Diets Defined For You

Diet is the “kind and amount of food prescribed for a person for a special reason”. In the context of weight loss the term diet would cover all specific requirements in terms of constituents, their quantities and also the manner of their preparation as food for promoting loss of weight.
There are many diet plans proposed/promoted by different people. There is a 5-Factor Diet, South Beach Diet, Bob Greene\’s Best Life Diet, Atkins Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, Anne Collin’s diet, Carbohydrate Addict\’s Diet, and now you have Size Zero Diet, DASH diet and Fat Smash Diet and …. it goes on!
Some are promoted by parties who as publishers, producers or suppliers of supplements or constituents of the diet and are suspect as being purely a commercial vehicle. Some others are merely fad diets that look upon the concept of weight loss or weight control as a gimmick. Many of these are neither based on proper scientific knowledge or scrutiny.

Three major constituents of a beneficial diet are carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Usually the main energy source for the body is the carbohydrates; proteins are necessary for the growth and repair of body cells, and general maintenance of the body, fats are a rich source of energy. A well balanced diet includes these in appropriate proportions; it will also include water. Water is vitally important to life - metabolic reactions and other functions depend critically on adequate water. Water constitutes almost 80% of the body weight.

There are various items in our everyday food that contain carbohydrates, proteins and fats; but not all the items that we normally consume are really beneficial. There are many that may provide the necessary calories to the body but at the same time they are harmful in some respects. A balanced diet should be made uo of “good” or healthy components and avoid or reduce the use of “bad” or unhealthy components.

A balanced diet will consist of carbohydrates from healthy sources to provide about 40 to 60 percent of the calorie requirement of the body. Vegetables, legumes, fruits and whole grains are good sources of carbohydrates; they provide fiber which is also for various functions of the body.
On the other hand other sources of carbohydrates such as white sugar, deserts, candy, frizzy drinks should be avoided or limited in consumption; they cause hormone imbalance, obesity, chronic inflammation issues.

Just as in case of carbohydrates, there are certain good proteins and certain bad proteins. Good proteins which provide all essential amino acids are contained in organic sources such as meat, fish, eggs, poultry; processed meats et should be avoided. About 10 to 30 percent of the body’s calorie requirement should be met from proteins.

Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty essential acids stimulate immunity system of the body, fight inflammations, and are beneficial to heart and brain functioning. But these are not made by our body. Cold water fish, walnuts, etc can provide these to the body. Avoifd or limit use of unhealthy fats such as from processed foods and hydrogenated oils. Your body should get about 20 t0 30 percent of its calorie requirement from good fats as explained above.

Your diet should also include adequate amount of fiber or roughage. It does not provide nutrients but has an important role in helping bowel movements and also helping to lose weight.

Dieting Made Easy

Most of the people think of dieting as equivalent of starving or popping slimming pills. Weight loss can be achieved by pleasurable dieting too. Follow a few simple rules for healthy dieting and you have a wide choice of what you can eat to please your fancy. Healthy diet and adequate exercises are the sure and safe ways to lose weight.

Healthy diet will protect your body from illnesses by providing appropriate nutrients. At the same time you would be able to shed the excess fat gradually in a safe way by maintaining proper balance of the essential constituents; that’s the trick of natural weight loss.

There are many websites that will help you determine what should be your calorie intake, based on your personal details and based on your diet they can also tell you what your present intake is..

A Well-Balanced Diet should include nutrient rich carbohydrates, high-quality protein, and healthy fats.

Carbohydrates
About 40-60% of your calorie intake should come from carbohydrates. That means if you\’re on a 1500 calories a day diet, you should be striving to get about 800 calories a day from “good” carbs. Restrict or avoid white flour, desserts and ice creams. Cut out soda-pop and candy. They contribute to weight gain and add nothing to health. Use oatmeal or whole grain cereal instead. Include whole grain breads, fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, whole grain cereals. You will be getting sufficient vitamins, amino acids and fiber too; you will feel fuller longer.

Proteins
About 20-30% of your calories i.e. about 375 calories should come from “wild” (not processed or farm raised) animal sources such as fish, meat, poultry, yogurt and eggs and from vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and seeds.

Fats
The balance calorie intake, about 325 in our example, shall come from “good” fats such as “wild” cold-water fish, flaxseed, walnuts, etc. They give Omega 3 essential fatty acid that is very essential for your overall health. Avoid or at least limit use of hydrogenated oils.

A few general comments:
Fish: Fish is low in fat, high in protein (as red meat), and provides omega 3 fatty acids which few other proteins would. Also as a general rule fish has fewer calories. Try to eat at least 2-3 servings of fish per week as replacement to meat.
Spinach: This is the cheapest source of nutrition for your body. It is rich in folic acid, minerals, and vitamins. You can prepare it in a variety of ways. Use it often in your diet.

Olive Oil: It is a “good” fat with loads of benefits to the body. This is a basic source of fat in the Mediterranean diet.

Follow these simple suggestions, and happy dieting!

Diet Plans for Weight Loss

Ever since obesity has been termed as an epidemic, it has attracted attention throughout the world. In America weight loss has become an industry. The air is thick with discussions and counter-discussions about various diet plans being proposed by various people.

There is a 5-Factor Diet, Atkins Diet, Bob Greene\’s Best Life Diet, South Beach Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, Carbohydrate Addict\’s Diet, Anne Collin’s diet and now you have DASH diet and Fat Smash Diet and Size Zero Diet and …. it goes on!

Proponents of each of these diet plans make claims of how much weight you will lose and how rapidly you will lose weight. Some go to the extent of claiming that you will lose up to 10-12 lbs in a week whereas medical experts warn that such claims are ridiculous and weight loss of such proportions can come about only by losing water which is detrimental to the system. Moreover there is always the danger of gaining weight just as rapidly when you stop working on the plan.

Essentially all these plans boil down to a few basics! The body weight is contributed by fat, muscles, bones and water. Excess calorie intake is responsible for increased weight and so cut down the excess intake of calories. Increase metabolism so that stored fat can be burnt off; burn off the fat that is stored in the body by exercises and fat burning food. But do not starve the body of the essential nutrients.

Basically diet plans fall into three broad categories: the “fad diets”, those that are based on specially processed food and those that can be called as “natural diet” plans.

There is no clear definition of “fad diet”; it is very subjective. Fad diet is popularly believed to be a poor weight loss diet. A fad diet generally becomes very popular very quickly and falls out of favor just as quickly. Fad diets quite often claim very quick weight loss. Their claims for efficacy are generally not confirmed by any legitimate scientific studies. Often promoted by parties that publish books about the diet or those that sell some supplements or ingredients that are part of the fad diet, a fad diet may not achieve anything at all or at times may have an adverse effect on health.

The natural diet plan is based on use of food constituents that are normally in your diet; it recommends some of the constituents as being helpful and some others as being harmful from the point of view of weight loss. For example, it may recommend certain fish such as Sardines, herrings, etc as providing beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids or may recommend use of lean meat but not others such as pork; it may recommend low-fat skimmed milk but not the normal fresh milk. Natural diet is based on very clearly understood and recognized scientific knowledge.

The third category of diet plans mentioned above are based on use of specially processed food ingredients or supplements; this category is so highly commercialized that even if it has scientific basis at times lies on the boundary of fad diet plans.