As we celebrate the beginning of a new year, many people often look at making resolutions to improve their health. The best place to start is your diet or way of eating. Its not the easiest place, but the food we take in is information to our cells, our blood, and our organs and if we take in crappy information, we get crappy results.

Humans around the world have had varied diets for millennia. Focusing on dietary ideology is less important than focusing on principles. And the key focus of any dietary strategy should be ensuring what you are eating has the necessary components to support optimal cellular biology.

The good thing is that several different dietary approacheswhen thoughtfully craftedcan give you these components. The study of food and nutrition are complex. First, nutrition research sometimes gets bogged down in too many details. While the molecular biology of food is critical to understand, the epidemiology of food can also help guide us. We also know that people who eat ultra-processed foods, too many Omega-6 fats, and excess sugar tend to have higher rates of chronic disease and early death. We know that including Omega-3 fats, adequate micronutrients and phytonutrients, and antioxidant-rich foods supports longevity.

What could whole-food, plant-based eaters and carnivore devotees possibly have in common? One group eats only plants, and the other only eats meat. But in fact, these dietary ideologies share traits:

Both focus on the nutrient density of food, striving to get as many nutrients as possible from what they eat.

Both eschew processed foods, and in particular, abstain from processed grains, sugar, food additives, and seed or vegetable oils.

Both take a thoughtful approach to food sources and sustainability, with an appreciation of the importance of soil health.

Heres an example of the complexity that makes research and dietary recommendations challenging. Omega-3s can come from various sources: fish, meat, eggs, nuts, seeds, algae. But there are different forms of Omega-3s, and typically, plant sources contain the upstream Omega-3s (like alpha-linoleic acid, ALA) that need to be converted through multiple chemical reactions (enzymes) to the downstream form that is most active (EPA and DHA) for making up cell membranes, and promoting anti-inflammatory reactions. Eating fish or other omega-3-containing animal products will give you straight EPA and DHA, but if youre eating plant-based sources, you are mostly getting upstream ALA and have to convert it.

Heres the catch: converting ALA to EPA requires the function of three sequential enzymes, and these enzymes require regulating nutrient cofactors, including vitamins B3, B6, and C, zinc, and magnesium. So you need to eat targeted, diverse foods to get the vitamin and micronutrient levels to make this conversion possible. Eating plant sources of Omega-3s but being deficient in nutrient cofactors could mean youre missing most of the Omega-3 benefits.

Nutrition research is one of those areas that will never, ever be settled. Were learning more and more about nutrition science every day. But you have to be careful where that science is coming from and who is paying for the studies. Many doctors use bias to make their points meaning they will cherry-pick statistical data to prove their point. Youll find hundreds of studies saying that veganism is best or Paleo is the way to go, or everyone should be eating a raw food diet. Research your diet thoroughly from numerous sources to get a well-rounded point of view.

To choose the best diet or way of eating for your body, consider your preferences and sensitivities first. Do you like meat, fish, grains, and loads of vegetables? Then consider your lifestyle and time needed to grocery shop, prep and cook meals. Luckily, there are lots of healthy meal delivery services for those who are time-crunched these days. I love and use Territory Foods myself when extra busy. You may have to shift your priorities to align with your new lifestyle. Next, consider your health concerns. Do you have an autoimmune disease or family history of an illness youd like to prevent? This will drive your decision.

Whatever dietary protocol you decide, you need to make sure you are getting all of the vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, protein, fiber and micronutrients necessary for optimal health. I recommend my clients get blood work when changing their diet too.

Dont be afraid to make mistakes along the way. I once tried to eat raw foods for a week and had such tummy troubles that I was miserable. Be open to trying new foods and diets, but remember to be in tune with your body and how you feel. Remember, your plan can change too its an evolving process.

Creating your personal diet plan can be fun. Remember to consider your overall health goals, what you want to achieve, take into account your dietary preferences, sensitivities, and one that suits your lifestyle. If your diet isnt sustainable meaning something you can do for the rest of your life then it wont work for you. Try to create a plan or way of eating that works for your body and your lifestyle.

It all comes down to common sense, so we must respect the physiology of the human body to determine what our nutritional needs really are and then tweak for bio-individuality. If you need support, I am here for you at wwwUnlockBetterHealth.com.

