A healthier choice can make fast food healthy too

Cheap, convenient, filling and mouth watering taste! Yes, these are the facts which often drive us closer to a fast food restaurant isn’t it? But unfortunately it’s not a healthy option. Eating just one fast food meal can pack enough calories, sodium and fat for an entire day or more.

Well not to lose hope, as an informed customer, you can still make healthier choices and still enjoy the price and convenience of fast food restaurants. Making healthier choices at fast food restaurants is easier if you prepare ahead by checking guides that show you the nutritional content of meal choices at your favourite restaurants. You can also choose to patronize restaurants that focus on natural, high quality food. If you don’t prepare ahead of time, common sense guidelines help to make your meal healthier. For example, a seemingly healthy salad can be a diet minefield when smothered in high-fat dressing and fried toppings, so choose a salad with fresh veggies, grilled toppings and a lighter dressing. Portion control is also important, as many fast food restaurants serve enough food for several meals in the guise of a single serving. Last but not the least, try to develop habits like drinking water with your meal instead of soda. Try adding a little lemon to your water or ordering unsweetened iced tea. Also eat mindfully that is pay attention to what you eat and savour each bite. Mindful eating relaxes you, so you digest better, and makes you feel more satisfied.

So, next time you eat out in a fast food corner don’t forget this golden tips :-)

How to Drink More Water?

Incredible as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. But drinking eight glasses of water may be a big task especially for one who hardly drinks three glasses of water daily. Well, not to worry here are some easy tricks to increase your daily water intake.

Firstly, take baby steps i.e, don't expect to go from zero glasses of water to the full 8 glasses overnight. Start with one glass of water in the morning and one glass of water at night, and build your way up from there. Make it a morning ritual, have it in the form of fresh lime water, even coconut water can add to your daily water intake. Drink when you have a munchie attack like sometimes our hunger is thirst masquerading as fake hunger. Drinking a cup or two of water will make you feel "full." Always have a full glass of water near you when you are working. It will give you something to mindlessly sip on when you are brainstorming or need something to do with your hands. Do it like it's hot. If you're in the mood for a hot drink, drink heated water. Sometimes we just want the psychological pleasure that comes with having a hot mug cupped in our hands than the actual drink itself. Last but not the least is think of how pretty you'll look as having healthy, glowing skin is often correlated to drinking a lot of water... So what say ready to increase your daily water intake:-)

Some Essential Fatty Acids for Your Healthy Diet Plan

Must have heard of Omega fatty acids? Each time we talk about the compositions of healthy cooking oil we cannot stop talking about Omega acids. Now the question is what Omega fatty acids is and how does it affect our health?

Well, Omega fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids. They are necessary for human health but the body can’t make them -- you have to get them through food. There are three types of omega acids- Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9 Fats. Omega-6 is your standard polyunsaturated fats found in vegetable oils. Omega-3 fats (Linolenic Acid), particularly from fish, are considered to promote health, while Omega-6 (Linoleic Acid) fats are considered by some to promote heart disease and cancer. Omega-9 (Oleic Acid) is your monounsaturated fat as in olive oil. There is debate over the validity of relating Omega-3 in vegetable oils (Canola and Flaxseed) to the health benefits of fish oils, as the Omega-3 oils in fish are quite different from the one in vegetable oils, and the vegetable ones come with many times the percentage of Omega-6 compared to fish. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and may help lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. It is important to have a balance of omega-3 and omega-6 in the diet. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation, and most omega-6 fatty acids tend to promote inflammation.

Are you eating emotionally?

Is your first reaction at feeling anxiety to reach for the fridge? Does sadness make you want to eat just a bit of that cake? If this is the case then you are eating emotionally which can ruin your diet chart. Whether it is sadness, grief, happiness, joy, anger, frustration… each and every emotion has its starting point, peak and then end. We associate emotional eating with inability to control our emotions. But, you can! Let the emotion run its course and you will soon notice relief.

To start overcoming emotional eating, focus on making small and gradual changes. Setting a goal that is small enough to achieve yet big enough to keep you motivated can make a whole lot of difference. If your objective is to start breaking free from emotional eating, you might set yourself up for a failure. If you rephrase the goal and state it so that "Today, I will eat all 3 meals at the table," you will notice that the goal is realistic as well as measurable, the latter giving you a sense of accomplishment. Also stop mindless eating. Mindless eating is the menace of modern day society. There is not enough time in the day to sit down and eat. Or are we fooling ourselves? The most important question you can ask yourself is: "Am I hungry?" If the answer is yes, take time to sit down at the table and eat the meal making sure you slow down and take time with each bite. If the answer is "no," there is no much of a dilemma there.  

 So what say ready to break free from emotional eating?

Eating fat doesn’t make you fat

Do fatty foods make you fat? And the answer is NO. But it all comes down to the type of fat you eat. Eating the right kinds of fat can actually make you leaner. Got the last phrase, yes it’s true. Obviously the type of fats to avoid are the processed, hydrogenated fats found in junk foods, ready meals and processed foods etc. 

