What Role Does Sugar And Salt Portray In A Healthy Diet

It is only natural to like sweets. Many people have become used to having something sweet daily as part of their standard food consumption. Yet too many sweets in the diet can lead to weight gain and health risks. The fact the sweets contain refined sugars add to the complications in the diet.

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Refined sugars have negative health effects including hypoglycemia, arthritis, diabetes, headaches, suppression of the immune system, osteoporosis, and depression. It also is stored as fat within the body increasing the weight of the individuals that consume it.

Replace the sweets containing the refined sugar with natural sweets such as fruits. Using the natural sweets to satisfy the sweet cravings will lead to weight loss and better health. Add grains and beans to the fruits to increase the natural goodness of the fruit. The natural sugar in the fruits provides the right kind of energy as well as essential fibers and nutrients.

Avoid consuming sugary drinks such as tea, coffee, and sodas. The average person will drink at least two servings of the beverages a day with the drinks containing about 10 teaspoons of sugar in each drink. The artificial sweeteners, used in the beverages, have been shown to interfere with the body’s natural ability to function properly; so even this type of sweetener is not good for a person. Instead of consuming the sweetened beverages, drink natural fruit juices, or water with a squeeze of lemon added as the sweetener.

Salt or sodium is another bad ingredient many people have in their diets. The issues with salt are that many people, highly over use it daily. They do not realize that they consume over 2,300 mg per day of the highly dangerous additive. Most of the foods consumed contain added sodium with processed, packaged, fast food, and restaurant foods. Even the canned soups and frozen meals have added sodium.

Sodium leads to weight gain, heart disease, and health issues related to the added chemical in the body and bloodstream. Sodium makes people retain water leading to the bloating of the body. It also tends to make people feel thirsty constantly, so when even consuming fluids, often times their thirst is not quenched.

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Salt is not bad when used in moderation. There are high quality sea salts that have up to 90 minerals that are healthy for the body. Use sea salt that is either reddish or brownish in color or even the non-colored salt for the best type of salt to add to the diet. These types of salts do not have additives, chemicals, and are not bleached.

Your body does require a certain amount of sodium and natural sweeteners, in order to function properly. You should reduce the extra amounts you consume, to create a healthier life style and body. It is also important for you check with you doctor, prior to making major changes to your diet, in order to determine if it could affect your overall health adversely.

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Diet for healthy post-baby weight loss

Eager to get back into shape now that you're no longer pregnant? For long-term success – and to keep yourself feeling good along the way – keep these tips in mind.

Don't start dieting too soon

Your body needs time to recover from labor and delivery. Give yourself until your six-week postpartum checkup before you start watching your calorie intake and actively trying to slim down. And if you're breastfeeding, experts recommend that you wait until your baby is at least 2 months old before you try to lose weight.

Starting a diet too soon after giving birth can delay your recovery and make you feel more tired – and you need all the energy you can muster to adjust to life with your newborn. In addition, if you're nursing, dieting can affect your milk supply. If you're patient and give your body a chance to do its work, you may be surprised at how much weight you lose naturally, especially if you're breastfeeding.

Be realistic about weight loss

Keep in mind that you may not be able to return to your exact pre-pregnancy weight or shape. For many women, pregnancy causes permanent changes such as a softer belly, slightly wider hips, and a larger waistline. With this in mind, you might want to adjust your goals a bit. For a reality check, see our photo gallery of real post-baby bellies.

Embrace exercise

There's no magic pill to help you lose weight: A healthy diet combined with regular exercise is the best way to shed the pounds – and to keep them off. And it's important to exercise while trying to lose weight to ensure you're losing fat instead of muscle.

Once you're ready to begin losing weight, start by eating a little less and being more active – even if you're just taking a quick walk around the block with your baby in the stroller.

Lose weight slowly

Don't go on a strict, restrictive diet. Women need a minimum of 1,200 calories a day to stay healthy, and most women need more than that – between 1,500 and 2,200 calories a day – to keep up their energy and prevent mood swings. And if you're nursing, you need a bare minimum of 1,800 calories a day (most nursing moms need more like 2,000 to 2,700 calories) to nourish both yourself and your baby.

If you're breastfeeding, you'll want to make sure to take it slow – losing weight too quickly can cause a decrease in your milk supply.

