Healthy Eating Diet Tips
J Bowler

Some (not so) Silly Diet Tips and Why Theyre Not

At first glance some of these diet tips may seem downright silly. You may find yourself thinking, Thats couldnt possibly make
enough of a difference. Plus Id feel silly doing it. I have a response to those negative thoughts. First, the longest journey begins with a single step. And second, would you rather feel silly being overweight and unfit or doing something about it?

Diet Tip 1: Fidget

Every little movement burns calories. Twiddle your thumbs. Squeeze one of those little exercise balls while you watch TV to burn calories and tone your arms at the same time. Take that more distant parking spot. Walk wherever possible. Even if you have physical limitations, you can tailor a program to your needs. Move whatever you can, whenever and wherever you can. And just think – laughing is good exercise. Its like jogging on the inside.

Diet Tip 2: Portions and Proportions

Pay attention to portion sizes according to the eating plan you choose. Use a normal size plate dont supersize it! One plan suggests that of the plate should contain protein and the rest should be fruits and vegetables. You can weigh your food, at least until you become attuned to proper portion sizes or use some of the simple guidelines like 3 oz. of protein is about the size of your palm or a deck of playing cards or one serving of rice is the size of a tennis ball.

Diet Tip 3: Eat More Slowly

This allows your body the several minutes it takes to signal your brain that it is full.

Diet Tip 4: Substitute Low Calorie Density Foods for High

Choose foods with a low calorie density foods that have fewer calories relative to their weight. If you decrease the energy density of your diet, caloric intake will decline, says Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University and co-author along with Robert Barnett of The Volumetrics Eating Plan.

Think lower cal fruits, vegetables like salad greens and broths. What these foods have in common is the magic diet ingredient, water! Water has zero calories, so the more volume represented by water, the less room there is for calories. Water also creates a feeling of fullness, helping one to eat less.

Fiber is another low calorie density food. In this category, we again find many fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, such as whole wheat bread or pasta, whole grain cereals and brown rice. A study at Tufts University in Boston found that increasing daily fiber intake by 14 grams resulted in a 10% decrease in total calorie intake and a weight loss averaging one pound a month. This is a very small diet change to make. Substitute about 28 calories of fiber for some high calorie density food you have been eating.

Diet Tip 5: Be Aware of What You Eat

Keep a food diary (and be brutally honest no one else needs to see it). Dont forget the spoon that you licked while putting away the leftovers or the sampling(s) you
had while adjusting the seasoning. The purpose is not only to monitor your food intake but to identify what circumstances tempt you to overeat or eat unhealthily. Keep a food diary long enough and patterns will start to emerge.

Diet Tip 6: Try New Spices and Herbs in Place of Butter and Salt

Try some new spices and herbs and cut back on the butter and salt. You might be surprised to learn the antioxidant strength of some herbs another reason to add more to your diet. When food tastes different or more flavorful, we tend to savor it more and eat more slowly.

Diet Tip 7: Add Variety

Along the same lines, The American Dietetic Association recommends increasing variety. Occasionally adding a single new food to your routine can end monotony and increase nutrition.

This year’s ADA “Get a Taste for Nutrition” campaign suggests adding a new fruit, vegetable or grain to your shopping list each week. Among its suggestions: kumquat, passion fruit and pomegranate for fruits; kohlrabi, bok choy, jicama and parsnip from the vegetable aisle; and quinoa, flaxseed, amaranth and bulgur for new grains.

This article is for informational purposes only. It does not purport to offer medical advice.

About the Author

Jean Bowler is a life long fitness freak. She was a ballet dancer and teacher, a private fitness trainer and more. Visit her site, http://www.ageless-beauty.com for advice on diet and nutrition, skin care and more.

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Eating Out! – 5 Healthy Tips
Weight-Control-Services.com

It’s one thing to stick with your diet regimen when you’re at home, in control of the contents of your refrigerator and your portion sizes. But what about going out to dinner with friends? Worse, how do you stay on track when your dream vacation has you seated by the dessert cart at every meal?

Eating right when you’re out of your comfort zone can actually be easier than when you are at home, so long as you think smart and plan ahead.