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What's the best diet for you? | Health & Food | fairfaxtimes.com - Fairfaxtimes.com

The food we eat every day keeps us alive, but it can also incur big health and environmental costsheart disease, carbon emissions, soil degradation, and more. Arecent study published in Nature Food finds that small shifts in the food choices Americans make could have outsized benefits to both health and planet.

Because many foods with a high health burden, including processed meats or red meats, also have high environmental costs, switching out just a few of themabout 10 percent of a persons daily caloric intakecan cut a persons food-based environmental footprint by over 30 percent, the study says.

The really good thing is that, not for every food item but many, foods that are healthier and more nutritious tend to be more environmentally sustainable, so it ends up being a win-win, saysMichael Clark, a food systems researcher at the University of Oxford not involved in the study.

Between growing it, packaging it, moving it around, cooking it, and often wasting it, food production makes up about one-fifth to one-third of all annual greenhouse gas emissions globally. For an average American household,food makes up about as much of the greenhouse gas footprint as the electricity. Food production is responsible for major water quantity and quality problems, often requires herbicides and pesticides that endanger biodiversity, and engenders forest and wildland losses when lands are converted to agriculture.

Its impact is substantial, saysOlivier Jolliet, an environmental scientist at the University of Michigan and one of the authors of the study. Its like, Houston, we have a problem, and we really need to be serious about it. So far the U.S. has not been serious about it.

Its not up to, or the responsibility of, any single person to solve nationwide or global health and environmental crises, he stresses. But insights like those he and his team developed can help people, institutions, and even governments figure out where to direct their energies to make the biggest influence quickly.

To learn how to reduce negative impacts of food production and consumption on the planet and the body, researchers first assessed damages related to food. But figuring out where an apple came from, let alone what its impact on the planet is, has become an increasingly complex question as the global food system evolves. For example, it has taken researchers at the Stockholm Environmental Institute years to unravel the supply chains of crops likecocoa and coffee, even if they come from a single country.

So over the past few decades, scientists including Jolliet developed ways of doing life cycle analyses for specific itemssay, a head of broccoli or a box of corn flakesthat take all the steps from farm to store into account and assign the items a hard number signifying its environmental impact, such as an estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions or water volume their production requires.

Concurrently, epidemiologists and public health scientists were doing similar analyses for human bodies. They carefully examined the links between food and health, teasing out how different diets and even specific foods might influence things like disease risk, general health, or life expectancy; they assigned hard numbers to those risks.

For years, researchers and governments considered the issues to be separate: Health researchers focused on their priorities and environmental scientists on theirs (though as early as the 1970s, scientists were linking diet choices with planetary health). But it became increasingly obvious that what we eat is intimately connected with planetary health, saysSarah Reinhardt, an expert on food systems and health with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The global demand for beef, for example, has increased the demand for soy protein to feed to cattle, and in response to that demand,vast swaths of the Amazon are deforested every year to make space for new soy farms and cattle, hastening the loss ofcarbon-absorbing and biodiverse forest.

Agriculture is a huge piece of the climate puzzle, and agriculture, food, and diet are all intricately linked, Reinhardt says.

So Jolliet and his colleagues built a system that merged both concerns, looking at health and environmental impacts of specific foods.

They had previously worked with other researchers on a vast database that quantified the health burdens of dietary choices, like eating too much processed meat or too few whole grains; the University of Michigan team turned those dietary risks into an estimate of disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs, a measure of how much life expectancy someone might lose or gain by changing their actions. The team drilled down into how choosing to eat or forgo specific foodsnot just categories, like vegetablescould impact DALYs, detailing the advantages of some foods and the detrimentalimpacts of others if someones baseline diet changed. Eating a lot of red meat, for example, is linked with diabetes and heart disease, while substituting plenty of vegetables helps decrease heart disease risk. They caution, though, that their analyses are relevant for the whole population, not necessarily an individualeach person has their own unique set of health risks that may change their susceptibility to diet changes.

To determine that, the Michigan team looked at the nutritional makeup of nearly 6,000 foods, from hot dogs to chicken wings to peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches to beets. A hot dog would probably cost someone about 35 minutes of living; eating most fruits might help someone gain a few extra minutes; and sardines cooked in a tomato sauce might add 82 minutes. In the calculations, apple pie is just about neutralsome boost from the apples, some losses from butter, flour, and sugar.

