Archive | Diet & Nutrition

High Cholesterol and the GM Diet

Welcome to the 21st century, where modern man has perfected the art of “Fast Food”. It may not be completely true, but thanks to the era of the “Global Village”, there is hardly any cuisine left in the work, which has not been the victim of this trend. It certainly is the need of the hour in the fast paced world, where so many people no longer have the time or patience to cook healthy food at home. It is ironic how the very population on whose shoulders the world economies are being built, are on the unhealthiest diets in the world.

Thanks to these realities, a considerable portion of this population is suffering from diseases like high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure etc. These are nothing but the direct results of these unhealthy food habits and lazy lifestyles. The youthful population is willing to work itself to death in today’s day and age of competition, not realizing that they can do more with a healthy body. High Cholesterol is just the beginning. It can lead to severe heart-related ailments resulting in a shorter lifespan.

It is about time, that people should pay attention to this horror and address it by changing their lifestyle. In order to combat these modern evils, there are two major steps that should be taken. Firstly, change your diet. If you are what you eat, then you should only eat the good stuff. As a youngster, you should look to be ripped and always be ready for swimsuit season. To achieve this goal, you need to plan a step by step plan to measure your progress. Try to eat more raw foods like fruits and salads. You may even want to consider looking into the GM diet. You can try out this week-long plan once every month. It is excellent for detoxifying your body helps to lose up to 5-7 kilograms or 12-14 pounds in a week. Keeping weight in check is a great to fight high cholesterol.

Secondly, start dragging your rear end to the gym. It is unacceptable that a girl or a guy in their twenty’s or thirty’s being out of shape. There is no simply no excuse. Exercising should be part of your daily routine. Regular exercise boosts your metabolism and overall wellness. High Cholesterol levels are no match for a healthy lifestyle. Carve out at least an hour of light workout every day, and rest on Sunday, just like God!

Remember, the future of the human race depends on the youth of the world. So always keep this in mind, that when you do make it big, you better look like a million bucks as well.

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The Basics Of The Ketogenic Diet: Which Diet Menu Plan Is Best For You

Are you a meat lover but need to lose weight? Then you might find yourself in a dilemma as most diets out there limit the intake of meat and other fatty food products because of high fat content and calories as well. With that said, people who need to lose weight no longer have to be contented with eating carrot sticks or lettuce as one can now enjoy their favorite bacon and egg while still losing weight. The ketogenic diet, which once served as an epileptic prevention meal plan, is now being used by people who need to shed excess weight. There are 2 types the “long chain triglycerides” (LCT) and the medium chain triglycerides (MCT).

Ketogenic Diet Overview

In a normal diet, humans need to consume higher amounts of carbohydrates as this acts as energy source for the body to be able to function well and less of fat as fats are only stored in the body as a reserve for when the body needs more fuel. As the body needs more carbohydrates, it processes the food group first and thus one feels hungry after a while which is not so in the case of breaking down meals that are high in fat content.

In the ketogenic diet, this theory is reversed. One will need to consume higher amount of fats and trick the body into realizing that it has insufficient amount of glucose so that it would breakdown the fats first and convert these into energy. The first diet which is the LCT deals with high fat – low carbohydrates with adequate protein. Calories are restricted and fluid intake may be taken into consideration as well. The strict diet usually makes use of strict meal plans taking into consideration the dieter’s calorie and protein needs per day. These are then divided into several meals for the day which are designed by dietitians.

In the Medium or MCT diet, the meal plans are less strict and structured especially when it comes to the calorie prescription; however, dieters should stick to the meal plan and make the necessary substitute as needed. Unlike the LCT which makes use of complex fats, the MCT makes use of fats that have higher ketones, the most popular of the use of coconut oil. Some dieters develop intolerance with the MCT diet; as such, dietitians make use of the John Radcliffe diet. The John Radcliffe diet is a combination of LCT (30%) and MCT (30%) ration with the rest coming from protein and carbohydrates.

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The Six O’Clock Diet

Perhaps you are wondering what “time” is doing attaching itself to a diet description. Well, some of you may have guessed or know it already; however, the Six O’Clock Diet has something to do with restricting eating time. In this diet, you are allowed to regularly eat anything until the clock hits six o’clock in the evening. Your next meal follows the next morning when you wake up. This diet is also known by the description “after six”.

