Are Your Relationships Making You Fat?

Are you constantly surrounded by temptation? Can’t say no to those fattening lunch dates, or those home-baked pies from your mother-in-law or to the huge box of chocolates from your partner? The diet is hard enough without high-calorie foods being pushed in your direction.

How can you stick to your resolve?

WebMD experts offer five simple strategies to help you stick to a healthy eating plan (even when you're surrounded by non-dieting friends and loved ones).

1. Make a Statement. It’s up to the dieter to make his or her feelings known. Directly ask your loved ones not to give you food as gifts or eat in front of you. No matter how strong you are, you can't stare fattening foods in the face every day without your willpower breaking down.

2. Keep Temptation Out of Sight. Even if your loved ones agree to eat their fattening goodies when you're not around, ask them to keep it in a cabinet where you don't normally go for your diet foods - you'll be less tempted to eat it.

Be Healthier With Veggies

The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is actually much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.

When you take into account how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount actually equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how easy to reach this daily goal really is.

8 Simple Steps To Eating The Mediterranean Way

1. Eat lots of vegetables. From a simple plate of sliced fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and crumbled feta cheese to stunning salads, garlicky greens, fragrant soups and stews, healthy pizzas, or oven-roasted medleys, vegetables are vitally important to the fresh tastes and delicious flavors of the Med Diet.

2. Change the way you think about meat. If you eat meat, have smaller amounts – small strips of sirloin in a vegetable sauté, or a dish of pasta garnished with diced prosciutto.

3. Always eat breakfast. Start your day with fiber-rich foods such as fruit and whole grains to keep you pleasantly full for hours. Layer granola, yogurt, and fruit, or mash half an avocado with a fork and spread it on a slice of whole grain toast.

4. Eat seafood twice a week. Fish such as tuna, herring, salmon, and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and shellfish including mussels, oysters, and clams have similar benefits for brain and heart health.

5. Cook a vegetarian meal one night a week. Build meals around beans, whole grains, and vegetables, and heighten the flavor with fragrant herbs and spices. Down the road, try two nights per week.

6. Use good fats. Include sources of healthy fats in daily meals, especially extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, olives, and avocados.

7. Enjoy some dairy products. Eat Greek or plain yogurt, and try small amounts of a variety of cheeses.

8. For dessert, eat fresh fruit. Choose from a wide range of delicious fresh fruits — from fresh figs and oranges to pomegranates, grapes and apples. Instead of daily ice cream or cookies, save sweets for a special treat or celebration.




Reference : Oldways

10 Healthy Eating Guidelines

1. Eat plenty of vegetables and fresh fruits
2. Food should be served as close to its natural state as possible to maximise nutrients. Try and enjoy at least 50% raw vegetables and fruit every day.
3. Use cooking methods like steaming, baking, grilling, sauté or stir-frying and eliminate deep fried foods
4. Try not to over cook or reheat vegetables as this causes greater nutrient loss. 
5. Cook with lots of fresh herbs and spices not only for taste but for their health and medicinal  properties. This will also allow you to use less salt. A high salt intake can contribute to high blood  pressure. 
6. Avoid processed foods which are high in preservatives, flavour enhancers such as (MSG / E621), sugar + artificial sweeteners, saturated + trans fats, salt + non-nutritive ingredients that are linked to disease and poor health.
7. Eat small amounts of healthy anti-inflammatory oils such as extra virgin olive oil, avocado, macadamia nut, linseed, almond and walnut oils. Avoid trans fats and hydrogenated oils.

The Basic Of Losing Weight

Failed diets and out of control obesity may lead you to believe that losing weight is difficult but it is quite easy, at least on paper. The only thing you need to do is keep the calories that you burn greater than the calories that you eat.

Failed diets and out of control obesity may lead you to believe that losing weight is difficult but it is quite easy, at least on paper. The only thing you need to do is keep the calories that you burn greater than the calories that you eat.

Your first step is to figure out how many calories you are burning each day. There are a few formulas that have come out over the years that estimate how many calories you burn per day based on your sex, age, weight, height and physical activity. When using these formulas, keep in mind that the number you get gives you an estimate not a number that never changes day to day. It will fluctuate.

Safe weight loss is considered 1-2 pounds per week. While it is possible to lose more, it is extremely unhealthy to do so. So how many calories do you actually have to cut out of your diet? One pound of body fat equals about 3500 calories. If you want to lose one pound in a week, you need to cut 3500 calories out of your diet per week. While this might sound like a lot, per day it comes out to a 500 calorie deficit.

