How Do I Know Which Diet to Follow?

April 11, 2010 By Healthy Weight Loss Now Leave a Comment

Today, there are more diets available on the market than any other point in time. No matter where you turn, there seems to be a new plan, book, pill, or professional pushing their method, while promising great results with little effort on your part, in a short period of time. The overwhelming amount of information coming at you can make it quite difficult to select a safe and effective diet. Here are a few diet selection principles to help you break through the confusion.

The first step in the diet selection process is to choose a diet that will work for you. It is very common for dieters to choose a plan based simply on things they have heard, or because they know someone who the used the diet with some success. Just because your next door neighbor lost forty pounds on the raw food diet, does not mean that the same will happen for you. Choose a diet that will truly work for you, help you accomplish your goals, and one that you can add to your life with little disruption. If you choose a diet simply because other people are doing it, you will probably fail. Find a diet that will allow you to eat foods from many different food groups, and incorporates foods you enjoy. The more the diet allows you to lead a normal life, the better your chances of success, if a diet forces you to spend hours in the kitchen preparing complex meals etc, then you just won’t have the time or will power to stick to it for very long.

You should also consider choosing a diet that allows you to take a break every couple of weeks. A break gives you a bit of a reward for your hard work, and it gives you something to look forward to during the weeks you are dieting. Even though you get a bit of break, you should not go crazy and eat anything you want excessively. You need to have the willpower to eat a bit of the foods you crave, without ruining your diet by going on an all out binge on them.

Before starting any new diet, you should always seek the advice of a physician or dietician prior to beginning. Research diet choices thoroughly, and do not rush your decision, you want to make sure the diet you choose will promote a healthy lifestyle, incorporate a bit of exercise, and create changes that you can stick with for the long term.

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Filed Under Diet Tips, Diets, Weight Loss

Home Delivered Diets from Freshology

April 11, 2010 By Healthy Weight Loss Now Leave a Comment

Freshology is a home delivered diet meal service which provides you with dietary meals to help you lose weight Proven to aid quick fat loss, the weight loss program is highly effective. It uses a healthy weight-loss system, which anyone who is serious about losing weight should use to shed their excess fat

How this works is:When joining freshology, you’ll get high quality meals to serve you 5x daily. It can take anywhere from two weeks to three months according to what you decide upon. The food in the diet to your door program is cooked by prominent chefs who tailor the meals to your weight loss goals. Freshology is the leader in fresh dining and it is ideal for people who want to lose weight.

Meals of varying caloric content may be delivered to your home as early as six in the morning. The program provides your 3 daily meals, which are designed specifically for you, including a snack. You’ll be provided many kinds of cuisine with dinners ranging from Mediterranean lamb to korea boulgogi. There will be enough variety in the meals delivered to ensure the program does not lose its appeal.

There’s no question that the vast majority of individuals who subscribe to a home delivered diet meal program succeed in achieving their short term weight loss goals. The reason why 10% of the remaining people do not lose their target weight may be because they did not stick to the diet or opted out on the way.

More Home Delivered Diet Reviews

Filed Under Diet Tips, Diets, Healthy Eating, Weight Loss

Worrying About Losing Weight Doesn’t Help

April 9, 2010 By Healthy Weight Loss Now Leave a Comment

There are a lot of things that cause stress in everyday life. Some of these things can be controlled. It is not always possible to take care of everything. The way that we take care of any problems is something that we choose too do. When someone cannot control the way they feel about things it can create a lot of issues for someone to work with.

Our outward appearance is the first impression we give to people.  The way we are looked at by others affects us everyday.  How much a person weighs is something that people tend to notice very quickly.  It is hard to ignore the stares of people on the street and the snickering that occurs when an obese person walks down the street.  The good thing is that how much we weigh is something that a person can take control of.  Once a person decides that they have a weight problem, they can take the necessary steps to correct the problem.  The key thing to realize is that to lose weight will take an effort.  If they are able to succeed at it, the benefits are plentiful.

