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Diet and Weight Loss
Diet and Weight Loss Articles
Diet and Weight Loss
By Brian Gokey, CFT, BSMET
What is Diet?
Diet is defined as the food we eat. That sounds simple but that is actually the real
definition. Most people usually cringe when they hear the word diet because it has come to mean starving yourself in order to loose
weight. We are all on “diets”. We go to the grocery store each week or so and buy the same products that we bought the last thousands
of times we were there. It is a diet, but is it the correct food that we should be consuming to bring us more energy, vitality and
quality of life? Judging by the number of Americans who are overweight and obese, we are not consuming the correct foods in our diet.
So what is our diet made up of, what are we putting into our bodies? Read on.
The Three Types of Foods
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates
are the first types of food we eat. Carbohydrates are chemical compounds made up of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Carbohydrates supply
the body with the energy to function and are more readily used for energy production than proteins or fats. There are two main types
of carbohydrates: simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates or simple sugars include fructose (fruit sugar),
sucrose (table sugar), lactose (milk sugar) and others including the dreaded high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Complex carbohydrates
are also made up of sugars, but the sugar molecules are strung together to form longer chains, hence the term complex. Complex carbs
consist of fiber and starches and are found in vegetables, whole grains, peas and beans. Our diet should normally consist of about
50% carbohydrates, with most of that number being from complex carbohydrates.
Proteins
Protein is the building block of our bodies. Blood, muscles, skin, and most of our vital organs are made up of protein.
Protein provides the connective and structural building blocks of tissue and primary ingredients of enzymes, hormones, and antibodies.
The main components of protein are amino acids. We get protein from animal products such as milk, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and cheese.
We also get protein from the plant world in the form of grains, legumes, leafy green vegetables, and nuts. Most Americans get too
much protein in their diets in the form of meat and dairy products. For the optimal diet, protein should contribute to about 33% of
our daily intake.
Fats
Fats get such a bad wrap in the world we live in today. Everyone thinks that fats are bad and we must
avoid fat at all costs. Fat would not be in this discussion of the three main types of food if it were not needed in the human body.
Fat has vital use in the body such as providing reserve energy, providing protection for vital organs, and insulation for the body
from environmental temperature changes thereby preserving body heat. Fat is comprised of fatty acids, and we can use the terms fat
and fatty acids interchangeably here. There are two main categories of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are primarily
found in animal products such as whole milk, cream and cheese, beef, lamb, pork, and veal. Unsaturated fats are in oils from plant-derived
sources such as corn, soybean, safflower, sunflower, olive, peanut, and canola. Saturated fat is usually a solid at room temperature
and unsaturated fat is usually a liquid at room temperature. The optimal diet consists of about 16% fat preferably derived mostly
from unsaturated sources.
The Other Main Nutrient
Water. That is right. There are actually four main sources of food or nutrients
and the last one is water. How much water do you drink per day? The human body is made up of about 70% water. Water is needed for
every essential function of the body. Water transport nutrients and waste products in and out of cells. We can live longer without
food than we can without water. It is certainly the most important nutrient for our bodies. Are you drinking the correct type of water?
We will look into this subject more in the hydration section of www.wellness4everyone.com.
Weight Loss
So where is the magic pill
or weight loss secret? The answer is in the regular diet we choose each and every day. If you make the correct choices of foods to
eat and water to drink, you can have the body and shape you always wanted, be free from sickness and disease, and have all the energy
you need to carry out your life. We will uncover many of the truths and the myths that surround the nutrition world and give you the
latest information about how to eat real food and lose weight. Where can you find this information? In the nutrition pages ofwww.wellness4everyone.com. Here is one free tidbit of nutritional information you can use today to get your diet on the right track
- eliminate soft drinks from your diet completely. The sooner you do this, the sooner you are on the road to getting healthy and fit.
More
Information on Diet and Weight Loss
More information on the Diet and Weight Loss for different goals can be found in the articles section
of the Nutrition area of www.wellnessforeveryone.com
