Five Weighty Mistakes That Many People Make & Advice For Shedding Pounds

1. You're Following Bad Advice

Sometimes the government goofs. In the late 1970s, the United States began advocating a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet. In the early 1970s, the average daily energy intake was 2,450 calories. By the year 2000, that number had risen to 2,618. Almost all of those extra calories came from carbohydrates, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Do this: Eat fewer carbs. People are overeating carbohydrates, not protein and fat. So if you want to lose fat, start by cutting back on carbs. After all, ask just about any nutritionist what the main purpose of carbohydrates is and they'll say "energy." Trouble is, most people are consuming more energy than they can burn.

Imagine that the carbs you eat go into a bucket. When the bucket is full, the carbs overflow and are converted to fat. This is how it works in your body. But by eating lower carbs most of the time, your bucket is always about half full -- even if you're not as active as you'd like to be. This not only keeps your body burning fat, but when you do eat lots of carbs -- as long as you consume them when your bucket isn't full -- they don't end up on your hips or belly.

Bonus tip: The best time to eat a high-carb meal -- even if it's high in sugar -- is right after a workout. After all, your "carb bucket" is lower than ever, since you've just burned up a bunch of calories with exercise.

2. You Eat Fat-Free Foods

Warning: Low-fat foods may make you fat. Cornell University researchers reported that when overweight men and women were told they were eating low-fat M&Ms, they consumed 47 percent more calories than those who were given regular M&Ms (the M&Ms were actually all the same). On average, low-fat foods contain 59 percent less fat, but only 15 percent fewer calories than full-fat products.

Do this: Go ahead and eat full-fat foods - for instance, cheese, sour cream, nuts and even a nice, marbled steak. They have slightly more calories than their lower-fat counterparts, but they'll help you feel full longer after you eat. And that'll reduce the number of calories you eat at your next meal.

Keep in mind that you won't store fat if you aren't eating too many total calories. Studies show that calorie-reduced diets containing upward of 60 percent fat are just as effective for weight loss as those in which fat provides only 20 percent of the calories (both approaches lower risk of heart disease). Plus, the high-fat dieters also report feeling less hungry and deprived. And just as important, they tend to automatically reduce their food intake so that they lose fat without counting calories.

3. You (Still) Don't Eat Breakfast

Sure, you've heard this one before. But it's important: Researchers at the University of Massachusetts found that people who don't eat breakfast are nearly five times more likely to be obese than those who make it an everyday habit.

That's because if you sleep for six to eight hours, and then skip breakfast, your body is running on fumes by the time you get to work. And that sends you desperately seeking sugar, which happens to be easy to find.

4. You're Eating Too Much Sugar

According to a USDA survey, an average American eats 82 grams of added sugar every day. That's almost 20 teaspoons, which contribute an empty 317 calories.

The researchers report that 91 percent of these added sugars can be attributed to intake of regular soda (33 percent), baked goods and breakfast cereals (23 percent), candy (16 percent), fruit drinks (10 percent) and sweetened milk products (9 percent) such as chocolate milk, ice cream and flavored yogurt.

What's not on the list? Meat, vegetables, whole fruit, and eggs, along with whole grain and dairy products that haven't been sweetened.

The bottom line: If you simply eliminate the added sugars from your diet, you're going to automatically weed out most of the junk food as well as empty calories. The result is a pretty decent whole food diet. And from there, you can tweak your diet even more -- by managing your "carb bucket" -- to speed your results.

Do this: Carefully read labels -- especially when it comes to cereal (a serving of Kellogg's Health Heart Smart Start packs as much sugar as a serving of Froot Loops). Or even better, trade your morning bowl for an omelet. St. Louis University scientists found that people who had eggs as part of their breakfast eat fewer calories the rest of the day than those who ate bagels instead. Even though both breakfasts contained the same number of calories, the egg eaters consumed 264 fewer calories for the entire day.

