Dieting? You might be interested in this

Dieting? Then you need to understand the importance of gross-calories versus net-calories according to an article in Medium Food.com.

If you are on a diet, you are probably familiar with the concept of “calories in, calories out” principle. This principle says that we gain weight when the calories we put in our bodies (eating) are greater than the calories we use (exercise). And conversely, we lose weight when the calories are less than the calories out.

It seems to be a simple concept and one that is easy to understand. But there is research that says it is more complex than it first appears. We know that there is only one way to put calories into our bodies, eating. But it turns out there are lots of ways that calories get used and leave our bodies. It turns out that exercise is one of the smallest and least significant of all these ways. (This is why it’s incredibly difficult to exercise your way out of a poor diet.)

All of our bodily functions require a lot of energy and burn lots of calories — thinking, pumping blood, regulating body temperature, building and repairing muscles, and a host of other activities. One of those bodily functions that require energy and burn calories is digesting food. Our bodies require calories to extract new calories from food. And this activity requires more energy and calories than exercise. Simply put, digesting food is a significant portion of how we get our calories out of our bodies.

This is where the concept of gross-calories versus net-calories comes into play. Gross-calories are simply the number of calories you put in your mouth. It’s the calorie count on the wrappers. It’s what we’re used to thinking about.

Net-calories are the number of calories you put in your mouth minus the number of calories your body uses to digest that food. This is how many calories are actually available for your body to use after extracting them from food.

Different foods require significantly different amounts of energy to digest. This means that two foods that have the same number of gross-calories will have different net-calories if they require different amounts of energy to digest.

Let’s take an example. Imagine an apple and a handful of candy. Say both have 100 calories. Under a gross-calorie framework, there’s no caloric difference between the two foods. But it may only take 5 calories to break down the candy and access the 100 calories while the body has to work a lot harder and expend 25 calories to break down the fibrous apple and access the 100 calories. So, the net-calories from the apple are 75 (100–25) while the net-calories from the candy are 95 (100–5). Same gross-calories, but very different net-calories

Researchers have found that processed foods (candy, in our example) require far less energy to digest and that unprocessed food (apples, in our example) require a lot more energy to digest. The result is that processed food and unprocessed food that have the same number of gross-calories can have significantly different net-calories.

While the net-calorie difference between the apple and the candy may seem small, the small difference adds up throughout the day and over the course of days and weeks and months and years. Consistently eating a diet high in processed foods will yield a significantly higher net-calorie count than a comparable diet of unprocessed foods, even though the two have the same number of gross-calories. What this means is that if we eat more processed foods over time, we may gain more weight than if we eat more unprocessed food. Thought to consider when starting a diet.

Investigate When Choosing Weight Control Products

Millions of Americans undergo diet programs, in high hopes of controlling or losing weight. Unfortunately, not all these Americans are successful to keep their targeted weight off. So, what is the problem? 

It can be because one of the three reasons:

• One is not sticking properly to the right regimen of the diet program; 
• One has chosen the wrong diet program; or 
• Weight control products used are ineffective. 

One of the common mistakes that these people commit when undergoing diet or weight loss programs is thinking they could get the fix overnight, so they always tend to overlook the requirements of properly losing weight. Also, it is not uncommon for people to enroll into a certain diet program but never sticks to its regimen afterwards. 

In other cases, many people easily believe over the claims of some weight control products; thus, are also quickly trapped to false hopes of getting weight off their physical body immediately. Or that, are quickly chained into using ineffective products; hence, not gaining effective results at all. 

Unfortunately, many people are yet to learn that they need the key to achieving your desired weight, which are the following:

• Using the right diet program/weight control product;
• Eating healthy, balanced foods; and 
• Getting active in your daily lifestyle. 

Conclusively, the kind of lifestyle you take together with the program or product has a large factor in accomplishing effective results. The bottom line, therefore, is to keep burning calories consistently because no matter how much expensive your program or product is, it would be useless if you constantly keep idling or being a couch potato. 

Now, if you are going to choose from the many weight loss products available in the industry, remember that the number of choices is quite confusing. Nowadays, it isn’t surprising if you encounter hundreds of these products available through over the counter, local clinics, or your local dealers. 

