Showing posts with label healthy food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy food. Show all posts

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Healthy Eating To Lose Weight!


Looking for a healthy eating plan

If you type healthy eating plan into Google, your search will return an astonishing 335,000 results!  That’s a lot of companies providing various healthy eating plans… and a lot of people searching for healthy eating plans and easy ways to lose weight too! So how do you know if you’ve found the right one?
The Government has eight guidelines for a healthy diet and Slimming World’s healthy eating plan,Food Optimising, agrees with every single one!  On top of that, it’s a healthy eating plan based on orthodox nutrition, where choice is of the utmost importance.

So if you’re one of those people who have typed in ‘healthy eating plan’ and found our website, read on to discover why you’ve come to the right place!

Guideline 1: enjoy your food

Food Optimising, our evidence-based healthy eating plan positively encourages you to eat unlimited amounts of Free Food, which need never be counted or measured, so you need never go hungry, and we strongly recommend you don't deprive yourself of your favourites either!

Guideline 2: eat a variety of different foods

Variety and choice are key to success. At Slimming World no food is banned, no food group is left out, and eating a wide range of different foods is actively encouraged. Don't believe it? Follow our healthy eating plan for just 3 months and try to prove us wrong!

Guideline 3: eat the right amount to be a healthy weight

Based on a scientific understanding of appetite and how to satisfy it, our healthy eating plan helps you learn to make healthy food choices, which naturally limit your calorie intake without counting a single calorie.

Guideline 4: eat plenty of foods rich in starch and fibre

Whichever Food Optimising choice you go for, there's a huge wealth of starchy, fibre-rich options to choose from including  pasta, potatoes, rice, pulses, cereals, bread, Food Optimising ensures that your body receives the recommended daily amount of fibre to keep your body healthy.

Guideline 5: don't eat too many foods that contain a lot of fat

Unlike other diets, at Slimming World those fatty foods that we crave so much are not banned when you’re healthy eating. Plan to make different choices – we’ll show you how in group, and by staying within your chosen allocation of Syns, you will naturally limit your intake of fatty foods and continue to lose weight.

Guideline 6: don't have sugary foods and drinks too often

Sugary foods and drinks are naturally limited by their designated Syn values. On our healthy eating plan, diet and low-cal drinks are Free! Also for a healthier chocolate fix, we even have nutritious, fibre-filled Hifi bars!

Guideline 7: look after the vitamins and minerals in your food

Our healthy eating plan positively encourages us to include foods high in essential vitamins and minerals, by choosing Free Foods and Healthy Extras.

Guideline 8: if you drink alcohol, drink within sensible limits

Simply include your drinks within your normal 5-15 Syns daily. That way you will naturally stay within the recommended intake levels.
Unlike faddy, short-term dieting, a healthy eating plan should be enjoyable, delicious and family-friendly, not to mention generous and flexible enough to follow for life-long success. 
Any healthy eating plan that tells you that, to lose weight, you won’t need to change a thing is lying!  At Slimming World we will ask you to make simple and achievable changes to the way you shop, cook and eat… and the results will benefit your health, help your weight loss and simply amaze you.

To Find Out More, Please visit: http://www.slimmingworld.com/useful-features/healthy-eating-plan.aspx

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

How to Lose Weight Quickly!!!




High Energy Foods For Weight Loss


In a world where we are working more, and more hours, eating high energy food is crucial in ensuring we have enough energy to complete work or housekeeping tasks, after all, our bodies and mind need an element of good housekeeping too.

High energy can be gained through different foods, but it’s how these foods are eaten which is the prime contributor in boosting our energy. The balance of these foods is crucial. You need to have a good mixture of carbohydrates; which include, potatoes, nuts, assorted veg, fruit and berries; protein, which include white and red meats, fish, eggs and nuts, and finally, essential fats.
However, it must be noted, that eating carbs can lead to a catch-22 situation, your body can only burn off so much at one time. So if you don’t eat enough you won’t gain enough energy, eat too much and you’ll put on weight.
Additionally, eating the right carbs is also important, for example, sugary carbs will only give you short and sharp energy boosts which are good when you need energy for short periods, but in the long run they’ll make you put weight on. If you want to maintain your energy levels then the different foods which follow are your best bet.
To keep your energy levels from yo-yoing. It’s imperative that you don’t “starve” yourself in between meals, as this will affect your blood sugar which is the key factor behind this yo-yoing effect. You can reach a high energy plateau by eating healthy snacks every, say, three hours.

