Foods that may help you maintain or lose weight

Pasta The Italians had it right all along. A cup of cooked paste (without a heavy sauce) has only 155 calories and fits the description of a perfect starch-centered staple. Analysis at the American Institute of Baking shows pasta is rich in six minerals, including manganese, iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium and zinc. Also be sure to consider whole wheat pastas, which are even healthier.

Sweet Potatoes

You can make a meal out of them and not worry about gaining a pound – and you sure won’t walk away from the table feeling hungry. Each sweet potato has about 103 calories. Their creamy orange flesh is one of the best sources of vitamin A you can consume.

You can bake, steam or microwave them. Or add them to casseroles, soups and many other dishes. Flavor with lemon juice or vegetable broth instead of butter.

Tomatoes
A medium tomato (2.5” diameter) has only about 25 calories. These garden delights are low in fat and sodium, high in potassium and rich in fiber.

A survey at Harvard Medical School found that the chances of dying of cancer are lowest among people who eat tomatoes (or strawberries) every week.

And don’t overlook canned crushed, peeled, whole or stewed tomatoes. They make sauces, casseroles and soups taste great while retaining their nutritional goodness and low-calorie status. Even plain old spaghetti sauce is a fat-burning bargain when served over pasta, so think about introducing tomatoes into your diet

Turkey

Give thanks to those pilgrims for starting the wonderful tradition of Thanksgiving turkey. It just so happens that this health food disguised as meat is good year-round for weight control.

A four-ounce serving of roasted white meat turkey has 177 calories and dark meat has 211.

Sadly, many folks are still unaware of the versatility and flavor of ground turkey. Anything hamburger can do, ground turkey can do at least as well, from conventional burgers to spaghetti sauce to meat loaf.

Some ground turkey contains skin which slightly increases the fat content. If you want to keep it really lean, opt for ground breast meat. But since this has no added fat, you’ll need to add filler to make burgers or meat loaf hold together.

 Four ounces of ground turkey has approximately 170 calories and nine grams of fat – about what you’d find in 2.5 teaspoons of butter or margarine. Incredibly, the same amount of regular ground beef (21% fat) has 298 calories and 23 grams of fat.

Buying turkey has become easy. It’s no longer necessary to buy a whole bird unless you want to. Ground turkey is available fresh or frozen, as are individual parts of the bird, including drumsticks, thighs, breasts and cutlets.

Yogurt
The non-fat variety of plain yogurt has 120 calories per cup and low-fat, 144. It delivers a lot of protein and , like any dairy food, is rich in calcium and contains zinc and riboflavin.

Yogurt is handy as a breakfast food – cut a banana into it and add the cereal of your choice.

You can find ways to use it in other types of cooking, to – sauces, soups, dips, toppings, stuffings and spreads. Many kitchen gadget departments even sell a simple funnel for making yogurt cheese.

Yogurt can replace heavy creams and whole milk in a wide range of dishes, saving scads of fat and calories.

You can substitute half or all of the higher fat ingredients. Be creative. For example, combine yogurt, garlic powder, lemon juice, a dash of pepper and Worcestershire sauce and use it to top a baked potato instead of piling on fat-laden sour cream.
 
Supermarkets and health food stores sell a variety of yogurts, many with added fruit and sugar. To control calories and fat content, buy plain non-fat yogurt and add fruit yourself. Apple butter or fruit spreads with little or no added sugar are an excellent way to turn plain yogurt into a delectable sweet treat.

Foods that may help you maintain or lose weight

Melons
Now, here’s great taste and great nutrition in a low-calorie package! One cup of cantaloupe balls has 62 calories, on cup of casaba balls has 44 calories, one cup of honeydew balls has 62 calories and one cup of watermelon balls has 49 calories. They have some of the highest fiber content of any food and are delicious. Throw in handsome quantities of vitamins A and C plus a whopping 547 mgs of potassium in that cup of cantaloupe, and you have a fat-burning health food beyond compare.

 Oats

A cup of oatmeal or oat bran has only 110 calories. And oats help you lose weight. Subjects in Dr. James Anderson’s landmark 12-year study at the University of Kentucky lost three pounds in two months simply by adding 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of oat bran to their daily food intake and nothing else. Just don’t expect oats alone to perform miracles – you have to eat a balanced diet for total health.

