HEALTH, DIET AND NUTRITION FAQ’s

Andreea Dinescu asked:


One of the most popular diets is the low carb one. But because of its popularity the number of diet plans is growing, and growing and growing. When you have to decide it is so difficult: the very large amount of information freezes you. You’re blocked and you have to find a way to continue what you have begun: a low carb diet. That’s why I have decided to present you some diet plans for a low carb diet.

One of the most known is the Atkins diet. It mainly consists of four phases: first phase has the purpose to induce “benign dietary ketosis” that will help the body to produce the fat mobilization substance; once this substance is being produced the body is forced to disgorge and burn up deposited body fat; this is the time when you start loosing weight. The second phase continues the process and tries to remove some of the food restrictions. This will last until you achieve the desired weight.

The third phase prepares you for the last one. Now you will change your diet into a maintenance diet and you will lose very slowly the last extra pounds. The last phase is the maintenance diet and its purpose is to maintain the target weight for life. This is achieved by setting a fairly strict diet that will forever keep off the lost weight. The person is urged to stick to the carbohydrate level they feel happiest on without gaining weight.

Another popular diet plan for a low carb diet is Eat Fat Get Thin. This is a high fat, low carb plan, which allows 60g carbohydrates per day and calories are unrestricted. The method is to reduce your intake of refined carbs. In order to do this you can eat as much as you want of any meat, fish, poultry, cheese, cream butter and eggs; you can also have green leafy vegetables. You are allowed to eat vegetables and fruits, avoiding the sweeter ones. You should cut of foods with a large amount of sugar and cereals, and you should give up eating bread, or eat as less as you can. This diet was a success for the one who wrote it, and it can be for you, too.

Another diet plans are: Life without Bread, The Diet Cure, Fat Flush Plan, Neanderthin, South Beach Diet and many, many others.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Al Bullington asked:


You’ve probably heard of the cabbage soup recipe diet. It’s also known by several other names including the Mayo Clinic Diet, Sacred Heart Diet, Military Cabbage Soup, TJ’s Miracle Diet and the Russian Peasant Diet. It’s also called the Banana Diet and I’ll tell you why a little later. The reason the diet is somewhat famous is the promise it makes that you can lose ten pounds in a week by following the diet. Is that possible? I can say it is because I’ve done it myself. And you get plenty to eat and a variety of different foods, so it wasn’t that hard to follow.

Now is this diet a sensible long-term eating plan? Not really. It’s a short-term way to drop a few pounds, that’s all. Don’t you know that sometimes you need to see some quick results to keep you motivated or to get you motivated. That’s what this eating plan can do: help your motivation by letting you drop a few pounds fast.

You might think that the cabbage soup diet is just eating cabbage soup for a week. No fun, huh? Actually you can use all kinds of cabbage soup recipes to provide some variety. But that’s not what it is at all. Actually, you can eat all the cabbage soup you want for the entire week, but there are many different foods you can eat during the week. It’s not at all a starvation diet. Each day you eat certain foods and the foods change on each day. When you consider that you can eat all the soup you want, there is little chance you will really get hungry. The down side is the absence of several of my favorite dishes from the food plan. No brownies, ice cream, sweet potato casserole or pizza. Oh well! Like most fat loss diets, you don’t get breads and pastries.

Included in the meal plan are fruits, vegetables, meat, milk and bananas. Alright, here’s the banana part. On the fourth day of the diet, you eat up to eight bananas and all the skim milk you want plus the soup. That’s why I call it the banana diet!

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Jennifer Jolan asked:


Here are some banana diet tips and a warning. First off, the banana diet CAN help you to lose a lot of weight. But some people don’t do it right and when you do it wrong, it gets UGLY. So read this now to get things straight so you can enjoy losing weight on this really effective diet.

Banana Diet Tips and Warning

1. Warning: The banana diet has nothing to do with eating bananas as your main meal.

You’d be crazy if you ate bananas as your meals. Uh, you need protein and fats as well for your diet. If you ate nothing but bananas, you’d so many nutrient, mineral, and vitamin deficiencies. Besides, this would be pure torture to eat only bananas.

