Showing posts with label Foods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foods. Show all posts

2011/07/07

Six Top Foods for Weight Loss: Eat These and Slim Down Without Dieting!

If you were asked, could you name the top six foods for weight loss? I'm sure you'd be able to name off some of them, but if you'd like to lose weight without dieting, you'll want to read my list to find out for sure! I created it only after I lost weight myself, by following this same list. Read on to learn these easy secrets!

Here's how the list was born. Rich and I were in Mexico and decided to lose weight together. But we had a problem. You see, we were heading back to the U.S. and traveling for 30 days. This meant that and we wouldn't have time to focus on our diet. Yet, we wanted to lose weight - and certainly didn't want to fall into the "travel-weight-gain" rut while eating with family and friends. (in other words, we wanted our cake and eat it too!)

So before we left, we decided to concentrate on the foods we'd been eating, which were helping us lose weight already. And guess what? A month later, we each weigh about 8 pounds lighter...all while enjoying good times visiting, traveling and dining out. We were so surprised, since this has never happened before.

Now I'd like to share these Top 6 Foods for Weight Loss with you!

Six Top Foods for Weight Loss:

Okay, technically these are groups or categories of foods, but here goes!

Food #1 - Veggies, veggies, veggies!! During that month, our diet consisted of 50% veggies. We ate onions, peppers, fresh pico de gallo, hot peppers, garlic, broccoli, squash, sweet potatoes, avocados, salads, and so on.

We'd bake a potato or sweet potato and top it off with a veggie stir fry, then adding salsa and a dash of unsweetened Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. It was delicious, and paired with fish, making a great meal!

Food #2 - Juice: Stay away from most processed veggie juices, as well as sweet fruit juices. Instead, drink pure, fresh carrot juice! If you don't want to make it yourself, you can buy a jug of 100% Odwalla carrot juice, which is fresher than most processed juice.

For lunch I'd blend up some fresh spinach, carrot juice, hemp protein, and a bit of unsweetened almond milk for a tasty lunch drink. We'd try and have juice for lunch or breakfast 5-7 times a week.

Food #3 - Lentils and beans: We ate lentils and beans instead of grains. They're all 'slow carbs', meaning they don't spike your insulin levels- so your liver doesn't store your meals as fat. You can top lentils off with salsa, too. Get creative with your lentils and beans. Make a 3-bean salad, or a lentil soup - adding veggie broth, a few carrots and celery.

Food #4 - Clean proteins such as fish and eggs: Wild caught fish is great for you, as it provides an excellent source of Omega 3 oils, as well as a clean protein that's easy to digest and use for fuel. We simply pan fried a white fish in oil, garlic, onion and hot peppers. Or, for a change we'd fry our white fish in coconut oil, adding coconut flakes, ginger and almond slivers. We also ate a few organic eggs every morning - with lentils, beans and a helping of salsa or a touch of freshly-made guacamole. Rich eats some meats, but tried to limit them to 2-3 times a week, as they're full of antibiotics and hormones.

Food #5 - Healthy Fats: I mentioned the coconut oil a moment ago. We use it because it has a higher flash point, which means it's better for cooking over hot heat as it doesn't turn rancid like olive oil does. It's high in saturated fat, but unlike most other saturated fats, it's processed differently in the body, so used in moderation, is an excellent choice.

My favorite cooking oil is macadamia nut oil, which is low in saturated fats AND has a high flash point! For salads and cold dishes, olive oil is still my top choice. Raw almond butter on celery or raw almonds are an excellent snack in moderation, too.

Food #6 - Healthy seasonings and condiments: I used to prepare my food with plenty of salt, pepper, margarine and mayo. During my stint living in Mexico I adjusted my taste buds for the better. The seasonings we used instead were cayenne pepper, cilantro, rosemary, mustard seed, dill and other herbs, red pepper flakes, fresh ground black pepper, chili-lime seasoning, cumin, and a dash of sea salt.

Other condiments included fresh pico de gallo, salsa, guacamole, Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, Greek yogurt, and an occasional dab of organic butter.

About 80% of our diet focused around these foods. So what else did we eat?

As with many things in life, the 80/20 rule worked for us!...

The other 20% consisted of beverages such as coffee (2 cups a day with creamer and stevia - no sugar), and about 3-6 beers per week -since it was hot in Mexico! Other foods included a few bananas and a little pineapple or berries, 3-4 ice cream bars per week, a couple of small chocolate bars, 4-6 corn tortillas (no wheat), a little deep fat fried fish (in our fish tacos), a little chipotle sauce, and one or two fast food meals like pizza, soda and fries!

How did we eat these foods and still lose weight?

Here are a few rules we followed:

Limiting sugar! We consumed no more than 30 grams of sugar per day- and ate it at one sitting, rather than eating sugar throughout the day. (30 grams equates to an ice cream bar or small chocolate bar). This helps avoid insulin spikes while eating meals. Now, it's not easy, since you have no sugar in your coffee and you don't eat many processed foods. We also limited fruits some because of the fructose, another form of sugar. This one guideline really helps you lose weight the most!

Limiting processed grains: While not as bad at producing insulin spikes, processed grains do add fat to your belly. This is partly because of the gluten they contain (think paste). Rice and corn doesn't have gluten, so those were our choices most often when we did eat. Breads made with sprouted grains are another good choice.

