If you are trying to lose weight, regardless of which diet plan you choose, watching your carbohydrate intake can be helpful for several reasons. Benefits of counting carbs include:

  • Overall decrease in calories. Most of us eat a diet that is primarily made up of carbs. If you decrease the intake of your most significant source of calories, you will decrease your caloric intake overall. Decreasing carbohydrate intake is one of the easiest ways to decrease the amount of food you eat.

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All About Low Glycemic Diet and a Gluten-Free Diet

 

Creating a gluten-free eating plan with foods that have a low glycemic index, or GI, can be a balancing act. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and possibly oats that causes a severe autoimmune reaction in people with celiac disease. The starchy vegetables and grains that replace foods with gluten may have a high GI value, meaning that they can raise your blood sugar quickly after you eat them. Whether you have celiac disease or are eating gluten-free foods for other dietary reasons, you can keep your blood sugar stable by emphasizing low-GI gluten substitutes and increasing your intake of foods that are naturally gluten-free.

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 Strategies for Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions By Amanda Gore

You rush around for the holidays — eat and drink too much and then find the best party you can go to on New Year’s Eve, drink buckets more, and the next morning think about what resolutions you need to make for the new year. You decide to change your life or give up every bad habit you’ve ever had or may make some other simple changes.

 

The new year is a fantastic opportunity to spend time (preferably a couple of hours) working on your life rather than just being caught up, running around in circles, in your life. Time is so precious that we are flat out getting the basics done, let alone thinking about our lives and how we are functioning.

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The Working Person’s Diet Plan

By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD

Dream job but nightmare figure? Dietitian Juliette Kellow comes to the rescue with a diet plan designed to help working women – and men – lose weight with minimum effort and maximum results…

Whether we work in an office, are constantly on the road or spend days in schools or hospitals, losing weight and working can be more than a challenge.

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Having a well-planned grocery list gets you in and out of the store quickly and helps you stick to your healthy eating plan.

Organize your food shopping list and fill your grocery cart with the healthiest foods that won’t bust your budget or diet.

SUGAR

Maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:

Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons)

Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons)

Different names for sugar: Sugar, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), dehydrated cane juice, fructose, glucose, dextrose, syrup, cane sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup,

Other sugars fall into the same category often labeled healthy like:  agave, honey, organic cane sugar and coconut sugar

 

CARBOHYDRATES 

50-100 Grams Per Day – This range is great if you want to lose weight effortlessly while allowing for a bit of carbs in the diet. It is also a great maintenance range for people who are carb sensitive.

20-50 Grams Per Day – This is where the metabolic benefits really start to kick in. This is the perfect range for people who need to lose weight fast, or are metabolically deranged and have obesity or diabetes.

When eating less than 50 grams per day, your body will get into ketosis, supplying energy for the brain via so-called ketone bodies. This is likely to kill your appetite and cause you to lose weight automatically.

 

FIBER

30 to 38 grams a day – Men

25 grams a day – Women between 18 and 50 years old

 21 grams a day – If a woman is 51 and older.

Another general guideline is to get 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories in your diet.

 

PROTEIN

56 grams per day – for the average sedentary man

46 grams per day – for the average sedentary woman

The DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound.

 

PROTEINS

  1. Chicken Breast Skinless
  2. Turkey Breast
  3. Lean Ground Turkey
  4. Top Round Turkey
  5. Eye of Round Steak
  6. 90% Ground Beef
  7. Egg Whites
  8. Egg Substitutes
  9. Tuna
  10. Swordfish
  11. Tofu
  12. Salmon
  13. Crab
  14. Lobster
  15. Low-Fat Cottage Cheese
  16. Lean Ham

CARBOHYDRATES

  1. Sweet Potato
  2. Yams
  3. Squash
  4. Corn
  5. Quinoa
  6. Brown Rice
  7. Wild Rice
  8. Beans/Lentils
  9. Oatmeal
  10. Rice cakes
  11. High-Fiber Cereal
  12. Popcorn (no butter)
  13. Tortillas (whole wheat or corn)
  14. Whole Grain Bread (no high fructose corn syrup)
  15. Fat-Free Yogurt
  16. Whole Wheat Pasta

VEGETABLES

  1. Broccoli
  2. Asparagus
  3. Lettuce
  4. Carrots
  5. Green Beans
  6. Green Peppers
  7. Mushrooms
  8. Spinach
  9. Tomatoes
  10. Peas
  11. Onions
  12. Brussels Sprouts
  13. Artichokes
  14. Cabbage
  15. Zucchini
  16. Jalapenos

FATS TO EAT

  1. Avocado
  2. Sunflower Seeds
  3. Pumpkin Seeds
  4. Cold Water Fish
  5. Low-Fat Cheese
  6. Low-Fat Salad Dressings
  7. Low Sodium Nuts
  8. Olives
  9. Olive oil
  10. Canola oil
  11. Sunflower oil
  12. Flaxseed oil

DRINKS

  1. Water
  2. Water with Lemon & Mint
  3. Detox or Spa Waters
  4. OWC Vanilla Slim Shake Gluten Free
  5. OWC Chocolate Slim Shake Gluten Free
  6. Mint Tea
  7. Almond Milk/Soy Milk/1% Reduced Fat Milk
  8. Perrier, Sparkling Water Plain
  9. Shaken Tazo Iced Passion Tea (Unsweetened)
  10. Caffe Americano
  11. Green Smoothie

