Ten Lifestyle Goals for Healthy Living: Part 6 || Port Alberni Investment Advisor

This is the sixth post, in a series of ten, about lifestyle goals for healthy living – and today we need to think about maintaining a healthy weight.  We all know the importance of managing a healthy weight, but it’s not always easy to do.  The bottom line is, we must eat properly and exercise.  Many North Americans are seriously overweight.  I recently read an interesting article which talks about the weight of the entire adult population of the world, which collectively weighs about 316 million tons!    And according to this article, about 16.5 million tons, or 633 billion lbs, of that weight is excess weight carried by overweight people!  When calculating the weight of an “average” adult, that equals as much as 242 million extra people.  That’s rather mind boggling.  That’s a lot of weight this earth of ours is packing around!  Most of the world’s excess weight seems to be amongst the citizens of the US.  Obesity is a serious health issue in the United States, and in Canada, we’re not much better off.  According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, approximately one in four Canadian adults are obese.  So what can you do to maintain a healthy weight? Here are a few tips.

• Maintain a BMI (Body Mass Index) that is less than 25.  A BMI of 30 or above indicates obesity and high risk.  To calculate your BMI, (1)   take your height in inches and square it (if your 5’ 8” tall, this would be 68 inches X 68).  Then (2) take your weight and divide it by the number you got from #1, and then multiply it by 703.  This will give you your BMI.   BMI does not measure body fat. 
• A waist girth that is less than 37 inches for men and less than 32 inches for women is ideal.
• A waist girth of 40 or more inches for men, and 35 inches or more for women indicates high risk for health.

Maintaining a healthy weight isn’t just about looking good.  It’s about feeling good and maintaining optimal health.  Don’t wait until it’s too late to shed those extra pounds.  The healthier we are today, the more likely we are to enjoy good physical health as we grow older. Even though the colder weather is on its way, fall is a great time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful outdoors.  It’s a gorgeous time of year to take a walk or run.  Here are a photo photos to inspire you to get outside, enjoy some exercise as well as the autumn beauty of nature.

Photos by Stirling Images Photography

Ten Lifestyle Goals for Healthy Living Part 5 || Port Alberni Investment Advisor

Today’s blog we are going to talk about FAT!  For years, health professionals have been telling us that a low-fat diet is the way to lose weight and lower cholesterol rates.  It’s the types of fat we eat that are important.  There are good fats and bad fats.  The bad can increase cholesterol and our risk of acquiring certain diseases, while good fats can protect our hearts and our general health.  Omega 3 fats are important for both our physical and mental health.  Most of us know this, but too often people still choose unhealthy snacks and foods.  Take a walk down the snack aisle in a grocery or convenience store and what do you see?  Certainly there are lots of snack options and some claim to be “low-fat” or “fat-free”.  Are baked potato chips any healthier?  Even though we seem to have an increase of fat free options, obesity rates have sky-rocketed in North America.  The healthy fats are the monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Here are a few tips for adults who wish to choose healthy fats in their diet.

• Keep your trans fat consumption as low as possible.  Limit your intake of trans fats and other solid fats.
• Consume less than 300mg of cholesterol a day
• Select lean or low fat cuts of meat and poultry. 
• Replace solid fats with oils whenever possible.
• Choose low-fat or skim milk.
• At meal time, try to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, and you will make a good start towards reducing your fat intake.

Healthy fats are important in helping to balance our moods, keep mentally alert and diminish fatigue.  They can even help control our weight!  It’s important to remember to not cut fat out of our diets, but to make healthy choices by substituting bad fats with good fats.  This will help promote our good health and well-being.

 

Here are some photos with a "golden" theme, and because there's only so many pictures you can take of oil, here's a few scenic ones too! 

Photos by Stirling Images Photography

Ten Lifestyle Goals for Healthy Living Part 4 || Port Alberni Investment Advisor

By now you might be asking yourself, why is an investment advisor posting about healthy living instead of about financial advice?  I believe that the best investment we can all make is in ourselves first, because our good health is the first and most important goal in our lives.  This is the fourth post in the series of Ten Lifestyle Goals for Healthy Living and if you read the last post, I wrote about the food we eat.  Good nutrition is a very important step in attaining a healthy lifestyle and I have broken this section into four of the ten goals.  The first blog talked about the importance of eating enough fruits and vegetables.  If you haven’t read this blog, here’s a link to go back to check it out.  According to the Canada Food Guide, fruits and vegetables are at the top of list in terms of amounts consumed.  Next are grain products.  It is recommended that adults consume between 6 and 8 servings of grain products a day, depending on age and sex.    Grains are important sources of many nutrients, including dietary fiber and several B vitamins and minerals.  Consuming foods rich in fiber can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.  Choose foods that have any of the following whole-grain ingredients listed first on the label’s ingredient list:  brown rice, bulgur, graham flour, oatmeal, whole-grain corn, whole oats, whole rye, whole wheat, wild rice.  Foods that are labeled with the words “multi-grain”, “stone-ground”, “100% wheat”, “cracked wheat”, “seven grain”, or “brain” are usually not whole-grain products.  Don’t use colour as an indicator of whether a product is whole grain or not.  Bread can be brown because of molasses or other ingredients added which give it colour.  Make sure you read the ingredient list to see if it is a whole grain product.  If you’re like me, this can be confusing when grocery shopping because of the vast assortment of products available to us.  Make yourself a list of the “good” ingredients to look for in whole grain products and keep it in your wallet.  Next time you go grocery shopping, allow yourself some time to look for items that meet the requirements to ensure you are getting whole-grain products.  You’ve just taken another great step towards ensuring you are following a healthy diet, which is in a good investment in your health and well-being.  Here are a few photos of some tasty whole-grain products!

Photos by Stirling Images Photography

Ten Lifestyle Goals for Healthy Living Part 3 || Port Alberni Investment Advisor

This third post on Ten Goals for Healthy Living can be summed up in this short phrase – “you are what you eat”!  If you want to be healthy, you need to eat healthy!  Eating healthy can encompass a whole range of foods, so for this portion of the blog series, I am going to break it up into three steps, and each step is a goal.  The goal for today is to eat more plant based foods – in other words, eat more fruits and vegetables.  You’ve probably heard that statement since you were a child!  Your goal should be to eat 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and varies depending on your age, height, weight and level of activity.  Why is it important to eat this quantity of plant based foods? Research has shown that eating lots of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of certain diseases.  Fruits and vegetables also provide essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and other good things that are really important for good health.  The great thing about fruits and vegetables as that they are also low in fat and can help fill you up. I recently read an article that stated the World Health Organization estimates that up to 2.7 million lives could be saved each year if the world's population were to sufficiently increase their daily consumption of fruits and vegetables. Just think what this could do for you!  You don't have to go to far in the Alberni Valley to find luscious grapes, juicy berries, crisp apples and pears, and gardens all over with fresh vegetables.  The Farmer's Market at the Harbour Quay is a great way to get fresh local produce so be sure to go there every Saturday morning to get your supply of fruits and vegetables. So get healthy!  Get strong!  Eat your fruits and vegies!

Photos by Stirling Images Photography