Want to know what the Top 10 Diets are? So did we; so we decided to find out what the most searched for diets were on Google – the number one search engine. And here are the top 10 diets, starting with number 10:

10) Ornish Diet – The Ornish diet was developed by Dr. Dean Ornish, as a low fat diet for vegetarians. His plan was to create a diet to help avoid clogged arteries rather than later having to deal with them. His credo is this is your life you should own it and learn to manage your diet and day to day stress.

9) Zone Diet – The Zone diet which was created by Dr. Barry Sears, is a reduced calorie diet, and has one simple premise – use food as fuel. Eating the proper ratio of low carbohydrates, dietary fat, and lean protein you can burn excess body fat and keep it off permanently.

8) Okinawa Diet – First published in 2001, the Okinawa Diet is an outline of healthy habits based on the lifestyle and diet of the Okinawans who have the highest rate of centenarians (40 per 100,000) on earth. With lots of vegetables and complex carbohydrates this diet gets a great deal of its protein from tofu.

7) Genotype Diet – Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo, author of Eat Right 4 Your Type, has done it again, and now identifies six distinct genetic body types. Whether you are a Nomad, Warrior, Explorer, Teacher, Gatherer, or a Hunter, Dr. D’Adamo offers a customized program that compliments your genetic makeup.

6) DASH Diet – was created by the NIH (National Institute of Health) to lower cholesterol and blood pressure without benefit of medication. This diet has lots of fruits and vegetables, with low fat and/or nonfat dairy, beans, fish and poultry, grains, nuts and lean meats. This diet has 28 days of meal plans along with the recipes.

5) Diabetic Diet – Dr. Richard K. Bernstein brings a new low-carb diet plan that has enabled his patients to control their disease by stabilizing their blood sugar without the usual highs and lows and with fewer drugs.

4) Weight Watchers Diet – We first heard of Weight Watchers in the early to mid 60’s. And some 97% of Weight Watcher’s members say they not only like the plan they would recommend the diet to a friend. There are no forbidden foods or required prepackaged food to purchase. With several eating plans, you have lots of choices on Weight Watchers.

3) South Beach Diet – This diet was created by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist, for his patients to use to improve insulin and cholesterol and levels. But to his surprise, not only did this low-fat and low-carbohydrate diet improve their health, it also caused his patients to drop a lot of weight.

2) Mediterranean Diet – For 50 years, doctors have observed that people of the Mediterranean area were much less likely to suffer heart disease or strokes. They attribute the region’s health to a diet low in saturated-fat with plenty of whole grains. This reduced fat diet, with lots of complex carbohydrates is one of the easiest to follow.

1) Atkins Diet – Dr. Robert Atkins, whose diet books have been on the bestseller lists for years, is the author of “The Atkins Diet”. Dr. Atkins advocates a high protein weight loss diet which emphasizes the benefits of protein and the dangers of carbohydrates. Still number one, after all these years.

Want to know what the Top 10 Diets are? So did we; so we decided to find out what the most searched for diets were on Google – the number one search engine. And here are the top 10 diets, starting with number 10:

10) Ornish Diet – The Ornish diet was developed by Dr. Dean Ornish, as a low fat diet for vegetarians. His plan was to create a diet to help avoid clogged arteries rather than later having to deal with them. His credo is this is your life you should own it and learn to manage your diet and day to day stress.

9) Zone Diet – The Zone diet which was created by Dr. Barry Sears, is a reduced calorie diet, and has one simple premise – use food as fuel. Eating the proper ratio of low carbohydrates, dietary fat, and lean protein you can burn excess body fat and keep it off permanently.

8) Okinawa Diet – First published in 2001, the Okinawa Diet is an outline of healthy habits based on the lifestyle and diet of the Okinawans who have the highest rate of centenarians (40 per 100,000) on earth. With lots of vegetables and complex carbohydrates this diet gets a great deal of its protein from tofu.

