U-Diet

A Blog that will take care of you and your diet, one page at a time!

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Oct 19, 2009

Dieting , Heath and Time Management

Posted by Sandy Taylor

When it comes to dieting many of us find that the number one obstacle to our success is the lack of time to prepare good meals and snacks for our dietary needs. It is often much easier to throw something in the crock pot for the family rather than preparing the healthy and nutritious meal that we should eat.

There are things you can do however that will reduce the temptation to hit the drive through and keep you on track with your diet needs. The first of these is a process known as cooking once a week. With this method you cook enough meals for a week in one day. This means that for every night of the week you have a diet friendly meal ready to go. If your family is dieting or eating healthier with you, it works for this situation as well. Dieting and incorporating healthier eating habits in food for your entire family is a great way to set an example for your children and will keep you motivated and removing temptation.

With once a week cooking you freeze foods that are not immediately consumed and thaw it the morning. When you get home after work or decide it is time for your dinner you cook the food that has thawed. This process works well, no matter how many soccer games, practices of dance, and band recitals you have on your calendar for the week. You can manage to stick to your diet while having a good meal for your family every night of the week.

You must also ensure you have a supply of Nice and clean and cut fruits, vegetables and salad ingredients in your fridge to make these dishes readily assessable for quick lunches or snacks. Having these foods readily available will help you resist the temptation to snack foods high in calories than prepackaged, while also helping to ensure that you also have a supply of fruit and vegetables to help you get your 5 servings per day .

You should also keep some conveniently packaged yogurt on hand as a good product quick and easy dairy products. Sugar free dessert cups are another decent snack for those who need something quick and easy to have on hand. Preparation and planning are essential for successfully achieving your goals of weight loss. By preparing as much of the food as possible in advance, you never miss the same convenience of those high calorie pre packaged meals and snacks that so many of us survive on when not dieting.

Another time saver is to work your opportunities for fitness during the course of your day. Rather than making a long workout day, try to find methods of bringing an activity fitness little in the more mundane parts of the day, park far from the door of the supermarket and see if your mail has a walking trail is clearly marked. You'll be amazed at the hidden opportunities many of us for exercising during our busy days. The trick is often in discovering the activities rather than time.

When all is said and done, dieting should not be much time as you may think it is. There are all sorts of plans for pre-packaged diet However, if this is the choice you think is best for you. If you are going with Lean Cuisine meals, Weight Watchers frozen meals, Jenny Craig, or Slim Fast program there are all sorts of opportunities to work on diet and fitness into even the busiest schedules. When planning your dietary practices be sure to heed the advice and opinions mentioned above.

Jan 28, 2009

Diet Recipes

Posted by Sandy Taylor

No-bake protein oat bars - Body Building

protein-bars-recipes

Most guys think they’re doing themselves a favor when they opt for a protein bar since now they have protein in combination with carbohydrates. However, manufactured protein bars are often nothing more than glorified candy bars and are going to do nothing in terms of enhancing your physique.

Why? If you look at the ingredient listing on your typical protein bar, one of the top ingredients is glucose-fructose syrup which will likely go right to your fat cells. Since the body has such limited fructose stores (approximately 50 grams a day), once you consume over and above this amount, the body will start quickly converting it to body fat.

Here is a great Protein bar recipe that has a great blend of carbohydrates, protein and dietary fat, helping to provide your body with the lasting energy and amino acids it needs to get through the day, while also repairing and building your muscle tissue.


No-bake protein oat bars

Ingredients:
2 cups dry oatmeal
4 scoops whey protein powder (vanilla or chocolate works best)
½ cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup of water or milk

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, and then press into a 9-by-9 inch pan lined with wax paper. Freeze for 40 minutes and cut into bars.

Since these bars have a good amount of healthy fat, they are best used when you’re not preparing to exercise or recovering from your session, when fat should be avoided.
Blueberry and banana bars
Ingredients:
1 cup raw oatmeal
5 scoops of banana-flavored protein powder
½ cup non-fat dry milk powder
¼ cup fat-free cream cheese
2 egg whites
1½ bananas, mashed
1 cup blueberries
¼ cup water
3 tsp canola oil

Directions:
First, preheat the oven to 325F. Combine oatmeal, protein powder and dry milk. Next, in another bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg whites, bananas, blueberries, water, and oil; beat this with an electric mixer until well blended. Pour this batter into a sprayed 9-by-9 inch square pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.


