After the drinking of water, juice recipes for weight loss have to be one of the most natural and best ways to stay healthy as you lose weight.  Forget about the fad diets, the celebrity endorsed virtual starvation weight loss programs, adding natural healthy juices to your daily eating plan is streets ahead.

The first thing you’re going to have to do is to invest in a juicer – and I say invest because that is exactly what it will be for you and your body.  They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and prices and though some of them can do a variety of other things such as pulping and chopping, a basic juicer will serve you well to try out some juice recipes for weight loss.

Decide on your favorite fruits and vegetables and make sure that the produce you use is as fresh as you can find.  The great thing about using juices to help you lose weight is that what you come up with can be as personal as the clothes you wear and how you wear them.  No one, is going to be preparing and drinking the same juice recipes as you in the same way as you!

Fancy a carrot and apple juice for breakfast?  Then simply wash your carrots, peel and core your apple and throw them into a juicer, in whatever quantities you desire and add a splash of lemon juice and you have yourself a lovely breakfast juice.  A juice like this is stuffed full of beta carotene, iron and vitamin C and so if this doesn’t get you going in the morning then simply throw in even more vegetables.

The real key to finding and using juice recipes for weight loss is to make sure that you try a variety of juices.  Think about this, the number one reason that many people fail to lose weight is because they get bored with what they are eating.  They crave their favorite foods and feel disgruntled that they are not ‘allowed’ to eat and enjoy them.  Now, there is virtually no way you should fall into the trap of getting bored with your juices.  Just make sure that you are mixing them up regularly and adding or taking away from them.

For instance, that apple and carrot breakfast juice could be so easily changed and refreshed by adding a stick of celery to the mix or even a hand full of strawberries and some crushed ice.  Just make sure that you are using all of your favorite fruits and vegetables, in a variety of groups and your juice recipes for weight loss will stay refreshing and keep your interest.

Protein is found in all of your body’s cells. It is the essential nutrient that is responsible for the maintenance and repair of all of your organs, tissues, muscles, brain and bones. This individual built in repair kit occurs at the cellular level in our bodies. Protein regulates everything – our blood circulation, our metabolism and our immune system. Individuals who lack sufficient protein in their bodies have weaker immune systems than people who consume adequate protein in their diets. Also, people who are constantly on yo-yo diets where they lose and gain weight back frequently usually become protein deficient and have weaker immune systems. This fact has been proven by researchers who have found that these yo-yo dieters have about a third lower the number of killer cell activity than normal individuals. The so-called killer blood cells are essential for the immune system to function properly.

All foods are sources of energy; however, protein provides a greater boost in energy levels since it is absorbed slowly and thus produces a constant source of energy. Protein has real energy-staying power for your active, healthy, lifestyle. Fats and carbohydrates produce quick bursts of energy but cannot be relied upon to provide the body with a continuous source of energy, since they are digested and metabolized more quickly than protein. Fats and carbohydrates also tend to be stored as fat the body for later use. The Protein that we’re discussing is lean protein (lean meats, skinless poultry, seafood, egg whites, low-fat dairy products, legumes and beans, soy and tofu foods, skim and low- fat cheeses, and good-fat nuts). Lean proteins are also excellent sources of selenium, which. Is a mineral that protects the body against dangerous tree radicals that can destroy normal cells in the body. These free radicals can damage many different types of cells including connective tissue, which causes joint and muscle inflammation.

High-saturated fat protein products like fatty meats, hard cheeses, whole fat milk dairy products, whole eggs, mayonnaise, luncheon and smoked meats including bacon, sausage, and hot dogs are definitely not good sources of energy production. The reason for this is, that even though these products have some protein content, its value is offset by the saturated fat content of these foods. The saturated fat content of these foods do more harm to the body (heart disease, strokes, hypertension, high cholesterol and some forms of cancer) than the protein portion of the food can repair. These are called harmful proteins and are not recommended for any healthful weight-loss program.

For appetite control, lean protein tops the charts for staying power. By adding a small portion of lean protein to your meal, you’ll control hunger pangs for hours. Lean protein also has the advantage of being lower in calories than many foods, particularly saturated fat protein product refined carbohydrates and saturated fat foods. Once you substitute saturated-fat protein products, you defeat the appetite-controlling factor of the protein. The fat content of saturated- fat protein foods prevents the brain’s appetite-control center from shutting down. In other words, you’ll get hungry soon after your meal of a saturated protein food.

