Many diet plans focus on the elimination of specific food groups. Elimination of any group of nutritional requirements will present particular perils over a period of time.

High protein diets have become very popular due to the fact that they serve to curb your hunger pangs for longer periods of time. This will allow to you eat less in a given time frame and in turn consume less calories.

Carbohydrates have been labelled as fattening foods. In fact the calories in all foods are the culprit. Carbohydrates are a source of energy for the body and muscles. If we eliminate all carbohydrates we risk a loss of energy at levels that are so high that we become too inactive. Lack of body activity and exercise will promote the storage of fat and result in no weight loss for our efforts. Conversely it is a fine line trying to determine the level of carbohydrates we actually require. It is very easy to cross the line and consume too many carbs. The result again is no weight loss.

High protein diets typically include animal protein and fat. These present the danger of escalating cholesterol levels.

It is important for active people to wishing to manage their weight to incorporate breakfasts and lunches that include both carbs for energy and protein for satiety or that full feeling and also include food compinations such as cereal with milk, turkey on bread and pasta with meat sauce.

To satisfy the energy needs of an active adult you should include protein-rich food at each meal, such as peanut butter on a bagel, beans on a salad or tofu with pasta.

Beans, soy or other plant proteins are necessary to supply adequate quantities of protein to achieve muscle maintenance, to provide iron and prevent anaemia by supplying the required quantity of zinc to boost our healing and immunity power. Substituting natural foods with protein supplements will limit your intake of the required healthy elements and nutrients in whole foods.

To encourage healthy muscle, you need adequate protein, extra carbohydrates and resistance exercise, such as weight lifting. Carbs fuel your muscles and give you the energy needed to promote energy levels required for healthy exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

It generally accepted that a healthy adult requires 0.9 grams of protein per pound of healthy body weight. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds and want the maximum beneficial protein intake you would require 144 grams of protein. This would be represented in a day’s diet that includes one-quart skim milk; one can of tuna and eight ounces of chicken breast.

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Article Source: Healthy Weight Management Means Balancing Food Groups

These are a few tips that will help you enjoy a healthy meal during the holidays:

1. Start your meal with soup as your appetizer. Research shows that people who eat soup regularly lose more weight than people who don’t.

2. Thicken your soup and sauces with cornstarch instead of cream. Cornstarch is very low in calories. One tablespoon of cornstarch contains 30 calories and 0 gram fat. In many occasions, you will only need two tablespoons of cornstarch to replace one cup of cream. One cup of cream contains 580 calories and 60 grams of fat so if you use cornstarch instead of cream, you will reduce 520 calories and 60 grams of fat from your soup.

3. Eat a healthy staple food. After the low-carb diet craze, it seems like Americans don’t know what a staple food is, let alone a healthy staple food. In Asia, people always eat their dishes with a healthy staple food which is big in volume but low in calorie content. This kind of food makes us full while contributing a small amount of calories. Rice is a healthy staple food because it is rich in water content. Seventy percent of the volume of steamed rice is just water. So when you eat rice with your dishes, you will feel full quicker, thus prevent you from overeating. The healthiest type of rice is brown basmati rice. Brown basmati is rich in fiber and resistant starch. According to experts while 1 gram of carbohydrate gives us 4 calories, 1 gram of fiber and resistant starch give us anywhere between 0-3 calories. In addition to that, fiber and resistant starch help control our blood sugar level and satiety.

4. Drink plain tea, water or diet drinks. Many people watch what they eat but they don’t realize that they consume a lot of calories from their drinks. A 12 fluid ounces of soda or juice contains about 150 calories which is equal to 6 Hershey kisses. Most people drink three to four cups of soda or other caloric drinks every day which is equal to about one bag of Hersey kisses!

5. If you serve salad, make sure that you use low calorie dressings. Many people who go on a “salad diet” become frustrated because even though they eat healthy all the time, they still don’t lose weight. A small 2 oz package of ranch dressings contains 170 calories and 15 grams of fat which has almost as many calories as 7 Hersey kisses.

6. Boiled corns and yams are healthy side dishes because they are rich in good carbs and fiber and they are very low in fat content; one ear of corn or 1 medium sized yam contains less than 1 gram of fat. Corn and yam are naturally sweet so you don’t have to add sweetener, oil, or fats to make them tasty. And since they are not processed foods, they are rich in water content and fiber which will make you feel bulky and full with fewer calories than processed foods.

7. Serve fruit for dessert. Fresh fruits are rich in water, fiber and very low in calories. Most fruits contain 0 grams of fat, making fruit to be the healthiest dessert on the table.

Read free chapters of “Asian Slim Secrets” at http://asianslimsecrets.com/. Linda Yo is a weight consultant & the author of Asian Slim Secrets. Linda gained 25 lbs in 3 months when she moved to the US. She failed at every method before she discovered the easy method to weight control.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Healthy eaters know that easily the best way to please someone dear to you is to make him a Romantic Dinner. We’ve gone one better and prepared a special collection of Romantic Dinners.

See pictures of delicious recipes and other details at:

Romantic Recipes They Love