-
Keeping Your New Year’s Weight Loss Resolution
Making New Year’s resolutions is generally quite easy, but actually starting and sticking to them can be even harder. With 2022 now behind us, many Canadians will use this time as an opportunity to reminisce and reflect on the year that was as well as the achievements they’ve made and the ones that might not have come into fruition, while focusing on the new year. As getting and staying motivated can oftentimes be difficult, it can sometimes be hard to achieve your weight loss goals. In fact, it’s not at all uncommon for individuals to be unsuccessful upon their first and even second tries, as in order to have motivation you…
-
Healthy Resolutions for the New Year
The most common resolutions that people make going into a new year include weight loss and healthy eating. These resolutions often mean that people will make drastic changes to their diet and fitness plans; but these drastic changes are also some of the reasons why people don’t necessarily see the immediate results they expect. While we should all strive to keep our bodies as healthy as possible, there are things you can do to make it a bit easier to follow through on those new year’s resolutions that you’ve made. • Exercise: Vowing to get more physical activity is never a bad thing. While some people might find it easy…
-
Eating Healthy During the Holidays
When it comes to preparing your Christmas feast, it’s not uncommon to want to skip meals to try to “save room” in hopes of avoiding any weight gain – and while you think might think you’re doing your body a favour, you could actually be doing it more harm than good. Christmas dinners tend to be larger than the average dinner, and often have us going back for second and third helpings despite the fact that you may be consuming foods that are healthy and nutrient-rich (i.e. Brussels sprouts, yams, and that delicious green bean casserole.) When we skip meals, our bodies become hungrier, meaning we’re much more likely to…
-
Healthy Snacking Tips
When we hear the term “snacking,” most of us think it’s something we have to stay far away from if we want to lose weight. However, with the right food choices, snacking can actually be healthy and still be something you can enjoy. The holiday season is right around the corner and is generally the time of year when food consumption hits an all-time high in North America. From chocolate to fruitcake, to chips and dips, the holidays can be a tempting time to overindulge in things we wouldn’t normally find ourselves eating on a regular basis. By eating things like potato chips, chocolate, and other sugary foods, you’re not…
-
Paleo Diet – What is It?
Diets are not always easy to maintain. However, with the appropriate knowledge on exactly what it means to “diet” and the types of foods that you are putting into your body, as well as a little bit of tenacity and determination, you would actually be surprised at just how easy having a healthy diet can be to sustain. Unlike certain fad diets that are out there today (most of which focus solely on fast weight loss and counting calories), diets such as the Paleo diet (also known as the “Hunter-Gatherer” diet) are designed to be long-term and help control your glycemic levels, increase your HDL cholesterol levels (otherwise known as…
-
Additives and Preservatives
Living a busy lifestyle often means that people will opt for buying easy or already prepared foods as opposed to having a home-cooked meal. While things like fruits and vegetables are great for anyone on-the-go (and certainly nutritious), we often don’t think twice about the ingredients that are in some of the foods we eat – such as microwave dinners, fast food, canned foods, and other processed items such as bread, pasta, ice cream, chocolate, and even certain beverages such as soda, fruit juice, and alcohol. Because so many of the processed foods that we eat are transported from other locations across Canada and the world, they rely on certain…
-
Foods That Can Help Heal the Body
The human body can suffer all sorts of damage both internally and externally – from gut problems (such as GERD) to skin issues (such as sun burn or eczema) and other problems that arise from poor lifestyle habits (such as smoking and lack of exercise.) There are certain things you can do in effort to mitigate many of the health problems you experience, including adding some specific healthy foods to your diet while eliminating others. If you’re someone who eats a lot of junk food (i.e. candy, fried or processed foods) then you put yourself at an increased risk of inflammation, which can contribute to pain. If inflammation is an…
-
The Key Factors to Having a Healthy Diet
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet is critical in the maintenance of our health, including keeping a healthy weight and reducing the risk of other conditions and diseases. When it comes to keeping your diet as healthy as possible, there are some important key factors that I recommend everyone take into consideration, and they are: • Eat an array of different foods • • Focus on incorporating more fruits and vegetables • • Include moderate amounts of healthy oils and fats • • Decrease salt and sugar intake • While a healthy diet should consist of plenty of fruits and vegetables, it’s important that these aren’t the only foods you eat. In addition to fruits…
-
Stress and Gender
Both men and women experience stress, though it’s the latter that tends to take the biggest hit from it, according to research. In addition, women are also two to three times more likely to experience other mental health related problems, such as major depression, anxiety disorders, and even suicide attempts. As for why stress itself affects more women than men, there are many contributing factors. Compared to men, women tend to have higher fluctuations and imbalances in their hormones, which can cause a rise in stress level. These hormonal fluctuations and imbalances are common during puberty, menstruation, as well as pregnancy, though there are other external factors that can also…
-
Protein-Packed Foods
Protein – also known as a macronutrient – is one of the most important parts of a healthy diet, as well as an important component of the cells in our body. Did you know your hair and nails are made of protein? Not only does the body require protein to help build and repair tissues, but it also builds enzymes, hormones, and other chemicals found in the body, and is essential in building bones and muscles, cartilage and skin, and even the blood. When it comes to getting protein from the foods we eat, the Dietary Reference Intake recommends getting approximately 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight…