Low Carb Chicken Recipes That Are Easy To Prepare

If you love to eat poultry, you will be pleased to know that these low carb chicken recipes are very easy to prepare. When cooking chicken, remove the skin and bake or grill rather than fry. Don't cover it in breadcrumbs or sauces made with fats as this will increase the carbohydrate content quite dramatically.

Protein is a key part of a healthy eating plan. It provides essential amino acids required to build and maintain healthy tissues, organs and hair.  It also keeps us feeling fuller for longer so it is a good idea to add a little to every meal.  Good quality poultry is a great source of protein. If possible choose the free range variety as they are not injected with hormones. Don't have chicken every day though.  There are plenty of other sources of quality proteins including low fat dairy products, good quality red meat, beans and pulses and fish.

You don't want to be eating grilled chicken all the time so why not try something a little different.  Here are a couple of chicken recipes you may find useful:

If you like your sandwiches you can still eat them on a low carb diet.  The bread must be whole wheat not white.    To prepare a sandwich, simply take four slices of your bread and some cooked chopped chicken breast.  Add some shredded lettuce and a sliced tomato.  Top with low fat Swiss style cheese (the one with the holes!). You should avoid using butter on the bread. You can add a low fat salad dressing if you find the sandwich too dry.

You can also have chicken curry but make it at home.  Fast foods and store bought processed meals contain a lot of hidden sugars, salt and bad fats.  This will not only stop you losing pounds but will also increase your risk of heart disease and raise your insulin levels. Keeping insulin levels low is key to losing weight as the lower levels inhibits the formation of fat and encourages your body to covert the insulin to energy. 

When making curry at home, add extra chilies if you can as they help to speed up your metabolism so you burn fats faster.  Serve with brown rice and skip the nan bread and poppadoms.

If you must fry your chicken, use a spray vegetable oil and a non stick pan to reduce your fat intake. The poultry should take up a maximum 25% of your dinner.  50% of your meal should be vegetables with the remaining 25% brown rice or brown pasta.

All of your meals should contain a mixture of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables.   You should try and vary the color and type of veg you eat to gain the most nutrients and minerals and to protect yourself against diseases such as cancer.

September Is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Just like adults that are overweight, overweight children are prone to the same health issues.  In fact, health problems that are normally associated with an aging adult are now prevalent in children.  Sadly, many of these children will become afflicted with diabetes and heart diseases that could be prevented.

Also, childhood obesity is a growing problem.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17% of the adolescent U.S. population is considered obese. This means that nearly one out of every five children are considered overweight. We have not seen this level of childhood obesity in the United States before.

How do I know if my child is overweight?  This is an important question because many parents may not realize that their child has a weight issue. Obesity is loosely defined as having excess body weight.  However, your pediatrician will be able to determine your child's body mass by calculating their height, weight and other measurements.  That's why it is important for your child to have annual pediatric check-ups.

What are the leading causes of childhood obesity?  Today, many schools have cut down on physical fitness programs which resulted in less physical activity at school.  Also, some schools have reduced or eliminated subsidized school meals for underprivileged children.  Not being able to afford healthy foods is another reason why some kids are more prone to becoming overweight.

How do I get my child to exercise more?  Physical activity is very important. Try to have your child participate either in a school sponsored physical activity or an extracurricular activity after school.  The key is finding something they like and encouraging them to participate.  Not all kids are sports enthusiasts, but a lot of children love bowling.  Joining a bowling league is a great place to start.  Gymnastics and swimming are also great ways to get more exercise.

How do I get my child to eat better?  Well, you have to start shopping better.  Kids will only eat what you have in the house.  If your child wants a chocolate doughnut but can only find yogurt or fruit in the refrigerator, they will eat the healthy food if they are hungry.  That's why it is important to cut out the junk food.  This also means limiting your trips to the fast food places.  Finally, you need to budget time so you can prepare a healthy meal for your family.  That doesn't mean you have  to prepare a meal everyday.  You can make a few meals ahead of time and freeze them.  Then  all you need to do is heat and serve at the appropriate time.  You have to ask yourself, is my child's health important enough for me to find the time to make them a healthy meal? 

Your kids will normally copy what they see their parents and siblings doing.  If they see you exercising and eating better then they will too.  Together, you can come up with a childhood obesity solution that works for your family and accomplish great things while giving your kids a chance to grow into healthy adults.


   

How To Avoid The Negative Effects Of Losing Fat

 Huge numbers of people would like to improve the way they look and feel by losing fat. However, losing fat alone is a stretch, it is essential to make an allowance for your metabolic rate and muscle mass to stay healthy. You need to be prudent to resist overdoing it or you jeopardize muscle loss.  Whenever you reduce excessive amounts of muscle tissue you will probably lose your strength and might not have the ability continue. Your end result will be a strong body with well shaped muscles.

