What is Your Real Age?

That is what 53 looks like ladies! Ms. Christie Brinkley is obviously doing something right. Your body doesn't lie, if you are healthy on the inside, it will project it on the outside.

Do you know your REAL age? About a year ago while watching the Dr. Oz show (if you don't know who he is, he's Oprah's doctor and a great health talk show host with an upbeat personality), he made a recommendation for everyone to find out their real age. Your probably thinking, um.... I already know my real age. This is a different kind of thing, it's actually a test that measures multiple facets of your lifestyle to determine if you body is physically older, younger or the same as your biological age. Who wouldn't want to know this, right?

Being the curious and health conscious person that I am, I decided to spend about 20 minutes to do the real age test which in turn revealed my true age according to my body and habits right now. This test assesses everything from your weight, vegetable intake, how often you exercise, what type of exercises you do, how often you visit your doctor, how much fiber you consume, how high your blood pressure is and the list goes on! After answering several questions you wait anxiously for the answer. It also shares with you areas of improvement so you can make positive changes also. So, if you get an age older than your biological age, don't fret as your results are not necessarily permanent, you can turn things around pretty quickly with a few lifestyle changes.

What is my real age you might be wondering? Well, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that much of my hard work and years of good habits have paid off. It turns out that I am actually 6 years younger than my biological age. Now that's the kind of news I like to hear!

Truth be told I don't even know what my blood type is (sad, I know) or what my cholesterol level is but knowing my lifestyle and the fact that I've scaled back on shellfish (major cholesterol contributor) in a big way over the years and I don't eat fried or greasy foods.  I think that area should be in balance, but I do plan to have it formally checked during my upcoming physical. If you don't know certain requested information, the test factors that in and you don't need to worry about it, just do the best you can. I know I can also improve in the exercise department by doing more cardio and being more consistent at the gym as well as consuming less sugar.

On the flipside my girlfriend was saddened to find out that she was 8 years older than her biological age! Knowing her lifestyle I can't say that I was surprised as she does smoke quite a bit which is a huge factor, however she is a vegetarian and eats a lot of organic food which probably helped her score from becoming worse. Needless to say it was a bit of a wakeup call for her. After doing this test she vowed to make some changes and lose weight and has succesfully kept off 15 pounds since doing the real age test a few months ago.

Dr. Oz uses the real age calculator too on his show when working with those who are in need of losing weight, looking to reduce their cholesterol and blood pressure and also looks at their success in terms of those figures. The really great part is that every person who made positive changes in their life got to see their real age decrease as they adopted a healthier lifestyle. The same is true for all of us too, as they say 28 days to a new habit.

There is also a real age diet book by Dr. Oz's co-author of his other books Michael Roizen, M.D., who shares which foods are most beneficial to your body to keep your real age as low as possible. I haven't read it yet but it looks like a good read.

Here is the REAL AGE calculator link so you can try it out too. Let me know if you decided to try it. Were your results what you expected? Did the test make you assess your lifestyle to make any changes or did it encourage you that you are already making the right choices?

Foods That Make You Feel FULL

With so many women making fresh commitments to their health for 2010 in both healthy eating and exercise, I thought I'd share some snacks that will help you feel full between meals. As a former personal trainer, I've tested these out and know that they contain solid nutrients, protein, proper carbohydrates and essential fats.


Maybe it's the growling in your stomach or a 3pm afternoon craving that has you searching for a snack between meals, whatever the case, you'll want to focus on eating foods that make you feel full but are healthy too.Too many people eat sugar and carbohydrates all day and wonder why they constantly feel hungry. Your body needs a nice even balance of essential fats, protein and carbohydrates. If you overindulge in one and forget about the others, your body will let you know!

