Month: December 2012

Stick to Your Resolutions in 2013

As the new year approaches, you may be thinking about making changes. It is a common practice every year that people make resolutions to change something about their lifestyle on the first of a new year, and typically the top of this list for the majority of people is body-related. Whether you are resolving to get in better physical condition through exercise or diet, read on to learn why we make New Year’s resolutions and how you can achieve success with yours. 

Why make a change this New Year?

Studies have shown that any time a person tries to make a change in their habits or lifestyle, their success rate can be higher depending on when they begin. It’s the reason many diets begin on Mondays (the beginning of a new work week) and it’s also the reason so many people make new year’s resolutions each year. You are likely to have better success in changing your diet to a healthier low carb or other lifestyle if you begin on January 1 than if you were to begin on January 12. 

Are you making a resolution you make every year?

If you are making a resolution that seems faintly familiar, it is possible it’s the same resolution you made last year but were not as successful as you had hoped. Maybe you started out strong in the beginning, but faltered as the year went on. If that’s the case, you want to prepare yourself in order to achieve your goals for the year. 

Enlist a buddy – 

We all know someone that is setting the same goal as us, and enlisting them as a buddy can be a great way to achieve success with your new year’s resolution. If you are resolving to eat a low carb diet, for example, contact anyone you know that has the same resolution (or a friend that already maintains this type of lifestyle will work too). Staying in contact with this person on a regular basis can help keep you (and them) on track all year. 

Prepare yourself in advance – 

Even the best intentions can fail if you aren’t prepared. For example, making a resolution that you will eat less sugar sounds easy enough when you make it. However, the very first trip to the grocery store, you may be shocked to learn the cost and limited variety of sugar free foods. By studying labels on foods in advance and finding great low sugar foods to purchase, you will be better prepared to tackle your new lifestyle.

Don’t give up – 

It is easy to do anything for a short amount of time, which is why so many people manage to stick to their new year’s resolutions for a few weeks or even a few months. But then it’s easy to slide back into old habits and not even think about it. The newness of the year has worn off and we go back to our old ways. To help keep yourself on track, go through your calendar (whether you use electronic, paper or both) and mark down notes to yourself reminding yourself to stick with your new plan. Do this at three-week intervals, one-month intervals, or whatever you think will help you stick with it.

 

Thanks for reading our blog! Are you ready for 2013 to be the year you finally stick to your resolutions to eat healthier? Order your low-carb, low-sugar and other great foods from Linda’s Diet Delites today to begin your new healthy lifestyle!

 

Christmas Dinner the Healthy Way

Christmas is right around the corner, and it is sneaking up fast! You have likely already finished decorating your house, and you may already have all your presents bought, wrapped, and placed perfectly under the tree. But have you planned out the dinner yet? If so, have you thought about incorporating some healthy options this year to allow you to stay on your low carb or other special diet? If not, read on for some tips on getting through this last major holiday of the year without completely ruining your diet. 

Sweets, sweets and more sweets – Fudge, cookies and pies, oh my! During the Christmas season, you will likely be inundated with a variety of store-bought and homemade sweet treats that can be hard to resist. If you have a hard time turning down these great-tasting, but unhealthy foods, consider making your own to take to parties and family gatherings. You can easily find a variety of recipes online for healthy Christmas sweets, or you can take a traditional recipe and simply substitute certain parts of it. For example, you can use honey in the place of sugar in recipes to sweeten it in a more healthy way. You can also use artificial sweeteners to keep the glucose levels low and still provide great-tasting sweets for the holiday. Substituting ground oatmeal in the place of some of the flour in almost any recipe can allow for a great-tasting, more healthy option. There are also many ready-made pies and other sweets that can be purchased in advance of the get-together, allowing you at least one healthy sweet to indulge in on the holiday. 

Dinner foods – Whether your weakness is bread, casseroles, or the glazed ham, this day doesn’t have to mean a diet disaster. Find great recipes here that can allow you to make healthy versions of dips, vegetables, meats and more. Not only will you find great recipes that can allow you some indulgence on the upcoming holiday and enable you to eat healthy at Christmas, but you can save these recipes to use for any special occasion in the future.

Thanks for reading our blog! Order your low-carb healthy ingredients and pre-made foods from Linda’s Diet Delites today to get ready for Christmas! 


