Which is the Best Diet?

As new research comes out, the age-old debate over the best diet for weight loss keeps evolving. Is it a low-fat diet, a low-carb diet, the Military Diet, paleo, gluten-free, or something else? 

The answer really boils down to you. Ultimately, all of these diets are just fancy ways of cutting calories so that you eat less than you burn. That's the only way you'll lose weight. 

Before you decide, explore your choices. Make sure the diet you choose isn't bad for you, ask yourself these important questions, and talk to your doctor or another licensed health professional to help you make the right decision.

Many diet plans make promises that weight loss is easy, that you can eat anything that you want and that you'll see quick results. The claims can be both tempting and confusing. So, how do you sort through the plans to find the best diet plan for you? Ask yourself these questions before investing any time or money in a weight loss plan plan.

What is my budget? Before you begin shopping for the best weight loss plan, decide if you have money to invest. Then, based on that budget, investigate as many diet plans and products as possible. Be sure to evaluate all costs that might be involved. This includes the cost of the food, support services, reference materials and exercise classes. 

Keep in mind that the cost of a diet program is not necessarily a predictor of the plan's success. Just because you pay to lose weight doesn't mean that the weight will necessarily disappear. However, there is some evidence that suggests commercial weight loss plans are more successful than trying to lose weight on your own. Research in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that dieters who followed a structured commercial plan lost slightly more weight than those who followed a self-help plan.

But if you don't have money to spend on a commercial diet, don't worry. There are some great online weight loss programs that are cheap or even free.  These apps, online workouts and virtual coaching services are perfect if you are a do-it-yourself type who prefers to be independent and create your own weight loss program. The best program for you is the one you can stick to. This is more than a diet it's a life long meal plan you can stick to so be carefully. Don't give up because because you didn't pick well, most people don't. You'll gain knowledge and do better next time.

I chose the Mediterranean diet that the people of the Mediterranean region have had for centuries. You'll find it on the internet for free. I chose it because the food chooses are numerous, more than any other plan I looked at and it's a proven plan with thousands of years of proven results.

One of the reasons that many diets fail is that busy schedules get in the way of good eating-habits. It's hard to pass by a fast-food restaurant after working a 10-hour day. But if you know that a healthy meal is waiting at home, making a good choice might be easier.

If your serious about succeeding this time, you want to prepare your own meals. You can't trust pre-made food, you don't know what in it. You can't trust food labels. The pre-made diet meals are usually very small and the plan is to starve you and you'll lose weight. You can't lose weight by starving. This is the biggest mistake that even the commercial plans get wrong. All the designer plans want to cut your calories by giving less food. If you eat less, you'll lose weight. But the idea doesn't work very long because you can't keep restricting your food intake. That leading to bingeing and then you develop a more serious problem. 

The trick is to change the food your eating so you eat less calories, not less food. You don't want to be hungry. Eat fresh and eat clean and you can eat all you need to stay full. 

In the process of choosing the right diet for you, try to ignore the claims and advertisements. Focus on your own physical, emotional and lifestyle considerations to find a plan that helps you reach your weight loss goal.

Eating fresh means no packaged foods, no frozen foods, no processed foods, no frankenfood, You want food that gives you the most nutrition in every meal. Also eat more seafood. You can find websites like seafoodedf.org which will tell you which seafoods are low in mercury. Another tip is to drink more water and avoid drinks with calories. Also eat less red meat; Americans eat too much red meat and tube meat; it contain animal fat and it will add inches to your waist line.

Losing body fat should be your goal. Read up on weight loss and losing body fat. It doesn’t cost money to lose weight. The internet is full of free information.

But the quickest way and cheapest way is to buy an ebook online and get everything you need in one short read. I have two ebooks on Amazon:

How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight

Getting To A Healthy Weight

Check out one of them, I think you can find all the info you need and plenty of tips on how I lost my body fat. 

