Tag Archive for: Terrine Pearsall Nutritional Coach

Choosing a Diet Plan

We have all failed before with a restrictive diet plan. These are the diet plans that focus on a single food, periods of fasting, high carb, low carb. Some of these plans can also be downright dangerous as they can also lead to damage of our internal organs.

We are creatures that need to eat several times a day. So how can we be happy with a diet plan that constantly leaves us hungry? Moreover, if we do not enjoy the diet plan we are on how are we ever going to succeed?

diet plan

Here are 10 top tips for choosing a successful diet plan:

1. Don’t get involved with any kind of extreme or fad dieting. Unless you are taking medical advice, it can be unhealthy or dangerous to remove certain food groups from our diet. A balanced diet provides us with all the vitamins and minerals we need to keep us healthy. Fad diets do not work in the long term.

2. Choose a diet that offers many food choices. We don’t need to restrict the kinds of food we normally eat. A diet plan that says you can eat certain foods in week 1, and then add another set of foods in week 2. However, if you gain weight you should go back to week 1. There’s very little chance we would ever make it to week 3.

3. We don’t have to Exercise with a diet plan to lose weight. Obviously we shouldn’t rule out exercise totally, everyone needs a certain amount of exercise to remain healthy apart from making us feel good. Exercise is necessary used to tone our bodies, not as a rigid part of our diet plan.

4. If someone sells a diet plan where you have to return week after week for more information, then they are simply making extra money from it. All the information we need should be there when we start the diet plan. If they have us paying week after week do they really want us to lose weight?

5. If the diet plan chosen gives you a target weight loss of 1 or 2 pounds a week. We should experience minimal or no hunger pangs. The diet should help us plan our meals and snacks correctly.

6. There is no such thing as a perfect diet plan simply because we are all different. A good diet plan should allow for those inevitable moments of weakness.

7. When we first start on a diet plan, we may initially lose 3, 4 maybe even 5 pounds a week. After the first week or two, we should aim to lose a steady 2 pounds a week. Any more than this could be unhealthy.

8. Being happy with a diet plan is necessary. If we struggle with our diet, it can become torturous. If we are not enjoying the food, we will become miserable and make the people close to us miserable. It is a long-term process to both lose the weight and keep it off. This means that we have to enjoy the foods allowed with the plan. If we don’t enjoy it we will fail.

9. Being happy with our diet plan also includes holiday eating. If it does not take into account our holidays, then the diet will be moved to the back of our minds. This alone can cause our diet to fail. Therefore, we need to enjoy the diet and the holidays.

10. Ultimately, whichever plan is selected, we should be in control, the diet should not control us. By this, I mean that your diet should meet our needs and requirements. Strict rules will only increase our chances of failure. Everyone has different needs and requirements. Therefore, you have to be able to customize a diet plan to meet ours. Then there is a good chance to succeed.

Why is it Problematic to Maintain a Diet Plan?

We all dream of losing pounds fast. Of finding a way to get in shape for a holiday, wedding or party in a couple of weeks. However, such a mind-set can often lead your diet plan to impossible to reach before it has even had the opportunity to bring outputs…

Why do diet plans fail? There are dozens of factors why your weight slimming approach may fail, but the most noticeable factors include:

Imbalanced Eating Methods

Fad diet plans (often recognized as ‘celebrity diets’) are renowned for cutting out whole food groups in an attempt to aid you shed unwanted lbs. Anyway, such crash diets are hard to keep to for months at a time. Not only are they unhealthy, but they are impossible to enjoy. After all, could you enjoy consuming just cabbage or proteins, day in day out for months on end? No.

Hunger Cravings

We have all got certain meals meals we can’t resist. Chocolate… cakes… biscuits…burgers… Now whilst treating yourself to the odd naughty food is not a crime. Turn this monthly indulgence into daily treat and you will soon recognize that you have given in to extra temptations as well which will cause weight gain, not fat loss.

Missing Meals Sessions

It may sound logical when you are shifting excess lbs to miss a meal as you are essentially taking less calories; however without a regular ingestion of calories into your body, your metabolic rate will quickly start to slow down as it thinks you are starving.

