Simple Healthy Diet

The Simplest, Healthiest Diet

is the one that works for you

You know yourself better than anyone else, and if you don't trust your own judgment yet, now is a great time to start!

I'll share what I know, point out some places and directions to go to learn more, but it all comes down to you. After all, who AM I? Maybe you'll come to trust me - I certainly hope so! - but ultimately it's your choice.

This beautiful planet offers us so much by way of variety and choice, where do we begin? I wholeheartedly suggest that you begin right where you are, literally. You can't go wrong if you start in your own garden, expand out to your neighborhood, town, county, state, and country.

This "eat locally" philosophy is sensible - fresh food in season is best - and is at the heart of the macrobiotic diet. It's also sensible in ecological terms - the less carbon gets used to deliver your food to your door, the better it is for the entire planet.

From there, think variety - a smorgasbord of foods providing a balance of protein, vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates and fats. Eat a wide color palette of foods - how enticingly lovely and healthy a plate full of vibrant color can be!

If you need the guidance of a diet or menu plan or program, there are so many to choose from, you will easily become confused. This is where your own personal preferences come into play, and please do play!

Because, quite honestly, if you do not enjoy your healthy diet plan, you won't follow it. Plain and simple. So start with the foods you truly enjoy eating.

Me, I like everything about the Mediterranean diet. I simply could not stick to a diet that did not include pasta and some wine. This diet is the one I can live with. Lots of pasta, garlic bread, legumes, cheese, vegetables, fruit and wine, with lesser amounts of meat, poultry and fish, this diet appeals to my budget, appetite, and eating enjoyment.

To someone else, the high protein, low or no carb Atkins diet may fill the bill, and for yet another, eating foods low on the glycemic index can make the most sense.

To each his own.

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What's a Heart Healthy Diet?

this site has a lot of great info

Check your BMI, plan and track your calorie intake per meal, and test what you know about portion size and burning excess calories with help from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's healthy weight tools. Also learn how a healthy eating plan can help you lose unwanted weight as well as protect your heart.

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Negative Calorie Foods

a healthy diet option?

No matter what anyone tells you, it is biologically necessary to consume fewer calories than you burn in order to lose weight.

Negative calories foods refers to a small list of foods that contain fewer calories than those needed to digest the food and absorb the nutrients. This means that from eating these foods alone, there will be a net loss of calories from the body.

Apples
Apricots
Asparagus
Beets
Blackberries
Broccoli
Cabbage (green)
Cantelope
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Cranberries
Cucumber
Garlic
Grapefruit
Honeydew melons
Lemons
Lettuce
Onions
Oranges
Peaches
Peppers
Pineapple
Plums
Radishes
Raspberries
Rhubarb
Spinach
Strawberries
Tangerines
Tomatoes
Turnips
Watermelon
Zuccini

All of these foods must be consumed without additional sugar to qualify as negative calorie foods.

According to a recent study performed by Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D., of the University of California, at San Francisco, research subjects in an experimental study on the reversal of heart disease lost an average of 20 pounds by eating negative calorie foods, without cutting calories, participating in any sort of exercise program, or limiting serving sizes.

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Dieting doesn't work for most women over 40

A healthy diet and moderate exercise does!

Women over 40 can finally pay more attention to their own needs. Exactly what are those needs?

Here are the top 6 reasons women over 40 gain weight and have trouble taking it off:

1.Slow metabolism - Women over 40 should eat a number of smaller meals at regular intervals made up of only nutritious foods their bodies can metabolize easily.

2.Food allergies - Wheat and dairy allergies are the most common.

3.Hormonal imbalances - Mood swings often lead to binge eating; estrogen dominance can be balanced with a natural low-dose progesterone cream.

4.Sleep deprivation - It is optimum to get 8 hours of sleep every night at a regular time.

5.Difficulty in processing carbohydrates - Women over 40 should cut back on carbohydrates in the diet and eat more fruits and vegetables.

