Insulin resistance is a condition I’m very familiar with because it’s a battle I fight every day. Insulin resistance is where the body produces insulin, but it doesn’t use it properly. Your body will break down the food you eat, into glucose, which is then moved through the bloodstream to the hungry cells. Insulin is the hormone that is produced to help the body’s cells use that glucose (sugar) for energy.

credit: gabrielsaldana

When you eat, the glucose (blood sugar) rises and the body produces insulin to handle it. That insulin does two things.

• Allows the glucose to go through the cell walls and be used by the cells.
• Tells your body to store the excess glucose, not needed at that moment, as fat.
  When you become insulin resistant, your body gets the second message – to store fat – but malfunctions and doesn’t use the glucose to feed the cells. So your cells are screaming they are hungry, while your glucose levels continue to go up and up and your body produces more insulin which tells your body to store fat.

Insulin Resistance Symptoms Are

• Obesity around the waist (central or abdominal obesity)
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Abnormal cholesterol levels
• Heart disease

And you don’t necessarily have to have all of them. For me, my cholesterol levels were fine, but my blood pressure was high. The obesity around the waist was an obvious problem ☺ and even though my doctor had never mentioned diabetes, I knew that if I were to grabbed a handful of chocolate kisses and ate them I had all the symptoms of diabetes (excess thirst, weakness, fatigue, and if I had a big enough handful of those kisses, even blurry vision).

Insulin Resistance Treatment

So the treatment of Insulin Resistance is fairly obvious. You want to lower your blood sugar, and thus your insulin levels. You don’t want to take insulin (like type 1 diabetics) because your body already has too much.

You want to reduce your carbohydrate intake and then gradually your insulin level will go down. Unfortunately, your insulin levels go down more slowly than your blood sugar so in the beginning you may have some pretty intense food cravings. But this too will pass. This is one of those times where you just have to grin and bear it.

Insulin Resistance Diet Plan

Here are 5 simple things you can change in your diet that, coupled with exercise*, will help you turn your diet plan into an insulin resistance diet plan and reverse your insulin resistance.

• Add Healthy Oils
• Get Adequate protein
• Eat Often
• Get Plenty of Fiber
• Lower Your Carbohydrate Intake

Good Healthy Oil

So, why is it so important to get “good oil” and for that matter what would be considered good? Good oil is oil high in omega-3 content. You get good omega-3 from certain fatty fish and flax among other places. And why is this important? Good fat in the diet is essential because the cell membranes are made up of these oils and the higher the quality of oil the less likely it is your cells will become or remain resistant to insulin.

There are a lot of advantages to getting enough omega-3. Oddly enough getting adequate omega-3 will not only make your cell walls more permeable by insulin it also makes those walls stronger and more resistant to damage.

Get Plenty of Protein

Protein is one of the essential components of the human body. In fact over 15% of our total body weight is protein. Our muscles, hair, and skin are mostly made of protein. Even our hormones, neurotransmitter, and even our digestive juices are at least partially made up of protein. So it stands to reason our body needs an adequate supply.

But how much is enough? Well that’s easy enough to figure. Just multiply your weight in pounds by .3 (in kilograms by .65) and you’ll get the total grams you need to consume each day. If you consume less, your body will start breaking down your muscles to use their protein as needed (not good).

Keep Blood Sugars At A Healthy Level By Eating Often

You’ve probably heard it before; eat smaller meals every 2 to 3 hours. This sounds difficult and the temptation is to eat twice as much food. But there really is good reason for this advice. Let’s start by determining the best way of doing this and then we’ll discuss why. You don’t want to eat more than you did before; you just want to eat more often.

By determining what you want to eat at a meal in advance, you can simply eat half and then eat the other half a few hours later. In this way you haven’t increased the amount you eat, you’ve simply spread it out. So if you were going to have a bagel (not a really good choice I might add, but an easy example to use ☺ ) you would eat half at breakfast and the other half for a snack 2 to 3 hours later.

By doing so, you have reduced the spike in your blood sugar. By the time you eat the other half, your blood sugar will have dropped again. You get the same amount of food without the huge spikes in blood sugar and insulin. This is very important. It is the large spikes in blood sugar that fuel our cravings for more carbohydrates later in the day and perpetuate our insulin resistance.

