Healthy Living at Age 50 and Beyond

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.

The actual definition of Healthy Living is the steps, actions and strategies one puts in place to achieve optimum health. Healthy Living is about taking responsibility for your health and making smart healthy choices.

Checklists to get you started on your path to healthy living:

Men's Checklist

Women's Checklist

For more healthy Living tips:

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Create your own Healthy Snack

For a healthy snack, combine one item from the protein list with one item from the carbohydrate list.

Carbohydrates

Fruit
Dried fruit
Popcorn
Dry whole grain cereal
Graham crackers
Low-fat whole grain crackers
Pretzels
Whole grain bagel
Whole grain bread
Whole grain tortilla
Low-fat tortilla chips
Baked chips
Vegetables cut into sticks or slices

Protein

Low-fat yogurt
Low-fat cottage cheese
Low-fat milk
Low-fat cream cheese
Peanut butter or nut butters
Nuts or seeds
Hard-boiled egg
Sliced turkey or low-fat meat
Hummus
String cheese or low-fat cheese

New Year’s Resolution: A Healthy Lifestyle

Shedding pounds often tops many people’s New Year’s resolution list and that can mean checking out popular diet plans on the market. A new study gives some perspective on four popular diet plans.
Researchers from Tufts University assigned 160 overweight or obese individuals to the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers or Zone diet. After one year, the results showed that people who followed their diet plan closely lost the most weight no matter which diet they were on.
The study concluded that in the short-term all four diets worked equally well. However, keep in mind that many diet approaches can help you lose weight in the short term.
The question still is: Are these diets effective or safe in the long term – for the rest of your life? There is still no conclusive evidence.
Contact a registered dietitian to help you develop a healthy lifestyle and achieve and maintain weight loss.

Source: ADA

Tips for Healthy Holiday Recipes

Eating healthy on Christmas doesn’t mean you need to avoid holiday food fare. Food often takes center stage, causing fear of weight gain for many people. With some planning, fitting holiday treats into a healthful eating plan is easy.
You can eat smaller portions, replace high-calorie foods with low-fat options or slightly adjust recipes. By swapping out a few ingredients, even in Mom’s classic dishes, you can reduce fat and calories without sacrificing taste.
Here are some quick tips to help turn your holiday recipes into guilt-free pleasures:
Use two egg whites in place of one egg.
Try dried fruit instead of nuts.
Use three tablespoons of cocoa powder and one tablespoon of oil in place of baking chocolate.
Replace cream or whipping cream with evaporated skim milk.
Try substituting an equal amount of applesauce for at least half the oil, margarine or butter in muffins and quick breads like banana bread.
For dips, sauces and pie toppings, use non-fat yogurt or fat-free sour cream.
Top casseroles with almonds instead of fried onion rings.
Choose reduced-fat cheeses for salads and casseroles.
Subtle modifications can improve your recipe’s nutrition content without compromising taste.
Happy Holidays

Source: ADA’s Public Relations Team