Food Diets

Who has not heard of The Atkins Diet Menu! It’s all over the place. We are bumping into people following low carb Atkins diet at family functions, at parties, at work places, market places, everywhere. Not to forget the Hollywood celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker has also got hooked to it!

Men and women – it’s equally popular amongst both. Atkins Low Carb Diet plan is different from other low carb diet programs in the sense that the Atkins diet plan doesn’t allow more than 20 grams of carbs intake per day which triggers ketosis while other plans allow 50 or sometimes even 60 grams of carbohydrates intake per day.

Atkins Diet Menu is based on intake of food that is low on carbs and high on proteins and fats. Shifting to this type of diet plan helps to burn the stored fat in the body. This in turn results in making a person lose weight! Simple. This is why Atkins Diet plan is such a popular Low Carb Diet Plan.

It’s worth remembering that two people following Atkins Diet Menu to lose wieght may have different results to show depending upon their individual  metabolism, and other factors. Sticking to low carb diet will not work identically for people. Each one of us will react differently to low carb diet plan.

The best thing about Atkins Diet Menu is that  you are allowed to eat meat, vegetables, nuts, fish, eggs, cheese etc, in moderation albiet. This is what makes the low carb diet so popular amongst one and all. It doesn’t allow intake of fruits, potatoes, alcohol, caffeine, rice, pasta etc. Processed and tinned ready to eat foods are also a strict no-no as they may contain hidden sugar which may result in increased intake of carbs, without your being aware of it.

People who follow Atkins Diet Menu have reported that following this low carb diet controls their sugar level, which in turn results in reduced and  false hunger pangs etc. Low carb diet puts the body in the state of ketosis which suppresses the hunger.

When we eat our regular food, the first thing our body burns is the carb and when we cut down on our carb intake by following low carb diet plan, the body instead of buring carbs, now starts to burn fat stores. When this happens, the processs is called Ketosis.

When you are on low carb diet you feel less hungry and your munching of snacks gets cut down drastically. This helps you to lose weight much faster and more effectively. Also, with Atkins Diet there is no mental block that you are dieting, since you are allowed to eat so much variety. It has often been seen and experienced by most of us that the mere thought of dieting or fasting makes us hungry. Following Atkins Diet  has no such issues.  

The low carb diet plan introduced by Dr Atkins has not ignored people with sweet tooth either. Products like shakes, choclates and bars are available to satiate the sweet tooth. In some cases Type 2 diabetes has also been brought under control by following this diet.

The Atkins diet has been around for many years. Millions of people have tried it, and many are still using it in some form. Most people who go on this program successfully lose a significant amount of weight, and do so rather quickly. This is because the person consumes virtually no carbohydrates, thereby forcing the body to burn existing, stored fat.

There are, however, several major drawbacks to the diet including constipation, the lack of some essential nutrients, and an excess intake of dietary fat due to the high protein content of the program.

That said, we have now found a way to actually improve the Atkins diet, allowing you to lose even more weight while still following its food program.

How is that possible? Quite simply by addressing the three major concerns of the program that health specialists have been raising.

The first concern is the lack of fiber in the program. Typically, while on the Atkins diet, you have to add fiber. This requires a lot of water, and can sometimes cause bloating issues.

The second concern is the high dietary fat intake called for, a large part of which consists of saturated and trans fats. These are the unhealthiest fats you can eat, and they can lead to high levels of LDL cholesterol and high triglyceride levels.

These two concerns can now be handled by adding one dietary product to your Atkins plan.

There is a new corn fiber that was discovered by two scientists at Wayne State University which does not require very much water consumption. Therefore, this product will add the beneficial fiber to the diet without the bloating. This new corn fiber has another feature that is so unique it has been patented. Each gram (one pill) absorbs 81 calories of dietary fat from your diet! You read that right…81 calories of pure fat are absorbed with each pill. Together, the fat and the fiber make their way through the colon and out of the body. The product is sold under the name Mirafit FBCx (detailed information about this product can be found on their website. I am not sure what stores around the country are carrying this right now, but the U.S. distributor is Enerex USA, and they will have that information.

