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This is a fundamental commandment, on which all the other commandments depend. If you are not organized, you will have great difficulty gaining control over your eating and exercise – and any other aspects of your life causing you concern. Organization assists you in balancing your life so you can achieve the harmony you need to succeed. And for that, we have ample reasons to go beyond diet.
People are often supremely organized in one aspect of their life – perhaps their job, because their livelihood depends on it – but let everything else slip. They will have the most meticulous files and orderly work procedures, but when it comes to something as basic and important as nourishing their body through a correct and balanced diet; they are in chaos. They have no idea what they will eat from one meal to the next. Consequently, their eating patterns and food intake are inadequate and unacceptable. This is a big no-no if you are even remotely thinking of losing weight. Of course, programs that help us to go beyond diet do work in this aspect and help you keep your diet on track.
Some businesses employ an inventory system called ‘just in time’: instead of stockpiling components or other supplies necessary to their operations, they order them at the last possible moment, ‘just in time’. This might work in an office or factory, but it does not work on the home front, particularly when it comes to enjoying a healthy eating and lifestyle plan. Failure to organize and plan your food supplies results in last-minute panic buying – do you often rush into the supermarket or takeaway after work, when you are tired, crabby and hungry, and grab just about anything that passes as a meal, provided it is quick and easy?
You’re not alone.
The irony is that you could save a lot of time, and eat a better, balanced diet if you planned ahead. It does not take much time and effort, but there are many benefits in terms of caring for you and your body.
I have to be extremely organized. My life is very full and busy, because I run my business and am raising two sons. I plan every day to ensure everything runs smoothly. This involves taking care of details. On Monday I have a free hour between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to do my shopping for the week. I make a list, head for the supermarket and pick up all the items on my list – I’ve got my family’s meals organized for the week – apart from purchasing the occasional carton of milk and loaf of bread. It takes me an hour to make my shopping list, because I am accustomed to planning meals in advance. This is an essential habit.
WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
Take a few minutes each morning to go beyond diet and determine your priorities for the day, starting with planning your meals. When life is hectic it is essential to do this. [f you know what your next meal will be – and you have bought the necessary ingredients and might even have already prepared it – you will be better able to resist the impulse to binge when hunger strikes.
Planning your meals does not mean only today’s meals, rather everything you will be eating for the entire week. You must sit down with a pen and paper and work out an outline for meals and snacks in advance. This will take time until you are accustomed to doing it, then it will become second nature, like it is for me. (Turn to the next post for a series of suggested weekly meal plans to help structure your eating and organize your meals.)
Do not be daunted by the thought of planning. Let’s put it in perspective. You could easily plan what you are going to wear for the week ahead; you probably organize your holiday’s months ahead; you plan your children’s education years ahead and work out your finances and career path possibly decades ahead. So it is not much of a stretch to plan your meals seven days in advance! Considering our hectic lifestyles, it is essential to per-organize. The occasional spur of the moment meal is normal and acceptable but will create unnecessary stress if it occurs too often. Remember, weight loss is not about a going beyond diet, it is more of a consistent effort.
When you have planned the week’s meals, you have to shop for the necessary ingredients. People are so busy nowadays that daily food shopping is not always feasible; you might find, as I do, that scheduling an hour at the supermarket once a week is the most effective use of limited time.
Make a list of everything you need before you set out (see the box below for a sample shopping list to get you started. This is an efficient and economical approach, because you are less likely to succumb to unwise impulse purchases. If possible, schedule your shopping expedition on the weekend when you are not stressed or tired. Never shop when you are hungry – it will only make it harder to avoid giving in to temptation.
An alternative is to shop online – many supermarkets offer this service – with groceries ordered on your computer at your convenience and delivered to your door.
You should not compromise on the quality of your food; it must be the best you can afford. If you are going to lose fat, going beyond diet cannot be stressed more. Try to take advantage of all the conveniences and short cuts available to today’s shoppers. Supermarkets now stock salad packs, soup packs and vegetable stir-fries – all washed, chopped and mixed ready for you to cook or serve. Butchers offer trimmed, chopped and marinated cuts of meats. When time is at a premium, these short cuts help you make healthy food choices – you only have to control portion size.
