Helpful Diet Tips for Weight Loss

There are many diet tips for weight loss that can be found in a variety of sources like the internet or mags. The key is finding the very best tips that are easy to follow and do not involve anything utmost(a). Avoid quick-fix plans that offer you instant results as these are very likely to harm you in the end. Even if you are on a good diet plan, sticking to it is quite difficult and it will require a lot of will power on your part. You should bear in mind of which weight loss is a slow and steady process therefore you should not get discouraged easily.
There are small but very successful changes that you can make on your diet that will eventually help an individual lose weight as required. What you need to accomplish is to have a plan that gives you a variety of enjoyable choices. Avoid the common mistakes made by many people along a diet and learn how to corrode healthy food always. Keep in intellect that if you eat more calories than you are burning then youll gain weight. Therefore if you start consuming fewer calorie than you are burning you must definitely shed weight.
When you decide to follow almost any diet tips for weight loss, you should know that the entire process requires a change of lifestyle and not only a short-term diet. There are agile diets that can help you shed some weight but a long-term change in lifestyle as well as food choices is necessary. Another significant step in losing weight involves you having a support group with other like-minded individuals. You can also get help from family and friends so as to help you. Sticking to a new weight loss diet is not easy and the actual support of these people can follow very helpful.
When you are trying to drop weight through a diet, you should keep in psyche that moderation is the key. Tend not to choose diets that cut out entire food groups. Your body needs food of all types, including fats and carbohydrates as long as you take them in moderate quantities. Make sure you always eat a well-rounded diet that gives everyone types of nutrients. Even after shedding a certain amount of weight the way you wanted, you even now need to watch what you eat since you are more likely to gain the weight faster than it took to snap.

Even when you are on a diet and you yield into temptation, do not feel discouraged. An unexpected slip up will not wipe out your efforts entirely so you should continue on with the plan. Be careful not to forfeit money buying all those weight losing supplements you see being marketed on television or the internet. A lot of them dont give the results promised inside adverts so you are better cancelled channeling your money elsewhere. The better diet tips for weight loss require a lot of hard work and commitment and are usually long-term as the name indicated.

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Diet Tips for Fast Weight Loss Before the Wedding

Weight loss is something that cannot be reached overnight, but there are desperate occasions when people are left with no option but to frantically search for eating plan tips for fast weight loss. An approaching wedding is an demonstration of these desperate times, and this applies if youre part of the wedding get together and you have to fit in to that gorgeous bridesmaids dress. If you happen to be the bride to be, then the pressure is even larger. Weddings happen once in a lifetime, and most brides have by now imagined how their wedding day will look like ever since they were little girls. All the details have already been recently created perfectly in their heads - from your venue to the wedding gown towards color scheme. A wedding is an occasion that for some brides is a dream come true. If youre a bride, you would want to make sure that on your wedding day youre the most beautiful woman inside venue. Your natural excitement and shine will make this possible, but certainly it would help a lot of you are in your most ideal weight.
Most brides are desperate for diet tips for fast weight loss before the big day, and they have got no qualms about going on a crash diet. All the sacrifice are going to be worth it when they walk decrease that aisle with a figure to die for, but of course achieving that figure comes with a lot of hard work. Crash diets with a limited time frame work differently through diets that have all the time in the world to take effect. Crash diets mostly involve drastic measures because people going on this diet will would like to lose the weight drastically as well. The anxiety leading up to the big day will contribute towards the brides weight loss, but in general the bride ought to have a lot of discipline in following different diet tips for fast weight loss.

Making sure you have discipline is among st the diet tips that people need to check out when it comes to crash eating plans. Dieting in general needs a lot of discipline, but when meter is of the essence you requires a lot more of this discipline. A double dose of discipline and resolve is needed to make crash weight loss plans work, because if a tiny cheat during a regular weight loss plan will have little consequences, intended for a crash diet it will have monumental effects. Another fast diet tip is to drastically minimize if not totally remove carbohydrates from your food intake. Instead of eating carbohydrates it is possible to take lean protein instead. You should cut down with fats as well, which means that you can avoid fried food totally and you should stick to be able to steamed, roasted, and boiled food with little to no salt in addition to seasoning. These measures are drastic but they work for fast weight loss. Remember that you dont have to resort to these kind of drastic measures forever, and as before long as the big day passes you can go back to normal.

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This Instant Pot and I are going to be best friends!