With Mirafit absorbing 500 to 600 fat calories a day out of your diet, this really helps to minimize how much fat is actually getting into your system. But guess what else this does? Since you are already burning fat because you do not have carbohydrates with your (Atkins) diet, Mirafit actually restricts the additional 500-600 calories without taking away the satisfaction of eating the foods. It essentially puts you on a more calorie controlled diet.

This can result in an extra five or six pounds of weight loss per month, on top of the weight loss that is generated by the Atkins diet. Consider the science here. If you are maintaining your weight, and then deduct 500 to 600 calories a day from your diet in the form of fat, you will lose about one to one and a half pounds extra per week. Now that is how to improve the Atkins diet!

The last thing that needs to be addressed in improving Atkins is the lack of some essential nutrients that result from initially eliminating all fruits and vegetables from your diet. The solution is the most nutrient-dense greens product available, GREENS Rx Berry.

This product is made on the plateau in Utah where the soil and water are as pure as you will find. The company Herbal Integrity sells it online, but there are dealers for this product around the U.S. Do not accept substitutes. There is nothing equal to this product. Just a tablespoon a day will add an entire day’s worth of greens and fruits to your diet. It is at least six times as powerful as the “Juice Plus” products so many are tricked into buying for the same price. GREENS Rx also includes the human strain of probiotics to replenish your good bacteria. This is the strain used in 30,000 hospitals and clinics around the world. It is very powerful.

Although I personally wish everyone would just make better food choices, the Atkins diet can be highly effective. I do not recommend you stay on it long term as digesting all that protein is difficult on your system. But you will definitely lose weight quickly. Once you get to your desired weight, transition from Atkins to a more balanced diet. However, you can continue taking Mirafit, using it as needed to help you maintain your weight, and to help with the occasional “fat food splurges” we all have.

Good Luck!

Have you tried to lose weight with the well-known diets like Atkins, South Beach etc? Didn’t work? Lack of discipline? Those diets can make anyone go crazy, especially during the induction-phase of the diet, it gives me the chills just to think about it.

Those diets recommend that you should exclude certain types of nutrients, fat, carbohydrates and protein. Those three represent most of the calories we eat in a day. Ok, so if I eat low-fat processed foods that means that it is healthy? -No, processed foods often contain ‘bad’ carbohydrates. A ‘bad’ carbohydrate are the ones that make you feel great for about thirty minutes and then you start feeling grumpy. Your mood tells you that your blood sugar level first spiked and gave you strength but then it dropped fast and you got grumpy and most likely you felt hungry once again.

The opposite, a ‘good’ carbohydrate are the one’s that give you a stable blood sugar level during the day and you fill up your supplies every 4-6 hours and you feel great all day long. Isn’t that how you are supposed to feel when you are being healthy?

Now we know that there are two kinds of carbohydrates. What else matters? Well, protein are the building stones in your body and it seems foolish to leave them out. Fat is also a necessity for your body and did you know that there are different kinds of fat? There are actually some kinds of fat that speeds up your body’s metabolism, meaning that you burn more fat.

Everything that you have been lead to believe about dieting might be wrong. Low-fat foods is not the same as non-fattening. Carbs comes in different shapes and many are very good for your body. Protein is a necessity, you need it to build new cells, to heal and so on.

A weight loss diet that is built on these corner stones means the following:

1. You get to eat food from every group

2. You use what you know about fat-burning foods and combine them to a meal

3. When you are on a diet you should feel great, otherwise it is just a pain to go through with it

4. A diet like this is easy to follow, you don’t have to read every label in the store, you don’t have to get a scale and weigh in every single meal.

5. If you feel great and more ‘energetic’ through-out the day you know that your blood sugar level is stable and that your fat burning process is working just fine

How to lose weight safely for teenagers can be a tough, yet easy thing. One of the risks of being a teenager is that they tend to fall towards the unmerciful and sometimes unhealthy influence of peer pressure. Some teenagers find it hard to fit in and more often than not, have self-esteem issues leading to overeating and even eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. Safe dieting for teenagers doesn’t have to be a grueling process where you have to eliminate all kinds of foods because that will only lead to more problems than solutions, especially weight loss for teenage girls. If there is something that any parent or a teenager can do, is to introduce new foods and review the concept of exercise to easy weight loss for teens.

