First exam taken Score 100%

Well that brought back memories and feelings of uncertainty from my past exam taking days! I rechecked the answers a zillion times before submitting my exam on-line and it was remarkable ... in the blink of an eye I received the answers and a total sense of relief! I did read the chapter 3 times and answered all the practice questions during the week but I still have to say exams can be tricky. They don't just come right out and ask a question - they make you THINK with the way they ask what is true and what is false, etc. Anyways, I made it through the hardest part - Getting Started! I have found that studying does require a certain amount of time to devote and focus on what I am reading and I can only hope that it stays etched in my mind. I did learn quite a bit in this first chapter and I am very happy with the knowledge on nutrition I have acquired. I can see that I am paying much more attention to what I am eating on a daily basis. What really brought the statistics to light was research conducted by the ARS Food Survey Research Group showing how (un)healthy the American Diet really is. I think most people just assume they are eating the right amounts of each food group daily but do you realize that almost half of Americans do not eat ANY fruit at all during a day! We should be eating 2-4 servings. I have to admit I have gone days without any fruit - but never again!

Variety, balance and moderation in our diet is key in order to consume all the nutrients our bodies need to function properly. Choose foods that are nutrient dense instead of ones that contain empty calories - whole wheat banana pancakes are a much healthier choice for breakfast than a sugary doughnut or two. Seriously, think about what you are putting into your body. The affects may not show immediately or even for some time depending on what may be lacking in your diet or even what we may be over-consuming but the increase in obesity, heart disease and diabetes in the American diet is proof we are not taking our health serious.

I am definitely geared up and ready to dive into Chapter 2 .... Think about what you are eating this week and see if you make some sensible changes.

Here's to Your Health ... Cheers!

It has Arrived!!!

I received my Lesson Group One yesterday and I am excited and nervous! I want to jump right in and start reading but I know I need to totally focus on this - my concentration has to be zoned into what I am reading so I am waiting. There is a Textbook of study and also a Study Guide. I flipped through both and they have tons of information to absorb. The study guide starts out with 10 rules and the one rule that made me smile and relax states - Take pleasure in learning from each lesson. A lesson shouldn't be a chore to get through. A lesson should be an enriching experience that you allow yourself.



I like the way these authors think! I think I might read a page or two ..........

Eye Opening Comparison on Bacon!

Normally when I check a food label the only item I am looking for is the calorie count so I can keep my calorie intake in-line. Since I decided to delve deeper into nutrition I decided to go further with the label looking and I am sure in my studies I will be taught well on this topic. We had a healthier version of BLT for dinner this evening and I documented what I did at the Bizy Times blog but what really amazed me was actually looking at the different bacon products and comparing them. Turkey bacon is somewhat new to the market and for the most part I think people shy away from it and still prefer the old traditional bacon we grew up with. Sure the taste and the texture is very different but so are the nutritional stats and I prefer turkey bacon hands down from now on.


Turkey Bacon stats
Serving size 1 slice (15 g)
Calories 20 Calories from fat 5
Total fat .5 g
Saturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 10 mg
Sodium 140 mg
Total carb 0 g
Protein 3 g


Traditional Bacon stats (lower sodium version)
Serving size 2 pan fried slices (16 g)
Calories 90 Calories from fat 70
Total fat 8 g
Saturated fat 3 g
Cholesterol 10 mg
Sodium 190 mg lower sodium version 320 mg in regular
Total carb 0 g
Protein 4 g


What was confusing me when I first looked at this comparison was the serving size for each - 1 slice for turkey bacon is 15 g while 2 slices of traditional bacon is 16 g. It made sense after I cooked up the bacon - turkey bacon has very little grease cooked out of it while traditional bacon has ALOT and shrivels up to half the size - therefore, 2 slices equaled the same as 1 slice of turkey bacon! The Calorie count is dramatically different also and although I am not yet an expert on the subject of nutrition, this did convince me to pass on traditional bacon in the future. Oh the sodium amount I need to point out also - this was a lower sodium version I used at 190 mg whereas regular regular bacon checks in at 320 mg per serving....ouch!

Still organizing & updating!

Still preparing myself or rather organizing my life before the big studying phase of nutrition starts. I have been reading daily on different informative websites and I usually take a big sigh of relief when I walk away from the computer - it can be mind boggling. Almost like this blogging :-) I did switch to the beta Blogger today so I have been scoping out these features. I notice I did lose my AdSense on the new page so I will have to figure that out. I do like the easier way to add links - websites and blogs, instead of that code confusion previous - that totally intimidates me! This seems nice and easy so I am happy.


