Foods That Just Aren't Worth Eating

Trying to keep healthy?  Or lose some weight?  There's definitely a 'trick' to it (if you want to call it that)... and that's to keep what you put in your body only foods that help it realize your goals.  Want to be lean?  Eat healthy!  Want to be healthy?  Well... EAT HEALTHY (oh, did I say that already?).

Remember:  Health begets health.  So while you're on your mission to be healthy and lean, here's some foods that really just are NOT worth eating.  They do nothing to help your cause and will probably just sabotage your efforts.

Stay away from soft drinks.  There's nothing good about them.  Sugar, food coloring and carbonated water.  What on earth would make anyone think that combination is good for them?  And if you're thinking you can make it better by drinking the 'diet' version instead to keep your calories low, consider this:  it's calorie free but it's still sweet, therefore it's sweetened with artificial sweetener.  Excuse me but artificial sweeteners are all either made completely from chemicals or are chemically processed to remove the calories.  Either way, they are the equivalent of drinking poison.  Stay away from soft drinks.  If you absolutely must drink your fizzy treat, then stick to club soda.  Need flavor?  Add a lemon or lime wedge.




Avoid deep fried foods.  They're almost always chock full of hydrogenated oils, trans fats and all sorts of other indigestible, fattening calories.  If you want to have your fries, try sprinkling some heart-healthy coconut oil or olive oil on potatoes, sweet potatoes or yams and bake them in the oven.  This is a far healthier way to get your 'french-fry' fix.

Skip the bacon.  Bacon is full of nitrates and absolutely jammed with salt and unhealthy fat.  Want a tasty meat treat?  Try some cooked shrimp.  Or a chicken breast prepared on the grill.  You'll get a lot more nutrients for your body and a lot less complaining from your heart.

Donuts.  Deep fried white-flour dough covered in white, processed sugar.  Remind me how this could ever be considered a good thing to eat?  No nutritional quality and lots and lots of calories and bad fats makes this so called 'food' very high on the list of foods that just aren't worth eating.

Potato chips of any description are also very high on this list.  Why?  Deep fried potatoes with the skins peeled off (which is where most of the nutrition in a potato resides).  They're highly caloric and again hold little nutritional quality.  Best to keep away from this 'food' too, if you're looking to be the healthiest, leanest version of you possible.

Margarine.  All margarine happens to be is oils and food colouring with artificial flavoring added to make it resemble butter.  It's very high in calories and very devoid of nutrition.  If you want to spread something on your meals or whole grain bread, make it the real thing, good ol' natural butter.  Sure, it's high in calories but at least there's some nutrition in butter.  And usually it doesn't contain chemicals or artificial flavors.  If you can find a brand that doesn't use artificial coloring, you're golden (but your butter won't be)!

Remember what I mentioned at the beginning: Health begets health.  The healthier you can make the food you eat, the faster your body will reward you with better health and a leaner physique.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jackie_Burgmann/407519

How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat Quickly

If you want to discover how to build muscle and lose fat quickly, then you have come to the right place.

Being able to build muscle and lose fat quickly sure isn't the easiest thing to do, however you can do it!

Do not let anyone discourage you from reaching your goals.If you haven't set a goal yet for how much muscle you want to build and how much fat you want to lose, it's best to have a goal. Even better to set several goals to get you to your ultimate goal. This will help you stick to your workout routines and diet plans.




The key to build muscle and lose fat quickly is consistency. You cannot expect to see any significant changes in the way you look simply by lifting a few weights here and there, eating anything you want and performing cardio workouts once every couple weeks. It would sure be much easier if it could be done that way, but it's not the reality of it.

Set goals to help you stick to your workout routines and diet plans. Each time to achieve one of your goals, you will be much more motivated to keep going and pushing through.

In order to build muscle and lose fat quickly, you need a proper workout routine and diet plan.

The workout routine, for best results, should consist of 5 days of workouts. Unlike most popular workout programs, you absolutely do not need to workout every day. Not only is this dangerous, it's not the most efficient way. Each day should focus on a different muscle groups. The workouts should be of high intensity. TO do this, perform several exercises focused on one or two major muscle groups. These exercises should be performed slowly, focusing on tension, not speed to increase usage of the muscle.

It's best to have a collection of numerous workouts to follow because you want to limit how many times you perform the same exercise over and over again. Performing the same exercises over and over again will cause your muscles to get used to it and they will not work as hard.

Having a well planned diet plan is essential to build muscle and lose fat quickly. The amount of muscle you build and the amount of fat you burn, not only depends on your workouts, but what you eat.