 Onions

Flavorful, aromatic, inexpensive and low in calories, onions deserve a regular place in your diet. One cup of chopped raw onions has only 60 calories, and one raw medium onion (2.15” diameter) has just 42.

They control cholesterol, thin the blood, protect against cholesterol and may have some value in counteracting allergic reactions. Most of all, onions taste good and they’re good for you.

Partially boil, peel and bake, basting with olive oil and lemon juice. Or sauté them in white wine and basil, then spread over pizza. Or roast them in sherry and serve over paste.

Foods that help you continued

Cottage Cheese
As long as we’re talking about losing weight and fat-fighting foods, we had to mention cottage cheese.

Low-fat (2%) cottage cheese has 205 calories per cup and is admirably low in fat, while providing respectable amounts of calcium and the B vitamin riboflavin. Season with spices such a dill, or garden fresh vegetable such a scallions and chives for extra zip.

To make it sweeter, add raisins or one of the fruit spreads with no sugar added. You can also use cottage cheese in cooking, baking, fillings and dips where you would otherwise use sour cream or cream cheese.

Figs

Fiber-rich figs are low in calories at 37 per medium (2.25” diameter) raw fig and 48 per dried fig. A recent study by the USDA demonstrated that they contribute to a feeling of fullness and prevent overeating. Subjects actually complained of being asked to eat too much food when fed a diet containing more figs than a similar diet with an identical number of calories.

Serve them with other fruits and cheeses. Or poach them in fruit juice and serve them warm or cold. You can stuff them with mild white cheese or puree them to use as a filling for cookies and low-calorie pastries.

Fish

The health benefits of fish are greater than experts imagined – and they’ve always considered it a health food.

The calorie count in the average four-ounce serving of a deep-sea fish runs from a low of 90 calories in abalone to a high of 236 in herring. Water-packed tuna, for example, has 154 calories. It’s hard to gain weight eating seafood.

As far back as 1985, articles in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a clear link between eating fish regularly and lower rates of heart disease. The reason is that oils in fish thin the blood, reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

Dr. Joel Kremer, at Albany Medical College in New York, discovered that daily supplements of fish oil brought dramatic relief to the inflammation and stiff joints of rheumatoid arthritis.

Greens
We’re talking collard, chicory, beet, kale, mustard, Swiss chard and turnip greens. They all belong to the same family as spinach, and that’s one of the super-stars. No matter how hard you try, you can’t load a cup of plain cooked greens with any more than 50 calories.

They’re full of fiber, loaded with vitamins A and C, and free of fat. You can use them in salads, soups, casseroles or any dish where you would normally use spinach.

Kiwi

This New Zealand native is a sweet treat at only 46 calories per fruit. Chinese public health officials praise the tasty fruit for its high vitamin C content and potassium. It stores easily in the refrigerator for up to a month. Most people like it peeled, but the fuzzy skin is also edible.

Leeks
These members of the onion family look like giant scallions, and are every bit as healthful and flavorful as their better-known cousins. They come as close to calorie-free as it gets at a mere 32 calories per cooked cup.

You can poach or broil halved leeks and then marinate them in vinaigrette or season with Romano cheese, fine mustard or herbs. They also make a good soup.

Lettuce
People think lettuce is nutritionally worthless, but nothing could be farther from the truth. You can’t leave it out of your weight-loss plans, not at 10 calories per cup of raw romaine. It provides a lot of filling bulk for so few calories. And it’s full of vitamin C, too. Go beyond iceberg lettuce with Boston, bibb and cos varieties or try watercress, arugula, radicchio, dandelion greens, purslane and even parsley to liven up your salads

Foods that may help you keep off weight

Broccoli Broccoli is America’s favorite vegetable, according to a recent poll. No wonder. A cup of cooked broccoli has a mere 44 calories. It delivers a staggering nutritional payload and is considered the number one cancer-fighting vegetable. It has no fat, loads of fiber, cancer fighting chemicals called indoles, carotene, 21 times the RDA of vitamin C and calcium.

When you’re buying broccoli, pay attention to the color. The tiny florets should be rich green and free of yellowing. Stems should be firm.

