Plan Your Diet & Weight Loss

When we discover that we are heavier than we want to be, we have a natural inclination to eat less food. We may skip lunch or eat only a tiny amount of our dinner in the hope that if we eat less our body will burn off some of its fat. But that is not necessarily true. Eating less actually makes it more difficult to lose weight.

Keep in mind that the human body took shape millions of years ago, and at that time there were diets. The only low-calorie event in people's lives was starvation. Those who could cope with a temporary lack of food were the ones who survived. Our bodies, therefore, have developed this built-in mechanism to help us survive in the face of low food intake.

People who diet without exercising often get fatter with time. Although your weight may initially drop while dieting, such weight loss consists mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid getting fatter over time, increase your metabolism by exercising regularly.

Three universal goals most of us share are: to live longer, to live free of illness and to control our weight. Interesting enough, normal walking lets us achieve all three. In fact, walking may be man's best medicine for slowing the aging process. First, it works almost every muscle in the body, improving circulation to the joints and massaging the blood vessels (keeping them more elastic). Walking also helps us maintain both our muscle mass and metabolism as we age. It also keeps us young in spirit. For anyone out of shape or unathletically inclined, walking is the no-stress, no-sweat answer to lifelong conditioning.

Select an exercise routine that you are comfortable with and remember that walking is one of the best and easiest exercises for strengthening your bones, controlling your weight and toning your muscles.

Start your diet with a food diary, record everything you eat, what you were doing at the time, and how you felt. That tells you about yourself, your temptation, the emotional states that encourage you to snack and may help you lose once you see how much you eat.

When researchers compare overweight and thin people, they find that they eat roughly the same number of calories. What makes overweight people different is the amount of fat that they eat. Thin people tend to eat less fat and more complex carbohydrates.

Losing weight is not something one can do overnight. A carefully planned weight loss program requires common sense and certain guidelines. Unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformation floating around and lots of desperate people are easily duped and ripped off.

Instead of eating the forbidden piece of candy, brush your teeth. If you're about to cheat, allow yourself a treat, then eat only half a bite and throw the other half away. When hunger hits, wait 10 minutes before eating and see if it passes. Set attainable goals. Don't say, "I want to lose 50 pounds." Say, "I want to lose 5 pounds a month." Get enough sleep but not too much. Try to avoid sugar. Highly sweetened foods tend to make

you crave more.

Drink six to eight glasses of water a day. Water itself helps cut down on water retention because it acts as a diuretic. Taken before meals, it dulls the appetite by giving you that "full feeling." Diet with a buddy. Support groups are important, and caring people can help one another succeed. Start your own, even with just one other person.

Every day one can open a magazine or newspaper and see advertisements touting some new product, pill or patch that will take excess weight off quickly. Everyone seems to be looking for that "magic" weight loss pill. Millions of Americans are trying to lose weight, spending billions of dollars every year on diet programs and products. Often they do lose some weight. But, if you check with the same people five years later, you will find that nearly all have regained whatever weight they lost.

A survey was done recently to try and determine if any commercial diet program could prove long-term success. Not a single program could do so. So rampant has the so-called diet industry become with new products and false claims that the FDA has now stepped in and started clamping down.

Being seriously overweight and particularly obesity can develop into a number of diseases and serious health problems, and it is now a known fact that when caloric intake is excessive, some of the excess frequently is saturated fat.

The myth is that people get heavy by eating too many calories. Calories are a consideration it's true, but overall they are not the cause of obesity in America today. Americans actually take in fewer calories each day than they did at the beginning of the century. If calories alone were the reason we become overweight, we should all be thin. But we are not.

Collectively, we are heavier than ever. Partly, it is because we are more sedentary now. But equally, as important is the fact that the fat content of the American diet has changed dramatically.

Weigh yourself once a week at the same time. Your weight fluctuates constantly and you can weigh more at night than you did in the morning, a downer if you stuck to your diet all day. Make dining an event. East from your own special plate, on your own special placemat, and borrow the Japanese art of food arranging to make your meal, no matter how meager, look lovely. This is a trick that helps chronic over-eaters and bingers pay attention to their food instead of consuming it unconsciously.

Lose weight for yourself, not to please your husband, your parents or your friends. Make the kitchen off-limits at any time other than mealtime. Always eat at the table, never in front of the TV set or with the radio on. Concentrate on eating every mouthful slowly and savoring each morsel. Chew everything from 10 to 20 times and count! Never skip meals.

This much can be assumed with diet pills: they are expensive and don't address the basics of sensible weight loss: change of mindset about life, balanced pill-free nutrition and exercise. The real problem with diet pills and supplements is that they have side-effects, which make taking them in the long-term unreasonable. Quit taking the pills and the weight almost always comes back. If any diet pill really worked in the long-term it would be impossible to avoid in our society.

