HEALTH, DIET AND NUTRITION FAQ’s

Dawn Woods asked:


Are you looking for an easy diet to follow? Well, I’ve got news for you: There is no such thing as an “easy” weight loss plan. Well, easy is a relative term. Easier than what?

Dieting is definitely not easier than eating whatever you want (unless what you want is perfectly in line with only what is good for you). All diet plans require some level of effort, or modification of your existing eating habits. Let’s face it. After all, it is your present eating habits that got you to become overweight in the first place.

Many popular diets require you to sacrifice something in order to achieve weight loss. There are low-calorie diets. There are low-carbohydrate diets. There are low-fat diets. There are low-sodium and low-cholesterol diets. Each one of these types of diets is based on the theory that excessive weight gain is the result of one identifiable culprit – the calorie, or the carbohydrate, or fat, or sodium, or cholesterol, and that by reducing that one element from your diet, you will achieve rapid and sustainable weight loss. Rapid yes, but sustainable? That is another story.

For many people, these diets become relegated to “fad diet” status. Like any fad, these weight loss plans have all been hailed at one time or another as the key that unlocks the mystery of weight gain and provides the end-all be-all solution to weight loss. This is because we are creatures of habit. Sacrificing the foods that we crave makes dieting very difficult and, more often than not, it causes many would-be dieters to give in to their cravings, to cheat on their diet, or to just throw in the towel because it is just too difficult to sustain this diet beyond a few weeks.

One such alternative to these “fad diets” is what is known as a calorie-shifting diet. This type of diet represents an extremely radical departure from the aforementioned diets above in that you are not sacrificing any type of food, nor are you sacrificing on the quantity of food.

This “no-sacrifice” diet works on the principle of “calorie-shifting”. Calorie shifting is based on the premise that by shifting the types of calories you eat at different times of day, you can trigger a metabolic response in your body that will result in rapid weight loss.

This easy weight loss plan allows you to eat comfortably from each of the food groups for four meals a day. The difference is that you may only eat certain types of foods at certain times of the day. Your menu also varies on a daily basis. You will not feel deprived of any foods. You feel satisfied as you eat because there is no restriction on the quantity of the food that you eat. Plus you are eating a healthy balance of every food group.

What defines an “easy diet to follow”? Obviously it does not mean easy to follow instructions. If that were the case, the low-carb diet would be classified as “easy”. But if you ask any carb lover if a low-carb diet is easy, he or she would tell you otherwise! What defines an “easy diet to follow” is the ease with which you, as the dieter, are capable of carrying yourself throughout the day without feeling cravings due to dissatisfaction or lingering hunger. When you are able to eat fatty foods, foods with carbohydrates, and not worry about reducing quantity, then you would be able to sustain the motivation to maintain the diet.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Dawn Woods asked:


What if there was a diet for lazy people? What if there was a diet that allowed you to eat as much food as you want to your satisfaction? What if there was a diet that allowed you to eat food from all four major food groups? What if such a diet did exist, and could yield rapid weight loss results?

Though it may seem too good to be true, there does indeed exist such a diet as described above: the calorie shifting diet.

While on this diet you can lose 9 pounds every 11 days with very little effort.

How does the calorie shifting diet work? Calorie shifting, as the name implies, is the process of shifting the types of calories that you consume from one meal after another over the course of several days and weeks. In other words, what you eat for breakfast on day 1 dictates what types of foods you can and can’t have for every meal for the next 11 days, because your meals must follow a specific pattern of including and excluding various nutrients at specific intervals in order for your body to enter a fat burning mode.

Research has shown that you can deliberately manipulate your body’s metabolism at will by eating certain types of foods at certain times. Your metabolism is what regulates the rate at which your body converts food into energy, stores it as fat, or consumes your fat stores. If it detects a nutritional deficit, it compensates by burning its fat stores.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Ben A Dixon asked:


The reason why you need alkaline diet chart is because of the Western diet. It is not just fattening, it is also very acidic and very detrimental to your health. You will eventually get sick with chronic illnesses if your body’s inner balance is disrupted.

