Thursday, August 18, 2011

Trendy Diet and Fitness Tips to Get You Motivated

If your diet and fitness program needs a few zingers to keep you motivated check out these hot tips, just in time for summer!

1. Eat lighter and lighter throughout the day: Everyone knows that reducing your calorie intake will help you lose weight. But it's also important to know WHEN to eat to make the best of your diet and fitness plan. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it gets your motor running. So consume your largest portion at this time to help keep your body moving and your hunger levels in check. Lunch portion should be smaller than breakfast but still a good size. Your dinner portion should be your smallest size and really limit those after dinner snacks. Eating up until bedtime can really affect your sleep. If you can stop eating 2-3 hours before bed, you'll notice a difference in the quality of your sleep.

2. Sauce it up!

If your diet is bland and boring chances are you're not going to stick to it. Unfortunately a lot of sauces to add to your foods are rich in calories, along with taste. Don't give up! There are plenty of rich in flavour substitutes for you to try next time you're grilling meat.

Some of your choices consist of:

• Teriyaki Sauce
• Tomato Sauce
• Hot Sauce
• Reduced-salt Soy Sauce
• Mustard
• Salsa
• Vinegar (so many different flavors)

3. Supplements and Vitamins

If you find it hard to get in your daily dose of nutrients you should be turning to supplements and vitamins to help you out. They're quick and easy to take and add much benefit to your daily diet and fitness goals. Just make sure you're taking whole food supplements, like Juiceplus+ and/or good fats and whole food powder meal replacement shakes. It's just as important to research your supplements as you do your foods.

4. Get your ZZZZ's

While you sleep your body is deep in rest and recovering from all the hard work you did throughout that day. A lack of quality sleep will affect you in a physical and mental way the following day. It's important to try and get the 6-8 hours of sleep that is recommended in order to keep your diet and fitness goals at the top of your list.

5. Put Fibre in Every Meal

Fibre not only aids with digestion but it will also make you store less of the fat you do eat. Eat an apple with breakfast. Try to have a salad a day. Eat multi-grain breads instead of white. Little choices like these make a huge impact on your physique over time.

6. Walk...More!

Find a way to walk more each and every day. This is in addition to any existing workout plan you may be following. Walk instead of drive when possible. Stairs instead of elevators. A brisk walk after dinner to help with digestion. Even an extra mile a day adds up. Your total volume of exercise compiles over time to burn extra calories every day to get you and keep you lean. 1 mile a day is 7 miles a week and 30 some odd miles a month. That's a lot of calories.

7. Switch from Coffee to Tea

Although coffee contains no sugar it increases glucose levels and increases the glycemic response to food you eat with a coffee. The higher your glycemic response, the more likely you are to store the food you eat as fat. So make the switch to tea to keep your glycemic index low and help prevent weight gain.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Niall_Traynor


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Lose Weight Quickly - A Diet and Exercise Plan to Battle Cellulite

ou don't just want to lose weight quickly you also want to get rid of that cellulite you see in the mirror. First you need to understand what cellulite is and the factors that we control that contribute to it. Cellulite is nothing more than fat. The reason it occurs more prevalently in women than in men is a matter of genetics; women tend to have irregularly pattern fat cells which, as they increase in size, give off that "dimpled" look. To reduce the look of cellulite first you need to reduce the amount of body fat you are holding through a good diet. Next you need to reduce the toxins in your body which are a contributing factor to cellulite build up. Lastly, you want to have an exercise program which works the affected areas (most often the hips and thighs) as well as burns calories.

A good diet to tackle cellulite is one high in anti-oxidants mainly coming from fruits and vegetables. Drink lots of water as well as this helps flush toxins from the body and keeps you well hydrated (2 to 3 litres a day is a good amount). Drinking water instead of soda and alcohol is also a great way to remove empty calories from your diet.

Toxins in your body come from many of the typical foods we ingest. Alcohol and processed foods with high amounts of additives and refined sugars (artificial sweeteners could be considered among food additives) should be avoided or minimized. Your diet should not be overly high in animal proteins. Eat more fish and vegetarian sources of protein to balance out your diet.

As for exercise, you want to choose exercises that work the full range of motion of your hips and thighs as well as exercises that stress the whole body so as to cause the best reaction from your metabolism. You will need to do strength exercises to stretch the cellulite along the hips and thighs as well as build muscle (which will help you burn fat even when you are not exercising). Some of these exercises include the following:

Weight Exercises:
Squats
Lunges
Deadlifts
Stiff-legged Deadlifts

Bodyweight Exercises:
Squats
Lunges
Burpees
Mountain Climbers

You will also want to do cardiovascular exercise. You can run, bike, swim, hike, take an aerobics class, or just walk. The key thing is intensity. You need to push yourself so you get your heart rate up and you get a really good sweat going. You want to push yourself without over-exerting yourself, so start off with a moderate rate of intensity and build it up slowly over the first weeks and months of your need anti-cellulite routine.
Lastly, stretching itself has been shown to improve the look of cellulite. Try to make one or two yoga classes a week or buy a good yoga dvd and practice in your own home.

If you really aim to lose weight quickly and reduce your cellulite in the process you cannot afford to overlook the guidelines mentioned. You need to change your diet. This doesn't mean you can treat yourself to a few drinks once a week or a piece of chocolate cake once a week but you can't be having wine with every meal and dessert every day after dinner. You need to make a conscious effort to drink lots and lots of water. And you need to do those really challenging exercises mentioned above to strengthen your body, burn fat, and work that cellulite right out of those problem areas.

You can do it. Just make a plan and stick to it!




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Niall_Traynor

Fitness and Diet - Just Do It

Being healthy, fit, lean, and strong isn't a result of a gimmick or shortcut. Looking great is the result of living a healthy lifestyle where fitness and diet are elements you've ingrained into your lifestyle. If you are carrying extra weight and want to get it off, maybe for an upcoming event or the usual summer season rush to get fit, ask yourself a question; do you intend on putting that weight back on?

It's a simple question. Many of us don't think that far ahead. We put our head in the sand as we eat poorly and remain inactive until we catch ourselves in the mirror and think we need to lose 5 or 10 pounds. Again this is likely just being dishonest with ourselves. If we say we need to lose 10 pounds it's likely that we need to lose 20. A healthy lifestyle then is as much about being honest with ourselves as it is about following a workout routine or a nutritious diet. The point is if we put it back on we are just as likely to put on additional weight. Putting on only a few pounds every year will add up before you know it.

Is it so hard to get and remain fit? By far the majority of us love some kind of activity or at the very least that fresh, invigorated feeling we have when we are leaving the gym or coming home from a game, run, bike or swim. As for diet, eating well never leaves us with that bloated feeling that comes from fast food or junk food. Heck, eating well is often a @#!*% sight more tasty, it is usually just the time it takes to prepare our own food that prevents us from a proper diet.

Fitness and diet do require effort. There is no getting around it, but the pay-off far outweighs the effort. Imagine looking in the mirror and feeling great about how you look. Imagine never "feeling fat". Imagine shopping and everything you try on looks great. Imagine catching stares from others ogling your body at the beach. Imagine being completely confident with how you look.

Are you starting to feel motivated? Do you want to change? It isn't all that hard. Just change one thing each week so it's an easy, gradual change. Within a few months you will have developed habits that are shedding the fat and will keep you fit year-round day-in, day-out. How many times have you started a new diet or training routine and quit it a few weeks later? Too much too soon can be too much. Instead, try one of these new habits each week. Start one a week and no more and make it a permanent change.

1) Drink 3 litres of water each day
2) Eat a healthy breakfast first thing each and every morning
3) Don't eat late (don't eat 3 hours before your typical bedtime)
4) Exercise 4 times a week, if you haven't exercised in a good while just start with 1/2 hour brisk walk
5) Don't eat carbohydrates after mid-afternoon, just protein and green vegetables
6) Keep a diary of what you eat including drinks (This way you can track your cheat meals)
7) Start some kind of strength training (weights or body weight exercises) 3 times a week
8) Limit your cheat meals to 3 meals a week
9) Limit the alcohol to once a week
10)Take a yoga class once a week
11)Eliminate soda pop from your diet (except for cheat meals)
12)Eliminate processed foods (except for cheat meals)

This list could go on and on. In fact, by week 13 you may be looking for the next way to amp up your workouts or refine your diet. By this time you will start to see some serious results and will be motivated to see more. You diet will be pretty darn good at this point and you will be doing cardio (walking or running), strength training, and some flexibility training (yoga). You will be feeling great, maybe a little sore for the first few weeks, but great.

Now all you have to do is keep up the momentum. Look for ways to motivate yourself. If you lose a certain amount of weight treat yourself with some kind of gift. If you run your usual run for a certain time give yourself a little treat. If you do a certain amount of squats celebrate it. Then keep setting new milestones. As you make each small goal it will spur you to reach higher.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Niall_Traynor

No-Diet Weight Loss

Our weight is ultimately dependent on what we eat versus what we burn. We gain weight because we are taking in more energy than we are using. This is a gradual process which goes through periods of increase and periods of stable weight. Naturally, weight loss is much the same. It is a delicate balance and it doesn't take much to get it moving in the right direction. By increasing your exercise, decreasing your food intake or both you can tip the balance toward a slimmer you.

It's that simple. To find out just how much you need to adjust, measure your weight and height. Now note your age and regular level of exercise/activity. Then look up how many calories you need in order to STAY AT YOUR CURRENT weight in a table. You can Google "calorie calculator" or "weight charts" to find a suitable one.