This number just shows how much intensified is the need of people to undergo some kind of weight loss/control program. Because of the dizzying number of these products, you need to be very vigilant than ever. In doing so, be sure to check with your physician, dietician, nutritionist, or whoever is the right person to consult with. 

Investigate more than what is required. And finally, know every weight control product presented to you and compare each to ensure you end up with the right product that suits your needs.

When it comes to weight control products choices, the following are some of the claimed effective products include the following:

• Diet drink – usually powdered formulas either in milk, chocolate, shakes, or juice form. 

• Prescription diet medicines – pills that contain appetite suppressant. Can also contain ephedra or phenolpropanolamine hydrochloride.

• Herbal nutritional program – usually, in the form of shakes, pills, etc.

• Diet pills – to be taken once or twice.

• Chitosan supplements – contain dietary fiber from shellfish.

• Chromium supplements – usually available as chromium salts for easy absorption.

• Green tea extra diet supplements – believed to contain strong antioxidants, in the form of polyphenol.

In addition to the above list, there are also others that are popularly claimed as weight loss products.  These products may or may not help you, so it is really important that necessary investigation is done before resorting to any of the following:

• Diet patches

• Electrical muscle stimulators

• Magnetic diet pills

• Magic earrings

• Bulk fillers

The above list of weight control products are found to yield side effects, some of which are safe while others are not so again investigate, investigate, investigate, before using any of these.

Understanding Natural Weight Loss

Over the years, losing weight has been the dilemma of many people not just in the United States but also around the world. In fact, there are now a lot of diet system and weight loss medicines available. However, there have been so many negative feedbacks about most of these diet systems and weight loss medications. Some are not as effective as they claim to be while some even have bad side effects. Hence, people are still seeking for the best solution.

The experts in weight loss and diet programs are continuously struggling to give weight loss clients the best possible answer to their weight problems. And the latest trend introduced is natural weight loss. So what is this natural weight loss thing? 

Natural Weight Loss Explained
Since the procedures are natural, weight loss using this procedure is considered healthy and will really make you feel satisfied. Unlike the fad diets and “almost magic” diet programs and medications available today, natural weight loss will teach you how to shed those extra pounds in a proper manner. This weight loss means will tell you the opposite of what those unreliable diet programs tell you; that you will lose weight if you are going to religiously follow a long term but healthy weight loss plan.

Now, don’t you think it is much easier to believe to a weight loss procedure which does not promise making you sexy and fit overnight? But, what can you really do to lose weight naturally? 

Here are some tips;

• Know what to eat 
– It is important that you know whether a certain food on your menu can be a potential harm to your weight loss scheme. Learn how to be critical on what you eat. Avoid too much fried and salty foods.

• Read about natural weight loss 
– there are lots of published, both online and prints, about natural weight loss. It would help you so much to read on some of these articles. You can read books or magazines with expert’s column about natural weight loss. Online natural weight loss sites are also available on the net as your reference.

• Participate on online forums 
– yes, there are online communities and forums on the Internet where members talk about natural weight loss, its benefits and the different resources which you can find to shed that unwanted fat naturally.

• Visit websites 
– there are different natural weight loss websites and you can visit any of them so you can get guides about losing weight. You’d be able to get tips and information about natural weight loss programs and pills on such sites.

• Don’t believe in magic 
– when it comes to losing weight, there is no such thing as magic. Patience and perseverance are what you need.

Really, there are lots of ways for you to be fit the natural way. You just have to know the different resources that you have. And after some time, you will feel the difference between the commercial diet solutions and the natural way. It is because eventually, you will become perfectly fit while staying healthy. Yes, healthy because you are not restricting yourself with what you eat. 

With natural weight loss, you don’t deprive yourself. You just learn what are the right amount and the right time to eat them. And you know what? Permanent fitness is the promise of losing weight naturally. That’s right; you don’t have to worry about gaining weight again.

Getting the Best Weight Loss Tips

Losing weight has been the dilemma of most people for many years now. Well, we all want to look fit and sexy all the time. Hence, we strive hard just to get the body that we want. However, with the lifestyle and eating habits that we were brought up with, it is almost impossible to stay slim and so easy to gain weight. 

