Month: August 2013

Three Tips to Help You Reach Success on a Low Carb Diet

Any time you begin a new lifestyle, particularly when it is related to something that is such a big part of your daily life such as food, it is important to be prepared in advance if you hope to achieve success over the long term.

Below are simple tips to help you get started in low carb dieting, so you will be able to stick with your new healthy habits and achieve your healthy goals:

Incorporate a variety of foods – If you stick with just a few foods, you are likely to get bored quickly.

If you are bored with your dietary options, you are less likely to stick with your low carb diet over the long term.

Instead, explore a variety of different types of foods, including recipes as well as low carb breads and other types of foods.

By learning about, trying, and incorporating a wide variety of foods into your low carb diet, you will be less likely to get bored with foods and ultimately stick with your healthy eating plan for much longer.

Think of your healthy diet differently – It is easy to call your new eating habits a “diet,” but this gives an overall negative quality.

Instead, look at your new eating habits as a new experience. An exercise in exerting willpower and testing yourself.

Not only will you ultimately feel better physically, but you will be able to take pride in the accomplishment.

Don’t forget to substitute – It may be easy to cut out the carbs on a daily basis, but what about special events? When you attend a meal and you want to eat a hot dog or a hamburger (with the bread)?

Stocking up on substitutions you love is the only way to combat those occasions in which you simply cannot resist the bread, pasta or other high-carb fave.

There are many different types of substitutions out there, so don’t get discouraged if the first brand/type you try doesn’t appeal to you.

Many different types of low carb, sugar free substitutions taste very similar to the originals.

Are you ready to begin your low carb diet?

Be sure to check out our wide selection of low carb foods at Linda’s Diet Delites! We have breads, mixes, snacks, noodles, and much more to help you stick to your new healthy plan!

Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes

If the blood sugar within the body is not regulated properly and the levels are too high, it can result in diabetes. There are many different signs and symptoms of diabetes, and sometimes these will show up before the actual onset of the disease (also known as being pre-diabetic). Anyone can be affected by diabetes, particularly if the disease already exists in someone in your family. If you experience any of the symptoms of diabetes, it is important to consult with your physician. Read on to learn a few of the most common symptoms of diabetes.

Common Symptoms of Diabetes

Extreme and uncommon thirst as well as frequent urination can be signs of diabetes. In addition, extreme hunger while experiencing weight loss (without having started eating a low carb or other diet) can be a potential symptom of diabetes. Frequent infections or injuries that don’t heal very quickly are also possibly signs that you may be developing diabetes. Diabetes may also cause fatigue and unusual tiredness, which can result in irritability due to a lack of sleep. In addition, sudden blurry vision or other vision problems can signify problems.

When to See Your Doctor

If you have any of the symptoms listed above that are not explainable by another cause (being abnormally hungry when you started a new workout routine would be an example of an outside cause for the symptom), it is a good idea to visit with your doctor. Even if you aren’t experiencing the onset of diabetes, you may have another illness that should be addressed.

Before Seeing the Doctor

If you suspect you may have diabetes, it is imperative to make an appointment with your physician to be seen as soon as possible. Doctors are often busy, however, and may not be able to get you into the office for an appointment for a week or more. In the meantime, it is a good idea to limit your intake of sugar and carbs in your diet. Taking a walk around the block each evening or getting in some other form of exercise can also help. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, these are things your doctor will prescribe, so why not get a head start? If you aren’t, they are still beneficial changes to make to your diet that may be able to curb some of the symptoms you have been experiencing.

Thanks for reading our article! If you are ready to stock up on great low carb sugar free foods that can help regulate or prevent diabetes, visit us at Linda’s Diet Delites! 

Are Your Bad Habits Overpowering Your WillPower?

One of my favorite artists has always been Hugh Macleod over at http://www.gapingvoid.com.

This week he posted the following drawing. Some simple art with more complex implications all snuggled into a breakfast / morning theme that I just couldn’t shake.

If you are having trouble sticking to your diet, keep in mind that “Habits eat good intentions for breakfast.”

Or put another way, “Willpower will fail.”

You need to stop relying on will power (good intentions) and instead, set up good habits, routines, or systems.

Step 1: Identify the bad habits in your life that are overpowering your good intentions.
Step 2: Replace bad habits with good habits.

Got it? Good.

Now actually do it. Don’t just nod your head and agree.

Write down your daily routine and look at your current daily habits. If you are not currently succeeding you will find that there is almost always a conflict between a habit and your goal.

Start at the beginning of the day to catch some easy wins because the things you do in the beginning of the day can set the tone for the entire day.

Want to hear my recent habit change?

I got into a habit of working out around noon every day. Except it wasn’t really noon, it was, “I will go to the gym after I take the dogs out, have a morning coffee, eat breakfast, and go to work for 4-5 hours.”

The problem is after all that, I often didn’t feel like going to the gym.

Or I’d go to the gym and it would be full of people so I’d complete a terrible workout (or leave halfway through) and come home to complain about how I couldn’t do what I wanted.

So now I had two excuses to not go the gym.

“Blurgh, I’m busy today, no gym for me.” and “The gym is full by now so I won’t have a good workout.”

I realized my routine was setting me up for failure, so instead I switched my morning routine to “I will go the gym after I take the dogs out and have a pre-workout meal.”

This minor change flipped my entire day on its head. My morning workouts were quicker, yet more productive, I enjoyed going to the gym again, and the remainder of my day could be committed to getting work done. The change made me so much more productive that I had to find more to do in my day.

Join in the Discussion

So, what about you? Have you experienced this before? Do you have a current bad habit you are trying to break?

Share your thoughts in the comments – just don’t be surprised if I try to convince you to make a change.

This post is a very, very brief touch on the topic of habits. If you are interested in hearing more let us know in the comments as well.