Top 5 tips for healthy grocery shopping

Choose fresh foods, use a list, and read food labels.

1. Buy food that ‘goes bad’.

Buy food that has an expiration date or ‘goes bad’ at some point in the near future. These items are generally healthier than others. The longer the shelf life of a product, the more chemicals and preservatives it probably contains.

The perimeter of the store generally contains fresher food with a shorter shelf life: fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meats, seafood, whole grain bread, and dairy products. More rules for choosing food.

2. Use a list

Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time and create a list of ingredients and products to purchase. Commit to buying only what is on your list.

3. Skip some aisles

Skip the grocery store aisles that don’t contain items on your shopping list.

The grocery store is full of items that can tempt you to stray from your list. Avoid certain aisles to avoid certain temptation.

4. Shop after you’ve eaten

Shop after you’ve eaten…even if it’s just a snack to tide you over until you get home.

If you shop on an empty stomach, anything and everything will look or sound good. It will be hard to make healthy decisions and stick to your grocery list.

5. Read food labels

Get into the habit of reading food labels:

• Learn how to use the % Daily Value on a food label to compare similar products.
• Use the food label to find whole grain products and ignore misleading grain claims.
• Choose products with a relatively short ingredient list. The shorter the list, the fewer colorings, flavorings, chemicals, and added sugar it probably contains

A few more grocery store tips:

• If you’re concerned about your grocery bill, here are a few tips to eat healthy on a budget.
• If you’re looking to buy organic produce, here the top 5 fruits and vegetables to spend your money on.
• Get some extra steps in while you’re shopping!

Walk an extra lap around the store, and take your shopping cart (or somebody else’s) back inside instead of leaving it in the parking lot. Every little bit ofphysical activity counts when it comes to losing weight. 

Article source: fitnessforweightloss.com

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Try this foods to Fight Fat

Weight loss starts with shopping. Taking control of what you eat begins with taking control of what you buy.

Every time you toss a low-calorie food into the cart, you’re taking responsibility for losing weight—even before you sit down to a meal.

There’s a very simple formula for low-calorie eating: Stock up on low-calorie staples. These are the basic packaged, canned, and frozen ingredients that you’ll reach for to create tasty, healthful, low-calorie meals anytime.

The Picture Perfect Anytime List is a menu of the lowest-calorie produce, soups, sauces, condiments, marinades, dressings, dips, candies, desserts, and beverages available. Stuff your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer with them, and reach for them anytime. Feel free to go to the foods on the Anytime List when you want a snack or are planning a meal. Eat any amount of them for any reason. When the Anytime List becomes the core of your eating—in other words, the main dish around which you build your meals—you’ll have no trouble staying thin for life.

The Anytime List
Fruits and vegetables

All fruits and vegetables—raw, cooked, fresh, frozen, canned—belong on the Picture Perfect Anytime List. Avoid any packaged fruits that have added sugar. Otherwise, the more fruits and vegetables you eat, the better.

Soups

You’ve heard of value for your money. Soups give you very good value for the calories. They are filling; a bowl of soup can be an entire meal. They are satisfying. For many people, they are more satisfying than raw vegetables, while many give you all the benefits of veggies (if you choose the soups chock full of vegetables). They are inexpensive, convenient, easy, and quick to make. Soups don’t make you feel like you’re on a diet. Above all, soups are versatile. They can serve as a snack, as part of a meal, or as a cooking ingredient.

Sauces, Condiments, and Marinades

Put the following items at the very top of your shopping list. They’re invaluable for adding flavor, moisture, texture, and versatility to every food and every meal.

