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Six Easy Ways to Eat Less Every Day

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Don't Skip Breakfast!

Don’t Skip Breakfast!

Most people have the best intentions when it comes to their diet. Unfortunately, hunger pangs or cravings can encourage people making the wrong food choices, which can lead to excess weight, low energy, and health complaints.

If you are struggling to eat healthily each day, there are ways to stop reaching for sugary, fatty snacks, so you will only indulge in moderation. Read the six easy ways to eat less every day.

Use a Small, White Plate
If you want to feel full after every meal, you should use a small plate. By avoiding large plates, you’ll be more likely to enjoy smaller portions of food. A Cornell University study also found you’ll serve yourself less food if it contrasts with the color of your plate, so use a white dish when serving yourself some chocolate cake!

Try an Appetite Suppressant
A big appetite could lead to you indulging in all sorts of unhealthy foods in order to fill yourself up. Curb those annoying cravings with an effective appetite suppressant, which could help improve your relationship with food and transform your health. One of the most prescribed appetite suppressant on the market is Phentermine, which is FDA approved. The affordable suppressant can help you to take control of the food you eat, so you’ll be less likely to overindulge.

Focus on Your Food
How often do you eat meals or snacks in front of the TV? Probably a lot, right? Sadly, distracted eating could increase your hunger pangs, as you’ll be more focused on a TV series or movie instead of the food in front of you. So, turn off the TV, sit at the table, and focus your attention on your meal, and ensure you savor every bite.

Add More Low-Calorie Food onto Your Plate
Rather than piling plenty of fries onto your plate, load up on lower calorie foods, such as broth-based soups, salads, or vegetables. Doing so will ensure you’re not craving dessert or snacks after a meal, which could help you to create a healthier body.

Stop Skipping Meals
Are you guilty of skipping breakfast every morning? Or are you so busy at work that you miss lunch? This could lead to you indulging more than you’d like to by the evening, as you’ll want to fill up on food to increase your energy levels. Make time for three meals per day to help you feel fuller all day long. For example, eat a banana on the commute to work or pack a sandwich to eat at your desk.

Find Different Ways to Reward Yourself
Many people turn to food to reward themselves after a hard day. Rather than reaching for a tub of ice cream, you should treat yourself with a hot bath, a walk in the great outdoors, or a foot spa. Stop rewarding yourself with food and focus on other ways to spoil yourself after a busy day. Your body will be glad you did.

Healthy Ways to Increase Your Flexibility as You Age

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by Amanda Green

Have you considered getting into shape, but feel like working out vigorously is too hard on your body? As you get older, you may not feel as flexible as you did in your younger days. If you’ve found yourself with some extra pounds, sometimes weight loss isn’t enough for regaining flexibility in your joints—you really have to work at it. There are many ways that you can regain more flexibility in your joints as the years go by. Here are just a few healthier ways that you might be able to improve your overall movement.

Stretching Exercises

No matter what you do to help improve your health, whether diet, exercise or both, maintaining your posture and movement is vital. This starts with stretching your muscles and joints before engaging in any type of aerobic or physical activity at Pure Barre, or a fitness center in your own hometown. Proper stretching can help:

  • Improve your overall range of motion.
  • Increase blood flow.
  • Prevent the possible incurrence of injury.
  • Enable muscles to work properly and heal accordingly.

As blood flow is improved to these areas, muscles can be smoothed out and less likely to cramp up as you’re running or engaging in your workout. Another way to stretch and improve your flexibility is through yoga. Mindfulness of body and spirit in addition to bending and stretching can help open up tissue, calm your mind and manage stress. Yoga is a great way to see how far you can stretch your muscles and practice techniques for making breathing easier as well.

Removing Harmful Toxins

To reach a point of optimal flexibility, you need to stretch and flex throughout the day repeatedly without overdoing it. But there are other ways that you can make it easier on your body. This starts with removing toxins from your body. There are several different ways to do this. One way is through a heating method. This starts with raising body temperature through a hot tub or with a visit in a sauna. Sweat is eliminated through the pores and helps boost your immune system. Another way is through a foot detox. While somewhat controversial, a food detox uses minerals to pull toxins out of your feet. This may or may not help with removing toxic waste out of your body. Drinking plenty of water—at least eight 8 ounce glasses per day and flushing your system is a great way to maintain kidney health and keep you hydrated. When your veins are hydrated and your body is full of electrolytes, you’re less likely to suffer from dehydration as a result of working out.