If you would like to lose weight, check out what the caloric intake should be for your IDEAL weight. The difference between these numbers is what you need to cut per day, or add on to the exercise you are already doing. You don't need to count calories all day long, keep doing what you are doing and find a few small changes you can make that will add up to (or subtract off of) the difference in calories you need to balance your body out at the new weight.

Many doctors, psychologists and even talk show hosts have spoken about this, and it all boils down to this, it's not what you are NOT EATING, but what you are REPLACING. If it is just a few hundred calories difference between the calories you need to keep at your current weight and the calories you need to be your ideal weight, it may be as simple as taking the steps at work, or replacing a soft drink for water, EVERY DAY. Think little changes. They truly add up.

Think about the situations that cause you to overeat. If it's watching movies, turn off the tv and go for a walk. This will cut calories by all the things you don't eat PLUS burn calories that you wouldn't if sitting on the couch.

Pay attention to other triggers that may cause you to eat. If you tend to overeat when you are under stress, treat yourself to a hot bath and foot rub. Your body is stressed, not hungry, and eating out of stress is a learned response...it can be unlearned.

If you tend to overeat in social situations like dining out and finding yourself in front of a large buffet, then drink a large glass of water, eat slowly and pay attention to what your body is telling you. It takes up to 20 minutes for your body to pass the sensation of fullness on to your brain. Slow down, watch for it and skip that last plate of food.

Also, see what choices you are making that limit your activity level. If you are using your iPhone to tell the kids it's time for bed, walk up the stairs and tell them face to face. If you have a yard- and housecleaning service, see what part of that you can fit into your schedule to do yourself.

It might take time for your body to gradually drop the weight, but it will. The weight didn't come on overnight, so don't expect it to disappear overnight either, but disappear it will. It's not a diet, it's not an exercise routine, it's solid common sense and self-awareness. The changes are real and permanent, and so will your new look be! Though they might differ from day-to-day, you ARE the choices that you make.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carla_Wagner


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Lowering Cholesterol With Diet - It Can Be Done

Excessive cholesterol in the bloodstream is one of the major causes of heart attacks and other cardio vascular diseases. However, despite this, cholesterol is essential for building membranes, manufacturing of bile, cell walls, nerve sheaths and the production of hormones. While many doctors prescribe medication to lower cholesterol or maintain levels in high risk patients, lowering cholesterol with diet is the preferred option for most people.

A cholesterol reading is made up of a number of parts but the two major ones are Low and High Density Lipoproteins (LDL and HDL). LDL is known as "bad" cholesterol which leaves plaque-like deposits in the arteries, which can ultimately narrow to such an extent that blood flow to the heart is interrupted, causing a heart attack. Scientific research has proved that consumption of large quantities of saturated fat raises the level of LDL cholesterol.

HDL is known as "good" cholesterol and it can help to clear away the LDL in the blood. Omega 3 from oily fish as well as lots of fruit and vegetables can raise the levels of HDL.

Unfortunately, diet isn't the only culprit here; high cholesterol levels can also result from smoking, lack of exercise, drinking alcohol and fluctuating hormones.

Lowering cholesterol with diet really involves a lifestyle change, particularly for those with a fondness for red meat, charcuterie and deep fried foods so here are some tips for keeping that cholesterol down.

1. Red meat is higher in saturated fat than fish or chicken (without the skin). If you must eat red meat, choose lean cuts and remove the fat. Grill or barbeque without additional fat or just a spray of olive oil. Grill or poach fish and chicken.

2. Use a low fat spread rather than butter or margarine and choose other low fat dairy products such as yoghurt and skimmed milk.

3. Avoid cakes and other baked foods which can be high in fat.

4. Do eat wholemeal bread and use brown rice and pasta.

5. If you have to fry food, use olive oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil or vegetable oil rather than butter or lard.

6. Do eat your five portions a day of fresh fruit and vegetables.

7. Use plenty of garlic as it is said to have cholesterol lowering properties.

Lowering cholesterol with diet is not too difficult, but don't forget to include regular exercise in your new lifestyle. If you possibly can, give up smoking and keep alcohol intake to a minimum. Don't forget to check your cholesterol level after three months. If you've stuck to your healthy diet and your cholesterol hasn't reduced, you must see your doctor as you may be one of those who needs medication to keep your cholesterol under control.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liz_Canham


The Fad Diet - Is It Bad?

The fad diet has all the appearances of doing what is intended; i.e. causing weight loss and it's therefore no surprise that people are confused as to why the fad diet is bad, particularly when significant weight loss occurs in a very few days. The dieter thinks "that's great, fad diets work fast so I won't have to do this for very long because I'm losing weight so quickly". However, the unfortunate truth is that the majority of what they're losing is water. Consequently, when the body rehydrates, as it will with normal fluid intake, all the weight goes back on.

So what is fad dieting? It's what's popular at the moment in the dieting world but it is also a diet that means following a strange eating pattern.

Some fad diets don't seem so strange, but the hype that surrounds them is a bit of a give-away. After all, who ever got excited about counting calories? One thing you can be sure of is that whoever invented the latest diet craze will be happily sitting back counting the piles of cash coming in. In some cases, the advice given will be genuine and useful but you could probably have got it at no cost from a healthcare professional and in other cases, the diet will be so complicated and difficult to fit with a normal lifestyle that the dieter will cave in after a very short time and return to the real world.

Why is the fad diet a bad thing?

1. Any diet which promises that weight loss will be quick and easy will almost certainly be based on eating a lot of one thing, e.g. all protein or cabbage soup. This sort of diet doesn't offer the balance you would get from a normal diet even if you take supplements to compensate for the natural vitamins and minerals that you're missing out on, which often cannot be absorbed unless used in concert with certain foodstuffs. The upshot of this will be nutritional deficiencies which could result in scurvy, rickets or other unpleasant diseases.

2. The fad diet, by its very nature, will become boring after a very short period of time. Mealtimes will not be any fun and you will constantly be thinking about the foods which you aren't allowed. You may even begin to believe that you are somehow at fault for not losing weight.

3. Very few fad diets follow the sort of regime that is needed for a healthy heart. Some consist of high amounts of protein with barely any carbohydrates. As many proteins such as red meat, bacon, sausages and cheese are high in saturated fats, large quantities are not going to be good for your cholesterol levels.

4. The fad diet probably won't encourage sufficient intake of fruit and vegetables or indeed encourage a variety in your diet.

5. Worst of all, if you do lose weight with your chosen diet, you will probably revert to your old, bad eating habits when you stop the diet because there will not have been the necessary encouragement to change your eating habits on a permanent basis.

The only safe way to lose weight and keep it off is to follow a sensible, balanced eating plan which changes your lifestyle forever. In this way, you're unlikely to put back on all the weight you've lost as you would with the fad diet.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liz_Canham


Sunday, August 14, 2011

Nature's Diet For Weight Loss

Diet Pills, protein shakes and "magic potions" are the hype in today's dieting. It's all over TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet. There 'before' and 'after' pictures are not to be believed. You have the men and women telling you how this diet is different from anything they have ever tried. How good they feel and how amazed they are with the results.

I think it's time for all of us who so badly want to lose that excess weight, to finally face the truth. There are no magic formulas or quick fixes for weight loss.The ONLY way to lose weight is by changing your lifestyle. Good healthy food coupled with 20 minutes of moderate exercise and some determination is all you need to set you on the right path.

The real goal of weight loss is not to lose a couple of pounds quickly, albeit usually only temporarily. What we really need to develop is good eating habits so that we don't only lose weight but learn to maintain that weight as well. Drinking and keeping our bodies hydrated is an essential aspect in wight loss because it helps our bodies flush the junk out of our systems. In fact, many times when we feel the urge to eat, it is really fluids that our body is seeking. We have to learn to understand our bodies signals. Water also helps to make us feel full and curb our cravings. So next time you feel those hunger pangs drink a tall glass of ice cold water before you reach for another snack.

True, it's hard to make life changes and we all try to desperately avoid it, but we need be realistic. A Healthy diet and some exercise is nature's ticket to weight loss. It's really pretty simple; eat the foods that you like in moderation and add some exercise into your daily schedule and you'll see amazing results.

Making drastic changes is a sure way to fail. Get into an exercise routine (20min of running or jogging does wonders). Stock up on healthy foods and snacks. Cutting up fruits and vegetables takes some time and effort but grabbing a chocolate bar will leave you with a sugar rush, no nutrition and many unwanted calories. Allow yourself a 'cheat' meal once a week. Invest in a scale and watch as those pounds 'magically' fade away.

As with everything in life: "No Pain No Gain!"





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ralph_Sarway

Saturday, August 13, 2011

How to Keep Off Weight After Dieting

The motivation factor to lose weight is different for all of us. It may be an image issue or a health scare that is the catalyst for weight loss. Whatever the case may be many of us tend to lose focus during the process. The motivation to eat right and exercise wavers once you have lost the intended amount of weight and usually even before that. The diets and exercise regime are like a burden that we desperately want to relieve ourselves of.

Let's analyze some of the factors that can prevent us from gaining back the pounds we so arduously shed. Irrelevant of how you actually lost the weight understand that the hard part is over. Maintaining a healthy weight is much easier than losing it in the first place. Simply put, when you were in the process of losing that excess weight you had to burn more calories than you consumed but to maintain your weight you only have to burn as many calories as you consume. Consequently your calorie intake when maintaining your weight can be higher than what you were allowed when trying to lose weight.