 

Naturally occurring fats in unprocessed foods boost your immune system and are actually vital if you want to slim down. Here is a very simple way to work out which fat sources are healthy, and which are unhealthy. Just ask yourself these questions before making your food choices: For fruit, vegetable, nut and all other plant based sources- “Is it natural, minimally processed and organic? Or has it been chemically altered and heavily processed?”; Animal based foods (dairy, meat, fish etc)- “Is it from a free range, wild or grass-fed animal? Or is it from a mass production, controlled farm environment?” In both cases, fats from natural, free range, organic sources are far healthier than those from man-altered, mass-produced food. Once you get used to asking yourself these questions you’ll find it easy to make healthy food choices and your lbs will start falling off :-)

Do your diet plan include sufficient amount of fibre?

“Eat more fibres”, have you heard this earlier? Probably not. This is because fibres aren’t generally given much importance, but do you know including an adequate amount of fibre in your daily diet is a must...

Virtually indigestible in nature, fibre is found mainly in the outer layers of plants. It is a special type of carbohydrate that passes through the human digestive system virtually unchanged, without being broken down into nutrients. The main function of fiber is to keep the digestive system healthy and functioning properly. Research suggests that those who follow a high-fibre diet have a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease. Studies show that it also decreases the risk of diabetes. Such foods have a low glycemic index which gives better lasting blood-glucose control in the body.

There are plenty of foods that have high-fibre content, including whole wheat breads, green vegetables, cereals, pasta, fruits and even nuts. Fibre-rich foods also help in absorbing fat. High-fibre actually traps fat and keeps it from being absorbed into the system. Therefore, you can actually eat more food without worrying about gaining extra weight :-)

Are you sure your zero-calorie drink is not adding to your weight?

On diet and prefer more of carbonated diet drinks to normal beverages? Well, then its high time you should ditch the diet soda. Wondering why? Well, artificially sweetened diet drinks, rather than helping with weight loss, may cause weight gain. Yes, got that right its “weight gain” and not “weight loss”. Contrary to popular belief that only high calorie drinks can jeopardise weight-loss plans, a new study claims diet soda too can make you fat.

The study highlights the increasingly negative information we are getting about the consumption of non-caloric sweetened beverages. People drink them to save calories and enjoy a sweet taste, but diet soda appears to be causing more problems than it solves. The study found that diet soda is not an optimal substitute for sugar-sweetened beverages. It was observed that the waists of volunteers who consumed diet drinks expanded 70 percent more than those avoided non-caloric beverages. The study also added that daily drinkers of diet soda are 36 percent more likely to develop metabolic syndrome and have an elevated risk of 67 percent for type 2 diabetes in comparison to those who don't drink it.

So what say still want to continue with your so called zero-calorie diet soda?

Looking for some healthy evening snacks? Try sunflower seeds!

Yes, got that right, sunflower seeds make for a great crunchy snack that keeps you cracking for hours! It’s the best whole-food source of vitamins like vitamin B1 and B5, vitamin E and folate. It also provides a healthy dose of copper, magnesium, selenium and phosphorous–important minerals. Just a quarter of cup–four tablespoons–of seeds holds half the daily requirement or more of these important nutrients. The fats present in sunflower seeds are also good quality, heart healthy fats that can help increase “good” cholesterol and protect the heart and cardiovascular system.

Sunflower seeds are easily available and can be a great substitute for high-calorie candy bars or other less healthy snack options. Replacing a package of potato chips with a handful of sunflower seeds can go a long way toward increasing the nutritional value of a day’s food intake. With its mild, nutty flavour, sunflower seeds can enhance a wide range of foods, making it easy to add them to the everyday diet. Some quick and easy ways to add sunflower seeds to a daily nutritional regimen include—adding to breads or muffins for a nutty, crunchy flavour, sprinkling on salads at lunch time or adding to yogurt for a breakfast treat.

So what are you snacking on today?

An orange a day keeps the doctor away

This appears to be the new adage. Surprised? Well, instead of popping multivitamins it’s better to opt for a healthy diet and the wonder fruit ‘Orange’ can just be the ideal choice. A single orange includes roughly 2.54 grams of fiber; the human body needs 10 percent fiber in your daily food intake. The major nutritional content in oranges is vitamin C.  This powerful antioxidant neutralizes harmful elements within the body. Vitamin C also stimulates the absorption of non-heme iron and thus reduces the iron deficiency. As a whole the vitamin C content in orange fruits keep your immune system strong and healthy.

It is also good for people suffering from heart diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and asthma as it eases inflammation. Taking this wonder fruit daily can help keep diabetes and obesity at bay. Also the flavonoid hesperetin in it lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. An orange a day can not only cut the risk of developing a stroke by 20 percent, it is also a beauty agent. As this fruit is a storehouse of vitamin C, it makes the skin youthful and supple by producing collagen compound that helps in retaining the elasticity of the skin. Also, this fruit is very low on calories, only 43, which make it a good option for all those looking for low-calorie foods.

So, what are you waiting for? Go on and grab an orange soon as you can...