Diets and nutrition tips.

Diets and Nutritional tips

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In this section you will find all thats good about diets, and dieting. I am guessing that by the time you get here you will be no stranger to the multitude of diets and weight loss programs there is out there.

Diets and nutrition tips.

Eating For A Healthy Heart

Bad cholesterol or a bad diet is something we all experience at some point in time. It’s impossible to eat healthy our whole lives, even though we may try hard to do it. Eating healthy for your heart is something everyone should try to do, especially when it comes to restoring health and reducing heart attacks.

Your heart and food
We know these things for sure – a diet high in  saturated fats will help raise your cholesterol, which is a risk factor for heart disease. People that are obese are more prone to heart disease. A diet high in sodium may elevate your blood pressure, leading to inflammation and even heart disease.

To help prevent heart disease and improve your health,
put the tips below to good use.

Eat plenty of fish
Herring, sardines, and salmon are all excellent sources of Omega 3 essential fatty acids. Other fish are great to, although Omega 3 may help to get your cholesterol down to a healthier level.

Choosing healthy fats and oils
Saturated fat will increase the risk of heart disease. It’s found in meat, butter, and even coconut oil. You should avoid them until your cholesterol levels are down and you are at a healthy weight. Even those that love red meats can enjoy seafood and nuts for their main sources of protein.

Monounsaturated fats such as olive oils will help you to protect your heart. Olive oil is an ideal choice for cooking, dressing, or even as a dipping sauce.

Plenty of fiber
Fiber can help you control your cholesterol. You can find fiber in whole grain products to helpcontrol sugar absorption as well, which will help you keep your digestive system healthy.

Choosing carbohydrates
Eating for your heart involves staying away from sugary foods such as candy, cookies, cakes, and pastries. Eating a lot of sugar isn’t good for your heart disease at all. Healthy carbohydrates involve whole grain breads, whole grain pasta, brown rice, and a lot of vegetables. You should make fruits and vegetables the main aspect of your diet.

Healthy cooking methods
Stir frying and sauteing with olive oil or canola oil are both great methods, as you shouldn’t dip your food in batter and fry it anymore. If you cook chicken, remove the skin and bake it in the oven in foil.

Instead of frying your fish you should always bake it. Steaming your vegetables can help maintain the most nutrients. You should use cream sauces or lots of butter anymore either. When you eat vegetables, try squeezing lemon juice on them or using your favorite seasonings. As you make the proper changes to your diet, keep in mind that it takes time for them to become habits. Eating healthy is always great for your body and your lifestyle, especially when it comes to your heart and the prevention of heart disease.

Diets and Nutritional tips

Has Your Weight Loss Been Sabotaged by These Top 10 Weight Loss Myths?

Introduction

You have tried the diets. You have taken the pills. You have read anything and everything that the popular magazines and skinny celebrities have to say about losing weight. But you still just cannot seem to take those extra pounds off. You become frustrated, and this leads to eating calorie-rich comfort foods and gaining even more weight. Are you relegated to a body that you just do not like? Of course not. The problem is that, quite frankly, you have probably been trying to lose weight the wrong way. The good news? It’s not even your fault. For decades much of what you have been told about burning fat and losing weight is just plain wrong. But when you know the Top 10 Weight Loss Myths that have kept you from losing weight, and may have even helped you gain unwanted weight, you can quickly get back on the path to weight loss. The 10 weight loss myths listed below have all been busted with recent research that can reward your conscientious efforts at burning fat and losing weight with realistic results. If the Battle of the Bulge has had you believing the following myths, it is time to rethink things.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 1 – Skip High Calorie Foods and You Will Lose Weight

You have heard the advice. If you simply skip those foods that are high in calories, you cannot help but lose weight. After all, if you burn more calories than you take in, the weight will come off, right? Well, not always. Your body needs calories to create energy. And not all high calorie foods should be avoided. For example, nuts are very high in calories considering their serving size. But you know that nuts are very healthy though, don’t you? They are crammed full of protein, healthy fiber and essential fats. The Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2018 discovered that diets containing nuts (no more than 1 ounce per day) did not cause any increase in waist size or weight.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 2 – Avoid High Cholesterol and the Weight Will Fall Off

It is prudent to be wary of dangerous cholesterol levels, but a 2018 article in Food and Function showed no relevant connection between a heightened risk for heart disease and egg consumption. Besides, eggs are a very rich provider of protein, antioxidants and vitamin B. For those with heart disease and diabetes, egg consumption should be involved in a conversation with their doctor. For everyone else, cutting eggs out of your diet will not impact your weight loss negatively or positively.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 3 – The More Intense Your Workout, the More Weight You Will Lose

Once your body realises you are exerting yourself intensely, you begin to burn mostly carbohydrates. However, moderate physical intensity from activities like brisk walking, slow jogging, yoga and Pilates causes your body to burn fat as fuel rather than carbohydrates. This is not a recommendation to avoid high intensity exercises. But if you want to burn fat, add some medium intensity workouts to your exercise regimen.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 4 – All You Have To Do Is Eat A Lot Of Protein, Cut Out the Carbs, and You Will Lose A Lot Of Weight

A relatively low amount of carbohydrates ever gets turned into fat in your body. And you can limit that small amount even further by choosing whole-grain pasta over white pasta. Carbohydrates do not make you fat. A high caloric intake is what makes you overweight and fat. You just want to make sure that the carbohydrates you do ingest are unprocessed and have a lot of fiber and you definitely need protein for a healthy body, but a lifelong diet heavy in animal protein has been directly linked to many forms of cancer. Also, the human body can only absorb about 30 grams (3 to 3 1/2 ounces) of protein at one sitting. Eat the right carbs, and make sure your meal contains roughly 25% to 30% protein, and you will have the best chance at losing weight when this strategy is employed with physical exercise and portion control.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 5 – If Your Diet Is Full of Flavorless Foods You Hate to Eat, You Will Lose Weight Faster

If you hate the taste of your food, you will probably eat less. There is no doubt about that. But the idea that an un-enjoyable and horrible tasting diet somehow increases weight loss is ridiculous. Just because an “outlandish diet” is bizarre and offensive to the taste buds does not automatically mean it is good for you. Strange diets are very hard to stick to, you fall off of them quickly, and go right back to your poor eating habits.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 6 – “I Exercise All the Time and Eat Very Little, But I Still Cannot Drop Any Weight.”

So, you are exercising incessantly, right? And you never eat, correct? You are probably eating much more than you believe. And then their are those cases of distracted eating, and snacking absentmindedly. We recommend frequent sessions of moderate to intense exercise, controlling your food portions, and taking note of everything that you eat for your best chance at dropping weight and keeping it off.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 7 – You Can’t Lose Weight If You Have “Fat Genes”

Only a small portion, roughly 25%, of your natural body weight is dictated by your genealogy. The harsh, cold reality is that 75% of your fat levels and weight right now was created by your behavior. Watch your daily caloric intake, limit your protein to 25% every meal, exercise more, and you will have the best possible chance of burning fat and dropping those unwanted pounds.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 8 – You Can Burn Fat and Lose Weight by Taking This Pill, That Cream or Some Magic Drink

Wrong, wrong and wrong again. Burning fat and losing weight is all about a healthy diet, portion control and exercise. Electronic fat burning belts, miracle diet pills and unsavory “eat only this for two weeks” diets will not work on their own, unless you take part in the healthy activities that promote weight loss. Losing weight and keeping it off is difficult, there is no doubt about that. That is why you must consistently and religiously watch what you eat, how much you eat, how much you exercise, how much sleep you get and how many non-caffeinated, unsweetened liquids you ingest everyday.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 9 – Weight Loss Is Simple – Just Eat Less Fat and You Will Lose More Weight

There is no doubt that a low-fat diet is linked to better health. But your body does need certain healthy fats. Fat is definitely the most dense collection of calories in all of the foods that you eat. However, it also helps make you feel full, which can lead you to taking in fewer calories. The danger here is entirely removing fat from your diet. This creates a “perpetually hungry” feeling, and you eat tons of low-calorie, low-fat foods, exceeding your daily caloric intake. And many of the foods which are low-fat are full of sugar and chock-full of calories, which is not a good combination for losing weight.

