Diet – Ultalife Blog

Trying To Lose Weight And The Scales Won’t Budge?

Need to lose weight, but your dieting efforts are producing little to no results. Most of us make dieting/losing weight a big process–a complete change. Sometimes we just have to make a few simple changes to start getting good results.

We know the right foods to eat and despite our good eating habits, the scales just won’t budge. You might just need more activity or small changes in your diet to increase your metabolism. Here are a few easy ways to tweak your efforts and start getting the results you want:

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My Favorite Fruit–Or Is it A Vegetable?

Summer in the United States begins on June 21, 2018. Is the time of year the children are off from school—we plan fun in the sun activities and vacations. When I think of summer, one word comes to mind—WATERMELON!! It has always been my favorite fruit and I eat it for breakfast whenever possible. AND it is good for us! It contains 92% water and is nutrient dense.

You notice I called it a fruit. Others say it is a vegetable in the squash and cucumber family. In fact, in 20017 Oklahoma made it their state vegetable.

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Weight Loss Goals for 2018–Let’s Be Real!

Okay, let’s be REAL. We are not perfect! Starting a diet or exercise program and expecting perfection is a set-up for failure! I cannot tell you how many times I set up unrealistic goals and because I couldn’t be 100% perfect 24/7, I got discouraged and quit! We need to make lifestyle changes—ones we can live with!!

Here are some ways to achieve your new, realistic goals!!

Tell others your goal—make yourself accountable!! If possible get a buddy and support each other. At one time, I had a friend who went to the gym with me. On days I would have preferred to stay home, I got up and put on my exercise clothes….because my friend was waiting for me. I enjoyed exercising and working really hard because I had a friend who was doing the same!!

Make small changes—in your diet or in your exercise goals. Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to make too many changes all at once. Yes, staying on your food plan 7 days a week is best, but eating right 2 or 3 days a week is a start and much better than eating right 0 days. Exercising 1 or 2 days is certainly better than no exercise. Don’t set yourself up for failure by planning to exercise an hour 7 days a week!!

You won’t be perfect!! When you slip, forgive yourself and start over. Learn from those mistakes. If having Oreos in the house makes you crazy—and they call your name—don’t buy them. Bring in your favorite treats—but only ONE. Stop at the bakery and purchase ONE of your favorite pastries or cookies.

If you have a long term goal, break it up into smaller goals and reward yourself when you reach on of the goals.Love yourself!! Be good to yourself. Be thankful daily for your blessings.

Need some more healthy tips? Check out our blog articles, Shape Up In 2018! and Shape Up By Making Small Changes

Nourishing Your Body, Mind & Spirit.

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Shape Up In 2018!

One easy weight loss trick I learned years ago is to eat at least 5 fruits/vegetables in a day. Think about a typical day for you. Do you sometimes get to the end of a day and have included few, if any, fruits or vegetables in your diet? When I realize that is happening to me, I have to re-evaluate my eating habits. Adding at least 5 servings is a healthy thing to do and it fills me up…so hopefully I won’t eat so many of the empty calorie snacks.

Here are some great reasons to start eating more fruits and vegetables:

Continue reading Shape Up In 2018!

Shape Up By Making Small Changes

It’s that time of the year! About now we begin realizing we have gained some pounds because of all the eating we do between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Whether you need to lose 10 pounds, 25, 50 or more – it is time to start eating healthy and lose those pounds. Why do you want to lose weight? Is it for your appearance—so your clothes will fit comfortably again—or is it for your health?

Here are a few tips—and we will include more motivational tips in next week’s email:Incorporate strength and cardio training into your daily routine. You need both to tone muscles and rev up your metabolism. Do exercises to work your largest muscle (butt muscles—glutes) and your abs (for that flat belly). One thing that can derail your efforts is an injury so be sure to warm up before every exercise session. Use a tracker and you will tend to challenge yourself and increase your normal activity. I even have a tracker on my phone that measures steps taken in a day. Aim for 10,000 steps. Is that way more than you are now walking? Start where you are now and add 1000 steps. Challenge yourself and try to increase your goal each week.

