health

Giving Up Dairy

So I have a tough decision to make. I’ve been gluten free since February and now my doctor would like me to go dairy free. My heart almost sank when she said it, but I tested positive for a gluten and dairy intolerance. I’m into health and wellness, but I’m not well-versed on the intolerance vs. the allergy issue when it comes to food. Still, since I’ve been gluten free my blood work has gotten better each quarter.

That makes me feel like the answer should be obvious. Something in my body is saying dairy doesn’t agree with it so I should just give it up. I’m still allowed goat’s milk, goat’s cheese and buffalo mozzarella. This change would be good for my body. On some level it should be a no brainer; so why is the decision so hard?

Food is such a part of our social world.

Giving Up DairyMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:28-04:00

Final Word On the Maggie Downie Challenge

So it’s been a full year since I started my challenge to get in the best shape of my life. And I have to admit I don’t feel like I was successful. Technically I only completed three out of four original challenges and I didn’t really change the way I eat, which I think will be key in my ultimate goal of getting into the best shape of my life. (I may not have been successful, but I’m not giving up.)

If you asked me in the fall if I had succeeded my answer would have been yes. I felt strong, my body felt good. I was five pounds lighter than I am now. I wasn’t eating great, but I was willing to excuse it because I was exercising so much, doing a lot of cross training and felt good about my health.

Final Word On the Maggie Downie ChallengeMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:33-04:00

Life: The Constant Curve Ball

In my year of getting into the best shape of my life, I’ve noticed something. There is always an excuse—a birthday party, Thanksgiving, a super bowl game as to why I should have the day off from being healthy. I could come up with constant excuses. But the truth is that’s life. Life will always throw me a curve ball that will make it harder to be healthy.

Instead of taking the day off, I really need to find a way to make healthier decisions on days that are tough because those tough days are never going away. I need to learn to live with them. Since I was blessed with a large family I could probably have an excuse a week if you count birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Heck I celebrate my own birthday five different times each year. That’s five excuses in one month. […]

Life: The Constant Curve BallMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:36-04:00

Small Changes Make BIG Difference

A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog about the importance of small changes and then this week I saw an article about small changes being vital. The article said there really isn’t much research on small changes and the difference they make, but that we know many people try to lose weight by making big changes they don’t stick to, inevitably winding up back where they started, only more discouraged each time.

The current guidelines for maintain a healthy weight suggest the following moderate-intensity physical activity:

30-Minutes: To Maintain Weight
60-Minutes: To Lose Weight
90-Minutes: To Keep Weight Off After Initial Loss

Only 26% of the population does the 30-minutes of exercise recommended to maintain weight.

A 17-member task force was put together to figure out if small changes could make a difference. They concluded:

1) Small changes are more realistic and therefore easier to maintain
2) Small changes can make a big difference. (Since most people gain weight over a long period of time and the weight creeps up slowly, it’s safe to assume that small changes will make a big difference, it just might take a while.)
3) Small changes increase an […]

Small Changes Make BIG DifferenceMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:40-04:00

TV Bad Influence

Research has shown that people who lose weight and keep it off have fewer TV’s in the home. The connection seems to be about making changes in the home. The fewer TV’s the less likely you are to sit down and watch it.

I’ve gone without TV for long periods of time, but I think when I wanted to relax I still sat down and read a book or watched a movie. And even though we only have one TV in the house, we have three or four computers and we can watch TV on all of them if we want to. I wonder if all the advertisements on TV for food gets people off track. I wonder if the real question isn’t how many TV’s you have, but how often you have them on, even if it’s just on in the background.

So how many TV’s do you have? How often do you watch TV? Would you be willing to challenge yourself to go one day, or one week, or one month without TV and see if it […]

TV Bad InfluenceMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:40-04:00