It happens every year. At the beginning of the New Year, people make resolutions to lose weight in the coming year. Wouldn’t it be great if you could stop making that resolution for once? There are ways to keep the pounds off this winter if you’re willing to make the effort.

What you eat greatly influences how much you weigh. That’s why most people think of going on a diet when they want to lose weight. Did you know your food and beverage choices can also help you keep weight off during colder months?

Colder months often mean there’s less to keep you busy. This means you’ll also be less active. If you snack, be sure your snack food of choice is healthy. Vegetable sticks and fruit slices are less likely to pack on the pounds than fudge, sugary cookies, or warm brownies. However, you don’t have to totally give up sweets. When you do crave something sweet you can cut up fruit and spoon it over angel food cake. You’ll have the sweet taste you desire without all the extra sugar and fat.

Make home-made soups and stews from scratch rather than choosing canned varieties. You’ll have more control over what goes into them. You can add fresh ingredients, as well as leave out the preservatives and chemicals which are often a part of processed foods. Freshly prepared foods are healthier for you and taste better, too.

Don’t forget to use your crock pot if you have one. There are so many dishes to make in a crock pot – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert can all be made in one. And what could be better than putting the ingredients into the crock pot in the morning and having a hot, healthy meal ready to eat when you get home from your daily activities?

Use skim milk rather than whole or 2% milk. This will save both calories and fat which you really don’t need if you’re trying to keep the pounds at bay. Low-fat cheese is another food you can use to save calories. Also, trim the excess fat and remove the skin to save calories from the meats you eat.

When holiday get-togethers begin to fill your calendar, remember to eat something healthy before you leave. This will fill you up so you’re less tempted to reach for a second helping or the sweets that seem to grace the table during the winter months. You can also drink a full glass of water before eating so you won’t be as likely to overeat.

If you do find you’ve over-indulged, don’t berate yourself. Instead, find an outdoor activity you can enjoy which will get you moving and burning those extra calories. Cross country or mountain skiing, snowboarding, or snow shoeing are all options. You may also enjoy taking a walk in the brisk air and falling snow. You can even go running in colder weather if that’s your favorite exercise. Be sure to dress appropriately to reduce the possibility of frostbite or hypothermia.

If outdoor activities aren’t appealing, you can also find things to keep you active indoors. Join a gym, do aerobics with friends, buy a stationary bike or treadmill. The important thing is to keep moving.

There’s no way to guarantee you won’t gain weight, but using these ideas for ways to keep the pounds off this winter may give you a better shot at keeping the extra pounds away. Remember, every day you choose what you eat and how active you are.

Ingredients:
2 (6 oz) cans tuna packed in water, drained
3 tbsp mayonnaise (low fat, for dieters)
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp butter
3 English muffins, split in halves (whole wheat for dieters)
6 slices American cheese
6 slices of tomatoes

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F

In a medium bowl, place tuna and mix in garlic power, celery salt and mayonnaise. Add the yellow bell pepper, celery and onion.

Place the muffin halves on a baking sheet and butter them. Bake for about 3 minutes. They should be slightly brown. Take out of oven and top with tuna mixture and cheese. Put the muffins back into the oven until the cheese has melted, which should take about 8 minutes. Take out of the oven, top each half with a tomato slice and enjoy.

For the next week Goddess will dedicate a segment for Cancer Prevention in both men and woman. Please stay tuned we will have information and cool easy recipes!

One of the factors in prostate cancer and other cancers is diet.  As a way of lowering your risk factor for cancer and managing your health when diagnosed with cancer, doctors may suggest lifestyle changes that include changes to the food you eat.  Here are some suggestions for dietary changes to help reduce your risk factors.

In countries where red meat and foods high in fat are not eaten routinely or at all, the incidence of prostate cancer is low if at all.  That suggests that food plays a role.  It has been determined that animal fat increases the level of some hormones in the body, like testosterone and estrogen.  High levels of these hormones help cancerous tumors to grow faster.

You can lower your risk by eating more whole grain foods.  This includes whole wheat, oats, and other grains.  A whole grain contains the germ, and bran.  Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is important as well.