What with all the calories that we take in everyday, with all the junk and fast foods that we eat as well as the caffeinated beverages that we drink. And in our desperation to trim down excess fats, we are always seeking for weight loss tips and different means to loss weight. 

There are lots of tips available for you when it comes to losing weight. Books and magazines about weight loss as well as other essential things in losing weight are now within your reach. Visit your favorite bookstores and magazine shops and you’ll surely find them. 

Do-It-Yourself Weight Loss Tips

As there are a lot of tips on how to trim down excess fats and shed extra pounds that have been published, you can now easily find a set of procedures fitted for you and you lifestyle. However, the best procedures to losing extra pounds are those which you can do even when you’re all by yourself; those which don’t require you to go and consult a clinic or a weight loss expert. 

Here are some weight loss tips that you can do yourself;

• Trim down your calories consumption 
– we need calories for our day to day activities, but we need to trim down unnecessary percentage of calories. Mostly, you may need to avoid soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. Gourmet coffee also contains too much calories and you may want to reduce consumption of this or totally avoid intake. 

• Exercise is still a best way to shed extra pounds 
– yes, this is still among the best practices that you can do at home to trim down extra pounds. You can start off by moving more often. Like instead of driving to a nearby supermarket, you can walk. Avoid riding if it is just a walking distance. You can also walk your dog every morning. Cleaning the house also makes your body move more often. You see, you don’t need trainers and equipments just to exercise.

 • Feast on 5 small meals everyday 
– instead of eating 3 heavy meals, you can eat several small meals throughout the day. This way, you can divide your daily calorie intake without having to undergo fasting or skipping meals.

• Always eat breakfast 
– it is not a good idea to skip on breakfast just to lose weight. You will only tend to eat more later in the day. 

• Water therapy 
– water may not be considered as something which can burn fat, but drinking the right amount of water everyday can help with bodily functions such as proper digestion. It also makes you feel full so you won’t feel like eating and eating.


If you haven’t noticed, the tips above mostly involved self discipline. This is because discipline is the fundamental of all the weight loss procedures out there. You have to know your limitations if you are serious about trimming down those unwanted fats. No weight loss tips are as effective as they promise if you, as the person who wants to lose weight, won’t have even a bit of self discipline.

Holiday eating tips

Get Healthy and Lean with Good Fats (Article) written by Abritt Publishing, 

 Some of the most powerful positive habits for a trim and fit body in your arsenal are the positive habits related to replacing bad fats in your diet with good fats. Most people only think of fat as being a bad thing. In fact, for many years the media has been promoting "fat-free" diets as a more healthy diet.

Just take a look around your local grocery store; you will see lots of products labeled fat free. Do you think all those fat-free products have resulted in thinner Americans? Think again. The percentage of obese people in this country has been rising every year. Americans are now the fattest people on the planet.

The media has gotten it all wrong. Fat can be your friend! There are certain types of fats that are bad for you. They can increase you risk for heart disease while making you fatter at the same time. Other fats are good for your health and can actually help you burn fat and lose weight! Here are just some of the benefits that the positive fat replacement habits will provide to you:

·         Increase the rate that your body burns fat

·         Help you lose weight automatically and keep it off

·         Increase your good cholesterol HDL levels and decrease your bad cholesterol LDL levels

·         Help you to curb your appetite and eat less

·         Decrease your risk for heart attack

·         Help balance your insulin levels

·         Help you convert unwanted body fat into energy

·         Help raise your body's metabolic rate (the rate your body burns calories)

The Bad Fats

The fats that are bad for you are saturated fats and trans fats; these are fats that are found in animal products such as butter, cheese, meats, and also in many of the processed foods that we eat. Numerous studies have shown that a diet high in saturated fats may increase blood levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol, risk factors for heart disease.

Trans fats are the most dangerous dietary fats on the planet. Trans fats are typically produced by applying an artificial process to vegetable oils. These fats are mostly found in fried foods, margarines, and processed foods like potato chips and crackers. Researchers at Harvard University did a study of 85,095 women who had no previous history of heart disease or stroke. During the years that followed, the fifth of the group that had the highest intake of trans fatty acids had a 50% greater risk for heart disease then the fifth that had the lowest intake of trans fatty acids.