And this can make getting in shape incredibly difficult as your metabolism rate will be too slow to cope with fat burning.

What should We do?

If any of the above sounds like you, don’t let this dishearten your attempts to lose extra pounds. To experience healthy, lasting weight loss all you need to do is alter your beliefs and acknowledge that your dieting goals won’t be fast.

A regular pounds dropping of 4-8 lbs a month is suggested by many top experts as these are easier to maintain.

But what else could you do?

  • Eat a balanced diet – you don’t have to eliminate your favorite snacks completely to experience successful slimming. The trick is to ingest a healthy meal plan of all the major nutrition groups and reduce the number of naughty foods you consume.

Now we are not suggesting that you go cold turkey from your favorite meals altogether – all this will produce is temptation. Anyway, by steadily cutting how often you have them, on a week by week basis, you can naturally remove them from your diet plan and stop cravings.

  • Exercise regularly – eating well and working out regularly go together when it comes to dieting. By incorporating a workout regime of aerobics and strength training 3 times a week for 30 minutes, you can enhance your metabolism levels and ultimately your fat burn.
  • Create small milestones – instead of focusing on a complete fat reduction of 10-20 lbs, set yourself little weekly goals of 2 lbs and try to get just those. This helps to decrease the pressure to shift weight and quickly you will discover that you are near your overall target.
  • Apply safe diet pills – if you are struggling to get rid of those extra lbs and reignite your diet plan, the assistance of a proven weight loss supplement like natural Proactol diet pills can help. Scientifically tested and proven through 6 medical trials to bind up to 28 percent of dietary fat, reduce appetite, improve cholesterol and increase energy levels, Proactol diet pills can assist you to beat your food cravings and naturally cut your meal sizes to make dieting easy, safe and care-free. Proactol diet pills have been also confirmed to be 100% organic and cause zero known side effects.

How to Choose the Best Diet Plan for You

Yes, we know that the holidays are just lurking and will turn up pretty soon. It would not be long before we get invitations for dinners and cocktails. Other than thinking about what to wear for that swanky soiree, we know what else most of you are worried about the most: D-I-E-T. The holidays, it seems, is the best time to test your willpower when it comes to your diet regimen.

However, diet experts believe that for successful diet plans, it should be realistically attainable for every individual. There are plenty of different diet programs to choose from, and you can get easily overwhelmed with the many choices you have. Although there are diet plans that promises weight loss hunger-free, workout-free and with quick results, these things should not cloud your judgment in selecting the one that will work best for you. There are a number of factors that can influence the possibility of a successful weight loss plan:

diet

Failed diet programs in the past

Have you tried a diet in the past that failed? Why did you think it failed? What is it about the diet that made you lose your motivation? Was it because of restrictive food choices? Or perhaps the diet gave you constant hunger pangs? Determining the reasons of past diet failures will help you understand your dieting strengths and weaknesses, and will help you make a better, more effective diet program.

Consider your budget

People often think that when one is on a diet, they are actually saving money because they spend less for food. While this premise might have a hint of truth about it, certain diet plans will in fact cause one to spend extra for meals that are specially prepared to follow a diet program. Others will even require a special diet supplement, and then some will call for regular support meetings. Do you think your budget fits the cost of a diet program?

Your Schedules

Do you have the time to shop and prepare foods that the diet plan asks you to follow? If not, then you know it’s not going to work for you.

Know the diet program developer

Is the diet plan developed by a qualified person? Is the diet based on scientific research? Again, if the answer is doubtful, you know it’s probably not going to work for you and for everybody else.

Get your support system

Getting support from other groups on diet will help you improve your focus and determination to succeed with a diet plan.

These are the basic factors that you have to consider before starting out any diet regimen. Do not forget to visit your doctor for advice regarding any diet that you would want to try, especially if you are suffering from such conditions as heart ailments or diabetes. A wrong choice of diet program might do you more bad than good so always check with your doctor first. Your doctor can also help you to set your goals when it comes to weight-loss plans.

