According to Grocery Shopper Trends 2008, a recent survey by the Food Marketing Institute, 71% of families are cooking at home more and eating out less in order to cut costs. Interestingly, 91% of those surveyed say they eat healthier when dining at home. Families also save money because a restaurant meal costs more than twice per person, a median of $12 compared with $5 in the FMI report.
This means that more people will need to learn how to cook. Cooking can be fun and it doesn't have to be gourmet. The best part of it is that maybe more families will sit down at the dinner table together - a great opportunity to enjoy each other's company.
I can remember when my girls were younger. They'd come home from school - I'd ask them how their day was - and they'd say fine and that was all I heard about what went on. Yet, when we were all sitting down at the table for dinner and we really got to talking, so many stories would flow. So, don't miss that opportunity to connect with your kids and family. Maybe even consider cooking together. And as the survey showed, you could be the healthier for it.
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets (all rights reserved)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Does My Blog Reveal My Personality?
I just finished reading an article from the magazine, The Atlantic. The article was by Andrew Sullivan who was commenting on blogging. He said that blogging reveals a lot about a person. Because blogging tends to be written on the fly without much organization to it, people tend to allow more viewers to get to know them. Blogging tends to be more conversational, allbeit, a little lobsided. Like right now I'm hogging the airwaves while you're sitting there reading. So, I do hope you'll leave a comment so this becomes a dialogue rather than a monologue.
For anyone who is familiar with personality typing (if you're not, be sure to visit my website at http://www.advantagediets.com/ and click on the right side "About personality typing"), two of the eight preferences that make up type are Extravert (the spelling is that of Carl Jung, the psychologist who developed psychological type) and Introvert. While personality typing includes more than the dictionary definition of these terms, Extraverts do tend to share more of themselves than Introverts. As you read various people's blogs, think about whether you think the person is an Extravert or an Introvert.
Extroverts are more willing to share facts about themselves. Introverts are often harder to get to know. Yet, it's possible that through a blog you'll get to know an Introvert better than you might if you were to have face-to-face contact. Blogging provides some with a safer environment to express themselves.
I'm an ENFJ. People who know me will say that I allow them to get to know me very well because I tend to share a lot about myself. They say I have integrity, that they can trust me. I'd like to think they feel this way just because that's who I am. They know I would never hurt them. But maybe it's my being an Extravert with a greater willingness to open up. I wonder if Introverts with their difficulty in opening up leave questions in people's minds about who they really are.
The challenge I have with blogging is the willingness to post it without checking it over and over again. As a writer of many books, I know how important it is to organize my thoughts before even starting to put anything down. With a blog, I can experience free thinking, allowing thoughts to come in and get recorded without figuring too deeply on how it fits into the whole scheme of the written piece. Another part of my personality is the _NF_, the idealist. Idealists are perfectionists squared. Not only do we want everything perfect, but will always believe something can be better. With blogging, I'm hoping to experience a sense of free flow without too much rewriting. Although, I have to admit that I did reread this piece before I push the "post" button. Maybe one day I'll trust that it's good enough on the first writing.
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets (all rights reserved)
For anyone who is familiar with personality typing (if you're not, be sure to visit my website at http://www.advantagediets.com/ and click on the right side "About personality typing"), two of the eight preferences that make up type are Extravert (the spelling is that of Carl Jung, the psychologist who developed psychological type) and Introvert. While personality typing includes more than the dictionary definition of these terms, Extraverts do tend to share more of themselves than Introverts. As you read various people's blogs, think about whether you think the person is an Extravert or an Introvert.
Extroverts are more willing to share facts about themselves. Introverts are often harder to get to know. Yet, it's possible that through a blog you'll get to know an Introvert better than you might if you were to have face-to-face contact. Blogging provides some with a safer environment to express themselves.