WEIGHT LOSS MYTH 10 – Skip Breakfast and Your Weight Loss Efforts Are Guaranteed to Be Successful

Just the opposite seems to be true.

Don’t blame yourself. When you are preached weight loss methods by fit and slim individuals, you assume they know what they are talking about. But many times, celebrities and even personal trainers and other physical fitness experts have not done enough research to back up their claims. The Top 10 Weight Loss Myths we just busted might have slowed down your efforts to once again become the slim, trim and toned person you once were. Now that you understand that these myths are fruitless at best, and can actually cause you to gain weight in the worst-case scenario, make the smart changes. Stick to proper portions, limit but do not exclude healthy fats, exercise regularly, drink lots of water and you may just be able to return to that beach body you once enjoyed.

Diets and Nutritional tips

Develop An Effective Diet With These Tips!

Many people talk about wanting to change their poor eating and commencing to eat healthy foods, but few actually make better food choices that improve their nutrition. All you need are some new ideas about the best way to change out those negative habits for positive ones — and this article has some tips to get you started.

Be sure you have protein bars or other similar foods on hand when traveling. Perhaps you have noticed that it has become increasingly hard to get a decent meal in an airport. You are either busy going through security, sitting around for boarding to start or stuck on a flight with no meals served. Keep such items with you so that you have something nutritious to sustain you until you reach your destination.

To get the proper nutrients, take a multi-vitamin. That is important because the multivitamin acts as insurance of sorts in case you don’t eat the proper nutrition, even though it’s generally better to eat your minerals and vitamins from the food you eat.

Any diet plan that gives you the proper nutritional level will include breakfast. Breakfast is very important to get your body going after a good nights sleep, not only that, it provides the necessary fuel to help speed up your metabolism.

Almonds are the best nuts for cooking. Of all the nuts, they are by far the most nutritious, help keep your cholesterol down, boost your protein levels and maintain healthy blood cells. They are also less expensive than other kinds of nuts.

Eat dark chocolate instead of the sweeter options of white and milk chocolate. This kind contains more of the compounds that make chocolate healthy than the others. Antioxidants also tip the balance of HDL and LDL cholesterol toward the “good” HDL variety. Make certain you select chocolate containing no less than 70% cocoa to reap the most benefits. Don’t go overboard; chocolate is still a high calorie food so enjoy it in moderation.

Instead of gorging yourself during the holiday months, eat a healthy snack or small meal before sitting down to a huge family dinner. If your stomach is empty when you attend this dinner, you will tend to overeat. Eating a small snack prior to going to a Thanksgiving dinner can aid you in filling up faster. Filling up quick is what you want so that you do not overeat and put on extra calories.

Do not focus on the next sweet treat. Don’t eat dessert every day.

Achieving and maintaining good health through adequate nutrition, can increase the quality of many aspects of your life. A great nutritional tip to use is to reduce your refined sugar intake. You should specifically refrain from drinking too much soda and fruit juice. You should do your best to stay away from foods with a high glucose content. If you eliminate sugar from your food plan you will notice an immediate difference. Not only will you feel more healthy, it will also make you look more attractive.

Take the advice given above to put together a nutritious and tasty food plan. You are going to discover that good nutrition is a habit that helps you feel healthy and happy.

Diets and Nutritional tips

Lose weight fast by eating carbs at night rather than during the day, expert claims

One expert has finally debunked this myth – and claimed that eating carby foods after dark may actually speed up weight loss.   Leading fitness trainer and nutrition specialist Matt Hodges has revealed that eating dishes such as rice, pasta and bread before you go to bed can help you blitz more body fat when you wake up the next day.
And he has suggested that slimmers should even swap their breakfasts for dinners.
He told Healthista : “Eating carbs at night is more beneficial to fat loss.
“We know now that in the later stages of sleep our bodies become metabolically active and burn fat anyway, so the idea that you put on weight from a meal you ate close to bedtime while you’re sleeping is rubbish.”
He also suggests a carb-rich meal at night could help muscles use glycogen, the fuel our muscles need, for exercise the next morning.
And dietitian Azmina Govindji emphasised that there is no evidence to show that eating carbs at night is bad for you.
The idea that you put on weight from a meal you ate close to bedtime while you’re sleeping is rubbish Matt Hodges
She said: “It’s all about the overall calories you take in being less than the amount you’ve burned off.”
And Azmina says there is now evidence to suggest that certain carbohydrates in the evening could aid a good night’s sleep.
Apparently carb-heavy foods help the body release chemicals such as tryptophan that aids in production of brain neurotransmitters that help calm calm our nerves and help us stay asleep.
She added: “Porridge oats cooked with skimmed milk just before bed is a great snack that is low in fat and high in nerve-calming B vitamins.”
A  study also revealed the extent to which eating carbs in the evening can speed up weight loss.
Israeli researchers tested the theory on 70 volunteers who they split up into two groups, one who ate their carbs during the day and the other who ate 80 per cent of them at night. 2 Graeme Tomlinson admitted that the link between eating carbs at night and weight gain is a complete myth Credit: Instagram
Within six months, the latter had lost more weight and body fat and experienced less hunger throughout the day.
And another study published in the Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease Journal, showed the same results.

