Some might call it science, but me, I just call it math. I love eating as much as the next person, and often I eat far more then my own share at the dinner table. I guess it's just one of the joys cooking new things brings, tasting it after it's all done.
Of course, there comes a time when we may have had one too many taste tests. When this happens we usually start asking ourselves the question "Is it time to start losing some weight?".
I recently had this happent to me after reading a post over at Flexxbelt.org, you can read the post here. He was talking about the science behind losing one pound of fat, and in reading it I got to thinking "Is it really that easy"?
Here's the quick synopsis.
In order to burn one pound of fat you must some how burn or eat 3500 calories less then your body actually needs. In turn what happens is your body turns to it's fat stores and burns 3500 calories worth (Which happens to be about 1 lb of fat) to make up the lack of calories you ate or burned through exercise.
So how can you accomplish this 3500 calorie deficit?
Well there's a couple of ways.
#1 You eat less, or your eat more of what's better for you and less of what's known as empty calories (chips, chocolate and other junk foods). We can all figure out how many calories we need in a day (here's a calculator to help) so staying within that realm will ensure we're not gaining any more weight. Ideally you want to eat a couple of hundred fewer calories then you need each day.
#2 Get active. Being active whether it be swimming, jogging, walking or playing frisbee with your dog is burning calories. 30 minutes of swimming or jogging will burn on average 200-250 calories. If you combine that with a 200-250 calorie deficit in your diet then you're cutting 500 calories a day. Do that for a week and you've just got rid of 3500 calories or one pound of fat.
Pretty cool huh?
Now, I know you might be saying, but I really enjoy eating and I don't want to give up cooking and making some of my favorite dishes?
My response is you don't have to, but you do need to start being smarter about how much you eat (portion size) and what you eat between meals.
If you know you're making a fantastic pasta dish for dinner, maybe skip the garlic bread with it, or snack on carrot sticks that afternoon instead of chips or cookies.
Losing weight does take discipline but it shouldn't be about sacrifice other wise you'll never be able to stick to your guns.
Filed under Losing Weight by on May 10th, 2012. 
Losing weight is so much fun I can barely contain myself. How I wish that were true. Healthy eating is difficult to maintain, more so when you've spent years eating what you want, when you want. But we all know that, right?
Fortunately, once I got my fat keester into gear, I remembered just how much I enjoyed exercise (in my youth) and half the battle was won. Basically I read a few treadclimber reviews, busted a gut (literally) checking some out down the mall, and bought one.
Having already cut out sugar, soda (my big downfall), swapped to lean meat, more veg, lower carbs etc, I was all sat. That's when I worked out that the more you move the more you lose. For real. I'd always known that blasting calories had the same effect as counting them, but you know what I mean.
Basically if you balance your calorific intake with your physical output you're onto a winner. Period. And by balance I mean that an hour, five days a week, of high intensity cardio, will burn up to 600 calories per session.
Over a five day week that's a potential 3000 calories burned off, and, coupled with a 'modern caveman diet' (i.e. calorie counting), you will start to see results with a matter of weeks. It is, when you think about it, pure math.
My day-to-day diet consists of a lot of low carb foods, vegetables (no calories foods) and white meats – chicken, fish etc. I limit red meat (once a week), and sweet stuff I don't cut out, I simply make my own low-fat alternatives.
I inject a lot of flavor by way of seasonings – garlic, spices, chili etc, and almost always have a low-cal dessert. That covers two bases – I was raised on 'full meals', i.e. starter, main, dessert, and can't seem to kick the habit.
Now I have a fresh fruit juice or smoothie starter. Then the main course, then the dessert. I know that still sounds as though I'm over eating but trust me, I'm not. Smaller helpings of the carbs, lots and lots of the no-cal foods, I take the time to enjoy what I'm eating and don't feel hungry in any way.
A typical meal will be something like this:
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pork and chili stew – tasty, warming, hearty, and only around 270 calories a bowl
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orange fruit cookie with citrus fruit salad – delicious and only 130 calories a serving
As I said, I will start most of my meals with a refreshing glass of fresh fruit juice, a smoothie or something like a piece of melon. Five days a week I'm on my exercise machine (a bowflex treadclimber t20) and weekends, though I consider them days of exercise wise, I'll usually end up going for a walk or a bike ride.
Remember – a healthy lifestyle is difficult to maintain but if you approach it in the right frame of mind, don't overstretch yourself and plan how you're going to go about it, living the caveman way doesn't have to be quite so harsh as it sounds.
