John Aaron Wellness

It's here - whether you're ready or not. Just look at the seasonal shelves in your favorite store. Retailers like to call it ‘holiday season' but let's be more accurate – it’s “weight gain” season and it starts now and runs straight through New Year's Day... These next six weeks will bring ample opportunity for all of us to expand our waistlines. So why discuss it now just days away from Thanksgiving? Because now is the opportunity to plan for the weeks ahead. Once the craziness begins, you'll be too busy to put a plan into action. So I want to help you take this moment of clarity, this calm before the storm, to outline a two-part plan that will save your waist from unwanted holiday inches. Part One: Your Exercise Plan.  Exercise always seems to be the very last thing people think of doing when they get overwhelmed, and the holiday season is notorious for empty gyms. This year do something different - MAKE yourself to exercise. Making a promise to “t...

I know there are times when our schedules get so out of hand that we can barely find time to bathe let alone eat well. In fact, most of the busy clients I work with are just like you. They are very smart and knowledgeable when it comes to what a healthy diet and lifestyle looks like. The real challenge is to make it happen in their hectic and over-committed lives. Right? So, for the busy folks I work with, I tell them the key to implementing healthy dietary changes is to think it through and make a plan. Planning smart is key to eating smart. If you make healthy choices available to you when you need them, chances are you will make better decisions. I’ve listed a few tips that I apply to my life to hopefully help you develop you own “smart eating plan” so that you can start eating better and feeling better, too: Plan for the week ahead – It sounds daunting, I know, but planning out your meals for the upcoming week will keep you on track with your health and wellness goals. Tak...

It’s been said that if you want to lose weight, you need to move more and eat less. For some, however, the eating less part is the most dreaded. Yet, cutting calories from your diet doesn’t have to be a struggle and you don’t need to go on some fad or trendy diet to do it. Making small, simple changes can make a huge difference. To prove this point, I’ve outlined 4 simple steps that you can take toward cutting calories today. Step One: Stop drinking soda Whether you drink regular soda or diet soda, it’s a good thing to remove from your diet. It’s a lot of empty calories and replacement sugars that you don’t need in your body, and don’t even get me started on the subject of “corn syrup” or artificial sweeteners. If you want to kick your addiction to sodas then cutting them out completely is the best way to do that. You will save yourself money and a lot of unneeded calories by cutting out just this one item. Step Two: Portion properly It’s very important to learn what prop...

It can never stressed enough how important it is that we know exactly what we are eating. With today’s marketing it is so easy to want to what the labels and brightly colored packages of convenience foods say to us, but approach with caution. While a packaged meal may be advertised as healthy, it’s up to you to find out if it really is before you simply buy into a few good words that may or may not be true. People get very excited when they see that convenience foods are labeled as “healthy” or “low-fat,” (I’ve been guilty about this, too) but some minor research needs to be done before indulging. The following are 3 ingredients that I recommend be avoided as much as possible. Trans-fats Trans-fats are found in so many foods that you probably eat on a regular basis. Trans-fats can be found in baked goods, microwave popcorn, fast foods, and frozen foods. These items are all convenient, but they’re not worth risking your health for. Trans-fats can cause an increase in bad choleste...

Are you wondering what you should eat tonight? Five helpful free iPhone apps locate healthy eating ideas for those on very restricted diets, such as gluten-free or vegan, as well as for those just watching fat grams or carbs. Specialized diets, such as vegetarian or low sugar, were difficult to adhere to in the recent past. However, the food and dining industries have become more aware of personal aversions to factory farming and of medical conditions, like diabetes and celiac disease. Let one of these five free iPhone apps help you find tonight’s perfect recipe or restaurant. 1. Edamam is a search engine that matches recipes to your craving. This app searches recipe sites, such as Epicurious.com, Bon Appetit.com and 101 Cookbooks.com, until it finds the perfect recipe. Edamam lets you search by 11 special diets as well as by calories. Have a sudden craving for gluten-free peanut butter cookies? That is no problem for Edamam. 2. Food Community is an app by Nommunity.com that h...

