avocado yogurt smoothie

How many calories do you think i had today Was my diet BAD?

Breakfast: Half a bowl of Granola Cereal with lite milk, A Blueberry smoothie with blueberries, Low fat natural yogurt, Lite milk and protein powder
Snack: Protein Bar
Lunch:Chickpea,avocado,Pea,And tuna salald
Snack: Protein Bar
Dinner: 5 slices of pizza

well if they were small pieces of pizza it wasnt bad, You got every food gorup and at alot of healthy stuff I would say you ate about 1,600-2,000 calories?? Kudos on the protein!

There has been so much confusion about the topic of good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates in recent years… I wanted to help clear up some of that confusion for you and set you on a clearer path to lifelong fat loss success and healthier eating.

First of all, although I am not a “low carb” believer (I certainly don’t think extremely low carbohydrate diets are healthy), I do believe that one of the main reasons that the vast majority of people struggle to ever lose weight is that they are over-consuming processed refined carbohydrates such as pasta, bagels, breads, cereals, rice, muffins, sodas, juices, candies, crackers, etc.

It is exceedingly hard to lose weight if you are over-consuming any of these types of refined processed carbohydrates (even if you work out extremely hard). In addition to causing big blood sugar swings and insulin surges that stimulate direct body fat storage, eating too many carbohydrates also increases your cravings and overall appetite.

Even carbohydrate sources that most people think are “healthy” really are just excess calories that do not really contain significant nutrient density… and many types of breads and cereals claim to be “whole grain” through clever marketing although in reality, the first ingredient in them is refined flour, which is just going to spike your blood sugar and create an insulin surge. After years of eating excess processed carbohydrates, it becomes harder and harder for insulin to do it’s job and continue handling all of this blood sugar, and insulin resistance and eventual type 2 diabetes can occur in many people.

My opinion on this is that the majority of people struggling to lose weight would get much better results by following these types of guidelines:

1. Reduce overall grain-based foods in your diet (pasta, cereal, crackers, rice, etc) and focus more of your diet on healthy free range, grass-fed meats and eggs, raw grass-fed dairy, and a whole lot of vegetables.

2. Instead of grains for most of your carbohydrate intake, try getting most of your carbs from veggies, sweet potatoes, and a variety of berries and whole fruits (NOT fruit juices, which remove the beneficial fiber as well as other important nutrients in the fruit)

3. If you are going to get any grains at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fibrous portions of the grain… the bran and the germ. This means that the healthiest ideas are using oat bran instead of oat meal, and using wheat germ and rice bran by adding them to your salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, soups, smoothies, etc. This way you get all of the most nutrient dense parts of the grains without all of the excess starches and calories.

4. To replace the void if you are accustomed to consuming large quantities of cereals, bread, pasta, and other carbohydrate sources… try filling that void with additional healthy fats such as avocados, guacamole, nuts, seeds, nut butters as well as healthy proteins such as grass-fed raw dairy and grass fed meats, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fats and protein sources go a long way to satisfying your appetite, controlling proper blood sugar and hormone levels, and helping you to make real progress on weight loss for life.

With all of that said, here’s one of my favorite carbohydrate sources that is high in fiber as well as contains a high density of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals… it is yams and/or sweet potatoes. Try slicing them into thin slivers and sauteeing them with a few tablespoons of water in a pan for about 5 minutes for a quicker healthy carb (instead of baking them for over an hour). Finish them off with a touch of grass-fed organic butter and some cinnamon and you’ve got a delicous and healthy carbohydrate side dish!

For more unique exercise and diet techniques for losing your stubborn stomach fat, go to Workouts & Diet Tips for Losing Belly Fat Fast

Discover how to do fast and furious workouts at home by using our Four Minute Bodyweight & Dumbbell Home Workouts

Mike Geary is the best-selling author of The Truth about Six Pack Abs, with over 100,000 readers in over 150 countries. Mike is also an avid skier and creator of one of the most comprehensive Skier Fitness Training Routines

About the Author:

To find out more, lose body fat, get a six pack or just improve your health Click Here

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How to lose weight fast

avocado nutritional breakdown

When it comes to losing weight, eating a healthy diet needs to be your first priority. Exercise is important but when it comes to weight loss, no matter how hard you workout, you can not “work off” a bad diet, period! So, keep in mind, diet is key when it comes to lifelong weight management.  I hope this article gives you some simple, yet effective tips for you to make healthy changes in the way you eat on a daily basis.

1.  It is important to eat some healthy fats in most of your meals. Even though most people are conditioned to stay away from fats, they are very important for maintaining proper fat burning and muscle building hormone levels in your body.  Adequate healthy fats in your diet also aid in keeping your appetite in check.

The healthiest sources of dietary fats are raw nuts, seeds, egg yolks (from organic free range eggs), avocados, extra virgin olive oil (highest antioxidant content of olive oils), and grass-fed meats (a great source of the healthy fat, conjugated linoleic acid, which can help burn body fat and build muscle). Try to get some of these into your diet each day.

A great tip that I often do is — eat a handful of raw nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds are great healthy choices) a couple times a day, about 30 minutes prior to meals.  This definitely helps suppress your appetite so you’re not starving by the time you eat. It gives your body some protein, fiber, and healthy fats so that you eat less calories overall at your meals and get more nutrition at the same time, due to the high nutrient density of most nuts.

2.  Try to eat a high quality protein source with every meal, as well as with any snacks you eat.  Quality proteins such as lean meats, egg whites, fat-free or low-fat dairy and even plant sources, such as nuts and beans provides good appetite suppression so you can control your calorie intake easier throughout the day.

Getting sufficient quality proteins also helps you to build lean muscle (if you’re working out hard regularly), which in turn increases your metabolism rate. Remember, the more lean muscle you have on your body, the faster your metabolism works, all day, even when you’re sleeping.

Eating sufficient protein at most of your meals also aids your body in controlling blood sugar and insulin levels by helping to slow the breakdown of ingested carbohydrates.

3. I am not a believer in “no-carb” diets. You need carbs to lose weight, as well as for energy and many other important reasons. The reason people struggle with weight loss is not because they eat carbs, it’s the carbs they choose to eat. The main weight loss struggle stems from eating excessive “processed” carbohydrates such as refined grain-based starches and refined sugars on a daily basis.

The natural sugars in whole fruits and berries are ok and encouraged, because the fiber in fruits helps to slow the blood sugar response in your body.  Just make sure to avoid fruit juices, which are mostly sugar and have the fiber removed in processing the juice.

In my experience, when people start to minimize their grain consumption (from cereals, bagels, breads, pasta, etc), they start to lose body fat much easier.  What I usually recommend is for people to minimize eating grains and focus on getting their carbohydrates through intake of solely fruits and vegetables.  This simple step alone usually helps people to start managing their weight more easily.

Try to implement these 3 tips for eating a smarter, healthier diet and I guarantee you will start to see a leaner body and have more energy in no time.

About the Author:

If you’re interested in taking your fat-loss efforts to an entirely new level, go to my website and instantly download your free fat loss report which is filled with information on how to boost your metabolism and lose that belly fat – http://www.LoseFatLiveHealthy.com/TruthAboutAbs.aspx

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – 3 Tips to Healthier Eating so You Can Lose Weight Fast

When you are in the process of losing weight, you likely know that a healthy diet is the biggest key to success. Yes, exercises is something you have to do as well, but the right diet is the missing key to weight management. This short article will share some easy to implement tips and tricks to get the most out of your diet, and turn your lifestyle into a healthy one.

1. Instead of having bad fat, make sure to eat at least some healthy fat in each meal you have. If you want to keep your muscle building, fat burning and hormone levels high, it’s extremely important to maintain proper proportions of healthy fat. If you keep a high level of healthy fats, you also help keep your appetite under control.

