Dieting - Festive Dieting Tip

This is my favorite time of year! Everyone is especially cheerful, smiling, and although probably under stress, everyone seems better able to handle it at Christmas time. Over the past two years there is one area however, that I notice people are not particularly supportive of others and that area is healthy eating and dieting during the holidays. Whether or not you have started a new diet or trying to maintain your diet during this yummy time of year, it is common to hear negative comments when someone notices how determined your are to maintain your healthy eating skills.

My first encounter with this has come early this year when some friends of ours had an early festive gathering because they will be traveling throughout the holidays. The party was lovely with a table full of food fit for a king. First there was a wonderful festive dinner and then or course dessert. Let me not forget all the munchies they had before and after dinner.

I had already decided that night that I would enjoy the dinner but maintain having a normal plate of food as opposed to over doing it and having a stomach ache the rest of the night. I also decided I would not have any sweets at all. Twice during dinner I had to hear how I eat like a bird. Totally not true! Well, maybe it is true if I am being compared to the others who had enough on their plate to feed 3 people!  Then I had to listen to why I am so strict with my food when I have never even been over weight. Then my favorite one of all was when another guest said to me, "You people and your healthy eating - as if you need to even worry about it Michel!"

Annoying, annoying annoying!! Of these people every single on of them was over weight. Every single one of these people have tried to lose weight over the past 5 years that I have known them, and each of these people left the party overly intoxicated, whining of a full stomach, and then have nerve to think they are just going to drive home - drunk! Seems to me they need to be more concerned with themselves then with me and the way I eat.

What these people don't know is that I do eat sweets and goodies, particularly around this time of year. But, I pace myself. The other thing is that since I embarked on my healthy eating road, I have found that heavy sweets, like chocolate cakes, mousse, etc doesn't do that much for my taste buds. I will have a few bites and then be finished with it - somehow it just isn't all that great and it has to be great for me to finish it.

If you find yourself surrounded by people who only have something negative to say about your strength in dieting, it is usually because they are disappointed in themselves. Most of these people are themselves over weight. People who are happy with themselves are less likely to impose negative comments on people. Instead they add a positive spin on things.

So when you are faced with adversity while maintaining your diet this festive season keep these things in mind:

1. Keep a positive attitude and give a little giggle because the person who commented negatively is more than likely jealous and insecure about their own weight loss failures.

2. Keep firmly in your mind your reasons for starting your healthy dieting journey and don't let anyone take it away from you. You will not be sorry but they will! You might even try to encourage some of these people to get on the boat with you.

3. Be sure, if you can, to spend time with people who will encourage you, admire you, and maybe even follow you.

Yes it is the festive season and if there is any time of year to give yourself a few treats this is that time!  However, what these other people don't know is that all of us healthy eaters will pace ourselves differently.  Each of us has a different schedule and different wants. If I am going to eat a yummy treat it is going to be one I really love as opposed to one that is semi good or not really what I prefer. If there had been plain old fashioned cheesecake at the party I would definitely have had a piece (one of my all time favorites) but everything was chocolate, not really one of my favorites. I do however love candied yams which I had with my dinner that night.  I was perfectly satisfied and did not desire anymore sweet things.

The final and most important thing is for you to remember how incredible you are! Why? It is not easy to make these changes and maintain them. Your strength, courage and devotion will be admired by many and you will set an example that others will use as an incentive to do the right thing for themselves by eating healthy, even if they don't need to lose weight.

Shedding Pounds - The Reality of Whole Egg Consumption

Here we have a perfect example of how certain food products get labeled unhealthy, when all the while they are extremely healthy.  Many people mistakenly think that the egg yolk is bad for you and usually discard them.  Wrong.  The egg yolk is the healthiest part of the egg with huge nutritional value and properties that help with shedding pounds.

The Egg Yolk Nutritional qualities include:

1.  Antioxidant-rich

2.  Vitamin and mineral loaded

3.  B-Vitamins

4.  Trace minerals

5. Vitamin A

6. Folate

7.  Choline

8.  Lutein

9.  Yolks from free range chickens are loaded with Omega 3 fatty acids.

10.  Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg.

11. Yolks contain all of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well as all the essential fatty acids

Aside from the above mentioned, the egg yolk houses many more powerful nutrients the body thrives on, with one of them being the ability to assist in shedding pounds, which we will get to shortly.

So at this point most of you must be thinking, "But I thought eggs were not healthy because they send cholesterol levels sky high."  Once again, a common misconception.  

Let's clear this misconception up right now once and for all.  When high amounts of dietary cholesterol are taken in the body will naturally down regulate in order to balance things out.  If a person does not take in enough cholesterol the body will produce more because cholesterol has many important functions within the body.

First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it's internal production of cholesterol to balance things out.

On the other hand, if you don't eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more since cholesterol has dozens of crucial functions in the body.

Facts of Interest

1.  Lately there have been studies released that show the consumption of whole eggs raises the good HDL cholesterol to a higher status than LDL cholesterol thus improving the overall cholesterol proportion and blood chemistry. 