5 Powerful Strategies For a Rapid Weight Loss Diet Plan

Losing weight sounds simple but very rarely is. The trouble is that we all want to lose it quickly but underestimate just how long it can take to actually get lean. For a lot of people this a big reason why any diet plan fails as expectations are too high and when people don’t start seeing amazing results quickly they soon give up and the old habits start to return and before we know it we are back to where we started.

If this sounds like you then here a 5 important factors that you must follow if you are going to have any success with a rapid weight loss diet. Always remember weight loss should be approached with a long-term plan but with the occasional quick fix to get you in peak condition for events, holidays or any other occasion where looking your best is important.

weight

1.Eat Less

I cannot stress this point enough. If you want to lose weight and lose it quickly then you have to burn off more calories than you consume. Now you can do this with extra activity but this is time consuming and takes a huge amount of effort. A more simple way is just to eat less. Any rapid diet plan that is successful regardless of what you are eating is one where you are eating fewer calories than your basic metabolic rate. There are many such diet plans out there you just need to research the one most suited to you and your lifestyle.

2.Perform High Intensity Exercise

High intensity whether it is cardio or resistance training is how you should approach all your workouts. This works better than traditional ‘steady cardio’ workouts for 2 reasons. First high intensity intervals and resistance circuit type training burn more calories than ‘normal cardio’ can. Second they build and tone muscle, which keeps your metabolism up.

3.Get Support

This is one of the most important factors too losing weight but is very rarely considered. Trying to lose weight on your own can be very tough with many people feeling isolated from family and friends as they try to maintain their diets. I would advise to try and encourage other people you know to start with you and make it clear to family and friends how important losing weight is too you and that you need their support. Once you have people in the same position as you and supporting your goals it will keep you more motivated and less likely to miss workouts or cheat on your nutrition. A lot of people hide their weight loss plans in case they don’t see them through and look like a failure but I think by telling everybody what you plan to do it shows that this time you really do intend to get the job done.

4.Eat more Fruits And Vegetables

Yes you have heard or read this a million times but are you really doing it? It is a very simple strategy but highly effective. Having more vegetables especially in your diet will make a big difference as they don’t contain many calories but will fill you up quite quickly. If your not sure about this just try for one week to eat only vegetables and protein for every meal obviously making sure it is within your daily calorie allowance and see what happens.

5.Set Goals and deadlines

Setting goals and deadlines is a very powerful tool to losing weight but one that most people fail to do. I prefer to set short goals on a daily and weekly basis. These include targets to be hit in my workouts or only eating certain foods all week. As you build up your list of goals you have accomplished you will increase confidence and momentum towards your overall long-term weight loss goal.

I also try to have a deadline of maybe a month or up to 3 months. I think longer than this can overwhelm people and they don’t feel attainable. Deadlines are very powerful especially when they come in the form of some event, holiday or other important occasion. For example I have yet too train a bride to be who didn’t hit their weight loss goal for their big day. Events like that are incredible motivators and create the correct mindset for weight loss.

It is the same for film stars. The reason that all of these top stars look great on film is not that they are somehow different too us mere mortals. It is because they are completely focused because they have a deadline that must be reached. This means they don’t miss workouts; they train like demons and out of the gym they watch their diet and lead an appropriate lifestyle.

If you can put any or all of these 5 strategies into effect then you will have very effective rapid weight loss diet plan and be well on your way to achieving your weight loss goals in record time.

How Much Protein Do You Need to Build Muscles?

When it comes to body building, proteins for building muscles is one of the most misunderstood concepts. Also, it is not enough knowing what proteins and how much to have, it is also necessary to understand when to have the proteins to gain maximum benefits from your diet.

Proteins are one of the most important components for muscle repair and muscle building. However, you need to have the right combination of protein, carbohydrates and fat to build good muscles.

muscles

There are different TYPES of protein which are metabolized differently by the body.

  • Protein from Meat and Eggs
  • Protein from Grains
  • Whey Protein

It is not just about the nutrient that you take that accounts for muscle building, it is equally important when you take them. If you get your nutrient timing wrong, your body could end up storing the protein as fat instead of muscles. The body can metabolize whey proteins much faster than the ones from grains, meat and eggs.