The concept lies on the body’s metabolism and activities. It is more active during the day and because of that, burning fat and calories is faster and easier as compared to when your body is inactive. Everything you’ve eaten in a day would be difficult to burn if you continuously munch on food as your activity levels drop. Aside from that, food gets “stored” by the body at night. Most of the body functions are turned off when we sleep, making metabolism slower and weight gain faster.

Why six o’clock? Some say that it is just the right time between night and day. When you stop eating at this point, you give your body some time to work on all the food you’ve eaten without having to deal with more incoming calories and fats as it does.

What you should remember about the Six O’Clock Diet is that you can eat in the morning but not anything you want. The idea is to eat what you need, not what you can. You still have to watch out for what you eat and what you need. If you overeat during the day, your body may not be able to burn down all the excess you’ve taken in. If that happens, you will just gain weight. In the same way, don’t eat too little during the day and then eat nothing after six. This will cause stress and fatigue and is more likely to get you sick than healthy. What some people do is that instead of eating three full meals a day, they eat four to six meals and snacks instead.

Of course, Six O’Clock Diets have its pros and cons. And just like any other diet, it isn’t for everyone. The After Six diet can be quite useful to people who have this urge to raid the refrigerator or eat while watching TV at night. However, for some people, this may cause insomnia and sleeping disorders. Also, the After Six diet can also cause you to eat a lot during the day because you have this feeling of “making up for lost time”. It is supposed to be a diet program, not an eating race against the clock.

What does the After Six diet have in common with other diets, though? The main thing here is discipline. If you’ve made up your mind not to eat after six, then you must also have the firm resolution not to overeat during the day, even though you still have to eat right and healthy for you to support the energy and nutritional needs of your body.

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Boron Citrate Nutrition

Boron Citrate, the fifth chemical element, is also is a trace nutrients found primarily in fruits and vegetables Prunes, grapes and raisins, dates, apples, pears, grains and soybeans, almonds and other nuts, and unprocessed honey all contain boron.

Boron citrate, when taken in the recommended dosage of from 3 milligrams to 9 milligrams daily, has a variety of benefits.

Boron citrate, by activating Vitamin D and estrogen, helps prevent or alleviate the effects of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women

Boron, by increasing cognition, may prevent memory loss and be valuable in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. It has also been known to relieve the symptoms of arthritis.

Boron citrate is available in 3 milligram capsules and 3 milligram and 6 milligram tablets. Although safe when taken at the recommended doses, boron can, in amounts over 500 mg, cause side effects, including loss of appetite and digestive problems.

Acute boron toxicity produces nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping.

Chronic toxicity also causes nausea diarrhea, poor appetite and weight loss.

Boron deficiency contributes to Vitamin D deficiency which can lead to brain wave alteration, arthritis and joint swelling. While boron deficiencies are relatively rare, you should consult your doctor, who can provide you with the appropriate information and support, if you think you are suffering either from a deficiency or overdose of boron.

And if you are thinking of including a Boron Citrate supplement in your nutritional regime, your doctor will work with you to find a vitamin and supplement regimen that is just right for you. Don’t make any changes until you consult with him or her. And, to prevent negative interactions, let your doctor know of any illnesses you have or have had, and all medications (including over the counter) that you are taking.

The comprehensive nutrient supplement Total Balance contains Boron Citrate, and over seventy other necessary nutrients. Total Balance, produced by the New Zealand company Xtend-life Natural Products, possesses a Certificate of Analysis guaranteeing its potency.

Xtend-life also maintains pharmaceutical GMP compliance, the world’s strictest manufacturing standards for dietary supplements, and use only standardized herbal extracts, containing the herb’s active ingredients, in their formulas.

Xtend Life has the best money back guarantee for nutrient supplements which is a full year with an entire refund with no questions asked.

Xtend-life offers timely delivery, reasonable shipping costs and a generous one-full-year, no questions asked money back guarantee

To avoid serious problems with your prescription medications, consult with your doctor before you begin to include this, or any new supplement or over-the-counter medication, in your diet.

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Are Diets One Size Fits All?

Once again I’m pondering the research around “diets.” First of all, I hate the word diet. It implies some sort of rigorous eating plan that once completed, will solve all your health problems and somehow miraculously allow you to resume former habits. Or, it alludes to something you hop on/off a couple times per year in hopes of staving off weight gain.

Diet is actually defined as the foods a person or animal habitually eats. In that sense, the way we use diet is all wrong. For most, “diets” have a foreseeable end, whereas a diet in actuality is the way you eat most of the time.