Are you too busy to cook during the working week?
Set aside a morning on the weekend to shop and prepare meals – such as casseroles, soups and curries – you can enjoy the entire week. Do you spend a lot of time on the road? Devise coping strategies that suit your schedule: go online before leaving home to check out healthy restaurants at your destination or pre-pack meals in a cooler bag. Your eating is too important to leave to chance.
To get organized you must go beyond diet and identify times that are going to be difficult to cope, when it is easy to sabotage your efforts. Six o’clock can be a very stressful time. Rushing home from work, picking up children from school or long day care -everybody is tired and hungry. This is not the time to have to wait for food or to spend a lot of time preparing dinner.
Rather than attempting to make an elaborate dinner from scratch (or pick up a takeaway), get up 20 minutes earlier in the morning and make a salad, chop the vegetables, prepare a curry, casserole or other dish that you can get ready ahead of time. Everything is structured, so when you arrive home that night all you have to do is pop the meat and vegetables in the oven; lay the table and you’re ready to eat a balanced meal.
Another great strategy to think beyond diet is to invest in a slow cooker, in which you put the makings of the meal (anything from soup to a whole chicken) in the morning, and arrive home at night to a feast cooked to perfection. Barbecues and stir-fries are also delicious, quick, low-fat cooking methods.
Your kitchen is the epicenter of your efforts to lose weight. Stocking the correct items in the required amounts will prevent you from undermining your best intentions. Review your food supply. Check out the pantry and refrigerator and remove anything you are likely to binge on. We tend to eat what is most available, and if that is junk (high in saturated fat and sugar, and low in fiber), that is what we will eat. If healthier choices are accessible, we will consume those. Stock your refrigerator and cupboards with a healthy selection every week.
Organize a good workspace and ensure that all the utensils you need to prepare meals are close to hand. You should always have the basics to enable you to cook a quick and nutritious meal at any time. The knowledge that you can do this helps allay the anxiety over what you can prepare, and how quickly the food can be on the table. The above weight loss tips will not only help you think beyond diet, but also in organizing your life for better health for both, the body and the mind.
Resources:
1. Gluten Free Diet
2. Beyond Diet Official
Why are you overweight? Do you know exactly what your body has been up to lately, or have you read, seen and heard so much conflicting information about which foods make you fat that you don’t know what to believe?
Weight loss is not easy or simple. Food cannot simply be divided into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ categories – items that you should and should not eat. Adopting that attitude results in self-denial, and often subsequent binging on those foods you have been denying yourself because you believe they are bad – if you think they are forbidden you will want them even more.
Fruit, vegetables, fish, dairy products, eggs and chicken are commonly thought of as ‘good’ foods; while hot chips, crisps, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, lollies and baked foods are usually considered to be ‘bad’ foods. (Interestingly, alcohol is often not considered ‘bad’, and is more accepted as part of a balanced diet, but many people do not realize how loaded it is with ‘empty’ – meaning no nutritional value.
You expect to put on weight when you eat ‘bad’ food, but not when you eat ‘good’ food, regardless of the quantity, For example, people often eat excess fruit, and cannot under-stand why they are gaining weight – good food should not be fattening! The important thing to know is that it is the total number of kilojoules you consume on a daily basis, not any one particular food item that determines whether you put on weight.
The weight-loss equation is simple:
Energy in (kilojoules) [less -] Energy Out (activity and metabolism) = gain/loss of body weight
If you consume more kilojoules than your body uses in its activities, you will gain weight. Conversely, if you consume fewer kilojoules than your body requires to meet its energy expenditure, you will lose weight.
The weight you gain from excess kilojoules does not depend on the source, whether it be fat, carbohydrates, protein or alcohol. You will, however, gain more weight when you consume too much fat, because 1 gram of fat contains more than twice as many kilojoules as 1 gram of protein or carbohydrate. You will be astonished by the quantity of fat hidden in your favorite foods. For example, vegetable quiche is often considered a healthy choice due to the vegetables, but there is an abundance of fat in a quiche – think of the eggs, cheese and cream used in your favorite recipe.