Your body needs between 15-30 of your total daily calories, however, can be dangerous, because it strains the kidneys. This is one of the reasons among many why low-carbohydrate, high saturated fat protein diets are dangerous to your health.

It’s never too late to rethink on your diet plan and make fresh and realistic health resolutions. It is the right time to take stock of the situation. Ask yourself: Are we being fair to ourselves when we make these strict guidelines of diet and exercise? Most people recoil at the thought of dieting and exercising, especially on a cold winter morning. And for all those people who are fed up of diet dictums, the good news is that the best way to lose weight is not to diet or deprive yourself of all the good things in life. If this sounds too good to be true, wait till you try this:

Wellness – the latest buzzword to hit the health industry – is actually the best way forward. Most people who plan strict diets do it in the hope that after losing the extra kilos, they will look ravishing. But the truth is that lusterless sagging skin or loose abdominal muscles are not the result that people want. What we want is a happy, healthy, svelte figure munching an apple. But alas, that is not what we end up with very often. Therefore, after trying to lose weight for the nth time, it is now time to stop dieting forever and yet look slim.

Wellness is not only about losing weight, it is also about a positive mindset and transforming oneself into a holistically healthy person. This kind of a change in focus will not only result in weight loss but also give you great skin, good hair, a glowing persona and best of all, freedom from diets. Here is what the wellness and diet schedule entails:

• Understanding your food weaknesses and indulging in them two times a week.
• Maintaining a diet log book.
• Pick up a routine that you enjoy which is like an exercise: dancing, or walking the pet, floor exercises with music etc.
• Never deprive yourself. Always add new healthy habits to the current schedule, like having a yummy soup in the evening instead of tea and a scrumptious salad during lunch with olives, balsamic dressing and some greens and cheese cubes.
• Enjoy your meal. Many people who eat hurriedly always miss out on the flavors, do not feel satiated and end up compensating by overeating.
• And if all this does not convince you, count the number of times you have struggled through a diet program only to regain the weight with a few extra kilos.
• Looking at unhealthy habits and finding alternatives. For example, if you are prone to drinking too much of tea/coffee, substitute some for herbal teas which smell and taste good. If you eat too much of fried food, learn to make toasted snacks or baked snacks, and experiment with new roasted snacks.
• Do not starve or eat less. When we cut down on quantities, our emotional system retaliates, so the best option is to add healthy foods to the diet before cutting out on food suddenly.

Creating a nutritionally healthy home is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure the health of your child. To start, make smart food choices, and help your child develop a positive relationship with healthy food. Your children will learn their food smarts from your example.

Here are the top 10 tips for getting children to eat healthy food:

1. Do not restrict food.  Restricting food increases the risk your child may develop eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia later in life. It can also have a negative effect on growth and development.   Also by restricting food you will actually increase the risk of overeating later in the day which will cause weight gain.

2. Keep healthy food on hand.  Children will eat what’s readily available. Keep fruit in a bowl on the counter, not buried in the crisper section of your fridge.  Remember, your child can only choose foods that you stock in the house, by limiting ‘junk food’ you will, by default, teach your child how to choose healthier foods.

3. Don’t label foods as “good” or “bad.” Instead, tie foods to the things your child cares about, such as sports, academics and hobbies. Let your child know that lean protein such as turkey and calcium in dairy products give strength to their sports and academic performance, the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables add luster to skin and hair and the carbs in whole grains will give them energy to play.

4. Praise healthy choices. Give your children a proud smile and tell them how smart they are when they choose healthy foods. Kids thrive on positive reinforcement!

5. Don’t nag about unhealthy choices. If your child chooses unhealthy foods infrequently, ignore it. However, if your child always wants fatty, fried food, redirect the choice. You might try roasting potato sticks in the oven (tossed in just a bit of oil) instead of buying french fries. Or, if your child wants candy, you might make fresh strawberries dipped in a little chocolate sauce. Too busy? Then keep naturally sweet dried fruit at home for quick snacks.  With consistent effort taste buds change and soon your child will be craving healthy foods.

