Category Archives: Resources for a Healthy Life

Finding inspiration and strength for self control


Posted by katiebird

A friend from work reads Guideposts magazine for the inspirational and happy stories. And she brought this story (did she know how close it is to my own story?) to my attention. Since I can’t post a link, I’m going to post some snippets you can find the whole story in the August 2006 issue:

Supernatural Self-Control by, Katrina Little

….(snip)…. We ate dinner in silence in front of the TV. After a plate of spaghetti, I still felt empty. I went back for seconds and added two pieces of bread slathered with butter and wolfed it down. I was full, but the strange thing was I didn’t feel satisfied. I needed something sweet.

….(snip)….

Later that week at church, a woman asked if I wanted to be on the prayer team for a woman’s weekend retreat. I hesitated. They really want someone like me? I wondered. I said yes.

….(snip)….

The group leader asked us each to write a letter to God telling what we’d like to see him do for us on the retreat. I turned to the Bible looking for some inspiration. That’s when I came to the passage in Galatians about the fruits of the spirit. Love, joy, faithfulness…and self-control. Yes, I thought. There’s what I really need. Not just a little self-control, but a lot of it. In big, clear, bold letters I wrote on my paper, I need supernatural self-control.

Something happened at that retreat camp. I didn’t go for a second helping at dinner. Late at night, the time when I usually would have a “snack,” I didn’t feel any cravings. I didn’t stay up thinking about food. I just drifted off to sleep…. Continue reading →


Successful Losers


Posted by katiebird

From nutrition.gov:

Key Behaviors of Successful Losers*

  • Getting regular physical activity
  • Reducing calorie and fat intake
  • Eating regular meals, including breakfast
  • Weighing themselves regularly
  • Not letting small “slips” turn into large weight regain

*From The National Weight Control Registry. See “Long-term Weight Maintenance” in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 82, No. 1, 222S-225S, July 2005.

  • Staying On Track with Your Goals

    Setting realistic goals and tracking your progress are key to your success. In fact, research has shown that those who keep track of their behaviors are more likely to take off weight and keep it off. A reasonable rate of weight loss is 1 to 2 pounds per week.

    These resources can help you set goals and monitor your progress:

  • Eat Better: Goals
  • Get Active: Goals
  • Guide to Behavior Change
  • How Much Do You Eat? A Food Diary
  • Exercise Log|PDF

    • When I’m stuggling with my weight goals, I look for inspiration everywhere. I never know when I’ll stumble on something that will click for me (that’s how I stumbled onto The Hacker’s Diet.) Lately I’ve been looking through the federal government’s sites and they’ve put together some interesting lists.

    Buried a couple of links down from one of the above lists is a list of 119 small steps you can take to start losing weight today. Some I’m already doing (4, 9, 13, 27, 88!) others sound like good ideas (3, 11, 108) and still others are never going to happen (10, 39)

    Another link led to The Weight-Control Information Network. Here’s a link to their publications.n I’ve sent away for a lot of them to distribute at Eat4Today Live! All for free. Most of the government sites have a publications page.o And a lot of them are free. Also, a lot of them are available as PDFs and can be viewed online.

    The quality (especially the interest level) varies from site to site and from publication to publication.g But, you never know when you’ll find just the thing to keep you going for another week.


    The USDA Nutrient list — searchable databases!


    Posted by katiebird

    I’ve been poking around the government nutrition sites and found a lot of interesting information. I sent away for some of it for the members of E4T Live! But one of the tools I found won’t work for them.

    The USDA has an incredible set of Nutrition tools:

    USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory
    Nutrient Data Laboratory, ARS, USDA Provides access to the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 18 (SR18) which includes nutrient content of 7,146 different foods. Includes an online nutrient database search.

    And . . .

    Search Programs for USDA Food Composition Databases

    Use these programs without being connected to the Internet

    Windows PC

    Downloads for the USDA National Nutrient Database for use on Windows 98SE® and above, download – Now available for SR18:

    • User’s guide – guide to downloading and using the Windows® program

    • pcs18.exe – click link to begin download
      (Note: File is ~9.3Mb and will take about 1 minutes to download using a broadband connection and about 20 minutes using a 56Kb Modem with a dial-up connection. Windows 2000 and XP users must have administrator rights to install the application.)

    Handheld Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)

    Downloads for the USDA National Nutrient Database for use on Palm OS® PDAs – Now available for SR18:

    • User’s guide – guide to downloading and using the PDA program
      Click link to begin download

    • pda18.exe – (for Windows PC’s)
      (Note: Program will take about 2Mb on your PDA)

    • pda18.zip – (compressed file)

    • pda18.sit – (compressed file for use with a Mac)

    For questions about using the software, please e-mail: ndlapps@rbhnrc.usda.gov
    Please indicate in the subject line which application your e-mail pertains to.

    I’ve loaded the Palm Pilot database and it works great. That’s what I used to look up the calories in saltines.


    E4T – Exercise Blog: How to exercise without an expensive gym


    Posted by katiebird

    Tonight, I’m going to get up and walk around my house for 5 minutes every hour (and at some point I’ll walk for 15 minutes). I’ll also borrow the upside-down bicycle for 5 minutes.

    I did this last night and the night before — and I can feel the difference. My lounging clothes don’t have pockets, so I don’t really know how far I’ve walked (I walked 3 miles while I was at work) by doing this extra evening bit. But, I know that I can feel the difference. Continue reading →