Showing posts with label weight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight. Show all posts

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Rice Diet at Home


Diet, as a primary way to treat diseases has been used since 1939. The Rice Diet has helped in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, renal disease, and other illnesses. The rice diet can also be used to reduce weight. It also detoxifies the body by getting rid of excess water weight and toxins from food and environment.

The Rice Diet Program in Durham, North Carolina, was one of the first medical facilities in America to use diet as the primary way to treat diseases like obesity, diabetics and hypertension. Rice diet is primarily a vegetarian eating plan which features high-complex carbohydrates, low fat and low-sodium. People who follow rice diet program lose weight faster, safely, and effectively than any other people who follow other diet programs.

Phases in Rice Diet:

There are two phases in Rice Diet:

Rice Diet Phase I

The phase 1 program includes grains and fruits. Medical supervision is mandatory and hence it is recommended to do the same at medical centers rather than at home. The rice diet food list for phase 1 includes lean cut beef, cheese, eggs, lamb, pork, seafood, vegetables, oil, veal, tofu, nuts, and dairy.

Rice Diet Phase II

This phase includes vegetables, beans and other carbohydrates, in addition to grains and fruit. You can have fish once in a week. Meals can also be taken. Vegetarian eating habits are prescribed until you attain your goals. Non-fat dairy products, fish and lean meats can be used depending upon one’s physical condition. The rice diet food list for phase 2 includes fruits, dairy, vegetables and legumes, and starch (controlled).

Working

The Rice Diet limits salt and sodium-rich ingredients. Reduction in salt intake cause loses in water weight and you are less inclined to overeat. The main source of nutrition in rice diet is carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. Saturated fats and sodium are limited. The Rice Diet Solution includes hundreds of tasty, filling, easy-to-prepare recipes.

Keep in mind that the end result of rice diet program purely depends on how well an individual follows the diet recommendations. Hence make sure that you follow it correctly.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Five Simple Steps To Losing Your Belly Fat Fast




How do you lose weight fast?

A real simple tip is and we've all been taught it, from the time we were kids from our parents, is increase our vegetable intake, more specifically your non-starchy vegetable intake. It's not to hard to choose a vegetable that's non-starchy.

The main reason is, because you want to be able to eat something that is not caloricly dense but nutrient dense and non-starchy vegetables. They're a great source of fiber which is very important for helping you feel fuller longer and not encouraging you to eat 30 minutes later. You're going to be full for a long time. The fiber takes longer to digest, so the body has to work harder and you keep your insulin levels in check which is big for preventing fat storage.

What is insulin which I mentioned above?

When you eat you get sugar in your blood and your body has to get that sugar out of the blood and either use it as energy or store it for use at a later time. Insulin does that. When you ingest food and you get these sugars into your blood, your insulin increases and gets those sugars, pull them out of your blood and either, like I said, burn them for energy or store them to be used at a later time. When all of your carbohydrate glycogen levels are full, then the only other alternative is to be stored as fat. Insulin tends to promote fat storage because most peoples glycogen/carbohydrate levels are usually pretty full, so the alternative is fat storage.

You want to keep that insulin response low, which is one of the main goals.

Now on to Tip number 2 which is eating protein at every meal. We hear so much about protein; again, most guys are probably meat and potatoes guys. Why is it so important - how do we make the transformation to just eating fatty protein sources to types of proteins that you should be eating to help lose that gut.

It should be easy to get protein into your diet since most men are meat and potato type of men, but you want to control the type of protein you eat. A fried chicken breast, or 18 chicken wings from Hooters, probably isn't going to be the best source. Yes, its protein, but you are also going to pack in a lot of extra calories that you really don't need if you're trying to lose your gut. So, one of the things you want to do is to look for those lean protein sources. Skinless chicken breasts, lean beef and steaks, fish grilled not fried. Eggs are another good source.

Dairy is also another good source. If you like cottage cheese or yogurts or things like that, you can get in your lean protein that way as well.

Tip number 3 Eat whole grain carbohydrates.