7) Genotype Diet – Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo, author of Eat Right 4 Your Type, has done it again, and now identifies six distinct genetic body types. Whether you are a Nomad, Warrior, Explorer, Teacher, Gatherer, or a Hunter, Dr. D’Adamo offers a customized program that compliments your genetic makeup.

6) DASH Diet – was created by the NIH (National Institute of Health) to lower cholesterol and blood pressure without benefit of medication. This diet has lots of fruits and vegetables, with low fat and/or nonfat dairy, beans, fish and poultry, grains, nuts and lean meats. This diet has 28 days of meal plans along with the recipes.

5) Diabetic Diet – Dr. Richard K. Bernstein brings a new low-carb diet plan that has enabled his patients to control their disease by stabilizing their blood sugar without the usual highs and lows and with fewer drugs.

4) Weight Watchers Diet – We first heard of Weight Watchers in the early to mid 60’s. And some 97% of Weight Watcher’s members say they not only like the plan they would recommend the diet to a friend. There are no forbidden foods or required prepackaged food to purchase. With several eating plans, you have lots of choices on Weight Watchers.

3) South Beach Diet – This diet was created by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist, for his patients to use to improve insulin and cholesterol and levels. But to his surprise, not only did this low-fat and low-carbohydrate diet improve their health, it also caused his patients to drop a lot of weight.

2) Mediterranean Diet – For 50 years, doctors have observed that people of the Mediterranean area were much less likely to suffer heart disease or strokes. They attribute the region’s health to a diet low in saturated-fat with plenty of whole grains. This reduced fat diet, with lots of complex carbohydrates is one of the easiest to follow.

1) Atkins Diet – Dr. Robert Atkins, whose diet books have been on the bestseller lists for years, is the author of “The Atkins Diet”. Dr. Atkins advocates a high protein weight loss diet which emphasizes the benefits of protein and the dangers of carbohydrates. Still number one, after all these years.

Are you looking for some inside information on ornish diet? Here’s an up-to-date report from ornish diet experts who should know.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

In 1993, Dr. Dean Ornish came out with a book entitled Eat More, Weigh Less. The primary focus of the book was to urge people to boost their consumption of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables while decreasing their consumption of fat. Ornish subsequently made headlines by becoming a dietary consultant to McDonald’s, helping the hamburger giant to develop the fruit and walnut salad which now appears on the restaurant’s re-vamped menu.

Ornish’s work began in 1977 when he was studying ways to combat heart attacks. He hypothesized that heart disease could be successfully treated by cutting the fat in a patient’s diet, as well as reducing the amount of unrefined carbohydrates he or she consumes. During his research, he noticed that his patients lost about 25 pounds each and managed to maintain the weight loss for five years.

Ornish offers two different diets, the Reversal Diet and the Prevention Diet. Those who suffer from heart disease and who are trying to decrease their risk of another heart attack would conceivably benefit from the Reversal Diet, while the Prevention Diet is designed for people who have high cholesterol levels, but who have not developed heart disease. Both versions are vegetarian, consisting of 10 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and 70 percent carbohydrates.

If you decide to follow the Ornish diet, you will be eating a great deal of fiber, little fat, and a great deal of vegetables. Under the Ornish program, you can eat as many beans, fruits, grains, and vegetables as you want. However, non-fat dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt should be eaten sparingly. The same holds true for fat-free desserts and yogurt bars.

Still, under the Ornish plan, you will be giving up a great deal. For instance, you will not be permitted to eat meat of any kind, including fish and chicken. You must also pass up oils, avocados, olives, nuts, sugar, and anything that consists of more than two grams of fat for each serving. The diet also forbids the consumption of alcohol. The doctor recommends eating a number of small meals so that you will feel hungry less often. Following this plan, less than ten percent of your calories should come from fat.

Ornish recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, or an hour of exercise three times each week. He also encourages some type of stress management, such as meditation, massage, or yoga. Why? In his book, Ornish writes, “When your soul is fed, you have less need to overeat. When you directly experience the fullness of life, then you have less need to fill the void with food.”

