Diet Tribe

September 14, 2011

Looking for Suggestions on What Should I Do for My Diet to Help Me Get Lucky with a Baby?

Filed under: diet help — Tags: , , , , , , , , — judy @ 12:02 pm

What’s this week’s question? Let’s dive straight in…

Question: took a short hiatus and am back on the TTC journey soon. Would love some more suggestion on what i need to stay way from eat more of.
Currenlty i eat way more fast food than what is needed and working on fixing that as well I don’t drink too much pop maybe 2-3 20oz a week. I do love coffee and tea. i drink 1 -2 cups a day. even decaffinated ones.
I snack on nuts mainly and fruits and my favorite is popcorn/chips .. i’m not a candy fan. Anyway i am not over weight and am NOT trying to lose weight. Just want to make my efforts of trying to get a bump to be the healthiest as I can get it to be.!
Answer: A healthy fertility diet consisting of good carbohydrates such as brown pasta, lean proteins such as chicken and fish, fruit and veg and low-fat dairy products can help you reduce your BMI to reach your ideal healthy weight.

If you are overweight when pregnant, you are putting yourself at increased risk of pre-eclampsia, diabetes and a difficult delivery. Similarly, if you are underweight when pregnant, your baby is more likely to have a low birth weight.

August 12, 2011

Can Someone Help Me Make a Diet Plan?

Filed under: diet help — Tags: , , , , , , , , — judy @ 12:02 pm

We’ve had a reader question come in on the subject of diet help. Let’s take a look:

Question: Well I’m 17 (male, 5′8, 215lbs)

Ive been big since 2 grade and I always say during the summer I would go on a diet but never do, I always say I’ll start next week and never happens. Most of my weight is in my torso, thats my main area of concern. My arms and legs have fat on them but thats not the major problem for me. I want to loose maybe 30-50lbs within 6months. The thing is I dont really know anything about diets and exercise, I have looked things up but do not really understand.

So… can someone tell me how I should start to do this.
(What to eat, how much, when. Workout when, doing what, for how long)

I go to school from 7:30-3:00 so I cant do anything during that time….
Then I work 5 days a week at a fast food place, doesnt help. (about 30hrs a wk)

My main concern though is when I’m at school my stomach always growls really loud at certain times so I make myself eat a lot in the morning. If I’m at home or at work and dont eat my stomach doesnt growl, only at school.

I have equipment to do normal weight lifting and a treadmill, I can buy my own food and vitamins.

I really just need to know how I should do everything, any advice is wanted.

Thanks

Answer: eat 6 smalller meals a day. Healthy non- greasy foods that are good calories. Loosing weight is like a mathematical formula. If the amount of calories you take in is greater than the amount you burn, you gain weight. if you are burning more than you take in you loose weight. So this is what you should do. Wake up, have breakfest (eggs, toast, no eggos,toaster strudals, bacon or read meat), bring a granola bar to school and have that as your snack around 4 hours after breakfest, then eat lunch, ( lean meats, healthy food, salad), then when you get home have another snack about 3/4 hours after lunch, then if you can work out for about an hour or so ( if you are concentrainting on loosing weight and not really gaining any muscle then do an hour of cardio, if you want to turn your fat into muscle like i would, lift hard for an hour or so. Lifing burns almost as many calories as cardio) then eat dinner (again healthy foods) then have a snack a couple hours before bed. Dieting is 85% of how you loose weight. you could run your life away but if you eat 5 big macs everyday then your still going to stay the same. Look up a good diet plan and stick to it. you will loose weight faster than you think.

July 29, 2011

I'm Currently on a Diet and My Friends Bought Fast Food for Me. Help?

Filed under: diet help — Tags: , , , , — judy @ 12:02 pm

A tough diet help question this week. Let’s dive straight in

Question: I’m on a strict diet and have been doing great so far. My friends want me to meet them in a bit to hangout and they bought me food. Fried food, to be exact, and I know it has a ton of calories. I don’t want to eat it, but that would be so rude and inconsiderate of me. What’s the best thing I should do in this situation? 7lbs doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s a struggle for me and I don’t want to ruin my progress!
Answer: If your really strict about your diet and you want to keep disciplined, just eat your meal before you go to meet up with them. And say you just ate and that your full. No need to stress out about being rude or whatnot… that’s just nonsense.. and they don’t have to understand or empathize with you.. it’s your life, not theirs. This used to happen a lot with my friends a couple years ago.. I did exactly what I told you up there.. and after a few times, they didn’t even bother to ask me about junk food because they know how strict I am about my health.

May 18, 2011

Diet Headaches, Please Help!?

