Entries Tagged 'Weight Loss Food' ↓

Ask any health or fitness expert for the essential principles of a safe but effective diet plan, and all of them will tell you to lower intake of the bad stuff like foods high in calories, fats, and sugar while increasing intake of the good stuff like fruits and vegetables. Repackage that into a mathematical formula which allows you to eat more and you’ll get the Volumetrics Eating Plan.

The Beginnings of a New Diet
Volumetrics is a concept spawned from mostly laboratory research conducted by Dr. Barbara Rolls, director of Pennsylvania State University’s Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior and a professor on nutrition.

She first introduced the theory of Volumetrics in her 2000 The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan together with her co-writer Robert A. Barnett. A more detailed explanation followed in 2005 when she came up with The Volumetrics Eating Plan, a book that not only included background explanations for the theory but practical home recipes as well to help users adhere to the rules of Volumetrics.

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There are about thousands of weight loss programs which claim to help you lose weight with less hassle in the fastest possible time. However, among those myriad of weight loss diet programs, five stand out in terms of popularity and efficiency in helping people shed off those excess pounds. You can take your pick among these five fabulous weight loss diet programs and see which of these will work best for you.

Weight Watchers

The ease with which the Weight Watchers program is administered makes it the favorite method and subject of research of most health and fitness experts. In this particular diet program for weight loss, points are assigned to different point types. A typical weight watcher will have a pre-calculated number of points to balance in a day, and there will be no prohibited food types just as long as you are able to balance your points properly. Healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits have lower points than those which cause severe weight gain such as fatty foods. Moderate levels of points are given to protein foods, and there are even some foods which have no zero point assignments to them.

One has to be conscious of the number of points each meal is accumulating. There are no direct impositions on which food is acceptable and which foods are hazardous but a person who undergoes the Weight Watchers program will be given a set of recommended foods with which he or she has the option of taking or ignoring. For as long as the required points are balanced in each day, the program will work.

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CNN reported about Popeyes fast food resto announcing that it is now losing the transfat (food ingredient found in margarines, baked goods, and cookies that causes heart diseases) content of its biscuits. However, its french fries still have transfat but reduced to only one gram per serving.

The restaurant said it began offering zero transfat biscuits and one gram trans fat fries in 2006 and has completed the project for the items to be in all restaurants.

Popeyes, a unit of AFC Enterprises (up $0.41 to $19.20, Charts), said many of its core chicken items have zero grams of transfat, while other items on the menu contain 1.5 grams or less.

The New Orleans-style restaurant also plans to review its Cajun and Creole flavor menu items and cooking procedures and said a zero transfat shortening is being tested.

Tags: transfat, Popeyes

Green tea has long been associated with good health and if recent studies are accurate, it might also be good for weight loss as well. Consider for example a study involving 35 Japanese men who were divided into two groups. One group took a bottle green tea while the other took oolong tea.

At the end of the three-month study, the men who took the extract containing green tea lost an average of 5.3 lbs. and also significantly decreased their BMI and waist size. It was also found that the level of LDL cholesterol decreased in this group.

This is just one of a number of studies involving the benefits of green tea. Green tea is more known as a strong antioxidant but it is its polyphenol content that is getting it all the attention these days. Polypnenols seem to contribute to the decrease in leptins, a protein that is produced by fats. It also seems to activate a type of body fat that helps burn more calories, shedding fat located in the lower body, such as those found in the waist and hips.

Is a green tea diet supplement right for you?
There are certain groups of health experts who believe that green tea diet supplements require further study.

It still has to be studied under controlled conditions and its effects on people who follow a certain diet and lifestyle is yet unknown. Its effect on overweight people who take certain medications is also not known.

However, the health effects of green tea are indisputable. It is known to help reduce the risk of heart disease and has anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. For that alone, green tea is worth considering.

Tags: green tea, diet supplement

[image from yuri kim]

Although once disparaged for reportedly increasing cholesterol levels, which was reported to be just a black propaganda, coconut oil is enjoying a comeback and is becoming a diet food of choice. According to regular coconut oil users, coconut oil can actually reduce the risk of heart disease; ease the symptoms of thyroid-related diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome, and diabetes; ease the symptoms of several digestive disorder; increase overall energy; and rejuvenate skin, preventing wrinkles. In addition to all these, coconut oil can reportedly lower cholesterol levels, and even allow you to lose weight.

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International Food Information Council made a survey on the attitude of consumers toward food.

The important finding include the following:

- In the last 12 months, Americans have changed their diets trying to improve their weight either by making their diets healthier or reducing portions that they eat.

- Only a small number of the respondents know the ideal number of calories per day that a person should consume depending on his age and weight.

- Trans fat is getting more and more notorious for many.

- And as the title of this post has mentioned…

Eighty-eight percent of Americans considered taste to be priority when buying food, while 72% believed price was most important and 65% put the emphasis on whether the food was healthy.

Indeed, there’s more room for nutrition education in the US. Or should the advertising companies should get more whips?

via FoodNavigator

[image from ps888]

Are you a Starbucks frequenter? Or do you always go gaga over gourmet coffee?

I don’t go to Starbucks every so often because it’s too costly and I got accustomed to relishing my Mom’s home-made coffee. Ok, actually, it’s just instant coffee that she concocts with a secret proportion of sugar and coffee especially for me.

And I can gulp coffee like there’s no tomorrow everyday especially during crunch time with my home based gigs. However, on average, I drink three cups of coffee everyday. This I’m sure has contributed to my gaining of extra weight every now and then, most particularly during cramming days when I’m left with nothing but computer work and not much bodily activity that would allow me to sweat out.

So yeah, if you’d ask if coffee has anything to do with one’s gaining weight, YES! The sugar on coffee is the very reason behind why coffee can make you fat according to experts.

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Runner’s World shared their 20 Best Weight Loss Foods, which include a wide variety of healthy foods that they recommend for someone struggling to get rid of the bulge.

The list has consists of food for those under weight loss programs starting from breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and yes, even dessert.

Here are the two desserts that made it to the best foods list of a site for runner’s. You thought runners don’t eat dessert?

Haagen-Dazs chocolate sorbet

Description: Who ever thought Haagen-Dazs would make it into this article? But it does. This richly chocolate frozen treat manages to taste creamy without containing any fat at all. Sure, it’s sugary, but at least you’re getting some protein and fiber as well.

You’ll Save: 100 calories and 15 grams of fat per serving compared with HD’s chocolate fudge ice cream.

Chocolate Dreams cookies

Description: A meringue-type version of the traditional chocolate chip cookie, this one lets you gobble down 5 cookies for under 30 calories and no fat. Bonus: You get two grams of protein as well.

You’ll Save: At least 150 calories and 9 grams of fat compared with just 3 regular chocolate chip cookies.

The food feature mentioned that it’s the antioxidant content of chocolate that got it in. Sweet, eh?

[ice cream image from sobodda]