Is there another reason to lose weight and avoid obesity?

There are hundreds, but another was confirmed recently by a study More on Another Reason To Lose Weight? Breast Cancer

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Today I heard about a service called Bistro MD that delivers a ‘gourmet style diet’ to your door and is doctor designed. BistroMD is designed by Dr. Caroline Cederquist M.D. , a Bariatric Physician and contributing Medical Editor to the NBC Today Show.

More on Do Services Like Bistro MD Help Lose Weight?

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One of the few purely ‘whole food’ companies in the market today, WholeFoodFarmacy, has been granted Organic Certification on three of their popular foods, Phi Plus, Cranberry Phi and Coco Cherry Phi.

Organic certification means that all ingredients are sourced from foods that are grown naturally and free of pesticides and chemicals.

WholeFoodFarmacy is a great example of how food companies can encourage healthy living habits and provide products that support their vision. The company believes strongly in the benefits of whole foods and only supplies products that are minimally handled and contain only whole food vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices and natural grains. Here’s a little more directly from their mission statement:

“The ingredients to health, happiness, vitality, and longevity are no secret. Every major non-profit health organization in the world has been offering the same advice for many years. Eat more fruits and veggies, drink more water, exercise on a daily basis, lose weight if you need to, don’t smoke, avoid toxins, & reduce stress.

To that end, we have combined delicious, healthy foods, with convenience and affordability. Our salon quality personal care items offer superior results without the toxic chemicals.

Nothing short of a consumer based, grass roots return to healthy choices and lifestyles can steer our children, and future generations, in a healthier direction.”

They plan to continue the Organic Certification of the balance of their products and provide only the best foods available.

Personally, my family enjoys the foods and many of the natural personal care products. In fact, one of their 13 day programs, the Tri-Decathlon, helped many family members, friends and readers lose excess weight, regain their health and their tastes for a more natural, whole food diet. I often recommend these programs to those looking to make an improvement in their health, be it losing weight, overcoming a health issue or just wanting to improve their diet.

The reason these foods work is because you eat only whole foods for the 7 or 13 days and your body regains its natural taste for fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and natural grains. They are conveniently packaged and the program is easy to follow (eat as much as you want!). Once you lose the ‘addiction’ to the Standard American Diet (SAD) of fats, clogging dairy products, heart un-healthy meats and processed and junk foods that a majority of Americans (and now becoming the world) eat, you regain your body’s natural taste for what nature intended. You start eating more fresh fruits and vegetables in combination with the WholeFoodFarmacy foods and snacks. In this way, changing your habits is much easier since you are not fighting with the taste addictions (cravings) that cripple many diet efforts and makes it much easier to regain your health, your optimal weight and just feel better all around. The foods are convenient, mostly uncooked, tasty and made from all natural whole foods, nothing else.

And regardless of the fact the New Year is upon us when many of us look to make healthier choices, any time is a great time to take back your health, your body and continue a path to your best health for life. You only have one, why wait?

Visit the WholeFoodFarmacy for more information.

To your best health!

Mark Idzik

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As the New Year is upon us, it’s the time many make resolutions to lose weight. But what’s the best way?

This year Discovery Health wants to help with the National Body Challenge. What is it?

More on Can The National Body Challenge Help You?

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Recent research now shows that twice as many adults in the United States are obese compared to adults in Europe. About 33 percent of Americans are obese, compared with 17 percent in ten European countries reviewed.

Obesity, as past research has shown, leads to a number of other diseases including cancer, diabetes and others. This also increases our health care costs dramatically and they are directly tied to the ‘obesity factor’.

Our health care expenditures related to obesity range from $100-150 billion per year and the costs are only rising. Why does this continue? The research’s author commented “It is possible that we spend more on health care because we are, indeed, less healthy.”

That’s true, and only there is only one solution: taking responsibility for our own health. Watching what we eat, getting active and keeping a positive outlook on our lives. This is sometimes a challenge in today’s fast paced, every busier world, although it’s a choice. A choice we all make by either doing something about it or just letting things happen and then ending up in the hospital, bankrupt, or possibly an early death.

Life is a wonderful gift, take care of yours.

To your best health!

Mark Idzik

Source: NewsMax

Do you know the main reason that prevents people from losing weight? Find out what it is (I bet you’re experiencing this right now) and how you can break through it fast. Find out now!

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I was curious about how many calories I ate the other day after I noticed an article that mentioned the average American often consumes between 5000-6000 calories during a holiday meal. 5000-6000 calories!? For the average person that’s more than double their recommended intake for an entire day. And normally most folks don’t exercise on those holiday days, so the impact is even more drastic.

Do you know the nutritional value of what you eat every day?

From my research and conversations I have regularly, most of us don’t.

