Tuesday 2 September 2008

Healthy Weight Loss Through Nutritious Weight Management

When it comes to weight loss do you know what’s healthy and what’s not to put you on the right road to your goal? You probably know the obvious things like skipping on the candy bars and burgers. But a complete weight loss program involves an overall healthy lifestyle and knowledge across the board of what you should and shouldn’t eat.

Protein

Your body relies on protein at almost every turn. When your muscles, organs, tissues, skin and blood get down to work, they need protein to do it. But there are different protein types.

When you look at your daily meal plan, you should make sure there are 2-3 servings of protein a day, as recommended by health experts. One serving is equivalent to between 3 and 4 ounces of meat that has been cooked. The same experts also recommend those protein servings come from healthier, leaner meats such as chicken and turkey, and fish. Some of the meats available do have protein but also have a high amount of fat, such as liver, processed lunchmeats and red meats.

Fats

While many diets will tell you to avoid foods with fat in them, that really should be a message to avoid foods with bad fats in them. Some fats that are available are actually good fats and have great benefits. You just need to know how to tell which ones are the good ones. Here’s a quick set of tips:

• Hydrogenated Oils or Trans Fats: The fats to steer clear of are these, which are manmade out of polyunsaturated fats. You will usually find them in store bought baked goods, as the oils have been created to stay solid at room temperature for more attractive foods. In addition to looking good they can be doing a lot of harm to your heart.

• Saturated Fats: In the warning zone are saturated fats. In small amounts, they are all right, but you should not make them a staple part of your diet. Saturated fats are found in items such as milk, eggs, cheese, red meats, and butter. Too much of them can put you at risk for high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.

• Good Fats: Go out and enjoy these fats! Polyunsaturated fats or monounsaturated fats are the fats that you should be taking into your body, because they actually provide health benefits. In addition to lowering bad cholesterol levels, they may also increase the good cholesterol levels in your system. You can find unsaturated fats in a number of foods including olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, fish oil, hemp oil and flax oil. Some of these are also loaded with very healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.

Carbohydrates

Even though many fad diets are based solely on staying far away from carbohydrates, you don’t have to listen to that anymore. Because, not all carbohydrates are a threat to your body as these diets would have you believe. There are many good carbohydrates in foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, and other high-fiber foods.

• Eat Less – Fiber has a great side effect when it’s eaten. It tells your body to release the CCK hormone (cholecystokinin). That is the hormone that sends a message to your brain telling it you are full and don’t need to eat any more.

• Calorie Cleaner – Eating fiber is like hiring your very own internal cleaning crew. As fiber goes through your digestive system it stays relatively solid, and scrubs the walls of your digestive tract, taking many attached particles with it. Some of those particles may be calories that just have not been absorbed yet, and now will be eliminated in a bowel movement.

• Fewer Calories – Generally speaking, high fiber foods are lower in calories than other foods.

• Constant Break Down – High fiber foods are tough work for your body. That means when you eat fiber, it takes a while to break down and become a sugar that your body turns into energy. This helps regulate blood sugar levels and keep you full longer.


Published At: www.Isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=161678&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet

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