Healthy Tip # 156

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Another healthy tip courtesy of Linda LaRue

Here are two simple steps that help lead to better health–both for you and our planet–and weight loss too.

healthywords1. Have soup first. Studies show that people who eat low-sodium, low calorie, high fiber soup, such as vegetable before a meal consume on average 200 less calories per meal. Multiply that times 365 days and that equals a 20-pound weight loss over one year!

2. Take the stairs. Climbing stairs is one of the best ways to green your lifestyle and burn a few extra bonus calories during your day. According to this American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) study conducted, you’ll burn about .11 calories climbing up each stair, and .05 calories descending each stair. This approximates to burning 10 calories per minute.

Although elevators do not expend much electricity (approximately 5 kWH per floor), everything DOES add up—or every little bit helps save our planet. For example walking up and down 3 flights of stairs instead of using an elevator, saves 15 kWh a day or 450 kWh per month. That’s enough to power a 37″ Plasma TV for 3 hours. Or if you live in a high rise in a densely populated city, primarily using stairs will save your car the energy equivalent of more than 1 gallon of gasoline per month.

Linda LaRue, RN MEd, ATC, Creative Director, Core Transformer Brands