Shake Recipes To Aid Weight Loss | Healthy Diet

Forget protein powders and try these homemade post-workout protein shakes to get fit and lose weight. Here are four amazing natural protein shake recipes for you.
If you are a fitness enthusiast, you would know the significance of protein-rich meal or protein shake after a workout. It helps the body to recover quickly while boosting metabolism. Consuming protein post-exercise promotes weight loss which is why you would find a lot of people gulping down a huge tumbler or protein shake after a workout. This would not only curb your hunger but also helps build healthy muscles.
However, these protein powders aren’t a healthy option. A lot of them contain artificial components which might be risky for you. The healthier you eat, the healthier you become. Protein shakes are a part of healthy diet and you can make them healthier by preparing your protein all by yourself! Yes. Instead of relying on readymade protein powders, make a natural protein shake at home with the right kind and right amount of proteins in it. There’s nothing better than a delicious homemade protein shake with no added chemicals or preservatives. This would suffice your body’s protein needs while increasing your endurance. Here we have four post-workout protein shake recipes for you that you can try to get fit and fab. 1. Banana and peanut butter shake
This shake is simple, easy to make and extremely delicious. Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients required: Bananas, peanut butter, milk, greek yogurt, chia seeds.
Process : In a blender, add two bananas, two tbsp peanut butter, two cups of Greek yogurt and chia seeds. Blend them well.
Now add milk to this mixture and blend again. Your banana and peanut butter shake is ready.
Tip : You can also add cocoa to give a chocolaty flavor to the shake. 2.Banana and strawberry shake
A lot of fitness experts have promoted this banana strawberry shake recipe on different platforms. With the richness of strawberry and banana both, this shake is protein-loaded. Banana is considered great for weight loss .
What you need: one banana, 4-5 strawberries, milk, low-fat Greek yogurt.
How to make: Blend in all the ingredients together in a blender until you get a smoothie-like texture. This freshly made protein shake is the best thing that would shed away your workout blues. The taste of banana and berries would make you fall in love with it.
Also read: 7 Super-Berries That You Should Be Eating Every Day 3. Blueberry Oatmeal Shake
A lot of protein shakes have oatmeal as its main content due to its weight reduction and muscle-enhancing properties. Therefore, this shake is a must-try. On the other hand, blueberries are highly beneficial for health.
Ingredients: Half a cup of blueberries, oatmeal, chia seeds, milk, and honey(optional).
How to make: Blend all the ingredients to get a smooth texture. While this freshly-made protein shake is ready to drink, you may refrigerate it a bit and then enjoy it. Take this with you to the gym and drink as soon as you’re done working out.
Also Read: Sprouted Brown Rice: How To Make, Health Benefits and A Lot More 4. Berries, banana and orange shake
Another sweet and citrusy protein shake is this vitamin C and antioxidants rich orange, banana and berry shake.
Ingredients: Orange, banana, blueberries, oats, low-fat greek yogurt.
Process: Just blend in everything together to make the perfect protein shake. This shake is not just healthy but also tasty to the core. 

Check Out These Great Tips For Better Nutrition!

Embrace the concept of nutrition! Nutrition is a very large subject to cover. Everyone needs something slightly different when it comes to nutrition, so choosing an off-the-shelf product that works for you can be a bit tough. The tips offered in this article will give you the information you need.

When trying to come up with a grocery list of foods, try and choose foods that are not processed. You can significantly lower your intake of unhealthy fats and other toxic substances by opting for foods that are fresh and have not been preserved or processed.

It is important to consume proteins every day. Protein helps build muscle and helps maintain your skin, blood and various organs. Proteins also enable cellular processes and metabolic generation of energy. Consuming plenty of protein also helps build up your body’s immune system to fight off disease. Fish, legumes, tofu, and lean meat are all great protein sources.

There are many ways to meet your daily protein requirements that don’t involve meat. Many sources of meatless proteins are available. Some other healthy sources of protein are nuts, beans, fish, milk, and eggs. Most of these foods can function as a main course or be used as additives in other dishes. To make your diet more exotic, strive to include various sources of protein in your meals.

Do not eat any trans fat, they are mostly in foods that have been processed. Foods that are high in trans fat are more likely to cause heart disease. There is good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL). Trans fats increase the level of LDL in your body.

Stopping a junk food habit is a significant challenge, but it makes a huge difference in developing a more nutritious diet. Over a period of years, a person can become far too reliant on the taste and convenience of junk food. If you have such an addiction, you’ll probably keep craving junk for a long time after cutting them from your diet. You should know what the cravings feel like and use that to want to eat good foods.

To maximize the nutritional content of the foods in your diet, reduce the number of microwavable dinners that you eat. These meals have lots of sugras and fats that are bad for you. Fresh food is always the best way to stay healthy.

It is assumed that highly processed grains taste better than whole grains, and that is supposedly why they are used so much. White flour does taste better in some items made in bakeries. However, whole grains give a lot more flavor than the processed ones, and their fiber aids with digestion.

Moderating your meal plan can help you feel great during the day. If you eat too much, you can take in too many nutrients and fat, leaving yourself feeling out of sorts. This can damage your health due to decreased functionality.

There are countless ways to use proper nutrition to improve your health. When it comes to nutrition, there is something to suit everyone’s taste. It’s simply a matter of finding what works for you. By reading this article, we hope you will begin to find the perfect plan for you!

Weight loss is one of the most popular topics on the go right now — and we’re here to help. For starters, you’ve got to believe in yourself and realize losing weight requires small changes you can stick to so they build up over time, eventually leading to a healthier lifestyle and a trimmer and fitter you.

HOW DOES WEIGHT LOSS HAPPEN?

Calories in minus calories out: That’s the simple, age-old equation for creating a calorie deficit to lose weight. Burn more calories than you consume and you’ll lose weight, right? If only it were that easy!

The key to creating a calorie deficit is to burn a little more (or eat a little less) than your body requires for weight maintenance. The calories burned through exercise + non-exercise activity + basal metabolic rate need to be more than the calories consumed through food to produce weight loss. In general, you’ll need to create a deficit of 250–500 calories per day to lose 1/2 to 1 pound per week.

Since your basal metabolic rate (the calories you burn at rest) accounts for 60–70% of the calories burned throughout the day, it’s important to calculate that as a starting point if you’re wanting to create a deficit. How much your body burns at rest depends on many variables such as genetics, age, hormones and muscle mass. See our Essential Guide to Your Metabolism for starters.

TWO WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT

OK, so now you know about creating a calorie deficit; let’s talk about how to achieve it. There are two ways to lose weight: changing what you eat and changing how you move. Most people find a combination of the two leads to the most effective weight loss.

  1. CHANGE WHAT YOU EAT AND DRINK

Reducing how much you eat and turning to more healthful foods are the prime directives for anyone looking to lose weight. To get started, check out our Essential Guide to Healthy Eating. That said, if you don’t just want to eat healthy, but want to lose weight, you’ll want to consider these five tips as well:

Track What You Eat: What you put into your body makes a difference in your health and your weight. That slice of banana bread at the bakery looks divine. But choosing it over a banana adds more than just extra calories — you’ll be piling on more unhealthy fats and added sugar. As you track your intake, you get the bigger picture of what your food contains: carbs, fats, proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals. To get the biggest nutritional bang for your calorie buck and create a bigger calorie deficit, consume the majority of your calories from unprocessed, whole foods. Learn more about how a calorie isn’t just a calorie. While it’s important to be as accurate as you can with food tracking when trying to create a calorie deficit, don’t lose your mind in the process. It gets easier with practice. Stick with it: Logging your food consistently (even if it’s not perfect) is one of the most effective ways to lose weight. Having trouble? Learn to count calories without making yourself crazy.

Skip fizzy juice: Added sugars — sweeteners added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared — are little more than empty calories that can lead to weight gain and even obesity, which increases the risk for chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Soda is one of the leading contributors of added sugars in the diet, along with cakes, pies, ice cream and even breakfast bars and cereal. Get tips for kicking your soda habit with this article on avoiding added sugar.

Drink Water: Hydration is important for everyone, but it can also be a key component of your weight-loss efforts. In addition to keeping your body’s engine burning, water helps to stave off hunger: The more you drink, the less room you have for consuming calories. Not convinced? See 4 Ways Water Helps with Weight Loss and then learn about the science behind why water is good for weight loss.

    Plan Your Meals: Planning healthy meals ahead of time is one of the easiest things you can do to set yourself up for successful weight loss. It not only curbs the last-minute pizza delivery and fast-food drive-thru but will also help you save time, calories and money. It might even inspire you to introduce new meals into your daily routine. Find out why it’s easier than you may think at with our Essential Guide to Meal Planning.

