| Call Today: 1-855-DNA-MEALS |  |
 |
| Call Today: 1-855-DNA-MEALS | |
|
Blog
We did it again...We made HEADLINES!!!
If you are into fitness or perhaps a man, then reading the Men's Fitness magazine may be what you do on your leisure time. If this is you, than you should have recently seen the article they posted about Genovive, titled : "7 Nutritional meal delivery services for men on the go". We are the second of seven companies listed. The article goes into great detail of various companies offering a pre-packed meal delivery service. I, like you may be excited to know that Genovive was one of the cheaper and more reasonable delivery options out of the 7, and to be quite frank, I believe the quality is right up there as well. If you would like to read more on this article, you can do so by following the link provided to you. http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/7-nutrtional-meal-delivery-services-for-men-on-the-go.
I heard the FedEx truck rumbling in the parking lot to my home. The driver heaved and hoed the enormous box up the stairs and gave a two knuckle knock at the front door and vanished. I hoped this was not a foreshadowing of myself in the box.
Pulling the box inside I could not believe how heavy it was. After maneuvering the box indoors, I roamed around contemplating the best place to store it. (Unpacking tip: open the outer carton outside your door then take out the 4 smaller and lighter inner cartons and bring them inside.) I could not stand not knowing what was inside; I ripped the packaging tape right down the middle to find more boxes and labels of weeks for my new meals for a month. The outer box was taking up too much space, so I took each individual week out and stacked them in chronological order.
Tada! I had a little anxiety knowing this would be my fuel for the next month, especially since my husband was making a veggie omelet, side of cottage cheese, and a peanut butter smoothie. I did not know what I was getting myself into. The decision of when to start was daunting.
I opened week 1, read the welcome packet, and had some heart flutters trying to process the unknowing of my new GenoVive meal program. The next morning I heated up my warm blueberry whole grains. Visually, I was a little nervous, but when I felt the flavors burst over my taste buds, I knew breakfast was going to be a piece of cake, no pun intended. As the day progressed, I was pleasantly surprised at how satisfied I felt. To be continued…
Next week go to www.genovive.com/blog to see how my first week went.
It's that time of year again. Oh, why is it so difficult to balance our diet? The mainstream is constantly throwing candy bar commands at us and the potato chip isle in the grocery store glows with a different light than all the others. It is so hard to eat and maintain a balanced diet with pressure all around. And, of course, the Holiday Season is approaching ever so quickly. It is almost as if the moment we get our bodies and minds on track. Thanksgiving comes rushing around the corner to spoil all the hard work we have accomplished in the past 10 months. This is the time we must press harder to not budge on non-nutritious foods.
Deep-fried turkey, over creamed mashed potatoes, bacon green bean casserole, glazed carrots, yams, sweet potato pie, and overloaded stuffing steaming form the table and most of us have already gorged ourselves with appetizers of dips, chips, and cheese plates. Ironically there is never a vegetable tray and if there is it usually is still full at the end of the day. We must overcome these Holiday temptations and remember this one day of sloth-ness can set a pattern for the entire year if we allow it.
When seeing the arsenal of food over the holidays remember to take your time eating. It is not a race or competition to see how much or how little we can eat. Let the body enjoy all the flavors and the longer we span between each bite the sooner our body will be satisfied.
It is hard enough to balance our diet and maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout the year, but taking 3 or 4 holidays as free days can create a monster for the rest of the 360 days. We must stay strong in the moment and not let temptations overindulge. In most cases moderation is the key to everything and sticking by this will prevent a year of distressed eating habits. Stay strong during these Holidays, stay focused on your goals, and be aware of how you use your free days.
As youngsters, we could not wait to peal the wrapper off a chocolate caramel bar, feel the flavors of a lollipop explode across our tongue, and fill our Halloween bags to the rim with endless un-nutritional food. It was the one day of the year we were rewarded with junk not based on good behavior. Food rewards are often given for good grades, good behavior, sticking with a diet, or even after having a bad day. Throughout our lives these rewards stick with us even in adulthood.
Treating ourselves with rewards can be a good thing, but the reward must be chosen wisely. For instance, working out for an extra ten minutes does not mean an extra serving of ice cream or an extra pad of butter on our potato. Our treats must be unrelated to food. As human beings we present a constant food reward with our children and even ourselves. Most times it is dessert or something not so good for our body. Instead of choosing unhealthy foods as a reward, try a massage, pedicure, walk in the park, or a day of pure rest and relaxation. Everyone prefers a different reward. If we reward success with food we are recreating an unhealthy relationship and this relationship can reverse the effects of weight loss.
Reaching our weight loss goals can be a long process and sometimes the results do not show as quickly as we desire. Breaking up long term goals into multiple short term goals will help with success.
The body and mind make many sacrifices during the weight loss process, so providing non-food related rewards can show gratitude. Treat your success with something that stimulates a positive feeling once you have reached each short term goal. Week one, if you stick with the plan treat yourself to a day of rest and relaxation. Week four, if you see the number on the scale change, try to get a massage. Week six, if continuing on the program, allow a small purchase of something that has been desired. Week ten, if your clothes are starting to become loose, maybe buy a new pair of pants. Continuing to set small goals to accomplish throughout the weight loss process will help motivate the continuation of the program. Learning ways to use non-food related treats will aid in personal satisfaction.
Next week, revisit GenoVive’s blog as we haunt your mind with tricks to weight loss.
As a nation, we focus on appearance and make assumptions based on weight. It is sad, but true. As a result, we rely on fad diets to help us reach culturally acceptable weights. The word fad is defined as an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something short lived, so when we combine fad and diet we get a short-term diet. Fad diets come and go as the enthusiasm cultivates and then fades into the distance. Wanting a quick fix, a magic pill, or a miracle diet does not solve the underlying weight issues we struggle with. There is no doubt that short-term weight loss can be obtained by following certain fad diets, such as eliminating carbohydrates on popular name-brand programs. The core question remains, can a desired body weight be maintained once the excitement of the fad wears off?
There is extensive science behind weight loss, yet we choose the quick fix fad diets with no research to back them up, because the media endorses them. Why not discover the true needs of your body vs. what has worked for a select group of celebrities. The fundamentals of successful weight loss lie within science. Understanding your caloric needs along with how you metabolize macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates) will lead to successful weight management.
Weight loss can be challenging, but what is the point of doing something you cannot maintain for a lifetime? The truth about weight loss is it takes hard work and dedication, but once you have been educated it becomes second nature. Education of nutrition facts, protein, carbohydrates, fats, clean foods, and physical activity will aid in future health benefits. Learning what types of foods to consume at each meal or snack, how to portion foods appropriately, and in addition what foods work best for your genes. Having the proper tools and education will provide long-term success.
From South Beach to Paleo, fad diets are forever trending in and out. Stop wasting time on fad diets and get to the bottom of weight loss with science. Weight loss designed by science and motivational nutrition counseling is a recipe for long-term success. Fad diets come and go, but your genes are here forever. Why not listen to what they have to say. Sometimes we are willing risk our health to appear thin at our 40 year class reunion, so when making a decision about weight loss, weigh the options and decide which plan will help maintain a healthy weight for a lifetime.
Helpful guidelines:
Have you ever wondered why Sally down the street can eat doughnuts every morning for breakfast and never budge the scale, but you can merely glance at the sign and increase a dress size? Was she just born this way? Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t, but now there is scientific evidence to answer the question - What is the difference between YOU and ME?
It all begins with our genetics, the makeup of our genes. Scientists have studied the constant changing gene pool and the new discoveries are astonishing, but ever changing. Genetics are a variation of characteristics and qualities we are born with that vary person to person. Our genes are the building blocks of who we are as individuals. Sugar-fix Sally’s genes may show that when she downs a dozen doughnuts she metabolizes the carbohydrates and fat content differently than I do. We cannot judge a book by its cover, so we must dig deep to find the true differences between YOU and ME.
How do we know if we are predisposed to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc.? Our genetics are our foundation and play a huge role in weight loss, weight gain, and weight management. Do you gain weight easily, do you need more activity to maintain a healthy body weight, are you sensitive to carbohydrates or fat? The questions are endless, but the case has been cracked on how to find the difference between YOU and ME.
There is one, cutting edge way to answer this perplexing question. It all lies in the hands of a simple DNA test. When it comes to weight loss designed by science, GenoVive holds the gold. GenoVive has created a personalized meal and exercise program to fit your genetic needs all from a simple DNA test. GenoVive has created a system to help you make well educated decisions about nutrition and physical activity based on your genes. Having this knowledge will empower you to make positive health changes to meet your specific needs with no excuses. I challenge you to find the difference between YOU and ME. Visit: www.genovive.com for the answer.
From yogurt commercials with celebrities to a headline on the 5 o’clock news, probiotics have become famous. Our bodies naturally produce probiotics and are given to us the moment we enter the world. The normal human digestive tract contains greater than 500 different types of probiotic bacteria. Probiotics are live microorganisms; some may call them our “good” bacteria, which have been shown to aid in overall wellness, from GI and immune health to anti-cancerous properties.
When searching for foods high in probiotics, the dairy cooler would be the number one choice. A few examples of foods to look for are yogurt, kefir, or soy yogurt with active live cultures. If looking for an easier route, oral supplements can help obtain the balance of “good” bacteria you are looking for. The flipside to “good” bacteria is “bad” bacteria. We allow “bad” bacteria to live and grow in our bodies through poor diet, stress, lack of sleep, illness, medications, and many other environmental factors. “Bad” bacterium thrives off sugar, fats, and other highly processed foods. Choosing to eat a clean diet, low in sugar, fat and processed foods can help maintain a healthy body balance.
We cannot forget that probiotics are alive and have very specific requirements to stay alive. Taking a probiotic supplement first thing in the morning with breakfast and with an evening meal is the best practice. When the stomach is empty the acidity level of the stomach is strong. Choosing to take these “good” bacteria with your meal will aid their survival.
Although we understand probiotics are necessary for a healthy balanced system, we don’t always act upon it. Whether you choose to eat yogurt or take probiotic supplements, making a small effort can help with overall wellness. Remember the “good” and “bad” bacteria are at war, so whoever has the largest army will dominate.
