Weight Management Snacks

Why Should I Care About Calories?

Lose Weight — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 14:38:00 +0000

Frankly, I care more about the taste or flavor of the food I take than calories.

And yet it's extremely important for one to understand how calories contribute toward how weight is gained or lost before they can be effective in their own weight loss programs.

Simply put, a calorie is just a unit of measurement of energy, just like foot (the singular of feet) is a unit of measurement as in "a man is six feet tall".

Food, including drinks, gives the body the energy it needs for everything it does, from repairing damaged cells to singing to speaking to sleeping. Thus, a calorie is a measure of the energy in food and drinks that we take as well as the enery in activities we do.

I'm not going into a biology lesson or science class but simply put, whether you gain or lose weight boils down to just ONE simple equation:

ENERGY INTAKE - ENERGY EXPENDED = WEIGHT GAIN OR LOSS

ENERGY INTAKE - this includes both food and drinks that you take that gives you the energy (or calories) you need to live, to work, to play.

Your energy intake is therefore dependent on these factors:

1) Knowing which food has less (and more) calories - fats give you more than two times the calories from proteins and carbohydrates

2) Choosing the food you take - the proportion of proteins, carbohydrates and fats will determine your calorie intake

3) Choosing how much to eat - if you eat more than you can use between meals, the body will store the excess calories as fat

4) Deciding when to eat - if you eat too late at night, you tend to put on weight as your body uses up less calories at night and when you are asleep

5) Deciding how often to eat - if you let yourself become too hungry, you will tend to snack and put on unwanted calories

ENERGY EXPENDED - this is actually the amount of energy (or calories) we expend when we work, play, walk, jog, run, swim, or even breathe.

In this case, it will help to know:

1) What activities will burn more energy - high impact activities like running, ball games need more energy but are not necessary suitable for one who is overweight

2) What causes a higher metabolism (which means a faster rate of burning the calories) - the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you burn

3) Is it necessary to exercise - generally, the more exercises you engage in, the more calories you use up

4) How often to exercise - if it's brisk walking, you can do that almost everyday but if it's some more strenuous exercise like running, you should typically exercise at most up to 5 times a week.

Thus, at the end of each day, whether you gain or lose weight depends on the net result of your energy intake versus your energy expended.

When a person eats more food than the body needs - that is, if you "overload your tank" - the body converts the excess calories into fat. Eating less food than the body needs will cause a person to lose weight.

The number of calories needed by a person each day depends on how much energy a person's body uses. For example, an active sports man needs more calories than an adult who leads a sedentary lifestyle, such as a clerk who works all day in the office.

So, if you find yourself gaining weight, you are in fact taking in more calories than you need. To achieve weight loss or maintain your ideal weight, you need to watch your calories to some extent, even if you do not count them.

Alice Loh is a WEIGHT LOSS Coach and acclaimed author with over 25 years of health care experience. Her digital book, “Natural Weight Loss REVEALED”, is an easy to follow guide to losing weight and getting control of your life.Weight Loss Tips
http://weight-loss-fact.com

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Adjusting Your Eating Habits Can Help You Lose 10 Pounds

Lose Weight — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 14:58:00 +0000

The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with weight loss.

Whether you're trying to lose some holiday weight, made a new year's resolution, or simply want to look and feel healthier, a weight loss attempt is rarely a bad idea. A good place to start for most people is to set a goal to lose 10 pounds. To lose 10 pounds should be easily attainable for most people, and often with less work than you think.

When people think about losing weight, the first thing that usually comes to mind is diet. Your diet is, of course, one of the most primary influences on your overall weight, and you would be ill-advised to overlook it in your attempt to lose 10 pounds. Rather then thinking only about your diet, however, you should think about your eating habits as a whole. By looking at the bigger picture you will be able to effect more permanent changes on your weight.

It some cases, and for some people, it is possible to lose 10 pounds quickly through some hard and fast dietary rules. The problem, though, is that these rules are likely going to be restrictive, so there's a good chance that they're going to be hard to stick to. Not only that, but if you do stray from the restrictions, those 10 pounds are going to come back quickly.

If your weight loss facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don't let important weight loss information slip by you.

A much better way to try and lose 10 pounds is to adjust your overall eating habits. While it may ultimately take a little longer to lose the weight this way, the weight loss is far more likely to be permanent. To lose 10 pounds by adjusting your eating habits, you have to first give those habits close scrutiny. If you stop and think about it, you'll probably be surprised how often you eat when you are not actually hungry. For example, many people eat in front of the TV not because they are hungry, but out of habit. In the same manner, you probably eat the same amount of food at the same times every day, with little regard for your hunger.

The way you're going to lose 10 pounds, then, is to listen more closely to your body. The stomach sends very clear signals, but they are slow: it is a rule of thumb that you don't "feel" full until 20 minutes after you actually are full. This is why people get overstuffed: we've all had the experience of wanting one more helping, only to regret it 20 minutes later.

So you should make an attempt to eat your food more slowly and to savor it - this will allow your body more time to signal to you how full it is. Also make sure to stop eating when you're full - you can always save leftovers - because there's no reason to eat food simply because it's there.

Altering your eating habits is one of the most effective and easiest ways that you can lose 10 pounds. For many people, weight loss will occur simply be reducing your intake of food. This doesn't mean you have to starve yourself, it just means not eating when you're not hungry. Following the guidelines above will allow you to permanently change your eating habits, and more importantly: to lose 10 pounds, and keep it off.