There are many things that can be done to lose weight once you decide that it is an issue that needs to be dealt with.  The first thing is to realize that they did not gain the weight quickly and it is not necessary to see if they can find out biggest loser forum either, they need to set reasonable goals that can be reached.  No one wants to go through the process of yo-yo dieting, so it is important to do it the right way.  You need to stop doing the stuff that made you put on the pounds.  They need to replace those bad things with more positive things in their life.  Foods that are high in calories and fat should be replaced with healthier options such as fruit and vegetables.  Pre-made food can be more convenient for a person to use, however it is not as healthy as dinner cooked from scratch.  Healthier meals are not the most difficult thing for a person to create every day.  By eating healthier, a person can reach the goals that they want.

In addition to controlling the food you eat, a person must develop some type of fitness plan to get healthy.  That doesn’t mean doing sets of six pack ab exercises, while watching television at night, although that could be a choice for some people, it means getting up and being active on a regular basis.  The most important part of a fitness regimen is to do it everyday.  It doesn’t have to be a complex exercise program that requires all sorts of equipment, it can be simple.  It is possible to get rid of the stubborn belly fat if you do the work, but when you don’t do the work the fat will remain.

A key to success in getting healthy is to have the help of others.  A person can find support in many places, whether it is a friend who wants to lose weight also, a group of people that they meet at the mall or at a fitness club, or if you go online to a chat room such as the biggest loser forum to find the support that will help a person stick with fitness plan when they are ready to give up.  If a person has the support they will find themselves able to make it through those tough patches easier.

Being fat is a choice that someone can do something about.  It is not as hard as someone believes that it is when a person is determined to fix it.  Once the things that caused the weight gain in the first place are gotten rid of and a person commits to the good things, they will find that they like doing the good things even more.  It is hard to see that there are things that a person can do that are healthier when you think about how much you enjoy the healthy things in your life  To avoid the stress, make the changes and don’t look back.

Filed Under Diet Tips

Diet or Exercise to Lose Stubborn Belly Fat?

April 7, 2010 By Healthy Weight Loss Now Leave a Comment

If you’re wondering which is most crucial – diet or activity – in order to reach your weightloss goals, this info will help you.

Here are some basics for successful weight and/or fat loss, and most specially stubborn belly fat!

Consider the follow study:

Researchers at the University of Illinois have looked at how moderate amounts of exercise (e.g., 30-45 minutes of walking, 5 days a week), as well as the particular foods one eats, influence the amount of inflammation present in visceral fat (aka “belly fat”).

Why?

Because belly fat is now seen as a increasing health risk , an indicator and contributor to “Syndrome X,” or metabolic syndrome. The risks of metabolic syndrome go far beyond a roll at your waist . ”Belly fat” is particularly alarming because it yields inflammatory molecules that enter the bloodstream and increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

If you’re over 40, it’s time to get serious about reducing your abdominal fat. Not just for your belly , but to dramatically reduce your risk of chronic disease .

The study discovered that moderate activity can make the body more sensitive to insulin (insulin sensitivity), even without  an alteration in diet. (If the body’s cells are not sensitive to insulin, then sugar levels are not ordered as they should be.) Exercise was also found to decrease fat in the liver and decrease inflammation in the belly fat.

“Scientists now know that obesity is associated with a low-grade total-system inflammation. Obese people have higher levels of circulating inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), which are produced and secreted by fat tissue. This inflammation then triggers the systemic diseases linked with metabolic syndrome, such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease,” said Jeffrey Woods, a U of I professor of kinesiology and community health and faculty member in the U of I Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Integrative Immunology and Behavior Program.

The Illinois researchers, whose work was published recently in The American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, looked at the effects of both diet and exercise on inflammation of visceral fat in mice. Their study included a high-fat diet group to develop obesity. Six weeks into the study, mice were divided up either into a sedentary group, an exercise group, a low-fat diet group, or a group that participated in both exercise and the low-fat diet. The study was divided into 6- and 12-week increments so the scientists could examine both the short- and long-term effects of the interventions.

Interestingly, the results achieved by the combination exercise/diet group were not significantly better than those of the diet or exercise groups by themselves.

Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that the only truly significant increase in belly fat in the mice from 6 to 12 weeks was seen in the sedentary mice. This may suggest that exercise is an important lifestyle intervention that can help fight inflammation in the belly fat, even in the presence of a high-fat diet. The researchers stated that exercise could help prevent life-threatening diseases even in people with obesity, by decreasing inflammation.

A second study of sedentary older adults published in a recent issue of Brain, Behavior and Immunity (BBI) reinforced these findings.