Jan 21, 2009

Antioxidants

Posted by Sandy Taylor

Red and purple fruits and veggies are known to be high in antioxidants. The same holds true for acai berries, which are high in anthocyanins, an antioxidant that gives them their deep purple color. Anthocyanins help combat premature aging and also have cardiovascular benefits. They help prevent blood clots and improve circulation. What’s also great about the acai berry is the amount of antioxidants it possesses. Acai berries contain 10 times the antioxidants of grapes and twice the amount found in blueberries. Red wine is still great to sip with your lean cut of red meat, but acai berries have 10-30 times more anthocyanins than a glass of red wine. Vitamin E, also known for its antioxidant properties, is found in acai berries.

Jan 20, 2009

Canned Tuna Meals

Posted by Sandy Taylor

Soy-ginger tuna

This is a terrific recipe for those who are looking for a quick post-workout meal, as the rice will also be a fast-to-digest source of carbohydrates.

To prepare, bring a ½-cup of water, two tablespoons of soy sauce, a ½-teaspoon of garlic, and a pinch of ginger to a boil. Next, add in one cup of Minute Rice and any frozen vegetables you prefer, then cover the pot with a lid until it has finished cooking -- approximately five minutes. After letting the pot stand for another five minutes, stir in a can of tuna and serve. It's that simple.

Mustard dill tuna

While this canned tuna meal could be made using dill spice, using fresh dill will often taste much better and is recommended. To prepare this canned tuna meal, open one can of tuna into a bowl, then stir in one tablespoon of mustard, a ¼-cup of chopped celery, and one ounce of freshly chopped dill. This works great when served alongside a baked potato that’s been topped with low-fat sour cream or cottage cheese.

Southwest tuna

For a creamier-tasting canned tuna meal, southwest tuna will fit the bill perfectly.This recipe calls for one tablespoon of non-fat mayo mixed with one tablespoon of low-fat Thousand Island salad dressing, along with half of a finely chopped red pepper. Stir all of this together, then mix in one can of tuna.

All these Tuna recipies are great with pasta.

Jan 15, 2009

Low-carb diets

Posted by Sandy Taylor

When most people begin low-carb dieting, they’ll initially see a significant change on the scale. This really sparks some excitement in them since they think that they’ve finally found that “miracle cure” to shedding excess body fat. While this is a good thing for motivation and for program adherence, it’s important to realize that much of the initial weight loss of a low-carb diet is due to water being flushed out of the system.

As the muscle glycogen is depleted (since you’re taking in fewer carbs than you were previously), water will also be depleted. By understanding this process, you will then not get as discouraged when the rate of weight loss slows the following week. Recognize that while this new weight loss may be slower, it is more representative of true weight loss -- weight loss that is much more likely to stay off.

Likewise, with this same principle, realize that after you have obtained your goal with the diet, and should you decide to abandon it for a more moderate carbohydrate approach, you could see some temporary water weight come back as your body adjusts. Once again, give this a few days and things should normalize.

Jan 13, 2009

Build Muscle and Burn Fat - Explained

Posted by Sandy Taylor



Watch this video now to find out the real reason why some movie actors look so buff! Remember to choose 1 goa1, either you choose to lose fat or you choose to build muscle! This video will explain!

Jan 12, 2009

Building Muscle Basics

Posted by Sandy Taylor

Overload: To build muscle, you need to use more resistance than your muscles are used to. This is important because the more you do, the more your body is capable of doing, so you should increase your workload to avoid plateaus. In plain language, this means you should be lifting enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps. You should be able to finish your last rep with difficulty but also with good form.

Progression: To avoid plateaus (or adaptation), you need to increase your intensity regularly. You can do this by increasing the amount of weight lifted, changing your sets/reps, changing the exercises and changing the type of resistance. You can make these changes on a weekly or monthly basis.

Specificity: This principle means you should train for your goal. That means, if you want to increase your strength, your program should be designed around that goal (e.g., train with heavier weights closer to your 1 RM (1 rep max)). To lose weight, choose a variety of rep ranges to target different muscle fibers.

Rest and Recovery: Rest days are just as important as workout days. It is during these rest periods that your muscles grow and change, so make sure you're not working the same muscle groups 2 days in a row.

Jan 7, 2009

Greg Plitt's Abs Workout!

Posted by Sandy Taylor



Greg Plitt brings the abs workout to a whole new level! Check out this ads workout video. Warning.. this one is not for beginners!