• Salad dressings: oil-free or low-calorie (light or lite)
• Mayonnaise: fat-free or light
• Sour cream and yogurt: fat-free, plain, or with NutraSweet (or low-fat nondairy substitutes)
• Mustards: Dijon, Pommery, and others
• Tomato puree, tomato paste, and tomato sauce
• Clam juice, tomato juice, V8 juice, and lemon or lime juice
• Butter Buds or Molly McButter
• Cooking sprays (such as Pam) in butter, olive oil, garlic, or lemon flavors
• Vinegars: balsamic, cider, wine, tarragon, and others
• Horseradish: red and white
• Sauces: salsa, cocktail sauce, tamari, soy sauce, A1, Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, ketchup, duck sauce, chutney, relish, and others
• Onion: fresh, juice, flakes, and powder
• Garlic: fresh, juice, flakes, and powder
• Herbs: any and all, including basil, oregano, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, dill, chives, sage, and bay leaves
• Spices: any and all, including cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cumin, nutmeg, coriander, curry, paprika, and allspice
• Extracts: vanilla, almond, peppermint, maple, coconut, cocoa powder, and others

Dressings and Dips

myTorontoWeightLoss.com recommends fat-free or light dressings and dips. The light category—low-fat, reduced-fat, and low-calorie—is midway between totally fat-free and regular, and it’s often more pleasing to the palate than fat-free.

Dressings can be used as all-purpose condiments, dips, toppings, even cooking liquids. They already contain a mixture of ingredients, so just slather them on vegetables, seafood, and pretty much anything else. Or cook with them to make up for the lack of butter or oil.

In addition, keeping several varieties of dressings and dips on hand, including at least one creamy version. Try brushing a light creamy dressing on seafood, then broiling; the dressing adds moisture and flavor.

Candy

Yup, candy. The real thing—not the dietetic variety—is best when your sweet tooth starts aching. Dietetic candies have almost as many calories as regular candies, often lack flavor, and are an incentive to eat more. Stick to the real thing.

• Chewing gum or gum balls: any and all
• Hard candy: any and all, including sour balls, candy canes, lollipops such as Tootsie Pops or Blow Pops, Jolly Ranchers, Werther’s Original, and TasteTations

Frozen Desserts

Any fat-free frozen yogurt, frozen nondairy substitute, or sorbet is a fine addition to the freezer. Try the lower-calorie choices. Here are some examples:

• Soft serve: up to 25 calories per ounce, including Skimpy Treat; TCBY, Colombo nonfat frozen yogurt, and Tofutti
• Hard pack: up to 115 calories per 1/2-cup serving, including Sharon’s Sorbet, Low-Fat Tofutti, all Italian ices, and Sweet Nothings
• Frozen bars: Creamsicles, Fudgsicles, and Popsicles; any others containing up to 45 calories per bar, including Welch’s Fruit Juice Bars, Weight Watchers Smart Ones Orange Vanilla Treats, Tofutti Chocolate Fudge Treats, Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chocolate Mousse, Dolly Madison Slender Treat Chocolate Mousse, and Yoplait
• Individually packaged frozen bars: up to 110 calories each, including FrozFruit, Hagen-Dazs bars, and Starbucks Frappuccino Blended Coffee Bars

Beverages

Avoid beverages labeled “naturally sweetened” or “fruit-juice sweetened,” but help yourself to these:

• Unsweetened black coffees and teas
• Diet teas and juices: Crystal Light, Diet Snapple, Diet Natural Lemon Nestea, Diet Mistic, and others
• Noncaloric flavored waters: orange, chocolate, cream, cherry-chocolate, root beer, cola, and other flavors of bottled or filtered water
• Seltzer: plain or flavored, but check the calorie count if the product is labeled “naturally sweetened,” since this usually means that the product has sugar in one form or another
• Hot cocoa mixes: 20 to 50 calories per serving, including Swiss Miss Diet and Fat-Free and Nestle Carnation Diet and Fat-Free; avoid cocoa mixes with 60 or more calories per serving

Let’s Go Shopping

Today’s supermarkets are filled with choices for the weight conscious. Here are some of the lowest-calorie choices for a variety of food categories that aren’t covered in the Anytime List.

