Staying Healthy on a Low Carbohydrate Diet

Written by Marjorie Geiser


Continued from page 1

The next recommendation to ensure good health is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Although fruits and most vegetables are restricted inrepparttar initial phase of some low carbohydrate diets, they are then allowed back in limited amounts. The phytonutrients that come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables have been shown to decrease blood pressure, as well as protect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. It’s easy to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, once you get inrepparttar 115243 habit. Examples are; add some berries to breakfast, eat a tomato at lunch, include broccoli with dinner, drink some vegetable juice with snacks, and have a large salad with your meal.

The final tip to ensure good health is to eat a diet of whole foods, rather than fall back onrepparttar 115244 ‘easy’ snack, convenience foods of today. If American’s had just cut down their amount of fat intake inrepparttar 115245 80’s, without finding new ways to snack, we may not be seeingrepparttar 115246 epidemic of obesity we see, today. When people started going onrepparttar 115247 low carbohydrate diets, they eliminated a large number of calories by eliminating snacking, especially at night, where common snacks are chips, crackers, and other high fat, high refined carbohydrate foods, such as ice cream. Today, though, much like inrepparttar 115248 80’s, manufacturers are now developing ‘low carb’ and ‘low net carb’ snack foods. We can now find ‘low net carb’ chips, crackers, ice cream, popcorn, even low carb pizza! As Americans start to increase their intake of these foods, we will soon see a slowing ofrepparttar 115249 weight loss many had seen initially. In order to call themselves a ‘low net carb’ food, manufacturers subtractrepparttar 115250 fiber and sugar alcohols fromrepparttar 115251 total carbohydrates inrepparttar 115252 product, rather than produce products without carbohydrate. There is no actual FDA standard for what a “low net carb” food is, yet, though, so right now it’s anythingrepparttar 115253 manufacturer wants to say it is. These foods also are very high in fat and saturated fat, usually through hydrogenation. So, not only will calories be added back intorepparttar 115254 diet through resuming unhealthy snack habits, but they will be calories consisting of high amounts ofrepparttar 115255 unhealthy fats.

So, while following a low carbohydrate diet, in order to ensure continued good health, follow these three recommendations: 1) Make most fats you eatrepparttar 115256 healthy, plant fats, rather than eating a diet high in animal or hydrogenated fats, 2) Eat plenty of nutrient rich fruits and vegetables, which are high in disease-fighting antioxidants, and 3) eat mostly whole, fresh foods and very little processed snack foods, even if they say ‘low carb’, in order to avoid hidden and unnecessary fat and calories.

Marjorie Geiser has been teaching health, fitness and nutrition since 1982. She is a nutritionist, registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and life coach. As the owner of MEG Fitness, Marjorie’s goal for her clients is to help them incorporate healthy eating and fitness into their busy lives. You can learn more about Marjorie from her website, www.megfit.com, or contact her via email at margie@megfit.com.




Three Steps to Preparing Your Body for Summer

Written by Marjorie Geiser


Continued from page 1

The final important step to preparing for summer is to increase your intake of water. Sixty percent of our body is water. Studies have shown that a diet adequate in water helps with weight loss, helps moisten skin, decreases dryness, can help preventrepparttar development of wrinkles, keepsrepparttar 115242 hands and lips moist, can help fight heat exhaustion, and even has shown to decrease bladder cancer in men. Although there is a lot of debate over just how much water each of us needs, a good individual rule of thumb is to drink enough water so that your urine is clear byrepparttar 115243 afternoon. Worry about staying up all night going torepparttar 115244 bathroom? Then drink most of your water inrepparttar 115245 first half ofrepparttar 115246 day. Don’t like water? Then experiment with various temperatures of plain water, or add a slice of lemon or orange to your water. Perhaps you can find a flavored (not sweetened) water. Even eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and getting plenty of other fluids can be adequate for some, because these foods and other fluids also provide free water forrepparttar 115247 body’s needs.

Now isrepparttar 115248 time to start getting ready for summer! It’s not too late. If you start on these steps now, you’ll be well on your way to feeling great, looking great, and be prepared for a new you this summer, strutting your stuff in those brand new shorts that are sitting in your closet.

Marjorie Geiser has been teaching health, fitness and nutrition since 1982. She is a nutritionist, registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and life coach. As the owner of MEG Fitness, Marjorie’s goal for her clients is to help them incorporate healthy eating and fitness into their busy lives. You can learn more about Marjorie from her website, www.megfit.com, or contact her via email at margie@megfit.com.


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