Let's face it; a REALISTIC, Healthy Diet Plan is hard to come by. I don't know about you but I have done the weight roller coaster over my adult life and about a year ago I decided to figure out what was wrong.

Traditional Diet's Only Work
If You Can Stick To Them

1) Weight Loss Takes Time If it took you 20 years to put the weight on you are NOT going to lose it overnight. I personally can't stand the lose 20 pounds in 3 days claims that are all over the internet. I believe in being honest about it. If you want to keep the weight off, weight loss will not happen instantly.

3) Eat lots of small meals. If you eat slow and stick to it for a few days you will be amazed at how little food it takes you to be full. This is hard to do but if you will carry healthy snacks (nuts & raisins, string cheese & summer sausage, tuna & wheat thins), with you and keep them in your car and at work you can do it. Eat OFTEN and don't allow yourself to get to the point of "I'M STARVING!" That's when we get into trouble. Try juicing between meals, Wheatgrass juice has many health benefits, like weightloss, cleansing and building the body's resistance.

4) Don't completely deprive yourself of your favorite foods. I pick 3 or 4 meals a week that I allow myself to eat whatever I want. Don't go crazy but have fun and enjoy yourself knowing that you will go back to eating right at the next meal. NOTE: Try not to put all these meals back to back. Spread them out throughout the week and you will not even feel like you are dieting. This is the secret to breaking through the weight loss plateaus. Your body can adjust very quickly so if you take away everything at once you will have nothing left to take away when your body adjusts. (I'm still hanging on to my Ice Cream & Beer. Just not at the same time.)

That's it. A healthy eating plan that you can stick to that won't leave you hungry all the time. All you have to do is change the way you look at weight loss. Remember we are trying to establish a healthy lifestyle that will keep you fit and going well into old age.

DIET Really Is A Four Letter Word!

Weight Loss Tips

Carbs

Just The Facts

Stay away from Simple Carbs. Simple Carbohydrates (simple sugars, honey, high fructose corn syrup, White Bread) are digested very quickly and will usually result in an energy crash. If you have not done some kind of physical activity around the time you ate them there is a very good chance that it will be converted to body fat.

Eat Complex Carbs. Complex Carbohydrates (Whole Grains, Vegetables, Fruits) take longer to digest and usually contain some fiber so you will feel full for a longer period of time. Complex carbs are also a good source of vitamins, minerals and other nutritious things. NOTE: Don't be misled by labels. Look for the words "Whole Grain" high on the ingredient list and also check fiber content. A serving of good whole grains should contain at least 3 grams of fiber.

OK, Now What?

Here are a few tips to help you know where to start.

1) No more potatoes Use brown rice, millet, or hulled barley instead.

2)Eat Lots Of Beans Good carbs, fiber and protein. What more could you ask for?

3) Use Whole Wheat Pastas Whole grain pastas can be kind of chewy so you might try the half whole grain half refined flour products at first to make the transition easier.

4) Eat Whole Grains in the morning! Try steel-cut or old-fashioned oats. If you like cold cereal make sure some form of "WHOLE" grain is the first ingredient listed.

5) Use Whole Grain Breads Again make sure some form of "WHOLE" grain is listed as the 1st ingredient.

See the lists below for some better choices when it comes to the types of fruits and vegetable you are including in your diet. NOTE: This list does not take into account the fiber content of these foods.

Choose Foods High On The Lists.

Vegetables - Carb content Low to High.

Sprouts (bean, alfalfa, etc.)
Greens – lettuces, spinach, collards, etc.
Herbs
Bok Choy
Celery
Radishes
Cabbage
Mushrooms
Avocado
Cucumbers
Asparagus
Green Beans and Wax Beans
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Peppers
Green Bell Peppers
Red Bell Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Summer Squash
Zuchinni
Scallions or green onions
Bamboo Shoots
Leeks
Brussels Sprouts
Snow Peas (pods)
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Artichokes
Fennel
Onions
Okra
Spaghetti Squash
Celery Root
Carrots
Turnip
Water Chestnuts
Pumpkin

AVOID THESE FOODS

Beets
Corn
Parsnips
Peas
Plantains
Potatoes (all forms)
Acorn and Butternut Squashes (Winter Squash)

Fruits - Carb content Low to High.

Raspberries
Blackberries
Cranberries
Strawberries
Casaba Melon
Papaya
Watermelon
Peaches
Nectarines
Blueberries
Cantaloupes
Honeydew Melons
Apples
Guavas
Apricots
Grapefruit
Plums
Oranges
Kiwifruit
Pears
Pineapple
Tangerines
Cherries
Grapes
Pomegranates
Mangos
Figs
Bananas
Dried Fruit

Fats

Weight Loss Tips Fats are an essential part of any healthy eating plan. Not only are fats the easiest and most efficient source of energy for your body but they also help make up the cell membrane which surrounds EVERY cell in your body. The cell membrane is responsible for transferring hormones and nutrients as well as the disposal of waste from within the cell. Fats are absolutely essential for your nerves to conduct electrical signals and they also help regulate your skin as well as blood clotting, inflammation and blood pressure. On top of all of this your body CANNOT process certain vitamins without fat.

All this being said Fats can also be very harmful if you are not careful about what kinds of fats you are eating. Fats play an important part in the formation of cholesterol in the body. Too much BAD cholesterol can form a plaque on the inside of artery walls which restricts the flow of blood and can lead to heart attacks, high blood pressure and strokes.

