Your plates, pantry, and lightbulbs may hurt your weight loss efforts. Easy strategies set you up for success.

You Love Bright Light - High-wattage lighting can raise stress levels, stimulating your appetite and causing you to eat faster than usual, according to research reviews. On the flip side, too dim is no better--studies show low lighting lessens inhibitions.

Solution:
Many modern kitchens have layers of light sources, from under-the- cabinet halogens to recessed lights around the perimeter and a decorative fixture over the table, says Joseph Rey-Barreau, a lighting designer in Lexington, KY. When you're cooking, flip on as many lights as you'd like, but when it's time to eat, use no more than 240 total watts. That's the equivalent of four 60-watt bulbs in a four-light over-the-table fixture, for example, or six 40-watt bulbs in six high hats; with compact fluorescent bulbs, use 75 to 100 total watts.

Your Plates Are Platter Size - Most of us make a habit of filling our plates and finishing what's on them, But since the 1970s, dinner plates have grown 25%, to 12 inches or more in diameter. Eat off a plate about 2 inches smaller and you'll serve yourself 22% fewer calories per meal, which can mean a 2-pound weight loss in 1 month, says Brian Wansink, PhD, director of Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab and the author of Mindless Eating.

Solution:
Rethink your place settings. Use your salad plate to hold higher-calorie meats or pasta, and load your dinner plate with veggies.  If you plan to buy new plates, the best size is 10.

Your Pantry Is Huge - Bulk shopping can help cut food bills, but if you store groceries in their supersize packages, you're more likely to supersize your meals. Researchers found that people prepared 23% more food when cooking from large containers and ate twice as many candies from big bags as from smaller ones. Having a large variety of food may cause you to overeat too:

Solution:
Big packages don't have a natural stopping point, so break them down into smaller containers or single-serving portions. Also, keep only one variety of your favorite treat in the house to help curb temptation. See the tidbit section on pre portioning your staples.

For many of us the holiday season is a time for celebration. This usually means a lot of eating, especially of high fat foods. Most of us put off making any plans to start our healthy journey until our New Year's resolution. The problem is most of us don't follow through on our New Year's resolutions. So if we are not going to get started then, why not start now. 

There is probably no other time during the year that we are going to eat more high fat foods and gain more weight. Think about it, most of us are making New Year's resolutions because we ate and partied so much during the holiday season. So just think if we start watching what we eat during the holidays we will get the jump on the New Year, and may not even have to make a resolution! 

 If we are really serious about making healthier choices we are going to have to make changes eventually at the holiday season. Aren't we just putting off the inevitable if we wait until after the holidays? Think of how good you'll feel about yourself as you are making healthier choices then the people around you. It is amazing how easy this can be once you set your mind to it.

If you recognize you need to do something about your diet, if you convinced yourself that making healthier choices is your goal, and if you have prepared a plan of action, then you are ready to start. If you are ready, don't procrastinate any longer, start now and have a healthy holiday season.

"If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want."  ~Elbert Hubbard

Should you cross some foods off your list? Although no scientific studies have found any definitive link between food and RA, some people with RA say that eating certain foods makes their RA worse. To figure out what's the best diet for you, it helps to keep in mind some of the nutritional challenges you have with RA. If painful fingers or wrists make it tough to chop vegetables and cook healthy meals, you may be more likely to grab a burger from the drive-through. If your medications give you an upset stomach or make you feel like you don't want to eat, you may wind up skipping meals. If you routinely have an upset stomach or no appetite, you may also be missing important nutrients.

It's common for women with RA to not get enough vitamin D and calcium. It's especially important that you get enough of those nutrients because having RA -- and taking certain treatments for it -- raises your risk of osteoporosis. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of medicine's mysteries. There were no medical reports of the disease until the early 1800s. Some have suspected that a virus or bacterium may play a role, perhaps by setting off an autoimmune reaction. Genetics may also be a factor, in that it may influence susceptibility to the disease.

