The Six Meals A Day Diet - How And Why It Could Revolutionize Your Fitness Plans

The Six Meals A Day Diet - How And Why It Could Revolutionize Your Fitness
Plans
Copyright (c) 2006 Richard Adams

Sounds simple enough doesn't eat - eating 5 or 6 meals a
day as opposed to our standard 3 meals a day. Eat twice as
many meals and you'll lose weight, feel better and be
healthier. Almost too simple.

But until you try it you won't eblieve the benefits.

The aim of this article is to give you a very quick
overview of the subject and based on my own experiences
(I've been eating like this now for 8 months) to convince
you to at least give it a try.

So let's look first of all at the benefits of the six meals
a day diet...

1) No Snacking

When you eat a proper meal every 3 hours or so during the
day it cuts out the need or want for snacking. Why bother
with a bit of chocoloate if you know you're going to be
eating a proper meal in the next few hours? Eating
regularly keeps those "pangs" at bay.

2) Less Surplus Calories

By splitting your normal daily intake of food into 6
smaller meals you'll be consuming far less per meal. This
means that your body will be regularly refuelled with
smaller amounts of energy.

Typically, excess calories in your body will be laid down
as fat for later usage, which is the typical result of a
huge meal.

However if you're consuming fewer calories per meal, there
will be lower levels in your body meaning there is far less
chance of putting on weight.

In addition, eating more regularly "primes" the metabolism
and encourages fat burning when you're not eating so not
only will you be unlikely to put on weight but you will
likely burn off any existing fat far easier.

3) Less Energy Slumps

You know the energy slump that you can feel in the early
afternoon just after you've had lunch? That's because your
body is working so hard to digest the huge meal you just
ate.

By eating more regularly you'll smooth out these "peaks and
troughs" of energy in your body keeping you going for
longer and feeling better.

What's more, dieticians are increasingly believing that it
is these energy spikes that can result in the onset of
diabetes so you'll be greatly reducing your chances of
ending up with this unpleasant disease.

Now the potential downsides of the six meals a day diet and
what to do about them...

1) Eating Every Few Hours Is Impractical

Many people think that eating every 3 or 4 hours is going
to be hard with such a busy life. Actually when you get
into the routine it's not hard at all. Develop a list of
healthy, tasty foods that you enjoy that you can munch
quickly if necessary. Anyone can eat a quick sandwich or
down a meal replacement drink during their coffee break in
the morning and afternoon at work. Breakfast, morning
break, lunch break, afternoon break, when you get home,
early evening.

That's 6 meals managed easily.

2) How Do I Cope With Meals Out?

If you decide to adopt the six meals a day diet as a
regular part of life rather than a crash diet, how do you
cope with meals out? An evening at a restuarant? A birthday
party?

Easy. You just budget for it. Go, enjoy yourself just like
normal. Then get back to the plan afterwards. Don't let
yoyur social life suffer just because of your diet, but
*do* get back on as soon as possible and make these "meals
off" as seldom as possible.

There's a reason why people who love food tend to be
grossly overweight.

3) How Do I Fit It Around My Family?

Many people worry that as they eat with a partner and/or
children it will feel strange to be eating one small meal
while everyone else eats a huge meal.

Don't worry - you can easily prepare a healthy yet tasty
meal that everyone can enjoy and you just eat a smaller
portion. Eat slowly and you won't be finished ages before
everyone else. And if they love you, they'll support your
decision.

So go try it. I assure you that you won't look back!

----------------------------------------------------
Richard Adams is a keen advocate of diet and weight loss
programs having experimented on himself over the years with
many different plans to find those which are most
successful. His latest site will tell you everything you
need to know about the six meals a day diet ->
http://www.sixmealsadaydiet.co.uk

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Healthy Eating Made Easy

Healthy Eating Made Easy
===========
Healthy eating requires precise planning, from grocery
shopping to lunch options to eating out. The best way to
maintain healthy eating habits is to have a good support
system for your efforts.

Plan your supermarket visits. You can easily bypass foods
that add valuable and needed nutrients to your nutritional
plan when you shop impulsively and aimlessly. Schedule
routine visits to the store, have a list, and never shop
when you're hungry. Read the labels. You'll find a
nutrition label on most food packages that provides
information on how much protein, fat, carbohydrate, sodium,
cholesterol, vitamins, minerals, etc.is contained in a
single serving. This info helps you see how certain foods
(even your sinful favorites) fit into a healthy diet. If
you are shopping the perimeter of the store, buying fresh
produce, fish, meat, poultry, and dairy, you're already
getting most of what you need in a sound nutrition plan.
Foods in the center of supermarket aisles generally contain
the most preservatives and are devoid of important vitamins
and minerals unless you really know what you are looking
for.

