Weight Loss Starts In The Kitchen

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10 changes in how you arrange and do up your kitchen and see how you end up loosing extra kilos.

While eating healthier is on the to-do list for many, our kitchen can make it harder to eat healthy, and easier to fill ourselves with snacks and junk food. But there are ways to make the home more conducive to better eating. Planning meals in advance can go a long way, but it is also important to plan how the foods you buy go into your kitchen.

Making good food easier to see and access and making unhealthy foods harder is the trick to a healthier eating environment. Here’s how you can rearrange your kitchen to encourage healthy eating habits.

Clear your counters -

Easily visible food provides a constant reminder of its availability, and is likely to be eaten first. So make sure snack foods don’t have a prominent place. The last thing you want is a clear cookie jar on the counter.

Buy a fruit bowl -

It’s important to make sure the visible fruits and vegetables are ones that are easy to eat and don’t invite flies to sit on them. Store apples, oranges, bananas and as opposed to grapes, pineapples and mangoes.

Invest in single-serving containers -

When stashing away leftovers, it is best to put them away in meal-size portions, whether for future lunches or dinners. At times, calorie-dense dinner leftovers might make for a more appealing snack than baby carrots, but you may be less likely to dig in if you know it will leave you hungry at lunch the next day. Choosing freezersafe containers will give you even more storage options.

Get see-through jars -

Follow the school lunch programme recommendations, which limit calorie-dense foods like complex starches, fats and proteins but make fruits and vegetables completely available in whatever quantity people want. Some fruits and vegetables need advance prep and cutting, but once they go into the refrigerator, they should be in clear containers, to remind you of what to grab when you are hungry between meals.

Use your freezer more -

If you don’t have a definite plan for your leftovers, then avoid tossing them in the refrigerator. A freezer allows you to put away food for future use rather than snacking down on leftover chicken or lasagna instead of eating an apple. It also allows for better meal planning.

Put healthy eats at eye level -

Depending on the type of refrigerator you have, you may benefit from some rearranging.

Some refrigerators with a freezer on the bottom have clear vegetable bins at eye level. But if you have a refrigerator where the freezer is at the top, and the vegetable bin is at your knees, then there’s a good reason not to keep your veggies in the drawer. Opaque bins keep your healthiest — and more perishable — foods hidden. So if you have them, don’t put fruits and veggie in the crisper, instead, put them higher up, in a visible spot.

Prepare fruits and other snacks in advance -

As much as you avoid it, some snacking is bound to happen. So it is worth buying the products that are in little, single packages. It’s much easier then to know exactly what you’re eating.”

But for the frugal, those small packages represent an extra expense, so pick up some small bags and doling out portions of snacks that are healthier, such as pretzels.

Some similar prep work can help with snacking before dinner. In addition, have on hand healthier snacks, such as yogurt and cheese, that are already parcelled out.

Add non-food accessories to your kitchen -

Food prepared at home is almost inevitably healthier than takeout, so it’s important that cooking at home is an enjoyable experience.

Keeping kitchen counters free of books, bags and papers so that they can be used to prepare food is a start. Some even keep a television in their cooking space, but you should ensure that it should be kept at a spot when you can’t watch from the table.

Eat only in the kitchen -

When people eat anywhere in the house, other activities they do while eating will often trigger a signal in the brain to start eating.

Many people eat while watching TV, or just start snacking. Confining all eating to the kitchen can put a dent in that, she said.

Get smaller plates and taller, narrower glasses

A recent research suggested how we decide what to eat and how to eat depends on the plate and portion size.

Larger plates lead to eating larger portions — people tend to finish what they put on their plate.

Dish size is a potential aid for people looking to get new dishes, or willing to replace old ones. Have smaller plates. That advice can carry over to glasses, given the number of calories some beverages contain. You’ll drink less from a tall glass than a glass that is wider. It also gives the illusion of having more.

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Why Are Apples So Healthy?