Low carbohydrate diets are among the most popular diets on the market today. What is a low carb diet? It is an eating plan consisting of mainly lean proteins with a mixture of fresh fruits and vegetables. This type of diet may help you to lose fat, but if you do not maintain this strict plan you will gain back the fat and weight you worked so hard to lose.

Most notably, this creates a variety of negative effects. The most likely consequence being an inability to continue the diet. This will not be due to a lack of desire, but mainly because your body needs fuel to burn energy. Your ability to burn energy efficiently is dependent on the quality of fuel you take in.  Of course, fuel that is laden with fat is not going to help you lose fat. 

How much weight can you lose?  That depends, but being able to lose 1-2 pounds per day is not out of the realms of possibility.  Your body will adapt to the lifestyle change, and, over time it becomes easier to burn fat. Therefore, eating a healthy diet really helps in reducing fat and excess weight. As your metabolism increases, you will notice an increase in stamina.  However, it is important to keep in mind that it takes more energy to digest complex carbohydrates than for protein. Also, during the digestion process, your body will process the nutrient-rich foods and expel the excess fat while preventing a build up of additional fat deposits.

That brings us to the importance of exercising.  Both aerobic exercise and weight training are equally important when it comes to losing fat and toning muscles. By performing aerobic exercises on a regular basis, you will ensure your metabolism remains in check and efficiently burns calories. Meanwhile, weight training helps shape your new lean muscle mass. This, in turn, creates what I call your lean fat burning machine.

Most Unemployed Workers Are In Need Of Health Insurance

      Getting laid-off is often an overwhelming experience.  There are a lot of difficult decisions that need to be made in a very brief amount of time utilizing little financial options being offered.  Sorry to say, besides a modest unemployment insurance, there is little to no assistance obtainable by the government. 

The most important decisions that will need to be completed as soon as you initially end up being laid off is to resolve if you will continue your medical policy with COBRA.  The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 is a law enacted in Congress that obliges companies to maintain medical coverage.  The only problem with this law is that it enables your employer to substantially increase the monthly premium.  Presumably, this is the main fact that ninety percent of out of work Americans elect not to receive their COBRA benefits.  Subsequently, you and your dependents are on your own for searching for more economical medical benefits.

You will find that it is a great deal faster and easier to seek out inexpensive medical insurance these days than it was 25 years ago.  There are practically tons of medical options by a multitude of insurance carriers.  Additionally, there are Internet websites that can provide you with free online insurance quotes to compare prices which makes it easy for you to purchase medical coverage.  When searching for benefits you will want to evaluate your deductible with the amount of insurance you are able to spend.  If you're budget is modest and are typically in good shape then you might raise your deductible in order to lower your monthly cost.  But, if you become ill quite easily and require a prescription medication program, then you will need to modify your finances accordingly.  Usually, the bigger your deductible, the lesser the monthly premium is.  Be aware that insurance doesn't pay the claims until the annual deductible limit is reached.

People can also consider supplementing health benefits with their auto insurance or an accident insurance policy.  Many car insurance vendors provides medical coverage for a nominal charge that you can add to your auto policy.  This will cover any medical costs if you become wounded in a car accident without having to be concerned with the deductible on your health insurance policy.  You can also consider buying an accident insurance policy for a low monthly cost that provides coverage if you become harmed resulting from a covered accident.

Whichever health option you decide upon, be careful to examine the small print to have an understanding of the benefits, limitations and exclusions of the health plan.  The conclusion is that there are a number of choices available so there is no reason to walk around and take a chance because you do not have medical coverage.  There is nothing worse than coming down with an illness when you are unemployed without health insurance.
  

Are You Breaking These Dieting Rules?

Are you breaking the rules?  If you're having a hard time losing weight and keeping it off, you may be doing one of these dieting no-nos:

1.  Starving yourself.  While, it may seem sensible that if you eat like a rabbit, the fat will just melt away.  The fact is that your body needs fuel (food) in order to burn energy (calories).  Also, starvation diets rob your body of the nutrients it needs for normal cell production. It's really a balancing act.  Eating more healthy foods in moderation and less of the bad stuff.  

2.  Reducing your calories too quickly.  If you suddenly eliminate your calories, your body is going to react by slowing down your metabolism.  This is exactly the opposite effect that you want on a diet.  You need to gradually reduce your calories over a period of time so that your body gets used to less calories.  The healthy food choices that you replace in your diet will speed up your metabolism.     

3.  Not answering your cravings. Dieters often feel that they need to give up their favorite high fat foods in order to lose weight.  It's OK to cheat every now and then.  The key is setting aside a cheat day several times a month.  Have pizza or enjoy your favorite ice cream.  Whatever your heart desires.  Just don't eat all of your favorite dishes in one day.  Spread them out and you will not feel that you are missing out on anything.

