South Beach Diet – Basic Rules
| April 19, 2011 | Posted by admin under South Beach Diet |
The South Beach diet appeared in the early 2000 and it’s one of the most popular diets and its principles are very simple: people should eat good carbohydrates and good fats. The diet is meant to make people eat less sugar and less carbohydrate rich foods in order to avoid hunger during the meals. The person behind this diet, Arthur Agatston, was cardiologist and noticed that the patients with heart disease who had a high intake of carbohydrates were always hungry. The diet was designed to improve insulin resistance, but also to use a diet plan that was more powerful.
The diet consists in three phases, each of them with lists of foods that are permitted.
The first phase is the most restrictive and it lasts two weeks. The hardest part about this phase is the fact that you will suddenly change your eating behavior. It is very important to make sure that you eat correctly during this phase, because it can help you lose a lot of weight. The protein-rich foods which should be eaten during this phase are: low fat meat (turkey, beef, chicken), oily fish, cheese (low fat), eggs, and even boiled ham. When it comes to vegetables, you can choose from: beans, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, spinach, nuts. As for sweets, they are completely restricted except the ones using sugar substitutes. Also, no fruits are allowed.
The second phase helps you re-introduce some of the foods that were restricted the first phase. You can eat fruits, the vegetables that were not permitted before, and some grains (whole grain is preferable). Also, people should remember not to eat all these in large quantities and Dr. Agatston reminds us that moderation is the key.
The third phase is supposed to be a diet plan for your whole life. Although there are no restrictions anymore, the person following this diet is supposed to know what to eat and what to avoid in the future. The diet promises no sugar cravings after the first phase and people who believe they need to lose more weight can keep eating by the first phase rules for two months, but not more.
The interesting fact about this diet is the fact that it includes nourishing foods and eliminates the ones which are toxic for your health like highly processed foods, additives, high sugar and fat foods. It can’t be called a low fat or a low carbohydrate diet, since it manages to balance all the nutrients for effective results.
Principles Of The Atkins Diet
| March 23, 2011 | Posted by admin under Atkins Diet |
The Atkins diet is one of the most controversial low carbohydrate diets and although it has been highly criticized, many people still obtain great results not only in weight loss but also improvements in different health problems.
The diet was introduced by cardiologist and physician Robert Coleman Atkins after he followed the program himself and obtained unexpected results. He noticed that people where eating a lot of carbohydrates like pasta, starch and sugar and realized that it was the glucose that made them overweight. The principle of the diet is that you can teach your body to use fat as “fuel” if you eat fewer carbohydrates. So your body will use the fat stored in your cells for energy when it consumes all the carbohydrates available. This is called ketosis.
The diet is similar with the South Beach or Montignac diet because it also consists of certain phases. In Atkins there are four phases and the last of them is a lifetime plan that will maintain your weight.
In the first phase, also called the induction phase, the carbohydrates are very few, 20 grams a day. Atkins recommends that these carbohydrates should come from vegetables, but not the starchy type of vegetables like salad. This phase is supposed to eliminate all the sugar cravings but also induce a state of ketosis.
The second phase is the actual weight loss program. Each week you will introduce 5 grams of carbohydrates in your diet and keep doing that until you notice that you lose no more weight. That will be the amount of carbohydrates necessary for you to stop losing weight and maintain it.
In the third phase you can increase your carbohydrate consumption with 10 grams each week and see how much carbohydrates you can consume and keep the weight off. If you start gaining weight, you should stop increasing carbohydrate intake and keep it at a reasonable level for maintaining weight.
In the forth phase, you will be allowed to eat more foods but maintaining the low carbohydrates principles set by the Atkins diet which means no sugar or other foods with a high carbohydrate level. Of course, you can have some exceptions as long as they are rare and you return to your eating plan.
Atkins diet is very controversial and many people are against it due to the high amount of fat being consumed. However, recent studies show that a low carbohydrate diet will help people with cholesterol problems increasing the good cholesterol and lowering the bad cholesterol. Of course, choosing one diet or another should be based on everybody’s needs and while Atkins can be good for some, it can be a terrible experience for others.
Health Benefits of Mediterranean Diet
| February 22, 2011 | Posted by admin under Diets |
This diet is based on the one used by people in Greece and Italy. Although the diet is high in fat, the unusual thing about this diet is the fact that people in the countries that traditionally eat like this have lower cholesterol levels, lower heart disease risk, lower risk of dying at a young age, lower cancer risk, lower risk of Alzheimer disease, etc. As you can see there are many benefits when following a Mediterranean diet and it’s not very restrictive so anybody can lose weight or get healthier with it. Another benefit is the fact that the diet is low in saturated fat but high in monosaturated fats which are healthier.
Here are some rules of the Mediterranean diet:
- High carbohydrate consumption from the following foods: bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes, fruits, vegetables;
- Eating 5 portions of fiber rich vegetables per day to help digestion;
- Proteins coming from fish, eggs, cheese, seafood and lean red meat, especially grilled or steamed;
- Fats from: olive oil in salads or on vegetables, nuts, olives, and oily fish;
- Small amounts of alcohol preferably wine because it has so many benefits as an antioxidant and it helps prevent cardiovascular disease;
- Using lard or butter in small quantities when cooking food rather than vegetable oil, but people shouldn’t exaggerate just because they are natural;
- A regular exercise program that will definitely improve your health;
- Avoiding processed foods and eating as naturally as possible, this includes eating seasonal fruits or vegetables and avoiding those which are grown with the help of chemicals
- Drinking a lot of water also helps;
- Low quantities of honey instead of sugar.
A big part of the diet is portion control and making sure that you don’t stay hungry for a long amount of time. Consuming five small meals each day maintains your metabolism high and keeps you from being hungry throughout the day.