Too-rapid weight loss can also release toxins that are stored in your body fat into the bloodstream – and into your milk supply. (Toxins that can make it into your bloodstream include environmental contaminants like the heavy metals lead and mercury, persistent organic pollutants like PCBs and dioxins, and solvents.)

Weight loss of about a pound and a half a week is safe and won't affect your milk supply if you're nursing. To achieve this, cut out 500 calories a day from your current diet (without dipping below the safe minimum) by either decreasing your food intake or increasing your activity level.

Eat up – and take your time!

With a new baby and schedule, it can be hard to find the time to eat. But skipping meals can make energy levels lag – and it won't help you lose weight. Many moms find that eating five to six small meals a day with healthy snacks in between (rather than three larger meals) fits their appetite and schedule better. (A small meal might be half a sandwich, some carrot sticks, fruit, and a glass of milk.)

Don't skip meals in an attempt to lose weight – it won't help, because you'll be more likely to eat more at other meals. And you'll also probably feel tired and grouchy.

Even if you've never been much of a breakfast person, keep in mind that eating breakfast can help keep you from feeling famished – and tired – later in the morning, and it can give you the energy to be more active.

In addition, numerous studies show that skipping breakfast can sabotage your weight loss efforts. According to the National Weight Control Registry, which has tallied the successful strategies of dieters who have lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for 5.5 years, 78 percent of the dieters eat breakfast daily. Slow your eating down, too, if possible. When you take your time eating, you'll notice that it's easier to tell when you feel full – and you're less likely to overeat.

Be choosy about foods and drinks

Research shows that consuming low-fat milk and dairy products and choosing whole grain products like whole wheat bread and whole grain cereal can help you lose weight. Other good choices include low-fat, high-fiber foods such as fruits (like apples, oranges, and berries) and raw vegetables (like carrots, jicama, and red pepper strips) for healthy snacks.

Other ways to squeeze in more fruits and veggies: Make fruit (or veggie) smoothies, use fruit or vegetable salsas or vegetable reduction sauces (sauces made from puréed vegetables) over fish or chicken, add shredded carrots to your sandwich, try grilled vegetables, and try puréed vegetable soups. (Puréeing your soup makes it creamy without having to add cream, which is high in calories and saturated fat. It's also a great way to eat veggies you might not ordinarily eat on their own.)

Fat has twice as many calories as carbohydrates or proteins, so trimming the extra fat from your diet is probably the easiest way to cut calories. Look for low-fat or fat-free dairy products (you don't need to drink whole milk in order to make quality breast milk!), choose broiled or baked rather than fried foods, and limit your intake of sweets, which have extra calories from sugar and fat.

Keep in mind, though, that fat is an important nutrient, so your goal isn't to eliminate it from your diet. In fact, including some fat at each meal will help you stay full and keep you from overeating carbohydrates. (Too many calories from any source – fat, protein, or carbs – can lead to weight gain or keep you from accomplishing weight loss.)

The trick is to choose "good" fats rather than "bad" fats. The best fats are mono- and polyunsaturated fats, like those in canola oil, olive oil, avocado, olives, nuts and seeds, and fatty fish like salmon. The oils to avoid are saturated and trans fats, which can contribute to heart disease and perhaps diabetes, and can be transferred to breast milk, too.

Saturated fats are found in meats and dairy products, and trans fats are typically found in many fried foods, snack foods, and baked goods. (Food labels specify which kinds of fats the products contain.)

Finally, although you should be drinking about 8 or 9 cups of fluids each day, watch what you drink – a surprising number of calories can be hidden in juice, soda, and coffee drinks.

Daily food plan for healthy post-baby weight loss

The food plan below adds up to 2,200 calories a day for breastfeeding moms. For non-breastfeeding moms, it totals 1,800 calories a day. Use this as a rough guide – your individual calorie needs will vary depending on your weight, metabolism, and activity level, and also on how much you're breastfeeding.

View and print daily food plan.


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How many calories should I burn a day to lose weight?

From my experience a lot of people hesitate to even try and lose weight because they don’t know from where to start. They know that they should go on a diet and exercise regime but the lack of measurable goals creates uncertainty and this leads to failure before to even begin! To bypass this problem and have clear goals on what you want to achieve, you can start your weight loss process by doing some simple calorie calculations. By calculating how many calories you should be eating per day and how many calories you should be burning per day, you can have a better picture about your daily calorie needs and a rough estimate as to when you will be able to reach your ideal weight.