6.Lack of regular aerobic and strength building exercise - At least once a week, preferably at least three times a week, women over 40 should walk for 20 minutes at a fast pace (as close to jogging as possible, or jog/walking), do 10 push-ups or push-aways from a wall (for starters, increasing gradually), and do 10 squats (again, increasing the number as strength increases).

Maybe you have an idea which of these are problems for you, or maybe it's a great list to share with your doctor. Maybe this explains why you've never been able to lose weight and keep it off! Let me know what works for you.

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Healthy Weight Loss Diet

there is no 'quick fix'...

I try to stay away from celebrity-endorsed diets. Sure, a celebrity may be following this or that diet plan and may lose dozens of pounds.

What we don't know is, what else they are doing to lose weight. Celebrities have million dollar careers at stake, so they pull out all the stops and pay good money to stay slim.

They can afford to hire personal chefs and trainers, and so don't have to worry about finding the time to shop for the right ingredients and prepare the correct meals. They don't have to battle procrastination and denial; they have personal trainers to motivate them.

We, on the other hand, have only ourselves and a diet plan. The honest truth is, you have to recognize where you're at with your present diet and exercise level and make changes, in order to lose weight.

I've discovered a great resource for developing your own weight loss diet plan. It's called Calorie Count, a free service of About.com Health.

You start by putting some basic information into their database - height, weight, age, etc. and you receive a report that includes an ideal weight and a daily calorie intake that will, over the course of 6 months or so, get you to that weight. For me, I am on a course to lose thirty pounds by March 2010.

Besides the usual forums, recipes, etc. there are three interactive tools, a food log, activity log, and weight log. By updating the information in these logs on a daily (or maybe every two weeks, for the weight log) basis, you can modify your diet to stay within the parameters of your daily calorie intake.

The activity log allows you to see how many calories you are burning to offset some of your calorie intake. So, for example, if your daily limit is 1400 calories, and you burn 300 a day by walking vigorously, then your calorie intake could be 1700 per day and you'll still lose weight.

The other aspect of a healthy weight loss diet is making sure you are not malnourished. This means taking nutritional supplements and eating some superfoods.

A daily multivitamin and mineral supplement is a good idea, as is eating foods such as wheat germ and bran, spirulina and chlorella, blueberries, raw nuts and seeds, and any kind of sprouts.

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Simplest Healthy Diet Tip of All

For guaranteed weight loss, eat few calories and burn more.

One of the biggest weight loss myths is that you can turn fat into muscle. Not true! Fat is one kind of tissue, muscle is another.

If you are overweight, get rid of some of the fat first, then consider amping up the exercise. Here's why: if you are overweight, you are carrying extra weight. That means you are burning more calories every time you get up, walk to the kitchen, bend over to pick something up and carry it into the next room, mow the lawn, etc. than someone who weights less than you.

So your first goal is to get rid of some of that fat. Simply consume fewer calories than you are now and you will start slowly losing weight. Speed it up a little by getting a little more exercise than you are now.

Invest in a pedometer, one of those gadgets that counts how many steps you take. Find out how many you take today and increase that by 10% tomorrow. Here are some easy ways to do that:

If you normally park your car by your front door, walk around to the back door to enter. If you usually take an elevator or escalator, walk up the stairs.

Another easy one is to park farther away from the store instead of in the closest available parking space. If all else fails, go for a short walk in the morning or, if weather doesn't permit, walk around your house picking things up one at a time and putting them where they belong.

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The Paleo Diet and Diabetes

The Paleo diet, short for Paleolithic Diet, is a diet based on the foods that cavemen of the Paleolithic era ate - mostly a meat and vegetable diet, in it's most natural state. In these modern times, this translates to wild fish, grass-fed meat, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

The idea behind this is that we humans are genetically basically the same as we were back then; those kind of adaptations and changes on the cellular level take longer to manifest, therefore the foods of our ancestors are the ones our bodies are most adapted to eating.

I visited a blog today that has captured the attention of the American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes-warrior.net/ - this blogger claims that the Paleo diet has enabled him to cease taking insulin to control his diabetes. I'll let the The Diabetes Warrior speak for himself.