To help keep your metabolism levels high, eat 6 meals each day. Roughly, a meal every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Each meal should consist of protein and carbohydrates that are high in fiber. It's also essential to consume healthy fats each day.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/R._Huber/539651

4 Reasons Why Protein and Weight Loss Can Go Hand in Hand

For a lot of people protein is seen as more of a muscle building food reserved only for bodybuilders and serious athletes. However this perception is slowly changing as research shows us that increased protein consumption can be very beneficial for those people looking to lose weight as well.

For example n 2005 a study was conducted at the University of Illinois to compare the body composition of a number of women that were trying to lose weight.

2 groups followed a high protein and reduced carbohydrate diet and either did certain lifestyle activities or supervised strength and cardio training.

2 other groups followed a high carb and low protein diet and again either performed lifestyle type activities or supervised resistance and cardio training.




The diets were all of equal calories just different ratios of protein and carbs. The study lasted for 4 months.

The results found the participants in the protein/lifestyle activities group and the protein/supervised exercise group lost more weight and fat in total than the carb/lifestyle group and carb/supervised exercise group.

The high protein diet groups also retained more muscle mass overall than the high carbohydrate diet participants.

Other studies had similar findings revealing that a higher protein diet of at least 1.5gm per kg of bodyweight and a carbohydrate level of 120-200 gms per day can improve your weight loss.

4 Reasond why protein can be beneficial to losing weight 

Satiety or fullness - By eating more protein and less carbs you have lower blood sugar levels so you tend to feel fuller for longer with reduced appetite urges

Increased metabolic rate - Your metabolic rate increases after every meal due to what is called the "thermic effect" of the food you eat. Depending on what nutrients you consume your body will burn a varying amount of calories. When you eat protein you tend to burn more calories than when digesting carbohydrates or fats.

Reduced lean muscle loss - As your body is being supplied with more protein and the essential amino acids it is much more inclined to increase and retain muscles mass. More lean muscle is good for helping to maintain a higher metabolic rate so you body burns more calories.

Reduced fat storage. -By eating protein more of the hormone Glucagon is produced. Glucagon is a counterbalancing hormone to insulin so by raising the presence of this hormone the level of insulin decreases. A lesser amount of insulin in our body means the probability carbohydrates being stored as fat is reduced.

It must be noted that these points are only significant for weight loss if our body is in a regular calorie deficit through eating less and exercising more. Having more protein in our diet just makes this state easier to achieve.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Howard_Standring/364079

1500 Calorie Diet - Following an Easy Diet Menu to Quick Weight Loss

The key to losing weight is to go on a lower calorie diet than your normal one. Just like most of us you probably have quite a busy lifestyle to start a restrictive diet, so the optimal solution would be the 1500 calorie diet. It is not extremely restrictive, but highly effective. Still, you have to use a few basic rules to make it work optimally.

Generally weight gain is one vicious cycle that is not easy to get out of. You eat more because you are under stress and take pleasure from the extremely delicious, but very unhealthy foods. Being overweight causes your body to lose its elegance and beauty and as a result you become less confident in yourself and even angered. In turn you get more depressed and you keep eating. What is even worse is that due to your job and daily duties you simply do not have the time to exercise and to cook healthy meals. However, you need to find motivation and stop all this if not for the sake of your looks then for your health. The 1500 calorie diet is the optimal choice.




This type of nutritional plan will not make you starved. This means that you will be less likely to go to any kind of extremes and that you will be able to keep your motivation. The result is effective weight loss - you will be able to fit into smaller cloths plus your belly fat will be gone for good. The general shape of your figure will be much slender and elegant, which always helps for the good self esteem, for the easier and more effective communication and for success in general. All you need to do is to adopt the 1500 calorie diet, which is diverse, nutritional and easy to keep. It is not true that the more restrictive nutritional plan will provide you with quick results.

The 1500 calorie diet does not involve the exclusion of a nutrient group, but this does not mean that you can eat everything. Excluding the junk food from your menu and reducing the sweets in it substantially is essential for success. It is best to have four to five meals a day - breakfast, lunch and preferably two snacks. Drinking plenty of water also helps - apart from keeping you full and reducing the hunger pangs, it aids the metabolism, which allows for the more effective burning of fat. You can take a ready 1500 calorie dietary plan, but you can also make one of your own. Simply prepare your menu for the week by doing basic calculations. Do not be afraid to exceed the limit by a few calories.

It can be safely said that the 1500 calorie diet is the optimal nutritional plan for any busy modern day woman or man. You can enjoy it and its benefits to the fullest starting from today. The results will be quick to come since your body will use only the necessary amounts of energy without you experiencing any health side effects or general problems.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Delora_Richardson/529381