Seasons Greetings and Thoughts On Eating

    Weight-A-Minute …

    Don’t let the title fool you,

    this isn’t Dr. Seuss.

    It’s Dr Will and I am here

    to write about abuse.

    

(Say, this rhyming thing is catchy).

 Anyway, I am writing about abuse … abuse of the holiday celebrations. As the season of celebrations and cheer, parties, cocktails, feasts and sweets commences, it’s easy to get carried away. And while I don’t want to be like the Grinch, let’s take a moment to ponder our “weight concerns” and choices!

Perhaps you’re toting an extra 5 or 10 pounds. Or maybe an excess of 30 or more that have added up over the years. Remember, it’s never too late to take care of you!  Don’t wait for New Years; I’d like to encourage you NOT to abandon all self-control in light of the proposed future resolution. And I’m not advocating diets either. God knows there are endless weight loss diets and programs to choose from. I will state with a degree of conviction about DIETS: “they all work…and none of them work!”   Truth is they all result in weight loss, often dramatically and quickly, but rarely permanently.

So, if your goal is to lose excess weight … for a lifetime… then a “new lifestyle” rather than a new diet plan is called for.  So let’s get started and try to keep this simple:

1. Control your blood sugar and you’ll control your weight.

This means:

• eating every two to three hours
• eating only “low glycemic” foods
• these are foods that cause a   g-r-a-d-u-a-l and minimal elevation of blood sugar
• and therefore don’t cause a rapid and significant release of insulin.

Eating this way not only leads to weight loss, it also prevents or controls diabetes, improves energy dramatically, improves cardiovascular health and cholesterol levels, even reduces inflammation. How’s that for a win-win-win?

Here’s a sample menu:

Breakfast: 2-3 eggs and half an apple.
Two to three hours later: other half of the apple, with almond or peanut butter. 

Lunch: Chicken breast and quinoa, or chicken salad and veggies with hummus.
Two hours later, a Dr Will Bar or a handful of nuts or an apple.

Dinner: Chicken, salad and brown rice or Lean beef, roasted veggies and quinoa.

If evening munching is a weakness, consider sunflower seeds, or a couple slices of cheese or plain Greek yogurt with flax seed & frozen fruit.

The preferred, low glycemic foods include: eggs, meats, cheeses, veggies, fruits (excepting ripe bananas, grapes, and dried fruits), nuts, seeds, and of course: Dr Will Bars! Buy now.

High glycemic foods to avoid include the following: Breads, pastas, crackers, potato and corn-based foods, cookies, candies, soda and fruit juices, all sweets, fruit yogurts, high sugar/low fiber snack bars. 

 2.  Next  step: EXERCISE!

Raise your hand if you want to:

• manage your weight
• have more energy
• improve your heart health
• get better sleep
• ramp up your sex-drive
• increase circulation
• promote better brain health…

You get the idea – exercise has everything to do with how we age and how long we live and it is never too late to start! You don’t need to begin training for a marathon, or go to boot camp. Just start.  *Go for a walk after lunch.  *Park your car at the back of the parking lot.  *Take the stairs. Soon you’ll be ready to make exercise work for you. Here’s how:

> Exercise for more than 40 minutes to target weight-loss and fat-burning.
(It takes this long for the exercise to "burn up the existing blood sugar".)

> The ideal fat-burning heart rate is 130 beats per minute, give or take 5 beats 
(periodically take the pulse for 15 seconds, multiply by 4).

> This is the ideal "aerobic" zone of exercise.
(better in fact than high intensity, high heart rate and heavy breathing type exercise.)

> If you’re serious about really wanting results, exercise at least 4 times a week.

It’s simple: low glycemic foods, 5 to 6 times daily and low to moderate intensity exercise 4 or more times weekly…the ideal lifestyle change for nearly inevitable weight loss and optimum health.

So if you “feast and you feast and you feast on roast-beast”

Consider a few simple changes at least

A strong and fit body is better than wealth

So follow these changes for optimum health