DIET FOR SMOKERS AND EX-SMOKERS

As a dietitian, the three most common questions which smokers ask me about diet and smoking, are:
(1) Can a diet compensate for health damage caused by smoking?
(2) What should I eat if I smoke?
(3) If I quit, what type of diet is best to prevent weight gain?

DIET FOR SMOKERS AND EX-SMOKERS

(1) CAN A DIET COMPENSATE FOR HEALTH DAMAGE CAUSED BY SMOKING?

No diet or eating-plan, no matter how nutritious, can neutralise the health damage caused by the 850+ chemicals in tobacco smoke - many of which are carcinogenic. On average, if you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, you double your risk of a heart-attack and are five times more likely to suffer a stroke than a non-smoker. At 40 cigarettes a day, you are five times more likely to suffer from sudden cardiac death. Smoking is also the leading cause of lung cancer.
Thus before we even start to examine an appropriate type of diet for smokers, my overriding advice is: quit smoking today!
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(2) WHAT SHOULD I EAT IF I SMOKE?

For anyone who smokes, daily diet nutrition is critical. The damage doneto the body's cardiovascular and respiratory functions requires a constant need for extra nutrients. Even if you smoke 5 cigarettes a day, you have increased nutritional needs due to your increased risk of hypertension, atherosclerosis, emphysema and numerous cancers. As stated, a healthy diet will not prevent these health conditions, but it may delay their development.
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• INCREASED NEED FOR ANTIOXIDANTS

Tobacco smoke leads to increased levels of free radicals - cancer-causing agents - in the body and a corresponding need for protective antioxidants that can neutralise them. The main antioxidant vitamins are vitamin C and vitamin E (which works best in combination with the mineral selenium). Phytochemicals such as bioflavonoids and carotenoids (eg. beta-carotene) are also rich in antioxidants.

• HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ANTIOXIDANT INTAKE

Use the following suggestions are a guide to minimum dietary requirements.

- Eat 3-5 daily servings of deep green, dark red, orange of yellow vegetables.
- Eat 3-5 daily servings of red, yellow, orange or green fruits.
- Switch from coffee to tea, ideally green tea.
- Each day, take 2 tsp of wheatgerm oil (rich in vitamin E) and 6 Brazil nuts (selenium).
[Note: a serving is approx 1 medium fruit, or 1/2 cup chopped]

• SPECIAL NEED FOR INCREASED VITAMIN C

One cigarette is estimated to rob the body of 25mg of vitamin C. Thus all smokers have a greatly increased need for this antioxidant-rich vitamin simply to maintain minimum levels. In practice, this need can only be met by taking supplements. As a general guide, I suggest you take 1 gram of vitamin C supplements per day. Choose a "timed-release" brand that includes a minimum of 100mg bioflavonoids.

• BEST DIETARY SOURCES OF VITAMIN C

Fruits, such as: blackcurrants, papaya, guava, cantaloupe, elderberries, kiwi fruit, mango, oranges, strawberries.
Fruit Juices, such as: cranberry, grapefruit, lemon, orange.
Vegetables, such as: red peppers, green peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, tomatoes.

• PROTECTIVE CAROTENOIDS

Carotenoids are pigments found in plants. All carotenoids are antioxidants, the most common example being beta-carotene. It is found in green plants (eg. spinach), as well as orange and yellow plants, such as carrots, sweet potato and melons. Clinical trials indicate that when consumed in foods - not supplements - betacarotene reduces certain precancerous symptoms.
[Warning: for reasons which are still unclear, beta-carotene supplements actually increase the risk of disease (eg. lung cancer). Thus your intake of beta-carotene should come exclusively from food.]

• HOW TO INCREASE YOUR INTAKE OF CAROTENOIDS

Use the following suggestions are a guide to minimum dietary requirements.

Eat 4 daily servings of deep green, yellow or red vegetables, including: carrots, sweetcorn, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato.
Eat 4oz tomatoes daily, either in sauce or chopped.
Eat 3 daily servings of colored fruit, including: melon, oranges, strawberries, mango, cherries.

• PROTECTIVE BRASSICAS

According to research evidence, cigarette smokers who eat more brassicas have less incidence of cancers (eg. breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, prostate and stomach). As all these cancers are initiated by free radicals, it follows that brassicas may help to prevent other problems initiated by free radical damage and accelerated by smoking, such as: cataracts, emphysema, asthma and age spots.
Brassicas include: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage (all types), cauliflower, cress, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, swede, turnip, watercress.

