Cooking Healthy Foods
Nutrition and Weight Loss
February 23, 2010 by admin
Filed under Diet, Food, Weight Loss
Ask the average person who has struggled with weight loss and they can probably point to at least a half dozen fad diets and eating programs that they may have tried. Unfortunately, almost all of these lead to rebounding, a huge problem with the average diet. The good news is that nutrition really isn’t rocket science; it’s easily understood by those that are motivated to change their life. There is really only a few things to keep in mind when developing an eating plan for long term weight loss success.
Quality is Important
The biggest thing that you will need to pay attention to is the quality of the calories that you are taking in. While many diet programs focus on hard to understand ratios, a healthy diet is really only about one thing: balance. You should be eating whole foods, and a proper variety of them. This will ensure that you have a balanced diet, full of quality calories.
A whole food is anything that is in its natural state. For example, while white flour has to go through an extensive processing protocol to come to its final form, wheat flour is milled directly from wheat berries, with all of the health benefits left intact. The same is true of brown rice. Things like fresh fruits and vegetables can be eaten straight from a patch of earth. In simple terms, a whole food is recognizable in its natural state. If there is processing that takes place, it should be minimal. This is the cardinal rule for quality eating and good nutrition.
Feast Your Eyes on Colors
While eating whole foods will give you a good place to start, you also need to be a bit more educated to ensure good nutrition while working towards weight loss. One of the best ways to keep things in that balanced state that you need is to make your plate colorful. You may like carrots, but you need more than that one vegetable to pull a full palette of vitamins and minerals. Mix things up a bit and make sure that you are eating dark green leafy vegetables, as well as fruits that have a red hue. The color of a fresh fruit or vegetable gives you a clue as to its basic nutrition profile, so variety really does matter.
Know the Calorie Profile
No matter what your eating plan is, when it comes to weight loss, you need to understand how calories work. Calories are a measure of energy in a food product. When you take in more calories than you expend, weight gain occurs. Putting out more energy than you are taking in leads to weight loss. This is a fairly simple formula. Luckily, it’s not hard to find calorie counts for whole foods, so become familiar with those charts. Also, keep in mind that these foods give you much more nutrition for each calorie, so you should be able to eat plenty of healthy foods. A properly balanced diet should fill you up, and still make it possible to accomplish your weight loss goals.
Many people who have a weight loss goal struggle with what to eat. However, developing a good nutrition plan isn’t that complicated. Take the time to understand the basics of healthy eating and work to change your mindset. This will help you have the best chance of long-term success.
Dieting.
January 11, 2009 by admin
Filed under Diet, Fitness, Food, Weight Loss
The Atkins Diet – Separating Fact From Fiction
By Nick Nilsson
Have you ever wished for a diet where you ate bacon, eggs,
red meat, butter and sausage all day? Surprise!
It’s not the Atkins Diet.
The Atkins Diet has been in existence for over 30 years and has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the last few years.
Pioneered by Dr. Robert Atkins, the theory behind the Atkins Diet is simple. Your body prefers to utilize carbohydrates (such as in grains, cereals, breads, etc.) for energy and will burn them first prior to body fat. By cutting down dramatically on carbohydrates in your diet, you force your body to burn fat for energy.
Reducing the carbohydrates in your diet puts your body into a state called “ketosis.” This word is derived from the “ketones” that are used by your body for energy when sugars/carbs aren’t available. When you are in this state of ketosis, your body is producing ketones from your fat that is being burned for energy. Ketones are essentially the leftovers from this process and are used in place of sugar in the body.
One of the major misconceptions about the Atkins Diet that has been widely reported is that you can or should eat extremely unhealthy, fatty foods all the time. This is not actually true. Dr. Atkins recommends that you limit your intake of these types of foods (e.g. butter, sausage, bacon, etc.) and instead focus on healthy fats such as olive oil, fish oil, nuts, etc.
The Atkins Diet has many positives and negatives that have been associated with it. Some of the positives include:
- Rapid Weight Loss – though the first couple of days the majority of weight lost is water, your body does become more efficient at fat burning and you do lose fat.
- Reduced Mood or Energy Swings – eating carbohydrates (especially sugary ones) can lead to mood and energy swings. This is often seen as the post-lunchtime or afternoon energy crash. When you eliminate the carbs, you eliminate the source of this problem.
- Reduced Consumption of Refined Foods – highly refined foods are the source of many health problems. The more processed a food is, the less nutrients are generally in it. The Atkins Diet encourages a focus on the consumption of more natural state foods such as vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs and healthy oils.
