Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is structured after traditional lifestyle habits of those in the Mediterranean area. This diet is for people who like to cook, enjoy Mediterranean cuisine, and are interested in making a permanent lifestyle change. This diet has few restrictions. People following this diet are allowed to eat all of the things they enjoy, in moderation. This diet focuses on spending time on preparing and enjoying small, tasty meals. Instead of making drastic changes to your lifestyle, this diet teaches people to use low-fat and low-cholesterol foods that are full of flavor and will leave them feeling fulfilled. The Mediterranean diet is designed to improve a persons overall health.

The Mediterranean diet focuses a lot on plant proteins for nourishment. It is considered to be a low-fat, high energy diet. There is a lot of bread in this diet, mostly eaten in the form of pita bread. One major factor that helped to create this diet is that the people of the Mediterranean region have a low rate of chronic disease and illness. In this diet you must eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, pasta, rice, and seeds. Olive oil is also a main ingredient in a lot of Mediterranean recipes. Dairy products are consumed in minimal amounts, and usually in the form of cheese and yogurt. You do eat some animal proteins, but not even close to as much as you do plant proteins. As I mentioned before, this plan has very few dietary restrictions. Those who choose to follow this plan are allowed to eat all of the things they enjoy, in small amounts. Physical activity is not required as part of this plan, but it is always a good idea to do some kind of exercising. This diet will cause a steady pace of weight loss, this helps dieters gradually reduce their food intake, while building healthy eating habits that avoid high-calorie and high-carb foods. Studies have shown that this type of diet is better for your health and easier to maintain than some fad diets.

The Atkins Diet

The basic concept of the Atkins diet is that having a lifetime of nutritional philosophy which restricts the intake of processed and refined carbohydrates, and encourages the intake of nutrient-rich, unprocessed food, like meat while also using "vita-nutrient" supplements, will result in a healthier and slimmer body.

The Atkins diet is broken up into a series of dietary phases, which most people will go through sequentially. The first two weeks of the Atkins diet is called the "induction phase". During these first two weeks you are supposed to follow the directions as closely as you possibly can, this first stage gets your body ready for the new Atkins lifestyle. The point is to get the body into lipolysis/ketosis, this is done to "switch" your metabolism into only burning fat for energy.

In the second stage of the plan, the diet becomes a little easier, you are allowed to eat more foods and more tasty foods. It mainly increases the allowed amount of vegetables and allowing for a few more carbs. When you start to approach your desired weight, you establish your "critical carbohydrate level" for maintenance, this is basically the highest number of grams of carbs per day you can have without gaining any more weight.

Foods You Can Eat...
When you are on the Atkins diet you can eat, meats, cheeses, eggs, and fats, like butter and oils, without having to count calories.

Foods You Can't Eat...
Carbohydrates are restricted to about 20 grams per day during the "induction phase", after that it goes up about 5 grams per week until you reach your "critical carbohydrate level" for maintenance. In order for this diet to work you must change your diet for a long term basis, if you just lose the weight and then go back to the way you used to eat, the weight will come back. This means that you have to eliminate foods like, cake, potatoes, pasta, pancakes, and pie from your diet permanently. The intake of fruits and dairy are also very limited in this diet.

You don't need to exercise as part of this diet, but it is always a good idea to exercise a few days a week to stay fit. This diet is one of the most popular diets around. Restaurants are now offering low carb or no carb meals because this diet has exploded in popularity. Recent studies have shown that people on the Atkins tend to lose about twice the weight of those on the low-fat, high-carb diets recommended by most health organizations. The studies also seem to show that those on the Atkins Diet lose weight without seeming to drive up their risk of heart disease and that their cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure generally improve. Also, people on the Atkins diet statistically lose more weight then people who actually eat less calories, but more carbs. The Atkins diet is more like a lifestyle change, once you reach your goal weight you still can't eat a lot of carbs, you find the number of carbs you can consume each day without gaining any of your weight back, and that is the most amount of carbs you can eat in any day indefinitely.

If you think that this diet might be for you then I suggest you head over to a used book store or a second hand shop and you will most likely be able to find a copy of the Atkins Diet book for just a couple of dollars. The book will go into more detail about what specifically you can eat, and how the diet works on a scientific level.

Most Common Least Expensive Method For Losing Weight

Getting fit without gym membership or exercise equipment is easy. The first thing to remember is to try and eat healthier. That doesn't mean you have to start one of those ridiculous fad diets. It just means to pay more attention to what you are eating. If you are eating something that you know isn't good for you, then eat less of it, drink less soda, eat less sweets. Drink lots of water. The great thing about water is that it keeps you hydrated (which is really important while you are exercising) and it gives your body the illusion that it is full, I used this trick a lot when I was dieting, if you start to get hungry but it is too early to eat again just drink a glass of water. If you don't really like water, they have all kinds of low calorie powders now that you can add to your water to make it juice.
The second thing is to start an exercise routine. You don't need any fancy equipment for this. The only thing you may want to buy is an aerobics dvd of some sort. The only reason for this is that it you need a program that will keep your heart rate elevated for your workout. It doesn't matter what kind of dvd it is as long as it is some kind of aerobic workout. Try to find one you think you might enjoy, this will make it easier for you. You should do this tape at least 3 times a week, 5 times a week if you can handle it, then after your aerobic workout you will want to do some muscle strengthening exercises to keep you toned. You can do sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and jumping jacks. There are plenty more, that is just to name a few. If you follow this plan for a couple of weeks you will start to see very noticeable results.