A High Protein Diet Plan For Healthy Weight Loss

Posted on 25 July 2010 by Summer

High protein diet plans have always been popular with athletes and are now increasing in popularity among regular dieters.

While normal people who do not exercise can eat moderately high amounts of protein foods, athletes and people on muscle building diets should eat at least 1 gram per lb of bodyweight in order to build muscle. A high protein diet plan is followed by bodybuilders. Bodybuilding athletes always include a high protein food source in their daily diet.

Whether you need to lose weight or want to build muscle, a diet plan with plenty of protein will help you achieve your goal. Consuming high amounts of protein and low amounts of carbohydrate allow for a slow burning of energy and maintain stable blood sugar levels. This maintains a healthy pancreas and assists in maintaining healthy weight. Whereas diets high in carbohydrates have been linked to obesity, low-carb, diets with plenty of protein have been found to support weight loss.

Protein is the fuel for muscle building. During weightlifting and intensive training, muscle tissue breaks down. In order to rebuild that tissue we need to be on a high protein diet plan. If your goal is fat loss, a high protein diet is also very important. Most high protein diets are also low in carbohydrates and saturated fats. To accelerate weight loss, you need to reduce carbohydrates and lower the calorie intake. A high protein diet plan can help you to do this. The total amount of protein consumed should be spread over 5 to 6 meals throughout the course of a day.

The times of day you eat protein foods is important. Eat protein foods at breakfast, before a work out and for your evening meal. A good higher protein diet plan will include a good, breakfast high in protein. Immediately after a work out drink a protein shake or drink to assist with quick muscle repair. A protein meal (slow digesting form of protein) before bed, might seem strange but it provides a slow release of high quality amino acids while you sleep
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Special K Diet – Is It An Effective Diet Plan?

Posted on 13 February 2010 by Summer


The Special K diet has been heavily promoted by Kellogg’s over the last few years as a great way to lose weight. In fact, the company boasts that you can lose 6 pounds in 2 weeks. But, does this really work? Is this a diet plan that everyone should try? Here’s a closer look.

What Is The special K Diet?

The basics behind this diet are pretty simple. You are told to eat one bowl of any brand of special K cereal with 2/3 cup of skim milk. You are to eat this, along with a serving of fruit, for 2 meals each day.

Your 3rd meal can be whatever you would like. Snacks can be eaten during the day, but only if they are fruit, Special K bars, or fresh vegetables. You can also drink anything you want, but water is recommended.

How Does It Help You Lose Weight?

The Special K diet is another in a long line of low fat, high carb diets. But substituting a bowl of Special k for a fast food lunch, you will naturally be eating fewer calories and fat. And that’s the real premise here.

People lose weight when they eat less and take in fewer calories and fat each day. That isn’t hard to understand.

Will You Lose 6 Pounds In 2 Weeks?

If you stick to this diet plan just like it directs you, I believe you can lose 6 pounds in 2 weeks. With that said though, the Special K diet will be difficult to stay on for any length of time. How many people can continue to eat 2 bowls of the same cereal every day, day in and day out? It’s only natural that you will get burned out quickly.

Parts of the diet are right on the money as far as losing weight goes. Eating fresh fruit and vegetables during the day is healthy and good with weight loss. The same with drinking more water instead of high calorie sodas. But, there are better ways of losing weight that won’t leave you feeling hungry or getting burned out.

What Is A Healthy Eating Schedule?

Posted on 15 January 2010 by Summer

Linda J Bruton asked:

It always happens. You get to about 4 in the afternoon and suddenly you are thinking “What should I fix for dinner tonight?” At that point, the thought of actually preparing a meal all seems a bit overwhelming. It’s no wonder that the fast food restaurants and delis do such a brisk business as people are getting off work!

If you really want to ensure that you are serving healthy meals for your family, you really need to organize a schedule. By setting up a healthy eating schedule you are less likely to splurge on unhealthy fast food.

One of the best things you can do when organizing a healthy eating schedule is arrange to eat your meals at a set time each day. Try to include two or three balanced meals per day in your schedule. Eating at regular intervals and as part of a schedule not only helps the body’s hormonal system but you will find that you are digesting your food much better as well.

