Latest Study Confirms It: Some Diets are Better Than Others, When it Comes to Healthy Weight Loss

Sometimes solid nutrition falls by the wayside as we focus more on weight loss than our overall health. This is especially true when following a diet plan. We often expect that the creators have a better knowledge of nutrition and have thus given the topic real consideration. Yet many of these diets focus too much on cutting calories by cutting out certain foods, instead of encouraging us to balance overall nutrition, which is what promoting lasting healthy weight loss is about. In fact, many popular diet plans can actually create nutritional deficiencies harmful to our heart, bones, mood, and nervous system!

In a study published this month, researchers from Stanford University in California compared the nutrient quality of four popular diet plans: Atkins, Zone, LEARN, and the Ornish diet. Their goal was to investigate whether intake of essential nutrients was adequate in these diet plans, or if it declined as fat and/or carbs were cut. Read more

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Posted on July 12 by Tanya Wilson in Featured Articles 13 Comments

How Much Omega-3 Is Required Daily?

Dietary Guidelines for Omega-3: ALA, DHA, and EPA.

Omega-3 has become one of the biggest buzzwords in healthy dieting. After all, this “good” fat is known to not only support a healthy heart, brain, and blood vessels, but also diets high in omega-3′s are associated with decreased abdominal fat and lower rates of obesity.

There are numerous omega-3 supplements and fortified foods available today, each claiming to have the right amounts of this essential fatty acid. Yet there are no officially established guidelines for omega-3 intake. Here are three reputable sources to start with when considering how much omega-3 is right for you.

As always consult with your physician before considering a supplement, and be aware that increased dosages of DHA and EPA may cause a greater risk of bleeding.
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Posted on November 15 by Tanya Wilson in Brain Food Leave a comment

Low Carb and High Protein Diet Charts for Creating Your Own Weight Loss Plan.

High protein and low carb diet charts: How they can be used for healthy meal planning.

There are so many variations of low carb diet plans, each with their own style of carb-counting, acceptable foods, and foods to avoid but they can be hard to stick to, especially if long-term weight loss is the goal. Sometimes, rather than adhering to a restrictive regimen, it’s better to create our own, personalized strategies that we know we can live with. After all, when a plan fits into our lifestyle and suits our preferences, we’re more likely to succeed. This is where protein diet charts can come in handy.
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Posted on October 2 by Tanya Wilson in Featured Articles, protein diet Comments Off

How to Stop Yo-Yo Dieting: Tips for Lasting Change

Stop Yo-yo Dieting and Get Into a Healthy Weight Loss Mindset.

An incredible amount of research is going on covering every angle of dieting and weight loss, from exploring what foods to eat, to which exercises are best, what supplements to take, and what plans really work. Every avenue that can come to mind is being studied somewhere, somehow. Even dieting willpower has become a subject of genetic study. Yet with each tidbit of information scraped up daily, there is still no magic bullet. There is no single, special, whatcha-ma-call-it that will work for everybody.

So how do we shed those extra pounds without getting them back? Read more

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Posted on July 17 by Tanya Wilson in Habits 5 Comments

Diet Plan Review: A Sprinkle of Sensa?

Easy Plan for Weight Loss: Try Tastants as a Diet Supplement?

There are so many diet plans out there, outlining which foods to eat, which to avoid, which supplements to take and what kind of exercises to do. This plan is much different, and sounds almost too easy to be true: Sensa Sprinkles. All it involves is buying this brand of flavor enhancer and dusting it over every meal you eat, and then you can eat everything you normally choose. The sprinkles are supposed to not only enhance the flavor of your food, but also stimulate your sense of smell and thus improve feelings of satiety, so you eat less. Sounds great, but does it actually work? Read more

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Posted on June 20 by Tanya Wilson in Featured Articles 1 Comment

Beautiful Blueberries: The New Belly-Fat Busters, and A Few Healthy Recipes.

Author: Tanya Wilson – Blueberries are well-loved by nutritionists and dieters alike: They are rich in antioxidants and vitamins, high in fiber, and low in calories (only 85 calories per 1 cup of fresh berries). And now it seems we have another reason to enjoy them- new research from the University of Michigan suggests that a diet rich in blueberries may help get rid of belly fat and curb risk factors leading to diabetes.

Though the study was done on animals, the results are intriguing, and have opened the door for human studies. Here is a quick rundown of the study and its results:

Blueberries were given as a freeze-dried powder mixed into their food and constituted only 2% of their diets. They were also put on either a high-fat or low-fat diet with or without the powder. After 90 days the different groups were then compared:

Those consuming the blueberry powder, whether or not they were on a low-fat or high-fat diet, showed lower triglycerides, lower abdominal fat, lower cholesterol, and improved fasting glucose and insulin sensitivity.