If one seriously wants to succeed at weight loss, they will follow the strategy of those 5% who actually lose weight and keep it off beyond 3 years: eat balanced nutrition and exercise. The best option for long-term success in regards to exercise, are lifestyle exercise sports like tennis, hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, dancing, etcetera... These are the type of activities that you don't think of as exercise and will lead to a lasting victory over your weight problems. Find a basic food plan or choose one of the inexpensive/sensible commercial programs, add lifestyle sports and you have all the ingredients of the best possible option.

Diet pills will only lead to heartache, continued frustration and a lighter wallet. The bottom line is, make a commitment to a plan that is sensible and works or forget about weight loss and be happy with yourself.

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A Whole Foods Diet

A whole foods diet essentially ensures that all the systems get the proper required nutrition and hence work as a life giving force to the body systems. Whole foods carry out all the requirements of good diet - absorption, assimilation and elimination, and these are the basis of a healthy body system. Synthetic or processed foods often disrupt this system and hence create conditions of disease in the body. Over a period of time they can create some really serous problems, most irreversible.

So what exactly are whole foods? These are food stuffs that have not been chemically, genetically or on any other way, tampered with. They are natural, raw produce of nature. These include vegetables that are grown without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides, cereals that are not polished or processed in any way. They are free of all additives, coloring or anything else. Besides, whole foods are seasonal foods, being taken from as close to he source as possible, and are not preserved by freezing or any other way. In most Eastern and Asian countries, the common man gets to eat these kinds of foods only, since they cannot afford to process or treat their growth. Their basic diet is of natural foods, and still contains the nutrition required for properly digesting foods eaten. But in developed countries, getting this simple produce of nature can be quite a strain ...how this reflects on our concept of development!!!!!

Tips for a Balanced Diet

Keep up to date on modern nutrition and get tips for a healthy balanced diet. What foods to eat, what foods to avoid, and how food can be a medicine to achieve optimum health. Food has undergone many changes as science and technology have progressed and many new aspects of food were revealed. Nutrition took on a mantle of its own and today forms a very important part in dictating our daily food intake. No longer do most people just eat to live.

Nutrition has been classified into six major nutrition groups namely carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. Each one has a role to play in providing a balanced diet to the body. Another way of classifying food is the food pyramid, which covers Fat, Dairy, Meats, Fruits and Vegetables, and Grains.

Each food group has its own part to play in the overall diet of an individual. To avoid stomach disorders and other food related problems, such as indigestion and ulcers, one has to try and eat a balanced meal which contains as many food groups as possible. This is turn will lead to a balanced diet wherein all food ingested is nutritious and can be utilized by the body without any wastage.

Avoid starchy food, fatty foods, foods heavy in spices, and foods with additives wherever possible as these do not aid digestion. Similarly, an excess of salt and sugar would be harmful and the benefits that these foods normally provide would be lost. Every food item plays a small part in our overall nutrition and health. Anything that is too little or too much would upset the balance of the body and its system.

As with all other fields, food too has seen a lot of innovation and variety. Unfortunately along with the good food there are also a whole range of foods which has a feel good factor to it but does nothing for the health of the person. These are called empty calorie foods in the form of soft drinks, various types of snacks, processed food, etc. Temptation is very difficult to resist so one must strike a balance wherein all desires for food are covered without compromising on the nutrition required by the body.

A good, balanced diet would ideally consist of a controlled intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sugar and salt, and meats, whilst eating enough fruits, vegetables, wholegrain products, low fat or normal fat dairy products, good fats such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils, fat-free meats, poultry, and lentils. Last but not least, check the calorie count of the food on your plate.

There is a lot of nutritional information available regarding the content of food and its calorific value. Investing in a guide and eating your way to good health without being obsessive could pay rich dividends by way of health. Along with all this, a sustained and energetic exercise regime will go a long way to a healthy you.

Morning Walk

There are many ways you could possibly benefit from an exercise as simple as morning walk. Up front, in today’s irritatingly fast world, you deprive your self of the much needed oxygen, that is anyways getting depleted with time. The earliest hours in the morning would probably give you this and the quality time to spend with the greenery around you, and observe around you things that only perhaps writers and poets around you seem to notice.

The oxygen that you get earliest in the morning also gives great amount of energy especially to your joints. The movement in your legs releases the good cholesterol in your blood, opening up some of the "chakras" or channels of energy, constantly moving your joints and increasing your blood circulation in a way that can only be completed with your daily morning walk.

