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Archive for the ‘Weight Loss’ Category
Keys To Healthy Diet
Posted by lorenz|
Developing healthy eating habits isn’t as confusing or as restrictive as many people imagine. The first principle of a healthy diet is simply to eat a wide variety of foods. This is important because different foods make different nutritional contributions. Secondly, fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes—foods high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, low in fat, and free of cholesterol—should make up the bulk of the calories you consume. The rest should come from low-fat dairy products, lean meat and poultry, and fish. You should also try to maintain a balance between calorie intake and calorie expenditure—that is, don’t eat more food than your body can utilize. Otherwise, you will gain weight. The more active you are, therefore, the more you can eat and still maintain this balance. Following these three basic steps doesn’t mean that you have to give up your favorite foods. As long as your overall diet is balanced and rich in nutrients and fiber, there is nothing wrong with an occasional cheeseburger. Just be sure to limit how frequently you eat such foods, and try to eat small portions of them. You can also view healthy eating as an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don’t normally eat. A healthy diet doesn’t have to mean eating foods that are bland or unappealing. The following basic guidelines are what you need to know to construct a healthy diet. 1 Eat plenty of high-fiber foods—that is, fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. These are the “good” carbohydrates—nutritious, filling, and relatively low in calories. They should supply the 20 to 30 grams of dietary fiber you need each day, which slows the absorption of carbohydrates, so there’s less effect on insulin and blood sugar, and provides other health benefits as well. Such foods also provide important vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (plant chemicals essential to good health). 2 Make sure to include green, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables—such as broccoli, carrots, cantaloupe, and citrus fruits. The antioxidants and other nutrients in these foods may help protect against developing certain types of cancer and other diseases. Eat five or more servings a day. 3 Limit your intake of sugary foods, refined-grain products such as white bread, and salty snack foods. Sugar, our No.1 additive, is added to a vast array of foods. Just one daily 12-ounce can of soda (160 calories) can add up to 16 pounds over the course of a year. Many sugary foods are also high in fat, so they’re calorie-dense. 4 Cut down on animal fat. It’s rich in saturated fat, which boosts blood cholesterol levels and has other adverse health effects. Choose lean meats, skinless poultry, and nonfat or low-fat or nonfat dairy products. 5 Cut way down on trans fats, supplied by hydrogenated vegetable oils used in most processed foods in the supermarket and in many fast foods. 6 Eat more fish and nuts, which contain healthy unsaturated fats. Substitute olive or canola oil for butter or stick margarine. 7 Keep portions moderate, especially of high-calorie foods. In recent years serving sizes have ballooned, particularly in restaurants. Choose a starter instead of an entrée, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything. 8 Keep your cholesterol intake below 300 milligrams per day. Cholesterol is found only in animal products, such as meats, poultry, dairy products, and egg yolks. 9 Eat a variety of foods. Don’t try to fill your nutrient requirements by eating the same foods day in, day out. It is possible that not every essential nutrient has been identified, and so eating a wide assortment of foods helps to ensure that you will get all the necessary nutrients. In addition, this will limit your exposure to any pesticides or toxic substances that may be present in one particular food. 10 Maintain an adequate calcium intake. Calcium is essential for strong bones and teeth. Get your calcium from low-fat sources, such as skim milk and low-fat yogurt. If you can’t get the optimal amount from foods, take supplements. 11 Try to get your vitamins and minerals from foods, not from supplements. Supplements cannot substitute for a healthy diet, which supplies nutrients and other compounds besides vitamins and minerals. Foods also provide the “synergy” that many nutrients require to be efficiently used in the body. 12 Maintain a desirable weight. Balance energy (calorie) intake with energy output. Exercise and other physical activity are essential. 13 If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. That is one drink a day for women, two a day for men. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits. Excess alcohol consumption leads to a variety of health problems. And alcoholic beverages can add many calories to your diet without supplying nutrients. |
Yogurt And Its Benefits
Posted by lorenz
There is a reason why a portion of the food section in your grocery is filled with different brands and varieties of yogurts. Yogurt is one of the most popular health and diet foods available, and more and more people are exchanging their calorie-rich ice cream tubs for cups of this delicious and healthy dessert.
Yogurt is made of milk or cream mixed with active live cultures, which are responsible for most of its health benefits. These live cultures are actually good bacteria which improves the way the body functions. It prevents the growth of bad bacteria and makes our body fight off diseases and infections. Good bacteria also improve digestion and boost the immune system. The yeast levels in our body can be balanced by good bacteria and can help prevent the onset of yeast infections. Yogurt can be eaten by anyone, even by those who are lactose intolerant. Regular intake of yogurt can maintain the good bacteria levels in the body.
Another health benefit of yogurt is calcium. Eating yogurt is good for the bones and teeth, especially for the prevention of osteoporosis and bone density loss. Yogurt also contains protein, which provides the body with enough energy to keep the body going. Protein is good for the muscle-building and suppresses the appetite, which can prevent one from indulging in impulsive snacking.
Yogurt can be a healthy replacement for your dessert. You can add fruits, nuts, or even chocolate to your yogurt to make it more delicious. It can be a healthy substitute for milk when cooking waffles and pancakes.
To maximize the benefits of eating yogurt, make sure to choose ones that are low-fat or no-fat varieties. You can also opt for organic yogurt, which is the most natural of the lot.
Different Types of Diet
Posted by lorenzFixed-menu diet.