A recent study showed that women who ate more than four teaspoons per day of margarine had a 70% higher risk of cardiovascular disease then those women who seldom ate margarine. Despite lobbying by many consumer groups, trans fat is still not listed on nutritional labels. Do yourself a favor and dump your margarine RIGHT NOW! Replace it with olive oil or the new healthy butter substitutes that do not contain trans fats.

Some researchers have said that as many as 30,000 deaths per year can be attributed to the consumption of trans fat. Reducing or eliminating trans fats from your diet will help to improve your health and the positive habits that follow will help you do just that.

The Good Fats

An example of good fats would be monounsaturated fat, and omega-3 fatty acids. You would find these fats in fish, nuts, olive oil and those kinds of foods, the kind of foods that are very prominent in what is called the Mediterranean diet.

Omega-3 fatty acids -- Flaxseed is a great source of omega-3 fat. More than half the fat contained in flaxseed is omega-3 fatty acid type, an essential fatty acid. There have been numerous studies reporting the health benefits of consuming omega-3 fats. Recent studies suggest that Omega-3 fatty acids which are abundant in flax seed can help protect you from coronary artery disease, stroke, high blood pressure, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Studies on the effects of flax seed on breast cancer are now under way. Omega-3s can also help boost your metabolism, helping your body to burn calories faster.You can buy raw flax seed and add it to your cereal or flax seed oil which can be mixed in salads or protein shakes. Any good health food store will carry both

Simple Diet Changes That Pack a Fat-Fighting Punch

Texas A&M University researchers conducted a study to determine what dietary changes resulted in the biggest reduction in fat. During two different 24-hour periods, they asked 5,649 adults to list dietary changes they made in an effort to reduce fat consumption. The researchers then calculated the changes that resulted in the biggest reduction of fat. Combine these simple eating habits with other weight loss habits, and you will see that trim body in the mirror sooner then you think. Here are the results of the study

·         Do not add fat to baked or boiled potatoes.

·         Do not eat fried chicken.

·         Do not eat more than two eggs a week.

·         Do not eat red meat.

5 Surprising Health Benefits of Chocolate

The following is from an article from Grandparents.com, which provides some interesting and informative articles for grandparents, and being a new grandparent I need as much help as I can get. This article is a good one for all those chocolate lovers like myself who may feel guilty about eating chocolate--of course in moderation :-0

The Skinny on Chocolate: 5 Surprising Health Benefits by Deborah Long

Folks who eat chocolate regularly are thinner than non-chocolate eaters!” Newspapers, magazines and bloggers have been quick to share the results of a recent study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study, conducted in San Diego, showed exactly that: of the women surveyed, those who ate the most chocolate had the lowest BMI. And this is just the latest in a long line of claims about the health benefits of chocolate.

Is chocolate really just what the doctor ordered? To find out, we went to Dr. Howard Weintraub, clinical director of the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

Can chocolate help you lose weight?

“At the risk of sounding like a killjoy,” says Dr. Weintraub, “The researchers were careful to point out that their study didn’t prove that eating chocolate caused weight loss. I think the research is promising, but it wouldn’t be right for me to tell my patients to start eating chocolate as a weight loss aid.”  So what can chocolate do for

It can boost your immune system.

Like many other plant based foods, cacao (the source of chocolate) is full of antioxidants, which play a key role in supporting a healthy immune system. The rule of thumb with antioxidants is that the deeper the color, the more antioxidants. Dark chocolate is the way to go here; milk chocolate doesn’t have nearly as many benefits. In fact, some sources suggest that adding milk negates chocolate’s healthful benefits.  As is true of most foods, the less processing, the better. Raw chocolate bars and truffles, which taste delicious, are now available online and in many health-food stores

Chocolate lowers blood pressure.

According to research, the flavonoids in dark chocolate can lower blood pressure, and they appear to improve LDL cholesterol levels, too. However, cautions Dr. Weintraub, “Red wine has flavonoids, too, but this doesn’t give us carte blanche to drink all the wine or eat all the chocolate we want. As a culture, we tend to think if a little is good, a lot must be better and with something as calorically dense as chocolate that could do more harm than good,” he says

It helps prevent tooth decay.