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Healthy diet can override bad genes

Robert Hegele, director of the cardiovascular genetics laboratory at the Robarts Research Institute in London, Ontario, linked simple decisions and socioeconomic determinants to genetics.

"Environment often trumps genetics. Even if you've been dealt a bad hand of genes, it's not a life sentence for most people," The Globe and Mail quoted Hegele as telling delegates to the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress in Edmonton.

Simple lifestyle choices, such as following a healthy diet and regular exercise, can override bad genes...

Read more...

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Eat Fresh and Eat at Home

Cooking simple, fresh meals at home is the simplest of all.

Eating fresh, locally grown produce in season, putting up food for those off-season times, and preparing simple, nourishing meals at home takes more time and energy than eating fast foods or eating out, but results in healthier, more satisfying meals. An investment in a book of simple recipes is well worth the money, as then your meal preparations will be even easier.

Especially in the summer, shop at your local farmers market, stock up on produce in season, and can, freeze or dry your surpluses for winter. Of course, the best idea yet is to grow a small garden, it doesn't get any fresher than that!

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Water: When do you need more in your diet?

Why you may be thirstier than ever...

During the summer we are all on the alert to drink more water to combat dehydration from sunburn, heat exhaustion, and activities that promote excessive perspiration. But how many of us know about all the foods, beverages, health problems, medications, and other causes of dehydration?

Did you know that:

fever/diarrhea
anxiety
diabetes
diuretic beverages (green and black tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, cranberry juice)
eating too much salt
diuretic drugs

can all also contribute to excessive thirst and dehydration? One way to compensate is to drink 8 glasses of water a day, then one extra glass for each salty food or diuretic beverage you ingest.

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How to Change Your Diet Slowly and Painlessly

Ease into your changes!

Most people trying out a new diet make radical changes, thinking that is the only way they'll see radical results! The opposite is true. Yes, you may achieve some quick weight loss or boost of energy, but it won't last if you can't sustain it. Here are some tips for easing into those changes you want to make, and therefore possibly changing your lifestyle.

The key to easing into your changes is to decide where you want to go and gradually get to that place in a couple of weeks. For example, you don't drink anywhere near enough water. Drink an extra glass of water today, drink that same quantity for a couple of days, then increase by one more glass per day.

If you want to eat smaller portions at mealtime, do the same - shrink your portions just a little today, then a little more in a few days. Smaller portions leaving you feeling empty between meals? Grab some fruit. Melons, berries, nectarines, it's fruit season again!

Switch to whole grains. If you want to eat less red meat, ease out of it slowly. Start by buying leaner cuts.

Sweets have you addicted? Switch to bite-sized snacks, unsweetened cereals, pure fruit juices (no added sugar). The less sweets you eat, the less you'll crave them.

Substitute olive oil and lemon juice for fatty salad dressings. Add nuts and low fat cheese to your salads for added flavor.

These tips should help you slip painlessly into a simpler, healthier diet - and stay there!

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Pizza on the Grill

how can pizza be part of a healthy diet?

I've never heard of pizza called a "health food", so how can it be part of a healthy diet?

- Use the freshest ingredients possible, including leeks, tomatoes, herbs, onions, arugula, homemade ricotta cheese;
- Use whole wheat flour as well as all purpose flour in the crust

There are endless variations as to what you can put on a grilled pizza. You'll find all the instructions you need here:

Delicious Living Magazine

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Stretching Before Eating

When you wake up in the morning, before breakfast, drink a glass of fresh water and then stretch. This doesn't have to be difficult or strenuous. Lift you hands above your head and reach for the sky! Now bend and reach for your toes. You can stretch while sitting: twist your torso, rotate your shoulders, bend forward and from side to side. Stretch your neck, fingers, arms, legs, toes!

When you're done, eat a wholesome, whole grain breakfast, drink a fruit smoothie, or eat an orange. Eat some low-fat yogurt. When you're satisfied, congratulate yourself. You've boosted your metabolism for the entire day!

