When a person digests carbohydrates, it usually turns into glucose and causes a temporary rise in blood glucose levels.  The glycemic index uses a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being pure glucose.  Foods that have a high glucose level are usually found from 70 to 100, those with moderate glucose levels are found to have an index score of 56 to 70 and those with a low index score range from 55 to 1.

Low Glycemic Foods are Not Necessarily Healthier For You

It should be noted that just because a certain food has a high or low glycemic score, doesn’t mean that it is healthier for you.  For instance, potatoes generally have a very high score, where a Snickers bar may be rated with a score of 55.

Foods that One Should Eat on the Low Glycemic Diet

One way to eat healthy and avoid foods that have a high glycemic rating is to choose foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, foods that are made with whole grains, legumes and lean meat.

Foods that One Should Avoid Eating on the Low Glycemic Diet

Generally speaking, processed foods are usually higher in their glycemic rating.  Foods such as snacks, processed baked goods, sugared drinks, sugar juices, etc all generally have a high glycemic index rating.

Getting an Accurate Reading of a Food’s Glycemic Level

It can be quite confusing trying to figure out the exact glycemic level of food.  For instance, rice can range from 55 to the low 90’s.  One way is to look at the nutritional label of products.  Some food manufacturers may list the glycemic level.  Another way is to choose organic or unprocessed foods- these foods are not processed and generally have a much lower score than processed foods.  It should also be noted that there are many books that are available that can help you figure out the glycemic level of a certain food.

Another method of figuring out the glycemic level of a food (especially if you are a diabetic) is to test your blood sugar level after you have digested it.  Usually you can see if there is a spike in your blood sugar level or if your blood sugar level stayed under control.   As always when starting a new diet, consult with a physician first.

Top Five Reasons Why Your Diet May be Failing

There are many reasons why a diet may not work for short term or long term weight loss; here are five of the most common reasons:

Exercise is an Important Part of Any Diet-
If you are on a diet and it does not have an exercise component, it will be incredibly difficult to lose large amounts of weight and keep it off for long periods of time. An exercise regiment helps to create more muscle within your body. The more muscle your body has, generally the higher your metabolism is because muscle requires more energy (calories) to perform tasks than fat.

You May Be Starving Yourself-
While consuming a lower amount of calories each day is recommended for weight loss, if you restrict your diet to too few calories, your body will think you are starving and will try to store as much fat as possible. When dieting, make sure you don’t restrict too much calories per day (lowering your caloric intake by 400 to 800 calories for most people is generally enough).

Your Diet Does Not Require a Lifestyle Change-
In order to keep the weight off, you need to be on a diet that is easy to live with. You can’t be on a fad diet for usually more than a week or two and many other popular diets are developed for short period of times. If maintaining a low weight is your primary goal, look to diets that change your eating habits for life, are easy to stick with and are beneficial to your overall health.

Some Diets are not pleasant to be on-
Let’s face it, the main reason many of us can’t stay on a diet is because dieting is not fun. There are so many delicious things to eat and restricting them can not only make us unhappy, but can cause us to splurge when we are on them.

Dieting Can Be Inconvenient-
Another top reason why your diet may be failing is that it is very inconvenient to be on. Some diets require you to purchase food for the week in advance, buy special foods that don’t travel or store well or foods that require special preparation. If your diet is hard to prepare for and requires lots of work or cost, it will be very difficult for you to stay with it in the long run. Instead, choose a diet that requires food that is easy to purchase and that stores or travels well so that you can be on your diet when at work.

Fad Diets Can Be Dangerous

Fad diets can be dangerous in many respects. First off, since fad diets usually become popular out of the blue, they haven’t been tested scientifically to ensure that they are safe over the long term. Fad diets can also be dangerous, because many of them usually request the dieter to extremely cut down on their caloric intake- instead consuming juice, soup or some kind of fruit for all their nutritional needs. While the average person can go a few days without a balanced diet, if you have a medical condition, you may be doing considerable harm to yourself by cutting back on essential nutrients.

Fad Diets That Are or Have Been Popular

Here is a list of some of the diets that are considered to be fad diets:

Lemonade Diet
This diet requires you not to eat any solid food, instead you drink lemonade, consume maple syrup and cayenne pepper

Cabbage Soup Diet
This diet requires you to consume heavy amounts of cabbage soup and a small piece of fruit or vegetable/starch for about 7 days.

Grapefruit Diet
This is an 18 day diet that requires one to consume large amounts of grapefruit each day, cutting back on other essential foods.

As you can see, with fad diets you may lose a few pounds, however the diet process will not be pleasant and staying on the diet for the long term is definitely not recommended. As always, it is advised that you consult with your physician before starting any diet program.

BMI Categories

• A person is underweight if their BMI is less than 18.5
• A person is considered normal weight if their BMI falls into the range of 18.5 to 24.9
• A person is considered overweight if their BMI is in a range of 25 to 29.9
• For a person with a BMI that is 30 or over, you are considered obese

Body mass index is one of the best ways to determine how healthy your present weight is and what your specific weight should be. It should be noted that if you are underweight, overweight or obese you may be more prone to certain health conditions. For instance, for those individuals that have a BMI of 30 or more, you may be more prone to diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. For those that are underweight with a BMI less than 18.5 you may not be receiving enough vitamins, minerals and nutrients for your body to function properly.

