Posts Tagged ‘health’

The Cookie Diet Plan - Expert Tactics For Dieting

Saturday, November 29th, 2008

The biggest problem many people face when trying to lose weight is that they feel much hungrier than normal as their diet requires them to reduce the amount of food they consume. However, The Cookie Diet Plan devised by Dr Siegel in 1975 provides the ideal solution to this particular problem. Although you may be eating cookies the plan is such that still lose weight.

The cookies specially formulated by Dr Siegel that you eat help to stave off hunger when dieting and exercising. Certainly when you use exercise in your weight loss plans sometimes people may find themselves eating more after they have exercised. This is because the muscles used when we exercise will tell the brain that they need more energy (food) so that they can recover. But as the Cookie diet plan helps to eliminate these feelings the person trying to lose control is more able to control their eating habits.

However, with the Cookie diet you are just eating cookies to lose the weight. Because this is a diet that requires you only to eat 800 calories each day it is one that needs to be supervised by a medical professional and can be use for an indefinite period of time. Anyone who wishes to use this diet needs to undergo a complete medical beforehand and this will include looking at their medical history and having lab work done. Because of the restrictions of this diet the person will attend regular meetings with the doctor to be weighed and discuss the progress of the diet.

With this particular diet the emphasis is placed on suppressing a person’s appetite and this is what the cookies are used for. These particular cookies are baked specifically for Dr Siegel’s clinics and are low in the Gylcemic index products like whole meal flour and oatmeal. Instead they contain an amino acid mixture which is what helps to suppress the dieter’s appetite.

Whilst on this particular diet when a person feels hungry during the day they need to eat six of the cookies instead of their usual meals. Then in the evening they will be required to eat one meal that consists of lean meat or another source of food that contains protein along with one cup of vegetables.

However, what happens if you find yourself still feeling hungry? The thing is because your calorie intake is somewhat restricted you may find after a few days that the cookies alone do not work to help suppress the hunger pangs you feel. This is why in around 60% of all dieters who use this plan they will also be prescribed with other appetite suppressants.

Certainly there are other problems associated with being on a diet that you are restricted to only consuming 800 calories each day. One of these being you are unlikely to be getting the recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals your body needs to function each day. To counteract this Dr Siegel that patients are recommended to take supplements to address this problem and he has found that those who have used this diet for many months have not suffered any ill effects.

Dr Siegel estimates that those who use the Cookie Diet plan correctly will lose around 15 pounds of excess weight each month. Also as the diet helps them to lose the weight more quickly it has a much more beneficial effect psychologically on them and they find it much easier to stay on track with it.

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Tips for Preparing Easy Vegetarian Meals

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

Vegetarian cooking can be a delight if you know what to prepare. There are several ways to come up with easy vegetarian meals for the busy vegetarian. More importantly though, there are simple things you need to remember to come up with quick meals.

Complete Stocks

Stock up on vegetarian food that your family can eat. Always make sure that your grocery list contains different kinds of grains, cereals, pastas, pita bread, whole wheat breads, fruits and vegetables as well as some extras like spices. As an added tip, you might want to repack some of your veggies ahead of time especially peas, corn and beans into serving packs. This way you just have to grab pre packed veggies for the right number of servings for salads and recipes

Instants

Some vegetarians may not completely agree with stocking up on ready to cook or eat preparations from the store. It is true that fresh is almost always best. If you are really in a hurry though, you and your family might just benefit from an occasional instant meal. There are lots of easy vegetarian meals that you just need to pop in an oven. Examples would be veggie burger patties and frozen veggie pizzas.

If you like to do a little cooking or mixing then maybe you can settle for items for easy vegetarian meals like oven ready lasagna noodles, canned beans, bottled pickles, tortillas and ready made sauces.

Simple Recipes

If you want to cook varied vegetarian meals, it is always advisable to have a list of recipes or a vegetarian recipe book ready. Of course, the easiest meal would be salads. Simply toss some greens, nuts, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes and cheese and you have you’ll always have easy vegetarian meals. You might also want to have an occasional raw day when you just have to blend some fruits and vegetables for a satisfying meal. It would be a great idea though to increase the appetite boost of a good salad with some soup or an easy to cook pot meal like chili peppers and beans.

Leftovers

Even leftovers can be handy when preparing easy vegetarian food. Bread, potatoes, rice, carrots, quinoa, beans and different kinds of soup are some of the items that freeze well. When cooking for the day’s meal, simply cook a double serving, freeze the extra and then heat for another day. If you’re family members are not picky eaters, then you can always inform them ahead of time that some days in a week are designated leftover days.

Plan

Plans would work well for easy vegetarian cooking. Take a few minutes off on a weekend to draft a complete weekly plan for all your meals so that you would at least know exactly what you need to shop for.

Help

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and learn new things. Spend some time every month to brush up on new meal ideas from cookbooks or online vegetarian sites for new creative ways to prepare easy meals.

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