Nothing particularly surprising emerged in this analysis. Epidemiologists have long known that processed meats, red meats, and heavily processed, high-sugar foods are linked to higher risks of many diseases. But by breaking down the potential effects of so many products, researchers could rank them, order them, and create a detailed understanding of how specific habits might affect consumers.

In parallel, the team evaluated the environmental effects of those thousands of food items. They looked beyond just the carbon costs, incorporating 15 different ways the environment absorbed food productions impact, from the effects on surrounding water systems to the rare minerals needed to grow products or package them to thelocal air pollution caused by production.

When researchers looked at both issues at once, a heartening pattern emerged. Many foods good for peoples health were also relatively gentle on the environment. Not particularly surprisingly, beans, vegetablesnot those grown in greenhouses, thoughand some sustainably farmed seafood like catfish fell in what they termed the green zone. Amber zone foods, like milk and yogurt, egg-based foods, and greenhouse-grown vegetables balanced health and environmental costs. Red zone foods, which included beef, processed meats, pork, and lamb, had high health and environmental costs. A serving of beef stew, they calculated, has the carbon cost of driving about 14 miles.

The pattern held for most environmental indicators except for water use. Foods like nuts and fruits have substantial health benefits, but are often grown in water-scarce places like California. When youre talking about the foods were eating now to the foods we should be eating like nuts and fruits, there are big implications for water use, Reinhardt says. That doesnt mean we shouldnt be eating more of them, it just means its a problem we have to solve.

For some climate challenges, there are relatively straightforward fixes. For example, renewable energy sources can already replace much of the energy needed to power buildings, cars, and more.

Theres no substitute for food, but shifting what we eat is possible. If everyone on the planet ate vegan, greenhouse gas emissions from the food system could be cutby more than half; a planet of vegetarians would trim food emissions by 44 percent. If we stopped eating food as we know it, existing entirely off anutritional slurry grown in a lab instead of in soil or water, we could prevent about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of future warming, according to a recent paper that considered the unique thought experiment.

What this work says is: Hey, look, we can still get pretty big wins even if were not making these really big changes in dietary composition, says Clark. I think thats really powerful, because a lot of people just dont want to make those really big dietary changes, for many reasons.

While vegetarian and vegan diets are becoming more common in the U.S. and Europe, its an absolutely absurd to assume that everyone will be eating a vegetarian diet 30 years from now, he says.

Food choices are personal, deeply connected to culture, religion, emotion, economic concerns, and so much more. Rather than dictate, its much better to try to give choice, saysNaglaa El-Abbadi, a food, nutrition, and environment researcher at Tufts University. This approach aims to inform people so that they can make choices that align with their needs and values. In aggregate, those choices can benefit both human health and the planet.

For that to happen would require working in tandem with large-scale efforts to reshape industrial food production, she stresses.

But what people choose to eat daily is far from insignificant, says Clark, We dont all have to become vegan overnight, he says. Small changes can make big impacts.

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How small changes to our diet can benefit the planet - National Geographic

Fruitarian diet has become the latest trend attracting weight- watchers and those who are interested in following healthy eating habits. The diet that mostly includes fruits, nuts, seeds and veggies is similar to the vegan diet. Even though it sounds healthy and great, experts say that the diet also has downsides.

Advantages As the fruits consist mostly of water, this diet keeps your body hydrated. It is an environmental friendly diet. Close to nature, this diet relaxes and rejuvenates your body. Fruitarian diet provides the nutrients that are required for the body.

Even though fruit lovers would enjoy this diet, nutritionists warn that it isnt a healthy method to follow. Lots of micronutrients are required for the human body to function properly. A diet that includes 70 - 80% fruits would lead to nutrient deficiency and lack of protein.

Disadvantages Fruits contain a sugar called fructose. Even though it is healthier than processed sugar, too much fructose can be harmful too. Fruits are loaded with fibers. But overeating could lead to digestive problems. Fructose could cause acidity and would affect the gut health. Moreover, it could lead to the imbalance of the micro bacteria in the intestines. Eating too many fruits can cause tooth cavities. Fruitarian diet is a fad diet that could be followed for a short period of time. However, make sure to consult a doctor before making it your permanent food habit.