• GARLIC AND ONIONS

Garlic is a good source of unique antioxidants and contains anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Its anti-tumor properties are well documented. Onions, a member of the same vegetable family, have similar properties to garlic.

• MORE DIETARY TIPS FOR SMOKERS

Reduce the total fat in your diet. At the same time, minimize your intake of saturated fat and trans-fatty acids. Eat regular servings of omega-3-rich oily fish (eg. salmon, mackerel, sardines).
Eat healthy carbohydrates. Avoid refined white flour carbs, choose only whole grains such as, oats, brown rice, wholewheat pasta. In addition, choose foods rich in soluble fiber (eg. apples, oat bran).
Eat healthy low-fat protein such as fish, lean chicken/turkey, or egg-whites. Include small amounts of lean red meat in your diet, along with regular servings of soy foods (eg. soybeans) and other vegetable protein.
Reduce sodium in your daily diet. Check food labels and choose low-sodium or sodium-free foods. Also avoid adding salt when cooking or eating.


(3) CAN YOU PREVENT WEIGHT GAIN AFTER YOU QUIT?

Yes, if you take proper physical exercise and eat a healthy calorie-controlled diet, you are unlikely to gain weight. However, in my experience, some weight gain seems to be inevitable.

• WHAT IS THE AVERAGE WEIGHT GAIN?

Most smokers gain weight immediately after they quit. Current evidence suggests that the average weight gain for both men and women who quit smoking is about 6-8 pounds. The more you smoke, the higher the risk of weight gain when you quit. This weight gain is due to the decrease in metabolic rate and an increase in appetite experienced when you quit smoking. This weight increase is perfectly normal, and need only be a short term event.
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• SO WHAT SHOULD I EAT?

There is no single diet which will prevent weight gain once you quit smoking. Your best option is to focus on healthy eating combined with regular vigorous exercise (within your fitness capacity) and let Nature do the rest. As a general guide, follow these suggestions.

First, cut down on caffeine. Nicotine withdrawal makes us jittery and nervous. So it's important to avoid coffee and caffeine-rich soft drinks which may increase this nervous tension.

Second, increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables. Studies show that an increased intake of fruit and vegetables can help to minimize weight gain after you quit smoking. Eat them for snacks, add them to meals, eat them as starters and/or desserts. Eat them on car journeys instead of sweets or candy.

Third, eat little and often. Avoid the temptation to linger over your meals. Get into the habit of eating smaller meals at more regular intervals. Aim to eat something, no matter how small, every 2-3 hours. This helps to maintain a regular rate of calorie-burning.

Fourth, take steps to learn more about nutrition and choose nutrient-dense foods whenever possible. (See above for information about antioxidants, and healthy fats, carbs and protein.)
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• WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO PREVENT WEIGHT GAIN?

Make physical exercise a top priority in your daily schedule. Ideally join a gym or fitness center and get into shape. Research evidence demonstrates a clear link between exercise and weight control after you quit smoking. Choose both cardio-aerobic and strength-training exercises, as both play an important role in raising metabolic rate.
Also, make sure you get enough sleep. Research evidence shows that lack of sleep may lead to weight gain, as well as an increased craving for cigarettes and food.

• TAKE REGULAR CARDIO-AEROBIC EXERCISE

No cigarette smokers diet-plan is complete without regular physical exercise. Working within your fitness capacity, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts to about 30-45 minutes a day, on most days. For best effects on lung capacity and cardiovascular function, choose aerobic exercise such as: brisk walking, jogging, jumping rope, swimming and most sports.

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Free Tips To Help You Lose 10 Pounds

You see a 220-pound woman sobbing about her out-of-control weight on a television talk show. Then you hear the voice of 300-pound man addicted to food who is so ashamed he hides behind a newspaper.

Free Tips To Help You Lose 10 Pounds

Sure, some unfortunate Americans struggle with extreme obesity, but most of us don’t have a weight issue- except for a few pounds. You know binging and eating too much turkey and mashed potatoes every so often adds up to a little extra weight. To get a healthier body, you need to shed those pounds.

