In recent years, diets with low carbohydrate allowances have found popularity and legitimacy. Low carb diets have a long history that does not begin, as many might suspect, with Dr. Atkins in the 1990s. The low carb diet actually had its humble inception in the 1860s, with a single doctor and a single patient.

The true creator of the low carb diet phenomenon is actually a man named William Harvey, who recommended the diet to a patient suffering from numerous obesity-related ailments. This patient, William Banting, was the first adherent to what would much later become a low carb dieting craze.

Banting was stunned by not only his weight loss, but the increase in his quality of life as his medical conditions improved and disappeared. Banting’s 50 pound weight loss was touted in a series of pamphlets he produced, encouraging others to take advantage of this revolutionary way of eating.

The original low carb diet required an extreme reduction in foods such as bread, milk, sugar, butter, potatoes, as well as beer, as such food items were believed to create fat due to their starch and saccharine content.

Almost 60 years later, in the 1920s, the Mayo Clinic and John Hopkins University began using a similar diet to William Harvey’s low carb diet to treat seizure disorders in children. The diet the children adhered to induced a condition called ketosis, which is the altered metabolic state that gives a low carb diet its weight loss success.

Finally, in the late 1960s, the low carb diet found widespread acclaim when it was introduced to the public by Dr. Irwin Maxwell Stillman in his book, The Doctor’s Quick Weight Loss Diet. Stillman’s book was a huge success, which paved the way for later incarnations of protein-rich low carbohydrate diets.

Of course, most of us have never heard of Dr. Irwin Maxwell Stillman or William Harvey. To the modern world, Dr. Robert Adkins is the creator of the low carb diet. While he did not create the idea, he can certainly be credited with raising the diet’s profile and popularity.

Adkins released his first book, Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution in 1972, after reading articles on low carb dieting in the late 60s and experiencing the success of the low carb diet philosophy himself. It was met with dismal success and other doctors produced works encouraging similar diets in the 80s and 90s.

At the time of its release, Atkins’ diet program was shunned by medical professionals and nutritionists as being unhealthy. Fortunately, controversy dissipated as more and more people discovered the incredible health and weight loss benefits a low carb diet could yield.

As the low carb movement began gathering more adherents, Adkins released Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution in the early 1990s and again in 1999. The popularity of low carb dieting continued to increase and many variations of the diet were introduced, including well-known diets like The Zone and South Beach.

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: atkins diet, Atkins Diet Revolution, food items, Irwin Maxwell Stillman, John Hopkins University, ketosis, low carb diet, low carb diets, low carbohydrate diets, Mayo Clinic, obesity, Robert Adkins, seizure disorders, south beach, William Banting, William Harvey

Ask the average man or woman, and their number one body complaint will be belly fat. A sleek, toned mid-section is the single greatest quest in most dieter’s weight loss journey. How can you target mid-section flab and bloat?

Consider the Atkins Diet. This diet is ideal for fast-paced fat burning and is relatively easy to stick with. The primary principal behind the Atkins Diet is limiting carbs to force the body to consume its fat stores (like in the belly.) for fuel.

Dieters who enjoy meats and butters and oils will love the food selection. Beef, turkey, pork, chicken, shellfish and other meat favorites are staples of the Atkins Diet. Although alcohol and sugary foods are strictly prohibited in the earliest phase, the diet is less restrictive in later phases.

If you like the principles behind the Atkins Diet but are looking for something with a little more freedom, the South Beach diet may be the diet for you. Similar to the Atkins Diet, South Beach is a low carb, high protein diet.

Get a lean, attractive mid-section by focusing on healthier carbohydrates and shunning high starch, low fiber, and processed carbs. The South Beach diet also allows a small amount of some alcohols as well as greater cheese and vegetable options. South Beach dieters may also be pleased to discover a large number of prepared South Beach food items commercially available.

The Zone is another convenient diet choice that boasts prepared meals to make planning and eating easier. While The Zone limits carbs like South Beach and the Atkins Diet, the principle behind The Zone’s dietary regimen is insulin control.

