Back Ground:
With obesity on the rise for both adults and children in the US today, finding the perfect mix of foods for a six pack abs diet can be very tricky. It can be pretty easy to lose weight if you simply stop eating, but most of us are not that crazy! Medical Doctor supervised VLC (Very Low Calorie) diets coupled with diet supplements of dubious help are currently very trendy. People do lose a lot weight on these diets. However, expecting to be able to live a diet that consists of no more than 500-800 calories a day is unrealistic in the extreme, not to mention extremely dangerous. Many of these people find that they quickly gain back nearly all of their lost weight-they have to keep returning to the clinic to continue. With the supplement itself costing up to $1000 per shot, this is an expensive way to lose weight.
Instances of anorexia and bulimia-in both men and women- are increasing as well. These straight starvation or binge and purge plans can lead to life-long health problems or to death in those that practice them. Anorexia is seen as a psychological problem dealing with issues of self-esteem and control. Eventually, the physical body refuses food and unless drastic measures are taken, the anorexic or bulimic can suffer from permanent loss of skeletal bone mass, muscle mass, fertility, and brain function. They are at extremely high risk for dying from heart-related complications that can strike years later, even if they get the problem under control, due to permanent damage to the heart muscle.
VLC, and it's more extreme cousins, anorexia and bulimia don't provide a healthy or sane way to lose weight and keep it off over the long-term. What will provide sustained, safe weight loss, better health and energy, in a plan that can be done for a lifetime?
A Short History of American Food
Frozen, prepared meals and fast food can basically be blamed on three people. Clarence Birdseye and Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson (White Castle) invented frozen foods and fast foods, respectively, and from the mid 1920's on, America began its love affair with cheap, quickly prepared foods to meet nutritional needs. These foods were basically rare treats for the typical American family up through the 1960's. Most people ate the majority of their meals prepared at home.
Fast forward to today-fast food places dominate both the lunch and dinner markets in America, being more the rule than the exception. McDonald's is the largest buyer of Idaho potatoes in the world and their specifications for size, taste and starch content has become the industry standard for most of the potatoes grown today. With the rise of giant agribusiness, most of the small farmers have had to either adapt to their standards or close. Sadly, many have had to close. This has cost everyone in that the diversity of our food has gradually diminished-many types of corn, apples, potatoes, and other foodstuffs are now considered 'vintage' or 'antique' varieties that are grown more for amusement than for their actual nutritional value, if they still exist at all.
An additional problem today is the fact that many of the foodstuffs grown worldwide are GMO foods. These are seeds that have been genetically modified to increase yield, and minimize susceptibility to insects, vermin and drought. The verdict is still out on how these foods interact with the human body as no independent long-term studies have been conducted; in fact the GMO seeds themselves have not been around long enough for long-term study in a human population.
Changing Trends
Looking at the foods we consume and their effects on our health, paints a pretty depressing picture of how most people interact with food. But not all is lost. There has been a growing backlash against fast food and agribusiness as well as growing loud concern over the effect of GMO crops on our food chain. More and more people are going to all natural or organic products and many are becoming vegetarian to avoid the problems cropping up in our protein/meat supply. Enough people are now living this way that most major grocery stores provide organic products on the shelves with their better-known non-organic counterparts.
Ten years ago it was hard to find veggie burgers outside a health food store and tofu was basically an unknown outside health food circles. Today enough people are concerned about the effects of sugar, fat, and empty carbohydrates in our diet that major changes to the way people eat and interact with food are being implemented. One only needs to look at the changes being made in the federal school lunch program to see significant differences will appear in what children are served at school every day.
More and more people are making the conscious decision to 'eat clean' and buy organic. By increasing the healthiness of our food chain it is hoped that change will come in overall diet and health.
We all know better though. Unless each person commits to a healthier lifestyle, it will not happen. Legislation will not help, nor will making certain foods 'illegal'. Eating a small amount of junk food on rare occasions should not be a misdemeanor offense, child abuse, or something associated in a negative way with anyone. Regardless of what the "Food Police" say, most rational people do occasionally indulge and over-indulge, and we should all have the right to continue to do so.