So now, what is a whole grain carb? What's a good carb? What's a bad carb? When am I supposed to be eating some of these carbs?

A whole grain carb would be carbohydrates that are considered a good source of fiber. Staying away from the - you've heard the thing of no white breads and things like that and white rice, and to a point there's validity to why people say that. I don't know that they always know why they are saying it, but the reason that they should try to limit those is because those are usually made with processed carbohydrates and very little fiber content. Whole grain carbs will say 100% whole grain. Wheat bread is just white bread that hasn't been bleached. So you need to look for the whole grain or the whole oats/grain wording in it to find out, and look at the fiber source. Most of them should have at least 2 grams of fiber per serving, if not 3 to be considered a good fiber source. So, that will help you get you your answer as well with that.

Alright, rapid weight loss diet tip number 4. Eat more healthy fats. Now, this is very confusing for people, I'm sure. Healthy fats, unhealthy fats, Trans fats, why is this going to be such a big deal when it comes to losing weight fast?

Your healthy fats is what's usually called essential fatty acids, and what that means is that it's fatty acids and fats that we can not produce in the body on our own, so we have to get them through diet. Why essential fatty acids are so important is because there's hundreds and hundreds of studies that are showing that it helps with numerous diseases.

It helps prevent certain diseases such as heart disease and cancer. The studies are actually now showing that it may actually increase your metabolism by as much as 400 calories a day and that's the big one when it comes to just specific weight loss.

If you want to just throw out all the numerous health benefits of why essential fatty acids are good and just go off of the fact for weight loss and fat loss, it actually helps increase your metabolism and there's also some studies showing that it may actually block what they tend to call pre-fat cells from turning into permanent fat cells. So, again, that's another huge step in regards to weight loss and trying to prevent weight gain. And, essential fatty acids primarily are, what you'll also hear or read, as Omega 3 fats.

You'll see that fish is an excellent source of Omega 3 fats. Use olive oil because of the essential fatty acids and the Omega 3s. Walnuts and Almonds are another good source and they're actually a good protein source, they contain good fiber, and they contain healthy fat.

So, if you want a healthy snack, throw some almonds in a bag and take them with you to work, keep them at your desk. They're a great snack to help you feel full; help boost that metabolism and it's actually a really good food for you in many ways. You're getting your fiber, you're getting your protein, you're getting your healthy fat, you're getting three of the five tips I'm giving you today just in one food, with that.

How to lose belly fat tip number 5.

Eat frequent meals. I'm sure you've heard it before eat smaller meals throughout the day. You're probably having a muffin and coffee for breakfast, having a big lunch, maybe not eating all afternoon, come home and eat a huge, huge dinner. How are you guys going to get 4-6 small meals a day?

You do have to do a little planning ahead, but if you use the previous four tips, you could cut up some vegetables ahead of time on a Sunday and just put them in bags so that you have them available to put into your lunch or as a snack. Protein choices you've got the yogurt, you could hard boil eggs, you could have string cheese as a snack. Almonds, as we talked about.

Doing those types of things and plan ahead to where you don't have to think the morning of, "Alright what am I going to eat for my snack today? What am I going to do for lunch? It's all already in the fridge. Plan on a Sunday for one hour and then all you have to do is pack your meal. Put it in individual bags, throw it in your cooler and put it in the refrigerator at work, so that it's available. That way, the less thinking you can take out of it, the better off you're going to be.

Every time you eat your metabolism increases to digest that food. Your body uses calories to digest calories? So, you want to keep that metabolism revved up every day.

What guy doesn't want to eat. The worst thing about trying to lose weight is you think you have to starve yourself and that's the exact opposite that you want to do if you're going to lose weight. You need to feed yourself and you need to feed yourself consistently because then the weight will come off. If you restrict eating and that metabolism plummets your body has to survive. It goes into a survival mode at that point and it's going to do everything possible to burn as little calories as possible because you don't feed it frequently enough.

