live, but too little of the right kinds of food can lead to poor health. Here are some tips to help develop more healthy eating habits:

Steps

Schedule three meals a day into your routine. It's important to be nourished adequately throughout the day to prevent fatigue and to perform at an optimal level.
Eat a healthy breakfast. Include grains and fruits. Try a high-fiber cereal with low fat milk and sliced bananas.
Eating small frequent meals can be less taxing on your digestive system.
Snack between meals to curb your appetite and provide a little energy. Try a piece of fruit or a few crackers with peanut butter.
Do not let yourself become so hungry as to overeat at mealtime. Overeating burdens your digestive system.
Drinking water or having a small bowl of soup before meals may keep you from overeating at your meal.
Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly to aid in your digestion. Take time to savor your food.
Obtain protein from a less complicated source, such as nuts, legumes, grains and sprouts.
Choose low fat dairy products, lean white meats or wild fish if animal products are desired.
Combine vegetables and grains with a small amount of protein for a synergistic effect.
Choose a variety of whole grain products to include millet, barley and buckwheat.
Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables that are deep in color, such as the dark orange of a carrot or the deep green of spinach. They contain more nutrients.
Choose organic products to eliminate chemical exposure. Chemicals are harmful to overall health.
Avoid processed food as it contains ingredients that have been changed from their natural state. These unnatural foods are difficult for your body to assimilate.
Choose sea salt as it is equivalent in nature to the salt within your body. It is very cleansing. Refined salt causes fluid retention and increased blood pressure.
Eliminate sugars or choose an unrefined sugar, such as turbinado or honey.
Drink plenty of clean water to aid in flushing toxins and the waste products of natural cell metabolism.
Gradually wean from large portions to achieve a healthy weight.
Eat less in the evening if you are no longer exercising throughout the remainder of the day.
Use moderation when developing new eating habits. The important thing is to develop a plan that you'll find easy to accomplish and easy to maintain.
Keep a positive attitude focusing on long term results.
Eat at least one nutritious meal per day with your family to encourage their good eating habits.

Video

Tips

Research several different kinds of diets focusing on the health and longevity of other cultures.
If you are eating sensibly, but unable to maintain your health, see a physician for further testing.
A personal trainer can determine a more appropriate diet and exercise plan based upon your body type and future goals.
Take your time losing weight. Work to maintain your weight loss as well as your health.
A steady exercise program can speed weight loss, but be sure it is reasonable to maintain.
It may be healthier to be overweight than to have constant fluctuations in weight.
Treat yourself to an occasional descretion, such as a piece of chocolate.
Restaurants are known to carry refined salt and processed foods.
The FDA recommends 0-2 servings of meat per day.
Eat a gram of protein for every pound you weigh to maintain your weight.

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Monday, September 12, 2011

How to Lose 12 Pounds in 12 Weeks

from EVERYDAYHEALTH1

You can lose pounds and not have to go on a diet! This is a lifestyle change meaning you'll lose weight permanently. This also means you'll have to make some permanent changes. You won't even feel deprived! Just follow these steps!

Steps

Start by Gradually cutting your calorie intake to 500 calories less than you'd normally eat OR if you eat a ton of junk food and/or fried food, then just gradually cut that out.
Drink water. As many people have said, it's unbelievably good for you. According to most doctors and nutritionists, you should drink at least 64 ounces (8 heaping cups) of water each day. But remember, you also consume water in your food, so don't go overboard and drink 8 cups of water PLUS all the water in the food. The most accurate calculation however, is to take your weight and divide it by 2, which will equal the number of ounces in water you should drink a day. You may want to divide that result by eight (eight fluid ounces in a cup) to tell you how many cups of water to drink daily. If you feel you are not drinking enough water, you should try and look at you urine when you use the restroom. If your urine is a pale yellow, or better yet, colorless, then you are consuming a sufficient amount water each day. If it is dark yellow or brown, you either need more water, have a serious liver disease, or hepatitis. According to a website addressing such issues[1], "Brown urine can an indication of a serious condition. It could be caused by liver disease, hepatitis, melanoma cancer, or copper poisoning. Other symptoms from those ailments should also be considered as indicators. But note that if you had recently eaten fava beans or taken a laxative, your urine also could turn brown." The benefits are countless: healthy, soft skin; clearer skin, too, and it flushes out all kinds of bad stuff, and so on...
Go for whole grain products and try to stay away from processed food (white-flour, canned soups/goods). Eat as many fruit and veggies as you like, just try to eat them on an empty stomach (aids in digestion), fat free dairy products, and try not to have more than 3 ounces of meat a day. Also, the lighter the color of meat, the healthier it is. An important note, cut high fat food from your diet, make sure it's 30% or less calories from fat.[2]
Exercise. It doesn't have to be boring and hard. It's as easy as taking a 10 minute walk after each meal, or riding your bike, or even playing tag. An easy way to get motivated to exercise is to sign up at your local recreational center for some sports, such as swimming, walking, or basketball. Go for strength training! If you have muscle tone, you will naturally burn fat around the clock. The important thing is to get out there, even if it's only a 25 minute walk. The more you do, the better you will feel. Remember, the exercise time must be at least 30 minutes [of increased heart rate], because that can burn the fat.
Find out how many calories you burn doing almost any activity[3].(It's super easy!)
Maintain your weight. Gradually add more of the food you've been eating (that's healthy) to your diet, but keep exercising. When you have reached a point where you eat a certain amount of calories and your weight hasn't fluctuated more than 3 pounds you are done.

Tips

If you find that you are tired during the afternoon, or you need more energy, try going for 5 small meals a day rather than 3 big ones.
When you've lost your weight, celebrate! Buy yourself that outfit you've really wanted, go to a spa...treat yourself! ...but not with food.
Since you are eating healthy every day, it's okay to indulge occasionally, but remember, in moderation.

Warnings

Too much water can cause water poisoning[4], causing body cells to swell from the massive intake of water, this can cause the brain cells to swell and can cause death.
Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume several gallons over the course of just a few minutes, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which time electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet massive amounts of fluid are still consumed. Your chances of water poisoning are slim!

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Sources and Citations

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