Choose You Blog

The Choose You Breast Cancer Health Kit is a wonderful resource for all women, and anyone who loves one.  It basically puts all the information you need about breast cancer prevention at your fingertips.

The Health Kit takes you step by step showing you everything from prevention tips to getting an early diagnosis, and it is also filled with many additional invaluable links and tools.

Best thing — The same lifestyle changes that can help you prevent breast cancer, can also help you prevent heart disease, other cancers, and even many chronic illnesses.  So check it out, and if you haven’t already…Choose You.

Choose You Breast Cancer Health Kit

Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

Another study finds belly bulge contributes to four serious medical conditions that can ultimately lead to death.

It seems women should have a waist circumference no greater than 35 inches, otherwise they are at a greater risk for heart disease, asthma, breast cancer as well as dementia.

“Even if you haven’t had a noticeable weight gain, if you notice your waist size increasing that’s an important sign,” said lead author Eric Jacobs of the American Cancer Society, which funded the study. “It’s time to eat better and start exercising more.”

Bulging bellies are a problem for most Americans older than 50. It’s estimated that more than half of older men and more than 70 percent of older women have bigger waistlines than recommended. And it’s a growing problem: Average waistlines have expanded by about an inch per decade since the 1960s.

In this video Dr. Oz talks about how a high belly fat measurement can take up to 15 years off your life, and shows you how to measure it for yourself…Dr. Oz video

Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

This is a post I originally did for BlogHer in 2008, but since it still applies now, I thought I would share it here on the Choose You Blog.

Getting Reacquainted With Healthy Food

For the last few weeks I’ve been making an attempt at eating healthy. And usually this is where I would tell you that I’ve failed miserably. But, I’m happy to report that I have actually been doing pretty well. I think it is in part because, around the same time I decided that I couldn’t afford to gain another pound, I got an email from Elaine Magee.  Funny how we get what we need, just when we need it. Anyway, Elaine is the Healthy Recipe Doctor at WebMD, and she wanted to tell me about her newest book Food Synergy. Even better, she said if I wanted a copy she would send me one. The timing couldn’t have been better.

I’m not sure if it was the book or my total fear of gaining another pound, but I’ve actually lost about six pounds. It’s not that her book is a diet plan or anything…It’s really about eating healthy, and that’s what is so great about it. The book reinforced a lot of what I already knew, but also explained how different food combinations actually work to prevent disease and promote wellness. Not only is the book informative, but it is loaded with great recipes.

Evidence is mounting that certain components in the food we eat and drink (minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals, fiber, smart fats, etc.) interact to provide our bodies extra disease protection and a higher level of health. This advanced nutrition science is called food synergy.

Food synergy is like adding 1 plus 1 and getting 4 or 6 instead of 2; the total is greater than the sum of the individual parts (or nutrients).

