The Daniel Diet is about as far from a fad diet as you can get. While fad diets are, by definition, very new, the Daniel Diet has roots that go back approximately 2,600 years! Most people may try this eating plan as a way to lose weight, but it is specifically designed to help you have a better relationship with God at the same time.

The diet has its origin in the following Bible verse: “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.” – Daniel 1:8 (NIV). During this time, Daniel was a Hebrew living in Babylonia, and was saying that he would stick to the dietary guidelines his people received from God. Babylonians were not under the same rules for eating, and they would eat foods that were off limits to the Jews.

Skipping ahead about 2,600 years…

The Daniel Diet was developed by Rev. Elmer Townes. It does not have the exact restrictions as the Jewish dietary laws mentioned in the Bible. However, it serves the same purpose by putting God first, and the weight loss is secondary.

Partial fasting is a big part of the program. Some of the foods you can eat include fruit and vegetable juices, whole grains, water, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. These are all healthy foods. You may have also noticed that they are all foods that are derived directly from nature and not a scientific laboratory.

Foods that are not a part of the Daniel Diet include refined sugar, chemical sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, meat, white bread or rice, caffeine, fried foods, shortening, margarine, alcohol, carbonated beverages, and additives or preservatives. This can be a big change for a lot of people.

As mentioned, this is more than just a diet. In fact, the first step is prayer so you can be spiritually prepared. You will then commit to staying on the diet for a set amount of time, and then letting others know about your promise to follow through.

Spiritual preparation is only the beginning. You will also have to get ready physically. This can take some doing–weaning yourself off the foods that aren’t allowed–but you have to be ready once you make the commitment.

How long you’re on the Daniel Diet is mostly up to you. Because of the strong spiritual component, a lot of people will tie it in with religious observances; Lent, for example. Others will do it as an entire church, or as part of a church group. That being said, a minimum of seven days is recommended if you want to see any weight loss results. Yet, there are even those who choose to dedicate one day per week to doing the Daniel Diet. As you can see, it’s a flexible plan that is more than just a diet and can be done by anybody.

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There is no doubt that the market place is filled with countless programs that claim to be the last word in healthy eating diets. One plan may allow you to eat all of the whole grains and vegetables you want, while the next may all but eliminate them. The problem is that there is no way they can all be right, and not all of them can be wrong; this leads to confusion, and this confusion is often all the excuse people need to not try any healthy diet at all. How are you supposed to tell which ones are good or bad; and which ones should be avoided versus which ones are worth trying?

What may surprise you is that some of the most popular diets are not necessarily the most healthy. The truth is that a lot of them are based around a gimmick of some kind, and the rest of the diet relies on some basic principles found in all healthy eating diets. This creates the illusion that the gimmick makes it work, but the harsh reality is that the gimmick is often the least healthy aspect of such diets.

Still, it’s hard to convince people that a certain diet doesn’t work. There is a lot of psychology that goes along with it, but the simple explanation is that these people are invested in believing their diet of choice works, and that the gimmicky portion is the secret. However, there are many people who don’t resort to fad diets to get healthy. Instead, they develop a well-balanced plan of their own by taking the best elements from several healthy eating diets.

One of the fad diets to make a big splash recently was the low-carb diet. These diets really did work for a good number of people. How they worked, and whether they’re a good long-term option remains debatable, but they did work. The catch is that there are very few people that should b restricting carbohydrate intake to this degree. Sure, it’s a good idea to get rid of the “bad” carbs found in white flour, white rice and sugar, but it’s not a good idea to give up the “good” carbs which are high in fiber and loaded with nutrients that can’t be found anywhere else.

So, a low-carb diet may help somebody to lose weight, but it can’t really be counted among healthy eating diets because it falls short on fiber as well as various important nutrients. But, somebody can take a part of the typical low-carb diet and use it to create some of their own specific plan.

Of course there are tons of other diets that say you should do this or do that, or not to do it at all. But healthy eating plans don’t have to rely on gimmicks, they simply rely on common sense. Instead, it’s just a matter of eating a variety of wholesome foods and keeping them on balance, and in this day and age, that may be the biggest gimmick of all.