When I turned 32, I began feeling signs of premature aging. I felt sick all day and I had chronic fatigue that even sleep can’t replenish my energy. I was like in a daze for months as I went through the motions in life without getting much enjoyment or fulfillment from it.

I started growing acne on my face and I began feeling aches and pains in my joints and muscles. I felt like I was 66 when I was just 32. It felt awful and strange. I also began getting migraine headaches at random, even when I was resting. I felt so old even when I was relatively younger.

Then a friend recommended that I exercise and change my diet. He gave me an alkaline diet chart to help me prevent chronic illnesses and give me renewed energy and vigor in life. I tried it out and I felt the results in 3 days, and I was completely energized in about a week’s time.

All I did was this:

1. Exercise – I tried and engage in physical activities as much as I could. I tried playing dodge ball or touch football with my friends. I also started jogging as part of my daily routine.

You too can try an exercise. Just be sure to find a fun exercise that you would like to do and keep on doing for a long time.

2. I changed my diet – I tried out a few vegetables and I drank lots of water. I also made it a point everyday to watch what I was eating and then trying to avoid the “dead” foods and all the junk that I ate before.

The alkaline diet chart really helps when you want to eat a balance diet. It is not just some fad diet. It is scientifically proven to help you avoid chronic illnesses. Try it and you will feel better in just 3 days, like I did.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Simon Forsyth asked:


Perhaps the hardest part for anybody beginning a diet is that everyone wants to see results very quickly. It is all too easy to become impatient and want the ‘quick fix’. But like anything in life, nothing worthwhile is generally easy. This also applies to weight loss. After all, if losing weight were easy, NOBODY would be overweight!

However, there ARE certain diets that can jump start your weight loss goals. And this is where the Sacred Heart soup diet comes in. The Sacred Heart Soup Diet is a diet that has actually been going around for many years. The diet was supposedly thought to come straight from the cardiology department at the Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital in America. It was allegedly used for very obese heart patients. However, like most of these diets – this is nothing but an urban myth. The Sacred Heart Soup Diet has been called a number of different names. For example: the Spokane Heart Diet, the Cleveland Clinic Diet, Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital Diet and the Miami Heart Institute Diet.

Low Calories

The diet doesn’t offer many calories but because it fills you up, you are less tempted to eat anything else and indulge yourself in ‘naughty’ foods! The soup acts as filler, making sure that the dieter does not get hunger pangs or the feeling of starvation. Due to the low number of calories that you are eating, a dieter following the Sacred Heart Soup Diet may experience a few side effects. These can range from feeling a little weak or lightheadedness, but generally most people won’t feel too bad and its very easy to stick with because you know it will only last for a short time. The diet should only be followed for a week – it’s not meant to be taken as a continuous diet and there should certainly be breaks between using it. But as a fast weight loss program it’s unrivalled. Losing weight, like anything else worthwhile in life, takes discipline and perseverance.

I am not going to lie to you like so many others and promise you that it is easy. It’s not. But neither is it a monumental mountain to climb – if you apply the right diet program and adopt a positive attitude to your goal. Here is a recipe for the diet. Sacred Heart Soup Diet Recipe Ingredients: 1 or 2 cans of stewed tomatoes 3 plus large green onions 1 large can of beef broth (no fat) 1 pkg. Lipton Soup mix (chicken noodle) 1 bunch of celery 2 cans green beans 2 lbs. Carrots 2 Green Peppers Making the soup Season with parsley, salt, pepper curry, if desired, or bouillon, or even a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Cut the vegetables into small to medium size pieces. Then cover with water. Boil on high heat for 10 minutes. Then redduce heat to a simmer and then continue to cook until vegetables are soft and tender. This soup can be eaten anytime you are feeling hungry.

This will help you to feel full and not be tempted to eat fatening foods. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. This soup will certainly not add on any pounds! The more you eat, the more you will lose. You could even fill a thermos in the morning and take it to work with you. You can then eat a few bowls during the day and not be tempted by those naughty foods! The Sacred Heart Soup Diet will only work if you follow it exactly.