From WebMD – At The Healthy Recipe Doctor – Top 10 Food Synergy Super Foods

1. Whole Grains
   Whole grains are naturally low in fat and cholesterol-free; contain 10% to 15% protein and offer loads of fiber, resistant starch and oligosaccharides, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and often, phytoestrogens. With all those nutrients in one package, it’s no wonder whole grains provide so many health benefits, including protection from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, and some cancers.
2. Veggies — Especially Dark Green Ones
   Whether it’s the two vegetables high in viscous fiber (eggplant and okra); the cruciferous veggies (like kale and broccoli) with their anticancer organosulfur compounds; or the carotenoid family (like carrots, sweet potatoes, and spinach) with their rich mix of phytochemicals, the message is clear: The more the merrier! Eat as many vegetables as you can, as often as you can. Dark green veggies, in particular, showed up on all sorts of food synergy lists in my book: for vegetables high in vitamin C; foods with multiple carotenoids; foods high in potassium, calcium, and magnesium; and good sources of vitamin E.
3. Nuts
   Nuts contain mostly monounsaturated fat, and antioxidant phytochemicals (like flavonoids). Most also contribute phytosterols, which in sufficient amounts may help lower blood cholesterol, enhance the immune system, and decrease the risk of some cancers. Nuts also have some vitamins and minerals we tend to lack, like vitamin E, potassium, and magnesium. Two forms of vitamin E tend to work best together (alpha- and gamma-tocopherol), and you’ll find them in almonds, cashews, and walnuts. Walnuts also contain some plant omega-3s.
4. Tea (Especially Green Tea)
   With each sip, you get two potent flavonoids — anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin — plus a healthy dose of catechin, which may enhance the antioxidant activity of alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E). Green and black teas also contain antioxidant polyphenols, thought to block cell damage that can lead to cancer. Phytochemicals in tea have a half-life of a few hours, so have a cup now and another later to get the biggest bang for your tea bag.
5. Olive Oil.
   There are 30-plus phytochemicals in olive oil, many of which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action in the body, helping to promote heart health and protect against cancer. They’re also found in the olives themselves, of course.
6. Fish
   Fish offers heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, along with a dose of potassium. It’s also a rare natural food source of vitamin D. A recent Norwegian study found that the intake of fish and fish products was strongly linked to higher mental performance in a group of men and women aged 70-74. And because lean fish had the same health benefits as fatty fish in this study, it may not be just the omega-3s at work, but perhaps a combination of components found in fish. Fish omega-3s may also have some synergy with plant omega-3s and olive oil, so cook your seafood with a little canola oil or olive oil. Or, serve your seafood with a side dish rich in plant omega-3s or lightly dressed in olive oil.
7. Tomatoes
   Tomatoes contain all four major carotenoids, which have synergy as a group. Few fruits and vegetables can say that! Tomatoes also contain three high-powered antioxidants thought to have synergy together (beta-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin C) as well as lycopene, which has synergy with several food components.
8. Citrus
   The whole citrus family is loaded with synergy because it boasts plenty of vitamin C and the phytochemical subgroup flavones, which are thought to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action in the body, as well as other benefits. Oranges also offer two carotenoids: lutein and zeaxanthin. Grapefruits are rich in the antioxidant lycopene.
9. Flaxseed
   Ground flaxseed seems to have synergy within itself on many levels, through fiber, lignans (plant estrogens), and plant omega-3s. But the seed may have synergy with several other foods, such as fish omega-3s and soy, and these are just the ones we know about. Remember, it’s ground flaxseed you want to add to your yogurt or cereal. All those healthy components aren’t absorbed and available to the body until the seed is ground.
10. Low-Fat Dairy
    Dairy foods deliver a team of players that’s important for healthy bones (calcium, vitamin D, protein, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins A and B6), some of which have synergy together. Calcium combined with vitamin D, for example, may reduce the risk of colon cancer. Including a couple of low-fat dairy servings a day is also part of the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet to lower hypertension.

So, I’m not on any specific diet plan at the moment, but I am eating a lot healthier. I’m looking at this time as my pre-dieting phase. I’m getting myself reacquainted with the taste of healthy foods, and weaning myself off the junk…at the same time, not putting a lot of pressure on myself. I know I will have to eventually go on an actual (calorie counting) diet if I am going to have any chance of losing the over 40 pounds I need to lose. But until then, I think I’m making positive changes in my eating habits, that will hopefully help me develop the willpower to stick to an actual diet in the near future.

The one thing that’s nice about trying to lose weight while blogging is – You never feel alone.

*Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

Regardless of how committed we are to a particular diet or healthy eating program, we always have to leave room for occasional guilty pleasures.  Try to focus on the “pleasure” part a guilty pleasures.  If you’re going to over indulge, at least enjoy every moment and savor every bite of your indulgence.

Here are some tips to help you avoid overeating and the guilt that often follows…

- Understand that food is not your enemy, it’s fueling your body and allowing you to survive.

- Attempt to enjoy all of your meals.  This is much easier if you choose a healthy diet plan that is based on foods you already enjoy.  For instance, if you don’t like to eat meat, don’t choose the Atkins Diet.

- Avoid diet plans that leave you feeling deprived and hungry.  You are less likely to fall off of your healthy eating plan if you’re not hungry all the time.  For more on this check out my BlogHer post What Is Your Eating Style.