To begin with, you must accept the fact that you cannot resume your old eating habits and expect to stay fit and healthy. After all that is why you needed to go on a diet in the first place. You must permanently adopt a healthier lifestyle if you want to uphold your weight. Once you've come to terms with this 'horrifying' fact of life it will be significantly easier for you to be happy about what you are doing. If you are resentful it is unlikely that you'll last very long.

Secondly, always bear in mind the reason you lost the weight to begin with. Keep yourself motivated to keep that weight off. Encourage yourself. Jot down some words of inspiration and hang it on the fridge as a motivational reminder to keep it up. When you meet up with temptation and you are enticed to binge you have to find a way to curb your desire. Listen, 'nothing good in life comes easy". You must persevere and not give in to that devilish inner voice trying to convince you that just a little can't do much damage. I once heard a cute saying, 'A moment on your lips but forever on your hips'. Anyone trying to lose weight knows how true that statement is. Succumbing to a temptation may provide you with a momentary pleasure but the negative effects will linger long after all the enjoyment has diminished. It's just not worth the one bite.






Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ralph_Sarway


Weight Loss Diet Plans - In Search of the Great Elixir for All of Our Weight Loss Problems

There are more ways to lose weight than there are bathroom scales in the world. But there is only one way to keep the weight off for good and I am determined to spread it to the world. I lived life in the dieting fast lane for fifty years.

I have been on just about every diet that has come out in the past fifty years. I've tried Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, The Scarsdale Diet, Atkins Diet, Slim-fast, Nutrisystem, Medifast, Dr. Oz, South Beach, and all of the other you-name-it weight loss diet plans. I don't recall not being on a diet. I diligently huffed and puffed my way to excellent fitness, getting my weight down only to gain it back. Weight loss companies LOVE me!

I have tried a fasting clinic in New Jersey, the spa at La Costa in California, a juice-only clinic south of London, and Clinique Valmont in Montreau, Switzerland, which I frequented for ten years. None of these weight loss diet plans gave me lasting results. Oh, I lost lots of weight, but gained it right back - sometimes getting very sick. My thyroid went out of whack after the fasting clinic in New Jersey.

Guys! Listen up! Always check with your doctor before going on any diet, cleanse, or fast.

The only weight loss diet plans that have come close to working right are those that advocate organic nutrition like the Paleo Diet, Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution, any of Marylu Henner's books, and a cookbook by Mark Hyman from Canyon Ranch Spa in Tucson. But even these books are too restrictive for me.

So What Are the Best Weight Loss Diet Plans Out There?

Here's the deal! No more pop tarts! But wait! There's more!

• Go to your pantry! Throw out all of the "white menace." Toss out all white rice, all sugar, white flour pasta, iodized salt (sea salt in moderation is okay), white flour, white potatoes, and anything else that's white.

• Processed food equals poison. READ THE LABELS! Anything with "ose" at the end of the word like high fructose corn syrup or anything that is genetically modified, has food coloring, aspartame, or other chemicals should be tossed out. Processed foods are making you very sick!

"I'm not sick! I feel great," you say, but you are wrong. Your intestines are filled with disgusting critters that need to be flushed. You will only discover how sick you really are after you've been eating right for a few weeks and start to feel healthy again.

Not only are your intestines ill, but your liver is so clogged with toxins it's too bogged down to keep your metabolism running at its best. Make sure you clean up these vital organs by doing a full body cleanse before starting one of the healthier weight loss diet plans.

• Throw out all hydrogenated oils. You will learn to love olive oil, walnut oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, and a host of other wonderful oils.

• Buy only grass fed or organic meats.

• Eat ONLY fish that have been caught wild.

• Familiarize yourself with the healthy foods (there are too many to list here) The best weight loss diet plans will tell you to start buying organic. It will be well worth the learning curve. If you absolutely must shop at your regular supermarket, only buy products from the perimeter of the store. Most of the toxic foods are sold in the center aisles. I can guarantee that if you change your eating habits in the above mentioned ways, your liver will love you, your metabolism will be up to speed, the weight will fall off for good and you will be feeling better than you have in years.






Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Virginia_Perl

3-Step Diet for the Obese! Let's Get the Fat Off For Good!

The best diet for the obese will get the fat off not just by focusing on calories-in/calories-out, which means lightening up on your intake (calories-in) and exercising (calories-out.) You must also pay attention to what your intake actually is. Unless you switch to as much organic food as possible, your body will continue to gain weight.

Processed foods are laden with toxins and chemicals that are clogging up your liver. The liver has become weighted down with heavy metals, preservatives, genetically modified organisms, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Your liver is so busy trying to fight off these poisons, that it's not sending the proper messages to the brain to speed up the metabolism. Although you may be feeling okay right now, your body is slowly shutting down from the heavy burden you are putting on it.

If you've had enough of the insidious stares you get from people, the self-hatred, the depression, and anger, then it's time to get serious! Any change in emotions that seems to be getting worse or hangs on for a long time, could possibly be food allergies. Skin rash and puffy eyes are not the only symptoms of food allergies. Your body may be trying to eject the poisons you have eaten.

3 Steps To Great Health And Vitality

1. Get permission from your doctor. Before beginning any life style change, you need to first check with your doctor. Ask him/her for a safe diet for the obese. Say - out loud - that you have finally decided to get the fat off.

2. Step two is a whole body cleanse that will detoxify and get your metabolism running at full speed again. I do a full body cleanse every three months. I enjoy incredible energy, my mind is clear, and I can focus on my work. After your body cleanse, make sure you go off the plan as recommended by the product you choose.

3. You will stay on step three for the rest of your life, unless you really like being fat. But if you want to get the fat off for good, you'll be motivated to make these changes. Step three is your life style change. Start eating well-balanced healthy meals - no more food in a box! Eat free-range chicken and eggs. Eat grass-fed beef, fish that has been caught wild, healthy organic grains, and whole fruits and vegetables (as much organic as you can afford.) Any good diet for the obese will recommend these changes.

Start thinking of your body as the sacred temple it is. It can only run as well as the nutrition you put into it. Once your metabolism is back to speed, and you are feeding your body what it's begging for, you will be rewarded with weight loss. Pay attention to portion control and you will lose even faster. This is the best diet for the obese. Remember! Slow and easy is the only way to get the fat off for good.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Virginia_Perl


Can Weight Loss By Surgery Really Help?

Apart from health supplements, weight loss by surgery is another way of losing weight. Although it has helped many people to lose weight fast and effectively while regaining their self confidence, it has also caused the deaths of many. So as to whether you really can lose weight, it all boils to your body condition, endurance and fitness levels.

Before determining whether weight loss surgery is suitable for you, there are various factors you need to take into consideration.

1. Your Current Weight

One of which is your current weight. Interviews with weight loss surgeons have clearly indicated that patients have to be at least 80 pounds overweight as a minimum requirement to qualify for such treatment. So if your weight is less than 80 pounds, surgery is not really necessary for you and you should look at other measures.

It is all when all those measures like dieting and exercising failed that most people turned to surgery as a final resort.

But treatments like gastric bypass and lap-band surgeries are extremely costly and risky. Despite doctors' caution advice, people are still insisting on those in exchange for a quick fix of their fats and out of pride.

2. Your Health

Another factor is your health.

Besides overweight, do you have any other health issues like kidney, liver and heart? Or does your doctor ever outline the consequences of losing excess weight for your health?

If you are not in the pink of health, then weight loss surgery is obviously not for you as you may not only fail in losing weight but ended up losing your life as well.

In case you are not familiar with those 2 treatments I just mentioned. let me elaborate. Gastric bypass surgery requires stapling your stomach while lap-band involves the use of an adjustable or removable band to be inserted into your stomach. Before going for such treatment, it is best to go for medical and X-ray checkups.

In most weight loss surgeries, doctors tend to reduce the stomach pouch size first unless patients have special conditions that will exempt them from it. But even after their patients lose weight from those, the doctors still require them to eat healthy and exercise regularly so that they will not be fat again.

All these literally answers the title question. But there is no guarantee from any doctor that this will help you in losing weight fast and effectively.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amuro_Wesley

The Diet Industry NEEDS You to Stay Fat

Everyday millions of people face the challenge of burning calories and obtaining real fat loss. And every day winning that battle seems less likely. But why? With so many diets that promise fast weight loss, no matter the amount of weight to lose or how hard it is to burn fat... why In America alone, are more than 66% of adults are overweight? There are so many different diet plans and fitness products available, yet somehow, we're still losing the battle of the budge.

The Truth is; the Diet Industry needs you to stay fat. Although this is a very bold statement, it's sadly a true statement. Just think, if you actually dropped the fat and got into the best shape of your life, they would lose a customer! And every time you fail to starve yourself enough to squeeze out a single pound of "weight loss," and you quit, it's "cha-ching!" for them. Now, they can sell you the next big thing and the next big thing after that. But, honestly, when does the madness stop. Aren't you tired of feeling defeated? Feeling like maybe you're just "meant to be fat?" Don't give up, because even though you may feel alone, you're not! I've been there, and I'm here to offer you a real solution to OUR problem!

Fat Burning Furnace is an amazing online weight loss program based on the real-life experience of its creators, a husband and wife dual, Rob and Kalen Poulos that lost a combined weight of 102 pounds! You'll be pleased to know this isn't another confusing gimmick. These are REAL techniques that teach you how to eat healthy nutrition that will help you fight your junk food cravings. You'll learn unique exercise moves that ignite your metabolism and you'll even learn what you need to do, to stay lean, strong and healthy for life.

No more diets that promise big and deliver little! No more starving while you decrease calories to increase non-existent weight loss. No more avoiding carbs, counting points or committing to become INSANE just to burn belly fat. Now, you can eat to be skinny, now you can eat to be fit for life. No more killing yourself at the gym, now you can exercise 60 minutes a week and completely reshape your body!