The bottom line is that common sense and planning goes a long way towards a successful weight loss program.  

Three Easy Exercises To Lose Weight

      It's no secret.  You need to exercise if you really want to lose weight. The problem that most people have is deciding which exercises are best for their situation. The more weight that you need to lose, the more difficult it can be for maintaining a proper fitness routine.  Fortunately, most everyone can start with these three easy exercises to lose weight.

Naturally, it is always a good idea to check with your doctor before starting any type of exercise program.  Also, your health care professional should be able to provide you with some exercises for you to do. In addition, many overweight adults can benefit from an experienced personal fitness instructor. Now that we have our disclaimer out of the way, let's get started.

Walking is one of the best forms of exercise that you can do.  It helps increase your heart rate and gets your blood flowing throughout your body.  You are not going to lose weight overnight, but you will burn calories and help prevent sugars and carbs from turning to fat.  You can walk as much or as little as you want, but try to walk for at least twenty minutes per day.  A lot of people complain that they just don't have the time.  However, you can split it up by walking for a few minutes before and after work.  Also, when you drive around looking for a parking space  try parking a little farther away instead of hunting for the closest parking space.  If you invest in a small pedometer, you will be surprised how much walking you can do in a small amount of time.

Another easy and cheap exercise is stair climbing.  If your home has stairs then that is a great place to start.  Otherwise, you may find stairs at a nearby shopping mall, library or office park.  If you are not accustomed to climbing stairs, then try starting out with one flight of stairs three times per week.  Depending upon how you feel, you can increase the level until you are able to go up and down several flights of stairs five times per week.  Instead of stairs, you may live in an area with a hill which will give you a similar effect.  Whether you are walking up stairs or a hill, just make sure you are wearing sturdy shoes on a dry surface. Also, try taking the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible.

Do you know which form of exercise combines the benefits of both walking and stair climbing?  That's right, swimming!  Swimming is the best exercise to lose weight.  If you are able to swim for at least twenty minutes per day, five days per week, you will be surprised how quickly you will burn fat and tone your muscles.  That's because swimming requires you to use all of your muscles.  It's best to start slow and build up your stamina.  If you don't have your own swimming pool, chances are good that there is a public pool nearby.

Regardless of your weight loss goals, these simple exercises will help you burn fat and lose weight.  Keep in mind that this is a lifestyle change and it will not happen overnight.  That's why it is important for you to stay motivated and dedicated to your fitness routine.
  

The 5 Main Principles To Burn Fat

Principle #1 – You must keep your body and metabolism happy.

Dieting can do a number on your metabolism by screwing with important fat burning hormones like leptin, and rather quickly at that. The answer to overcoming these adaptations lies in strategic high-calorie Cheat Days.

As you recall, leptin is heavily mediated by your calorie intake. Decrease calories and leptin levels fall off, increase calories and leptin levels recover.

And while it takes roughly a week of moderate dieting for leptin levels to fall off significantly, it only takes one day of cheating, or overfeeding, for leptin to recover back to baseline.

By frequently resetting your metabolism throughout the course of your diet with strategic high-calorie Cheat Days, you can essentially have your cake and eat it too while watching your waistline continually shrink week after week.


Principle #2 – You must create a massive calorie deficit to lose fat rapidly.

There’s no way around it, a pound of fat is 3500 calories. If you’re going to lose a pound of fat, you’re going to have to create a 3500 calorie deficit (while keeping your body in “fat burning mode” at the same time). If you want to lose 10 lbs of pure fat, that’ll require a 35,000 calorie deficit.

SIDE NOTE: Please realize that 10 lbs of pure fat loss will probably equate to somewhere between 15 and 20 lbs of actual “weight loss” due to the simultaneous water loss that occurs any time you lose fat.

After a cheat day your body is uber primed for fat loss, and it's prime time to take advantage with a mega calorie deficit. On this day, we do two things:

1. Consume minimal calories along with strategic supplementation to offset muscle catabolism.

2. Ramp up activity to burn a ton of additional calories on this day.

With this type of strategic set-up, it’s actually possible to burn a pound of pure fat in one day (considering that a pound of fat loss a week is deemed a “very good” rate of fat loss by most standards, that’s pretty awesome).

Principle #3: You must tackle your fat loss goals synergistically through diet and exercise.

When you’re talking about the most strategic set-up and the most rapid fat loss, things get a little more complex than simply “do a lot of exercise”. In fact, the type of exercise you do is just as important to your rapid fat loss goals as the frequency, duration, and intensity are.

With the Xtreme Fat Loss diet, you’ll see that there is a specific type or style of workout that we’ve purposefully chosen for each type of day to optimize and accelerate the results of that day.

Here is just one example:

Lactic Acid Training, which are very metabolically demanding, calorie-burning workouts, are performed on Depletion Days.

