Goalbits

  Introduction The DASH eating plan is a Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension. It is a science based heart healthy diet and consistently found to be one of the healthiest diets along with the Mediterranean diet. With the DASH eating plan you… EAT: Fruit, Vegetables, Whole Grains, Fish, Poultry, Low Fat Dairy, Beans, Nuts and Vegetable Oils. LIMIT: Salt, Sugar and Full Fat. Servings As with any healthy eating program, portion control is important. With the DASH eating plan you aim to eat: Vegetables: 4 to 5 servings a day, Fruits: 4 to 5 servings a day, Grains: 6 to 8 servings a day, Lean meat, poultry and fish: 6 one-ounce servings or fewer a day, Dairy: 2 to 3 servings a day, Nuts, seeds and legumes: 4 to 5 servings a week, Sodium:  less than 1500mg/day, A serving size is about a cup or the size of a persons hand. A really easy way to stick to the servings is at every meal have 2 handfuls of vegetables, 1 handful of protein (poultry or beans) and one handful of whole g...

  Like 40% of the American population I should lose some weight. As someone who likes to follow proven advice I started reading up on scientific studies concerning weight loss. I found that there are been THOUSANDS of studies in to weight loss with varying conclusions. The science suggests that there isn't one weight loss method that works for everyone. Some diets work brilliantly for certain people but when others follow the exact same diet they dont get the same results.  What they all the studies do generally agree on is people who are successful in losing weight eat more fruit and vegetables, consume fewer calories overall and exercise more. Seeing as this is a blog about habits, I have turned these findings in to 3 habits.  1. Eat primarily plants. The diet voted the healthiest year after year is the Mediterranean Diet. The primary ingredient in this diet is fruit and vegetables. The USDA's "My Plate" which was created by scientists and dietitians recommends fill...

  What is a good weight loss diet First of all, I don't like the idea of "going on a diet" because (lots of) studies show that people who "go on a diet" eventually "go off a diet" and end up weighing more. If you want to lose weight for the long term you need to make lifestyle changes. You guessed it - you have to change your eating habits. There are many, many, weight loss diets out there but the good ones, the ones recommended by medical professionals help you eat healthy food in reasonable amounts. There are many ways to make sure you eat healthy food in reasonable amounts. Weight Watchers uses a point system and Noom uses food colors and densities. The Scandi Sense Diet uses your hands. Incidentally, the best diet is the one you can stick to.  Scandi Sense Diet The Scandi Sense Diet is the simplest approach I have heard of. The one line summary is you eat three meals a day, each consisting of two handfuls of veggies, one handful of protein and one ...

As I write this we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and many people are under "stay at home" orders. That means havoc for our usual habits. Assuming that in a normal 16 hour waking day 8 of those hours are spent at work then that means 50% of your weekday habit cues have disappeared! It also means people have probably defaulted to their weekend habits which probably mean less exercise and more comfort food consumption. So how can you stay healthy while stuck at home? Here are a few habit suggestions anyone can adopt when stuck at home. Stand up when talking on the phone. Set an alarm to take a 2 minute movement break every hour. Take a short walk during your lunch break. Do a bodyweight HIIT exercise routine like the 7 minute workout or the 5BX . Take a Youtube exercise class like Yoga with Adriene . Stand up and fold your laundry or do the ironing while watching TV. Make a new rule: no sitting while TV commercials are on. Or even better do jumping jacks...

The top New Years Resolution year after year is to lose weight. The first tactic people usually try when losing weight is to start exercising. Going for a 30 minute run will burn about 400 calories. That’s about the same amount of calories as a single donut. You can’t outrun your plate! Exercise has a whole host of benefits but contributing to weight loss for most people is not one. If you want to lose weight you are going to have to change your eating habits. Habit 1. Drink more water. People often confuse thirst with hunger. If you think you are hungry get in to the habit of drinking a glass of water and waiting 20 minutes. If you are still hungry then, go for it. As an added bonus, having a glass of zero calorie water in your stomach will help you feel full sooner. Habit 2. Get enough sleep. People often make up for having low energy because they are tired by eating. Make sure you go to bed at a time that gives you eight hours of sleep. Sticking to a consistent bedtime seven days ...

