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Misconceptions about Mediterranean Foods and Weight Loss

Mediterranean diets are one way to lose weight and keep your cardiovascular system in good health. These diet plans are preferred by many because they can enjoy Italian-based accompaniments like a glass of red wine with dinner and small dessert every day. What many do not realize is that the typical American’s idea of “Mediterranean” is often based on the common Italian foods we knew as kids. However, a real Mediterranean diet is heavy on fish and seafood topped with light sauces, rather than huge helpings of pasta and heavy sauces at each meal.

Avoid Americanized Portions

Authentic Italian meals rarely consist of heaping mounds of pasta flooded with a heavy marinara sauce and served with large slices of garlic bread. Research shows that in a real Italian diet, people eat several small meals in a day. Each of these meals contains much smaller portions than Americans expect to see. Fruits, nuts, and fresh vegetables make up the largest part of meals, which do not center around large meat dishes.

More Fish, Less Red Meat

The Italians eat more fish and seafood than any other European countries. The nutrients in fish can help you develop a stronger immune system and overall improved health. Italians eat very little red meat in their regular diet. If you believe that spaghetti with meatballs is a cornerstone of the Italian diet, you will be sadly surprised to learn that Italians eat meat maybe once a week. Many meals do not include meat dishes at all, but rely on cheese for protein.

Moderation is the Key

The power behind the Mediterranean diet is moderation. Italians like to eat a wide variety of foods in smaller portions so that they can enjoy several different flavors at each meal. If you only eat a plate of baked pasta at lunch, you are missing the benefits that come with a true Mediterranean diet. The best way to approach Mediterranean food is to plan to eat a small amount of something from each food group at each meal. Think about foods that are natural to the Italian climate, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Pay attention to flavors and spices to ensure a greater variety of tastes and textures.

Pasta should be Used Sparingly

The American idea of Italian food generally starts with pasta. While Italians do eat some pasta every day, they usually only have it with one meal. The pasta is never the central feature of the dish, either. If you really want to start a Mediterranean diet, you can’t go straight for the spaghetti and pizza. The most successful and healthy Italian diets contain a measured amount of all healthy foods available to residents of the Mediterranean.

Jessica Bosari writes on topics important to dieters and discusses top weight loss diet programs at WeightLossTriumph.com. The site is a helpful resource for those seeking Nutrisystem promos and coupons or the Medifast savings coupon for March.

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Acai Berry dieting exercise weight loss

Why You Shall Not Be Lured By Synthetic Diet Products

If you are quite desperate to lose some excess fats from your body and you want the quickest way to accomplish it, then dieting is probably not for you. Hence, you might stop wishing and dreaming for a perfectly fit and healthy-looking body figure. Moreover, you no longer have a hope if you want to resort in using synthetic weight loss supplement products that you see in different ads everywhere. Actually, you are not alone in being a victim of these fake, synthetic and chemical-based medicines that are allegedly capable of making you lose weight the fastest way possible. There are plenty of people like you who have been lured by the enticing promises of these products, so no blame to you at all.

As a replacement for that, what your attitude should be to deal with the real cause of your problem. However, do you know the cause of your problem in the first place? If not, I will make it clear to you.

If you will only read several articles in the internet like the Weight Loss for Idiots forum, you will know that there are at least two (2) major reasons why people get too fat.

On the one hand, the first reason is more inclined to the hereditary, hormonal or genetic characteristics of a person. This needs laboratory intervention and cannot be resolved by merely taking diet pills or medicine. There needs to be an expert’s attention in resolving this.

On the other hand, the second main reason is the unhealthy eating habit of people. This is actually the most common reason of people why they are getting fat. Hence, the only solution to this is to make your meals healthier. What the Weight Loss for Idiots would prescribe you is to alter your consumption of calories-rich food. This is because these are the source of fats.

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Fat burning foods for women

It’s the time of year when fitness participation among women takes a bit of a nosedive.  The New Years’ resolutions usually worn off by now, and summer and bikini weather are still too far away to overcome the exercise dread that many women feel.  Also, because there’s less daylight, we tend to  just have less energy than we do during other times of the year.  But our cellulite doesn’t care about the amount of daylight, so it’s helpful to pay a little bit of attention to your diet even if you’re not training for the Iron Woman triathlon just yet.

There is quite an abundance of weight loss tips and diets that work running around in the fitness, health, wellness, and weight loss world.  There are many diets (for our purposes, we will define “diet” here as a short-term change in your normal eating habits to produce a weight loss result) that will help you lose a bit of weight, at least for a short while.  People have put together all sorts of programs to help you control your body weight and body fat percentage.

But for how long?  If you don’t enjoy life while you’re dieting, I guarantee you won’t be on your diet for long.  It’s just our nature.  We may agree to suffer, but only if we know somewhere in the back of our minds that it will be temporary.  But lasting body mass control and healthy living depends on developing lasting, positive lifestyle habits.

Here’s where fat burning foods for women come in.  As the name suggests, fat burning foods help set up the metabolic conditions for your body to use fat for fuel, rather than sugars.  The result is that you don’t store fat at nearly the same rate as in the reverse condition.