Cereals

• Cheerios: a whole grain cereal with 110 calories and 3 g fiber per cup
• Kellogg’s All-Bran with Extra Fiber: 50 calories and 15 g fiber per 1/2 cup
• Original Shredded Wheat: 80 calories and 2.5 g fiber per biscuit
• Fiber One: 60 calories and 14 g fiber per 1/2 cup
• Wheaties: 110 calories and 2 g fiber per cup
• Whole Grain Total: 110 calories and 3 g fiber per 3/4 cup

Spreads

• Peanut butter
• Low-sugar or sugar-free jams and jellies with 10 to 40 calories per tablespoon

Breads

• Light breads with 40 to 45 calories per slice: oatmeal, premium white, wheat, rye, multi grain, sourdough, Italian
• Whole grain regular breads or rolls

Rice and Pasta

• Whole wheat/whole grain pastas: Hodgson Mill, Ancient Harvest
• Brown rice
• Whole wheat couscous
• Pearled or hulled barley
• Other whole grains: quinoa, whole grain cornmeal, kasha, bulgur, millet

Frozen Meals

• Low-calorie frozen breakfast foods such as those from Kellogg’s, Aunt Jemima, and Pillsbury—and a special mention for the low-calorie, whole grain offerings from Van’s
• Low-calorie, vegetable-focused frozen meals in the 150- to 350-calories-per-package range, especially the Amy’s brand

Beans

• All beans, dried or canned
• Health Valley canned bean/chili combinations
• Low-fat or fat-free refried beans

Snacks
Make it a point to eat starchy, crunchy snacks only in conjunction with a food from the Anytime List. For example, have fruit with popcorn or soup with crackers. Fill up on the former, and go easy on the starchy snack.

Protein Foods

• Legumes: beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas
• Soy products: bean curd/tofu, meat-replacement products by Boca, Gardenburger, Yves, and Lightlife
• Seafood: fresh (do not fry!), smoked, canned, frozen

Please Note: Calorie counts in this story may vary depending on the brand of products used. Remember to check the labels.

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Cutting carbs just 2 days a week can spur weight loss

By Linda Carroll

Dieters who can’t stomach the idea of going hungry seven days a week just got good news: You might be able to drop more weight if you cut back on carbs just two days a week.

British researchers found that women who essentially gave up carbs for two days and ate normally the rest of the time dropped about 9 pounds on average, as compared to the 5 pounds lost by women who cut back to around 1,500 calories every day, according to a report presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

“We came up with the idea of an intermittent low-carb diet because it enables people to still have foods that are very satiating,” said the study’s lead author Michelle Harvie, a research dietician at the Genesis Prevention Center at the University Hospital in South Manchester, England. “Also, there’s a lot of evidence from other studies showing that restricting carbohydrates has the same effect as restricting energy.”

Harvie and her colleagues were spurred to find a diet that would be easier for women to follow because research has shown that obesity and the changes it causes in the body increase the risk for breast cancer. “We know from our research in animal models that losing weight has the potential for reducing breast cancer risk,” Harvie said.

One third of the women were put on a Mediterranean-type diet that restricted calories to about 1,500 per day. A second group was told to eat normally most of the time, but two days a week to cut carbs and also calories to about 650 on those two days. The third group was also to cut carbs two days a week, but there was no calorie restriction on those days.The researchers followed 88 women for four months. All the women were at high risk for breast cancer based on their family histories.

At the end of four weeks women in both of the intermittent dieting groups had lost more weight — about 9 pounds — than the women who ate low calorie meals every day of the week — about 5 pounds.

Women in the intermittent dieting groups also had better improvement than daily dieters in the levels of hormones — insulin and leptin — that have been linked with breast cancer risk, Harvie said.

And, yes, this is something you can try at home, Harvie said. You just need to dramatically cut back carbohydrates two days a week and try to eat sensibly the rest of the time, she added.

What that means, Harvie said, is that you can eat protein and healthy fats on the two low carb days, but skip bread, pasta, root vegetables like potatoes, carrots and parsnips to get to the 50g limit. The diet allows for one piece of fruit on the low carb days. Other foods on the menu include: nuts and green, leafy vegetables, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli, eggplant and cauliflower.

