Fitness, Health & Diet news

How Hard is the Atkins Diet?

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:12:50 +0000

I’ve tried many diets by the years, and I must say that one of the easier diets I could stick to by a period of duration was the Atkins style diet, which is low carb and nearly complete avoidance of things like pasta, bread, potatoes and the like.

Basically, you watch the carb count in your foods rather than the fat or calorie count so much. However, whether you want to be heallthy, I think you should still watch the fat intake as well, so for instance, buy low fat cheeses and meats for your low carb diet lifestyle.

High fat diets aren’t good for your body, and you may be losing weight whether you indulge in bacon and eggs every dawn, but you may additionally be putting your body through a lot of processing, and the less fat you take in, the less processing and stress your digestive system has to take on, which is a good thing, and makes your working parts – well – work a lot longer!

Another risk with Atkins is whether you don’t get ample fiber in your diet and you shun fruits and veggies, you will definitely get constipated. So prepare certain you at least eat an apple here and there, and form big salads with chicken in them for at least one meal a day so that you are still getting roughage or some style of fiber in your meal with each bite.

Eating just cheese and meat will put you in serious pain whether you don’t get that fiber in there too. My personal favorite is to do a combination of Atkins low carb and a fiber diet. I simply can’t eschew all fiber containing foods in favor of lower carb options, my system isn’t built to be regular under all circumstances like some humans are. I need fiber and bulk in order to have any sense of regularity and comfort, and it’s just not worth the weight loss whether I can’t have that.

I additionally try to eat a lot of fiber containing nuts, like raw walnuts and almonds. Almonds particularly are a great nut to eat for low carb diets considering they contain tons of omega 3 fatty acids which are ultra healthy, and they additionally contain lots of natural fiber to help you stay regular.

I use spinach leaves and dark leafy greens in my salad for higher vitamin and fiber substance instead of plain old iceberg lettuce, which has poor nutrient and fiber value. It’s the little choices like that which produce my Atkins style diet a bit healthier – and keeps things moving along!

Original post by EatingToLive

Low Fat/Low Carb Egg Salad : The Trick

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 08:06:54 +0000

Ok, so I accidentally discovered that one, and it may sound a little gross when I tell you how I made it, but it’s a low fat alternative to egg salad. I love egg salad. It’s funny, considering I used to hate it as a kid and never wanted any part of hard boiled eggs. Hard boiled eggs in a salad!? Oh, that was the worst when I was a kid, I thought my parents were totally nuts for thinking that combination was tasty!

Now, I love to add a hard boiled egg to my salads. But the difference is, I only allow myself half of the yolk. As you know, the yolk is the fattiest part of the egg, and it plus contains a lot of cholesterol. It’s really good tasting though, and it actually does offer some nutrients that the egg white, it’s lesser calories, high protein counterpart, does not.

In one large hard boiled egg, there are about 77 calories, and just the yolk accounts for 59 of those calories. The egg white, even though it’s larger in surface area than the yolk, only has about 17 calories in it and it’s a great source of lean, fat free protein.

So, my low fat egg salad alternative is as pursues. All you do is take a hard boiled egg, I like to use jumbo eggs since they give more egg white. Throw away half of the yolk. cut it up into small squares like you would for regular egg salad. Mix with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of low fat, small curd cottage cheese. I like to add a dash of sea salt and pepper – voila – low fat, high protein, no mayo egg salad – yum-o!!!

I actually discovered that little trick one at work considering I was running low on my usual cottage cheese and had brought a hard boiled egg with me to eat plain. I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to mixing foods and experimenting, so I figured why not mix the two, they’re both low fat sources of protein that are filling and nutritious.

So I mixed them and add a little salt and pepper. It’s a nice low carb snack or part of a meal whether you like egg salad but don’t want all the fat. Kept me full for a few hours too!

Original post by EatingToLive

The Best Low Fat Dressings Choice Goes To…..

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:19:47 +0000

My choice for the best lowfat and low calorie dressings has been decided for a while. It’s considering that specific type has the tastiest dressings at the best calorie counts, and with the least artificial “weird” taste that often accompanies these lower fat versions of the fattier creamy dressings on the market.

In other words, they build you feel like you’re indulging, but really you’re saving about 30-50% of the calories that are in their higher fat, non low calorie counterparts. Wish Bone has the best low fat and low calorie cream dressings I think, hands down.

Their zesty Sweet and Spicy red french dressing is one of mine and my husband’s favorites. And another favorite is their low fat Creamy Caesar, which unfortunately is really hard to find at grocery stores any more.

Another good low fat creamy caesar dressing that’s good, but not as good as Wish Bone type, is Marzetti. It’s got that same pungent taste that a lot of good caesar’s have, thanks to the anchovi oil (I know, sounds gross, but it really makes for a tasty caesar dressing!), but just not as much flavor overall as the Wish Bone.

