Daily Diet Blog

November 30, 2006

Herbal Colon Cleansing and Weight Loss

Filed under: Herbal Supplements — EatingToLive @ 11:58 pm

Can herbal colon cleansing, or colon cleansing of any sort for that matter, help you in your quest to lose weight as is so frequently touted by the sales of these types of products?  Well, yes they can, but only if you’re properly eating and exercising. 

They can help you to lose weight because they can rid your colon and your intestines of built of matter that is prohibiting the adequate absorption of nutrients, and quite possibly, is also making you hungrier because of this mal-absorption problem. 

It also can actually help you shed excess weight simply because you are getting rid of matter that is built up in your system, which is weight itself.  Many peopl report that herbal colon cleansing really helps them feel healthier and get a jump start on weight loss because it encourages you to not only cleanse your system, but also to cleanse your way of life many times. 

It’s kind of a domino effect, but in this case a good one.  Other benefits of herbal colon cleansing are often times : Better breath, more energy, improved bowel and digestion function, improved sleep quality, improved absorption of vitamins and minerals, and overall comfort imrpovement due to greater colon and digestive function and elimination capabilities,  an overall detoxification of the system, including an improved ability for the body to rid itself of toxins on an ongoing basis due to improved functionalities of these organs.  . 

November 28, 2006

My Sugar Free Mai Tai

Filed under: Low Cal Ideas — EatingToLive @ 5:18 am

After a little thought about the whole sugar free cocktails that I was preoccupied with for a while, trying to find a good, low carb way to enjoy a few of my favorite cocktails, I got a few ideas going about how to just mix my own. 

Here’s what I came up with.  My own version of the increasingly popular Mai Tai drink that is a sugary, but very tasty blend of light and dark rums and some other very naughty fruity and sugar flavors that are sure to rack up calories and make us feel bloated and water-retained the next day.

My sugar free Mai Tai creation:
Make one glass of orange flavored Crystal Light.  I used the “Sunrise Classic Orange” flavor, which has 5 calories and 0 carbs per serving and tons of flavor. 

Then, I added a touch of Grenadine, which does add a bit of sugar, but not nearly as much as it would be if you were not using a sugar free base.  Then, to add a little more flavor and nutrition, I added a bit of squeezed fresh lemon juice into the mix. 

The alcohol that goes into the drink (is mixed thoroughly in) is a light rum.  You can use spiced rum too, but it’s probably better to use regular light rum.  Once all of this is mixed together and preferably chilled well through mixing in a shaker with lots of ice, pour it into a cup. 

Add a splash or Meyer’s Dark Rum.  And you’ve got yourself a pretty darn good, lower calorie Mai Tai, without all the guilt of a regular one, which can be 300 plus calories, depending on the size of the drink. 

November 26, 2006

Sugar Free Cocktails?

Filed under: Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 10:40 pm

I began searching online for sugar free cocktail mixes so that I could still enjoy having an alcoholic cocktail without unknowingly downing about 250-500 calories in one of these typically sugary drinks that are my favorite like margaritas, cosmopolitans, mai tais and other sugary fare. 

I came across Baja Bobs sugar free mixes, but I read a lot of bad reviews on these items, saying they didn’t really cut it as far as substitutes for the real thing, or they had a funny or bitter taste. 

Then I came across what looks like a smaller mom and pop operation that makes a sugar free, carb free margarita mix powder that got excellent reviews from its users, called “Zilch”.  I ordered a few cartons of the stuff, and I’ll be giving you my own personal review of the sugar free margarita mix shortly!

November 24, 2006

Kids are Getting Hardened Arteries Now?

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 9:00 am

When I read this news, I thought, boy, this is really a sure sign that obesity and childhood obesity is getting way out of hand for the US.  Apparently doctors are now having to monitor kids who are overweight and obese now at earlier ages for signs of hardening of the arteries, something which usually only occurs after years and years of bad eating and other bad habits which result in high cholesterol.

