Thank You For Visiting Our Blog, FEEL BETTER AND LIVE LONGER!

The purpose of our blog is to share what we have learned about nutrition, weight loss, fitness, and health, in order to help you find ways to feel better and live longer. It is amazing how much our diet and lifestyle affect our health and well-being.

Did you know that you can reduce your risk and even prevent many diseases and health conditions simply by making some changes to your diet? Check back often for valuable tips and information.


HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF:

For the first time in my life I have found weight loss success. During my adult life I have tried dozens and dozens of so-called "diets" and none of them worked over the long-haul. Oh, I was able to lose weight with some of them, but once I went off of the "diet" I quickly gained back all of my weight (plus some).

I have finally learned that losing weight has to be a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix. Crash diets and all the other crazy diets will not only cause you to fail, they are harmful to your health. To lose weight and keep it off you must NOT go on a "diet." What? Why? Because we all consider a "diet" a temporary thing. For example, how many times have you said, "Oh, I will go on this low-fat diet until I lose 20 pounds." Okay, what happens after you lose the 20 pounds? Or you simply give up? You go back to your old habits and gain that 20 pounds back.

The only way you will ever be successful at losing weight, with the added benefit of improving your health, is to make healthy changes that you can live with for the rest of your life. Period. Not for a week, a month or 3 months, but for life. For me, my initial goal was to lower my cholesterol level. I had to have a blood test for my insurance coverage and my cholesterol level had to be lower than the previous year's levels or I would have to pay a much higher premium. Well, that was a pretty good incentive for me make some positive changes.

I sat down and figured out what I needed to do. I knew I had to change the way I ate and I knew I had to exercise in some form or other every day. So, I made a list and I stuck to it. It was difficult at first. To make matters worse, I am a compulsive eater. However, as the days went by, it became much easier because my body stopped craving sweets and processed foods. For the first time in my life, I was never tempted to binge because I never felt deprived.

Use the list below and make whatever changes you need to make in order for it to work for you. FYI, my cholesterol level dropped 65 points after 7 weeks, and my triglycerides dropped 70 points!
Another benefit that I hadn't planned on was that after being an insomniac since my teen-age years, I now sleep like a baby every night!

MY LIST FOR WEIGHT LOSS SUCESS:

1. Avoid "white" Foods & Processed Foods.
These foods have no nutritional value and are "empty" calories. Sweets, anything made with white flour,and anything that comes in a package with a long list of ingredients.
Always read the food labels. Stay away from those long lists of ingredients. The longer the list, the more chemicals and additives are present. These are extremely toxic to your body.


2. Drink Lots of
Water. Water keeps your body's organs hydrated and flushes out unhealthy toxins. It helps to fill you up and reduces your urge to over-eat.


3. Eat a Healthy Breakfast.
Instead of coffee and donuts, try fruit, yogurt, grains like oatmeal or whole grain toast, and lean protein. NEVER skip breakfast. By eating a large, healthy meal when you get up in the morning, your metabolism will "rev up" and you will not be hungry by mid-morning. If you skip breakfast, your
body will go into starvation mode and store calories in your body as FAT, yes FAT! So do yourself a big favor and eat breakfast.


4. Reduce Your Stress Level.
So many of us live with too much
stress. Stress lowers your immune system, making it easier to get sick. It also makes us lethargic, tired, and depressed. There are a lot of simple things you can do and a lot of ways to feel better about yourself and your life. Take a long, hot bath, read a book, listen to music, get a massage. Do something nice for yourself. Giving yourself something to look forward to is a tremendous mental incentive.


5. Move!
Oh my gosh! There are so many ways to incorporate movement into your day, even at work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get up every hour and walk around your floor, your hallway or your desk. Park your car in the farthest space from where you need to be. Walk or bike to work. Skate, dance, golf, jump rope, clean house, play tag. The best exercise you can do is to walk. Try to take a walk every day! The more you move, the more your metabolism will be your friend. (I walk 3 miles every day whether it is raining, snowing or freezing.)


