The Best Diet for your Body Type in 5 easy steps

By Helen Laxton
Common sense (not to mention professional medical opinon!) suggests that a 'balanced' diet is best for almost everyone. By 'balanced', we mean that you strictly control your consumption of saturated fats and refined sugar, and be careful about how much protein you eat. Kind of makes the Atkins Diet look a little shaky, doesn't it? The Atkins Diet, and other 'crash' diets are a knee-jerk reaction to a disturbing Western diet phenomenon - in short, our diet is getting worse, and we are ALL getting fatter!

In most western countries (particularly the USA and Europe) most citizens consume too much saturated fat (generally, the rise of 'McBurgers' and other 'fast' foods is thought to be responsible for this). Likewise, we all eat too much refined sugar, which is a major component of most 'soft' drinks (or sodas) and is also found in horrendous quantities in refined white flour. The use of white flour in our bread has also contributed to a related problem - we tend to get too little fiber in our diets nowadays! Is fast food the culprit? Given that over half of every dollar spent on food in the USA is spent in fast food outlets nowadays, the answer is probably 'yes'.

Twenty years ago, an obese person would be the center of some attention - a medical problem might be suspected. Nowadays, almost 1 in 3 Americans is obese, as are 1 in 5 Brits. The problem has gone from being small, to being (literally!) large. And this has happened in a single generation. So how can we get back to diet basics?

Firstly, Balance that diet! Make sure you eat foods from ALL the major food groups.

Secondly, Keep the saturated fat and refined sugar intake LOW. Our bodies need fat and carbohydrates, but DON'T need saturated fat or refined sugar - we only eat them because they taste good!

Thirdly, stick with the 'good' carbohydrates. Good carbs include fresh vegetables, fruit and potatoes. Items like whole wheat bread, pasta, rice, oats, beans and whole grains are also excellent providers of the essential elements and energy our bodies need to function healthily. There is a reason why doctors advise us to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day - it keeps us healthy! (and even helps prevent cancers!).

Fourthly, you CAN eat fat in reduced amounts, but it must be 'good' fat. By this we mean monounsaturated or polyunsaturated food sources, and NOT animal fats, which 'clog' up arteries, and contribute more than anything else to heart disease. Fat of any kind is particularly heavy in calories (2 times the average of other foodstuffs), so you must keep the amount you eat right down if weight loss is the aim.

Fifthly, and this is a funny one, ALWAYS make a shopping list before you go out, and STICK TO IT! The number of 'impulse' purchases we all make would surprise you, and believe you meHealth Fitness Articles, these impulses are ALWAYS bad for the tummy!

Diet Program Review: Atkins

By Zach Bashore
The Atkins diet is a popular diet that emphasizes a high fat, high protein, and low carbohydrate approach. The diet promises that you will not be hungry, you will lose weight, and have better health and wellness benefits that are in no other diet. The Atkins diet is based on the opinion that overweight people consume too many carbohydrates and by reducing these carbs and eating more protein and fats, our bodies will burn fat more effectively.

The Atkins dieting plan allows you to eat foods that most dieters have only dreamed about eating. This diet allows you to eat eggs, meat, cheese, bacon, cheddar cheese omelets, and even steaks. However, you cannot eat carb rich foods on Atkins because of the effect it will have on fat`s digestion, making you fat. On Atkins, traditional carb sources such as white flour, white rice, sugar, and even milk must be avoided if the diet is to be done correctly. Atkins sets a "twenty grams of carbs daily" rule which can only come from fibrous rich food sources such as vegetables. As for short term weight loss results, the low-carb option is the way to go. Atkins is the perfect diet for people who favor the low carb method over any other diet. However, if one is looking for long term results and want to keep themselves sane by eating carbs, then Atkins should be avoided. Studies have shown that increased protein consumption without an adequate amount of carbs can cause severe kidney problems. Another problem with the Atkins diet is that an increased fat intake can lead to high cholesterol levels, leaving you with an increased risk of a heart attack There are so many different good/bad reviews for the Atkins diet that it is impossible to tell you if Atkins is right for you. My suggestion would be to give the diet a try and track how your body responds to a low-carb diet. Track how you feel, what you eat, how well you sleep, how your social life is improving or declining because of the diet. If you don`t like it, then simply switch to a diet more suited for you. Until next timeComputer Technology Articles, later!

http://www.cuy.net/atkins/

http://www.lowcarb.ca/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkins_diet

http://www.atkinsexposed.org/

http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/7/3220_136.htm

How Do I Diet

by Rob Cooper
The question How Do I diet can be answered in various ways depending on your goals or your desired outcome. You may want to know how to diet in order to lose 10 pounds in the next few weeks or months for some important event like a wedding, a graduation or to get ready for the beach. How do I diet should be answered, in my humble opinion, on the basis of health. The word diet is synonymous with starving oneself and I don’t advise you do that.

The question How Do I diet can be answered in various ways depending on your goals or your desired outcome. You may want to know how to diet in order to lose 10 pounds in the next few weeks or months for some important event like a wedding, a graduation or to get ready for the beach.

How do I diet should be answered, in my humble opinion, on the basis of health.

The word diet is synonymous with starving oneself and I dont advise you do that. In fact, what I recommend is to eat as healthy and as clean as possible and use the principle of substitution instead of starving yourself.

Your first priority should be to learn about health and nutrition and stop asking how do I diet. Ask yourself, what could I possibly not know about foods that are keeping me from my goal?

Youll want to learn about the Power of Protein, good carbohydrates, the importance of water in your diet and the power of your mind to achieve success. Youll want to learn about good fats to add to your diet to help you achieve your goals.

How do I diet should be thought of as how do I exercise. Exercise goes hand in hand with your goals of weight loss, if you've got 10 pounds to lose, or losing those last 10 pounds (or first 10 for that matter). Never ever consider dieting without the thought of exercise.

ok, so you want to know how to diet. Heres some thoughts from myself, a guy who dropped nearly 300 pounds of fat (so I should know a little bit about what Im talking about)

Learn about foods Learn all you can from a variety of sources and never consider any one thing as gospel. Continue to learn, apply what you learn and try new things. Experiment with food.

What do I recommend for a starting point?

Substitute water for pop.

Substitute Herbal teas for Coffee

Substitute a mid afternoon snack for your muffin, candy bar or other snacks - Make a small meal out of your mid afternoon munchies. Think lean chicken, some rice and a salad.

Begin eating breakfast - Have an egg white omelet with a small serving of oatmeal and some vegetables. Substitute conventional sugar laden cereals with whole grain oatmeal.

Begin eating fruit - Have no more than two pieces of fruit per day and have them on an empty stomach.

Begin exercising How do I diet? should be replaced with How do I do cardio?. Begin walking at least 20 minutes every day. Morning is best as it helps raise your metabolism early on in the day. Begin some sort of weight training routine to help you not only build muscle but also to help your body to maintain its lean muscle tissue when you change your diet. Muscle burns fat and cardio helps muscle be more efficient at burning fat.

Drink more water. Water is your life and the better your waterPsychology Articles, the better your life. Drink more and use it to replace other non nutritional beverages.