So many of us think if a label doesn't say "sugar" there must not be any in the food. Did you know sugar has many names and it can hide anywhere? As we work out and make changes in our lives, we realize our bodies just can't take sugar anymore like it used to. Things we eat all of a sudden make us sick or we feel sluggish. We look back at the label, read through it, and ask how can that be? It doesn't say "sugar". As sugar comes in all different forms it can be labeled in many ways. After doing some research we found several names in which sugar can and is listed on your products.
Below are sugars which hide out in our foods. Be watchful next time you put something in your cart.
In alphabetical order: Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Brown Sugar, Buttered Syrup, Cane Juice Carmel, Carob Syrup, Castor Sugar, Corn Syrup, Date Sugar, Dextran, Dextrose, Diatase, Diastic Malt, Ethyl Maltol, Fructose, Fruit Juice and Concentrate, Glucose and solids, Golden Sugar and syrup, Grape Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Invert Sugar, Lactose, Malt Syrup, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Mannitol, Molasses, Raw Sugar, Refiner's Syrup, Sorbitol, Sorghum Syrup , Sucrose, good 'ol Sugar, Turbinado Sugar, and Yellow Sugar.
Are you shocked? I know that list is hard to swallow, seriously. What are you going to do? Print this out and carry it with you every time you go to the store? You could or simply try and eat as organic as you can. Do we have to be so hard on ourselves we can't have ANY sugar. No. But being aware of what you are eating is half the battle.
I highly recommend honey for your source of sugar in coffee, recipes, toast or cereal. It's natural. Try and buy it from a local farmer as bees pollinate with the same pollens you breath everyday. Helping to fight off allergies and asthma. Funny how this makes perfect sense.
Here's a look back at an old H2O post. Love sharing these old posts with new readers. Enjoy the flashback!
Without water the toxins in our bodies will not be flushed out. Think about it. Your laundry would not be rinsed of soap and dirt without water providing the final rinse or spin cycle. It is possible to survive weeks without food but possibly only a few days without a drop of water.
Our bodies are made up of 70% water. If you do not replace water in your body, you will be dehydrated, your metabolism will slow, and toxins will build in your system. Your muscles become tight and stressed as they are 75% water. As soon as you feel the need to stretch, remember to flush your system with some water.
“The correct daily amount of water intake is approximately one ounce of water per pound of scale weight.” (from The Eat-Clean Diet). Yes, that’s a lot, but I have confidence in you. You can do it.
Check the color of your urine. It will be dark yellow if you are dehydrated. Once your body is releasing pale yellow or clear fluid, only then are you well hydrated. You will notice the need to use the restroom a lot at first but once your body adjusts to the water intake it won’t be as often. Your body is always in dehydration mode trying to hold onto water causing extra weight through water gain. Once you continue to drink your water to hydration, you will release the water gain, thus causing you to frequent the bathroom. Who doesn’t want to loose weight just by drinking water? Sounds easy to me.
Don’t wait until your thirsty to drink water. At this point, it’s too late. Most of us will experience headaches due to thirst. Try downing the water before taking that aspirin. Our bodies are always telling us what we need if we just learn to listen. Don’t be afraid to carry a bottle of water with you wherever you go. If you must carry one in your purse, use the half size bottle to relieve the unnecessary stress on your back of a heavy purse.
Check out these symptoms. Then drink lots of water and see how great you feel.
Signs of Dehydration (quoted from The Eat Clean Diet) *Fatigue *Lethargy *Irritability *Headache *Blurred Vision *Flushed Skin (Water will increase the healthy look of skin and diminish wrinkles) *Lack of Mental Clarity *Constipation *Back Pain *Excess Weight *High Cholesterol *Cellulite *Water Retention
So grab a bottle you like and make it your best friend. Figure out how many times you need to refill in comparison to your body weight (1 ounce water to 1 pound body weight) and make it your new goal.
My husband's coworker brings in these delicious treats every so often to the office. David brought me home a few and I fell in love. The coworker was nice enough to share the recipe with YHH and I want to pass it on to you, my readers.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups Quaker Quick Oats uncooked
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon creme of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins or currents
Directions:
Add butter, milk, and eggs to combined dry ingredients; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in currents or raisins. Shape dough to form ball; pat out a lightly floured surface to form 8 inch circle. Cut it into 8-12 wedges, much like a slice of pizza. Bake on greased cookie sheet; in preheated oven (425 degrees) 12 - 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Serve warm at breakfast or brunch with butter, preserves or honey.
