Posts Tagged ‘calories’

Many people these days want to control their diets so they are eating low calorie foods, but low calorie foods that still taste great. The way to get low calorie foods that taste great is through light calorie cooking. There are a few tips to consider when embarking on light calorie cooking adventures where the calories are low but the taste is high.

Margarine As Opposed to Butter
When following recipes when preparing a meal, there are many recipes that now list a choice between using butter as an ingredient or margarine. By using margarine in the recipe instead of butter the cook cuts the caloric content significantly yet still keeps a good taste overall. It is very hard to tell the difference between margarine and butter that is used in cooked foods and since margarine is lower in calories it is a great substitute. So, the next time you are cooking and run across a choice between butter or margarine as an ingredient make the healthy and low calorie choice by using margarine. The taste will remain great and it won’t affect your waistline! Continue Reading »

Having a high level of metabolism enables one to maintain burn fat and lose weight fast with the least amount of activity. Metabolism is the rate by which the body produces and consumes energy and calories to support life.

Here are several ways to fire up one’s metabolism:

1. Build up on lean, mean body mass. It is only natural that metabolism decreases along with age, but it is possible to counter the effects. The amount of muscle a person has is a very strong determinant in the ability to burn calories and shed fat. So it goes without saying that exercise is essential. Build strength and resistance by working out at least twice a week, preferably with weights. Do easy exercises in between workouts. Simple tasks such as walking the dog and using the stairs in place of the elevator can already take off calories.
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Any food eaten beyond what your system requires for its energy, growth, and repair, is fattening, or is an irritant, or both.

If a food contains much fat, you will know that it is high in food value, for fat has two and one-quarter times the caloric value that proteins and carbohydrates have. Dry foods are high in value, for they are concentrated and contain little water. Compare the quantity of two heaping teaspoonfuls of sugar, a concentrated food, and one and one-half pounds of lettuce, a watery vegetable, each having the same caloric value. A moderate sized chocolate cream is not only concentrated but has considerable fat in the chocolate.

It is not necessary to know accurately the caloric values. In fact, authorities differ in some of their computations. The list is not mathematically correct, but it will give you a good idea of the relative values, and is accurate enough for our purposes. I have purposely given round numbers, where possible, in order to make them more easily remembered.

A mixture of foods should be used, in order to get the different elements which are necessary for the human machine. It is not wholesome to have many foods at a meal; but the menu should be varied from day to day.

Yes and no. Moderate calorie restriction helps in controlling and getting rid of fat to a certain extent.

In fact the so called low carbohydrate diets are low calorie diets.

Research proves that the weight loss in these weight loss programs is on account of calorie restriction and not due to the virtues of a low carbohydrate-high protein diet.

But the real fact about these diets is… calorie restriction is bad for health.

Firstly, these diet plans induce ketosis which according to many experts is bad for health.

Secondly, calorie restriction deprives the vital organs like lever, thyroid and adrenals etc. of required nutrition.

What this means in effect is, the very organs which are supposed to burn fat and keep you lean and healthy are making you sick because of wrong diet!

The reason? Well, very simple…

Say for example, you eat 1200 calories of fruit daily,-which is very good for the fat burning and filtering organs in your body. Now, if you suddenly you reduce it by 500 calories… what is the result? deprivation.

Now let’s take another scenario… you are regularly eating 1500 calories of fast food(processed foods) and you bring it down by 500… result? great!

These junk foods were causing damage to your organs and a shift in your diet pattern wiill increase the efficiency of your body’s fat burning organs.

So, you will see that it’s not calorie restriction alone that was responsible for weight loss in the above example, the restriction of unwanted processed foods in your diet has a more profound effect on your health and weight loss goals.

The weight loss management plan can be usefully launched with restricting calories and watching the size of one’s plate. The inclusion of a workout plan on some befitting fitness equipment can make achieving the ideal weight a dream come true. The obese individuals can opt for yoga instead of some rigorous activity. Besides the physical measures, drugs and supplements are available in the market, as easily as hearing aids, to show surprisingly fast results. Also, some food supplements similar to those used for breasts enhancement, help in the regime by replenishing the nutrients and preventing hair loss.

The out¬standing fats eaten daily in the United States and Europe are butter, eggs, whole milk, cream, meat, fish and poultry fats, and cheese in various combinations. These fats, at 9 calories pergram, contain more than twice the amount of calories than protein or carbohydrate does at four calories each per gram. As we have noted and shall describe in later chapters, excessive intake of fats leads to the shortening of life, premature death by heart attacks and strokes, obesity, and numerous crippling ill¬nesses.

Fats (or lipids) contain the elements of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in various combinations of animal and vegetable fats. Examples of animal fats are butter, lard, cream, milk, eggs, and the fat in meats. Vegetable fats are soyabean oil, olive oil, cottonseed and corn oils, and peanut oils; these are found in nuts, coconuts, avocados, margarines and other vegetable fats used in cooking.

Fats do not dissolve in water, and when pure they are odor-less and tasteless. They are found in most bodily tissues, parti-cularly in combination with other elements, proteins, or minerals. Fats or lipids act as vehicles for the absorption of the natural fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, and E.

In order for fats to be utilized by the body, they must first be digested and broken down into constituent parts before being absorbed. They are absorbed in the following manner: After the food is masticated and enters the stomach, the digestive sys¬tem supplies its first fat enzyme called lipase, to begin the diges¬tion of the fat. Enzymes or ferments are unique chemical com¬pounds manufactured by the cells of the tissues. In the digestive tract they are vital for the chemical breakdown of all foods before they can be absorbed.