Posts Tagged ‘dieting’

Atkins For Life? How Long Should You Stay On the Atkins Diet?

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

The Atkins Diet was designed by Dr. Robert Atkins in the 1970s. He designed the diet to followed forever. That is, the diet is more of a lifestyle than a fad diet. The Dr. was a proponent of ketogenic fat burning. This is accomplished by consuming few than 40 grams of carbohydrate daily. He also suggested using dietary supplements to maintain nutrition within the body’s systems.

The Atkins Diet has 4 stages: the Induction Diet, the Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) Diet, the Pre-Maintenance Diet, and lastly the Lifetime Maintenance Diet.

The Induction Diet strictly limits carb intake. Only 20 grams of carbs are allowed daily, but to offset this there is a generous allowance of fat & protein. The suggested source of carbs during this stage is low starch vegetables. This stage lasts 14 days and is followed by the OWL diet.

The OWL Diet Phase is more forgiving. At this point, participants can consume 40 grams of carbs per day. This phase lasts until dieters reach their ideal weight. Once this goal is accomplished, dieters move to the pre-maintenance diet phase. Now the participant must establish how many carbs they can consume without gaining weight. This is known as finding their carb tolerance level.

At this point, where dieters know how carbs affect them individually they have reached Lifetime Maintenance. They will now continually (read forever) avoid sugar, hydrogenated oils and fats, processed foods, and worst of all white flour!

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Low calorie is in Acai Berry Diet

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

acai berry diet burn is an organic super food that is loaded with healthy nutrients. And also acai berry burn has its very high-energy.

One thing that acai berry diet burn does not do is that automatically make you lose weight without any work. Beware of acai berry diet products that claim to allow you to lose large amounts of weight in short periods of time. One important thing to remember is if it sounds too good to be true, it is probably is. The acai berry diet burn not only gives you the benefit of added energy, but also disease fighting qualities, healthy levels of fiber and it contains amino acid complexes. Because authentic acai berry might be a bit expensive,

and help you fight off diseases. As with any diet, dedication will be the key to being successful in your weight loss. You’ll find that the acai berry diet burn can work for you if you’re willing to go the extra mile If you really want to lose weight, Acai Berry diet burn is very important by consuming Acai Berry diet burn, Acai Berry diet burn also has other health benefits like digestion improvement and skin health improvement.

There’s one Acai Berry product that is TOTALLY different from other acai brands. you will get all the benefits of Acai Berry because it is totally natural so it won’t bring any side effect to your body.

relieve stress and drives away certain illness and disease. Not all people can gain success in their goals towards reducing weight.

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Tips on Weight Loss: NutriSystem Diet, Does It Work?

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

This program is everywhere. One t.v. spokeswoman says that she used the program twice to lose weight. People have lost as few as 35 pounds and as much as 125 pounds using the system.

NutriSystem had humble beginnings targeting only women. Presently they provide plans focused exclusively men, senior citizens, vegans, vegetarians, and people with Type II Diabetes.

The diet is based on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a number that correlates with the effect foods have on blood sugar. For example, foods with a high glycemic index cause the body to secrete more insulin. This in turn causes hunger more quickly after these particular foods are consumed. Those foods with a lower glycemic index provide a more stable blood sugar. Resulting in more energy all day long. Insulin levels do not spike so people find themselves less hungry and more satisfied with their meals.

This is a meal delivery plan. Food provided by NutriSystem is shipped to your home every four weeks. The process used to package the foods means that they do not need to be refrigerated. Easy to follow instructions tell you how to prepare each dish.

The food is proportioned to provide nutrients and low glycemic index foods. These “good carbs” cause rapid weight loss with very little effort. According to the commercials, those who use the plan say that the weight literally melted off of them.

The Nutrisystem plan urges participants to add fruits, salads, low fat milk and dairy to each meal. The primary focus of the diet is to change the carbohydrates that we eat. Protein is protein, but carbs are not. In fact, as discussed above, this is evidenced by the numbers reached through the glycemic index. Processed carbohydrates raise blood sugar, while those that are made of whole grains stabilize it.

