If you do not see any improvement after several months, your diet is probably enough for your body and you should discontinue with this product.

The reason for this is that this supplement is not cheap and if you do not derive benefit from it then it is money down the drain.

It is really worth having a look on the internet and reading all about the various products available. You will then have an informed opinion of which product will suit you best.

ENJOYING MY COFFEE BREAK

Charging the Hormones!

The warm mug cupped in my hand as the aroma drifts into my face, a sip here and there as I take in a morning peaceful moment all cuddled on the sofa with my feet tucked under myself…awww…sounds like a hallmark moment, or commercial that will definitely sell coffee…lol…but I am going to bring this to an abrupt HALT.  OK…rewind to a few months ago when I woke to have my usual cup of coffee with splash of non-fat French vanilla creamer…ON MY…yes…can’t do coffee straight up, and to my unsettling surprise…REJECTED…OH MY…OH WHY.  I do not know if you have ever experienced this, but all of a sudden I needed a coffee break…I mean a break from coffee…sniff sniff.  Believe me I tried for two mornings in a row, and the same result…blahhhh…YUCK. 

I was even feeling dragged down by the coffee and not perked up as usual…although I only drink half/calf anyway…but still…my body just was not feeling the love for the coffee.  I do take a few sips from my hubby’s mug just to test drive and although OK…it is not driving me to grab my own mug down and pour a cup.  Hmmmm….OK…I have been taking a break for at least 2 months now and I must say, I feel less tension, some weight loss (which I definitely do not need), and the added benefit of no stains on the pearly whites …at least for awhile.  I am not saying I am giving up coffee…maybe it is the hot summer months that has put the kibosh on my morning time with my warm cup. 

Studies show many health benefits in coffee and my one cup intake per day satisfied that…but now I will just have to make do with the rest of my healthy meals.  I have to admit that when my body responded well to the caffeine…meaning OK…this girl is ready to workout…I enjoyed that.  But truly, it got to where it felt like this backfired, and I no longer felt a surge of energy from the small amount of stimulant in a half/calf cup.  So…this made it easier to give up for awhile and I must say that I am enjoying my coffee break. 

When I feel a lack of energy now, I will not blame it on…man…I did not have my coffee…I can truly say…OK Darla…not enough rest, more recovery after that hard workout is needed, and the biggie as an almost 50 year young woman…HORMONE changes…YUCK.  Yes, hormones have much to do with how peri-menopausal and menopausal women feel.  I am definitely riding the peri journey right now and doing lots of research as my own health advocate.   I will say that I am so happy that watermelon season is here and I am eating pumpkin seeds like no other. 

I am not a woman who requires a JOLT to workout, so coffee on hold is OK in that area.  I hear so many people say OH MY…I just don’t have the energy to workout without my caffeine or energy drink fix…really????  OK…why does anyone need to be dependent on something to function through a workout…this is not healthy.  I can understand the occasional…man do I need a cup of coffee this morning, but when it becomes a dependence to function…not for this girl.  I do look forward to when my body says OK…YAHOO…loving coffee but for now… I will enjoy my coffee break;)

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATIONS

 

HAVE YOU BAKED THEM YET

MY FAVORITE PROTEIN COOKIE RIGHT NOW

MY FAMILY...I am the goofy one in the middle

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding! 

 

Have a Fabulous Week!

 

Stay Healthy!

 

Darla:)