The problem begins with a bad diet, but it can be further worsened by not having enough physical activity, which is also a problem US health officials are trying to address for today’s youth, encouraging and facilitating more outlets for our kid’s physical activities so that they can be fitter and maintain a reasonably healthy weight.

The other option, and I hope it does  not come to this, is to give children with these risk factors cholesterol lowering drugs that are called statins if they don’t pass tests which test for cholesterol levels and blood lipid levels.  Can you imagine if we have to start medicating out children for this?  I say start with education.  It’s the only way. 

November 22, 2006

Dietary Fats : Good vs. Bad

Filed under: Health News — EatingToLive @ 11:16 pm

We all tend to think of “fat” as a bad thing.  And, it is in fact, many times not a good thing.  There are such things as bad fats, which only serve to clog our arteries and make us age faster as well as make us gain weight, and then there are good dietary fats that are heart-protective and serve as a way to make us feel fuller, and to actually (contrary to thought), help us to slim down and stay slimmer. 

So how do you know which dietary fats are good and bad.  Well, let’s classify dietary fats first :

1.)  Saturated - Not good, consume in moderation, try to eliminate if possible. 

2.)  Polyunsaturated - Good to consumer in moderation, has protective qualities and helps us to absorb and utilize certain nutrients and vitamins. 

3.)  Monounsaturated - Good to consumer in moderation, has protective qualities as well and can also help us to digest and absorb nutritionally beneficial micronutrients.

4.)  Trans fat - Bad, bad, bad.  This is the fat that is getting all that bad publicity and is being banned.  This is the fat that fast food restaurants like McDonald’s is working on getting rid of, and Taco Bell and Wendy’s have already come up with a healthier alternative for. 

November 20, 2006

The “Holiday Weight Gain Trap”

Filed under: Dieting Trends, Health & Fitness Tips — EatingToLive @ 1:25 pm

We all know exactly what it is.  The holidays, at least in the northwest, are a veritable maze of booby traps designed to sabotage anyone’s good diet intentions.  And trying to lose weight around the holidays? 

Talk about torture, it’s nearly impossible!  Everyone is shoving cookies and cakes and other sugary, fatty goods in your face.  They’re in your office, in your home, at friends houses. 

Everyone has candies and gifts of food that they bring in.  It’s basically your worst diet nightmare around the holidays, and it’s very hard not to succumb to the holiday 5 lb. weight gain, which I myself have succumbed to many times, only to take it right back off in a post holiday detox diet from feeling so guilty about eating so badly for days or weeks at a time!

So, what can you do to help fend off the holiday weight gain, and the constant temptation of your favorite foods in your face.  How do you ignore the pleasant smells, the colors, the flavor anticipation of the many diet-sinful foods that are all around you?  Can you even try to ignore it?

Well, there are some ways you can at least help curb the holiday food temptations that loom all around you.  Here’s what they are ( let’s not forget, an occasional indulgence is ok, it’s when your days are filled with these indulgences that your body starts to rack up weight) :

1.)  Eat a small snack like baby carrots before you go somewhere where there will be lots of sweets.  Baby carrots, especially the good, young tender and sweet ones, are a great sweet snack, and I’ve found they work wonderfully when I’m craving something sweet to end that craving - REALLY!

2.)  Take a good supplement that helps naturally curb the appetite, like Hoodia (see suggestion in this blog).  Hoodia is all natural with no stimulants and it really just tricks the mind into thinking it’s full when it’s not.

3.)  Drink lots of water.  If you can’t do that, get a diet soda wherever you’re at.  Drinking this instead of filling up on caloric treats will help your mouth stay busy without loading up on artery clogging, thigh and belly expanding fats and sugars.

November 18, 2006

McDonald’s Still Working on Healthier Fry Fat

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 8:27 am

The CEO of McDonald’s, the fast food destination of millions, and the target of much recent criticism over how unhealthy their food is, and many time addictive and blood sugar-destroying, says that they are still working on a healthier, transfat free cooking oil to fry their famous fries in.