Trickery May Be Necessary to Live a Low Carb Lifestyle

Adhering to a low carb diet provides many benefits, but when you first begin this lifestyle, it can sometimes be difficult to adjust to the change. This is particularly true if other members of your household aren’t interested in pursuing this same diet. For most people, making two different meals each time the family eats is not an option, and it can be frustrating trying to feed everyone the foods they want while maintaining your own low carb diet. Read on to learn a few tips for incorporating low carb foods into meals in a way that won’t leave your family feeling as though they have been placed on an unwanted diet. 

Disguise the low carb foods – One of the seemingly most noticeable types of low carb foods is pasta. It can be difficult to disguise low carb noodles as traditional noodles, so it is best to only use them in foods you don’t typically make. Instead of making a common dinner your family is accustomed to (and will likely notice when it’s changed), only use low carb noodles in foods they have never eaten before. Since the entire dish is new, they will be less likely to notice any difference in consistency or taste of the pasta because there is nothing to compare it to. Another great way to disguise low carb foods is to place them in traditional containers. There are great-tasting low carb breads, for example, that may be more likely to get eaten if they are placed in the empty bag of your normal bread brand. 

Mix traditional with low carb – This is another great option when cooking with pasta. If your family is accustomed to traditional noodles, they may immediately notice the difference if you switch to all low carb. Instead, begin mixing both types together. You will be eliminating many of the carbs while leaving a lot of their expected flavor and texture. This can also be done with any type of cooking sauce or dressings. You can begin by mixing just a little of the low carb sauce in with your normal brand, and slowly increase the amount of the low carb version each time you make the meal. Before long, you will be serving the full low carb variety without anyone noticing the change. 

Shop without family members – many times, unless someone sees the label of a food, they would never know that they are eating low carb. By shopping for low carb items without family members, you limit the possibility of them hating the food before they ever taste it. One of the easiest ways to do this is to shop online for low carb foods, then you can do your other grocery shopping as you normally would. 

Thanks for reading our blog! If you are ready to begin feeding your family in a healthier way without them even realizing it, visit us today at Linda’s Diet Delites and get all your online low-carb shopping done! 


Exercise is Important for Optimal Health

There are many reasons people begin eating on a healthy diet plan. It may be due to a health condition, such as Diabetes or Celiac Disease, or you may have chosen to eat healthy to lose weight. If you are eating in a healthy way so that you can lose weight, you likely already know the benefits and added success of exercising as well as eating right. But even people who aren’t trying to lose weight can benefit from regular activity. Read on to learn just a few of the many health benefits that can be achieved by increasing physical activity levels.

Weight loss – if you are trying to eat healthy to lose weight, there is no better boost than to exercise. Even if you aren’t trying to lose weight, however, excess weight around the middle is often a factor in heart disease and other conditions developing over time. So if you begin walking daily or getting another form of exercise and lose a couple of pounds, it will help to keep you on the healthy track. 

Cardiovascular health – No matter how strictly you stick to your low carb diet or gluten free diet, your heart needs some sort of physical activity to stay healthy. By getting your heart rate up for at least 20 minutes a few times a week, you can increase your heart’s strength and lessen the risk for heart disease and other conditions that can occur later in life. 

Increase bone strength – Studies have shown that with a combination of proper diet and weight training, you can decrease your risk for osteoporosis in the future. This doesn’t have to mean a trip to the gym or purchasing a weight bench, however. By using your own body weight for push-ups or lunges, you can increase the strength of your bones and they will better be able to fend off deterioration in the future. 

Keep lungs healthy – when performing cardiovascular activities you breathe harder, and every deep breath helps to strengthen the lungs. 

Build stamina – Not only will you experience long-term health effects by combining exercise with healthy foods, but you will experience immediate results as well. One of these benefits is that you will slowly build up your stamina which can ultimately make everything easier on a daily basis – taking walks, climbing a flight of stairs, playing with children, and more. 

Mood boost – When exercising, endorphins are released and immediately create a better mood. Feeling happy leads to many health benefits including lowered stress levels.

 

Thanks for reading our blog! Visit us today at Linda’s Diet Delites to stock up on great healthy foods that taste great!