It can take a lot of time out of your day when you are searching for diet programs that are right for you. Diet programs come in a variety of forms, including books, pre-packaged meals, and some that allow you to customize your own. These types of programs give the dieter the information they need to go about dieting correctly.

The reason many of these diet programs came into being is that many people find it difficult to develop their very own diet plan and especially difficult to follow proper healthy eating plans due to lack of time. By using programs that have already been developed for you, especially when they are customized for the individual, it can be a more effective way to lose weight.

Sometimes having pre-packaged diet programs are seen as the best solution, because the user does not have to plan their own meals.

When you are strapped for time, it can be more effective to just be able to pop a meal into the microwave or oven and have your meal ready in minutes. All that is needed in most cases is a few fresh vegetables and maybe some fruit and a glass of milk and you are ready to go.

Filed under: Diet & Weight Loss

By Amanda Chan for AOL Healthy Living

Despite the increases in childhood obesity in the United States, Americans are technically consuming less sugar than they did about a decade earlier, according to a new report.

And two-thirds of this decrease is due to people drinking fewer sugar-sweetened sodas.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that the percentage of our diets that is comprised of sugar dropped from 18 percent between 1999 and 2000 to 14.6 percent between 2007 and 2008.

“We were surprised to see that there was a substantial reduction over the years,” study researcher Dr. Jean Welsh, of Emory University in Atlanta, told Reuters.

Researchers analyzed data from a study of 42,316 people ages 2 and older to see how much added sugar — that is, sugars that are not naturally included in foods, like fruit — they consumed.

To continue reading this article, visit The Huffington Post’s health and wellness destination site, Healthy Living.

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(HealthCastle.com) There are probably as many ways to eat your salad as there are countries. If you are getting a little tired of your favorite salad dressing, here are some salad ideas inspired by lesser-known cuisines from around the world.

International Salad Dishes

Kimchi

read more

The modern hectic lifestyle leaves you with no time for yourself and one thing that is greatly affected by the hustle and bustle of your everyday life is the health and beauty of your body. To break the monotony of routine life and to feel great about yourself, a style makeover is all you need. [...]

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Filed under: Diet & Weight Loss

For AOL Healthy Living

A new study has found that only 1 out of 6 diners pay attention to posted nutrition information on menus — and while some is better than none, the reality is that the each meal eaten outside of the home tacks on an average of 134 calories to your day.

What’s worse is that even for those who are conscious of calorie counts at restaurants, another recent report analyzing foods from 42 restaurants found that nearly 1 in 5 of those numbers may actually be incorrect.

So with conflicting messages, what is a health conscious dieter to do? To help you navigate your next menu, we asked four nutritionists to tell us how they order at various types of restaurants, from a pizza place to an ice cream parlor to a burger joint.

The experts we spoke to include registered dietitians Julie Upton and Katherine Brooking, founders of AppForHealth.com, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, Toby Smithson and registered dietitian and resident nutritionist for “The Biggest Loser,” Cheryl Forberg.

Here’s their guide to maximizing nutrients, cutting back on calories, taking healthy shortcuts and yes, even indulging in moderation.

Burger Joint
What Our Experts Choose:
-I look for a veggie burger and order it without mayo. I won’t eat at a burger place if they do not offer a veggie burger or a salad with cheese (I eat cheese on my salad so that I can get protein at that meal).

Watch out for any extra add-ons that will increase the fat and saturated fat of the meal, like mayonnaise or special cream sauces. Also watch the high-fat sides like french fries. Ordering a salad with the dressing on the side as a side dish helps you meet the recommendations of filling half of your plate with vegetables!
– Toby Smithson, RD

-I usually get a burger — but protein-style, without fries but with lots of veggies! Luckily I love mustard, which unlike ketchup, has no sugar. Occasionally I’ll have cheese or avocado on my burger as well. To drink, opt for water or iced tea.
–Cheryl Forberg, RD

Ice Cream Parlor
What Our Experts Choose:
-I’ll usually just take a few tastes with the tasting spoons that they usually have. If I want something more, I’ll try to have all-fruit sorbet or frozen yogurt. Once in a great while, I’ll indulge and have a scoop of rich, chocolate ice cream!
–Cheryl Forberg, RD

-Just go for a kid size or one-scoop serving of a more traditional flavor like vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. If you go really exotic — fudgy, chunky, nutty — that just means more calories. Opt for a cone — less ice cream can fit into a cone than a cup — and cones have hardly any calories.
–Julie Upton, RD

-Because I have diabetes, I look for a “sugar free” ice cream or frozen yogurt. Just because it says sugar free doesn’t mean I can eat as much as I want, but it does offer less carbohydrates. –Toby Smithson, RD

-Well, if I find myself at the ice cream parlor, I am definitely going to enjoy some ice cream! Try not to have an ice cream treat more than once every couple of weeks … even less if you are aiming to lose weight. When you do go, stick with one scoop in a regular-sized cone. And make sure you savor the experience! Skip the sundaes and heavy toppings. My favorite: Mint Choco Chip!!
–Katherine Brooking, RD

To keep reading this article, visit The Huffington Post’s health and wellness destination site, Healthy Living.