Now, I must admit I indulge in the McD’s once in a while, and am a huge fan of their french fries, but I must also say that I invariably feel like garbage after I eat a McDonald’s meal, so there is definitely something to Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me” documentary which chronicals his spiraling health while on a month of strictly McDonald’s fare.

The announcement that they are “still working on” a healthier oil actually comes almost 4 years after the company made the announcement they were striving to be a healthier food place for people to enjoy, and some are wondering when this great new offering is going to even happen.

The CEO also goes on to say that while they are hard at work on the healthier frying oil, they also don’t want to jump the gun and announce anything until it’s perfected, as they do not want to jeopardize what McDonald’s is known for - their great french fries, which is very important to their business and branding.

They’re behind the eight ball compared to Wendy’s who already made the switch in August.

November 16, 2006

Aging and Gaining Weight

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 3:01 pm

Everyone kind of wonders this same thing.  Are we all really destined to gain weight as we age, as it seems many of us do?  Is there something in most of our genetic codes that makes us get bigger and bigger as time goes on, with less mucle tone and calorie burning ability?  Well, yes and no.  Let me explain. 

It is true that as most of us age, our metabolism does some sort of weird things.  It does tend to slow down with age, so we usually must restrict what we eat a little more, but the good news is, the natural progression of things is supposed to make our appetites smaller as we age.  Why then does this not seem to bode true for many people, whose appetites seem to stay proportianately larger than what they should be for their biological age?

Well, this can be attributed to stress and boredom eating, which means we eat when we are not really hungry, simply to ease either boredom or stress.  Also, the foods that so many of us have been accustomed to eating in this day and age lend to blood sugar problems, which means our appetite is constantly in overdrive. 

The biological part of eating and weight gain is actually on our side, it’s the foods and our environment that spoil the whole cycle for us, making us gain weight as we get older.  Being sedentary is also another big reason for this, as sedentary lifestyles are becoming more and more of a problem. 

November 14, 2006

Teens and Kids Getting Fatter?

Filed under: Diet and Weightloss News — EatingToLive @ 1:20 pm

The trend now continues to be that our kids, at earlier stages of their lives, are getting to be more and more overweight.  What could this be from? My suggestion is that our diets have just become a product of our busy lives, and parents simply don’t have the time to cook wholesome, healthy and unprocessed meals for their kids. 

Also, add in there the popularity of video games and other activities that don’t involve much movement, and the fact the gym glass really doesn’t provide much physical activity any more, and these kids really don’t have a fighting chance and being lean and mean in their early years, which should be when it is the easiest for us all to stay our fittest. 

The latest report and survey shows that teens are becoming increasingly unfit and overweight - to the tune of one out of three teens, which is astronomical and should be turned around as soon as possible. 

Healthier diets and more exercise are definitely called for, since this can lead to a whole generation of people that get sick more often and have more health problems, and that’s not what we want, is it? 

November 13, 2006

Low Carb Diets Not Dangerous After All?

Filed under: Dieting Trends — EatingToLive @ 9:08 pm

Well, it appears the long debate over whether lower carb, higher fat diets are dangerous is over - well at least as they relate to heart health, that is.  New studies are showing that a following of women over the past two decades who ate lower carb, higher fat diets, did not increase their risk of heart disease. 

The controversial “Atkins Diet” has long been scrutinized for it’s safety, and while some people do take it to an extreme, as long as common sense is used on a low carb diet, it should be very safe for you to follow.  This means, don’t eat a pound of bacon and cheese every day. 

You still want to maintain your colon health, and eating that way is only going to clog you up and put you in pain, instead of the cleansing and high fiber benefits of fiber rich food consumption. 

You should still eat your veggies, and get your fiber, and don’t regard fruit as if it’s the devil.  You should still eat fruit, but maybe just restrict fruit to the first thing in the morning, by itself, not combined with other proteins, and then eat your veggies the rest of the day.

I’m glad it’s been concluded the low carb diet is not hazardous to your health (like I said, unless you take it to extremes), because this is actually one of my favorite diets to follow, and I notice I feel my best when I restrict my carbs, even if they are whole grains or whole wheat. 

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