Tip of the Day June 30, 2013

It's been a month since I started the Tip of the Days series. Tell me,what do you guys thing of it? Is it helpful? Let me know in the comments below!

Anyway, here is today's tip.

Here, where I live, the weather has been reaching 100 degrees +. I know that it's best not to exercise during the hottest part of the day. Heat stroke, dehydration and all of that are at higher risk when exercising in high degree weather. So, if you want to work out, it's best to exercise in the early morning or late evening. Those are when the temperature are at its coolest and the sun won't be too much in your way (if you workout outside).

I hope this helps!

Again, let me know in the comments below if these tips are helpful!

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Tip of the Day June 29, 2013

Don't you just love the vending machines at work? They're filled with goodies like candy, cookies and once in a while, pretzels. Sorry. That was me being sarcastic. Here's what I'm trying to get at. You're hungry at school or work and you want something to eat. Vending machines are everywhere at the workplace and schools (especially universities). You decide to spend the dollar or two to feed your hunger. You enjoy your M8M's, skittles, cookies, chips, whatever it may be. You feel satisfied for a while, then you get hungry again. Don't buy the vending machine snacks. Here are my top two reasons why:

1. You are wasting your money.
2. The snacks usually aren't healthy and don't fill you up for long. 

So, what can you do?

Always carry some healthy snacks with you. If you're at work or school, bring some homemade trail mix, fresh fruit, granola bars (look at the nutrition facts!), or other healthier snacks you may want to bring. It's much cheaper bringing something from home and your waistline and wallet will thank you. 

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Tip of the Day June 28, 2013

This tip is more of a non-nutrition, non-exercise tip. However, it can help you in other ways.

This is more of a mental exercise, for those that may need more of a confidence boost. I've noticed lately that confidence and self-esteem have become more of a problem as social media becomes more dominant in our lives.

We compare ourselves to these celebrities in social media and these other "famous" people that are in magazines, TV shows, movies, etc. I'm not saying everyone does, but there are people who do.

To combat this and stop thinking down on yourself, I want you to do this exercise.

Write down at least 5 good things about yourself. It can be about anything. Realize that you do have good qualities. Here are my 5 things:

1. I have a nice smile. Everyone always compliments me on that.  
2. I know how to bake at least decently. The people that have tried them love my baked goods. 
3. I am open and honest. I know when something is my fault and I take responsibility for it.
4. I am consistent when it comes to exercise. I know exercise and physical activity is important, so I do my best to at least exercise 5 days a week. 
5. Last, but not least, my legs. That is something I've been debating about though. I wish my legs (especially my thighs) would be smaller, but people say I have nice legs. So, I guess I have to agree with them then. It's still taking me a while for it to sink in, but I'm getting there. After all, my legs are muscular and I am able to do more physical activity without getting tired too easily. With more muscle, I can run faster. I can hike and not get as tired. 

It was hard thinking of this list. However, once you start thinking more positively about yourself, you'll have more confidence and self-esteem. =)

Tip of the Day June 27, 2013

Are you finding it difficult to find time to work out? Then, schedule it in and make it a routine. If you are a morning exercise person, then exercise in the morning! The important thing is to be consistent. Walk, ride bike, run, whatever physical activity it may be. Do it.

Do you have a routine you follow everyday? I mainly do. =)

Tip of the Days

Tip of the Day June 25, 2013

Do you want to sneak in some exercise? Well, have no fear! Take simple steps into adding physical activity into your life. Start off by walking, playing a sport, or riding a bike. Those, you can do with friends too! It'll make exercise not seem like exercise!

Tip of the Day June 26, 2013

Summer is here. So, it's important to hydrate (with water)!
If you exercise, be sure to drink water before exercising! You don't want to get dehydrated during a workout.
Remember, an active individual will need to drink more water than an individual who is sedentary. Same with the environment! If you live in humidity, your water intake may be different from when you are up in the mountains. It's also affected by cold and hot environments.

