Healthy Journey » Weight Loss

The Sonoma Diet Celebrates Food and Flavor

Barbara Holbrook — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:00:35 +0000

What comes to mind when you hear the word diet? Boring food? Flavorless snacks? The end of eating as you now know it? For people who love food, the Sonoma Diet may be the answer to the dieting dilemma.

The Sonoma Diet is a celebration of flavor that places an emphasis on enjoying your food. Created by registered dietician Connie Guttersen, the program is named for California’s Sonoma Valley — a region renowned for fine food and wine. The Somoma Diet is similar to the way people eat in the Mediterranean. The recipes focus on flavor, the lifestyle on savoring every bite, and the diet is flexible enough to include wine. (...)

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Raw Food Diet: Get Back to Basics With a Simple Food Plan

Barbara Holbrook — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:00:56 +0000

Eating healthy in the modern world is harder than it was when our grandparents were growing up. Processed food is everywhere and the effects can be seen in every corner of our society. In the face of so much manufactured food, a movement is taking place and many people are actively choosing to simplify their eating plan. One of these “back-to-basics” approach to food is the Raw Food Diet.

It may sound impossible to eat only raw foods, however there is evidence that a raw food diet can cure many of the ailments caused by unhealthy eating. (...)

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Is Dr. Seigal’s Cookie Diet Right For You?

Barbara Holbrook — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:00:34 +0000

Have you ever wished that that plate of chocolate chip cookies was your key to weight loss? Chances are, it’s not. But, if you’re looking for a structured weight loss plan, then there is one type of cookie that could help. Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet.

Florida physician Dr. Seigal created the now-famous weight loss cookie and has used them in his medical practice for more than a quarter of a century. Using a proprietary-blend of nutrients, Dr. Seigal’s cookies are designed for appetite control — and because they are cookies dieters don’t feel deprived either.

Check out these revolutionary cookies to see if they’re a good fit for your weight loss program. (...)

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The Denise Austin Diet and Fitness Plan

Barbara Holbrook — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:00:29 +0000

You may already know Denise Austin as a fitness guru, her dynamic personality has been featured in videos and on tv for years. Still fit and fabulous over 40, her approach to fitness is personal and direct. She promotes exercises that anyone can do regardless of their current fitness levels. And, most importantly, her program gets results.

Being healthy requires a combination of diet and exercise. Denise Austin’s program is based on the same concept — that when you eat right and get fit, you also feel great. This Diet and Workout program uses a three-pronged approach, blending food, fitness and motivational tools to help you reach your goal. (...)

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The Biggest Loser Diet Plan

Barbara Holbrook — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:00:21 +0000

Have you ever watched NBC’s popular weightloss reality show The Biggest Loser? Each season, contestants who want to lose weight are invited to “The Ranch” where they receive intense fitness training, custom eating plans, health education and round the clock support. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that many dieters wish they could have for themselves.

It’s not The Biggest Loser Ranch, but folks can access many of the same tips, education and guidelines used by contestants on the show. The show now offers a book which outlines the basics of the diet and exercise program as well as an online program to get support every step of the way. (...)

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The Best Life Diet Plan from Bob Greene

Barbara Holbrook — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:00:06 +0000

It wasn’t that long ago that weightloss diets focused mainly on restricting calories and food. The problem with this type of restrictive eating plan is that they are not sustainstaible in the long run. Nowadays, most diets take a different approach that focuses on lifestyle changes and building healthy eating habits.

In addition to weight loss, building a healthy lifestyle is the main idea behind Bob Greene’s Best Life Diet. The Best Life Diet teaches you how to avoid the yo-yo syndrome by replacing it with stable weight loss that stays off. (...)

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Anti-Aging Diet: Lifestyle Changes to Grow Young

Barbara Holbrook — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:00:10 +0000

When talking about diets, most folks think of weight loss, but really, a diet is simply a way of eating. While many people go on a diet to lose weight, it’s not the only reason. A specialized diet can help one to lower bloodpressure, reduce the symptons of diabetes, or even turn back the clock on your “real age.”

Just as eating an unhealthy diet can make us feel lethargic, run down or old, an anti-aging diet is designed to increase energy, revitalize the body’s cells and make you feel young again. The anti-aging diet is a strategic plan of diet and lifestyle changes that offers a holistic view of health and fitness. (...)