5. You Don't Lift Weights

In a study at Ball State University, scientists put overweight men on a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet, and divided them into three groups -- one that didn't exercise, another that performed aerobic exercise three days a week, and a third that did both aerobic exercise and weight training.

Each group lost almost the same amount of weight -- about 21 pounds. But the lifters shed 5 more pounds of fat than those who didn't pump iron. Why? Their 21-pound weight loss was almost pure fat, while the other two groups lost just 15 pounds of lard, along with several pounds of muscle.

Do this: Make three total-body weight training sessions a week a non-negotiable part of your weight-loss plan. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that lost muscle is replaced by fat over time. This not only makes you look flabby, but it also increases your pants size -- even if you somehow manage to keep your scale-weight the same. The reason: each pound of fat takes up 18 percent more space on your body than each pound of muscle.

Sugar-Free Blackberry Shortcake

The Shortcake:
4 eggs, separated
4 ounces of cream cheese
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp thickenthin/not starch
1/2 packet SteviaPlus, or 1 packet Splenda

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

If using a pan, grease. If using non-stick, make sure pans are clean and ready to go.

In one mixing bowl, separate egg whites from yolks. Add cream of tartar to whites and whip until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.

In another bowl, combine yolks, cream cheese, 1/2 packet of Stevia (or 1 packet Splenda). Mix until smooth. Add thickenthin/not starch. Let rest 3-5 minutes, or until mixture thickens slightly.

Carefully add half of the yolk mixture to the whites. With a tall, slender spoon, make a lazy S through the mixture one. Turn bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Repeat with other half of the yolk batter.

With a large spoon, evenly distribute batter between 8 small cake pans* or into 8 piles on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Let pans rest for 5 minutes on a rack, and once the small cakes have shrunken from the sides slightly, carefully nudge from the pans very gently. I use a spoon (careful not to scratch your non-stick surface!) Do not allow cakes to cool in the non-stick pans or they have a tendency to stick.
 
Fresh, Whipped Cream
1 cup fresh whipping cream
1/2 packet SteviaPlus, or 1 packet Splenda

In a mixing bowl, combine whipping cream and sweetener. Using a mixer on high speed, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form, about 3-5 minutes. Refrigerate remaining whipped cream (but should be used as it is whipped for best results).


To assemble the shortcakes:
Place a cake layer on a plate. Top with whipped cream. Carefully press down the next layer. Add more whipped cream, and top with a few, plump blackberries.
Makes 4, 2-layer shortcakes

Nutritional Information per 2-layer shortcake: Calories: 405, Carbohydrates: 7g, Fiber: 1.5 g, Net Carbohydrates: 5.5 g, Protein: 6.5 g,  Fat: 25g

Guiltless Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries (Sugar & Dairy Free)

1 pint of strawberries
4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
1-4 tablespoons raw honey (see note above)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon high quality coconut oil
Dash of sea salt

1-Gently wash and dry strawberries. Set aside.

2-Chop chocolate up into small chunks. Place a few inches of water into the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a low simmer. (if you don’t have one, like me, then create your own by using a pot with a heat proof bowl that rests on top of it. The bowl should never touch the water).

3-Place the chopped chocolate and the rest of the ingredients in the top part of the double boiler (or in my case, my heat proof bowl). Using a heat proof spatula or spoon, stir everything together just a bit, and then place over the simmering water. Continue to stir while everything melts, and take off when there are just a few pieces of chocolate left to melt. Make sure you don’t burn the chocolate!

4-Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take your washed and dried strawberries, and holding their stems, dip into the chocolate. Tips: If the chocolate rolls off the strawberries too quickly, let it cool and thicken a few minutes. If it starts to get too thick to dip, then place over simmering water to melt again. Place the dipped strawberry onto the baking sheet and continue the process until all of the strawberries are dipped. Leave at room temperature in a cool house or place in the refrigerator to solidify for a few hours and enjoy! Eat within 24 hours or less.

