Straight Health

After reading The Beginner's Guide to Dieting, you'll know how to start your diet. This guide will give you solutions to specific problems you may have including what and when to eat, how to end a diet and some ways to reduce your calorie intake.

How To's

How to Ruin a Calorie Deficit A calorie deficit is the "magic" that makes weight loss possible. It is the difference between the amount of energy you burn and eat; the shortfall of energy caused by eating less and moving more. If your body burns 2,000 calories per day and you only eat 1,500, that extra 500 calories comes from non-food sources (typically body fat) causing weight loss. Creating a healthy calorie deficit requires exercising more, monitoring your food intake and making smart food choices. Here are a few ways to ruin a calorie deficit and create a failing weight loss strategy.

Articles

Reduce Your Calorie Intake by Replacing Bad Calories Cutting your calorie intake is necessary for losing weight. There are plenty of strategies you can use to lower your intake, some of which can improve your overall health and help you lose weight while others will simply lead you to failure. The way in which you cut your calories will largely determine whether or not you are successful.

Starvation Mode The basics of losing weight are fairly simple and can be summed up in one simple phrase: eat less, move more. If you do nothing but take the advice found in that phrase, you will lose weight. Unfortunately, some people take that advice to an extreme and suffer some unforeseen consequences. Your body enters what is commonly referred to as "starvation mode" when you don't eat enough which can cause slower than expected weight loss and plateaus.

Healthy Lifestyle vs. Temporary Weight Loss At one point in your life, you've probably needed to lose weight quick. Maybe you were getting married, going to your high school reunion or simply planning a spring break cruise. Either way, you probably didn't have a lot of time so you may have turned to unhealthy measures such as exercising for hours a day or going on a very low calorie diet. What if there was a way in which you didn't have to go through all that each time a special occasion came up. That way is called a healthy lifestyle and it's a lot more permanent than most diets.

How to Avoid Hunger If you're trying to lose weight or even simply trying to stay away from junk food, hunger is your enemy. When you get hungry, you get cravings and rarely are these cravings for healthy snacks such as an apple or salad.

The Best Diet Do you feel confused by all the dieting options out there? Don't worry, most people have a hard time picking a diet that actually works. With all the books, websites and infomercials, it's hard to separate what works from what doesn't.

Why Crash Diets Don't Work Going to a wedding, prom, party or the beach? Need to lose weight quickly? Does this sound like an advertisement for a diet that doesn't work yet? If you've ever read a diet that promised quick results in time for a big occasion, it probably doesn't work.

Number and Size of Meals The size of your meals and frequency you eat them can have an effect on how you look, not so much on your weight, but on your body composition - how much fat your body stores.

My Diet Isn't Working There are plenty of reasons why you are not losing weight, so it is important that you try and fix your mistakes rather than get frustrated and quit your diet all together.

Diet for Turning Fat into Muscle Turning fat into muscle requires going on a calorie restricted diet to burn the fat and also giving your body the proper nutrients it needs to build muscle in its place.

Slow Metabolism Diet Everyone's body works in a different way. For some it is easy to lose a few pounds and for others it can be close to impossible. Differences such as these can be attributed to our genes.

Lunch for Losing Weight Lunch can be tricky if you're trying to lose weight. You need a meal that is low in calories and can be quick and easy to prepare at work or school.

Breakfast for Losing Weight Breakfast is the first meal of the day and because of this it is also the most important. When you wake up, your body has been fasting for 6-8 hours and needs all sorts of nutrients to get moving.

Cheat Days For most people the definition of a diet is to reduce calories in order to lose weight. Most of the calories that are cut come from the foods that many of us find delicious such as chips, sweets and fast food.

Diet Plateaus When you first start a diet, the weight will probably come off pretty quick. Before long, weight loss will slow down and can even stop completely.

Basics of Weight Balance Some are looking to lose weight and others are looking to gain weight but maintaining weight is usually not talked about a lot.

You Don't Have to Diet Forever Ending a diet the proper way will ensure that you keep all the weight off, stay healthy and never go back to your old and unhealthy ways again.

Make Your Own Menu Cooking shouldn't have to be a chore. To many, cooking is a job, career and even a way of life. To some it is an art and to you it should be fun.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are empty calories? There are two separate issues when dealing with calories: weight management and overall health. The number of calories you eat is the sole factor in determining whether your weight goes up, down or stays the same. The types of calories you eat however, will have an impact on your overall health.