For years people have suspected that foods are an important factor in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Many notice an improvement in their condition when they avoid dairy products, citrus fruits, tomatoes, eggplant and certain other foods.

Initially, the evidence was anecdotal. A woman from the Midwest once suffered from painful arthritis. Today she is a picture of health, thin and athletic, and her arthritis is totally gone. It seemed that dairy products were to blame for her arthritis, for when she eliminated them from her diet, the arthritis disappeared completely.

Another woman, from Wisconsin, also found that her arthritis was clearly linked to dairy products. Although she had been raised on a dairy farm, she learned that staying away from dairy products was the key to relieving her symptoms.

A 1989 survey of over one thousand arthritis patients revealed that the foods most commonly believed to worsen the condition were red meat, sugar, fats, salt, caffeine, and nightshade plants (e.g., tomatoes, eggplant). Once the offending food is eliminated completely, improvement usually comes within a few weeks. Dairy foods are one of the principle offenders, and the problem is the dairy protein, rather than the fat, so skim products are as much a problem as whole milk.

The popular Myth Busters is back, Here is part four. I hope these clear up some of your food myths.

"Eggs are bad for your heart.”- Eggs do contain a substantial amount of cholesterol in their yolks—about 211 milligrams (mg) per large egg. And yes, cholesterol is the fatty stuff in our blood that contributes to clogged arteries and heart attacks. But labeling eggs as “bad for your heart” is connecting the wrong dots

“High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is worse for you than sugar.” - High-fructose corn syrup was created to mimic sucrose (table sugar), so its composition is almost identical to sucrose’s (55 percent fructose, 45 percent glucose; with sucrose the ratio is 50:50). Calorie-wise, it’s a dead ringer for sucrose. And in studies that compare the effects of HFCS with other sweeteners, HFCS and sucrose have very similar effects on blood levels of insulin, glucose, triglycerides and satiety hormones. In short, it seems to be no worse—but also no better—than sucrose, or table sugar.

“A raw-food diet provides enzymes that are essential to healthy digestion.” - Raw foods are unprocessed so nothing’s taken away; you don’t get the nutrient losses that come with cooking, But the claim by some raw-food advocates that eating raw boosts digestion by preserving “vital” plant enzymes, just doesn’t hold water. Those enzymes are made for the survival of plants; for human health, they are not essential.

“Your body can’t use the protein from beans unless you eat them with rice.” - No, Proteins—which our bodies need to make everything from new muscle to hormones—are made up of different combinations of 20 amino acids. Thing is, our bodies can make only 11 of these amino acids; we must get the other nine from food. Animal-based protein-rich foods like eggs and meat provide all nine of these “essential” amino acids, but nearly all plant foods are low in at least one. Experts used to say that to get what your body needs to make proteins, you needed to pair plant-based foods with complementary sets of amino acids—like rice and beans. Now they know that you don’t have to eat those foods at the same meal. If you get a variety of foods throughout the day, they all go into the ‘basket’ of amino acids that are available for the body to use.

“Calories eaten at night are more fattening than those eaten early in the day." - Calories are calories are calories, and it doesn’t matter what time you eat them. What matters are the total calories you take in.

“Radiation from microwaves creates dangerous compounds in your food.” Radiation” might connote images of nuclear plants, but it simply refers to energy that travels in waves and spreads out as it goes. Microwaves, radio waves and the energy waves that we perceive as visual light all are forms of radiation. So, too, are X-rays and gamma rays—which do pose health concerns. But the microwaves used to cook foods are many, many times weaker than X-rays and gamma rays.

In this super-sized society, everything is bigger, bolder and badder for your waistline. I think we as a society are revisiting this theory. At least in kids meals...at McDonalds a side order of fries has 20% less and are offering apple slices with caramel dipping sauce. Burger King is also offering healthier alternatives to kids meals,  hamburger served with Apple Fries, the dipping sauce and apple juice while another  features a four-piece serving of Chicken Tenders plus Apple Fries, dipping sauce and fat-free milk.