One of the best ways to start on your plan to weight loss success is to set a goal that you can attain. It could be 5 pounds or 2 inches off your waist. For some, the measure of success can be fitting into a pair of jeans that you may have wanted to wear for a long time. Setting goals that you can attain also doesn’t pressure you into doing a crash diet which is seriously bad for anyone’s health. Making easy weight loss for teens should not be felt as a burden or a pressure. Weight loss should be seen as fun and positive for everyone involved.

To begin with safe dieting for teenagers, you can start with getting acquainted with a new food regimen. Say good bye to fast foods and all those fizzy drinks and replace them with foods that you can substitute to appease hunger and also promote weight loss. Foods like blueberries and yogurt are good at combating fat build-up in your body and at the same time can be a delicious snack when you’re hungry. Chilies can also spice up your metabolism so that your body burns more fat. Apples can also beat hunger while preventing belly fat.

It is always advisable to have people support your teenager in their weight loss campaign. How to lose weight safely can also mean having to face all those things that bother your teenager in the first place. Some teens have trouble with all the images they see in the media and feel like they have to be the same to be accepted. Safe dieting for teenagers means that it has to be a holistic process and overcoming adversity whether it is from within or from the outside.

When considering the best way to lose weight, you will find that health professionals recommend that exercise is the best way to lose all that weight combined with healthy eating. If gyms are not the preference for teenagers, consider sports that get your heart pumping like football and track. If your teen doesn’t really like sports, consider yoga and pilates to jump start their weight loss program.

If you are serious about losing weight, then you will absolutely need to try something known as calorie shifting. It is a rare diet in a mass of low calorie and fad diets it is the only one to target the real problem causing your weight gain, your metabolism. In this article I’ll explain how calorie shifting can help you lose 20 pounds of fat in 4 weeks and why it is also the only diet that will keep the results.

Why most diets fail
Most diets will avoid calories in an effort to drop weight, this actually creates longer term problems as your body desperate for calories will through the course of a low calorie diet actually diminish your metabolism to just about nothing in this effort to conserve. When the low calorie diet is completed the person will soon realize that they are unable to keep losing weight all together and wost of all virtually anything they now eat converts to body fat. In the same way a starving person will stuff their face at the first sign of food, the same happens when your body is re-introduced to a normal calorie amount, your body will take as much as it can get.

How calorie shifting works
The secret to calorie shifting is that by targetting the bodies metabolism at all times you are effectively treating the root problem and as a result actually achieve lasting results. By doing this you can expect to lose 20 pounds of fat in 4 weeks and more importantly actually keep the weight off once and for all.

Lose 20 Pounds in 4 Weeks by using Calorie Shifting Click http://www.fatloss4idiotsdietplan.com to find out HOW!

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Note: You may wish to publish this article for your website, blog, etc. As long as the article remains in its full entirety; including the links and the about the author resource box.

Dr.Robert Atkins addressed his own weight condition from a diet he read in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  Realizing the benefits of the diet he  followed Atkins later popularized the idea as The Atkins Diet in a series of books, starting with Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution in 1972. The Atkins Diet or just ‘Atkins’ is a well known low carbohydrate diet.

How Atkins Diet Works

The Atkins Diet states we can change our metabolism and lose weight easily simply by eating foods high in protein and fat and limiting foods high in carbohydrate. Consuming a high level of carbohydrates causes overproduction of insulin, leading to increased hunger and weight gain. The diet encourages the consumption of foods rich in protein.

The Four Stages of the Atkins Diet

Induction

The Induction phase is the first, and most restrictive, phase of the Atkins Nutritional Approach. It is intended to cause the body to quickly enter a state of ketosis. Carbohydrate intake is limited to 20 net grams per day.

Ongoing Weight Loss

The Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase of Atkins consists of an increase in carbohydrate intake, but remaining at levels where weight loss occurs. The target daily carbohydrate intake increases each week by 5 net grams.

Pre-Maintenance

Carbohydrate intake is increased again this time by 10 net carbs a week from the ladder groupings, and the key goal in this phase is to find the “Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance”, this is the maximum number of carbohydrates you can eat each day without gaining weight.