Buckwheat
It’s great for pancakes, breads, cereal, soups or alone as a grain dish commonly called kasha. It has 155 calories per cooked cup. Research at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences shows diets including buckwheat lead to excellent blood sugar regulation, resistance to diabetes and lowered cholesterol levels. You cook buckwheat the same way you would rice or barley. Bring two to three cups of water to a boil, add the grain, cover the pan, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

Cabbage
This Eastern Europe staple is a true wonder food. There are only 33 calories in a cup of cooked shredded cabbage, and it retains all its nutritional goodness no matter how long you cook it. Eating cabbage raw (18 calories per shredded cup), cooked, as sauerkraut (27 calories per drained cup) or coleslaw (calories depend on dressing) only once a week is enough to protect against colon cancer. And it may be a longevity-enhancing food. Surveys in the United States, Greece and Japan show that people who eat a lot of it have the least colon cancer and the lowest death rates overall.

Carrots

What list of health-promoting, fat-fighting foods would be complete without Bugs Bunny’s favorite? A medium-sized carrot carries about 55 calories and is a nutritional powerhouse. The orange color comes from beta carotene, a powerful cancer-preventing nutrient (provitamin A).

Chop and toss them with pasta, grate them into rice or add them to a stir-fry. Combine them with parsnips, oranges, raisins, lemon juice, chicken, potatoes, broccoli or lamb to create flavorful dishes. Spice them with tarragon, dill, cinnamon or nutmeg. Add finely chopped carrots to soups and spaghetti sauce – they impart a natural sweetness without adding sugar.

Chicken

White meat contains 245 calories per four ounce serving and dark meat, 285. It’s an excellent source of protein, iron, niacin and zinc. Skinned chicken is healthiest, but most experts recommend waiting until after cooking to remove it because the skin keeps the meat moist during cooking.

Corn

It’s really a grain – not a vegetable – and is another food that’s gotten a bum rap. People think it has little to offer nutritionally and that just isn’t so. There are 178 calories in a cup of cooked kernels. It contains good amounts of iron, zinc and potassium, and University of Nebraska researchers say it delivers a high-quality of protein, too.

The Tarahumara Indians of Mexico eat corn, beans and hardly anything else. Virgil Brown, M.D., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, points out that high blood cholesterol and cardiovascular heart disease are almost nonexistent among them.

Foods that can help you lose weight

I started this theme because I am a little proud of the achievement I have made in losing and keeping off the extra weight I had allowed myself to gain as I made bad food choices and forgot about the joys of exercising. 

It would be unrealistic to think you could successfully lose weight and enjoy what you’re eating with a mere handful of foods, no matter how delicious, nutritious and satisfying they may be. So I am going to add an extra roster of fat-fighting foods you can eat along with the great foods mentioned earlier

They’ll lend different tastes and textures to every meal and provide a wide range of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other vital nutrients. Naturally, each one is high in fiber, low in fat and safe when it comes to sodium content, too.

Many have crunchiness and flavor we’ve come to desire in snack and nibbling foods. If you’re like most of us, you may have a real junk food snacking habit – a habit you’re going to have to change in order to slim down. Many of the foods in this section may be worthy substitutes.

Barley

This filling grain stacks up favorably to rice and potatoes. It has 170 calories per cooked cup, respectable levels of protein and fiber and relatively low fat. Roman gladiators ate this grain regularly for strength and actually complained when they had to eat meat.

Studies at the University of Wisconsin show that barley effectively lowers cholesterol by up to 15 percent and has powerful anti-cancer agents. Israeli scientists say it cures constipation better than laxatives -  and that can promote weight loss, too.

 Use it as a substitute for rice in salads, pilaf or stuffing, or add to soups and stews. You can also mix it with rice for an interesting texture. Ground into flour, it makes excellent breads and muffins.

Beans

Beans are one of the best sources of plant protein. Peas, beans and chickpeas are collectively known as legumes. Most common beans have 215 calories per cooked cup (lima beans go up to 260). They have the most protein with the least fat of any food, and they’re high in potassium but low in sodium.