What Is a Good Six Pack Diet Plan?
The components of a good six pack abs diet should include a good mix of protein, carbs, and fat from fresh food. An ideal menu includes 60% good carbs, and 40% protein and total calorie intake for the day should amount to around 1200-1500 calories per day for a normal adult. Highly active people, athletes, and teens can require up to 2000 calories per day to meet their nutritional needs. Dieters need to keep their caloric intake to at least 1000 calories per day in order to be healthy. Everyone needs to minimize the amount of sugar, hydrogenated fats and starch that they consume on a daily basis.
Good Carbs are those that provide bulk and fiber to the diet without an excess of sugar, fat, and starch. These foods work to make the consumer feel full for longer periods of time and provide vital nutrients and minerals to help fuel the body. Examples come from a wide variety of foods, including vegetables, whole grains and fruits. Potatoes have been deemed "the bad guy" in many diets, but eaten in moderation, and eaten any style except fried, they can provide a good source of nutrition. Whole fruits provide both fiber and bulk as well as vitamins-eaten in their whole form (not as store-bought juice), fruit can provide a sweet treat for people on diets. Leafy green vegetables are a dieting staple for good reason. They provide many of the trace minerals that dieters will not get any other way.
Good Proteins include any low fat-cut of meat, fish, beans and tofu products. What can turn these proteins bad is the preparation method. Fried foods should be kept to an absolute minimum on any diet, but for those people trying to lose weight, they should be put on the 'do not eat' side of the menu.
Fats are a vital part of every diet. They help to digest food and they provide a source of long-term energy. Every 'good fats' list includes olive oil, but not too many include butter. However, including a small amount of butter occasionally is not a bad thing. The bad guys in this category include any of the margarines and the low-fat/non fat spreads. These are more chemical than food and are empty of any nutritional value whatsoever.
In fact, it pays to stay away from any of the food items labels Non-Fat, Low Fat, Low Calorie, No Calorie, as many of these products make up for taste deficiencies by adding extra salt, sugar, and chemicals to the product to make them taste better. While they appear healthy, many of their ingredients are not, and it's better to stay away from them.
The Sane Eating Trend
More and more experts are advocating a return to a more basic, sane way of eating and leading this are clean eating advocates. Eating Clean essentially involves eating foods that are not mass-produced, eating foods that are grown simply and without a lot of chemicals, and preparing food at home once again. The cook can better control the amount of extra salt, sugar and fat added to food prepared at home, and it really can be less expensive overall. People who eat clean shop at farmer's markets and buy organic, but if this isn't possible due to location, it is possible to eat clean from the grocery store in most places now. One of the major rules of clean eating is to eat what is locally produced and in season instead of relying on imported foods out of season.
Making a drastic change in the way we eat is a daunting task. It is sometimes better to make small changes initially, especially if people are used to a life of prepared foods and frozen dinners. Small changes will lead to bigger changes and as people grow more skilled at 'reading' their food, it becomes possible to see long term-health changes.
This is definitely not the way to lose 100 pounds in a month, but if weight loss is a goal, it will happen safely and with a smaller chance of gaining it all back again. This type of 'diet' will be a way to eat for a life time of health and not a diet that you leave once you've seen the results you wanted. This is the Sane Eating Trend, and as more people embrace it, and as more people develop a more active lifestyle, obesity rates will come down.
With obesity on the rise for both adults and children in the US today, finding the perfect mix of foods for a six pack abs diet can be very tricky. It can be pretty easy to lose weight if you simply stop eating, but most of us are not that crazy! Medical Doctor supervised VLC (Very Low Calorie) diets coupled with diet supplements of dubious help are currently very trendy. People do lose a lot weight on these diets. However, expecting to be able to live a diet that consists of no more than 500-800 calories a day is unrealistic in the extreme, not to mention extremely dangerous. Many of these people find that they quickly gain back nearly all of their lost weight-they have to keep returning to the clinic to continue. With the supplement itself costing up to $1000 per shot, this is an expensive way to lose weight.