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Fruitarian diet :Know the advantages and disadvantages | Onmanorama - Onmanorama

The new year is a time for transformation, and some choose to transform to a more plant-based lifestyle.

Veganuary is a 31-day challenge to try the vegan diet for January; it started as a charity in Europe according to the nonprofit's website.The vegan diet is void of dairy, egg, meat and any animal byproducts.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic,the second annual vegan festivalwasheld in Fayettevilleby the owners of Prima Elements downtown. The event offered a way for Fayetteville residents to try various vegan foods without having to drive to the Raleigh-Durham area over an hour away.

More: The vegan transition: Fayetteville residents recount journey to a meatless diet

There is currently only one fully vegan food truck in Fayetteville, The Vegan Spot.

With a lot of vegan eateries being further away, people looking totransition to a plant-based lifestyle may think it's more difficult. Here are some products, however,that can make the transition a little easier, and most of them can be found in grocery stores in the Fayetteville area, including Sprouts, Harris-Teeter, Food Lion, Walmart and Publix.

There are multiple plant-based milk alternatives, with some of the most commonly known ones being almond milk and soy milk. There is also coconut milk, a version of which is made by Silk, flaxseed milk by Good Karma, hemp milk by Pacific Foodsandcashew milk by Silk. Depending on size and sales these milks can startas low as $3.

One of the biggest hesitations people have with transitioning to a plant-based dietis letting go of the flavor of meat they've grown to love.

There are plenty of meat alternatives for each meal of the day.

There's vegan bacon sold by companies includingSweet Earth, Lightlife and Morningstar farms. There are also vegan sausages offered by brands including Beyond Meat, Gardien, Morningstar Farms, Lightlife and Impossible meat. Depending on size, these products can start at about $3.

Brands like Boca, Gardein, Sweet Earth, Beyond Meat, Morningstar Farms and Impossible Meat offer multiple options for lunch and dinner from burgers and "chicken" patties to "fish" fillets and meatballs.Depending on size, these products can start between $4 and $5.

Tofurkey brand also offers vegan deli slices for sandwiches, which can start as low as $3,and holiday roasts flavored like turkey and ham, which can vary between $7 and $10.

Yogurt is a quick and easy breakfast snack that many opt for in a hurry. There are multiple yogurt options for those who transition to a plant-based lifestyle.

So Delicious brand offers flavors from key lime to strawberry made from coconut milk. Silk brand offers yogurt flavors from vanilla to blueberry made from either soy or almond milk. Oatly also offers plant-based yogurt made from oatmilk.The personal-sized cups can start lower than $2.

From topping pasta to making pizza, cheese can be a snack or a meal maker and makes people hesitant to give it up for a vegan lifestyle.

Brands includingMiyoko's, Violife, Daiya, Field Roast Chao, So Delicious, Follow Your Heart and Go Veggie offer a variety of cheeses in multiple forms. Depending on the form of the cheese, some of these cheeses can start at about $4.

Brands includingMiyoko's, Violife, Kite Hilland Daiya also offer cream cheese.

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After a nice meal, some people like to enjoy something sweet, a popular choice would be ice cream.

In a plant-based diet, ice cream is still just a sweet. Popular ice-cream brand Ben &Jerry's launched its nondairy pints made from almond milk. Some of the classic flavors includingPhish Food, Americone Dream, Cookie Dough and Cherry Garcia are available in nondairy pints.

Favorite Day, sold at Target, also offers plant-based ice-cream flavors. Oatly has ice cream made from oat milk. So Delicious and Daiya offer frozen vegan dessert options, too.

All of these options can start at about $4 to $6.

Options for the plant-based community are continuing to grow as time goes on. You can now find even microwave meals.

Staff writer Akira Kyles can be reached at akyles@gannett.com.

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Veganuary: Here's how people in the Fayetteville area can start 2022 with a plant-based diet - The Fayetteville Observer

FANS are worried for Ryan Seacrest after he posted a photo of his new diet to social media, which consisted solely of broth.

The 46-year-old was said to be suffering from "exhaustion" due to his various entertainment gigs.