Australians are getting fatter because they have increased their intake of kilojoules while reducing their exercise levels. Many of the excess kilojoules come from soft drinks which have no fat but are loaded with sugar), lollies, chocolates, biscuits, cakes, deep-fried food, high-carbohydrate muffins, bagels, pretzels and reduced-fat chips. Additionally, portion sizes have grown remarkably and are now accepted as normal, so not only are we eating more high-fat foods, our serves are huge.
Never blacklist individual foods or entire food groups from your diet, unless you have a food intolerance or allergy. For-get fad diets that omit certain groups such as carbohydrates, dairy or perhaps wheat because the diet maestros claim they are responsible for weight gain. The most important part of successful weight loss is balance, and when you eliminate an entire food group, your body misses out on important nutrients. Moreover, you are likely to feel deprived, increasing the risk of binging.
You can eat everything you enjoy, provided you moderate your choices and keep your portions small. Weight control should not be your only concern when making food choices; It is imperative to enjoy a wide variety of foods to optimize your intake of nutrients. You should not pay more attention to the type of food but to the relative quantities you consume. A meat pie or a doughnut would not be an ideal choice to eat daily, but it is acceptable as an occasional treat.
Follow the above advice and you are sure to some extra weight, or alternatively you can try a good diet program, something like the diet solution program. Click here to read my review on the program.
Diet is probably the most fundamental component of the bodybuilder’s makeup. The food you eat becomes the fuel that allows you to perform heavy sets of muscle-building exercise, as well as becoming the primary fuel of your nervous system and brain. All mental functions, from choosing a biceps exercise to abstract philosophical contemplation, are fueled by what you put into your mouth. [And for learning this, read our diet solution program review here.]
Because this aspect of bodybuilding is so fundamental, it can be broken down logically into some basic arithmetic. To start off, let’s conduct an elementary caloric analysis of a normal human tissue. It’s a fact that a pound of human muscle tissue will yield about 600 calories when measured with a device known as a calorimeter, while a pound of fat will yield 3,500 calories. We will return to these numbers in a moment. Till then you can read some user generated beyond diet reviews here.
As a weight loss candidate and a prospective “dieter”, you must strive to increase your percentage of organic muscle while simultaneously reducing your, what we like to call, ‘storehouse’ of body fat. The reward for success is a more functional and efficient (not to mention well-chiseled) physique as well as the wonderful feel good effect.
Unfortunately, the average weight loss seeker finds it nearly impossible to gain even ten pounds of solid muscle tissue in a year’s time, due largely to the person’s falling prey to the hype and outright “free advice” that is propagated by most bodybuilding and weight loss websites and publications that lines the pockets of more than a few gym owners, companies and personal trainers.
Fortunately, to reach a solution to your nutritional problems, you do not have to try to sort through the dubious proclamations of the weight loss and diet publishing industry (most representatives of which exist solely to sell you their products, but that’s another story entirely). Instead, you need look no further than the field of nutritional science. You will quickly learn that all that is required is to:
Now, just eating 6,000 extra calories above the amount you need to maintain your current body mass is no guarantee that you will grow an additional ten pounds of muscle this year. You have to train hard enough to stimulate ten pounds of growth first. Then, if the calories are present in the form of nutritious food, the growth that you have stimulated will take place.
If you take this a little further and divide the 6,000 calories a year by 365, you will find that you need only 16.4 calories a day above your maintenance need of calories. For instance, let’s say that you currently weigh 200 pounds and require 3,000 calories a day just to maintain that weight; that is, at 3,000 calories you don’t gain or lose weight, but simply stay at 200 pounds. Then, you train with sufficient intensity to stimulate ten pounds of muscle growth, rest adequately to allow your body the time it requires to build those ten pounds of additional muscle, and consume 3,016.4 calories a day. At the end of this year you would weigh 210 pounds. As simple as that! [Another simpler option is to get the diet solution program]
Similar calculations can be applied to fat. Since one pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, when in the course of time you’ve consumed 3,500 calories over and above what you really needed to maintain yourself, you’ll have added a pound of fatty tissue to your body. If you require 3,000 calories a day for maintenance, but then you consume 3,500 calories a day, which is 500 more than you need, in the course of a week you would gain one pound of fat.