Remember, when you are insulin resistant no matter how many carbohydrates you eat, your body is going to produce more insulin than it needs. So 2 or 3 hours after you eat, you’re still going to have too much insulin in your system and you’ll be suffering from food cravings. If you ate the whole bagel, you’re going to be hungry and want to find something more to eat. If you only ate half, you may be hungry, but you’ll still have that other half to eat.

Fill Up On Fiber

Eating foods high in fiber fills you up and slows down your body’s absorption of the carbohydrates you have eaten. If you fill up on fiber you will eat less (because you feel full) and that is always a good thing for lowering your blood sugar. And because the fiber slows the rate your body absorbs carbohydrates, you will keep your blood sugar from spiking . . . which lowers your insulin level, which keeps you from having food cravings.

You can get your fiber naturally in your food by eating complex carbohydrate – such as vegetables and fruits, or you can supplement your fiber intake by taken psyllium (think Metamucil or Citrucel, etc.) Follow the link to a list of food fiber and calorie content. You should try to get 30 grams of fiber each day.

I shoot for 10 grams of fiber with breakfast, lunch, and supper. If a particular meal is less than 10 grams, I’ll take enough Metamucil to bring it up to 10 grams about 30 minutes before the meal. (That also keeps me from being so hungry when I sit down to eat so I eat less.)

Lower Your Carbohydrate Intake

Now up until this point the things you have been asked to do have been fairly simple. Most of them involve eating more food. More food is fun. But this last one is a bit of a doozy. Lowering your carbohydrate intake is hard. But if you have followed all the previous suggestion you’ll find it is not as difficult as you might think.

The easiest way to start is to simply cut your carbohydrate intake in half. If you’re going to have a sandwich, eat it open face (with only one slice of bread ☺). If you were planning to have a baked potato, only eat half. In this way you can still eat the foods you like, but without having the blood sugar spike you would normally have.

Another way to keep these carbohydrates from wreaking havoc with you system would be to find the highest fiber version available. For instance, eat all the potato skin from baked potato (the skin has the most fiber & vitamins) but carve out most of the inside which is not as nutritional. If you are going to have a piece of bread, make sure the bread has 5 grams of fiber per slice. (You may have to read quite a few labels to find bread with the highest fiber count.)

Cutting your carbohydrate intake is hard at first, but after the first few days and weeks it gets easier because as your blood sugar goes down and your insulin levels go down you stop craving food. Once you get your levels down you’ll find this is one of the easiest diet plans you’ve ever tried.

By following these 5 suggestions, along with at least 30 minutes of exercise 5-7 days a week, you should be able to positively impact your blood sugar levels and with consistent improvement you could completely reverse your insulin resistance condition.

Sample Insulin Resistance Diet Menu

Start today. Don’t wait. Here is a sample menu you can use to get started. But remember, if you are insulin resistant it will take a couple of weeks (or even up to a month) before your insulin level begins to stabilize. The first 3 days are the absolute worst, but by the time you reach your tenth day you will see this is not only doable, it gets easier with every passing day. By the time you pass the 2 week mark you may find yourself saying this is the easiest diet you’ve ever been on.

Breakfast (the most important meal of the day)

Getting enough protein at breakfast isn’t too difficult. I either have bacon and eggs or a protein shake. If you’ve been used to having cereal for breakfast this will be quite a change. I’ve shopped quite a bit and as of September of 2011 I have yet to find a low carb cereal to eat. There are a lot of them that say they are low carb, but either their idea of low carb and mine are much different or they are just big fat liars ☺ ).

Bacon and eggs are easy. I either boil or scramble my egg and then I use precooked bacon I buy at Sam’s and keep in the freezer. Because this meal is low in fiber I usually supplement with Metamucil before breakfast.

If I don’t eat eggs, I have a protein shake instead. I only use whey protein – (soy protein is not only more difficult for your body to absorb, it is lower in protein, and soy will slow down your metabolism. Most insulin resistant people don’t want their metabolism any slower). You’ll want to experiment to find a shake you like. I usually mix 4ozs of skim milk and 4 ozs ice water with a handful of berries for flavor. I also mix my psyllium husk in with my shake to thicken so that takes care of my fiber.

Lunch

There are lots of choices for lunch. You can have a sandwich, but you need to have it open face (or a bend over) using only one slice of 5 gram fiber bread. You can also use low carb high fiber wraps. READ THE LABELS! Fiber One has a great wrap that has 9 grams of fiber and only 3 grams of carbohydrates. You can have a whole wrap. Fill with the protein you need each meal and top with some at least 1 gram of fibers worth of veggies and you have a great meal.