Filed under: diet help — Tags: , , , , , , , , — judy @ 12:02 pm

This week’s question is as follows:

Question: So, I’ve been on a diet for about a week, to lose some weight. I’ve cut out all artificial sugars, fast food, snacks and fatty foods. I now have 3 meals a day. Muesli and fruit in the morning, a rye bread sandwich and an apple at lunch and fruit in the evening again. I have had the most terrible headaches for the last few days. Is it the sugar withdrawal? Or something wrong with the food I am now eating? I haven’t been getting much meat (can’t afford it at the moment).
Answer: you are seriously in need of protein! if you can’t afford meat, then try beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and tofu (don’t be scared, you just need to prepare it right for it to taste good), as well as eggs.

and are you only eating fruit in the evening? you definitely need more vegetables, whole grains, and protein. protein is especially important for breakfast. it will give you more energy to start the day.

i suspect your headaches are because you are over-hungry. i get headaches when i haven’t eaten enough, it’s because your blood sugar is too low.

if you want a guide to dieting for health, check out the south beach diet. despite its trendy name, it was developed by a cardiologist to help his patients eat healthier, for weight loss and better blood chemistry. it’s a very flexible plan, so if you give in to cravings, you don’t have to feel guilty.
lots of good articles here: http://www.southbeachdiet.com/sbd/publicsite/south-beach-diet-tips.aspx

October 4, 2010

What Are Some Good Foods to Eat to Help Lose Weight? Or a Good Diet?

Filed under: diet help — Tags: , , , , , , , , — judy @ 12:04 pm

A diet help question that should definitely interest you all this week

Question: Im 18 & weigh about 145 lbs. I have some belly fat & my thighs are ridiculous. I would like to lose some weight to make myself feel better. I eat fast food & drink soda and I know that those are major factors. I’ll try to cut those 2 down. But I need to know what are some foods to eat to help lose weight. Is there anything I could buy at stores? Any help would be nice, please & thank you :) What are some good foods to eat as a snack or something little for when i get that feeling of hunger? EX: yogurt, fruit, cereal..
Answer: It’s very important to have a healthy, well balanced diet. This means having a good mix of whole grains, lean proteins, fruits/veggies, dairy and healthy fats. Below are some examples of foods that fall into those categories. You might consider purchasing some of these at the grocery store.

Whole grains:
-whole grain rice/pastas
-whole wheat bread/sandwich thins (look for 100% whole grain)
-cereals (Kashi is amazing)
-granola bars

Protein
-boneless skinless chicken breasts
-ground turkey or lean ground beef
-canned tuna
-salmon
-eggs
-beans/legumes

Fruits
-apples/bananas/peaches/pears/oranges/berries etc (look for fresh fruits and find out what’s in season so it’s cheaper)
-100% fruit juices
-dried fruits

Vegetables
-brocolli/spinach/carrots/peppers/cucumbers/lettuce/tomato etc
-frozen veggies
-potatos/sweet potatos
-squash

Dairy
-skim milk
-lowfat/fat free yogurt
-cottage cheese
-cheese

Fats
-nuts (raw almonds, peanuts, walnuts, make excellent snacks)
-natural peanut butter
-avocados
-olive oil
-olives

It is defintely important that you try to cut back on soda and fast food (especially the soda, because it’s quite easy to go overboard on that without even realizing it!) As for fast food, it’s better to avoid it, but I know that’s not always possible if you are in a time crunch. Just try to choose healthier options (most chains post nutrition stats online). But one of the most important things is to never deprive yourself of the foods you love! It is ok to treat yourself once in awhile,and any food is ok in moderation as part of a healthy diet. The key is portion size. If you are craving ice cream, go ahead and have it. But stick to just one scoop, not the whole pint. A single scoop will be just enough to satisfy your craving. If you deprive yourself of these foods, you will only be more likely to overindulge later on!

If you are looking for some healthy snacks, here are some good examples of healthy, filling snacks that will give you energy:

-slliced apple and 1T peanut butter
-celery sticks and cottage cheese
-raw crunchy veggies (carrots, celery, etc) and hummus dip
-fat free/low fat yogurt topped with berries and a handful of nuts
-small bowl of cereal and skim or soymilk
-hard boiled egg
-handful of dried fruit/nuts
-slice of wheat toast spread with peanut butter
-string cheese and a piece of fruit

I am really happy that you want to lose weight the healthy way. Once you start eating better, you will feel 100X more energetic! I think you’re going to be really successful, just remember to stick to it! Best of luck.

June 20, 2010

Are There Any Diets That You Can Do on Your Own Without a Doctor That Help Lose Fat/weight and Tone Muscle?

Filed under: diet help — Tags: , , , , , , , , — judy @ 12:05 pm

Another diet help question has come in this week. Let’s tackle it straight away:

Question: I know I need to cut out soda, junk food, TV dinners, fast food (which I hardly eat anyway), pizza (as it is too greasy). Also is excercising seven days a week for one hour helpful in losing weight or should I try to cut down the days but make the time for excercising longer? I want to get down to 124.4 lbs. and at the moment I am 141 lbs. Also the women in my family are petite. Does that play a factor in me losing weight/fat on my stomach? I want to try to eat healthy, lose weight and try to tone my muscles in my stomach.
Answer: well you shouldent stay to long exercising your muscles for longer than an hour cause it will result in over training and you will get weaker my advice is when you workout do weight training and cardio cause both are great at burning calories which will enable you to lose weight faster but dont do cardio on a weightlifting day cause it will leave you tired and you wont have enough energy to lift weights and you shouldnt be able to do cardio after also cause you should be tired from working hard lifting. so split it up cardio on non weight lifting days. you should do 13-15 rep range which is optimal for toning also diets you should eat healthier and cut the junk food and enjoy the process cause the reward is well worth it

May 17, 2010

Okay I Need Help with a Diet…………………..?