The first step is to make sure you are eating properly during mealtimes. If you are eating a lot of grains like white pasta and rice- or worse, mostly sugar like candy bars, chips and soda, but no form of protein, you will constantly feel the need to eat, which brings about the need for multiple snacks. The best thing to do is ensure that at each meal you are eating protein, carbs and fat. An example might be toast with peanut butter and a piece of fruit like a bananas or a small bowl of berries. The fat and protein are contained in the peanut butter but the toast and banana will give you some sugars for energy too. Lunch might consist of salmon over a salad with several veggies and a light dressing. Dinner could be a chicken breast with asparagus drizzled with a bit of olive oil and some wholegrain rice.

Once you've balanced out your meals (and likely made them healthier at the same time) then you'll need to know what to eat during snack times. It has been proven several times over that eating 5-6 smaller meals are far more effective at both keeping you feeling full longer and losing weight as well as speeding up your metabolism, than eating only 2-3 larger meals all day long. Plan to eat smaller meals and incorporate the following as snacks in between major meals and once after dinner. Chances are if you eat a really early dinner, say before 6pm, and you stay up late, you'll be very hungry by about 8pm. Try some of the following ideas as substitutes for your regular choices.

12 Healthy, Balanced, Filling Snacks

1. Slice up a whole apple (add some cinnamon if you like) and spread with low-fat plain cream cheese or peanut butter or you can add a couple thin cheddar cheese slices. The protein and fat in the cheese coupled with the fiber in the apple will help keep you feel full. You know what the say-an apple a day...

2. A handful (about 15 pieces) of nuts such as almonds, walnuts or pecans are best.

3. Bananas are perfect, they contain both potassium and magnesium which play vitally important roles in: nerve transmission; protein and carbohydrate metabolism; muscle contraction; and in maintaining cellular integrity and water balance.

4. Whole Wheat crackers with low fat cheese or cream cheese spread

5. Whole Wheat pita bread wedges with hummus

6. Homemade granola with shredded coconut, dried cranberries, raisins, and an assortment of nuts. (You'll need only a small handful only or a 1/4 cup to measure)

7. A yogurt cup of whole yogurt like plain low-fat Greek yogurt (not sugar free which is full of toxic aspartame) which is very high in protein, with some fresh berries mixed in such as strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.

8. An egg is a great snack. You can make a batch of hardboiled eggs ahead of time and eat one with a little pepper, ketchup or salsa and add some crackers or a small piece of toast.

9. A protein smoothie is one of the most fun snacks, you'll need a blender or hand blender to mix the ingredients. Add some frozen fruit, a bit of yogurt, some soy, almond or cow's milk and you can also add a scoop of whey, soy or vegetarian protein powder to ensure you'll get enough protein.

10. Cottage cheese can be added to both sweet and savory foods. Eat ½ cup inside half of a cantaloupe or add some fresh berries instead. If you like savory, add some tuna.

11. Veggie sticks and a healthy dip like tuna mixed with ½ cup of cream cheese, you can add some minced onion and chopped parsley to taste. Chili sauce can be added and blended in the food processor and stored for an easy-to-grab snack.

12. Wasa bread or whole wheat crackers with thin slices of Swiss and a bit of ham for a ham and cheese fix.

Remember to eat the proper portion sizes, crackers and cheese are a yummy snack, so it would be easy to get carried away to the point of it being a dinner size portion. You can solve this by ensuring that all of your snacks are around the 200-250 calorie range. Just measure it out according to the serving size and avoid adding extra fats, salt, artificial sweeteners or sugar.

I hope this has inspired you to try some new snacks that are not only healthier for you but will truly fill the hunger gap between meals. I encourage you to look online for new and interesting snacks that can easily be made ahead of time and brought in reusable containers with you to work or on the road, which is when we're all most susceptible to choosing the wrong snacks. Also, by keeping hydrated you'll feel full and it will help increase your metabolism. You can add in the healthy amount of water in cups (which is your weight in pounds divided by 14).


One of my newest favorite snacks is from Celebrity Personal Trainer Harley Pasternak, and can be found HERE.

If you have a favorite healthy snack, leave a comment and share it with everyone.


Happy Snacking!