Immediately after an intense workout the muscle glycogen stores would have got depleted. Whey protein, which is easily broken down by the body is good to have immediately after the workout. Also, coupled with whey proteins, you need to take carbohydrates that produce glucose with high Glycemic Index. This glucose will trigger an insulin response which has the property of driving the broken down calories to be stored as muscle glycogen.

How much protein your should have per day is very relative. The general rule of the thumb is that you can have 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. During the muscle recovery time much after your workout, you can have other proteins from grains, meat, eggs etc. This will be metabolized and absorbed much slower by the body aiding muscle recovery.

Right combination of protein, carbohydrates and fats taken at the right time with the right exercise workout routines is vital to muscle building. If you get this combination right, you will be able to build muscles and have a very good physique without too much effort. If you get this wrong, you will be left only with pain and frustration along with no gain of muscles.

Foods For Exercise

When trying to eat right for exercise or sports, it can be difficult to choose the foods that will be best for your body. Some people can find it difficult to determine which foods will give them healthy, sustained energy and which foods they should avoid when playing sports or exercising.

To start, you can begin by understanding that the foods we eat can be divided into three categories:

foods

  • Carbohydrates
  • Proteins
  • Fats.

Carbohydrates are the primary source that the body uses for energy. Carbohydrates are stored in the body as glycogen, but too many carbohydrates and the body begins to store the excess as fat. Carbohydrates are either simple or complex. Simple carbohydrates, like fruit or energy drinks, are quickly converted into energy for the body, while complex carbohydrates, like pasta, take long for the body to process.

Protein is used as building blocks in the body’s cells and helps make bones, tendons, and other important aspects of the body. And because protein is not easily stored in the body, it is important to consume protein on a regular basis.

Fat is important because it provide cushioning for the body and is critical in some processes, but when the body consumes too many calories it starts storing fat, which can lead to health problems.

When participating in a sport or an exercise program, it is important to consume adequate amounts of food that will supply your body with the energy it needs. Carbohydrates will give your body most of the energy it requires. Carbohydrates, stored as glycogen, easily convert into energy for your activities and can provide both short spurts of energy and sustained energy. Protein is important to consume so your body can perform necessary functions. Most important, however, is to abstain for foods that are high in fat.

Best Protein for Weight Loss and Healthy Living

Macronutrients are the major nutrients required by the human body. There are three types of macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. In this article we will answer the questions:

What is protein?

protein

Why do we need protein?

What is the best protein for weight loss or for all around healthy living?

Protein is a necessary part of our diet. Protein is part of every cell in the body. It makes up the building blocks for our hormones and neurotransmitters. It is needed for muscle health, growth and recovery. A diet lacking in protein will result in illness and breakdown of the body.

Protein breaks down through the process of digestion into amino acids. There are a total of 20 amino acids. 12 of the amino acids can be made from carbohydrates, fats and other acids in your body. The other 8 amino acids are known as essential amino acids and you MUST get them from the food you eat – your body can’t make them.

Symptoms of a lack of protein and therefore a lack of essential amino acids can include:

  • muscle loss
  • hair loss
  • depressed immune system
  • low energy
  • decreased bone strength

There are two categories of proteins. Complete proteins provide all 20 amino acids. When you eat a complete protein the body can absorb 85-99% of the protein. Examples of complete proteins are beef, poultry, fish, milk cheese and yogurt. Sources for vegetarians include soy, hemp, tempeh and seitah. Incomplete proteins lack a variety of amino acids. These are plant-based proteins. Combining incomplete proteins can give you all 20 amino acids. Unfortunately, not all of it is digestible so the body cannot absorb as much of this type of protein.

How much protein should I eat?

According to Jonathan Bailor of The Calorie Myth: How to Eat More, Exercise Less, Lose Weight, and Live Better, “It’s important to aim for a minimum serving of about 30 grams of protein at least 3 times a day. When we eat 30 grams or more of protein it provides enough leucine to rebuild our muscle tissue. Without adequate levels of leucine we risk losing muscle tissue. 100 – 200 grams of protein a day is needed depending on your body’s needs. A smaller sedentary person needs less protein than the person who is actively bodybuilding.