Instructions:

Make sure you consume at least 4 glasses of water or diet soda per day. You can eat the soup at any time of the day or night.

Sacred Heart Soup Recipe

6 large green

2 green peppers

1 or 2 cans of tomatoes

1 bunch celery

1/2 head cabbage

1 package Lipton Soup Mix 1 or 2 cubes bouillon (not compulsory)

1 48 oz. can V8 Juice (not compulsory)

Season with salt and pepper etc.

Day 1 – Any fruit you would like to eat except bananas.

Day 2 – Any vegetables you want.

Day 3 – Consume as much soup as you wish. Consume plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Day 4 – Up to six bananas, all the skim milk you want.

Day 5 – Ten to twenty ounces of beef, a can of tomatoes, 5 to 8 glasses of water.

Day 6 – All the beef and vegetables you want.

Day 7 – Consume as much unsweetened fruit juices, brown rice and fresh vegetables as you wish. Again, eat at least 1 bowl of soup during today. Don’t eat any bread or drink any alcohol, or carbonated drinks.

Incorporating the Sacred Heart Soup diet into your slimming program will help you lose the weight you desire. Be disciplined in your planning and execution, plan out your foods for the week and you will get there. Don’t give in to temptation!

Fit Yummy Mummy!

N. Ford asked:


2009 is going to be a favorable year for all those struggling with weight loss. Why? Well, it is no secret that since the beginning of this year the economy has been hard-hit by recession. With pockets going almost half empty, people would think twice before indulging in excesses of any kind, their junk food addiction notwithstanding. As a matter of fact, junk foods usually cost much more than natural foods. This is why people are likely to spend less money on junk foods and more on natural fruits and vegetables. Consequently, they are bound to lose weight!

With the recession setting in, you should be doing due diligence before investing in a diet program. There are useless fad diet programs which you should avoid at all costs. Usually, diets which focus only on one type of food or other should be avoided.

So what types of diet programs should you choose:

1. Diets that don’t limit you to just one food group: A healthy meal is one which contains fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, etc., in equal proportions. If any of these components is missing from your current meal, it cannot be called a healthy meal. Likewise, diets which severely restrict your carbohydrate or fat intake are not the right diet plans for you. Of course, it goes without saying that almost all diet programs out there would limit your junk food intake in some form or other.

2. Diets which not only detoxify your body but also offer suggestions on how to keep it clean and free from toxins in future: When you eat junk foods for a long time, toxins get deposited in your intestines, which in turn pollute your entire body. These toxins prevent you from losing weight speedily. Once your body gets rid of these toxins, you would feel much lighter and healthier. In addition, detoxifying your body would also help you lose a few pounds. Make sure that your diet program offers suggestions on detoxification of your body!

3. Diets that recommend workouts and exercises: Make sure that your diet program recommends exercises which help you to:

a) Burn fat
b) Build muscles

Diets with no clear recommendations with regards to workouts, or diets which explicitly state that workouts are unnecessary should be avoided. Frankly speaking, any diet program which proclaims that you don’t need to workout at all is just fooling you!

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Don Yacono asked:


The wrestler’s diet has a profound impact on overall performance. Wrestling is a very physically demanding sport. Proper nutrition helps a wrestler feel strong both physically and mentally. But, the wrong diet can leave a wrestler feeling weak, dehydrated, and cramped up.

Many wrestlers do not receive the proper nutrition that is required to compete in this physically demanding sport. This is generally due to a wrestler’s “low priority approach” to his nutritional needs and/or misinformation.

Successful wrestlers know that good nutrition is an essential component of their daily training ritual. They realize that good eating habits help them compete at a much higher level.

Here is some good nutritional advice for wrestler’s of all ages:

Stay Hydrated

Water is a very important part of your daily diet and is necessary for optimal performance. Try to consume one liter of water for every thousand calories of food consumed per day. Sport drinks are also a great way to replenish nutrients lost from practices and competition. It is not a good idea to totally deprive your body of water when trying to make weight. It is best to consume a few ounces of water every two to three hours while you are in the process of drying out.

