Archive for “Book Extras” Category

BOOK EXTRA: How to Improve Your Fiber Intake for Better Poos (from page 149)

December 5th, 2007

OK, so like my favorite kiddie book says, everybody poos. Problem is, many of us don’t take in enough fiber each day to make our pooing experience as pleasant as it should be. I get into the nitty-gritty of defecation (the medical term for pooing) on pages 148-154 of Body Drama, but here are some easy foods to improve your daily fiber intake.

Target Daily Fiber Intake:
At Least 25 Grams

Raw Fibrous Foods Include:

  • Avocado (1/2 medium) – 6.75 grams
  • Pear (medium, with skin) - 5.5 grams
  • Apple (medium, with skin) – 4.4 grams
  • Prunes (6 dried) – 4 grams
  • Banana (medium) - 3.1 grams
  • Strawberries (10 medium) – 2.4 grams
  • Peach (medium, with skin) - 2.2 grams
  • Raisins (1.5 oz box) – 1.6 grams

Fibrous Cooked Foods Include:

  • Navy Beans (1/2 cup) - 9.6 grams
  • Lentils (1/2 cup) - 7.65 grams
  • Baked Beans (1/2 cup canned) - 7 grams
  • Kidney Beans (1/2 cup) - 5.7 grams
  • Peas (1/2 cup) - 4.4 grams
  • Oatmeal (1 cup) – 4 grams
  • Collard Greens (1/2 cup cooked) - 2.65 grams
  • Corn (1 ear) - 1.8 grams

Fibrous Cereals Include:

  • General Mills’ Fiber One (1/2 cup) - 14.2 grams
  • Post’s 100% Bran (1/2 cup) - 12.4 grams
  • Kellogg’s All-Bran Original (1/2 cup) - 9.1 grams

(all figures come from the USDA National Nutrient Database)

Other Ways to Sneak More Fiber Into Your Diet:

  • Buy Psyllium Husk. Psyllium Husk is an excellent form of natural fiber found in many health stores in powder or capsule form. Follow the directions on the label and take it every day with at least one entire 8oz. glass of water. Cost: Under $15 for a month of daily supplements.
  • Buy Other Packaged Fiber Tablets and Powders. Though brand-name products are often more expensive and contain less fiber than psyllium husk, they can be appealing in taste and packaging. Be careful and look to make sure that there isn’t any added sugar or extra preservatives in the ingredient list!
  • Switch to Less Processed Foods. Simple choices can make huge differences in your fiber intake, like trading in your blueberry muffin (2 grams of fiber per serving) for a bran muffin (5 grams), asking for whole-wheat spaghetti (4.5 grams) instead of “regular” (2 grams), eating chunky peanut butter (2.6 grams) instead of smooth (1.9 grams), and using rye bread (2 grams) instead of white (1 gram).

A Sample Fiber Combination To Try (over 27 grams of Fiber)

Breakfast: General Mills’ Fiber One Cereal (along with a healthy meal)
Lunch: 1 Banana (along with a healthy meal)
Dinner: Peas (along with a healthy meal)
Snack: Guacamole made with 1/2 of an avocado

Voila! You’ve reached your daily target!

Have some favorite fibrous foods that you’d like to share? Contact me and I’ll include them and give you the credit!

DISCLAIMER: The author is not engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained on this blog are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. The author shall not be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion on this blog.

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BOOK EXTRA: How to Find Mental Health Resources in Your Area

December 4th, 2007

As I say in Body Drama on page 224, sometimes body drama isn’t just physical. We all experience feelings of sadness, shame, self-hate, anger and hopelessness at various times and for a variety of reasons. It’s always a great idea to talk first with your parents, teachers, counselors and mentors about your problems, but it’s also very important to know where else you can turn when you need safe and accurate help and support.

For each state, below you will find the Web sites of two trustworthy organizations that can help you find mental health resources in your state and city:

1) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Mental Health Services Locater, which is a comprehensive list of state, regional and local mental health organizations. Each of their state lists are sorted by category, so you will need to click around to find the perfect resource for you.


2) The State and Local Chapters of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with mental health concerns.

Both of these Web sites offer localized opportunities for you to obtain guidance and advice either over the telephone or in person. If you’re suffering from feelings of depression, click on the links underneath your state’s listing and seek the help you need to feel better NOW. Remember, you are not alone!

DISCLAIMER: The author is not engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained on this blog are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. The author shall not be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion on this blog.

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BOOK EXTRA: How To Find Sexual Health Resources in Your Area

December 2nd, 2007

As I say on page 132 of Body Drama, if you are sexually active, sometimes you’ll have questions or you’ll want to obtain sexual health resources like of birth control, tests for infections, and more detailed information. You might not want to talk to your family or teachers, but it’s a terrible idea to make important decisions about your life without getting the help of a medical professional (and no, your best friend who got an “A” in Health class doesn’t count).