We all know that old saying: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.“ But have you ever wondered why that is? How one apple a day can bring about significant health benefits? If you have, then you’ll be glad to read this article. From strengthening the immune system, through preventing cancerous growths and to losing weight, say hello to your one apple a day!   How do apples do what they do? An important research published in 2008 by the German cancer research center, showed that apples offer a significant health advantage. When comparing between a group that had less than one apple per day and a group that had one or more apples a day, the latter was found to have less risk of mouth cancer, larynx cancer, breast cancer, intestinal cancer, kidney cancer and ovarian cancer. These findings support a new research performed at Cornell university, showing that the peel of the apple has strong anti-oxidant properties, a powerful block against the influences of breast cancer cells. Researchers found that the higher the concentraion of apples, the lower the concentration of cancerous cells. Cancerous growths are uncontrollable growths of cells independently spreading through the body. The growths are based on three principal levels: The first stage causes mutations in cell DNA. The second, when the growth becomes malignant and grows faster, and finally when it metastases and spreads throughout the body. In the case of a cancerous growth, apples aren’t only used as anti-oxidants, but also improve the function of the immune system, which helps clean out the growths at the early stages. In addition to boosting the immune system and fighting cancerous growths, apples also help control the levels of cholesterol and sugars in the blood, prevent heart disease and improve mouth hygiene. The fact that they contain more than 80% water and a long line of essential vitamins, makes them one of the healthiest foods available. The secret is in the nutritional fibers Apples are considered a vital source of nutritional fibers. Eating one apple a day (with peel) can award us about 4.4 grams of nutritional fibers, which is 1/5 of our entire day’s recommended amount. Nutritional fibers are materials found in foods that come from plants, and have a very important role in stimulating the digestive system and encouraging its function. Since they are not digested and taken apart in the body, they sate our hunger for a longer period of time. Extensive research has shown that those that do not get their daily recommended amount (at least 25 grams a day), deny themselves a host of health benefits. In addition, the researchers found that consuming these fibers is quite the effective method of losing weight. The secret is in the chewing. Drinking apple juice will not bring about the same health benefits. We’d be happy to receive the essential sugars and vitamins, but we would not get the fibers. A research conducted in China found that chewing can help the body regulate the amount of calories it absorbs from food. What does this have to do with apples? Everything. Apples are a terrific source of nutritional fibers, especially a group of fibers called Pectin. This is a group of complex carbohydrates that regulate our bowels, improve good cholesterol rates and is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial. Researchers from UCLA have shown that consuming pectin instead of regular fibers, doubles the time it takes the stomach to empty from one hour to two. Meaning that we don’t feel hungry for a longer time. In fact, a recent research paper entitled: “Weight Loss Associated with a Daily Intake of Three Apples or Three Pears among Overweight Women”, shows that women suffering from overweight and were instructed to eat an apple or pear before each meal, lost significant weight, just for doing so. The women in the experiment were asked to eat regularly and just add the apple before the meal. What happened was that the apples and fibers crowded the stomach, increased the feeling of being full, and made the body absorb less calories. Other sources of nutritional fibers are: Pears, Peaches, peas, carrots, seeds, nuts, peel of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, oats and whole wheat. But apples offer many more advantages. So if you want to: Lose weight, eat one apple a day. Strengthen your immune system, eat one apple a day. Control the level of cholesterol, eat one apple a day. Prevent the spread of cancerous cells, eat one apple a day. And if you want to keep the doctor away - EAT ONE APPLE A DAY!

Juicing Greens

My father is obsessed with juicing - fruits and vegetables.
He juices every morning for his family and gets our metabolism on check for the day.

Here are some benefits when juicing greens -

• bone and joints are improved
• improves focus and mental clarity 
• aids in weight loss
• boosts energy
• gives healthier hair, skin and nails
• digestion is improved
• builds a strong immune system
• loaded with nutrition 
• anti-aging 

Dark Chocolate Lovers

Lately, I've been wanting dark chocolate every day, especially Kit Kat dark chocolate - it's great.

After knowing the benefits of dark chocolate, having a couple of these kit kat bars everyday makes me happy! 

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Kale

As you all already know, my mother makes us all eat healthy by giving us a variety of fresh vegetables everyday!
We've been eating a lot of kale.
And it's delicious!
Especially the many different ways my mom cooks it.
Here's why we have kale once a week.

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Why Running is Good For Health

Who's going running tonight? 

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Lemon Water

Drinking one tall glass of lemon water is very beneficial to the body.  And since Ayurveda likes to keep things rolling, purifying the channels of all toxins is very important.

Here are some reasons why drinking lemon water is important:

• purifies the liver
• stimulates the liver
• aids in digestion
• aids in bowels
• helps lower blood pressure
• maintains a higher pH balance in the body
• dilutes uric acid
• reduces phlegm 
• clears the skin
• helps with weight loss
• boosts the immune system
• freshens breath
• promotes energy
• helps with urinary tract infections

For better results - have a glass in the morning. 

Drinking Water Can Help Shed Pounds

Since the last couple of blogs have been about water, I found this great read for you all. 

A pint before the meal keeps the portions down. 
In what could fairly be called a watershed moment, scientists have confirmed that drinking water before a meal helps shed the pounds. 

Yup, it's that simple. And you don't even have to buy the book. In clinical trials, US researchers found that drinking a pint of water before a meal leads to weight loss. 

Dr Brenda Davy, an associate professor in human nutrition, who led the study said: "We found in earlier studies that middle aged and older people who drank two cups of water right before eating a meal ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories during that meal. 

"In this recent study, we found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake." 

"People should drink more water and less sugary, high-calorie drinks. It's a simple way to facilitate weight management," Dr. Davy added. 
While drinking water to lose weight is very much common sense, Dr. Davy said that there has been little scientific information on this topic. 

Previous studies have suggested that drinking water before meals reduces calorie intake, but according to Dr. Davy this is the first randomised controlled clinica trial to show that increasing the amount of water that you drink water is an effective way to lose weight. 

The study tracked the weight of 48 adults aged 55 to 75, who were separated into two groups. The first group drank two cups of water before meals and the second group did not. All of the subjects ate a low-calorie diet during the study. 

Over the course of 12 weeks, the water drinkers lost around 15.5 pounds, while the non-water drinkers lost around 11 pounds.Dr. Davy said water may be so effective simply because it fills up the stomach and has no calories, so that people feel full quicker and eat less during meals. 

She also added that replacing diet colas and other artificially sweetened drinks with water also helps to cut calories, and aids weight loss.