What is yoga? Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in India about 2500 years ago. Recent research suggests that yoga can help with flexibility, back pain and even lower stress. Whilst most yoga classes last an hour, it is possible to sneak in a little yoga in 1 minute increments. The One Minute Yoga Routine Mountain pose. (10 seconds.) Stand with your big toes touching and heels slightly apart. Your arms are down along side the torso, palms facing forward. Lengthen the tailbone down. Lift the chest toward the ceiling, as you soften the front ribs back. Draw the shoulder heads back and down. Balance the head directly over the pelvis and the pelvis directly over the ankles. Chair pose. (30 seconds.) Stand with your feet together, weight evenly distributed between each leg. Exhale as you bend your knees, sending your buttocks behind you as you sit on an imaginary chair. Raise your arms overhead, with your palms facing each othe...

What is the Noom diet? The Noom Diet is an app based weight loss program. It uses habits and psychology to help behaviors so people lose weight and keep it off. Coaching is included as part of your monthly fee. Noom has been described as Weight Watchers for Millennial’s. Given that Weight Watchers is one of the most highly regarded weight loss programs out there, I’d say that’s a good thing. As the author of a blog about health and habits, the Noom diet seemed like a great thing to try out. How does Noom work? The whole Noom program happens on your phone. You download the app, enter your personal details and start your free trial. (Noom subscriptions start at $45 a month so I highly recommend doing a trial to see if it is right for you.) Noom sends you daily lessons through the app to help you learn about habits and the Noom approach to weight loss. From a nutritional perspective, Noom focus’s on “calorific density.” When you join Noom you are added to a group and assigned a coach....

An alternative to goal based habits  Usually on Goalbits I talk about goal based habits, That is, starting with your goal and then finding and developing a habit to help you achieve the goal. For example if you want to lose weight start a food log habit or if you want to be happier start expressing gratitude. There is an alternative however, if you are already aware of an existing habit, it is possible to simply replace it. Your goal, if you wish, is just to replace one habit with another. How to replace a habit Identify the habit you want to replace.   For example snacking while watching TV in the evening. Every habit is preceded by a reminder (or a trigger.) In order to be able to replace the old habit you have to identity what prompts you to start doing the habit. What time do you normally do this habit? Where are you usually when you do this habit? What are you normally doing right before this habit? Who else is typically with you when you do this habit? How are you us...

Pop quiz If you want to start exercising as a way to lose weight do you think you should: (a) Take an aerobics class. (b) Go for a run. (c) Go for a brisk walk. If you said (c) give yourself a pat on the back. Researchers looking at the annual English Surveys over a 12 year span concluded that a brisk 30-minute walk five days a week is more effective than any other form of exercise for keeping weight down. Supporting this, a study from the University of Warwick found that people who walk more and sit less have lower BMIs (an indicator of obesity.) The National Walkers’ Health Study also found that walkers had lower fasting blood sugar (glucose) and a 12 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Benefits of walking In addition to weight loss, walking has been shown to: Lower blood pressure and cholesterol. The National Walkers’ Health study found that regular walking was linked to a 7 percent reduced risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Improve memory and cognitive funct...

What is yoga  Yoga is a several thousand year old physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. Yoga routines consist of poses combined with breathing exercises. Over 20 million people in America now practice yoga on a regular basis. 8 proven benefits of yoga Research in to regular yoga practice indicates: Yoga can improve cardiovascular health. Several studies have shown a link between practicing yoga and reduced blood pressure. Yoga can help with lower back and neck pain. Research from Israel suggests that yoga stretching exercises can help reduce lower back and neck pain. Yoga can help brain function. A recent study found that yoga can improve memory function and may reduce depression. Yoga can help with diabetes. A study of 30 people with type 2 diabetes found that practicing yoga significantly reduced their blood sugar levels. Yoga can help with stress and anxiety. Practicing yoga has been shown to reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, boos...