Cut Fat, Lose Weight and Prevent Cancer


There's now yet another compelling reason to lose weight and cut consumption of unhealthy Omega-6 fats from vegetable sources. Research released from the Institute of Food Technologists indicates that as many as 1 in 3 cancer deaths could be prevented by reducing consumption of corn and vegetable oils and cutting calories.

It's important to understand that fat itself is not the enemy, as it's an essential nutrient required for normal cellular function. The problem arises when the balance of Omega-6 and Omega-3 fats are disproportional in our diet.

Humans have evolved with a 1:1 ratio of the two fat sources, yet our modern diet is closer to 20:1 in favor of Omega-6 fats. This causes a hormonal imbalance in the body which leads to inflammation, weight gain and increased risk of heart attack and many cancers. Monitoring Omega fat intake is an important first step which will assist with weight loss efforts and lead to reduced risk from many diseases.

Evolution Controls Our Diet

More than 750,000 people die from cancer annually, and the results from this study indicate that a quarter million lives could be spared with a concerted effort to control calories and Omega-6 fat consumption. Our genes are the product of thousands of years of evolution during times when Omega-3 fat sources such as fish and many nuts and seeds were plentiful. Every cell in our body relies on the critical Omega-3 components, EPA and DHA for replication and cell wall construction.

It's only been during the past half century that Omega-6 fats from corn and vegetable sources have become an ever increasing part of our diet, and have now distorted the natural evolutionary ratio we require for optimal health. Omega-6 fats are very stable, allowing food to sit on store shelves for extended periods, and are present in virtually all processed foods.

Lower Omega-6 Fats by Cutting Processed and Fast Foods

Omega-6 fats are present in virtually every processed food on store shelves, with up to 90% of fat calories in our diet coming from this health endangering source. Take a two step approach to reduce Omega-6 calories and improve the ratio with Omega-3 fats.

Eliminate or drastically reduce foods which are packed with Omega-6 fats, including all commercially baked products, fast foods and vegetable based cooking oils. Be especially mindful to cut any foods listing hydrogenated trans fats, as these increase the risk of heart disease by 25%.

Increase Omega-3 Fat Sources to Lower Inflammation

Replace Omega-6 laden foods with Omega-3 healthy options. The best Omega-3 source is fish, as it provides the perfect balance of DHA and EPA, the two primary Omega-3 fats. Fish Oil supplements are a good choice for people who don't enjoy fish.

Nuts and seeds also have smaller amounts of Omega-3 fats, with walnuts, flax and chia seeds rising to the top of the list. It's important to remember that food from any fat source still contains 9 calories per gram, so be careful when substituting and track your daily calories with nutritional software.

Research is beginning to uncover the hidden dangers in the unnatural processed foods which make up a large portion of the Western diet. We are continually reminded that the foods we eat have a direct and immediate impact on our future health and body weight.

Monitor your food choices carefully, paying close attention to the Omega fat ratios and switch to a reduced calorie lifestyle. You'll enjoy the healthy benefits of dramatically lowered risk of cancer and many illnesses while you naturally maintain a healthy weight.

Read More Expert Advice on Diet, Health and Nutrition, and Download your Free Weight Loss EBook!

John Phillip is a Health Researcher and Author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation to enhance and improve the quality and length of life. John is the author of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan', a comprehensive EBook explaining how to use Diet, Exercise and Targeted Supplementation to achieve your Weight Loss goal. Visit My Optimal Health Resource to continue reading the latest health news updates, and to download your Free 48 page copy of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan'.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Don't Be Extremely Hungry When Dieting

Being hungry can be a pleasant feeling if you are at a restaurant waiting for your favorite meal to arrive, but if you are on a diet, it is a whole different story. Nowadays most of us have plenty of food and getting more is just a matter of going shopping. However, your brain doesn’t know that. Evolutionally we are still living in the times when the people had to struggle for every meal. On a biological level eating is so important to us, that being hungry overrides about everything else. Your brain is demanding , even forcing you to find something to eat, because the energy levels are getting low, which can be dangerous, even deadly.