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Simple Ways To Lose Weight – Watching What You Eat

There is no question that obesity is a big problem in the United States and other Western nations, and it’s not showing any signs of going away soon. If you have been looking for simple ways to lose weight, then chances are you have stumbled across a few fad diets, perhaps you have even tried a few. But there is only one way to shed those extra pounds: you have to burn more calories than you take in. One way to decrease how many calories you take in is by controlling your portions. Here are some tips to help you do just that.

The first thing you need to know is what a normal portion is for most of the foods you eat. You may be quite shocked to find out that you have been regularly eating three to four times the normal portion. For example, a serving of meat is considered to be 3 ounces, that works out to be about the same dimensions as a deck of cards. A serving of ice cream is a half cup, so if you eat a pint you will have consumed four servings. And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Most of us will mindlessly fill our entire plate when we sit down to eat. We don’t really think about what we put on the plate, we just know that it should be full. Therefore, you can trick yourself into eating less by using smaller plates, cups and bowls when you eat. That way there will be less plate to fill.

You can also look to tricks used by restaurants to make your plate look fuller. A favorite is to use garnishes like thinly slice fruit, raw kale and fresh parsley. These aren’t normally eaten, but they take up extra room and give the illusion of having more food on your plate.

If you put the healthiest foods on your plate first, then you will automatically limit how much of the less-than-healthy food you’ll have room for. For example, if you start by putting veggies on your plate, then a small salad, you will be forcing yourself to take a smaller portion of meat.

Did you know that the type of glass you put your beverages in makes a difference? This is nothing more than an illusion, but it ranks as one of the simple ways to lose weight. Taller, thinner glasses look like they hold more, so use those. If you’re having a cold drink, then fill the glass with ice first, then pour in your beverage. Yes, restaurants use this trick, too.

Only cook what you’ll eat. A lot of recipes are designed to feed a family of four, but if there are only two of you, or you’re on your own, then reducing those recipes will help to keep your portions under control. After all, you can’t eat more of a certain dish if there isn’t more there for you to eat.

Tags: Bowls, Burn Calories, Calories, Deck Of Cards, Eating Habits, Extra Room, Fad Diets, Healthiest Foods, Healthy Food, How Many Calories, Illusion, Kale, Losing Weight, obesity;, Parsley, Pint, Proverbial Iceberg, Restaurants, Shed, Signs, Sit, Veggies, Ways To Lose Weight —

If you live in a part of the world where the winters are cold, then chances are good that you look forward to summer every year. The warm weather, being outside, picnics…and going swimming. Wait! That all sounds good except for the swimming. Sure, you enjoy summer, but let’s just say you’re not quite ready to reveal to much at the beach. To put it another way, you are concerned about summer weight loss. If so, you should know that you are not alone. Perhaps millions of people go through this exact same struggle, year after year.

Of course winter has its strong points, too. You can stay indoors all you like and nobody questions it, you can sit by the fireplace and read good books, or just watch television. Throw in a few big holidays…and big eating, and it’s easy to see how your waistline could increase during the colder months. But no matter, summer is coming sooner than you would like and now you have to lose some weight.

If you have found yourself facing this dilemma in years past, then you know how difficult it can be to lose enough weight in time for summer. Perhaps you have tried DVDs, gym memberships, fad diets, diet pills or starving yourself to get rid of a few pounds. But summer weight loss doesn’t mean you have to do drastic things to look good in swimwear. The real secret is to make better food choices and to get yourself moving.

One of the great things about spring and summer is that the grocery stores start getting in fresher produce. That means you can stock up on some of the tastiest foods from nature. And eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables is one of the keys to losing weight without taking too much effort. These foods are low in calories and packed with essential vitamins and nutrients that help you to stay healthy.

Another benefit of fruits and vegetables is that they tend to be high in fiber. Fiber helps keep things moving along in your digestive system, but it also makes you feel more full. Speaking of which, most people will heavier, more rich foods when it’s colder outside. So, the foods you eat in summer may already be lighter to begin with. There are exceptions, of course, such as thick burgers made on the grill. But you don’t have to give those up. Just aim for a smaller portion and load up on the foods that are lower in calories.

Summer weight loss may seem like an impossible task, but there are a lot of advantages working in your favor. You have more access to fresher, healthier foods. You will most likely eat foods that are lighter. Plus, because it’s summer you will probably be a lot more active than you were during the winter. Either way, the choice is yours. You can either keep doing what you’re doing now and be embarrassed all summer long, or you can take action and actually do something about it.

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