Plant protein is incomplete, which means that you need to add something to make it complete. Combine beans with a whole grain – rice, barley, wheat, corn – to provide the amino acids necessary to form a complete protein. Then you get the same top-quality protein as in meat with just a fraction of the fat.

Studies at the University of Kentucky and in the Netherlands show that eating beans regularly can lower cholesterol levels. 

The most common complaint about beans is that they cause gas. Here’s how to contain that problem, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Before cooking, rinse the beans and remove foreign particles, put in a kettle and cover with boiling water, soak for four hours or longer, remove any beans that float to the top, then cook the beans in fresh water.

Berries
This is the perfect weight-loss food. Berries have natural fructose sugar that satisfies your longing for sweets and enough fiber so you absorb fewer calories that you eat. British researchers found that the high content of insoluble fiber in fruits, vegetables and whole grains reduces the absorption of calories from foods enough to promote width loss without hampering nutrition.

 Berries are a great source of potassium that can assist you in blood pressure control. Blackberries have 74 calories per cup, blueberries 81, raspberries 60 and strawberries 45. So use your imagination and enjoy the berry of your choice.

Fat Burning Foods part Two

Last July I weighed just under 250 pounds and I decided that I needed to change my eating habits as well as my life style or I was a stroke or a heart attack waiting to happen. Since July 2010 I have embarked on a journey to loose weight and to keep it offEach one of the following foods is clinically proven to promote weight loss. These foods go a step beyond simply adding no fat to your system – they possess special properties that add zip to your system and help your body melt away unhealthy pounds. These incredible foods can suppress your appetite for junk food and keep your body running smoothly with clean fuel and efficient energy.  You can include these foods in any sensible weight-loss plan. They give your body the extra metabolic kick that it needs to shave off weight quickly.

Mustard

Try the hot, spicy kind you find in Asian import stores, specialty shops and exotic groceries. Dr. Jaya Henry of Oxford Polytechnic Institute in England, found that the amount of hot mustard normally called for in Mexican, Indian and Asian recipes, about one teaspoon, temporarily speeds up the metabolism, just as caffeine and the drug ephedrine do.

“But mustard is natural and totally safe,” Henry says. “It can be used every day, and it really works. I was shocked to discover it can speed up the metabolism by as much as 20 to 25 percent for several hours.” This can result in the body burning an extra 45 calories for every 700 consumed, Dr. Henry says.

Peppers

Hot, spicy chili peppers fall into the same category as hot mustard, Henry says. He studied them under the same circumstances as the mustard and they worked just as well. A mere three grams of chili peppers were added to a meal consisting of 766 total calories. The peppers’ metabolism-raising properties worked like a charm, leading to what Henry calls a diet-induced thermic effect. It doesn’t take much to create the effect. Most salsa recipes call for four to eight chilies – that’s not a lot.

 Peppers are astonishingly rich in vitamins A and C, abundant in calcium, phosphorus, iron and magnesium, high in fiber, free of fat, low in sodium and have just 24 calories per cup.

Potatoes

I've  got to be kidding, right? Wrong. Potatoes have developed the same “fattening” rap as bread, and it’s unfair. Dr. John McDougal, director of the nutritional medicine clinic at St. Helena Hospital in Deer Park, California, says, “An excellent food with which to achieve rapid weight loss is the potato, at 0.6 calories per gram or about 85 calories per potato.” A great source of fiber and potassium, they lower cholesterol and protect against strokes and heart disease.

 Preparation and toppings are crucial. Steer clear of butter, milk and sour cream, or you’ll blow it. Opt for yogurt instead.

Rice
An entire weight-loss plan, simple called the Rice Diet, was developed by Dr. William Kempner at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The diet, dating to the 1930’s, makes rice the staple of your food intake. Later on, you gradually mix in various fruits and vegetables.

It produces stunning weight loss and medical results. The diet has been shown to reverse and cure kidney ailments and high blood pressure.

A cup of cooked rice (150 grams) contains about 178 calories – approximately one-third the number of calories found in an equivalent amount of beef or cheese. And remember, whole grain rice is much better for you than white rice.

Is one of your resolutions to lose weight?

It has been three months since many of you have made a new years resolution so it may be time to revisit some of these. One of the resolutions many of us make is to lose weight. How are you doing?