Those who only know one or two facts about weight loss can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you're learning here.

About the Author:
Ron Goodpaster is a freelance writer and a self-proclaimed health nut. He has written many health related and weight-loss articles. His website’s address: http://www.getupandmove.ws
www.bestvitasource.com

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Is Diet Soda Good for Your Diet?

Lose Weight — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:45:00 +0000

When you think of nutrition and eating healthy, most likely you are more concerned about the food you eat than the beverages you drink. You may think having a diet drink could not do any harm at lunch or dinner, but if you indulge too much it could add up to trouble in the long run.

But it's a diet drink…

Perhaps you have seen on television or film a sketch where a person orders a fattening, fast food meal with a diet soda to even everything out. A diet soda has zero calories compared to as many as 300 per serving of regular soda, so you are actually doing yourself a good service, right?

Not exactly. Regular sodas are highly caloric because they contain sugar, whereas diet sodas are manufactured with artificial sweeteners - one of the most popular being aspartame. The validity of aspartame as a health risk has been debated for many years - some claim the sweetener may contribute to increasing toxicity levels and risk of various illnesses, while other dismiss such charges.

What we do know for certain is that aspartame contains phenylalanine, an essential amino acid that does occur naturally in certain dairy foods and green vegetables. On the other hand, one byproduct of aspertame is formaldehyde!

When you shop for "diet" foods it is always a good idea to check for this ingredient on the labels so you know exactly what you are eating and how much.

Too much caffeine?

Just because a diet soda is free of calories, doesn't mean it is devoid of other questionable ingredients. For example, not all calorie-free, sugar-free sodas are caffeine free, check the labels! Did you know, for example, that there is more caffeine in one can of Diet Coke than in regular Coca-Cola? There are almost 46 milligrams of caffeine in this diet soda, and while it's not as much as coffee (which can top 200 milligrams), the tendancy to want to drink more diet soda can contribute to a caffeine overload. You will have energy yes, but will be driven on empty calories and sweeteners instead of something nutritious. You may lose sleep, and suffer incredible headaches through caffeine withdrawal. Caffeine is highly addictive as well, and could lead you on a cycle that is difficult to break without some good will power.

Water, the best "diet" drink

A good percentage of our bodies are water, so it would make sense to constantly replenish your body with the very same substance. Imagine, if you replaced a glass a water for every soda you drink, think of all the calories you save, the less toxins in your body, and the greater improvement to your health. It's the best diet drink there is.

Eight glasses a day…no doubt you've heard it from everybody - your parents, your doctor, talk show professionals. The road to wellness is actually a river of pure, clean water, and while to drink sixty-four ounces daily seems like an impossible task, it is actually one of the simplest steps you can take to starting a sound weight loss program. After all, our bodies are approximately sixty percent water, so it is only natural that we constantly replenish ourselves in order to feel good.

About the Author:
Kathryn Lively writes for Compuslim, custom fit weight loss for everyone.
http://www.kathrynlively.com

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Worst Foods You Can Eat

Lose Weight — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 14:45:00 +0000

I recently came across an article entitled, The Five Absolute Worst Foods You Can Eat. It was written by Dr. Joseph Mercola, an osteopath who also wrote The No Grain Diet Book, a New York Times best seller.

The article sparked my interest. What foods made his list? Hot dogs? Brats? How about a chocolate sundae? When compiling a worst food list, several criteria could be considered. Calorie density, the number of fat grams, the level of saturated fat or trans fats, grams of sugar, lack of fiber, or overall lack of nutritional value.

I wondered if there were other lists out there with similar bad food lists. If I could find the same items on 3 or 4 different lists, I figure they must be really bad! Without peeking, can you guess Dr. Mercolas Top 5 Worst Foods, or is it Bottom 5?

1. Doughnuts: Fried, loaded with trans fats, lots of sugar, white flour, no fiber, vitamins or minerals. What more could you ask from a worst food?

2. Soda: Plenty of sugar, caffeine, artificial colors, and sulfites. All stuff that you do not need. Dr. Mercola thinks the artificial sweeteners in diet varieties arent much better.

3. French Fries: Fried potatoes are loaded with trans fats.

4. Chips: Just like their cousin French-fries, chips are made from potatoes, both with plenty of fat added during processing. Chips and fries contain ample levels of something called acrylamide, a compound suspected to be a possible cause of some cancers.

5. Fried, Non-fish seafood like shrimp, lobster, clams, oysters contain trans fats, acrylamide, mercury, and according to Dr. Mercola, perhaps parasites or viruses.

There are other worst food lists. Charles Booras, M.D. has one with soda listed #1, which he eloquently describes as the epitome of nutritional bankruptcy. Other foods that made his list include French fries, bacon, granola bars, and doughnuts.

Doughnuts, deep-fried foods, fast food hamburgers, high-fat ice cream, latte with real whipped cream, and soda are at the top of a 101 Worst Foods List put out by ediets. The usual suspects like sausage, most pizzas, most candy bars, onion rings, gravies, macaroni and cheese, egg rolls, and frosted breakfast cereals also made the ediets list.

Its hardly practical to stop eating these foods completely. When you think about it, most Americans eat something off of the worst food list just about every day, if not every meal.

