This is just to offer you a pat on the back if you have managed to stick to your New Year’s Resolutions about eating right and trying to incorporate more physical activity into your daily routine.

If you feel you have fallen short of your goals, not to worry. There is always February. And remember, you don’t have to be perfect. Even little changes can all add up to a big difference in your overall health.

Keep up the good work, and also remember, it takes 90 days for anything new to become a genuine habit, so you’re on your way to better health and fitness.

1.      Slice any meat off of the bone before storing. It is easier to handle and produces less mess. The turkey carcass and the ham bone can be frozen for later use in soups and stews. Turkey legs and thigh meat can be sliced off the bone and diced up for turkey salad. Add a little chopped celery, seasonings, and mayonnaise for a lunch treat on bread or crackers.

2.      Create a casserole dish with leftover Christmas dinner rice. Whether it is white rice or wild rice, add some chopped chicken or turkey, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and some shredded cheese. Bake at 325 degrees for about twenty minutes or until soup is bubbly and you have dinner for the next night.

3.      Buy sectioned plate containers and fix meals. This avoids people dipping into leftover bowls over and over. Label each container with the type of food inside. If someone wants turkey and potatoes, they can grab that plate and heat it up without bothering any other leftovers.

4.      Avoid wrapping any leftovers in aluminum foil. Foil is good for cooking but for Christmas dinner leftovers, it will begin to break down as it is opened and reopened by hungry people. If you must wrap something in foil, purchase heavy duty foil for that purpose.

Leftovers are great. They can be used for soups, sandwiches, dips, and more throughout the Christmas holiday. Remember that leftovers in the refrigerator should not be eaten after the fourth day. If you want to keep something longer, freeze it. These are only a few of the ideas and tips that can be used when working with Christmas dinner leftovers.

When making gravy for the turkey, begin with a can or jar of fat free turkey gravy. Add the turkey drippings from the baking pan to the fat free gravy. Season the food to taste. For thicker gravy, add some chicken broth and a few instant potato flakes to the drippings before adding it to the fat free gravy.

Mashed potatoes are a favorite Christmas dinner side dish to complement turkey and gravy. When making the potatoes, substitute half of the potatoes with cauliflower. Mash both together well.

Serve a soup and salad before putting the main courses on the table. A low fat vegetable soup like tomato and a simple green salad fills part of the stomach and everyone will eat less later on. Make available an assortment of low fat salad dressings for the salad.

Even the Christmas dinner turkey can slim down. Instead of preparing an entire twenty pound turkey, opt for a turkey breast instead. To maintain tenderness and moistness, marinade the thawed turkey breast before cooking. Remove any skin before serving.

One place we often fill up on empty calories is beverages. Instead of soda, serve punch sweetened with sugar substitute like Splenda®. Ice tea can also be sweetened with sugar substitute and lemons. Flavored waters are another option.

Christmas dinner doesn’t have to be fattening to be delicious. With a few healthy tweaks, many won’t notice the difference. This year, expand your repertoire of healthy Christmas dinner choices instead of expanding the waistline.

Here is an interesting article about a diabetes drug which may offer help for those having trouble combatting obesity.

Diabetes drug may help with obesity

Fats and Your Heart 3
Polyunsaturated fats and your heart
Like monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats lower LDL cholesterol when substituted for saturated fats in the diet. Polyunsaturated fats called omega-3 fats—particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found primarily in fish— lower triglyceride levels, prevent potentially fatal abnormal heart rhythms, and slightly lower blood pressure in people with high blood pressure.

Omega-3 fats may also make platelets less sticky, and thus less likely to form blood clots that can cause a heart attack.

Another type of omega-3 fat called alpha-linoleic acid (ALA) is found in walnuts and soy, canola, and flaxseed oils.

While ALA appears to share some of the qualities of EPA and DHA, more research is needed to determine its precise heart benefits.

Omega-6s are coming under increasing scrutiny as well for heart health and for overall disease fighting properties.

Fish oil is easily taken in supplement form, and Omega-3s can easily be enjoyed in your salads.

Macronutrients in our diet:

Dietary Fats and Coronary Heart Disease
The cells in your body use fat as an energy source and need cholesterol as a component of their membranes.

Because fat is not soluble in the watery environment of the bloodstream, the liver wraps the fats and cholesterol in a layer of proteins to transport them through the blood.

There are three main types of these proteinwrapped packages, which are called lipoproteins:
• Very–low-density lipoproteins (VLDL)
• Low-density lipoproteins (LDL)
• High-density lipoproteins (HDL).

VLDL carries fats called triglycerides from the liver to other cells in the body. VLDL is converted to LDL, which are smaller cholesterol- rich particles.

The cholesterol in LDL is often referred to as “bad” cholesterol because it can lead to the formation of “plaques” that narrow the arteries and inhibit blood flow throughout the body. (Like the plaque on your teeth, a sort of residual coating which can cause damage and inflammation)

The formation of a blood clot on a piece of plaque can halt blood flow altogether, leading to a heart attack or stroke, which is why a good diet and exercise are encouraged, to stop arteries from getting clogged.

The cholesterol in HDL is called “good” cholesterol. As it travels through the bloodstream, HDL helps reduce the build-up of plaques by removing cholesterol from the walls of the arteries and returning it to the liver for disposal. HDL is like a helpful set of scrubbing bubbles to keep your arteries clean, but of course, you are what you eat.

High levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and low levels of HDL cholesterol are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease.

However, reducing blood levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and raising blood levels of HDL cholesterol help prevent the formation of plaques. The different types of fats in food have varying effects on the levels of triglycerides and LDL and HDL cholesterol in your blood.

Triglycerides are the body’s main source of stored energy. Like cholesterol, triglycerides are obtained from food and manufactured in the liver. Also like cholesterol, triglycerides require lipoproteins for their transport in the blood.

Most of the triglycerides in blood are carried by very low density lipoprotein (VLDL). Dietary triglycerides are carried from the intestine on other lipoproteins called chylomicrons.

Elevations in blood triglycerides may promote atherosclerosis (clogging of the arteries) by altering the size, density, and composition of LDL. In addition, very high blood triglyceride levels can lead to inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).

Macronutrients in our diet:
Minerals
Minerals serve many functions, including helping to build certain tissues (particularly bones) and to maintain the water content and pH (acid–base) balance in the body. The most important minerals for overall good health and their functions are listed in the minerals section of this site.

Macronutrients in our diet:
Vitamins
Vitamins are needed to regulate metabolic functions within cells.
They do not supply energy, but one of their jobs is to help convert macronutrients into energy.

A list of the main vitamins needed for overall good health, with a brief description of their functions and main sources, is listed in the Vitamins section of this site.