The Healthy Food Review (TM)

The One New Year's Resolution To Make (And Keep)

As this year comes to a close, in this post for The Healthy Food Review, I'd like to direct you to an article I wrote that has been an inspirational favorite for those who work hard to lead a healthy lifestyle.  And if you're not quite there yet, or got off track as we hit the holiday season, perhaps it will give you the motivation to take that first important step to make it a healthy New Year!

Please take a moment to check it out, and share it with everyone you know.  And, as always your comments are welcome.  Thanks for reading The Healthy Food Review--Happy New Year!

The One New Year's Resolution To Make (And Keep)!

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications on work-at-home lifestyles, and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

NEW! NEW! NEW!  Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Vegas Inside Scoop for Las Vegas locals and Las Vegas visitors at http://www.VegasInsideScoop.com

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2008

Bodybugg®: Weight Loss Secret Weapon

Think you're accurate about the number of calories you're burning every single day?  Sure you may know approximately how many calories in general someone burns walking or cycling.  But what about what YOU personally burn for that activity based on your own individual effort and metabolism? 

And what about all the calories you're burning (or not burning), throughout the day?  How do you count the number of calories burned walking around a giant big box retailer like Costco for awhile?  What about chasing after your kid or pet?  Activities like those also are burning calories, but are tough to quantify.  

For example, I've been helping my Mom pack up to move to a new place.  On those days I haven't been doing an official workout, but I know I'm working really, really hard.  Yet what was I burning calorie-wise?

Well if you have a bodybugg® like I've owned for the last four+ years, you know!

Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition TV Show Review

So as a fan of the show Biggest Loser, I naturally had to check out ABC's new show Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition and see how it compared.

In the first three episodes (of eight total to come in season one), highly likeable trainer Chris Powell (who is a Bob Harper-style trainer), worked to successfully transform three different "super obese" people--those who have more than 200 pounds to lose,  Sounds like Biggest Loser, but how is it different? 

Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition doesn't have competition between participants, and takes a longer-term view.  Each episode focuses on just one individual's weight loss journey over the course of a year. 

Chris Powell starts each episode with a bootcamp and immersion in healthy lifestyle tactics for a week at a California health institute, and then moves in with the story subject for the first three months to make sure that healthy habits take hold.  This explains why there are only eight episodes of the show, but it has already been picked up for a second season, where I imagine Chris will have to move in for a shorter period of time to make the show work--maybe more like a week like Jillian Michaels did in Losing' It With Jillian (which I wish had another season).

Why I'm Not Pissed Off At Ronald McDonald

Ronald McDonald is the subject of a lot of controversy these days.  How did a clown get himself in the  middle of such a mess? 

On the one hand, Ronald McDonald is being blamed pretty much single-handledly for the rise in children's obesity, and there are organizations calling for his resignation.  On the other, Ronald McDonald is also the symbol of the good works of McDonald's like Ronald McDonald House. 

Here's my two cents on the matter.  No individual with a brain ever really thought McDonald's food overall was health food, although they certainly have made efforts to have some healthy choices--yogurt parfaits, fruit smoothies, oatmeal, grilled chicken, apple slices, side salads. So if a child wants McDonald's, it doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be unhealthy food. 

And who is supposed to be deciding for a child between the healthy food McDonald's offers on its menu and the less than stellar choices?  YES!  The parent or guardian. 

Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too In Woman's World Magazine

For the second time this year, I've been mentioned in Woman's World magazine!  This time it's in the 5/30 issue that's now on the newsstands in a round-up piece for You Deserve The Best, where I gave my opinion on a good healthy hot dog--my personal favorite--Jennie-O.  My contribution is the one all the way on the right-hand side.

They also were kind enough this time to mention my book Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! in the piece--last time they mentioned The Healthy Food Review.

 
Cool, huh?   In case you missed the prior piece from January, it's about healthy soups.  CLICK HERE.

Want to know how I got in Woman's World twice this year already?  Check out this post I did for my other blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know!(TM).

Please comment on the blog below or on the NEW The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page (and give us a like while you're there please).

