EAT FOR FITNESS AND WEIGHT LOSS

EAT YOUR WAY TO FITNESS AND WEIGHT LOSS
With all the recent scares of salmonella and e-coli found in our food supplies, more people are growing their own food and eating organic. There is lots to be said for organic food and no toxic pesticides sprayed. I have recently decided to pay more attention to what I eat and get off the sugar and junk food diet. I've learned a lot about nutrition, stress and health and the importance that food plays in that equation.
I discovered a great guide book on how to EAT YOUR WAY TO FITNESS. This comprehensive ebook is loaded with information about the right foods to eat for weight loss, nutrition, energy and health.
Most available fitness, weight loss, and diet programs in the market today, advocate quick weight loss practices which may be disadvantageous and/or damaging to your health. The situation becomes a big issue and a potential problem if you happen to be diabetic, have carbohydrate sensitivity, high blood pressure, not physically fit or simply too lazy to engage in prolonged, sustained and intensive exercise and workouts.
Eating Your Way to Fitness very clearly explains in easy to understand English what an individual needs to know about the effective steps on how to set personal goals in order to achieve fat and weight loss - permanently! All the answers are contained and clearly explained in Eating Your Way to Fitness e-book. It gives you clear guidelines and instructions on how you can now enjoy your food (and snacks too) and at the same time lose weight at the rate of TWO POUNDS per week!!!
Here's What You Will Learn From Eating Your Way to Fitness E-book.
The Importance of Proteins and Carbohydrates in your diet!
How you can eat FATTY foods to help you lose weight!
How to maximize your water intake for a healthier weight loss program!
How to permanently lose weight and keep lean for the rest of your life!
Sure, you will lose more than 5 POUNDS within 2 weeks but do you know that those 5 pounds you lost include muscles too? Why? Because other weight and fat loss programs advocate severe carbohydrate restriction which is detrimental and may be dangerous to health!
You don't have to join a health club or a gym; all you have to do is follow the systematic approach to scientific weight loss by eating as much as you want (within limits of course) of yummy and tasty foods that you can choose from one of the accompanying reports and you are well on your way to a leaner and muscular body!
If you want to enhance your looks, then you have a choice of low impact exercises that you can easily perform without the accompanying expense not to mention the muscle aches and pains of intense workouts!
SEE FOR YOURSELF WHAT THIS GREAT EBOOK CAN DO FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WEIGHT LOSS. CLICK THE LINK BELOW
http://www.stress-health-info.com/eatforfitness.html
by Katherine Fletcher

How And Why We Get Fat

Have you wondered what exactly the process of gaining fat is? If "yes", then keep reading.

There are two main reasons for getting fat:

* Consuming calories in excess

* Consuming high-glycemic carbohydrates

Calories in excess can come from fats, carbohydrates and proteins. The human body has two ways of getting fats into the blood stream. Here is how that happens and how the actual process of storing fat occurs.

The first way: Dietary fats pass through the lining of the intestines in the form of chylomicrons (long chain fatty acids) and are subsequently converted to triglycerides. This is the main form, in which they travel in the blood stream.

If the fats are in excess they are readily stored in the fat cells. The process is called lipogenesis.

The second way: Fats are also manufactured in the liver in the form of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) and again are converted to triglycerides.

The liver has the ability to convert carbohydrates and proteins to fats as well, if they are eaten in excess and the body doesn't need so much of them for recovery and tissue repair.

The chylomicrons (fats, coming from the intestines) and the lipoproteins (the fats, made in the liver) have the ability to stimulate the synthesis of Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL). LPL is an enzyme, manufactured in the fat cells, for the conversion of the triglycerides to free fatty acids and glycerol.

Fats can enter the adipocites (fat cells) only in the form of free fatty acids.

Once inside the fat cell the free fatty acids need glycerol to be converted back into triglycerides (re-esterification), in which state they are stored.

Here is where insulin comes to play. Insulin, other than lowering the blood sugar levels, acts also as a stimulus for the fat cells to produce more LPL. It also decreases the ability of the fat cells to give out the fat, stored in them.

Another property of insulin is to carry glucose over to the fat cells. This glucose is the main source of glycerol for the conversion of the free fatty acids to triglycerides.