My weekend

My weekend was busy but fun!

I have no pictures but I will tell you, it was great.

On Saturday, I went to karaoke with cousins. It was so much fun. We had a great time singing and eating the appetizers. We had fried tofu, fried calamari, french fries, and fried chicken wings. The tofu was good. =)

We spent like 2 hours at the karaoke place, though the karaoke room wasn't that nice. It was suppose to be a medium room too. According to one of my cousins, the small karaoke room in China was much bigger and much nicer. At least the experience was fun.

After, we went to In-N-Out Burger for dinner and then went to my cousin's place. There, we ate our meal and then we did more karaoke. It was great.

On Sunday, which was yesterday, I went to the mall. I went to so many stores, including Macy's, cutegirl.com, Aero, Victoria's Secret, Forever 21, Love Culture, JcPenny, Wet Seal, and some other stores I forgot. I ended up buying some things from Victoria's Secret and this cute romper thing from cutegirl.com. I have no clue what it's actually called.The bottom is black shorts, but it's like connected to a peachy colored top. I think it's called a romper, at least. I also ended buying a skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks.

I forgot to mention Friday. Work was great. But, before going to work, I went to Fluid and they had nutella cookies. NUTELLA! I just had to try them. And, guess what. I did. I bought it, I ate it. I savored every bite. And, it was DELICIOUS! I don't regret eating this either. It's okay to indulge once in a while. I also bought their veggie burrito, which was amazing as well. I was hesitant to eat it with potatoes inside but they said it tastes great with potatoes. I agree.  I also bought an iced coffee from them too.

I guess that's it for now. I had a stats exam on Wednesday, which went alright. Summer classes can get you pretty busy.

Anyway, how was your weekend?
Did you do anything exciting or fun?

Tip of the Day June 24, 2013

Are you trying to get your family into healthy eating?

Well, here are a few tips to slowly build on healthy eating habits.

1. Get your family involved with food shopping. Teach them the importance of eating whole grains, fruits and vegetables. 
2. If you must, substitute healthier ingredients for the dishes your family likes. They may notice a little difference, but if it doesn't taste bad, they'll adapt and enjoy it. 
3. Last, but not least, make the food look appetizing. If it appeals to their senses, they'll most likely want to at least try eating it. 

I hope this helps!

Do you have any tips of the transition to eating healthier foods? 

Tip of the Day June 23, 2013

Are you finding it difficult to add physical activity in your life? You may be working, doing housework,  going to school, taking the kids to their lessons and what not, but it's possible to get your physical activity in for the day. One of the best ways to get it in is to schedule it in! Make it part of your day. If you tend to push things back. do it first thing in the morning. 

If you are still finding it difficult, do small amounts of exercise throughout the day when you can. Doing 10 minutes of activity per every hour for 6 hours will equal to one hour of activity. So, if you can, squeeze it in! 

How do you find time to exercise or do physical activity?

Tip of the Day June 22, 2013

Eat dinner around the table instead of eating in front of the TV. You won't mindlessly eat and you get to enjoy company with your family or whoever you are living with. Your feeling of satiety will be detected sooner too, since you're paying more attention to what you eat instead of watching TV. You'll be less likely to overeat.

Obesity now a Disease??? Really?

As all of you heard by now, obesity is now classified as a disease by the American Medical Association, AMA. 

One of the two "good" things I see from this is that physicians will now be more alert to obesity and will try to treat it. However, just talking about weight can be tricky with patients. Even with it being a disease, it's still difficult. It doesn't matter if one calls it a disease or not. 

Diseases are often treated with medication. Now that obesity is a disease, it'll probably be treated with medication. Instead of trying to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle, people will be using shortcuts to losing weight. It won't help out in the long run if these people don't adopt healthier lifestyles. 