Look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find these e-books. These books give you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my books at Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,

 iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Can Animal Fat Shorten Your Life?

Study Cites the Fats That Could Shorten Your Life

High levels of animal-based saturated fats were tied to earlier death, unsaturated fats seem healthier

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

I like this author, he always has something interesting to write about. I am a believer that we should avoid red meat as much as possible. This post is a good explanation of why we should.

(HealthDay News) -- Hold the butter, margarine, and high-fat dairy: A new study supports the notion that these "saturated" fats are bad for you.

The study, which followed more than 126,000 people for three decades, found that people who ate higher amounts of saturated fats and trans fats died earlier than those who stuck to healthier unsaturated fats.

Unsaturated fats include plant-based, unprocessed fats such as those found in olive, canola or soybean oil, the study authors explained.

"It is important to analyze what you're eating -- are they hydrogenated fats coupled with refined carbohydrates [for example, white bread] or are they unsaturated from plant sources?"

During the follow-up visits with the group, more than 33,300 of the participants died. Researchers reported that eating more saturated fat and trans fat was associated with a higher risk of death during the study.

For example, for every 2 percent rise in trans fat intake, there was a 16 percent higher odds of dying during the study period, the researchers found.

Trans fats are an especially unhealthy form of dietary fat that are gradually being phased out of the American food supply, the study authors noted.

Likewise, every 5 percent increase in saturated fat intake was tied to an 8 percent rise in risk of dying during the study period, the findings. 

But the opposite was true with plant-based unsaturated fats. In that case, eating high amounts of polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats was linked to an 11 percent to 19 percent reduction in death risk during the study period. 

Polyunsaturated fats include the omega-6 fatty acids found in most plant-based oils and omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and soy and canola oils, Hu's team noted. High intakes of both types of fats seemed tied to longer lifespans, the researchers said.

Shifting your diet from saturated to unsaturated fats might have real health benefits, the study suggested. The investigators found that replacing just 5 percent of calories from saturated fats with equivalent calories from polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat was associated with a 27 percent and 13 percent reduced risk of death, respectively, during the study period.

"Essential fatty acids are found in most foods in their natural state, such as cold water fish, nuts, seeds, hemp, and avocados," she explained. "The saturated sources are usually processed, including fractioned oils, hydrogenated oils, margarine, butter, animal fats and high-fat dairy products."

Mary Grace Webb is assistant director of clinical nutrition at NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens hospital. She agreed that the new data "reinforces the need for consumers to include healthier unprocessed plant-based fats in their diets, which are naturally trans- and saturated fat-free. These fats include some oils, nuts and nut butters, and seeds."

In addition, "eating a more plant-based diet with less meat and more alternative protein sources -- such as fish, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy foods -- can also reduce levels of unhealthy fats," Webb said.

And healthy eating doesn't mean having to skimp on flavor, she said.

"I love low-fat Greek yogurt topped with raisins and nuts, white balsamic vinegar with extra-virgin olive oil on my salads, and every day I start with crunchy natural peanut butter on whole grain toast with sliced banana," Webb said.

I write E-books and blogs about fitness and weight loss. I’ll show you the cheapest, inexpensive way to lose weight. Right now and for a limited time, my E-book, "How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight”, is $1.99 on all the major sites. Amazon.com, iBooks, B&N.com, Scribd.com, Kobo.com and many others in several other countries. 

Advice From Fitness and Movement Expert and Exercise Physiologist Teresa Tapp

I had to reblog this post I found on VeryWell.com. 

After working in the fashion industry for over 18 years, as well as with regular women from all over the world for decades, I know that "yes you can" help your body eliminate excess water retention regardless of age, shape or size. Although I have several tips, my primary two are: (1) movement to maximize lymphatic flow and (2) intake of what I consider the perfect plant protein, alfalfa.