6. Never use food as a reward. This could create weight problems in later life. Instead, reward your children with something physical and fun — perhaps a trip to the park or a quick game of catch.

7. Sit down to family dinners at night. If this isn’t a tradition in your home, it should be. Research shows that children who eat dinners at the table with their parents have better nutrition and are less likely to get in serious trouble as teenagers. Start with one night a week, and then work up to three or four, to gradually build the habit.

8. Prepare plates in the kitchen. There you can put healthy portions of each item on everyone’s dinner plate. Your children will learn to recognize correct portion sizes.  Too often people go for seconds and even thirds just because the food is right there.  You might notice that you need less food to feel full!

9. Give the kids some control. Ask your children to take three bites of all the foods on their plate and give it a grade, such as A, B, C, D, or F. When healthy foods – especially certain vegetables — get high marks, serve them more often. Offer the items your children don’t like less frequently. This lets your children participate in decision making. After all, dining is a family affair!

10. Consult your pediatrician. Always talk with your child’s doctor before putting your child on a diet, trying to help your child gain weight, or making any significant changes in the type of foods your child eats. Never diagnose your child as too heavy, or too thin, by yourself.  If weight change is recommended seek the help of a Dietitian.

There are certain healthy eating facts that don’t change no matter what kind of a diet you follow, or what kind of lifestyle you have.  First, whether you’re sedentary or active, too much saturated fat isn’t good for you.  Whether you eat 1600 calories a day or 2500, depending on your activity level, trans fats are unhealthy. Second, whether you’re trying to lose weight quickly or jump start a long-term weight loss program, fasting is not a good choice for your body and eliminating sugar (especially refined sugar) can go a long way in helping weightloss.

One of the healthy eating facts that we didn’t have to worry about years ago was that trans fats are unhealthy.  Some trans fats occur naturally in food, but those aren’t the same as the man-made trans fats that make up margarine and shortening, and are found in almost every commercially produced baked good you can find.  Trans fats are also often included in boxed mixes that you prepare at home and things like instant cocoa, because of its long shelf-life.

Hydrogenated fats like margarine and shortening became available in 1911.  Before then trans fats weren’t something the average consumer had to worry about.  Now, though, hydrogenated oils or trans fats are present in almost every type of food you can think of.  The hydrogenation process keeps fats from going rancid for a longer period of time. But the link between hydrogenated oils and heart health is clear—it’s worse for you than saturated fat.

This has prompted the government to step in.  They’ve insisted that fast-food restaurants reduce the amount of trans fats in their food.  Food manufacturers also have to include the amount of trans fats on their food labels too. Carefully read food labels so that you’re at least aware of what you’re eating.  Anything that says hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated is a trans fat and something you want to avoid as much as possible. Eliminate these trans fats from your diet completely if you can.

Another one of the healthy eating facts that not too many people think about is how bad regular soft drinks are for your health. A can of regular soft drink contains about 9 teaspoons of sugar. And how often do you drink more than one soda in a day?  Some people drink several sodas per day, preferring soda to beverages like water or tea.  Everyone’s going to eat sugar in some form, but moderation is called for.  And when one soda provides you with 9 teaspoons of sugar, that’s pretty much the sugar limit for the day—that we don’t need refined sugar at all is one of the most ignored healthy eating facts.  But most people have sugar in other forms too, raising their daily total of sugar intake much higher.

Considering the rising rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related illnesses, cutting back on trans fat and soda in our diets is important.  These healthy eating facts can make a huge difference in our weight and overall health if we don’t ignore them

When you have “convenience” food bombarding you from every direction, it can be difficult to choose options that give your body the nourishment it needs. However, if you have daily reminders and effective tools at your disposal, you just may find that eating the right foods and feeding your body the best fuels becomes a lot easier. Of course, there will always be temptation, but when you equip yourself with anti-temptation tools, you will be able to quickly re-focus your mind on your greater goal of getting healthy!

Using Affirmations to Make the Healthy Food and Nutrition Choices

When everyone around you at the office is indulging in burgers, fries, and sugary drinks, it’s awfully tempting to join in, isn’t it? But what if you could stop that temptation in its tracks and actually choose to make a healthy choice? You don’t need me to tell you that fatty and sugary choices are not the kinds of food that your body needs – you need to tell yourself!