I know you’re more intelligent than that, but I just wanted to be sure for those who get a little too aggressive with their dieting tactics.

2. Tips – There are 2 ways to do this diet and a combination way

You can eat 2 bananas, 3 separate times a day as snacks between meals. You can eat 2 bananas with your meals… 1 before and 1 after each meal (I don’t advise this way). OR… you can do a combo in which you eat 1 banana with each of 3 meals and 1 banana 3 different times as a snack.

If I was to choose, I’d either do the first or third way… probably the 3rd way. Why? First, you need to use bananas as snacks. By using them just at your meals, you’d be opening up some problems when it comes time to snack between meals. So it’s vital to use them as snacks.

Also, it’s important to have them with meals because the live enzymes bananas contain help you to digest your foods better. Good digestive health is critically important for long term weight loss progress.

This is just a brief article, but hopefully I gave you some ideas on how to use the banana diet effectively to lose weight.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Matt M Martin asked:


If you’re like me then you notice most trends as they come and they go. Starting in late 2007 I noticed more and more green tea diets showing up online, on TV, and in local newspaper print ads. 2008 came along and these diet programs started to look like the new standard in dieting. I’ve always been a fan of green tea, I personally love the way it tastes and the fact that it’s really healthily for you is always a plus. I didn’t need to lose any weight but I was really interested in this whole idea of losing weight just by drinking green tea, well it’s a little more involved but you get the point. I began checking out some of these products and noticed that they all pretty much had the same goal in mind, to help people lose a few extra pounds and do it all with this green tea diet. The more I researched the more I started understanding how the whole science works.

There are nutrients and antioxidants in green tea that help mobilize fatty acids. This means that fat cells have little bit more difficultly in sticking then they would normally. Some even want as far as calling it natures natural fat burner, this sounded good to me even though I wasn’t looking for a weight loss solution. I’m a strong believer in the term “knowledge is power” and the more of it that I can get the happier I am. It’s the reason I’m writing this article and the reason I like to share things with friends, family and co-workers. If you know something that another person could benefit from why not spread the joy? Isn’t that the point of life, to be happy and to help others? Anyways back to what I was talking about this these diet programs.

2008 is starting to look like the year for green tea diet programs. Every few weeks I’m seeing another diet plan that is based on green tea. This is great since it is natural for the most part but it’s starting to look like the new trend in dieting. Trends come and go so we’ll see how long this one lasts for. Until it’s over it’s probably best to give a few of these a try if you’re looking for a weight loss solution. As of today I don’t know any one that has personally tried any of these diet programs but I’ve read pretty positive reviews on the Internet.

On another note I’ve been drinking green tea for a few years now and I can tell you that I’m a perfectly average weight for my height. Not that this has anything to do with it but who knows, maybe it’s kept me average and not slightly above average. I have a few co workers that started drinking green tea because of me. When I’m in the office I usually drink either Arizona Green Tea in the tall can or I bring some tea packets from home and brew up a cup or to before I start working. I guess they got a little curious and I notice more cans in the fridge now.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Pam Brown asked:


If you have hypothyroidism is very important to know that the type of diet you follow can help you reduce your symptoms, and at the same time help you control your weight. Weight gain goes hand in hand with hypothyroidism and to some people it gets rather difficult to lose weight with this condition.

There are key nutrients and foods that a diet for hypothyroid should include. On the other hand, there are certain foods that should be avoided.

What Your Diet Should Have

A healthy diet for someone with hypothyroidism would include whole grains, natural foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables and a good supply of seafood and other lean protein. You should cut back on fatty meats. A multivitamin is probably a good idea if you don’t already take one.

An Important Mineral

Selenium may be the most important nutrient in a diet for hypothyroid.

Why?

This trace mineral is an antioxidant and is essential for converting the thyroid hormone your body produces, T4, into its active form, T3. Brazil nuts are an incredibly good source of selenium, but you can also get it from some lean meats.

Fiber is Key to Control Your Weight

Another tactic that will be very helpful for you if you’re trying to lose weight is eating more fiber. Fiber makes you feel full and can help you lose weight, in addition to being helpful for constipation, another side effect of hypothyroidism.

