I have recently switched from eating Bagels with either Jam or Nutella to eating oatmeal for breakfast. This morning I found out that January is oatmeal minth (Quaker oats names months?). Anyway Oatmeal is very good for you as it is high in fiber which is good for your heart as well as vitamin E, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, manganese and magnesium. You can of course add protien powder to your oatmeal if you would like to raise the protein content for this first best meal fo the day and I can only imagine how yummy strawberry protein powder with oatmeal would be.

Anyway I just was looking around and found someone that created a diet based on Oatmeal in training for an Ironman race. Oatmeal diet - introduction is the intro to how this guy feels about oatmeal and even though a diet of oatmeal seems a little crazy eating oatmeal for breakfast is a great idea I believe for making sure that you are starting your day with a healthy step in the right direction.

Thanks for visiting. To get started why not subscribe to the 21 day fitness plan at the top of this page. Look in the red box, it is right there.. Thanks Bill

I remember years back my dad used a Mayo Clinic diet to lose weight. The Mayo Clinic diet in my memory consisted of eating grapefruits a lot and eggs. Well times change and here is a new version I guess of what the Mayo clinic says that you should eat to lose weight.

You probably know that hundreds of different fad diets, weight-loss programs and outright scams promise quick and easy weight loss. But the foundation of every successful weight-loss program still remains a healthy diet combined with exercise. You must make permanent changes in your lifestyle and health habits to lose significant weight and keep it off.

How do you make those permanent changes? Follow these six strategies.

1. Make a commitment
Permanent weight loss takes time and effort. It requires focus and a lifelong commitment. Make sure that you’re ready to make permanent changes and that you do so for the right reasons.

No one else can make you lose weight. In fact, external pressure — often from people closest to you — may make matters worse. You must undertake diet and exercise changes to please yourself.

As you’re planning new weight-related lifestyle changes, try to resolve any other problems in your life. It takes a lot of mental and physical energy to change your habits. So make sure you aren’t distracted by other major life issues, such as marital or financial problems. Timing is key to success. Ask yourself if you’re ready to take on the challenges of serious weight loss.

2. Get emotional support
Only you can help yourself lose weight by taking responsibility for your own behavior. But that doesn’t mean that you have to do everything alone. Seek support when needed from your partner, family and friends.

Pick people who you know want only the best for you and who will encourage you. Ideally, find people who will listen to your concerns and feelings, spend time exercising with you, and share the priority you’ve placed on developing a healthier lifestyle.

3. Set a realistic goal
When you’re considering what to expect from your new eating and exercise plan, be realistic. Healthy weight loss occurs slowly and steadily. Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. To do this, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day through a low-calorie diet and regular exercise. Losing weight more rapidly means losing water weight or muscle tissue, rather than fat.

Make your goals “process goals,” such as exercising regularly, rather than “outcome goals,” such as losing 50 pounds. Changing your process — your habits — is the key to weight loss. Make sure that your process goals are realistic, specific and measurable, for example, you’ll walk for 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

4. Enjoy healthier foods
Adopting a new eating style that promotes weight loss must include lowering your total calorie intake. But decreasing calories need not mean giving up taste, satisfaction or even ease of meal preparation. One way you can lower your calorie intake is by eating more plant-based foods — fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Strive for variety to help you achieve your goals without giving up taste or nutrition. Cutting back on calories is easier if you focus on limiting fat.

To lose weight, talk to your doctor about setting these daily calorie goals:
Your current weight in pounds Daily calorie goal
Women Men
250 or less 1,200 1,400
251 to 300 1,400 1,600
301 or more 1,600 1,800

Very low calorie diets aren’t a healthy long-term strategy. Fewer than 1,200 calories a day for women and 1,400 calories for men aren’t generally recommended. If your calories are too low, you run the risk of not getting all of the nutrients you need for good health.

5. Get active, stay active
Dieting alone can help you lose weight. Cutting 250 calories from your daily diet can help you lose about half a pound a week: 3,500 calories equals 1 pound of fat. But add a 30-minute brisk walk four days a week, and you can double your rate of weight loss.

The goal of exercise for weight loss is to burn more calories, although exercise offers many other benefits as well. How many calories you burn depends on the frequency, duration and intensity of your activities. One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise — such as walking — for more than 30 minutes most days of the week.