Drink your water—some experts say to drink ½ of your body weight in ounces. If you weight 140—that will be 70 ounces of water a day. Did you know that many of us walk round in a state of dehydration most of the time? If you are increasing your physical activity, it is important to stay hydrated. And drink a glass of water before eating a meal—it really works!!

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Family Recipes: Two Corn Casseroles

I love corn casseroles and these are totally different! I have made the Jiffy Corn Casserole several times for potluck dinners and there is never a crumb left—and this one is super easy to make. It is more like a spoon bread.

The Corn Pudding is my favorite way to make something special with corn. It is easy and my husband says it is good enough for dessert (not really, but he enjoys it that much). I got this recipe from the newspaper July 31, 1997

Try them both for Thanksgiving, Christmas or anytime.

Jiffy Corn Casserole

1 pkg. ” JIFFY” Corn Muffin Mix.
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted.
1 can whole kernel corn, drained.
1 can cream style corn.
1 cup sour cream.
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish.

Pour margarine or butter and corn into dish. Blend in sour cream. In separate bowl, beat eggs and stir into casserole. Add muffin mix. Blend thoroughly. Bake 35 – 40 minutes or until center is firm

Corn Pudding

4 Tablespoons sugar (1/4 cup)
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (1/4 cup)
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
4 eggs
1 can whole kernel corn, drained.
1 can cream style corn.
1 ¼ cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Mix sugar and flour. Add softened butter and eggs; beat well. Add corn and milk. Season to taste and pout into buttered baking dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until set-up. Stir 4-5 times until it begins to set up.

See all of our Family Recipes by going to blog.UltaLife.com. Then do a search for RECIPES.

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Nourishing Your Body, Mind & Spirit.

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Baked Potato-A Comfort Food

Potatoes are wholesome, inexpensive and delicious! They are rich in Vitamin C, Potassium and Fiber (eat the skin too!).

Potatoes have gotten a bad rap because of all the unhealthy toppings we have loaded on them. So let’s re-think the baked potato. Can we enjoy them with healthier toppings? I have personally found ways I ‘love’ a baked potato and have researched and found other ideas.

Ready to get started? First, scrub the potato (remember you want to eat that skin). Pierce the potato several times with a fork. You can rub the potato with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Then bake at 300 degrees for 90 minutes—or at a higher temperature for less time if you are baking other foods (425 degrees for 45-60 minutes). Bake directly on the oven rack or on a baking sheet, or for a softer skin, follow above directions and wrap each potato in foil. You can also microwave your potato. When done, slice into the potato and fluff with a fork—add salt and pepper.

Ready for some topping ideas that are not too high in calories?

Salsa
Watching your cholesterol? Try one of the margarines like Benecol or Smart Balance and a small sprinkle of grated cheese
Low fat ranch dressing and scallions
Reduced fat sour cream—add a little horseradish or chives
2 T chopped ham and 2 T Brie
Grill or saute some fresh veggies in a small amount of olive oil. Top potato with veggies and sprinkle on some feta cheese
Steam broccoli cuts in a small amount of water (add one chicken bouillon cube to water for extra flavor). Drain and top potato with broccoli and shredded cheese. Put in microwave a few seconds to melt cheese.
Topping your potato with Ground Beef Stroganoff will turn a baked potato into a whole meal. Just add a veggie or salad and you are all set. See recipe for Ground Beef Stroganoff.

Ground Beef Stroganoff

Brown 1 pound lean ground beef with chopped onion, salt and pepper. Drain in colander to remove all grease. Put back in skillet and add one can cream of mushroom or golden mushroom soup. Add ¼ c water and simmer for 15 minutes. Just before serving, add sour cream. You can use up to 1 cup (I I use about ½ that amount). Server won top of a baked potato, on rice or mashed potatoes.