The most abundant statement I hear from clients wanting to lose weight is, “but I only eat one meal per day”. I have the same reaction to each person, “Exactly”! Being able to eat more and lose weight is always a shock to the average dieter. Letting natural foods enter the body every 3-6 hours allows the body to utilize what it needs and discard the rest. The body works in mysterious ways.
Our bodies are well developed mechanisms that are extremely forgiving. Most of the time we treat them like demolition vehicles. We bruise, we break, we cut, we poison, and we even starve them. If we continue to treat our bodies with limited respect, they will in time shutdown. Food is full of energy we need to continue life and each type of food has a special purpose in the care of our precious mechanisms.
- Carbohydrates, such as whole grains, are our main source of energy. They keep our bodies up and running in a functional manner.
- Protein rich foods, including; lean meats, beans and tofu help rebuild our muscles by providing amino acids to repair cells.
- Fat aids in the absorption of fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K. Fat also keeps our bodies well lubricated inside and out.
- Fruits and vegetables full of vitamins and minerals carry very specific jobs ranging from improving vision to increasing bone density.
- Water has an array of purposes including; transportation of nutrients, lubrication of joints, and excretion of toxins. Water creates a happy balance for our bodies.
So, when it comes to skipping meals for weight loss, we must be careful not to destroy the future of our bodies. Restricting our bodies from the nutrients it needs can create change in how we metabolize food. Everyone break down food in a different manner based on our genetic makeup, but we can all alter the rate we utilize food by slowing down our metabolism. Our protective bodies begin to wonder when the next time we will fuel it again. As a favor to us, our body holds on to every morsel we place in our mouth. Going long periods of time between meals or skipping meals with the intent of weight loss, our metabolism begins to slow down and our bodies begin to store extra energy to make sure we have enough. We put our bodies into starvation mode causing us to store extra energy leading to weight gain. Restricting is not a smart choice in weight loss, and in actuality can be very damaging to the body.
Finding a healthy pattern of eating can aid in positive health results. Keeping bodies well fueled throughout the day will make our bodies comfortable with using the nutrients and energy it needs and release the rest knowing it will be replenished in 3-6 hours. The result is increased metabolism and the ability to burn energy more efficiently.
Summary of restricting for weight loss:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has regulations on meat and poultry labels.
Medicating animals to increase size and fend off disease is having a negative effect on humans and our environment. Choosing natural, antibiotic, hormone free meat and poultry is a great way to provide adequate protein and amino acids without the risk of health complications. GenoVive has taken a giant leap ahead of the game by providing clean, natural, antibiotic and hormone free meats within their meal program. For more information visit: www.genovive.com.
Shopping tips to avoid medicated meats:
References:
Imagine savory flavors mingling together in a crockpot for hours and hours, smells so thick they carve the air filling a home with new aromas and filling bellies for days. As Americans, we tend live life in the fast lane. Smelling flowers or making good home cooked meals seem to be out of the ordinary. Sure it happens on birthdays, Christmas, and Thanksgiving, but they do not count.
It is EASY to swing by a fast food joint or a local restaurant and grab dinner for ourselves or our families. Normally our bellies are growling by this point and the thought of cooking has been thrown out the window. The idea of bulk cooking one day per week, or even two, is a simple strategic way to a healthy life.
Sunday is always my family’s bulk cooking day. Sometimes we break out the ten gallon pot and make a stock from scratch or buy low sodium broth at the store to make a large pot of vegetable soup. Other times we will slow roast lean meats and bake Cornish hens to have our protein for the week. Crockpots are a great way to bulk cook, especially if you have been known to burn a few pans in your time. Simple and EASY. Just about all recipes online or right out of a cookbook can be expanded into bulk recipes.
Once bulk cooking is completed; separating it into proper portions can help with weight management and time management. Putting bulk foods in individual serving containers will keep the idea of overeating out of the kitchen. Parts of your batch can be eaten that week and some can be placed in the freezer for future use. Most foods need to be eaten within four days, so have a plan for the later part of the week.
Bulk cooking is key to our busy lifestyles. Most of us do not even attempt the kitchen or give the crockpot a try. It is easy to swing by the fast food joints, but it is easier on your health to eat whole natural foods free from antibiotics, hormones, artificial preservative and sweeteners. If you are still unsure about bulk cooking and would like to understand more about what your body needs, contact GevoVive at www.genovive.com. GenoVive will provide you with 6 daily individually packaged meal kits per week, a total of 24 per month, to learn what works best for your body. Everyone has individual nutrition needs, find out what yours are.
Most of us drive down the interstate bickering over where to eat with a friend, family member, co-worker or alone never knowing what our body is about to consume. Three exits of fast food sound so good, with aching bellies and shaking hands from our low blood sugar. Food is on our minds and the interstates are full of unhealthy fast food options. Easy and fast. We can take the double burger with cheese and a large fry screaming with calories and fat, along with a diet soda to watch our waistline or a nachos dripping with artery clogging cheese to satisfy our needs, but this is not the smarter choice. Our thoughts grow deeper and our stomach emptier. When looking for fast and easy we automatically think fast food due to the mass amounts of marketing and convenience it provides. Are we sacrificing our health for convenience?
As we travel furiously through the fast food line and order the # 7 supersized, the amount of food to be consumed in our near future may; meet our caloric needs for the day, exceed our fat consumption for the week, and provide limited fiber and nutrients leaving our bodies confused and unsatisfied.
What if bringing meals and snacks on the road would decrease our waistlines and increase our wallets? Having prepared meals and snacks is a safe and healthy route to take when traveling. Most of us never choose to pack a lunch for the road or make smart food choices. This is a great opportunity to avoid the fast food urges or cravings we may have. A simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and sliced bell pepper will easily satisfy our body. Remember to have carbohydrates, proteins and fats at each meal to stay satisfied and avoid crossing over into the fast food lane.
Note: Bulk cooking at home is a good way to be prepared for what life may have in store. If you are prepared with pre-packaged easy to grab home cooking, you are more likely to stay on a healthy road towards a healthier you.
Grocery stores are not far off the beaten path, approximately every 5-10 miles on the interstate, who knew? The option of stopping at a grocery store for twice the amount of food, twice the amount of the nutrients and ½ the price appears to be a smart choice when traveling. At the grocery there are fast, easy and healthy options available, such as; a salad bar, pre-made turkey sandwich, soup, fresh produce, and endless amounts of good for you foods. Building the majority of our meals around vegetables and fruit can be challenging, but it is a good place to start. Adding lean proteins and whole grains is the next step towards a healthy meal on the go, keeping in mind how you metabolize foods.
Remember to consume foods the earth has given us, not overly processed food creations that are causing more harm than good. Try to choose whole natural foods when traveling. Having prepackaged or prepared healthy meals and snacks or stopping at a grocery store are easy methods to obtain balanced meals along the road. Creating these simple habits will help our bodies and minds throughout life. Fighting the temptation is the hardest part to a successful weight management program. If this was an easy road to travel, everyone would take it.
GenoVive can provide you with a customized meal program to help you meet your weight loss goals, by providing healthy prepared meals on the go. Visit: www.genovive.com for more details.
We come across times in our lives when we must scarf down a meal in less than 5 minutes without feeling each flavor brush our individually designed taste buds. Stomachs are overwhelmed by the mass consumption and our bodies struggle to get the proper breakdown. Eating large meals in a short amount of time can inhibit our ability to understand our body’s signals of hunger and fullness. We live in a society of now…Now…NOW! This takes away the ability for us to enjoy and taste our foods. It’s very important for us as humans to slow down our eating. We must take a step back and analyze the situation. This will help us out, not only through eating, but in all other aspects of life. For instance, taking a bite every 30 seconds vs. a bite every second will enhance your ability to taste, increase your sensation of fullness, create a longer more satisfying meal time, and help slim your waistline.
Here is a helpful exercise to slow down the eating and increase mindfulness of what is being placed in your precious body. Our digestion begins with sight and smell. The moment we see a deep red strawberry or smell the pot roast in the crockpot our mind triggers our saliva to drip and our stomachs to growl. Try this easy 10 step exercise to enhance your ability to eat mindfully.
Choosing to eat mindfully will decrease over consumption of foods, increase self-awareness of hunger signals, create a more pleasurable dining experience, and help us reach our weight loss/maintenance goals. At your next meal I challenge you to try at least one bite using this mindful eating technique. Enjoy!
Oh the dreaded grocery store, how you tempt us with large shopping carts at the front and thousands of choices to fill it with. Decisions, decisions, decisions. While coasting through a sea of food our minds begin to wander and stomachs begin to growl. A large percentage of us enter the grocery store with an empty belly and a full wallet excited about filling our cart with over processed highly marketed foods. The grocery store is a giant mecca of healthy and non-healthy foods, so how do we make healthy, tasty, affordable choices? It is a process to evaluate food and make an intelligent decision. Entering a grocery store can be overwhelming for the average consumer, so I want to provide you with easy guidelines for savvy shopping. After discussing the ins and outs of grocery shopping for a healthy weight, I hope you have a better understanding of how to choose healthy foods to fit your diet.
As we dig deeper into the Nutrition Facts, we begin to find essential nutrients that are not necessarily on the nutrition label. Understanding these, often overlooked, nutrients are vital to the future of our health. Amongst these nutrients we have omega-3 fatty acids. These five W’s should help answer any wandering questions regarding Omega -3’s.
What is Omega-3?
Who needs Omega-3?
Everyone! Omega-3 fatty acids are not produced by the human body and must be consumed in our diet via food or supplement. Individuals consuming low to moderate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, or would like to ensure they are getting the proper amount of omega-3, may want to consider taking a supplement. Please contact your physician to insure your supplementation will not interfere you’re your current medications or health complications.
Why do we need Omega-3?
Omega-3 fatty acids are important for brain function, growth & development, protecting against macular degeneration, inflammation, heart disease and cancer. Omega-3 can also assist in treating arthritis, blood clots, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, and ADHD. Studies show that supplements with ultra-refined DHA/EPA help promote cardiovascular health.
Note: Too little omega-3 can present with signs of fatigue, memory loss, confusion, dry skin, depression, or heart disease. Exceeding 3 grams per day of omega-3 is not recommended due to the possibility of toxicity.