Have you recently switched to a vegetarian diet? Well good for you! There are many studies that show that the vegetarian and vegan lifestyles are a great way to lower your risk of diabetes, stroke, obesity and early death. A vegetarian diet, though, is only healthy if you know how to go about it. If you follow a vegetarian diet that is traditional in some culture somewhere in the world, you’re probably safe since traditional diets are usually well-planned to include all the essentials. If a regular omnivorous western diet is all you've ever known and you are simply cobbling a plant-based diet together, though, you face a whole range of health risks. That said; make sure you avoid making the following mistakes Simply eliminating the meat from your diet doesn't guarantee that you will be healthier. You need to replace the meat with vegetable-based foods that are rich in all the nutrition types that you need. You also need to be careful about unhealthy vegetarian foods – lik...

One of the most significant things I learned from my studies with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition is the notion of “primary food” and that the food we eat is actually a secondary source of energy. Yes, consumable foods are important to our survival, but equally important are Primary foods. These are the non-food sources of nourishment, and they are what really fuel us. Some call it a thirst for life, others might associate it with a 'full' life; either way, we have all experienced Primary Foods without even taking notice of their importance to our lives. Lovers find themselves lost in their bliss and entrepreneurs are fueled by the passion for their work. Primary foods are what fill our lives with excitement and forward momentum which can feed us more completely than any food. Before the digital age I can remember playing outside with friends and being called home for dinnertime. My response would almost always be, “But mom, I'm not hungry yet!" Without g...

I've been learning so much from my time with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as I work through their certification program. And, it should come as no surprise that I want to share that knowledge with you. One thing I've learned is "Fad is Bad." So, nope. No fad diets for me. Fad diets don’t work! If you’ve tried one, you know this already and probably remember feeling grouchy, starved, irritable, deprived, or just plain lousy. Instead, my strategy is to forget the fad. I'll avoid making drastic changes and take one step at a time (like learning what proper portion sizes look like), then incorporating these steps into a regular part of my daily routine. My tips for a well-balanced weight-loss plan include:     Always eating breakfast, and never skip meals.     Eating a variety of lean meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.     Limiting the amount of sugar, refined flour, processed f...

Ever swear that you would start eating better and then find yourself sitting with an empty pizza box wondering “how did I manage to eat the whole thing?!?!” I have! True confessions here; I love pizza! While eating a whole pizza is not the healthiest choice, I’m not gonna beat myself up over it. It’s a done deal. Gone! What I can do is try to figure out why I chose that behavior, what can I do to prevent future over indulgence, and minimize the damage of my emotionally destructive self-talk. Emotionally destructive self-talk is that little voice you hear in your head that feeds you lies and tells you you’re a failure. You’re a failure because you had one, albeit overly indulgent, meal? I don’t think so!!! Listening to that inner voice that says "you’ll never lose the weight" is as good as telling yourself to just give up. “I can’t stop eating - losing weight is too hard,” are other lies your little voice might tell you. But, it doesn't have to be this way. I’m de...

You may remember me mentioning that I’m studying the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and getting my certification as a nutritional coach. Well, here I am at the beginning of my 2nd quarter of classes and boy-oh-boy have I learned a bunch! While some of what I’ve learned is a little mind-bending, some of it is common knowledge that we’ve all shared, but often have failed to address. For example; in the long term, dieting to drop weight — and keep it off — rarely works. We both know that, right? Then why do we get so down on ourselves when this reality comes to fruition? Study after study supports the fact that many people eventually regain the weight they lost — and then some — once they stop their diet. The proof is in the collective pounds Americans have gained despite the billions of dollars we dish out for diet pills and programs each year. Unfortunately, the number of obese Americans continues to rise and has now reached epidemic proportions. So, what should you do to ...

