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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psn-GRMnLi0&hl=en
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Positive Portion Size for Weight Loss
When you set a goal to achieve weight loss, one major change you need to make is your portion size. You can't stack your plate to the maximum and expect to lose weight. You must eat smaller portions and eat more often. Five to Six meals a day with smaller portions is much better for you than three meals a day with your plate loaded up.
I know sometimes it can be very confusing when reading a food label of what the portion size actually is. "Your" portion size is most likely more than the "label" portion size; which means you are eating too much - possibly two or three times the amount you should be eating.
There are ways to estimate portion sizes, such as;
a handful is equal to approximately 1/2 cup of fruit, vegetables, or pasta
a tennis ball is equal to approximately 1/2 cup of ice cream
a golf ball is equal to approximately 1/4 cup of seeds or nuts
the palm of your hand is equal to approximately one breast of chicken
Keep in mind, for kids, it is best to give them smaller portions to start out with and give them more if they ask for it. The term "eat until you clean your plate" should not be told to children. That will be the start of a bad habit. Kids should eat until they are full - just like adults. You do not have to clean your plate. When you are full - stop eating.
One very simple tip to help control your portions is to use a smaller plate. And eat slow. Put your fork or spoon down after each bite. Chew your food. Chew eat bite at least 25 times. When you eat slow, you will actually feel your stomach getting full sooner than if you gulp your food down and then get that stuffed, uncomfortable feeling. If you are still feeling hungry, wait about 10 minutes. Your stomach will signal the brain that it is full. Just by waiting, you may prevent yourself from filling your plate again!
Keep in mind that it is more important for maintaining a healthy weight or to lose weight by controlling your portion size; than the current diet programs offer.
You should have variety in your daily eating plan. Choose foods that are good for you. Choose only the "good" fats, healthy whole grains, fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Enjoy what you are eating.
Most people still think of the "normal" dinner plate to consist of a large 6-8 ounce piece of meat, a big stack of potatoes, and peas or corn! Studies by the American Institute of Cancer Research believe that this type of dinner plate is way to high in calories, has way to much fat and not enough nutrients. We can help to reduce our risk of certain health issues including cancer by changing what we eat, and reducing our portion sizes.
The American Institute of Cancer Research is encouraging we change our dinner plate to consist of four foods instead of three. They suggest a small 3 ounce serving of fish or meat, 2 vegetables, whole grain, and fruit. Research shows that diets rich in vegetables, whole grains, fruit, and a small amount of saturated fat, sugar and salt can help to prevent gaining weight, and can reduce the risk of chronic disease.
An easy step to follow when eating out at a restaurant is to have the server divide your plate in half and put half in a to-go box right away. That way you will be less tempted to "finish your plate". This is a great way to control your portion size. Another tip is to order from the kids menu. Their portions are smaller, less calories and also cheaper!
I know we all get the cravings for snacks, and it is hard to have just one! But, we shouldn't have one "whole" bag! If you feel you really want some chips, it's ok, once in awhile. Just don't buy the large bag and eat them all. It is much better to buy the smallest bag. Mostly, the small bag will "hit the spot" and you will be satisfied without being tempted to eat the whole large bag.
Cutting down the portion sizes may seem hard at first, but you will get used to it. Your stomach will start to feel full sooner with the smaller portions. If you stick to eating 5-6 smaller portions a day, you will be on your way to eating healthy, feeling healthy, and achieving your weight loss.
The Dairy Queen Conspiracy
Some people sit around wondering how things get done, while others engineer a plan. It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention, but there is another mom that is equally powerful... boredom. In the town where my friends and I grew up, the activity of choice was cruising up and down the streets to see who else was roaming around, bored out of their wits. Like many small towns across the country, one of the favorite places for kids to stop for a treat, and regain feeling in their road weary butts, was the local Dairy Queen store. The business was well established and prosperous, but I started noticing a disturbing shortfall in our local facility. It came to my attention and distress that our Dairy Queen was not as good as the ones in other towns because our shop did not offer Brazier burgers and other food items that could be ordered elsewhere. "Oh my," thought I, "This will never do."
As the engine of change, I cooked up a plan one hot summer night with about six of my friends to bring about a significant social evolution in the fabric of our community. Being the author of the idea, I briefed my compatriots carefully, then volunteered to be the first to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Here is how the plan was executed.
From the parking lot, I entered the store alone, my pockets completely empty of money, marching boldly toward the counter to place my order. I stood looking up at the sign as if deeply pondering my choices, and waited for the person behind the counter to wipe the sweat off their zits, smile, and ask how they could help me.
The question played right into my trap as I replied, "Well, let's see here now. I'll have six Cokes, five vanilla ice cream cones, seven orders of fries, and seven Brazier burgers..."
In response, the clerk shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Sir. We don't have Brazier burgers here."