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Filed under: Diet & Weight Loss

For AOL Healthy Living

Anyone who’s sought solace in pizza or a pint of ice cream knows that food can be comforting. But experts still don’t know exactly why we gravitate toward fatty or sugary foods when we’re feeling down, or how those foods affect our emotions.

Taste and the pleasant memories associated with junk foods surely play a role, but that may be only part of the story. According to a small new study, hormones in our stomachs appear to communicate directly with our brains, independent of any feelings we have about a particular food.

Most research on food and emotion has looked at the overall experience of eating — the tastes, smells, and textures, in addition to nutrients. In this study, however, the researchers took that subjective experience off the table by “feeding” the volunteers through an unmarked stomach tube.

To read this article in full, visit The Huffington Post’s health and wellness destination site, Healthy Living.

More from Health.com:
Love to Eat? The Trick to Staying Slim
Foods That Boost Your Mood
25 Diet-Busting Foods You Should Never Eat

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BACKGROUND

More and more people are embracing eating a vegan diet for both health and personal reasons. Along with the popularity, there are more and more books and guides becoming available. One new book focusing on a vegan diet is Vegan for Life. This book written by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina gives you…

Filed under: Diet & Weight Loss

By Dr. Natasha Turner for Blisstree.com

Just think how our eating habits have evolved with our busy lifestyle. We shovel in a fast bite at our desk and inhale dinner while standing over the kitchen counter, so we can spend more time on work and errands. We also eat late at night in front of the TV, or even skip meals altogether. Then, think about our food choices: Packaged, processed convenience foods loaded with hidden salt, fat and sugar. (And in the dog days of summer, you may have even opted for a dinner of popsicles or ice cream.) These foods not only do a number on our waistline; they wreak havoc on our hormones.

Energy Highs and Lows

When we consume foods high in sugar (glucose), the glucose enters the bloodstream, quickly causing blood sugars to rise. The pancreas responds by secreting insulin which then causes a surge of sugars to enter the cells to either be used as energy or stored as fat for later use. Blood sugars then fall to normal or possibly just below normal levels. While this is happening, we experience a “sugar rush” of hyperactivity (all too commonly seen in kids) only to be followed by the “crash”-fatigue, drowsiness and poor concentration. Naturally, as blood sugars fall, the body works to maintain balance by causing a craving-most likely for more sugar-and the whole process starts all over again.

Sugar’s Long-Term Effects Aren’t Sweet

Most foods containing sugar, especially refined white sugar, have very little nutritional value and are often referred to as “empty” calories. Beyond this, insulin is also secreted in proportion to the amount of sugar consumed. Since insulin is the only hormone that instructs the body to store energy as fat, it’s a nemesis if it becomes too high. Repeatedly eating sugar throughout the day eventually leads to chronically high insulin and ultimately to insulin resistance.

Let me explain. Imagine insulin as a truck that carries sugar into cells and enters the cell upon arrival by using the garage door opener. Think of insulin resistance as the insulin truck arriving at the cell, but the garage door opener won’t work until six insulin trucks are waiting, rather than just one. Soon, we will have a traffic jam of insulin trucks throughout the body, or chronically high insulin. At this juncture, weight loss becomes very difficult and there is often an increase in blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, abdominal fat, breast and prostate cancer risk and more. Need a few more reasons to avoid sugar? Here are some of the hormonal and health consequences of having a sweet tooth:

Your Best Sweetener Options

For optimal health (and insulin levels) I recommend that you cut out or reduce your sugar intake. Sugar comes in a variety of forms and faces, including: table sugar (sucrose), rice syrup, maple syrup, honey, agave syrup, foods/drinks containing high fructose corn syrup, packaged foods, candies, soda, juice, etc., as well as sucralose, aspartame, saccharin and all other forms of artificial sweeteners. Instead reach for natural alternatives such as date paste, raisins, honey, apple sauce, coconut sap, erythritol and stevia. Spices such as cinnamon, vanilla or cocoa can also add flavor and sweetness to recipes.

More from Blisstree.com:
Lent Survival Guide: 8 Natural Tips and Recipes to Curb Sugar Cravings
Nutrition Facts Decoder: Natural Sugar vs. Added Sugar
10 Foods You Didn’t Know Contained (So Much) Sugar

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What food is this? Guess and win!

	Identify the food in the above photo.
	Tell us your answer by leaving a comment below
	Get a chance to win one of two copies of Gloria's book, Go UnDiet!

Contest ends Thursday July 28, 2011 at noon PST. Two winners will be drawn from comments below. The first person to provide the correct answer will win a copy of Gloria's book, Go UnDiet. The second winner will be drawn randomly from all comments below with the correct answer.  You can now sign in using your Facebook or Twitter account to leave your answer below.

The Medifast diet success stories are all true, and there are a huge number of them available for you to read. Knowing that the Medifast diet does work is a huge encouragement to other people looking to use the diet plan.

It is ideal to be able to read the Medifast success stories, and know that in a very short space of time you will also be one of them. The stories are an inspiration to people looking for a goal to focus on, and achieve their target weight. You too can become one of the Medifast success stories, and lose weight easily.

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