The same holds true for losing fat. When you burn up 3,500 calories by expending more energy than you take in as food calories, you will lose one pound of fat. This means that in order to grow muscle and lose weight, you need to consume approximately one-sixth of what you would need to produce fat. If for some reason you simply wanted to become fatter, the answer is simple: eat a lot; but if you want to grow only muscle, don’t eat too much above your maintenance need of calories.
If you’ve been stuffing your face with protein products thinking that you’re forcing your muscles to use all of the “extra” protein, stop fooling yourself. The body utilizes only as much protein as it needs to maintain itself plus what little extra it might require to assist in producing the growth that you stimulated with your training efforts. Any additional protein consumed beyond this amount will be excreted at best, or stored as fat at worst.
Moreover, since protein is primarily a building-and-repair nutrient, as opposed to a preferred energy source by the body, our protein requirements does not tend to increase when we perform physical activity. Instead, engaging in vigorous activity increases the need for carbohydrates, because it is the nutrient most easily converted to glucose, which, when converted to the polymer of glycogen, is the primary energy source of human muscle tissue.
Whenever you do eat protein, it should be of top quality so that your body needs will be fully realized. If you’re relying solely on regular foods for your protein needs, you should concentrate on animal proteins such as poultry, eggs, beef, and fish, which yield good-quality protein that your body can effectively use.
For more information, have a look at the following resources:
Do you want to reduce your weight now? Do you want to finally get back in shape? Are you ready to stop procrastinating and take action NOW!? [Then first of all read my diet solution program review.]
Well, the first thing you gotta keep in mind is that it requires devotion and commitment from your part, because you will find no miracle methods that may result in the “pounds” disappearing off the meter.
To be able to slim down you’ll need to be on a balanced and healthy diet, in fact, it actually goes beyond diet, you MUST engage yourself in some sort of physical exercise, and have an optimistic attitude.
For your weight loss efforts to become really effective, you have to also have to be in company of people who might help and encourage you on the way to this goal. One such great community to be a part of is the beyond diet community. [Read my beyond diet reviews.]
For example, those who have a neighbor or a good friend who’s also overweight and flabby (sorry, but it’s true), then the word for you is: synergy. Meaning, you both should take this journey together. For those who have co-employees who’re overweight, you could create “weight loss” teams and begin a contest to determine who amongst you are able to lose the most flab.
A tad competition never hurt anybody, however here are a few instructions that will help you in your journey and allow you to achieve your targeted weight loss goal.
1. The very first and important factor is to decide how much weight you need to lose along with a timeline for losing it. Make realistic goals, for example, 1-2 pounds per week for six-seven weeks. An impractical goal, for example, 30 pounds in thirty days is only going to let you down.
2. Go to a professional physician or perhaps a diet professional and let them know your plan and your targeted weight loss. They have the ability and expertise to calculate just how much weight you have to lose every week to be able to do it. They are able to offer advice regarding the best and simple methods to achieve your weight loss objective within the preferred time. [Or you can always try the diet solution program]
3. The 3rd important thing is that you learn how to calculate and know your BMI (Body Mass Index). This is far better than just knowing your body weight because Body mass index will show you the right weight for your particular height. The Cdc and Prevention’s website includes a chart that you could visit and calculate your Body mass index.
4. Chose a diet and workout program that you could stay with, long-term wise. Why? Because you are not going to do this for a short while! You will have to go beyond diet to lose real weight. Anyway, you will find several options open to suit your choice. If you want to workout outdoors, a good option is to jog each morning or have a hike on weekends. If you want to ‘bop’, then subscribe to a general dance class or better yet, a belly dancing class. Should you prefer something else, then yoga exercises are a wonderful option. You should aim to do something that you like and something that’s also fun, something that will keep you motivated every morning!
5. If you’re not going to utilize a specialized diet system, you are leaving a lot on the table. There are almost 100’s of diet programs out there, some plans restrict protein while some restrict carbohydrates and sugars, and some concentrate on limited levels of starches. One of the better plans out there is the diet solution program. Read around as much as you can about each diet and make certain you realize the benefits and drawbacks from among the options you are narrowing. For more details, you can read my diet solution program review.