Eliminating most dairy: Consistent dairy consumption fattens you up, just like the baby cows. I made an exception with my creamer in my morning coffee - and with a little Greek Yogurt or occasional feta cheese. Salsa and pico does wonders for replacing cheese on many dishes.

That's it! We're happy to continue eating this way now, too. All told, Rich has lost 30 pounds in 4 months, I've lost 25 pounds, and we've never felt better!

Eating these foods tastes great, provides variety, feels good in your body - and you'll lose weight, too...simply by focusing on these top six foods for weight loss.

Katherine researches and writes articles about health, weight management and wellness topics. She has a Holistic Life Coach Certificate and has been writing for over 10 years.

Click here if you want to learn more about top six foods for weight loss. You'll also find a nutrient-rich diet you might want to check out on her website, called The Diet Solution Program.


View the original article here

2011/07/03

3 Foods to Burn Belly Fat

Do you want to get rid of belly fat?

If so, the first step you need to take is to modify your diet and have some foods that can make your body burn more fat.

3 Foods that Burn Belly Fat

1. Berries

Berries like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries top the list of foods that can make your body burn more fat. There are a couple of reasons behind this. First of all, berries are a rich source of antioxidants. Not just this, they are also rich in dietary fiber.

One of the most important properties of berries is that they regulate the absorption and digestion of sugar and carbohydrates in your body. One of the most interesting facts about berries is that they do not result in an spike in sugar levels. What it means is that they keep your Insulin levels low. Since Insulin is the hormone that is directly responsible for fat accumulation in your body, berries keep fat accumulation low by ensuring low Insulin levels.

But this is not all. Berries are of the negative calorie foods. Your body burns more calories in digesting them than their own caloric content.

Try having organic and fresh berries. Avoid tinned or processed berries that come with added or processed sugar.

2. Nuts

A lot of people avoid having nuts thinking that they are rich in oil. In fact, just a handful of nuts like almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts can make you feel full and reduce food cravings. They can be a great snack in between meals.

Nuts are rich in essential fats that boost the production of fat burning hormones in your body. Not just this, they do have zero sugar and this is why your body does not experience a spike in Insulin production after consuming them.

However, you must avoid dry roasted and slated nuts. They can spell a blunder for your weight loss plan. Try organic nuts instead.

3. Oatmeal

Oats are rich in soluble fiber. They ensure an increase in your energy levels. More importantly, your body hardly experience an Insulin spike after consuming oats. There are some great benefits of oatmeal. It not only helps reduce LDL cholesterol in your body but also helps flush out bad fatty acids from your system.

If you find oatmeal somewhat bland, add some nuts or fresh berries to it.

Fat Burning Supplements

In addition to the above foods, there are some highly effective fat burning supplements that can convert your body into a fat burning furnace so that you can have a flat belly within weeks.

Good quality fat burners not only ensure faster fat burning in your body but also helps reduce cravings by suppressing hunger.

So, If You Want to Get a Flat Belly, Check out the Best Fat Burn Pills that can strip off 3-5 Pounds from your body within a week and that too without any side effects.

Certain foods can be highly effective in making you lose weight so that you can get a perfect body shape and figure. Check out more on Foods to Burn Belly Fat by clicking here.


View the original article here

2011/06/28

Food to Avoid to Lose Weight! Mark These 4 Foods On Your Do-Not Eat List!

This article will give you base insights on food to avoid to lose weight. Did you know that weight loss is 80% the food you eat, and 20% the physical activity you do? It's true, I even know some athletes that don't believe this but people who workout hard but eat whatever they want simply don't achieve their fitness goals. It's because mostly everyone who embarks on losing weight simply aren't educated on the basics of what it takes to get a great body.

Food plays a primary role in not only nourishing your body but also building it and making it stronger. Lets talk about the food to avoid to lose weight.

1. Greasy deep-fried garbage

It's been shown that deep-fried foods, like french fries, onion rings, etc. is actually much much worse for your body than cheeseburgers, you can still lose weight if you eat cheeseburgers. Since most of that junk is drenched with hydrogenated oils, which are the worse manufactured oils, not the natural oils such as extra virgin olive oil which is the good oil.

2. Chips and dip

I know what you are thinking, "Ohh but they are for the big game.." The thing is with potato and tortilla chips is these foods are very high in empty calories, they do not have any vitamins and will mostly sit on the waist, a no-no treat if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Replace these with more nutritious options like unsalted dry roasted peanuts.

3. High Fructose Corn Syrup

If you ask me, this stuff will kill you. I hate this stuff, you can find this deadly ingredient in sodas, juices, breads, and lots of other stuff. It's highly synthetic, I would advise to stay away from this toxic.

4. Beer and other alcoholic beverages

Have you heard of the beer belly? It's fun to talk about it, but no one wants to have a beer belly. Steer away from beer and you will lose a lot more weight if you don't continue drinking it. Beer is full of empty calories that just sit on your belly, it turns into a big chunk of fat!

These are the primary foods that threat your goal of achieving the body you have always wanted. Let these go altogether and you will be that much closer to having the body of a lifetime. While you can't always watch what you eat, it's good to do it when you can.

Don't be left overweight! Apply the "secret" methods celebs and models use to get in amazing shape fast. Check out How To Get Six Pack Abs like supermodels and celebs do.

Don't wait another day before learning the secret methods of How To Lose Weight Fast that professional trainers use themselves and teach celebs!


View the original article here