Do you know these smart shopping tips for healthy eating?
Zaak OConan

Any healthy eating plan begins at the grocery store. Learning to make smart choices when shopping for food is the key to the success of any healthy diet plan. Learning to recognize the healthiest, freshest foods is a skill every grocery shopper must learn.

Of course, the logical place to start the healthy shopping trip to the grocery store is at the produce section. Most large modern supermarkets have huge produce sections, often taking up a large portion of the store. It is not unusual for the produce section alone to contain hundreds of choices, so it can be difficult to know the best foods to choose.

When it comes to the produce section of the supermarket, however, it is difficult to make a bad choice. That is because almost all fruits and vegetables are healthy, low in calories and delicious. While there are some high fat fruits and vegetables, such as avocados, they are the exception rather than the rule.

The most important thing to remember when shopping for fruits and vegetables is the old saw that variety is the spice of life. Trying a variety of different fruits and vegetables, including some you may never have heard of before.

Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is a great way to enjoy a healthier diet without becoming bored. Many new diets fail due to boredom, but eating a large number of different fruits and vegetables every day can virtually eliminate that problem.

One way to introduce this variety into a healthy diet is to seek out fresh, in season produce on every trip to the grocery store. Not only are fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables usually less expensive, but the changing variety will help guarantee fresh new recipes week after week.

Of course the produce section is not the only place to find healthy, nutritious foods. The other parts of the supermarket are also full of both good and bad choices. For instance, when choosing bread, it is best to buy whole grain breads and avoid the more processed varieties. The same is true of baked goods. Whole grain products contain large amounts of fiber and other nutrients that the more refined baked goods may lack.

Important healthy eating decisions need to be made in the meat section of the grocery store as well. This means buying the leanest cuts of meat you can find. In addition, extra fat should be trimmed from the edges of steaks, roasts and chops. You can do this trimming at home, or, better yet, have the butcher do it at the store. After all, why pay extra for what you won’t use?

Even though poultry is generally low fat, not all poultry is created equal. Some varieties, like duck and goose, contain significant amounts of fat. A roast goose or duck can be great for Christmas or other special occasions, but these meats are generally too greasy to be used for everyday meals.

Even low fat poultry like chicken breasts can benefit from some additional trimming. Removing the skin from chicken significantly cuts the amount of fat and calories it contains. In addition, using low fat white meat chicken instead of fattier dark meat is a smart move.

When buying ground meats, always try to buy the leanest varieties you can afford. Ground beef that is 97% lean is a good choice. In addition, ground turkey or ground chicken makes a good, lower fat substitute for ground beef, and it can be used in all recipes that call for ground beef, including tacos, burritos, barbeque, burgers, etc.

One important note about ground turkey and ground chicken, however. Processed ground poultry products can often contain surprisingly high levels of fat. That is because manufacturers often grind up unwanted skin and fat in addition to the lean turkey or chicken. This is a particular problem with lower priced varieties of ground chicken and turkey, so it pays to read the labels and monitor fat content carefully.

Learning to be a smart shopper is a vital part of enjoying a healthy lifestyle.. No matter what your reason for eating healthy, learning to shop smart and buy healthy foods is an essential first step.
About the Author

Zaak O’Conan discovers and presents useful information on how to enhance and/or repair your life, body and relationships. You’ll find his other articles on eating better and other ways how to improve your life at http://your-health-center.com

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If you want to help your teenage kids to lose weight, here are some tips that may prove helpful:

1. Make losing weight a family affair. Rather than just concentrating on your teen, try to adopt healthy habits as a family. Eating healthier foods at home and getting more exercise is good for the whole family. Try to encourage family members to eat more fruits, veggies and whole grains.

Prepare menus that contain healthy food groups to ensure that your family is getting all the nutrients that they need. Practice leaving junk food when you do your shopping at the grocery store. Healthy foods may sometimes cost you more, but it’ is worth investing in as it concerns the health of your whole family.

2. Allow occasional treats as a break from the usual. That late-night pizza with friends or nachos at the mall doesn’t need to be totally excluded from your teen’s healthy-eating plan. Suggest a healthier alternative instead such as breadstick and marinara sauce instead of garlic bread dripping in butter and cheese.

You can also opt for ordering a shared snack instead of a full-size order to lessen the portions. You can let your teen know that he or she can also have control over his or her eating choices and an occasional indulgence is acceptable. A trend towards developing healthier habits is what really matters rather than banishing your kid’s favorite food totally.

3. Plan fun and highly active family outings, such as regular walks at the park or weekend visits to a local recreation center. Such activities can greatly help keep your kids stay active. And not only that, such activities can also be a great way for the whole family to bond and enjoy each one’s company.

4. Be positive. With your kids being overweight, their feelings should also be put into consideration. How they feel about themselves can affect their motivation to lose weight. As a parent, you can actually influence how your kids will feel about themselves.

You must help them realize that being overweight doesn’t inevitably lead to a lifetime of having low self-esteem. Your acceptance of their condition is critical. Try to listen to your teen’s concerns. Provide positive comment on his or her efforts, skills and accomplishments. You must always make it clear that your love and concern is unconditional and that it is not dependent on weight loss.

