Category Archives: Weightloss

Weightloss! Easy Diet, Keep it Off!

It’s official, Spring and weightloss is putting us on the scale!  The quickest way to lose weight is to consume VEGETABLES, thereby, giving your body the opportunity to work at breaking down the soluble fiber and nutrients, while increasing the body’s metabolism.  

4 servings Fruits,

5-6 servings Vegetables,

2 servings of 3 oz meat, poultry or fish,

2 servings EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil),

4-5 servings your choice:  grains, pasta, rice or bread,

1-2 servings skim or 1% milk

Additional studies published in “The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” put forth the results of a randomized study that compared a “reduced fat diet (RF)” and a “reduced fat intake and increased fruit and vegetable intake (RF+FV)”.  The study concluded that the greater weightloss after six months was sharply noticed with the combination diet of RF+FV, by 1/3 more total weightloss!  “Reducing dietary energy density, particularly by combining increased fruit and vegetable intakes with decreased fat intake, is an effective strategy for managing body weight while controlling hunger.”  Additionally, they noted that maintenance of the weightloss was also more prevalent, “The 2 strategies for reducing energy density that were tested in this trial were both effective in reducing body weight and maintaining weight loss without prescribing limits for energy or fat intake.”  Other studies, such as the Dash Diet, TLC Diet and Mediterranean Diet concur that combining the RF+FV is the healthiest and most effective way to go. Don’t forget to exercise 20 minutes a day to encourage increased weightloss.

Find your Dietary Meal Plan here:

TRY SOME “NEW TO YOU” FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 

FRUITS

Apricots: Dried, cooked, unsweetened 1/2 cup
Banana, raw 1 medium
Clementines, raw 2 small 
Grapefruit juice: Canned or frozen, unsweetened 3/4 cup
Fresh 3/4 cup Honeydew melon, Cantaloupe
Nectarine, raw 1 medium
Orange juice: 6 ounces
Peaches: Dried, cooked, unsweetened 1/2 cup
Pears: Dried, uncooked 1/2 cup, Pear Juice
Pomegranate, raw 1 medium
Prunes, dried, cooked, unsweetened 1/2 cup
Raspberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Gogi Berries,
Raisins, Craisins 1/4 cup
Watermelon, raw About 1 3/4 cups diced

Grilled Mango and Pineapple Sticks

VEGETABLES

Artichoke, globe (french), cooked 1 medium
Asparagus, cooked 1/2 cup, Raw 1 cup
Beans: Green, carrot sticks (steamed, add garlic, salt pepper, EVOO) 1/2 cup
Lentils (Lebanese or Jordanian style), cooked 1/2 cup
Cauliflower, cooked 1/2 cup, Raw 1 cup
Kale Chips (chopped, salt, pepper EVOO. 7 min. 400 bake oven) 1/2 cup
Corn, cooked 1/2 cup
Fennel cooked 1/2 cup, Raw 1cup
Grilled Portabella Mushrooms, 1/2 cup
Peas, green, cooked 1/2 cup, also frozen / thawed
Plantain, green or ripe, boiled 1 medium
Potato: Baked or boiled, with or w/o skin 1 medium
Pumpkin, cooked 1/2 cup
Rutabaga, cooked 1/2 cup
Spinach Salad with 4 olives 1/2 cup
Squash, winter, cooked, mashed 1/2 cup
Sweet-potato: Baked 1 medium or Boiled 1 medium
Cherry Tomatoes 4,Tomatoes: Raw 1 med., Tomato juice, canned 3/4 c.

 

By: Kimberly Crocker

Literature Research

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/558708

Guiltless Ordering Tips to Empower Mid-West Eaters

“Calorie Restriction (CR) is the fastest way to slow down our aging process” according to various research studies worldwide.  The amount that is served at the price that is given usually looks like a pretty good deal in any restaurant, but remember that we can only burn a certain amount of calories.  The rest of the calories not utilized in a 24 hour period turns to fat. Thus, a daily meal plan is critical so that each calorie that is consumed is nutrient filled. 
Knowing how to order, and understanding why we need certain foods throughout the day can only empower us when walking through the door of our favorite hometown Eatery.  The key to Guiltless eating is one must have the mindset of Whole Foods,  whether you are eating at Panera, Skyline Chili, Krogers, Wild Oats, Subway, McDonalds, or Wendy’s.  The naturally occurring vitamins and minerals within such produce will energize your mind and body throughout the work day. 

