A diet without meat, sugar, dairy or bread is simple to follow, and does not require you to count calories, carbohydrates or fat, but remember that portion size is important in any diet for weight control. For most individuals, the healthiest diet is a balanced diet with a variety of foods from each of the food groups, so talk to a nutritionist if you need guidance.

Food Choices
A diet without meat, sugar, dairy and bread does not have beef, pork, milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream or bread products. It may exclude poultry and seafood, if you consider those foods to be meat. The diet may exclude fruits, which are high in natural sugar from fructose, or it may only exclude added sugars, such as corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugar, brown sugar or honey. The diet includes eggs, soy, beans, grains, such as pasta or cereals, vegetables and nuts.

Weight Control
A diet with no meat, sugar, dairy products or bread can help you lose weight if your regular diet is similar to that of the average American diet, which gets hundreds of calories per day from meats, desserts, cheese, milk and bread, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You can only lose weight by reducing your calories, and you will not lose weight if you replace the calories that you would have gotten from meat, sugar, dairy and bread with calories from other sources, such as cereal or fried foods.

Potential Benefits
If you are lactose-intolerant, a diet without dairy products may prevent the bloating, cramping and gas that you get when you eat products with lactose, a natural sugar in milk. Fatty meats and full-fat dairy products are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, and a benefit of avoiding these foods may be lower cholesterol levels in your blood. A high-sodium diet increases your risk for high blood pressure, and your sodium consumption may decrease if you do not eat high-sodium foods, such as meat dishes, cheese and bread.

Calcium and Vitamin B-12
Some of the best natural dietary sources of calcium are milk, cheese and yogurt, but even if you do not eat dairy products or meat, you can meet your requirements by eating fatty fish or fortified foods, such as tofu, breakfast cereal or orange juice, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You may need to get vitamin B-12 from fortified foods or supplements because it is only in animal-based products, according to the Mayo Clinic.

1. Keep on Top of Things
Currently, about 15 percent of the Union Bank of Californiaa??s online business comes from people 55 and older. Convenience is one of the reasons according to the bank. Seniors that don't drive anymore or have limited access to transportation can do their banking or pay bills at home. They also can do so on their own schedules, an increasingly important factor as the senior population gets busier and remains active longer. One of the fastest growing trends for seniors is online banking. The convenience of paying bills online, checking your account, and transferring funds has more seniors jumping on the Internet. It saves both time and energy.



Frequent online monitoring of your bank accounts will help to detect and stop fraud. Look at the images of the checks you have written to be sure they are yours. Use email alerts in your online banking account to notify you of account activity, such as billpay transactions, balance thresholds, transaction size, and account transfers (both within your bank and between institutions).

2. Enroll in Online Statements
For all your financial accounts, enroll in online statements and choose to receive your monthly account statements online instead of receiving a monthly paper statement. Research indicates >10% of identity theft is caused by stolen mail or trash.

3. Use Industrial Stregnth Passwords
Use strong passwords for your online accounts and change them often. Don't use your phone number, birth date, or name in user names and passwords. Make sure passwords use a combination of letters, numbers, and other characters.

4. Get 'er Done Safely
When you are finished with your session of online banking, logout. To be even more secure, you can close your browser to make sure that the pages you were looking at are cleared.

The obliques are the muscles found on the sides of the stomach. They are activated when you make lateral and rotational trunk movements. Strengthening the obliques can help in the functioning of daily activities like golfing, shoveling snow, throwing hay bales and placing grocery bags in a trunk. When using a yoga ball to work your obliques, your body is off balance which forces you to contract multiple muscle fibers to maintain form.

Side Planks
Do side planks, which are variations of traditional planks, from a face-down position. Pin the ball against a wall, place your right forearm on top and place your feet in a staggered position on the floor. Your forearm should be perpendicular to your body and your left arm against your side. Steadily raise your hips and form a straight line from your shoulders to your feet. Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds before switching sides.

Seated Rotations
Work your obliques with seated rotations using a medicine ball. Sit on a yoga ball while holding the medicine ball at arm's reach in front of your chest. Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Steadily rotate your torso to your left and right sides in a steady motion for 15 to 20 repetitions. When doing this, keep your lower body still and head in line with the ball.

Roll-ins
Place your lower shins on the ball and hands shoulder-width apart on the floor and perform roll-ins, which work your obliques and lower abs and are done in a face-down position. After lifting your hips and forming a straight line from your shoulders to your heels, roll the ball toward your body as you move your knees toward your left shoulder. After squeezing your obliques for a second, roll the ball back out and repeat going to your right side. Alternate to each side for a set of 15 to 20 repetitions.

Pendulums
Lie on your back with your arms out to your sides, legs lifted above you and the ball pinched in between your ankles and perform "pendulums," which work the obliques, lower back muscles and inner thighs. Your feet should be parallel to the ceiling. In a controlled fashion, alternate lowering the ball to your right and left sides as far as possible for 15 to 20 repetitions.

Lateral Flexion
Use a yoga ball and medicine ball to do lateral flexion, Place your right hip on the yoga ball, feet in a staggered stance against a wall and your arms straight overhead holding the medicine ball. Slowly bend laterally over the ball and lift yourself up by contracting your obliques. Repeat for 15 to 20 repetitions before switching sides. If this is too difficult, drop the medicine ball and place your hands on the sides of your head.

Just because there is snow on the ground and it's cold outside, it doesn’t mean you have to be stuck inside the house. With the aid of a few household supplies and a little imagination, a dreary, cold afternoon can quickly become a winter wonderland.

Summery Snowman


Make a “beach bum" snowman, suggests the Disney FamilyFun website. This activity allows for creativity, and it will help you remember that summer weather is just months away. Begin by gathering your snowman building materials. Include a large towel, two long sticks, a plastic sheet, a water bottle with cap, sunglasses, a carrot stick, beach umbrella, surf board and, of course, snow.



To protect your snowman from the elements, consider propping up an umbrella or building a snow castle before you start. Lay a plastic sheet on top of the snow, followed by a towel. Roll snow balls as you would for a regular snowman, but place them on the ground instead of on top of each other. This way your snowman will be lounging as if on the beach. Get as fancy as you’d like, sculpting the shape of his arms or simply adding a pair of sticks. Decorate his face with a carrot for a nose, some sunglasses and a string of licorice or an apple slice for a mouth.

Go Sledding


Sledding is an entertaining way to spend a wintry afternoon, suggests “The Complete Idiot's Guide to Child Safety." Start by picking a gentle slope that is far away from obstacles like traffic, fences, rocks and trees. Instead of using a traditional sled or disk, which can lack control and travel too fast, bring a toboggan or sled that has a built in steering mechanism. To prevent abdominal or head injury, sit upright when sledding instead of lying on your tummy.

Snow Art


Create art in the snow using food coloring, squirt bottles, birdseed, vegetables and fruit. Start by filling up water bottles with different colored water and cutting fruits and vegetables into various shapes and sizes. Take your supplies outside and create a picture in the snow. Make a self portrait by lying in the snow to create a print of your body. Decorate your shape with the fruits, vegetables and seeds. Use the water to add color and detail to your picture’s clothing and hair.