Best Protein for Weight Loss and Healthy Living

The following are high quality sources of complete protein:

  • Grass-fed, organic beef – Grass-fed beef is cleaner, healthier and more flavorful than beef that is grain fed or grain finished.
  • Pastured chickens – this meat is rich in essential fatty acids and is a great source of protein. This can include any type of pastured poultry or wild game.
  • Pastured eggs – provides Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Omega-3, Vitamin E and Beta Carotene in higher levels than store-bought eggs.
  • Wild salmon is rich in Omega-3 and is a nutritious source of fat and protein.
  • Other seafood – protein in fish and shellfish is very easy to digest and the amino acids are more bioavailable (easier to absorb and use). Rich dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.

For those that enjoy that sort of thing – reptiles and amphibians are good protein sources and provide vitamins and minerals.

  • Greek yogurt – avoid yogurts with added sugars.
  • Shellfish – clams, oysters, mussels, snails – rich in iron, zinc, selenium, iodine omega 3, proteins.
  • Whey protein isolate – high protein concentration, good if you cannot get enough protein with whole foods.
  • Liver (from grass-fed or pastured animals) – a rich source of protein that also provides vitamin A, copper, choline, and B vitamins.

So eat your protein and enjoy eating real food! Stay tuned for future articles on fats and carbohydrates.

The Top Ten Healthy Snacks for Weight Loss!

In conjunction with daily exercise, including healthy snacks in your diet is crucial. There are fibrous foods and protein foods, which make up the two main sources of nutrition.

Food that burns fat needs a higher calorie amount in order to burn energy than what is actually present in the food content, which is a proven fact. The term “calorie negative foods” is used to describe this.

protein

Here is a series of healthy snacks to include in your diet:

#1. Apples

Apples contain a chemical called pectin that inhibits a cell’s fat absorption abilities. In addition, you will eat less since the fiber content in apples causes you to feel full more quickly. On a final note, the stored cellulite in your body is able to be dispersed through the food’s water absorption.

#2. Fruits Containing Vitamin C

Oranges, grapefruits, guava, sweet limes, papayas, lemons, tomatoes and tangerines are citrus fruits that contain high concentrations of fiber and Vitamin C. These citrus fruits are considered to be healthy snacks because of their ability to burn fat. The body needs a certain amount of Vitamin C to ensure proper function in fat burning.

The body is also able to burn fat more quickly because of the production of carnitine amino acid. Vitamin C is able to dilute any stored fat in the body, thus hampering its functionality. In other words, the fat in your body is more readily dissolved.

#3. Dairy/Calcium Foods

Products such as cheese, milk and yogurt enhance fat burning in the body. You could start making your own frozen yogurt popsicle to eat as a dessert.

#4 Nuts

While these boost metabolism and allow you to feel fuller more quickly, nuts are an ideal snack. However, avoid including any salted or processed nuts in your snacking. The most ideal choice would be to eat organic almonds.

#5. Frozen Juice Bars

You might as well have an ice cream truck visiting your street when you pull out one of those delicious frozen juice bars. Gidus has said, “They’re sweet and tangy, and anything frozen takes longer to eat”. “They’re just a few calories, and they’ve even got some vitamins.”

#6. Bubble Gum

You ought to ask yourself just how hungry you really are when you are thinking about grabbing that extra snack. You should take out a piece of bubble gum if you feel any uncertainty whatsoever. In fact, in a matter of sixty minutes, chewing gum could very well burn as much as eleven calories.

#7. Beef Jerky

You may be surprised, but this is quite a healthy snack to eat. There is approximately one gram of fat, twelve grams of protein and anywhere from seventy to eighty calories in an ounce of beef jerky.

#8. Avocados

This fruit makes you feel full more quickly since it is packed with fiber.