What you can do is always keep fruit or cut vegetables handy for snacks, then increase portions of vegetables at every meal. Substitute rice or baked potatoes for french fries, and never go shopping when you are hungry and tempted. If you dont buy the stuff, its going to be much more difficult to eat it.

I suspect that there are other worst foods out there, and you know what your favorites are. If you want to lose weight or improve your health, you also know what needs to be done. Fortunately, I didnt find beer on any of the lists.

About the Author:

Dave Elger is a well respected authority within the running community having written hundreds of articles on the topics of running and wellness. You can contact him at http://www.daveelger.com. He also supports the Okinawa Running Club.
http://www.oki.med.navy.mil/

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The Best Fast Food for Your Diet

Lose Weight — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 14:15:00 +0000

Your work schedule is tight - meetings and conferences and phone calls all day long. If you are lucky to get a moment to eat, you probably only have time to wolf down a hamburger from the fast food joint by your office, or something from the employee lounge vending machine, assuming you were unable to pack a lunch. Assuming, of course, you have time to shop for groceries at all!

In our society of quick fixes and rushed time, however, we find that many people who eat on the run wind up on the express lane to obesity, despite the output of energy in a given day. We know it is a vicious cycle that must be broken, but is there a way to at least tap the brakes a bit without crashing?

If you keep up with the news, you may have noticed the more popular fast food chains have altered their menus in order to compete with the rise of "fast casual" restaurants - sit-down establishments that resembles more formal eateries, but deliver food with the same speed and efficiency of a fast food place. Walk into a newly renovated McDonald's and likely you won't see plastic cartoon characters inviting you to sit in molded plastic booths. You may find a more relaxed atmosphere, mature decor and even wireless access so you can take work to lunch. Next to the colorful kids' meals on the menu, too, you will find more sophisticated fare, like salads and fruit and vegetable side options.

So if you choose to continue the fast track to lunch, what should you eat in order to maintain a good diet? For all the changes in appearance, burgers and fries are still burgers and fries, and the sodium and fat contents of both remain despite the packaging.

If you know what to look for, it is easy to suggest menus to help slow the fat attack. We hope you will find this information valuable as well.

Coupled with bottled water instead of soda (always the best choice as far as drinks go), you can find some nutritional value when you eat on the run. Keep an even pace with just 30 minutes of exercise a day, and the next changes you see may appear in the way you look and feel.

Please note, though, that eating the meals on a regular basis will not guarantee weight loss. This guide is merely to offer the healthiest possible alternatives when patronizing these establishments. Everybody who is serious about losing weight will continue to research their nutrition needs and learn what foods are best for them to eat to sustain a healthy lifestyle.

McDonald's

To look at Ronald McDonald, it appears he has always looked slim, yet not everybody who includes McDonald's food in a regular diet looks the same way. Just one Big Mac is 560 calories and has 30 grams of fat - on many eating regimens, that could represent a half a day of eating! For menu options that won't take bust your belt or your wallet, you could try the following:

OPTION ONE: One regular hamburger, one side salad with light balsamic vinegarette dressing (used sparingly)

OPTION TWO: California Cobb Salad without chicken, with light balsamic vinegarette dressing (used sparingly)

OPTION THREE: Asian Salad no chicken with light sesame ginger dressing (used sparingly)

Burger King

You can still "have it your way" at this landmark chain restaurant, and the good news is that your way doesn't necessarily have to lead to weight gain. Next time you visit the King, try the alternatives to the hamburgers offered:

OPTION ONE: Grilled chicken sandwich and side salad, dressing used sparingly

OPTION TWO: Grilled chicken salad, dressing used sparingly

Wendy's

One of Wendy's biggest selling points is their value menu, where you can find a number of items for about a dollar each. It may surprise you to know, too, a number of these items have been offered for many years, and have always been good alternatives to triple-patty hamburgers:

OPTION ONE: Large chili, side salad, dressing used sparingly

OPTION TWO: Baked Potato no butter or sour cream, large chili

OPTION THREE: Grilled chicken sandwich, side salad, dressing used sparingly

Taco Bell

Oftentimes people are led to believe that if food contains certain ingredients or is prepared in a certain way (like in a tortilla instead of a carb-heavy bun), that it must be healthier. Not necessarily so. Wherever you go, be vigilant about what you eat, and if you head for this border you may want to consider the following for your next meal:

OPTION ONE: Chicken "Enchirito" no cheese, "Cinnamon Twists"

OPTION TWO: Bean burrito no cheese, "Cinnamon Twists"

OPTION THREE: Two chicken soft tacos, no cheese or avocado dressing

To calculate possible menus at other popular fast food restaurants, visit the corporate websites of your favorite restaurants. Many have online calculators handy to total the overall nutritional value of your food choices. From there you can make sound decisions about what you eat.

About the Author:

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer for various site, including Compsulim custom fit weight loss.
http://www.kathrynlively.com

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The Best Fast Food for Your Diet

Lose Weight — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 14:15:00 +0000

If you know what to look for, it is easy to suggest menus to help slow the fat attack. We hope you will find this information valuable as well.