What should happen is PREVENTION. Instead of trying to treat obesity, we need to prevent it. It's all about nutrition education and physical activity! People don't realize that they can still buy nutritious healthy food that is NOT expensive. Some may have read wrong information. 

Another concern is that, I don't believe obesity is a disease. For the most part, it is a choice (except for the very few with genetic conditions). Obesity is a combination of things. It could be stress, high blood pressure, self-esteem, laziness, etc. 

Prevention is the best method. However, if one is obese, they do need to be educated about living a healthy lifestyle. The 2nd good thing I see is that insurance may be able to cover a visit to a Registered Dietitian. These people will learn how to eat healthier. 

Those are my thoughts on this issue. What are your thoughts?

The Tips of the Day for the past 3 days.

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I didn't post the tip of the day since the 18th. I've been so busy! Here are the tips, finally. =)

June 19, 2013

Do you find it hard to stop drinking soda? Switch to flavored water or unsweetened tea. Instead of drinking soda with your lunch, drink water or unsweetened tea. I'm sure not many people like the carbonated feeling after drinking soda.

June 20, 2013

Don't eat dinner in front of the TV. Actually, don't eat snacks while watching TV or watching movies. You'll snack mindlessly and you will soon realize you hit the bottom of the huge bag of chips you just bought. Instead, do workouts such as push-ups, squats, lunges or hula-hooping. You can get your exercise in by watching TV or movies. But, if you must eat something, at least portion it out so that you only eat one serving of it.

June 21, 2013

Are you feeling stressed? Go walk it off. Exercise! It'll help you relieve some stress. Walking, running, yoga, they all help.


I hope these tips help!

Vlog on my first year (finally!)

Hey everyone! I finally made a vlog about my first year of college. I'm so sorry about the long delay. I used my phone to record it because my webcam wasn't working that well. Sorry for the quality!
Also, I didn't go into too much detail in my vlog because I like to keep the privacy of my friends and that stuff.

I can say that I made great new friends and I had a great time. I had a first interesting year.

Oh. And here's a quick picture I took, while I'm not smiling. It's not the best picture, but oh well. I was hula hooping while taking it. I know. I'm awesome like that. I hula hoop while reading a book or watching tv or movies. I can't just sit there reading or watching movies. I feel lazy if I don't do something active while doing those things. I hula hoop for like an hour!

If you've already gone through college, what did you learn from your first year?
If you're going to go into college, what questions do you have?

Tip of the Day June 18, 2013

Don't fall for the "Fat-Free" trap on packaged foods. Though they may be lower in fat, it doesn't mean they are lower in calories! Most of the time, companies substitute by adding extra sugar to the product to give it a better taste that was lost from removing the fat.

Another thing to remember is that, companies are allowed to say their product is "fat-free" as long as there is less than 0.5 grams of fat PER SERVING. So, if you are eating two servings, you just consumed 1 gram of fat. Keep that in mind!

And, I'm sure you guys know it's best to stay away from trans fat.

Life Updates

Hey hey everyone. How are you guys doing today?

I'm so sorry I haven't been keeping you guys updated. The past week has been so busy!

I started my summer classes. I'm taking a statistics class. It's 3 hours, 4 days a week. Then, there's 3 hours of homework every night. You can kind of expect that because they're fitting 16 weeks worth of material into just 6 weeks.

There's a lot of homework and studying involved in summer courses. Take it if you can manage it.

Anyway, mi cumpleaños was the past week and it was a normal, relaxing day. I had a family birthday party the weekend before this past weekend. I went to work on my birthday, of course. But, guess what. When I went to Fluid, the coffee shop I always go into, they gave me a free breakfast sandwich since it was my birthday.

It was so nice of them to give me one. It was a veggie sandwich in a English muffin with Chipotle Sauce. It was so good. 

Another present I received was two mosquito bites. Very fun. The last time I got mosquito bites was last year in China! 