Many people are very much conscious about their own health and fitness. In addition to that, these people, and many others as well, are now having that desire to sculpt their bodies to achieve that magazine-cover look. As a result, gyms, health spas and other fitness centers have proliferated all over to cater to the needs of the fitness buffs and aficionados.

Even on television exercise machines, weight loss products, to improve fitness have more or less gained control over the airwaves and made their way into the households. But exercise is not the only way to build that body beautiful. It also entails certain amount of responsibility on the foods one chooses to eat. Being healthy and fit requires one to observe food fitness.

Food fitness is as essential as exercise itself. Food for fitness provides the essential nutrition one needs to restore worn-out muscles and for healthy growth. Food fitness should never be taken for granted. With the popularity of keeping fit, many different views, methods, programs and dieting strategies have been formulated by many professionals. Diet is the wrong word, diets don't work, you can choose among  high carb diets and high fat diets. Which one is more effective and which one should one choose to follow to loose weight. My advice is neither. Food Fitness means choosing to take care of what you eat and change your daily habits of food intake rather than diet. However, lets take a look a the these diet plans.

First thing to know would be the fundamental differences between these two approaches. As the name implies, high carb diets concentrates on taking in carbohydrate-rich foods while high fat diets endorses fat-rich foods. High carb diets are utilized to glycogen stored in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is a glucose complex that provides large amounts of energy ready for use in anaerobic exercises.

Fats, on the other hand, is well-known for being the richest source of calories. It actually contains 2.5 times more calories than carbohydrates and proteins alike. Studies also show that it takes the body 24 calories to metabolize carbohydrates while it only takes 3 to burn down fat. So which one to follow? A person can follow a high carb and low fat fitness diet or the other way around. It is absolutely not recommended to follow both at the same time; unless of course if you want to gain body fat.

But then food fitness is not all about losing fat, one must also consider what and how you eat in order to keep fat away. Research shows that sustainable loss of weight can only be achieved on a food fitness regime, which suits the individual food preferences, lifestyle, medical profile and satiety signals.

Diet programs can help you shed off excess pounds, but only a food fitness regime can help you stay sexy, and it is the one that satisfies you most. Other important aspects of having a fit food regime are moderation, balance and variation. One must be careful not to leave out important nutrients and other substances necessary for healthy body functioning. health organizations are clear about the amounts of nutrients an individual should have in the body.

Low fat high carbs, high carbs low fat; the question is not which diet program will work out because neither will. Striving for a sexy and healthy body does not have to burden an individual, food fitness does not have to mean sticking to the same kind of food for life. One may even try to be adventurous and try out new foods out there. Who knows? one may even discover spinach interesting.

Australia, being a bachelor for a short time and diets

I took my wife to the airport a couple of days ago, and she left for two weeks in Australia to visit our new grandson. She was excited at the prospect of seeing both our daughter and the newest addition to the Shook clan.

I am officially a bachelor for the next two weeks and am looking forward to seeing if I can keep my routine while taking on the extra responsibilities of keeping the house in order. The biggest focus I will have is continuing to walk and go to the gym to help me lose the weight I need to lose. For those of you who have been following this blog, you saw that I have posted a number of ideas on dieting. The reason is that I came to a realization a few months ago about my health.  At the start of the summer, when I was on my golf trip with my friends I had the opportunity to weigh myself and realized that I was too heavy. I am 5' 11" and I weighed (on July 7th), 245 pounds. I thought to myself I am a stroke, or a heart attack waiting to happen unless I did something about my situation.

I had been walking every other day,  but I had not changed my diet or my lifestyle so I continued to gain weight. I talked it over with my wife and we decided to join Jenny Craig in Port Coquitlam. That was an interesting experience, the first counsellor who talked to us and signed us up said she would be working with us was no longer at the site when we returned a week later. We were assigned another counsellor who worked with us for a while and then he left as well.

My wife reached her goal weight very quickly, and I am still moving on toward mine, but I have a new counsellor. I told the new counsellor about the other two and I asked her if she would be staying, she laughed and said I have been here for seven years, I am not going anywhere I love it here.

