Well, I am not crazy about fad diets but I just came back from vacation and I noticed that I had gained 5 pounds. After having croissants every day for breakfast, (I was in France), beer in the afternoon, salami sandwiches, french fries every day (did I say I was in France?) and steak with sauce bernaise, I definitely came back with a little extra baggage.
So I decided to go on the Grapefruit Diet. I always thought it was a real fad diet, but recent studies have made me change my mind. Continue reading →
Posted in: Weight Loss Plans.
Drinking at least one glass of low sodium vegetable juice such as V8 every day may help dieters lose more weight.
In a recent study of 81 people, those who drank at least 8 ounces of vegetable juice in addition to a healthy diet, lost 4 pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but did not drink the juice only lost one pound.
Most of the participants in the study were women and showed excess belly fat. Their diet consisted of fruits, vegetables, lots of fiber, low fat dairy products and proteins low in fat. In addition, they were told to drink between one and 2 cups of vegetable low sodium juice such as V8 for 12 weeks.
Just look at the benefits:
V8 is not expensive and easy to carry
You increase vitamin C and potassium intake, while decreasing their overall carbohydrate intake.
You get the recommended 3 to 5 servings of vegetables daily.
Posted in: Low Calorie Snacks.
We have all done it. We start on a weight loss program, start to shed pounds, and then comes an occasional holiday, birthday party, wedding and bam! we go and pig out.
And just because we ate what we are not supposed to, we give up and start cheating the next day.
The best way to handle a situation like this, is to forgive yourself and forget it ever happened. That’s right. Experts say that just because you cheated on one meal (even one entire day) your goal should be to get back on track. Just because you ate few extra calories one day, it doesn’t meant you are going to gain weight.
Here are a few pointers to get back on track:
1- Ask yourself what was the reason you “cheated” in the first place. Is it because your diet goals are unrealistic? Perhaps you are starving yourself in order to get to your target weight faster and you need to change portions or add more calories to your diet.
2- Forgive and forget. The sooner you forgive youself, the sooner you’ll forget about it. This is very important because it will take you to the next step.
3- Restart your plan as soon as possible. If you over-ate on one particular meal, or one particular day, eat a little lighter the next day.
These steps might seem like a no-brainer, but many people get discouraged because they binge one day, and they blow all the progress they had made so far.
Don’t let guilty feelings get to you. You are in control and it was your decision to start on the diet so now it will be your decision to go back on track.
Posted in: Diet Tips.
Try this low fat low calorie treat, instead of a Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks concotions.
Pour some coffee in a cup, then open a package of
Swiss Miss No Sugar Hot Chocolate mix to the coffee.
You can even add a dash of skim or low fat milk for extra flavor. Voila… heaven at 3 PM
Not only is it rich in calcium, you also get the benfits
of chocolate, some fiber and a lot of pleasure.
You can dump the Starbucks Caffe Mocha
which has 200 calories (SMALL) or the
Dunkin’s Mocha Swirl Latte Small 220 calories
Coffee : 2calories 0g fat 0 carbs 0.3gprotein
coffee = almost zero calories
swiss miss = 60 calories 1 gram fat 0 saturated fat
skim milk = about 20 calories in about 1/4 cup
Hey! That’s definitely worth trying isn’t it?
Posted in: Low Calorie Snacks.
Avoid those mini-packs. Why? They are more tempting because they claim that they are “healthier” and you are led to believe that having just a bit of those oreo cookies, will satisfy you.
While it is true that smaller portions is the key to healthy eating,
according to a recent study, a small portion or a bite of something you crave and has made you gain weight in the past, it may only trigger a desire for more sugary snacks an hour later.
This might be because that chocolate bar may have been a comfort food in the past, something that was perhaps filling an emotional need instead of satisfying hunger.
The solution?
Take a small handfull of healthy trail mix instead. The small amount of sugar from the dried fruits and the oil and protein in the nuts is a more complete snack from a nutrition point of view.
Drink some water. Very often people confuse hunger and thirst.
If your craving is emotional, take a long walk. Exercise has been proven to curb cravings for chocoholics. The reason? Walking briskly releases endorphins (the anti-stress, feel-good hormones produced by your body when you exercise) Can’t walk because your are at the office? Take the stairs instead of the elevator, and do it fast.
By the time the oxygen reaches your brain, you will have forgotten about your sweet cravings.
Posted in: Diet Tips.
