NICKI MINAJ SHARES STYLISH NAILS ON INSTAGRAM

 

7 PRINCIPLES OF HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS

When it comes to losing weight, the details don't matter much. It's the principles that count.

Every legitimate nutrition expert, whether a popular diet guru or a representative of the medical nutrition establishment, agrees that there are some fundamental principles of healthy weight loss that apply to everyone. No matter how much they are disguised, these principles are at the core of every good diet plan, be it a dietician’s plan or a bestseller’s. And nobody achieves permanent weight loss and optimal health without obeying these principles, consciously or unconsciously. While there appears to be no single right way to eat for health and weight loss (on the level of details), you need to be aware of the basic principles. This will help you avoid those diet plans that do in fact break them and choose the specific plan that is best for you. 

“It’s the people who understand the principles who do well long-term,” says Arthur Agatston. 

1. Balance 

Critics of popular diets frequently claim that such diets encourage unbalanced eating by declaring certain foods and even whole food groups off-limits. The example they almost invariably point to is the infamous cabbage soup diet. But that’s a pretty extreme example. 

What the critics overlook is the fact that the average American diet is rather unbalanced to begin with: heavy on animal foods, processed foods, fried foods, and sweets and light on fruits, vegetables and whole grains. It’s hard to find a popular diet that doesn’t encourage dieters to consume a variety of fresh, natural plant foods, and thereby support, if not a perfectly balanced diet, then at least a more balanced one. 

In Cracking the Metabolic Code, James LaValle, a pharmacist and naturopathic physician based in Cincinnati, OH, explains how nutrient imbalances of various sorts can lead to weight gain, and conversely, how improving nutrient balance can facilitate weight loss. 

To give one example, an underactive thyroid gland is a common cause of slow metabolism and, consequently, weight gain. Among the many factors that can lower thyroid function are high levels of adrenal stress hormones such as cortisol, and as LaValle points out, “Eating a lot of sugar triggers the release of adrenal hormones.” The average American diet comprises 18% sugar. The average popular diet most certainly does not! 

2. Nutrient Timing 

A spate of recent research has shown that when we eat is almost as important as what we eat with respect to optimizing our body composition. “We’ve learned that it’s essential to coordinate energy intake with energy expenditure,” explains John Ivy, Ph.D. and coauthor of Nutrient Timing (Basic Health, 2004). “Calories are put to their best possible use when they are consumed at times when there is a strong demand for them in the body.” 

Morning is a time of relatively high caloric demand. Calories consumed in the morning are more likely than calories consumed later in the day to be used for energy than stored as fat. In fact, a study from the University of Massachusetts found that those who regularly skip breakfast are 4.5 times more likely to be overweight than those who eat it most mornings. 

Eating smaller meals more frequently (five or six times a day) is another proven way to better coordinate food intake with energy needs. According to statistical data, the average American eats three large meals per day. 

3. Self-Monitoring 

Research has shown that simply paying attention to what you eat is one of the more effective ways to reduce your caloric intake. Self-monitoring strategies are a key habit among members of the National Weight Control Registry, a research pool comprising several thousand men and women who have lost an average of 66 pounds apiece and kept the weight off an average of 6 years. “They’re very conscious of their eating,” says Suzanne Phelan, Ph.D., a spokesperson for the NWCR. “About half of them report that they are still counting calories and fat grams.” 

Another useful self-monitoring habit that is common among both the NWCR subjects and those pursuing weight loss on popular diets is weighing. According to Phelan, this habit allows the subjects of her study to avoid the insidious upward creep that is the undoing of many initially successful diets. “Because they are weighing themselves as often as they do, they can catch these slips,” she says. “If they do something about it right away, they’re much more likely to be successful in the long term.” 

4. Selective Restrictions 

Just about every popular diet has a “forbidden foods” list. The specific foods and food types that make the list and how strictly they are forbidden differ from one program to the next. The Atkins diet forbids virtually all high-carbohydrate foods. The Ornish diet forbids animal foods. Peter D’Adamo’s blood type diet forbids a long laundry list of seemingly unrelated foods for each of the four basic bloods types. 

