Important Tips To Help You Maintain A Healthy Diet When You Eat Out

Some state and municipal government like New York have enacted laws that mandate restaurants to publish the amount of calories and other relevant nutritional information about the meals on their menu so that their clients can make healthier choices when they go there to eat; this law applies only to those restaurants that have more than one branch like fast food and chain restaurants.

These laws that force restaurants to publish the nutritional data of their meals have forced many of the chain restaurants in those places where such laws exist to add healthier and low calorie meals to their menus.

Some other restaurants publish most of these important nutritional data about their meals on their website and not on their menu.

But, you have to realise that even though these laws offer some level of guidance (if you are living in places where such laws exist) over what you should order for when you go to eat at these restaurants, you still have to be on your guard to make sure that you do not order for foods that can derail you off your low fat and healthy diet.

Therefore, we are going to be looking at the following tips that you can make use of anytime you are eating outside to make sure that you stay on course with your healthy diet:

Tip 1-Take the nutritional data on the menu with a grain of salt

You have to realise that most of the nutritional data on the menus of these restaurants was based on standard dishes that were prepared by making use of ingredients that were measured precisely however, most of the dishes that are going to be served on a daily basis are not going to be prepared with ingredients that were measured precisely; most of the ingredients that are going to be used to make everyday meals are going to be significantly higher than those that were used to make the standard meal displayed on the menu.

So, if you want to make the best food choices from the information that you are provided with on the menu, it is better that you read in between the lines of the information provided to you and decipher the real meaning of certain word codes in the menu.

If you come across words like creamy, or crispy, or smothered know that what the menu is actually saying is that that meal or food slathered in fat; if you come across words like rich, or thick it means that that meal contains heavy amount of that ingredient. You should go for meals that are described with words like steamed, or seared, or poached, or grilled which denote a simpler, lighter and healthier cooking style.

Tip 2- When you want to order for salads and other dishes, you must request for slight or minimal dressing and saucing. Most of the ingredients used for dressing and most of the ingredients in most sauces contain lots of calories and most restaurants tend to apply them very generously to spice up their meals. So, you should specifically ask for a lightly sauced or lightly dressed dish when you eat out.

Tip 3- You should specifically ask for half portion servings since the average serving of most restaurants is typically twice or thrice the size of the amount of food that an average person should be eating at a time; once you are not over served, you will not be tempted to over eat. The fact that most restaurants do not usually list these half servings in their menu does not mean that they will not serve it if it is specially requested for.

However, the only exception to this tip is when you go to eat at a frou-frou nouvelle cuisine restaurant where every meal that is served is not more than the size of an ice cube.

Tip 4- Request for the vegetable of the day; even though most restaurants do not list vegetables on their menu, most of them actually have one or two vegetables that they will be serving on any day and you can ask for these vegetables instead of asking for potato or French fries.

Tip 5- Pick your choice of restaurant carefully; you will be able to find more healthy food options if you go to the right restaurants.Even though Indian restaurants serve delicious meals, most of their meals are usually high in fat and calorie content; sushi Japanese restaurants on the other hand tend to serve more healthy foods. You should avoid pubs as most of the foods that they serve are fried foods but you can go to grills which tend to serve more nutritious foods. Diners should be down your pecking order as they serve more of foods that are slathered with dressings, cheese, syrups and gravy; a bistro restaurant on the hand will serve more of salads and other light foods.

You can also go to Spanish or Middle Eastern restaurants where you can conveniently order for a "tapas" which is a small plate or a tasting portion of main meal.

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Christmas Weight Gain - Little Tips to Lose Weight

When it comes to our eating habits, the Holidays prove to be the most disastrous time of the year. Christmas cookies are calling to be eaten, while spreads of turkey and cranberry sauce serve as signals for binge eating. More often than not, giving in to these tasty temptations punish us with the dreaded Christmas weight gain. But, with a little bit of willpower, keeping your figure from ballooning amidst the Holiday feast is not an impossible task.

The first thing to remember is the 40-40-20 rule: 40% lean protein, 40% complex carbohydrates, 20% fat. This rule would help you make healthy food choices in a sea of less healthy foods. Turkey without skin, potatoes without gravy and vegetables without butter all follow this cardinal rule. By removing some parts of your Holiday feast, you immediately transform your banquet into a healthy Christmas buffet. Sugar and alcohol are two other things to avoid on the dinner table. Not only are these two addictive, they are also major causes of weight gain.

Once you've screened out the unhealthy servings on the food table, the next step is to control how often you eat. Many experts say that eating more often results in better metabolism, a key to achieving some fat loss even on holidays. Spreading out your daily calorie intake through six small meals is a better approach to holiday weight loss than eating three full meals. Instead of starting and stopping, your digestive system continuously burns fats and calories when your meals are spaced a few hours apart. To further enhance your metabolism, you could pair your favorite foods with a glass of iced water and hot coffee. These two beverages allow your body to amp up its basic metabolic rate, thus making it more efficient in burning some of those would-be Christmas weight gain.

