One of the newest fads in the way of kitchen help for dieters is these new discs from a company called Portionpal.  What happened to measuring cups and spoons?  You get five discs, called Portionpals, one each for meat, chicken, fish, sides, and desserts.  Portionpals are circles with lines in the center that you use for cutting guides while preparing your food.  Position your steak on top of the Portionpal disc and cut on the lines, oh wait, the Portionpal lines are under the steak….hmmm, oops, now where’s that first aid kit?

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Want to shake up your weight loss routine?  How about spending more time with friends in the same predicament?  Friends can be inspiring.  To achieve your weight loss goals by forming a local network of fellow dieters, you create an affordable way to get support if you don’t have money for weekly meetings in a weight loss program.  Here are a few ideas for spending quality time wisely while supporting each other.

• Set aside some time each week for a group diet meeting with friends trying to lose weight. 

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It seems the older women get the more protein they need. Recent studies from researchers in the US and UK have found that women lose more muscle mass than men do as they age because their bodies can’t process protein like they used to. We already tend to have more fat and less muscle, even as early as middle-age.

This study compared women and men between the ages of 60-80.  Recommendations from the study include resistance training (weight training), and more protein in the diet. The goal is not to eat more food, but maximize your protein through better food selection. Select lean meat, eggs, legumes, and vegetables high in protein.

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Literally folks, strawberries are trying to survive in NC. I hope they survive in FL. I just bought up a bunch of strawberries over the weekend on sale. I’m so glad. The kids love them. Strawberries are their favorite for sure. It is the number one requested fruit in our household.

The deep red color of the strawberry indicates its antioxidant properties. Containing more vitamin C than most berries, it also contains folate, vitamin B and a kick of fiber. At 55 calories per cup the strawberry is a versatile berry that should be in your fridge and freezer at all times.

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Happy Easter!

It is so good to return home.  As much as I enjoyed a visit with family there is nothing more comforting than to sleep in one’s own bed. 

I see Brenda kept you busy with all sorts of great advice and there is not much I can add right now except to enjoy the holiday if Easter is a holiday in which you partake.  I like Easter holiday feasting because it seems to be the easiest of all holiday feasts.  It can be whatever you make of it.

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Yesterday I was in the car a lot shuffling kids here and there and actually got to listen to some news on the radio.  I don’t have any real number stats as I was unable to jot down certain information but it appears Americans aren’t taking dieting seriously or whatever we are doing is not working.

I was amazed to hear that Americans have quit smoking and they wear their seatbelts more.  Meanwhile the numbers for the clinically obese are rising.  America is still fat and getting fatter.  The fat free and sugar free isn’t working I take it.

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The National Institutes of Health or the NIH, announced in 2001 that the United States was suffering from a “Calcium Crisis”. It was then revealed that a mere 36.3% of boys and an astonishing 13.5% of girls between the ages of 12 and 19 were getting the RDA or recommended daily allowance of calcium. It is imperative that we understand that 90% of bone mass is established during these ages. Those numbers indicate that osteoporosis and other bone diseases will be on the rise as these kids grow up. And adults aren’t getting enough calcium either.

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One thing that is helpful when you are dieting is keeping it simple.  They say individuals that eat near the same thing everyday are usually thin.  Of course that depends on what you eat but it is good to have a plan.  I think what they were trying to say is individuals like this are consistent.

For my dieting needs I know how crucial it is to have breakfast, and that is the simplest plan on my diet.  Banana, yogurt, and when I can find them an Our Daily Muffin.  My husband keeps both his breakfast, when he is not to busy to eat it, and his lunch simple.  It seems his lunch soup diet has served him well over the years.

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My little sister got married yesterday.  I was worried at first at how my diet would fare with a wedding and all of the celebration food around.  But she also had her reception an hour later in the same place she was married and everything had to be set up differently after the wedding.  I burned a lot of calories setting up tables, decorations and laying out the food and drink.   

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One of the main reasons we are covering the different vitamins and minerals is because as dieter’s we sometimes do not get enough of these in our food sources.  It is important to make sure that we have a good supplement in order to receive the things that our bodies need in order to be healthy.   

One of the vitamins that we are sure to fall short on during a diet is vitamin D.  The food sources of this vitamin are usually found in the very foods we are trying to avoid as we lose weight.  These foods are: 

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