No weight loss diet can succeed without restriction of the foods that are most responsible for creating large body fat stores. A majority of mainstream nutrition experts agree that the “bad fats” found in many processed foods and animal foods and the “bad carbs” in sweets and processed foods are the primary culprits. Interestingly, nearly all of the members of the NWCR choose to restrict intake of high-fat foods. “Only seven percent are on a low-carb diet,” says Phelan. 

Mainstream nutrition experts warn against taking food restrictions too far, however. “To eliminate specific foods and food groups, especially those people enjoy, is a recipe for disaster and can lead to feelings of deprivation, not to mention nutritional imbalances,” says Elisa Zied, M.S., R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. 

James LaValle prescribes only “soft” restrictions to his clients and in the many nutrition books he’s written. “You get gurus who say, ‘You can never eat another dessert again,’” he says. “That sets up a guilt complex in people.” When the options are all or nothing, there is no happy medium between being on the diet and miserable and being off it completely. 

5. Low Caloric Density 

The concept of caloric density, or energy density, refers to the number of calories per unit volume in a given food. A food that packs a lot of calories in a small area is said to have high caloric density. Because water and dietary fiber are non-caloric, foods that contain a lot of water and/or fiber tend to have low caloric density. Generally speaking, processed foods are calorically dense, while fruits and vegetables, with their high water and fiber content, are less dense. 

Caloric density is important for those seeking to lose weight because research has shown that people tend to eat a consistent volume of food regardless of the number of calories it contains. In a Penn State study, women were fed either a high-density, medium-density, or low-density meal three times a day. The subjects in all three groups ate the same weight of food, but the women eating the high-density meals took in 30% more calories than the women eating the low-density meals. 

6. Consistency 

Healthy eating is not like a vaccine: one shot and you’re covered for life. Instead it requires a daily, lifelong commitment. There is growing evidence that the more consistent you are in your wholesome eating habits, the greater your chances of maintaining a healthy body weight. 

Again, the members of the National Weight Control Registry set an example. “One of our most recent findings is that they do maintain a very consistent eating pattern,” says Phelan. “Unlike many dieters, they tend to eat the same during the week as on the weekends. The same holds for the holidays versus the rest of the year. They tend to have a consistent eating pattern throughout the year.” 

A persistent myth of dieting is that those who achieve long-term success start off with a more moderate, slow-and-steady approach than the crash dieters who take on severe restrictions only to bail out after a few weeks or months and regain their weight. According to Phelan, there is no evidence that the long-term successes start off differently. The real difference is that they simply keep doing what they started doing! 

7. Motivation 

Why are some dieters able to maintain their healthy new lifestyle indefinitely while most others peter out after a few weeks or months? This is currently one of the hottest questions in weight loss research. As yet there is no definitive answer, but there are indications that it’s mostly about motivation. 

Certain types of triggers for weight loss diets are more likely to yield long-term success than others. For example, “One thing we’ve found is that people who have medical triggers for their weight loss are more successful in the long term than people who don’t,” says Phelan. There’s nothing like a near-death experience to keep you on the straight and narrow path of healthy eating! 

More evidence for the motivation explanation comes from the fact that just about every other explanation can be eliminated. 

It is often assumed that successful dieters have more inherent willpower. However, most members of the NWCR actually failed in several weight loss initiatives before they finally succeeded, indicating that something about their circumstances rather than their psychological makeup was the key. 

“Bad genes” that resist weight loss are also frequently blamed. And yet, says Phelan, “Many of [the NWCR members] have parents who were overweight or were overweight themselves as children, which suggests they may have a genetic predisposition to obesity, but they still manage to lose weight.” 

Finding the Perfect Fit 

Each of us is unique – metabolically, psychologically, and circumstantially. For this reason, there’s no single diet plan that works well for everyone. “Each person needs to find what works for him- or herself,” says Zied. But there are underlying principles of healthy nutrition and dieting that do apply universally. Understanding these principles is essential to finding the right plan for you.

TRUE LOVE STORY: HAPPINESS CAME ALONE

This is my story. About the love that came alone.

