• Diet Plans
    Eat clean and live healthy with the paleo diet

    Are you looking for a diet plan that is nutritious and easy to follow? The paleo diet is your answer. It’s based on the premise that processed foods and foods eaten by people after the Neolithic Revolution should be avoided. It calls for consuming foods available to Paleolithic humans, such as meat, fruits, nuts, roots, and vegetables. While the food choices available may appear a little limited, there are many ways to prepare paleo diet meals. Here are a few ideas

    Breakfast plan

    • Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon: Packed with protein, this breakfast idea will provide energy to last you for hours.
    • Boiled eggs and fruits: Dice your favorite fruits into a bowl and enjoy them before or after your eggs.
    • Baked broccoli and eggs: It is similar to a quiche, but without other ingredients.
    • Fried mushrooms, eggs, and onions: Scramble them all together and add a few slices of fresh tomatoes for extra flavor.
    • Mushrooms, veggies, and avocado: Substitute bread and buns with grilled Portobello mushrooms and sandwich slices of avocado, tomato, and lettuce. Add a serving of scrambled eggs or one or two boiled eggs, if you need extra fuel for your body.

    Lunch plan

    • Lettuce, beef, and veggies: Create a sandwich out of lettuce and slide in a couple of slices of beef and vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and beets.
    • Chicken salad: Finely chop roast chicken and dice avocados into small chunks. Mix olive oil, lime juice, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and pour the mixture over the chicken and avocado. You can add a few leaves of lettuce as well for more vitamins and minerals.
    • Burgers and veggies: Skip the bun and fry a couple of burgers. Enjoy with a serving of vegetables and salsa.
    • Lemon and herb chicken: It’s a simple recipe that uses chicken breasts, lemon juice, and dried herbs. It is usually served with diced vegetables.

    Dinner plan

    • Baked salmon: Bake salmon and add extra flavor with lemon juice and thyme. You may season it with ground pepper.
    • Beef, carrots, and mushrooms: Cut beef into cubes, brown them and cook in the oven in beef stock for three hours. Roast the carrots and mushrooms and serve them with the beef.
    • Stuffed bell peppers: You can use any meat as the stuffing, including beef, chicken, and turkey.
    • Roast chicken and mushroom soup: This is a filling meal and the leftovers can easily be used for breakfast and even lunch the next day.

    There are many ways to create paleo diet meals and these are just a few examples. Despite simple ingredients, these meals are incredibly nutritious to keep you going the entire day. You can add your spin to the recipes above or create entirely new meals. For snacks, you can try nuts, kale chips, berry shakes, carrot sticks, and olives. Have them between meals to stave off cravings. Stick to the paleo diet and you will notice a change in your energy levels and your weight loss plan if any.

  • Diet Plans
    Choosing the perfect diet plan to lose weight

    Losing weight is a big challenge. People in America have approximately spent over $60 billion on different diet plans to lose weight. But not every diet plan works. Diet plans that work for people to lose weight need to be designed by experienced nutritionists who know how to make a low-calorie diet that not only helps you lose weight but also doesn’t deprive you of nutrition. The diet plans that claim to make you lose weight fast comes at a cost. But if you cannot afford to register in those weight loss programs, then there are some diet plans that are available for free.

    Exchange diet:
    Exchange diet is a diet plan designed by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for people with diabetes. In this plan, food items are grouped based on the nutritional composition. Depending on the tastes, food items can be exchanged in each group. This diet plan also works for people who are desperate to lose weight. The plan teaches you how to limit calories and make healthy choices. The meal patterns are based on a 1200 and 1600 calorie diet. Also they have separate plans for Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians and Southern cuisine.

    DASH Diet:
    As per the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is considered to be one of the healthiest diets. This diet encourages eating food rich in fiber, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and protein. Sources of such nutrition are vegetables, fruits, nonfat or low-fat dairy food, poultry, fish, seeds, nuts, beans, and whole grains. This diet is not specifically designed for weight loss. However, it is a low-calorie diet plan and works great for people who want to lose weight.