Below are some very good foods for producing a steady stream of energy:

Energy Producing Foods
Brown pasta
Brown rice
Apples (an apple a day really does keep the doctor away, no, really!!)
Peanut butter
Apricots
Figs
Oatmeal
Spinach
Carrots
Yams
Low fat yoghurt
Whole grain foods
Almonds
Bananas
Pears
Potatoes

Protein Producing Foods
Eggs
Cheese
Milk (except Soya)
Full fat and Greek Yoghurt
Fish
Shellfish
Nuts (especially pine nuts)
Beef
Lamb
Pork
Veal
Chicken
Duck
Game
Turkey
Pea and ham soup
Pulses

In addition, it’s important that your body is fully hydrated. Hydration is valuable as it will stop you feeling fatigued, and help give your muscles the water they need. Water will also flush those toxins (which can sap your energy) out of your body. So make sure you drink plenty, cut back on alcohol and caffeine consumption.

Finally, if you are consuming high levels of salt, then perhaps a reduction in your sodium intake will be beneficial. Excess sodium will make you retain water, making you bloated and feeling sluggish.

Article Source: http://www.fit-not-fat.com/high-energy-food.html

Sunday, 24 February 2013

How to Lose Weight by Running


Dieter on ScaleMany people begin running because they want to lose weight. 

As one of the most vigorous exercises out there, running is an extremely efficient way to burn calories and drop pounds. 

A 150-pound person will burn approximately 100 calories per mile when running. 

If you're hoping to use running to lose weight, here's some advice on how to be successful.


1. Healthy Eating is the First Step

If you want to lose weight by running, keep in mind that you'll only shed pounds if you burn more calories than you consume. To lose a pound, you have to burn, through exercise or life functions, about 3500 calories. So you'll need to combine running with a healthy diet. Runners do have special nutrition needs, but the basic principles for healthy eating still apply. Try choosing smaller portions of high-fat and high-calorie foods and eating more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

One common eating mistake among runners is that they overcompensate for the calories burned by exercise with extra calories from more food and beverages. Some runners even find that they gain weight or hit a weight loss wall, despite their regular training.
One way to prevent "stealth calorie" consumption or mindless eating is to write everything you're eating in a journal for a few weeks. Seeing a record of your food intake will help you see where your diet needs improvement. It will also keep you on track because you'll think twice before putting that chocolate-covered donut in your mouth.
2. Follow a training schedule.
Sticking to a training schedule is a simple way to stay motivated to run. You'll know exactly what you need to do every day and each run builds on the next, so it's much harder to postpone or skip workouts. Following a schedule can also help you avoid a running injury by not increasing your mileage too quickly. 
3. Run Regularly
If you don't want to follow a schedule, you still need to have some consistency with your running because you won't lose weight by running once a week. It's best to get some activity every day but, if that's not possible, try to shoot for at least 3-4 times per week.
4. Keep it Challenging
Incorporating speed work or interval training (running at a very fast speed for short intervals of time) into your running routine can also help your weight loss efforts. Speed work burns a great amount of calories in a short period of time. You'll also increase your muscle mass and improve your resting metabolism, causing you to burn more calories throughout the day.
5. Eat for Performance
If you're running regularly and you're training for a long-distance event, proper nutrition is especially critical for your performance. Skipping meals doesn't allow you to train with adequately fueled muscles. You shouldn't skimp on calories before, during (when necessary), and immediately after your very intense and long workouts. These are crucial times when nutrition is important to performance and recovery.

To get training schedules, please visit: http://running.about.com/od/runningandweightloss/a/weightloss.htm

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

The 48-Hour Weight-Loss Jump Start


This 2-day weight-loss jump start has a workout and diet plan to help you drop pounds and feel healthier and full of energy.

Can You Really Lose Weight in 48 Hours?

The short answer to what you really want to know: no, it's unlikely you'll lose any real weight in 48 hours.

unknown.jpg"Experts recommend a safe level of losing two pounds per week," says FITNESS magazine's Fitness Director, Mary Christ Anderson.

