When it comes to weight loss, everyone has an opinion on how the latest diet will help you. To their surprise, these diets don’t work for all people. For lasting weight loss it’s time to go back to the drawing board and learn the basics.

Let’s start with how many calories you need to eat on a daily basis. For women, a healthy daily caloric intake is 1,800 calories. For men, the number is slightly higher at 2,200 calories. For either group, ingesting less than 1,000 calories per day is considered dangerous. The body needs at least that many calories for daily maintenance activities.

Most of us ingest more calories than that in a day. The deciding factor in any diet is the number of calories being eaten on a daily basis. The facts are still the facts. To burn one pound of fat, 3,500 calories need to be lost. Dieticians say that a healthy weight-loss program will have you losing no more than two to three pounds a week. That doesn’t seem like much, but it will add up to 104 pounds in a year!

Losing weight is a numbers game. Taking fewer calories in means more weight lost. To lose that weight, a lower calorie diet is combined with some form of physical activity to move fat from your body’s stores and have it be used as fuel for your activities.

If you are active in sports, go to the gym or walk on a daily basis then you have half of the battle started. However, all of this is for naught without a proper eating plan. For that you don’t have to go to the bookstore or turn on the television to learn about the latest fads. Simply school yourself on the basics of nutrition and then formulate your own balanced plan.

One thing that you need to know about fad diets: They are not healthy and won’t lead to permanent weight loss. The infomercials say that they take all of the guesswork out of dieting but they are taking away your right to know the science behind it. There needs to be guesswork, that is part of
the learning process. Learning how your body reacts to certain foods, if you need a higher protein or a little higher carb diet, these are all things unique to your body. Science and others can only tell us how the average person should eat, but there is always a trial and error period.

If you don’t learn anything else, know that all foods are not equal. There are always alternatives to unhealthy foods that you can create. For instance, white bread is made from processed white flour which is not the healthiest for you. Whole grains (foods contain the endosperm, germ and bran) are not processed and contain a lot of fiber which regulates the digestive system. Eating that bread increases your fiber intake and fills you up without raising your blood sugar.

Eating fruits and vegetables in their natural state provides more nutrients and fewer calories. Eat an apple instead of a glass of apple juice. Juice has 100 calories as opposed to 40 calories for an apple. The apple contains fiber which will hold off hunger longer.

Get yourself a good nutrition guide and read it cover to cover. Armed with how food works in the body and which foods give you more bang for the calorie, you can design a weight-loss meal plan within your calorie limits but filled with great tasting foods and no hunger pains.

People have been making juice for centuries. Commercial fruit juices have eliminated the need for us to juice fruits and vegetables by hand. But in light of concerns about pesticides, preservatives and other issues with mass-produced food, juicing has experienced a resurgence in popularity.

Benefits of Juicing

By making your own juice, you control what goes into it. There are no hidden ingredients that may cause allergic reactions, and if you grow your own fruit or buy organic, you can ensure that there are no pesticides or growth hormones present. You can take comfort in knowing that your juice is just juice, and nothing more.

Fresh juice is very high in nutrients such as amino acids, minerals, enzymes and vitamins. These nutrients are not extracted and added back in, they occur in their natural state. This makes them more beneficial to us.

By volume, juice is higher in vitamins and other nutrients than the fruits or vegetables it comes from. To make one glass of carrot juice, we must juice about a pound of carrots. We couldn’t eat that many carrots in one day, much less in a single sitting.

Getting Started

To get started juicing, you’ll need a good juicer. There are several different types, each with its own benefits and shortcomings. Types of juicers include:

Centrifugal juicers – This type of juicer uses a grater or shredder that revolves at a high speed. When the produce is added, it is shred up and the juice is released. The pulp is caught by a strainer, and the juice is captured in a container. These juicers are often hard to clean, and they create oxidation that can deplete nutrients over time.

Masticating juicers – Masticating juicers use a slow-turning motor to grate the pulp, chew it up, and then press the juice out. They may be difficult to use, but they produce very little oxidation.

Press juicers – These juicers shred or crush the produce and then press out the juice. They tend to make the most nutrient-rich juice.

Once you’ve chosen a juicer, it’s time to try it out. Don’t do anything too complicated at first. Start with a fruit that makes good juice on its own, such as apples, oranges or grapes. This will help you master the technique before trying recipes with multiple ingredients.

When you’re comfortable using your juicer, seek out recipes that suit your tastes and purposes. There are recipes for juices that are good for the heart, skin, digestive tract, and even brain function. Juicers often come with recipe books, and you can also find lots of juice recipes online. You can create your own recipes as well.

