Compare NutriSystem With the South Beach Diet

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Nutrisystem is a diet plan that uses a healthy balance of good carbohydrates, proteins and fats so you can eat a variety of foods and lose weight. The South Beach diet, a plan created by cardiologist Arthur Agatston, restricts carbohydrates, bans unhealthy fats and suggests healthy ones. Comparing the two plans can help you to make an informed decision on the best particular plan for your lifestyle.

The NutriSystem Plan

Choose the NutriSystem plan for ease. Meals are prepared for you and shipped to your door, and the plan includes free online or phone counseling to help you reach your goals. There are programs designed for men and women of all ages and for vegetarians and Type II diabetics.

Look at the rules of the plan. With NutriSystem, all prepared meals offer the correct calories and nutrients. You add fresh fruits and vegetables and don't have to think about the rest of the preparation.

Compare the work involved. Everything is already done for you with NutriSystem so there is almost no work involved except making sure you stick with the plan.

Check the cost of the plan. NutriSystem charges for meals and snacks and shipping, but it often offers discounts and free meals for signing up. You can also save by signing up for the Auto Ship plan.

See the results. NutriSystem allows you to follow plans losing less than or more than 10 lb. You can lose a lot initially, but you can expect to lose 1 to 2 lb. per week if you follow the program exactly.

Weigh the risks. Participants may gain weight back after going off this program since they don't learn how to prepare healthy food themselves.

South Beach Diet Plan

Choose the South Beach Diet Plan if you don't want to completely cut out food groups and want a lifestyle change, not just a quick fix.

Look at the rules of the plan. The South Beach Diet plan doesn't count carbs, but looks at how much sugar is in each carb, choosing those with a low glycemic index. The plan works in 3 phases with the first phase being the most restrictive, taking away all carbs. The second phase reintroduces the carbs in moderation and lasts until you hit your target weight. The third phase allows you to continue to eat normal foods in normal portions following the guidelines for life.

Compare the work involved. Instead of counting calories or maintaining strict portion sizes, you eat normal portions and snack strategically throughout the day, using suggested recipes and food combinations for the various phases.

Check the cost of the plan. There is no sign-up fee or meal cost. You buy the book and companion guide and visit the website for information. Then you buy and prepare the food yourself.

See the results. Weight loss may be dramatic in phase I of the South Beach Diet plan, and then continues at 1 to 2 lb. per week until you hit your weight loss goals. Staying on the plan for life means you keep your target weight and adjust as necessary with the tools provided.

Weigh the risks. Much of the weight lost in the induction phase is water weight, which can throw off your balance of electrolytes.

How to Avoid Emotional Eating

Emotional eating can be on many levels, from eating out of boredom to eating during periods of severe stress, but all situations involve going for food when you're not physically hungry. The following are some tips in helping you address this issue:

With eating out of boredom, you can try replacing food with another habit.

A good hobby can not only keep you busy but could eventually generate you a second income. Do some research of things you might enjoy that have low starting costs that you can build upon if your interest in it grows.

Step2

Keep a pitcher of ice water in your refrigerator.

When you feel the urge to eat but don't feel hungry, try a glass of water instead. Studies have shown many Americans are dehydrated on a regular basis, and sometimes drinking water will satisfy what initially feels like a kind of hunger but is actually thirst.

Step3

If your job is highly stressful, it can be very easy to internally justify bad eating behaviors such as depending on vending machines and fast food.

This often results in a cycle, and can be very hard on your body if you're sitting a lot as well. Two ways to address this issue are gradually introducing healthy foods into your daily routine (substituting a little at a time until you've completely replaced the habit) and making time for exercise (most likely during short breaks during the day). This will at least help you maintain your current weight, though you'll probably have to do more intense workouts outside of work to lose weight.

Step4

Realize that changing this issue is going to be a process and won't happen overnight.

What can be discouraging is taking steps in the right direction only to have a setback. The important thing is to keep moving forward on a daily basis and small choices-over time they do add up to a big impact. Being aware of the issue instead of acting on it on a subconscious level will help a lot.

