110 Calories Towards Obesity

I was attending a workshop last year and a point was made that if a child would refrain from one soda/pop a day, they would be helping to prevent obesity. The statistic was that if a child consumed an extra 110 calories per day, they had a 22% greater risk of developing obesity later in life.

If you wanted to consume that extra calories, then you can make your child be active for an additional 1 hour per day to burn it off.

When I heard this I was a bit shocked! Growing up, we pretty much drank about anything, unless it was simply "cost effective" to do something else. I wish my parents had known this concept. I try to practice it in my own kids when they are choosing drinks.

Whether or not we have kids, we can be practicing it in our own lives to help in preventing obesity in ourselves.

Will you skip the extra 110 calories to go to preventing obesity in you or your child?

Here's a short, interesting video that shows sugar in drinks...after watching it, leave a comment and tell me your reaction.

More Equals Less and Less Equals More

There are times in life where the first half of the title holds true but there are other times that the second part holds true. It just depends on what is being discussed. Of course, we are going to talk about some health related areas.

More Equals Less

1. More Exercise Equals Less Weight ~ When you burn calories those calories are going to have to come from somewhere. This means it will come from your stored fuel supply and will attack the adipose tissue or fat cells primarily. The muscle cells can be consumed but that is an extreme situation.
2. More Exercise Equals Less Problems ~ I learned recently that when a person has arthritis one of the treatments is exercise. Also, related to the above scenario, when you have less weight you will have less wear-and-tear on your body due to the unneeded body weight.
3. More Sedentary Equals Less Life ~ Not only is this less for life expectancy, but it is less for one's quality of life. People that are sedentary are just as at-risk as those who smoke for life, one study said. That is scary!
4. More Quality of Life Equals Less Problems Later in Life ~ The better we take care of our self now, the less problems we are going to encounter later in life (aside from any genetic disorders).
5. What would you put in for the rest?

Less Equals More

1. Less Sugary Drinks Equals More Energy ~ The sugary drink we encounter intially will actually go through the "high-low" crash part of the sugary breakdown. We initially have the feel good feeling, but then when the crash comes we feel "blah." The same really goes for many of the carbohydrates that we consume.
2. Less Exercise Equals More Risks ~ The less exercising we do the more we are going to be at risk for other chronic diseases like hypertension, heart problems, weight problems, diabetes, etc.
3. Less Food Equals More Self Esteem ~ Since overweight and obesity are not positive attributes to a person, they often feel bad about themselves. If you can look in the mirror and feel better about yourself than about how much food you ate, you would feel better about yourself. A small disclaimer that we are talking about sensible eating, not starving, bulimia, or anorexia. By less I am talking about eating sensible and not consuming more and more.
4. What else would you add?

Please add comments as we put the two phrases to use to make healthier looks at life.

Stay Fresh and Colorful

We are often drawn to items that are flashy and colorful. Also, it doesn't help to have an item that is new. All these things will help draw the eye toward it. Once the eye is drawn the product, you are likely going to be buying the product. The eye is a powerful sensory organ that will take in lots of information. Sometimes that information will easily draw us in to the compulsion to purchase.

If you're like me, you will be drawn to the colors and flashiness of an item. Colors have a way of drawing us in, almost a "subliminal message" of advertising. We are drawn to the beauty of rainbows, animals, and other things of nature. Let's make our plates look similar.

In addition to smell, seeing color on your plate will help invite your taste buds in to the entree. Load your dinner plans with colorful foods. Look for reds, yellows, oranges, and greens to make your plate come alive with flavor.

This time of year is a great opportunity to see lots of color on your plate - fruits and vegetables are created with colors. Let's use them to our advantage and have some color. Keep in mind that color will draw us in and help us eat more healthy.

What colorful creation will you create today?