With a command performance of shock and disappointment, I asked, "What? This is Dairy Queen isn't it? You don't have Brazier burgers?"
"No, Sir. Sorry."
With a flurry of indignant outrage, I told the clerk, "Oh, well forget it then. If you don't have Brazier burgers, I'll just go some place else."
Without buying anything, I left the store, and sent in the next conspirator. In total, a similar scene played out six more times in rapid succession, each order growing in size, and each person leaving dejected over the lack of the delicious Brazier food we had come to expect from Dairy Queen. Before we piled back into our cars and left the parking lot, the last of our group of conspirators reported a sense of frantic desperation in the voice of the counter clerk as the lad performed the unhappy duty of losing yet another customer due to the lack of quality Brazier products.
Within a month of this encounter, we learned that our beloved Dairy Queen had remodeled the store to install a drive up window, and put Brazier burgers on their menu. I am not sure I ever ordered a burger from that particular Dairy Queen, but our work was not wasted. The additional food items made the place more popular than ever. Who says a small group of people can't get anything done?
Maybe others will use the Dairy Queen Conspiracy model to up their presence on computer screens all over the world. "I don't buy nothing here unless the business sponsors the savory tidbits available only at EzineArticles." It might work...
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Healthy Options in Chinese Food
Image : http://www.flickr.com
Chomping down on Chinese food while watching TV might seem like the ideal evening at home. Some Hakka noodles, Chilli Chicken, Schezwan Fried Rice and Veg Manchurian ... fantastic deliciousness. But if you get on that diet, your body will look more a ball than a javelin.
Nutrition analysis of Chinese dishes show that they are extremely high in calorific value, sodium content, high fat content and high in simple carbohydrates (which behave like sugar in your body). Many Chinese dishes are high on soy, which increases sodium content drastically in the food. Excess sodium leads to increase in blood pressure and retention of water, which increases your weight and makes you look bloated and fat.
So, whats a solution? Clearly, not eating Chinese food is a bad solution :) But you can make healthy choices while ordering Chinese food.
Lets start with everyone's favourite .. those little steamed eatables called Dim Sum- You think its healthy because its steamed. But Dim Sum is primarily made of maida (refined flour), which causes your blood sugar to spike (watch out diabetics) and promotes fat storage. For starters, go for stuff that's stir fried, chicken satay, flavored veggies, or a clear soup with veggies and/or meat in it. Or you can skip the starters and go for the main course.
The main course is like a mine field of bad health bombs. Stir Fried dishes are good, since they are relatively low on sodium, are cooked fast and in lesser oil (since its not deep fried). Stay away from that Manchurian. First its wrapped in maida (refined flour), then its deep fried. Then its soaked in a high sodium sauce. Is there a better way to spell HEALTH D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. Basically, stay away from anything that's served as dough wrapped balls in sauce. All sauces, from Black Bean to Sweet and Sour are drowning in sodium. And some of them have loads of sugar added, like Sweet and Sour or Garlic.
For your starch options, there's another mine field. The noodles are all made from refined flour and then they are soaked in oil and flavouring (including soy)- you know what that does, so stay away from it. The fried rice is a slightly better option, since its rice based, but again, lots of oil and soy, since rice soaks both of them fast! The best option is steamed rice. Besides, the relatively lower calories, it reduces your sodium intake. Also, it gives you a chance to really taste the flavour of the dishes. Try jasmine rice, it smells fantastic.
In dessert, I'm yet to find a true Chinese dessert. All the standard Indian versions of Chinese dessert are pretty unhealthy- darsaan (fried dough with sugar), sugar coated walnuts, fried ice-cream. Do I even need to get into why these aren't good choices. Chinese joints aren't known for their chocolate based delicacies. Stay off it, even its on the menu :)
Our advice, go for the fresh fruits for a light and a sweet finish. Don't forget to get some of that green tea or jasmine tea. You know, about green tea's health benefits for you.
It takes some questioning the wait staff, to solve the health mystery of a new dish. But don't be shy - eat this way while watching the sports channel and you'll be 1 step closer to looking like those athletes on TV.
5 Easy And Fast Weight Loss Tips
Image : http://www.flickr.com
Are you looking for weight loss tips that will help you lose weight fast or weight loss tips that will keep the weight off for good? There's a big difference. It's tempting to opt for the former type of tip. Looking for shortcuts and quick results are just a part of human nature. The problem is that you'll be right back to square one when the weight comes back (and it will) when you lose weight quickly. Here are some weight loss tips that will help you do what is necessary to achieve permanent weight loss and look forward to a lifetime of being healthy.
Weight loss tip #1:
Keep a food and exercise journal for one week. Keep track of calories eaten per day and calories burned per day. Don't cheat! Put everything down. Being honest with yourself is a critical step towards weight loss. At the end of the week, you'll have a good idea of your average calories consumed and burned per day. Then, move on to the next one of these weight loss tips and determine what you should be consuming per day.