    Practice Mindful Eating: Multitasking while eating — munching in front of the TV, snacking while writing emails or constant “sampling” while cooking — makes it challenging to be aware of what you’re putting in your body. Mindful eating is being aware of the taste, texture, smell and your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Knowing your cues and mastering the art of patience and mindfulness is the secret to losing weight for good and keeping it off. We’ve got 5 tips for practicing mindful eating.

  1. BURN THOSE CALORIES (EXERCISE)

Reducing how many calories you eat is the best way to create a calorie deficit, but working it from the other way — burning more calories — works, too. Plus, regular exercise can boost metabolism, making creating a calorie deficit easier.

To start, try one (or more) of these 10 workouts for weight loss. If you try one and don’t love it, move on to the next until you find something that works best for you and your motivation. One thing that works for lots of people: Do it with a friend.

You may be surprised, but the simple act of walking can be enough to lose weight and get in shape. Walking can help you build fitness and lose weight by helping you create a calorie deficit. Even if you’re a regular exerciser, upping your daily step count through walking increases non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which has been a big area of research because it may be an answer to how body weight is maintained, gained or lost.

Diets and Nutritional tips

8 SIMPLE WEIGHT-LOSS STRATEGIES

It’s easy enough to say eat less, move more, but often more difficult to do. We have a few ideas on how to make it easier:

  1. REMOVE TEMPTATION

If you’re trying to set yourself up for success, keeping donuts and chips around isn’t doing you any favors. Give your pantry and fridge a little makeover to stay on track with your goals. See how to spring clean your pantry and then get back on track with these 5 Ways to Make Your Kitchen an Oasis of Healthy Eating.

  1. STOP EATING AFTER DINNER

Late-night noshes are usually high-calorie, large portions or snacky foods (Read: cookies, ice cream, chips and candy) eaten mindlessly out of enjoyment to unwind from the stress of the day. It’s a recipe for weight gain and disaster. Learn what midnight snacking is doing to you.

  1. LEARN HOW TO ORDER AT RESTAURANTS

Eating out can rack up the calories, so knowing how to make healthy menu swaps is key. Whether you’re dining at your favorite taqueria, steakhouse, Italian trattoria or ordering Chinese takeout, this guide gets you on the right track toward making the healthiest selection. Be smarter at restaurants — but still enjoy yourself.

  1. MASTER CALORIE SWAPS

Whether it’s swapping hummus for mayo or zucchini noodles in lieu of traditional spaghetti, the calories you save really add up when you’re trying to create a calorie deficit. Here are 10 simple tricks that’ll help: Arm yourself with “hacks” to save calories.

  1. CONSIDER NON-SCALE VICTORIES

Your weight is determined by a variety of factors, including hydration, climate, when you last ate, bathroom habits and exercise. In other words, weight fluctuation is common, and there’s much more to good health than a number on a scale. Here’s why you should stop weighing yourself every day and how to figure out a scale schedule that works for you.

  1. GET ADEQUATE SLEEP

Sleep is undervalued. Getting enough quality sleep is holistically tied to your health and weight-loss goals. Sleep offers our bodies a chance at restoration and rejuvenation. When we’re sleep-deprived, we tend to eat more, exercise less and make poor food choices. Here are the hows and whys behind our need for sleep, along with five tips on how to get a better-quality dose of those cherished zzz’s.

IF YOU SLIP UP…

Get right back on track as soon as you can. We get it, we all fall off the wagon sometimes. It’s OK — what’s more important is understanding why you blew it and getting back on track. Try, fail and adjust … it’s a journey.

Ending The Keto Diet Plan – Is It Necessary?

What are their secrets? Let’s take a look at some of them. -In preparing for her role for the Academy Awards-nominated Aspiration Girls, Beyonce Knowles misplaced twenty lbs in just 10 times by strictly following the “Master Cleanse” diet plan which involved extreme fasting. If she at any time felt the urge to consume, she was asked to swallow a solution composed of maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, salt drinking water, and laxative tea. So repulsive is the stated answer that she lost every drop of will to consume. Another thing that you require to concentrate on is insulin resistance. This truly is also recognized as starvation diabetic issues. Hyperinsulinemia and blood sugar levels swings may probably happen, as soon as you introduce carbs to the keto diet plan plan. This is because of the change in the quantities of enzymes in the body. The enzymes that are primarily affected are the people that are concerned in carbs or fats burning. Since the physique experienced not been fed with carbs, ending a cyclical Keto Burn Extreme will also suggest that the ‘down regulation’ will be changed. Remaining on the ketosis diet plan will keep your insulin needs in balance. Carbs have usually produced issues for individuals with diabetes. There are hundreds of efficient diet plan ideas. You can always search your dieting choices. You can explore them on-line as well. Whether or not you want to attempt diet pills or just consuming much less; many turn to diet plan beverages and have a light dinner. Other people may not alter what they eat but the amount they eat. Some may determine to be a part of a health and fitness club. No matter, usually speak to your doctor or health and fitness teacher prior to beginning a new diet plan or workout program. With all the controversies surrounding low-carb diets and the scores of variation, the initial stage is to become informed. You require to know how reducing carbs functions, what meals have carbs, and how to eat a balanced reduced-carb diet with sufficient fiber, protein and fat. The higher fiber content of the acorn squash means that the food has high drinking water content material. This “high quantity” food is a lot more filling which leads to success in excess weight loss applications especially if ready without using complete body fat butter and sugar. Right here is a recipe that utilizes coronary heart healthy oil rather of butter and a excess weight loss friendly sweetener instead than white sugar. Numerous favor performing an exercise that is carried out with a mixture of body actions; just like the cardio physical exercise with the cyclical ketogenic diet. It is not truly an easy way to do because it demands a lot of power in carrying out it. This kind of exercise is not recommended to these who are on a limited calorie diet plan particularly when their power is also affected. When performing an aerobic exercise you should have sufficient power to accomplish it but how will you in a position to do it if you are just eating a restricted quantity of meals. Once an individual is on a diet he or she can only do limited activities. It can even make them easily get tired and become weak. This does not occur when you are on a ketogenic diet plan. To get the extra energy required on the keto burn, you will need to eat chicken, steak, fish, sausage, whole eggs, bacon, and protein shakes. You want to consume 1.5g of body fat for every gram of protein. Goal to eat upwards of 5 foods a day. Your muscle tissues need the additional foods to grow. After all, a major component of bodybuilding consists of supplying your muscles with nutrients. Now that she has experienced time to rest, doctors are saying that the seizure was far more serious than anybody believed. Osbourne will remain in the clinic for a few much more days. It’s thought that Kelly is an epileptic and for now she is on anti-seizure medicines. Osbourne may also need to think about a dietary change to control future seizures with a high body fat, reduced carb, diet plan such as the keto burn xtreme diet plan. Make no mistake; this is not the Atkins diet plan or some variation of that eating plan. Those who advantage the most from the Atkins ideas are those who usually are not extreme about bodily activity and may restrict their activity to 3 times a week of cardio exercise such as walking. The cyclical Keto Burn Extreme strategy is for these who want to burn fat but much more importantly, preserve muscle mass. Of program this will assist maintain up the intense workout applications related with restructuring and fortifying your body. Are you too exhausted and too busy to focus on dropping weight through a wholesome diet plan and normal physical exercise? Are you interested in a excess weight reduction supplement answer that functions and is recommended by a top fitness business? There are several different factors why you may be considering a tummy tuck. Whether it be a more match appear, fixing the body change of being pregnant or extreme excess weight reduction, it by no means hurts to consult with a expert.