Lifetime Maintenance

This phase is intended to carry on the habits acquired in the previous phases, and avoid the common end-of-diet mindset that can return people to their previous habits and previous weight. Whole, unprocessed food choices are emphasized, with the option to drop back to an earlier phase if you begin to gain weight.

Each stage becomes progressively less restrictive and gradually increases carbohydrates allowed.

What Food is Allowed in Atkins Diet

The allowed foods include a liberal amount of all meats, fish, shellfish, fowl, and eggs; up to 4 ounces (113 g) of soft or semi-soft cheese; salad vegetables; other low carbohydrate vegetables; and butter and vegetable oils.

Sample Menu Plan from the Atkins Diet

Breakfast:

Italian sausage frittata

Cup of Herbal Tea

Lunch

Tuna salad with mixed leafy greens topped with bacon bits

Dinner:

Bacon cheeseburger with broccoli and cauliflower

Fresh fruit kebobs

Snacks:

High-protein, low-sugar snack bar

What Food is Not Allowed in Atkins Diet

No bread, alcohol, or carbonated beverages, not even diet soda. Beverages are limited to water, and consumption of caffeine is not allowed. It May be difficult to eliminate breads and cereals, especially in families with children who love these types of foods.

Misconceptions about the Atkins Diet

Many people incorrectly believe that the Atkins Diet promotes eating unlimited amounts of fatty meats and cheeses. This is a key point of clarification that Dr. Atkins addressed in the more recent revisions of his book. Although the Atkins Diet does not impose limits on certain foods, or caloric restriction in general, Dr. Atkins points out in his book that this plan is “not a license to gorge.

Another common misconception arises from confusion between the Induction Phase and rest of the diet. The first two weeks of the Atkins Diet are strict, with only 20g of carbohydrates permitted per day. Atkins states that a dieter can safely stay at the Induction Phase for several months if the person has a lot of weight to lose. Once the weight-loss goal is reached, carbohydrate levels are raised gradually, though still significantly below USDA norms, and still within or slightly above the definition of ketosis.

Known Health Benefits of the Atkins Diet

There are over 50 studies that highlight the positive weight loss results and other health benefits associated with following the Atkins Diet. These benefits include weight loss, improvement in risk factors for heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, inflammation, benefits in treating epilepsy and decreasing obesity in children and adolescents.

Study out of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Washington University School of Medicine randomly assigned participants to a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet or a low-calorie, high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet.  The low-carbohydrate diet produced a greater weight loss and was associated with a greater improvement in some risk factors for coronary heart disease.

Study out of Stanford University Medical School compared four weight-loss diets representing a spectrum of low to high carbohydrate intake for effects on weight loss and related metabolic variables. Participants assigned to follow the Atkins diet, which had the lowest carbohydrate intake, lost more than twice the weight and experienced favorable overall metabolic effects at 12 months than those assigned to follow the Zone, Ornish, or LEARN diets.

Additional Suggested Health Benefits of the Atkins Diet

Many people like being able to eat as much protein and fat as they wish, because these foods are often restricted in more traditional diet plans.

For people who have tried a low-fat, high-carbohydrate weight loss plan without success, increasing protein in their diet often results in decreased food cravings and more rapid weight loss.

The diet is relatively easy to follow; there are no complicated meal plans.

Potential Risks of the Atkins Diet

Eating unlimited amounts of fat, especially saturated fat found in meat products, can lead to increased risk of heart disease. Extensive research on healthy populations tells us to eat more fruits,vegetables and whole grains. Restricting these foods in the name of weight loss may lead to long-term health problems.

Additionally any diet that limits carbohydrate causes the body to rely on fat or muscle for energy. When our body breaks down stored fat to supply energy, a byproduct called ketones is formed. Ketones suppress appetite, but they also cause fatigue, nausea, and a potentially dangerous fluid loss. Anyone with diabetes, heart, or kidney problems should check with their physician before following a low-carb diet.

Unpleasant side effects include constipation (caused by the low-fiber diet) and bad breath.

Impact of the Atkins Diet on Diet Culture

Since the Atkins Diet made headlines n the late ’90s, there has been an explosion of low carbohydrate versions of traditionally high carbohydrate products, such as bread, pasta and even candy. Thiewed as the “grand daddy” and cause of the explosion of low carrb diets popularity in the nineties to early 2000.