Don’t take any chances with your health and your future! Put your fears and embarrassment aside, and use your local sexual health resources. There you can safely and easily obtain the support, information, tests and products you need. Here’s help finding a resource near you.

There are two amazing and safe ways to use the Web to find a comprehensive list of state and local sexual health resources near you - the Planned Parenthood website and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) website. So that you don’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of information each site provides, I’m going to walk you through the process with screenshots of each step to make your search easy and painless! Click the images to enlarge them.

1) Planned Parenthood
http://www.plannedparenthood.org

You can always count on Planned Parenthood to have the resources and advice you need. Contrary to popular belief, dealing with issues of pregnancy is only a fraction of what their clinics provide! They can give you affordable antibiotics, test you for sexually transmitted diseases and yeast and other infections, give you your annual pap smear, and much more!

Once you’ve typed in the website URL and you’re on the home page, enter your zip code in the box underneath the words “Find a Health Center.” I’m going to use 10128 as my zip code.
pp1

Up comes the 20 centers that are closest to your zip code! In this case, the nearest Planned Parenthood is less than four miles away.
pp2

You’ll notice that to the right of each Planned Parenthood’s listing there is a list of the services they provide. The one closest to you might not offer the service you need, so check the listing for details. Now that you have the contact information for all nearby clinics, you can call them to schedule an appointment or to ask about their services.

2) National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
http://nfprha.org/

Next, let’s check out the NFPRHA website for a few more options - they list all other clinics in your area. Once you’ve typed in the URL and you’re on the home page, enter your zip code in the box below the words, “Clinics Near You.”
fp

The clinic possibilities appear on the next page, and Dr. Diaz’s clinic, the Mt. Sinai Adolescent Center, shows up as a service provider in the 10128 area!
fp2

Let’s click on her clinic to get the information.
fp3

Great - an address AND phone number - everything you need to get the information and help you want.

Now that you are armed with a lot of options, what are you waiting for? Get proactive about taking care of yourself and your body and call one of the clinics in your area right now!

DISCLAIMER: The author is not engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained on this blog are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. The author shall not be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion on this blog.

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BOOK EXTRA: Free Ways to Burn Calories and Cheap, Healthy Recipes (from page 210 and 212)

November 26th, 2007

As I say on page 210 on Body Drama, it’s easy to come up with reasons not to exercise or eat healthily, and being unable to afford expensive health food or a gym membership are common excuses. As you’ll find out in Body Drama, a lack of money is absolutely no excuse for you to not start eating right and working out if you’re out of shape! Here are some free (or pretty close to free) activities and dishes to get yourself in tip-top shape.

Free Ways to Burn Calories

  • Playing soccer for one hour burns 390 calories
  • Playing basketball for 45 minutes burns 341 calories
  • Swimming laps for 30 minutes burns 292 calories
  • Dancing at a party for 45 minutes burns 244 calories
  • Washing your car for an hour burns 227 calories
  • Gardening for 45 minutes burns 195 calories
  • Shoveling snow for 30 minutes burns 162 calories
  • Pushing a cart through the grocery store for an hour burns 162 calories
  • Climbing stairs for 20 minutes burns 152 calories
  • Walking your dog for 45 minutes burns 122 calories, jogging with your dog burns 244 calories in the same amount of time
  • Jumping rope for 12 minutes burns 117 calories
  • Mopping your floors and vacuuming your house for 30 minutes burns 114 calories
  • Lifting weights and doing pushups and abdominal crunches for 20 minutes burns 100 calories (Tip: if you don’t own weights, try using 5lb. bags of sugar and/or flour. Also check out page 217 of Body Drama to find out how to properly crunch.)
  • Walking and knocking on doors in your neighborhood to raise money/awareness for a cause for 45 minutes burns 97 calories

As you can see, there are a variety of activities that you can enjoy every day to stay healthy. Some exercises burn more calories per minute than others, but other activities are beneficial in more ways than just your physical health, like walking through your neighborhood for your favorite cause or washing cars all day for a school fundraiser. These types of socially responsible activities help you improve yourself in more ways than one!

After all of that hard work, you don’t want to blow your burned calories with unhealthy foods. Check out these easy, healthy, and inexpensive recipes to keep the momentum going:

Cheap and Healthy Recipes

Omelet with Onions and Peppers

  • Ingredients: 2 eggs (or 3 egg whites), ½ green pepper (chopped), 1/4 onion (chopped), 1 tablespoon olive oil, non-stick cooking spray, salt and pepper
  • Directions: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped green pepper and onion to skillet and sauté until onions become opaque (the fancy word for see-through). Remove peppers and onions from skillet and set aside for later. In a bowl, thoroughly whisk eggs (or egg whites) with a pinch of salt and pepper and one tablespoon of water. Set aside. Spray the skillet with non-stick cooking spray and raise the stove temperature to medium high. Once the skillet is hot, pour in the whisked egg mixture and reduce heat to medium. When the egg mixture is almost set, evenly sprinkle the cooked peppers and onions over the eggs. Using a spatula, flip one side of the egg mixture to fold it in half, and remove from skillet onto a plate.
  • Cost Per Serving: approximately 80 cents to $1
  • Calories: 277 (196 if using egg whites)