You can also have a Cobb Salad. I love Cobb salads. Almost every restaurant anywhere serves their version of these salads and so you never really have an excuse to eat poorly. Do be careful of sweet salad dressings with lots of sugar and leave the crackers alone. A good Cobb salad will have all the protein and fiber you need for your meal.

Cottage cheese and tomatoes or some other vegetable is a great lunch. A little over a half a cup of cottage cheese will meet your protein requirement and your vegetable and fiber supplement will provide adequate fiber.

You can also have soup or chili. We love chili and I usually make huge batches of chili and freeze the extra. It’s not difficult to freeze small single serving portions to carry to work. And I usually keep several low carb soups on hand for quick lunches or suppers. See below for some great insulin resistance diet recipes.

Supper

Once again a Cobb Salad is always a great choice. They a good when you eat out but are also quite easy to make so you can toss one together fairly easy.

As mentioned above soup and chili are favorites at our house for dinner. During the colder weather sitting down to a bowl of chili or soup is very comforting.

Every meal plan for supper at our house begins with the choice of protein. Lean chicken, pork, fish, or on occasion beef has certain side dishes that go well. Lean pork with coleslaw and ranch style beans are a great combination and low in carbs. Chicken, a salad, and seasoned black beans go well together. Experiment and decide what you like best.

(Helpful Hint: One healthy thing you should do whether you are insulin resistant or not is to give yourself a last bite deadline every day. Your body needs at least 12 hours every day when you are not eating anything. Your body needs this to complete the digestion process. So if you normally eat breakfast at 7AM, you should make sure you don’t eat anything after 7Pm the night before. This gives your body a full 12 hours to process the food from the day before, and truly makes breakfast a “break-fast”.)

Insulin Resistance Diet Recipes

I’m not a great gourmet chefs that go into the kitchen and whip up these ridiculously difficult meals presented beautifully on the plate. I just make plain ole food for plain ole folks who value how good the food tastes and not how highbrow the recipe or ingredients. With that said here are a few of our favorite recipes:

German Salad Dressing

• ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
• ½ cup Olive Oil
• 1 Tbls Honey Mustard
• ½ cup Water
• ½ Tbls Crushed Garlic
• ½ tsp Minced Tarragon
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a seal-able bottle and mix well.

Favorite Meatloaf

• 1 ½ lb. Ground Beef
• 1 cup Cracker Crumbs (approximately 20 crackers)
• 2 Beaten Eggs
• 1 (8oz.)can seasoned tomato sauce
• ½ to 1 cup Finely Chopped Onions
• ¾ tsp. Salt

Combine all ingredients; mix well. Shape mixture in a loaf in a shallow baking dish. Bake about 1 hour at 350º. Makes 6-8 servings.

Favorite Spicy Chili

• 1 Box Carroll Shelby’s Chili Spices
• 2 pounds Very Lean Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
• 2 cans Del Monte Diced Tomatoes with Zesty Mild Green Chiles
• 1 can Rotel Tomatoes
• 1 8oz can of Tomato Sauce

Brown the meat and drain the fat. Dump in the spices from the Carroll Shelby Chili Spice package, throw out the maze flour and save the salt to be used elsewhere. Add in tomatoes and sauce and simmer for at least a half hour and serve hot. (We like a little grated cheddar cheese as garnish.)

Hamburger Soup

• 2 cans Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano
• 1 lb Ground Beef or Turkey
• 2 cans of Tomato Sauce
• 16 oz Beef or Chicken Broth
• 1 Chopped Onion
• 1 package Chopped Frozen Spinach
• 1 can Cut Green Beans - drained
• 1 Garlic Cloves - minced
• 1 Green Pepper - chopped (you can half this if you'd like)
• 1 Celery Stalk - chopped
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 Tbls Chopped Parsley
• ¼ tsp Italian Spices
• ½ tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Salt

Brown meat, drain the fat and then dump all ingredients in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.

There are a number of things you can do to lose weight that will lower your weight without lowering your bank balance or compromising your health.

For any of us who need to lose weight, we know we didn't gain the weight overnight and we won't lose it overnight either. It will take time. And we can't keep eating the same things we've been eating or we'll keep weighing what we weigh. Right?