You can ingest your fiber in pill form or through one of those over-the-counter fiber concoctions, but it is so much better if you get your fiber from actual foods, like beans, rice and other grains, whole wheat and oatmeal.

Strive for whole grains, also known as complex carbohydrates, over refined grains (things made with white flour or sugar). They’re better for you, help maintain your blood sugar stable and will make you feel fuller.

Alcohol should also be avoided because it can cause blood sugar fluctuations.

A Diet With More Meals

Ideally, a diet for low thyroid function will include small meals spread out through the day rather than three big meals. If you eat five or six small meals it will help balance the slow metabolism that is part of hypothyroidism. Just remember, keep these meals around 300 calories each, and include exercise if you want to lose weight, too.

Some doctors recommend the Zone diet to those with hypothyroid. The why behind the system is somewhat complicated, but it has to do with balancing out your insulin reaction to food, limiting the spikes and crashes you probably feel right now. Carbs are a big part of this diet, particularly those refined grains we were just talking about.

The diet calls for drinking lots of water (a good idea for anyone), eating more fruit and vegetables and less pasta, bread and starches, and a small amount of lean protein through the day. Most of your carbs should come from fruit and vegetables, with other starches used sparingly. You also should not go more than five hours between meals.

Red Light Foods

As we were saying before, your diet should not include certain foods. Some vegetables, fruits and grains can depress the function of your thyroid gland. To learn about these foods visit diet for hypothyroid.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Cindy Ferrara asked:


Now that you’re pregnant, it seems everyone you know is adding something new onto that mile-long No-No List. Take, for instance, chocolate. For goodness sake! Unless she’s allergic to it, what woman can possibly live without chocolate? Then there’s soda. You can’t drink regular soda because it’s full of caffeine, sugar, empty calories and has no nutritional value. So what about diet soda? You look on The List, and sure enough, someone’s added it, too!

The truth is, studies have shown that aspartame, better known as Equal™, the artificial sweetener used in many diet sodas is not harmful to most pregnant women or their fetuses. Aspartame is proven to not penetrate the placental barrier to the fetus. The exception to the safety of aspartame for use by pregnant women is for those who have a family history of PKU (phenylketonuria). These women are unable to digest certain amino acids found in aspartame, and should avoid using it unless it’s OK’d by their doctor after a simple blood test.

Another artificial sweetener found in diet drinks is saccharine. In restaurants, it’s the sweetener in the pink packet. In laboratory tests, the offspring of rats who had been given very high doses of saccharine had significantly higher rates of certain birth defects. Using saccharine during your pregnancy is something you may want to carefully consider.

Sucralose (Splenda™) is the newest artificial sweetener on the market. It’s made from regular table sugar, and has not yet been extensively tested for effects on pregnant women. So far, it appears to be safe, but many experts recommend limited use of Sucralose.

There are two reasons diet soda is on The No-No List. The first is caffeine content.

Caffeine is a stimulant that raises the heart rate and blood pressure. Not good. Because it also causes more frequent urination, it can lead to dehydration. Also not good. Caffeine passes through the placental barrier to your fetus, having the same effects on him or her as it does in you. Fetuses can’t metabolize caffeine as you can, so any amount of caffeine can interrupt your baby’s sleep pattern and affect its normal movement patterns. So definitely not good!

But there’s still hope! Most clear diet sodas contain no caffeine at all, and colas and other dark diet sodas also come in caffeine-free versions.

The other reason experts give for not drinking diet soda is that pregnant women often use it as a substitute for water, juice and milk. Both you and your baby need for you to drink at least 6 – 8 full glasses of water per day, and that’s in addition to any milk, fruit juices or other liquids you may drink. Yes, teas and coffee are made with water, but they aren’t water, and don’t count toward your water intake. Most experts will concede though, that drinking one 12-ounce serving of diet soda per day probably won’t harm you or your baby-as long as you drink at least the prescribed amount of water!