Artucle source: today.msnbc.msn.com

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The Rice Diet Solution

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD

The Rice Diet Solution: What It Is

The Rice Diet Solution is an extremely rigid approach to reverse disease and cause weight loss. The detailed food plan severely limits salt, sugar, fat, and processed foods and causes rapid weight loss. Dieters are promised fast weight loss of 20-30 pounds the first month, followed by 2.5-3.5 pounds per week in the later phases.  Add the recommended exercise and you can lose even more weight.

The Rice Diet Solution is based on the 1939 Rice Diet Program, where dieters checked into facilities in Durham, N.C., for an intensive two to four week boot camp focused on treating obesity, diabetes , heart disease, hypertension, and kidney disease.

Due to the continued success of that expensive in-house program, co-authors, Kitty Rosati, MS, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian; and her cardiologist husband, Robert Rosati, MD, wrote The Rice Diet Solution to guide those wanting to try the diet at home.

The plan consists of a very low-calorie, high-complex carbohydrate, low-sodium, low-fat, low-sugar, low-protein, whole-foods diet designed to detoxify, cause , and prevent or reverse chronic diseases.

The plan incorporates stress reduction through mindfulness, yoga, and meditation as well. Hundreds of recipes, weekly menus, tips, and diet advice are sprinkled throughout The Rice Diet Solution book.

NOTE: The diet is not recommended for anyone who has had a colon resection or impaired kidney function.

The Rice Diet Solution: What You Can Eat

Ricers, the affectionate term for those following the Rice Diet Solution, eat more than just rice -- but not much. Though rice is part of the plan, it is one of 30 foods available at any given meal.

The plan allows for whole-grain starches, low-sodium beans, fruits, vegetables, nonfat dairy and very lean protein sources. "Eating a diet high in fiber from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables will keep you feeling full and satisfied," says co-author Kitty Rosati.

The Rice Diet Solution plan has several phases:

Phase 1 -- one week

1 day: Basic Rice Diet (800 calories and 50 mg sodium)

2 starches and 2 fruits at breakfast, lunch, and dinner

6 days: Lacto Vegetarian Rice Diet (1,000 calories a day and 300 mg sodium)

 Breakfast: 1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 nonfat dairy

Lunch and dinner: 3 starches, 3 vegetables, 1 fruit 

Phase 2 -- one week

1 day: Basic Rice Diet

5 days:  Lacto Vegetarian Rice Diet

1 day: Vegetarian Plus Rice Diet (1,200 calories per day and 500 mg sodium)

  Breakfast: 2 starches, 1 fruit

  Lunch: 3 starches, 3 vegetables, 1 fruit

  Dinner: 3 starches, 3 protein (or 2 dairy), 3 vegetables, 1 fruit

Phase 3 -- Maintenance. Same as phase 2, adding about 200 more calories per week, until you stop losing weight.

1 day:  Basic Rice Diet

4 days:  Lacto Vegetarian Rice Diet

2 days: Vegetarian Plus Rice Diet

The authors of The Rice Diet Solution note the diet is too low in calcium and vitamin D and suggest a once-daily multivitamin.

Article Source: www.webmd.com

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Healthy Drinks That You Should Drink

Staying hydrated can be great for your body. Drink enough of the right liquids and your mood will improve, your focus will sharpen, your heart will beat stronger, and you’ll be less likely to suffer from headaches and fatigue. All that, plus if you pick the right potions, you’ll receive beneficial nutrients, antioxidants and protein as a bonus. Water is the universal fluid which is essential for the body and does wonders for us. But there are many other healthy drinks which are very refreshing.

Here is the list of best healthy drinks that you should include in your daily lifestyle -

Water: Water provides everything the body needs—pure H2O—to restore fluids lost through metabolism. Water is needed for our cells to function properly, which then enables thinking, movement, blood circulation, digestion and nerve function. Water helps suppress appetite, which reduces the risk of obesity. Additionally, water helps the body burn fat.

Green Tea: When you think of healthy drinks, water immediately comes to mind, and when it comes to tea, green tea is the champion. Green tea contains EGCG which is an antioxidant. It is extremely helpful since it can locate cancer cells and kill them without damaging healthy cells. Green tea increases the metabolism which makes the body burn more calories per day. This makes green tea a superb drink for dieters who are looking to slim down to a fit body. Green tea also prevents clogging of the blood vessels and so prevents strokes. So, add this in your daily life and stay healthy.