Good places to get the healthy fats you need are seeds, raw nuts, eggs, extra virgin olive oil (contains one of the highest levels of antioxidants in olive oils), avocados, coconut oil (contains a source of saturated fats in the form of medium chain triglycerides), and meats that have been grass-fed (because they are a great source of healthy fats and conjugated linoleic acid, which are important to help burn body fat and build lean muscle.

Check this out — Eat a small cup of raw nuts, such as walnuts or almonds 30 minutes before your meals. This will help you reduce your appetite and it also helps give the body a great source of quality protein, fibers and healthy fat. It will also help you get a smaller intake of calories overall, and get more nutrients than most meals, because of the good nutrition in nuts.

2. Eat a lot of protein! Every meal or snack should include a at least a source of protein. High quality protein from grass-fed meats, grass-fed dairy and plants/nuts/beans all provide quality sources of high quality protein that suppress your appetite and helps control your calori intake.

The source of high quality proteins help you get that leans ripped muscle look (when you work out regularly), so now your body’s metabolism will be highly increased, because of you have lean muscle that burn fat faster than fat, or smaller muscles.

When you eat a high source of protein you also help control your bodies blood sugar levels and insuling levels. This is because it helps slow down the natural breakdown of carbohydrates you have eaten.

3. I don’t agree at all with low-carb diets or low-carb foods. However, I think that many people who are overweight in this society today struggle to lose weight because they are eating an excess of corbohydrates, such as refined grain-based starches and refined sugars found in many “sugar products”, on a daily basis.

On the other hand, if you eat a lot of fruits as your source of carbs, you are doing a good job, because the fruits include some fibers that will help keep the blood sugar under control. Don’t drink fruit juices if you can, because most of them are processed fruits, or concentrate, with added sugar and removed fibers in the process.

When you start to look at successful weight losers today, you start to see patterns, such as stopping or limiting your grain intake each day (cereal, bagels, bread, pasta, etc), you will find that it’s quicker and easier to start losing body fat quicker. What you can do instead is to try to limit the bread intake and replace most of the carbohydrates with fruits and veggies. If you only do this step, you will start to see successful results in your weight loss.

Try to implement these 3 tips for eating a smarter, healthier diet and I’m willing to bet that you’ll start to see a leaner body and more energy in no time.

About the Author:

Grab a free nutrition and workout report at http://www.SixPackExposed.com right now, and discover why you’ll never get ripped six pack abs without these 2 secrets.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – 3 Healthy Diet Tips For Losing Weight Faster Than Ever

carbs in one avocado

It seems as though the world is getting more confused than ever about the right way to lose weight these days. One of the problems is information overload on the internet and so called “gurus” all contradicting one another.

One of the biggest areas that I see my clients more confused than ever is the topic of carbohydrates and trying to figure out good carbs vs bad carbs or if they should try to follow some sort of low carb or no carb diet.

First of all, although I really don’t believe in “low carb” or “no carb” diets, I do believe that one of the main reasons so many people struggle with excess weight and body fat is that they overeat refined processed carbs such as cereal, pasta, rice, bagels, muffins, bread (even whole grain types), soda, juice, candy, crackers, etc.

It is very hard to lose any weight if you are overeating any of these types of carbs (even if you work out extremely hard). In addition to creating major blood sugar fluctuations and stimulating insulin surges (which promotes body fat deposition), eating too many carbohydrates also increases your appetite and cravings for more processed sugars and starches.

Even carb food sources that most people think are healthy are really just excess calories that do not really give you much in the way of nutrient density… and many types of bread and cereals pretend to be “whole grain” through their deceptive labeling, while in reality the 1st ingredient in them is processed refined flour, which is just going to spike your blood sugar and create a hormonal mess in your body.

My take on it is that the majority of people frustrated and struggling to lose weight would do much better following these types of recommendations:

1. Reduce grain-based carbohydrate foods in your diet (cereals, pastas, breads, rice, crackers, and so on) & focus more of the diet on healthy grass-fed and free-range meat and eggs, grass-fed raw dairy, and lots and lots of veggies.

2. Instead of the grains based foods for most of your carbohydrates, try getting most of your carbs from veggies, sweet potatoes (and yams), and a variety of whole fruits and berries (but NOT fruit juices, which remove the blood sugar blunting fiber as well as other essential parts of the fruit)

3. If you are going to eat any grain foods at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fiber-rich portions of the grain… the bran and the germ… For example, you could eat oat bran instead of oatmeal, and use rice bran and wheat germ more frequently by adding to your soups, salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, and so on. This way you get all of the most beneficial nutrient dense portions of the grains without all of the excess starches and calories.

4. To replace the void if you are used to consuming lots of bread, pasta, cereals, and other carb sources… try replacing those foods with more healthy fat sources such as seeds, nuts, nut butters, avocados, guacamole, etc, as well as healthy protein sources such as raw grass-fed dairy and meat, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fat and protein are ever so important for controlling your appetite, maintaining proper hormone and blood sugar levels, and helping you to make real progress on permanent weight loss.

With all of that said, a couple of my favorite healthy carb sources that are high in fiber as well as tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are sweet potatoes, yams, any other root vegetables, any and all vegetables in general, & any and all berries and whole fruits.

What I’ve found with most of my clients is that once they start reducing the amount of grain-based foods in their diet and replace that with more of the carb sources I listed above as well as ample amounts of healthy fats and proteins, their weight starts falling off much faster and they finally gain control of their appetite and cravings for life. Give it a shot!

About the Author:

Here’s an interesting article about glycemic index and carbs, potatoes

Another article about some of the confusing issues revolving around Working Out, Diets, and Lifestyle Tips for Losing Body Fat

More info to help you out – How to Lose Belly Fat and Get 6 Pack Abs

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Lose Weight Easier by Knowing Good Carbohydrates vs Bad Carbs

Does a low carb diet actually work or can it potentially be harmful to you? People who have followed a low carb diet have seen successful results. However, these individuals quickly regained their weight after stopping the diet. This should not be surprising to anyone since no specific diet will work for everyone. Let me go into detail on a few facts and difference of opinion with medical experts out there.

When we think about a low carb diet we draw a conclusion that people are eating an unhealthy diet with no fruits or vegetables and people are following a high fat pork and bacon concept since the popular Atkin’s diet was introduced. Most will validate that this is only promoting heart disease and a short life span for everyone. Now, let me address a few points about low carb diets so you can make your own decision.

1. Researchers have stated that a low carb diet has improved people with high blood pressure and individuals who are diabetic.

2. People think that low carb diets discourage people with eating fruits or vegetables. A matter of fact, fruits or vegetables are the carbohydrates eaten when on a low carb diet.

3. Low carb is often considered no carb with most people. However, most authors have never stated to stay on a low carb diet but temporary for 1-2 weeks the most.

4. I believe the carbohydrate intake should be adjusted to that specific person.

5. A low carb diet will include inadequate amount of fiber. On the contrary and there are low carb foods high in fiber.

Foods that are referred to low empty carbs are foods not rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients to make us healthier. Often people follow the quick results of a successful high fat and low carb plan. However, you will regain the weight quickly after you stop the low carb diet. The sensible choice or an adequate plan should consist of lean meats, low fat, healthy fats such as olives, avocados, nuts, and fatty fish. Results will promote more of a successful weight loss .

My thoughts and beliefs on a low carb diet would conclude it to be healthy or unhealthy depending on that person. What I mean is it depends if that person is selecting the right foods going into their body. Does that suggest we eat all beef, meat, or eggs with no fruits or vegetables in our diet? My approach is that you still need to include vegetables like broccoli, spinach, asparagus, leafy greens that contain phytonutrients or fiber that is important for everyone. When following a low carb diet it should include enriched foods rather than hot dogs, bacon, or pork as your protein intake. Choosing the correct foods is the key and eating reasonably through out the day that includes protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates.