Where do we get Omega-3?
Omega-3’s are only found in select foods, such as; salmon, tuna, halibut, sardines, herring, nut/seed oils, free range poultry or beef, seaweed, fortified eggs, kale, brussel sprouts, and supplements (fish oil, EPA, DHA, ALA). Consuming foods high in omega-3 fatty acids at least 2-3 times per week is recommended for a healthy diet. If you are unable to consume adequate amounts via diet, supplementation may be needed.
When to take Omega-3 supplements?
When taking an omega-3 supplement it may interfere with the absorption of other vitamins or minerals, so it is best to take in the absence of other supplements, but in the presence of food.
These are the facts of omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty acids are absolute for a healthier life and each one usually goes unrecognized to the average grocery shopper. Omega-3’s shall not be overlooked and must be controlled as well as all consumption of food.
Did you know that GenoVive's Customized Meal Program includes a high quality omega-3 supplement? The Gen-Omega daily supplement is made from food sourced calamari oil so it does not contain any rancid or fishy aftertaste. To find a diet that is perfect for your genetic makeup visit www.genovive.com.
Every cell in the human body contains some form of protein, from our muscles and tendons to our skin and nails. Within our bodies, protein has many important roles, including; muscle repair, cell development, and fluid/electrolyte balance. Protein consists of amino acids which are the building blocks of the human body. There are two types of amino acids; non-essential and essential. Non-essential amino acids are made within the body, and essential amino acids cannot be made in the body and must be ingested from a food containing protein.
Protein can be categorized as complete or complementary. Complete proteins, also known as high quality proteins, contain essential amino acids mostly from animal products, such as; meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and dairy. Complementary proteins, also known as low quality proteins, are mainly derived from plant based protein sources, including; soy, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and some fruits/vegetables. Complementary proteins must combine two plant based protein foods to create a complete protein (see chart below).
The majority of Americans overindulge in protein each day. What most of us do not realize is the amount of protein we a getting from other food items, such as; milk, cheese, yogurt, beans, and nuts. Continued overconsumption of protein could put you at risk for decreased kidney function, obesity, bone loss, heart disease, some types of cancers and type II diabetes. When calculating the appropriate amount of protein for your body, we must take into consideration the variety of food you consume, your age, gender, height, weight, activity factor and genetics.
There is a misconception that excess protein consumption increases our muscle size. Even though we know protein builds and repairs our muscles, we must understand that excess protein will be stored as sugar or fat within the body, similar to over consumption of carbohydrates and fats. Exercises including weight lifting, push-ups, and resistance training will all aid in increased muscle growth. When we workout our muscles tear and protein aids in rebuilding these muscles once they have been damaged. The key is to find the recommended amount of protein and proper exercise regimen to maximize your health.
Choosing lean meats or plant based proteins, appropriate portions, and understanding the proper amount of protein for your metabolism and activity level are great steps towards a healthy diet. If you follow a vegetarian diet, please see the complementary food chart at the bottom of the page to insure adequate protein intake.
Serving size:
Healthy high protein foods:
Lean animal proteins
Plant based proteins:
|
Protein Food (combine with complementary food) |
Complementary Food (combine with protein food) |
|
Milk |
Grains |
|
Eggs |
Grains |
|
Legumes |
Seeds or nuts |
|
Seeds/Nuts/Legumes |
Vegetables |
|
Legumes |
Grains/vegetables |
|
Legumes |
Grains |
When we hear carbohydrates or carbs; cupcakes, chips, pies, and cookies come to mind. Our society has grown to believe that carbs cause weight gain. It is true that a vast majority of unhealthy food items are high in carbohydrates and if over consumed can lead to weight gain. To be the devil’s advocate, if any food is over consumed the result is weight gain. Carbs are found in numerous types of foods, including; cakes, bread, pasta, sweets, and cereals, but also in whole grains, cheese, milk, yogurt, fruit, and vegetables. By eliminating carbohydrates from your diet you will be sacrificing much needed nourishment. So how do you determine healthy carbs from unhealthy carbs?All simple carbohydrates are made of just one or two sugar molecules. They are the quickest source of energy and are rapidly digested. Unfortunately, most foods high in simple carbohydrates contain few nutrients and only provide extra calories. They also lack fiber and pass into the bloodstream rather quickly. Therefore, it is best to limit your intake of simple carbohydrates (1). Examples include: table sugar, honey, soft drinks, and candy.
On the other hand, complex carbohydrates are made of sugar molecules strung together like a necklace. They digest slowly, so they will keep your blood sugar more stable. They are often rich in fiber, more satisfying, and more health promoting. Complex carbohydrates are often high in vitamins and minerals (1). Examples include: starchy vegetables, whole grains, beans, and fruit.
Fiber is also important when choosing healthy carbohydrates. Fiber includes parts of plants that your body can't digest or absorb. It might seem like fiber doesn't do much, but it has several important roles in maintaining health. There are two types of fiber insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fiber promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and increases stool bulk, so it can be beneficial to those who struggle with constipation or irregular stools. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material, which can aid in lowering blood cholesterol and glucose levels (2).
When reading Nutrition Facts you should not solely base your decision off total carbohydrates. Based on your genetic makeup, your body may need anywhere from 45-60% of total calories to come from carbohydrates, but remember carbs come in many shapes and forms. Some foods have nutrition facts and some do not. When shopping in produce a good rule of thumb is ~1/2 cup of fruit or vegetables will provide you with ~15 grams of carbohydrates and ~3-5 grams of fiber. When searching for packaged foods, such as; cereal, pasta, bread, and rice, check to make sure you have at least >3 grams of fiber per serving, and limited grams of sugar. These tips should help you create a healthy pattern of eating including foods rich in carbohydrates.
Yes, some unhealthy foods are high in carbohydrates, but not all carbohydrate containing foods are unhealthy. If you decide to eliminating carbohydrates from your diet you are eliminating healthy food groups. You don’t have to say NO to all carbs; you should say YES to whole grains, plant based proteins, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. The key to carbohydrates is to choose wisely.
Do you ever wake up with puffy eyes, swollen like a tick and a wedged ring on your finger? If so, your diet could be tipping the charts in sodium content. Sodium is a huge contributor to water retention. When we retain water our blood volume increases, and when it increases it makes our heart work harder and sometimes faster. In time, over consumption of sodium can lead to congestive heart failure, liver disease, kidney failure, and even a stroke. Even though sodium is essential in small amounts, large quantities of sodium can be detrimental to your health.
The average American diet contains 5,000 to 10,000 mg of sodium per day, when the recommended amount is only 2500mg per day, unless otherwise directed by your physician. When we hear “SODIUM” we automatically think of table salt. To put things into perspective, one teaspoon of table salt contains ~2300mg of sodium alone. That is nearly an entire day’s worth of sodium in one teaspoon. Sodium can be found naturally in some foods, but usually in small amounts. What most people do not comprehend is how much sodium is used as preservatives in processed foods, prepared foods, and sweets to maintain shelf life. Sodium is often overlooked, and should be monitored in everyone’s diet. Be proactive in preventing disease, check SODIUM on your Nutrition Facts and make it a top priority.
The sodium content can be found in all foods with a Nutrition Facts label. Here are some tips to guide you through and assist you in healthy food choices.
You may also check the ingredient list for foods containing sodium. Below are a few ingredients to lookout for.
Next week, keep your eyes open for, “Carbohydrates: Yes, No, Maybe So” at http://www.genovive.com/index.php/blog.html!
Over the past two weeks we have discussed the importance of Serving Size and proper Fuel. As we move through the Nutrition Facts we stumble upon a controversial topic, FAT. Our society tends to think that fat as “BAD”, and if we eat fat we will become fat! There have been many different fad diets involving fat, so we started creating foods that are Low Fat, Reduced Fat, and Fat Free. Eliminating fat from your diet completely will not benefit you in the long run. Fats are vital to our survival, and without them we would be unable to absorb fat soluble vitamins; A, D, E, K. These vitamins aid in vision, skin health, strengthen bones/teeth, muscle strength, aids in blood clotting, prevention of inflammation and certain types of disease. Fat soluble vitamins are essential to a healthy life.
Let’s begin to address the Nutrition Facts and look deeper under TOTAL FAT. You will find a combination of “healthy” fats (unsaturated fats: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated), and “unhealthy” fats (unsaturated and Trans fats). When choosing your food of choice, whether it be peanut butter, pasta or beef, remember these Facts about Fats to help guide you.
Let YOUR genes decide how much fat you should be consuming by indentifying how your body uses fat according to your genetics. Not everyone metabolizes fat equally, so find out how your body works today with GenoVive.
Simple guidelines when reading TOTAL FAT on the Nutrition Facts:
It is not uncommon for an American family to zip through a drive through on the way to a child’s sporting event, and scarf down a supersized combo meal with no second thoughts. The average fast food combo meal has more than 800 calories and some greater than 2000! An easy rule of thumb to determine your caloric needs is multiply your weight or your desired weight by 10. Example: 175 pounds x 10 = 1750 calories per day. Calories throughout the day, add up to give us fuel.
CALORIES, otherwise known as fuel, are units of food energy. The type and quantity of calories you consume determines the quality and quantity you have to burn. Think of calories as fuel for a car. Cars need fuel to run and with too little fuel the car will run short, and if using bad fuel it can ruin the vehicle. Eating whole natural foods is the best way to fuel your body. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins are essential to run your vehicle appropriately.
We burn calories through everyday living and active lifestyles. “Calories in, Calories out” is a phrase often used. We need calories for energy and we need physical activity for health, so a balance is needed to maintain a healthy weight. If you are looking to lose or gain weight, you will need at least a 500 calories deficit or increase from your usual daily consumption to lose/gain ~1 pound per week. It is easy to lose track or get off course, but staying within your calorie range for the day is imperative for a healthy weight.
It's important to remember that you need enough calories (and the right nutrients) to keep your metabolism going and have enough energy to exercise.
There is no set number of calories to look for on the Nutrition Facts, so understanding what calories are and knowing approximately how many calories you need to maintain a healthy weight is a good place to start. Fuel your body well.