    Green Beans & Almonds

  • Ingredients:1 cup fresh green beans, 3 tablespoons chopped almonds (sliced, slivered, or chopped), 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
  • Directions: Heat skillet on medium high. Add almonds, stirring frequently until golden brown. Remove almonds and set aside. Add olive oil to skillet. When oil is hot, add green beans to skillet and toss them around until evenly coated with the olive oil. Lower heat to medium and cover. After five minutes, add almonds back to skillet, add salt and pepper to taste, toss, and cover again for three to four more minutes. Remove green beans from skillet and place into a bowl.
  • Cost Per Serving: approximately 60 cents to $1
  • Calories: 225

    Sweet Sweet Potatoes

  • Ingredients:1 sweet potato, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon artificial sweetener (or brown sugar), 10 miniature marshmallows
  • Directions: Wrap the washed sweet potato in aluminum foil and bake in oven at 425 degrees for an hour. Remove with oven mitt, squeezing potato to ensure softness. If it doesn’t feel soft when squeezing it through the mitt and foil, return sweet potato to oven for another fifteen minutes. Let cool for ten minutes, and then, with a knife, slice the potato down the center, exposing its orange flesh. Insert artificial sweetener or sugar, as well as the cinnamon, and mix everything well without destroying the sweet potato’s skin. Place marshmallows inside the sweet potato and place potato back onto baking tray. Bake for ten more minutes, then serve and enjoy.
  • Cost Per Serving: approximately $1
  • Calories: 130 (150 if using brown sugar)

    Whipped Sugar-Free Gelatin

  • Ingredients: 1 Package of Sugar-Free Gelatin, Fat-Free Whipped Cream
  • Directions: Follow package directions to make and chill gelatin in an oversized bowl. Once set, cut into 2-inch chunks and add 1 cup of fat-free whipped cream to bowl. Mix thoroughly and return to fridge for at least 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy.
  • Cost Per Serving: 30 to 75 cents
  • Calories: 20

(All calorie counts come from www.fitday.com)

Have some more exercise ideas or healthy recipes that you’d like to share? Contact me and I’ll include them and give you the credit!

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BOOK EXTRA: Tips for Quitting Smoking (from page 193)

November 26th, 2007

Smoking is one of the very worst things you can do to your body, both for your internal health and your physical appearance. If you’re a smoker, you’re not alone – 3,000 teenagers start smoking each day, according to the American Cancer Society. I talk about the many reasons why one shouldn’t smoke on page 193 of Body Drama, but here are a few tips for quitting for anyone who has unfortunately picked up the habit already.

Tips for Quitting Smoking

1) Get Support. Quitting smoking is difficult to do alone, especially if you have friends who smoke. See if one of your smoker friends is interested in quitting with you so that you can be accountable to each other. If none of your friends want to quit smoking with you, ask one of your friends who does not smoke to hold you accountable by asking you each day about how you feel and the progress you’ve made. Also, when you’re trying to quit, hang out with your non-smoking friends more, especially in the beginning stages. It’s much easier to crush cravings if you aren’t surrounded by temptation!
2) Call Before You Cave. We’re not perfect, so our attempts to better ourselves aren’t always going to go perfectly, either. It’s perfectly natural to want to cave in to cravings when you’re trying to quit smoking, but always try to reach out to someone before you reach for a cigarette. Oftentimes, you can relieve a lot of the anxiety and stress that you think a cigarette would relieve just by talking. If you feel uncomfortable talking with your quit buddy or other friends, call the American Cancer Society’s toll-free Quitline at 1-877-YES-QUIT anytime to speak to someone anonymously and to receive a free kit to help you curb cravings.
3) Talk to Your Doctor. Not only is it important to tell your doctor (or your school nurse) about your smoking history so she can best take care of your needs, because your doctor should know a lot about your level of physical fitness and what medications you are on, your doctor can also talk with you about best options for your journey towards being smoke-free. Sometimes, over-the-counter or prescription smoking cessation (the fancy word for stopping) aids may be recommended by your doctor.
4) Keep Your Mouth Busy. Find out what works best for you to keep your mouth busy when you get the urge to smoke – gum, ice, and hard candy are popular choices. By the time the flavor is gone or the ice melts, the craving will hopefully leave, too.
5) Get Back on the Bandwagon. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! If you go three days without smoking and then slip up and smoke after an argument with your mom wrecks your nerves, don’t give up and start chain smoking again! Be proud of the small victories, like making it three days without smoking in the first place. Get right back into the swing of things and keep on working hard towards your goal of being smoke-free.

Check out the American Cancer Society’s Guide to Quitting Smoking for more reasons why to quit, tips on how to quit, and support to help you quit.

Good Luck! I know you can do it!

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