The advice and support I received from all of the counsellors at Jenny Craig has been useful and they have been helpful and supportive. The goal of the two weight loss programs--Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig that I am familiar with is to get you to change your life style, and both work. I have friends who are on Weight Watchers and they swear by the program, I have friends who are on Jenny Craig and they swear by the program. Both work, but you have to find one that works for you and your needs, your lifestyle and your motivation.

When I started Jenny Craig, I was 239 pounds (in July 20th ) as of October 29, I am 206 pounds. My goal is to get down to 195pounds. I walk 6.4 km every day and work out for a full hour, at the Hyde Creek Recreational Center in Poco every second day. I hope to continue to with routine, while my wife is away. However, I am already off track a bit, on Sunday I am off with my friends  to watch the BC Lions play so I know I will be tempted to go off my diet.

The difficult part is to stay motivated as I fight to lose the last 11 pounds which I hope to lose by the end of November. I will let you know if I am able to stay on track, wish me luck. The motivation has been helped by two things.
First:
I saw my Dr the other day and I am now to a point where I am no longer taking my blood pressure medication. For the past three months my blood pressure has been moving into more normal ranges and I had been talking to the Dr. about stopping the medication. Over the last few years, I had been reducing the number of drugs and was on the lowest dose. So my conversation with the Dr. recently had been about going off the medication entirely. As he noted my weight, my blood pressure record on his charts and my exercise routine, we decided to stop the medication, as long as I monitor myself.
Second:
I am now able to wear pants that I have that are a 38 waist, whereas before the first of July, I was wearing size 44 pants, if I work this right by the time I get to my goal weight, I will have to buy a new set of clothes and give the other clothes to the Share Family Thrift Store :-)

Weight Loss Part 3

When it comes to losing weight, count your calories.  Even the best of us are not accurate counters.  If we write down all the foods we have eaten at the end of the day, studies show we undercount by at least 50 percent. If we keep a food diary we will under count by 40 percent.  We do this by not gauging serving amounts accurately, by forgetting to count health food calories, and not taking into account sauces, and dressings. Remember all calories count.

If you have an ideal weight that you are looking to be, figure out how many calories a day a person that weight should eat and make your calorie intake that amount.  Keep in mind the health risks of losing 3 pounds or more a week.

Use your knowledge of calorie content to help you lose weight e.g., substitute an apple at 125 calories for that Danish at 300 calories. Use skim milk in your coffee or tea or have it black and skip the sugar or honey. 

But if you must cheat here is a healthy way.  If you moderately exercise between an hour and 2 hours a week you can add to the number of calories a day by changing the number that is your ideal weight and add that to the total calories you eat in a day.  For example if your ideal weight is 115 pounds and you exercise two and a half hours a week add 115 calories to your daily intake.  You can keep adding your ideal weight in calories for every extra hour of moderate exercise you do.

As you start losing weight, some of the first fat you lose is the visceral or inner fat that surrounds your organs and can cause many health problems.   Finally remember these basics:

1. Count your calories.
2. Use a smaller plate.
3. Eat less.
4. Substitute low calorie foods for high calorie food.
5. Add activities to your day like walking; remembering that moderate exercise will increase your calories burn for 22 hours after the exercise.
6. Eat low fat dairy.  Adding 10 percent protein to each meal keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
7. Don’t skim meals because you will subconsciously desire high calorie foods to replace those lost calories.
8. Use the benefit of soup with protein to help you feel fuller for longer.

Losing weight isn’t easy but by practicing these concepts you should find it worth it.

Weight Loss Part 2

An active body first burns carbohydrates to sustain activity. Much later when all the easy fuel is burnt up it will switch to burning fat.  A marathon runner feels the switch when he hits the wall at about 22 miles into his race.  Even most hard workouts don’t allow a body to burn fat.  First we use up the available carbohydrates, as well as burning some protein.  The protein the body uses will naturally be replaced. 

The good part about exercise is there is an afterburn in which the body burns extra calories for 22 hours following the workout.  Many of those calories come from burning fat.  It isn’t so much the calories burnt during exercise but those that are burnt after that is important in losing weight.

Protein is denser than fat, and as it is replaced and even added to the body one will lose inches but may even gain weight especially in the first few weeks at the start of exercise.  