Freshly made juice is a wonderful addition to our diets. It tastes great, and it packs loads of nutrition into a single glass. Once you try it, you’ll see why store-bought juice just doesn’t compare.

Photo credit tuareq

No, I’m not getting as many workouts in as I’d like. In fact last week I really slacked. It’s such a crazy time of year and I’ve had a lot of business stuff to work on in the last couple of weeks. Look at all those excuses piling up fast lol

It’s wrestling season and this means the kids dropping weight. The youngest’s season is over already, but the oldest has just really gotten going. She’s at a little standstill right now with the weight loss so that means she wants to go to the gym to workout after practices or on Sundays. There is just no way I can ever say no to driving her to the gym. So that means me getting there on some days I wouldn’t have and I’m thankful for it. Even if I do barely anything and mostly play on my phone, it was more calories than I would have used up at home.

I’ll be honest that the eating right now is not on target. I need to work on being a little better so I can maintain that 10 pound weight loss I had.

workouts 12/16

• bike 12 min, 2.2 mile, 60 calorie
• elliptical 15 min, 1.25 mile, 143 calorie
• total 27 min, 3.45 mile, 203 calorie

workouts 12/18

• bike 40 min, 7.17 mile, 188 calorie

When you are trying to lose weight, snacking is important. Snacks are an essential part of your dieting process as long as you make the right choices. Oftentimes, when trying to lose weight, we fail to recognize the importance of having snacks in between meals. Snacks have the same level of importance as your regular meals.

Trying to keep yourself from eating can only lead to frustration and make you eat larger portions or binge eat. You will most likely find yourself thinking more and more about food. This is not good so the best way to go is to eat in between meals to keep your self from being overly excited about food. However, your choice of snacks is critical so you have to discipline yourself on making the right choices. Here are some diet snacks that you can have in between meals if you feel your hunger pangs coming.

Apples

Apples are a better choice than bananas. You can eat two to three apples a day without worrying about getting fat. Apples are naturally low in calories and each apple has about 5 grams of fibre. This is the reason why you feel full longer if you take an apple for a snack. Fiber plays a role in dieting and losing weight. This is a subtle secret about fiber that you need to know.

Apples give you the satisfaction of eating and having snacks without feeling guilty. It will not ruin your diet even if you have as much as three apples per day. Remember that apple has other health benefits aside from its fiber content and pleasant taste. It has natural anti-oxidants that are good for the skin. Instead of having junk foods for snacks, eat an apple instead. You will have the same feeling of fullness without adding a lot of calories.  If you want to change up the taste a little, cut it up, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and microwave for 1-2 minutes. You have an instant dessert.

String Cheese

You can have one to two string cheeses per day. Even if it is not classified as a perfect snack, it can be considered an acceptable choice due to its protein content. Protein is dominant in string cheese which makes it good for snacking as it breaks down slower so you’ll feel fuller for longer. It can also do a good job in filling you up when you need food the most. One or two per day would not hurt your diet.  Even better is to have an apple and one string cheese

Low Calorie Yogurt

Low calorie means 80 calories or less. Yogurts have more carbohydrates than protein. However, the protein in them can actually neutralize the carbohydrates so that they will not increase significantly and rapidly increase your blood sugar level. Low calorie yogurts can fill you up as well and you will feel more satisfied with it since there are quite a variety of flavors that you can choose from. Have at least 1 or 2 servings and you will feel happier knowing that you are not depriving yourself of the joy of eating. The best part is that you are making a healthy choice and you are not doing any harm to your diet. There are a lot of affordable low calorie yogurts that you can choose from in any supermarket.

Remember that snacking is good and does no harm to your diet as long as you make the right choices.  It’s all about calories in and calories spent. So stick to low calorie, higher nutrient snacks.

You’ve probably heard about or tried to lose weight on one of those high fiber or high protein fad diets, only to find that once you quit the diet, you gain the weight you lost right back, or even worse, you gain more. Eating healthy, losing weight and keeping it off is only going to work if you truly make a lifestyle change. And making lifestyle changes such as this requires that it’s fun and enjoyable. Here are some fun and enjoyable things you can do to help keep you motivated and kick fat to the curb for good!

photo courtesy johnnyberg

The immune system is an amazing piece of work. When our bodies are invaded with foreign germs it springs into action, sending defenders to fight them off. It’s too bad that our immune system is often not working as well as it could.

