Understanding the Maze of Healthy Fats Vs Bad Fat

By Jackie Reid

People hear the word fat and they think bad for your health. This happened because there was so much conflicting information that if you were not a nutritionist you could not understand the meaning of what is fat. And with this confusion most people just decided to cut all fat from their diet.

Some have even gone as far as to say not even low-fat; they just want a diet of no fat period. But is having a diet of no fat really healthy? What is the real meaning or importance of having fat in your diet? Well let us take a closer look at the fat issue and see if all fats are the same.
A closer look at fats reveals that there are some fat that we really need to eliminate from our diet. These are the fats that you just should really just cut from your diet altogether. These fats are called saturated fats.

Saturated fats are most found in meat and high dense dairy products. This simple means that if you are going to be eating meat you should be looking for the leaner cuts, without all the fat. When eating dairy you want to choose low fat dairy products to loser your intake of saturated fat. Another bad fat that you should be avoiding are trans fat.
Trans fat largely found in some margarines, cakes and fried foods such as chips. Almost most baked product that is store bought will have some amount of trans fat in them. So when shopping you have to practice to read labels. Both saturated fat and trans fat have the propensity to raise your cholesterol level and clog your arteries.

These fats are a dieter worst nightmare. You want to avoid these foods that may contain these fats because these will definitely load on the pounds. But not because these fats are bad does not mean that all fat is bad. The good fast that you should be consuming is unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats can be found in fish such as salmon and tuna just to name a few. Another source of unsaturated fat is plants, these fats are essential for your health.

Even though you might hear the term fat, remember that there is good fat and bad fat. And even though you might be tempted to avoid fats you have to understand that the bad fats should be avoided but the good fat are needed to ensure that you maintain good health. With this in mind, try to start adding more fish to your diet that way you will ensure that you are getting the good fats and staying away from the horrible fats.

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Jack!e Reid is an expert in weight loss management and fitness advice. She focuses on innovative and unique techniques to losing weight and who has been successful in using these techniques to keeping the weight off. For a limited time, you can claim " A breakthrough in Weight Loss Secrets" e-book absolutely free at Get my free copy now! Get your FREE copy now at http://www.FatLossSecretsReveal.com
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Easy Fat Loss Nutrition Tip

By Ed Scow

Everybody wants to lose fat. No matter if you're 10 pounds overweight or 200, it's on everybody's mind.
If it weren't there wouldn't be new infomercials popping up on television every week trying to scam you into buying their cheap piece of plastic or fad diet book.
The truth is...the truth that the fat loss television marketers and diet makers don't want you to know is that it's pretty simple to lose fat. All you have to do is start making minor tweaks to your nutrition right now and I guarantee you'll see results within a week.
I'll give you a very easy tip to follow right now.

Eat more fiber.
If you follow this one nutrition tip, you will lose fat. It's impossible to not lose fat if you consume more fiber.
Why? Well first of all the foods that are loaded with fiber are generally low in calories, which means you'll consume fewer calories, which means you'll lose fat. Foods such as vegetables, beans and whole grains are loaded with fiber and generally low in calories per serving.
Some fruit is even packed with fiber. In fact, a medium sized apple has about 4-5 grams of fiber. Have two of those per day and that's almost half of your daily fiber goal right there.

Another reason it's impossible not to lose fat while consuming more fiber is that fiber acts as a "bulker" in your stomach, which means it'll make you feel full faster. If you were to think about that last statement, you'd realize that fiber is in fact nature's appetite suppressant!
The supplement manufacturers have been trying for years to get you to buy their pills that they say act as an appetite suppressant. They say they have these magic compounds or magic herbs that trick your brain into believing you're full.

Well surprise surprise, nature has had its own appetite suppressant all along and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the bottles they were trying to sell you.
So if you feel full faster, you won't eat as much right? Which means you won't eat as much right? Which means you'll lose fat right? Bingo!

Start today. Go to the grocery store this evening and stock up on fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and some whole grains. Vegetables like romaine lettuce and spinach for salads, broccoli, etc. Fruits like apples and pears. Grab some almonds, black beans, white beans and whole grain bread and you are good to go.

Another reason adding more fiber will help you lose weight is that by doing so, you're most likely going to be replacing some junky snack food for your healthy fiber-rich food. Doing so will obviously help you lose fat. It really is that simple.