Glycemic Index Diet

The glycemic index measures the effect of foods on your blood sugar levels. Eating foods with a high glycemic index value will raise the blood sugar level much more than foods with a low glycemic index value. This makes foods with a low glycemic index value much healthier for the body.

The glycemic index values are a measure of 1 to 100 where pure glucose has a value of 100. Many carbohydrate-rich foods have been tested and applied against the index. A value of 50 (for example) indicates that the food has an effect on blood sugar equal to half that of glucose.

The glycemic index method classifies carbohydrates according to their effect on blood-glucose instead of according to their chemical structure of either simple (Simple carbohydrates are sugars like glucose, fructose and lactose.) or complex (Complex carbohydrates are starches and fiber; wholegrain breads, pasta, rice, beans, fruits, and vegetables.) carbohydrates.


GLYCEMIC INDEX DIET ADVANTAGES

All carbohydrates are not created equally and can behave very differently in our bodies. The glycemic index illustrates this difference by categorizing them according to their effect on our blood glucose levels.

Choosing low glycemic index carbohydrates, the ones that produce the smallest variation in our blood glucose and insulin levels, provides many benefits for your body. Some of those benefits are:

*helps maintain weight loss

*reduces risk of diabetes and heart disease

*reduces hunger and keeps energy level balanced

*reduces blood cholesterol levels

*maintains carbohydrate levels after exercise

*increases the body's responsiveness to insulin


HOW TO USE THE GLYCEMIC INDEX DIET

It is simple to switch from a high glycemic index diet to a low one. There are no difficult calculations to make or paying constant attention to counting calories. You simply need to substitute your high glycemic index foods with low glycemic index foods. For instance:

*Instead of sugar-laden breakfast cereals, eat cereals made with whole grains like oats, barley and bran. Unrefined cereals such as muesli are lower in GI that processed cereals.

*Instead of white bread, eat whole wheat and whole grain breads. Breads with lots of grains and seeds are lower in GI.

*Instead of baked beans cooked with sugar and fat, eat legumes (beans like kidney, garbanzo, pinto, black beans, etc.) and legume products (hummus, lentil soup, etc.)

*Instead of white potatoes, eat new potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams.

*Instead of white rice and highly refined flour pasta, eat brown rice and whole grain or stone-ground pastas.

*Instead of using sugar or artificial sweeteners, use honey, pure maple syrup or stevia to sweeten things up.

*Instead of ice cream, whole milk, and high fat cheese, use unsweetened yogurt, unsweetened milk, and soy beverages.

*Reduce your intake of snacks and desserts made with refined flour products.

*Avoid (as much as possible) cakes, pies, candies, and soft drinks, including sweetened fruit drinks.

*Eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables every day. (Eat foods in their natural form whenever possible. Stone fruit like peaches, nectarines, apples, and citrus are lower in glycemic index value than tropical fruits such as bananas, melons, pineapple, etc.)

*Drink lots of water to keep your organs well hydrated and to move the toxins through your system.

Remember, it is not necessary to completely avoid high glycemic index foods. However, they should be reduced as much as possible.


OVERVIEW

A glycemic index diet and eating plan provides an excellent nutritional choice for people who want to lose weight. By eating a diet composed of carbohydrate-rich foods with a low glycemic index value and avoiding refined carbohydrates, you are providing the best possible combination of better blood-glucose control and a highly nutritious eating plan.

If you are trying to lose weight, do not rush things. Make your changes slowly over a period of months. In this way, the changes will seem more natural. The more comfortable the changes in your diet are, the more likely you will be to follow them permanently.

Make sure you add a moderate amount of daily exercise to your routine, if possible. The combination of a nutritious diet and some form of physical activity every day will help your body burn fat faster and promote weight loss.

0 comments:

Post a Comment