Though it is pretty tempting to go for quick fix/crash diets, we all know that going on one is not the right way to go about losing weight. First of all, crash diets are not not good for your health. And second, they’re not an effective way to keep those pounds off. Sure you might lose a few pounds when you go on a crash diet, but since this kind of dieting is but reactionary, you’ll find that those pounds will come creeping back snagging you into an endless crash diet roller coaster.

If you want to shed the extra pounds you got from eating way too much during the holidays (and even before that), the best way to go about it is still a lifestyle change. I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, but it is still true nonetheless. No diet nor exercise regimen will last for long if you don’t make it a part of your lifestyle. You need to make a decision to make some key changes in your life that will allow you to slowly imbibe healthy behaviors until they become habits. Doing this may mean that the holiday pounds you put on won’t go away in a snap, but it does mean that come the end of next year, you’ll be more likely to stick to your healthy habits so that you won’t be in the situation you are right now.

Image via Crash Diets

To help you have a more healthy holiday so that you can enjoy a longer fun-filled life, here are some tips you can follow:

• Commit to a healthy holiday – It all starts with a decision. If you decide early on that you’ll go all out to enjoy the holidays and binge, then there’s no way you’ll resist all the temptation. Commit to a healthier lifestyle this holiday, so that as the temptations come, you’ll have more resolve to overcome them.
• Eat before going to a party – You cannot control the kind of food served in parties you attend, so make it easier to resist the urge to pig out on unhealthy party food by eating before you leave the house. This way you’ll be full when you get to the party and will feel more like mingling with people than hovering over the table.
• Stay away from the table – Find a comfy spot in the farthest corner from the food and drinks station. The more inconvenient it is for you to get food, the less likely you’ll come back for seconds.
• Wash everything down with water – The free-flowing drinks may be tempting, but decide to wash down your food with water. Before you know it, you’ll feel too full to eat and drink too much.
• Serve healthy alternatives – If you’re hosting your own party, or will be cooking the Christmas dinner, make sure that you serve lots of healthy alternatives. You can do this by substituting healthy ingredients whenever you can, and using cooking healthier cooking techniques (i.e. roasting instead of deep frying).

Image via Burn the Fat Challenge

Create a Weekly Meal Plan

One of the hardest parts of sticking to a healthy diet is planning what you’re going to eat from one meal to the next. While it’s always easy to run through a fast-food line, gorging on sodium-laden foods, it isn’t as easy to look in the fridge and decide what to make. Start each week by spending some time writing out a specific meal plan. What will you have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day? Make a trip to the grocery store and purchase the healthy ingredients you’ll need. The more you plan, the easier it will be to make healthier choices for your heart.

Look for Low-Fat Sources of Protein

Protein is great – it is a needed dietary supplement. Your source of protein, on the other hand, is a completely different story. Some protein sources, like pork, red meat, and even eggs, can be very high in fat. You’ll need to make sure you are choosing leaner cuts of meat – like chicken breast instead of thighs, leaner beef, egg whites instead of full eggs, and even skim milk over whole. Beans are a great source of protein that contain no cholesterol and very little fat.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

You probably hear this all the time, but the truth is that very few people eat as much fruits and vegetables as they should. A small side salad every once in a blue moon simply isn’t enough. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain tons of great vitamins – especially vitamin A and vitamin C. The less you cook them, the more you’ll benefit. These vitamins, plus the fiber in vegetables, make them great for supporting the health of your heart.

Speaking of Fiber

It is important for you to eat approximately 30 or more grams of fiber each day. Why? Fiber helps your digestive system and, in turn, supports your immune system. The more fiber you consume, the better able your body is to absorb fat and cholesterol so that you can digest it before it ends up in your bloodstream. Just make sure you work up to 30 grams if you currently eat very little; too much too fast could disturb your digestive process.

Ditch the Salt

Last but not least (and you knew it was coming), try to avoid salt as much as possible. When looking for packaged foods, look for items that are low in sodium. When preparing fresh foods, don’t add your own salt. When using seasonings, make sure you aren’t using blends that have salt added to them. Opt for herbs and spices in their natural form instead.

These 5 simple tips should help you to transition towards a heart healthy diet, ensuring you are better able to safeguard your health for years to come.

About the Author: Deborah Grames loves researching health, wellness, and healthy eating. She also enjoys using sites like IT recruiting services and other online services to stay in touch with latest recruitment services, jobs,  family, friends, and clients.

So what is the Slow Food Movement? Their philosophy is:

Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.