#9. Protein

Foods containing high levels of protein that burn more energy than what is stored during digestion would be oatmeal, low-cal dairy foods, whole grain foods, eggs and legumes.

#10. Green Tea

Green tea would be an ideal beverage to consume on a regular basis since numerous studies from the past have concluded that this drink actually boosts the metabolic rate.

The foods that have been outlined here are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to snacking your way through to weight loss. Feel free to download our free report from the home page on this website.

You will have to use more energy than you consume through food if you are going to lose weight, but you must also understand that not eating three times daily can actually pose adverse effects on your metabolic rate.

By incorporating these healthy, calorie negative snacks into your diet, you can be sure that you will realize the desired calorie deficit results in your weight loss. You can make your goals into a reality by eating these healthy snacks for weight loss on a daily basis.

Low Carb Diet – Is It Suitable For You?

The Low Carb Diet has been steadily growing in popularity over recent years. There have been claims by many that reduced levels of carbohydrates in the diet of a person can assist with weight loss as well as help to improve other aspects of the body’s health.

Today there are a multitude of carbohydrate reduction programs available in the market. Some of these programs are based around promoting meal replacement products, which is an industry in itself these days. Other programs involve the participant completing an initial detox followed then with a diet that produces a great reduction in carbohydrate intake.

When deciding which program to follow, it is well worth taking the time to compare your options as methods in each program will suit some people and not others. Books and magazines containing reduced carbohydrate recipes can be found in abundance these days. Check with your local book shop and also online if you would like to purchase your own.

When it comes to selecting foods for your Low Carb Diet there is a category of foods that are often referred to as ‘super foods’. What are these super foods? Dark leafy greens are number one. These are rich in vitamins and minerals so it is advised to try to consume some of these in each of your meal portions throughout the day. Next is salmon.

This super food is renowned for its high levels of nutrients as well as the highly publicized omega-3 fatty acid content. Flax seeds may be completely new to some people. These are also super foods and are high in fiber, contain omega-3 fatty acids and are also rich in nutrients. When devising your eating plan, try to mix in as many of these as you can.

So the big question is, is a Low Carb Diet suitable for everyone? Absolutely not. People suffering eating disorders such as anorexia which may have already left them underweight should steer clear of any diet that reduces carbohydrate intake. Pregnant women should also avoid this type of diet. The only exception to this is if they have been specifically instructed by their doctor or a health professional to follow such a regime.

Diet alone is not the answer when it comes to weight loss. Moderate exercise should become a part of your weekly diet plan. Reducing carbohydrate intake can produce a great reduction in weight and body fat. The key to achieving these results is consistency.

This type of diet is also a great way to shed those extra couple of pounds that can sometimes be put on quickly. If you are considering a Low Carb Diet or any other type of diet, it is recommended that you consult a doctor or nutritionist.

Low Carb Diet Foods – How to Identify Them So You Can Lose Weight Fast

Losing weight and sticking with a diet is all about not giving up. You give up when it gets too challenging – thus the easiest way to diet is by… making it easy on yourself! This can be as simple as making smarter food choices during the day, and substituting one thing for another in ways you’ll hardly even notice.

Lets talk about low carb diet foods and how to incorporate them to melt fat off you immediately.

The number one carbohydrate you need to avoid is sugar. Sugar will send your body into fat storage mode by spiking insulin immediately. That seems simple – stay away from soda, right? Unfortunately even the foods you believe are the healthiest are loaded with sugar.

This is the reason so many people are confused when they diet. Low fat yogurt sounds like a diet staple, right? Would you be surprised to hear that one small low fat yogurt has nearly the amount of super-fattening refined sugar as a can of Pepsi? Check the label.

Read labels, and pick only the items and sauces that have less sugar. Even easier than this is by adjusting what you drink. Fruit juices are loaded with sugar and can be subbed out for teas you can sweeten with Splenda. Obviously, soda should be switched for diet soda.

Even replacing sugary beverages alone will allow you to cut between 200-800 calories per day. Less sugar will also keep your metabolism boosted, allowing you to burn more calories as the day progresses. Green tea will also turbo-charge your metabolism and reduce your appetite.