One past time that people love to do is eating. This can happen at anytime aside from the three basic meals of the day whenever the person is craving for something.

Whenever the individual buys the snack or meal to suit that craving, little attention is paid on how much cholesterol the food has. In fact, a lot of those of the dishes made in fast food joint are unhealthy which has prompted McDonalds to print the calories, cholesterol and other things on each product given to the customer.

The growing number of those who are overweight and obese has caught the attention of doctors since this means there are a lot of people now who are considered to be high risk of suffering from heart disease or stroke in the United States.

Aside from advising people to visit the doctor annually, many are suggesting to make some lifestyle changes before it is too late. This usually means making some changes in the food being eaten since this is the only way to control the amount of cholesterol going in the system.

So what type of foods must be avoided to have lower levels of cholesterol in the body? The first is reducing the quantity of red meat being consumed. A good example is steak, ham and bacon that is high in fat.

Giving it up will be difficult so eating smaller portions should be done especially for those who are moderate or at a high risk of getting a heart disease or a stroke.

Fried food such as hamburgers and fries should also be avoided. The ingredients and oil used in cooking these things are also high in cholesterol that could be dangerous to ones health. This also includes pre-packaged frozen meals that a lot of people will just throw in the microwave after a long day at the office.

Dairy products such as milk, eggs and chicken should also be reduced. If the person has a hard time giving this up, this can be substituted using non-fat milk or yogurt to provide calcium that the body needs.

It is safe for kids to have junk food, candies and cake. As the individual gets older, these things have to be avoided. This is because the ingredients used in making these products are high in fat.

Now that more or less the food the person should avoid has been revealed, it is time to mention those that can be substituted to maintain a good diet.

Ideally, those who want to reduce the cholesterol intake should have a diet that contains less than 30% of fat. Those who can eat less will do better in living a healthy life.

The best products in the market to get are beans, fish oil, fruits, garlic, grains, soy, vegetables and whole grain bread. These things have vitamins and minerals as well as omega 3 acids that are known to reduce cholesterol levels in the body.

Different variations can be done daily so the person will not get tired of eating the same thing just to have a healthy diet. If planning this is difficult, a dietitian will gladly help and make changes every week so the cholesterol levels will improve when the patient pays another visit to the clinic.

Tags: Bacon, Calories, Candies, Cholesterol, Cholesterol Food, dairy products;, Eating Habits, Eggs And Chicken, Fast Food, Fried Food, Frozen Meals, Fruits And Vegetables, Hamburgers, Hard Time, Healthy Diet, heart disease;, High Cholesterol, High Risk, Junk food;, Lifestyle Changes, Mcdonalds, Mcdonalds Calories, Red Meat, Vitamins And Minerals, Yogurt —

OK, you are getting older and you are starting to see the dial on your scale creep up. You know it is not your fault, after all, we all know that slowed metabolism as women get older is something that just happens. Or is it? Is this an inevitable and irreversible side effect of getting older?

Well, I’m not a doctor and I can’t really say for sure but according to what I have read we don’t necessarily have to expect to have slowed metabolism as women get older. As a matter of fact, from what I read, in some ways we are causing the problem ourselves!

You see one of the biggest culprits of a slowing metabolism is the loss of lean muscle mass. As we age we stop being as active as we were when we were younger.

As we become more sedentary the lean muscle mass in our bodies decreases thus slowing our metabolism.

This issue is made worse when we start to see the numbers on the bathroom scale getting higher and higher. Many of us will then mistakenly try to cut down on our food intake.

This only makes things worse because then our body thinks that it is starving so it shuts down as much as possible to conserve energy.

Once that happens we are really heading in a downward spiral. We will continue to gain weight because our metabolism is slowing down so we panic and eat less thus slowing our metabolism down even more.

The good news is that there are a few simple things you can do to combat this trend, it does not have to be an inevitable part of aging.

Here are two of the best things you can do to reverse this trend and keep that trim figure you’ve had up until now:

1. Eat better. That can mean different things to different people. For some of you that will mean to eat less food in general. Some of you may need to cut way back on the amount of bad for you fast food that you eat.

Others may just need to eat more “organic” types of food and steer clear of the overly processed foods. That may include those frozen “good for you” dinners.

As a rule of thumb, anything that is already prepared is not that nutritious. You are almost always better off making all your food from scratch with natural, fresh ingredients.

2. Weight train. If you are wasting hours every week on the cardio machines at your local gym and not doing any weight training, you are wasting your time.

You see endless cycles of cardio can actually burn off your lean muscle mass. Have you ever seen a long distance runner? They look almost emaciated, they sure don’t look healthy. That is because they have very little lean muscle mass.

To really increase your metabolism you should add as much lean muscle mass as possible. And for crying out loud ladies, don’t fret about “bulking up”. You can’t. You don’t have the right hormones to “accidentally” get big. Even if you really wanted to it would be a challenge for most women, you sure aren’t going to do it accidentally.

These are the best ways to combat slowed metabolism as women get older.

Tags: Bathroom Scale, Culprits, Different Things, Downward Spiral, Fast Food, food intake;, Lean Muscle Mass, Losing Weight, Matter Of Fact, Slowing Metabolism, Types Of Food —

People are busier than ever before. Several decades ago, the so-called experts predicted we would be living a life of leisure and that there would be almost no need to work at all. The reality that we live in now is much different; we are working more and under more stress. It doesn’t take much of a leap to figure out why people are eating out more often, and how that can lead to obesity. Still, eating outside of the home is convenient, so having a restaurant calorie counter can be a real life saver.

