How do I lose pounds quick? That’s the million dollar question. For the most part, its not about losing pounds quickly but keeping those pounds off for good!

Let’s begin with a diet that is high in protein but low in carbs. A low carb diet, if done correctly, will put your body in a state of ketosis (fat burning metabolism).

Stay away from sugar, flour anything refined. Eat food the way your ancestors intended you to eat. Such as steak with salad. Bacon and eggs. There is nothing added to these items. Simple is better.

Sodas, cut them out! Have you looked at the nutritional label lately on a bottle of pop? Let me tell you, OMG! Some of them have 28 grams of sugar and 20-30 grams of sodium per serving. Let me remind you, a serving is 8 oz. This equals one measuring cup.

Talk about water retention and not to mention all those liquid calories you’re washing down your gullet. Oh, I almost forgot the damage the sugar in sodas can damage your teeth. Tooth decay, does soda still sound so irresistible?

Stay away from processed food. The food industry puts all kinds of preservatives in the food to keep it edible. What that means to you? Sodium or in other words BLOATED! Stick to eating small servings of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Drink a lot of water. At least 8 glasses a day. I know that sounds like a lot. But you need the water to flush out the fat and toxins that are built up in your body from eating over processed food. Water not only helps people lose weight. It also helps skin appear healthier. You will even feel more vibrant.

Do you have a sweet tooth? Most of the cakes, pastries, candies, etc… Have an enormous amount of fat and calories in each serving. Don’t think you can do without your chocolate fix? Try eating a piece of dark chocolate. It actually has healthy anti oxidants.

I am not a fan of the liquid diets but that is an option to consider. Remember to drink shakes that are high in protein. Throw in a few pieces of fruit to make a fruit smoothie. Be sure to watch those calories though.

There are quite a bit of options out there on how to lose pounds quick. But most importantly be safe! Make healthy life long diet decisions. Like drink more water, cut down on sodas and sweets. After all, its your body and you only get one. So treat yourself right.

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Time and again, it has been said that weight loss is not just about dieting, rigorous exercise, or drastic cosmetic surgeries. But peoplebeing stubborn and not content beings they arenever listens. They continue to live the lifestyles that put their health to risk by trying out different means of losing weight without proper guidance from their healthcare providers.

LOW CARB DIET 101

Indeed, a lot has been said about various diets and how these work for some people. There s the Atkins Diet, the South Beach, the After-Six Diet plan and so on goes on the list of diet crazes that swept the western world and even Asian regions. Among all these, one type of diet has become popular than the othersits called the Low Carb Diet.

Basically, low carb diet actually emphasizes cutting down on from a persons daily food intake. This diet allows the dieter to take in all foods except those that have carbohydrates. Although there are many testimonies that prove that low carb diet really works, you must be very knowledgeable first about its pros and cons before deciding to go with the hype.

People who have tried low carb diets say that its advantages include:

1. Faster and quicker weight loss compared to fasting.

2. The diet may result to higher protein intake and absorption.

3. It stabilizes blood sugar levels and is extremely beneficial to those who suffer from diabetics.

Experts say that the disadvantages of low carb diets may include:

– High cholesterol levels due to the lack of protein-rich and fatty foods that has saturated fats.
– Increased blood pressure due to elimination of whole grains products that help lower blood pressure.
– It can lead to osteoporosis because there will be no enough supply of calcium.
– In some cases, this diet can lead to diarrhea, constipation, and severe headaches.
– Low carb diets increase the possibility of lower mental acuity.
– Instead of losing weight, this diet can lead to weight gain.
If you are planning on taking low carb diet, here are some helpful tips to keep you in track:

1. Make sure to drink lots of water to avoid dehydration and constipation.

2. Consider taking in more fiber and vitamin supplements.

3. Cease from consuming products that has sugar.

4. Cut down on taking in products that contain caffeine.

5. Monitor your daily carbohydrate intake.

6. Dont mind calories, they are allowed in this diet.

7. Acquire a carbohydrate counter to keep you updated.

8. Do regular physical activities and exercise to reach ketosis easily.

9. Brace yourself for diarrhea that may last for a couple of days.

10. If possible, avoid eating foods that have saturated fats.

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The second phase of the Atkins diet is called Ongoing Weight Loss or OWL. After the rapid weight loss of the 2-week Induction phase, youll be slowing your weight loss down just a bit. Youll add in specific carbohydrates that will make your diet a little easier and your weight loss just a bit slower. However, you will continue to lose weight at a steady even pace with ease.

During the OWL phase you will boost your bodys ability to burn fats. Although youll be adding carbohydrates slowly, youll still remain in the state of ketosis. You will continue to use your excess fat as fuel for your body, and the pounds and inches will continue to come off.

The OWL phase will also teach you to make better carbohydrate choices. The recipes and guidelines for OWL will increase your knowledge about nutritious food. Youll replace the poor carbohydrate choices that you relied on in the past with new and better choices.

Youll also learn how many carbohydrates you can consume and still lose weight. The process of the OWL phase is an experiment in what your specific body does with carbs. During the OWL phase, youll gradually increase your daily carb intake from the 20-gram level that you used in induction. Each week youll try adding another 5 grams of carbs and then take note of what happens. When weight loss slows too much, youll know that youve exceeded your personal carb limit.