Foods for Weight Loss 4 Must Have Foods to Include in Your Nutritional Plan

It’s easy to sit here and tell you to eat healthily in order to lose weight, but what is actually considered healthy? Years ago, margarine was marketed as being a “healthy alternative” to butter. Nowadays, thanks to the advancements in modern technology, we know that it is one of the unhealthiest ingredients ever created, and that natural butter is actually good for us. Because there is so much misinformation floating around out there with regards to healthy eating, we feel a little transparency is necessary. If you’re looking to lose weight, here’s a look at 4 must-have foods to include in your nutritional plan.

Salmon – Salmon is a fatty fish, rich in healthy oils. It is packed full of essential fatty acids that promote numerous aspects of health and wellness. For weight loss, this fish is ideal. Sure, it may be high in calories, but providing you track your calories and don’t consume more than your body needs, you will lose weight. The fats found in salmon help to boost the metabolism, which allows you to burn off more calories and convert them into energy. As well as that, salmon is also rich in protein, which has a thermogenic effect on the body. Protein is harder for the body to breakdown than other macronutrients, which means that the body needs more energy to digest it. As well as that, it also stays in your stomach for longer, so you feel full for longer.

Leafy green vegetables – Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, swiss chard, collard greens, and more, are also ideal for people looking to lose weight. These veggies are nutritional powerhouses that are loaded full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help to, among other things, speed up the metabolism so you burn off more calories. They’re also rich in soluble fiber, which promotes satiety. Soluble fiber breaks down when it comes into contact with water and forms a thick paste that swells and expands within the stomach. This in turn keeps you feeling full. As well as that they’re virtually fat-free and are very low in calories.

Oatmeal – If you’re looking for a healthy food to start your day with, oatmeal is perfect. Oatmeal is low in fat, its another great source of fiber, it’s surprisingly rich in protein, and it contains B vitamins and minerals such as iron, which also help to promote a healthy metabolism. For people looking to lose weight, oatmeal is great because it provides a slow and gradual release of energy, which helps regulate blood glucose levels.

Eggs – Eggs, and yes, we also mean egg yolks, are another food that is great for shedding those unsightly pounds. Whole eggs contain healthy fats that boost the metabolism, they’re rich in muscle-building protein, they’re a complete protein source as they contain all essential and non-essential amino acids needed by the body, and they’re also high in important minerals such as choline, which is great for the brain.

5 Ways Protein Can Help You Lose Stubborn Belly Fat Losing weight can be a massive struggle for some people. activity isn’t always the easiest thing to do, Creating a healthy meal plan and increasing your overall habits will set you up for lifetime weight loss success and there’s another way to lose that stubborn belly fat. How can protein help you lose stubborn belly fat? Protein is one of the most important nutrients you need for a healthier body and faster weight loss. When you switch your body to higher protein intake it can help to boost your metabolism, manipulate hormones that control your weight regulation and reduce your appetite. 

#1:Satisfies hunger and saves calories Protein is great for helping you feel fuller longer. It aids in slowing down your digestion which can may you feel satisfied for much longer. Feeling fuller can help you eat less which can add to your caloric deficit. 

#2: It helps with carb highs and lows Pairing your protein with carbs can slow down the absorption of sugar from your bloodstream. This is perfect for keeping your blood sugar from skyrocketing and ward off any of your future cravings.

#3:Requires Energy, The thermic effect of food or TEF is the energy that we all use in the process of digestion. When consuming protein it has a higher TEF compared to consuming carbs or fat. This means that you’ll actually burn more calories eating protein than other macronutrient

#4:Fat Burning Fuel, When you work on burning fat through exercise and dieting, your body can lose muscle and fat. During your fat loss journey, it’s best to up your protein. Having that protein fuels your ability to fat build while preserving and feeding your muscles with necessary nutrients.

#5:Promoting Muscle Growth and Repair Your body’s protein needs will increase after intense exercise, so upping your protein intake on days with heavy gym sessions can be beneficial. High protein snacks following a training session can supply your muscles with much-needed nutrients and allow them to grow and repair. When it comes to weight loss, protein is without a doubt the most important macronutrient that you can consume.

“Thermic Effect Of Food” (TEF) When you eat food, a portion of the calories you consume get used for metabolizing and digesting it. This occurrence is known as the thermic effect of food. And when it comes to protein, this macronutrient has an incredibly higher thermic effect compared to fat and carbohydrates. So, by consuming a lot of protein, your body will already start burning calories.

Protein Will Boost Your Metabolism Protein feeds and preserves lean muscle mass, which can be lost during weight loss and which increases metabolism even when the body is at rest. An increased metabolism means that you’ll get a chance to burn more calories throughout the day (even while you’re sleeping).
According to the Departments of Nutrition of the Arizona State University East, following a high-protein diet can help you burn as much as 80 to 100 calories every day just because of the boost it will give to your metabolism as well as the following benefits:

  • Digests slowly to keep you full longer so you eat less
  • Fuels fat burning
  • Promotes muscle growth and repair
  • Increases levels of appetite-reducing hormones, such as GLP-1, peptide YY and cholecystokinin while also reducing levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin
  • Studies show protein helps reduce out of control cravings and late night snacking
  • It can lower your blood pressure

Twelve Foods You Should Never Eat for Breakfast

We’ve all heard it before. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This meal will set the tone for the rest of your day, so you want to do it right. Would you be surprised to hear that you have most likely been doing it wrong all along?

That’s right – the types of food you most likely think of when you think of breakfast are probably the last things you want to eat for breakfast. You need food rich in vitamins to get your day started right, not food that is going to weigh you down.

Sure, you’re starving in the morning. It’s natural to want to go for that quick refill, but while this food might fill you up, it most certainly does not charge you and get you ready to take on the day. So here are twelve foods you’ll want to think twice about when you wake up in the morning.