It can be hard in moments of temptation to make the right choice, but with the help of positive affirmations, you can re-train your brain to replace the desire for junk food with healthy choices. Affirmations can help you stick to your diet, say no to temptation, and eat nourishing and satisfying foods. How? By replacing the negative spiral of thoughts in your mind with powerful, positive ones.

But first you have to believe that it is possible to gain control over your thirsts, desires, and cravings. The first step in making a lasting change in your life is to make the commitment to success. Are you committed? Do you believe that you can overcome your cravings? Once you’ve set your commitment in stone, you’re ready to learn the top 10 affirmations to get you through moments of weakness.

Top 10 Food and Nutrition Affirmations

Before reading the list below, you should know that affirmations are most successful when you internalize the saying and repeat it frequently. Whether you’re having a good or bad day, you need to be constantly repeating these positive statements in your mind. Temptation will strike when you least expect it, so it’s better to be prepared!

1. I can neutralize bad habits with good food, exercise, and healthy living.
2. I am proud to reach out to my support network instead of leaning on food for comfort.
3. I am losing weight for me because I love me.
4. I set aside time just for me.
5. My good health and productivity are the rewards for the nourishing foods I eat.
6. Weight gain happens over time, so my weight loss equally requires time, patience, and lifestyle changes.
7. I use self-care, not self-control.
8. The more I take care of myself, the better I feel.
9. I am firmly committed to staying active and healthy.
10. I deserve a healthy body and mind.

When you look at these food and nutrition affirmations, they may seem like ideals – behaviors and thoughts that you only wish you could have – but each time you reaffirm them by saying them aloud, you’re slowly changing your mindset. Over time, these ideals will become a reality through your thoughts and actions.

But remember, you must first believe you can change. Once you make the commitment to your success, you will change your attitudes about food and you’ll be thankful you did!

If you need to lose weight, you’ve probably looked at some healthy eating weight loss diets and groaned in disappointment each time.  You’ve looked at diets that are supposed to be good for you while letting you lose weight.  Some claim you can eat things like fatty cheeseburgers and even fatty milkshakes (made with sugar substitutes).  While other diets claim that you can eat whatever you want as long as you keep your fat intake low. But chances are that they all restrict or forbid something you really enjoy, and you’re not looking forward to going without that favorite food.

What some people overlook is that you don’t necessarily have to follow a healthy eating weight loss diet that someone else claims is the best.  You can figure out how to eat on your own. The first step is to look at how you’ve been eating.  Obviously, if you need to lose weight you’ve been following a diet that provides you with too many calories.  If your diet is healthy overall but you’ve been eating too many calories, then you might not even need to change the way you eat much at all.  Increasing your daily exercise could be enough to help you lose weight.

If your diet needs an adjustment to become a healthy eating weight loss plan, though, you should look at the parts of your diet that seem unhealthy and adjust them. If you make too big a change from the way you like to eat, you’re setting yourself up to be unhappy with your new diet plan.  Instead, try to incorporate the things you enjoy into your new plan.

Your healthy eating weight loss plan might not be able to include doughnuts 3 or 4 times a week like you’ve been eating.  But the occasional doughnut as a treat might be acceptable if it fits within your allotted calories for that day.  You might be able to have a substitution for a doughnut a couple of times a week, though.  A whole grain bagel with fruit-flavored low-fat cream cheese, for instance, is a sweet treat that you could enjoy instead of a doughnut.  It might give you the same satisfaction while remaining healthier and truer to your healthy eating weight loss plan.

If you eat a lot of sweets like chocolate, you can still enjoy them in moderation.  Dark chocolate can be part of a healthy eating weight loss plan.  Dark chocolate contains more antioxidants that many fruits and vegetables.  So try dipping some of your favorite fruits like bananas, pineapple or strawberries in some high-quality melted dark chocolate for a powerful anti-oxidant punch that should satisfy your sweet tooth and keep you on your diet.

