The Japanese Diet - a Diet To Lose Weight, Remain Slim & Be Healthy!

For no people on earth is it more true than the Japanese, when you say, "you are what you eat". The Japanese are, by all accounts, the people with the least obesity problem, the highest longevity rate, and best health record. What are they eating?

The importance of rice

Rice is the main carbohydrate food in Japan, consumed with every meal. However, the real basis of the Japanese diet is not rice but fish, consumed at more than 70 kilos per person per year--which means 190 grams daily. This combination of rice and fish, as their staple food is far superior to the American meat and potato, the European little of this, little of that diets, and light years ahead of the Russian pork, potato and mayonnaise daily fare.

Let's see what else they eat. Miso and other soy products! Miso is a fermented soy product, and a soup is made from it that is light tasting and easy to digest. One gets all the benefits of soy from it. Also, the famous soy sauce. Japanese people, on the average consume about 200 grams of soy products daily.




So why are they so thin and so healthy?

There are a few very good reasons. One is their sparingly consumption of sugar.

Low in sugar

Japanese consume only 20 kilos of sugar per year (compared to the American 71 kilos per year). Another is the Japanese consumption of cereals (which obviously includes rice) to be 105 kilos per year (compared to the American 68 kilos per year).

The human body appears to be doing much better with natural cereals and less sugar than fried potatoes and 'sugar in everything you eat' diets. The Japanese have far less incidence of heart disease and cancer than Americans. As they eat as much meat as the Americans do (or more), and smoke more, the theory is refined sugar and stress are the two biggest contributors to destroying one's health.

Portion size

Another important factor in the Japanese diet is portion size. The portions are small.

This means they savor their food; eat slowly and enjoy it. No "scarfing" down hamburgers and fries here, and king size cola drinks.

Eating with chop sticks help, as you eat more slowly, take smaller bites and are able to appreciate what you are eating. This aids in digestion, and that is a proven fact.

There are two more factors which must be mentioned that make the Japanese diet so successful.

The first is breakfast.

The typical Japanese breakfast can (and usually includes) green tea, steamed rice, miso soup with tofu, spring onions and omelet and both raw and grilled fish.

This gives your body all it needs to start your day well. You will feel better, and such food does not add weight to your body at all. In fact, it stimulates the metabolism mechanism. You will not gain weight, and if overweight, will lose weight.

Variety Never be bored

The second factor is variety.

A typical American will have about 30 varieties of food per week. A typical European (especially southern European) will have about 45. The typical Japanese will have about 100 varieties of food per week, and will include lots of fresh fish, vegetables, fruit and a variety of meats.

There is one over-riding element here as well; the Japanese cook their foods lightly and thus are never feeling stuffed and stuffy after eating.

As you can see the diet is great and its healthy and is perfect for those wanting to lose weight and avoid illness.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sacha_Tarkovsky/24542

Foods to Avoid - Poor Breakfast Choices

When attempting weight loss, a lot of folks think that skipping breakfast will save them some calories. They would rather save them so later in the day they can eat some fat and calorie laden treat that they would rather have. But, these food choices probably fall in the category of foods to avoid.

The biggest mistake you can make is to skip breakfast. After a night of sleep, your body needs some good nutrition as it has gone its longest without eating in a twenty four hour period. So, having something healthy to eat before running out the door in the morning is a must. However, there are some breakfast foods to avoid. You need to be aware of three types of foods that will cause weight gain.

The first foods to avoid category is low fat foods. They are usually advertised as a low fat food as there main selling point. You have to realize that the term low fat should never be associated with health food. An avocado is extremely healthy, but is loaded with fat: a very healthy fat that the cells of your body need.




When a food that's advertised as a low fat breakfast food attracts your interest, be sure to read the ingredient label. Foods that lack healthy fats are usually devoid of flavor. So, in order to make up for that, the food manufacturers add sugar, lots of sugar. That low fat food can actually lead to weight gain because of all that sugar.

Another category of breakfast foods to avoid is certain breakfast cereals. Again, when choosing any kind of cereal, you have to look at the label very closely to see what is really in the box. If you see huge amounts of sugar, you will want to avoid that brand. Commercial breakfast cereals are really a poor breakfast choice! They are typically over processed and devoid of real nutrition. A better choice would be plain oatmeal. Don't buy the instant stuff! Get the steel cut oats, organic if you can. Take the time to boil some water and simmer them for five minutes. Add some fruit, cinnamon, or honey if you want the oats to be sweeter. Now that's a good breakfast choice!

And finally, don't fall for choosing the breakfast muffin over a donut, or worse. Thinking a muffin is a healthier choice can be a big mistake. It can contain as much fat and sugar as the donut, it's just not deep fried. A store bought muffin, one that is loaded with fat and sugar, can contain as many as four hundred calories.

You must eat breakfast every day! But, be sure to eat breakfast at home! Choose foods like organic eggs, yogurt, fruit, organic oatmeal, or sprouted grain toast with nut butter. These are the kinds of foods that get your day off to a great start! And choose organic varieties of these foods as much as you can afford to!

