Health2012

There’s nothing more dismal than dealing with hunger pangs all day. If your meals aren’t satisfying you, this is exactly what’s going to happen. Here are some tricks to make your meals more filling:

• Add a source of quality protein and a source healthy fat (yes, fat) to each of your meals. Doing this makes meals more satiating and curbs hunger. Sources of healthy protein include natural meats, organic whole eggs, organic poultry and fish. Sources of healthy fat include avocados, fish, beans, raw nuts, coconut oil and olive oil.

• Load your plate with veggies. It helps to divide your plate into three sections and fill the larger section with veggies. Leave the other two sections for meat and other foods. Veggies are full of fiber, so they expand in the stomach, digest slowly and keep you full longer.

• Drink a glass of water before each meal and throughout the day. This will help you feel full faster and reduce hunger.

3 Easy Tips To Lose Fat

Fat loss does not have to be difficult, especially if you have a few tricks up your sleeve. By this I don’t mean I would ever want you to take a dangerous, radical approach to your fat loss but only one that would be healthy and prove great results at the same time.

I have had many clients, friends and family members ask me,  is there a way I can drop my first few pounds of fat quickly and easily?” Yes, there is. It will require a few dietary changes on your part, but the results are incredible. I have had hundreds of people use these tips with great success, easily losing their first 10-15lbs of unwanted fat.

Here are my 3 Simple and Easy Fat Loss Rules:

1. Don’t eat anything that is white. Name every single food that is white and chances are you shouldn’t be eating it: bread, pasta, crackers, most cereals, flour based products, white potatoes, white rice, and pasteurized dairy and cheese are all no-no’s during this time. (Healthy foods like cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish, white pork are all exceptions to this rule).

2. Only drink water, NOTHING else! How about coffee? Just to keep any possible withdrawal headaches at bay, one small cup of organic black coffee. Can you add half and half?…Well is it white? Drink a minimum of 1/2 of your bodyweight in ounces of water each day (ex. If you weigh 200 lbs, you need to drink 100 ounces) to really see the fat fall off.

3. Don’t eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. What if it’s whole wheat? Look, if the word starts with W and ends in T and has the letters h e a in between, you can’t eat it. This includes bread, pasta, crackers and cereal. Many packaged snack foods also contain wheat so be sure to read the ingredients list carefully.

Are you up for this challenge? Apply these easy fat loss rules to your own eating plan for the next 2 weeks and I know you will be seeing some amazing fat loss results in no time.

The Top 5 Healthiest Condiments (and the WORST)
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best seller: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

I’m sure you can think of all sorts of condiments that are obviously NOT healthy…

What about Mayo? Sorry…

With processed refined soybean oil as the main ingredient in most mayos, there’s NOTHING healthy about mayonnaise. It causes internal inflammation and harms your omega-6 to omega-3 balance with excess omega-6 fats. Tartar sauce has the same issues as mayo. If you can find a mayo made with 100% olive oil instead of soybean oil, this would actually be a healthy choice.

Ketchup? Not quite…

Yes, ketchup is made from tomatoes so it does contain the beneficial nutrient lycopene. Unfortunately ketchup has a high % of sugar, and most brands are made with nasty high fructose corn syrup. Not good. Hey, I’m a ketchup lover myself, but I just try to keep the quantity small to minimize the sugar intake.

Barbeque Sauce? Nope…

BBQ sauce is actually worse than ketchup because it has higher levels of sugar or HFCS and lower levels of actual tomato. Strike 3 with BBQ sauce.

Salad Dressing? Not most store brands…

As you know from this salad dressing article of mine, there’s not much healthy about most store bought salad dressings…most contain HFCS and soybean oil or unhealthy canola oil as the main ingredients.

Most “fat-free” salad dressings are simply loaded with extra sugar. Plus, remember that you need a good fat source to go with your salad to help absorb the vitamins and minerals in your veggies, so fat-free dressing is not a good option. Even most salad dressing brands that claim to be “made with olive oil” only have small amounts of actual olive oil, while unhealthy soybean or canola oils are main oils used. Instead, follow my healthy salad dressing recipe if you want a lean healthy body.

So, what are the top 5 healthiest condiments?