There hasn't been really much going on the past week though. Well, I did hang out with my cousins on Saturday. I taught them how to bake the Chinese pineapple buns (bolo bao). It was fun. With the leftover cookie topping, we tried making a turtle. 

However, after we baked it, this is how it turned out. 

It kind of looks like the android icon, right? We were so disappointed that the turtle didn't keep its shape. Well, at least the cookie tasted good! 

My Father's Day was fun too. We started off the day with a family walk. At the end of the day, we had a family party/potluck. I baked cookies to bring to the potluck. 

Well, I guess that's it for now. My next post (that is not the tip of the day post) WILL be a vlog about my first year of college. 

So,

What have you been up to lately?

How was your weekend?

Tip of the Day June 17, 2013

Did you indulge this weekend because of Father's Day?

Well, don't worry! It's okay to enjoy time with family. Just go back to eating how you usually eat. If you are worried, try eating a bit more healthier than you usually do this week or workout just a little bit longer this week. But, it's nothing to worry about as long as you don't indulge too often. Remember, everything in moderation!

Do you indulge whenever a holiday comes along? How do you deal with it?

Tip of the Day June 16, 2013

Do you want to make a dish a bit healthier? Try swapping ingredients for healthier alternatives. 

• For example, you can use greek yogurt in place of mayo or sour cream. 
• Avocados can be used in place of some mayo if you like making deviled eggs. 
• Use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. If you don't like the taste of whole wheat flour, substitute half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat. 

Those are a few simple swaps you can use when baking or cooking. 

What is your favorite recipe that you make healthier by swapping ingredients with healthier alternatives? 

Tip of the Day June 15, 2013

Hey everyone! This week has been a busy week but I'll talk about it later in another post. But, for now, here's the tip of the day.

The weather is getting warmer now and the sun is setting at a later time. So here's a tip. After dinner, go for a nice stroll around the block. Even better, if you live near a park, go walk through the park with your family. It's a great time to bond and get moving. After all, you guys probably want to go out on a nice summer evening, right?

Tip of the Day June 13-14, 2013

Hey hey everyone. I'm sorry I haven't been posting the Tip of the Day every single day. I've been so busy with summer classes! I know, no excuses.

Anyway, here are the tips of the day.

June 13, 2013

Eat breakfast! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If your stomach doesn't handle food well in the morning, drink a smoothie or eat something light. Eating breakfast will increase your metabolism, energy and focus!

June 14, 2013

Do you feel hungry after one hour of eating a meal? Drink water first before grabbing something to eat. The body mistakes thirst for hunger sometimes.

Tip of the Day June 12, 2013

Eat your fruits and vegetables! Need help getting them in? Here are a few great tips!

1. If you love pizza, you don't have to give it up. Make it healthier by using a whole grain crust and add vegetables as toppings! 
2. Make a breakfast smoothie with bananas, yogurt,milk, and strawberries! It's a delicious way to get in some fruit. 
3. Do you love eggs? Try making an omelette stuff with vegetables. Go ahead and add some cheese to it too. It's a delicious way to get in your vegetables and some calcium. 

As you see, it's easy to get in your fruits and vegetables. They even taste great too!

Tip of the Day June 10 and June 11, 2013

Hey hey everyone. Sorry about not posting yesterday. It was my first day of summer classes and I was so busy! Anyway, here are the tips of the day for yesterday and today.

June 10, 2013

Life these days can be really stress. To help with this, take a few minutes a day to sit, clothes your eyes and take a few deep breaths. It will help calm you down a little.

Another thing you can do is do yoga, You'll gain flexibility and strength along with the benefits of relieving some stress.

June 11, 2013

Eating healthy during the week can be a hassle when you're always so busy. Here are two tips you can follow to make eating healthy a little easier in your busy lives.

1. Plan your meals. It'll be easier on you when you know what you are going to eat. You don't have to spend a lot of time of thinking about what to eat, or even worse, eating out. 
2. Prepare some meals or foods before hand. Refrigerate them. It'll make things so much easier throughout the week. Just grab and go on the run. 