The most important question you need to ask yourself is “am i willing to make a permanent change in my lifestyle”? Making a diet change permanent is following a healthy diet. No diet out there will last if you are not ready to make those changes for yourself. When it comes down to it, the people who are successful or achieving a balanced weight have not only followed a healthy diet but included exercising in their life. So, what kind of exercise routine should I follow? Well lets leave that for another author since its time for me to grab a nutritious meal!

About the Author:

Richard Chan is a Health and Fitness Life Coach promoting harmonization with the mind, body, and soul. An individual that is keen in precision training to his clients resulting in optimal results. An experienced trainer that has coached professionals, police personnel, and athletes in periodization. In addition, he will introduce Qi Gong to his clients so they will maximize their training potential. This involves an understanding of exercising their internal health and controlled breathing. For more information you can reach him at http://www.flex-fitness.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – What’s All the Beef About a Low Carb Diet?

avocado vs guacamole

There has been so much confusion about the topic of good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates in recent years… I wanted to help clear up some of that confusion for you and set you on a clearer path to lifelong fat loss success and healthier eating.

First of all, although I am not a “low carb” believer (I certainly don’t think extremely low carbohydrate diets are healthy), I do believe that one of the main reasons that the vast majority of people struggle to ever lose weight is that they are over-consuming processed refined carbohydrates such as pasta, bagels, breads, cereals, rice, muffins, sodas, juices, candies, crackers, etc.

It is exceedingly hard to lose weight if you are over-consuming any of these types of refined processed carbohydrates (even if you work out extremely hard). In addition to causing big blood sugar swings and insulin surges that stimulate direct body fat storage, eating too many carbohydrates also increases your cravings and overall appetite.

Even carbohydrate sources that most people think are “healthy” really are just excess calories that do not really contain significant nutrient density… and many types of breads and cereals claim to be “whole grain” through clever marketing although in reality, the first ingredient in them is refined flour, which is just going to spike your blood sugar and create an insulin surge. After years of eating excess processed carbohydrates, it becomes harder and harder for insulin to do it’s job and continue handling all of this blood sugar, and insulin resistance and eventual type 2 diabetes can occur in many people.

My opinion on this is that the majority of people struggling to lose weight would get much better results by following these types of guidelines:

1. Reduce overall grain-based foods in your diet (pasta, cereal, crackers, rice, etc) and focus more of your diet on healthy free range, grass-fed meats and eggs, raw grass-fed dairy, and a whole lot of vegetables.

2. Instead of grains for most of your carbohydrate intake, try getting most of your carbs from veggies, sweet potatoes, and a variety of berries and whole fruits (NOT fruit juices, which remove the beneficial fiber as well as other important nutrients in the fruit)

3. If you are going to get any grains at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fibrous portions of the grain… the bran and the germ. This means that the healthiest ideas are using oat bran instead of oat meal, and using wheat germ and rice bran by adding them to your salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, soups, smoothies, etc. This way you get all of the most nutrient dense parts of the grains without all of the excess starches and calories.

4. To replace the void if you are accustomed to consuming large quantities of cereals, bread, pasta, and other carbohydrate sources… try filling that void with additional healthy fats such as avocados, guacamole, nuts, seeds, nut butters as well as healthy proteins such as grass-fed raw dairy and grass fed meats, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fats and protein sources go a long way to satisfying your appetite, controlling proper blood sugar and hormone levels, and helping you to make real progress on weight loss for life.

With all of that said, here’s one of my favorite carbohydrate sources that is high in fiber as well as contains a high density of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals… it is yams and/or sweet potatoes. Try slicing them into thin slivers and sauteeing them with a few tablespoons of water in a pan for about 5 minutes for a quicker healthy carb (instead of baking them for over an hour). Finish them off with a touch of grass-fed organic butter and some cinnamon and you’ve got a delicous and healthy carbohydrate side dish!

About the Author:

Thompson Stephen is dedicated to helping people stay informed about health and fitness.For more information and in-depth,unbiased article like this one,please visit http://dailytruthaboutabs.blogspot.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Understanding Good Carbohydrates Vs Bad Carbs and Choosing Healthy for Weight Loss

It seems as though the world is getting more confused than ever about the right way to lose weight these days. One of the problems is information overload on the internet and so called “gurus” all contradicting one another.

One of the biggest areas that I see my clients more confused than ever is the topic of carbohydrates and trying to figure out good carbs vs bad carbs or if they should try to follow some sort of low carb or no carb diet.

First of all, although I really don’t believe in “low carb” or “no carb” diets, I do believe that one of the main reasons so many people struggle with excess weight and body fat is that they overeat refined processed carbs such as cereal, pasta, rice, bagels, muffins, bread (even whole grain types), soda, juice, candy, crackers, etc.

It is very hard to lose any weight if you are overeating any of these types of carbs (even if you work out extremely hard). In addition to creating major blood sugar fluctuations and stimulating insulin surges (which promotes body fat deposition), eating too many carbohydrates also increases your appetite and cravings for more processed sugars and starches.

Even carb food sources that most people think are healthy are really just excess calories that do not really give you much in the way of nutrient density… and many types of bread and cereals pretend to be “whole grain” through their deceptive labeling, while in reality the 1st ingredient in them is processed refined flour, which is just going to spike your blood sugar and create a hormonal mess in your body.

My take on it is that the majority of people frustrated and struggling to lose weight would do much better following these types of recommendations:

1. Reduce grain-based carbohydrate foods in your diet (cereals, pastas, breads, rice, crackers, and so on) & focus more of the diet on healthy grass-fed and free-range meat and eggs, grass-fed raw dairy, and lots and lots of veggies.

2. Instead of the grains based foods for most of your carbohydrates, try getting most of your carbs from veggies, sweet potatoes (and yams), and a variety of whole fruits and berries (but NOT fruit juices, which remove the blood sugar blunting fiber as well as other essential parts of the fruit)

3. If you are going to eat any grain foods at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fiber-rich portions of the grain… the bran and the germ… For example, you could eat oat bran instead of oatmeal, and use rice bran and wheat germ more frequently by adding to your soups, salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, and so on. This way you get all of the most beneficial nutrient dense portions of the grains without all of the excess starches and calories.

4. To replace the void if you are used to consuming lots of bread, pasta, cereals, and other carb sources… try replacing those foods with more healthy fat sources such as seeds, nuts, nut butters, avocados, guacamole, etc, as well as healthy protein sources such as raw grass-fed dairy and meat, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fat and protein are ever so important for controlling your appetite, maintaining proper hormone and blood sugar levels, and helping you to make real progress on permanent weight loss.

With all of that said, a couple of my favorite healthy carb sources that are high in fiber as well as tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are sweet potatoes, yams, any other root vegetables, any and all vegetables in general, & any and all berries and whole fruits.

What I’ve found with most of my clients is that once they start reducing the amount of grain-based foods in their diet and replace that with more of the carb sources I listed above as well as ample amounts of healthy fats and proteins, their weight starts falling off much faster and they finally gain control of their appetite and cravings for life. Give it a shot!

About the Author:

Here’s an interesting article about glycemic index and carbs, potatoes

Another article about some of the confusing issues revolving around Working Out, Diets, and Lifestyle Tips for Losing Body Fat

More info to help you out – How to Lose Belly Fat and Get 6 Pack Abs

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Lose Weight Easier by Knowing Good Carbohydrates vs Bad Carbs

avocado tip burn

When it comes to losing weight, eating a healthy diet needs to be your first priority. Exercise is important but when it comes to weight loss, no matter how hard you workout, you can not “work off” a bad diet, period! So, keep in mind, diet is key when it comes to lifelong weight management.  I hope this article gives you some simple, yet effective tips for you to make healthy changes in the way you eat on a daily basis.

1.  It is important to eat some healthy fats in most of your meals. Even though most people are conditioned to stay away from fats, they are very important for maintaining proper fat burning and muscle building hormone levels in your body.  Adequate healthy fats in your diet also aid in keeping your appetite in check.