From my experience, excess consumption of simple carbohydrates -- for example pasta, bread, sugar, and alcohol) can increase inflammation, as well as increase fluid retention. For every gram of carbohydrate you consume, your body retains approximately 3 grams of fluid. Protein and increasing lymphatic circulation can help your body eliminate that excess fluid.

Although alfalfa looks like grass, it is actually a legume known for containing high concentrations of vitamins and minerals, as well as protein. Just make sure to check the quality of the product and only consume organic alfalfa leaf -- no sprouts, stems or seeds.

In my opinion, regular intake of alfalfa, along with doing a couple minutes of lymphatic pumping movements -- like T-Tapp Hoe Downs or T-Tapp Butterflies can immediately impact your body's ability to eliminate excess fluid and inflammation. Just be prepared for extra trips to the bathroom!

Rebounding works well too, but once you know how to do Hoe Downs and Butterflies, you are free to pump away puffiness and bloat anytime and anywhere. It's my personal secret to enjoying dessert and wine without the worry of bloat.

You can search the internet for examples of T-Tapp.

I write E-books and blogs about fitness and weight loss. I’ll show you the cheapest, inexpensive way to lose weight. Right now and for a limited time, my E-book, "How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight”, is $1.99 on all the major sites. Amazon.com, iBooks, B&N.com, Scribd.com, Kobo.com and many others in several other countries. 

Ways to Stop Eating At Night

You stick to your diet all day and eat healthy well-balanced meals. Then, the evening comes and you find yourself making repeated trips to the refrigerator or pantry to eat food that you don't really need. Sound familiar? If it does, you're not alone. Nighttime calories are a struggle for many dieters who find that they continue eating after dinner. If you're serious about losing weight, use these tips to stop eating so much at night.

Why Do I Eat So Much at Night?

You're normal if you like to snack and graze after eating dinner. But if you are trying to lose weight, the calories you consume from snacks in the evening could easily undo a day's worth of smart food choices. So, the first step to eating less is to find out why you eat when you don't need to.

For most of us, the reason we overeat is related to the fact that we are less busy at night and we are near food. We like to relax and enjoy more leisurely activities, and food is a common source of comfort. Without the distraction of work or other daytime activities, it's easy to grab for snacks that are nearby. If you can find other ways to unwind, then you'll be likely to eat less at night. You can also use these strategies to curb nighttime eating.

How to Stop Eating After Dinner

The best way to curb your nighttime eating behavior for good is to use short-term strategies to break the habit.

If you can replace snacking with a healthier habit, then you won't feel the urge to overeat in the evening. Use one of these tips (or all three) to change your nighttime snack habit.

• Move away from the food. You're more likely to eat too much at night if you are always around food. So, after dinner, move away from the kitchen. This might mean that you postpone clean-up tasks, so that you aren't tempted to eat leftovers. Or better yet, delegate the job to someone in your house who isn't on a diet.
  
  Another great way to get away from food is to go for a walk after dinner. Even if your walk is just 15-20 minutes long, physical activity helps to break up the eating momentum. It also gives your body a chance to feel the sensation of fullness, so the urge to eat is less strong.
   

• Use a "meal-ender" to curb your appetite. Some dieters use mint-flavored gum to diminish the desire to eat after dinner. Most of us don't like the taste of food when we have a mint flavor in our mouths. Brushing your teeth after dinner provides this same benefit — along with a dental health bonus.
  
  You can also try using MealEnders. These small candies claim to "reset" your taste buds so that you don't feel the urge to eat, and I can attest that they can help to dull post-meal hunger. MealEnders contain no stimulants and are regulated as a food product, so they have to follow strict guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration, unlike many diet and weight loss supplements.
   
• Be a smart television watcher. Most of us eat too much at night when we snack mindlessly in front of the television. Some researchers even believe that certain action shows make us eat too much food. Regardless of your show preference, however, you can create healthy eating habits in front of the television to eat less and lose weight.
  
