Dietopia

It is common to start a new exercise or diet program and see results right away. The pounds will start melting off and then all of a sudden the scale gets stuck and it seems impossible to lose anymore weight. This is called a weight loss plateau, and though the causes behind it are complex there are some simple ways to break through them.

To begin with, when trying to lose weight you should only weigh yourself once a week. This is because you may think you’ve hit a plateau when you are really only experiencing a normal fluctuation of weight. It is common for the human body to retain and expel water in cycles, so measuring yourself daily may be misrepresenting your actual weight loss progress.

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The pH miracle diet attempts to control many different conditions in the body, including obesity, through the omission of acidifying foods and behaviors. One of the most surprising inclusions on the list, at least to Westerners, is milk. Dairy products, although a mainstay of the Western diet, are not included in the diets of most of the populations around the world. So what does the rest of the world know that we don’t? Dairy is not necessary for health; from a pH perspective, it is actually harmful to the body.

Many people believe that dairy and milk are essential for bone density and for overall health. However, dairy products have large amounts of protein and fat, which are both acid forming elements. Cow’s milk and products made from cow’s milk produce acid. Goat and sheep milk and cheeses, which have less fat and protein, produce less acid. The only dairy exception is clarified butter that is alkalizing due to the short chain fats within it.

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Dietitians have an important role in many peoples’ lives. A dietitian can help guide the daily diet as well as recommended a weight loss program for many individuals. Most people are unaware of how a dietitian can help them, and what they should expect when consulting a dietitian. Dietitians plan food and nutrition programs, and supervise the preparation and serving of meal. A professional dietitian can be used to help prevent and treat illnesses. Their job is to promote healthy eating habits and recommend dietary modifications, such as using less salt for patients with high blood pressure or reducing fat and sugar for overweight patients.  

Dietitians have the job of managing food service system for hospitals, and schools. They often encourage healthy eating habits through education. There are several major areas of practice, which include clinical dietitians, community dietitians, management, and consultant dietetics. Most people will find consulting a clinical dietitian as the best solution to their dietary problems. A clinical dietitian has the job of providing nutritional services for patients in hospitals and nursing care facilities. Dietitians in this area, assess patients’ nutritional needs, develop and implement nutrition programs, and report the results of their programs. These professionals also confer with doctors and other health care professional to coordinate medical and nutritional needs of patients.  

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Don’t be fooled by the name ‘high protein’—high protein is another way of saying low or no-carb diet.  All of the fad diets that were no or low carb in recent years were bashed for their unhealthiness.  Don’t be tricked into thinking that this new thing—the high protein diet—is a whole new thing!  Low or no carb diet also means high protein or fat diet; it’s just changing the name and hoping everyone will buy it! 

What exactly is a high protein diet?  Well, a high protein diet is exactly what it says it is; but the important distinction to make is that in order to be high protein it also has to limit the amount of carbs that you put into your body.  If you keep the amount of carbs the same as it currently is, but up the amount of protein, you will not lose any weight; however, if you take out some of the carb calories and replace them with calories from protein, you will, most likely lose weight.  How it works is a whole different question though, and the bottom line is that it is not very healthy.

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