Christmas health-busters

You have been told this before and you will be told again. As the festive season beckons, it's easy to lose sight of the health goals that you've been trying to achieve all year. Rich food, plentiful alcohol and lack of exercise all contribute to a sluggish system, not to mention the family hazards that might fly your way. Try following these tips to minimize the damage to your body (and soul) beautiful.

Stay off the snacks
Around Christmas time, many of the kilos packed on are due to snacks that lie around the house. Go easy on the chocolates and nuts, they are full of joules and are unnecessary when you are also enjoying large meals! As a substitute, have bowls of fruit available (grapes and berries are good) and help fill kids' stockings with an orange or apple, too.

Plan a walk
Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean normal life has to stop completely! Build some time into your day to take some exercise, even if it's a simple walk or a swim. Taking time out is also helpful for avoiding family tension: if there's a storm brewing, calm yourself down by getting out and about for 30 minutes or so.

Bulk up on fiber
Whatever your chosen Christmas meal, max out on veggies and cut back on the meat. It doesn't have to be dull — look up inventive ways to make a splendid salad or dress up those sprouts. As long as your vegies aren't covered in butter or rich salad dressing, you can scoff lots without packing on too many kilos.

Be sensitive to others
Not everybody finds Christmas a pleasant time — be sensitive to the feelings of those around you, especially if there's been a recent bereavement or loss. Even happy events such as the birth of a child can cause emotional havoc, so stay aware and steer clear of potentially hazardous topics.

Don't start on the booze too early
Tempting though it can be to crack open the bubbly as soon as you're dressed, save it for later in the day. When eventually you do have a drink, remember to space alcoholic beverages with soft ones, allowing your liver a chance to fight back. Don't forget that it's harder for your liver to metabolise alcohol when your sugar intake has been high: it prioritises the absorption of sugar over alcohol, so if you've been on the chocolates all day, any alcohol will remain in your system for longer.

Get organised!
If you leave all your preparations to the last minute, things can get stressful. Financially, too, leaving everything until last can create a big hole in your wallet. Space everything out by writing lists and buying presents ahead of time (this will also save you cash). Buy foods that won't go off in advance, too, such as Christmas puddings and so on.

Choose your drinks carefully
If you're watching your weight, some drinks will kill your diet. Obvious ones to look out for are creamy cocktails, but keep an eye on your intake of premixed drinks and cocktails in general. Stick to straight spirits, mixed with low-joule drinks, or wine.

Set out expectations
Christmas can be a very happy time, but it can also be stressful. If your parents are separated or if you're planning to spend the holidays with your partner's family, make sure the other set know in good time. Disappointment often breeds resentment and the last thing you need on your hands at Christmas is a family feud. As at any other time of the year, communication is of paramount importance — hiding away from telling somebody something they won't want to hear will only prolong the issue.

All the best Terrance B & Family

Water Water Water

Did you know that most of what you drink (coffee, tea, and soft drinks) are all diuretics. They actually make you more thirsty, not less. As if that weren’t bad enough, all the sugar in those drinks lowers your immune system and causes you to gain weight.

Did you know that it’s impossible to tell the difference between a feeling of hunger and a feeling of thirst? Oftentimes, when you eat, you’re really not hungry at all. You’re just thirsty but didn’t know it. The only way to tell the difference is drink a glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that’s all you needed.

Only water has the pure, cleansing properties necessary to sustain life and restore your good health.

So today, do yourself a favor and drink only water. It’s only for 1 day. It’ll be over before you know it. But you will have proved to yourself that you are in fact committed to losing that extra weight that’s been holding you back and gaining all the health you deserve.

What a great way to start the day! I’m challenging you to drink only water today.

Water Facts

1. 75% of North Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world population.)
2. In 37% of North Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger.
3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.
4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain or up to 80% of sufferers.
7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a ! printed page.
8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?

Eating more without more calories

Water-rich foods help weight loss, studies affirm

yet another chance for Mom to say, "I told you so!"

Women told to eat healthy low-density foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, lose more weight than those told to cut fat, according to research.

A related study showed that Americans who ate more of these foods consumed fewer calories and were somewhat healthier than those who didn't — even though they ate more total food.

In the first study, two groups of obese but otherwise healthy women got regular dietary advice for a year. One group was told what to avoid in order to reduce the amount of fat in their diets. The other got the reduced-fat advice, but was also given positive messages — suggestions of healthy, water-rich foods they could add to their diets.

They were specifically directed to items with a low energy density, or ratio of calories to mass, and high water content; not only produce but soups, legumes and cooked grains like oats and brown rice.

Both groups lost weight. But after six months, the reduced-fat group had lost 14.7 pounds, while the energy-density group had lost 20.7 pounds.

"We didn't give them all this 'Don't eat this, don't eat that,'" Penn State nutrition sciences professor Barbara Rolls, who directed both studies, said. "Human nature is, we really don't like to be told we can't have things."

Feeling full with fewer calories
Water-rich foods' value rests in the ability to eat more of them and feel fuller without packing in extra calories. While other studies have shown the efficacy of short-term diets featuring these foods, nutrition researchers said these findings help prove the long-term effects and fill in gaps in current research.

"It provides additional support that folks can actually eat more food and lose weight if they choose foods low in calories," said Gail Woodward-Lopez, associate director of the Center for Weight and Health at the University of California, Berkeley. "That's wonderful that they did both a longer-term intervention study and an observational study."