OWL also prepares you for your permanent weight management program (called maintenance). The habits and practices that you develop during OWL will go a long way toward your long-term success. Treat this period of your diet as training for the real test your post diet life.

During the OWL phase, youll still be getting most of your carbohydrates from vegetables (just as you do during Induction). Its important to continue to eat a wide variety of vegetables, as they are good for your overall health and good for maintaining intestinal health during the Atkins diet. You will be able to add more portions of vegetables, and then gradually be able to add nuts, seeds and even berries. However, the main focus of the diet will still be protein.

In a way, the Induction phase is easier than any of the other phases of Atkins. The strict plan always works and always produces weight loss. As you enter the OWL phases, youll need to be more mindful of your carbohydrate count and keep better track of your weight. Youll have more choice and that may lead to more temptations, which could result in a stalling of your weight loss or even weight gain.

Counting carbohydrate grams is critical in your OWL success. If you dont count, you will end up consuming more carbohydrates than you should. However, there are many tools available that can help you with counting. There are several handy, portable books that will tell you the number of grams of carbohydrates in certain foods. Over time, youll know the carb count for your favorite foods instantly.

Counting carbs is also essential during the OWL phase because you are playing detective. You are investigating to find your personal carb count, the amount of carbohydrate grams that you can eat daily and still lose weight. During the first week of OWL, youll move from 20 carbohydrate grams to 25. It is recommended that you add this in the form of more vegetables, like asparagus or cauliflower. Youll continue at the 25-gram level for a week, and then move up to 30 grams a day.

As you increase your carbohydrate gram level, watch your weight closely. If you experience too much of a slowdown, you know youve gone too high. Youll find your maximum carbohydrate gram level when you stop losing weight at all. When this happens, youll know youve reached your limit. Once you discover your personal carb count, drop down below that number if you want to continue losing weight.

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The Atkins diet is not a new phenomenon. The diet first appeared in the late 1970s and has grown popularity in recent years in response to the low-fat diet craze. As dieters had trouble with low-fat plans, they searched for a new solution and Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution book found a new audience.

A lot of people have jumped on the Atkins bandwagon and there has been a lot of hype as a result. But what are the basic principles of the Atkins diet?

The Atkins diet is based on a theory of why we get fat. According to Dr. Atkins, the over-consumption of carbohydrates and simple sugars leads to weight gain. The way your body processes the carbohydrates you eat have more to do with your waistline than the amount of fat or calories that you consume. In his book, Atkins outlines a phenomenon called insulin resistance. He theorizes that many overweight people have cells that do not work correctly.

When you eat excess carbohydrates and sugar, your body notices that sugar levels are elevated. Insulin is released from the pancreas in order to store sugar as glycogen in the liver and muscle cells for extra energy later on. However, your body can only store so much glycogen at once. As soon as your body reaches its limit for glycogen storage, the excess carbohydrates are stored as fat. This happens to everyone who eats too many carbohydrates.

However, insulin resistant individuals have an even harder time of using and storing excess carbohydrates. The more insulin that your body is exposed to, the more resistant it becomes. Overtime, the pancreas releases more insulin and cells become insulin resistant. The cells are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin. They create less glycogen and more fat.

As a result, insulin resistant individuals gain extra weight. The carbohydrates get converted into fat instead of energy. Other side effects include fatigue, brain fog (the inability to focus, poor memory, loss of creativity), low blood sugar (which can leads to hypoglycemia), intestinal bloating, sleepiness, depression and increased blood sugar. There is much more than weight at stake when you are insulin resistant.

The remedy for people who are insulin resistant is a diet restricted in carbohydrates. The crux of the Atkins diet is a limitation of carbohydrates in all of its forms. The foods restricted on the Atkins plan include simple sugars (like cookies, sodas and sweets) and complex carbohydrates (like bread, rice and grains). Even carbohydrates that are considered healthy, such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat bread, are restricted on the program.

The diet has you restrict your carbohydrate intake to less than 40 grams a day. This will put your body in a state of ketosis. While in ketosis, your body will burn fat as fuel. According to Dr. Atkins research, the ketosis state will also affect insulin production and it will prevent more fat from being formed. Your body will begin using your stored fat as an efficient form of fuel, and youll lose weight.
Another benefit of the Atkins plan is that ketosis will end your cravings for carbohydrates. If youve been living on a carb-heavy diet, you may have found that you simply cannot get enough carbohydrates. With carbohydrate restriction and ketosis comes a reduction in carbohydrate cravings. People who have been on the Atkins diet for some time report that they do not crave carbohydrates as they once did.

Although the initial phases of the Atkins diet are rather strict, the program teaches you to restore balance to your diet in the long run. People who use the diet slowly reintroduce minimal amounts of carbohydrate into their eating until they find a comfortable balance between their health and carbohydrate use.

The basic principles of the Atkins diet have been adapted to many other low-carb diet plans. However, Atkins popularity still remains strong as one of the most effective low-carbohydrate solutions for those who are insulin resistant.

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