Supporters of the Ornish plan are enthusiastic about its effect on the body. It can successfully combat heart disease, prevent cancer, alleviate the symptoms of diabetes, and help stabilize high blood pressure. In fact, one doctor has said that the Ornish program succeeds because it has a clear scientific basis. Also, the diet is convenient to follow because it does not involve counting calories.

The major disadvantage of the Ornish plan is that it is highly restrictive. This can make it difficult to stay with over the long haul. A number of dieters may be uncomfortable eating food that is so low-fat. The diet also represents a radical change from the typical American meat-and-potatoes fare.

In addition, Ornish fails to recognize that some types of fats are actually good for one’s health. For instance, mono unsaturated and polyunsaturated oils can protect against heart disease. Therefore, Ornish’s prohibitions against fish and nut consumption would seem to be counter-productive.

Is the Ornish diet worth the trouble? If you must not only manage your weight but struggle with heart disease as well, it might be just the diet you need. Also, if you have medical reasons for losing weight, the program is certainly one you should consider. However, if you have difficulty sticking with specific menus—and you love meat—the Ornish diet may be too hard to deal with. When you decide to undertake the Ornish diet, you are making a commitment to vegetarianism. The diet provides you with less protein than the typical diet, which could sap your energy. Thus, a good rule of thumb is to discuss the plan with your family physician to determine if it’s appropriate for your case.

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about ornish diet.

For many people, food is a difficult issue.  It is such an important part of our lives for many more reasons than keeping hunger at bay.  We eat to be social, sometimes we eat when we are bored, and sometimes we eat for comfort.  Any nutritional plan you try to adopt to has to take into account your likes and dislikes, and must fit around your life or it just won’t last. 

Short term dieting has been proven to be ineffective, and the effects of yo-yo dieting have been shown to be unhealthy.  Diet fads come and go with the celebrity headlines.  If you want a healthier lifestyle, think about what motivates you to make a change for the better for the long term.  Losing weight for a party or a wedding is fine, but that date will come and go, as will your motivation.  Whatever your motivation might be: your children, your partner, or just wanting a better quality of life for yourself, find it, and focus on it to keep you on the right track to better fitness and health.

Rather than eating the traditional 3 square meals a day, try to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals a day at about 3 hour intervals.  If you do this, you will keep your body fuelled with nutrients, you will avoid hunger and therefore the temptation to snack, and you will keep your metabolism high.  This will help you stay energized for work and play, and will help you to burn stored fat.  But make sure you make good food choices for your meals.  Avoid fatty, sugary and over processed foods.  Instead, opt for lean sources of protein, such as fish, chicken, lean beef or soy with a healthy portion of fresh vegetables.  Choose carbohydrates with a low glycemic index (GI) as they take longer for the body to process, and do not cause a spike in blood sugar.  If possible, choose foods with whole grains, such as whole grain rice, whole wheat pasta and oatmeal.

You also need a treat now and again.  Doggedly sticking to a strict nutritional program can tax your motivation, especially if you give up the things you love, so a little of what you fancy from time to time is important.  But again, be sensible with your choices.  If you are a chocoholic, have some dark chocolate.  It has a lower GI than milk chocolate and has more antioxidants.  As long as you enjoy these foods in moderation, an occasional treat can be an important motivational tool to reward you for achieving your goals.

When you are putting together your nutritional plan, it is also worth thinking about some basic supplements.  A vitamin and mineral tablet can ensure you are getting the right daily amount.  Also, after a workout, make sure your body gets what it needs to repair and recover with a post work out milk shake (see my article on post work out nutrition).  This should include protein to help build lean muscle and some simple sugars to help restore depleted glycogen stores.    