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Ryan took to Twitter in late December to share a photo of his "Post Christmas diet," as he captioned the post.

It featured three bottles on a table. They were labelled "first meal," "second meal," and "third meal" respectively, and under that they were each labelled a different type of broth.

Fans quickly expressed their shock and concern over Ryan's new diet.

"I hope this is joke," one Twitter user wrote.

"Bro, eat some food," wrote another.

Broth is a liquid made of water with solids such as bones, proteins or vegetables cooked down. It is frequently used as the base for soup, but all-broth diets are popular for losing weight.

Last month, Ryan was spotted in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, enjoying a break from work with girlfriend Audrey Paige, 24.

But even then, the executive was seen taking phone calls.

The trip came after The Sun exclusively reported that Ryans friends held an intervention to get him to take a "breather" from working so hard.

"Hes been go-go-go for 20 years now and he is almost 50" a source close to the DJ told us.

We thought he would have slowed down and settled down by now. But that hasnt been the case. Hes only gotten busier so everyone is worried about him and has been for years.

He works hard and works nonstop he will often skip solid meals and drink a green juice as a supplement so he doesnt 'waste time' by sitting down and eating."

Fans were worried when the TV personality was not present onLive With Kelly & Ryanalongside his co-host,Kelly Ripa, for multiple episodes in November.

Kelly Ripa's husband,Mark Consuelos, filled in when Ryan was out.

During a 2020 episode ofAmerican Idol,fans were left concerned for Ryan's health after a segment saw the host slur his speech and appear unable to focus properly.

His right eye also appeared to be drooping.

Following the health scare, Ryan reportedly considered apermanent moveback to Los Angeles.

He has nothing against New York, but he feels that he was healthier in Los Angeles, a sourcetold Closer Weekly at the time.

Ryan admitted hes been exhausted since his health scare in mid-May. Ryan knows the show needs the hosts in the same room - but right now, hes dreading the thought of not living in California."

Afterwards, reps for the host released the following statement: "Ryan did not have any kind of stroke last night."

Speaking to People magazine, the rep added: "Between LIVE with Kelly and Ryan, American Idol, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, and the Disney Family Singalong specials, he has been juggling three to four on-air jobs over the last few weeks and hes in need of rest."

Often dubbed the "hardest working person in Hollywood,"the American Idol host has never been married and doesn't have children.

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Ryan Seacrests fans are concerned as he reveals hes on broth diet just months after suffering exhaustion... - The US Sun

Have you ever thought how your nutrition needs may change as you get older? Interestingly, your body actually needs more protein and fiber, but fewer calories in order to stay healthy.

Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that comes in two forms insoluble, which is unable to be digested, and soluble, which can be digested. Because of this, fiber is unable to be used for energy, so it has different functions in the body. Fiber keeps the gastrointestinal tract healthy, which can help keep the rest of your body healthy. Fiber helps keep us feeling full, which can result in weight maintenance or even lead to weight loss. Fiber also helps with regulating and controlling blood glucose levels.

Generally, you consume enough protein to support its functions within your body. However, as you age you need to consume a little more protein to help your body maintain these functions and keep us feeling good. Most commonly, protein is known for building muscles, but protein can also fight infections within the body and is needed for healing your wounds and injuries.

Unlike fiber and protein, you need to consume fewer calories or how much energy you need each day for your body to function as you age. This is for a few different reasons: (1) your body needs fewer calories to function, and (2) you are not as active as you were when you were younger. Because you need fewer calories, you need to make sure the calories consumed are those that are packed with nutrients. These are called nutrient-dense foods. Nutrient-dense foods include fruits and vegetables, beans, whole-grain pastas and breads, nuts, lean cuts of meat, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products. The foods that are not packed with nutrients are called calorie-dense foods and include soda, candies and fatty cuts of meat.

Your body goes through quite a number of changes as you get older, but you can stay healthy by making sure you eat enough fiber, protein and nutrient-dense foods. Check out the Food City Wellness Club for more information including tips and tricks for healthy eating!

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Adjust your diet to stay healthy as your get older - Johnson City Press (subscription)

The keto diet may help you lose weight, however, it turns out that there may be another reason to hop onto the food-related trend. When Medical News Today recently took a look at various diets and broke down how effective they are when it comes to fighting aging, they found that the keto diet may have some intriguing and promising benefits when it comes to keeping you healthier for longer.

