Encouraging Healthy Eating (General Weightloss & Healthy Eating Tips)

Name: TheViolinist

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Product:	General Weightloss & Healthy Eating Tips
Date:	05/04/08 (140 review reads)
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Advantages: Tips that can be easily incorporated into your every day life.

Disadvantages: It's not an overnight superdiet. It will take time.

Are you still seeking your optimum weight? Have you tried every diet under the sun with no success? Or perhaps it is a friend or family member suffering from a weight problem? In this article you can find tips that can be easily incorporated into your every-day lifestyle to help weight loss without missing out on any of the enjoyment in life.

When I say the words "healthy eating", what do you think of? Does it put you in mind of eating small pieces of cardboard for the sake of looking better? Although some diets promote such boring eating habits, there is no need to give up your enjoyment of food in order to lose weight.

The following tips are not miracle cures and they will take time; but they can be easily adapted to your existing lifestyle to live a fit and healthy life.

Here are my five steps to eat your way to weight loss:


(1) Eat Little and Often

Have you ever wondered why some people just don't seem to gain any weight regardless of how much they eat? That's because they have a high metabolism.

The best way to keep your metabolism at racing speed is to eat little but often. If you fail to eat for long periods of time, your body will instinctively presume that food is unavailable and your metabolism will slow down to help you survive with a lesser food intake. Although starving can reduce weight in the short term, it will significantly slow down the metabolism and for this reason, you will regain the weight - and more - when you begin eating again.

Everything is okay in moderation. To say that a specific food is "off limits" will cause a negative impact on your emotional well being (which can actually increase weight gain). There is nothing wrong with eating the foods that you enjoy as long as you do so in moderation. If you currently eat a chocolate bar a day, work your self down from that to maybe a quarter of a bar per day, or less. The more difficult you make things for yourself, the more difficult it will be to stick to a new lifestyle.

When they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they are absolutely right. Regular small meals promote a faster metabolism and will help you to lose weight and to stay slim. Although eating more often to lose weight is a seemingly illogical concept, it does work.


(2) Relax!

Like alcoholism, excessive eating can be linked to stress. Many of us find comfort in a bar of chocolate or a large bowl of ice-cream. If you live a hectic lifestyle it is important to find a way to relax and relieve stress in a way that is not abusive to your body.

When stress is directly linked to weight (particularly when children are bullied at school) a vicious cycle of weight gain can begin. In regards of children, it is vital that they are encouraged to speak about their problems.

It is important to realize that you are eating because you are unhappy. Once the realization sets in, you are less likely to allow yourself to fall into the trap of eating to make yourself feel better.

Furthermore, set yourself with realistic targets. We all see models on TV and think "I wish I was a size zero", but many of them will tell you that it is an uncomfortable and unhealthy lifestyle to live. It is important to set yourself with modest targets and work your way down to your optimum weight.


(3) Prepare Your Own Food

It is a sad fact that much of the pre-prepared food available in supermarkets such as ready-meals or fast food will only promote weight gain. Ready-meals that claim to be healthy can also be extremely expensive.

It is a common misconception to believe that preparing your own food takes too much time or skill. Thanks to the internet, there is a huge variety of quick and easy recipes available at your fingertips. Many recipes can also be adapted to a hectic lifestyle as a lot of food can be prepared in advance then simply heated later.

Preparing your own food is not only fun, but it is also reassuring to know what is going into your food without having to worry about excessive salt, fat, or long lists of E numbers.

Simple substitutions can also be made to existing recipes. For example: substituting plain flour with wholewheat flour, and using skimmed milk and low-fat spreads instead of whole-milk and butter.

If you have children who are picky eaters, get them involved in the food making process at every possible opportunity. Not only will this give them the skills to cook for themselves in later life, it will also help them to gain interest in the food you are making and will encourage them to eat it; this is particularly true if they helped to make it.


(4) That Looks Delicious!

Making food that looks delicious is especially important for encouraging children or young people to eat more healthily; it is also important for your own mind's preconceptions of how food will taste.

Fruits and vegetables are available in a huge variety of colors; making attractive salads or desserts is nothing short of an art form. If you have ever watched television programs about food, you will find that they are always presented in an extremely appealing way. Unfortunately, fast-food retailers are also experts in presenting food to seem as appealing as possible; and that is where many of us fall into their trap.

If you are preparing food for young children, you can use their likes as an advantage. Do they have a favorite color? Take advantage of it. Do they like particular cartoon characters? If so...what do they eat? Making food appealing for children has never been easier. You can even buy toast-transfers featuring a number of characters such as Spongebob SquarepantsTMor Walace and GromitTM to make even the most mundane of sandwiches appealing and exciting for young people.


(5) Sweet Alternatives

For those of you who enjoy sugary sweets and candy, there are delicious alternatives available. Frozen grapes, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries make delicious sweet treats for any time of the day, and what's more is that they are actually good for you.

In the freezer, these fruits will last for over a month, so there will be no need to go to the shops every time you fancy something sweet.


Conclusion

Congratulations. You are now armed with the knowledge to help you to lose weight without taking any of the enjoyment out of life.

Good luck. I hope that you will enjoy a fulfilling life of healthy eating.

I would be delighted to hear of success stories following this advice.



(N.B. I would like to point out that this article is my intellectual property and is also posted on HealthMad.com under the title 'Encouraging Healthy Eating' and is written by myself; M.D.Ainsley.)

Summary: Lose weight without losing any quality of life.