Their mission is:

Slow Food works to defend biodiversity in our food supply, spread taste education and connect producers of excellent foods with co-producers through events and initiatives.

As you may surmise, this movement involves organic produce a lot. And I do not need to tell you that eating organic translates to healthy eating. I have to be honest, however, and state outright that being part of this movement is not that appealing to me. Call me callous and insensitive, but I do not think that it is possible for me to consume purely organic food. I believe that I can eat healthily without going to this extreme. I do respect and even admire the people behind this movement.

What about you? What do you think of slow food?

Oatmeal. Tomorrow morning, load up on some oatmeal. If you do not normally eat breakfast, then it’s about time that you did. Your grandmother told you so. Your mom told you so. And now we’re telling you the same thing. Breakfast can give you a jumpstart and keep you going all day! By the way, stick with plain old oatmeal. Forget the instant or flavored ones for maximum benefit.

Bananas. Oatmeal and fruit, why not? I suggest getting a couple of bananas to last you through Monday as well. If you feel the munchies coming on, just grab one of the bananas and munch away. Not only will you be eating healthy, you will also be packing on some energy boosters.

Dark chocolate. Now you’ve been looking out for this on my list, haven’t you? Who doesn’t like a bit of chocolate every now and then? Just make sure it’s dark chocolate so you won’t be eating all those extra calories. Dark chocolate has been known to lift your mood and give you a burst of energy as well. You can’t really beat that combination, can you?

Here’s to a good week for all of us!

It is important to have a word with them since they will be checking vital signs and other indications to see if you are fit and healthy enough to endure changes in food intake, way of life, and altering habits. It is a good thing to know that the Lipozene diet will not demand too many adjustments for the curious and conscious individual since taking the dietary supplement will alter a person’s appetite, lessening the craving of eating excessively. This happens because of the large amounts of fiber that is found in every tablet.

It will make the person feel full despite of not eating very much. Taking the Lipozene diet religiously will let everything flow naturally, where the body loosens fat and extra inches without that much of an effort on the part of the individual. These effects are a simple amazement because such diets take away the taxing burden of undergoing extra exercise, which gives so much stress in being fit. In short, being disciplined and regimented in facing a diet will create results that can be amazing in the end.

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine it doesn’t really matter which diet you choose to go with as long as you choose one and stick to it. The study, Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates (whew that is a long title!), all participants of the different diets tried lost and average of 6kgs in 6 months though and by the end of the study (2 years) those that stayed on lost more than 10% of their original body weight. Though that might not seem much the point is not how much weight was lost but that the important thing is to reduce the calorie intake. In short, you can go low fat, low carb, high protein or whatever you choose to do to lose weight and it will work as long as you COUNT YOUR CALORIES.

The bigger question now is not which diet you should go with but to stick to it. Losing weight is easy…at least compared to keeping off that lost weight.

Photo via ShellyS

The Telegraph reports about the findings:

Researchers asked over 40,000 people if they would prefer £45 in three days or £70 in three months. Those who wanted the smaller amount were also impulsive in other areas of their life.

They were more likely to want the immediate pleasure of a cake, an affair or a puff on a cigarette than consider the long-term effect on their health or relationship.

The study by University College London found people who are young, poorly educated and on a low income were the most financially impulsive.

It’s not all that bad, though. According to Dr. Stian Reimers, those who are impulsive can learn how to control their impulsive urges:

“Simple techniques can help reduce impulsivity, like imagining how you’d feel about your decision in a year’s time or trying to avoid making decisions in the heat of the moment.”

The next time I feel like indulging in more chocolate cake that I should eat, I will try this trick.

Promise #1: Fast to fast track your weight loss.
Well, it does make sense, right? Do not eat and you will lose weight. Then again, did you know that when you fast, your body goes into “fast mode”? This is wherein the body slows down the metabolic rate in order to conserve the resources that it has stored. What happens then is that you do not really fast track your weight loss program. More so, if you have certain health issues and you fast, you might trigger an unhealthy response and put yourself in danger.

Promise #2: Take fat burners to stoke up your metabolic rate.
There are a lot of these pills and juices in the market but do they work? Well, fat burners are basically stimulants. This means that when you take these things, you risk overworking your heart as well. If you have heart problems – no matter how minor they are – then you might get more than what you bargained for. In addition to this issue, studies have shown that fat burners do not really increase the metabolic rate considerably.

So what do you think? Can you lose weight in 10 days? I think so – but not in these ways. Following these basic weight loss tips always helps too.