In the end, the decision whether to drink diet soda, and how much of it, is up to you. If you do choose to use any product containing artificial sweeteners, be sure to check the label for the type of sweetener used and caffeine content. If you’re good, your doctor might say it’s OK to strike diet soda from The No-No List and add one diet soda per day to your Thank Goodness I Can Have This! List!

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Audrey Lynn asked:


No matter what kind of disease you are suffering from, it is very important that you handle it very carefully through the help of the best herpes diet and nutritious food. Eating the appropriate food for a certain kind of disease is one of the factors that will absolutely to control it. In terms of herpes – an infection in the genital area caused by HSV type 2, there is a list of foods that are good and bad for it. However, it is proven that a huge amount of extra vitamin intake will definitely help the patient to deal more effectively with the disease.

Herpes can be very irritating, embarrassing and at times can impede your personal relationship. This is due to the fact that the herpes virus creates lesions in the genital area of the patient which can be painful when there is a coital intercourse. It is important to know the fact that it can be transferred through sexual intercourse which has caused some people to talk about it very uncomfortably to their partner in fear that they would walk away from them once they know that the person they are dating or espouse has herpes.

One sad part about herpes virus is that, once you got it, it will stay in your system for the rest of your life. However, you should not feel despair because there are so many ways that can help you to keep it under control; one of these is through proper administration and intake of herpes diet. Yes, this is a diet that is specifically designed for the herpes patients. Vitamins that strengthen the immune system are also encouraged to take together with the herpes diet for effective control of the virus that causes the flare up of the herpes disease.

One of the basic groups of foods that a herpes patient should take is the diets that are rich in lysine – an amino acid which is commonly found in most protein foods that are necessary for optimal growth. Lysine is produced through oral intake of additional vitamins and a certain kind of herpes diet. Lysine can easily be found in so many common foods like the meat, fish, yoghurt, fish, and cheese and many more. Lysine plays a very vital role in restoring the damaged muscle tissues, recuperating from surgery or wound; it also helps absorb calcium very effectively which is good for the formation of strong bones.

Another important thing that you have to remember about the herpes diet is the kinds of the foods that are restricted so to avoid an outbreak of the virus. Research shows that foods that are rich in arginine – an amino acid that triggers and exacerbates a herpes outbreak, should be avoided at all times. Foods that contain arginine amino acid are chocolates, nuts, Soya beans, coconuts and oats, just to name a few. If you really can’t avoid some foods that contain arginine, the best thing that you should do is to limit the intake and that the amount of the lysine enriched-food should be greater than the arginine.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Alan Hill asked:


Well, I am absolutely amazed. A very good friend of mine was recommended to a diet product which sounded remarkable. She had tried most diets and was fast becoming an expert in most of the ones we have all heard about, the thousand island diet, the pineapple, the Atkins and the grapefruit. But when she heard about this one, it really was a first for her.

Well, the first claim was that it would burn off 9 pounds every 11 days. Well, she tried it and after 9 days she had lost 13 pounds. After 18 days she had lost 25 pounds and after 27 days she was 37 pounds lighter. She was absolutely thrilled. The diet product really worked fast

Because of the nature of this Fantastic Diet, she never got bored because it did not stick to a single theme (low carbo’s, low calorie, low sugar etc). In fact, it should sound confusing because this diet is supposed to confuse a person’s metabolism and for her it really did the trick.

She remained on the diet for 3 months and she lost a total of 58 pounds and she had managed to keep this off by applying a sort of modified version of the diet in her normal eating habits. It really has made her glow with pride and she giggles when she is explaining to me how she enjoyed the process so much.

She has been overweight for many years and she was becoming very concerned about obesity and the health benefits which she was becoming aware of. She knew that obesity and being overweight would affect her mood, her health and when she read an article that said that because of the diseases associated with obesity, she might not see her children grow up – this was it for her. So, she started on the grapefruit diet for the ‘millionth’ time. Again just like in all the other diets this exercise served only as a way to limit herself from having foods that she really enjoyed.

She decided to look into it further. She found out that many celebrities had used this same Fantastic diet that it had been secretly adopted by the aristocracy. Some of the Royal Families of the world had been using this Fantastic Diet because of it’s effectiveness in quickly allowing people to lose weight rapidly without any of the normal difficulties spread through high society all over the world.