Some of the negatives that have been associated with the Atkins Diet include:
- Rapid Regaining of Lost Weight – this can happen when a person comes off the Atkins Diet. They regain all the weight they lost. One of the major reasons for this is that when you eliminate the carbs from your diet for a long period of time, your body becomes more sensitive to them. When you go back to your regular eating habits (which may not have been great to begin with), your body reacts more strongly to the sugar and carbs in foods, leading to weight gain. This weight gain can be reduced by easing off the Atkins Diet gradually rather than by feasting on carbohydrates.
- Lack of Food Choices – it can be difficult to find things to eat that are low carb. Most grocery stores are primarily stocked with carbohydrate-laden foods and it can get boring eating the same things over and over again. Luckily, with the popularity of the Atkins diet and other low carb diets, there are many delicious recipes available to help alleviate this boredom.
The Atkins Diet may not be for you but by incorporating some of the principles in it, such as lowering your carbohydrate intake and eating more natural-state foods, you may find that you can achieve great results without ever having to restrict yourself. It may take a little longer but the results will be more permanent as it is more of a lifestyle change than a diet.
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including “Metabolic Surge – Rapid Fat Loss,” “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of,” “Gluteus to the Maximus – Build a Bigger Butt NOW!” and “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” all available at (BetterU). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
Fitness and Nutrition
January 3, 2009 by admin
Filed under Diet, Food, Weight Loss
The Importance of Proper Nutrition for Proper Fitness
The body is always compared to a finely-tuned car. It needs food as its fuel and lifestyle, exercise and mental attitude as its regular maintenance for it to achieve its health potential. This explains the relation between health and nutrition. Putting in the wrong fuel or letting go of the right fuel without regular use, there is no way that your body can deliver its power and best performance. Nothing is more important than proper nutrition because without it, the body engine will splutter, cough and eventually stall. However, when proper nutrition and balanced diet is maintained, you can benefit from:
- Added vitality and energy
- Obtaining the weight that’s ideal for you
- Stronger and more powerful immune system
- Improved overall body performance
- Delayed effects of aging
- Being fit and active
- Lessened fatigue and tiredness
- Healthy teeth and gums
- Enhanced ability for concentration
- Total health which means less risks for diseases
How can you achieve proper nutrition?
Basically, proper nutrition can be achieved from maintaining a well-balanced diet. A well-balanced diet includes:
· Low fat
Almost all nutritionists and health experts agree that cutting down on fats from butter, cream, fried foods, oils and margarine is the best way to reduce weight and make your modern diet healthier. This is also particularly important and healthy for the heart.
· High Carbohydrates
Because many people have gone weight-conscious, they have forgotten the importance of rice, potatoes, pasta, cereals and bread to their health. Carbohydrates are important for vitality and energy so if you want to energize your body, take in foods that are rich in carbohydrates.
· High Fiber
Fiber is the large indigestible part of the food that you take in everyday. It doesn’t only get you chewing, it also keeps the inner part of your body move smoothly, helps prevent bowel cancer and gallstones, helps lower cholesterol, and keeps your weight in check. Grain breads and whole meals are good sources of fiber.
· Vitamins and Minerals
Fruits, vegetables and grains are abundant in vitamins and minerals as well as with other natural substances that functions as antioxidants. These foods help the body fight the free radicals that you get from bad foods and pollutants that could damage ones membranes, cells and DNA.
· Eat Variety of Foods
Eating variety of foods will help you get all the nutrients your body needs. Try having a meal with foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and you get all the good nutrients your body deserves.
· Take Sugar and Sweets Moderately
Sugar, when taken moderately can help you stay active and on the go however, when taken excessively, adds those kilojoules in your body and can displace and dispose other important foods especially for kids. Excessive intake of sugar and sweets may also cause tooth decay or dental caries.
· Stay Away from Salt
The usual diet nowadays is laden with salt. While most people think that salt is a good flavoring for all foods, it actually masks the real flavor of the food you are eating. Not only that! It is also bad for ones health so it is very important that you buy no-added-salts or foods with reduced amount of salt.
· Add Intake of Fluid
Two liters or eight glasses of fluid (water and fruit juices) is needed to keep your body hydrated as well as to keep your kidneys and other organs working efficiently. Don’t ever think that coffee and alcohol count! They are not considered helpful fluid because they act as diuretics that force your kidneys to excrete more fluid.
Proper nutrition is rather easy to achieve. Just incorporate the above mentioned foods in your diet, relax and take your time to appreciate them and for sure, you’ll be healthier than ever!