Continue to checkout Gen-V Blogs for Nutrition Facts, Part 3: Facts about Fats! You can also follow GenoVive on Tumblr at GenoVive.Tumblr.com
The summer season has arrived and not all of us are ready to show some skin in our swimsuits. Many of us are intimidated to put skimpy suits on due to our poor eating and lack of exercise throughout the year. This crisis continues annually for a large percentage of us.
While trying on suits we think about the extra scoop of mac and cheese from the night before or the fountain drink we chugged for breakfast this morning. We carelessly consume foods without inquiring about what they contain. Understanding Nutrition Facts is vital to our wellbeing.
America is in a constant hurry of give me, give me, give me. We want our food fast and hot to serve. There is a poor system to educate on the makeup of food. We are left with ingredients and confusing Nutrition Facts that intimidate us similar to the old swimsuit try-on marathon. We tend to spend more time choosing our swimsuits than we do our food items. This searching process should be reversed.
The most important part of the Nutrition Facts is the serving size. Serving size shows the portion of food used as a reference on the Nutrition Facts, and the recommended portion of food to be eaten (1). Americans look at a 12oz. bottle of soda or an over scooped pile of mashed potatoes and feel it contains only one serving, when in actuality it contains multiple servings. Always start at the top of the Nutrition Facts, SERVING SIZE, and use this as a reference to guide your portions. Refer back to the blog on Portion Distortion for tips on adequate portion control.
Never rely on the claims, always read your Nutrition Facts. These Nutrition Facts can be confusing, but once they are mastered, eating habits will improve and your confidence will build, making it easier to get into your favorite swimsuit. Keep following Gen-V Blogs at, http://www.genovive.com/index.php/blog.html, for Nutrition Facts, Part 2: Fuel - Insight to Calories.
This week is National Women’s Health Week. National Women’s Health Week empowers women to make their health a top priority (1).
Nearly half the world’s population is made up of women. Think about the amazing women that have impacted your life: your mother, grandmother, sister, wife, etc. These influential women have molded you into the person you are today. Without women, humanity would be lost. Women are responsible for the continuation of human kind; we make the world go round. We are strong, beautiful, intelligent beings, but statistically speaking, not as healthy as we should be.
An estimated 42 million American women live with heart disease, approximately 9 million have diabetes and nearly 47 million have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 (2). Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States (3). In fact, more women die each year from heart disease than men. Women also hold the highest percentage of overweight and obesity in the US. Heart disease, type II diabetes, and obesity are all preventable diseases, yet our numbers continue to escalate. We need to become more aware of what we put in our bodies. For instance, a simple dish, such as Caesar salad, thought to be healthy. As the creamy Caesar dressing enters your mouth and begins the digestion process, the carbohydrates are quickly absorbed. The sodium will then release into the body causing a rise in blood pressure. As the food travels to the stomach, fat will begin to breakdown and enter the blood stream. Once fat has entered the blood stream it can either be stored as energy, or can become a culprit of heart disease. If we do not utilize our stored fat, we will begin to gain unwanted weight. This can lead to obesity which can then lead to type II diabetes. It is a vicious cycle, so choosing your meals wisely is vital to living a healthy life.
Lack of physical activity and poor eating habits are top contributors to an increased risk of disease. We need to honor our health and decrease the prevalence of preventable disease. Let’s make a change! Women need to make health their TOP priority, not just for this week, but forever. Without change women will continue to hold the first place trophy for diseases, such as; obesity and heart disease. I don’t know about you, but I would prefer better statistics than we currently display. Empower women to take action, “It’s YOUR Time”! With increased awareness, proper education, and adequate tools we can start an upward climb towards healthier living. Let’s take a stand for our health.
Here are some tools to utilize for healthier living
If you need assistance with weight loss, or are looking for customized meal plans and exercise programs, order your weight management DNA test kit from GenoVive today.
For more information visit: http://www.genovive.com/
Currently, more than 67% of Americans are overweight and greater than 34% are obese. Nutrition related illnesses have become epidemics. Large portion sizes remain a leading contributor to our heavy lifestyles. Portion distortion is an inaccurate image of what a serving size should be. We have stretched our portions so far from reality it’s like looking though a magnifying glass.
In our society we want our money’s worth, especially when it comes to food. The expected visual consists of towering food, spilling over the edge of our plates. The advertising companies persuade our minds into believing we need more food, but our bodies relay a different message. A factor we don’t realize is the amount of money we will soon be spending on insurance and hospital bills, if we don’t already. The cost of healthcare is high, yet we are still gorging ourselves full of food sending us straight into a healthcare crisis. The leading causes of death in the US, such as; obesity, heart disease, type II diabetes, and certain types of cancer can be preventable, but we must start by understanding portion control. With proper diet and exercise, we could gain control over this outbreak.
Our portions have evolved over the past 100 years. They have grown in size, increased in calories, fat, and sodium. We have supersized every avenue of food. If you go to a restaurant and order a 12 oz. steak, you are getting 3-4 servings of meat. Order a bowl of pasta from an Italian restaurant, and you are looking at roughly 6 portions of starch. If you stop by an ice cream shop, and order a small cone with 2 scoops you are consuming around 4 servings of ice cream. We see these portion distortions at restaurants, grocery stores, and even family meals. When a personal pan pizza has enough to feed 2 or 3 people, we should be alarmed. If we were served a true portion of food it would not satisfy the eye or the stomach. By changing the way we look at portions, it will become acceptable to our individual nature. It might take longer for some individuals, because the human body has different approaches to how we metabolize food. These limitations need to be met, or the endless downward spiral of overweight and obesity will increase the death toll of humanity.
How much is enough? Serving sizes vary from food group to food group. It is recommended, depending on your genetic makeup, to consume 2-4 servings of fruit, 3-5 servings of non-starchy vegetables, 2-3 servings of low fat dairy, choose whole grains over refined grains, eat lean protein, and use fat sparingly. Here are some quick tips for measuring a proper portion.
So what does this look like? Learning to eyeball correct portions of food will benefit your health. Start with measuring your portions. Note what a true portion looks like on a plate. Try not to let portion distortion enter your mind. Once you have measured your food for a week, try to guess the correct portion, then measure to check your judgment. It will soon become second nature.
Visuals:
The true question is how do we peel ourselves away from this lifestyle? If you are struggling with your weight, you can start by making a commitment to yourself. Food is for fuel and enjoyment, but too much food can cause your health to suffer. Once you get the distortion out of your mind, you will be able to portion food appropriately and hopefully it will lead to a healthy life free from disease. The more we continue to live with portion distortion the higher our overweight rate will rise. Be committed to your health and make the change today. Portion control is crucial to eating a healthy well-balanced diet.
This blog has provided you with general guideline to healthy eating and weight loss. If you want a more specific meal plan based on your genetic profile, try a DNA test from GenoVive.
As Americans, we want things bigger, brighter, bolder, better. We want everything to stand out amongst the crowd. We strive for perfection, even when we know perfection is unobtainable. We have brought this mentality into our food industry. Stop and look at the brightly colored food stored at our grocery stores. Electric pineapples, bloodshot meats, neon candies, and florescent cereals. When we walk through and pick up a vibrant orange or a juicy red steak, are we getting just that, or are we really eating synthetic dye or artificial food coloring?
The visual appeal of food seems to determine the price these days. The more eye appeal, the higher the dollar. Should we be worried that our food looks like it jumped out of a High Definition Television? The Florida Department of Citrus confirmed that Red Dye No. 2 is allowed, and used, early in the citrus season when the fall nights aren't as cold as necessary to develop the desired orange color (1). Why are we doing this to our natural food source?
What are these synthetic food enhancers? Artificial food coloring consists of chemicals used to add color to food; it is often added to processed foods, drinks, and condiments. Manufacturers add dye to add color to colorless foods, enhance colors, avoid color loss due to environmental elements, provide consistency when there are variations in the coloring of the food, and add color to "fun" foods. Food colorings are used to maintain or improve the appearance of the food (2).
Artificial coloring has been linked to hyperactivity, changes in metabolism, and even more serious conditions. Yet we still allow this synthetic product to be placed into our food and our children’s food. Europe has banned artificial dyes because they have been linked to behavioral issues. Dr. David Wallinga, from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, stated he believes that the science is there for customers to be concerned, saying that the dyes mess with metabolism. He also added that yellow dyes deplete zinc levels enough in some kids to cause hyperactivity and some of the dyes include petroleum products, which he says have been shown to increase the risk for cancer. Here we are, aware, and still allowing them to be in the majority of our food sources.
Even as a dietitian we are taught that food is “REAL” food. Food that is natural, free from preservatives, antibiotics, hormones, artificial dyes and sweeteners. We assume the food we purchase, is “REAL” food. But it is challenging to find “REAL” food in the US today. Food that has not been altered with chemicals or artificial products.
We know it can be challenging to navigate food labels. Which is why GenoVive is dedicated to providing you with the best quality all-natural foods, free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. It’s real food to provide the fuel you need for successful weight loss.
Artificial food dyes are found in thousands of food products. It is going to be challenging to eliminate them, but one way to start is to empower yourself with knowledge. We have other sources to color and enhance our food, such as; caramel coloring, beet juice, and saffron. Yet, we choose not to utilize our natural color sources. As a dietitian, I would like to challenge you to read your nutrition facts and ingredient list. When choosing your food, remember to choose natural, no preservatives, minimally processed, antibiotic/hormone free meats, food free from artificial dyes and sweeteners. Choose “REAL” food, not the material we have created for the sole purpose of marketing and money. By understanding the nutrition facts and ingredient list you have taken another step towards a healthier life. If you can read, understand, and recognize each word as a “REAL” food source and not a chemical or artificial additive, then that food should be safe. If you read the ingredients and you can’t get through the first half of the list, I would advise you to put it back on the shelf. The question will arise, what about produce? We will not know until they start labeling it.
My tips to you are: buy local, organic, grow your own, or know where your food came from, ask questions, it never hurts, and take charge of your health. Pay attention to the food you put into your body and your families bodies.
Food is for fuel, and if we are using artificial fuel, our bodies will not run as efficiently. We need “REAL” natural foods, so choose wisely.