Besides a lot of things put together, a lot of people have noticed that despite the universally addictive feeling of laziness to leave their cosy bed, realize that a stroll helps in reducing stress. The wintry air in the morning that is at its coolest, soothes your nerves and allows your toxins to get cleared.

A naturally available medicine, your morning walk also allows you to get rid of any gastric blockages that might not allow you to get a sound sleep, and also adding to the excesses of pain to your body. Most diabetics have noticed a remarkable decline in their blood sugar levels, thanks to their regular promenades, especially the one taken earliest in the morning.

Weight Loss

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, one of the most important things that you can do is manage your weight. Being overweight can affect your blood sugar levels dramatically since fat cells can become resistant to insulin, causing your blood sugar levels to rise. Losing just 10-20 pounds can make a huge impact on your diabetes. In fact, getting down to your recommended weight can get you off of diabetic medicine and allow you to live a healthier lifestyle.

You should never begin a weight loss diet on your own if you are a diabetic. Talk with your doctor and a diabetic educator. Set up an appointment to meet with a registered dietician. Losing weight on your own without the guidance of your doctor can be dangerous to a diabetic. Your diabetic medicines will probably need to be adjusted as you lose weight, so it is important to have your doctor involved.Start by cutting back by 500 calories per day.

This is safe for most diabetics and will promote weight loss. The ideal goal is cut back on carbohydrates, proteins and fats equally. Your diet should consist of 50%-55% carbohydrates, 30% fats and 10%-15% proteins.Carbohydrates are very important in a diabetic diet. They have the biggest impact on blood sugar levels.Carbohydrates are broken down into sugars very early in the digestion process. It is important to get a refresher course on carbohydrates and how to measure them from the dietician. Watch your blood sugar levels carefully when following a weight loss plan.You are at an increased risk for becoming hypoglycemic, especially if you are exercising and losing weight but haven't adjusted your diabetic medications.

If you start to feel nauseated, sweating or have trouble concentrating, have your blood sugar level checked immediately. It is a good idea to always carry fruit juices or other snacks with you.Different types of exercise affect your blood sugar levels in different ways. The aerobic exercises such as, running or anything that gets your heart rate up, will drop your blood sugar immediately.

More strenuous exercise or weight lifting can drop your blood sugar hours later. It is important to plan accordingly for the type of exercising that you are doing.Over time this will not be a problem as you lose the weight and are able to reduce your diabetic medication or maybe stop it altogether.Do plenty of research on the best diabetic weight loss plans.

Talk with your doctor and keep him updated frequently of your progress. Make sure that you follow a weight loss plan that is approved by your dietician or diabetic educator.Weight loss in never easy and it is a special challenge for someone with diabetes. However, the benefits of losing the weight far outweigh the alternative of living the rest of your life with diabetes.

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Right Health Weight Loss

How to Weight Loss

OverWeight

Overweight is generally defined as having more body fat (adipose tissue) than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. As much as 64% of the United States adult population is considered either overweight or obese, and this percentage has increased over the last four decades.[1] A series of graphics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the trend in which the prevalence of obesity has increased in the U.S. during the past three decades: Obesity Epidemic: U.S. Temporal Trends 1985-2004 Excess weight has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults being either overweight or obese. Increases have been observed across all age groups.

A healthy body requires a minimum amount of fat for the proper functioning of the hormonal, reproductive, and immune systems, as thermal insulation, as shock absorption for sensitive areas, and as energy for future use. But the accumulation of too much storage fat can impair movement and flexibility, and can alter the appearance of the body.

CAUSES:
Being overweight is generally caused by the intake of more calories (by eating) than are expended by the body (by exercise and everyday living). Factors which may contribute to this imbalance include:
Limited physical exercise and sedentary lifestyle Overeating Poor nutrition Genetic predisposition Hormonal imbalances (e.g. hypothyroidism) Metabolic disorders, which could be caused by repeated attempts to lose weight by weight cycling, Eating disorders (such as binge eating) Alcoholism Stress Insufficient or poor-quality sleep Psychotropic medication (e.g. olanzapine) Smoking cessation and other stimulant withdrawal.

Treatment:
A large number of people undergo some form of treatment to attempt to reduce their weight, usually either in an attempt to improve their health, to improve their lifestyle, or for cosmetic reasons. The generally recommended treatment for being overweight is a modified or controlled diet in conjunction with increased physical exercise. For those who are obese rather than overweight, more intensive therapies such as anti-obesity drugs and/or bariatric surgery are sometimes used.

Studies suggest that reducing calorie intake by itself (dieting) may have short-term effects but does not lead to long-term weight loss, and can often result in gaining back all of the lost weight and more in the longer term. For this reason, it is generally recommended that weight-loss diets not be attempted on their own but instead in combination with increased exercise and long-term planning and weight management.