The healthiest sources of dietary fats are raw nuts, seeds, egg yolks (from organic free range eggs), avocados, extra virgin olive oil (highest antioxidant content of olive oils), and grass-fed meats (a great source of the healthy fat, conjugated linoleic acid, which can help burn body fat and build muscle). Try to get some of these into your diet each day.

A great tip that I often do is — eat a handful of raw nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds are great healthy choices) a couple times a day, about 30 minutes prior to meals.  This definitely helps suppress your appetite so you’re not starving by the time you eat. It gives your body some protein, fiber, and healthy fats so that you eat less calories overall at your meals and get more nutrition at the same time, due to the high nutrient density of most nuts.

2.  Try to eat a high quality protein source with every meal, as well as with any snacks you eat.  Quality proteins such as lean meats, egg whites, fat-free or low-fat dairy and even plant sources, such as nuts and beans provides good appetite suppression so you can control your calorie intake easier throughout the day.

Getting sufficient quality proteins also helps you to build lean muscle (if you’re working out hard regularly), which in turn increases your metabolism rate. Remember, the more lean muscle you have on your body, the faster your metabolism works, all day, even when you’re sleeping.

Eating sufficient protein at most of your meals also aids your body in controlling blood sugar and insulin levels by helping to slow the breakdown of ingested carbohydrates.

3. I am not a believer in “no-carb” diets. You need carbs to lose weight, as well as for energy and many other important reasons. The reason people struggle with weight loss is not because they eat carbs, it’s the carbs they choose to eat. The main weight loss struggle stems from eating excessive “processed” carbohydrates such as refined grain-based starches and refined sugars on a daily basis.

The natural sugars in whole fruits and berries are ok and encouraged, because the fiber in fruits helps to slow the blood sugar response in your body.  Just make sure to avoid fruit juices, which are mostly sugar and have the fiber removed in processing the juice.

In my experience, when people start to minimize their grain consumption (from cereals, bagels, breads, pasta, etc), they start to lose body fat much easier.  What I usually recommend is for people to minimize eating grains and focus on getting their carbohydrates through intake of solely fruits and vegetables.  This simple step alone usually helps people to start managing their weight more easily.

Try to implement these 3 tips for eating a smarter, healthier diet and I guarantee you will start to see a leaner body and have more energy in no time.

About the Author:

If you’re interested in taking your fat-loss efforts to an entirely new level, go to my website and instantly download your free fat loss report which is filled with information on how to boost your metabolism and lose that belly fat – http://www.LoseFatLiveHealthy.com/TruthAboutAbs.aspx

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – 3 Tips to Healthier Eating so You Can Lose Weight Fast

The formula for losing weight is simple. Eat less and exercise more. It’s a formula that’s work since the beginning of time. People tend to get all caught up in the latest diet fads, the latest weight programs to hit the market and what the celebrities are doing. It doesn’t have to be that complicated at all. Just follow these 10 easy diet tips and watch those extra pounds melt away.

Diet Tip 1. Eliminate empty calories and junk foods (fats and sugars) from your diet. This one is a no-brainer. If you’re going to eat, eat healthy.

Diet Tip 2. Reduce the amount of overall fat in our diet to a maximum of 30%. Eating less then 20% of your calories from fat is even better. Remember, some fat is essential and some fats are better than others. Avocado, olives, nuts and seeds, various oils like olive, flaxseed and canola, and fatty fish are all good fat choices. Keep some of these types of fats in your diet.

Diet Tip 3. Adjust your caloric ratio to increase protein during the day and decrease carbs at night. As a rule of thumb, you want about a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Eat protein throughout the day so your muscles get what they need, when they need it. Lower the number of carbs in your diet in the evening, as you have fewer energy demands as the day goes on.

Diet Tip 4. Eat less as the day goes on. As the saying goes: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. This way as your day slows down, so does your caloric intake.

Diet Tip 5. Time your carbs. Get your carbs in the morning and afternoon and lay off them at night when your body doesn’t burn them as efficiently. Carbs are also best eaten as a quick energy boost before and after a workout.

Diet Tip 6. Eat several small meals (5-6 per day), and eat less as the day goes on. Remember diet tip 4.

Diet Tip 7. Eat 25-30 grams of fiber a day. Great sources of fiber include wheat bran, oatmeal and beans.

Diet Tip 8. Vegetables are a great snack and should be a dieting mainstay. Make sure that you consumer at least five servings of vegetables per day.

Diet Tip 9. Eat and walk. Very light physical activity, like a stroll after lunch or dinner, not only helps digestion, but also helps to boost your metabolism and burns up some calories.

Diet Tip 10. Supplement your diet with the nutrients your body needs – especially if you are cutting calories. Make sure that you are eating foods for all food groups and make sure the food that goes into your body is as nutritional as possible.

Again, you don’t need to follow a celebrity diet plan to lose weight. By following these simple time tested rules of weight loss, you will lose those extra pounds, hit your weight loss goals and achieve a healthy lifestyle.

About the Author:

About the Author: Matthew McBride is the founder of LoveMyGym, an online fitness and exercise resource to help you get the most out of gym membership. Click here for information on
free diet plans and free diet programs
. For
free exercise programs, training logs and workout logs
just click here.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – 10 Diet Tips For Weight Loss

avocado seeds

How do I start an avocado plant with the avocado seed?

How do I care for the plant after the roots have sprouted? Do I trim the tree to prevent it from bearing fruit?

Here’s tips on starting in either water or soil from The Garden Helper:

“Many people start avocado trees as novelty house plants by piercing the seed with its pointed end up, partially through with toothpicks on three or four sides to hold it on the top of a jar or vase partly with water and few pieces of charcoal (to keep the water sweet) just covering the base. In 2 to 6 weeks, when roots and leaves are well formed the plant is set in potting soil. Unless they’re moved into soil within a few weeks or months after germination, they’ll begin to deteriorate.
They are also easily sprouted in a well-drained 4- or 5-inch pot of porous, fertile soil. The top of the seed should just barely peek above the surface of the soil. If the soil is kept fairly moist and the temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees, the seed will begin to sprout and a pretty, leafy plant will develop.
When the seedling reaches 12 inches, it should be pinched back to about 6-8 inches to produce a rounder, fuller plant. ”

Check the link for further information on how to care for your now healthy seedling!! Good luck!

When cooking dinner, many people think in terms of calorie counting or what they’re “craving†at the time. Food can be broken down into basically two categories: Energy (calories from fat,
carbohydrates and protein) and Nourishment (the nutrient density of the food; vitamins and
minerals contents). When determining your menu plan we recommend first to think of
“Nourishmentâ€. It’s the nourishment aspect of your meal that contains the vitamins and minerals needed for the thousands of metabolic reactions occurring in the body. But, you also need the “energy†portion of this equation so that your cells have the fuel to drive these metabolic reactions.

Keep in mind; foods do not contain ONLY calcium or ONLY carbohydrate or ONLY protein. Foods are a mixture of a little bit of everything. Yet, individual foods are typically known for the largest
percentage of energy or nourishment that it provides. For example, when we say “nuts are a great source of quality fatsâ€, we are communicating that they contain a large percentage of fat per volume. However, nuts are a good source of protein as well. So, you can use nuts to boost the protein or fat content of your meal.

When choosing what you’ll eat for your bigger meals like breakfast, lunch or dinner, we suggest this standard thought process:

1. Nourishment: Choose at least 2 fruits and vegetables. This can be a combo of 1 fruit and 1
vegetable or 2 vegetables. You can choose more vegetables for the meal if you like but your
biggest meals need to include at least 2 servings from the fruit/vegetable category. Try to
mix it up! Don’t eat the same fruits and vegetables all the time.