"One pound equals 3,500 calories, so to lose a pound in two days, you'd need to eat 2,500 fewer calories" -- a crash diet that, really, no one should ever attempt.

However, it is possible to start developing healthy exercise and eating habits in just two days, which will set you up to drop the weight that you want -- five pounds, 10 pounds, or more.

To start, make a "plan of attack," suggests Harley Pasternak, celebrity trainer and creator of The 5-Factor Diet. Draft a grocery list to buy enough grub for 5 small meals a day.

You'll also want to schedule when you'll eat and work out, just as you would write down a hair appointment or a dinner date.

Need some extra incentive? Pick up some new workout gear. "A new pair of athletic shoes can give you that extra push to be active," says Pasternak. "They can act as a catalyst between the mind and the body to increase motivation and improve performance."

To Get Started, please visit: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/tips/48-hour-weight-loss-jumpstart/

Very Helpful Food Diary. A MUST To Succeed!

Online Food Diary Screenshot

Food Diary - Log Your Food

Our online food diary lets you record what you’ve eaten and find out how many calories you consume. See how many calories you’ve got left as you add foods each day – helping you to keep on track with your diet.
You can add foods from our database of over 60,000 UK foods and from our recipes or food plans. You can even create and calorie count your own recipes and food plans.
  • See the calorie and nutrition info for over 60,000 UK foods – including basics, brands, fast foods and restaurant foods.
  • Find out how many calories you need each day to lose weight.
  • Easily track your daily calories by adding foods to your diary. Our program tells you what you’ve had and what you’ve got left.
  • Create and calorie count your own recipes and food plans. Add them to your food diary with just a few clicks.
  • Browse our recipes and food plans if you need a helping hand or some inspiration. Easily add them straight to your diary.
  • Food favourites feature to make it easier for you to add foods you have often to your diary.
  • 5-a-day fruit and veg counter
  • Reports and charts to help you balance your calories and see your nutrition.
  • Food journal facility, so you can write about how your diet is going and pinpoint what triggers certain behaviour.
  • Access to hundreds of articles including taste tests, healthy diet info and advice from respected dietitians.


But the best thing about the Weight Loss Resources' food diary is that you can try it for free.


How to Make Your Body Burn More Calories


Burning Calories

There are three ways of burning calories. Here's what they are and how you can influence your body into burning more calories.

How to Make Your Body Burn More Calories

You can make weight loss quicker and easier by increasing your metabolic rate and burning more calories.
Metabolic Rate is the rate at which the body burns up calories. A body that consumes 2500 calories a day, and burns 2500 calories a day will stay at the same weight. A body consuming 2500 calories daily but burning only 2000 will gain weight at the rate of about 1lb a week.
This explains why that ‘lucky’ person across the table from you doesn’t get fat from all that junk food.
You can do quite a lot to speed up your metabolism – the secret of burning calories lies in knowing what determines your metabolic rate and what you can do to influence it.

You burn calories to provide energy for three main functions:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

This is the amount of calories you burn just by being alive – even when you are lying down, doing nothing. BMR accounts for approximately 60% of the calories burned for an average person.

Burning Calories for Activity

This is the energy used during movement – from lifting your arm to operate the remote control to cleaning the windows. This accounts for approximately 30% of the calories burned by an average person.

Dietary Thermogenesis

The ‘thermogenic effect’ described as meal-induced heat production – the calories burned in the process of eating, digesting, absorbing and using food.

How to Speed Up Your Rate of Burning Calories

You can influence all these factors, and speed up your rate of burning calories using some, or all, of the following tactics:

Build Muscle

Increase the amount of muscle in your body. For every extra pound of muscle you put on, your body uses around 50 extra calories a day. In a recent study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is ‘metabolically active’ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.
Training with weights just 3 times a week for around 20 minutes is enough to build muscle. Not only will you be burning more calories, you’ll look better – whatever your weight.