  My favorite way to eat less is to keep my hands active. I fold laundry or do other simple chores while I watch TV.  If I really want to eat — and I know I've eaten enough for dinner — then I use specific diet strategies to control snacking in front of the TV. I also make sure that I follow good portion control guidelines if I choose to snack while watching TV.

Remember, snacking isn't bad for your diet. But eating when you're not hungry is never a good plan.  Learn to eat a healthy dinner and then create habits to stop eating so much at night. You'll reach your goal weight faster and keep your weight off for good.

Night time eating is the biggest problem we have that keeps us from losing weight.
for me, boredom is a big problem at night. It's hard to find a program that keeps me focused and with all the commercials you can't help being bored.

Another reason I eat after dinner is because I didn't have enough time before dinner to eat an afternoon snack, so if it's 6 hours or so between lunch and dinner with nothing in-between we can become very hungry. But I'm on a diet and I'm watching how much I eat at dinner, so after dinner, I still require more and now I have the time to listen to my cravings and I keep eating, but at night your body isn't interested in digestion. After dark, your body is going into hibernation mode so it can heal the body for tomorrow. So the food sits in your stomach all night, then you usually skip breakfast because you're still full and now the cycle of bad eating habits begins. This is how we build up excess body fat and because the build-up takes several weeks we don't realize we are doing anything wrong.

Excess fat builds up slowly and over time and by the time we notice, we don't even know how it happened by we don't know how to lose it. Night eating is very common if you are gaining weight this should be the first thing to look for.

I write E-books and blogs about fitness and weight loss. I’ll show you the cheapest, inexpensive way to lose weight. Right now and for a limited time, my E-book, "How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight”, is $1.99 on all the major sites. Amazon.com, iBooks, B&N.com, Scribd.com, Kobo.com and many others in several other countries. 

Reverse The Aging Process

Do you know that things you do every day can cause you to look older than you really are. Pills and beauty creams are not the real answer. It's all about what you eat and drink that ages you. You probably see people on the street that look really good and have all gray hair. You probably think, "Boy they look good for their age." Those people might be older than you think.

 I saw a senior on TV being interviewed about his service in the Army during the World 
War II. He was the oldest survivor of the D-Day invasion. I was listening to the interview and thought "this guy looks awful young to be in a war 70 years ago". He looks and talks like he's 75. He looked good physically, he stood up during the entire interview and talked like a younger man. At the end of the interview, the Host congratulated the man on his One Hundredth  Birthday last week. That blew my mind. I only hope I can be in that kind of shape when I'm one hundred.

I did a little research and found that the little vices we all have, like smoking or drinking alcohol, eating some processed foods like canned hams, or other processed foods all contain things that will age your body. 

It's hard to eat fresh and eat clean all the time, but that's really the only way to avoid chemicals and hormone that can damage the body. We use to think that smoking, drugs and alcohol were the only way we could harm the organs of our body, but today we know that everything we eat or drink can do damage to us. Eating fresh means that you only eat fresh foods, vegetables, nuts, beans, fresh meat (no preservatives) and fresh fish. Sounds simple right, but add to that "eating clean" and that means your fresh foods should be free of chemicals, pesticides, hormones and any kind of growth stimulates. All these things are used today by commercial farmers to produce better crops, better poultry, and better meat.

That's why the trend of Organic Product is becoming popular today. Range free eggs or Organic Eggs, Grass-fed Beef, Free Range Poultry, Organic Fruits, and Vegetable; all these items are in all the grocery stores today, but they are expensive. Why, are they expensive? So people think that if it's in demand the stores will charge more for it. And some of that might be true, but when a vegetable farmer grows organic he will lose a larger percentage of the crop. You have to remember he doesn't use regular fertilizer, no normal type of pest control and he doesn't use anything to speed up the growth. So as a result, he'll have less crops going to market and make less money unless he charges more for his crops. 

