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Thinking of Food as Fuel

Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

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Thinking of Food as Fuel Rather Than as Things That Taste Good

The body doesn't view the foods and drinks that we put into it as calories; it views them as fuel. Calories equals energy and energy equals fuel for the body which we intake in the form of foods and beverages throughout our day.

Fuel is also necessary for spending energy which is necessary to support life-itself as well as the activities that we input in our day.

Our Catskills Diet chooses to follow this path - viewing food as fuel to the body. It purpose is to empower the dieter to choose foods that benefit the body best rather than choosing foods based solely on flavor.

Super foods that will empower weight loss, as well as good health are incorporated into the menus of The Catskills Diet.

Super Foods Equal the Best Fuels for the Body

Simply eat the recommended Super Foods, then use the official Food Pyramid daily recommendations to create your personal daily diet. We'll also give you suggestions for the meal that you can use if you wish.

Always get your doctor's approval however, before starting any weight loss plan. It's just smart.

Recommended Healthy Fuels for the Body

For example, the USDA Food Pyramid recommends the following daily servings from these food groups:

Fats, Oils & Sweets: Use sparingly.
Dairy:(Milk, Yogurt, Cheese) - 2 to 3 servings per day.
Vegetables: 3 to 5 servings per day.
Proteins: (Beef, fish, lamb, beans, eggs, chicken) 2 to 3 servings per day.
Fruits: 2-4 servings per day.
Grains: (Bread, cereal, brown rice, pasta) 6 to 11 servings per day.

While dieting, an individual may opt to target the minimum recommendations from the food groups as follows:

Fats, Oils & Sweets: Use sparingly.
Dairy:(Milk, Yogurt, Cheese) - 2 servings per day.
Vegetables: 3 servings per day.
Proteins: (Beef, fish, lamb, beans, eggs, chicken) 2 servings per day.
Fruits: 2 servings per day.
Grains: (Bread, cereal, brown rice, pasta) 6 servings per day.

Example of a Healthy Plate of Food

Let's take a quick look at Diet Bites Plate which provides examples of the healthy foods and drinks that you can insert into your daily diet and weight loss plan:

Foods Which Provide Fuel for the Body Contain Different Energy Values [Calories]

As we discussed on the previous page, not all food and drink residing in the same Food Groups are equal in caloric (energy) content. This makes losing weight really difficult - as well as managing weight as those unwanted pounds have been eradicated and banished to the Valley of Thin.

If you base your daily servings on the minimum Food Pyramid recommendation and if you keep your serving sizes at their recommended amounts, then you should see significant results in the area of weight loss, and even more dramatic results when you add moderate exercise to your weight loss plan.

Here's the kicker; if you have more than 50 pounds to lose, the minimum servings from each Food Group may not be rich enough in vitamins and minerals to support the needs of your body.

Without meeting your nutritional requirements, it will be very difficult for the body to process the weight loss results. In addition, the metabolic rate will lessen and any weight that is lost will come off slower rather than at a speedy rate.

In this type of situation, you may need to increase your daily servings until you fall to the "50 pounds or less to lose" tier. And again, you need to meet with your doctor for the most exact daily serving recommendations based on your current health and nutritional needs. Let's go to the next page and continue to discuss tips for losing weight, then we'll head over to our free diet menus.

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