The Nutrisystem Plan does not forbid exercise but it is designed to work without it. Exercise can only enhance this program since they are already giving you foods that are optimal for you. Whether weight loss will increase with activity is unknown.

The meal delivery program is expensive, but you may qualify for a payment plan. If you can afford to spend a few hundred dollars on yourself and then the same amount on the rest of your family each month, this may be the plan for you. NutriSystem requires no counting, recording of meals, or anything else like that. You just choose your meal, add some healthy extras, and eat.

However, if all you need is a quick, much cheaper alternative. You should consider a healthy, safe cleanse. I’ve put together more information about this attractive option on my website. Please follow my links below and learn more about it.

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How To Lose Belly Fat and Keep It Off

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

Are you looking in the mirror and upset that that slim look that you had in your twenties has been replaced by something that resembles the tire in the trunk of your car? Trying to lose belly fat is just not quite as easy as it was when we were younger and you know have to use every trick in the book, including eating belly fat burning foods to help the process.

As you may or may not know, there is no real quick way to get rid of belly fat. All of those super quick ‘lose belly fat in 15 day’ things that you are reading about are simply unrealistic. In order to get that fat off, you are going to have to change your diet and exercise plan to make it happen.

The first step is to make sure that you have a proper diet. By computing your BMI, or body mass index, you can figure out how many calories you need to consume to lose the amount of weight that you want. To do this safely, it is recommended that you plan on losing no more than 1.5-2 pounds a week. Once you lose the weight, you can use the BMI to recalculate how many calories to consume in a day to maintain your weight.

Once you have your calories established, you are going to have to make sure that they are the right type of calories. Consuming 1600 calories of carbs and sugars a day will not get you anywhere as you have to make sure you are getting the right balance of carbs, sugar, protein, fats, fiber, etc. each and every day. It is not so much about how much you eat as it is what you eat.

When you are putting together your food plan, you are going to want to make sure that you include belly fat burning foods like green tea, blueberries and the acai berry. All of these have nutrients and natural components that kick your metabolism up a level and accelerate the fat burning process.

Once you get your diet straightened out, it is time to work on your exercise program. While most people think that doing hundreds of crunches each day will have their stomach nice and flat in no time at all, they are completely wrong. Crunches are great when you don’t have belly fat, but when you are trying to lose it, all you are doing is developing the muscles underneath all that fat.

The best way to start to burn off that belly fat is to get daily aerobic exercise. Ideally, you need about 30-40 minutes of aerobic exercise for it to be effective. You may find that when you are first starting out that you are only able to go for about 15 or 20 minutes, but you will be amazed at how quickly you build a tolerance for exercise and will be doing the 30-40 minutes before you know it.

Along with the aerobic workouts, you are going to have to get some muscle training in. While weight training is what most people think about, you can also do things like yoga or stretching exercises to accomplish this. Yoga is actually the preferred choice here as it is also a great way to relieve the stress in your life that also leads to guess what? Belly Fat!

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Everything About the Mediterranean diet. CLICK HERE!

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

This weight loss plan teaches dieters to adopt the eating habits of the people in and around the Mediterranean Sea. The people in this region are clean and beautiful and to achieve the same look try this plan.

The theory behind the Mediterranean diet is that eating should be more than just chewing and swallowing. Eating rather should be an experience, which involves taking the time to prepare the meal and taking the proper time to eat it. In Psalm, food that is safer and eat slowly is enjoyed a much more than food that is merely gobbled down.

There are no restrictions on this diet. The plan emphasizes that high calorie and fried foods are to be avoided. Other than that, the choices are pretty wide open. As long as portion control is heeded, most foods are not bad for you.

Bread is a staple of the Mediterranean diet, in particular, pita bread. Pita bread also comes in whole wheat varieties, which adds to the healthy choice. Pita bread is light enough to complement any meal and provide the starch that we crave without adding a lot of calories. For instance, try dipping a Pita bread triangle in a bit of olive oil and herbs to add flavor and pizzazz to almost any meal.

