I get a few questions a day about prepackaged diets like Nutrisystem and Medifast, probably because you see Nutrisystem commercials on TV and Medifast coupons on the internet and you think they must be a magic solution to weight loss. In today’s fast-paced world, many people often wonder if they should purchase prepackaged diets, which are diets that come ready-made and are all set to be heated and served. The main reason that prepackaged diets are considered is because it is an easy way to lose weight since all the work is done for you already. It is especially convenient and is basically a shortcut to dinner; however, you cannot control the ingredients or the quality of nutrients that are left within the meals.
However, the true question is whether these are worth the money that you are spending on them?
Not as Convenient as You May Think
While prepackaged diets may make sense for the dieter that leads a very busy lifestyle because they weigh heavily in the convenience factor, home cooked meals are much healthier and cost less money overall. Many believe that you can save time with the prepackaged diets, but a study from the UCLA showed that it only takes approximately 10 more minutes to have a healthy home cooked meal instead of a dinner that you simply heat up and serve.
Have Control Over the Ingredients
Plus, you’ll have a lot more nutrients in your home cooked meal as compared to many – not all – prepackaged diet meals. You can limit the amount of sodium (salt) that is in your food as well as other ingredients. In addition, by cooking from scratch at home, you can limit or eliminate completely the use of additives or preservatives while keeping the flavor intact. Since you have full control over the ingredients being used, you have the ability to eliminate any ingredients that you or someone in the family may be allergic to.
Research is Key
If you spend a little bit of your free time doing some research on quick and easy nutritious recipes, you will find that you can actually have dinner on the table in 30 minutes – and that’s from gathering the ingredients, beginning meal preparation, fixing the meal and getting it on the table ready to dig in. Simple, quick recipes and meals are fine despite what some of your high maintenance friends say. Gourmet meals do not have to be prepared every night of the week.
“I Don’t Have Enough Time.” Yes, you do – just improvise.
For those that lead a very active lifestyle and find it difficult to prepare home cooked meals every night of the week, you could try preparing several meals on a Sunday afternoon and place in the freezer. They can then be taken down, defrosted, heated and served for dinner while you are taking care of some other household duties.
Something to consider is that as you begin cooking more meals at home and learning recipes, you’ll soon discover that you are speeding up in the cooking process. Plus, you may even be able to start creating your own meals from complete scratch without a recipe at hand.
While the real answer to the question is dependent upon your own opinion, the money really isn’t worth it to most dieters.
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There are a wide assortment of diets out there with one of those diets being the low carb diet. Many often wonder if the low carb diet is the best type of dieting for weight loss. Let’s have a short educational lesson about low carb diets.
What is a Low Carb Diet?
A low carb diet is a diet that focuses on the limitation of carbohydrates. There are usually not set limits for fat or calories. In addition, fat and protein are encouraged to come from vegetarian sources. A typical low carb diet will focus mainly on poultry, lean meats, eggs, fish as well as some non starchy veggies. Further, you should usually avoid foods such as starchy veggies, breads, pastas, sweets, fruits, beans as well as most grains.
Depending on the version of the low carb diet that you are following, some fruits, grains and vegetables are permitted. As a general rule, 50 to 150 grams of carbs are allowed on a daily basis.
Why are Low Carb Diets Effective?
Most studies that have been conducted and have shown to be in favor of the results of low carb diets show that weight loss can indeed be achieved partly due to the fact that a diet that consists of a large amount of protein but a limited amount of starches and sugars will help to curb your appetite. This means that you won’t eat nearly as much as you normally would prior to the low carb diet.
Low carb diets are known to improve cholesterol levels and has been shown in previous studies to cause more significant weight loss than other diets such as the Mediterranean diet or even a low-fat diet. Another reason that low carb diets are said to be effective in weight loss is simply due to the fact that carbs produce the creation of insulin, which is known to prevent fat breakdown in the body. The fat is then stored as extra fat normally around the belly area. However, with a reduction in carb consumption, insulin levels are lower resulting in fat having to be burned for energy.
Low Carb Diet Benefits
As with any diet, there are specific benefits related to it. Here is a look at just a few of the health benefits of low carb diets.
• Balanced cholesterol levels – an increase in good cholesterol.
• Reduction in high blood pressure.
• Lowered blood sugar levels.
• Weight loss.
Some Things to Consider While on a Low Carb Diet
There are some risks involved with low carb diets; however, they can be avoided. For example, some low carb diets may not allow you to get enough fiber into your system because of the limitation of veggies, fruits and grains. This could lead to constipation problems so you should try to at least get some fiber in your daily diet.
Some low carb diets are also high in saturated fats, which could cause an increased heart disease risk among various types of cancer. Therefore, try to ensure that you are consuming a little bit of saturated fats each day but not an excessive amount.
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When you need to lose weight, you want to know the fastest way possible to shed those pounds. Since people are looking for quick ways to lose weight and fad and/or crash diets promise results that are really “too good to be true” and are very popular. From every aspect, though, these types of diets should be completely avoided as they are generally not healthy nor are they a permanent way to lose weight.
Now, it is possible to lose up to 20 pounds within a given week – and it is healthy if you do it the right way, according to the medical doctor, Michael Dansinger, for TV’s big hit television show The Biggest Loser. By taking part in very rigorous exercise activities (meaning over seven hours per week) and a very strict dieting plan while under the direct care of a medical physician, you can actually lose a large amount of weight in a short amount of time. However, most people cannot do this because that would mean giving up everything in life for several weeks to go to a weight loss boot camp so to speak.
With that being said, though, it is possible for an individual to lose around three pounds per week healthily and safely with a well balanced, nutritious diet and plenty of regular exercise.
Some Tips to Maintain Safe Weight Loss at Home
When it comes to losing weight, you need to control how many calories you are consuming on a daily basis. Some doctors recommend that you eat 7 calories for each pound of weight. Therefore, if you weigh 200 pounds, you would consume around 1,400 calories on a daily basis. You should never consume less than 1,050 calories per day; however, many doctors will typically recommend 1,200 calories as a daily minimum.
You will want to make sure that you drink plenty of water each day while consuming a decent amount of protein as well as fiber. Fiber will help you fill up faster as will water if drank before your meal. In addition to fiber and water helping you fill up, low-cal veggies will do the same.
You should also never skip any meals. In addition, many doctors recommend that you eat several meals throughout the day (such as five or six) rather than eating three larger meals. This will help you fuel your body all day while also avoiding the possibility of overeating at mealtime.
If you are wanting to lose weight pretty quickly then your exercise time will definitely need to be kicked up a notch or two. You can’t simply exercise twenty minutes a day and expect to see serious, rapid weight loss results. You will burn the most amount of calories through cardio exercises but it is also vital that you take part in strength training no less than three times a week.
In conclusion, though, to be completely honest, there is no 100% correct answer to how fast you can lose weight since there is no true science to how to do it or the speed of weight reduction and since every individual is different and will eat/exercise differently. However, by following a healthy diet, practicing proper portion control and exercising regularly, you will have maximum weight loss potential.
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