Let's get back to aging; Can any occasional drink or meal out hurt your diet? Well, not much, but the little things do add up. For example, a well-known cola company has started importing their cola product from Mexico and the sale of that product is up 30% from a year ago. Why you might ask? In Mexico, the soft drink companies are only allowed to use sugar cane in their drinks and not Fructose (a sugar substitute used in North America). This is also true for their alcoholic drinks. No chemical substitutes in their food.

Soft drink companies have lost a large market share of the soft drink market in the past decade and have tried desperately to regain those sales. The juice drinks were very popular for a while and still are, but today the different flavored waters seem to be a big hit. Returning to natural additives may be the answer for the soft drink industry.

Besides things that we eat and drink aging us, also how much you eat can also age your body. Over-eating or under-eating can both cause health problems that will cause the body
to age. We are cutting our lives short by not taking care of your bodies and besides food and drink we need physical activity and when you don't get enough that will also age your body.

 Taking care of yourself will give you many extra healthy years added to your life.

I write E-books and blogs about fitness and weight loss. I’ll show you the cheapest, inexpensive way to lose weight. Right now and for a limited time, my E-book, "How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight”, is $1.99 on all the major sites. Amazon.com, iBooks, B&N.com, Scribd.com, Kobo.com and many others in several other countries.

 

Is Not Exercising Just as Bad as Smoking?

I made a typo when I first published this post back in May, so I'm making the changes and publishing it again. Sorry for my bad editing.

When you see someone smoking, you might question “Why would you do that to yourself when you know it could kill you?” Do you react the same way when you know someone doesn’t exercise? You should.

You can always spot someone who doesn't exercise, has a bad diet, and has some health issues. It's usually obvious and most of the time it's from inactivity and eating the wrong foods. Inactivity is usually because of a busy lifestyle and eating the wrong foods is generally from eating in restaurants and too much snacking on the wrong foods or drinking the wrong drinks. 

When I was at a recent fitness seminar, one of the presenters reminded the audience that research has shown physical inactivity to be as deadly as smoking. I was shocked at this when I first heard it a couple of years ago, but I think I was just as shocked hearing it the second time. My guess is you are too. It’s hard to imagine being inactive could be comparable to smoking, but it is.

You wouldn’t dream of smoking (and if you do smoke, you’re likely trying to quit), so why poison yourself with inactivity? But many of us do. Nearly 80% of us don’t get the recommended amount of exercise. Many experts agree the inactivity epidemic is more concerning than the obesity epidemic. Obesity is just a result of inactivity and an unhealthy diet.

The benefits of exercise are numerous and irrefutable. It helps prevent heart disease, diabetes, breast and colon cancer, dementia, depression, and more. If you exercise, chances are you’ll live a longer, healthier life, period.

What’s so powerful about exercise? Take heart disease, for example. Heart disease is associated with inflammation in the body. Exercise is a natural inflammation fighter. When you move, your muscles send out anti-inflammatory chemicals.

Also, every time you get up and move, your blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides improve. When you sit down, they get worse. It’s just about moving more. High blood sugar levels will keep you from losing fat. No matter how healthy your diet and how much you exercise, high blood sugar will keep you from losing fat. 

If you’re not active now, I’m sure it sounds overwhelming to start an exercise program. The good news is you can see health benefits with even a small amount of activity. Even taking a daily 5-minute walk around the office will improve your health. Slowly build up from there. Some health improvement are small and you can't notice them, but I think you can see the results of not being active over time. 

Ultimately, you want your goal to be 30 minutes  more, at least 5 days a week, of moderate exercise. We’re talking about a brisk walk– hard enough that you can talk comfortably but not able to sing. But take your time getting there. Throw in resistance exercises a couple of days a week, and you’re on track.