2. Protein: you must have protein with every meal. 25-35% of the meal needs to be of a protein source. Protein can come from plant based sources like beans, seeds, nut, sprouts, and quinoa or it can come from animal based sources like fish, eggs, chicken, turkey and
possibly small amounts of red meat if OK’d by your nutritionist. If you have a normal serum
ferritin and normal serum iron, then 4-6oz of red meat should be OK for you to consume on
a weekly basis.

3. Carbohydrates: this is your main energy source. It’s the primary fuel that your cells prefer. Depending on your activity level and diabetic status, we recommend 40-60%.
Carbohydrates come from many food sources but when thinking in terms of a side dish of
carbohydrates, we are implying mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, whole grain bread, or
couscous. Your fruits and veggies are also a good source of carbohydrates.

4. Fats: there should always be some source of fat in your meal. Fat contains many nutrients such as A, D, E, and K and is required to absorb certain nutrients like CoQ10. You meal should contain anywhere from 15-25% fat. If your meal contains animal proteins, then
there will be some fat consumed from the meat. Other quality sources of fat to consider are
raw olive oil (use it to dip your whole grain bread in! Yum!), coconut butter (cook with it,
spread on corn on the cob, spread on whole grain bread or crackers), avocados, seeds and
nuts.

Tuna Frittata
Ingredients:
8 eggs
12 oz cooked flaked tuna

Instructions:
Preheat oven on high broil. On the stove top, heat a deep, oven proof skillet with 2-4 tablespoons of oil on medium. [try using coconut oil!] Prepare eggs like you would if you were to scramble them. For example: Break them into a bowl, add about 1/4 cup of water and salt and pepper. Whisk. This is the way we prepare scrambled eggs and they are very good this way. Most people tend to use milk but we like them much better prepared with water, salt and pepper. They are much lighter. Pour eggs into heated skillet and allow the bottom to cook. Take a spatula and scoop the solid egg in from the edges and allow what’s left of the liquid egg to pour down under it so it can become solid [very similar to how you cook an open faced omelet]. Work the spatula all the way around the skillet and do this until you don’t have much of the liquid egg left. Once enough of the egg is cooked, sprinkle the flaked tuna over the top and place in the oven to broil for about 8 minutes or until the top of the egg is cooked [i.e. not runny anymore].

 

Feel Free To Link To Any Articles On This Page. If You Wish To Republish One Of These Articles, Please Contact The Original Author

About the Author:

Our mission is the education and advocacy of natural medicine and a holistic lifestyle. Anything from what we put into our bodies to the products we purchase to how we invest our money to how we treat the earth has an impact on our whole being and ultimately each other. Our magnificent innate ability to heal becomes repaired and enhanced with the help of wonderful practitioners and guides. We strive to work with top practitioners to bring helpful education in form of the news, events and this informative website to assist you on your wellness journey.
http://www.chicagohealers.com/naturopath-medicine-homeopathy-herbs/2nd-opinion-natural-health/
http://www.chicagohealers.com
http://www.chiagohealers.com/articles

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – What’s For Dinner?

healthy smoothies avocado

There has been so much confusion about the topic of good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates in recent years… I wanted to help clear up some of that confusion for you and set you on a clearer path to lifelong fat loss success and healthier eating.

First of all, although I am not a “low carb” believer (I certainly don’t think extremely low carbohydrate diets are healthy), I do believe that one of the main reasons that the vast majority of people struggle to ever lose weight is that they are over-consuming processed refined carbohydrates such as pasta, bagels, breads, cereals, rice, muffins, sodas, juices, candies, crackers, etc.

It is exceedingly hard to lose weight if you are over-consuming any of these types of refined processed carbohydrates (even if you work out extremely hard). In addition to causing big blood sugar swings and insulin surges that stimulate direct body fat storage, eating too many carbohydrates also increases your cravings and overall appetite.

Even carbohydrate sources that most people think are “healthy” really are just excess calories that do not really contain significant nutrient density… and many types of breads and cereals claim to be “whole grain” through clever marketing although in reality, the first ingredient in them is refined flour, which is just going to spike your blood sugar and create an insulin surge. After years of eating excess processed carbohydrates, it becomes harder and harder for insulin to do it’s job and continue handling all of this blood sugar, and insulin resistance and eventual type 2 diabetes can occur in many people.

My opinion on this is that the majority of people struggling to lose weight would get much better results by following these types of guidelines:

1. Reduce overall grain-based foods in your diet (pasta, cereal, crackers, rice, etc) and focus more of your diet on healthy free range, grass-fed meats and eggs, raw grass-fed dairy, and a whole lot of vegetables.

2. Instead of grains for most of your carbohydrate intake, try getting most of your carbs from veggies, sweet potatoes, and a variety of berries and whole fruits (NOT fruit juices, which remove the beneficial fiber as well as other important nutrients in the fruit)

3. If you are going to get any grains at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fibrous portions of the grain… the bran and the germ. This means that the healthiest ideas are using oat bran instead of oat meal, and using wheat germ and rice bran by adding them to your salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, soups, smoothies, etc. This way you get all of the most nutrient dense parts of the grains without all of the excess starches and calories.

4. To replace the void if you are accustomed to consuming large quantities of cereals, bread, pasta, and other carbohydrate sources… try filling that void with additional healthy fats such as avocados, guacamole, nuts, seeds, nut butters as well as healthy proteins such as grass-fed raw dairy and grass fed meats, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fats and protein sources go a long way to satisfying your appetite, controlling proper blood sugar and hormone levels, and helping you to make real progress on weight loss for life.

With all of that said, here’s one of my favorite carbohydrate sources that is high in fiber as well as contains a high density of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals… it is yams and/or sweet potatoes. Try slicing them into thin slivers and sauteeing them with a few tablespoons of water in a pan for about 5 minutes for a quicker healthy carb (instead of baking them for over an hour). Finish them off with a touch of grass-fed organic butter and some cinnamon and you’ve got a delicous and healthy carbohydrate side dish!

About the Author:

Thompson Stephen is dedicated to helping people stay informed about health and fitness.For more information and in-depth,unbiased article like this one,please visit http://dailytruthaboutabs.blogspot.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Understanding Good Carbohydrates Vs Bad Carbs and Choosing Healthy for Weight Loss

6 superfoods for age-defying beauty:

1) Goji Berries

Goji berries, hollywoods hottest new food, are one of the most nutritionally dense foods on earth and house a staggering concentration of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, phytochemicals and essential fatty acids. With such an awesome constitution it is not surprising they are reputed anti-aging marvels. Originating in Tibet and greatly favoured in traditional medicine these dried berries have many noted health benefits including boosting immunity, lowering cholesterol, enhancing vision, fighting cancer cells, relieving depression and aiding weight loss.

Goji berries contain 500 times more vitamin C than oranges by weight and more beta-carotene than carrots making them a superb source of vitamin A. Together with vitamin E and essential fatty acids, these berries are ideal for any anti-aging and beauty regime. They also contain polysaccharides, one of which has been found to stimulate the secretion of the rejuvenating human growth hormone by the pituitary gland, as well as B vitamins, 21 minerals and 18 amino acids.

The most well documented case of longevity is that of Li Qing Yuen, who lived to the age of 252. Born in 1678, he is said to have married 14 times with 11 generations of posterity before his death in 1930. Li Qing Yuen reportedly consumed goji berries daily.

A study cited in Dr. Mindell’s book ‘Goji: The Himalayan Health Secret’, observed that 67 per cent of elderly people that were given a daily dose of the berries for 3 weeks experienced dramatic immune system enhancement and a significant improvement in spirit and optimism.

2) Aloe Vera

Foget botox, Aloe Vera increases collagen production 100% naturally for a youthful, wrinkle-free complexion and plump, beautiful skin. The ultimate botox alternative!

The inner gel of the aloe vera leaf contains around 200 active compounds with over 75 nutrients. These include 20 minerals, 18 amino acids and 12 vitamins (even vitamin B12 – one of the very few plant sources of this vitamin). Aloe vera also has anti-microbial properties fighting fungi and bacteria and houses anti-inflammatory plant steroids and enzymes. Aloe vera is known to aid digestion and elimination, boost the immune system, and be highly effective at healing, moisturizing and rejuvianting the skin, naturally stimulating the production of collagen.