Eat Frequent Meals In Small Portions

This is recommended especially if you are trying to drop down to a lower weight class. By eating smaller portions, your metabolism speeds up and more calories are burned off. This method will also help to stabilize blood sugar levels and provide a more steady supply of nutrition throughout the day. It is recommended that you eat from several different food groups so that you receive a large variety of nutrients.

Eating frequent meals in smaller portions is a much better way for a wrestler to lose weight as compared to just starving yourself. While the starvation method does work, it will also leave you feeling weak or run down.

Eat Vegetables

It is important for wrestlers to eat a steady supply of vegetables every day. Vegetables contain several important vitamins and minerals that are necessary for good health. They are also generally free of fat and high in fiber. Eating vegetables is a good way for you to fill up, but not feel fat. They also contain antioxidants which help the body fight off disease and illnesses.

Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates are a great source of energy. They are found in healthy foods such as fruit, whole grains, and vegetables. It generally takes longer for your body to digest complex carbohydrates than simple carbohydrates such as refined or processed foods. Since it takes longer to digest complex carbohydrates, you feel fuller longer and do not need to eat as much. Complex carbohydrates supply a steady stream of energy with a limited amount of fat. Some other examples of complex carbohydrates are oatmeal, brown rice, baked potatoes, and whole grain cereals.

Protein Is A Must

Protein is essential for the formation of healthy muscles, bones, blood, and skin cells. Unfortunately, it is not stored in the body. So it is necessary to get a steady dose of protein every day. Some of the best sources of dietary protein are fish, whole grains, beans, nuts, lean poultry, and red meat. It is important to remember that plant foods such as legumes or soy supply as much protein as meats.

Drink Fruit Juices And Skim Milk – Not Soda !

Let’s all face the fact that pop has absolutely no nutritional value! It is much better to stick with fat free 100% fruit juices. They provide vitamins C, D, and calcium. Fruit juices also contain phytonutrients that are known to help fight off disease.

Drinking skim milk helps to lower your caloric and fat intake considerably. While at the same time you are still receiving the same amount of calcium that you would normally get from from drinking a glass of 1% or 2% milk.

Forbidden Foods

It is important to remember that a wrestler’s diet should consist of eating healthy foods that provide good nutritional value. Foods such as soda, potato chips, candy, and McDonald’s have no place in a wrestler’s diet during wrestling season.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Blake Allen asked:


The lemon juice diet, which deals with lemon cayenne pepper cleaning and lemon juice to lose weight is also referred to as the Master Cleanse Secrets diet, and was introduced to the public in 1941 by Stanley Burroughs. In order to teach the modern audience about the successful detox, Peter Glickman spoke of the diet in his book: ‘Lose Weight, Have More Energy, and Be Happier in 10 Days’.

Celebrities Use It

The Master Cleanse diet has been used by many people, including celebrities. Beyonce Knolls is one of the most popular celebrities to have the most luck with the lemon juice program. Beyonce tried to program after receiving a role in the film ‘Dreamgirls’ as a slim-figured female. She spoke of her success on the Oprah Winfrey Show by stating that she lost a total of 20 pounds in a short time period.

Terrible Toxins

On a daily basis, our body intakes many chemicals and toxins. In turn, this can harm our bodies and cause irritation, such as bowel constipation, body aches and pains, exhaustion, irritability, and other strenuous side effects. One of the largest problems with the toxins is the fact that the body can become obese.

Other body parts that can be affected by the harmful toxins are the:


*Colon

*Liver

*Kidneys

*Gall Bladder

What Is This All About

The lemon juice diet is basically a short fasting method in which the poisons in the body can be flushed out with lemon cayenne pepper cleaning and lemon juice to lose weight. The recommended time limit for the fasting is 10 days. During this time, the user drinks sea salt water in the morning to help get the bowel moving. This is followed by the lemon juice mixture during the day and then a laxative tea at night.

