Archive for May, 2008

Maintaining the best health and weight is simply a question of permanently following consistent dietary guidelines. Simply forget everything you’ve read or heard so far about dieting to lose weight and start using the tested “Rule of Fours” method.

Eat every 4 hour
Metabolism that is now working at a more effective level will make you want to eat sooner than before. Having four meals a day at intervals of 4 hours keeps your metabolism moving constantly as it has to continuously absorb, distribute and convert the foods into energy. However, this rule is easier said than done. Planning and preparing your every day meals on the previous night/day is more likely to keep you on course with your diet. If you have not prepared yourself like this you are more likely to give up after a few day. Once you skip a meal, the metabolic processes in the body will slow down dramaticaly to preserve the energy.

This will interrupt the “kick-start” that you’ve been trying to enforce upon your metabolism.

Divide your food into 4 equal sized meals
Now that you should have a pretty good idea of how often you should eat, however, you should also know what to eat and how much to eat of it. Health diets include dividing your every day meal into four parts. Quarter of your food should be protein-rich food including lean meats, yogurt, tofu, fish, eggs and legumes. The second quarter should contain unrefined carbohydrates, which includes various whole grains, pastas, breads and brown rice. And finally the remaining half of your food should consist of fruits and vegatables.

It’s always a healthy choice to avoid any fried foods like crisps, KFC etc… and foods that are known to have high levels of saturated fats. Although it may be acceptable to treat yourself to some special food every now and then but you should keep in mind that the amount of those should be kept to minimum. In fact when it comes to food, you should make sure that everything, even your meal size is best when enjoyed in moderation. Remember to have smaller sized portions, after all its only 4 hours till your next meal.

Potatoes are the most popular vegetable, even being before of other well known vegetables such as lettuce and onions. You can cook potatoes in many different of ways and theycan be included in one of the three meals eaten by almost anyone. Once they are prepared in a healthy way, potatoes can be an superior source of energy and in addition to pack a nutritional punch.

Similar to oranges, potatoes has very high in vitamin C. The truth is, one medium sized potato contains about 45% of the vitamin C, which is recommended for good health. Potatoes are also high in fiber and carbohydrates and has more potassium than a banana.

Potatoes are naturally low in calories and carries no fat, sodium, or cholesterol. The skins of the potatoes has a helpful dose of fiber, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, and many
B vitamins.

You can cook potatoes by boiling them, steaming them, or roasting them. If possible you should avoid putting potatoes in the refrigerator or freezing them, as low temperature will turn the potato starch to sugar and make them to turn dark when they are served.

When you store potatoes, try to keep them in a cool and dark storage place. Too much light will cause them to turn green. You could store them in the basement if you have one, as the basement is the best place to keep potatoes.

From mashed potatoes to baked potatoes, a potato is something we know and love. They serve up many different tasty foods, and they provide our bodies with a good deal of healthful benefits.

You will find the following tips to be exactly what you need to eat healthy on a budget if you have problems getting healthy foods because of the costs.

1. Say no to junk food
Doing your shopping on your own is the most comfortable way to shop, as kids and sometimes mates are normally the ones asking for junk foods. Shopping by yourself will prevent this happening, and ensure that you only purchase the foods you required.

2. Water or milk instead of soft drinks
You’ll be able to still enjoy your drinks at a special event or night out, although you should follow the smallest size when shopping to save some money and calories. Kids and even adults need
milk on a daily basis. Milk will also help you become strong healthy bones and healthy teeth.

3. Get large number of fruits
Buy fruits in quantity and freeze some extras. You can purchase several pounds this way, and freeze extras to take them out when the fruit gets out of season. Remember to wash the fruit well, remove any bad pieces, dry thoroughly, then freeze in elastic zip up bags.

4. Meats and beans
Meats and beans are the best foods for protein. Lean meat costs than meats and with a lot of fat. Canned beans are a good deal as well as they give you protein at a bargain.

5. Beans as a substitute
You should use beans as a substitute for meat more often. There are many kinds, so you’ll be able to make them in a crock pot, so when you get back home they are ready to be served.