I'm an ENFJ. People who know me will say that I allow them to get to know me very well because I tend to share a lot about myself. They say I have integrity, that they can trust me. I'd like to think they feel this way just because that's who I am. They know I would never hurt them. But maybe it's my being an Extravert with a greater willingness to open up. I wonder if Introverts with their difficulty in opening up leave questions in people's minds about who they really are.
The challenge I have with blogging is the willingness to post it without checking it over and over again. As a writer of many books, I know how important it is to organize my thoughts before even starting to put anything down. With a blog, I can experience free thinking, allowing thoughts to come in and get recorded without figuring too deeply on how it fits into the whole scheme of the written piece. Another part of my personality is the _NF_, the idealist. Idealists are perfectionists squared. Not only do we want everything perfect, but will always believe something can be better. With blogging, I'm hoping to experience a sense of free flow without too much rewriting. Although, I have to admit that I did reread this piece before I push the "post" button. Maybe one day I'll trust that it's good enough on the first writing.
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets (all rights reserved)
Health, Wellness, Fitness, and Nutrition: Bugs in My Breakfast
Health, Wellness, Fitness, and Nutrition: Bugs in My Breakfast: "allergies, dietary supplements, fiber, immune function, microorganisms, oatmeal, prebiotics, probiotics, stress"
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets (all rights reserved)
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets (all rights reserved)
Bugs in My Breakfast
As I was eating my breakfast this morning, I was thinking how happy my gut would be when my breakfast finally arrived. That may sound like an odd thought, but you should first know what I had for breakfast. I started out with 1/2 of an orange and 1/2 of a banana, which took care of the fruit portion of my breakfast. Then I had 1 cup of cooked steel-cut oatmeal with 1/4 cup of Greek style plain yogurt with active cultures. I added 1/4 cup of 1% milk to moisten the cereal plus about 1 tablespoon of a flavored non-dairy coffee creamer.
Now you may be wondering why my gut would be so happy. The yogurt with its active cultures is considered a probiotic. As per wikipedia.com - "Probiotics are dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeasts. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: ‘Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host’.[1] Probiotic bacterial cultures are intended to assist the body's naturally occurring gut flora, an ecology of microbes, to re-establish themselves. Claims are made that probiotics strengthen the immune system to combat allergies, excessive alcohol intake, stress, exposure to toxic substances, and other diseases.So now I have these great little microorganisms running around in my gut. But these little critters like to eat the same as you and me.
The oatmeal I had is very high in fiber, especially soluble fiber, something which these microorganisms love to feed on. The more good guys I can have swimming around in my gut the better.
The idea of eating foods high in probiotics and prebiotics is to increase the number of beneficial microorganisms in the gut in an effort to push the harmful ones out. Research is pointing to inflammation as a participant in such diseases as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Eating probiotics and prebiotics can potentially decrease inflammation in the body. It's so simple to do so much for yourself. Give my breakfast a try. If nothing else, you will find it is so satisfying and filling that it keeps you going until lunch.
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets (all rights reserved)
Now you may be wondering why my gut would be so happy. The yogurt with its active cultures is considered a probiotic. As per wikipedia.com - "Probiotics are dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeasts. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: ‘Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host’.[1] Probiotic bacterial cultures are intended to assist the body's naturally occurring gut flora, an ecology of microbes, to re-establish themselves. Claims are made that probiotics strengthen the immune system to combat allergies, excessive alcohol intake, stress, exposure to toxic substances, and other diseases.So now I have these great little microorganisms running around in my gut. But these little critters like to eat the same as you and me.
The oatmeal I had is very high in fiber, especially soluble fiber, something which these microorganisms love to feed on. The more good guys I can have swimming around in my gut the better.
The idea of eating foods high in probiotics and prebiotics is to increase the number of beneficial microorganisms in the gut in an effort to push the harmful ones out. Research is pointing to inflammation as a participant in such diseases as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Eating probiotics and prebiotics can potentially decrease inflammation in the body. It's so simple to do so much for yourself. Give my breakfast a try. If nothing else, you will find it is so satisfying and filling that it keeps you going until lunch.