Filed under Low Carb Meals by on Apr 29th, 2012.
Though a vegan diet or a raw diet are not for everyone, they may help some find the unique balance between consumption and health that many are searching for. There was a time in our society when eating meat and preserved foods were necessary for our very survival, but now with massive supermarkets popping up across the various developed countries of the Western world, the need to eat this sort of food has been greatly reduced.
The convenience of being able to obtain foods conducive to a vegan diet or a raw diet has, in some cases, eliminated the need for meat and processed food altogether. An increasingly sedentary lifestyle and the lack of a need to get up and do physical labor has further reduced our need for meat.
Now, this should not be seen as encouragement to give up your current diet and undertake a vegan diet, by any means. However, incorporating elements from a vegan diet in to your current routine can make a huge difference in your level of overall health and help you avoid certain problems down the road such as debilitating degenerative diseases that eat away at your body and decrease the strength of your heart. With these factors in mind, you would be hard pressed to find a dietician that would recommend against working these elements in to your diet.
A vegan diet works on the principle of getting most of your protein and nutrients from vegetables, which may seem obvious. However, there is a certain balance of these items that people need to find in order to live healthy lives. The same could be said for any diet, however, so this may not be as intimidating as it initially seems.
Another plus, for those who are seeking to switch to a vegan diet in an effort to overcome obesity, is the increased amount of fiber that will result by undertaking these elements. Fiber helps you stay full for longer, gives you energy, and helps you digest more easily any food that you take in. These benefits can serve as a good encouragement for those who want to try a healthier way of living.
Another positive aspect of a vegan diet is that the natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables can help maintain and regulate your level of blood sugar, in some cases eliminating the need to take prescription medications to control it. Always ask your doctor for guidance when considering such a dramatic change in diet, and do not try to make a complete change over night!
Filed under Low Carb Vegetarian Diet by on Apr 11th, 2012.
Can people eat carbs and still lose weight? Fitness expert Denise Austin thinks they can.
Austin has dedicated her career to helping women get in shape. In addition to hosting two long-running TV shows, she has published over 40 books and exercise tapes on the subject of getting fit.
Now, she has come out with her first diet book. Denise Austin’s 28-Day Diet Plan promises that everyone who follows the regimen to a fare-thee-well will lose one dress size in a month, and not to mention saving money with the various Denise Austin Online diet coupons.
The Diet for Carb-Lovers
The beauty of the diet is its emphasis on carbohydrates. Austin feels not only that low-carb diets can wreak havoc on the human body, but also that they can actually encourage a person to gain weight. She firmly believes that carbohydrates, when eaten in the right amounts and correct proportions, serve as a far more effective foundation for any weight-loss regime.
Austin bases her diet plan on the intelligent combination of foods based on each one's glycemic load. This measurement is calculated by comparing a carbohydrate’s weight in grams to the speed with which the body converts it into sugar. Austin’s 1,200-calorie-a-day diet aims to limit the glycemic load of that day’s dietary intake to no more than 80.
Breakdown of Denise Austin’s Diet
Although the exact amounts do vary, each meal is made up of about 45 grams of carbohydrate, three or four ounces of protein, and one or two servings of fat. All portions must be measured, either visually or with a measuring device.
The diet itself is broken into two parts. During the first phase of 28 days, the diet must be followed exactly. After that, however, the dieter can feel free to either make substitutions in recipe ingredients or combine meals or snacks from different days. The book includes nearly 100 pages of recipes, and this makes the diet easy to follow.
Sample Menu
An actual example from the book gives a good idea of what one day’s meals will look like. Breakfast, for example, will consist of ½ cup of Kashi topped with 8 ounces of fat-free milk and half of a small banana. This will be followed by a kiwi for a mid-morning snack.
At lunch, the dieter can feast on a ham sandwich consisting of 3 ounces of lean ham, 1 ounce of Swiss cheese, 2 slices of tomato and 2 teaspoons of mustard on 2 slices of multigrain bread. One cup of papaya will serve as dessert, and a slice of banana bread topped with 2 teaspoons of butter will make a filling mid-afternoon snack.
A typical dinner will consist of 1 vegetable frittata, 1/8 avocado, ½ cup raw mushrooms and 2 teaspoons butter with a slice of Italian bread. A pear baked in rum sauce wraps up the meal.
In addition to its menu diversity, the diet’s carbohydrate levels help to satisfy hunger. “No one needs to sacrifice so much to lose weight,” says Austin.
