Elements of well-being

The 5 elements of well-being are:

• Positive Emotion - the pleasant life.
• Engagement - flow.
• Meaning - found in serving something bigger than self.
• Positive Relationships - other people are the best antidote of the downs of life and the single most reliable up.
• Accomplishment - subjective achievement.

Personal well-being is not the same for everyone. What are your 5 elements of well-being? 

Power of planning

Planning is what makes eating real, healthy food possible. Take 15 minutes to plan for a successful healthy week ahead. Use this time to plan what and where you will eat next week.

Also, plan your grocery trip by making your grocery list. Make a list every time you go to the grocery store. Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. If you do you will be more likely to make impulse purchases.

Always keep a stash of healthy food at home and healthy snacks at work. It will make it easier to make healthy choices, and it will prevent you from going too long without eating.

Thinking ahead, planning what and where you will eat as meals, and grocery shopping based on the Eat like Me approach are the keys to healthy eating and losing weight. 

Gained weight on vacation

I just spent two glorious weeks on vacation in Florida. I relaxed, I read, I ran, and I cherished and enjoyed every moment spent with my wife. I also violated my eating right  life style rules by buying and consuming food that is not healthy.

Everyone has that one food that sends them off track, that they just can’t eat in moderation. For me, there are a few. Ice cream is one of them. I knew I couldn’t eat ice cream in moderation, yet I still bough and eat it. Lots of ice cream. I think it was because I knew it would be temporary. In NYC I don’t buy ice cream.

I also learned that one meal doesn’t have to ruin your whole day. If you stray away from your plan at one meal, you can still get back on track with the next one.

Now I am back home and I am transitioning back to reality. When I stepped on the scale at home my honest accountability partner showed that I gained eight pounds.

I am resuming healthy eating most of the time. The Eat Like Me eating approach that helped me lose weight in the past. Posted picture represents my healthy choice in a mall-like environment this afternoon. Will keep my efforts to stay in healthy habit mode (until next vacation, he he).

Vacation is a time to relax and enjoy life

Vacation offers free-time to spend with family and loved ones, and gives us an opportunity to engage in enjoyable activities. Vacation provides an unparalleled bonding experience.   

Sharing new and exciting experiences with my family connects me in a way that few other events allow.  The activities and the meals are moments that I will always cherish. 

I realized that since day one of my vacation, I do not comply with some of the healthy lifestyle rules I encourage others to follow.  While in some situations I have limited choices or no healthy alternatives at all, there are also situations that I do have a choice but I choose poorly.

For the last several days I don’t use all tools and routines that had led me to weight loss, and later to effective maintenance of healthy weight. I don’t do much of the planning of where (what) I will eat. I also skip some of the healthy routines that work so well for me when I am home or at work.

My justification is that a few days of less than full compliance with healthy eating is not going to be a big deal. Plus, I am on vacation and vacation is a time to relax and enjoy life. Pretty hypocritical, isn’t it?

It will all end and go back to norm after the second week is over, but it struck me how easy it is for me just to ignore my unhealthy imperfections.

Breakfast challenge while on vacation

I am posting this from vacations in Florida. Life is beautiful here. People are great. Weather is as expected, either very hot or rain with lightings.

The hotel I am in offers me a big challenge in the morning. Breakfast that is served downstairs has no healthy options. It is a bit starnge, because now even fast food restaurants have healthy options on their menu.

On the positive note, I met a person who lost 120 pounds. One hundred and twenty!!!

Better sleep means better health

Eating right and getting enough sleep are well-known behaviors for good health.

Sleep is essential to good health, and a lack of it can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, weight gain, and diabetes. There is no known substitute for sleep.

Quality sleep promotes physical, mental and emotional health. It also boosts alertness, performance and memory. Most adults need at least seven hours of nightly sleep for optimal health and productivity. Some people need more sleep to feel well-rested.

Sleep experts say there is ample evidence that shows that when people get the sleep they need, they will not only feel better, but will also increase their odds of living healthier, more productive lives.

Sleep deprivation can be dangerous. People who do not get adequate sleep experience impairment of concentration, judgment, and learning ability. If you cut sleep back to five or six hours a night for several days in a row, the accumulated sleep deficit will magnify these negative effects.

Do you get enough sleep?

What is processed food

While some type of food treatment is important for food safety and food storage, important nutrients and vitamins are lost in each processing step.

When nutritionists refer to processed foods, they're typically referring to products that are heavily modified and contain a long list of ingredients, including many snack foods, sweets, frozen prepared foods, sugary drinks, and packaged meats.

These foods have minimal nutritional value. On average, processing usually removes 50 – 80% of nutrients from a food. Avoiding processed foods will improve how you look and feel and lead to lasting weight loss. Even better - you may reduce or completely eliminate symptoms associated with common health disorders.