While following the Mediterranean diet you are allowed to consume fruits, veggies, low-calorie pastas, cheese, and yogurt. To add a little bit of variety vegetables may be sauted in olive oil. For a healthier choice you can substitute Pastas made from white flour with pastas made from wheat flour.

In the Mediterranean region, people get most of the protein from plant sources, but red meat is eaten as well. The most commonly eaten protein is usually fish and other seafood. plant proteins are lower in cholesterol and fat, which improves the overall health of the Mediterranean people and you when you follow this diet.

The Mediterranean diet focuses on the enjoyment of food. Exercise is not stressed, but my viewpoint is that exercise enhances any diet plan. Following the Mediterranean diet will result in weight loss but adding an exercise will only improve your results. Start off with 30 minutes of activity three days a week and increase when you feel comfortable. Visit our site for free exercise and diet plans.

Eating several small meals a day is better than three big ones. Dieters can enjoy a wide variety of foods and not feel deprived. Eat like you were vacationing in southern Spain or the Greek Isles and lose weight at the same time.

Visit our site now, linked below, to learn more about the Mediterranean diet, exercise tips, and nutrition. When you visit today and sign up for our free newsletter you will receive a free gift! Click on the links below!

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When it’s Time to Lose Belly Fat

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

All through our lives, our bodies will undergo change. But if we deal with those changes intelligently, we can come out ahead. For men, especially, putting on weight can be an issue. And if it’s male belly fat, it’s an even bigger issue, so come up with a plan to lose belly fat, and you’ll find yourself being a winner.

Watch out for weight gain. Men and women are different. And where men put on fat is different from where women put it on. If we don’t address the issue of weight gain, chances are we’ll have it for the rest of our lives. So, one of the most consistent things we can do is follow a few easy steps to keep weight off.

Plan for sleep. When we get less than seven to eight hours of sleep on a regular basis, our bodies suffer for it. We need sleep to be at our best, but sometimes it might not be possible to get it. But try, nonetheless. When you do get enough sleep, mental and physical performance seems to be a lot better, too.

Eat a breakfast every day. Belly fat is sometimes a response by the body when it thinks it’s being starved of calories. When you skip breakfast after a night of sleep, and then don’t eat anything until well into the morning, your body goes into survival mode. When this happens, it begins trying to store away fat in areas of the body best suited to carrying it. For men, the abdominal area seems to be the biggest culprit in the war against fat.

Take a stroll. Try to get in a total of 20 minutes of some sort of physical activity throughout the day on a regular basis. Instead of the escalator, walk up the stairs. Instead of parking next to the mall, park farther away. A few easy minutes of this kind of activity really adds up.

Watch the intake. Our bodies only require about 2,000 calories per day to maintain all systems. On average, people are taking in nearly 3,000. All that extra caloric content has to go somewhere, and that place is usually around the belly. So, belly fat results.

Chug it down. Drinking about 8 ounces of water about 8 times a day is the single best thing you can do if you want to get a leg up on belly fat. It’s not a complicated or expensive thing you take or do, but it can work wonders on your body when you do it.

Be a winner every day of your life. Follow the plan, be consistent about observing these steps, and you’ll see belly fat begin to melt away. So, plan to lose belly fat the smart, correct way and you’ll be all the better for it.

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Is The Zone Diet Different Than Atkins

Friday, March 20th, 2009

The Zone Diet was invented by Dr. Barry Sears. He created the diet to help people lose weight and avoid disease. The diet follows a specific plan: the 40/30/30 strategy. This means that adherents of the diet are required to consume 40% carbs, 30% fats, and 30% protein.

The Zone Diet lasers in on insulin production as the major precursor and cause of weight gain. Eating foods that cause a spike in insulin production cause weight gain. This happens because highly sugary foods spike insulin production. Insulin attacks the sugars and loads it into your cells storing it fat. These spikes in insulin production are negatively correlated with diabetes and heart disease. That is, they cause diabetes and heart disease.