Stress, improper diet, lack of exercise and environmental factors can all negatively impact the immune system. And if the immune system is having a bad day, we’re more likely to get sick. Illness is harder on our bodies, and we do not recover as quickly as we should.

But we can boost our immune systems, and we don’t need prescription or over-the-counter drugs to do it. Eating the right foods gives us the nutrients that our immune systems need to be at the top of their game. Here are some of the best immune-boosting foods:

• Citrus fruits – Oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits are powerful immune boosters. They contain lots of vitamin C, a nutrient that helps increase the production of white blood cells and antibodies. A medium orange contains 75 milligrams of vitamin C.
• Carrots – Carrots are loaded with beta carotene. This phytonutrient is a close ally of the immune system. It promotes the production of killer cells and T cells, which are powerful infection fighters. Studies have also shown that falcarinol, a compound found in carrots, may help prevent and fight cancer.
• Garlic – Garlic is superb at fighting almost any type of infection. It is often used in herbal remedies. Just eating it a few times a week will help keep the immune system at its peak. For best results, eat garlic fresh and crush it thoroughly. This will maximize the amounts and availability of the infection-fighting compounds present.
• Yogurt – Yogurt is rich in bacterial cultures. This might sound like the last thing your immune system needs, but the acidophilus bacteria found in yogurt are essential to its proper function. Acidophilus bacteria help us absorb the nutrients in our food and fight disease-causing bacteria and viruses. Another type of bacteria found in yogurt, bifidobacterium, is particularly beneficial to the elderly.
• Oysters – Oysters are one of the best sources of zinc one could hope for. Zinc aids in the reproduction and function of antibodies. It also hinders bacterial and viral growth, making it easier for the immune system to kill harmful germs.
• Fatty fish – Omega 3 fatty acids are present in large quantities in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel. They encourage activity in phagocytes, the white blood cells that consume bacteria. Adding a vitamin E supplement will enhance this effect.

If we take care of our immune system, it can fight off most diseases and infections without the aid of antibiotics and other drugs. Including these foods in our well balanced diet is a good start.

Goodness I still have felt like yuck. But it’s been my fault for quite a bit of it. Last Tuesday I had some bites of chicken pot pie I made which has a cream base. I can’t have dairy, that’s not a surprise, but it was just so yummy. Then had a glass of wine as well. Woke up on Wednesday feeling like hell and no one to blame but me. I know better.

This of course means I want comfort food and here is how the cycle of pain starts. I grabbed a meal at Wendy’s. Now slightly in my defense I didn’t go to Dairy Queen and get onion rings and the fish sandwich I really wanted. Oh boy would that have kept my system ruined. I got a grilled chicken sandwich (yuck, why do I forget how nasty their sandwich is?) and fries. But I should have gotten a sidesalad. Poor choice so of course I regretted that on Thursday.

I have direct consequences of my poor eating. 12 hours or less after eating foods I can’t have, I hurt. I need to find new comfort foods for myself that won’t make me want to stay in bed all day. Not an easy task when all you want to do is go through a drive-thru.

There’s my confession for this week.

On a good note (need to try and end on those) I only ate turkey and chicken this week and except for the things I mentioned above, my food was very good.

How were your exercise and diet habits this week?

Yep, you read that right. I have no new workouts to post. That’s 3 days of not doing a regular workout. Although I’ve taught my seniors fitness class two of those days. My IBS has been really painful and working out is just not on the list when this happens. Trying to sleep it away has been. I got really strict and mellow on my diet today so tomorrow I’ll hit the gym after I drop my daughter off at her drive.

Starting today I’m on a 7 day bender. Nothing fried at all, nothing greasy, not a speck of dairy and only boneless, skinless chicken breasts or white fish. No caffeine and no alcohol. I have to get my system fixed back up. There is no reason it’s so out of whack as I hadn’t eaten out of the ordinary. Just one of those things that happens periodically that I have to work through.

Oh, also on the no’s list is any gassy foods. So no beans, no broccoli, cabbage, etc. Today I stopped at the store and they had a great deal on flounder and I think I may go grab some more of that. I bought a big pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts and packaged them up so I can pull them out of the freezer in two’s.  I also grabbed a pack of tofu and plan on doing a cashew stir fry with it. The family actually likes that as well so it will be one day I won’t have to make something separate.

I had planned on adding diet to the mix but wasn’t worried about when. I guess my body had another plan.