Aloe vera is best eaten fresh when possible (you can order large aloe vera leaves which last a few weeks refridgerated). Scrape out the inside gel, avoiding the outside of the leaf which is a strong laxative, and blend with fruit for the ultimate beautifying smoothie. Aloe vera has a mild flavour though a slight bitter edge, hence is best combined with fruit.

3) Avocados

Avocados are smoothing and softening for the skin and easily absorbed; compared with almond, corn, olive, and soybean oils, avocado oil has the highest skin penetration rate.

Avocado also contains vitamin E (excellent for the skin), antioxidant carotenoids and the master antioxidant glutathione that is exceptionally powerful and has anti-carcinogenic potential. High levels of glutathione are found in the liver where the elimination of toxic materials takes place.

Glutathione is effective against pollutants such as cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes as well as ultra-violet radiation. Research is currently exploring the potential benefits of glutathione for numerous conditions including cancer, heart disease, memory loss, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, eczema, liver disorders, heavy metal poisoning and AIDS.

4) Chlorella

The nucleic acids RNA and DNA in Chlorella (one of the highest known sources of such) direct cellular growth and repair and enable our bodies to utilize nutrients more effectively, eliminate toxins and avoid disease. The production of nucleic acids in the body declines progressively as we age, which is no doubt why their intake is recommended by Dr. Benjamin Frank in ‘The No-Aging Diet’. Paul Pitchford in ‘Healing With Whole Foods’ writes that ‘insufficient nucleic acid causes premature aging as well as weakened immunity’, Research at the Medical College of Kanazawa in Japan found that mice that were fed chlorella had a 30 per cent increase in life span. Replenishing RNA and DNA can be key to overall health, immunity and longevity.

In addition to nucleic acids, chlorella is jam-packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes and amino acids, making it an incredibly rejuvinating and health-promoting superfood. Spirulina is a virtuous equivalent.

5) Bee pollen

When it comes to young and beautiful skin, bee pollen has outstanding gifts. Swedish dermatologist Dr. Lars-Erik Essen uses bee pollen to successfully treat acne and other skin conditions and observes it’s beautifying and anti-aging effects. He reports that bee pollen ‘seems to prevent premature aging of the cells and stimulates growth of new skin tissue. It offers effective protection against dehydration and injects new life into dry cells. It smoothes away wrinkles and stimulates a life-giving blood supply to all skin cells.’ He believes it’s skin rejuvintoin properties are due to its high concentration of nucleic acids RNA and DNA, as well as its natural antibiotic action. Bee pollen has a host of other health-promoting benefits that include fighting infections, lowering cholesterol, strengthening the blood, Boosting the immune system, increasing physical strength and stamina, aiding longevity and enhancing libido! It has been called a ‘prefect food’ because it is so nutritionally complete.

6) Coconut oil

Coconut oil speeds up your metabolism and can actually help you loose weight. It is also incredibly beautifying and moisturizing for the skin and has antioxidant properties which protect against free-radical damage, keeping the skin youthful and healthy. Taken internally or externally coconut oil is a great ally for any beauty skin care regime. It also contains lauric acid, an anti-microbial fatty acid that kills bacteria, viruses and fungi.

About the Author:

MIRACLE SUPERFOODS:
http://www.miracle-superfoods.com
ULTIMATE DIET GUIDE FOR DOGS AND CATS
http://www.pet-nutrition-guide.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – 6 Superfoods For Age-Defying Beauty!

calories in avocado medium

About how many calories are in this meal plan?

1/2 cup oatmeal, medium banana (for flavor), 1/2 cup fat free milk

Hmm, allow me to assess this diet

1/2 cup oatmeal = 150 calories
medium banana = 90 calories
1/2 cup skim milk = 45 calories
dried apples = 150

pita = 100
half an avocado = 80
lettuce = 5
turkey = 40 (depends on how much)
tomato = 10

dried apples = 150

1/2 cup of skim milk = 45
protein = ?
serving of strawberries = 50.

Total: 915 calories. Hm, perhaps you should try eating a bit more for dinner?

When cooking dinner, many people think in terms of calorie counting or what they’re “craving†at the time. Food can be broken down into basically two categories: Energy (calories from fat,
carbohydrates and protein) and Nourishment (the nutrient density of the food; vitamins and
minerals contents). When determining your menu plan we recommend first to think of
“Nourishmentâ€. It’s the nourishment aspect of your meal that contains the vitamins and minerals needed for the thousands of metabolic reactions occurring in the body. But, you also need the “energy†portion of this equation so that your cells have the fuel to drive these metabolic reactions.

Keep in mind; foods do not contain ONLY calcium or ONLY carbohydrate or ONLY protein. Foods are a mixture of a little bit of everything. Yet, individual foods are typically known for the largest
percentage of energy or nourishment that it provides. For example, when we say “nuts are a great source of quality fatsâ€, we are communicating that they contain a large percentage of fat per volume. However, nuts are a good source of protein as well. So, you can use nuts to boost the protein or fat content of your meal.

When choosing what you’ll eat for your bigger meals like breakfast, lunch or dinner, we suggest this standard thought process:

1. Nourishment: Choose at least 2 fruits and vegetables. This can be a combo of 1 fruit and 1
vegetable or 2 vegetables. You can choose more vegetables for the meal if you like but your
biggest meals need to include at least 2 servings from the fruit/vegetable category. Try to
mix it up! Don’t eat the same fruits and vegetables all the time.

2. Protein: you must have protein with every meal. 25-35% of the meal needs to be of a protein source. Protein can come from plant based sources like beans, seeds, nut, sprouts, and quinoa or it can come from animal based sources like fish, eggs, chicken, turkey and
possibly small amounts of red meat if OK’d by your nutritionist. If you have a normal serum
ferritin and normal serum iron, then 4-6oz of red meat should be OK for you to consume on
a weekly basis.

3. Carbohydrates: this is your main energy source. It’s the primary fuel that your cells prefer. Depending on your activity level and diabetic status, we recommend 40-60%.
Carbohydrates come from many food sources but when thinking in terms of a side dish of
carbohydrates, we are implying mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, whole grain bread, or
couscous. Your fruits and veggies are also a good source of carbohydrates.

4. Fats: there should always be some source of fat in your meal. Fat contains many nutrients such as A, D, E, and K and is required to absorb certain nutrients like CoQ10. You meal should contain anywhere from 15-25% fat. If your meal contains animal proteins, then
there will be some fat consumed from the meat. Other quality sources of fat to consider are
raw olive oil (use it to dip your whole grain bread in! Yum!), coconut butter (cook with it,
spread on corn on the cob, spread on whole grain bread or crackers), avocados, seeds and
nuts.

Tuna Frittata
Ingredients:
8 eggs
12 oz cooked flaked tuna

Instructions:
Preheat oven on high broil. On the stove top, heat a deep, oven proof skillet with 2-4 tablespoons of oil on medium. [try using coconut oil!] Prepare eggs like you would if you were to scramble them. For example: Break them into a bowl, add about 1/4 cup of water and salt and pepper. Whisk. This is the way we prepare scrambled eggs and they are very good this way. Most people tend to use milk but we like them much better prepared with water, salt and pepper. They are much lighter. Pour eggs into heated skillet and allow the bottom to cook. Take a spatula and scoop the solid egg in from the edges and allow what’s left of the liquid egg to pour down under it so it can become solid [very similar to how you cook an open faced omelet]. Work the spatula all the way around the skillet and do this until you don’t have much of the liquid egg left. Once enough of the egg is cooked, sprinkle the flaked tuna over the top and place in the oven to broil for about 8 minutes or until the top of the egg is cooked [i.e. not runny anymore].