All this might seem a little complex, but once you are into your routine, it will become second nature, and much easier to stick to than a diet which revolves around starving yourself.  Get your plan together, and stick to it as best you can.  If you ask me to empty my pockets, among the change and receipts, you’ll find my daily meal plan.  It’s short and simple, I know when and what I am eating so it fits around my day and it’s easy to follow.  Don’t beat yourself up if you stray from it now and again, but an easy plan such as this is easy to stick to, and you will see results fast.

Diet. Ugh – the 4 letter word that strikes fear into the hearts of even the strongest person. The cravings. The doing-without. The hunger.

But what if there were a way to have your cake and eat it too? What if there were SIX ways?

These 6 sweet secrets will have you cruising through cravings and dancing rather than doing-without in no time!

Sweet Secret #1 – Erythritol
The amazing sweetener with the funny name! Unlike the other sugar-derived sweeteners that have flooded the market today, erythritol does not cause an insulin spike in your blood sugar, due to the way it’s digested.

“In the body, erythritol is absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine, and then for the most part excreted unchanged in the urine. Because erythritol is normally absorbed before it enters the large intestine, it does not normally cause laxative effects as are often experienced after over-consumption of other sugar alcohols (such as xylitol and maltitol) and most people will consume erythritol with no side effects.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Erythritol is the primary sweetener in Vitamin Water 10, can be used instead of refined table sugar in goodies like pecan pie and still satisfies the ol’ sweet tooth.

Sweet Secret #2 – Fruit
Ok, not as much of a secret, but definitely overlooked! Fruit can be used in a wide variety of applications to satisfy your need for sweet without undoing all the hard work you’ve put into losing weight!

Wrap a whole wheat tortilla around a tablespoon of peanut butter and a whole banana for your mid-morning snack (or substitute apple slices for the banana if you don’t like the texture). No refrigeration needed – perfect if you work in an office environment!

Eat an orange rather than have that cup o’ juice with breakfast! The fruit itself contains more fiber and other nutritionally rich bonuses that the juice alone just can’t compete with!

Cherries are a great sweet that won’t cause an insulin spike in proper amount!

Another bonus? Each piece of fruit comes in its own pre-measured serving size by Mother Nature herself!

Sweet Secret #3 – Protein shakes
While a variety of protein shakes exist on the market today, most contain some form of artificial sweetener. However, every once in a while a manufacturer will put out a whey protein shake that actually tastes great without the aftertaste. This author highly recommends Gaspari Nutrition for this one!

Regardless of which brand you choose, a protein shake can give you an energy boost to get through a sluggish afternoon or put pep in your morning’s step and never get boring!

A vanilla shake blended with peaches and strawberries makes a great mix! A chocolate shake mixed with peanut butter can’t be beat when the Sugar Monster attacks!

The combinations are only limited by your imagination! Imagine – a snack you can’t get bored with!

Sweet Secret #4 – Dark Chocolate
OK, sometimes the choco-beastie wins and you just gotta have that hit of the good stuff! If you find yourself in the car at 2am heading towards McArches with a large frothy shake in mind, turn into your local grocery store instead.

Most grocery stores carry some form of dark chocolate on their shelves. Why go dark?

1. It’s heart healthy (packed with antioxidants to combat free radicals!)
2. It stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
3. It contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
4. It contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants (so if you’re going to the store at 2am, keep the intake to a minimum!)

And hello! It’s still CHOCOLATE!

Sweet Secret #5 – NO ALTERNATIVES
Not so much something to eat as it is a rule to live by!

Sounds funny to say, but try NOT to eat “healthy” alternatives to your fav sweet treats. Low-fat and low-calorie versions of the stuff that got you on a diet in the first place don’t break an addiction you may have to the original goodie. Plus they’re usually packed with artificial sweeteners and other junk that still spikes your insulin, making it harder to get the weight off! (See my article Undercover Calories on bodybuilding.com for more on this one!)