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets (all rights reserved)
Friday, June 27, 2008
A litle more discussion about keeping a food diary
We normally think of food diaries as tracking devices of what we eat (and that is what tracking devices are referred to as). Yet, we could think of a food diary as our personal diary - pages of our thoughts and feelings, what happened in our day, what we wish for, etc. For example,
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets
Dear Diary,
Today was actually a great day. I didn't fall prey to all the sweet treats around the office. And you know why? Because as I looked at the M&Ms on Susie's desk and the doughnuts that were left out in the breakout room, I knew that I would have to tell you about them later if I ate them. I couldn't come up with an excuse that I would write here that I wouldn't later read and tell myself, "you've got to be kidding me!". You've become my conscience.Besides, I knew that when I logged those sweet treats in on my food tracking system, I would pretty much wipe out a lot of my calorie allowance for the day. I had to decide if they were really worth it. I didn't want to lie on the sheet, nor did I want to see that at the end of the day I had overeaten and the only excuse I could use was that "I wanted them." If I can't answer to myself, there is no one who is holding an axe over my head, making me eat one way or the other.
That gave me a great feeling to know I was in control. Let me just hope I'm as good tomorrow.
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets
Thursday, June 12, 2008
What do food diaries and personality typing have to do with each other?
The National Weight Control Registry was put together in an attempt to show that people can successfully lose weight and keep it off. They have been keeping track of successful losers for many years in hopes of finding out what are their secrets.
Anyone who has lost weight will tell you that losing the weight is easy compared to maintaining the loss. Yet, some people have greater success losing weight than others. What is it that they figured out to make it possible to reach their goals? The National Weight Registry asked their members to share what they found to be the greatest help to them in losing weight. It seems that the majority of the losers kept a food diary. They said that by having to write down what they ate, they were kept connected to the process. It acted somewhat like their conscience, always there reminding them of what they should be doing and reflecting what it is they were doing.
From an MBTI or personality typing perspective, people with a strong Judging preference, a preference that wants organization, enjoys keeping lists, being structured, would find keeping a food diary very motivating. (By the way, if you're not familiar with personality typing, visit my website at http://www.advantagediets.com/ and click on the link "About personality typing.") If part of your type name includes the letter "J", then consider keeping a food diary to lose weight.
That's not to say that Perceivers can't keep food diaries. They can and will, but may not keep to it as long as the Judgers will. With their need for spontaneity and flexibility (What if Sally wants to go out for an unplanned afternoon latte?), too much structure scares them off. So food diaries may not be as appropriate a tool for Perceivers as it is for Judgers.
I hope one day that someone will run a study on the members of the National Weight Registry to see what the types are of the people who have relied on food diaries to lose weight. If you are a researcher and decide to do so, please fill me in on the results. I would be delighted to see if my suspicions are correct.
There is a great tool for Perceivers that is a food diary and is fun. Check out "Drawing the Line on Calories, Carbs, and Fat" on my website. Drawing the Line caters to the characteristics of both Judging and Perceiving. There is structure involved in looking foods up and connecting-the-dots in this system, something Judgers would enjoy. But there is also the element of fun, something Perceivers would want. They love to see at the end of the day what type of picture they've drawn of the foods they've eaten.
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets
Anyone who has lost weight will tell you that losing the weight is easy compared to maintaining the loss. Yet, some people have greater success losing weight than others. What is it that they figured out to make it possible to reach their goals? The National Weight Registry asked their members to share what they found to be the greatest help to them in losing weight. It seems that the majority of the losers kept a food diary. They said that by having to write down what they ate, they were kept connected to the process. It acted somewhat like their conscience, always there reminding them of what they should be doing and reflecting what it is they were doing.
From an MBTI or personality typing perspective, people with a strong Judging preference, a preference that wants organization, enjoys keeping lists, being structured, would find keeping a food diary very motivating. (By the way, if you're not familiar with personality typing, visit my website at http://www.advantagediets.com/ and click on the link "About personality typing.") If part of your type name includes the letter "J", then consider keeping a food diary to lose weight.