Do You Know What Healthy Portion Sizes Are?

In order to eat a healthy diet, you need to understand how big a serving really is. For instance, a tasty looking hamburger club sandwich with a large side of fries looks like an average meal. However, there is enough ground beef to qualify as at least two servings, plus one serving of bacon. The lettuce and tomatoes are great, but the bread counts as three servings. One serving of potatoes should equal about one half a cup, so there are about four servings of a starchy vegetable there.

According to the USDA, one serving of meat is equal to two or three ounces, which is about the size of a deck of cards. The USDA Food Pyramid suggests two or three servings of meat per day. This meal would satisfy that requirement all alone. Can you believe that? The potatoes, lettuce, and tomato would total about five servings of vegetables and the USDA Food Pyramid suggests a total of three to five per day. Again, this meal covers all the servings of vegetables you should have for one day.

It is also important to note that a meal like this may have up to 1500 calories. Unless you are VERY active, that would be way too many calories for one meal.

Determining Healthy Portion SizeAccording to the USDA Food Pyramid:
A serving of meat is about two or three ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards. Serving sizes for other proteins would be two tablespoons of nut butters, two eggs, and one third cup of dry beans.

A serving of bread is equal to one slice of white or whole grain bread, one ounce of prepared cereal, or just one half cup of pasta, or rice.

A serving of fruit or vegetable is equal to one piece, one half a cup of chopped fruit or vegetable, or three-fourths cup of 100% juice.

A serving of dairy is equal to one cup of milk or one and one half ounces of cheese.If you really can't picture these serving sizes, then you might wish to purchase a kitchen scale to help you. It is amazing how much we overeat.

100 grams of meat is equivalent to 3 ½ ounces. Anything more than that, and you are putting in more than your body will be able to burn.

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

Food Additives to Avoid

Food Additives to Avoid

There are over 14,000 man-made chemicals added to our American food supply today. Food additives are not natural nutrition for humans or their pets. Children are suffering the most from food additives because they are exposed to food chemicals from infancy, and human bodies were not meant to be exposed to the degree of chemicals and food additives that we are currently.

It is important for everyone to be aware of the types of chemicals and food additives they are consuming. I have selected merely a few chemical food additives listed below as examples, but recommend you use the internet resources to research the myriad of chemicals and food additives inundating our modern food supply.

CSPI REPORTS Food Additives to Avoid (listed alphabetically)

Acesulfame K

Known commercially as Sunette or Sweet One, acesulfame is a sugar substitute sold in packet or tablet form, in chewing gum, dry mixes for beverages, instant coffee and tea, gelatin desserts, puddings and non-dairy creamers. Tests show that the additive causes cancer in animals, which means it may increase cancer in humans. Avoid acesulfame K and products containing it. Your sweet tooth isn't worth it.

Artificial colorings

The great bulk of artificial colorings used in food are synthetic dyes. For decades synthetic food dyes have been suspected of being toxic or carcinogenic and many have been banned. Whenever possible, choose foods without dyes. They're mostly used in foods of questionable nutritional worth anyway. Natural ingredients should provide all the color your food needs.

Aspartame

This sugar substitute, sold commercially as Equal and NutraSweet, was hailed as the savior for dieters who for decades had put up with saccharine's unpleasant after taste. There are quite a few problems with aspartame. The first is phenylketonuria (PKU). One out of 20,000 babies is born without the ability to metabolize phenylalanine, one of the two amino acids in aspartame. Toxic levels of this substance in the blood can result in mental retardation. Beyond PKU several scientists believe that aspartame might cause altered brain function and behavior changes in consumers. And many people (though a minuscule fraction) have reported dizziness, headaches, epileptic-like seizures, and menstrual problems after ingesting aspartame.
Avoid aspartame if you are pregnant, suffer from PKU, or think that you experience side affects from using it. If you consume more than a couple of servings a day consider cutting back. And, to be on the safe side, don't give aspartame to infants.