But let's take a look at what we do as adults... 20 years ago a typical bagel had a three-inch diameter and 140 calories, today's bagel is often a whopping six inches and 350 calories. Still not convinced that there's a growing problem at hand? Consider that a McDonald's hamburger was just 1.6 ounces in 1955, compared to today's 8-ounce burger that can cost you upwards of 590 calories. The portion distortion epidemic is prominent in both restaurant kitchens and home kitchens. While you can't control the portion sizes you're served when dining out, you can get a handle of what you bring to your own table. One way is to use a food scale to measure out your portions. There are also other effective rules of thumb you can use to eyeball servings.

You may be confusing portion control and servings. A portion is the amount of food you put on your plate. A serving is a specific amount of food defined by common measurements, such as cups or tablespoons. For instance, a pancake serving is 4 inches. But a typical portion you might eat is 6 inches — or 2 servings. Similarly, a serving of milk is 8 ounces, but the portion you pour might be twice that size. If your portion control is out of control, you may be supersizing your meals and yourself.

A 3-ounce chicken breast cooked is about the size of a deck of cards. The same goes for three ounces of cooked lean beef. A ¼ cup of almonds is about the size of a golf ball while 1 ounce of luncheon meat is the size of a compact disc. A bagel should be the size of a can of tuna - a slice of bread the size of a cassette tape. A one-cup serving of cooked pasta should be about the size of baseball. A ½ cup serving of cooked rice is about the size of a light bulb. A medium pepper is about the size of a baseball and equals one vegetable serving. One medium orange is about the same size as a tennis ball and equals one fruit serving, or about 60 calories.

One and a half to 2 ounces of low-fat hard cheddar cheese is about the same size as three to four dice and equals one protein/dairy serving, or about 110 calories. Two teaspoons of regular mayonnaise are about the same size as two dice and equal one fat serving, or about 45 calories. 

It may take some practice to become a better judge of serving sizes and portions, especially as you put entire meals together. But the more you practice visualizing the cues, the more control you'll have over portion sizes. Controlling portion sizes also means controlling calories/points — and that's key to achieving your weight-loss goals.

I made a commitment standing on the deck at Phoenix International Raceway. As many of my foodies know, I am a huge NASCAR fan. As we awaited the race to start and we watched the fighters fly over, I said if Tony can get to this point ...so can I. Tony Stewart is...well as a friend said "Your Guy".  Tony was committed to winning the Championship. Hard work and perseverance got him to that point. But, he did have two races to go...

My journey was also with hard work and perseverance, but I knew I wasn't done yet. I have maintained for a year now, I seem to maintain well but the losing gets harder the smaller you get.  Okay so now what? My new goal is to lose 14 pounds, why 14? Well that commitment I made at the race, Tony Stewart's number is 14. 

Okay I have a commitment and goal, now what? At anytime or place in your journey you need goals. That point in time when you say "YES" I did it. When we are proud of who we are and what we have accomplished. So how do I finish the race? Win the Championship and get the checkered flag. 

The recipes are here and I know I eat well. My research and blogs help me as much as I hope they help you. So I have the right fuel in my tank. I need the right set up...So I took a look at what got me this far. Will (my son, for those of you who don't know) moved out this fall. I made his room my workout room. I have my bike, treadmill and weights. My journey was mostly pedaling for miles, I do love riding my bike. Loving what you do is half the battle. But, years ago I walked on my treadmill and loved it too. A very good friend of mine is walking in the mornings and talks about walking uphill. My treadmill may not have the beautiful scenery but it does have an incline. 

So I have decided to workout in the morning on my treadmill and ride my bike in the late afternoon. So I am stepping it up! I have the fuel, the right set up and new shoes ( rubber for my tires ). I will update my race, my goal is to finish my race by the time I return to Phoenix International Raceway in March! 