The fat burning food recipe is simply this:  eat meats and vegetables, seeds and nuts, some fruits, very little starch (bread, rice, cereal, potatoes), and no sugar.  While it may sound difficult, it turns out that natural, healthy, fat burning foods are delicious without all the added crap.

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How Can I Determine How Many Calories I Should Be Eating?

In the world of fitness and weight loss one of the questions that always comes up is people asking how many calories they should be eating. The answer: it varies. Before you try to figure out how many calories you should be eating you need to be mindful of a few things:

  • Your age
  • Your gender
  • Your activity level
  • Your goals

As you can see, the number of calories that you need to achieve a loss of weight may be more or less than somebody else who has the same goals. Our bodies burn calories at different rates. So the question still remains then. How do you know how many calories to consume? There are basically two ways to come up with a number that can work for you.

Use a calculator. A weight loss calculator takes into account your age, gender, activity level and other important factors which you will enter into the calculator. It will then calculate the approximate number of calories that you should be consuming to achieve your personal goal.  Remember too that these types of calculators aren’t an exact science but will give you a great jumping off point to get you headed in the right direction.

Do a manual calculation. This fitness blog post will show you exactly how to manually calculate the number of calories you should be consuming based on your goal weight and activity level.

multiply your goal weight by 10 to get the bare minimum to live.
– add 300 to 400 for sedentary lifestyles
– add 400 to 700 for weight training
– add 800 to 1000 for hard gainers and runners.

No matter which method you use to determine how many calories you should be eating, adjustments may need to be made. For instance, if you follow the guidelines given to you and you still aren’t losing weight (or gaining weight if that’s your goal), then you will need to eat fewer to achieve a loss or more to achieve a gain. It all comes down to your goals and how quickly your body burns calories.

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Are Diet Supplements Safe

The diet industry pulls in millions of dollars each year from books, videos, meals, exercise equipment, and medications.  While the claims of lose weight quick plans can be alluring, often these programs are unhealthy, and sometimes even dangerous.  For every prescription Adipex diet pills approved by the FDA there is something else that doesn’t work at all.  Even for medications that may work, such as the hCG diet, there are a number of scams offering pills that don’t work or don’t actually contain what they claim to.  The smart dieter has to be careful to avoid scams and dangerous products.

There are a few diet medications approved by the FDA to assist in weight loss, including Adipex and Hoodia.  These supplements are often only recommended for dieters who are obese or in danger of contracting health complications from their weight.  If you feel like you fall into this category, try speaking with your doctor to determine if diet aids are right for you.  These regimens, under the right circumstances, can help you get the motivation and the boost you need to really lose weight.

Even with diet pills, you will still need diet and exercise.  These medications are meant to compliment a healthy lifestyle, not replace it.  Diet pills can help you maintain energy, feel more full, and help you stay on your diet plan, but they are not a substitute for healthy living and portion control.

In the end, diet pills are a tool that can be useful to some and not helpful to others.  Still, they are only one tool in your arsenal and should be used with healthy eating, good nutrition, and regular exercise.  With dedication to the principles of a healthier life, it is possible to lose weight, keep it off, and feel great about yourself and your body.

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Loving Food and the South Beach Diet

You can still love food and be on the South Beach Diet, especially if you use an appetite suppressant.  This diet has three phases like the Atkins Diet.  The first phase is geared for ending food cravings.  The second phase zeroes in on long term and steady weight loss.  The third phase is the lifestyle phase.

This diet is very flexible and adaptable.  It is doctor designed diet and fool proof weight loss diet.  In 1995 Dr. Agatston developed this diet for his cardiac and diabetes patients.

This diet not only keeps the heart healthy, but aids in weight loss.  Dr. Agatston believes the diet debates are over.  Low fat diets did not distinguish between good carbs (whole fruits, vegetables and grains) and bad carbs (those containing white process flour, sugar and starches).  The low-fat, high carb diets tend to leave people hungry.   People were not getting the heart-healthy polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids found in fish or the monounsaturated fats found in foods like avocados, olive oil and walnuts.

Mayo Clinic views the South Beach Diet to be one of the commercial diets.  The clinic believe that this diet does not have long-term results.  It is no more effective than the standard high carbohydrate diets.  Most important thing to watch in weight loss is the number of calories.  Loosing weight rapidly in the beginning is about loosing water and not fat.  Exercise has got to be a part of the diet plan.  This diet does not take into consideration the health conditions of the dieter.  The restrictive phase of the South Beach diet may discourage the dieter.

The bonus to this diet is its website.  On the South Beach website is the following:

  • Daily meal plans
  • Has teamed with Kraft foods with prepared foods like meal replacement bars
  • No cost involved
  • Exercise and Fitness Club with different exercises recommended for each phase
  • Nutritional Counseling
  • Forums

The diet includes snacks, which are a must. There is no counting calories or strict portion sizes. The South Beach Diet promises that a person will eat less, but better food.