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Simple Healthy Diet to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat

8 rules, all contained in one short list

This sample daily menu contains all 8 rules for eating to get stronger and leaner

* Breakfast: eggs with veggies, orange, green tea
* Snack: mixed nuts, pear
* Lunch: tuna, romaine lettuce, olives, olive oil
* Snack: cottage cheese with apple
* Post workout: ground round, quinoa, spinach, banana
* Dinner: chicken, spinach, baby carrots, grapes
* Pre-bed snack: cottage cheese, berries, ground flax seeds, fish oil

Start out with a stretch, then eat breakfast (1), eat every 3 hours (2), eat protein at every meal (3), eat fruits and vegies at every meal (4), eat carbohydrates only after exercising (5) - exception: if you are underweight and want to put on some pounds, add additional carbs, eat healthy fats (6), eat 90% whole foods (unprocessed and unrefined) (7), and drink sufficient water (or green tea) (8). Drinking a glass upon waking, a glass with each meal, and sipping while exercising gives you plenty. Filtering your water and/or adding lemon juice to it makes it taste better. Drinking chilled water also tastes better and steps up your metabolism in the process.

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Diet Pills or Simple Healthy Diet?

This doesn't need to be an either/or situation...

Diet pills or other diet supplements are NOT necessary to lose weight. But let's face it - nobody enjoys counting calories, following a strict diet, having to forgo their favorite foods, exercising rigorously at the gym, and so on.

We'd all love to have a pill that we could take and lose pounds while we sleep, all the while still eating whatever we want, whenever we want. It ain't gonna happen. However, a safe, effective weight loss supplement can help you kick off a weight loss program or new diet, it can help suppress your appetite while you're shrinking your stomach and learning new eating habits, it can boost your metabolism, lessen your cravings, and give you encouragement and an energy boost that will support increased exercise.

Good nutrition and a moderate exercise program will deliver gradual, healthy and long-term weight loss. First learn how to achieve natural weight loss (with proper nutrition and exercise) before thinking about taking supplements. However, in many cases natural diet products can improve the effect of your weight loss program and boost your results if you know how to use them.

A Simple Plan, Prepared Ahead

Sometimes just seeing what a good meal plan looks like is all it takes

Getting started with weight control by changing your diet can be the hardest first step you ever make. Here is a simple menu for one day that can get you going; once you've done this, it's easier to keep it going. What makes it even easier is preparing this the day before. Be sure you have everything on hand, in your refrigerator or cupboard.

Simply adopting a simpler, healthier diet can get you started feeling better and looking slimmer.

Breakfast: coffee with cream, milk, half and half; oatmeal with milk and brown sugar.
Snack: 1 c cottage cheese and pineapple
Lunch: Turkey sandwich made with whole wheat bread, cheese, mayo, tomato, and turkey breast
Snack: Whole grain crackers and cheese or turkey meat
Dinner: Halibut, rice, mixed vegetables, salad, olive oil and lemon juice (salt and pepper) dressing, tea with sugar

Advice for Midlife Women on Healthy Diet and Living

Check out the latest Food Pyramid

From the Harvard School of Public Health comes advice for midlife women on how to live and eat for health and well-being. The new Healthy Eating Pyramid has controlled portion size, exercise, and weight control as its foundation, imagine that!

Since midlife women are so busy, many of the foods suggested are fatigue-fighters, so check them out!

Eating Healthy while Pregnant

Foods to avoid and why, you'll be surprised

Unfortunately, we have seen in recent years that, in order to cut corners financially, the food industry has been lax with our health and safety. We no longer can rest assured that our food is handled properly. Simply cooking your food well can prevent anything from discomfort and nausea in the mother to miscarriage, premature delivery, stillbirth, or infection in your baby.

Raw foods that you cannot be sure have been handled properly, such as in restaurants, sushi bars, and even coming from your own friends' kitchens, should be avoided. Say goodbye to uncooked eggs, seafood, sprouts, self-serve salad bars, packaged salads, leftovers older than 12 hours, and fish that contain high levels of mercury, including Southern bluefin tuna, orange roughy, barramundi, swordfish, ling, shark, and gemfish.

