Because there are so many different diet options available on the market today, it is extremely difficult to find a healthy diet plan right for you. Some plans force you to limit your carbohydrate intake, some force you to reduce fat, and some require you to severely limit your calorie intake. How do you find the right plan for you?
There are many diets that can work but you must make the commitment to stick to them. The best diet for you is the one that you feel most comfortable following for the long-term. To do that, you need to find a plan that contains foods you like to eat and fits your lifestyle.
Such a plan can help you lose weight and help you keep those extra pounds off.
HOW TO CHOOSE AN EATING PLAN
For most people, simply cutting back on their usual dietary habits is not enough. You may need a more structured program in order to change the bad habits that put on your extra weight in the first place. You must not only limit your food but change those negative behaviors.
Weight loss should never be about deprivation. Ultimately, this does not work for anyone over the long-term. If you feel like you are being too severely restricted, you will feel dissatisfied and more inclined to cheat. You must choose an eating plan that includes the foods you love to eat.
Never try to follow a diet that is very low in calories. Low-calories diets produce quick weight loss but the weight you lose is water and muscle, not fat. You are also much more likely to gain the weight back very quickly. Additionally, low-calorie diets are VERY unhealthy for your body.
Avoid diet plans that are based on unrealistic expectations, like completely eliminating certain foods or eating only certain foods at certain times. If it sounds unhealthy, it probably is.
Also, be very wary of plans that make fantastic promises. If it sounds unrealistic, it probably is.
CUSTOMIZE A DIET PLAN FOR YOU.
Your first priority should be to choose an eating plan that fits you, not your friend, your spouse, or your boss. Remember, make your decision based on something that you can stick with for life, not for a week or a month.
Find a plan that you can enjoy without feeling deprived or you will not be able to stay with it. Choose healthy foods, but also choose foods that you enjoy. Choose a balanced meal plan that includes a wide variety of foods, vitally important for a diet you can live with.
The key ingredients for a healthy diet are high fiber foods, including most vegetables and some fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy foods, healthy oils (olive oil and fatty fish), and lots and lots of water. Avoid high sugar foods and white flour foods (most of the processed foods that are available in your grocery store).
EXERCISE DAILY.
Exercise revs up your metabolism, increasing your rate of weight loss. It strengthens your heart by pumping more blood, lowers blood pressure and reduces your cholesterol levels.
Modify your diet as you reach your goal weight, adding variety in the form of foods that you love to eat. Add some regular aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, skating, etc.). Before you know it, you will feel better, look better, and be living a healthier lifestyle.
http://www.simplysearch4it.com/author-articles/1507/1.html
Friday, January 2, 2009
Best Diet for You
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Ketogenic Epilepsy Diet - Using the Modified Atkins Diet For Seizure Control
A very strict version of ketogenic diet has been used for many years in childhood epilepsy that failed to respond to anti-epileptic drugs. Although the mechanisms are not fully understood, the ketogenesis alters the metabolism of the brain in a way that can reduce the risk of seizures. However, this treatment for epilepsy fell out of favour over the years due to difficulty in keeping to the diet and concerns about cholesterol levels.
A new trial conducted in the UK in 2008 confirmed that a ketogenic high-fat diet can indeed significantly reduce the number of seizures in epilepsy and rekindled interest in its use. The concerns about cholesterol levels have now been shown to be groundless, so that is no longer an issue. Researchers have also discovered that the anti-seizure effect still occurs when a less strict version of the ketogenic 'epilepsy diet' is used, which means that the diet is not so difficult to follow.
Epilepsy consultant Dr Eric Kossoff has been very active in this area of research, and has shown that the traditional ketogenic diet for epilepsy is needlessly restrictive. He uses a modified version of the Atkins Diet (10 g rather than 20 g of carbohydrates for the first few months). He has also found that epileptic kids don't need to start off with a fast, so no initial hospitalization is needed, and their carers can more or less just get the Atkins book and follow it (under the epilepsy consultant's supervision). This, together with the increased availability of low carbohydrate substitutes for making bread and other foods hitherto off-limits on the ketogenic epilepsy diet, should make life much easier for epileptics and those who cook for them.
As Dr Kossoff wrote in The Lancet, 'Only a decade ago the ketogenic diet was seen as a last resort; however, it has become more commonly used in academic centres throughout the world even early in the course of epilepsy. The Atkins diet is a recently used, less restrictive, therapy that also creates ketosis and can lower the number of seizures.'
Dr Kossoff says his 'modified Atkins Diet' version of the epilepsy diet is better than the traditional ketogenic diet because no restrictions are required on fluid, calorie or protein intake. Additionally, there is no need to weigh and measure all foods. Carbohydrate counts are monitored by patients and parents. The diet is also started outside of the hospital, and doesn't require an initial fast, either. Foods can be eaten more freely in restaurants and outside the home. The diet is a 'modified' Atkins diet as it allows for less carbohydrates than traditional Atkins (10-20g/day) and more strongly encourages fat intake.
Good results have also been reported by some consultants who start the ketogenic epilepsy diet with a very low level of carbs and then increase it after a few months.
The discovery that the ketogenic epilepsy diet does not need to be as restrictive as originally thought is great news for epileptics. Even better, thanks to the explosion in popularity of the Atkins and other ketogenic diets for weight loss purposes, epileptics should have no difficulty in finding the recipes, cookbooks and substitute ingredients they need to follow the ketogenic epilepsy diet.
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