And yet another role of insulin in the body is to facilitate the conversion of carbohydrates to fat in the liver through the activation of enzymes, needed for this process.

In other words insulin is a main contributor for the process of storing adipose tissue (fat).

Why the consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates makes us fat? Because it stimulates the release of larger quantities of insulin for a short period of time.

Conclusion: In order to prevent all of the above from happening we must:

1. Ingest total daily calories at or below maintenance level in order to avoid the conversion of carbohydrates and proteins to fat, as well as the introduction of large amounts of triglycerides from dietary fats in the blood stream.
2. Eat lower-glycemic carbohydrates and eat them in moderation in order to avoid spiking the insulin levels.

Resource Box:

Ivan Nikolov, a top five natural bodybuilder, shares with you his extensive knowledge about nutrition, supplements, training routines and exercises. Visit his web site http://www.ivannikolov.com to learn more about what you need to know if you want to be a natural bodybuilder or simply look like one.

Fasting for Weight Loss or Not

Reading hundreds of articles, reviews, and case studies has really pushed me to explain this huge fasting for weight loss method that thousands are turning to for their weight loss goals and improving their diets.
Fasting has become a very popular weight loss method that people are claiming they have lost 30-40 pounds in only a 30-day fast that is pretty incredible. Some even have dropped 3-4 pounds in a single day. Is fasting really the best weight loss solution or is it just another hype? Another important to ponder on is fasting healthy for our bodies, and can fasting give people long lasting weight loss? Well, let me explain this fasting for weight loss solution, and you will be able to determine for yourself if it is the right choice for you.

Fasting Being Successful!
Clearly, fasting is an effective way to lose unnecessary body fat, but once the fat has melted away restoring a youthful physique, how do we keep it off? Fasting is an exhilarating way to begin a healthy diet, excess body fat quickly drops, bathroom mirror nodding approval, maybe for the first time in years.
Overeating or eating too fast, feeding cravings and emotions not hunger, eating calorie-concentrated foods with lack of physical activity, all lead to unwanted weight-gain. Fasting I believe in my experiences builds self-control, and that control gives you a life without worry, and gilt that comes with many eating disorders.
Fasting comes in many forms like juicing, herbs, cleansing, fruits, supplements, etc. but the most popular would have to be juicing and herbs.

Side Effects of Fasting!
Side effects from fasting are unless the fast is very short term; you can end up with low energy, weakness and lightheadedness, without any significant weight loss. Furthermore, the absence of carbohydrates may lead to ketosis - a dangerous build up of ketones that pressurizes the kidneys. This is unhealthy and can be dangerous.
If you fast, you may drop pounds, but some of that weight will be muscle, and most of it will be water. You need to eat protein foods such as lean meat, eggs, low-fat or fat-free milk, or legumes (beans and peas), or you'll be thin and flabby, not thin and shapely.
Dont fast for long periods of time as you double the workload of your kidneys and you train your body to preferentially store fat. Fasting has its pro and cons like everything in this world but going to long without a balanced diet can lead to you losing valuable fat burning enzymes which keeps our bodies in balance.
If you still want to go on a fast, here are some tips that will help you succeed.
Here are a few tips:
1. Prepare yourself for a fast by gradually tapering off of acid-forming aka "junk foods and commence to consuming raw and cooked fruits and veggies to begin a milder cleansing process as these items are the best intestinal brooms for the colon.
2. Every now and again, 3 hours after supper and say an hour or so before retiring to sleep, drink an herbal tea laxative such as "Smooth Move Herbal Tea" during this preparatory stage.
3. Drink 1-2 quarts of unflavored lemonade in the mornings to balance the chemical reactions within the body and to restore it to an alkaline state.
4. Be mentally prepared for the task ahead of fasting.
5. Take things a little easier while fasting or on a mono-diet of fruit.
6. Avoid using microwaves at all costs
Fasting With Great Benefits
1. Adding in weight loss and healthy living as fasting rejuvenates your body naturally.
2. Fasting can remove 5 to 10 lbs of unwanted toxic waste in your body that build up from poor nutrition.
3. Regaining energy through fasting for active living.
4. Improve mental clarity and all your senses through fasting.
5. Fasting can enhance innate wisdom, spiritually, faith and kindness to others.
When fasting, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons and not just to give you the edge on weight loss and reversing the anti aging process as our bodies are not made for it. Fasting can benefit our bodies when done right and with the right mind set. Fast to improve your control over your diet, and not just to conquer your weight loss goals.
Here are several more tips just that you might want to take a look at for developing a healthy body.