Because lactic acid workouts have the potential to burn more calories than other styles of training (because…they’re hard), they are the clear choice for Depletion Days when we want to create the largest caloric deficit. Lactic acid training also depletes the body’s “energy reserve”, making them the ideal workout style for Depletion Days.

Principle #4: You must avoid ANY positive weight gain.

When I first started teaching Cheat Days it was understood that there may be some positive fat gain as a result of a Cheat Day in order to yield MORE fat loss the following week (leading to a great net weekly fat loss).

For example, without incorporating strategic Cheat Days, let’s say someone is able to lose a pound a week (with each week’s weight loss becoming progressively slower leading to the inevitable plateau).

With strategic cheating that same person is able to now lose 2 lbs each week (with no drop off in metabolism and no plateau). This is a result of a half pound gain in body fat from the Cheat Day and a subsequent 2.5 pound loss (net loss = 2 lbs).

Now, the latter scenario is obviously WAY better than sticking to the same boring, strict diet every day while achieving slower results, but it still leaves a half pound of fat gain resulting from the Cheat Day, which, if eliminated = faster results.

Within muscle tissue, energy is stored in the form of glycogen (carbohydrate energy) and triglycerides (fat energy). With strategic training (like the lactic acid training mentioned in principle #3), these energy stores can be depleted or exhausted.

Why would you want to do that?

To make “room” for an influx of calories, carbohydrate and fat (for example, a Cheat Day)!

When glycogen and triglyceride stores are full, a Cheat Day is like pouring more liquid into an already full glass. Some of that liquid is inevitably going to spill over and lead to a bit of a mess (in this case, fat storage). But, if you dump out the glass and then refill it, there’s no “overflow”.

This is exactly what we do by performing glycogen and triglyceride depleting lactic acid training (while limiting carbohydrate intake) on the day prior to a Cheat Day. We empty the cup making room for the following day’s influx of cals, carbs, and fat.

The result? You get the same hormone-boosting, metabolism stimulating effect from the Cheat Day without the fat gain. Instead, the excess calories and carbs simply go to refilling your body’s empty energy stores. That, my friends, is what I call strategy.

And by eliminating any Cheat Day fat gain, you can easily increase your rate of fat loss by 25%!

Principle #5—You must maintain muscle mass to maintain metabolism.

This ties back in to some of the information I shared in Principle #3, the strategic combination of diet & exercise for optimal results, along with something else I haven’t fully touched on yet.

When faced with long-term calorie restriction, the body will choose to utilize muscle tissue for energy over body fat, leading to significant muscle loss and decreased metabolism for most dieters. Simply put, fat is more valuable to your body than “extra muscle” when it comes to survival, and it prioritizes accordingly in the face of long-term calorie restriction.

But, when you understand how to combine strategic cheat days along with high volume training to spark muscle growth even while you’re dieting, then you’ll easily be able to maintain (if not gain a couple pounds) of lean muscle throughout the course of only a few weeks.

Muscle = metabolism. The more lean muscle you have on your frame, the higher your metabolism is going to be. Muscle burns calories just sitting there. Maintaining it as you lose fat is fundamentally important to continuing to lose fat at an optimal rate.

Another way this program helps you maintain muscle is via Principle #1 – keeping your body happy. When your body remains in a “normal” state (instead of a “red alert” state like with long-term calorie restriction) over the course of a diet, there is no reason for it to resort to muscle tissue for energy. By keeping leptin levels high week after week, you maintain your metabolism and program your body to continue to burn fat, not muscle.

Many Adults Finding It Difficult To Achieve Weight Loss

      It is not uncommon for adults to find it very difficult to to achieve weight loss and maintain a healthy weight.  Part of the difficulty is not having access to the right strategy.  Firstly, you need to find out what you're shooting for.  Secondly, you want to have a real program that has been successful for others so its possible to arrive at your targeted weight loss goal.  Conclusively, you should decide that you will follow the necessary steps to reach your target to lose weight in a month.

If you are 20 pounds or more overweight and have been trying without success to lose weight in a month or less then you need a laser targeted approach.  These sorts of solutions are helping thousands of other people and continue to do so.  Therefore, look for those programs with a proven track record that are helping others with weight loss every day.

These types of dramatic weight loss programs require them to be followed accurately in order to realize the expected end results.  Also, consider weight loss courses that allow you to have a meal of whatever you want at certain points during the program. This has been the true secret to weight loss attainment.

However, in order to acquire victory you have to adhere to the strategy.  This is where most people will not succeed.  These programs are quite different from what you may have experienced in the past.  It's not impossible, but they do require initiative from you.  There is no one size fits all solution. You can't decide to skip a day and hope to receive the best results.  There are no shortcuts. 

What if you could lose 25 pounds in 25 days? The ball is in your court. Success is virtually secured when you find the ideal plan to lose weight in less than a month.