She read an article in a Woman’s magazine and she decided to go online to find out more. I can only say that having witnessed an amazing transformation of my friend, I just would not have believed it possible that in 2008 there was anything new to be found in the diet department.

I told my new slim friend that I would do what I could to promote this diet to others as she felt that there was simply nothing to come even close to anything so amazing

So, why not find out the inside scoop on how to diet effortlessly. If my words can help just one person to realize their dream in a similar way to that of my friend, then I will just glow with pride.

I have now got another 4 of my friends following the diet and I have others writing to me thanking me for helping them to lose weight by recommending this superb dieting system and I will let you know how they are doing as they contact me further.

Go lose the all the weight you want to, enjoy yourselves and please get back to me with your remarkable stories.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Steve Estes asked:


One of the best ways to lose weight is to have a weekly diet meal plan. You’ve probably heard the old saying- those who fail to plan, plan to fail. And it’s just as true when trying to lose weight fast. When you write things down they become real to you. It also makes it so much easier to follow when you have your weekly diet meal plan already in place when you start your diet. No more wondering and trying to figure out what foods go well with each other. All you have to do is follow the plan like clockwork and watch the pounds just melt away.

Most people are too hard on themselves when they first start to try to lose weight. They give up all the foods they love and then wonder why they end up quitting their program before achieving any success. Or (and here’s what it was for me) they DO lose weight but because it’s too hard to keep on denying themselves food, it just comes right back on. You know the old binge and diet, binge and diet roller coaster. No more of that for me, thank you.

What I’ve found out for myself, and what I want to reveal to you, is that it really isn’t all that difficult to lose weight-and keep it off. You simply need to know what foods when eaten together, actually make you lose weight fast. I mean, if someone told me that it was o.k. to eat a hamburger if I only left the bun out of it…and I could still lose weight, I would have been flabbergasted. I learned that something so simple as when I should eat a particular food combination would help me drop the pounds. And what really helped was having a weekly diet meal plan all laid out for me.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Calvin Leonard asked:


The purpose of this article is to answer the question “is the Medifast diet a good diet for most people?”. This will be achieved by sharing common experiences, opinions, and feelings about it. If you are considering this diet as a weight loss solution over the Christmas and New Year period, this article will help you make your decision.

The Medifast weight loss program places your body in a metabolic state called ketosis. This is when your body is deceived into turning on itself and burning its own fat reserves. That’s the reason you eat so often on this diet. It keeps your metabolism regularly burning fat over a longer period of time than can be achieved on many of the fad diets.

The Medifast diet is an incredible way to lose weight and to keep the weight off for the long-term. Not only can it help you to drop the pounds, it also can help you if you are experiencing physical health problems such as diabetes. Diabetics regularly need to lose weight in order to preserve their health. However, since it is also essential to eat certain types of food because of the way your body creates insulin, it can be difficult to settle on the best way to lose weight.

This diet has a wide variety of comprehensive meal plans and an extremely helpful support structure. You are likely to find that losing weight with Medifast is much easier than any other diet you may have tried previously. If you’re ready to finally get the weight off, be sure to read as much information in advance. Make sure to consult your physician before taking the plunge into better health for you and your family’s future happiness.

The Medifast company points out that on it’s popular 5 plus 1 plan it is common to lose two to five pounds per week. On the upper end, you may lose up to 20 pounds in 1 month. If you’re on the very lower end, you may lose approx 8 pounds. Either way, these figures show that’s you can achieve your goals with this diet. Most people would be very happy with these results. If you lost “only” eight pounds per month steadily, that would be 96 pounds in a years time, or 48 pounds in six months. For overweight and morbidly obese people, this is enormously life changing.

Are you still asking yourself the question “is the Medifast diet regime a good diet or not?”. The answer is a definite yes. Medifast is the finest diet and weight loss system this author has seen in action, in terms of ease of use, convenience, and effectiveness. It has become a way of life now for so many people struggling daily with grind of being overweight or obese.

Fit Yummy Mummy!