Your Eyes are Bigger than Your Stomach

Remember when you were a child and your mother told you to eat all of your food because it was good for you? And she also reminded you how fortunate you were to have food on your plate because there were poor children in Biafra who didn’t have anything to eat.

Well, you’re all grown up now and while it’s important to maintain a healthy, nutritious diet, there is no need to CLEAN YOUR PLATE. That means it’s unnecessary to pile on all you can eat because “it just looks so delicious” and then go out of your way to finish it all. Calories add up---especially at middle age---while your metabolism is continuing to slow down. If you’re taking in more than you’re burning off, you could easily see an extra 5-10 pounds in a matter of months.

More fruits and vegetables are definitely the way to go. Why not try color-coded days by eating only fruits and vegetables of a certain color. For example: On Monday, make it a green day and eat all vegetables and fruits that are green in color. For lettuce, I would recommend a mixed green variety because plain lettuce has no nutritional value. On Tuesday, you could do a red day and so on and so forth.

Today, I decided to do a mix and match day: purple and red so I’m loading up on the blueberries, strawberries, and watermelon.

Got Fat?

Are you one of those women fighting the battle of the bulge? Well, if it's any consolation, you'll be glad to know you're not alone. Thousands of middle-aged women can attest to the fact that they've put on a few extra pounds. Some, like me, are trying to SQUEEZE into clothes that don't fit anymore instead of accepting the fact that it's time to go up a dress size or two.

I'm going to spend some time blogging about Women's Heath---starting with the 7 unhealthy habits that keep you from losing weight:

#1 SKIPPING BREAKFAST: If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Still, many of us skip it because we think it will help use lose unwanted pounds. But get this: that bad habit actually adds pounds. Studies have found that by skipping breakfast (or any other meal for that matter), your body is storing fat because it thinks you are starving and is trying to keep a "reserve" for you.

Now I don't know about you, but that's NOT the kind of favor I want my body to do for me so I guess I'm off to eat a mango.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Bad Habit #2

Mommy Facts

55 percent of women are classified as working moms.

10 million women are classified as single moms living with children under 18.

67 percent of women in Kentucky, ages 15 to 44, are mothers. This is among the highest rates in the nation. The national average is 57 percent. 81% of women 40 to 44 years old are mothers.

There are 4.0 million women who have babies each year. Of this number, about 450,000 are teens, and almost 100,000 are age 40 or over.

24.8 years old is the median age of women when they give birth for the first time.

There are 23,870 florists nationwide. Their 125,116 employees will be especially busy selling bouquets for Mother's Day. The value of shipments of Mother's Day cards by greeting card publishers totaled $147.9 million in 1992, up from $80.2 million in 1987.

Source: US Census Bureau

Not All Blogs are Created Equal

I normally don't blog about other people's blogs but I came across such an interesting one today that I really felt compelled to share it.

A 36 year old mom from Northern Virginia has made visiting restrooms a part of her livelihood. Well, maybe "livelihood" isn't the best choice of words but it's safe to say she's been on a mission inspecting bathrooms in the Metro DC area. Either she eats out A LOT or she just has way too much time on her hands. But I don't know how that could be with two young boys to take care of.

Anyway, I read, with interest, her descriptions of the various restrooms she's visited. Mind you, I don't know any of the places she refers to but based on her recommendations, I know that when I travel to the DC area, I'll be very conscientous of where I'll eat based on her reports.

I am impressed with the fact that she would take the time to inspect and then post her findings to the general public. But isn't that something a state health inspector should do for us?

Nevertheless, I applaud this woman---who isn't even a baby boomer---for what she's doing. And get this: she even has a contest running until May 19 where she will give a $50 gift card to the person who directs her to the cleanest, dities, most interesting bathroom in the DC area.

Now, when she starts visiting houses, I'll give her a couple of addresses. You can read her blog at www.lavatorylady.blogspot.com