A well-balanced meal as part of a healthy eating schedule should include the following components:

1. Protein

2. Carbohydrates

3. Fiber

It is important that you plan the meals you will have each week as part of your healthy eating schedule. Sit down at the start of each week to plan your meals, make your shopping list, then only buy the foods on your list. You have your meals planned for the week and it is important that you keep in mind the family’s schedule and arrange healthy meals around that. For example, if one night the whole family has outside activities, then arrange for everybody to sit down in the evening to something easy to prepare, such as soup and a sandwich.

The whole idea of having a healthy eating schedule is to ensure that you have a small healthy meal every 2 to 3 hours. It can be either a healthy sandwich, protein shake, fruit, healthy fats, or whole grains. Unfortunately our bodies have not been designed to digest large portions of food all at once. It is much healthier to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals a day. This will help to keep your metabolism at a higher speed. A great benefit of that is that it makes it much easier to lose weight.

If you want to lead a much healthier life then ensure that you include a healthy eating schedule into the equation. You will soon find that it becomes second nature to follow it.

Creating a Healthy Food List – Eating Healthy Equals Living Healthy

Posted on 11 December 2009 by Summer


Creating a healthy food list can be easy if you remember to choose basic foods that are widely accepted to be better for your body than others. Make a list at home, before you get in front of those tempting displays and packages. Packaging today can be confusing, as marketers holler “low fat”, and “100 calorie”, and other diet keywords. Making lists can save you money if you stick to it instead of randomly selecting items.

When in a grocery store, remember that the best foods are on the outer borders of the store, and not in the aisles or at the ends of the aisles. Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables. Organic and fresh are better than frozen, and frozen is better than canned food, due to ingredients used as preservatives.

Learn about labels. The first item on the list of ingredients is the item that the package includes the most of. For example, if high fructose syrup is listed first, the highest percentage of that food is that ingredient. If a juice says apple juice and other juices, but apple juice is listed first, most of that juice is made up of apple juice.

Healthy food list, the basics:

Fruits – the most colorful, ones with pulp, whole instead of juice. Most fruits are good foods, and fresh again is always best. Go easy on sweet fruits like banana.

Vegetables – organic, colorful, fresh is the rule if possible. Sweet potatoes are better than white. Red peppers contain more vitamin C than green. Salad greens are good for keeping your pH balance where it should be. Roughage in vegetable, fiber, helps clean the body from inside.

Grains – choose whole grain, multi-grain, dark over light. 12 whole grain breads, brown rice, whole wheat or spinach pasta instead of regular. For cereals, oatmeal instead of sugar laden sweet cereals. Especially watch the sugar content of cereals.

Nuts and seeds – watch out for salt content.

Spices – use spices to flavor your foods, instead of dumping on salt. Many spices have medicinal qualities that are favorable, such as cinnamon, garlic, peppermint, and parsley.

Oils – olive oil, peanut oil, and canola oil are preferred over hardened oils like butter, margarine, and oleo.

Dairy – low fat, skim, yogurt, cheese, goat or soy milk. Go easy on dairy, but include it. Skip ice cream and opt for frozen yogurt or sherbets.

Meats and Poultry – choose lean cuts, light meat instead of dark, wild game is leaner, baked or grilled over fried, low fat content. Chicken or turkey is better than red meat.

Fish – excellent, but choose lean over fatty.

Sweets – limit intake, read ingredients.

You can create a healthy diet from most foods, but it is necessary to watch out for fats, additives, and artificial ingredients. Limit portion sizes, and eat a wide variety of foods. Drink lots of water instead of soda. Learn about foods and custom design your own healthy food list for optimum health
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How Healthy Food Changed My Life?

Posted on 10 December 2009 by Summer


Often, developing healthy food habit is not as restrictive or as confusing as several individuals imagine. The first and foremost principle of healthy nutrition is simply eating a wide range of foodstuff. This is more important, since varied foodstuff make varied dietary contributions.

Secondly, vegetables, fruits, legumes and grains are necessary, since these foods are high in carbohydrates, fiber, minerals, vitamins, and low in fatty substances and are cholesterol free.

It is also better to balance between calorie expenditure and calorie intake. That is, avoid eating more foodstuff than what the body can consume. Otherwise, there is a possibility of gaining additional weight. Therefore, the more the active an individual is, the more he can eat and uphold this balance.