- Try to maintain a positive attitude toward yourself and your diet.  Stop any negative self talk.  If you walk by a mirror, don’t tell yourself you look fat.  Also see my post Healthy Eating: Evaluating Your Success, Not Failure.

- Acknowledge all the times when you’ve done well.  Focus on all the times you have passed on a dessert, or drove by the fast food joint rather than go in.  Give yourself credit for your healthy eating successes, and don’t be too hard on yourself when you lapse.

- Attempt to figure out what your overeating “triggers” are, and then avoid them.  Here is more on food triggers by That’s Fit.

- Reducing stress in your life can help you avoid emotional eating.  For more on emotional eating check out my BlogHer post Your Mood and Food.

When it comes right down to it, guilt is just a perception not a fact.  It really is all in your head…No one is walking past you projecting guilt upon you for overeating, you are projecting the guilt upon yourself, and you can stop.  Negative emotions (such as guilt) only add to your desire to overeat.  Take your diet one day at a time…Every day you wake up is another opportunity to make healthy food choices, and leave any guilt behind.

*Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

For the past few weeks I’ve been swimming regularly, and using some basic water fitness equipment that I picked up at my local pool supply story. I bought an aqua fitness jog belt, water resistant barbells, and water ankle weights.

This is the first time in years that I’ve been feeling good about exercising. Not only am I having fun, but it’s something I can enjoy with my daughter too.

Is it possible to get a good workout in your swimming pool?  Yes.

Swimming and exercising in a pool is not only beneficial for your body, but it’s fun too. And when it’s too hot for your regular exercise routine, swimming is just the thing to keep you cool while still burning calories. For years I’ve been frustrated because I could never find a workout that didn’t exacerbate one of my many chronic health problems. But doctors have always recommend swimming, and now I am finally going to give it a try.

Here are a few swimming and aqua fitness facts…

• Simply treading water for an hour can burn the same amount of calories in a Snickers bar (272 calories).
• Swimming laps (freestyle) or an hour of doing the breaststroke can burn as many calories as in a McDonald’s Big Mac with Cheese (680 calories).
• You could even try water jogging and burn the equivalent of two Starbucks Grande Caffe Lattes (544 calories).

Unlike other exercise regimens, swimming is something just about all of us can do. It’s low impact, easy on your back, and great for rehabbing after joint surgeries. Even with asthma and chronic fatigue syndrome, all of my doctors recommend swimming for the cardiac health benefits.

Here are some great videos that explain the different types of water workouts you can do with (or without) additional equipment.  [I was unable to attach the videos here, please go to my personal blog - Aqua Fitness:  How To Get A Great Workout In The Pool].

*Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

This is something I’ve tried recently, and I think you will like it as much as I do.

You’ve probably seen flavored waters in your supermarket, and if you don’t like the taste of plain water these are a nice alternative. But even better, try making your own “infused” water. It’s easy, inexpensive, and looks beautiful.

Start by rinsing any fruits or herbs you plan on using thoroughly. Then cut the fruit into large slices or thin wedges. Any small berries or mint leaves can be left whole.

Place your chosen fruits into a pitcher of cold water. Cover and chill for at least two hours.

Here are a few ideas, but basically you can use any fruit you love in any combination.

• Slices of lemon, limes, and oranges (alone or together).
• Blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and sliced strawberries (alone or together).
• Slices of apples, pears, and lemon.
• Mint (alone or with other fruits).
• Any type of melon (make into balls or slices).
• In place of ice-cubes, try using frozen fruit.

My favorite is watermelon. I just put a cube of watermelon in a tall glass of ice water, and in less than an hour the water has taken on the flavor of the watermelon. It’s delicious.

*image from

Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

Well, I’m here to admit that I was unsuccessful in my Choose You commitment.  I don’t really consider it a failure though, because I did meet most of my goals.  I’m very happy that I am finally at the point where I am not craving sweets and other junk foods.

I didn’t lose any weight, but I was successful in maintaining my healthier eating habits.  I wasn’t even tempted when my daughter brought back a plate full of deserts when we went out last week. 