Move More

Although the average person burns around 30% of calories through daily activity, many sedentary people only use around 15%. Simply being aware of this fact – and taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn.
The trick is to keep the ‘keep moving’ message in mind. Write the word ‘move’ on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll notice them when you’re sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move – here’s some ideas for burning calories:
  • Tap your feet
  • Swing your legs
  • Drum your fingers
  • Stand up and stretch
  • Move your head from side to side
  • Change position
  • Wriggle and fidget
  • Pace up and down
  • Don’t use the internal phone – go in person
  • Use the upstairs loo
  • Park in the furthest corner of the car park
  • Stand up when you’re on the phone
  • Clench and release your muscles
You’ll find lots of opportunities for burning more calories if you remember that you’re looking for them! Keep thinking ‘keep moving’.

Eat Spicy Food

There is evidence to show that spices, especially chilli, can raise the metabolic rate by up to 50% for up to 3 hours after you’ve eaten a spicy meal.
Drinks containing caffeine also stimulate the metabolism, as does green tea.

Aerobic Exercise

As well as the actual amount of calories burned during exercise – studies have shown that sustained, high-intensity exercise makes you burn more calories for several hours afterwards.
Try 30 minute sessions of heart rate raising exercise, such as vigorous walking, step aerobics, jogging, cycling or swimming, 3-4 times a week.

Eat Little and Often

There is some evidence to suggest that eating small, regular meals will keep your metabolism going faster than larger, less frequent meals. There are two reasons why meal frequency may affect your metabolism. Firstly, levels of thyroid hormones begin to drop within hours of eating a meal, and metabolism slows. Secondly, it may be that the thermogenic effect of eating several small meals is slightly higher than eating the same amount of calories all at once.
Provided your small meals don’t degenerate into quick-fix, high fat, high sugar snacks, eating little and often can also help to control hunger and make you less likely binge.

Take Our Free Trial

... to find out how many calories you are burning each day, and how many you are eating. It takes just 2 minutes to get instant access to all our great tools:
  • Daily Calorie Allowance - tailored to you;
  • Interactive Goal Setting tool - set a goal that works for you;
  • Online Food and Exercise Diary - the easy way to count calories;
  • Calorie and Nutrition Database - quickly find how many calories are in the foods and drinks you consume;
  • and Exercise Database - see how many extra calories you burn doing the activities you enjoy.

Sunday, 17 February 2013

Excellent Tips To Help You Lose Weight


When it comes to losing weight, it is much easier said than done. If you have previously tried to shed a few pounds and failed, you are not alone. Millions of people attempt to lose weight each year to no avail. This isn't because they aren't capable of losing weight, and it doesn't mean they are lazy and without will power. All it means is that they don't have the right information with regards to weight loss. The following article is full of helpful tips and tricks that is sure to get you to your ideal weight. Read on and learn.
If you are trying to lose weight, you may be tempted to skip a meal or two here and there. However, this is simply a terrible idea. Starving yourself will not get you the results you desire, and it can seriously affect your health in a negative way. It may even cause weight gain, as your metabolism will drop a great deal. Instead, make sure to eat smaller meals throughout the day, spaced out every few hours. Eat breakfast so as to start your metabolism, and try to have your last meal before 8 pm. This method will keep you full throughout the day so that you won't have any hunger pangs, which will also reduce the likelihood of you having junk food cravings.
Consider taking a brisk walk prior to eating each meal. This will get your blood pumping and ready for digestion, while burning a few extra calories at the same time. In addition, when you workout right before you eat, you are more conscious of the foods you are consuming, so the chances of you making a poor decision for your meal is lessened dramatically. It also has the added benefit of giving your metabolism a little boost before each meal.
When it comes to snacks, how many times have you reached for a box of whatever is around and just started eating right out of it? This is never a good idea, because you don't realize how much you are consuming. Instead, make sure you take one serving of said snack, and then put the box away. While you still might be hungry, give yourself enough time to digest before going back for a second serving. Try and wait at least 15 minutes to give your stomach a chance to signal your brain that you are full.
One common misconception people have about losing weight is that they have to eat less. But if you forget about eating less and instead focus on introducing healthy foods into your system, you can actually consume more food than ever before. For example, consider adding more greens in the form of large salad. You will find them both filling and tasty.
Losing weight is going to be an uphill battle, but it isn't one that you are going to lose. Just make sure you use the tips mentioned in the article above, and you are sure to get the body you have always wanted.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Ashraf_Hanafy_Mahmoud_Mohammed Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7500551