Wash your hands after handling raw foods, and be sure to use separate cutting surfaces and knives, etc. for preparing raw meats and fish, and salads. You won't be cooking your salad, so you don't want to contaminate it with bacteria and other hazards from the meat and fish.

As you can see, preparing your foods at home and handling them safely can make eating during pregnancy as simple and healthy as at any other time.

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How to Achieve a Successful Diet Plan

Readjusting priorities and making our own choices are the keys

The first and most important step to changing your diet is to accept responsibility for your life, your choices. It's necessary to acknowledge why you really want to change - is it to be healthier and more fit, or is it to be more glamorous and attractive like Hollywood and other media images?

Scientists and doctors are now agreeing that it's possible to be "heavy and healthy". It's time to rethink your choices - are you making them because of health, dress size, or appearances?

We hear a lot about how important it is to love yourself. This isn't just about exuberance and joy, although those are positive emotions; it's also about replacing that feeling of never being quite good enough with satisfaction derived from simple pleasures. If you take the time to prepare simple but delicious meals, such as a yummy salad or bowl of soup, or fruit arranged attractively on a platter, you will feel doubly pleased, having nurtured your body and your soul by telling yourself, I deserve such care!

Once you start nurturing your self esteem in this way, it becomes easier and easier. "I am worth it!" reverberates through your whole being. You nurture your family, you take care of business at work, why not take the time to plan a healthy diet and stick with it?

Only you can make these choices. Only you can overcome laziness and inertia and decide, I can do this because I want to do it!

By realigning your thinking and your will to what is healthier for you, you rediscover your personal power. Once you understand that what you choose to eat, how you prepare it, consume it, and share it reflects how you feel about yourself, you can find the strength to make whatever changes you are ready to make.

Look at what your choices say about you. Is this the person you think you are? Is this who you want to be? So many people spend their lives caring for others, and only think of themselves when they are ill. Even in sickness, they may pop a few pills to cover up the symptoms and keep on going. Nurturing yourself is the first step to taking care of others.

Just don't get caught in the blame game, if you care about yourself at all, you can find a way to find a simple healthy diet that works for you!

Simple, Natural Eating...How? Why?

Why do we want to keep it simple, this idea of a healthy diet? Because then it will become a lifestyle we joyously embrace, rather than a chore. We don't want to suffer, we want to thrive.

The first step is always the hardest one, so let's be gentle with ourselves. Instructions and advice can be simple too, such as at Simply Natural Health. Let's start with a simple list of what makes a food wholesome, a short story subtitled "Hope for the Picky", then some simple recipes, and so forth, a little bit of information on down the page until you end with the health pyramid, shown at the right.

A gentle way to transition to a healthier, happier you.

The Game On Diet - it's NOT a Diet

It's a fun, fierce, and exhilarating game

The Game On! Diet: Kick Your Friend's Butt While Shrinking Your Own is a hilarious book written by Grey's Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff and her trainer Az Ferguson. It's a game played by teams of you and your friends, you get points for doing some (easy) healthy things - scores are tallied, averaged per team, and at the end of four weeks the team with the highest score wins.

It's motivating, the book alone is extremely fun and entertaining, and the game deals with the whole person - your team supports, troubleshoots, and celebrates together, helping each other both mentally, emotionally and physically.

Simple healthy choices

A simple, healthy diet starts with your choices at the supermarket. Learn to read the labels and understand how to make better choices. The lists at EatHealthyAmerica.com on their Simple, Healthy Substitutions page show you that reduced-fat and reduced-calorie options can make a big difference.

7 Day Healthy Menu Plan

after 7 days using the provided menus, you'll "get it"

If you're like me and are a "show-me" kinda person, it's easier to just study some diet examples, then roll up your sleeves and do it. The "aha!" moment usually comes after the hands-on experience. Does this sound like you? Then check out this website that gives you easy to measure portion sizes - "one teaspoon equals the tip of your thumb to the first joint" - delectable recipes, and photos of beautiful presentations that get you salivating before you read.