Hi folks!  Earlier this week, on Monday, I received one of two packages I had been waiting for: Lorna Sass Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure.  I had mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that I was looking into getting a pressure cooker and a cookbook to go along with it.  I settled on this cookbook, which was published in 1994, to start my love affair with pressure cooking because...

1.) Chef AJ recommends the book here,
2.) the reviews said that this cookbook is almost completely vegan besides occasional suggested cheese toppings that could be replaced with nutritional yeast if I really wanted,
3.) the reviews said that even non-vegetarians will love (a.k.a. my meat and potatoes husband), and
4.) most reviews raved about their favorite recipe and I wanted to TRY THEM ALL!

After spending most of Monday evening reading soaking up its recipes and tips, and fantasizing about myself with a clean kitchen and an electric pressure cooker quietly and rapidly cooking my delicious healthy food, I hopped onto my computer to check the shipment tracking on the InstantPot IP-DUO60 that I had ordered at the same time as the book.

Amazon said it hadnt even been shipped! :(  I knew it was due to arrive anytime between October 7th to the 10th, but it was the 6th and it hadnt even left the warehouse!?!  Poo poo!

After going back to work on Tuesday (I took Monday off to recover from Leavenworth, and actually ended up with a little cold to nurse), I spent all day thinking about what recipes I wanted to make out of the book and how I wished my Instant Pot would get here sooner!

Around my lunch break on Tuesday, I checked with Amazon again for the tracking.  Hopefully it had left the warehouse by now....  It said "Delivered"!  How on earth that could happen is beyond me, but it was waiting at home for me!  After a few more hours crawled by, I left work to stop at my favorite farmers stand to pick up some produce I would need, and then headed home.

I eagerly unpacked my produce and opened my lovely, large InstantPot package!

First thing I did: read the getting started directions of course, I am a woman!  Then I washed the new parts and started a quick soak on some chickpeas for a soup I was planning on making for dinner.  Normally I pre-soak my beans, but when a pressure cooker is just waiting to be used, a quick soak would have to do.

Little did I know, the pressure cooker also works to quickly quick-soak dried beans.  A normal quick soak involves bringing a pot with dried beans up to a boil for a few minutes, then allowing the beans to stand in the hot water off of the burner for 1 hour, before then cooking the beans for 2+ hours to get them edible.

A quick soak in a pressure cooker combined 1 cup of dried chickpeas (all I needed for the recipe, but it would fit more) with 3 cups of water.  I locked the lid and set the InstantPot to high pressure for 20 minutes, then allowed the pressure to come down naturally.  This took a total of about 35 minutes to quick soak, rather than 1 hour plus.  This step could also be avoided by soaking beans overnight, which I will do from now on, but this night I didnt expect my PC to be here so soon.

(Sorry, I wish I had more pictures of the process to share, but I was just too excited to get started that I forgot to grab my camera.  More pictures will be coming when I get the hang of things!)

While the beans were cooking, I prepped the ingredients for the soup, and even had time to clean up the kitchen.  After draining and rinsing the quick-soaked beans, I filled the pot with all of the ingredients for Lorna Sass Chickpea Soup Italiano.  Set the pot for 16 minutes at high pressure, then allowed the pressure to come down naturally, for a total of around 30 minutes.

During the times the pot was cooking, there were no sounds, no dreaded hissing of the pressure cooker horror stories you may have heard.  There was actually no times that I felt that it felt unsafe, which is a relief.

I had the Chickpea Soup Italiano for dinner that night and it was delicious!  I sent Kevin to work with the leftovers from the half batch the next day. (His pictures arent as pretty as mine would have been ;)).

Chickpea Soup Italiano from Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure

After packing away the leftover soup, I made a half batch of Lornas Garlicy Lentil Soup.  Since lentils cook even faster than dried beans, this soup only needed 7 minutes at high pressure, with a natural pressure release.  I found that I needed to add a bit more stock at the end than it had called for, but it made for a nice thick lentil soup.  This was my lunch today and the day before, and the wonderful aroma alone may have convinced a coworker of mine to get the same pressure cooker.

Then, this morning I steamed my breakfast kale in it.  This went super quickly with only 3 minutes at high pressure and a quick release.  No pictures of this, sorry.

As you can tell, Im super giddy about my new pressure cooker.  I may have a bit of an hiatus of creating recipes for the blog as I explore how to use this new wonderful contraption, but I will keep you guys posted on how Im doing through some of my other social media accounts (see top right of blog for links).

Health and Happiness,

Amy

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I love IHerb!