BHA & BHT

These two closely related chemicals are added to oil-containing foods to prevent oxidation and retard rancidity. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, consider BHA to be possibly carcinogenic to humans, and the State of California has listed it as a carcinogen. Some studies show the same cancer causing possibilities for BHT.
BHT and BHA are totally unnecessary. To avoid them read the label. Because of the possibility that BHT and BHA might cause cancer, both should be phased out of our food supply. To play it safe, phase them out of your diet.

Caffeine

Caffeine is found naturally in tea, coffee, and cocoa. It is also added to many soft drinks. It is one of the few drugs -- a stimulant -- added to foods. Caffeine promotes stomach-acid secretion (possibly increasing the symptoms of peptic ulcers), temporarily raises blood pressure, and dialates some blood vessels while constricting others. Excessive caffeine intake results in "caffeinism," with symptoms ranging from nervousness to insomnia. These problems also affect children who drink between 2 to 7 cans of soda a day. Caffeine may also interfere with reproduction and affect developing fetuses. Experiments on lab animals link caffeine to birth defects such as cleft palates, missing fingers and toes, and skull malformations.
Caffeine is mildly addictive, which is why some people experience headaches when they stop drinking it. While small amounts of caffeine don't pose a problem for everyone, avoid it if you are trying to become or are pregnant. And try to keep caffeine out of you child's diet.
Note: Caffeine can be ingested in cases of severe migraine headaches to quickly relieve pain due to its dilating effects.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Early in this century a Japanese chemist identified MSG as the substance in certain seasonings that added to the flavor of protein-containing foods. Unfortunately, too much MSG can lead to headaches, tightness in the chest, and a burning sensation in the forearms an the back of the neck. If you think you are sensitive to MSG, look at ingredient listings. Also, avoid hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP, which may contain MSG.

Nitrite and Nitrate

Sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate are two closely related chemicals used for centuries to preserve meat. While nitrate itself is harmless, it is readily converted to nitrite. When nitrite combines with compounds called secondary amines, it forms nitrosamines, extremely powerful cancer-causing chemicals. The chemical reaction occurs most readily at the high temperatures of frying. Nitrite has long been suspected as being a cause of stomach cancer. Look for nitrite-free processed meats -- some of which are frozen, refrigeration reduces the need for nitrites -- at some health food and grocery stores. But regardless of the presence of nitrite or nitrosamines, the high-fat, high-sodium content of most processed meats should be enough to discourage you from choosing them. And don't cook with bacon drippings.

Olestra

Olestra, the fake fat recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is both dangerous and unnecessary. Olestra was approved over the objection of dozens of leading scientists.
The additive may be fat-free but it has a fatal side-effect: it attaches to valuable nutrients and flushes them out of the body. Some of these nutrients -- called carotenoids -- appear to protect us from such diseases as lung cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, and macular degeneration. The Harvard School of Public Health states that "the long-term consumption of olestra snack foods might therefore result in several thousand unnecessary deaths each year from lung and ,prostate cancers and heart disease, and hundreds of additional cases of blindness in the elderly due to macular degeneration. Besides contributing to disease, olestra causes diarrhea and other serious gastrointestinal problems, even at low doses."
FDA certified olestra despite the fact that there are safe low-fat snacks already on the market. There is no evidence to show that olestra will have any significant effect on reducing obesity in America.
Despite being approved as safe by the FDA, all snacks containing olestra must carry a warning label (similar to one found on cigarettes) that states:
This Product Contains Olestra. Olestra may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. Olestra inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Vitamins A, D, E, and K have been added.
CSPI advises consumers to avoid all olestra foods, and urges major food manufacturers not to make olestra-containing products.