Sweet Secret #6 – Give In (Sort of)
Wait, what? That’s right! Give in…IN MODERATION! That doesn’t mean “go whole hog”. It doesn’t mean throw your diet out the window until tomorrow. It doesn’t mean you’re free to eat whatever you want for the next 12 hours.

It means that if you’d sell your oldest child for a candy bar – then have the candy bar. Just throw out the first bite.

A dieter who constantly denies the foods they truly want will wind up binging, going off their diet (97% of the time) and gaining more weight than they did when the diet started.

By throwing out the first bite, you’re psychologically ensuring that you don’t eat the entire candy bar. You’re proving you have the willpower to not gulp down an entire Big Slurp. You’re showing yourself that when the next craving hits, you have the determination to stay on the program you’ve selected!

And you’re also making certain that you stick to your planned weight loss goals by not denying yourself and then waking up surrounded by the fallen soldiers of candy bar wrappers and ice cream containers! Giving in once in a blue moon means a less-likely chance that you’ll binge later!

The Sweetest Secret of All
When it all boils down to it, finding a healthy alternative for the sweets you crave brings you one step closer to achieving your goal of good health.

But here’s the biggest kick of all – the best fat blocker, the best appetite suppressant, the best weight loss pill on the planet rests between your ears.

It’s you. Your mind. Your abilities. Your will to feel better and fit into any pair of jeans you want.

The next time you’re at a business lunch and your partner or client orders a cherry pie for dessert, and the urge is so strong to “just have it this one time” – imagine what you’ll look like once you’ve finished your diet and ask yourself, “Is it worth it?” Chances are, it’s not.

But if it is – make sure you throw out the first bite!

Everyone knows that bananas are good for you. The potassium in this fruit has been known to lower blood pressure and improve heart health. However, recent studies have shown that there are certain other exotic fruits which pack an even bigger health punch than bananas. Fruit not only improves our health but it also provides our bodies with essential nutrients and weight loss properties.

Vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are just some of the essential nutrients we gain from fruit consumption. However, recent studies show that certain exotic fruits can impact out heart health tremendously. Fresh figs are one of these fruits. This particular fruit has 891 mg of blood pressure lowering potassium in just one serving of six figs (that is nearly 20% of our daily requirement and double the amount you would find in a large banana). High potassium diets are linked with lower rates of heart related illnesses in healthy adults. Aside from its heart health benefits, fresh fig is also one of the best sources of calcium. Just one serving of figs has as much calcium as ½ a cup of fat-free milk. This is why fig is a great fruit when it comes down to health, weight loss, and healthy snacking.

Another exotic fruit which is known for its heart health benefits is Lychee. This particular fruit has the second highest level of polyphenols of all fruits tested (almost 15 % more than the amount found in grapes). These polyphenols repel foreign invaders from damaging our cells. Certain other studies have also confirmed that this exotic fruit also plays an important role in the prevention of degenerative diseases, such as cancer. So with all of these health benefits, why not try something new and exotic! Not only will consuming these fruit help you achieve better health but it will also help you lose weight and maintain a healthy nutrition.

If you could make one simple change in your diet to help you lose weight, melt fat, sleep better, and improve your memory, would you do it?

What if that same simple dietary change could also:

- Reverse diabetes?

- Increase your energy?

- Conquer depression?

- Save your eyesight?

- Restore mental alertness?

- Increase your lifespan?

Now, this may sound too good to be true.

But it’s not.

And you don’t have to take drugs. Nor do you have to try some newfangled experimental supplements. Or stop eating. Or even give up the foods you love.

It’s as simple as reducing the amount of sugar you eat.

This is not a trick.

You can actually give up sugar and keep your sweet tooth happy.

This is the greatest health secret of all time. And I’m going to teach you how to incorporate it into your life so you can lose weight without taking drugs. But, before I tell you how, I want you to know…

Why You Should Give Up Sugar.

Have you ever been plagued by hard-to-diagnose health problems like why you can’t lose weight, no matter how hard you exercise or diet?

