alt="technicalstuff"/> When I go into greater detail on nutritional information than you need to understand the subject at hand, I mark those paragraphs with the Technical Stuff icon.
In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web:
✔ Cheat Sheet (www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/totalbodydiet): The Cheat Sheet offers five simple strategies for weight loss, tips for balancing eating and activity, and guidance on eating right for energy.
✔ Web Extras (www.dummies.com/extras/totalbodydiet): The Web Extras are free articles on subjects like debunking fad diets, herbs and spices for total body health, weight loss myths, and more.
Now you’re ready to dive into the Total Body Diet! I recommend starting with the first couple of chapters to get the gist of what total body wellness is all about, set your goals, and discover a new way of eating and living to improve your health and happiness. If you want some tasty recipes, skip to Part III, for meals, snacks, and healthy dessert ideas that your total body will benefit from and crave over and over again. Chapter 16 offers tech tools that can help you log your foods and beverages, track your sleep and activity, and create a more mindful lifestyle. Whatever your interest, take a peek at the table of contents or index to get the rundown and find what topic appeals to you now!
Part I
Getting Started with the Total Body Diet
In this part …
✔ Tune into your total body wellness with mental and physical awareness.
✔ Set a new lifestyle to create lasting health changes.
✔ Know your hunger and fullness cues.
✔ Understand the power of sleep and ways to create a more restful environment.
Chapter 1
Talking Total Body Wellness
In This Chapter
▶ Setting the stage for your Total Body Diet
▶ Combining mind and body in your wellness plan
▶ Understanding how to reboot your lifestyle for health and happiness
So, you want to embark on a lifestyle change that can promote health, well-being, and the quality of your life? The Total Body Diet offers a road map for a healthy mind and body by identifying nutrient-dense foods, ways to eat more mindfully, and keys to getting regular physical activity.
How can what you eat affect your total body health? Numerous studies have shown that a healthy pattern of eating has been linked to reduced risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, cognitive decline or dementia, and premature death, among other health benefits. Plus, research into physical activity shows benefits of improved flexibility, strength, mood, focus, and productivity.
✔ Choose foods that are minimally processed (prepared without large amounts of added sugar, salt, and fat). Minimize the additives you eat by checking labels and preparing foods at home with herbs and spices instead of a lot of salt, sugar, and fat.
✔ Balance your daily eating plan with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins (either animal or plant protein), and lowfat or fat-free dairy products.
✔ Drink water mainly. Limit your consumption of beverages like regular soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, coffee, and tea.
✔ Prepare meals and snacks at home. You’ll save calories with portion control and get less salt, added sugar, and solid fat.
✔ Eat slowly and savor your food. You’ll reap the health benefits of mindful eating, which can help with the management of weight, type 2 diabetes, appetite, and cravings.
Before you can begin to make changes in your lifestyle, knowing where you are in your journey toward total body health and wellness is important. Ask yourself the following questions:
✔ Why do I want to make changes now? What is my goal?
✔ How ready am I to make this change? If it helps to quantify your readiness, rate yourself on a scale from 1 (not ready at all) to 5 (very ready).
✔ Am I willing to try new, healthier foods?
✔ Do I want to get more active or change my physical activity?
✔ Do I understand that change is a gradual process that takes time, patience, and daily action?
Think about your answers to these questions. If you’re ready to change your lifestyle and create lasting changes, you’re in the right place. It may take some time to get in the right frame of mind and find the motivation to power forward.
Getting into a wellness state of mind
The way you think about your health and wellness plays a role in the action you take toward living a healthier lifestyle. If you prioritize your health, you’ll develop what I call a wellness state of mind, or a permanent healthy mindset. You’ll think first and foremost about making the healthiest choice at the moment when it comes to food and physical activity. Instead of falling prey to unconscious eating and drinking, your new wellness mindset will help you become more focused on and conscious of your choices.
Regardless of your age or gender, your body and mind benefit from movement. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, there is strong evidence that regular physical activity can help to decrease the risk of early death, cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, weight gain, and depression among many other health benefits.
There are three key ways that physical activity benefits your total body wellness:
✔ Overload: Placing physical stress on your muscles, bones, heart, and lungs allows them to adapt to greater capacity and makes their function more efficient and stronger.
✔ Progression: Continually increasing your activity level, which overloads your body’s systems, increases your fitness levels to enable you to keep doing more.
✔ Specificity: The type of activity you’re doing benefits the specific body part that is doing the work (for example, aerobic activity works the cardiovascular system).
So what does this mean? If you aren’t currently active, start slow and progress to a higher level slowly to build up your strength and stamina (the ability to sustain the activity for longer periods of time). For example, if you’re new to activity, start with walking instead of running. When you’re comfortable walking longer distances, start working in a little jogging at a time (a minute here or there, then two minutes, and so on). Creating