Eating Right

Making sure that you’re eating right is important to keep your muscles healthy and strong. Eating a healthy, balanced diet rich in antioxidants and all of the food groups is beneficial to muscle health. Be sure to include a generous portion of vegetables, proteins, and grains with each meal. Build from there with a small amount of fruits and dairy. Keep your sodium and fat intake to a minimum. Don’t overeat and try not to fill up on unhealthy, sugary snacks and processed foods. If you have any dietary restrictions for high blood pressure, cholesterol or high blood sugar, be sure to talk with your doctor about the right meal plan and portion control based on your health needs.

Getting in Shape

Keeping your weight in check can also improve flexibility. Not having extra pounds around your midsection can make it easier to bend and get up from lying down. Having less fat reduces your body mass index and helps improve your lifestyle in many ways. If you’re currently overweight, now is the time to consider losing a few pounds. This starts with seeing your doctor to come up with the best plan for weight loss. If you’re cleared to exercise, your doctor will likely recommend a gradual start to working out and then increase your frequency and incorporate weights to build muscle. Making sure that your range of motion is in the proper order will help make sure you don’t pull a muscle or injure yourself accidentally.

Being consistent with your exercise and diet goals is the easiest way to improve or maintain good health and stay flexible.

How Business Owners Can Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

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Are you a business owner who neglects your health? It’s a common problem that affects countless numbers of entrepreneurs around the world. Many business owners are so focused on running and managing their company that they fail to look after themselves. As a result, their business and personal lives can suffer because of this self-neglect. Below are some of the most effective ways business owners can maintain a healthier lifestyle, which has the potential to improve the fortunes of their business and lead to a more enjoyable, fulfilling personal life.

Get Advice from Successful Entrepreneurs

Knowledge is power and you should look for advice from leading business people who manage to stay fit and healthy and that succeed in business. The investor and business advisor, Tai Lopez is one such entrepreneur who has managed to do this and even gives advice to a wide range of clients and people online about how to strike the perfect balance between making money and staying fit and healthy.

Healthy Asian Salad

Change to a Healthier Diet

It only makes sense that the food and drink you consume will determine how healthy you are. However, many business owners live hectic lifestyles and often eat on the go. Much of this food could be classed as junk food, which can take its toll on your body over a long period of time.

In other situations, you may find that you have to entertain clients and business associates which often involves the consumption of alcohol on a regular basis. Trying to burn the candle at both ends in this way can also lead to a wide range of medical complaints later on.

Ideally, you should visit a nutritionist or other medical expert and find out what your diet should be. Eating healthier food, staying hydrated and cutting back on socializing are all simple ways you can alter your diet in a more positive way.

Get Regular Exercise

Staying fit and exercising is another obvious, yet overlooked way to improve a business person’s life. When most people think about doing exercise, they come up with all kinds of excuses, such as not having enough time or not wanting to go to the gym every day. However, there are plenty of fast and easy ways you can exercise. You could do some basic exercises at home, walk or cycle each day.

Get Plenty of Quality Rest and Sleep

Every human being needs to get a certain amount of rest and sleep every day. Unfortunately, deadlines and working long hours prevent many business owners from getting the required amount of rest and sleep they need. Eventually, this can lead to a number of different mental and physical health issues that could have been prevented.

Share the Load By Hiring and Outsourcing

Sometimes you need to realize that you can’t do everything yourself and you should look for help from other people. Sharing the workload in this way has the potential to reduce your stress levels and allow you to get the necessary rest and sleep you need each day.

Thankfully, it’s much easier to hire people and employ freelancers who are able to carry out all kinds of tasks on a short-term or long-term basis. This will be an additional expense, but the rewards and benefits of getting this help can be huge and will make your life much easier.