Try some of our suggestions and I believe you will be coming up with your own healthy baked potato toppings!!

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Nourishing Your Body, Mind & Spirit.

Are you an UltaLifer? Learn about the many supplements designed to make you stronger and healthier!

Click Here to check out all of our great products.

Simple Ways To Get Healthy

When we think about getting healthy, we encounter so many rules, restrictions and guidelines that we give up before we even get started. Getting healthy does not have to be such a big deal. Did you know that small tweaks and changes can bring about big results?

Here are a few things to consider. Pick one or two and begin today.

Develop an attitude of gratitude. Look for the good in situations and be thankful for the good things in your life.
Exercise daily. It does not have to be an hour—just do something. The fitness trackers are great because they are motivational. Many cell phones have apps that track steps and activity too.
Get your sleep. Turn down the volume on your phone at night so that incoming messages do not wake you.
Aim for 5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily.
Limit trans and saturated fats—eat more of the healthy fats (see https://ultalife.co/blog/there-are-good-fats/)
Learn to recognize REAL hunger—not head hunger. Eat only when you are truly stomach hungry and quit as soon as you feel satisfied—not stuffed!
Make a list of all your meds and list any allergies. Keep a copy in your wallet and post one on your refrigerator.
Consider adding natural supplements.

There are many reasons you might need to add a quality, natural supplement to your diet. The FDA says that nutrient levels have fallen 81% in the last 30 years. We can eat the exact foods our grandparents ate and be far below in nutritional value.

Meats—the meats we buy in our grocery stores come from animals fed a diet of grain and soy. They have been fattened quickly and unnaturally by hormones and are full of antibiotics.

How about our vegetables and fruits? Surely they are the same!! No, Michael Wald, MD says the soil itself has been over-harvested, meaning that over years of use and turnover of soil, it becomes depleted in nutrition. That means crops growing in depleted soil are also depleted in nutritional value. Vegetables and fruits grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals

Processed foods. For many of us, processed foods are the bulk of our diets. Think about how your grandmother used to serve meals. Chances are there was not one processed food on the table. Even the richer foods and desserts were made with quality ingredients and contained no fillers, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, synthetic trans fats, MSG or artificial colors. ALWAYS read the food labels and for the most part, avoid processed foods.

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Here At UltaLife We Believe in ULTIMATE Living-

Nourishing Your Body, Mind & Spirit.

Are you an UltaLifer? Learn about the many supplements designed to make you stronger and healthier!

Click Here to check out all of our great products.

Sweet Potatoes Are For More Than Holidays!

I love sweet potatoes!! I know some people want a baked sweet potato drenched in butter…or a sweet potato casserole loaded with butter, brown sugar and marshmallows! And I agree—those are YUMMY!

Personally, I love a sweet potato baked—just like it is. It is full of nutrition and one food we should have in our diets more frequently. This edible tuberous root is long and tapered and the flesh can range in colors. The sweeter ones have red, pink or orange flesh.

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Need Help In Reaching Your Fitness Goals?

I know I am not the ONLY ONE!! I read and study nutrition, dieting and exercise. I mentally prepare myself to start a diet…to start exercising…to drink enough water…to just get myself back on track. I have the day planned for starting my new LIFE….and a week later, I am no better off than I was before.

My intentions are good—I know what to do!! Why don’t I just do it? I beat myself up because I am not stronger and I don’t stick with a plan. I don’t want to have a perfect body—just one that is healthy and that I am proud of.

The times I have done really well with diet and exercise were when I had a friend partnering with me. Is it accountability? Maybe, but I think it is more than that. The times when I was ready to ditch my diet or skip my gym day, my friend would be having a good day and would encourage me! And I would do the same for her on her weak moments.

So try to find a buddy with similar goals and watch your successes add up!!

Continue reading Need Help In Reaching Your Fitness Goals?