McDonald's

OPTION ONE: One regular hamburger, one side salad with light balsamic vinegarette dressing (used sparingly)

OPTION TWO: California Cobb Salad without chicken, with light balsamic vinegarette dressing (used sparingly)

OPTION THREE: Asian Salad no chicken with light sesame ginger dressing (used sparingly)

Burger King

OPTION ONE: Grilled chicken sandwich and side salad, dressing used sparingly

OPTION TWO: Grilled chicken salad, dressing used sparingly

Wendy's

OPTION ONE: Large chili, side salad, dressing used sparingly

OPTION TWO: Baked Potato no butter or sour cream, large chili

OPTION THREE: Grilled chicken sandwich, side salad, dressing used sparingly

Taco Bell

OPTION ONE: Chicken "Enchirito" no cheese, "Cinnamon Twists"

OPTION TWO: Bean burrito no cheese, "Cinnamon Twists"

OPTION THREE: Two chicken soft tacos, no cheese or avocado dressing

About the Author:

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer for various site, including Compsulim custom fit weight loss.
http://www.kathrynlively.com

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How To Choose Between Meal Snacks That Won't Make You Feel Guilty

Lose Weight — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 16:34:00 +0000

If you're trying to lose weight, it can be difficult to avoid snacking, especially at parties or when watching TV at night. Here's a list of snacks that you can enjoy while watching your weight.

Gelatin: Gelatin is usually low in fat and there are many that are fat and sugar free. Add sugar free whipped toppings and fruit to make it even more satisfying

Popcorn: Popcorn can be eaten without adding fattening butter. You can also substitute salt with other tasty spices like powdered garlic and basil. It's good to choose the air popped variety, since they contain less fat.

Baked Chips: Baked chips like tortilla chips contain much less fat than the fried ones and you can make them even tastier with low fat or fat free salsa.

Raw Vegetables: Raw vegetables, like celery, carrots and broccoli are another healthy way to snack. Dip them in low fat ranch salad dressing to make them taste even better.

Baked Chicken Nuggets: Baked chicken nuggets are lower in fat than their fried cousins but are just as tasty. Bake them to a crispy golden brown, using a cooking spray instead of oil. This way you can have your nuggets and enjoy them too.

Croutons: Croutons aren't just for salads anymore. They make a great snack, so choose from the low fat varieties for a healthier alternative to chips.

Pita Bread: Pita bread is delicious dipped in a low fat dip and served with fresh vegetables. They're another great alternative to fried potato and tortilla chips.

Guacamole: Guacamole can be made with a smaller amount of avocados and peas to make it low fat. Eat it with baked tortilla chips instead of the fried ones, so you can keep the fat content under control

Deviled Eggs: Deviled eggs are delicious but known to be high in fat. By making them with low fat mayo or a substitute, you can eat them without stressing over the fat content.

There are other healthy snacks that you can indulge yourself with, such as fresh fruit, or the low fat and sugar free versions of ice cream. Low fat frozen yogurt is a healthy alternative to ice cream as are frozen fruit bars.

To help you become further aware of the fat and sugar content in foods, pick up a nutrition guide at the health store. You can also get this information online. This will help you plan you grocery list and fill it with foods that will help you lose weight. You can also bring it with you to restaurants or check to see if the restaurant has one that you can look at before you order. Another way to be careful is to always read the labels on food that you buy.

Choosing low fat alternatives to fattening snacks, you can eat what you love while reducing your waistline.

About the Author:

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Food Gifts Plus at http://www.foodgiftbasketplus.com
http://www.theinternetmarketingsecrets.com

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Can You Eat Chocolate On A Diet?

Lose Weight — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 14:15:00 +0000

A co-worker of mine once said, "Every person should have a little bit of chocolate every day. It's how I maintain my weight." She said this after a group of coworkers that included myself had just finished eating lunch at a Chinese restaurant (an all you can eat buffet) and were staring at her as she was putting quarters into the candy machine for a chocolate treat. She didn't get a lot of chocolate, just a handful of M&M's. But the rest of us were staring at her, wondering how she could afford the calories after the huge lunch we had all indulged in.

Why were we staring at her? She was slim, trim, and looking great. The rest of us were either on a diet or thinking about going on a diet because we all had excess pounds to lose. Yet, the only person who would indulge in a little chocolate was the skinny person in our group.

I told her she had to explain to us how chocolate helped her maintain her weight because I knew that chocolate bars were a definite contributor to the extra flab I had around my stomach.

She said her mother had taught her that having a small treat every day would help her maintain a healthy weight and never feel deprived. She had been following her mother's advice and had never had a weight problem. She said she had a little chocolate every day, but only a little, never more than a handful or M&M's or half a candy bar. Unlike me, she didn't try to stay away from it as long as possible and then binge on it when the cravings for it got to be too much.

Many weight loss experts are agreeing with this philosophy, that having a little room in a diet for a treat makes it much easier to eat healthy the rest of the time.

If that alone isn't enough reason to make you feel it's okay to have a little bit of chocolate every day (yes, I'm assuming you like chocolate because I'm a chocoholic and can't imagine that anyone wouldn't like to have some chocolate every day), scientific research is showing that dark chocolate has some health benefits.

Dark chocolate has been found to contain flavonoids very similar to those that are in green tea. A few of the health benefits those flavonoid antioxidants can have are: improving digestion, stimulating the kidneys, and improving circulation.

So, indulging in a little dark chocolate every day can not only have health benefits, but could actually help a person stick to their diet the rest of the day because they know they can have a little treat that will satisfy them but not sabotage their efforts to lose weight.