  1. Pancakes, waffles, and French toast – Say it ain’t so. Who doesn’t love a big, syrupy pancake breakfast in the morning? Your body, that’s who. Pancakes, waffles, and French toast are not good to have first thing in the morning. All of those carbs and sugar are not the way you want to get your day going.
  2. Pastries – Donuts, Danishes and other pastries are not your best friend in the morning. Lots of sugar but little fiber makes for a rapid rise in blood sugar. This is not the way you want to start your day because it won’t be long before you have a sugar crash.
  3. Bagels – What, now we can’t even have a bagel and a schmear in the morning? What is this world coming to? Like the other pastries, bagels will give you that great big high, but a very quick low. Before long you’ll be hungry for more, but you’ll also be bloated and possibly even constipated. So just skip the bagel.
  4. Breakfast smoothies – Okay, not all breakfast smoothies are created equal. There are some that are a good choice, but you want to stay away from processed ingredients. Breakfast smoothies created with fruit juices, ice cream, chocolate syrups and powders, agave nectar, protein powders, or non-organic peanut butter are not doing you any favors. You need a breakfast smoothie that is going to be rich in nutrients with ingredients like fresh fruits and vegetables, chia seeds, and coconut milk.
  5. Boxed cereals – And we always thought that if you ate your Wheaties every morning you would become an Olympic athlete. The problem with most boxed cereals is they are loaded with sugar and artificial flavoring. Cereals like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, and Honey Nut Cheerios have lots of ingredients listed that just aren’t good for you. If you stick with the organic cereals and ones with a few ingredients (without sugar at the top of the list), then you’re fine.
  6. Bacon and Eggs, or Sausage and Eggs – This protein-filled breakfast has been a go-to for people for many years. But it is high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein, which do nothing good for your digestive system. It will just leave you feeling slow and moody in the morning, which is not how you want to start your day.
  7. Muffins – AKA mini cakes. Usually packed with artificial sweeteners and processed ingredients, these yummy foods will cause a spike in your blood sugar like many of its other pastry-like counterparts. If you can’t do without your muffin then make your own out of gluten free flour, and use applesauce instead of oil and bananas to sweeten them.
  8. Granola bars – Another food that unless you make it yourself you probably want to avoid. Store-bought granola bars might seem healthy, but they are often filled with fats and unhealthy sugars.
  9. Yogurt – The dairy in yogurt is not a good way to start your day. It triggers the release of mucus from your body which can result in a phlegmy cough and runny nose. This is another example of a time when making your own is best. Making a yogurt out of coconut or almond milk will be a much better alternative.
  10. Breakfast sandwiches – This goes back to the protein-packed bacon and eggs. Same idea here. They don’t have fiber and nutrients, and are very high in fat, sodium, and sugar.
  11. Toast – There just are not enough nutrients to make this a good breakfast food and way to start your day. If you truly cannot do without toast, then opt for a gluten free option for your bread.
  12. Instant Oatmeal – This highly processed version of oatmeal is packed with added sugar and flavoring and almost no fiber to get your day started right. Opt for rolled oats or steel cut oats the next time you want oatmeal for breakfast.Stay away from these breakfast options in the morning and you are sure to have a much brighter start to your day every morning.

4 Small Diet Changes for Big Results

Cleaning up your diet can be one of the best ways to get healthy. In fact, only about 25% of your results will happen in the gym, while the other 75% happens in the kitchen. Cleaning up your diet can seem like a daunting task, but drastic changes are not necessary and will probably be unsuccessful for long-term change. Here are some helpful tips!

1. START SNACKING. You may find yourself struggling for energy throughout the day if you consume 3 large meals per day. Reducing your meal size and adding small snacks in between your meals can help combat those roller coaster energy levels. Try snacking on veggies, fruits, or nuts. Avoid processed foods that are usually high in sugar and bad fat like potato chips or candy bars.

2. DRINK WATER. The human body is about 50-75% water. Without water, nutrients can’t be properly transported throughout the body. Try substituting a bottle of water for a soft drink as much as possible to avoid excess caloric intake. If you need the extra caffeine boost, then try green tea.

3. FIBER, FIBER, FIBER. Fiber is essential in keeping your gastrointestinal freeways running smoothly. No one likes bloating and being backed up, so try adding foods like black beans, fruits, veggies, or flax. Drinking water is also important for consuming fiber because it will get things moving. If you do not drink enough water but consume a large amount of fiber, you run the risk of feeling more bloating and backed up.

4. LIMIT ALCOHOL. I know this seems rather obvious, but it can hold you back more than you think. With all the light beers coming out and trying to present themselves as a “healthy beer”, it can actually turn out worse than drinking a normal beer. Since light beer contains fewer calories, people tend to feel they can drink more, which can add more unwanted calories. In addition to the unwanted calories, alcohol lowers protein synthesis, which is the main indicator of muscle growth. Alcohol has a downward spiraling effect in which a decrease in protein synthesis leads to a decrease in muscle mass, which will lead to a lower metabolic rate, which ultimately makes it harder to lose weight! 1 pound of muscle burns 5 times more calories than a pound of fat, so don’t minimize your muscle mass by over indulging on alcohol.

6 Incredible Benefits That Vegetables Provide That You May Not Know About

When some people hear the word “vegetable”, it can make their skin crawl. With a clean eating lifestyle, you will be eating a lot of vegetables, so to encourage people in your family who might not be on board yet, it helps to know the many benefits of them.

Vegetables Are Packed With Nutrients One of the top benefits to eating more vegetables is the fact that they are filled with nutrients, including a wide range of vitamins and minerals. They allow you to be healthier and can even keep you from having to take all those supplements each day! In fact, many vegetables contain vitamins like A, C, E, and D, in addition to having a lot of fiber, folic acid, potassium, and calcium. Some vegetables have so many nutrients in a single serving that they are considered a super food, such as garlic, spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes.

You Can Improve Your Physical Health Thanks to all of these vitamins and nutrients, eating more vegetables also helps you to prevent serious physical conditions. For example, vegetables are known to reduce blood pressure and prevent bad cholesterol, which can help you prevent heart disease and other cardiovascular issues. You can also get more healthy red blood cells, which helps to reduce your risk for diabetes, stroke, and cancer. Women eating vegetables can have healthier babies.

They Are Low in Calories If you are looking to lose weight, vegetables are an ideal food to eat on their own, in salads, or as a side dish. Many vegetables are low in calories; some so low that the calorie count is close to zero. They are often chosen as the food to eat when you are hungry and on a diet, but don’t have many calories left for the day. Some of the vegetables with the lowest calorie count include celery, romaine lettuce, and cucumber, with 13 calories, 18 calories, and 20 calories per serving respectfully.

Vegetables Are a Great Source of Fiber Among the different nutrients included in vegetables, fiber is one of the most important. Imagine having regular bowel movements just by using more vegetables in your recipes? When you switch to clean eating and increase your vegetable intake, you also benefit from the fiber content by having lower cholesterol, better bowel health, and lower blood sugar levels.

Your Skin Will Look Better If your bathroom counter is overflowing with skin care products, now is the time to stop! Save your money and your sanity by improving your skin naturally with vegetables. Nutrients like the high water content, vitamin C and phytonutrients make vegetables an amazing way to improve your skin. You will have beautiful, glowing skin that has less sun spots and reduced acne.

7 Clean Eating Tips You’ll Want to Know About

Deciding to eat clean and limit processed food is difficult.  Breaking old habits gets harder as you get older.  You get more set in your ways.  Then when you want to change, you’re overwhelmed and not quite sure what to change.

Diets and Nutritional tips

1. Eat Five or Six Small Meals

Purchase smaller plates and eat several meals throughout the day instead of the three large meals that you’re used of.  You’ll feel more satisfied and won’t have the urge to overeat.

2. Learn What Portion Sizes Look Like

Most people think they can look at a portion size and know when it is a serving.  This isn’t true.  America’s tend to overfill their plates and that has become the custom.  Don’t guess, you’ll no doubt over eat if you do.

3. Eat More Fruits and Veggies

Get more fruits and vegetables in your diet.  Change a packaged snack for an apple, banana or a bag of grapes.  An easy way to get a few servings of both fruit and vegetables is to juice or make smoothies.

4. Eat Three Servings Of Whole Grain a Day

Trade the unrefined grains such as white bread products to whole wheat.  Check the ingredients and make sure that whole wheat is listed as one of the first three ingredients or that that package says 100% whole wheat.

5. Take Snacks On The Go

Make sure you pack your own snacks when you leave the house.  You won’t be tempted to stop at the corner store to pick up something real quick.  If you already have a bag of carrots in your purse or car it will help you until you get home.

6. Five Ingredient Rule

Making your food from scratch is not always an option.  Sometimes there are circumstances where you need to buy sauces in a jar or packaged products.  When that happens make sure that you can read each ingredient on the label and that there are only five ingredients total.