What the Experts are Saying about the  Atkins Diet

Atkins Diet supporters claim it offers faster weight loss and a relatively user-friendly eating plan. Sceptics, including dietitians and nutritionists, maintain that Atkins Diet weight loss is both short-term and possibly a health risk, even though the weight loss itself may have the beneficial effect of lowering cholesterol.

Dr. Foster, one of the researchers involved in studying the Atkins Diet, acknowledged the possible health dangers of the Atkins diet and stated a longer five-year study was planned:

“This larger study of 360 participants will help us more fully assess the benefits and risks of low-carbohydrate diets on bone mass, kidney function, arterial function and exercise tolerance,” he said. “I’m very, very concerned that people will get the message from these studies that the Atkins diet is safe and effective, but I don’t believe we know that yet.”

Brigid McKevith, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), said:

“We welcome the fact that the Atkins diet is being studied scientifically and that randomised controlled studies have been carried out, because it’s very popular with the public. [however] There are several potential problems with the Atkins diet. These include long term bone health, as with a very high protein intake the excretions of calcium increase, so there could be implications for the health of bones,” she explained.

“There could be difficulties for people who have an underlying problem with their kidneys or liver, because it would be putting more strain on those organs, and problems in terms of heart disease too, as it’s a diet very low in fruits and vegetables. Also, it’s very low in fiber, so in terms of digestive health, it’s not in keeping with our fibre and complex carbohydrate recommendations.”

Belinda Linden, head of medical information at the British Heart Foundation, holds similar views.

“The new studies do not indicate a dramatic weight loss for excessively obese people,” she said. “Previous studies have shown that weight loss from the Atkins Diet may involve muscle loss rather than body fat. Another potential problem is that it is so far unclear from studies whether weight loss is sustained over a longer period than six months. One of the studies shows no significant difference at 12 months.” She added that: “With minimal fruit and vegetables included in the diet, it holds serious implications for coronary heart disease and cancer. Diets need to be varied to protect against these conditions – and this one isn’t. This diet requires further long term and larger studies before its effectiveness can be confirmed.”

Volumetrics author Barbara Rolls, PhD, who holds the Guthrie Chair in Nutrition at Penn State University, offers a very simple explanation as to why people lose weight on Atkins diet:

“They’re cutting calories, even if they don’t realize it. No one has shown, in any studies, that anything magical is going on with Atkins other than calorie restriction. The diet is very prescriptive, very restrictive, and limits half of the foods we normally eat. In the end it’s not fat, it’s not protein, it’s not carbs – it’s calories. You can lose weight on anything that helps you to eat less, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for you.”

Neal Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Commission for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit research group based in Washington, says:

“Low-carb diets have been linked to increased frequency of colon cancer, formation of kidney stones, kidney disease, and even osteoporosis… The reason for the health worries is in large part due to red meat. People who eat meat every day have three times greater risk of developing colon cancer. And then there is the problem of the kidneys. They aren’t designed to work on an oil slick of fat.”

Susan Barr, registered dietitian in New York City, says:

“There have been reports in the medical literature that say that this low-carb diet may not be as bad as we thought. That makes people interested again in this diet, but until there is more research on what stresses the diet places on the body, there is no way to know what it might be doing besides providing short-term weight loss.”

The Bottom Line

The Atkins Diet is an optimally balanced lifetime eating plan with the flexibility to meet each individual’s unique physical condition addressing factors such as age, gender, level of physical activity, and metabolic rate.

This diet may seem like the tastiest way to lose weight, but don’t be misled by claims of effortless weight loss and unlimited amounts of food. Nothing is that simple!

The Atkins diet nutritional program provides a long term diet regimen with an effective means of weight reduction along with a well planned meal of choosing the right healthy foods to eat in their lifetime.

Atkins diet is an online weight loss center that has main points of nutritional approach on its weight loss program. The weight loss program comprising the Atkins diet can make an individual feel healthy, sexy and feel good about their selves.