Franz and Hilga are very passionate about healthy eating habits! Living full time in their RV gives them the opportunity to interact with people all over the country. They created a website to share knowledge in not only RVing, but also on optimal nutrition for better health and permanent weight loss.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Franz_Williams/1256002

Foods That Just Aren't Worth Eating

Trying to keep healthy?  Or lose some weight?  There's definitely a 'trick' to it (if you want to call it that)... and that's to keep what you put in your body only foods that help it realize your goals.  Want to be lean?  Eat healthy!  Want to be healthy?  Well... EAT HEALTHY (oh, did I say that already?).

Remember:  Health begets health.  So while you're on your mission to be healthy and lean, here's some foods that really just are NOT worth eating.  They do nothing to help your cause and will probably just sabotage your efforts.

Stay away from soft drinks.  There's nothing good about them.  Sugar, food coloring and carbonated water.  What on earth would make anyone think that combination is good for them?  And if you're thinking you can make it better by drinking the 'diet' version instead to keep your calories low, consider this:  it's calorie free but it's still sweet, therefore it's sweetened with artificial sweetener.  Excuse me but artificial sweeteners are all either made completely from chemicals or are chemically processed to remove the calories.  Either way, they are the equivalent of drinking poison.  Stay away from soft drinks.  If you absolutely must drink your fizzy treat, then stick to club soda.  Need flavor?  Add a lemon or lime wedge.




Avoid deep fried foods.  They're almost always chock full of hydrogenated oils, trans fats and all sorts of other indigestible, fattening calories.  If you want to have your fries, try sprinkling some heart-healthy coconut oil or olive oil on potatoes, sweet potatoes or yams and bake them in the oven.  This is a far healthier way to get your 'french-fry' fix.

Skip the bacon.  Bacon is full of nitrates and absolutely jammed with salt and unhealthy fat.  Want a tasty meat treat?  Try some cooked shrimp.  Or a chicken breast prepared on the grill.  You'll get a lot more nutrients for your body and a lot less complaining from your heart.

Donuts.  Deep fried white-flour dough covered in white, processed sugar.  Remind me how this could ever be considered a good thing to eat?  No nutritional quality and lots and lots of calories and bad fats makes this so called 'food' very high on the list of foods that just aren't worth eating.

Potato chips of any description are also very high on this list.  Why?  Deep fried potatoes with the skins peeled off (which is where most of the nutrition in a potato resides).  They're highly caloric and again hold little nutritional quality.  Best to keep away from this 'food' too, if you're looking to be the healthiest, leanest version of you possible.

Margarine.  All margarine happens to be is oils and food colouring with artificial flavoring added to make it resemble butter.  It's very high in calories and very devoid of nutrition.  If you want to spread something on your meals or whole grain bread, make it the real thing, good ol' natural butter.  Sure, it's high in calories but at least there's some nutrition in butter.  And usually it doesn't contain chemicals or artificial flavors.  If you can find a brand that doesn't use artificial coloring, you're golden (but your butter won't be)!

Remember what I mentioned at the beginning: Health begets health.  The healthier you can make the food you eat, the faster your body will reward you with better health and a leaner physique.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jackie_Burgmann/407519

Exercise for Women Over 50

There are many exercises for women over 50, but success is based on the ease of integration into your lifestyle and the social benefit. Almost all health and diet programs will involve some exercise. But, you have to get something positive out of the experience or you won't have the determination to continue. This is why most new years resolutions to exercise are short lived.

When I taught the psychology of eating in the weight reduction program, we would always pair people to exercise. Pairing was the social support needed to establish and maintain an exercise routine. They would encourage and prompt each other to keep the motivation going as they eventually became exercise buddies.

According to WebMD(1), "Exercise is so potent that it influences every physiological system in the body for the better. They don't provide the long list of all the benefits, but mention, "The first benefit of exercise for women is reduction of the symptoms of menopause". This includes hot flashes, joint pain and poor sleep, which can all be improved.

WebMD recommends the following after your doctor clears you to exercise:




AEROBIC EXERCISE: Aerobic means requiring oxygen from continual movement for at least 20 minutes that can be walking, cycling, aerobic classes, running, dancing, swimming, and cross country skiing. Your heart rate should stay elevated and you should try to break a sweat.

ANAEROBIC EXERCISE: This refers to strength training from calisthenics and/or lifting weights. We naturally lose muscular strength as we age. This helps "maintain bone strength, reduces risk of lower back injury and keeps you tone." They don't discuss a specific weight program, probably because each person should have an individualized routine.

STRETCHING: This helps your flexibility and joint movement. It can help reduce injury and soreness. Yoga and Pilates are suggested forms.

IF YOU ARE NOT EXERCISE ORIENTED: In my experience, the best exercise for ease and maintainability is simply to walk or bicycle. With walking, 1. You don't feel like you're exercising since it's already a routine activity. 2. You really don't need any special or expensive equipment. 3. Including people will bring social enjoyment. 4. But, it can be done alone or in a group. 5. You don't need to drive anywhere to walk. 6. You simply measure your workout with a watch or step counter. 7. You want to walk at least 150 minutes a week or 5 walks at 30 minutes each. 8. You can add hand weights to increase your heart rate. 9. The ease of walking allows you to continue into advanced age. 10. Forming a walking or cycling group in your neighborhood is one of the most successful arrangements for sustainability and enjoyment.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/H_Lee_Johnson/2155805