Three years ago I was 23 years old and very unhappy. I had just left a rich, non-committed man who wanted to marry me and gave me everything I needed.

But one day, April 1 it was and just like in a joke I left him. There was a reason and quite a serious one. He wanted to own me. Leaving him meant losing my job (because I worked for him), my love, my comfort and money.

Another man helped me leave him; he was the third man in my life. I was madly in love with him. I simply adored him. Two months after we began dating, his ex-girlfriend called him and told him she was pregnant. He went crazy. He began behaving weird. He didn’t know what to do. Go to her or stay with me. At the end, he left me.

I cried myself out. For months and maybe years.

I started dating other men and hurting them. For only a year I went to bed with 5 men and left them in the worst possible way. I made them cry and beg me.

I felt nothing. I was the cruelest being in the world. My heart was broken and I found no meaning of life. But at a certain point I calmed down. I forgot the man that left me. He married that woman he left me for. I lost him forever and I knew I needed to move forward and to go back to normal, to somehow save my soul.

Weird enough after this so called balance, Paco appeared. I was at a bar and he approached and started talking to me. We spent our time together until 4 am and we couldn’t get enough of each other. It was hard at the beginning. He had just been abandoned by a woman he was 5 years with. So he was being mean to me. But I knew best what he felt and waited for the moment he would reach that calmness that I felt and everything will be perfect. Yes, I waited for him to go through that same hell I did, through the same agony for the unrequited love and I don’t feel sorry about it. Because now I have next to me the man I can rely on totally. I love him and I cannot imagine my life without him. We have our wedding planned in 3 months time, exactly two years after we met. And I think that happiness comes alone to us, without looking or crying for it. The only thing we need is to be at peace with ourselves.

By: Maria >>>>>>>>>>

HON. SHYROSE BHANJI ROCKING AFRICAN PRINTS

6 REASONS TO LOVE BERRIES

These little berries aren't just good for your taste buds though; they're good for your whole body. Here are 6 reasons to eat berries!

Reason #1: Blackberries are among the top ranked antioxidant-rich

fruits and also contain high levels of fiber, manganese, copper and

vitamin C with only 61 calories and 2 grams of protein per cup.

Blackberries are also a good source of vitamins A (as beta-carotene),

B5, C, E, K and folate. One cup of blackberries provides 4% RDA

(recommended daily value) of calcium and 7% RDA of zinc.

Reason #2: Blueberries are also high in manganese, dietary fiber

and vitamins B6, C and K. They have a low glycemic load which

makes them a good berry choice for those who wish to prevent blood

sugar spikes. Studies suggest that consuming blueberries (and

cranberries) may help alleviate cognitive decline associated with

Alzheimer's disease and other age-related conditions as well as the

prevention of urinary tract infections.

Reason #3: Raspberries are very high in antioxidants and also

contain high levels of fiber, manganese and vitamin C. Other

nutrients in raspberries include vitamins B1, 2 and 3, folic acid,

magnesium, copper and iron.

Raspberries have anti-inflammatory properties. Studies suggest that

eating raspberries may prevent certain cancers and protect against

cardiovascular disease, diabetes, allergies, age-related cognitive

decline and macular degeneration (age-related vision problems).

Reason #4: Cranberries are known for their powerful, disease-

fighting antioxidant properties. Eating cranberries on a regular basis

may promote cardiovascular health, boost the immune system and

protect against certain cancers. New research suggests that

cranberries may play a role in the prevention of kidney stones and

help prevent tooth decay.

Reason #5: The nutrients in strawberries help protect against

rheumatoid arthritis and have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory

properties. Strawberries are also good for your eyes as they help

prevent age-related vision problems. Strawberries are high in vitamin

C, antioxidants and manganese. They are also good sources of

potassium, folate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin K,

omega-3 fatty acid, magnesium and copper.

Reason #6: Acai berry is famous for its high antioxidant content. It

is also a low glycemic berry and provides much of the same health

benefits of all the other super berries mentioned above.  Acai is best

purchased as a frozen puree, rather than an extracted juice or

powder.