Fat Burning Furnace offers a common sense approach to permanent, fast weight loss. Believe it or not, becoming fit for life IS an obtainable goal for you. No matter how much weight you have to lose, you'll find workouts and eating plans for every fitness level. Even if you haven't exercised in years, there's a low impact break-in exercise routine that's perfect for you. And as you continue to quickly burn fat, there's room for growth with our advanced routine as well.

Don't wait any longer! I guarantee that if you're serious about changing your life and getting into the best shape you can be in, this will be the LAST diet you'll need to try. No more wasting money or hours at the gym! Stop constantly decreasing your calories to get past a plateau and really do something about your weight. Try it now and discover the new, healthier you.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stacee_L_Duncan

Friday, August 12, 2011

The Best Way to Starting a Muffin Top Seek and Destroy Diet In 7 Easy Steps

Just how does one go about eating an elephant? Your answer should be, "Ya eat it one bite at a time!" The best way to complete any large task has basically the same answer, "One step at a time." Taken all-at-once it may possibly be overwhelming. Break it down into its elements, into small bite-sized pieces, and those usually do not look formidable at all. Those steps can each be something that isn't so hard, something that you can do. And once you have completed each one of the steps, you suddenly realize you have come all the way right from the start to the end of completing the full huge project! It's exactly the same way with how to commence a fat destruction diet. Here are 7 simple steps that you could take to starting a muffin top shredding diet, rapidly!

Step 1. Pick a start date. This will mean that you need to look at a day on your calendar, whether a meaningful date or not and commit to it. You are starting something new and you should be excited when it approaches not hesitant or fearful. Set some kind or reminder a week before so you can make sure you are on pace. Should you choose not to do this or forget it, you may expect to have to try and make changes too quickly or forget about when you are starting.

Step 2. Take "Before" pictures of yourself. This step will be important because it will give you a baseline of comparison along the way. It will provide motivation and give you a sense of satisfaction once you start achieving favorable results ).

Step 3. Enlist help. Which means you can include your family members in the positive changes your are making for yourself. It will also signify that you want to make changes for them as well and demonstrate the kinds of dietary decisions you would like them to make as well.

Step 4. Empower yourself with knowledge. This will likely involve reading more about things than you did before. With an abundance of information at your fingertips you can find resources to help you make changes in your life and your diet. It shouldn't be about cutting out things, rather changing to other positive means.

Step 5. Learn from the past. An important factor you will need to remember here will be it shouldn't be about focusing on negative attempts at weight loss in the past, but rather seeing why they didn't work in order to make the necessary changes to promote your success in the future. Why this is important is it will allow you to see what parts of your diet plans in the past didn't work for you as an individual and make you realize that each person requires their own specific settings for a successful dietary undertaking.

Step 6. Divide and Conquer Break down each meal throughout the day. Make sure you have a plan for each one. Start by looking at a month and then break it down into each week, from there look at the day by day. Weekends will be different so remember that when you are factoring it in. Plan a month of meals and then do your shopping accordingly.

Step 7. Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. Life isn't perfect and sometimes you will be confronted with situations that require you to change your routine. If you forget the healthy lunch you prepared the night before and your office only has vending machines filled with junk, make the walk down the block to a local place that has a better alternative. Great! Now you're almost there! Bear in mind, The Right Way is rarely the Easy Way. By making changes in your life towards a healthy diet you can know that you are making a daily investment in your healthy success and your future.

While you take the steps explained above, the massive elephant-problem you had shall be "eaten up" one step at a time, "devoured" and handled. You will complete your project, succeed and then enjoy the benefits and fruits of accomplishment and victory! Congratulations on your victory! You took on a big challenge, conquered it and won, one step at a time!





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shawn_Bayley


How To Lose Weight: Can Artificial Sweeteners Help Me To Diet?

Most folks who are dieting to lose weight are looking, to some extent, to artificial sweeteners to cut sugar out of the diet without sacrificing sweetness. Food items which have been sweetened without natural sugar are usually designated as "sugar free", "diet", or "artificially sweetened".

What are the pros and cons regarding sugar substitutes?

PRO

- They are calorie-free (or extremely low) so they will not cause you to gain extra weight.

- Most doctors approve of the use of artificial sweeteners for diabetics since they don't raise blood sugar levels.

- Dentists approve of them because they don't cause dental decay.

- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved them.

- They are between 160 and 13,000 times sweeter than sugar so a considerably smaller amount is needed.

CON

- Can cause bloating, intestinal gas, and diarrhea.

- May indirectly cause one to eat too much of a food item just because it is "sugar free". Remember, unless labeled otherwise, the item is not fat free and so can be very high in calories whether or not it contains natural sugar.

- They contain a chemical which is dangerous for people with the rare condition called phenylketonuria (PKU)

- Some experts are cautious about giving their complete sanction to unbridled use of artificial sweeteners. The cause for their concern is that the "sweetener police" have not provided ample proof, especially with regard to the newer products, of their long term safety.

Overall, however, it appears that foods containing artificial sweeteners pose no particular risk to health. They have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the National Cancer Institute, the American Dietetic

Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association for use among the general population including those with diabetes, pregnant women and children.

Artificial sweeteners can be an important tool in weight management.

If you decide you are comfortable using sugar substitutes, read the product label and ascertain that the sweetener is one of thoseapproved by regulating agencies. These are:

• Aspartame

• Acesulfame K

• Saccharin

• Sucralose

• Stevia

• Sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol, and Maltitol)

A repeat reminder...don't make an assumption that if a food item is labeled as being "sugar free" that is is also calorie free. Many sweet items, such as cookies, may use an artificial sweetener and can legitimately claim to be "sugar free".

Check the label however to determine how many calories are in each serving. They may be high-fat even though they are sugar free. Fat is an even more concentrated form of calories than sugar. The last thing you want to do is gain weight from eating sugar free cookies!




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sue_Bristol

Thursday, August 11, 2011

4 Ways Cheat Days Don't Work For Diets - Or Health

"If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying!"

Or so the saying goes.

With dieting, typically a "cheat day" is when you follow a strict diet 6 days out of the week, but on the 7th day of your choice, you can "pig out", and eat whatever you want! Many people swear by this method of losing weight and staying fit. But does it work?

I say no. I think it can "work" temporarily, but is doomed to failure in the long term. Here's why:

1. Having a cheat day is saying that you are "on a diet". If you are on a diet, it is very easy to jump off that diet! And, diets don't work - most people don't stick with them because they have not conditioned themselves to actually want the foods they are eating to be healthy. Cheating on your diet right away says that you don't want to eat the way you are eating 6 days a week and the 7th day is when you can finally enjoy yourself!

2. Any carb addictions you likely had before starting this diet will not go away. So if you love ice cream and save it for your cheat day, each time you scarf down the wonderful sugar and dairy delight, you are re-triggering your addiction - and pretty soon you will have small cheats on your non-cheat days and that's the end of that!

3. Cheat days are inherently unhealthy days. If you eat a healthy, low carb diet 6 days out of the week, then flood your body with insulin-spiking desserts and alcohol on the one day, it will take you a day or two just to recover from your cheat day! Does that sound healthy?

4. Most people will cheat with sugar. The problem is that sugar is really tough on your immune system - so if you're "junking it up" even one day a week, you are going to be more susceptible to colds, flus, and other diseases.

So what to do?

Well, I eat healthy but I also "cheat" on a regular basis. will have a square or two of dark chocolate several times a week. I'll have a beer here and there. But I don't call it cheating. I call it being healthy, not getting crazy about it, and most of all not being on a diet!

Overall, stick with the 80/20 or 85/15 principle. That means eating the healthy foods 80 or 85% of the time, but be relaxed, have your cheat foods here and there, but not all at once! Over time, you will also start to crave the healthy foods the more you eat them.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Koskella

How To Diet: Avoid Added Sugar, And You Will Lose Weight, You Will Lose All The Weight You Want To

There's been a great deal of fuss about the "evils" of dietary sugar. We're told to avoid sugar, and at the same time, we're told to eat fruits...which also contain sugar. What's the difference? How can one sugar be good for you and the other be so bad?

Simple sugars (also called simple carbohydrates) are found in fruits... and in cookies, pastries, candy, soda, and all of the other food items we're told to avoid. (There are differences involving various types of sugars...sucrose, fructose, galactose...but these are of a chemical nature and not basically relevant to this discussion).

The problem with the "candy" versus fruit sugar is mostly a matter of the vehicle it arrives in.

In the case of fruit, the sugar comes to you in...fruit. It comes with fiber and vitamins and minerals as co-passengers. Further, you know exactly what you're getting...a banana is a banana; a strawberry is a strawberry (unless it's drowned in chocolate...then it's something else)!

The sugar that you get in candy, on the other hand, always arrives in a limo along with its own co-passengers...fat, additives, cholesterol, trans-fats, hydrogenated oils. There are no nutrients in sugar, which is why the calories are called "empty". Therefore, when it comes to sugar you have to choose whether you want your empty calories in a vehicle that has many assets or one which brings few benefits and many tag-alongs.

Both kinds of sugar have calories, and if you consume too many calories from any source, you will gain weight because the extra calories are stored as fat. However, it is the "bad" sugar, rather than the "good" variety, that has been most frequently implicated in the obesity epidemic. This is most likely because "candy-cookie- pastry" sugar is so readily available, the portion sizes are usually pre-packaged and excessive, and they are so good and it's so easy to eat too much. (When is the last time you've made yourself sick eating apples)?