Fluids are equally important to a successful diet. Add 1-2 glasses of water with 1/2 to 1 whole lemon each day. Also drink 1-2 cups of Oolong tea each day. Oolong tea burns over 157% more fat than Green Tea and has become the most popular tea designed to accelerate weigh loss. 

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER… CHOOSE WISELY

Pass on the chips, burgers and fries.  Ask to replace them with fish, lean meat, rice, yogurt, fruit or vegetable!

1.  Broiled Salmon or fish has Vitamins A, D, E, magnesium, calcium omega 3, 6.   Vitamins A,E, D is beneficial for skin and eyes. Magnesium assist the gut in keeping things moving, plus a mood stabilizer.  Omega 3,6 promotes HDL in removal of plaque build up in arteries plus reduces inflammation within the body.

2.  Lean meats have Vitamin B’s.  According to Life Clinic, “they help to process calories from carbohydrates, protein and fat. Your body needs it for growth and red cell production, and adequate riboflavin intake promotes healthy skin and good vision”.

3.  Bean Soup has various vitamins and magnesium!  We need 600-800mg magnesium to balance the calcium so that constipation is not an issue. Magnesium is found in fish, pumpkin seeds, nuts and beans.  It is also a mood enhancer curving depression, fatigue, leg cramps, migraines, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and high blood pressure.

4.  Leafy greens and  salads with nuts or seeds vineagrettes. Obtain magnesium, Omega 3,6.  for Vitamin K, A and iron.  Promotes blood coagulation (vit. K) plus  skin cell repair.   

5.  Vegetable Sticks, Fruit for fiber, vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants to combat free radicals.

6.  GO FOR Multi-Grain or Whole Wheat breads.  When wheat (or any other grain) is processed into flour the germ and the bran (which contain most of the nutrients and fiber) are discarded. The whiter the flour the more nutrients have been stripped away. At this point I consider it a serving of sugar and not a ‘grain’.

7.  Lemon water . Lemon has Vitamin C (any fruit or veggie), which allows for iron to better bind to hemoglobin (red blood cells), reducing opportunity for anemia.

8.  Skim or 1% milk (also leafy greens).  We need 1200 mg of calcium a day found in milk and leafy greens.  Calcium contributes to healthy bones and muscles so that when they are stronger weightloss is more prevalent.

9.  Oolong, Green and Black teas are some of the best teas with the highest amount of anitoxidants present per mg. It’s a great way to keep your cognitive functions healthy and focused!  Additional evidence boasts of Oolong tea benefiting your pancreas and optimizing it’s ability to work better too.

BE EMPOWERED.  Know what nutrients you are providing yourself with and why you need them.  To eat Guilt Free is to eat with a sense that you are giving your body the best that you can for the day.  The Whole Foods will help you to combat Depression, keep Diabetes and Heart Disease at bay.  Nutrients from Whole Foods strengthen your body so that pathologies requiring medication can be kept at lower doses.  French fries, chips, chocolates, soda’s, white bread, or large amounts of cheese are all tasty, but must be eaten in small quantities, reducing intake of no more than 3 times a week.

 By: Kimberly Crocker

Literature Research

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12766099?ordinalpos=5&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16618952?ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2005/05/26/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-benefits-of-magnesium.htm

http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/nutrition/vitamin-b2.asp

Control Obesity, Control Pathologies???

PLEASE VIEW!!!  Dr. Oz, a nationally renowned Physician, conducts a round table discussion on “Obesity and Diets” that may or may not contribute to pathologies.  What do we really know about nutrition and how it should be individualized?  Does obesity then relate to our hormonal and biochemical make-up?  What we do know is that an individual can change their DNA (as related to predipostion) make-up based on a two year dietary intake.

Globally, research is being done on nutrition and it’s impact leading up to certain pathologies.  The North American diet, with the exculsion of Alaska, is not healthy.   It has been shown that individuals in Asia, South Europe (mediterranean) and Central America have biomarkers that are healthier than what is found in other parts of the world.  Could this be related to the “essesntial fatty acids” found in omega 3, commonly found in fish and various seafood?  Could it be related to lifestyle, more walking and working with ones hands or more rest?  I look forward to hearing from the readers and what their experience has been.

Great information not commonly known amongst the public at large.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center (GUEST HOST); Gary Taubes, Journalist; Dr. Dean Ornish, Founder and President, Preventative Medicine Research Institute; Dr. Barbara Howard, Amer… (more)
Added: August 25, 2007
Category:  News & Politics

Meal Plan, Which Calories do you Reduce?