6. Simple changes to your daily diet or even habits can allow you to enjoy your life and they can play a significant role in weight reduction. For example, rather than using the elevator at the office, go ahead and take the stairs. A five-minute walk towards the supermarket is healthier than driving there. If you need to drive somewhere, park your vehicle a couple of miles from your destination and walk. Yes, it’s really a lot of fun!
7. Plan carefully regarding your weight loss or diet solution program. If you go about hunting for a well known program, there can be some initial expenses to become a member. However, if you are planning to slim down by yourself, by formulating your own diet regime, then you will have to get a lot of fruits and veggies on a daily basis along with other healthy food options which may cost a bit more than your typical ‘unhealthy foods’. If you decide to join a gym or take up a dance class, you must also spend some money so take this stuff into account. Ultimately, the additional money spent is going to be 100% worthwhile when you’re finally successful in losing the additional flab and gaining a whole lot of confidence!
I really hope you found the above 7 weight loss tips useful, and more than that, I hope you finally decide to take action on it! [Read my beyond diet review, if you are looking for a highly effective diet/weight loss guide.]
Why has excess weight become such a serious problem? Why do so many people find it difficult to maintain a healthy weight – or lose a few excess kilos – while maintaining a realistic lifestyle: eating out, socializing, cooking delicious meals, enjoying holidays and coping with stress or fatigue?
Over the past twenty years, obesity has increased to epidemic proportions in the United States, and we are getting fatter. Almost half of the US population is heavier than it should be. This is shocking news. Are you part of this statistic? If so, you’ll know first-hand how terrible the excess weight makes you feel and look – and it has serious conse¬quences on your health.
The causes of this increase in obesity are complex – the high availability of high-kilo joule food, an increase in portion sizes and declining activity levels. We are eating more than we need (or at least differently) and moving less than we should; driving to a takeaway for a high-fat fast-food meal instead of walking to the market to purchase the ingredients for a balanced home-cooked meal.
There has been considerable research into the link between genetics and 0Eesity. Although researchers found a defect gene in experimental mice that appears to influence hunger levels and obesity, they also found that the human body contains a range of genes and chemicals that control appetite. Genetics alone cannot account for the rapid increase in obes¬ity over the past two decades, because this is too short a time to allow for much change in the gene pool. It can only be explained by behavioral factors – changes in our eating and exercise patterns.
Are you overweight? One method of determining whether you are at a healthy weight is by using the Body Mass Index (BMl or Body mass index is calculated by the following formula.)
8MI = weight (in kilograms) + height (in meters) squared
For example, if you weigh 70 kilograms and are 1.7 meters tall: 70+1.7′= 24
A healthy weight range equates to a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. The reason for this range is because your height is not the only factor to consider when establishing your optimum weight. Your bone structure and body shape – you could be an endomorph (muscular, heavy boned and solid), mesomorph (medium build) or an ectomorph (fine-boned with a slight build) – must be taken into account.
Your build is genetically determined. You must be realistic; If you are big boned and/or muscular, you are likely to weigh closer to the upper end of the range. This does not mean that you are fat; it merely means that you have a more solid build.
Another way to check whether you are a healthy size is to measure your waist circumference as a check on your abdominal fat. If you have a waist measurement of 94 centimeters+ (men) or 80 centimeters- (for women) you are at an increased risk of developing problems such as heart disease and diabetes due to excess abdominal fat.
Why are you overweight? Do you know exactly what your body has been up to lately, or have you read, seen and heard so much conflicting information about which foods make you fat that you don’t know what to believe?
Weight loss is not easy or simple. Food cannot simply be divided into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ categories – items that you should and should not eat. Adopting that attitude results in self-denial, and often subsequent binging on those foods you have been denying yourself because you believe they are bad – if you think they are forbidden you will want them even more.
Fruit, vegetables, fish, dairy products, eggs and chicken are commonly thought of as ‘good’ foods; while hot chips, crisps, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, lollies and baked foods are usually considered to be ‘bad’ foods. (Interestingly, alcohol is often not considered ‘bad’, and is more accepted as part of a balanced diet, but many people do not realize how loaded it is with ‘empty’ – meaning no nutritional value – kilojoules
You expect to put on weight when you eat ‘bad’ food, but not when you eat ‘good’ food, regardless of the quantity, For example, people often eat excess fruit, and cannot under-stand why they are gaining weight – good food should not be fattening! The important thing to know is that it is the total number of kilojoules you consume on a daily basis, not any one particular food item that determines whether you put on weight.
