Blog on weight, How to Lose Fat on the Cheap

There’s no calories to count or cutting out major food groups. You swap the bad fats for heart-healthy fats like olive oil. You’ll eat fish and poultry instead of red meat. And eat fruit instead of fancy desserts. You’ll eat more veggies and beans. Nuts are a mainstay, but only one handful a day. You can also have whole-grain bread and wine in moderation. All the food is fresh, seasonal foods prepared in simple, easy ways.  You can have bread and pasta made from whole-grain. Whole grain gives you more protein and minerals.Try whole-grain pita bread dipped in olive oil and hummus. You will eat fats but good fats from olive oil, avocados, and nuts. The menu will be huge. The Mediterranean region takes in Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Morocco and many others. You can use a lot more spices to flavor your food. Most Mediterranean meals are small plates of cheese, olives, tomatoes, beans and peppers. And of course pita bread. And like all Mediterranean peop...

"If you don't reduce your calorie intake, you won't slim down", researcher warns Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is often recommended as a way to lose weight, but doing so may not help you shed excess pounds, according to researchers. They reviewed data from more than seven studies that examined how increased fruit and vegetable consumption affected weight loss. "Across the board, all studies we reviewed showed a near-zero effect on weight loss," Kathryn Kaiser, an instructor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a university news release. "So I don't think eating more [fruits and vegetables] alone is necessarily an effective approach for weight loss because just adding them on top of whatever foods a person may be eating is not likely to cause weight change," she added. "Overly simplified messages don't seem to be very effective," she added. However, Kaiser and her coll...

Our body fat is indeed different depending on its location. Subcutaneous fat is the layer of fat just under the skin, all over the body. Visceral fat is located deep in the abdominal cavity around the organs. We have a limited amount of control over the distribution of our body fat. Body fat distribution varies by age, gender, ethnicity, and genetics. You may have a normal BMI – thinking your weight is not putting your health at risk – but have a waist circumference that indicates abdominal obesity. By waist circumference, abdominal obesity is defined as 35 inches for women, 40 for men. Abdominal obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and later life dementia. A large waist circumference has been linked to negative outcomes even among people with normal BMI numbers. Additionally, some studies have compared two groups of obese patients with the same total body fat, but low or high levels of visceral fat. The high visceral fat groups were found to...

When you’re trying to lose weight or keep off extra pounds, can diet soda help? While it has fewer calories than regular soda, some studies show it fuels your sweet tooth. Which means it makes you crave sweet foods or drinks. It's one more way the food industry has to try and keep you wanting more. Also, are artificially sweetened sodas good for your health? Several studies this year continue the debate. My personal feelings is that the chemicals used to make artificial sweeteners can't be good for you. The Food And Drug Administration has the same old reasoning for allowing it, "It's such a small amount, it won't hurt you."  Of course, if you drink six a day, then it's not a small amount any more is it. Earlier this year, in January, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reported that overweight and obese people who drink diet sodas tend to eat more calories during meals and from snacks throughout the day than those who drink ...

Worrying starts a spiral downward that you can’t stop. Worrying starts by causing depression. You have a big problem that you have no solution for. Maybe it’s about money or maybe something with your marriage, or maybe a problem with a child. Yes, these may seem like insurmountable problems. And these types of huge problems in your life will cause you to change your routine. You’re not thinking about your health, you’re not making time for exercise or relationships, instead you’re worrying. If you’re worried about money or your job, then your worrying about how you can cut your budget and that usually starts with the food budget.  Did You know the major cause of "Obesity" is stress caused by worrying. Eating low cost food is simply eating food with bulk and very little nourishment. Foods that are high in nourishment are costly. We all know that the grocery stores charge more for healthier foods. Buy organic fruits and vegetables at an open market and see the difference...

Sometimes we do some really dumb things that keep our diet from working. Read this post for some tips on how to keep your diet on track. Don't drink your calories.  Beverages are bottomless these days. You can't order a soft drink or iced tea at a restaurant without being provided quick, free refills, or having the freedom to get them yourself. To keep from drinking a day's worth of calories, choose herbal tea, unsweetened iced tea, flavored water or ice water with a spritz of lemon or lime. If none of those choices suits you, allow yourself one glass of the "real thing" and drink only water thereafter. Calories from sodas and other sweetened beverages add up to mega inches on your waistline and many pounds on the scale. Eat a healthy breakfast.  Taking the time to eat may help prevent costly calorie mistakes as the day progresses. If you skip your morning meal, you might fall victim to an out-of-control afternoon ap...

Hara Hachi Bu: The Okinawan's Secret to Longevity Experts Attribute Longevity to the Traditional Okinawan Diet By Mark Stibich, PhD This post is worth your time. I have believed in calorie reduction way before I knew about the people of Okinawa.  More Okinawans live over 100, by percentage of their population, then anywhere else on earth. And maybe that has something to do with genes. But I do know that calorie reduction is the healthy way to eat. The less body fat you have, the more energy you'll have, the more active you'll be, and the less your heart has to work. It is a fact, that if you do stay healthy and live a long life that you will usually die because your heart stops. Hara hachi bu is one of many and lifestyle customs that medical professionals in the western world attribute to the Okinawa's famously long and healthy lives. The Practice of Hara Hachi Bu The Japanese phrase,  hara hachi bun me , roughly translates into English as "belly 8...