Eating

Eating at Work: A Balance Between Convenience and Nutrition

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Have you decided to stop the cycle of unhealthy eating, opting instead for a healthier diet? This is a good choice to make, and one that will benefit your life now and into the future. However, if you have a job outside the home, finding a balance between nutritious meals and convenience can be a difficult nut to crack! Here are some tips that will help you to eat well without missing out on the office action.

It is nearly impossible to avoid social eating on the job. Who wants to stay in the office with a bag of carrots and a tuna sandwich, while co-workers hurry to the nearest restaurant or bring in high-calorie take-out? However, these days, it is easy to find a delicious salad in any restaurant, full of lean chicken, veggies and a low-fat dressing. Chicken and fish dishes are also good choices, just hold the butter and ask for a side of roasted vegetables. Many restaurants even provide take-out menus so you can choose in advance and look for any healthy choices they may offer.

There are also benefits to brown-bagging your lunch. It allows you to be in control of what you eat so that you can avoid hidden ingredients that restaurants use such as mayonnaise. Try creating a delicious lunch with a low-carb wrap. Fill it up with lean chicken, low-fat cheese and all the veggies you can fit in. Instead of mayo, try some horseradish or mustard for some zip. You can even find 100-calorie packages of cookies and crackers for a mid-morning snack. This meal won’t leave you feeling deprived!

If you prefer avoiding one large meal at work, consider several smaller snacks to get your nutrients in. Pack several baggies with fresh vegetables, fruit, crackers with low-fat cheese or salsa, and some low-fat string cheese. Extra protein will fill you up and keep you energized throughout the day!

What if everyone is heading off to a local fast-food restaurant for an informal meeting or birthday celebration, and you don’t want to miss out? Your choices are: blow your nutrition plan and eat a high-fat burger and fries, or stick to your guns and opt for a salad or a grilled chicken burger without the mayo. Ask for extra lettuce, onion and tomato for some crunch, and see if the restaurant offers substitute side-dishes, such as fruit or yogurt.

A great way to keep on track when you are trying to eat right is to look for someone else in the office or workplace who has the same goals as you. Getting support from a friend and offering support in return can really keep you motivated and excited about your new, healthier lifestyle. You could even plan lunch-time walks and try to get others on board as well. You will be surprised at how many people are probably looking for ways to improve their health just like you are!

It is easy to create healthy, nutritious meals at home, but it’s not as simple when you are at work. However, with some advance planning, creativity and the right motivation, you can eat well on the job without ever feeling deprived. Use the tips you have found here to see how rewarding a healthier, more nutritious diet can be!

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Eating Right For A Healthy Mind And Body

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Eating a healthy diet has many benefits. You can add years to your life span, and you will become more physically fit. By following a few simple guidelines, you can improve your mind and body tremendously. This article contains advice on how you can improve nutrition in your diet.

Increase the amount of leafy green vegetables in your diet. Leafy greens are high in fiber, and they are loaded with vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and folic acid. Studies have shown that a diet rich in leafy green vegetables can lower the risk of heart disease and cancer. They are also a great source of iron and calcium. These are low in calories and high in nutritional content, making them ideal foods in any type of diet.

Fruits provide you with fiber and vitamins that your body needs. They are a good alternative in satisfying any sugar craving. Fruits contain many anti-oxidants and help your body build up immunity against many diseases. They are rich in vitamins, minerals and many micro-nutrients that help promote cell growth.

Choose breads and pasta that are made from whole grains instead of refined grains. Refined grains have their outer and inner parts removed during processing, stripping them of their nutritional properties. Whole grains retain all of their parts, thus retaining all of the nutrients. So, products made from whole grains are naturally more nutritious than products made from processed grains.

Excess sugars and fats add empty calories to your diet with no additional nutritional value. These empty calories lead to unnecessary weight gain. It is best to avoid foods that contain too much refined sugars and fats, especially saturated fats. Instead, focus on healthy fats, like olive oil and fish oil.