    CaloriesCount.com
    Go through this website if you want to learn how to diet sensibly. They have a lot of information on weight loss and also provide meal plans, recipes, and tips on exercises. You can plan your shopping by visiting the weekly meal plan section where you get to know what you need for the next one-week diet. You can count your calorie intake and calories burnt through the calorie calculator. This website is very helpful for people who are serious about weight loss.

    ChooseMyPlate.gov:
    This website is created by the US Department of Agriculture to help people eat better. The site has tools that help you lose weight and it also teaches you to eat healthily. It takes a step by step approach on the weight loss plan. It basically starts with focusing on what you are eating, then it offers tips on how to control your intake and make better food choices. You can also find daily food plan here to make things easy for you.

    You really do not have to spend a hefty amount to understand how to eat and what to eat to lose weight. The above-discussed websites have health professionals who design meal plans, keeping the nutritional values and calorie requirements in view.

  • Diet Plans
    How to decrease the risks of health problems through a low-carb diet

    A low-carb diet is not just beneficial for athletes, but also for non-athletes who want to get rid of some common ailments. Consuming bad carbohydrates can be a health risk in the long run. Getting rid of these carbs can also add to your overall health. Check out some of the health problems and conditions that can be corrected by following low-carb diets.

    Type 2 diabetes: Carbohydrates are the cause of raised blood sugar levels in the body, as they are broken down into glucose. Quitting carbs by following a low-carb diet can reduce the levels of blood sugar and the fat-storing hormone called insulin. As people with insulin resistance are unable to lower their blood sugar levels, they develop type 2 diabetes. However, going on a low-carb diet can eliminate the need for insulin and reverse diabetes.
    Blood pressure: High blood pressure may lead to depression or hypertension, as well as kidney problems, stroke, and heart diseases. To reduce BP and cut the risk of such diseases, low-carb diets work wonders.
    Metabolic syndrome: Due to problems like high BP, high triglycerides, low HDL, high blood sugar, and abdominal obesity, the medical condition called metabolic syndrome occurs. As a low-carb diet can correct each of the mentioned health problems, it can be the most effective treatment for metabolic syndrome. If untreated, the metabolic syndrome may lead to heart diseases and diabetes. Thus, cutting down carbs from your diet can save you from all such diseases and health issues.
    Epileptic conditions: While you may not believe, but a low-carb diet can even treat a few brain disorders like epilepsy. The brain can burn ketones formed due to low consumption of carbohydrates. That is why it is also known as the ketogenic diet. Such diet is given to those who may not respond to the drug treatment for epilepsy. Ketogenic or low-carb diet can reduce seizures and even cure epileptic children. In fact, it is being tested in the cases of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
    Muscle mass loss: Moving to low-carb snack foods and meals can help you gain muscle mass. A low-carb diet helps in increasing the levels of leucine (branched-chain amino acids) in the blood. As leucine supports the buildup of muscle mass, the problem of muscle loss can be addressed effectively by moving to a diet with low carbohydrate content.
    Heart diseases: As a low-carb diet is effective in reducing triglycerides, it helps in decreasing the risk for several heart problems. Following such diet can also increase the HDL (good cholesterol) concentration, which is good for the health of your heart. Apart from that, controlling blood sugar, reducing inflammation, and lowering the chances of obesity makes a low-carb diet ideal for heart health.

  • Diet Plans
    Diet plans to burn belly fat

    Your clothes feel tight when you have fat accumulated in your mid-section. Not only does it look awkward, but it is also not healthy. Lack of exercise and eating unhealthy food is the main cause of belly fat. Abdominal fat can lead to serious health conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and colorectal cancer. Generally when you start working out to lose weight, fat around your belly is the last one to burn. If you really want to lose your belly fat fast, you need to follow diet plans that work. Do not skip your breakfast and start starving because starving will only make you eat more.

    Count your calorie intake:
    The first step in your fat-burning program is limiting your calorie intake. If you start to take 500 calories less every day in your diet, you will lose 1 pound a week. To find out how many calories you need for your ideal weight, you need to multiply your body weight by 15 if you are an active man, and multiply it by 12 if you are an active woman. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, multiply the body weight by 13 for men and multiply by 10 for women. The answer will be your ideal calorie intake.