The most practical and effective way to lose weight is by eating a portion-controlled, balanced diet, eliminating foods with added sugar, and engaging in a modest exercise program. Don't eliminate fruit from your diet. The FDA recommends a minimum of two to four servings of fruit per day.

Last time I checked they had not yet recommended a daily need for Gummy Bears or Chunky Charlie Champion Chocolate Chunks!

Added sugar is a real killer of any diet!





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sue_Bristol

Dieting Fads and Why They Don't "Work"

Let's first examine the basics of nutrition. You have 3 main energy sources: carbs, fat, and protein. Your body will always use those macronutrients in that order. Most diets require cutting out one of those macronutrients. This is a quick fix solution but not a long term healthful lifestyle.

To use one of my favorite analogies, your body needs all three to work as a team as you need a wheelbarrow, bricks, and mortar to build a brick house (carbs = wheelbarrow, protein = bricks, fat = mortar, house = healthy body). How would you get the bricks transported without a wheelbarrow? How would you get the bricks to stick together without mortar? And how can you build the house without bricks?

We all have different carb tolerance levels due to the way our bodies utilize them which also changes over time. For instance, women going through menopause often have much lower tolerance for carbs as do diabetics meaning they have to be very specific about the kinds of carbs they eat and in smaller amounts. We all need protein and fat and we need all 3 to ensure your body functions properly.

Many of us have tried some kind of extreme diet plan and know many other people that have as well. Some might venture to say, "well I lost xx lbs, it worked!" My criteria for whether or not a diet "worked" is a little different.

1) You can do ANY diet plan, be dedicated, and lose weight. But 95% of people who lose weight gain it back within 5 years. TIME is the true test of whether or not it worked.

2) Secondly, do you have an even worse relationship with food than you started? Is your day spent counting food numbers in your head? Are you scared to eat certain foods? If the answer to any of these is yes - it didn't work because you're setting yourself up for long term failure.

3) You could also be suffering from malnutrition and don't even know it. Are you always sore after you do weight training? Have you caught whatever sickness is going around and you haven't been sick in a long time? You're likely missing out important nutrients your body needs.

So what is the solution? HEALTHFUL EATING! We live in a society of quick fixes so many people have a hard time with this concept. You don't have to count numbers. You don't have to be obsessed with or scared of food. And you can feel fantastic while you're doing it!

1) Cut out the processed foods and sugars and start reading food labels. You would be surprised at how much sugar is in a lot of food you're eating.

2) Ask yourself, "where did this come from?" An apple came from a tree. Where did a Snickers bar come from?

3) Take baby steps! Slow and steady wins the race. For instance, this week start by replacing bad snacks with more healthful choices. Next week, take a look at what your meals are actually composed of.

4) It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. Make changes that you would be content in continuing for the rest of your life. And make sure these changes are offering your body all the nutrients it needs.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ashley_Brodeur



Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

'Diets' That Promote Health (and Always Have)

Earlier this year, the "Mediterranean diet" turned 15. Of course, for the people who actually live in the Mediterranean region, that's an absurd notion. They have been eating meals of fish, vegetables, and whole grains drizzled with olive oil, then washing it all down with a glass or two of wine for generations. What actually turned 15 is the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, an attempt by nutrition experts to promote an alternative to the typical overprocessed, fat- and sugar-laden American diet.
Click here to find out more!

That pyramid—like other recently devised dietary guides built on age-old traditions—represents a way of looking at nutrition that's gathering steam these days. Rather than reducing a diet to its essential foods and then foods to their essential nutrients—vitamins, minerals, and other chemicals—and trying to isolate those that may contribute to good health, researchers are increasingly taking a step back and correlating health with broader eating patterns. "What we're talking about is the background diet," says Linda Van Horn, acting chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. "It's not the occasional hot fudge sundae or brownie; rather, it's the day-to-day, meal-to-meal, bite-to-bite: What is it that appears in your mouth?"

The focus is on finding the overall combination of foods that are associated with better health, without necessarily pinpointing individual elements of the diet that are responsible. That may involve studying how people in different areas of the world eat or, here at home, using statistics to study which foods the healthiest among us consume. "You find out who's healthy, then ask what they're eating and how much they exercise," says K. Dun Gifford, founder and president of Oldways Preservation Trust, the Boston-based food issues think tank that developed the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. (More later on the exercise element, which often gets lost when people try to adopt a healthier diet.)

Oldways, which gets funding from food companies and trade associations, among others, and developed its recommendations in conjunction with the Harvard School of Public Health, has also created food pyramids for a traditional healthful Asian diet, which emphasizes vegetables such as bok choy and chilies, noodles, and beans, as well as a traditional Latin American diet. The group has also cooked up a healthful vegetarian pyramid; plant-based diets, when they include all the essential nutrients, are associated with low rates of chronic diseases and longevity.

A new paradigm. It's important to recognize the flaws in the old-fashioned approach to nutrition science, which is to search for the precise health-promoting vitamin or chemical in a food and then to isolate it. That often results in taking wonder ingredient X out of the food entirely and putting it into a pill or into foods it was never meant to be in (think orange juice spiked with the omega-3 fatty acids naturally found in fish). That kind of ingredient isolation and supplementation was appropriate when many people suffered from diseases caused by a lack of a certain nutrient, like scurvy (vitamin C) or rickets (vitamin D). Those problems could easily be fixed by adding back the missing piece. "But there's a big difference between deficiency diseases and chronic diseases, where it's more likely that there are multiple factors acting in concert," says Marion Nestle, a nutritionist at New York University and author of, most recently, What to Eat. "It's hard, in that situation, to tease out the role of a single nutrient."

Not that people haven't tried. Consider the health claims for various vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients over the years. Vitamins A and C, which are antioxidants, and carotenoids like beta carotene and lycopene were once touted as tools to fight chronic diseases like cancer. It was a logical hypothesis; people who eat a lot of fruits and veggies are healthier than those who don't. Shouldn't the chemicals that are unique to these foods be responsible? As it turns out, no. "The history has been that the first studies [to test individual nutrients] show fabulous benefits, and then as they were repeated with larger populations, better placebos, and better controls, not only were they not helping, but in some cases they may hurt," says Nestle. The poster child is beta carotene, which not only didn't stave off lung cancer but actually appeared to increase rates of the disease among smokers. (A similar outcome was reported earlier this year with vitamin E.) Now we're back to where we started: Fruits and veggies appear to be protective, but we still don't know why.

Soy was also considered as a miracle food. When Japanese people move to the West, for example, their rates of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease go up. Researchers naturally wondered whether missing dietary elements might be responsible. They realized that these immigrants largely gave up soy for other protein sources, so the researchers focused on isoflavonoids, a group of chemicals found mostly in soy and suspected of guarding against chronic disease, says Christopher Gardner, a nutrition scientist at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. Again, a logical assumption didn't pan out in larger studies.

But what if it's not a single chemical or food that traditionally protected the Japanese, says Gardner, but how all components of their diet interact? "Maybe it's not just the tofu but the tofu in the stir fry with the sesame oil," he says. "The frustrating thing in nutrition is that for the last couple of decades, so many studies have failed because we've isolated one nutrient at a time, when probably the benefit comes from the synergistic and additive effects of the whole diet taken together."

Having in a sense returned to the drawing board, researchers are increasingly looking at those conventional patterns of eating as models for healthful eating. Dietary patterns are most easily described by their ethnic origins. "Low-carb or low-fat diets are a man-made phenomenon," says Van Horn. "Instead, what we're talking about is the more cultural, traditional, historical eating pattern—like the Mediterranean diet."

That's the dietary tradition with the most evidence behind it; scientists have been studying Mediterranean eating patterns and their impact on health since after World War II, when diet was suspected to account for the remarkable health of people living on Crete. Since then, research has associated the Mediterranean way of eating with a host of health benefits, including protection against diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

Of course, there's a high degree of variability among the dietary traditions that encompass the Mediterranean, says Judith Wylie-Rosett, head of behavioral and nutrition research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. The same is true of Asian and Latin American diets. But pretty much any traditional diet is better than our current westernized diet, which is, by all accounts, a mess. "The public-health crisis we are facing is a direct result of the western diet: lots of refined, processed, and manufactured food, lots of red meat, lots of added fat and sugar, very little whole grains or fruits and vegetables," says Michael Pollan, whose latest book, In Defense of Food, lays out the case for a holistic approach to eating.

So some nutritionists are taking a stab at more precisely describing dietary patterns, using statistical analysis to measure what foods tend to cluster together in the diets of healthy (or not healthy) people. For example, a "prudent" eating pattern is characterized by higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and fish, says Teresa Fung, a nutritionist at Simmons College in Boston. That pattern has been shown to be associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer, as well as lower body mass index.

The prudent diet has some key similarities with most of the ethnic eating patterns. "A better diet, however you define it, almost always includes more fruits and vegetables, less processed meat, more whole grains, fish, nuts, and low-fat dairy," says Katherine Tucker, a nutritional epidemiologist at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

The beauty of the pattern approach is that it's not necessary to know exactly what mechanism is leading to better health. "It could be one thing or multiple things," says Fung. For example, research recently suggested that the higher amounts of choline, an essential nutrient in the vitamin B family, and another nutrient called betaine—both of which are abundant in a Mediterranean diet—reduce inflammation, which may contribute to a host of diseases, says Steven Zeisel, director of the Nutrition Research Institute at Kannapolis, a branch of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Public Health. "But the truth is, I'd be foolish to rush out and eat those nutrients. I can eat closer to that pattern—less red meat, more olive oil—and not worry about which is the active ingredient," he says. In fact, it's not even clear that these patterns are healthier because of what's in them—it may be what's absent. "As soon as you eat the Mediterranean diet, you're eating less steak," says Gardner. "Maybe it had nothing to do with that. What we know is that if you eat that way, you're healthier."

