Little Changes for Weight Loss

Weight loss is a hot topic - always. And it is fair to say that many people really struggle to lose the weight that they want, and it is easy to understand why. There is so much information out there that contradicts itself, and many people are enticed by 'crash diets'. Crash diets are NEVER a good idea. But here are four ideas that can help to shed a few extra pounds.

1. Drop fruit juice from your diet. Despite it seeming a healthy drink, fruit juice contains a lot of sugar and people can drop a good few pounds a month by replacing it with water.

2. Avoid energy bars and products along similar lines. The reason for this is that when working out the energy from your last meal should be enough to get you through so you could do without the extra calories!

3. Add a piece of fruit or a vegetable to each meal. As well as the extra goodness you will receive from eating them, you will also feel fuller for longer and therefore be less likely to snack and will need less from your next meal.

4. Cut out the booze! As severe as it may sound this can help shed a good amount of weight each month. Or you could always try switching to a lighter beer!

Diet Myths – Part 2

I posted about diet myths recently and I would like to follow that up with some more common myths that should be ignored!

The first myth that I will discuss today is that of avoiding dairy products. The rumour that is put about is that dairy products, such as cheese and milk, are fattening and unhealthy. To avoid dairy products would be a silly thing to do. They are a good source of protein, zinc and some B vitamins and they are PACKED with calcium, which is essential for healthy bones.

Now a fairly controversial one (or maybe not). Frozen and canned vegetables are often considered to contain less ‘good stuff’, such as vitamins, than fresh produce. This is a controversial one because it CAN be true, but it isn’t always. Often, by freezing, you can keep more vitamins and minerals than if fruits and vegetables have travelled a long distance. Usually, you will be just as well off by eating frozen vegetables as if you were eating fresh. (A bigger problem may be what is used to produce the vegetables that may affect what nutrition vegetables can provide, but that’s another issue).