Even though regularly scheduled aerobic exercise is best for losing fat, any extra movement helps burn calories. Lifestyle activities may be easier to fit into your day. Think about ways you can increase your physical activity throughout the day. For example, make several trips up and down stairs instead of using the elevator, or park at the far end of the lot.

6. Change your lifestyle
It’s not enough to eat healthy foods and exercise for only a few weeks or even several months. You have to include these behaviors into your life. To do that, you have to change the behaviors that helped make you overweight in the first place. Lifestyle changes start with taking an honest look at your eating habits and daily routine.

After assessing your personal challenges to weight loss, try working out a strategy to gradually change habits and attitudes that have sabotaged your past efforts. Simply admitting your own challenges won’t get you past them entirely. But it helps in planning how you’ll deal with them and whether you’re going to succeed in losing weight once and for all.

You likely will have an occasional setback. But instead of giving up entirely, simply start fresh the next day. Remember that you’re planning to change your life. It won’t happen all at once, but stick to your healthy lifestyle and the results will be worth it.

I just ran into this for the first time this morning. The 100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change is a diet that is more of an environmental movement. The idea behind the 100 mile diet is this, you only eat food that was produced within 100 miles of your home.

This is a neat idea to think about and is probably very good for the environment as one of the real costs of food both at the supermarket and in our environment is transportation. Each ingredient in our meals apparently travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to our plate. Although I know that it would be tough, especially depending on where you live this could be a great idea or kind of unworkable.

The people that started the 100 mile diet live in Vancouver, Vancouver is my hometown and is very close to farms, fishing and therefore most things that you would want to eat. I now live in Calgary and here in Calgary we are 600 miles from an ocean although I can get rainbow trout from the local Bow River, there are farms very close and of course lots fo fresh water close by, but no fruit! What happens though to someone win the middle of Los Angeles or in the middle of a desert, he problem for some people in these places is that there would be no quality food that is grown or produced so closely.

In the end I believe that the ideals behind the 100 mile diet are something that everyone should seriously look at. Just because some produce from South America is cheaper than what is grown locally does not make it cheaper in the end, I talk about this on this blog very little but our environment is getting worse (I don’t really want to drag this into some pro or con environmental debate) and this seems to be one good first step to make things a bit better.

A-list blogger Jeremy Zawodny lost close to 50 pounds just a little while back by following just 12 simple rules for losing weight. You can read them at this link.

Diet Tips: How To Eat Less (by Jeremy Zawodny)

You will notice that just as any geek would have to do, Jeremy kept a spreadsheet to track his weight loss as well as his calories eaten throughout the day. This is a really good idea as you will eat less junk if you are accountable to yourself by writing down everything that you eat. The real secret that this shows is that if you have a plan and follow it you have no choice but to succeed in your weight loss.

In the past I covered another blogger, Chris Pirillo weight loss of 25 pounds in two months.

Source: Wikipedia

South Beach Recipes - Two Popular South Beach Recipes

With summer coming up, a lot of people try to look their best � slim and toned up. As a result, a lot of people are looking for that little extra support to help them lose weight and look the best.
In order to have a nice summer-look body, one needs to start exercising and eating well several months before summer sets on. Exercising and a balanced diet and healthy diet is what you need. To diet, you can use various diet plans and recipes, and South Beach Recipes is one of them.

As popularity of the South Beach Diet increases, many South Beach Recipes are being formulated and to help those who love to make their body fit and slim.

South Beach Recipes are proven to be rich and satisfying South Beach Recipes that are now include in most South Beach Diet menus. So what can you benefit from following the South Beach Recipes?

The seSouth Beach Recipes are chosen from the South Beach Diet Cookbook, and are delicious, flavorful, easy to prepare, appetizing enough to spice up any mealtime, and most of all these South Beach Recipes are good for you. These South Beach Recipes focus on fresh, lean protein, seasonal produce, and heart-healthy fats just like the olive oil. South Beach Recipes are therefore perfect for a weekday family dinner.

Here are two popular South Beach Recipes for you to try today.
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The South Beach diet phases - What Are The Principles of The South Beach diet phases?

A lot of people are now realizing the importance of being healthy and fit; thus dieting has become very popular as people seek to maintain healthy bodies. While the dieters are increasingly looking for the way to lose weight, there has also been many diet plans that have been developed. Some of these diets have been more effective and popular than others.

