I just want to say first and foremost thank you to everyone that has followed my blog for the past four years! I can’t believe I have been writing blog posts for the past four years, it’s something that I never thought I would do but I am glad I made the decision too. It has become one of my most favorite things to and to be able to talk about a topic that is near and dear to my heart, nutrition. As I am getting back in the swing of content creation and writing blog post I invite all of you to join me on YouTube as well!
I am getting back into the grove of filming again and I hope that I can bring you some great topics and discussions! If there is any particular topic you would like me to talk about when it comes to nutrition please comment down below! Be well, Be healthy, Be safe
So we all know the saying that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and guess what it’s true. The number one reason why I would say in my opinion we gain weight is an over consumption of calories or to simply put it, overeating. Now of course there are other factors that can tie into gaining weight that may not have to do with overeating such as certain medications, hormones, conditions and disorders.
But overeating is a big part of our problem, our portion sizes are way too big! When we make a home cooked meal most of the time we are not measuring out how much we should really be consuming. When we go out to eat, which most of us love to do, they throw these big portion sizes at us. We feel like we have to eat it all by the time we are ready to leave the restaurant we can barely move. Same thing with fast foods such as McDonald, Burger King, Wendy’s, Popeye’s, they all give us these big portion sizes but why is that? Are we being set up to gain weight?
It is up to us to be aware of how much we are, but I know sometimes the food is so good we just can’t help it but this is very important. When we are not aware of it all we are doing is putting so many calories into our body and most of the time those calories don’t come from healthy foods which just adds more fuel to the fire. So there is another point, one we have an over consumption of calories and two we are eating unhealthy foods.
What I am learning as I am on my own journey to weight loss is that weight loss takes a lot of discipline and at first it is going to be very challenging. I am learning that in the past I would overeat, I would eat late at night, I would eat sweets, and that I pretty much did not have a lot of self control when it came to eating. Now I am paying attention to what I eat and how much I eat. Now I won’t get into all the details now but something that I found very tedious and still is , is calorie counting. But it is so important and it has helped me out so much that I have been successful in losing my first 5 pounds on this new weight loss journey. I have now gone from 190 pounds to 185 pounds within the past two and a half weeks.
The journey is not going to be perfect but it is possible. I would love to hear your stories! Leave your comments down below!
To simply put it, inflammation is a mechanism in immunity. Inflammation is something that always takes place in response to any kind of damage to our cells or tissue. It also occurs if we get injured or from organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The inflammatory process must occur in order for our bodies to heal. For example when we have a high grade fever, that fever is an indication that the body’s inflammatory process has kicked in and is sending everything it needs ( certain fighter cells) to tackle the problem taking place. When this happens the blood vessels will dilate (open up) to allow more blood to go to the problem area. The area of inflammation may also become swollen, hot, red, and painful.
What I just described is acute inflammation, after it occurs the body and problem area should return back to normal. Now, when acute inflammation is not able to be resolved our body’s in return enter a chronic inflammatory state. When our body’s remain in a chronic inflammatory state this is return can lead to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, asthma, depression, and so much more.
Now when we think of nutrition we also want to keep in mind that there are foods that can enhance and trigger inflammation and there are foods that can heal the process of inflammation and help the body return back to a normal state.For foods to be able to do such a task goes to show you how important good nutrition is and how foods heal the body.
Foods that reduce inflammation are foods such as dark green leafy vegetables ( spinach, kale), flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, potassium broth, and foods high in omega 3’s.
Foods that will keep the cycle of inflammation in the body include animal fats (meat), dairy (milk), sugar, salt, refined grains ( white rice, white bread), and fried foods.
Animal fats can help us to initially to promote the inflammatory process because they make pro inflammatory “eicosaniods” but the problem is that the western diet promotes more “building blocks” to keep these pro inflammatory eicosanoids in our body so the inflammation never goes away and becomes chronic.
Remember we all have a choice to make when it comes to the way we eat and good nutrition. Choose the foods that will heal your body.
This blog post is one that I have been wanting to write for a long time. The reason why it took me so long is because I wanted to find the right things to say as I wrote this. This blog post was not only a reality check for myself but it may be for many others as well. As I have mentioned in previous blog posts after giving birth to my son I went from 145 pounds up to 180 pounds over the course of my postpartum period and everything that was happening in the world. While this was all happening and I was well aware that I was gaining weight I tried my hardest to work out constantly which is something that I was never used to doing before and I also worked on changing my eating habits.
Over the course of these past two years I worked out the hardest I’ve ever worked out before and I changed my diet. I thought I was doing everything right, at least that is what my mind was telling me but the truth is sometimes we are not completely honest with ourselves. I kept telling myself I’m eating good and I’m working out why am I not losing weight? Well, the truth is even though I was eating “right” I also was eating “wrong”. My husband and I still indulge in things we should have had in moderation. I was still eating the foods that were hurting my new lifestyle sugary foods. I have a sweet tooth and so does my husband, so we were both still ordering cakes, desserts, ice creams, and shakes. So even though we cleaned up our eating habits, eating the sweets just caused us to gain more and more weight. It is as if we had worked hard for nothing.
Even though in reality it was not for nothing because we still adapted a new lifestyle from this , when it came to controlling our urges for sweets we were weak. Now I’m not saying that one person can never have sweets ever again, but one should not have it almost everyday like my husband and I did. So this blog post is more of a reality check to really examine the reasons why we are not losing weight. Sometimes we think we are doing things totally right but that is not always the case.
But do give up on your journey to weight loss, I know I won’t. As a nutrition professional it is important for me to be an examples to others and I admit I am not perfect, because there is no such thing, but we all can accomplish our health goals no matter how long it takes.
If you did not get a chance to read my previous blog post on heart health and women, please go and check that out. So, this year women’s history month I wanted to keep the topics simple, so I choose to speak about women and heart health. As I said in my last post women suffer from heart disease just as much as men do. It is the number one killer in America. That is really concerning but as we know our country is filled with a lot of fast foods and processed foods and it is everywhere and it is easy for busy people like ourselves. Even though it is unavoidable we can still work on getting better and making healthier whole food choices.
In my last blog post, I realized that I left out one key important thing the signs of a heart attack in a woman. The symptoms may be different from how men experience it which is why we must not leave this out and talk about it. So, let’s jump straight into it. Listed below are the signs and symptoms of a heart attack in women.
Signs and Symptoms of Heart Attack in Women
Pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. The pain can last more than one minutes stop and return
Pain in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.
** The thing when it comes to signs and symptoms is that certain signs and symptoms can be signs and symptoms of something else and not necessarily a heart attack. Some people may experience some of these symptoms daily and may not be able to tell the difference. This is why it is very important to pay attention to your body on a daily basis. If you have any of these symptoms, please do not hesitate to get checked out. Go to your nearest urgent care center or emergency room.
Written By: Vanessa J
For more information please visit the American Heart Association website and talk to your primary care provider.
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