So here are a few weight loss home remedies:

1. Drink a cup of Warm water and juice from one half lemon every morning as soon as you get up. Not only will this help curb your appetite, is will help reduce allergies, and will improve digestion.
2. Reduce your carbohydrate intake. I call it the no white diet. Avoid anything that is white, ie. Rice, potatoes, flour, sugar and milk and dairy products. By simply avoiding things that are white you are able to reduce your carbohydrate intake and lose weight.
3. Fill your diet with negative calorie foods. A negative calorie food is any food you eat that burns more calories to digest than you take in when you eat them. An example would be broccoli, which contains fewer calories than your body burns as it digests it. And while technically there are no negative calorie foods, you would be hard pressed to not lose weight eating these foods exclusively. Click the link for a list of negative calorie foods.
4. Do not eat any food after 7PM. Your body needs approximately 12 hours to complete a full digestive cycle. If you don't allow your body this time to digest you will develop acid reflux, a potentially serious condition as well as annoying, and will pack on the pounds. As you age, your body completes this cycle more slowly. So the older you are the more necessary completing this cycle becomes.
5. Jump start your diet with a reduced carbohydrate and reduced fat diet. One of my favorite diet 'beginnings' is The 3 Day Diet. This diet must be followed very carefully and is rather strict, but is easy and doesn't require any sort of special equipment or difficult calculating. (In other words, the diet plan is free
6. Eat a diet of at least 35 grams of fiber every day. The idea behind this diet is that if you fill up on fiber, you won't feel hungry (and so wont fill up on empty calories) and because fibrous foods expand once eaten because the fiber absorbs liquid, you will feel fuller than you would if you had just eaten the same amount of food or calories but without the fiber. (Having a chart of both high fiber foods and a food fiber and calorie chart will be helpful on this diet.)
7. And last but not least, drink 10 8oz glasses of water each day. If drinking 10 glasses of water seems a daunting task, you can always drink 8 10oz glasses of water

Any one of the above seven remedies will help you shed those excess pounds. However for an unstoppable plan of attack, as much as you are able, combine all seven of these ideas. And for more quick and easy ideas to help you drop the weight, sign up for the 'Top 10 Diet Guide' and receive '33 Simple Things You Can Do To Lose Weight!' in the upper right hand corner of this page.

The results, after two years were that people in both groups lost the same amount of weight.

(But now read the really interesting part.)

The group on the low-carb diet enjoyed a significant decrease in blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides and had an increased in HDL (good cholesterol) of more than 20%.  And this is not the first study of this type.  In 2003, an almost identical study was performed and the results then were equally impressive and very much the same.

In the Temple study, participants on the diet low in carbohydrates were limited only as to their consumption of carbohydrates. There were no restrictions on the type of protein they ate or the amount of animal fat they consumed. They could eat all the animal fats they wanted.

So the real question is, would you rather lose weight and improve your health or simply lose weight?

For a diet low in carbohydrates that will fit your lifestyle take a look at these plans:  the G.I. Diet (Glycemic Index Diet), The Diet Solution, the Idiot Proof Diet, South Beach Diet, The Mediterranean Diet and the Zone Diet.

A diet to lose belly fat is one that aims at achieving overall body fitness, and its success depends on several factors.

The diversity of foods matters!

It is well known that restrictive diets create a negative response from the body; the best solution is to find a balanced approach to weight loss. There are many negative consequences to food restrictions. Little food that you don't like is a crime against your body! No wonder you can't lose fat!

Eat five or six meals per day, with small portions and a diversity of foods. There is an abundance of food recipes available and your choices are virtually countless. You take nutrients and therefore energy from food, and the absence of these nutrients from the diet will alter your physical condition and your health for the worse.

Diet and training support each other!

No diet to lose belly fat will work unless it combines training with diet. A healthy life depends on the quality of the lifestyle, and most people neglect this very important part of their existence.

Abdominal fat usually affects people with a sedentary lifestyle who also make poor food choices. There are lots of physical activities that can help you lose weight evenly and get in good shape. You can start a gym routine, join a dance class or do anything else that makes your muscles work harder.

Bad habits that favor overweight!

Alcohol is the main enemy of any diet to lose belly fat. Beer is a major trigger for abdominal obesity, which is why we call it 'beer belly'. Beer interferes with the functions of the liver and the pancreas, not to mention that it is very rich in calories. There is a close relationship between abdominal fat and diabetes. Watch out!

Quit drinking!
Quit smoking!
Sleep at least eight hours per night!
Do physical activities!
Think positive!
Eat healthy food!

...And you'll enjoy great fitness, a slender body and an incredible waist line!