Natural food colorings:
Ingredients to avoid:
References:
Did you know that May is National Strawberry Month? It’s the perfect summer treat to share with your family. Of course you’re watching your macronutrients while on your GenoVive Customized Meal Program, but strawberries make a great healthy treat to enjoy while you lose weight and they’re healthier than you might think.
A cup of strawberries has only 50 calories and is naturally fat, sodium and cholesterol free. A cup of strawberries has more Vitamin C than an average size orange. They’re also delicious and kid-friendly, making strawberries a great alternative to serve the next time your kids ask for cookies or candy.
If you’re on the GenoVive OCC or OFCC customized meal programs, you should save most of your strawberries for an occasional treat or on your free day. A cup of strawberries has 12 grams of carbohydrate but they are also just as tasty when used sparingly, such as one or two berries sliced on your whole grain cereal or a cup of high protein greek yogurt.
Be sure to select strawberries that are bright and plump and include a nice green stem and/or leaves which are a sign of freshness. Have fun and enjoy this all-natural snack and check back soon for more healthy summer treat ideas from GenoVive.
GenoVive is excited to be featured on the award-winning fitness series Get Fit With Leslie with Leslie Hoffman. For years, Leslie has inspired people to look and feel their best with upbeat exercise routines, interviews with medical experts and nutrition segments. On upcoming episodes of Get Fit With Leslie, you'll get an in-depth look at how GenoVive's weight loss program works as Leslie goes inside the lab with Dr. San San Ng to learn why DNA is an important factor in weight loss success and how easy it is to do the cheek swab DNA test. Along with Leslie you'll learn about GenoVive's meal program and the benefits of all-natural foods and see how GenoVive inspired long-term health and fitness goals for one local mom.
You'll also see Leslie's fun weekly workout routines. Watch Get Fit With Leslie weekdays on Cox 4 and twice per week on CST.
Do you ever find yourself roaming aimlessly around the kitchen searching for the unknown? Do you remember coming home from a long day at work heading straight for the refrigerator with no idea why? Have you ever been in a situation knowing the only thing that could comfort you was your grandmothers’ hot apple pie? Understanding physical hunger vs. emotional hunger is an important skill to learn. Boredom, stress, and sorrow are three strong contributors to mindless eating. During these emotional times, we want a quick fix. Food is NOT the answer. It’s only a temporary relief from reality, and when we finally decide to put the spoon down, our problems are still there, staring us in the face. The frequent use of food for love can cause a lot of different health issues, including; overweight, obesity, eating disorders, diabetes, & heart disease.
As Americans, we use food for everything; socializing, entertainment, pleasure, and even comfort. It’s imperative to realize that going long periods of time between meals, without snacks, can also lead to mindless eating. There are no rules saying you have to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, at certain times, each day, with no exceptions. If you decide to eat your favorite ice cream or overeat at your favorite restaurant it doesn’t mean that you have failed a healthy eating plan. Don’t let guilt overpower your thoughts, but most of all, don’t let emotions overpower your eating. Your GenoVive all-natural customized meal program can help you establish a healthy eating routine.
Remember, food is fuel. It has no morals. Food is neither good nor bad. It’s not compassionate or caring. Food is not a friend, a lover, or a therapist. Food is food. We need food to fuel our bodies and our minds. Without it we will not survive, but with too much we can jeopardize our future. A large percentage of people turn to food for comfort. A healthy balanced diet with positive thoughts toward food can be key to a healthy life.
Next time you’re bored, stressed or sad, try to find a coping mechanism other than food. Before you stick your fork in it, ask yourself, am I physically hungry or is my mind hungry? Try taking 10 deep breaths and refocusing your attention to something else, such as; reading a book or magazine, taking a walk, or journaling your thoughts. Motivate yourself to be aware of your body. Mindful eating is an important part of healthy eating. You’re the only you, so be the best you can be and fuel your body well. Every day is a new day; every meal is a new chance.
Tips for mindful eating:
Each morning the coffee pot pulls millions of Americans from the bed and into their kitchens. This is usually followed up by a mid-morning soda, one for lunch, and why not one in the afternoon. We have replaced water, nutrient dense beverages, such as milk, and the most important meal of the day with high caffeine and empty calories.
Is dehydration becoming an epidemic? We have thousands of items to choose from and normally, water is rarely chosen. Consuming water has many purposes, including; transporting nutrients in the blood to working muscles and carrying away metabolic by-products such carbon dioxide and lactic acid. Water can also play a key role in the digestion of food. What happened to all the water fountains? Most likely, a soda machine has replaced the age of water fountains. Even gas stations kept the word "fountain" in their promotion of fountain sodas. Fountain must be one of those thirst quenching words.
Other thirst quenching advertisement comes from that of sports drinks. There are times when high intensity athletes, such as marathon runners, need the fuel of a sports drink. Unfortunately, most of us use sports drinks for their flavor and sugary enjoyment. Although, a sports drink will hydrate the body and is always the smarter choice over a soda. We must remember moderation is key.
Most of us do not get the 8 cups of water a day and probably half of us don’t get 4 cups. Drinking dark soda delivers a double whammy. One is dehydration and the other is phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid from dark soda pulls the calcium from our bones and puts us at risk for osteoporosis. Research shows that women consuming 3 or more dark sodas per day had almost 4% lower bone mineral density in the hip. Our bodies were not meant for the elusive impact of the dark soda products. It is a threat upon human hydration and what is supposed to be consumed. We should not ingest the chemical components and additional additives from our endless supply of fast refreshments. It disgusts me to know friends drink what other friends use as car battery cleaner. These dark sodas must not be our source of nourishment or more problems shall persist.
As a country, community, and family we must pause to take a drink of water and feel the hydration form. Our addictions to soda and coffee have triggered a new epidemic of dehydration. I think keeping a metal water container close to your side throughout the day is one way of solving the issue. Avoid gas stations and convenience stores except to get gas is a good tip, since rarely anything nutritious comes from the inside of a gas station. I am not sure if we have the power to fully overcome dehydration, but being aware can change our thirst.
Signs of dehydration:
References
1. Soda and Osteoporosis: Is There a connection? By Gina Shaw. (2007). Retrieved July 2011, from http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/soda-osteoporosis?page=2
Exercise would have been a weird concept to people hundreds of years ago. The average life of a worker was very difficult before great advances in industry and technology. Merely staying alive and healthy required an enormous amount of physical effort. Some people barely grew or found enough food to support themselves. Most of us still work just as hard as we did back then, but not in a physical way. Now we have jobs that require enormous amounts of mental energy. We feel just as exhausted at the end of a long day at work, but our bodies don’t burn nearly as many calories as they used to during the day.
This busy but sedentary lifestyle leads to problems when it comes to losing weight. We’re eating the same amount of calories on average as we did many years ago, but we’re moving around a lot less. This leads to a pandemic of weight gain. People who want to maintain a healthy weight really have no choice but to exercise, but since we’re just as busy as we’ve always been, that can be a difficult task. You need to be able to make room in your schedule for exercise while still having time for work, family, household tasks and commuting. There are lots of different ways to do this even though it may require sacrifice.
One of the most popular ways to fit in exercise is to do it right before or after work. This way you can stop off at the gym to or from the office. If you exercise at home like you can on our customized exercise program, fitting in time for exercise can be even easier. You can do your routine while watching the morning news to start your day or listen to your favorite music. Don’t let your busy schedule be an excuse for not staying thin and healthy. Exercise will make you feel great, relieve depression, produce better sleep and help keep your mind focused during the day. Don’t fall into the sedentary trap that modern technology offers you, keep exercising!
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Jenny’s breakfast was wearing off and the thought of lunch was further than she knew. She could feel her hunger pangs coming on strong. On short notice, she was called into a lunch meeting with no lunch; this is when she accepted the fact she wouldn’t eat till home. What she didn’t realize is her body was at risk for hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia occurs when your blood sugar is used up too quickly, it is released into the bloodstream too slowly, or too much insulin is released into the bloodstream. In Jenny’s case, she had already used her glucose (blood sugar) from breakfast and was unable to refuel her body.
On Jenny’s ride home from work she could feel her body shaking and her head pounding. With her hunger pangs growing intensely, she knew that missing lunch was not the best choice. Skipping meals is a huge contributor to low blood sugar levels and overeating. Some symptoms of low blood sugar include blurred vision, feelings of nervousness, headaches, unclear thinking, but most of all feelings of aggression.
As Jenny walked in from her long day at work all she could think about was food. She headed straight for the kitchen to eat. Her husband tried to welcome her and she lashed out at him for leaving his shoes by the door. Her children tried to hug her but all she could do was yell at them for not working on their homework. After eating, her feelings of anxiety and shaky hands started to subside. She sat down next to her husband on the couch. She recapped what happened in the short period of time she had been home, and realized how angry and aggressive she was towards her family for an unknown reason.
Hypoglycemia can come on very rapidly or gradually depending on your body, medical conditions, and meal patterns. Skipping meals, waiting to eat your meal, exercising more, and drinking alcohol can contribute to low blood sugar levels. To avoid hypoglycemia, and avoid hunger wars altogether, we must develop a healthy pattern of eating.
Healthy eating patterns may consist of 3 small to medium meals along with a few daily snacks to avoid low blood sugar. Try not to go more than 3-5 hours between meals and snacks. Everyone is unique, so pay close attention to your body’s signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia. Carbohydrates are our main energy source and are found in whole grains/cereal/bread/pasta, starchy vegetables/dried beans, fruit, and dairy products. Carbohydrates help improve our blood sugar levels while proteins and fats help stabilize blood sugar in the body. Eating a variety of foods is very important to maintain a healthy diet.
Next time you feel anxious or cranky, take a step back and ask yourself, “Am I really angry or am I just hungry”?
References:
1. American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes--2011.
2. Hypoglycemia. (2011). Retrieved September 2011, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001423/
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Boredom is one of the leading reasons that people quit their exercise routines. The logic behind this is quite simple. Absent any entertainment or distractions, exercise is boring. Running on a treadmill or using an exercise bike in the same place hour after hour can get very tedious. Thankfully, we live in a technological age where we can bring entertainment with us wherever we go. MP3 players give us access to nearly limitless music while smart phones and tablets let us watch our favorite shows and movies wherever we happen to be. There is simply no excuse in modern times to be bored while exercising.