The good thing about this diet is the fact that it doesn’t cut fats like most popular low-fat diets. This helps prevent heart disease, high cholesterol according to the most recent studies, increased elasticity of your skin (no more stretch marks) and other related skin problems, joint pain, helps people with ADHD, etc. Of course, you should try and find a balance between low carb diets and low fat diets and the Mediterranean diet can solve your problem.
Low Calorie Diet
| January 28, 2011 | Posted by admin under Diets |
The low calorie diet can be considered one of the most popular diets. This is based on caloric intake and it should be less than the maintaining amount. You can find out how much calories you need to eat in order to lose weight on different websites according to your current weight and height, but it’s usually 1500 calories for women and 1800 for men. Although you are allowed to eat according to a certain amount of calories, there are some food restrictions when it comes to this diet.
The person who is following this diet has to eat 5-6 small meals each day to make sure that they keep their metabolism high. They also have to avoid cooking with oil or other fats because these products have a lot of calories. The only fats people can eat are those coming from a few drops in their salad or from oily fish. Steamed, boiled or grilled food is the best. They can eat fruits, vegetables, cereals, whole wheat bread and low fat yogurt during breakfast. For lunch they can choose lean meat, salad or fish and the dinner should be similar to lunch. Make sure that your breakfast contains enough energy to keep you from getting hungry throughout the day.
As snacks you can choose fruits, vegetables, low fat yogurt, sugar free jelly, a small piece of chocolate, some peanuts, pretzels, etc. Everything you feel like eating is ok, but it must be in small portions.
A good tip when choosing this diet is to have a food diary. Just write there what you eat every day, if you felt hungry or not in some days, and make sure that you keep track of your progress.
The products that need to be avoided are: sugar, pastry, all kinds of fats, fast-food and fried foods. Avoid eating right before going to bed because it will prevent you from losing weight and it will also make it hard for you to fall asleep.
Make sure that you drink enough water and try to exercise a few days a week. If you cannot do any exercises try to walk at least 20-30 minutes each day. With this diet you will see dramatic changes in just one week. However, people who want to follow this diet plan are advised to slowly reduce their calories when they reach a moment when they are not losing any weight, but this shouldn’t be lowered with more than 300 calories from the initial amount.
Dissociated Diet
| December 28, 2010 | Posted by admin under Diets |
Theories regarding weight loss have popularized the fact that people need to avoid eating some combinations of foods because it might keep them from losing weight. A popular theory is the fact that combining protein and fat with carbohydrate will give you problems to digest them properly. Although the theory has not been tested properly, there are many people who obtained good results using this way of eating.
The foods are divided into different categories and you can eat as much as you want from one category as long as you don’t combine it with another. You have to eat this way three days in a row. The categories based on days are:
a) Fruits – this is usually the first day and you are allowed to eat as much as you want. However, you should avoid high carbohydrate fruits such as bananas, pears, grapes, etc.
b) Rice- this will have to be boiled and if you want to make it taste better you can add different condiments. However, don’t exaggerate with salt as it will make you retain water.
c) Milk and yogurt day- you will consume a maximum of 2-3 liters of milk. You are also allowed to eat fat free yogurt, but you will also have to reduce the quantity of milk.
d) Squeezed vegetables and fruits- You can buy them, but make sure that you read the labels for added sugar or unhealthy components.
e) Vegetables day – you can eat tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, salad, celery, etc. You can combine them the way you want: cook, boil/steam, or grill them.
f) The fish day: you are allowed to eat as much fish as you want. Remember to only grill the fish or boil it.
g) Mix previous foods – This is usually the last day and you are allowed to eat anything that you consumed in previous days.
There are also some rules regarding the way you should eat:
-Make sure that you wait a couple of hours between meals to let the previous meal digest;
-Don’t drink alcohol; only water is allowed during this diet and make sure that you drink plenty of it;
-You should eat your last protein and carbohydrate meal 3-4 hours before going to bed;
-If you want to make a certain dish you can only make it from the foods in a certain group, never mix groups together.
This diet definitely helps you lose weight but it will not give you the nutrients you need everyday so it can be considered a dangerous approach on long term.
Healthy Dieting
| December 14, 2010 | Posted by admin under Healthy Dieting |
This blog is for people who need advice and information about losing weight. I will present the diets in this blog as objectively as I can and make sure that I give people enough information to decide what diet is best for them. I also want to get feedback on certain diets from other people and make this blog a place where you will not only get general information but also tips and testimonials from others who are reading it.
Although many people find losing weight hard, it is actually very simple, you just need to find your own program. Some diets work better on some people while others don’t. That’s why some people are losing weight on Atkins diet while others with a vegetarian diet. Another important aspect is emotional eating; those who experience this will need to identify those emotions that trigger it and control them. If you can’t, there are many places where you can get counseling.
When I started my first diet, I had little information about what healthy eating meant, so I decided counting calories. Of course, this turned out to be a very counterproductive method since I was eating a lot of unhealthy food. Many years later, I came to understand that calories were not very important as much as rations and good food was. So I started eating smaller portions of healthy food, making sure that I was getting enough energy to last the whole day. I wasn’t a very active person but I started walking 30 minutes to 1 hour each day, which helped me tremendously. When I felt better about myself and my body I started doing more exercise, like swimming and tennis. I’m not a gym person because I find sports and other group activities more entertaining than weightlifting. Of course, I experienced with the gym in my early years of dieting and found it to be a great place to lose weight with a sensible diet. But those that for some reason don’t want to go to the gym, there are many ways to exercise and also have fun. So, besides a diet that you may choose to follow, any form of exercising is welcomed if you want to boost your weight loss.
I hope you will enjoy my blog and it will help you get pass this difficult challenge that so many of us have to face at some point of our lives.
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