Getting in shape can be an arduous journey, and you should allow yourself to celebrate along the way! However, celebrating doesn’t mean two helpings of dessert. Instead, focus on these simple tips to help you enjoy your dinners out on the town without compromising your weight loss goals.

Tip 1: Daily Plan

Incorporate meals out like any others. Don’t skip meals beforehand, setting yourself up to be starving, then overeat. Plan. Don’t be afraid to call ahead and find out what the specials are going to be and figure out a couple of choices, so that you don’t stress out when you arrive and order foods that are not the best options for your diet.

If the restaurant or event is going to serve you buffet-style, again, call ahead to plan. If that’s not an option, here are a couple ideas. First, ask someone with whom you’re comfortable sharing your dietary concerns to help you. Tell him or her what foods you can eat (or what you cannot eat) and ask the person to fill a plate for you. Or second, walk up to the buffet table(s) beforehand with no plate. Just take a casual stroll around and see which foods are being served. Then decide if you would like to ask someone else to place your selections on a plate for you or if you would prefer to get them yourself.

Tip 2: Slow and Steady

First of all, use manners and eat slowly. Not only will this help with your digestion, it slows your eating down so that you don’t “gulp” and be a chow-hound, eating everything in sight.

If out with others, remember you are also there for socializing, so talk between bites. Set your eating utensils down while you chew. Have a sip of water between bites. The goal is not to see how fast can you wolf down the food while someone else is talking.

Tip 3: Avoid temptation

There is no law that says you must have a basket of bread, butter and oil before a meal out. If it is on your table when you are seated, request that it be brought back to the kitchen.

If your dinner mates are eager to start off with the carbs, then order a glass of water and take a sip each time you are tempted to break bread. Besides, you’ll want the time you would have wasted buttering and dipping to spend reading the menu for smart, sensible choices.

Don’t assume that you’ll be able to hold out on temptations throughout the entire meal. Set yourself up for success when you order by requesting they leave off the oils and sauces. Request that your meat and vegetables be steamed, not fried. Order a salad (with light or no dressing, on the side) or side of veggies instead of fries or mashed potatoes.

Tip 4: Fill up on the good stuff

Drink plenty of water before you leave for the restaurant, and while you wait for the food to arrive. This will help fill you up and prevent hunger-inspired indulgences.

Request your salad (and/or soup, if it’s not creamy) be brought out first, and dig in. By the time your food arrives, you should be able to more rationally determine what portion sizes are appropriate, and if anything needs to be avoided.

Tip 5: Dreaded desserts

First of all, do not order dessert until you are completely finished with your meal. You may be full and not want anything. And that’s certainly not a crime!
After the meal, if everyone is splurging on the dessert menu, keep in mind that you don’t have to join in just to be part of the “gang.” Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea to end your meal. Or ask someone to split a dessert with you. Hint: Doggie bags can also be used for desserts! So split it in half and take part home for another day or your neighbor.
You have to be left out of choosing a neat dessert, either. See if the kitchen can put together a fruit bowl or a sorbet dish to satisfy your cravings without putting all your conscientious work at dinner to waste. This might be something to call ahead about..hint!

With the right approach, eating out can be a pleasurable experience. Remember, a successful diet is a lifelong lifestyle modification. You need to be able to incorporate healthful eating out activities into your routine.

What happens if you DO stress? Add extra activities to your schedule. Swim some laps. Walk or jog. Leave your wallet in the trunk and go to a mall for a shop-walk. Take a tour. Visit a museum. Enjoy a park and feed the ducks. Just get out, focus on something else and enjoy life.
About the Author

Weight Control Services, a site dedicated to providing current health and fitness information. The article you have read is available for your use in its entirety as part of a collection of ebooks offering valuable information on a variety of Health and Fitness topics.

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If you want to help your children lose weight, some changes have to be made. It is becoming more often that we read and hear a lot about the need to lose weight on a daily basis. Now that obesity is being recognized as an increasing problem, losing weight, especially in teens has gained a lot more significance.