How do you guys handle stress?

What are your tips for eating healthy when you're living busy lives?

Tip of the Day June 9, 2013

Hi everyone. I have had a busy day. Anyway, I will still give you the tip of the day.            
Try going vegetarian once a week. Americans these days consume a lot of red meat. Red meat contains a lot of saturated fat. Eating vegetarian once a week can help reduce the consumption of saturated fat. Just choose one day of the week to eat meatless.

Tip of the Day June 8, 2013

Hey hey everyone. It's the weekend and I know that some people have their cheat day or meal on the weekends.

I just wanted to give a few tips on having a cheat day/meal. First of all, before eating, decide what you are craving for your cheat meal. Decide if you really want it. If you do, then let yourself eat it. Just eat one serving. Don't binge on it and eat too. It's all about moderation.

It's okay to treat yourself to foods that aren't that healthy. It won't derail your fitness/health goals. It's all about balance and moderation.

Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 and Zongzi 粽子 (Rice Dumpling)

Hey hey everyone! How are you guys doing today?

Guess what Chinese holiday is coming up soon? You guessed it right (hopefully, from seeing what food is pictured). It's the Dragon Boat Festival or the 端午节. Here's more information on the Dragon Boat Festival

Usually during the Dragon Boat Festival, people make zongzi, or rice dumplings. They are absolutely delicious!  

I posted my mom's zongzi recipe before. So, here's the link to it. My mom learned how to make it from her grandmother. And, I always watch my mom make it (she doesn't want me to, afraid I'll mess things up). Anyway, that's just a little bit of culture I wanted to throw in. 

The festival is on June 12, 2013.  

Tip of the Day June 7, 2013

Do you know how many calories you're suppose to consume daily? It's important to know so that it can help with weight maintenance (or weight loss), depending on your goals.  Here's how you calculate it.

Step 1:
Calculate your BMR, which is your Basil Metabolic Rate.

1kcal/kg body weight/hour X 24 hours/day

example:

50 kg/hr X 24 hours = 1200 kcal/hour

Step 2:

Estimate your activity level
Sedentary/Inactive   Men: 24-40 % Women 25-35% 
Lightly Active         Men 50-70%   Women 40-60 %
Moderately Active    Men 65-80 %  Women 50-70 %
Heavily Active         Men 90-120%  Women 80-100%
Exceptionally Active Men 130-145% Women 110-130%

This woman is considered moderately active because she exercises 4 or 5 days a week.

Step 3

Multiply your BMR by the decimal equivalent of the lower and higher percentage values for your activity level.

1200 X 0.7 = 840

Then add it to your BMR to find your total daily energy output.

1200+840= 2040

This woman needs to consume 2040 calories to maintain her current weight.

Remember, ever consume below your BMR.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Whole Wheat Cookies

Hey hey everyone! How are you guys doing? Well, I'm doing fine, thank you very much. My first year of college ended like a week or two ago. I can't believe how fast it went! Time flew by so quickly! I definitely have to say that my 2nd semester was much better than my first. I will write a reflection (or do a vlog) about my first year of college. Hopefully soon, but we'll see.

Anyway, I'm here today to share this peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe with you. As you know, I love sweets. I also love cookies. Chocolate chip cookies, that is. However, I didn't want to make a full batch of cookies. So, I improvised and it resulted in 7 decent sized cookies. They taste pretty good too! They're almost all gone (whoops..). Anyway, I guess it's not all MY fault. My siblings love cookies too.

So, here's the recipe for the cookies. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup (or less) chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup white sugar*
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoon peanut butter 
• 1 egg

*You can also use 2 tablespoon brown sugar and 2 tablespoon white sugar instead. 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
2. In a bowl, mix together the sugar, olive oil, peanut butter and egg. 
3. Sift together the flour and baking powder and add it to the wet ingredients. 
4. Form 2 tablespoon shape balls and place them on a baking sheet. 
5. Bake for 10-11 minutes. 
6. Take the out, let them cool and enjoy!