So, is it that easy: We all just have to eat like the Greeks (or the Vietnamese, or the ancient Maya)? Well, yes and no. First, most of the evidence comes from observation, not rigorous scientific trials, so it doesn't prove cause and effect. But there's enough observational data to convince most researchers, and there is some experimental evidence: Trials showed that eating a low-sodium diet based on whole grains, poultry, fish, and nuts and lighter on the red meat, fats, and sweets lowered blood pressure.

A second caveat is that these ancient dietary patterns were long paired with a way of life that doesn't much exist in America—and it included a lot of exercise, says Pollan. Men in postwar Crete didn't laze around dunking bread in olive oil all day; they chased goats up hills. Even now, people in the Mediterranean and other parts of the world are more active, whether through vocation or because there's so much more walking as part of daily life. That's why the traditional food pyramids from Oldways all include exercise. (The government recommends 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise for heart health and 60 to 90 minutes a day for weight loss.)

And if you're watching your weight—and who isn't?—calories really do count. The key is replacing less healthful foods with healthier ones, not just adding tofu to your bologna sandwich or nuts to your sundae. As Pollan says, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." That doesn't mean eschewing all indulgences, but it does mean keeping an eye on day-to-day intake. "It's about the pattern over the long term," says Oldways' Gifford. "Do you think people in the Mediterranean get drunk after church on Sunday? Sure, they do! We're human, and you have to take the pressure off the pressure cooker."

Even with occasional excesses, adopting a sound dietary pattern may be both simpler and more wholesome than chasing down the latest superfood or nutritional supplement. "Finally, the field has come around to realize that it won't be a single nutrient," says Tucker. "We're back to old-fashioned advice: Eat a variety of good-quality whole foods. That's the way to stay optimally healthy."



By Katherine Hobson

Wean Yourself Off Processed Foods in 7 Steps

When is the last time you tasted a peach? Really experienced its velvety outer skin, inner succulence, and stringy pulp as it slid to the back of your mouth? Ever notice the notes of almond, honey, and vanilla in the fruit's flavor? "Every bite should be like a wine tasting," says food writer and chef Bruce Weinstein. "The more you take away from your food, the more pleasure you'll feel eating it." And the fuller you'll feel afterward. That's the premise behind Real Food Has Curves, a new book written by Weinstein and his partner, Mark Scarbrough. It provides a 7-step plan for weaning yourself off processed foods, which have been blamed for our nation's rise in obesity and related conditions, like heart disease and diabetes. "We feel very strongly that deprivation doesn't work," says Weinstein, adding that they each lost about 25 pounds by incorporating more "real" and less "fake" foods into their meals. Here's how:
Click here to find out more!

[6 Weight-Loss Tricks That Don’t Involve Dieting or (Much) Exercise]

Step 1: Seek true satisfaction. Grab that peach or strawberry, examine its color, sniff it, and take a bite. Give yourself a moment to enjoy the genuine flavors. For comparison, nibble a Starburst fruit candy or a strawberry fruit roll-up. Notice that you mainly taste sweet without a lot of complexity? That's because fat, sugar, and salt are added to processed foods to mask the metallic taste of artificial preservatives, sweeteners, and other chemical additives, says Weinstein. He should know since he used to test recipes for packaged food companies and tinker with ingredients to get the appropriate taste and texture. Processed foods are also made to dissolve quickly in your mouth, he says, to get you to eat faster and in greater quantities—often leaving you full, but not satisfied. Now you know why that bag of Doritos disappears before you've really had a chance to taste them.

[10 Things the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know]

Step 2: Read labels wisely. You don't need to spend an hour making your own marinara sauce (though the book provides a recipe using canned tomatoes, if you're so inclined). You can also find "real" tomato sauce in the supermarket if you read labels carefully. Those containing ingredients you can buy on your own, like tomatoes, olive oil, salt, garlic, and parmesan cheese, meet Weinstein's criteria for a real food; those that have preservatives, like BHT, thickeners like guar gum, or artificial flavors, don't. Ditto for store-bought breads, breakfast cereals, and pasta.

[Whole-Foods Diet Cookbook: How to Eat for Health and Taste]

Step 3: Relish what's on your plate. This is all about devoting time to solely enjoying the pleasures of eating. Indulge in that piece of dark chocolate while sitting on a park bench, rather than while perched at your desk, catching up on E-mail. Sit down at your kitchen table for dinner, not parked in front of the TV. Eating without distractions will help you savor the tastes, textures, smells, and colors of the food on your plate.

Step 4: Wean yourself off excess salt, fat, and sugar. You'll be doing this anyway if you're eating fewer processed foods and restaurant meals, but you can also cook with smaller amounts of these ingredients by using natural substitutes. Strong spices like garlic, pepper, and oregano cut down on the need for salt. You can use less cooking oil if you broil instead of fry, and margarine in many baked recipes can often be replaced with smaller amounts of (yes) extra-virgin olive oil. In fact, the book contains a recipe for olive oil cookies that calls for just 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil.

[Should the Food Industry Ban Added Salt and Sugar?]

Step 5: Give your palate time to change. While it may be tough at first to skip the afternoon candy bar or fast-food fries, you'll gradually lose your taste for excessively sweet and salty foods as your palate adapts to a variety of new flavors. And you may even find yourself opening up to new foods. "With real food's flavor overtones and textural range," the authors write, "everything leads to something else. If you like coffee, soon enough you'll like red wine or mushrooms or Chinese black bean sauce, all because you find a common, mellow earthiness among them."


Step 6: Go for high-quality foods. You don't need to opt for only organic or produce sold at local farmstands—though both are certainly preferable—but you should look for products that contain the least amount of processed ingredients to ensure better taste and better quality. You can't, for example, experience the nutty chewiness of the whole grain if you go for white rice instead of brown. Look for breads and pastas with whole wheat or whole wheat flour as the first ingredient to enhance their taste and nutritional content. And, of course, choose fresh produce, when possible, over canned. Frozen fruits and vegetables are preferable when fresh ones aren't available.

Step 7: Treat yourself well by not skipping meals. Part of the enjoyment of food is allowing yourself to get hungry enough to crave your meal, but not so hungry that you're desperate to shovel anything and everything in your mouth. This can be accomplished by eating three meals a day at fairly regular times and having a mid-afternoon snack. Some of the interesting snack choices include apple wedges with natural peanut butter or honey mustard; a few dried apricots and a handful of salted pistachios; 1 ounce of feta on all-grain crackers like FinnCrisps. And the authors, being food lovers, advocate for a daily dessert, something truly indulgent that you save for once, rather than several times, a day. "Otherwise," they write, "there's a hideous taste-deadening that goes on with too much sugar."



By Deborah Kotz

6 Ways to Trick Yourself Into Eating Fruits and Veggies

Turns out that Mom and Dad, regardless of their threats to take away TV time if you don't eat your broccoli, aren't so good at swallowing their own advice.

The pitifully low amount of produce adults eat earned them an "F" in a report card released last week by the National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, a federal, industry, and consumer partnership. Compared to five years ago, adults aren't much closer to embracing the number of servings of fruits and veggies recommended by the latest federal Dietary Guidelines. Teens flunked, too, and younger children got a D. The grades were based on data collected by a market research organization, says Elizabeth Pivonka, cochair for the NFVA and president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, a consumer-education nonprofit group. Food diaries kept by families in 2,000 households from February 2003 to February 2004 were compared with diaries from another 2,000 households that kept them from February 2008 to February 2009.
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Big surprise, right? Experts say most people know they don't eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables (Find how much the government says you should be getting here.) And they know about obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart problems that await the unhealthy. So why do they shun plants?

"People just don't know how to cook anymore," says Pivonka. "I think that is the crux of the problem." Some wrongly assume they don't like asparagus or cauliflower when in fact they don't like the way it was prepared, she says. Many vegetables, among them green beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes, become family favorites when drizzled with a little olive oil and roasted in the oven. And fruits and vegetables can disappear if tucked into dishes the right way. Here are a few tricks from dieticians to get more produce into meals:

1. Use them in sauces, chili, soups, and casseroles. They're great at camouflaging zucchini, squash, carrots, or corn. Grate and sauté them or pulse them in a food processor until they're smooth. But they don't have to be hidden to taste good. Pasta sauces or toppings on meat dishes are other veggie vehicles. Grab a can of butternut squash soup and cook gnocchi in it—it's "super yummy," says Andrea Giancoli, a registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Smother your chicken in ratatouille—an assortment of seasoned, sautéed veggies—or top sea bass with tomatoes, capers, and olives or perhaps a mango salsa.

[Health Benefits of Home-Grown Produce]

2. Bake them into muffins, breads, and pies. Yes, you can enjoy pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving relatively guilt-free, so long as it's not topped with a huge dollop of Cool Whip. Carrot cake, zucchini bread, and banana muffins are a few more possibilities. Many recipes call for applesauce instead of all or some of the butter or oil, and it brings just as much moistness. "It can definitely be an awesome way to get your more nutritious substitutes to replacing high-oil, high-fat baked goods," says Sarah Krieger, a registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

3. Drink them. Naked Juice, low-sodium V8, and homemade smoothies can get you a couple of servings in just a few gulps. You can even hide veggies like carrots in the kids' fruit smoothies without risking a coup. But we tend to underestimate calories when we drink them rather than eat them, Krieger says. Slow down, she advises. Let these fiber-loaded drinks tell you when you've had enough.