If you’ve tried exercise before and didn’t lose weight, don’t be discouraged. You are still getting health benefits even if you’re not shedding weight. If you’re overweight but active and fit, you can expect to live as long and healthy as someone who is normal weight and fit. Even if you’re obese, being active helps you live a longer, healthier life than a normal weight person who isn’t active. Losing body fat is about eating fresh, healthy foods. You can exercise and not lose weight and you will become a healthier person, but to lose fat you have to change your diet.

Think you’re too old for it to matter? Hardly. Regardless of your age, getting active has enormous benefits even in your 80s and beyond. We’re not just talking about living longer, but living better with a higher quality of life.

As British-American anthropologist, Ashley Montagu once said, “The idea is to die young as late as possible.”

I write about losing weight, how to lose weight, what foods to eat when you're trying to lose weight and exercise that will help you lose weight. 

I wrote an ebook that will give you all the info in one read. It's a how-to book that also tells you about the mistakes I made and how to avoid them.

My ebook is available at www.amazon.com, www.B&N.com, iBooks (download the app), kobo.com, scribd.com and many more. My ebook will go on sale for $1.99. This special will only last for a limited time.

Should You Weight Yourself Daily?

If you are struggling with overweight or obesity, or otherwise would like to maintain your weight or prevent obesity, you may be wondering if it would be beneficial to weigh yourself frequently, and, if so, how frequently.  Recent research has finally shed some light on this question.

Benefits of Daily Weights

A recent study has shown that weighing yourself daily—and then plotting your daily weights on a chart every day—can improve your weight-loss progress, particularly if you are making changes in your dietary habits and specifically trying to lose weight.

Researchers tested daily self-weighing and visual feedback (in the form of the daily weight chart) to see how helpful this could be as a weight-loss and weight maintenance tool over the course of two years. The study authors found a significant difference in weight loss, which was greater in the group weighing themselves daily. This was particularly true for male participants.

Another study also found that daily weighers lost significantly more weight than those who weighed themselves less than daily.

And yet another study, which looked at the effects of daily weighing on weight loss over a six-month period of time, found that those participants who weighed themselves daily were able to lose significantly more weight than those who weighed themselves less frequently.

The Right Combination

What these and other studies seem to show is that it is the combination of weighing one’s self daily and keeping track of these daily weights in a visual format--whether by a chart, graph, or other means—that is most beneficial for helping to achieve meaningful weight loss.

Additionally, since a common mistake that leads to weight gain is not weighing yourself with any frequency, it stands to reason that one way to stay on top of your weight and prevent obesity is to step on that scale every day. If you wait until your pants or skirt are too tight, you’ve waited too long to check in on your weight.

Do yourself a favor and let an objective measurement of your weight, such as the scale, and of your waistline, such as your waist circumference, be the information on which you rely to tell you whether or not you are slowly gaining weight. These, along with body mass index (BMI), are objective measures that you can compare with nationally recommended ranges.

Best Way to Weigh Yourself

The best way to weigh yourself is on the same scale, at the same time, every day. I advise my patients to weigh themselves first thing in the morning on their home scales before eating anything, preferably before they step into the shower so they are not wearing any clothing that can contribute to the final total weight.

For menstruating women, weights can fluctuate depending on the time of month and cycle, and for everyone, weight can vary by a few pounds dependent upon salt intake and water retention. Keeping a log of your weights will show you your patterns over a few months and the relationship of your weight to hormonal and dietary factors.

Your weight will fluctuate from one day to the next and that's normal but weighing every day will keep your mind on the goal, it helps to keep you focused. At the end of a week, you want to see that you're moving in the right direction. And if you log weight, exercise, food, and drinks you can see where your mistakes are and you will slip, but that's normal too. The log will help you get back on track.

I write E-books and blogs about fitness and weight loss. I’ll show you the cheapest, inexpensive way to lose weight. Right now and for a limited time, my E-book, "How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight”, is $1.99 on all the major sites. Amazon.com, iBooks, B&N.com, Scribd.com, Kobo.com and many others in several other countries.