Diet and Cholesterol

Cholesterol was not a factor when Charles Darwin's proposed his theory "Survival of the fittest". He would certainly re-write his theory if he existed today, battling with the cause himself. Survive - we do: fittest -? that needs speculation, with half of the world population battling with a cholesterol condition.

Our ancestors had lived most of their life feeding on fruits, grasses, herbs, nuts, leaves, roots, water , seeds, cereals and hunting meat which was often a daunting task without the four wheel drives and buffalo shotguns.

Today, surviving, unlike our ancestors is not fighting with tigers, running after antelopes, or working the ground for roots. It is often fighting with ourselves that makes us weak. Of the fierce predators is the commonplace cholesterol which we find in abundance. Cookies, cakes, colas, chemicals, pesticides, chocolate, cool drinks, preservatives and the list could go on for a few hundred pages.

Some people develop dangerous tumors. Other people have Cholesterol levels that are through the roof. For you, your diet and lifestyle is causing the condition commonly referred to as Cholesterol.

This condition is simply a SYMPTOM of a very fundamental and dangerous imbalance within your body, and Cholesterol is simply the initial way it is manifesting itself in your body.

The biggest influence on blood cholesterol level is the mix of fats in the diet.
The most important determinant for cholesterol in the body is fat from diet. Though our liver produces 75% of cholesterol only 25% is absorbed from the food. For a high cholesterol condition, fats are of different types. Some fats are good for cholesterol levels while others are obviously bad. What are becoming clearer and clearer is those bad fats, meaning saturated and Tran's fats increase the risk for certain diseases while good fats, meaning monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, lower the risk. The key is to substitute good fats for bad fats.

Your Body - a Breeding Ground
Extensive research reveals that, proliferation of cholesterol in society is a direct manifestation of our changed lifestyles. When people around the world experience similar problems, it's not a random incident but a methodical process spreading across cultures and borders.

The body is infected by acids: released from sugars, carbohydrates, excess fat and uric acid, found a plenty in modern day foods.

Robert A. Young a leading micro-biologist, author of "The ph miracle" quotes: "There is only One Sickness and One Disease, and this one 'sickness' is the over-acidification of the body due primarily to an inverted way of living, thinking, and eating... there can therefore be only one remedy and treatment, and that is to alkalize the body and break the cycle of imbalance, thus allowing us to experience the energy, vitality and true health we're all meant to have."

The Bottom Line: Recommendations for Fat Intake
Although the different types of fat have a varied - and admittedly confusing - effect on health and disease, the basic message is simple: chuck out the bad fats and replace them with good fats.

Focus on the ROOT CAUSE that is causing your Cholesterol... choose fruits and vegetables that drive the acids out of your body, burn of the excess by maintaining a strict schedule of work-outs. The many drugs available promising to reduce your cholesterol are optimistic placebo which works well when you are distressed.

Instead of "Medication" and "fighting the symptoms", you start thinking about "Health" and treating the cause with THE RIGHT DIET.

Breakfast and Slim on Woman mind

Reta (28), secretary of publication, tried to skip breakfast because worry of fat attack on her body. She continues till one year. Although her stamina is bad low power in the morning, Reta still chooses to skip her breakfast. After a year, her body never goes down.

So the question is why people skip their breakfast because of worry about their weight or try to decline their weight?
Reta is not alone. Many people out there especially women skip their breakfast in order to reduce their weight. Skip on breakfast is believed to reduce their weight. This is a mythos or not. Let us ask to specialist, doctor about the correlation between breakfast and weight problems.