Lemon water: Another name in the list of healthy drinks is lemon water. Starting your day with lemon water is really good for your health. Lemon water is good for detoxification of the body and drinking it first thing helps to eliminate the bodily wastes effectively paving the way for a glowing skin. Lemon water is rich in Vitamin C that helps in strengthening the immune system and also potassium which is good for heart. Lemon water though is acidic, acts as an alkaline in the body thus helps in curing digestive problems like heart burn, constipation and nausea. This is simple and easy to make. Take a glass of lukewarm water and squeeze half lemon and you are done.

Coconut water: Coconut water is incredibly healthy and one of the best health drinks to hydrate the body. Besides helping remove toxins from the body & aiding digestion, coconut water has amazing anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti- microbial properties that helps in fighting against various infections. Another benefit of this healthy drink is that it helps in blood circulation and prevents from excessive heat burn problems and also controls acidity. Coconut water is a rich source of natural calcium, magnesium, and natural potassium- making it a healthy electrolyte balancing drink.

Milk: Milk should be a component of one’s daily diet. We begin drinking it when we are young, but our intake decreases as we get older. Some people shy away from it because they fear that it will add too much fat to their diet. Others leave it out because they believe that they no longer need it. Milk is a great source of calcium, which is essential for healthy bones. Not only do young children need it while their bones are growing, but adults need it to keep their bones strong and to prevent osteoporosis. Other than calcium, this healthy drink is rich in protein, phosphorus, magnesium that is good for development of teeth, fight hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even obesity. There are several varieties of milk in the market, such as whole, 2%, low-fat and fat free. You can choose wisely to avoid addition of extra fat to the diet and reap all other health benefits for a strong skeletal system.

There are many ways to lose weight and get fit. But the best and healthiest way to do so, is with a diet that let's you eat your regular food, is easy to follow, doesn't keep you hungry. Many of us know what is healthy or not, but we still don't lose weight. What you need is a good weight loss diet plan, designed by an expert, who makes it around your food choices (veg, non-veg), and your height, weight, gender and other such factors.Here is what you will get for your weight loss diet:

An updated diet plan every week, so that you enjoy it, and can eat a good variety of foods

It should have regular food, without anything exotic, and natural without any supplements.

Also, you can access the plan anywhere, anytime, so it's really convenient.

Article source: www.fitho.in

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IF YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT, WAIT A FEW WEEKS

If I told a client she wasn’t supposed to lose any weight for the first two months of a weight-loss program, she’d probably go find another nutritionist. But that may be the secret to not only dropping a dress size but also keeping those pounds off for life.

In a new study by Stanford scientists, more than 260 overweight to obese women were split into two groups: One immediately began a 20-week weight-loss plan that involved eating more fruits and veggies, being more active, keeping daily food journals, and attending weekly support meetings. Once this part of the program was completed, they spent eight more weeks focusing on weight maintenance tactics.

The other group was asked to refrain from losing any weight the first eight weeks while they learned those maintenance lessons. Only after those two months did these women began the identical 20-week weight-loss program.

In the end, both groups lost about the same amount of weight—an average 17 pounds, roughly 9 percent of their starting weights. But there was a big difference a year later: Those who lost weight first regained seven pounds, more than twice as much as the women who started by mastering the maintenance tricks.

See what Cynthia thought of these results after the break!

I’m fascinated by this research because weight management is one of the primary reasons clients come to see me, and the study's results echo what I’ve seen in my practice. When a client is overly fixated on weight loss (Did the number on the scale go down today and if so how much?), she can easily lose sight of, or even give up on, the skills that ultimately lead to success.

That's why I sometimes I ask my clients to commit to not weighing themselves at all and instead pay attention to things like hunger and fullness patterns, emotional or social triggers, and learning how to navigate situations in which they tend to fall off track. I also often ask clients to make a list of the reasons they want to change their eating habits that have nothing to do with losing weight, such as having more energy, not feeling bloated, better sleep, glowing skin, better workouts, more even-keeled moods, and just plain feeling good about being healthy.

