Very important to read those nutrition labels

I think it is very important to read nutrition labels these days. Alot of the foods we eat now contain so many chemicals, food dyes, processed flour, refined sugars, and basically other ingredients that are not beneficial to your health. All these extra things that are added to the foods are basically added to increase the shelf life of them. This is why we need to stick to a healthy diet and concentrate on natural fresh healthy foods.

For example today I decided to have my whole wheat waffles with some strawberries for breakfast. Now you would think that is the perfect healthy breakfast. It has the whole grains and the fruit it is just perfect. As you can the see the product says nutri-grain and also that it is made with 8g of whole grain! Well boy was I wrong! By chance I decided to read the label because most of the whole wheat products I was seeing at the store had unbleached flour or enriched flour on their ingredients label. Now technically this does not make the product 100% whole wheat anymore! This product is now a refined or processed food.

The meaning of using enriched wheat flour is to increase the shelf life because waffle are found int he frozen section. So basically it is a chemical process that strips the wheat of its essential vitamins and minerals so it can last longer in the freezer. Now this causes the wheat to lose its most important nutrients and changes the whole process of its digestion in our system. Since it has become a refined or processed food it will digested very quickly in our system rather than the slowly complex digestion process that 100% whole wheat products should do. This is not healthy...if the product claims to be 100% whole wheat it should be 100% whole wheat....therefore I think I will have to start making my own homemade waffles from now on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So the point of this post is to reinforce the fact that reading nutrition labels is very important especially if you are concentrating on eating healthy.

Exercise: When to work out

In my opinion the best time to workout will be in the mornings. It is good in the morning because it bascially is a great jump start to your day, in a lot of ways. When you workout in the morning you are setting up your body to burn calories for the rest of the day. When you exercise you are burning calories during and even after your workout is over. Exercise that increases your heart rate significantly, heavy aerobic exercise, can increase your metabolism. It is this increase in metabolism that gives the body the energy boost to keep burning calories through out he day. If you exercise in the evening, try to fit it in by 6pm. This will allow your body to keep burning calories for some time before you go to bed. Also, late workouts can interfere with sleep schedule because after working out you have so much energy it might be hard to fall asleep! However, if you are just doing some weight workout or yoga type stretching this might not interfere with your sleep patterns because it does not increase your heart rate as much.

So try to get that workout done with in the morning and you will feel better throughout the day and keep burning some extra calories!!!!

My thoughts on the Atkins diet

The Atkins diet has been a controversial diet. The effect of the Atkins diet on weight loss is positive, but its long term effects on the body itself can be detrimental. What is the Atkins diet? The Atkins diet is basically a diet that includes meats, cheeses (not low fat cheese), certain vegetables, and eggs. Its major point is that there is NO bread or fruits allowed! Now how are we obtaining are carbohydrates in this diet? We are not! I have worked as a nutritionist as well as done my B.S. in nutrition and I am completely against this diet because of the negative effects of not including fruits and grains in this diet. This diet can be debatable because it actually works. The weight does come off from eliminating the bread and fruits in the diet, but the lack of nutrients from the fruits and other vegetables that are forbidden on this diet can have negative effects on the body.

If we are limiting our carbohydrates our body is using our stored fat as fuels and this can lead to ketone bodies. Our brain relies on glucose to function not ketone bodies. It can function on these ketone bodies produced, but only on a limited basis. The Atkins diet restricts the body of carbohydrates to about 20g per day. The normal amount of carbohydrate recommendation is about 150g per day. The breakdown of carbohydrates to fuel the brain is a much quicker way to receive the glucose needed for the brain to function. The breakdown of fats and proteins is a much slower process. If we include good carbohydrates such as, fruits, grains and vegetables it will be beneficial and not promote weight gain. But the Atkins diet severely restricts in fruits, certain vegetables, and of course grains for the first two weeks. After 2 weeks certain fruits and grains are introduced gradually, but not enough to provide the nutrients and vitamins the body needs.

The Atkins diet focuses on high fat foods and low carbohydrate intake. High fat foods can have a huge impact on our cholesterol levels possibly leading to heart disease. All the cheeses are supposed to be regular cheese and not low fat!!! This does not sound healthy to me. There is no limit on eggs in this diet and eggs are very high in cholesterol. Although, I will not argue that eggs are a very good source of protein and iron, but 3-4 egg omelets a day is not healthy.

As a nutritionist I do not condone this type of dieting due to so much of the negative effects associated with it. Personally, I think that a diet that includes healthy carbohydrates and that is low in fat can provide a good weight loss and a healthy weight loss. The Atkins diet claims that it was designed for those with heart problems and obesity. However, the high fat content and high cholesterol content does not seem like it would be a good choice for those with heart problems.