Below, I give you my top 5 picks for the healthiest condiments for a lean healthy body. Sure, there might be a few others not on this list that are also healthy, but these are my top 5 picks:

1. Mustard

That’s right… mustard is absolutely one of the healthiest condiments! First, it has no added sugar. Also, mustard seed itself is a source of powerful antioxidants. In addition to the antioxidants in the mustard seed, most yellow mustards also contain turmeric (one of the healthiest anti-cancer spices) and paprika, which both contain powerful antioxidants as well!

2. Guacamole

I know, I know… when do I ever stop talking about avocados and guacamole. Sorry, it’s one of my favorite foods, and I eat avocados or guac just about every single day. At this point, I don’t think I need to explain why Gauc is healthy, as I think everybody knows this by now… but a quick recap: lots of healthy fats (that satisfy your appetite and regulate hormone balance), lots of fiber, and plenty of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

And creamy guac just makes anything taste better! I put it on eggs, on burgers, on chicken or fish, or just eat it with veggie sticks. If you buy pre-made guac from the store, just be sure to check the ingredients and make sure it doesn’t have added trans fats or other artificial ingredients. But it’s so simple and fast to make fresh guac, I don’t know why anybody would buy pre-made guac.

3. Salsa

Although ketchup was on the unhealthy list due to the sugar content, salsa makes the super healthy list as it almost never has added sugars if you get a good brand. Salsa is mostly just vegetables so it’s hard to go wrong. I like it on my morning eggs for variety sometimes. I also like to mix salsa half and half with guac for a delicious party treat!

And if you’re a ketchup lover and want to reduce your sugar intake, just try salsa instead for a much healthier option. Trust me… salsa on a burger is just as delicious as ketchup on a burger.

Just remember that the corn chips that people generally cram down their throats with salsa are NOT even close to healthy. Corn chips are almost always fried in a heavily refined omega-6 oil such as corn or soy oil, and are inflammatory. Plus, most corn used for corn chips is genetically modified. Organic corn chips are a small step in the right direction (this ensures it’s not GMO corn), but I’d still try to keep the quantity small if you’re going to eat corn chips with salsa.

4. Hummus

Hummus is mostly just chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon, and olive oil, and is easily one of the healthiest condiments or as a separate snack by itself.

The main thing to look for when buying a good hummus is to make sure it’s made with olive oil and NOT soybean or canola oil. Unfortunately most brands use cheap soy or canola oil, but if you’re a label reader, it’s easy to find a brand that uses solely olive oil.

One of my favorite snacks is just veggie sticks with hummus. However, hummus is also a delicious condiment to go with sandwiches, on top of meat dishes, etc.

5. Pesto

Pesto is generally a mashed mix of garlic, pine nuts, basil, olive oil, and grated cheese. It’s a great source of healthy fats and also powerful antioxidants, mostly from the garlic and basil, but to some extent from the pine nuts and olive oil too.

Pesto goes incredibly well with sandwiches, on meat dishes, or surprisingly, even on eggs.

There’s one more condiment we didn’t cover yet that you might be wondering about…

What about hot sauce? Actually, hot sauce is fairly healthy. Most hot sauces don’t have added sugars. And the hot peppers are actually good for you too and could even cause a slight and temporary metabolism increase. The only drawback to most hot sauces is a moderately high sodium content. But unless you go nuts with loads of hot sauce on every meal, the sodium content in hot sauce will not be an issue.

Did you know that less than 50% of people who make eating healthier and losing weight their New Year’s resolution actually stick to it?

1. Commit yourself to doing your new habit for 21 days.  This is the magic number when it comes to establishing any new habit and routine.  Countless studies have shown that when you tell yourself you are going to do something for 21 days (instead of telling yourself you’re going to do it forever), there is a much greater chance you’ll succeed if your brain thinks “it’s only for 21 days”.  Take a look at the calendar right now and circle 21 days from today.  Let’s say you decide to start your new habit tomorrow, go ahead and circle February 3rd as your goal day.
2. Choose only 2 MAJOR changes to work on for the next 21 days.  I know it might be tempting to completely overhaul your life… clean out everything in the pantry and fridge and start from scratch… but that really could be setting yourself up for failure because it’s just way too overwhelming!  I am a true believer in “baby steps” and I think people are the most successful in their weight loss efforts when they implement changes gradually.