The key is to only have a small amount. Indulging in several candy bars a day is definitely overindulging. My mother-in-law, another person who has never been overweight, buys small snack sized packages of her favorite candy bars and has 2 every day. She says 2 are just enough to satisfy her and keep her happy without her having to worry about weight gain. I think she's on to something. She's in her mid-sixties and she doesn't need to worry about dieting or losing weight. She looks great.

Dorrie Ruplinger has written several articles about weight loss. For a free report on how to lose 10 pounds before Christmas visit
href="http://www.loseweightforchristmas.com">LoseWeightForChristmas.com.
http://www.ireallylovefootball.com

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Weight Loss with Traditional Foods

Lose Weight — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 14:25:00 +0000

Many of us think back fondly to times we cannot possibly remember - times and places when voluptuous, even hefty, women were glorified, when a few extra pounds was a sign of beauty rather than a problem to be dealt with . It is a fact that, even today, there are some societies that have quite a different idea about weight gain than we do - especially for women. And there are quite a few reasons why this sort of thinking might not actually be misguided. For a start, women with a few extra pounds - not obese, mind you, just with some meat on their bones - are more fertile than very thin women. Also, a very thin woman might not be able, in a traditional society, to feed her child adequately. Because human ideas of attractiveness follow necessity, it’s natural that very thin women would not have been considered the most desirable in traditional societies. In fact, it’s only in a society full of excess, such as ours, that thinness becomes the desired goal.

On the other hand, it’s also true that few if any traditional societies had the problem with weight that we do. That’s because the food we eat today - while less nutritious than the food our predecessors ate - is also far more plentiful. To put yourself back in the mindset - and the body type - that typified our ancestors, try following a traditional diet.

It takes a bit of willpower - more than just a bit, actually. But not because you are about to starve yourself or cut out whole food groups. On the contrary - the traditional meals that you will eat are hearty and satisfying. Where the will power comes in, though, is in ignoring most if not all of the food messages that are coming at you through advertising and from the packaged foods in your grocery store. The basic idea is to ignore anything that has a brand name on it. Of course, that’s easier said than done.

So what do you eat, then? Well, if you choose to follow the Medieval Peasant Diet, for example, what you do is to pick a staple food and stick to it, more or less day in and day out. On special occasions, you can vary from your staple diet - for example, you can enjoy a restaurant meal now and then, say once a month or so - but for the most part, you stick to your staple diet.

A medieval peasant in Europe would have lived, for the most part, on a type of stew or porridge whose main ingredient was beans or peas. A pot of this stew was kept on the back of the stove at all times, and added to as needed. The main ingredients of the stew never varied, but sometimes bits of meat of vegetables in season would be added.

And basically, that was it. The medieval peasant would typically eat just one main meal a day, and that would consist of ample helpings of the stew, along with some bread and ale. At other times of the day, people might eat a piece of bread and a mug of ale, or maybe some fruit when it was in season. And once in a while, like on a special feast day or holy day (which occurred rather frequently in Medieval Europe - once or twice a month at least) people would eat - and drink - more than that. There might be roasts of meat, for example, or cakes. But these things were not a part of the day-to-day diet.

On the one hand, the Medieval Peasant Diet would probably not pass muster with today’s nutritionists. It seems a bit low on certain nutrients, such as vitamins that come from fruits and vegetables. We should remember that today’s soil is very depleted compared to soil in the middle ages, so we probably need to eat more fruits and vegetables than they did. That’s something to keep in mind if you want to follow this diet for the long term.

On the other hand, keep in mind that this sort of diet - with local variations - sustained humankind for the vast majority of their history. With the exception of nobility (who, incidentally, were the only people susceptible to modern diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and tooth decay until very recently) this diet kept people healthy - and slim - for millennia.

Author:
Michael Bens. For more great information on weight loss, diets, nutrition, and living a great healthy life style visit Gabae Weight Loss

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Fat burning foods and weight loss

Lose Weight — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 14:26:00 +0000

We all know about foods that are good for us and have various proven benefits. But many people aren?t aware that there are actually fat-burning foods, which help kick-start your body into shedding excess weight. These wonder-foods can increase the number of fat calories your body burns ? they?re like little diet-helpers, stimulating your metabolism. They are known as ?free foods?, and as you?d expect they are low in calories. However, some of them actually have ?negative? calories, meaning that your body burns more calories metabolising the foods than it absorbs from the food itself. Add them to your diet and see the effect for yourself!

The great news is that such ?superfoods? contain real health benefits in addition to their amazing weight loss assisting properties. These benefits make them ideal components in any weight loss programme. You may be surprised to discover where to find some of these great little helpers.

You normally think of chilli as being found in traditionally unhealthy meals and snacks, but it contains capsaicin, an active ingredient which as a thermogenic agent helps to increase metabolism and the burning of calories and fat. Capsaicin is unsurprisingly found in many natural weight loss formulas ? it is believed to be an appetite suppressant. Cayenne was shown by two Japanese studies to increase metabolism of dietary fats in women ? it also showed a modest reduction in appetite. Capscaicin does even more than this ? it has been shown to relieve sinusitis, psoriasis, migraines and arthritis, improve circulation and stomach conditions and even inhibit the growth of cancer cells. It also works as a good all-round painkiller.