As we discussed some foods cause a spike in insulin. Which foods you ask? Well white flour and processed foods contain empty calories (simple carbohydrates) that cause insulin to flood the blood streams. Avoid these foods and white flour like the plague. Instead eat fruits and vegetables because the sugars (carbohydrates) in these foods are generally more complex and don’t cause the unhealthy insulin spike!

The traditional eating plan of three meals a day and two snacks are eaten on the Zone diet plan. The snacks are added to keep participants from experiencing hunger and overeating at the next meal. The snacks shouldn’t be high in sugar or they will defeat the purpose of maintaining steady blood sugar levels. For the meals, a regular dinner size plate is divided into 40/30/30. The largest portion is carbohydrates and they are simple carbs like green vegetables, corn, cauliflower, and peppers. The size of the meat portion is about the size of the palm of the hand for a four ounce piece of chicken or steak. Excess fat needs to be trimmed before cooking.

Consumption of the proper amount of fat is essential because doing so slows digestion and provides a continuous source of steady energy. Slowing your digestion is good because you won’t feel hungry immediately after eating because your body will be busy digesting. The Zone Diet recommends eating good fats contained in nuts and canola and olive oil.

Avoid insulin spiking foods whenever possible. Sweets like candy, cakes, pies, chocolate treats and such are terrible. But be aware that other more common foods like breads, pasta noodles and heavy starches are similarly bad. Candy, breads, and pasta are addictive and its very easy to overeat when consuming these foods.

The Zone diet provides affordable pre-packed foods to help you get started and stick to the diet. Also, we can provide you with dozens of sources of zone diet recipes. With just a few changes to your weekly grocery list you’ll be Zone Diet Compliant! In fact, your family probably won’t even notice the change to their menu once you do the switch.

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Lose Belly Fat the Right Way

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

All through our lives, our bodies will undergo change. But if we deal with those changes intelligently, we can come out ahead. For men, especially, putting on weight can be an issue. And if it’s male belly fat, it’s an even bigger issue, so come up with a plan to lose belly fat, and you’ll find yourself being a winner.

Watch that gut. Male belly fat, because of the way men are built, seems to be a problem for most guys on occasion. It can also appear and then hang around until the day we die if we don’t take a few simple, easy-to-accomplish steps with some regularity. There’s nothing too difficult; you just need to be consistent about doing these things.

Get enough sleep. Weight gain can be conquered first of all by getting a bit more sleep. Our bodies ideally need 7 to 8 hours of it in order to function at top levels. Sometimes it might not be possible in this hectic era, but we should still try. If you get enough, you can expect great improvement in physical and mental activities.

Eat a breakfast every day. Belly fat is sometimes a response by the body when it thinks it’s being starved of calories. When you skip breakfast after a night of sleep, and then don’t eat anything until well into the morning, your body goes into survival mode. When this happens, it begins trying to store away fat in areas of the body best suited to carrying it. For men, the abdominal area seems to be the biggest culprit in the war against fat.

Go for a walk. If you can manage a total of twenty minutes of physical activity every day, you can beat the belly fat monster. Park a little farther away at the shopping center, or skip the elevator for the stairs. Simple, easy little periods of this kind of activity can make a world of difference.

Cut the calories down. We only need around two-thousand kilocalories a day to maintain our health. We’re taking in an average of 3,000 calories, and that extra energy has to be stored somewhere. The belly is normally the site of first choice for the body, and then you see belly fat.

Chug it down. Drinking about 8 ounces of water about 8 times a day is the single best thing you can do if you want to get a leg up on belly fat. It’s not a complicated or expensive thing you take or do, but it can work wonders on your body when you do it.

Be a winner every day of your life. Follow the plan, be consistent about observing these steps, and you’ll see belly fat begin to melt away. So, plan to lose belly fat the smart, correct way and you’ll be all the better for it.

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The Wonderful Health Benefits of Green Tea!