Holidays are often stressful, but ideally they can be oases in time that nourish us emotionally and spiritually and reconnect us to our best selves and to one another. Taking a few minutes to think about life and your journey can reduce holiday stress by helping you focus on what's most important to you.  When I first started my journey and the Holidays came I was worried. I had to attend 3 Thanksgiving dinners in four days. I planned ahead, here are some simple tips to help get you through the Holidays. By the way I lost .2 pounds every week through the holidays. Any weigh in with a minus is a good week, it all adds up.

At parties:
* Always eat before attending a holiday bash. Eating a nutritious, healthy snack prior to the event will help you to curb your appetite and prevent overindulgence.
* Take a healthy appetizer or side. If you are worried there will be no healthy appetizers or sides at a party then take your own. You will look thoughtful to the host for bringing something to their party and feel at ease that you at least have a veggie tray there to snack on.
* Limit your intake of alcohol. Opt instead for light hot chocolate or a cup of hot tea, both of which can help you keep your hands and mouth busy while partying.

In the workplace:
* Put the candy bowl out of sight. Ask co-workers to place candy bowls in a desk drawer, a break room or in a cabinet.
* Bring healthy treats to work. Bring in apple slices with light caramel dip, little bags of homemade, air-popped popcorn or a fruit or veggie tray.

Scope out food options: 
At buffet tables, scope out the options first. Make a mental note of what you’d like to eat, before you fill your plate. This way you can get a taste of everything you’d like to try and not feel deprived, but you won’t thoughtlessly pile all sorts of food on your plate.

Taste hors d’oeuvres: 
When appetizers are being passed around, it’s easy to lose track of how much you’re eating. One strategy is to take a bite of an appetizer you’d like to try, and then put it down. You’ll get a taste, but you won’t get all the calories. Another strategy is to eat small appetizers and then eat veggies (ones which aren’t drowned in dressing or sauces) and other low-calorie crunchers. The third strategy is to choose only lean protein and low-fat items. For example, you’ll limit yourself to shrimp with cocktail sauce, chicken satay, or meatballs.

Nuts in shells. Believe it or not, studies show when you have to work for your food (cracking nutshells), you eat less. The same is true for candy. If you need to unwrap the candy, you’ll eat less.

You can enjoy the holidays without deprivation, eating all the foods you like, if you think before you eat, be a taster (don’t clean the plate), barter with yourself (choose one food and pass on another), and be active (clean the house, take a walk, or dance while you cook.) And remember food is not love. Don’t think that you’d be rude if you refuse to eat a hostess’s food. Don’t let people force food on you.

One last tip, I do this throughout the year...Ask yourself is that worth an additional twenty minutes on the trendmill? 

Five years ago my weight gain was due to my Thyroid  Gland..What is the thyroid gland and how does it function? Can this gland in men and women really make you gain/loss weight? Then why can't we take additional medication to lose more?  All these questions I will explain in detail, it really is important to know how and why your thyroid gland operates.

 The butterfly-shaped thyroid gland, located in the lower front of the neck, makes thyroid hormone, which in turn goes into the bloodstream and the rest of the body, helping it to use energy, stay warm, and function properly.  A simple blood test measures your TSH levels.  A high TSH level reflects an underactive gland; a low TSH usually reflects hyperactivity. Commonly referred  to as Hyper and Hypo, 

Because patients with an underactive thyroid tend to have a very low basal metabolic rate, one of the most noticeable symptoms of hypothyroidism is weight gain and difficulty losing extra weight. (Sometimes an overactive thyroid can mimic an underactive thyroid by causing weight gain, although this is less common.) A minority of women with hypothyroidism don’t gain weight. The difference arises from their individual biochemistry, the quality of the calories they consume, and how they use those calories.

Often the “metabolic burn” continues to fall as calories are reduced when dieting. That’s why some women with low thyroid can have weight gain even when they severely restrict calories. In order to fix your metabolism, you have to understand your entire health picture, not just your thyroid.

Goiter is usually associated with hypothyroidism, which is decreased thyroid function that leads to slower metabolism, fatigue, weight gain, sluggishness, dry hair, thick skin, poor mental functioning, decreased resistance to infection, a feeling of coldness, and a decrease in sexual energy. More advanced hypothyroidism may worsen these symptoms as well as create a hyperactive, manic state and hypertension, which is paradoxical because this may occur with an overactive thyroid as well.