Instances of anorexia and bulimia-in both men and women- are increasing as well. These straight starvation or binge and purge plans can lead to life-long health problems or to death in those that practice them. Anorexia is seen as a psychological problem dealing with issues of self-esteem and control. Eventually, the physical body refuses food and unless drastic measures are taken, the anorexic or bulimic can suffer from permanent loss of skeletal bone mass, muscle mass, fertility, and brain function. They are at extremely high risk for dying from heart-related complications that can strike years later, even if they get the problem under control, due to permanent damage to the heart muscle.
VLC, and it's more extreme cousins, anorexia and bulimia don't provide a healthy or sane way to lose weight and keep it off over the long-term. What will provide sustained, safe weight loss, better health and energy, in a plan that can be done for a lifetime?
A Short History of American Food
Frozen, prepared meals and fast food can basically be blamed on three people. Clarence Birdseye and Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson (White Castle) invented frozen foods and fast foods, respectively, and from the mid 1920's on, America began its love affair with cheap, quickly prepared foods to meet nutritional needs. These foods were basically rare treats for the typical American family up through the 1960's. Most people ate the majority of their meals prepared at home.
Fast forward to today-fast food places dominate both the lunch and dinner markets in America, being more the rule than the exception. McDonald's is the largest buyer of Idaho potatoes in the world and their specifications for size, taste and starch content has become the industry standard for most of the potatoes grown today. With the rise of giant agribusiness, most of the small farmers have had to either adapt to their standards or close. Sadly, many have had to close. This has cost everyone in that the diversity of our food has gradually diminished-many types of corn, apples, potatoes, and other foodstuffs are now considered 'vintage' or 'antique' varieties that are grown more for amusement than for their actual nutritional value, if they still exist at all.
An additional problem today is the fact that many of the foodstuffs grown worldwide are GMO foods. These are seeds that have been genetically modified to increase yield, and minimize susceptibility to insects, vermin and drought. The verdict is still out on how these foods interact with the human body as no independent long-term studies have been conducted; in fact the GMO seeds themselves have not been around long enough for long-term study in a human population.
Changing Trends
Looking at the foods we consume and their effects on our health, paints a pretty depressing picture of how most people interact with food. But not all is lost. There has been a growing backlash against fast food and agribusiness as well as growing loud concern over the effect of GMO crops on our food chain. More and more people are going to all natural or organic products and many are becoming vegetarian to avoid the problems cropping up in our protein/meat supply. Enough people are now living this way that most major grocery stores provide organic products on the shelves with their better-known non-organic counterparts.
Ten years ago it was hard to find veggie burgers outside a health food store and tofu was basically an unknown outside health food circles. Today enough people are concerned about the effects of sugar, fat, and empty carbohydrates in our diet that major changes to the way people eat and interact with food are being implemented. One only needs to look at the changes being made in the federal school lunch program to see significant differences will appear in what children are served at school every day.
More and more people are making the conscious decision to 'eat clean' and buy organic. By increasing the healthiness of our food chain it is hoped that change will come in overall diet and health.
We all know better though. Unless each person commits to a healthier lifestyle, it will not happen. Legislation will not help, nor will making certain foods 'illegal'. Eating a small amount of junk food on rare occasions should not be a misdemeanor offense, child abuse, or something associated in a negative way with anyone. Regardless of what the "Food Police" say, most rational people do occasionally indulge and over-indulge, and we should all have the right to continue to do so.
What Is a Good Six Pack Diet Plan?
The components of a good six pack abs diet should include a good mix of protein, carbs, and fat from fresh food. An ideal menu includes 60% good carbs, and 40% protein and total calorie intake for the day should amount to around 1200-1500 calories per day for a normal adult. Highly active people, athletes, and teens can require up to 2000 calories per day to meet their nutritional needs. Dieters need to keep their caloric intake to at least 1000 calories per day in order to be healthy. Everyone needs to minimize the amount of sugar, hydrogenated fats and starch that they consume on a daily basis.