Then there?s bee pollen ? again you might associate that with unhealthiness, as bees can give a nasty sting, but their pollen is quite different. It?s a virtually complete food with an amazing composition of nutrients, enzymes and phytochemicals as well as being 40% protein. It?s meant to stimulate the metabolism as well as helping to flush fat from the body due to its high lecithin content. Pollen also makes for a good appetite suppressant, but has no negative side effects.

You still might not be shaking bee pollen over your dinner, but coconut oil is more likely to be found in your supermarket or kitchen. It?s a saturated fat, and helps to get rid of unwanted body fat, unlike polyunsaturated fats like processed vegetable oils. It really is a low-fat fat, unique from animal saturated fats with its medium chain fatty acids ? these are absorbed directly and used straightaway for energy. Sufferers of diabetes, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, digestive disorders, thyroid imbalances, and viral, bacterial and fungal infections have all found that coconut oil helps their condition.

Another ?nasty? natural ingredient with surprising benefits is the nettle. The stingy plant we were all told to stay away from as children contains the neurotransmitter serotonin, which calms and raises the spirits. It also functions as an appetite suppressant, as it plays a part in the feelings of fullness experienced after eating. Serotonin supplements have been designed to fight food cravings and help slimming. Decreased levels of serotonin have been found to be directly linked to overeating obesity. Nettles are reputed to improve weight loss for this reason. They?re also very mineral dense and are detoxifying and cleansing for the body ? amazingly they are also great for the skin, hair and nails, thanks to their sulphur content.

Here?s the really good news ? chocolate can help you lose weight! Cacao or pure chocolate contains chemicals that increase serotonin levels in the brain and suppress the appetite. Serotonin levels can be raised by the amino acid tryptophan in cacao as well as the action of monoamine oxidase enzyme inhibitors (MAO inhibitors). These decrease our body?s ability to break down serotonin so that more of this neurotransmitter remains in the brain, creating feelings of fullness for longer. Cacao is also a great source of antioxidants and has potent aphrodisiac properties, healthy minerals and mood-boosting compounds such as PEA, known as the ?love chemical?. Make sure you get unrefined chocolate, though ? commercial products are full of sugar, hydrogenated fats, milk, additives, agro-chemicals and solvents which cancel out the benefits.

The benefits of green tea have been widely reported. One study indicates that substances in green tea extract may actually promote weight loss. The catechin flavonoids in green tea may alter the body’s use of norepinephrine, a chemical transmitter in the nervous system, to increase the rate of calorie burning. Green tea also lowers cholesterol, reduces the risk of stroke, protects against cancer, prevents teeth cavities and has anti-inflammatory properties. And it even has a pleasant taste.

Another beneficial supplement which is becoming more and more well-known is omega-3 fish oil. These serve many different bodily processes ? they?re especially good for the heart and the immune system, but also help with arthritis, skin conditions, pre-menstrual tension, mental function, improving memory and reducing depressive symptoms. It reduces insulin levels in the body ? insulin promotes the use of fat for storage and reduces the use of fat for fuel, hence lower insulin levels mean greater conversion of fat for energy rather than storage.

Omega-3 is most abundant in oily fish like sardines, salmon and mackerel. Plant sources include flaxseeds (the richest plant source), walnuts, pumpkin seeds, green leafy vegetables, evening primrose oil, wheat germ and spirulina.

It?s possible to boost your immune system, lower your cholesterol, improve your energy and generally give your health a big help by eating the right foods. The body is usually in a state of homeostasis, meaning that your body automatically tries to keep its internal environment constant. Exercising more and cutting calories makes your body adjust, making changes to stop you losing critical body fat ? push it too far and it goes into survival mode, grimly hanging on to all the calories it can. What you need to do is understand metabolism and coax your body to release stored fats.

There are two metabolic phases ? anabolism and catabolism, which occur constantly and simultaneously. If you don?t eat enough or give your body the right nutrients it will go into a heightened state of catabolism, meaning you build less muscle ? this is slow metabolism. To lose weight and improve your health you should aim for high metabolism ? a greater degree of anabolism.

You may in fact need to eat more in order to lose weight ? it?s not as simple as saying ?just eat less?. Your body will hang on more tightly to calories if it doesn?t get enough nutrition. If you eat more calories more frequently you raise your metabolism. If you get your calorie intake right, you will see improvement and feel it too. This is where ?negative calorie? foods come in. Eating them makes the body exert more energy than contained in the foods themselves, so just eating them gives you a potential for net loss of calories.

Along with that omega-3 fish oil, these foods are all negative calorie foods:

Vegetables: Asparagus, fennel, gourd, aubergine, broccoli, leek, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, marrow, cauliflower, peppers, celery, chicory, radish, spinach, cress, tomato, cucumber, turnip

Fruit: Apricot, blackberry, mandarin orange, cantaloupe and honeydew melon and watermelon, clementines, peaches, plums, damsons, raspberries, grapefruit, rhubarb, guava, strawberry, lemon, tangerine.

So where do I go from here, well it?s easy, eat the right amount of calories you need for that day, exercise moderately daily and snack throughout the day on the negative foods that are listed above and your waist line will begin to change for the better.

Posted by: Best Weight Loss Program

Want Permanent weight loss results? Healthy Eating is the Key

Lose Weight — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 15:23:00 +0000

The confusion about eating healthy and dieting will now be cleared up, all in one easy sentence. Are you ready? Everyone is different.