The health benefits of weight loss are also somewhat unclear. While it is generally accepted that for significantly obese patients, losing weight can reduce health risks and improve quality of life, there is some evidence to suggest that for merely overweight patients, the health effects of attempting to lose weight may actually be more detrimental than simply remaining overweight[11]. Moreover, for all individuals, repeatedly losing weight and then gaining it back (weight cycling or "yo-yo dieting"), is believed to do more harm than good and can be the cause of significant additional health problems. This is caused by the loss of more muscle than fat.

There is no healthy, short-term solution for solving obesity, or being overweight. Changes in lifestyle, such as more exercise or dieting, must be permanent changes.

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WHO Fact Sheet on Obesity & OverWeight

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Obesity

What is Obesity ?

The definition of obesity varies depending on what one reads, but in general, it is a chronic condition defined by an excess amount body fat. A certain amount of body fat is necessary for storing energy, heat insulation, shock absorption, and other functions. The normal amount of body fat (expressed as percentage of body fat) is between 25-30% in women and 18-23% in men. Women with over 30% body fat and men with over 25% body fat are considered obese.

What Causes Obesity?

The balance between calorie intake and energy expenditure determines a person's weight. If a person eats more calories than he or she burns, the person gains weight (the body will store the excess energy as fat). If a person eats fewer calories than he or she burns, he or she will lose weight. Therefore the most common causes of obesity are overeating and physical inactivity. At present, we know that there are many factors that contribute to obesity, some of which have a genetic component:

Genetics. A person is more likely to develop obesity if one or both parents are obese. Genetics also affect hormones involved in fat regulation. For example, one genetic cause of obesity is leptin deficiency. Leptin is a hormone produced in fat cells, and also in the placenta. Leptin controls weight by signaling the brain to eat less when body fat stores are too high. If, for some reason the body cannot produce enough leptin, or leptin cannot signal the brain to eat less, this control is lost, and obesity occurs. The role of leptin replacement as a treatment for obesity is currently being explored.

Overeating. Overeating leads to weight gain, especially if the diet is high in fat. Foods high in fat or sugar (e.g., fast food, fried food and sweets,) have high energy density (foods that have a lot of calories in small amount of food). Epidemiology studies have shown that diets high in fat contribute to weight gain.

A diet high in simple carbohydrates. The role of carbohydrates in weight gain is not clear.
Carbohydrates increase blood glucose levels, which in turn stimulate insulin release by the pancreas, and insulin promotes the growth of fat tissue and can cause weight gain. Some scientists believe that simple carbohydrates (sugars, fructose, desserts, soft drinks, beer, wine, etc.) contribute to weight gain because they are more rapidly absorbed into the blood stream than complex carbohydrates (pasta, brown rice, grains, vegetables, raw fruits, etc.) and thus cause a more pronounced insulin release after meals than complex carbohydrates. This higher insulin release, some scientists believe, contribute to weight gain.

Frequency of eating. The relationship between frequency of eating (how often you eat) and weight is somewhat controversial. There are many reports of overweight people eating less often than people with normal weight. Scientists have observed that people who eat small meals four or five times daily, have lower cholesterol levels and lower and/or more stable blood sugar levels than people who eat less frequently (two or three) large meals daily. One possible explanation is that small frequent meals produce stable insulin levels, whereas large meals cause large spikes of insulin after meals.

Slow metabolism. Women have less muscle than men. Muscle burns more calories than other tissue (which includes fat). As a result, women have a slower metabolism than men, and hence, have a tendency to put on more weight than men, and weight loss is more difficult for women. As we age, we tend to lose muscle and our metabolism slows, therefore, we tend to gain weight as we get older particularly if we do not reduce our daily caloric intake.

Physical inactivity. Sedentary people burn fewer calories than people who are active. The National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that physical inactivity was strongly correlated with weight gain in both sexes.

Medications. Medications associated with weight gain include certain antidepressants (medications used in treating depression), anti-convulsants (medications used in controlling seizures such as carbamazepine and valproate), diabetes medications (medications used in lowering blood sugar such as insulin, sulfonylureas and thiazolidinediones), certain hormones such as oral contraceptives and most corticosteroids such as Prednisone. Weight gain may also be seen with some high blood pressure medications and antihistamines.

Psychological factors. For some people, emotions influence eating habits. Many people eat excessively in response to emotions such as boredom, sadness, stress or anger. While most overweight people have no more psychological disturbances than normal weight people, about 30 percent of the people who seek treatment for serious weight problems have difficulties with binge eating.

Diseases such as hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome and Cushing's syndrome are also contributors to obesity.

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