Lunch and post-lunch tips. Bring your lunch to work in one
of these five forms:
1) Brown bag containing a healthy sandwich or salad (it
only takes a couple of minutes to pack it)
2) A nutrition bar, with an ideal combination of proteins,
carbohydrates and fats.
3) A protein shake in a thermos, with an apple at the side.
4) If you are a fan of pasta, watch what you put on it.
Alfredo sauce and oils can pack a lot of calories. Use soup
broths or vegetable purees as a sauce base. Add chopped
vegetables to make a pasta salad. Dice up broiled or
grilled chicken to get your protein in.
5) Plan ahead for a mid-afternoon snack at work - Have
apples, oranges, and raw veggies like cauliflower,
broccoli, or baby carrots, cans of tuna and chicken for
boosting your energy levels.

Eating out tips.

When eating out at a restaurant, avoid entrees that are
fried or in a cream sauce. Stick with fresh fruit, and ask
for steamed veggies, which are nutritionally denser. Soups
are generally low in calories, and hence a soup as a
starter is a good idea. Other starters and appetizers
should be either boiled, poached, barbecued, steamed or
baked. For your protein, have baked poultry or fish. Skip
the dinner rolls and butter. Have a salad with light
dressing on the side. Ranch and cream dressings are usually
higher in calories. Vinargrettes are usually the best in
terms of calorie content.

The importance of a support group If you plan on joining a
diet group (or are already in one), you'll get a boost when
you attend weekly meetings. Whether you like the idea or
not, diet groups can offer tremendous support, motivation,
and education about eating a healthy diet. The social
atmosphere fosters a sense of accountability and
responsibility, which is conducive to more weight loss.
Most successful dieters are involved in some kind of
support group, whether it's family, a diet group, or
friends. Having a "cheering section" could make the
difference between quitting and persisting.

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Fat-Free Or Sugar-Free?

Fat-Free Or Sugar-Free?
================
You will be surprised to know that the so-called fat-free
foods that are available in the market may actually end up
destroying your carefully laid-out diet plans. Think of it,
any fat-free foods must taste reasonably good, because if
they don't, no one will buy them. To achieve that, most
fat-free foods available in the market are stuffed with
oodles of sugar, which can sabotage all your weight loss
plans. This is because sugar is loaded with calories. So
when you consume such fat-free foods and that, too, in
bigger portions because they are fat-free, you are
unknowingly adding unwanted calories and putting on weight
instead of losing it!

Did you know that in the United States, there's a health
debate raging over the fact that increased intake of sugar
contributes primarily to a rise in obesity! And, of course,
you are aware that an average American has way too much
sugar in his or her diet. Therefore, it is imperative that
you cut down on sugar and sweet-tasting, fat-free foods,
especially if you are on a diet, because these foods will
end up getting you overweight.

Another example is honey. Everyone talks about the virtues
of honey: about its natural taste and wellness properties,
about it being fat-free. But no one talks about the fact
that honey can make you overweight! In fact, some studies
reveal that honey is worse than sugar! Other examples of
fat-free foods that are detrimental to your diet are:
fat-free chocolates/candy, fat-free cakes, sweet cereals,
toppings, sweet syrups, lemonade, beer and just about
anything that spells "sweet" to you.

This does not mean that you have nothing to offer to your
"sweet tooth" that will keep it quiet during your weight
training or diet program. You can satisfy your "sweet
craving" with healthy foods such as fruits or yogurt or any
other food that satisfies you but does not contain sugar or
sugar derivatives.

The moral of this story is that all sweet, fat-free foods
can actually make you fat, and it will be best for you to
avoid such fat-free foods and any form of sugar while you
are on a diet. And it will be a good plan if you stop
yourself from stacking your shopping cart with fat-free
foods and start piling up healthier foods instead.

Remember that sugar by itself may be fat-free, but it can
make you very fat. So stop looking for only fat-free labels
on foods when you are on a diet. Instead, pay attention to
sugar-free labels, as well. That will make your weight loss
mission successful.

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You can get the FREE Special Report about "Weight Loss
Tips" at:
http://www.theweightlossguide.info/Gift/SpecialReport.pdf

Are Kids Doing Too Much? The Importance of Sleep

Busy Kids

In today's society the temptation is to keep our kids busy
all the time. My wife and I have been guilty of that
ourselves. But it is so important to build downtime into
both ours and our children's schedules. It is necessary for
healthy development of the body and the mind.

The ultimate form of downtime is sleep. We obviously need
to ensure our kids get enough sleep. We all need to sleep.
As much as I would like to have more hours in the day,
robbing them from my sleep time never seems to work. There
are physiological reasons for this.