Variations: add chocolate chips, dried cranberries, walnuts, pine-nuts, almonds, chopped dried apricots, white chocolate chips, sunflower seeds or any combination of the above. You can also sprinkle with sugar before you bake.
By cutting down on the sugar and only serving drizzled with honey, it becomes a healthier snack choice!
*Email Subscribers click YHH to view this on our home page. Don't be missing out on great links and information only on Your H.A.P.P.Y. Hearts!
YHH would like to introduce Lauren from Lauren's Fitness.com . She is going to be a guest poster today. I have personally suffered from scoliosis and have learned my hips are off set. Learning to work through it and over come it is the only option. Lauren gives great in-site into this subject! Read her post below:
My name is Lauren, a personal trainer from Australia and I blog at LaurensFitness.com. I have a degree in Exercise Science and spend most of my time playing professional Volleyball in Europe. You can check out the blog for information on fitness, strength, rehabilitation and nutrition!
Nearly every one of us would have suffered from back pain, or know someone who has had to deal with back pain at some stage in their lives. The fact is that back pain is a hugely common complaint, and we might be missing one big key. Tight hip flexors create back pain, and you might not even know it. The great news is that you don’t have to put up with it.
What Are Your Hip Flexors?
The hip flexors are referring to two muscles, called the Psoas major and the Iliacus. You can see them in the diagram below.
Image source: Wikipedia.
Their primary movement is exactly what their name suggests, they flex the hip. Both of these muscles attach to the top of the femur, the thigh bone. The iliacus originates on your hip bone, however as you can see the Psoas originates on your lower back. Now we can start to see the connection between low back pain and tight hip flexors.
Consider for a moment the nature of our lives. A lot of us sit for long periods of time at the desk. Sitting down put your hip flexors in a shortened position. If you stay in this position for long enough, they basically start to think it’s normal. Your muscle and fascia tissues are very adaptable, and they want to move into that resting position, which means you are left with tight and contracted hip flexors. If you have incorrect posture while you are sitting or standing (which can also be caused by tight hip flexors!), then you are only going to be tighter.
How Do They Cause Back Pain?
Now that you understand how they get so tight, time to understand how they cause so much back pain. As you can see, everything is related to something else, your body is connected through so many avenues, and a chain like effect occurs.
• Consider again your anatomy. If your hip flexors, in particular your Psoas, is tight and contracted it will pull forward on your lower back. This will mean you go into anterior tilt; lordosis…or simply, you stick your butt out way too far.
• The pressure that these muscle cause on your lower back can cause damage and long term injuries to your joints.
• If you are unlucky enough to have one side tighter than the other, then you are putting yourself at risk of scoliosis, among other problems.
• If you hip flexors are tight, your butt will stop firing properly. This is because of reciprocal inhibition, muscles that are opposite each other have this effect. When you glutes are not firing correctly, your movement patterns start to rely on other areas, you overcompensate. You lower back takes up a lot of the slack. Extra pressure = extra injuries.
As you can see, it is a nasty chain!
How To Release Your Hip Flexors:
The positive news is that it is a relatively easy problem to fix. If you tight hip flexors are causing you pain, get them loose and you will experience almost instant results. There are three simple ways you can go about it, and all three ways should be used.
Stretching:
Here is a video explaining how to stretch your hip flexors. It is important that you hold the stretch for quite a long time, until you actually feel some release in your hip flexors. This area is surrounded by thick fascia, and takes a lot more to release.
Myofascial Release:
The fascia is often the main cause of tightness, and often stretching will not be enough. Combine the stretches above with this myofascial release technique, and you will be well on your way to being pain free. Use a tennis ball or a ball of similar size. Find out more about tennis ball therapy and fascia pain.
How to: About 2 cm right from your belly button is the initial place you want to put the ball. Lay flat and gradually raise yourself up of the ground. The higher you go the more stretch and consequently more pressure you put through your Psoas. Repeat this with the ball in the same spot a few times, then move it up and down slightly. Test out each area of the Psoas and find where you are tightest.
Glute Activation:
Reciprocal inhibition was mentioned before, and it works both ways! If you are able to get stronger and more active in your glutes, then you will have much more success in releasing your hip flexors. They will automatically relax, and your stretching will be much more effective. Include glute exercises such as bridges and lunges into your program regularly. These will also provide an active stretch on the hip flexor area. Check out a huge range of bum exercises.
Tight hip flexors can cause a whole range of issues that you don’t need to deal with. They are a constant cause of lower back pain, and if left untreated can cause some serious damage. In this case it is a simple solution, so if your life revolves around sitting at a desk, then regular stretching and glute exercises are a must for lower back health.