Well, it’s not all in your head. It could be your sugar addiction. In fact a recent study proves that sweets are more addictive than cocaine.

Today, the average consumption of sugar is a whopping 160 pounds! It’s suicide in slow motion. Sugar addicts eliminate 11-20 years from their lifespan.

Now I’m not saying to forget your sweet tooth completely.

We all have the need to get a sweet fix. It’s part of our biological makeup. Men suck down sodas to make it through the “afternoon blues.”

The irony is that your body doesn’t actually need any sugar. Over time, “sweetener addiction” leads to a host of dreaded diseases like insulin resistance, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. To avoid the sabotage, you must understand how to get your sweet fix without becoming addicted.

How to Reduce your Sugar Levels, Lose Weight & Reverse the Effects of Diabetes

1. Understand how much sugar you are putting into their body.

Most people are simply giving into an addiction while slowly ruining their health. To judge whether or not you are at risk, read your food labels for one day and count how many grams of sugar you are eating. Multiply your answer by 365. Then simply divide by 453.9. This will tell you how many pounds of sugar you are stuffing into your mouth annually!

2. Don’t replace table sugar with the artificial sweetener Splenda to get your sweet fix.

Splenda is a perfect example of a drug in disguise. It contains the drug sucralose. Invented in a pesticide lab, this chemical is 600 times sweeter than sugar. To make sucralose, chlorine is used. And, chlorine has a split personality.

It can be harmless or it can be life threatening. In combo with sodium, chlorine forms a harmless ionic bond to yield table salt. When used with carbon, the chlorine atom in sucralose forms a covalent bond. The end result is deadly organochlorine, known simply as a “Really Nasty Form of Chlorine.”

Unlike ionic bonds, covalently bound chlorines are a big no-no for the human body. They yield insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides. This is not something you want in your sports drink or your child’s lunchbox.

3. Avoid Equal and Nutrasweet.

Teaching organic chemistry, I taught my students how to identify the active ingredients in soda using a technique known as TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography). They discovered that the byproducts of sodas containing aspartame are all known poisons that will slowly kill you: methanol, phenylalanine, and aspartic acid. I never saw my students with a diet soda after that. Guess what Equal and Nutrasweet contains.

4. Use Natural Sweeteners as Safe Alternatives to Artificial Sweeteners.

Alternatives like erythritol, agave, xylitol and luo han guo can be found in abundance. Choosing which natural sweetener to use depends on which one tastes best to you.

How to Choose Which Natural Sweetener to Use

Agave nectar usually wins. It stimulates taste buds exactly the same way sucrose does. But unlike common table sugar, very little of its active ingredient – insulin – is absorbed. Therefore, you are protected from the dangers of sugar addiction.

Agave is a bit harder to bake with. This is where the safe and natural erythritol wins. You can replace it gram for gram with sugar. Even better, I like to use 25% table sugar and 75% erythritol in baking and ice cream. You won’t even notice the healthy difference. That’s the real magic here!

Getting Your Sweet Fix Doesn’t Have to be Deadly.

All natural sweeteners are known to help control appetite, keep insulin and blood sugar low, and prevent the formation of age accelerating molecules in our body. None of them are addicting. Nor will they diminish your lifespan. They are perfect to use with my Hormone Intelligence Therapy (HIT) program for reversing diabetes, losing fat and feeling great in 90 days.

If you learn to gauge your sugar intake with The People’s Chemist Death by Sugar Calculator and start using natural sweeteners, you will lose weight guaranteed. You won’t be plagued by hard-to-diagnose health problems. And you’ll have more years to enjoy life and those you love.

I recently listened to an interesting conversation related to corn. It was more a debate on corns’ status as a vegetable, lack of nutritional value, and link to health problems (specifically diabetes and obesity). It was proposed that corn should be banned from production. The debate went on to suggest a comparison between corn and tobacco production and their similar impact on our society. Now, I am hoping some of this was argument just for arguments sake. What did this little yellow kernel ever do? I am stepping up in its’ defense.