It does not mean that aforementioned three fundamental steps suggest an individual to sacrifice the favorite food. As long as, an individual’s diet is rich in fiber and nutrients and well balanced, there is nothing improper.

Individuals also can view healthy foodstuff as a chance to expand range of alternatives by trying some healthy food such as vegetables, fruits or whole grains. A healthy nutrition does not have to imply eating foodstuffs, which are unappealing or bland.

Benefits of Healthy Food:

Nutritious and healthy diet is very much significant for maintaining a healthy body. Healthy diet involves timely and regular food, snacks, nuts and juices. A balanced meal and appropriate food habits are essential for leading a healthy life. In due course of life, everyone forgets to take essential nutrition for proper body function, hence fall under several life-style diseases. Hence, it is necessary for an individual to understand and know about the benefits of healthy food such as vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Below discussed are some of the benefits of healthy food:

• Beetroot: It has good amount of potassium, manganese and foliate. It also contains fewer calories and helps to cure skin problems.

• Cauliflower: It is extremely nutritious and is much effective in curing several ailments. It is rich in folate and apt for pregnant women.

• Mangoes: They are very popular and largely available fruit. They are rich in potassium and good for healing wounds.

• Nutritional Values of Banana: It aids in the healing of anemia, depression, brainpower, blood pressure and constipation.

• Egg: It is nutritious and healthy food. Eggs lecithin prevents the absorption of egg’s cholesterol and other sources as well.

Overview:

Research has witnessed that, those who eat less processed food and saturated fatty items live longer and healthy life, and are very less prone to disease and illness. Good health food along with proper exercise gives tons of energy and makes feel stronger and healthier.

Good health food can assist individuals in maintaining a healthy weight. The phrase Healthy Weight is not only important for those individuals who are overweight, but also for individuals who are underweight as well. With eating healthy food, individuals can control their body weight without being underweight or overweight.

Healthy livelihood is all about understanding the body requirements and rendering it with good supplies for proper body function. Unhealthy eating habit can affect the individuals’ body severely, hence intake healthy foodstuff to avoid such consequences
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Healthy Food for the Liver

Posted on 09 December 2009 by Summer

Eating healthy foods for the liver can improve and support liver function on a daily basis. Having a healthy liver results in greater energy and general well-being. A poorly functioning liver can result in tiredness, headaches, bad breath, allergies and intolerances, problem skin and weight gain.

Foods that are healthy for the liver fall into two main categories. First are those that promote the detoxification process of the liver. And second, are those that are high in antioxidants and therefore protect the liver while it’s carrying out its detoxification processes. Below are a list of the top eight foods that are considered to be good for your liver.

1. Garlic and onions. Garlic contains allicin which is a sulphur-based compound needed by the liver for effective detoxification. Garlic helps the liver rid the body of mercury, certain food additives and the hormone oestrogen.

2. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage). These vegetables are very powerful detoxifiers of the liver. They contain chemicals that neutralise certain toxins such as nitrosamines found in cigarette smoke and aflotoxin found in peanuts. They also contain glucosinolates that help the liver to produce enzymes it needs for its detoxification processes.

3. Freshly squeezed lemon in hot water. Drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice in a cup of boiled water first thing in the morning helps to cleanse the liver and promote detoxification. It also stimulates bile production, cleanses the stomach and bowel and stimulates a bowel motion.

4. Beetroot. It’s a blood-purifying tonic that is also capable of absorbing heavy metals.

5. High-antioxidant fruits. In a study done by the US Department of Agriculture at Tuffs University, it was found that the following list of fruits had the highest levels of antioxidants (in descending order): Prunes, raisons, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, pink grapefruit, cantaloupe, apples and pears. Antioxidants help to protect the liver from the high levels of free radicals that are naturally produced during the process of detoxification.

6. Apples. Apples contain pectin that bind to heavy metals in the body (in particular in the colon) and help their excretion. This reduces the load on the liver and its detoxification capacities.