Check out the blog at Laurens Fitness for some more free articles and info!
Our new sister site Tuff Phit is running a giveaway. Don't miss your chance to win this great book!
"With Jillian always promoting the Calorie King book on her podcasts, I was thrilled to see she finally published her own book. With just about every food you could possibly imagine listed....", Read the entire posting at Tuff Phit.
In celebration of Tuff Phit's first week online, we would like to give away this calorie counter.
Here's how to enter:
#1 - Check out Tuff Phit and become a subscriber. (Remember to verify in your email to get all updates) You will be entered in ALL giveaways the life or your subscription automatically. Leave me a comment "New Subscriber" and your email for contact. (Stop Spam ~ ex: find your fit at charter dot net.)
#2 - Follow Tuff Phit. By adding your amazing profile pic to their group, you're saying "I'm Tuff Phit." Make the choice today!
#3- Follow Tuff Phit on FB. Leave them a comment you are entering the Calorie Counter Giveaway.
A winner will be chosen on 9/17/2010. Entries must be in by midnight the 16th. The winner will be contacted via email and the book will be mailed directly.
Thanks for the years of support on Your Happy Hearts. Tuff Phit is going to be a great ride as well.
20 Second Fitness....did I just say 20 seconds? Is that all it takes to lose weight, build muscle, and get ripped abs? YUP! Is this a gimmick? Nope! YHH would never lie and tell you it's a good workout if it really wasn't. We aren't paid by the companies to bring you great reviews. We are here solely for the purpose of getting true information out to you on health and fitness. If we are blessed enough to try a program, then we do our best to bring you the truth. So be assured this is one of those programs which YHH puts it's stamp of approval on.
So how does 20 Second Fitness work? Well, now that I have your attention and all excited thinking you only had to workout for 20 seconds, I can tell you that's not the case. This program is 20 second interval training. 20 seconds of pushing hard and then on to a new move for another 20 seconds. You complete a series of 4-5 different exercised and go through the set two - three times. Each workout is between 8-12 min. long.
The program includes everything you need to get healthy and fit. Included are a set of resistance bands, a yoga mat, 40 workouts on 6 DVD's, a food guide and a wall calendar.
I was impressed with the resistance bands the most. They come packed in a carry case so they can travel with you if need be. Each band has a hook on the end with one set of handles for all. Easily use the claw hook to change the handles to the band of your choice. I loved this feature as it makes them compact enough to travel with and easy to change quickly mid-routine. The yoga mat is a high quality thick mat which is perfect for protecting your carpet if you workout in a living room. The food guide breaks down the program, helping you understand calories in and out. There are also several great and realistic recipes that anyone can make.
One of the most important tools is the wall calendar, for several reasons. The entire program is laid out for you taking the guessing out of which workout to do each day. Encouraging quotes are written on certain days to keep you motivated. See your progress as you cross of the days you have completed as well.
Now I must say, if you are an advanced person when it comes to working out, you DO NOT have to do the two week warm up DVD's. I tried them and pretty much went through an entire week in one workout. Each workout is about 4 minutes long and just not the intensity I was used to. But for someone who hasn't ever worked out or hasn't in a long time, it's the perfect place to start. The program is very careful not to push you too hard in the beginning, causing soreness you can't handle and giving up too soon.
We have included the Informercial so you can see for yourself. Give it a try. You won't be sorry you did!
*Email Subscribers click YHH to view this on our home page. Don't be missing out on great links and information only on Your H.A.P.P.Y. Hearts!
So many of us think if a label doesn't say "sugar" there must not be any in the food. Did you know sugar has many names and it can hide anywhere? As we work out and make changes in our lives, we realize our bodies just can't take sugar anymore like it used to. Things we eat all of a sudden make us sick or we feel sluggish. We look back at the label, read through it, and ask how can that be? It doesn't say "sugar". As sugar comes in all different forms it can be labeled in many ways. After doing some research we found several names in which sugar can and is listed on your products.
Are you shocked? I know that list is hard to swallow, seriously. What are you going to do? Print this out and carry it with you every time you go to the store? You could or simply try and eat as organic as you can. Do we have to be so hard on ourselves we can't have ANY sugar. No. But being aware of what you are eating is half the battle.
I highly recommend honey for your source of sugar in coffee, recipes, toast or cereal. It's natural. Try and buy it from a local farmer as bees pollinate with the same pollens you breath everyday. Helping to fight off allergies and asthma. Funny how this makes perfect sense.