The weight management program of the Atkins diet consists of a long term plan that promotes a lifetime effect of a good nutritional diet plan that will be delightfully used by Atkins dieters.

The aim of Atkins diet is to change one’s outlook on choosing the best food that will be healthy and can promote bodily changes that will make it fitter to live a healthier lifestyle. The dietary program from the Atkins diet is more directed towards changing one’s daily diet from a fat storing to a fat burning one.

There are different important key points that make Atkins diet an effective weight loss program. It teaches one to learn how to choose the proper foods that can amazingly help the body burn more fats and calories than usual.

The dietary plan in Atkins diet is individualized based on the person’s goal. It is individualized planned whether the goal of a person is to maintain their weights, lose some weights, to make one self healthier, to increase their energy capacity or simply just to feel great, healthier and sexier.

The eating plan of the Atkins diet revolves under four phases. These are created in order to help an individual tailor their own weight loss diet regimen according to their set goals.

Under phase 1 is the option to jumpstart one’s metabolism in order to lose weight more quickly. Phase 2 consists of a delicious meal plan that will promote a healthy diet and to maintain a steady weight loss.

The third phase is a complete nutritional food plan that will provide a person healthy meal maintenance to maintain one’s ideal weight. The last phase is concentrated on the lifetime maintenance of a healthy food diet that gives a person better confidence in choosing the right foods to eat in their lifetime.

The Atkins diet regimen teaches an individual to learn to recognize which group of food is most ideal for keeping their weight maintained. The Atkins diet program also teaches which activities can keep a person more active and what dieting activities can keep them highly motivated to keep up with their diet program.

Thus the major key points of the Atkins diet is teaching one to eat the proper food with its meal plan more directed towards eating more fruits and vegetables and less fats and calories intake.

Through the Atkins diet one is able to find their optimal weight, able to maintain it and feel better confidence about their health and looks by keeping off excess weight from their body.

How to lose weight safely for teenagers can be a tough, yet easy thing. One of the risks of being a teenager is that they tend to fall towards the unmerciful and sometimes unhealthy influence of peer pressure. Some teenagers find it hard to fit in and more often than not, have self-esteem issues leading to overeating and even eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. Safe dieting for teenagers doesn’t have to be a grueling process where you have to eliminate all kinds of foods because that will only lead to more problems than solutions, especially weight loss for teenage girls. If there is something that any parent or a teenager can do, is to introduce new foods and review the concept of exercise to easy weight loss for teens.

One of the best ways to start on your plan to weight loss success is to set a goal that you can attain. It could be 5 pounds or 2 inches off your waist. For some, the measure of success can be fitting into a pair of jeans that you may have wanted to wear for a long time. Setting goals that you can attain also doesn’t pressure you into doing a crash diet which is seriously bad for anyone’s health. Making easy weight loss for teens should not be felt as a burden or a pressure. Weight loss should be seen as fun and positive for everyone involved.

To begin with safe dieting for teenagers, you can start with getting acquainted with a new food regimen. Say good bye to fast foods and all those fizzy drinks and replace them with foods that you can substitute to appease hunger and also promote weight loss. Foods like blueberries and yogurt are good at combating fat build-up in your body and at the same time can be a delicious snack when you’re hungry. Chilies can also spice up your metabolism so that your body burns more fat. Apples can also beat hunger while preventing belly fat.

It is always advisable to have people support your teenager in their weight loss campaign. How to lose weight safely can also mean having to face all those things that bother your teenager in the first place. Some teens have trouble with all the images they see in the media and feel like they have to be the same to be accepted. Safe dieting for teenagers means that it has to be a holistic process and overcoming adversity whether it is from within or from the outside.

When considering the best way to lose weight, you will find that health professionals recommend that exercise is the best way to lose all that weight combined with healthy eating. If gyms are not the preference for teenagers, consider sports that get your heart pumping like football and track. If your teen doesn’t really like sports, consider yoga and pilates to jump start their weight loss program.

So, you have problem, -How to lose 20 lbs in 7 days? There is a solution to this problem but it will take some tough dieting and exercising.

First of all, why are you in this position? Why do you need to lose that much weight in such a short period of time?

Wait, don’t stop reading because you are likely to find the solution down below.

Still here?

Great!