Ignore breakfast is big mistake. Breakfast provides energy for our daily activities. You will limp once you ignore it. We need more energy to activity in office or any others activity. dr Saptawati DR Bardosono, MSc, medical nutrition specialist from FKUI-RSCM said
In order hand, many researchers stated on their articles that breakfast has positive correlation against slim. Routine on breakfast habit will rise our eating pattern and to reduce any desire to eat any foot (the habit to eat snacks). Breakfast reduces the habit and at the end, you weight problem will be solved.
Ideally, breakfast should contribute 500-600 calories, for example eat 1.5 cup of rice together with meat, good protein and fruit is additional.

Source Kompas.com

Alkaline Diet Program Wins Over a Skeptic

If I had not learned about the alkaline diet program, keeping my body in shape would have been a constant problem. I have been overweight for a long time. I have tried different diet programs to help me reduce weight to no avail. I move slowly. I was sluggish at times. I can’t run very fast. My body felt as if there are tons of rocks within. I can’t do things at a normal phase. I just can’t do things normally. And you know what comes with a few extra pounds? Diseases. Pain. Mental and physical torture.

Before I started with the alkaline diet program, I was feeling quite low about myself. I did not have the confidence in meeting other people or interacting with them. I was a loner. I felt like a nobody. I did not like myself. Besides that, I also felt pains all over my body. My back hurt. My feet swelled most of the time. And I simply felt tired. I needed to shed what extra baggage I have in this body. I was hopeless since I have tried everything. Or so I have thought. Well that is until I have come across with the alkaline diet program.

At first, I was kind of a skeptic if this program will work on me. Imagine limiting the amount of sugar, carbohydrate, or basically all the unhealthy food that we eat. But I did just that. I did not totally remove the dairy or meat product that I ate but simply limited their intake. In a few weeks, my body felt light. I can wake up early without feeling the weight. So I said to myself, why not continue with the alkaline diet program for a few more weeks. Week after week, I simply take a few extra dairy and meet products away from my diet.

Days came and I felt wonderful. I did not anymore feel the back pains, the swelling. I notice a gradual loss of unsightly fats in my arms, tummy, and legs. I’m losing weigh, feeling fit, and started feeling good about myself. I started going out and talking to people. People who know me were also quite amazed at the change I have had about myself. They asked me what I did. I simply told them about how the alkaline diet program helped me get back in shape and get me back my life.

So if you are really into getting your life back on track see how the alkaline diet program will help you improve your life by visiting http://acidalkalinediet.ax90.com

Your Diet Cola is KILLING You!

If you are drinking any kind of diet cola or drink, any sugar free gum, or any sugar substitute like Equal, Nutrasweet or Spoonful, I got news for you.

This article can save you or your loved ones from serious illnesses like brain tumors, leukemia, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, epilepsy, birth defects, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson’s and many more! So I suggest you start paying attention and share it with as many people as you can.

Ok, here is the background:
The substance that is used to sweeten your diet drink and sugar free foods (including Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Kool Aid, Listerine Strips, different sugar free gums etc) is called Aspartame. Aspartame is also the technical name for brand names like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and other sugar alternatives. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965 by a chemist of G.D Searle Company. G.D Searle tried to get approval from the FDA in United States in 1974 but failed due to objections from a neuroscience researcher named Dr John Olney and a consumer attorney named James Turner. For the time being, the FDA put the approval on hold to carry out further investigation. However, aspartame was allowed on 1981 for dry goods and 1983 for carbonated beverages.

Aspartame is, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods. It is responsible for headaches/migraines, heart palpitations, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, depression, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to recent studies it is also responsible for triggering or worsening brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, birth defects, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, mental retardation, and diabetes.

So why was aspartame approved by the FDA? Well, for many years FDA not only refused to approve it, but took G. D. Searle to court indicting them under Title 18, Section 1001 for "their willful and knowing failure to make reports to the FDA required… and for concealing material facts and making false statements in reports of animal studies conducted to establish the safety of aspartame.”

You know why? Because in 1969, Searle conducted a study with Dr Harry Waisman on the effects of aspartame on primates. Seven baby monkeys were given Aspartame in milk. One died after 300 days; five others had grand mal seizures. Searle eliminated these findings when they submitted this study to the FDA!

So that’s pretty huge right? And Searle should have been stopped from producing this dangerous chemical forever right? Unfortunately there was a famous man in this story who had very high stakes in Aspartame.