Pointing to two studies from 2017, Medical News Today noted that both "reported that a low carbohydrate, low protein ketogenic diet increased the average lifespan of mice and improved the animals' health in old age."

The first study, which was published in the Cell Metabolism journal, found "that long-term exposure to a ketogenic diet, fed every other week starting in middle age, reduces midlife mortality and preserves memory in aging mice." In the second study, which also appeared in Cell Metabolism, researchers found that the keto diet not only "extends longevity," but also preserves "[m]otor function, memory, and muscle mass" in the animals.

Obviously, that's great for mice, but what about us? The researchers claim "that the animal findings are 'highly suggestive' that ketones could have anti-aging properties," according to Medical News Today.

Related: Sign up for our newsletter for more of the latest health and food news!

Stony Brook University professor Lilianne R. Mujica-Parodi, PhD, led a 2020 study that also backed up the idea that a diet that is low in carbs may prevent brain-related issues that are caused by aging. "The good news is that we may be able to prevent or reverse these effects with diet, mitigating the impact of encroaching hypometabolism by exchanging glucose for ketones as fuel for neurons," Mujica-Parodi explained in a statement.

When it comes to how keto affects your body to bring about possible anti-aging results, Emma Pyke, a specialist in fitness, nutrition, and exercise and the founder of Fit Shape, tells Eat This, Not That!: "Keto diets play an important role in reducing amyloid plaques and can also reverse their neurotoxicity, resulting in increase memory."

While it may take more research for experts to fully determine how the keto diet affects the agingor anti-agingprocess over the long term, it certainly seems like it might have some incredibly positive effects.

If you're interested in giving keto a try, be sure to read The 20 Best Foods For The Keto Diet.

Original post:
This Is How the Keto Diet Affects Aging, Science Says Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

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Choosing to go vegan is a huge decisionone that comes with a slew of health pros and cons. But these days, plant-based eating is becoming more and more popular, and now, plenty of celebrities are switching to vegan diets.

As a refresher, vegans do not eat anything produced by an animal or with animal byproducts, including eggs, dairy, meat, and honey. Instead, plants make up 100% of vegans meals. Some vegans also avoid wearing clothing or using products made from or with animals. Vegan diets can bring plenty of health benefits including weight loss, according to researchers.

In fact, 9.7 million Americans are now vegan, according to a 2019 survey. Tons of celebrities are included in that figuresome recently, and some who have long promoted the plant-based diet. Many, like Lizzo and Michelle Pfeiffer, were motivated by health reasons. Others, like James Cameron and Sadie Sink, cite environmental factors. And plenty, like Joaquin Phoenix and Ruby Rose, are guided by animal rights. But all vegan celebrities can agree on one thing: Plants taste pretty darn good!

Hoping to finally make the switch to a vegan lifestyle? Here, celebrities share why they opt for plant-based eating, plus the amazing benefits that theyve noticed since swearing off animal products. Suddenly, your choice doesnt seem so difficult anymoreit might even be the huge change youve been waiting for.

And while youre here, why not check out some delicious vegan recipes, too, like farro risotto, red lentil hummus, and blueberry smoothie bowls? After all, its never too early to get started!

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40 Vegan Celebrities on Eating a Plant-Based Diet - Prevention.com

More than half of Britons admit to starting a diet or fitness regime fully expecting to fail, a survey has found.

A poll of 2,000 adults found 32 per cent feel they would never be successful when it comes to trying to stick to an exercise plan, while 28 per cent feel the same about eating healthily or losing weight.

As a result, of those who have tried to change their eating habits, they lasted an average of just 11 days before giving it up.

While nearly one in 10 quit within the first 48 hours.

This may be because one in six go cold turkey on their favourite foods, scrapping them completely when they make a bid for better health.

Others said being too stressed and not feeling supported were the top reasons for failing to see a diet through.

The poll also found one in five feel they have to do something drastic in order to shed a few pounds or improve their health, with 21 per cent admitting they often set themselves unrealistic goals or timeframes.

Andreas Michaelides, chief of psychology at Noom, the digital health platform focused on behaviour change which commissioned the research, said: A lot of us have a tricky time establishing healthy lifestyle changes and our expectation that we will fail before weve even begun often undermines our healthy intentions.

