It wasn’t all that long ago that the South Beach Diet was the hottest diet plan around. But then, as often happens, other diets started getting more attention. However, you may be surprised to know that the South Beach Diet is still being used by a lot of people to lose weight. It may not be the one getting the most notice, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is whether or not it’s an effective diet for losing weight, and on that count it works very well.

A good place to start is learning a bit about how the South Beach Diet works. It’s a fairly basic concept, but one that other diets have overlooked. What it does is change your cravings. You will retrain your body to stop craving bad food, and start craving good food instead. The other thing the diet does is it slowly lowers the amount of bad fats and carbohydrates that you are currently taking in.

Doing it this way allows you to make the needed changes to your diet without feeling like you are being deprived. That means you are much more likely to stick with it for the long term, and not only can you lose weight, but you will also keep it off. That’s certainly a good thing as far as diets are concerned.

The South Beach Diet has often been compared to the Atkins Diet, but they are not the same. Yes, they are both high protein diets, but that’s where any similarity ends. The Atkins Diet is noted for allowing people to eat as much fat and protein as they want, with the idea that calories aren’t the main problem. But this overlooks the fact that the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in. The South Beach Diet let’s you eat plenty of eggs, cheese, vegetables, beef, fish and poultry, but there are also portion sizes (though these are generous).

The diet is divided into phases which are designed to help you make the transition from unhealthy eating habits to healthy ones. For example, the first phase will help you to get rid of things like white rice and bread, ice cream, alcohol (including beer), and baked goods. Now, that may sound like a tall order, but it can be done if you follow the diet. Remember, one of the aims of the South Beach Diet is to actually reset your cravings. If it helps any, Phase 1 of the diet is made to last for only two weeks.

Once you are done with Phase 1, you move on to Phase 2. You will be able to eat a wider range of foods, but there is no time limit on this second phase. That’s because Phase 2 of the South Beach Diet is meant to be followed until you reach your target weight. But the whole beauty of the diet is that Phase 1 actually sets you up to succeed at Phase 2.

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As you may know, not fueling up with the right nutrients can affect how well your body performs and your overall fitness benefits. Even though healthy eating is important, there are myths that hinder your performance if you listen to them.

Below, you’ll find some myth busters on healthy eating.

1. Working out on an empty stomach.

If you hear a rumbling noise in your stomach, the rumbling is trying to tell you something. Without listening to them, you are forcing your body to run without any fuel. Before you exercise or do any physical activity, always eat a light snack
such as an apple.

2. Relying on energy bars and drinks.

Although they are fine every once in a while, they don’t deliver the antioxidants you need to prevent cancer. Fruits and vegetables are your best bets, as they are loaded in vitamins, minerals, fluid, and fiber.

3. Skipping breakfast.

Skipping breakfast is never a good idea, as breakfast starts the day. Your body needs fuel as soon as possible, and without it, you’ll be hungry throughout the day.

4. Low carb diets.

Your body needs carbohydrates for your muscles and the storing of energy.

5. Eating what you want.

Eating healthy and exercising doesn’t give you an all access pass to eat anything you want. Everyone needs the same nutrients whether they exercise or not, as well as fruits and vegetables.

6. Not enough calories

Although losing weight involves calories, losing it too quickly is never safe. What you should do, is aim for 1 – 2 pounds a week. Always make sure that you are getting enough calories to keep your body operating smoothly. If you start dropping weight too fast, eat a bit more food.

7. Skip soda and alcohol.

Water, milk, and juice is the best to drink for active people. You should drink often, and not require on thirst to be an indicator. By the time you get thirsty, your body is already running a bit too low.

Changing how you eat is always a great step towards healthy eating and it will affect how your body performs. The healthier you eat, you better you’ll feel. No matter how old you may be, healthy eating is something you should strive for. Once you give it a chance, you’ll see in no time at all just how much it can change your life – for the
better.

Tags: Antioxidants, Apple 2, Atkins, Best Bets, Calories, Eating Habits, Empty Stomach, Energy 5, Energy Bars, Fitness Benefits, Fruits And Vegetables, Healthy Eating, Light Snack, Losing Weight, Low Carb Diets, Muscles, Myth Busters, Myths, Nutrients, Physical Activity, Thirst, Vitamins And Minerals, Vitamins Minerals —

When it comes to finding the right weight loss exercise program many people make one huge mistake. They think solely in terms of doing cardiovascular exercises and either don’t do enough weight training, or worse, don’t do any weight training at all.

Some people mistakenly think that they want to burn the fat and the only way to do that is to do tons of cardio. And of course, you do need a full cardio workout in your overall exercise plan, but if you neglect the weight training aspect of your workouts you will really be shortchanging yourself and your overall fitness goals.