The CEO of G D Searle at the time was Donald Rumsfeld (retired defense secretary for the Bush administration who de facto led the Iraq war)! Mr Rumsfeld said he would ensure that aspartame gets approved even though the FDA said no. He was also on President Reagan's transition team at the time.

The story of how Rumsfeld accomplished this was told by the attorney James Turner in a documentary on aspartame called "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" you can visit the site here http://www.soundandfury.tv/pages/sweet%20misery.html And here is a clip www.soundandfury.tv/pages/Rumsfeld2.html where you can see Mr Turner narrate the story of how greed kills millions of people for years to come!

In 1985, the G.D Searle Company was bought over by Monsanto. The first thing Monsanto did was make the Searle Pharmaceuticals and NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.

Now Monsanto is also one of the world’s biggest companies that produce genetically modified foods and other chemicals that go into foods and food production. Monsanto is also known for producing pesticides.

Now we are talking about a multi billion dollar industry called the diet drink industry. Just like CFC (which almost destroyed the earths climate because of its long term destructive properties yet was popularized for more than 40 years as the magic chemical that makes money yet is environment friendly, until we had the Ozone Hole) and Trans-fats (that clog your arteries and makes you obese and responsible for numerous other diseases yet millions of people around the world are eating KFC), Aspartame also is very preciously protected because its HIGHLY PROFITABLE!

In 1992 the Flying Safety Magazine published articles about the dangers of Aspartame and mentioned that some people could be immediately affected by Aspartame with as small doses as a chewing gum. And here is the most interesting piece of information:

Major airline pilots are not allowed drink or consume Aspartame containing goods! You know why? Because it increases the risk of headaches, seizures, heart palpitations, depression, slurred speech, loss of memory, loss of sensation in lower legs, loss of equilibrium, vertigo, anxiety attacks, chronic fatigue, vision loss, etc. How nice is that? Now you can stop worrying because even if you might be killing yourself with Aspartame poisoning, you should be happy knowing that at least you are going to reach your destination in one piece.

Now I know, in your mind you might be thinking well, diet drinks at least keep your weight in check! Right? Well, does it really?

Aspartame has actually been known to contribute to weight problem and obesity even though it is used in diet drinks. Of course it doesn’t cause over weight issues the same way that sugar does, but it causes obesity by creating some very harmful toxic materials in the body. It also makes you crave carbohydrates which makes you gain weight. These toxins are often stored by the body in fat particularly on the hips and thighs. Not surprising that millions of overweight people around the world are drinking diet Coke, Pepsi and other drinks for years and still not loosing any weight!

In the famous book Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon, says aspartame may trigger clinical diabetes! He says that excitotoxins such as NutraSweet literally stimulate neurons to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees. “What really concerns me about aspartame,” he says, “is its association with brain tumors as well as pancreatic, uterine and ovarian tumors. ... and that so many develop an Alzheimers-like syndrome with prolonged exposure.”

Dr Blaylock also commented: "The new study released in the European Journal of oncology by Morando Soffritti and co-workers should terrify mothers and all those consuming aspartame sweetened products…”

"This study confirmed the previous study by Dr. Trocho and co-workers, which also found the formaldehyde breakdown product of aspartame to be damaging to cellular DNA and that this damage was accumulative. The type of damage was a duplicate of that associated with cancers. Along with this most recent study, this means that drinking a single diet cola sweetened with aspartame every day could increase one's risk of developing a lymphoma or leukemia...”

Unfortunately, even as I write this today, millions of people around the world are sipping on their “sugar free” and “zero calorie” poison. Every year millions of dollars are spent on marketing and advertising diet drinks with slim and attractive women in on the billboards and TV. Little do the ignorant consumers realize that they are paying with their health, their children’s health, and their grandchildren’s health everyday to make people like Rumsfeld and companies like Searle and NutraSweet richer and richer.

On the other hand people like me, Dr Betty Martini (who is the world leader in exposing the ill effects of chemical sweeteners) and hundreds of others are trying their best to reach as many people as possible around the world. But we are up against billions of dollars worth combined advertising and marketing budget of the diet drink companies, processed food companies etc.