There are two types of entertainment when it comes to exercising: accompaniment and distraction. Most music can be placed in the category of accompaniment. This is because music can be used to create rhythm and flow during an exercise routine. For example, when you are on a treadmill or elliptical and a good song comes on you often feel the desire to exercise at the same beat as the song. The music also creates a sense of purpose to your workout routine, as if you were Rocky Balboa training to the Eye of the Tiger. Music creates a soundtrack to your routine that gives you the motivation to continue to the end.
Movies and television are in the category of distraction. Rather than becoming integrated in the workout like music does, video has the tendency to distract us from what is going on around us. It forces us to use both our sense of sight and sound to focus on what is happening on screen. Watching a television show or a movie helps us ignore the thumping of a treadmill or our own thoughts of wanting to quit because it’s too hard. Most custom exercise routines can be finished within the scope of a single television episode. You can also break up a movie into three different days of exercise.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
If you’re over a certain age, it’s likely that you haven’t seen a food pyramid in several decades. The food pyramid was a government guide written by the USDA as a guideline for what types of foods Americans should be eating in their daily diet. The pyramid originally focused on a diet heavy in grains, fruits and vegetables while deemphasizing dairy, meat and sweets. This came from a belief that meat and dairy products were a primary cause of the vast increase in heart disease that America was seeing throughout the 1970’s and 80’s.
One of the main criticisms of the food pyramid is that it is difficult to understand. It’s natural for people to read things from top to bottom, so someone reading the classic USDA pyramid may be under the impression that sweets and fats are the most important part of the diet even if the intention is to make them the least important. The pyramid is also bad at conveying exactly how much each type of food should be eaten. People naturally think in terms of percentages and fractions. Figuring out what portions of a pyramid represent certain percentages of a diet requires complex geometric equations that most people aren’t willing to do in their head.
In 2011, the USDA dramatically improved its food recommendations by coming out with a new MyPlate. MyPlate showed recommended food intake through representation on a plate. It showed fruits, vegetables, protein, grain and dairy as roughly equal size on a dinner plate, suggesting how much people should eat of each food group as a proportion of their daily diet. The problem with these suggestions, as was the problem with the pyramid, is that these recommendations still ignore the facts about macronutrients that DNA diets emphasize. They also ignore the fact that we all may have different challenges in metabolizing macronutrients according to our genetic profile.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
In a previous post we discussed how to read the nutrition facts portion of a nutrition label. That information is important for making sure that you are staying within your correct macronutrient balance as detailed in your DNA diet. It’s also important for measuring how many calories you are consuming throughout the day. While the nutrition facts give a nice overview of what is in a single serving of packaged food, the ingredients give you the gritty details. The list of ingredients goes in order from most abundant to least abundant. Specific amounts are not listed.
The ingredient list provides valuable information, but it’s important to realize its limitations. For example, a common ingredient listed for meat products is beef. Cows have lots of parts used for meat and are raised in a variety of different ways. So while the ingredient list may just say beef, we don’t know what part of the cow that beef came from or whether or not the cow was injected with hormones and antibiotics while it was growing. GenoVive uses only antibiotic and hormone free beef in its home delivered meals, but it would be almost impossible to find this information on your average nutrition label in the grocery store.
Ingredient lists are also infamous for including a lot of strange chemicals that most people aren’t really familiar with. Chemical compounds are found in almost all packaged foods. Just because you can’t recognize the name of a certain compound doesn’t mean it is bad for you. For example, some people may not be familiar with folic acid (an ingredient found in GenoVive’s Vegetable Minestrone), which is also known as Vitamin B9. This compound is essential for bodily functions, especially the synthesizing and repairing of DNA. If you are not familiar with a certain compound in the food you are eating, look it up. You may be pleasantly surprised or learn something new.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
All packaged food products sold in the United States are required to have a nutrition label by law, but many people do not know how to interpret the information on this label accurately. There are two main components of a nutrition label: nutrition facts and ingredients. Today’s blog will detail some of the information you will be able to discover in the nutrition facts section.
Serving Size – Pay attention to this closely. This is the weight or volume of a single serving inside a package that may contain multiple servings. Some people mistake the calories and macronutrients listed as a measurement for the whole package. This is rarely the case when it comes to most products from the grocery store. Meals and snacks from GenoVive contain only one serving, making them easy to understand. The following information on a label pertains to amounts that are in only one serving.
Calories – This is a measure of energy per serving. Keeping track of these throughout the day is helpful while you’re watching your weight.
Total Fat – This section lists total fat but also has subsections for saturated fat, monounsaturated fats and trans fat, depending on what the package contains. The percentage of the daily recommended value will also be listed on the right, as it will for all these sections. While you’re on GenoVive’s all-natural meal program which is customized for your DNA, the amount of fat in your program may differ from these recommendations which are general and not based on individual needs. Each gram of fat has 9 calories.
Sodium – Many people can have serious problems with excess sodium intake and there are different schools of thought from leading health organizations about the correct sodium levels. It’s best to consult with your doctor to determine how much salt in your diet is healthy.
Total Carbohydrates and Fiber– As with fat, carbohydrates will have subsections with dietary fiber and sugar. Your GenoVive meal program contains 20-24 grams of fiber each day. Your intake of sugar should be limited as much as possible, but is fine in moderation. Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram.
Protein – Great for maintaining and building muscle, protein is an essential macronutrient while dieting. As with the other macronutrients, the percentage of protein you need on your DNA diet will depend on your metabolic needs according to your genetic profile detailed in your GenoVive Weight Management Genetic Profile Report.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Upon immediate glance the connection between losing weight and getting enough sleep isn’t clear. Sleeping and eating are two different biological functions. We need both to survive, but on the surface the two don’t seem linked in any way. When you look deeper, like many scientists have, there is a very strong connection between how much sleep we get and how big our appetites are. It turns out that the less sleep you get the hungrier you are when awake. This is why getting plenty of sleep on a DNA diet is essential for success.
A recent study by the Neuroscience Department at the University of Uppsala showed that lack of sleep makes the brain hungry. Specifically, the study showed that a specific region of the brain that contributes to a person’s appetite sensation is more activated in response to food images after one night of sleep loss than after one night of normal sleep. This has serious implications for people looking to lose weight on their home delivered meal program. The more a person is enticed by food the more likely they are to cheat and cheat more often. The only way to combat this is to make sure to get a good solid 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night.
Getting enough sleep can be difficult for some people, either due to a busy schedule or from the break in routine that comes from starting a DNA diet. Good sleep patterns depend on stability and a solid routine. The healthiest and most preferred method to getting good sleep is to develop a consistent nightly schedule in which you go to bed at the same time in a darkened and quiet room. Many people like to watch TV as they fall asleep, but such noise can be a detriment to deep sleep patterns. If you find yourself having difficulty falling asleep after using this recommendation, contact a doctor. They may be able to help you find a healthy and natural way to get enough sleep and lose weight successfully.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Sugar used to be relegated to only special treats and special occasions. It was there for celebrations, for times when a certain food needed a certain kick or character beyond the ordinary. Things have changed with modern agriculture as sugar has invaded almost every aspect of food production. Look at any food label in the grocery store today and examine the ingredients. More likely than not, you will see sugar or its corn derived brother High Fructose Corn Syrup in nearly every packaged food available. The reason why this has happened is complicated and multi-faceted, but the results have been devastating to the health of a nation.
Excess sugar takes on many shapes and disguises in foods throughout the grocery store. Items like candy bars, donuts and ice cream are an obvious source of sugar that most people on diets avoid consciously because they often contain a lot of fat. Items like regular soda, fruit juice and fruit snacks also contain a lot of sugar. Their health effects may not be readily apparent to the uneducated because they are just “liquids” or because they have fruit in the name. Other sugar loaded items are even more devious. Many seemingly unsweetened items like frozen dinners, breaded chicken breasts and bread contain HFCS in order to enhance the flavor of poor quality products. It’s important to pay close attention to labels on foods in order to avoid excess sugar in a diet.
Actually finding items at the store that are low in sugar and HFCS is a challenge all in its own, which is why trying to buy food at the supermarket may not be the best option for finding healthy foods on a diet. A superior option may be to eat through a home delivered meal program like the one offered through GenoVive’s DNA diet. All-natural home meals delivered from GenoVive give you just the right amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients that your body needs for staying healthy and losing weight at the same time. There’s no need to worry about your food being laced with tons of excess sugar and HFCS.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Before the advent of modern society and mass agriculture, people had to struggle to get enough fuel in their bodies to survive. Sources of food were sometimes sparse and unpredictable. Cavemen and their contemporaries would sometimes have to travel vast distances and face fearsome predators in order to get enough nutrients to keep them and their families/tribes alive. The thought of a pre-historic human counting calories or weighing out just the right amount of bison meat is quite absurd. When food is scarce, you eat as much as you can when the food is available.
Unfortunately, we’ve kept this instinct to over eat into a period of history where food is abundant throughout the modern world. When we mix this abundance with an instinct to eat beyond our immediate needs, a recipe for obesity develops. Many of us can no longer depend on our own body mechanisms to keep a healthy weight. People who find themselves in this situation need a plan of action in order to overcome their evolutionary desires to over consume. Some can do this by pure will alone, but being unable to do so is not necessarily a sign of weakness.
Losing weight in these situations requires a weight loss plan that creates eating habits based on science, not instinct. This requires strict control and the willingness to listen to what the body needs, not necessarily what the body wants. The way that scientists have been able to make this distinction is through the field of study known as nutrigenomics. This field of science is applied to the public through DNA diets, controlling the nutrients we eat which interact with our genes.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
One of the primary ideals of capitalism is the ability of consumers to make choices. This ideal has diffused into a variety of different aspects of life, but none in a more pervasive way than in the food industry. People from only one hundred years ago would be amazed by the amount of choice available in an ordinary supermarket. Consumers are able to choose between large varieties of beef, pork, cereals, oats, frozen dinners, sugar laced sweets, soft drinks and high fat high sugar pastries.