What is healthy for one person is not going to be the best diet for everyone else. You are different than everyone else. What food is best for you is not necessarily going to be what is right for everyone else. Some people do well on meat, others dont. Some people are fine with lots of carbs, others not. What food is best for you is really dependent on you and your lifestyle.

I will make it really simple to help you figure out what is good. There are a couple of general rules of thumb that apply to everyone. They are really simple. Are you ready?

1.Fresh
2.Pure

It is that simple. All the food you eat, no matter what kind you eat, should be fresh and pure. It is that simple. Then, just listen to your inner knowing, and it will tell you what to eat that is fresh and pure.

If you are craving steak, eat steak. If you want veggies, eat veggies. If you want some fruit, eat fruit. If you want some nuts or seeds, eat nuts and seeds. When your choices of food are always from the fresh and pure categories, you will eat exactly what you need to eat without having to worry about your carbs, calories, fat, cholesterol, or anything. Its so simple.

So what does fresh mean? Fresh generally means not in a can or box. Most things that are put into cans and boxes are old and dead. The life force has been long gone from the food. It is no longer fresh. Now, stuff in a box or can may be fresh, but it usually isnt. Frozen stuff can go either way. Frozen stuff is usually fresher than boxed or canned stuff. It has to be, because it cannot last as long frozen as it can in a box or can.

What does Pure mean? This means nothing artificial and nothing added, including poisons, pesticides or, one of the biggest culprits, refined carbohydrates, commonly called sugar. Sugar is added to almost everything in a regular grocery store. Even many things in a supposed health food store have sugar added. Pure usually includes the food being organic.

It is my position that if a food product meets the categories of both fresh and pure, it is not inherently bad, ever. There is no one food that is right for everyone and there is no food that if fresh and pure, is wrong for everyone either.

Some people are better off not eating late at night, others are. Some people do well skipping breakfast, others dont. Some people do well with three big meals, others do better snacking all day long. Some do better with variety, some do better with the same thing over and over again. It is really different for everyone.

Choose foods that you want to eat, that sound good to you that are fresh and pure. Listen to your inner wisdom and what it is telling you to eat, and you will be just fine. And Coincidentally, eating healthy and resetting your weight-o-stat is the only permanent “weight loss” solution.

Author: Dr. Jamie

Posted by: Best Weight Loss Program

The 20/80 Rule Of Eating

Lose Weight — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 22:40:00 +0000

The 80/20 Rule of Healthy Eating January is the month we all resolve to eat well. But that doesnt mean our plates must always be filled with broccoli and Brussels sprouts or that we have to swear off the snacks, desserts and other foods we love, which may be, nutritionally speaking, not so good for us. Although we may need to taper the serving.

Many of us know that keeping our bodies well hydrated is essential for good health and for weight loss. Drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water every day is recommended and yet many people find this difficult to do.

Posted by: Best Weight Loss Program

Seduced by Snacks? No, Not You

Lose Weight — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:38:00 +0000

PEOPLE almost always think they are too smart for Prof. Brian Wansink’s quirky experiments in the psychology of overindulgence.

When it comes to the slippery issues of snacking and portion control, no one thinks he or she is the schmo who digs deep into the snack bowl without thinking, or orders dessert just because a restaurant plays a certain kind of music.

“To a person, people will swear they aren’t influenced by the size of a package or how much variety there is on a buffet or the fancy name on a can of beans, but they are,” Dr. Wansink said. “Every time.”

He has the data to prove it. Dr. Wansink, who holds a doctorate in marketing from Stanford University and directs the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, probably knows more about why we put things in our mouths than anybody else. His experiments examine the cues that make us eat the way we do. The size of an ice cream scoop, the way something is packaged and whom we sit next to all influence how much we eat. His research doesn’t pave a clear path out of the obesity epidemic, but it does show the significant effect one’s eating environment has on slow and steady weight gain.

In an eight-seat lab designed to look like a cozy kitchen, Dr. Wansink offers free lunches in exchange for hard data. He opened the lab at Cornell in April, after he moved it from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he spent eight years conducting experiments in cafeterias, grocery stores and movie theaters. Dr. Wansink presents his work to dieticians, food executives and medical professionals. They use it to get people to eat differently.

His research on how package size accelerates consumption led, in a roundabout way, to the popular 100-calorie bags of versions of Wheat Thins and Oreos, which are promoted for weight management. Although food companies have long used packaging and marketing techniques to get people to buy more food, Dr. Wansink predicts companies will increasingly use some of his research to help people eat less or eat better, even if it means not selling as much food. He reasons that companies will make up the difference by charging more for new packaging that might slow down consumption or that put seemingly healthful twists on existing brands. And they get to wear a halo for appearing to do their part to prevent obesity.

To his mind, the 65 percent of Americans who are overweight or obese got that way, in part, because they didn’t realize how much they were eating.

“We don’t have any idea what the normal amount to eat is, so we look around for clues or signals,” he said. “When all you see is that big portions of food cost less than small ones, it can be confusing.”

Although people think they make 15 food decisions a day on average, his research shows the number is well over 200. Some are obvious, some are subtle. The bigger the plate, the larger the spoon, the deeper the bag, the more we eat. But sometimes we decide how much to eat based on how much the person next to us is eating, sometimes moderating our intake by more than 20 percent up or down to match our dining companion.