How much chance do we have to break through the noise of these mega budget campaigns? I don’t know. But I would like to believe that we are making a difference… That you would read this letter today and never touch any aspartame related product ever again. That you would take the initiative to tell as many people as you can in person, on the phone, via email, in the next office meeting or whatever else you can think of. If you do that, we take a step forward and we shall win. If you don’t, then all of this effort is worthless.

Think about it.

Would you like to help the movement and help thousands, if not millions, of people around the world? If so, read on and follow the 3 steps given here to help the world today.

Step 1: Forward this email to at least 5 of your friends, family or loved ones.
Step 2: Let me know that you have forwarded it at bittertruth@aweber.com Just send me just an empty email. Don’t write anything as it is an auto responder. If you have questions or comments follow the email link below.
Step 3: As a thank you gift I’ll send you two motivational ebooks for free. One on a true story of how to bounce back at life when you got nothing more to loose and the other an excellent 49 page special report on motivation. This applies to all readers of this email.

Spread the word and let more and more people live a life of health, abundance and happiness!

Shafin de Zane, CHT, MNLP
Master Hypnotist, Author, Coach

What IS a Healthy Diet

There is so much information about what is healthy and nutritious these days that it is very difficult to sort out the hype from the truth. Following a healthy diet can be accomplished by making some simple adjustments to your current diet.

If you think it is just too much trouble to make some simple changes to improve your family’s diet, think again. Most people do not realize the incredible impact that a healthy diet has on our bodies, making the difference between poor health and good health.

Along with regular physical activity, a healthy diet is the most important factor that determines your weight. If you are overweight or obese, your chances of developing many diseases or conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers, increase significantly.

EASY STEPS TO A HEALTHY DIET

Your first step to following a healthy diet is to make sure you include food from all food groups. Vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, legumes, lean proteins and low fat milk products should all be incorporated into your daily diet.

*VEGETABLES – A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. It also contributes to a healthy weight, reducing your risk of obesity and the conditions associated with it. There are a multitude of vegetables to choose from, the healthiest being dark green vegetables like broccoli, lettuces, and kale, orange vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash, and red vegetables like red peppers and tomatoes.

*FRUITS – Eat a variety of fruits each day, canned, dried, fresh or frozen. Stay away from fruit juices as they can be high in sugar. (Unless you make the juice yourself.)

*WHOLE GRAINS – Choose whole grain cereals, breads, rice, and pasta. Read the food label and make sure the grain that is listed such as wheat, rice, oats or corn is referred to as WHOLE in the list of ingredients. Whole grains are an excellent source of fiber. Fiber can help reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

*LEGUMES – This class of vegetable includes beans, peas and lentils. They are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, are high in protein, and have phytochemicals, compounds that help prevent heart disease and cancer. They are also a good source of fiber. Add pinto, kidney, black and garbanzo beans, split peas and lentils to your daily diet.

*LEAN PROTEINS – Choose lean meats, poultry, and fish. Bake, broil, or grill it. Do not fry! Beans, nuts and seeds also provide protein.

*LOW-FAT MILK PRODUCTS – Eat low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese or low-fat milk every day. Dairy products can lower your risk of diabetes and help build strong bones, reducing your risk of osteoporosis.

There are a variety of foods that should not be present in your diet except in very small amounts. These foods, such as sugars, alcohol, and some fats, contribute to diseases and poor health.

*SUGARS – Avoid foods containing sugar. You know what they are! Always check food labels to see how much sugar is present as some foods contain sugar that may surprise you.

*ALCOHOL – Avoid alcohol. If you must drink, limit intake to one drink a day. Alcohol can increase your risk of many conditions including some types of cancers.

*FATS – There are different kinds of fat in our foods. Some are detrimental to your health and others are very healthy.

1. Monounsaturated fats (olive oil, flaxseed oil, peanut oil and avocados)

2. Polyunsaturated fats (safflower, sesame, sunflower seeds)

These fats raise your good cholesterol levels. To stick to a healthy diet, choose foods with these fats.

3. Saturated fat and trans fatty acids raise your bad cholesterol levels, contributing to your risk of heart disease. Limit your intake.