There are numerous “diets” or ways of eating that are being publicized. Who hasn’t heard of the ketogenic diet by now? There is also paleo, Mediterranean, low carb, macrobiotic, vegetarian, vegan, etc. All of these tout that their plan is the “way” everyone should eat. It can be extremely confusing. It’s like a pick your own adventure of diets.

Naturally, as a dietitian, everyone wants to know what I deem to be the BEST diet. Some are disappointed when I don’t provide a clear and firm response on the matter. You see, the reason I keep pondering various these diets is because I’ve seen through countless client encounters that many diets, as healthy as they might seem, just plain do not work for some people. I have had people come in, desperate for help, because the “healthy” diet they have followed to the “t” is producing no weight loss results, or even worse, causing increased lipid levels and reduced energy. What gives?

Recent research out of Texas A&M may provide some helpful results.1 They showed that in mice fed various popular diets (Standard American, Ketogenic, Japanese, Atkins, etc ), they all responded differently, some positive and some negative. In other words, some mice showed positive improvements on particular plans while others actually got worse on the very same diet.

The key is genetics. The researchers in this study suspect that genetic variations cause our bodies to respond better or worse to various foods and styles of eating. For example, one mouse in particular did very poorly on the Japanese diet, surprisingly, while the rest stayed in good health. Also, most did poorly on the standard American diet (as expected) but some fared less poorly than others.

The take home message is that clearly, one diet does not fit all. A diet that improves the health of one person might worsen the health of another. So many out there want to promote and sell you the universal “ideal” diet, and yet it is becoming more clear that it does not exist. The role of genetics is only going to continue to become more prominent as we search for answers in the obesity epidemic and for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130170236.htm

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Nutrition for Your Shingles and Post-Herpetic Neuralgia Patients

Nutrition Planning – A Little Something Extra for Your Postherpetic Neuralgia Patients

Treating the postherpetic neuropathy or shingles patient can be challenging.

They’ve already been through the pain of shingles…

The rash is gone and they expected to be normal again.

What they didn’t count on was postherpetic neuropathy.

Chances are by the time they reach your office, they’re frustrated…depressed…irritable.

The medications aren’t working and they’re looking for a solution.

Something…anything…to make their postherpetic neuropathy pain stop and give them back their lives.

As a postherpetic neuropathy specialist, you’re in a unique position to give them what they need to heal. The missing pieces of the treatment puzzle that they haven’t addressed before now.

That Little Something Extra – A Good Nutrition Plan

Your postherpetic neuropathy patient is probably accustomed to hearing the “take 2 of these and call me in the morning” approach to their neuropathy pain. That approach hasn’t worked or they wouldn’t be in your office. They need address the most basic ingredient in healing the human body – nutrition.

There are certain vitamins and minerals that have been shown to lessen the pain caused by shingles and postherpetic neuropathy. Your postherpetic neuropathy patients need to make sure they’re getting these vitamins and minerals, in healthy amounts, to give their body what it needs to heal.

This is where you come in. By providing nutrition counseling services to your postherpetic neuropathy patient, you not only address their actual real-time physical symptoms, you give them vital information they need to participate in their own care and take control of their health again.

Make sure that any nutrition planyou prescribe for your postherpetic neuropathy patients includes:

– Whole grains and legumes to provide B vitaminsto promote nerve health. Whole grains promote the production of serotonin in the brain and will increase their feeling of well- being.

– Fish and eggs for additional vitamins B12 and B1.

– Green, leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, and other greens) for calciumand magnesium. Both of these nutrients are vital to healthy nerve endings and health nerve impulse transmission and, as an added bonus, give the immune system a boost.

– Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables (such as squash, carrots, yellow and orange bell peppers, apricots, oranges, etc.) for vitamins A and Cto help repair skin and boost the immune system.

– Sunflower seeds (unsalted), avocados, broccoli, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, peanuts (unsalted), tomatoes and tomato products, sweet potatoes and fish for vitamin Eto promote skin health and ease the pain of postherpetic neuropathy.

– A good multivitamin and mineral supplement to fill in any gaps in their daily nutrition.

Advise them to avoid:

– Coffee and other caffeinated drinks.

– Fried foods and all other fatty foods. Fatty foods suppress the immune system and that’s the last thing they need when fighting postherpetic neuropathy.