As the owner and leader of your business, it’s crucial to stay as fit and healthy as possible. If your health suffers, everything and everyone who depends on you suffers too. However, you can avoid this situation by following each of the tips mentioned above.

Infographic: How Dogs Improve Your Health!

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I am a bona fide animal-lover if there ever was one. I’m pretty sure you could tell from all the pictures of animals on Self Help Daily or in my Twitter timeline, but I thought I’d write it out loud just in case.

Left to my own devices, I’d have at least two of every animal known to man, but my cats (and husband, for that matter) don’t share my off-the-hook enthusiasm. What’s more, we are, primarily, a cat family. We are blessed to live out of the city, so we’re able to take in cats who need a forever home, a forever family, and all the love they can stand.

How much are we committed to these cats? Well, for one thing, forfeited our entire carport to house a couple of (heated in the winter, of course) cat houses, cat food stations, chairs, and toys… lots of cat toys. Their set-up is ridiculously sweet. At any rate, this is the only reason I don’t have a dog, or two, or twenty. Dogs are amazing, loyal, beautiful, sweet, intelligent…. but woefully an enemy of our cat family.

Dogs aren’t just wonderful and loving family members, they’re actually very healthy for you. Just one of the ways I’ve found this to be true has been with dogs I’ve had and loved in the past (before the cats took over our hearts and yard!). Over the years, I have, without question, walked more frequently (and for longer periods of time) when I’ve had a canine companion. They love it so much, you just don’t want to stop their fun!

The great infographic below tells more ways dogs are actually very healthy for you. As for my opinion on the matter – I think that dogs (like cats) add to your joy and happiness – and that, fellow-animal lovers, is a key component of having a healthy and worthwhile life.

If you are able, I wholeheartedly suggest heading to your local shelter and allowing a RESCUE to take place. Just be warned, it won’t be the dog (or cat) that’s rescued!

How Dogs Improve Your Health Infographic

Infographic Credit: A Place for Animals!


Why You Should Seek Out Reliable Sources of Healthy Information

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Bulletproof Diet Book and Cookbook
The Bulletproof Diet (book and cookbook)

The more you know… Remember the series of ads that ran on tv a while back (on NBC, I believe). Heck, they may still run, I don’t know. Our television seldom ventures from baseball, the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, Discovery, and TVLand (Come on, how’re you expected to get through the week without Gunsmoke and Andy Griffith?!)

I was talking with my youngest daughter, Stephany, recently about seeking out information and hunting down truth. We were talking, at the time, about the big brouhaha surrounding “fake news.” While we both agree that news sources are entirely in too big of a hurry to “break news” before double-checking their facts AND while we certainly feel… well, KNOW… that the media’s number one goal is sensationalism and trying to get a reaction…. ALL the blame cannot be placed on them.

Individuals who take a news item or see a picture without actually looking into the situation (or date of said picture, even) are possibly even more to blame.

After all, they (the media) have an agenda – get ratings, sell papers – we don’t. Our only motive should be to educate ourselves and keep ourselves abreast of what’s going on around us.  If we take one person’s word for something, without taking a few minutes to verify what we’ve read, we’re failing to “adult” properly.

What’s worse is that many people will take a sensationalist bit of news and will run with it – spreading the false story everywhere. That’s not just stupid – it’s dangerous.

I don’t want to bring up any particular cases where this has happened, but if you live in America (as I do), you’ve seen a DANGEROUS amount of this over the past few years.

Yes, the media carries a large amount of the blame, but so do we when we don’t look into something before shooting off our mouths on social media or anywhere else.

The more you know… also rings true on a more personal level.  If you want to eat healthier, live longer, avoid as many diseases as possible, and feel better – you have to put in a little work seeking out information. Of course, you have to do more than just read… you have to respond.

My personal suggestion is to find several reputable sources and read everything you can get your hungry eyes on.  Why several? Again, it’s kind of like the media – if you limit yourself to one source of information, you are completely at their mercy. However, if you have multiple sources who are in agreement, you’re in a pretty good position!