Water is a very important part of your nutrition. Your cells need water to live on and stay healthy. When your body is dehydrated, your body weakens and become vulnerable to disease. Drink about eight glasses of water everyday to maintain optimal hydration.

Meats are an important source of protein, but you should avoid meats that are high in saturated fat. Instead, eat lean meats like fish and poultry. When you eat lean meats, you can get the protein without all the fat.

Nuts and yogurt make great snacks. Nuts are a great source for essential fatty acids and are beneficial to your heart. Yogurt is rich in protein and good bacteria for your digestive system. Keeping nuts and yogurt on hand for snacking will prevent you from grabbing an unhealthy snack whenever you are hungry.

If you are deficient in nutrients, you can take a multivitamin to make up for anything that you are missing. However, before you take any supplements, you should talk with your doctor to get a full physical check-up.

Eating a healthy, balanced diet requires a bit of self-control and discipline, but it is not difficult to adapt to. You just need to make healthy choices consistently to get into the habit of eating right. Before you know it, eating healthy will be second-nature to you.

Eating Healthier with Six Quick Steps

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The only way to ensure that you’re receiving the proper nutrition is to change the way you eat. Eating healthier can be extremely rewarding, but it can also be quite difficult for individuals who aren’t accustomed to eating right. You may need some tips to shed some light on the subject.

Switch to whole wheat. This simple switch can help you regulate your blood sugar and lose weight the easy way. The best part is that most people find that using whole wheat pasta has more texture and makes you feel fuller for longer than white pasta. Wheat bread also has many benefits, and while its flavor isn’t quite as neutral as white bread, it has a much heartier texture.

Eat fresh fruit. When you eat the whole piece of fruit instead of just drinking the juice, you’re receiving more vitamins, minerals and fiber piece for piece. For example, if you were to prepare 1 cup of apple juice, you may end up juicing 4 apples and wasting so much of them. Instead, eat 1 apple and drink a glass of water. You’re getting much more out of it.

Do not cook your vegetables. When you eat your vegetables raw, you’re experiencing more of the essential vitamins and minerals. If you boil your asparagus, for instance, a lot of what’s inside is going to transfer to the water. Unless you feel like chugging down the cooking liquid, you’re not getting everything you can out of the vegetable. Some you won’t be eating raw, like potatoes and turnips, but there are many more you can enjoy without cooking.

Look into using dips. Yuck! You can’t stand that broccoli unless it’s smothered in cheese. Well, this is how some people feel about a lot of veggies. To ensure that you’re getting your vegetables, round up a batch of veggies that you don’t normally like and try eating them with a variety of healthy dips and cheeses. There is a wide variety of healthy dips on the market. You won’t have to rely on fat-laden cheese to make things taste a lot better. Seek out dips using fresh herbs and garlic and olive oil.

Read the labels. This is something that’s very easy and something that everyone should be doing. Your food is going to have ample nutritional information on the back. Take the 20 seconds necessary to read and to understand exactly what you’re putting into your body. It’s time well spent.

Avoid junk food. While those chips and snack cakes might taste really good and might even make you feel good for the few seconds it takes you to eat them, you need to realize that they hold little to no nutritional value. Other than simple sugars that will instantly burn up in your body and cause sugar spikes, crashes and mounds of stored fat, junk food contains nothing of value.

It’s not every day that you will decide to make a change in the way you eat. But once you do decide to make that change, it’s every day that you will have to stick with it. That’s why it’s so important to find and implement the proper information. If you’re serious about your health, you need to heed this advice.

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Are You Really Eating For Two During Pregnancy?

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In the old days, it was commonly believed that pregnant women were eating for two. Today we know that this is not really true. The fact is that the food choices a pregnant woman makes are more important than the amount of increase in food consumption. A pregnant woman should eat as much as a woman who is working hard or exercising regularly because making a baby does take extra energy and extra nutrition; however, it does not take twice as much nutrition as simply maintaining good health. Expectant mothers should consume about 300 more calories per day than they usually do. Here is a breakdown of the nourishment required by pregnant mothers.

