Tag Archives: bipolar disorder

A High Fat Diet May Increase Breast Cancer Risk for Two Generations

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Researchers are constantly studying pregnancy and how different lifestyles and choices impact the health of the mother and the child. A major focus is often on the food that a pregnant woman eats, whether it’s the quantity or the quality. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase,“You are what you eat,” and it’s never been more true. Recent research has led experts to believe that what you eat during your pregnancy, specifically junk food and how much of it you consume, can effect not only your daughter’s chances of getting breast cancer in the future, but her daughter’s chances as well. … Continue reading →

Just Say No to Super-Sizing It

“Would you like to super-size your order?” Have you ever been asked that question? It seems like a sweet deal. You get more food for just a little bit more money. It may not seem like a big deal at the time—what’s a few more fries—but if you super-size every single time you eat, you are adding on a tremendous amount of calories. When you add them up over the long haul you are packing on too much fat. I think the super-size mentality has gone even beyond the fast food chains. Do you find yourself super-sizing at home? You … Continue reading →

Would You Compromise Your Beliefs for a Pregnancy Craving?

I just read an interview with Tiffani Thiessen, a long time vegetarian, in which she expresses remorse over indulging in her pregnancy craving: red meat. Pregnancy cravings are strange like that. They often completely contradict our normal preferences. For one, where I had always loved hamburgers, I could not stand the site of beef while pregnant. I never thought much of unsweetened decaf tea before I was pregnant, but it was one of the only things I drank during my first two trimesters. Those were just my preferences, though; they weren’t based on any kind of moral standards I held … Continue reading →

HCG for Weight Loss? Yeah Right!

I read the strangest piece of news tonight. Apparently people are rubbing a cream containing HCG on their wrists and cutting their daily calorie intake down to 500 in an effort to lose weight rapidly. It’s called the HCG diet. HCG is the same pregnancy hormone that is detected by home pregnancy tests. HCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin. It is first produced by the growing embryo and later by the placenta. The theory is that the synthetic HCG tricks the body into thinking it is pregnant and needs to pull nutrients from the body’s fat stores. It should be … Continue reading →

Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

According to most surveys, the average American gains between seven and 12 pound over the holidays. No doubt the constant treats everywhere and a busy schedule that leaves little time for exercise can contribute to this. Plus with the warmer weather, people naturally have a tendency to bundle up in bulky clothes that can hide weight gain, even from themselves. Still, it is not completely inevitable that you will stop losing weight or even start gaining it over the holidays. You just have to be a bit more diligent with how you go about your day. Before a party or … Continue reading →

Here Come the Holidays

Once Halloween is over, and all of the candy temptations that brings, there is a mad rush of celebrations where food is a big focus. First there is my middle child’s birthday. We celebrated it this past Saturday, even though her “real” birthday isn’t until Thursday. She picked out what has got to have been the biggest princess cake at the local grocery store. We gave in because, well, for one I felt guilty about not making her cake this year, and for two, she batted her eyes at daddy. Not that I want her to learn manipulation or anything, … Continue reading →

The Curse of the Halloween Candy

What is the scariest part of Halloween? It isn’t the horror movies or the things that go bump in the night (unless it is your tummy hitting the side of the bathroom door when you get up to pee). No, it is all of that Halloween candy. Our family isn’t really big on Halloween. We recognize that the younger kids seem to enjoy it, so we make a little bit of effort. They have costumes and go out trick or treating with friends, collecting candy. I bought two bags of candy this year. One was a bag of candy corn … Continue reading →

Dairy Foods and Weight Loss

Do you remember those print ads in the magazines that show a glass of milk with an hourglass figure? The implication is that drinking milk can help you to lose weight and be fit. In fact, there is another study that has found this link to be true. (There are also other studies that have shown unclear results.) Upping your dairy intake may help you to lose weight. The most recent study was done at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. For 12 weeks, researchers followed participants who upped their dairy intake from three to five servings a day. Those who … Continue reading →

Clothes and Weight Loss

I have to admit that my weight loss has been on the slow side. But because my main goal is to make my lungs and heart stronger, and to make this routine really part of my normal life, I am okay with that. Slow and stead wins the race, right? I’m still not counting calories, and I still don’t own a scale, but I do have two things to substitute. I have a better awareness of exactly what I am putting into my body and when, so there is little mindless eating. And instead of a scale, I have my … Continue reading →

I Deserve to Say “No!”

First, let me start off by saying that I had a really great workout on Saturday. I was able to run farther than I ever had before without stopping due to lack of oxygen, muscle strength or energy. I felt like I could have kept going all day. Of course, having learned my lesson well from my recent bout with a torn and inflamed meniscus in my knee, I made sure not to push it too much. On Sunday my husband and I had a church function that started very early and lasted for five hours. I was nervous about … Continue reading →