Since much of the weight gain in hypothyroidism is accumulation in salt and water, when the hypothyroidism is treated one can expect a small (usually less than 10% of body weight) weight loss. As in the treatment with hyperthyroidism, treatment of the abnormal state of hypothyroidism with thyroid hormone should result in a return of body weight to what it was before the hypothyroidism developed. However, since hypothyroidism usually develops over a long period of time, it fairly common to find that there is no significant weight loss after successful treatment of hypothyroidism. Again, if all of the other symptoms of hypothyroidism, with the exception of weight gain, are resolved with treatment with thyroid hormone, it is less likely that the weight gain is solely due to the thyroid. Once hypothyroidism has been treated and thyroid hormone levels have returned to the normal range on thyroid hormone, the ability to gain or lose weight is the same as in individuals who do not have thyroid problems.

Thyroid hormones have been used as a weight loss tool in the past. Many studies have shown that excess thyroid hormone treatment can help produce more weight loss than can be achieved by dieting alone. However, once the excess thyroid hormone is stopped, the excess weight loss is usually regained. Furthermore, there may be significant negative consequences from the use of thyroid hormone to help with weight loss, such as the loss of muscle protein in addition to any loss of body fat. Pushing the thyroid hormone dose to cause thyroid hormone levels to be elevated is unlikely to significantly change weight and may result in other metabolic problems. 

Is there really such a thing? We know eating healthy has many benefits. But, can certain foods help your brain function better? What would better be?....No Alzheimer's or Dementia? Time to do some research on the subject...

Although no one "miracle" food is going to boost your brain power instantly, make your kid a genius, or cure Alzheimer's, regularly adding certain foods to your diet will help you function at your personal best, both physically and mentally, throughout your lifetime. So what is considered brain food? Here is the list:

1.    Blueberries—Blueberries serve a wide range of functions for improving mental function. Most notably, regular blueberry consumption has been shown to improve memory function. Furthermore, blueberries are rich in antioxidants, helping to prevent free radical damage. Still not convinced? Research has found that blueberries can also reverse age related declines in motor function, balance, and coordination.

2.    Salmon—Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, salmon helps your brain develop tissue for increasing your brain power. Furthermore, salmon also plays a key role in fighting Alzheimer’s and other age-related cognitive disorders.

3.    Flax seeds—Flax seeds are crammed with ALA- a healthy fat that aids the cerebral cortex in functioning better. This is the portion of the brain responsible for processing sensory information. Keeping it sharp is vital.

4.    Coffee—Regular coffee drinking has been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and other mental disorders. That’s because caffeine is good for the brain (in moderation), and it contains antioxidants. The important thing to note is you shouldn’t add in all the other junk to your coffee (the ridiculous Starbucks drinks crammed with sweeteners and fatty products).

5.    Mixed nuts—Peanuts, walnuts, pecans, and other nuts contain properties that help with everything from fighting insomnia to promoting mental clarity and strong memory. Walnuts are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids while almonds contain natural mood-enhancing neurotransmitters.

6.    Avocados—Don’t let the avocado’s fat content fool you. It’s a healthy fat that promotes blood flow, keeping your mind functioning at its peak. That’s not all: Avocados have also been shown to reduce blood pressure.

7.    Eggs—Egg yolks are rich in choline, an essential nutrient to improving memory function.

8.    Whole grains—From oatmeal to whole grain bread, whole grains are excellent brain foods as they improve circulation and contain essential fibers, vitamins, and even some Omega-3. Just make your sandwiches from whole grain breads to enjoy the benefits.

9.    Chocolate— Dark chocolate is antioxidant-rich, and it also improves focus and concentration. Milk chocolate, on the other hand, improves memory and reaction time.

10.    Broccoli—Broccoli has been shown to improve memory function as well as slow the aging process. This means a broccoli-rich diet will keep you young and sharp.