In that 10-month study, one group of sedentary older adults participated in three 45- to 60-minute cardiovascular exercise sessions per week, while another group centered on exercises to improve non-cardiovascular flexibility and balance for 75 minutes twice a week.

“At the end of the study, the ‘cardio’ group had lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), less belly fat, and improved general fitness than the ‘flex’ group,” said Ph.D. candidate Vieira.

“The lower CRP levels were partially mediated by the reduction in torso fat,” she explained.

The take-home message here: Even if you’re having a hard time lowering the fat and calories in your diet, you can still improve your health and possibly lower belly fat with even moderate amounts of exercise. Regular physical activeness could also help you with stress reduction, which may further help lower your risk of disease and could also help you to cut back on the nervous eating we often do in response to stress.

Filed Under Build Muscle, Diet Tips, Diets, Exercise, Fitness, Healthy Eating, Weight Loss

What is a Healthy Amount of Weight Loss?

June 30, 2008 By Suzanne Chase Leave a Comment

There are many “diets” out there that promise extreme amounts of weight loss in ridiculously short amounts of time. The problem with these kinds of diets is that you may lose weight in the short term, but sustaining that loss when you go back to your original eating habits is impossible. Eating only grapefruit or cabbage soup is not a healthy way of eating long term. You will be missing out on crucial nutrients, vitamins, and minerals with a diet like this. There is no quick fix. No magic bullet when it comes to losing weight.

A realistic healthy amount of weight loss is between a half to two pounds a week. It may not sound like much, but could you be happy about losing 8 pounds in a month? What about 16 pounds in 2 months? Depending upon your build, that could be an entire size or 2 reduction in your clothing size. It adds up over time. There are more benefits to just fitting into smaller clothes. Studies show that losing even 10% of your body weight improves your cardiovascular health by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure and reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Your energy will increase as well. Your motivation to lose more will increase as you start to see results.

So, what is the best way to achieve a healthy amount of weight loss? You must burn more calories than you take in to lose weight. This is the only way to lose weight in a healthy manner. Here are some ways to help you accomplish this:

Add more vegetables, fruits, and high fiber foods to your diet. They fill you up, thus leaving more room for the higher calorie foods.

Cut out soda. This will save you tons of calories. Try switching to tea or water. Flavor it with lemon or lime if you don’t like the taste of plain water.

Write everything down that you eat. Keep a journal. Once you start doing this on a regular basis, you will start to see where your problem areas are. Do you find yourself getting hungry late at night? Maybe you need to add another vegetable at dinner so you aren’t hungry later.

Keep junk food out of the house. If it isn’t there on your shelf, you can’t eat it. Stock your refrigerator and pantry with healthy food and snacks so you aren’t tempted.

Eat less, but don’t starve yourself either. Your body needs fuel to operate. Don’t make it try to operate on too little food.

Do some exercise every day. This can be a simple as walking. Start out slowly if you need to and build up. Take the elevator instead of the stairs. Park further from your office or the grocery store. Play with your kids. It won’t feel like exercising, but you’ll be getting the benefits.

Find a Weight Loss Buddy. Support is key to success and achieving your goals. Stay away from negative influences. If you have a friend who wants to go out for a huge meal every time you get together, suggest an alternative activity.

Get your family involved. It’s much easier to eat healthy when the rest of the family is doing it too.

Hopefully, these suggestions will provide a start in your desire for achieving a healthy amount of weight loss.

Filed Under Diet Tips, Diets, Featured Tagged With healthy amount of weight loss, weight loss

10 Tips to Help You Achieve Healthy Weight Loss

June 26, 2008 By Cherie Stirewalt Leave a Comment

Some people are naturally thin, and never have to worry about what they eat, or how much. And then there the rest of us. Those that are forever on a diet, yo-yoing our way up and down the scale with minimal success. Let’s face it, losing weight is hard work. But through perseverance, and the right mindset, you can lose weight the healthy way. No pills, no diets, no starving. Start with these ten tips to be on your way to achieving healthy weight loss.

Change Your Lifestyle
Your first error in the past was probably your mindset. You were probably on a “diet.” Am I right? Well, repeat this….”Diets don’t work.” How many people do you know that have tried some fad diet, lost weight, and actually kept the weight off? Dieting only provided short-term weight loss followed by weight gain.

So, if you are not on a “diet,” what are you on?

A lifestyle change.