The Zone diet is comprised of three stages and prescribes a 40-30-30 meal plan where 40 percent of calories are carbohydrates, 30 percent are proteins, and 30 percent are fats. This diet is well known for being the diet of choice for many celebrities.

If you’re looking for a diet that is truly a life-long change in habits, you may enjoy the Mediterranean Diet. This diet reflects the eating habits of Mediterranean peoples, who have long been known to be exceptionally healthy and fit.

The Mediterranean Diet calls for the dieter to replace fats and oils with heart-healthy olive oil. Meals and snacks are based around fresh seasonal produce. Protein comes from nuts, seeds, and moderate intake of high quality lean meats.

Weight Watchers offers a flexible program for banishing belly fat. The program combines two distinct dietary regimens from which the dieter can choose along with motivational meetings and tools.

Weight Watchers dieters may choose between a program that “budgets” food by assigning all foods a numeric value based on fat, fiber and calorie content, and one that allows for unlimited consumption of healthy, whole foods.

Obtaining a slim, trim abdomen is not the unattainable goal we sometimes tell ourselves it is. With so many options available, it’s only too easy to choose a program that compliments your lifestyle.

Tags: atkins diet, food, food items, food selection, heart-healthy olive oil, Mediterranean, mediterranean diet, south beach, South Beach Diet, Turkey

Just like obesity, diabetes is also fast becoming a threatening disease with every passing year. And as strange as it might sound, you could actually get rid of both of them by using the same method. Obesity is caused by an excessive amount of calorie consumption, and the same holds true for diabetes as well.

In fact several recent studies have pointed out that diabetes is closely linked with obesity. Now if you want to get rid of both your fat belly as well as those dreaded insulin injections, monitoring your daily calorie intake is the only way to kill the two birds with one stone.

Since most junk foods are high on calorie and sugar content, they tend to increase your blood sugar level apart from making you overweight. The recommended way to control your calorie intake is by counting your daily calorie consumption level using a calorie counter. So let’s see how a calorie counter could offer you fast weight loss. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: bloating, diabetes, electronic device, food items, food journal, food restaurant, insulin injections, obesity, threatening disease

If you have been frustrated with the calorie counting diet, take heart, for you are not alone. To be honest, I haven’t seen a more bogus dieting method in my life. If you really wish to achieve any significant weight loss results with this diet, you would have to:

a) Hire a chef who would count the calories of each and every food before and after cooking them.

OR

b) Have a calculator beside you every time you eat, be it at home or a restaurant.

OR

c) Keep eating the same “low-calorie” foods day after day, month after month, and year after year, until one day you become so bored with your diet that you quit it altogether, thinking that life with a fat belly would be much happier than this.

In fact, you cannot imagine what funny and stressful situations this diet would land you in. Imagine that you are sitting at a restaurant with your sweetheart next to you. After thinking long and hard about the calorie contents of certain foods, you order them, praying at the same time that their calorie contents don’t go over the ‘limit’.

Once the foods are served to you, you take out your pocket calculator and the calorie chart immediately, excuse yourself to your sweetheart, and start counting the calories of each of the food items served to you. What could have otherwise become a romantic dinner ends up being a stressful and unhappy dinner. I won’t be surprised if your better half takes you for a mad man and dumps you.

The stress of counting the calorie contents of each and every morsel you eat would definitely curb at least half of your appetite, if not more, not to speak that this added stress would hamper proper digestion of the food. Even if these things don’t happen, there is a chance of making wrong calculations, as revealed in a recent study done on a few city-based top dieticians.
The dieticians were asked to count the calorie contents of five restaurant meals. And what do you think the results could be. On an average, the dieticians undervalued the fat content of the meals by almost 49-50% and the calorie content by about 36-37%. Now, if dieticians are prone to making such wrong calculations, then where do we ordinary people stand?

I would offer you a simple advice. Don’t follow this calorie counting method because it is only a matter of time before you quit it unhappily. Keep in mind that there are much better diet plans out there. To be honest, you really don’t need to follow another diet if you keep these five simple rules in mind:

a) Eat small meals: If you currently eat two or there large meals, split them into five or six smaller meals. Eat each of these small meals every two or three hours.

b) Exercise religiously: It takes hard work to gain anything in life and exercising is the hard work you need to do to lose weight. There is no second opinion about it; if you don’t exercise regularly, you wouldn’t achieve permanent weight loss, no matter what diet program you follow.