Saturated fats are found in beef, veal, lamb, pork, lard, butter, cream, whole milk dairy products and can be present in processed foods like frozen dinners and some canned food. Always check food labels before purchasing.

Trans fatty acids, the kind of fats that increase the risk of heart disease, are formed during the process of creating cooking oils, shortening, and margarine and are found in commercially fried foods, some baked goods, and crackers. When checking food labels, make sure the ingredients do not include hydrogenated fats.

Following a healthy diet is a necessary step for the improved health of you and your family. It is not difficult to make the simple changes necessary to change an unhealthy diet to a healthy one. The advantages, better health, longer life, and more energy, far outweigh any inconveniences you may experience.
by: Chris Chenoweth

What IS a Healthy Diet

There is so much information about what is healthy and nutritious these days that it is very difficult to sort out the hype from the truth. Following a healthy diet can be accomplished by making some simple adjustments to your current diet.

If you think it is just too much trouble to make some simple changes to improve your family’s diet, think again. Most people do not realize the incredible impact that a healthy diet has on our bodies, making the difference between poor health and good health.

Along with regular physical activity, a healthy diet is the most important factor that determines your weight. If you are overweight or obese, your chances of developing many diseases or conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers, increase significantly.

EASY STEPS TO A HEALTHY DIET

Your first step to following a healthy diet is to make sure you include food from all food groups. Vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, legumes, lean proteins and low fat milk products should all be incorporated into your daily diet.

*VEGETABLES – A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. It also contributes to a healthy weight, reducing your risk of obesity and the conditions associated with it. There are a multitude of vegetables to choose from, the healthiest being dark green vegetables like broccoli, lettuces, and kale, orange vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash, and red vegetables like red peppers and tomatoes.

*FRUITS – Eat a variety of fruits each day, canned, dried, fresh or frozen. Stay away from fruit juices as they can be high in sugar. (Unless you make the juice yourself.)

*WHOLE GRAINS – Choose whole grain cereals, breads, rice, and pasta. Read the food label and make sure the grain that is listed such as wheat, rice, oats or corn is referred to as WHOLE in the list of ingredients. Whole grains are an excellent source of fiber. Fiber can help reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

*LEGUMES – This class of vegetable includes beans, peas and lentils. They are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, are high in protein, and have phytochemicals, compounds that help prevent heart disease and cancer. They are also a good source of fiber. Add pinto, kidney, black and garbanzo beans, split peas and lentils to your daily diet.

*LEAN PROTEINS – Choose lean meats, poultry, and fish. Bake, broil, or grill it. Do not fry! Beans, nuts and seeds also provide protein.

*LOW-FAT MILK PRODUCTS – Eat low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese or low-fat milk every day. Dairy products can lower your risk of diabetes and help build strong bones, reducing your risk of osteoporosis.

There are a variety of foods that should not be present in your diet except in very small amounts. These foods, such as sugars, alcohol, and some fats, contribute to diseases and poor health.

*SUGARS – Avoid foods containing sugar. You know what they are! Always check food labels to see how much sugar is present as some foods contain sugar that may surprise you.

*ALCOHOL – Avoid alcohol. If you must drink, limit intake to one drink a day. Alcohol can increase your risk of many conditions including some types of cancers.

*FATS – There are different kinds of fat in our foods. Some are detrimental to your health and others are very healthy.

1. Monounsaturated fats (olive oil, flaxseed oil, peanut oil and avocados)

2. Polyunsaturated fats (safflower, sesame, sunflower seeds)

These fats raise your good cholesterol levels. To stick to a healthy diet, choose foods with these fats.

3. Saturated fat and trans fatty acids raise your bad cholesterol levels, contributing to your risk of heart disease. Limit your intake.

Saturated fats are found in beef, veal, lamb, pork, lard, butter, cream, whole milk dairy products and can be present in processed foods like frozen dinners and some canned food. Always check food labels before purchasing.

Trans fatty acids, the kind of fats that increase the risk of heart disease, are formed during the process of creating cooking oils, shortening, and margarine and are found in commercially fried foods, some baked goods, and crackers. When checking food labels, make sure the ingredients do not include hydrogenated fats.