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Posted on May 15 by Tanya Wilson in Recipes, super foods 4 Comments

Alternatives for Sugar Cravings: I DARE YOU!

Don’t know about you… But when I finally settle down in the evening, relax in my recliner with the blanket over me, the dog in my lap, and YES, with a healthy snack at hand and a good movie awaiting, all stress of the day blissfully vanishes away.

While my significant other munches on greasy potato chips, rather than dipping my hand into his bowl, I munch on popcorn- a much healthier snack alternative.

When tempting foods are constantly brought in by the other party, it makes sense to prepare healthy snacks ahead of time. This avoids grief. Especially after opting for healthy food and watching calories all day. No need to spoil it.

Sugar cravings run rampant in my life. I want that snack! Who is in charge here? My belly or my brain? Is it lack of discipline when that signal overcomes my frontal lobe, and I give in to the cravings? Perhaps!

You’ve probably experienced for yourself at one time or another, when your brain tried to relieve stress with food for the sake of happiness. You can only overcome this reaction by learning to re-train the brain. For example, by choosing snacks that are good for you and making them easily available.

Sugar soothes. When I was a child, my favorite reward was not money but chocolate. When I felt sad, or had a fight with my best friend or was sick, Mom made me hot chocolate to make me feel better. Our brain operates on such memories.

I say, give in to sugar cravings occasionally. But also find alternative nutritious snacks to chocolates, cakes, cookies, or ice cream. The following are examples on how to beat sugar cravings while snacking on fewer calories.

You may not find prunes (Sunsweet’s are sweet, fruity, and juicy) a great alternative to chocolate right now. But I DARE you….

Some healthy snack ideas to help you get started: Read more

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Posted on October 31 by Dee Wilson in low calorie snacks Leave a comment

Raw Food Diet in the News

In case you have missed this segment of CNN Health News and you are planning to add more uncooked food to your dinner plate…

What do you think about this report? Have you tried a raw food diet and had similar results? Your comments are always welcome!

As mentioned, it can be difficult to just go “cold turkey” and change your lifestyle overnight. Consider Juicing. Juicing is a simple and effective way to incorporate more raw foods into a healthy diet plan without having to go to extemes!

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Posted on October 18 by Dee Wilson in Food Leave a comment

Plan Your Low Calorie Diet Before The Holidays

If you are trying to stick to your low calorie diet or you are point counting with Weight Watchers over the holidays, then you’ll need to plan ahead. I hope the following resources will support you in this effort.

For me, I am trying to find a low calorie recipe for honey toasted pumpkin seeds. I’ve been searching the internet near and far, but all Google seems to pull out are the savory kind.

Pumpkin seeds are loaded with minerals and important vitamins including vitamin K, vitamin Bs and Es just to name a few. They’re also a great source of minerals like calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium… Carve the pumpkin, but don’t throw away the seeds!

Although pumpkin seeds are healthy, they are also high in calories. 1/4 cup equals 186.65 calories. So stick with a handful and let the kids and friends enjoy the rest.

Toasting Pumpkin Seeds

Scoop out pumpkin seeds
Place seeds right away into water
Transfer to colander and rinse seeds thoroughly
Rub seeds between fingers to remove pulp and strands
Preheat oven to 275 F

Stir together 2 cups pumpkin seeds, 2 TBS vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon salt. Coat well.
Take baking sheet, spread the pumpkin seeds evenly in one layer. Bake 65-75 minutes or until lightly browned – stirring often Read more

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Posted on October 17 by Dee Wilson in roasted pumpkin seeds Leave a comment

Lower Calorie Intake and Exercise Discussion

I came across an article by the Los Angeles Times about weight loss and healthy lifestyle. A study of the National Weight Control Registry concluded that 98 percent of the people losing great amounts of body fat kept it off by dilligently pursuing a lifestyle that includes a healthy diet and rigorous exercise on regular basis. Read article

Your Input?:

Many people are familiar with the frustration that Linda, in the following excerpt, is experiencing. Still, I think Linda is on the right path. Now she just needs to pin point things like health issues, 10% sweets – how much that converts into daily caloric intake, the source of it, and perhaps in trying to lower her calories after 7 pm. Do you have any ideas of how Linda can help herself? Read more

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Posted on June 10 by Dee Wilson in cut your calories naturally 4 Comments

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