Weight loss tip #2:
Learn the basic formula for weight loss. Calories in must be less than calories out. We all have a certain amount of calories that for our height, weight, sex, age and activity level that will just maintain our current weight. These calories are spent on the daily requirements for our bodily activities like breathing and digestion as well as our normal task activities, whatever those may be. Figure this amount of calories using a calorie calculator. If you wish to lose weight you must do two things:
1. Lower this calorie intake.
2. Increase the amount of calories burned.
Weight loss tip #3:
A healthy, lasting weight loss occurs over time. One to two pounds per week is the recommendation to achieve this. A pound of fat equals roughly 3500 calories. Therefore, if your goal is to lose one pound per week, you must have a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day. If you are aiming for two pounds per week, then this deficit should be 1000 calories per day. If you determined that your calories per day to maintain your current weight are 2000 calories, then reduce your intake to 1750 per day and burn an additional 250 calories. This could be as simple as eating a half a sandwich for lunch instead of a whole sandwich and going for a brisk two mile walk. If you wish to achieve a two pound per week weight loss, don't lower your calories too drastically.
Weight loss tip #4:
Read food labels. Nobody wants to spend the rest of their lives counting the calories of everything they put in their mouths. In the beginning, understanding portion sizes and caloric amounts is crucial, but after awhile, you'll be able to ball park most of what you eat. You'll probably be surprised in the beginning as well. It hardly seems fair that a portion size of ice cream is a half a cup! As painful as it is, you need to know this so that when you think you're eating 350 calories of non-reduced fat ice cream, you'll understand that filling that cereal bowl with what you used to think was a portion is really more like 1000 calories. One slice of bread is a serving of bread and is usually around 100 calories. I started eating open-faced sandwiches when I figured that one out!
Weight loss tip #5:
Realize that what you are doing now is one of the most important things you could be doing for yourself! Healthy, lasting weight loss is a priceless reward for all your hard work. Patience is the key. Pay no attention to that co-worker that lost ten pounds last week on whatever fad diet she tried! In five to six weeks, I guarantee you, she'll have gained most of that back and you'll be reaping the rewards of your slow, steady weight loss. Not only that, but you'll have built up the tools and knowledge to keep the weight off for good!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Physical Fitness For Kids
A common notion is that physical fitness is something that concerns only adults. When years of job-related stress, of physical inactivity, and of careless and unhealthy diet have finally resulted into cardiovascular problems and obesity, that is when one should go on a fitness program. This has virtually relegated physical fitness to an activity that benefits only the mature age groups. A longer look at the conditions of kids today, however, will certainly change that.
Studies have shown how kids have become prone to obesity and even coronary diseases at such early ages. One culprit is the technological advance that has crept into the arena of children's games. Kids have become hooked to TV and computer games, online or not. They are not just increasing in number; they are also getting younger. As a consequence, they no longer see the need to go outdoors and play. For them, maximum enjoyment can only be realized by playing the latest version of a computer game for hours, taking short breaks only to munch on junk food.
The TV culture that has seized the attention of many kids has educated them a diet that depends much on fast-food fares and junk food. In the most brazen or sublime manner, it has mesmerized the kids into believing that the only delicious and nutritious foods are those advertised on TV. Unfortunately, if there is anything that these items can boast of, it is the abundance of grease, salt, or sugar.
Leaving the kids in a sedentary state while living on junk food will certainly be disastrous to their health. They should be introduced to physical fitness before they catch diabetes or hypertension, diseases once thought as exclusive to adults. The process can be difficult though. They just cannot be dragged away from the TV or computer nor can you just keep their hands off from ice cream and burgers. Alternatives that are just as enjoyable should be presented to them.
Even without mentioning physical fitness, the kids will still actively participate in activities that they take pleasure. Games that will develop their endurance, strength, and flexibility are sure-fire ways to burn the cholesterol they have absorbed from junk food. Just running in the playground, swinging through the monkey bars, or ball games are enjoyable enough for kids that they would not mind doing it for a couple of hours. Taking them outdoors and letting them play with friends of the same ages will also develop their ability to relate with others.
For kids to be able to cope up with adult life, they have to prepare for it early. That definitely includes building up their defenses from ailments related to weight problems. If, in their young age, they are taught how important physical fitness is, they will grow up conscious of what they eat and what they do in order to keep themselves fit. They will turn out to be confident and healthy individuals when they grow up.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Snow Day Fun! 2/12/10
The Byrd Family enjoys a snow day! Complete with snow ball fights, midget snow man, snow angels, snow ice cream and tug of war by the fire! What a day!Created on February 12, 2010 using FlipShare.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rQJcFBgpQs&hl=en
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rQJcFBgpQs&hl=en
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