There are going to be genuinely hard situations you're going to come up against in life. That's inevitable, but if you make the effort to change during a relatively normal point in your life, it will make choices during those times easier.

Step5

If possible, find a friend or mentor that will help you stay accountable.

Sharing this issue with someone you trust can give you an alternative to food for stress and emotional issues. This is very important during times you feel like you're not making progress on your own. Prayer about the issue can definitely help as well.

Good luck and best wishes to you!

Under Eye Bags - 5 Tips to Eliminate Them Forever

Do you have unsightly under eye bags? They make you look much older than your years, but you can get rid of them permanently, without surgery. Discover five tips in this article which will help.
In addition to making you look as if you're totally exhausted, dark marks and bags under your eyes are an indication that your health isn't up to par. Yes, you can get rid of your bags temporarily with surgery, but taking care of your health will remove the bags for good.
Here's how to take care of yourself so that your under eye bags gradually disappear.
1. Eat for Your Skin -- B Vitamins Help You Glow
Few people get sufficient B vitamins in their daily diet. One of the most important B vitamins when it comes to your skin is biotin, which is essential for the health of your skin, hair and nails. Eat more bananas and oatmeal to increase the quantity of biotin, so your body can repair skin damage.
Many creams are available which contain B vitamins: they add a glow to your skin, and they're good for you too -- but do remember that the best source of B vitamins is a good diet.
2. Less Alcohol, More Water
Alcohol dries out your skin. A night on the town and not enough water: result, instant under eye bags.
Water is vital to help your body to function efficiently, and it's easy to forget to drink plenty of water when you're out and about. Drink plenty of water so that toxins are flushed from your system: a bruised look under your eyes is a sign that your kidneys and liver need help.
3. Get More Sleep -- There's a Reason They Call It Beauty Sleep
Lack of sleep can also cause discoloring and bags under your eyes. Aim for at least seven hours of sleep a night. Your body conducts needed repairs as you sleep. If you don't get enough rest, more than your appearance will suffer.
4. Miracle Cure -- Green Tea Bags
Good food and plenty of rest will erase your under eye bags. But what if you want an instant fix? Here's one which works: green tea bags.
Save your green tea bags in the fridge. Before a night out, lie down for ten minutes with the cooled tea bags as a compress.
5. Is It Your Cosmetics? Go Fragrance-Free
The labels on many cosmetics read like a chemical factory's inventory. Who knows what those chemicals do to your skin, not to mention your health?
When you have under eye bags, your motto for cosmetics and skin care products should be: chemical and fragrance-free. Use natural skin care products until your bags have vanished!

Is Acai Berry Safe For Teenagers?

If you are a teenager, or a concerned parent, who is considering taking Acai berry, then you might be wondering; "Is Acai berry safe for teenagers?" It is good to ask this question before taking any new type of health supplement, especially when the person taking the supplement is still growing up.
Luckily, you have nothing to fear when it comes to Acai berries. Asking if Acai berries are safe for teenagers is just like asking if apples, bananas, or grapes are safe for teenagers. Acai is a natural fruit, just like those mentioned above, so it is completely safe for anyone to take. It could be possible that someone could have an allergy to Acai, but that is no more likely than someone being allergic to an apple.
Many teens are guzzling sodas, coffee, and energy drinks at an alarming rate. While these drinks can give teens a temporary boost of energy, they are known to stunt growth and promote obesity. Acai berry juice can be a great tasting and healthy replacement for these drinks. In fact, most people report that the energy they get from Acai blows both coffee and Redbull out of the water. There is no better way for a student to start off a day of school than with a glass of Acai juice.
One of the benefits that is most relevant for teens is its high Omega fatty acid content. Teenage years are full of mental ups and downs, and these essential fatty acids help improve mood and fight depression. They also help improve general brain function (they make you smarter) which will help a teen do better in school and get into a better college.
Acai is one of the most powerful antioxidant foods on earth, which will help with many teens' #1 problem: Acne. Antioxidants help repair damaged skin and hair, and are one of the keys to fight off acne.
Acai is an all natural health supplement that can help teens reach their full potential as adults. Since it's a fruit you do not need to worry if the Acai berry is safe for teenagers.