If you are one of those people who have suffered with being overweight, and you are truly ready to do something about it, the first thing you need to realize is you are in this for the rest of your life. There is no magic pill. No genie in a bottle. Sorry!

Instead, you have to put in the work. You have to make good choices about what you eat, and how you treat your body. You must change your habits, and your thinking about trying a healthy weight loss method instead of a quick fix that will not keep the weight off.

Keep a Food Diary
You probably do not realize how much food you can put away in a day. Keeping a food diary will help you track, organize, and plan what and how much you eat. You can do this online through free programs like fitday.com, or through paid programs like Weight Watchers® Online Etools. You need to count everything you put in your mouth. No matter how insignificant or little you think the serving was. A handful of M & M’s might not seem like much but probably punches in at 50 or more calories.

Find a Support Group
Going it alone is not how you want to do this. You need to find folks who are going through, or have been through the same experience. You can find these groups online as well in weight loss forums. Or you can attend your local Weight Loss support meeting like TOPS or Weight Watchers®. Whatever you do, it is important to share stories, recipes, frustrations and successes with those that truly understand what you are going through.

Read Your Labels
Instead of throwing just anything in your cart, become savvy to the nutrition labels. Especially the sodium, calorie, fat and fiber content. The lower the calorie, sodium and fat, and the higher the fiber, the better the food will be for you.

Are you thinking that foods like that probably don’t taste good? You would be surprised. Tons of low fat and low calorie substitutes are at your supermarket these days. And many have no loss in flavor.

Shop the Perimeter of the Supermarket
Fresh is best. Produce, lean meat, low fat dairy, and low fat grains are all found along the perimeter of a store. These are the best foods for you to eat in order to achieve healthy weight loss.

Those foods along the aisles on the inside are chalked full of sugar, sodium, and preservatives. Although they may be how the “old” you ate, they need to be kept out of your cart. Don’t tempt yourself. Stock your pantry with good things to eat.

Find an Exercise You Can Live With
Not everyone likes to exercise. If you do, that’s great. If you don’t, getting your body moving to burn up calories can be a huge deterrent.

So, what to do? Find something fun. Maybe it is walking your dog, or dancing to your favorite song for 10 minutes. For some, it might be playing Frisbee with your kids, or gardening. Anything that gets you up off the couch and moving is considered activity. Activity burns calories. You don’t necessarily have to log 60 minutes on the treadmill everyday, but you do need to do some kind of activity every day. Get moving!

Set Realistic Goals
When you are looking at the challenge ahead of you, it can seem pretty daunting. Whether it is 10 pounds or 100 pounds, the challenge might seem unobtainable. You might be tempted to quit before you start.

What can you do?

Break it up into smaller, more obtainable goals. Instead of 100 pounds to lose, think of the first five pounds, or the first two pounds. Say to yourself, “I’m gonna lose two pounds over the next two weeks.” Then when you achieve that goal, set a new one.

Each two pounds you lose is two pounds off your ultimate goal. Small successes bring big rewards in the long run.

Portion Control
Buy measuring cups and spoons and use them. Get a diet scale and use that. If the serving size is ½ cup, measure out ½ cup and that’s it.

If you are feeling like your serving sizes are skimpy and not enough to fill out your plate, buy smaller plates. You will be surprised that your brain will be tricked and you will feel better about eating less!

Take Your Measurements
Sometimes, you might not see success on the scale. But you probably will see success in inches lost. Measure your upper arms, chest, hips, waist, thighs and calves. Every 6 weeks, re-measure. You will be astounded at how many inches you have lost.

Plan Ahead when Dining Out
One of the biggest challenges to losing weight is what to do in a restaurant. Portions are huge. You don’t know what the ingredients are.

To overcome this obstacle, look up what you are going to eat before you get there. Sites like healthydiningfinder.com will allow you to plug in your address and give you restaurants and nutritional info so you can plan a healthy meal that fits into your healthy weight loss program.

Although these changes you are making to your lifestyle may seem difficult at first, in time, it will become your norm. You have to believe in yourself and know that your outcome is going to be worth it. Healthy weight loss versus yo-yo dieting, is definitely the way to reach your ultimate weight loss goal.

Filed Under Diet Tips, Diets, Featured Tagged With Healthy weight loss, healthy weight loss food, healthy weight loss method