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Dorcas Ukpe, a registered dietitian and president of Walk the Talk America, advocates people get a pedometer and challenge themselves to walk 10,000 steps a day for mental and physical well-being.

Rosalinda Cabezuela, Housing & Community Development, gets more exercise simply by parking farther away from where she’s going.

For more convenience and a greater chance you’ll stick to it, pick a combination of activities that fit into your schedule. The 30 or 45 or 60 minutes of exercise per day can be broken up into two or three blocks.

Be sure to consult your doctor before starting a fitness program.

The Mayo Clinic recommends establishing a goal before beginning, starting slowly and building up gradually, and listening to your body. If you feel pain or shortness of breath, dizziness or nausea, take a break. If you’re not feeling well, you give yourself permission to take a day or two off. Then get right back into it.

Eat right to fit tight
A December diagnoses of prediabetes convinced Cabezuela, 57, to redo her diet.

She’d half-heartedly attempted to eat healthier for six months, but her weight wasn’t coming down, Cabezuela said. Then her doctor told her the condition was serious but not irreversible.

Three of Cabezuela’s friends with diabetes have not taken care of themselves. She often hears about their problems.

She would be different.

“I know that if you eat well and take care of yourself, your body will heal itself,” she said.

Cabezuela avoids fast and processed foods. She shops the outside aisles at the market, where the healthier, natural foods tend to be stocked.

Avoiding fried foods is vitally important to a healthy diet, said Judy Fraley, a licensed dietitian with the Department of Health & Human Services.

“If you can bake, broil or grill it, do that. You’re better off,” she said.

Eating lean meats is important, too, Fraley said. Sirloin and other lower grade meats have less fat.

Also, drink at least eight ounces of water eight times a day, Fraley said.

Bourgeois said he drinks at least a gallon, or 128 ounces, of water each day. He also has cut out sweets, eats mostly green vegetables and lean protein, and doesn’t eat after 6 p.m.

He spends one to two hours a day at the gym and lost 12 pounds in the first 11 days of his next lifestyle.

After three weeks of dieting and exercise, Bullock hasn’t seen any appreciable weight loss. But she said she’s feeling physically better.

The easiest way to get your metabolism working properly is to eat healthy, according to the-weightloss-guide.com.

The experts at fatburn.com say the question they get asked most often is what foods people should eat to lose weight.

“It’s also one of the most frustrating,” they write. “You already know what to eat in order to achieve better health or your weight loss goals.”

Most people know baked, skinless chicken is healthier then fried, and adding butter or oil increases the fat and caloric count.

Eat more fruits, whole grain and vegetables. If you nibble, choose fruit and vegetables as snacks.

Cabezuela, whose doctor told her to lose 30 to 35 pounds, carries a container of celery sticks, carrots and broccoli to snack on. She uses honey in place of sugar, drinks tea, takes two fish oil capsules each day, and cooks more with olive oil, which helps keep her cholesterol and blood pressure down and makes her feel full.

“I want to lose 50 pounds,” said Cabezuela, who even uses olive oil to make a dressing for her nightly dinner salad.

Continued
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