Some people need less sleep than others and you need
different amounts of sleep at different points in your
life. For kids, sleep is incredibly important for their
mental and physical development.

Recharge the batteries

Sleep is literally a time for the brain to recharge. Just
like a rechargeable battery is 'filled up' again by putting
it on the charger, so does sleep recharge our brains.
Activity during the day actually uses up brain molecules
required for signaling and processing thoughts. These
molecules are remade during sleep to fill the reservoir
back up for use the next day.

Studies show that growth hormones in the brain are at lower
levels after sleep deprivation. These hormones are
necessary for allowing the brain to create new connections
during learning and they help maintain the connections
already there. Sleep regenerates these in the brain,
allowing enhanced performance the following day.

Improve Memory

In addition to sleep effecting how you perform the next
day, sleep also effects how well you learned the previous
day. Huh? How can a good night of sleep affect what you
learned the day before?

Sleep is the time that memories are consolidated and
strengthened. Even though your kids may get a good night
sleep before school, they will retain what they learn in
school if they get another good night sleep after school.

Studies show that the brain actually replays activities of
the day during sleep and that this replaying strengthens
the ability to recall the experience. This applies to
academic and physical experiences. Meaning that sleep helps
consolidate 'muscle memory' from motor skills practiced
that day as well intellectual memory. Whether it's playing
sports, playing a musical instrument, or learning math, the
skills are enhanced by sleep.

In a related study, researchers took two groups of people,
taught them an identical task, and tested them on it three
days later. One group was sleep deprived the night after
they learned the task and the other group was not. Both
groups got adequate sleep for two more nights so that
neither was sleep deprived on the day of testing.

The group that did not get enough sleep the night after the
task, performed much more poorly on the test than the other
group the received adequate sleep after learning. This
demonstrates again that consolidating experiences the night
after learning is just as important as getting adequate
sleep before learning.

Sleep set's your kids up for a successful day by improving
their attention and then it drives those experiences home
by replaying them again.

Improve Grades

It should be no surprise that the quality of children's
grades relate to the quantity of their sleep. Several
studies have shown a strong correlation between performance
in school and sleep schedule. Kids that get less sleep have
worse grades.

In some studies the difference in sleep is not that large
between the 'A and B' student's and the 'C and below'
students. Some studies show that the average difference
between these groups of students is only about 30 minutes
of total sleep time. This suggests that a little extra
sleep goes a long way.

An important factor that many parents may not have
considered is the bedtime delay between school nights and
weekends. Weekend delay is a factor in school performance
as well. Students that have greater than a two-hour
difference between school night and weekend performance
typically have worse grades than students who have a 1-hour
delay or less.

The shift in the sleep cycle can throw the circadian rhythm
off and effect neurochemicals that control attention and
learning. Also, as discussed above, poor sleep on the
weekends will impede consolidation of what was learned
during the week.

Improve Mood

The interaction between sleep and brain chemistry applies
for mood as well. There are complex systems of
neruochemicals and hormones that regulate our mood. This
has been a hot topic of research science for decades. We
have made significant progress on understanding the system
but are still really only scratching the surface.

Sleep and the circadian rhythm impact have a huge effect on
this system and our mood. In some cases, lack of sleep can
simply lead to irritability and lack of patience. In other
cases it can contribute to more serious mood disorders,
like depression.

Every parent knows that when their kids don't get enough
sleep they are cranky. Sometimes when they get too tired,
they get down right nasty and unreasonable. We have all
dealt with this. Well, there is a lot of neurochemistry
going on behind the scenes in these cases. Lack of sleep
disrupts brain serotonin levels, which play a major role in
sleep and mood.

How much sleep is enough?

Total sleep is important and we, as parents, should ensure
that our kids get to bed early enough to get sufficient
sleep. The amount of time needed is variable from age to
age and child to child but most parents have a feel for
what their kids need. Typically, school age kids need more
than 8 hours of sleep to perform optimally. Most kids need
9-10 hours per night.

Again, studies show that kids with greater differences
between their school night bed time and weekend bedtime
have more daytime sleepiness, greater depressive moods and
more sleep cycle problems.

Befriend the sandman and do what's necessary to get our
kids in bed on time. Their brains will thank us for it.

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Boost your Family's Brain Fitness in 30 days with Natural
Strategies used by an Expert Brain Scientist and Sports
Coach. Learn how at http://www.thebraincode.com

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List of Vitamins and Uses

List of Vitamins and Uses
Vitamins recognized by legislative definitions in the
United States include:

Vitamin A

Promotes healthy bone growth, vision, reproduction, cell
division and specialization and helps regulate the immune
system.

Sources include whole milk, liver, eggs, some fortified
breakfast cereals, carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and
most darkly colored fruit and vegetables.

