Get a Leg Up on Legumes

Foods that are high in fiber and protein will keep you full longer because they take longer to digest. The meat and bean group has the most protein; it includes meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans, and legumes. Beans and legumes are high in fiber as well, as are whole grains, and fruit and vegetables eaten with their seeds and peels. Vegetables are very filling and very low in calories too.[1]

Dieting Tip: Make a Sensible Start

Process This: Eat Fresh or Frozen

Americans eat 31% more packaged food than fresh food ... A sizeable portion is … read-to-eat-meals like frozen pizzas and microwave dinners, and salty or sweet snack foods.[2]

Choosy Dieters, Choose This..

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Say Ami-NO THANKS, to Un-Sweet news

Marketed under other names including NutraSweet, aspartame is present in many commercial products including diet foods and diet sodas, sugar-free chewing gum, sweetener packets and more - in fact 6,000 items more - including diabetic foods, vitamins, over-the-counter drugs and even some prescription medications.

Controversial because in 30 years, the FDA has received more complaints (over 10,000) for aspartame than any other food additive combined. Two-thirds of reported complaints reflect neurological symptoms that can even mimic severe health conditions making them harder to diagnose.

Diet Foods and Drinks May Cause Weight Problems

The controversy continues in that some applications of artificial sweeteners may induce metabolic syndrome, as well as simply mislead your body into how many calories you've consumed.

Aspartame, NutraSweet, AminoSweet.. not a health food

The advertising deception in these sweeteners is that in playing on popular culture's fears about sugar, they introduce a new molecule made from distortions in amino acids (basis of proteins) implying a healthy protein connection, where there is no such merit at all.

Mass-consumption of the phenyl-alanine and aspartic acid compounds in these sweeteners have documented effects that can affect brain hormone balance and more.

Healthy Foods Your Best Choice

Your best solution is to eat healthy foods free of artificial additives and misleading marketing messages! Send us your favorite diet recipes and we'll share them with our readers.

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Your purpose, your only purpose, is to grow beyond the limitations you have chosen to impose upon yourself for this lifetime. Your purpose is to remember who you truly are. Once you do that, you can move on—you can fully live every moment of every day of your life. And you will know, in your most ordinary moments, a most extraordinary joy. —Chief Joseph

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Combination of appetite suppressant phentermine and topiramate was disapproved.

A panel of experts advising the US Food and Drug Administration voted against approving for sale a new obesity treatment called Qnexa, citing safety risks. Qnexa combines two existing drugs, the appetite suppressant phentermine and topiramate.

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“to shake or not to shake?”

Even if you never use a salt shaker at your meals, you may be ingesting far more sodium than your body needs, putting you at increased risk for high blood pressure (hypertension), strokes, cardiovascular disease and, it’s likely, ulcers and heartburn as well.

Yes, our bodies do need salt. It contains sodium which is an essential mineral. The recommended level for most Americans, which includes children, all African Americans, adults over age 40 and anyone with high blood pressure is 1500 milligrams (mg)/day. The recommended level for those who fall outside these categories is 2300 mg. Most Americans consume 3000-8000 mg/daily! Thus, most Americans are consuming two to five times the amount of sodium needed each day!

Weight Loss Tip: Use WeightLossNYC's Free Online Nutritional Calculator

Health experts have sounded a loud warning: Reducing intake to appropriate levels could save 150,000 lives per year, mostly by preempting high blood pressure.

Laudably, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced plans to reduce the amount of sodium in restaurant and processed foods gradually over the next ten years. Will this be enough and fast enough to reverse the effects of high sodium on Americans’ health? It’s certainly a step in the right direction but consumers must also educate themselves and make lower sodium choices.

Most Americans due to time and convenience factors will continue to use some processed foods. The key is to consider the sodium content (as well as fat and calories) on nutritional labels. — A typical example:

• Tuna fish (half of a 5 oz. can) = 250 mg.
• 2 slices of whole wheat bread = 150 mg.
• 1/2 can (7.5 ozs) of Trader Joe’s chicken noodle soup = 730 mg.
• TOTAL = 1130 mg. which is 75% of most Americans’ daily sodium limit

You can easily imagine eating a bowl, instead of a cup of soup, which means 1460 mg. from soup alone with a total sodium count for this ostensibly healthy lunch (it does include heart healthy fish and low fat soup after all) of 1860 mg.! What if you add a few crackers with this lunch (81 mg. for 3 Ritz crackers) or a pickle (280 mg. for a medium one) with the sandwich? Do you feel your blood pressure rising?

Read More Weight Loss Tips from Dr. Aron, Bariatric Physician

Dining out can be an even greater sodium nightmare. Meals, particularly fast food meals, often contain 5000 mg. or more of sodium. Adding sodium can also be a mask for using less than the freshest produce and other ingredients in processed foods. Add preservatives, some of which include sodium and watch those blood pressure numbers rise.

Eat Fresh, Not Processed, Foods

The antidote: eat fresh, not processed. Fresh fish, meat, poultry and vegetables, prepared simply with a couple shakes of salt and desired herbs provides sound nutrition without excess sodium. Add freshly prepared pasta, beans, rice, quinoa or other whole grains for variety and even greater nutritional value.

Eat Fruit Liberally

Eat fresh fruit liberally. Now is the time the Farmers Markets and grocery stores are stocked with an abundance of fresh peaches, plums, melons, cherries. Low in sodium and high in taste, fruits are easy to snack on and don’t pack the sodium that pretzels and other processed snacks do. In the winter when fresh choices aren’t as plentiful, dried fruit in moderation (watch the calories) can replace some of the recommended 2-5 daily fruit servings.

Plan Your Grocery Shopping

Read Nutritional Labels

Be creative and read nutritional labels. Look at cooking magazines and websites for healthy menu options. A little planning goes a long way. Also keep in mind that as your taste buds get used to the taste of fresh and not processed, food will taste better, while treating your body better. Eating fresh will also usually mean keeping your calories and cholesterol in check. And your waistline.

Learn more about WeightLossNYC's Diet Plans

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Lose Weight for a Lifetime of Life!

Having a thinner body is possible. Just follow these steps below if you want to ditch those extra pounds. These ideas aren't short-term quick fixes — they're lifestyle changes that will leave you healthier and happier for years to come.

Eat healthy

Go ahead and snack

Be active

Rest up!

Relieve stress

Read More Weight Loss Tips & Start Losing Weight Today

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