Before you can accomplish your weight loss or fat loss goals, it is very essential to know about what you eat. Once you know which foods to eat, avoid and love, you are far better off than most others. To that effect, this post will tell you about the basics of food types and also target some questions occasionally asked by people.
Protein-rich foods build and nourish blood, skin, bones and muscles. They increase the satiety of a meal (satisfying you and keeping hunger pangs at bay). Certain protein foods are 111gh in saturated fat, so the low-fat and lean options are a healthier choice.
Choose: eggs, low-fat yoghurt, low-fat cheese, low-fat milk, peanut butter, nuts, lean meat, skin-free poultry, legumes, low-fat soy products and seeds.
Forget: marbled (fatty) meat, full-fat dairy foods and processed meats such as salami, bologna, pepperoni arid bacon.
Carbohydrates provide the body with fuel. Protein and fat can also provide the body with energy, but the body prefers carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are classified into two major groups: simple and complex.
Simple carbohydrates are broken down more quickly into their simpler components and absorbed quickly into the bloodstream. They are naturally present in foods such as fruit, vegetables and mil k, accompanied by vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. They are also present in less-nutritious foods such as soft drinks and lollies.
Complex carbohydrates – occurring in unrefined whole foods such as brown rice and wholegrain bread – are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and are filling and satisfying.
They are structurally more complex than simple carbohydrates and take longer to be broken down and for the glucose to pass into the bloodstream, which helps stabilize your blood sugar levels. Many foods, particularly fruit and vegetables, contain both simple and complex carbohydrates.
Approximately 60 per cent of your daily kilojoules intake should come from carbohydrate-rich foods – 50 per cent should be made up of complex carbohydrates; the less processed the better. If you consume too many simple carbohydrates, you may experience highs and lows in blood sugar levels, which cause energy and mood swings.
Choose: wholegrain cereals arid breads, wholegrain crackers, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, legumes, vegetables, salads and fruit.
Enjoy in small portions: chips, cakes, biscuits, doughnuts, pastries, lollies, chocolates and soft drinks.
Dietary fiber is found in plant foods – cereals (such as corn, oats, wheat and rice), fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes. Fiber-rich foods require more chewing, which ensures you eat more slowly. They also help you feel satisfied on fewer kilojoules; they reduce hunger and help keep your weight under control. Fiber-rich foods can help regulate blood glucose levels. There are two major categories of fiber: soluble and insoluble.
Soluble fiber is found mostly in oats, psyllium, barley, vegetables, lentils, beans and fruit. Soluble fibre slows the rate of digestion and absorption of food, and is thought to reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol, decreasing your risk of heart disease.
Insoluble fiber is found mostly in wheat bran, wheat-based cereals and pasta, and whole meal bread. Insoluble fiber keeps your bowels regular, providing bulk to the stool and speeding transit of material through the bowel. It reduces the risk of bowel cancer and other bowel diseases.
Adults should consume approximately 20-30 grams of fiber each day and eat a variety of plant foods.
Here is an example of how to fulfill your daily fiber needs.
Go easy on sugar, fat and alcohol, which are at the apex of the Healthy Eating Pyramid. They are concentrated kilojoules with low nutritional value. The exception must be made for the ‘healthy’ omega- 3 fatty acids found in fish oils, canola, flax seed oil and linseed oil, which are wonderful for your heart and blood.
Save processed sugar, fat and alcohol for occasional treats or special occasions. This includes sugary items such as honey, marmalade, jam, chutney, syrups, sweetened canned fruit, jellies, ice-cream, soft drinks, milkshakes and milk flavorings’; and fatty items such as mayonnaise, dripping, creamy soups, gravies and sauces, potato chips and vegetables fried or baked in fat. These are acceptable to consume occasionally in small doses.
Alcohol is extremely high in kilojoules. A standard drink has 8-10 grams of alcohol – and each is an empty kilojoules. When you drink-in excess you tend to lose your resolve, which has deleterious effects on weight control. (See page 164 for more about this.)