Vegetables and whole grains provide fiber.  Fiber does many helpful things in the body.  First, it helps to lower cholesterol.  Insoluble fiber can’t be broken down by the body, but it does carry some of the fat from your diet along for the ride when it is excreted from the body.  Lowering cholesterol can lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Antioxidants are substances in the body that lower the amount of free radical damage.  Free radicals come from the environment, foods and lifestyle choices like smoking.  They contribute to a higher incidence of cancer.  An important antioxidant in cancer prevention and reduction is lycopene.  It is found in cooked tomatoes and other tomato products.

The body is always trying to maintain a state of balance known as homeostasis.  The alkaline acid diet is designed to help you reach this balance when the internal environment has become more acidic.  If you are experiencing health problems, try the alkaline acid diet.

The basics

Acidity and alkalinity are measured on the pH scale.  Numbers from 1 to 6 are considered acidic with 1 being the most acidic.  On the other end, numbers from 8 to 14 are considered alkaline with 14 being the most alkaline.  The body maintains a neutral internal environment which corresponds to a pH of 7.  The stomach contains a weak hydrochloric acid but it is maintained within the organ.

Your food

Have you ever had to take a Tums for a sour stomach?  The formulation in acid indigestion pills is designed to be alkaline to neutralize the overabundance of stomach acid.  Each cell in the body has to operate in a neutral environment.  When the environment is acidic you can become more prone to diseases like cancer, digestive distress, obesity and heart diseases.

The culprit is the diet.  Fast foods, processed foods, sweets and lots of meats can contribute to an unbalanced internal environment.  The foods we eat contain sugar alcohols and other substances that tend towards the acidic side when they are digested.

Proponents of the alkaline acid diet contend that if the acidic environment is counteracted with more “alkaline” foods, disease and other chronic conditions can be avoided.  This is the basis of the diet.  By testing your saliva and/or your urine, you can determine the pH within your body.

As a society that is going green, we are trying to do the same with our bodies. Detoxification is the process of eliminating harmful substances from the body. These diets are designed to aid the natural process of detoxification already in motion in your body.

Have you heard of body burden? It refers to the amount of toxins in your body. Testing urine, liver function and blood work is said to determine your body burden.

A build-up of toxins in the body can be blamed for many conditions of the body. Some symptoms of body burden may be feeling tired or sluggish; if you are getting sick more often or if you suffer from frequent headaches. This could mean that your body may need to be detoxified. A detox diet is supposed to eliminate the toxins lurking in your body so that can you feel energized and full of life again.

How do they work?

Basically a detox diet is going to work by retraining your body to process foods. The diets usually begin with a fasting period where no food is eaten. The body begins with a clean slate. Lots of water and only certain foods are eaten in the next phase to help eliminate toxins. Many detox diets recommend a colon flush to clean the intestines.

Once the detoxification is finished, you can resume normal eating again. This diet is a radical treatment and should only be performed once or twice a year, however depending on the diet creator it may occur more times. Everyone from teens to baby boomers and ordinary citizens to celebrities are trying detoxing diets for health and weight loss reasons.

Pros

If your body is in a state of poor health because of the level of toxins in your system detox diets supporters say that the body may hold on to toxins in fat tissue. Detox diets are designed to get at those toxins. According to them, detox diets have been shown to increase energy and reverse sickness.

Cons

On the other side, researchers are saying to use common sense. The body is designed to clean itself on the inside. The liver and the urinary system filter out impurities and remove them from the body, leaving the nutrients that we need to nourish the internal environment. Also, if you are eating junk food and you give that up for a detox diet, returning to that same junk food will bring back your previous condition.

Any diet that promotes fasting and food restrictions is not safe for teenagers. Their bodies are still growing and restricting nutrients can hinder that growth from occurring properly.

Researchers say detox diets may not help you lose fat. The substance that is leaving your body in quantity is water. You drink so much of it to remove toxins that you are bound to lose some water weight. But, as soon as you begin eating normally it all returns.

Doing too many colon flushes or taking detox supplements that are basically laxatives can alter the internal environment of your organs. It may flush out the good flora in your intestine and leave you prone to bad bacteria. The lack of proper nutrients in this type of diet further alters your body function with no useful nourishment being introduced.

If you try a detox diet, be careful. Eating a diet high in fiber and healthy natural foods will probably do the same thing as a detox diet, only with fewer (if any) side effects.