7. Artichoke. Increases bile production. One of the jobs of bile is to remove toxins through the bowel, as well as ‘unfriendly’ micro-organisms. It has been suggested that 30 minutes after eating globe artichoke, bile flow is increased by over 100%.
8. Bitter leafy salad greens (dandelion, chicory, endive, rocket). The bitterness of these foods helps to stimulate bile flow within the liver.

Please note: The information in this article is not intended to take the place of a personal relationship with a qualified health practitioner nor is it intended as medical advice.

Buying Healthy Foods for Your Freezer

Posted on 09 December 2009 by Summer


Ever since our family almost ran out of food during a blizzard, I keep track of what is in our freezer. As soon as the neighbors heard about our food shortage the phone started ringing. Every neighbor offered us chicken. We didn’t want them to go out in such frigid weather, and we didn’t want to go out, so we didn’t accept their chicken. We ate what was on hand and had some creative meals.

For me, stocking up on food is not an option, it is a necessity, and my freezer is full of healthy foods. I keep the freezer full during summer months as well.

Before I tell you what is in my freezer, I will tell you what is NOT in my freezer. There are no “5 for $10 Bucks” pizzas, frozen dinners, soups, coffee cakes, pies or muffins. If there are muffins in the freezer I made them with combination flour (half white, half wheat), sugar-free applesauce, Splenda, and a tablespoon of olive oil. There are other homemade things in the freezer, too.

When I make chili (light on meat, heavy on vegetables), I make extra and freeze it. I try to have flank steak in the freezer because it is lean and adaptable. Though flank steak is pricey, I get a good deal at my local super store. I also freeze leftover beef, chicken, turkey, and rice. Having a well-stocked freezer is comforting and gives me a jump-start on meals. What is in my freezer?

PROTEIN

Chicken breasts (skinless)

Turkey breast

93% lean ground beef (several pounds)

Flank steak

Pork chops (thin cut)

50% less fat pork sausage

Talapia (a farm-raised fish)

Egg substitute (two cartons)

Homemade chili and soup

VEGETABLES

Chopped spinach

Broccoli

Broccoli stir fry

Mixed vegetables

Tiny peas

French green beans

Chopped onions (at least 2 bags)

Vegetable egg rolls (speciality of a local restaurant)

Hash brown potatoes (for vegetable soup)

FRUITS

Strawberries

Blueberries

Raspberries

Sliced peaches

Lemon juice (a so-so substitute for fresh)

BEVERAGES

Calcium-fortified orange juice

Grapefruit juice

Lite grape juice

Lite cranberry juice

Ground coffee (which freezes well)

BREADS

Hamburger buns (lowest salt content I can find)

Whole wheat bread

Homemade muffins

Homemade oatmeal and French bread

OTHER FOODS

Fat-free mozzarella cheese

2% milk cheese

Sugar-free, fat-free ice cream

“Free” whipped topping

When grocery stores run specials on frozen juice and vegetables I take advantage of them. I also keep special foods on hand, such as frozen artichokes and angel food cake, in case we have unexpected company. What is in your freezer? Take inventory now. Discard unrecognizable food, food with freezer burn, old food, and unhealthy food. Buying healthy foods for your freezer helps you to cook healthy, eat healthy, and live healthy.

Healthy Foods-Are They Or Aren’t They?

Posted on 09 December 2009 by Summer


Whatever food or beverage you mention, over the years, you can find stories that say it’s good for you or it will kill you faster than a speeding bullet. Look at butter, trans-fats, eggs, wine, coffee, chocolate, red meats, fish, fruit, vegetables…it’s all the same story. It just seems there’s no food that’s healthy. So, what do we do and how do we live with the knowledge that everything we consume might kill us? The answer is stunningly simple.

Butter, Eggs, Meats, Cholesterol And Trans-fats: When I was growing up, there was a very strong effort to reduce or eliminate cholesterol in the diet. Butter (along with milk, cream, cheese, meats, etc.) hit the top of the 10 most despised foods list. It became common knowledge that margarine was much better for you than butter. People everywhere, including medical professionals, were proclaiming the health benefits of switching from butter to margarine. Now that more research has been done and more studies produced, it turns out that the trans-fats in most margarines will kill you, if we’re to believe the media. Our politicians seem to believe it, because trans-fats are becoming illegal. Will someone tell me which is worse for me, so I can decide what to put on my fat free, salt free, low carb toast? All the other stuff tastes like plastic, and besides, I know once I change to one of these other things there will be a study to show it’s the worst of all.