• I’m going to do some sort of exercise/movement for 20 minutes each day for the next 21 days (nothing hard core, just establishing a new habit here)
• I’m going to only drink non sugar drinks for the next 21 days.  This includes water, teas, coffee (in moderation if caffeinated).  No more sodas (diet or regular) or juices.
• I’m going to cook 1 new healthy dinner each week and have the leftovers for the next day’s lunch.  I absolutely LOVE experimenting with new recipes and making different healthy meals has been one of the biggest reasons I’ve been able to keep my 30 pound weight loss off for so long.

• Super SOUPS with Isabel

• How to SALAD the best way

• DESSERTS done right

People get excited about a lot of things, but I have never in my life met anyone who’s thrilled about being overweight. I have however, met folks who are sick of the up and down rollercoaster of so-called healthy meal plans to lose weight. Rather than deal with more dieting disappointments, some of these people conclude that living “large” is simply in the cards for them.

Throwing your hands up in defeat and deciding to spend the rest of your days (unhappily) overweight is no way to live. A decision like this can beat your self-esteem into the ground and shave years off of your life. C’mon, you owe yourself and your loved ones so much more than this.

There’s no magic formula to losing weight – if there were, everybody and their mama would be slim. The best way to achieve successful weight loss results is to know what types of foods to keep out of your diet.

Just Say “No” to Processed Foods

Processed foods are cheap, convenient and easy to prepare. Unfortunately, these foods are bad for your health. Of course, you’d never know this by watching those hyped up television ads. Since manufacturers aren’t going to give you the dirty on the ingredients they use in processed foods, I’ll gladly do it for them.

Let’s start with trans fat. This ingredient lowers good cholesterol, raises bad cholesterol, and can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Considering heart disease is one of the leading killers of men and women, trans fat is one ingredient you want to steer clear of.

If you’re wondering where that double chin came from, the high fructose corn syrup used in some of your favorite processed foods may be partially to blame. This ingredient has been getting a lot of press lately because it is believed to be a major player in the rising obesity epidemic.

Don’t even get me started on the chemicals manufacturers use in processed foods. If I tried to name some of these chemicals, I’d be tongue tied for days. Besides, you’d probably think I was reading the label on a can of bug spray instead of the ingredients in your favorite microwavable meal.

Send Sugar Packing

The average person consumes about 150 pounds of sugar per year. When you think about the fact that sugar is in almost everything, it’s easy to eat tons of this stuff without even realizing it. So what’s the big deal? There isn’t enough time in the day for me to tell you about all the damage sugar can do to your health. However, I can give you a quick rundown.

Sugar contains nothing but empty calories. When you eat this stuff, a large portion of it gets stored in the body as fat. If your goal is to slim down, being heavy-handed with the sugar isn’t going to help. This is not even the worst of it. Sugar can also depress the immune system, feed cancer cells, contribute to heart disease, raise your risk of osteoporosis and make you look decrepit.

Give Artificial Sweeteners the Boot

Before you run out and stock your fridge with a bunch of those zero-calorie diet drinks, there’s something you should know. The artificial sweeteners used in diet drinks and other low-calorie products are lab-created. Yep. You heard me right – mixed up in a lab like something out of aFrankenstein movie.

These chemical sweeteners can cause or contribute to a laundry list of neuropsychiatric disorders and chronic illnesses – depression, anxiety, migraines, mood changes, panic attacks, vertigo, memory loss, Alzheimer’s, brain tumors – should I go on? And if you think you’re going to shed a few pounds using artificial sweeteners, think again. These sweeteners stimulate your appetite and make you eat more food.

When you’ve tried diet after diet and not one of them delivers results, it can certainly make you want to give up. But you owe it to yourself and to your family to live the healthiest life possible. Processed foods, sugar and artificial sweeteners are the main culprits of weight gain. When youeliminate these foods from your diet, you greatly improve your chance of losing weight.

Make dieting disappointment a thing of the past. Let the Diet Solution Program arm you with the tools you need to create effective healthy meal plans to lose weight and live healthier.

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