The Perfect Diet
The Perfect Diet

By Stan Dyer

We are so fortunate in this country to have so much abundance. Foreign visitors are awed by the availability of goods in America, and especially by the availability of food. With some pocket change, a person can find something to eat around almost any street corner. Along with the abundance often comes excess baggage in the form of increased body weight that soon has many of us searching for a weight loss plan, and the perfect diet. Yet, the perfect diet may be more elusive than it seems. Not every fad, idea or diet plan works equally well for everyone. In the end, the perfect diet is any balanced diet that is part of an overall health plan, and, most of all, is perfect for you.

People come in many different shapes and sizes. Variety is good. We should celebrate the differences, but instead we strive for or wish for some unrealistic image of perfection. A peculiar paradox arises out of this where people striving for healthy perfection actually engage in unhealthy diets and exercise programs. It took years to put on the weight, but our minds want us to believe we can shed the weight in a matter of weeks. It’s not going to happen. The first part of your perfect diet should be to accept your heredity and strive to make the best of it. Instead of trying to be perfect, try to be a perfect you. Once you have accepted yourself, start out slowly.

No matter what path you decide your perfect diet should take, a slow start is the best start. People who start by starving themselves deprive their bodies of important nutrients, people who eat too much of one food may damage their bodies just as much, and people who try to do too much too soon tend to become discouraged and quit. You can skip all of that and just make small changes, gradually evolving and developing. Try to develop a program around The Six Points.

The Six Points are:

1. Cardiovascular exercise

2. Weight Training

3. Stretching and Flexibility

4. Dietary Changes

5. Attitude Adjustment

6. Rest and Sleep

Cardiovascular exercise can be anything that raises your heart rate and respiration, keeping them raised for a minimum of 20 minutes. You only really need to do this three time a week to achieve benefits, and it is OK if you have to work up to the minimum level. The important thing is to make it a part of your lifelong routine.

Weight training is any isometric or isotonic exercise that challenges your muscles to the point of fatigue. Building muscle will increase metabolism, increase bone mass, decrease risk of injury, and make you feel better. You don’t even need weights to weight train. The weight of your body can provide effective resistance. Weight train at least three times a week, varying the body parts worked.

Stretching and Flexibility exercises help maintain posture, help reduce risk of injury, and help us to relax. Although these exercises need to be done on a regular basis, they are also great for filling those times when you want to do something, but just don’t feel like doing anything at all. Always begin slowly with these exercises to avoid strains, pulls and tears, but regular attention to stretching and flexibility will produce rewards.

The key to Dietary Changes is variety. When you research deeply enough, you discover that most diets really come down to the same thing: variety. A general recommendation is that the diet be 60% complex carbohydrate, about 30% monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat, and around 15% protein.

Our bodies run on carbohydrates, and the complex carbohydrates are the best because they digest more slowly, give us more fiber, and tend to make us fill “full” sooner. We need the fat in our diets to help us absorb vitamins and to maintain body function. The RDA for protein is .8 grams per kilogram of body weight, but not more than 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight. An easy way to arrive at an “about” figure is to divide your weight in lbs. by two. The number you arrive at won’t be perfect, but it will easily put you within the range at the higher end. Many people don’t realize that eating too much protein can damage the liver and kidneys and should be avoided in most cases. Also, any healthy diet should include drinking plenty of water and fluids. The body is around 95% water, and the fluids serve a variety of important functions in the body.

The final two points of the Six Points are Attitude Adjustment and Rest. Try to find ways to feel good about yourself, your life, and who you are. The mental aspect of overall health is key and often overlooked. When we struggle through the day, every day becomes a struggle. If we find ways to be happy and enjoy life, the burden is lifted. Sleep is an important part of this. Getting enough sleep allows our bodies the opportunity to repair, and our minds the opportunity to rejuvenate.

Use these principles and design your own health plan. You do not need to do everything everyday, but you should try to incorporate as many points as you can, altering and varying the days of the week to keep things interesting. Many people even take one day just to do nothing. Whatever you do and however you decide to do it, just remember to stick with it. A consistent, varied routine should produce favorable results over time.

No one can promise you that this, or any other diet, will be perfect for anyone. You will find, however, that the principles outlined here are found in almost every honest health plan. Be sure to consult your physician before beginning any diet, health or exercise program, and be patient with yourself and your results. In the end, you will discover that the perfect diet is the one that you have made perfect for yourself.Stan Dyer is a freelance writer working out of Arvada, Co. A graduate of Indiana University, Stan has studied Linguistics, American History, Health, Nutrition, and Exercise. Stan has been a vegetarian for over 15 years and has co-authored two vegetarian cookbooks. Stan can write intelligently on just about any subject, and enjoys sharing his ideas, views and opinions with anyone.
All articles by Stan Dyer are the property of Stan Dyer and may not be used without the author's consent. All material is guaranteed original unless otherwise noted within the text. Any resemblance of this author's works to any other author's works are purely coincidental. (more…)

teenage weight loss, diet, child obesity, teen die…
teenage weight loss, diet, child obesity, teen diet, teen weight loss, teens, overweight teen, overweight child, exercise, fitness, teen fitness Are you a concerned parent of an overweight teen? Are you tired of watching your teenage son or daughter struggle with weight? If so, hereI Want to Help My.. (more…)

