4 Important Tips for Choosing a Diet Meal Plan



If youre searching for a diet meal plan that you can live with, follow the four important tips below before heading to the bookstore. A well-written and well-researched book can help you make a lifelong change in your eating habits. And if you choose the right diet plan, you'll enjoy your meals even more than you did before, so you won't even remember that you're "dieting."

Since there are hundreds of diet, weight loss and nutrition books on the shelves at your local bookstore, how do you choose the right one for you?

If you want to make a permanent change in your eating habits, I suggest you make your choice very carefully. This is especially important since many overweight people also have significant health issues that need to be taken into account before making any drastic dietary changes. For that reason, it just makes good sense to discuss any eating plan with your doctor before beginning your program, and then choose a meal plan that is based on solid science.

1. When choosing a diet book, be sure to pick one that is based on real nutritional research. It wont be quite as easy to read as the latest fad, but you should be making plans for long-term health, not just weight loss.

2. If there is a lot of controversy surrounding the diet book, like there was when the Atkins diet was so popular, you would be better off choosing a different book. It may be emotionally exciting to be part of the in crowd that knows the scientists are all conspiring against you, but you could end up damaging your health. On the other hand, dont dismiss well-researched books, like The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, just because you dont see anyone else reading it.

3. Dont choose a diet book that will make you feel punished or deprived. Who need that? Sooner of later youll rebel, anyway, so go ahead and put it back on the shelf and pick another book that is more enticing. You dont need to eat less food to lose weight you just need to eat the right food with more nutrients and fewer calories. A good book will show you which foods you can include in your diet meal plans, and which ones are best to avoid.

4. Choose a plan that fits your own learning style and personality. Some people like to have a full month of specific menus laid out, along with ingredients and recipes. Other people just want the basics, with enough guidelines so they can build a new healthy diet program for themselves. Some folks cant imagine themselves living without meat, while others are on the verge of becoming a vegetarian, and just need a little nudge from the right author. Just make sure you arent trying to shoehorn yourself into a diet plan just because you think you should.

The best diet books dont actually have much to do with dieting. The same nutritious eating plan that helps you lose weight will also improve your immune system, make you feel more energetic and alive, and may even help you manage some chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. In fact, a diet meal plan that helps overweight people slim down can also help underweight people gain a few pounds. Nutritious food is good for you, all the time. A book that talks only about weight loss will be too narrow in scope for a lifetime of healthy eating.

If you can't stick with a diet meal plan, no matter how hard you try, your food cravings may be getting in the way. Be sure to visit Jonni's website at http://www.HowToThinkThin.com and set the stage for a lifetime of good health.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonni_Good


A Short Walk Helps Smokers Quit
Smokers should do short bouts of exercise to help them resist the temptation to light up, say experts at the University of Exeter. A review, recently published in the international journal 'Addiction', concludes that when smokers abstain from smoking, exercise can help them to manage withdrawal symptoms and resist the urge to smoke. [click link for full article]

Red Pepper: Hot Stuff For Fighting Fat?
Food scientists in Taiwan are reporting new evidence from laboratory experiments that capsaicin - the natural compound that gives red pepper that spicy hot kick - can reduce the growth of fat cells. The study is scheduled for the March 21 issue of the ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. [click link for full article]

Foods To Prevent Obesity?
This, surely, is the oxymoron of the year. Reuters reports that the "Dutch hope to invent foods that prevent obesity". That single sentence encompasses the arrogance, greed, and plain foolishness that exists in the minds of those who "invent" foods. "We are working on certain food ingredients, which provoke more satiety than others do on the long run, so that...

Americans Still Not Eating Enough Fruits And Vegetables, According To Two Recent Studies
"Eat your vegetables" has been heard at the dinner tables of America for a long time. Has the message gotten through? Since 1990 the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has recommended consuming at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables daily. However, two studies published in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine clearly show that Americans are not meeting the mark. [click link for full article]

Be Inspired: Shannan's Story
Some people have it tough, and others have it very tough. Shannan Hutchinson is one of the latter. Shannan has Multiple Sclerosis - yet despite the phenomenal challenges posed by her illness, Shannan was able to lose over 90 pounds - by eating right and exercising. Here is her story....

Patients Should Be Alert For Obesity Surgery Complication
It is important for obesity surgery patients to take their prescribed vitamin supplements and to be alert for symptoms such as vomiting, confusion, lack of coordination and visual changes signs of a serious neurological condition that can develop after the surgery. [click link for full article]

High BMI Associated With Lower Likelihood Of Being Discharged Home After Hospitalization For Stroke
Individuals with a higher body mass index (BMI) tend are less likely to be discharged directly home after hospitalization for an ischemic stroke, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. An ischemic stroke occurs when the flow of blood to a part of the brain is blocked or reduced and sufficient amounts of oxygen cannot be delivered to brain tissue. [click link for full article]

Modern Imaging Unravels Causes Of Addictive Behaviour - A Possible Basis For New Therapies?
What can radiology contribute to the treatment of obesity (adipositas)? Evidently a great deal, as was made clear at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR 2007) at Austria Center Vienna. [click link for full article]

The Answer To Childhood Obesity: 15 Minutes Of Football?
ALSPAC The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (also known as Children of the 90s) is a unique ongoing research project based in the University of Bristol. It enrolled 14,000 mothers during pregnancy in 1991-2 and has followed most of the children and parents in minute detail ever since. [click link for full article]