To add insult to injury, new studies are revealing stuff we never knew about cholesterols and animal products. It’s true, for instance, that cholesterol problems aren’t just from bad eating habits…genes have a lot to do with it. Some people can eat a lot more cholesterol with no harm. Some of us produce unhealthy amounts of cholesterol despite a strict diet. Thanks Dad! There are medicines for that! Now, some cholesterols are good. Some other fats are good. We’re also discovering that strict avoidance of animal products produces protein deficiencies. Heavy amounts of soy products can help with that, but then there’s the sodium issue. Sure, we can load up on seafood, but we could die from heavy metal poisoning and too much sodium. So, at least until the next series of studies are published, animal products are back on the menu.

Beverages, Wine, Coffee, Etc: In my lifetime, wine has been good for you and bad for you several times. This issue is so old, even the Bible says wine is bad, good, and even medicinal. In the 2,000 years since the Bible was written, science seems to have proven all three claims to be correct about wine and other alcohols. First, they say it’s “empty calories,” causes weight gain, destroys the liver, leads to addiction. Then, they say it’s good for relaxation and stress reduction. Finally, it’s full of antioxidants, so it helps fight cancer and delay aging. Coffee, they said, causes high blood pressure, but now they’re finding all kinds of benefits from coffee. Even tobacco, one of our most evil inventions, is being found to help prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Sure, cola, with or without sugar, will kill you now, but who is to say they won’t find out it cures heart disease in the next few years. Actually, they’ve already found that the caffeine helps with migraines and asthma. Green tea is the holy grail of the healthy beverage faithful, but in five years, I have no doubt they’ll find some disease to pin on it.

Chocolate: My favorite food deserves a segment all it’s own. I still don’t know why it isn’t in the new food pyramid. Everyone knows the evils of chocolate. The fats in it will clog your arteries, leading to heart attack and stroke. The sugars in it will make you obese, leading to diabetes, blindness, kidney failure, cancer, heat attack, stroke and worst of all…weight discrimination. There is no end to the evils of chocolate.

But wait! Chocolate has now been found to be good for you…especially sugar-free dark chocolate. In addition to stimulants to help you stay alert and curb your appetite, chocolate produces a relaxed feeling, helpful in managing stress and mild to moderate anxiety and depression. Long known as the love candy, recent studies show chocolate actually causes the body to release the same chemicals released during sexual activity. Now you can have that pleasure and excitement without all the small-talk or the expensive dinner out. That’s not all! Chocolate is also rich in anti-oxidants, so it helps fight cancer and aging.

Fresh Fruits And Vegetables: Long known as the healthiest foods, these garden products are not off the hook, either. Many health food staples, like carrots, contain dangerously high levels carbohydrates. All fruits are guilty of this. Avocado’s are very high in fats. Celery and soy bean products are high in sodium. Most fruits and vegetables were raised using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Some are genetically altered. The jury is still out on whether these methods are harmful…many reports suggest they are. Even those grown “organically” aren’t completely safe, as we’ve recently discovered concerning spinach.

How To Have Healthy Foods: Well, this can be pretty depressing. So, what do we do? If we stop eating or drinking everything that’s been reported to be bad for us, it only takes 3 days to a few weeks to die…from starvation and dehydration. That’s because everything, according to some report, is bad for us. According to Patricia Zifferblatt of the Better Life Institute, “A little bit won’t make your eyes fall out.”

Really, let’s get off our food anxiety and just eat a regular, balanced diet from all of the food groups. Unless you suffer from alcoholism, have a drink every now and then. Have some chocolate…I eat a serving of sugar-free dark chocolate almost every day and I’m losing weight while my glucose and blood fats stay within the normal range. Enjoy a good steak or a plate of pork ribs every now and then. You can eat healthy and still have these things. There is more to food than fuel for the body…it’s also fuel for the soul. If you plan on staying alive, then live
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Healthy Foods For Healthy Children

Posted on 08 December 2009 by Summer


Sometimes in our busy workaday life it’s hard to make sure we are keeping our family and children healthy and supplying them with all the nutrition they need to grow into healthy, well balanced adults. With so much going on in our day to day lives, the temptation to rely on prepackaged quick meals, lunch cafeteria choices, and other less wholesome lunches is hard to resist. However, there are so many good reasons to make sure kids eat fresh, all natural foods as often as possible.