It's that simple to make! 

I also baked some whole wheat chocolate chip banana muffins yesterday and my brother loves them! He says I'm the best baker ever. I guess it's because I put a lot of chocolate chips in them and he loves chocolate chips. Here's a picture of the muffins and here's the link the recipe (using whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour). 

Do you like chocolate chip cookies?

Do you try to "healthify" unhealthy foods? 

Tip of the Day June 6, 2013

As you know, summer is coming up and it means HEAT! The problem with heat, however, is that foods tend to spoil faster. Bacteria love the heat. Here are some tips to help prevent food-borne illness.

1. When shopping for food, pick up refrigerated and frozen foods last. Watch for unsanitary practices and conditions inside the store. Refrigerate or freeze perishable foods within one hour of purchasing. 
2. Put meant, poultry, and seafood in the coldest part of the refrigerator. If you're not going to cook it within 48 hours, store them in the freezer. 
3. After cooking a meal, the food should be refrigerated within 2 hours of serving. 
4. Cook meats until it's thoroughly cooked.  (click on the link to find out what the internal temperatures should be for meats)

Having a food-borne illness is not a fun thing. Hopefully, these tips help.

Changing my Routine

I changed my workout routine.

WHY? 

I changed it because I feel that weight lifting isn't for me. Yes, I will be doing strength training but it won't be in the form of lifting weights.

Instead, I will be doing body weight exercises along with yoga.

You see, I want my body to be like how it was a couple years ago. In my opinion, I had the right amount of muscle and fat. My weight was perfect too. At this time, I did yoga nearly everyday and I ran for 20-30 minutes. Here's a picture.

And here's a picture of me from last year in Hong Kong, before I started lifting weights. I also had increased the amount of exercise I do.

My thighs (now) have grown in size due to muscle and I don't like it. I liked how my body looked BEFORE I started lifting weights in the weight room. I'm hoping that changing my routine back to the running and yoga will help lengthen and lean out my thighs a little bit.

It's also good to change your routine once in a while, which is also why I'm changing it. It's good to have muscle. It's good to strength train. But, lifting weights is not for me.

I will still do body weight exercises (push-ups, squats, lunges) and yoga, but I won't be lifting weights. Hopefully, that's enough for me to preserve some muscle.

How often do you change your workout routine?

Do you think it's beneficial to change your workout routines?

Do you have any advice on how to lean out muscular legs (thighs in particular)?

Tip of the Day June 5, 2013 and Happy National Running Day!

Hey everyone. It's National Running Day. Happy National Running Day. How are you getting your running it? Are you going to run today?

I ran today and it felt so good! I ran 4 miles today and walked 2.

It's funny that today is National Running Day because today's tip is about getting exercise in.

There are 1440 minutes in one day. Just spend at least 30 minutes doing physical activity. Those 30 minutes is a big step in improving your health. Here are 3 tips that can increase your physical activity throughout the day.

1. Exercise while watching TV. Do you watch shows such as the Voice or watch the news? It's a perfect time to get exercise in. You can go on the treadmill, do sit-ups, push-ups or any other types of exercises. 
2. Walk/bike as often and far as possible. Ride your bike to school or work if you are able to. Park your car as far away as you can so that you'll have to walk farther. 
3. Take a fitness class, such as yoga or dancing. It'd be a fun way to hang out with friends and get in some physical activity. 

As you see, it's quite easy to increase your physical activity throughout the day. Those little steps can help lead to improvement in your health. 

Tip of the Day June 4,2013

Most kids are not consuming enough calcium these days. It's important for bone health! Especially for women, it can help prevent/delay the onset of osteoporosis. Consuming enough calcium when you're younger will help you in the long run.