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The 90/10 Diet by Joy Bauer

Barbara Holbrook — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:00:25 +0000

We’ve all heard the saying “Everything in moderation.” It’s a smart guideline for dieters who are looking for maximum flexibilty in their eating plan. Some people do much better on their diet when they don’t have to worry about “being good” all the time. The 90/10 Diet is a plan that gives folks the tools they need to eat healthy without requiring absolute adherence — “cheating” is built right into the diet! In moderation, of course.

Joy Bauer, best known for her perky brand of nutrition and the helpful health advice she offers to viewers of The Today Show, designed this diet to guide those who want to lose weight safely and learn to eat healthy. (...)

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What is Childhood Obesity? How do we Measure the Rising Weight of Children?

editor — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:00:23 +0000

Baby fat can be cute, for a while. Unfortunately, some parents use this as a way to deny what’s really happening to their youngster. We, as parents, need to face up to facts when we see our children gaining weight that is unexplained and out of control. We need to ask for help and look for solutions to solve this serious health problem.

When it comes to adults, there are ways to readily determine obesity. For instance, in adults we can look at a person and tell if their weight fits their height and body style. Then, we have the dreaded scale. Standing on it at the doctor’s office is often emotionally painful, but as a measurement tool, it is crucial to determine if you are at the right weight for your height as well as your age. This information forms the all important BMI or Body Mass Index which is the true measurement as it relates to obesity.

For children, it’s not that easy. Simply looking at a child will not help you determine if they are overweight. (...)

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Getting Help for Obese Children

editor — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:17:20 +0000

Very often the treatment for children who are obese lies in changing habits and learned behaviors. Of course, the sooner in life that these changes are made, the faster the results can occur. Some of these steps towards a healthier life are immediate, while others are a lifetime commitment. You, as a parent, may not be able to go it alone. Let’s look at what you can do for your child and what other support you may need on this road to recovery.

How Can I Help My Child if They are Obese?

With any program to get your body healthy, there are things that you, and the people around you, need to do to make the program a success. Here is a short list of the steps you need to take to help your child: (...)

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The Diabetes Diet

editor — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:08:19 +0000

To be clear, there is not one official diabetes diet. Instead, a “diabetic diet” is actually a series of guidelines set by the American Diabetes Association to help diabetics get control of their blood sugar, whether they take insulin or not. This diet also induces weight loss at the same time for diabetics who are overweight.

Before proceeding with any diet consult your doctor. He or she is a starting player on your diabetes management team, and can help you map a plan for success. Because it is a set of guidelines, rather than hard and fast rules, the diabetic diet is a little bit different for each person. (...)

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How the Eating Habits of Adults Affect Obesity in Children

editor — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:16:59 +0000

In order to live, we must eat. Somewhere in our history, we stopped eating to live and started living to eat. This obsession with food has led to not only obesity in adults, but a rising obesity in children. Let’s examine the eating habits that can lead to obesity in children and the ways to change those habits.

Making Poor Food Choices

Nowadays, children have access to all types of food. In school cafeterias, there are snack vending machines, soda machines, and fast food restaurant counters. It used to be that kids brought their lunches to school, but now most kids buy their lunch since it’s easy and they can eat virtually anything they want. At malls, the availability of non-nutritious foods is more prevalent than good, healthy food choices.

And it’s not just about what we eat — it’s about what we drink. According to various studies, drinking sodas even once a day increases the childhood obesity risk by sixty percent — let me repeat that — just one soda a day can increase a child’s risk of being obese by 60 percent! (...)

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When is it Time to Have Skin Removal Surgery?

editor — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:43:48 +0000

People who are obese commonly experience sagging skin once they lose the weight. When the body’s fat level increases, the skin stretches to accommodate the extra fat and often loses its natural elasticity. The longer a person is extremely overweight, the harder it is for the skin to bounce back to its natural shape. People who are obese for the majority of their lives will never experience a natural shrinkage of loose skin caused by extreme weight loss.

Skin removal surgery is a procedure in which a surgeon can remove large amounts of extra skin. Some procedures are simple and only fix one part of the body, such as the stomach or thighs. Other procedures will work to fix the whole body, including breasts, buttocks, stomach, thighs, arms, neck, and face. (...)

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Diabetic Diet: Prevent or Manage Diabetes with Better Eating Habits

editor — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:48:45 +0000

When watching our health, what we eat is just as important as how much we eat. Too many of the wrong tasty treats can be an invitation to diabetes. Obesity is one risk factor for diabetes that is easily eliminated by developing good eating habits. For those who have already developed diabetes, dietary changes can help to manage or even reverse the disease.

If you want to prevent or manage diabetes, start by adopting the diabetic diet.