Filed under Diets by on Mar 26th, 2012.
Serving some chips or bread with dip is a great way to liven up any friendly gathering, but its not exactly carb friendly. Instead of reaching for chips, crackers or pretzels, try veggies. You can enjoy all your favorite dips without breaking your new, healthy eating habits. Make up a platter of all your favorite vegetables, from carrots and celery to sugar snap peas and edamame. Below are two dip recipes that are sure to impress your taste buds and your guests.
Guacamole
- 1/2 onion, chopped finely
- 1 jalapeno chopped finely
- 1/4 cup fresh or dried cilantro
- 2 fresh avocados, diced
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
You simply combine the ingredients with a fork in a bowl and chill overnight.
Gazpacho Dip
- 2 tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 small red or yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 cucumber diced
- 1/2 red or white onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine each ingredient in a medium sized bowl and wither serve right away, or chill for an hour or two if you want to. This dip is perfect with dippers such as endive, sugar snap peas or celery.
You do not need the carbs to enjoy great dip recipes. A few tweaks to your old routine and you'll be eating healthy and low carb in no time.
Filed under Low Carb Appetizers by on Mar 24th, 2012.
There are many ways that rice can contribute to a healthy and hearty diet (albeit with carbs). Many people are not aware of its health properties and merely think of it as a nice filler food. A lot of individuals put it in the same category as bread, pasta, or potatoes. But the benefits to this magic food are plentiful and here are several reasons why.
Rice in and of itself is almost like a super food. It is highly nutritious and it can give the body the energy it needs. Getting a rice cooker and eating this substance every day can drastically help the body. For example, one cup of rice is equivalent to three slices of bread or five bowls of oatmeal. The reason it works out so nicely is the fact that it is a completely unprocessed product. With bread, there is a lot of filler that is placed into it like extra sugars and empty carbs. Oatmeal is notoriously filled with sugary dry berries and yogurt covered grains. All of these extra ingredients add nothing to the body except for extra weight and fat. Rice is simply a grain that is harvested and then steamed. Nothing is added to it so all of its nutritious elements can be enjoyed and savored.
One good way to integrate rice into one’s diet is to have a little bit during each meal. In the morning, many people of Asian origin like eating rice porridge, otherwise known as congee. It is extremely easy to make as long as one has a cooker. After reading a few rice cooker reviews, you'll get a general idea of the models that will fit your budget. Or a person can simply order from a restaurant since a small bowl usually costs less than $5. At lunch and dinner, substitute a helping of rice over mashed potatoes or pasta. It’ll absorb the flavors of the meal just as well and it’s a lot better for the body. Eat more rice and watch the pounds just melt away.
It's a simple thing that any person can prepare no matter how much experience you might have in the kitchen. Even a rookie can put together instant rice that's already prepared in a package. There are also some amazing recipes you can find online that allow you to account for your own personal taste. Go ahead and try different herbs, spices, vegetables, and meet that will make great combinations your whole family will enjoy. It's a healthy food that you don't have to feel guilty about eating.
Filed under Food by on Mar 21st, 2012.
Perhaps you’ve heard of zero calorie foods. Is that a misnomer – is something that has zero calories even a food? Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of “food.” Obviously, foods that contain no calories don’t supply any of your caloric needs, although these foods might very well contain vitamins or minerals that are beneficial to your overall health. Also, in some cases, the foods that contain no calories might include another important health benefits in the way of dietary fiber, which most of us don’t get enough of every day.
Generally speaking, most zero calorie products use a combination of water, herbs, spices, vegetable concentrates, and/or artificial sweeteners to provide taste. They might also include thickeners to improve texture. This is usually the case with the tasty Walden Farms products. In some cases, like with Miracle Noodles, the products are made from plant fibers that the body can’t absorb. In other words, your body isn’t able to break down the soluble fiber from which the noodles are made, so you don’t get any of the calories or any of the carbs. Once you swallow the noodles, they expand in your stomach, and they take a while for your digestive tract to process. What does this mean for your dieting efforts? It means that you’ll feel for a longer period of time, so you won’t be as tempted to splurge on high calorie snacks.
Filed under Dieting by on Mar 6th, 2012.
Okay you're a happy carnivore who loves red meat. So you've decided that the Caveman Diet is the best way for you to lose weight or to maintain your healthy weight. You're ready to eat beef and red meat in the right way and love every minute. But wait! You've just realized how expensive red meat can be. Seriously. The tender delicious red meat marbled with fat comes from the most expensive cuts of meat. The less expensive lean red meat can be tough and tasteless. Don't worry all is not lost. You can use a pressure cooker to infuse red meat with flavor. The moisture used in the pressure cooking process with leave the leanest red meat very tender. The great news is that it can take less than half the time to cook using a pressure cooker pot and that its quite easy.