I did start up a Nutrition Network message board on yahoo since I am still so used to that form of communication on the internet. It will be interesting to see if blogging replaces the message boards or if they work hand in hand. The message board is located at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Nutrition_Network if anyone cares to join. There will be a database for recipes and member information which is optional (but great if you have a business to promote). Tomorrow I will be starting the "Word of the Week" for open discussion - something about Nutrition and something we can all learn from. The whole goal of my blogs, website and message board is to educate myself and there just may be some tidbit here or there that helps someone else improve their health and overall lifestyle.

Never Stop Learning!!!

The Diet and Weightloss Blog: Some reliable Nutrition Websites

The Diet and Weightloss Blog: Some reliable Nutrition Websites Here are a few more websites posted by a fellow blogger at his blog listed above. I will be checking them out and adding them to my favorites for future reference. Thanks Steve!

I did receive an acknowledgement letter today along with my student # and ID card and Certificate of Enrollment for the Professional Nutrition Program and should be receiving my first package of materials (set of lessons) in a few days - So I am waiting and ready!!!

I did check with Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, for a definition on Nutrition and received a 14 page printout - Wow! You can view this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition Simply stated, nutrition is the study of the role of food nutrients in the body. Have you ever wondered what takes place after you eat a bowl of cereal or a slice of pizza? To be honest with you, I never gave it much thought. I just knew my hunger was satisfied and of course I was always mindful of the calorie count I was consuming, if even for a vague moment! I would read an article on the health benefits and feel oh so good after I had eaten a cup full of blueberries or a blueberry pancake ... little did I realize what really was going on INSIDE me! I hope to walk away from my studies with the knowledge of the science and structure of food and nutrients and their role in human health and disease.

Debbie

Nutrition websites

We can spend hours and even days surfing the internet looking for information on any subject that interests us and this is exactly what I have been doing the past few days - clicking link after link about nutrition. I realize I have ALOT to learn! I have started a Nutrition Folder in my Favorites and have added a few sites that I will be returning to for more information. As soon as I determine the best ones - simple usage, understandable and good information I will add them to the blog under the Links section. I have also started a Nutrition Folder in My Documents on the computer to save articles/posts I write along with informative reading I come across from magazines and my studies. Basically I am getting organized - I also purchased another USB flash drive that plugs in my computer and that I will religiously be backing up my material onto. I had a recent computer crash and know how terrible it is to lose absolutely everything on your computer - the terror of sitting staring at a blank blue screen can cause even the strongest soul to Scream or even cry! We do learn from our past experiences and I can't stress enough to everyone about "backing up" their material on the computer!

Here are a few links that I did add to my Favorites -

http://www.mypyramid.gov
http://www.nutritiondata.com
http://nutrition.about.com

I will continue to surf around and organize as I await the arrival of my study material. I am guessing some time next week it should arrive and I did read recently how online courses and distance learning is gaining in popularity and more businesses are looking at this form of education more seriously. Having earned my real estate license through a home study course I have real experience in this type of learning and I can honestly say that you have to be a very organized and dedicated type of person to undertake learning in this manner. In my opinion it is a harder form of learning since you take in every single detail whereas in a classroom setting, you tend to receive direction and are steered in what areas are of major importance and just may be on the tests. Studying on your own you also have no one who you are accountable to except yourself so you need to be a very disciplined type of individual to make it through. I have two years to complete my studies but I hope to shorten that time considerably and will have a better handle on this once I receive my material!

Debbie
www.BizyTimes.com

Learning to blog

I am very new to the blog scene so I had to visit Borders to see what books were out there on the subject. Not too many at my local Borders but I did manage to pick up "Teach yourself Blogging" and finished reading it in no time. I figure I have some time here (not much) before my learning material for Nutrition arrives and I need to do some learning on Blogging! I did start one up which is connected to my website http://www.BizyTimes.com but for the life of me I don't understand how all this connects. I started the blog over there to document my experiences with healthy cooking, different recipes using my Wildtree Herb products and to snap some pictures! I did spend time today visiting other blogs and most are very fascinating - now I just have to figure out how to do all this blog rolling, backlinking and all the other fun blog things out there! I have learned one thing though in all my internet surfing and learning that there is no point in letting myself become frustrated when I can't figure something out (which I tend to do often) - the more I practice and click around and read... I notice a lightbulb goes off and I have the answer or I just send an email and ask! I wonder what my blogs will look like a year from now ??