[Hungry for Health School Lunch Ideas?]

4. Dip them. Spinach-artichoke dip can be made with low-fat ingredients like fat-free plain yogurt or light sour cream­—avoid Paula Deen's mayonnaise-heavy version—so you can guiltlessly snack your way through several servings of veggies. Try a variety of colorful peppers with a flavored hummus. Low-fat yogurt is good for dipping fruit. You could even make a healthy fruit pizza if you tried hard enough, like making your own dough sweetened with a little honey instead of sugar and using reduced-fat cream cheese for the topping.

5. Make them dessert. How about angel food cake with strawberries, or a yogurt parfait with hazelnuts and a mixture of berries? Fruit can be a "party for our mouth," says Giancoli. "But sometimes you need to add a bit more fiesta." Krieger's favorite dessert combo is a few pear or apple wedges dipped in melted chocolate (dark, the healthier variety). "You will not be disappointed," she promises.

6. Experiment with them. Don't resign yourself to eating fruits and veggies "straight up," Giancoli says. "You have to get friendly with the recipe book." Get out the sauté pan and start with a little olive oil, onion, and garlic. Take your pick of veggie (fresh or frozen—it doesn't matter, as long as the frozen alternative doesn't have cream sauce or other less-healthful additions), cook until just crisp, and top it off with a little orange or lemon zest, sea salt, and pepper. Roasting or grilling are other good options, Krieger says; bringing out the natural sweetness in the vegetable can be a game-changer for fussy eaters.


By Kurtis Hiatt

Monday, August 8, 2011

Want to Lose Weight Fast? Jump-Start Your Diet By Cleaning Your Fridge, Food Shelves and Closet

you want to lose weight fast and keep it off forever - here's how you can jump-start your diet by giving your fridge, food shelves, freezer and closet a good spring clean.

Why should you start your diet with a home clear-out? It's all about getting rid of the old, including some bad eating habits and those old (guilt-inducing?) clothes, to make room for the new you. And while you can jump start your diet at any time of year, Spring, being the season of new birth, growth and renewal, is ideal. Besides, there's still time to get rid of those extra pounds before summer!

Jump-Start Your Diet - Clean Out Your Fridge!

What lurks at the very back of your fridge? Maybe you'd rather not know about the cheese that's been there for weeks, the bacon that was opened a month ago, the half bottle of spaghetti sauce growing mould on the top, the cheese that's dried out...yes, there are nasty things in there.

Time to toss them all, and also any condiments (mustard, catsup) that's been opened for more than a month, any wilted vegetables or shrivelling fruit, any leftovers older than a couple of days and eggs you bought more than a week ago.

No matter how recently purchased, the following also has to go:

Margarine or shortening (packed with nasty trans fats)

All nuts except raw (not roasted) walnuts or almonds or low-fat, low-sodium and no sugar added natural nut butters (almond, cashew, macadamia nut)

Full fat milk and coffee creamer.

If you want to lose weight fast, it's best to avoid dairy completely, except for plain yogurt (no fruit, no sugar), preferably organic. Instead, you'll eat leafy green vegetables, broccoli, sardines and salmon to get the calcium you need. Once the bad stuff is gone, it's a good time to clean the fridge before you put what's left back.

Jump-start Your Diet - Clear Out Your Food Shelves

Canned foods that are high in salt or sugar, or that are older than two years, have to go, if you want to lose weight. Toss the cream soups, puddings, single-serving fruit (check how much sugar is added), and creamy sauces along with mayonnaise (bad fats), pickles (sugar) and salsa (unless it is low fat, low sodium and has very little sugar).

Throw out everything that is high in bad fats, including crackers, chips, pretzels, cookies, cereals, microwave popcorn, and just about everything that claims to be low-fat or fat-free (check labels and you will see it is high-sugar, high-trans fats, the bad fats, and high in preservatives.) If it comes in a box or in plastic wrap, it is almost guaranteed to contain ingredients that will do nothing for your health, in the longer term, or you weight loss now. What's on your wine or liquor shelf?

Either lock it up or toss it out (or maybe give it away) because in order to lose weight fast, you need to cut out alcohol (including low-cal beer and alco-pop). Throw out spices that are older than three years (their favour is gone) and your cooking oil. Replace it with coconut oil or unfiltered, extra virgin olive oil, preferably organic.

Ditch the pop or soda, including diet pop - it only causes continued sugar craving. Drink cold water instead. Flavoured coffees, cake or cookie mixes, most energy bars, fruit juices and salad dressings have to go - they all have bad fats, salt, sugar and other additives that will sabotage your weight loss.

Jump-start Your Diet - What's In Your Freezer?

Cake? Ice Cream? Frozen lasagna? Diet meals? Check all the labels - if it is high in salt, or sugar, or calories, or additives, or has anything in the ingredients that you can't identify, toss it. Say good-bye to frozen juice (too much sugar). Keep: lean frozen meats, poultry, and fish, only if they've been in your freezer less than 3 months.

Now We Move On To Your Closet

Why? So we can clear out everything that: You haven't worn for the past two years. You don't really like. Was another sad shopping mistake, because it doesn't go with anything you've got. Looks just awful on you. Face it - you're never going to wear again.

Take it to the consignment shop, or give it to charity if it's still wearable. Otherwise, bin it. So, now that we've freed up lots of space in your fridge, your freezer, your food shelves and in your closet, what's next?

Well, next you need a healthy eating plan you can stick to that helps you eat less while keeping you satisfied. With the right plan, you will lose 10 pounds or more quickly and safely and learn to keep it off forever.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=JB_Johnson

Dieting and Weight Loss Tips - Setting Up A Diet Plan for Those With Heart Disease

If you have heart disease you probably already know that you should be on what's called a heart healthy diet and that it focuses on heart healthy foods. But, you don't have to wait till you have heart disease to be on this kind of a diet. In fact if you get on one right now, you should be able to avoid developing heart disease. Below is an example of what a heart healthy diet should look like.

When you have breakfast you should try to eat cereal that is high in fiber. If you have 1 ½ cups of oatmeal, you will receive 6 g of the soluble fiber that your body needs to help remove the harmful cholesterol from your body that otherwise might collect on the walls of your arteries. If you add some sliced banana to it you'll be getting another three to four grams of fiber. It's recommended that you get at least 10 g of soluble fiber in your diet on a daily basis.

You should include in your diet a mid-morning snack and that should consist of eating fresh fruits or veggies. These are both high in fiber that you need as well as antioxidants and these will give your body the nutrients you need that those foods from the vending machines generally are lacing. So if you are working you should take a bag that has fresh fruits and vegetables in it for your snacks at work or have a supply of them at home if you don't leave the home for work.

You can also have whole grain crackers with some slices of low fat cheese of your choice. You can also consider getting some almond butter and use it as a spread for celery sticks. Hummus is also something else that is good and can be spread on some whole grain pita bread if you want. Adding some peanut butter or almond butter on some apple slices is also a good mid-morning snack.

At lunch time you might want to eat two cups of a homemade soup that is made with beans or lentils, both of these will provide some extra fiber in your diet and they are also a good source of low fat protein. Minestrone is a good soup as well and it gives you some extra oxidants as well as fiber and is low in calories. Eat with some whole grain pita bread, or even some cornbread.

If you don't like soup than take some albacore tuna and add some low fat mayo along with some Italian seasoning and then use it as a spread for some whole grain bread. This will give you the omega3 fatty acids your body needs.

You should also include a mid-afternoon snack in your diet. You need to avoid those late afternoon blues by avoiding the high sugar or high caffeine drinks to give you a boost and go for some sort of snack that is high in protein. This could be a handful of nuts like pistachios, almonds or some walnuts. You could also include with that snack some fruit like a pear or nectarine. You can also again add an apple with some peanut butter or almond butter spread on the slices. A fruit smoothie made with fresh fruit and low fat yogurt is another good mid-afternoon snack.

You should try to have your main dish for your dinner to be high in omega3 fatty acids. You don't have to do this every day but at least three times a day and a good one for that would be salmon because it lowers the bad cholesterol in your body. Other fish that is good for doing this would be mackerel, trout, sardines, tuna and herring. Foods with soy are also good for a heart healthy diet.

You should try and steam your vegetables and have them often as your side dishes. A good mixture would be broccoli, cauliflower, carrots along with some onions. You can sprinkle them with some Italian seasoning just before serving them and mix well. You can also have an occasional baked potato and try using the non-fat yogurt as a topping instead of sour cream.

This is just a sample of what a heart healthy diet plan might look like. There are plenty of resources out there that can give you hundreds of different recipes and ideas on how to make this kind of diet plan not only healthy but versatile and fun to eat.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Bulker

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Healthy Diet and Weight Loss Tips - Why Eating Less Red Meat Is Better For a Healthy Heart!

We all know how important diet is for our heart, or at least we should know. We get bombarded with enough information about it. However, how much attention do we pay to it? And do we take it seriously? More than likely not. But it is important that we understand there are some simple things that we can do to help improve the diet we are on to help keep our hearts healthier. Once really easy way is to simply cut down on the red meat we eat. Don't cringe at that, this is not to say you have to put down that knife and fork and banish that delicious steak completely from your life. All you have to do is just cut back on it and don't eat it as often as you may do right now.

When fixing a meal try to remember that the meat should not be the star of your meal. Simply change the way that you use your red meat. You should consider it more of a complement to your veggies and fruits and not the other way around. When you decide to eat red meat simply make it only fill about ¼ of your plate and then fill the rest of your plate with other things.