Every day's menu includes 3 meals, two snacks, and variations for men and women (higher and lower calorie diets.) Try these out for 7 days, then continue on, you can mix and match, substitute your favorites, get creative. Bon appetite! 7 Day Healthy Menu Plan.

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Don't Imagine Eating This

what the word DIET as an acronym seems to mean...

Isn't that true? What do you think of when you hear the word "diet"? Limp lettuce, puny portions, and a long list of "don't even think about eating these foods" - and that list always has some of your favorites on it.

It's all about positive choices, positive energy, and even having fun. Some of the best "diet" advice I've heard is right here - a simple 10-step plan, but even if you don't want the plan, this page lists strategies and ideas that can get you started in the right direction. Just plain common sense health strategies.

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Berry Wonderful

health benefits of eating fresh berries

Here's a list of just some of the health benefits of eating berries:

1. My favorite: they make you smile. Happiness is the first prerequisite of good health. Go ahead, try to eat some fresh berries without smiling!

2. Antioxidants (anti-aging)

3. Anti-cancer

4. Anti-heart disease

5. Vitamin C (and many other vitamins and minerals)

6. Fiber

7. Promote mental acuity

Read more about berries and mental health.

Let a Firefighter Save Your Life

a diet plan by a triathlete-turned-firefighter

Rip Esselstyn has 3 generations of renowned physicians in his family; he is also a professional triathlete-turned-fireman. The Engine 2 Diet is the result of learning that many of his fellow firefighters were unhealthy, one dangerously so. With his diet and exercise program, everyone lost weight, lowered their cholesterol, and improved their overall health. He went on to expand his program city-wide, with even more incredible results.

Now he's published The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan That Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds to help the rest of us. He includes two diet plans: one is more flexible and includes some fish and chicken, the other is completely plant-based. For those of us with busy lives (and who does that not include?) he's added recipes, menus, grocery lists (including items for a well-stocked pantry), cooking tips and an exercise program.

Let's face it - the pantry is the heart and soul of any busy cook. There's always something healthy there for when you find yourself crunched for time. And Rip's approach is with humor and humanity. He makes it real for all us real people.

More Hints for Eating Well on a Budget

1. Substitute tap water for other beverages. If in doubt, buy a Brita water filter pitcher.

2. Eat frozen vegetables. I don't know about you, but when feeding one or two people, I end up throwing out a lot of vegies that spoil before I eat them.

3. Four less expensive protein sources: canned tuna, eggs, fattier cuts of meats, and whey powder.

4. Pack a lunch.

5. Eat before you go grocery shopping, make a list and stick to it, and do all your shopping at one store, preferably the one that offers the cheapest meats (probably your biggest expense.) You'll save gas.

6. Unless you have a will of steel, leave the kids at home. You'll shop faster and smarter without them begging for what they want.

7. Eat less (smaller portions).

8. Take a multivitamin.

I do most of these things, except for the fatty meats - I sometimes buy chicken thighs instead of skinless boneless breasts but that's about it. Otherwise I stick to pork, chicken, and seafood.

I drink tap water almost exclusively, except for a little tea and coffee, and sometimes a small glass of juice with breakfast. I don't drink soda or bottled water at all, period.

I buy both frozen and fresh vegies but I don't buy a big head of fresh broccoli or cauliflower, for example - I buy that frozen or freeze up some of a big head myself.

As for protein, I LOVE eggs and eat a lot of them, as I firmly believe in getting a solid protein hit as many mornings as possible. Whey, no thank you, and I rarely buy canned fish as it is cheap to buy fresh here in the Pacific NW.

I don't work outside the home, but when we will be away from home for hours, we bring along snacks that will tide us over until our next meal at home.

Once a month we shop at three of our favorite big stores - such as Costco - that are all further away but within a few blocks of each other. Mostly for bulk stuff - we fill our freezer, pantry and fridge. Then we shop at one local store once a week for perishables.

I firmly believe in multivitamins because no matter how well we eat, our soils have been depleted and food simply isn't as nutritious as it used to be. However, we've started up a first-year garden and slowly are beginning to grow our own.

I'd love to hear how you are doing with your simple healthy diet!

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