    Have a healthy breakfast:
    Protein is good for you when you want to lose weight. According to a study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, protein makes you feel full. So when you eat protein for breakfast, you are less likely to eat unhealthy snacks later in the day. Start the day with a healthy breakfast. It can be something like a ham, omelet, low-fat Greek yogurt with berries and almonds, two pieces of lean bacon grilled with tortilla, or a protein shake with two servings of fruits.

    Ensure a protein-packed lunch:
    Your lunch should also be packed with protein. The main portion of your lunch can be canned tuna, cottage cheese, salmon, or turkey. Depending on your calorie intake, select your protein. If your calorie intake is low, go for a protein salad and a soup for lunch and if you exercise regularly, and if your calorie intake is more, take your protein along with a wrap or a bagel and mixed nuts.

    Opt for a healthy dinner:
    Your dinner can have complex carbohydrates along with protein and healthy fats. You can choose to have a shrimp and avocado rice bowl or a vegetarian pizza with a crust made with whole wheat flour. You can make your dinner interesting as long as you keep your recipe according to your diet plan.

    Snacks:
    Choose no-sugar low-fat snacks to eat between your meals. Some of the healthy snacks include low-fat cottage cheese, raw nuts, pre-cooked meat, low carb protein bars, and others.
    Along with a balanced diet, you also need to work out to burn fat accumulated around your tummy.

  • Diet Plans
    Benefits of a low-carb diet

    Fat-phobic individuals, who want to lose weight quickly, often go for low-carb diets. While some experts debate on the effectiveness of such diets against other types of diets, a low-carb diet has always proved to be a good way to lose flab. Several studies have suggested that such a diet can manage weight faster as well as improve on risk factors like cholesterol levels.

    Benefits of a low-carb diet
    Insulin level control for fat reduction: Avoiding or cutting carbohydrates from your diet may be a pain initially, but it lets you burn more calories and makes you eat less over the long term. This happens due to hormonal balance maintained by low-carb diets. Such a diet lowers the level of insulin, which results in faster fat burning, hunger control and higher consumption of energy, even if one is not doing a hard workout.

    Type-II Diabetes control: Consuming less sugar or carbohydrates results in controlled blood sugar levels. Thus, a low-carb diet can even reverse type-II diabetes.

    Reduction of cravings: Even though it is a tough start on a low-carb diet, you will ultimately find that the diet can control your cravings for sugary foods when you have already cut down bad carbs from your diet.

    Stamina building: As a low-carb diet helps in using your fat reserves, you build more stamina over time. It does not happen for people who keep receiving energy from carbs. Cutting carbs down will make your body gain energy from stored fats.

    How to optimize low-carb diet benefits
    The benefits you gain from a low-carb diet plan are many. However, it is important to pay attention to certain aspects if you want to maximize the gains. Explore how to do so.
    Cut down bad carbs: Although cutting carbohydrates from your diet may treat several disorders and help you lose weight, it is critical to avoid the bad carbs or empty carbs first. While carbs in vegetables and fruits or grains may not be harmful to your body, carbs in processed foods are damaging. When you start on a low-carb diet, you must cut down these bad carbs first. Do not feed yourself food made of refined flour, carbonated drinks, and unhealthy snacks made using hydrogenated oils with saturated fats.

    Adapt to fat burning: Be patient while following a low-carb diet. Initially, your performance may be reduced, as your body is used to using carbs as energy providers. However, it slowly transitions and adapts to using fat reserves. If you feel initial cravings for carbs, then go for low-carb snack foods instead of empty carb foods. Keep cutting down carbs from your diet to adapt slowly to the routine.

    Take sufficient fluids and salt: Before workout sessions, do not forget to consume enough fluids like salty water. It can improve your performance faster when you are on a low-carb diet.

  • Diet Plans
    Rules to follow with a high-carbohydrate diet plan

    Carbohydrates are essential to make us feel good. These form a critical component of our diet. Still, many people who are trying to lose weight believe that going on high-carbohydrate diet plans will make them gain weight. However, scientific research shows that the intake of the right types of carbohydrates is a good way to lose weight and stay fit, but it does not mean that you may consume high-carb foods per your will. Following are some noteworthy rules that you must follow with a high-carb diet.