FOODS  TO AVOID

  1. Butter
  2. Mayonnaise
  3. Fried Foods
  4. Whole-Fat Dairy
  5. Sugar-Based Beverages
  6. Sweet Desserts and Sweet Candies

What Causes Knee Soreness after Working Out?

by RACHEL NALL

You rely on your knees to support your movements during a workout. When you experience pain after exercising, you may be concerned that an underlying condition exists. Understanding why you experience knee pain after you exercise can be a matter of evaluating the types of exercises you are performing and the location of your pain. Learning when you can continue exercising with knee pain — and when you cannot — is important to your continued good health.

Post-Exercise Treatment

If you experience knee pain after exercising, take immediate steps to reduce inflammation. This includes icing your knee within 10 to 20 minutes after your workout. You also may wish to take an anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen. Evaluate your footwear as well: lack of support, particularly arch support, often contributes to knee pain. Your physician or a shoe specialist can evaluate your shoes to ensure they are in good enough shape to continue exercising. If your knees continue to swell or the pain gets worse instead of better, you may need to take a few days from exercising and seek medical attention.

Impact Exercises

Your knees are the major shock absorbers of your body, absorbing the impact each time you take a step. If you participate in high-impact activities like running, volleyball or basketball, you are at increased risk for experiencing knee pain after exercising. If you experience pain in both knees after high-impact exercise, this may be a sign you need to alternate high- and low-impact activities. These include activities like exercising on an elliptical machine or swimming, which puts less strain on your knees. Incorporating these activities into your workout routine may help to take the pressure off your knees.

Strengthening Exercises

If a physician has evaluated your knee and determined you have not experienced a serious injury, you may wish to engage in some knee-strengthening exercises to reduce pain and restore stability to your knee. Examples of exercises include sitting with your legs extended and slowly lifting your leg about 6 to 8 inches off the ground. Repeat five to 10 times on each leg. From a seated position with your legs extended, you also can cross one leg over the other to stretch the outer portion of the knee. Hold for five seconds, then release the stretch and repeat on the opposite side. Your physician also may recommend alternate stretches to relieve tension in your knee.

Injuries

There are a number of bones, tendons and muscles related to the knee, providing ample opportunity for injury. You may experience conditions like runner’s knee, which causes pain behind the kneecap, and iliotibial band syndrome, which causes pain outside the knee. Both injury and overuse can cause you to experience knee pain. If your knee pain does not subside with rest, see your physician, who can evaluate your knee for potential injury. Knee pain does not always mean surgery — your physician can recommend several conservative approaches to treat pain.

Article Source: http://www.livestrong.com/


Try these basic yoga poses to get stronger and more flexible.

Mountain Pose

  • Stand tall with feet together, shoulders relaxed, weight evenly distributed through your soles, arms at sides.
  • Take a deep breath and raise your hands overhead, palms facing each other with arms straight. Reach up toward the sky with your fingertips.

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 1. Pick up a pen

Mindlessly munching on a bag of chips could result in easily polishing off the whole thing; write down how much you’ve eaten and you’re more likely to practice portion control and lose weight fast. Keeping a food log helps control extra calories in two ways: the combination of plain old reality check (I just ate 30 minutes ago!) and awareness that what you’re putting in your mouth will soon be recorded for posterity. In a recent study, people who kept a food journal lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t. When they combined it with a moderate diet and exercise plan, they lost an average of 13 pounds in 6 months. Journaling also gives you insight on your eating habits, says Dr. Lutes. Do you skip meals? Eat the same during the week as on the weekend? Binge when you’re feeling stressed? “Knowing your routine helps you figure out what changes are right for you,” she adds.

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When eating out at a restaurant, navigate the danger zones, eat what you love, and stay at a healthy weight with this menu guide and calorie chart from FITNESS.

 

Dining Out

Going out to dinner tonight? You’ve got plenty of company. Almost 75 percent of us eat at a restaurant at least once a week, and 25 percent dine out every two or three days, according to a study by the USDA. And hey, why not? Letting someone else cook is relaxing — the perfect treat after a busy day. Trouble is, a recent study at the University of Texas found that female dieters consume an extra 253 calories and 16 fat grams on the days that they eat at restaurants. Portion sizes have ballooned in recent years — and most of us tend to polish off every bite. Research by FITNESS advisory board member Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab in Ithaca, New York, and author of Mindless Eating, shows that we keep nibbling until our plates are empty rather than waiting for our bodies to signal that we’re full, no matter how big the serving size.

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PROTEIN

WHAT IT IS AND WHY YOU NEED IT

Protein is the major structural and functional component of all cells in your body. Proteins literally play a necessary role in many of the biological processes that allow you to live and function. Not to mention, about 25 percent of your muscle mass is made up of protein—and the rest is made up of water and glycogen (your body’s stored form of carbohydrates). So it’s no wonder why so many diets place a heavy emphasis on protein. But the reason you need to eat so much is simple: Unlike other nutrients, your body can not assemble protein by combining other nutrients, so enough must be consumed in your daily meals in order to achieve your desired health and appearance.

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