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Eat Healthy and Lose Weight
By: Christopher Ayu
Eat Healthy and Lose Weight o
If you accept the analogy that our bodies are
like an engine, then it follows that this engine
will perform better if it receives the type of
fuel that it was designed to run on. In years
gone by, before artificially processed and
manufactured foods, our bodies normally received
the correct nutritional balance every day.
As more and more families saw both the husband
and wife holding down jobs outside the home, the
dynamics of eating, exercise and nutrition began
to change. "Convenience" and "fast foods" became
the norm, and farms were gradually replaced by
processing plants. Today, the average meal is so
laden with artificial preservatives and
saturated fat that our bodies are starving for
the ingredients that they need, and overflowing
with the ingredients that they don't need.
This nutritional imbalance manifests itself
through weight problems, skin problems,
tiredness, disease, and overall poor health.
Although this problem has reached pandemic
proportions, you can reverse the effects of poor
diet in your own life if you truly want to.
Garbage In - Garbage Out
While this phrase may have been coined for the
computer industry, it's very relevant when it
comes to our own body. Every moment that we are
alive, our body is busy manufacturing the
chemicals, fluids, proteins, and tissues that
are required to keep us healthy. Food, or rather
the nutrition that is derived from food, is what
the body depends upon to handle all of these
tasks.
Everything that we consume is used, stored, or
discarded by the body. The body's particular
nutritional needs can vary widely depending upon
what's going on inside and outside of us at any
particular time. Our body makes decisions on
whether to burn carbs or fat based upon our
immediate energy needs, how long it has been
since our last meal, and the general condition
of our health.
The body burns fuel in a very specific order.
Alcohol is burned first because our bodies have
no way to store it for later use. Protein is
burned next, then carbohydrates and, finally
fat.
Because fat is consumed last, and the average
person has a diet which is rich in fat, our
bodies store the fat away to be used at a future
time. How is this fat stored? You guessed it;
it's stored as fatty tissue. And that's why we
call being overweight "fat".
These excess fat stores not only affect our
physical appearance, but they have a tremendous
impact on our overall health. Study after study
has shown that excess fat in our diets are
directly linked to these medical conditions:
- Increased risk of
developing certain cancers.
- Increased risk of
arterial and heart disease due to elevated
cholesterol levels.
- Increased risk of stroke.
- Increased risk of
Diabetes.
- Increased risk of Liver
disease.
- Direct impact on the
body's immune system.
Doesn't it just make sense to
avoid these unnecessary health risks by reducing
the amount of fat that we consume every day? Of
course it does.
Author Bio
Christopher Ayu is the webmaster and content
provider for
www.swim-wear-in-style.com
This is one of the many article posted on his
site on health-and-fitness.
Article Source:
http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website
Content Low-Fat + Exercise = Weight
Loss
Low-Fat + Exercise = Weight
Loss
By: Christopher Ayu
Reducing your saturated fat
intake is only part of the healthy body formula.
You need to burn more calories than you consume
in order to avoid having that excess food stored
as body fat. That's where exercise comes into
play.
These exercise tips can get you started
on the road to losing weight and keeping it off:
- Always check with your
doctor before starting an exercise program.
This is especially true if you have, or are
at risk of having, heart disease, diabetes,
or you are seriously overweight.
- Practice moderation by
beginning with light and low impact
exercises like walking, and gradually
increase your intensity as your body begins
to become conditioned to increased activity.
- Aim for at least 30 per
day of light cardiovascular activity each
day. You don't have to do all 30 minutes at
once. You can spread it out over the day if
you want to.
- Easy to do exercises
include walking instead of taking the car on
nearby errands. Take the stairs instead of
the escalator when you're going to the
office or shopping at the mall. Take a walk
during lunch time.
- Start doing things that
are both fun and provide exercise.
Gardening, bike riding, window shopping
downtown.
- You can make exercise
more enjoyable by wearing headphones and
listening to music, or doing your exercises
with a friend.
Here are some dietary tips that
can change, or save, your life:
These foods have been linked to various health
conditions including cancer, high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease.
Not all of these foods have been linked with all
of these conditions, but each of them are worth
avoiding when possible.
- High in saturated fats,
these foods should be avoided at all costs:
All saturated fats and oils found in butter,
lard, palm and coconut oil, bacon grease.
Replace these foods with:
Soft margarine (no fat kind), olive,
safflower, soy, corn, canola, and peanut
oil.
- These foods contain trans
fatty acids and/or partially hydrogenated
vegetable oils and should be eaten only in
very limited quantities: Hard margarines,
most snack crackers, most cookies, corn and
potato chips, shortening.
- These meats contain high
levels of fat and can cause serious arterial
blockage and heart conditions. They should
be eaten very sparingly: corned beef,
pastrami, pork and beef ribs, beef steak,
ground meat, most frankfurters, pork
sausage, bacon, liver, kidney, and processed
deli meats.
Replace with these foods
with skinless chicken or turkey, turkey or
chicken frankfurters, ground turkey,
occasional lean beef, veal, pork, lamb,
fish, and vegetable dishes including beans,
peas, pasta, or rice.
- Try not to eat more than
2 oz of meat, fish, or poultry per day.
Replace the rest of your meal with healthy
vegetables, pasta and rice.
- Be careful of fat that's
hidden in dairy products. Drink either
fat-free or 1% milk. Replace other dairy
products like cream cheese, cottage cheese,
sour cream, and snack cheeses with their
no-fat or low-fat versions.
- Avoid eating high fat
snack crackers, cake, cup cakes or muffins,
and replace them with low-fat baked
versions.
Author Bio
Christopher Ayu is the webmaster and content
provider of
www.swim-wear-in-style.com.
He does research on the subject and this is one
of the many articles posted on his site on
health-and-fitness.
Article Source:
http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website
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