Much of his work is outlined in the book “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think” (Bantam), which will be published on Tuesday. The book is his fourth over all, but his first directed at a general audience. It is peppered with his goofy, appealing Midwestern humor and practical diet tips. But the most fascinating material is directly from his studies on university campuses and in test kitchens for institutions like the United States Army.

An appalling example of our mindless approach to eating involved an experiment with tubs of five-day-old popcorn. Moviegoers in a Chicago suburb were given free stale popcorn, some in medium-size buckets, some in large buckets. What was left in the buckets was weighed at the end of the movie. The people with larger buckets ate 53 percent more than people with smaller buckets. And people didn’t eat the popcorn because they liked it, he said. They were driven by hidden persuaders: the distraction of the movie, the sound of other people eating popcorn and the Pavlovian popcorn trigger that is activated when we step into a movie theater.

Dr. Wansink is particularly proud of his bottomless soup bowl, which he and some undergraduates devised with insulated tubing, plastic dinnerware and a pot of hot tomato soup rigged to keep the bowl about half full. The idea was to test which would make people stop eating: visual cues, or a feeling of fullness.

People using normal soup bowls ate about nine ounces. The typical bottomless soup bowl diner ate 15 ounces. Some of those ate more than a quart, and didn’t stop until the 20-minute experiment was over. When asked to estimate how many calories they had consumed, both groups thought they had eaten about the same amount, and 113 fewer calories on average than they actually had.

Posted by: Best Weight Loss Program

Test Post

Lose Weight — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 21:31:00 +0000

Hi this is a test post

Unravel these secrets ...

Lose Weight — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:13:00 +0000

If you are diabetic, there are two secrets that are helpful in your dietary management. Unravel them and you’ll be rewarded with better control of your condition. Let’s seek them out.

SECRET #1: Understanding food labels

Food labels are a mystery to many people but once you understand them, they tell you interesting stories about the products, from their origin to their health benefits. As diet is important in the management of diabetes, understanding food labels is an indispensable tool that helps you pick the right foods to fit into your eating plan.

When you pore over a food label, you would probably look for the ingredients first. The ingredient list spells out the ingredients used, starting from the most prevalent to the least. It helps diabetics track ingredients that they are allergic or intolerant to as well as look out for the presence of certain ingredients they want to avoid such as salt or sugar which may hide behind nice sounding aliases such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, honey, corn syrup and others.

Next, your eyes will travel to a little box with lots of numbers and percentages. Do not be daunted by the many facts and figures here because you’ll soon see that they are actually little nuggets of useful nutritional information that help you put together a balanced diet. Now, let’s set out to demystify the figures and we shall borrow the nutritional table of a diabetic snack bar for our learning exercise.

A nutritional table reveals the quantity of the different nutrients found in the food. These are normally presented in two columns, one for a 100g portion and another based on each serving. See the two columns on the right hand side of our table? This information allows you to make comparisons between different products as well as help you choose the right foods to keep to your energy and nutrient allowance for the day.

Next, we shall filter through the major nutrient contents by starting from the top storey.

Energy

Energy in the food is reflected by the number of calories or kilocalories (kcal). As weight management is important in the control of diabetes, be aware of the calories that you are ingesting from the food.

Carbohydrates

This entry should be of great interest to diabetics. There ought to be separate figures here, one for “total carbohydrates” and one for “sugars”. “Total carbohydrates” encompasses complex carbohydrates (starch) and sugars. You know too well that foods with high levels of sugars may cause rapid rises in blood glucose levels.

Protein

Protein is usually shown as g per 100g of the product or per serving or as a percentage of the total energy of the product. In our example, the protein in the snack bar makes up 11.5% of the product’s total energy.

Fat

Do note the amount of fat in each serving as it can impact your day’s total fat intake, which should be less than 30% of your total daily energy intake. Remember, a small serving of a high-fat food may deliver as much fat as a large serving of a low-fat food. Again, the data on fats should be transparent and subdivided into “total fat”, “saturated fat” and “cholesterol”. When you read the label, see if the saturated fat content is below the 10% limit just like our snack bar here (9.7%). Avoid products with a generous portion of saturated fat which may contribute towards cardiovascular disease.

Sodium

As diabetics are more inclined to have high blood pressure and excessive amounts of sodium can raise blood pressure, opt for foods with low sodium content. Aim for less than 2,400mg sodium / day which is equivalent to about a level teaspoon of table salt.

Dietary fibre

A healthy diet should have sufficient fibre which is an ally in the control of blood sugar levels. Your daily fibre recommendation stands at 20-30g.

Glycaemic Index (GI)

GI is an invaluable guide to diabetics. The GI of a food shows how quickly the food raises your blood sugar level after it is consumed. Choose foods with low GI (<>

Other nutritional information

The nutritional table may also include other micronutrients like vitamins and minerals.

Help!

Need further help or information on the product? Nestled somewhere on the label are the consumer helpline and website address. Committed and responsible manufacturers will be glad to help you when contacted.

Secret #2: Eating Healthy Snacks

Did you know that snacks form an important part of the diabetic diet? Snacks help to maintain consistent blood sugar levels and prevent hypoglycaemia. Snacks also chip in energy for your activities. You may slot in two to three snacks a day in addition to your three main meals.

However, the trick is to snack wisely. Go for healthy snack foods with low GI and which are not too laden with calories.

Note: This article is courtesy of Nestle Nutrition.

Posted by: Best Weight Loss Program