 

Feel Free To Link To Any Articles On This Page. If You Wish To Republish One Of These Articles, Please Contact The Original Author

About the Author:

Our mission is the education and advocacy of natural medicine and a holistic lifestyle. Anything from what we put into our bodies to the products we purchase to how we invest our money to how we treat the earth has an impact on our whole being and ultimately each other. Our magnificent innate ability to heal becomes repaired and enhanced with the help of wonderful practitioners and guides. We strive to work with top practitioners to bring helpful education in form of the news, events and this informative website to assist you on your wellness journey.
http://www.chicagohealers.com/naturopath-medicine-homeopathy-herbs/2nd-opinion-natural-health/
http://www.chicagohealers.com
http://www.chiagohealers.com/articles

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – What’s For Dinner?

avocado spread calories

are 2 avocados a day bad for me if trying to lose bodyfat and at the same time build muscle?

alright i dont follow calories, what i do is look at what i need a day in macro-nutrients so i i’ll only count the grams i need in carbs, fats, and protein. so if i’m within my range in these three maco-nutrients (especially fats) i should be ok right? also i spread them out to 6 meals a day.

I know that you don’t go by calories… but since you are trying to lose weight it only makes sense that I explain it that way since the only way you can lose it is if you create a calorie deficit (3,500 calories = one pound). One medium hass avocado has about 276 calories so eating two of them won;t blow you’re diet at all. Besides, the type of fat a hass avocado supplies is monounsaturated and heart healthy, so basically they’re a great choice.

When cooking dinner, many people think in terms of calorie counting or what they’re “craving†at the time. Food can be broken down into basically two categories: Energy (calories from fat,
carbohydrates and protein) and Nourishment (the nutrient density of the food; vitamins and
minerals contents). When determining your menu plan we recommend first to think of
“Nourishmentâ€. It’s the nourishment aspect of your meal that contains the vitamins and minerals needed for the thousands of metabolic reactions occurring in the body. But, you also need the “energy†portion of this equation so that your cells have the fuel to drive these metabolic reactions.

Keep in mind; foods do not contain ONLY calcium or ONLY carbohydrate or ONLY protein. Foods are a mixture of a little bit of everything. Yet, individual foods are typically known for the largest
percentage of energy or nourishment that it provides. For example, when we say “nuts are a great source of quality fatsâ€, we are communicating that they contain a large percentage of fat per volume. However, nuts are a good source of protein as well. So, you can use nuts to boost the protein or fat content of your meal.

When choosing what you’ll eat for your bigger meals like breakfast, lunch or dinner, we suggest this standard thought process:

1. Nourishment: Choose at least 2 fruits and vegetables. This can be a combo of 1 fruit and 1
vegetable or 2 vegetables. You can choose more vegetables for the meal if you like but your
biggest meals need to include at least 2 servings from the fruit/vegetable category. Try to
mix it up! Don’t eat the same fruits and vegetables all the time.

2. Protein: you must have protein with every meal. 25-35% of the meal needs to be of a protein source. Protein can come from plant based sources like beans, seeds, nut, sprouts, and quinoa or it can come from animal based sources like fish, eggs, chicken, turkey and
possibly small amounts of red meat if OK’d by your nutritionist. If you have a normal serum
ferritin and normal serum iron, then 4-6oz of red meat should be OK for you to consume on
a weekly basis.

3. Carbohydrates: this is your main energy source. It’s the primary fuel that your cells prefer. Depending on your activity level and diabetic status, we recommend 40-60%.
Carbohydrates come from many food sources but when thinking in terms of a side dish of
carbohydrates, we are implying mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, whole grain bread, or
couscous. Your fruits and veggies are also a good source of carbohydrates.

4. Fats: there should always be some source of fat in your meal. Fat contains many nutrients such as A, D, E, and K and is required to absorb certain nutrients like CoQ10. You meal should contain anywhere from 15-25% fat. If your meal contains animal proteins, then
there will be some fat consumed from the meat. Other quality sources of fat to consider are
raw olive oil (use it to dip your whole grain bread in! Yum!), coconut butter (cook with it,
spread on corn on the cob, spread on whole grain bread or crackers), avocados, seeds and
nuts.

Tuna Frittata
Ingredients:
8 eggs
12 oz cooked flaked tuna

Instructions:
Preheat oven on high broil. On the stove top, heat a deep, oven proof skillet with 2-4 tablespoons of oil on medium. [try using coconut oil!] Prepare eggs like you would if you were to scramble them. For example: Break them into a bowl, add about 1/4 cup of water and salt and pepper. Whisk. This is the way we prepare scrambled eggs and they are very good this way. Most people tend to use milk but we like them much better prepared with water, salt and pepper. They are much lighter. Pour eggs into heated skillet and allow the bottom to cook. Take a spatula and scoop the solid egg in from the edges and allow what’s left of the liquid egg to pour down under it so it can become solid [very similar to how you cook an open faced omelet]. Work the spatula all the way around the skillet and do this until you don’t have much of the liquid egg left. Once enough of the egg is cooked, sprinkle the flaked tuna over the top and place in the oven to broil for about 8 minutes or until the top of the egg is cooked [i.e. not runny anymore].

 

Feel Free To Link To Any Articles On This Page. If You Wish To Republish One Of These Articles, Please Contact The Original Author

About the Author:

Our mission is the education and advocacy of natural medicine and a holistic lifestyle. Anything from what we put into our bodies to the products we purchase to how we invest our money to how we treat the earth has an impact on our whole being and ultimately each other. Our magnificent innate ability to heal becomes repaired and enhanced with the help of wonderful practitioners and guides. We strive to work with top practitioners to bring helpful education in form of the news, events and this informative website to assist you on your wellness journey.
http://www.chicagohealers.com/naturopath-medicine-homeopathy-herbs/2nd-opinion-natural-health/
http://www.chicagohealers.com
http://www.chiagohealers.com/articles

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – What’s For Dinner?

avocado raw soup

There has been so much confusion about the topic of good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates in recent years… I wanted to help clear up some of that confusion for you and set you on a clearer path to lifelong fat loss success and healthier eating.

First of all, although I am not a “low carb” believer (I certainly don’t think extremely low carbohydrate diets are healthy), I do believe that one of the main reasons that the vast majority of people struggle to ever lose weight is that they are over-consuming processed refined carbohydrates such as pasta, bagels, breads, cereals, rice, muffins, sodas, juices, candies, crackers, etc.

It is exceedingly hard to lose weight if you are over-consuming any of these types of refined processed carbohydrates (even if you work out extremely hard). In addition to causing big blood sugar swings and insulin surges that stimulate direct body fat storage, eating too many carbohydrates also increases your cravings and overall appetite.

Even carbohydrate sources that most people think are “healthy” really are just excess calories that do not really contain significant nutrient density… and many types of breads and cereals claim to be “whole grain” through clever marketing although in reality, the first ingredient in them is refined flour, which is just going to spike your blood sugar and create an insulin surge. After years of eating excess processed carbohydrates, it becomes harder and harder for insulin to do it’s job and continue handling all of this blood sugar, and insulin resistance and eventual type 2 diabetes can occur in many people.

My opinion on this is that the majority of people struggling to lose weight would get much better results by following these types of guidelines:

1. Reduce overall grain-based foods in your diet (pasta, cereal, crackers, rice, etc) and focus more of your diet on healthy free range, grass-fed meats and eggs, raw grass-fed dairy, and a whole lot of vegetables.

2. Instead of grains for most of your carbohydrate intake, try getting most of your carbs from veggies, sweet potatoes, and a variety of berries and whole fruits (NOT fruit juices, which remove the beneficial fiber as well as other important nutrients in the fruit)

3. If you are going to get any grains at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fibrous portions of the grain… the bran and the germ. This means that the healthiest ideas are using oat bran instead of oat meal, and using wheat germ and rice bran by adding them to your salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, soups, smoothies, etc. This way you get all of the most nutrient dense parts of the grains without all of the excess starches and calories.