Dairy foods – cheese, yoghurt and milk – are a rich source of calcium, which is necessary for strong bones. Dairy foods ward off hiqh blood pressure, reduce PMS symptoms and lower the risk of bowel cancer. Eating calcium-rich dairy speeds weight loss and helps keep the kilos off! Opt for low fat milk, yoghurt and cheese. Cheese is high in saturated fat, but a small portion does provide a lot of calcium.
Select hard cheeses such as Parmesan and extra-sharp cheddar, which offer more calcium per 30 grams than the softer ones. The eating plan I have created in the next chapter provides for 2 cups of low-fat milk daily, ensuring you are satisfying your recommended daily intake of calcium. If you do not like or cannot tolerate milk, you will need either a calcium supplement or calcium-fortified soya products.
Of all types of food, fat would have to be the most misunderstood. Once upon a time, all fat was the enemy. Eating as little as possible would supposedly keep you trim. Now, health authorities advocate certain fats as essential for a healthy diet.
Fat is necessary for the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and 1< through the walls of your digestive tract and into your bloodstream. The type of fat you eat is important - some fats are good for you, while others are best avoided.
There are two main categories: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
Monounsaturated fats – are found in olives, canola, peanut oils, avocados and most nuts. They can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering blood cholesterol levels (LDU. They are more resistant to oxidation, a process that leads to cell and tissue damage.
Polyunsaturated fats – also known as omega-6 or omega- 3 oils – contain essential fatty acids. Omega-six is found in corn, sunflower oil and cottonseed oil, while omega-3 is abundant in oily fish – salmon, tuna, trout, mackerel, sardines and herring – and is also present in canola a oil, flax seed and walnuts. Omega- 3 relaxes narrowed arteries, reduces the risk of arterial blockages and decreases VLDLs (very low-density lipo-proteins – fats in the bloodstream associated with cardiovascular disease). They may also ease rheumatoid arthritis pain, fight depression and reduce the risk of premature birth.
Saturated fat and trans fat. Both have been linked to high cholesterol and heart disease. Saturated fat is found in red meat, dark-meat poultry (with skin) and full-fat dairy products. Trans fat is created when vegetable oil undergoes hydrogenation, a chemical process that extends its shelf life. lt is’ common in fast foods, packaged and convenience foods, snack items (like chips and crackers), cake mixes, pastries, biscuits, shortenings and some margarine.
Limit your intake of both saturated and trans fats by checking the nutrition panel on food labels (trans fats are not always listed but the phrase ‘partially hydrogenated oil’ is a giveaway – see page 27 for more on food labels).
Try to swap bad fats for good fats – eat salmon instead of steaks and burgers, and pass up the fried food at the lunch bar in favor of tuna or grilled chicken sandwiches. Dip the bread in a little olive oil instead of slathering it with butter or margarine.
Misconceptions about food have been around forever. Backed by so-called ‘experts’, some claims sound plausible but rarely have any basis in truth. Here are five common food fibs – and the facts.
Fib: You can eat as much low-fat food as you want without gaining weight.
Fact: Kilojoules for kilojoules, low-fat and full-fat foods are often the same. Food manufacturers often replace the fat in low-fat products with high-kilojoules fruit purees and sugar to make up for the missing flavor. My advice: pay attention to the food’s overall energy content, not just the fat.
Fib: Chicken and fish are always low in fat.
Fact: Chicken thighs and legs can be higher in fat than some lean cuts of beef. Eat the skin, and a chicken dinner becomes a high-fat feast. Cut the fat by choosing white meat – roasted, grilled or steamed – and remove the skin before cooking. Some fish, like mackerel and salmon, are high in fat. This
is in the form of valuable omega-3 fatty acids, so do not stint yourself. Cut fat by grilling rather than frying fish.
Fib: Beef is bad for you and your weight loss goals.
Fact: Beef’s reputation has deteriorated because some cuts are high in saturated fat. Lean cuts, however, provide as few as 4 grams of fat per 100 gram trimmed serving. Beef is an excellent source of iron, which is an important protection against anemia.
Fib: Late-night snacks go straight to your hips and thighs.
