Whether you have a little or a lot of weight to lose, it can seem daunting. Nowadays, we are inundated with stories of people who lose weight and gain it back again, or who find it difficult to lose weight at all. Over time, it’s easy to become convinced that weight loss just isn’t going to happen for you, or that it will require a total change of lifestyle. This just isn’t true, as these easy weight loss tips will prove.

Weight loss tip #1: Keeping in mind that society is geared toward large portion size and getting more for your money, simply divide all the portions you’ve been eating (especially those you eat out) in half. See how it feels to just eat half a restaurant meal, then stop. Have the rest packed up for lunch the next day. Chances are, you won’t be hungry after eating half the meal, but if you are, eat another quarter. Then have the rest packed up. You’re not depriving yourself – a generation ago, the half- or three-quarter meal you end up eating is more or less the same amount of food as a full meal you would have been served a generation ago. Even cookies and muffins that you buy to go have been supersized – again, eat half.

Weight loss tip #2: Walk as much as possible. Get in the habit. It’s great to go to the gym and work out, but in its own way, ‘built-in’ exercise is even better. It requires no special equipment, you don’t have to schedule time for it – you just do it as a matter of course. Remember, until cars became commonplace, walking is how most people got around most of the time. In many European cities, they still do. And people who do this are seldom overweight – go figure!

Weight loss tip #3: Eat real food. In other words, avoid boxes and cans, and eat things that are in their natural form – or as close to it as possible. In the supermarket, shop around the edges – the meat and produce – and avoid the inside aisles. Preparing ‘real’ food might be a bit more work, but it’s very rewarding, and much healthier.

These are not very ‘high powered’ weight loss tips – you won’t lose a pound a day, or whatever the leading programs claim. These are healthy, enjoyable changes that are meant to last a lifetime – and over time, you will lose weight. What’s more, your weight loss will be gradual and safe, and you’ll keep the weight off permanently.

What is a bland diet? It is a diet specially set to treat certain gastrointestinal or stomach problems such as heartburns, ulcers and gas.

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An answer to a question, what is a bland diet, is that it is a simple treatment for people suffering from any one or more gastrointestinal disorders such as chronic gastritis, ulcer, esophagitis and dyspepsia.

Bland diet is a dietary regimen for people suffering from stomach disorders. Hence, it is quite understood that ingredients of a bland diet are soft food items, which are easy to digest with a capacity to keep the acidity to low levels. Questions about diet may be asked to your physicians and he/she can suggest the diet or recommend a dietician to do it.

Diet medical questions may include the queries about the food stuffs to eat and food stuffs to avoid during the time while a person experien ces any gastrointestinal disorders. However, before a dietician could decide the bland diet for a person, he/she needs to seek answers to several medical questions related to the person such as any food allergies or irritations associated with any food items and emotions medical questions of people.

Bland Diet:

The diet prescribed as a bland diet will include food items that are easy to digest and low in fiber and acid contents. Even giving up alcohol and smoking is advised while patient is on bland diet. Also a patient is advised to have 4 to 6 light meals after regular interval to avoid heavy and large meals.

Chewing food properly and eating slowly helps in the digestion of the food. Adequate sleep, avoiding smoking and controlling anxiety are supportive treatments for the standard treatment of the problem.

Allowed Food Items:

• Dairy Products
Milk, cheese, yogurt with low-fats and other dairy products are easily digested and hence, can be included as a part of bland diet. However, there is no restriction on ice-creams and one may consume even ice creams during bland diet, but it should not have any product such as nuts that are not allowed in bland diet.

• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh vegetables and fruits are allowed to a bland dieter. However, while carrot, squash, green peas are good to eat in a bland diet, broccoli, onions and green peeper should be avoided as it forms gas. In fruits, oranges, grapefruits, and bananas are allowed.

• Proteins
Protein requirement of the body, while on a bland diet should be met with soy products and meat. Fried chicken and greasy hamburgers are not allowed to be consumed, while grilled and baked chicken is allowed.
Low-fat peanut butter and eggs are also efficient to meet the body’s protein requirement in a bland diet.

• Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are contained in whole grain breads, pasta, oatmeal, corn flakes, white rice and sweet potatoes. All these food items are allowed.

Bland diet is designed for treating certain medical circumstances such as gastrointestinal problems. Hence, to answer what is a bland diet, we can say that this is a diet that aims at improving the digestion with the help of a timed-routine diet and soft to digest food items. Once the problem is controlled patients can return to their normal diet.

With the changed life style, obesity has become a curse for most of the people. Obesity is the cause of many diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis etc. and people are looking for various ways to shed weight and become healthy and fit. A properly planned diet and set of exercises should be followed on regular basis to have effective weight loss. A diet plan to lose weight should have-
Less of carbohydrates and more of lean protein such as poultry products, nuts etc
Foods which are rich in omega-3 fats such as fish
Include green tea which is very effective in controlling the weight of the body
Drink honey and lemon juice
Spice up your foods with mint, black pepper, cinnamon which are very good at reducing weight
Carrot juice and bitter gourd juice if taken regularly are very effective in losing weight
Include fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet so that the body gets enough vitamins and minerals
Vitamins are needed in small amount to remain healthy. These are responsible to increase the body metabolism rate and because of which many people use vitamins for weight loss.

Here you will get to know about the vitamins for weight loss which could be included in the diet plan to lose weight.

Egg yolks, wheat germ and peanuts have choline which is useful in metabolizing fat
Include iodine which stimulates the thyroid gland and keeps a person healthier
Soy , eggs and nuts have Inositol which works with Choline to metabolize fat
A diet which has Chromium is a very helpful vitamin to lose weight as it processes carbohydrates and reduces the hunger in a person
You have to consume vitamins B2, B3, B5 and B6 as these are also helpful in body metabolism and can reduce body weight effectively. The good source are wheat bran, oats and eggs
Include those fruits in your diet plan to lose weight which is rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is helpful in converting the body glucose into energy and reduces the storage of body glucose. The good sources are broccoli, oranges, blackcurrants and strawberries.
Apart from all the foods mentioned above, one should also include food items which are rich in omega 3 and omega 6. A diet plan with all the weight loss foods and regular exercises could reduce weight effectively.