I lost weight by cutting calories, it was the only way I knew how. Dropping my caloric intake by 200-300 calories per day seamed doable to me, so that’s what I did. It worked. I counted calories religiously and made sure that I hovered around 1200 per day. I LOVED the foods that were healthy for me, but also were low-cal. Technically, there aren’t too many foods that are zero calorie when you intake them. But, the key is that they can still be zero calorie foods if they burn up more calories in the digestive process than what they originally started with. So, here’s the list of foods that are zero calorie foods, at least after digestion.

• Hot tea with Splenda (rumor has it that drinking tea can also help prevent other health related issues)
• Berries: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries…. mmmmm.
• Crunchy Veggies: Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts
• Egg whites prepared with non stick spray (great source of protein)
• Water: this is a no-brainer!
• Other: Garlic, spinach, papaya, onion, lettuce, cucumber, endive

What I love about these types of foods is the fact that you can eat a big helping and still feel good about yourself! There are lots of creative ways to prepare some of these foods to keep them figure friendly, good, and great for your health.

Did you know that different foods and beverages can actually trigger migraines? If you’ve had a migraine headache before, you know that they are far from a walk in the park. I get them every now and then, and it can really turn my day upside down. Usually, my best remedy is sleep. Lots of it, and in a dark, quiet room. While it could be a variety of different things triggering those headaches, food could possibly be a suspect. So, here are some foods that could possibly be doing it:

• Aged cheeses: blue cheese, mozzarella, feta, cheddar, parmesan
• Alcohol: red wine, beer, whiskey, champagne
• Caffeine: coffee, chocolate, tea, colas, sodas
• Bread and other baked goods
• Pepperoni, hot dogs, luncheon meats
• Dried fruits
• Smoked or dried fish
• Potato chips
• Pizza, peanuts, chicken livers, and other specific foods.

A few of those jump out at me, like caffeine. Now this could work two ways; either the caffeine is causing the headaches, or the lack of caffeine (didn’t get your morning dose?) could also be doing it. Other foods like bread, and pizza, lunch meats and cheeses are all typical foods for many people; if you get migraines, have you thought about what you’re eating?

Did you also know that exercise could also be doing it? According to WebMD, while exercise is great for us, it could possibly be a suspect.

Aside from food, here are other common triggers: Emotional stress, menstrual periods, changes in normal sleep pattern, extreme fatigue, skipping meals, changing weather conditions, smoking, odors, and bright and flickering lights.

Here are a few interesting facts about migraine headaches:

1. Migraine attacks typically affect women between age 15 and 55. Each individual attack usually lasts from 4 to 72 hours.
2. About one in six women have migraine headaches; women experience migraines three time more often than men.
3. As many as 90 percent of migraine sufferers have a close relative who also suffers from the headaches.

Source: WebMD

You’ve heard that saying, right? Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. I’m focusing on the “healthy” part today. I had heard that saying a million times but never really thought about the “healthy” part.

You know, they say that eating breakfast can actually help you lose weight. It’s true. Here’s my problem with breakfast, and the problem I’ve had for years up until recently…. I could never get myself up early enough to get myself ready, and eat breakfast before rushing out the door so that I could get to wherever I needed to be on time. Sleep is a precious commodity, even if it’s just an extra 10 minutes.

According to this article, when you eat breakfast in the morning, it helps to keep you from overeating throughout the day. It makes sense! I’m sure we’ve all done it at one point or another. You skip breakfast, and lunch rolls around and there’s not enough food in sight to satisfy your hunger. You scarf it all down so quickly before you stomach has time to tell your brain that “hey, I’m full”… in fact, you were full 500 calories ago.

Another problem that I have with breakfast is what do I eat? The same article gives some suggestions for healthy breakfasts that will give you energy for the day. First up… no surprise here….

• Cereal: Hot or cold, doesn’t really matter. But, the key thing is that the first ingredient should be “whole grain.”
• Smoothies: This is one I haven’t really experimented with… but I should! Blend one cup of nonfat milk plus 1/2-1 cup of nonfat plain or sugar-free nonfat flavored yogurt, plus a cup of crushed ice and a cup of fresh or frozen fruit. Sounds tasty, doesn’t it?
• Waffles: If prepared right! A brand called Kashi has a GoLean frozen waffle. 2 Waffles have 170 calories, 6 grams of fiber (helps you to feel full among other things) and 4 grams of sugar.

Several months ago I made a serious effort to wake up with enough time to eat a healthy breakfast (oatmeal is usually my choice) and have time to pack a nutritious lunch for the day. Every once in a while, leftover dessert like brownies or cake will get the best of me for breakfast, but all in all, it’s usually a healthy breakfast that gets me started. Those two elements (packing a healthy lunch, and eating breakfast), though it requires me to get up a bit earlier, have helped me in my weight loss process.

Oh, and by the way, ‘early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise’ was a saying of Benjamin Franklin. You learn something new every day…

Source: eDiets