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A Quick Look at Some of Today’s Most Effective Diets

The idiot-proof diet is all about calorie shifting. That is, in this diet, you shift your food intake throughout the day instead of eating just 3 meals a day. The diet is popular because it’s actually very easy to follow and there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to the types of food you can eat.

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The Idiot-Proof Diet

The idiot-proof diet is all about calorie shifting. That is, in this diet, you shift your food intake throughout the day instead of eating just 3 meals a day. The diet is popular because it’s actually very easy to follow and there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to the types of food you can eat.

The ‘calorie shifting’ model takes place because you eat every two and half hours. The theory is that because your body is consuming calories (energy) constantly throughout the day, it’s always in ‘burning calories’ mode instead of the ‘saving calories’ mode.

When you sign up for the diet, you get access to a diet handbook, an 11-day diet-plan and a diet calculator. You get to pick what foods you like to eat so don’t think that you’ll be tarving in this diet!

NutriSystem

The NutriSystem way of dieting is all about proper meal planning. People love this diet because it takes away the burden of trying to figure out what to eat during their dieting phase. You see, a lot of people actually get confused as to what they can eat when they want to lose weight. That’s not really surprising because there’s so much information out there and for every yay sayer, there is a nay sayer so it’s really tough to know what to eat.

However, with NurtiSystem, they do all the meal planning and portion controlling for you. You just need to sign up to any of their diet programs (e.g., Women’s Program, Men’s Program, Vegetarian Program, etc.) and order a multi-day (usually for 28 days) diet program.

After you choose your diet program, a menu is presented to you and you simply choose what you want to eat. The meals are then delivered to your doorstep at various intervals during your diet program.

The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet is popular because the name alone conjures bikini-clad bodies! Add to that the fact that it was founded by a cardiologist, Dr. Arthur Agatston, then you have a sort of ‘doctor recommended, doctor approved’ seal on the diet as well.

At first glance, the South Beach Diet looks a lot like the Atkins Diet in the sense that it restricts carbohydrates during the initial phase of the program (there are 3 phases). The first phase (14 days) encourages ‘normal eating’ in the sense that you can pretty much eat whatever you want but you must NOT eat bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. Fruit is also not allowed. No sugar. No alcohol.

The second phase allows you to SLOWLY introduce these items back into your diet but at lesser levels that you consumed them before of course. The third phase is more about general maintenance.

Weight Watchers

Probably one of the longest running diet programs out there is Weight Watchers. It believes in the overall approach where food, exercise, behavior and support are addressed.

Weight Watchers is known for advocating a point system for foods. Using this system, one calculates the calorie intake of the foods he or she eats. The number of points you can have in a day varies depending on your weight. The beauty of the program is that there are no gut-wrenching food restrictions so you never feel deprived of anything. However, the point system teaches you how to balance your meals so that even if you indulge on one food item, you don’t go overboard and consume too much in a day.

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Eating Right Holds The Key

Obesity percentages have risen manifolds over a matter of previous two decades, and now confront us in epidemic proportions. It’s a phenomenon which has never been observed in the history of humankind.

While it is considered normal to be a shade chubby with the passage of years, one must not ignore that every pound that we add up accounts for more work for the arteries; the heart needs to work harder to pump blood across the veins.

Hypertension and diabetes are just some of the basic disorders that are associated with being overweight. Muscle fatigue comes close up the list.

Our body is required to carry each ounce of the excess weight that we have. And that could be tough on our knees. In the same way, we find that many of us are found suffering from random backaches at random times. The most common cause of lower back pain has often been classified as the weight of upper body on the lower back.

And somehow, the factor that further makes it a cause of concern is that being obese is a vicious cycle. As an outcome of obesity, one does not feel all that energetic, so one does not feel like getting exercise.

Similarly, one might tend to find comfort in sweets and fries; this again works towards boosting up the obesity levels.

In the same way, even if one does choose to go for some regular exercise, if one’s body is not possessed with the right levels of muscle mass, it becomes difficult to lose weight.

One might over time develop a tendency to feel excessively fatigued out after a session of workouts, because, the body might send starvation signals to the brain.

So one might then tend to overeat, splurge on food, and may even become disinterested in everyday activities.