Before getting into the mathematical part let me explain some basic weight loss concepts that will help you understand what these numbers mean. You do not have to keep a pen and paper because our daily calorie calculator will do the hard part.

When do you lose weight?

There are many factors that affect how much weight you can lose (and when) but in its simplest form weight loss will occur when the calories you burn are more than the calories you consume.  Food and drinks (think diet) are the only sources for calories you consume while exercise, physical activity and other body factors affect the rate you burn calories. So if you manage to control these 2 sources and create a calorie deficit you will eventually start losing weight.

How many calories are in a pound?

Let’s add one more parameter to our equation which is 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories aprx. This means that if you consume 3500 more calories than what you burn in a period of time you will gain one pound but if you manage to burn 3500 more calories than you consume you will lose 1 pound.

What is my daily calorie requirement?

Many studies have found that in general women need 1500-2000 kcal to maintain their current weight and for men the range goes to 2000-2500 Kcal. This number is also known as the Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR). In essence this figure gives you the number of calories your body needs on a daily basis in order to function properly.

Note: This is not how many calories you consume per day but how many calories your body needs to function.

Daily calorie needs to maintain current weight = BMR x Activity Factor

For example if your BMR is 1600 and you are lightly active during the day then your daily calorie requirements are: 1600 x 1.375 = 2200 kcal per day. 2200 calories are needed so that you maintain your current weight. If you want to lose weight you should be consuming less than 2200 calories per day and if you want to gain weight you should be consuming more than 2200 calories per day.

How many calories to eat if you want to lose weight?

Before getting into a real example of how to calculate the calories you should be eating per day for weight loss let me say that this is only an estimate and it is not guaranteed that by following this number you will lose or gain weight. There are many other factors involved in losing weight and the number of calories you consume is just one of the elements and since it is easy to calculate you can use it as your starting point.

Let’s assume that you need to lose 5lb in 2 months, this is how you calculate the amounts of calories to eat per day:

Step 1: Calculate your BMR and daily calorie needs

After using our BMR and daily calorie calculator you found that: BMR is 1800 calories and daily calorie needs are 2000 kcal.

Step 2: Calculate the calories you want to lose

You want to lose 5lb which is aprx 17500 calories (1lb of fat is 3500 calories)

Step 3: Calculate how many calories you need to save per day

Your goal is not lose 5lb in 2 months. Doing some basic calculations you can find out that 17500 calories in 2 months is about 8750 calories per month or 2187 per week or 313 kcal per day. So in theory, if you manage to save 313 calories per day you will lose 5lb in 2 months

Step 3: Subtract the number of calories you need to save per day (Step 3 above) from your daily calorie needs (step 1 above)

Daily Calorie needs – Calorie savings per day = 2000 – 313 = 1687 kcal per day. This is the number of calories you need to eat per day if you want to lose 5lb in 2 months!

How many calories to burn per day if you want to lose weight?

Since you know the number of calories you should be eating per day, you can use a calorie counter to calculate the amount of calories you actually eat (or drink) on a daily basis and find out the amount of calories you need to burn via exercise if you want to lose weight.

Hint: You can use our Free Calorie Counter to keep count of your meals and activities.

For example if you are consuming  1800 calories per day and in order to lose weight you need to consume only 1687 calories per day (as calculated above) then this means that you should burn 113 kcal per day by doing exercise.

What you should know when doing your calculations

1. When you start a diet or weight loss program you will not only lose fat. Especially at the beginning you will lose water weight and in some cases you may also lose muscle. So the results in the first few weeks may be misleading.
2. When you make sudden or drastic changes to your diet the body will try to adapt by lowering the metabolic rate. In other words it enters a protective mode by reducing the number of calories it needs per day. As a result weight loss may slow down, here is how to lose weight and keep it off.
3. The absolute minimum amount of calories you can consume per day is 1000-1100 kcal. It is not recommended to go beyond this number for any reason.
4. The recommended weight to lose per week is between 1 – 1.5 pounds. Anything above that can have other implications to your health and normal body functioning.
5. Do not forget that drinks also carry calories so make sure that you include drinks in your daily calorie calculations. You can read our article on the 5 best healthy weight loss drinks that work to find out which drinks are ‘weight loss friendly’.
6. You can use a technique called “calorie cycling” to make the process easier to follow. This means that once you calculate your daily calorie needs you can go above and below this range on different days of the week. If for example you daily kcal needs are 1700 you can choose to go above this number on Monday and Wednesday and below this number the rest days of the week but try to avoid exaggerations. You can also read about carb cycling to access if this is something you want to try for your diet.
7. Make sure that you give correct measurements for your weight and height when calculating your BMR.
8. Do not lie about your activity level but try to be as accurate as possible.
9. Do not decrease your daily calorie intake by more than 500 kcal per day. Better expand the time period. Reducing your intake by 500 kcal is a lot and very difficult to follow for a long time.
10. Always consult your doctor or dietician before making any changes to your diet or exercise routine.