So guys, in this post I am NOT going to talk about workout. Not at all. And I am sorry for this. But this is not an add, really. I just wanna share something I discovered, and i LOVED it!

I have been trying hard to get a grip of my life, and to slow down the pace of it - most of which I actually love. But it has been hard. So to keep the story short, I decided to go more green. Im not vegetarian, and there is really little chance I would ever become one: I love meat too much. But I can add a little bit to the planet by recycling (which I do almost religiously in Germany here) and perhaps sticking to mostly BIO products. I know. It is different, some might say it is silly - and that "natural cosmetics" is still not natural. But I like the concept of bio stuff - all from nature and protecting it. And no, I am sorry I dont feel as strongly protecting cows and chickens... Go figure.

So, in the past few weeks I got pretty much addicted to iHerb.com. It sells lots and lots and lots of bio, organic and natural cosmetics (be careful there with checking the contents as it is not only bio!!!), as well as stuff for babies, pets, vitamins, food, etc. Wonderful wonderful wonderful!!!!

So far I got some vitamins for myself and my bf, shampoos, conditioners, cream, facewashes, oils, books, chocolate, cosmetic brushes, aloe vera, soap, blush and foundation... well you get the picture! LOTS of stuff! 

Benefits:

• First, choice and quality! So far I LOVED it! The service is fast and efficient. Products are good, and I have found soooo many great replacements for the market equivalents. I love their shampoos, hair care, vitamins, oils and natural soaps... I mean seriously - amazing. :) Again, there are a lot of perks in more natural cosmetics, and I am only starting to discover this, but it is great!
• Second, price. What is amazing for me - it is reasonably cheap. Somewhat natural cosmetics cost LOTS here in Germany - even products by Weleda, which are made in Germany and it is a German brand, are cheaper on iHerb!!! Generally you can find various brands, various components, etc.
• Third, delivery. In the US it delivers really fast, worldwide you do have to wait a little bit - but it is worth the wait (around 2 weeks for European countries). Great thing about it is that it is also - CHEAP! Worldwide you pay 4-6 Euros depending on how much you paid for your order.
• And of course, unused items you can always return... Not that I want to return ANYTHING! :)

Caution:

• First, it is really important to be careful and check the contents. Do research on your own. Dont simply follow reviews and advice of others: it is your health, your skin, so make your decisions wisely!
• Second, there is a limit of 4 pounds and certain money-limit on each package. With international shipping, there is a bit of flexibility, but check your cart regularly.

Finally, one of the perks is that you get a code and you can use it to give to other people for mutual benefit. It is a bit of marketing tool - which I think is really smart and effective. So, if you use a code on your first purchase, you get 5-10 dollars off your first order, and I would get a little reward. And after that there is a chain of users - pretty handy! You can get more info on how it works here. 

So, folks, if you will want to order, use my code - I would be happy ;) Beware though - it is addictive :))))) Good luck! I started a new blog primarily on iHerb - check it out!

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PESTO MEATBALL PASTA

I had some leftover sausage meat from when I cooked my Italian sausage roll pasta bake so had been hunting through my recipe file for a suitable recipe in which to use it up. I came across this one I had ripped from a magazine - I love the idea of meatballs but I always find cooking them a bit of a hassle - however I was prepared to give them a go. One thing I loved about this recipe was that I could prepare everything beforehand so that when it came to supper time, it didnt take long to cook….perfect for a Monday when Arabellas after school club finishes late and we are always in a rush.

Ingredients for 4 people:

500g pork mince (we actually used 250g mince and 250g sausage meat)
125g / 12 mozzarella balls
300g pasta (we used rigatoni as we had some left over but you could use linguine or spaghetti or whatever you prefer)
100g sun-blush tomatoes
Salt and pepper
150g fresh pesto
Olive oil

In a large bowl mix the pork with 2 tablespoons of pesto and season well.

Take a golf ball sized piece of mixture and flatten it.

Place a piece of mozzarella on top.

Then mould the pork mixture around the cheese and shape into a ball. This was a messy business!

Continue until you have used up all the meat and mozzarella - you should have 12 meatballs. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or longer if you can (I chilled them for 4 hours).

When you are ready to eat, cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the packet instructions - mine took 13 minutes.

Heat a non stick frying pan and add a dollop of olive oil and fry the meatballs for 10-12 minutes, turning a couple of times. I overdid the olive oil and so there was a lot of "spit" - I even had to wear an apron!!

After draining the pasta, mix in the remaining pesto.

Then add the meatballs.