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food ReviewFacebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications including her new book on the hot, knowledge-based field of infopreneuring What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMorePodcast.com

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs at http://www.WhatYouKnowIsWorthMore.com

Vegas Inside Scoop

Zumba For Health

Please note that I do not have an affiliation with any of the companies featured in this post--they are simply products I am personally familiar with--no samples were supplied.  The views expressed are my opinion only and you should decide, along with your healthcare professionals, on the appropriateness for your personal use.

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2011

Healthy Food Review: The Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps

Most pretzels are pretty innocent snacks in terms of calories and fat content (unless they're dipped in  chocolate or otherwise evily transformed).  What you have to watch is the sodium as it relates to your overall diet, and also keep in mind that unless you're having whole wheat pretzels (which are not so easily found), it's a white flour, high glycemic product.

Now The Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps also are not whole wheat, but in terms of a low-fat, low-calorie snack food, the give you a lot of flavor and varities that will satisfy your snack cravings.  Seriously, when you have plain pretzels, don't you feel like you really didn't eat anything, and you can easily overeat them if you don't count out a portion? 

With Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps, the thin texture and great flavors, really make you feel like you're  eating something.  If I eat a portion of them (11 pretzel crisps, low fat or fat free, and just 110 calories), I'm happy and don't go looking for anything else.  And since I love cheese, a flavor sensation like their Tuscan Three Cheese which will still only set me back 1.5 grams of fat, none of it saturated, same 110 calories, is a big help in keeping me slim.

My husband is a fan of the Snack Factory Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps, although he felt they could use

Emotional Eating: How I Kicked The Ice Cream Habit

There was a time when Baskin-Robbins, along with Ben and Jerry's were among my worst enemies.

And it wasn't even really their fault.  When it came to ice cream, I had no self control.  A scoop of ice  cream was like a sample to me.  My portion sizes, I'm sad to say, consisted of pints. 

When the world got too complicated there was Pistachio Almond and Jamocha Almond Fudge from Baskin-Robbins.  When I was lonely there was Pistachio Pistachio and Mint Chocolate Cookie from Ben And Jerry's. 

I remember in the Billy Crystal - Debra Winger comedy movie Forget Paris, there are scenes where Debra Winger's character keeps eating ice cream every time she feels lonely when Billy Crystal's character was traveling as a basketball official, and she had given up her good job when they got married.  In one scene Billy Crystal's character says "why don't you bring along your two best friends Ben and Jerry's."  I could definitely relate.  My husband traveled often for work too.  Still does and that wasn't going to change, so I had to do something about this.

Some people might think it's strange that food can have that kind of grip on you, but if you've ever struggled with emotional eating like I have, it's not hard to understand at all.

I was lucky that I always did work out, so that I didn't turn into a total blimp from my ice cream emotional eating.  But it sure wasn't healthy--physically or emotionally--and kept my weight above where it should have been.  So how did I get out of using ice cream for comfort?

Fitness Tips: How Not To Be Annoying When Working Out With Weights

My prior post Fitness Tips: How Not To Be Annoying In Gym Class was very popular, so after some recent experiences in the weight room for the umpteenth time, I figured it was time for this sequel--Fitness Tips: How Not To be Annoying When Working Out With Weights.

1.  There's No Need To Let The Entire Gym Know You Are Lifting A Weight   

Sorry, but this one's definitely a guy thing.  We know you're lifting weights.  In fact, the whole gym is well aware that you're lifting weights.  We know you're lifting a dumbbell, but there's no need to be one.  Keep it to yourself.  The grunting and groaning is SO unnecessary.  Do you ever hear a woman make that much noise lifting weights?  We know you exist, and we'd prefer you existed much more quietly.

2.  It's Really Not Nice To Leave A Giant Sweat Spot On The Weight Bench When You Leave It

How many times have you finally spied a weight bench after a long wait (pun intended), and when you triumphantly went to rush over to capture it, found a big messy blob of sweat on the bench?  Eeww, right?  Obviously the person who used the bench before that person didn't leave it that way, or they wouldn't have used it.  So what could someone possibly be thinking about when leaving the bench in that condition?  "I hope they didn't see me?"  "I'm leaving my sweat for posterity?" 