Your next step is to ask yourself how you want to get rid of any unwanted weight. You can cut 500 calories out of your diet per day, or increase the amount of calories you burn by 500 calories per day. A combination of these two methods is the best way to go.

The Miracle Noodle Craze

Miracle Noodle Soup

Calorie-Free 'Miracle Noodles' Are The Latest Diet Craze
A virtually tasteless gelatinous mass doesn't sound that great, does it?
 
That's why they call it the miracle noodle instead. This latest diet-food craze is being used as a replacement for traditional noodles and rice in some American homes, but originally came from Japan. They are called shirataki.

Yummy Or Gross?

Shirataki is produced in warm subtropical regions of Asia made from a plant that goes by many names and kind of resembles a yam. The plant is then ground into a powder and made into a gelatin like substance.  Naturally this gelatin is white colored but because hijiki is added it gains a rather unappealing grey hue.

Although the healthy nature of Konjac is well known in Japan, its general lack of taste relegates it to simply adding texture to dishes like sukiyaki.  It’s hardly considered a food that stands on its own.  Depending on the dish it’s either added in its slab form or in a thin noodle form called Ito Konnyaku (Thread Konjac) or Shirataki.

These noodles are calorie-free, all natural. They have barely any flavor, similar to a rice noodle. They are available in many different styles: angel hair, fettuccine, even as a 'rice' substitute. They don't need to be cooked, really just rinsed off. They can be used in warm or cold dishes, from pasta salads to Ramen.

The Wonders Of Raspberry Ketone

Raspberry Ketone: Fat-Burner in a Bottle

Research has shown that raspberry ketone can help in your weight-loss efforts, especially when paired with regular exercise and a well-balanced diet of healthy and whole foods. Raspberry ketone is the primary aroma compound of red raspberries. This compound regulates adiponectin, a protein used by the body to regulate metabolism. Raspberry ketone causes the fat within your cells to get broken up more effectively, helping your body burn fat faster. The recommended dose is 100mg per day. To get the same benefit from the whole fruit, you'd have to consume 90 pounds of raspberries.

Raspberries Helps You Lose Weight

Raspberries Help You Lose Weight

Raspberries are a small, delicate fruit that are very low in calories, low in fat and high in fiber. They are also full of essential nutrients that can improve your overall health. The variety of nutrients found in raspberries boost digestion, help the immune system, protect against certain diseases and aid in weight loss.

Raspberries are known for being low in calories and fat. A cup of raspberries contains 50 calories and 0 grams of fat. Raspberries are very high in fiber, containing 8 g per cup. They're also a good source of vitamin C, the B vitamins, folic acid, manganese, copper, magnesium and iron. According to the FitDay website, eating 1 cup of red raspberries provides half of the recommended amounts of vitamin C, 60 percent of the RDA for manganese and 33 percent of the RDA for fiber.

So what are the magical benefits of raspberries and how does raspberries help you to lose weight?

Eat This To Shed Off Your Pounds

Read our next article : 10 Food That Helps You Lose Weight

Do You Know Cucumbers Help With Weight Loss?

Cucumbers are vegetables with high water content and few calories per serving. Watery vegetables can help you lose weight when they are used to replace higher-calorie fare. Use cucumbers strategically as part of a low-calorie diet plan to reduce hunger and stimulate weight loss.

Benefits
You can use cucumber to add volume to meals without adding a lot of calories. Cucumbers' high water content can help you feel full, leading you to consume less food at meals. Cucumber acts as a natural diuretic, making you urinate more often, which reduces bloating and water retention, notes Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky.

10 Foods To Help Lose Weight

The foods we consume daily play an important role in our daily struggles to maintain our desired weight. One key factor in order to achieve a healthy weight is to choose what you eat. Starvation is not the answer. In fact, by allowing yourself to eat right, you might lose weight faster than starving.

For healthy weight loss, there are 10 best foods that can help you get through it. These healthy foods will keep you full and satisfied keeping you from unnecessary eating and snacking.

Cucumbers
Cucumbers are packed with water and low in calories. It works like a diuretic and helps improve body fluids and remove excess fats. It helps you lose weight faster.

Apples
Apples are best for its antioxidants properties and abundant in fiber. An apple a day, keeps your fats away.

Oats
Oats are high in fiber and a good choice for breakfast. It provides you energy to jumpstart your day, its rich fiber content helps you feel full longer avoiding overeating later thus help you lose weight.

Blueberries
Berries are great food packed with antioxidants for the body. These blueberries are among the best of its kind, which have the highest antioxidant level. Moreover, the fiber in this fruit will make you feel full for longer period.