As explained above you can use these calculations to give you an idea where you stand and how much effort you need to make until you meet your goals and target weight. Weight loss depends on a lot more factors and calculating the calories you need per day is just your starting point.

Comment below if you found this helpful, and let me know if you have any tips to burn calories.



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Energy boost diet

Discover the power of food to recharge your energy levels.

Tired of being tired? The 4 Week Energy Diet will give you an injection of all the ingredients required to recharge energy. You may also lose weight.

* Get the full 4 Week Energy Diet recipes here.

How the diet works

Clean fuel for your body: Fuel is the right foods we need to get the body's energy-generation cycle turning efficiently to ensure we are digesting and using fuel well and eliminating waste.

Four weeks, two phases: The Energy Diet is broken into two phases, with each phase lasting two weeks. The first phase focuses on giving the body a spring clean and the second phase focuses on rebuilding energy stores. Each phase has meal plans and daily routines to help you stay on track.

Phase 1:

Remove all stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, sugar, processed food and red meat and replace with fresh juices, herbal teas and whole foods.

On Sundays, plan your meals for the week and cook a soup and stew to have in the fridge or freezer for quick dinners during the week.

Drink a glass of warm water with lemon juice or a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar on rising, a fruit and vegetable juice before breakfast, and two litres of water or herbal tea during the day. Eat a small pre-dinner salad every night. Do not eat red meat, wheat and dairy.

Phase 2:

Reintroduce wholewheat, red meat and non-cow's milk dairy. You will be eating more carbohydrates, too.

Take your time with your meals. Chew slowly and donít dilute your digestive juices with drinks.

Other lifestyle changes: Along with rethinking your approach to food, you also need to give your body enough time and space to de-stress. Consider your exercise, stress management, sleep and routines, and see if you can increase activities such as stretching, hobbies and meditation.

Recommended foods

Fruit and vegetables: Go crazy! The star foods include lettuce, rocket, radicchio, watercress, endive, globe artichokes, carrots, celery, beetroot, green peas and beans, alfalfa sprouts, leeks, shallots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussels sprouts, plus grapefruit, apples and pears.

Legumes: Eat beans, peas and lentils regularly.

Nuts and seeds: Eat a variety of raw nuts and seeds (especially linseed, sunflower seeds and pepitas).

Wholegrains and healthy carbohydrates: Good wholegrain choices include whole oats, buckwheat, barley and brown rice. Avoid carbohydrates with dinner unless you exercise a lot or have a very active job.

Drinks: Go for water, herbal tea and wheatgrass juice.

Protein: Good choices include free-range eggs, tofu, seafood (fresh and frozen) such as sardines, salmon, tuna, calamari and blue mussels, and lean meats such as free-range skinless chicken breast fillets and organic low-fat mince.

Foods to limit

Dairy: Avoid cow's milk and cow's milk cheese. In weeks 3 and 4, good choices include goat's and sheep's milk and cheese and low-fat natural yoghurt. Alternatives include calcium-enriched soy milk, oat milk and rice milk.

Wheat: Avoid wheat in Phase 1. Try alternatives spelt, rice, kamut and buckwheat. In Phase 2, good bread options include wholemeal soy and linseed and rye.

Foods to avoid

Butter, margarine with trans fats and cheap oils: Instead, choose seed-based spreads with no trans fats such as tahini and avocado and cold-pressed, good-quality oils such as extra-virgin olive oil and nut oils.

Sugar: Stay away from sugar, chocolate, lollies, soft drinks and artificial sweeteners. Instead, try barley malt syrup, agave nectar and pure maple syrup.

Tea, coffee and alcohol: Alternatives include dandelion and cereal-based coffee substitutes, water, herbal teas and fruit and vegetable juices.