Atkins Vs. Pritikin: The Debate Rages On!

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The battle lines have been drawn and everyone has taken sides. This vicious battle has pitted brother against brother and husband against wife. It is by far the most heated subject in nutrition, and self-proclaimed gurus have crawled out of the woodwork to weigh in with their opinions on the high carb diet vs. low carb diet debate.

As a fitness enthusiast, you no doubt have been in a few discussions, some of them probably a little heated, about how much of your daily calories should consist of carbohydrates. Both sides have compelling arguments, so who's right? They both are, to a point.

Appetizers

First, you have to realize that no diet, no matter how compelling the evidence, is going to work for everyone all of the time. In other words, you have to take your individual differences into account when deciding which approach will work best for you. It is not high carb vs. low carb, it is which one will work best for you, based on your metabolism and training goals. This fact has been missed by most, and this has led to a lot of confusion and frustration among fitness enthusiasts.

The low carbs diet work, and work well, but only for some selected purposes. The proponents of the low carb diets claim that by eating less carbs and more fat you switch your body's metabolism from one that favors carbs to one that favors fat for fuel. This has obvious benefits for someone looking to lose fat. In addition, these diets tend to be very low in total calories and help to control hunger with the addition of protein and fat to each meal. That has probably been the number one positive impact of these diets on the fitness community - getting people to eat less calories, and adequate amounts of protein and good fats.

Some of these low carb diets tend to be a little extreme, namely the ketogenic carbs where carbs are virtually eliminated from the diet to force your body into a state of ketosis, where body fat is burned in the form of ketones for fuel. These diets can be very dangerous if not used properly. If you are a bodybuilder who already has low levels of bodyfat and you want to get extremely cut up, then the ketogenic diet - or better yet, its close cousin the cyclical-ketogenic diet - is perfect for you.

However, if you are overweight, and have several pounds of fat to lose to get to a healthy range, then a more moderate approach to the low carb diets, like The Zone Diet, will work best. Ketosis is not a natural state for your body to be in. It lowers the blood pH, leading to a more acidic internal environment, and long-term exposure to such an environment will cause damage to your internal organs.

Pass The Bread

The advantage of a higher carb diet - and disadvantage of the low carb approach - is that you will not get big and strong without eating an adequate amount of carbs and calories. This does not mean an extremely high carb intake, as total carb intake should still be no more than 50- 60% of your total calories. But this extra amount of carbs will go a long way in your strength and muscle-gaining goals.

Carbs fuel the anaerobic (literally meaning "without oxygen") pathways of muscular energetics. These two energetic pathways, named the ATP/ CP and glycolitic pathways, are the major suppliers of energy for activities that take less than 90-120 seconds to complete, depending on your fitness level. As I'm sure most of you have realized, the vast majority of activities in the weight room when pumping iron take less than 2 minutes to complete. In fact, most sets take less than 1 minute to complete, falling well within the anaerobic pathways of muscular energetics.

Main Course

What's my point? Well, if most of your weightlifting activities run off of stored glycogen - i.e. carbs - then why do you want your body to favor fat for energy? You don't. Several studies have shown that carbs increase performance. Cutting carbs from a mass and strength diet program is just as bad as not including protein or creatine. No one in their right mind would try to add strength and mass without those two nutrients. However, most of these same individuals will not hesitate to eat a Meal Replacement - which was designed for fat loss - in water three times a day, obtaining miniscule amounts of carbs in the process.

In addition, since intense weightlifting burns up blood sugar and stored glycogen, you will have to replace them. This can not be done optimally if you are following a carb-restricted diet. This means that you will have to allow longer recovery periods, or suffer a performance decrease, which does not help when trying to add pounds to your squat, or inches to your chest and biceps.

Most fitness enthusiasts get themselves in trouble when they become married to one concept. Frustration is brought on when they get stuck in a rut, afraid to try something radically different. Nutrition and dieting is no exception to this. Instead of debating which diet is the best, we need to look at which diet is the best for what circumstances. Eating for your specific goals, and not someone else's, is the key to figuring out which approach is best suited for you.