This plays into the Well-Being Gap, revealed in Nooms inaugural State of Healthy Behaviours report, which found that Brits know what they need to do to be healthier, yet arent successfully meeting their health goals.

Reframing our thoughts and changing our mindset can help us to achieve our goals.

One of the main pitfalls when changing our behaviours is that people try to change everything all at once. But being overly strict with ourselves is not necessarily the way forward.

When we try to cut something from our lives completely, this can in fact make us focus on the thing more, which can hinder our chances of success.

The study also found that more than half of adults find, when trying to cut out things like sugar completely, that they end up craving the forbidden snacks even more.

Despite their intentions to stick with it for the long term, 49 per cent will give up on their health goals entirely after the first setback such as enjoying a sweet treat or a night out.

While another one fifth find their goals are derailed by comparing themselves to others who are seemingly doing better which leads to demotivation.

And as many as two thirds of those polled via OnePoll confess to feeling disheartened and disappointed if their lifestyle changes dont lead to results fast or even overnight.

A social media effect may also be at play with 47 per cent admitting they have unrealistic expectations of how quickly theyll see results, thanks to social media and celebs.

Andreas Michaelides of Noom added: Small bite-size changes versus drastic overhauls are more likely to lead to sustainable healthy outcomes in the long-term.

Many people give up at the first sign of a setback, but establishing a sustainable, healthy lifestyle does not happen overnight.

At Noom we encourage a different mindset; set-backs are to be expected they are a part of life - but they do not equate to failure.

Following the findings, Noom has created a quiz to allow you to find out what kind of goal setter you are, to see whether you are a go-getter or tempted to give up before you even begin.

SWNS

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UK adults struggle to follow diet and fitness plans, poll reveals - The Independent

THE Cambridge diet is popular with those looking for rapid weight loss, thanks to its strict structure andlow calorie products.

Users consume shakes, soups and bars that have been specially tailored to their weight loss goals. Here's the lowdown...

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The Cambridge diet was developed by Dr Alan Howard at Cambridge University in the 1970s, and was launched as a commercial product in the US in 1980 followed by the UK in 1984.

It involves followers buying a range of meal-replacement products which are said to promote rapid weight loss.

Users can choose from six flexible diet plans ranging from 415 calories to 1,500 calories or more a day, depending on your weight loss goal.

The bars, soups, porridge and shakes can be used as your sole source of nutrition or together with low-calorie regular meals.

Depending on your products, weekly cost are around 48.30 but can be as low as 2.30 per meal for three meals.

The diet can only be done by getting in touch with aCambridge Weight Plan consultant, who weighs and measures you to determinewhich programmeis best for you and provides you with your chosen products.

Your consultant provides you with not only the products, but guidance and support as you progress with your diet and transition into maintenance.

The Cambridge products can be used on their own or used with regular meals for a more gradual weight loss.

Many feel that the plan is a short term option, as giving up normal meals and swapping them for a snack bar or a shake can be boring and feel socially isolating.

A very low calorie diet that involves eating 1,000 calories a day or fewer should not be followed for more than 12 continuous weeks without a break.

If you are eating fewer than 600 calories a day, you should have medical supervision and there are protocols in place that your Cambridge consultant must follow to ensure this is sought.

Initial side effects can include bad breath, a dry mouth, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and constipation from cutting down on carbs and fibre.

Many people on very low calorie diets find the weight loss to be sudden and quite dramatic.

The meal replacements are all nutritionally balanced, so youre likely to be getting all the vitamins and minerals you need, albeit not from real food.

One woman, who was a self-confessed crisp addict and "ate a multi-pack a day to deal with the loss of her mum" lost seven stone by following the diet.

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Another woman used the diet to drop five dresses sizes and said the programme helped her to lose a stone every four weeks and she slowly introduced healthy meals back into her diet.

While former Eastenders star and Loose Woman Martine McCutcheon has revealed she followed the Cambridge diet and losta stone in five weeks.

Martinerevealed that she decided to make a change in her life because she wanted to be healthy for her husband, Jack McManus, and their son, Rafferty, two.

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What is the Cambridge diet and is it safe?... - The US Sun