The South Beach Diet is the latest in the series of the diet fads. As a lot of people who hear about the excitement about this diet, they ask: What is the South Beach Diet? What is involved in the South Beach Plan?

Is the search for the best diet program continues, the number of diets to select from in today�s society also increases. Now there the low-fat diets, low-carbohydrate diets, reduced-calorie diets, and low protein diets, and the list goes on. A South Beach diet phases is the most recent contender. The South Beach diet phases has amazingly taken the whole continent of America by storm and is set to have an impact world wide.

With all the various diets to choose from, how is a dieter going know which one is the best diet? Knowing the basic facts of the diet is the starting point. So, what actually is the South Beach diet phases?

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Introduction to Jenny Craig

Jenny Craig, is it good for you or bad for you? My wife has recently restarted going to Jenny Craig and because of the popularity of Jenny Craig I thought I would write a bit of an article about Jenny Craig.

Jenny Craig is a diet that you do by going into an office and getting the full meal deal, and you pay for that. The program that Jenny Craig offers for weight loss is to have your consultant ask some questions and then put you on a specific calorie plan. In my wife’s case she started with 1500 calories a day as a food intake. The next step after the food amount is chosen is to have a weekly menu that you can take home and put on your fridge. The food on the menu is mostly taken from food that you but at Jenny Craig. Ah, you say now I get it there must be a cost to this. The big key for most people is the fact that there is one on one consulting once a week when you weigh in and buy your food.

Jenny Craig Food

This is the part of the Jenny Craig diet that I was most interested in. After looking at the diet I think that I have a good feel for what the diet stresses. First Protein, carbohydrate, fats. In looking at the food over the week I am pretty happy with the food combination, Jenny Craig diet is higher in protein and lower in fats and carbohydrates and low in fat as is very popular these days. I am guessing that the protein, carbohydrate, fat percentages are around 30-60-10 which is nice but a little bit of a shock for most people. The food is pretty good for vegetables which of course are low in calories but high in water and nutrients. The meal plan with Jenny Craig calls for eating five or six times a day which is great but the numerous small meals are a very hard adjustment for my wife, she is OK now though. The food itself look delicious and apparently tastes quite good although there are a few food that my wife is not a big fan of at all, I can tell this by the stars beside some foods and then a big YUCK beside a star on the bottom of the menu.
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Another article on the South Beach Diet?

I am a bit of a fan of the South Beach Diet, well as much as I can anyway. I still believe that good common sense should beat out good marketing. The South Beach diet is one of the most popular on the planet right now and it is hard to open up people magazine or entertainment weekly without a reference to south Beach somewhere.

The South Beach Diet is essentially an eating plan that holds the principle that one must eat the right carbohydrates and right fats in order to have a healthy life full of vitality and a great looking body. Consequently, what you eat; and indeed what foods are good and what are bad for you, is a paramount principle in the South Beach Diet.

In the South Beach Diet plan, you must eat the right carbohydrates and the right fats. South Beach Diet plan is very trendy, with a lot of people following it these days. Although a lot of people consider the South Beach Diet as a popular diet, many are still not aware about the foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet.

The first thing you need to know are the principles of the South Beach Diet, so that you can then fully understand the foods that are good and bad for you. The South Beach Diet is specifically divided into three different phases. Each phase has its own distinction and limitation. However, knowing the foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet requires a great focus on the phase one of the diet. Why? The foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet are largely stated in Phase one.

The first phase of the South Beach Diet is considered to be the most challenging and strict phase of the diet, because there are so many foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet� first phase. The main foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet particularly in the first phase are beef rib steaks, honey-baked ham, breast of veal, all yogurts, ice cream, milk including whole, low-fat, soy, and full fat cheeses, beets, carrots, corn, yams, fruits and fruit juices, all alcohol.

It is also essential to remember that aside from those foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet, there are also some sorts that are included in the foods to generally avoid in the South Beach Diet and these include all starchy foods such as bread, cereal, oatmeal, matzo, rice, pasta, pastries and baked goods among other similar foods.

What then are the foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet?

So the foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet are really carbohydrates. It is recommended to avoid carbohydrates on the South Beach Diet for so many reasons. The main theory behind this reasoning is that once weight decreases, the followers of the diet begin to metabolize carbohydrates properly and the longing for carbohydrates will consequently disappear.