How To Drop Your Weight and Become Healthier Using These 7 Everyday Life Tips?
These days more and more people are getting intellectual instead of physical jobs. Sitting in the office chairs all-day long has become a norm for many of us.
Stress, busyness and rush make us forget about regular food and stuff our stomachs with cheeseburgers and sodas, which don’t do anything good for our bodies.
As a result of such crazy life rhythm, we rarely find time for exercises, gyms or balanced nutrition. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the reasons why there are now more that 60% of U.S
citizens that have overweight. However, it is possible to change your lifestyle and lose your weight if you are willing to.
These 7 day-to-day life tips provided below will help you to drop your extra pounds, become more energetic and healthier.
Drink More Water
Our bodies need a lot of water. Water removes waste from our organisms and carries various nutrients into all our organs and cells. Your body also loses water by using it for various ways.
For this reason you have to replace it and drink water more often than you are used to.
Start your day with a glass of water in the morning. Drink a glass of water before any meal. Take a bottle of water with you when you go to work. Your body needs approximately 3-5 liters of water
during one day. So don’t hesitate to drink plenty of water wherever and whenever you can.
Eat Fruits and Drink Fruit Juices
Eating fruits and juices helps you eliminate toxins from your body. Eating a variety of fruits also helps you get enough fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. That’s why you should eat fresh fruits
and drink natural fruit juices as often as possible.
Fruit juices from stores are often sweetened. If you want to drink juices, make fresh juices yourself. If you think it takes too much of the time, then look for juices with labels that say “100% fruit juice”.
These are much healthier for your body as long as they contain much more vitamins.
Eat Lots of Vegetables and Vegetable Salads
When it comes to losing extra pounds, vegetables are a great choice. They are natural and contain different vitamins, minerals and tons of other useful chemicals known to provide benefits for your body.
Vegetables are low in fat and calories, they help control blood glucose levels, reduce blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of colon and other cancers. All these features also help control your weight effectively.
If you feel that eating vegetables alone isn’t great choice for you, then make some salads. Mixing vegetables together gives you even more different vitamins and health benefits. There are tons of tasty, healthy
salad recipes on the internet. You can also use you imagination to make some great salads.
Eat Only When You Are Hungry
How many times you’ve been to a party where you saw lots of different and tasty looking meals, which you were offered to try.
Don’t eat, because you are offered to. Eat only when you want to.
Many people also like snacking. In between meals or when have nothing to do. Quit snacking. Most snacks contain a lot of fat and calories.
Replace your usual snacks with vegetables or fruits. These are healthy to your body and you’ll never get fatter, only thinner.
Carry Healthy Food with You
Many of us work busy office jobs and don’t have time to eat regularly. In this case, bring your own made food with you. Instead of bringing sandwiches with meat, take vegetable salads, carrots, chicken salads.
Any low fat food will do. This way, you won’t have to wait for a break to fill your stomach. You’ll be able to have fixed times when eating food.
It’s also important to try to eat about 5 times a day, rather than 3 or 2. Eat in smaller quantities, but more often. This helps you to increase your metabolism.
Work Out When You Can
Working out in a gym is not only a great way to grow some muscles, but also to drop a few pounds. Exercising helps you burn your calories instead of storing them in your body as fat.
Our bodies were made to be active, so exercising slowly and easily can actually help you get more energy and make you feel much better.
At the end of the week, try to lose all the stress and burn your calories in a gym or having some kind of physical activity at home. If you have time, then try to do easy exercises everyday.
Don’t Lie Down or Sit When You Can Move
Many of us like to watch TV lying on a couch or sitting in a comfortable chair. Of course, when you come home after hard working day, you’re tired, and all you can think of, is a couch and a remote in your hand.
But such laziness won’t help you lose weight. Contrarily, it will make you grow some more pounds.
So don’t lie or sit, when you can walk and move. Instead of staring at TV, like a goofy, go ahead and work out in your garden for example, clean your garage, fix your car, go to walk in park or beach.
Breathe fresh air and move more often. Not only does it help to reduce stress after work, but also ups your mood and makes you more energetic.
In Conclusion
Remember that all these tips will help you to lose weight, but only if you are determined and are ready to devote some of your time.
Don’t expect to slim down 4 sizes after eating 5 carrots and drinking orange juice.
Your body, just like many things in this world, needs time. So be patient. And if you will honestly use at least some of these tips, you are
going to change your lifestyle, which in the end will lead you to a thinner and healthier body.Monty Lee is dedicated to helping people lose weight by providing quality and natural products, like <a href="http://www.body-health-online.com">Hoodia Phentramine diet pills</a>.
Please, visit <a href="http://www.body-health-online.com">http://www.body-health-online.com</a> for more information. (more…)

What is the Right Nutrition for Teens?
What is the right nutrition for teens? Over the years, studies, research and
diet fads have led consumers on a wild goose chase in search of proper diet and
nutrition. Today’s healthy foods were yesterday’s risks. How can anyone be sure
that today’s selections are the healthiest options for future strength and
wellbeing?While many eating trends have deviated from the basic principals of (more…)

Targeting energy metabolism in brain cancer: review and hypothesis
Malignant brain tumors are a significant health problem in children and adults and are often unmanageable. As a metabolic disorder involving the dysregulation of glycolysis and respiration, malignant brain cancer is potentially manageable through changes in metabolic environment. A radically different approach to brain cancer management is proposed that combines metabolic control analysis with the evolutionarily conserved capacity of normal cells to survive extreme shifts in physiological environment. In contrast to malignant brain tumors that are largely dependent on glycolysis for energy, normal neurons and glia readily transition to ketone bodies (b-hydroxybutyrate) for energy in vivo when glucose levels are reduced. The bioenergetic transition from glucose to ketone bodies metabolically targets brain tumors through integrated anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and pro-apoptotic mechanisms. The approach focuses more on the genomic flexibility of normal cells than on the genomic defects of tumor cells and is supported from recent studies in orthotopic mouse brain tumor models and in human pediatric astrocytoma treated with dietary energy restriction and the ketogenic diet. (more…)