    Stick to healthy carbohydrates: Not all types of carbs are the same. There are types of carbohydrates that are low on their glycemic index. You should consume these healthy carbs when you are following a high-carb diet plan. Such food items have resistant starch that is not broken down into glucose. Therefore, it does not raise your blood sugar level, but still provides the same energy that you get from high-carb foods. Some healthy carb foods include oats, lentils, bananas, potatoes, peas, beans, brown rice, etc.

    Keep the portions small: While you can have high-carb foods that are healthy, it does not mean that you can keep eating them without following any limits. It is necessary that you keep a check on your portion size and make it small during every meal. Do not load your body with an excessive amount of carbs. This is not the aim of a high-carb diet plan.

    Keep your meals balanced: If you are following a high-carb diet plan, it is a rule to keep your meal balanced. As your favorite high-carb foods may have bad carbs, keep them to only a quarter of your plate. Add healthy carb foods like low-fat dairy products, vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and nuts to the rest. However, you should also ensure that you are receiving enough protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber from your meal.

    Avoid ruling out favorite foods: If you love some foods that do not fit your high-carb diet, don’t deprive yourself of it. If you do, then you may end up binging on that food item. Although good carbohydrate foods keep you away from unnecessary cravings, you should not suppress your cravings.

    Consult a nutritionist: Many people may not know about high-carbohydrate diet plans and the rules associated with these. If you are also among them, then consult a nutritionist before starting any such dietary routine. An expert may help you understand every aspect of a healthy diet that can make you lose weight or manage it effectively per your goals. If you have another medical condition, then it becomes important to consult an expert before following any high-carb diet plan.

  • Diet Plans
    Managing Ulcerative Colitis with a proper diet

    If you have ulcerative colitis (UC), you should pay attention to the food you are eating. The food that you intake may not be the direct cause of your disease, but intake of some can increase and initiate the flares of colitis. Amongst the multiple treatments colitis has, a proper diet is right on top.

    No particular food is appropriate for UC. Your diet plan should be flexible enough to adjust to the changes that the disease brings about. You should just be aware which diet plan is best for your body.

    • Organize yourself and note down in detail about the things you eat and drink.
    • Keep a note of how each item and drink make you feel when you consume them. It may take up a lot of time, but you should be patient enough. This will track the condition of your health, and it will help you to improve your diet chart.

    Foods to have and avoid
    While you are preparing a diet chart, which would suit you perfectly, always remember that a balanced diet consists of high protein, whole grains, and fresh products. Following is a list of foods that you can safely consume while affected by colitis:

    • Whole grain food
    • Protein-rich food
    • Milk and other dairy products, as long as you’re not lactose intolerant
    • Bread and cereals
    • Vegetables and fruits
    • Olive oils and canola oils as they are known to be healthy fats

    Some diet hacks which you can apply to your diet for colitis would be having some steamed vegetables or also a low-fat dairy product.

    While undergoing treatments, colitis patients must prevent themselves from having the following items as they aggravate the symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

    • Alcohol
    • Caffeine
    • Carbonated drinks
    • Dried beans, peas, and legumes
    • Dried fruits
    • Foods that have sulfur or sulfate
    • Foods high in fiber
    • Meat
    • Nuts and crunchy nut butter
    • Popcorn
    • Products that have sorbitol
    • Refined sugar
    • Seeds
    • Spicy dishes

    Food items which would help you to fight UC
    With the advancement of new researches done in the medical sector, there a number of nutrients, which might help to fight the irritation and the swelling of your gut affected by UC.

    • Linoleic acid can be used to fight out with this problem. Food items like walnuts, egg yolks, olive, and coconut oil all consist of linoleic acid. But if you consume these products in excess then it can also cause inflammation. So, you should be careful while consuming it and make sure that it suits your body.
    • Omega 3 fatty acid also fights inflammation. It prevents some chemicals from entering your body. These harmful chemicals are known as leukotrienes. EPA is mostly found in fish oils.
    • Yogurt with appropriate bacteria known as probiotics reduce inflammation.

    Thus, with diet that suits your system, you can effectively manage colitis.