Archive for the ‘personalized diet plans’ Category

Is Your Diet Plan Something You Can Follow for the Long Term?

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

weight lifting programMost people want to follow a diet plan at some point so that they can lose weight and become their ideal weight, but most of them don’t work for the long-term. Why? Because most people don’t change their lifestyles; instead, they follow a “diet” for the short term, in hopes of losing weight. It almost never works, because it doesn’t translate into lifelong commitment. To find something that really works for you, you’ll need to be able to do “forever.” While a new diet plan can be exciting to start, if it’s not something you like and can stay with over the long term, that excitement is going to fade really quickly.

Here are five things you should look for in your diet plan so that you know it’s going to work for you.

1. You Really Enjoy It – Any good and long lasting diet plan is going to have healthy foods included — but you’re going to love them. If you’re excited about the food you get to eat and you’re satisfied with the amounts, this is probably something that’s going to stick around for a long, long time.

Don’t go for “fad” diets that are impossible to follow for long, in that you have to force yourself to follow it and don’t enjoy doing so. You can’t consistently be depriving yourself and expect to stay on track. You either need to change your own tastes, so that you like the foods on the diet, or you need to find a plan that incorporates those with you already like (easiest way).

2. The Main Environment You’re in Supports Your Choices – If you live in an environment that supports your food choices and your diet, it’s a lot easier to stay on it and not stray. For example, if you’ve decided to become a vegetarian, it’s going to be difficult (though certainly possible) to remain focused on excluding meat from your diet; at the very least, those people should be supportive of the fact that you are vegetarian and not constantly tempt you with meat.

If the others in your house don’t follow your eating plan and further, if they like to “junk it up” with junk foods, you’re much more likely to break with your plan. Creating a support network for yourself is going to make it easier to stay on your eating plan even if everyone around you doesn’t eat as you do.

3. You Find Your Diet Rewarding – People are creatures who like to be rewarded, and you’ll need to see regular benefits from your diet if you want to be able to continue without much struggle.

Of course, one possible benefit from this is losing weight, but you’ll also have to be truly enjoying your diet at the same time. It’s going to have to make you feel better or give you more energy, for example, so that you remain motivated to stay on it. Other benefits may include that you don’t just lose the weight, but also maintain it easily once you’ve lost enough weight, as well as having more energy, better physical health, and so on. If you want to continue on your diet uninterrupted, you’ll need to see benefit from it, regularly.

4. Your Plan Includes Physical Activity – In some form, every single day, you should be getting some type of exercise. If you’re looking to lose weight, this is going to make that happen faster, but it will also make you feel better and will also help you stay “with the program,” so to speak. In turn, that’ll help keep you motivated so that you continue with your progress.

5. Your Plan Includes Goals – Last (but not least), your plan should allow you to set goals so that you can continually achieve “the next thing.” These types of goals will also help keep you motivated as you continue and progress.

As one example, if you weigh 200 pounds now and you want to get down to 150, losing those 50 pounds can make your first goal, and then maintaining that weight can be the second goal you set. If you strive to stay on your plan and don’t go too far off, you’ll succeed, but if you go too far “off plan,” you’re not likely to maintain your weight loss once you’ve achieved it. Keeping the goal in mind that you want to stay at 150 pounds is going to help keep you there.

Every diet plan that works is doable, consistent, lets you eat what you enjoy, and contains activity as well that you like doing and makes you healthy. The goals within the plan are realistic (it doesn’t say, for example, that you can drop 10 pounds overnight). If the diet plan you’re on now is something you don’t enjoy and doesn’t contain all of the above elements, you may want to change plans. There’s a diet plan out there for you that’s going to work for you and keep you healthy and positive at the same time. As just a start, you can write something down as a plan for yourself that shows you what you can and cannot eat. You can start there, and then improve as you go.

Source: best diet plans


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The Basics Of A Safe Diet Plan For Your Heart

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Heart Healthy Diet PlanWith people more concerned about the massive public health problem of obesity than ever and an increasing awareness of the importance of cardiovascular health, it’s critical to educate yourself about living a healthier lifestyle.

Eating a heart-healthy diet is one of the best ways to prevent heart disease. A healthy, safe diet plan which takes your cardiovascular function into account along with regular exercise can go a long way towards good heart health.

Fruits and vegetables should be the mainstay of your diet. Eat a variety of fresh produce in order to give body what it needs to stay in good health. While it’s common knowledge that fruits and vegetables are good for your health, it’s just as important to eat a variety of these foods.

When you ensure that your diet includes a variety of different fresh vegetables and fruits, you give your body the nutrients and minerals it needs to support good cardiovascular function along with every other system in your body. Try to eat as large of a variety of vegetables and fruits as you can every day. Vegetables should make up about four fifths of this dietary intake, fruits the other fifth.

Another benefit of eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is that they are also rich in dietary fiber, which is one of the important components of any healthy and safe diet plan. Fiber helps keep your metabolism higher, improves digestion and is beneficial all around. A great diet plan for your heart should include ample amounts of fiber.

Other than vegetables, you can get the fiber you need from whole grains, beans and some fruits. Berries are a good source of fiber and also contain other nutrients which reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

You should choose fresh vegetables and fruits whenever possible since their nutritional content is far higher than frozen or canned versions. It’s OK to use frozen vegetables when necessary as long as they don’t contain added salt, sugar or preservatives. Canned vegetables (with the exception of beans) and fruits should be used sparingly, since they often contain very little of their original nutrients.

Limit your sodium intake; sodium tends to raise blood pressure, which puts strain on your heart. Sugar should also be kept to a minimum, since it can lead to weight gain and any excess weight you carry also forces your heart to work harder.

Choose lean proteins such as poultry, fish and lean cuts of beef and pork. Beans are also a good source of protein, as are eggs; however, egg yolks are high in cholesterol, so egg whites are a healthier choice.

Try to include fish in your safe diet plan two or three times weekly; most fish are excellent sources of Omega-3 fatty acids. However, you can also get these essential fatty acids from peanuts, almonds and other tree nuts as well as from flax seed. Omega-3 is widely believed to play a role in reducing the risk of heart disease.

Low fat dairy products can also be part of a great diet plan for your heart. These foods are high in protein and contain relatively healthy fats. You can also get these fats through monounsaturated vegetable oil, fish and nuts. These fats are the kind your body can use – and they’re a much healthier alternative to saturated fats and trans fats.

Any healthy and safe diet plan should include lots of water. Water is necessary for the proper functioning of every part of your body, including your heart. Drink at least six eight ounce glasses daily and preferably more, especially when exercising.

If you want the best results from a great diet plan for your heart, regular aerobic exercise has to be a part of it. Half an hour of aerobic exercise two or three times weekly is enough to start improving your cardiovascular health. Exercise is a great way to strengthen your body, tone muscles and keep your heart in great shape.

Source: safe and healthy diet plans


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