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As more and more scientific evidence points towards the health benefits of losing weight, people are increasingly altering their diets to achieve healthy bodies.  While maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is surely the most fundamental aspect of losing weight, there are some specific foods one can eat to dramatically improve weight loss results.  Here are five of them:

Foods to Help Lose Weight

1.  It may be so simple that you have overlooked it in your diet.  Water is the number one food you can use to help you lose weight.  Not only is water vital to all your bodies systems, but many times you can stave off hunger simply by drinking a glass.  Additionally, replacing just two cans of cola with water per day can shave off almost a pound of body fat per week!

2.  Cereals high in fiber and low in fat are another very powerful group of foods that will help you lose weight.  Recommending low-fat foods for those trying to lose weight is not new — however, recent studies have shown that foods high in fiber tends to fill people up for longer periods of time than those foods lacking fiber.  By adding a high-fibe,r low-fat cereal to your diet, not only will you be delivering valuable nutrients to your body, but you will also be able to go longer between meals without feeling hungry.

3.  You may have heard of a number of different artificial sweeteners claiming to help you lose weight.  One in particular, xylitol, is a particularly powerful food that can help you with your weight loss.  A naturally occurring sugar alcohol, xylitol’s glycemic index is only 7% of that of table sugar.  This means that the energy contained in xylitol is released more gradually into your system then the energy contained in table sugar.  Add that to the fact that xylitol only has two thirds of the calories of table sugar, and you can see why it is such a powerful fat burning food.

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4.  Spicy foods containing capsacian can also help you lose weight.  You’ve probably noticed when eating particularly spicy foods that your appetite decreases.  Using this to your advantage, you will be able to eat less and still feel full.  There are also a preliminary studies suggesting that spicy foods actually increase your body’s metabolism, thereby burning more calories than normal.

5.  Candy bars can also help you lose weight.  No, I’ve not gone crazy.  It is important to reward yourself at times for staying on track with your weight loss diet.  The way to do this is to have small prepackaged portions of candy or chocolate available.  By using small prepackaged portions, you run much less risk of binging on your favorite reward snack.

Proper diet is the most fundamental aspect of a weight loss program, and you should strive to keep your diet as healthy and balanced as possible. However, by using some of these foods to help lose weight, your weight loss results are sure to skyrocket.

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Body mass index – or BMI

When it comes to physical fitness, one often hears that term Body Mass Index or BMI. The BMI is a number that indicates your overall physical condition. This number is based on your height versus your weight and basically expresses your ideal weight based on your height. This number does not however take into consideration your overall physical stature or muscle tone.

What does Body Mass Index Measure?

It is important to realize that the body mass index is not a measurement of your percentage of body fat. There is a simple equation that you can use to determine your body mass. This equation is your weight divided by the square of your height. There is also a chart available that will provide you with a visual way to determine your body mass index.

This chart uses a graph to indicate where your weight is in conjunction with your height. Along the bottom of the graph is weight listed typically in pounds and kilograms. Along the side of the chart is your height in both feet and inches, and meters.

The chart is then broken into arched sections that are highlighted by different colors. The various colors indicate different weight classifications, these classifications include underweight, Normal, Overweight, and obese. These categories are then broken into subcategories including mild moderate and severe.

History of BMI

The body mass index ( BMI ) was first created in the 19th century as a formula but was not made popular until the 1970′s. This is considered a relatively reliable way to determine physical condition. However it does have some short comings, it may improperly express your condition based on several factors. If you are elderly than your fat percentage may very well be greater than your body mass index. On the other hand if you are athletic then your body fat percentage may be somewhat lower than your body mass index.

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This is particularly true in the case of bodybuilders and weightlifters. An example of this is that a weightlifter who is 6 foot tall may weight well over 260 pounds. The body mass index chart will describe this person as severely obese and be expressed as a 30 on the BMI scale, however this person may have a body fat percentage of less than half of that.

Is the Body Mass Index Good Science?

Overall the body mass index chart and equation is a relatively good guide of a person’s physical condition. You should not however let this replace a professional opinion of your physical condition that can only be determined by a physician during a physical. It is important to remember that if you do feel you are overweight and the body mass index indicates this as well, then you may want to consider a training program and a modified diet, it is a good idea however to check with your doctor before ever starting a new training regiment or a diet.

Body Mass Index Guidlines

Now that you know the fact here are the numbers. Simply divide you height by your weight and you will know the number and where you fit in the range.

Although the body mass index is not the only thing to tell your fitness it is still a really good estimation as to how heavy you are. BMI may seem like a great measurement but when you gain a lot of muscle it is less relevent.

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This is a post that I have written also for my new Family Vacation blog about eating when on vacation.

Vacations are marred by bad eating and not only bad eating but usually our daily schedules are thrown out the window.

When you are away from home it is very common that you eat based on hunger and snacks are almost always bad food. Both of these are very bad and there are ways to avoid it. Last month while on vacation my family was able to conteract this bad eating structure by planning all of our meals and snacks and here is how:

Eating on Vacation

Kitchenette – The hotel we stayed at had a kitchenette and this was easily the best way that we were able to avoid any eating issues. Kids are terrible for not wanting to eat when it is time to eat and then being suddenly starving. With the kitchenette we were able to prepare probably about half of our meals and warm up other meals as well.

Bag o’ snacks – I was the designated backpack carrier and we followed a process that we also used in Disneyland last year of keeping snacks and bottles of water in the bag. Although initially the bag is heavy, over the day the kids are force fed water and eat apples and nectarines and other healthy snacks. Not only does this keep the kids fed but they are happier with a more balanced blood sugar as opposed to just pushing pop and sodas into them all day.

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Eat in breakfast – Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but the kids sometimes do not care. We never leave the hotel room until the kids have eaten some food in the morning. Given the choice the kids would grumble, complain and ask for whatever snack they could get. The problem with going out for breakfast is that most restaurants give you too high a fat meals and the kids don’t really want a big meal anyway. A big waste of 40 bucks for a family meal.

Initial run to the store – As soon as we get to a location I go out to the store for supplies. a 24 pack of water, some bread or buns, some fruit if affordable and snacky stuff for the kids. In Waikiki we had a store across the street but it was really expensive so we ended up getting food from a WalMart in town instead.

There are many things that you can do when on holidays to both eat better and save money. When traveling I always want to save money if I can but more importantly going to restaurants is a recipe for disaster. I have even heard of friends going to Hawaii and the kids getting sick from eating too much fast food, they ended up getting a kitchenette the next time.

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