Taking control of your diet extends even after the feasts are over. A good way to continue your good holiday weight loss practices is to reset your fridge once the slew of Christmas parties have come and gone. Throw out all those Christmas leftover treats such as cakes, cookies, carbonated drinks and alcohol. This way, you are less prone to the temptations that these tasty treats represent.

Christmas time may be a time of giving, but this does not include giving a whole lot of fat to your belly. Maintaining healthy eating habits, even in taxing situations such as the Christmas Holidays, is a product of self-discipline. By following all these anti-weight gain tips, you can perhaps set an example to your family and friends on how to incorporate healthy eating in your lifestyle. Who knows? Maybe Santa can pick up on your tricks, too.

Green Tea and Weight Loss Go Hand in Hand Together

There are lots of secrets to losing weight from exercise techniques to food preparations, dietary supplements to vitamins and even special diets for food and beverages. One secret is the combination of green tea and weight loss. Did you know that this beverage increases your body's calorific burn rate, making it easier for you to burn those calories off? Lots of dieticians will tell you that they go hand in hand together when you need to shed a few pounds. According to many studies, it is not only a healthy beverage but also has the benefits of increasing metabolic rates, the ability to burn fat, and providing antioxidants that decrease the amount of free radicals in your body. 
  
Going on a green tea diet doesn't necessarily mean having a liquid diet. However it does mean adding it to your diet in other ways. To get a good diet you can increase the amount of hot or cold green teas you drink. You can also find it in supplements to use. Improve your diet with this beverage and losing weight will be not only easier for you but also tastier. Another way to include it into your diet is in smoothies that some coffee shops have started to introduce to customers who are dieting. 
  
There's also some good news for us dieters. The combination of green tea and losing weight is becoming noticed more and more by companies and stores out there. Many coffee shops, as previously stated, are offering green tea brewed both hot and cold, and in smoothies. You can find many stores selling variations and weight loss conscious customers are buying them up quick. Several companies are producing more variety of these drinks than previously done before, to help in the weight loss department. 
  
Vitamin stores and pharmacies are starting to provide more products to help weight conscious customers. There are many green tea supplements out there, so be careful which ones you buy. Make sure to look at the side effects, and ingredients. Add to your dietary plan any form of green tea and weight loss will become easier for you when you combine healthy exercising into the equation. This wonderful beverage and weight loss truly do go hand in hand together. With the right combination's of exercise, green tea recipes or beverages, and a strong healthy diet, you'll be dropping those pounds quickly.

Amazing Foods To Eat For Fast Weight Loss

5 Amazing Foods To Eat For Fast Weight Loss

Indeed, you can actually lose weight by eating. Surprised? Well, you can achieve that slim figure you crave for just by eating the right kinds of foods as opposed to going on a crash diet where you will need to starve yourself. If you make the wrong choice of foods that you eat then excess weight/obesity is in your future. So here are 5 foods to eat for fast weight loss.

1. Fishes

Fishes are very nutritious and healthy. They are very effective for quick weight loss. Most fishes contain Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial to your body's health as they help to reduce the hormone called 'leptin' that is responsible for storing fat in the body. Therefore, you should make sure to include fish in your diet for fast weight loss.

2. Lean meat

Lean meats contain lots of protein yet little fat and they help you burn fat quickly as they increase the body's metabolic rate. Lean chicken meat or turkey breast should be taken often instead of red meats.

3. Nuts

Nuts are also great as they help in digestion and also help the body burn more calories resulting in reduces weight. E.g. Walnuts, cashew nuts, groundnuts, palm nuts etc

4. Olive oil

Olive oil hardly contains saturated fats which add to the body weight but instead contains a reasonable amount of unsaturated fats. You should substitute your fatty oils with olive oil. One advantage of olive oil is that it helps to keep the level of cholesterol in the body low.

5. Fruits and vegetables

These are a must for anyone serious about being slim, fit and healthy. For fast weight loss, fresh fruits should be taken regularly as they not only taste real good but would help suppress hunger thereby helping you focus less on eating and more on achieving quick weight loss.

The fact that you desire to lose weight does not in any way mean that you have to starve yourself of food. Weight loss by following a steady meal plan with recipes is the best approach. So many people still starve themselves in a bid to lose weight but eating the right foods instead will make you not only lose that excess weight but become healthy as well.

Please note that there are many more foods that you can use to achieve fast weight loss apart from the ones mentioned above. Others like, oatmeal, eggs, green tea e.t.c can also help you eliminate fat easily. You should include these foods in your diet so as to see positive results towards your weight reduction
.

When Is a Calorie Not a Calorie!

Many health practitioners, especially those educated years ago, continue to repeat the mantra that, "A calories is a calorie" like they are all interchangeable. To lose weight, many still recommend counting and cutting calories below your current level, taking the position that calories from fats, proteins and carbs are the same! Many doctors and weight-loss companies also focus on cutting calories to lose weight. We even have computer apps to track and count calories, making the approach seem legitimate. It's not!

What's a calorie:

Some of you might remember that a calorie is: the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of water by 1 degree Celsius. It's essentially a measurement of energy production. It's also an abstraction, removed from nutrition and physiology in key ways!