So I used my trusty Fitday calorie counter and nutrition software that calculates the nutritional information and in the foods you eat and gives you the breakdown of calories, proteins, fats and carbs you’ve eaten that day. It told me I had eaten 1879 calories that day, with 17% from fat, 10% from protein and 73% from carbohydrates, a little less than normal. Here’s a snapshot of the summary:

So what did I eat to reach almost 2000 calories this day? Here’s a snapshot:

If the image isn’t clear, here’s what I had this day:

• 2 mango and banana smoothies with dates and oranges
• Large herb salad with parsley, cilantro, kale, spinach, green onions, avocado, raw honey & tomatoes
• Large bowl of applesauce with dates, sea salt and a touch of raw coconut oil
• all home made, fresh and organic

And that’s it! Doesn’t seem like about 2000 calories, does it?

The software also keeps track of your weight, activity, goals, metabolism, calendar and gives you nice reports that can help you stay on track, especially when you’re on a weight loss plan. There is also a web-based version, and I use both, but find the FitDay software version faster, easier to use and has many more features and reports that I like.

Do I use this every day?

No, and I you don’t have to either. (unless you’d like to of course)

Here’s what I do, and recommend. Use it daily for a few weeks or more to find out the calorie and fat breakdowns in the foods you regularly eat. Play around with several variations of your daily diet to see how you can change it to reach your goals.

Calorie requirements vary from person to person, although on average they should run between 2000 and 2500 a day. You’ll want to keep your fat percentage intake between 10-20% of your daily caloric intake and your proteins around 10%. The balance of between 70-80% would be your carbohydrates. Not processed, complex carbs like pasta, breads, pastries or muffins, but simple carbs like fresh fruits and vegetables. This has been found to be the optimal all around ratio for your best health and optimal weight. Of course, you’ll find variations, but in my research and personal experience, it works very well.

After you get used to seeing the nutrition values of what you eat and what changes you’d like to make, you can go back regularly and run the statistics to see if you’re on track. You may want to use it every day to keep a journal of your progress as well, it’s a great way to keep yourself motivated and realistic.

It’s amazing what happens when you see the values of what you eat, make changes and how you feel afterwards because you literally are what you eat. It’s almost magical… you gain more energy, get clearer, happier and just feel better overall.

You can find the Fitday software here

To your best health!

Mark Idzik

> Calorie Counter

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As you may know, the Farm Bill is coming up for vote soon in Congress. It may surprise you that the bill contains subsidies for foods high in fat, cholesterol and sugar. Basically, the government buys up foods like hamburgers, bacon, cheese and fatty other products and feeds them to our children at schools and through food assistance programs.

In turn, millions of dollars of donations are given to the congressman and senators that support a bill that keeps the profits rolling in for these unhealthy foods the government buys.

The only way to stop this practice that has been going on for years is to stop the subsidies. And you can help.

An amendment to the farm bill titled the FRESH Amendment (S. 2228) was introduced by Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) that would reduce the amount of these subdidies. Currently, more than 80 percent of food production subsidies support meat, sugar, oil, dairy products, and animal feed. All these foods have been proven to increase cancers, high blood pressure, obesity and related diseases. They are recommended to be minimized, if not avoided completely. Childhood obesity is rising at a rapid rate, in part to this practice.

In fact, the video How To Get Fat Without Even Trying with Peter Jennings points to the same practice of subsidizing unhealthy foods as one of the causes of obesity in our country today.

You can call your congressman and senators to express your support for the FRESH Amendment and help reduce the amount of unhealthy foods being fed to our children. Get the number to your representatives here.

To your (and our children’s) best health!

Mark

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Watch out, you may be asked to pay more for your company’s health insurance plan if you’re out of shape.

More and more companies are taking a controversial approach by ‘encouraging’ employees to get fit by lowering their deductibles if they pass a yearly physical fitness test. If they don’t, they pay a much larger deductible.

Would you get in better shape to save thousands every your on your health insurance?

I think this is a brilliant plan since it rewards those that are healthier and file fewer claims. Until now, everyone pays the same regardless of their physical health.

It’s simple economics… and it works. For example, in the video below, you’ll see how an Arkansas county saved over $1.5 million dollars in a year and half after implementing the new plan. When they started, they were in the red half a million dollars. It shows how an economic incentive can help make lifestyle changes and benefit everyone.

In times when health care costs are skyrocketing, this type of incentive is badly needed… and it’s a win-win situation. Overweight employees lose weight, feel better, have more energy and are more productive. They also add years to their life and most likely live better quality lives at home.

Initially many employees find this an intrusion and violation of their rights. After going through the program for some time, they seem to appreciate the benefits for themselves and their employer.

To your best health!

Mark

Get tips on how to save money on your health insurance at YourHealthInsurance.com

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