Good Carbs are those that provide bulk and fiber to the diet without an excess of sugar, fat, and starch. These foods work to make the consumer feel full for longer periods of time and provide vital nutrients and minerals to help fuel the body. Examples come from a wide variety of foods, including vegetables, whole grains and fruits. Potatoes have been deemed "the bad guy" in many diets, but eaten in moderation, and eaten any style except fried, they can provide a good source of nutrition. Whole fruits provide both fiber and bulk as well as vitamins-eaten in their whole form (not as store-bought juice), fruit can provide a sweet treat for people on diets. Leafy green vegetables are a dieting staple for good reason. They provide many of the trace minerals that dieters will not get any other way.
Good Proteins include any low fat-cut of meat, fish, beans and tofu products. What can turn these proteins bad is the preparation method. Fried foods should be kept to an absolute minimum on any diet, but for those people trying to lose weight, they should be put on the 'do not eat' side of the menu.
Fats are a vital part of every diet. They help to digest food and they provide a source of long-term energy. Every 'good fats' list includes olive oil, but not too many include butter. However, including a small amount of butter occasionally is not a bad thing. The bad guys in this category include any of the margarines and the low-fat/non fat spreads. These are more chemical than food and are empty of any nutritional value whatsoever.
In fact, it pays to stay away from any of the food items labels Non-Fat, Low Fat, Low Calorie, No Calorie, as many of these products make up for taste deficiencies by adding extra salt, sugar, and chemicals to the product to make them taste better. While they appear healthy, many of their ingredients are not, and it's better to stay away from them.
The Sane Eating Trend
More and more experts are advocating a return to a more basic, sane way of eating and leading this are clean eating advocates. Eating Clean essentially involves eating foods that are not mass-produced, eating foods that are grown simply and without a lot of chemicals, and preparing food at home once again. The cook can better control the amount of extra salt, sugar and fat added to food prepared at home, and it really can be less expensive overall. People who eat clean shop at farmer's markets and buy organic, but if this isn't possible due to location, it is possible to eat clean from the grocery store in most places now. One of the major rules of clean eating is to eat what is locally produced and in season instead of relying on imported foods out of season.
Making a drastic change in the way we eat is a daunting task. It is sometimes better to make small changes initially, especially if people are used to a life of prepared foods and frozen dinners. Small changes will lead to bigger changes and as people grow more skilled at 'reading' their food, it becomes possible to see long term-health changes.
This is definitely not the way to lose 100 pounds in a month, but if weight loss is a goal, it will happen safely and with a smaller chance of gaining it all back again. This type of 'diet' will be a way to eat for a life time of health and not a diet that you leave once you've seen the results you wanted. This is the Sane Eating Trend, and as more people embrace it, and as more people develop a more active lifestyle, obesity rates will come down.
It's always tough to add to information you want to implement
without feeling uneasy or that you've messed something up. It is also
very tough to know what are decent sources of information instead of
someone's opinion that's dressed up to be information in a way that
makes it appear to be great information.
As a certified personal trainer, I am always asked and told by clients what works and what they are looking for. Over the years I have accumulated a list of the absolutely most informative and helpful diet books out there. Click to see what I consider to be what the 10 best diet books that I recommend my clients read. Additionally, do yourself the favor of checking out some amazing superfoods you should add to your six pack abs diet. Something that should get you excited is that they are all under 50 calories!
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Boulay
As a certified personal trainer, I am always asked and told by clients what works and what they are looking for. Over the years I have accumulated a list of the absolutely most informative and helpful diet books out there. Click to see what I consider to be what the 10 best diet books that I recommend my clients read. Additionally, do yourself the favor of checking out some amazing superfoods you should add to your six pack abs diet. Something that should get you excited is that they are all under 50 calories!
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