Add color to your meals. The rest of your plate when you are eating red meat should be filled with color brought to you by lots of fresh or steamed vegetables. Try to combine a variety of different attractive colors to the dinner plate. This is going to make your meal more attractive to the eye and it also will ensure that you are getting all of the right nutrients that you need. Make sure that you try to include veggies and fruits on your plate at both lunch and dinner.

Don't forget to add some whole grains to your plate as well and that doesn't mean a slice of whole wheat bread with butter. No, it's more like adding something like couscous, whole wheat pasta, or some brown rice. Although bread can be added you don't want to go overboard on it either.

Don't forget that you do need protein for your body to function well, but try using other high quality proteins more often over the red meats. So consider picking things like pork, chicken, fish, beans and even veggie burgers. Today's veggie burgers are far better than they were when they first came out.

You should also learn to cook your vegetables and other meats in different ways instead of always cooking them the same way each time. Consider investing a few dollars in some new cookbooks that are focused on heart healthy cooking. You'll find there are tons of cookbooks out there to help make your meal planning fun and a lot easier.

Final Note: Whatever you do, don't cut out red meat all at once, in other words don't go cold turkey, especially if you are planning on cutting it out forever. Cut back slowly and gradually add more vegetables and fruits at the same time. Much easier on you and your body.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Bulker

Dieting Tips - How To Maintain a Healthy Diet When You Are Pregnant

f you are pregnant or have been before then you more than likely have heard the old saying "Go ahead, you're eating for two anyway". But in reality you really aren't eating for two. Even though it is true that you need to nourish the child that is growing inside of you, you really shouldn't think that it is a requirement that you double what you eat in order for your child to gain weight and be healthy. The best thing you can do for your unborn child is to make sure that you maintain a healthy diet because it's beneficial for the both of you.

On the average an adult should consume about 2,000 calories each day but when you are pregnant you don't want to increase that amount to 4,000 calories. Although you should increase your calorie intake some. But the amount that you want to increase it to should fall between 200 and 500 extra calories for each day and even less when you are in your first trimester of pregnancy. Adding some healthy snacks each day to your diet like juice or some string cheese for example should be enough for those few extra calories that you need.

You will need to add some very specific nutrients to your diet when you are pregnant. Vitamins A and C should be extra and you can add those by simply eating fruits like apples or oranges. It's highly recommended that you have seven or more servings of fruits and veggies each day in order to supply your baby and yourself with the needed nutrients to be healthy. You also will need to make sure that you include 3 or more servings of some sort of dairy product. You need extra calcium for both your bones as well as your baby's.

You should get enough protein as well. This is a nutrient that is much need for the two of you. You diet needs to contain some lean meat, poultry, eggs, nuts and fish all of which are enriched with protein. Protein is also filling and it will increase your body's ability to be able to burn off calories. It's far better to have a good supply of this for your body than giving your body fatty foods. It will also make it easier to lose weight after you give birth.

There are some foods that a pregnant woman should always stay away from those would be foods like sushi, raw oysters and raw meats. All of these things can be extremely harmful to your unborn baby. These foods often carry some harmful bacterial in them that are considered to be extremely unsafe for any pregnant woman to eat. If you happen to like rare steaks, doctors say that it's OK as long as the outside of the steak is fully cooked.

Note: If you have any questions about your diet it is wise to talk to your doctor and have them answer your questions.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Bulker

The Healthy Weight Loss Diet - Eat Right to Look Right

There are many healthy weight loss diets out there in the market but the urge to look like the Hollywood stars in no time has led many people to ignore these diets and go for some 'new discoveries' that aren't always effective. The crazy to loss weight has been increasing in recent time due to many people's awareness of the health challenges that might be there for obese people. Others are equally trying to lose weight so that they would look cute and more sexy, especially the women.

If you really want to shed some extra fat, you simply have to go for some healthy weight loss diets in order to realize your weight loss goal. Some people have consistently argued on this subject but many health experts have said that a diet is considered healthy when it contains an average of 55 percent carbohydrates, 15 % to 30 % fat as well as 15% to 30 % protein.

It is important to note that the carbohydrates we eat are usually broken into glucose which the body enzymes can assimilate for our energy requirements. So, it is imperative that for any healthy weight loss diet to be acceptable, it has to contain at least 50 % carbohydrate food. This is any problem at all because majority of the foods we all eat contains a high amount of carbohydrates. You have to opt for foods such as fruits, grains and vegetables instead of the empty calories-containing foods such as fruit drinks, candies, cookies, colas etc.

Foods that are rich in protein are very essential in any healthy weight loss diet. This is because protein is needed by the body system for growth and to be able to fight foreign bodies by helping to build and boost the hormonal and immune systems of the body. Many of the internal organs of the body are also built by the protein contents of the food we eat. This is in addition to the fact that our skins, muscles and body tissues are also built by the proteins contained in the food we eat.

It may interest you to know that protein is found in many of the foods we eat but there are some foods that contain more proteins than the rest. Any healthy weight loss diet should include foods such as fish, lean red meat, eggs, poultry, cheese and nuts so that your body system will be getting the desired protein at the right amount.

Fats are other essential elements of any healthy weight loss diets because of the body's daily calorie needs. But care should be taken so that saturated fats such as those found in ice cream, most of the processes grain foods, butter, etc., are consumed in a very limited quantity because of their harmful effects on the body. The proper fatty foods that should be included in a healthy weight loss diet includes, but are not limited to avocado, fatty fish, sunflower oils, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, etc.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jared_D._Ingram

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Easy Way to Avoid Fast Weight Loss Diet Pitfall

The market is presently filled with lots of fast weight loss diet regimes. You may have noticed that there are many new entrants and some 'major breakthroughs' every now and then. The truth is that many smart entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the immense money-making opportunities that abound in the weight loss industry and making brisk businesses from those that are eager to shed some pounds. It has been noted that some of these fast weight loss diets can actually help some people to shed some fat but the truth has remained that those people usually regained the lost fat and even add more soon as they stop taking the fast weight loss diets.

I know that many people would find it difficult to believe the hard truth I am going to say but the reality is that many of the fast weight loss diets aren't what they are meant to be. Majority of them are designed with just one thing in mind; to make the creators or producers rich and not to help you lose weight. This may be hard to believe but it is the truth. These fast weight producers are smart enough and make use of the finest copywriters in the market who design very enticing adverts with video presentations that are quite irresistible just to lure innocent folks who are trying to lose weight. Their primary aim is usually just to make you part with a couple of dollars and walk away without minding whether the fast weight loss product you bought is effective or not.

If I may advise, I would be telling you to stay away from any of those fast weight loss products that promise you the loss of 25 pounds in one week! This is quite unrealistic because even if you loss one pound per day, you may be depriving your body system the needed nutrients required for proper growth and existence. What normally happens is that soon as the fast weight loss programs are over, your body would start demanding for more food intake and will readily start storing more food in case there is another famine. This process is natural because human bodies are created in such ways that they try to survive against all odds.

It is very natural for the body to try and store up as much food as possible soon as the fast weight loss regime is over. This natural process is what naturally translates to more body weight and amassing of unnecessary and unhealthy body fat. It is always better to eat the normal healthy foods, take the appropriate exercises and lose weight gradually instead of opting for any weight solution that promises loss of one or more pounds per day.

Trying to lose just one pound per week is normal because your body can adequately adjust and wouldn't panic as you grow thinner. This will afford you the opportunity to easily lose weight and live with it without regaining it faster than you lose it.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jared_D._Ingram

How to Lose Weight With a Simple Ten Minute Exercise Routine

Did you know that Americans spend more than 30 billion dollars trying to lose weight? This large number is pretty indicative that weight is a major concern for many people and weight loss is something challenging that requires effort, persistence, and at times financial burdens too. Studies have shown that a person needs to burn from 3500 to 4000 Kcal to eventually lose around a pound on the weight scale; mind you, a person's entire daily calorie intake is 1500 Kcal to 2000 Kcal. So, do the mathematics and you will realize that one would need to perform very intensive exercising to lose weight or settle for a modest gradual weight loss program. The key to almost every diet available is to combine weight reduction with exercises; this would get you the optimal weight loss solution.

When it comes to exercise, you might be a little lost towards which exercises you need to do. Well, here are some suggested 10 minute exercises that you could practice daily so you would help your body get rid of fat easier!

1- Cardiovascular activities: are essential exercises for people of all sport interests and activity. Dieticians recommend that the average person performs around 30 minutes of daily cardiovascular exercises. You need to, however, pay attention if you have a special medical case because not all people can take medium or high intensity cardio workouts.

2- Resistance workouts: resistance workouts can suit almost any person. They are usually easy to manipulate and can be done on a daily basis and with no equipment at all! One of the most common resistance workouts is wall pushups. All you need to do is position your palms on the wall at shoulder level then take a step back so that your arms are not bent at the elbows. Now, slowly tip toe as you bend your elbows and lean your body towards the wall. Press and go back to your original position. Repeat for around 60 seconds and with caution to prevent any muscle strains. Many more resistance workouts can be found on DVD, tapes, or even online. You just need to dedicate 10 minutes every day. Those workouts will also help you prevent love handles and flabby skin.

Just got home after a long working day's stress? Go out for a walk or pull out your bike and go for a thirty-minute ride. Even if it's raining outside, you can still do resistance workouts. The important factor here is to keep exercising on a daily basis- even if in small time lapses. Not only will you help your metabolism boost, you would also stay in shape!





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeremy_Glennon