Everyone should be active but most people don’t have the time or the inclination to lose weight by solely relying on exercise.  A good exercise program should be between 55 minutes and 90 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Moderate exercise means you are sweating throughout the activity.  This is a formidable task. 

Yet there is a way.  Become more active.  Measure how far you walk in a day and add 2000 more steps to your daily average.   These steps can be added to your activity throughout the day.  Instead of sitting and talking after your lunch break go for a walk and talk.  Walk up one flight of stairs before taking the elevator.  Park at the far side of the parking lot instead of taking the closest parking spot.  Every time you add a few extra steps, calories are being burnt.  Use a pedometer to help you determine how you best can add those extra steps to your daily routine. 

In choosing your meals there is some good news if you like dairy products.   Remember to keep the calorie count the same but if you eat or drink low fat milk, cheese, or yogurt the calcium in low fat dairy products will bind to fats in your food as it passes through the lower intestine and in a year will absorb up to 2 kg.

Water will help you feel full when eaten with a meal but it goes through your stomach quickly, leaving the stomach empty. Then hunger signals are sent to your brain. Rather combine the water blended together with the food in soup form, especially creamed, and you will have one of the best kept secrets of weight loss. The liquid, with nutrition in it, stays in the stomach to be digested, longer.  At the next meal you will eat less.

Adding 10 percent lean protein to your breakfast or to your soup at lunch will help you feel fuller for longer too.  More of the hormone that suppresses hunger pangs is sent to the brain when one eats lean protein.  When you feel fuller for longer you eat less at the next meal.

Try not to skip meals.  Doing so triggers your subconscious to chose high calorie foods, thus wiping out the benefits of missing your meal.  Variety is hardwired into our brain.  Have you ever noticed how much you will eat at a buffet?  When thinking of dieting it may be best to chose a diet that is a little boring.

Weight Loss Part 1

My broher Ed sent me the following essay he wrote on weight loss, I thought it would be a good idea to share his ideas at this time of year. The essay is divided into 3 parts and presented over the next three days.

At this moment there are millions of people just like you who need to lose weight and they are pondering how to accomplish it.  Is there an easy solution?  The simple answer is no.   However, there are actions that you can take based on good science that can help.

Have you ever heard the commercial that repeats this statement many times - remember it is not you; it is your metabolism?  Regretfully, it is you.  Real science is full of potential ideas that will help us lose weight if we are willing to use them. First, beware of fads.   Keep away from them.

Yes, there are ways to lose significant amounts of weight in a short period of time.  This is about using science for healthy long-term weight loss, not about going to short-term extremes.   Taking in less than 800 calories a day may cause heart rhythm abnormalities. Weekly losses of over three pounds can add to your risk of developing gallstones.  It is recommended the best weight lose is between half a pound to two pounds a week. 

Weight loss is all about calories taken in and calories burnt.  If you want to lose weight you need to count your calories and burn more calories than you take in.   It takes about 3500 calories to add a pound.  It will take about 3500 calories to lose that same pound.

Let’s start with a simple technique, one we all know, but probably don’t employ. 

Change the size of plate you are using.   Instead of a 12-inch plate use a 10-inch plate and you will consume about 22 percent less food.  When there is more food available we eat more.  Now add more vegetables to the same plate and you will reduce your calorie intake by 100 more calories per meal.  Adding the vegetables for two weeks will raise your vitamin C levels by 20 percent and reduce you uric acid by 8 to 18 percent.  High levels of uric acid causes gout, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease. 

Another simple trick is to eat an apple about a half an hour before dinner.   An apple as it is, is about 125 calories, but studies show on average people who ate the apple consumed 187 calories less for that next meal.  Plus they felt fuller for longer than those who did not eat an apple.

Losing weight is much more complicated than it sounds.   If you are a boxer who is over his weight class there are ways to lose those extra pounds before the weigh in.  Many popular diet plans use methods that will help shed pounds for short periods.  But weight loss shouldn’t be temporary.  Take aim at that ideal weight and hold on to your goal for the long term.  Don’t get discouraged because you ate too much for a day or week.   Refocus and achieve your goal.   Tell someone your goal and report to them about your progress. Being accountable to someone helps you sustain your goal.