Fast Facts: Time-Saving Diet Tips

Pre-package your foods.

Make your healthy eating regimen convenient. Set aside some time during the week to cut up fresh vegetables and fruits. Cut up celery, carrots, apples, strawberries, grapes and other diet-friendly snacks and place them in individual bags.

When you're pressed for time, all you need to do is reach in the refrigerator and grab one of the ready-made portions.

Eat more, lose more

Fill up on soups and other high energy-density foods.

Research shows that foods with high water content fill you up faster and for a longer period of times. Fruits, vegetables and broth-based soups all fit the bill.

By starting a meal off with a bowl of soup or a healthy salad, dieters reduce their overall calorie consumption for each meal.

In addition, it's possible to eat larger volumes of these foods for a smaller amount of calories.

Benefits of green tea: especially for weight loss

Green tea is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East.

Recently, it has become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally consumed. Many varieties of green tea have been created in countries where it is grown. These varieties can differ substantially due to variable growing conditions, processing and harvesting time.

Major benefits of drinking green tea:

• Reduce high blood pressure
• Reduce blood sugar
• Contain Antioxidants to remove free radicals in human body
• Reduce the risk of heart diseases
• Reduce the risk of stroke
• Reduce the risk of blood clot
• Reduce bad cholesterol in the blood
• Reduce harmful effects from cigarettes smoking
• Reduce arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Prevent osteoporosis
• Prevent allergy, cold and flu
• Keeping fluid balance
• Relieve fatigue
• Awakening thought (also includes concentration)
• Boost your immune system
• Aiding in cancer prevention and reducing tumor growth
• Help with oral hygiene
• Supporting liver protection
• Helps with stress relief
• Aid in Weight Loss by increasing the metabolism and burning calories
  

Drinking only a few cups of green tea can do your body very good.

Learn to say NO

Learn to just say no.

Regardless of their motives, people love to push food onto others. Overcoming this obstacle can be difficult.

When Aunt Ida or Cousin Betty plead with you to try their creamy, dreamy potato casserole, you don't have the heart to refuse their offerings, especially at the risk of offending them.

There are a couple of ways to approach the situation. You can gently turn your loved one down by explaining you just had a big meal and couldn't eat another bite. Or you can sample a small bite and discreetly push the plate aside when somebody else comes along.

The most important rule of thumb is to be tactful so that you can walk away from the situation with your dignity and your waistline still intact.

Soy can save your life

Reap the benefits of soy.

Soy beans contain protein and are chock full of calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, omega 3 fatty acids and other health-enhancing components. In addition to improving heart health, preventing cancer and strengthening bones, soy also lowers cholesterol.

Soy milk, soybeans, textured soy protein and tofu are all great sources of this food.

The danger of Diet Sodas

Eliminate soda.

These sugar-loaded, caffeinated beverages have no nutritional value whatsoever.

A 12-ounce can of cola contains 144 calories. If you consume at least three sodas a day, that's a total of 432 calories. Even diet sodas are dangerous. Although they boast 0 calories, a recent study showed that people who consumed diet pop had a higher risk of becoming obese.

The ultimate gym motivation

Keep your workout clothes by the front door if you go to a gym.

When it comes to working out, you want to have all your ducks in a row. Even the smallest convenience can quickly turn into an excuse.

Every night before you go to bed, put your workout clothes and shoes in a bag and place them by the front door.

When you go to leave for work, all you have to do is grab and go.

Drug addiction

Drug addiction is a pathological or abnormal condition which arises due to frequent drug use. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition has categorized three stages of addiction: preoccupation/anticipation, binge/intoxication, and withdrawal/negative affect. These stages are characterized, respectively, everywhere by constant cravings and preoccupation with obtaining the substance; using more of the substance than necessary to experience the intoxicating effects; and experiencing tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, and decreased motivation for normal life activities. By the American Society of Addiction Medicine definition, drug addiction differs from drug dependence and drug tolerance.

It is, both among scientists and other writers, quite usual to allow the concept of drug addiction to include persons who are not drug abusers according to the definition of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The term drug addiction is then used as a category which may include the same persons who under the DSM-IV can be given the diagnosis of substance dependence or substance abuse.

Beware of the Silent Killer

Eliminate sodium.

It's a proven fact that sodium contributes to high blood pressure, heart disease, fluid retention and other health ailments.

Most of the sodium in our diets comes from table salt. The American Heart Association recommends that healthy adults limit their sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams a day. A quarter teaspoon of sodium contains 600 milligrams of sodium.

To avoid getting too much sodium, read labels.

The write way to lose weight

Keep a food journal.

There's no better way to keep track of what you're eating than by logging it. Record every morsel that goes into your mouth. This will help you keep a tally on your caloric intake. In the event you hit a weight-loss plateau, you can look back and see what foods could be preventing you from losing.

All you need is a spiral notebook and a pen to keep tabs on your eating behaviors.