About one in three people are adversely affected by changes in altitude, and are in danger of suffering some form of mountain sickness. And though it is usually not dangerous, it can be and may even be fatal if you fail to recognize the signs and take appropriate action.

The first thing you should know is the symptoms. Mountain sickness usually includes headache, nausea and lethargy. It’s not unlike having a nasty hangover from alcohol. Because the air pressure is less, your body is having difficulty gaining the amount of oxygen it needs to function properly and must become accustom to the decreased amount available.

In addition, because the air is usually drier at the elevated heights, you become dehydrated much more easily and there are some heights at which your body will have a reduced amount of nutrient absorption.

There are more severe symptoms such as loss of coordination, breathlessness and mental confusion which are beyond the scope of this post, and should you find you are suffering from any of these you should get to a lower elevation and get immediate medical attention. But we are going to assume we’re all talking about simple Mountain Sickness.

If you are one of the ‘lucky third’ who finds acclimatizing less than a snap, here are a few things you should do to help decrease the time it takes for you to be your old lovable self:

• Load up on carbohydrate foods before you leave, and continue to priorities them when you're at higher altitude.
• Drier air means you're at more risk of dehydration at high altitude. Drink more water!
• Your body will need more calories than normal. Remember, it has to work harder to extract the oxygen you need. Add on extra carbohydrate foods and snacks.
• Eat smaller, more frequent meals which allows for more constant fuel for your body, while not increasing your digestive burdens on the body.
• Proteins are more difficult for your body to digest. Eat more starchy and sweet foods. While you are acclimating is not the time for low-carb dieting.
• Vitamin E (tocotrienol), branch-chain amino acid supplements and digestion enzymes at each meal may be helpful.
• Eat less salt. Salt will make you retain fluid and make your body work harder to stay oxygenated and hydrated.
• Don't drink alcohol. Alcohol dehydrates the body and being your body is having difficulty in this area to begin with, try to avoid making things worse.
• Until your body becomes acclimatized, try to avoid strenuous exercise or putting any undue stress on the heart or lungs.

There are not many people I've known who haven't wondered at one time or another how to get rid of love handles or how to get rid of belly fat. Those of us who have love handles, also known by other colorful names like spare tire, belly fat, and pot-belly, find very little to love about those handles. That belly says we've been letting ourselves go to pot.

Love handles and belly fat are basically nice ways to describe the fat that accumulates on the lower abdomen and on each side of the waist. But any way you view it, those love handles are warning signs of undesired weight gain. Yes, let's call it what it is, that belly fat is just unwanted weight. And the only way to get rid of love handles and to get rid of belly fat is to lose weight. You may have the greatest abs in the world, but if they’re covered by fat, nobody will ever know.

That means you've got to find a reliable eating plan that will both nourish your body while reducing that pot-belly and those love handles. Finding reliable weight lose information can be an absolutely discouraging endeavor since there are quite literally hundreds of weight loss plans on the market today that make all types of preposterous claims.

First, you need to find a healthy plan you can stick to. To reduce your overall body fat and keep it off, you need to find a healthy eating plan. It's tempting, when you're trying to lose weight, to skip meals to reduce your caloric intake, but a better--and easier--way to cut calories is to find a reliable diet that fits your tastes and lifestyle; one you can adopt for life. So to prevent or reduce excess weight around the abdomen, or wherever you're genetically predisposed to deposit it, you need a healthy diet.

Compare the different diets based on the type foods you enjoy, and the ones you already know pack on the pounds now. Don't be tempted by plans offering huge weight loss over a short period of time. A plan offering fast results is usually not a healthy one, and you want a plan you can stick with for the rest of your life. You want a healthy diet that will keep the weight off.

Once you start losing body fat, you can firm up your body by exercising. The main thing to remember though is that spare tires and pot-bellies indicate too much body fat. And losing body fat is the best (read only) way to get rid of love handles and to get rid of belly fat.

If you want to lose weight then find the right diet for you, and then get up off the couch and go for a walk, take a ride on your bike, or go to the gym. When you maintain a healthy diet and institute a regular cardiovascular workout routine, your love handles and belly fat will gradually reduce without any particular special exercise to get rid of them. So, there you have it: the skinny on how to get rid of love handles and belly fat.

There are hundreds of diets out there, and it can be mind boggling to keep track of them all. But whether you're trying to lose weight, or are simply wanting to stay healthy by eating a healthy diet, you're going to have to weed through them to find the one that's best for you.