The lemon mixture is made up of organic lemon juice to lose weight, lemon cayenne pepper cleaning, organic maple syrup, and filtered water. No solid foods can be consumed during this time. Many people find the first two days to be the hardest. They usually have a constant yearning to chew something. Crushed ice can help this. After they get over the first hump, the results will start to show.

All Kinds Of Benefits

There are many other benefits besides the detoxifying of poisons from the body. Many users of the lemon juice diet program have reported a less craving for fast food, as well as a decrease in existing pains throughout the body.

This is due to the fact that there has been a release of pressure and irritation in the nerves and blood vessels. Other users have reported reduced acne and improvement in skin texture.

It is urged that if you want to maintain the weight loss that you accomplish after the lemon juice diet, then you will need to continue a healthy lifestyle afterwards. Keep in mind that a larger percentage of your weight loss will be water weight.

You can keep this type of weight gain off by avoiding foods high in sodium. Either way, you will be very pleased with the Master Cleanse diet, as long as you stick to the recommended lemon juice diet schedule.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Hyder Khan asked:


The world’s easiest diet is the calorie-shifting diet. Gaining widespread popularity, it is joining the ranks of the “mainstream” diets that are available today.

In sharp contrast to the other mainstream diets, which all require you to make some sort of sacrifice, whether it is calories, whether it is carbohydrates, or whether it is fat, the calorie shifting diet allows you to eat as much food as you want at each meal until you are completely satisfied, but not too full. (Overeating is never conducive to weight loss on any diet regimen.) Plus, you are required to eat food from all four major food groups while on this diet. Another requirement of this diet is that you must eat four full meals each and every day.

While on this diet, you can expect to lose nine pounds every eleven days. Most nutritional experts will agree that rapid weight loss for long periods of time is unsafe for your body. The calorie shifting diet has taken this concern into consideration and factored it into its diet regimen by requiring you to take a mandatory three-day “cheat break” from the diet every two weeks, before you would resume your diet again for another eleven-day stretch. This gives your body a chance to rest from the rapid weight loss it is undergoing.

How does the calorie shifting diet work? As the name implies, you follow this diet by shifting the types of calories that you eat, from meal to meal, from day to day, on a rotational basis. The principle behind this approach to dieting is based on the premise that you can manipulate your body’s metabolism at will simply by withholding and reintroducing varying nutrients into your diet at set intervals. If this is done in the right way, you can induce your metabolism to perceive that it is experiencing a nutritional deficit, which then prompts it to go into “fat burning” mode to compensate for the simulated deprivation. However, by the time your body goes into fat burning mode, you would then reintroduce that missing nutrient into your body and then begin to withhold another one.

Thus, you are able to sustain the burning of fat for long periods of time, without depriving yourself of any vital nutrients. Plus you never feel hungry or dissatisfied, because this diet allows you to eat as much food as you want of all varieties of foods.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Ivan Kelly asked:


The 3 Day Cardiac Diet supposedly comes from the Birmingham Hospital in Alabama, hence it is also known as the Birmingham Hospital Diet. According to reports, this diet plan was designed for the use of patients who needed to lose up to 10 lbs weight quickly so they could undergo surgery.

The true origins of this diet are not clear and the Birmingham Hospital does not claim responsibility for it. Moreover, the diet now appears to have become the stuff of internet legend as there are versions of it widely known under a variety of names, including the Tuna Fish Diet, Baptist Hospital 3 day Diet, 3 day Navy Diet, 3 day Army Diet, Birmingham Cardiac Diet, Florida 3 Day Diet, American Heart Association Diet, Alabama 3 Day Diet, Hospital 3 Day Diet, and more.

However, there is a strong correspondence between the menu plans of these different versions so, for all intents and purposes, they can be treated as the same diet and comments applicable to one are substantially applicable to them all.

In summary, the 3 Day Cardiac Diet comprises menu plans for breakfast, lunch and dinner covering a period of three days. The daily calorie intake is about 1,000 calories, so much of the weight loss benefit is likely obtained by the restricted calorie intake, although some claim is made that the benefit is due to chemical reaction. Eating a low level of carbohydrates will also mean that water is lost from the body.