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Do you want to know one of my secrets to good health, weight loss and a youthful appearance? It is something I have been doing for quite some time, and I am happy to share it with you now! Green tea (as well as wu yi, oolong and wu long) have been a part of my daily regimen for a long time because of their wonderful health benefits!

There are many health benefits with green tea and green tea extract. They have been studied and found to help prevent cancer, fight premature aging and improve weight loss efforts. Wu yi, wu long and oolong are also capable of these health benefits.

Why? Tea is filled with highly powerful antioxidants called catechins. EGCG has been studied and found to aid in weight loss by blocking starch, burning fat and increasing metabolism. This is why green tea and other teas are so wonderful for weight loss!

Do you want radiant skin and better memory? How about improving your chances at preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer? The antioxidants in green tea and wu yi tea fight free radicals and repair the damage, which improves your body’s health at the cellular level. This improves your tissue health and thus your overall health and appearance.

I have always been a tea lover, mostly iced tea, so I knew that it would be easy for me to switch my black tea for green tea, oolong, wu yi or wu long. Many people who do not appreciate the flavor of green tea may enjoy oolong, wu yi or wu long because the flavor is milder.

I also have a little flavor secret to share about green tea or wu yi, oolong or wu long tea. You can add herbal teas, with ZERO calories and all natural ingredients that will flavor your tea! There are many flavors available. My favorites are berry flavors such as blueberry or black cherry.

I recently learned of another benefit of green tea that I discovered when my coffee began to disagree with me. I have always loved my coffee in the morning, but it began to make me jittery and anxious. So, I decided to switch to not only iced tea throughout the day, but a hot mug of green tea or wu yi tea flavored with herbal caramel truffle tea!

You may be wondering why tea does not produce the jittery effects that coffee does because of course tea contains caffeine. Well, among all the other healthy components of tea, it also contains L-theanine. L-theanine makes the brain release serotonin, which produces a calming feeling in the body. So, while you get the wake-up you need in the morning, you do not have the anxiety that comes with coffee.

Is your green tea pure? Is it organic?

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The Do’s and Don’ts Of Quick Weight Loss

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

For people that need a Quick Weight Loss method, the bad news is that no system is perfect; losing those unwanted pounds is a good way to reduce those health risks associated with being overweight. There is more harm caused to an overweight person than just pride as many serious medical conditions are as a result of obesity.

Personal commitment to achieving a desired result is no different for people using a Quick Weight Loss system as it is for anything a person tries to achieve. The reason you want to lose weight is paramount in how successful you will be and if it is because you wish to be healthy then you are more likely to succeed than if it is for someone else’s benefit.

There are a number of things to consider which will help make your weight loss program easier including; the time of day you eat, how often, what you in fact eat and of course what physical activity you carry out. Some people are of the opinion that losing weight quickly is the best way but this often causes other medical problems like heartburn or even anemia and creates unrealistic targets.

Considering that one pound represents 3500 calories which can be burned or lost in a week, it means you need to get rid of 500 calories a day either through exercise or proper diet. Eating is a complex issue and although we all eat to many foods that have no health benefits, in fact quite the opposite, it is not a good idea to cut out every type of food we enjoy.

Another more subtle factor is the emotional reaction to stress and problems as many people simply start eating when they feel insecure or depressed. It is nonsense to believe that continued eating and weight gain will not have serious consequences to your health as we now see in the increase of conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart conditions and cancer. The psychology behind each persons weight gain is as important as the method of Quick Weight Loss used because if this is not addressed, there is nothing to stop the weight being piled back on faster than it was before.

All that said it has been shown that it is actually beneficial for the person using a weight loss program to be light-hearted about it as the mental attitude makes losing weight more likely. This type of attitude is good for a person in all walks of life as it provides the person with a positive mind frame. Together with the loss of extra pounds comes a boost in energy and vitality as well as a sense of well being that is directly related to an improving self-esteem.

Many Quick Weight Loss programs are far from it as they actually test the person using them but the pain barrier does not last long and once through it, the whole system becomes more pleasant.

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