Whenever your dieting demands a lot of willpower, you are risking your success. Having to fight against your inner survival system is hard work and not pleasant at all, and the longer you continue, the more likely it is that you fall off the wagon. Many diet plans take this into account and suggest “free days”, when you get to eat anything you want to, to make it easier to continue on the diet. In other words, you only have to suffer for six days a week and the seventh is for resting (or whichever the system). This might work for some people, but is not the best long term solution. It can also lead to unnecessary binge eating on the free days.

Another good reason for the “free days” is to avoid the energy saving mode your body will turn itself into, if you keep your calorie intake too low for a longer period. The body doesn’t know you are trying to lose weight, and it starts to protect you from your diet instead. If that happens, your weight stalls and you would have to eat even less to keep losing weight.

Many low-calorie diets are about different ways to eat very little but try to make it seem like you were eating more. Short diets are about will-power: you get fast results if you can handle being hungry for three-four days. In both cases, you will end up being hungry. If you really want to go through a short diet, there are some things to do to make it a bit easier to succeed. Clean up your cupboards and make sure there are no temptations at home. Go shopping before the diet and stay away from groceries and malls while on the diet. Make plans and keep yourself busy for the duration of the diet. Short diets can be a good solution if you want to lose weight fast just before a special event.

Low-calorie diets are often high in carbohydrates and low in fat, which makes sense calorie-wise: fat has nine calories in a gram whereas carbohydrates have only four! But what would you say if I told you that carbohydrates are the only macro-nutrients which can cause weight gain? If you are gaining weight, it’s very likely that your body has problems with processing high amounts of carbohydrates (remember, we are evolutionally still in the past where we didn’t have refined carbohydrates around every corner), and if that is the case, you can gain weight even on a low-calorie diet, if the calories come mostly from carbs.

Carbohydrates make you hungry as well. High carbohydrate loads raise the blood glucose level, and the pancreas will secrete insulin to get it back to normal. Insulin is very effective and fast. It gets the blood sugar level back to normal and usually even below, making us hungry right after eating. Protein and fat keep you satisfied for longer, and the people on a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet report not being hungry at all even if they have chosen to limit their calorie intake.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Helping Your Overweight Child


Be Supportive.

One of the most important things you can do to help overweight children is to let them know that they are OK whatever their weight. Children's feelings about themselves often are based on their parents' feelings about them. If you accept your children at any weight, they will be more likely to accept and feel good about themselves.

It is also important to talk to your children about weight, allowing them to share their concerns with you. Your child probably knows better than anyone else that he or she has a weight problem. For this reason, overweight children need support, acceptance, and encouragement from their parents.

Focus on the family.

Parents should try not to set children apart because of their weight, but focus on gradually changing their family's physical activity and eating habits. Family involvement helps to teach everyone healthful habits and does not single out the overweight child.

Increase your family's physical activity.

Regular physical activity, combined with healthy eating habits, is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight. It is also an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Some simple ways to increase your family's physical activity include the following:

  • Be a role model for your children. If your children see that you are physically active and have fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active for the rest of their lives.

    Plan family activities that provide everyone with exercise and enjoyment, like walking, dancing, biking, or swimming. For example, schedule a walk with your family after dinner instead of watching TV. Make sure that you plan activities that can be done in a safe environment.

  • Be sensitive to your child's needs. Overweight children may feel uncomfortable about participating in certain activities. It is important to help your child find physical activities that they enjoy and that aren't embarrassing or too difficult.

  • Reduce the amount of time you and your family spend in sedentary activities, such as watching TV or spending time on the computer.

  • Become more active throughout your day and encourage your family to do so as well. For example, walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, or do some activity during a work or school break-get up and stretch or walk around.

The point is not to make physical activity an unwelcome chore, but to make the most of the opportunities you and your family have to be active.

Teach your family healthy eating habits.

Teaching healthy eating practices early will help children approach eating with the right attitude -- that food should be enjoyed and is necessary for growth, development, and for energy to keep the body running.

The best way to begin is to learn more about children's nutritional needs by reading or talking with a health professional and then to offer them some healthy options, allowing your children to choose what and how much they eat.