What are some of the things you should consider when choosing the best whey protein for women’s nutrition? There are many different factors you should be considering, but as long as you choose the best whey protein that tastes good, offers a macronutrient breakdown that is conducive to your fitness goals and can be had for a reasonable price,
you can’t go wrong!

Taste

The first thing that you need to consider when choosing the best protein powder is the taste. Why is this? If you don’t like the taste of the whey protein you choose, the macronutrient breakdown or the price per serving won’t matter because you won’t drink it. To be successful with your nutrition and fitness related goals, you need to consume your whey protein on a consistent basis – if you don’t like the taste of your protein powder, you won’t do this.

There are so many different varieties of whey powder available – you will be sure to find something you like. From fruity flavors like strawberry and banana to chocolate peanut butter and mocha cappuccino, you will be sure to find something you like. If you want unflavored whey protein powder, you can find that too!

Macronutrient Breakdown

The next thing you need to consider when choosing the best whey protein is the specific macronutrient breakdown of the product. In
general, almost all protein powders contain anywhere from 24g to 30g of protein per scoop – this is constant across all manufacturers. But, the fat content and the carb content can differ greatly.

If you are on a very strict diet and want to control your macros with impeccable precision, you should try to find a whey protein powder that has as little fat and carbs as possible – this will just make it easier to control your macros. But, if you aren’t too concerned about this kind of thing, just choose the protein powder that tastes best – a few extra calories from fat and carbs won’t make that big of a difference.

Price

Finally, the last thing you need to consider when choosing the best whey protein is the price. Now, when you are looking at different whey protein products, you will see that there are many options in many different price ranges. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the higher priced proteins are automatically better than the lower priced ones – that just isn’t the case. There are many different things that determine the quality of whey protein powder, but price isn’t one of them.

In general, it is always better to buy the biggest portion of protein powder you can at the time. Almost all major protein powder
manufacturers offer 5lb tubs of their products – this is what you should choose. The price per gram of protein is a lot lower than if you were to buy a smaller container, and the best whey protein products have a very long shelf life so they won’t expire before you have a chance to consume them.

Focus of the three aforementioned factors, do as much research as possible on as many different whey protein powders and choose the one that you think would be best for you. In reality, it is pretty hard to go wrong when choosing from the wide selection of the best whey protein powders available, so just get started!

Rusty Jackson is a sports nutrition expert who specializes in natural dietary supplements to help you lose weight and get toned. He reccomends everyone – male or female – to find the best whey protein for their diet.

Photo courtesy: schleicher

Some people who want to lose weight don’t bear in mind some of the easy things they can do to help themselves out. It does not have to be difficult to lose weight, but it can be if you make it that way.  Choose to go an easier route and use these common sense tips for weight loss.

The first thing you can do to really help yourself is stop buying the treats that often trip you up. Even if you live with others or have a family then still buy less as you won’t be eating them. Technically they will just start to eat more of the treat and be less healthy, so work to ditch it. If you can, then encourage everyone you live with to start a healthy diet.  If they don’t want to lose weight they will still benefit with a healthy diet. They just don’t need to increase activity to burn off any calories alongside it and their portions will be larger. If you crave some chocolate or another treat and it is not in the house then you will have to physically go and get it, sometimes just the idea of this will put you off. Walk to the shop if you decide you want it and at least you will burn a few calories on the way.

If you are serious about losing weight another common sense thing to do is to go and see your doctor. A lot of people don’t even consider this, even though the doctor could be able to help you more than anyone else. By consulting with you they will be able to tell you roughly how much weight you could benefit from losing and what a good target for you would be. They can also see whether there are any areas of your diet that you are lacking in and help you work out a plan that may work for you.  By having them look at your blood work you can also make sure that you do not become nutrient deficient as you lower your calories.

Another thing you can do is make sure you stand up straight and improve your posture. This will help you to look slimmer anyway and see how much of a difference you have made by losing a little weight. Practising holding a good posture at all times will mean you will look and feel better as well as being safer, as slumping can affect your back and can be dangerous when working out.

If you are dieting then you may be restricting your portion sizes, make sure that you help yourself out by eating low fat versions of meals too. It’s all very well having one less slice of buttery toast, but you are still taking in the fat from the butter. Switch to a low fat margarine instead and you will instantly have a healthier diet.

Lastly, make sure you move around and do things such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator where ever possible, dance around to music instead of just listening. Just bring a bit of extra movement into your daily routine.

Think about all the little things you can do to help yourself and you should be able to avoid the things that might trip you up and ruin your weight loss.