The challenge of transforming your body is not a onetime event.  It doesn't happen magically in 6 weeks or less because you chose to purchase the latest gadget you found on TV in the middle of the night.  You can't buy it in a special box of food or in a program that doesn't include the three pillars you need for success - strength training, cardiovascular exercise, and supportive nutrition. The change comes through your constant pursuit of making yourself into a better, fitter, healthier and more balanced person every day. Each change you make, and every positive decision you choose, brings you a step closer to your goal and your vision. Here is a great example of this universal truth... Two recent studies published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that within 10 minutes of drinking about a pint of water, the metabolic rates of both men and women increased by as much as 24 to 30 percent.  Other drinks did not have the same effect. ...

For most of us, it’s easy to get enough fruit in our diets. They are generally portable, snack-able and sweet – what’s not to love about that? Add bananas, berries, or dried fruit to breakfast cereal, slice a juicy melon for a cooling after dinner dessert, and crunch on an apple for a quick mid-day snack and you’ll probably meet the typical daily nutritional guidelines of 2 cups. The REAL challenge is to get enough vegetables in a variety of colors into your day. That’s why I’ve listed some easy ways tips that I personally use to insure I add the recommended 2½ cups into my daily menus: Start the day with ½ cup of vegetable juice (low-sodium of course). Enjoy a spinach salad or other main dish salad for lunch. Add vegetables instead of meat to pasta dishes, pizzas, soups, and stews. Spoon salsa onto a baked sweet potato. (The spicy-sweet combo is delicious) Keep bags of organic, pre-cut, pre-washed carrots, snap peas, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes on ...

I’m sure I am not the only one to have ever taken their stress, anxiety, or depression out on a nice big bowl of ice cream or potato chips. Hey, when you hurt, you need comfort – right? Unfortunately, sometimes we forget why we have certain cravings and tend to go on auto-pilot when it comes to self-medicating with food. There are two basic thoughts about why we ‘crave’ certain foods: One is that our body is lacking in specific nutrients, the other is that we have triggers that activate our cravings such as habit, or emotional events. Whatever the cause, cravings are important to pay attention to and address. So what can you do to stop stuffing down your feelings with food? Well, there is the usual “fight the feeling” theory that holds some merit. But, just fighting the urge can be tough. However, I discovered that the brain can misinterpret the body’s need for water as a craving for food. Weird, huh? Try this, when you feel a craving, drink a full glass of water. Then “figh...

Could it be true? Are Americans dieting from fast food? A report from the Centers for Disease Control has my hopes up. Their study showed a reduction in Adult caloric intake from fast food. It shows that the average percentage of adults consuming fast foods went from 12.8% (from 2003 to 2006) to a thinner 11.3% (in years 2007 through 2010). This gives me hope that our obsessions with McDonald’s fries, Wendy’s Frostys, Taco Bell tacos and Burger King Whoppers are no longer going to control our wallets or waistlines. So, I wonder and dream; could this be the beginning of a rising and united group of Americans who are becoming more health conscious and financially effective by choosing to spend their dollar on healthier foods? Well, there is a little confusion as to how best to interpret the findings provided by the CDC study. These results may be confirmation that public health messages are hitting home with people. However, they could just as easily reflect the financial stress mo...

Along with obesity, it seems that high blood pressure is epidemic. What’s amazing to me is that you don’t have to be overweight to have HBP. For that reason, many people assume they are safe from this disease and unknowingly increase their risk of stroke and death. For the most part, HBP doesn’t really carry any significant symptoms, which is why it has earned its moniker, “The silent killer.” So, what to do? Well, check your blood pressure regularly, especially if you are over the age of forty. Then, set an appointment to see doctor if you see a trend where your BP numbers are higher than 120/80. Your physician can help sort through the many medications that can help in maintaining your blood pressure. However, my preferred treatment is prevention thorough exercise and diet. It doesn’t have to be complicated either. A daily walk and some minor adjustments like adding cleaner foods to your diet may be all you need. Take cold-water fish for example. Cold water fish are rich in ome...