For the plan to produce results, it’s important to keep hydration levels up by drinking plenty of water: 6-8 cups is recommended. This also aids digestion.

An important source of protein for the 3 day Cardiac diet is tuna. 1/2 cup of tuna is consumed on the first two days, increasing to 1 cup on the third day. Variety and nutrition is provided with small portions of vegetables, grapefruit, banana, cheese, eggs, crackers and toast. Coffee or tea is permitted with meals. (For a detailed menu, do a quick search for my article, “3 Day Tuna Fish Diet- Menu and Diet Plan”.)

Some concerns about this diet stem from the restricted levels of calories and nutrition. As the calories provided in this diet are so low, it’s is likely that followers will feel hunger pangs and lower energy levels, especially by the third day. Vitamins and minerals are also low so that probably a multi vitamin supplement should be recommended as an additional source.

With only three small meals a day, your body may start to recognize that only a limited food supply is available and begin to compensate by reducing metabolism and energy levels to conserve fat reserves. This actually makes it harder to lose weight and, along with the feelings of hunger, places the body under additional stress.

The 3 Day Cardiac diet does not claim to be suitable for long term use and after 3 days you should follow a program that offers more variety in the content to provide the proteins, fats, carbohydrates and other nutrients that your body needs. More variety would also make it easier to follow this plan, as well as more enjoyable.

It is possible to follow a quick weight reduction plan that offers a more balanced and healthier range of foods. In particular, one which includes a technique known as calorie shifting and takes into account your own food preferences would be a good choice.

Following the 3 Day Cardiac Diet provides restricted calories and nutrients for its intended duration and the weight loss benefits come with some risk to health as well as bodily stress. Also, the diet is not a long term solution and any weight loss reduction could well be offset by food binging that results when your eating program returns to normal. A better approach would be to follow a dieting plan that is more likely to bring true fat loss and provide a continuing, long term loss of weight, along with a slimmer, trimmer, more attractive body shape.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Raissa Arutjunjan asked:


The latest craze which is budding among the people on the world of web is the craze of an online diet chart and schedule which is known as the ‘Weight Loss 4 Idiots’. The name Weight Loss 4 Idiots is now been changed and the new name is ‘Fat Loss 4 Idiots’. One can get better results if he goes for the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet.

Advantages of Weight Loss Diet 4 Idiots: The best thing about this diet 4 Idiots is that it is web based diet which offers many features to the user which helps in the loss of weight and calories. Besides this, the eating plan which is included in this diet program is very simple and easy. The only effort which is required from the user’s side is the full dedication of the user so that he can maintain his daily routine. The weight loss diet 4 idiots provides the user with a perfect schedule of exercise program and positive support which can generate a good and healthy change in the life of the people.

Including of Fat Loss Diet 4 Idiots: This diet schedule is mainly includes the process of calorie shifting which has to be perfectly followed for 11 days with the specific menu. This approach will help in increasing the metabolism rate of the person and hence helps in easy shedding of the weight as the calories will be burnt more consistently. There is a misconception in the mind of the people that this diet program can be a spam or includes some magical pills, diet or programs. The Fat Loss 4 Idiots is a perfect diet plan with no side effects and worries.

Another approach which is followed in the programs of weight loss diet 4 idiots is that there is no restriction on the consumption of the calories. People who are following this diet can go for the consumption of the diet until they are fully stuffed. This diet plan includes online software which generates a systematic menu for 11 days. The food items are listed according to the preference of the user. And after the tight schedule of 11 days, there are 3 free days in which a person can go the any kind of meals or food items which he likes.

Secret Behind the Diet: The main reason behind the popularity of the diet program is that the meal included under this diet program includes a high proteins and carbohydrates food items. This will not help in reducing the weight and burning the calories but also helps in increasing the muscles of a person if he is going for body building.

Fit Yummy Mummy!