Question  If you want to start exercising as a way to lose weight do you think you should: (a) Take an aerobics class. (b) Go for a run. (c) Go for a brisk walk. If you said (c) give yourself a pat on the back. Researchers looking at the annual English Surveys over a 12 year span concluded that a brisk 30-minute walk five days a week is more effective than any other form of exercise for keeping weight down. Supporting this, a study from the University of Warwick found that people who walk more and sit less have lower BMIs (an indicator of obesity.) The National Walkers’ Health Study also found that walkers had lower fasting blood sugar (glucose) and a 12 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Additional benefits of walking In addition to weight loss, walking has been shown to: Lower blood pressure and cholesterol.  The National Walkers’ Health study found that regular walking was linked to a 7 percent reduced risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Improve memory...

Happy New Year! New Years Eve is the most common time of the year for people to decide they want to make changes in their lives. It’s a brand new year and a fresh start. Indeed a recent survey found more than 50% of all adults make new years resolution. Sadly, several studies have found that less than 10% of people stick to their resolution for more than two months. There are two main reasons people give up. First, they don’t make their resolution SMART. Second, they don’t make their resolution a habit. Let me give you one common example – “I want to lose weight.” How much weight do you want to lose? When do you want to lose the weight by? Is that realistic? How are you going to lose the weight? What habits are you going to change? How are you going to ensure you are successful? SMART goals SMART goals are a tool used in business that can help us create new years resolutions. A SMART goal is: Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Relevant. Time-bound. For a goal to have a good...

I don’t have time to workout How many times have you told yourself “I don’t have time to workout.” Well, I have good news – if you have 20 seconds, you time time to workout! (Terms and conditions apply.) This workout is called the “30 day plank challenge.” What is a plank The plank is considered to be one of the most efficient body weight exercises for strengthening the core. It also strengthens legs, back and hand muscles. Other benefits include better balance and endurance. Its one simple exercise with many benefits. How to do a plank To do a basic plank lie on the floor belly down. Place your feet so your toes touch the floor. Lift yourself up putting your weight on your toes and your forearms\elbows. Keep your body straight like a rigid plank. Hold the position. Livestrong has more information on how to do a plank. The 30 day plank challenge This is where the “terms and conditions” apply… The 20 seconds of working out is only for the first 2 days! (All to the fair at t...

Leading causes of death Data from the Center for Disease Control shows that heart disease and cancer are the top 2 causes of death in the US. Researchers from Harvard University analyzed data on diet, lifestyle and medical history for over 120,000 people and found some common habits that are linked to living longer. In fact people who had all the habits were 65% less likely to die from cancer and 82% less likely to die from heart disease. Not only that but people who had all the habits lived between 12 and 14 years longer than those who didn’t! The habits The habits that are linked to living longer and lower chance of heart disease and cancer are: Healthy diet. Regular exercise. Healthy body weight. Not smoking. Moderate drinking. Healthy diet Scientists at Yale reviewed over 100 clinical studies and they found that the best diet is to eat “real food.” The USDA’s “Choose My Plate” recommends you fill half your plate with plants (fruit and vegetables.) The simplest way to eat real...

Panic attack What could be worse than having a panic attack? How about having a panic attack in front of five million people! That’s what happened to Dan Harris. Dan is an ABC News TV presenter in 2005. Initially Dan tried to deal with it by self-medicating. Then as luck would have it he was assigned to do a story on meditation. As as result he delved deeper in to meditation and started using it to help with his anxiety. He then went on to write a best selling book called “10% Happier” and started a podcast of the same name. Both are highly recommended. Benefits of meditation There has been a lot of scientific research in to meditation. A study published in the Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine found that meditating boosts immune function. Research published in the NCBI found meditating decreases pain. The American Psychological Association found that meditating increases positive emotion. Psychology Today published a post which says meditation has been shown to decrease depressio...