Chocolate contains a compound called theobromide. In clinical studies, theobromide has proved effective at eliminating the cavity causing bacteria, streptococcus mutans, which, of course, means fewer cavities. But before you throw away the toothpaste, remember that chocolate usually contains sugar, a notorious bad guy in the world of oral hygiene. If you want to keep your pearly whites in top form, your best bet is to brush and floss regularly no matter how much chocolate you eat.

Chocolate boosts your mood.

Yes, it tastes good, and things that taste good are pleasurable. For that reason alone, it may be worthwhile to let a square melt in your mouth from time to time. But that melting chocolate may also have a chemical effect on your brain because chocolate contains serotonin, also known as nature’s antidepressant. The endorphins stimulated by pleasure and enhanced by the serotonin can make you feel more relaxed and happy

It provides you with magnesium.

Like green leafy vegetables, dark chocolate is high in magnesium. According to the National Institute of Health, magnesium plays a role in more than 300 chemical reactions in your body. It helps to regulate the digestive, neurological and cardiovascular systems, and is part of the metabolic process that converts food to energy. Your muscles and nerves need magnesium to function properly, and it also helps to regulate your heart beat. One hundred grams of chocolate (about 3.5 ounces) will provide 176 mg of magnesium, more than half the daily recommendation for a woman over the age of 31.

The real skinny? Enjoy it in moderation.

“Food fads march in and out of our lives,” says Dr. Weintraub. “Chocolate is the latest media darling. The truth is it’s a good food with lots to recommend it, not the least of which is that it tastes good. If you’re someone who can enjoy a small square of it as a daily treat, that’s great. But you can’t eat chocolate instead of lean protein and fresh fruits and vegetables. And regardless of what you’re eating, you need to exercise regularly – ideally, for an hour a day, five days a week.”

Getting the Best Weight Loss Tips

Losing weight has been the dilemma of most people for many years now. Well, we all want to look fit and sexy all the time. Hence, we strive hard just to get the body that we want. However, with the lifestyle and eating habits that we were brought up with, it is almost impossible to stay slim and so easy to gain weight, especially in the summer

What with all the calories that we take in everyday, with all the junk and fast foods that we eat as well as the caffeinated beverages that we drink. And in our desperation to trim down excess fats, we are always seeking for weight loss tips and different means to loss weight.

There are lots of tips available for you when it comes to losing weight. Books and magazines about weight loss as well as other essential things in losing weight are now within your reach. Visit your favorite bookstores and magazine shops and you’ll surely find them.

Do-It-Yourself Weight Loss Tips

As there are a lot of tips on how to trim down excess fats and shed extra pounds that have been published, you can now easily find a set of procedures fitted for you and you lifestyle. However, the best procedures to losing extra pounds are those which you can do even when you’re all by yourself; those which don’t require you to go and consult a clinic or a weight loss expert.

Here are some weight loss tips that you can do yourself;
• Trim down your calories consumption
– we need calories for our day to day activities, but we need to trim down unnecessary percentage of calories. Mostly, you may need to avoid soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. Gourmet coffee also contains too much calories and you may want to reduce consumption of this or totally avoid intake.

• Exercise is still a best way to shed extra pounds
– yes, this is still among the best practices that you can do at home to trim down extra pounds. You can start off by moving more often. Like instead of driving to a nearby supermarket, you can walk. Avoid riding if it is just a walking distance. You can also walk your dog every morning. Cleaning the house also makes your body move more often. You see, you don’t need trainers and equipments just to exercise.

 • Feast on 5 small meals everyday
– instead of eating 3 heavy meals, you can eat several small meals throughout the day. This way, you can divide your daily calorie intake without having to undergo fasting or skipping meals.

• Always eat breakfast
– it is not a good idea to skip on breakfast just to lose weight. You will only tend to eat more later in the day.

• Water therapy
– water may not be considered as something which can burn fat, but drinking the right amount of water everyday can help with bodily functions such as proper digestion. It also makes you feel full so you won’t feel like eating and eating.

If you haven’t noticed, the tips above mostly involved self discipline. This is because discipline is the fundamental of all the weight loss procedures out there. You have to know your limitations if you are serious about trimming down those unwanted fats. No weight loss tips are as effective as they promise if you, as the person who wants to lose weight, won’t have even a bit of self discipline.