Overweight kids have been the product of a “fast food” lifestyle that most families has grown accustomed with. Daily consumption of hamburgers and fries along with other add-on have made it easier for teens to gain more weight and at the same time get less of the essential nutrients that their growing body needs. It is becoming an unhealthy trend that needs to be addressed. It is usually up to the parents to take action.

So what is usually the quick and easy answer to help teenagers as well as adults lose weight? The simple combination of diet and exercise of course. Almost everyone is aware that following a healthy diet and regular exercise are keys to losing and maintaining a healthy weight. No new research is required before you can look into the causes of obesity in teenagers. More than just the fast food, it is also the larger portion sizes, or increasing inactivity that are causing more teens to become overweight.

There is not one single thing that they can easily change and make fewer people overweight. It is usually a combination of diet, exercise and other things that is the successful answer to any weight issues. The big concern is more on how to find the motivation to eat healthier and exercise regularly. This is probably the most difficult part of trying to lose weight. But even if one has the proper motivation to start eating healthier and exercising more often, trying to keep it up becomes an even harder task.

In the case of teenage kids, proper motivation may come from going to school each day. An educational institution that practices and preaches a healthy lifestyle would be more than helpful in keeping the weight of teenage and even younger kids in check. Schools can institute major changes in order to provide kids with healthy meals and regular exercise. Small steps such as banning soda and fruit drinks can help a lot.

There are many ways that a school might help kids in general become healthier. One is by providing real daily physical education requirements that can help make kids more active physically, a break from a sedentary lifestyle that they may be accustomed with at home. A school can also help in an effective weight loss program for kids by offering only healthy foods at school meals. Unhealthy foods or snacks should not be offered as an option for kids who don’t want to eat healthy.

Having adequate fitness equipment available to all students can greatly help in motivating kids to become more active. Such equipment should be made available for everyone and not just for those students who are participating in formal sports. Schools can also increase the number of informal sports that kids can play.

This way, kids do not have to be a member of the varsity basketball team in order to enjoy playing basketball at school. Of all of these changes, the program to increase physical education requirements will likely be the most useful in helping kids reach a healthy weight. Such programs can also help them avoid becoming overweight and further help kids build good habits that might stay with them into adulthood.

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Walking for weight loss is easy and best of all it’s free. You do not have to join a gym or a club to be able to walk. all you have to do is step right out your front door. Anyone can do it, even your kids. I can be quite enjoyable to get out of the house and go for a walk in the morning after breakfast or in the evening after dinner. It doesn’t matter when you go, as long as you go.

Walking for weight loss should be combined with a healthier eating plan as well. This combination should net you up to a three pound weight loss per week. Start by buying fresh, healthy foods and measuring out single portion sizes.

Portion sizes is the biggest problem some people have. They just do not know when to stop eating. You might even be surprised that a single portion size is the size it is. When you realize that you have been eating three or four portions of something all at one time then it will make sense to you why you are over weight.

If you make up a meal plan then limit yourself to about 1200 to 1500 calories per day. This range is the perfect amount to lose weight at about 1-2 pounds per week. You may see a big drop right in the beginning but what you are seeing is your body adjusting and getting rid of water weight first.

Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables along with lean meats like chicken, turkey, fish, and shrimp. Lean protein helps build lean muscle. Whole grains provide the fiber and essential fatty acids your body needs so stock up on nuts and seeds like almonds or sunflower seeds. Watch your salt intake and stay away from sugary snacks and breads made with white flour.

Before you start your daily walks, go buy a new pair of shoes. A good pair of shoes with the mesh upper will help your feet breathe and stay cooler during your walk. Dress in layers for the weather changes that can happen and just tie your jacket or sweatshirt around your waist should you have to take it off.

If yiou are interested to know how far you have walked then get yourself a pedometer. A pedometer measures every step you take. If you count as you go you would need to count 2000 steps to measure one mile. I think it would be better to have the pedometer do it, frankly. That way you could listen to music or talk with your walking partner instead of counting.

Otherwise you could just clock a certain distance with your car then you would know how far you walk with out having to guess or count your steps. Try to get in 30 minutes of walking for weight loss per day. Increase the intensity and do some power walking once you work up to longer walks or do some basic interval training.

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