I really like mixing the Sweet and Spicy French lowfat dressing with a low fat ranch. It makes a nice sort of thousand-island-ish sort of flavor, and creams up the french a bit more too, making it taste a bit more indulgent. Believe it or not, Wal-mart has a pretty tasty low fat, low cal ranch dressing that’s plus easy on the wallet at less than two bucks for a bigger bottle.

One thing you have to be careful of when you’re using low fat or low calorie dressing is that you don’t use more of it than you would a normal dressing, since we tend to do that subconsciously when we use a low fat/cal product. You can easily by do it on a light dressing too, and defeat the purpose of a healthful, low calorie salad in a couple additional pours of the bottle.

Try measuring it out into tablespoons, and keeping it to one serving or 1 1/2 servings, depending on how big the salad is. You’d be surprised at how far some dressings go in coating your lettuces and veggies with just the right amount of zesty flavor!

Original post by EatingToLive

Low doses of BPA alters gene expression

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:42:03 +0000

A study posted today (Wednesday, August 25) at the online site of the journal Biology of Reproduction reports that exposure of pregnant female mice to the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A may produce adverse reproductive consequences on gene expression in fetal ovaries as early as 12 hours after the mother has first been exposed to the chemical……..

Original post by myemail@myemail.com (Your DisplayName here!)

Rheumatoid arthritis signaling protein

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:26:07 +0000

A signaling protein released during rheumatoid arthritis dramatically reduced Alzheimer’s disease pathology and reversed the memory impairment of mice bred to develop symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease, a newly released study by the University of South Florida reports. Scientists observed that the protein, GM-CSF, likely stimulates the body’s natural scavenger cells to attack and remove Alzheimer’s amyloid deposits in the brain……..

Original post by myemail@myemail.com (Your DisplayName here!)

A better way to grow stem cells

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:26:07 +0000

Human pluripotent stem cells, which can become any other kind of body cell, hold great potential to treat a wide range of ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. However, researchers who work with such cells have had trouble growing large abundant quantities to perform experiments in specific, to be used in human studies. Furthermore, most materials now used to grow human stem cells include cells or proteins that come from mice embryos, which help stimulate stem-cell growth but would likely cause an immune reaction whether injected into a human patient……..

Original post by myemail@myemail.com (Your DisplayName here!)

Is Portion Control the Hardest Part of Dieting?

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:00:47 +0000

In my opinion, the absolute toughest part of dieting for me is the portion control aspect. whether I could just get that one down, I’d probably never have so many fluctuations amidst that 5-10 pound range that I do.

Actually, I dare say that portion control is the most challenging part of dieting for just about everybody. I think that’s why diets that promise you can eat all you want are so popular, like the Atkins diet which doesn’t focus so much on portion control, but rather the amount of carbs you are taking in at each meal.

I still think though, that weight loss is best achieved by using portion control in conjunction with whatever type of diet you choose – low carb, high carb but low fat, or something like the Zone diet (which is portion controlled, but uses specific combinations of food to rev up your fat burning potential).

We have a lot at our disposal as far as tools to enforce portion control in our meals, but it’s not always easy to actually execute it considering you’re often still hungry after consuming a “portion controlled” meal.

It’s really how we’ve become programmed to eat considering we were brought up on the super size mentality many times. Some of us are lucky and have a built in “stop” button when we’re full, but most of us have that other button that tells us we’re still hungry when we’re really not needing the additional food.

Natural appetite suppressants can certainly help, but it additionally take discipline to do it at first, and shrink that stomach so you become accustomed to eating less. There are even special plates and bowls you can buy that do the portioning for you that have helped a lot of public do it without just eyeballing it.

There are plus a lot of portion controlled foods available, like 100 calorie snack packs and prepackaged meals that are a preset amount of calories that can help you start off on the right foot when trying to control portions for the first moment, or re-learning it.

I’ve found that for me, the initial first week is the toughest, when I’m trying to reform my portion control and compose certain I’m only eating what I have to in order to be “full” and at least satisfied til my next meal. A lot of it is the concept that we eat as a way to joy, instead of eating to “live”. whether you can get by that notion and only eat what you need, soon after your body will follow and reduce it’s fat substance and all that excess baggage it’s been carrying around in response!

Original post by EatingToLive

Do We Tend to Eat Lighter in the Summer?

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:14:18 +0000

I don’t know about you, but there are definitely changes in my appetite and the foods that I crave when summer instance comes around. particularly whether it’s a summer that’s a real scorcher like that one (who isn’t scorching now, seems like everyone is experiencing a hot one).