A fixed-menu diet provides a list of all the foods you will eat. This kind of diet can be easy to follow because the foods are selected for you. But, you get very few different food choices which may make the diet boring and hard to follow away from home. In addition, fixed-menu diets do not teach the food selection skills necessary for keeping weight off. If you start with a fixed-menu diet, you should switch eventually to a plan that helps you learn to make meal choices on your own, such as an exchange-type diet.
Exchange-type diet.
An exchange-type diet is a meal plan with a set number of servings from each of several food groups. Within each group, foods are about equal in calories and can be interchanged as you wish. For example, the “starch” category could include one slice of bread or 1/2 cup of oatmeal; each is about equal in nutritional value and calories. If your meal plan calls for two starch choices at breakfast, you could choose to eat two slices of bread, or one slice of bread and 1/2 cup of oatmeal. With the exchange-type diet plans, you have more day-to-day variety and you can easily follow the diet away from home. The most important advantage is that exchange-type diet plans teach the food selection skills you need to keep your weight off.
Prepackaged-meal diet.
These diets require you to buy prepackaged meals. Such meals may help you learn appropriate portion sizes. However, they can be costly. Before beginning this type of program, find out whether you will need to buy the meals and how much the meals cost. You should also find out whether the program will teach you how to select and prepare food, skills that are needed to sustain weight loss.
Formula diet.
Formula diets are weight-loss plans that replace one or more meals with a liquid formula. Most formula diets are balanced diets containing a mix of protein, carbohydrate, and usually a small amount of fat. Formula diets are usually sold as liquid or a powder to be mixed with liquid. Although formula diets are easy to use and do promote short-term weight loss, most people regain the weight as soon as they stop using the formula. In addition, formula diets do not teach you how to make healthy food choices, a necessary skill for keeping your weight off.
Questionable diets.
You should avoid any diet that suggests you eat a certain nutrient, food, or combination of foods to promote easy weight loss. Some of these diets may work in the short term because they are low in calories. However, they are often not well balanced and may cause nutrient deficiencies. In addition, they do not teach eating habits that are important for long-term weight management.
Flexible diets.
Some programs or books suggest monitoring fat only, calories only, or a combination of the two, with the individual making the choice of both the type and amount of food eaten. This flexible type of approach works well for many people, and teaches them how to control what they eat. One drawback of flexible diets is that some don’t consider the total diet. For example, programs that monitor fat only often allow people to take in unlimited amounts of excess calories from sugars, and therefore don’t lead to weight loss.
It is important to choose an eating plan that you can live with. The plan should also teach you how to select and prepare healthy foods, as well as how to maintain your new weight. Remember that many people tend to regain lost weight. Eating a healthful and nutritious diet to maintain your new weight, combined with regular physical activity, helps to prevent weight regain.
Tips For The Obese
Posted by lorenz
Exercise is the number one suggestion made by doctors as the path to weight loss. For the extremely overweight, this option may be out of the question. Our world is not focused on gradual, we are focused on fast! Everything needs to be at our fingertips, and thus, the exercise world focuses on those they are most apt to control, the thin and athletic. The extremely overweight are the sector of people who need to most attention because they are the ones that can be hurt the most from improper exercise practices.
Traditional exercise machines are not able to hold the weight of an extremely overweight person. While treadmills offer pre programmed exercise cycles that are based upon a 150 pound user. These are the troubles that face the extremely overweight, but, exercising is a reality for weight loss. And, exercising is what must be done. Here are a few tips for the extremely overweight involving exercise.
Tip 1: Increasing the Heart Rate
The main idea of exercise is to increase the heart rate for an extended period of time. For an extremely obese person, an inflated heart rate is not that hard to achieve. The added weight makes traditional cardio difficult, but there are ways to integrate exercise without causing injury.
Swimming, walking, biking and dancing are fantastic ways to raise the heart rate and they tend to be fun. Fun and exercise need to be the best of friends for anyone to stay on track. If you are having difficulties walking for long periods of time, try sitting in a chair with a straight back and lifting your arms over your head then back to your sides. Repeat this motion and your heart rate will increase.
Tip 2: No Pain, No Gain
Yes, there will be pain associated with your workout regime. This is more so the case for people who are unable to stretch after a workout. Stretching loosens the muscles and frees the pent up lactic acid that cause pain in the muscle. The inability to stretch will leave many extremely obese people hurting badly enough that exercise is given up after just a few days.
The key to keeping your exercise pain free is two fold. You can either stretch your heart out after you finish your exercise routine, or you can start your routine very slowly. Many people find the slow approach to be the easiest one to stick with. Starting slowly means just that, progressing at a snails pace. You will want to exercise for 10 minutes, twice a day to start. Continue this program for two weeks than increase by five minutes. Again, wait two week and add another five minutes. This gradual increase in exercise will fit perfectly with your weight loss.
Tip 3: Stay Away From the Gym
I know, this tip seems like an absurd one, but there is good reason. Gyms are made, as I stated in the beginning paragraphs, for thin and athletic people. Ab machines usually have a maximum weight of 250 pounds. Treadmills are created for people who are of “average” weight and weight benches are too narrow for an extremely overweight body. But, just because I say to stay away from the gym does not mean you can stay away from exercise. If you wish for the gym like experience, try visiting a women’s only gym. There are many circuit based routines perfect for extremely obese person.
Being overweight is nothing to be embarrassed about. Life as an overweight person is a difficult struggle that should include exercise whenever possible. Exercise is the key to weight loss and for the obese person, that exercise can be the most difficult part. Using these tips, try that exercise program again. You will be happy you did!