Is there a difference between dieting and being healthy? An all too common myth is that dieting, no matter the method, will make you healthy. Losing weight can be approached from two directions: the healthy and the unhealthy way. Making long term lifestyle choices will help you lead a healthy lifestyle, lose weight and get you to your healthy weight range while short term crash diets will set you up for failure.

What's the difference between a calorie deficit and calorie surplus? Whether you're trying to gain weight, lose weight or simply stay where you're at, you need to control your calorie intake. Gaining weight requires that you eat more calories than you burn while losing weight requires the opposite. Your calorie balance (difference between what you eat and what you burn) will determine your weight, there is no way around it.

Can skipping meals help me lose weight? Losing weight can sometimes be complicated. The amount of food you eat, the type of meals you cook and even the drinks you have can all play a role in how much weight you lose. Even with all of these factors, there is only one rule you need to follow to lose weight: create a calorie deficit (burn more calories than you eat) with a combination of calorie reduction and exercise.

Why am I not losing weight? Losing weight is only possible when one condition is met: eating less calories than you burn. If you don't follow this rule, there's no way to lose weight.

Will weight training make me gain weight when I'm dieting? Weight training has long been associated with muscles. It's never been thought of as a mode of exercise to engage in when trying to lose weight. However those who choose to leave strength training out of their routine out of fears it will cause weight gain will miss out on a host of benefits that can't be realized with cardiovascular exercise alone.

Does being a vegetarian help with weight loss? One of the reasons why weight gain is so prevalent in this country is the intake of high fat meat, cheese and milk. While this isn't the only factor, cutting these foods out can have a very positive impact on your weight, looks and even your health.

Can I eat some junk food while on a diet? It depends what your definition of 'some' is. If some is a little than you can have some. If some is a lot, it will probably cause you to reverse your weight loss.

I'm eating so little, why am I not losing any weight? If you eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight. While this is true, there is a point where you can eat so little, you will cause your metabolism to slow and not lose anymore weight.

What can I do if I'm not losing weight on my diet? The problem, if you are not losing any weight, is either you exercise too little or eat too much (or a combination of the two).

What time of day should I weigh myself? When you're trying to lose, maintain or gain weight you need to weigh yourself regularly to check your progress.

Are shakes good for losing weight? All kinds of shakes have long been sold to help dieters lose weight. Protein powders that come in strawberry, chocolate and vanilla flavors all promise to help you build muscle, lose fat and be healthy. But do these shakes hurt or help with your weight loss goals?

What foods will fill me up? The best way to keep yourself from snacking on junk food during the day is to fill yourself up with foods that will keep you satisfied.

Top 5 Lists

Top 5 Ways to Speed Up Weight Loss Losing weight can be frustrating because often, the results are slow to come. Here are some ways you can speed up your weight loss in a healthy manner.

Top 5 Ways to Lose Weight Without Counting Calories Reducing your calorie intake is the only way you'll ever lose weight but counting calories can be a pain. Luckily there are ways to cut down on your calorie intake without writing down endless numbers.

Top 5 Weight Loss Myths Losing weight is a simple enough process. You increase your physical activity, cut your calorie intake and bam, the weight melts away. Even so, there are half truths and lies being spread about how to lose weight faster and with less effort. Don't get caught up trying weight loss strategies that aren't based on real science.

Top 5 Ways to Eat Smaller Meals Smaller meals can help your body better utilize the calories you give it. This can lead to healthier meals, weight loss and a reduced body fat percentage.

Top 5 Foods to Avoid While on a Diet Dieting is about replacing unhealthy foods that are high in calories with healthier ones.

Tools

Free Diet Plans This tool will provide you with a daily meal program that is personalized for your own needs. Whether you're looking to gain, lose or maintain weight, the SH Trainer can help you reach your goals.

BMI Calculator This tool will calculate your body mass index (BMI) which is a good indicator of a healthy weight range.

Calorie Calculator This tool will estimate your daily calorie needs based on your age, height, weight and activity level in order to help you figure out how much to eat to gain, lose or maintain weight.

Healthy Weight Range Calculator This tool will calculate a healthy weight range based on your height.

Weight Loss Calculator This tool will estimate how long it will take to achieve your weight loss goal.

Body Fat & Body Density Calculator This tool will calculate your body fat percentage using measurements you obtained with a skinfold caliper.

The Straight Diet This is a 9 week diet plan that will help you improve your eating habits and lose weight.