I have no plans of giving up.  My next Choose You commitment will be to continue my healthy eating while also integrating regular exercise (specifically swimming) into my plan.  Although I hope to lose some weight in conjunction with all of this, I’m not going to hold myself to any number on a scale.  If I lose five pounds that will be a great bonus, but I know the most important thing is that I am choosing a healthier lifestyle for myself.

I recently wrote a post about choosing to see the positive when we are working hard at weight-loss and fitness goals, but not seeing many results.

I find myself in the classic half-full or half-empty mark in my healthy eating plan. I can choose to see my plan as half-empty, because I haven’t even lost one pound yet. Or I can choose to see my plan as half-full, because I have had success in eating healthier foods and avoiding sugar. In other words, I can choose to feel good about myself or choose to feel like a failure. It’s totally up to me. And I’ve decided to try something new, “choose” to feel good about myself and take a closer look at all the ways I’ve been successful.

Although I haven’t lost any weight yet, I have had the strength and willpower to maintain healthy eating habits (and give-up sugar) for over six weeks.  In my book, that’s success.

Anyway, that’s my story.  I’ll let you know more about my new commitment next week.

*Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

Easy Banana Cream Pie Recipe: Low Calorie, Low Fat, and Low Sugar.

Several weeks ago I made a commitment to go off sugar for the sake of better health and weight loss. Once you’re off sugar for a week or so it is much easier to continue to stay away from it. And you really do feel a lot better when sugar isn’t dragging you down. However, there are still times when you crave a sugary treat. For those times, it’s a good idea to have some go-to foods and recipes that can satisfy your cravings without jeopardizing your commitment.

So last week when I was out to dinner (a buffet no less), and was tempted by a particular “dessert weakness” of mine…I decided to take matters into my own hands, and figure out a way to make a version of this dessert that I wouldn’t feel guilty about eating.

My Low Sugar, Low Fat, Banana Cream Pie Recipe

The first thing you have to do is get your bananas ripe. And once they are ripe – peel, cut, and freeze them (I just cut them in half and put each half into a zip-lock freezer bag). This way, you can make your (single serving) banana cream pie whenever your heart desires.

Once your bananas are ready you will need…

One box of instant fat free, sugar free banana pudding (prepared with 2 cups of non-fat milk).

1 Tablespoon of gram cracker crumbs.

A dollop of whipped cream (if desired).

Then it’s as easy as one, two three…

1. Spread your tablespoon of gram cracker crumbs on the bottom of a small bowl.

2. Put one serving (1/2 cup) of prepared banana pudding over crumbs.

3. Slice one of your frozen banana halves into small “bite size” slices, and layer them on top of pudding.

Now you have a delicious treat to enjoy, that is low in calories, fat, and sugar. YUM.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Do you have a favorite dessert that can be made into a low calorie, low sugar version? If so, I would love it if you would share it in comments.

*Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

This week the Choose You Blog is focusing on the topic of relieving stress and finding peace. My contribution to this cause comes from several different posts I’ve done over the past few years.

These are posts I’ve done on the many different ways we can reduce stress in our lives.

Did you know laughing is good for reducing stress?

Smile and Laugh Your Way to Better Health…

Diet and exercise are important for good health, but did you know laughter is too? If you want to be as healthy as you can be, than laughter needs to be part of your healthy living regimen. Is it?

Here are some of the Health Benefits of Laughter:

• Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection fighting antibodies. It increases our attentiveness, heart rate, and pulse.
• People who laugh heartily on a regular basis have lower standing blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure increases, but then it decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper which sends oxygen enriched blood and nutrients throughout the body.
• Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to the study at the University of Maryland Medical Center (cited above). The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.

Here is a post about acceptance, gratitude, and positive affirmations — 3 Tips For Reducing the Stress of Daily Life

Is stress wearing you down? Are you worried about the bad economy? Your job? The mortgage? Your health? Your family? If so, you are not alone.

Life is always changing, and that can feel very stressful. But often, seemingly bad things will happen in our lives, that will actually turn out to be the catalysts to something positive. It’s very true that when one door closes another will open. Although it never feels so great when that one door closes. Recently I’ve had several doors close on me. But as hard as it’s been, I can already see that these things needed to happen to bring me closer to where I am meant to be.