That's not to say that Perceivers can't keep food diaries. They can and will, but may not keep to it as long as the Judgers will. With their need for spontaneity and flexibility (What if Sally wants to go out for an unplanned afternoon latte?), too much structure scares them off. So food diaries may not be as appropriate a tool for Perceivers as it is for Judgers.
I hope one day that someone will run a study on the members of the National Weight Registry to see what the types are of the people who have relied on food diaries to lose weight. If you are a researcher and decide to do so, please fill me in on the results. I would be delighted to see if my suspicions are correct.
There is a great tool for Perceivers that is a food diary and is fun. Check out "Drawing the Line on Calories, Carbs, and Fat" on my website. Drawing the Line caters to the characteristics of both Judging and Perceiving. There is structure involved in looking foods up and connecting-the-dots in this system, something Judgers would enjoy. But there is also the element of fun, something Perceivers would want. They love to see at the end of the day what type of picture they've drawn of the foods they've eaten.
Visit www.advantagediets.com for more information on
personality typing.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Personality Typing and Cake
You must be wondering what does personality typing and cake have to do with each other. I'm going to share a scenario with you and would like you to think about how you would handle this situation. We're dealing with the Thinking and Feeling preferences here. If you're new to type, visit my website at www.advantagediets.com and click on the link "About personality typing."
Scenario: A friend of yours has made you a cake for your birthday. You're trying to lose weight and have tried to stay clear of sweets and extra calories. Do you eat the cake?
If your strong preference is Feeling, you probably will eat the cake. You wouldn't want to hurt your friend's feelings, even if it meant sabotaging your diet. This is a subjective call where you bring to bear your opinions about how you should treat your friends. In this case, you're more worried with how your friend will feel if you don't eat her cake than what effect it will have on you. As you can see, someone with a strong Feeling preference really runs the risk of letting others and situations determine their decisions. This is especially true if someone with a strong Feeling preference also has a strong Extraverting preference.
If your strong preference is Thinking, you probably won't eat the cake. If you have decided that this diet you're going on won't allow you the extra calories of a piece of cake, you'll probably tell your friend how nice it was of her to make it for you, but to please understand that it doesn't fit into your weight-loss efforts. You'd be taking an objective point-of-view with the situation, analyzing what effect it would have on your day's caloric intake. Now, had you known your friend was going to make you a cake and you have iNtuition as your strong preference, you could have planned the day so that the other foods you ate were less caloric to allow room for these extra calories.
Visit http://www.advantagediets.com/ for more information on
personality typing, nutrition, health and wellness.
Scenario: A friend of yours has made you a cake for your birthday. You're trying to lose weight and have tried to stay clear of sweets and extra calories. Do you eat the cake?
If your strong preference is Feeling, you probably will eat the cake. You wouldn't want to hurt your friend's feelings, even if it meant sabotaging your diet. This is a subjective call where you bring to bear your opinions about how you should treat your friends. In this case, you're more worried with how your friend will feel if you don't eat her cake than what effect it will have on you. As you can see, someone with a strong Feeling preference really runs the risk of letting others and situations determine their decisions. This is especially true if someone with a strong Feeling preference also has a strong Extraverting preference.
If your strong preference is Thinking, you probably won't eat the cake. If you have decided that this diet you're going on won't allow you the extra calories of a piece of cake, you'll probably tell your friend how nice it was of her to make it for you, but to please understand that it doesn't fit into your weight-loss efforts. You'd be taking an objective point-of-view with the situation, analyzing what effect it would have on your day's caloric intake. Now, had you known your friend was going to make you a cake and you have iNtuition as your strong preference, you could have planned the day so that the other foods you ate were less caloric to allow room for these extra calories.
Visit http://www.advantagediets.com/ for more information on
personality typing, nutrition, health and wellness.
Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets
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