Just do everybody a favor and don't try to go from 0 fiber to lots of fiber in a couple days. Your stomach will revolt and your friends and family won't want to come near you. Hopefully you know what I mean.

Start small by adding 1 fruit and/or vegetable to your daily eating plan and build from there.
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4 Tips For Eating Mindfully

By Lynn Grieger

Which of these best describes your typical meal:
1. You eat standing up, working at your desk, or while running around the kitchen trying to make sure everyone else has everything they need. Mealtime is stressful, hectic, and not a lot of fun.

2. You eat at a beautifully set table, have plenty of time to enjoy your meal and the company of the people you're eating with, and savor both the taste and atmosphere of mealtime.

If you're like me, #1 is your typical meal, and #2 happens only when the stars align, there's no full moon, you're on vacation, and your kids are off at camp. But it doesn't have to be this way! Eating mindfully, more like scenario #2, can actually help us lose weight because we're paying more attention to what and why we're eating. What is mindful eating?

Mindful eating, according to The Center for Mindful Eating (TCME) at www.tcme.org, is choosing to eat food that is pleasing, nourishing, and involves all your senses. That counts out going through the fast food drive-through with a car full of smelly, sweaty soccer players!

Mindful eating also acknowledges our individual feelings about food, both positive and negative. I have really good memories of picking, cleaning, and eating fresh strawberries with my family that I remember with a smile every time fresh strawberry season rolls around. The memories, and the act of savoring those memories, make eating strawberries a delight.

The 4 steps to achieving mindful eating:
If you want to make mealtime more than a 5-minute race to down something half-way nutritious, start by working on these four steps suggested by TCME.
1. Become aware of what's going on while you're eating. Use all of your senses, and really pay attention to the smells, sounds, sights, and texture of your food and your surroundings. Many of us can't remember anything about what we ate yesterday, and trying to conjure up the smells and sounds that went along with the meals is more than we can handle. Yet if we start to pay attention to our meals, we'll be able to figure out what works - and what doesn't.

2. Think about why you're eating these particular foods. What led you to ordering these foods, preparing this particular meal, or choosing one restaurant over another? The reasons why aren't as important as identifying the choice behind the reasons.

3. Next, start to focus in on choice. Why did I choose these foods, this location, even this time of day to eat? What's going on physically, mentally, and emotionally that led me to these choices? Try to reflect objectively on what's going on; this is not the time to berate yourself for forgetting to pack lunch and relying on the vending machine!

4. Finally, start to become aware of how the choices you make about meals and foods help or harm you. Is anyone else affected by these choices? In my case, I'm the one who purchases and prepares the food for my family, so my choices affect not only myself, but also my husband and kids. Extend that out to where choosing organic foods helps protect the Earth, and opting to shop from the local farmer's market positively impacts my neighbors who produce these foods.

Take it one step at a time
There's no set time frame for learning to eat mindfully. Work at a pace that makes the most sense to you. Perhaps start with just one meal, or pick one day of the week to practice just one of these steps. Start with step one, and after you've mastered it, move on to step two. Eating mindfully not only can help you enjoy meals more, it can also lead to weight loss and healthier eating habits.
Lynn Grieger, RD, CDE, cPT is a health, food and fitness coach at http://www.LynnGrieger.com
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Stop That Random Eating!

By Carol Stanley

Stop that random eating! This careless eating is what is making many of us over-weight and unhealthy. I do not mean "stop eating" but think before you eat. Plan your splurges. When you see that plate of cookies, doughnuts, samples in grocery stores just say NO! During the holidays this is a major problem. There is food everywhere. Give yourself two splurges a week and plan them out. Be sure it is something you really love.

Keep your home sugar free and fat free. Sound difficult? It is not at all. If your house is lacking in sugary drinks, potato chips or chocolate chip cookies you will more than likely forego your craving. It is far too much work to go to the store. Sugar is addictive. Have it one day and you want it the next day. When your house has healthy snacks such as cut up veggies with low fat dip, fruit cut up and raw nuts, you will reach for them. Another thing is when these snacks are ready to eat you will be more likely to help yourself. Unfortunately as we get older the pounds graciously attack our waists, thighs and other unwanted places. The metabolism slows down even with planned exercise. Your weapon is to make wise choices when you are able.

