Healthy Living

Are you over-weight?

Americans are experiencing an obesity epidemic. The result is more adults, and especially children, who are carrying around extra weight that is a risk to their health. Excess weight puts your heart in danger and can lead to more serious problems like hypertension and diabetes.

What diet is right for you?

Losing weight, however, is often easier said than done. There are many factors involved and sometimes the process can seem overwhelming. Trying to lose weight all by yourself is difficult and many people would rather not put forth the effort. However, there are many diet plans and weight loss programs on the market that can help make the process easier.

What should you consider before starting a diet plan?

Before you commit to any diet plan, system or program you should do research on the success rate of the program. Search online for people who have successfully lost weight on the plan you are considering. Think about how it will be to move from the weight loss portion of the plan to the maintenance level.

Is Weight Watchers for you?

If you are looking to lose weight, there are a lot of options available to you. There is a diet plan out there for everyone and each promise to give you the best chance at weight loss. One of the most well known is Weight Watchers. The popular diet plan has been around for almost 40 years. The concept is to reduce calories and focus on healthier foods. Weekly meetings are required to track your progress and gain support from other people who want to lose weight and “leaders” who have maintained their weight loss. Weight Watchers is popular because they offer a variety of meal plans and tips to work with their program.

Is Slimming World for you?

Slimming World is similar to Weight Watchers in form and function and serves the United Kingdom. The company started in 1969 with one woman’s vision to help others successfully lose weight. There are over 5,500 groups that meet throughout the United Kingdom each week to give support to those who are on the weight loss journey. The main portion of the program is “food optimizing” which allows you to lose weight with no counting or measuring.

Is the South Beach Diet for you?

The South Beach Diet is one of the most popular weight loss books in recent years. The program focuses on using the right carbohydrate foods, instead of entirely eliminating carbohydrates. The diet plan was developed by a leading cardiologist to teach his patients to eat the right fats and the right carbohydrates. The reason that low-fat and low-carb diets don’t work, according to proponent of the South Beach Diet, is that the body needs certain types of carbs and fats to run properly. The South Beach Diet is a healthy sustainable way to lose weight, and there are many resources online for starting the diet plan.

Is the Glycemic Index (GI) Diet for you?

The Glycemic Index Diet (GI Diet) works along a similar principle as the South Beach Diet. On this plan, you pay attention to the glycemic index of carbohydrate foods. Not all carbohydrates are made equally. By concentrating on eating low glycemic foods, you keep your insulin response within a small range and that keeps hunger and cravings low. Fans of the GI diet say that following the diet helps prolong physical endurance and reduces cholesterol levels. Switching to a low GI diet requires swapping out high GI carbohydrate foods for low GI foods. For example, using breads with whole grains and stone-ground flour instead of white breads are recommended. Also, brown rice is preferable to white rice. There are many books and online resources for the GI diet that make finding GI foods simple and easy.

What is Healthy Eating?

You should try to cut out all the high fat foods and processed foods.  Your food intake should be lots of fresh fruits and  fresh vegetables.  Increase your water consumption to help flush away toxins from your body.  Water also makes you feel fuller and feel healthier.  Make sure that you chew your food slowly and for a longer period and enjoy all the flavors.  This will help aid your digestion as well.  

Add Exercise to your life

No matter what diet plan you choose, the best thing you can do for yourself is to add exercise to your weekly regime.  Adding exercise to your routine will to help to increase your health as well as help aid in weight loss and lost inches.  You should try to fit in 3/4 thirty minute workouts in one week.  If you can squeeze in more it will be even better.  The exercise does not have to be too strenuous.  Try to get your heart-rate up for at least 20 of the 30 minutes.