Having to lose 10 pounds may not be dramatic enough for a television talk show, but we can't ignore this topic. In fact, we want to help...you can shed 10 pounds by following these tips:

Choose the Right Time

Trying to lose weight can have a strong influence on your sense of self-worth. If you notice the extra pounds dropping, you feel like a soaring eagle; on the other hand, not enough change in weight can eat away at your self esteem. That’s why you should begin at the right time, when you’re not trying out a new job, moving, or getting married. And you shouldn’t have any major problem to deal with, like a divorce or debt. In other words, the more stress you have, the less likely you'll succeed in your plan to lose weight.
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Choose Better Foods

Losing weight doesn’t mean going hungry. Simply go for balance, having a maximum of 30% of your calorie intake from fat. The rest of your calories can be from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and high protein foods. Experiment with exotic recipes, using aromatic spices to flavor bland-tasting foods.

Record Your Progress

A great way to push yourself to success depends on seeing your daily progress, but how do you determine progress? You may weigh yourself every day and not notice any weight loss until a week has passed. Even after the scale shows one or two pounds of weight loss, you probably won’t see any difference in the mirror.

Instead, you can track your progress with a calorie chart: each day, record the amount of calories you take in and the number of calories exercise burns off. Subtracting away the burned calories leaves you with the net total, which you compare with your recommended daily value. Then you can see how well the plan works.
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Join With Friends

Find a friend who also shared your desire to lose 10 pounds and motivate each other to reach this goal. Say you want to quit after the second week; your friend’s gentle prodding can help you go ahead with the plan. Or, if you can’t get off the couch, who else but a friend, wearing a jogging suit, can get you out of the house? And exercising turns into double the fun when you jog, or do aerobics, with a friend.

Be Realistic

Having a plan with a clear goal makes losing weight easier. But you should set a goal that you can reach, like losing one or two pounds a week. Most of us can handle this goal by making a few adjustments in our diet and exercise habits.

On the other hand, what if you decide to lose 10 pounds in three weeks? Then you would eat a lot less food than your body needs, giving you body not enough nutrients to survive. And exercising too much would overexert your body and can lead to injuries.

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However, you can avoid injuries and poor health by setting up a goal that you can really meet. Although losing 10 pounds slowly may take longer, you won’t sacrifice your health and well-being in the process. Plus, once you lose the extra weight, you’ll know how to maintain your weight. That way you can stay healthy for the rest of your life.

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How to Lose Weight after Pregnancy

Although having a baby is a wonderful experience for any woman, almost all women would like to regain their pre-pregnancy shape as soon as possible. Celebrity moms with the help of dietitians, nurses and fitness experts, in average will get back to their original shape faster than the average women. But they are not a good example upon which to base your own postpartum weight loss goals. Don't be too impatient, trying to lose weight too fast can rebound on you. You should "Go Easy" and take these few steps to lose your weight after giving birth to your baby.

1. Give Your Body Time to Recover
It took your body months to prepare to give birth, and it takes time to recover. So, don't be in too much of a hurry to cut calories, give some time for your body to recover, It takes up to 6 months after pregnancy for your body to return to normal. Now you have a new baby to take care of. It will require all your energy, especially as you get to grips with "night-feeds". So rather than focusing on your weight loss for the first 3 months, it's better for you to focus on eating healthy food with enough calories and nutrients to give you the energy to cope in taking care of your new baby.
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2. Exercise When You Feel Up to It
While give time for your body to recover, it does not mean that you should do anything at all or ignore totally of your body weight. You can start gentle exercise almost immediately after returning home. But avoid any type of vigorous or sustained exercise until after your first post-pregnancy check-up. There are a lot of post-pregnancy exercise available in the internet, get some guide from there or consult an expert on what types of exercises are suitable for you.

3. Breast Feeding
Do you know that breast feeding is a good way of burning your body's calories? Generally, a new mom who breastfeeds her new born child produces an average output of 850ml of breast milk each day. To generate this amount of breast milk, mom needs to consume approximately 500 extra calories per day during lactation.

4. Get Start Your Weight Reduction Program after 2-3 Months
Normally after 2 to 3 months, your strength is returning and your period will get back to normal. At this time, you can start following a healthy, weight loss diet, and taking more vigorous exercise. Don't aim for fast weight loss, about 1 pound per week for optimum health, and be guided by your doctor. And you should continue to focus on eating nutritious foods to keep up your strength & energy.

