Healthy Aging: Body, Mind & Spirit

Change your weight, change your mind!

Six weeks into the Slimgenics diet plan, the most important and interesting changes I have gone through have been unexpected and most have had little to do with losing weight.

Yes it feels wonderful to be 15 pounds lighter, and to have lost so many inches around my hips, waist, legs, arms, etc.   But taking back control over my body and the foods I consume has also changed my mindset quite a bit.   Feeling like I now control my weight instead of it controlling me has been GREAT incentive to begin exercising more regularly.   I now get up early almost every morning and walk 30-45 minutes while it’s still cool out.  Being outside moving cheers me up!

And much like any other major positive life change, taking back control over my body has made me feel like I have more control over other aspects of my life.   There’s something about feeling like your weight is out of your control, which makes you see your whole world as beyond change or management.   You just hope you aren’t damaging your body, your health, or your relationships too much.   When you take back that control and say no to so many foods that were dragging you down, you begin to wonder where else in your life were you “just hoping” that things would get better, instead of actually DOING SOMETHING to improve them.

Don’t get me wrong.   It took me years to learn how to accept how much I don’t control in this world, and am therefore not responsible for.   But here is something we can all control if we choose.   What you put in your own mouth is absolutely your choice.

What other positive choices could you make today?

Do you ever feel like your brain is shrinking?

Well, that’s because it is!

As we age, our brains get lighter.   By age 80, the average human brain has lost 15% of its original weight.

Learn more here!

More studies link drinking soda and cancer

Consumer watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI, is asking the FDA to ban caramel coloring in the 80 billion cans of cola we drink each year, due to concerns that it could cause cancer.

According to the CSPI , caramel coloring is made by combining sugars with ammonia and placing them under high pressure and temperatures.   The resulting reaction creates 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole and government studies show that 4 methylimidazole causes cancer in mice.   California recently added the chemical to its list of  “chemicals known to the state to cause cancer.”

“Carcinogenic colorings have no place in the food supply, especially considering that their only function is a cosmetic one,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson in a statement.

Alzheimer’s early detection

If you are prone to developing Alzheimer’s, early detection is IMPORTANT!   The earlier you begin treatment, the less severe the symptoms will become.

Pet Scans and tests of your spinal fluid bio-markers are the gold standard for earliest detection, but there are also a number of factors you should be aware of.   Did you know after age 65 your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease doubles?   After age 85 approx. 50% develop some type of dementia.

Look into your family history, your history of  serious concussions (periods of lost of consciousness) and start now developing brain healthy hobbies where you are constantly learning new skills like dancing or tennis and meeting new people.   Also watch your heart health.   Having a strong cardiovascular system is essential to avoiding future strokes and dementias.

The dangers of being tall!

Being tall has been linked to a greater risk of ten common cancers by University of Oxford researchers.  For every four inches above five feet, a woman may have a 16% increased cancer risk.

The study of more than one million women, published in The Lancet Oncology, suggested chemicals that control growth might also affect tumours.

Cancer Research UK said tall people should not be alarmed by the findings.

Check it out, from the BBC.

Here’s some older research on the connection between height and breast cancer!

New research on Alzheimer’s prevention

At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference this past week in Paris, the latest research into Alzheimer’s disease was presented.

Essentially their findings agreed with the lifestyle choices found on this page.

Most important?  Get treatment in managing depression if you suffer from it, and stay physically active.  In addition, stop smoking, keep your blood pressure down, keep diabetes under control, and find a way to get regular brain stimulation, you know, like writing a blog!

Weight loss is a fascinating psychological process!

As previous mentioned, I have been losing weight through Slimgenics for the past five weeks.   So far, so good!   I’m now 11 pounds lighter, 18 inches thinner, and feeling fantastic!

I’m new to diets and weight loss.   I was thin as a child and teenager, and basically menopause was the thing that did me in.   So I am learning new things all the time about how this works, you know, great tips like the fact that apple cider vinegar helps you lose more water weight, etc.   But the most amazing new reality for me now is how much less food I really need to feel satisfied.   I was eating all the wrong foods for all the wrong reasons before, and NOT because of actual hunger.

I’ve learned that food portions and plate size DO matter, and that probably the main reason most of us are now overweight if not obese is that everyone around us is growing just as fat if not fatter.   It’s so easy to find someone who is more overweight than you are to reassure yourself that you aren’t THAT bad yet.   Unfortunately most of us are literally killing ourselves with food!

I finally acknowledged that I was “that bad” and now I feel so much more optimistic since I changed my ways and took control over my situation.   Almost immediately I realized that I was unconsciously expecting far too much reinforcement from food, so I made a list of all of the things I really enjoy doing that I do rarely.   Things like listening to music, stretching, getting out in nature, etc.   Then I started doing those things instead of stuffing my face and my feelings.   What a gigantic relief!

One of the wisest things one of my twenty-eight-year-old counselors at Slimgenics told me is:

“Food is not your enemy or your friend, it’s just what we need to stay alive.”

It’s too bad that food has turned into one of the biggest psychological crutches of the century, and I’m speaking from personal experience here!

Can you go out to eat when you’re restricting calories?

I just had my first experience with this on Sunday, and the answer is YES!   Our local Outback Steakhouse was very cooperative in helping me stay on my calorie-restricted diet and still eat out.

I just ordered their smallest steak with no additional salts or seasoning, their steamed vegetables and a small sweet potato with no butter.  Then I ate only half of the potato and took the rest home for later.

Mike and I enjoyed a pleasant evening and a healthy meal, without splurging on cash or calories.   It felt very satisfying!

What is the correct amount of protein per day?

Since joining Slimgenics, I have noticed how much more protein I have been consuming both through the required amounts on the diet plus through their “Thermo-snacks.”   Then yesterday I saw a news story on formulas to calculate your own proper protein intake.   So, of course, I felt the need to research this further.   Here’s what I learned:

This is an excellent article on the subject, and it says you should take your present weight, divide it by 2.2 and then multiple that times .8 to get the total number of grams of protein you need each day.

Other articles define a high protein diet and suggest that protein-loading can help with weight loss and muscle building over short periods of time.

All I know is that I am consuming much more protein than I was before Slimgenics, and it seems to be working for me!   Of course I’m also consuming about half the calories/day I was previously…

Pictures from inside the brain

Want to see some cool drawings and pictures of the brain?

Here’s a peek at what the brain looks like, from antiquity to present-day.