This will make them more secure as well as confident in trying to motivate himself or herself from losing weight. You can help your teen learn healthy ways of being more open in express his or her feelings.

5. Eat breakfast. This is usually a thing that is lightly taken in many families. But breakfast can really help your teen from keeping off those extra pounds. It may take some constant urging for your teen to get up early for breakfast, but always bear in mind that it is important.

A well-balanced nutritious breakfast at the start of the day will jump-start your teen’s metabolism. This meal will be able to give him or her energy to face the day ahead. Even better, feeling full each morning before going out of the house may keep your teen from eating too much during the rest of the day.

These are just a few of the many things that you can do to help your teen from getting rid of excess pounds and keeping it off. It may take a bit of work on your part. But the rewards can be seen in knowing that your kids are learning to live a healthier lifestyle and grow and develop into healthy adults.

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OK, so you were just watching t.v. (or listening to the radio or reading a magazine) and you saw an ad that promised that you could lose weight fast and easy. But, since you are an intelligent person, you have your doubts.

Is it really possible to lose weight fast and easy? Is there really a system, a supplement or an exercise machine that will work like that?

Well, I don’t pretend to be an expert but I can tell you from my experience I’ve never found anything for weight loss that really delivered the way it was supposed to.

I have found that some exercise programs, eating programs or supplements might help a little, but I’ve never found one that will do it all as quickly or as easily as the advertising would have you believe.

I have bought many types of products over the years to get in better shape. Everything from exercise equipment, to workout DVD’s to a supplement and I can tell you one thing that I’ve noticed on all of them: they have disclaimers.

While not necessarily a bad thing, when you buy a weight loss supplement that promises you can lose weight “without dieting or exercise” and then you read the side of the bottle where it clearly states something like: “In conjunction with a healthy eating plan and exercise” you kind of have to wonder if the supplement is really doing anything at all.

I mean if you used the same healthy eating plan and exercise without taking the supplement, would you see the same results? Is it the supplement that is making the excess fat disappear or is it the healthy eating plan and exercise?

Like I said above, I’m no expert so I don’t know but it does kind of make you wonder, doesn’t it?

Of course, you should always talk to your doctor before you start any type of eating plan, exercise plan or taking any supplements. If you have any restrictions your doctor will let you know.

So, you may be wondering, does that mean that I have to work hard to lose weight? Well, based on my own experience, the answer to that question would be “no”. You see, recently I went on a “diet” where I just gave my body the foods it needed to run at it’s best.

I ate several small, healthy meals throughout the day and I actually lost weight! Yes, that’s right, you heard me, I ate more food and I lost weight.

I lost almost a pound a day! And the really cool thing was that I did it in a healthy way; I just gave my body what it needed. I increased my metabolism so I was burning fat throughout my day and I lost weight.

I hope that I’ve shown you that while there may not be any shortcuts to weight loss, you can lose all the weight you need to lose just by giving your body what it needs. Keeping your body functioning at it’s best while losing weight sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

If you want to lose weight fast and easy I would recommend you talk to your doctor first for some ideas and then see about eating your way to a better body. Sounds odd, but it worked for me, it will probably work for you too.

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The Fat Smash diet plan is a diet created by Ian Smith and it is a 90 day program that became quite popular when Celebrity Fit Club was the big thing on TV. This diet claims that you do not need to count calories to lose weight and you will not feel hungry. However, such claims seem too good to be true, so are they?

Let’s take a look at this diet in more detail and how it actually works. This weight loss program does actually have all the good things that a good diet should have. With this diet you need to follow a healthy eating plan combined with exercise to lose weight. It doesn’t make promises of losing lots of weight without any effort; it shows you how to put in the effort to make changes to lose weight. Ian Smith has a good, solid foundation for this diet and also puts a high focus on the benefits of having a good support system of family and friends. It can sometimes be difficult to stay motivated while dieting so a good support system can help to encourage you to stay on track.

Many weight loss programs focus on either the diet itself or on an exercise regime. It is important that you combine these two aspects for the best weight loss results and not just focus on one or the other. The Fat Smash diet suggests that you undergo a detox first to give you an initial burst of motivation as it will help to kick start your weight loss. The detox stage lasts around nine days and during this time you may actually not feel the best as your body has some symptoms of the detox. You may experience nausea, headaches and tiredness so it is best to begin this diet at a time when you can cope with these symptoms.

The Fat Smash diet program is divided into four parts. The first part is the detox stage and during this stage you will eat mainly fruit and vegetables. Some of the dishes suggested in the diet have a Japanese flavor and you can find many of the ingredients at your local store. The second stage of the program will add lean meat, eggs, fish and other foods into the diet. In stage three you will have bread, wheat, pasta and even some deserts added to your diet. Phase four actually includes some pizza and other fast foods. During all four phases it is recommended that you eat little and eat often. Eating this way will help to boost your metabolism which will enable you to lose weight faster.

This diet also suggests a number of different activities that you could do to get the required exercise. If you follow the diet but don’t include exercise then you won’t see as good results as you would if you do include exercise. The Fat Smash diet program is actually quite a good diet program for losing weight if you stick to it and follow it through, including the exercises. If you are looking for a good diet program to help you lose weight then this one might be the answer.

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