Archive for March, 2008

Our true wealth is our health. Isn’t it worth your time bring it into peak condition and maintain it? Diet fitness is all about an accurate mix of diet and an appropriate fitness program.

This basically includes three levels of consideration:

1. Balance-A balanced diet must contain carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamin, mineral salts and fiber in well proportionate quantity. Carbohydrates are the source of energy so these play an important role in balanced diet. Intentional inclusion of all foods from fruits to vegetables and meats to grains.

2. Moderation- portion control, small quantity at regular intervals. I had to laugh when I heard the results of a 5-year study costing millions of dollars the government ran to find out why the population of the US is getting heavier. The results…they determined we eat larger quantities! ‘Super Size it!’

3. Variation – wide variety in foods,means higher chances of complete nutrition. And variety in your workout routine means a greater chance of sustaining it.

We can’t possibly cover all of the foods that are acceptable to eat when you are trying to lose weight. Common sense can tell you that French fries are a no-no and an apple is great.

What we’ve decided to do is concentrate on those foods that you SHOULDN’T eat. Of course, this could be a long list as well, so we’re going to touch on the worst and give you some possible substitutions.

Beverages
Stay away from anything with caffeine in it – don’t forget that many sodas have caffeine. Caffeine has the same insulin-stimulating, weight-loss-inhibiting effect as aspartame.

Unfortunately, this includes coffee. Stick to decaffeinated sodas, teas, and coffees. Along the same lines, cut out any beverage that contains aspartame (Nutra Sweet), high fructose corn syrup, or refined sugar. Since you need to drink a lot of water in order to lose weight, try water with a slice of lemon or lime in it. It can be very refreshing and very satisfying!

Alcohol is a no-no in any weight loss plan. It’s OK to have a glass of wine with dinner, just don’t drink the whole bottle. There’s no better way to pack on the pounds than to drink excessive amounts of alcohol – even the ones that claim they have fewer calories. Moderation is the key with alcoholic beverages!

Boxed Pre-Packaged Foods
In general, you should stay away from a lot of these products. If the ingredients are not pronounceable, you should avoid them. In other words, anything with a lot of chemicals on the ingredient list are not going to be good for your diet.

White rice, while very filling, contains starches that can inhibit your weight loss. Stick to brown rice instead. Pasta mixes are usually also not good because of the starches they contain. Stick to whole grain pastas instead.

Breads
For the same reasons as pasta and white rice, white breads should also be avoided. Whole grain breads provide you with the carbohydrates you need and are less processed than the white breads. Be sure the bread you choose is made with whole wheat flour instead of just wheat flour.

If you love Mexican food, stick to whole wheat flour tortillas or corn tortillas when you choose your burritos, enchiladas, or soft tacos.

Canned and Jar Foods
Again, anything that is canned or jarred needs to be free of excessive chemicals. If the label contains ingredients with more than four syllables or are hyphenated, it won’t be good for your diet.

Chicken broth can be very fatty, so stay away. So are many soup mixes. The good news is that there are plenty of light or low fat choices out there. These are the ones you should choose.
Commercially-made tomato sauces or tomato based sauces contain ridiculously huge amounts of sugar and salt.

A better choice is to make these sauces yourself where you can control what goes into it. We’ll have a recipe later in the book for you to do just that! Do not eat canned fruit or canned vegetables. If it’s been canned, it’s been cooked thus it loses some of it’s most beneficial nutrients. They can also contain processed or refined sugars, so stick to fresh fruits and veggies instead.

If you have to have a little oil to cook your foods in, choose extra virgin olive oil over the vegetable or corn based oils.

Eating before and during the consumption of alcohol helps slow down the absorption of alcohol and provides the body with more time to deal with the alcohol. If you can’t or don’t eat before or during the consumption of alcohol, then eating after the consumption of alcohol can still help. These strategies reduces the adverse effects of alcohol while also helping to reduce the severity of the hangover.

Even if you can’t or don’t eat immediately after the consumption of alcohol, then eating before you go to sleep, or eating as soon as you wake up can still help you to recover from the hangover.

Many people swear by the “Hot greasy breakfast” strategy, where they have bacon, eggs, sausages, lots of hot buttered toast, and so on for breakfast.

However, just about any food is good. Even a bowl of soup will help.

Eating fruit, such as apples, oranges, tomatoes, mangoes, peaches, etc or the juice of these fruits can also help your body recover from the effects of a hangover, while also helping to remove the bad taste in your mouth.

The common buzzwords that we see in magazines, TV cooking shows, and in the media are “Good Fats” and “Bad Fats”. But what are they ? And, why is one type good and the other bad ?
Our bodies create some important substances out of fats and also use fat to store and transport various vitamins around our bodies. Fats also help with sugar and insulin metabolism and can therefore contribute towards goals of long-term weight loss and weight maintenance. So fat is an essential part of a healthy diet. And fat makes food taste better. However, not all fats are created equal – there are good fats and there are also bad fats.

The problem is that fat contains more than twice the calories of an equal amount of carbohydrates or protein. A diet with too much fat (and/or sugar) can cause weight gain, leading to obesity and a range of serious health issues. A diet low in fat (and sugar) can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.

Too much fat (particularly saturated fat and trans fat) in our diet has been linked to a range of diseases, including heart disease and some cancers. Store shelves are now lined with virtually fat-free potato chips, luncheon meats, and cookies, all concocted so people can literally have their cake and eat it too. However, beware – a product that claims to be low in fat may still be high in sugar.

Being “fat-healthy” isn’t just about avoiding the saturated fats found in meat. It’s about making sure you’re eating a good balance of the right kinds of fats.

Health and nutrition experts recommend the following eating and dietary practices for all people aged 2 years and older:

• Eat a variety of foods to get the energy (calories), protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber you need for good health.
• Maintain a healthy weight for your height (see “Appendix 1 – Height and Weight Charts” on page 29) to reduce the chances of having a stroke or developing high blood pressure, heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, and other health complications.
• Eat a diet that is low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol to reduce your risk of heart disease, various types of cancer, and other health complications. Fat contains more than twice the calories of an equal amount of carbohydrates or protein, so a diet low in fat can help you maintain a healthy weight.
• Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products that provide the required vitamins, minerals, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. These products are also generally lower in fat, which is also good.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Eat sugar in strict moderation. A diet consisting of lots of sugar will result in too many calories and too few nutrients for most people, and can also cause tooth decay and other health complications.
• Eat salt and other forms of sodium in moderation to help reduce your risk of high blood pressure and other health complications.
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, then do so in moderation. Alcoholic beverages are high in calories and contain little or no nutrients. Drinking alcohol is also the cause of many health problems and can lead to addiction.