2.  High cholesterol is not a disease.  Heart disease is but high cholesterol is not.  Once again the wrong information is partially due to drug companies propaganda to promote their drugs.  According to health  and fitness professionals, trying to lower ones cholesterol levels is not the right thing to do because cholesterol holds serious and vitally important functions in the body.  

3.  The real culprit in heart disease is  inflammation within the body, not dietary cholesterol.  The antioxidant lutein is most helpful for this problem as it helps protect the body from inflammation.  Lutein and other antioxidants are plentiful in egg yolks.

4.  For more proof that whole eggs are better for you than just egg whites, a study at the University of Connecticut demonstrated a group of men that consumed three eggs per day for twelve weeks while on a reduced carb, higher fat diet, showed HDL good cholesterol levels increased by twenty percent.  The LDL bad cholesterol remained the same.  Another group, eating egg supplements, or egg whites, showed no change and did not see an improvement in good cholesterol levels.

How about the calories in egg yolks?

Egg yolks do have more calories than egg whites however, they also have a high micro-nutrient density in those calories and this helps to regulate your appetite for the day, so you end up consuming less calories.  Plus, the healthy fats in the yolk help sustain levels of fat burning hormones in the body.  Yes we like those don't we!  In a nutshell, egg yolks assist in the fat burning process helping you in shedding pounds.

Recently I came upon a study of a group of people that ate egg breakfasts vs a group of people that ate cereal or bagel-based breakfasts.  The results of the study: egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier body weight, while the cereal or bagel eaters gained weight. 

I personally love eggs and have never really paid much attention to the high cholesterol talk.  I didn't pay attention because with my eating 4-5 eggs a day, for the passed I don't how many years, I have never had high cholesterol, and I maintain my weight as well as a low body fat content.  I have also noticed that when I have eggs for breakfast I am still not feeling so hungry at lunch time, meaning I am completely satisfied with a lovely, light and healthy lunch that is substantial enough to hold me til dinner time. When I have started my day with eggs I also don't feel the need to snack,  and as some may know snacking is one of the biggest culprits in preventing one from shedding pounds.  It is also one of the hardest areas of dieting to control.  Keep whole eggs in your diet along with a healthy but tasty eating plan and you will be shedding pounds by the mounds.  

Weight Loss - Yes! or No!

Weight loss is a common subject in America, where so many young girls and boys are turning to anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders. While weight loss can be a very good and necessary thing, it has become an area  that negatively effects millions across the nation and can even result in death. Knowing when you need to reduce your weight and when you do not is important in the fight against both your personal poor health and the terrible diseases that are sweeping across the United States.

1.  Losing weight is often a personal option. However, if you are more than 20 pounds overweight, losing pounds is an important option for your health. Look at the recommended weight for someone of your height and build as a start because bodies are different due to fat and muscle ratio to body weight.
Visit a nutritionist or dietitian if you feel like you need to lose weight. This is the best way to confirm you are in need of losing weight. You can also use this visit  to determine if you have an underlying problem that is causing you to gain weight, such as a slower metabolism than you previously had.

2.  There are times, however, when the decision to lose weight or the sudden need for dieting, comes from a desire rather a need. For example: if you aren’t as thin as your favorite actor or model, doesn’t mean you need to lose weight. Models and actresses are often airbrushed in photos to look more toned and they have personal trainers that work with them for hours every day in order to help them stay in shape. If your body weight is normal, you do not need to lose weight, even if you are a pants size bigger than your ideal celebrity.

There is a difference between losing weight and toning up.  Often times a person has a slim figure but is not tone, and they take a decision to lose weight when all they really need is to tone up with fat burning and muscle building exercises. Strength training is a valuable tool in the option of keeping fit and healthy.

3.  You also don’t need to lose weight just because you gain it. People gain weight for a number of reasons, and this is especially common during puberty and for the few years after. If you gain weight stop and think for a minute—are you going through a growth spurt in height as well? Also, don’t worry about gaining weight when you are lifting at the gym. As you tone your muscles, you will look better, but because muscles are heavier than fat, you may actually gain weight from muscle mass.

If you feel you are gaining weight and the above does not apply visit your doctor to make sure there is not an underlying medical issue that is causing you to gain weight.  Do this first before you panic and start dieting.

4.  You don’t need to lose weight simply because someone else makes a rude comment about your looks. Everyone has a different body make up. If you are happy with your weight and it is within the normal range for someone of your age and height, than chances are that the rude comment is stemming from other issues and not because you actually do need to lose weight.

5.  Be happy with yourself, eat a healthy diet and you won't need to worry about losing weight. Learning to eat healthy is a key factor in never having to diet.  By eating healthy and keeping fit your weight will stay under control and dieting will be a thing of non existence for you. Not to mention that healthy eating and exercise shields the body and mind from so many other bad factors that a person can come up against living the day to day life.

If you are in a position where you need to lose weight, look for a healthy, effective, natural weight loss diet that will teach you how to eat healthy.  Avoid fast weight loss diets or pills. These are  a temporary fix and is often found to be unhealthy and have side effects. An effective weight loss diet will not only help you lose weight it will educate you on eating well, keeping fit, and staying healthy for life, which will help you to maintain your new found weight permanently.

Maintain a healthy weight through a healthy diet and regular exercise as part of your daily life routine.

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