7. Include the Family

Take into account how your family feels and what they like.  Find recipes that you know they will like.  Start with their favorite dishes and substitute one or two things.  Instead of buying spaghetti sauce with mushrooms and green peppers inside a jar, buy fresh vegetables and add those to the mixture.

The important thing is that you take action towards your goal every single day. 

You Can Reduce Your Stress Levels

Whether you have a demanding job, busy schedule, or simply have difficulty with all your daily responsibilities, you have likely been looking for easy ways to relieve stress. Just eating better and increasing your vegetable intake can be a huge help. Vegetables like swiss chard, kale, and spinach are wonderful for stress since they contain magnesium, which helps to improve your stress hormones. Vegetables can also help you to control anxiety and depression. As you can see vegetables have a huge variety of health benefits.  Help your family get into the habit of eating them daily.  They’ll be amazed how they feel and their health will be much better for it.

The Top 10 Mistakes Low-Carb Athletes Make.

Maybe the title of this article scares you a little bit…
…after all, if there’s so much that can “go wrong” with the ketogenic and low carb lifestyle, is it worth all the effort? Or do you think you will never “get there” and achieve nutritional ketosis because there seem to so many stumbling blocks in your way, like talk about thyroid damage, lack of energy or extreme dietary restriction?
Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as it sounds, and if you do a ketogenic diet the right way, you can avoid the potential health risks. It’s just important to have a basic understanding of nutrition and metabolism before embarking on this specific dietary approach, and a good way to do that is to see the kind of mistakes that people commonly make on a ketogenic diet.
So in this article, you’re going to get the top 10 mistakes low-carb athletes make.  Enjoy, leave your questions and comments below the post, and be sure to check out the brand new book just published by Greenfield Fitness Systems, entitled “ Practical Keto Meal Plans For Endurance Athletes: Tips, Tricks And How To’s For Optimizing Performance Using A High Fat, Low Carb Meal Plan .”

Mistake #1. Being Scared of Fat
The ketogenic diet is very different to the standard American or British- or any Western- diet. The main goal of a ketogenic lifestyle is to teach the body to use ketone bodies derived from fatty acids rather than glucose as the main source of energy. This is why the amount of fat you consume on a ketogenic is about 75-85+% of total daily calorie intake.
In other words, if you work out quite a bit you probably eat about 2,900 calories a day, of which about 2,300 will come from fat if you follow a ketogenic diet. Fat has 9 calories per gram, and therefore you will consume 256g of fat every day- depending on how much you train of course. To simplify this further: One tablespoon of olive oil , for instance, weighs about 14g, so all in all your daily fat intake will be about 18 tablespoons. Wow!
Although I was totally aware that I needed to focus mainly on fat when I started the ketogenic diet, I still had this mental block about it. I had been brain washed by the food industry for so long that fat is evil that it was really hard to convince myself of the opposite. And I was so used to eating carbs non-stop, doing carb loading before competitions and avoiding fat that it took me a while to get my head (and body) around this new way of eating. But it’s key to ketogenic success!

Mistake #2. Eating Too Much Protein
Another mistake beginners make is to replace most of the carbohydrates they used to eat with protein instead of fat. I see this happen all the time. The problem is that excess protein intake can lead to gluconeogenesis, which is the conversion of amino acids to glucose. This is not what we want on a ketogenic diet- on the contrary, we need to keep glucose levels low and encourage the production of ketone bodies from fatty acids.
Many people are surprised when they start weighing their food according to my meal plans and realize how little protein they actually need to eat on a ketogenic diet! But fat is protein sparing, which means that your need for protein decreases with a high fat intake.

Mistake #3: Carbs Creeping In
This seems very obvious! But it actually isn’t as simple as you think because carbohydrates can very quickly add up, especially if you’re keen to get your veggies, herbs and spices in. They’re also in products you’d never think contain carbs.
Good examples are any processed foods (we’ll talk about them later), shop bought salad dressings, milk substitutes (many coconut and almond milks have added sugar), tomato sauce, some meats like duck confit, starchy vegetables and even herbal tea, to name just a few. Eating out can be a challenge because many restaurants like to use sauces, dressings and dips that have added honey or other sources of sugar. It tastes nice but is not keto-friendly! Having solid, reliable information is key to carbohydrate restriction, especially in the initial stages when metabolic changes happen.

Mistake #4: Giving Up Too Early
The quicker you go into nutritional ketosis, the more side effects you might suffer from initially. The metabolic changes can be dramatic because every single cell in the body needs to do the switch from glucose to fat metabolism. Insulin is impacted: Levels go down because of reduced consumption of carbohydrates, which has an effect on the kidneys. Insulin tells the kidneys to hold on to sodium. If insulin is at a consistently lower level, the body starts getting rid of excess sodium and also water.
This is why it’s so important to ensure you add sufficient sodium to your diet and keep well hydrated, especially in the first few days of starting to reduce carbohydrates. This will make sure you don’t suffer from any of the symptoms of the dreaded “keto flu”: shivers, foggy brain, headaches or nausea are some of the possible symptoms. It’s probably more appropriate to call them “carbohydrate withdrawal symptoms” because of the effects on hormonal and electrolyte balance.
Things that help to get over these initial obstacles are strong bone broth with good quality salt, lots of rest, no intense exercise and plenty of mineral-rich water, e.g. San Pellegrino. However, the best advice I can give is to take things slowly and not to give up when you’re feeling a bit off in the initial stages- provided you’ve done all the suggested blood tests to exclude any underlying health issues prior to starting a ketogenic diet.

Mistake #5. Being Scared Of New Foods And Eating The Same Meals Over and Over Again
Many people feel overwhelmed in the initial stages of implementing a low carb and ketogenic diet. And because they have very little experience with certain new foods, they keep eating the same “safe” low-carb stuff. For instance bacon and eggs for breakfast and nuts for snacks!
Of course this means that you are eating low carb but as a nutritionist guiding athletes through the diet, my first priority is always to improve their health. And this is only possible with a nutritious, varied and individualized approach. Eating the same things over again isn’t only boring, it may also set you up for having nutrient deficiencies and developing food intolerances. This happens quite often especially if you’re a little stressed, your gut function isn’t optimal or if you’re on medication.
Food intolerances can have an impact not only on your gut health by causing bloating, cramps, diarrhea, constipation or other symptoms, but also on your immune system. My best advice is to keep experimenting with new foods, even if they seem utterly strange to you, like (for instance) chicken liver, which is way easier to find and prepare than you’d think.

Mistake #6. Eating Processed Foods
This is especially common for people who have read about the Atkins diet and seen the products that are sold online and in stores. Yes, they keep you within the carbohydrate limits that you choose and may make life a lot easier but they are also full of artificial flavours, colouring, polydextrose, sucralose and other artificial sweeteners that can mess with your mental and physical health.
My rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t be able to bake or cook a meal based on the ingredients list (because you don’t recognize half of them or wouldn’t know where to buy them), you should stay away from it. Hopefully, with an increasing amount of research to confirm the benefits of low carb and ketogenic diets for various health conditions, there will be plenty of incentives for companies to produce snacks based on real foods.