We have been taught from early ages to value choice, but sometimes choice can be our enemy when it comes to weight loss. With almost every product claiming to be healthy in one way or another, we cannot rely on advertising or product labeling to really know what is good for us. Navigating the aisles has become a minefield of products that are anything but healthy. Many can have the complete opposite effects of what we are looking for on a diet. It’s practically impossible to make the right decision in the grocery stores without really knowing what you’re doing with reading nutrition facts and ingredient labels.
Thankfully, the grocery store is not the only option available for food when it comes to dieting. A DNA diet like the one offered through GenoVive offers a home delivered meal program that provides just the right foods in the right portions to help any individual lose weight. What is taken away when it comes to choice is given back in spades through better health, better quality and better results with GenoVive’s all natural foods. GenoVive’s carefully calculated meal program is a teaching tool that helps you learn what to eat, and how much to eat through repetition and developing new tastes for healthier foods over time. Most people on the program will quickly forget about missing choices when they taste the food and start to feel a difference in how great they feel each day.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Imagine waking up one morning and making the goal to become the President of the United States. If you paid attention to politics or history you would know that you would have to accomplish a lot before this could realistically happen. You’d have to develop positive ties to the community, get elected to local positions, refine your public image, get elected to higher level offices and then eventually get elected as something like a governor or senator, all while establishing a vast network of connections and raising lots of money for campaigns. Only then would you have a realistic chance of being elected president. It’s all about making small victories to form a path to a larger one. It works the same way for losing weight.
Creating smaller goals leads to lots of smaller victories. Let’s say you have a goal of losing 50 pounds on a diet. If that is your only goal, than you will have not accomplished anything until you have lost all 50 pounds. If you, however, create a series of smaller goals to lose 5 pounds, you can accomplish the same end result in the end all the while achieving a bunch of smaller victories. These small victories will provide a tremendous amount of confidence that can snowball into ever greater success.
These small victories are also much more manageable psychologically. The goal of losing 50 or 100 pounds may sound daunting, and that’s because it can be. Losing that amount of weight can take as long as a year or more. Maintaining that kind of motivation over such a long period of time without any goals successfully completed can be draining or depressing. Staying motivated over such a long period of time requires positive thinking and the belief that you can accomplish what you put your mind to on a DNA diet. Achieving a lot of smaller victories is a powerful way to maintain this mentality.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Up until only a few years ago, I considered fat my worst enemy. Not the type of fat that’s on our body, although I certainly didn’t like that either, but the dietary fat that is present in food. I was one of those people you see in the grocery store intently examining each and every food label and discarding any item that had any more than 2 grams of fat in it. In my mind, every gram of fat I ate would end up as a gram of fat in my body. To eat fat as a food was to become fat as a person. I bought most of the gimmick no fat products that were on the market at the time, even the products that later proved to be very unhealthy.
Even though I was avoiding fat almost entirely in my diet, however, I wasn’t losing weight. Not only that, but I was feeling constantly hungry. No matter how many low fat pasta dinners, snacks, crackers, chips and cookies I ate I felt constantly hungry. What I didn’t realize until much later is that by avoiding fat, I was consuming huge quantities of sugar, which was wreaking havoc on my blood sugar levels. Almost as soon as I finished eating an extremely low fat frozen dinner or snack I was hungry again, leading to almost constant eating. The plan I had put together to lose weight was actually causing me to gain.
This all changed when I finally found someone who knew something about food and they explained to me the magic of olive oil. At first I was put off, because olive oil is nothing but dietary fat. Then I learned that the fat we eat doesn’t just turn to fat in our bodies, it gets converted to energy and we use that energy just like we would from any other food. I also learned that olive oil contains a ton of really healthy molecules like antioxidants, monounsaturated fats and omega-6 fatty acids. These molecules help maintain a healthy body and studies show that they can lead to reduced risk of heart disease.
Even though fat is important to our diet, it’s important to remember that we should consume it in moderation. Fat from sources like fish and olive oil contain a lot of healthy things, but they still contain more than twice as many calories per gram than carbohydrates and protein. I’m glad GenoVive sees the importance of healthy fats and that they include these in their home delivered meals. They also know that these fats should be in the correct balance with the other macronutrient groups according to our unique genetic code. This allows us to reap the maximum amount of rewards from dietary fat without having to worry about gaining weight from it.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
It’s Friday night. And for some people, that means going out with friends for drinks and food at a bar or restaurant. A steady stream of frothing overflowing beer mugs, delectable plumb vodka soaked olives and sweet citrus mixed tequila drinks beckon, but so does the diet plan. “How can I go out and still have a good time without drinking?” we all ask. How many beers fit within my calorie limit for the day, how many margaritas? And it’s not only the drinks we worry about, but the “oh so delicious” greasy bar food: the cheesy potato skins, jalapeno poppers, deep fried artichoke and melted cheese carbohydrate overloads.
Completely abandoning a social life out at bars and restaurants is a significant sacrifice for some, but there are many people that choose to go that route. There are tons of opportunities to socialize and have a great time outside the bar scene. The key to this is finding a social atmosphere that doesn’t revolve around the consumption of alcohol and fatty foods. One of my favorite activities, and one that is becoming increasingly popular for younger people, is movie at home night. This is as simple as it sounds. You get a bunch of friends together at home and watch a movie on the big screen. This allows your friends to drink and eat whatever they want, and for you to enjoy access to your own healthy all-natural foods from your DNA diet.
If you’re serious about weight loss, then you know that you may have to sacrifice certain foods you love in order to reach your weight loss goal. But drinks that contain alcohol are also high in calories and carbohydrates, which may upset the carefully calculated balance of carbohydrates in your meal program. So be sure to let your friends know that you’ve made an important choice to get healthier by losing weight but that you still want to enjoy their company when you go out.
If you’re dedicated to the bar scene and going out, there is still hope. Many establishments nowadays are very conscious of the healthy eater. Some of them go out of their way to offer salads and other light dishes on the menu, so you can enjoy the company of your friends without sacrificing your path to weight loss. On your GenoVive customized meal program, you can have an alcoholic beverage on your “free day”. If you do choose to have alcohol, limit your servings and make the smart choices. If you’re going to have a cocktail, make sure to request diet soda or low sugar juices. Stick to one or two drinks at most. Alcohol not only has calories, but can reduce your inhibition and cause you not to care about breaking the rules of your diet. With good company and sensible snack choices, one drink can be more than enough to enjoy a night out with friends.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Dessert is one of the most enjoyable parts of life when it comes to eating. During the age of mercantilism in Europe, sweet imports like chocolate and sugar from South America and the Caribbean were some of the most expensive items you could find. Explorers and merchants would traverse huge oceans and combat natives to gain access to value crops and spices to bring back to their royalty and the wealthy elite. Nowadays, any person on the street can buy an ice cream cone or hot chocolate, letting all of us partake in the pleasures of delicious desserts.
With this wide availability of high calorie treats comes a cost. Many of the most popular desserts of our day are loaded with tons of fat and calories: ice cream, milk shakes, pies and cake with frosting. These types of items are ubiquitous in parties, weddings and tons of other celebrations, making them hard to avoid for people who find themselves at these types of functions often. It may sometimes feel like these high calorie treats are the only type of dessert available. This is simply not the truth.
Cultures that do not have ready access to refined sugar or dairy products don’t have the option of making things like ice cream or milk shakes. In many parts of the world, fruit is considered a dessert. Fruit has the benefit of being both very sweet but also relatively low calorie. Many Americans have become desensitized to the presence of sugar in their food and therefore don’t find fruit to be very delectable, but for those of us on a DNA diet that has reduced sugar levels, fruit can be quite the treat. GenoVive’s DNA diet also offers lots of snacks and dessert like items that are both healthy and low in calories like frappes, chocolate chip cookie bars, double chocolate brownie bars and cherry cashew bars.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Starting a new diet, exercise plan or home delivered meal program can be a huge lifestyle change. It’s not that unusual for some people to feel a wide variety of unpleasant symptoms like hunger or fatigue as their new healthy lifestyle starts to take shape. For some reason, many of our bodies and minds are very resistant to change. You may be one of these people, or you are close to someone who is. One of the fundamental issues with dieting is being able to adapt to new healthy eating habits and make them feel like normal ones. This is easy for some of us, but very challenging for others.
There are a lot of areas of life that offer very important lessons in the area of breaking from old habits. Smokers know all too well the difficulties of quitting an addiction, and let’s face it, some of us really do feel addicted to over eating. Quitting cold turkey is one of the more popular ways for smokers to quit, but quitting eating altogether is obviously not a viable option when it comes to dieting. We can quit eating certain foods cold turkey, especially foods that we know for a fact are very unhealthy: fast food burgers, deep fried starches, foods loaded with fat and sugar. When starting a new weight loss program like a DNA diet, quitting these high calorie unhealthy foods cold turkey is a great way to get used to new eating habits as quickly as possible. Many people make the mistake of trying extremely low calorie diets without the proper nutrients and enough calories to fuel their metabolism, which can lead to feelings of hunger and fatigue. On the GenoVive DNA customized diet, you’ll be eating plenty of real all-natural foods each day at the right calorie level for you.
Another lesson we can learn from people breaking off other addictive habits is that motivation is an extremely important component of success. Smokers find motivation from the knowledge that smoking causes numerous health problems, or that smoking causes stained teeth or a foul odor. Dieters can use the numerous health problems that arise from obesity as motivation to break their bad habits. Many of us respond to positive motivation much better than negative, however, so focusing on future good healthy, feeling thinner, fitter and more attractive are all more powerful than responding to the threat of future illness. Either way, we can incorporate the lessons learned from all different types of addictions to help us succeed in weight loss, ultimately leading us to a far happier and healthier life.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Jody hated to exercise. Her trainer advised her to work out three days a week, and each of those days proved to be an enormous struggle. She often made excuses not to go, such as not getting enough sleep, not feeling quite right or having too much work to do. While she was able to stick to her routine during the first few weeks, she eventually found herself skipping work outs more and more often before she ended up quitting altogether.
Jody’s problem wasn’t that the exercise was too difficult. In fact, she thrived during the most intense portions of her routine, and afterwards she always said she felt like a million bucks. The problem for her was getting the motivation to go in the first place. This was because she was looking at her exercise routine as if it were a job. She felt as if the gain she was getting out of her routines wasn’t worth the effort that she was putting into it. She needed an additional source of motivation that wasn’t coming from the simple promise to lose weight.