I wake up (stupid) early. I have always been a morning person. Even as a teenager 7.00am would be a lay in for me. Up until a couple of years ago I would always be awake by 6.00am. Then for some reason I started waking up around 4.00am. During the process of trying to rectify my sleep schedule I ended up learning quite a lot about sleep. My sleep has improved now, although I still wake up on the early side. The importance of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation says that an adult from 18 to 64 should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. Not getting enough sleep can cause increased blood pressure, blood glucose issues and a higher risk of heart disease. People suffering from insomnia are also more likely to develop anxiety and depression. Sleep deprivation has even been used as a form of torture in the past. Technology Your smartphone and tablet emits “blue light. Blue light suppresses the sleep hormone melatonin which keeps you awake. (This is why you can stay up all night watching...

The importance of diet When I was younger I didn’t have to worry too much about what I ate. With my metabolism and semi-active lifestyle weight gain wasn’t much of a problem for me. However as I entered my 40’s I started to get a bit of a middle-age spread. At a recent Doctors visit it was suggested I would benefit from losing a little weight. So I started reading up on the science of weight loss. I learned weight loss is really simple math – calories in versus calories out. That is, diet and exercise. In fact several studies has suggested 80% or 90% of a persons weight loss is due to their diet – not exercise. Exercise has many benefits but it doesn’t have a significant effect on weight loss.  Which diet should I follow I decided I needed to concentrate my efforts on diet. So I started researching diets. It turns out where are a LOT of diets out there. The Atkins diet. Avoid carbohydrates and eat a lot of protein. The Choose My Plate diet. Focusing on eating the five food grou...

Introduction I saw a funny cartoon on social media that said “The battery on my phone died and I had to talk to my family. They seem like nice people.” It’s funny because it’s true! Smartphones are taking over our lives. There was a video going around in 2017 that has received over 60 million views with the message “Look Up” (from your phone.) Technology and smartphones aren’t bad. They offer us many many benefits. We can get directions when we are lost. We can let our partner know we got there safely. We can check the weather. We can keep in touch with friends from High School on the other side of the country (or even world.) The problem is most of us don’t follow the old adage “everything in moderation.” We get in to the habit of checking our smartphones too often. What the data shows 40 percent of people check their phones within five minutes of waking up according to a 2015 study by Deloitte.  The average person checks their phone 110 times a day. People who are “addict...

Tri-annual physical exam I recently went for my tri-annual physical exam at the Doctors. I try to go every year but it usually ends up being every three years. Hence I call it my tri-annual exam! Geddit?!! (The Doctor didn’t think that joke was funny either!) Anyway, one of the recommendations was I could do with getting rid of a bit of my fat. Obviously given that 40% of our daily actions are habits and that this blog is all about habits, that was the route I opted to take. So, I went and did what I do best – I did a lot of research on how I can leverage the power of habits to help me with this goal. I should state at this point that I am neither a nutritionist or a Doctor and you should consult a professional before making any changes that could affect your health. That being said all of the Goalbits Fat Loss Habits are based on solid scientific research. Why not just diet Why go to all the effort of creating new habits and not just follow a diet? Good question. Well first of ...

Do you need a drink (of water)? Do you have dry mouth? How about headaches or dizziness? What about fatigue? These are all signs of being dehydrated. What color is your pee? If it is amber you aren’t drinking enough water.  How much water do you need? So, how much water should you drink? There have been several studies over the years and the answer is a resounding “it depends.” It depends on your gender. It depends if you are nursing. It depends on how hot the climate is. It depends if you are ill. It depends if you are exercising. For an average, healthy adult, living in a temperate climate the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is: 15 cups for men. 11 cups for women.  A good sign of whether you are drinking enough is if your pee is light yellow. How can I drink more water? How can you drink more water? Make it a habit! Drink a glass of water at the same time or in the same place every day....