Potassium Bromate

This additive has long been used to increase the volume of bread and to produce bread with a fine crumb (the non-crust part of bread) structure. Most bromate rapidly breaks down to form innocuous bromide. However, bromate itself causes cancer in animals. The tiny amounts of bromate that may remain in bread pose a small risk to consumers. Bromate has been banned virtually worldwide except in Japan and the United States. It is rarely used in California because a cancer warning is required on the label.

Sulfites

Sulfites are a class of chemicals that can keep cut fruits and vegetables looking fresh. They also prevent discoloration in apricots, raisins, and other dried fruits; control "black spot" in freshly caught shrimp; and prevent discoloration, bacterial growth, and fermentation in wine. Until the early 80's they were considered safe, but CSPI found six scientific studies proving that sulfites could provoke sometimes severe allergic reactions. CSPI and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified at least a dozen fatalities linked to sulfites. All of the deaths occurred among asthmatics. In 1985 Congress finally forced FDA to ban sulfites from most fruits and vegetables. Especially if you have asthma, be sure to consider whether your attacks might be related to sulfites. The ban does not cover fresh-cut potatoes, dried fruits, and wine.

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/food.htm

What Are the Benefits of Juice Plus?

Juice Plus products include pills, chewable supplements and drink mixes, with each intended to be supplements that offer benefits similar to those you'd obtain through eating fruits and vegetables. According to the official website for Juice Plus, these products contain nutrients from 17 distinct grains, fruits and vegetables. Some of the foods included in Juice Plus products are blueberries, grapes, raspberries, some of which are the "most powerful and healthful antioxidants" available, according to Juice Plus. Although Juice Plus products are nutrient-rich, you should note that supplements are not intended to replace a healthy diet.

Reduced Cholesterol

According to the official website for Juice Plus, one of the major ingredients in Juice Plus supplements is oat bran, which provides dietary fiber. The Mayo Clinic notes that dietary fiber from sources such as oat bran and oats may help to reduce cholesterol levels. Specifically, the clinic explains that fiber may reduce levels of LDL, or bad, cholesterol, rather than HDL, or good, cholesterol.

 

Appetite Control

Although not calorie-dense, some of the ingredients in Juice Plus products may help to reduce your appetite. The Mayo Clinic explains that fiber, such as that contributed by the oat bran in Juice Plus, may help to increase feelings of fullness. The Mayo Clinic also explains that fiber helps to slow the absorption of sugar, which keeps blood sugar levels stable. Rapid swings in blood sugar may cause you to feel lethargic and hungry after an initial energy surge.

 

Strengthened Immune System

According to the official website of Juice Plus, several of the ingredients in these products -- including Acerola cherry, orange, peach, pineapple and broccoli -- contain vitamin C. Vitamin C offers a number of benefits, and the University of Maryland Medical Center suggests that one of the most significant effects is the promotion of a healthy immune system. However, the center explains that this does not necessarily guarantee you will have a reduced risk of illness.

Improved Circulation

According to the official website of Juice Plus, several ingredients, such as beet, kale, parsley and spinach, contain folate. According to the online nutrition resource World's Healthiest Foods, folate provides a number of benefits, including improved circulation. World's Healthiest Foods explains that folate prevents the build-up of homocysteine, which supports healthy circulation. The Mayo Clinic also suggests that fiber may reduce blood pressure, which has positive benefits for circulation.

Where do I get Juice Plus?  http://www.preventioniskey.com/

My Juice Plus Representative: Tricia Nelson

360-403-9013  | Mobile:425-501-6667  trishjphealth@mac.com

SOURCE: http://www.livestrong.com/article/299826-what-are-the-benefits-of-juice-plus/#ixzz1BkD83mM0

Big Changes Underway

Walmart has announced an extensive five-year plan to make its food healthier and more affordable. Let's hope the rest follow suit. In the end, it's still up to us to learn how to read food labels and start with learning the serving size before looking at the rest of the numbers.

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/20/walmart-pledges-to-make-food-healthier-more-affordable/