Sunday, May 8, 2011

Making Healthy Choices

Making healthier choices is something our family has been working on. Our lives are so hectic that it can be really hard to make good choices when it comes to meals and lifestyle in general. Watch for a number of upcoming posts about adding healthier choices in to your daily life. Our family has committed to taking family walks (the kids ride their Razors) at least 4 times a week. Both my husband and I are behind computers all day long so getting out for exercise in the evenings is super important. I've also been trying to sprinkle in going for runs a couple times a week. I love running but with the craziness that is life lately, I've let that slip and it drives me nuts!

Making healthier choices is tough. But when you are really paying attention (and thanks to restaurants and any place selling food or drinks) is now being required to post calorie content... I have been shocked to realize some of my favorite "splurges" are far more of a splurge than I realized (I always knew it was a splurge, but didn't realize how much I could save by switching to the vanilla latte!). I now opt for a non fat vanilla latte instead of a non fat mocha, saving the mochas for the weekends. It saves almost 200 calories for the size drink I get and translates to getting an extra small walk in each day.

I work full time and am frequently trying to find something to eat for lunch that is filling, yummy, healthy, fast and doesn't take a lot of planning. As I've mentioned before, I get up WAY before the sun rises each day so I can get a full work day in before picking the kids up from school. Grabbing something to have handy for lunch at 4:30 in the morning is honestly the last thing on my mind. Each week, I've been making a point of grabbing my meals for the week at the store and I LOVE grabbing the Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers. They are super easy, affordable and the perfect portion size... all this in addition to being a Healthy Choice (yes, the name fits it perfectly). There are so many fantastic selections it's hard to choose which ones I want for the week. The Sweet & Sour Chicken and Creamy Tomato Basil Penne are two of my favorites and unlike some of the canned soups or other instant lunches - they aren't loaded with sodium! I love having a stack of them in the pantry that I can just grab one and throw it in to my purse - knowing lunch is covered for the day!

Unfortunately I wasn't really shocked to find out that recently the Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, which puts them at increased risk disease, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. A recent study done showed that when participants substituted one meal a day (approximately 10 meals a week) with with a portion-controlled Healthy Choice meal, as part of a reduced calorie diet, can lead to improved quality of life and dietary quality.

The study, conducted during 2009 and 2010, followed more than 60 participants for 30 days with one group primarily eating Healthy Choice meals for lunch and the other group mainly for dinner every day. (Participants were also instructed to add 2-3 food items to their diet, such as fruits and vegetables, according to their caloric/gender needs.)

The lunch and dinner substitution worked equally well with participants losing an average of six pounds and trimming their waistlines by about one inch. Additionally participants significantly improved the quality of their overall diets by increasing dietary fiber, reducing saturated fat intake by 50 percent and consuming 30 percent less cholesterol and sodium.

To me this sounds like a super easy step to start trimming weight off my waistline without having to put much thought or effort in.

What Healthy Choices are you making?

(Note: This is part of a compensated campaign through The Motherhood and Healthy Choice, but I only agreed to the campaign because I loved the products previously!)

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