In the South Beach Diet it is also recommended that the dieter must to eat three balanced meals a day, and to eat enough so that the dieter does not feel hungry all the time. It is estimated that on average, the expected weight loss which a dieter can achieve during the phase one of the diet is eight to thirteen pounds.

On the second phase of the South Beach diet, basically the foods that were barred during the first phase are now allowed in this second phase. It is recommended that the dieters remain on phase two and continue losing weight until they have reached their weight goal. As far as how long it actually takes to lose the weight, that really depends on how much the dieter wants to lose.

The third and last phase of the South Beach diet is one where one continues maintaining good eating habits for the rest of the dieter�s life. By this stage, the dieter would have adopted the South Beach diet plan as their natural eating habit for life.

By simply following the South Beach Diet, you can achieve your best body weight. You can be healthy for life and also have a great looking body. By knowing the foods to avoid on the South Beach Diet, you can achieve any weight and fitness goals you may have.

The South Beach Diet was developed by Dr. Agatston for his chronically overweight heart patients. As the results of his patients were astounding, Dr. Agatston’s diet became very popular. Dr. Agatston’s South Beach Diet Book was released in 2003, and it has been flying off the shelves ever since.

Dr. Agatston has also released two cookbooks and a food guide. The South Beach Diet has been approved as one of the most effective and trendy forms of diets.

South Beach Diet has positively impacted on the lives of many dieters. Due to the popularity that the South Beach Diet achieved, many of the companies online now offer some of the available South Beach Diet books for those who are interested to know the facts about this latest diet.

Now there are almost hundreds of companies that offer South Beach Diet books, online dietitians and live support on the web. As you will notice, some of the offered South Beach Diet books are of good quality, and these are really written by the master of the South Beach Diet himself, Dr. Arthur Agatston.

So, what has caused this growing popularity in of South Beach Diet books today?

The main reason is the rapid increase of the number of people who really appreciate and practice the South Beach Diet. In fact, it is estimated that over hundreds of thousands people in the world today applied the South Beach Diet in their own lives. The South Beach Diet books therefore give them the best guide for their diets.

While on any program to lose weight, it is important to get the necessary guide and information in order to succeed with the diet. The South Beach Diet books serve as a guide for the perfect application of South Beach diet. With such guide, the dieter will greatly achieve a new level of success. For most dieters, applying the South Beach Diet to their lives through the guide of many South Beach Diet books will make the practice a way of life; thus enabling them to keep the weight off and remain healthy and fit for the rest of their lives.

If you are considering going on the South Beach Diet, or have already started, the South Beach Diet Book is a must-have if you want to succeed. To succeed with any diet, you need to follow all the principles and recommendations of that diet, otherwise you will not succeed.

One of the widely offered South Beach Diet books is the book entitled “The South Beach Diet” which is written by Arthur Agatston himself. Just like any other South Beach Diet books, this is designed to provide an easy to follow eating plans and recipes to keep the dieter firmly on track. In this South Beach Diet book, which is on the market, the recipes are simple to prepare. The South Beach diet books make being a diet and losing weight fun and easy.

The South Beach Diet books teach dieters how to eat the right carbs and fats. Dieters can also eat their favorite foods and lose weight, and keep it off. The South Beach Diet Books have recipes and weight loss tools.
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People are getting ready for summer, losing weight and getting toned up. Losing weight is a huge challenge, and in most cases, it helps to follow some diet plan while trying to lose weight.

Today, the South Beach diet plan is widely followed by many dieters. However, quite unlike other popular diets, the South Beach diet is neither a low-carb diet nor a low-fat diet. Basically, the South Beach diet plan teaches dieters to eat the right carbohydrates and the right fats. By avoiding “bad” foods, then one can be healthy and fit.

What is the South Beach Diet?

It is however noteworthy that despite its popularity, the South Beach diet plan is not normally fully understood.
So, what is the South Beach diet plan? What is all about it � what are its principles?

The South Beach diet plan was in fact developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston after the truth that some of his patients were having little success by using the said to be conventional low carb, high fat diet plans like the Atkins diet.

Dr. Arthur Agatston, being then a cardiologist, decided to formulate a diet that will lead to a healthy heart � and the South Beach diet plan was created.