The body is a machine that needs fuel to run.? Unfortunately, some of the foods we eat may taste good, but that doesn’t meant they are good for us. Consuming the wrong foods can result in medical complications and diseases, including insulin sensitivity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

The first thing that we can do to prevent diabetes from knocking at our door is learn the right things to eat. But, simply telling people to ?eat healthy? doesn’t help. After a lifetime of poor eating habits, how can we be expected to wake up and fix it over night? For more of us, a better explanation is required if we want to understand how to follow a diabetic diet. (...)

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Wii Fit Plus: Pros and Cons of Getting Fit with Video Games

editor — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 11:55:57 +0000

Using the latest in video game technology, Nintendo managed to take something that many people dreaded –exercise — and create a gaming system to propel home-based fitness to the next level. The Wii Fit and the more recent Wii Fit Plus have both been huge hits — not just with gamers, but with families, individuals and fitness “newbies” looking for a creative way to jumpstart an active lifestyle.

Of course as with all things this new era of exercise gaming has both good and bad. Before you leap into a new fitness routine read through this list of pros and cons so you’ll be prepared to make an educated choice about whether using the Wii Fit Plus to lose weight or get fit is the right choice for you. (...)

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Can a Nutritionist Help You Lose Weight?

editor — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 11:38:15 +0000

A nutritionist is a person who is trained or an expert in the science of nutrition. If you are interested in losing weight, you may inquire about hiring a nutritionist to assist in your weight loss journey.

How can a nutritionist help you lose weight?

Typically you would hire a nutritionist for a five to six month period to teach you about good nutrition and portion size, and give you a tailored plan for your body and lifestyle.

Your lifestyle, eating habits, exercise habits, and medical history will all be analyzed and it is quite common to take allergy tests and be asked to keep a journal for the entirety of your relationship with the nutritionist to track all of these things and more.

After the “entire person” has been evaluated, a weight loss program with meal planning and exercise routine will be established. (...)

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Easy Weight Watchers Tips and Tricks for Success

editor — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:51:02 +0000

Weight Watchers is one of the easiest diet programs to follow, whether you attend live meetings or use their online program. For added and continued weight loss success, here are a few tricks you can use to help make this diet program even easier.

Once you begin your weight loss journey on Weight Watchers, you will start to notice how easy it is to calculate the Points in the food you eat. Weight Watchers also has “Set Points” that make remembering how many points are in certain foods super easy. (...)

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Body Detox and Cleansing to Lose Weight

editor — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:29:26 +0000

Detoxification and cleansing are two words you’ve probably heard a lot of lately. Everywhere you look there are ads for this detox diet or that colon cleansing diet to help you lose weight. So, just what does it mean to go on a “body detox” or to “cleanse to lose weight”?

Here’s a simple overview of detoxing and cleansing to lose weight. (...)

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Find Heartburn Relief: Try an Acid Reflux Diet

editor — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:45:52 +0000

Even before the “official” diagnosis, people that suffer from acid reflux disease have already learned to avoid certain foods. This is because diet has a huge effect of acid reflux symptoms.

acid reflux, also known as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), may exhibit an array of symptoms — pain, indigestion, burning of the throat and esophagus, bloating, gas and other more serious medical problems.

Making changes in your regular diet and starting an acid reflux diet can ease many of these symptoms. An acid reflux diet should include dietary modifications such as: (...)

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Muscle Building Super Foods

editor — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:13:54 +0000

We lose fat in two ways: burn fat with exercise, and burn fat with muscle. As we increase our muscle, we burn more fat.

It’s a wonderful cycle to get caught up in! Work out, lose fat, build muscle, burn more fat. Other than doing your exercises routinely, there are foods you can eat to help build muscle tissue. Let’s take a look at what sort of super foods will help build muscle.

The Magic of Muscle For Weight Loss

As we age, we lose muscle, especially when we reach the age of forty and over. But, muscle is important. It helps to strengthen our framework. The same calcium that strengthens the bones also builds the muscle that the frame is attached to.

Muscle weighs more than fat. It’s important to realize that especially when you are losing weight. If the scale comes down slowly, don’t worry. You are sculpting a more beautiful, healthier body with lean muscle. And, that lean muscle needs more energy to operate. That’s one reason why muscle burns fat for energy. Yes, even when you are not lifting dumbbells, your muscles are at work burning fat for you. What more could you ask?

Building muscle requires a nutritious diet. Muscle needs protein, calcium, and a host of other nutrients to grow. That is where super foods come in. (...)

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