– High protein foods like animal protein. High-protein foods elevate the amount of dopamine and norepinephrine which are both tied to high levels of anxiety and stress which will only make them more irritable.

– Alcoholic beverages. Alcohol consumption limits the ability of the liver to remove toxins from the body and can make a bad situation worse.

– Processed sugar. They don’t have to eliminate sweets completely, just control them. Keeping blood sugar levels constant will help control irritability.

– Control salt intake. Opt for a salt substitute with potassium instead of sodium and stay away from preserved foods like bacon, ham, pickles, etc. Reducing salt intake will help ease inflammation and that alone will work wonders in the healing process.

Sit down and discuss your postherpetic neuropathy patient’s lifestyle and diet as part of the initial consultation process. The information gained will help you devise a nutrition plan tailor made for your patient and help to build a rapport between you. And pay close attention to the responses you receive in that first meeting – they will give you a good idea as to whether or not you have a compliant patient.

Stress Management Strategies

Now that you’ve addressed the nutrition portion of the postherpetic neuropathy treatment program, talk to your patient about their stress level. Even with good nutrition, if they’re letting the stress of life and postherpetic neuropathy get the better of them, their body is working too hard. They’re expending energy battling stress that could be used to fight postherpetic neuropathy.

Put together a lifestyle plan for your patient utilizing patient appropriate stress management tools. Some suggestions might be:

– Exercising regularly. If they’re physically capable, a brisk 15 minute walk every day is a good place to start.

– Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, tai chi, yoga or meditation. Any of these will calm the mind and, in turn, calm the body and nerves.

– Finding a hobby that will take the mind off postherpetic neuropathy pain.

The combination of nutrition and stress management will do wonders for your postherpetic neuropathy patients. When used in concert with the other medical treatment options available to you, you may just give these patients a new lease on life and build healthy habits that will remain with them long after the pain of postherpetic neuropathy is a distant memory.

We hope this gives you some insight on nutrition counseling and diet planning for your postherpetic neuropathy patients. Offering these services can be the missing piece of the treatment puzzle that you’ve been looking for in treating this challenging patient population. The addition of these services to your treatment options can help you build a successful medical practice as well.

When you’re trained and ready to offer these services, let them know you’re there.

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How Do Protozoans Obtain Their Nutrition?

Nature encompasses alluring, enchanting organisms one can think. These creatures may range from smallest protozoans to largest mammals. All the creatures require food for getting energy. The method of capturing food differs in different group of taxa. The way in which the protozoans devour their prey is also magnificent. The mechanism of getting nutrition is also amazing. Nutrition is a process of taking food in and digesting it and assimilating it to obtain energy. The ways in which the protozoans obtain their nourishment also varies drastically. They represent almost every type of nutrition. They may be holozoic, holophytic, parasitic, coprozoic, mixotrophic, saprozoic.

1. Holozoic Nutrition

The majority of Protozoans nourish themselves in the manner as the higher organisms did. They are able to feed on various micro-organisms, rotifers, crustaceans, other protozoans etc. Such protozoans are termed as Holozoic. They may be carnivorous, herbivorous, omnivorous or scavangerous. Holozoic nutrtion is also termed as zootrophic nutrition. This type of nutrition involves three basic steps:

A. Food Capture and ingestion

The regular method of food intake is also termed as phagocytosis, which differs greatly in different classes of protozoa. The locomotory organelles play an important role in food capture and ingestion. Rhumbler has defined four methods in which the locomotory organelles participate in food capture and ingestion.

a. Circumvallation

This method is very common Amoeba. Here the prey is surrounded by the locomotory organelle termed as pseudopodia from all the sides without coming in direct contact with the prey and a cup is formed. The food cup is later on completed by forming a food vacuole enclosing the prey with large amount of water.

b. Circumfluence

This method is aided by the locomotory organelles termed as axopodia and reticulopodia for capturing an immobile prey. A food cup is formed by direct contact with the prey and cytoplasm flows around the prey for engulfing it.

c. Invagination

In this case, the prey is first killed by a toxin secreted by the pseudopodia and then it is enclosed in the form of a food vacuole along with cytoplasm.

d. Import

In this case, the passive prey like the filamentous alga is simply drawn into the body upon contact and ingested. The general body surface plays an important role in this process.