Vitamin B1 –

Also known as thiamine is essential in converting foods
into energy, helps supports the normal function of the
nervous system, muscles and heart and promotes normal
growth and development.

It is also thought to help regulate appetite. Present in
moderate amounts in all foods, the best sources are whole
grains and fortified cereals.

VitaminB2 –

Also known as riboflavin, it is allied to vitamin B1, and
supports energy production, is necessary for red blood cell
and antibody production, respiration and regulating human
growth and reproduction.

It is essential for healthy skin, nails hair growth,
thyroid activity, healing of wounds and general good
health. Sources include liver, kidney, whole grains, green
leaf vegetables, milk, yeast, cheese, oily fish, eggs,
enriched cereals, almonds and mushrooms.

VitaminB3 –

Also known as niacin is also part of the vitamin B complex
that is primarily involved into converting food into energy.

Regulates circulation, hormone production, the digestive
and nervous systems, promotes healthy skin.

Regular alcohol drinkers and vegetarians should consider
taking a B3 (Niacin) supplement as alcohol inhibits niacin
absorption and diets lacking protein are likely to be B3
deficient.

Effective in lowering levels of (bad) cholesterol. Best
sources are beef liver and kidney, pork, turkey, chicken,
veal, oily fish, beets, peanuts and strawberries.

VitaminB6 –

Also known as pyridoxine is necessary to balance the
hormonal changes in women, assists in the growth of new
cells and the functioning of the immune system, converting
food into energy, and in controlling moods, behavior and
sex drive.

It is involved in cancer immunity, red blood cell
production, preventing skin problems and in fighting
certain heart difficulties. Good sources of B6 are similar
to other B vitamins and include eggs, chicken, yeast,
carrots, fish, liver, kidneys, peas and walnuts.

VitaminB12 –

Contains cobalt and is also known as cobalamin. The primary
functions are to maintain a healthy nervous system and to
produce red blood cells. Sources include meat, dairy
products and eggs but no reliable plant sources.

Sufferers from B12 deficiency, which can have mild to
severe symptoms, may be unable to absorb the vitamin
through normal food intake and will have to take ongoing
regular injections to alleviate the problem.

The B vitamins are interconnected with many associated
functions and sources.

VitaminC –

Absorbic Acid. The human body is unable to store Vitamin C
and unless replenished constantly, symptoms, the most
commonly known of which is scurvy that can become fatal,
will quickly occur.

It is important in forming collagen that gives structure to
bones, cartilage, muscle and blood vessels and in
maintaining bones and teeth, and in the absorption of iron.

Sources are most fruits and vegetables served raw if
possible, Vitamin C dissolves in water so if the food must
be cooked use the minimal amount of water by steaming or
microwaving for as short a time as possible.

Most breakfast cereals and many fruit juices are fortified
with Vitamin C. The British are known as ´Limeys´ because
the Royal Navy issued limes to sailors to prevent scurvy
which could occur due to long periods at sea without fresh
fruit and vegetables. Vitamin D –

The source of this vitamin is best known as being from
sunlight, or more accurately, as being made in the body by
exposure to UV rays.

It promotes the calcium and phosphorous that are vital in
forming and maintaining strong bones.

It may also be involved in regulating cell growth and
maintaining a healthy immune system. Exposure to sunlight
(which should be carefully limited) is the principal
source, most dairy products contain only limited amounts,
better sources include oily fish, fortified cereals, eggs,
and beef liver.

Vitamin E –

A is a powerful source of anti – oxidants and as such acts
as a barrier to poisons and diseases that can damage the
body.

It is also recognized as being involved in immune system
function, DNA repair, the protection of blood cells, the
nervous system, muscles and the eye retinas from free
radical damage.

Best sources include nuts, green vegetables (spinach,
broccoli, sprouts) eggs, wholemeal products, soya beans and
vegetable oils and particularly olive oil.

If taking this vitamin as a supplement keep the daily
dosage well below 1000 milligrams per day and be sure to
check with your medical advisor that there is no conflict
with any other medication you are on.

Vitamin K –

This vitamin plays an essential role in the production of
coagulation proteins, meaning that it is responsible for
regulating the ability of the blood to clot.

A deficiency may occur in any age group, but is more often
found in infants. Excessive bleeding is the principal
symptom.

Any green vegetables, asparagus, oats and oils, such as
olive oil, are good sources of this vitamin.

Check with your medical advisor before taking a supplement
rich in Vitamin K as this can conflict with other drugs,
such as warfarin, that may be prescribed. NB. It is
strongly recommended that a physician or other qualified
medical practitioner approve the use of a vitamin and/or
mineral supplement before embarking on a course.

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Jaks Lloyd is a full time webmaster and designer. The above
article is from her definitive site
http://www.hotexercise.com

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