Digestion and metabolism are the key

The reason that calories are not equal is because the approach doesn't account for the digestive and metabolic process, where different foods are processed differently.

During digestion, sugars and refined carbs break down quickly, starting with chewing and saliva. They are absorbed quickly after leaving the stomach, spiking blood sugar. Proteins and fats need more time in stomach acid, bile (from the gall bladder), and other enzymes to break down, so those nutrients take significantly longer to digest. The simple speed list for digestion is: fats are slowest, proteins second slowest, and carbs, especially sugar/refined carbs like soda, cookies and crackers, are quickest. Refined carbs, those with a high-glycemic index, often spike blood glucose, and high sugar levels are toxic to tissues! The result is extra weight, fat and other health problems.

A flawed approach for weight loss

People who use calorie restriction for weight loss often gain all the weight back, plus more! So if you follow that flawed advice of cutting calories to lose weight, it will backfire! Why?

Calorie restriction is unwise and unhealthy. You lose important vitamins and minerals, as well as lean muscle and bone. It also puts your body into starvation mode, which slows your metabolism further! And any loss of muscle means you now have a smaller engine to use food calories, making weight gain faster and easier once you stop calorie restriction or dieting. In fact, the whole concept of "dieting" or cutting calories/food intake for a few weeks to lose weight is a myth! You will be worse off than when you started!

Consider 2 meals with similar calorie totals (values approximate)

Here is a comparison of 2 meals, a 4-oz. chicken breast, a large serving of mixed veggies with olive oil and spices, a medium serving of brown/wild rice and mug of green tea, VS. a 3-oz. beef burger on a bun, small french fries, and a small, 6-oz. soda.

1. For the chicken/veggie meal, the overall nutrient totals are: 

• 480 calories for the chicken breast, veggies, rice mix and tea
• 32 grams of protein
• 28 grams of complex, high-fiber carbs
• 22 grams of fat, mostly healthy

2. For the burger/fries meal, the overall nutrient totals are: 

• 500 calories for the burger, bun, fries and small soda
• 24 grams of protein
• 54 grams of low-fiber, high-glycemic carbs
• 23 grams of mostly unhealthy fat

Note: It was a challenge to get the calories to match exactly. I had to use smaller servings of fries and soda for the burger meal or would have been much higher.

Results 

• What stands out the most is that the burger/fries meal has far more refined, low-fiber carbs, and almost twice as many total carbs, 54 vs. 28. Those refined carbs (bun, fries, soda) will spike your blood sugar more quickly, whereas the veggies and rice blend in the chicken meal are more complex carbs. They will digest far more slowly, even slower than protein.
• The chicken meal has more protein grams (32 vs. 24 grams for the burger), meaning the chicken meal will also digest more slowly because of the extra protein.
• The fats in both meals were similar but the chicken meal had less saturated fat and more healthy, monounsaturated fat from the olive oil.
• The chicken meal will give you more sustained energy over a longer period of time, resulting in little or no weight gain!

Similar total calories bring different outcomes

The impact on weight and health is clear! The lower-nutrient burger meal has 54 grams of more high-glycemic carbs, along with lower protein levels. That combo will spike your blood sugar faster and higher (think of a steep rise and fall like a sharp mountain peak), adding to weight gain and inflammation (the sugars, refined carbs and veggie oils are more pro-inflammatory).

The higher-nutrient chicken meal with nutrient-rich veggies (vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants), rice blend and higher protein will digest far more slowly. It will keep blood sugar more stable compared to the burger meal (picture a gradual rise and fall over several hours like a small hill). With the slower rise, you can burn off those calories with normal activity more easily, resulting in little or no fat storage. You might even lose weight! It's also a low-inflammatory meal because it has more complex, healthy nutrients and fats. The green tea also adds anti-inflammatory polyphenols.

So the outcome on health is very different for the 2 meals: One leads to probable weight gain and inflammation/health problems (the burger meal), while the other leads to stable weight or weight loss, and can actually help to lower inflammation and improve health (chicken/veggie meal).

In fact, the typical meal of a burger, fries and soda will spike your blood sugar in an hour (or less), adding to weight gain after insulin is released and glucose is removed from the blood and stored as fat. Unless you are very active after you eat, you will probably store them!

I'll burn those calories!

How much activity does it take to burn off the glucose-spiking burger meal? How about 30-45 minutes of running, cycling or jumping rope to keep from gaining weight! That's about how much exercise you will need to do to burn up the calories and the surge in blood glucose! How many people have these fast-food meals (or make them at home), and are working out for 30-45 minutes every time they eat that way?

Keep in mind, many burger/cheeseburger, fries and soda combinations have much larger portion sizes than I used, reaching 700-1,000 total calories. That means it could take a good hour of exercise to use up the calories and spiking blood sugar for one meal! No wonder so many people gain weight, year after year!

If you've seen my other article and posts, you know that the burger meal, with its refined carbs and inflammatory foods, will also contribute to a host of health conditions and diseases, such as heart disease, atherosclerosis, high BP, diabetes, arthritis, cancer and more! Those problems add to the misinformation that all calories are the same. They are clearly not!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Carney