Filed under: diet help — Tags: , , , , — judy @ 12:02 pm

What a great diet help question:

Question: okay i’m 15 and i’m 5.3 and i’m 150lbs i’m sick of being FAT sick of it so i started a diet today to where i only eat once a day at 7 and only eat a little then drink nothing but water and run for 30 mins to an hour and walking one hour to two hours a day and some sit up’s also and i’m gonna cut out all fried foods and fast food and sweets do you think i can lose 40 lbs in 8 weeks doing this?
Answer: This diet is starvation. You will lose water weight, but you will not lose fat; in sum, you will not look skinnier. When you starve yourself, your body says OMG THERE MUST BE A FAMINE and lowers your metabolism so that it can keep the maximum amount of body fat.

To actually burn fat off of your body, you need to eat at least 1500 calories a day. Because you have a fairly small frame, 1500 should be your target. This is enough calories to keep your body functional and your metabolism high, but still create a calorie deficit that will make your body burn fat.

These calories should be distributed across breakfast, lunch and dinner, with optional snacks in between if you like. So you could do three 500-calorie meals a day, or five 300-calorie mini-meals depending on your preference. It doesn’t matter which one you choose as long as it works for you.

There are some basic food rules you should follow while you’re on your calorie-restricted diet: Don’t eat any food that is processed, junk, fast, or any other variety of garbage. Eat the maximum amount of fruit and vegetables you can stand. Don’t cut out fat or carbohydrates; both are essential to good health and nutrition. Learn to cook; I highly recommend Mark Bittman’s "How to Cook Everything" because it’s so simple and you’ll learn to make your food not only healthy, but also delicious. Don’t drink your calories - one glass of milk a day is fine, but no soda, juice, sports drinks, etc.

Your exercise plan is also poorly designed. I doubt that at 5′3 and 150 pounds you could run for an hour nonstop if you tried. Start the Couch to 5k plan - http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml - to build up your cardiovascular endurance. Sit-ups are a terrible exercise because they work your psoas (hip flexor) more than your abdominals. Better exercises include elbow planks, push-ups, side planks, and straight leg drops. Here is a video of a comprehensive abdominal strength training circuit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ZTzUEtPTI&feature=player_embedded

You need to train your whole body, not just your abdominals. The Youtube channel I just linked you to contains excellent workouts for every part of the body. Make sure you don’t forget to train your back an equal amount of time as your abs. Never work the same muscle group two days in a row; after strength training, you need to take at least 24 hours of rest so that your muscles can rest and repair.

Losing 40 pounds in two months is unrealistic. I doubt you’ll lose even half that amount. This is because your body is slow to metabolize fat regardless of how hard you work. The healthiest amount of weight to lose is one to three pounds per week.

May 1, 2010

Need Help with What My Diet Should Be?

Filed under: diet help — Tags: , , , , , , , — judy @ 12:01 pm

What’s this week’s question? Let’s dive straight in…

Question: I want to lose fat but gain muscle mass at the same time. I am 19 5′9 190 pounds. I am in a boxing class every tuesday, thursday, and saturday. I play pick up basketball for about 2 hours the rest of the days except the weekend. I have tried moderating my fast food intake but still no luck. I try to eat home cooked meals every day, including home made vegan pizza (not as good as regular but …) and an occasional philly cheese steak from subway!
Answer: You seem to be on the right road! Moderating fast foods intake and trying to make your own meals in order to better control what you’re eating is good, as well as doing a regular physical activity. Just keep on going this way and try to eat healthy as much as you can. Here are some simply rules I use to follow in my daily life to keep my weight under control and stay healthy. I hope you’ll find them helpful:

- eat white meats (chicken, turkey) more than red meats: they have the same nutritional values but are less fatty;
- eat plenty of fish;
- use olive oil as your preferred fat: it is extremely digestible and helps you in the digestion of other fats;
- subdivide daily food intake into 4-5 sittings: it will be easier to digest foods more efficiently;
- include in your diet all-in-one-meals like pasta with vegetables or pasta with beans: they are quick to prepare and provide you with the same nutrients as a three-course meal, being also lower in calories.

They are based on the mediterranean-style eating, a natural and healthy way to stay fit and keep your weight under control rich in vegetables, legumes, fruits and grains providing with fiber, minerals and vitamins, ideal for growth and also low in calories. I’m italian and I love this eating pattern because it really helps you stay healthy without sacrificing taste and wiping off any food. Have a look at this website if you want to discover more about the mediterranean diet and try it out:

http://www.italiandiet.com

You can get a free mediterranean personalized diet based on you nutritional needs and provided by a team of nutritionists from the SISA (Italian Association of Food Science). On that site, you can also find a lot of mediterranean recipes and useful guidelines for healthy living.

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