Mothers-to-be need to consume quite a bit of protein for successful fetal growth. Protein helps build organs, muscles and skin. There is excellent protein to be had in food sources such as lean meat and poultry, milk, cheese and other dairy products, eggs, nuts, legumes and beans.

It’s important to get plenty of calcium to build your baby’s bones and teeth and preserve your own. When you get plenty of calcium during pregnancy you will be less likely to have problems with your teeth and loss of bone density later on. Be sure to drink plenty of milk and enjoy other dairy products along with dark green leafy vegetables, almonds, and beans. If you are unable to drink milk, try soy milk. Look for calcium fortification in a number of products including orange juice.

During pregnancy, it’s very important to get plenty of iron because iron carries oxygen throughout your system and to your baby. You can get lots of iron from cereals, enriched and whole grain breads, fish and lean meats, beans and dried fruits.

Folic acid is extremely important to your developing baby. You may also see folic acid listed as folate. Regardless of what it is called, this is a very important form of B vitamin. When folic acid is taken regularly before conception and during the first month of pregnancy, it helps prevent spinal cord and brain birth defects. You can get folic acid in foods such as broccoli, sweet potatoes, oranges, asparagus, whole grain cereals and breads, legumes and beans, and organ meats such as liver.

As you look at the lists of foods that provide vital nutrition, you might think that you would be safe to simply stick with some of the foods that turn up frequently in the lists. While you should certainly eat ample amounts of all of these foods, remember to vary your diet so that you will get a little bit of everything and provide yourself and your baby with complete nutrition. Ask your doctor about taking a multivitamin to be sure of getting all of the vitamins and minerals you need.

When you make the right nutritional choices during pregnancy and eat the right amounts, you can be sure of regaining your pre-baby figure quickly after your baby is born. If you are breastfeeding your baby, be especially sure to continue giving yourself ample nutrition and making wise choices to be a healthy mom with a healthy baby.

Eating Well To Take Care Of Your Mind And Body

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There are quite a few benefits that you can receive from eating a healthy diet. The most important is the fact that you can live a much longer and happier life. You can get yourself in shape by making a few adjustments in your life. Continue reading for tips on how to become more nutritious.

One thing that you should keep in mind is that vegetables are good for you and they should not be skipped. There are so many varieties out there that it may seem hard to decide which ones to try, but some have more benefits than others. The best vegetables to eat are leafy, green ones. This is because they are naturally low in carbohydrates and they contain large amounts of iron.

Eating fruit is a great way to get more healthy. While there is a lot of natural sugar in fruit, it is pretty easy to digest, so it is not as harmful as eating foods that have added sugar. It is much healthier if you leave the peel on most of the fruit you eat since it contains a load of vitamins and minerals.

Make it a point to add more whole grains to your diet. While you may be tempted to consume simple carbohydrates like white bread and potatoes, keep those items to a minimum and eat whole grains whenever possible.

Eating large amounts of sugar and fat can never have any positive benefit. While it is necessary to have a little of each in your diet, you need to be careful so that you do not go overboard. You should use a sugar substitute on those occasions when you are in need of something sweet.

Make sure to drink eight cups of water each and every day. This may seem like a lot, but in fact it is not as bad as it seems. Your body needs all of this water so it can stay hydrated and cleanse itself of harmful toxins that might be lurking within.

While there is nothing wrong with eating meat in moderation, you should avoid eating too much red meat and pork. Fish is a much better option because it does not contain all of the fat that is in meat. If you are going to eat meats anyway, despite this warning, make sure that they are as lean as possible.

If you are hungry, it is a good idea to try and fill up on yogurt and/or nuts. These two foods can help you feel full in just a short time, and the feeling will stay with you for a while. Avoid yogurt that has fruity flavors unless you have read the label and it is not loaded in fat and sugar.

It is up to you to make sure that your body gets all of the vitamins and minerals it needs to function properly. Take the information that you were given in this article and use it to help you get and stay fit.