It is true that we tend to change up what kinds of foods we crave and like to eat in the summer moment. I just read an interesting exposition that pork is in higher demand in the summer moment considering a lot of families like to eat lighter and eat BLT’s for dinner. Now, I don’t know whether I’d consider a BLT to be light on the calories, but it certainly is lighter fare as opposed to traditional winter fare like chili and hearty soups and meat dishes.

Also, foods like fruits and veggie skyrocket in demand in the summer. it’s true that part of the reason is that they are more abundant and in season, but plus it’s a showing of the shift in change of appetite and cravings. I know I myself tend to crave things that are lighter. Like I don’t really want heavy ice cream, instead, something like a slushy or a frozen yogurt berry sundae sounds great.

Even my sweets cravings are lighter. In the winter I typically would crave chocolate and rich desserts all date like cookies and cakes, but in the summer, I’m all about hard candys and fruity flavored candies. It’s definitely true that your body sort of turns off the same heavy appetite for rich foods and instead instinctively wants foods that will supply instant energy instead of bog you down for hours digesting and processing it.

My craving for carbohydrates even declines in the summer moment. While I crave things like mashed potatoes and heavy pastas in creamy sauces in the winter, I crave things like light grilled and marinated meats, accompanied by a nice cool salad and some veggies. It really is like your body turns on it’s more “naturally healthy appetite” during the times when your body needs to be it’s most active and careful and ready for action.

Original post by EatingToLive

In-Home Diet Meal Delivery Booming

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:59:14 +0000

With today’s hectic world of work, kids, extracurricular activities, second jobs, and so on and so forth, we live in a very hectic instance where instant gratification is expected, and convenience has become number one priority. that is plus part of the reason our obesity epidemic has become so widespread and deeply rooted in our culture.

People don’t have the instance they used to where they could cook up nutritious, healthy meals that were in the right calorie range, carb range and fat range they should be for maintaining a healthy weight, or losing weight to get to a healthy weight. that is precisely why those that are health and weight conscious are increasingly turning to another solution for getting healthy meals on their tables, without all the preparation and planning that is due of cooking.

In home diet meal delivery plans are really booming right now. The good ones that really used good food that tastes wonderful and really results in proper weight loss and body fat shedding were previously only available to celebrities and those that lived in really health conscious, progressive areas like New York or L.A.

Now, with lightning fast shipping methods available all across the US, more and more society are turning to in-home meal delivery services that cater to citizens who want to keep their waistlines trim but just don’t have the moment to manufacture meals that will keep them thin while plus tasting excellent and having the right balance of calories, carbs and fats that keep their body’s looking great.

The trend for these gourmet home delivery diet meals began in none other than California, where celebrities and models demanded fast, convenient healthy meals for their hectic schedules and their jobs which needed them to look great in smaller sizes. That was before we had such great shipping options as we do today. Now, humans everywhere are learning that they can get health meals shipped to their homes, so they don’ t have to distress about cooking meals that are precisely right for themselves.

Original post by EatingToLive

Low Carb Good for Cholesterol Levels?

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:45:43 +0000

There has been so much debate by the years about which kind of diet has the best expanded term weight loss benefits, as well as the best overall health benefits. While low fat diets vs. low carb diets has been a raging debate for years, apparently one aspect of one of them is now not subject for debate.

The low carb diet, similar to what you would do on the Atkins diet, where fat doesn’t matter so much, but rather the carbs matter more, actually not only resulted in about the same sustained weight loss and maintenance by a period of two years, but it plus improved cholesterol levels impressively.

So impressively that it has caused researchers to really reconsider whether or not the low carb diet, which was at first praised when it was all the rage by that last decade, but next vilified for it’s potential health hazards, is actually better for you in the distant run or not.

The study that made the cholesterol connection was actually done on obese public who had followed the two different diets. They both followed the same habits otherwise, and both groups actually lost the same amount of weight by those two years and kept it off. However, the one major difference was that those who followed the low carb diets had much better cholesterol readings. Makes you consider those low carb diets once again, eh?

My husband and I did the low carb thing for a few years on and off until we finally fell off the wagon pretty permanently in favor of savoring some high carb meals which were lower in fat. I have to say that going low carb is still the best way for me to drop weight very quickly. I particularly notice a difference in the weight loss I experience as well as the speed at which I lose it whether I form certain I’m eating low carb at least for dinner. For example, I’ll have say a hamburger patty with no bun and a small side dish of veggies and a small side salad.

Although that burger patty may have a lot of fat in it, I will drop weight pretty much by night just from eating no carbs, so there is something to it. What I never liked about being on the low carb diet was how often you had to “refuel” considering your blood sugar would always be low and you felt like you were going to bite someone’s head off! That part was never fun. And whether you aren’t careful, you will get constipated. You have to prepare certain you’re still getting decent healthy fiber when on a low carb diet.

Original post by EatingToLive