Vegetable

If you want to delve into botany, you could argue that corn is a grain; but I am not going to go into that explanation. In our society, corn is eaten like a vegetable. Granted it is a starchy vegetable, but a vegetable nonetheless. As far as nutritional value, ½ cup of frozen corn contributes some Vitamin A and potassium, 2 g of dietary fiber, 2.5 g of protein, only 1.5 g of sugar and less than 0.5 g of fat. The nutritional value is not outstanding, but not terrible either.

Resistant Starch

Corn is a whole grain and includes resistant starch. Resistant starches are popping up as a hot topic related to weight loss. A resistant starch is a type of fiber that resists digestion and passes through the small intestine to the large intestine mostly intact. In the large intestine it ferments and produces a fatty acid (bytyrate) that reduces toxins and helps protect against digestive diseases. Resistant starches boost immunity, improve blood sugar control, and increase satiety (a plus for individuals trying to lose weight).

Cornmeal, Corn Starch, Popcorn, High Fructose Corn Syrup

Corn is used in the production of many products. I am going to briefly cover just a couple – cornmeal, cornstarch, popcorn, and high fructose corn syrup – none of which are vegetables.

Cornmeal versus cornstarch is comparable to whole wheat flour versus white flour. Cornmeal includes the whole corn grain (bran, germ, and endosperm) while cornstarch is refined (bran and germ removed). Whole grain equals a good source of dietary fiber.

Popcorn is an excellent snack that is low calorie. Of course, you need to watch the added butter and salt. One cup of light popcorn equals ~15 calories and provides 5 g of dietary fiber!

High fructose corn syrup is a major ingredient in soda and numerous foods with a low nutritional value. To produce high fructose corn syrup, whole corn is refined to corn starch. This corn starch is then processed with enzymes to yield a glucose and fructose mixture, eventually resulting in the production of high fructose corn syrup. To say that high fructose corn syrup is corn is like saying Sunny Delight is orange juice.

Glycemic Index

The glycemic index is an oft times used rationale supporting the argument that corn is bad, based on how quickly corn raises blood sugar levels. It has been well-known for years that the glycemic index is not a reliable tool. If you were to base eating on the glycemic index, that would mean you sit down for your evening meal and dine on a cup of corn only. How likely is that? A typical meal includes a variety of foods, such as some meat and bread, along with corn. The protein, fiber, and other components of these various foods, negate the glycemic index value established for corn alone.

Portion Control

I sincerely doubt someone is overweight because they couldn’t put down the corn. Corn does provide ~80 calories per half cup, so as with everything else, you need to practice portion control and watch what you add. A tablespoon of butter added to a half cup of corn increases the calorie count to ~180 calories.

Bottom Line:

If you like corn, eat it. You do receive a nutritious vegetable, but watch the amount. Definitely NOT the root of all evil!

© 2008 eNutritionServices, All Rights Reserved.

You dread the thought of trying to lose the disgusting rolls of stomach fat caked to your body because you think you need to give up all your favorite foods.

And the truth is… you just might have too.

At least some of them.

Most of the “experts” sugar coat this fact with absolutely ludicrous claims that you can lose all the weight you want by eating whatever you want.

NEWSFLASH… you need to turn around and run the other way from such claims.

I mean, sooner or later you’re gonna have to face it, there are some foods that you love… that will keep you fat for the rest of your life!

And yes, some of the best foods for weight loss just may taste like “dirt” to you.

So where does all of this leave you?

Desperately wanting to lose weight, but feeling it’s too much of a hassle. And about 20 pounds overweight with zero motivation to do anything about it!

So here’s a question that just may help you out?

Are you willing to waste the rest of your life with that nasty fat giggling around every time you take a step just because you might have to give up some of your favorite foods?

If you’re honest you’d have to admit that it seems a bit foolish.

And here’s something else.

Something a little more on the “logical” side.