Finally stir in sun-blush tomatoes and serve immediately with some shavings of Parmesan.

Even though making and cooking the meatballs isnt the easiest process and I had said to myself I wouldnt do them again, I changed my mind when we were eating - they were very very good, I loved the mozzarella inside them and the combination of the pork and pesto. I had also believed this wouldnt be very good as there isnt really a proper sauce but once again I was mistaken. Arabella loved this as she adores pesto and Pascal really enjoyed it as he doesnt  like too much sauce. Alternatively you could mix it up and have the meatballs with a rich tomato sauce and they could be made with either beef, turkey or pork mince - the choice is yours but I will be sticking with this recipe and will definitely be cooking it again.

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Happy Fall from Amys Nutritarian Kitchen!

I have mentioned probably about a million times on this blog how much I love fall... I love pumpkins and apples and crisp temperatures and cozy blankets and rainy days.  But, before I start sounding too much like a "Basic B*tch", Id like to share some of our new houses fall/Halloween decor I have recently put up.

Last Wednesdays decorating started with stopping by my favorite farm stand for some pumpkins.  The three big pumpkins were $10, while each set of three little pumpkins were $1.  $12.  Not bad for so much fall color!  I sent this picture to my husband before heading home.  
I bet he was thinking "So it has begun..."

The mini pumpkins went perfectly on our front living room mantle.  This room doesnt have much in it to begin with (which I am currently working on, but that is a post for another day).  The one extra white (pokemon) pumpkin went on a coffee table for decoration.  In case you are wondering, the three pictures above are of old Tacoma, WA (30 minutes from where we live).  Kevin estimates that the two on the right are early 1900s, while the left is a bit later around the 1930s.  Several months ago my work was going to get rid of these out of someones office who had left the company years ago.  I snagged them and they fit our front room perfectly.  

Here is where the three larger pumpkins went along with some purple string lights, spider web net, a metal pumpkin patch sign, and a scarecrow.  Other people on our block go all-out for Halloween with fake gravestones in their yards, strobe lights, and black lights, but I think for our first year owning a home, this will do.

Here is bit of a better view with our porch light on.  Poor Kevin that first night after I put up decorations.  We were cozy in bed when I remembered that I forgot to turn off the purple lights.  I wasnt sure how warm they might get against the spiderweb and if that could be a fire hazard, so Kevin went out and turned them on.  What a gentleman!  Hehe!  I think I will work on getting a timer for the lights that we can use later for Christmas lights this winter.

Here is a closer view of the fall wreath that I made for the house a few weeks ago.  I purchased all of my supplies from Michaels for only $20 and put it together myself.  Not bad when the pre-made wreaths at craft stores go for $30-$75 depending on their size.

What things are you doing around your place to enjoy the spirit of fall?


Health and Happiness,

Amy

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3 Ways to Lose 15 Pounds in 3 Weeks

How to Lose 15 Pounds in 3 Weeks

Losing 1 lb. (0.45 kg) of fat requires a 3,500-calorie deficit. [1] You should aim to create a calorie deficit of approximately 2,000 calories per day if you want to lose 15 lbs. (6.8 kg) in 3 weeks. You can lose 12 lbs. through exercise and diet, in addition to several lbs. of water weight, in 21 days.

Method 1 of 3: Cutting Carbs and Sugar

• Get your family on board. It will be difficult to cut the kind of calories you need without a change in how you cook and eat as a family. Encouraging your family to eat healthy and be active with you will set you up for success.

• Reduce your carbohydrates and increase your lean protein. You should never eat a meal that is comprised of more than 40 percent healthy carbohydrates. This means that if you eat a carbohydrate, it should be a root vegetable, ancient grain or whole grain—refined white carbs are out.

• Download a calorie counter app to help you track your progress. Apps like My Fitness Pal Free Calorie Counter will allow you to input your food while you are on the go. Studies have shown that journaling and keeping a food diary is effective in encouraging calorie reduction and weight loss. [2] 

1. The reason a food diary might help with weight loss is that the person who writes down all they eat is less prone to mindless eating. The act of writing it down makes you accountable. 
2. Use your calorie counter to see how much you can safely cut from your diet. Although 1,000 calories through diet is your goal, women should reduce to no less than 1,500 calories per day. Men should reduce to no less than 1,800 calories per day. If you are near these numbers already, your diet may need less adjusting than your activity plan. 
3. Remember that increased exercise can make you hungrier. Snack on healthy snacks frequently, and consider splitting your meals so that you eat more often and stay more satisfied.