How to Calculate Your Body Mass Index

Generally speaking, it is very easy to calculate your body mass index. Many websites have calculators where you input your height and weight (in addition, you might be asked for your gender and age) and click submit. Your body mass index will be immediately shown. If you would like to calculate your body mass index on your own, the formula is quite simple. However it should be noted that there are two formulas that one can use metric (kilograms and meters) and standard (feet, inches and pounds).

Standard Calculation for BMI

Take your weight in pounds and multiply it by 703. Then take this total and divide it by your height in inches squared. The resulting number will be your BMI

Metric Calculation for BMI

Divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. The resulting number will be your BMI.

Three Major Types of Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Besides being found in fish and nuts, Omega 3 fatty acids comes in three different varieties, they are ALA (alpha linolenic acid, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid and DHA (docosahexaenoic). While these three types of Omega 3 fatty acids are different, our body can break down all three types and can use them for our body’s benefit.

Benefits of Omega 3 Fatty Acids

There are many health benefits of consuming Omega 3 fatty acids. Some of the most important benefits include:

Heart Disease-
Omega 3 fatty acids help prevent against heart disease by decreasing the amount of plaque produced. It should also be noted that Omega 3 fatty acids also assist in lowering cholesterol.

Strokes-
In addition to lowering the amount of plaque for heart disease, this also can have an affect for people that are at high risk to suffer from strokes. Omega 3 fatty acids inhibit plaque production which can decrease the risk of stroke.

High Blood Pressure-
Health studies have shown that those that consume Omega 3 fatty acids regularly are also less likely to suffer from high blood pressure. In addition, those already with high blood pressure have noticed a decrease when consuming this supplement.

Arthritis-
One of the best uses of Omega 3 is for those that suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis. Omega 3 has been proven to reduce inflammation and tenderness in joints.

Omega 3 fatty acids are available over counter as a simple supplement or you can receive your daily dose via foods listed above. For more information on how Omega 3 fatty acids can benefit your health, consult your physician.

What is Fiber?

Dietary fiber is a part of a plant. It is generally thought of as the material that helps a plant maintain its structure. Cellulose, polysaccharides gums, mucilage’s and polysaccharides are all considered fiber.

What Kinds of Food Contain Fiber?

There are many types of foods that contain fiber; they include fruits, vegetables, cereals and grains. Here are just some of the most popular types of foods in each category that contain dietary fiber:

Cereals
Cereals made with bran are usually the highest in fiber. For instance Raisin Bran or Bran Flakes usually contain the most fiber in this category

Vegetables

Vegetables are also a good source of fiber. Some of the top vegetables to eat for fiber include: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, corn, peas and potatoes (especially with the skin intact).

Fruits
Fruits are also another great source of fiber. Some of the fruits that have the most fiber include: apples, oranges, bananas, raspberries, strawberries, raisins and prunes.

Beans
Beans are also an excellent source of fiber, especially baked beans and dried beans.

High Fiber Diet
By creating a diet that consists of a few servings of any of these high fiber foods per day in each meal you can enhance your body’s digestive tract by cleansing it with fiber. Fiber is extremely easy to incorporate in almost any diet and since the foods are easy to carry and store, they are perfect for those on the go or at work.

For instance, with low fat diets, foods like butter, red meat and candy bars are restricted due to their high fat content. In diets like Atkins, which are low carb diets, foods such as fruits, sugar, pasta and breads are heavily restricted. However, when you count calories, you can eat any kind of food you like, as long as it falls within the amount you have decided to be your daily caloric intake.

Individuals lose weight counting calories, because they cut back on the amount of calories they consume. If a normal adult consumes 2,200 calories, cutting back 400 calories per day to consume only 1,800 calories will help a person lose several pounds per month. 3,600 calories make up one pound, by cutting back 400 calories per day, you can theoretically lose one pound every 9 days. In addition, if you add an exercise regiment, you can burn off calories even faster. Some individuals can easily lose 5 to 10 pounds per month by just cutting calories and exercising.

An Easy Method for Counting Calories

There are several methods for counting calories; here is one of the easiest methods to use. You first will want to figure out how much weight you would like to lose over the course of a month. For instance, if you would like to lose 10 pounds per month, you will need to reduce your caloric intake by about 36,000 calories. This can be done by cutting back on calories each day and by exercising regularly. For instance, for a person that consumes 2200 calories, they will need to restrict their caloric intake to about 1,000 calories per day. This can be done with both diet and exercise. You can easily cut down your caloric intake to 1600 calories per day and work out for about one hour to lower your caloric intake to about 1,000 calories per day.

How to Count Calories

In order to count calories, you will first need to know how many calories are in each food item you eat. This information is easy to find. You can usually find the exact amount of calories of a food serving by checking the nutritional label found on most foods. If there is no label on the food (such as fast foods or produce) you can easily go online to find out this information. Another source of caloric information is to purchase a book with calorie counts for many of the foods you eat each day.