Fact: It is true that fewer kilojoules are burned while you sleep ‘(no matter how much you toss and turn). It is best to eat your main meal during the day, not at night. Whatever time you eat, if you consume too ‘many kilojoules overall, you will gain weight – on your thighs and everywhere else.
Fib: Carbohydrates make you fat.
Fact: Excess kilojoules are the problem, whether you get them from protein or carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the body’s fuel of choice (at least 50 per cent of your daily intake of kilojoules should be in the form of complex carbs): omitting them is like driving yourr car without filling the petrol tank.
Food means energy, and Australians are not exactly starving. Why are so many people dragging through the day and crashing by mid-afternoon? Their diets do not provide enough carbohydrates, the body’s preferred source of energy. When you eat an apple or a bagel, you effortlessly break down the carbohydrates into glucose (sugar), the body’s basic currency unit of energy. Your brain and muscles cannot function without a steady, sustained supply of glucose.
Research has shown that the low-carb, high-fat diets that are currently popular often leave people feeling dull and lethargic, because fat is slow to digest.
There are other problems with such diets: they allow virtually unlimited amounts of red meat, bacon, eggs and other fatty foods but limit carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, most fruits and many vegetables – important sources of cancer-preventing antioxidants and fiber.
If your energy is flagging, it is time for a well-balanced diet that incorporates the optimum mix of carbohydrates, tats and proteins. Carbohydrates provide a good lift, while fat and protein are digested more slowly, so you get a continuous release of glucose if you spread your intake through several small meals over the course of the day.
By law, a nutrition panel is required on the packaging of any food product making a nutritional claim (such as that it is low in fat or salt). Some food manufacturers choose to put nutrition panels on their products regardless of whether they are making any such claims.
Energy
Energy means kilojoules (some labels give both kilojoules and calorie values.)
Fiber
3 grams or more per serve is indicative of a good source of fiber.
Fat
Less than 3 grams of fat per 100 grams of food indicates a low-fat product. (You should be aware that fat is also called vegetable oil or fat, animal oil or fat, shortening, copha, lard or tallow, coconut or palm oil and milk solids. Words like ‘creamed’ or ‘toasted’ often indicate added fat.)
Salt
Less than 120 milligrams per 100 grams indicates a low-salt product. (Salt is also represented as Na+, and is present in Mono sodium Glutamate (MSG), sodium bicarbonate, baking powder; baking soda, rock salt and vegetable salt.)
Potassium
A mineral needed to control the working of the muscles and nerves. Ideally, a food product should contain at least as much potassium as sodium.
In general remember When you are fatigued mid afternoon, avoid the temptation 10 grab a can of Coke, a glass of orange juice, a cinnamon roll or a big slice of cake in the hope of a quick energy hit. These lire carbohydrates, but they will cause your blood sugar level to rise too high and fall too quickly, leaving you right where you started. Ensure you do not overeat when you are tired or stressed. Sit down and eat a healthy snack of protein and carbohydrate – tuna on wholegrain toast, yoghurt with a cheese on a cracker.
Remember: you want to keep your blood sugar level even, when you consume a large portion of carbohydrates- particularly simple ones – your system responds by secreting a large dose of insulin, the hormone produced in the pancreas. Insulin is responsible for the transport of glucose from the bloodstream into the muscle cells to fuel activity. Provided your pancreas produces the correct amount of insulin when needed, you will feel fine. Unfortunately, many people suffer from insulin resistance, meaning that the insulin does not respond exactly as it should. The body compensates for a meal high in simple carbohydrates by secreting more insulin. This causes your blood sugar level to fall, setting off alarms throughout your body.
The main warning bell is adrenaline, the hormone that surges through your veins whenever you sense danger. In this case the peril is not real; your body will prop up blood glucose levels before they fall too far. But the combination of the dip in blood sugar and the jolt of adrenaline can make you feel weak and “trembly”. You can avoid the jitters by having a high-fiber carbohydrate snack with a moderate amount of protein.
To maintain a high-energy lifestyle: eat small, eat often and choose from a wide variety of foods every day. My eating plan provides three meals and three snacks each day, and is designed to help you feel alert throughout the day.
More Weight Loss Resources
1) Does Beyond Diet Really Work?
2) Food Myths
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