You’ve heard the popular advice on weight loss diets. Cut the fat! Cut the carbs! Cut the calories! Eat a balanced diet! Yes it’s true.
But it’s confusing. So many people fail because of “information overload”.
How can you eat a diet that’s balanced and healthy in order to cut fats, carbs and calories?
Here’s the advice from nutritional science:
Cut the JUNK fats: Most people do not need an ultra low fat diet. But most of us could improve our diet by cutting out the junk fats. Basically, these are the processed fats: hydrogenated fats, polyunsaturated oils that have been heated, and fats that are combined with junk carbs. Processed fats are the fats most likely to put on flab and clog your arteries.
Cut the JUNK carbs. Most people do not need an ultra low carb diet. But unfortunately, so many people who go on a low fat diet continue to eat highly processed foods – they switch from processed high-fat to processed low-fat. And when food manufacturers create low fat foods, they tend to replace the fat with junk carbs, which tend to pile on the pounds. Basically, junk carbs are low-fiber carbs, like sugar, fructose (and all the other *oses), flour, cornstarch, fruit juice. Yes, fruit juice is a junk carb too! – After all, how much fiber is there in fruit juice? – Virtually none – it’s yet another junk carb. You should eat the whole fruit instead, with its fiber intact.
Cut the JUNK calories. Most people do not need an ultra low calorie diet. But just think what your diet would be like if you dropped the processed fats and the low-fiber carbs. You’d be eating mainly natural proteins, with lots of vegetables plus whole fruits – and the odds are that you would be eating far fewer calories as well. That’s the kind of calorie cutting most of us should be doing.
Eat a balanced NATURAL-FOODS diet. By natural foods, we mean the foods that would have been eaten by your hunter-gatherer ancestors: – lots of whole vegetable foods for vitamins and fiber; moderate to small portions of meats, fish, seafood, and other animal and protein foods, grilled, stewed or baked; and small portions of fresh whole fruit in season. This is the diet on which the human race evolved, and the diet which, for the vast majority of people, makes for optimum health
So the next time you’re about to order a meal with fries and sugary soda, think about how it could be improved. Replace the fries with a salad, and the soda with mineral water, and you’ve already made significant progress towards a healthier, balanced meal.
And at home, look for recipes that use whole, fresh foods, with a minimum of processing. Make sure your meals include natural unprocessed foods, with lots of healthy vegetables, both cooked, and raw in salads. Avoid processed fats and processed low-fiber foods.
A sample menu:
– grilled fish with steamed green beans, and peppers
– mixed salad, dressed with small amounts of olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice
– fresh fruit platter
– Sushi : fish and seafood (low-fat and well balanced in terms of nutrition)
– Tofu (bean curd): low-fat, quality protein food. Highly recommended
I personally recommend Sushi for your healthy weight-loss. Cheap junk food is OK(I actually like junk food too). But don’t eat junk food too much for health!
Would you like to try sushi? Sushi is very healthy.
With the rise in popularity of sushi in western countries you may be invited by friends to join them at the local sushi bar. Many of Hollywood celebrities love to eat Sushi in fact. While you may be anxious about the prospect of eating anything raw, don’t worry, all you need is a little bit of information to take the anxiety away from the experience and enjoy this wonderful delicacy.
Sushi is a very simple dish, although the making of it is considered an art form. The Itamae (sushi chef) traditionally needs to train for 10 years before being hired to prepare sushi. However, the popularity of sushi has forced the hiring of chefs with only a few years experience.
There are four main types of sushi you can order:
Nigiri sushi: nigiri means “grab”. These are hand pressed balls of rice with raw fish on top and bit of wasabi between the fish and rice.
Sashimi: sliced raw fish (technically not sushi since the term sushi refers to the rice and sashimi is not prepared with any rice).
Maki sushi: maki means “roll”. The maki sushi is rolled with bamboo mats. Traditionally the seaweed is on the outside; rice on the outside is called ‘inside-out’ (ie: California roll).
Temaki is a hand rolled version of Maki. It is cone shaped like an ice cream cone.
Sushi comes in an amazing variety of combinations, however you’ll find these common ingredients or garnishes with nearly every version:
The word sushi actually refers to The rice, also called ‘sticky rice’. Sushi rice is short grained and cooked with a 1:1 ratio of water. Sushi vinegar and sugar is added which makes the rice both sweet and tart.
Wasabi: Japanese horseradish. Often served as a green paste alongside your sushi as an additional condiment; a word of caution – wasabi is VERY hot, so use it sparingly while developing a taste for it.
Gari: Thinly sliced, pickled ginger is also served with sushi. Some use it as a garnish although it is technically to refresh your palette between bites.
Nori: The seaweed sheets used to roll rice for sushi.
Soya Sauce (Shoyu): used as a dipping sauce. The wasabi can also be mixed with the soya sauce for those who enjoy the intense flavor.
Sushi can be made with a single ingredient or several. Single ingredients include avocado, cucumber (kappa), tuna (tekka or maguro) or salmon (sake ? but not the rice wine). There are also many modernized combinations designed to please American palettes. These include the California roll made with avocado, crab, and cucumber and the Philadelphia roll made with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber.
As you can see, despite the unusual presentation you can easily find identifiable and delicious combinations you are sure to enjoy. Despite what you may think, the nori (seaweed) has very little flavor and is nearly undetectable when combined with the flavors of the sushi and the addition of soya sauce or wasabi. In fact, like many other converts, you may just have found yourself a new addiction!
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