Here are a few tips to increase your calcium intake.

1. Instead of drinking soda, drink low-fat/skim milk. If you're allergic to dairy, almond or soy milk that is fortified with calcium works too. Juices that are fortified with calcium also works. 
2. If you like cheese, you can add it to meals such as burritos or pasta. Eating string cheese along as part of a snack works too. Cheese has calcium. 
3. Do you like smoothies? Make a yogurt smoothie with fresh or frozen fruit. 
4. It's the summer time, so it's okay to indulge in a bit of non-fat frozen yogurt. Watch the sugar content though. You can also eat non-fat greek yogurt with some fresh fruit if you want a more healthier option. 
5. If a recipe calls for sour cream, use nonfat plain yogurt instead. It'll give the same texture to the finished product and it's much healthier. 
6. Do you drink coffee? If you do, add half a cup of warm milk to your coffee. 
7. Remember, don't consume all your calcium needs in one meal/snack. It needs to be consumed throughout the day since the body can only absorb 500 mg at one time. 

As you see, it's easy to add calcium to your diet. If all else fails and you're still not getting enough calcium, go see a Registered Dietitian and see what they can do to help. You may have to take calcium supplements. 

Tip of the Day June 3, 2013

Are you trying to achieve a healthy weight?  Well, here are some ways to set realistic goals so that you can achieve it without disappointing yourself. 

• Your goals are specific. Instead of saying, "I will eat less this week", you can say "I will eat half of this restaurant entree and take the rest to eat it for another meal." Most of the time, entrees in restaurants are two servings worth or more. 
• They are reasonable. If you haven't exercised in a long time, it'd be unreasonable to suddenly run for 30 minutes everyday. Instead, gradually work up the length, frequency, and intensity. Start off with running/jogging for 15 minutes for 3 times a week. You can even walk instead of run/jog. From there, you can lengthen the run/jog or adding an extra day. 
• They are measurable. Having measurable goals is an easy way for you to tell if you're making progress. It'll help you know that you're achieving them. Some examples include, "I will lose 1 lb by June 10," "I will  drink water instead of soda as part of lunch everyday." 

I hope this helps! Weight loss is hard but it's possible! I've done it and so can you. It just takes perseverance. 

Do you have any specific subjects you want me to address in the tip of the day series? 

Tip of the Day June 2, 2013

image from http://www.chicagonow.com

We need at least 25 grams of fiber a day. To add more fiber to your diet, here are a few quick tips.

1. Select breads made with WHOLE grains. Read the ingredient list. Whole wheat, oats, and rye are a few examples. Be sure the lookout for the word "whole" before the grain is listed. If it's multi-grain bread, made sure each of the grains are whole grain. 
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables. 
3. If possible, add legumes. This includes beans. 

Tip of the day for June 1, 2013

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for not posting the tip of the day yesterday. Life has been busy! Anyway, here's the tip (or tips).

Shanghai, China

As you know, summer vacation is coming up. If you are traveling out of the country, here are some tips to avoid getting an upset stomach. This is more common in developing countries.

1. Don't drink or use tap water to brush your teeth. Always boil your water before using it. 
2. Do not drink unpasteurized milk or dairy products. You never know if they have salmonella or something in them! 
3. Avoid raw or rare meats and raw fruits and veggies unless they can be peeled and you peel them themselves. It's okay if they're cooked!
4. Which leads to this one. Do not eat meats or vegetables that are not hot when served!
5. Do not eat foods from street vendors unless you're willing to take the risk. Use your best judgement when it comes to street vendors. From personal experience, street vendors can enrich your experience while visiting different countries. The food can be good. But, be careful that they at least have some standard when it comes to food safety. 
6. Drink bottled water. 

And remember, have fun! Maybe it's best to take medicine along with you just in case you do get the case of the stomach flu or whatever upsets your stomach. Use common sense. 

I hope these tips help you guys!