| 1. |
What is the best diet
for me? |
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It is always important to start with
the basics of healthy eating and dieting. For dieting
alone cannot help you reach your weight loss goal. Besides
dieting is harmful for your health if you don't follow
it properly. Cutting down on your calories by reducing
the food intake is not the proper way to begin a diet
program or routine. Because when you control your food
consumption, you also lessen the ingestion of various
nutrients, which is essential for your body. As a result,
you will lose weight initially but gain back heavily.
Less nutrients in the body means that you are more prone
to various diseases. And once you get a viral attack
due to the unhealthy eating habits, dieting has to stop.
Mean while your hands will reach everywhere to pick
up the foodstuffs you had missed while dieting. Therefore,
it's very important to choose the right diet, which
would suit your body requirements. |
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Good diet nutrition |
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The diet should be nutritious in vitamins,
minerals and fiber. Vegetables, fruit, potatoes, wheat
bread, rice, pasta, beans, soy and whole grain cereals
are all good carbohydrates and good for health. Vegetables
and fruits contain photochemical, enzymes and micronutrients,
which is necessary for good metabolism. |
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Good fats in reduced amounts
|
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Good fats are vital for our body. But
it should be taken in limited quantities if you intend
to lose weight. Choose lean lower fat foods when eating
animal foods. You should also encourage good food shopping
and less oily cooking habits. |
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The right diet |
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We will not recommend any diet programs
for your body but will guide you with the basic principles,
which will help you choose the right diet program for
yourself.
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You choose a plan after consulting
a doctor and stick to it. Allow your body to get
adjusted to it. Give it sufficient time and later
see how your body reacts to it
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The formula for low calorie diet
is to eat lesser calories. If you over eat on
a particular day see to it that you consume even
fewer calories the next day. This will balance
the extra calories you had. If you enter, weight
loss programs like low carb diets then you can't
afford to eat a calorie more on any day. If you
do, the chemistry of the diet will change and
it will affect all your hard work
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If you lose weight fast, you will
gain it faster. And it is also considered unhealthy
|
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Take one-step at a time. Enjoy the weight
program you have chosen. Positive approach and determination
will help you reach your goal faster. Make exercise
a habit in your life. There is nothing as good as eating
healthy and exercising well. |
| 2. |
What is a low carb diet? |
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Low carb diets follow the principle that
a diet very low in carbohydrate leads to reduction of
insulin in the body resulting in fat and protein stores
being used as its main energy source. Here, the body
uses fat as its main energy. Then the body produces
ketone bodies to fuel body parts, which cannot use fat
as energy source, the brain and red blood cells. |
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In this diet, you eliminate all carbohydrates
from your diet and supplement it with protein and fat.
You stay away from pasta, bread, rice and alcohol but
eat unlimited amounts of meat, butter and cheese. Dr.
Robert Atkins made the low carb diet popular in 1970's.
Because it includes rich foods in the program, Atkins
diet claims to be luxurious. |
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A low carb diet does lead to weight reduction.
Majority of the weight loss comes from water loss and
muscle tissue. A decline for tissues means a decrease
in the number of calories you need each day to maintain
your weight. |
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Net carbs: |
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There are carbohydrates that are not
digested and it passes through the body. Alternatively,
they are digested but have little impact on blood sugar.
This is why some low carb diet plans suggest counting
net carbs instead of total carbohydrates. It is calculated
by subtracting the carbs that do not affect the blood
sugar level. |
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Researchers debate over the long term
effects of a low carb diet. It restricts the consumption
of carbs but allows good quantities of animal protein
and fat. But many of the foods which low carb diet restricts
are associated to good health. |
| 3. |
What's a low fat diet? |
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The aim of a low fat diet is to decrease
the amount of calories that are taken from fat. This
diet will help you lower your blood cholesterol levels.
High cholesterol levels increases your risk of heart
disease. And people who are obese often have higher
levels of cholesterol. |
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Your fat intake should only be one -
third or less of your daily calories. So take low fat
foods. Cut meat from fats before cooking them. Do not
fry meat or fish instead bake, roast or boil. Steam
vegetables and don't sauté them in butter. Try to add
less fat to foods. |
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Following a low fat diet doesn't mean
forgoing fatty foods. We need certain essential fats
to stay healthy. But when ever possible choose low fat
brands that are low in sugar. This diet is certainly
better for your health and weight. It is good for your
heart. It is better for preventing cancer. Moreover,
for your health and weight, there is no better diet
plan than low fat diet. Low fats also lead to long-term
weight control. |
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In order to follow this plan you need
to avoid saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and trans
fatty acids. Saturated fat allows the risk of heart
disease. Avoid it by keeping away from meat and dairy
products. In vegetable oils such as corn oil and sunflower
oil, we can see polyunsaturated fat. . A healthy alternative
to this is sticking to olive oil, which is health friendly.
In processed foods, margarines and snack foods, you
come across trans fatty acids. Avoid TFA's by eating
unrefined foods. |
| 4. |
What is a low calorie diet? |
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Reducing the number of calories you intake
is the simplest form of dieting. A low calorie diet
is based on eating smaller amounts of calorie rich foods
through out the day. You could diet on ice creams and
lose
weight. You could diet on cheesecakes and lose weight.
Nevertheless, take note of the pit falls. |
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This form of dieting will help in temporary
weight loss but will lead to hunger and poor nutrition.
Once you go off the diets, you will put on all the calories
that you have burned. And this could prove to be harmful
for your health and confidence. If you eat food rich
in nutrients and fiber and low in calories, you will
eat more but will gain less weight. |
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The macronutrients: fat, protein and
carbohydrates provide the total number of calories in
food. Therefore, your weight gain or weight loss depends
on how you have balanced the consumption of various
nutrients. |
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However, without proper exercise, good
nutrition and a healthy diet plan you cannot carry forward
a diet program for a long time. So any diet will be
more effective if you cut down the intake of a variety
of foods that are harmful for your diet. Or eat all
these in moderate quantities so that you form a good
balance in your every day food habits leading to gradual
weight loss for a long-term goal. |
| 5. |
How can I lose weight quickly, safely
and keep it off? |
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Firstly, there is nothing like losing
weight quickly. Though many weight loss programs stress
on these, after the initial weight shredding due to
water and muscle loss, your weight stays to double.
So, this pattern is not recommended at all. If you are
convinced about a particular diet, plan and want to
try it out, go on and stick to it. Don't expect sudden
results. But allow your body to get adjusted to the
new food patterns. After a while, analyze to see if
your body is responding to the weight loss program. |
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Lose your weight, but do it wisely:
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The best way to lose weight is
to eat healthy and eat smart
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Eat food which contains good nutrients
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Lots of vegetables, fruits, lean
meats, cereals, whole wheat, beans etc are health
friendly
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Exercise regularly. Walking, jogging,
aerobics or playing any sport will do you good
|
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With many of us, it would be a depressing
weight loss period in our life. Think about losing weight
and gaining almost double of it. The worst mistake one
makes is going back to your pre- weight loss program
diet. Because that was unhealthy, you will only put
on more weight if you follow it. Instead, you should
be ready to follow a balanced diet program once you
are out of a diet plan. You shouldn't over indulge but
eat what is necessary and in small quantities. Increase
the intake of fiber. It will fill you up and keep you
fit. Always exercise because there is no other way to
good health. Losing weight and maintaining it are not
easy, as it may seem. But if it could boost your self-esteem,
improve your confidence and positively change your personality,
then weight loss is a blessing in disguise. |
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