Detoxification diets

My opinion on diets that promise rapid weight loss is that it just leads to "unsuccessful permanent weight loss." That is why I completely disagree with "detox diets." Detox diets claim that they promise weight loss in a short amount of time, but the weight loss is not permanent. What is a detox diet? A detox diet basically is a way of cleansing our system and that involves a strict diet regimen to clear our body of toxins that have accumulated from pollution, pesticides in our food, and alcohol. There are many detox diets out there and their basic purpose is to cleanse the system. Some detox diets will last 3 days and some will be 10 days, just depends what your purpose is on going on this type of diet.

I will focus on one in particular called the "master cleanse diet." This diet is the one that celebrities are using to quickly lose weight for movies or social events. I completely disagree with putting your body through this as there is completely lack of caloric intake in this diet. What it basically entails is:

• Warm water and salt in the morning
• 60 ounces drink mix of cayenne pepper, lemon, and maple syrup drank throughout the day
• a laxative tea at night

There is hardly any caloric intake because there is no food involved! This diet basically is a 10 day course. The laxatives help increase the process of the elimination of wastes from the body. (simply say causing diarrhea) Also, the warm water and salt will help with the elimination process. So from this I can definitely tell you the weight that you will lose is all WATER weight. After you resume your normal eating habits the weight will come back on fast.

You may be wondering if this diet is used to cleanse our system, why is it so bad? Well, int he cleansing process we lose very important electrolytes and there is risk of dehydration. The most negative part of this diet, as I have mentioned, NO PERMANENT weight loss.

In my opinion stick to a diet that is low in fat, low in carbohydrates, full of fresh fruits and vegetables, and also incorporate healthy grains. This type of diet does not promise rapid weight loss, but does promote weight loss in a gradual manner. When you lose weight gradually and in a healthy way the weight loss will be permanent. Also, you will have to incorporate an exercise regimen as well. If you exercise even 30 minutes a day or every other day it will help!

Stay away from diets that promise a quick fix to a bigger problem.

Healthy lunch

I have kept off all the weight that I have lost through eating a healthy lunch after working out. I have a salad that is packed with healthy vitamins and nutrients. I never used to eat fruits, but lately I have been eating alot!!! My lunch is a salad with carrots, strawberries, blueberries, apples,pomegranate flavored dried cranberries, romaine lettuce, and sliced almonds. I also include half a sandwich with some kind of meat, usually chicken, on 1/2 of whole wheat toufan pita bread. I also have some green tea during lunch as well.

This is a great post workout lunch. The fruits provide all the essential vitamins and healthy carbohydrates that our body needs to refuel. Since the pita bread is whole wheat is healthy as well.

Preparation of this lunch does take some time since you do have to cut up all the fruit, but it is worth it. And you can always pre-cut the strawberries and keep them in the fridge for when you need them.

Exercise on vacation

It is vacation time and it is time to take a break from that workout routine, right? WRONG!!! When you are on vacation sure it is a time to relax and have fun. Also, probably splurge on your eating! It will make you feel better if you add in maybe 25-30 minutes of a workout into your schedule.

Depending where you are and if the weather is nice you can always walk! Walking is the best form of exercise and will keep you form gaining those extra pounds during your vacation time. If there is a gym in your hotel even better, just 20-30 minutes will not put a damper on your vacation. Even 25-30 min yoga session before your vacation companions wake up will have a refreshing start to your day.

cravings

I feel that if you are craving something you should definitely have it . It will prevent overeating or instead of 1 day cheating it might lead to 1 week or a month or you might even give up on dieting. We cannot give our bodies the same thing everyday. We need variety to keep ourselves interested and keep ourselves focused. We get bored easily and getting bored of dieting will just lead to failure. So if you want that ice cream, fries, or a burger have it! Just remember there are healthy ways to eat these "forbidden foods."

For example, if you want ice cream have a small cup, one scoop if you are out at the ice cream shop. If you are at home stick to 1/2 churned its just as good as regular and it has half the fat. Honestly to me it tastes really good and now most companies are making 1/2 churned ice cream. If you really want to cheat have it in a cone instead of a cup you can savor it for longer!!!!

Ok my take on fries......smaller portions!!!!!!!!!! Do not think just because today is your CHEAT day you can go ALL out. Remember moderation is the key. It will keep your weight in check for a longer time rather than just a month maybe it will help you keep it off for a year.
Always get the fries without salt and if you are making it at home you can use olive oil and no SALT maybe salt substitute or other seasonings you enjoy. You can bake the fries at home and they just come out as good as they are when they are fried.

BURGERS----MY absolute favorite food. Have the burger on a whole wheat bun and if you are going to cheat have a good burger not one from the fast food places because you do not know what kind of meat that is!!!! When it comes to the condiments remember MODERATION. Do not slather on the mayonnaise or extras.

Now you might be saying ok I thought you said just have what your craving, but then all these dos and dont's. WELL you want to keep the weight off, but you also want to eat the the foods you enjoy. This is how you do it!!!! You can have all the foods you want just make that food healthier and in moderation.