If you have ever tried losing weight, then you know how difficult it can be. Anything you can use to help you lose weight is a good thing. A restaurant calorie counter is the ideal tool for helping you stay on your diet when eating out. It just makes sense to have this information on hand.

A big problem people have is unrealistic expectations. They decide they need to lose weight, and vow to make super-healthy meals at home. They envision themselves in the kitchen making nutritious foods from scratch, and sitting down to a nice home-cooked meal. If you can do this, then that’s great, but be honest about it. If you’re not already in the habit of making meals at home, then being on a diet won’t be enough to change that.

It’s much better to face the fact that you’re the type of person who likes to eat out. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it’s best to be realistic before starting a diet. Of course, once you’re in a restaurant you still have to watch what you eat, and that’s where a restaurant calorie counter can be so helpful.

Well, ‘helpful’ is one way to describe it, but ‘vital’ may be more accurate. While you can always check food labels for the items you have at home, very few restaurants put any kind of nutritional information right on the menu. Some fast food places will have a brochure that lists the info, but it’s rare for a regular restaurant to publish this information.

Without a restaurant calorie counter, the only thing you can do is guess how many calories you’re eating. That may sound reasonable, but studies have shown that people consistently underestimate the number of calories in the food they eat; and if you’re on a diet, then you can’t afford to be too far off. If you underestimate, then you may overeat; if you overestimate, then you may feel hungry all the time.

When selecting a calorie guide, it’s best to make sure it includes the restaurants you visit most. Of course not all locally owned restaurants will be covered, but most guides will give you a pretty close approximation for most foods. For example, if it’s an Italian restaurant, then make sure that the restaurant calorie counter you get includes listings for the foods most typically served at Italian restaurants.

Tags: Brochure, Calorie Counter, Calories, Decades, Diet, Eating Habits, Fast Food, Food Labels, Food Places, Habit, Healthy Diet, Healthy Meals, Home Cooked Meal, Leap, Life Of Leisure, Losing Weight, Nutritional Information, Nutritious Foods, obesity;, Scratch, Stress, Unrealistic Expectations, Vow —

The sandwich chain ‘Subway’ has marketing itself in such a way that it is a healthy alternative to fast food. For this reason the Subway calorie counter is looked upon very highly for anyone wanting to lose weight. When you order a low fast option from Subway you have a choice between seven 6 inch subs that have 350 or fewer calories and less than 6 grams of fat.

The low calorie sub options include: turkey, ham, ham and turkey, oven roasted chicken breast, veggie delight, turkey club and roast beef. Then there is the sweet onion teriyaki chicken sub that is just over the calorie count at 370 calories but has just 5 grams of fat, so still a very good choice – and my personal favorite.

One mistake that some people make is that they think all Subway subs are low calorie and that they can order anything they like from the menu. Not all of the subs are low calorie and there are some you should avoid if you are dieting such as the 6 inch tuna sub that has 530 calories and 31 grams of fat – and that is before you add any sauces or mayonnaise.

Subway also has some hot subs that should also be avoided if you are dieting. The 6 inch toasted chicken parmesan, the toasted bacon and chicken ranch and the toasted meatball marinara all come in at 500 calories. The meatball sub has 24 grams of fat.

You also need to keep in mind the size of the sub that you order. Subway has the 6 inch subs and the foot long subs and the foot long subs are double the size and double the calories of the 6 inch subs.

Something else that you should watch out for on the Subway calorie counter is the double versions of subs. For example, the double meat turkey sub has 340 calories while the regular version has just 280 calories, so by ordering the double version you are increasing your calorie intake.

With Subway subs you also get to choose the type of bread you want for your sub and this can also make a difference to the number of calories. The white bread sub has 190 calories by itself but if you choose one of the deluxe breads – honey oat and parmesan oregano – this will increase the calories by 50 – 60 calories.

When you add cheese to the sub it also increases the calories. Cheese is a standard ingredient on the subs however it is represented separately on the Subway calorie counter and will add another 40 to 50 calories on a 6 inch sub.

Mayonnaise is another big calorie addition and it can add 110 calories for a normal serving while some condiments such as mustard has barely any calories.

If you are having Subway for breakfast you also need to choose wisely. The breakfast subs range from 270 to 510 calories and you are best to stick to the egg and cheese on a deli roll or perhaps the honey mustard and ham on a deli roll. You want to stay right away from a sub such as the chipitole steak and cheese on a 6 inch roll as that is on the higher end of the calorie scale.

Subway also sell other foods including cookies, chips and sodas which all come high in calories so although these may be tempting you should avoid them. Subway does feature the Baked Lays brand of chips which has around 110 calories a serving so they aren’t too bad.

Subway is a great option for those who want a healthy alternative to fast food as long as you use the Subway calorie counter wisely.

Tags: Bacon, Calorie Count, Calorie Counter, Calorie Intake, Calories, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Ranch, Double Meat, Fast Food, Fewer Calories, Inch Subs, Losing Weight, Mayonnaise, One Mistake, Oven Roasted Chicken, Oven Roasted Chicken Breast, Roast Beef, Sauces, Subway Subs, Sweet Onion, Turkey Club, White Bread —