Mistake #7. Lack Of Planning (And Obsessing Too Much).
Both lack of planning and obsessing too much can be stumbling stones. If you don’t plan you’re much more likely to “fail” and give up on your lifestyle changes. You see, the problem is that when you realize you haven’t got all of the ingredients you need for a low carb recipe, you might not find them in your corner shop.
Some of the products that are staples on a low carb or ketogenic diet like coconut oil , olives, oily fish or ghee can only be bought in health shops or online. More and more supermarkets start to stock them but this really depends where you live. If you plan a bit ahead and know that you need certain things to follow the meal plans in my eBook , for instance, you won’t get stressed because you already have them in your cupboard. Planning also makes it easier to cook in bulk and therefore save time and money.
On the other hand, I often work with clients who start obsessing too much and plan every single bite they eat during the day. Obviously, it’s a slightly different story for somebody following a ketogenic diet for medical reasons, for instance in the case of epilepsy, where they diet has to be well calculated and no mistakes can be made without a serious consequence. But sometimes people tell me they’re so stressed out about dietary changes that they wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep. They worry what their next meal would look like, how they could further increase ketones or what to eat on a holiday! In this case, it’s time to take a (big) step back, relax, try some recipes without weighing and counting and maybe give it another go after a few weeks with lots of support and preparation. Stressing about food can cancel out all the positive effects of good nutrition!

Mistake #8. Ignoring Your Body’s Warning Signs
Athletes who obsess over dietary changes can get caught up in measuring blood glucose and ketones, weighing their food all the time, creating exact meal plans and they can get really scared of eating out where things are out of their control. In my experience, they are also likely candidates to ignore their body’s warning signs.
I used to be an “expert” in this: even though I sometimes didn’t feel like doing another high intensity training, I went ahead and did it because it was on my training plan. And there were foods I couldn’t stand because they tended to bloat me but I still ate them because I read somewhere that they’re really good for triathletes!
Please don’t forget that you know your body best and that no meal or training plan can beat your innate knowledge and intuition. Take warning signs seriously and don’t override them because you have it in your head to stick to a particular regime.
Low carb and ketogenic diets aren’t for everyone and if you feel worse than before- even after getting over the initial symptoms I talked about earlier- then it’s probably time to stop and reconsider.

Mistake #9. Social Pressure
This is a big one and can’t be underestimated! The amount of times I’m at a party and have to listen to “Oh come on, surely one piece of cake won’t hurt you, don’t be so extreme!”… and the last thing I want to do is going into a scientific monologue and talk about metabolism at a party. Even 3 years into following a ketogenic diet I still get comments from family and even close friends- although they all know how miraculous the diet has been for my health.
But ketogenic diets are still very poorly understood even by the medical profession. People don’t understand that you can’t follow the famous 80/20 rule where some treats are allowed in moderate amounts. You’re either in ketosis or you’re not. It’s pretty black or white, actually!
And, trust me, once you’ve been keto adapted for a while and you eat a piece of cake, you will feel pretty shoddy and not remotely in party mood afterwards…

Mistake #10. Poor Timing
And finally, let me talk about when to start lowering your carbs or attempting to go into ketosis. Please don’t do it a week before your most important competition of the season or during a time when you’re super busy at work.
In my experience, the best time of the year to make major changes to diet and lifestyle is when you’re “off season”. During my competitive years, I always took a good break in November from intensive training or competitions and focused on relaxation and restoration. Another good time is to start is before some preparatory competitions to build towards your most important race. That’s when you see how your body responds to higher intensity and if the diet doesn’t suit you, you still have plenty of time to make changes.

Discover Mayo Clinic’s first-ever weight-loss diet,

 The ast diet you’ll ever need! Bogus “Mayo Clinic diets”—based on everything from cabbage soup to grapefruit to bacon—have been circulating for decades. These diets have no connection to Mayo Clinic, but their popularity told us that people are hungry for a diet based on Mayo’s research and clinical experience. So, here it is— for real—The Mayo Clinic Diet. In our work with literally thousands of patients every week over many years, we’ve identified the leading habits of people who maintain a healthy weight, and the habits of those who don’t. We’ve boiled this research down to five simple habits to help you take off the extra weight—and five habits to break so that you can keep it from coming back. Plus, we’ve made it easy. You don’t have to sit down and read The Mayo Clinic Diet cover to cover. Instead, use this step-by-step program to lose weight the same way you gained it—one day at a time. Because what works is keeping it simple! • In Part 1—“Lose It!” is a two-week quick start for losing 6 to 10 pounds in a safe and healthy way. That’s real results, real fast! • In Part 2—“Live It!” helps you continue losing 1 to 2 pounds a week until you reach your goal. Then, learn to maintain your healthy weight for life. • In Part 3—“All the Extra Stuff!” contains meal planners, recipes, tips on overcoming challenges and much more to help you along the way. The Mayo Clinic Diet puts you in charge of reshaping your body and your lifestyle by adopting healthy habits and breaking unhealthy ones. This book offers a plan for a sustainable lifestyle, not just a diet. Discover better health through better weight management by following The Mayo Clinic Diet.

10 Signs That You Have An Unhealthy Relationship With Food

We all know that an unhealthy relationship leaves you feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied. No matter how hard you try to make it work, there is no way to get past the fact that the relationship is sapping your emotional health.

The relationship you have with food can be detrimental to your health and weight loss when it is an unhealthy one.

Here are ten signs that you have an unhealthy relationship with food

  1. You Think About Food All The Time: When you have access to food when you are hungry, there is no reason for thoughts of food to consume your mind and interfere with your life. Constant thoughts about food are a sign that you may be denying yourself nutrients your body needs.
  2. You Prefer To Eat In Private: If you can’t handle eating with people without feeling self-conscious, or obsessing over what your options may be at a restaurant or party, chances are your food relationship isn’t healthy.
  3. Suffer From Food Guilt: There is no reason you should spend hours beating yourself up for having a second slice of cake or eating an extra breadstick. If you are spending more time mentally beating yourself up for eating something than you spent enjoying it, you are suffering from food guilt.
  4. You Deny Yourself The Foods You Crave: A healthy relationship with foods means that you know what you want as well as what you need in your diet. It also means that you accommodate both your wants and your needs. Often cravings are our body’s way of telling us we are lacking something in our diets.
  5. You Cut Out Entire Food Groups: Healthy eating is all about balance. Rigid perfectionism in your diet is a precursor for disordered eating and a definite warning sign to an unhealthy relationship with food.
  6. You Eat The Same Foods All The Time: Trying new foods isn’t something that that should cause you anxiety unless you have a severe food allergy causing the anxiety. If the idea of trying a new food causes fears and anxiety to surface, you could have bigger problems to deal with.
  7. Your Emotions Control Your Eating Habits: If you eat to procrastinate, to entertain yourself, to reward yourself, or to console yourself, you are allowing your emotions to control your eating habits. This means that you aren’t listening to your body about what its needs are.
  8. There are no hard and fast rules that you need to follow in order to lose, maintain, or gain weight. If your mind is more concerned with following unnecessary rules when it comes to food instead of listening to your body, chances are, you need to evaluate your relationship with food.
  9. Choosing to eat a salad for lunch because you know you are going out for pizza for dinner is called balance. Going on a week-long juice cleanse because you ate three slices instead of two is a sign that you need to evaluate your relationship with food.
  10. A couple signs that you have no self-control when it comes to food are when you can’t have certain foods in the house without eating them. A lack of self-control regarding food is a definite sign you need some help with your relationship relating to food.

If you have identified that your relationship with food is unhealthy, you might be wondering what the next steps are. If you find that your negative relationship with food is affecting your quality of life, then it might be time to consider why you have the relationship with food that you do.

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