There are three things we can do to help relieve stress in our lives…

[Read full post and see videos -- 3 Tips For Reducing the Stress of Daily Life.]

This is from a post I did on meditation – Stress Reduction in Six Minutes…

Are you stressed out? Even a small amount of stress can have negative effects on your overall health and well-being. Can you spare six minutes of your time to reduce some of that stress? If so, give this a try.

Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for the next six minutes.

COLORFUL MEDITATION – For meditation and stress reduction try this 6 minutes of continuous highly complex computer generated kaleidoscopic imagery with an original New Age ambient music soundtrack.

Here is a post I did about using yoga to reduce stress — Yoga Can Reduce Stress & Curb Emotional Eating…

Did you ever want to give yoga a try, but it seemed like too much of a commitment? Well if you’re like me, and you’re a bit of an emotional eater, learning a couple of yoga poses may be just what you need. Yoga can help you focus on what your body needs, reduce stress, and curb your emotional eating.

Here is a pose you can do in less than two minutes, it’s called Downward Facing Dog. Give it a try for a couple of days and see if you notice a difference.

And, just in case you’re wondering…I’m still doing good with my commitment to not eat sugar and other junk foods. I haven’t lost any weight yet, but I am feeling pretty good.

You can see my Choose You posts chronicling my food commitment here.

Have a great week!

*Catherine is the mother of two teenagers, she writes about health & wellness at BlogHer and catherine-morgan.com.

Thanks for all of your wonderful and supportive comments on last week’s post.  As promised, all of your comments were entered into a drawing for a Choose You stainless water bottle and lapel pin. Here is how it went down…

I had told my daughter (and official Choose You referee) that she could pick the winner. But when it was time to pick, my mother (and Choose You supporter) wanted to have a debate over who was more deserving of that honor. Ultimately, I let my daughter pick. Then, in order to appease my mother’s sense of competition, I had them both compete to see who could draw the better picture of the winner’s name. Only catch was, they didn’t want me to choose whose picture was better, they wanted all of you to decide (see poll at the end of this post).

And the winner is…

Congratulations Michele. You are the winner of the Choose You water bottle…I’ll be contacting you soon.

So now that we’ve taken care of business, let me tell you how I’ve been doing with my Choose You commitment.

It’s good and bad. The good…I haven’t eaten any of the foods I committed not to eat (that would be sugar and high fat snacks). The bad…I’ve been over compensating by eating more low-fat snacks (mostly pretzels). Since part of my commitment also involves losing at least five pounds, my current pretzel consumption isn’t going to be acceptable. But not to worry. I have a plan.

This is something that has worked for me in the past, so I’m going to do it again. Since I tend to be a “grazer” when it comes to eating snacks, I’m going to use small zip-lock bags to divide my snacks into smaller servings. I’ll go ahead and do it now so I can show you what I mean…and so I actually do it.

So now the bag of pretzels is filled with a bunch of smaller bags. I’m going to do the same thing with low-fat Cheez-Its. I know you can buy snacks already in smaller bags, but I always think it’s more expensive that way.

In addition to trying to be more conscientious about my snack consumption, I’m also going to start using the online calorie counter/food journal again (it really helps keep me more mindful of what I’m putting in my mouth).

And although I tend to be more of a do as I say, not as I do kind of girl…I’m going to try to take my own advice about willpower…

The more willpower you have the easier it will be, but perfection isn’t necessary.

No one wants to admit that they lack willpower or self-control, but the truth is, none of us has an unlimited supply. Some days we may have less self control than others, but that makes us normal, not imperfect.

When it comes to healthy living, a healthy dose of willpower is helpful. The good thing is, once you’ve had the willpower to resist certain unhealthy choices and adapt healthy ones, willpower is needed less and less because your new choices become habit.

If you have unhealthy habits, it is possible to change them into healthy habits. They say it takes about three weeks for something to become a habit (or to unlearn a habit), so those first three weeks are when willpower is most needed. And there are things we can do to help maintain our willpower during these critical times. Here are a few tips…

Can I do it?

I’m sure gonna try.

And, just for fun. Help me decide who did the better drawing.

What “Michele” Drawing Do You Like Better?Market Research