Design your 1300-2000 Calorie Meal Plan…Cut calories and stay healthy!  Eat 5 meals a day and drink Water both with and between all meals!  Fluids are equally important to a successful diet. Add 1-2 glasses of water with 1/2 to 1 whole lemon each day. Also drink 1-2 cups of Oolong tea each day. Oolong tea burns over 157% more fat than Green Tea and has become the most popular tea designed to accelerate weigh loss. 
Typical 2000 Calorie recommended Meal Plan

Breakfast
Aunt Millies Bread** (whole/multi-grain) or Oatmeal, fruit, 1% or skim milk, 1 tsp healthy fat (Olio butter)

Snack
fruit, 1 bread (2 graham crackers)

Lunch
3 ounce fish or lean meat,  2 slices of (bread whole or multi-grain),  salad with 1-2 vegetables Salt/Fat free dressing, bread,  fruit

Snack
Vegetable,  Nuts 1 oz (optional protein)

Dinner
3 ounce fish or lean meat, 2 vegetables, fruit, pasta/rice (bread),  skim milk, 1 oz no fat cheese (milk),  low fat dessert, Healthy Fat used for cooking i.e. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

**Bread: Recommend Aunt Millies Bread 2  slices is only 1 serving and 80 Calories and will save 200 calories on this Meal Plan!

Recommended Daily Servings

 4 Fruits- 240 calories,

6 Vegetables- 290 Calories,

5 servings Bread -200 calories,

3 Milk/Dairy -300 Calories,

2 Meats or Fish -600 Calories,

3 Fats -360 calories.   

 NEW Total: 1350 Nutritional Calories

Meal Plan with reduced caloric intake. 

May reduce Calories by Removing:  

Any 3 Bread servings –160 calories,

1 Meat serving –300 calories,

1 Fat Serving –120 calories,

1 Milk/Dairy –100 calories.

Total removed Calories  -640. 

Great Link to Check out for additional help. http://www.montana.edu/health/nutrition/healthyway.html

Sleep and Lose Weight?

Yes… it is possible to lose or gain weight while you sleep!  This based on daily calorie intake, exercise and what are you eating at dinner and before you go to bed.

Eating a bowl of popcorn, potato chips and drinking a coke one hour before you go to bed will help you gain a few calories while you sleep, as opposed to eating an orange or a banana.

Sleep in of itself allows the growth hormone to adequately work on tissue and cellular repair, resulting in burned calories for the individual.  For example, a woman that is 5’5″ (163 cm), that sleeps 7 hours, will burn approximately 489 calories.  A man with the height of 5′ 10″ (1,75 cm), that sleeps for 7 hours, burns approximately 540 calories.

Additional weightloss can be promoted while we’re sleeping by slightly raising  our metabolism a few ours before bedtime.  Complete your exercise regiment 3-4 hours before bedtime, so that you are not so stimulated that you are unable to rest, yet you’ve promoted your metabolism to function at a higher rate.  Additionally, have dinner  4 hours before going to bed so that your dinner stays in your duodenum, the first part of the small intestine for 4 hours (before moving onto  the second part of the small intestine). If you digest food closer to your bedtime it will result in a restless sleep pattern for you.

To encourage weightloss, dinner should include 4oz  (114g) of protein: Fish, Poultry, Pork, or Lean Beef. Accompanied by 3 servings of vegetables and a fruit.  (1 serving of bread or pasta optional).  A serving of fruit or vegetables is the equivalent of a 1/2 cup, salads are 1 cup for a serving. 

Dinner (example)      

Begin with a glass of water 10-15 minutes before eating your meal. Promotes hydration and slows down eating, contributes to satiety (feeling full at end of meal).                                    

4 oz salmon

salad with 1/2 cup tomatoes (vinaigrette dressing 1-2 tbsp)

bowl of lentil soup (Optional: add 1 cup cooked pasta.)

1 medium orange

1 oz or 28 g of walnuts

Glass of wine

Nutrition facts: 1-Protein, 2-Omega 3 (alimentary fat, great for the HEART!!), 5-Fiber, 1-bread optional

(If opting for pasta (60 g), mix in 1/2 to 1 cup steamed or sauteed vegetable.  May pass with crushed nuts or Parmesan Cheese.)

Wine has also been linked to weightloss, because of it’s active polyphenols/antioxidants that work hard to get rid of toxins in the body.  Red wine is a great source of Vitamin C and E.  A few of their benefits contribute to the health of our skin and eyes.

By Kimberly Crocker