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Tox-Sick by Suzanne Somers
Tox-Sick by Suzanne Somers

For example,many of my own personal sources of health information have been touting the benefits of healthy fat in your diet lately. Their information is all in agreement and I feel confident about my big juicy grass-fed burgers.

Naturally, when you follow a nutritionist, doctor, or health-field researcher, you may not agree with everything they say and you certainly won’t follow their every suggestion to the letter – but each step you take toward a healthier you is greatly beneficial. For example, some of my favorite sources… ahem… would be positively aghast if they saw me eating my beloved gluten-free fried catfish but this gal has zero intention of stepping away from it. Zero. As far as I’m concerned, fried catfish is the fifth food group. However, I do follow their teachings and preachings and eat crazy amounts of veggies and fruits and have cut just about all added sugar out of my world.

But… yes… I’m clinging to my fried catfish.

Below are a few of my personal favorite websites and books for health information, listed in no particular order.

When you find your favorite websites and authors, subscribe to their e-mail newsletters, follow them on Twitter, and (by all means) read their books. Let them help you carve out a healthier you and a better life.

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Chopped Salad
My Beloved: A Huge Salad with My Crunchy Faves

When reading about a new “diet” (which is, more times than not, simply learning a healthier way to eat), don’t make any snap judgments. Give the process time and see where it takes you – you may be in for a shock.  This is exactly what happened to me with the Bulletproof Diet (you can read my initial review – Bulletproof Diet Book Review).  I happen to have a freaky little condition with my blood sugar. It’s low and, if I go too long without calories, I find myself in a world of hurt. The feeling defies description – but suffice to say it feels like you’re on death’s doorstep with one weak hand on the doorknob. Because of this, I didn’t believe I could actually make it through the morning with simply a “bulletproof coffee.” I believe I even say in my review that I “know” I won’t be able to do this.

Ha! I cannot explain the science behind it, but I am absolutely able to have my bulletproof coffee each morning without a typical breakfast and I am perfectly fine for hours. I’ve even gone all the way to lunch many times without even thinking about food… let alone stepping on doom’s doorstep.  You have to make the bulletproof coffee the way the author, Dave Asprey, says too, however. You can’t get creative or tricky. If you follow his instructions to the letter, you’re going to be amazed at the energy and lack of morning and mid-morning hunger you experience.  Let’s be honest, this could be a life-changer.

I guess I need to go edit that review sometime.

One more suggestion: When my oldest daughter, Emily, and I had to give up gluten years ago (health reasons), we didn’t have the downward mental spiral that a lot of people seem to have.  Sure there was a little shock at first, but there were no tears or overwhelming sadness. We didn’t really suffer from a feeling of loss and I believe it was primarily because we both focused on the foods we COULD eat instead of the ones we COULD NOT eat.

To this day, we don’t sit around and talk about the doughnuts or fast food meals we no longer have or the restaurants we can’t visit anymore. We talk about how cool Jimmy John’s is to have “Unwiches” and how amazing a big chopped chef salad is!

The same approach will help you in any endeavor to get healthy. Focus on the good foods (heroes) and turn your back on the bad (villains).  If you keep looking at and longing for the baddies, you’ll simply go right back to them.

Keep your eyes laser-focused on those veggies, smoothies, grass-fed hamburgers, mashed cauliflower with bacon, and baked salmon with compound butter.

Hope you have a beautiful Christmas or Hanukkah! Christmas is my favorite time of year – it’s a beautiful holiday and, who knows, I may eventually get all of my shopping and menu planning done… may! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

P.S. I am obsessed when it comes to salads. They’re the perfectly delicious and deliciously perfect way to “sneak” in a lot of the foods that make you healthier and to “up” your veggie count all at meal. My favorite salad is a chopped salad – although it takes longer to prepare, the fact that you get so many different veggies on one fork makes it the most scrumptious salad in my opinion.  Be sure you don’t ruin it all by tossing on unhealthy dressings, though.  Oddly enough, I’ve found that my favorite way to dress a chopped salad is simply to drizzle a little olive oil on top, splash on a little lemon juice, and then grind black pepper over the whole production. Trust me.. it’s Heavenly!