Almost any unhealthy treats you’re use to having can be substituted with a healthier food that gives you at least some of the satisfaction of the unhealthy treat.  Mashed cauliflower instead of buttery mashed potatoes, thin-crust vegetable pizza instead of take-out and other tricks can make your healthy eating weight loss plan more enjoyable.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when you’re evaluating healthy eating plans is moderation. It’s very unlikely that any eating plan that’s truly healthy will go to any extremes.  It should stress moderation in all things, not just in the balance of food eaten but in the amounts, too.

For instance, some diets that are marketed as healthy eating plans make claims that should alert you to their problems.  A diet that says you can eat unlimited amounts of almost anything probably isn’t really all that healthy.  One extreme example is a low-carbohydrate diet.  Many low-carb diets can be healthy for certain people.  But a few of the low-carb diets entice people to try them by talking about how you can eat all your favorite foods.

These supposedly healthy eating plans claim you can eat cheeseburgers, steaks, cheesecakes and a variety of other foods.  And often they’ll say that you can eat all you want of these foods and still lose weight.  They’re operating on the assumption that you’ll eat one or two cheeseburgers (without bread, of course), be full and stop.  But they do make the claim that you can eat all of them, essentially all the fat, you want and still lose weight.

That should be a signal to you that something’s wrong.  No diet that allows all the fat you want to eat can be truly healthy.  And if it allows unlimited amounts of saturated fat in particular, it’s probably unhealthy. Other healthy eating plans you’ll see advertised go the opposite direction and limit the amount of fat you can eat down to almost none, while allowing almost any kind of bread, pasta, and other foods like low-fat cookies and desserts that contain a lot of simple carbohydrates and sugar.

While low-fat cookies or cakes might be a nice treat on a low-fat diet now and then, they certainly can’t be eaten all the time.  That would make the sugar content of the diet decidedly unhealthy.  But that ability to eat low-fat sweet treats is often what’s used to convince people to follow the diet, because they can still have sugar and desserts.

When you’re judging healthy eating plans, checking what’s allowed on the diet is important.  But checking what isn’t allowed is important, too.  Moderation works both ways.  A diet that tells you that you must give up coffee completely or never again eat any kind of bread is taking that limitation to the extreme.  And if you like coffee or bread and still intend to have them at least now and then, each time you do you’ll feel like you’re cheating.  No one wants to have bad feelings about what they’re eating or drinking.

Choosing from among the diets out there can be daunting.  Choose a plan that doesn’t necessarily forbid you from eating anything, and doesn’t allow unlimited amounts of anything, either.  Choose from among the more moderate healthy eating plans, and you’re more likely to find the healthiest one for you.

To develop a healthy eating program to maintain a healthy weight, it’s a good idea to do some research on health and nutrition.  If you’re not trying to lose weight but just want to eat well for good health, then it’s important to understand how your body uses food.  This makes it easier for you to choose healthy food and not be tricked when less-than healthy foods call themselves natural and healthy.

A healthy eating program should offer you much more than just a good balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates.  But if that balance isn’t in place to start with, the plan probably isn’t all that healthy.  Any plan that keeps fat at about 30% or less of the diet and stresses good fats over saturated fats probably has a healthy fat balance.  There should be plenty of sources of protein other than meat, like lots of fish, healthy dairy sources like yogurt, and beans.

And carbohydrates should be mostly whole grain sources like whole grain bread and oatmeal.  Whole grain pastas are better than regular pastas, and basmati rice is better than regular white rice.  A healthy eating program that stresses these smart choices over things like instant white rice and instant pre-packaged sweetened and flavored oatmeal is better than one that includes too many convenience items.

A healthy eating program should follow the government food pyramid pretty closely.  Whole grain carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, lean meat and dairy products can all be part of a very healthy diet.  But there are other things to look at, no matter what kind of diet you choose to follow.

You want to make sure your healthy eating program has enough diversity so that you don’t get bored, and you get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.  Baked chicken breasts, broccoli and a whole grain roll might be a healthy lunch, but no one wants to eat that several times a week.  Your plan needs to include a variety of vegetables, not just one or two.  There are more lean meats than chicken breasts, and many different ways to prepare these and other dishes.

You’ll also want to make sure that unhealthy things aren’t creeping into your meals.  Some diets stress that you use margarine instead of butter, for instance, because it’s lower fat and not full of saturated fat like butter. But margarine is mostly trans fat, a fat that even the government now agrees is worse for you than saturated fat. It’s a fat that should be eliminated, or at the very least severely restricted, from our diets. A healthy eating program that allows certain commercially packaged low-fat cookies and treats might not take into account the amount of trans fats and sugar in those foods, either.