Something that I’ve discovered with many of my clients. Myself included. And it just may help boost your motivation.

Perhaps you can’t stand the taste of many of the best foods for weight loss simply because they aren’t sugar coated?

Seems a bit simplistic, I realize. But it’s just plain FACT!

Here’ what I mean…

What happens after you spend the entire day at the mall on a hyped-up credit card spending spree. Everything else seems booooooooaring!

It’s no different with the continuous consumption of sugar coated, sweetened food. Every food that’s not sweetened becomes “untasteworthy”.

You find yourself adding sauces, spices, salt and sugar to everything.

All the stuff that’s keeping you fat.

I recently spent the weekend with some good friends of mine.

It was like deja vu. The vast majority of the food that they consumed was packaged, “pop in the microwave” junk.

The reason it was such an eye-opening experience for me was that I used to eat all the same stuff. The result was that I was fat, fat and more fat.

I was able to slowly wein myself off such a diet to one that consisted of mainly organic, foods. Food that was mostly in its most natural state. Void of all artificial sweeteners and other “taste enhancers”. Basically, the best foods for weight loss.

At the time it seemed very “bland”, but as I got used to it, it became awesome.

In fact, I now feel that my mostly organic, (food found in its natural form) diet, tastes far better than my old diet.

The point is that to my friends, the food I ate seemed “tasteless”.

They had to “supe-it-up” with all the typical sauces, sweeteners and other lard producing culprits to the point that you couldn’t even taste the food.

But to me it was overflowing my taste-buds with flavor.

Bottom line: It wasn’t always this way. I had to get used to it. Now that I’m used to it though… I have a body completely void of all stomach fat, far healthier and I will NEVER go back to eating the garbage I used to.

Here’s a few final notes for you…

The shocking thing is that nearly all items purchased at the grocery store have been artificially sweetened. And it makes no difference whether it says it on the label or not.

This means that you may think you’re eating good, when really your diet is nothing more than processed junk.

My advice to those who are looking to lose weight fast… GET SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR DIET.

One very powerful fat shredding secret of many of the best foods for weight loss is that they contain no artificial sweeteners. They often will not taste good to you at first. They can take some getting used to. But stick with it and I’d wager to bet that you will NEVER go back.

In my next article I will list ten of the best foods for weight loss. Until then.

Do you start the day running, scrambling to get yourself and the kids ready? If you’re trying to lose weight, your first task is eat a healthy breakfast even if you’re in a rush. Moms, don’t give into the temptation to grab a donut and call that breakfast. A healthy breakfast should consist of a variety of foods to refuel your body and by variety, we’re not talking about sugar. Think whole grains, low-fat protein, dairy and fruit. Here’s a list of some of the best foods to jump start your day:

Grains – oatmeal, whole grain rolls, toast, hot or cold cereals, bran muffins

Protein – eggs, peanut butter, lean slices of meat

Dairy – low-fat or skim milk, low-fat plain yogurt, cottage cheese, low-fat cheese

Fruits or vegetables – fresh fruits like bananas, apples and strawberries, carrot juice

Don’t have time to sit for breakfast? Munch on a high fiber dry cereal with a banana. Gulp down a cup of skim milk before you head out the door.

Tired of the same old, same old? Try yogurt topped with fruit and a little of your favorite dry cereal. Spice up cottage cheese by adding raisins and cinnamon. Make your own egg muffin with a whole grain English muffin.

If you have to eat breakfast out, choose whole-grain breads over donuts, scones, pancakes, croissants or biscuits. Skip the ham, bacon or sausage.

Eating a healthy breakfast will keep you from binging mid-morning or eating way too much at lunch because you’re ravenous. By satisfying your hunger in the right way, you’ll enjoy better concentration during those productive morning hours. When you select healthy options in the morning, it will be easier to continue good eating habits throughout the day. And that’s one key to losing weight after baby.

Today’s Action Step: What healthy foods will you eat for breakfast today or tomorrow?