Following a healthy diet is a necessary step for the improved health of you and your family. It is not difficult to make the simple changes necessary to change an unhealthy diet to a healthy one. The advantages, better health, longer life, and more energy, far outweigh any inconveniences you may experience.
by: Chris Chenoweth

Top 10 Reasons Why you should NOT "go" on a Diet

The only thing growing faster than the $65 billion diet industry is the American waistline. If one of your New Years resolutions was to Go on a Diet, the only place I guarantee you will go....is up in weight.

It's a Fact - Diets will only make you fatter.

When it comes to the latest in Diet fads, we are quite gullible and easily tempted by a Diet's empty promised. Reason being....the diet industry KNOWS we are in search of the "quick fix" and will only play with our emotions - our desperation for the quickest way to relieve looking and feeling fat.

Diets are nothing more than Temporary Solutions with many lingering, negative side effects.

Here are the Top 10 Reasons Why you should NOT "go" on a Diet

1. Diets do NOT work.
Diets have a 99% Failure Rate. Have you noticed a pattern yet? Lose weight....quickly regain it? Over time, studies show if you diet you are more likely to be overweight than people who eat normally and make small gradual changes to their lifestyle. No, the Law of Averages does not apply to this faulty system.

2. Dieting can be Dangerous.
Any time you severely restrict the amount or types of foods you eat you put your health and life at risk. Dieting has been related to injuries and sudden deaths from electrolyte imbalance, malnutrition, and heart arrhythmia's. Weight cycling, or yo-yo-ing weight, is associated with higher death rates - especially if some type of pills are being used. At no point should you ever place weight loss above your health.

3. Dieting Destroys your Metabolism.
Diets will cause your weight to quickly cycle up and down. Sure, you may lose weight quickly because you are simply not eating enough. In the initial stages, the first seven to nine pounds lost are water, presenting a real danger of dehydration and mineral deficiencies. Even more terrifying ins the break down of lean muscle due to inefficient nutrients and calories. If you are losing more than 3-4 pounds a week, you can be sure this is what is happening - very little fat is lost this state.

Now, any muscle loss will cause your metabolism slow to a crawl. The cumulative effect takes place for you cannot survive very long on very low calories (1200 or less) and you will eventually eat more - on top of a slower metabolism. All those excess calories will be stored as fat - causing rapid weight gain.

4. Dieting is Exhausting.
Diets are just reduced calorie Fads disguised by a clever gimmick. "Lose weight while you sleep" "Eat all you want and still lose weight" Not eating enough or cutting out certain food groups means your body may not be getting the energy it needs, or may lack certain nutrients. You will feel exhausted, light headed and experience some not-so-fun mood swings.

5. Dieting is Disruptive.
Dieting negatively affects your normal eating patterns. Diets can lead to binge eating, overeating and chaotic eating. When you diet, it is common to override your internal signals telling you to eat. You end up trying to use willpower or resist hunger signals and may even go as far as taking appetite suppressants. This results in being unable to know when you really are hungry or wore....when you're full.

6. Dieting can lead to eating disorders.
Experts state that the high rates of eating disorders in the U.S. are due in part to people dieting, losing weight, rebounding, and becoming chronic dieters.

7. Dieting Causes Food Obsessions.
If you spend a large amount of time and energy depriving yourself of food or certain types of food - you will spend more time thinking about food and become obsessed attempts to control your weight by what you choose to eat or not eat. How long do you want to live like this?

8. Dieting Diminishes Women.
There is way too much attention focused on our appearance and an arbitrary number on the scale. In the midst of this focus - we end up avoiding what really matters to us - our dreams and ambitions. Even worse, it erodes our confidence and self-respect.

9. Dieting Intensifies Negativity.
If you diet, you are more judgmental and critical of yourself and others. Once again, wasted time and energy.

10. Diets Put Your Life on Hold.
Does this sound familiar...."I'll be happy when I weigh "x pounds." Guess what, the issues in your life are not related to your weight. Take responsibility and take back control of your life. Decide to be happy now and do what it takes to live a lifestyle that reflects your priorities.

So this year resolve to NOT go on a Diet. Set Yourself Free from this miserable, guaranteed to fail weight loss cycle. Do NOT let the diet industry make money by taking advantage of you. It is time to stand up for yourself and take control.