Procrastination is one of the main reasons that you are in this position, you could have started this diet a month ago or even a year ago. It would have made your weight loss so much easier but instead your in for a week that you could call ‘Hell-week’ based on the last week of Navy seals training. Are you going to ring the bell? Are you going to quit on me? No? -Well, drop and give me 50!

OK, time to get serious. Losing weight is all about your eating habits and you exercising habits. Before I became a professional dieter, I had no habits, I ate when I saw fit and exercising? Well, I walk a lot at work. What I really didn’t understand was that although I ate less then my skinny friends I was still the fat one but then I realized that this was my problem. No habits and no diet plan makes it hard, not only to lose weight but it makes life harder in general. -Why? Because you blood sugar goes up and down like a yoyo making your pancreas produce large amounts of insulin and 1) Increase the rate that calories are being stored as fat 2) Lowering blood sugar levels making you tired, angry and hungry. People with a fluctuating blood sugar level are those that get cranky between every break at work. After a snack they shine up like the sun but in half an hour they drop like stone.

The first step in to take is to get a stable blood sugar level and this is achieved by eating the ‘good’ carbs. The ‘bad’ carbohydrates are those that makes your blood sugar level explode, like, sugar, honey etc. Remember that processed foods of contains a lot of ‘bad’ carbs and if you buy a non-fat or low-fat product it is still very fattening.

Step 2 in a successful weight loss is that you need to know what you need to eat. Calories are found in three different food ingredients, carbohydrates (read above), protein and fat. A lot of different diets like Atkins, South Beach, Mayo clinic etc have the basic principle of excluding one of the three in the induction-phase and then the re-introduce the nutrient in small quantities in the second phase and so on. I believe that this is the wrong way to start losing weight.

I believe that we need calories from all three because that is the way that every animal eat, humans not excluded. So why chose an unnatural way of losing weight? For instance, the Atkins diet excludes carbs and you are not even allowed to eat a small apple during the induction-phase, does that seem natural?

The trick to fast weight loss is (in my opinion and my own experience) eating all kinds of calories but to eat them at the right time, the latter is crucial. Diets that use calorie-shifting have been used for the latest decades, have you ever heard of the Danish (not the pastry, the country) National Hospitals diet? They made a diet years ago that used this strategy the only problem was that you needed to be very strict, you had to weigh your foods etc making it hard to follow.

Today there is a development of this strategy that helps your metabolism speed up. Eating a different kind of calorie than what your body expects makes your body burn fat.

With this diet alone (no exercise) you could lose 20 lbs in 20 days, but you are in hurry, right?

To speed up your weight loss you should do fat burning exercises, like running, aerobics, spinning etc. If you still aim at being 20 lbs lighter by the next week you really need to get started. It is probably possible to lose 20 lbs in 7 days if you include the loss of water weight meaning the water that you lose during the diet. In my perspective nothing is impossible, but this is close to it.

Good luck in losing weight, you now know the basics of a successful diet!

Susan hates this time of year.

“I always lose a few pounds over the summer,” the 42-year-old mother and homemaker says. “But as soon as Halloween arrives, I gain the weight back, along with a few more pounds. I start eating the kids’ treats and then the holidays arrive. Every January, I am fatter, more stressed out, and more tired than the year before. Even my skin suffers!”

From trick-or-treat candy to New Year’s cocktails, the next few months will be filled with culinary temptations. Is it possible to enjoy the holidays without packing on extra pounds? Dr. Roman Malkov says you can, if you follow some important guidelines. Dr. Malkov, who is renowned sports medicine specialist, has developed an eating and wellness plan based on the idea of carb cycling. This approach is very different than typical low-carb diets.

People who follow a carb cycling diet not only lose weight, they also often report an increase in lean muscles mass and higher levels of energy. This is important, because we can all use some extra energy during the hectic holidays. Dr. Malkov also says his program can make your skin look younger because the diet stimulates anabolism, which leads to fewer wrinkles. Carb cycling is not complicated and it doesn’t require you to buy any special supplements. You just need to learn some basic rules of how your body metabolism works.