(Bad Cholesterol) LDL - Low-Density Lipoprotein

LDL helps build a plaque on arterial walls which restricts blood flow. Fats such as Saturated Fat (butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and 2 percent milk. coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (tropical oils), and cocoa butter) Trans-Fatty Acids-TFA (beef, pork, lamb and the butterfat in butter and milk, anything hydrogenated, margarine, shortening, cooking oils and the foods made from them) and dietary cholesterol can help raise LDL in your body.

(Good Cholesterol) HDL - High-Density Lipoprotein

High levels of HDL seem to protect against a heart attack. Low levels of HDL may also increase the risk of heart disease. Some experts also think HDL is responsible for removing excess cholesterol from the body as well as removing plaque from arterial walls. Polyunsaturated Fats (safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, and cottonseed) appear to raise HDL but some studies suggest they may help lower LDL cholesterol Monounsaturated Fats (olive oil, canola oil, and peanut oil) seem to be somewhat neutral in the big picture.

So What Do You Do?

1) Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole-grain, high-fiber foods, and fat-free and low-fat dairy.

2) Keep total fat intake between 25 and 35 percent of your calories. Most of your fats should come from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils.

3) Stay away from saturated fat in your diet.

4) Never use hydrogenated oils.

5) Use soft margarine instead of butter. Pick soft margarines (liquid or tubs) over harder sticks. Look for ”0 g trans fat” on the label.

6) Limit fried fast foods.

7) Stay away from french fries, doughnuts, cookies, crackers, muffins, pies and cakes. They are high in trans fat.

8) Stay away from commercially fried foods and baked goods made with shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Fiber

Put simply, Fiber is a carbohydrate that cannot be digested. Most Americans get less than half of the daily recommended amount of at least 25 grams a day. Not only does fiber make you feel full longer and keep your bowells regular but it is also thought that it can help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. It is divided into 2 catagories (Soluble and Insoluble)

Soluble Fiber binds with fatty acids which appears to help improve cholesterol levels and increases the amount of time it takes to digest foods which helps regulate blood sugar levels for people with diabetes.

Good Sources of Soluble Fiber

Oat/Oat bran
Dried beans and peas
Nuts
Barley
Flax seed
Fruits (oranges and apples)
Vegetables (carrots)
Psyllium husk

Insoluble Fiber helps move things through your intestines which prevents constipation and helps prevent toxin build ups. It also helps regulate pH in the intestines which some think can help prevent microbes from producing cancerous substances.

Food Sources of Insoluble Fiber

Vegetables (green beans and dark green leafy vegetables)
Fruit skins and root vegetable skins
Whole-wheat products
Wheat oat
Corn bran
Seeds & Nuts

Foods such as oat, oat brans, psyllium husk and flax seed are rich in both insoluble and soluble fiber so you should definitely include some of these everyday for a healthy choice. You should also try whenever possible to...

* Eat whole fruits instead of drinking fruit juices.

* Replace white rice with brown rice.

* Replace white bread and pasta with whole grain products.

* Choose whole grain cereals for breakfast.

* Snack on raw vegetables instead of chips and chocolate.

* Substitute legumes for meat a few times per week.

Protein

Weight Loss Tips Protein can help you build lean muscle and lose fat at the same time. Proteins are broken down by the body into multiple forms of amino acids. Amino acids in turn are combined to make up quite literally every cell in your body. Since your body cannot store amino acids you must constantly be consuming proteins in order to maintain body functions. There are 2 forms of proteins; Complete and Incomplete. Complete proteins (Meat, Eggs, Milk, Cheese) contain all of the necessary amino acids while Incomplete Proteins (Grains, Legumes, Vegetables) Do Not contain all of the necessary amino acids.

The average person needs about 8 grams of protein for every 20 pounds of body weight. While this sounds like a lot, Cereal with milk, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a small piece of meat and beans is plenty of protein for one day. The question is not really how much protein but rather what kind of protein should I eat.

Stay away from Red Meat and Processed Meats. While there is a lot of protein in these meats, they contain way too much fat (especially saturated fats). Just so you know I still eat some red meat and I LOVE bacon and sausage but I don't make a habit of it.

If you eat meat choose fish, seafood and chicken. I try to include as much fish in my diet as possible as it is low in fat and includes healthy oils as well.

Milk, Cheese and Eggs are all good forms of complete protein.Avoid Whole Milk and try Low-Fat Cheese to keep some of the fat out of your diet.

If you are looking for healthier ways to get complete proteins into your diet without some of the fat try the following combinations.

Salad w/beans and hard cooked egg

Yogurt w/Granola

Bean and Cheese Burrito

Macaroni & Cheese

Oatmeal w/Milk

Peanut Butter on Whole-Wheat Bread

Whole-wheat Bun w/Sesame Seeds

Rice & Beans

Peanuts & Sunflower Seeds

Tofu-Vegetable Stir-Fry w/Rice

Vegetarian Chili w/Bread

In reality the verdict is still out on high protein diets but the only thing that we are fairly certain of is eating red meat and processed meat can lead to a higher risk of colon cancer.

Healthy Diet Plan

Traditional Diet's Only Work If You Can Stick To Them