• Never skip meals. People who skip meals, especially breakfast, tell their body to store fat. Give priority to breakfast, a snack 2 hours before you exercise and a meal after you exercise, since you will burn more calories with a boosted metabolism. [3]

• Drink only water, green tea and coffee for three weeks. Make sure you are not adding calorific sweeteners or full fat milk to your tea or coffee. Alcohol, soda and sugary coffees can increase your calorie consumption by 200 or more per drink. [4] Coffee has been shown to actually boost your metabolism. [5]

• Follow the 40/40/20 rule. You should have 40 percent healthy carbs, 40 percent lean protein and 20 percent healthy fats at each meal. [6]The following are good guidelines for this meal plan: 

1. Make sure at least 20 percent of your healthy carbs are from produce. Try spinach salads, red potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrots, peppers and other nutrient-rich veggies. 
2. Try to replace some of your whole grain breads and pastas with legumes, such as chickpeas, black beans and pinto beans. Ancient grains like quinoa and wild rice are better for you than whole grain bread. 
3. Eat lean proteins like egg whites, low-fat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, salmon, tuna, chicken breasts, turkey breasts and low-fat cuts of other meat. 
4. Choose monosaturated fats, like olive oil and avocado, peanut butter, nuts and seeds over saturated fats from full-fat dairy (butter) and animal fats (bacon fat). [7]

• Take 1 day off of your calorie reduction each week. Choose a different day than the day you rest from exercising. Avoid eating to excess, but allow yourself to eat things that satisfy you and fulfill cravings. [8]

Method 2 of 3: Increasing Activity Levels

• Bike or walk on your commute to work. If you cannot replace the entire commute, park further away and walk. Incorporate 15 minutes of biking or 30 minutes of walking into both morning and evening commutes.

• Schedule 1 to 1.5 hours of exercise time into your day. Take 1 day of rest per week for optimum results.

• Sit for 3 hours or less on weekends. Studies have shown that sitting for more than 3 hours a day can actually reduce our lifespan. Choose gardening, sports, hiking and even shopping over movies, video games and TV for at least the next few weeks.

• Do at least 45 minutes of high-intensity cardio intervals 6 days out of the week. Do a 5-minute warm up and cool down period. Then, work out at medium-intensity for 4 minutes and high intensity (sprint) for 1 minute. 

1. Repeat until you get to your last 5 minutes. 
2. Decrease your medium intensity resting periods and increase the number of sprinting intervals you do as you build strength. 
3. Studies have shown that obese people who need to lose weight quickly should start doing cardio training for a little while before taking on strength training. 
4. Aerobic exercise is essential for overall body fat reduction.[9] 
5. If you walk for exercise, try to walk uphill. Trading in hills for flat ground is similar to adding intense intervals, as long as you avoid stopping regularly. [10]

• Lift weights for 30 to 45 minutes every other day. Hire a personal trainer to choose bodyweight exercises, free weights and weight machines that are at your fitness level. [11]

• Do a high-intensity fitness class, in place of a gym workout, if you get bored easily. Try boot camp, barre method, flow yoga, aerobics or muscle pump classes. They are usually between 45 minutes and 1 hour and many classes include both strength training and cardio intervals.

Method 3 of 3: Reducing Water Retention

• Drink plenty of water. Increasing water consumption when you are working out, and in general, will flush excess water and salt through your system.

• Lay off the salt during these 3 weeks. Sodium retains water. Use other spices, like chili pepper, cumin and garlic to flavor your food.

• Try a sauna. You can try sweating out some water 20 minutes before you weigh yourself for an extra boost. Keep in mind that you will need to replace the water you lost through sweat to stay healthy and hydrated.

Sources and Citations ? http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/expert.q.a/09/04/weight.loss.short.term.jampolis/ ? http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20120713/food-journal-write-it-down-shed-more-pounds ? http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/diet-myth-truth-fasting-effective-weight-loss ? http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20516496_2,00.html ? http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/bob-harper-jumpstart-skinny ? http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/bob-harper-jumpstart-skinny ? http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/FatsAndOils/Fats101/Monounsaturated-Fats_UCM_301460_Article.jsp ? http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/ ? http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/wellbeing/fitness/which-type-of-exercise-is-best-for-quick-weight-loss.php ? http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/tips/quick-tricks/fast-workout-weight-loss-tips/ ? http://www.menshealth.co.uk/lose-weight/burn-fat/fast-weight-loss-workout

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