B. Digestion and Assimilation

Digestion is always intracellular. The food vacuole is surrounded by a film. Acids, alkalies and enzymes are poured over the food to ensure digestion. The reaction is first acidic then alkaline. The prey is killed in the acidic environment which lasts for 4-60 minutes. Digestion mostly occurs in the alkaline phase. The digestive enzymes are aided by the lysosomes. Protein splitting proteases and starch splitting amylases are of wide occurrence. The presence of fat splitting lipase is controversial.

C. Egestion

In naked forms like Amoeba, the undigested matter goes out from the hinder part of the body. In some ciliates egestion occurs through a permanent opening present at the posterior end of the body termed as cytopyge.

2. Holophytic Nutrition

This mode of nutrition is also termed as autotrophic nutrition. This is very common in chlorophyll bearing flagellates. These organisms carry out photosynthesis with the help of carbon dioxide, water and chlorophyll. The oxygen is liberated and the left carbon is used for making food. The starch is stored in the form of amylum but in Euglena it is stored in the form of paramylum which is not colored blue with iodine. Certain protozoans house symbiotic green alga that carry out photosynthesis and provides food to them.

3. Saprozoic Nutrition

This mode of nutrition is also termed as osmotrophy. Here the flagellates that are in direct contact with the organic matter of the decomposed plants and animals obtain their nourishment. They obtain their food in the form of dissolved material.

4. Pinocytosis

This is also termed as cell drinking.It was first studied by Mast and Doyle in 1934 in Amoeba proteus. Pinocytotic channels are formed in the body for absorbing liquid food from the surrounding medium. This method helps the organism in getting higher molecular compounds from the surrounding medium.

5. Parasitic Nutrition

The Sporozoans are completely parasitic and obtain their nourishment by living as parasites in the body of other animals. They fall under two categories:

a. Commensals

They feed on the raw or digested material of the host in saprozoic manner. They are harmless endocommensals. E.g., Nyctotherus, Balantidium

b. Pathogenic

About 26 species of protozoa are known to be parasitic to humans. They are responsible for causing dreadful diseases like Sleeping sickness, Malaria etc.

6. Coprozoic Nutrition

Many free living Protozoans feed on the faecal matter of other animals and are termed as coprozoic. Eg., Cercomonas etc.

7. Mixotrophic Nutrition

Several Protozoans are able to get their nutrition in more than one way. Euglena gracilis is able to take nutrition both holophytically as well as saprozoically.

Whatever may be means of devouring food all leads to adaptation to colossal environment.

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Fast Food Nutrition: An Oxymoron?

As many people do, I find that in my busy schedule I do not have time to prepare my own meals, so incidentally I eat out quite a bit. Sometimes I will sit down and eat, but for the most part I find myself going through the drive through, and eating in my car to save on time. When eating fast food you will find that it can be difficult when you are trying to make an attempt to eat somewhat healthy. In most places, you will find that the nutritional information of the food you are eating is not available at all. When I go to get a burger, I will always know the caloric content of my meal when I look at the nutrition menu.

Being a person who likes to know what they are getting, and what exactly they are putting into their body, the availability of this kind of information is very important to me. In order to maintain a healthy weight, you have to regulate the amount of calories you are taking, and how much energy you are burning off. When not eating food you have prepared yourself, it is difficult, sometimes even impossible to be conscious of how much you are consuming, calorie wise. When I look at the nutrition guide, I am able to know how much I am taking in. And when I know how much I am taking in, I am able to calculate my caloric needs, and therefore keep my body in a healthier state.

For some, the thought of a nutrition guide for any fast food is laughable. But, if you take the time to consider what goes into each meal, you can make better choices when you do need to eat fast food. And there are healthy versions available, provided you take the time to look.

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Mcdonald’s Nutrition Vs Homemade Nutrition

How Does Mcdonald’s Nutrition Stack Up?

Fast food is a huge part of our lives whether we eat it or not. We see dozens of ads every day on TV, billboards, buses, emails, mobile ads, and many more. We are constantly reminded of the convenience, affordability and improved “healthy” qualities of various fast food items. But how healthy or unhealthy is fast food really? Is it worth saving a few minutes of cooking to eat that double cheeseburger or hard shell taco? I’d like to start a series of posts comparing the nutrition facts of various fast food chains vs their homemade counterparts. Today I’ll show you some of Mcdonald’s nutrition facts compared to the nutrition facts of a healthier, homemade option, then you can be the judge on whether saving a dollar or a few minutes is worth the nutritional differences.