At a deeper level, this might even affect an individual’s feel good factor or self esteem. So, one might suddenly come to discover that one is not as outgoing or extroverted as one earlier used to be.

This affects the psyche, and health risks are also there.

Now it earlier used to be a very commonly believed notion that dieting holds the key to successful weight loss. And giving up certain foods for a period of time is more likely than not to let you find successful results in terms of weight loss.

However, when one goes on a crash diet, one runs a risk of regaining the lost calories, because in the rehash to starvation, one might tend to eat excessively.

Moreover, a crash diet just might not do the trick, because for an efficient functioning, the body requires foods from each of the food groups, such that it is able to stay supple and healthy as well.

Most of the nutritionists nowadays believe that a balanced diet, along with moderate to intense regular exercise holds the key to a healthier everyday being, and eventual weight loss as well.

One needs to eat healthy, and eating right is the trick!

Just as an instance, you may choose to make a switchover from sugar to natural sweeteners, which let the body stay supple, and also help reduce one’s appetite, because an herbal sweetener would be full of nutrients. So the appetite would be curbed by itself.

In the same way, one might choose to go for some superfoods, like green tea as a part of everyday diet. And this would let one achieve weight loss in a simple and easy manner.

Jod Nandi Godhum Shali Rice is a brand of rice which has a low glycemic index even while it is high on nutrition. So it shows wondrous results for someone who is diabetic or suffering from obesity.

This tastes just as great, is healthier, and is a must for your kitchen if anyone in the family suffers from diabetes or hypertension.

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How to manage Bland Diet

What is a bland diet? It is a diet specially set to treat certain gastrointestinal or stomach problems such as heartburns, ulcers and gas.

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An answer to a question, what is a bland diet, is that it is a simple treatment for people suffering from any one or more gastrointestinal disorders such as chronic gastritis, ulcer, esophagitis and dyspepsia.

Bland diet is a dietary regimen for people suffering from stomach disorders. Hence, it is quite understood that ingredients of a bland diet are soft food items, which are easy to digest with a capacity to keep the acidity to low levels. Questions about diet may be asked to your physicians and he/she can suggest the diet or recommend a dietician to do it.

Diet medical questions may include the queries about the food stuffs to eat and food stuffs to avoid during the time while a person experien ces any gastrointestinal disorders. However, before a dietician could decide the bland diet for a person, he/she needs to seek answers to several medical questions related to the person such as any food allergies or irritations associated with any food items and emotions medical questions of people.

Bland Diet:

The diet prescribed as a bland diet will include food items that are easy to digest and low in fiber and acid contents. Even giving up alcohol and smoking is advised while patient is on bland diet. Also a patient is advised to have 4 to 6 light meals after regular interval to avoid heavy and large meals.

Chewing food properly and eating slowly helps in the digestion of the food. Adequate sleep, avoiding smoking and controlling anxiety are supportive treatments for the standard treatment of the problem.

Allowed Food Items:

• Dairy Products
Milk, cheese, yogurt with low-fats and other dairy products are easily digested and hence, can be included as a part of bland diet. However, there is no restriction on ice-creams and one may consume even ice creams during bland diet, but it should not have any product such as nuts that are not allowed in bland diet.

• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh vegetables and fruits are allowed to a bland dieter. However, while carrot, squash, green peas are good to eat in a bland diet, broccoli, onions and green peeper should be avoided as it forms gas. In fruits, oranges, grapefruits, and bananas are allowed.

• Proteins
Protein requirement of the body, while on a bland diet should be met with soy products and meat. Fried chicken and greasy hamburgers are not allowed to be consumed, while grilled and baked chicken is allowed.
Low-fat peanut butter and eggs are also efficient to meet the body’s protein requirement in a bland diet.

• Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are contained in whole grain breads, pasta, oatmeal, corn flakes, white rice and sweet potatoes. All these food items are allowed.

Bland diet is designed for treating certain medical circumstances such as gastrointestinal problems. Hence, to answer what is a bland diet, we can say that this is a diet that aims at improving the digestion with the help of a timed-routine diet and soft to digest food items. Once the problem is controlled patients can return to their normal diet.

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