Live Strong & Live Long

Did you know that the #1 new years resolution for 2010 is to lose weight? Of course you did!

According to www.nationmaster.com the United States ranks number one in obesity, with 30.6% of Americans carrying around more LB's than we should. Here's how the top 10 most obese (those with a Body Mass Index greater than 30%) countries break down:

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	30.6%
# 2	Mexico:	24.2%
# 3	United Kingdom:	23%
# 4	Slovakia:	22.4%
# 5	Greece:	21.9%
# 6	Australia:	21.7%
# 7	New Zealand:	20.9%
# 8	Hungary:	18.8%
# 9	Luxembourg:	18.4%
# 10	Czech Republic:	14.8%

Take a close look at these numbers and Read Between the Lines. A large percentage of Americans make the wrong choices when it comes to eating and drinking. With healthcare going to a National platform soon, it's time for us to take control and be pro-active when it comes to our own health.

It's not often I promote websites, but this one's well worth it.

If you're looking for a great and super simple website that allows you to set your calorie goals, keep track of your daily calorie intake AND log your exercise all in one place, and at no cost - I've got the perfect solution for you.

Go to www.livestrong.com and on the top of the home page, select "Daily Plate". From there, you'll set up your profile with your target weight goal and your daily calorie goal in just minutes.

Then, every day (I usually log my intake and output once after lunch and once before bed) you'll go in and add ALL of your calories and exercise. The great thing about this website is that I haven't had to add any specific foods myself, because they already exist in their data base.

My Starbucks Skinny Hazelnut Latte was there, and so was the Malto-Meal I had for breakfast. All you do is search for the item you ate or drank, and lots of options will instantly pop up for you to select from.

Here's a look at "My Daily Plate" for my breakfast and my lunch today:

Food Item	Servings	Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
Malto-meal	1.00	130	1g	0mg	0mg	23g	0g	1g	5g	x
Skinny Latte	1.00	120	0g	5mg	170mg	18g	16g	0g	12g	x
English Muffin - whole Wheat	1.00	130	2g	0mg	0mg	26g	0g	0g	6g	x
Skippy Peanut Butter	0.50	95	8g	0mg	75mg	4g	2g	1g	4g	x

Check it out for yourself, because there's way too many tools for me to mention here.

Take a look at some of the healthiest countries, that us American's need to strive towards:

# 24	Austria:	9.1%
# 25	Italy:	8.5%
# 26	Norway:	8.3%
# 27	Switzerland:	7.7%
= 28	Japan:	3.2%
= 28	Korea, South:	3.2%

Let's all decide to live strong and longer by taking control of what we're putting into our bodies! After all, our bodies are our own personal temples that deserve the utmost respect.

Let me know if you find Livestrong and My Daily Plate helpful.