Jody’s trainer advised her to find a workout partner, someone she could enjoy working out with and who she could be accountable too. After talking to several of her friends, she found someone who was not only on a similar type of custom exercise routine, but was trying to exercise through a very similar schedule. Almost immediately Jody started her workout program once again, this time with the company of her friend. Rather than feel the dread of future workouts as if it were a bad job, Jody found herself constantly looking forward to her exercise days. She and her friend often found themselves smiling and laughing throughout their work outs and discussing them fondly after they were over. For the first time she discovered something that not only made her healthier and happier, but something she loved to do as well.
Your GenoVive exercise program has the right level of intensity to match your calorie burning potential according to your genetic profile. The routines are easy to learn from watching the online videos and you can do them at home (with your favorite music or even while you watch TV) or at the gym.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
School lunches have been a big point of concern in the fight against childhood obesity and effort to create healthy kids. Many school lunches of the past were ridiculously unhealthy, containing known sources of fatty foods such as pizza and French fries. Schools sold these products because they were readily available, kids seemed to love them, and they fit within their budgets. For these same reasons, unhealthy and high calorie food has enormous presence in the lunches of everyday working Americans.
Your average office break or lunch room is not much better than the school cafeterias of the recent past. They will often contain a vending machine full of sugar and fat as well as high calorie sodas and fruit drinks. The temptation to purchase these easily accessible treats is sometimes overwhelming on a busy or stress filled day, but when purchasing these items becomes a habit, they can mean a huge obstacle to our weight loss success. That’s why planning ahead and sticking to your home delivered meal program is such a valuable resource in fighting the temptations of the break room.
It’s not only vending machines that are a challenge during lunch, however. Office friends often love to go out to lunch to unhealthy local favorites or big chains that offer burgers, fries and overstuffed sandwiches. But going to these places with your friends doesn’t mean that you have to eat the unhealthy food.
You can bring along the all-natural GenoVive snacks or meals to keep you satisfied, or pick something from the menu that fits within your DNA tested macronutrient balance and has a reasonable amount of calories. Either way, finding a healthy lunch during your busy work day doesn’t have to be difficult. You can also challenge your coworkers to a “bring your own lunch” day and use the time you would have spent traveling to a restaurant to take a walk outside, enjoy conversation, and get some stress relieving fresh air and light exercise.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
You’re probably familiar with all of the popular excuses used by people to quit their diet and exercise plans; maybe because you have used them yourself at one time. I’m too tired. It’s too hard to stick with. The food doesn’t taste good. I’m too busy. We use these excuses because our resistance to change is more powerful than our will to succeed. There is very little truth in them. They are simply rationalizations for our failure of will, something we tell ourselves to alleviate the guilt we feel when we don’t succeed. We can only overcome this problem when we realize that rationalizing against better health is our worst enemy when it comes to losing weight.
A great way to overcome the cycle of excuses is to attack the reasoning behind them head on. The most often used excuse is the claim of being too busy to diet properly. For some reason there is a pervasive myth that it is harder to eat healthy on a busy schedule, or that eating healthy requires an inordinate amount of time. The truth is that eating healthy requires very little time, especially if you are on a home delivered meal program like the one offered through Genovive’s DNA diet. Even after you are done with the full program, cooking healthy meals can take as little as 10 minutes.
The busy excuse is also used to skirt exercise routines. There may be some people trying to lose weight that may not have any time for anything other eating, sleeping, working and taking care of our families. The rest of us, however, spend a lot of time doing things like browsing the Internet, watching TV, drinking coffee, gossiping with friends and other leisure activities that could easily be substituted out for a custom exercise routine. Effective exercise for weight loss can take as little as 30 minutes three times per week, and your custom exercise program will have you doing the routine that is best for your type of body.
Take a few minutes and think about how you are really spending your time each day. You may find more “non-productive” time than you think you have to spend exercising and establishing a routine for better long-term wellness.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Technology has made our modern lives better in a lot of ways, but in a way it has made things worse. When it comes to the diet world, technology has proven to be both an asset and a detriment. Technology allows us to create vast amounts of food and transport it lots of places, but that makes the ability to over eat much easier. Some of us are especially affected by this, as our bodies tell us to over consume even when there is really no need to. Thankfully, technology has also brought us many tools to help fight our tendencies to gain excess weight.
One of the primary ways that technology has helped the dieting world is through the mapping of the human genome. Thanks to discoveries in molecular biology, we now know more than ever the role that genes play in the processing of food we eat. We also know that individuals metabolize food in different ways. What this means for weight loss and weight management is staggering; because a one size fits all solution to losing weight is no longer viable.
GenoVive is taking advantage of this knowledge in order to construct a diet that is catered to the unique genetic code we all have. Customization is the basis for this comprehensive solution including a home delivered meal program, nutritional supplements and an exercise program. These aspects of the DNA diet will be constructed to help maximize weight loss according to research done in the field of nutrigenomics. Even after you have lost the weight and transition out of the full meal program, you can use the knowledge you have gained about your genetics to maintain a healthy weight and body.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Dieting is one of those things for people that can be a lifelong problem. This is because eating is an everyday part of life, and thus requires an everyday solution. It is not a problem that can just be ignored most of the time, and only to be caught up with at a later date. Changing eating habits and getting into an exercise routine requires dedication and enough motivation to want to succeed. Without those things, losing weight becomes exponentially more difficult.
Part of the problem for many people is that they simply don’t know what direction to go in. The amount of weight loss foods in grocery stores these days is staggering. They all make fantastic claims like “all natural, zero fat and low carb,” but without context, none of these things mean anything. It’s possible for someone to eat nothing but low fat products in the store and gain weight because of the excess sugar. Losing weight requires more planning than just shopping for products making certain claims.
DNA diets like the one offered by GenoVive try to solve this issue by providing a comprehensive diet plan that includes home delivered meals and a custom exercise program that works with your level of fitness. This plan will provide the focus on a diet that a person needs so that they can focus on staying motivated rather than trying to figure out what does and doesn’t work. This plan will not only work to lose weight, but can be used as a tool far into the future for maintaining a healthy weight and positive eating habits.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
The modern life is a busy one, fully of phone calls, video conferences, driving to and from appointments, meetings, social gatherings, sleep, eat quick meals and all the other ways we’ve adapted to the conditions of modern life. With all of these things going on, it may seem difficult to create time in your schedule for exercise. But just like with most things, when there is a will there is a way. You’ll have to decide whether or not exercise is important enough to push some of the other things out of the way, and if your goal is to lose weight and get healthy, it should be important enough.
The good news is that the GenoVive custom exercise program does not need to take up that much of your time, only up to an hour a day. Most of the exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home by walking in your neighborhood or adapted for use at your gym. Not only that, but they are customized to work at your own level of fitness and designed to teach you about the right intensity of exercise that works best for you. If you have concerns about your ability to do a particular exercise, you should skip it or start slowly with other exercises as you build strength. And always speak with your physician first before starting a new exercise routine.
If you still think that you don’t have the time in your schedule to exercise, it’s time to evaluate the time you spend more carefully. Write down everything that you do in a day on a daily planner or spreadsheet. Evaluate each item and give it a level of importance. Obviously items like sleep, eating, and working are essential, but there are probably some things on there that you simply can do without. Maybe cut out that daily trip to the coffee shop. Or instead of watching your favorite show on the couch, watch it while walking on the treadmill.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
The holidays are used as a major excuse for people to eat more than they normally would and cheat on their weight loss plans. But now that the holidays are over, the cheating is over, right? Not quite, because when it comes to indulging an appetite, some of us will use any excuse possible to over eat and cheat on our DNA diet. Whether it is positive things like birthdays, promotions, graduations, parties or negative events we will sometimes use any excuse we can muster to eat high calorie food and not pay attention to how many calories we are putting into our bodies.
Chastising ourselves for basic human desire, however, is not a good way to go about improving our diet success. The key to battling the cravings we get for “special occasions” is to recognize why we get these cravings and the best way to satisfy them without making things worse. The first step is to recognize that using special occasion excuses to over eat is an emotional issue. Many of us who are overweight have learned to use food to subdue our erratic emotional states. Recognizing the times when we are doing this is essential to being able to stop it.
A DNA diet provides the structure and information to be able to make an informed decision while dieting rather than an emotional one. This is part of the reasoning behind a home delivered meal program. If we have ready to go healthy food already planned out for a meal, we are way less likely to go outside of the plan and overeat than if we just a generic goal of eating healthy. The GenoVive home delivered meal program makes it easier for us to substitute in things like socializing, hobbies and interests to satisfy our emotional states rather than over eating.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
The human body is probably the most complex machine on the planet earth, and like any other machine, it requires energy. But unlike mechanical machines, humans are capable of consuming far more energy than what they actually need. The way the body stores this excess energy is through fat deposits for later use. This was a very useful feature before food was abundant, but now that our food supply is secure in the western world, these fat deposits never go away and just build over time.
Our DNA helps determine how the nutrients we eat turn into energy in our bodies. Each individual can have different challenges in their metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. You probably recognize this in people who can eat pretty much whatever they want but never gain any weight. Other people seem to have the opposite problem, where seemingly every calorie they eat turns into fat cells on their thighs and stomach.
DNA diets work because they account for these variances in our metabolism. This happens when you first join GenoVive and your DNA is analyzed by our lab. GenoVive puts together your gender, age, height and weight plus your individual genetic profile to determine what is going to work best for you on a diet. You’ll quickly find that your diet is quite different than whatever one size fits all programs you’ve seen before. That’s because the diet has been customized just for you. You’ll see and feel the difference with GenoVive.
Leave us a comment. Please log in to Gen-V first then click the "Add new comment" link
Please consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program. The information provided in this blog is not intended to prevent, diagnose or treat any medical condition and should not replace the advice of your physician.
DISCLAIMER
Please consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program. The information provided by GenoVive and contained in this website is not intended to prevent, diagnose or treat any medical condition and should not replace the advice of your physician. If you experience pain or physical difficulties while eating a reduced calorie diet or during exercise, please stop and contact your physician immediately. Admin.