INFUSE RED MEAT WITH FLAVOR AND TENDERNESS WITH A PRESSURE COOKER
So let's take a look at just how long it takes to cook some red meat in a pressure cooker. A 3 pound chuck roast should be juicy and tender in about 35 minutes. Fancy some corned beef and cabbage for your St. Patrick's Day celebration? Then it'll be fit for a leprechaun in about an hour. If your Cave Man Diet includes a ham shoulder in the 3 to 6 pound range, then figure about 30 minutes. Steak lovers will enjoy a 1/4-inch thick round steak in about 10 minutes.
Here are some red meat cooking tips when you use your pressure cooker.
This sounds obvious but make sure that your roast or ham shoulder fits properly in your pressure cooker. You should never have food or liquid above the 2/3 line in your pressure cooker. It's usually clearly market on the inside.
Don't try to use your pressure cooker pot on round roasts over 3 pounds. The outside will be overdone and the inside uncooked.
Achieve maximum tastiness by browning the meat in mushrooms, onions, garlic or other aromatic herbs and vegetables before adding your water or broth.
Don't just stick to water. If you're cooking beef, some beef broth will give your dish some added zip.
Become friends with your pressure cooker and your Cave Man Diet will be delicious and cost-effective!
Filed under Cooking Meat by on Feb 18th, 2012.
I like my coleslaw to be sweet. Since I try to follow a low-carb diet, does that mean I have to give up my sweet coleslaw? This isn’t a problem at all for those who don’t prefer a sweetish slaw. And thanks to no-calorie artificial sweeteners, even those of us who love sweet slaw can indulge our sweet tooth without blowing our low carb diet. I like to use the granular type of Splenda in recipes, but we might prefer another type of sugar substitute. Actually, I’ve also used a brown sugar substitute lately, and I really like it. It’s called “Ideal Brown.”
Remember that cabbage is naturally low in carbs, so you just need to be careful about what you add to the cabbage. For example, red onion would be better than yellow onion. Some other low-carb foods you might want to include in your low-carb coleslaw recipes are bell peppers, hot peppers, celery, zucchini, radishes, and yellow squash. I might also remind you that carrots have a pretty high glycemic index, so you might want to avoid adding them to your slaw.
Low carb coleslaw recipe
What you’ll need:
1 medium head green cabbage
1 small-medium zucchini
2 celery ribs
½ half red onion
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Splenda
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions: Wash cabbage under cool water. Remove outer leaves and core. Chop or shred cabbage and place in a large bowl. Dice zucchini, unpeeled, into small squares and add to bowl. Slice celery very thin and add to bowl. Chop or dice onion and add to bowl.
In another bowl, combine mayonnaise, Splenda, vinegar, olive oil, garlic salt, cayenne and black pepper. Mix vigorously with a whisk. Pour mixture over vegetables. Toss vegetables and dressing with two large forks or salad servers. Tightly cover bowl and place coleslaw in the refrigerator. Best if allowed to chill for two hours.
Filed under Low Carb Recipes by on Feb 16th, 2012.
We folks in the South love our stone crab claws! Although stone crabs can be found in the Atlantic, most are harvested in the Gulf of Mexico. One or both of the stone crab claws are removed from the living crab, and the crab is released. In about eighteen months, the crabs will grow new claws to replace the old ones. The bodies of stone crabs are not consumed.
Unless you catch your own stone crabs, you’ll buy them at a supermarket or seafood store, and the claws have already been fully cooked. If the claws are frozen, you’ll need to thaw them first, of course. If you want to eat them cold, just thaw the claws in the fridge. If you prefer eating the claws hot, place them in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Allow to sit in the hot water until the meat is heated through. Some people think boiling the frozen stone crab claws is a quick way to thaw the crabmeat, but that’s not a good idea. Remember – the stone crab claws have already been cooked, and you don’t want to turn the delicate meat to mush.
Once the claws are warm, or if you’re planning on eating them cold, use a set of crackers to remove the shell. Try to crack the shell without disturbing the meat and breaking it apart. This takes a little practice, but after cracking a couple of crab claws, you’ll get the hang of it.
Filed under Cooking Fish by on Jan 29th, 2012.