Exercises not only help you burn fat during the workout session but also after it. Besides, exercises build muscles for you, and muscles help you burn fat even when you are resting. As such, you don’t need to depend on your diet program alone for weight loss. Even if you quit dieting at some point of time, you still won’t gain weight if you eat right and workout regularly.

c) Eat right fats and carbs: It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the right and wrong carbs and fats. The wrong fats and carbs are contained in junk and fast foods; these “bad” carbs and “bad” fats are what made you overweight. Instead of consuming them, try to have natural fruits and vegetables for carbs, and fishes and olive oil for fats. You would be happier that way.

d) Increase your protein intake: When you increase your protein intake and combine that with regular workout, you would build more lean muscles than you would without protein. Keep in mind that muscles not only strengthen your body but also help you burn fat; therefore, you should make sure to build lean muscles on a continuous basis.

e) Increase your water intake: To ensure that your muscular tissues don’t become weak at any point of time through dehydration, you should drink adequate water daily. An adult needs to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water every day. Water keeps you hydrated, strengthens your muscle tissues, detoxifies your body and also boosts your metabolic rate. A boost in metabolic rate would in turn accelerate the weight loss process for you.

Tags: chef, dehydration, food, food items, olive oil, rocket scientist

The FDA is advising people to be more aware of food labels and has written and extensive article on what to look at and why. I also wrote and article on how to decipher the important parts of understanding food labels last year.

Consumers often compare prices of food items in the grocery store to choose the best value for their money. But comparing items using the food label can help them choose the best value for their health.

The food label identifies a variety of information about a product, such as the ingredients, net weight, and nutrition facts.

“The food label is one of the most valuable tools consumers have,” says Barbara Schneeman, Ph.D., Director of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Office of Nutrition, Labeling and Dietary Supplements. “The food label gives consumers the power to compare foods quickly and easily so they can judge for themselves which products best fit their dietary needs.”

For example, someone with high blood pressure who needs to watch salt (sodium) intake may be faced with five different types of tomato soup on the shelf, says Schneeman. You can quickly and easily compare the sodium content of each product by looking at the part of the label that lists nutrition information (Nutrition Facts Label) to choose the one with the lowest sodium content.

Read the rest on the FDA site on Food Labeling

Tags: Barbara Schneeman, consumers, director, fda, food, food and drug administration, food items, food label, food labels, high blood pressure, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, nutrition facts, nutrition information, nutrition labeling, Office of Nutrition, sodium content

Weight loss is not as simple as fad diet experts would have you believe. It requires you to make enormous changes in your lifestyle, of which some are so complicated that they would drive you nuts, whereas others are so simple and small that you won’t even realize the change!

The golden rule of weight loss is that if you eat less then usual, you will be able to shed off pounds. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as it sounds, because many times people have problems keeping their mouths in check. In this article I will tell you two ways to cut down on calories and stay in shape.

1. Replace large plates with smaller ones: You may not know it, but if you eat off small plates, you will be able to cut down on your food intake by a huge degree. Here is how: if you put a small amount of food on a large plate, you will think that you are indeed eating very little food. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: calorie content, food, food intake, food items, food restaurants, little food, low-calorie products, on food intake, quality food, Weight Loss

Before you even start reading this look over to the Right and Sign up for the 21 days of fitness to really learn what it takes to lose fat and get into the best shape of your life. For Free!

I have had lists of tips before but this is by far the largest list of tips to lose weight that I have ever done.I have also linked to other pages on this site to give you even more info.

It is one thing to look at this list and marvel at it’s size but in fact to make the biggest changes in your life you just have to make a couple small changes at a time in your life until life is where you want it to be. So peruse this list, sure, but more importantly just pick a couple of things that you can do now and then come back in a couple of days to pick another couple. Also take a look at my fat loss 4 Idiots review. or  my Burn the Fat feed the Muscle review

Great luck to you!