5. How long to take to regain your shape?
Most doctors and pregnancy weight control experts will give you the same answer: It depends on how much weight you gained while pregnancy. In average, a mom will gained 25 to 30 pounds while pregnancy and during the birth, she normally lose 12 to 14 pounds, leaving 12 to 21 pounds for you to workout after pregnancy. If you start your weight reduction after 2 months of recovery period, and your lose 1 pound per week, it will takes 12 to 21 weeks to lose the extra weight. This means that you should regain your pre-pregnancy weight within 6 to 8 months after the birth.

6. In Summary
Every woman wants to regain their weight and body shape as soon as possible after giving birth to their baby. But, trying to lose weight too fast can rebound on you; hence, you should take it easily and patiently give some time allowance for your body to recover and start your weight loss program after the recovery period and be guided by expert or doctor.

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Is Your Diet Risking Your Health?

Have you noticed that fad diets rise and fall in popularity like the latest fashions or current pop songs? We’ve seen (and seen off) the soup diet; the grapefruit diet; the no carbs diet; the only carbs diet and so on. I remember as a teenager eating only hard boiled eggs for a week! I lost a tonne of weight, but I’m never going to do it again! Are you putting your health at risk by following a fad diet?

Is Your Diet Risking Your Health?

As a result of experimenting with the latest “food exclusion” diets, many people are actually cutting out entire food groups, leading to nutritional deficiencies, which could be damaging their health! While it may seem that cutting out carbs is great for fast weight loss, there is a very real risk that it will trigger carbohydrate cravings. Have you ever experience carbohydrate deprivation? First you become edgy then start to crave carbs, especially the wrong sort of starchy crabs that are stored as fat. Many people simply give in and become compulsive, but those who hold out can suffer severe side effects. Vitamin B group deficiency is one outcome, leading to fatigue and anxiety.

Did you know the body’s main fuel source for energy comes from carbohydrates? Did you know that carbs also are the brain food used to fuel it’s function? Is it any wonder you carve high-carb, high-sugar snacks when studying hard, problem solving or using a computer? Health professionals advise that eliminating carbs from your diet is counter-productive. A much better strategy is giving your body the right type of carbs it requires.
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Others cut out meat when dieting, thinking this is the way to eliminate excess fat from their bodies. By doing so they could be missing out on important vitamins and minerals such as iron, vitamin B12 and zinc. Iron deficiency leads to serious conditions such as anemia.

Protein is an essential building block for the body and is needed for the growth of new cells and tissues. If you don’t eat meat it is vital to get adequate protein from other sources such as soy, fish, eggs and chicken.

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Lose Fat Easy

Most of the people believe that finding the perfect diet will cause them to lose weight in no time.  Well, most of the people are wrong.  It is not important what king of diet they choose they always fail to keep it in the long run.  The secret is not in selecting the perfect diet but instead work on your eating behavior, this and only this is the key to losing fat easy.

Lose Fat Easy

Eating therapy helps in losing weight and more important, in keeping it in optimal range for a long time.  The reflexes lead to impulse eating, in addition that and bad eating habits, lead to a situation were food is being consumed without limits or any second thoughts.  This is exactly what the behavior therapy is tackling, in order to change the bad habits and turn them into useful healthy way of thinking and eating.

The therapy is divided to four parts:
• Measuring and describing the current eating process.
• Describing the events that create the need to eat.
• Learning how to control the craving for food.
• Eliminating the old eating habits, and develop new healthy ones instead.

Actually, most of the time eating is triggered by external stimulating and not as result of real hunger.  They can be developed to mental and physicals. Mental could be related to fears, stress, tension, disappointment, etc. Physical could be the smell of fresh bread or the sight of chocolate cream cake at the counter.
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Mastering eating behavior means not to response to all types of stimulating.  Instead, eat three main meals a day plus three light meals between them.  The technique is to draw the attention from eating to other activities such as: talking on the phone, sports, talking to someone, read a book, or play a game.  What ever keeps the mind busy and stops the craving to eat.

 Additional ideas to support eating behavior therapy:
1. It is best to keep only healthy food at home. This is an easy way to avoid bad food.
2. Cutting down the time of making food, will keep the mind less busy with food thoughts.
3. Drink coffee with law calorie sweeten.
4. It is best to drink lots of natural tea.
5. Eating slowly has two main positive affects: the food is better consumed and the hunger disappears when eating less food.
6. If you feel hungry 20 minutes pass meal time: drink something or have fruits.
7. Eating should take place at the same place and not at random locations.
8. Shopping list should be prepared at home. The key is adhering to it no matter what we saw latter on at the supermarket.