These days it seems like there are new health risks facing our children every day. More and more young people are being prescribed medications for all sorts of illnesses from physical to mental to emotional. These powerful medications are not always 100% successful, and often come with a hefty price tag of dangerous side effects. Yet we neglect the basic building blocks of life…the foods we eat.

It is well known that healthy foods such as whole grains, fresh organic vegetables, all natural foods and unprocessed ingredients are much better in every way. They keep the body clean and in proper working order, prevent illness and disease, extend life expectancy and combat the symptoms of old age, promote healing and recovery faster and more thoroughly and a whole range of other benefits.

Maintaining a healthy diet and good nutrition is especially important for children. Kids are still growing and developing, and the body uses a lot of fuel during these stages. Young people tend to be more active as well, and require the proper kind of fuel to maintain the constant on-the-go lifestyle of many youngsters. A lot of energy is burned by a child out playing in the woods, running in the yard, riding a bicycle and playing all the sports and activities that kids do

Children are also students, and in this span of years they do a lot of learning and emulating and also at this time habits are formed that may stay with them for the rest of their lives. All natural menus and organic recipes are one way to help your kids maintain the energy and attention span needed to achieve the most they can in academics. It seems that many children today live on diets that are full of things such as artificial ingredients, highly processed refined sugars and ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup. Then we wonder why they can’t sit still and concentrate in class.

Middle schools and high schools around the country have also taken to the strange practice of allowing fast food chains that serve meals devoid of nutritious value to our young people to occupy space on campuses or in the schools themselves. Fast food chains such as these offer breakfast, lunch and dinner foods, and many young people are relying on these places for two and sometimes three of their meals a day. Ice cream, candy, soda and other types of snacks and junk food are often made available to students in the stores of the school itself. How can we expect to make the right choice when it comes to nutrition with such temptations available to them?

Teaching children to respect good nutrition from the start is one way to ensure that your children will appreciate the benefits of a healthy diet and natural lifestyle. When a young person learns about the value of organic foods, all natural recipes and healthy diets, they have a chance to get excited about it and carry on the habits into adulthood
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Healthy Organic Food Vs Unhealthy Processed Food

Posted on 08 December 2009 by Summer


Think about your present food habits. Are you 100% sure the food you send to your belly is actually beneficial for your body? The food you eat is healthy if you can say for sure that the food supplies all the necessary nutrients to your body and doesn’t leave wastes in your body and making your body vulnerable to the attack of diseases of various kinds.

People in the western world think organic farming is something unnatural and comes from outside the world. Applying farming techniques like sprays tons of pesticides, dumping chemical fertilizers, and applying chemicals for quick and uniform ripening of apples as normal natural methods of farming. Not to blame them, because they have been conditioned and accustomed to such farming techniques since more than 150 years ago.

Now we need to have a critical thinking about which techniques are natural farming techniques and which are not. Well, have a look at how plants grow in forests. There is no one to protect any single flowering or fruiting plant or to remove some plants that we label pests. How? It is the law of nature to let the most survivable or healthy plants and animals in tact. The leaves, flowers, fruits and roots of such plants form the food of several animals. The basic unit of food chain is healthy growing plants.

Now, can you say the plants we grow in farms by applying tons of chemicals healthy? Take two fruits – say apples. One plucked freshly from the forest and one from the farm. Leave them open in a place for a few days. Observe the fruits closely. You will find the apple that you plucked from the wilderness stays as such for at least a week more than the apple that is chemically conditioned.

Take another example. You may have taken seedless watermelon, seedless grape fruits, etc in the past. Does seedless variety of fruits occur naturally? No. They are results of genetic recombination or at least unnatural methods of pollination. Such artificial fruits lack reproductive capacity at the first place. A major disadvantage you can see by yourself.

Now have a look at organic food. Organic food need not be produced in your backyard, but can come from any farm where no chemicals are applied and the plants chosen for cultivation are free from genetic recombination, mutation or otherwise artificial methods to induce character changes in plants
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