As teenagers, many of us could eat just about anything we wanted during the holidays without gaining a pound. Then as we got older, it became harder to keep the scale from creeping upward. What changed? Our metabolism! As we age, our production of some vital hormones begins to drop and we often begin to process carbohydrates less efficiently. Still, it’s important to note everyone is genetically different. That’s why your friend may be able to stuff herself with mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie and stay lean while you may only lose weight by limiting you carbohydrate consumption.

In his book, The Carb Cycling Diet, Malkov explains there are two important bodily processes that determine how you look and feel – anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism is the process fueled by anabolic hormones that allows your body to build muscle and bones.

“As younger people, we produced a lot of important anabolic growth and sex hormones,” Dr. Malkov explains. “As we age, our bodies produce less of these hormones, which leads to a slowing down in metabolism, resulting in weight gain and health problems. ”

Catabolism is the process by which your body burns fat. Many popular diets, including most low-carb plans, focus only on catabolism, while completely ignoring the other, beneficial part – anabolism. Therefore, Dr. Malkov claims they do not help you to stay young longer, build muscle or help your body produce more anabolic hormones.

Dr. Malkov says, “It is important to realize that while catabolism destroys fat, it also destroys bone and proteins. Proteins are very important for your health. As we age, we begin losing proteins from muscle, cartilage, and skin. This leads to a decrease in bone and muscle mass, problems with our joints, and even wrinkles. If you want to stay young longer you need to take steps to prevent protein and bone loss.”

Dr. Malkov says he has helped many clients lose fat in healthy way, by kick-start their metabolism and increasing their natural production of anti-aging anabolic hormones. The first step is always to put his clients on a carb cycling diet.

Unlike other carb restriction plans that limit the number of calories and carbohydrates you can consume every day, carb cycling works on a rotating system. You alternate between lower carb days and higher carb days. According to Dr. Malkov, cycling allows you to burn fat at a faster pace during low carb days and then rebuild your carbohydrate stores on the alternating days. There are several benefits to this method of eating. Carb cycling helps prevent your metabolism from slowing down, which means you are less likely to hit the dreaded fat-loss plateau. Many people also find carb cycling easier to stick to than traditional low carb diets.

“It’s not realistic to tell people that they can never have a bite of Halloween candy,” says Malkov. “You simply have to be aware of the big picture when it comes to eating. If you indulge a little today, you need to counterbalance your diet tomorrow.”

Carb cycling has been successfully used by many fitness models and personal trainers. Dr. Malkov has also helped members of the Russian National Athletic Team use the system in order to drop fat, build muscle, and improve their performances. Additionally, there is increasing evidence that carb cycling can provide anti-aging benefits and even prevent some diseases, such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Malkov stresses that the days you pick for your low-carb and higher carb days are up to you. For instance, if you like to take a step aerobics class on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, you might want to make those days your higher carb days so you have the energy required for your workouts. During higher carb days, Dr. Malkov recommends eating between 350 to 400 grams of carbohydrates. That’s about what you probably are already eating. Keep in mind that you should focus on eating unrefined carbs from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These carbs are packed with healthy compounds that help ward off disease and keep your body young. Limited refined carbs from sugar and processed white flour. This includes white bread, crackers, and all processed junk food.

On limited carb days, Dr. Malkov suggests not eating any foods containing sugar or white flour. That means no Halloween candy! Try to keep your carbs under 300 grams a day. He says you should never starve yourself or feel hungry, even on limited carb days. Try to eat plenty of small meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism from slowing down.

By now, you may be worried that carb cycling is complicated. Dr. Malkov says it’s actually pretty easy.

“Counting carbs becomes simple once you get the hang of it,” he explains. “I suggest picking up a carb counting book, like the ones used by diabetics. The small extra effort it takes to carb cycle can bring a huge payoff in terms of weight loss, increased energy and improved health.”

Just remember, carb cycling is not a license to eat as many calories as you want. The only way to shed fat is to eat fewer calories than your body needs to maintain your current weight. Still, Dr. Malkov wants women like Susan to understand that losing weight alone will not provide the healthy glow we all crave. If you want to improve your appearance and boost your energy as you drop pounds, you need to increase your body’s natural production of anti-aging anabolic hormones. You may find that you can produce the results you are looking for by starting a carb cycling program.