4. To replace the void if you are accustomed to consuming large quantities of cereals, bread, pasta, and other carbohydrate sources… try filling that void with additional healthy fats such as avocados, guacamole, nuts, seeds, nut butters as well as healthy proteins such as grass-fed raw dairy and grass fed meats, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fats and protein sources go a long way to satisfying your appetite, controlling proper blood sugar and hormone levels, and helping you to make real progress on weight loss for life.

With all of that said, here’s one of my favorite carbohydrate sources that is high in fiber as well as contains a high density of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals… it is yams and/or sweet potatoes. Try slicing them into thin slivers and sauteeing them with a few tablespoons of water in a pan for about 5 minutes for a quicker healthy carb (instead of baking them for over an hour). Finish them off with a touch of grass-fed organic butter and some cinnamon and you’ve got a delicous and healthy carbohydrate side dish!

For more unique exercise and diet techniques for losing your stubborn stomach fat, go to Workouts & Diet Tips for Losing Belly Fat Fast

Discover how to do fast and furious workouts at home by using our Four Minute Bodyweight & Dumbbell Home Workouts

Mike Geary is the best-selling author of The Truth about Six Pack Abs, with over 100,000 readers in over 150 countries. Mike is also an avid skier and creator of one of the most comprehensive Skier Fitness Training Routines

About the Author:

To find out more, lose body fat, get a six pack or just improve your health Click Here

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How to lose weight fast

You probably know by now what detoxification is and the ways that it can be done. A detox diet provides the simplest way to detoxifying yourself. A rule of thumb in detox diets: the more fiber and water, the better. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits, beans and nuts. On the other hand, steer clear of caffeine, carbonated drinks, sugars like chocolates, alcohol and yeast.

Dr. Kiki Sidhwa recommends going on a monotrophic diet after a three-day fast. By monotrophic, we mean eating only one type of fruit for every meal. Example, for breakfast, you can eat apple. For lunch, try out oranges or pineapples. Eat until your hunger is satisfied. You can squeeze in a grapefruit juice at around 4 pm for your snack. And in the evening, eat only apples, pears, grapes or bananas.

Of course, this is just one of those do-it-yourself diet plans that you can take on when you’re on a detox program. For most people, however, detox recipes are the best way to go. These detox recipes are especially designed to provide you with the necessary nutrient in the body and at the same time, providing you with the necessary antioxidants and substances that will cleanse your body from toxins.
For more fluid intake, you can try Ginger Healing Tea with Turmeric. What you need are the following: 2 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of tumeric, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and lemon extract. To make your special healing tea, add powdered herbs to boiling water and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the tea into a mug and add maple syrup and lemon extract. Stir and whalaaah— you can start drinking!

For breakfast, you can try the vegetable super juice. This juice gives you the needed energy boost for your senses, wakens your digestive system and can keep you going until lunchtime. For starters, you need 1 whole cucumber, 4 celery sticks, 2-4 handfuls of spinach, 8 lettuce leaves. You can also add other green vegetables like parsley and fresh alfalfa sprouts. The process is easy and simple, juice all ingredients and add distilled water. You can also add lemon juice for better taste.

And now for lunch, try the Alkalising RAW Soup. All you need are 1 avocado, 2 spring onions, 1/2 red or green pepper, 1 cucumber, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1/2 clove of garlic, 100 ml of light vegetable Bouillon, lemon or lime juice and Bragg Liquid Aminos for added taste. Just like our vegetable juice, the recipe is simple and easy to do. Blend the avocado and stock to form a light paste. Add other ingredients and blend. And then you can start eating!

Our dinner treat is Warm Broccoli Soup. All you need is 1/2 avocado, 6-8 broccoli heads, 1/3 red onion, 1 celery stick, a big handful of spinach, inch of root ginger, cumin and bragg liquid amino for added taste. Lightly steam the broccoli for 5-6 minutes. After steaming, blend all the ingredients together and add garlic and pepper to taste. This is perfect for a cold winter night.

Feeling hungry still? These recipes are just few of the hundred other detox recipes available on the net. The key here is to pack yourself with enough water and nutrients to keep you going without ingesting a plateful of additives, sugars and food preservatives. So what are you waiting for? Start eating healthy!

About the Author:

To read about milk thistle benefits, rsd symptoms and other information, visit the Health And Nutrition Tips site.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Simple Detoxification Recipes

avocado vs butter fruit

It seems as though the world is getting more confused than ever about the right way to lose weight these days. One of the problems is information overload on the internet and so called “gurus” all contradicting one another.

One of the biggest areas that I see my clients more confused than ever is the topic of carbohydrates and trying to figure out good carbs vs bad carbs or if they should try to follow some sort of low carb or no carb diet.

First of all, although I really don’t believe in “low carb” or “no carb” diets, I do believe that one of the main reasons so many people struggle with excess weight and body fat is that they overeat refined processed carbs such as cereal, pasta, rice, bagels, muffins, bread (even whole grain types), soda, juice, candy, crackers, etc.

It is very hard to lose any weight if you are overeating any of these types of carbs (even if you work out extremely hard). In addition to creating major blood sugar fluctuations and stimulating insulin surges (which promotes body fat deposition), eating too many carbohydrates also increases your appetite and cravings for more processed sugars and starches.

Even carb food sources that most people think are healthy are really just excess calories that do not really give you much in the way of nutrient density… and many types of bread and cereals pretend to be “whole grain” through their deceptive labeling, while in reality the 1st ingredient in them is processed refined flour, which is just going to spike your blood sugar and create a hormonal mess in your body.

My take on it is that the majority of people frustrated and struggling to lose weight would do much better following these types of recommendations:

1. Reduce grain-based carbohydrate foods in your diet (cereals, pastas, breads, rice, crackers, and so on) & focus more of the diet on healthy grass-fed and free-range meat and eggs, grass-fed raw dairy, and lots and lots of veggies.

2. Instead of the grains based foods for most of your carbohydrates, try getting most of your carbs from veggies, sweet potatoes (and yams), and a variety of whole fruits and berries (but NOT fruit juices, which remove the blood sugar blunting fiber as well as other essential parts of the fruit)

3. If you are going to eat any grain foods at all, focus on the most nutrient dense and fiber-rich portions of the grain… the bran and the germ… For example, you could eat oat bran instead of oatmeal, and use rice bran and wheat germ more frequently by adding to your soups, salads, yogurt, cottage cheese, and so on. This way you get all of the most beneficial nutrient dense portions of the grains without all of the excess starches and calories.

4. To replace the void if you are used to consuming lots of bread, pasta, cereals, and other carb sources… try replacing those foods with more healthy fat sources such as seeds, nuts, nut butters, avocados, guacamole, etc, as well as healthy protein sources such as raw grass-fed dairy and meat, whole free-range organic eggs, etc. Healthy fat and protein are ever so important for controlling your appetite, maintaining proper hormone and blood sugar levels, and helping you to make real progress on permanent weight loss.

With all of that said, a couple of my favorite healthy carb sources that are high in fiber as well as tons of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are sweet potatoes, yams, any other root vegetables, any and all vegetables in general, & any and all berries and whole fruits.

What I’ve found with most of my clients is that once they start reducing the amount of grain-based foods in their diet and replace that with more of the carb sources I listed above as well as ample amounts of healthy fats and proteins, their weight starts falling off much faster and they finally gain control of their appetite and cravings for life. Give it a shot!

About the Author:

Here’s an interesting article about glycemic index and carbs, potatoes

Another article about some of the confusing issues revolving around Working Out, Diets, and Lifestyle Tips for Losing Body Fat

More info to help you out – How to Lose Belly Fat and Get 6 Pack Abs

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Lose Weight Easier by Knowing Good Carbohydrates vs Bad Carbs