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Quick Teen Weight Loss

Overweight not only hampers the health of adults, but it is injurious to teens and kids as well. Hence, if you are in the teen ages and feel troubled by those extra kilos around your waist, don’t wait any further to embrace a suitable weight loss programs for teens that you think works well for your body. Get the act together today itself! Given below are few invaluable teen weight loss tips, as seen in many of the best weight loss programs for teens prescribed by expert nutritionists, which could help you to take the fight to your foe – over weight.

Quick Teen Weight Loss

Overweight – in a very basic level – is caused due to excessive consumption of food. Hence the best weight loss programs for teens must have a suggestion to control the daily intake of food, especially fatty and oily victuals. Also take care to avoid milk products, all sorts of junk foods and artificial drinks.

Another aspect that most best weight loss programs for teens suggests is to drink lots of water and incorporate fruits, raw vegetables, and fibrous foods into the diet. It is vital in balancing the nutrient content in the body caused due to the reduction in the normal intake (assuming you are following the first suggestion as such).

Replace your normal snacks – such as a packet of chips or potato wafers – with something that is healthier to your system. That is, substitute your chips or other fat and oil rich snacks with something like frozen grapes, cherry tomatoes, baby carrot or low-fat pudding or yogurt, instead.
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Take few hours every day to workout in the gym or spend some time running or playing your favorite sport. Such physical activities could burn away those extra calories from under your skin. In fact this is the most important step one could find in all the best weight loss programs for teens suggested by experts.

But, the most important of all the suggestions is that you must nurture a strong will to follow the diet program, you choose, religiously. Else, no best weight loss programs for teens could help you bring down your weight. Yes, it can be hard work, but the end result is worth the pain you endure during the process. Good Luck!

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Does Weight Loss Hypnosis Work?

The weight loss industry is big business world wide. In recent years in the United States, more than $30 billion dollars was spent by consumers on various weight loss products, gym memberships, exercise machines and food programs.

Does Weight Loss Hypnosis Work?

Choosing a weight loss program is the first step towards staying healthy, if you need to lose weight for the sake of maintaining or improving your health and well being. But staying with a weight loss program can prove to be difficult for so many. That is why, when it comes to weight loss, choosing a support program, checking with your doctor and then adding in some regular exercise is the key to long term success.

What ever you do, don’t to be tempted to follow a one food diet program such as the Cabbage Soup diet, or the Grapefruit diet, because your body is just not meant to exist on just one type of food for a sustained period of time. Instead, use your common sense and adopt a program because it works for you, not because it is the latest fad that all of the Hollywood stars have had success with. Remember that at the end of the day, the fad diets come and go, but your body is with you for the duration of your life, so it is important to take care of your body wisely.

People are focused on an easy and quick way to lose weight. But finding a program that will support long term weight loss and maintenance is the key to success.

Your mind is a powerful tool. While many people have yet to understand and harness the power of their minds, plenty of people are trying to do so, on a consistent basis, and this is helping them to reach all manner of success in their personal and professional lives. If you are at the point where nothing is working for you as far as losing weight or dieting, and you want to go a more controversial way, then you might want to consider weight loss hypnosis.

The first thing you need to do is find a qualified behavioral counselor. Many of these gifted individuals are also skilled in the area of self- hypnosis. Set up an appointment and talk with the counselor about your relationship with food. Then question the counselor as to whether or not his or her teaching you self-hypnosis will work to help you lose weight.

Self-hypnosis can be effective, but having the right person teaching you is critical. Beware of practitioners who ask for large sums of money beyond the counseling session to teach you this tool. While weight loss hypnosis can be effective, you should really steer clear of tapes and books that teach you the DIY (do it yourself) technique, as you will probably end up wasting your money. You really need a human guide to be able to be successful and lose weight.

Hypnosis alone will not allow you to lose weight. But if you have found a qualified counselor, you will receive advice about eating sensibly, exercising regularly and drinking more water.

Weight loss hypnosis is not a quick and easy way to cure a weight loss problem, but rather it is a means to an end. The end result is that you will gain control over your life and over what foods you choose to eat.

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