For instance, whether you are sitting at a desk or jogging in a marathon your body requires a certain amount of energy to perform these tasks. Obviously, the higher the level of exertion the more energy (calories) is needed. For those looking to lose weight, you will want to restrict the amount of calories your body consumes so that it uses the fat stored already in your body for tasks. This is why in order to lose weight, you will not only need to cut down on the amount of calories, but also include a regular exercise plan.

Ways to Increase Metabolism

One of the best ways to increase your metabolism and help it burn more fat each and every day is to exercise. When you exercise you build muscle. The more muscle one has the higher one’s metabolism. Muscle requires more energy to function, so for those with low percentage of body fat, you will surely burn more energy (calories) each day. For those that have a high body fat ratio compared to muscle, you will burn up calories slower.

Why You Usually Gain More Weight as You Age

Now that you know that the more muscle one has the higher one’s metabolism. It is easy to conclude that when one ages they lose muscle. A young man in his teens or twenties has much more muscle than he will have when he is in his mid thirties, forties, fifties and so on. If you want to increase your metabolism, your best bet is to build muscle.

Exercise to Increase Metabolism

Before starting an exercise routine, it is important to consult with your doctor. However, an exercise routine whether it is lifting weights, playing sports such as tennis, aerobics, yoga or spinning can be an excellent way to build muscle and increase metabolism.

Extremely Low Calorie Diets

It should be noted that cutting your caloric intake in a very aggressive manner will not necessarily help you lose weight. In fact, your body will think it is starving and will slow down its metabolism. While a lower caloric intake can help to lose weight, make sure you continue to eat sensibly and never starve yourself.

Talk with Your Doctor Regarding Surgical Weight Loss Options

Obviously, every individual is different and it is important to talk with your doctor to determine if you are a candidate and whether or not you can benefit from certain types of surgical weight loss options. Today, surgical weight loss options are growing in popularity, especially for those that have tried many diets, lifestyle changes, exercise regiments prescription drugs, etc with little or no effect.

Available Surgical Weight Loss Options

Gastric Bypass Surgery
Gastric bypass surgery is one of the most common types of surgical weight loss options available. It works by minimizing the amount of food that is absorbed by the stomach and also since your stomach is made to be much smaller, you become fuller faster- limiting the amount of food you eat.

This procedure can be performed in two different ways, either through a laparoscopically or through an open incision. While those that have had the surgery report excellent results, it should be noted that complications can occur- including death. Gastric bypass, due to its risk is only recommended for those severely obese that are unable to lose weight using traditional, less risky methods.

Gastric Band Surgery
Similar in concept to Gastric Bypass surgery, a gastric band sometimes referred to as Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding or LAGB uses an inflatable silicon band that tightens around the upper portion of the stomach. Surgery is required to place this band in place. Since placing a gastric band around the stomach does require surgery, this method does have its risks and is usually recommended for only severely obese patients.

Liposuction
While obese patients can benefit from liposuction, many people that are moderately overweight or would like to sculpt their body prefer this method to easily remove fat from certain hard to lose regions such as thighs, abs, neck, etc. Liposuction is considered to be cosmetic surgery and usually is categorized as an out patient procedure. A surgeon uses a hollow tube called a cannula and an aspirator which is a vacuum suction device to remove fat from different areas of the body.

For more information on any of these surgical weigh loss procedures, please consult your physician.

Your Weight Loss Pill Options

There are generally two kinds of weight loss pills – prescription weight loss pills and over the counter weight loss pills. With prescription pills, you’ll need to have a doctor’s written permission to purchase these pill and in most cases these pills will be stronger in dose and may have certain side effects that do not make it advisable for the general public to use.

Non-prescription weight loss pills on the other hand, are those that one can easily buy over the counter. They can either be herbal supplements that can suppress your appetite or herbal pills that can block fat absorption. These pills generally do not include strong doses or substances that can cause moderate to severe side effects when used appropriately.

Choosing Weight Loss Pills

One of the first questions you should ask is what are the side effects of this weight loss pill and can you take it with other medications that you are currently using? You can usually consult with either your physician or a pharmacist for this information.

When you choose a weight loss pill, you should also take into consideration the ingredients. For instance, is the weight loss pill a chemical or natural herb? Many times people feel more comfortable taking a herbal product instead of an unknown chemical. Another question that one should pose is whether the pill is made with natural ingredients or is it synthetic. Many will concede that synthetic ingredients may be less effective.

Other considerations should be who manufacturers the weight loss pill. Is the company reputable, have they been in business for a long period of time, what are the reviews of the product, etc.

If you are serious about a weight loss pill, you should check to see if there were any clinical trials done with the pill and is it effective for your specific situation or for the results you would like to see. You can go on the internet, check the library or even ask your doctor.

Finally, the cost of the weight loss pill should be a consideration. As with all medications and supplements, you should always consult with a physician before taking a new substance or starting a new diet or exercise program.