A lot of women also make the mistake of thinking that they can only lift very light weights and / or only do a few repetitions of each exercise or they will get bulky. They are so afraid of getting big that they neglect this extremely important aspect of working out.

Let’s set the record straight, while it’s true that women have both estrogen and testosterone in their bodies naturally, the levels of testosterone are only about one seventh of what men have. For a woman to “accidentally” get bulky just by lifting weights would be impossible. The women body builders you see don’t get that way on accident, they work hard at it and treat is like what it is… a full time job.

So, make sure you lift weights as part of your routine. The more lean muscle mass you have the more calories your body will burn all day every day, no matter what you are doing. That is a great side effect. Having nice muscle tone will also make you look trimmer and slimmer, no matter what your weight is.

So you will look thinner at 125 lbs if you have a lot of toned muscle than you would if you didn’t have good muscle tone. When first starting out (after you get your doctors ok) find someone to teach you how to use the proper form, then start with a weight that makes it challenging to finish a full set, one set is between 8 – 12 individual repetitions of the exercise.

The general rule of thumb is that you should be able to finish the set, but just barely. That is how you know that you are using the proper amount of weight. Once you can easily do all reps of one exercise at a certain weight, move up to a higher weight. At first you may not be able to do a whole set at the higher weight, that’s ok. Just do what you can and build on that.

Make each repetition slow and controlled and don’t forget to use proper breathing techniques. If you have never done this before you really should have someone show you the proper techniques in order to avoid injuries.

To get the most out of all your weight loss exercise plans, make sure that you eat right, get plenty of water and rest and incorporate a full weight training routine. You won’t get bulky but you will burn more calories and that may just make you hot.

Tags: Calories, Cardio Workout, Cardiovascular Exercises, Estrogen, Exercise Plan, Fitness Goals, Full Time Job, Lean Muscle Mass, Lifting Weights, Light Weights, Losing Weight, Mistake, Muscle Tone, Repetitions, Rule Of Thumb, Testosterone, Weight Loss Exercise, Weight Loss Exercise Program, Weight Training, Women Body Builders, Workouts —

It used to be that almost all meals were eaten at home. The only exceptions were if you happened to travel for business, were a truck driver, or happened to be on vacation. People simply cooked and ate at home. But over the years that has changed, and now it is estimated that people in the United States may eat more than half of all their meals outside the home. One of the big problems with this is that you don’t have control over what goes into the food you’re eating. This adds up to big trouble if you’re trying to lose weight.

However, there are some things you can do to eat healthier when eating out. Here are some tips to help you eat better, and keep your weight under control at the same time.

Skip the bread and butter. Sure, it’s nice to have something to nibble on while waiting for your food to arrive, but a slice of bread, with butter can add up to 300 calories. Have two slices and you’re already up to 600 calories, and none of your food is even at the table yet.

Choose your appetizers wisely. It’s a good idea to get an appetizer because it will keep you from overeating when the main dish arrives. Don’t order anything deep fried or that’s has cheese on it. Anything made with fresh vegetables is a good choice, as is a clear soup or seafood cocktail.

If you get a salad, have them put the dressing on the side. Otherwise there is a good chance the kitchen will pour too much dressing on the salad, and that adds up. You control how much you add when you have it on the side. (This goes for all sauces whenever possible)

Generally speaking, chicken and fish are better choices than pork and beef. However, you also have to pay attention to how it’s prepared. Fried chicken and fish, covered with cheese or a heavy sauce will have more calories than a lean cut of beef that is prepared the right way. Better methods of preparation include roasted, baked or grilled.

Share the entree. One thing most restaurants are known for are their large portion sizes, and they keep getting bigger. So, see if you can split the entree with someone at your table (some restaurants will charge a nominal fee for this, but it’s worth it). If no one wants to share, then eat half and take the other half home. You can always ask for a container before you start eating to make sure you’re not tempted to eat everything on your plate.

Fruit for dessert. If you still have room for dessert, then opt for one that contains fresh fruit. Remember, you can always split a dessert, too.

The main thing to keep in mind is that you don’t have to put your diet on hold just because you’re eating out. Learning to make better choices is all it takes to dine out without having to worry about an expanding waistline.

Tags: Appetizer, Appetizers, Big Trouble, Bread And Butter, Calories, Cheese, Choices, Cut Of Beef, Dish, Eating Habits, Exceptions, Fried Chicken, Fruits And Vegetables, Good Chance, Healthy Diet, Large Portion, Losing Weight, Nibble, One Thing, Pork And Beef, Portion Sizes, Sauces, Seafood Cocktail, Vegetables —