1. Drink plenty of water. Our body needs a lot of water so give in to water. Water is not just way to flush out toxin but if you have more water in your body you will generally feel healthier and fitter. This it self will discourage any tendency to gorge. The best thing about water is that is has no calories at all.

2. Start your day with a glass of water. As soon as you wake up, gulp down a glass of cool water. It’s a wonderful way to start you day and you only need a lesser quantity of your breakfast drink after that. A glass of water lets out all your digestive juices and sort of lubricates the insides of your body. You may have your morning cup of tea but have it after a glass of water. It is good for you.

3. Drink a glass of water before you start the meal. Water naturally needs some space so that you feel fuller without actually having to stuff yourself.

4. Have another glass of water while you are having the meal. Again this is another way of making yourself full so that you can actually rise from the table eating less but feeling full just the same. Instead of drinking it one gulp, take sips after each morsel. It will help the food to settle faster so that you get that feeling that you are full faster. SIDENOTE: Water is such a remarkable thing, but seldom do we give it the credit that it deserves. Did you know that over 66% of your body weight is nothing but water’ It’s amazing! Water also plays a vital role in weight control, which is why I donated so much space to it, above.

5. Stay away from sweetened bottle drinks, especially sodas. Hey all those colas and fizzy drinks are sweetened with sugar and sugar means calories. The more you can cut out on these sweetened bottle drinks, the better for you. So if you must drink sodas, then stick to diet sodas.

6. Include in your diet things that contain more water like tomatoes and watermelons. These things contain 90 to 95 % water so that there is nothing that you have to lose by feasting on them. They fill you up without adding to the pounds.

7. Eat fresh fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Juice is often sweetened but fresh fruits have natural sugars. When you eat fruit, you are taking in a lot of fiber, which is needed by the body, and fruits of course are an excellent source of vitamins.

8. If you do have a craving for fruit juice then go for fresh fruit juice instead of these that contain artificial flavors and colors. Or even better, try making your own fruit juice taking care not to sweeten it with too many calories.

9. Choose fresh fruit to processed fruits. Processed and canned fruits do not have as much fiber as fresh fruit and processed and canned fruits are nearly always sweetened.

10. Increase your fiber intake. Like I mentioned, the body needs a lot of fiber. So try to include in your diet as many fruits and vegetables as you can.
Read the rest of this entry »

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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?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: America, atkins diet, diet plans, Diet Program, food items, low fat diets, particular food group, protein diets, south beach, South Beach Diet, south beach diet phases

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!

Tags: America, American Heart Association, arthur agatston, atkins diet, carbohydrates, Cardiologist, diet plans, diets, fats, food items, losing weight, low carb diet, low carb diets, low fat diet, low fat diets, Low-carbohydrate diet, particular food group, south beach, South Beach Diet, south beach diet plan, Weight Loss

OK last time for this same old story but the more times and places that you can hear about he basics of healthy eating the better. Here is an article, from of all places, spineuniverse.com.

Fiber and Carbohydrates
Some weight management plans advocate eliminating or seriously limiting carbohydrate consumption. However, this may not be ideal because healthy sources of carbohydrates contain fiber the body needs.

It is recommended that adults consume 25 grams of fiber per day. Adequate dietary fiber is ideal for preventing obesity as well as other diet-related disease and for maintaining body weight (7). An estimated amount consumed by most Americans is 15 grams per day (8).

The best sources of carbohydrate that help to fulfill fiber requirements come from whole grains, fruits and vegetables; fresh unprocessed foods. The closer the food is to its natural state the better. For example, the fiber in oatmeal draws water into the intestines and helps maintain regularity, which decreases the time potential carcinogens spend in the digestive track. Fresh fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants and vitamins that help to neutralize free-radicals. To increase daily fiber intake, consider these suggestions:

· Eat whole grain breads, cereals, pastas, couscous

· Eat raw fruits and vegetables

· Mix bran into cereals, casseroles, muffins, even salad

· Incorporate beans (e.g. garbanzo, kidney) into soup and salad
Read the rest of this entry »

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