Based on the testimony of Dr. Agatston, since the introduction of the South Beach diet plan, many people who followed the South Beach diet plan actually lost an average of 13.6 pounds almost double the 7.5 pounds lost by those who use the strict “Step II” of the American Heart Association (AHA) diet.

In addition, it was also found that with the use of the South Beach diet plan many people showed to have greater decreases in their waist-to-hip ration and triglycerides, and their good to bad cholesterol ratio even improved more.

The South Beach diet plan is not considered as a low carbohydrate diet. This is because the idea behind the South Beach diet plan is to lose weight in a way that is healthy and sustainable for those who follow it.

A lot of people are now realizing the importance of being healthy and fit; thus dieting has become very popular as people seek to maintain healthy bodies. While the dieters are increasingly looking for the way to lose weight, there has also been many diet plans that have been developed. Some of these diets have been more effective and popular than others.

The South Beach Diet is the latest in the series of the diet fads. As a lot of people who hear about the excitement about this diet, they ask: What is the South Beach Diet? What is involved in the South Beach Plan?

As the search for the best diet program continues, the number of diets to select from in today�s society also increases. Now there the low-fat diets, low-carbohydrate diets, reduced-calorie diets, and low protein diets, and the list goes on. A South Beach Diet plan is the most recent contender. The South Beach Diet plan has amazingly taken the whole continent of America by storm and is set to have an impact world wide.

Why should you do South Beach diet?

With all the various diets to choose from, how is a dieter going know which one is the best diet? Knowing the basic facts of the diet is the starting point. So, what actually is the South Beach Diet plan?

The South Beach diet is very different from any other forms of diet plans. Why? It is mainly for the fact that the South Beach diet system does not rely on the low carbohydrates or low fat like other main diets.

Instead, the main purpose of the South Beach diet system is to discipline people, especially the dieters to rely on the right carbohydrates and fat. The South Beach Diet plan is also designed to teach the people on how to avoid the food items that are �worst� for their bodies.

The South Beach Diet plan is in fact a diet program that is generally set for a healthy body. The most significant principle of the plan is that teaches you to rely on the right kinds of carbohydrates and the right types of fats to maintain health and facilitate weight loss. These particular groups are considered as the �good� carbs and fats. By eating the �good� food items and avoiding the �bad� ones, then you can lose weight and keep healthy.

The South Beach Diet plan is further contrasted from one of the hottest diet plan that also swept the continent of America and worldwide � the Atkins Diet. Unlike the Atkins Diet plan, the South Beach system does not entail removing a particular food group. Whereas the Atkins Diet relies primarily on the no carbs and limitless proteins and fats, this diet plan seems to be rooted around a balanced and healthy eating regime. You get to eat what is �good� for you and avoid what is �bad�.

Carbohydrates in the South Beach Diet

Within the principles of the South Beach Diet, the good carbohydrates such as whole grains, fruit and vegetables, are highly recommended, as are unsaturated fats. In the South Beach Diet plan, proper form of exercise and healthy eating plans are not a critical necessity. For this reason, some people have expressed concern with the South Beach Diet Plan, since it is a proven fact that exercise helps speed up the process of losing weight.

Numerous studies have shown that the South Beach Diet plan can aid to reduce cholesterol as well as to minimize the risk of cardiovascular problems. Satisfying the hunger is a big part for the South Beach Diet plan, as it requires both determination and willpower.

Basically, the South Beach Diet teaches you how to eat healthily, to include good carbs and fats in your meals. This ensures that your heart is cared for and generally makes you fitter for life, thus increasing your vitality and quality of your life.

In the South Beach diet plan, unlike the low carbohydrate, diets have to choose between the good and bad carb foods; rather that avoid all the carb foods. As such, the dieter is required to eat more fruits and even entire grain bread when it is contrasted to other low carb diets. The South Beach diet is therefore more manageable and dieters are able to stick with it, and incorporate it as their new way of eating and living.

The South Beach diet involves stopping your cravings, eating foods that are good for you and maintaining the diet and way of eating for life. Those who have followed the South Beach diet plan plan comment that the diet more like a way of life rather than a diet. Successful dieters go to live the rest of their lives following the South Beach diet plan principles.

There are a lot of success stories from dieters who have followed this diet. These are a great source of inspiration for others who are planning on losing weight and have a healthy life. With summer coming up, get onto a diet today and look and feel great!