Here's a memo for you.  The gym requires you to bring a towel--use it!  And those little paper towel stations with disinfectant spray are not a decoration either!

Fitness Tips: What's Wrong With This Zumba Class Scene?

Update: 2/12: I'm now an official Zumba Instructor, just completed training with master instructor Jani Roberts!

Recently I noticed a new class member in a couple of my Zumba(R) classes.  Great, the more   
the merrier.  The class member was obviously overweight, but so what?  I gave her mental kudos for making the effort to start doing some regular exercise. 

The Zumba class member must not have a babysitter, because I've seen a little boy on the sidelines each class, and a little girl at times.  That's not so much a problem in my book--when the kids stay on the sidelines that is--but here's what is.  Each class, these children are sitting with a big bag of chips and a bottle of soda.  And the kids are cute, but quite overweight.  Hmm, I wonder how they got that way?

The parent is overweight.  The children are overweight.

The parent is working out to try and improve.  The children are inactive, eating and drinking fattening junk and going downhill.

Eating Out Healthy: Starbucks Breakfast Sandwich Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon With Egg Whites

The other day after dropping my husband off at the airport on one of those early morning runs that I dread (I am so NOT a morning person), I was at Starbucks to buy yet another Vivanno smoothie, when I realized I was craving something more substantial. 

Starbucks' new Artisan Breakfast and English Muffin breakfast sandwiches had caught my eye the other day when I was in the store, as I noticed that some of them had reduced fat labels and egg whites.  I decided to give the Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon with Egg Whites on an English Muffin breakfast sandwich a try. 

Now mind you, I was never a breakfast sandwich type.  When I crave eggs beyond the usual egg white sandwiches and added protein in salads, I like to treat myself to a good omelet out every now and then.  But today was the day to see if a sandwich-sized egg meal could be satisfying enough as well as healthy enough.

Fairly quickly after ordering, I was handed a hot paper bag that contained my Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon with Egg Whites on an English Muffin breakfast sandwich.  The heat held up while I drove

The Healthy Food Review In Woman's World Magazine

Update:  5/23 We're featured again in another round-up piece on healthy hot dogs for "You Deserve The Best!"

The Healthy Food Review blog was included in a round-up piece for the You Deserve The Best column in the January 24th issue of popular weekly magazine Woman's World out now.

I was asked by the columnist for my opinions as author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and health blogger for this blog, The Healthy Food Review, on healthy soup choices and I'm so honored that I was included (I'm in the one for Progresso Lentil Soup--please see below).

Curious as to how I got this coverage in a major women's national magazine?  Check out the story SEO: The Super Simple Thing That Got Me Media Coverage In A Major Women's Magazine in my other blog What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) or listen to the story as a podcast episode--How Super Simple SEO Got Me Media Coverage In A Major Women's Magazine--on What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) The Podcast.

Check out the NEW The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page (and give us a like while you're there please).

Get a FREE 3-chapter book excerpt from Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too! and never miss another blog post by joining my list CLICK HERE  Have you given The Healthy Food Review Facebook Page A Like?  CLICK HERE

--Melanie R. Jordan, Author of Have Your Cheeseburger And Keep Your Health Too!  Available 24/7 at http://www.HealthyEatingCoach.com

"Healthy eating with favorite comfort foods...it's deliciously possible!"

Don't miss a post--subscribe to The Healthy Food Review feed. 

Check out more of Melanie's empowering publications including her new book on the hot, knowledge-based field of infopreneuring What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM) - Achieving The Life You Were Meant To Have By Making Money From What YOU Know! on work-at-home lifestyles, foreclosure investing and learn about her Marketing and Infopreneur Consulting and Coaching Services at http://www.SunLoverPublishing.com

Check out Melanie's other Blogs and Podcasts:

Melanie's podcast on infopreneuring--What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know(TM)

What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know - The Blog For Infopreneurs

Vegas Inside Scoop

Copyright SunLover Publishing LLC 2011