You have to be the detective and examine all the parts of the diet you want to follow.  Yes, the balance of foods and nutrition is important, but don’t forget to look at all the other parts of your healthy eating program.

Are you sick of the diet industry and wondering how to lose weight naturally?  Most of today’s diet products are at worst a scam and at best a temporary fix for a long-term problem.  A pill that suppresses appetite does nothing to change the habits that are causing the unhealthy eating in the first place.

Approaching the problem using natural methods will give you results that can last a lifetime.  Generally, it is as simple as adding some healthier foods into your diet while slowly taking out the junk.

The first thing to understand is that weight loss is not going to happen overnight.  After all, you didn’t gain the excess weight in one day of binge eating, so you can’t drop it by starving yourself for a week and going for a jog.  It takes long-lasting, gradual changes in lifestyle to achieve permanent weight loss.  Once you commit to having the patience to stick with a fitness and nutrition program, it is time to learn how to lose weight naturally.

The most important change to make in your lifestyle is to eat healthier food.  Look for food that is high in nutrients and low in processed sugars and fats.  Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat meats, some dairy products, and certain nuts make excellent choices that can be incorporated into even the pickiest eater’s diet.  Work these foods in gradually instead of trying to remove all “bad” foods and force yourself to eat all these strange foods you’ve never liked in the past.  Remember, you are trying to make lasting changes that will become a pleasant part of your daily life, not a chore that you have to endure in order to achieve your weight loss goal.  Any food is acceptable as long as it is kept in moderation, including such taboo items as chocolate, cakes, and pizza.

When planning out how to lose weight naturally, consider the type of physical activity you enjoy.  Most people associate fitness with boring tasks like running on the treadmill at a gym, but there are all sorts of outdoor activities and sports that you can choose to get your daily activity.  These days, there are adult leagues for almost any sport, including fast-pitch baseball and flag football.  Even walking around the block every night will help you drop the pounds and give you more energy during the day at work.

If you have children, you probably do not even have to plan a fitness activity.  Simply take them to a park or school playground with some sporting equipment and you will get a great workout while spending quality time with your kids.  Basketball, playing catch with a baseball or softball, soccer, handball, bicycling, and tennis are just a few playtime activities that you and your child can both enjoy.  Making physical activity a daily part of their life will also teach your children how to lose weight naturally so they do not fall prey to diet scams when they are older.

You’ve probably heard a lot about the dire consequences of being overweight, which 60 percent of Americans are, and now recent research from Harvard suggests that those extra pounds may be bad for your eyes.

Researchers think some nutrients needed in the retina in the eye may not get there because people are either not eating enough foods that contain these nutrients or, when these nutrients are consumed, they stay stored in body fat. Two such nutrients in particular are lutein and zeaxanthin (pronounced loo-teen and zee-ah-zan-thin), which are believed to help protect against age-related macular degeneration or AMD. These nutrients are part of a group of eye-protecting antioxidants-vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and zinc.

AMD is the leading cause of blindness in older adults today, accounting for 54 percent of all blindness in white Americans and 45 percent of visual disability in the general population. AMD whittles away at central vision, so people affected with it see large blotches of gray to black when they look straight at something. Ironically, they can still see somewhat with peripheral vision.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the retina at the back of the eye. The amount in the retina is measured as “macular pigment density.” The higher the macular pigment density, the better. However, higher body mass has been correlated with lower macular pigment in a number of studies. Studies suggest people carrying extra pounds, especially in the abdominal area and around the waist, are at higher risk of developing AMD. Such people who already have early stage AMD are at higher risk of progressing to late stage AMD. There’s also some evidence that higher body fat may elevate risk for cataracts.

If you are overweight, losing weight may be one way to reduce your risk of age-related eye diseases as well as other chronic diseases. At the same time, for the sake of your eyes, try to get extra lutein and zeaxanthin in your diet by eating more spinach, corn, kale, orange peppers and other green and yellow vegetables. You can also get these nutrients in many multivitamin supplements or in supplements specially formulated to support eye health.