When going into a restaurant decide whether or not it is a splurge night. How does the bread look? Is it just average? Is it crusty and hot? Is it worth the calories? This may seem like a lot of work, but your choices at these times will help keep your trim and healthy.
Baking is another downfall. Unless you love the activity and can avoid tasting (generously) avoid it!! Actually as good as pastries are we do not need them for good health.
Food is fuel for life and energy. Think of that whenever you are tempted to indulge in something with a million calories.

My rules to live by:

1. Eat only what you love

2. Eat only when you are hungry

3. Stop before you are full

4. Never random eat

5. Plan your splurges ahead

Follow these simple rules and your energy and your body will thank you.
my book "For Kids 59.99 and Over"
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Antioxidants - What Are Antioxidants and the Benefits of Antioxidant Fruits & Supplements

By Hope Pope

I am sure you have heard the word "antioxidants" many times. You probably know from the news and articles that you have read that fruits and vegetables have high levels of antioxidants but trying to understand what antioxidants actually are can be very confusing. Well, here it is going to be explained quite simply.

In order to explain what antioxidants are, you need to understand that your body is made of trillions of different cells. Each organ in your body (for example, the heart, the brain, the liver, etc.) is made up of many different cells.

As we get older, cells in our bodies can get damaged by many different things. For instance, pollution can damage our cells... poor diets can damage our cells... poor water can damage our cells... smoking (as well as second hand smoke can damage our cells.), etc. Depending on the extent of the damage, different organs (remember, each organ is made up of many cells) can get damaged. Once they get damaged too much, it leads to problems such as heart disease, liver problems, cancer, alzheimers, etc.

Antioxidants help repair damaged cells in our bodies and antioxidants also help prevent our healthy cells from getting damaged. Hopefully, if we take enough antioxidants when we are younger, we can prevent ourselves from getting problems such as heart disease, liver problems and cancer.
So it is definitely good to try to prevent your cells from getting damaged. You can start this at any age.

Antioxidants can be found in our foods as well as in different supplements.
The fruits with the most antioxidants in them are any kind of berries... blueberries, strawberries, etc. Dark green vegetables also contain a lot of antioxidants such as spinach and kale.
Some good supplements that contain high levels of antioxidants are green tea extract, grape seed extract and turmeric curcumin.

Visit http://www.provennaturalcures.com for more information on natural cures.
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What Are the Most Important Things in a Nutrition Program?

By Jason Szova

Nutrition program can be defined as a process of taking in or consuming healthy and growth supporting food. With the changing lifestyle in urban areas every other person is surrounded with junk food or fast food temptation, but none of those unfit food stuff works the way a balanced diet does.

A good or balanced nutrition for healthy living is a benefit for every age type, especially for those spending hours in gym or other physical activities. It is a well known fact that nutritional diet intake is full of benefits for every category of people and supports growth in teenagers and kids, while helping in maintaining healthy and fit body in adults.

Before going to nutrition filled food and the important things in a nutrition program, you need to understand that nutrition does not only mean having lots of protein through the day or throwing calories away from your life or to skip a meal or to eat less. Nutrition or nutrition program is a process where a complete combination of all the nutrients should be present in day to day diet i.e. you can not just skip carbohydrates or fat from your food intake.

Mostly people involved in workouts tend to suffer from weakness and late post-workout recovery due to incomplete nutrition intake. You may be having protein supplements, but your body will still be lacking in nutrition for the absence of other vital ingredients of a perfect nutrition program. A human body needs a well balanced combination of the three main ingredients of a nutrition program .i.e. protein, carbohydrate and fat. Along with these three main components, a nutrition program also consists of vitamins, minerals and adequate amount of water intake.

A good nutrition program consist of vital steps or things to be taken care of, as it helps to ensure that the body is getting complete nutrition and does not lacks in any of the key ingredient. But, there are also things not to be done to balance and succeed in your nutritional intake. These 'not to do' things say - do not begin a nutrition program without a physical activity like exercising or cycling or brisk walking, do not skip your meals (breakfast or lunch or dinner), do not depend only on supplements and substitutes for losing weight or gaining muscle strength and do not skip or minus any of the three main ingredients mentioned.