In case you didn’t know – I’m a big fan of massage therapy. Since stress can kill, and living in today's modern world means stress is a constant companion, massage has become a major part of my wellness program. But here is a stress control technique that surprised me... Recent research suggests that eating 'friendly' bacteria could help reduce anxiety. In the journal Neurogastroenterology and Motility, a study found that giving a probiotic known as Bifidobacterium longum to mice with infectious colitis helped reduce their anxious behavior. [1] And, in another study, researchers at Ireland's University College Cork, gave mice a probiotic known as lactobacillus. They found that doing so resulted in reduced anxiety and depression-related behavior. [2] So what do these studies mean? Well, to me it confirms my belief that food is a natural medicine, and like all drugs you can use it to better your health or damage it. Perhaps the benefit of “good” intestinal flo...

If you’re a fan of my Facebook page, you would have read a recent question I posted regarding protein shakes. A few of you even commented on it (thanks, btw). Personally, I am a fan of these supplements because of their simplicity and ability to provide the body with quick nutrition. And for me, the most versatile and generally useful kind of protein shake may be the whey-based one. This is because whey protein contains numerous essential amino acids packed into it. And whether you are a body builder or an over 40-something person looking for a way to improve your diet, keeping a steady flow of nutrients is vitally important. Another benefit of using whey-based protein shakes is that you will generally find little fat within these dietary supplements. Thereby giving you some room to enjoy fats in something else; perhaps a greasy “cheat” food you love? Variety is also a benefit. I like to blend frozen organic fruits such as blueberries, cherries or mango into my shakes to vary t...

It’s the weekend and I must first apologize if the title to this posting set your heart aflutter. The truth of the matter is; easy weight loss is a myth. Sorry… Unfortunately, many diet and weight loss gimmicks have preyed upon the American obsession with thinness. It is the very promise of FAST results that has spawned a grand multibillion dollar industry and a plethora of fat-fighting strategies. The question is, “Do they work?” Well, yes…, and, well, no. Take for example, Liposuction. It is t he process of suctioning fat out of specific areas of the body. This procedure requires t ubes to be inserted in half-inch long incisions in areas such as the thighs, buttocks, upper arms, abdomen or hips, in order to “vacuum” out the fat cells. It’s a brutal procedure leaving the patient bruised, sore and in support bandages upwards of six weeks after surgery, and contrary to popular belief, liposuction is not recommended for obese individuals. In fact, many docto...

Often I am asked about supplements and their role in a healthy diet. My take is that while vitamins and minerals are essential to life, the human body cannot self sustain this requirement. Therefore, it is imperative that we eat a well-rounded, low fat diet in order to obtain an adequate variety and supply. Unfortunately, Americans have become infatuated with supplementation. Mega-dosing has become a common practice for both athletes trying to improve their performances and the “average Jane or Joe” trying to compensate for inadequate nutrition. Research indicates supplementation is ineffective in improving athletic performance in a well-nourished adult. That’s to say if you are eating well, taking additional doses of supplements won’t give you an edge. In fact, excessive amounts of fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K) may prove toxic since they are stored in the body and not easily excreted. Even some water soluble supplements such as vitamin B-12 have been shown to cause...

I hope that you had an excellent new year celebration and that you are ready for a great new year. I know that I am! While I discourage New Year’s Resolutions, I still indirectly get asked for advice on how to make them stick. For example, a person I met said their New Year's resolution was to start eating better at work. She vowed to no longer visiting the doughnut box in the break room or pig out at any of the company birthday parties. Yet she still needed to entertain clients and liked eating out with coworkers every now and again. Did I know what she could do to eat healthy at restaurants? My advice was to try eating a few walnuts (about 6-8) or a small fistful of almonds (about 12-15) before leaving for the restaurant. The idea is to not arrive in starvation mode. In fact, eating a little healthy fat before a meal will trigger a chain reaction that will slow the rate at which your stomach empties. The end result is a satiated feeling, but unfortunately it takes the bra...