The truth is, there are a lot of very healthy diets out there. And unless you have some underlying health issues that require you eat a certain type diet, probably the best  all round diet on the market today is the The Diet Solution.

The Diet Solution is high in fruits and vegetables, low fat meat, fish and complex carbohydrates. And research shows The Diet Solution excels at maintaining your blood sugar at constant levels. And for those of you who are saying my blood sugar is fine, I'm not worried about it.   It's those spikes in your blood sugar and consequently your insulin levels that make you so doggone hungry.

In addition to making you hungry, high blood sugar and caffeine levels as well as aged fats are the culprits when it comes to high cholesterol. And though your cholesterol levels may be fine now, as you grow older, it will become more and more difficult to maintain them.   And after all, we're all about eating a healthy diet.

But The Diet Solution is not the only healthy diet around. All of the following diets are both reduced carbohydrates and reduced fat, which is the basic criteria for a healthy diet. G.I. Diet (Glycemic Index Diet), the Fat Loss 4 Idiots, South Beach Diet, and the Zone Diet

Related Posts Cortisol and Belly Fat Thyroid and Weight Gain Insulin Resistance And The Cortisol Connection Get Rid Of Belly Fat And Get Rid Of Love Handles

Want to lose weight fast? You can drop 10 pounds in nothing flat by simply incorporating the follow rules into your diet. Simply watch what you eat and make certain to have good tasting, fresh and healthy food on hand. By planning ahead, you can fill up on vegetables and eat fruit for treats.

As you can see, you won't be suffering, these changes are easy to implement! Just follow these simple guidelines to lose 10 pounds fast, or give your weight loss program a boost when it seems to have stuttered to a halt. This is a balanced and easy to follow plan that you can use for as long as you want.

1. Limit foods containing simple carbohydrates to once a week. (This would be foods like chocolate - including dark chocolate unless you're eating it without sugar, ice cream, desserts, and any baked goods like rolls, biscuits or cookies, etc.)
2. Each week have a minimum of two meals, lunch or dinner without including either cheese or meat. You can use vegetables for extra fiber - very filling - and beans for protein.
3. When using dairy products, use the low fat version. Now I know, switching from 4% milk to skim is almost impossible to do. Just kick it down a notch. If you're drinking 4% milk now, go to 2% milk. The same thing goes for cheese and yogurt. (You should also make sure your yogurt doesn't contain sugar.)
4. Eat a couple servings of fruit each day. But not just any fruit choose berries for their high nutritional value and fiber and low sugar content. They make nice dessert too.
5. Drink your water! Your body needs water and when you're trying to lose weight, your body's need for water increases. Replace all your drinks containing calories and especially alcohol with good ole water. You can add lemon or lime for a little zest. Your body will thank you, and at restaurants, the highest markup on your check is always the drink - drinking water will save you money too.
6. Eat your vegetables! You should have four servings of vegetables each day. Add two servings to both lunch and dinner.
7. Learn to chew your food thoroughly. Did you know the first step in the digestive process your body goes through is supposed to be done in your mouth? Most of us almost completely skip this step because we eat so quickly. (No wonder so many people have indigestion.) Slow down! Your body takes almost twenty minutes to register its full - and if you're a fast eater, you can gulp down a lot of calories in those twenty minutes.
8. Want a great snack? Grate some carrots. For some reason, grated carrots are more filling than a whole carrot. Maybe it's all that air.






9. If you're going to eat wheat products - always use whole grain. If there is no whole grain option available, find something else to eat entirely. You should never eat simple carbohydrates unless you're trying to gain weight and develop constipation. Whole grains have more fiber and fiber will help you fill full longer and improve your digestion. You can also supplement your diet with psyllium husk (think Metamucil) mixed with water.
10. OK, back to the chewing again. Deliberately choose food which will require you to chew. It seems the very act of chewing makes you feel more satisfied. Quite possibly this is due to the time it takes to eat these foods slows down the eating process enough that your body registers its full before you are able to eat too much. For instance, have a salad before your meal - chewing, low calorie and full of fiber.
11. Plan what you're going to eat before you get hungry. Going to the grocery store hungry is not a good idea. Also, make a list of the things you need and follow it. This advice will usually save you money as well as extra calories. Remember most dieters don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan.
12. When you eat, just eat. Don't watch TV and Eat! Countless studies have been done showing we are more likely to over eat if we're eating in front of the television. My guess is we focus more on what's on our screen than what's going in our mouths.