Mcdonald’s Nutrition – Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese

Vs

Homemade Version – Quarter Pound Burger w/ Wheat Bun and Cheese

Mcdonald’s Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese:

Calories: 520

Calories from fat: 240

Total Fat: 26g

Saturated Fat: 12g

Trans Fat: 1.5g

Cholesterol: 95mg

Sodium: 1100mg

Total Carbs: 41g

Dietary Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 10g

Protein: 30g

Vitamin A: 10%

Vitamin C: 2%

Calcium: 30%

Iron: 25%

Homemade Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese on Wheat Bun

Calories: 401

Calories from fat: 118

Total Fat: 15g

Saturated Fat: 7g

Polyunsaturated Fat:.6g

Monounsaturated Fat: 4.5g

Cholesterol: 93mg

Sodium: 723mg

Potassium: 469mg

Total Carbs: 31g

Dietary Fiber: 4g

Sugars: 7g

Protein: 35g

Vitamin A: 16%

Calcium: 57%

Iron: 3%

There you have it. The nutrition facts for a fast food joint and a homemade burger. Let’s take a minute to discuss the differences in Mcdonald’s nutrition and the homemade version. We will start with the fat content. the Mcdonald’s version has more saturated fat and trans fat (the bad fats) while the homemade burger has higher amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fat (the OK fats). The Mcdonald’s nutrition shows higher amounts of cholesterol, sodium, sugars, and Iron. The homemade burger shows higher amounts of fiber, protein, vitamins and potassium.

It is no surprise that the homemade version is healthier than the Mcdonald’s version. The real surprise is how much healthier it actually is. By avoiding the Mcdonald’s nutrition and taking a few extra minutes to make your own burger, you’ll be taking in less fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar, and more fiber, protein potassium and vitamins. In other words, you turn Mcdonald’s nutrition into muscle building nutrition. A homemade burger with 35g of protein, 4g of fiber, some good fats and much less starch makes for a muscle building, delicious dinner.

Keep an eye for my next fast food comparison coming soon!

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How Not To Destroy Your Diet Over The Weekend

Do you find that weekends are the most difficult time to stay on track with your nutrition? You know, all those events, dinners, parties and BBQs that happen, do they seem to throw you off track? Not to worry! I’ve got some great tips for you to help you stay healthy on the weekends and still lose weight.

Let’s first have a look at what it takes to lose weight. We must be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, there is no question about it. It takes a weekly deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 lb per week. This is a 500 calorie deficit per day. Now what seems to happen to a lot of people is they are in a deficit during the week but make the decision to have a “cheat meal”, “cheat day” or “cheat weekend”. Calories can add up faster than you can blink an eye especially when meals are eaten out at restaurants. One single meal could be 2000 calories or more (and that’s not including dessert). This could easily take someone out of their weekly deficit and put them back into maintenance calories. When we are consuming maintenance calories we will not lose weight. Now this doesn’t mean we are never allowed to indulge when dieting, it just means we need to be a little more strategic. For example, if you know you have a big dinner out planned then stick with eating primarily lean protein and vegetables throughout the day. This will help keep your calories low so that when you do eat out it doesn’t completely throw your diet off course. Another example would be to customize your dinner out by getting a salad instead of fries or not eating the bun from a burger and saving it for another day or only eating half of the meal.

Okay so let’s get to it, here are simple tips to keep you on track on the weekends.

Tip 1: Treat the weekend as if it was a week day. Stay laser-focused on those goals as hard as you do throughout the week.

Tip 2: Fill up on lots of green veggies to stay full.

Tip 3: Make healthier and less calorie-dense versions of your favourite treats! (*See recipe below)

Tip 4: Be the host of the dinner party or bring your own dish to a potluck that is in alignment with how you want to eat. You will be in control of what’s served and how much you consume.

Tip 5: Find other activities to do that don’t revolve around food and stay active!

Tip 6: Enjoy the moments of today with your family and friends without such an emphasis on food and going out to eat.

So now that you have some tools in your pocket for staying on track this weekend, here is a healthy, low-calorie snack if you’re feeling chocolate-y!

Chocolate Avocado Pudding – makes 4 servings (vegan)

Blend together:

2 avocados, flesh only

4 tbsp raw cacao or cocoa powder

4 tbsp maple syrup

pinch of sea salt or Himalayan salt

Divide into 4 servings about 1/2 cup each and enjoy!

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