Artificial colourings, flavourings and preservatives

Secrets of success

• Spend 10 minutes on a Sunday planning your week's meals and writing a shopping list. Not having to think about meals every day will make the diet easier and free up time.
• You may crave some of the foods you are excluding while on the diet. Try to resist. Keep them out of the house and look for some healthy alternatives to have on hand.
• Remember, this is not a test. It is something wonderful you are doing for yourself. Just do the best you can.

Energy meal ideas

Breakfast

• Two scrambled eggs with parsley, basil, baby spinach and diced capsicum.
• Wholegrain rye or spelt bread with date jam (1 cup pitted dates soaked overnight in 1/2 cup filtered water, then blended).
• Warm Fruity Quinoa*.

Lunch

• Corn tortilla (wholewheat wrap in Phase 2) with poached or steamed chicken, alfalfa sprouts, beetroot and lettuce.
• Baked sweet potato with kidney beans, salsa, tomato and mixed green leaves.
• Chicken or Tofu Nori Rolls* with wasabi and tamari.

Dinner

• Grilled calamari with brown rice and Asian greens.
• Grilled chicken with carrot, cucumber, capsicum, mixed leaves, spring onion, tomato, parsley and a mustard and white wine vinegar dressing.
• Vegetable Lasagne* with garden salad.

Snacks

• Strawberry slushy (blend 250g hulled strawberries with º cup unsweetened apple juice and 6 ice cubes).
• Homemade popcorn.
• Speedy Snack Balls*.

Comment below what you think. Did you find this article helpful? Are you going to apply these tips into your daily routine? Let me know! I love reading your comments!




Source
http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/weight+loss/diets/energy+boost+diet,19423

What Cheeses Are Best For Dieters?

Cheese is often considered a high-fat no-no for dieters. Cheese offers an undeniably good flavor and texture to many foods. Using it in moderation when dieting can help satisfy your taste buds and make you feel full longer because of its fat content.

Naturally Low-Fat Cheeses

Feta, part-skim mozzarella and goat cheese are lower in calories per ounce than cheddar or brie. For example, 1 oz. of feta contains just 75 calories and 6 g of fat, while an ounce of cheddar contains 114 calories and 9 g of fat. Feta makes a good topping for salads or broiled over chicken. Part-skim mozzarella can be melted in an egg white omelet or broiled on top of tomatoes for a quick side dish. Plain goat cheese may be used in lieu of cream cheese on toast or mixed with herbs to make a light, flavorful sandwich spread.

Techniques

Hard cheeses such as Parmesan, Romano, asiago and aged cheddar have strong flavors that can be used in small amounts to accent dishes. Just a tablespoon of finely grated hard cheese gives depth to steamed vegetables, scrambled egg whites or a tossed salad and adds only about 25 calories and 1.5 g of fat. Tossing a rind of Parmesan into broth-based soups or stews gives a deep flavor without adding significant calories.

Expert Insight

A study from Curtin University in Australia found that eating five servings of low-fat dairy foods, including cottage cheese, induced greater weight loss and body-fat loss after 12 weeks than three servings daily. Low-fat ricotta cheese is another good dietary choice that helps you boost your dairy servings. Mix it with strawberries and a no-calorie sweetener for dessert or use in casseroles.

Low-Fat Options

Many cheeses have low-fat or lighter counterparts. Oftentimes, the flavor and texture of these versions is a poor substitute for the real thing. Use low-fat and fat-free versions of cheddar, Gouda and Monterey jack in casseroles and melted dips where their deficiencies are masked by other ingredients.

Considerations

If you just cannot live without an ounce of high quality blue cheese on your salad--or want to enjoy a few samples from a gourmet cheese tray--go ahead. Just remember to cut back in fat in other places over the course of the day. If you have cheese on your salad, skip the nuts and avocado. A slice of melted cheese on a sandwich means you should choose lean meat such as deli turkey or chicken breast instead of pastrami or salami. If you enjoy an appetizer of cheese and crackers, stop at an ounce--which is about the size of a pair of dice--to keep your calories in check.

Do you enjoy snacking on cheese? Choose these healthier options and you'll still be able to lose weight! Comment what you think!



Source
http://www.livestrong.com/article/238406-what-cheeses-are-good-for-diets/

References

• "Shape": Say Cheese
• Nutri-Facts: Nutrition in Parmesan