It may seem counterintuitive, but taking the pressure off of losing weight has allowed many of my clients to really focus on the foundational skills and mindset changes that set them up for long-term success. That doesn’t mean not paying attention to weight at all, but instead realizing that weight loss and maintenance are desired “side effects” of a healthier relationship with food.

In this study the researchers used some lingo I really like: They call it paying "relaxed attention" to weight. In my experience, this shift in focus is what can finally break the yo-yo on-off diet cycle and foster sustainable habits that can allow you to get to and stay at your weight goal—for good.

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Three Reasons Women Should Do Weight Training

Most women see weight training as something only men and bodybuilders do. But this is well and truly a myth. This myth is so ingrained among women that it's quite difficult to dispel it.

Once people know that I workout with weights regularly, they look me and up and down expecting to find bulging muscles and a bulky structure. But when all they can see is a slim figure standing in front of them, they think I'm joking.

Honestly! What's up with these people??

So, much to their surprise (and some annoyance), I explain to them that weight training doesn't necessarily build a bulky body. In fact there are lots of reasons why every woman should take up weight lifting.

Here are three of the main reasons.

1. You'll get slim.

Believe it or not, weight training will actually make you lose body fat and get slim.

When you train with weights such as dumbbells and kettlebells or other heavy items, you put more pressure on your muscles than they're used to. To withstand this bigger pressure, your body makes your muscles stronger.

Your body builds more muscle tissues. This process uses up a lot more calories than usual. And your metabolism works faster. You probably know that a faster metabolism will promote faster fat loss.

It's not only the faster metabolism you'll get from this process. You'll look a lot leaner as well because of having more muscles. You'll look a lot slimmer since muscles take up less space than fat.

What's more, training with weights is the best way to tone up trouble spots, like under the arms, thighs and belly.

But don't worry - unlike men, you're not likely to become bulky. You just don't have enough of the right hormones which help cause huge muscles in men. All you'll end up with is a nicely sculpted, well-defined body.

2. As you get older, you'll look and feel a lot younger than your friends.

After the age of 30, women start to lose their muscle mass year by year. To put it frankly, unless they do something about it, they'll get more and more flabby.

Weight training will help prevent this by preserving your muscle mass. You'll stay firm in your older age.

Not only does this make you look attractive even in your old age, but you'll also maintain your mobility into your very old age. That means you won't need to depend on people to get up from your chair or get help walking. You'll keep your independence and even be able to enjoy playing with your grandchildren (if you do decide to have children).

3. You'll keep your osteoporosis at bay.

One of the commonest health scares for women as they get older is rapid bone loss. This is even more common after the menopause. It can very easily lead to osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a serious health problem in which your bones become brittle and are easily broken.

How does weight lifting help with this problem?

Well... regular weight bearing exercises don't only strengthen your muscles, but also your bones. That means you can prevent osteoporosis by regular resistance training combined with good nutrition.

OK, even knowing these benefits...

Are you still concerned about becoming bulky?

Hear me out on this.

Again I'm stressing the fact that, contrary to popular belief, training with weights doesn't make you bulky. People who build up their bulk actually train specifically for that purpose. For average women like you and me who just want to get fit and shape up, it's very unlikely that you'll become muscular like professional bodybuilders.

OK, now that concern's out of the way, here's another:

Do you feel that you don't have enough time to do your workouts?

It might surprise you to know that, if you're very busy, you don't actually have to go to the gym. You can train at home just as easily without using barbells or gym equipment.

When you think about it, weight training simply means exercising with weights. So, the weights could be dumbbells, or kettlebells, or any old heavy things lying around your house. On my home weight training site (link in the resources box below), I show how you can easily and cheaply train with weights in the comfort of your own home.

Whether you like to exercise at home or at the gym or even outdoors, now that you know its benefits you should start making weight training a regular part of your life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7361473

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