Another big mistake people tend to make in the name of nutrition intake or nutritious diet is by eating less or staying on fast through the day (with nothing but fruits intake). Often, eating less or nothing works towards slowing down or destroying the metabolism of a body.

Some of the most important things in a complete nutrition program are small but 5-6 meals per day, little bit of everything, management of calories to a level or intake of good fat, lost of water intake through a day, addition of fiber rich food and inclusion of vegetables and fruits in daily intake.

Experts believe that for a good healthy and nutritional intake one need to eat more than 3 meals per day. These meals should be 5 to 6 in number and less in quantity; also these small meals should consist of a balanced ratio of all the vital ingredients. This step of a nutrition programs helps to put an end to extra hunger or need for food and puts an end to starvation, also this helps to boost up the body metabolism and supports digestion system too. Next step comes as a balanced ratio of all the ingredients or little bit of everything i.e. to manage your 5-6 meals with lots of protein, required amount of carbohydrates, 20 to 25 % of fat per day and desired amount of vitamins and minerals.

People in general are always afraid of fat intake and tend to shift towards fat free or low fat food products, but truth is that fat has its own vital role in a nutrition diet. Fat is required for providing energy, stamina and oil to the bones, muscles, tissues and cells in the body. Fat intake to a desired level (specially the essential fat or the good fat) is compulsory for not just those indulged in muscle building, but is also equally important for rowing children and ageing adults for lubrication of joints. There are three types of fats present in food, such as saturate fat, polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Out of these three types, monounsaturated fats are the essential and good fats required by a body for growth, strong joints and bones, building of stamina and for maintaining a decent level of cholesterol in the body. It also is said to have good 'antioxidant' characteristics. Olive oil, canola oil and fish oil are some of the sources of monounsaturated fats; also this type of fat is present in both kinds of products (plant and animal).

Objective of a nutritious diet is not just to provide health and growth to a body, but to maintain its vital function like metabolism and digestion. Adequate intake of water in a day works towards helping the body in performing these functions successfully. Water does not just prevent a body from dehydrating, but also act as a cleanser for body toxins. Water is needed in a body to support the breakdown of valuable ingredients within the body.

Lastly, a balanced or perfect nutrition program can never exit without the intake of right amount of valuable fiber rich products like fruits and vegetables. To maintain a fiber level within a body is important enough to not to be ignored. You can always eat lots of salad or fruits between your main meals to fill your body with vital fibers required for performing digestive functions and to maintain the nutrition level of the body. Some of the source for fiber rich fruits and vegetables are: apples, pears, oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, carrots, mushrooms and green beans.

Thus, a good nutritional diet program is essential to make your body perform its vital functions with an ease.

Copyright (c) 2008 Jason Szova
This article has been brought to you by Positive Body Real Results Magazine if you would like more free information on health fitness fat loss and bodybuilding please visit http://positivebody.com - http://totalbodytransformations.com
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Different Foods to Eat to Lose Weight

By Phil Hixon

In recent studies, researchers say that incorporating dairy products such as yogurt, cheese or drinking milk could promote weight-loss without actually cutting any amount of calories out of your current diet which makes them great foods to eat to lose weight. Mineral calcium, it is believed, actually burns fat stored in fat cells in your body. The studies also show that people that drink skim milk, or consume other types of dairy products lose anywhere from one to two pounds a month.

Also, a study at the University of Tennessee suggests calcium from these dairy products actually blocks the storing of fat cells. Moreover, a study in Quebec reported that consuming one-thousand milligrams of calcium each day raises HOL cholesterol, the good cholesterol and decreases the bad cholesterol (LOL cholesterol). Fat-free milk contains 220 milligrams of calcium and 80 calories per glass, which is the same as whole milk.

So, you know about things like milk; yogurt and cheese. However, consider other foods to eat to lose weight, things like spinach, tofu (and other soy products) and collard greens and non-fat or low-fat cottage cheese. Iso-flavones which are plant chemicals that break down fat are found in soy, making this an excellent choice to include in your diet. These iso-flavones are also known to reduce the possibility of heart disease and also lower your LOL cholesterol.

Along with incorporating more healthy products into your diet, lowering the overall fat intake within your diet will increase your chances of losing weight and keeping that weight off.

To see Phils video and sample diets of how Phil lost almost 30lbs in 30 days WITHOUT exercising visit foods to eat to lose weight
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